 |
Saturday,
July 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
|
Karachi
blast kills two
Pak
declines UN mediation offer US tank
fires at Iraqi guerrillas Floods
claim 569 lives in China Palestinian
prisoners on fast |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
India,
Nepal discuss security UK
immigration services at cost Lankan
citizenship for persons of No visas
to Myanmar leaders: Canada
|
|
Karachi blast kills two
Islamabad, July 11 The police said the security guard outside the building died in the blast. A second body was found later. Four persons were injured, according to preliminary reports. The blast destroyed a pillar of the building indicating the bomb might have been placed against it, a police official was quoted as saying. The blast also smashed some windows of the building. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast. Police personnel have rushed to the blast site to assess the situation.
— PTI |
|
Pak declines UN mediation offer
Islamabad, July 11 Reacting to the reported offer made by UN Special envoy to Afghanistan Lakthar Brahimi offering his good offices to mediate between Islamabad and Kabul, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said the situation had not come to such a pass where the two required mediation. “Need for reconciliation arises when the situation worsens to a great extent,” Mr Khan told Paskistan’s Geo TV last night. Tensions between the two countries have risen steadily over recent reports of Pakistani troop incursions into Afghanistan, reports that Islamabad has denied. On Tuesday, several hundred Afghans attacked the Pakistan Embassy, destroying furniture, windows and electronics. The UN offer came as Afghanistan alleged incursions by Pakistan troops deep into its territory. This led to the armed forces of the two countries to exchange fire at the borders for several days. The tension worsened after an irate mob attacked the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul early this week. “Afghan President Hamid Karzai has expressed his regret over the attack on Pakistani Embassy incident whereas Afghan Foreign Minister has held talks with our Foreign Minister. We can sort out our problems”, Mr Masood Khan said. Asked if Pakistani nationals were safe in Afghanistan, Mr Khan said the Afghan Government had ensured the safety of the Pakistan Embassy as well as its staff.
— PTI |
|
US tank fires at Iraqi guerrillas
Baghdad, July 11 The attack took place last evening north-east of the airport and US troops returned fire, a military spokesman said. “A civilian vehicle was caught in crossfire. One Iraqi was shot in the neck and another was shot in the abdomen,” he said. The Iraqis were taken to a military medical facility. He had no word on their condition. US forces have come under attacks in Iraq near daily since the fall of Saddam Hussein rule in April. Thirtyone US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since US President George W. Bush declared major combat over on May 1. A US tank fired a shell for the first time since the end of the US war on Iraq in clashes overnight with guerrilla fighters in Ramadi, about 100 km west of Baghdad, a military spokesman said on Friday. “A US tank fired a round for the first time since the end of the war,” said Staff Sergeant Anthony Joseph from the public affairs office of the Third Armoured Division’s Second Brigade based in Fallujah. The troops returned fire after a mortar attack, but there were no US casualties, added Sergeant Amy Abbott in Baghdad. Witnesses said the mortars targeted US troops stationed in a presidential palace at Ramadi. The Qatar-based channel Al-Jazeera reported that US forces had sent helicopter gunships, which fired rockets at the attackers. US troops in Iraq have seized a number of artefacts believed to have been stolen from Baghdad’s main museum, heavily looted in the chaos that followed the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the military said. “The artefacts consisted of miniature statues, a skull and a clay bowl. A local archaeologist determined one of the artefacts to be pre-Samarian, dated 3000 to 3200 BC,” Central Command said on Thursday. DUBAI: Former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, who earned the nickname “Comical Ali” during the US-led war on Iraq, made a sudden appearance in Abu Dhabi on Friday, saying that he might not return to his homeland. “When I leave I always have in my mind that I might not come down this road again, but I’m working and praying to the God that I can return to Baghdad one day,’’ he said on Abu Dhabi Television. Mr Sahaf was released last month after he surrendered before US forces in Baghdad.
