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# The Global Intelligence Files

On Monday February 27th, 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files, over five million e-mails from the Texas headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.

## Fwd: IND/INDIA/SOUTH ASIA

Released on 2012-08-25 09:00 GMT

Email-ID | 215923
Date | 2010-09-15 14:52:31
From | reva.bhalla@stratfor.com
To | watchofficer@stratfor.com

Can one of the WOs please sort this out with Animesh? He needs to be
utilizing our translation feeds
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: Animesh <animesh.roul@stratfor.com>
Date: September 15, 2010 6:31:18 AM CDT
To: Reva Bhalla <reva.bhalla@stratfor.com>
Subject: Re: Fwd: IND/INDIA/SOUTH ASIA
Hi Reva, i used to get all these...i got trouble in mailbox when it
overflowed (alog wth BBC feeds)...so requested to remove these from my
mail box recently...Perhaps in future i will add again ...but not
now...i faced lot of trouble accessing inbox...
I got some iputs on Nepal and i did soem research on that...will get
back ...
A
----- Original Message -----
From: Reva Bhalla <reva.bhalla@stratfor.com>
To: Animesh Roul <animesh.roul@stratfor.com>
Sent: Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:42:44 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Fwd: IND/INDIA/SOUTH ASIA
Hi Animesh,
Have you been receiving these emails from our translation services?
they contain a lot of useful items for your sweeps. Wanted to make
sure they're being utilized as well. Thanks
Begin forwarded message:
From: dialogbot@smtp.stratfor.com
Date: September 14, 2010 5:30:26 AM CDT
To: translations@stratfor.com
Subject: IND/INDIA/SOUTH ASIA
Reply-To: matt.tyler@stratfor.com
Table of Contents for India
1) US Presence in Kabul Reason for Attacks of National Militant Groups
Report by M. Riaz, Peshawar Bureau Chief: "Recent Terrorist
Incidents in Pakistan -- the Fallout of Events and Situation in
Afghanistan" Words within double slant lines are in English.
2) Argentina Political and Economic Issues 11-13 Sep 10
3) Indian Daily Interviews Former Minister on State of Womens
Rights in Afghanistan
Excerpts of interview with Dr. Massouda Jalal, former Afghan
Minister for women's affairs by Bula Devi, Delhi based independent
journalist: The State of Women's Rights Is Still a Concern ;
date and place not given; text in italics, boldface as formatted by
source
4) Lithuanian Minister Stresses Turkey's Role in Ensuring Stability
in Afghanistan
"Lithuania's Foreign Minister Criticizes Bids To Urgently Grant
Prefe rential Trade Status to Pakistan" -- BNS headline
5) Government To Import 500,000 Tons of Foodgrain From India
Report by Iftekhar Mahmud: "India To Sell 500,000 Tons of Rice,
Wheat to Bangladesh: Dhaka Can Procure More 500,000 Tons if it Wishes"
6) Myanmar Business Group To Hold Furniture Fair in Yangon
Xinhua: "Myanmar Business Group To Hold Furniture Fair in Yangon"
7) Police, BAL Members Allegedly Helping in Smuggling of Indian Goods
Report by Shahabul Shaheen: Police Helping Smuggling Drives in
Gaibandha
8) Article Urges Updating Bangladesh Defense Policy in View of India-
China Rivalry
Article by M. Shahidul Islam: Indo-China Rivalry Intensifies: Time
To Redraw Nation's Defence Strategy
9) News Roundup 12, 13 Sep
For assistance with multimedia, contact OSC at 1-800-205-8615 or
oscinfo@rccb.osis.gov
.
10) China Owns 'Indisputable Sovereignty Over Diaoyu Islands
Editorial: "China Will Absolutely Not Give In; Japan Must Not
Misjudge the Situation"
11) Xinhua 'Interview': 'Partnership And Commitment' Needed To
Achieve MDG Targets in Africa: UNDP Official
Xinhua "Interview" by Laila Kabbaj: "'Partnership And Commitment'
Needed To Achieve MDG Targets in Africa: UNDP Official"
12) Cabinet group discusses partial withdrawal of armed forces act
in Indian Kashmir
13) US 'dismayed' by reports of school, church attacked in India -
agency
14) Indian Commentary Discusses Credibility Crisis, Chaos, in Pakistan
Commentary by Balbir Punj " Nobody Trusts Pakistan"
15) Indian Editorial Discusses Diminishing Influence of PM Singh on
Federal Ministers
Editorial: "What Was That Again? The Prime Minister's Lofty Self-
Image"
16) West Indian Press 13 Sep 10
The following is a selection of highlights from the West Indian
press on 13 September 2010
17) Moe Says It Respects Professionalism In Revising Textbooks
By Lee Hsien-feng &amp; Bear Lee
18) Nepal, Indian forces agree closer cooperation against border crime
19) Indian Commentary Says Dialogue With Pakistan 'Meaningless'
Commentary by P R Chari: Dialogue With Pakistan is Useless And an
End in Itself
20) Latvian Economist Says Country Not Prepared for Second Wave of
Crisis
"World Braces For 2nd Wave of Crisis But Latvia Has No Specific
Solution -- Economist" -- BNS headline
21) Indian Commentary Urges Govt To Address Long-Brewing Crisis of
Increasing Hunger
Commentary by Utsa Patnaik, professor (retd) of Economics in
Jawaharlal Nehru University, specialization- problems of historical
tr ansition to industrialisation in agriculture-predominant
societies, recent publications- The Republic of Hunger and Other
Essays, and (edited) The Agrarian Question in Marx and his
Successors: The Early Kalidasa Syndrome
22) Trinamool Tells Congress to 'Delay', 'Change' Amended Land
Acquisition Act
Unattributed report: Mamata Land Law Message to Cong
23) Trinamool Launches Programs To 'Counter' Congress Campaign in
Bengal
Unattributed report: Trinamul Eyes Rahul Show
24) Editorial Urges India To Settle for Muted Response to Obama's
Outsourcing Policy
Editorial: Obamas Obsession &amp; What to Do About It
25) Indian Editorial Urges PM Singh To Create Fund for 'Victims of
Development'
Editorial: Another Way
26) Indian Editorial Criticizes Govt for Reviving 'Colonial
Practice' of Caste Census
Editorial: What's the Sense of It?
27) Karnataka Weavers Create 'Almost Weightless' Silk Scarf, Sari
for Obamas
Unattributed report: Gifts in Silk Await Obamas - Karnataka
Couples Scarf Can Fit Into Matchbox
28) Suspected Maoists Shoot at CPI-M Member in Bengal in Apparent
Turf Battle
Unattributed report: Maoists Strike Back in Lalgarh
29) Russia to put unique missiles on Indian Air Force aircraft -
commander
30) Xinhua 'China Exclusive': Chinese Vice FM Calls on G20 To Draw
on Experience of Developing Nations
Xinhua "China Exclusive": "Chinese Vice FM Calls on G20 To Draw on
Experience of Developing Nations"
31) Hizbul Mujahidin Leader Sayed Salahuddin Criticizes India
Unattributed report: "We Will Continue Struggle Until Complete
Withdrawal Of Indian Army: Salahuddin"
32) 3rd Ld-Writethru: Chinese Vice FM Calls on G20 To Draw on
Experience o f Developing Nations
Xinhua: "3rd Ld-Writethru: Chinese Vice FM Calls on G20 To Draw on
Experience of Developing Nations"
33) Smolensk Kristall To Increase Diamond Sale By 50% In 2010
34) India To Call Back Military Attache From China
Report by Javed Rashid: "China-India Tension: India Decides To Call
Back Its Military Attache"
35) China's Stock Market Value to Top That of U.S. in 2030: Goldman
Sachs
36) Thwarting of Northern Lanka-India Secret Sea Line Communication
Links Stressed
Report by Shamindra Ferdinando: Pivotal Importance of Continuous
Sri Lanka Navy Watch on Indo-Lanka Maritime Boundary Stressed
37) Indian Commentary Says Poverty, Violence, Money Power Hinders
Governance
Commentary by Gopalkrishna Gandhi: A Tale of Three Lions --
Poverty, Violence, Corruption and the Power of Money Hinder
Governance; first part of an ed ited version of a talk on
governance in India at the IIC, Delhi; text in bold face as
formatted by the source.
38) Indian PM says 'grievances' of Kashmiri youth need to be addressed
39) EU To Make Decision On M-55 Geofizika Repairs In 2011
40) Southeast Asia Chinese-Language Media Reporting on PRC 13 Sep 10
The following lists selected reports on China from Southeast Asian
Chinese-language media on 11-13 September. To request additional
processing, please contact OSC at (800) 205-8615, (202) 338-6735; or
fax (703) 613-5735.
41) India president arrives in Cambodia on six-day visit
42) Vietnam's Rice Export Volume up in First Eight Months
Xinhua: "Vietnam's Rice Export Volume up in First Eight Months"
43) Indian Media Highlights 12-13 Sep 10
44) One killed, two injured in police firing in Indian Kashmir 13
Sep tember
45) South Indian Press 13 Sep 10
The following is a selection of highlights from the South Indian
press on 13 September 2010
46) PM's Office Feels Media Adviser Playing 'Favorites' To Section
of Press
Report in unattributed weekly column under the rubric Reporters
Diary: Breach of Trust
47) Unlimited Term of Presidency Blow to Sri Lankas Democracy
Editorial: Term Unlimited
48) Eight killed in Maoists' shutdown in six Indian states
49) Indian Daily Report Says Assam Government Faces Debt Worth $4.9
Billion
Report by Manoj Anand: Assam Govt Reels Under Debt Worth Rs.22,881cr
50) Islamists Attack Victim Says Church Inventing Stories To Justify
Dismissal
Report by VR Jayaraj: "'Church Inventing Stories to Justify Self'"
51) Russia To Provide Indian Air Force With Latest Types Of
Weapons< /a>
52) Indian Army Warns Govt of 'Renewed' Infiltration Attempts in
Kashmir by Militants
Report by Rahul Datta and Mohit Kandhari: "Mercenaries Back in Valley"
53) Delhi Article Views Kashmiri Reaction to Farooq Abdullah's Anti-
Secession Speech
Article by Inayat Jehangir: "New Slogans" -- text in boldface as
formatted by source
54) Visiting Minister Urges Indian Govt To Rein in Illegal
Immigrations to Canada
Report by Ramesh Ramachandran: Canada Battles Indian Visa Frauds
1) Back to Top
US Presence in Kabul Reason for Attacks of National Militant Groups
Report by M. Riaz, Peshawar Bureau Chief: "Recent Terrorist
Incidents in Pakistan -- the Fallout of Events and Situation in
Afghanistan" Words within double slant lines are in English. - Nawa-
e Waqt
Monday September 13, 2010 10:35:14 GMT
holy month of Ramadan, people's attention is focused on the outcome
of the devastating floods unleashing after 29 July, the match-fixing
charges against Pakistani cricket players presently on a visit to
England, and the invitation of Altaf Hussain, MQM (Muttahida Qaumi
Movement) chief, to "patriotic generals" to come forward and his
proposal for a revolution on the pattern of the French Revolution, a
renewed spate of suicide explosions and the terrorist attacks has
once again started in the country.The firing on Ali Day procession
in Karachi, the bomb explosions outside Karbala Gamay Shah in Lahore
on the same day, the suicide attack in Mizan Square, Quetta in the
Al-Quds day procession, the bomb attack on police party in Peshawar,
the suicide attack on the Qadianis' worship place in Mardan, and the
suicide bomb attack on a police station in Lakki Marwat Distri ct of
Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, are all parts of a fresh waive of terrorism,
which has targeted all provinces of the country one after the other
with full intensity.In addition, explosions are also taking place in
North and South Waziristan Agencies and other tribal areas, where
drone strikes are also taking place almost on daily basis.
According to political and military analysts, terrorist incidents in
Pakistan are the //fallout// of the situation in Afghanistan, where
the troops of over 40 countries, led by the US military -- all of
whom equipped to their teeth -- are busy in conflict for the past
nine years in the name of operation, //Enduring Freedom//, which
they have started since October-November 2001.With each passing day,
the efforts of these forces for an enduring freedom are more and
more changing into a mere pipedream.
At the moment, when the Pakistani people are thinking about the
aforementioned incidents, rapid changes are also taking place with
regar d to the situation in Afghanistan and its adjacent Pakistani
tribal areas.The command of NATO forces in Afghanistan has been
shifted from General McChrystal, who has been removed from his
office, to Gen David Petraeus, the commander of the coalition forces
in Iraq, at a time when President Barack Obama has already announced
to begin the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in July,
2011.Now, while a strategy is being evolved for the troop
withdrawal, different viewpoints are being reported from different
level.Some Western analysts say that the commencement of the US
troops' withdrawal from Iraq and the announcement of Obama to start
the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan have further strengthened
the Taliban and other resistance forces in Afghanistan.They say that
these steps have provided a psychological upper hand to the Taliban,
who now believe that the United States cannot stay in Afghanistan
for a longer period.These analysts present the intensification in
the T aliban attacks during last year and the current year as proof
of their assertion.
The war, which former US President Bush had started in Afghanistan
after the 9/11 incidents is changing into an unpopular war at the
public-level in the United States and its allied countries.In
addition the billions of dollars expenditures of the war, the human
loss caused by this can also not be overlooked.Two thousand and
seventy-six soldiers of the United States and 25 coalition partners
have so far been killed in the Afghan war.These include 1,283 US and
332 British soldiers.With 151 soldiers, Canada is on the third
position in the list.The other countries, whose soldiers have been
killed in Afghanistan, include France, Germany, Denmark, Spain,
Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Portugal, ROK, Belgium,
Finland, Lithuania, and New Zealand.The war is rather becoming more
and more difficult for these foreign forces with each passing day,
which can be assessed from the fact tha t as compared to the last
year's figure of 304, the number of the killed soldiers during the
first eight months of the current year is 316, which is likely to
soar up to a great extent by the end of the year.
If we take a look at the loss incurred by Pakistan in this war,
which has been started in the name of Enduring Freedom, the war has
literally pushed the country to the brink of destruction.If only the
human losses are reviewed, official estimates say that more than
31000 precious lives have so far been lost in this war.The people
killed include 90 military officers and 237 soldiers while the
number of injured officers and soldiers has been stated as
5930.Sources rather say the toll of the killed and injured persons
may even be higher than that the aforementioned figures.
However, the US seriousness and its 40 coalition partners in the
Afghan war can be assessed from the fact that the number of the
forces of all these countries in Afghanistan -- a country w ith a
land of 547,500 sq. km. and having militant inclination ever since
the pre-historic times - is 150,000, which also include officials of
subordinate military departments.In most areas, these troops are
either at the mercy of the warlords or the insurgents.That is the
reason that a scandal of bribing of insurgents by the French Forces
had surfaced earlier this year.In addition, in Musa Qala area of
Kandahar Province, the British forces had to sign a deal with the
insurgents by offering them "incentives."
Contrary to the figure of the coalition forces in Afghanistan, the
number of the Pakistani forces in its narrow tribal belt is 180,000,
where they have set up 821 checkpoints as against the 12 checkpoints
of the US and coalition forces in as much area on the other side of
the border where only 10,000 US and coalition forces have been
deployed.
Despite that, the United States and some of its leading coalition
partners are airing statements against Pakistan every now and then,
which, also include the recent remarks of US Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates and that of British Prime Minister David Cameron in
India.
Some Pakistani intellectuals, while defending the apologetic
behavior of the Pakistani Government toward these statements, argue
that as the United States and its coalition partners are extending
financial support to Pakistan, the latter is not in a position to
give a categorical response to them.However, some prominent Western
writers are heard speaking in their private conversations that the
United States and its coalition partners depend on Pakistan in the
region and their financial assistance with Pakistan is far less than
the services, which Islamabad is providing to the United States in
particular and to its other allies in general.They say that if the
responsible Pakistani officials, who are depending on the United
States for their vested interests and power, ever play their cards
in their nationa l interest and begin to gaze in the eyes of the US
officials they can get more for their country.
The significance of this apparently backward region can be assessed
from the fact that all declared and undeclared nuclear states of the
world have their military or geographic presence here: Three nuclear
powers, i.e., Pakistan, India, and China, are located in the region
while three others, i.e., France, the United Kingdom, and the United
States, have their armies present in Afghanistan.In addition to the
seventh nuclear power, Russia, Iran -- which is closer to becoming a
nuclear state -- is also present in the vicinity of
Afghanistan.Thus, the United States and its coalition partners have
very limited options without Pakistan.
The mutual cooperation and collaboration between Pakistan and the US-
led collation was also witnessed in Afghanistan during the past
century when their coalition dismembered the former Soviet Union in
to so many parts that many of today's intellectuals even do not know
the names of all these parts.A debate is also continuing whether the
disintegration of the Soviet Union had left a positive or negative
impact of the global power balance.
As for the implications of stating our position in front of the
United States in categorical terms, one of its demonstrations was
witnessed last week when US Defense Secretary Robert Gates wasted no
time in apologizing to Pakistan and softening his country's
traditional inflexible stand when a Pakistani military delegation,
visiting the United States at the invitation of the US Central
Command, cancelled its visit right at the airport in protest against
an inappropriate attitude meted out to it by US officials.
In addition to pushing billions of dollars in the war, the United
States and its allies are also investing a huge amount through the
Afghan Government while reports about rampant corruption in the
Karzai government and its administrative machinery are al so
surfacing every now and then.However, Hamid Karzai, who himself has
no control even in Kabul Province, is putting the responsibility for
all his ills on Pakistan and instigating the United States and its
coalition partners to take action against the country.Karzai fully
knows that now when the Afghan war is becoming unpopular in the eyes
of people in the United States and the other coalition partners and
pressure is mounting on US President Barack Obama to start the
troops' pullout from Afghanistan in July 2011.Despite that, he is
making efforts to further complicate the situation by expanding the
radius of the war to Pakistan and is insisting for strikes inside
Pakistan.In fact, he is forgetting that at present, the United
States and its allies are also facing stiff resistance in northern
provinces of Afghanistan, while neither are those areas bordering
Afghanistan and nor is the population of these areas Pashtun
dominated.It is interesting to note that despite rejection by the
Taliban and other groups, the Karzai government is offering talks to
them and on 11 September, the Afghan president even announced
formation of a negotiating body in the name of peace council.In
addition to prominent political and social personalities, the
council will also include clerics, whose names have already been
finalized and will be announced after Id-ul-Fitr (festival to mark
the end of Ramadan).Not even 24 hours of the announcement had passed
since that offer when the Taliban leadership issued a statement
saying that they would sabotage the September 18 parliamentary
election in Afghanistan.Calling on the Afghan people to boycott the
election, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that the
election was a step from outside the country and it was aimed at
strengthening the foreign occupation of the country.He said that the
Taliban would make every attempt to sabotage these so-called
elections, adding that the Taliban would target the Afghan and the
fo reign forces.It was expected that the announcement of the
negotiation council by President Hamid Karzai will bring some
improvement in the situation, but these expectations have been
shattered after the Taliban announcement.That is why Afghan Chief
Election Commissioner Nadir Naderi has described the Taliban threat
serious saying that the Afghan people fully know that when the
Taliban give a threat they also implement the same.In the elections,
249 members of Wolusi Jirga or the lower house of the Afghan
parliament will be elected for which 2,500 candidates are in the run.
