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200 killed, 350 hurt in Iran train blast
Musharraf says no to nuclear inspection SPECIAL ARTICLE: Unending nuclear hypocrisy High links of nuke moneybags Israel for coalitions with India, USA
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Bhatia leads Indian
team to China Shirin Ebadi to boycott poll South African family cut off from
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200 killed, 350 hurt in Iran train blast
“Five villages were destroyed. The number of people killed in this incident is more than 200,” head of disasters in Khorassan province Vahid Barakchi was quoted as saying. “The level of this is massive and beyond our preliminary assessments. Our rescue workers are trying to remove more than 350 injured persons to hospitals in Mashhad and Neyshabour.” “The explosion happened at a time when the firefighters and the rescue workers were trying to put out the fire,” the official said. “A number of firefighters and local villagers were killed in the explosion.” The massive blast occurred at Khayyam station, near the town of Neyshabour and was heard in the provincial capital of Mashhad, some 75 km away, IRNA said. Local officials said the rail wagons, which were parked in a nearby station, began rolling away in the early hours of the morning. The wagons then derailed and a fire began, drawing firefighters and curious onlookers to the scene. When the explosion occurred, the seismological unit of Tehran University recorded an earth tremor measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale in the same area — possibly a reading sparked by the force of the blast.
— AFP |
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Musharraf says no to nuclear inspection London, February 18 “This is a very sensitive issue,” he said. “Would any other nuclear power allow its sensitive installations to be inspected? Why should Pakistan be expected to allow anybody to inspect?” Musharraf’s comments follow the confession earlier in February by Abdul Qadeer Khan, father of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme, that he sold nuclear secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea. The news has heightened the USA fears that nuclear arms may fall into the hands of its enemies. Last week US President George W. Bush proposed that only states that sign a protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to permit unannounced UN nuclear inspections be allowed to import equipment for civil nuclear programmes. Musharraf also said Pakistan would not freeze its nuclear weapons programme. “We will never stop our nuclear and missile programme,” he said. “That is our vital national interest. It is totally indigenous now. Whatever had to be imported and procured has been obtained.” Earlier yesterday Pakistan agreed a framework for peace talks with its neighbour and nuclear-armed rival India, in which nuclear security was one of the top issues. Musharraf said that Khan acted alone in selling nuclear secrets to other countries and that Islamabad’s nuclear programme was not under the aegis of the military. “It never was and it is not now...we have a (nuclear) National Command Authority with the president as the boss and there are a number of ministers and the military men also. This is not a military body, it is the highest body of the nation.” “I believe in the army dictum that a commander is responsible for all that happens or does not happen in his command - and to that extent any president is responsible for what happens in the country,” he said, adding that “but otherwise, if you are hinting at any direct responsibility, no not at all.” Musharraf’s comments came less than two weeks after he pardoned Khan, following the scientist’s public confession that he had passed on nuclear technology to other countries - believed to be Iran, Libya and North Korea. He claimed Iran was the only country which had received nuclear secrets from Khan, despite reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency and Western governments that Libya and North Korea also benefited.
— Agencies |
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High links of nuke moneybags Kuala Lumpur, February 18 The connection indicates that alleged senior members of the network established by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, were able to woo partners in the highest levels of society. In the Malaysian case, the partners said they had no idea deals were being made to fashion parts that could be used to make nuclear weapons. The documents, obtained by AP via searches of publicly accessible files, reveal a paper trail through privately held and publicly listed companies that outlines ties between the Prime Minister’s son, Kamaluddin Abdullah, and the Sri Lankan, Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, as well as his Malaysian wife. The documents show that the men were top executives at Kaspadu Sdn Bhd when Tahir negotiated a deal for a company linked to Kaspadu, Scomi Precision Engineering, to build components that Western intelligence agencies allege were for use in Libya’s nuclear programme. US President George W. Bush last week called Tahir the “chief financial officer and money launderer” of the black market network led by Qadeer Khan, who has admitted to selling nuclear technology and know-how to Iran, North Korea and Libya.
— AP |
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Israel for coalitions with India, USA Hertzliya (Israel), February 18 The three countries need to “work out coalitions” and to formulate plans to “build upon the advantages in the hi-tech sector”, he said at a trilateral conference to strengthen the ‘strategic triad’ yesterday. The USA and Israel already have a binational fund, commonly referred to as BIRD Foundation, and Israel had earlier suggested setting up a similar fund to boost Indo-Israeli cooperation during the visit of Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley to Israel last month. Describing New Delhi as a “formidable power” and its relations with Israel “as one of the greatest assets”, Olmert said “India was high on Israel’s priority” and is an “emerging skilled manpower centre dominating the high-tech”. With Israel and the USA sharing similar expertise, “a constructive cooperation between the three countries would work in the interest of each one of us”, he said at the conference jointly organised by Washington based think tank Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) and The International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism. “Being on the common side of terror will help realise this goal”, Olmert said, adding, “India has a better understanding of the situation in which we live”.
— PTI |
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Bhatia leads Indian team to China Beijing, February 18 The Indian component of the group at the two-day talks is led by former Minister of State for External Affairs R L Bhatia while the Chinese side by former Vice- Foreign Minister Liu Shuqing. During a one-to-one meeting between Mr Bhatia and Mr Liu, the former noted that India-China relations had developed at a faster pace, especially after the “historic” visit of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to China in June last year.
— PTI |
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Shirin Ebadi to boycott poll
Teheran, February 18 Ebadi, whose surprise choice for the 2003 peace prize shone a global spotlight on the struggle for human rights in the Islamic republic, said she would not cast a ballot because of the mass disqualification of reformist candidates. |
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South African family cut off from world for 20 years Durban, February 18 The family was found by chance at a farm in a remote rural area of the central Free State province of the country. The family has been removed to a hospital in the town of Welkom for rehabilitation. Four members of the family — aged 26, 22, 18 and 14 — have never had contact with the outside world. Their behaviour is animalistic and they can’t even communicate in an understandable language, officials said, adding that one of them walks on all fours, almost like a monkey. Their mother is also unable to speak in any language and they communicate with the father in sign language and noises. The oldest son is reported to have never slept inside their thatched home. A decision on the family’s future would be made once they had been assessed by the team of doctors, provincial health Minister Ouma Tsopo said. “They are in a traumatic state. Officials have had to wait until dark and the children were in the shack before they could move the family”, she said. “They gave the children bread and chips to calm them down. They were then given a bath and clothes. We will do everything to help them to lead normal lives,” she said.
— PTI |
Pakistani jailed for
abominable act Top Kurdish militant freed 3 Fiji coup plotters freed |
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London, February 18
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