ULFA Attacks IOC Depot, Gas Line

          TINSUKIA (Assam): Militants belonging to the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) early on Saturday attacked an oil depot and a gas pipeline. No casualties were reported. The organisation later claimed responsibility for the attack. Official sources said the insurgents might have used rocket launchers to carry out the attacks, which occurred within minutes of each other. After the attack, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) depot reportedly caught fire, engulfing a huge petrol tank. The oil depot is situated on the outskirts of Tinsukia. Precautionary measures were taken to prevent the fire from spreading to six other oil tanks.

          The other blast occurred at an Oil India pipeline carrying gas from its Duliajan unit to NEEPCO power grid. A district official said, "the insurgents might have used rocket launchers to trigger the two blasts". As many as 70 fire tenders of the police and Army were battling the towering inferno rising as high as 70 feet, he added. Claiming responsibility, ULFA think tank Paresh Baruah said similar attacks would be carried out in the coming days. This was the second such attack in five years. In 1998 ULFA had set ablaze IOC's oil storage depot tanks in Nagaon district.

India Launches Its Own Torpedo (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: India successfully launched on Saturday an indigenously produced torpedo and joined the elite club of eight countries in the world to have such a capability. The trial launch of the torpedo was conducted in Visakhapatnam. Manufactured by Hyderabad-based public sector undertaking Bharat Dynamics, the production model of the torpedo would undergo further user trials before its bulk production, a company spokesman said.

Vajpayee Call to Avert Iraq War (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: India today called upon the world community to take urgent steps to avert an imminent war on Iraq. Addressing a gathering of women journalists on the occasion of International Women's Day, Prime Minister Vajpayee said, "as far as world peace is concerned, war clouds are looming large. We don't know when war may break out. But efforts should be made to avert a war till the very last second." He added, "international observers have gone to Iraq to probe and investigate. Their reports seem to indicate that they have managed to find banned weapons. Iraq too has taken up the initiative and seems ready to destroy such weapons. In this situation, the effort should be all the more to avert a war," said Vajpayee.

Thousands of Women Take to Streets Demanding Reservation (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: Thousands of women took to the streets in the Capital on Saturday to highlight International Women's Day and demanded reservation for them in legislatures. Indian women's concern for their counterparts in Iraq was reflected in banners that pleaded "We want no war, but peace." They also sought compassion for thousands of women who had suffered the communal riots in Gujarat last year in which more than 1000 people were killed. However, the demand for reservation for women in legislatures dominated Saturday's march.

           Women across India have been intensely lobbying for the Bill, which seeks to reserve one-third of Parliament and State Assembly seats for women. The Bill has been pending since 1999. On Friday, consensus once again eluded an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to decide the fate of the Bill. "The Government says that it will pass the Bill unanimously, but the federal Government really has no intention of giving women their rights and the reservation. The Government is trying to buy time by talking about things like consensus," said Asha Lata, who works with a women's organisation. "Until and unless we get 33 per cent reservation, till we are given justice, we swear we will continue with our struggle," added Indu, another activist.

           Though a majority of political parties support the constitutional amendment Bill, two prominent parties, the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, opposed it in its present form. The two parties favour a specific quota for other backward classes, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and minorities within the proposed 33 per cent reservation for women. Most other parties, including the Congress, want the Bill to be tabled immediately in its present form. The number of women in the Lok Sabha peaked in 1984 at 8.1 per cent. In 1998 the figure stood at 7.9 per cent. Despite an assurance of equality before law, women continue to be discriminated against in most fields. The male-female ratio is loaded against women and women's literacy levels are below the half-way mark in most States.

We Are for Women's Reservation, Says Sonia (Go To Top)

          RAIPUR: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has once again said that her party fully supports women's reservation in legislatures. She said this while speaking to reporters here on Saturday. Though Sonia was here to inaugurate work on creating a new Capital at Paunta, politics was high on her agenda as Assembly elections in the State are slated to take place in November. She said "something positive" would emerge in evolving a consensus on women's reservation Bill, which encompasses reservation for the fairer sex in Parliament and State Assemblies.

           Sonia said her party's stand was very clear on this matter. "We are strongly in favour of reservation for women. Political parties are talking unitedly on the issue," she added. It may be recalled that political parties failed to evolve a consensus on Friday during an all-party meet called by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) opposed the present form of the Bill saying an amendment should be made in the Bill providing a separate reservation for women belonging to scheduled castes, backward classes and minorities.

Mayawati Threatens to Reveal Certain 'Facts' (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: UP Chief Minister Mayawati on Saturday threatened to reveal the "facts" she had written to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister on the tape controversy. "I have brought all the facts to the notice of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister through a letter. Everything can't be said, but these facts can be revealed when the time comes," she told reporters after a 75-minute meeting with Vajpayee.

