Pain hurts less when inflicted by a woman!  (Go To Top)

          London: In a new study, researchers have found that pain hurts less when it is inflicted by a woman. University of Westminster researchers asked students to put their fingers in a clamp and tighten it until the pain was unbearable. Here they found that people allowed women to turn the clamp much further than men. In a BBC report, Dr. David Williams, who led the research said the study suggested that people do not expect women to inflict as much pain. "This effect is likely to be a result of what participants subconsciously expect, based on socially acquired gender stereotypes. People feel that they are less likely to experience intense pain from a stimulus given by a woman rather than a man," Dr. Williams added.

          In the study, people appeared to suffer more if there was a poster on the wall, which might trigger negative feelings, such as a chart of wounds or a poster calling for blood donors. He said the finding could have implications for how patients are given potentially painful treatments. "Individuals can be 'primed' for pain by qualities of their environment and, as a result, may suffer unnecessarily during acutely painful clinical procedures," he said. Awareness of these principles may be useful in developing methods of reducing suffering in those situations.

13th Lok Sabha dissolved (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The Lok Sabha was on Friday dissolved, paving the way for early general elections. President APJ Abdul Kalam signed the proclamation dissolving the 13th Lok Sabha accepting the Cabinet recommendation, a Rashtrapati Bhawan communique said. He signed the order under Article 85 of the Constitution dissolving the House with immediate effect. The communique said Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had called on the President on January 27 and conveyed the decision of the Cabinet to him for dissolution of the 13th Lok Sabha on February 6.

          This was done after completing the constitutional requirements relating to passing of votes on account railways and general) 2004-05 and Finance Bill 2004 and other exigencies of Government business by Feb 5. The Prime Minister met the President on Thursday night and apprised him of the proceedings in Parliament, it said. Parliament had adjoured sine die after passing the votes-on- account interim budget on Thursday. A meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, had on January 27 recommended to the President dissolution of the 13th Lok Sabha on February 6, more than nine months ahead of its term.

Bribery in the court: SC notice to magistrate (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The Supreme Court today directed the Ahmedabad Magistrate and three other advocates to file their replies by February 11 in connection with the arrest warrants issued against the President APJ Abdul Kalam, Supreme Court Chief Justice VNKhare and others. Taking a serious view of the reports that advocates had beaten up ZEE TV journalists in Gujarat after the sting operation was exposed, the apex court said it would treat the latter's representation as a public interest litigation. The court then issued notices to the Gujarat Government, the Director-General of Police, the Police Commissioner of Ahmedabad and the state's Chief Secretary asking them to file their response on or before February 13. Both the cases will come up for hearing on February 13.

Salem may not be in India before April: Advani (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Wanted Indian don Abu Salem is unlikely to be extradited to India before April, said Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today. "Abu Salem has been declared a terrorist by a Portuguese High Court and it is a matter of time, and maybe it will be about two months before he is extradited by that country," Advani said. He was addressing a day-long BJP national council that was attended by Prime Minister Vajpayee, among others. The High Court in Portugal has permitted the extradition of Salem and it has been a convention in that country that once a High Court permits this, that country's apex court invariably goes by this verdict, he said addressing the 15,000 party workers packed into the Ambedkar football stadium here.

Troops gun down 10 terrorists in Kashmir (Go To Top)

          Kupwara: Army officials have said ten militants and a soldier were killed in a gun battle in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, the highest toll in a shootout in the disputed region in months. "The Assam battalion was able to eliminate ten terrorists, Pakistani terrorists, who were basically from the Lashkar and Jaish outfits. One area commander of Jaish and one divisional commander of LeT, were among those killed," Brigadier CM Rai said. The 11-hour gun battle took place on Thursday in the Kandi area of Kupwara district, northwest of Srinagar. The army also recovered huge quantity of arms and ammunition including nine AK rifles, grenades and radio sets apart from ration and some Pakistani currency.

          Reports of the fighting came after at least four soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded when their vehicle ran over a landmine. Hizbul Mujahideen, a frontline Kashmiri rebel group, claimed responsibility for the incident, which took place in the district of Anantnag, south of Srinagar. Kashmir remains prey to separatist violence despite peace moves by India and Pakistan over the Himalayan region, which has been the trigger for two of the three wars between the nuclear-armed neighbours over the past half-century. India accuses Pakistan of fomenting militant violence in Jammu and Kashmir, its only Muslim-majority state, where more than 40,000 people have been killed in the revolt against New Delhi's rule since 1989.