It is interesting to some extent and surprising to a great extent
that when the incumbent president, Karzai, is in the process of
establishing the negotiation council and he is insisting on
political solution to problems, the United States is still
pressuring Pakistan to start military operation against militants in
North Waziristan.That is why Robert Gates issued a statement during
his visit to Kab ul on 9 September saying: "Unfortunately the
operation of the Pakistani forces in North Waziristan has been
postponed for some time due to the worst-ever floods in the
country.However, I believe that the objective can be achieved
through cooperation between the international forces in Afghanistan
and the Pakistani forces."His statement clearly shows that the
United St ates still insists on launching a grand military operation
in North Waziristan Agency, particularly when the weather is cold
and the situation unfavorable there.
Let alone Hamid Karzai's demand to escalate the war to the Pakistani
tribal areas and the demand of the United States to launch an
operation in North Waziristan, our rulers have never ever taken the
pain to raise the issue of those people with Karzai and his US
patrons, who are present in Afghanistan with full protocol and are
active in efforts to dismember Balochistan from Pakistan.These
separatists have their training camps in Afghan istan and they are
being provided with every kind of facilities there.The same is the
situation of the United Kingdom, the biggest ally of the United
States in the war on terror, whose prime minister is hurling
accusations against Pakistan just to please India.However, no
Pakistani ruler is taking the courage to ask them as to what
relationship they have with those who are trying the disintegrate
Pakistan and are raising the slogans of separation of Balochistan.
An interesting development taking is that when (non-Baluchi)
teachers, lawyers, traders, and other profession people are being
expelled from Balochistan, the United States has announced to open
its consulate in Quetta.Some analysts, while writing that the facts
about Balochistan situation are not coming in full details, express
the fear that what is happening on the western borders is only the
trailer while the real film is in process in Balochistan, which is
adjacent to important countries, like Iran and Afgh anistan and
where Gwadar Port is located besides the presence of huge reserves
of oil, gas, and natural resources.The province is also of immense
geopolitical and strategic importance on account of its proximity
with the Gulf states.
In addition to the interest of the United States and its coalition
partners in the region, the open presence of India in Afghanistan
can also not be overlooked.The patrons of Hamid Karzai also wish an
effective role for their new partner, India, in this sensitive and
unfavorable region.That is why when Pakistani Commerce Minister
Makhdoom Amin Fahim was signing the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement
with Afghan Finance Minister Anwarul Haq Ahadi in Islamabad on 18
July for providing facility for transit trade between Afghanistan
and India, the US secretary of state, in addition to Prime Minister
Yousuf Raza Gilani, was also shown in the back of the two ministers,
rejoicing and clapping her hands more enthusiastically than the real
parties, i. e., Afghanistan and Pakistan.It is some thing else that
after emergence of a strong public reaction with regard to some
clauses of the agreement, Fahim and other Pakistani officials had to
change their stand about some "some" details of the agreement.
If the situation is reviewed in the backdrop of this changing
regional scenario, it will become clear that while reports about the
exclusion of the names of some leaders of the Afghan Taliban -- in
whose rule their guest Usama Bin Ladin had planned and implemented
the 9/11 incidents -- are making rounds and Hamid Karzai, the crony
of the United States, is busy forming a council for negotiations
with the Taliban, the United States announced on Thursday to include
the Pakistani Taliban in the list of the external terrorist outfits.
It is a mere coincidence that Qari Hussain, deputy of Hakimullah
Mehsud, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief, announced on the
same day to target Europe and the United States .
As far as the issue of militancy and extremism in the Pakistani
tribal areas adjacent to the Afghan border is concerned, if the
issue is reviewed in its historic perspective, it will become clear
that the Talibanization and the presence of the United States in
Afghanistan are not the only factors, which have contributed to this
surge.Rather the rampant backwardness in the area, the outdated
British system in vogue in this tribal belt, and the sense of
deprivation among the youths of the area are also responsible for
this situation.Under the law imposed by the British Empire, the
local administration in the tribal agencies enjoyed powers, like
kings.The progress and development of these areas had totally been
overlooked and the meager funds specified for the areas had never
been properly used.The decisions of the political administrations,
in which unfettered powers had been vested, had been rendered beyond
the scope of the country's courts.In this situation, the iss ue of
Talibanization or militancy only acted as a catalyst to exacerbate
the situation for which favorable situation already existed in the
shape of the simple-mindedness of the local people, their attachment
with religion, the lengthy Afghan war, and the links between the
Afghan Taliban and the local tribal fighters.Besides, when, during
their invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, the United States and
the coalition forces recognized the Northern Alliance as the only
force in Afghanistan and subjected the eastern and southern parts of
Afghanistan to the shelling of B-52 aircraft, it aroused resistance
against the United States and its allies in the Pashtun-dominated
areas and thus the people of these tribal areas also shared the pain
of the Afghan Pashtuns.It is because people on both sides of the
border, in addition to their mutual links of language, faith,
geography, culture, and traditions, also share common tribes.All
these factors should not be overlooked in any rea listic analysis of
the situation.
In Pakistan, where the suicide explosions and terrorist attacks have
caused heavy huge human and material loses, the US drone strikes
have also, in addition targeting the "desired" objectives, caused
human losses to civilians.These attacks are, in no way, creating
good sentiments among people of these sensitive along the Afghan
border.
Similarly, many groups active in Pakistan, are presenting the
presence of the US and coalition forces in Afghanistan and the
continuation of drone strikes as justification for their
activities.Therefore, steps, like the offer of President Karzai to
the Taliban -- who are fighting against the United States in
Afghanistan -- for a political solution and the announcement of
President Obama to begin the withdrawal of the US forces from
Afghanistan in July 2011, will have to be adopted so to seek an
inclusive solution to this serious issue of this sensitive region.It
is because the continuat ion of events clearly indicates that the
collective peace and security of the region depends on the regional
situation.If any one believes that by presenting a way of
negotiation and political solution, he will be able to find
facilities for himself, or by ignoring the real //players// and
natural //actors// in the region, the gulf created by the US pullout
from Afghanistan could be filled with India or some other country,
it is just his misconception.
(Description of Source: Rawalpindi Nawa-e Waqt in Urdu -- Privately
owned, widely read, conservative Islamic daily, with circulation
around 125,000.Harshly critical of the US and India.)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
2) Back to Top
Argentina Political and Economic Issues 11-13 Sep 10 - Argentina -
OSC Summary
Monday September 13, 2010 13:46:49 GMT
- Buenos Aires Clarin reports on 11 September that in statements on
Radio 10 yesterday, Cabinet Chief Anibal Fernandez explained that a
Chilean request to extradite an alleged terrorist, who requested
political asylum here, "cannot be concluded" until the Supreme Court
ruled.He also confirmed that the Chilean citizen's wife had been
working in Casa Rosada "since 2005", as a translator, and that the
couple had three children of Argentine nationality. "This gentleman,
Galvarino Apablaza Guerra, is in Argentina since 1993.He was
arrested in 2004 and he request political refuge that same year.The
extradition is denied in first circuit and that case is in the
Court," said Fernandez. (Buenos Aires Clarin.com in Spanish --
Online version of h ighest-circulation, tabloid-format daily owned
by the Clarin media group; generally critical of government; URL:
http://www.clarin.com/ http://www.clarin.com ) Former Foreign
Minster Returns to IACHR in Honorary Post - Buenos Aires La Nacion
reports from Washington on 11 September that Jorge Taiana has joined
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to cooperate
in an intra-government "political commitment" to reinforce the
entity institutionally. (Buenos Aires lanacion.com in Spanish --
Website of conservative, second highest-circulation daily; generally
critical of government; URL:
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/ http://www.lanacion.com.ar ) 'Division,
Intolerance Cloud 11-S Ceremonies'
- Buenos Aires Clarin's US correspondent Ana Baron reports from New
York on 12 September, in an article headlined "Division and
intolerance cloud the 11-S ceremonies," that "despite his repeated
calls to unity and tolerance, President B arack Obama did not manage
yesterday to stop the politization of the ninth anniversary of the
attacks on the Twin Towers." There were two marches here, in favor
and against the construction a mosque where the Towers fell.It was
in a climate of criticisms of immigrants and Moslems and it was
"very evident that the Tea Party and the conservative right financed
the Islamophobics' manifestation." 'Divided,' United States
Commemorates 11-S
- Buenos Aires La Nacion's Rafael Mathus Ruiz reports from New York
on 12 September, in an article headlined "Divided, United States
remembered 11 S," that "never before in the last nine years had the
United States commemorated an anniversary of the terrorist attacks
on 11 September 2001 so divided." "Yesterday New York was the
epicenter of that division, marked by the tensions awoken by a
debate that started with a mosque and later transferred to Islam,
religious tolerance, and racism." &quo t;Every corner of Ground
Zero, was scenario of debates of those issues, which exposed the
enormous polarization unleashed in recent weeks by the place that
was the heart of the attacks perpetrated by the al Qa'ida terrorist
network."Of "little" effect was Obama's call to unity last Friday or
his new effort yesterday to stress that the United States is at war
with terrorism, not Islam. Commentary Western Conflicts Nurture
Fundamentalism, Racism
- Buenos Aires Clarin's international columnist Marcelo Cantelmi
writes on 11 September that today is the ninth anniversary of the
attacks on New York and Washington that set in motion the glazed
antiterrorist war, a conflict that, like no other in history, heaps
losers up on all fronts, including the United States.But this
anniversary is not only of the biggest attack ever suffered by the
"power regent" in its territory, but also of the defeat of the
charisma of Barack Obama, who, almost on the anniver sary of his
"legendary" victory on 4 November 2008, "has lost all the force of
the illusion of change and hope that he had spread in the world, the
Arab too."Actually, the Democrat had "revived" the ideas of a
"common house" for humanity to inhabit and of a "collective
conscience" to process the "tremendous horrors" of today.That was
the concept of "e pluribus unum" that he unfurled in Cairo in June
2009; a stirring dialectic of the "new beginning," from the idea
that "two become one enriched with the differences." "Nothing of
that happened" and not because it was "pure idealism," but because
there were "ideological misunderstandings."The burial of that, and
its failure to blossom, is what "denudes this rickety anniversary of
today."The threat by a US pastor to burn Korans, which caused
"global scandal and embarrassment," is the "mo st bigoted and
obvious" reflection of the failure to resolve "profound
contradictions" in the United States and the entire West.It is not
about the reaction to the still unclosed wounds from 11 September.In
the United States and Europe, where "Islamophobia" is growing
vigorously, there is feeling of impatience with governments because
things are not working as expected and the phenomenon is occurring
simultaneously with the "rejection of immigrants" from any origin.In
the United States, these "deformations" do not begin with Pastor
Jones's "madness."In the Abu Ghraib, Bagram, or Guantanamo prisons,
it was common for US soldiers to destroy Korans.They used to throw
them into toilets or urinate on them in front of the arrested
believers.What Jones threatened to do, which remits to the burning
of books by the Nazis or the Argentine dictatorship, is the "harvest
of the sowing of fanaticism by the conservative leadership to
justify the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan (the major sources of oil
are usually in Moslem countries) and, certainly, to suppress
individual freedoms within the United States itself, to destroy
resistance to very restrictive economic plans, which would not pass
otherwise. The situation can worsen in the United States and in
Europe and it is possible to suppose that the "inquisitors, racists,
and arsonists of ideas" will multiply. 'Fanaticism' To Worsen Before
US Midterm Elections
- Buenos Aires Clarin's Claudio Mario Aliscioni writes on 12
September that one should not confuse oneself by believing that this
phenomenon of Islamophobia and hard conservatism is coincidental or
self contained.The figure of the Florida pastor threatening to burn
the Koran "transcends" his circle.Under the "false assumption" that
there is a link between Islam and the 11-S attacks, his case
illustrates with "alarming clarity" what is appearing on the US
horizon.Actually, Jones is linked to an "extended fundamentalist
movement," whose ideology has been taking over the Republican Party
since the 1980s, and to associated groups, which embody the extreme
US right.The so-called Tea Party is an example of that trend, which,
according to surveys, is increasing.This "fanaticism," nourished by
ideological sources somehow linked to the "puritan fundamentalism"
that arrived in the country with the first immigrants and that was
later encouraged by the conservatives, will worsen before midterm
elections next November.Since "social unrest" accelerates
"radicalization," the danger of this phenomenon lies in that "latent
threat." National Moslem, Jewish Communities Conclude Celebrations
- Buenos Aires Clarin's religious columnist Sergio Rubin reports on
11 September that Cristina Kirchner participated yesterday in the
end of the Islamic community's Ramadan celebration i n the Islamic
Center of Argentina (CIRA) and stressed in her address the message
of peace and concord from Islam and all religions.Afterward, Samir
Salech, CIRA president, said that Cristina Kirchner's visit was "a
very important milestone" because "it is the first time that a
president comes to bring us greetings."He added that it coincided
with "the celebration of the Bicentenary of the motherland, thank
God, in democracy."Meanwhile, the Jewish community concluded the
celebration for Rosh Hashanah. Kirchner Undergoes Emergency
Angioplasty; Operation 'Successful'
- Buenos Aires La Nacion reports on 12 September that former
President Nestor Kirchner underwent emergency surgery on an
obstructed coronary artery in City clinic De los Arcos last night,
seven months after an emergency operation on his right carotid.The
first medical report, at 0100 (0500 GMT) today, indicated that the
operation "was successful."President Cristina Kir chner accompanied
her husband and they were accompanied from the beginning by Luis
Buonomo, head presidential physician. Radical Presidential Hopefuls
Agree To Cooperate
- Buenos Aires Clarin's Nicolas Winazki reports on 12 September that
for the first time since Buenos Aires party primaries last June,
Radical Civic Union (UCR) Deputy Ricardo Alfonsin (Buenos Aires) and
Vice President Julio Cobos met in Tucuman yesterday to set campaign
rules and agreed to work together for 2011.Nevertheless, they also
suggested that only a primary would determine which of them would
head the UCR presidential ticket. Clarin adds from Tucuman that the
primary model from which "some" UCR leaders want to learn lessons is
the Democratic primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.UCR
authorities want Cobos and Alfonsin to realize that a "fierce
dispute" between them would harm the rest and they are therefore
already seeking "formulas" to resolve the part y's "great dilemma."
Mayor Returns, Criticizes Student Protest
- Buenos Aires Clarin reports on 13 September that Mauricio Macri,
who returned from Europe yesterday, stated on TV Channel 9 last
night that the students who were occupying schools were a "very
small minority," that the protest was an "authoritarian, intolerant,
and arrogant practise," that "there is a silent majority that, on
all levels of society, that lets itself be toppled bu a minority,
which exercises arrogance;" and that his administration had "broken
records in investment" to improve school buildings.He added that
"the right to protest exists and is good, but not violating the
right of others."He also criticized party sectors, which he did not
identity, for backing the protest.He was referring to the Kirchners'
public backing for the students. El Cronista adds that Macri brought
his return forward by "one day" due to opposition criticism of his
remaining abroad despite the collapse of a disco mezzanine, in which
two persons died. La Nacion adds that Chubut Governor Mario Das
Neves, a Federal Peronist (PF) presidential hopeful, said yesterday
that Macri's administration was "shocking." Commentary 'Kirchner
Advances Without Measuring Risks'
- Buenos Aires Clarin's political columnist Eduardo van der Kooy
writes on 12 September, in an op ed headlined "Kirchner advances
without measuring the risks," that the presidential matrimony's
entire political strategy continues centering on the communication
media.They have also made the decision that the political struggles
that they consider crucial for 2011 will have to be "backed on the
street."That methodology, which instils fear and removes the common
citizen from the scenario, "consolidated" the matrimony for decades
in "faraway" Santa Cruz.However, "fatigue" is beginning to appear in
mini sters and lawmakers and there is also "underground discontent"
in Buenos Aires.On the opposition front, Macri's present is
"threatened" and future "complicated;" the PF is navigating between
"intrigues and personal vanities;" Civic Coalition leader Elisa
Carrio has launched a "new personal crusade," and the UCR and the
Socialists "progress:" Santa Fe Governor Hermes Binner would prefer
Alfonsin, but he will be on the ticket if it is headed by Cobos.They
all have a "long" road to travel, but time is "short" and society
wonders what Argentina will be like after Kirchnerism. Economic
India Wants More Soybean Oil From Argentina
- Buenos Aires La Nacion reports on 12 September that Indian
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar estimated yesterday that his
country's "investment in Argentina will reach $2 billion in soybean
oil," according to an Argentine Agriculture Ministry statement, alth
ough it did not specify the timeframe in which that large sum would
arrive.Pawar said that India had purchased soybean oil from
Argentina for $1.4 billion thus far.Pawar came to the country and
met his local counterpart, Julian Dominguez, with whom he analyzed
commercial, technological, and sanitary issues and signed a
"memorandum of understanding in agriculture and related sectors,"
which will make it possible to reinforce bilateral cooperation."It
was the first visit by an Indian agriculture minister and the
information about increased trade with India comes amid the decrease
in China's purchase of soybean oil. Intra-Government Lending:
Economy Sells $900 Million to Anses
- Buenos Aires Clarin's Gustavo Bazzan reports on 11 September that
the Economy Ministry continues squeezing the National Social
Security Administration (Anses) coffer to cover the central
government's financing needs.Yesterday, the Official Gazette (BO)
published that the emission o f dollar-denominated Discount Bonds
was increased by $900 million.All those bonds, an Economy source
confirmed yesterday, went to the Anses.The source clarified that the
placement was made at "market prices."This means that the government
took debt at an annual interest rate of around 11%, the average
yield of the dollar-denominated discount in August. Anses Reportedly
Loans 62% of Pensioners Savings to State
- Buenos Aires La Nacion's Mariano Obarrio reports on 12 September
that since the nationalization of the pension funds in 2008,
according to the Association of Control Entities Personnel (APOC),
the Guarantee of Sustainability Fund, (FGS), which is made up of
pensioners' savings, totaled 150.072 billion pesos ($38.04 billion)
last June, but 62% of those resources, 93.266 billion pesos ($23.64
billion), was loaned to the Treasury for current expenditure.It
should go to increasing pensions, but it is placed in "intra-public-
sector" debt.While th at occurs, Casa Rosada states that it cannot
give the 82% mobile (pension) because the state would run the risk
of default. Commentary 'Little Machine' To Emit Pesos Returns
- Buenos Aires La Nacion's economic columnist Nestor O. Scibona
writes on 12 September that the "little machine" to emit pesos
without backing has returned in the recent extension of the monetary
program by the Central Bank (BCRA).The president's specific backing
of that decision makes the monetary authority an addendum of the
Executive Branch's again and the principal source of financing for
the public sector.Its basic ingredient authorizes the transfer to
the Treasury of 20 billion pesos ($5.07 billion) of BCRA "utilities"
obtained last year from reserves (now $50.6 billion) and public
bonds.This point is worth considering: if the BCRA has $1,000 at 3
pesos per dollar, it registers 3,000 pesos on its books; but if the
exchange rate was raised to 4 pesos, it would register 4 ,000
pesos.That difference of 1,000 pesos is what is being emitted,
although the amount of dollars remains unchanged.That is how the
famous "little machine" is working now.In Argentina, this has always
been synonymous with greater inflation, although many erroneously
confuse it with a "chain of happiness."Meanwhile, the "little
machine" is printing increasingly more 100-pesos bills (it is on the
"L" series now), which last increasingly less time in pockets and
wallets.If anyone believes that the 200- or 500-peso bill could
appear soon, that will not happen during the Kirchner
administration, "bent on denying the undeniable." (OSC translating)
Border dispute over pulp mill Environmentalists Blockade Again
- Buenos Aires Clarin's Veronica Toller reports from Gualeguaychu
that the environmentalists blockaded the highway to Uruguay for two
hours again yesterday afternoon.There were fewer people than last
Sunday, about 100, and less pressure by the Border Guard (GNA),
which "did" control the protest, but "did not" film it from a
helicopter this time.
