'Pakistani federal officers unwilling to serve in Balochistan'

Islamabad, Sep 1 (IANS) Shortage of federal government officials willing to serve in Balochistan may become more acute in the aftermath of the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Khan Bugti and the volatile situation it has created in the province.

The new developments in the aftermath of the killing of Akbar Bugti will further discourage federal police and the District Management Group (DMG) officers agreeing to serve in the province, The News International reported.

Forced transfers of officials have not worked. Eighteen police officials posted to the province last month managed to stay on at their old postings using their "influence".

The newspaper had some weeks ago carried an expose on the working of the federal government wherein officials posted to Balochistan had sought to pull strings to get the postings cancelled by using political channels.

After a minister made support to the government conditional on the cancellation of the posting order of a kin, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz discussed the matter at the cabinet meeting and issued clear instructions that such pressures and requests would not be entertained.

The federal government has enhanced allowances and perks of officers in the last one year, but continues to face serious shortage as officials either stay on in their earlier postings, report sick or go on leave.

A government source told the newspaper that the authorities now even apprehend that some federal officers already posted there might now try to get themselves transferred outside the province.

Balochistan government sources, when contacted, also foresaw some management problems that might crop up due to the post-Bugti violence targeting non-Baloch, non-Pakhtoon settlers, particularly Punjabis, in different parts of the province.

Even though the provincial authorities denied that houses of settlers in Quetta were attacked by rioters, it accepted that few businesses and shops were damaged by them. The situation, however, is said to be normal since Thursday.

In view of possible threats to officers from outside the province, particularly those from Punjab, the authorities say this situation could be tackled by posting them to safer districts of Balochistan and in the provincial headquarters.

The Establishment Division (ED), which was "already helpless" while implementing its past transfer orders, is unsure about the future unless the top leadership personally intervenes and ensure that the writ of the government is followed by its officers.

So far, transfer orders of police and DMG officers to the troubled Balochistan province has resulted in non-compliance by the government officers. Barring few exceptions, the officers either get their transfer orders cancelled or remain defiant unwilling to take up new postings for months.

12 Indian states do not have human rights commissions

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) Thirteen years after a law providing for states to set up their own human rights commissions, 12 Indian states do not have one.

Of the 16 that do, five states including Punjab, Karnataka and Maharashtra, do not have chairpersons.

"This is very discouraging to find that in a democracy like India 12 Indian states are yet to have their human right commissions," said Justice A.S. Anand, chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), here Friday.

The Human Rights Act, 1993, provides for states to have their own human rights commissions. Gujarat and Haryana do not have their human rights commissions.

"Lack of a state human rights commission is certainly a hurdle towards ensuring peoples' rights. The concerned state governments should act fast on this direction," Anand told IANS.

The NHRC faces no infrastructural and financial problems, but the state commissions are lagging behind, he said speaking on the sideline of a NHRC and state human rights commission meeting here.

"They do not have financial stability, adequate manpower or even proper buildings. Five states including Punjab, Karnataka and Maharashtra have no full time chairpersons in state commissions," he revealed.

Currently, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Manipur, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar have their respective human rights commissions.

Anand, also a former Supreme Court chief justice, said that he had written to the concerned state governments on setting up their own commissions and to the ones that do have, to upgrade the infrastructure.

"I have, as a last ditch attempt, written to all the state governments to provide the necessary arrangements to their existing human rights commissions, and for setting up commissions," said Anand, who is to retire in November.

He expressed satisfaction on the response of the central government to NHRC. "NHRC is neither a judicial or quasi-judicial body, but the government is accepting 90 percent of our recommendations."

The NHRC and state rights commissions met Friday to discuss on how to improve the functioning of the commissions and for better protection of human rights.

178 complexes sealed, reprieve for essential service providers

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) In their quest to seal 45,000 commercial establishments in residential areas, Delhi's civic authorities Friday sealed 178 complexes in 12 zones even as traders stepped up protest.

According to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) a maximum of 57 complexes were sealed in the Shahdara (North) zone, followed by 31 properties in Sadar Paharganj zone.

Resuming the sealing drive after a gap of three months, authorities Friday targeted mainly hazardous and polluting units, amid protests from traders.

The process to re-seal the illegal commercial establishments began following an Aug 10 directive from the Supreme Court, which stayed the May 20 notification of the central government allowing one-year moratorium on all such activities.

"Acting upon the court directive, the drive will continue," said a MCD official adding that top civic officials including commissioner A.K. Nigam Friday met K.J. Rao, member of the apex court's monitoring committee.

Though the upmarket neighbourhoods in the national capital were spared today, all the areas will be targeted Saturday. However there were some protests from the traders in Sant Nagar and Zamrudpur in south zone.

The likely areas to be targeted Saturday include Greater Kailash I and II, Chittaranjan Park, Lajpat Nagar, Kalkaji, Defence Colony and Vasant Vihar.

The MCD has from Friday set up 24 special cells to receive complaints by residents giving information about such commercial premises in their areas. Mobile inspection teams will verify such complaints and initiate action against offenders.

However, the monitoring committee has given a reprieve to nearly 15 varieties of essential service providers like salons, kirana shops, and cyber cafes operating from residential areas. In addition professionals like lawyers, doctors and even astrologers, entire houses can now be used for these services.

The central government had on May 20 passed the Delhi Laws (Special Provision) Act that put a moratorium on the court-mandated demolition of illegal structures and sealing of commercial complexes in residential areas in the capital for a year.

However, on Aug 10 the Supreme Court, hearing a public interest litigation against the order, reprimanded the government for its legislation.

On Wednesday, the MCD submitted an action plan report to Delhi High Court informing about the setting up of a taskforce for each of the 12 zones to ensure that there is no delay in carrying out the demolitions and sealing. The civic body is to recruit junior engineers on contract basis to get over its staff shortage, an official said.

80 killed as Iranian plane catches fire

Tehran, Sep 1 (Xinhua) At least 80 passengers were killed as an Iranian airliner caught fire Friday while landing in the northeastern city of Mashhad, state television reported.

There were 147 passengers on board the plane on a flight from the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, the TV said.

A tyre of the Russian-made Tupolev burst and caught fire when the plane was landing, according to the report.

90 feared dead in Iranian plane crash

Tehran, Sep 1 (DPA) At least 90 people were killed Friday when an Iranian passenger jet crashed and broke into flames while landing in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

The Fars news agency said about 90 burnt corpses were recovered from the plane, while there were a further 40 badly injured survivors.

The Iranian news agency ISNA said the Tupolev-154 plane operated by the Iran Air Tours company was setting down for a landing when a tyre burst, and the plane caught fire.

Television images from the scene showed the plane's main fuselage broken at several places, with a gaping fire-blackened hole in one section as fire fighters and rescuers carried out their recovery operations.

Mashhad, in northeastern Iran, is about 750 km east of capital Tehran.

Academic vows to bring Bali, India closer

By M.R. Narayan Swamy,

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) An Indian professor living in Bali is spearheading efforts to bring the overwhelmingly Hindu Indonesian island and India closer with a string of events covering everything from religion to Bollywood.

Somvir, 35, has brought together a team of eminent Indonesians and Indians to form the Bali-India Foundation, which will promote academic and student exchanges besides spiritual tourism, teach yoga, Hindi, Sanskrit and Balinese languages, and help the people of Bali to know India better.

It also plans to satisfy the growing appetite in Bali for Bollywood's pulsating dance numbers. In the process, the Foundation hopes to supplement the work of the Indian Cultural Centre in Bali.

"What the centre does is to essentially promote Bali-India ties at government-to-government level," Somvir told IANS here during a brief visit.

"What we wish to do is to promote people-to-people ties. It is necessary to promote and sustain the indigenous culture and art in Bali and India."

"Our mission is to introduce the richness of the two ancient cultures and bring the people of Bali and India closer," he said.

Somvir, who is originally from Haryana, teaches at the departments of cultural studies and tourism at Bali's Udayana University. He has lived in Bali since 1993. Three years ago, he helped the family of then Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to explore Bali.

Somvir, who was earlier associated with the Indian Cultural Centre, said the Bali-India Foundation came up two months ago with Hindu religious rituals as is customary in Bali. It would see a formal inaugural soon.

The Foundation has plans to go for 15-day exchange programmes for Balinese and Indian students involving field study, a similar but self-financed exchange programme of one month to two months duration, encourage Balinese to visit India as religious tourists, and publish a dictionary of Indian companies in Indonesia and vice-versa that would also pack handy information about Bali.

It will teach Hindi and Sanskrit to Balinese who think knowledge of the two languages will help in a better understanding of India as well as Hinduism, the religion of over 90 percent of Bali's 3.5 million people.

Bali, which has had deep and historic ties with India, is one of 27 provinces of Indonesia. At the ancient core of Balinese Hinduism is animism, bound with threads of tantrik Buddhism and ancestor veneration.

Temples are a way of life in Bali, a picturesque region whose reputation as a major tourist hub has not been shaken by recent horrific terror attacks. People of Bali have tremendous yearning for India.

But Somvir thinks that much more needs to be and can be done.

"Many Balinese priests recite Sanskrit prayers without knowing the language," he explained. "We need to rectify the gap by teaching Sanskrit. I taught Sanskrit on Bali TV for two months free, and the response was terrific.

"The demand for yoga is rising all over Bali, and virtually every second (Western) tourist to Bali wants to learn yoga. It is taught in almost all hotels but the teachers have no formal training. We will offer yoga courses.

"Spiritual tourism is a major attraction, and Bali is the place to promote India. Balinese think of the river Ganga with reverence. We can promote tourism to India with the sacred river in mind.

"As for Bollywood, it is the latest fashion statement in Bali. Bollywood is one reason why so many people are interested in Hindi. We will teach a mixture of Bollywood and ancient Indian dancing. There is a lot we can do, and we hope to do a lot!"

Somvir, who did his BA and MA in Sanskrit from New Delhi before making his way to Indonesia, called India and Bali "separated families". "We were one once upon a time. We want to help restore our old ties."

Akbar Bugti laid to rest in Dera Bugti

Islamabad, Sep 1(IANS) Baloch leader Akbar Khan Bugti was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard at Dera Bugti in Balochistan, a local private TV channel reported.

Confirming it, Major General Shaukat Sultan, chief military spokesperson, told the media that the body was "in advanced stage of decay".

The news became public even as the government braced to meet nationwide protests spearheaded by major opposition parties and alliances which alleged that the killing was deliberate.

The body of the slain leader, who was 79, killed in a military operation last Saturday, was retrieved Thursday evening from the rubbles of the cave where he was supposed to be hiding in Balochistan's hilly interior.

On being retrieved, the body had been immediately examined by doctors, Sultan said. The body was flown in a sealed coffin to the area.

According to the report, newsmen were not allowed to see the slain Baloch leader's body or face. Available reports indicated that it was a private ceremony under strict government control, although family members had demanded that they be given custody of the body.

His sons had raised doubts whether the body belonged to Bugti.

However, the cleric who led the funeral prayers claimed that he had seen the body. None of the relatives of the slain tribal leader were present at the funeral, the TV channel added.

Australia terror suspects to stand trial

Melbourne, Sept 1 (ZEENEWS.COM) Eleven Muslim men accused of belonging to a terror cell that was plotting a major attack in Australia were ordered Friday to stand trial under the country's tough security laws.

The decision came during a court hearing in the southern city of Melbourne. Magistrate Paul Smith said he was satisfied prosecutors had enough evidence to warrant a trial.

The 11 suspects pleaded innocent to charges that they were members of a terrorist organization. Some face additional charges of funding a terror outfit, and they denied those charges as well.

Smith ordered the men to remain in custody.

The men were among 18 suspects arrested in November in Melbourne and Sydney. Police said the arrests headed off a catastrophic terror attack in Australia, possibly targeting a nuclear reactor in southern Sydney.

Authorities have released few details of the alleged plot but have said some of the suspects trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan and met al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Prosecutor Mark Dean told the court during the hearing that the group was inspired and influenced strongly by al-Qaida and the teachings of bin Laden.

The men sat calmly behind glass barriers in the dock as the decision to send them to trial was announced, Australian Associated Press reported.

Seven of the 11 refused to stand when directed to do so by Smith.

Algerian-born Abdul Nacer Benbrika, 46, the alleged spiritual leader of the group, was among those committed on Friday to stand trial. The others were Fadal Sayadi, 26, Majed Raad, 22, Amer Haddara, 26, Ahmed Raad, 23, Abdullah Merhi, 21, Hany Taha, 31, Shoue Hammoud, 26, Izzydeen Atik, 26, Bassam Raad, 24, and Ezzit Raad, 24.

Smith put off a decision on two other suspects, Shane Kent, 29, and Aimen Joud, 21, until Sept. 18.

"I am satisfied in relation to all defendants except Mr. Joud and Mr. Kent that there is sufficient evidence upon which a jury could convict," Smith said.

Ban speculative trading in essential commodities: CPI-M

Shimla, September 1 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Thursday urged the central government to ban speculative trading in essential commodities, saying their futures trading was fuelling a rise in their prices.

"We demand that the essential commodities be kept out of the futures commodities act as it was leading to the price rise and hoarding," Brinda Karat, senior CPM leader and politburo member, told reporters here in this Himachal Pradesh capital Thursday.

The CPI-M leads the Left Front that supports the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from outside.

"One example is wheat as its prices have shot up by Rs.200 a tonne this year," she said.

"The government has only procured 900,000 tonnes of wheat this year instead of the target of 1.6 million tonnes. Clearly the government is shirking its responsibility and has led to an agrarian crisis," Karat said.

"Isn't it strange that at one time India exported wheat to the Australia wheat board but is now importing it from the same company," she said.

Bangladeshi court endorses death sentences on militants

Dhaka, Sep 1 (DPA) A high court in Bangladesh has confirmed the death sentences passed by a trial court on top leaders of the banned Islamist militant group Jamiatul Mujahideen (JM), officials said.

A two-member high court bench scrutinising the lower court verdict upheld the death sentences overnight, clearing a legal hurdle to early executions.

Shaekh Abdur Rahman, the founder of the Islamic outfit, and his deputy Bangla Bhai were among the seven militants who were given death sentences for their role in carrying out a suicide bomb attack against two district judges in Bangladesh on Nov 14, 2005.

Two junior judges, Sohail Ahmad and Jagannath Pandey, were fatally wounded in the blast, which occurred as they were traveling to office in a car in Jhalokathi town.

Both Mujahideen leaders admitted to masterminding the assassinations, which inflamed public opinion in favour of tough actions against the militants.

"The prosecution proved the case without reasonable doubt," said Mohammad Ali Asgar Khan, one of the high court justices sitting on the bench on Thursday.

The five other Mujahideen militants sent to the gallows by the lower court after their arrest three months ago were Ataur Rahman Sunny, Abdul Awal, Khalid Saifullah, Asadul Islam Arif and Iftekhar Hassan Mamun, court officers said.

Only Mamun filed an appeal against the trial court judgment, which was also dismissed by the high court. The other convicted man said only Islamic courts set up under the holy Koran were competent to try them.

Bangladeshi laws, however, do not permit the implementation of death sentences handed down by lower courts without a review of the judgment by the High Court.

The Jamiatul Mujahideen group emerged as part of a terror network which orchestrated bomb attacks by militants at over 400 locations across the country on Aug 17 this year leaving six people dead and scores injured.

The Mujahideens have vowed to establish an Islamist state in Bangladesh, which has a population of 130 million with an overwhelming majority of Muslims.

BCCI launches official cricket ratings

Mumbai, September 1 (IANS) The Indian cricket board Thursday launched its own players' ratings for Test matches, one-day internationals (ODIs), women's cricket as well as juniors.

The ratings will be capped by an annual awards ceremony that will be held at the end of every domestic season, Lalit Modi, marketing sub-committee chief and vice president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), announced here.

The ratings, launched in partnership with Percept Holdings, will honour top performances by batsmen, bowlers, fielders and all-rounders.

Awrads will be presented in the following categories: Best Test and ODI batsman, bowler, fielder and all-rounder; best Test and ODI opening batsman, most consistent/reliable ODI and Test player; Best Test and ODI innings of the year.

Prizes will also be presented to the Test and ODI Player of the Year; My Favourite Player, Most Stylish Player and Master Blaster of the Year, said Modi.

Cricket fans will also get a chance to vote for their favourite stars. These categories will include Player of the Week and My Favourite Player.

Modi, however, did not disclose the procedure for picking winners and the prize money.

Bharrat Jagdeo becomes Guyana president 3rd time

Georgetown, Sep 1 (IANS) Bharrat Jagdeo, of Indian descent, has won a third consecutive term as president of Guyana following the Caribbean nation's general elections held last Monday.

Announcing this late Thursday, Guyana's chief election officer Gocool Boodoo said Jagdeo garnered 64.6 percent of the vote, while his party, the People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), won 36 seats in the 65-member National Assembly, up by two seats from the previous term.

"This is an endorsement of our track record," reports quoted Jagdeo as saying.

Born in 1964, Jagdeo earned his master's in economics in Moscow in 1990. He the returned to Guyana and worked as an economist in the State Planning Secretariat When the PPP/C came to power here in 1992, he worked as an advisor to the Minister of Finance.

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.

Meanwhile, Robert Corbin, leader of the main opposition People's National Congress Reform - One Guyana (PNCR-1G), was quoted as saying that the elections have shown that "ethnic voting patterns remain deep-seated".

PNCR-1G lost six seats and has been left with only 21 seats in the parliament.

According to a report in the Stabroek News, he made the call for a national unity government, stating that the party leaders could not "bury their heads in the sand to the fact that there is a hardened perception among a substantial section of the Afro-Guyanese community and that they could not survive five more years of the PPP/C rule".

Indo-Guyanese, most of whom are descendants of Indians who had come to work as indentured labour in the country's sugarcane plantations in the 18th and late 19th centuries, today comprise 50 percent of the Guyana's population of over 750,000.

This year's elections in Guyana have come in for special praise for the relatively peaceful atmosphere in which these were held.

Representatives pf the country's Private Sector Commission (PSC), the Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB) and the Guyana Bar Association (GBA) acted as observers in the elections.

Britain's High Commissioner to Guyana, Fraser Wheeler, read a statement on behalf of his country, the United States, Canada, and the European Union congratulating all Guyanese in general and the country's election commission in particular for the peaceful elections.

Bhutia back in Indian team

New Delhi, September 1 (IANS) Bhaichung Bhutia, who recently expressed his desire to quit big time football, was Thursday named captain of a 20-member Indian squad for a qualifying round match of the Asian Cup 2007.

An All India Football Federation (AIFF) statement said the match would be played against Saudi Arabia in Riyadh Sep 6.

Bhutia, who has lately been busy with television commentary, said in July he wanted to quit top class football. But AIFF president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi apparently persuaded him to rethink about his decision.

Bhutia, 29, played for India with distinction, and also represented East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Bury FC in England.

Lately, the Sikkim player has been appearing regularly on television as an expert commentator. His decision to quit the game could have been influenced by his increasing television work.

Dasmunshi wants Bhutia to play on till the Asian Games in Doha this December.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Sandip Nandy (Mahindra United), Subrata Paul (Mohun Bagan) and Subhasis Roy Chaudhary (Mahindra United)

Defenders: Surukumar Singh (Mahindra United), N.S. Manju (Mahindra United), Deepak Mondal (Mohun Bagan), Samir Naik (Dempo Sports Club), Anupam Sarkar (East Bengal), Narinder Singh (Jagatjit Cotton Textile Mills), N.P. Pradeep (Mahindra United) and Sanjiv Maria (Mohun Bagan)

Midfielders: Steven Dias (Mahindra United), Mehrajuddin Wadoo (Mohun Bagan), Manjit Singh (Bengal), P. Renedy Singh (JCT) and Micky Fernandes (Salgaocar SC)

Forwards: S. Rahim Nabi (East Bengal), Fredy Mascarnhas (East Bengal), Sunil Chhetri (JCT) and Bhaichung Bhutia (captain, Mohun Bagan)

Support staff: Bob Houghton (chief coach), Alfonso Maricio Milagres (assistant coach), Antonio Marcos Pacheco (goal-keepers' coach), Manbendra Bhattacharya (team doctor), Tapan Bhattacharya (physiotherapist) and Pradeep Choudhury (manager)

BJP flip-flop on Vande Mataram continues

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continued to change its tune on the issue of making the singing of "Vande Mataram" compulsory in schools, even as its senior leader L.K. Advani Friday said there should not be any compromise on the national song.

Speaking at a book release function at the party headquarters here, the former BJP chief said: "There should be no compromising attitude on the national song and showing respect to national symbols cannot be made optional."

In the light of the separatist tendencies existing in the country, one could not afford to compromise on the issue of singing of the national song, Advani said.

"Vande Mataram" has become a major political issue after a section of Muslims objected to its singing on 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.

The BJP at first called for making the singing at educational institutions compulsory but soon changed its stance.

Advani's comments are in contrast to what BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad had said two days ago.

"The question is not of making the singing mandatory but that of showing respect to Vande Mataram as a vibrant national symbol," Prasad had said.

A senior party leader said: "This (Prasad's statement) had indicated softening of the party's stand on this issue. The strategy was not to let the issue snowball into a controversy which had arisen out of party chief Rajnath Singh's strong stance," a senior BJP leader said.

Prasad had refused to make any commitment whether the governments in the BJP-ruled states would make singing of the national song compulsory.

The party has cancelled the programme announced earlier in which its minority cell members were to sing "Vande Mataram".

Bush assassination drama criticised

London, Sep 1 (IANS) A British drama about the fictional assassination of US President George Bush has been criticised as being "irresponsible".

According to contactmusic.com, the drama, "Death Of a President", shows Bush shot in Chicago in 2007. The movie then follows an investigation into the murder, which is carried out by a Syrian gunman.

A spokesperson for the White House said: "We won't dignify this with a response."

A spokesperson for the Republican Party said: "I can't support a video that dramatises the assassination of our president whether real or imagined."

But Gabriel Range, the director of the movie, said: "People haven't seen the film yet. It's not gratuitous or sensationalist. The film uses the horrific scenario of the president's assassination to provoke a legitimate debate."

Chhattisgarh aims to enter Limca book with jatropha

Raipur, Sep 1 (IANS) It is planned as a novel two-pronged strategy. On Sep 4 thousands of volunteers, including children, in Chhattisgarh would plant more than two million jatropha saplings in just 11 hours to find a place in the Limca Book of Records - a move that would also motivate people towards the plant, a rich source of bio-fuel.

"We have arranged a grand show on Sep 4 in Kawardha district when thousands of volunteers including from the Red Cross, school children, village heads, women self-help groups and teachers will plant 2-3 million saplings of jatropha in the presence of the media and chief minister," district collector Sonmoni Bora told IANS Friday.

Kawardha is the home district of Chief Minister Raman Singh.

The whole exercise is aimed to create a revolution in jatropha plantations in Chhattisgarh and also to find a place in the Limca Book of Records for the highest-ever jatropha plantations in a single day.

The state government has announced plans to plant 1.6 million jatropha and karanj saplings in the 2006-07 fiscal in all its 16 districts. The plantations are aimed to make India an energy secure country by 2015.

Raman Singh in May last year became the first state chief in the country to use jatropha fuel in his official vehicle. He said recently that his government planned to replace imported diesel with jatropha fuel by year 2007 for all state-owned vehicles running on diesel and petrol.

Chhattisgarh is pushing the central government for an early unveiling of a national bio-fuel policy. It claims the bio-fuel rich plants have the potential to help India get over its annual requirement of 124 million metric tonnes of petroleum products, of which around 72 percent is met through imports at a cost of over Rs.1.5 trillion.

China to host central Asian economic cooperation meet

Beijing, Sep 1 (Xinhua) Finance ministers from China and seven other countries in Central Asia are expected to agree on a framework for medium-term strategic cooperation at a meeting in northwest China next month.

Ju Kuilin, deputy-director of the international department of the Chinese finance ministry, said ministers from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Tajikistan were expected to pass a comprehensive action plan on regional economic cooperation.

The meet is also expected to launch cooperation in research and capacity building for AIDS and avian flu prevention.

Ju told reporters that the cooperation plan, the first of its kind in Central Asia, would serve as a guideline for cooperation.

The meeting is scheduled Oct 18-20 in Urumqi, which borders Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries.

The Asian Development Bank initiated a regional cooperation mechanism for central Asian region, which was launched in 2002 focusing on communications, energy, trade facilitation and trade.

Regional highway corridor projects linking China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan were under construction, and plans for other highway and railway projects linking some of the central Asian countries had been proposed.

Clouds of uncertainty over Congress-PDP alliance

By F. Ahmed,

Srinagar, Sep 1 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's political acumen is being tested as clouds of uncertainty loom large over his Congress party's alliance with the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

The tension between the alliance partners came to the fore this week when the chief minister expanded and reshuffled the cabinet.

The PDP urged Azad to divest Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig, known to be closer to the chief minister then the party leadership, of his high-profile portfolios of finance, planning and development, but the request was ignored.

The regional party was then left with little option but to recall Baig from the cabinet.

"In the normal course of events, the chief minister should have gone by our advice. Instead, he decided to ignore us totally by keeping Baig's previous portfolios intact," said a senior PDP legislator here.

"In order to maintain the party discipline, we asked Baig to resign from the council of ministers which he refused to do. We were left with no option, but to recall Baig Sahib," the PDP leader said.

Some PDP leaders, who do not want to be named, go the extent of accusing Azad of deliberately rocking the alliance boat so that the PDP is forced to withdraw from of the present arrangement.

In the last state elections in 2002, the National Conference (NC) won only 27 seats in the 87-member assembly, as the Congress (20) and the PDP (16) joined hands to form government. Under their arrangement, PDP patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was chief minister till November 2005 after which Azad took over.

"Let us not ignore the fact that Azad Sahib has very close relations with the NC patron Dr. Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah. At times, he has been treating the PDP as the opposition and the NC as his true ally," said another senior PDP leader.

Congress leaders in the state were tight-lipped while Azad, on a daylong visit of Ladakh region, was yet to react on the PDP legislature party's resolution of Thursday evening, demanding that Baig be replaced by Agriculture Minister Abdul Aziz Zargar.

NC president Omar Abdullah, however, refused to divulge his party's strategy.

"We are at the moment watching the situation very closely. I cannot make any comment at present as to what course my party would adopt if the present ruling alliance were to collapse," he said.

However, political observers here say that if the Congress-DPD alliance reaches a point of no return, the NC would be more than willing to support Azad's government from outside.

"It is clear that Azad can comfortably continue as chief minister with the outside support from the NC. But, can the Congress afford to change horses midway? What signal would they be sending out by aligning with the PDP today and with the NC tomorrow? I don't think it is going to be that simple," said a political analyst here.

The chief minister would have to make up his mind quickly on whether supporting Baig's continuance in the ministry is worth risking the future of the present political arrangement.

"After all, Azad was sent here to strengthen the mainstream forces and not to poach on the flock of his allies," said another PDP leader here.

Cluster bomb experts face tough task in Lebanon

Beirut, Sep 1 (DPA) The number of people killed by cluster bombs in Lebanon dropped by Israel has climbed to 13 and nearly 50 have been seriously injured, putting added pressure on bomb clearance teams.

Chris Clark, head of the UN Mine Action Service in southern Lebanon, said the explosives had gone off since the end of hostilities Aug 14.

So far the UN team have located 390 separate Israeli strike sites where the munitions were used, he said.

About 2,000 of the potentially deadly bomblets, which litter the areas, have been destroyed, he added.

The UN has asked Israel to provide a list of sites targeted during its month-long offensive in Lebanon as crucial for the clean up.

Cluster bombs contain sub-munitions, or smaller bombs, that are often no bigger than a torch battery, many of which fail to detonate immediately on impact.

Israel and other countries, which have used the weapons, notably the US in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo, often face criticism because the weapons can kill indiscriminately.

"The situation is much more severe than what the UN encountered in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo," said Dyala Farran, media officer in Tyre for the Mine Action Coordination Centre, a partnership between the UN and Lebanon's National Demining Office.

The Israeli military is believed to have fired around 2,000-3,000 rounds of heavy ammunition - not only cluster bombs but also artillery shells and more conventional bombs - each day in the early days of its offensive against the Hezbollah. That figure rose to 5,000-6,000 rounds in the final days of the fighting.

Farran said an estimated 10 percent of all munitions failed to explode.

Franck Masche, 38, a former German soldier and his team from the British charity MAG have been destroying cluster munitions. The Aug 14 ceasefire halted a 33-day war between Israel and Hezbollah fighters.

Doctors treating cluster bomb victims in a hospital in Tyre said most victims of such bombs usually loses their limbs because "the shrapnel, when you step on one of them or touch it with your hands, explodes, creating dozen of small (pieces of) shrapnel.

"Most of our victims are children who touch the bomblets or villagers who stepped on them by mistake," Hussein Alam said.

In addition to the problem posed by cluster bombs, southern Lebanon has also had to deal with around 400,000 landmines, many of which were left by the Israeli military when it occupied the region from 1985 to 2000.

Dalai Lama to attend women's meet in California

Dharamsala, Sep 1 (IANS) Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, will attend a women's' meet in California, US, in September, said the Tibetan government in exile here.

"His holiness (the Dalai Lama) will fly to California at the invitation of Maria Shriver, wife of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger," said Tenzing Takla, personal secretary of the Dalai Lama.

Schwarzenegger will also attend the meet at the Long Beach Convention Centre Sep 26 that will boast of 60 renowned speakers and panellists including Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York Maureen Dowd, Tim Russert, Tyra Banks and Anna Quindlen among others.

Shriver, who is also a well-known television personality, had visited Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, the seat of the Dalai Lama, to invite him for the conference.

The Dalai Lama has a huge following in Hollywood and the western world.

The Tibetan spiritual leader fled Tibet in 1959 along with thousands of his followers after a failed coup against the communist regime.

Delhi court appreciates anti-encroachment stand

New Delhi, September 1 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Thursday appreciated the stand taken by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on action against encroachers on public land and unauthorised buildings here in the capital.

After going through the affidavit filed by MCD Commissioner A.K. Nigam giving details of the plan the civic body had chalked out to deal with the culprits, a division bench comprising judges Vijender Jain and Rekha Sharma concluded the hearing of the matter for the day with the hope that the local body would take effective action against unauthorised constructions.

"We appreciate the stand taken by MCD on action against unauthorised constructions in Delhi and hope that the local body would take effective action against unauthorised constructions so that a message goes to the public that nobody is above law," the Bench observed.

This was one hearing on the matter when the local body received no rebuke from the court.

Barring some minor complaints, the court also appreciated the action taken by MCD and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) against unauthorised builders and encroachers.

Epic AIDS film may be shown on Doordarshan

By Arun Kumar,

Washington, Sep 1 (IANS) Academy Award nominee Robert Bilheimer's film about the global AIDS epidemic, "A Closer Walk", may be screened on India's Doordarshan and China's CCTV on World AIDS Day Dec 1.

Filmed on four continents over a period of three years, "A Closer Walk" depicts the realities of global AIDS and explores the relationship between health, dignity and human rights.

"This is a story about the way the world is," says narrator Glenn Close as the film looks at the world through the prism of AIDS, taking the viewer to locations in the US, Ukraine, Uganda, South Africa, India, and Haiti, and offers personal stories of children, women and men around the world who are affected by the disease.

Those caring or advocating for people living with AIDS are featured prominently in the film as well. They include Paul Farmer of Partners In Health, India's Suniti Solomon and Jeffrey Sachs of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

Narrated by Close and Will Smith, "A Closer Walk" features cinematography by Richard D. Young, interviews with the Dalai Lama, Bono, and Kofi Annan, and musical contributions by Annie Lennox, the Neville Brothers, Eric Clapton and Sade.

The United Nations and other agencies have sponsored premieres and distribution programmes in Ukraine, India, South Africa, Cambodia, and Thailand of the 80-minute documentary that made its US television debut Thursday.

Describing his approach to the film, director Robert Bilheimer said: "When I interviewed [UNAIDS Executive Director] Peter Piot early on, I was struck by his insight that 'AIDS is part of the human condition', and that 'AIDS exists because we exist'.

"When Peter said that, I knew that 'A Closer Walk' should indeed be a film about the way the world is, and that my colleagues and I would need to be in and of the world for a period of time to truly understand what AIDS is doing to us all."

Conceived in 1996 with the late Jonathan Mann - widely regarded as the architect of the international response to global AIDS - "A Closer Walk" took three years to develop, three years to make, and in 2007 will enter its fourth year of a steadily expanding distribution campaign.

"The whole point", says Bilheimer, "was to level the playing field in terms of what we all - as a human family - understand about AIDS. Making a film that would somehow engage people around the world on this issue was obviously a challenge on the creative side. But the equal challenge, on the distribution side, was to put the movie in front of, literally, hundreds of millions of people. We are going to achieve that this year."

The film has been shown at hundreds of school and college campuses around the world, and been used as a primary education and awareness tool by advocacy groups, corporations, the United Nations, the US State Department and prominent AIDS organisations.

"A Closer Walk" has received international critical acclaim. Writing for the Gannett News Service, Chief Film Critic Jack Garner gave the film his highest rating, calling it a "beautifully told story of suffering that inspires hope and action".

Reviewing the film prior to its national airing on South African television, Claire Keaton of the Sunday Times described the film as "unforgettable".

Ex-AMU girl student begins hunger strike

Aligarh, September 1 (ZEENEWS.COM) A former girl student of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) began an indefinite hunger strike here on Thursday to protest the "indifferent" response of authorities to her allegation that a senior teacher had sexually harassed her.

Asma Javed, who failed to get admission to the PhD course this year, filed a complaint at the Civil Lines police station yesterday against Mohammad Shareef, a teacher in the Sanskrit department whom she has accused of harassing her. Shareef has already been suspended.

Javed, who began her protest in front of the Vice- Chancellor`s residence, is being supported by several student leaders.

Members of AMU`s women`s grievance cell, however, denied Javed`s accusation that the panel was trying to "whitewash" the matter and give a clean chit to Shareef.

Accusing Javed of falling prey to misguided elements "who are more interested in trying to exploit the situation and defame the institute", Amna Kishore, a member of the women`s cell, said, "we are determined to mete out justice in this matter but our task is now being complicated by the deliberate whipping up of public sentiments."

The women`s cell is currently probing Asma`s charges of alleged sexual harassment against Shareef as well as a foreign student`s complaint that a senior teacher of the law department had made "indecent sexual advances" against her.

Members of the cell have said they are not under "any sort of pressure" from AMU`s administration in conducting the probe. They said the cell was scheduled to hold "the final session" of its inquiry.

Addressing a press conference, three members of the women`s cell -- chairperson Shamim Jahan, Amna Kishore and Zakia Siddiquie -- expressed their displeasure at the aspersions cast on their inquiry into Javed`s allegations.

In a separate press conference, the AMU teachers association said an impartial inquiry is being conducted into the charges made by Javed and that the concerned teacher had been suspended.

"To pre-judge the matter before the inquiry is completed is absolutely unfair," said AMU Teachers Association Rizwan Ahmed.

Javed`s allegations have embroiled AMU in a fresh controversy barely six months after a 21-year-old student, Farah Khanum, alleged that she was threatened on the campus for wearing T-shirts and jeans.

Elections to the AMU Students Union are round the corner and several student leaders have pledged support for Javed`s protest.

Flood fury: army help in Uttar Pradesh, Orissa affected

Lucknow/Bhubaneswar, September 1 (IANS) As floods continue to ravage many parts of India, troops were Thursday called out for relief work in parts of Uttar Pradesh where 42 people died even as the Mahanadi inundated large areas in Orissa affecting more than 300,000 people.

In Uttar Pradesh, rivers were flowing well above the danger mark, enveloping over 100,000 people in at least seven districts.

"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.

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.

"Army help was sought in Barabanki and Bahraich districts to evacuate people from 15 completely marooned villages," Uttar Pradesh relief commissioner Renuka Kumar told IANS.

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.

"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," said Kumar.

"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.

Orissa, hit by torrential rains earlier, was now facing the flood fury.

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 state capital Bhubaneswar, inundating large swathes of farmland and villages.

The water level at Dalai Ghai along the banks of the Devi river, a tributary of the Mahanadi, in Jagatsinghpur district has crossed the danger mark.

The situation was 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 lives 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.

Floodwaters begin to recede in Orissa

Bhubaneswar, Sep 1 (IANS) Floods triggered by heavy rains continued to ravage Orissa Friday though the waters in the state's rivers had started receding.

The floods in the Mahanadi, the state's biggest river, and its tributaries had hit more than 700,000 people and marooned at least 170 villages in 10 of the state's 30 districts, Orissa's Special Relief Commissioner Jagadananda Panda told IANS.

The fresh floods come even as Orissa is yet to recover from the four rounds of floods that ravaged most parts of the state over past two months killing over 85 people.

The situation was likely to improve in next 24 hours as the floodwaters had started receding, the official said.

At the Munduli point of the Mahanai in Cuttack district, 1.24 million cusecs water was flowing at 9.00 a.m. Friday against 1.28 million cusec Thursday midnight, he said.

"We hope the water in tributaries will also recede," Panda said.

The state government had earlier alerted the administration of the districts of Jagatsinghpur, Angul, Boudh, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagada, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Puri, he said.

Goa to host vegetarian congress

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) India will host the 37th edition of the International Vegetarian Congress in Goa from Sep 10.

The six-day congress, organised by International Vegetarian Union, will discuss the challenges vegetarians face across the globe.

Jashu C. Shah, president of the Asian Vegetarian Union, said in a statement that the congress would help participants understand India as a country where vegetarianism is a way of life.

The conference would also discuss issues like ecology, genetic engineering, environment, spiritualism and alternate therapies, Shah said.

HAL, EADS ink pact for joint marketing strategies

Bangalore, Sept 1 (IANS) Indian aviation major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and European aerospace leader EADS (European Aeronautics Defence and Space) Friday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for long-term co-operation and joint marketing strategies.

The MoU, signed by HAL chairman Ashok K. Baweja and EADS CEO Tom Enders here, envisages expanding co-operation in new market segments and joint analysis of the aerospace business in the sub-continent.

"In the coming months, we will conduct a joint analysis of mid-term and long-term strategies in the key segments of aerospace business to determine how both the partners can team up and benefit from each other's expertise," Baweja said on the occasion.

Enders said as long-term partners, HAL and EADS have been involved in manufacturing helicopters and passenger jets. The design skills and technological capabilities of HAL make it a valuable partner for global co-operation in aerospace and defence.

HAL managing director (Bangalore complex) A.K. Saxena said the MoU would define the products to be jointly developed for domestic and export markets.

"HAL will benefit from teaming up with a global player like EADS to develop technologies and products for global players through joint marketing strategies," Saxena said.

In the helicopter space, Eurocopter, owned by EADS, has recently sub-contracted the production of airframes for its Ecureuil type versions to HAL. The first airframe is scheduled for delivery by this year-end.

Incidentally, India is the first country with which Eurocopter had signed a licence for technology transfer. The Indian defence ministry has shortlisted Fennec, the military version of the Ecureuil series, to replace the Cheetah/Chetak fleet of the army in the near future.

"Since Eurocopter collaborated with HAL in the development of its flagship product - the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) - christened Dhruv, it has expressed willingness to develop 10T helicopter HAL plans to co-develop with a foreign partner for the Indian armed forces and market it for global customers," Saxena pointed out.

In the civil aviation segment, HAL has been making doors for A320 of Airbus Industries, in which EADS has 80 percent equity stake, over the last 15 years. Of the total contract to supply 600 sets of doors, HAL has delivered 300 so far.

"Airbus has placed an order recently with HAL for a new batch of A320 doors. HAL has also produced parts for the A320 nose undercarriage. The production of A340 emergency doors is due to start soon," Saxena added.

As a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services, EADS generated euro 34.2 billion in 2005. With a workforce of 113,000, the European firm is a major partner in the Eurofighter consortium and is a prime contractor for the Ariane space launcher.

Haryana to introduce super luxury buses

Chandigarh, September 1 (IANS) The Haryana government Thursday announced it would soon launch a super luxury bus service to cater to the needs of high-end customers.

Buoyed by the success of the Volvo luxury buses introduced a few months ago, Chief Secretary Prem Prashant said here the new buses would be more comfortable and hi-tech than the Volvo buses.

The seats would be bigger and have spacious surroundings. Each passenger would have a small personal TV screen, Internet connection and other facilities.

There would also be built-in toilets, telephone facilities and fax machines, the chief secretary said.

The trial service would be introduced within a month and the fare on the Chandigarh-Delhi-Chandigarh route will be up to Rs.850 on each side.

Heroin worth Rs.13 million seized in Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) Delhi Police Friday seized 1.3 kg of heroin worth Rs.13 million in south Delhi and arrested one person as part of the continuing crackdown on organised drug trafficking in the capital.

Abu Tahir was arrested from Greater Kailash-II, a posh colony in south Delhi. Police said he is a resident of Jharkhand and had come to the capital to meet his contact to sell the consignment.

Officials said that though Tahir had confessed of being from Jharkhand, they suspect that he is from Bangladesh.

"He is part of an organised drug trade that is working in the capital. We suspect that he is a Bangladeshi national," said a senior official. Police said a few more arrests could be possible on the basis of the information provided by Tahir.

"We had received prior information about the deal and we had laid a trap to nab Tahir," said the official.

Officials added that the 1.3 kg of heroin was kept in small packets.

Recently, police had recovered mandrax worth Rs.1 billion in the capital and the consignment was being smuggled to South Africa. In another recent haul in Delhi, police had seized ephedrine worth Rs.2 billion.

Hingis, Sania top seeded for Kolkata Open tennis

Kolkata, September 1 (IANS) Former world No. 1 Martina Hingis and current No. 54 Sania Mirza will be the star attraction at the $175,000 Sunfeast Open tennis tournament starting here Sep 18, it was announced here Thursday.

A Tier III tournament, Sunfeast Open will have as many as nine of the top 100 ranked players of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), the organisers said here.

Besides Switzerland's Hingis, who has been top seeded for the tournament, Croatian Karolina Sprem, runner-up in the first edition of the event in 2005, Yuliana Fedak from Ukraine and Hungarian Melinda Czink are the other well-known names that will compete at the Netaji Indoor Stadium Sep 18-24.

Some of the other better known players taking part are Galina Voskoboeva of Russia, Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai and Yulia Beygelzimer of Ukraine.

"In its second edition itself the Sunfeast Open has grown in stature and this year too we have an array of top players who will provide some scintillating action on the courts," said Mahesh Bhupathi, whose company Globosport India is organising the tournament.

Bhupathi, who is Golobosport's managing director, said each of the promising youngster is capable of winning their first WTA title, adding excitement to the challenge.

"The leading players have beaten the best in the field and this fact holds promise for some dazzling display for tennis lovers of our country. I am pleased to say that the Sunfeast Open has lived up to its objective of attracting the finest talent and providing Indian fans a chance to watch great tennis."

Apart from three wild cards that will be announced soon, four players will make it from the qualifying round to be held Sep 16 and 17.

Seedings: 1 Martina Hingis (Switzerland), 2. Sania Mirza (India), 3. Karolina Sprem (Croatia), 4. Yuliana Fedak (Ukraine), 5. Melinda Czink (Hungary), 6. Galina Voskoboeva (Russia), 7. Kaia Kanepi (Estonia), 8. Aravane Rezai (France), 9. Yulia Beygelzimer (Ukraine), 10. Hana Sromova (Czechoslovakia), 11. Anastassia Rodionova (Russia), 12. Nicole Pratt (Australia), 13. Olga Poutchkova (Russia), 14. Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand), 15. Angelique Widjaja (Indonesia), 16. Antonella Serra Zanetti (Italy), 17. Sandra Kloesel (Germany), 18. Lioudmila Skavronskaia (Russia), 19. Tatiana Poutchek (Belarus), 20. Yung-jan Chan (Taipei), 21. Anda Perianu (Romania), 22. Tzipora Obziler (Israel), 23. Arantxa Parra Santonja (Spain) and 24. Anne Keothavong (Britain)

Huawei expands India operations

Bangalore, Sep 1 (IANS) Huawei Technologies India, the largest overseas software R&D subsidiary of the $8.2 billion Chinese telecom major, has expanded its operations here to develop optical network products and wireless LAN (local area network) solutions for its global customers.

The new R&D facility will focus on new generation Optix series of intelligent optical network products, based on cutting-edge technologies. Huawei's optical solutions are deployed by leading operators telecos providing IPTV (internet protocol television) services, triple play (high-speed Internet, television and voice) services, mobile services and leased line services to their customers, worldwide.

"The optical network products will be initially designed and developed here for our leading customers such as Fibernet and Viatel in the UK, NEUF in France, DFN in Germany and Telemar in Brazil," a company official told IANS.

About 200 lateral techies will be working on optical networks and wireless LAN solutions. Going forward, the subsidiary plans to deploy an additional 300 engineers to broaden its portfolio in new domains such as wireless switch and wireless access points products.

According to Ovum-RHK, a global telecom consulting and marketing research firm, Huawei's optical network has been ranked second in the global optical network market in 2005, and number one in the Asia-Pacific optical network market over the last five years.

As the first and the only major Chinese software development facility in India, Huawei has been engaged in developing next generation network, data communication, telecom middleware, intelligent network, mobile handset, server and security network over the last six years.

"Since we have entered India in 1999, we have made a cumulative investment of $100 million in setting up three operational facilities in Bangalore for software development and R&D activities, besides a marketing division for selling our products to leading Indian telecos in mobile as well as landline space," said Huawei India COO George Huang.

In 2005, the Indian subsidiary generated $127 million from its marketing operations.

On the hiring front, with a high retention level, the company has ramped its headcount to 1,200 people this year and plans to hire another 300 techies by December. Interestingly, about 40-50 Chinese engineers from its four R&D centres in China are on deputation to India for training and project development.

"We provide our engineers an opportunity to work on cutting edge technologies and engage in the development of products/components in wireless LAN domain and optical domain," George pointed out.

Huawei India vice president and head of embedded solutions Virendra Gupta said the R&D and SDC (software development centre) activities cover end-to-end ownership of products ranging from front-end process line and system conceptualisation to software development, testing and delivery.

The subsidiary is in the process of setting up a dedicated campus in a 20-acre land at Whitefield on the outskirts of Bangalore by 2008.

"Our parent company has applied to the Indian government for FIPB (foreign investment promotion board) clearance to set up a production facility in India's silicon hub at an estimated cost of $100 million for manufacturing products and equipment for telecom infrastructure of service providers in the subcontinent, spanning broadband, 3G, CDMA and backbone networks," George hinted.

With presence in 100 countries across North and South Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific, Huawei manufactures products and solutions for about 300 telecos, including 28 of the top 50 operators, serving over one billion users worldwide.