Two more remanded to police custody in Punjab jailbreak case (Go To Top)

          Chandigarh: The police in Punjab on Friday produced two persons in a district court for helping four convicts, including three accused in the assassination of a former state chief minister, escape from a jail. Among the two is a woman, Baljit Kaur, who police said helped the assassins by providing them with mobile phones and helping them escape in a car. The court remanded both of them to police custody till February 10.

           "The men had escaped in the car that she had brought. They had escaped along with her. She also brought them cellular phones, they were in constant touch with her through the cellular phone. She was working on their directions," said Poonam Gulati, sub-inspector, Chandigarh police. But Amar Singh Chahal, the defence counsel, said the city police did not have any concrete evidence against Kaur. "Just because one goes to meet a convict does not mean that he is involved in a jailbraek. They have as yet found no convincing evidence as to who were involved in the jailbreak," he said.

          Altogether 16 persons, including "mastermind" Narain Singh Chaura and six jail officials, have so far been arrested. Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara and Paramjit Singh, who were among the nine accused in the assassination of former state chief minister Beant Singh, escaped by digging a 100foot tunnel from their barracks to a point outside the jail boundary on January 22. The fourth was an undertrial attached as a helper to the accused. Beant Singh and 14 others, including six of his security guards, were killed in the bomb blast on August 31, 1995 at the entrance of the state secretariat in Chandigarh. The proceedings of the Beant Singh assassination case are conducted within the high security Burail jail, from where the accused escaped.

Protests against release of Bleach (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Anti-terrorist activists took to the streets in New Delhi on Friday to protest the release of British gunrunner Peter Bleach. Bleach was set free last Wednesday following a pardon by President APJ Abdul Kalam more than eight years after he was arrested by Indian police probing a mysterious arms drop. "A terrorist can be from India, Pakistan, UK or Italy. He will always be a terrorist. There should be no concessions against him. The government should especially not bow before international pressure. Both the state and Central governments should be strong," said Maninder Singh Bitta, president of the All India Terrorist Front.

          Bleach was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in February 2000, along with five Russians and Latvians, after being convicted of air-dropping arms, including AK-47 assault rifles and rocket launchers, in Purulia in West Bengal in December 1995. The Russians and Latvians were released in July 2000 after appeals by Moscow, which has close ties with New Delhi. But Bleach remained in jail despite repeated pleas from him and the British government that he too be set free. Bleach and the British government argued that the Indian government had discriminated against him by releasing the Latvians and Russians while keeping him in jail.

          Late last week, after a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani and British Home Secretary David Blunkett in New Delhi, the President remitted the remaining part of Bleach's sentence.The question for whom the arms were destined has never been answered and has been a source of speculation. West Bengal borders India's restive northeast, which is home to dozens of insurgent groups fighting for independence or more autonomy.

Mulayam's kidnapped kin rescued from Bihar (Go To Top)

          Patna The police in Bihar on Friday rescued the two- year old kin of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, kidnapped last month. The grandson of Mulayam Singh Yadav's first cousin was taken out for an evening stroll on January 31 by the servant of the house but the duo never returned. Police rescued the toddler from Sivan, a small town in Bihar, after a tip-off. The child was brought to the official residence of Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi. "The Sivan police has done a good work. The local police came to know of the boy being kept at a house. They acted swiftly and rescued the boy," Laloo Prasad Yadav, leader of Bihar's ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal, and husband of Rabri Devi, said. Police have detained two people suspected of having links with the abductor.

Hundreds of Delhi slum dwellers bulldozed (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: After months of protests and delay, municipal authorities in the Capital on Friday finally demolished hundreds of hutments, beginning one of the biggest relocation exercises ever in the city. The demolitions were carried out in the heart of New Delhi amidst a heavy police posse to ward off any protests turning violent. The displaced slum dwellers, most of whom work as domestic helps, labourers and rickshaw-pullers, are a disillusioned lot, saying they would be left jobless.

          "The orders were released all of a sudden. They had put up the notice a day before and yesterday the demolition started. We had been living here for the past 23 years," Ram Swaroop, a slum dweller, said. "We are facing a lot of difficulties. Where are we going to with our children? What will we eat? Our houses have been demolished," Rama Devi, another slum dweller, added. Under a new Central government scheme, the city's unauthorised slums including the biggest, located on the banks of the Yamuna, will be turned into a green area.

          The ambitious plan involves relocation of over 1.5 million people on open land on the city's northern outskirts. The project is being spearheaded by Tourism Minister Jagmohan, known as the demolition man for his crackdown on illegal construction. The Supreme Court had directed the Delhi government to clear the Yamuna by March 2003 but massive political intervention has repeatedly delayed the project.