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
3) Back to Top
Indian Daily Interviews Former Minister on State of Womens Rights
in Afghanistan
Excerpts of interview with Dr. Massouda Jalal, former Afghan
Minister for women's affairs by Bula Devi, Delhi based independent
journalist: The State of Women's Rights Is Still a Concern ;
date and place not given; text in italics, boldface as formatted by
source - The Hindu Online
Monday September 13, 2010 11:01:39 GMT
The status of women in Afghanistan was the worst right after the
Taliban regime.But after the power of investment and the energy of
the international community and the United Nations, it has become
second worse in the world.So it is better than in the Taliban's time
but it is still a matter of concern.About 70 per cent of the
population in Afghanistan is facing extreme poverty.This extreme
poverty in Afghanistan has a female face because of inadequate
access to economic opportunities and economic resources for women.
What about education of women? Afghanistan's population is
approximately 30 million as in the nationwide census and half of
them are women and girls.About 89 per cent of the vast majority of
women in the country is illiterate; of this figure, 80 per cent
lives in the rural areas.Illiteracy is mostly in the rural
areas.What little literacy and education that we have for women is
concentrated particularly in the cities and the capital. Should
women be brough t into the peace process? Sure.They are the real
peacemakers; they are the actual messengers of peace. Why have women
been kept away from the peace process? It's because in Afghanistan,
power, locally, most often belongs to the extremist groups.They
don't want women to be in the mainstream peace process and be
participative, empowered and benefit from the process.They want
women to be at home and obey the male members of their families. In
that case should the 'good Taliban' be brought into the mainstream
governance? Well, names and titles are given to help these groups to
be engaged in power otherwise we all know the Taliban when they were
ruling Afghanistan; we all know their ideology, their vision and
their mission, and we all know what they will do once they are again
in power; we know they don't want women to participate outside their
own life. Do you think Afghanistan has hit rock-bottom since
international humanitarian organisations are also feeling the
threat? Target ing international groups means that the Taliban wants
to create fear in international circles in Afghanistan; to frighten
them so that they leave Afghanistan because the presence of
international organisations helps to make Afghanistan empowered as a
whole and come out of the current crises.But the enemies of
Afghanistan do not want that and so the international groups are
being targeted. So has it hit the worst situation? Afghanistan has
reached a blind point; it cannot move and that is why the
international community is speaking with the Taliban to bribe the
Taliban with political power and engage it in the political
processes and stop the killings.In a way they are placing
Afghanistan in the hands of criminals.I do not know why the
international community or even the U.N. trusts the Taliban.The
Taliban had (ruled) Afghanistan and threatened the security of the
world.The international community wants to make the same mistake
again. Do you think donor agencies should change their strategy?
Donor agencies should stop all negotiations with the Taliban.They
should be disarmed through other mechanisms and removed from
Afghanistan, and that's what was decided in Bonn.The Bonn Agreement
should be implemented. How? Militarily? There are many different
ways (to tackle) things in the Afghanist an context.Why did they
remove the Taliban from the capital but leave them to stay on the
border and provinces?Why didn't they get rid of this headache from
Afghanistan at the beginning?That by itself is a question.Why did
they remove the Taliban from the north and central parts of the
country but not from the southern part?This is the question. What
about the social movement in Afghanistan? After the international
community came in, a lot of funds poured in and many organisations
were formed to work for human rights, women rights, etc.But these
are mostly donor driven to implement the donors' interests, plans
and strategies.Besides, corruption was never to this extent in the
country, security is getting worse day by day, human rights and
women's rights are slipping back, and extremism has been an issue in
Afghanistan.All this is affecting the social movement in
Afghanistan.Had the Bonn Agreement been implemented successfully and
completely on time, it wouldn't have reached this situation. Who do
you hold responsible for this? I think when the power structure was
to be formed in Afghanistan, the U.S.' attention was drawn to the
Iraq war and by the time they were settled with the Iraq issue, a
power structure had already been established in Afghanistan.So they
(the U.S.) left it by itself.So those who were stronger got a better
position in Afghanistan.And who was stronger?The extremist groups.
How do you see India's role in Afghanistan? I think India knows the
region very well and in the context of Afghanistan, India can have a
greater role than what it had so far.If India can play a role in
international politics with its share of a ssistance for peace and
the reconstruction of Afghanistan, it is good for all -- India,
Afghanistan, the region and the whole world.
(Description of Source: Chennai The Hindu Online in English --
Website of the most influential English daily of southern
India.Strong focus on South Indian issues.It has abandoned its
neutral editorial and reportage policy in the recent few years after
its editor, N Ram, a Left party member, fell out with the Bharatiya
Janata Party-led government and has become anti-BJP, pro-Left, and
anti-US with perceptible bias in favor of China in its write-
ups.Gives good coverage to Left parties and has reputation of
publishing well-researched editorials and commentaries; URL:
www.hindu.com
)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
4 ) Back to Top
Lithuanian Minister Stresses Turkey's Role in Ensuring Stability in
Afghanistan
"Lithuania's Foreign Minister Criticizes Bids To Urgently Grant
Preferential Trade Status to Pakistan" -- BNS headline - BNS
Monday September 13, 2010 07:10:58 GMT
Azubalis stated the critical remarks at an informal meeting of EU
foreign ministers that took place in Brussels on Friday (10
September) and Saturday and discussed the situation in Pakistan
after the recent flooding, assistance to the country and plans for
long-term cooperation between the EU and Pakistan, the Foreign
Ministry said.
At the meeting, the Lithuanian diplomacy chief underlined the
importance of providing further humanitarian assistance to Pakistan
and the need to prepare a plan for EU's withdrawal from the country
in five years.
Lithuania has sent 50,000 litas (EUR 14,500) worth of humanitarian
aid, namely, 10 tents and 10 heaters, to flood-ridden Pakistan.
In the discussion on trade cooperation with Pakistan, Azubalis gave
a critical view of the bids made by some EU nations to immediately
grant the country the preferential trade status, reads the press
release.
"It is not an instrument of humanitarian aid. Pakistan so far falls
short of the objective criteria for the status, and hasty revision
of the criteria may cause damage to industry of EU countries,
including Lithuania, as well as have negative effects upon EU trade
relations with some underdeveloped nations," said the Lithuanian
minister.
On the eve of the European Council, foreign ministers also discussed
one of the main issues on the council's agenda -- EU's relations
with strategic partners, for instance, China, India and Brazil. The
ministers also spoke about the enhancement of the influence and
visibility of the European Union as a global player, and the
necessary resources of EU foreign policy.
Azubalis called for clearer definition of EU priorities in the ties
with strategic partners. In his opinion, it is vital to apply the
new instruments in EU's foreign relations after the enactment of the
Lisbon Treaty, observe a unified EU position, seek closer
cooperation with the abovementioned states on global and mutual
matters while staying loyal to the core value principles of the EU.
"Energy and regional security should be among the key EU priorities
in relations with strategic partners," said the Lithuanian diplomacy
chief.
At the meeting, EU foreign ministers exchanged opinions on
improvement of organization of work of the European Affairs Council.
Azubalis emphasized the need to plan the council's agendas in
advance for a longer term, for instance, for six months in the light
of the strategic direction and events around the globe.
Anothe r issue addressed at the meeting was improvement of EU
cooperation with Turkey. Lithuania's Azubalis said that Turkey's
active participation was vital in ensuring stability in South
Caucasus, Western Balkans, Afghanistan and other regions, as well as
gave a green light to development of new mechanisms for cooperation
with Turkey.
"At the same time, Turkey should be encouraged to continue
implementing reforms related with EU membership negotiations, and
all negotiating chapters that are ready in technical terms should be
opened," said the Lithuanian minister.
On Monday, EU foreign ministers will attend a meeting of the EU
General Affairs Council in Brussels.
(EUR 1 = LTL 3.45)
(Description of Source: Vilnius BNS in English -- Baltic News
Service, the largest private news agency in the Baltic States,
providing news on political developments in all three Baltic
countries; URL: http://www.bns.lt)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
5) Back to Top
Government To Import 500,000 Tons of Foodgrain From India
Report by Iftekhar Mahmud: "India To Sell 500,000 Tons of Rice,
Wheat to Bangladesh: Dhaka Can Procure More 500,000 Tons if it
Wishes" - Prothom Alo
Monday September 13, 2010 10:35:16 GMT
India to increase the country's food stock.Meanwhile, India is ready
to sell another 500,000 tons of foodgrain to Bangladesh if the
government decides to procure.
An Indian state-run agency will supply and transport the foodgrain
to Bangladesh.The prices of rice and wheat will be fixed by adding
the transport cost to the local pro curement costs.
A high-powered Bangladesh delegation, led by Food Secretary Barun
Dev Mitra, disclosed this information on its return from
India.Sources at the Food and Disaster Management Ministry said that
the delegation met Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukhejee and
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar during its visit and finalized the
issue of food import.
Concerned sources said that a high-powered Indian delegation would
soon visit Bangladesh to sign a deal for exporting 300,000 tons of
rice and 200,000 tons of wheat from New Delhi.Barun Dev Mitra will
return to Bangladesh immediately after 'Id al-Fitr on 11
September.He told the Prothom Alo that the consignments would start
arriving in Bangladesh within October if the agreement was signed in
September.
Delegation sources said that the rice and wheat would be supplied
from the warehouses of the state-run Food Corporation of India under
the Agriculture Ministry of that country.The food grain will be t
ransported to Bangladesh by the State Trading Corporation and
Project Equipment Corporation under the Commerce Ministry of India.
According to negotiations with India, of the 200,000 tons
consignment of wheat, 50,000 tons will reach Bangladesh from Punjab
through rail route.And the entire consignment of the remaining
150,000 tons of wheat will reach Chittagong Seaport through ships.
The sources further said that during the visit, the Indian
agriculture secretary told the Bangladesh delegation that at
present, the Indian warehouses had a stock of 20 million tons of
foodgrain.This stock is sufficient for India, and Bangladesh can
also purchase another 500,000 tons of foodgrain from India if it
wishes.The Indian food secretary asked the Bangladesh delegation to
communicate the issue of food import to the Indian authorities as
soon as possible.
The Bangladesh delegation reached India on 30 August.It held
meetings with Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee on 2
September.During the meeting, Pranab referred to his meeting with
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and said that India was
ready to export foodgrain to Bangladesh as per its requirement at
the request of the prime minister.At the initial stage, the Indian
Agriculture Ministry had set the price of rice at $437 per ton and
wheat at $330 per ton.But Bangladesh has requested India to reduce
the prices to some extent.
Food department sources said that the government silos in Bangladesh
had stocks of 657,000 tons of rice, 8,650 tons of paddy, and 55,604
tons of wheat.
(Description of Source: Dhaka Prothom Alo in Bengali The largest
circulated daily in Bangladesh known for objective
reporting.Generally read by young people and the intelligentsia.This
newspaper has no particular political affiliation but is anti-
Islamist.Owned by industrial and marketing conglomerate TRANSCOM,
which also publishes The Daily Star in English.Estimated circulation
250,000.)< br>
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
6) Back to Top
Myanmar Business Group To Hold Furniture Fair in Yangon
Xinhua: "Myanmar Business Group To Hold Furniture Fair in Yangon" -
Xinhua
Monday September 13, 2010 13:22:48 GMT
YANGON, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- A Myanmar private business group, the
Thousands Islands Business Group, will launch a furniture fair in
Yangon in late this week to showcase quality wood products made by
their companies, the local Weekly Eleven News reported Monday.
Organized by the Myanmar Timber Entrepreneurs Association, the
Yangon Lifestyle Furniture Fair 2010 wi ll take place at the
Tatmadaw Hall from Thursday to Sunday.Displayed at the fair will be
luxury furniture manufactured with teak and hardwood, garden
furniture, those made of cane and bamboo, Chinese traditional
furniture and modern one as well as furniture paint and others, the
report said.The display items also include export furniture, the
report added.Timber stands as the country's third largest export
goods after mineral and agricultural products.Myanmar has targeted
to export over 20,000 tons of teak in the present fiscal year
2010-11 despite sharp drop in the export in 2009-10.Myanmar was able
to export over 10,000 tons of teak annually before 2009-10.However,
due to the sharp declination of demand in the international market
in 2009-10, the country could export only 4,000 tons in the year,
failing to meet the year's projected export target of 10,000 tons,
timber exporting companies said.The companies are striving to
fulfill the set export target by buying teak produc ed from 20
regions in the country.Of the four classes of teak, that of the
special class come from Gangaw, Pakokku and Chin, while that of the
first class or A Class are produced from Taungdwingyi, Nay Pyi Taw
or Pyinmana, Tayat, Pyay, Minbu, Taungoo, Shwebo, Aunglan and
Monywa.The domestic purchase prices of teak range from 300 to 500
U.S. dollars per ton, while the export prices of them stand at 1,300
to 2,000 dollars per ton, according to the companies.Myanmar exports
teak most to India, followed by China, Bangladesh, Thailand and
Malaysia.(Description of Source: Beijing Xinhua in English --
China's official news service for English-language audiences (New
China News Agency))
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
7) Back to Top
Police, BAL Members Allegedly Helping in Smuggling of Indian Goods
Report by Shahabul Shaheen: Police Helping Smuggling Drives in
Gaibandha - Prothom Alo
Monday September 13, 2010 11:46:20 GMT
Palashbari-Ghoraghat hilly routes of Gaibandha
District.Particularity, the Indian goods have flooded the market in
the run up to the Id al-Fitr festival.Most of the smuggled items
comprise saris, lungis (clothes wrapped around the lower half of the
body), fabrics, cosmetics, narcotics, spices, fire crackers, spare
parts of bikes, and chemicals.
Allegations are rife that the police have leased out these two
routes at a rate of 700,000 takas (Tk) per month.The money coming
from the lease is being distributed among the policemen, leaders of
different political parties, and so-called journalists.
Lieutenant Colonel Akramuzzaman, commander o f the 40 Rifles
Battalion of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) based at Phulbari of Dinajpur
District, told the Prothom Alo on 7 September that the main
smuggling drives were continuing along a 5-km stretch of the border
to the south of the hilly checkpoint.He said that a huge syndicate
was controlling the smuggling drives there.According to him, this
syndicate was behind the smuggling of Indian goods to the country.He
said that concerted efforts of all types were necessary to curb
smuggling and that it was not possible for the BDR to do the job
alone.
Gaibandha Police Superintendent Mohammad Shahadat Hossain has also
admitted that Indian goods were smuggled into the district through
the aforementioned two routes.He said that the police were launching
regular drives to seize the smuggled goods.He claimed that the
allegation of using special police token for conducting smuggling
was not correct.He termed the allegation of leasing out the routes
by the police for smuggling to be baseless and said that the
distribution of lease money among the police was also false.He said
that there were no proofs regarding these allegations.
It has been known after inquest that three individuals, having the
letters M, A, and R in their nicknames, are controlling the hilly
Gobindaganj route.All of them reportedly are active leaders and
workers of the ruling party.The monthly lease money of this route is
Tk 500,000.In addition, the Palashbari-Ghoraghat hilly route is run
by an influential ruling party member carrying the letter M.M. with
his name.The monthly lease money of this route is Tk 200,000.
The people carrying Indian items reportedly use special tokens.The
tokens bear symbols of different animals, birds, and plants.They
bear symbols of parrots, tigers, deer, and water lily.Smuggled goods
are brought deep into the country from the frontier by tempos,
bicycles, and vans using these tokens.Goods are seized from those
people who cannot show the toke ns.More than 1,000 people of two
subdistricts are involved with the smuggling directly or indirectly.
It has been known after inquest that theses smuggled goods are
entering the country through these routes are offloaded at Kaiaganj,
Chashakpara, Guhatipara and Gumaniganj Villages under the
Gobindaganj municipal area.From there, the goods are sent to various
parts of the country, including Gobindaganj, Gaibandha, and
Bogra.Indian goods worth about Tk 5 million are being smuggled into
the country by using the two routes everyday.
Moreover, Indian items smuggled in through the Palashbar-Ghoraghat
hilly route are offloaded in the areas of Kalibarihat and Uday Sagar
of Palashbari Subdistrict town, Gaibandha, and Rangpur bus stop.From
here, the drugs -- mostly Phensidyl syrups -- are sent to Gaibandha
Town and its adjacent areas.Even the drug items brought into the
country through this route are being sent to Mymensigh through
Roumari in Kurigram District and Dewang anj in Jamalpur District
through river routes by using the Balasi ferry terminal in
Phulchhari Subdistrict.
Tozammel Hossain, president of the Gobindaganj Subdistrict unit of
the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (BAL), said that unhindered
smuggling spree was going on through the routes under the
supervision of the police.But, the re was no one to protest it, he
said.He said: "The leaders and workers of different political
parties might have their involvement with the smuggling
syndicates.But, I do not know anything about this."
Abdul Matin, convener of the Gobindaganj Citizen's Committee, said
that people from all walks of live in the area knew about the
smuggling and offloading of goods.But, the smugglers were conducting
their drives by using political identities and with helps from the
police, he alleged.As a result, he said that none dares to speak
against the crime.
Denial: Abu Akkas Ahmed, officer-in-charge (OC) of Gobaindaganj
police stati on, has refuted the allegation of the distribution of
money against smuggling drives and conducting the smuggling routes
by different individuals.He said that the police have remained
active in recovering Indian goods entering the country though the
smuggling routes.
Ahsan Habib, officer in charge of the Palashbari police station,
said that the allegations of smuggling by different individuals and
sharing money by the police against snuggling drives were
baseless.He said that the police were regularly patrolling the
routes.He said that moreover, the police contingents from the
district headquarters were conducting antismuggling drives on the
routes.
