W O R L D

Lukashenko elected Belarus President
Oppn calls poll a farce, people jam central Minsk
Minsk (Belarus), March 20
Incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won Belarus' presidential vote by a massive margin, the chief electoral official said early today, and the main opposition candidate called for new balloting as thousands of his supporters jammed a main square in central Minsk.

Marines killed 15 unarmed Iraqis in 2005: report
New York, March 20
US Marines went on a rampage in a village in Iraq, killing 15 unarmed residents, including seven women and three children, last year after a roadside bomb struck their convoy and killed one of the personnel, a media report has said.

Iraq not in midst of civil war, says Cheney
Washington, March 20
Iraq has not plunged into a civil war despite "serious efforts" by terrorists like Al-Qaida leader Al Zarqawi to foment trouble in the country, US Vice-President Dick Cheney has said.

16 die in Nepal after rebels end road blockade
Kathmandu, March 20
At least 16 people, including 13 soldiers, were killed in a new outbreak of violence in Nepal today, a day after Maoist rebels ended a crippling road blockade, the army and witnesses said.

A pro-democracy activist argues with the riot police during a sit-in protest demanding the country’s return to democracy and the release of all detained leaders at Bhotahity near the Royal Palace in Kathmandu on Monday. — AFP photo

California education board sued
Suggested changes in textbooks rejected
Sacramento, (California), March 20
The battle over how Hinduism is taught in California schools has moved to the courtroom with the Hindu American Foundation suing the California State Board of Education for “failing” to follow a fair and open process in adopting changes to sixth-grade history textbooks.

Putin, Hu to discuss oil pipeline link
Beijing, March 20
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who arrives here tomorrow, is expected to offer to build an oil and natural gas pipeline for China, aiding Beijing's quest for energy security to power its near-double digit economic growth.

LoC no basis for solution: Pak
Islamabad, March 20
Pakistan today made it clear that Line of Control (LoC) cannot form the basis for a solution to the Kashmir issue and rejected as ‘‘absolutely baseless’’ India’s charge that Islamabad was promoting jehadi violence in that country.

Lukashenko elected Belarus President
Oppn calls poll a farce, people jam central Minsk

Marines killed 15 unarmed Iraqis in 2005: report

New York, March 20
US Marines went on a rampage in a village in Iraq, killing 15 unarmed residents, including seven women and three children, last year after a roadside bomb struck their convoy and killed one of the personnel, a media report has said.

On the morning of November 19, 2005, a bomb struck a humvee carrying Marines from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, on a road near Haditha, a restive town in western Iraq, killing Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, the Times magazine reported.

The next day, a Marine communiqui reported that Terrazas and 15 Iraqi civilians were killed by the blast and that "gunmen attacked the convoy with small arms fire," prompting the Marines to return the fire, killing eight insurgents and wounding another.

But details of what happened that morning in Haditha are more "disturbing, disputed and horrific" than the military initially reported, the magazine said.

It quoted eyewitnesses and local officials interviewed over the past 10 weeks as saying that the civilians who died in Haditha on November 19 were killed by the Marines, who went on a rampage in the village after the attack.

The magazine also said it had obtained a videotape that purportedly showed the aftermath of the Marines' assault and provided graphic documentation of its human toll.

Human rights activists say if the accusations are true, the incident would rank as the worst case of deliberate killing of Iraqi civilians by US service members since the war began. — PTI

Iraq not in midst of civil war, says Cheney

Washington, March 20
Iraq has not plunged into a civil war despite "serious efforts" by terrorists like Al-Qaida leader Al Zarqawi to foment trouble in the country, US Vice-President Dick Cheney has said.

Mr Cheney joined issue with former Prime Minister of Iraq Iyad Allawi, who was quoted in a BBC interview as saying that his country was nearing the "point of no return" and that it had fallen into sectarian civilian war.

"What we've seen is a serious effort by them (terrorists) to foment civil war, but I don't think they've been successful," Mr Cheney said yesterday.

President Bush has repeatedly made it clear that America is in for complete victory and that troops will not return home before that.

