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Thursday,
July 4, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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LONDON DIARY
Curbs
against 2 Sikh groups take effect 4 Al-Qaida
suspects killed in Pak Amnesty
asks USA to respect rules of war 27 Maoists
killed in Nepal Crash:
warning system was out of order |
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USA not
aware of J&K ultras’ threats Hoon holds talks on Indo-Pak standoff
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LONDON DIARY London, July 3 "You see these monks and monasteries that founded these colleges also produced some of the most famous wines," he said. "Almost all high-grade alcoholic beverages were invented by monks and monasteries." And they shall come
Gill’s way when he sits down at the High Table in the college.
Gill seemed happy with this Christian blessing, as he did with the others he received. By ancient tradition, a Fellow is admitted with the blessing of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost in Christian tradition. A worried college administrator asked Gill if they should do it simply in the name of "God" because he was not of the Christian faith. "The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost? I said to them give me all three," says Gill. "I want the works." The college gave him the works, and no doubt our Gill went to work with at least a glass or two of that splendid wine. * * * Daljit Dhaliwal: Southall, an area with a large concentration of South Asians, has not quite gone global, but Daljit Dhaliwal from there has. Dhaliwal, who picked up such a fan following in America as an anchor for ITN News, is now joining CNN as anchor for the prestigious World News programme. Hers is the face that has launched millions of fans. That number could go into hundreds of millions once she takes the centre stage on the World News and World Report programmes of CNN that will go out to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. CNN has an estimated 161 million viewers. The whole world, it seems, can see Daljit now but her own Punjab. Dhaliwal (37) has acquired the kind of fame that many stars would envy. There is a fan club site for her where fans share among other things Daljit spotting in real life. That site too could now be replaced by a bigger one. Dhaliwal, who is (sadly for her fans) happily married, says: "I am thrilled to be joining CNN and I’m looking forward to working with a talented team of anchors and reporters from around the globe." She will leave home in Notting Hill in London to head now for Atlanta. * * * Bhangra & melas: It is an old relationship. Summer in England brings melas, and melas mean bhangra. Whether bhangras make melas possible, or whether it is melas that give bhangra a chance, it is hard to tell. Bhangra has been on a high for long in England; these days it is on a not so high. It is beginning to sound more and more of the same. And the young today are hungrier for new music all the time. Channi Singh, the man who brought disco bhangra to Britain with his group Alaap many years ago, is still sought after at melas around the country. But not so many of the others. Until a few years ago there were about 300 bhangra bands in Britain, mostly in Birmingham and the Midlands area. That population has declined considerably. A pity because the demand for live music is going up all the time. A more and more prosperous Indian community now wants the real thing. And there is much to celebrate by way of festivals, birthdays, weddings, and these days, even the weather. So the Nottingham mela is eagerly awaited, many drive hours to get to it. So are melas in Birmingham and in Leicester and of course in East London, in Hounslow and Southall. Good while it lasts. But we could all do with something new from Channi Singh, or even a new Channi Singh. * * * Promoting football: The World Cup football inspired even the most boring to kick a ball in reach — and these last few weeks there have been many. It was bad enough that there was no getting away from football conversation. But there was not getting away much from the balls themselves. Kids couldn’t seem to move without it. But this World Cup, footballs have been particularly a companion to Punjabi kids. A part of this was the success of "Bend It Like Beckham", the film made by Gurinder Chadha featuring a Sikh girl who battles her family to defend her passion for football. The film shot to the top of the charts for two weeks, and then suddenly vanished. But it left a mark on Sikh kids. Coming just before the World Cup, it could hardly have been better timed. When you see kids kicking a ball around, they are quite likely to be, as Bally Jagpal sang, Putt Sardaran de. And once again, it was gurdwaras to the fore. That gurdwaras should be home for kids learning to sing ‘shabads’, or hymns, is natural. That they should be centres for learning Punjabi is also natural. Now it is becoming natural for gurdwaras to set up their own teams and to set up coaching classes for kids. Two gurdwaras in Southall are
preparing to start an inter-gurdwara football tournament for
youngsters. A way to promote football, of course. But also a way to
make sure that the youngsters keep up their links with gurdwaras on
their own without waiting for persuasion from parents. IANS |
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Curbs against 2 Sikh groups take effect
Washington, July 3 The groups, Babbar Khalsa and the International Sikh Youth Federation, join more than 200 entities placed on a list of “specially designated global terrorist” organisations that was created after the September 11 attacks on the USA. I hereby determine that Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation have committed or pose a serious risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten the security of US nationals or the national security, foreign policy or economy of the USA,” Secretary of State Colin Powell said in the notice published in the Federal Register, a government gazette. On June 27, the US Treasury Department said the groups which were added to a European Union terrorist blacklist in early March, would have their assets frozen and that any financial dealing with them would be banned.