(Description of Source: Dhaka Prothom Alo in Bengali The largest
circulated daily in Bangladesh known for objective
reporting.Generally read by young people and the intelligentsia.This
newspaper has no particular political affiliation but is anti-
Islamist.Owned by industrial and marketing conglomerate TRANSCOM, wh
ich also publishes The Daily Star in English.Estimated circulation
250,000.)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
8) Back to Top
Article Urges Updating Bangladesh Defense Policy in View of India-
China Rivalry
Article by M. Shahidul Islam: Indo-China Rivalry Intensifies: Time
To Redraw Nation's Defence Strategy - Holiday Online
Monday September 13, 2010 07:09:30 GMT
A number of glaring testimonies of looming military danger make it
incumbent upon our defence policy makers to update the nation's war
book, or re-write a new one altogether in light of the intensified
Indo-Chinese rivalry and the Ind ian distinctive strategic alliance
with the USA. The security ambiance of the region plunged deeper
into a danger zone lately with reports in the US and the Indian
media of Islamabad's handing over of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of
the Pakistan-administered Kashmir to China and China's deployment of
11,000 troops in that region. Coupled with other recent geopolitical
developments, these reports indicate the re-shaping of the regional
strategic landscape and of Delhi's dogged determination to challenge
Beijing's pre-eminence in regional and global politics, with help
from Bangladesh. Besides, the intensified Indo-Chinese tension
seriously undercuts efforts by people of India, China and Russia for
greater regional collaborations; despite the foreign ministers of
the three nations slated to meet in Bangalore on October 26-27.
Denial unheeded Reacting to the reports that started to make
headlines in late August, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Jiang
Yu said o n September 2, "We believe these attempts of some people
to fabricate stories to provoke China-Pakistan or China-India
relations are doomed to fail." Pakistan too issued similar
rebuttal. A Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman, Abdul Basit,
strongly denied the news being circulated in the American and Indian
media and said on August 31, "The Chinese were working on landslide,
flood hit areas and on the destroyed Korakoram Highway with the
permission of Pakistani Government." All such denials did little,
however, to assuage
Indian concerns. India's ambassador to China, S. Jaishankar, met
with the Chinese vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Zhang Zhijun, on
September 3 in Beijing and conveyed New Delhi's concern over the
presence of Chinese troops in Gilgit-Baltistan. India also further
reinforced its military capability along the 2,521 mile China-India
borders.
Historical animosity Although a recent New York Time report had
linked the Chinese military presence in Kashmir to China's plans to
gain a "grip on the strategic area to ensure unfettered road and
rail access to the Gulf through Pakistan," the animosity is rooted
in historic claims and counter claims made by the two nuclear armed
neighbours on each other's territories. The New York Times report
said there were two important new developments in Gilgit-Baltistan;
a simmering rebellion against the Pakistani rule and the influx of
an estimated 7,000 to 11,000 soldiers of the Chinese People's
Liberation Army (PLA) in the area. In reality, these reports are
tied with recent Indian war preparation and entrenchment of military
capability along mutual borders on which the two nations had fought
a brief but bloody war in 1962. The border dispute dates back to
1914 when the colonial Britain hosted a conference with the Chinese
and the Tibetan governments to demarcate the Tibetan border along
the so called McMahon line. China never recognised th e McMahon Line
and claims 90,000 sq km, nearly all of what India now calls
Arunachal Pradesh (about 2000 sq kms), its own territory. Besides,
India accuses China of occupying 8,000 sq km of its territory in
Kashmir. The latest spark also emanated from Delhi's upping the ante
on August 26 following Beijing's refusal to grant a visa to Indian
army's Northern Command Chief, Lt. Gen. BS Jaswal, to visit Beijing
as an Indian military delegation member, saying the office r
oversees Jammu and Kashmir which 'is a disputed area.' The incident
left Delhi snubbed, insulted and injured; more so when Beijing asked
to replace Lt. Gen. Jaswal, something India refused to comply and
ordered instead a demarche by cancelling a scheduled visit by a
Chinese military delegation to India's National Defence College.
Delhi also ordered cancellation of another scheduled visit by Indian
military officials to China.
Offensive postures The ongoing rivalry may end up with another war,
acco rding to many analysts. Since 2007, India has been aggressively
racing to match China for regional and global power, building and
bolstering airstrips and army outposts along the common borders and
rebuilding run-down roads and infrastructures. In June 2009, it
started building a tunnel to bypass the virtually impassable Rohtang
Pass to ensure all-weather access to Ladakh, which abuts the Tibetan
Plateau. Coupled with recent procurement of huge state-of-the-art
military hardware and Delhi's strategic alliance with the USA, these
moves kept Beijing busy in shoring up its own deficiencies,
tactically and strategically, while Delhi replaced its 'cold start'
strategy with an aggressive doctrine to confront both China and
Pakistan simultaneously. These bellicose postures are heading toward
the outbreak of another major war among the two regional giants.
Besides defending the sovereignty of the Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi
wants to recover the Chinese-administered Aksai Chin, whic h India
claims as part of its territory. Along the Kashmir frontier, north
of Ladakh stands the disputed Siachen Glacier, an ice-capped river
basin that had provoked both India and Pakistan to claiming and
fighting over, almost frequently since the 1980s. Both India and
Pakistan maintain military outposts on the 20,000 feet high altitude
of the Siachen's glacier- capped ranges.
Bangladesh's concern Having lost Tibet to China in 1959, India took
over Sikkim's sovereignty in 1975, but the predicament posed by the
Siliguri Corridor in West Bengal, with an average width of 21 km to
40 km only, in connecting the north eastern region with the Indian
mainland could not be reconciled as yet. That is what makes
Bangladesh an integral part of the Indian and the Chinese defence
priorities and makes it extremely difficult for Dhaka to maintain
either a neutral stance, or align militarily with either of the
protagonists. It also gives birth to a cliche, if not a strategic do
ctrine, that "He who controls Bangladesh will control north east
India," making Bangladesh susceptible to pre-emptive military
invasion by either of the protagonists. Geopolitically, China has
two major claims over territories that India claims to be its own.
The claim in the western sector involves Aksai Chin in the
northeastern Ladakh District in Jammu and Kashmir. The eastern
sector claim involves the territory belonging to the British era
North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) abutting Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan
and Myanmar; including the Tibetan-Naga-inhabited Arunachal Pradesh
which Delhi has turned into its 24th state on 20th February, 1987.
These lands were fought over before. During the 1962 Indo-China war,
the well-trained and well-armed PLA troops overpowered the ill-
equipped Indian troops, who found themselves not properly
acclimatized to fight at high altitudes. Following initial setbacks,
Indian troops desperately sought to regroup and the Indian army s
trengthened its defensive positions in the NEFA and Ladakh to
repulse possible Chinese attacks through Sikkim and Bhutan. The
Indian attempt failed and the war reached close to Bangladesh
frontiers (then East Pakistan), despite many Indian army units
having moved from Calcutta, Bihar, Nagaland, and Punjab to guard the
northern front iers of West Bengal and Assam. The western NEFA
witnessed deployment of three Indian brigades while two other
brigades were deployed in Sikkim and the West Bengal border with
Bhutan. Light Stuart tanks were drawn from the Eastern Command
headquarters at Calcutta to bolster such deployments. Yet, an
unrelenting Chinese onslaught wiped out virtually all Indian
resistance in Kameng and, by November 18, the PLA had penetrated
close to the outskirts of Tezpur, Assam, a major frontier town
within the artillery range from Bangladesh and barely 50 kilometres
from the Assam-NEFA border. Sensing Indian helplessness, China
declared a unilateral ceasefir e on November 21. Beijing also
respected the McMahan line and withdrew troops beyond what it
regards as 'unaccepted' Line of Actual Control (LoAC).
The big picture There are those who blame the USA for the latest
escalation in tension and military preparedness in Asia. They say
the US department of defence annual report's claim that 'the pace
and scope of China's military modernisation have increased over the
past decade' has scared Delhi. The report cautioned that 'extreme
secrecy is increasingly difficult to reconcile with China's role in
the integrated global economy, which depends on transparency.' That
is perhaps part of the story. Beijing's quest for access to the
Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf regions for much needed energy
resources lay at the centre of its alliance making in the region,
although the Indian story is rooted more in geopolitical quest for
land. Although other intelligence reports indicate Beijing is
constructing over 22 tunnel and a r ail link between Pakistan
administered Kashmir and China, and further extending the Karakoram
Highway that connects China's Muslim predominant Xinjiang province
with Pakistan, the tunnel construction is related to a projected gas
pipeline from Iran to China that would cross the Karakorams through
Gilgit. India, however, fears they could be also used for missiles
storage sites. They plausibly could, but such Indian fear is grossly
misplaced. Given that Beijing has financed the construction of
Pakistani naval bases at Gawadar, Pasni and Ormara in Balochistan,
such connectivity aims mainly at transporting cargo and oil from the
Persian Gulf to eastern China within 48 hours. While those could be
least of our concerns, Bangladesh must prepare not to get overrun by
any of the contending armies of the region in the instance push come
to shove. That is why it must devise a full spectrum defence
capability of its own as a sovereign nation state of 150 million
strong.
(Desc ription of Source: Dhaka Holiday online in English -- Website
of Bangladesh's premier English-language weekly. Maintains an
independent line and known for its bold editorials. Estimated
circulation 8,000. Mostly read by policymakers, the intelligentsia,
and the diplomatic community; URL: www.weeklyholiday.net)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
9) Back to Top
News Roundup 12, 13 Sep
For assistance with multimedia, contact OSC at 1-800-205-8615 or
oscinfo@rccb.osis.gov
. - Iran -- OSC Report
Monday September 13, 2010 07:14:50 GMT
The following is a roundup of reports appearing in the Iranian med
ia sources in English, and news and commentaries published in non-US
media on 12 and 13 September 2010. This roundup is in the following
sections: (Click on the links to go to the desired section) POLITICS/
DIPLOMACY "Koran Burning" NUCLEAR ISSUE/SANCTIONS "'Iran has no
undeclared nuclear site'" ECONOMY/ENERGY MILITARY/SECURITY TERRORISM/
CRIME/NARCOTICS DISSENT/OPPOSITION SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY/
RELIGION CULTURE/MEDIA/SPORTS COMMENTARIES/ANALYSES/INTERVIEWS
HEADLINES IN MAJOR IRANIAN NEWSPAPERS POLITICS/DIPLOMACY Press TV:
"'Iran ready to free US detainee on bail'"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi has
announced Iran's readiness for the conditional release of one of the
three US citizens arrested for illegally entering the country.
Jafari-Dolatabadi said the judge in charge of probing the case has
issued an indictment for the trio charged with espionage after the
approximate completion of investigations i nto the three Americans'
illegal act, IRNA reported him as saying on Sunday. Sarah Emily
Shourd, 31, Shane Michael Bauer and Joshua Felix Fattal, both 27,
were arrested on Iranian territory in July 2009 after illegally
crossing the border from the mountains of northern Iraq's Kurdistan
region. "For two of the defendants, both male, an arrest warrant has
been issued, (while) the female co-defendant has been granted a five
billion rials (almost $500,000) bail," said the Islamic Republic
judiciary official. He hinted at the practice of leniency in
Shourd's case and said, "Her arrest warrant has been turned into a
bail" after considering reports on her well-being. The Islamic
Republic had earlier called off the release of Shourd over
unresolved legal issues. The trio had been charged with espionage
after the Tehran prosecutor found "compelling evidence" that the
three US citizens had been cooperating with US intelligence
agencies. (Back to top) Rela ted Stories:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8906211236 Iran rejects
link between Amiri, Shroud's freedom
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=142036 Iran calls off release of
US detainee
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=141888 Iran to release one of
three US nationals Press TV: "'Military dictatorship part of US
tradition'"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has denounced anti-
Iran remarks made by the US secretary of state, saying "military
dictatorship" is a part of the American tradition. Last week Hillary
Clinton said "Iran is morphing into a military dictatorship with
a ... sort of religious-ideological veneer," and the US tries to
support opposition forces in the country "in a way that does not
undermine or endanger them." "Military dictatorship is the essential
trait of traditional thought in the US... they no t only violate the
international laws by military attacks on other countries... but
also disregard international organizations and institutions in their
attempt to achieve their ominous objectives," Mottaki said on
Sunday. Pointing to Clinton's remarks about organizing and equipping
Iran's opposition forces, Mottaki said these statements reveal the
"real intentions of the US which are obviously in contrast with
President Barack Obama's declared stances to interact based on
mutual respect." Mottaki added that the US has unsuccessfully been
trying to meddle in Iran's domestic affairs for three decades and
American officials want to see the failure of the democratic
establishment of the Islamic Republic. They are not aware, however,
that the objective of Iran's Revolution and establishing the Islamic
Republic was to "end foreign interferences especially that of the US
in the country's internal affairs," Mottaki concluded. (Back to top)
Related Stories:
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=142226&amp;secti onid=351020101
Iran raps Clinton over rude remarks
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=141002 'Nuclear weapons legitimize
US policies'
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=138085 'Iran won't give in to US
threats'
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=99189 Ahmadinejad warns Obama over
interference Press TV: "Iran to host representatives from 40 African
states"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Tehran is slated to host a summit that will focus on
the expansion of political and economic ties between Iran and the
African continent. "Representatives from the government and private
sectors of over 40 African nations will be coming to Tehran to
attend the summit," senior Foreign Ministry official Ali Amirshahidi
said on Sunday. The summit will explore ways to expand Iran's
relations with African nations such as exporting technical services
and expertise, increasing trade volume, and aiding the development
of the continent, IRNA reported. According to the Irani an official,
the industries, health, and transport ministers of several African
countries will be attending the summit which will be held on
September 14 and 15. Amirshahidi added that president Bingu wa
Mutharika of Malawi would be among the attendees at the summit.
Malawi currently holds the presidency of the African Union where
Iran has observer status. Tehran has recently boosted efforts to
promote its economic and political ties with African states. (Back
to top) Related Stories:
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=142221&amp;sectionid=351020101
Iran, Malawi to enter 'new era' of ties Press TV: "Lawmakers send
letter to Iran President"
(Sun, 12 Sep) A senior lawmaker says the Parliament (Majlis) has
urged the president to preserve Iranian unity by avoiding parallel
tasks in the country's foreign policy. The call came after President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed Esfandiyar Rahim-Mashaei, Hamid
Baqaei, Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh and Abolfazl Zohrehvand as his
special envoys for the Middle East, Asia, Afghanistan and Caspian
Sea affairs on August 22. The move drew criticism from 122 lawmakers
who argued that the appointment of special presidential envoys in
the foreign policy arena is "against the law," urging President
Ahmadinejad to stick to guidelines recently offered by of the Leader
of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Deputy Head
of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad
Esmail Kowsari said on Sunday that Majlis had sent a letter to
Ahmadinejad in which it "stressed the necessity of preserving unity
and integrity in the foreign policy arena." "Since the country is in
the state of emergency, there is no need to select special envoys,"
said Kowsari, adding that the "country's foreign policies are
determined by the overal l polices of the Islamic Republic." The
Iranian lawmaker went on to add the president had replied the Majlis
letter, Mehr News Agency reported. (Back to top) Mehr News Agency:
"Majlis committee urges Ahmadinejad to remove special envoys"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Tehran/Tabriz - In a letter to President Ahmadinejad,
the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee has called
for the annulment of the posts of special presidential envoys, MP
Esmaeil Kosari announced on Sunday. President Ahmadinejad has
appointed Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Hamid Baghaei, Mehdi
Akhoundzadeh, and Abolfazl Zohrevand as his special envoys in the
Middle East, Asia, Caspian Sea, and Afghanistan respectively, a move
which drew widespread criticism. Given the country's critical
condition, there is no need to appoint such envoys in foreign policy
areas, the letter reads. Besides, the foreign policy is being
pursued based on the Islamic Republic's macro policies in a
harmonious way, it added. The letter has nothing to do with the
appointment of Rahim Mashaei - the presidential chief of staff in wh
ich principlists are very sensitive toward him because of his
controversial remarks -, said Kosari, a member of the Majlis
National Security and Foreign Policy Committee. The MP added the
president has not replied to the letter yet. 'Special envoys would
undermine foreign minister's authority' Also, MP Ghaffar Ismaeli
told the Mehr News Agency in Tabriz that the appointment of special
envoys would undermine the authority of the foreign minister and
ambassadors. Ismaeli, a member of the Majlis Planning and Budget
Committee, also noted disregard for "diplomatic formalities has
dealt a heavy blow to the country's diplomatic system." For
instance, he said the recent remarks made by one of the special
envoys have created tension in the relations between Iran and
Turkey, an indirect reference to Baghaei's remarks about historical
disputes between Turkey and Armenia. (Back to top) Mehr News Agency:
"'MPs running out of patience with administration'"
(Sun , 12 Sep) MP Ahmad Tavakkoli has written a letter to President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad saying the Majlis will not be lenient in dealing
with the administration's law-breaking forever. "The president
should not think that the Majlis will deal cautiously with the
administration's unlawful actions forever," Tavakkoli, who is known
for his criticism of the administration's economic policies, said.