— Reuters, AFP |
|
Floods claim 569 lives in China Beijing, July 11 The flood situation in East China’s worst-hit Anhui province continues to be grim with the flood control authorities being forced to open the sluice gates on the rain-swollen Huaihe river today to divert the rising flood water to the Qiujiahu flood diversion area. The area, in Yingshang county, is the eighth such area to be used this year to alleviate flooding from the Huaihe river, which is experiencing the worst flooding since 1991. The place covers 38.2 sq km, including 5,683 acres of farmland, from which 33,000 residents have been evacuated. This is the 15th time the area has been
used for flood diversion since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. China yesterday again used the Mengwa flood diversion area in Anhui province to divert flood water from the Huaihe river as water levels continued to rise. The diversion was ordered by the state flood control and drought prevention headquarters as another flood peak was forecast to reach Wangjiaba section of the river today and the water level there is expected to exceed the 29 m danger level. This was the second time in a week the Mengwa flood diversion area was used to divert flood water from the river.
— PTI |
|
Palestinian prisoners on fast
Jerusalem, July 11 Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan, in a meeting last night, urged Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz to free more Palestinian prisoners than the 350 Israel had pledged to release. Mr Dahlan also demanded that Israeli forces withdraw from at least one more Palestinian city as soon as possible. But Mr Mofaz rejected the requests, arguing the Palestinians must begin disarming the militant organisations, Israeli media reported.
— DPA |
|
India, Nepal discuss security Kathmandu, July 11 “I have discussed with the King Nepal’s internal situation and bilateral relations,” Mr Sibal said after his over an hour-long meeting with the King at the Narayanhiti palace here today. Mr Sibal, who yesterday met the Nepalese Prime Minister, said matters concerning renewal of the extradition treaty between the two countries and other mutually beneficial issues figured during the talks. “I had acquired information about Nepal’s political situation and the problems faced by it,” Mr Sibal said. He also met separately Nepali Congress President and former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepal Communist Party general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Discussions were also held on streamlining Indo-Nepal relations and resolving security problems, Mr Sibal said. The Foreign Secretary said India had great interest in Nepal’s stability and well being.” He, however, made it clear that India does not want to interfere in the internal affairs of Nepal. Observing that Nepal and India both can benefit a lot if water resources of Nepal are utilised, Mr Sibal cited the example of Bhutan which has successfully utilised water resources with the help of India.
— PTI |
|
UK immigration services at cost
London, July 11 Postal applications will cost £ 155, with a premium ‘same day’ service for personal callers costing £ 250. The charges will apply to applications for an extension of stay in the UK, applications for settlement, and permanent residency stamps being put in new passports. “We continue to welcome the many foreign nationals who choose to study, work and live in the UK”. They boost our economy and add to our thriving cosmopolitan society. Many apply for extending their stay each year, and it is right that they should meet the costs of that,” Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes said last night. “Charging will help us to continue to improve the efficiency and speed with which we process these applications, leading to ever higher levels of customer service,” he said.
— PTI |
|
Lankan citizenship for persons of Indian origin
Colombo, July 11 Officials said the Cabinet of Ministers two days ago approved a plan to grant citizenship to 84,141 persons who had obtained Indian passports to return home, but could not travel for various reasons since 1983. Another 84,000 persons of Indian origin born in Sri Lanka after 1964 will also qualify for Sri Lankan citizenship, officials said. New Delhi and Colombo had agreed to send back hundreds of thousands of people of Indian origin back to India, but the island’s ethnic conflict since 1983 had stopped a ferry that took back batches of Indians.
— PTI |
|
No visas to Myanmar leaders: Canada
Ottawa, July 11 In an statement protesting against “the continued harassment and imprisonment” of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham said Canada-based diplomats from Myanmar would also face travel restrictions. Ms Suu Kyi has been in custody since May 30 after clashes between her supporters and a pro-government group. “These new restrictions signal our condemnation of recent state-sponsored attacks on Ms Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters and their continued detention,” Mr Graham said.
— Reuters |
2
QUAKES HIT SOUTHERN IRAN 2
EX-PENTAGON OFFICIALS CONVICTED CAMERA
PHONES SPREAD MISCHIEF 17
WORKERS BURIED IN LANDSLIDE KIDNAPPING:
3 MORE INDIANS CHARGED DIANA
NOT TO FEATURE IN COMIC BOOK |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
‘PANJABI
MC’ WINS GERMAN AWARD