About 60 percent of Huawei's revenues are generated from outside China. Besides four R&D centres in China and one in India, the company has two R&D facilities in the US and one each in Sweden and Russia. About 50 percent of its total employees (44,000) are involved in software development, chip design, embedded software and R&D projects.

India gets New Zealand X-rays

Wellington, Sep 1 (DPA) New Zealand health authorities are sending X-rays of patients over the Internet to India and other countries including war-hit Beirut for diagnosis due to shortages of radiologists, it was reported Friday.

The Hawke's Bay District Health Board said the X-rays and scans were sent overnight to northern hemisphere countries, including Lebanon, Pakistan, India and the US where they were read by dayshift doctors.

Board acting chief executive Win Bennett told Radio New Zealand the credentials of the radiologists were thoroughly investigated and their work was double-checked the next day by local staff.

But New Zealand Medical Association chairman Ross Boswell said the practice was very risky for New Zealand patients.

"The radiologists involved are not registered to work in New Zealand, are unfamiliar with New Zealand conditions and are not covered by New Zealand's disciplinary system," he said.

"If a mistake is made, does the radiologist have any accountability in New Zealand? We think this is very unlikely."

India shoots down double bid by Nepal to get arms

By Sudeshna Sarkar,

Kathmandu, Sept 1 (IANS) In a covert manoeuvre that is bound to affect the ongoing peace talks with the Maoist guerrillas, Nepal's new government tried to get arms and ammunition from Europe but both bids were shot down by the Indian government.

A huge shipment of 12.7 mm machineguns, ammunition, missiles and probably other weapons bought from Emco Ltd in Sofia, Bulgaria, was scheduled to reach Kathmandu last month.

Along with a cargo of aircraft equipment from Sue Orsha Aircraft of Belarus, that could include pods to carry and shoot rockets, the arms cache was shipped to the Master General of Ordnance of the Nepal Army through Russian transporter Kosmos Air Company.

Kosmos had shipped the cargo in two AN-12 aircraft. However, neither the senders nor the intended recipients had taken into account that the aircraft would have to pass through Indian air space.

The first one, while trying to reach Kathmandu via western Indian Gujarat state three days ago, was blocked by the Indian authorities and forced to land at the Ahmedabad Airport.

While it is not confirmed, local reports here said the crew had tried to dupe the Indian authorities into thinking the cargo did not include arms but the latter became suspicious, given the flight route of the aircraft, and forced it to land at the Ahmedabad Airport.

Shortly after the debacle, a second aircraft sought permission to land at Mumbai airport for refuelling before heading for Kathmandu but was denied permission.

The double whammy leaves the Girija Prasad Koirala government of Nepal red-faced since it had been feigning ignorance when the media broke the news of one aircraft being apprehended by the Indian authorities.

"We do not know anything about that consignment," Koirala's adviser on foreign affairs, Suresh Chalise, told a local daily. "An inquiry is on to find out who had struck the deal."

The deal is believed to have been struck during King Gyanendra's absolute rule last year when his foreign minister Ramesh Nath Pandey visited Russia between October 23-26. What is surprising is the new democratic government's covert move to keep the agreement quiet and take possession of the arms at a time it is holding peace negotiations with the Maoists.

The double disclosure would fuel deep resentment among the guerrillas, who have already condemned the first bid to transport arms.

"We have taken serious note of the incident,' senior Maoist leader and member of the rebels' dialogues team, Dinanath Sharma, said referring to the failed attempt by the Nepal Army to obtain missiles from Bulgaria and Belarus.

"It is a matter of serious concern that the government is trying to procure arms at a time it is holding peace talks with us. It is a gross violation of the code of conduct they signed with us to observe during the ongoing ceasefire."

"If the government is really in the dark about the incident, then it smacks of a conspiracy by the palace and foreign powers to stage another coup," Sharma said.

India to host UN meet on aquaculture

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) India, the second largest aquaculture producer, will host a major UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) meet on fish farming here from Monday attended by representatives from 50 nations.

The third meeting of the FAO Sub-Committee on Aquaculture will discuss a wide range of issues, including aquaculture's contribution to fighting hunger and poverty, ways to minimise environmental impact of fish farming and options for expanding production in the developing world.

India's Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar and Director of FAO's Fishery Resources Division, Serge Garcia, will inaugurate the five-day meet, where the results of a major new FAO report 'The State of World Aquaculture 2006' would be released.

Currently, world aquaculture production is valued at $63 billion a year. Statistics from the UN food agency show that China is the world's largest aquaculture producer followed by India.

FAO established the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture in 2001 to promote international discussions on the future development of aquaculture.

It brings countries together every two years to share information, discuss policy issues related to aquaculture and make recommendations to FAO regarding the agency's work on fish farming.

International trade in fish products (both captured and farmed) is worth over $71 billion annually, with some 77 percent of fish consumed worldwide being supplied by developing countries.

Indeed, the annual net income of developing countries from this trade runs in more than $20 billion, more than their earnings from any other food commodity, including coffee and tea, states FAO.

India to import tea to meet domestic demand

By Syed Zarir Hussain,

Guwahati, Sep 1 (IANS) India will be importing an estimated 25 million kg of tea by the year-end to meet growing domestic demand and production shortfall due to scanty rains.

"The domestic consumption of tea is increasing at a compounded rate of 3.3 percent, while crop production has been hit due to inadequate rainfall leading to a gap in demand and supply of the beverage by about 25 million kg," Dhiraj Kakati, secretary of the Assam chapter of the Indian Tea Association (ITA), told IANS.

In 2005, Indian imported 16 million kg of tea with the country's domestic consumption pegged at 805 million kg.

India produced a record high of 928 million kg of tea last year compared to 820 million kg in 2004. India is the world's largest tea producer followed by China.

In 2005, India exported 192 million kg of tea. "Adverse weather conditions have hit production with estimates showing deficit of about 10 million kg so far this year compared to 2005," the official said.

The northeastern state of Assam that accounts for about 55 percent of India's total annual tea production is reeling under a severe heat wave forcing the local government here to declare the state as witnessing a "drought-like" situation. There has been a shortfall of monsoon rains by about 33 percent this year.

"Our export target is about 195 million kg this year although we might not be able to meet the demand due to falling supplies," Kakati said.

India had earlier estimated that tea production by the end of 2006 would touch a record high of 930 million kg.

"Bush mortality is more this year and we might be forced to close down operations for the season a little early due to scattered rains," the ITA official said.

India's $1.5 billion tea industry was facing a crisis with prices dropping in the weekly auctions since 1998 and exports plummeting as well. But, of late, prices are beginning to firm up.

A kilogram of good quality Assam tea sold at Rs.74 in the auctions last week. Last year, the average price in the auctions was Rs.62 a kg. Prior to 1998, good quality Assam tea sold at about Rs.90 a kg.

The slump in prices was largely attributed to cheap and inferior quality teas produced by many new tea-growing countries, thereby pushing premium quality Indian teas to face stiffer competition in the global market.

The Indian government recently announced a Rs.47 billion package to revive its tea industry blighted by plummeting prices and a downturn in exports. At least 60 percent of the package has been earmarked for Assam, considered the heart of India's tea industry.

India trade pact with Mercosur, SACU on cards

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) An agreement aimed at boosting trade between India, Brazil and South Africa is expected to be inked during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Brazil this month.

"The agreement will figure on the agenda during the prime minister's visit to Brazil this month," according to Jayant Dasgupta, joint secretary in the commerce ministry.

He was speaking at a meet on the economic cooperation between India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and think tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) here Friday evening.

The IBSA, formed after the Cancun talks of the World Trade Organisation in 2003, aims to foster closer political, economic and cultural ties among the three countries.

A free trade agreement among the three may not be possible because Brazil is a signatory to Latin American free trade agreement (FTA) Mercosur and South Africa to the SACU.

The customs union known as Mercosur includes Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela, apart from Brazil. SACU, the oldest customs union in the world, also includes Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland.

Yet efforts are on to help realise the trade potential among the three developing countries, Dasgupta said.

An action plan by the three countries on standardisation that takes into account their own imperatives is required to reduce non-tariff barriers.

India can negotiate a preferential trade agreement with South Africa, as it already has one with Brazil in place. Another agreement between Mercosur and SACU was being worked out, Dasgupta said.

"Much work has to be done in order to realise the potential of IBSA. The customs authorities of the three countries have to align their procedures in order to reduce barriers to trade and business," the official said.

With the common economic goals of liberalising trade in agriculture without trade-distorting subsidies, "IBSA has worked to change the minds of those want status quo in multilateral negotiations," said R. Vishwanathan, joint secretary in the ministry of external affairs.

RIS Director-General Nagesh Kumar said IBSA was a trade facilitation framework aimed at liberalising trade in services, investments and technology transfers. It would foster sectoral cooperation as well as coordination at multilateral forums.

Brazil's Ambassador to India Jose Vicente De Sa Pimental said ties among Brazil, India and South Africa were relatively new and still tenuous.

"Brazil has identified the challenges in improving the ties and will work on them," the ambassador said.

"The three countries need more inter-personal exchange and more people-to-people
contact. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit will go a long way to foster such ties," he added.

Manmohan Singh is scheduled to visit Brazil Sep 13-14, followed by a visit to Cuba to attend the 14th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit.

Iran in defiance of UN ban on enrichment: IAEA

New York/Vienna, September 1 (DPA) Iran has not halted its uranium enrichment activities and was in defiance of the deadline set by the UN Security Council, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told the council Thursday.

"Iran has not suspended its enrichment-related activities, nor has Iran acted in accordance with the provisions of the Additional Protocol," the Vienna-based IAEA said in a copy of the report obtained by DPA.

"Iran has not addressed the long-outstanding verification issues, or provided necessary transparency to remove uncertainties associated with some of its activities."

The report was being circulated to the UN Security Council members in New York and the IAEA's own member states.

Under the deadline laid down in the July 31 UN Security Council Resolution 1696, a finding that Tehran has failed to halt uranium enrichment operations could pave the way for international sanctions against Iran.

The US State Department said Wednesday that it would move quickly to push for Security Council sanctions on Iran if it does not comply with the resolution. The five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany are tentatively scheduled to meet next week in Berlin.

The so-called additional protocol to the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) gave the IAEA greater powers to conduct snap inspections of nuclear facilities they suspect are being used to produce materials for nuclear weapons.

"The Agency remains unable to make further progress in its efforts to verify the correctness and completeness of Iran's declarations with a view to confirming the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme," the report said.

Earlier Thursday, as the UN deadline neared, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated that Iran would not bow to pressure over its nuclear rights.

"The world should know that Iran will not bow to any pressure from any side and not retreat from its internationally acknowledged nuclear rights," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the northwestern city of Oroumieh, carried on state television.

In the US on Thursday, President George W. Bush accused Iran of "defiance and delay" as the deadline expired.

"It is time for Iran to make a choice," Bush said in an address in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Bush called a set of incentives offered by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the US - plus Germany aimed at persuading Iran to come clean on its nuclear activities a "reasonable proposal".

"We must not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons," Bush said, adding that Iran was in "open defiance of its international obligations".

Bush also accused Iran of supporting Hezbollah, a group considered by the US to be a terrorist organisation that provoked a month-long conflict with Israel that began July 12 and devastated many parts of Lebanon.

The US believes that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons while Iran insists its nuclear programme is purely for producing energy.

Kashmir portfolios announced amid coalition crisis

Srinagar, Sep 1 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced the portfolios of his council of ministers following its expansion earlier this week.

However, the distribution of portfolios late Thursday has led to a serious crisis in the four-year-old coalition government.

While the major coalition partner Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wanted former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig to be stripped of the key portfolios of finance, planning and development, law and parliamentary affairs, the chief minister allowed Baig to retain the key departments he was holding.

As the portfolios were announced, the PDP called an emergency meeting of its legislature party. It decided to recall Baig from the cabinet and elevate Abdul Aziz Zargar in his place.

In the portfolio distribution, Baig retains finance, planning and development, law and parliamentary affairs.

Senior congress leader Mangat Ram Sharma gets health and medical education while Peerzada Muhammad Sayeed gets education, Haj and Auqaf.

The newly inducted Muhammad Dilawar Mir of PDP gets public health engineering, irrigation, flood control and horticulture.

Qazi Muhammad Afzal, who held these departments, has been allotted the forest portfolio.

Taj Mohi-ud-Din has been given public distribution, animal and sheep husbandry and the chief minister has retained home and general administration.

Kerala parties urge PM to review decision on port project

New Delhi, September 1 (IANS) An all-party delegation from Kerala led by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Thursday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to review the government's decision to deny security clearance to the Vizhinjam container terminal.

The parties, including constituents of both Left Democratic Front and United Democratic Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party, also sought the prime minister's intervention to solve an inter-state dispute over heightening of Mullaperiyar dam with the neighbouring Tamil Nadu government.

The delegation, which met Manmohan Singh here, asked him to intercede in the matter and issue necessary directions to reconsider the central government's decision to deny security clearance to the development of Rs.43.40 billion deepwater international container transhipment terminal in Vizhinjam, Thiruvananthapuram.

Although tenders were called and companies - Kaidi Electric Power Company Ltd, Wuhan, China, Zoom Developers (Pvt) Ltd Mumbai and China Harbour Engineering Company group, Wuhan, China - were selected, the central government had earlier this month informed the state that the project could not be given security clearance.

"The proposed project aims to fulfil the need of international transhipment in a port in
India itself. Once completed, the port can cater to container carrier vessel sizes of 8,000 TEU in phase 1 and 10,000 and 12,000 TEUs subsequently," Achuthanandan said.

"We understand the security concerns of the government. But we want the prime minister to discuss it with the concerned members and find a way to take the project ahead," the chief minister told reporters here.

The Kerala leaders pointed out that the prime minister himself had agreed to lay the foundation stone for the coveted project. "The project and its huge investment in the state would trigger substantial infrastructure and socio-economic developments," the leaders pointed out in a memorandum to the prime minister.

An all-party meeting held in state earlier this month had adopted a resolution pointing out that the "denial of security clearance to the Chinese company-led consortium is discriminative as per international trade laws/agreements and it is a great setback to the long-standing efforts of Kerala state to develop Viszhinjam as transhipment hub port".

The state leaders also told Manmohan Singh that Tamil Nadu's move to go ahead with its decision to raise the height of Mullaperiyar dam at the border would put five districts in Kerala in danger.

"The condition on a recurrent earth tremor (in the dam area) will be hazardous, which will have serious repercussions on the safety of life and property of the people in five districts of Kerala - Idukki, Kottayam, Ernakulam,Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta."

"If Tamil Nadu is concerned about the water scarcity, we are worried about the lives of three million people. It is more a matter of security to the life and property than a legal issue," Achuthanandan said.

The Supreme Court had allowed Tamil Nadu to raise the height of the dam from 136 to 142 feet, based on a report submitted by a central-appointed committee, which Kerala had disputed. "It was a dam meant for 60 years and now it has already covered 130 years," Kerala opposition leader Oommen Chandy, who was a part of delegation, said.

Kerala wears a festive look for Onam

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 1 (IANS) Festivities are already in full swing in Kerala as people across the state, irrespective of caste and religion, are preparing to celebrate the state's harvest festival.

The Onam season began Aug 17 with the start of Chingam - the first month of the Malayalam calendar and the three key festive days start Sep 4.

Students are the first to partake in Onam joy as all educational institutions are set to close for almost a week from Saturday.

The festival, known for it sumptuous 27-course sadhya (feast), is no longer limited to reunions at one's ancestral homes owing to the growing number of nuclear families.

"Everything in the state has changed and Onam too. In my younger days, it was more of a family reunion at the ancestral house and grandparents used to put up swings in the courtyard," said 75-year-old Savithiri Devi, a retired college professor.

She said grandparents now rarely get a chance to be in their ancestral home and instead move between the houses of their children who live in cities.

Onam has also become more commercial now with companies offering festival schemes and rebates. Huge advertisement hoardings add colour to the already festive atmosphere.

The state government has elaborate plans for the season and has sanctioned Rs.3.6 million to be spent for Onam celebrations.

"Nearly 10,000 artistes are to take part in various cultural events being held across the state during the coming week," said legislator V. Sivan Kutty, organiser of the Onam celebrations.

The Kerala State Beverages Corporation, the wholesalers of liquor, has stacked their godowns with 30 percent more stocks than their regular monthly quota to meet the demand of tipplers during the season.

"We expect to sell Rs.700 million worth liquor during the next week and it would be an all time high," said a KSBC official.

Many hotels have come up with the innovative idea of selling Onam sadhya in carry-home packets - a welcome news for many housewives who want to avoid toiling in the kitchen.

"For Rs.300, hotels are giving an Onam sadhya for a family of five. I have already booked one packet. This is going to be really good because cooking all the items for a sadhya is going to be a tough deal," said S. Jacob, a bank manager.

The film industry too has targeted the holiday period for releasing their films. Movies of leading cine-stars like Mammootty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Jayaram, Dileep and Prithviraj have either released or are ready for release.

"'Mahasamudram' released last week and is on its way to become an all time hit. This is the first time that Mohanlal has played the role of a fisherman and I have got reports from across the state that it is being received well by audiences," said Suresh Kumar, producer of the film.

Further, Onam has become the launch pad for the Kerala tourism season as well.

Said Koshy John, a tourist guide: "Till recently, the Kerala tourist season began from November but now it is the Onam week that heralds the beginning of the new season. I am fully booked for the Onam week and this time I feel the season will be better than the previous years."

Another visible trend in the state is that a large number of patients are eager to be discharged from hospitals to be with their families during the festival.

"Many patients who are convalescing in the hospital want to be discharged to celebrate Onam at their homes," said a doctor at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.

Despite several changes in the way Onam is celebrated, a tradition still followed is the preparation of the Onam pookalam (floral designs) in the courtyard of most homes.

However, one can now see pookalams in front of government and private offices as well.

Khushwant Singh unhappy with today's writers

New Delhi, September 1 (IANS) Khushwant Singh, one of the pioneers of the Indian writing in English, feels writers today lack simplicity and the common man is turning his back to them.

"Today I feel sad to see that writers and authors fail to establish a relationship with the masses. Writings have become ambiguous with which common man fails to relate," said the grand old man of Indian letters.

He was addressing the gathering after being conferred the Punjab Rattan award by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here Thursday evening.

"I have never written in Punjabi and still I got this honour. I feel privileged," said Khushwant Singh, 91, at the glittering ceremony attended by who's who of the literary fraternity from India as well as from Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Minister of Panchayati Raj, Youth Affairs and Sports Mani Shankar Aiyar said: "I was a kid when I first read Khushwant Singh's 'Train to Pakistan', so I did not understand the depth of the book. I am re-reading it in order to understand the essence of each and every word.

"He truly understands the relationship between India and Pakistan. He is a master of secularism," Aiyar told IANS, referring to the masterpiece published 50 years ago.

L&T bags Rs.11.5 bn power plant contract from IOC

Mumbai, Sep 1 (IANS) India's top engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) won a Rs.11.5 billion contract from Indian Oil Corp. for setting up a captive cogeneration power plant in Panipat, Haryana.

The company will manage the project and also build engineering and other facilities of the naphtha cracker plant being built by the state-owned refinery at Panipat, 100 km north of New Delhi.

With the contract IOC's share in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) rose nearly 1 percent to Rs.2,424 Thursday.

"The power plant comprising five gas turbines, five heat recovery steam generators, three steam turbines, two utility boilers and sophisticated control systems to ensure uninterrupted supply of power and steam to the naphtha cracker complex will be built by the end of 2009," the company said in a statement Thursday.

"It will process 2-2.3 million tonnes of naphtha to produce ethylene, propylene, benzene and pyrolysis gasoline."

This is the second major contract won by L&T for IOC's Panipat naphtha cracker project. L&T and the Toyo consortium had earlier bagged the turnkey contract for naphtha cracker and associated units.

IOC on Thursday also awarded a Rs.3.49 billion ($75.3 million) contract to Punj Lloyd Ltd, sending the engineering and construction firm's shares 2.5 percent higher. Its share climbed to Rs.757.75.

Punj Lloyd will build storage tanks and other facilities at the refinery's naphtha cracker plant at Panipat.

"The group is now the second largest engineering and construction major in the country in terms of the order book. Over 60 percent of Punj Lloyd's order backlog is now represented by projects based outside India," the company said.

Lady muftis breach male bastion: The Telegraph

Hyderabad, September 1 (ZEENEWS.COM) Sania Mirza’s short skirts may have hogged global headlines, but city teenager Amina Batool perhaps better represents the rise of woman power in India’s Muslim society.

The 17-year-old is one of several young women practising as “muftias� � women muftis � in the city, delivering the Friday sermon in all-women mosques, resolving family and marital disputes, confirming divorces and issuing fatwas on current issues such as terrorism.

Amina and nine other women graduated last week from the city’s Jamiat-ul-Mominath, a deemed university of Islamic theology that has been training women as muftias skilled in interpreting the Shariat for men and women in their personal matters.

It was the Jamiat-ul-Mominath, Lucknow, that first began training muftias, but few of its graduates are practising clerics. The Hyderabad Jamiat, too, came out with its first batch in 2003.

The real change came when many of the 100-odd women’s mosques in Hyderabad opened their doors to muftias about a year ago.

Jamiat director Mufti Mohammed Mastan Ali insists that the muftias � the face of a changing Muslim society � are not rebels. “They don’t revolt against established religious practices and beliefs. We just felt that sermons from women muftis would attract more women, and a fatwa from a muftia on a women’s issue would find greater compliance.�

The 10 new graduates gave their first sermon last Friday, with a packed all-woman mosque at Asifnagar listening to Amina in rapt attention.

“Our muftias have been practising for almost a year. They have rendered critical and useful fatwas for youngsters,� Mastan Ali said.

The muftias have come out with edicts against terrorists after the Mumbai train blasts; they have ruled that Sania’s short dresses are unbecoming of a Muslim woman.

As they go on practising, the muftias are expected to continue with their theological studies for another 12 years. “They must live like ascetics in mosques and also travel around, preaching. They need at least five years to understand and recite the Quran. They must also learn Arabic literature,� Mastan Ali said. After completing the course, the muftias can marry.

By the age of 30, the women would be in a position to teach at national institutes and head all-women mosques, the mufti said.

Muftias, however, cannot practise at male congregations. Other than women’s mosques, they can preach at all-women congregations, held at specified times in general mosques.

Not a single verse in the Quran, nor a single Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) forbids women from becoming muftis. Aisha, the Prophet’s favourite wife, became a religious authority after his death and served the community.

Lockheed wins contract for new US spacecraft

Washington, Sep 1 (DPA) Lockheed Martin won the first major contract for a new era of US space exploration, kicking off an ambitious effort to return humans to the moon and one day launch them to Mars.

NASA, the US space agency, chose the US aerospace giant over a rival team of Boeing and Northrop Grumman Corp to build the crew capsule for the next generation of spaceships, which will replace the space shuttle fleet slated to be retired in 2010.

The contract is worth up to $8.1 billion over the next 13 years -- a small fraction of the $230 billion NASA is seeking for new initiatives.

"Today we begin a new journey of discovery," Scott Horowitz, a senior NASA space exploration official, told reporters here.

The design of the Orion capsule is the first step in a vision outlined in January 2004 by US President George Bush to send four astronauts to the moon by 2020 - five decades after the first moon walk on July 20, 1969.

Orion's first flight is due by 2014, but NASA chief Michael Griffin has said he would like to launch the new spacecraft several years earlier.

With Russia, China and Japan now competing in the space race, NASA wants to avoid a lengthy gap in launch capability between the shuttle's retirement and Orion's debut.

In Bush's effort to revive the Cold War era fascination with human space exploration, the moon would eventually be a launching pad for Mars missions.

But much of Bush's high-flying plan depends on whether the US Congress will approve the huge sums required to make it work, estimated at $230 billion dollars over 20 years.

Mercedes upgrades R-Class

Stuttgart (Germany), Sep 1 (DPA) Mercedes-Benz has upgraded its R-Class SUVs with the introduction of the new R 280 CDI 4MATIC and R 63 AMG 4MATIC models.

The range has been expanded to five engine variants with an output from 140 kw/190 hp to 375 kw/510 hp.

Additional driver-support systems include a radar-based proximity control system and a rear-view camera for safe and easy parking.

Starting late this year, the diesel engine range available for the R-Class will be extended by a further six-cylinder engine, also equipped with third-generation common-rail direct injection.

Besides the R 320 CDI 4MATIC (165 kw/224 hp), Mercedes-Benz will also be offering the new R 280 CDI 4MATIC, which has an output of 140 kw/190 hp. As a result, the R-Class can achieve a top speed of 210 km/h and accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 9.8 seconds due to its powerful torque of 440 Nm (from 1,400 to 2,800 rpm).

Combined fuel consumption is 9.3 litres per 100 km, so that the new R 280 CDI 4MATIC has a range of 850 km, according to the car maker.

Standard equipment in the R 280 CDI 4MATIC includes two oxidation-type catalytic converters and a maintenance-free particulate filter.

The six-cylinder unit is teamed up with the 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission, which the driver operates electronically by means of the DIRECT SELECT lever on the steering column. The R 280 CDI 4MATIC is available exclusively with a 2,980 mm wheelbase.

At the upper end of the R-Class engine range will be the new R 63 AMG 4MATIC, a 6.3-litre eight-cylinder engine with an output of 375 kW/510 hp. Standard equipment for the R 63 AMG 4MATIC includes high-grade extras such as electronically adjustable AMG sports seats in front with multi-contour function, nappa leather and seat heating at the front plus light-alloy wheels with size 265/45 R 20 wide tyres, an AMG sports chassis and blue-tinted glass.

Optional features of the touring SUV are the actively ventilated luxury seats for the driver and front passenger. These seats are equipped with five fans which take in cool air from the floor level and distribute it evenly over the seat cushion and the backrest.

Mizoram to get central aid to boost exports

Aizawl, Sep 1 (IANS) The commerce ministry Friday said it would extend all possible assistance to boost exports from Mizoram.

Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh gave this assurance while meeting Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga here, on the first day of his two-day visit to the state.

On the economic significance of the Sittwe/Kaladan port to be launched by India in Myanmar, Ramesh said $103 million would be invested in the project that would enable the opening of another route for trade between the northeast and the rest of India with southern Mizoram as the hub.

The project, to be executed by RITES, is expected to be commissioned by 2009.

Ramesh said the commerce ministry would extend all financial and technical support through its Export Development Fund for the northeastern states.

He said his ministry had already sanctioned over Rs.40 million to fully develop the land customs station at Zokhawtar in Mizoram to facilitate border trade with Myanmar.

Ramesh also called on Governor Lt. Gen (retd) M.M. Lakhera.

Modi spares madrassas from singing of Vande Mataram

Ahmedabad, Sep 1 (IANS) Shying away from controversy, the Gujarat government here Friday decided not to make the singing of the national song, Vande Mataram, compulsory for madrassas.

An official directive issued here Friday said all students of the government-run and government-aided educational institutions and government departments should "collectively and without fail" participate in singing the national song Sep 7.

The directive, however, does not make a mention of self-aided institutions, including madrassas.

The order of the Narendra Modi government comes in response to the Union Human Resource Development Ministry's order last month making the recitation of Vande Mataram mandatory on Sep 7 to mark the centenary of its adoption as national song.

The central ministry, however, had later made the singing voluntary following opposition from a section of Muslims.

Mukherjee to visit France, Germany

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee leaves Saturday for a five-day visit of France and Germany during which he is likely to sign a pact with Berlin to improve military cooperation and boost defence ties with Paris.

Senior officials of the ministries of defence and external affairs, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the armed forces will accompany the minister, it was announced here Friday.

The delegation includes S. Banerjee, director general (acquisition) in the defence ministry, Lt. Gen. H.S. Lidder, chief of Integrated Defence Staff, Air Marshal F.H. Major, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Air Command, Prahlada (one name), DRDO's chief controller (R&D), Sujata Singh, joint secretary in the external affairs ministry, and Gautam Chatterjee, joint secretary in the defence ministry.

"Mukherjee is visiting Germany with the aim of enhancing defence cooperation between the two countries which at present is not so wide," a defence ministry spokesman said Friday.

While India wants to enhance military cooperation with Germany in technology and training, both countries are keen to stage joint naval exercises and increase interaction between their armed forces, the spokesman added.

During his stay in Grmany Sep 5-7, Mukherjee will hold talks with his counterpart Franz Josef Jung and Minister for Economics and Technology Michael Gloss. He will also meet captains of the German defence industry.

The minister will pay homage at the Zehrensdorf Indian Cemetery where lie the graves of 206 Indian soldiers who died as prisoners during the First World War. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has rebuilt the cemetery.

Mukherjee's visit to France is "highly significant as India is likely to achieve better results in the field of defence cooperation", the spokesman said.

"The defence relationship between India and France has been fairly robust in supply and production. The India-France Defence MOU (memorandum of understanding) of 1982 and the Indo-French High Committee of 1998 are the landmarks in (their) cooperation, which has also increased in the field of joint exercises, security dialogue and training," the spokesman added.

During his visit to France Sep 3-5, Mukherjee will meet his counterpart Michele Aliotte-Marie and visit the Centre for Planning and Operations Management (CPCO) and the Command of Air Defence and Air Operations (CDAOA) at Taverny.

CPCO is the joint staff operations centre of the French defence forces. It deals with international operations, plans and execution at the Joint Staff level. The delegation will be given an overview of all types of operations being undertaken by the French defence forces worldwide.

Mukherjee will take part in an interactive roundtable with CEOs of French defence industries.

After his arrival in Paris Sunday, Mukherjee will go to Neuve Chapelle to pay homage at the Indian Soldiers' Memorial. This was built to honour the Indian Army that fought in France and Belgium during the First and Second World Wars and in remembrance of those servicemen who have no known graves.

Muslim youth deported from Britain granted bail

Hyderabad, September 1 (IANS) A Hyderabad Muslim youth deported from Britain on suspected terror links and held here on grounds of "reasonable suspicion" was granted bail Thursday.

The executive magistrate of a city court granted bail to Mohammed Shafiq Ahmed, 23, who was arrested soon after he arrived here from London via Mumbai.

Shafiq, a resident of Akbar Bagh neighbourhood in the city, has denied any terror links and said that his arrest was a case of racial profiling.

Earlier, he was arrested by the authorities at London's Heathrow airport as he was about to board a flight to New York. He was interrogated for three days in London and was also grilled by Indian intelligence agencies at the Mumbai airport Tuesday.

Shafiq, who was working in a trading company in Dubai and staying with his brother, had flown from Dubai to London and was to go to New York for higher studies.

Police here interrogated him about his reasons to go to the US. Though Shafiq said 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 after a youth was killed in firing by a visiting 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 the 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.

Muslims demand reservation in education

By Pervez Bari

V.P. Singh, the former Prime Minister of India, has said that the backward classes are being discriminated in education as well as employment in the name of merit by those people who have least concern for merit.

Singh was inaugurating the National Convention on Reservation in Education jointly organized by the All India Milli Council, (AIMC), and South India Council, (SIC), at FICCI Auditorium in New Delhi recently. Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, general secretary AIMC, presided over the function.

Singh stressed that in order to remove the imbalance in development and ensure adequate representation, the remaining recommendations of the Mandal Commission has to be implemented. The move to pass a bill providing reservation in higher education is a welcome step which is long overdue, he added.

He demanded that Muslims, who have become backward due to historical reason, must be given the right for reservation. It is high time that reservation should be concentrated on Muslims, he opined.

Ex-MP Syed Shahabuddin, president Muslim Majilis-e-Mushawarat, speaking on the occasion at length demanded that the Article 341 of the Constitution of India must be amended for the third time to include Muslims also under its provision. In the past this Article had been amended twice to include Sikhs and Buddhists religious minorities, he pointed out.

Shahabuddin lamented that by a Presidential order in 1950 the word Hindu was introduced in Article 341 saying only those Scheduled Castes who were Hindus can take benefits of reservations under it. This order was anti-secular, he opined.

He recalled that in 1948 when draft of the Constitution was passed minorities were included in it but later on in 1950 they were excluded by the Order of the President of India. It is a story of deceit and betrayal, he moaned.

He demanded Muslims should be given 11 per cent reservation as per their population percentage. "We want equality. We want power sharing and power in governance", he asserted.

Oscar Fernandez, Federal Minister in his key-note address reiterated the commitment of UPA Government to see that reservation for OBC is in higher education centers gets implemented. He urged upon the Muslims to concentrate on education which is a key to success and decent life.

Dr. Manzoor Alam in his presidential address said education is important for success. Education gives a sense to understand what is going around and how to plan ourselves to become strong within the parameters of the Indian Constitution.

He lamented the negative role of media on the reservation issue confronting the country nowadays. He pointed out that media is a powerful instrument which if used honestly can make India shine. If it is not used properly then the clashes of communities and different groups cannot be ruled out, he added.

He cautioned the Muslims saying: “if we understand the signals of time then we can change the situation to our advantage�.

Dr.Udit Raj, chairman All India SC/ST Confederation, while exhorting Muslims to fight for their rights chided them saying: "Do you think Bharartiya Janata Party, (BJP), and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, (RSS), will take up your cause and agitate for your rightful claims".

"Whenever times come for Muslims to fight out for their rights they are entangled emotionally on non-issues and hood-winked from the main-issues affecting their lives. Until and unless they assert themselves electorally in a matured manner they would remain a deprived lot", Dr. Raj opined. "Political parties have very well realized that Muslims vote on emotional issues so the problems afflicting the community is always side-tracked", he said.

Dr. Raj appealing to the Muslims said:"Dalit-Muslim Andolan chala dijye sab milega", (Start a Dalit-Muslim movement, every thing due will be attained).

He questioned "Muslim party kyon nahin hona chahiye", (Why can't be there a Muslim party). This is the ripe time. Take a decision not on many programmes but focus on your priorities. The harm Mulayam Singh government in Uttar Pradesh has done to Muslims in its regime was not done even during the BJP rule in the state, he remarked.

Prof. Mohammed Sulaiman, president, Indian National League, asked Muslims to assert their franchise in a way to become a political threat to the political parties. "Equality and justice can only be achieved by yourselves", he told the audience.

Meanwhile, about thousand delegates drawn from different parts of India attended the convention. The convention passed a resolution which demanded enactment of the bill providing reservation in all educational institutions without any exclusion and that too in a single stretch. It also urged the authorities and political parties to have a positive approach in giving reservation to Muslims who are more backward than any other sections of the Indian society. E.M. Abdurahman, general secretary SIC, presented the resolution,

Earlier, E. Abubacker, Chairman SIC, made introductory speech. Abdul Hannan Chandna welcomed the gathering and O.M.A. Abdul Salam, secretary SIC, proposed vote of thanks.

The highlight of the convention was that the four-and-half hour long single session went on without any break with delegates remaining glued to their seats listening to various speakers in pin drop silence with rapt attention.

Dr Senthil, MP, Gurdeep Singh, general secretary Akali Dal, Dr. Kumar Rajeev, Dr. S. Q. R. Ilyas, Editor, Afkar-e-Milli, Dr. Ejaz Ali, president, All India United Muslim Morcha, Iqbal Ansari, president All India Muslim OBC Organization, A. Saeed, chairman, National Development Front Keralam, K. M. Shareef, president, Karnataka Forum for Dignity, Dr. Shakeel Samadani, Faculty of Law, AMU Aligarh, Dr. Arshi Khan, Centre for Federal Studies, Jamia Hamdard, Abdul Hafiz Gandhi, president AMU Students Union, Novaid Hamid, general secretary MOEMIN, M. A. Salam, member Kerala Backward Classes Commission, Prof. Hayat Ghori (Bhopal), Dalit M. A. Salim, Hyderabad, Tauheed-ul-Islam (Murshidabad), Mohd. Shafeeq (Kota), Moji Khan, Treasurer AIMC, A.M. Shafi (Bangalore), PA Inamdar, president Maharashtra Cosmopolitan Education Society, Jameel-ur-Rahman (Punjab) spoke on the occasion.

Muslims in Jharkhand protest singing of 'Vande Mataram'

Ranchi, Sep 1 (IANS) A section of Muslims in Jharkhand has opposed the state government's directive to make singing of the national song "Vande Mataram" mandatory in all schools on Sep 7.

The Jharkhand Monin Adhikar Manch, a Muslim organisation, has threatened to observe Sep 7, the day marking completion of centenary celebrations of "Vande Mataram", as black day.

"Such songs have no place in Islam. If we are forced to sing the song then we will observe Sep 7 as black day," said Md Nausad Khan, president of the Manch.

Some other Muslim organisations have also threatened to follow suit if the state government does not take back the order.

The Jharkhand government decided to make singing of "Vande Mataram" - penned by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1876 - mandatory in government schools in reversal of its earlier plan to make it optional.

"Singing the national song has been made mandatory in all the government schools on Sep 7. Singing the national song is not a crime or shame in the country. Politics should not come on the way of its singing," Chief Minister Arjun Munda said.

Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh had said a few days ago that BJP-ruled states would be directed to make singing of "Vande Mataram" mandatory on that day. BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Gujarat have already made the song mandatory in their respective state schools on Sep 7.

"Vande Mataram" was adopted as the national song at the Varanasi session of the All India Congress Committee on Sep 7, 1905. A section of Muslims consider the song un-Islamic.

Nepal government caught 'lying' about arms cargo

By Sudeshna Sarkar,

Kathmandu, Sep 1 (IANS) As news of Nepal trying to ferry anti-aircraft missiles over Indian air space hit the media and the multi-party government began denying having any knowledge of it, records showed both the government and the army were very much aware of what was going on.

Last month, a Moscow-based airline operator, Kosmos Air Company, had sought India's permission to land at the Mumbai airport for refuelling before heading for Kathmandu Thursday.

However, the Indian authorities denied permission when they learnt the AN-12 Russian aircraft was carrying missiles, including rockets.

When the news that India had refused permission to the aircraft to land in Mumbai broke out, Nepal's government immediately began denying having any knowledge about the deal.

The Himalayan Times quoted a high-ranking government official Friday as saying the government had no knowledge about the cargo.

"We do not know anything about that consignment," Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's adviser on foreign affairs Suresh Chalise told the Himalayan Times. "An inquiry is on to find out who had struck the deal."

However, the Civil Aviation Authority in Nepal knew about the aircraft and its cargo since they too had been asked for permission for landing in Kathmandu on Aug 31.

Kosmos' transporting plane was scheduled to fly from Minsk in Belarus through Burgas in Bulgaria, Baku in Azerbaijan, India and then land at Kathmandu from where it was scheduled to depart for Rastovna-donn in the former USSR.

The air traffic authorities at the Tribhuvan International Airport had received the same message from Kosmos, mentioning the nature of its cargo.

The consignment was intended for the Master General of Ordnance of the Nepal Army, signifying the army too was well aware of the situation.

However, the army too feigned ignorance with the spokesperson of Nepal Army, Brigadier General Nepal Bhushan Chand, telling the media he was "unaware of any such consignment meant for the army".

Former foreign minister Ramesh Nath Pandey had visited Russia during King Gyanendra's direct rule in October 2005. Interestingly, the manufacturers of the consignment are a Belarus company, Sue Orsha, and a Bulgarian firm, Emco Ltd.

Apparently, Nepal's government decided to refurbish its arsenal despite holding peace talks with the Maoists and finance minister Ram Sharan Mahat's assertion that the government would slash military expenses.

Nepal observes 'Black Day' over Iraq killings

By Sudeshna Sarkar,

Kathmandu, Sep 1 (IANS) Nepal's overseas job industry, the mainstay of the economy, came to a standstill Friday, as it observed a 'Black Day' in memory of the brutal killing of 12 workers by Islamist militants in Iraq two years ago.

Nepal Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs' Association, a private umbrella organisation of recruitment agencies, called the protest to pressure the government into paying compensation to the agencies, whose offices were ransacked by angry mobs in Nepal on this day two years ago.

Scores of recruitment agencies nationwide affiliated to the association stopped work as part of the protests. Foreign employment entrepreneurs waving black flags and placards marched towards the Birendra International Convention Centre in the capital for a protest meeting.

The protests were a sequel to the abduction and subsequent beheading of 12 Nepali workers in Iraq by a little known terrorist group calling itself the Ansar-al-Sunna.

When the news of the killings reached Nepal, followed by the posting of a video of the executions on the Internet, Nepal went berserk, attacking recruitment agencies, whom they blamed for duping the hapless men into going to Iraq, a destination banned by the government.

Nearly 300 employment agencies in Kathmandu alone had their offices vandalised with militant crowds setting furniture and documents on fire and smashing windowpanes. Besides the agencies, the mob also attacked the offices of Middle East airlines as well as mosques and two people were killed.

The recruitment agencies say they suffered a loss of about NRS 750 million. Two years later, the victims are yet to be compensated by the government.

Every year, thousands of Nepalis go abroad seeking jobs in the Gulf countries, Malaysia and neighbouring India and the money they send home has been keeping Nepal's economy afloat during the decade-old Maoist insurgency and political instability.

According to Nepal's central bank, Nepal Rastra Bank, the remittances amount to over $1 billion. However, that's just the tip of the iceberg since a substantial chunk of money is routed through private operators with no official records.

The government has also not been able to keep account of the exact number of citizens working overseas since many of them go illegally via India to countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, which are banned by the government. There could be over 4.5 million Nepalis working abroad.

According to the World Bank, Nepal recently recorded a 10 percentage point drop in poverty despite the ruinous effects of King Gyanendra's coup last year and the decline is attributed to remittances.

Nine arrested in Gujarat for 2002 violence

Ahmedabad, Sep 1 (IANS) Nine people were arrested Friday from a north Gujarat village on charges of loot and arson during the communal violence of 2002, police said here.

The nine from Kishangarh village of Bhiloda block in Sabarkantha district, 120 km from here, were arrested following the reopening of the case this year.

The police had closed 2,020 cases related to the sectarian strife including that of Kishangarh after preliminary investigations.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) challenged the move in the Supreme Court, which in 2004 ordered the state government to set up a cell to review the cases and decide which cases needed to be reopened.

The review committee, headed by then director general of police A.K. Bhargava, reviewed 1,965 cases between Sep 1, 2004 and Jan 1, 2006 and found 1,594 cases needed to be investigated again.

At least 1,000 people died in the communal violence in the state.

No petrol, diesel price hike for now

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) With the Indian basket of crude oil imported in August averaging $70.84 per barrel, petroleum ministry officials Friday ruled out any plans for raising the prices of petrol and diesel as was expected.

In a decision taken in June, the government had indicated that if the monthly average of the Indian basket of crude breached $70 per barrel the state-run oil marketing companies would be free to raise the prices.

The review of the situation was expected Friday.

"But currently there does not seem to be such a pressure as the price of the Indian crude basket has come down from the level of $75.30 per barrel on Aug 8 to $66.61 per barrel on Aug 31," a ministry official said.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora has been maintaining that despite the under-recoveries and losses of the oil marketing firms there is no immediate plan to hike the retail prices of petroleum products.

Nooyi is world's fourth most powerful woman, Gandhi is 13th

New York, Sep 1 (IANS) India's ruling Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has been listed as the 13th most powerful woman in the world in the annual Forbes listing, headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which also has PepsiCo designated chief India-born Indra Nooyi in the fourth position.

Three other Indians also find place in the list of 100 - Joint Managing Directors of the Mumbai-based ICICI Bank Lalita Gupte and Kalpana Morparia in the 93rd position and Vidya Chhabria, the 58-year-old India-born Dubai-based chairperson of the $2 billion Jumbo Group, who gets the 95th ranking.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and China's Vice Premier Wu Yi follow Merkel in the second and third position.

Monarchs Queen Elizabeth II and Jordanian Queen Rania have found 46th and 81st rank respectively. US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is listed in the 18th position, US First Lady Laura Bush 43rd and Bangladeshi premier Khaleda Zia is 33rd, states the Forbes' website.

Nobel peace laureate and jailed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is the 47th most powerful woman in the world, while Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission chairperson Sima Samar is listed 28th.

CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour finds herself in the 79th position.

The enigmatic Gandhi had earlier figured in the list in 2004 in the third position, immediately after she refused the post of prime minister of India and appointed Manmohan Singh.

In its profile on Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the magazine said: "Though critics used the move to call into question her power, Gandhi is still widely revered, especially among the country's poor millions."

"Gandhi heads the left-leaning party of Jawaharlal Nehru, where she acts as opposition leader to Singh, the pro-business prime minister. Gandhi frequently expresses concern that India's astounding economic growth is leaving the poor behind, and that her country is not doing enough to help its farmers."

Gandhi, who could not find herself in the magazine's 2005 listing, is now placed immediately after Melinda Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Nooyi, a US citizen who was born in the south Indian town of Chennai and graduated from the Madras Christian College and the Indian Institute of Management-Kolkata, is the first businesswoman in the list.

Praising Nooyi's management skills, the magazine said: "Few people could handle either the presidential or the chief financial officer job at a company worth $100 billion."

Nooyi, who has held both offices since 2001, will take over as Pepsi's new chief executive from Oct 1.

The Forbes' listing is based on a "power ranking that is the composite of visibility (measured by press citations) and economic impact," says the website.

Out of singles, Sania enters doubles round 2

New York, Sep 1 (IANS) Though India's Sania Mirza crashed out of the women's singles of the US Open after giving Italian 14th seed Francesca Schiavone a tough battle, she made it to the second round of the doubles event.

A gritty and determined Sania, 19, lost 7-5, 1-6, 2-6 in the singles second round Thursday as the more experienced Italian mounted pressure unleashing half a dozen aces to a solitary one from her at Flushing Meadows on a cool and breezy day four of the tournament.

Later partnering Liezel Huber of South Africa, Sania easily overcame the all American team of Angela Haynes and Neha Uberoi 6- 4, 6-0 to enter the second round of the doubles event.

In the singles, it took Schiavone two hours and 18 minutes to overcome Sania's challenge after surviving an error-laden second round match. She meets Israel's Shahar Peer in the third round.

In terms of speed and accuracy too, Sania could not match the Italian who clocked 113 mph on her fastest serve as against the Hyderabadi girl's 107 mph. Her first serve at an average of 95 mph was also slower than Schiavone's 99.

Only on her second serve was Sania a notch faster with an average speed of 82 mph to the Italian's 81 mph.

In all Schiavone won a total of 105 points committing 33 unforced errors compared to Sania's 89 with 45 such errors.

Both players struggled to hold serve and there were 11 breaks in the match. Sania sent in only 48 percent of the first serves while Schiavone was only marginally better at 51 percent.

Sania started with a blaze of blistering ground strokes as Schiavone tried to adjust to the Indian's power. The Italian barely held on to her first service game as Sania raced off to a 4-1 lead, breaking twice.

But Schiavone gradually clawed her way back, winning four games in a row before Sania gathered her game again to win the first set 7-5 in 58 minutes. Sania, however, was unable to hold a single service game in the second set and folded under pressure from her opponent to go down 1-6 in 33 minutes.