"Our caution is due to political considerations, but MPs will
(eventually) run out of patience," he stated. The principlist MP
believes that the administration's decisions to reduce working hours
in Ramadan and declare the day after Eid ul-Fitr a holiday
contravene the law. "Based on what permission did you declare
Saturday a holiday? According to the law, the parliament has the
right to designate a day as a holiday," he asserted. The president
declared the day a holiday, ignoring the repercussions of his
decision on the country's economy, he added. He went o n to say that
the Majlis decided not to declare the day a holiday, but the
president illegally overturned the decision. "What message is
conveyed to the society? Is undermining the Majlis and mocking its
decision consistent with the oath you have taken to safeguard the
Constitution?" Elsewhere in the letter, Tavakkoli said even though
the Supreme Leader advised the administration against parallel
activities in the area of foreign policy, the president did not obey
the Leader's directive and did not dismiss his special envoys for
strategic regions around the world. Ahmadinejad recently appointed a
number of special envoys in a move which met widespread criticism.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki also opposed the move as interference in the work
of the Foreign Ministry. (Back to top) Mehr News Agency:
"'Government should formally announce decision on 5th development
plan'" (Sun, 12 Sep) Majlis has suspend ed a study of the Fifth
Development Plan till the administration officially announces
whether it still wants to withdraw the plan or not, MP Mohammad-
Hossein Farhangi announced on Sunday. In protest over amendments to
the Fifth Development Plan (2010-2015) by a special Majlis
committee, last week the administration requested that the plan be
withdrawn. Following the administration's request last Sunday Deputy
Majlis Speaker Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabifard and some members of
the parliament presiding board held a session with Ahmadinejad. In
the meeting the president called for a halt in withdrawing the plan
and now the Majlis is waiting for an official response, Farhangi
told the Mehr News Agency. It was also agreed that the government
provide a list of changes to the plan that it sees problematic so
that they could be rectified, added Farhangi, a member of the
parliament's presiding board. The five-year plans are part of
"Vision 2025", a plan for the long-term sust ainable growth. (Back
to top) Related Stories
http://mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1149260 MP warns about
delayed or hasty execution of subsidy reform plan Mehr News Agency:
"Ahmadinejad says has 'plans for every second' of his presidency"
(Sun, 12 Sep) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the administration
has "plans for every second" of the three remaining years of his
presidency. The Iranian nation's determination for progress and the
administration's motive for serving the nation increase as days pass
along, the president said on a TV program on Sunday. Asked about the
changes he has undergone over the past five years, the president
said, "The passage of time and acquiring experience make changes in
human beings. To sum it up, I would say my beliefs have changed the
most." Ahmadinejad also referred to the slogan of "we can" which
formed a cornerstone of his presidential campaign in 2005, and said
he is now m ore confident than ever that Iran can "crest the high
summits of progress." He added that his belief in the greatness of
the Iranian nation has dramatically grown. (Back to top) Fars News
Agency: "VP stresses Iranian nation's non-stop move towards progress"
(Sun, 12 Sep) The Iranian nation is heading towards progress despite
all the pressures exerted by certain foreign states to deprive the
country of its rights, Iranian Vice-President for Parliamentary
Affairs Mohammad Reza Mirtajeddini underlined on Sunday. "The
Iranian nation will not wait for the permission of other countries
to achieve its right of progress and development," Mirtajeddini told
FNA, adding that Iran will act in accordance with its interests and
national will. He made the remarks in reference to Iran's success in
developing peaceful nuclear technology and its decision to launch
the country's first nuclear power plant in the southern city of
Bushehr. Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali
Akbar Salehi announced late August that Iran hopes that loading fuel
into the Bushehr nuclear power plant reactor will be completed in
late September, adding that the plant will join the national power
grid in late fall. Mirtajeddini said injection of fuel into the
nuclear power plant signifies the country's firm resolve and the
Iranian nation's effective resistance against the expansionist
policies of world arrogant powers. (Back to top) IRNA: "1st VP to
depart for Turkey on Wednesday"
(Sun, 12 Sep) First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi is to pay an
official visit to Turkey as of Wednesday to confer with the
country's high ranking officials on mutual ties as well as regional
and global developments. The visit will take place upon o fficial
invitation of the Turkish premier. During the two-day visit, the two
sides will review expansion of mutual relations and cooperation.
(Back to top) Fars News Agency: "Env oy: Iran-Bahrain ties making
good progress despite enemies' efforts"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Iran's envoy to Bahrain lauded the close ties between
Tehran and Manama, and said that the two counties' ties are
expanding well despite all the efforts made by the enemies to sow
discord between the two Muslim states. "Enemies of the region are
seeking their interests in discord (among the regional states),"
Iran's Ambassador to Bahrain Hossein Amir Abdollahian said in a
meeting with Bahrain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Khalid bin
Ahmad bin Muhammad Al Khalifa. Pointing to the recent bilateral,
regional and international developments, Abdollahian stated, "What
will serve the collective interests of the regional states and will
help regional stability and development is further closeness among
the regional states as well as all-out cooperation." He also said
that Tehran and Manama can discuss various bilateral issues on
different occasions, including the upcoming meeting of Iraq's
neighboring states due to be held in Manama on September 29-30,
reminding that Iranian Interior Minister Mohammad Mostafa Najjar
will head the Iranian delegation in the meeting. The Bahraini
minister, for his part, lauded the close bilateral ties, and said,
"Today, the ties between Tehran and Manama are at their highest
level." to the security pact signed by senior Iranian and Bahraini
officials during the last few months, and said it demonstrates the
depth of the strategic ties between Tehran and Manama. (Back to top)
"Koran Burning" IRNA: "Students to stage protest gathering against
insult to Holy Quran"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Iranian university students are to hold a gathering in
front of the Swiss Embassy in Iran on Monday to protest against
insult by a US pastor to Islamic sanctities, the holy Quran in
particular. Secretary of the Union of Islamic Associations of
Independent Students nationwide, Mohammad Afkaneh told IRNA the
protest is due to be held at 16:00 hours local time outside Swiss
Embassy that sees to the US interests in Iran. The US pastor Terry
Jones of Florida had had threatened to burn copies of Quran. The
pastor's bid to burn Quran, the religious book of Islam, sparked
worldwide protests from Muslims and Christians against the issue,
Afkaneh said. (Back to top) Press TV: "'US responsible for anti-
Islam crusade'"
(Sun, 12 Sep) A senior Iranian cleric says the desecration of the
holy Quran is the symbol of a "crusade" by enemies of Islam, holding
the US government responsible for the sacrilegious move. "Although
Church leaders say the criminal who in the name of priesthood
ordered the Quran burning is a lunatic and worthless person, the
question is why the White House allows lunatics to throw their
weight around," Tehran's Interim Friday Prayer Leader Ahmad Khatami
said Sunday. "This crime symbolizes a crusade that the enemie s of
Islam have launched for some time now," ISNA quoted him as saying.
Khatami added that the enemies will lose this war as they cannot
stand up to the growing power of Islam. He went on to say US
President Barack Obama and other US statesmen should be held
accountable for the blasphemous decision and the desecration of the
Quran by anti-Islam protesters in the US as the crime has been
committed 'within their geographical borders' and there no excuse is
acceptable in this regard. (Back to top) Fars News Agency: "Iranian
FM warns Washington to show reaction to insults to Holy Quran"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Sunday
lambasted Washington's inaction in the face of the burni ng and
tearing of the holy Quran on the 9/11 anniversary in the US, and
asked the US statesmen to take a clear stance on the insult to the
Muslims' divine book. "American statesmen and authorities should
give a clear answer to the Muslim nations o ver this bold and
insulting act," Mottaki told reporters in a joint press conference
with his Malawian counterpart here in Tehran today. The minster
blamed Zionists for such provocative moves, which he said are aimed
at sowing discord among believers of different faiths and religions.
He further warned about the negative consequences of insult to the
values of 1.5 billion Muslims, and said, "This seed of hatred sown
by the West and its resulting fire will cause trouble for them
themselves." The remark by the Iranian foreign minister came after a
group of conservative Christians have sent shock waves across the
world after they tore the pages of Quran outside the White House.
They tore the pages from an English paperback edition of the Holy
Book. Also some blasphemers in the US on Saturday took the satanic
step of burning some copies of God's final and most comprehensive
revelation to mankind, the Qur'an, and posted video clips of their
devilish deed on the net . The blasphemer appeared near the location
of the twin-tower centre in New York and set ablaze a copy of Quran
in front of the camera. Several photographers, cameramen and others
took pictures and clips of the blasphemous act carried out under the
protection of FBI on the pretext of freedom of action. The move has
shocked the civilized world and hurt the sentiments of over 1.5
billion Muslims worldwide and billions of other believers. (Back to
top) Press TV: "'US responsible for Quran desecration'"
(Sun, 12 Sep) A senior Iranian lawmaker condemns the outrageous act
of desecrating the Quran in the US, calling on the Muslim world to
take measures against such insults to Islam. Despite the
cancellation of a Quran torching plan by Florida pastor Terry Jones,
anti-Islam protesters in the US desecrated the Quran on the
anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Saturday. "Muslim states
especially the Organization of the Islamic Conference (member
states) should ta ke swift measures against the desecration of the
Quran," Head of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy
Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Sunday. "Such measures show
the weakness of arrogant powers in the face of Islam's increasing
power and their fear of its influence in the modern world," Mehr
News Agency quoted Boroujerdi as saying. "Since this sacrilegious
act against the Quran took place on American soil, the US government
should be held accountable." Boroujerdi added that the US government
should take necessary measures against those who committed this
heinous offense. The Iranian lawmaker went on to say that Muslims in
every part of the world would react to the news of the desecration
of the Quran, and that the "US will suffer the consequences." (Back
to top) Fars News Agency: "Senior MP blames White House for insult
to Islamic values in US"
(Sun, 12 Sep) A senior Iranian legislator took the US admini
stration responsible for insults to Islamic values, specially the
burning and tearing of the Muslims' divine book on the 9/11
anniversary, and cautioned about the dire consequences of such
offensive acts. "The US administration is directly responsible for
insults to the holy Quran," Member of the parliament's Judicial and
Legal Commission Mousa Qorbani told FNA on Sunday. Qorbani warned
that the US authorities had been informed of the plans for burning
the holy Quran and they should have, thus, adopted certain measures
to prevent such an offensive act. He also blamed the US
administration for spreading Islamophobia in the United States and
other parts of the world through biased positions against Islam and
Muslims. The Iranian lawmaker warned about the grave consequences of
burn ing Muslims' holy book, and said the US statesmen will no doubt
pay the price for their heedless attitude towards insult to the holy
Quran. In an incident that has shocked the civilized wo rld and hurt
the sentiments of over 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide and billions of
other believers, some blasphemers in the US on Saturday took the
satanic step of burning some copies of God's final and most
comprehensive revelation to mankind, the Qur'an, and posted video
clips of their devilish deed on the net. According to Mashreq
Internet website, a blasphemer appeared near the location of the
twin-tower center in New York and set ablaze a copy of Qur'an in
front of the camera. Several photographers, cameramen and others
took pictures and clips of the blasphemous act carried out under the
protection of FBI on the pretext of freedom of action. As per
reports, similar sacrilegious incidents were witnessed in front of
the White House in Washington. (Back to top) Fars News Agency:
"Christian MP blasts insult to Holy Quran in US"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Christians' representative at the Iranian parliament
strongly condemned the burning and tearing of the Muslims' hol y
book on the 9/11 anniversary outside the White House, stressing that
the move should be deemed as an insult to Jesus and Saint Mary as
well. "Burning Quran was (indeed) a clear insult to Jesus and said
Mary," Robert Biglarian told FNA on Sunday in reaction to reports
about insult to Quran on the anniversary of the September 11
attacks. "Today, all the world's Christians should feel sorry about
this insult to Jesus and Saint Mary as the Holy Quran talks about
Jesus and the saint Mary," Biglarian added. He described the move as
an insult to all the divine religions, and called on Christians not
to keep silent and to show practical reaction to any insult to the
holy Quran. (Back to top) Mehr News Agency: "Iran's archbishop
deplores US pastor who planned to burn Quran"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Iran's archbishop Sabo Sarkisian has condemned an
American pastor who planned to burn copies of the Quran on the 9/11
anniversary. Terry Jones, pastor of the Gainesville, Florida-based
Dove World Outreach Center church had previously intended to set the
Quran on fire on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the
September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States; however, Jones
cancelled his plan due to international pressure and criticism.
"Iranian Armenians strongly denounce this obnoxious act," Sarkisian,
the religious leader of the Armenian community in Iran, told IRNA
news agency. "I, in churches and international conferences in
different parts of the world, have always underscored the importance
of (forming) concord ...between believers of diverse religions. "And
now (I) strongly condemn this plan by a heretical church in the
U.S., whose cardinal has blasphemed Islam and Muslims and (I)
consider this useless effort against the humane interests."
Unfortunately, the Zionists have promoted heresy in certain churches
in the West, which are under their sway and have preached against
the divine reli gions, Sarkisian stated. Such churches, especially
those in the U.S., seek to sow discord between divine religions and
create frictions between Muslims and Christians, he added. "Our
churches attach great importance to the sanctity of different
religions and will not allow blasphemies against divine religions in
the world," he observed. (Back to top) NUCLEAR ISSUE/SANCTIONS Press
TV: "US exports to iran rise after sanctions"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Despite pressing allies to impose unilateral sanctions
against Iran, US exports to Iran climbed significantly in the first
month of their implementation. According to figures published by the
US Census Bureau's foreign trade statistics, US exports to Iran rose
36 percent in July compared to the previous month, when the
sanctions were not yet imposed. The figures indicate that in June
2010, US exports to Iran reached $9.5 million, whereas in July the
amount climbed to $13 million, as released by the Bureau, Fars news
agency reported on Sunday. Although the amount of exports appears
insignificant, experts say the figures ironically indicate that in
the very first month of implementing its own engineered sanctions
against Iran, while simultaneously engaged in a rigorous global
campaign to push allies to follow suit, Washington actually failed
to follow through itself, proving once again that it regards itself
as an exception. Contrary to the export figures, the trade
statistics show that US imports from Iran declined 17 percentage
points from $5.4 million in June to $4.5 million in July. Meanwhile,
the trade volume between the two countries stood at $17.5 million,
reflecting a 17 point increase compared to June's $14.9 million
figure. (Back to top) Press TV: "'Iran has no undeclared nuclear
site'"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has
reiterated that the Islamic Republic has declared all of its nuclear
sites to the he International Atomic Energ y Agency. The AEOI
spokesman, Ali Shirzadian, told IRNA on Sunday that Iran has no
undeclared nuclear site, denying allegations by the terrorist
Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO). "Such rumors are intended to
distort the true image of Iran's peaceful nuclear program and are
circulated by Western countries," he said. Earlier this week, the
AEOI chief, Ali-Akbar Salehi, denied the MKO allegations about a
clandestine atomic site in Iran. Salehi said the country has plenty
of facilities that, for example, sterilize agricultural products
using nuclear technology which do not fall into the nuclear plant
category. The terrorist organization on Thursday had claimed that it
had evidence of a new secret underground atomic site in the country.
The group had said that a facility intended to enrich uranium was
deep under a mountain near Qazvin -- about 120 kilometers west of
Tehran -- and was about 85 percent complete. Founded in the 1960s,
the MKO has masterminded terrorist operations in Iran and Iraq,
killing thousands of people and wounding many more. The group is
especially notorious in Iran for having sided with former Iraqi
dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. The
Public Prosecutor of the Iraqi High Tribunal Jaafar al-Mousawi
stated in mid-August that investigations have also incriminated MKO
members in playing a leading role in the killings of Iraqi
civilians. Mousawi further commented that the terrorist group had
supported Saddam Hussein's Baath regime, aiding in the suppression
of the Iraqi people's uprising in 1991 and the torture and massacre
of innocent people in the northern and southern regions of the
country. (Back to top) Fars News Agency: "Senior MP slams 'two-
sided' nature of Amano's report on Iran"
(Sun, 12 Sep) The recent report by International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) Director-General Yukiya Amano on Iran's nuclear
program was "two-sided and politically-motivated", a se nior Iranian
lawmaker stated. "The (IAEA) report verifies that nuclear activities
of our country are completely peaceful but at the same time other
parts of the report have sought to satisfy the world powers and this
has made the report two-sided and vague," Rapporteur of the
parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazzem
Jalali said on Sunday. "It can be understood from the report that
our country's nuclear activities are peaceful, in line with our
country's basic rights and based on the NPT (Non-Proliferation
Treaty) rules," Jalali stated. The legislator further stated that
Iran has already answered all the UN agency's legal questions, and
added, "A number of issues raised by Amano can be answered legally."
Referring to the IAEA's request from Iran to inform the agency of
the c onstruction of its 10 new enrichment sites, the lawmaker
reminded that based on regulations, the Islamic Republic should
inform the agency 180 days before transferring nuclear materials to
the site and not before its construction. He further stressed Iran's
resolve to continue nuclear progress, and said the country considers
Amano's report as "unfair". (Back to top) Fars News Agency: "Brazil
urges dialogue to resolve Iran's nuclear issue"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim expressed his
country's preparedness to mediate in Iran's nuclear issue, stressing
that the issue can be resolved through negotiation. The resolution
of the Iranian nuclear issue can be achieved through discussions,
Amorim stated on Saturday. He pointed to the 'Tehran Declaration'
signed by Iran, Brazil and Turkey on swap of nuclear fuel for the
Tehran research reactor, and described the agreement as important
and fundamental. He also expressed his amazement that some countries
have ignored the importance of the Tehran Declaration. (Back to top)
ECONOMY/ENERGY Press TV: "Iran to speed up border oi l exploration"
(Mon, 13 Sep) Iran plans to accelerate oil exploration activities by
setting up four new drilling platforms in its border areas, a senior
Iranian oil official says. The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)
Director of Exploration, Mahmoud Mohaddes, said the platforms would
be installed near the borders of Turkmenistan and Iraq within two
months. "The regions of Kalat, Bojnourd, Dargaz and Kermanshah are
given priority in exploration activities," SHANA news agency quoted
Mohaddes as saying on Monday. Last week, Iranian Oil Minister Masoud
Mir-Kazemi said more than $1.5 billion are allocated for discovering
new oil and gas fields. Iran has spotted 13 new oil and gas fields
with in-place reserves of 14 billion barrels of oil and 45 trillion
cubic feet of natural gas within the past 12 months. According to
the Iranian Oil Ministry, the country's revenue from oil exports has
reached $69.1 billion over the past year. Earlier this year,
Mohaddes announced plans to extract 500 million barrels of oil and 5
trillion cubic feet of gas per year from new reserves during a five
year plan. During the course of Iran's fourth five-year development
plan (2005-2010), the country has discovered 19 new oil fields and
eight new gas reserves, the NIOC director added. Iran is OPEC's
second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia. In 2009, Iran's
crude production stood approximately at 3.8 million barrels per day.
The Persian Gulf country sits on the world's second-largest gas
deposits after Russia. (Back to top) Related Stories:
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=141605 Iran 'self-sufficient in
fuel production'
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=140604 Iran discovers 13 oil
fields in 1 year
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=140768 Iran ranks 8th among gas
plant builders Press TV: "Armenia begins importing Iranian wheat"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Armenia begins importing wheat and other grains from
Iran aft er Russia halted its wheat exports to Armenia because of
the drought that devastated crops in parts of the country. "Some
Armenian companies started importing wheat from Iran since the past
month," IRIB quoted Armenian Agriculture Minister Gerasim Alaverdyan
as saying on Friday. The report added that the Armenian companies
have imported around 10,000 tons of wheat from Iran during the
period. Armenia consumes 700,000 tons of wheat annually, while it
produces only 200,000 tons of that in the country. Armenia is
considering Iran as a potential market to meet its wheat imports
after Russia imposed a ban on its wheat products following a drought
season and wildfires affecting many parts of the country. Russia's
decision caused international grain prices to spike as markets
forecasted that without shipments from one of the world's leading
exporters, global supplies would be restricted. (Back to top)
Related Stories:
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=140966 Wheat pushes world food
prices up
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=140085 Drought pushes up food
prices in Russia
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=25993 Iran to export 400,000 tons
of wheat Fars News Agency: "More suppliers competing to sell
gasoline to Iran"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Statistical data show that an increasing number of
foreign suppliers are offering to satiate the country's domestic
needs to gasoline irrespective of the United States' growing
pressures on Iran's energy sector. Figures show that Iran has
imported 1.64 mln tons of gasoline from 10 countries during the last
month. Official data also said that Tehran has imported 3 mln tons
of gasoline during the last five months and after the approval of
the UN Security Council sanctions Resolution 1929 against the
country. India, Russia and France have joined the United Arab
Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Turkmenistan, the Netherlands, Singapore,
Oman and Saudi Arabia as Iran's main gasoline suppliers. The
development came despite the US warning about its punitive measures
against those countries and companies which supply gasoline to Iran.