Bofors boomerangs on Marxists (Go To Top)
by Gautam Ghosh

          Kolkata: The exoneration of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by the Delhi high court hearing the Bofors case has caught the ruling Marxists here on the wrong foot on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls. The CPI(M), which had unleashed a no-holds- bar slander campaign against Rajiv Gandhi before the 1989 Lok Sabha elections and almost echoed the BJP's charge against him over the alleged pay-off, has now understandably gone defensive over the issue in the wake of its poll understanding with the Congress led by his widow, Sonia. The Marxists obviously cannot involve themselves in the Opposition parties' current move to make Rajiv Gandhi's exoneration an electoral issue against the BJP and intend to concentrate on other political and economic factors to take on the NDA government.

          State CPI(M) leaders feel the Delhi High Court verdict will help the Congress at the national level to fight the saffron party. The Marxists, who had raised the slogan, "gali gali me shor hai, Rajiv Gandhi chor hai," in 1989, have become extra-cautious not to hurt Mrs. Gandhi's sentiment and thereby jeopardise the prospect of closer political ties with her party in the post- election scenario. State CPI(M) secretary Anil Biswas, when asked to comment on the Delhi high court judgement giving a clean chit to Rajiv Gandhi in the Bofors case, said, "How can we comment on the role of a person who died several years back? However, we are all for the punishment of those who were actually involved in the Rs 64 crore pay-off." Left Front chairman and politburo member Biman Bose too feels the Congress will make electoral gains from the High Court verdict." Bose earlier had severely criticized the BJP for targeting Rajiv Gandhi's children, Priyanka Vadera and Rahul Gandhi, after their formal induction to the Congress, saying the saffron party has become panicky."

          The CPI(M) is well aware of the adverse fall-out of any move to defend its role in 1989 vis-a-vis Rajiv Gandhi's alleged involvement in the Bofors pay-off. Neither is it in a position to attack the BJP for making similar charges against the late Prime Minister to make poll dividends in 1989. The party now wants the Congress High Command to follow a policy of "forget and forgive" towards it in view of the greater challenge from the BJP and its allies in the coming elections. The state Congress leadership, however, is not prepared to overlook the CPI(M)s apparent volte face on the emotive issue. "The CPI(M) cannot go unscathed for the role it played in 1989. We still remember how the Marxists spared no efforts to tarnish the image of our late leader. We want both the BJP and the CPI(M) to apologise to the people as well as members of the Gandhi family for their despicable role in the 1989 Lok Sabha poll campaign," said Congress legislator, Abdul Mannan.

          According to informed sources, the state Congress may try to highlight the CPI(M)'s role vis-a-vis Bofors case in its election campaign. The Congress leaders here feel the issue can be successfully exploited to revive the party's "anti-CPI(M) image" which has received a severe beating in the wake of an understanding between the two parties at the national level. Sources, however, said CPI(M) general secretary HS Surjeet has already expressed regret to Sonia Gandhi over his party's campaign against her husband in connection with the Bofors pay- off. There is every possibility that the Congress will not try to rake up the issue in its poll campaign in different states, barring West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala," the known Marxist strongholds.

India concerned over Pak proliferation (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: In its first official reaction to the admission by Pakistan's top scientist AQ Khan of providing sensitive technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya, India on Friday said it was "not an internal matter" of Pakistan and the matter has to be debated in the IAEA and elswhere for a "more responsible" behaviour from countries with nuclear capability. Obviously, there were some charges and the Pakistan Cabinet decided to recommend to President (Pervez Mushsarraf) that Khan should be pardoned. The Pakistan President has pardoned him, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said at a joint press conference with his British counterpart Jack Straw. He said "obviously, it appears to me that things will not stop here because it is not merely an internal matter of Pakistan but it is a matter concerning the entire international community. Pakistan itself is not a signatory to the NPT but Libya and Iran are". New Delhi's reaction assumes significance in the wake of US terming the Presidential pardon to Khan as an internal matter of Pakistan.

Khan's revelations are just the`tip of the ceberg': IAEA chief (Go To Top)

          Vienna: The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed El Baradei, has said that the revelations made by Pakistan's top-most nuclear scientist Dr AQ Khan about a clandestine network for spreading nuclear technology are just the "tip of an iceberg" about such illegal trafficking. "Dr. Khan is the tip of an iceberg for us ... Khan was not working alone. We need to follow this through. We need to know who was producing centrifuges that can be used to make highly enriched uranium for atomic bombs. We have to make sure it will not be repeated," the News quoted El Baradei, as saying.

