The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Ahead of N-talks, Iran mulls compromise

Tehran, April 9
Iran’s nuclear chief signalled Tehran’s envoys may bring a compromise offer to the talks this week with world powers: Promising to eventually stop producing its most highly enriched uranium, while not totally abandoning its ability to make nuclear fuel.

The proposal outlined on Sunday seeks to directly address one of the potential main issues in the talks scheduled to begin on Friday between Iran and the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany.

The US and others have raised serious concerns about Iran’s production and stockpile of uranium enriched to 20 per cent, which could be turned into weapons-grade strength in a matter of months.

But the proposal described by Iran’s nuclear chief, Fereidoun Abbasi, may not go far enough to satisfy the West because it would leave the higher enriched uranium still in Tehran’s hands rather than transferred outside the country.

Abbasi said Tehran could stop its production of 20 per cent enriched uranium needed for a research reactor, and continue enriching uranium to lower levels for power generation. This could take place once Iran has stockpiled enough of the 20 percent enriched uranium, Abbasi told state TV. The 20% enriched material can be used for medical research and treatments.

The enrichment issue lies at the core of the dispute between Iran and the West, which fears Tehran is seeking an atomic weapon a charge the country denies, insisting its uranium programme is for peaceful purposes only.

Uranium has to be enriched to more than 90 per cent to be used for a nuclear weapon, but with Iran enriching uranium to 20 per cent levels, there are concerns it has come a step closer to nuclear weapons capability. — AP

US Navy deploys 2nd aircraft carrier in Gulf

Dubai: The US Navy says it has deployed a second aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf amid rising tensions with Iran over its nuclear programme. Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said the deployment of the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise along the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group marks only the fourth time in the past decade that the Navy has had two aircraft carriers operating at the same time in the region.

Kuwait plans to deal with Hormuz closure

Kuwait City: Kuwait is mulling “many scenarios” in case the strategic Strait of Hormuz is closed, disrupting its vital oil exports, a top official said. “We are discussing many scenarios but we have not decided which” plan to adopt, the CEO of national oil conglomerate Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC), Faruq al-Zanki, said without revealing specifics. Iran has frequently threatened to close the strategic strait if it is attacked over its controversial nuclear programme.

24 killed in Qaida assault in Yemen

Aden, April 9
At least 24 persons were killed today as Al-Qaida militants raided an army barracks, the latest in a spate of attacks by the terror network which has boosted its presence across Yemen’s lawless south and east.

“Fifteen Al-Qaida gunmen were killed in clashes with members of the 111th Brigade in Loder in Abyan province,” a stronghold of the terror network, the defence ministry 26sep.net reported.

A source in the town of Jaar, where dead and wounded extremists are taken, said 10 militants were killed in the battle. Five soldiers and four tribesmen fighting alongside the army also died, military and tribal sources said.

“The army is backing us with weapons,” a tribal chief said. “We will fight Al-Qaida and will not let them into our city.” The barracks came under fire from the Islamist insurgents before daylight and soldiers retaliated, military sources said. Heavy fighting ensued as the soldiers were backed by tribesmen.

The attack came after air strikes killed 24 suspected Al-Qaida militants in their strongholds of southern and eastern Yemen at the weekend, according to the defence ministry and a tribal chief. The city of Loder is located about 150 km northeast of Zinjibar, capital of Abyan province which the Partisans of Sharia overran in May 2011. — AFP

Rocket in position at launch pad in N Korea

KEEPING A VIGIL: US Navy cruiser USS Shiloh sails in the East China Sea on Monday. — AP/PTI

Tongchang-Ri, April 9
North Korean space officials have moved all three stages of a long-range rocket into position for a controversial launch, vowing to push ahead with their plan in defiance of international warnings against violating a ban on missile activity.

The Associated Press was among foreign news agencies allowed a firsthand look yesterday at preparations under way at the coastal Sohae Satellite Station in northwestern North Korea.

North Korea announced plans last month to launch an observation satellite using a three-stage rocket during mid-April celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung.

The US, Japan, Britain and other nations have urged North Korea to cancel the launch, warning that firing the long-range rocket would violate UN resolutions and North Korea’s promise to refrain from engaging in nuclear and missile activity.

“Our country has the right and also the obligation to develop satellites and launching vehicles,” Jang Myong Jin, general manager of the launch facility, said during a tour, citing the UN space treaty. — AP

Queen gives Camilla highest female rank

The Duchess of Cornwall

London, April 9
The British Queen has appointed Prince Charles’ wife Camilla to the highest female rank in the Royal Victorian Order in recognition of her “personal” services to the monarchy, Buckingham Palace said today.

The honour makes the 64-year-old Duchess of Cornwall a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order to mark the seventh anniversary of her wedding to Prince Charles today, the British media reported.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said the Duchess would be invested with the insignia of her rank at a later date.

In fact, the announcement illustrates the Queen’s fondness for her daughter-in-law who married Prince Charles on April 9, 2005, in a civil ceremony at the Guildhall in Windsor after a controversial relationship spanning several decades.

The award was founded in April 1896 by Queen Victoria as a way of rewarding personal service to her and is bestowed independently of 10 Downing Street. — PTI

Hopes fading fast for finding buried soldiers

Islamabad, April 9
Hopes were fading fast for finding any survivors buried under tonnes of ice as Pakistani military rescuers were hampered by fresh heavy snowfall and bad weather in an increasingly desperate search for 139 persons, mostly soldiers, buried in an avalanche in Siachen sector, close to Indian border.

