W O R L D

US within our nuclear strike range, warns North Korea
Seoul, February 27
North Korea warned today that the US mainland was "well within" the range of its nuclear weapons, as Pyongyang continued to ramp up the bellicose rhetoric after its recent nuclear test. In an article posted on the official Uriminzokkiri website, a member of the Korean National Peace Committee -- a propaganda body -- said the North was now a "fully-independent rocket and nuclear weapons state".

Iran praises ‘realistic’ nuke talks with big powers
Almaty (Kazakhstan), Feb 27
Iran and world powers agreed today to hold new talks in March and April over the Islamic republic's disputed nuclear drive after negotiations concluded with Tehran hailing a "more realistic" approach to the decade-old dispute.

Hagel sworn in as US Defence Secretary
Washington, February 27
Former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel was today sworn in as the new US Defence Secretary in the midst of a controversy over his remarks that India “financed problems” for Pakistan in Afghanistan. Hagel (66), a Vietnam war veteran, was confirmed by the Senate yesterday after a bruising confirmation hearing.

US within our nuclear strike range, warns North Korea

Seoul, February 27
North Korea warned today that the US mainland was "well within" the range of its nuclear weapons, as Pyongyang continued to ramp up the bellicose rhetoric after its recent nuclear test.

In an article posted on the official Uriminzokkiri website, a member of the Korean National Peace Committee -- a propaganda body -- said the North was now a "fully-independent rocket and nuclear weapons state".

"The United States should be acutely aware that the US mainland is now well within the range of our strategic rockets and nuclear weapons," the signed commentary said.

North Korea made a similar claim in October last year, saying it possessed rockets capable of striking the continental United States.

That was largely dismissed as bluster, but that was before Pyongyang conducted a successful long-range rocket launch in December, followed by its third nuclear test on February 12. Although most experts believe the North has a long way to go to developing a dependable inter-continental ballistic missile, the December launch was a strong step in the right direction.

And this month's nuclear test also fuelled concerns that North Korea is refining the technical ability to place a miniaturised nuclear warhead on a long-range missile.

After analysing debris from the rocket launch in December, the South Korean military estimated its possible range at around 10,000 km, bringing in the west coast of the United States. In a separate commentary today, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) slammed the upcoming US-South joint military drills, and warned that the Korean peninsula was "an inch away from explosion". — AFP

Nuclear capability

• An article posted on the official Uriminzokkiri website said the North was now a "fully-independent rocket and nuclear weapons state"
• The United States should be acutely aware that the US mainland is now well within the range of our strategic rockets and nuclear weapons, it stated
• This month's nuclear test fuelled concerns that North Korea is refining the technical ability to place a miniaturised nuclear warhead on a long-range missile

Iran praises ‘realistic’ nuke talks with big powers

Almaty (Kazakhstan), Feb 27
Iran and world powers agreed today to hold new talks in March and April over the Islamic republic's disputed nuclear drive after negotiations concluded with Tehran hailing a "more realistic" approach to the decade-old dispute.

There was no sign of a major breakthrough over Iran's nuclear ambitions in the Kazakh city of Almaty but the agreement on new meetings suggested there was still potential for progress.

The talks saw the five UN Security Council members and Germany offer Iran a softening of non-oil or financial sector-related sanctions in exchange for concessions from Tehran over its sensitive uranium enrichment operations.

A senior US official said Iran "appeared to listen carefully to the offer" and its chief negotiator Saeed Jalili issued rare praise for the world powers' "positive" and "realistic" attitude.

"Some of the points raised in their (the world powers') response were more realistic, compared to what they said in the past,” Jalili told reporters after the talks.

"We consider these talks as a positive step which could be completed by taking a positive and constructive approach and taking reciprocal steps," he said. He added: "We still have a long distance to cover to reach the optimal point." Uranium enrichment is the most sensitive part of the nuclear cycle as the process can be used to make both nuclear fuel and the explosive core of a nuclear bomb that the powers fear Iran wants to develop. — AFP

Hagel sworn in as US Defence Secretary

Washington, February 27
Former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel was today sworn in as the new US Defence Secretary in the midst of a controversy over his remarks that India “financed problems” for Pakistan in Afghanistan.

Hagel (66), a Vietnam war veteran, was confirmed by the Senate yesterday after a bruising confirmation hearing. Senators voted 58-41 to approve Hagel, ending a long and acrimonious nomination process and clearing President Barack Obama’s choice for the top post held by Leon Panetta.

Hagel was sworn in by Director of Administration and Management Michael L Rhodes in a private ceremony attended by family members and his immediate office staff. Hagel’s confirmation comes as a great relief for the Obama administration as his nomination was held up for weeks and the Democrats and the White House had to do a tough convincing act to get him approved by the Senate.

Several Republican Senators are said to have voted in favour of Hagel despite their reservations over his past statements and votes. They argued that he was too critical of Israel and too compromising with Iran.

Hagel will replace Panetta at a time when the department is faced with multiple challenges, including defence budget cuts, rapidly changing developments in West Asia and increasing threat from North Korea. President Obama said Hagel was the kind of Defence Secretary America needed. — PTI

Taliban kill 16 at Afghan police checkpoint

Ghazni (Afghanistan), Feb 27
The Taliban killed at least 16 persons at an Afghan police checkpoint today and bombed an army bus in Kabul, highlighting a growing trend of strikes on Afghan rather than NATO targets.

Details of the pre-dawn attack on an Afghan Local Police (ALP) checkpoint in the eastern province of Ghazni were murky. Officials said they were investigating how the militants breached security at the post.

ALP national commander General Alishah Ahmadzai said 10 policemen and "five or six local villagers" who took part in an uprising against the Taliban in the Andar district of Ghazni had been killed.