           She had yesterday met Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani and discussed the issue. Her letter was not tabled in the Lok Sabha earlier this week when Advani made a statement on the controversy arising out of the allegation that Mayawati had asked her party MPs and MLAs to divert funds from their constituency development scheme to BSP's coffers.

Pakistan Handed over 443 Al Qaeda Suspects to US 'Illegally' (Go To Top)

          ISLAMABAD: Against the backdrop of 9/11, Pakistan has handed over more than 440 so-called al-Qaeda suspects to US authorities in violation of the law of the land. The relevant statutes, including the extradition Act and foreigners Act, which deal with the transfer of fugitives or illegal immigrants to foreign countries from Pakistan, were simply ignored while handing over these alleged members of the so-called Al Qaeda, reports the News.

          Government spokesman, when contacted, did not give any legitimate reason to justify the controversial extradition of these over 440 Muslims, including Pakistanis and foreigners. "We are doing it in view of our cooperation with the United States," the spokesman said. When asked as to why those handed over to Americans were deprived of their legal rights under the extradition Act or the foreigners Act, the spokesman said that majority of these persons were nabbed on the border areas and given to the Americans.

           The spokesman admitted that none of the transferred persons was tried before an inquiry officer, magistrate or any court of law. He disclosed that they were not formally arrested to avoid the application of the law. The extradition Act facilitates the shifting of a person wanted by a foreign country with which Islamabad has signed an extradition treaty. This Act, however, only allows the extradition of those persons who had committed crime that are clearly mentioned in its schedule of offences. The Act provides for a judicial process that gives the wanted person the opportunity to face an inquiry before a magistrate and defend himself against the charges levelled by a foreign country, which seeks his extradition.

           The foreigners Act allows the deportation of those foreigners who live in Pakistan without valid travel documents. Such foreigners can also be deported through a judicial process. And above all the deportation of a foreigner could be made only to the country of his origin.

           However, after 9/11 Pakistan has been repeatedly handing over foreigners as well as its own nationals to the US authorities without any legal authority merely to please the Americans. There is a general perception in Pakistan that the Americans these days are freely picking up any person of their choice from Pakistan by simply using the name of Al Qaeda, which was unheard of by many before 9/11. According to reports, Pakistani authorities arrested more than 500 so-called Al Qaeda members since the launch of the US-led anti-terror campaign. Of these, 443 were remanded to the custody of the US authorities by December 31, 2002.

Kylie Meets Her `Match' in Paris (Go To Top)

          LONDON: Are Kylie Minogue's days as a single woman finally over? Well, the answer is yes. The sexy Aussie singer reportedly flew to Paris to be in the arms of French actor Olivier Martinez. Kylie met 'Unfaithful' star Martinez, who is widely known as the French version of Hollywood hunk Brad Pitt, in Beverly Hills last week. She was there for the Grammy Awards. The pair hit it off so well that they agreed to meet again, reports People News. While in Paris, the two drove in Martinez's motorbike and enjoyed a long lunch, followed by a long walk. Gallic spies commented, "The pair were all over each other, strolling hand in hand and talking non-stop. It seems a good match."

Now Meet Michael Jackson's Secret Son (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Michael Jackson just refuses to stay out of news - the latest one being that the former King of Pop has a secret teenage son. Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, 16, is a spitting image of his father when he was a teenager, People News quoted the US magazine, the Globe, as saying. The existence of Jackson's secret son came to light in a US TV documentary, which showed the boy at a Christmas party at Neverland Ranch in 1998. Although the boy is not identified on the film, a family insider says he is indeed Jackson's son. Meanwhile, Stuart Backerman, Jackson's official spokesperson, says the boy was "Michael's godson."

Charles' Aide to Quit Over Scandal (Go To Top)

          LONDON: A scandal over sale of royal presents has forced Prince Charles' most trusted aide to quit his 100,000 pound-a-year job. Michael Fawcett - jokingly dubbed Fawcett the Fence because he sold so many presents - is set to resign next week, reports the Sun. Incredibly, though, he will be rehired almost immediately as a freelance on the same pay after stitching up a deal with Charles at a private meeting. Fawcett's resignation will come just ahead of the publication of a 100-page report into the sale of unwanted royal gifts by servants and the collapse of the Paul Burrell trial. Fawcett, 40, is alleged to have almost doubled his pay by flogging items given to him by Charles. The practice was common with other royal flunkeys. But sources said Fawcett had agreed to be the "fall-guy" for the whole scandal.

Bridget Fonda to Tie the Knot (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Bridget Fonda, who recently suffered back injuries from a car accident, is getting married to film composer Danny Elfman. Surprisingly, this will be the first marriage for the 39-year old US actress, who was released from hospital on Wednesday. While confirming the engagement, Fonda's spokesperson Nancy Seltzer said, "Bridget is extremely happy," reports People News.