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India Beat NZ to Break Jinx SYDNEY: India finally registered their first win in New Zealand when they beat them by 2 wickets in the fifth One-Day International in Wellington on Wednesday. The Indian side just managed to scrape through a modest New Zealand score of 168 all out after Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan survived some tense moments. (Details) PM May Announce Dual Citizenship at PIOs' Meet Tomorrow NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is expected to announce the Government's decision on grant of dual citizenship at a three-day conference of PIOs and NRIs here on Thursday. More than 1200 NRIs and PIOs from 55 countries are participating in the first-ever 'Pravasi Bharatiya Divas' jointly organised by the external affairs ministry and the FICCI. The Prime Minister is likely to make the announcement during his inaugural address. Dual citizenship will be confined to PIOs living in specified countries on the basis of reciprocity and will not be automatic. The Government will use its prerogatives in each applicant's case. PIOs in Pakistan will not be eligible for dual citizenship. There are an estimated 20 million PIOs living abroad. Those granted dual citizenship would be entitled to all rights and privileges enjoyed by Indian citizens but would not be allowed to contest elections or have the right to exercise their franchise in this country. Noted NRIs and PIOs, including Nobel laureates Amartya Sen and VS Naipaul, former Fiji prime minister Mahendra Chaudhury, and Malaysian works minister S Samy Vellu are attending the conference, which will deliberate on steps to increase the share of foreign direct investment by the Indian diaspora. Naga Peace Talks Tomorrow (Go To Top) NEW DELHI: Several Naga outfits have welcomed the talks between their exiled leaders and the Indian Government which begin from Thursday. National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSC) leaders, Isak Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah, are reaching New Delhi late tonight for the talks. This is the first time Naga leaders will be holding talks with the Government in New Delhi. The Government's envoy K Padmanabhaiah has held several rounds of talks with NSCN leaders outside India. A leader of Delhi Naga Council said the talks could break new grounds to end the 50-year-old struggle."In general we hope that we will suddenly bring an amicable solution to Naga political problem which is more than 50year old struggle in which thousands of lives have been lost. So people are now saying that there should be an amicable solution," said Horangoe Sangtam, president of Delhi Naga Council. But Achumbemo Kikon, spokesman of Naga Students Federation, said he did not expect a breakthrough and termed the proposed talks as confidence-building measures. India began a dialogue with NSCN leaders five years ago, but progress has been slow on the crucial issue of sovereignty. The ceasefire, which has been in force since August 1997, is seen as a step towards restoring peace in the province, one of the most troubled in the tumultuous north-east where more than 200 ethnic groups are fighting for secession or independent homeland. In 1975, the separatist Naga National Council signed a peace accord that accepted the Indian Constitution, but was challenged by Swu and Muivah, who have led a life in exile ever since. Nagas were the first Indian tribal people to campaign for a separate State. The National Socialist Council is considered the most powerful guerrilla group in the region. Thousands of people have died in the conflict in predominantly Christian Nagaland. Pakistan Warns of Nuclear 'Lesson'(Go To Top) ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has warned that it will teach India an "unforgettable lesson" if Delhi were to launch a nuclear attack. Information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was replying to remarks by Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes that Pakistan would be wiped out in a nuclear conflict. Ahmed called Fernandes' comments the "ravings of a crazy man" and condemned the "racialist and communal policies pursued by the ruling Hindu nationalist clique". Ahmed said: "We do not want war but if war is imposed on Pakistan, we have the will to give a crushing reply." Fernandes had told a conference in Hyderabad: "The Pakistani leadership should not get into the idea of committing suicide because we can take a bomb or two more." He was replying to a question about Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's remarks on 30 December that India should expect a "non-conventional war" if it attacked Pakistan. The President's spokesman later made clear he was not referring to nuclear weapons. However, Fernandes described the comments as "irresponsible". Ghori Missiles Handed Over to Pak Army(Go To Top) ISLAMABAD: Kahuta Research Laboratories has handed over Ghori missiles to Pakistan Army, reports GEO TV channel. The handing over ceremony was held here on Wednesday. President Pervez Musharraf was chief guest on the occasion. Abdul Qadeer Khan's Nuclear Links (Go To Top) WASHINGTON: Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, known as Pakistan's "father of nuclear bomb," has been offering nuclear and nuclear-related technology to other nations. So goes the information here, reportedly