Washington, November 1
In an unprecedented admission by the Obama Administration, US Secretary of State John Kerry has acknowledged that in some cases American spying has gone too far, but asserted that innocent people have not been “abused” through the secretive surveillance programme.

"I assure you innocent people are not being abused in this process, but there's an effort to try to gather information. And yes, in some cases, it has reached too far inappropriately,” Kerry told a London conference on 'Open Government Partnership Annual Summit' through video link.

“And the President, our President is determined to try to clarify and make clear for people and is now doing a thorough review in order that nobody will have the sense of abuse," Kerry said. News reports that the US is spying on millions of people is not true, he said. The US is facing criticism from international leaders over revelations that the National Security Agency carried out electronic surveillance and snooped in on conversations of 35 world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“Just the other day, there was news in the papers of 70 million people being listened to. No, they weren't. It didn't happen," he said. “In some cases, I acknowledge to you, as has the President, that some of these actions have reached too far, and we are going to make sure that does not happen in the future," he said. — PTI

Berlin, November 1
Former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden has offered to help Germany probe the agency’s alleged spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel and other surveillance operations, according to a top opposition politician who held a secret meeting with him in Russia.

Hans-Christian Stroebele, the Green party's member of the parliamentary control committee on intelligence services, said after a three-hour meeting with Snowden on Thursday that the former CIA contractor is “prepared in principle” to testify before a parliamentary inquiry committee or to answer questions from prosecutors if he gets an assurance that he will not be extradited to the US. Stroebele said their talks centred on under what conditions Snowden could visit Germany. — PTI

Beijing, November 1
hina has opened a key 117-km highway connecting a remote part of Tibet located near the frontier with Arunachal Pradesh, with analysts saying the road will help safeguard sovereignty and territory as the region borders India. The highway links the strategically important Medog county in Tibet to the rest of China, ending the region's status as the only one in the country inaccessible by road.

The highway will also “help safeguard China's sovereignty and territory, as the county borders India”, state-run China Daily quoted experts as saying today.

The reference to India is significant as China claims Arunachal Pradesh is part of southern Tibet in its border dispute with India.

The road was opened about a week after India and China signed the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit here last month to address contentious border incursions and aggressive patrolling by the People's Liberation Army.

Special Representatives of the two sides have so far held 16 rounds of talks to resolve the boundary dispute.

Infrastructure development in border areas has also become a contentious issue in recent years between the Indian and Chinese armies.

China has developed Tibet with a string of five airports and rail and road links going up to the Indian border, giving it a strategic advantage in swiftly moving its troops.

At the same time, Beijing apparently has been objecting to similar development taken up by India to beef up infrastructure on its side.

Briefing the media during Singh’s visit, India Ambassador S Jaishankar said the BDCA would not come in the way of India developing its border areas and this work would go on.

The highway was completed after seven failed attempts over the past five decades. China first attempted to build the road in the 1960s, shortly after the 1962 war with India, state media reported.

The new road connects the last Tibetan county which could not be accessed by road so far. The highway connects Bomi county with the main town of Medog county, called “the elusive lotus” in Buddhist sutras.

The highway, officially opened yesterday, will also improve the lives of Medog's 10,000 people, the report said. The new road descends sharply from its starting point at the county border, 4,300 m above sea level and covered by snow year-round, to the forest-surrounded county seat at an altitude of 1,300 m.

The Tibetan highway was the fifth time since the 1950s that the central and local governments have worked on a road. The government allotted $156 million for the last phase of the work.

Lobsang Jamcan, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region government, announced the road will be opened eight months a year and it would operate year-round if weather permits. Strategists said the road brings benefits in “not just one single aspect”.

“Similar to the Qinghai-Tibet railway, the road reaching China's border area can help consolidate our remote land and ensure stability,” said Sun Hongnian, a researcher of Chinese borderland history at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. — PTI

Pakistan interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said the government is in contact with the Taliban and will soon start structured and formal talks with them in line with a decision taken by an all-party conference in September.

At a meeting with heads of parties, Khan, however, could only confirm off-the-record communication with the militants. According to a participant, the minister told the meeting that the US administration was tight-lipped over the proposed talks with Pakistani Taliban.

Miranshah: The Pakistani Taliban on Friday reiterated the government must release all its members held in Pakistani jails and withdraw troops from the tribal areas along the Afghan border, where the militants have hideouts, to prove they are serious about talks. — PTI

Beijing, November 1
Islamist militants from China's restive Xinjiang province who carried out a suicide car crash at the iconic Tiananmen square visited the area thrice and bought knives and 400 litres of petrol before the attack, police said today.

A group of eight people, hailing from Muslim Uygur majority Xinjiang came together in the provincial capital Urumqi, watched a terror video and later swore to join Jihad, state-run CCTV quoted police officials as saying as more details emerged about the October 28 incident. They were reportedly members of East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) which is fighting for the independence of Xinjiang that borders PoK and Afghanistan.

Commenting on the incident, Hua Chunying, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, today said the ETIM was the most "direct and real threat" to its security. The details of the attack were reportedly revealed by five persons who were arrested by the police after the attack.— PTI

Melbourne, November 1
Muslim women would now be asked to remove burqa or niqab to prove their identity to the police, according to a new law introduced in an Australian state. The law which was passed on Thursday in the state parliament was amended after consultation with the Muslim and Sikh Communities, AAP news agency said.

Western Australian (WA) acting Police Minister John Day said, “Initially, the legislation stated police would be able to require someone to remove their head wear for the purposes of identification.— PTI