17 September 2006
Jaipur, Sep 17 (IANS) As many as 150 men were made to dip their hand in burning oil in Rajasthan to nail the culprit who had stolen foodgrain.
According to media reports, following a theft in a school in Ranpur, 300 km from here, a local panchayat in Pratapgarh ordered the suspects to dip their hands in burning oil. 82 kg of rice was stolen.
'Agni Pariksha' (test by fire) finds reference in Hindu mythology.
A huge tumbler of hot oil was placed near a river and the villagers aged between 16 and 35 were asked to find a ring in it.
It was believed that the culprit's entire elbow will be burnt and hence he would be caught. However, the exercise was a big failure.
Police went to the village along with a medical team and treated the victims.
Three officials, including police station in-charge of Devgarh, have been suspended in this connection.
Karachi, Sep 17 (DPA) Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who underwent prostate surgery, was discharged from hospital Sunday and taken to an unknown location.
Khan, 70, was driven out from a rear exit as television teams waited vainly at the main gate of the Aga Khan Hospital where his cancerous prostate gland was removed, television channel Geo said.
Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani had indicated after visiting Khan soon after the surgery that he would be shifted to his sister's house in Karachi.
Khan was reported to be improving after the operation. Doctors who carried out the surgery wanted him to remain in Karachi for post-operation care.
His sister Razia Khan was among the few people in her family allowed to visit him in the hospital.
Khan became a hero in Pakistan for his role in developing nuclear weapons but was put under virtual house arrest in Islamabad in January 2004 after admitting he was involved in the proliferation of nuclear weapons technology.
Ramallah, Sep 17 (DPA) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has suspended the formation of a national unity government owing to "negative" statements from the ruling Hamas party, a Palestinian official said Sunday.
"I believe that this step had been decided due to what (Abbas) considered negative and contradictory statements that led to negative international reactions, which do not help the forming of the new government," said Abdel Rahman, a spokesman for Abbas' Fatah party.
He said the statements by Hamas leaders were made "as President Abbas was trying to change the international climate for positive relations with the new government".
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, an advisor to Abbas, told the Palestinian al-Quds daily that the formation of the national unity government would be delayed until after Abbas returned from an upcoming visit to the US.
Abbas wants the new unity government to adopt a moderate platform that would end the international isolation, which the Palestinian Authority has slipped into since Hamas took office five months ago and refused to change its charter to include recognition of Israel, an end to retaliation and acceptance of previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
Hamas spokesperson said that even as part of a national unity government the militant movement would not accept Israel's right to exist.
Hazem Abu Shanab, a Palestinian political analyst from Gaza said that Abbas was travelling to the US to get a green light to form the national coalition government that "brings financial aid and resumes the stalled peace process".
Letter from Havana
By Tarun Basu
Havana, Sep 17 (IANS) After Castro, who? The question about who would succeed the ailing 80-year-old fading revolutionary - in power for close to half a century - has never seized the mind of the average Cuban but has been a recurring subject of speculation among Cuba watchers abroad.
Cubans have not thought about it simply because two generations have grown up so much under his towering shadow that they can't think of a country without him.
Yet the younger generation, who do not carry the baggage of the epochal revolution of 1959 and often aspire for a lifestyle their previous generation has been denied, say they see him as a father figure and protector all right but would like that the transition - whenever that takes place - would make life a little easier, and brighter, for them.
Right now the state is both a protector and a provider. It is responsible for housing, education and even food, to an extent, and expects in turn unquestioning loyalty and absence of capitalist aspirations.
But the young are beginning to question many of the values and philosophies of the past and want less of the regimentation and more of freedom.
Nevertheless, a generation or two in Cuba know of no other leader but him - and cannot even think of After Castro, what?
His brother, Raul Castro, who is acting president and who presided over the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in his absence, is not as legendary as Fidel and few think he would inherit his brother's mantle in the long term.
"Fidel is deeply embedded in our psyche. His rule may not have been all that good for Cuba, but in the larger sense he has been the protector of Cuban sovereignty, its identity and nationalism for nearly half a century," says Tania Quimper, a young interpreter of mixed Peruvian-Cuban parentage.
"We can't simply think of who can come after him when he goes. But we only hope that whoever comes would give us a better lifestyle, for living is no more just about surviving but to live well like people of other countries. We want better goods, better services, and better cars (the only country where one still sees Studebakers and Ladas trundling the broad, clean and rather empty avenues) while at the same time retaining our national pride and sovereignty."
Castro, the romantic revolutionary of an earlier era and the greatest of all political survivors, may still come out of his illness and confound critics.
But what is abundantly clear is that a country of 11 million people that Castro has nursed and nurtured with his ideology may through its own demographic dynamics, globalization imperatives or political inevitabilities be forced to change soon - for better or for the worse.
Srinagar, Sep 17 (IANS) An irate army man shot dead two of his colleagues and wounded two others after an altercation in a camp near the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir, officials said Sunday.
The solider had a heated exchange with his colleagues in the Mule unit camp in Dildar village of Kupwara district Saturday night.
"The incensed soldier took his service rifle and sprayed bullets killing two soldiers on the spot. Two others, who were seriously wounded in the shooting, were airlifted to the Srinagar army base hospital for treatment," said a senior police officer.
He said the infuriated soldier was soon overpowered by his colleagues and taken into custody.
Last week an army major was gunned down by a soldier inside the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) camp in Rajouri town of Jammu region.
The increasing incidents of this kind are attributed to the pressures of the security duty in a highly hostile environment.
Authorities have taken help of counsellors to ease the tension among the soldiers deployed on counter-insurgency duties in the Kashmir valley.
Meanwhile, six separatist guerrillas were killed in three separate encounters across the valley since Saturday, according to police.
Kolkata, Sep 17 (IANS) The Sunfeast Open that gets underway Monday will be marked as a comeback battle for Indian ace Sania Mirza and world No. 9 Martina Hingis, who is top seeded here.
The meet is of huge importance for both leading ladies. While Sania, seeded fifth here, is trying to stem the rot, Hingis is trying to prove that she is far from over the hill.
Sania, whose slide from a career-best 34 in the world rankings to the current 70 is a big setback, will be looking forward to the Sunfeast Open to redeem some pride.
Her steep slide down the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings has been often attributed to the lack of having a regular coach. Constant chopping and changing has not helped her cause at all.
Sania has got an easy lung-opener against a qualifier, while Hingis would be up against No. 84 Melinda Czink of Hungary.
Czink, who had taken the fizz out of the Sunfeast Open last year by conquering crowd favourite Sania in the second round, could be quite a battle for Hingis.
In contrast, Sania is scheduled to face the winner of the first round battle between Russian Galina Voskoboeva and Sandra Kloesel of Germany in the second round.
And in all likelihood the Indian would face fourth seed French girl Aravane Rezai, who locks horns with Indian wild card Ankita Bhambri in her first tie.
Hingis started 2006 as an unranked player and a second round loss in the US Open capped off what has otherwise been an ordinary year. And Sunfeast Open is in her scheme of things to turn things around.
Second seed Karolina Sprem of Croatia has a relatively easy draw till the quarters, where she has the chance to meet eighth seed Anastasia Rodionova, while third seed Yuliana Fedak of Ukraine will have it easy till the semi-finals where seventh seed Nicole Pratt of Australia will lock horns.
Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus who has just returned from a good WTA outing, will be her likely opponent in the quarters.
Among other Indians, 194th ranked Shikha Uberoi, who has received a wild card, faces 132nd ranked Czech girl Hana Sromova in the first round.
