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British sailors ‘confess’ to entering Iran
Hailstorm hits Chinese province
Rape victim need not produce witnesses: Pak panel
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Australia willing to sell uranium
New way found to convert blood into universal type
US varsity to offer 6 courses on Hinduism
Indian killed
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Colombo, April 2 The bomb ripped through the bus as passengers were getting off at a military check point just outside the town of Ampara, 350 km east of the capital Colombo. “Three people were dead on admission while 12 more died after being taken for surgery,” a hospital spokesman said, adding that about 25 people had been brought in with injuries. The blast came as Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse was in New Delhi to attend the SAARC summit opening tomorrow. The Colombo government wants to discuss the issue of “terrorism” during the summit, an official here said. The police said that the Tiger guerrillas might have set off the blast as part of efforts to ease the pressure on their cadre facing military onslaughts in the region in recent weeks. The latest blast came as the Tigers denied killing six civilians in the neighbouring Batticaloa district last night. The Tigers, who were held responsible by the military for last night’s massacre, today blamed the breakaway Karuna faction. — PTI
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British sailors ‘confess’ to entering Iran
Cairo, April 2 The claim was carried by a state-run news channel that is broadcast across the Arab world but not in Iran. Iran’s military chief had said on Saturday that the sailors had confessed after interrogations to illegally entering Iranian waters. There was no source given for Al-Alam’s new claim. The station has so far broadcast video footage of four of the 15 saying they were in Iranian waters at the time of their capture. In today’s footage, two of the sailors used maps to show the alleged location where they were seized. However, British government vehemently denied that the sailors entered Iranian waters, and said the confessions appear coerced. Britain says the sailors were in Iraqi waters operating under a UN mandate, and has released its own maps and GPS coordinates showing their alleged locations. —
AP
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Hailstorm hits Chinese province
Beijing, April 2 The provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said five counties were hit by hail storms and numerous others were damaged by thunderstorms and torrential rains yesterday. The hailstorm destroyed the roofs of many houses in province. —
PTI
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Rape victim need not produce witnesses: Pak panel
In a landmark decision which brings down a draconian provision in the Hudoon law imposed by military dictator Zia-ul-Haq in 1979, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), a constitutional panel that determines the Islamic or otherwise nature of any legislation, has unanimously ruled that rape victims need not produce four witnesses. The council said "Zina" (fornication) by mutual consent (zina bil raza) and rape (zina bil jabr) are two distinct and separate crimes, particularly when a culprit is to be punished. In one famous case a blind girl of Sahiwal was jailed for failing to bring four witnesses who could give evidence she was raped. The rapist was freed and the women faced death penalty till a public outcry within and abroad rescued her. The Hudood Laws promulgated by military ruler Gen Zia-ul-Haq in 1979 made no distinction between the two while providing stringent punishment. The woman complaining she had been raped was required to produce four male witnesses, who were supposed to have seen the actual act of rape. If she failed to do so, she was put in jail on charge of false accusation and punished for committing zina (fornication). The council that met under its chairman Dr Muhammad Khalid Masood also declared that in case four witnesses were not produced in zina bil raza, the accused would be acquitted. "If a female complains of zina bil jabr, she will not be asked to bring four witnesses, as in such a case she is a complainant and the state is duty-bound to investigate the crime perpetrated against her," the CII observed. The council observed that according to the Holy Quran, training and advice should be made in such a case and punishment be awarded only if at least four witnesses testify the commission of crime in the court of law. The culprit should be arrested and punished if the offence/crime is proved against him. The meeting also demanded of parliament to enact laws to discourage the trend of evicting elderly parents from their homes. The meeting observed that it should constitute a professional and impartial commission to review the previous recommendations regarding land reforms. The meeting decided that an international conference on "Current economic issues and Islam" will be held by the council in collaboration with International Islamic University. The council further declared that "Haraba" and "Fasaad fil Arz" (mischief on earth) should not be kept limited to the scope of dacoity.
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Australia willing to sell uranium
Melbourne, April 2 Australia’s endorsement of the deal would come through its membership of a key group of nuclear nations, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, The Age newspaper said. Howard opened the door to future Australian uranium sales to India though the present Australian policy does not permit such act as India is not a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). While Howard emphasized that a formal decision to scrap the policy had not been taken, he said he wouldn’t rule out a change. Howard’s comments came ahead of closed-door talks in Canberra this week involving senior ministers, government officials and India’s special nuclear envoy, Shyam Saran. Saran was here to lobby for endorsement of the proposed deal between New Delhi and Washington and to reinforce India’s long-standing interest in securing Australian uranium for its nuclear power plants. Ahead of the discussions, Howard made it clear that India would need to submit its nuclear power plants to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections.
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New way found to convert blood into universal type
New York, April 2 The two novel glycosidase enzymes were identified in bacteria by an international team led by Henrik Clausen of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, science journal 'Nature' reported. The researchers hope that the enzymes will both improve the erratic supplies of blood around the world, and also the safety of transfusions. Clinical trials to test the safety and effectiveness of their converted blood are being planned, the report said. The ABO blood-type system is based on the presence or absence of the sugar-based antigens 'A' and 'B' on red blood cells. Type O blood cells have neither A nor B antigens, so may be safely transfused into anyone. But types A, B and AB blood do, and cause life-threatening immune reactions if they are given to patients with a different blood group. The bacterial glycosidase enzymes strip these antigens away from A, B and AB blood, Nature said. The idea of such antigen-stripping, says Nature, goes back to the early 1980s, with the discovery of an enzyme in coffee beans that removes B antigens from red blood cells. Early-stage clinical trials showed that the converted blood could be safely transfused into individuals of different blood groups; no traces of enzyme or antigen remained to cause reactions. But the enzyme reaction was far too inefficient to make large-scale conversion practical, the report said. Clausen's team screened 2,500 extracts from different bacteria and fungi for their ability to cleave off A and B antigens. The newly discovered bacterial 'B' enzyme is nearly 1,000 times more efficient than the coffee-bean B enzyme. The additional discovery of an enzyme to remove A antigens means that all blood types can now be converted. — PTI
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US varsity to offer 6 courses on Hinduism
New York, April 2 “Very few institutions in the US offer the kind of broad-based programme that Rutgers will be offering this summer,” said Dr Michael Shafer, professor at Rutgers University and Liaison to the summer programme on Hindu studies.— PTI
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Indian killed
London, April 2 Jaspreet Singh, who was from Punjab, was stabbed while waiting for a bus at the Chapel Road on Saturday. He died of a single stab wound to the heart.A 19-year-old unemployed youth, identified as Kamuzu Munroe of Ilford, was produced before the Redbridge Magistrates Court today charged with the murder.
— PTI
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