Almost 52 hours after mounds of snow came crushing down on to the remote Battalion headquarters of the army high up in Karakoram, rescuers were yet to come across any survivors or any bodies despite pressing sniffer dogs and specialised snow clearing equipment.

An eight-member team of US experts, which arrived in Pakistan from Afghanistan yesterday to help in the rescue efforts, was unable to travel to Gyari, the site of the accident, this morning due to bad weather.

The US Embassy spokesman said authorities were standing by to provide any assistance need by their Pakistani counterparts.

Daytime temperature dipped to minus 15 degrees Celsius following heavy snowfall in the region where the avalanche occurred on Saturday, and the rescuers were hampered by the extreme weather conditions.

Officials said over 200 personnel were involved in the search for 139 people, including 124 soldiers, who were buried under up to 80 feet of snow when the avalanche slammed into a battalion headquarters at Gyari near Skardu.

Search and rescue teams were using sniffer dogs and heavy machinery but were finding it difficult to dig through the snow, media reports said. Experts said the chances of finding survivors over 48 hours after the incident were slim.

The army camp was engulfed by the snow when most of the soldiers were sleeping when they were hit by an estimated avalanche 1000 metres and 25 metres wide, a military statement said.

The chief military spokesman said yesterday that it was unclear whether any of the people buried under the snow were still alive. — PTI

Syria peace plan in jeopardy

Damascus, April 9
A peace plan for Syria was in jeopardy today as fresh clashes raged after President Bashar al-Assad's government laid down conditions for it to pull troops and armour out of protest hubs.

Under a peace deal brokered by UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, Syria's armed forces are supposed to withdraw from protest centres tomorrow, with a complete end to fighting set for 48 hours later.

But the truce already appears in jeopardy after Damascus said it would only carry its side of the bargain if rebels first handed over written guarantees to stop fighting, a demanded rejected by rebel army chief Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad.

The demand came as weekend violence claimed 180 lives, most of them civilians, a surge in bloodshed that former UN chief Annan described as "unacceptable." Making matters worse, fresh fighting killed another 13 persons today, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"The regime had thought that it would control all areas (of rebels by April 10). As this is not happening, it is procrastinating to gain time," said the Observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman. "If the Annan plan does not work, no other plan would, and Syria would plunge into a civil war," he said. — AFP

S China Sea disputes never hit navigation, says China

Beijing, April 9
In a guarded response to India's assertion that the South China Sea belonged to the world, China today claimed that it fully guaranteed the freedom of navigation in the region and had not allowed its maritime disputes to disrupt it in any way.

Maintaining that China has indisputable sovereignty over the "Nansha Islands", also claimed by Vietnam in the South China Sea (SCS), Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin said China has fully guaranteed the international navigation according to the international law.

When his reaction was sought to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's remarks last week that India maintains that the SCS belonged to the world and its trade ways must be free for international navigation, Liu, in a rejoinder sent to the media here, said the robust economic development in the East Asian region demonstrated that navigation has not been affected by the dispute.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters. The disputes over sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction of the SCS should be resolved through negotiation between sovereign states that are directly concerned," he said.

"As for the freedom of navigation on the South China Sea, I want to point out that such freedom of all countries on the South China Sea has been fully guaranteed according to international law, which is a fact for all to see," he said. — PTI

Temple panel chief kidnapped in Pakistan

Islamabad, April 9
The chairman of the committee that manages the famous Hinglaj Mata temple in Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan has been kidnapped just two days before the beginning of the shrine's annual pilgrimage, according to a media report today.

Maharaj Ganga Ram Motiyani was abducted at Lasbela in Balochistan by two men in police uniform.

His followers organised a protest outside the Karachi Press Club yesterday and demanded that the government take steps for his recovery. "Motiyani's kidnapping appears to be a conspiracy against Hindus since he was kidnapped two days before the gathering.

"He has not been kidnapped for ransom because he is a poor man," Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, patron of the Pakistan Hindu Council and a former member of the Sindh Assembly, said. — PTI

After 18 yrs, Indian shepherd to return from Saudi Arabia

Dubai, April 9
An Indian worker, stranded in Saudi Arabia for 18 years as his sponsor withheld his salary and did not allow him a vacation, is set to return home following intervention of the local police.

P Periyaswamy from Mangalamedu Talukin of Perambalur district in Tamil Nadu, even tried to commit suicide during the 18 years he spent working as a shepherd in Saudi Arabia.

The now 45-year-old, Periyaswamy arrived in Hail region of Saudi Arabia to work as a shepherd in 1994, just a year after his marriage.

According to officials at the Indian Consulate in Jeddah, all these years he never fought for his right to go home but tried to commit suicide once.

The matter was brought to the attention of the local police and the governor by a good-hearted Saudi citizen who learnt of his plight.

Following complaint, the Saudi sponsor was arrested and ordered to pay the dues and air ticket to Periyasamy.

The man is now under the care of Al Shamli police authorities, which have been instructed by the governor’s office to make arrangements for his immediate repatriation and payment of his dues.

Since he does not have any travel document, he has been issued an Emergency Certificate (Outpass) by the consulate. The Consulate is also making efforts to locate Periyaswamy’s family in India. — PTI