Moscow, September 14
A top Russian general was among the 88 passengers killed after a Boeing-737 crashed today in the Urals city of Perm. Chechnya war veteran, Col-general Gennady Troshev, decorated with the title of Hero of Russia and the Order of Golden Star was among the victims of the crash.

He was on the Chechen militants’ hitlist. However, investigators have ruled out indications of a terrorist attack at this stage, RIA Novosti said.

A team of investigators has been sent from Moscow to the scene of the disaster. According to Aeroflot airlines, there were 83 passengers and 5 crew in the plane, leased from a Dublin-based company in May 2008.

The Boeing 737-500, built in 1992, was earlier in service with Air China and was said to be in perfect shape.

Twentyone foreign nationals were also on board the crashed airliner.No Indians were in the list of foreigners released by Aeroflot.

Five persons were lucky enough to miss this ill- fated flight. They had left for Perm by train, Vesti channel said. Aeroflot pledged in a statement to pay a compensation up to $ 80,000 per victim.

Meanwhile, the Governor of Perm has declared a day of mourning tomorrow. President Dmitry Medvedev was immediately informed of the crash by emergency situations minister Sergei Shoigu. — PTI

Washington, September 14
The US has firmed up an "aggressive" three-phase plan to conduct cross-border raids into Pakistan from Afghanistan to strike at the elusive Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaeda leaders believed to be hiding in the tribal region, according to some media reports.

Last week's ‘snatch and grab’ raid by helicopter-borne US Special Operations forces in Pakistan was not an isolated incident but part of a three-phase plan, approved by President Bush, to strike at al-Qaeda's top leadership, the National Public Radio (NPR) reported.

The plan calls for a much more aggressive military campaign, it quoted a source familiar with presidential order, which allowed the US military to conduct the raids, as saying. The plan represents an 11th-hour effort to hammer al-Qaeda more aggressively as the Bush administration's term ends in January next, two officials were quoted as saying.

“Definitely, the gloves have come off,” said a source who has been briefed on the plan. "This was only Phase 1 of three phases." the Pentagon and White House officials have declined to discuss the new plan. The intelligence community already had approval from Bush to carry out operations inside Pakistan, which included attacks by Predator drones, the report said.

The latest US move has caused much concern in Islamabad with Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, in an unusually strong public statement recently, vowing to defend the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity "at all cost".

The NPR report also said CIA personnel from around the world were being pulled into the Afghan-Pak border area to go after Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda figures. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress this week that he is drafting a new military strategy for both Afghanistan and Pakistan. — PTI

Amid rising tension in the Pak-US relations, defence minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar has said Islamabad has "options" to deal with the situation if Washington does not stop military strikes inside its territory.

Talking to newsmen, the minister refused to elaborate but said these options could be exercised in case a need arose.

Mukhtar said national security adviser Maj-Gen Mehmood Durrani(retd) had taken up the issue of the US incursions with his American counterpart and the Pentagon and urged them to stop it forthwith.

He said nobody could be allowed to attack Pakistani territory. "We hope and expect a positive outcome," the minister said and referred to a recent statement of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in which he had stated that Pakistan could take up the matter of unilateral strikes at the diplomatic level, but could not wage a war.

This statement, Mukhtar said, was also based on ground reality. "We are behind Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's recent remarks that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan would be defended at all costs and no external force would be allowed to conduct operations inside Pakistan and that the rules of engagement with the coalition forces were well defined," he said.

Washington, September 14
As it reaches out to the Indian American community leaders given their lobbying prowess, the Bush Administration is understood to have assured them that the recent presidential submission on the 123 Agreement to Congress had noting that contravened what India and the US had agreed under the nuclear deal.

The administration is leaving no stone unturned as it races against time to have the US-India civilian nuclear agreement completed by the Congressional adjournment date of September 26 even if there are indications that the lawmakers may return for a lame-duck session after the November 4 presidential elections.

It is learnt that the administration has stepped up efforts in getting the measure approved before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit here on September 25 during which he will meet President Bush at the White House. The White House has opened yet another channel in its lobbying efforts -- the Indian American community leaders who played a vital role in the passage of the Hyde Act in 2006 in the 109th Congress. — PTI

London, September 14
Modern battlefields may soon resemble something out of a science fiction flick, thanks to advances in robotics. And, the latest weapon to be unveiled is the robodog - four-legged, petrol-powered robots.

Scientists have developed the 'BigDog', billed as "the most advanced quadruped robot on Earth", which they claim is able to carry up to four packs of military equipment on awkward terrain unsuitable for vehicles.

Standing at over 2ft tall and more than 3ft long, BigDog comes equipped with all manner of high-tech gadgets, including laser gyroscopes, a video camera sensor system and a sophisticated on-board computer, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

"Some of the wars we're engaged in now happen to have that kind of terrain. The idea is to look at the way nature has solved different robotics problems," Robert Mandelbaum, project manager at Boston Dynamics, was quoted as saying.

According to scientists, who have developed the robodog for the US Army, the 11-stone machine can trot along at up to four mph and would even stay on its legs when it is kicked hard in the side - but, sadly, no wagging tail.

In fact, its legs are designed to work in a similar way to a real dog's, even storing energy in shock absorbers when a foot touches the ground.

The 14-million-pound BigDog project is currently being tested across a five-mile trail used to train the US Marine Corps, carrying the soldiers' equipment to prove that it can cope with holes, steep slopes and water hazards.