The other wild card entrant, US-born player of Indian origin Sunitha Rao, has a tough opener as she would be up against seventh seed Nicole. This will also be a comeback for Sunitha who is fighting an injury-induced lay-off to get back to her prime.
So would be the case of Uzbek Iroda Tulyaganova, who is making a comeback in her first WTA meet in three years. Iroda in her prime was ranked along with the likes of Russian Anastasia Myskina, the winner of the meet last year.
Brussels, Sep 17 (Xinhua) Belgium tied with Italy 1-1 after the two singles matches on the opening day of the Fed Cup final in Charleroi, Belgium.
Belgium, the 2001 champions, are the favourite to win the title with both world No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne and No. 4 Kim Clijsters in the team. But a wrist injury has prevented Clijsters from participating in the final.
Italy got off to a good start Saturday when world No. 14 Francesca Schiavone easily defeated Kirstin Flipkens 6-1, 6-3.
The Italian overran her opponent going 5-0 ahead in the first set on the Spiroudome's indoor hard court. Flipkens was then able to pull one game, but it was of no avail. Schiavone took the first set 6-1.
It was a similar picture in the second set. Flipkens was unable to keep up with the Italian and lost 3-6, giving Italy a 1-0 lead.
In the second match, Henin-Hardenne got off to a faltering start against Flavia Pennetta.
But the Belgian soon rebounded and went on to take the first set 6-4. Pennetta, currently ranked 20 in the WTA rankings, gave Henin-Hardenne a hard time during the second set. With an infection in her left eye and body fatigue out of last Sunday's US Open final, the Belgian struggled through the set.
But under pressure she displayed some top class tennis and went on to take the second set 7-5 before 6,000 home fans. This victory brought Belgium to level with Italy in the best of five final.
Italy has never won the top team competition in women's tennis.
Hyderabad, Sep 17 (IANS) Tension prevailed in Warangal town in Andhra Pradesh's Telangana region Sunday as police prevented Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists from unfurling the national flag to mark the 58th Liberation Day of the erstwhile Hyderabad state.
The BJP, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) that is fighting for separate statehood for the region, and the communist parties celebrated the occasion.
The main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which had shunned celebrations when in power, organised a function at its headquarters here to mark the occasion. The ruling Congress party too held rallies in some parts of the region.
However, as in the past, no official function was held to avoid any controversy as the issue is considered sensitive and could lead to communal tension.
The BJP activists, who tried to unfurl the national flag at Parade Grounds in Warangal, clashed with police when they were prevented from holding the rally.
Police used mild force and detained dozens of protesters to bring the situation under control.
For the first time, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the Hyderabad-based Muslim political party, took out a rally to highlight its "struggle to improve the lot of Muslims after the police action".
It was on this day in 1948 that the erstwhile Hyderabad state was merged with the Indian Union following a military operation, also known as the police action.
Mir Osman Ali Khan, the then ruler of the princely state, surrendered after refusing to accede to the Indian Union for 13 months after India's independence from the British rule.
The Hyderabad state comprised Telangana (a part of the present Andhra Pradesh) and a few districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka.
The BJP also held a function in Hyderabad to pay tributes to fallen Indian soldiers and India's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who had ordered the police action.
The successive governments in the state have desisted from celebrating the occasion officially to avoid any controversy.
In Hyderabad, TRS leader A. Narendra led the celebrations at Telangana Bhavan, the party headquarters. He said the Andhra Pradesh government was ignoring the historic day while the governments in neighbouring Karnataka and Maharashtra were celebrating it.
Addressing a meeting organised by the Communist Party of India-Marxist, its state secretary B.V. Raghavulu alleged that while the BJP was celebrating the day to create a divide between Hindus and Muslims, TRS was raising the slogan of a separate Telangana state.
Raghavulu said the movement for liberation of the erstwhile Hyderabad State was launched by landless labourers and those who suffered at the hands of rich landlords and the Nizam government. He, however, regretted that the goals of that struggle were yet to be achieved and the poor were still suffering.
Brussels, Sept 17 (NNN-KUNA) The 19 municipalities of the Belgium capital, Brussels, which cover an area of 160 km, are organizing today for the fifth consecutive year "Sunday without cars".
As cars will be banned from moving today, the municipalities will increase operation of buses to transport passengers for free.
The objective is to spread awareness of alternative ways of transportation in the city such as using bicycles, buses or walking instead of cars.
This aims to have positive impact on the environment and people's health as well as to control the increase of oil prices, traffic and pollution.
Studies have shown that noise pollution on "Sunday without Cars" declines by 10 percent giving a break for peoples' ears and nerves. The quality of air is much better on that day where carbon dioxide is five times less than regular days, according to the studies.
The organizers were keen to make a celebration out of this day, therefore, they have set up more than 60 free entertainment locations for children and adults offering fun activities such as painting, playing with clowns, music and others.
Some people see this day as a nuisance because it hampers the easy movement of people. However, a greater percentage of locals hope this day to be repeated.
New York, Sep 17 (DPA) US President George W. Bush will be made to face a growing number of world leaders opposed to US policies around the world, at the UN General Assembly here Tuesday.
The session will be attended by scores of heads of state and government and foreign ministers leading delegations from the UN's 192 countries.
Some of Bush's fierce critics, including presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, will be present.
By tradition, Brazil will open the debate with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Bush will follow them to the podium in the annual session expected to be dominated by the US-led war in Iraq and other Middle East issues, including the month-long conflict between Israel and Lebanon in July.
Iran's rejection of international calls to end its uranium enrichment programme will also be high on the agenda. North Korea's nuclear activities will likely be a topic of the US and its allies attending the UN session.
Ahmadinejad will address the assembly late Tuesday and is likely to use his address to criticise the US president. But he will not face Bush in the televised debate he had been calling for.
Other speakers Tuesday include the presidents of France, South Africa, Pakistan, Mexico, Finland, Poland, Ghana, Honduras, Cyprus and Uganda.
Chavez is due to speak Wednesday, insisting he will go to New York, whether or not accompanied by his security and health personnel, which he says the US had denied entry visas. Cuba's foreign minister will follow him to the podium.
While attending the Non-aligned Movement conference in Havana, Chavez denounced the US for blocking his people's entry.
"The gringos (US) don't want me to go. They denied visas to my personal security officials, my personal doctors. They do not want my party in New York but I am going, even alone," Chavez said in Havana Thursday.
Chavez called the Havana conference "the UN of the South", emphasising anti-US feelings among the non-aligned countries.
The 116-nation bloc voiced support for Iran's right to develop nuclear technology, rebuffing demands by the European Union and the US that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment programme.
The US is pushing for the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran for failing to halt its nuclear activities.
On the sidelines of the UN gathering, officials of the diplomatic "quartet" on the Middle East - the UN, European Union, the US and Russia - will meet next week to try to revive the peace plan devised to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
The plight of Palestinians, who are facing a dire economic situation due to US and European sanctions since the militant group Hamas took power in March, will also be discussed.
Singapore, Sep 17 (Xinhua) A massive increase in trade and investment by China and India holds great potential for economic growth and job creation in Africa, said a study released by the World Bank Sunday.
The study, "Africa's Silk Road: China and India's New Economic Frontier", recommends an array of trade and investment reforms within and between the two regions to deepen the growing ties and address imbalances that could prevent African economies to benefit from the increasingly important roles China and India play in the global economy.
Based on new evidence on the operations of Chinese and Indian businesses in Africa, the study finds that Asia now receives 27 percent of Africa's exports, tripling the amount in 1990 and almost on par with exports to the US and the European Union, Africa's traditional trading partners.
Meanwhile, Asian exports to Africa are growing 18 percent per year, faster than to any other regions in the world.