(Back to top) Fars News Agency: "Pakistani official views Iran as
secure source of energy supplies"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Head of Karachi's Chamber of Commerce and Industries
Abdolmajid Haji Mohammad described Iran as a secure source for
supplying his country's energy needs, and reiterated the importance
of the multi-billion-dollar pipeline project which is due to take
Iran's rich gas reserves to Pakistan. "Iran can be the secure
supplier of low-cost energy for Pakistan," Haji Mohammad told FNA on
Sunday, stressing his country's urgent need to energy supplies. In
March, Tehran and Islamabad signed a final agreement to launch
implementation of a 2700-kilometer long pipeline project for
exporting Iran's rich gas reserves to the energy-hungry south-Asian
nation. The gas will be supplied from the South Pars field. The i
nitial capacity of the pipeline will be 22 billion cubic meters of
natural gas per annum, which is expected to be later raised to 55
billion cubic meters. It is expected to cost $7.4 billion. Haji
Mohammad reiterated that the 7.4-billion-dollar project between the
two countries can reinvigorate the bilateral relations between
Tehran and Islamabad. He also underlined the necessity for paying
attention to the great trade opportunities existing in both
countries which share long borders. Iran and Pakistan have in recent
years expanded their economic and trade cooperation, specially in
the field of energy. Pakistan has announced plans for implementing
two projects for importing electricity from Iran. Work on a project
to import 100MW of elect ricity for Gwa dar in southwestern
Balouchestan has already been initiated. The $3.1 million project is
scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012. Pakistan is already
importing 39MW of electricity from Iran for border areas and Gwadar.
( Back to top) Fars News Agency: "Iran, Turkey to expand
transportation cooperation"
(Sun, 12 Sep) An Iranian official on Sunday underlined Iran and
Turkey's preparedness to boost mutual cooperation between their
transportation sectors, specially between their main airlines. "The
relations between Iran and Turkey as two friendly and brotherly
countries are good and desirable and they enjoy favorable ties in
the air transportation sector," Managing Director of Iran's national
air carrier, Iran Air, Farhad Parvaresh told FNA. Parvaresh also
announced that Iran Air and the Turkish Airline are mulling over an
agreement to form a consortium in a bid to boost their cooperation.
According to Parvaresh, the two sides have decided to utilize each
other's facilities and equipment in case certain flights prove
profitable. The Iranian and Turkish national air carriers in June
2010 agreed to boost mutual cooperation in various areas of civil
aviation. Parvaresh told FNA then that the two airlines had signed
an agreement during a daylong visit to Iran by the Managing Director
of the Turkish Airline to utilize each other's capacities and
possibilities. Parvaresh added that based on the agreement, the two
airliners could use each other's capacities to sell ticket for their
flights. He stated that early negotiations were held between the two
sides to use empty seats on their flight, considering Iran Air's
multiple flights to Turkey and the Turkish Airline's flights to
several cities across Iran. (Back to top) Mehr News Agency: "Petchem
sales exceeds $6b"
(Sun, 12 Sep) The value of petrochemical products sold since the
start of the current Iranian calendar year (began March 21) till the
6th of September surpassed $6 billion. Shana news agency reported
that $4.3 billion of the products were exported to other countries.
The total weight of the goods sold was over 9.3 million tons. Shana
reported that 45.5 percent of the exported goods were sent to the
Far East, 22 percent to the Middle East, 12 percent to India, 12
percent to Europe, 7.5 percent to Southeast Asia and 1 percent to
other countries in Africa and Central Asia. (Back to top) Mehr News
Agency: "Iran trims down agricultural imports"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Iran has restricted the import of 20 agricultural
products in a bid to boost national productivity and make the
domestic industry more competitive. "Imports of cow meat, rice,
wheat, and a couple of fruits such as apples, peaches, apricots,
cherries, and pearls have been banned," Khabaronline quoted Babak
Afqahi head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran as saying.
If the domestic products are not improved in terms of quality and
the consumer prices are not lowered, the national economy would face
serious problems, Arsalan Fathipour, the head of the Majlis Economic
Committee stated in August, Jamejamonline reported. Central Bank
Governor Mahmoud Bahmani had previously said the nation should limit
imports only to "necessary goods" to help lift domestic production
and make savings in the country's FOREX reserves. "Imports should be
reduced," Bahmani was quoted as saying. "In other words, we should
not allow the import of every sort of product." (Back to top) Mehr
News Agency: "Commece minister travels to Sri Lanka"
(Sun, 12 Sep) The Iranian commerce minister is leading a delegation
traveling to Colombo to take part in a joint economy and trade
cooperation committee meeting between Iran and Sri Lanka. The 9th
Joint Economy and Trade Cooperation Committee meeting between Iran
and Sri Lanka will be held from the 13th to the 15th of Se ptember,
IRNA reported. In this meeting the two countries commerce ministers
will sign six MOUs and cooperation agreements in the fields of
customs, sisterhood between Shahid Rajaei and Colombo ports and
acceptance of each other's maritime certifica tes. Also in this
meeting agreements will be made between the two countries in the
fields of science, culture, art and standardization. An increase in
trade, holding international exhibitions, enhancing maritime
relations and implementing engineering and technical projects are
among other agendas during the meeting. In April 2008, Iran began
work in several infrastructure development projects in Sri Lanka,
all part of a $1.5 billion loan to the South Asian island. These
projects included doubling the oil refinery capacity of Sri Lanka's
Sapugaskanda refinery as well as creating a 100-megawatt hydropower
project and irrigation plan in Uma Oya. In June 2009, the country
signed a $106 million agreement with an Iranian firm to provide
electricity to roughly 1,000 villages in Sri Lanka. (Back to top)
MILITARY/SECURITY Fars News Agency: "Iran unvels 3rd generation of
home-made Cobra simulators"
(Sun, 12 Sep) The Iranian Army started using the third generation of
home-made Cobra Chopper simulators in an airborne base in central
Iran on Sunday. The simulators were officially unveiled in the
Army's 4th Airborne Base in Iran's central city of Isfahan in a
ceremony attended by Iranian Army commanders and officials.
Elaborating on the manufacturing trend of the simulator, Iranian
Army Airborne Commander General Kiomarth Ahadi said that the chopper
simulator was built in a two-year period. According to the
commander, decrease in expenses and improvement in pilot training
courses are among the main features and most important advantages of
the Iran-made chopper simulators, adding that the training device
can also simulate tactical and invasive flights. Ahadi also
reiterated that the price of the new simulators is one-tenth of
their foreign rivals. Iran's airborne units had earlier built
simulators for chopper 206 in 2007, the first home-made mobile
helicopter simulator which is still in use for training operations.
Ahadi had said in Februa ry that all the airborne bases of the
Iranian army were equipped with flight simulators. "All airborne
bases have been equipped with flight training simulator systems," he
told FNA at the time. "Our experts are producing well-equipped and
non-static simulators for other types of choppers at present," Ahadi
said. (Back to top) Related Stories:
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=141211 Iran to stage major anti-
aircraft drills
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=139998 Iran test fires Fateh-110
missile
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=139915 'Iran self-sufficient in
radar systems' TERRORISM/CRIME/NARCOTICS Fars News Agency: 'Iran
arrests Zahedan bombers"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Iran announced on Sunday that it has arrested a number
of terrorists behind the recent deadly bombings in the Grand Mosque
of the southeastern city of Zahedan. "A number of suspects and
individuals who have assisted in the bombing have been arrested,"
General Director of Sistan and Balouchestan's provincial Justice
Department Hojjatoleslam Ebrahim Hamidi told FNA today. "Further
investigations are underway in this regard," the official added. On
July 15, two bomb blasts in front of the Zahedan Grand Mosque in
Iran's southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan killed at
least 27 people and injured over 270 more. The Pakistan-based
Jundollah terrorist group, directly sponsored and supported by
Washington, claimed responsibility for the attacks. Jundollah is
responsible for several terrorist operations which have killed tens
of citizens, officials and security fo rces in southeastern Iran.
Hamidi further said that Iran has already initiated proper measures
to bar terrorists from entering Iran under the guise of Pakistani
refugees who take refuge in Iran after devastating floods in the
South Asian nations. Yet, the official underlined that Iran has not
"faced any crisis in the province's border regions&quo t; in this
regard. (Back to top) DISSENT/OPPOSITION Radio Zamaneh: "Islamic
Republic restricts visits with opposition leaders"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Norooz website, news outlet for Islamic Iran
Participation Front reports that Iranian security forces impeded the
reformist group's former secretary general, Mohammadreza Khatami,
from visiting MirHosein Mousavi. Mohammadreza Khatami was briefly
arrested when he tried to pay a visit to the opposition leader on
the occasion of Fetre Eid today. O nce released after his brief
arrest, he was forced to return without visiting the opposition
leader, MirHosein Mousavi. Security forces have been stationed at
the ends of the road where Mousavi's office is located and are
preventing people from visiting him at his office. According to
Norooz, a number of the visitors, including Iranian artist, Habib
Sadeghi, were arrested in their attempt to meet with Mousavi. The
restrictions on Mousavi visitors have reportedly been in effect
since last week. The home of Mehdi Karroubi, the other disputing
candidate of the 2009 presidential elections, has also been under
surveillance of security forces and he is also impeded from
receiving visitors. The Islamic Republic government has been
intensifying pressure on the two opposition leaders in the past
weeks. Mehdi Karroubi's home was attacked by a group of plain
clothes forces for five nights in a row and he was impeded from
participating in the Qods Day demonstrations last Friday. (Back to
top) Radio Zamaneh: "Reformist group accuses head of IRGC of prison
cruelties"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Iranian reformist organization, Islamic Iran
Participation Front issued an open letter to the head of Iran's
Revolutionary Guards Corps, Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari to
announce that he is responsible for "cruelties and disasters" that
the political prisoners have been subjected to in Iran's prisons.
Norooz website reports that the opposition group has exp ressed
grave concern over the well-being of one of its detained members,
Mohsen Safai Farahani. According to the letter Safai Farahani who
suffers from heart complications has passed out a number of times in
recent days and is not receiving adequate medical care at Evin
Prison. Last Friday, Effat Khatibi, wife of Safai Farahani described
her husband's heart problems in an interview with Kaleme website and
warned the judiciary and security forces about the critical nature
of Safai Farahani's health and urged the authorities to grant her
husband leave so that he can receive adequate medical attention.
Mohsen Safai Farahani was arrested on June 20, 2009 in the wave of
arrests following the protests against the disputed re-election of
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president. He is sentenced to six years in
prison for the charge of activities against national security. He
was released on bail last February but was recalled back to prison
after he, along with six other prominent reformis ts, issued a
letter of complaint against a top Revolutionary Guards figure which
has been referred to as Commander Moshfeq. The seven reformists
accused this individual of illegal interference in the election
process. (Back to top) Radio Zamaneh: "Iranian human rights activist
temporariy released
" (Sun, 12 Sep) Iranian human rights activist, Shiva Nazar Ahari was
temporarily released from Evin Prison tonight on a $500,000 bail.
Nazar Ahari, a founder of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters in
Iran, was arrested last December on her way to attend the funeral of
dissident cleric, Ayatollah Montazeri. She was earlier arrested in
June 2009 right after Iran's controversial presidential election
which led to mass street protests and a wave of arrests to quell the
opposition. She was released after three months in prison on a
$200,000 bail and later arrested again in December. She stood trial
last week for the charge of "rebellion against God through co
nnection with the dissident group People's Mojahedin, assembly and
collusion to commit a crime, propaganda against the regime and
disturbing the public." Nazar Ahari denied any links with People's
Mojahedin Organization and maintained that she has always been
"against the actions of this terrorist organization." The detained
human rights activist was held in solitary confinement for over 100
days during her imprisonment. Last week, Iranians abroad staged
demonstrations in cities such as Paris, Cologne and Washington
demanding her release from the Islamic Republic authoritie s. The
European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights as well as
Amnesty International also issued separate statements in support of
Shiva Nazar Ahari calling for her immediate release in Iran. (Back
to top) AFP: "French rally to show support for Iran stoning mother"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Paris - Around 1,000 people rallied in Paris on Sunday
to show support for Iranian mother -of-two Sakineh Mohammadi-
Ashtiani who is facing execution by stoning, an AFP correspondent
reported. Celebrities such as singer Jane Birkin and philosopher
Bernard-Henri Levy as well as political leaders attended the rally
on the central Place de la Republique. "Other women are at risk of
stoning, but Sakineh has become a symbol despite herself," Levy told
the crowd. "If we save this innocent person, we will help to save
all the other women who are waiting in the corridors of death, and
we will avenge those who have been stoned to death or burned alive."
Iranian authorities last week said that the sentence against 43-year-
old Mohammadi-Ashtiani to death by stoning for adultery had been
suspended since July. She has also received a 10-year jail term for
participating in her husband's murder. Rights groups and
increasingly Western leaders have criticised the sentencing. (Back
to top) SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY Fars News Agency: "Iranian physicists
succeed in converting metal graphene into insulator"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Iranian researchers at Isfahan University of
Technology (IUT) managed to find a way to successfully convert metal
graphene into insulator graphene. "By applying numerical methods we
managed to study extra large networks and achieve primary designs
for control of electronic properties of graphene (like band-gap
formation with controlled geometry and desizing it to nanometric
stripes)," Mohammad Hossein Zare', a member of the research group,
told INIC. Noting that lithography methods which are used to produce
nanostructures do not provide angstrom-level precision for the case
with grapheme, Zare' stated, "As a consequence, the synthesized
nanostructures inevitably possess uneven borders that cause strong
effects in transient characteristics of the nano stripes/bands.
However, it is possible to form gaps in bilayer graphene by applying
an electric field perpendicular to graphene planes." & quot;At
first, we simulated the desired network and then added disorder
samples to it. The numerical Chebyshev polynominal method (KPM),
which is based on polynominal expansion/approximation of functions,
was used to investigate the effect of disorders on nano shells of
bilayer graphene. Accordingly, local densities of states were
calculated with the help of DP determination parameter. DP is a
criterion by which replaced states and discrete states are
distinguished. We find that this model undergoes an Anderson metal-
insulator transition at a critical value of disorder strength",
Zare' explained. (Back to top) SOCIETY/RELIGION Press TV: "Iran
offers Pakistan $100m more in aid"
(Mon, 14 Sep) Iranian First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi says
Iran has allocated $100 million worth of humanitarian aid for the
flood-hit people of Pakistan. Rahimi made the remarks late Sunday
night after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali
Khamenei on F riday said the measures taken to aid the people of
Pakistan were insufficient, urging all Muslims to help their
brothers in Pakistan. Ayatollah Khamenei described the flood
disaster in Pakistan as the "most urgent" issue of the Muslim world.
The leader expressed deep sorrow over the catastrophic floods in
Pakistan and the lingering humanitarian crisis it has brought to the
country. (Back to top) Fars News Agency: "Iran to show solidarity
with Pakistani nation on September 16"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Tehran announced on Sunday that the Iranian nation
will display its solidarity with the flood-hit Pakistani people on
Thursday (September 16) by dispatching humanitarian aids to their
neighboring country. Supervisor of the Imam Khomeini Relief
Foundation Hossein Anvari declared the next Thursday as the day of
solidarity with the flood-stricken people of Pakistan. Talking to
reporters in Tehran, Anvari said during the said day the Iranian
people would extend the ir humanitarian aids, in cash or non-cash,
to their Pakistani counterparts. The provided relief received by
Iran's Red Crescent Society will then be sent to the Pakistani
regions, Anvari added. In July, 2010, a devastating flood struck a
number of Pakistan's cities that caused widespread destruction and
heavy death toll. (Back to top) CULTURE/MEDIA/SPORTS Press TV:
"Ahmadinejad hails Cyrus Cylinder"
(Sun, 12 Sep) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lauds the Cyrus
Cylinder as the embodiment of human values and a cultural heritage
for all humanity. Speaking at a ceremony held on Sunday to unveil
the Cyrus Cylinder in Tehran, Ahmadinejad said the artifact has been
an invaluable yardstick to evaluate the performance of politicians
and rulers throughout history. The Achaemenid relic, on loan from
the British Museum, will be displayed at Iran's National Museum for
the first time in the past 40 years. The cylinder was escorted by a
delegation headed by the Bri tish Museum keeper of the Middle East
collections, John Curtis, to the exhibition site where it will be
showcased for the next four months. One of the principles stipulated
in the historical piece is that it repudiates war as a means to
sustain one's rule, the president said. The Cylinder reads that
everyone is entitled to freedom of thought and choice and all
individuals should pay respect to one another, he added. The
historical charter also underscores the necessity of fighting
oppression, defending the oppressed, respecting human dignity, and
recognizing human rights, the president continued. Ahmadinejad
emphasized that the Cyrus Cylinder bears testimony to the fact that
the Iranian nation has always been the flag-bearer of justice,
devotion and human values throughout history. "Talking about Iran is
not talking about a geographical entity or race," Ahmadinejad said,
adding, "Talking about Iran is tantamount to talking about culture,
human values, justice, love and sacrifice." The Cyrus Cylinder,
which is considered the world's first charter of human rights, is
inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform with an account by Cyrus II, king
of Persia (559-530 BCE). (Back to top) Related Stories:
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=60383 Iran to display Cyrus Cylinder
http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=137794 Cyrus Cylinder texts found
in China Press TV: "Iranian wrestler grabs silver medal"
(Mon, 13 Sep) Iranian freestyle wrestler Sadeq Goudarzi wins a
silver medal in the 2010 World Wrestling Championships held in
Moscow, Russia. Thanks to Goudarzi's silver medal and a bronze medal
by Morad Mohammadi, Iran national team stood fourth in the total
ranking of the competitions. Goudarzi thrashed Ivan Fundora Zaldivar
of Cuba in the 74-kg category to reach the final match, but was
downed by his Russian rival Denis Tsargush and seized the silver.
The Iranian athlete also defeated wrestlers from Armenia, Kazakhst
an, and Ukraine to get to the final match of the competitions. On
Saturday, Iranian 60-kg category wrestler Morad Mohammadi clinched
the bronze medal of his class. Mohammadi is also the bronze medal
holder of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He also snatched the gold
medal in the 2006 world championship. Iran's 66-kg category athlete
Mehdi Taqavi defeated his Uzbek and Ukrainian rivals, but he did not
get any medals. Also 120-kg class wres tler Fardin Masoumi beat
wrestlers from Armenia and Bulgaria in his first matches, but the
heavyweight was defeated by his Georgian rival and couldn't reach
the semifinal round of the competitions. More than 1,200 wrestlers
from 100 countries participated in the prestigious event at the
Olympic Stadium in Moscow, from September 6 to 12. Iran is gearing
up to show a good performance in the 2010 Asian Games which will be
held in Guangzhou, China. The 16th edition of continental showpiece
will start on November 12 and will run for 15 days. In the Greco-
Roman section of the event, Hamid Sourian and Amir Ali Akbari won
the gold medals in the 55-kg and 96-kg categories, respectively.