AFP |
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4 Al-Qaida suspects killed in Pak
Kohat (Pakistan), July 3 The encounter occurred when security personnel tried to stop a vehicle at a military checkpost at Jarma bridge, some 10 km south of Kohat. A policeman and a soldier were killed in a shoot-out with the suspected militants, while another policeman died afterwards when a grenade went off as they were emptying the vehicle of explosives, witnesses said. Analysts say Pakistan, a key ally in the US war on terror, appears to have stepped up efforts recently to track down Al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives who may have fled to the country from neighbouring Afghanistan. Police official Nisar Tanoli told Reuters the men were coming from the direction of Miranshah, in North Waziristan in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas, where many Al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives were believed to be hiding. ‘’The vehicle was full of explosives, sophisticated weapons and grenades,’’ a witness said. He said the Pakistani troops had cordoned off the area and ‘’no one is now going near the vehicle’’. Two persons were injured and later admitted to hospital in Kohat, the police said. Ten Pakistani soldiers and two suspected Al-Qaida members were killed last week in a gun battle in South
Waziristan, more than 200 km south-west of Kohat. Reuters |
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Amnesty asks USA to respect rules of war
London, July 3 It called upon the US authorities to investigate military attacks resulting in civilian deaths and make them public. The global human rights watch body said “the bombing of the village wedding ceremony in Uruzgan which killed and injured scores of civilians adds to the mounting civilian death toll caused by the US-led coalition bombing since it began nine months ago.” It said the US-led forces should take sufficient precautions to protect civilians in selecting military objectives and means of attack. They should also desist from an attack if it became apparent that the objective was not a military one. “The rules of international humanitarian law require those who plan or decide upon an attack to do everything feasible to verify that the objectives targeted are not civilian. When it is unclear whether a target is used for military purposes it shall be presumed to be a civilian object,” it said yesterday. Expressing its concern over the recent increase in civilian casualties caused by targeting errors, it said in several incidents during late 2001 and early 2002, Afghan villagers accused the USA of acting on misinformation or malicious information and taking military action leading to the deaths of civilians.
PTI |
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27 Maoists killed in Nepal Kathmandu, July 3 “At least 27 Maoists are learnt to have been killed when security forces on Sunday made aerial and ground attacks against several Maoist training centres in several areas in the Dang district in the past couple of days,” said the Nepali language daily, the Evening Commander. The newspaper said security forces using helicopters attacked the Bankuti, Subaila, Jogikuti and Khagra regions of Dang, about 355 km west of Kathmandu, after receiving a tip-off that there were rebel training camps in the area. Other local reports said the Maoist casualty figure could be much higher.
AFP |
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Crash: warning system was out of order Zurich, July 3 An official from Skyguide, the Swiss Air Traffic Control Authority, said controllers would not have received any “short-term conflict alert” because the system had been set to “fallback mode.” “We proceeded to several changes which we do very often and at night when traffic is low,” Skyguide’s Roger Gaberell said.
AFP |
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USA not aware of J&K ultras’ threats Washington, July 3 State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said this in reply to a question about the status of the commitment made by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf for stopping incursions and anti-India terrorist activities. Speaking at a press briefing yesterday, he said: “I am not aware of the statements, nor who made these, nor what links they may or perhaps may not have with the Pakistan Government.” However, it is important for both India and Pakistan to continue to refrain from provocative actions, he said.
UNI |
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Hoon holds talks on
Indo-Pak standoff Islamabad, July 3 |
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