After losing her opening service game of the third set, Sania let her opponent off the hook. Though the Italian was stretched in each of the service games, she did not let Sania regain the advantage. Like the second, Schiavone then cruised through the third set to win 6-2 in 47 minutes.

Meanwhile, eighth-seeded Martina Hingis was knocked out of the tournament Thursday night, falling to Virginie Razzano in straight sets under the lights at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. She lost 2-6, 4-6.

Former champions and former world No. 1s Justine Henin-Hardenne, Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams were a trio of second-round winners Thursday. Another former top-ranked star, Maria Sharapova, and another past title holder here, Svetlana Kuznetsova, also reached the third round on Day 4.

The second-seeded Henin-Hardenne drilled American Vania King 6-1, 6-2, as the Belgian star is seeking her fourth trip to a Grand Slam final this year. The third-seeded Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champ, destroyed France's Emilie Loit 6-0, 6-1.

The 10th-seeded Davenport double-bageled helpless Croat Jelena Kostanic 6-0, 6-0 in a mere 40 minutes.

An unseeded Williams came back to oust 17th-seeded Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 6-3. Serena is a seven-time Grand Slam champion, including US Open titles in 1999 and 2002. She lost to her big sister Venus in the 2001 final here.

[photo: Tarun Sonania]

Pakistan, US to stage joint naval exercises

Islamabad, Sep 1 (Xinhua) The Pakistani and US navies would stage joint exercise spread over three days next week to "advance maritime interdiction operations and counter terrorism".

The exercises, code-named "Inspired Union 06", to be held Sep 4-6 in the northern Arabian Sea, a statement issued by Pakistan Navy said Friday.

"The purpose of the exercise is to advance maritime interdiction operations, counter terrorism and other wide rang of professional exercises," it said, adding the exercises would be conducted in three phases.

However, the statement did not mention the exact number of the troops from both sides which will participate in the drill.

Pakistani minister involves India in Bugti affair

Islamabad, Sep 1 (IANS) In an attempt to blame India for its internal political crisis, Pakistan's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan Niazi charged in the National Assembly that the "huge quantity of ammunitions and currency recovered from the cave" was provided by "our neighbouring country to Akbar Bugti via Kabul".

Pakistan has for long been accusing India of fomenting trouble in Balochistan via the embassy in Kabul and consulates in Afghan cities close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

This and a number of observations that the minister said were "personal", incensed the opposition, which boycotted the proceedings after nine separate adjournment motions it had submitted were disallowed Thursday by Speaker Chaudhry Ameer Hussain.

Niazi's justification of Bugti's killing angered the opposition in the National Assembly. "It is a right action if Bugti was killed in an encounter," The Nation quoted Niazi as saying.

The media noted that the chair had followed an "unprecedented" procedure in allowing the minister to speak and air personal views, although he had not given any notice. The News International said that even when the treasury bench members protested, Niazi said his remarks were "personal" and did not reflect the government's view.

Before boycotting the proceedings in the House, the opposition members charged that the Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti had been killed in a military operation wherein the security forces had used chemical weapons. Niazi denied the charge.

"What was most disturbing for the opposition members was the language that he used to justify an unjustifiable violent act by the state against Nawab Bugti. The opposition flew off the handle, protested and then decided to boycott the session for two days, The Nation said.

Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, a former prime minister and a Baloch leader, supported the opposition viewpoint and urged the chair to bring back the opposition to the House.

The opposition had submitted nine different adjournment motions, but the chair did not allow them, the paper said.

Pakistani terrorist makes confessional statement in Bengal court

Kolkata, September 1 (IANS) One of the two Pakistani terrorists arrested from near the Bangladesh border this month made his confessional statements Thursday in a district court amid tight security arrangements.

The duo, identified as Mohammed Zubair and Mohammed Sohail of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad, were remanded to a day's jail custody Wednesday after their production before the sub-divisional judicial magistrate (SDJM), Basirhat court, Pallab Roychowdhury.

Zubair's statement was recorded in the chamber of Judge Rajesh Guha Roy in the Basirhat sub-divisional court in North 24 Parganas district Thursday, while Sohail would depose on Friday.

The two were arrested from Hingalgunge in the district adjoining Kolkata on Aug 14, on the eve of the Independence Day celebrations.

The SDJM Wednesday ordered one-day judicial remand for the two, produced in court after a 14-day police custody, so that they could think for a day before making their confessional statements.

A team of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Mumbai Police is in Kolkata to interrogate the two to find if they were linked to July 11 serial blasts in Mumbai.

Mumbai Police needs court permission for their transit remand and production warrant but the court would give the nod on the warrant's execution after the confessions are over.

PDP recalls Baig, wants Zagar as deputy chief minister

Srinagar, September 1 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir's ruling alliance partner People's Democratic Party (PDP) Thursday decided to recall its senior leader and Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig from the state cabinet and elevate Abdul Aziz Zargar in his place.

At a hastily convened meeting of the PDP legislature party held at the uptown Gupkar residence of party patron and former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, it was decided to withdraw Baig from the state cabinet as the PDP nominee.

The PDP legislature party elected senior leader and Agriculture Minister Zargar as its leader.

It was also decided at the meeting to revoke the suspension of former minister and senior party leader Ghulam Hassan Mir.

Mir had been suspended from the PDP for "anti-party activities" during the by-polls to the legislative assembly early this year.

The PDP has written a letter to Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to elevate Zargar to the deputy chief minister's post.

These whirlwind developments came in the wake of Azad's announcement of portfolios for his reshuffled council of ministers this week.

The cabinet was reshuffled Tuesday, but the issue of allocation of portfolios to the new ministers was hanging fire following the PDP's request that Baig be divested of the high-profile portfolios of finance, planning and development, law and parliamentary affairs.

The PDP leadership, including Sayeed and his daughter and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, was unhappy with Baig for his reported proximity to the chief minister.

Azad instead used his prerogative as the head of the council of ministers and ignored the PDP appeal.

In the allocation of departments to his council of ministers announced here Thursday, Azad had announced that Baig would continue to hold all the portfolios he held before the reshuffle.

Following the PDP decision to withdraw Baig from the council of ministers, Azad is left with no option but to drop him and promote Zargar as deputy chief minister - unless he chooses to upset the fragile alliance between his Congress party and the PDP.

"Anything short of this would endanger the continuation of our alliance with the Congress," a senior PDP leader told IANS here.

Peace process in mutual interest: Pakistan

Islamabad, Sep 1 (IANS) Pakistan says the India-Pakistan peace process is in mutual interest and "not a concession from one country to another."

Urging India "to reciprocate the sincere efforts of Pakistan so that the peace process could move towards to its final destination", Pakistan said the peace process is in the interest of both the countries, The Nation reported.

It quoted Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam as saying Islamabad had nothing to do with terrorism as it was in the frontline role against war on terror.

Reacting to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks about New Delhi's wish to restart the stalled peace process if Pakistan took adequate measures to curb cross- border terrorism, she said the entire international community had acknowledged her country's role in the anti-terrorism war and "the Indian leadership should also realise" this fact.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan media has reported without much comment the announcement in New Delhi that its High Commissioner to Pakistan Shiv Shankar Menon would be the country's new foreign secretary.

The News International merely quoted Indian media reports to underline that Menon, who has served in the crucial Pakistan Division of the External Affairs Ministry for several years, was appointed as envoy in Islamabad at a critical time when relations between the two countries were "at a low".

He is credited with playing a stellar role in rejuvenating the relations and lending impetus to the peace process, the paper noted, quoting an APP news agency report.

"Menon has been a popular diplomat in Pakistan. He was heard with great interest whenever he spoke in different cities of Pakistan," the paper noted.

The Nation stated that during Menon's present stint, India-Pakistan ties had witnessed a sea change with tremendous people to people bonhomie and exchange of delegations in different sectors between the two sides.

The resumption of India-Pakistan dialogue process will be a major challenge for the new foreign secretary amid the chill in the bilateral ties since the July 11 Mumbai terror blasts, the Nation said.

Public suit cannot challenge administrative appointments: Supreme Court

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) The state government's power to make appointments to higher posts cannot be questioned through a public interest litigation (PIL), the Supreme Court has held.

Giving this ruling on Aug 28 a bench of judges A.R. Lakshmanan and Tarun Chatterjee said the high courts should not entertain quo warranto writ petitions challenging the appointments from those who had no locus standi to file such petitions.

The bench said that the government had to make the best possible choice keeping in view the larger interests of the administration. The court could not sit in judgement over the wisdom of the government in the choice of the person to be appointed so long as the person chosen possessed the prescribed qualification and was otherwise eligible for appointment.

Writing the judgement for the bench Justice Lakshmanan said: "So long as the appointment is made on account of the exigencies of administration, it would be valid and not open to attack under Articles 14 and 16 of the constitution (equality before law and equality of opportunity in matters of public appointment)."

The bench made it clear that evaluation of the comparative merits of the candidates could not be gone into in a PIL and a third party would have no locus standi to canvass the legality or the correctness of the action.

The court was hearing appeals by the Karnataka government and B. Srinivasa Reddy against a Karnataka High court judgement.

The high court, acting on a PIL from the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board Employees' Association, had quashed Reddy's appointment as the board's managing director.

Allowing the appeals, the bench pulled up the workers' union for suppressing the fact that it was not a registered union as its registration had been cancelled. The bench said: "Courts cannot grant any relief to a person who comes to a court with unclean hands and malafide intention/motive."

Rumblings in Sangh Parivar over ABVP arrests

By Arun Anand,

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) The arrest of two ABVP leaders for the murder of a college professor in Madhya Pradesh threaten to spark fresh tensions between the state's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other constituents of the Hindu rightwing brotherhood, Sangh Parivar.

Two activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) were charged Thursday with the murder of Ujjain's Madhav College professor H.S. Sabharwal, who was allegedly beaten to death.

The ABVP is a frontal organisation of the Sangh Parivar and has considerable clout in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

"Many top BJP leaders and senior functionaries of RSS have been associated with ABVP at one time or the other. Many of them continue to maintain close links with it," a senior RSS functionary said.

Sources said the ABVP leadership is furious over the way Madhya Pradesh's BJP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan handled the issue and allowed the media to tarnish the image of the organisation.

"The ABVP leadership is now keen that the RSS should intervene to salvage the situation," said a senior ABVP functionary.

"We are not at all satisfied with the knee-jerk reaction of the BJP chief minister in this case. The chief minister should have pulled up the local police and administration as they let the situation get out of control and dragged our organisation's name in this controversy," he added.

A section of ABVP even wants that Chouhan be removed from the chief minister's post and has said so to the RSS.

"We have a CD and photographs that clearly show that no ABVP activist was involved in the beating of Sabharwal. In fact, this CD shows that the Congress-backed National Students Union of India activists were involved," Sunil Bansal, general secretary in-charge of ABVP's Delhi and Rajasthan units, told IANS.

"The cases against our activists have been registered under pressure by the local police. Our activists had a heated discussion with Sabharwal but he was pushed and beaten up while going back home much later," he maintained.

The BJP, however, is fully backing the chief minister on the issue that has shocked the nation.

"The BJP wants the guilty to be punished regardless of their political affiliation," party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

"In this case the chief minister has been given a free hand to deal with the situation. It is a question of the image of the government and the party," added another BJP leader closely associated with party affairs in Madhya Pradesh.

Sabharwal was attacked Saturday, allegedly by student leaders angry with him over the cancellation of the student union elections. He later died in hospital.

The Ujjain police Thursday charged ABVP activists Shashi Ranjan Akela and Vimal Tomar under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code in connection with his death.

Sabeer Bhatia to help set up Nanocity in Haryana

Chandigarh, September 1 (IANS) Sabir Bhatia, who revolutionised e-mailing, will help the Haryana government set up a Rs.50 billion ($1.07 billion) Nanocity - an infotech part that he expects to be better than the Silicon Valley of the US.

The state's Investment Promotion Board Thursday granted its approval for the joint venture project. Bhatia's company Nano Works Private Limited will execute the project with the Haryana government.

"The nanocity project will be better than the famed silicon valley in US," Bhatia, the Hotmail founder, said here.

Though details of the joint venture are yet to be worked out completely, Haryana officials said the first phase of the project would be spread over 5,000 acres of land and will be set up in the vicinity of Delhi. An additional 6,000 acres will be developed later.

The state government will acquire half of the total land for this project. Companies with cutting edge technologies in agriculture, food and beverages, environment, health, medicine and research areas will be invited to be part of the Nanocity.

Bhatia has committed to the state government that he will mobilise investments of Rs.25 billion initially and up to Rs.50 billion eventually.

He said the proposed Nanocity will offer state-of-the-art facilities and will be eco-friendly and self-sustainable.

Sania crashes out of US Open

New York, September 1 (IANS) India's Sania Mirza crashed out of the $5,690,000 US Open after giving Italian 14th seed Francesca Schiavone a tough three-set fight in the second round here Thursday.

The 19-year-old Sania lost 7-5, 1-6, 2-6 to the more experienced Italian on the fourth day of the tournament at Flushing Meadows.

Sania had beaten Croat Karolina Sprem 6-4, 6-2 in the first round Monday.

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.

Sealing of illegal business units in Delhi begins amid security

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) Delhi's civic authority Friday began its drive to re-seal around 45,000 commercial establishments operating illegally out of residential neighbourhoods amid heavy police deployment.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) took the precaution of arranging for police security in anticipation of strong resentment from those affected.

The process to re-seal the illegal commercial establishments was begun following an Aug 10 directive from the Supreme Court, which stayed the May 20 notification of the government allowing de-sealing of such property.

"We will start sealing illegal premises in all the 12 zones of Delhi. We have demanded police protection so that our officials are not attacked by residents and we do not face difficulty in carrying out the court orders," said a senior MCD official.

The 45,000 buildings had been identified by the MCD, but the number could well increase during the sealing campaign, he said.

MCD officials would survey the upmarket neighbourhoods in the national capital to locate other business establishments operating illegally.

Among the likely areas to be targeted in Friday's drive would be Greater Kailash I and II, Chittaranjan Park, Lajpat Nagar, Kalkaji, Defence Colony and Vasant Vihar. These areas fall in the A, B and C categories of residential colonies to be visited by the civic authorities.

The MCD has from Friday also set up 24 special cells to receive complaints by residents giving information about such commercial premises in their areas. Mobile inspection teams will verify any complaint received and initiate action against the offenders.

The central government had on May 20 passed the Delhi Laws (Special Provision) Act that put a moratorium on the court-mandated demolition of illegal structures and sealing of commercial complexes in residential areas in the capital for a year.

However, on Aug 10 the Supreme Court, hearing a public interest litigation against the order, reprimanded the government for its legislation.

On Wednesday, the MCD submitted an action plan report to Delhi High Court informing about the setting up of a taskforce for each of the 12 zones to ensure that there is no delay in carrying out the demolitions and sealing. The civic body is to recruit junior engineers on contract basis to get over its staff shortage, an official said.

Senior BJP leaders to skip women's meet

Raipur, Sep 1 (IANS) In a reflection on the importance given in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to its women cadre, senior party leaders, including president Rajnath Singh, have expressed their inability to attend the national conclave beginning here Saturday.

According to informed sources, senior leaders who had earlier consented to attend the women's meet have opted out of it due to "busy schedules and health reasons".

The sudden withdrawal by senior leaders has come as a shock for Chhattisgarh's ruling BJP, which is hosting the national women's wing working committee meet for the first time. The party had decked up the city with saffron flags and huge cutouts of the party's national figures.

"We have spent a huge a mount for arranging a grand welcome for the national leaders. Now I have been told that Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, party's Rajya Sabha MP Hema Malini and National General Secretary Sanjay Joshi will skip the meet. Now all the expenditure is looking meaningless," a senior party functionary said ruefully.

Karuna Shukla, the party's women's wing national president, told IANS: "Yes, the key leaders are not available for the women's wing national meet but the conclave will go as per schedule."

However, Shukla has managed to convince the party's former president Venkaiah Naidu to attend the inaugural session Sep 2. Indore legislator Sumitra Mahajan will be present for the valedictory session Sep 3.

Said Shukla: "The meet will focus on reviving the old demand of 33 percent reservation quota in parliament for women candidates, women's empowerment and the rising graph of female foeticide."

Shiv Shankar Menon is India's new foreign secretary

New Delhi, September 1 (IANS) The Indian government Thursday named Shiv Shankar Menon, the country's present envoy to Islamabad, as its new foreign secretary, ending weeks of speculation over who would get the top bureaucratic job in the foreign office.

Menon will succeed Shyam Saran, who will become the prime minister's special envoy for dealing with the United States on the intensely negotiated and discussed civilian nuclear deal that awaits legislative endorsement by US Congress.

Menon will take charge of his new office on Oct 1 this year. He is the third Indian high commissioner (ambassador) to Pakistan to become foreign secretary, the previous two being S.K. Singh and J.N. Dixit.

Menon has served as envoy to important countries like China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Israel and Austria.

An Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1972 batch, Menon's impressive diplomatic career also includes a stint as an advisor to the Atomic Energy Commission.

A student of history - he did his masters in history from Delhi University - Menon speaks several foreign languages, including Chinese and German, and is known for his love of classical music and mountaineering.

Menon's three-year tenure as high commissioner to Pakistan saw a dramatic turnaround in India-Pakistan relations, starting from the resumption of the stalled peace process Jan 6, 2004 to a straining of bilateral ties on the issue of Pakistan's continuing patronage of cross-border terrorism.

He took over as New Delhi's envoy in Islamabad in July 2003 at a time when bilateral relations were at a low with air and rail links suspended between the two countries following the Dec 13, 2001 attack on the Indian parliament.

For the next two years, the Indian high commission in Islamabad issued a record number of visas leading to an unprecedented surge in people-to-people contacts between the subcontinental neighbours.

The terror attacks in Mumbai last month, in which India suspected the hand of Pakistan-based militants, however, not only soured relations but also led to the postponement of foreign secretary-level talks, raising questions about the future of the peace process.

As India's ambassador to China, Menon's tenure saw the first serious effort made for the resolution of the decades-old border dispute between India and China during then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit in 2003.

Menon's appointment is likely to be followed by the appointment of a full-fledged foreign minister by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. India has had no foreign minister since Natwar Singh was made to resign last December following his naming in the UN Volcker report regarding corruption in Iraq's oil-for-food programme.

The external affairs ministry is currently headed by two junior ministers, or ministers of state - Anand Sharma and E. Ahamed.

Space shuttle Atlantis launch reset for Wednesday

Washington, Sep 1 (DPA) NASA rescheduled its next space shuttle launch for Wednesday after a delay to wait out a tropical storm, the second time the mission was postponed.

Atlantis and its crew of six were slated to lift off at 1629 GMT Wednesday on a construction mission to the orbiting International Space Station (ISS), the US space agency said Thursday on its website.

Mission managers began moving the shuttle Tuesday toward its protective hangar, then reversed direction after weather forecasters said that tropical storm Ernesto had weakened and was unlikely to regain hurricane-strength winds over Florida.

NASA put off an initially scheduled Sunday liftoff to inspect the launch site after a severe lightning strike. The rescheduled launch on Tuesday was too close to Ernesto's expected arrival at Cape Canaveral, site of the Kennedy Space Centre

Special committee formed to curb polio cases

By Prashant K. Nanda,

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) The Indian government has set up a special committee to check cases of polio that have more than doubled since 2005.

Till the first week of August the country reported 155 cases, as against 66 last year. Most cases are from Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous state.

"The committee comprising doctors, health workers and health ministry officials will work in collaboration with state governments and NGOs," Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss told IANS on the sidelines of a function on health tourism.

The committee will focus on Uttar Pradesh that has reported over 100 cases this year.

While 56 cases have been detected in Moradabad district, Muzaffarnagar and Baduan districts have reported 21 and 20 cases respectively. Aligarh, Mainpuri, Bulandshahr and Bareilly districts have also reported new cases.

"We have already spoken to the Uttar Pradesh government. We will try and explain the magnitude of the problem to the villagers and how they can administer polio drops to their kids," the minister said.

Experts say about 40 million children under five years need to be vaccinated in each round of the polio immunisation campaign.

Ramadoss said a special immunisation drive had been launched in Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Bihar. "I will inspect these areas within a month," he added.

David Heymann, WHO's special representative for polio eradication, said here last month that that India was responsible for most cases of the virus that were hitting the world.

Heymann said the Indian virus has hit five countries: Nepal, Bangladesh, Angola, Namibia and Congo.

Supreme Court rejects plea against Lalu Prasad

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) The Supreme Court Friday dismissed as withdrawn a petition seeking a probe into the expenditure incurred by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad for his daughter's marriage at a five-star hotel here this year.

The petition filed by the Ashoka Hotel Majdoor Union alleged that about Rs.2.1 million (Rs 21 lakhs) were paid in cash to the Ashoka Hotel for the wedding ceremony there on April 30.

A bench of judges K.G. Balakrishnan and D.K. Jain told the counsel for the petitioner, D.K. Garg that "this is not a police station. If you have any grievance, lodge a complaint with the police."

The counsel then sought permission to withdraw the petition and the bench dismissed it as withdrawn.

Suresh Mehta to be next naval chief

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) Vice Admiral Suresh Mehta, flag officer commanding-in-chief of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC), will be the next chief of the Indian Navy as he takes over from Admiral Arun Prakash Nov 1.

Mehta, who assumed the command of the premier ENC Sep 30, 2005 has held various positions of the Indian Navy such as assistant controller of carrier projects, assistant chief of personnel (human resource development) and director general, Coast Guard.

He is also credited for the commencement of aircraft acquisition programmes, construction of air defence ships and the establishment of a strong, vibrant and visible Indian Coast Guard.

Prior to taking over the ENC, Mehta was the deputy chief of Naval Staff, where he was instrumental in marshalling the resources of the navy to provide immediate relief in tsunami-struck areas in the country and its immediate neighbourhood.

It was during this period that the war room leak case erupted where naval officers allegedly passed on sensitive information to civilians.

The present incumbent Admiral Prakash assumed charge of the Indian Navy, as the 20th Chief of Naval Staff, on 31 July 2004.

Tourism schemes merged, project funds enhanced

New Delhi, September 1 (IANS) Aiming to provide a "better experience" to tourists, the government Thursday approved plans to merge two existing schemes for developing tourism circuits and destinations while raising the allocation for selected projects several fold.

"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the merger of the two existing schemes for assisting tourism infrastructure development," Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told media here.

The 'Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits' and 'Product/Infrastructure and Destination Development' will be merged and will be called the 'Product/Infrastructure Development for Destinations and Circuits'.

"The ceiling on the project cost for tourism infrastructure development concerning the identified destinations and circuits would be raised with the government of India's contribution to be capped at Rs.250 million for destination development and Rs.500 million for circuit development instead of existing Rs.50 million and Rs.80 million for selected projects," the minister said.

The selection of the identified circuits and destinations would be based on the tourist traffic.

The government estimates that the approved revision will lead to the development of world-class tourism infrastructure in at least 15 identified major tourist destinations/circuits in the country.

In addition, one major circuit and two major destinations per state will also be taken up, as prioritised in consultation with the concerned states and union territories.

"The implementation of this scheme will result in a better experience for the tourists visiting these places," said Dasmunsi.

This increase in the tourist traffic is expected to result in more employment and improved socio-economic conditions for the region.

India currently receives around 3.5 million visitors annually from overseas while the domestic traffic is estimated to be well over 10 million.

Traditional wisdom adding uniqueness to our legal system: PM

New Delhi, September 1 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday said a combination of traditional wisdom mixed with European rationalism and liberalism gives the Indian legal system a unique character.

Releasing a book "India's Legal System: Can it be Saved?", written by leading jurist Fali S. Nariman, at his 7, Race Course residence, the prime minister said this uniqueness is handsomely celebrated by the writer whom he knew well.

Manmohan Singh said he has been greatly admired by the writer's wit, wisdom, humanism, sense of humour and profound understanding of the constitution besides his legal acumen.

The book raises questions on the country's judiciary, legal system, social and national institutions, and processes.

Nariman, widely considered as one of India's finest constitutional lawyers, raises some very pertinent questions about the division of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

"This is an area where we need political and societal consensus so that each of the pillars of our democracy and our republic can be revitalised," the prime minister said.

In the book, Nariman writes: "The law is not merely about cases, nor about legal rights. It is also about hard work and integrity. The judiciary of the 21st century, along with the legal profession, needs to set an example in exemplary self-discipline; discipline in approach, discipline in lifestyle; discipline in thought, word and deed... As the Bhagavad Gita says, whatsoever important men and women say and do, other men follow."

ULFA to talk 48 hours after leaders' release

Guwahati, Sep 1 (IANS) The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Friday said it was ready to hold talks in Assam's capital Dispur within 48 hours if New Delhi released its five jailed leaders.

"It seems the government of India has deliberately forgotten our earlier stated stand that we are ready to hold talks within 48 hours if our demands are met," ULFA said in its mouthpiece Swadhinata.

Holding of direct peace talks between the ULFA and government negotiators was deadlocked with New Delhi last week seeking a formal letter from the group saying it was ready for direct talks, name its negotiating team, and specify a timeframe for the dialogue.

"There is no need for writing a fresh letter to the government as the ULFA has already expressed its desire to solve the problem politically through talks," the statement said.

New Delhi Aug 13 announced a 10-day suspension of army operations against the ULFA. This was later extended by another 15 days.

The term of halting military operations expires Sep 7. The ULFA too reciprocated the government's "goodwill gesture" by announcing cessation of hostilities for an indefinite period.

"It is not important as to who represents ULFA in the talks. Will the government clarify in clear terms if it was going to discuss the issue of sovereignty (independence)," the ULFA said.

"The most important issue is whether the government would withdraw the occupational forces (army and paramilitary) from Assam."

The main issue now blocking the start of formal face-to-face talks between the ULFA and Indian government negotiators is the rebel demand for the release of five of its jailed leaders. ULFA says it cannot take a decision without their five central committee leaders in jail.

The Indian government fears that ULFA could back out of the talks once the five jailed leaders are released.

The People's Consultative Group (PCG), an 11-member team of civil society leaders nominated by the ULFA to begin exploratory talks with the government, too is pressing New Delhi to release the jailed rebel leaders.

UN Economic Report warns about dangers of global trade imbalances

New York, Sep 1 (IndianMuslims.info): Although a major global economic crisis is unlikely, significant trade imbalances are posing a threat to long-term world economic health, a new United Nations report warns.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in its annual report released today, characterizes the global economy as one of “relatively fast growth in developing countries, driven by strong global demand originating mainly in the United States and amplified by the rapid expansion of the large Chinese economy.�

The report finds little evidence of a looming major financial crisis, comparable to the Asian or Latin American crises of 10 years ago.

It notes that many developing countries are now less vulnerable to big shocks because they have stabilized their exchange rates at low levels and are running sizeable current-account surpluses and accumulating large amounts of dollar reserves.

That approach poses a problem, however, because it “can only function as long as there is at least one country in the global economy that accepts running the corresponding trade deficit,� the report says.

That country, the US, has become overburdened in its role as “global engine for growth.� UNCTAD economists fear that, at some point, American demand will no longer be able to act as a bulwark against worldwide deflation and recession.

They add that other key industrial countries have not only failed to play their part, but have actually added to the US’ burden by running up huge surpluses of their own.

They say countries like Japan and Germany must increase their domestic demand to prevent a sharp devaluation of the American dollar that could send shocks reverberating throughout the developing world.

The report notes that China’s surging domestic demand and imports have played a positive and vital role in spreading and sustaining global growth. To prevent that process from being derailed, its currency, the renminbi, should not be revalued too quickly.

UNCTAD economists say that redressing global imbalances requires a responsible multilateral effort rather than pressure on the developing world.

“A well-coordinated international macroeconomic approach would considerably enhance the chances of poorer countries being able to preserve and continue recent improvements in their growth performances,� the report notes.

UN report warns Asia to prepare for financial downturn

By Arun Kumar,

United Nations, Sep 1 (IANS) A new UN report warns Asian governments to reduce exposure to the impact of a sudden or unexpected market downturn, urging a mood of protection and preparation rather than the celebratory atmosphere of current prosperity.

Asian countries have to stay alert despite the lull in financial markets recently, says the report, "The Calm Before the Storm? Managing the Risks of an Asia-Pacific Financial Downturn", released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Thursday.

"There are a number of new emerging risks which may lead to more stormy weather ahead," the report warns, citing possible interest rates hikes in developed countries, oil price shocks, housing market overheating, and investor overreaction and contagion.

The region evokes bitter memories of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 but notes that countries of the region "are now in a stronger position to handle turbulence". Governments have improved economic policies, depend less on portfolio flows, and have bigger foreign reserves and better banking sectors.

The report cautions that "as Asian economies are becoming more integrated into the global economy, they also face a higher risk from the constantly shifting global environment". It calls for governments to focus on controlling inflation and debt, improving banking regulations, and monitoring complex financial products.

"Countries in the Asia-Pacific region must improve regional cooperation to lessen the impact of financial market volatility," the report says, recommending strengthening existing regional cooperation schemes by making more funds available against disruptive capital movements, ramping up regional surveillance of country policies and extending these schemes to more countries.

US arms firms see huge opportunity in India

Washington, Sep 1(IANS) As India's economic and strategic ties to the United States expand, defence contractors are eyeing its growing military budget and ageing arsenal as a multibillion dollar opportunity.

According to the Washington Post, at stake are contracts worth billions that could help offset a projected slowdown in Pentagon weapons spending and extend production lines for such items as the F-16 fighter.

While not the largest foreign defence market, the daily said industry officials and analysts consider it one of the fastest growing as it replaces fleets of Soviet-era planes and goes shopping for new radar and missile systems.

The largest near-term opportunity is India's plan to buy 126 fighter aircraft, which would replace their older Russian MiGs. Lockheed and Boeing are marketing their F-16 and F-18 aircraft respectively, squaring off against Britain's Eurofighter and Israel's Rafael.

"That will be the bellwether. How serious is India in looking at us as a supplier, how serious is the US in releasing technology?" Joel L. Johnson, an analyst at Teal Group Corp., a Fairfax research firm, told the Post.

"It's an untapped market that nobody has the inside track on yet," Johnson said citing Teal Group's estimate that India's defence budget is expected to reach more than $23 billion this year, compared with about $13 billion in 2000.

"The Indians have money, their economy is growing and, so, US companies are guessing that when our own defence budget finally gets crunched" the Indian market will be profitable, he was quoted as saying.

For both Lockheed and Boeing the orders could help extend their production lines. Lockheed has supported the F-16 line for years with international orders, but recently began laying off hundreds of workers as it prepared for demand to dwindle.

"If they pick us to re-capitalise their Air Force, you're talking about 25 years of relationship," the daily quoted Ron Covais, Lockheed's vice president for corporate international business development as saying.

Several of the Pentagon's largest contractors, including Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., have either opened new offices or beefed up existing ones in India and are part of an industry-wide wooing of military officials and business leaders there.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., maker of the Black Hawk helicopter, opened an office in India in April and is competing for a contract for 200 helicopters potentially worth more than $3 billion. General Dynamics Corp., based in Falls Church, bought an Indian company in 2004 and is using it to sell communications equipment.

The Aerospace Industries Association, a lobbying group, is planning a trip there in December with executives from up to 20 companies.

"The biggest hurdle is going to be patience," Torkel Patterson, president of Raytheon International Inc., said of joining the market. "We're getting to know each other."

The company is hoping to sell Patriot missiles to India and to help it upgrade its missile defence system.

Overseas sales have become an increasingly important part of revenue for US defence contractors. Lockheed, headquartered in Bethesda, aims to increase its foreign business to 20 percent of revenue by the end of the decade, up from about 14 percent now.

Lockheed got a "toe" into the Indian market this year when it was hired to supply parts for submarines. "It's modest, but part of confidence building," said Lockheed's Covais.

Developing a significant presence in India will not be easy. The country has traditionally bought its weapons from Europe or Russia and has a complicated and lengthy procurement process, according to industry insiders cited by the Post.

"The cost of marketing could equal 5 to 10 percent of contract. You're looking at a lot of upfront costs," said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst for Teal Group.

Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman, the maker of the Global Hawk, has tapped the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development for help, as it prepares to open an office in New Delhi next year.

The agency has arranged meetings for the firm and introduced them to Indian military officials, company officials said. "They have been educating us on how the Indian aerospace business has been developing," said Scott Porter, a Northrop vice president.

Critical to any contract, industry officials acknowledge, will be partnerships with Indian businesses, the Post said. The Indian government is expected to require contractors to do about 30 percent of the work in the country, aiding local businesses and ensuring that they will have access to critical technologies.

US Open: Henin-Hardenne sails into third round

New York, Sep 1 (DPA) Second seed Justine Henin-Hardenne continued her march at the US Open as she destroyed American teenager Vania King 6-1, 6-2 to sail into the third round Thursday.

Former champions Svetlana Kuznetsova and Lindsay Davenport were barely tested as they also advanced into the third round.

Tenth seed Davenport, the 1998 winner, blanked out Croatian Jelena Kostanic 6-0, 6-0 while 2004 champion Kuznetsova of Russia was equally merciless in a 6-1, 6-1 win against teenaged American Lauren Albanese.

Henin-Hardenne, winner of five titles this season on the WTA, followed suit for seeds on a day of blowouts. She has lost only three games in both of her matches so far at Flushing Meadows.

The Belgian, who is playing only her second hardcourt event of the summer, came to New York with a title from New Haven at the weekend, won her 24th match in eight appearances at the event.

Henin-Hardenne needed just over an hour to advance, profiting from 21 unforced errors of the racket of her inexperienced opponent.

Davenport, the highest-ranked American at 11th in the world and soon to retire at age 30, was revelling in her 40-minute outing.

"On some days, everything seems to be working very well. I knew I had a match to play Friday, so I tried to gout off as soon as possible. I'm happy I was able to play that way and hopefully I can keep it going."

Davenport struck her 24 winners almost at will as she broke the neophyte six times while never facing a break point.

Kuznetsova was hardly troubled by the 16-year-old from Florida playing in her first Grand Slam event.

Uttar Pradesh bureaucrats 'political agents': Mayawati

Lucknow, Sep 1 (IANS) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati Friday flayed the Uttar Pradesh bureaucracy accusing them of turning into "political agents" of the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP).

Addressing a press conference here, the former chief minister raised strong objections to the participation of some top bureaucrats at a political function organised by the SP to mark the completion of three years of the Mulayam Singh Yadav government here on Monday.

"What bigger proof do you need about blatant politicisation of the bureaucracy by Mulayam, when the state chief secretary not only shares the dais with party leaders but also addresses a political function," said Mayawati.

"If chief secretary Naveen Chandra Bajpai was so keen to shower praises on the chief minister he should have done so after resigning from service."

Seeking to focus attention on what she termed the emergence of extra-constitutional parallel centres of power in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP president said: "It was highly objectionable that the chief minister's son Akhilesh Singh Yadav was giving away cheques to beneficiaries under various government welfare schemes."

"If the chief minister cannot find time to personally give away these cheques, then some minister should be doing it, and if none of the ministers have the time, then the task should be entrusted to some government official. Not to the son of the chief minister who is just a party MP."

State Congress president Salman Khurshid too has shot off separate letters to Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami and Minister of State for Personnel and Public Grievances Suresh Pachauri drawing their attention to what he termed as conversion of top state bureaucrats into a "team of ruling party workers".

Khurshid has accused Yadav of trying to use the administrative machinery to meet his political ends for the assembly elections scheduled early next year. He has sought the election commission's intervention for removal of both the chief secretary and director general of police before the polls.

While the chief minister was not available for comment, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Azam Khan came out in strong defence of the erring bureaucrats. "It is the chief minister's prerogative to summon or invite bureaucrats whenever or wherever he considers necessary. So there was nothing wrong in their attending the function since the chief minister had invited them," he emphasized.

He, however, declined to comment on chief secretary Bajpai addressing a political gathering.

Vande Mataram stand softened

It not just evokes strong patriotic sentiments, but the national song now in its 100th year, has also stirred up a huge controversy. After strongly opposing BJP's directive making Vande Matarm compulsory in all schools in states where its in power, Muslim's in Lucknow are crying peace.

The Muslim Personal Law Board has said that it will not oppose the move to make Vande Mataram compulsory in all schools as long as a translation of the song is made in Arabic and discussed with them.

“The solution to the controversy can be reached only if a proper translation of the original song is made. Then Islamic intellectuals can judge it, since our Ulemas are not master's in Sanskrit. This work should be done by joint efforts,� opined Shia leader Kalbe Javwad.

While at least one leader of the AIMPLB has stepped forward to diffuse the crisis, it appears he's not being backed by the rest of the organisation.

“India is a democratic, secular country. You cannot force anyone to do or not do anything. No Indian – of any community – needs to prove to another Indian his/her love for the country,� said Khalid Rashid, vice-president, All India Muslim Personal Law Board .

While political parties continue to use the issue to score political mileage, a coordinated effort by both communities could help resolve the crisis.

Source: http://www.timesnow.tv/articleshow/1944894.cms

World Cup win will fetch Indian hockey team Rs.10 mn reward

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) The Indian hockey team stands the chance of bagging Rs.10 million if they win the World Cup starting in Germany Wednesday.

Announcing the incentive, in conjunction with ESPN-STAR Sports and Leisure Sports Management (LSM), the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) said here Friday that even if the team wins the silver or the bronze medal it would still be rewarded.

The 18-member team would receive Rs.5 million if it wins silver and Rs.2.5 million if it bags bronze.

"It's indeed a big day for Indian hockey. The rewards announced by the Premier Hockey League (PHL) will inspire the Indian team to give their best shot at the World Cup," IHF president K.P.S. Gill told reporters.

PHL is the innovative national league conceived by IHF, LSM and ESPN-STAR Sports. The incentive is expected to give a fillip to the Indian team trying to win the country's second World Cup ever.

The only time India, eight-time Olympics gold medallist, won the World Cup was in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur where Ajit Pal Singh was the captain.

Besides the cash awards, the PHL announced it would also bear the medical expenses of injured drag-flicker Sandeep Singh and sponsor a video analyst for the team for one year. The analyst has already joined the team in Germany.

Sandeep was shot when a railway police officer's revolver accidentally went off while he was travelling to New Delhi on the Chandigarh-Delhi Shatabdi Express Aug 22.

He was going to New Delhi to join the World Cup-bound Indian team that left for Germany that day. He was later operated upon, and was ruled out of the tournament.

R.C. Venkateish, managing director ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd., said the incentive would help attract youngsters to the game.

"Supporting the Indian team is a critical part of our strategy. Success at international level will attract more and more youngsters to take up hockey as a lucrative career option," he said.

The sponsoring a video analyst was also lauded by national coach Vasudevan Baskaran, who is currently with the team in Germany.

"The video analyst is as much as a training tool as it is a strategy tool. We are confident that the team performance will improve with the addition of a video analyst," Baskaran said in a statement from Germany.

11 Muslims face trial in Australia

Melbourne, September 2 (NDTV.COM) Eleven Muslim men accused of being part of a terror module plotting massive strikes in Australia were ordered by a court in Melbourne to stand trial.

The men were among 13 people arrested for allegedly planning terror attacks in the country, including a possible strike on a nuclear reactor in Sydney.

Ten of them were arrested in pre-dawn raids in November last year, while other three were held later in March.

Not guilty

The men have pleaded not guilty to all charges against them.

Magistrate Paul Smith committed the eleven Muslims to stand trial and said he will hear the submissions of two others - Shane Kent and Aimen Joud - on September 18.

Smith did not comment when asked about evidence presented during the committal hearing that lasted six weeks, but said there was enough evidence for a possible conviction.

The eleven accused are: the group's alleged spiritual leader Algerian-born Abdul Nacer Benbrika (46), Fadal Sayadi(26), Majed Raad (22), Amer Haddara (26), Ahmed Raad (23), Abdullah Merhi (21), Hany Taha (31), Shoue Hammoud (26), Izzydeen Atik (26), Bassam Raad (24) and Ezzit Raad (24).

The men will remain in custody and the lawyers of most of them indicated bail applications might be filed in the coming weeks.

The prosecutor told the court during the hearing that the group was inspired and influenced by the terrorist outfit Al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden. (PTI)

12 LTTE boats destroyed: Sri Lanka

Colombo, Sep 2 (Xinhua) The Sri Lankan Navy has destroyed 12 boats of the Tamil Tigers in a fierce battle in the northern seas, the government said Saturday.

A government statement said that over 80 Sea Tigers were believed to have perished in the attack. The dead included five boatloads of the rebel suicide wing members.

The troops spotted the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) boats off Jaffna peninsula's Point Pedro area around 8.00 p.m. Friday.

The Sri Lankan Navy's Dvora fast attack craft opened fire at the boats which were believed to be proceedings to launch an attack on the Kankesanturai harbor, which provides the supply port facilities for some 45,000 government troops stationed in Jaffna peninsula.

"The battle continued till early Saturday when we successfully chased away the Tigers," an official spokesman said. There was no immediate response from the rebels to the navy claims of casualties.

The clashes in Jaffna peninsula began Aug 11 when the LTTE began attacking troops in the forward defense lines at Muhamalai in the southern sector of the peninsula.

Three weeks of fighting have left over 100 dead and was the worst since the government and the rebels signed a truce agreement in February 2002.

The international community has been appealing to the government and the rebels to revive the stalled peace process by eschewing violence.

14 held in anti-terror raids in London

London, Sep 2 (IANS) Anti-terrorism officials of Scotland Yard have arrested 14 men during overnight raids, with 12 of the suspects taken into custody from a 'Halal Chinese' restaurant in London.

The arrests came hours after Peter Clarke, head of the Metropolitan police's anti-terrorism branch, stating that the police and MI5 were thousands of British Muslims for suspected involvement in possible terrorist involvement.

Clarke said this in an interview to a BBC2 documentary, 'Al Qaeda: Time to Talk', which investigates British Muslim connections with the terror network.

The 14 arrests in London were made during raids that were described as "planned, intelligence-led operation". But the police said they were not connected to the alleged transatlantic jet bomb plot or the July 7 attacks in London.

The police said the men were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

Raids were also conducted in other parts of London.

The 'Halal Chinese' restaurant owner Madi Blyani told BBC: "It was surprising actually, because plenty of them suddenly came in all together. There were more than 50 or 60 of them.

"They suddenly came inside because they were suspicious of some of the customers, and they talked to them. They talked to them (for) more than one hour, two hours. And they arrested some of them. So it was obviously surprising for me, my staff, for everyone anyway."

Clarke said: "What we've learnt since 9/11 is that the threat is not something that's simply coming from overseas into Britain. What we've learnt, and what we've seen all too graphically and all too murderously, is that we have a threat which is being generated here within Britain."

Asked roughly how many Muslims were being looked at, Clarke said: "I don't want to go down the numbers game, I don't think it's helpful ... all I can say is that our knowledge is increasing and certainly in terms of broad description, the numbers of people who we have to be interested in, are into the thousands."

He added: "That includes a whole range of people, not just terrorists, not just attackers, but the people who might be tempted to support or encourage or to assist."

25 suspected insurgents convicted in Iraq

Baghdad, September 2 (NDTV.COM) An Iraqi court has convicted 25 people of charges stemming from suspected insurgent activity and sentenced them to terms ranging from one year to life imprisonment.

Most were convicted on charges of possession of unlicensed weapons, while five were found guilty of illegally entering the country, the coalition said in a statement.

Two of the defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment for "joining armed groups to unsettle the stability and security of Iraq," it said.

The Central Criminal Court of Iraq has held 1,414 trials of people who were alleged to have been involved in insurgent activity.

Of those, 1,214 people have been convicted, and sentences have ranged up to the death penalty.

500 surveillance centres to monitor gold purity

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) plans to set up 500 surveillance centres in all major cities of the country to monitor the quality of gold and silver jewellery.

Inaugurating the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry's (ASSOCHAM) second international gold summit here, Minister of Company Affairs P.C. Gupta Saturday said it had come to the government's notice that jewellers were selling sub-standard jewellery to millions of consumers.

"The Department of Company Affairs has asked the BIS to set up 500 surveillance centres all over the country so that no cheating takes place. These centres would shortly become operational," he added.

He said the BIS had already found sub-standard products from various shops in Hyderabad, Kolkata and Jaipur.

"The nationwide BIS operations showed that 88 percent of shops, whose jewellery was tested by the inspectors, failed to follow purity levels. This kind of distortion is not going to be tolerated and, therefore, the government will set up centres to protect the millions of people in India who invest in gold and silver," Gupta said.

He also said his ministry would impose penalties against firms violating corporate governance rules to cheat small investors. The minimum penalty will be Rs.100,000.

Bakul R. Mehta, chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, said that out of 4,036 tonnes of gold, 2,712 tonnes were used for jewellery fabrication in 2005.

Jignesh Shah, managing director of MCX, a commodity trading body, said that gold trading, on an average, had reached about Rs.65 billion a day as against Rs.35 billion two months back.

Airbus to invest 1 bn pounds in new India centre

London, Sep 2 (IANS) The parent group of passenger jet maker Airbus is to invest more than 1 billion pounds in India in a bid to secure more orders for military equipment and passenger jets, reports here say.

European Aeronautic, Defense and Space (EADS) Company, the majority owner of Airbus, will invest the money on an engineering centre in India as part of its bid to compete with US rival Boeing for orders in the Indian sub-continent.

According to the company, the India Airbus Engineering Centre may create up to 2,000 jobs in engineering and computer-related services.

The money will be invested over the next 15 years as Indian state-owned military contractors grant more orders to private companies for military equipment, according to the Daily Post, Liverpool.

The newspaper reported that EADS is also seeking to gain more orders in India's rapidly expanding civil aviation industry, which it believes will require 960 aircraft by 2025.

Akbar Bugti laid to rest in Dera Bugti

Dera Bugti, Sep 2 (IANS) Baloch leader Akbar Khan Bugti was Friday laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard at Dera Bugti in Balochistan amid heavy security arrangements though none of his family members were present on the occasion, Online news agency reported.

Maulana Mohammad Malook Bugti from the tribe led the funeral prayer after the sealed coffin of Nawab Akbar Bugti was brought to Dera Bugti in a helicopter from the site of Kohlu.

The body of the slain leader, who was 79, killed in a military operation last Saturday, was retrieved Thursday evening from the rubbles of the cave where he was supposed to be hiding in Balochistan's hilly interior.

After the funeral prayers Bugti was laid to rest in his native graveyard along side his brother Ahmed Nawaz Bugti and son Saleem Bugti.

No one from the Bugti family attended the funeral prayers and less than two dozens people attended his funeral.

Stern security arrangements were made for this occasion.

Dera Bugti DCO Abdul Samad Lasi was quoted by Online as saying that the heirs and relations of the deceased were contacted for attending the funeral and waited for them for over 20 minutes but they did not show up.

