W O R L D

Big powers harming NPT most: Iran
* After IAEA rebuke, Iran questions its membership of NPT
* Russia upset at Iran move to launch 10 more nuclear sites
* Recent diplomacy in jeopardy, tougher sanctions may loom
Tehran, November 30
Iran sees little point in staying in the Non-Proliferation Treaty, a senior official said today, a day after Iran announced plans to build 10 more nuclear sites in a swipe at growing pressure to rein in atomic activity.

Outgoing Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaradei (right) talks to his successor Yukiya Amano from Japan during a farewell reception at Vienna's International Centre. — AP/PTI

Accused Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk leaves a courtroom in a wheelchair in Munich on Monday.Demjanjuk, an 89-year-old former US auto worker, went on trial in Germany on Monday facing charges he helped force 27,900 Jews into gas chambers in Sobibor extermination camp in 1943. — Reuters

Cash-strapped Indian students in UK scrounge for food
London, November 30 Hundreds of Indian students who come to the UK to pursue courses in colleges, are unable to find part-time work to fund their stay and studies here and have been forced to eat in gurdwaras in Southall. There has been a three-fold rise in the number of Indian students coming to the UK, since the points-based immigration system was introduced in April this year.

Gilani: Indian Army chief’s comments on war irresponsible
Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has said the Indian Army chief’s statement on the possibility of a limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan was “irresponsible”. “The disputes between Pakistan and India can be resolved through dialogues as war, limited or otherwise, was no option,” Gilani said while talking to reporters at Islamabad airport prior to his departure for Germany.

Indian travelling on Russian train safe: Mission
Moscow, November 30
An Indian national, who was among the passengers travelling in an express train that derailed in a “terrorist attack” in Russia killing 26 people, is “safe and sound”, an official at the Indian mission said here today. “The Indian national Rajesh is safe and sound in St. Petersburg and the consular officials have talked to him on phone.

Big powers harming NPT most: Iran
* After IAEA rebuke, Iran questions its membership of NPT
* Russia upset at Iran move to launch 10 more nuclear sites
* Recent diplomacy in jeopardy, tougher sanctions may loom

Tehran, November 30
Iran sees little point in staying in the Non-Proliferation Treaty, a senior official said today, a day after Iran announced plans to build 10 more nuclear sites in a swipe at growing pressure to rein in atomic activity.

Russia said it was seriously concerned by the proposal for a huge expansion of Iran's atomic programme. Washington has condemned the plans as a "serious violation" of U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding it suspend uranium enrichment.

The comments by Ali Larijani, the influential conservative speaker of Parliament, underlined deteriorating relations between Iran and world powers, after a brief diplomatic rapprochement two months ago, seeking a peaceful solution to a long-running standoff over Iran's disputed nuclear programme.

Last week, the 35-nation governing board of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), rebuked Iran for building an enrichment plant in secret, triggering Tehran's defiant announcement to erect 10 more such sites.

"I believe that their moves are harming the NPT the most ... Now whether you are a member of the NPT or pull out of it has no difference," Larijani told a news conference, alluding to the global pact banning development of nuclear weapons.

"This decision (new enrichment sites) was the result of the recent (IAEA) resolution, and Iran's government sent a strong message," said Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, quoted by state broadcaster IRIB.

Top Iranian officials have repeatedly said Iran has no intention of leaving the NPT, under which its nuclear sites are subject to IAEA inspections, or use enrichment to produce fuel for nuclear weapons, which it says violate the tenets of Islam.

Analysts also believe Iran would think twice before quitting the NPT since such a move would betray nuclear weapons ambitions and could provoke pre-emptive attack by Israel and possibly the United States.

It could take sanctions-bound Iran, which has problems obtaining materials and components abroad, many years to equip and operate 10 new plants, strategic analysts say.

Iran dismissed scepticism voiced by some Western analysts about its wherewithal to execute the plan. "They will see in the future that what we have said is no bluff," First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi told Fars news agency.

If Iran indeed expands enrichment so much, suspicions of an underlying agenda to develop nuclear weapons will rise since Iran lacks the fuel-fabrication technology that is required to turn low-enriched uranium (LEU) into material for civilian nuclear power plants, but not needed to refine LEU to the high purity needed for bombs. Further, Iran is not building any nuclear power plants that could use the LEU it is producing.

Salehi said Tehran would not violate its international commitments, an allusion to basic IAEA nuclear safeguards. But a hardline newspaper editor, appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asked in an editorial whether it was time for Tehran to withdraw from the NPT. — Reuters

Cash-strapped Indian students in UK scrounge for food

London, November 30
Hundreds of Indian students who come to the UK to pursue courses in colleges, are unable to find part-time work to fund their stay and studies here and have been forced to eat in gurdwaras in Southall. There has been a three-fold rise in the number of Indian students coming to the UK, since the points-based immigration system was introduced in April this year.

Many of them come in the hope of finding work so that they can maintain themselves. A BBC Radio 5 documentary reveals that the situation turns desperate for such students when they cannot find work, and are reluctant to return to Indian for the shame that will follow. Many such students flock to the gurdwaras in Southall for free food.

The documentary, broadcast yesterday, quoted Nitin Walia, a student who has sought refuge at the gurdwara, as saying, “I can't afford to rent a room, I'm borrowing money from relatives at home just to buy my bus fare to college. I will only be able to rent a room if I can find a job, if I can't find one I will return to India. But that will bring great shame”.

According to Didar Singh Randhawa, President of Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Southall, “A combination of recession and a surge in the number of students is changing the local landscape”.

Randhawa further said, “We see hundreds of students hanging out in the streets, but there could be thousands. Most come here every day for food”.

Ravi Singh, a Business Management student said, “Agents in India say you will definitely find a part-time job to fund your studies in the UK. But it's totally different here, there are no jobs”. Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Southall recently set up a telephone helpline, offering students advice on anything, from how to apply for a National Insurance number to buying a travel pass, Randhawa said. He has sent a message to the local press in Punjab, to warn applicants to arrange money and accommodation before setting off. — PTI 

Gilani: Indian Army chief’s comments on war irresponsible
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has said the Indian Army chief’s statement on the possibility of a limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan was “irresponsible”.

“The disputes between Pakistan and India can be resolved through dialogues as war, limited or otherwise, was no option,” Gilani said while talking to reporters at Islamabad airport prior to his departure for Germany. He further stated: “Even the thought of a nuclear conflict is inconceivable and India is also conscious of this fact.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit has strongly reacted to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s statement that Pakistan need to do more to dismantle Al Qaida network and catch Osama Bin Laden.

“Those offering suggestions about presence of Osama Bin Laden had better share with Pakistan information about him if they possessed any,” the spokesperson said, adding that Pakistan has either killed or arrested as many as 700 members of the militant outfit. “No one must doubt about seriousness of Pakistani efforts to curb terrorism,” he said.

Indian travelling on Russian train safe: Mission

Moscow, November 30
An Indian national, who was among the passengers travelling in an express train that derailed in a “terrorist attack” in Russia killing 26 people, is “safe and sound”, an official at the Indian mission said here today.

“The Indian national Rajesh is safe and sound in St. Petersburg and the consular officials have talked to him on phone. He is a private citizen travelling to Russian from abroad,” Press officer of the Indian embassy here said.

Rajesh R., an Indian national holding passport 33 E 1906224 was travelling in bogie number 10 of the super-fast Neva Express on Friday night when a bomb went off on the tracks detaching and derailing its last three bogies numbered 2, 3 and 4.

Meanwhile, the sketch of a suspect, who is reported to have planted two IEDs, has been released. — PTI