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India to go ahead with gas pipeline project
Pervez may meet Sharon in New York
$ 5m Indian aid for Katrina-hit
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Islamabad, September 3 The police arrested a Hindu couple on charges of desecrating the Koran, Islam’s holy book, officials said today. The man identified as Chaman Lal and his wife were arrested near Swabi yesterday after neighbours complained to the police they had thrown a copy of the Koran in a field near their house. Maoists declare unilateral truce in Nepal
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India to go ahead with gas pipeline project Teheran, September 3 “If all goes well there can be a tripartite meeting of the ministers concerned of (India, Iran and Pakistan) to finalise a framework agreement by December 31,” External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh said after holding wide-ranging talks with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki here. Mr K. Natwar Singh, who is here on a three-day visit, said a preliminary framework accord for the pipeline could be made ready by November. The decisions by the two foreign ministers are being considered as “major” steps towards enhancing India’s strategic partnership with Iran. On the nuclear issue, he said: “We support the pursuit by Iran of its peaceful nuclear energy programme in keeping with Iran’s international obligations and commitments.” The External Affairs Minister said “we believe all sides should take steps to facilitate dialogue and resolve outstanding issue within the framework” of International Atomic Energy Programme, the UN’s ATomic Energy watchdog. In yet another key agreement, he said Teheran had agreed to supply five million metric tonnes of LNG to India for the next 25 years from 2009 and assured that it would consider its demand for an additional 7.5 million tonnes.
— PTI |
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Pervez may meet Sharon in New York on Sept 15
Jerusalem/Washington, September 3 While Israeli officials in the Prime Minister's office hailed the meeting as "reaping of the fruits of disengagement" even before the completion of the withdrawal from Gaza, the Post quoted an official as saying that "strategically, it is very important for us to have contact with the outer circle of Muslim countries." "The fact that Pakistan was willing to do this, even though the heart of Al Qaida is located there, is important. There is no doubt that U.S. pressure had something to do with it, but we welcome any Muslim country that wishes to have ties with us," he was quoted as saying further. The Foreign Ministers' meeting is expected to be followed by confidence-building measures, such as a relaxation of Pakistan's ban on travel to Israel, an Israeli official said. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States and former army chief, General (retired) Jehangir Karamat, has also said that a "chance" meeting could take place between Musharraf and Sharon. "All heads of states and governments will be there and if they meet, there's no harm," the Dawn quoted Gen.Karamat, as saying. Karamat, however, emphasized that "no planned meeting" between the two leaders was scheduled, and added that it was not even possible. In New York, informed sources told The Dawn that Musharraf and Sharon would hold a one-to-one meeting on September 15.
— ANI |
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$ 5m Indian aid for Katrina-hit
Washington, September 3 In a formal offer which highlights India’s commitment to its relationship with Washington, the Indian government has offered to donate five million dollars to the American Red Cross and a diversified portfolio of medical relief supplies. In the medical relief, the government has offered to release from its stocks medicines to deal with water-borne diseases. Currently, in the US, such medicines are in great demand, following the hurricane. India has also offered to provide a portable water purification plant which can simultaneously process clear water for upto 30 houses. These plants which use the technology of reverse osmosis are also being sought in the hurricane affected states. India has also proposed that a team of specialist doctors from the Indian Army Medical Corps be flown to the affected states right away. New Delhi has told Washington that a specialized team of experienced doctors can be deployed in New Orleans almost immediately. Units of the Army Medical Corps are being placed on standby. Informed sources in Washington believe that the Bush administration will accept this Indian offer as the situation in the affected states is very grim.
— ANI |
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Where was Bush when Katrina struck ?
Why has it taken George Bush five days to get to New Orleans? President Bush was on holiday in Texas when Katrina struck. He then spent Monday on a pre-arranged political fund-raising tour of California and Arizona, which he did not cancel or curtail. On Tuesday he surveyed the hurricane damage - but only from the flight deck of Air Force One, prompting criticism that he was too detached from the suffering on the ground. He didn't give a speech until Tuesday afternoon ---- 36 hours after the storm first hit ---- and didn't embark on a proper tour of the region until yesterday. Key advisers have come under fire for similar levels of detachment. As the full magnitude of the disaster unfolded, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was seen buying shoes in New York and Dick Cheney remained on holiday.
How could the world's only superpower, be so slow in rescuing its own people? It will probably take months, even years, to answer that question. But here are a few factors to consider: 1) the federal government's disaster relief agency, Fema, has lost considerable clout because the priority at the Department of Homeland Security has been counter-terrorism; 2) Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff has no experience in disaster relief; 3) because of Fema's low profile, almost no contingency measures were taken before Katrina struck; 4) the under-resourced local Army Corps of Engineers appeared completely unprepared to conduct emergency operations after the levees were breached; 5) nobody appears to have considered the communications problems inherent in loss of phone and cell-phone service. Why was spending on flood and hurricane protection cut despite years of warnings? Another question likely to be the subject of official investigations. Local and former federal officials are in little doubt that the budgetary priorities of Iraq, tax cuts and the "war on terror" are to blame. Disaster prevention experts have been studying New Orleans for years and urging upgrades to its levees and other preventive measures. The Army Corps of Engineers was supposed to carry out some of this work last year, but its funding was cut. It seems the Bush administration considered the risk of malicious human attack and the risk of the ravages of nature, and found itself incapable of holding both ideas in its head. Why did it take so long to send adequate forces to keep order and help people? The National Guard is under pressure in every US state because of the strains of deployment in Iraq. More than one-third of Louisiana's 10,000 Guardsmen are either in Iraq or Afghanistan. No mass deployment of guardsmen from other states is being contemplated because they are all needed in Iraq too. At first, only 3,000 guardsmen were sent to New Orleans, but that was increased to about 10,000 as looting and gun violence became widespread. How can the US flatten Iraq in three weeks but not rescue 25,000 of its own people from a sports arena? America's obsession with maintaining its pre-eminent position as the world's largest superpower means it is incapable of responding swiftly and effectively to a humanitarian crisis.
— By arrangement with The Independent, London |
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Hindu couple arrested in Pakistan
Islamabad, September 3 The man identified as Chaman Lal and his wife were arrested near Swabi yesterday after neighbours complained to the police they had thrown a copy of the Koran in a field near their house. “We have arrested the couple and we are holding an investigation,’’
informed the local police chief Atta Mohammad Residents and newspapers said other members of the Lal family had been moved to a safe place after a mob ransacked their house. But Mohammad denied the house was
attacked. — Reuters |
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Maoists declare unilateral truce in Nepal Kathmandu, September 3 Maoists Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachand, in a statement issued here today, said: ‘’The unilateral truce was declared keeping in view people’s aspiration for peace and democracy’’. “We hope that the move would motivate both national and international forces, who want to see peace in Nepal, and encourage them to take new initiatives to end the current political deadlock in the country,’’ he said. There could be no offensive during the truce period. — UNI
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In video: Islamists fume over Pakistan-Israel talks. (