The official told reporters that the condition of the body was deteriorating, as it was lying in the cave for several days, which had made its immediate burial imperative. He also said there was no need to show the face of late Bugti as Maulana Malok had already identified him.

He said a ring, glasses, watch and cane had been found from near the body due to which the body was identified as that of Nawab Bugti's.

Lasi told that Bugti's face and legs were intact while the middle part of his body was badly damaged as it had come under a boulder.

The government would cooperate in holding a DNA test if anybody had any suspicion of the identity of the body, the official said.

Meanwhile, Agha Shahid Bugti, the general secretary of the late leader's Jamhori Watan Party (JWP) termed the burial as regrettable act. He said burying the body in the absence of the family members was not Islamic.

He said journalists attending the funeral were not allowed to see the face of the late Nawab.

The news of the leader's burial became public even as the government braced to meet nationwide protests spearheaded by major opposition parties and alliances that alleged that the killing was deliberate.

Veteran Baloch leader Sardar Khair Baksh Marri termed the death of Bugti as "a targeted killing" and feared that his own son, Balach Marri, could be the next target.

Balach Marri, who was away in Dubai, was detained on returning home by the authorities last month. The government had the "mistaken notion" that Marri was the epicentre of all anti-state and terrorist activities, and Balach Marri was an "icon of resistance", the senior Marri said in an interview in the Dawn newspaper.

Fearing that Nawab Bugti's grandsons could also be "targeted", he said he prayed for their safety and was determined to assist them.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to blame India for its internal political crisis, Pakistan's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan Niazi charged in the National Assembly that the "huge quantity of ammunition and currency recovered from the cave" was provided by "our neighbouring country to Akbar Bugti via Kabul".

Pakistan has for long been accusing India of fomenting trouble in Balochistan via the embassy in Kabul and consulates in Afghan cities close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

This and a number of observations that the minister said were "personal", incensed the opposition, which boycotted the proceedings after nine separate adjournment motions it had submitted were disallowed Thursday by Speaker Chaudhry Ameer Hussain.

Niazi's justification of Bugti's killing angered the opposition in the National Assembly. "It is a right action if Bugti was killed in an encounter," The Nation quoted Niazi as saying.

The media noted that the chair had followed an "unprecedented" procedure in allowing the minister to speak and air personal views, although he had not given any notice. The News International said that even when the treasury bench members protested, Niazi said his remarks were "personal" and did not reflect the government's view.

Before boycotting the proceedings in the House, the opposition members charged that the Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti had been killed in a military operation wherein the security forces had used chemical weapons. Niazi denied the charge.

Alternative admission mode in place: nursery schools

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Four schools Saturday told the Delhi High Court they were ready with an alternative mechanism of "interacting with parents and observing children's behaviour" for nursery and pre-nursery admission interviews.

The high court had directed the Action Committee of Recognised Unaided Schools here on Aug 23 to put in place within a week an alternative mechanism to interviews for admissions to nursery and pre-nursery classes.

The private minority schools - St. Columba's, Carmel Convent, Mater Dei and St. Xavier's Senior Secondary School - said in a joint reply to the court direction that they would interact with "the parents of children seeking admissions to the two classes and observe the behaviour of the toddlers".

The children would be required to be present along with their parents in the interaction sessions but the former would not be interviewed. They would simply be allowed to be "on their own or with other children and would be observed", the reply said.

However, the reply clarified that admissions would not be granted on the basis of knowledge or performance of the children.

The schools will have the right to determine whether a child was of normal health or ill or mentally or physically challenged requiring special attention, the reply added.

The court has already protested against the practice of subjecting children and their parents to interviews for admissions to these classes in private unaided schools.

The bench had last year warned the action committee, an association of private unaided schools of the capital, that upon failure to agree on an alternative mechanism, it would pass appropriate orders.

The bench has been hearing appeals by parents of three nursery children against a single-judge order of the court whereby Justice S.K. Kaul had in January 2003 rejected their petitions seeking a direction to debar schools in the capital from subjecting parents as well as their wards to interviews for admissions to these classes.

Ashok Aggarwal, counsel for the three appellants, has already suggested a draw-of-lots method for admissions.

AMU teacher booked for attempt to murder

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) A case of attempt to murder was registered Saturday by a student of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) against a teacher who had earlier been suspended for "mentally and sexually harassing" the same student.

Asma Javed, lodged the complaint against Mohammed Shareef, a reader in the department of Sanskrit, alleging there was pressure on her to withdraw the charges. She also alleged she was being denied admission to a PhD course.

"I am being punished for daring to complain against a professor. I have been threatened time and again. They want me to withdraw my complaint," Asma, who has been on hunger strike outside the vice chancellor's house since Thursday, told IANS over phone from Aligarh.

Asma, who was even shot at on the campus but survived, said: "The professor used to invite me over to his place and offer money."

Disgusted, she complained to AMU's women's grievance cell and the police. Goaded into action, the university suspended Shareef.

"This isn't the first complaint against Shareef. I am now being victimised for speaking up," said Asma, who wants Shareef axed.

In the past six months, three complaints have been lodged with the women's cell. Students say nine of them went to lodge complaints but only three were accepted.

Ancient coins tell interesting tales

By Anil Sharma,

Jaipur, Sep 2 (IANS) Ajay Dev, a 12th century ruler of the Chauhan dynasty whose kingdom was in Ajmer, loved his wife so much that he had coins issues engraved with her name. Some of his coins are among the over 500 on display at an exhibition of old coins at Jawahar Kala Kendra here.

The exhibition, which ends Sep 5, is attracting many visitors. Some of the coins date back to 2,600 years and include the 'panch mark' coins (with five marks), which officials say date from 600 BC to 200 BC.

There are other ancient coins too - from the Indo-Greek period (around 200 BC-1 AD) and Kushan period from roughly the same age, Gupta period (320-600 AD) and Mughal period (1527-1707 when Aurangzeb died and the empire started declining).

There are special coins of princely states, including Jaipur, Kota, Bikaner and Marwar. The exhibition has been organised by the archaeological and museum department of Rajasthan in collaboration with Jawahar Kala Kendra.

"It's a modest attempt by the archaeological department to display such coins. These are said to be the oldest coins in our country. They provide the source material to know about our glorious past and to educate people about the ancient cultural, political and socio-economic life," said Zafarulla Khan, a known numismatic and circle superintendent with the archaeological and museum department.

The Panch Mark coins are crowd pullers. They are the oldest in the exhibition and said to be the first known coins to be circulated in Indian history. Most of these silver coins have five marks on them and each weighs 3.2 grams.

Several coins have engravings that look like three human figures and a horse while some show a bent human figure with an object on his shoulders. Others depict a figure carrying two pots on the shoulder slung on the ends of a rod.

On certain coins the images are so blurred and invisible that it is difficult to decipher the impression. These coins were found from different parts of Rajasthan, particularly Virath Nagar, Tonk, Sikar, Chitorgarh and Sambhar areas.

According to Zafarulla Khan, it was noted numismatic John Ellen who first deciphered the marks on the coins in accordance with Western terms. But several Indian experts have challenged the interpretation of the coin engravings.

Indian numismatics including Zafarulla Khan think the engravings on the coins are purely figures of Indian gods and goddesses. They think a correct interpretation of the engravings could reveal important information about the culture of that era.

Anger speeds up lungs deterioration: Study

London, Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) Lung power normally declines as a person ages but being angry and hostile can speed up the process, researchers said on Thursday.

In a study of 670 men ranging in age from 45 to 86, they found that males who had higher levels of long-standing anger at the start of the eight-year project had significantly poorer lung function at the end of it.

"This study is one of the first to show prospectively that hostility is associated with poorer pulmonary function and more rapid rates of decline among older men," said Dr Rosalind Wright, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, in a report online in the journal Thorax.

The scientists used a scoring system to measures the levels of anger of each of the men and they tested their lung power three times during the study.

Even after taking account of other factors such as smoking that can also have an impact on lung power, hostility and anger had a negative effect.

Anger, hostility and stress have also been associated with heart disease, asthma and other ailments.

Wright and her team suggested that the negative emotions could change biological process and may disturb the immune system and cause chronic inflammation.

"Stress-related factors are known to depress the immune function and increase susceptibility to or exacerbate a host of diseases and disorders," said Dr Paul Lehrer, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, in an editorial in the journal.

He added that it is unknown how chronic anger contributes to physical deterioration but said the researchers established a link between chronic anger and age-related deterioration in lung function.

"The next step is to determine the exact pathway by which this happens," said Lehrer.

Annan in Iran to discuss nuclear dispute

Tehran, Sep 2 (DPA) UN Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived here for a two-day visit Saturday to persuade Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and avoid possible sanction due to its nuclear dispute with the UN Security Council.

Annan is to meet Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki and Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani. On Sunday, he will meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and discuss the nuclear row.

Army backs Musharraf's handling of Balochistan

Islamabad, Sep 2 (IANS) Pakistani Army commanders have reposed "full confidence" in the way President Pervez Musharraf is handling the volatile situation in Balochistan, a newspaper reported Saturday.

The Dawn said Musharraf, who chaired the meeting of commanders here Friday, stressed that it was the government's duty to ensure peace and tranquility in the country.

Musharraf also made it clear that nobody was above the law and that the writ of the government would have to be established throughout the country at all costs.

The remarks are widely seen as his justification of the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Khan Bugti in a military operation in Balochistan.

The killing sparked violence across Balochistan and parts of Sindh and Punjab.

The Dawn said Musharraf also took the corps commanders into confidence on the situation along the country's Afghan and Indian borders.

The meeting was attended by vice chief of army staff, all corps commanders and principal staff officers.

Australia must maintain close ties with India: Howard

Sydney, Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) Australia has greatly benefited from India`s emergence as an economic power despite the pressure New Delhi`s demand for energy is placing on rising domestic fuel prices, Prime Minister John Howard said on Thursday.

After having only cricket and membership of the Commonwealth in common, the two countries had come closer economically over the past six years. India with its expanding middle class is an increasingly important trading partner, Howard said, while delivering the Accor-Quantas Australia India address.

But one of the ironies of the stronger economic ties was the pressure India`s economy was putting on fuel prices in Australia, he said.

"High petrol prices caused by high crude oil prices are there...More than anything else because of the rise economically of China and also increasingly of India," he said in a speech in which he outlined his government`s strategies and visions for its relations with India.

"Yet ironically Australia is a greater beneficiary of the rise economically of those two countries than most other developed countries."

India and China, with their affluent middle class, are "remarkably important to Australia" despite the pressure exerted by them on energy resources and the "very high prices we now groan under", he pointed out.

Noting that India was the world`s fourth largest economy and its national income would double every 30 years, Howard said, "the rise of India, of course, is one of the great phenomenons of the early part of the 21st century.

"I am personally very committed to the relationship and I know the Prime Minister of India is," Howard said.

The main areas where Australia`s relations with India would grow are IT, education, economic exchanges and the growing number of Indian migrants settling in the country, he told the event organised by the Australia India Business Council.

"About 11 to 12 per cent of Australia`s migration programme is now made up of citizens from India. It is the third largest source of migration to Australia and the second largest source of overseas students," he said.

"There is a real sense of excitement and a sense of anticipation about the relationships that our two countries have," said Howard who visited India in March with a trade delegation.

India had become the "nation that everybody is watching very attentively" because of the economic reforms it had initiated in the early 1990s, he said.

Howard also lavished praise on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who launched the reforms during his tenure as Finance Minister, for converting India from an "over-regulated, inward looking, heavily subsidised and heavily protected" economy into a major power.

Bangladesh's gains through cheap labour 'transitory'

Dhaka, Sep 2 (IANS) Dependence on cheap labour and long working hours in Bangladesh may mean high productivity and help in maintaining global competitiveness of its products, but gains are "transitory", says an ILO study.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has ranked Bangladesh among the top six economies in the world in terms of annual working hours.

Citing the example of the Asian "miracle economies," the study notes that the comparative advantage based on the intensive use of cheap and relatively unskilled labour was "transitory in nature," news agency BD News reported.

Focusing on the low labour costs, the ILO study said countries that try to exploit their comparative advantages of low labour costs by restricting wages may end up in a vicious cycle of low productivity, deficient training and a lack of skilled jobs. "And thus unable to compete effectively in the markets for skill-intensive products," it added.

The ILO study showed that between 20 to 35 percent of the employed workforce put in more than 50 hours on the job per week, Bangladesh Observer said.

Bangladesh is among the economies where long working hours are the norm. However, long working hours and bad conditions have led to agitations, large-scale violence and destruction, especially in the readymade garments and apparels factories - Bangladesh economy's mainstay in exports.

The government and the international labour agencies have often had to intervene to ease the volatile situation.

In the report by its director general made at the 14th Asian regional meeting in Busan, South Korea, the ILO called for new initiatives aimed at eliminating "decent work deficit".

BCCI congratulates women's team on Test series win

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Indian cricket board president Sharad Pawar Saturday congratulated the national women's team for its historic 1-0 Test series win in England.

"This was the first tour undertaken by the women's team after the merger with the BCCI and we hope the team does better in future," Pawar said in a congratulatory message to captain Mithali Ran and her teammates.

Pacer Jhulan Goswami took a 10-wicket match haul to propel India to a five-wicket win over England in the second and the final Test in Taunton Friday.

Goswami bagged both the Woman of the Match and Woman of the Series awards for her fine performances.

Anjum Chopra and Ran were the other players who made crucial contributions to the win.

Chopra, however, fell two runs short of a century in the first innings, while Ran made 65.

The first Test had ended in a draw.

Earlier, England won the five-match one-day international series 4-0, while one match was washed out.

It was the team's first series after the Women's Cricket Association of India merged with the Board of Control for Cricket in India as per instructions of the International Cricket Council.

BCCI launches partial website

Mumbai, Sep 2 (IANS) The Indian cricket board has finally launched its much-awaited website - the last amongst the 10 Test-playing nations - but only partially.

www.bcci.tv, the official website of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has been launched only to offer online tickets for the Champions Trophy to be played in India Oct 7 to Nov 5, the board said in a statement.

"For the convenience of our fans and cricket enthusiasts, we have provided this service of pre-booking your tickets and having the exclusive privilege of blocking the best seats at the various venues, subject to availability, of course," it said.

In all, 21 matches will be played at four venues in the Champions Trophy. The venues are Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Mohali and Jaipur.

The final will be played at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai Nov 5.

Beigh to resign from Kashmir ministry

Srinagar, Sep 2 (IANS) High-profile Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh Saturday said he will quit the coalition ministry, ending a crisis threatening the state following the recent cabinet expansion.

"I will submit my resignation to the chief minister when he returns from New Delhi," the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader told newspersons here Saturday afternoon.

Beigh's announcement ends the two-day crisis gripping the coalition government after Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad refused to accept a PDP proposal over allocation of portfolios to PDP ministers including pruning of ministries held by Beigh.

"I will request Azad saab to relieve me of my responsibilities as deputy chief minister and as a minister of the PDP-Congress government," Beigh said.

The resignation of Beigh will pave the way for the appointment of a new PDP- nominated deputy chief minister.

Beigh denied he was party to the decision by Azad to retain him as deputy chief minister despite the PDP's decision to the contrary.

He said the PDP patron and former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed had "pointed to four lapses on my part on four issues, which included the creation of eight new districts and the transfer of a senior superintendent of police from the PDP stronghold of Anantnag.

"However, I didn't want friction in the coalition ministry on these issues and that is why I went by the cabinet decisions. I told this to Mufti," Beigh said.

Border trade with Southeast Asia to be encouraged

Aizawl, Sep 2 (IANS) The centre would provide all help to boost border trade between the country's northeastern region and Southeast Asia, said union Commerce Minister of State Jairam Ramesh Saturday here.

"The centre has promised all possible assistance to the northeastern states by improving infrastructure, including roads along the borders to boost trade between the region and the neighbouring countries," the minister told reporters here.

In June, the commerce ministry offered airfreight assistance for perishable products meant for exports from the northeast with 90 percent subsidy up to Bagdogra and Kolkata and 50 percent concessions up to Delhi and Mumbai.

The government had earlier announced a Rs.40 million grant to develop the land customs station at Zokhawtar in Mizoram to facilitate border trade with Myanmar. The Border Roads Organisation is executing the project.

"Another Rs.20.5 million has been sanctioned for developing infrastructure facilities at Demagiri to promote border trade with Bangladesh," the minister said.

BSF, BDR meet on contentious issues

By Kishalay Bharttacharjee

Shillong, September 2 (NDTV.COM) Tensions along the Indo-Bangaldesh border escalated in June this year when the BDR had a run in with the BSF.

Several activists have been suspected of operating out of Bangladesh and the porous border between the two countries has been a further cause of concern.

There were reports of exchange of fire on the Indo-Bangladesh border in south Assam when Bangladeshi civilians tried to enter Indian territory despite a BSF warning.

At the same time in Shillong another BSF-BDR meet was on, in which the BSF resubmitted its list of wanted activists believed to be operating out of Bangladesh.

The response was predictable.

"I am always asked specifically about Anup Chetia, we have shared a list containing 103 names in which this name is also there.

"Their reply whenever we share a list is that nobody in the list is staying there and if they are we will come back to you," said S K Dutta, IG, BSF.

Escalating tension

There's been tension along the Bangla border since June 28 when the BDR fired at the BSF.

This 20-km stretch in South Assam is where thousands of villagers still live in refugee camps.

"We discussed the firing incident in Cachar district. We said that you started firing, heavy weapons were used by you. We told them this would not be allowed," said Dutta.

Post Mumbai blasts there's been concern about jehadis crossing the border.

"There are reports that ISI is active in Bangladesh along with the DGFI and we have reports also that in Assam certain youths are being taken to Bangladesh to train on jehadi activities and sent back to Assam," said Sinha, IG BSF.

"But what was specifically asked was that we are feeling concerned about large amount of arms coming in and we asked them where are these weapons coming from, where have they been sourced from?" said Dutta.

"On the ground I have multiple constraints. This is at times irritating but it's part of the job. We have to pursue our agenda," he added.

Clearly, on the ground, Bangladesh is a difficult neighbour.

Bugti killing: Pak army braces for protests

By Munizae Jehangir

Quetta, September 2 (NDTV.COM) Pakistani forces have braced themselves for demonstrations following the burial of Nawab Bugti who was killed in a military raid in Balchistan.

Earlier in the day, the Nawab's body was brought in a sealed coffin, and immediately after the funeral prayers the body was buried his native Dera Bugti town.

Maulana Malook who performed funeral prayers and Bugti's estranged nephew Haider Bugti were present at the scene.

Journalists, relatives and fellow tribesmen were not allowed near the body.

The Nawab's son Jamil Bugti said the family demanded that authorities handover his body but no one from the government informed that his remains have been found.

The Opposition has called for a nationwide strike on Friday over the incident and has warned that the repercussions could endanger the federation as well as the existence of the country.

The incident has not just shocked civil society and the media but also prominent members of the ruling PML party, who have publicly expressed grief over the Nawab's death.

Despite widespread condemnation the Pakistan President has vowed that the military operation in Balochistan will continue till all "miscreants" are eliminated.

However, others think that this will only lead a spiral of violence.

"This will have more reactions. Those who talked of democracy will be pushed to the back and people will take to the gun," said Hasil Bizenjo, Secretary General, National Party, Balochistan.

Discontent among youth

The creation of Nawab Bugti as a martyr has inspired the younger generation of Balochs, who took to the streets in violent protests, but it has weakened democratic forces within Balochistan, who are still advocating for a political solution to the crisis.

"We have been observing for the past two-three days that the young generation is taking matters into its hands and the political parties are quite helpless," said Zahoor Ahmad Shawani, Vice Chairperson, Balochistan Chapter, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

In the last few days, the Baloch Student Organization has been in the forefront of political agitation against the killing of Nawab Bugti.

They have been involved in the violent riots that followed, and hundreds of their members have been arrested.

Till last week, they were affiliated with Baloch nationalist parties but now they have broken away and taken to the path of violence.

"At the moment BSO does not have any affiliation with anyone. They say that we should go to the Parliament of Pakistan and we say no because we cannot achieve our goals through parliamentary politics. We do not trust in this Parliament."

"We do not believe in violence and neither have we taken to the path of violence so far. We are being pressurized now and all doors are being closed upon us," said Fahim Baloch, Member, Baloch Student Organization.

With the death of one of the last political stalwarts of Balochistan the youth is feeling disenchanted, and with Islamabad looking the other way, the sense of alienation has never been more.

CCS to discuss fighting internal terrorism

New Delhi, September 2 (NDTV.COM) The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) will meet on Saturday to finalise its new look policy on fighting internal terrorism.

After the Mumbai blasts, the Home Ministry had renewed its focus on improving intelligence gathering and sensitising states.

Five key issues - Jammu and Kashmir, North East, Naxalism, hinterland security and communal violence - will be discussed.

This meeting is a precursor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with chief ministers on September 5 to deal with internal security.

Central team to tour Rajasthan's flood-affected areas

Jaipur, Sep 2 (IANS) A central government team will tour Rajasthan's flood-affected areas on Sunday.

"The nine-member team will be headed by D.K. Sikri, the registrar general of India. It will tour almost all the flood-affected areas in the state," Rajasthan's relief secretary R.K. Meena said here Saturday.

Twelve districts of the state were affected by a flood-like situation in recent months. These include Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Rajsamand, Jhalawar, Kota, Barmer, Jalore, Pali, Sirohi and Jaisalmer.

Over 139 people have died in different incidents and heavy damage was caused to roads, electricity, water supply and dams.

The desert district of Barmer was the worst affected due to flash floods. Over 800,000 people out of a population of 2 million were affected.

There are also reports of large-scale damage to houses and property in Barmer. Unconfirmed reports say 5,200 houses were damaged and agriculture crop worth Rs.300 million was wiped out.

The state government has sought a special package of Rs.32 billion from the union government for the losses suffered.

"The team would tour these districts from Sep 3 and come to Jaipur on Sep 6 when they would hold a meeting with the chief secretary here," Meena said.

He said that relief operations have been stepped up in the Barmer district where life was returning to normal. Efforts were also on to drain water in Malva and Kawas villages of the district, he added.

Kawas and Malva are still submerged in over eight feet of water. The state government is planning to relocate these villages.

Church must also woo Hindu SCs, OBCs to its cause: Experts

By Pervez Bari

New Delhi, Sept. 2 (IndianMuslims.info): A powerful call by a Dalit Bishop for unity amongst Dalit Christian groups, and a pioneering bureaucrats advice to the Church to win support amongst non-Christian Dalits for its cause by voluntarily opening up its education institutions to Scheduled Castes, (SCs), and Other Backward Classes, (OBCs), have marked the current phase of advocacy before the Justice Mishra Commission which ended on Wednesday at a Workshop in Delhi university.

The Workshop organized for the Justice Ranganath Mishra National Commission for Minorities by the Delhi School of Economics was the last in a series of similar seminars seeking expert opinion on the demand for Scheduled Caste status, and its inherent protection under law, made by Christian converts from former untouchable castes. Workshops have been held earlier in Delhi and Mumbai (by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences). The Commission also held hearings in several other towns.

The Ranganath Mishra Commission is to submit its report by October 31, 2006 to the Government, which has promised to pass on its findings to the Supreme Court of India which is hearing a series of Public Interest Litigation, (PIL), petitions on the issue. The Hindutva Parivar, by proxy, is also in the Supreme Court challenging the Christians who want the court to undo the Presidential order of 1950 which restricts affirmative action only to Hindu Dalits (later extended to Buddhists and Sikhs too).

Eminent Dalit activists including priests and lay leaders, as also internationally well-known scholars, had been going from center to center appearing at the workshops and before the Commission giving evidence on the Dalit cause. They include famed sociologist and former Jawaharlal Nehru University Professor T K Oomen, former Catholic Bishops conference executive secretaries Fr. Louduswamy and Fr. Philomen Raj, Jesuits Fr. John Bosco and Fr. Prakash Luis, CSI Bishop Sahayam, Catholic Union National Secretary Advocate Edward Arokiadoss and National Integration Council member Dr. John Dayal (also of the Catholic union and All India Christian Council.)

The Christian community is represented on the NCRLM by Dr Anil Wilson, Principal of St Stephen's college and former Vice chancellor of Himachal University, Shimla. Its first Member is Prof Tahir Mahmood, former Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, and the Sikhs are represented by Dr Mohinder Singh. Retired IAS officer Asha das is member secretary.

It was at the final Delhi university workshop that retired IAS officer PS Krishnan, who worked in the Union Welfare Ministry and allied department for almost three decades till 1991, and supervised the grant of SC status to Sikhs and Buddhists, told the Christian hierarchy that it would help the cause of Dalit Christians if it won over the trust of the non-Christian Dalits and OBCs by voluntarily opening up its educational institutions to the deprived communities. The church should not shy away from this as it was not just a Christian duty to a poor and deprived section, but also good strategic canvassing, he added.

He pointed out that Hindutva elements and other opposed to give Dalit rights to Christians of Scheduled Caste origin, for fear of mass conversions or other bigotry, would fire their guns using the shoulders of the Dalit community. The Dalits may not play into the hands of the Hindutva forces, but they were also seeking a gesture from the Church leadership which had so far focused its attention on educating the elite of the Hindu upper castes in its institutions.

"Voluntarily, give them entry. First fill up your seats with Christians Dalits, then give to non-Christian Dalits and OBCs. This will help your own cause,' Krishnan said. Krishnan was among the few who came out strongly in support of the Christian community at the Workshop, together with some Leftist professors.

Even in Delhi, hardcore Hindutva elements had been deliberately invited to the workshops to oppose the Christian demand. They even managed to locate so-called Ambedkarite institutions in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra which had been heavily penetrated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, (RSS), and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Kishnan also said the government had made a mistake by not consulting he National Scheduled Castes Commission as also the Anthropological Experts' Cell in the office of the Census Commission, which it was legally obliged to do. He feared this lapse could hurt the Christian cause at a later date.

Significantly, Krishnan's suggestion comes when the Catholic Bishops Conference is firming up its new education policy. The Data submitted at the Workshops will also be of use in fine-tuning the education policy as it has been shown that tribal and Dalit Christians themselves largely remain untouched and uncared for by the much in demand elite Christian schools and colleges.

The call for unity was as powerful. It came from Church of North India's Bishop Karam Masih, a pioneering activist of the cause, who expressed his sadness at the poor attendance of a rally, held in Delhi on August 24 at Parliament street. The rally was supposed to bring over 40,000 Dalit Christians and their supporters from all over the country, but not more than 200 came, and of them, only 100 were present at the public meeting held in the air-conditioned hall of Delhi's old St. Thomas Girls School which was given free by the bishop.

The rally, organized by a newly set up group out of Chennai and Trivandrum, was earlier addressed by Catholic Bishops Conference secretary general Archbishop Stanislaus Fernandes of Ahmadabad, Delhi Archbishop Vincent Concessao and representatives of the churches of North and South India, the Mar Thomas Church, the Orthodox Church, the Salvation Army, and other leaders.

Over 50 persons had come from Andhra and about the same number from Tamil Nadu. There were also representatives from Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Several prominent Catholic leaders from Andhra Pradesh had also come, among them Hyderabad Catholic Association president Martin and Sleeva Galilee Bishop Karam Masih was anguished at the poor attendance from north India and the absence of any group from New Delhi. He called upon the Dalit Christian leaders to sink all differences and be united if victory was to be achieved. He reminded them of the rally he and others had helped organize in 1991 which for the first time brought over 100,000 of Dalit Christians to the national capital and marked the high water mark of their campaign for human rights.The Bishops of the Catholic Church, the CNI and the CSI assured the movement all support in the future.

Cong distances itself from PDP move against Beigh

New Delhi, Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) Congress today sought to wash its hands off the controversy arising out of the demand for the sacking of Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh by PDP and made it clear that the coalition's nomination of a new deputy CM would be accepted.

The Congress said the development would not affect the stability of the Kashmir government led by Ghulam Nabi Azad.

"It is an internal matter of the PDP. We do not interfere in it. It does not affect the stability of the coalition government," Union Minister Ambika Soni told reporters from Pune.

Soni, who is also in-charge of party affairs in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, said PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has written a letter to the Chief Minister, informing him that Beigh was no longer the leader of the PDP legislature party.

Azad had spoken to Soni and apprised her of the developments. An alternative party leader chosen by PDP would take over and till that time, the post would remain with the Chief Minister, she said.

Asked whether the PDP's action would affect the cohesiveness of the coalition, she said, "It is a matter for the PDP to respond. The Congress will not say in this matter."

On a day of surprise political developments yesterday, the PDP first sought the shifting of Beigh from the key portfolios of finance and law. The Chief Minister refused to do so.

An upset PDP led by Azad's predecessor Mufti Mohammed Sayeed summoned a legislature party meeting, which adopted a resolution removing Beigh from the leadership of the legislature party. The PDP also demanded Beigh's ouster from the cabinet.

Congress in Karnataka upbeat about Sonia visit

By Fakir Balaji,

Bangalore, Sep 2 (IANS) The Karnataka unit of the Congress is pulling out all stops to make the visit here Sunday of party president Sonia Gandhi a show of strength in the face of the squabbling in the coalition government of the Janata Dal-Secular and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Although Sonia's visit is meant to induct JD-S rebel leader Siddaramaiah into the party at a massive rally at the Royal Bangalore Palace grounds, Congress leaders are competing with each other to prove their own rallying power.

"This is the first time Sonia will be coming to Bangalore after the 2004 elections. We consider it a great opportunity to rejuvenate the party," said Mallikarjun Kharge, the Karnataka Congress unit president.

The Congress had lost the state elections in 2004 but managed to form a government. In January it was dethroned from its coalition government after JD-S leader H.D. Kumaraswamy staged a coup and teamed up with BJP to wrest power and become chief minister.

While the firebrand Siddaramaiah, a former deputy chief minister, has his own axe to grind against JD-S chief and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, for suspending him and eight of his supporters from the party, the Congress feels the developments could lead to an early election it might be able to win.

According to party sources, the Congress rally Sunday is expected to see a turnout of 200,000-300,000 people.

The entry of Siddaramaiah will help the party to fortify its position across the state because Kurubas (community of shepherds to which Siddaramaiah belongs) constitute six percent of the electorate, Congress sources say.

In the run-up to the coming by-election in Chamundeshwari following Siddaramaiah's resignation from the assembly in July, the Congress has chalked out various programmes and campaigns to prevent the JD-S or even the BJP from wresting the constituency in the old Mysore region.

Though a fractured verdict in the May 2004 state elections had forced the Congress and the JD-S to form the government under then chief minister N. Dharam Singh to keep the "communal" BJP out of power, Gowda and sons had no hesitation in parting ways as there was no love lost between the two "secular" parties.

When Gowda agreed to form the coalition government with the Congress, he had maintained he would have no truck with the latter at the party level or in contesting elections. So when Siddaramaiah joined hands with second-rung Congress leaders to hold rallies in June-July last year, a peeved Gowda decided to boot him out.

After breaking away from the JD-S and forming the AIPJD, Siddaramaiah emerged as a force to reckon with even for the Congress by contesting the local bodies elections in December 2005 and winning a number of seats in the zilla and the taluk panchayats.

"I am joining the Congress without any rider. The Congress has not lured me. I will go to my people and explain why I left the JD-S. The party perished on the day Gowda allowed his son (Kumaraswamy) to join hands with the BJP to form the government here," Siddaramaiah told IANS.

Delhi clears development projects worth Rs.1.13 bn

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) The Delhi government has cleared five healthcare and development projects worth Rs.1.13 billion.

Delhi Planning and Finance Minister A.K. Walia said the projects - two each in health and public works and one pertaining to environment - have been given a go-ahead by the expenditure finance committee (EFC).

The government has sanctioned Rs.928 million for procuring equipment for the Institute of Liver and Biliary Science (ILBS). This would be bought in a phased manner and it would be ensured that no equipment remains idle after the institute is commissioned, the minister said in a statement.

The EFC has also allowed purchase of typhoid vaccines and related items worth Rs.12.8 million that will help curb mortality among children in the age group of 2 to 5, the minister said.

For the environment project, the government would purchase 40 acres near Ghummanhera village for setting up a treatment, storage and disposal facility at an estimated cost of Rs.112.2 million.

The Supreme Court had directed the government to develop a site for treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste.

Delhi to launch school football league Wednesday

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Vision India's 'Project Delhi', a brainchild of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), will launch an under-13 league for local schools starting Wednesday.

"The league is the first major step taken by the Project Delhi and 48 schools will be participating," said All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) secretary Alberto Colaco here Saturday.

The participating schools have been divided into six zones. In each zone, 28 matches of 50 minutes duration will take place. Each team will comprise of seven players. The last round of the league will be played Oct 18.

As an incentive for the students, the teams would be provided free kit by Boxer Sports Goods.

A four-member spotter committee has been formed, with the responsibility to spot talent at these matches.

"We have created the committee that will be spotting the talented. The talented would then be given training during school vacations," said Shaji Prabhakaran, director of Vision India.

From next year, the league will be played on home-and-away basis and there is a plan to include government schools also. This year, only private schools, the Army School and Central Reserve Police Force Public School are taking part in the league.

Prabhakaran also announced a similar school league would start in Manipur from Sep 9.

"Manipur project has been working fine. We don't have a sponsor there but the state government is helping us in all possible ways to make the project a hit," he said.

The AFC in association with the AIFF has also conducted an assessment of some other states recently, for the expansion of the project.

"Recently AFC officials visited Punjab, Chandigarh, Sikkim and Karnataka and reviewed the facilities there. Hopefully, we would see pilot projects in these states soon," said Prabhakaran.

Umesh Sood was appointed the working chairman of the Delhi Project and Syed Nasir Ali the coordinator.

"It is an honour for me and it is going to be a challenging task as well. I have always accepted challenges and with the support of all the members I shall get over it," said Sood.

Project Delhi is a part of Vision India, which was launched by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in September 2002 with the goal of developing infrastructure and raising the standard of the game in country.

The Vision Asia team submitted a report on India in 2004 and the pilot projects were launched in Delhi and Manipur.

For Delhi, the AIFF has got the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) to sponsor the school league and hence the project will be called the SAIL Vision India Project Delhi.

The implementation process of Project Delhi started with the formulation of the task force as per guidelines of AFC in July 2005.

Detained Pak national may undergo narco, other tests

Vadodara, Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) Pakistani national Aamir Sohail, detained at railway station here on August 26, may be put through narco-analysis, brain mapping and other tests for ascertaining the motive behind his visit to India, police said here today.

Even after more than 130 hours of investigations by various agencies, including raw and other state agencies, Sohail has not revealed the purpose of his visit to this country, an investigating official said.

During police interrogation, Sohail, a resident of Raja Jung of Kasur district of Pakistan, said he had heard a lot about Mumbai and wanted to visit it. So, he sneaked through dense forest area along the Indo-Pak border after alighting from the Samjhauta Express, which runs between Pakistan and Attari in Punjab, the official said.

Sohail was detained at Vadodara Railway Station after he alighted from Amritsar-Mumbai Golden Temple Express and was found to be moving in a suspicious manner by two Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel.

Police had recovered from him a Pakistani passport issued in the name of a woman, who has been granted visa to visit Godhra town in Gujarat. Police had also recovered a mobile phone from him. He, however, was carrying no baggage.

J Bibi, a Pakistani woman, had reached Godhra on August 24 last and lodged a complaint with local police that her passport had been missing from the waiting room of Delhi Railway Station.

During interrogation, Sohail said he had found the passport lying near the toilet of a coach of the train. The woman said she did not know Sohail.

Don't give Vande Mataram a political colour: Muslim body

Ranchi, Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) A Muslim religious body in Jharkhand today urged the BJP-led NDA government in the state not to give the 'Vande Mataram' issue a political colour.

General secretary of Edara-E-Sharia Moulana Quttubiddin Rizvi told reporters here there were better issues like poverty, illiteracy and unemployment to deal with and "giving it a political colour will only spoil young minds who are the future of our nation."

Rendition of 'Vande Mataram' during its centenary celebration on September 7 should not be a yardstick to judge one's patriotism, he said.

"Rendition of the national song should not be equated with patriotism of Muslims who have always been honest in their duty towards the nation," Rizvi said.

Reacting to the BJP's assertion to make the national song mandatory in all educational institutions on September 7, Rizvi said the forum would wait till September 5 before issuing any diktat to their community whether to be present in the educational institutions on that day or not.

"We will meet Governor Syed Sibtey Razi to give a memorandum requesting him not to impose it. If necessary, we will also meet Chief Minsiter Arjun Munda," he said.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda yesterday said rendition of 'Vande Mataram' should be mandatory in all educational institutions in the state as it is a national song.

Meanwhile, a national member of Bjp's minority cell Mohammad Rizwan Khan said about 500 members from the minority community would congregate at the busy Elbert Ekka Chowk on September 7 to render Vande Mataram.

EU favours diplomacy on Iran row

Lappeenranta (Finland), Sep 2 (DPA) European Union foreign ministers vowed to continue diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme rather than rushing to impose UN sanctions on Tehran.

"We ... have no interest in an escalation with Iran in the UN Security Council," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said here Saturday.

An International Atomic Energy Agency deadline expired Aug 31 for Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, which is widely seen as being aimed at producing nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charges.

Steinmeier, speaking at a meeting of the 25 European Union foreign ministers in Lappeenranta, put the onus on Iran to show it was serious about continuing talks.

"We will not slam the door but we need a signal from the other side," he said.

Echoing this view, Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot termed Tehran's response "disappointing". But he said cutting off contacts would be the "worst thing" the EU could do.

"Just because (Iran) behaves in an irresponsible manner does not mean that we have to be irresponsible," said Bot.

The ministers Friday backed plans by EU chief diplomat Javier Solana to hold talks early next week with senior Iranian officials.

Asked about a timetable, Bot said he was unsure how long a dialogue with Iran could go on.

The ministers are also seeking to deepen relations with Russia, and bring down barriers to trade and investment, said Finland, which holds the rotating EU presidency.

Families of slain Indian pilgrims shocked

Hyderabad, Sep 2 (IANS) A pall of gloom descended on the homes of the three men from Andhra Pradesh shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Iraq.

The relatives of the slain pilgrims received the shocking news from their wives and other family members who were accompanying them.

The three were part of a 15-member group of pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh. While all 12 women, including group leader Syeda Zianab, were spared, the Indian men along with eight Pakistanis were separated and later gunned down.

According to Zianab. the three Indians are Jaffer Mashadi and Mohammed Ahmed Ali of Hyderabad and Mohuiddin Baig of West Godavari district.

Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed had earlier said that Mashadi was from Vishakhapatnam and the other two were from Hyderabad.

Mashadi and Ahmed Ali were accompanied by their wives while Baig's mother-in-law was travelling with him.

"He spoke to me over phone only three days ago and said all was well," said Mariam Begum, mother of Ahmed Ali. Dozens of family members and other mourners descended on his house in Chanchalguda in old city.

Ahmed Ali, 42, also a social worker, had been visiting the holy shrines of Iraq almost every year. Despite the war in Iraq, he had been a regular visitor to that country.

"He visited Iraq 13 times and I don't know why it happened this time. I just shudder to think how they shot him dead," said Mohammed Ali's mother.

The scene was no different at the house of Mashadi alias Aga, 60. Men and women could be seen wailing outside his house at Ghatkesar on the city's outskirts.

As the land of Karbala is considered holy, all the three were buried there in the presence of other members of the group.

The group had left India Aug 23 and entered Iraq after visiting pilgrim centres in Syria and Jordan.

Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed said in New Delhi that the three were kidnapped from Rutba on their way to Karbala, about 100 km southwest of Baghdad, on Aug 31 night.

The bodies were recovered from Rutba, a small town in Iraq 's western province of Al Anbar.

The slain Indians and Pakistanis were part of a 40-strong group that included several women. The gunmen picked out only the men, who turned out to be Indians and Pakistanis.

With about 200,000 Shia Muslims, Hyderabad has the second largest population of the sect in India after Lucknow.

Every year dozens of pilgrims in groups visit shrines in Iraq, Iran and Syria. Shia leaders said three other groups currently in Iraq have informed their relatives that they are safe.

Community leaders said this is the first time pilgrims from the city have fallen victims to insurgents in Iraq.

Farmer relief package: Pawar to visit Kerala

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar will visit Kerala Sep 10-12 to study the state government's demand for more relief for farmers in some "suicide prone" districts.

"I have asked the state government to arrange visits to a few districts where farmers are facing problems," Pawar told the media on the sidelines of a meet to mark the World Coconut Day here Saturday.

The minister said he would be interacting with the farmers to find out their problems, "which are different from those of farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka".

Refusing to comment on whether the central government would be enhancing the relief package for the farmers, the minister said a decision would be taken on the basis of input received by his ministry.

Kerala has been seeking a better relief package and inclusion of Idukki district alongside Wayanad, Palakkad and Kasaragod districts for which the central government promised help last month.

While New Delhi proposed Rs.6.98 billion three-year relief package for the 31 "suicide prone" districts in the country, including three in Kerala, the state government has sought a Rs.20 billion package for farmers of the four districts on the lines of the Vidharbha deal announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Farmers to hold rally to protest power project

Lucknow, Sep 2 (IANS) Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh has decided to oppose the mega power project of Anil Ambani group on the Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border.

The party, whose influence is limited to the western parts of the state, will stage a rally Sep 5 to protest the acquisition of 3,000 acres.

"We are demanding higher compensation for farmers whose land has been acquired by the government for Reliance Energy," Singh told media persons Saturday.

"Farmers have been given a raw deal. It is clear that the government is sacrificing the interest of the farmers to extend undue favour to the industrial house.

"But the protest is not going to affect our alliance. We have a democratic right to oppose a wrong move of the government."

FBI accuses Tamils in Australia of helping LTTE

Sydney, Sep 2 (IANS) Australian police have launched investigations into several Tamil organisations in this country after the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accused the Tamil community here of supporting rebels in Sri Lanka.

The FBI has said Tamils in Australia have been funding the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to carry out terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, according to a report in The Australian.

The FBI accusation comes on the heels of the arrest of 13 men in the US last week who were allegedly plotting to buy Russian-made shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles and assault rifles for the Tamil Tigers.

Though it is not known whether those arrested had any links with anyone in Australia, Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers have been investigating the activities of several Tamil organisations in Sydney and Melbourne.

According to The Australian, FBI documents tendered in a New York court said Australia played a key role in the global fundraising efforts for the rebels.

"The LTTE relies heavily upon supporters in Europe, US, Canada and Australia to raise and launder money, acquire intelligence and purchase technology and military arms and equipment," the report quoted the FBI as saying.

In December last year, AFP officers had launched a series of raids after reports that Tamils in Australia were helping the LTTE. However, no arrests were made.

Prior to those raids, Sri Lanka had warned the Australian government that charity donations given by Australians after the 2004 tsunami in South Asia might have been used to fund the Tamil rebels.

Australians had given over $1 million Australian dollars to Sri Lankan victims of the tsunami, largely through two Tamil organisations, the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) and the Tamil Co-ordinating Committee (TCC).

Both the organisations have strongly refuted the charge.

But, according to The Australian, the FBI has said that the North American offices of these two organisations were "fronts" for the clandestine channelling of financial and military aid to the rebels.

"The LTTE relies on front charitable organisations, including the TRO and World Tamil Co-ordinating Committee among others to give their fundraising activities the appearance of legitimacy" the FBI was quoted as saying in the report.

"These organisations are also used to smuggle goods to the LTTE in Sri Lanka."

A TCC spokesman, Perambalam Senthooran, told the weekend edition of The Australian Friday that the organisation had received legal advice that its fundraising activities did not breach Australian law.

TRO's head in Australia, a Melbourne-based gynaecologist named Rajan Rasiah, has, however, said that the TRO had no choice but to cooperate with the Tamil Tigers in directing charitable contributions because they controlled northeastern parts of Sri Lanka.

"You have to work with the permission, with the approval and with the support of the LTTE if you want to work in the northeast," Rasiah told the newspaper.

He has, however, denied the charge that the TRO is funding the Tamil Tigers.

There are over 50,000 Tamils in Australia, both of Indian and Sri Lankan origin.

First 2 stanzas of Vande Mataram to be sung by 5000 Madrasas

Bhopal, Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) At least first two stanzas of `Vande Mataram' would be sung at over 5000 Madarasas in Madhya Pradesh to mark the beginning of centenary year celebrations of institution of the national song on September 7, state Madarasa Board said on Thursday.

Following state government circulars, instruction was being issued to Madarasas across the state for recitation of Vande Mataram at functions organised to mark the day on September 7, Board Registrar Sayyed Irshad Ali said.

Claiming that the order will be followed in `totality', he Said, "our motherland is like a paradise. Why should one have objections in saluting it?"

He claimed that the circulars from general administration department seeks recitation of "at least first two stanzas" of the song at all educational institutions.

District education officials have been asked to extend help to the board in ensuring that the recitation takes place at Madarasas in their respective areas, Ali said.

First Muslim promoted to UK Navy's top ranks

London, Sept 2 (IRNA) Britain's Royal Navy has become the first of the country's three Armed Services to promote a Muslim to one of its top ranks.

Commodore Amjad Hussain was appointed Thursday to be a Rear- Admiral, the equivalent rank in the Army is major-general and in the Air Force an air vice-marshal, but no Muslim has yet reached such a level yet.

Hussain, who was born in Pakistan and emigrated with his family to Britain when he was five years old, said he was "really astonished" at the number of people who have expressed shock that we have a rear-admiral in the Royal Navy from a background like mine.

"Some of my friends in other European countries have said it wouldn't happen here. So I think that's a mark of how far Britain has progressed," he told a press conference in London.

The 48-year-old admiral has been in the Royal Navy for 30 years.

In his new post, he is due to run the tri-service Defence Logistics Organization in Bath, south west England from next Monday.

Previously he was a commander of the naval base at Portsmouth on the southern coast of England. He has served in the fishery protection squadron and was a weapons engineer on the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible, which was deployed in the Persian Gulf.

The Ministry of Defence has described the admiral's promotion as showing that "hard work and professionalism, rather than your background, are the key to a successful career in the Armed Forces." Hussein, who was sponsored by the Navy to read engineering, science and business administration at university, also underlined the policy of Equality and Diversity used by the Armed Forces to reach out to Britain's 10 per cent ethnic minority population.

"For those kids who have limited their ambitions because they think parts of society or walks of life are closed to them, for kids with backgrounds not dissimilar to mine, there are lots of opportunities in the UK," he said.

On a practical level for Muslims, he said that the navy had moved a long way by providing prayers facilities for everyone and making halal food available.

But despite recruitment drives, the latest official figures show that there were only around 305 Muslims, 203 Hindus, 220 Buddhists, 90 Sikhs and 65 Jews in the armed forces last year, compared with some 183,000 Christians.