          He said individuals in at least five countries were involved in the trafficking that went back at least to the 1980s. "Dr. Khan was an important part of the process. Now he's cooperating with Pakistani authorities so hopefully we'll get as much information as we need," Baradei told reporters at the IAEA headquarters here on the sidelines of a conference on nuclear non-proliferation: He said the IAEA was trying to piece together what El Baradei called "a supermarket" of international smuggling of nuclear materials and information such as the weapons blueprints the US has found in Libya.

           "We're looking into who else got the materials, other than Libya or Iran," El Baradei said, adding that Pakistan had been quite cooperation in the investigation. He further said that the clandestine process involved items that were manufactured in other countries. There were items that were assembled in different countries. "There was diverting on ships," he said, adding that the IAEA needed to follow through and knew who was producing the centrifuges, who was producing different parts."

Kashmir, a bilateral issue between India, Pak: China (Go To Top)

          Hong Kong: India and Pakistan should resolve their bilateral disputes, including Kashmir, Chinese Foreign Office has said. He said that China believes Kashmir is an outstanding dispute left over by history that needs to be resolved through dialogue and consultation as soon as possible. This is not only in the fundamental interests of the two countries, but also in the interest of South Asia and the Asian countries as a whole, Zhang added. Welcoming the two countries' resolve to hold composite dialogue, he said: "We welcome the decision by the two countries to resume dialogue for resolution of their outstanding conflicts."

19 Maoist rebels killed in Nepal clash (Go To Top)

          Kathmandu: Nineteen Maoist rebels were killed when the Nepali army raided a guerrilla camp on Friday, an army spokesman said, the highest toll in a single incident in about two months, a foreign news agency reported. The spokesman said the rebels were killed in Dhiman, 200 km south-east of Kathmandu in Nepal's southern plains. 'The rebels were killed after a small team of soldiers attacked a large number of rebels there,' he said. The rebels, who in the past have mainly fought in the hills, have recently begun targeting the agricultural and business districts of the southern plains.

30 dead, 100 injured in Moscow subway blast (Go To Top)

          Moscow: An explosion took place on a train in the central Moscow metro railway line in the morning rush hour on Friday leaving 30 dead and more than 100 wounded, a foreign news agency reported. Alexander Chekalin, a deputy interior minister, said that about 30 people were injured after an explosion in the second wagon of the train as it travelled on one of Moscow's deepest metro lines to the Paveletskaya station, located on the capital's busy circle line.

India pitches medical relief to Bam quake victims (Go To Top)
by N. Bhadran Nair

          Bam (Iran): India has pitched a medical relief operation for the quake-affected Bam in Iran, the largest-ever operation outside the country. The Indian hospital innovated with cargo containers to brave the sub-zero temperatures at night and choppy winds during the day, has earned the goodwill for 'Hindoostan', hitherto unknown to many in the city. The 60-member Indian medical team drawn from the Army Medical Corps has so far attended over 20 thousand OPD cases and conducted over 90 major operations since arriving here on the first of of January.

          Initially planned for just three weeks, New Delhi has decided to continue with the mission till the end of March following a special request from the Iranian government. "Some 700 to 800 patients are being attended to in the OPDs every day, round-the-clock," said Lt Col (Dr) HC Talan, Incharge of the medical relief operations of the Indian hospital in Bam. "The hospital, which was set up for three-weeks initially has earned the confidence of the people and the local government, that they have now requested India to stay back," Col. Talan added.

          "Even the World Health Organisation (WHO) was impressed with the Indian hospital, and complicated cases are being referred from other hospitals like the Red Crescent Hospital of Iran," said Col. Talan. As a select group of Indian journalists were shown the facilities, a two-month old child was brought to the hospital in a critical condition with heart stroke. The doctors though described the case as "almost dead", later managed to revive the child and shifted to a major city hospital. "Let Allah bless you all," said a woman, who lost 16 members of her family including her husband and three children. "Had it not been for the Indian hospital, I would not have seen the day," she added.

          So far, India has sent five planeloads of relief material, mostly medicines, medical equipment, tents, food material and blankets for the affected people. Almost 50 per cent of the one lakh population perished in the killer quake, which hit this historic city in the wee hours of December 26. Though the Iranian government has put the death toll at 43,000, the number may go up, as clearing the rubbles of collapsed buildings is yet to begin. The government and aid agencies have been attending to those who escaped the nature's fury, albeit with fatal injuries. A quick visit to the main thoroughfare of the city showed that the quake had damaged almost all the buildings, the most precious being the 2000-year-old mud fort "Arg-e-Bam". The fort, which was built in the 12th century, had withstood the vagaries of nature all these years, but just a minute and half of the quake turned it to rubble.

