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Third blast in London in 3 days
Pak, India teams to meet on pipeline
Editorial: Gas from Iran
Curbs on media in Pak Parliament
Nepal to become federal state: PM
US singer Frankie Laine dead
CBI, Pak agency officials hold talks
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Pak airport attack suspects quizzed
Islamabad, February 7 Pakistani investigators today quizzed two suspected aides of the suicide bomber who died while trying to force his way into the airport here even as diplomats were cautioned to limit their movements following a warning of more strikes at high-value targets.
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Third blast in London in 3 days
London, February 7 The police refused to confirm the nature of the explosion, but BBC News said a parcel bomb had exploded at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in Swansea, South Wales. ''One female has been taken to hospital with injuries, which are not believed to be life-threatening,'' a police statement said. ''A cordon has been put in place and nearby residents are being evacuated as a precautionary measure.'' The DVLA said the injured woman handled its mail. The DVLA is a government agency that issues driving licences and keeps records of vehicles and motorists. ''Naturally these incidents are worrying. It is important that we allow police to get on with their investigation without undue speculation,'' Home Secretary (interior minister) John Reid said in a statement. A letter bomb exploded at a business centre in Berkshire, southern England, yesterday at the office of Vantis, a business services firm, injuring two men. Newspapers reported that the letter was addressed to ''Speed Check Services'' which supplies speed cameras to the police but was sent instead to its accountants. On Monday, a woman was injured in a letter bomb explosion at the London headquarters of Capita, the firm managing London's congestion charge. The company collects 25 million payments a year from motorists who pay to drive into central London. The rash of explosions raised media speculation that it could be a campaign by a motorist, disgruntled by the rapid spread of traffic speeding cameras on Britain's roads. Motorists caught speeding by cameras paid more than £ 100 million pounds in fines in 2005. Drivers who are repeatedly caught speeding can be temporarily banned from driving. Tens of thousands of motorists a year are disqualified. — Reuters
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Pak, India teams to meet on pipeline
Teheran, February 7 ''A Pakistan delegation now would meet its Indian counterparts in New Delhi shortly and once the formalities are finalised, a decision would be taken soon with India on gas pricing,'' Mr Mukherjee said at a press conference during his visit to Teheran, jointly organised with his Iranian counterpart Manoucher Mottaki. Mr Mukherjee's statement comes a day after Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora said in New Delhi that India was likely to sign a $145-billion deal by June, to import natural gas from Iran through the three-nation pipeline after Teheran lowered sale price by 30 per cent. ''On preliminary analysis, the new price offered by Iran looks alright for us. Subject to satisfactory conclusion of the Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement, we may sign a deal with Iran by June,'' Mr Deora said. Teheran, in an attempt to salvage the project that would give the US sanction-hit country about $ 9.5 billion in revenue annually, has changed the price formula from 10 per cent of the ruling Brent crude oil price plus $1.2 per million British Thermal units (mBtu) fixed cost to 6.3 per cent of the Japanese crude cocktail (JCC) plus $1.15 per mbtu. Mr Mukherjee said India would also pursue the deal to supply LNG to India. ''We discussed the LNG issue and I have asked them to expedite the contract.'' A three-nation delegate-level meeting is being fixed for the LNG supply. Terming it a symbol of close relationship, Mr Mottaki said this ''peace-pipeline project'' would be finalised soon. Mr Mukherjee also said that he extended cooperation to Iran for infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. ''India would also like to see a stable, peaceful, prosperous united and democartic Iraq,'' the minister said. — UNI
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Curbs on media in Pak Parliament
Islamabad, February 7 The move sparked protests from journalists, who termed it a ploy to deny them access to information, although the government said the action was necessitated by security concerns. Reporters covering parliament were shocked to find a sergeant standing at the cafeteria entrance at the start of a National Assembly session, who had been posted there to tell them about the ban on their entry to what had been the usual hangout for them and parliamentarians since the parliament building was inaugurated 20 years ago.