On the controversial issue of Britain's involvement in the Iraq war, the admiral said that he appreciated it was a policy that was not unanimously popular with all sections of UK society.

"Large parts of the community of the UK are not completely content with our involvement," he said, but added that for himself personally as a military officer, he was in the "implementation business and I get on with it."

Flood alert in Kashmir as heavy rains lash valley

Srinagar, Sep 2 (IANS) The Jammu and Kashmir administration has sounded a flood alert in the entire valley following incessant rains over the past three days with the state's main river Jhelum flowing over the danger mark Saturday.

The flood waters have already over flown the river embankments and submerged several low lying areas in south Kashmir's Anantnag district and in the summer capital Srinagar.

The Srinagar-Jammu national highway has been closed for traffic after floodwaters submerged a portion of it.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had to cut short his Leh visit and returned to Srinagar Saturday. Immediately after his arrival here, Azad visited Anantnag along with senior officials.

He asked officials to shift people from the submerged areas in to government schools and offices.

Azad asked the officials and staff of the flood control department, health and police to be available round the clock to monitor the situation and report to him directly.

"A close watch is being kept on the situation and we are ready to meet any eventuality," Kashmir divisional commissioner Basharat Dhar told IANS.

He said thousands of sand bags have been rushed to the flood prone areas. "We have also dispatched boats to evacuate people from the affected areas."

Focus on disease-resistant coconut varieties: Pawar

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Scientists should focus more on improving coconut varieties that are not only high-yielding, early fruit bearing and easy to harvest, but also resistant to pests and disease that affect production, said Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar Saturday.

"We are well aware of the great damage that has been caused to coconut cultivation and coconut farmers by the mite infestation, which has spread to almost all coconut growing states," Pawar said addressing a meet organised by the Coconut Development Board to mark World Coconut Day.

"Our research needs to focus on identifying such varieties that are resistant to mites. Similarly, a new approach has to be taken to address the problem of root wilt which has adversely affected the production and productivity of the crop, particularly in important coconut-growing states like Kerala," Pawar said.

He urged research institutes, industries and entrepreneurs to focus on developing innovative products from the coconut.

Coconut water is much in demand as a health drink, its kernel for making chips and other produce and its husk for making ropes and mats. It is also used widely for religious purposes.

India is the third largest producer of coconut after the Philippines and Indonesia, both of which export half their produce or coconut-based products.
Globally, coconut is grown in 93 countries on nearly 12 million hectares of land.

In India, it is grown in 18 states. Around 10 million people - farmers as well as processors - are engaged in activities related to coconut. Coconut oil, which is more expensive than other edible oils like palm, soybean, sunflower and rapeseed, has witnessed a dip in global trade over the years.

"The real threat to coconut is the diseases that destroy small farmers - and not cheap palm oil," said Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi. He urged scientists of the Indian Council of Agricultural Affairs (ICAR) to find out ways to check the spread of the diseases that were leading to falling yield.

Minnie Mathew, chairman of the Coconut Development Board, said not only was coconut yield being affected by disease but also the size and quality of the kernel and the fibre yield per nut, which was affecting the coir industry, especially in Kerala.

As over 100,000 coir workers depend on coconut husk to make coir fibre and other products, it is important for Kerala's economy to have more raw material (husk) available, said Ravi. Though Tamil Nadu is able to supply some of the raw material it is not sufficient to meet Kerala's demand, he said.

To tide over this problem, Kerala is now utilising the services of women self help groups (SHGs) to collect coconut husk from homes, said Mathew.

"Currently only 32 percent of the husk of the coconut crop grown in the state makes it to the coir production centres. With the help of SHGs we hope to overcome the problem of coir fibre shortage," he told IANS.

Good rains to improve crop prospects: Pawar

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) India is looking forward to a good winter crop with plentiful summer monsoon rains across the country having improved the soil moisture content, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said here Saturday.

"Rain this year has been very good barring in a few regions. Overall the situation is good. There are high expectations for good Rabi (crop harvested in winter) yield with the improved soil moisture content," Pawar told reporters on the sidelines of a meet on coconut.

"Efforts this year would be to bring more area under Rabi cultivation, particularly wheat, and improve productivity," he said.

India has emerged the largest wheat importer this year with plans to import 5.5 million tonnes of the grain to meet emergency needs and also requirements of various government run schemes that require an estimate 3 million tonnes of wheat and rice.

Declining to estimate the level of crop losses due to floods in parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Orissa and scanty rains in Assam, the minister said his ministry is still to get reports from the state governments.

"We will be sending teams to the states to study the impact of floods and scanty rains," he said.

Good rains to improve crop prospects: Pawar

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) India is looking forward to a good winter crop with plentiful summer monsoon rains across the country having improved the soil moisture content, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said here Saturday.

"Rain this year has been very good barring in a few regions. Overall the situation is good. There are high expectations for good Rabi (crop harvested in winter) yield with the improved soil moisture content," Pawar told reporters on the sidelines of a meet on coconut.

"Efforts this year would be to bring more area under Rabi cultivation, particularly wheat, and improve productivity," he said.

India has emerged the largest wheat importer this year with plans to import 5.5 million tonnes of the grain to meet emergency needs and also requirements of various government run schemes that require an estimate 3 million tonnes of wheat and rice.

Declining to estimate the level of crop losses due to floods in parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Orissa and scanty rains in Assam, the minister said his ministry is still to get reports from the state governments.

"We will be sending teams to the states to study the impact of floods and scanty rains," he said.

Governor wants impartial inquiry in Ujjain murder case

Bhopal, Sep 2 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Governor Balram Jakhar has asked Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to take prompt action against the guilty in the Ujjain professor murder case, officials said Saturday.

Professor H.S. Sabharwal, who taught at the Madhav College in the temple town of Ujjain, 190 km from here, died after reportedly being attacked by a group of student leaders who were angry at the cancellation of students' union polls.

The tragedy had provoked widespread protests across the state with Ujjain city seeing a complete shutdown for a day.

Expressing grief on the death of the professor, Jakhar asked the chief minister to ensure that the administration fulfilled its responsibility in an impartial way.

Chouhan had earlier drawn flak from the opposition parties for describing the incident as an "accident".

Another professor M.L. Nath was also attacked and his face blackened by the agitating students.

After intense pressure, the government had instituted a CID inquiry but refused to hand over the case to the CBI as demanded by the victim's son Himanshu, the teachers community and the opposition.

The government suspended City Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Singh and two town inspectors, Y.P. Singh and Yashwant, posted at the college, for failing to maintain law and order.

The opposition Congress, which staged a sit-in at the Governor House, has called for a statewide shutdown on Teachers Day (Sep 5) to protest the death of Sabharwal.

ABVP's state president Shashi Ranjan Singh Akela and its organising secretary Vimal Tomar were among the 34 people held. Akela and Tomar had initially surrendered to the police Aug 30 in connection with the arson and violence and alleged manhandling of Nath.

Later they were formally arrested by the CID and booked for the murder of Sabharwal.

HIV carriers find journalists 'insensitive'

By Syed Zarir Hussain,

Shillong, Sep 2 (IANS) HIV carriers have criticised journalists for being insensitive and ignorant about the disease that has assumed epidemic proportions in India's northeast.

"I have come across journalists who refuse to shake hands, sit a few meters away and avoid eye contact with HIV carriers. I always thought journalists would help fight the stigma associated with AIDS," Vanlalmuana, president of Positive Network of Mizoram, told IANS.

Vanlalmuana, a HIV carrier for six-years, was not the only one who felt journalists were insensitive and ignorant about HIV/AIDS.

Heartrending tales of insensitive journalism were shared by a group of HIV-positive people who had come to attend a workshop on creating awareness and advocacy through print, radio and television.

"At times we have been described by journalists as AIDS patients. Probably they do not know the difference between HIV and AIDS," said Ratan Singh, an HIV-positive person from Manipur and the all-India chairman of Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS.

"If journalists are insensitive to the problem, how do we expect to remove prejudices from society?" asked a young girl from Nagaland. "At times we are asked very personal questions which is unfair."

Citing an example another HIV-positive person referred to the case of a four-year-old boy in Assam who was dismissed from school for being a HIV carrier.

The kid was admitted to a private school in eastern Assam and was at his bubbliest best when a newspaper and a local television channel 'scooped' the story that the boy's parents were also HIV carriers.

Following the reports, the family was forced to shift to Guwahati.

"We are ashamed that the media is so insensitive and irresponsible. It was not only unethical but libellous to directly or indirectly identify the family," a woman from Manipur told IANS.

Government agencies working in the area claim the level of awareness has increased. But facts belie reality.

"Even today I am described as an AIDS patient by many leading regional and national newspapers," said Jahnabi Goswami, a 30-year-old HIV-positive woman in Assam.

Goswami, the first person in India's northeast to have publicly declared her HIV-positive status in 2001, said landlords have evicted her at least a dozen times when they learnt she was a HIV carrier.

The northeast has been declared a high-risk zone with authorities fearing the epidemic may further spread because of the region's acute drug problem.

"Media can play an important role in fighting the stigma attached to the disease," said Sawmtea, president of the Mizoram People Living with HIV/AIDS Society.

Hurricane John pounds Mexican resort area

Mexico City, Sep 2 (DPA) Tourists and local residents in a Mexican resort area fled or sought refuge as Hurricane John lashed the Baja California peninsula with towering waves and powerful winds.

The storm appeared to wobble toward the northeast, diverting its full force from the popular holiday spot of San Jose del Cabo at the peninsula's tip late Friday.

But forecasts showed John crossing the peninsula further to the north later in its path. Officials feared flash floods and mudslides in the desert region, which has hills and dry riverbeds that are likely to fill with water from John's heavy rains.

John packed winds of at least 175 km an hour, the US National Hurricane Centre said. At least 21,000 people on the southern Baja peninsula were evacuated to safer locations and 10,000 tourists fled the region.

"This is a very, very dangerous hurricane," said Ignacio Arrenguin of Mexico's National Water Commission. "This hurricane is much more serious than any hurricane we had in the last 10 years."

At 2.00 p.m. (2100 GMT), the centre of the storm was located 95 km east of the southern tip of the peninsula, and was moving north-northwest at about 13 km per hour, the US National Hurricane Centre reported.

John, which had been classified as a category three storm earlier, lost a little strength and was downgraded to a strong category two storm by Friday afternoon.

On the US East Coast, tropical depression Ernesto lashed the Mid-Atlantic states with heavy rain, causing flooding in parts of North Carolina and Virginia and leaving up to 400,000 people without electricity in three states, CNN reported.

Four deaths were blamed on the storm, media reports said.

IB on lookout for GIA terrorists in India

By Shailendra Mohan

Mumbai, September 2 (NDTV.COM) Intelligence Bureau officials are on the lookout for six members of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), who they say have entered the country to carry out terror strikes in New Delhi and Mumbai.

The documents regarding them that were leaked from the Intelligence Bureau could present the new face of terrorism in India.

The GIA is a militant outfit that started out fighting to replace the Algerian government, but now has moved to a jihadi agenda and is said to have al-Qaeda links.

The intelligence agency has provided some details regarding some of the men.

The first is Abdullah Wabah, a Pakistani national, who was trained in Algeria. IB sources claim he's been schooled to assemble bombs in a matter of minutes.

The second man is Yasman Kadeera who is also a Pakistani national and has been trained as a special commando in Pakistan. He is a veteran who has fought many battles in Algeria and Yemen, and he is a trained sniper and an expert getaway driver.

The third name that was released was Kaleele Machyar, who is also a Pakistani national.

He, sources say, entered the country with other GIA members, but has now shifted allegiance to the al-Qaeda. Intelligence Bureau sources say that he could target Delhi Airport.

The last name is of a Hasan, who is a South African national. He, according to sources, is fluent in English and is said to be travelling with the men helping them with their jobs.

Route to India

IB investigators have still to figure out who the other two men are, but what they do know is how these men travelled to India.

According to intelligence sources, from Algeria, these men travelled to Niger and then to Burkina Faso and Mali, finally making their way into India.

They entered the country using false names and passports, and the first alert for the six men was issued on August 10th, warning of attacks in Mumbai and Delhi between August 11th and 15th.

But IB sources say that tight security ensured the men could not carry their mission.

The alert was re-issued on August 24th, which the IB says will stay in place till the men are found and captured.

IMF asks India to make financial system more efficient

By Arun Kumar,

Washington, Sep 2 (IANS) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says India needs to make its financial system more efficient and carry forward structural reform to make it more capable of benefiting from the world economy.

India continues to grow strongly averaging an above-trend of 8 percent in the last three years but some inflationary pressures are also building, IMF managing director Rodrigo de Rato said at a press briefing.

"So, in that respect, monetary authorities and their efficiency is very important and it has been shown already, as it is the need to make the financial system more efficient and with bigger competition," he said.

IMF also saw the need for structural reform that will make India more capable of benefiting from the world economy. Certainly structural impediments, not only in terms of flexibility in the markets but also in terms of infrastructure, are a key question in the Indian agenda for the future.

India is one of the countries that has been changing in "a very positive direction... (and) we see the government's reform agenda as a very important one as, for instance, the VAT reform of last year shows", de Rato said.

"But of course the question here is not so much what has been done in the past, although what is happening today has roots in the past, but how we can face the future."

Asked to comment on India's reported reservations on the IMF executive board's decision Thursday to immediately increase the voting power of China, South Korea, Turkey and Mexico, de Rato said it was for individual countries to explain their position and he had "respect for any position".

"The initial ad hoc increase will only correct about one-third of the very heavy under representation of four countries that by every measure you use are underrepresented. Many other countries are underrepresented too, but these four cases were accepted by the board as ones that were much more out of line than others," he said.

The IMF board resolution, which still has to be approved at the fund's annual meeting in Singapore Sep 19, also sets forth a plan for determining voting shares by 2008.

"At present, I think that all members recognized that relative quotas and voting shares do not adequately respond to the reality of the world economy of the year 2000. Asia is a good example but it's not the only example. I want to say that very clearly," de Rato said.

There are underrepresented countries in Asia as there are underrepresented countries in other areas of the world. But for an institution that wants to be legitimate in the world, having economic weight as the centre of how countries express their views and have their voting power, it needs to rebalance that situation regularly.

The annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Singapore will provide an opportunity to discuss the world economy and the surveillance role of IMF in helping economies individually, and the role of the economy as a whole to continue in a growing path in the future, de Rato said.

Turning to the outlook for the global economy and for Asia, de Rato said China and India continue to grow strongly. Many others countries, including sub-Saharan Africa, are enjoying a continuation of the strong growth that was seen in 2005 and have bright prospects for 2007.

For Asia, growth remains strong. Some modest rebalancing of growth is likely as exports moderate with slowing global growth because of certain markets in the US.

China is becoming an increasingly prominent driver of growth in Asia, and Japan's continued expansion has also contributed to buoyant activity.

"We see that inflation should remain subdued, and the region's current account surplus is expected to remain broadly unchanged, although the surplus that remains in Asia, if we exclude China, is declining," he said.

"While that outlook is good, there is in Asia also some near-term risks that I think policymakers have to take into consideration apart from the ones of the whole global economy. It is clear that Asia faces risks similar to those for the world economy, and Asia is particularly sensitive to growth prospects in the US and to oil prices," de Rato said.

In addition, while the region has shown resilience to the financial market volatility in May and June, a part of the volatility in global financial markets could affect capital flows, growth prospects and inflation.

India not likely to become import-reliant for foodgrains

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) As India plans to import 5.5 million tonne wheat this year after a gap of seven years, the food ministry maintains it is a "temporary setback" and not an indication of the country becoming import-dependent.

"The need to import wheat is a temporary setback. The imbalance in wheat procurement by the government does not mean that India will become a net importer of foodgrains," L. Mansingh, secretary, consumer affairs, in the food ministry told media here Friday.

Briefing on the government decision to import wheat and pulses and allow private sector to do so at concessional customs duty to check spiralling domestic prices, the official said that while on the one hand India is importing wheat, on the other hand there has been 4.5 million tonnes of non-basmati rice exports so far this year.

The export figure is much higher than in the past: India normally exports around 0.5-1.0 million tonnes of basmati rice but this is the first time that there has been such good overseas demand for Indian non-basmati or non-parboiled rice.

India has downscaled the 2005-06 wheat production estimates from 74 million tonnes to 69 million tonnes while in the case of rice the last agriculture year saw a bumper harvest of 92 million tonnes.

Contrary to indications, India's wheat production is sufficient for domestic consumption, said S. Kaul, joint secretary of policy and Food Corporation of India (FCI), the government-nominated foodgrain handling agency.

The government has estimated that the domestic requirement of wheat is currently 70 million tonnes.

Commenting on the shortage, the food ministry officials said as per their estimate, beside the big industries like ITC, Cargil Foods, Reliance and Adani Exports it is the farmers themselves who are holding on to stocks of wheat on behalf of traders for a better price realisation during the lean period ahead of the next harvest in April.

Apart from the 5.5 million tonnes of wheat being imported by the government, which will be opening the last tender for 1.67 million tonnes of wheat on Sep 5, it is estimated that the private companies will be importing a total of 500,000 tonnes of wheat.

So far the private companies have already imported 120,000 tonnes of wheat, according to the government estimate.

The food ministry is ensuring that the buffer stocks before the next harvest would comply with the buffer stock norms of four million tonnes double of what FCI had on April 1 this year.

"We have decided to stick to the buffer stock norms of four million tonnes as we realise it is a norm that should not be breached if we are to have some control over market prices," said Kaul.

For the next year, the government is mulling how best to ensure that private companies do not step in to buy stocks from farmers before FCI has ensured enough buffer stocks.

Besides market intervention in times of emergency, around 3 million tonnes are required annually for government-subsidised schemes including the sale through public distribution system (PDS).

India seeks to play moderating role at NAM

By Tarun Basu,

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh travels to Cuba mid-September to attend the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), with India looking to play a moderating role in the 116-nation body whose agenda could be hijacked by mavericks like Venezuela, Iran, Syria and the hosts themselves.

The 14th NAM Summit is being held in Havana for a second time - the first was in 1979 - under the leadership of Cuban President Fidel Castro, convalescing after a major surgery. Whether Castro is able to chair the summit Sep 15-16 or lets his brother and acting president Raul Castro preside over it remains to be seen.

This will be Manmohan Singh's first meeting with Castro (he goes to Havana after a two-day trip to Brazil Sep 12-13), a global titan who came to New Delhi to attend the NAM Summit in March 1983 and is remembered in freeze-frame images for his bear-hug of a visibly embarrassed prime minister Indira Gandhi, as he handed over the chairman's gavel to her for India to assume leadership of the movement.

Despite carping voices about the irrelevance of NAM in a unipolar world, the movement that began with the coming together of 25 countries at Belgrade in 1961, the present summit will have 116 countries, reflecting a steadily growing membership and accounting for nearly two-thirds of the 192-nation UN.

"A grouping as large as that, and the largest outside the UN, cannot be ignored," said a senior Indian official who is accompanying the prime minister to Havana.

And India's role, say officials, will be to provide the voice of moderation in a movement of which it is one of its founding fathers and which was seen by the West to chart an often Left-leaning course despite their intent of not getting 'aligned' in the East-West ideological confrontation of the Cold War.

Since the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet Union, many felt the movement had lost its raison d'etre. But the movement has shown no signs of dissipating and instead has added newer members - and more and more nations are seeking its leadership role. Egypt has already begun lobbying to host the next NAM Summit three years from now.

For India, the summit comes at a piquant phase in its foreign policy, when it is seen as having moved too close to the US. The summit will take place just days before the US Senate is expected to pass the landmark nuclear deal that will put a seal on the unfolding "strategic partnership" between the two countries.

India's effort would be to get NAM to focus more on economic rather than political issues so that developing and underdeveloped countries are able to speak independently and in one voice against protectionism, disparity in world trade, UN reforms and globalization as well as issues like environment and HIV/AIDS.

"We are certainly moving beyond NAM. To the extent, NAM was time-specific, it responded to the situation of the Cold War. Now with the collapse of communism, the focus has shifted. The focus is very much on economic development. What various peoples of Asia and Africa need to do is to benefit from globalization," visiting Ghana Foreign Minister Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo told IANS here recently, endorsing India's stand.

Many countries are looking to India to provide the movement the direction and the leadership it badly needs. "We look to stronger countries like India to provide the leadership to NAM. It is not in the interest of non-alignment to see India float away from it. Nor is it in India's interest," says South Africa's high commissioner to India, Francis Moloi.

What India would be wary of are targeting of countries or groups of countries and the movement being made a forum or a lobby for certain countries to pursue their own radical agenda.

With Presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Basher Assad of Syria forging strategic ties, diplomatic observers would closely watch their moves at forming an anti-US, anti-West front, and India, particularly, will seek to resist any moves seeking to "hijack" the charted agenda of the NAM.

These countries and, in some ways, Malaysia, which sees itself as a leader of Islamic countries, are seen by some as "loose cannons" that may manipulate the agenda of such a large body to subserve their own diplomatic and strategic goals.

India sending 125 female police officers for peacekeeping

New York, Sept 2 (UN News) India’s landmark decision to send 125 female police officers, one complete specialized unit, to assist United Nations peacekeeping operations in Liberia in October is an “unprecedented� move that sends a message not only to other post-conflict countries about the importance of having women officers, but also to police contributing nations, senior UN officials said today.

“This is an unprecedented move by India to deploy these female officers in policing and we applaud it and think that it is extremely timely and extremely relevant to the policing needs in the years ahead,� Police Adviser Mark Kroeker told the UN News Service.

“We think it’s a breakthrough that India has expressed its willingness and it’s also good for our Liberia mission because it brings to that police operation these officers who are trained, who are capable, who are women and who can bring the best of what the UN police is to the component there.�

The 125 officers, who are currently undergoing the final stages of their training in India, will make up a specialized unit, known as a Formed Police Unit (FPU). The UN has had increasing success with such units over the past few years as a means of bridging the gap between regular and lightly-armed police and fully-armed blue helmets.

Details of what exact role the all-female FPU will play as part of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) are currently being worked out, said Noor Gabow, Acting Mission Management Coordinator at the UN Police Division. However he added these specialized units have traditionally been employed as a rapid reaction force, trained in crowd control and better armed than regular police, as well as playing a strong training role for local officers.

“This Indian women’s contingent are made up solely of volunteers who have decided that they’d like to be a part of peace operations and that they can play an effective, credible role which we know they can,� said Mr. Gabow.

India currently contributes almost 400 police officers to UN missions worldwide, one of the top 10 police-contributing countries, but only 15 of these personnel are female officers, something which the introduction of the 125 women officers in October will dramatically change and which UN officials say will also send a powerful message for change to other contributing countries.

“This decision is extremely timely because as we look at our deployment of women in UN police components around the world, we still retain an unacceptably small number of three or four per cent, compared to up to 25 per cent of women officers in an acceptable police organization,� said Mr. Kroeker, himself a former Los Angeles police officer for over 30 years.

“It enhances our access to vulnerable populations by having women in UN missions and also sends a message to the post-conflict societies where we work that women officers can have any position and play any role in a police organization, including that of commissioner, or deputy-commissioner or chief of regions or whatever.�

The all-female Indian unit will join other FPUs currently serving in Liberia, where the concept was first tried out although its success there and in other operations has led to calls for increasing deployment.

UN officials also highlight that FPUs are cheaper to deploy than regular military units, noting that it costs around $5 million to set up a specialized police formation while a military battalion can cost up $30 million. In addition, the deployment of FPUs sends a message to the populations of post-conflict countries that the UN is demilitarizing, while maintaining a credible force that at the same time is helping build local police capacity.

India, Germany to sign defence agreement

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) More than four months after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Berlin that brought an upswing in bilateral ties, specially in the area of high technology cooperation, India and Germany would sign their first-ever joint defence cooperation agreement next week.

This crucial agreement, to be signed during the visit of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Germany and France beginning Sunday, would provide India access to German hi-tech weapons technology and facilitate intensive interaction between the armed forces of the two countries.

"The agreement will open doors of German technology transfer to India and provide the framework for holding joint naval exercises and more interaction between the armed forces of the two countries," a defence ministry spokesman said here.

Besides meeting Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung and Minister for Technology and Economics Michael Gloss, Mukherjee would also address the top brass of German defence industries.

The minister would also pay homage at Zehrensdorf Indian cemetery where graves of 206 Indian soldiers, who died as prisoners during the First World War, lie.

The minister would hold talks with his French counterpart Michele Aliottee and is likely to use this meeting to allay anxieties in the armament industry about the growing India-US defence ties.

They might discuss the possibility of India buying French nuclear equipment and technology after the India-US nuclear deal is cleared by the US Congress and approved unanimously by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Mukherjee would also meet top CEOs of defence firms, including the European consortium EADS, Thales and Aviation giant Dassault, at a round table.

The Indian delegation accompanying Mukherjee also comprises S. Banerjee, Director General Acquisition, Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff Lt. Gen. H.S. Lidder, eminent missile scientist Prahlada, Sujata Singh, joint secretary in the external affairs ministry and Gautam Chatterji, joint secretary in the defence ministry.

India, Russia to jointly develop GPS satellite

Moscow, Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) India and Russia will jointly develop a new generation global positioning satellite for wider navigational application with commercial spin-off.

"Under the space co-operation agreements signed during President Vladimir Putin's India visit, both countries will jointly develop new generation Glonass-K satellite for the Glonass Global Positioning System, which will function parallelly with the American GPS," Indian ambassador Kanwal Sibal said.

Addressing an Internet press conference last evening, he said Russia intends to operationalise Glonass by 2010 by completing the cluster of 24 satellites. Under the Indo-Russian agreements some of the current Russian Glonass-M satellites would be launched from the Indian soil with the help of Indian launch vehicles.

"The Glonass will provide commercial services to surface transport, shipping and airlines," he said addressing the Russian netizens.

Responding to a question about Indo-Russian scientific, space and nuclear cooperation Sibal said that next year the two countries will mark the 20th anniversary of their Integrated Long-Term Programme (ILTP) covering the whole gamut of scientific and technological interaction in the advanced areas.

"The focus of bilateral cooperation now will be in nano-technology, bio-technology and information technology, specially where they intertwine," Sibal said addressing the conference organised by the leading Russian business agency "Rosbiznesconsulting" (RBC).

According to RBC 29800 netizens were hooked online to listen live audio of Sibal's press conference.

Sibal also said that Indo-US nuclear deal will open doors for Russia cooperation with India in civilian nuclear energy, which is already building two units at the Kudankulam nuclear power station in Tamil Nadu.

Indian UN official accused of procurement fraud

By Arun Kumar,

Washington, Sep 2 (IANS) A UN official from India allegedly steered millions of dollars in contract to a company owned by the Indian government in exchange for favours that included low-rent apartments in New York.

American media reports citing a confidential report on a internal UN investigation alleged that Sanjaya Bahel used his relationship with an Indian businessman and his son to steer deals to the Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) with which they were associated.

TCIL is purported to have received more than $100 million in UN contracts between 1999 and 2004, during the time (1998-2003) when Bahel was the chief of commodity procurement at the UN.

Both Bahel and TCIL have strongly refuted the charges. Bahel has gone on record saying that he has "good reasoning and valid reasoning" to counter them.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric Friday declined to confirm that Bahel was the staff member who had been charged with serious misconduct.

"I know the name of the gentleman has been published in the media," Dujarric said. "Due to our efforts to respect due process and the internal justice system, I cannot confirm that name and would refer you to my statement."

According to the statement the Procurement Task Force, created under the aegis of the Office for Internal Oversight Services, has completed five fact-finding investigations into allegations of procurement irregularities.

UN placed eight staff on special leave with full pay as of Jan 16, 2006. Of the five cases now completed, two staff have been exonerated of any alleged irregularities and are back at work. Another two are also back at work but have been asked to respond to allegations of mismanagement.

The fifth staff member has been charged with misconduct and has been suspended from duty without pay due to the serious nature of the charges. He is now being given an opportunity to respond, an essential element in the UN's system of internal justice.

Evidence in this case has also been shared with the prosecutorial authorities of the host country.

Three other staff members remain on special leave with pay pending completion of the ongoing investigations and decisions on appropriate action, Dujarric stated.

US media reports said Bahel had a long-time relationship with the businessman and his son. Bahel rented two side-by-side apartments in New York from them at rates well below the market price and that he later bought the apartments at a favourable price.

Bahel also ignored evidence that TCIL wrongly withheld money from employees sent to UN peacekeeping missions in places such as Liberia, Congo and Kosovo to do communications work.

While the workers claimed they were only getting a pittance - sometimes as little as $5 for daily expenses - the money enriched another company associated with the Indian businessman and his son.

Details of the investigation were first reported in the Friday editions of the Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore.

They are the latest in a string of claims of fraud in the procurement department, which is responsible for awarding millions of dollars in contracts to do business with the UN worldwide.

It would also raise questions about a programme known as "secondment," under which someone like Bahel, while still formally a government official takes a job at the UN. One of the staff rules that the report accuses Bahel of violating "prohibits staff members from accepting any instructions from any government".

Indonesian president accuses western media of double standards

Jakarta, Sep 2 (DPA) Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Saturday accused western media of applying double standard in reporting about Muslims.

"If a non-Muslim dies in a battle, then western media would blow it up. This is not happening for Muslims who die in Palestine, Iraq, and now Lebanon," the Antara news agency quoted Yudhoyono as saying.

Yudhoyono, speaking at a two-day forum of international journalists in Bali, said Muslims did not demand special treatment. "They just want to be respected as other religions are," Yudhoyono said.

He referred to cartoons of Islam's prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper that were reprinted in other countries, causing global protests by Muslims last year.

"The cartoon incident has shocked us all, some Western media journalists didn't even know it's forbidden to publish a drawing of prophet Mohammed," Yudhoyono said.

Yudhoyono urged Western media to learn from the cartoon controversy, which claimed 139 lives around the globe.

IOC announces 450 scholarships for 2006-07

New Delhi, Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has announced 450 scholarships for meritorious students all over India, under the Indian Oil scholarships scheme for the academic year 2006-07.

As part of IOC's social responsibility programme, the scheme provides for attractive scholarships to students selected on 'merit-cum-means' basis.

For the academic year 2006-07, 450 scholarships covering the first year students of 10+/iti, engineering, MBBS and MBA, will be formally announced through newspaper advertisements inviting applications under the scholarship scheme.

Out of the total 450 scholarships, 250 scholarships for 10+/ ITI students will be on zonal basis at the rate of Rs 1,000 per month for two years.

Engineering (100) and MBBS (40) students will be awarded scholarships of Rs 2,000 per month for four years, while MBA (60) students shall be entitled to a scholarship amount of Rs 2,000 per month for a duration of two years.

Special encouragement is being given to girl students, physically challenged students and students from Jammu and Kashmir as well as the Northeast states.

Last date for submitting the application form is September 30.

IT raid on Modi's residence, RCA denies claim

Jaipur/Mumbai, Sep 2 (IANS) The Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) Saturday said it would file a legal suit against a TV channel and a Hindi daily for reporting the "raids" on RCA offices in Jaipur.

"RCA president Lalit Kumar Modi has taken strong exception to the malicious, fabricated distorted reporting by a section of print and electronic media, while reporting the TDS related routine survey by Income Tax authorities in RCA office premises in Jaipur Sep 1," said a RCA statement.

"It was not a raid - merely a routine survey by the IT department with prior formal intimation to the RCA," it said.

Contradicting reports that the house and office of Modi were raided, the RCA said: "This is not true. Mr. Modi neither owns an office nor a house in Jaipur."

Mehmood Abdi, RCA's legal counsel, said the RCA and Modi has decided to take "every possible" legal action under the law against the two media organisations.

"The RCA and Mr. Modi has decided to take every possible legal action permissible under the law against all such publishers and broadcasters, particularly, India TV of Mr. Rajat Sharma and Hindi daily Punjab Kesari for deliberately twisting the facts of an interactive session which took place between the RCA officials and the Income Tax authorities relating to the issue of TDS alone," he said.

"A legal notice has been issued to India TV and Punjab Kesari."

Earlier, a senior IT official said in Mumbai that sleuths of the department Saturday raided the residential premises of Modi, also a vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, for alleged tax evasion.

The raid by the Jaipur unit of the IT Department was conducted at Modi's south Mumbai residence even though Modi himself was not present there, he said.

JKLF leader seeks Canada's help over human rights violations in J&K

New Delhi, Sept 2 (IRNA) Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Mohammad Yaseen Malik sought Canadian intervention in putting an end to alleged human rights violations in the border state.

Malik raised the issue during his interaction with Delhi-based Canadian diplomats including first secretary political and economic affairs Ayesha Rekhi and senior political and economic analyst of the High Commission Madhusri Das, said a statement issued Thursday by JKLF in Srinagar.

Malik strongly condemned state terrorism and said the graph of human rights violations had gone up after the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured zero tolerance to these violations.

The separatist leader also briefed the delegation, currently on a visit to Kashmir valley, about the genesis of Kashmir issue and the prevailing situation, the statement added.

Karunakaran's party may merge with NCP

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Former Kerala chief minister K. Karunakaran is trying desperately to merge his fumbling Democratic Indira Congress (DIC-K) with Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), but the latter seems to be in no tearing hurry to welcome him, political sources say.

Although a merger is not being ruled out, the NCP appears to be apprehensive in view of the objections raised by NCP's Kerala leaders who would prefer to keep Karunakaran at a safe distance, party sources told IANS.

DIC-K president K. Muraleedharan, who is Karunakaran's son, met Pawar here Friday evening. More meetings are expected to take place over the weekend.

Pawar had reportedly spoken to both Karunakaran and Murleedharan about the merger. Sources close to Pawar added that he would hold further discussions with the father-son duo when he visits Kerala later this month.

The DIC-K, which used to have considerable influence in northern Kerala especially Kozhikode, Wayanadu and Malappuram districts, is optimistic about improving its electoral prospects if it gets the support of a party like NCP, said an NCP leader.

If it gets merged with NCP, the DIC-K would be a part of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), with which it desperately wanted to join hands with in the run up to assembly elections this year.

The NCP is a constituent of the LDF, which the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leads.

NCP leaders are not so amused by Karunakaran's overtures.

"When we wanted their support and cooperation before the polls, the DIC-K refused to join hands with us. Now we have to think about it seriously," an NCP leader from Kerala said. NCP has one legislator in the 140-seat assembly.

The state leaders of NCP argue that the DIC-K leaders' overtures are aimed at saving themselves from a crisis the party faces - the DIC-K is in disintegration after the debacle in the state polls.

NCP's Kerala leaders also point to Karunakaran's reputation as a wrecker. "If Pawar admits Karunakaran, Karunakaran will end up asking within months for the agriculture portfolio that Pawar now holds."

NCP sources said the party leadership did not want to make any commitment to Murleedharan.

The DIC-K, which made up with the Congress after the CPI-M refused an alliance for the April-May assembly polls, performed poorly losing all but one of the 18 seats it contested. The only candidate who won was Thomas Chandy, an NRI.

But NCP sources here indicated that Pawar was interested in expanding his party base in Kerala, for which he thinks the merger would be good.

"But he considers the state unit views seriously and wants the state leaders to be fully convinced about the move," said the source.

The NCP-DIC-K merger would amount to the coming together of two Congress split-away groups, both led by former veteran party leaders.

Pawar broke away from the Congress in 1998 objecting to Sonia Gandhi's Italian origin. Karunakaran formed his party in 2005 following intense internal problems in the Kerala unit of the Congress.

Lebanese troops man Israel border

Majidiyah, Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) Lebanese troops, accompanied by U.N. peacekeepers, took up positions on the border with Israel on Thursday (August 31) for the first time in decades.

A reporter saw soldiers in two armoured troop carriers and four trucks deploy in the frontier village of Majidiyeh in the eastern sector of south Lebanon, near the Lebanese side of the divided town of Ghajar. The troops were accompanied by U.N. peacekeepers.

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement that Lebanese army units started deploying in the area a day after Israeli forces pulled out.

It was the first time the Lebanese army had taken up positions in that sector of south Lebanon since it made way for Palestinian guerrillas to deploy there in the late1960s.

The Israeli army said earlier on Thursday that it had handed over more than two thirds of the territory it captured in south Lebanon to U.N. troops and Lebanese forces since a truce with Hizbollah took effect.

Israeli forces occupied pockets of territory in the south during 34 days of fighting that was halted by a U.N. truce on Aug. 14.

But Israel has refused to withdraw completely from south Lebanon before the deployment of a beefed-up UNIFIL force to ensure Hizbollah cannot get close to its border again.

Lynching of 'criminals' on rise in Bihar

By Imran Khan,

Patna, Sep 2 (IANS) In Bihar people seem to be running out on patience and have started delivering "instant justice" by lynching suspected criminals. At least 25 people have been lynched in the past three weeks in the state, which even otherwise has a high crime rate.

A senior police officer admitted that over 20 criminals were lynched in August. "Police are aware of the rising incidents of lynching both in urban and rural areas," he told IANS.

In some cases the "criminals" were lynched even as the police looked on and their family members and relatives protested. At least in some cases, the victims clearly appeared to be innocent.

Jagender Prasad, a businessman, told IANS: "People are fed up with growing lawlessness and rising crimes. As the police do little to curb the crimes, they (people) have started punishing the criminals."

Madan Singh, another businessman, agreed that people have no option but to lynch criminals so as to send a warning to others.

Doman Kahar and Raju Kahar were lynched by an angry mob in Patna last week as they were reportedly trying to snatch a mobile telephone and other valuables from a doctor and Rs.9,000 from a businessman. The residents caught them. But instead of handing them over to the police, they beat them to death.

Sushil Singh, another suspected criminal, was lynched in Rajokhar village in Araria district. He was caught as he was trying to break into a Rashtriya Janata Dal leader's house. His accomplice, who survived, is in critical condition.

In some cases the "criminals" seemed to be innocent.

The innocent included four Dalit youths from the Nut caste who were beaten to death in Balbatra village in Bhojpur district. They were accused of stealing a buffalo.

Following a complaint, the National Human Rights Commission has directed the Bihar government to submit a report on their killing.

Similarly, an agitated mob killed Lallu Lal and Chirkut after they were trying to sell two stolen buffalos in a village in Rohtas district.

Three more Dalits were lynched in Siwan district as they were trying to rob a house in Siktiya village.

More than a dozen such incidents have been reported from West Champaran, Saran, Munger, Shekhpura, Jehanabad and Supaul districts in the past three weeks.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar admitted in the state assembly early August that 1,618 murders and 97 kidnapping cases had been reported in just six months. Last year 1,688 murders and 117 cases of kidnapping had been reported.

Man dies in custody, six policemen suspended

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Six police officials of Noida, a satellite town of Delhi, were suspended Saturday after a man allegedly committed suicide in police lock-up.

According to Noida Police, the man committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling at around 3 a.m. Saturday.

"Taking note of the case, we have suspended six policemen, including SHO (station house officer) Deepak Chaturvedi for negligence of duty," said senior police official Soumetra Yadav.

He said investigations were on.

Apart from Chaturvedi, three assistant sub-inspectors - Mahesh Misra, H.S. Chouhan, P. Sharma and two constables - Ram Kumar and Vijendra Sharma, were also suspended.

Maoists ask Nepal government to speed up talks

By Sudeshna Sarkar,

Kathmandu, Sep 2 (IANS) Accusing the government of succumbing to pressure from foreign powers and the palace to scuttle peace talks, Nepal's Maoist guerrillas have asked for a quick political resolution, failing which they have threatened to begin a peaceful but powerful campaign.

Alarmed at peace negotiations remaining stalled since June, the rebels have formed a 10-member team, headed by their chief Prachanda, to pressure the Girija Prasad Koirala government into holding the fourth round of parleys as soon as possible.

"We want the talks to be held within a week to 10 days," Maoist spokesman and former MP Krishna Bahadur Mahara told IANS. "The longer the talks are delayed, the greater is the danger of negotiations being scuttled."

The rebels have been growing increasingly wary after the disclosure that the government tried to obtain weapons from abroad despite engaging them in talks and agreeing not to expand the army or its arsenal as long as the ceasefire held.

While the Indian government last month blocked two bids by the Koirala government to fly in machine guns and missiles from Bulgaria via western India, Mahara says the army has been still able to get three arms shipments.

The Maoists also claim to have taken under their control an army commando who they alleged had been assigned to assassinate their leaders.

The Maoists have been accusing the US of trying to pressure Kathmandu into scuttling the talks as well as elections scheduled next year that would decide if King Gyanendra would retain his crown or become a commoner following the abolition of monarchy.

The next round of talks is expected to give the final shape to a new constitution and decide the fate of parliament.

According to the Maoist formula for peace, a new constitution should be installed and parliament dissolved to make way for an interim government in which they too would be included. The new government will then begin preparing for the key election.

However, some parties in the coalition government, including Koirala, are opposing the dissolution of parliament, saying it would be foolhardy to do so as long as the Maoists refused to lay down arms.

"If the Maoists keep their arms, we need to keep parliament, which is our weapon," Koirala has said.

It has led to an impasse with the Maoists saying they would not surrender weapons till the election is held. However, they have offered to keep their arms and soldiers under the supervision of the UN.

Mideast crisis: Annan meets Syrian President

Damascus, September 2 (NDTV.COM) UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that Syria would step up border patrols and work with the Lebanese army to stop the flow of weapons to Hezbollah.

Syria will increase its own patrols along the Lebanon-Syria border, and establish joint patrols with the Lebanese army "when possible," said Annan after meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.

Assad made no public comments after their meeting, but Annan spoke with reporters at the Damascus airport before he departed midday for Qatar.

Annan said Assad informed him that Syria would "take all necessary measures" to implement paragraph 15 of UN Resolution 1701, which calls on countries to prevent the sale or supply of weapons to entities in Lebanon without the consent of the Lebanese government or UN Peacekeepers.

The UN Chief also asked Syria to "use its influence" to win the release of three Israeli soldiers, two captured by Hezbollah in a July 12 cross-border raid that started the war, and one captured by Hamas-linked militants in Gaza the previous month. (AP)

Military option against Iran open: US

Washington, Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) Raising the pitch of its rhetoric against Iran, the Bush administration has said while the military option against Tehran stayed open, the United States could also pursue economic sanctions beyond what the UN Security Council may determine.

"We're exercising a lot of diplomatic activity here to try and resolve this peacefully.

That's our objective but no President charged with defending the American people takes the military option off the table," the American Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said in an interview with CNN.

Accusing Tehran of breaking its obligations under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and providing weapons and financial support to Hezbollah and Hamas, Bolton said: "...The consequences of an Iran with nuclear weapons are not only the capability they're seeking to deliver them through ballistic missiles, but also the possibility they could transfer a nuclear weapon to a terrorist group."

The Security Council had set Thursday's deadline for Iran to stop its nuclear activities threatening sanctions if it failed to comply.

The UN nuclear watchdog IAEA, in a report on Thursday had confirmed that Tehran had not stopped uranium enrichment despite the warning.

Bolton said both China and Russia at the time of passing the UN resolution had assured they would discuss sanctions if Iran did not meet the deadline.

But the top American envoy to the UN stressed that Washington may go on its own, even over and beyond what Europe and Japan could come up with.

"There is no doubt that there is a wide range of sanctions we could seek to impose on Iran that do not require Security Council authorisation.

I think the utility of the Council acting under Chapter 7 is to make the sanctions mandatory for UN members.

"But if for whatever reason we don't achieve the level of sanctions we want, and even if we do, there are other things we're going to pursue that countries like the European Union, Japan and others can impose by their own national decisions," Bolton said.

He was reminded that the United States has just about slapped every sanction available against Iran and hence may have to be dependent on others as in Europe.

"We've imposed just about all the sanctions we can with a couple of small exceptions. Small in the big picture.

For instance, in the area of financial transactions, investment transactions and large flows of capital, there are a number of things that governments could do already under existing authorities concerning anti-terrorism legislation and Iran is the central banker of terrorism..." Bolton said.

"There are a lot of steps that countries could take and I think major financial institutions, major businesses, ought to think long and hard about doing business with a country like Iran".

Ministries misusing PSUs: CVC

New Delhi, September 2 (NDTV.COM) In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Chief Vigilance Commissioner P Shankar on his last day of office admitted that public sector undertakings are being misused by ministries.

In fact, he also added that if there is no political interference, it will help reduce corruption by 50 per cent.

Muslim-based political party opposing the directive in Assam

Guwahati, Sep 2 (IANS) The Assam government's decision to make singing of India's national song "Vande Mataram" compulsory in schools has sparked a row, with an influential Muslim-based political party opposing the directive.

The education department has made it mandatory for all students to sing at least two stanzas of "Vande Mataram" Sep 7 to mark the beginning of the centenary year celebrations of the national song.

"The government cannot make it mandatory for everyone to sing 'Vande Mataram'. This is against the ideals of Islam and nothing political in it," Badruddin Ajmal, president of the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) and a member of the state assembly, told journalists.

An official said the government notification follows a letter from central Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh asking the state to make singing of "Vande Mataram" compulsory in all educational institutions Sep 7.

New hope for malaria vaccine

London, Sep 2 (IANS) New findings on the activities of the malaria parasite could enable the development of vaccines and therapies to combat severe forms of the disease, say scientists.

The most severe form of malaria hits pregnant women and children the hardest. A joint study between Karolinska Institutet (KI) in Sweden and Makerere University in Uganda has produced important findings on how the parasite conceals itself in the placenta of pregnant women, reported science portal News Medical.

Plasmodium falciparium is the most virulent of the four malaria parasites that infect human beings. It is particularly dangerous as it infects the placenta of pregnant women, with fatal consequences for both the mother and child.

This, combined with the often feeble medical resources of malaria-stricken countries, can lead to such serous complications that the mother dies during delivery.

Earlier studies have suggested that each protein from the parasite attaches to only one specific protein, a receptor, in the placenta.

Researchers, however, suspected that the natural mechanisms are more complex than laboratory studies have shown. They therefore collected and analysed placentas on site in Uganda.

"Most of the parasites we studied could bind to three different receptors in the placenta," said Niloofar Rasti, one of the researchers and a KI graduate student.

"This would mean that a future vaccine cannot be based on the principle of one protein-one receptor, as was previously believed," she added.

Now that scientists know several placental receptors are involved in the binding mechanism, attention will be shifted to the parasite itself, and whether it produces many different surface proteins or if one and the same protein is able to bind to many host receptors.

NHRC unhappy with amendment bill for Human Rights Act

New Delhi, Sep 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today expressed dissatisfaction with the bill passed recently by Parliament for amendment to the Human Rights Act, saying the changes proposed by the rights panel have not been incorporated in it.

"In the amendment bill, as passed by both the Houses of Parliament, unfortunately all the amendments which had been proposed by the Commission, based on the report of Justice Ahmadi Committee, have found no place," NHRC chairperson Justice A S Anand said here.

