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USA bars French, Russian firms from Iraq contracts
Maoists bomb temple, burn pilgrims’ bus Commanders review ceasefire Pak deadline for India on
Baglihar row |
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Israel may help India in N-sub project Iranian Oppn rejects expulsion
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USA bars French, Russian firms from Iraq contracts New York, December 10 The directive, issued Friday by Paul D. Wolfowitz, Deputy Defence Secretary, represents the most substantive retaliation to date by the Bush Administration against American allies who opposed its decision to go to war in Iraq, The New York Times said. The Administration, the paper recalls, had warned before the war that countries that did not join in an American-led coalition would not have a voice in decisions about the rebuilding of Iraq. It had, however, not previously made clear that companies in those countries would be excluded from competing for a share in the money for Iraq’s reconstruction that the USA approved last month. Those funds will pay for a total of 26 lucrative contracts for rebuilding Iraq’s electricity, oil and water sectors and equipping its army. Under the guidelines, The Times said only companies from the USA, Iraq and 61 countries designated “coalition partners” will be allowed to bid on the contracts. France, Germany and Russia are not on the list. The document, the paper said, does not spell out a rationale for its claim that excluding those three countries it was necessary to protect American national security interests. The guidelines do not affect sub-contractors, the document makes clear, so companies that win contracts would be able to hire French, German or Russian firms to work in Iraq.
— PTI |
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Maoists bomb temple, burn pilgrims’ bus Kathmandu, December 10 The Ram-Janaki temple at Nijgadh in Bara district, south of Kathmandu, was completed only a few months ago with financial contributions from locals, who had been enraged by last night’s destruction, the source said. In the other attack, a bus reserved for Buddhist pilgrims was set on fire when it was returning yesterday from Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, by Maoist rebels who first ordered devotees to get off, the source said. None of the Buddhist pilgrims was hurt although the bus was badly burnt. “We were not told the reason for setting the bus on fire, but it could be due to the fact it was used for the transportation of security personnel in the past,” a commuter said. In another incident, two rebels were killed in a clash with security forces last night in the Ghandruk area of western Nepal, the source said. Security, meanwhile, was beefed up in important trekking areas used by foreigners in the northwestern Himalayas, such as Dhaulagiri and Annapurna. Suspected Maoists last week robbed five Belgian trekkers travelling in the area, a security source said.
— AFP |
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Commanders review ceasefire Islamabad, December 10 At a flag meeting at Sialkot yesterday, Col Nadeem of Pakistan’s Chenab Rangers and BSF Battalion Commander Rajesh Gupta reviewed the observance of the ceasefire along the LoC and Siachen and hoped that the truce would continue. The meeting, which was the first on Pakistani soil after the ceasefire, was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere, Pakistani officials were quoted as saying by the local daily The News. Besides routine issues related to the border situation commanders of both countries discussed different matters of mutual interest, they said. Later, Mr Gupta told Pakistani media that the ceasefire had brought a sigh of relief to thousands of villagers on both sides along the working boundary. Pointing out that the continuous firing and shelling during the recent years had made the lives of the people miserable, he said now the atmosphere of fear and terror had evaporated and people were happily working in their fields.” Asked about the fencing along the LoC, which Pakistan had objected to, Mr Gupta said India was fencing in order to stop the infiltration of militants across the LoC. “We are erecting the fence on Indian soil along the working border and it is in the best interest of both countries,” he said.
— PTI |
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Pak deadline for India on Baglihar row Islamabad, December 10 The notice by Pakistan asked New Delhi last week to stop construction of the project and settle the dispute by December 31, failing which Pakistan reserved the right to call for international arbitration under the aegis of the World Bank which facilitated the 1960 water treaty between the two countries. Indian High Commission officials here said a letter in this regard had been sent by the Pakistan Foreign Office last week. The notice by Pakistan followed a recent visit made by a team of Pakistani officials to the Baglihar project after clearance from India. Significantly Pakistan has fixed the December 31 deadline which was close to SAARC summit scheduled to be held from January 4 to 6. The issue was expected to figure at the meetings between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali if a one-to-one meeting takes place to discuss the recent peace initiatives.
— PTI |
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Israel may help India in N-sub project Jerusalem, December 10 This understanding was reached during the visit of a high-level technical team from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) headed by the Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, Dr V.K. Aatre, towards the end of last month, the sources said. The development could possibly mean an end to Indo-Russian cooperation in this field as Israel
rapidly progresses towards becoming India’s main source for defence procurements. India had leased for three years a Soviet nuclear-powered attack submarine, INS Chakra in 1988, but returned it after the expiry of the lease. It had in 2000 announced new negotiations with Russia.
— UNI |
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Iranian Oppn rejects expulsion Baghdad, December 10 “Such a statement has no executive guarantees and only paves the way for terrorist activities by the mullahs’ regime against, the Mujahideen in Iraq, a spokesman for the group said in a written text. The Mujahideen said its “presence in Iraq as a country under occupation is in the context of the Geneva Conventions” and accused Tehran of dictating the decision to the interim Governing Council in Baghdad. “The statement merely reflects the fantasies and illusions of the mullahs’ regime, which regards the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran as the biggest obstacle to its export of fundamentalism and establishment of a satellite theocratic dictatorship in Iraq.” An official statement released in Baghdad yesterday said: “The Governing Council unanimously decided to expel from Iraq by the end of the year the People’s
Mujahideen because of the dark history of this terrorist organisation.”
— AFP |
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Indian-American wins Dist Attorney poll New York, December 10 According to news reports, Harris (39) convincingly defeated current holder of the post Terence Hallinan (67) in the run-off election. Harris, who once worked as a prosecutor in Hallinana’s office, vanquished her former boss by a 56-44 per cent margin. About half of the more than 470,000 voters cast their ballots in the run-off held yesterday. “I look forward to working with the many, many talented attorneys in the District Attorney’s office,” Harris told a cheering crowd of about 100 people at her campaign base in the Bayview district of San Francisco. Harris is the daughter of Dr Shyamala Gopalan, who hails from Tamil Nadu and Jamaica-born Donald Harris. The mother of Harris is a noted breast cancer specialist and her father a Stanford University economics professor. Harris and her sister are considered closer to her mother’s cultural roots than her father’s. The sisters visited Chennai a few times in recent years to meet their grandparents. After the electoral loss of Bobby Jindal, the Indian-American community pinned its hopes on Harris and her campaign had drawn wide support from among the community at large. She got major endorsements, including The San Francisco Chronicle. In 1988 she was named by Daily Journal as one of the top 20 young lawyers in California. In last month’s general election, Hallinan finished first, while Harris reached the second spot and Bill Fazio, a relatively conservative candidate, finished third. Since none of them got 50 per cent of the votes, a run-off was called for. That presented Hallinan with a difficult challenge in his re-election bid because he and Harris shared a “progressive” approach to prosecuting criminals. Both supported medical marijuana, opposed the death penalty and said juvenile suspects should be steered away from adult courts in all but the most serious cases. Harris told the electorate that Hallinan was offering a “false choice” between progressive politics and effectiveness in dealing with criminals, especially violent ones. She said her activism on such issues as teenage prostitution showed she would bring compassion to the District Attorney’s office.
— UNI |
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New Zealander to be UN envoy to Iraq