Nation pays homage to martyrs of Dec 13 Parliament attack, Benazir credits Vajpayee with Indo-Pak peace initiative, SAD demands Amarinder's resignation, BJP will target 300 seats in 2004 polls: Naidu, Israel's Science and Technology Minister to visit India, Nepalese migrate to India fearing Maoist attacks, US mission in Pak to fingerprint visa applicants, US violates law by fingerprinting Pak-born Canadian, Desperate Pak Govt permits Indian wheat imports, Analysts cautiously react to detention of Pak nuclear scientists, India fight back after early tremors, Mumbai hosts first chess tourney for the visually impaired, Tearful Urmila bids adieu to Pakistan, Nike set to make Serena sport's richest woman, Tattoos bend the 'Lord of the Rings'!, News from India; News for Tourists and Travellers; India Travel Times; India News; India News Times; Indian News; Travel News; Travel; Tourism

Nation pays homage to martyrs of Dec 13 Parliament attack (Go To Top)

New Delhi, Dec 13: A grateful nation on Saturday paid homage to the brave security personnel who laid down their lives while foiling a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament this day two years ago. Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha Najma Heptulla and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and others offered flowers at the plaque dedicated to the martyrs. A minute's silence was also observed in memory of the nine security personnel, including a woman, killed in the incident. A blood donation camp was also organised in the Parliament House on the occasion.

It may be recalled that on December13, 2001, five Islamic guerrillas burst into the Parliament House complex and opened gunfire. They were, however, prevented from entering the House by an alert security force. Seven men and a lone woman died on the spot and two more people, including a camerman of Asian News International succumbed to injuries later. All the attackers were shot dead in the encounter that followed. The raid carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad guerrillas brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war last year. The nuclear rivals mobilised more than a million troops on their borders after the December attack. Tensions have since eased with both nations undertaking a series of confidence-building measures.

Benazir credits Vajpayee with Indo-Pak peace initiative (Go To Top)

New Delhi, Dec13: Crediting Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee with the success of the peace initiatives to bring India and Pakistan closer, former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto on Saturday said there was a need to test Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's "overt" statements for normalising ties with New Delhi. "It is to the credit of Prime Minister Vajpayee that he did not lose heart despite the undermining of bus diplomacy and the failure of the Agra summit. But then he is a man of many surprises," she told a conference on 'Peace Dividend - Progress for India and South Asia' organised in New Delhi by the Hindustan Times newspaper.

Contending that since Independence the three wars between the two countries had taken place under military dictatorships, Bhutto, who was Pakistan's Prime Minister twice, said, "We believe that the military ruler's overt statements for normalisation of relations must be put to the test." "If it is false, they (military rulers) will be exposed before the bar of the public opinion. If it is true, the benefit will go to the people in the region," she said.

SAD demands Amarinder's resignation (Go To Top)

Ropar, Dec 13: Punjab's Opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday demanded resignation of the state's Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh. Former state chief minister Prakash Singh Badal made this demand after appearing in a court here. Badal, who is facing trial on charges of amassing wealth worth over a billion dollars when he was the state chief minister from 1997 to 2002, is currently out on bail. He said Amarinder Singh had lost majority in the state Assembly with his party ministers deserting him. "This Chief Minister has weakened so much politically that he should himself quit. Amarinder, recently, faced dissidence in his party when the state's agriculture minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal led a group of legislators to New Delhi to demand a change in the state Congress unit's leadership.

BJP will target 300 seats in 2004 polls: Naidu (Go To Top)

Hyderabad, Dec 13: BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said the party would be aiming for at least 300 seats in the 2004 general elections, strategies for which would be worked out at the party's next National Executive, which meets here on January 18 and 19. ''No party will settle for less seats than what they got earlier. We have been progressing well and naturally would like to have more seats,'' Naidu told reporters here. ''We are very comfortable with our allies and want to keep our relations with them intact,'' he added. Indicating that the BJP would hold a 'Chintan Bhaitak' in January, he said that cadres of the party had been asked to prepare themselves for election 2004, and not to rest on the laurels of 2003. Naidu further said that that though the party had made development its poll plank, it had not jettisoned its 'Hindutva' ideology. ''Hindutva is the lifeline of the BJP and the soul of India.'' But by no means would it be made an electoral issue, he added.

