|
|
|
|
|
US ‘contemplated’ nuking China after 1962 war
Israel looks to increase defence trade with India
N Korea warns Japan before Abe’s return to power
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Egyptian judges review ballot on Constitution
Memo case
ISI says linking it to Mumbai attacks is smear attempt
Afghan policewoman shoots US adviser
|
|
US ‘contemplated’ nuking China after 1962 war Washington, December 24 The then US president, John F Kennedy, at a meeting with his top military aides on May 9, 1963, had expressed clear determination not to let Beijing defeat New Delhi, with his defence secretary even talking about using nuclear weapons against China if it launched another attack against India.
These disclosures have come in a just released book 'Listening In: The Secret White House Recordings of John F Kennedy' co-authored by Ted Widmer and Caroline Kennedy. "I gather we're coming to the defence of Israel and Saudi Arabia. What I think we ought to think about is, (unclear) it's desirable (?) for us, to give India a guarantee which actually we would carry out. I don't think there's any doubt that this country is determined that we couldn't permit the Chinese to defeat the Indians," Kennedy said. "If we would, we might as well get out of South Korea and South Vietnam. So I think that's what we'll decide at the time. Now, therefore, I don't mind making, seeing us make some commitments. Now, if it is politically important," he said. Kennedy was quoted by the book as making these remarks in the White House meeting with his Defence Secretary Robert McNamara and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell Davenport "Max" Taylor. Kennedy was the president of the US from 1961 until his death in 1963. The book is a selection of audio recordings of Kennedy's conversations and meetings at the White House. The recordings have been selected from the hidden recording systems in the Oval Office and in the Cabinet Room installed by Kennedy in July 1962, in an effort to preserve an accurate record of Presidential decision-making in a highly charged atmosphere of conflicting viewpoints, strategies and tactics. — PTI
|
||
|
Israel looks to increase defence trade with India
Jerusalem, December 24 It has been exactly 20 years since India and Israel established relations in 1992 - following the collapse of the USSR in 1991 triggering a global recalibration of diplomatic ties. During the Cold War, Israel was firmly in the US camp while India was in the USSR stable. The annual non-defence trade stands at $5 billion (approx Rs 22,500 crore) largely in gem-stone polishing and agriculture with a Indo-Israel joint venture in agriculture having been set up at Karnal, Haryana. The two countries have been collaborating on defence equipment and, in the past decade, defence sales to India have surpassed $10 billion (approx Rs 55,000 crore). Both sides keep exact figures on defence sales a secret. In India, unlike the public announcements about ties with Russia, ties with Israel are not discussed in public by the establishment. Top military delegations of both sides met in New Delhi in the first week of December. One of the key things on offer is what Israel refers to by a rather dramatic Biblical name, ‘David’s Sling’. It is an air defence missile in the short-range - 250 km - class. Looking at the threat from Iran, Israel is in the final stages of developing the Arrow-3 missile. State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and the Boeing of the US have developed this as the main line of defence to intercept incoming long-range ballistic missiles at an altitude of 100 km. India, on its own, is looking to hit the 120km ceiling in January. Israel, which as a policy does not open up on military ties with other nations, invited a small group of Indian journalists to get a first-hand feel of what all it is offering. In 2009, the Jewish majority state briefly overtook Russia, India's largest and the oldest defence supplier. Israel has developed a specialised loitering guided missile that can stay in air, keep hovering over an area and then be guided from ground-based controllers to hit targets like airbases, warships and ammunition dumps with pinpoint accuracy. Officials at the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) said that “it can be launched from land, sea and air”. The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) enables visibility in day as well as night, under cloudy conditions and even under dense foliage. Israel has the technology while India is looking to develop the same.
|
||
|
N Korea warns Japan before Abe’s return to power Beijing, December 24 "The shift to the right and the rise of militarism in Japanese society have reached to a serious stage," the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, said in an analysis piece, in the first reference to the December 16 House of Representatives election in Japan by North Korea's media. Abe is set to be re-elected prime minister in a parliamentary vote on Wednesday. The LDP president first served as prime minister from September 2006 to September 2007. The paper said Abe is widely known for being on "the extreme right" of the political spectrum, Kyodo news reported. Referring to the LDP's call to bolster Japan's national defence by upgrading the Self-Defence Forces to "Defence Forces" as one of its campaign promises, the Rodong Sinmun said, "It is an issue of concern that forces that will drive Japan into militarism have won considerable support (from the Japanese public) through votes." "Japan's re-aggression to Asia is approaching as reality," it said. Other countries are paying close attention to political developments in Japan, it added. Officials in Pyongyang have said North Korea is closely watching the new Japanese government's policy toward the country, suggesting sanctions alone will not lead to improved bilateral ties. Tokyo suspended revived talks with Pyongyang over its rocket launch earlier this month, which many countries condemned as a long-range ballistic missile test in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. "Whether bilateral relations will improve will depend on Abe's attitude toward us," a North Korean official in charge of Japanese affairs said, expressing hope for a change from his hard-line posture toward Pyongyang. "We will be closely watching the new government's (North) Korea policy." Along with concern about North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, Japan has the pressing task of addressing the issue of Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese nationals. The two countries do not have diplomatic relations. —Kyodo Right tilt "The shift to the right and the rise of militarism in Japanese society have reached to a serious stage," the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, said "Japan's re-aggression to Asia is approaching as reality," it said Officials said North Korea is closely watching the new Japanese government's policy toward the country N Korea's rocket could reach US London: A recent rocket launch by North Korea shows the country has the ability to fire a rocket over 10,000 km. The estimate, which would potentially put the Western US in range, was based on an analysis of rocket debris by South Korean officials.