Anand was giving his inaugural address at the annual meeting between NHRC and the state human rights commissions.

He said the Commission had been emphasising on the need to amend the act in terms of the suggestions made by the Justice Ahmadi Committee.

"One of the amendments in the bill would have a direct impact on the operational workload on the working of the state human rights commissions after the amendment act is notified. It relates to transfer of any complaint filed or pending before the NHRC to the SHRCS of the state from which the complaint arises, for disposal," he said.

In view of the amendment, Anand asked the states to act with promptness and decisiveness in improving the infrastructure and staff complement of the SHRCs.

Later, replying to questions, Anand said "ninety per cent of the recommendations made by the Commission have been accepted by the Centre and the state governments. We have power."

Pakistani engineer to be deported

Kochi (Kerala), Sep 2 (IANS) Finally after months in a Kerala prison, Pakistani Gul Mohammed Khan is to be deported to his country.

Khan, an engineer by profession, was jailed after he was arrested April 10 for overstaying.

"His visa period got over April 9. The chief judicial magistrate Friday issued orders for his deportation after he pleaded guilty. He was also fined Rs.15,000," Kochi Commissioner of Police S. Vijayan told IANS.

The engineer reached Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu March 9. Later he shifted to Kochi and began working for a private company.

"Since there is no other criminal case against him, the court ordered his release and his deportation," said a police official.

Penal action possible if duplicate PAN cards not surrendered: Govt

New Delhi, Sep 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) As part of the drive to weed out 13 lakh duplicate PAN cards by December, the government today said people should surrender them in the next few weeks, failing which penal action could be initiated.

"Keeping duplicate pan cards would be of no use to holders as computers blink if another number has the same five parameters as the original," Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) spokesman A K Sinha told reporters. He said that taxmen have the powers to impose a fine of Rs 10,000 on duplicate PAN card holder under section 272 (b) of the Income Tax Act.

There are 4.7 crore PAN holders in the country, Sinha said exuding confidence that Finance Minister P Chidambaram's assurance that duplicate pan cards would be wiped out by December 31.

Sinha said assesses themselves may surrender their duplicate cards or assessing officers would be issuing letters to them.

The duplicate cards were issued in 1990s when there was no centralised system of computers to cross cheque the issuance of cards.

Sinha, however, ruled out any fraud or design in issuing duplicate cards.

He said the department is assessing the possibilities of issuing biometric PAN cards, which would detect physical identities of a card holder.

PM to open Thiruvanthapuram airport expansion

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 2 (IANS) Even though the state's proposed Vizhinjam port hangs fire, the Kerala capital's international airport will get a facelift when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lays the foundation stone for its expansion.

"An all party delegation was in Delhi early this week and we discussed Vizhinjam. But the prime minister said he would have a re-look into the denial of security clearance for it. He would however be here either this month or the next to lay the foundation stone for the airport expansion," state Law Minister M. Vijaykumar told reporters Saturday.

The expansion of the international airport got delayed for several years and successive state governments tried in vain to acquire the required land initially.

After land acquisition, funds were a problem but it was got over after the recent all-party meeting with the prime minister, he said.

Originally meant for about 300,000 passengers annually, the facilities at the 1985-built airport terminal are appalling. Nearly two million passengers use the airport now.

In the international sector including Air India and Indian, national carriers of six countries operate close to 80 flights every week from here.

According to an airport official, the new expansion plans would cost Rs.2.45 billion, of which Rs.1 billion would be for a new cargo terminal.

Rajasthan Muslims oppose Vande Mataram

By Harsha Kumari Singh

September (Jaipur) The only BJP state that's still insisting that all schools and educational institutions make arrangements for the singing of the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram is Rajasthan.

Muslim organisations in the state are now on a collision course with the government.

Nine-year-old Nikhat comes for evening classes to study the Quran at the Madrassa Dar Al Qayoom.

In the morning she attends regular school, but Nikhat says despite the government order she will not sing Vande Mataram in her school with children from other communities.

"I like Sare Jahaan Se Achha much more. I will not sing Vande Mataram. My mother has forbidden it," said Nikhat.

Muslims upset

In madrassas across Rajasthan the Muslim clergy is upset over the government's insistence on singing Vande Mataram, they say they will publicly inform Muslims in the state, to boycott the song.

"We will not send our children to school on that day. If they insist further, we will boycott government schools. We cannot sing this song. In Islam we cannot bow before anybody but God. As far as patriotism is concerned, we are ready to die for our country," said Abdul Latif Qureshi, priest.

Muslim parents, who also send their children to regular schools, now find themselves in a dilemma. They blame political parties for trying to divide communities.

"Politicians want to polarise communities. India is one country where people from all religions live peacefully. Politicians thrive by creating differences," said Mohammad Zahoor, a parent.

But Rajasthan is the only BJP-ruled state insisting on all educational institutions making arrangements for the singing of Vande Mataram on September 7.

The government and Muslim community here now appears headed for a confrontation.

Rio de Janeiro to bid for 2016 Olympics

Rio de Janeiro, Sep 2 (DPA) Rio de Janeiro would bid for the 2016 Olympics, Brazil's National Olympic Committee said Friday.

Rio bid unsuccessfully to hold the 2004 and 2012 games, but hopes its third candidacy will be boosted by the 2007 Pan American Games to be hosted by the city from July 13 to 29.

The announcement comes two days after the Japanese capital Tokyo entered the ring for the 2016 games.

Other potential bidders include Madrid, Rome and a US city to be chosen from Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The 2016 host city will be elected 2009 by the International Olympic Committee.

The 2008 Games are in Beijing, the 2012 edition in London.

Russia - Islam conference condemns US domination

Kazan(Russia), Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) Officials and religious figures from Russia and more than a dozen Islamic countries kicked off a conference here that organizers said was aimed at deepening their dialogue and defending a "multipolar" world in the face of US power.

"Values cannot be imposed by force," Mintimer Shaimiyev, President of Russia`s mainly Muslim republic of Tatarstan where the three-day conference was being held, said in an opening address to delegates.

"The example of Iraq has shown that democracy can only be the result of internal development. Liberal values can`t be exported like cars. A multipolar world without a system of equilibrium leads to tensions and civil war," Shaimiyev said.

Representatives of more than a dozen Islamic countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, converged on Kazan for discussions led by former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, a veteran diplomat and respected Middle East expert.

In addition to historically close ties with numerous Islamic countries, Russia has 20 million Muslims among a total population of 142 million.

The country also gained observer status in the organization of the Islamic conference in 2005, and "should feel that it is part of the Muslim family," Ravil Gainutdin, President of the Russian Council of Muftis, told news persons.

"As a member of the UN Security Council, Russia will be able to actively defend the rights of Muslims and prevent rules being dictated that they oppose," Gainutdin said.

"The Islamic world wants Russia to return to the role the Soviet Union played in the Muslim world," Gainutdin said.

Russia to remain privileged partner in defence: India

Moscow, Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) Noting that military-technical contracts worth USD 10 billion are on different stages of execution with Russia, India has said Moscow will remain its "privileged" partner in defence.

"I am happy that we have such cooperation with Russia and hope that Russia will remain India`s privileged partner," India`s Ambassador to Russia Kanwar Sibal said last evening in the course of an Internet conference.

Addressing 29800 netizens, the ambassador said India, which has 70 per cent Russian-origin arms in its armed forces, placed massive orders of military hardware including T-90 tanks, Sukhoi SU-30MKI fighters and frigates to keep the Russian defence industry afloat after the Soviet collapse in 1991.

In an obvious reference to the recent sale of SU-30 fighters to Malaysia, Thailand and Venezuela by Russia, Sibal noted that "arms acquisition by India gives credibility to the Russian defence hardware as it is a well known fact that India buys the best."

In the course of the 90-minute Internet conference Sibal responded to 12 questions ranging from Indo-Russian cooperation in various fields to Indian economy and Indian films.

He said Bollywood films like Awara and Raj Kapoor played a significant role in cementing bilateral relations between India and Russia and this "precious link" should be preserved.

"I meet Duma members and various officials of a certain age and they remember Awara and Raj Kapoor. Recently I had a meeting with Luzhkov (influential Moscow Mayor) who greeted me while humming `Awara Hoon,` a song from Raj Kapoor`s popular film in Russia," Sibal said.

He noted that some Russian TV channels are regularly showing Indian films.

Next year an Indian Film Festival will be organized in Russia to preserve the "precious" link between the two people, he added.

Russia to deliver Sukhoi warplanes ahead of schedule

In a move to save costs and speed up delivery of Sukhoi fighter aircraft to Indian Air Force from Russia three-years ahead of schedule, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has scrapped initial plans for full indigenisation of the warplane at its facilities in India, media reports said today.

An agreement signed recently between Russian arms firm Rosoboronexport and Indian Defence Ministry has changed the timeframe of the completion of USD 3.5 billion contract for the licensed production of 140Su-30MKI fighters by HAL, `Kommersant` daily said.

The original Sukhoi license production deal signed in December 2000 ,the largest single Indo-Russian defence contract in 40 years, had provision for full indigenisation of the multi-role fighter planes at HAL facilities in India and last of the 140 Su-30MKI was to be delivered in 2017.

The amendments in the initial deal provide for the completion of delivery of 140 fighters in 2014 three years ahead of schedule with India declining to shift the whole production cycle to HAL facilities as the cost of the indigenously-produced fighter would have doubled, it said.

Russia, which has so far supplied 26 kits to HAL for the assembly of Su-30MKI, would earn an additional USD 350 million through the supply of components by its companies, which otherwise would have been produced by HAL.

Sources in Russian supplier of Su-30MKI fighters Irkut Corporation have said that the deal could be closed even by 2012.

Singing of Vande Mataram made compulsory on Sept 7 in Karnataka

Bangalore, Sept 2 (ZEENEWS.COM) The JDS-BJP government in Karnataka has made singing of "Vande Mataram" compulsory on September seven in all educational institutions to mark the centenary celebrations of the national song.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Basavaraj Horatti told reporters today that a circular has been issued for mandatory singing of the song in all schools and colleges.

Horatti said "Vande Mataram" is a national song and no caste or communal colour should be given to it.

The Commissioner of Public Instructions has issued a circular making the mandatory singing of the first two stanzas of the national song at 11 am on September seven.

South Asian filmmaker wins award at comedy festival

Washington, Sep 2 (IANS) Rehana Mirza, an American filmmaker of Pakistani-Filipina heritage, has won the Audience Award at the NBC Universal Comedy Short Cuts Film Festival for her short film "Modern Day Arranged Marriage".

Starring Debargo Sanyal, Poorna Jagannathan and Tyler Pierce, the short film relates the comedic story of a man and a woman who discuss their matrimonial suitability for an arrangement with a twist.

Competing against 11 other semi-finalists, the New York-based filmmaker and her sister producer Rohi Mirza Pandya took home the award that includes an Avid Composer Package sponsored by Avid Technology.

Comedy Short Cuts is a unique showcase of independent short comedy films and videos with a culturally diverse production team, cast or theme. The 12 semi-finalists were selected from over 850 submissions and a grand winner will be chosen by a jury of industry professionals.

The winning filmmaker will be given the chance to pitch to NBC's comedy development team in Los Angeles and meet top executives at Rogue Pictures and Focus Features. NBC Universal is producing this festival to uncover diverse talent in front of and behind the camera for future development.

All semi-finalist films will be screened at the 2006 New York Television Festival Sep 16 at the Directors Guild of America Theatre in Manhattan.

Mirza has also just completed her feature directorial debut "Hiding Divya." The generational story of three women stars Madhur Jaffrey, Pooja Kumar, Madelaine Massey and Deep Katdare and will begin playing at international film festivals later this year.

Three Indian pilgrims, eight Pakistanis killed in Iraq

New Delhi/Hyderabad, Sep 2 (IANS) Iraq's escalating anarchy has claimed the lives of three Indian pilgrims and eight Pakistanis who were ambushed and shot dead while on their way from Syria to the Iraqi Shia holy city of Karabala.

All the three Indians killed were from Andhra Pradesh and were Shias, according to the relatives of the slain in Hyderabad. The identity of the killers or their religious affiliation is not known yet, but sources say the pilgrims got caught in the ongoing Shia-Sunni conflict in Iraq.

Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed told IANS that the Indian men were seized from Rutba town and later killed along with the Pakistanis Thursday while they were on their way to the Karbala, 80 km from Baghdad, for a pilgrimage.

The three - Jaffer Mashaddi and Mohammed Ahamed Ali from Hyderabad and Mohuiddin Beig from Godavari district - were part of a 15-member group of pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh. While all 12 women, including group leader Syeda Zianab, were spared, the Indian men along with eight Pakistanis were separated and later gunned down.

Mashadi and Ahmed Ali were accompanied by their wives while Baig's mother-in-law was travelling with him.

As the land of Karbala is considered holy, all the three were buried there in the presence of other members of the group, their family members were informed.

The group had left India Aug 23 and entered Iraq after visiting pilgrim centres in Syria and Jordan.

Expressing "shock" at the killing of three Indians, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Saturday offered to provide all assistance to their families.

"We are coordinating with the external affairs ministry. We will provide whatever assistance is required," Reddy told reporters in New Delhi before leaving for Hyderabad after a two-day visit to the national capital.

Ahamed ruled out any political dimension to the killings and said it appeared to be a case of robbery in a volatile region.

"It looks like robbery as all their belongings, including passports, were taken away by the kidnappers," Ahamed said.

The minister said it was regrettable that the dead men had violated travel advisory issued by the Indian government asking Indians not to visit or travel in Iraq. The Indian advisory was issued in 2004 after the kidnapping of three Indian drivers there. Those three were, however, released.

Describing the killings as "unfortunate", Ahamed again urged Indians not to go to strife-torn Iraq. "If people flout advisory, what can we do? They should strictly follow the advisory."

Iraqi diplomats here also expressed sorrow.

"It's unfortunate they have been killed," Muayad Hussain, charge d' affaires in the Iraqi embassy here, told IANS.

The three men were kidnapped while proceeding to Baghdad from Damascus, the Syrian capital, Ahamed said. The bodies were recovered from Rutba, a small town in Iraq's western province of Al Anbar.

The slain Indians and Pakistanis were part of a 40-strong group that also included several women. The gunmen picked out only the men, who turned out to be Indians and Pakistanis.

Ahamed said the wives of two of the Indians and the mother-in-law of the third were with the slain men when they were seized.

"The family members have got permission to take the bodies to Karbala for burial," he said, adding he had instructed the Indian diplomats in Iraq to render all help to the relatives of the murdered Indians.

In Hyderabad, the homes of the three men from Andhra Pradesh sunk in gloom. The relatives of the slain pilgrims received the shocking news from their wives and other family members who were accompanying them.

"He spoke to me over phone only three days ago and said all was well," said Mariam Begum, mother of Ahmed Ali. Dozens of family members and other mourners descended on his house in Chanchalguda in old city.

Ahmed Ali, 42, also a social worker, had been visiting the holy shrines of Iraq almost every year. Despite the war in Iraq, he had been a regular visitor to that country.

"He visited Iraq 13 times and I don't know why it happened this time. I just shudder to think how they shot him dead," said Mohammed Ali's mother.

The scene was no different at the house of Mashadi alias Aga, 60. Men and women could be seen wailing outside his house at Ghatkesar on the city's outskirts.

With about 200,000 Shia Muslims, Hyderabad has the second largest population of the sect in India after Lucknow.

Every year dozens of pilgrims in groups visit shrines in Iraq, Iran and Syria. Shia leaders said three other groups currently in Iraq have informed their relatives that they are safe.

Community leaders said this is the first time pilgrims from the city have fallen victims to insurgents in Iraq.

Three Indians shot dead in Iraq

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Three Indian men, all from Andhra Pradesh, and eight Pakistani men have been shot dead by unidentified men in Iraq, Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed said Saturday.

Ahamed told IANS that the three Indians, according to information provided to him by Indian diplomats, were Jaffer Mashaddi from Visakhapatanam and Mohuiddin Beig and Mohammed Ahamed Ali, both from Hyderabad.

The three were kidnapped on their way to Karbala, about 100 km southwest of Baghdad, on the night of Aug 31 when they were on their way to Baghdad from Damascus, the Syrian capital, the minister said.

They were part of a 40-strong group that included several women. The gunmen picked out only the men, who turned out to be the Indians and Pakistanis. They were then found shot dead.

"Their bodies have been found. The Indians were kidnapped along with eight Pakistanis," Ahamed said.

The minister said the wives of two of the Indians and the mother-in-law of the third Indian were with the slain men when they were seized.

Two AMU teachers suspended for harassment

By Lamat R. Hasan,

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Two teachers have been suspended for sexual harassment. A woman student quit because she could take it no more. Another had her clothes pulled for her "un-Islamic" dress. Now an angry student is on hunger strike. The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh is in ferment.

Worse, many of AMU's women students - they number a staggering 5,000 of the 28,000 student population - are being told that they are bringing a bad name to the university by protesting.

But girl students told IANS they cannot take it any more. The authorities, they say, do not even allow them to step out of the campus. They need to take permission if they go out even for coaching classes. There are no such curbs on male students.

Asma Javed, who has been on hunger strike since Thursday outside the vice chancellor's house, told IANS on phone from Aligarh: "I have been punished for daring to complain against a professor. I have been threatened time and again. They want me to withdraw my complaint."

Asma, who was even shot at on the campus but survived, said: "The professor used to invite me over to his place and offer money."

Disgusted, she complained to AMU's women's grievance cell and the police. Goaded into action, the university suspended Mohammed Shareef, a reader in Sanskrit.

"This isn't the first complaint against Shareef. I am now being victimised for speaking up," said Asma, who wants Shareef axed. She alleges she is being denied admission to a PhD course.

In the last six months, three complaints have been lodged with the women's cell. Students say nine of them went to lodge complaints but only three were accepted.

Amina Kishore, principal of AMU's Women's College, told IANS: "Asma suspects she was not given admission because she lodged a complaint. That is not true."

Asked when Asma's case will be heard, Amina said: "A date has not been fixed."

Students say this isn't the only complaint the women's cell is sitting on.

Earlier, a 21-year-old student, Farah Khanum, a journalism student, was threatened for wearing T-shirts and jeans.

She complained to the vice-chancellor after two youths snatched her shawl and sped away on their bike.

Many girl students have always worn jeans on the AMU campus. But it is only now that some male students have begun picking on women wearing Western dresses.

When Farah approached the student union leaders, she was curtly told: "If you want to become Bhanwari Devi, go on with your campaign." Bhanwari Devi was gang raped in Rajasthan in 1992 for daring to report a child marriage.

A professor in the law faculty has also been suspended after an American Fulbright scholar accused him of making indecent sexual advances.

"At least six other incidents have been reported by women," says National Students Union of India president Jasim Ahmed.

Students say the university is not serious about complaints.

Two years ago, a law student got into trouble after writing about the problems at the university, one of India's oldest. The student, now at Harvard Law School, was disowned and forced to quit.

Two months ago about 1,500 women hostellers, who are not allowed to step of their campus, marched to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital after a first year BA (Hindi) student, Yusra Ahmed, died due to the alleged negligence of university authorities.

The students demanded the resignation of the provost and wardens who insinuated that the dead girl was a "bad character" and had committed suicide.

AMU, which came up in 1876 to promote modern education among Muslims, follows very strict rules governing boys and girls. They are barred from mixing in their undergraduate years. No violation is tolerated.

The main student union in AMU is male dominated and technically represents the whole university. But the women have a separate union whose jurisdiction is confined to that part of the sprawling complex where women study and live.

Students admit that the protesting girls do not enjoy the backing of all women in AMU. "Some are too afraid to come out in our support," said one of them.

UN hails Indian decision to send female police officers

United Nations, Sep 2 (IANS) India's decision to send 125 female police officers - one complete specialised unit - to assist UN peacekeeping operations in Liberia in October has been hailed by the United Nations.

It is an "unprecedented" move that sends a message not only to other post-conflict countries about the importance of having women officers, but also to police contributing nations, senior UN officials said Friday.

"This is an unprecedented move by India to deploy these female officers in policing and we applaud it and think that it is extremely timely and extremely relevant to the policing needs in the years ahead," Police Adviser Mark Kroeker said.

"We think it's a breakthrough that India has expressed its willingness and it's also good for our Liberia mission because it brings to that police operation these officers who are trained, who are capable, who are women and who can bring the best of what the UN police is to the component there."

The 125 officers, currently undergoing the final stages of their training in India, will make up a specialised unit, known as a Formed Police Unit (FPU). The UN has had increasing success with such units over the past few years as a means of bridging the gap between regular and lightly armed police and fully armed blue helmets.

Details of what exact role the all-female FPU will play as part of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) are being worked out, said Noor Gabow, acting mission management coordinator at the UN Police Division.

However, he added that these special units have traditionally been employed as a rapid reaction force, trained in crowd control and better armed than regular police, as well as playing a strong training role for local officers.

"This Indian women's contingent is made up solely of volunteers who have decided that they'd like to be a part of peace operations and that they can play an effective, credible role which we know they can," said Gabow.

India currently contributes almost 400 police officers to UN missions worldwide, one of the top 10 police-contributing countries, but only 15 of these personnel are female officers.

The introduction of the 125 women officers in October will dramatically change this and will also send a powerful message to other contributing countries, UN officials say.

"This decision is extremely timely because as we look at our deployment of women in UN police components around the world, we still retain an unacceptably small number of three or four percent, compared to up to 25 percent of women officers in an acceptable police organization," said Kroeker, a former Los Angeles police officer for over 30 years.

"It enhances our access to vulnerable populations by having women in UN missions and also sends a message to the post-conflict societies where we work that women officers can have any position and play any role in a police organization, including that of commissioner, or deputy commissioner or chief of regions or whatever."

The all-female Indian unit will join other FPUs currently serving in Liberia, where the concept was first tried out although its success there and in other operations has led to calls for increasing deployment.

UN officials also highlight that FPUs are cheaper to deploy than regular military units, noting that it costs around $5 million to set up a specialized police formation while a military battalion can cost up $30 million.

In addition, the deployment of FPUs sends a message to the populations of post-conflict countries that the UN is demilitarizing, while maintaining a credible force that at the same time is helping build local police capacity.

UN HRC names experts to probe Israeli civilian killings in Lebanon

New York, Sept 2 (UN News) The United Nations Human Rights Council today named three members of the High-Level Commission of Inquiry probing what the Geneva-based body termed “systematic targeting and killings of civilians by Israel� in Lebanon.

The three experts are: Clemente Baena Soares of Brazil, a former Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Mohamed Chande Othman, a judge on the Supreme Court of Tanzania, and Stelios Perrakis of Greece, who is the Director of the European Centre for Research and Training on Human Rights and Humanitarian Action.

The High-Level Commission of Inquiry was established in August by a resolution of the Council which mandated it to investigate the systematic targeting and killings of civilians by Israel, examine the types of weapons used by Israel and their conformity with international law, and assess the extent and deadly impact of Israeli attacks on human life, property, critical infrastructure and environment.

The resolution, which was adopted by a vote of 27 in favour to 11 against with 8 abstentions, strongly condemned the “grave Israeli violations of human rights and breaches of international humanitarian law in Lebanon� and called on Israel “to observe the principle of proportionality and refrain from launching any attack that may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life.�

UN team to probe Israeli bombing

Geneva, Sep 2 (DPA) The UN named a three-man team to investigate allegations that Israel systematically killed civilians and used cluster bombs against them during its month-long assault on Lebanon.

The probe was ordered last month by the newly formed UN Human Rights Council, the world body's top human rights panel. Israel and the US are not members.

Named as investigators Friday by the Geneva-based council were a former Brazilian diplomat, a Tanzanian judge and a Greek human rights expert. No date was announced for their trip to the region.

Israel began its offensive against the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militia after the July 12 abduction of two Israeli soldiers. A ceasefire took effect Aug 14.

Uttar Pradesh ministers defy court orders to vacate

By Sharat Pradhan,

Lucknow, Sep 2 (IANS) Thirty Uttar Pradesh ministers have not bothered to heed a Supreme Court order to vacate the government houses they are occupying beyond the permitted deadlines.

The ministers are among 89 politicians ordered to vacate their government accommodation by the apex court, which earlier this week listed 893 officials as "unauthorised occupants".

According to one official, the ministers were included in the list of unauthorised occupants because "they were holding on to the bungalow allotted to them as minister while retaining accommodation given to them as legislators".

The apex court has ruled that ministers were not permitted to retain the accommodation given to them earlier as legislators. The court has also ordered their eviction from such accommodation.

The Aug 30 court order came on a writ petition pending since 2004. The petition, by an employee of the Kerala State Road Transport Corp, was against the failure of the Kerala government to get a house allotted to him in the state capital as the earlier occupant refused to vacate it.

The writ was suo moto converted into a public interest litigation whereby the apex court sought details of all such government accommodation under unauthorised occupation of members of legislatures, executive, judiciary and also journalists.

The Uttar Pradesh government has about 14,000 houses in the state capital.

"Policemen top the list of unauthorised squatters. There are as many as 544 police personnel - right from constables to officials of the rank of director general - holding on to government houses," according to an official of the government estates department.

Following them are politicians, government officials, judicial officers, social workers and journalists, with whom successive governments have been quite liberal and generous in allotments. About 350 journalists are beneficiaries of government accommodation in Lucknow.

There are nearly three dozen IAS officers still holding on to government bungalows and flats here despite being transferred out of Lucknow months and even years ago.

Some were posted as district magistrates but refused to vacate the houses allotted to them here, said the official.

Judicial and senior administrative officers are the only ones trying to hurriedly carry out the directives of the apex court.

"While some judicial officers have vacated their premises, others have offered to follow suit by next week," Prabhat Mittal, estates department director, told IANS.

Vande Mataram was not new to controversy

By Amulya Ganguli

India's 'national song' Vande Mataram - or Hail to the Motherland - is not new to controversy.

Written in 1875 by the celebrated Bengali novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and incorporated in his stirring work of fiction, Anandmath, in 1882, the song gained nationwide prominence when it was chanted by freedom fighters opposing Viceroy Lord Curzon's 1905 vivisection of Bengal.

From then onwards, Vande Mataram was on the lips of virtually every opponent of British rule, whether he was an anarchist bent on killing representatives of the colonial regime or a follower of Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent path to independence.

Not surprisingly, therefore, it was regarded as the national anthem by the Congress before 1947. But ironically, although Vande Mataram became the leitmotif of resistance to colonial rule, the novel, which gave pride of place to it, hailed the advent of the British to the Indian subcontinent.

In Anandmath, whose setting was the devastating Bengal famine of 1770 during which a third of the state's population perished, the context of the song was popular distress and anger with the then prevailing Muslim rule and preference for the British as saviours from Islamic tyranny.

"The English are masters of physical knowledge and apt teachers", says a prophet who goes by the name of the Physician in the novel. "Let us make them kings."

The Encyclopaedia Britannica noted that "the general moral of the Anandmath is that British rule and British education are to be accepted as the only alternative to Mussulman oppression, a moral which Bankim Chandra developed also in his Dharmatattva, an elaborate religious treatise".

It has been suggested that Bankim Chandra's praise for the British was motivated by the fact that he was a government official, rising to the posts of deputy magistrate and deputy collector before retirement.

But it is also possible that he was reflecting the generally favourable perception of the British (noticeable also in Nirad Chaudhuri's writings in the 20th century) among the educated Bengalis of the time who were dismissive of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, or the First War of Independence as it is now called.

This was also the attitude of the Sikhs, the Gurkhas and large sections of the people of south India, it may be added.

To return to Vande Mataram, the anti-Muslim and pro-British slant associated with Anandmath was gradually forgotten or deliberately ignored as the freedom movement gathered momentum. As Aurobindo Ghosh, the celebrated freedom fighter, wrote: "The Mantra had been given and in a single day a whole people had been converted to the religion of patriotism."

However, it isn't the song's original context which is primarily responsible for Muslim objections to it in the past as well as now. These are based on the song's distinctly Hindu bias after the first two stanzas when the goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are invoked.

It is for this reason that Jawaharlal Nehru advocated, on the advice of Rabindranath Tagore, the choice of only the first two stanzas for singing, and this has been the Congress's position till now.

The party leadership has also been against forcing anyone to sing the song or to brand any conscientious objector as unpatriotic. For instance, in 1937, Rajendra Prasad, who was to become the first president of India, wrote to Vallabhbhai Patel, who became the first Indian home minister, that opposition to the hoisting of the tricolour and singing of Vande Mataram were gaining strength because of the "thoughtlessness and inopportune action of our workers and sympathizers".

In reply, Patel said the raising of the flag on houses against the wishes of the proprietors had no meaning. "In fact, I regard it as an unseemly demonstration of our intolerance."

Half a century later, the Supreme Court made the same point about tolerance when giving a verdict on the refusal of two children belonging to the sect of the Jehovah's Witness, who refused to sing the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, in a Kerala school because their religion did not permit saluting a national flag or to sing a national anthem as it did not believe in the nation state.

In its verdict, the court said that as long as the children stood respectfully when the anthem was being played, it was all right. "Our tradition teaches tolerance," the verdict said, "our philosophy teaches tolerance, our constitution teaches tolerance."

It is obvious, therefore, that the decision of the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to make an issue of the Muslim objections to Vande Mataram - reiterated by the Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid recently - is an attempt to play the patriotic card.

But that even sections within the BJP are unhappy about this blatant attempt to foment anti-Muslim sentiments is evident from the refusal of the state governments under the party in Gujarat and Rajasthan to make it compulsory for students, especially in the madrassas, to sing the song Sep 7, when, according to the human resource development ministry, the Congress chose it as the national song 100 years ago.

Of course, the BJP is not the only party to make political use of the song. Way back in 1937, when Mohammed Ali Jinnah was trying to revive the Muslim League under his leadership, he too objected to the song being given an exalted status.

It is a safe bet that both narrow-minded Hindu and Muslim communalists would continue their mischievous political campaign over the song in the foreseeable future, as they have done for so many decades in the past.

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

Vande Matram: horse or a cow?

By Syed Ali Mujtaba

Is Vande Matram horse or a cow? Well how can a song become an animal? It can! That’s the reason its an Indian patriotic song and not of any other country in the world.

What’s the logic in calling it a horse! Its simple the day Binkam Chander Chaterjee wrote this song in 1906 in protest of the Partition of Bengal in 1905, the Hindu right has been riding over it in the quest for power.

This song has served as the best mount for them in the entire tenure of the struggle for India’s freedom. It very well trapped the Muslims to spell out their loyalty, either to the nation or to the religion. Being a monotheist, the clean-hearted Muslims owe their allegiance to one and only Allah and to choose between the motherland and the Lord it was of sort religious crisis.

Those mounting the high horse of Vande Matram watched the fun, as Muslims fretted and fumed and refused to sing the song as it not only equated to their God but its few stanzas were derogatory to their religion.

And there you go! The horse did the trick that no tricksters wearing political hat could do. It separated the sheep from the goat!

Even though the horse had only regional and linguistic reach it was flogged to cover the imagination of the entire country. It acted as a double-edged sword. One blade clipped the wings of the colonial masters and made them run from the country; the other dwarfed the Muslims and pushed them on the path of separatism.

Did the horse died after galloping so relentlessly making a marathon run for the country’s freedom? No the horse did not die it only slipped into coma and of and on its pumped to be made alive, so that it could be made mount worthy again. That’s what the Sangh Privar is doing right now, flogging the fainted horse, hoping it will become their best mount again, and win them the throne of Hindustan.

Got it right! Now tell me how it is called cow. Why it is not a bull? The song all along has acted as a bully to the British and the Muslims, so why can’t it be called a bull. What’s the fixation for equating it to a cow!

Conceding the argument that the job of the bull is to bully, it would still be better to call it a cow. The primary attribute of a cow in the Indian context is to give. Indians utilize every single thing that’s part of the cow. And that’s not true of a bull. So Vande Matram is a cow and not to a bull!

Since the day this patriotic song has been penned a hundred years ago it has only been milked by all and sundry in this country. Politicians have milked it to grind their political axe, playwright and dramatist have milked it to hone their imaginative skills, singers, dancers, choreographers, you name it, and they all have it. In the name of patriotism, even scoundrels have milked this holy cow. Stupid can you milk a bull! That’s the reason it’s called a cow and not a bull.

So why the song Vande Matram is being made controversial as its centenary celebrations Why the Sangh Privar wants the entire nation to sing the song at 11 am on September 7 and any one defying their diktat would be made called a traitor.

The answer is simple; the political forces at the right to the center are now is in dire straits. “Ram Lalla,� its most lethal agenda in the post-independent India has become a spent force. With election in 2007 in India’s most populous state Uttar Pardesh that sends more than 40 Member of Parliament it desperately needs another agenda to steady their shaking ship.

Vande Matram fits into this scheme of thought. It’s a potent weapon of nationalism that can excite a large section of the people. First of all, it will physic the gullible Muslims who will raise the same old protest, and its reaction will unite a large section of Hindus, that will vote the vortices of Sangh Privar to power. That’s the reason Vande Matram is being played to the gallery, hoping that the dwindling fortunes of the Hindu right may get a new lease of life.

The ageing leadership of the Hindu right however doesn’t realize the trump card of 1906 can’t even be a joker in 2006. In the age of globalization, the market forces are determining the new equation. In order to harvest the economy of scale, shackles of nationalism are being broken and regionalism, globalization and partnership are become the key words in modern parlance. So Vande Matram doesn’t carry the same punch as before.

Then what does Vande Matram really means to the Indians? Well it is nothing more than music to the ears. Its befittingly was tuned by the musician A R Rahman who composed and sung it at the 50th year of India’s independence. Those who witnessed to the event could sense the mood of the audience; the majority had gone into trance the Sangh Privar were fuming in their hearts as secularist highjacked their agenda.

Now attempts are being made again to open up the stitched wounds ten years after that event, hoping that it will give them the safe returns. The truth is creating no more than a ripple effect. People know the matter has been settled. It’s not India’s national anthem but just a national song.

Muslims sensitivity has been taken care off after Vade Matram has been trimmed of its objectionable portion and made an optional song. So no Muslim has any objection to this song. It has all the freedom to sing or not to sing depending on his mood.

The Sangh Privar by forcing its agenda of making Vande Matram a mandatory song on all the citizens of it ruled state are making things more complicated. Can they make any law that would enforce Vande Matram singing? Can they keep vigil at who has sung the song and who not? So then what is the fuss all about.

Well currently Vande Matram is an innocuous prank of dumb witted people. If you are an Indian and if you have not sung Vade Matram at 11 AM on September 7, the horses, the bulls and the cows all will come to haunt you in your dreams! You can always get up and say ‘Jai Hind’ next day!

_____________________________________________________________________________
Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist, based in Chennai, India. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

We have no Pakistani pilots, Sri Lanka tells India

By M.R. Narayan Swamy,

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Sri Lanka has categorically told India that no Pakistani pilots are involved in Colombo's military campaign against the Tamil Tigers.

A top adviser to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse also informed Indian policy makers that Colombo was determined to capture a strategic area that overlooks the eastern port town of Trincomalee from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Basil Rajapakse, brother of President Rajapakse, stated this in free and frank discussions here with National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan as well as other officials.

Informed sources in New Delhi and Colombo told IANS that the Sri Lankan president wanted to clear the air on certain issues, which he felt were causing misunderstandings between the two countries.

Ever since Pakistan's then envoy to Sri Lanka, Bashir Wali Mohammed, survived an assassination attempt in Colombo Aug 14, Islamabad's military ties with Colombo have come under scrutiny, and some reports have suggested that Pakistani pilots were flying Sri Lankan Air Force jets targeting LTTE bases in the island's north and east. Rajapakse said this was not true.

Rajapakse also asserted that the Sri Lankan military was intent on seizing Sampoor on the east coast because LTTE's control of the coastal region had made things difficult for the major Sri Lankan naval base at Trincomalee.

Spreading out military maps, Rajapakse explained that the control of Sampoor was very vital for Colombo. Once the mission was accomplished, Sri Lanka would be ready to talk to LTTE if the latter desired, he said.

"Rajapakse explained the strategic importance of Sampoor," one official said.

Rajapakse's sudden visit to New Delhi comes amid fierce fighting in Sampoor region that has left scores dead on both sides and displaced thousands, mainly Tamil civilians.

The LTTE had built a major military base in Sampoor since the Norway-brokered 2002 ceasefire agreement. Military experts the Tigers can use Sampoor to cripple or at least seriously disrupt Trincomalee.

Rajapakse pointed out that the LTTE had killed 169 Sri Lankan soldiers from December 2005 until the outbreak of major hostilities in July 2006. Since then, he claimed, just over 100 soldiers had died in combat against the Tigers.

His argument was that the LTTE's earlier method of picking out soldiers in two's, three's and four's was far most costly to the Sri Lankan state than open war.

In an obvious reference to India and other countries, he complained that Colombo was being told to halt stop its military offensive, but similar advice was never given to the LTTE when it began killing Sri Lankan soldiers.

Indian officials got the impression that Basil Rajapakse, who along with his other brother Gotabaya forms the inner core of the Sri Lankan government led by Mahinda Rajapakse, was clear about the risks flowing from the present fighting that threatens to snowball into all out war.

In other words, President Rajapakse appears to have considered the possibility that the LTTE could hit back if and when it lost control of Sampoor, which many feel could happen in light of the ferocity of the Sri Lankan military advance.

On their part, Indian officials listened patiently to Basil Rajapakse but told him politely that war could never bring about a lasting solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka, which badly needed a political rapprochement.

Much of the international community also fears that Sampoor's capture would only escalate Sri Lanka's present fighting.

The LTTE has described the rationale given by Colombo for its offensive as "spurious" and "deceptive".

The LTTE says it first fired on the Trincomalee base from Sampoor only when resisting the Sri Lankan Army's initial offensive in July. It says it avoided hitting the Trincomalee base despite relentless Sri Lankan aerial bombings.

Why Should Anyone Sing 'Vande Mataram?'

By Manas Shaikh

There is no doubt that one should love his countrymen. But why should love stop at the border?

What is India? It is but a set of people who happen to fall under the same goverment. India did not exist as today's map even 60 years back. May not look like this in future.

Our countrymen are most imprtant to us because they are the ones who share the same goverment and same land. Because they are within our easiest reach to help and reach for help. Given that, there is no reason for sensitizing it any further.

Let us look at the issues at practical terms. Pretence is not good in any matter of life. Nor is emotion in place of reason. Blind loyalty to anything in this world is not good. Simply because nothing in this world is perfect. It is said that the country provides us food, drink and shelter. Which is, basically, a pretence. The country is nothing but a piece of land. A lifeless object. The boundaries are man-made. It is God who is providing us (Indians or non-Indians) food, drink and shelter. By claiming that the country provides us, we are being blasphemous. We are being ungrateful. Taking One's credit and giving it to something else.

Blind loyalty to countrymen (was,) is (and will be) eqated to blind loyalty to the goverment. The rulers want to be sure that we shall follow whatever they say. Nationalism is a very good tool to ensure that. None but we shall be vulnerable and exploited. We shall die at frontiers fighting for the rich and powerful, without ever realizing it. In ancient Egypt king was held to be god. Simply because he did not want to be questioned. Same thing was seen at Rome, at a later time.

Remember Hitler's Germany. Love for country and pride of Aryan blood was a integral part of Hitler's doctrine. The Jews were viewed as anti national. Propaganda inside the then Germany planted immense pride of being an Aryan into the hearts and minds of common German. This resulted in two things-

1. The non-Aryans were feeling insecure.
2. The other one was even more bad and dangerous. Non Germans were being viewed as lesser beings.

This form of nationalism teaches us to regard citizen of other countries as lesser human beings. At the end, it is this pride that will end our nation.

The politicians remember nationalism only when it helps them (nothing surprizing!). They forget it when they have to pay their share of responsiblity. By naming nationalism, bringing in some 'bharat mata' they want to cow us down. Stop us from questioning them.

Interested readers may read an article on nationalism by Bertrand Russell in his 'Facts and Fiction'

World's 'biggest' solar electric plant opens in Germany

Arnstein (Germany), Sep 2 (DPA) A solar electric power plant, billed by its operators as the world's biggest, went into service in the southern German state of Bavaria Friday.

More than 1,400 movable solar modules will collect the sun's rays and harness them into energy for around 3,500 households, according to operators Solon AG.

The company has invested 70 million euros ($90 million) in the project, which took 15 months to complete and will have an output of 12 megawatts when fully operational.

Located on a 77-hectare field near the town of Arnstein, the plant consists of rows of movable modules which automatically tilt and rotate during the day to face the sun at all times.

This technology gets the maximum benefit from the sun's rays and enables the plant to generate up to 35 per cent more electricity than a fixed solar array, according to Solon AG spokeswoman Therese Raatz.

The area around the modules is not fenced off, allowing sheep to graze on the land and save it from erosion, Raatz said.

The plant is located in the same state as a solar park in Pocking which held the previous record as the world's biggest, providing 10 megawatts of electricity to 3,300 homes.

Germans last year invested 3.7 billion euros in solar energy, one of the fastest growing sources of renewable energy along with wind power and biomass.

Solar energy accounts for less than 1 per cent of the country's energy needs, but the figure is expected to grow to more than five percent by 2020, according to the German Solar Energy Association BSW.

Yechuri calls for debate on environmental policy

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechuri Saturday asked the government to consult state governments and local bodies before finalising an environment impact assessment (EIA) notification.

In a letter to Environment and Forests Minister A. Rajaj, Yechuri alleged that the government was planning to finalise the EIA notification - that specifies parameters for environmental clearance for new projects - without addressing concerns raised by mass organisations and public interest groups.

"The notification will have a big impact on the life of local people living in resource-rich areas and it is, therefore, essential that their concerns are adequately addressed and their voices heard," the CPI-M politburo member said in the letter.

The Rajya Sabha MP, whose CPI-M and three other Left parties prop up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government, also said the notification should be discussed in parliament.

Yechuri claimed that the government had discussed the policy only with business bodies like Confederation of Indian Industry and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, apart from some central ministries and departments.

"This cannot be interpreted as extensive public consultations under any circumstances," he said, alleging that there have been apprehensions that the "EIA procedures have been severely diluted under the draft notification in order to facilitate the interests of the private industries".

According to the new notification, a non-objection certificate from state pollution control boards will not be necessary for environmental clearance of a project, he said.

"I request the government to withhold the finalisation of the EIA notification till such extensive discussions and parliamentary debates take place on this issue," Yechuri's letter said.

'Al Qaeda leader in Iraq arrested'

Baghdad, Sep 3 (DPA) A man described as second-in-command of the Al Qaeda terrorist network in Iraq has been detained, Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffaq Al-Rubaie said Sunday.

The announcement came as another series of attacks in Baquba and Baghdad left 14 killed, while a dispute between the government and Kurds in the country's north flared over flags.

Al-Rubaie announced at a news conference that Al Qaeda number two in the country - Hamad Jama Al-Saedi - was detained a few days ago in a residential building.

Al-Saedi was suspected of being behind the bombing of the Al-Askari shrine in Samarra last February, prompting a wave of sectarian violence.

In the attacks in Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, a driver and four of his children were killed when their car exploded in a market in the Baquba district.

Three more people were killed when unidentified militants opened fire on them in central Baquba, while a fourth was shot in the Al-Miqdadiya district. Two policemen were shot dead when militants opened fire on a police patrol in New Baquba.

Another government official was assassinated on his way to work in Yarmouk district in western Baquba, while in Zaghnia, northeast of Baquba, a Shia mosque was blown up overnight.

In Baghdad, two US soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb struck the vehicle as they drove in the eastern part of the capital, while a bomb targeting a police patrol injured two policemen and a civilian in the eastern Baladiyat district.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki issued a statement, declaring that the present Iraqi flag should be the only flag raised in the entire country.

This comes in reaction to the Kurdish authorities' decision to ban the Iraqi flag from being hoisted on government buildings in Kurdistan.

In a statement aired by the Al-Iraqiya television, Al-Maliki defended the national flag, saying it would not be changed until the parliament takes a decision about it.

Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud al-Barazani reacted in turn by threatening to declare the region's independence.

In a speech before the Kurdish parliament in Erbil, Barazani said: "The will of the Kurdish people was derived from the parliament, and any time the parliament saw it proper to declare independence, we will declare it and we will have no fear."

Barazani defended in his speech his decision to ban the Iraqi flag from governmental buildings in Kurdistan.

Kurds associate the Iraqi national flag with Saddam Hussein's hated Baath party, which is accused of committing grave crimes against the Kurdish minority in 1988.

'Israel could withdraw from Lebanon within two weeks'

Tel Aviv, Sep 3 (DPA) Israel could withdraw its troops from Lebanon within two weeks if the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) continues to deploy at the present rate, the Ha'aretz daily reported, citing "security sources".

Israel has said it will leave the areas it occupies in southern Lebanon only after a 15,000-strong beefed-up UNIFIL contingent deploys in the area.

Italian troops arrived in Lebanon Saturday in the first major step towards bolstering the UN mission aimed at safeguarding the fragile truce between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.

Military sources quoted by Ha'aretz Sunday said they were satisfied with the rate of deployment of the international force and the "serious" attitude of its commanders.

The reinforced UNIFIL presence in southern Lebanon is the result of the UN Security Council resolution, which brought about a truce in the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah fighters. The ceasefire went into effect on Aug 14.

According to the Israeli daily, the Israel army is "apparently racing to destroy" Hezbollah weapons caches in areas under its control, ahead of the impending withdrawal.

10,000 Gujaratis flex cultural and economic muscle in US

Edison, New Jersey, Sep 3 (IANS) Industrialists and preachers rubbed shoulders with singers and poets as 10,000 Gujaratis came together here to flex their cultural and economic muscles during a three-day extravaganza described as one of the biggest of its kind.

Despite the blustery weather with heavy rains brought on by the dying hurricane Ernesto, the community came out in full force at the city's Raritan Convention Center to cheer their own in what several speakers described as a "history- making event."

It was a measure of the success of the event that the city's fire marshals had to close down the main gates of the center to prevent any more paid guests because of safety concerns. Close to 3,000 people had to be turned away on day 2 of the event today even as over 7,000 sat inside patiently for hours on metal chairs and applauded a series of performances and speeches.

Drawing on the strong presence of the Gujarati expatriate population in New Jersey state, especially in Edison and surrounding towns, the Association of Indian Americans of North America (AIANA) unveiled what it hoped would become a diasporic platform for the community worldwide.

The highlight of the second day today was touted to be an "inspirational" speech by Sam Pitroda, a technology guru and chairman of India's National Knowledge Commission, who is also Gujarati. However so intense was the pressure on the speaking time during the main session that Pitroda had to cut short his address to just three minutes.

Pitroda, while applauding Gujarat's many successes over the decades, said, "I am worried that Gujarat may have missed the IT bus" unlike other states such as Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. However, he said Gujarat with its entrepreneurial people could be the leader of the impending knowledge economy.

