Iran-UN accord
TEHERAN, Jan 27 (Reuters) — Iran and the United Nations have signed an accord on fighting drug smuggling, the official Iranian news agency Iran, has reported. It said yesterday that under the accord, signed between Iran and the UN International Drug Control Programme, in Teheran, the United Nations will set up an office in Teheran for the first time for the drug campaign programme. Iran is a key transit route for drugs smuggled from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Europe and the Gulf Arab states.

‘Army tunes’
NEW DELHI, Jan 27 (PTI) — The Army band will play three new tunes — "shakti", "giriraj" and "utkarsh" — at the traditional "beating the retreat" ceremony this year, marking the culmination of the Republic Day celebrations. The popular "kadam kadam badhaye ja" will also be played on pipes and drums for the first time this year, which will see the participation of 20 bands from the forces in the function, Maj-Gen H.K. Awasthy, GOC, Delhi area said here today.

Power pilferage
LAHORE, Jan 27 (PTI) — The Pakistani Army has launched a nation-wide operation involving 32,000 troops to check corruption and mismanagement in the country’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). Launching the operation here yesterday, Pakistani Army Chief-General Parvaiz Musharaf said the country faced a graver internal threat from widespread corruption in all national institutions than any external factor. "The threat is economic and it has been intensified by a crisis in the country’s WAPDA", he told Army officers involved in the operation.