China and India's foreign direct investments in Africa are more modest than trade flows, but they are also growing very rapidly, according to the study.
"This new 'Silk Road' potentially presents to sub-Saharan Africa, home to 300 million of the globe's poorest people and the world's most formidable development challenge, a significant and to date rare opportunity to hasten its international integration and growth," said Harry G. Broadman, World Bank Africa Region Economic Advisor and author of the study.
This new economic frontier extends beyond trade and investment in natural resources, according to new data presented in the study.
China and India's commerce with Africa is opening the way for the sub-Saharan continent to become a processor of commodities and a competitive supplier of labour-intensive goods and services to Chinese and Indian firms and consumers.
Moreover, more and more Chinese and Indian businesses active in Africa are operating on a global scale, working with world class-technologies, producing products and services according to the most demanding standards, and fostering the integration of African businesses into advanced markets.
Still, there is a major unevenness in the emerging commercial relationships between the two continents, said the study.
African exports to Asia constitute only 1.6 percent of what Asians buy from the rest of the world, and China and India's African purchases total only 13 percent of Africa's total exports.
"It is imperative that both sides of this promising economic relationship address asymmetries and obstacles to its continued expansion through reforms," noted Broadman.
New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) India is witnessing an explosion in its cellular phone market, boom in outsourcing, steady Internet growth, media convergence and growth in rural ICT (information and communication technology) initiatives - and "regulatory stumbling blocks" too, according to a new report.
"Paradoxically, India still has a long way to go in making ICT widely available to its population," says the Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2005/06 that looks at the role technology plays in improving human lives.
"A number of high-profile events have focussed on the importance of bringing the fruits of the ICT revolution to a wider user base, especially in rural areas, where most of India's population lives," it notes.
Called dirAP, the Digital Review of Asia Pacific seeks to provide "a quick overview of how ICT is being deployed across the region to facilitate socio-economic development".
This edition, published by the Ottawa-based International Development Research Centre (IDRC) together with the Asia Pacific Development Information Programme of the UNDP in Bangkok and others, covers 29 economies.
The India chapter is prepared by Madanmohan Rao, an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) alumni who has worked with online services in the US, Brazil and India.
"As a benchmark of economic growth and ICT diffusion, it has become increasingly common to compare and contrast the domestic scenario in India with the corresponding environment in China," says the review.
It adds that India has unfortunately been till late hindered by "regulatory potholes" on a number of fronts, including private operator interconnectivity, VoIP (voice over internet protocol), and wireless services eligibility.
It appreciates the recent cuts in excise duty on computer hardware and cellular phones. The report cites studies by the Manufactures Association of Information Technology (MAIT) that say that personal computer (PC) sales climbed from 1.7 million to 2.3 million units in 2002-03.
"PCs bought by businesses accounted for 81 percent of total sales and recorded an annual growth of 43 percent, while the number of PCs purchased by homes grew by 16 percent," says the report.
It says cellular phone use really took off in India's urban areas in 2003. Internet growth has also been steady, particularly among youth and business professionals. India has an estimated 30 million Internet users.
It highlights the need for continued growth in international bandwidth for India.
"Software exports exceeded $7 billion and accounted for 16 percent of the total exports of India. The total IT industry is estimated to be worth $15 billion and employs over 500,000 technical and managerial personnel," observes the report.
"Stifling intellectual property rights regimes are quickly replacing the lack of Internet connectivity as the main obstacle to nurturing information societies in the region," says the study.
It also points out that Asia Pacific had done well in areas where it has the attitude to thrive.
"Several economies in the region continue to lead in a number of areas: from broadband services to chip foundries and from e-government to SMS."
Moenchengladbach (Germany), Sep 17 (DPA) The Netherlands thrashed New Zealand 3-0 to take the seventh place while England clinched the fifth spot by defeating Pakistan 1-0 in classification matches of the men's hockey World Cup here.
On Saturday, the Dutch proved too strong for the Kiwis, thanks to two goals from Roderick Weusthof and one from the tournament's leading goal scorer, Taeke Taekema.
The Dutch took the lead with a minute left from break when Weusthof scored a field goal. Five minutes after the change of sides, Taekema converted a penalty corner to double the lead and take his tally to 11 goals in the tournament.
Weusthof again converted a penalty corner in the 49th minute.
England were lucky to find the winner just three minutes from regulation time when Martin Jones scored via a field goal against Pakistan.
Earlier, India were humiliated again as they lost 2-3 to Argentina while Japan thrashed South Africa 5-2 in a 9-12 position classification matches.
India will now face South Africa for the 11-12 positions while Argentina will take on Japan for the 9-10 position here Sunday.
Eight Rajasthan districts face drought threat
Indo-Asian News Service
Jaipur, Sep 17 (IANS) Despite being declared a flood-hit state, as many as eight districts of Rajasthan are facing a drought-like situation.
The government has directed district collectors to calculate the losses suffered due to the drought.
Though average rainfall remained higher than normal in southern and western parts of the state, most parts in the northwest and east received less than normal rainfall this year.
Twelve districts saw the worst floods in 200 years. About 104 people were killed in the flash floods.
Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli and Sawai Madhopur received 39 percent less rainfall this year. Jaipur and Dausa regions too received scanty rainfall. Both the areas received 38 and 30 percent less rainfall respectively.
Rainfall at Bikaner and Churu remained 48 percent and 36 percent less respectively while Ajmer and Nagore regions received 36 and 28 percent low rainfall respectively.
Most of these districts are likely to face a severe drinking water problem in the next few months.
"We foresee a drinking water crisis here. The water pressure in taps has reduced," said P.K. Chaturvedi, a resident of Bharatpur.
Bharatpur, where the famous Ghana bird sanctuary is situated, is also facing a water shortage.
The natural water reservoirs in these eight districts have nearly dried up.
"Owing to less rainfall most of the fields have lost moisture which has hit the crops," said Ram Kumar Chaudhary, a farmer from Bikaner region.
By Manish Chand
New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) The path-breaking move by India and Pakistan to go for a joint mechanism to combat terror has evoked mixed reactions from experts here, some hailing it and others denouncing it as a dilution of New Delhi's long-held position on terrorism flowing from across the border.
While noted strategic expert K. Subrahmanyam came out in full support of the decision announced by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in Havana Saturday, former Indian envoy in Islamabad G. Parthasarthy and terrorism expert Ajay Sahni were aghast.
"Once you have a joint mechanism, whatever evidence we have of terrorists operating from Pakistan targeting India we can give them to Islamabad. They have to now answer specific allegations and charges," Subrahmanyam told IANS.
"It's a step forward," Subrahmanyam, who heads the government's task force on global strategic developments, said while hailing the resumption of the stalled peace process between India and Pakistan.
Manmohan Singh and Musharraf met on the sidelines of the 14th Non-Aligned Movement summit in Havana and also agreed to resume the foreign secretary-level talks, suspended after the July 11 terror attacks in Mumbai that killed nearly 200 people.
The two leaders, meeting for the first time following the Mumbai blasts, also agreed to put in place "an India-Pakistan anti-terrorism institutional mechanism to identify and implement anti-terrorism initiatives and investigations".
India had implicitly held terrorists believed to operate from Pakistan responsible for the Mumbai killings. Pakistan denied any involvement with the carnage.
What is significant about this move, Subrahmanyam said, is that terrorism has moved from the realm of mutual public recriminations into the official dialogue process between India and Pakistan.
"Pakistan has accepted that terrorism is a problem between the two countries. It has accepted that terrorism exists on its own soil," he said.
Parthasarathy, India's former high commissioner to Islamabad, is not impressed with such arguments and said that such a mechanism - the first between them - fly in the face of evidence about Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism against India.