Where does US hold detained Pakistani suspects (Go To Top)

          Washington: Eighty-two Pakistanis and 160 Saudis are currently under detention at the US military facility in Guantanamo Bay. Pakistanis form the third largest bloc of detainees on the Cuban Island, preceded by the Yemenis (85) in the second place and the Saudis (160). The Afghans are the fourth largest nationality with 80 detainees while there is one Bangladeshi prisoner. According to Online News, a member of the Bahrain royal family is also among the detainees.

          Suspected terrorists are detained by US forces at a number of points around the world, including Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and at Bagram Air Force base outside Kabul. But Camp Delta, the US detention facility at Guantanamo, has attracted the most media attention and international protest. The Brown and Root Services, a subsidiary of Haliburton used Indian and Filipino contract workers to build Camp Delta at a cost of 9.7 million dollars. Camp Delta replaces Camp X-Ray, the first improvised detention centre built in January 2002 to house individuals detained in Afghanistan.

          The Pentagon has kept a very tight lid on material about the detainees; only the identities of those who choose to correspond via the Red Cross are known. Sources say that the camp has 619 people from 38 countries. Among other countries that have prisoners on the island are Jordan and Egypt (30 each), Morocco (18), Algeria (19), Kuwait (12), China (12) and Tajikistan and Turkey (11 each), Britain (nine) and Tunisia and Russia (eight each).

Aussies finish the job in 40 overs (Go To Top)

          Melbourn: Australia took a 1-0 lead in the best- of-three VB Series final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday, beating India by seven wickets. Openers Matthew Hayden made a patient 50 as the home side overhauled India's total to end up on 224 with 9.5 overs to spare. Laxmipathy Balaji took all three wickets.

          India won the toss and batted but the tourists lost six wickets for 75 off the first 21.1 overs. Virender Sehwag (3) and Sachin Tendulkar (8) fell inside the first six overs. Sehwag popped a short ball from Jason Gillespie (2-39) to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist in the third over at six for one and eight runs later Tendulkar was bowled by Brett Lee. Fast bowler Brad Williams removed Laxman for 24 at 48 for three and Rahul Dravid fell for six to the bowling of Ian Harvey without addition to the team total.

          Twenty-seven runs later, India again lost two wickets for nought. Sourav Ganguly was caught behind off Harvey (2-40) for six and three balls later Lee (2-34) began his second spell with the wicket of Yuvraj Singh, who was also caught behind. Agarkar was caught at gully by Lee off left-arm spinner Michael Clarke at 177 for seven. Irfan Pathan (19) and Anil Kumble (2) were both run out. Zimbabwe did not score a win in their eight matches in the triangular series and missed the finals. The second final will be played in Sydney on Sunday and a third is scheduled for Brisbane two days later if required.

BCCI team to visit all Indo-Pak tour venues from Monday (Go To Top)

          Karachi: A three-member team of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to arrive in Pakistan on Monday to carry out security and media-related inspections at all the cricket venues where Pakistan and India are to meet during their historic face-off after 14 years. The special delegation, which includes Yasovardhan Azad, inspector-general of police for VIP security, Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI's joint secretary, and Amrit Mathur, director of communications, is also expected to meet senior PCB officials and finalize the tour itinerary with venues and final dates. Mathur, apparently, will also discuss the accreditations and other facilities being made available for the Indian media for the tour.

          A PCB spokesman said that Indian delegation would visit all the venues where matches against India are planned including Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad and Peshawar. India last played a cricket match on Pakistani soil over six years ago, a One-day International at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium on October 2, 1997. That was when the Sachin Tendulkar's team lost the three-match series 1-2.

400-member Indian squad to attend SAF games in Islamabad  (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: India will send a 400-member squad to the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games in Pakistan from March 29 to April 7, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said on Friday. "India will be well represented there. Total squad of about 400 athlets, coaches and managers will take part in the SAF games. You are aware that there are 15 disciplines in the SAF games," the IOA president Suresh Kalmadi told reporters. Kalmadi said the security aspects have been discussed with Pakistani officials and added Indian security people would accompany the squad.

          The ninth SAF games, originally scheduled for early 2001, have been postponed three times due to lack of preparation, then security concerns following the September 11 attacks in the U.S. and finally political tension between India and Pakistan. But bilateral sporting relations between the two neighbours have resumed following a political thaw in recent months and India's cricket team are set to play their first test series in Pakistan for over 14 years in March-April. Besides India and Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan and Bangladesh will participate in the games.