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India
Beat Kiwis by One Wicket in a Thriller SYDNEY: In a thrilling encounter, man-of-the-match Virender Sehwag's 112 helped India beat New Zealand by one wicket in the sixth and penultimate one-dayer in Auckland on Saturday. The hosts have already won the seven-match series 4-2. In reply to the hosts' 199 for nine, the visitors made 200 for nine off the penultimate ball of the match.(Details) No More Fighting: NSCN NEW DELHI: Hopes of ending India's longest-running separatist revolt touched an all-time high on Saturday as a powerful rebel group active in the country's north-east said there would be no more "fighting". The significant statement comes in the midst of the Naga peace talks being held between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), fighting for a separate homeland, and the Indian Government. "Well, the talk was very cordial and it was very warm. We have to tell you that there will be no more fighting between India and the Naga people, this is the understanding we have. The whole Naga people are praying for the leadership of India and Naga leadership to have successful talks. They are very enthusiastic and we pray and hope that God listens to the prayers of the Nagas and there will be understanding and closer relationship between the people of India and Naga," NSCN-IM chairman Isak Chisi Swu told reporters after an hour-long meeting with defence minister George Fernandes. Swu along with party general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah began talks with the Prime Minister on Thursday. Government officials say there has been an easing of NSCN's demands for an independent tribal homeland but it is unclear as to what extent. Last November, the Government lifted a 12-year ban on the group, the biggest among the north-east's 50-odd rebel armies, to pave the way for its leaders to return to try to end a conflict that has claimed 50,000 lives over more than five decades. But leaders of Nagaland, where most Nagas are concentrated, have said failure to include a major rival Naga rebel group headed by SS Khaplang in the talks may make peace tough to achieve. The north-east, comprising seven mountainous federal States, is home to about 200 ethnic groups and has been plagued by revolts since India won independence from Britain in 1947. Rebels accuse the federal Government of looting the region's rich mineral resources and neglecting its economy. The NSCN and India have held discussions in Europe and Asia since a 1997 truce but this was the first time Naga leaders had met the Prime Minister in New Delhi since 1967. NSCN was seeking the creation of a single administrative region for Naga-dominated areas in the north-east and the granting of "special status". While most Nagas live in Nagaland, some are in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. In 2001, Manipur was rocked by violent demonstrations over fears the federal Government planned to create a greater State of Nagaland that would have carved out part of Manipur. Assembly Poll in HP, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura on Feb 26 (Go To Top) NEW DELHI: Chief Election Commissioner JM Lyngdoh said on Saturday that Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura would be held on February 26 and a notification would be issued on January 31. The CEC said that the last date for filing nominations is February 7, scrutiny would be held on February 8 and last date for withdrawal of candidature is February 10. The counting will take place on March 1. Simultaneously, by-elections will also be conducted in seven Assembly constituencies spread over six States - Uttar Pradesh (2) and Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu (1 each). "The code of conduct in these States and the constituencies where by-polls are to be held comes into force with immediate effect.", he said. US Plans Joint Military Exercises With Pakistan(Go To Top) ISLAMABAD: The US Government has proposed to hold joint military exercises with Pakistan next month that would involve as many as 1500 US Marines, Dawn has learnt through reliable sources. The US request for the joint military exercises was communicated to the Pakistan military officials last month, the daily quoted informed defence sources as saying. The date proposed for what could be the largest-to-date war games between the two countries is February 22. The proposed exercises would involve all three services - army, air force and navy - the sources said. "The exercises would basically involve onshore landing supported by air and ground forces," is how a senior official in the know of the proposal put it. Pakistan has yet to give the green light for the unprecedented tri-services joint military exercises. Talking to Dawn, ISPR Chief Major-Gen Rashid Qureshi said: "We have an ongoing programme of military cooperation with the United States under which a series of joint exercises are to be held but there are no army exercises with the US