"It constitutes a dilution and a surrender of our position on terrorism. We are moving from a position of being a victim of Pakistan's terrorism for the last 20 years to a position where we are endorsing Musharraf's assertion that Pakistan is a victim of terrorism," he said.
Parthasarathy is also not in favour of Manmohan Singh going to Pakistan at a time when India "is vulnerable to constant terrorist attacks orchestrated from across the border".
"By directing the foreign secretaries for an early settlement, he is converting the Siachen from a security issue to a political one," he said, alluding to renewed moves to resolve the dispute over Siachen glacier - the world's highest battlefield where thousands of soldiers have died on both sides.
Sahni was equally harsh.
"This is the first time there will be such a mechanism between a victim of terrorism and a sponsor of terrorism. You can't expect a criminal to police himself and cooperate in good faith," Sahni told IANS.
"In the guise of helping the US in the fight against terror, Pakistan has re-conquered half of Afghanistan through Taliban," Sahni said.
Calling the anti-terror mechanism a "charade", he underlined the larger Pakistani tactical compulsions and calculations that made it agree to such a step.
"Pakistan is under tremendous pressure internally to relocate troops from its border with India to centers of insurgencies like Balochistan and Waziristan," Sahni said.
Kuldip Nayar, a former Indian envoy to Britain and a strong advocate of India-Pakistan peace, chose to see it as a "positive development" but is slightly skeptical about how such a joint mechanism can work.
"It looks like it's an idea more on paper than in reality. But let's not pre-judge it. Let's give it a chance," Nayar said.
Beirut, Sep 17 (DPA) Hussein Dabouk, an 18-year-old Hezbollah fighter, was killed over a month ago in clashes with Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, but his mother and sister envy him for his martyrdom and hope to rejoice in heaven.
A silver tray with chocolates decorated with Hezbollah flags and a picture of the dead martyr greets anyone entering Dabouk's house.
"Please have a chocolate to bless our beloved martyr," Hussein's 14-year-old sister Zeinab says.
Um Hussein, the mother, is clad in black and sits on a large sofa inside the family house in the Lebanese capital's devastated southern suburbs.
"Welcome to the house of our beloved martyr, to the house of the honest 'mujahideen' (holy warrior) of the Arab world," Um Hussein said, as she invited us in.
Um Hussein looked well composed as she spoke of her dead son and said: "We cry, we miss him, but we are happy for him as he is in paradise now and happy."
"I know my brother is happy because he is in paradise because martyrs go straight to paradise," said Zeinab, who chooses her words with seriousness.
"He is not a regular martyr. He is a resistance fighter and he died for a good Muslim cause."
"Bring juice and sweets for our guests," Um Hussein tells Zeinab.
The kind of juices and sweets offered in Hussein's house are usually distributed on happy occasions like weddings in Lebanon.
"For us Shia, when someone dies as a martyr like my Hussein, we have to distribute sweets as if it was his wedding," Um Hussein said proudly.
"Please do not think we do not have emotions, but my son had chosen his path, which is the resistance against Israel, and we have to respect his wish," she said with tears in her eyes.
"See we have emotions, but we are rational when it comes to martyrs who die in battlefields while defending their country from occupation," the 60-year-old lady said.
Beside Hussein's picture inside the house, there is a large picture of Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.
Pointing at the picture of Nasrallah, Um Hussein said: "I will sacrifice all my children to this leader."
Hussein was killed in heavy clashes with Israeli troops in southern Lebanon on July 14, but since then the family has been looked after closely by Hezbollah's social organisation.
The mother and her four children who are younger than Hussein have not been abandoned since her oldest son died. As soon as Hezbollah announced Hussein's death, the family was taken into the care of a Hezbollah organisation called the Association for the Support of Families and Parents of Martyrs.
The organisation was founded in the mid-1980s. Its main task is to support the families of Hezbollah fighters killed in clashes with the Israeli Army.
Said Fatima, a member of the organisation: "The needs of a martyr's family are met from the very first day especially if the person who was killed used to support his family or was the head of the family."
"We meet their demands to give them support and courage. This is my duty," she said.
Fatima explains that she has daily visits with the families of martyrs, and part of her job is to write down what they need and if all needs are met.
"It gives me great pleasure to serve the families of the martyrs and talk to them. Despite their courage and faith, they have emotions and we have to be next to them," Fatima said.
Raipur, Sep 17 (IANS) At least five Maoist rebels were killed and several wounded in a fierce gun battle with police in insurgency-hit Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, officials said Sunday.
The gunfight broke out when police opened fire on dozens of Maoist rebels who were holding a meeting in a forested area in Kanker district, 225 km southwest of this state capital, Saturday night.
"We fired over hundred rounds of bullet shots on the Maoists in a 30-minute encounter last night in Korakhuri hamlet. At least five rebels were killed including a divisional commander, Vikas," Kanker district police chief Pradeep Gupta told IANS over telephone.
"Police have recovered bullet-ridden body of the divisional commander Sunday while rebels managed to carry away the bodies of at least four of their comrades deep into forest," Gupta said.
"A huge amount of blood has been strewn across the encounter site that suggests several rebels have received bullet wounds," he added.
Police have recovered some explosives and a diary written in Telugu.
Chhattisgarh is among the worst affected of 13 Indian states witnessing radical leftwing violence.
Officials say at least 260 people have been killed in Maoist violence in the state since January. Most of the victims are tribal people in the Bastar region spread over 40,000 sq km.
Maoists, who hold sway over vast swathes of rural India along its eastern flank, claim to fight for the rights of poor peasants and landless labourers.
Moenchengladbach (Germany), Sep 17 (DPA) Hosts Germany came from 3-1 down to defeat Olympic champions Australia in a thrilling seven-goal World Cup final here Sunday to claim back-to-back world titles.
Germany, who had beaten Australia 2-1 in the final in Kuala Lumpur four years ago, scored three goals in an eight-minute spell in the second half after the Australians appeared to be in control to clinch an exciting 4-3 victory.
Christopher Zeller opened the scoring for Germany on 18 minutes, but Australia hit back to score through Mark Knowles (20), Matthew Naylor (25) and Troy Elder (39).
The game appeared to be slipping away from the home side as Australia took command, but a goal from Moritz Fuerste on 46th minute triggered a tremendous fightback.
Three minutes later Germany levelled through Bjoern Emmerling, and Zeller added his second goal of the match and his eighth of the tournament with a winner on 54th minute.
Australia fought desperately for an equaliser and were unfortunate to see a flick from Luke Doerner strike the post following a penalty corner with just under five minutes remaining.
Germany's victory means they become the second country after Pakistan (in 1978 and 1981/82) since the tournament began in 1971 to defend the world title.
Germany coach Bernhard Peters, who is stepping down after the tournament to take on a football job, praised the "courage and determination" of his side after they had fallen 3-1 behind.
"It was just brilliant the way the boys pulled this game around," he said.
"We played a pressing game and put the Australians under pressure, forcing them into making mistakes. We deserved it."
Third place went to European champions Spain who defeated South Korea 3-2 thanks to a golden goal in extra-time.
Pol Amat struck the 71st-minute winner to give Spain the bronze in an exciting and hard-fought encounter in which South Korea had battled back into the game after going 2-0 behind.
Amat picked up a miss-hit on the left before dribbling into the D and flicking the ball over the advancing goalkeeper.
Eduard Tubau (10) and Santi Freixa (41) had put Spain in charge but the Koreans took the game into extra time with goals from Jang Jong Hyun (43) and Seo John Ho (59).