on the basis of a copy of a pamphlet which Dawn received last month. It was purportedly distributed by AQ Khan Research Laboratories, offering sale of vacuum technology which, it was claimed, can also be used in nuclear plants. Thus the idea seems to be one of promotion of nuclear technology. The pamphlet had a Rawalpindi address, PO Box 502, carried the pictures of the equipment and contained a photograph of Dr Khan wearing the medals awarded by the Government of Pakistan. A message too was attached that read: "Besides manufacturing of vacuum components and systems, our vacuum consultancy services are also available for system design, operational trouble-shooting, quality assurance, maintenance, system development and human resource training." The distributors appeared particularly concerned about the offer of "human resource training" because they said it was offering to train people for making a key component of a nuclear plant. Information provided with the pamphlet added that in 1998, Ernest Piffl, managing director of the German firm, GmbH near Stuttgart, received a three-and-half-year sentence for illegally exporting thousands of performs for gas centrifuge scoops to Pakistan's secret uranium enrichment programme. Performs are partially finished cast or machined components and the ones sent to Pakistan were made of a special aluminium alloy and looked like small thin-wall pipes. Bending and finishing these little pipes would have been done at the point of assembly of the centrifuge. This centrifuge technology that Dr Khan learned while working at a nuclear plant in Holland is the same as the vacuum technology the Kahuta lab was selling. However, information provided in this and other similar reports appears mild compared to the Los Angeles Times story which proclaimed: "If one man sits at the nuclear fulcrum of three countries President George W Bush calls the 'axis of evil', it may well be Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan." The story, published on Sunday, was picked by major news organizations and reproduced across the world, mostly on the front pages of influential newspapers. The 66-year-old metallurgist is a national hero at home, where hospitals bear his name and children sing his praises. But the US and other Western officials do not. According to them, Dr Khan is the only scientist known to be linked to the alleged efforts of North Korea, Iraq and Iran to develop nuclear weapons, the report said. Dr Khan has shrugged off the charges. "I built a weapon of peace, which seems hard to understand until you realize Pakistan's nuclear capability is a deterrent to aggressors. There has not been a war in the last 30 years, and I don't expect one in the future. The stakes are too high," he said. The report says that when Dr Khan ran Pakistan's bomb-building programme, he reported directly to the nation's leader and had funds at his disposal. In 1986, Pakistan and Iran signed a nuclear cooperation agreement after Dr Khan visited Bushehr, a nuclear power plant that Teheran is building with Russian help. American officials say it was Dr Khan who initiated talks with the North Koreans in 1992 to obtain 10 to 12 medium-range Nodong ballistic missiles to help Pakistan boost its military profile against India. In April 1998, Pakistan test-fired a knockoff Nodong missile renamed the Ghauri I. A month later, North Koreans attended Pakistan's first nuclear tests, say European diplomats. In exchange for the missiles, US and other officials say, Pakistan gave North Korea designs for Dr Khan's gas centrifuges and other assistance needed to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. Curfew Relaxed for Women, Children in Lunawada (Go To Top) AHMEDABAD:Curfew has been lifted for women and children in Lunawada town where the situation was reported to be peaceful now. According to the police, curfew was relaxed from 11 am to 5 pm on Wednesday. No more arrests have been made and no untoward incident has been reported since Tuesday. BJP's 'Beautification Package' for Ayodhya (Go To Top) AYODHYA: Uttar Pradesh urban development minister Lalji Tandon on Tuesday announced a special package worth Rs 200 crore for the beautification of Ayodhya. The package has come directly from the Centre. Tandon said his party cannot overlook Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram, nor can it put the temple issue on the backburner. In political cirlces, the package is mainly seen as a BJP bid to play the Hindu card in another Hindu-dominated area, after Gujarat, and expand its vote bank. The BJP is an ally in the present BSP-led Mayawati Government in the State. For the first phase of the project, the minister released Rs 30 crore. The funds would be utilised in laying sewer lines, making better roads, and improving power supply. Stage Set for Polls in HP: EC (Go To Top) SHIMLA: Chief Election Commissioner JM Lyngdoh has said that all preparations for the forthcoming Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh had been done, and that "the political parties must endeavour to keep communal flare-ups at bay". Lyngdoh was here on Wednesday to supervise the poll preparations. He expressed satisfaction while raising apprehensions about the possibility of communal atmosphere being vitiated during the campaign. Lyngdoh said electronic voting machines (EVMs) would be used for the polls and adequate training