Israel's Science and Technology Minister to visit India (Go To Top)

New Delhi, Dec 13: Israel's Minister for Science and Technology, Eliezer Sandberg, will arrive here on an official visit later this month. News reports from Tel Aviv said that Sandberg would leave for India on December 21 to review the nine ongoing projects that were inked by the two countries. The visit would also be used to explore new areas of cooperation, mostly in the field of genomes. The launch of an Israeli telescope on an Indian launcher, which has been under consideration for some time, would be on the agenda, the reports from the Israeli capital said. The minister will visit the Indian capital and Bangalore where he is expected to hold consultations with officials of ISRO. Meanwhile, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley will visit Israel between January 13 and 15 for joint economic consultations.

Nepalese migrate to India fearing Maoist attacks (Go To Top)

Banbasa (Uttaranchal), Dec 13: Nepalese people living in the border areas of Udhamsinghnagar have started migrating to India fearing Maoist attacks in the Himalayan kingdom. Surrounded by two powerful neighbours, China to the north and India to its south, Nepal is in the throes of civil unrest. (See Nepal, Neighbours Calling)

US mission in Pak to fingerprint visa applicants (Go To Top)

Islamabad, Dec13: The Embassy of the United States has declared that it will start fingerprinting visa applicants from Monday (December 15). The new law stipulates that visa applicants all over the world must be fingerprinted by October 26, 2004. This procedure has already been applied in many countries. Barring children under the age of 14 and adults over the age of 79, all applicants will be fingerprinted. Two fingerprints will be taken from each applicant. Those travelling to the US for medical treatment and can't appear before a visa officer are exempt from the rule, the Daily Times reports. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration will launch a new security programme from January 5, 2004, which will serve the dual purpose of speeding the entry of legal foreign visitors into the United States while keeping out potential security threats, according to a press release.

US 'violates' law by fingerprinting Pak-born Canadian (Go To Top)

Washington, Dec13: A Pakistan-born Canadian citizen was photographed and fingerprinted coercively in clear violation of the law while attempting to enter the United States through a regular border checkpoint. According to the Daily Times, only those people are to be photographed and fingerprinted who belong to Muslim countries, though some restrictions have recently been eased.

Imran Haq, 25, arrived at the Canadian-U.S. border on December 7 with another Canadian citizen, Zaheer Khan, 47. American immigration officials subjected the two Montreal-based residents to lengthy interrogation. They were asked if they were of Pakistani origin, when they had visited the country last and why they had gone to Pakistan. When the two protested saying that they were Canadian citizens and that they should be allowed to go through, they were told that what mattered was where they were born, not what passport they carried. They were also advised that since those above the age of 45 were exempted from fingerprinting, only Imran Haq would have to fulfil the "necessary formalities."

The Pakistani visas in their passports also triggered a lengthy questioning. They were told that since they were born in Pakistan, they would be considered Pakistanis. The two men replied that under Canadian law they could also hold their Pakistani passports. They further added that they were travelling to America for a weekend trip on their Canadian passports and should be treated as Canadian citizens.

When the officials insisted that Haq would have to be photographed and fingerprinted, the two men said they no longer wished to visit the United States and would like to return to Canada. But they were informed that they could not do that because they were already on U.S. soil. They were also told that if Haq refused to be photographed and fingerprinted he would be detained. When Haq said he had no desire to have his name stored in the U.S. immigration and homeland security computer system, he was advised to obtain a certificate from the Pakistan Embassy in Canada confirming that he was not a Pakistani citizen.

In the end, Imran submitted himself to the humiliating exercise of getting photographed and fingerprinted. A B-2 American visa was stamped on his Canadian passport and he was advised to re- register himself at an U.S. immigration office within 30 days and also re-enter Canada from the same point at which he had entered the United States. The two men have since returned to Canada and reported their experience to the MP from their constituency, who has found the U.S. authorities' attitude unacceptable. Haq is now considering legal action.