However, the scientists are also planning to use the technology for non-military purposes. — PTI

The Conservatives as well as the Liberals are wooing Indian-Canadians for the October 14 Parliament elections. Besides retaining all eight sitting members, two major political parties have decided to field eight new faces from the Indian-Canadian community in the elections.

Nina Grewal, sitting MP from Fleetwood-Port Kells, a riding of British Columbia, was the first to set up her campaign office that was inaugurated by Laureen Harper, wife of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Her husband, Gurmant Grewal, a three-time member of the House of Commons, however, has decided not to contest for the second time.

Besides Nina, other Conservative MPs of Indian origin seeking re-election are Deepak Obhrai, who was chief parliamentary secretary in the outgoing Stephen Harper government, and Rahim Jaffer. Both Deepak and Rahim represented the Alberta state.

In fact five of eight Indian-Canadian MPs belonged to the Opposition Liberals party. Senior most of them, Gurbax Malhi, will be seeking sixth time election to House of Commons from Punjabi- dominated Bramlea-Gore-Malton riding.

Also again in the fray is former federal health minister and the first-ever Indian-Canadian to be Premier of British Columbia, Ujjal Dosanjh, who is seeking third election to the House of Commons from Vancouver South in British Columbia.

Navdeep Bains, who represents Mississauga-Brampton South, and Ruby Dhalla (Brampton-Springdale) are other sitting Liberal MPs seeking re-election. Sukh Dhaliwal, another Liberal MP, is contesting again from Newton-North delta in British Columbia.

Ruby Dhalla will have newcomer Indian-Canadian Parm Gill as her Conservative opponent. Besides Parm, other new faces representing Conservatives are Bob Saroya from Etobicoke North and Melissa Bhagat from Mississauga East in Ontario, considered Liberals’ stronghold.

Alberta, which is the state of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, will also have new candidate of the Indian-Canadian community Devinder Shorey in the fray.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Pervez Elahi has resigned from his position amid reports that his PML-Q is in covert talks with the PPP to join the federal government.

Elahi's decision to step down from the coveted office which bears special privileges came against the backdrop of claim by Nawaz Sharif faction of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) to occupy this position because of its numerical strength in the National Assembly. The PML-N has named its parliamentary leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan for the slot of Leader of the Opposition and requested the Speaker to allot seats to its members on the opposition benches.

Elahi has faxed his resignation to the speaker from Lahore. PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain confirmed that his party is engaged in some intense negotiations with both the PPP and the PML-N for possible new alignment but denied it has already decided to join the PPP government.

Talking to reporters prior to his departure for a trip to China at the head of a party delegation at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party, Shujaat parried questions that the PML-Q is backing efforts to destabilise the PML(N)-led Punjab government of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. He simply observed that no undemocratic move would be supported by the party.

Asked to elaborate on the purpose of series of his meetings with governor Salman Taseer and Manzoor Wattoo, adviser to Prime Minister, Shujaat said emissaries of the PML-N have also been contacting him and other party leaders.

Meanwhile addressing a convention of PML-N workers in Lahore on Sunday, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif again complained of conspiracies being hatched to destabilise his government and vowed to frustrate these efforts.

New York, September 14
An Indian American Christian advocacy group has strongly condemned the serial blasts in New Delhi as “ghastly and cowardly acts of terror” unleashed by “enemies of humanity”.

The Federation of Indian American Christian Organisations of North America, in a statement, has urged for peace in the wake of terror strikes in the national capital.

“These dastardly acts are crimes against humanity and we join the civic society in condemnation of such acts,” its president Bernard Malik said. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Drive launched in favour of Sikh prisoner
NEW YORK: In a bid to mobilise opinion in favour of Sikh prisoner Jagmohan Singh Ahuja, whose hair was allegedly chopped off by the authorities concerned in a Florida prison, a Sikh body has launched a signature campaign against forcing prisoners of the community to cut their hair. — PTI

Ban opts for solar taxi
NEW YORK: UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has led the way in raising awareness about climate change by commuting to his office in a futuristic solar-powered taxi. Ban’s green commute, which he described as a “fantastic experience”, is part of his efforts to promote environment- friendly technologies. — PTI

Film awarded
TORONTO: A British film, Slumdog Millionaire, made against the Indian backdrop, has won the Cadillac People’s Choice Award at the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival. The film directed by a British national, Danny Boyle, is a heart-warming saga of an 18-year-old underdog who surmounts heavy odds to win the jackpot on the Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, with eccentricities of Mumbai’s slum as a backdrop. — PTI

Spitfire goes for record price
Nelson (New Zealand): A Chinese businessman paid what is believed to be a record $1.81 million for a World War II Spitfire at a collectors' auction here on Sunday. Gao Yan Ming said the historic aircraft is to be donated to the China Aviation Museum in Beijing. There are fewer than 50 flyable Spitfires remaining in the world and they rarely appear on the open market. Television Three News said the price paid was an auction world record for a Spitfire. — AFP

Thai emergency lifted
BANGKOK: Thailand’s acting Prime Minister lifted a state of emergency in Bangkok on Sunday, 12 days after it was enforced in response to violent clashes between pro and anti-government groups. “The level of violence has eased, and we see that if we continue to have the state of emergency, it will damage the country. Therefore, I ..announce the end of the state of emergency,” Somchai Wongsawat told a news conference. — Reuters