would be given to the polling staff and the voters on the use of EVMs. The Commission has already provided 8000 EVMs for 6231 polling booths and 500 more machines were being borrowed from Rajasthan to meet an exigency, he said. "The dates for the polls would be announced shortly", Lyngdoh said, adding that most political parties, barring the CPI(M), have pleaded for holding of election by February-end. He said photo identity cards would not be made mandatory but voters would be required to establish their identity which they could do by showing one of 18 documents, including driving licence, Kisan pass book, identity card, ration card, scheduled caste or scheduled tribe certificate, land patta, student identity card and any other document issued by the Government. Lyngdoh said after the code of conduct was enforced, ministers would not be allowed to go on tour or use Government vehicles, deputy commissioners and superintendents of police could not call on them during campaigning. Transfers would be banned and hoardings put by the Government would have to be removed. Jugnauth Here for Talks (Go To Top) NEW DELHI: "We have many things in common and we have things which we can review and, of course, there are new matters which I will discuss with the Prime Minister of India," Mauritian premier Anerood Jugnauth told reporters after the ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt on Wednesday. Jugnauth, who is on a week-long visit focussing on economic and political ties with India, said he was looking forward to his meeting with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. He held talks with Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha. During the visit, Jugnauth will also call upon President APJ Abdul Kalam and Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, besides holding talks with Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani. India has unique ties with Mauritius where people of Indian origin constitute 68 per cent of the population. Bilateral trade has touched 180 million dollars. The Mauritian Prime Minister last visited India in January 2001. Bangla Immigrants Not Willing to Go Back Home(Go To Top) NEW DELHI: Bangladeshis living here are resisting the Government's move to deport more than 20 million immigrants of them. Home Ministry officials said on Tuesday that the decision to deport them was taken as the immigrants posed a serious threat to the nation's internal security. Millions of Bangladeshis have migrated to India in search of employment. Many of them work as domestic servants, rickshaw-pullers and labourers. Those settled in slums on the outskirts of New Delhi say it won't be easy for them to start their life all over again. "No, we do not want to go back to Bangladesh. If we go back, we will not be able to earn anything. Here we are able to earn our livelihood. What will we do there?," said Prashant, an immigrant. Bhagirath, another of his tribe, said: "It has been 14 years since I have been living here. No, I do not want to go back. I am comfortable here." Officials said the drive to deport the immigrants would be conducted between April and June this year. It will also target about 11,500 Pakistanis who are overstaying. According to rough estimates, there are over 20 million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants residing in the country of whom more than 10 million are in Assam and West Bengal alone. Indian security agencies have in the past accused illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, most of them Muslims, of committing crimes and allege that some of them work for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Permanent Jobs to Go in China (Go To Top) BEIJING:China will finally do away with the scheme to guarantee public servants of jobs and pensions for life - thus breaking the 'iron ricebowl'. This comes as part of a package of civil service reforms which also includes open recruitment examinations and an attempt to encourage educated Chinese to return from considerably more lucrative jobs abroad to serve their homeland, reports the Telegraph. According to reports, over the next five years all 30 million employees of China's 1.3 million State institutions, will have life-long tenure replaced by employment contracts. Though the announcement only formalises changes already well under way, it brings the end of China's cradle-to-the-grave universal welfare State another step closer. The decision comes as the new Communist Party chief, Hu Jintao, is touring the country stressing the need to target resources on the poor. The idea of an "iron ricebowl" to give security to those favoured by China's rulers pre-dates the Communist era but it fitted perfectly the party's ideal social system, with work units giving employees not only an income for life but everything from housing to toothpaste. For the working class, these privileges have been under assault since the Government began serious reform of the State-owned industrial sector, with perhaps 30 million people laid off or going unpaid in the past decade. Many of these have been at the forefront of recent anti-Government demonstrations, which the party leadership is countering with a mixture of repression and soft soap. On the other hand, Hu has been extensively quoted on the need to provide jobs for laid-off workers and "meet the basic needs of the disadvantaged masses". -ANI |