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China,
Sudan laud peace move India
has 35 nukes, says US report India,
Bulgaria agree on terror
5 nations win Security Council seats |
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Salahuddin
rejects offer on talks Muzaffarabad, October 23 A pro-Pakistan Kashmiri militant leader today dismissed India’s offer of talks with a separatist group as an attempt to deceive the world, and said Pakistan must be included. Hindus
faith bound in marriage
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China, Sudan laud peace move by India Beijing, October 23 “China welcomes all efforts for the relaxation of relationship between Pakistan and India,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told reporters when asked to comment on New Delhi’s latest peace moves to ease ties with Islamabad. “We sincerely hope that Pakistan and India can properly solve their disputes through dialogue and can calmly commit themselves to regional stability and development,” she said. “This is not only in the interest of the two countries but is also a common expectation of the international community. So we welcome the decisions made by the Indian side,” Ms Zhang said. Earlier, Ms Zhang announced that General Musharraf would visit China from November 3 to 5 to meet with the new Chinese leadership for the first time. Commenting on General Musharraf’s visit, she said it would be of great importance to provide a further momentum to the smooth development of Sino-Pakistani ties. On the first-ever Sino-Pakistani naval exercises from October 21 off the east coast of Shanghai, she said it was not aimed at any other nation. Khartoum: Sudan has came out in strong support of India’s peace initiative with Pakistan as the two countries condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations while agreeing that the emerging world order should be multi-polar uilt on the princples of democracy. Khartoum also backed India’s candidature in an expanded UN Security Council and decided to closely coordinate positions with New Delhi in international fora. “Sudan welcomes the initiative taken by the Prime Minister of India aimed at fostering friendship and good neighbourly relations between India and Pakistan, and supports resolution of India-Pakistan issues through dialogue and peaceful means,” a joint statement issued at the conclusion of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam two-day visit to this north African country yesterday. The statement issued shortly before Kalam left for the third leg of his three-nation tour to Bulgaria from here highlighted the need to effectively combat the global menace of terrorism, which knew no no religion or geographical boundaries. The two sides inked a bilateral agreement on promotion and protection of investment, another on avoidance of double taxation and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in communciation and information technology during Kalam’s stay. Both countries shared the conviction that the emerging world order should be just, equitable, multi-polar and built on the principles of democracy, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, non-interference in the internal affairs of states and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
— PTI |
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India has 35 nukes, says US report Washington, October 23 As of 2002, India has 30 to 35 nuclear weapons with yields varying between 5 to 25 kilotonnes “despite an Indian claim that it had detonated a nuclear device on May 11, 2002, with a 43 KT yield,” the Congressional Research Service (CRS), which advises the US Congress, claimed in a report. It puts the number of Pakistani nuclear weapons at 24 to 48. Despite Pakistani claims of higher yield weapons, seismic measurements from Pakistani nuclear detonations on May 28 and 30, 2002 suggest weaponised yields more along the order of 9 to 12 KT and 4 to 6 KT, respectively. “It is possible that Pakistan has higher yield weapons that have not been tested,” it said. The report said there was a danger that nuclear-armed India and Pakistan may now develop biological weapons. “India, a 1973 signatory of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), is believed to have an active biological defence research programme as well as the necessary infrastructure to develop a variety of biological agents,” it claimed. The report also says that India has become “virtually self-sufficient” in its missile programme, enabling it to avoid the international export control regime and difficulties arising out of foreign involvement in its programme, a US congressional body has said. Ever since the 1998 Pokhran detonations, India’s decision-making is a key factor in regional stability in South Asia, the Congressional Research Services (CRS) said in the report. The CRS attributes this self-sufficiency to the fact that “most likely in anticipation of the missile technology control regime, India went on what was described by some analysts as a shopping spree for gyroscopes, accelerometers, and motion simulators from suppliers in the USA, Germany, France and Sweden. “India then reverse-engineered these high-quality foreign missile components, and that was a key factor in her subsequent self-sufficiency.” On the assumption that American interests require a balance between India and Pakistan and that India should not compare itself with China, the CRS says that ever since the 1998 nuclear tests in South Asia, it has appeared that India’s decision-making is a key factor in shaping regional stability.