(Back to top) COMMENTARIES/ANALYSES/INTERVIEWS Jerusalem Post: "US
Treasury bans European-Iranian bank from opoerating in US" by
Benjamin Weinthal
(Mon, 13 Sep) BERLIN - The US Treasury Department last week banned
the Hamburg-based European-Iranian Bank (Europaeisch- Iranische
Handelsbank) from operating in the US because it finances companies
that help Iran build weapons of mass destruction.NGOs in Germany and
the US slammed German Chancellor Angela Merkel's administration for
refusing to shut down a leading finance center for nuclear
proliferation and Teheran's missile program."EIH has acted as a key
financial lifeline for Iran. As one of Iran's few remaining access
points to the European financial system, EIH has facilitated a
tremendous volume of transactions for Iranian banks previously
designated for prolife ration," Stuart Levey, US under secretary for
terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a Treasury Department
statement."As international sanctions tighten, Iran will find it
increasingly difficult to find banks like EIH that will cooperate
with it. Treasury will continue to target any bank, wherever
located, that supports Iran's nuclear or missile programs," said
Levey, who oversees American efforts to stop the financing of
terrorism across the globe.The US Treasury proffered a list of EIH's
proliferation activities. "In 2009, EIH and Bank Mellat facilitated
nearly $350,000 of business between a weapons exporter and a
subsidiary of WMD proliferator Iran Electronics Industries (IEI),"
it said."In a six-month period beginning in late 2007, EIH and the
Export Development Bank of Iran enabled Iran's missile programs to
purchase more than $3 million of material; also in 2007, almost $1m.
in business involving an Iranian WMD proliferator was faci litated
by EIH and Bank Mellat."Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the
Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies and an expert
on sanctions targeting Iran's energy infrastructure, told The
Jerusalem Post on Sunday, "Germany, one of Iran's most important
trade partners, has recently developed a fragile political consensus
in favor of tougher sanctions. German businessmen, however, remain
wary of losing lucrative deals and are testing the resolve of
European and American leaders."Michael Spaney, a spokesman for the
German chapter of the Stop the Bomb NGO, said in a statement last
week, "We call on the German chancellor to immediately ban EIH.
Germany must at long last become active in the area of Iran
sanctions. It is up until now about empty phrases. The German
government contends it want to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran while
continued intensive trade is carried out with Iran."A Foreign
Ministry spokesman in Berlin said the US informed Germany in advance
of its decision to ban the EIH from American markets. The spokesman
said a German bank regulatory agency is strictly monitoring the
EIH.The veteran New York Times journalist John Vinocur wrote in his
August column that US President Barack Obama appealed to Merkel to
shut down the EIH, but he was snubbed by the chancellor.The EIH said
in a statement that the EIH "at all times strictly fulfills and
observes applicable legal regulations and all sanctions and export
guidelines."Germany is Europe's largest Iranian trade partner, with
annual trade volume around 4 billion, and the third largest global
business partner of Iran after China and the United Arab
Emirates.Despite the international community's efforts to isolate
Iran, many German companies, particularly engineering firms have
defied sanctions. German exports to Iran increased by 14 percent
during the first half of 2010 compared to the same period a year
earlier.
http://www.jpost.com/Ir anianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=187885 For
more, click here (Back to top) Oil and Gas News: "Iran stores
abundant fuel oil on supertankers"
(Mon, 13 Sep) Singapore - Iran has been storing straight-run fuel
oil on supertankers for at least three months, in an unprecedented
move prompted by China's poor feedstock demand and financing
difficulties faced by buyers due to Western sanctions, industry
sources said.At least 550,000-600,000 tonnes, two full VLCC loads,
are being held at sea at any one time, traders said.So far, two
cargoes have been sold and delivered into Singapore on board Very
Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), a shift from its normal practice of
using 80,000-tonne aframaxes.Traders said demand from "teapot"
refiners in southern China, which used to buy two to three cargoes a
month some two years ago, have dried up. Since January, only one
cargo was lifted by a Chinese player, Tianbao, in April.The unusual
move by Iran was also prompted by increasing difficulty faced by
some term buyers in getting credit from Western banks for trade with
Iran due to sanctions, traders added. Iran has been storing crude
oil on tankers in recent years. At least one of the VLCCs carrying
straight-run fuel oil from Iran's Bandar Mahshahr port has landed in
Singapore for the first time, while a second is on the way,
increasing supplies in a weak Asian market damped by poor sentiment.
"NIOC (National Iranian Oil Co) have been unusually flexible with
their fuel oil recently - as long as buyers are keen, prompt loading
dates and the size of the cargoes are not a problem," a Singapore-
based Asian trader said."That's because they are floating the oil on
their VLCCs and it's ever-ready for loading." For example, Iran can
still move to load for prompt mid-September shipments, he added.The
second parcel is on board the 270,000-tonne "Nesa", which is
expected to land Singapore on Sept. 10 and chartered by Chin a's
Zhenrong, which had been a term buyer of the 280-centistoke (cst)
Bandar Mahshahr cargoes before this year. The first cargo, which was
loaded on board the "Dadgar" in June, was sold to term buyer Shell,
who normally lifts two to three aframaxes in a month, mainly as
feedstock. (Back to top) The Scotsman: "US hostage delay reveals
Iran's power struggle" by Parisa Hafezi in Tehran
(Mon, 13 Sep) Iran said yesterday it will free on bail one of three
Americans accused of espionage and held for more than a year, a day
after her planned release was unexpectedly halted by the judiciary.
The Tehran prosecutor told state television yesterday that Sarah
Shourd would be freed on $500,000 bail and permitted to leave the
country.Shourd was detained near Iran's border with Iraq at the end
of July 2009 along with two male companions, Shane Bauer and Josh
Fattal. Their families say the three were on a mountain hike in
northern Iraq at the time.Officials said l ast week Shourd would be
freed on Saturday, but Iran's judiciary suspended her release at the
last minute, saying the legal process had not been completed. The
delay indicates a rift among Iran's hardline rulers."The American
spy can be released as soon as her $500,000 bail is deposited... She
is not barred from leaving Iran, but has to appear in the court at
trial time," Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said.The
detention decree of the other two had been extended, he added: "The
other two American hikers will remain in jail."A lawyer representing
the three, Masoud Shafie, said the Americans had attended court
earlier yesterday and presented their final defences. The prosecutor
could now present his indictment, which would precede a trial...An
Iranian analyst who asked not to be named said the delay in Shourd's
release "brought to surface the ongoing power struggle" between
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other hardliners."Ahmadi nejad
wants to gain international respect after the disputed presidential
vote in 2009," he said, referring to an election which the
opposition says was rigged and which harmed Ahmadinejad's standing
abroad.State media reported on Friday that Shourd would be released
as a result of intervention by Ahmadinejad, to show the "special
view of Iran on the dignity of women".Some hardline MPs criticised
Shourd's planned release, accusing the government of "meddling in
the judiciary's affairs", the Tehran-e Emrouz daily reported
yesterday."More and more, Iranian MPs and officials believe he is
ignoring them and acting solely in his own interest," said Meir
Javedanfar, an Iran expert with the Middle East Economic and
Political Analyst based in Israel.ISNA, the student news agency,
quoted the prosecutor Dolatabadi as defending the right of the
judiciary to make the decision without outs
10) Back to Top
China Owns 'Indisputable Sovereignty Over Diaoyu Islands
Editorial: "China Will Absolutely Not Give In; Japan Must Not
Misjudge the Situation" - Wen Wei Po Online
Monday September 13, 2010 19:39:12 GMT
On the issue of the Diaoyu Islands, China has time and again
reiterated that the Diaoyu Islands and nearby islets have always
been Chinese territory since times immemorial, and that China owns
indisputable sovereignty over these islands. The 740,000 square km
"maritime exclusive economic zones" of the Diaoyu Islands and nearby
islets are almost the total of Chinese waters in the Nansha
(Spratly) Islands. Located near the Chinese side between Taiwan,
Chinese mainland, and Japan's Okinawa, the Diaoyu Islands are very
important strategically on the frontline of the primary chain of
islands in the western Pacific. Japan has completely misjudged the
situation in the recent illegal seizure of the Chinese fishing boat
and fishermen and the escalation of the incident in an attempt to
brazenly occupy the Diaoyu Islands. On the issue of the Diaoyu
Islands, which has special strategic importance and strategic
resources, China will absolutely not tolerate national humiliation
and occupation of the traditional territory. Japan must not
miscalculate.
China does not make trouble but is not afraid of trouble. Many years
ago, in response to India's encroachment activities in the border
area, China, after futile negotiations, resolutely waged a
counteroffensive in the border area; faced with the former Soviet
Union's strong military pressures, China did the same by fighting
back bravely at the Zhenbao (Damansky) Island; and Vietnam, self-
confident of the former Soviet Union's backing, frequently stirred
up trouble in the Sino-Vietnamese border, which Chinese
counterattacked decisively. If Japan m isjudges the situation, it
will be lifting a rock only to drop it on its own toes.
Japan's arrogant and unreasonable attitude toward the latest Diaoyu
Islands incident compelled China to make tough response. Of course,
China would take diplomatic, political, and other actions to defend
China's territorial sovereignty and national dignity. Immediately,
China dispatched law enforcement vessels of the fishery
administration to the waters near the Diaoyu Islands not only to
protect the lives and safety of property of Chinese fishermen but
also to declare, tit for tat, China's sovereignty over the Diaoyu
Islands. As Japan has so far not backed away, China, in addition to
increasing diplomatic pressures, is expected to take more follow-up
actions. The purpose of the recent steadfast action undertaken by
China is not only to defend the sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands
but also to display the all-out determination to safeguard national
sovereignty and territorial integrity .
(Description of Source: Hong Kong Wen Wei Po Online in Chinese --
Website of PRC-owned daily newspaper with a very small circulation;
ranked low in "credibility" in Hong Kong opinion surveys due to
strong pro-Beijing bias; has good access to PRC sources; URL:
http://www.wenweipo.com
)Attachments:wwp0913b.pdf
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copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
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11) Back to Top
Xinhua 'Interview': 'Partnership And Commitment' Needed To Achieve
MDG Targets in Africa: UNDP Official
Xinhua "Interview" by Laila Kabbaj: "'Partnership And Commitment'
Needed To Achieve MDG Targets in Africa: UNDP Official" - Xinhua
Monday Septemb er 13, 2010 19:38:57 GMT
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- As the high-level summit on the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches, " partnership and
commitment" will be essential for Africa to sustain progress in
achieving the targets, a UN official told Xinhua in a recent
interview.
Selim Jahan, director of the Poverty Practice Division of the UN
Development Program (UNDP), said a "concrete plan of action" is
needed to help the region overcome challenges in the wake of the
global economic crisis.Over 150 heads of state or government will
gather at the United Nations Headquarters in New York next week in
order to assess the status of the efforts to reach the MDGs targets
and revitalize efforts to meet the eight anti-poverty goals by the
2015 deadline.As world governments continue to grapple with the
effects of the recent economic downturn, food insecurity, oil price
volatility and climate change, the prospects of achieving the MDGs
by the target date have been thrown into uncertainty -- particularly
in sub-Saharan Africa.Jahan warned that sub-Saharan Africa will face
"severe human development impacts" as a consequence of the
crises.GREATEST CHALLENGEAccording to the 2010 World Bank global
monitoring report, "sub- Saharan Africa poses the greatest
challenge, it has the highest poverty rates and will have the most
difficulty achieving its regional poverty reduction targets."Between
2000 and 2009 the GDP growth rate in sub-Saharan Africa has gone
from 5.5 percent to 2.1 percent, according to Jahan.Reduced global
demand for exports, decline in capital flows including foreign
direct investment (FDI), and remittances are part of the global
financial and economic crisis' immediate impact on the
region.Despite the immediate downturn, he noted that the most
devastating consequences will be felt in the long term, as they
threaten to erode sustained progress in development.The impact on
infant mortality are particularly tragic, " because of the crisis in
2009, estimates have been that an additional 30,000 to 50,000
children are dying in sub-Saharan Africa," said Jahan.Budget
constraints on donor countries have also exacerbated the situation,
as commitments to delivering aid continue to be unfulfilled.Jahan
indicated the peculiar trend in the flow of external financing or
official development assistance (ODA) to sub-Saharan Africa."Between
2007 onwards, total amount of aid to sub-Saharan Africa has actually
gone up from 39 billion U.S. dollars, to 41 billion, to 44 billion.
Now does it mean that the commitments of the donors have been kept?
No," he said, citing that an additional 17 billion U.S. dollars
could have been delivered in ODA if commitments had been
met.Indicating that aid distribution poses another issue in
development funding, Jahan said that tracking the flow of ODA in sub-
Saharan Africa "needs to be revisited." In essence, there is a need
to track where the money is going.Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Tanzania
are the three major recipients of aid in the region. "These are all
big countries in sub-Saharan Africa, therefore a number of smaller
countries may not get the kind of assistance -- particularly the ODA
-- that they are so much dependent upon. I think this is one issue
that needs to be looked at," said Jahan.As the global economic
crisis continues to unfold, producing growth in Africa will not come
solely from money and resource handouts.Resources and aid are
important, Jahan noted, but they cannot stand alone. "We cannot have
a resource-centric approach to the MDGs, it does not work that way,"
he said."You cannot say give me 50 billion dollars today, I'll take
care of poverty tomorrow. There are more structural issues, more
complex realities that need to be dealt with," he added.Progress in
meeting the development ta rgets will be largely dependent on
strategies that allow sub-Saharan African countries to help
themselves.HELPING AFRICA HELP ITSELFJahan highlighted that
"national commitment" and "national ownership" are essential for sub-
Saharan African states to make more effective use of both their
macro and micro-economic policies for development.Commitment and
ownership "have to be formulated, organized, implemented locally.
They cannot be implanted or be pushed down from outside. National
ownership is absolutely important," said Jahan. Yet, commitment
cannot come if one does not have the capacity to do so, he
added.With demand for food in sub-Saharan Africa expected to reach
100 billion U.S. dollars by 2015 according to World Bank estimates,
food insecurity presents a major bottleneck in efforts to build
national capacity.The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
reports that 30 percent of people in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from
hunger.With agricul ture providing 30 percent of GDP and employing
70 percent of the population, Jahan said national food security
policies should hinge on three dimensions: enhancing agricultural
productivity, linking food security with nutritional needs, and
social protection for vulnerable groups.Developing a cost-effective
marketing system that will provide an integrated package of inputs
to farmers and climate change adaptation are key. "I think sub-
Saharan Africa is ready for an African green revolution, and I think
we should support them on that," he said.Despite the bleak outlook
for progress in achieving the MDGs provided by the statistical data,
there are examples of success.The introduction of improved seed and
advances in technology have increased agricultural productivity in
Ghana. As a result, " it has been able to reduce the incidents of
hunger from 34 percent to 9 percent between 1990 and 2004. Ghana is
very much on its way to eliminate hunger," said Jahan.Pr ogress has
been uneven throughout sub-Saharan Africa, partly due to the
geographic enormity of the region. Although one country may cite
progress in combating hunger, another may see an increase in child
mortality rates.Jahan noted that this diversity, can be used to
establish partnerships throughout the developing world --
particularly through what he calls "south-south collaboration.""In
the South you have so many development experiments going on, you
have so many innovative approaches. For example, India has done a
great job with their mid-day meal program at schools, where 110
million children are benefiting -- can (this program) be replicated
in Nigeria?"FROM RHETORIC TO ACTIONTen years have passed since 189
UN member states signed the Millennium Declaration that established
the Millennium Development Goals. With only five years left until
the 2015 deadline, sub- Saharan Africa faces a steep uphill climb to
overcome challenges.As the September MDGs s ummit approaches, Jahan
says he'd like to see a message of hope and a concrete plan of
action from world leaders."I want to see a message of hope based on
the success stories, the proven interventions, the country level
evidence. There can be a message of despair, but that is not going
to help anybody," he said."We are not just talking in terms of
rhetoric," Jahan emphasized. "If we have a positive message with
very concrete evidence, if we have a concrete action plan and we
have committed partnerships, then I think we have achieved a
lot."There are no excuses for stalling progress in achieving the
MDGs, said Jahan. "I strongly believe that the world has the
resources, and the knowledge, and the technology to make a
breakthrough.""I think basically what we need to do is put our
heads, hands and hearts together. That 3-H approach can really make
a difference," he added.(Description of Source: Beijing Xinhua in
English -- China 's official news service for English-language
audiences (New China News Agency))
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the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
12) Back to Top
Cabinet group discusses partial withdrawal of armed forces act in
Indian Kashmir - PTI News Agency
Monday September 13, 2010 14:08:36 GMT
Text of report by Indian news agency PTINew Delhi, 13 September: The
Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister of
India Manmohan Singh met here Monday (13 September) to discuss a
package for the northernmost Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir
(Indian-administered Kashmir) hit by a fresh bout of violence since
Id last Saturday.The pros and cons of a phased withdrawal of Armed
Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from some areas in the border
state as part of the package were deliberated at the crucial
meeting.The meeting reviewed the present situation in the valley,
where four more people were killed Monday in the surge in
violence.The toll in the three-month unrest in the valley has risen
to 75.Hours before the crucial CCS meeting, Jammu and Kashmir Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah had separate meetings with Congress President
Sonia Gandhi and Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram, during which a
political package for the state figured in the deliberations.The
chief minister had also met other union ministers Sunday, including
health minister and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad whose
support was sought for a political package to the state.The proposal
being deliberated upon to restore peace in the Kashmir valley was
withdrawal of AFSPA from six districts - three each in Kashmir and
Jammu regions - besides a special compensation package for those
killed and injured in the violence in the recent weeks.The Defence
Ministry, which has been opposing any moves to withdraw AFSPA,
indicated at one of the meetings recently that Indian Army should
never be called for any assistance in those areas where the Act was
repealed.Besides AFSPA, Omar has also urged the Indian government to
kick-start a political dialogue with the separatists at the
earliest.CCS also discussed measures to incorporate certain
provisions in AFSPA to make it more "humane".The Law Commission and
Administrative Reforms Commission are also in favour of repealing
the Act.The Administrative Reforms Commission, headed by Veerappa
Moily, now law minister, has endorsed withdrawal of AFSPA or at
least incorporation of some measures which prevents giving sweeping
powers to the security forces.The prime minister had also
constituted a committee headed by Hamid Ansari, before he became the
vi ce-president, to find ways for improving internal confidence-
building measures.The Ansari panel had recommended revocation of
AFSPA in the state.Besides resumption of dialogue with all shades of
opinion and a review of laws, Omar's strategy envisages measures to
deal with unemployment with six lakh (one lakh equals 100,000)
jobless youth, a comprehensive package for people who have suffered
during the present unrest and former militants who served their
sentence and were without jobs, sources said.Among other issues
discussed at the CCS meeting were the relocation of security forces
and a fresh surrender policy.(Description of Source: New Delhi PTI
News Agency in English )
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13) Back to Top
US 'dismayed' by reports of school, church attacked in India -
agency - PTI News Agency
Monday September 13, 2010 14:18:46 GMT
Text of report by Indian news agency PTINew Delhi, 13 September: The
US is dismayed to see reports of a school and a church in Kashmir
and Punjab having been attacked by rioters following news of a
misguided individual desecrating the Koran, an act strongly
condemned by America, US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer said
Monday (13 September).Terming the act of tearing pages of Koran on
11 September in the US as "disrespectful, intolerant, divisive, and
unrepresentative of American values", Roemer said "the deliberate
destruction of any holy book is an abhorrent act.""News reports have
stated that on Saturday, 11 September, one misguided individual in
the United States desecrated the Holy Koran by tearing pages from
it... The acts of this one individual are not representative of
America and American values.These acts are well outside of the
American mainstream and offend millions, including myself," the
envoy said."We are also dismayed to see reports that a school and a
church in Kashmir and Punjab have been attacked and destroyed by
rioters.We strongly support local authorities' appeal for calm and
an end to the violence", Roemer said.Noting that extremists in all
countries seek to sow hatred rather than propagate peaceful co-
existence, Roemer, while quoting US President Barack Obama, said:
"America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in
competition."Instead, they overlap, and share common principles -
principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all
human beings", he said and added that "one misguided American
tearing pages from the Holy Koran will not change this -today,
tomorrow, or ever."He said Islam has its rightful and equal place at
the table in America along with all other religions and always will
have.(Description of Source: New Delhi PTI News Agency in English )
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14) Back to Top
Indian Commentary Discusses Credibility Crisis, Chaos, in Pakistan
Commentary by Balbir Punj " Nobody Trusts Pakistan" - The Pioneer
Online
Monday September 13, 2010 12:52:24 GMT
(Description of Source: New Delhi The Pioneer Online in English --
Website of the pro-Bharatiya Janata Party daily, favors
nationalistic foreign and economic policies.Circulation for its five
editions is approximately 160,000, with its core audience in Lucknow
and Delhi; URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com)
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15) Back to Top
Indian Editorial Discusses Diminishing Influence of PM Singh on
Federal Ministers
Editorial: "What Was That Again? The Prime Minister's Lofty Self-
Image" - The Pioneer Online
Monday September 13, 2010 12:41:14 GMT
(Description of Source: New Delhi The Pioneer Online in English --
Website of the pro-Bharatiya Janata Party daily, favors
nationalistic foreign and economic policies.Circulation for its five
editions i s approximately 160,000, with its core audience in
Lucknow and Delhi; URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com)
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copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
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16) Back to Top
West Indian Press 13 Sep 10
The following is a selection of highlights from the West Indian
press on 13 September 2010 - India -- OSC Summary
Monday September 13, 2010 12:13:47 GMT
The editorial says the BJP is forced to watch helplessly as its
younger generation of leaders is making compromises for power
without bothering about the seniors. The BJP's 42-year-old leader
Arjun Munda, who occupied the post of Jharkhand chief minister for a
thi rd time, has also sidelined the party's basic culture. Arjun did
achieve a hat-trick with Shibu Soren of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
(JMM), who voted against the BJP and in favor of the Congress party
in Parliament, but not everybody seems to be happy about it in the
party.