His comments set the stage for a "surprise" address via video from Gandhinagar by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi who was apparently prompted by Pitroda's remarks to defend his state's IT record. He said although the state was somewhat late in joining the IT boom, it had more than made up through its follow work in terms of technology parks and initiatives in e-governance.

Modi, who would have been far happier to have addressed such a large and responsive gathering personally, could not make it because of the continuing denial of the US visa by the Bush administration for his failure in handling the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots in his state. Many noted the irony of Modi, once a critic of Pitroda's IT and telecom initiatives in the 1980s, using the telecom technology to bypass the US visa ban against him.

Unlike many community events in the US, the AIANA leadership under Dr. Navin C, Mehta and Sunil Nayak took care to keep the event strictly non-partisan and focused on just being Gujaratis.

Himanshu Vyas, an influential Congress party leader from Gujarat who coordinated the visits by well known names from the state, told IANS: "We all wanted to make it sure that we did not get embroiled in partisan bickering. This is about being Gujarati and what Gujaratis bring to the rest of the world. Doing an even of this scale in the US proves how consequential the community has become."

Interestingly, even Modi, otherwise known to be unabashedly partisan, kept up the amiable tone saying the success of Gujarat was a result of work done by many people and many parties.

The guest list included many illustrious Gujarati names from diverse fields such as popular preacher and raconteur Morari Bapu, Nirma founder Karsan Patel, ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad director Bakul Dholakia apart from Pitroda who was described by Dr, Mehta as a "jewel of Gujarat."

The extraordinarily patient and indulgent 10,000 plus audience was treated to folk performances, humorous skits, Gujarati songs and a series of seminars on business, medicine and technology.

Naik said AIANA planned to make the event an annual affair "so that the Gujaratis worldwide can express themselves in many different ways." "This is the first step in what we hope will become a powerful bridge between the diaspora and Gujarat," Naik told IANS.

Dr. Mehta said the community had signalled that it was capable of rising over differences and work as one in the interest of Gujarat. "We believe we accomplished something significant with this conference-a feeling of being Gujarati beyond any political partisanship."

14 British military die in Afghan plane crash

London/Kabul, Sep 3 (DPA) Fourteen British military personnel were killed Saturday after their aircraft crashed in Afghanistan, the defence ministry in London said.

Among the 14 were 12 members of the Royal Air Force as well as one Royal Marine and a British Army soldier.

The aircraft, which according to media reports was a military helicopter, crashed 12 km west of the southern city of Kandahar. It had been supporting the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force ISAF mission in southern Afghanistan.

An earlier ISAF statement said the aircraft crashed having declared a technical problem. An official statement said that "enemy action" had been discounted.

An MoD spokesman described the fatalities as "dreadful and shocking," adding an operation to secure the scene of the crash was ongoing.

The crash represents the greatest single-day loss of British military personnel since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in November 2001. Until Saturday a total of 22 British soldiers had lost their lives in the country, seven of them since the launch of a major offensive against Taliban militants in August of this year.

89 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan

Kabul, Sep 3 (Xinhua) Eighty-nine Taliban militants were killed in the past 24 hours in the southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan, a defence ministry spokesman said Sunday.

The militants were killed in Panjwai and Jalai districts in Operation MEDUSA, which was launched on Saturday by around 2,000 troops of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan forces, said Zahir Azimi.

Earlier, ISAF spokesman Luke Knittig told a press conference that around 20 Taliban insurgents had been killed in the operation.

An ISAF statement said the operation, which is the largest since it took command in southern Afghanistan on July 31, aims to drive Taliban fighters out of Panjwai district to set conditions for reconstruction and development.

A considerable amount of ground has been gained by ISAF and Afghan forces in the district, the statement indicated, adding that "a significant number of suspected insurgents were detained" by the Afghan police.

A British reconnaissance plane of ISAF crashed near Panjwai on Saturday, killing all 14 soldiers on board.

ISAF has denied a claim by the Taliban that its militants shot down the plane, saying "a technical problem" caused the accident.

An ISAF spokesman said all soldiers' remains had been retrieved and would be transported to the Kandahar airfield before being sent back to Britain, according to reports.

Panjwai, about 40 km west of Kandahar city, capital of Kandahar province, has been a hotbed of Taliban militants, who attack ISAF and Afghan troops frequently.

Afghanistan is suffering from a rise of Taliban-linked violence this year, with more than 2,000 people, mostly Taliban rebels, killed. Among the fatalities are over 100 foreign troops.

Afghan opium cultivation jumps by 59 percent

Kabul, Sep 3 (DPA) Opium cultivation in Afghanistan has soared by 59 percent this year, largely due to a dramatic increase in the insurgency-hit southern provinces of the country, said the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

"These are very alarming numbers. Afghanistan is increasingly hooked on its own drug," UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said here Saturday after presenting the results of the UNODC Annual Opium Survey for Afghanistan to President Hamid Karzai.

The survey showed the area under opium cultivation reached a record 165,000 hectares in 2006 compared with 104,000 in 2005.

In the restive southern province of Helmand, where Taliban insurgents have stepped up their attacks on Afghan government and foreign forces, cultivation has increased 162 percent to 69,324 hectares.

"This year's harvest will be around 6,100 tons of opium - a staggering 92 percent of total world supply. It exceeds global consumption by 30 percent," Costa said.

Costa said the southern region was displaying the ominous hallmarks of incipient collapse, with large-scale drug cultivation and trafficking, insurgency, terrorism, crime and corruption.

In other provinces, especially Badakhshan in the northeast, opium crop increases were the result of weak governance, poverty and the influence of powerful warlords.

Only six of the country's 34 provinces are now opium-free, including the capital.

"Public opinion is increasingly frustrated by the fact that opium cultivation in Afghanistan is out of control. The political, military and economic investments by coalition countries are not having much visible impact on drug cultivation," Costa said.

"As a result, Afghan opium is fuelling insurgency in western Asia, feeding international mafias and causing 100,000 deaths from overdoses every year," he added.

Costa called on the Afghan government to take tougher action against drug traffickers and opium-farming landlords, and on Western governments to do more to curb drug abuse in their own countries.

Ahmadinejad to attend UN assembly in New York

Tehran, Sep 3 (DPA) Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit New York this month to attend the United Nations General Assembly, state television IRIB reported.

In an interview with the channel Saturday, Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki confirmed that Ahmadinejad will visit the UN General Assembly and deliver a speech in front of the assembly.

This would be the second visit by Ahmadinejad to the US since taking office in August 2005. In September 2005, he was at the UN headquarters in New York to speak to the General Assembly.

AIMWPLB flays BJP for communalising Vande Mataram issue

By IE
Sunday September 3, 02:14 AM

The Chairman of the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB), Shaista Ambar, has criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party for giving communal flavour to the Vande Mataram controversy and said the Board will oppose any move of the BJP ruled states to force the children in Madarsas to sing it.

''Although the Board has all the respect for the national song, but opposes any move to force it on those who do not want to sing it. In fact, we welcome these songs and they are already sung without any controversy in the assemblies and Parliament. But, specifically forcing the students in Madarsas to sing it would be unwise," she told newspersons on Saturday.

On PDF and UP-UDF, she said, ''They are mostly opportunists, who want to use the unaware and illiterate Muslim community.'' ENS, Lucknow

Source:

http://in.news.yahoo.com/060902/48/677sa.html

Al Qaeda urges Americans to convert to Islam

Washington, Sep 3 (DPA) The latest recorded message from the terrorist network Al Qaeda features deputy chief Ayman al-Zawahiri and an American member of the group urging Americans to convert to Islam.

In excerpts aired by the US-based CNN, the tape titled 'Invitation to Islam' shows separate clips of Zawahiri and an English-speaker introduced as Azzam the American.

CNN identified him as Adam Gadahn, a native Californian wanted by US authorities. He has appeared in previous Al Qaeda videos.

"We invite all Americans and believers to Islam, whatever their role and status in Bush and Blair's world order," Gadahn said in the tape. "Decide today, because today could be your last day," it added.

American jeans, now made in Bangladesh!

Dhaka, Sep 3 (IANS) Jean may have originated in America, but Bangladeshi brands are now invading Western markets as Dhaka hopes to corner 10 percent of America's multi-billion jean market.

'Envoy' and 'Sasha' are among the Bangladeshi brands that have made their presence felt in the US and in the European Union nations, the New Age daily reported Sunday.

Cheap labour and competitive prices have made Bangladesh a world leader in a market that is estimated at $70 billion, it said quoting a major exporter of the clothing item, market analysts and the chief of a major western retailing chain.

Trousers, mostly jeans, topped Dhaka's export basket in the last fiscal, fetching $2.07 billion, which was 42 percent higher than the previous year's earning.

"Global market reports reveal that Bangladeshi trouser makers are beating fast their competitors in the US and EU markets and grabbing significant market shares," says the report.

While India, another major exporter does not figure in the newspaper's reckoning, New Age says that Bangladesh has beaten Mexico and China, thanks to some interim restrictions placed by authorities in those countries.

According to the US commerce department, Bangladeshi exporters doubled their share to 2.33 percent in the US market in 2005 and commanded over 5 percent share in the first quarter of 2006.

During this period, the share of Mexico - the number one supplier - shrank to 37 percent from 43 percent in 2005, while the supply from China - the second biggest exporter - dipped to 1.93 percent from 6.45 percent.

If the trend continues, Bangladesh would have at least 10 percent share in the US denim trousers market by the yearend, analysts said.

In the first quarter of 2006, Bangladeshi exporters sold at $78 per dozen of trousers in the USA, against $99 of China and $102 of Mexico.

Export performance in the European market is also impressive. The latest report from the European Commission shows Bangladesh had consolidated its leading position in EU's jeans market during the first half of 2006.

"We see a brighter future for Bangladeshi trousers and denims as those are very competitive," said Pearl Kerlsson, chief executive of Bangladesh operation of H&M, a top global retailer especially in EU market.

"We are undoubtedly the most competitive denims suppliers and this is why more buyers are diverting from other countries," said Abdus Salam Murshey, the immediate past vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

Salam said his Envoy Denim is booked with advance orders. Bright prospects inspired him in venturing into fabric production.

Envoy's Taka 1 billion-($14.5 million)-plus modern denim unit will go into production soon. At least one dozen other firms have invested more than Taka 10 billion during the last one year in the sector, Salam said.

Angry flood victims attack Patnaik's convoy

Bhubaneswar, Sep 3 (IANS) Angry over inadequate flood relief materials in Orissa, hundreds of victims Sunday attacked the convoy of Chief Minister Naveen Pantaik while he was visiting the worst-hit Kendrapada district, police said.

The incident occurred when he went to see a breach developed by floodwaters at Chagharia Chhack on the national highway 5(A) located on the outskirts of the Kendrapada town.

At least 500 people mobbed him and shouted slogans demanding immediate relief and polythene for temporary shelter.

The chief minister could not reach the site and returned to visit another breach in a nearby area. Some of the irate villagers pelted stones at the vehicle and did not allow Patnaik to get off the car.

Patnaik returned to Kendrapada town and reviewed the flood situation.

Earlier, Jyoti Prakash Das, district collector of Kendrapada, was replaced by the state's additional transport commissioner Kashinath Sahu. Das was transferred after Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal had to face the wrath of the flood victims when he visited the district Saturday.

The fifth round of floods triggered by low pressure in the Bay of Bengal has affected over 1.5 million people in the state's 12 districts. Kendrapada still remains cut off from the coastal towns of Cuttack and Balasore.

The district is flanked by Paika Luna and Chitropla River, tributaries of the Mahanadi river system. Three breaches developed in the embankments of these rivers causing extensive damage to several villages.

Hundreds of villagers surrounded and heckled Samal when he arrived in the district, a senior relief official said.

The villagers alleged that over 30 villages have not yet received relief and that the district collector had not visited the flood-hit areas. They also said that sufficient boats had not been arranged to tackle the calamity.

"That is why he was handed the transfer order," the official added.

The state has also ordered a probe into the negligence on the part of the district administration in handling the floods, he said.

Floods in the last two months have affected over 3 million people.

Australia stresses closer ties with India

Sydney, Sep 3 (IANS) India seems to be the flavour of the month in Australia with both Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer stressing the importance of closer trade ties with India, a major export destination.

Speaking at the Australia-India Business Council here recently, John Howard said India was high on his government's priority list, the Indian Post reported.

Howard stressed that his government wants closer trade relations with India, which has become the sixth largest export destination for Australian products.

He added that the two countries had become much closer economically in the past six years.

Meanwhile, Alexander Downer told a meeting of the Australia-India Business Council in Adelaide that the countries should work together in the Asia Pacific region to counter the growing influence of China.

"We need a region that is well balanced" without one power that could "dominate the region", said Downer.

BJP flays RBI directions to banks on minority schemes

New Delhi, Sept 3 (ZEENEWS.COM) The BJP today opposed as "another Act of Minority appeasement by the ruling UPA" the RBI's directions to all scheduled commercial banks to ensure that benefits of government-sponsored schemes reach the under-privileged, including disadvantaged sections of minority communities.

The RBI has asked banks to issue necessary instructions to their controlling offices and branch offices to ensure that within the overall target for priority sector lending and the sub-target of 10 per cent for the weaker sections, "sufficient care is taken to ensure that minority communities also receive an equitable portion of credit."

"These directions are another act of minority appeasement. They show how the government's attempts to impose its pseudo-secularist agenda on financial institutions," BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.

Blair: To quit or not to quit is the question

By Prasun Sonwalkar,

London, Sep 3 (IANS) There is much speculation about what British Prime Minister Tony Blair will do amid growing calls for him to announce a schedule for handing over the Labour Party's leadership to a successor. Will Blair quit 10 Downing Street gracefully or will he be led out unceremoniously a la Margaret Thatcher?

That is the question uppermost in the minds of many inside and outside Whitehall and Westminster, as the prime minister continues to resist demands from colleagues and others to announce a schedule for handing over Labour leadership to a successor.

Even MPs and ministers close to Blair want the uncertainty to end. Now in his third consecutive term as prime minister, Blair is up against growing anti-incumbency sentiment, an unpopular policy on Iraq, a perception that Blair is more of spin than substance -- and sheer familiarity breeding contempt.

Blair has announced he will complete his record third term in office. But party colleagues believe that Labour can never win another election under Blair. They want his successor - widely expected to be Chancellor Gordon Brown - to be in place much before the next general election.

The immediate clamour for Blair announcing a schedule for handing over the party's leadership is prompted by three major elections due in May 2007: English local and mayoral, Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly of Wales.

He may announce a departure date just before the elections in April, but worried MPs say that would be too late and the current situation of drift would damage the party immensely.

Labour MPs are convinced that the party's poor recent showing in local elections will be replicated in the three forthcoming elections if Blair remained at the helm, or if he did not announce his schedule for handing over the party's leadership to his successor. They want him to clearly spell out his future plans at the Labour party's annual conference Sep 24.

Some of the options Labour MPs are considering are forcing a leadership election after enlisting the support of 72 MPs, or a letter to a newspaper demanding a detailed time table for his departure.

It remains to be seen if the increasingly harried-looking Blair too validates Enoch Powell's famous dictum that all political careers end in failure. If Labour MPs are to be believed, his record as prime minister is likely to be sullied if he does not retire gracefully.

Blair made it clear this week that he has no intention of obliging his critics and promised to 'get on with the job' rather than announce a date for his departure.

Uncharitable Labour supporters now allege that Blair is following Margaret Thatcher who once vowed to 'go on and on and on' but had to leave 10 Downing Street unceremoniously after her cabinet refused to back her in a second round of leadership elections in 1990.

Blair told The Times: "I have done what no other prime minister has done before me. I have said that I am not going to go on and on and on and will leave ample time for my successor. Now at some point I think people have to accept that as a reasonable proposition and let me get on with the job."

But this has not satisfied party MPs who are increasingly worried at the bad press Labour is getting every day and the growing ratings of Conservative leader David Cameron.

They fear that any further delay in setting the party house in order would cost it dearly in the next local and general elections.

A union leader, Tony Woodley of the Transport and General Workers Union, has warned Blair not to repeat Thatcher's mistake by staying on too long. He wanted an end to the uncertainty about Blair's plans.

On Friday, several Labour MPs publicly reiterated calls to Blair to announce a date for his retirement, in what is seen as a sign of growing backbench discontent within the party ahead of the conference season.

Former cabinet minister Andrew Smith said the leadership issue needed to be sorted out.

"I think there will be widespread concern among the public as well as among Labour Party members," he told the BBC Today programme.

"I would have thought it is clear to everyone that the debilitating uncertainty over the leadership cannot go on. It is bad for the country, bad for the government, bad for Labour, and ultimately bad for Tony Blair himself."

Caerphilly MP Wayne David, who said Blair should step down before local elections in Scotland and Wales, echoed him saying: "There is a need for renewal of the party and the government now."

The latest Guardian/ICM poll found the Conservatives running nine points ahead of Labour, with the party showing its lowest level of support since the 1987 election.

Brit-Pak Muslims bash Bollywood: The Times of India

Frankfurt, Sept 3 (ZEENEWS.COM) Bollywood may wear its multi-religious pluralism as a badge of honour, but for the angry young British Muslims of Pakistani denomination, it’s all a sham and therefore a matter of extreme discomfort.

As India`s oversized filmdom stampedes across the world winning accolades, a group of British Muslim youth is trashing the Bollywood genre, warning that the "cheesy second-rate imitation of Hollywood...is overrunning Pakistan and brainwashing musalmaans".

In a rap-video posted on youtube.com that is being widely circulated in Pakistani circles, the group reserves much of its venom for Bollywood’s reigning stars, many of who happen to be Muslims.

"What do you want to give your kids?/Is it Salman Khan or Islam?/Is it Shah Rukh Khan or Allah’s book?/ Is it Bobby Deol or save their souls?/ Is it Amir Khan or imaan?" intones a singer, preferring a hip-hop style to convey the message.

Hiphop is an African-American influenced musical and cultural movement that has itself attracted criticism for its language. YouTube is a social networking website that allows users to upload, view and share videoclips and it too has attracted criticism for encouraging violence and copyright infringement.

But for the extremist Brit-Pak brigade, Bollywood bashing comes first. "Everywhere you look/It’s that kufr Bollywood/Video stores selling whores/Semi-gay actors with Muslim sounding names/With Hindu propaganda designed to create chains," goes one rant.

British government buildings to be car-bomb proofed

London, Sept 3 (ZEENEWS.COM) British government buildings are to be provided with defences to stop them being rammed by cars or trucks packed with explosives.

Britain's biggest-selling daily said the buildings were to be surrounded with security devices designed to look like street furniture, at a cost of 25 million pounds, the Sun newspaper said today.

The new home office building in Central London will be used as a guide, the sun said. The interior ministry has state-of-the-art black concrete bollards one metre apart encircling it with raised grass verges in large concrete "pools" outside the main entrance.

"The architects want the measures to look good like those at the home office," an unnamed government source told the tabloid.

"They will look like normal street furniture but they will provide the biggest defence against car bombs.

"They will not be as unsightly as those that are already positioned around the houses of Parliament."

The London landmark, a tourist hotspot, is surrounded by concrete barricades.

Call centre girl arrested for US credit card fraud

Kolkata, Sep 3 (IANS) A call centre employee who allegedly splurged on online shopping with credit card numbers of the company's US clients was arrested here.

Sulagna Roy, 23, an employee of a call centre in the city's IT hub at Sector 5 of Salt Lake, was arrested Friday from her James Long Sarani residence in south Kolkata on charges of cheating foreign nationals by using their credit card numbers and shopping for goods worth Rs.200,000.

Roy allegedly duped 42 US clients of the call centre and purchased everything from chocolate to air conditioner.

She was remanded to police custody for a fortnight after being produced in the Bankshall Court here.

"Sulagna is well aware of the new age cyber crimes, going by her modus operandi. She targeted US citizens so that she can escape law as they would be unable to lodge complaints from there," said Gyanwant Singh, deputy commissioner of police (detective department).

He said when the US clients would contact the call centre for online purchases and disclose their credit card numbers, she would note them down.

When clients in US complained about the discrepancies in California, police there swung into action and zeroed in on the website of the company which in turn contacted their Indian network.

The call centre's Indian officials lodged a complaint with Kolkata police's cyber wing and finally the probe led to Roy's arrest.

Canada ready to deploy troops in Pakistan: report

Islamabad/Ottawa, Sep 3 (IANS) Canada has offered to station troops in Pakistan along the border with Afghanistan in a possible development of far-reaching diplomatic and military significance for the region and the fight against terrorism.

The Canadian offer could be part of the US-NATO effort to secure the volatile Pakistan-Afghan border. While foreign troops are stationed in Afghanistan, officially, there are none in Pakistan.

There has been no word in Islamabad, but Canadian Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, who is on a visit to Pakistan, was quoted in the Canadian media Saturday as saying that Canadian soldiers could be deployed along the Pakistani side of the border with Afghanistan "to help protect the forces from attacks".

O'Connor, speaking on Friday in Islamabad after a trip to Afghanistan, urged his Pakistani interlocutors to redouble efforts to prevent attacks on Canadians in southern Afghanistan, The Globe and Mail newspaper reported.

"Among other things, I suggested that some Pakistani officers be stationed with our troops in Kandahar and (that) Canadian troops be stationed on the Pakistan side," O'Connor said in an interview with a Pakistani news agency, cited by The Globe and Mail and Radio Canada.

The News International newspaper carried reports from the two newspapers without offering any comment.

"This will assist in information gathering and intelligence sharing on both sides of the border," he added.

Reports in Western media have indicated that the US has stationed 30,000 troops of its "special units" in Pakistan, ostensibly to guard the military base facilities that it has been availing since 2001.

Canada has some 2,300 troops in Afghanistan, most of them based in Kandahar. Twenty-seven Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002.

The US has 20,000 troops in Afghanistan and NATO contingent, of which Canada is a part, forms the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan has been pleading for an expanded role for the ISAF, which has been stalled by reluctance of some of the NATO nations to commit more troops for fear of protests at home. The Tony Blair government in Britain has been facing criticism for the increasing casualties among British troops in Afghanistan.

Canadian PM appoints Pakistani as advisor on South Asia

Islamabad, Sep 3 (IANS) The elevation of Wajid Khan, a Canadian of Pakistani origin, as the new special adviser for South Asia to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has excited Pakistanis who think they have scored a diplomatic point vis a vis India.

Before migrating to Canada, Khan was with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) for eight years during which he was taken a Prisoner of War (POW) during the 1971 India-Pakistan war, The News International newspaper said on Sunday.

"India appears non-pulsed at the announcement of Khan," the newspaper said, adding that the Indian Ministry of External Affairs is "provoked" by Khan's public statement that he wanted to broker peace between India and Pakistan.

A large number Indian émigrés have held key positions in the governments in the West. People of Indians origin have been elected as members of parliament in Canada, while former Pakistani citizens have also been members of British Parliament.

The News International further said: "The question in the minds of the people in the Indian High Commission, Ottawa, was: what kind of advice would a man such as Khan tender to the prime minister on issues pertaining to South Asia? There was a shock waiting for them".

The mandate given by Harper was that Khan would travel to the two hotspots of South Asia and the Middle East in the coming weeks and report on medium and long-term opportunities to further Canadian engagement there. The report was to be completed in October.

But there is no doubt that whatever his origins, Wajid Khan has the support of his boss who said, "Canada has an increasing number of interests in both South Asia and the Middle East".

"I am delighted that Wajid Khan will be sharing his insights on future developments with the Government of Canada." He added that Khan "has long been a prominent voice in the Toronto Pakistani and Muslim communities".

Carter to lead volunteers to build houses for poor

New York, Sep 3 (IANS) Former US president Jimmy Carter will lead around 2,000 volunteers from across the world Oct 29-Nov 3 in building around 100 houses for low-income families in Maharashtra.

The project, called Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP), will be implemented in partnership with Habitat for Humanity India Trust (HFH India Trust) and Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) at Patan village, Lonavla, near Mumbai.

The houses will be primarily for families headed by women. HFHI had late last month formally teamed up with SAMPARC (Social Action for Manpower Creation), based in Maval sub-division near Mumbai, to officially pave the way for the project.

A formal memorandum of agreement was signed at a special ceremony at the SAMPARC Balgram village in Maval, near the hill resort town of Lonavala. Among those attending the ceremony were representatives of the families who will benefit from the project.

The 100-home JCWP project involves members of various self-help groups run by Abhinav Cooperative Credit Society (ACS), an arm of SAMPARC, according to an HFHI statement. The beneficiaries have been selected from 12 of the villages where ACS is active. The families were recommended by ACS and selected by a committee representing both Habitat and ACS.

The families have been selected on the basis of need, ability to repay, willingness to partner with Habitat and contribute "sweat equity".

Families have already started volunteering their time - their "sweat equity" - attending the work site in groups each day, participating in sticking and laying blocks, working on a test house and other jobs. By the end of the JCWP week, each family will have put in 300 hours of work at the site, the statement said.

The estimated cost to build a semi-detached unit, or twin one-storey home is Rs. 200,000 ($4,495). Of the total cost of the unit, each homeowner will pay Rs.75,000 ($1,700) through a monthly payment, not including interest, over seven years.

The remaining cost will be supplemented by HFHI grants, which will include corporate, individual and foundation sponsorships. Once the mortgage is paid, the homeowners will receive a deed of trust. A total of $2,286,537 is needed to complete the construction portion of this project.

"...The Jimmy Carter Work Project 2006 is just the beginning," Vaishali Kushan, grants development officer at HFHI, told News India Times, an ethnic Indian newspaper.

"This major public event will launch an even more ambitious project, 'IndiaBuilds', which will ensure the long-term viability of Habitat for Humanity India Trust and provide decent homes for 250,000 low-income individuals by 2010," she added.

The programme hopes to mobilise one million volunteers and raise $100 million dollars for a revolving housing fund.

According to an HFHI statement, this year's JCWP will be the 23rd such project. It has been held in Asia twice before, in Philippines in 1999 and in South Korea in 2001. The 2005 JCWP was held in Michigan in the US.

Congress to demand Madhya Pradesh government dismissal

Bhopal, Sep 3 (IANS) The Congress party Sunday demanded dismissal of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh over the death of an Ujjain professor in student violence.

"We will soon ask state Governor Balram Jakhar to recommend to the centre dismissal of the government and imposition of president's rule," said Congress spokesman Manak Agarwal here.

"Sabharwal's death in an attack by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad workers in Ujjain's Madhav college on Aug 26 and the government's attempt at a cover up, clearly indicate law and order situation is deteriorating fast," he added.

"While attempts were being made to shelter the accused, police were exerting pressure on college peon Komal Singh Sengar, who had lodged the complaint of Sabharwal's murder to change his stand," Agarwal said.

He said a panel of advocates should be formed and his statements recorded by a magistrate and demanded the transfer of Ujjain district collector as well as superintendent of police to ensure an impartial inquiry.

Agarwal claimed Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also had an "original video CD" showing students beating up the professor but was trying to suppress it. "We will soon produce evidence before the media," he told IANS.

On the criminal investigation department (CID) inquiry being instituted by the government, Agrawal said: "Chouhan had sent a troubleshooter in the form of Inspector General of Police (CID) M.P. Dwivedi to give a clean chit to those accused of killing Sabharwal."

The Congressman also accused ruling BJP of registering fake cases of arson and violence against national students union of India (NSUI) members and arresting 23 of them. He threatened to intensify the agitation if the cases against them were not withdrawn.

Earlier Friday, Congress leaders including the leader of opposition Jamuna Devi lodged a complaint with the police seeking registration of a criminal case against the chief minister for "misleading and interfering" the probe by describing the incident as an accident.

"On the one hand the chief minister had ordered magisterial and CID inquiries into the incident and on the other, he was trying to hush up things by calling the murder an accident," she alleged.

The media had clearly showed the culprits who had manhandled and misbehaved with Sabharwal, Jamuna Devi said.

Moreover, the post mortem report also specifically mentioned there was serious wound in the rib of the deceased. This proves he was manhandled following which he died. It is a clear case of murder, she added.

Jamuna Devi also stated the chief minister's residence in Delhi was being used by the ABVP for campaign management at Delhi University which proved Chouhan was hand in glove with the ABVP.

Court orders probe into Hussain's paintings

New Delhi, Sept 3 (ZEENEWS.COM) A city court today directed Delhi police to investigate a complaint filed against noted painter M F Hussain for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by painting "obscene pictures of Hindu Gods and Goddesses".

Acting on the status report of the case, metropolitan magistrate Vikas Dhull directed police to investigate the allegations levelled against the 91-year-old painter before taking any step to apprehend him.

"Investigate the matter as per law and based on evidence collected by investigating the matter, apprehend the accused (Hussain)," the magistrate said after perusing the status report filed by police stating that documents had been seized and authenticity of eight photographs was being verified.

A doctor of Apollo Hospital Ram Pratap Singh had filed a complaint accusing Hussain with hurting religious feelings by allegedly painting "nude or scantily clad pictures of Sita, Draupadi and Bharat Mata".

The doctor, in his complaint, said he was shocked to see an advertisement in a weekly magazine on February six this year depicting Bharat Mata in a "scantily-clad posture" and again an article in a national daily depicting Goddess Sita and Draupadi in "highly obscene" way.

The complaint has been filed under sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different communities based on religion, race, place of birth and language etc), 292 (sale of obscene books), 294 (obscene acts), 298 (uttering words to wound religious feelings) and 295-a (deliberate and malicious act to outrage religious feelings of any class) under Indian Penal Code.

CPI-M calls for CBI probe into professor's death

Bhopal, Sep 3 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Sunday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into a professor's death during campus violence in Ujjain last week.

H.S. Sabharwal, a teacher at Ujjains' Madhav College, suffered a fatal rib injury Aug 26 - allegedly after being attacked by a group of student leaders who were protesting the postponement of students' union elections following charges of irregularities.

CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said here that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan should not have described the professor's death as an accident before the inquiry ended.

Addressing a public meeting, Karat said the state government had taken an "inappropriate stand" on the incident.

"A CBI probe should be conducted into the matter," he added.

Madhya Pradesh Industries and Commerce Minister Babulal Gaur, however, dismissed suggestions that Chouhan's statements describing the death as an "accident" would affect the probe by the state's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

"A probe would not have been launched if Chouhan wanted to influence it. Statements don't affect probes and law takes its own course," he said.

Describing the violence that led to the professor's death as a result of "mismanagement", Gaur said it could have been avoided had the administration, police and college authorities acted with diligence.

Delhi trader dies after MCD seals shop

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) A day after civic officials sealed his shop in southwest Delhi, a trader died of heart attack Saturday even as the demolition drive continued for the second day, his family members said.

"Jaspal suffered a massive heart attack Friday after his shop was sealed. He succumbed this evening," said a relative.

Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Saturday sealed nearly 200 commercial establishments operating in residential areas of 12 zones.

"We have sealed 200 shops operating in residential areas, taking the tally to 378 units in the past two days," said Deep Mathur, chief spokesman of MCD.

After a three-month gap, the sealing drive resumed Friday following an Aug 10 directive of the Supreme Court, which stayed the May 20 notification of the central government allowing one-year moratorium on all such activities.

Though the upmarket neighbourhoods in the national capital were spared, areas like Sant Nagar and Zamrudpur, Patel Nagar and Nazafgarh saw MCD squads amid fierce protest from traders.

"The female members of traders' families held a protest march in Chandni Chowk today and our children are going to protest in Karol Bagh Sunday. Our protest will continue till the urban development ministry comes to our rescue," said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of Confederation of All India Traders.

DMK stays plans for satellite town

Chennai, Sep 3 (IANS) Under pressure from ally PMK and opposed by the AIADMK, the minority DMK government in Tamil Nadu Saturday backed out of a plan to set up a satellite town in south Chennai that involved displacement of the existing population.

On Aug 3, during the first days of the budget session of the assembly, the Karunanidhi government had announced plans to set up a satellite town on the Old Mahabalipuram Road, known as Chennai's IT corridor, about 50 km from the city.

Within a month, the DMK government under coalition compulsions, withdrew the plan Saturday, the last day of the budget session.

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi admitted, "Though the decision to form a satellite town was formed after consulting the alliance parties", the PMK had appealed to him not to go ahead with the project now.

ED notice to Natwar, four others

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Sunday issued show cause notice to five people, including former external affairs minister K. Natwar Singh, in connection with the Iraqi oil-for-food scam.

This is the second time the enforcement directorate has issued a notice to Natwar Singh. Earlier in February, ED sleuths questioned the former minister for two consecutive days.

Among the others issued notice are Andaleeb Sehgal, a close relative of Natwar Singh, Aditya Khanna, Zameer Zaidi, a former member of Rajasthan Youth Congress, and Vikas Dhar, Sehgal's associate.

The government had forwarded the Justice R.S. Inquiry Authority report to three central investigative agencies of economic offences - ED, Central Board of Direct Taxes and Central Board of Excise and Customs - Aug 7.

The E.D. said it was in touch with the officials who assisted the probe panel in its investigations on the Indian beneficiaries in the Iraqi scam.

"We are in touch with the members for details of the investigations," said a special director of ED.

In the 110-page report tabled in parliament Aug 7, the Pathak committee had given a clean chit to the Congress party, finding no evidence of its involvement in any transactions linked to the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein.

The panel, however, mentioned names of Sehgal, Sehgal Consultants, Khanna and Hamdaan Exports to have benefited from the oil-for-food deal and said Sehgal had received $68,293, while his business partner Khanna got $32,558.

In the action taken report, the government had asked the three investigating agencies to treat the Pathak report as information to take action that may be warranted under the law.

European satellite crashes into moon

Paris/Berlin, Sep 3 (DPA) The nearly three-year mission of the European lunar satellite SMART 1 was brought to an end Sunday with the probe executing a spectacular crash into the moon, the flight control centre in Darmstadt, Germany announced.

The 366-kilogramme satellite struck a lunar plain known as the Lake of Excellence, prompting scenes of joy among those present at the European Space Agency in Darmstadt, from which the probe's demise was directed.

Powerful telescopes onboard the refrigerator-sized satellite recorded the crash, which created a crater on the moon's surface.

Financial package for farmers soon: Sonia

Bangalore, Sep 3 (IANS) The central government would soon announce a special financial package for farmers to ease their debt burden that has forced many of them to commit suicide, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said here Sunday.

Addressing a massive Congress rally here in which former deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah was inducted into the Congress, Gandhi said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was fully aware of the problems faced by farmers of Karnataka due to floods and drought in several parts of the state.

"Neither the Congress nor the UPA government discriminates states on any basis. I am confident the UPA government will soon come out with a special financial package to bail out the farmers from the problems arising out of recurring floods and droughts.

"I am sure Karnataka farmers will be included in the package," she said in her 20-minute speech in Hindi.

The party's state unit leaders from Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have recently met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to apprise him about the problems faced by farmers and sought funds to provide relief to them.

A large number of farmers, especially in Maharashtra, continue to commit suicide.

"The central government has already announced last week a Rs.2.5-billion flood-cum-drought relief package for Karnataka. A central team has recently visited the state for assessing the damage caused by floods in northern Karnataka and drought in other districts.

"I assure you on behalf of the UPA government that additional funds will be disbursed to the state to take up relief and rehabilitation projects to mitigate the hardships of farmers and affected people," Gandhi said.

Exhorting the state Congress leaders and thousands of party workers to popularise the pro-poor and pro-farmer schemes like the national rural employment guarantee and Bharat Nav Nirman schemes of the UPA government, she said the party would be voted back to power in Karnataka provided its rank and file tackled the people's problems and highlighted the benefits of the central schemes launched for farmers and the poor.

"Even as some states ruled by the Congress are progressing and doing better, it is unfortunate that Karnataka is slipping behind on development due to poor governance by a coalition government formed out of an unholy alliance between the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)," the Congress chief lamented.

Lashing out at the JD-S for pulling down the Congress-led coalition government in the state early this year and joining hands with a "communal" party like the BJP for the sake of power, she said though a section of the JD-S benefited from such an alliance, the people of Karnataka had been the losers, as the present coalition government was ridden with corruption, infighting and inefficient administration.

"Though the Congress lost power in the state after the 2004 elections, we agreed to join hands with the JD-S as it also wanted to keep the communal forces out of power. In spite of differences and conflict of interests, we persisted with that party (JD-S) only to protect the secular forces.

"But after 20-months of coalition rule, the JD-S suddenly decided to join hands with the very party (BJP) it wanted to keep out of power all along for the sake of power by breaking the coalition dharma and throwing its secular principles to the winds," Gandhi charged.

Welcoming Siddaramaiah and his followers, who had quit the JD-S to form the All India Progressive Janata Dal (AIPJD), into the Congress, she said the party would be stronger in Karnataka with the support of the former and improve its prospects in the next election.

Besides Siddaramaiah, former chief minister N. Dharam Singh and the party's state unit president Mallikarjun Kharge spoke on the occasion at the royal Bangalore Palace grounds under tight security.

An estimated 200,000 people gathered for the Congress rally, causing massive traffic jams and road blockades in the vicinity of the venue.

Four NATO soldiers, over 200 Taliban killed in Afghanistan

Kabul, Sep 3 (DPA) Four NATO soldiers and over 200 suspected Taliban militants were killed during a major operation by NATO forces in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, officials said Sunday.

The operation, codenamed "Medusa" and centred on the Panjwayi district of the province, is the bloodiest anti-militant offensive in Afghanistan since the hard-line Taliban regime was toppled by a US-led military campaign in late 2001.

"Reports indicate that more than 200 Taliban fighters have been killed since Operation Medusa began early Saturday morning," the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

"This figure was arrived at by reviewing information from ISAF surveillance and reconnaissance assets operating in Panjwayi and Zhari districts, as well as information reported by various Afghan officials and citizens living nearby," the statement said.

Four ISAF soldiers were killed during Sunday's operations and seven others were wounded, the statement said, without identifying the nationality of the soldiers.

An Afghan defence ministry spokesman had earlier said that three Canadian soldiers were killed and six wounded in the operation.

More than 80 suspected Taliban fighters were captured by the Afghan National Police and a further 180 insurgents were seen fleeing the district, the ISAF statement said.

"There are no reports of civilian casualties, despite the heavy weight of fire being used," it said.

An ISAF spokesman in the region, Major Quentin Innis, had earlier said that NATO-led forces used artillery and air support and had pounded Taliban positions in Panjwayi district.

Innis said that the operation, the biggest anti-Taliban drive since the ISAF took over command of Afghanistan's troubled southern provinces from US-led coalition forces at the end of July, was still ongoing.

The joint Afghan-NATO forces operation is aimed at driving Taliban fighters out of Panjwayi and allowing displaced residents to return to their homes.

Thousands of Panjwayi villagers have been forced to flee their homes since Taliban fighters in May began to flood into the area, prompting clashes with Afghan and foreign troops.

Until Saturday, a total of 22 British soldiers had lost their lives in the country, seven of them since the launch of a major offensive against Taliban militants last month.

From Singapore, another Indian success story

Singapore, Sep 3 (IANS) While his peers may be still searching for jobs, a young Indian entrepreneur is already running a multi-million-dollar company here and is seen as a business icon.

Niraj Agarwal, a graduate of the Temasek Polytechnic, runs, at the age of 23, five stores selling and servicing computer hardware and software and with a annual turnover of Singapore $8.2 million, according to The Straits Times.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in his recent National Day Rally speech, mentioned Niraj's success story. He explained the importance of attracting foreign talent and urged Singaporeans to welcome them.

It all started in 2000, when Niraj first came to Singapore under a scholarship from the Singapore's ministry of education. While studying in Singapore, in order to make some extra money, he hired Hindi language teachers to set mock examination papers and sold them to students online.

"I sold them for $60 per package and there was quite a good response because nobody was doing that at the time," Niraj was quoted as saying.

Through that, he earned at least $12,000, which paid for his daily expenses.

Soon after his graduation Niraj became a permanent resident and was eager to set up his own venture rather than joining a firm.

In 2004, with $5,000 he started his own computer servicing business. Niraj roped in his elder brother who had come on a similar scholarship in Singapore two years before him.

The brothers ran a two-man show, working on as many as 20 computers a day. They worked seven days a week and took only four days off a year during Chinese New Year.

After a year, the business expanded and they ventured into hardware and software retailing.

"It was difficult at first because suppliers didn't have confidence in a young foreigner who was new to the business," said Niraj.

Last year, the enterprising Indian brought the rest of his family - one sister and his parents - over to Singapore.

"Singapore has been good to me. I've spent an important part of my life here," he said.

"And I think both foreign and local talent can share different experiences and qualities to make their businesses more successful."

He now has plans to work with a local partner to expand into the Hong Kong market.

Government approves Rs.3.5 bn flood aid for Rajasthan

New Delhi/Jaipur, Sep 3 (IANS) The central government Saturday approved a Rs.3.5-billion relief package for flood-hit districts of Rajasthan.

The approval came during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.

A central team will tour the flood-affected areas of the state Sunday.

"The nine-member team will be headed by D.K. Sikri, the registrar general of India. It will tour almost all the flood-affected areas in the state," Rajasthan's relief secretary R.K. Meena said in Jaipur.

Twelve districts of the state were affected by a flood-like situation in recent months. These include Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Rajsamand, Jhalawar, Kota, Barmer, Jalore, Pali, Sirohi and Jaisalmer.

Over 139 people have died in different incidents and heavy damage was caused to roads, electricity, water supply and dams.

The desert district of Barmer was the worst affected due to flash floods. Over 800,000 people out of a population of 2 million were affected.

There are also reports of large-scale damage to houses and property in Barmer. Unconfirmed reports say 5,200 houses were damaged and agriculture crop worth Rs.300 million was wiped out.

The state government had sought a special package of Rs.32 billion from the union government for the losses suffered.

Kawas and Malva are still submerged in over eight feet of water. The state government is planning to relocate these villages.

Government reviews internal security

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) The government Saturday reviewed the country's internal security as well as intelligence-gathering mechanism and measures.

The review comes ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with chief ministers of all states Tuesday.

"The CCS (cabinet committee on security) made a comprehensive review of the internal security situation," Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters after the two-hour meeting.

The government also reviewed the law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast states and the Maoist-affected states.

Growth rate in India may dip due to oil prices, inflation

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) India's scorching economic growth rate, the second fastest in the world after China for the last three years, is expected to slow down this fiscal due to high international oil prices and fear of high inflation.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is sticking to its June projection of India clocking around eight percent growth in 2006-07, less than the economic growth of 8.4 percent last fiscal.

The estimate of lower growth, the leading industry lobby states in its latest State of the Economy (SOE) report, is based on expectations of higher inflationary pressures and rising interest rates.

"Oil price hike and fear of high inflation coupled with increasing interest rates are expected to affect the performance of manufacturing and services sectors adversely and this is expected to bring down the growth rate slightly for the current fiscal," says the report released Sunday.

In its June issue of SOE, the CII had observed that the economy in the current fiscal might clock a growth of less than 8.4 percent reached in the last fiscal.

"As there are no significant developments in economic conditions since then, CII stays with the projection made earlier," the report states.

The estimates are that during the current fiscal agriculture would clock 3 percent growth while industry will register 8.5 percent and services 9.6 percent, "with overall GDP growth forecast at 8 percent".

The report points out that the agriculture, industry and services contributed to the total economic growth last year by 9.0 percent, 27 percent and 64 percent respectively.

For the April-June quarter of 2006-07, the CII expects the GDP growth at around the 8 percent mark.

In comparison, China scored 11.3 percent growth in GDP in the first quarter boosted by the growth in imports and exports, which created favourable conditions for further economic and trade cooperation.

In a comparative study, the report points out the most major industrial countries have witnessed inflation on an upswing mainly on account of global oil price increases.

In the first quarter, the inflation index in China showed a rising trend and stood at 1.5 percent in June. In India, inflation measured by wholesale price index rose from 4.1 percent in March-end to 4.7 percent at the beginning of July.

With the global oil prices continuing to maintain volatile trend, the CII expects continued risk to the growth and inflationary performance.

Harvard academic studies Indian fashion industry

By Vishnu Makhijani,

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) An Indian American academic at Harvard is conducting a seminal study of India's burgeoning fashion industry in a bid to understand what makes it tick.

Mukti Khaire, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School, is conducting a study of the estimated Rs.80 billion ($1.7 billion) worth Indian fashion industry.

"I'm going to apply theories of economic sociology to try and understand how the industry has evolved, how entrepreneurs have dealt with the uncertainty of being entrepreneurs. Added to that is the uncertainty of being in a new industry, where there are no templates, where a code of conduct is still evolving, and where the rules of the game are not clear," Khaire told IANS on the sidelines of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW).

"I essentially study the founding of firms and how they grow. More specifically, my research interests lies in entrepreneurship in the creative field. My Ph.D. thesis was on ad agencies (in the US) but I'm equally interested in entrepreneurship in areas like fashion design and interior design.

"What I am very interested in are firms that are largely dependant on the founder. In fashion design firms here for instance, the product is essentially that of the founder. These firms find it much harder than other entrepreneurial ventures to grow, to scale up, to do anything which requires delegation of work to others," Khaire pointed out.

Noting that one way Indian designers could to get past this hurdle was to adopt the templates of large fashion houses of the West, she said: "What I'm studying in the Indian fashion industry is what templates are being adopted because here, designers don't have role models as such, though there are a few cases where the newer designers can look up to the older ones to gauge the templates they are adopting."

In this context, she pointed to a just concluded deal between eclectic designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee and linen major Bombay Dyeing for an 'Art in the Bedroom' range of bedsheets/pillowcases and towels.

"Till very recently, this would have been unheard of by a senior designer. There's some sort of an evolution taking place; that is essentially my interest," Khaire maintained.

Khaire's project began in May and she was in India in July on a three-week visit to meet with designers across the spectrum. That effort is continuing during the ongoing fashion week.

"One of the interesting things about the industry is that it is new enough in that it is still not completely formed and institutionalised, and yet it is old enough that you can see a pattern of evolution," she maintained.

"It's evolving very fast. The trajectory is much faster than in the West and one reason is that they (Indian designers) can observe successive models in the West. The question is how much do you adopt directly from existing models and how much do you adapt?" she observed.

According to Khaire, Indian designers were very open to her project.

"In fact, I've found them extremely open. My advantage is that I have no design background as such, and am purely approaching (the issue) from the business model end. I am looking at the issue only in as much as the design-end will affect the business-end," she added.

At the same time, Khaire said she was trying to understand the "ecosystem" of the industry.

"There's NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology), NID (National Institute of Design) and FDCI (Fashion Design Council of India) which give institutional support, there's the designers themselves, and there's the buyers for the domestic and international markets. I'm going to study the dynamics of their working," she said.

"The fashion week itself is a big institutional movement that can take the industry forward," she added.