Earlier Japan ended their tournament with a 2-1 victory over Argentina thanks to a goal a minute from time from Kazuyuki Ozawa to finish in ninth place.
India defeated South Africa 1-0 to finish 11th and confine their opponents to the tournament wooden spoon. A lacklustre game was settled by Rajpal Singh in the 56th minute.
Results Sunday at the men's hockey World Cup:
Match for 11th place
India 1 South Africa 0
Match for 9th place
Japan 2 Argentina 1
Match for 3rd place
South Korea 2 Spain 3 (golden goal in extra-time; full-time 2-2)
Final
Australia 3 Germany 4
Havana, Sep 17 (Xinhua) The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) nations launched a far-reaching reactivation process in their week-long Havana Summit which concluded here Sunday morning, vowing to close ranks in the face of new threats in the contemporary world.
The need to preserve, revitalise and strengthen the NAM's role in world affairs is one of the top themes in the 14th summit of the association of 118 nations.
The NAM member countries called for multilateralism, the UN reform and social economic development. They expressed determination to defend the right of the peoples to peace, sovereignty and self-determination; oppose the use of war or the threat of its use to solve international problems; recognise the right of each country to its own economic, social and political system and preserve its culture and the UN Charter.
The NAM defended the right of all countries to peacefully use nuclear energy, including the right to enrich uranium for producing electricity. It also rejected all terrorism against civilian populations.
The movement strongly condemned the acts of aggression against Lebanon and violations committed by the Israeli government, while expressing solidarity and support for the people and government of Lebanon, and respect for its territorial integrity.
A statement, issued by the NAM summit, called for the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from within the Gaza Strip and urged Israel to immediately release all detained Palestinian officials.
The summit decided that the next NAM conference would be held in Egypt in 2009.
About 3,000 delegates from more than 100 countries, including 56 heads of state or government and 90 foreign ministers, attended the summit.
Two new members joined the Movement: Haiti, and St. Kitts and Nevis, bringing NAM's membership to 118 nations, almost two-thirds of the member-states of the UN.
Monchengladbach (Germany), Sep 17 (DPA) India finished 11th out of 12 teams - their worst performance in 20 years - in the men's hockey World Cup here Sunday.
India edged past South Africa 1-0, thanks to Rajpal Singh's penalty corner conversion in the 54th minute, in a classification match for the 11-12 positions for their first win in the tournament. South Africa had earlier held India to 1-1 draw in a Pool B match.
This is India's worst performance in the World Cup since 1986, when they finished 12th and last in England. India had finished 10th in the previous World Cup in Kuala Lumpur in 2002.
Despite the pathetic performance by the Vasudevan Baskaran-coached Indian side, the country managed to book the last available berth for the 2007 Champions Challenge to be played in Belgium in the month of May, according to the world governing body of the game.
In a lacklustre display at Warsteiner Hockey Park, India, without the ageing Dhanraj Pillay and injured penalty corner specialist Sandeep Singh, failed to convert opportunities into goals after making regular forays into the South African striking circle.
With the South Africans hardly posing any danger to their opponents, all India needed was a goal to clinch the 11th position. The elusive goal came when captain Dillip Tirkey aimed for the right post and it was left to Rajpal to flick the ball into goal.
It was yet another disappointing World Cup campaign by India, whose only triumph was way back in 1975 in Malaysia under the captaincy of Ajit Pal Singh.
It was a tough group for India and they lost to defending champions Germany 2-3 in their first group-match and went down to England in the second match with the same score.
India, however, managed to salvage a point with a draw with lowly South Africa but lost 1-2 to South Korea, a result that ended their hopes of a semifinal berth.
India's worst performance came with their thrashing by the Dutch. Taeke Taekema proved to be a nemesis as he slammed in five goals and also emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with an unassailable tally of 11.
The horror run by Tirkey's side continued in the classification matches as they lost 2-3 to Argentina in a match for the 9-12 positions.
Shivendra Singh, who played well throughout the tournament, was the top scorer for India with four goals.
By Prashant K. Nanda
New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) India's Rs.80 billion book publishing industry is riding a wave of success thanks to innovative marketing strategies like blog discussions, email to readers and preview booklets to promote new titles.
"In the last two years the industry has grown manifold. From an unorganised cottage industry, it is slowly turning into a strategy-driven organised sector," said Shobhit Arya, chief of Wisdom Tree Publishing house.
"Nowadays book publishers are resorting to blogs to discuss and promote newly launched titles. We have done it earlier and are in touch with a couple of bloggers to do the same for our future titles," Arya told IANS.
Leisure coffee table reading, plush-reading galleries at book stores, increased participation of Indian publishers at international book fairs and e-books were all proving to be trade tricks to boost sales, he said.
Shakti Mallik, president of the Federation of Indian Publishers, said the Indian publishing industry was now "worth Rs.80 billion and it is growing by over 15 percent every year".
Exports now comprise a healthy Rs.4.6 billion compared to the paltry Rs.330 millions in 1991, he said.
Tejeswar Singh, managing director of Sage Publications, said that in order to give a personal touch his firm sent email to readers.
"Email and phone calls sometimes work wonder for business. Readers feel for your publication and you get a loyal customer. Indian publishers have certainly come of age and are inventing new ways to woo readers," Singh said. Sage sells around 300,000 books per year.
In the last two years, book publishing and promotional events in India have become trendier -- gala book launch events, more reader-publisher interactions and, most recently, preview booklets of upcoming titles.
Arya said they have printed 20,000 copies of preview booklets for their forthcoming book "When you are sinking, become a Submarine" by Pavan Choudhary, who is reported to give self-help tips to snooker champion Pankaj Advani and shooting ace Gagan Narang. These booklets contain summaries of selected chapters, some photographs and a brief overview about the author.
"After distributing preview booklets at select stores in major cities we received a three-fold increase in orders. We are also planning to open temporary counters at corporate houses as a new marketing initiative," he added.
Wisdom Tree has sold over 250,000 copies of books in the past one year - an increase of over 20 percent.
The National Book Trust (NBT) recently led a delegation of Indian publishers to the Beijing Book Fair with an eye on growth. Chinese publishers showed keen interest on books related to IT, management, medicine, yoga, jewellery and even Bollywood, an official of the autonomous government body said.
"It's a clear indication of our (Indian publishers) initial breakthrough into the Chinese market," said an NBT official.
According to Tejeswar Singh, Indian books published in vernacular languages are making inroads into neighbouring countries.
"While a lot of Urdu literature is entering Bangladesh, several titles written in south Indian languages, especially Malayalam, are heading to Gulf countries," he said.
English translations of Indian books are also being accepted in foreign countries.
Of the total titles produced in India, 45 percent are in English, making India the third largest producer of books in the language after the US and Britain.
Singh said the expansion of their Indian operations by foreign players like Pearson, Penguin and McMillan had also helped the industry.
Leading book retailers are equally happy with the rising sales.
"Books are now being packaged to suit the needs of readers. It's growing as a lifestyle business," said Sandip Dutta, owner of BookCafe, a leading chain of bookstores in India.
"All our stores are inside Café Coffee Day parlours and this gives people an opportunity to read as a leisure activity. Knowledge through refreshment is our mantra," said Dutta, who runs 30 bookstores across nine states.
Among Wisdom Tree's best sellers is "Yoga For Weight Loss" by Bharat Thakur that sold over 20,000 copies and went in for reprint seven times, while Sage is banking on the success of "The Next Afghanistan" by Hiranmay Karlekar, which sold over 2,000 copies in the last one year and has gone for a reprint.
Tokyo, Sep 17 (Xinhua) Prisons and detention houses in Japan have exceeded their in-take capacities, a news report said.