No such restrictions were imposed in previous parliament buildings in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
The decision was taken in a meeting that was held to review security arrangements for the lower house session, which began on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by officials of the National Assembly Secretariat, security staff and Special Branch personnel besides Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Senator Tariq Azeem Khan. Minister of State Tariq Azeem Khan said that reporters and TV cameras had been barred from the cafeteria after receiving ‘some complaints’ from parliament members that their ‘privacy was being compromised’. He said special arrangements had been made to provide all facilities to reporters in the press lounge where, he said, a special room had been provided at the fourth floor of the building to meet their professional requirements. He denied that the step had been taken to restrict the media, but said it was getting ‘extremely difficult’ for the government to allow TV cameras inside the parliament building because of the proliferation of TV channels.
A government official, however, said an intelligence agency report had warned about the potential threat of terrorism over the next few days on parliament and parliament lodges, the official residence of the members of parliament.
— By arrangement with The Dawn
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Nepal to become federal state: PM Kathmandu, February 7 He appealed to all the people, including the agitating groups to assist in conducting the Constituent Assembly polls slated for June to build a new Nepal. Koirala also paid homage to those killed during the Terai movement. In his address to the nation on the conclusion of the eight-party meeting, Koirala said the government will immediately amend the Constitution to fulfil the genuine demands of the Terai people. Koirala also called the agitating groups in Terai to withdraw their movement and come to the negotiating table for resolving the issue through peaceful means of dialogue. He said the government will delineate the constituency on the basis of population and geographical specialty and increase the seat for Terai during the Constituent Assembly election on the basis of increased population. The Prime Minister said that arrangement will be made to give equal share to all sections of society including Madhesis, Dalits and various ethnic groups in all the structures of the state. Koirala said the interim Constitution will be amended very soon to accommodate the demands of the Terai people. At least 25 people were killed over the past three weeks of agitation launched by the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum and Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha. Senior political leaders including CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, Nepali Congress (Democratic) general secretary Bimalendra Nidhi and Nepal Sadbhavana Party have welcomed the address, saying it would resolve the issue raised by the Madhesi community. “This will resolve the problems of Terai as it has fulfilled the demands raised by the Madhesis,” NSPFs general secretary Rajendra Mahato said. Meanwhile, two protesters were killed in Terai on Wednesday, taking the toll of violence in the region, that has a majority of population of Indian origin, to 23. — PTI, IANS — IANS
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Los Angeles, February 7 Laine, part of a generation of great Italian-American crooners whose peers included Frank Sinatra and Perry Como, died of a heart attack in San Diego, said his longtime producer Jimmy Marino. Laine had otherwise been in good health in recent years and his last public performance was at the age of 92, singing the first big hit of his career, ''That's My Desire,'' on a public television special, Marino told Reuters. He tallied 21 gold records and several songs on the singles charts in the USA and abroad, selling roughly 250 million albums. Laine proved particularly popular in Britain, where his 1953 rendition of ''I Believe'' topped the charts for a record 18 weeks. Three decades later, a collection of his greatest hits, ''The World of Frankie Laine”, topped the British charts. ''He was huge abroad,'' Marino said. ''He might have been bigger abroad than he was here, and he was huge here.'' He is perhaps best remembered by a younger generation of American fans for his recordings of the theme to the hit television Western ''Rawhide'' and the theme to Mel Brooks' 1974 big-screen western spoof ''Blazing Saddles.'' — Reuters
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CBI, Pak agency officials hold talks
Islamabad, February 7 The two-day meeting between officials of the investigative agencies is being held under the auspices of the joint study group (JSG) formed by both countries during the Interior Secretaries’ meeting held here last year. A three-member Indian delegation comprising DIG P. V Ramashastri, S.P M.M Oberoi and Deputy Director Aravind Deep took part in the talks with their Pakistani counterparts.
— PTI
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Pak airport attack suspects quizzed
Islamabad, February 7 The driver of the car in which the bomber arrived at the airport last night and another person believed to be with him were taken into custody and are being interrogated, security officials said. Five security personnel were injured when the bomber fired as he made his way towards the international airport's VIP lounge before being blown up in a grenade blast. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was returning from Gwadar at the time of the attack.
— PTI
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