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We are ready to face violence in Kashmir: Patil

          New Delhi: India said on Saturday it was ready to face violence in Kashmir intended to derail the peace process with Pakistan. Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who visited the BSF (Border Security Force) soldiers wounded in a deadly blast in Kashmir last week, told reporters: "These incidents can happen to try and derail the peace process. And if it is aimed at this then we are ready to face it. Such incidents cannot scare India." Twenty-eight people, mostly soldiers and their families, were killed and about half a dozen wounded when a bus hit a landmine set off by militants at a highway in Lowermunda. Pakistan-based militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack, which came a day after Manmohan Singh took over as prime minister.

India test-flies 14-seater Saras aircraft (Go To Top)

          Bangalore: A test flight of India's first indigenously built civilian aircraft, SARAS was carried out in Bangalore on Saturday. Saras, a twin turbo prop 14-seater, built by the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), had been undergoing final tests at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Saras, which will be powered by Pratt and Whitney engines, is designed for executive transport, cargo carrying, remote sensing, Coast Guard and air ambulance usage. The 1.5 billion rupee project Saras, named after the Indian crane, began in 1991 but it hit air pockets due to the denial of critical components following US sanctions imposed after the nuclear tests in 1998. NAL revived the project in 2000 after government's additional capital infusion of 2 billion rupees into the project. The Indian Air Force has hinted at buying Saras instead of a foreign-built aircraft. Saras is likely to be deployed at the training base in Bangalore's Yelahanka airbase to train rookie pilots, who are now flying Dornier aircraft.

Samjhauta Express schedule changed (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The schedule of the "Samjhauta Express" has been changed. It would henceforth run on Tuesdays and Fridays, according to the new schedule, the Nation reported Saturday. However, the Indian Railways say that there would be no change in the days of the run of 4001 Delhi-Attari Special. Similarly, the 4607 Attari-Lahore Samjhauta Express will run on the same days of the week, the paper said. The rail link between India and Pakistan had started operation in 1976. It was discontinued when India snapped all communication links with Pakistan following the December 13, 2001, terrorist attack on its Parliament. In wake of the new peace initiative from both sides of the border, the Samjhauta Express was restarted after a gap of two years in January this year.

Natwar Singh, JN Dixit hold no fears for Pak: Khokhar (Go To Top)

          Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar has said that his country had no fears from India's new External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and National Security Advisor J.N. Dixit. He said both had been, and continue to be friends of Islamabad. "I am not apprehensive of anyone. Natwar Singh and J.N. Dixit are known to us and they have sent positive messages," the Daily Times quoted Khokhar as saying. Talking to journalists here on Friday, he said that the new government in India had just assumed power and they needed some time to take up their responsibilities. He said he didn't foresee a breakdown of the proposed dialogue with India. "Since the leaders of both countries are sincere about pursuing the peace dialogue, there is no possibility of any breakdown in the talks," the foreign secretary added. He said he was anticipating an invitation from his Indian counterpart Shashank to have a secretary-level meeting in June. "I am expecting my counterpart (Shashank) to invite me to New Delhi to hold scheduled talks. I am waiting for my counterpart to have a scheduled meeting with me as we both agreed (on February 18) to meet in the first half of June." About the bilateral talks with India in Srinagar as proposed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, he said the talks were difficult. "It is not the venue of talks that is important. The real importance lies in the commitment," he added.

Inclusion of Kashmiris imperative for dispute settlement: UK (Go To Top)

          Islamabad: Britain has once again reiterated that it is in favor of including leaders of various Kashmiri groups in the ongoing dialogue process between Pakistan and India. "Pakistan-India talks on Kashmir can bear positive results only when the participation of Kashmiris in the process is ensured", Online News quoted British High Commissioner Mark Lyall Grant as saying during an interaction with All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders in Muzaffarabad on Friday. Grant also praised Musharraf for his regime initiating the cease- fire along the Line of Control (LoC) that separates Pakistan from India in Kashmir. "The cease-fire yielded positive results on taking the peace process in South Asia forward," he said. In the meeting, the Kashmiri leaders including APHC Convener Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, Pervez Ahmad (advocate) and Inshtiaq Hameed informed Grant about the latest situation on the ground in Kashmir. They suggested that India needed to show some positive moves towards a resolution of the long-standing dispute. They were also not appreciative of the Indian government's move to fence its side of the LoC and expressed their apprehension about New Delhi blocking their move to attend the OIC Foreign Ministers Conference scheduled in Istanbul next month.

Pak, China to hold naval exercises: Paper (Go To Top)

           Beijing: Pakistan and China will continue to hold naval exercises to strengthen their defence capability and enhance professional skills, Chinese defence sources said here on Friday. According to them, such exercises would be carried out particularly in non-traditional security fields. The News reported Friday that during Pakistan's Naval Chief Admiral Shahid Karimullah's recent visit to China, Islamabad invited Beijing to have another military exercise between the two navies. The first naval exercise, held in October last year at the Shanghai coast, had proved successful. It was for the first time that China had engaged itself in naval operation with another foreign country, the report added. Quoting the sources, the paper said that at their meetings held this week in Beijing, the leadership of the two navies agreed to expand their cooperation, sharing their experience and expertise in the defence sector. About Karimullah's recent visit to China, the sources said that the visit was "highly productive and result-oriented".

Ten Sports seeks telecasting rights for Asia Cup, India series (Go To Top)

          Mumbai: The Sharjah-based Taj Entertainment Network (TEN) sports channel has announced plans to bid for the telecast rights of Asia Cup that is to be held in July and August this year. Simultaneously, moves are afoot to renew its contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for telecasting international matches played in India, the News reported. Featuring 13 One-day Internationals and involving six teams including India, the Asia Cup is to be held from July 16 to August 2. The four-match tri-series in Amsterdam featuring India, Pakistan and Australia is scheduled from August 22 to 29. The last date for sending in bids for TV as well as Radio coverage rights for the Asia Cup is June 10, as per a notification issued in newspapers by Malaysia-based Asian Cricket Council (ACC). "Of course, after bringing historic India tour of Pakistan to the Indian viewers, we are aggressively bidding to acquire rights for all upcoming cricketing properties which include Asia Cup, BCCI rights and Tri-nation tourney in Holland," Sharmista Rijhwani, the Managing Director, of the network's marketing arm was quoted as saying. "These rights when procured would be in addition to existing rights we possess for all cricket played in the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Sharjah and Morocco," she added.

India, China will be key FDI destinations: Report (Go To Top)

          Singapore: India and China are likely to be key destinations for the global foreign direct investment, which is estimated to be reach 775 billion dollars this year, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said on Friday. The quantum of FDI is said to be up by around 30 per cent compared to 2003. A report prepared by the EIU said that Asian countries "will strengthen their position as the main emerging market recipients of foreign direct investment over the next five years". It also said that India too was a growing investment destination, particularly for outsourced labour, but it remained far behind China. The EIU, which is part of the London-based Economist group, said investment flows to India are expected to rise to 13 billion dollars in 2008 from five billion dollars in 2003. Among the developing countries, global executives in an EIU survey rated China as the top emerging market. The survey, which covered 500 senior company executives worldwide, is part of the report. China was forecast to receive 58 billion dollars in foreign direct investments this year. "The country offers the most attractive opportunities for companies seeking new consumer and corporate markets as well as low cost labour," the EIU report said. According to the report, by 2008 FDI is expected to have climbed back to 1.2 trillion dollars, a level near its peak in 1999-2000.