According to the justice ministry, there were 70,737 detainees in prisons and detention houses till July, the highest in more than 50 years.
However, existing facilities can hold only 60,794 and are operating at 116.4 percent capacity, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported Sunday.
The total capacity rate in prisons and detention houses surpassed 100 percent in 2001 and has been on the rise.
The number of inmates almost doubled compared with 37,164 in 1993, with an annual increase of 3,000 to 4,000 in recent years, the report said.
The rise in the number of new convicts mainly results from an increase of crimes and the recent trend for judges to hand down longer prison terms, the report said, adding the average prison term increased from 24.4 months in 1996 to 29.5 months.
The justice ministry has been trying to build new prisons and expand existing facilities though the pace cannot keep up with the sharp increase in the number of detainees, the report said.
Srinagar,Sept 17 (NNN-PTI) Welcoming the resumption of talks between India and Pakistan, separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir today said they should be "result oriented" and should involve the people of the state so as to resolve the Kashmir issue.
"We welcome the resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan. Talks should be result-oriented and carried forward seriously and sincerely," chairman of Jand K Liberation Front Mohammad Yaseen Malik told PTI.
He said both countries should involve people of the state in the talks to resolve Kashmir issue as it was "not a boundary dispute between the two countries but involves future of people of the state."
India and Pakistan decided to resume their dialogue after a one-to-one meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of NAM summit in Havana yesterday.
The talks stalled following the July 11 serial blasts in Mumbai which claimed nearly 200 lives.
Describing the resumption of dialogue between the two countries as a welcome step, president of J-K Democratic Freedom Party Shabir Ahmad Shah said "it meets our desire as talks was the only way to resolve the issue."
"We are happy that New Delhi and Islamabad utilised the golden opportunity that came their way and agreed to resume the talks," he said.
Shah said talks should be carried forward "seriously and sincerely to resolve the Kashmir issue which was the mother of all problems between the two countries."
Tripoli, Sept 17 (NNN-JANA) The Libyan people on Saturday, commemorate the 75th anniversary of the martyrdom of Omar Al Mukhtar who was executed by the Italian colonisers.
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On Sept 16, 1931, the Italians executed Omar Al Mukhtar in Slouq area for leading the rebellion against their occupation.
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The commemoration of Omar Al Mukhtar's martyrdom is to ensure the Libyans remember their history which is full of sacrifices and heroic activities of their fathers and grandfathers in defending the homeland and its dignity..
Some 700,000 Libyans were killed in the rebellion against the occupying forces.
Italy, declared on July 9th, 1998 for the first time its apology to the Libyan people for the colonization and admitted its responsibility for the malicious era of colonisation and the damage caused to the Libyan people and their properties.
The Italian government also announced that it would try to find the missing Libyan citizens who have been deported from their country to the Italian islands and would compensate the Libyans for the damage caused by the mines which were laid on their land during the Second World War.
However, until now, no compensation have paid to the Libyan people.
Havana, Sep 17 (IANS) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met with Cuban President Fidel Castro a little before midnight Sunday, among a handful of leaders here who met with the 80-year-old leftist icon.
The one-on-one meeting meeting that began 11 p.m., lasted 45 minutes at the Cuban Communist Party office at the Palacio da la Revolucion where Castro has been staying as he recuperates from a July surgery following intestinal bleeding that left to global speculation about his and his country's future.
Castro spoke nostalgically about his association with Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, former Indian prime ministers, and wanted to know from Manmohan Singh the direction of the Indian economy and its food and energy security.
Castro was quoted as telling the prime minister that Cuba might be poor economically but was rich in human resources. He was also keen to know whether India still imported food - he seemed to lack up-to-date information on India - and what it had done in the area of non-conventional energy sources.
Castro had last visited India in 1983 for the NAM summit in New Delhi where he handed over the chairmanship to Indira Gandhi.
Castro could not be present at the 118-nation NAM summit here and, although he was officially said to be leading the Cuban delegation, his place at the summit was taken by his brother Raul Castro who is acting president in his absence since July.
Only a select few of the 61 heads of state and government present in Havana were bestowed the honour of having a meeting with Castro. The others here who met included Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Argentinean deputy and well known Latin American writer Miguel Bonasso and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Islamabad,Sept 17 (NNN-PTI) Describing the outcome of his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a "victory" for the peace process, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said it would establish peace, stability and development in the region.
The meeting with Singh on the sidelines of the 14th NAM summit in Havana yesterday was very fruitful, said Musharraf, who arrived in New York from the Cuban capital to address the UN General Assembly session.
"One should not term the outcome (of talks with Singh) as a victory or defeat. It is a victory for the peace process," the Pakistan President was quoted as saying by the state-run PTV.
Musharraf said that yesterday's meeting and the joint statement issued after that was a good sign for resolving issues and bringing peace in the region.
It would establish peace, stability and development in the region, the General said.
The joint statement issued after the meeting said that India and Pakistan have decided to resume Foreign Secretary-level talks at the earliest in New Delhi, and to set up a joint anti-terrorism institutional mechanism.
In New York, the Pakistani leader said that in his speech to the UN General Assembly, he would call for addressing the root causes of terrorism by the international community at large.
Musharraf would be in the US for the next 10 days during which he is also scheduled to visit Washington to meet US President George W Bush
and later launch his biography titled 'In the Line of Fire' on Sept 25 in New York.
Dehradun, Sep 17 (IANS) Deeply concerned over the spate of suicides by poverty-ridden farmers in the country, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is devising "permanent measures" to prevent such tragedies.
"A study has been carried out by experts at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research and some NGOs, on the basis of which we are working out a permanent solution to this perennial tragedy," said NCP chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar at the party's third national convention here Sunday.
The convention was attended by nearly 10,000 delegates from different states, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Meghalaya, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. The party's 15 MPs and 108 MLAs attended the convention.
Pawar also announced the setting up of a task force to devise concrete plans for involving people of Indian origin (PIOs) and non-resident Indians (NRIs) in various development programmes in the country.
"This task force will mobilise political parties as well as civil society groups for the purpose of engaging PIOs and NRIs in India's triumphant economic march," he said.
Terming "uncertainty of monsoons, crop failure and above all economic indebtedness, besides social and psychological factors" as the key factors driving poor farmers to committing suicides, he hoped the new measures would stop them from taking the extreme step.
Pawar expressed hope that the reduction in bank interest rates on farmers' loans, largely at NCP's initiative, would also go a long way in preventing suicides.
"Though our government's credit policies for farmers do help them a lot, still a large number of farmers get trapped by private moneylenders and end up paying exorbitant interest rates," he pointed out.
"In many cases, the loan taken for agriculture purposes gets diverted towards fulfilling causes such as marriages, child education and health, compelling the farmer to commit suicide on account of his perpetual indebtedness."
Pawar added: "We have developed a comprehensive rehabilitation package that covers 31 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala." The four have reported maximum farmer suicides.
The minister also suggested "creating opportunities for enhancing the income of farmers through dairy development, fisheries and poultry farming as allied ventures".
Embarking upon the revival of cooperative institutions in the country, Pawar said: "In accordance with the recommendations of the Vaidyanathan committee, we are bringing in an investment of Rs.140 billion in the cooperative sector."
"While the central government would allocate Rs.120 billion, the remaining investment of Rs.20 billion would be made by respective state governments."
Castel Gandolfo (Italy), Sep 17 (DPA) Pope Benedict XVI made a personal apology over the misunderstanding caused by his remarks on Islam and violence at the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer at his Castel Gandolfo summer residence near ome.
The pope said he "deeply regrets" the reaction to his comments and the misunderstanding.
