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Next target is Britain: Intelligence

           London, May 15: Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had personally issued directives for terrorist attacks in Riyadh, a British newspaper reported on Thursday. Saudi security officials have claimed that Mohammed al-Johani was the mastermind behind the attacks who had arrived in Saudi Arabia on forged travel documents two months back and remained untraced since then. He is a Saudi national and left his country when he was only 18. Meanwhile, the FBI has warned of a possible big Al Qaeda attack in Britain. Terrorists have planned to hijack and transform an oil tanker in Britain into a mobile bomb, the FBI said. Scotland Yard has strengthened security measures after the warning.

38 die trapped in train fire: Indian coaches have no emergency exit

          Ludhiana, May 15: Thirty-eight people were burnt to death and several others injured when Frontier Mail caught fire early on Thursday morning shortly after it left Ludhiana for Amritsar. The fire started around 4 am in S4 coach and spread to adjacent bogies soon. All the three coaches - S3, S4, S5 - were burnt and screaming passengers running out for life had no exit to escape as luggage piled up at the doors blocked their way. The train coaches in India have no emergency exit either, to escape when it falls into a river or goes up in flames. The rescue and relief operations were hampered by the intense blaze that took over two hours to be put out. Several bodies were burnt beyond recognition. It was screams and smoke all around, screams of survivors looking for their dear ones amidst mutilated and charred corpses strewn around.

           The railway safety department has said the fire was caused by bursting of a stove in one of its coaches. It said the stove burst took place in S-4 coach, the worst- affected three-tier sleeper coach. Member of the Railway Board HC Gupta said forensic experts examined the coaches on two theories - electric short circuit and external reasons. Since pieces of a stove were found in the S-4 coach, sabotage can be totally ruled out. Gupta ruled out electric short circuit claiming that electrical devices were intact. "There is no intentional sabotage", he added. He said the iron rods on the windows near the burst stove were also bent due to the impact of the explosion. Maybe somebody tried to make his early morning cup of tea, he said.

No change in Kashmir policy: Jamali (Go To Top)

          Islamabad, May 15: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said that there is no change in Pakistan's principled stand on the Kashmir issue and it would continue to extend moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris' just struggle for achieving their right to self-determination. According to a press release issued here on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said that the Kashmiris' freedom struggle derived its legitimacy from the UN Resolutions and "the sacrifices being rendered by them form a glorious chapter for our history," reports the Nation.

Shell gas stations attacked in Karachi (Go To Top)

          Karachi, May 15: In what was described as anti-US showdown by fundamentalists, two motorcycle-borne youths set off a series of explosions at 18 gas stations run by foreign-based oil company Shell here on Thursday. The explosive devices were small and crude, police said, adding they were investigating the attacks to track down the attackers. Sources said at least four gas station employees received minor injuries.

          Giving details, Karachi police said the two men went from one station to the other, placing the explosive devices in garbage cans. The blasts began at around 4 a.m., they added. Following the serial blasts, security was tightened at all foreign-based business establishments, including restaurant chains. Authorities were also considering that American restaurant franchises could also be possible targets of the fundamentalist groups. Armed guards were stationed outside these food chains in most Pakistani cities. No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but authorities suspect it might be an anti-American act. In Pakistan, foreign companies are often identified as American. The Royal Dutch-Shell Group is an Anglo-Dutch company based in London.

Will they come or not, ask kin of Indian PoWs (Go To Top)

          Rajatal/Samrala (Punjab), May 15: Relatives of Indian prisoners of war languishing in Pakistani jails are hopeful of happy family reunion now that Islamabad has announced it will release some of them as part of mending fences with its neighbour. Pakistani Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali said on May 6 that 300 Indian PoWs would be freed as part of a road map to hold talks with India.

          Relatives of Joginder Singh, an Indian soldier who went missing during the 1971 war, are eagerly awaiting his return. Said his daughter, Harjit Kaur: "We only want to say that the atmosphere should be very cordial between the two countries. Like us, there may be people there also who are awaiting for their relatives. We want Pakistan to release our prisoners. We will be very thankful. I hope my father is among the 300 who are coming back." Singh, a resident of Rajatal village in Punjab, was lodged in Mianwali jail of Pakistan and was suffering from tuberculosis, according to Harjit. The Singhs have also sought Pakistan government's permission to identify him.