— PTI |
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India, Bulgaria agree on terror Sofia, October 23 “We have to eradicate this phenomenon and for this, we have to find ways to do so,” Mr Parvanov said at a joint press conference after an hour-long meeting with Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who arrived here on the last leg of his three-nation tour. He said his country would take up the issue of terrorism when it would join the Council for Security and Cooperation in Europe next year. The two leaders began talks immediately after Dr Kalam was accorded the ceremonial welcome at the Alexander Nevski Palace and later laid a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier, accompanied by Mr Parvanov. Mr Parvanov said the two leaders had similarity of views on international issues, specially the reform of the United Nations to make it a more effective global organisation. Dr Kalam emphasised on three aspects which would help in further strengthening ties between the two countries — capability in precision manufacturing, civilisational heritage and mathematics. India signed an extradition treaty with Bulgaria, which was signed by Disinvestment and Information Technology Minister Arun Shourie and Bulgarian Minister for Justice Anton Stankov. Two other agreements relating to cooperation on sports and a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in information technology and electronics were also signed between the two countries.
— PTI, UNI |
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5 nations win Security Council seats United Nations, October 23 The five were elected unopposed for the five vacancies to open up on the 15-nation council on January 1. Poland and Argentina got one vote each in the 191-nation General Assembly even though they were not candidates. The Security Council is responsible for international peace and security, and its decisions can be legally binding on all 191 UN members. Candidates are elected for two-year terms and are often unopposed as they are selected in advance by UN regional groupings, on a rotating basis. Algeria, Benin and the Philippines were put forward by the African and Asian regional groups to replace Cameroon, Guinea and Syria, whose terms end on December 31.
— Reuters |
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Salahuddin rejects offer on talks Muzaffarabad, October 23 Syed Salahuddin, founder of the pro-Pakistan frontline Kashmiri militant group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, told reporters that India’s offer of talks was aimed at diverting international pressure to resolve the Kashmir issue. “By offering to talk to some Kashmiri groups, India is trying to avoid international pressure and to mislead the world,” he said in Muzaffarabad. “There are three parties to Kashmir and any attempt to ignore one party means the issue will be prolonged and elude solution,” he added, referring to Pakistan. India yesterday offered to hold talks with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, and also proposed to start a bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad. Salahuddin said the proposal for a Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service was actually an attempt by India to convert the status of the military Line of Control into a permanent border.
— Reuters |
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Hindus faith bound in marriage Washington, October 23 American Catholics and American mainstream Protestants had the most tolerant views of religious exclusiveness and joined Peruvian Catholics in strongly supporting interfaith marriages, the poll found. In what the university called an unprecedented collaboration to provide a broad, global perspective on religious beliefs, members of 11 religious groups in seven countries were surveyed for the poll. John Zogby, president and chief executive officer of Zogby International and William Scott Green, professor of religion and a dean at the University of Rochester, said the results demonstrated that “religion can build bridges among people as much as it today causes chasms.” The findings are based on 4,388 interviews conducted from January through March 2003. Those surveyed include members of the Orthodox Church in Russia, Protestant Christians from the USA, Russia and South Korea, Muslims from India, Israel and Saudi Arabia, South Korean Buddhists, Indian Hindus, Israeli Jews and Roman Catholics from the USA and Peru. “Religion clearly remains a significant force in the lives of most people, but its role varies across cultures,” said Green. “Comparing the data from religion to religion, country to country and between different religions within the same country reveals some intriguing commonalities and differences.” The study found that for all groups surveyed, except for the Russian Orthodox Christians, when asked to rank life goals among several choices including family and economic security, having an active religious life is more important than being politically active. In fact, being politically active is the lowest or second-lowest priority for all groups except for the Russians. “The range between religion and politics as a high choice for a personal goal is really substantial,” said Green. He also noted that political involvement, when ranked among several other life goals, is the lowest ranked choice for all groups, “except the American Christians for whom travelling abroad is lower.” In the area of religious instruction and leadership, those surveyed said religious leaders are not necessarily the most important source of religious teaching. All of the religious groups, however, agree that parents are the most important source of religious instruction within families. A majority of communities surveyed do not associate religion with unrest or with violence in their own country. And although Israeli Jews and Indian Hindus are most likely to see a relationship between unrest and religion, their position was still a minority view in those groups, the poll found. “Everyone claims to know religion, but the truth is that we humans know relatively little about it — our own and, especially, that of others,” said Zogby. “This seminal study is an effort fill in this gap.”
— UNI |
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A playground for ‘guli danda’ Washington, October 23 A group of Sikhs in the Bay Area of California is drumming up financial support for the purpose. According to the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force here, the project will be the only centre of its kind in the USA. The Chardi Kalaa Community Centre (forever in high spirits in Punjabi) had been opened in San Jose. But it was shut down about two years ago due to lack of support. Organisers hope the centre will be a place for seniors to play cards, where immigrant parents can learn why their children need to take scholastic aptitude tests and where kids can play games like ‘guli danda’. Behind the effort are three successful California Sikhs: Ms Rennu Dhillon, who runs two Fremont preschools, businesswoman Kamal Gill and attorney Madan Ahluwalia.
— IANS |
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