"We are implementing a strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq. And a victory in Iraq will make this country more secure and will help lay the foundation of peace for generations to come. And a victory in Iraq will make this country more secure and will help lay the foundation of peace for generations to come," President Bush said yesterday.

The top US commander in Iraq, Gen George Casey, disagreed with the notion that Iraq was in the midst of a full-blown civil war. "That situation in Iraq was a long way", he said.

But "I don't want to sugarcoat it, either. This is a very fragile time and there are people getting killed," General Casey said. — PTI

16 die in Nepal after rebels end road blockade

Kathmandu, March 20
At least 16 people, including 13 soldiers, were killed in a new outbreak of violence in Nepal today, a day after Maoist rebels ended a crippling road blockade, the army and witnesses said.

The soldiers and a rebel were killed in a gun battle in Kavre district, 80 km east of Kathmandu, early in the day as guerrillas attacked soldiers on their way to fix the water supply lines disrupted by the Maoists.

Elsewhere, two civilians were killed in a bomb blast near the eastern town of Biratnagar, 550 km from Kathmandu, local journalist Bickram Neupane said.

The bomb had apparently been left by the rebels on a bridge to enforce the road blockade that they ended yesterday.

Packed buses and trucks loaded with supplies were again rolling across the country today after the six-day disruption to commerce and transport across the Himalayan nation. — Reuters

California education board sued
Suggested changes in textbooks rejected

Sacramento, (California), March 20
The battle over how Hinduism is taught in California schools has moved to the courtroom with the Hindu American Foundation suing the California State Board of Education (CSBE) for “failing” to follow a fair and open process in adopting changes to sixth-grade history textbooks.

The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court here, follows months of controversy and hearings that resulted in the CSBE approving history textbooks that rejected many changes in descriptions of ancient India that the Vedic Foundation and the Hindu Education Foundation had sought. The two groups said Hinduism is demeaned by depictions of women’s inferior status and of the untouchable class, as well as by the theory that an Aryan invasion or migration was a key catalyst for the blossoming of ancient Indian culture.

“Hindu Americans have taken a stand against not only the illegal machinations of the CSBE and the unfair treatment Hindus have received during the textbook adoption process, but also the inaccurate and unequal portrayal of their religious tradition in school textbooks,” said Nikhil Joshi, member of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) Board of Directors.

“This is about treating Hindus in America and their religion with the same level of sensitivity and balance afforded to other religious traditions and their practitioners,” he said. The changes the board accepted represent “our best efforts,” said CSBE member Ruth Green, acknowledging that the decision was unlikely to make everyone happy. — PTI

Putin, Hu to discuss oil pipeline link

Beijing, March 20
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who arrives here tomorrow, is expected to offer to build an oil and natural gas pipeline for China, aiding Beijing's quest for energy security to power its near-double digit economic growth.

Sino-Russian strategic relations have reached an unprecedented high with both sides having resolved border issues and supporting each other on major international and regional issues such as the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue and the Iran nuclear crisis, Chinese Foreign Ministry sources said.

A series of documents on bilateral relations and a joint statement will be signed during President Putin's visit from March 21-22.

President Putin, who will be hosted by his Chinese counterpart, Mr Hu Jintao, is expected to discuss the possibility of extending the Siberia-Pacific coast oil pipeline to China, Russian Ambassador to China Sergei Razov said.

"Corporations from both countries are conducting pragmatic negotiations on the construction of a pipeline to carry Siberian oil to China," Mr Razov said.

Russia, the world's second biggest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, has decided to build a 11.5 billion US dollar pipeline to be completed by 2008 from Siberia to the Pacific coast to supply Japan and South Korea, and is considering a branch to China. — PTI

LoC no basis for solution: Pak

Islamabad, March 20
Pakistan today made it clear that Line of Control (LoC) cannot form the basis for a solution to the Kashmir issue and rejected as ‘‘absolutely baseless’’ India’s charge that Islamabad was promoting jehadi violence in that country.

‘‘The status quo has not resolved the Kashmir dispute... Any solution based on status quo is not acceptable,’’ Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told reporters here.

She was asked about National Security Adviser M.K Narayanan’s contention that LoC could form the basis of solution to the protracted Kashmir issue. — PTI