He said he merely quoted a medieval text on the subject of Islam and violence and that this quote was not his own words.
Islamabad, Sep 17 (IANS) Sind nationalists in Pakistan have made common cause with rebels in Balochistan in demanding a judicial probe into the killing of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti by the army.
At a seminar in Hyderabad city, they demanded that a postmortem be conducted on Bugti by an international team of experts and a probe held into the circumstances leading to his killing, the News International reported Sunday.
The seminar was organised by Sind National Congress (SNC). The speakers included Sind Taraqqi Pasand Party (STPP) chairman Qadir Magsi and Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM) Sind president Syed Zain Shah.
Sharing their grief over the killing of Bugti, the speakers expressed solidarity with the people of Balochistan in their fight for provincial autonomy.
Like their Baloch counterparts, the political parties and groups dubbed Sind nationalists by the Pakistani media remain suspicious of Islamabad's development plans in the two provinces.
Speakers at the meeting termed it a "conspiracy" the setting up of a deep-sea port at Gwadar in Balochistan. It was meant to settle people from Punjab and turn the Balochis into minorities in their own state, they said.
The meeting called for shelving of all mega projects that uprooted the local population, the newspaper said.
Jaipur, Sep 17 (IANS) Rajasthan plans to approve a number of self-financing private universities.
These universities would run various technical and non-technical courses including medical, IT, financial management, homoeopathy and other technical subjects.
"We have already given letters of intent (LoIs) to 15 of the private universities while another eight proposals to set up private universities are under consideration," an education department official told IANS.
The eight plans are likely to be accorded LoIs this month, he added.
The universities that received letters of intent include Keshav Vidyapeeth, Amity University, Rai University, Singhania University and NIIT.
For recognition, each university will have to deposit Rs.20 million as security and have at least 30 acres of land.
After acquiring facilities like staff, library and other infrastructure in line with University Grants Commission (UGC) norms, a high-powered committee would inspect these varsities and report to the government.
The state would place these reports in the assembly after which - through an act - the university plan will get a green signal.
In a audacious sting operation, Star TV has carried out the a part of international conspiracy to discredit the power of Fatwa that rules the lives and times of one billion Muslims of the world. STAR TV's operatives with hidden camera contacted one Deoband graduate to help them get a Fatwa against the use of Credit Cards, as its use presupposes the interest content of its charges on outstanding amounts.
The Fatwa verdict has to focus on the INEREST content of whole commercial transaction, on which the total capitalist economics of consumerism is based. Those have thrived on interest bearing business for centuries, are worried that any push for their Credit Card distribution and converting the whole consumer class to a regime of forced interest bearing economic system, will be opposed by Indian Muslims.
In a flanking move to confront the probability head on, a preempting exercise was devised to get a pro forma FATWA from India's premier Islamic Institution while rewarding the Mufti with gift of cash as a gesture of appreciation and capturing the whole sequence on secret spy-camera and presenting it to millions of viewers as a bribe to the Mufti, who clearly handled the cash and placed it in his pouch, is grossest misrepresentation of fact and manifestly a crime of defamation.
The spy-camera shot blurs the conversation, when the Mufti who has given a valid fatwa and thus can not be accused of taking bribe to give a wrong fatwa, clearly accept the amount as gift. Since no illegal tampering of Fatwa was involved, the STAR TV's campaign to project the Mufti as corrupt and taking bribe for a 'wrong' fatwa falls flat and the whole exercise could have legal implications for STAR TV.
Indian Muslims have fought pitched and long drawn battles with the outsiders and colonials and surely they will once again prove their mettle, if a confrontation of any dispensation is thrown against them.
Let STAR TV beware, it has not last heard about the regime of FATWA.
GHULAM MUHAMMED, MUMBAI
Islamabad, Sep 17 (IANS) Taliban have threatened to retaliate if Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf breaks the recent truce between the Pakistan Army and pro-Taliban tribal chiefs of northern Waziristan.
"I told the Pakistani tribal militants that fighting in Waziristan was in the interest of America. My argument was that we should fight the US, Britain and armies of other Western countries," Taliban leader Mullah Dadullah Akhund told The News International on satellite phone from an undisclosed location on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Taliban have claimed credit for facilitating the agreement to end military operations and pull back from the area.
Akhund, who is the most wanted Taliban leader after its chief Mullah Mohammad Omar, said their fight was with the Americans and their allies and not with the Pakistan Army.
The agreement signed on Sep 7 is hailed by the Pakistan government as a major achievement in the fight against terrorism. Even as the US administration has given the pact a qualified approval, the US think tanks have called it a "surrender" to terror groups in the region.
The Pakistani media, while welcoming the pact, has termed it as a "face-saving measure" by a government that realised that it could not indefinitely fight the tribals and the well-entrenched insurgents.
The northern and southern Waziristan area is the hub of Taliban activities, where Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban chief Mullah Omar are believed to be hiding.
Akhund said the Taliban would be justified in retaliating if Musharraf broke the truce and went back on his word for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, according to the newspaper.
"Violation of the recent peace agreement in Waziristan would cause problems and destabilise the whole area," he stressed.
"We know General Musharraf has been siding with President George Bush against fellow Muslims. At the behest of the US, he has waged war against the Taliban in Waziristan and is now publicly proposing to President Hamid Karzai to jointly fight the Taliban," Akhund maintained.
The Talban leader, who lost a leg while fighting the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan some years ago, has made some fresh claims about the strength of the Taliban, which was ousted from Kabul in November 2001.
He claimed 500 suicide bombers were at his disposal to launch them on mission any time. "Other Taliban commanders have their own list of fidayeens, which is on the increase with new volunteers joining," he said.
Akhund also claimed that 12,000 Taliban fighters were resisting the US-led foreign forces in the four troubled southwestern provinces of Afghanistan, the newspaper said.
He said deployment of additional NATO troops in southern Afghanistan would not make any difference to the Taliban operations.
"We have no shortage of fighters. In fact, we have so many of them that it is difficult to accommodate and arm and equip them. Some of them have been waiting for a year or more for their turn to be sent to the battlefield," Akhund claimed.
The US had cleverly handed over the troubled provinces to the British, Canadian and Dutch troops and withdrew their troops from the region, he said.
Washington, Sept. 17 (NNN-KUNA) The Pentagon announced that it transferred two more detainees from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Kuwait.
The detainees, the second pair transferred to Kuwait within a week, were recommended for transfer due to an Administrative Review Board decision at Guantanamo Bay, the US Defense Department announcement said late Saturday.
With the transfer, approximately 130 detainees remained at Guantanamo who the U.S. government has determined eligible for transfer or release through a comprehensive series of review processes.
Departure of remaining detainees approved for transfer or release is subject to ongoing discussions between the United States and other nations.
"The United States does not desire to hold detainees for any longer than necessary" and "expects that there will continue to be other transfers and releases of detainees," the announcement said.
A determination about the continued detention or transfer of a detainee is based on the best information and evidence available at the time, both classified and unclassified, the Pentagon said.
With this transfer, approximately 320 detainees have departed Guantanamo for other countries including Albania, Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Maldives, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda and Yemen.
Approximately 455 detainees remain at Guantanamo. Most were picked up during the 2001 Afghanistan war and held without charge or trial by the Bush administration as alleged "enemy combatants" in the war on terror.
Athens, Sep 17 (Xinhua) American sprinter Tyson Gay clinched gold in the men's 100m, clocking 9.88 seconds at the 10th International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Cup here, and his compatriot Sanya Richards broke the 22-year-old American 400m record.
Thanks to the absence of the world record co-holder Asafa Powell, who chose to run only in the relay, Gay ran very close to his personal best of 9.85 here Saturday. The world record is 9.77.