forces scheduled in the month of February." When asked if he was aware that a recent request for joint military exercises with 1500 US Marines had been made by the United States, he replied in the negative. Responding to the same question, a US embassy spokesman in Islamabad said that after the September 11 incident, the United States and Pakistan had resumed an active programme of joint military exercises. There was no outright denial by him of US having proposed the military exercises for the next month. When questioned about dates, scale and duration of the proposed exercises the US embassy spokesman said: "These are all topics of ongoing discussions at the current time." He added: "The US and Pakistan Governments are continuing to plan several future exercises between the two militaries." Another Islamabad-based US diplomat said that he was aware that "there is something coming up in a relatively mid future." His hunch was that the exercises would mainly involve naval ships. 5,000 More US Troops to Join Gulf Duty (Go To Top) WASHINGTON: About 35,000 more US troops would be added to the 60,000 already present in the Gulf, according to orders signed by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Friday. US officials informed that the orders included plans to send 7,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and another 7,000 from Camp Pendleton, California, as well as soldiers from other services. No more specifications were given. The Army is already sending armoured and infantry troops from two bases in the State of Georgia and engineers, military police and intelligence specialists from Germany. The Air Force this week began sending B-1B bombers from Ellsworth, South Dakota, and will send both F-15C fighters and F-15E attack jets in the coming days along with Predator unmanned spy planes and radar aircraft. Meanwhile, Australian defence minister said in Sydney that the Australian troops to be deployed in the Gulf region will be vaccinated for anthrax. He said the deployment did not mean that war with Iraq was imminent. Earlier, Prime Minister John Howard had announced that his country would send elite troops, fighter jets and navy ships to join international forces, with the first contingent possibly on its way before February. He said that the Australian forces would remain under Australian command in the region. Dugs Given to Gulf War Soldiers May Have Hit Fertility(Go To Top) WASHINGTON: A new study has found that drugs given to soldiers who had fought in the Gulf War may have caused infertility and other sexual problems. Tests on rats have shown that some of the chemicals can damage male reproductive organs. The drugs were given to soldiers to protect them against insect-borne diseases and nerve-gas poisoning during the 1991 conflict. Veterans' groups say many of their members have suffered infertility and other sexual problems since the war. Dr Mohamed Abou-Donia and colleagues at Duke University Medical Centre tested the insect-repellent DEET, the insecticide permethrin and the anti-nerve gas agent pyridostigmine bromide on rats. The rats were given equivalent doses to those given to soldiers. According to the researchers, these chemicals caused extensive damage to the cells in the rats' testes when they were given together. Agni-III Missile Test Likely Before Year-end (Go To Top) NEW DELHI: Surface-to-surface 'Agni-III' missile with a range of more than 3,000 km is likely to be test-fired before the end of the year, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister VK Aatre said here on Saturday. Aatre also announced that surface-to-surface missile 'Agni-I', which was test-fired on Thursday last, is ready for induction into the armed forces. It has a strike range of 700 to 800 km. He told reporters that the ship-borne version of 'Brahmos', a supersonic cruise missile, will be tested for the first time in the second half of this month. Brahmos, jointly developed by India and Russia, has a range of about 290 km. It has been test-fired twice before. Kiran Bedi Made UN Police Adviser (Go To Top) NEW DELHI: : Kiran Bedi, the first woman officer of the elite Indian Police Service (IPS) on Saturday was appointed to the prestigious post of the United Nations civilian police adviser. Bedi was appointed for the coveted post by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and would be working with the Department of Peace-keeping Operations. She takes over from acting Adviser Antero Lopes of Portugal. Bedi said her selection for the post was recognition of Indian police force world-wide. She said her role will be to conduct operations under the United Nations to restore peace and normalcy in strife-torn regions. She has served in various positions during her 25-year police career in the Indian police service. During her two-year tenure as inspector-general of police, prisons, Bedi won international acclaim, including the Philippines' prestigious Magsaysay award, for turning Tihar jail into a reformatory. -ANI |