|
||
|
Egyptian judges review ballot on Constitution
Cairo, December 24 Opponents of the Constitution, drawn up mostly by Islamists and fast-tracked to a vote by President Muhamed Mursi, have demanded a probe into a litany of ‘irregularities’. A tally by the Muslim Brotherhood, indicated a 64 per cent "yes" vote, although only a third of the 51 million Egyptians took part. — Reuters
|
||
|
Memo case A nine-judge Bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry will hear the case pertaining to the memo allegedly sent by Haqqani to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen seeking US intervention to avert a possible overthrow of the government in the aftermath of the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden last year. The apex court further directed the government to submit by January 13 a report on the security that would be provided to Haqqani, who is currently in the US. The court also issued notices to other respondents in the case, including the Inter-Services Intelligence agency and the Defence Ministry. Haqqani has not responded to several notices to appear in court, saying his life would be in danger if he returned to Pakistan. The apex court wants Haqqani to come to Pakistan to record a judicial statement. During the last hearing of the case, the apex court had directed Haqqani's lawyer Asma Jehangir to file a request with the Interior Secretary for providing security to her client. A judicial commission set up by the apex court concluded in June that Haqqani was responsible for the mysterious memo, which was made public by controversial Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz.
— PTI
|
||
|
ISI says linking it to Mumbai attacks is smear attempt Islamabad, December 24 A lawsuit filed in a New York court by relatives of two Jewish victims of the Mumbai attacks was "against the alleged perpetrators and masterminds — Hafiz
Saeed, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and others", sources in the ISI were quoted as saying by The News daily. The sources claimed the ISI agency had no role in the attacks and the inclusion of the names of former ISI chiefs Nadeem Taj and Ahmed Shuja Pasha was "only done to smear the agency and get it declared a terrorist
organisation". "There is no rocket science involved in the issue. The ISI and its (director generals) have had no role whatsoever in the Mumbai incident as regularly reported by the Indian media," a source was quoted as saying. The sources in the ISI appreciated the role of the US in "sorting out the issue" related to its former chiefs. "We are glad that the US government prudently supported the claim of the Pakistan government. It is a US decision that we admire and appreciate," a source said. There is "no need to fabricate cock and bull stories on the subject", the sources claimed. The US State Department recently informed a New York court hearing the lawsuit that the ISI and two of its former chiefs "enjoy immunity" and cannot be tried for the attacks. "Upon consideration of this matter, and after a full review of the pleadings, the Department of State has determined that defendants Ahmed Shuja Pasha and Nadeem Taj are immune from suit in this case," an official letter said. The Pakistan government has acknowledged that the conspiracy behind the Mumbai attacks was hatched in the country. It also acknowledged that Ajmal
Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist involved in the attacks, was a Pakistani citizen. Kasab was hanged in a Pune jail last month. The Pakistani authorities have arrested seven suspects, including Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi for planning and executing the attacks but their trial has stalled for over a year due to various reasons. — PTI
|
||
|
Afghan policewoman shoots US adviser Kabul, December 24 The woman, identified as Afghan police Sgt Nargas, had entered a strategic compound in the heart of the Capital and shot the adviser with a pistol as he came out of a small shop with articles he had just bought, said Kabul governor Abdul Jabar Taqwa. The woman was taken into Afghan custody shortly after the attack. Earlier, she had asked bystanders where the governor's office was located, the governor said. As many Afghans, the policewoman uses only one name. A NATO command spokesman, US Air Force Lt Col Lester T Carroll, said the woman was arrested after the incident. The slain adviser was a contractor whose identity wasn't immediately released. The attack occurred outside the police headquarters in a walled, highly secure compound which also houses the governor's office, courts and a prison. Kabul deputy police chief Mohammad Daoud Amin said an investigation was under way. "We can confirm that a civilian police adviser was shot and killed this morning by a suspected member of the Afghan uniformed police. The suspected shooter is in Afghan custody," Carroll said. The killing came just hours after an Afghan policeman shot five of his colleagues at a checkpoint in northern Afghanistan late in the day. The attacker then stole his colleague's weapons and fled to join the Taliban, said deputy provincial governor in Jawzjan province Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani. More than 60 international allies, including troops and civilian advisers, have been killed by Afghan soldiers or police this year, and a number of other insider attacks as they are known are still under investigations. — AP Security Breach The woman, identified as Afghan police Sgt Nargas, had entered a strategic compound in the heart of the Capital and shot the adviser with a pistol The attack occurred outside the police headquarters in a walled, highly secure compound which also houses the governor's office, courts and a prison The killing came just hours after an Afghan policeman shot five of his colleagues at a checkpoint in northern Afghanistan
|
Islamists in Mali renew attacks on Timbuktu tombs Lanka arrests 27 Indian fishermen 2 firefighters shot dead Indian doctors failing key exams US gun lobby says no to control
|
|||||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul today, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies, senior Afghan officials said.
Islamabad, December 24