The 24-year-old's time of 9.88 into a 1.1 metre per second headwind was enough to see off European champion Francis Obikwelu and Trinidadian Mark Burns.
In the men's relay, Powell almost saw some action in the 4x100m relay but his teammates dropped the baton before it reached him.
The World Cup brings together teams from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania and the US plus three European nations - Russia (men and women), France (men), and Poland (women) who qualified via the European Cup - plus hosts Greece.
Another American, Lashawn Merrit, reversed last weekend's result in Stuttgart when he beat African champion Gary Kikaya in the 400m, while Kerron Clement took advantage of the absence of European champion Pericles Iakovakis - absent due to a hamstring injury - to win the 400m hurdles.
The US completed a sweep of the day's sprint events by taking the short relay with Gay running the final leg.
However, they still finished the first day two points behind Europe who benefited from Ralf Bartel's win in shot put and Tomas Janku's victory in high jump.
Kenyan Alex Kipchircher helped Africa into third place by adding the 1,500m to a long list of successes in 2006.
Saif Saaeed Shaheen, running for Asia, took the 5,000m. The women's competition is evenly balanced with Russia and the Americas level on 65 points, five ahead of Europe.
The Americans had a field day on the track with sprinter Sherone Simpson running 10.97 in the 100m to hold off Torri Edwards, the US replacement for Marion Jones who had decided she was not fit enough to run in Athens.
Cuban Zulia Calatayud came home ahead of the Kenyan Janeth Jepkosgei in the 800m, the second time in a week.
Sanya Richards set a US record in the 400m. Her time of 48.70 seconds broke Valerie Brisco's national record set when she took gold in Los Angeles in 1984.
"I was just overwhelmed. I can't believe it is a national record. I am so happy," said Richards, whose time was the fastest in the world since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva had arguably the most comfortable evening, needing just one jump to win the women's pole vault at a height of 4.60m.
Isinbayeva, however, looked extremely disappointed at not being able to raise the bar immediately to five metres and failed three times at 4.80m as she challenged her world record.
Fellow Russian Tatyana Lebedeva edged Greece's Hrysopiyi Devetzi in the triple jump as both cleared 15m.
Guwahati, Sep 17 (IANS) The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has urged New Delhi to take the lead in holding direct peace talks by releasing five of its jailed leaders.
"They (the government) should take the initiative for creating a proper atmosphere for talks by releasing our jailed central committee members," ULFA said in its fortnightly mouthpiece Freedom.
The main issue now blocking the start of formal talks is the rebels' demand for release of their jailed leaders.
ULFA maintains it is not in a position to take any decision without its five central committee leaders who are currently in jail.
The government announced Aug 13 a 10-day suspension of army operations against the ULFA. This was extended by another 25 days.
The ULFA reciprocated the government's gesture by announcing cessation of hostilities for an indefinite period.
London, Sep 17 (Xinhua) Britain's Lt. Gen. David Richards, the commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, thinks the fight against the Taliban may go on for three to five years.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, Gen. Richards, who took command of the 8,000-strong NATO troops in August, said he was sure the campaign would be successful and the Taliban would "start dancing to my tune".
He said fighting in the southern province of Helmand was "very intense" two weeks ago and the Taliban had lost many fighters.
"Although in a way we were not able to manoeuvre as freely as we would have wished perhaps, we have, I think, created an environment in which most people, including many Taliban, have just had enough fighting," he said.
On Saturday, about 3,000 US-led coalition troops along with 4,000 Afghan soldiers and policemen launched a massive anti-Taliban operation in eastern and central provinces of Afghanistan.
Operation Mountain Fury began in the morning to beat off Taliban resistance in Paktika, Khost, Ghazni, Paktia and Logar provinces, the coalition said.
"Mountain Fury is just one part of a series of coordinated operations placing continuous pressure on Taliban extremists across multiple regions of the country," their statement said.
Afghanistan has been suffering from a rise in Taliban-linked violence this year in which more than 2,300 people, mostly Taliban guerrillas, were killed. The fatalities included over 100 foreign troops.
By Firoz Bakht Ahmed
The capital has lost a worthy son in Padma Shri Yogeshwar Dayal, not only the lifeline of Delhi's cultural and literary fabric but also a leading votary of inter-faith concord. He died Sep 7 at age 93. He had been ill since the death of his wife last year.
In 1961, Dayal revived "Phool Walon ki Sair", which had been stopped by the British in 1940 because it attracted masses from far and wide and was proving to be a potential unifying platform for Hindus and Muslims. It is an interfaith cultural festival drawing people from all sections and faiths.
It begins on the first day in the form of a procession with a huge and decorated 'pankha' (fan) from Mehrauli's Dargah Hazrat Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki near Qutub Minar where the 'chadar' is also laid as a mark of reverence. On the second day, the procession reaches Yogmaya Mandir, also near Mehrauli. Dayal was a member of the Anjuman-e-Sair-e-Gulfaroshan, an association of flower lovers and sellers.
Dayal said about Phool Walon Ki Sair: "The procession would advance towards the main Mehrauli road. Lanterns, wall lights and 'handas' (gas lights) transformed the night into day. On one lantern would be the emblem of 'hilal' (crescent) peeping through the coloured glass and on the other a 'ropahli' chakra (Hindu religious sign), escorted by Kotwal Sharful Haq (the city police chief) on horseback and behind him a contingent of marching sepoys."
It was Dayal who revived classical dance and music in Delhi first by organising an all India music conference in 1936. In 1937, he formed the Hindustani School of Music and Dancing, later to be known as Sangeet Bharati. After that he started the Kala Vihar and Lok Kala Manch.
In 1942, Dayal organised a major music and dance festival at Jubilee Cinema near Fountain in Chandni Chowk.
Similar other big festivals were held in 1944 at Firoz Shah Kotla, in 1946 at Qutub Minar and in 1951 at the Diwan-e-Khas at Red Fort. The Red Fort festival was an all India one, inaugurated by then president Rajendra Prasad and presided over by then prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
In 1956, the Indian government requested Dayal to organise the 2,500th Buddha anniversary festival. After this he put together the Tagore Centenary Exhibition. It was he who literally introduced the kathak dance to Delhiites in the late 1930s.
To hold Holi-Eid Milans was his religion that continued till his death.
Owing to his versatility, many institutions wanted him in their managing committees. He accepted only a few, saying he accept the post only if he was able to devote quality time. He was a member of the board of governors of the Cambridge School Society and of the managing committee of GargiCollege.
A lover of art and a good artist himself, Dayal was also secretary of the Sarada Ukil School of Art. He was associated with the Shri Dharmik Lila Committee that organises one of the biggest Ram Lila shows in India in Old Delhi.
Born in 1913 at Haveli Jugal Kishore at Chandni Chowk, Dayal was from an affluent, cultured and educated family. Having completed schooling from Kashmere Gate, he graduated from Hindu College. He studied law in Delhi University.
Dayal was also secretary of both the Literary Society as well as the Historical Society of Delhi University.
In 1931, he invited Mahatama Gandhi to Hindu College while he headed the Literary Society.
In the early 1960s, he practised as an honorary magistrate in Delhi.
Dayal was a connoisseur of history and organised many lectures inviting luminaries like Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Azad and others.
Dayal was awarded Padma Shri for his services in 1969.
Surviving Dayal are Usha Kumar, a senior advocate in Delhi High Court, and sons Satish Dayal, a businessman, and Suresh Chand, a retired colonel.
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(Firoz Bakht Ahmed is a commentator on social, educational and cultural issues. He can be reached on firozbakht@rediffmail.com)