Born in Mumbai, Khaire "studied all over" India as her father was in the government. Graduating from a Pune college, she obtained a masters in environmental science from Bombay University and a masters in management from the Indian Institute of Technology. After obtaining her doctorate from Columbia University, Khaire joined Harvard a little over a year ago.

She teaches a required course that is compulsory for all first year MBA students.

"It's called the entrepreneurial manager and essentially takes you through the process of founding a firm, trying to develop a business model, growing it, finding funding and marketing your product," she explained.

India's Muslims: a community in ferment

By M.R. Narayan Swamy,

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) India's Muslim community, the world's second largest Islamic population, is in ferment. There is widespread disappointment, a sense of helplessness and some anger. But there is also the zeal to surge ahead, the dream of being equal partners in the nation's destiny.

Sixty years after they cast their lot with Hindu-majority India, rejecting the newly born Pakistan, the millions of Indian Muslims - and the lives they lead - are under scrutiny like never before due to growing Islamist militancy globally and a perceived radicalization at home of some of the younger ones.

India's 140 million Muslims, the largest religious minority, have scored many and remarkable successes since independence in 1947. Some of the most popular icons in various fields, from national life to cinema to arts and sports, are Muslim - led by president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and the richest man Azim Premji, the head of software giant Wipro.

But the wealth and knowledge disparity is perhaps much more pronounced among Muslims than among other minority communities in secular and pluralist India.

The community occupies the lowest rung in development index. Its literacy rate is poor. It has low presence in private and public sector jobs and minimal in the highest echelons of bureaucracy. All these add to a feeling that they are discriminated against.

To cap it all, Muslims - mainly the poor - are at the receiving end in most outbreaks of communal violence. And every community leader and others who spoke to IANS say the two events that have caused maximum disappointment bordering on frenzy are the 1992 razing of the Babri mosque and the 2002 Gujarat violence.

This, coupled with militancy in parts of the Islamic world, has cast a shadow on Indian Muslims. Gujarat in particular has led to - even according to Indian security agencies - the frustrated young, albeit still only in small numbers, to avenge the "humiliation" of their community.

In the process, officials admit, that Islamic extremist outfits supported by Pakistan are drawing recruits from among Indian Muslims, a development that is dangerous. Only days ago, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged Islamic clerics here to play a pro-active role to douse the flames of anger in the community.

"Many socio-economic problems Indian Muslims face are the same as faced by others. But there are other issues that affect only them," says Intizar Naeem of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, a Muslim body set up in 1941.

Among others, he lists the step-motherly treatment to Urdu, the mother tongue of most Muslims in northern India, attempts to undo the autonomous character of educational institutions founded by Muslims, attacks on the Muslim Personal Law, harassment of Muslims after terror acts, caricaturing of Muslims as terrorists, and insinuations that mosques and 'madrassas' are up to no good.

But the Mumbai-educated Naeem, 62, gives the larger view: "Hindus and Muslims enjoy excellent relations, and at all levels. From villages to towns, there are cordial relations. And south Indian Muslims are better off. However, problems are cropping up even there."

Other Muslims, young and old, more or less agree. And they underline that India is truly a secular country, whatever the shortcomings.

"Not 100 percent but 110 percent India is secular," asserts Zarir Ansari, a resident of Guhawati. "I blame half-baked mullahs who give sermons in mosques and distort Islam."

Adds Nawaz Deobandi, 50, a Hindustani poet who runs educational institutions in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh: "India is the best place for Muslims. Yes, there are roadblocks but they can be overcome."

Anger against "uneducated Imams" - as many put it - is common among younger educated Muslims. Said one college student in New Delhi: "The problem is people think we follow what the Imams say. Of course we don't!"

Ansari's 84-year-old father makes a widely shared point: "If I find those involved in the Mumbai (train) blasts, I will kill them. I don't care if they are Muslims. Those who did this are terrorists. But to view all Muslims as terrorists and look at those with beards and skullcaps as 'enemies' is not on."

He asks: "When there was terror in Gujarat, did we look at Hindus in general with a different pair of eyes? We did not club the entire Hindu community as our enemy. We knew that only a fringe was involved."

Mazhar Hussain, a social activist in Hyderabad, says the radicalization of Indian Muslim is essentially an urban phenomenon, limited in spread, and linked to the Middle East conflict and the targeting of Islam by the West.

"As far as our country is concerned, Kashmir has not made the Indian Muslim radical. But the Babri Masjid demolition and the Gujarat violence contributed a lot to Muslim hotheads to exhort the youth towards extremism," he said.

"Still, only a minuscule group is attracted to this thinking. To the poor, making two ends meet is the biggest challenge. The middle class is getting more and more career-oriented."

Added Rizwanul Haq, a final year degree student: "There is a major difference in the thinking and attitude of Muslims in south and north India. In the south, Muslims have been better educated and well off. This reflects their thinking on social and religious issues."

Qari Mohammed Usman, the Naib Mohtamin (assistant administrator), of Darul Uloom, India's oldest and largest madrassa, defends the rapid spread of Islamic seminaries, arguing that more of them were needed. He doesn't agree with critics who argue that the seminaries create insular Muslims.

Almost all Muslims regret that despite centuries of interaction, there is a communication gap between Hindus and Muslims. Many Muslims are unaware of the finer points of Hindu religion and its ethos and vice-versa. An average Hindu has no idea of Ulemas and Imams, and who can give a 'fatwa' and who cannot.

Said Azam Khan, a successful businessman: "This is reflected in the way (most Hindu journalists) deal with sensitive Muslim issues. This reinforces stereotypes and widens the gap between the two communities."

Tales of discrimination against Muslims abound. A Muslim journalist complains how difficult it is now to get a house on rent, particularly if one is new to a city.

Adil Siddiqui, a retired central government employee who now lives in Deoband, says one of his sons, Mohammed Arif, now 32, passed the written test to get into the Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) after securing a mechanical engineering degree with high marks.

"Believe it or not, just before his interview, he heard an officer remark:

'Things have changed since 1992, and these people (Muslims) keep coming for jobs here'." Arif didn't get the job.

But across India, despite the many problems, Muslim leaders say the community is forging ahead. Large numbers are doing exceedingly well. The 1992 Babri mosque razing led to major churnings. The dominant consensus was it was important to concentrate on education. That process continues.

More and more Muslim women, even in smaller towns, are going to schools and colleges. Although a Muslim political party has come up in Assam and two have been formed in Uttar Pradesh, most Muslims swear by secular national parties.

Observes Nawaz Deobandi, whose dream is to open a women's university one day: "This is why there should be no riots. If one Muslim is killed, if his house is burnt, if his shop is destroyed, the loser is India, not just that Muslim."

[photo: Steve Evans]

India's women troopers to maintain peace in Liberia

By Murali Krishnan,

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) They have proved themselves in anti-insurgency and crowd control operations in troubled areas of India, and now a section of women personnel of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will show their skills in Liberia to assist in UN operations - a move that has already won praise from the world body.

The designated 'mahila' (women) CRPF team of 125 personnel, led by Commandant Seema Dundiya, is currently undergoing specialised training at the CRPF's industrial training centre in Wazirabad, north Delhi, before they travel to the west African country most probably in October.

"This is the first time that a specialised unit of women police is being sent for such a mission. They will assist in maintaining law and order, play a training role for local officers and help in crowd control," a senior home ministry official told IANS.

"Liberia also enters a new phase of democratic experience. For the first time you have a woman elected as president (Ellen Johnson-Sir-leaf) in the country. And considering that we traditionally have good ties with Africa, sending a women's police unit fits in perfectly," said an external affairs ministry official.

The move to send the specialised CRPF unit to Liberia's capital Monrovia as a formed police unit (FPU) has already won praise from the UN with police adviser Mark Kroeker describing it as "unprecedented".

"This is an unprecedented move by India to deploy these women officers in policing and we applaud it and think it is extremely timely and relevant to the policing needs in the years ahead," Kroeker said.

"We think it is a breakthrough that India has expressed its willingness to send these police officers. And it is also good for our Liberia mission because it brings to that police operation these officers who are trained, capable and women who can bring the best of what the UN police is to the component there," he added.

The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) took over peacekeeping duties from the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) in October 2003 and all peacekeepers are now under UN command.

CRPF director-general J.K. Sinha said a team went on a recce last month to Monrovia to work out the logistics and accommodation details.

"They (UN) initially wanted the team to be in place by Sep 15 but that will be delayed as weapons and equipment will have to transported by ship. My guess is that the unit will be there by October," Sinha told IANS.

The all-women Indian unit will join other FPUs currently serving in Liberia, where the concept was first tried out and its success there and in other operations led to calls for increasing deployment.

UN officials also highlight that FPUs are cheaper to deploy than regular military units, noting that it costs around $5 million to set up a specialised police formation while a military battalion can cost up to $30 million.

According to the terms of a memorandum of understanding, the CRPF women's unit will be in Liberia for a year. The team will also get a chance to meet with the chief of staff of the UNMIL, Brig. Gen. John Forkuo.

UNMIL currently has over 15,000 military personnel and over 1,000 civilian police officers.

Its mandate includes monitoring implementation of ceasefires between government and rebel forces and investigating violations of the ceasefire. Its also ensures the delivery of humanitarian aid, provides security at key government installations, including major sea and air ports, and protecting UN staff, facilities and civilians.

The CRPF is the only paramilitary force in the country with two women battalions.

After it was raised in March 1987, the 88th battalion won laurels for its work during the Meerut riots and later with the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka.

Women personnel of the second mahila battalion - the 135th - carried out elections duty during the 1996 Lok Sabha elections and state polls.

Currently, women personnel are deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, Ayodhya, Manipur, and Assam. In addition, each Rapid Action Force (RAF) battalion also has a women's component consisting of 96 personnel.

Indian mutton shortage hits expats in UAE

Dubai, Sep 3 (IANS) A severe shortage of Indian mutton has hit hard consumers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The shortage is the result of a ban on exports of mutton imposed by India last month,.

"The ban came into affect Aug 21 and was issued following advice from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), which indicated that Indian meat should not be exported as a precaution apparently against foot-and-mouth disease," the Gulf News quoted sources in the Indian embassy in UAE as saying.

The UAE imports around 20 tonnes or $80,000 worth of Indian meat daily.

According to the newspaper, butchers in this Gulf nation are being flooded with calls from Indian expatriates asking for Indian mutton.

Indian expatriates prefer Indian mutton and do not go for Australian or European mutton because of the smell -- and hence the crisis.

They feel that Australian sheep are very fatty and the meat is not as tender.

"We have to compromise," a manager at a butcher's shop in Sharjah told the newspaper, adding that he was now selling mutton from local sheep instead.

If not Indian, expatriates also buy Ethiopian or Somali mutton. But that too is now in shortage.

"This is the last plate of Somali mutton chops," an employee at a butcher's shop in the Safa locality in Dubai said.

While Indian mutton sold at 19.50 dirhams (Dh) per kg before the shortage, Australian mutton sells for Dh 35 a kg and Somali mutton Dh 23 per kg.

A Pakistani butcher said Pakistani expatriates also prefer Indian mutton. "Pakistan mutton is very expensive to import," he told the newspaper.

The ban is slowly affecting Indian and Pakistani restaurants too.

"Normally we purchase 200 Indian sheep carcasses for our restaurants every single day," Ayaz Farook, managing director of the Karachi Darbar in Dubai, was quoted as saying.

"We are all right for the next couple of months, as our restaurants have stock. However, if the ban (continues), it will be a problem."

Apart from mutton, the ban on exports also includes Indian buffalo meat, both fresh and chilled.

According to Gulf News, a meeting to resolve the issue is being convened by the Indian Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Sep 5.

Indira Goswami's books to be released at German fair

By Zafri Mudasser Nofil,

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Noted Assamese writer Indira Goswami will see three of her books released at the Frankfurt Book Fair next month, including a collection of poems by a rebel leader she has edited.

Goswami, appointed by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to represent it in talks with the central government, edited the poems by Mithinga Daimary - ULFA's jailed central publicity secretary - compiled into a book, "Melodies and the Guns".

"There is a poet hiding inside Daimary. There are several elements in his poems - militancy, love, hate and humanity," Goswami, a Jnanpith award winner, told IANS.

"After I met Daimary and came to know about his poetry, I was very keen to get his poems published in a book format," she said.

Daimary wrote "Melodies and the Guns", translated into English by Pradeep Acharya and Manjit Baruah, under the pseudonym of Megon Kachari.

Tragedy had struck Daimary in the 1990s when secret murderers killed his entire family in Assam.

The other books of Goswami to be released at Frankfurt are "The Man from Chinnamasta" and "The Pain and the Flesh", both written by her.

India is the 'guest of honour' at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair.

"I have been a great lover of animals since I was a child. I wrote 'The Man from Chinnamasta' to protest against the practice of buffalo sacrifices at the Kamakhya temple in Assam," she said.

The Kamakhya temple is considered to be the greatest shrine of mystic Shaktism, one of the main religions of Assam during the medieval period.

"I believe in a divine power and not rituals, which I think are diseases troubling our society," added Goswami, a professor of Assamese in the department of modern Indian languages and literary studies at Delhi University.

"The Pain and the Flesh" is a collection of Goswami's own poems and she has dedicated it to Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul.

"Although I wrote quite a few poems, I prefer the prose form. My poems are footnotes of my prose," she said.

Born in an orthodox family in Assam, Goswami rose to fame with her stories and novels, most of which showcased human pathos.

Infosys mentor Murthy to help Bangalore retain top IT slot

Bangalore, Sep 3 (IANS) Burying the hatchet with the Karnataka government over the development of Bangalore, Infosys Technologies chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy has agreed to head a vision group to help the city retain its pre-eminent IT slot.

Murthy, who stepped down as chairman of the country's second largest IT bellwether in July, has accepted the offer of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to head the IT vision group and shape the state's IT vision.

According to the chief minister's office, Murthy agreed to accept the offer in a letter to Kumaraswamy last week. "I am grateful to you for inviting me to chair the state IT vision group. It will be a privilege and pleasure to do so," Murthy stated in his acceptance letter.

It may be recalled Kumaraswamy had invited the IT czar to head the vision group during his address at the silver jubilee celebrations of Infosys in Mysore July 31. "The state government would like to benefit from Murthy's vision, his enormous experience and desire to work for Karnataka after his retirement," Kumaraswamy said on that occasion.

Murthy had resigned from the post of non-executive chairman of the Bangalore International Airport Limited in November last following a spat with Kumaraswamy's father and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda.

He relented to head the IT vision group after he found the "young and dynamic" chief minister committed to the development of knowledge-based industries in the state and retaining Bangalore's edge in the IT sector.

"Murthy had consented to chair the vision group at a meeting with the chief secretary (B.K. Das) and IT department officials at a meeting Aug 25, where issues related to the growth of IT and knowledge-based industries were discussed," said IT secretary Anup Poojary.

In the run-up to the Bangalore IT.in event next month-end, the vision group will be meeting soon to chalk out a time-bound programme to promote knowledge-based industries and showcase the state's eco-system to prospective investors.

"The government is keen to replicate the success of Bangalore in the knowledge sector in secondary cities across the state by creating an enabling environment, including infrastructure, connectivity and logistics," Poojary told IANS here Sunday.

While the vision group on biotechnology (BT), headed by Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, will continue to function separately, the IT vision group will focus on implementing the state's millennium IT policy announced in 2000 under the then IT-savvy chief minister S.M. Krishna.

Accounting for 37 percent of the country's total IT exports of Rs.1,008 billion ($22.4 billion) in the last fiscal (2005-06), Karnataka retained its top slot by exporting software services and hardware goods to the tune of Rs.401 billion ($8.9 billion).

As India's silicon hub, Bangalore alone contributed for Rs.366 billion ($8.14 billion), registering a year-on-year growth of 36 percent over the previous fiscal (2005).

With the booming IT sector sustaining the growth rate in the current fiscal (2006-07), the state-owned software technology parks of India (STPI) has projected IT exports from Karnataka at Rs.490-500 billion ($10.9-11.1 billion) by March 31, 2007.

About 1,200 tech firms, including about 500 multinationals employ about 375,000 people, including 170,000 in the IT-enabled services such as call centres and business process outsourcing services (BPO).

In terms of investments, the state has attracted 201 IT firms during the last fiscal (FY 2006), including 124 foreign equity companies, with a combined investment of Rs 27.61 billion ($614 million).

"At the rate of four new companies every week, the STPI units have been growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 13 percent. About 10 foreign equity firms were approved every month in the last fiscal," STPI director B.V. Naidu recalled.

In order to ensure Bangalore remains the preferred IT destination, the government is setting up 1,400-acre hardware technology park near the upcoming international airport at Devanahalli and has earmarked 500 acres each at Bidadi and Dobbaspet on the outskirts of the city for setting up new software companies.

As per the McKinsey-Nasscom report, Karnataka is projected to achieve $20 billion IT exports by 2010, with about 500,000 employed in the industry, including IT enabled services/BPO segments.

Iran exports military equipment to 57 countries: minister

Sardasht, West Azerbaijan, Sept 3 (IRNA) Defense Minister General Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar said Iran is currently exporting military equipment to 57 countries in the world.

He said the equipment and weapons were of advanced quality adding that the high quality of the Iranian made equipment have attracted good customers around the world.

He noted that self-sufficiency in production of military and defense industries came from imposing sanction against Iran adding that the sanctions did not have negative effects, but rather they brought growth and development to military industry.

The minister reiterated on Iran's interaction with other countries and said, "Iran does not intend to invade any country, but naturally has the right to defend itself against any king of aggression or invasion."
Defense minister is accompanying President Ahmadinejad in his 19th provincial trip to the west Azerbaijan.

Iran warns of oil price hike if sanctions imposed

Tehran, Sept 3 (ZEENEWS.COM) Iran warned major oil-consuming nations on Saturday that the imposition of UN sanctions over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment would lead to a rise in oil prices, Iranian news agencies reported.

"Sanctions on Iran and a sudden rise in global oil prices would hurt the economies of the large oil consuming nations," Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Reza Sheikh-Attar was quoted as saying.

"With the rise of every dollar in the oil price, the economy of the large oil-consuming nations will be affected," he added, without elaborating.

"We have devised different scenarios for the sanctions, and based on the opposite party's action we will implement our plans," he added.

Iran ignored a UN Security Council deadline on Thursday to suspend uranium enrichment -- a process used to power a nuclear reactor but which can also be used to provide the fissile core of an atomic bomb.

The United States, leading the drive to impose sanctions on Iran, accuses it of seeking nuclear weapons, a charge it vehemently denies.

Iraq pilgrims' tragedy: survivors to be brought to India soon

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) After Iraq's escalating anarchy claimed the lives of three Indian pilgrims and eight Pakistanis who were on their way from Syria to the Shia holy city of Karabala, the Indian survivors, all women, were preparing to return home soon.

"The remaining Indians would be taken to Tehran in two-three days and they would be brought to India," E. Ahamed, minister of state for external affairs, told IANS Sunday.

"We are in touch with the Indian embassies in Baghdad and Tehran so that their travel documents could be arranged and these people would be brought back as soon as the formalities are finished," he said.

All the three Indians killed Thursday were from Andhra Pradesh and were Shias, according to the relatives of the slain in Hyderabad. The identity of the killers or their religious affiliation is not known yet, but sources say the pilgrims got caught in the ongoing Shia-Sunni conflict in Iraq.

The Indian men were seized from Rutba town and later killed along with the Pakistanis while they were on their way to Karbala, 80 km from Baghdad, for a pilgrimage, Ahamed said.

The three - Jaffer Mashaddi and Mohammed Ahamed Ali from Hyderabad and Mohuiddin Beig from Godavari district - were part of a 15-member group of pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh. The attackers spared all 12 women of the Indian group, including its leader Syeda Zianab.

"The Indian pilgrims are currently in Karbala. The Iraqi government and the people here are helping them," Mohsin Badani, a resident of that city aiding the visitors, told IANS over phone.

"Once their papers are processed they would proceed on their journey back to India," Badani said.

The group had left India Aug 23 and entered Iraq after visiting pilgrim centres in Syria and Jordan. As the land of Karbala is considered holy, all three slain pilgrims were buried there in the presence of other members of the group, their family members were informed.

Ahamed said the ministry was also in touch with the Faiz-e-Hussaini trust, based in Surat, Gujarat, which had made accommodation arrangements for the survivors.

Indian embassy officials would soon to go to Baghdad to make arrangements for the travel documents of the Indian survivors, the minister said.

"We are in constant touch with them and trying to bring them back as soon as possible," added Ahamed.

Iraq pullout would be like handing it over to terrorists: Bush

Washington, Sept 3 (ZEENEWS.COM) Warning that pulling out US troops from Iraq would amount to handing it over to terrorists, President George W Bush has rejected reports of a possible civil war there and pledged not to leave the war-torn country "until victory is achieved."

"Some politicians say our best option is to pull out of Iraq, regardless of the situation on the ground. Many of these people are sincere and patriotic but they could not be more wrong," he said in his weekly radio address aired today.

"If America were to pull out before Iraq can defend itself, the consequences would be disastrous. We would be handing Iraq over to the terrorists, giving them a base of operations and huge oil riches to fund their ambitions."

"And we know exactly where those ambitions lead. If we give up the fight in the streets of Baghdad, we will face the terrorists in the streets of our own cities. The security of the civilized world depends on victory in the war on terror, and that depends on victory in Iraq, so America will not leave until victory is achieved," he said.

Despite reports, including one by Pentagon yesterday, that the country was at risk of civil war, Bush said, "our commanders and diplomats on the ground believe that Iraq has not descended into a civil war."

"They report that only a small number of Iraqis are engaged in sectarian violence, while the overwhelming majority want peace and a normal life in a unified country," he added.

In its report, Pentagon had said "conditions that could lead to civil war exist in Iraq, specifically in and around Baghdad and concern about civil war within the Iraqi civilian population has increased in recent months."

Italian troops arrive in Lebanon

Tyre, Sept 3 (ZEENEWS.COM) Italian soldiers on Saturday began pouring into Lebanon, part of the first large contingent of international troops dispatched to boost the UN force keeping the peace between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.

Around 150 Italian marines wearing blue berets arrived aboard a wave of gray un helicopters in the Mediterranean port city of Tyre to secure two beaches where the remainder of an 880-strong battalion of soldiers will land over the weekend.

High waves delayed deployment, though and some vehicles and equipment were diverted further south to Naqoura. Another 200 Italian troops are expected tomorrow in capital Beirut.

The commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL, French Gen Alain Pellegrini, said the expanded peacekeeping mission marked a break from the past.

"We have to forget the previous UNIFIL. The previous UNIFIL is dead and the new one is very different," Pellegrini told reporters. "It is strengthened with stronger rules of engagement. We will have more people, more equipment. We have the possibility to use force to implement our mission."

International troops have been slow to arrive in Lebanon since an August 14 cease-fire brought an end to 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, in part because it took time to hammer out details over the troops' mandate.

Besides the Italian contingent, just 250 extra French soldiers have made it to the country, though France has said it will send a total of 2,000 troops. The Italians' arrival will bring the number of UN forces to around 3,250.

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda yesterday announced his country will send up to 1,000 soldiers to Southern Lebanon by the month's end.

Italy held by Lithuania, wins for England, France

Hamburg (Germany), Sep 3(DPA) World champions Italy were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Lithuania in a major surprise in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

The Italians, with seven world cuppers in their side, went behind to a goal in the 21st minute by Tomas Danilevicius. Filippo Inzaghi equalised nine minutes later but the Italians were unable to add more to their tally Saturday.

Italy now travel to Paris where they meet Group B opponents France Wednesday, in a repeat of the World Cup final.

France began their campaign with a solid 3-0 win over Georgia in Tbilisi.

In the first match since the retirement of Zinedine Zidane, Frank Ribery took control in midfield, setting up goals for Florent Malouda and Louis Saha in the 7th and 15th minutes, before an own goal by Malkhaz Asatiani a minute after the break put France well in charge.

The defeat was a blow for Georgia's new German coach Klaus Toppmoeller after his team had started the qualifying campaign with a 6-0 thrashing of the Faroe Islands.

The Faroe Islands were again the whipping boys Saturday when Scotland dished out another 6-0 hammering. Kris Boyd scored twice while Darren Fletcher, James McFadden, Kenny Miller and substitute Garry O'Connor were also on target.

Tottenham striker Jermaine Defoe and Liverpool centre-forward Peter Crouch both bagged two goals while Crouch's club team mate Steven Gerrard was also on target as England downed Andorra 5-0 in a Group E game at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Germany defeated Ireland 1-0 in Stuttgart in Group D in the first competitive match for coach Joachim Loew since succeeding Juergen Klinsmann after the World Cup.

Lukas Podolski's shot from a free kick was deflected by Ireland captain Robbie Keane into the net in the 57th minute to give Germany a deserved victory.

In the same group, the Czech Republic overcame Wales thanks to two goals by substitute David Lafata, while Slovakia thrashed Cyprus 6-1.

In Group F, Northern Ireland slid to a 3-0 defeat to Iceland at Windsor Park, Belfast. All three goals came in the first half through Gunnar Heidar Thorvaldsson, Hermann Hreidarsson and Eidur Gudjohnsen.

In a Group G match, Holland struggled to beat Luxembourg 1-0, Hamburg defender Joris Mathijsen hitting an 18th-minute winner.

In Group C, European champions Greece came away from Moldova with a 1-0 victory courtesy a Nikos Liberopolous goal, while in the same group Norway enjoyed a 4-1 win in Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina were 5-2 winners in Malta.

Group A saw Finland gain a surprise 3-1 win in Poland, while Serbia edged Azerbaijan 1-0.

Jammu rivers in spate, army help sought

Jammu, Sep 3 (IANS) The Jammu and Kashmir government Saturday sought army and air force help to rescue hundreds of people marooned at various places of Jammu region where all major rivers were flowing over the danger mark.

Six people died in a house collapse in Bani area in Kathua district, about 120 km southeast of Jammu Saturday night.

Rains during the past three days have raised the level of Chenab, Tawi and Munnawar Tawi rivers. The situation was particularly grim in areas near the Chenab and Tawi riverbanks where people remained on rooftops to escape the flood fury.

"Efforts are on to rescue the marooned people," Jammu Divisional Commissioner Parmod Jain told reporters.

The government convened an emergency meeting to discuss the situation and decided to take help from the army in rescue operations.

Air force choppers have been pressed into service for rescue work.

As rains stopped Sunday afternoon, road clearance operations began on the 294-km-long Jammu-Srinagar highway that was blocked at various places.

Heavy showers had also triggered landslides at Nandini, 30 km from Banihal, forcing pilgrims to Vaishno Devi shrine to take a detour - three times longer than the normal 45 km Jammu-Katra route.

Kashmir to get additional free power

Jammu, Sep 3 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir will get an additional 237 million units of free power - alleviating its power crisis to some extent - once the Dul Hasti hydroelectric project is commissioned.

It is mandatory for all projects commissioned by the National Hydro Electric Projects Corp (NHPC) to give 12 percent of the power generated as royalty to Jammu and Kashmir. With the commissioning of the Dul-Hasti project, work on which began in April 1983, the state would get 237 million units of free power costing over Rs.700 million annually.

The project on Chenab river in Kishtwar area of Doda district is expected to generate 1,976 million units of power.

"The project will be commissioned in a couple of months," Power Minister Rigzin Zora told IANS.

Jatinder Singh, general manager of the Dulhasti project, said Saturday that in addition to the Dulhasti project, two more power projects of NHPC - Salal and Uri - were generating around 6,206 million units of power annually and 12 percent free power worth over Rs.600 million was being supplied to the state.

The state reels under a power crisis despite a huge potential for generating electricity. Though it has been over 100 years since electricity was introduced in Jammu and Kashmir, it has still not reached a large number of villages, and cities continue to suffer from long power cuts.

Singh said that besides the construction of 390 MW Dulhasti Project, NHPC has also completed a survey for the 1,000 MW Dul Hydro Electric Project. In addition, surveys are underway for several projects, including the 1,020 MW Bursar, 320 MW Kawar and 430 MW Khu projects.

These could go a long way in easing the power crisis in the state. Jammu and Kashmir presently gets 950 MW of power a day against the required 1,800 MW.

Kerala keen to end dam row with Tamil Nadu: Minister

By Liz Mathew,

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Kerala wants a permanent negotiated settlement to its lingering dispute with Tamil Nadu over the height of the Mullaperiyar dam but it may take recourse to legal options too, says state Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran.

"We are trying to settle the issue and get a permanent solution through negotiations and mutual agreement with Tamil Nadu," Premachandran told IANS in an interview here.

The Mullaperiyar dam, situated in Kerala's Idukki district bordering Tamil Nadu, was given on lease to the latter for 999 years in 1886. The then Travancore Maharaja and the government of Madras signed the lease deed. The dam, built by Tamil Nadu in 1895, has been a bone of contention between the two southern neighbours for years.

Tamil Nadu, which faces acute water shortage, wants to raise the height of the dam from 136 to 142 feet. Kerala has objected saying the dam, built with rough masonry and limestone, is unsafe and is located on a seismic zone.

Kerala says any damage to the dam would put in danger at least three million people in five Kerala districts - Idukki, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta.

Premachandran, who was here as part of a Kerala all-party delegation, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week and sought his intervention. The delegation asked the prime minister to facilitate discussions or mediate with Tamil Nadu to settle the dispute.

"The Kerala government cannot make any compromise with the safety of the life and property of our citizens," he asserted.

According to the minister, Manmohan Singh has asked Law Minister H.R. Bharadwaj and Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz to look into the issue.

"Manmohan Singh will also speak to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister (M. Karunanidhi). The discussions will begin in two weeks.

"We are hopeful things could be settled amicably with two chief ministers (V.S. Achuthanandan and K. Karunanidhi) at the helm of affairs," the minister said.

In 1979, the two states had, under the directions of the Central Water Commission, agreed to construct a new dam. "This proposal needs to be brought forward through dialogue," he said.

The water level was reduced to 136 ft by mutual consent after the condition of the dam deteriorated. But Tamil Nadu got a Supreme Court verdict in its favour in February to go ahead with raising the height.

However, three mild intensity quakes in the area - December 2000, January 2001 and August 2006 - forced the Kerala government to take up the issue more seriously.

Premachandran said Kerala had its legal options open.

"A dam safety authority, which was constituted through a state legislation in 2003, has been empowered to look into the safety of all the dams in the state. But Tamil Nadu has filed a suit against the state's move in the Supreme Court. It is still pending," Premachandran said.

"When the tremor occurred last month, our chief engineers went to check the seepage of water at the dam but Tamil Nadu refused to allow them. It was a violation of the lease deed.

"Under the rules the lessor (Kerala) has the permission to enter the premises and examine the safety of the dam. We can go to the court to revoke the lease deed," he explained.

The Kerala minister said the February verdict of the apex court was on the basis of a "biased report" by an expert committee.

"The constitution of that expert committee itself was wrong and controversial. We managed to get one of our representatives in the team after much difficulty. But the committee refused to record his note of dissent.

"The situation at the dam is very dangerous. Various technical teams and our legislative committees have found that the dam is not safe. Its location on a seismic zone can put the dam in danger even during a low intensity tremor."

Khatami calls for 'dialogue' among civilisations

Washington, Sep 3 (DPA) Iran's former president Mohammed Khatami called for understanding between the West and the Muslim world but avoided the issue of Tehran's defiance of international pressure to stop uranium enrichment in a rare appearance on US soil.

Khatami was given permission last week by the US State Department to enter the US, and he spoke Saturday at a mosque outside Chicago. His private visit is also scheduled to including appearances in coming days in Washington and New York.

"There is a great opportunity of dialogue and cooperation by peoples of faith," he said through a translator, the Chicago Tribune newspaper reported on its website.

He called for a "dialogue of civilizations," in front of an audience of invited guests at Bait ul Ilm Islamic Centre, a mosque in Streamwood, Illinois, outside Chicago.

A reformist cleric, who served two terms as president from 1997-2005, Khatami was often thwarted by hardliners who control many of the levers of power in Iran.

The US State Department has security agents accompanying Khatami, and members of the US Secret Service, the federal agency that protects the US president and other top officials, were among a strong police contingent outside the mosque, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The newspaper said there were no demonstrators.

Khatami was to speak later in nearby Rosemont, Illinois, at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America.

Lebanese MPs start sit-in against Israeli blockade

Beirut, Sept 3 (ZEENEWS.COM) Lebanese MPs on Saturday started a day and night sit-in to protest at Israel's continued blockade of Lebanon, almost three weeks after a UN-brokered ceasefire in its deadly onslaught against Hezbollah.

Some 100 deputies of the 128-member house were taking part in the protest at the parliament building in central Beirut that opened with a minute's silence in memory of the 1,200 Lebanese, almost all civilians, killed in the Israeli offensive.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in a speech urged fellow Arab countries to defy the air and sea blockade by sending boats to Lebanon without seeking authorisation from Israelis.

The international community, Berri said, should "take all necessary measures to lift the Israeli blockade which constitutes an extension of Israel's terrorist war".

The blockade, in force since the war erupted after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers on July 12, was "not only being imposed on Lebanon but also the United Nations and (Security Council) Resolution 1701", he said.

The resolution brought a halt to 34 days of deadly clashes between Israel and the Shiite movement Hezbollah and called for the blockade to be lifted.

Berri, who called the sit-in during a visit on Thursday to South Lebanon which bore the brunt of the fighting, told the mass-circulation daily an-Nahar that it would continue "night and day until the lifting of the blockade".

Before the closure is lifted, Israel insists on a significant deployment of foreign forces, as also called for by resolution 1701, to curb arms deliveries to Hezbollah which has defied Security Council calls for its disarmament.

More safeguards planned for unskilled workers overseas

By Lola Nayar,

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) The government is planning to put in place safeguards to help and prevent exploitation of unskilled workers, including housemaids, working overseas, says Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi.

"We are planning to put in place more strict regulations and restrictions on overseas employment of unskilled labour. This is to prevent their exploitation. Our ladies particularly must be protected," Ravi told IANS.

Indian embassies and consulates abroad have often received complaints from unskilled workers, especially domestic helps, about physical and mental harassment by their sponsors.

Recently an Indian housemaid was allegedly beaten up by her Bahraini sponsor and had to be hospitalised after she started vomiting blood. The woman from Kerala said her employer abused her repeatedly since she arrived in the kingdom two months ago.

"We have set up a committee of secretaries to formulate a new set of regulations that would require the unskilled workers taking up jobs overseas to get themselves registered with the Indian consulate or embassy in the country," the minister said.

"Unless such steps are taken it would be difficult for the government to provide timely help."

Hopeful of the committee coming up with its set of recommendations and regulations soon, the minister said the idea is to have the workers overseas maintain contact with the Indian embassy or consulate on a regular basis.

The minister, who has been visiting countries with sizeable population of Indian origin to establish better contacts, favours a monthly reporting programme, but a final decision would be taken after receiving the committee's final recommendations.

The main problem faced by unskilled workers is not only due to untenable work conditions both for housemaids and labourers but also the money power of touts who often leave the workers high and dry without proper documents or a job.

Of the estimated one million unskilled workers who took up jobs overseas last year, the ministry has records of only 500,000 people who had obtained "Emigration Clearance" from the office of Protector of Emigrants (POE), the minister said.

The ministry records show that there are around four million Indian workers in Gulf countries with the UAE accounting for 1.8 million and Saudi Arabia 1.4 million.

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is in talks with eight countries, including Malaysia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen and Jordan for putting in place labour safeguards like adequate salary and good work conditions through memorandum of understanding (MoU), the minister said.

The first of the MoUs on labour is expected to be signed with Malaysia. In the case of the other countries, the draft agreements are still to be finalised

The regulation for emigration clearances have meanwhile been relaxed permitting students who have passed class 10, in place of the earlier requirement of twelfth pass, to take up jobs overseas without requirement of registering with POE and emigration clearance.

"Only those who don't have tenth class pass qualification are now required to get the emigration clearance," the minister said.

Mubarak confirms talks ongoing to free Israeli soldier

Cairo, Sept 3 (ZEENEWS.COM) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has disclosed that negotiations are ongoing to secure the release of the Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants, according to an interview published on Saturday by a semiofficial daily.

Israel is waiting for a Palestinian "initiative" that spells out Palestinian conditions for a prisoner exchange, Mubarak told al-Ahram newspaper. Their demands could include the freeing of Palestinian prisoners who are women or minors, he said.

The Egyptian President did not provide information on official involvement in the talks, but said that non-governmental groups from each side were participating. He did not name them.

Hamas-linked militants captured Cpl. Gilad Shalit near a crossing on the Israel-Gaza border on June 25.

The move sparked an ongoing Israeli offensive against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.

The militants holding Shalit originally demanded all Palestinian women and minors be released from Israeli jails, then increased their demands to include another 1,000 Arab prisoners.

Okaz Saudi newspaper yesterday quoted unidentified Arab source as saying that Egypt was mediating in a proposal to swap 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in three stages starting three days after freeing Shalit.

Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin denied Okaz`s report that an Israeli security delegation was currently in Cairo for talks on the issue. Israel has publicly refused calls for a prisoner swap.

Mumbai bombings: suspected LeT man produced in court

Mumbai, Sep 3 (IANS) Akmal Hashmi, a suspected Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) operative was produced in a court here Sunday for his alleged involvement in the July 11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Hashmi, who was arrested by the Indian Army in south Kashmir Aug 23, was sent to police custody till Sep 13.

He has been charged with conspiracy and declared as the 10th accused to be arrested in connection with the seven simultaneous serial bomb attacks on Mumbai's local trains on July 11, in which about 200 evening rush-hour commuters were killed and around 700 injured.

Akmal Hashmi, alias Abu Ahmed, is a divisional commander of the little known militant group Al-Badr. He was brought to Mumbai late Saturday.

"Hashmi is one of the key suspects in the July 11 blasts. He is the first accused to be arrested in connection with the Mahim blasts and the 10th accused to be arrested in connection with the July 11 blasts," said Mumbai police Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Krish Pal Raghuvanshi.

"Hashmi was arrested by the Army in Jammu and Kashmir and was interrogated there during which he reportedly revealed that he had knowledge about the LeT plan of carrying out serial blasts in suburban trains in Mumbai on July 11."

The Al-Badr militant, however, denied any direct role in the Mumbai blasts. "I had no hand in the Mumbai serial blasts. I have no intentions of lying. I got to know that there were 16 men, some from Kashmir and some from Pakistan," Hashmi told reporters in Mumbai Sunday.

The ATS believes that one of the blast victims, whose body is still lying unclaimed at a Mumbai hospital morgue, could possibly be a suicide bomber.

"Though Hashmi claimed that the LeT had dispatched 17 operatives to Mumbai to execute the plan and 16 returned to the Kashmir valley after carrying out the seven simultaneous bomb attacks, sources in Kashmir police said that his testimony was highly unreliable," a senior ATS official connected with the blasts probe told IANS.

"After initial interrogations, they found nothing linking him to the July 11 attacks. He also claims that though he had the knowledge of the blast plans, he himself had no hand in the serial blasts," the ATS official pointed out.

"A decision on whether Hashmi would be booked in the case or any other legal action initiated against him would be taken after his interrogation," Raghuvanshi said.

"Hashmi will be interrogated by an Anti-Terrorism Squad to ascertain whether he is involved in July 11 blasts," the ATS chief added.

Meanwhile, two of the nine other Mumbai serial blasts accused - Kamal Ahmed Sheikh and Tanvir Ansari - were taken to Bangalore Sunday for conducting a series of scientific tests on them, ATS sources said.

Lie detector, brain mapping and narco tests would be conducted on the duo at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Bangalore Monday.

ATS believe that the two men have information on the blasts that took place at Matunga, Jogeshwari and Khar in north-west suburban Mumbai.

Ansari is a doctor of unani medicine and Ahmed, believed to be a key suspect, was held in Bihar.

Musharraf weighs 'political options' in Balochistan

Islamabad, Sep 3 (IANS) Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has begun weighing political options in troubled Balochistan even as the government braced to face opposition protests, confined more to the province after the burial of slain tribal chief Nawab Akbar Bugti.

A day after Musharraf gained the "confidence" of the top military brass, he held discussions on Saturday with the civil administrators and political supporters in the government of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Qaid).

Responding to simmering doubts expressed whether the person buried at Dera Bugti, in what The News International newspaper called was "a low-key affair", was actually Nawab Bugti, Balochistan Governor Owais Ghani told media in Quetta that Bugti's family members would be allowed to exhume the body for final rites and also to remove their doubts.

Owais blamed family members of Akbar Bugti and Baloch tribal leaders for boycotting the funeral.

As protests continue in Balochistan, significantly, opposition parties and leaders leading the agitation include Mengal, Marri and Bizenjo - among the tribes who had been at loggerheads with the slain Bugti chieftain.

At a joint press conference in Quetta, leaders, including Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo and Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani, charged that the government had violated Islamic, legal and Baloch/Pakhtoon traditions by not handing the body of Nawab Bugti over to his heirs, which was condemnable.

Meanwhile, The News International editorially demanded a high-level inquiry into Bugti's killing on Aug 26 in a military operation, if the government really wanted to conduct a damage control exercise.

Bugti's killing had reinforced the impression that in Pakistan, dissenting leaders of provinces - from Z.A. Bhutto to Bugti - could be eliminated either through violence or through court verdicts, the newspaper said.

The government had been "unsure and uneasy in its response" to the doubts expressed whether the person buried in a padlocked coffin was Bugti himself, the editorial said.

"Ominous parallels were drawn between this event and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's dead-of-night burial in Larkana in 1979. Then too, the military was accused of assassinating a leader from a smaller province for standing up to the military.

"Whatever the actual truth, the way the burial was handled has served to strengthen the hand of those who view Bugti as a martyr to a cause and view the authorities as having something to hide. Could the authorities not foresee the reaction to their actions given the volatile mood of the country?" the editorial asked.

Muslim children should feel proud to sing 'Vande Mataram'

By Tanveer Jafri

When master artist Bismillah Khan fell ill, all over India many Hindus performed 'havan' and 'yagna' for his speedy recovery. Similarly, a seven-year-old Muslim girl from Agra, Praveen, was on fast for seven days to appease Hindu god Indra - so as to get rains.

We often hear about Muslims taking care of Hindu temples and Hindus managing tombs of Muslim saints. At many places, Muslims make effigies of Ravana and also help organize Ganesh festivals.

Our President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam pays obeisance in temples and gurudwaras. The hymns sung in praise of Hindu gods and goddesses by the legendary Mohammad Rafi have left remarkable impressions in our minds.

All this is due to the common culture and civilization of India, a country of Kabir and Rahim. It is not astonishing if a Muslims sings Hindu religious songs and a Hindu pays homage to Muslim saint. But if we view all this through narrow prism, then we may be violating so-called Islamic law or even Hindu culture.

"Vande Mataram" is a song that in status equals the national anthem. It is a prayer to Mother India, in Sanskrit. Some so-called custodians of Islam in India are claiming that the song violates Islamic law.

Perhaps, these custodians are not aware of the Ganga-Yamuna culture, the culture that unites. These few custodians put out meaningless statements that isolate Indian Muslims. Hundreds of thousands of Muslim children get education in English medium schools run by Christian missionaries where the prayer taught is inspired by Christianity. How many Muslim children refuse to learn it?

"Jana Gana Mana..." and "Vande Mataram" pay homage to our motherland. These are not songs of any religion or community but are inspirational songs that give us pride. Every Indian is proud of them and will remain so.

It is the fundamentalists and religionists who pollute the pleasant atmosphere by their controversial, useless and baseless statements. These few people have no right to stop Muslim children from learning or singing "Vande Mataram". By doing so they affront Indian Muslims and give more fuel to Muslim bashers.

It is said that some parts of "Vande Mataram" are against Islamic law. But Islamic law needs to be seen in the context of Indian civilization and culture. Our Indian culture has a peculiar place in the world. India is the only country where Hindu caretakers can be seen at tombs of Muslim saints and Muslims sing in praise of Hindu gods. It would be a great misfortune for Muslims and India if our laws do not take such circumstances into consideration.

The so-called custodians of Islamic law must learn a lesson from Indian Hindus, who worship Muslim saints just like their own gods and goddesses. Islamic law in India cannot work as it has been adopted in Arab countries. It may be that those who obey Islamic law in Arab countries prefer Islam to patriotism. But that can never be said of India. Hindus don't place the religion above their country.

If we agree with these so-called custodians of religious law, then emperor Akbar was against these laws. President Kalam's going to temples and gurudwaras is also against Islamic law. Dilip Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan are also against these laws. So are the music of Naushad and the poems of Shakeel Badayuni and Janisar Akhtar. The art of Meena Kumari and Waheeda Rehman will be pitted against Islamic law. If the fundamentalists are to be obeyed, A.R. Rahman committed a great sin by giving a new and attractive tune to "Vande Mataram"!

Indian Muslims have separate recognition in the world and are proud of Indian civilization and culture. They were proud of it and will remain proud of it. It was in India that the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board gave full support to the singing of "Vande Mataram". It will be better if the opponents of "Vande Mataram", instead of advising Muslim children not to sing it, inspire their own kids to read and render the national songs.

Such children, when they grow up, will not need certificates of patriotism from any Hindu group. Nobody will dare to see such children through suspicious eyes. People of all religions and communities in India must learn "Vande Mataram". Vande Mataram!

(Tanveer Jafri is a popular columnist and member of the Haryana Sahitya Akademi and Haryana Urdu Academy. He lives in Ambala. He can be contacted at tanveerjafri58@yahoo.co.in)

Nepal's problem is monarchy: Maoists

Kathmandu, Sep 3 (IANS) Nepal's Maoist rebels defended their stand not to disarm in spite of mounting pressure at home and abroad, saying it was monarchy that was the cause of Nepal's woes, not their decade-old insurgency.

"People who want us to surrender arms are looking at Nepal from a wrong perspective," Maoist spokesman and former member of parliament Krishna Bahadur Mahara said.

"The main problem of Nepal is monarchy and the army, not the Maoists. Nepal's problems will not be resolved till the first is abolished and the latter reconstituted."

Though Nepal's seven-party government is now urging the rebels to surrender arms, Mahara said it owed its very existence to rebel weapons.

"This government would not have come to power if we had not resumed arms," he said. "Its ministers would still be languishing in cold prison cells while King Gyanendra's ministers ruled the roost, legitimising their tenure by holding a mock election.'

The rebels are aggrieved by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's insistence on preserving monarchy, not dissolving parliament and keeping the Maoists outside the government till they lay down their arms.

"When we began the movement against King Gyanendra's absolute rule, the parties agreed to go with us," Mahara said. "But after the movement put them in power, we are concerned to see they are now going with the palace and foreign regressive powers who do not want peace and progress in Nepal.

"We smell a conspiracy in the attempt to linger over the talks. It is an attempt to sabotage th