Libya, August 5
Libya’s rebels said today a NATO air attack had killed Muammar Gaddafi’s powerful son Khamis, who serves as commander of one of the Libyan leader’s most loyal and best-equipped military units.

A rebel spokesman said the air strike had killed 32 Gaddafi loyalists in Zlitan, a frontline town where Khamis Gaddafi’s 32nd Brigade is believed to have been leading the stand to defend the approaches to Tripoli.

The NATO was not able to confirm the report of Khamis Gaddafi’s death. The NATO had said yesterday that it hit a command-and-control target in the area.

“We have information that in Zlitan, a leadership building was attacked by the NATO and 32 Gaddafi men were killed, among them his son, Khamis,” the rebel spokesman said.

If confirmed, the death of Khamis would be a severe blow to his father’s campaign to resist a six-month-old uprising and remain in power. His 32nd Brigade is described by analysts as Libya’s most effective military unit and a central part of the security apparatus.

NATO operations command in Naples was aware of the report of his death but could not verify it. “We cannot confirm anything right now, because we don’t have people on the ground,” an alliance official said.

It was not the first time Khamis has been reported killed in the conflict. Arab media reported in March that Khamis had died in a kamikaze crash by a disaffected Libyan air force pilot. Libyan state television showed footage at the time of a man resembling Khamis, which it said disproved reports of his death. Khamis would be the second of Gaddafi’s sons reported killed since the uprising against his 41-year rule began in February.

The government said earlier this year that a NATO strike in Tripoli had killed Saif al-Arab Gaddafi. — Reuters 

Kathmandu, August 5
Minutes after he held his maiden press conference in Kathmandu, Thiley Lama, exiled Tibetan leader Dalai Lama’s envoy in Nepal, was arrested today along with his personal secretary Subhash Acharya.

The 55-year-old representative, who is officially known as the volunteer coordinator of the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office (TRWO) in Kathmandu, was arrested for urging the Nepal government to address the rights of all refugees uniformly in the new constitution and resume issuing identity cards to Tibetan refugees in Nepal.

Sources said he was likely to be released after interrogation and signing a warning bond. Thiley, the first Nepali to assume the position, was appointed only last month.

The arrest comes amidst growing complaints by the Buddhist community in Nepal that they are being increasingly hounded. Monasteries have faced media propaganda that they harbour weapons and were fomenting anti-China activities while Buddhist monks and Tibetans are arrested routinely when any official Chinese delegation visits Kathmandu with Beijing tightening screws on Nepal to stop any activity that is linked to the Dalai Lama.

Despite the high risk of being arrested, Thiley’s office held a sombre press conference in a Kathmandu hotel to urge the government to address the rights of all refugees in the new constitution, scheduled to be unveiled by August 31.

The move came close on the heels of the police arresting several people, regarded as Tibetans, for obtaining fake Nepali passports. The TRWO, earlier known as the office of exiled Tibetan leader Dalai Lama in Nepal, was shut down by the government in 2005 under pressure by the Chinese government, which said Tibet being a part of Nepal, such an office should not be allowed to function. — IANS

Melbourne, August 5
An Australian radio show host facing criticism for using a derogatory word against India and calling river Ganga a “junkyard” has issued an apology Council of Indian-Australians president Yadu Singh today said: “I am pleased to report that Sydney’s 2Day FM radio station an (host) Kyle Sandilands have realised the mistake in their comments and issued an apology.

“This apology has been on air by Kyle, and in writing by Adam Lang, General Manager of 2day FM radio station, who had sent a letter to me yesterday,” Singh said. Kyle, in his apology note, stated: “I’m apologising... anyone that’s Indian, that listens to this show, knows that I love Indians... I don't discriminate. I love everyone. I don’t care where they are, where they are from, what colour they are. I just made the mistake that the river which, to me, looks polluted, I said it was a junkyard and I did not realise it was holy.”

Lang also commented on the issue and said: “In this instance, I hope that you feel that Kyle Sandilands and 2Day FM have taken full responsibility for the offence caused by remarks made. The offence was not intended but that consequence is absolutely accepted and we do sincerely apologise.” Singh, who claimed to have received many emails and calls from Indian-Australians upset about Sandilands’s remarks earlier,  said the matter was now resolved to their satisfaction.

He stressed that the issue was not between Australia and India, but it was between Kyle and the listeners. — PTI 

Moscow, August 5
India's civil nuclear liability Bill will not have an immediate adverse impact on Indo-Russian cooperation in atomic power generation, but Russian contractors would not like to see safety issues raise their project costs, a top expert has said.

Director for the Centre of Energy and Security Studies and editor-in-chief of the Nuclear Club magazine Anton Khlopkov said the legislation passed by the Indian Parliament "is raising concerns in Russia".

"It is currently being examined in order to understand what additional accountability the new regulations impose on the Russian builders," he said, adding that Russian contractors would not like to see safety issues raise project costs.

Speaking during a Moscow-New Delhi video conference on Wednesday, Khlopkov expressed hope that it would not affect the future bilateral cooperation in the civil nuclear energy.

"No significant shifts in India's nuclear programme have been made," Dr Balachandran, a visiting fellow at India's Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, agreed with him.

Besides, the two 1,000 MW VVER-1,000 light water reactors in the final stages of construction at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, Russia is expected to build at least two more units there and four at Haripur in West Bengal under a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement.

"Reactors, which our country currently offers to India, comply with the modern safety regulations," Khlopkov said.

He agreed that the Fukushima experience indicates that nuclear safety issues would, in the future, once again became one of the top priorities within the framework of nuclear energy development in general, and the future of Russia's international cooperation in particular.

"Safety could be improved further. The question is whether or not India is willing to pay for it," he observed.

He underscored that India is and will remain a major partner of Russia in civil nuclear cooperation.

"Every other nuclear power generating unit that Russia builds abroad will be located on the territory of India. At the same time, our country will be forced to compete with other serious players: South Korea, France and especially the US," he observed.

Today, India holds the leading position among countries that are actively developing their nuclear energy sector.

However, so far Russia is the only country to be building its nuclear power plant at Kudankulam and wants to retain the foothold.

The nuclear liability bill aims to provide a civil liability for nuclear damage and prompt compensation to the victims of a nuclear incident. — PTI