Desperate Pak Govt permits Indian wheat imports (Go To Top)

Islamabad, Dec13: Facing a possible shortfall of a million tons of wheat, the Pakistan Government on Friday announced that it would lift its ban on Indian wheat imports to cover it. "Islamabad will allow purchase of 0.1 million tons wheat from India to meet the country's requirements and offset the adverse impact of anticipated crisis due to less than expected production in 2003-04," official sources were quoted by the Nation as saying. Anticipating a wheat crisis, Pakistan's Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) has already moved a summary to Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for the import of 0.5 million tons of wheat. Wheat importers here have been putting pressure on the government to allow wheat imports from India, as it is available at a cheaper rate in comparison to other countries.

Analysts cautiously react to detention of Pak nuclear scientists (Go To Top)

Washington, Dec 13: US-based analysts have cautiously reacted to the news that two of Pakistan's top nuclear scientists have been detained and debriefed. Mohammad Farooq and Yasin Chohan at Pakistan's top nuclear laboratory were questioned by the country's intelligence services, officials said on Thursday. But the government denied any link to Iran's nuclear programme. Pakistan's Foreign Office said it was merely a "routine debriefing", denying any Pakistani links with Iran's nuclear programme.

Miriam Rajkumar, an analyst with the Non-Proliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, however, said the questioning was anything but "routine." "It seems unlikely that it's just routine, particularly the timing. I think they've come under a lot of international pressure about how secure their nuclear facilities are and their nuclear weapons are. And particularly with the Iran issue up in the air and earlier with questions about connections with some of their scientists and al-Qaeda members, it would be unlikely to be just routine," Rajkumar said in an inteview to Asia News International on Friday.

The scientists were picked up earlier this month from Rawalpindi, for the questioning by intelligence agencies. Both men worked for the Khan Research Laboratories, headed by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb. Rajkumar said Pakistan could be Iran's source for nuclear technology though it was yet to be confirmed. "Again, there's no confirmation, but the IAEA has found that the enrichment equipment in Iran is very similar to the enrichment equipment that Pakistan has used. And so, because of allegations raised in the past, suspicions raised in the past about possible connections, people are jumping to these conclusions. There is no conformation but that's where it comes from," she said.

India fight back after early tremors (Go To Top)

Sydney, Dec 13: Recovering from a disastrous collapse after an encouraging opening stand of 61 runs, India on Saturday closed out the second day of its second Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval at 180 for 4. At the close of play, Rahul Dravid was batting on 43 and VVS Laxman on 55. Earlier, taking their score forward from 400 for 5, Australia scored a massive 556. Leg spinner Anil Kumble redeemed his fluctuating fortunes by grabbing five wickets, the first time he has done this at this ground. Brief Scores Australia: 556 in 126.5 overs (R Ponting 242, S Katich 75, J Langer 58; Kumble 5-154, Nehra 2-115, Agarkar 2-119) India: 180 for four in 52 overs (V V S Laxman batting 55 N.O. R Dravid 43 N.O.).

Mumbai hosts first chess tourney for the visually impaired (Go To Top)

Mumbai, Dec13: Mumbai is playing host to the first Asian Chess championship for the visually impaired. The event, which began on December 9, will conclude on December 15. Twenty-seven players from six Asian countries - Iran, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Yemen and Nepal are participating in the tournament. Mahassan Omar, a visually impaired participant from Malaysia, does not think his disability is a hindrance to their playing the game. "Look I have the skill, which I should not waste. Being a blind person, it is necessary to get as much skill as possible better still to play chess. Because chess is the only game a blind person can play without much disadvantage," he said. The tournament has been organised by the All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB).

Charudatta V. Jadhav, the general secretary of AICFB, who is visually impaired, said the future of the tournament is very bright as they were expecting more participation from other countries. "The future is very bright and Malaysia is coming forward to organise the second Asian Championship in 2005 and Iran is going to organise the third championship. We are going to organise this event every two years. So, I think in another five-six years, there will be around 16-17 countries participating in the Asian Championship," he said. The AICFB is affiliated to the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA).