60 feared killed in Iran plane crash (Go To Top)

          Tehran: An Iranian plane with about 60 passengers aboard crashed on Tuesday in the emirate of Sharjah, state television said, quoting some survivors. The plane belonging to Kish Airlines came down between Ajman and Sharjah shortly after take-off from Sharjah airport," the television said. The flight was reportedly heading for the Iranian Gulf island of Kish when it went down in an open area in the United Arab Emirates, the television added. Police had earlier said the plane had been approaching Sharjah international airport when it crashed and put the toll at about 35.

Car bomb kills 45 in Baghdad (Go To Top)

          Baghdad: A car bomb on Tuesday killed at least 45 people and wounded 150 outside a police station south of Baghdad. The device exploded in the mainly Shia Muslim town of Iskandariya, 40 km from the Iraqi Capital. Part of the police station and the town's courthouse were destroyed in the blast. Militants are reported to have killed at least 300 members of the new Iraqi police force set up by the US-led coalition. "There are around 50 martyrs, 30 of whom have been identified, and dozens wounded," Dr Tahsim Ahmad was quoted as saying at Iskandariya. A hospital spokesman said the death toll could be 49.

Top BJP leaders meet to finalise poll campaign strategy (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday held hectic meetings of its top leaders to finalise the strategy for campaign ahead of the national poll. The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll schedule this week. President APJ Abdul Kalam dissolved the Lok Sabha last week following the BJP-led coalition government's gamble with an early election eight months ahead of schedule. "Party president Venkaiah Naidu has made a general call that this is our election. He said that though we are all preparing for our individual seats but each one of us should get over personal gains and should be prepared to go wherever the party sends us," ID Swamy, Minister of State for Home told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting in the Capital.

          The BJP and its 20 plus the disparate allies, riding high on an economic boom, gains in recent assembly polls and peace moves with Pakistan, is expected to sweep the polls. However, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, last week asked the voters to give the BJP a majority on its own. More than 600 million people are eligible to vote.

Kashmiri separatists on a day-long hunger-strike (Go To Top)

          Srinagar: A Kashmiri separatist group on Tuesday observed a day-long hunger-strike to press for participation of Kashmiris in talks between India and Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), which declared ceasefire with India in 1994 and reverted to political struggle, welcomed the ceasefire between the nuclear neighbours. Yaseen Malik, chairman of JKLF, said the people of Kashmir had suffered a lot over 14 years of militancy. "This hunger-strike is a message to the international community that Kashmiri people want genuine peace process because we have encouraged the dialogue process between India and Pakistan but simultaneously we feel that this dialogue is incomplete unless and until Kashmiri people are not present at the negotiating table because Kashmir issue is not a border dispute between India and Pakistan. Kashmir issue is a matter of 12 million people of Jammu and Kashmir," Malik told reporters in Srinagar.

          In a major breakthrough, India and Pakistan last month decided to hold talks on all issues including the disputed Kashmir. The talks start in Islamabad on February 16. A thaw in relations between the arch-rivals came when Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee extended a hand of friendship to Pakistan last April in what he said was the last bid in his life-time. The two countries have resumed diplomatic and transport links since then, snapped after a December 2001 armed raid on Parliament which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

Kashmiri militant arrested in Delhi (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Police on Tuesday arrested a Kashmiri militant setting up a base in New Delhi. Police said 26-year old Peer Abdul Hai, running a small time restaurant, was trained in Pakistan and Afghanistan, dealing in drugs, weapons, explosives and foreign currencies. Hai, a resident of Sopore village in Kashmir, said he joined the militant groups as he feared for his life. "I am not related to any group, but I have been working with them. I was scared because the Hizbul Mujahideeen killed my father and I feared that they will kill me also," said Hai. Police said Hai was arrested on a tip-off from intelligence sources. "Crime branch along with the military intelligence got an input from sources that a Kashmiri youth had opened a hotel and his lifestyle was more lavish than his income. We also got information of many dubious people visiting him in his hotel. A team was constituted and yesterday, he was intercepted. We seized 7.56 Spanish pisos and some foreign currency," said Dependra Pathak, Deputy Commissioner of Police. Pathak said a search for Hai's accomplices was on.

Former Karnataka minister pleads innocence (Go To Top)

          Bangalore: A former Karnataka minister, implicated in a multi-million dollar fake revenue stamp, on Tuesday said he was a victim of political vendetta. Roshan Baig resigned late last year after his brother was alleged to have links with Adbul Karim Telgi, the main accused in the scam. Baig accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of deliberately overplaying the issue to gain political mileage, ahead of an early national elections. Karnataka is ruled by the Congress party. "I have nothing to do with this affair. I have been a victim of circumstances. As the elections are approaching, the BJP wants to sensationalise the issue. S.M.Krishna has been doing a good job. Now the BJP wants a foothold in Karnataka, so they are using this opportunity to victimise me," Baig, who has just returned from Haj pilgrimage, told reporters in Bangalore.

          More than 100 people across several states, including policemen, politicians and government officials, have been arrested for fraud in connection with the forged paper that is used for such transactions as property and business contracts. The case is being investigated independently by Special Investigating Teams (SITs) of Karnataka and Maharashtra, besides Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The near decade-old scam involves paper used in legal documents, known as stamp paper. Police and prosecutors say although 660 million dollars worth of the paper has been found across nine states, the real figure could be more than 10 times that.

Israeli foreign minister confers with Advani (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Israeli foreign minister Silvan Shalon met Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani on Tuesday amidst reports that the two countries could sign a 1.1 billion dollar deal for the Phalcon early warning radar system. Shalon held detailed talks with Advani and is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Wednesday. Cooperation between the two countries has grown rapidly since they established diplomatic relations in 1992. Shalon's visit succeeds that of head of Israel Aircraft industries (IAI) in October when the two nations struck a preliminary deal on the radar system. The Phalcon can pick up aircraft, including at low altitude, hundreds of kilometres away in any weather, day or night. It can also intercept and decode radio transmissions, anticipating in many cases the weaponry an enemy might deploy. The technology would enable the Indian air force to pry deep into the air space its arch foe and nuclear-armed neighbour Pakistani.

Jaya reinstates 999 sacked staff, hikes DA (Go To Top)

          Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday announced in the State Assembly that all the 999 government staff who were dismissed for taking part in an indefinite strike last year would be reinstated. Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor's address, she said the punishment would now be scaled down to four-year cut in their annual increment. She also announced a three per cent hike in the dearness allowance for government employees and teachers.

Trishul test-fired (Go To Top)

          Balasore: The country's most sophisticated short range missile Trishul was successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore on Tuesday. The missile was fired from a mobile launcher at 11.20 am. The surface-to-air missile capable of supersonic speed can hit targets both in the air and on land within a distance of 300 metres to nine km, defence sources said. The solid fuel propelled Trishul has a capacity to carry 15 kg of warhead and has been developed to suit the needs of all the three defence services. The missile, three metres long and 200 cm in diametre, is part of the country's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

SJM demands action against soft drink giants (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) on Tuesday demanded government action against softdrinks giants PepsiCo and Coke, after a recent parliamentary report said the beverages contained pesticidal residues. SJM activists also asked the government to compensate farmers in Kerala where the Coca Cola company reportedly passed off solid wastes as fertilisers. "The report by the parliamentary committee, formed to probe the Pepsi-Cola case, has come out. The report confirms the findings of Centre for Science and Environment, which said there were pesticidal residues in them. There are pesticides in the soft drinks. Secondly the solid effluents distributed as fertilizers to Kerala farmers (by the Coke company in Plachimada village) were also proved to be harmful to the environment. Seeing all these, the government has to do something immediately especially in case of compensating the Kerala farmers," Murlidhar Rao, convener of the SJM said in New Delhi.

Pak will dismantle secret nuke network: Powell (Go To Top)

          Washington: Pakistan has agreed in principle to dismantle its covert network of nuclear technology sales, the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, claimed on Monday. Talking to reporters here, Powell also indicated that President Pervez Musharraf had also informed him through a telephone call that the pardon granted to Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, was a conditional one. Khan, a national hero, was at the centre of a widespread and sophisticated operation that sent nuclear technology to North Korea, Libya and Iran.

          "The Pakistani Government has done quite a bit now to roll up the network. I said to President Musharraf that we wanted to learn as much as we could about what Mr Khan and the network was up to. It has to be pulled up by its roots and examined to make sure we have left nothing behind," Powell was quoted by the News, as saying. As for his proposed trip to Pakistan, Powell said that nothing on these lines was being planned for the immediate future. Explaining as to what Musharraf meant by conditioning his pardon for Khan, Richard Boucher, the spokesman of the US State Department, said that Islamabad was taking all possible and permissible steps to limit Dr. Khan's activities in the nuclear sector, as well as reduce his area of influence.