          It's the same story all over Punjab, which contributes the maximum number of soldiers to the Indian army. In Samrala, a border village located 25 km from Ludhiana city, the Rais are a hopeful lot. Lt.Gen. Gurudev Singh Rai, the first Indian to have destroyed Pakistani radars across the border, was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra, one of the highest military awards. But the Rais say they have proof that the jailed Lt.General is still alive. Dalbir Kaur, his sister, said the family had video tapes and newspapers cuttings which eastablished the fact that her brother was living. "They are saying they will release them. This is in the newspapers. But at the last moment, some problem always crops up. However, as a sister, I want my brother to return," she added.

          Official estimates say more than 50 Indian prisoners of wars are from the state of Punjab. The Pakistani government has said the prisoners will be released after working out logistic arrangements with Indian officials, adding that most of them have already been visited by Indian officials in recent weeks after Pakistan provided consular access to them. At least 20 prisoners would be handed over to the Indian authorities at the Wagah border on May 17, it added.

Narmada dam height allowed to be raised: Gujarat happy (Go To Top)

          Ahmedabad, May 15: Gujarat is happy that the Narmada Control Authority has permitted it to increase the height of the controversial dam on the river. The NCA on Wednesday allowed the state government to increase the Sardar Sarovar Dam's height from the existing 95 metres to 100. Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the work would begin on Thursday. According to him," this is a fitting reply to the people who are trying to mislead people in the name of the river."

           With the proposed rise, the dam would be able to store more water in the reservoir and 8000 to 10000 cusecs of water will start flowing from the bypass tunnel. Environmentalists fiercely opposed the project, saying that millions of tribals will be displaced and benefits flowing from the dam will be limited. But Modi said the hike in height would immensely help the drought-prone state. "By filling our dams with the flood waters stored in the Narmada dam, we will be able to recharge our wells. The health problems emanating out of the flouride content in the water will also be minimised and the Narmada canal will benefit agriculture immensely," Modi said.

          The Sardar Sarovar Project, the country's largest multi-purpose inter-state project, is being built over river Narmada. Cleared by the Central government in 1987, the project involves the building of some 3,200 small, medium-sized and large dams on the 1,300-km river and its tributaries to generate electricity and provide water to millions of people. The project is being largely financed by state governments and market borrowings after the World Bank withdrew financing in 1993, and is expected to be fully completed by 2025. The dam will benefit the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

          The NCA was established to overview and monitor the dam construction, implementation of environmental safeguard measures and rehabilitation and resettlement of project-affected families.

NLFT militants kidnap six (Go To Top)

          Agartala, May 15: Extremists belonging to the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) kidnapped at least six persons, including two government engineers, in two separate incidents here on Thursday. Assistant engineer Sunil Debbarma and junior engineer AJ Reang and two labourers were reportedly kidnapped by NLFT militants from Taichhama, a remote tribal area in North Tripura district. The engineers had gone to supervise a construction work undertaken by state government, official sources said. In the other incident, suspected NLFT militants kidnapped a ration shop dealer and his relative from Jawaharnagar. According to the locals, the extremists kidnapped the duo on gun point.

          In yet another incident, a known NLFT insurgent was killed in an encounter with police at Tuibokcherra in West Tripura district. Acting on a tip-off that some NLFT insurgents had gathered at Tuibokcherra, a police party rushed to the site and killed the militant after a 15-minute gun battle.

Claudia and son safe after car crash in London (Go To Top)

          Washington, May 15: Another supermodel meets with a road accident and this time it is Claudia Schiffer. The catwalk queen and her baby son Casper was involved in a road accident in London but luckily both mother and son escaped uninjured. Earlier, her fellow models Kate Moss (who rolled her car in 2001 and hurt her wrist) and Nikki Taylor had to undergo facial reconstructive surgery after her car crash. According to a report in People News, Claudia's assistant was driving her top of the line Range Rover when it crashed into another vehicle. Her producer husband, Matthew Vaughan, was also travelling with them, as was Caspar's nanny. Everyone is reported to be safe now.