"Initial information shows they were first poisoned and then shot, but we have to wait for the final report of our investigative team," he said.

Provincial governor Musa Khan Akbarzada gave a death toll of 17, including seven civilians, and said a team had been sent to investigate the incident.

A spokesman for the Taliban claimed responsibility for the Ghazni killings and the suicide attack in Kabul.

The bomber struck the army bus on foot on a main road at around 7.10 am (0240 GMT), said Kabul police spokesman Hashmatullah Stanikzai. He said six members of the defence ministry and four civilians were wounded, with most of the injuries caused by shattered glass. — AFP

Parties may struggle to form govt in Italy

Rome, February 27
A centre-left group of parties appears to have the best shot at forming a coalition government in Italy after an inconclusive national election, but the challenge is steep and comes amid public anger over austerity measures.

If Italian parties fail to form a governing coalition, new elections would be required, causing more uncertainty and a leadership vacuum, and that possibility rattled financial markets across Europe yesterday.

In early today trading in Milan, the FTSE MIB rebounded 0.5 per cent even though the country had to pay higher borrowing costs in a pair of bond auctions. The index has a long way to go to recoup the previous day's 4.9 per cent fall though.

Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian premier whose centre-right coalition did better than expected, is a key player since his coalition is now the second-biggest bloc in the upper chamber.

Comic-turned-political leader Beppe Grillo, whose 5 Star Movement capitalised on a wave of voter disgust with the ruling political class, had a surprisingly strong showing. His bloc of seats in Parliament could prove crucial in making any coalition government viable. — AP

Indecisive polls

Pier Luigi Bersani and his centre-left allies on Tuesday appeared to have won a narrow victory in the lower house of Parliament, while the Senate looks split with no party in control.

Egypt balloon crash probe rules out criminal activity

Cairo, February 27
Egypt today ruled out any "criminal activity" in the tragic hot air balloon crash near Luxor in which 19 persons, mostly Asian and European tourists, were killed. "Initial results of the investigations conducted by Luxor Public Prosecution asserted that there were no criminal suspicions in the crash and the fall of the tourist hot air balloon in South Luxor yesterday," the state-run MENA news agency said.

The balloon was at 1,000 ft (300 metres) when it caught fire and exploded, plunging onto sugarcane fields west of Luxor yesterday.

Passengers in the balloon included 19 foreign tourists, from Hong Kong, France, Japan and Britain. An Egyptian pilot and another Egyptian were also on board.

The probes are being held under Luxor and Qena Attorney General Counselor Mohammad Fahmi. Four teams of investigators have been formed to inspect the scene of the balloon crash and listen to witnesses in the surrounding area as well as inspect the corpses of the victims. — PTI

UN deletes Osama’s name from sanctions list

United Nations, February 27
Nearly two years after the killing of Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the UN Security Council has deleted his name from its sanctions list.

The powerful 15-member council, however, will continue a freeze on Osama's assets to prevent them from being used by others for terrorist activities. In a statement, the Security Council's Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee said Osama’s name had been deleted from its list for a travel ban and arms embargo.

Osama, who masterminded 9/11 terror attacks on the US that left nearly 3,000 people dead, was killed by American special forces in a covert raid in Pakistan's garrison city of Abbottabad on May 2, 2011. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Three killed, seven injured in shooting at Swiss factory
ZURICH: Three persons, including the suspected assailant, have been killed in a shooting at a factory near the Swiss city of Lucerne, the police said on Wednesday. Seven others were injured in the attack which happened just after 9 am (0800 GMT) at a wood processing company in the town of Menznau, west of Lucerne, the police said in a statement. — Reuters

No criminal activity behind balloon crash
Cairo: Egypt on Wednesday ruled out any "criminal activity" in the tragic hot air balloon crash near Luxor in which 19 persons, mostly Asian and European tourists, were killed. "Initial results of the investigations conducted by Luxor Public Prosecution asserted that there were no criminal suspicions in the crash and the fall of the tourist hot air balloon in South Luxor," the state-run MENA news agency said. — PTI

‘Rape victim’ to be flogged in Maldives
Male: A Maldives court has sentenced a 15-year-old alleged rape victim to 100 lashes and eight months under house arrest after she admitted having had premarital sex in a separate incident, an official said on Wednesday. During a police probe into allegations that the girl had been raped by her stepfather, investigators uncovered evidence that she had had consensual sex with another man. — AFP

Kipling’s 50 unseen poems found
London: Over 50 unpublished poems by India-born British writer Rudyard Kipling have been discovered and will be edited in a brief book collecting all his lyric work. The manuscripts were discovered in a number of places, including a Manhattan House that was being renovated and among the papers of a former head of the Cunard Line by US scholar Thomas Pinney. — PTI

Iraq resumes flights to Kuwait after 22 yrs
Baghdad: An Iraqi plane has landed in Kuwait for the first time since Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of the tiny emirate. Iraq's Transportation Ministry spokesman says Wednesday's flight will open "important horizons for co-operation based on brotherhood" with Kuwait. — AP

Iran praises ‘realistic’ nuclear talks
Almaty (Kazakhstan): Iran and world powers agreed today to hold new talks in March and April over the Islamic republic's disputed nuclear drive after negotiations concluded with Tehran hailing a "more realistic" approach to the decade-old dispute. — AFP

Osama’s name deleted from UN list
United Nations: Nearly two years after the killing of Al-Qaida chief bin Laden in Pakistan, the UN Security Council has deleted his name from its sanctions list. The powerful 15-member council, however, will continue a freeze on Osama's assets to prevent them from being used by others for terrorist activities. — PTI