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Russia, Iran talks on N-venture today
Congress may set terms on Indo-US N-deal
Tap alternative sources of energy,
Traffic comes to a halt in Nepal
Nepal offers reward for Maoists’
surrender
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South Korean PM quits over golf scandal
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Russia, Iran talks on N-venture today
Moscow, March 14 According to state-controlled ‘Radio Russia’, deputy chief of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Husseini Tash is arriving here for the talks. The Russian proposal on the joint venture “demands certain changes keeping in view the interests of the two parties,” the radio reported quoting an unnamed Iranian embassy source. The source also said Iran had disavowed an earlier statement by Foreign Ministry official Hamid Reza Asefi, who said his country had discounted Russia’s initiative and intended to carry out large-scale uranium enrichment at home. Asefi on Sunday said the Russian proposal “is not on the agenda any more. Circumstances have changed. We must wait and see how the situation will develop in the UN Security Council.” Itar-Tass quoted an ‘informed Iranian source in Moscow’ as saying tomorrow’s consultations would be held in the Russian Security Council. “We expect specification of the Russian proposal on the establishment of a uranium enrichment joint venture,” the source told the news agency. Iran vows to resist
UNSC pressure
Tehran: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed on Tuesday to resist pressure from the UN Security Council over his country’s nuclear programme, saying, no power could take nuclear fuel cycle technology away from Iran. “Rest assured that the technology to produce nuclear fuel today is in the hands of the youth of this land and no power can take it back from us,” Ahmadinejad told thousands in northern Iran. His comments came ahead of discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme by the five permanent members of the UNSC, which had the power to slap sanctions on Iran. His defiant comments drew chants of “nuclear energy is our right” from the crowd. “They should be assured that through propaganda, political pressures and games they play nowadays, such as issuing statements, and making angry
gestures cannot deny the nation from pursuing its path,” he told the crowd at Gorgan. The US and its European allies want Iran to permanently abandon uranium enrichment and all related activities. Iran denies any intention to build weapons, saying it only wants to produce energy. The five permanent members of the UNSC — the US, Russia, China, Britain and France — have been considering proposals to pressurise Iran to resolve questions about its nuclear programme, including demands it abandon uranium enrichment. China expressed optimism that negotiations could still resolve the dispute, calling on Tehran to cooperate. UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw warned that the Iran’s Government was taking the country in the “wrong direction”, repressing its people and pursuing confrontation abroad. —
PTI, AP |
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Congress may set terms on Indo-US N-deal
Washington, March 14 The disclosure by Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House of Representatives International Relations Committee, could presage more trouble for the controversial accord, which has come under a sharp attack from lawmakers and others concerned about the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Under the pact, India will receive US nuclear technology in return for separating its military and civil facilities and opening the civilian plants to international inspections. Hyde, a member of President George W. Bush’s Republican
Party from Illinois, said yesterday in a release that he discussed the agreement last week with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Hyde and the committee’s senior Democrat, Tom Lantos of
California, agreed to a Bush Administration request to introduce legislation needed to implement the deal,
“but Hyde suggested that Congress may seek conditions for its approval,” the release stated. “This is a complex agreement with profound implications for the USA and global interests. Congress will need to take a close look at its many provisions in order to come to an informed decision,” Hyde was quoted as
saying. — Reuters |
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Tap alternative sources of energy, US tells Pakistan
Islamabad, March 14 “Our strategic partnership with Pakistan does not include discussion on civilian nuclear energy. It was not at all a subject of my discussion with Pakistani authorities,” said US Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman. Addressing a news conference after talks with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, Mr Bodman said his country was opposed to the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project on the grounds that Teheran was trying to develop nuclear weapons. “We do not encourage contractual agreement about this gas project,” he said, adding that the government should pursue gas projects with Turkmenistan or Qatar. He declined to comment when it was pointed out that China, which had offered already two nuclear power plants to Pakistan, was considering providing two more such plants. Asked about President Pervez Musharraf’s statement last week that Pakistan was hoping to obtain a 1,000mw nuclear power plant from the US, he replied: “There is no such thing I have discussed here. I told you that I am not here to discuss the issue of offering civilian nuclear cooperation to Pakistan. Let me make it clear to you that nuclear energy is not part of our agenda. Therefore, it did not come up for discussion.” He said his meetings were a follow-up of what had been discussed during President Bush’s visit here earlier this month. “I came here to further develop strategic partnership that exists between the two countries.” Answering a question, he said India and Pakistan were two different countries with different needs, different history and different programmes. “And the arrangements we have made with India have been understood by the Indians, Pakistanis and the Americans. Therefore, they cannot be compared with each other,” he pointed out. Mr Bodman said Pakistan had different set of problems and advised the government to look for renewable energy sources like wind, solar, oil and hydel-power. He emphasised that only one per cent energy was nuclear-based, whereas 99 per cent was obtained from coal and oil and renewable sources. |
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Traffic comes to a halt in Nepal
Khatri Pouwa (Nepal),
March 14 Piling pressure on King Gyanendra, who seized power last year, the rebels are attempting to cut hill-ringed Kathmandu off from the rest of the country, a move criticised by political parties who have said it will only hurt ordinary Nepalis. “We patrol the roads and escort the trickle of vehicles that are running,” said a soldier in battle dress in the roadside village of Khatri Pouwa 30 km west of Kathmandu. “There would be a stream of vehicles on other days,” he said. “As you can see the road is almost empty now.” Residents in Nepalgunj and the tourist town of Pokhara in west Nepal, and the key business towns of Butwal and Birgunj in the southern plains, said trucks and buses had been locked up in garages and roads were empty of vehicles. “It is quiet but peaceful,” journalist Bikram Niraula, said from the commercial centre of Biratnagar, 550 km (340 miles) east of Kathmandu. The police said there were no reports of violence.
— Reuters |
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Nepal offers reward for Maoists’
surrender
Kathmandu, March 14 The government will offer an attractive prize for the rebel central committee-level members by mid-June this year, Home Minister Kamal Thapa said. The government had also plans to establish a Maoist rehabilitation centre in capital Kathmandu to provide them security and facilities. Mr Thapa said the state would provide security for these rebels. For arms deposited with troops, the government would provide between Rs 5,00,000 and Rs 500, the highest for 81-mm mortar and the lowest for a plastic grenade. The Maoists insurgency has claimed over 13,000 lives.
— UNI |
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Saadat surrenders as Israeli troops raid prison
Jericho (West Bank), March 14 Saadat, accused by Israel of involvement in the 2001 killing of an Israeli Cabinet Minister, was among a group of prisoners who walked out of Jericho jail with their hands up after a day-long siege, the officials said. The decision to carry out the Jericho operation to nab Ahmed Saadat, convicted of the assassination of Rehavam Ze’evi, and to transfer him to Israeli custody was taken by acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz, Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said. — PTI |
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South Korean PM quits over golf scandal
Seoul, March 14 The Prime Minister has been under fire from opposition and public for golfing on March 1, the first day of a nationwide walkout by railway workers. Lee was off that day, a national holiday marking Korea’s 1919 civil uprising against Japanese colonial rule, but he was heavily criticised because South Koreans expect high-level officials to work overtime during times of crisis. At a meeting with Uri Party leader Chung Dong-young, Roh said he would accept the party’s recommendation that Lee left his job, according to Roh’s office. Lee, who had been in the post since June 2004, had repeatedly apologised for the incident, an embarrassment for the Uri Party ahead of local polls set for May. — AP
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Gaza, March 14