The editorial adds that while the BJP is suffering setback in the
states in which it is in power, Munda has surprisingly come to power
with the help of Shibu Soren in Jharkhand. The uprights within the
BJP do not seem to have liked it and this displeasure was clearly
expressed. Senior leaders turned their back on Arjun Munda's
swearing-in ceremony. Along with L.K. Advani, party president Nitin
Gadkari also turned his back on the ceremony. These people were
trying to indicate that it was not good for the party's image.
However, the real question now is for how long this marriage is
going to last. On this pretext, it was seen that the new BJP
generation is a little better at the game of power than the Congress
party.
The editorial goes on to say it is clear that the alliance is not
going to last for long. Their government had come crashing down just
last May because of differences between them. Within three months of
that divorce, both parties are coming together again, claiming that
they are doing so to deal with the drought in the state and
development.
The editorial further says that despite getting seven chief
ministers in the last 10 years, Jharkhand's woes are not coming to
an end. The state is continuously in the grip of instability. The
question of Naxalism (Maoist insurgency) is haunting the state.
People are also tired of this instability. Bureaucracy and the Mafia
are taking advantage of this instability. The way for development is
not yet paved. At such a time, Munda is coming to power again
prostrating before Shibu Soren. Only the coming time would decide
whether he uses the power for people's welfare, or for his own good.
(M umbai Sakal in Marathi -- Widely read Marathi daily published in
Mumbai) Divya Bhaskar Rues Hindi Movie Star Salman Khan Making
Statement in Pakistan's Favor Divya Bhaskar
online of 13 September in Gujarati carries an approximately 600-word
editorial entitled: "Salman Khan Trying To be Over Smart." The
editorial says Hindi film actor Salman Khan is trying to be over
smart. He seems to have lost his mental balance. He is trying to
appease the enemy country by saying that the Pakistani Government
was not involved in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.
The editorial asks why Salman needed to do such anti-India advocacy
for the Mumbai attack after 21 months. He may have done this monkey-
like act to get cheap publicity and make his film popular in the
enemy country, but he has shown his real mentality by showing his
love for Pakistan. Salman is saying that the laxity of Indian
security agencies was responsible for this attack, while not holding
the Pakist ani Government responsible for it. The entire world knows
what role the Pakistani Government played in the Mumbai terror
attack. Otherwise also, Salman Khan is a controversial character. He
has also spent a few months in jail on charges of killing Chinkara,
an endangered species of deer, while sho oting for a film in
Jodhpur. He is also facing charges of killing a few persons,
crushing them under his car while driving in an inebriated
condition. He had also threatened actress Aishwarya Rai once.
The editorial adds that Salman has tried to betray the country that
gave him all the name and fame. Now, when his new film is being
released, he has tried to get cheap publicity by making such a
statement to a Pakistani channel. It would not come as a surprise if
his tendency boomerangs. His film could suffer a jolt in India for
such advocacy of Pakistan. The Shiv Sena and BJP have taken Salman
Khan to task. Salman's anti-India statement could cost him dearly.
Peopl e, and especially filmgoers, must teach a lesson to such a
traitor.
(Ahmedabad Divya Bhaskar in Gujarati has the largest circulation in
Ahmedabad. Gives a very balanced coverage)
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Moe Says It Respects Professionalism In Revising Textbooks
By Lee Hsien-feng &amp; Bear Lee - Central News Agency
Monday September 13, 2010 12:51:20 GMT
Taipei, Sept. 13 (CNA) -- Education Minister Wu Chin-ji said Monday
that his ministry would fully respect professional viewpoints after
members of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) accused
t he government of trying to inject revisionist history into senior
high school textbooks.
Wu was responding to criticism by DPP lawmakers who said the
Ministry of Education's (MOE's) draft guidelines for rewriting
history textbooks were an attempt to "brainwash" students.The draft
guidelines were released by the ministry earlier in the day.DPP
Legislator Kuan Bi-ling said that under the guidelines made by the
previous government in 1995, the origin of Taiwan could be traced to
aboriginal Taiwanese, an Austronesian people whose ties to the
island are said to go back 5,000-6,000 years.Many scholars believe
Austronesian peoples originated from Taiwan and spread as far as
Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, Easter Island, Southeast Asia, New
Zealand and other Pacific Islands.Kuan said the latest guidelines
were aimed at "binding Taiwan together with China" by saying that
Taiwan has belonged to China since the "Three Kingdoms" era of
208-280 A.D.Th e guidelines go further to say that during the era,
the Kingdom of Wu invaded the Ryukyu Islands and "Yichou" in the
East China Sea, with "Yichou, " or land of the barbarians, referring
to Taiwan, Kuan said.Yeh Yi-jin, another DPP lawmaker, said that the
Kuomintang-led government has been trying to force Taiwan people
into accepting the idea that "Taiwan has long been part of China" in
an attempt to pave the way for eventual unification of the two sides
the Taiwan Straits.The DPP advocates Taiwan's independence from
China.Kuan said that the DPP caucus will do its best to prevent the
"misleading ideas" from being included in the new history
textbooks.Minister Wu said that the draft guidelines were decided
upon by a group of experts after 38 meetings, and that his ministry
would hold four public hearings around the country to solicit more
professional opinions about revising the textbooks.(Description of
Source: Taipei Central News Agenc y in English -- "Central News
Agency (CNA)," Taiwan's major state-run press agency; generally
favors ruling administration in its coverage of domestic and
international affairs; URL: http://www.cna.com.tw)
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copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
18) Back to Top
Nepal, Indian forces agree closer cooperation against border crime -
eKantipur.com
Monday September 13, 2010 12:26:02 GMT
crime
Text of report by privately-owned Nepalese eKantipur.com website on
13 SeptemberNepalgunj, (Monday) 13 September: The security chiefs of
the bordering districts of Nepal and India have forged an agreeme nt
to detain and extradite the leaders of the groups involved in
criminal activities in the border region.The meeting of the security
chiefs held in Nepalgunj on Monday reached an agreement to step up
coordination in order to arrest the leaders of the armed factions
active in the border areas.On the occasion, the security chiefs
agreed to initiate efforts for detaining the 35 persons enlisted as
the most wanted on the Nepal Army (NA)'s search list and the 20
enlisted on the Indian Army (IA)'s wanted list.The officials from
both the nations have expressed commitment to do their best to
control smuggling and criminal activities of armed factions, among
other things, along the border areas.(Description of Source:
Kathmandu eKantipur.com in English -- Most prominent news website in
Nepal; URL: http://www.ekantipur.com)
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19) Back to Top
Indian Commentary Says Dialogue With Pakistan 'Meaningless'
Commentary by P R Chari: Dialogue With Pakistan is Useless And an
End in Itself - Daily News and Analysis Online
Monday September 13, 2010 10:46:30 GMT
Does a dialogue with Pakistan serve any purpose?Let's us start by
assuming that it does: talks with that country do have some
relevance.History can be rewritten, but geography cannot be
changed.Pakistan is a permanent fixture in India's neighbourhood; it
cannot be wished away.Then, again, jaw-jaw is better than war-war.An
unproductive dialogue with Pakistan is better than no dialogue;
acrimonious engagement is better than estrangement, and so on.All
this encapsulates the conventional wisdom, which illuminates the
perceptions of men and women of goodwill who light candles in Wagah
and Attari to give each other some heart.The counter-intuitive case
-- the case against dialogue -- rests on three pillars.First, what
does the history of the India-Pakistan dialogue instruct?What has
the resumption of the frozen composite dialogue in 2004 following
the Kargil conflict (May-July, 1999) and the border confrontation
crisis (December, 2001-October, 2002) yielded?Much lies in the eyes
of the beholder.The optimists argue that the resumption of
diplomatic ties, people-to-people contacts and some modest trade,
especially between the divided parts of Kashmir, but particularly
the cessation of firing across the Line of Control, are huge gains
from the dialogue.Further, hotlines have been established between
various authorities to defuse tensions, and agreements reached on
the pre-notification of missile tests and early intimation of
nuclear accidents.These are significant confi dence-building steps,
but substantive problems like the Siachen and Sir Creek disputes and
the overarching issues of Kashmir and terrorism remain in
limbo.What, then, is the practical utility?Second, what is the
intrinsic capacity of Pakistan to enter this dialogue?The current
floods in Pakistan have pitilessly revealed its administrative
inadequacies.True, the floods were of unprecedented ferocity, but
the reluctance of the international community to help Pakistan is
instructive.Why? What has occasioned this sudden dip in
international humanitarianism?Quite bluntly, there is little
assurance available that the aid provided would not end up being
embezzled by Pakistan's besmirched civilian and military
kleptocracy.This became apparent in 2005 during Pakistan's handling
of the earthquake in Kashmir.The leakage of funds during that
natural disaster is fresh in the minds of international donors, and
explains their present parsimoniousness.There are persistent reports
now, as oc curred after the 2005 earthquake, that the administrative
vacuum was filled by jehadi organisations like the Jamaat-ul-Dawa
and the Lashkar-e-Toiba.The hope that this represents a truce of
sorts is belied, however, by the almost daily violence occurring, in
Pakistan's north-western territories, triggered by Pakistani Taliban
groups.The sectarian Shia-Sunni dimension to this violence must also
be noted, which now afflicts the entire country.In these
circumstances, how involved can Pakistan be in this dialogue?Third,
is the civilian leadership in Pakistan of any consequence in holding
a dialogue with India?This is not a trick question.Despite the
success of its most recent elections following an agitation by civil
society, leading to paeans being sung to democracy in Pakistan, the
real power vests in the Pakistani army working in close tandem with
the ISI.Time and again, the civilian leadership has proven to be
incompetent, corrupt, faction-ridden, and has been unceremoniously
removed by the Pakistani army.In brief, the Pakistan army is the
real power in Pakistan, whether directly, or behind the
scenes.President Zardari and prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
continue in office at the pleasure of General Ashfaque Kayani.It
would be instructive to observe that Gen Kayani was promoted as army
chief after a distinguished tenure in the ISI.And the ISI has
organised terrorist strikes against India, including the Mumbai
attacks in November, 2008.The question is, therefore, germa ne: what
is the point in holding a dialogue with Pakistan's civilian
leadership?Would it not be more purposive to hold a dialogue with
Pakistan's military leadership?The irresistible conclusion cannot,
therefore, be ignored that a dialogue with Pakistan is
meaningless.Obviously, the dialogue cannot be given up in the
interests of maintaining good public relations in the region and
keeping the international community in good humour.Moreover, there
are several communities in both c ountries, like the bureaucrats in
their foreign ministries and the earnest Track-II regulars and the
candle-lighters on the border, who would vociferously argue that the
India-Pakistan dialogue should not be aborted for all the usual
reasons.So, the art seems to lie in a great flurry of dialogue
activity, in the full knowledge and realisation that nothing will be
achieved.
(Description of Source: Mumbai Daily News and Analysis (DNA) online
in English -- Indias first "all-color page" English-language daily,
owned by the Diligent Media Corporation, a joint venture between
industry majors -- the Dainik Bhaskar (Indias number one Hindi
daily) Group and Zee Group.Launched on 30 July 2005, DNA started
with a subscribed circulation of 300,000.The daily targets a young
readership; URL: www.dnaindia.com)
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20) Back to Top
Latvian Economist Says Country Not Prepared for Second Wave of Crisis
"World Braces For 2nd Wave of Crisis But Latvia Has No Specific
Solution -- Economist" -- BNS headline - BNS
Monday September 13, 2010 10:52:31 GMT
She said Latvia was a small country and turbulences threw small
countries about like waves would a woodchip but it was more
difficult to sink a woodchip than a large ship therefore usually it
is easier for small countries to recover from a crisis, provided
that they have smart and creative economic guidance.
But in Latvia's case there is a very strong external influence that
has lead to heavy dependence on the outside world and not quite good
handling of the circumstances, the economist said, suggesting that
Latvia should be using the post-crisis opportunities to strengthen
its position but nothing much was being done to this end.
The world is definitely bracing for the second wave of crisis, as
China and India have cut their consumption and things have not
worked out for the American housing market, Karnite said. "There is
this good phrase: When America sneezes, Europe catches a cold.Now we
can expect Europe to have this cold," the expert said.
Karnite pointed out that the Latvian export growth which she
described as negligible was ensured by local subsidiaries of
European companies and when European parents developed problems,
local subsidiaries would also fund themselves in trouble as there
would be no more orders.
The economist said that Latvia did not have a specific solution for
dealing with the situation. "At present everyone is euphoric about
the growth which they think would last forever.But for it to last
forever, we have to use this time to strengthen the manufacturing
industry where small companies, the subsidiaries, prevail at the
moment.We need to have our own companies and some of them should be
as large as possible," she said.
One of the options would be the inflow of investments from the East
that would also be in the interests of the West, Karnite said.
"The East could again build industrial structure here because they
want it, it would suit them to have a bridge here," she said, adding
that both sides would benefit from the arrangement, but things
should be done right to avoid creating ethnic tension.
When asked about possible Western investments, the expert said
Latvia was unlikely to get any soon.She explained that the West did
not quite have the money for investment and risks in Latvia were
high at the moment.
(Description of Source: Riga BNS in English -- Baltic News Service,
the largest private news agency in th e Baltic States, providing
news on political developments in all three Baltic countries; URL:
http://www.bns.lv
)
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Indian Commentary Urges Govt To Address Long-Brewing Crisis of
Increasing Hunger
Commentary by Utsa Patnaik, professor (retd) of Economics in
Jawaharlal Nehru University, specialization- problems of historical
transition to industrialisation in agriculture-predominant
societies, recent publications- The Republic of Hunger and Other
Essays, and (edited) The Agrarian Question in Marx and his
Successors: The Early Kalidasa Syndrome - The Hindu Online
Monday September 13, 2010 10:46: 26 GMT
The most valuable resource that a country has is its people.The poor
are not a liability, but an asset; they are the producers of
essential goods and services we use, they hold up the sky for us for
a pittance of a reward.The least that a country can do is to ensure
that its people get enough to eat, that already low nutritional
standards are not compromised.The present government has achieved a
dubious record: the level of per head cereal supply and consumption
in India by 2007 at 174 kg fell below the 182 kg recorded by the
least developed countries and was considerably below the 196 kg
level of Africa.By 2008 Indian average cereal consumption fell
further steeply to 156 kg owing to large exports and addition to
stocks, and is likely to be lower still in the just-ended drought
year.Cereals account for nine-tenths of food grains, which provide
three-quarters of both energy intake and protein intake for the
average cons umer.Average calorie intake and protein intake have
both fallen since 1993.The fall in per head food grain supply and
consumption is not new, it has been going on for over a decade, yet
our leading economists and policymakers have contributed to
increasing food insecurity by their refusal to remove the artificial
barriers to distribution created by arbitrarily dividing the
population into 'below' and 'above' poverty line.They remain as
unmoved as Kalidasa proverbially hacking away at the very branch on
which he sat -- they would rather let food grains rot than feed the
poor.What explains this torpor, this near-comatose lack of response
to a long-brewing crisis of increasing hunger?The answer is that
they simply fail conceptually to recognise that hunger is growing
because of the serious misconception they have regarding the
behaviour of cereal demand in a developing economy.John Maynard
Keynes had remarked that the world is moved by little else but
ideas.Once a wrong idea ge ts into the head of a policymaker it is
very difficult to get it out.Keynes's argument on the paradox of
thrift -- if every person saves more, the nation ends up saving less
-- is still not understood 75 years after the General Theory and
Finance Ministers continue to behave like housewives, cutting back
spending to balance budgets even though they have to deal with
rampant unemployment.Many ill-advised policies we see creating havoc
around us arise from incorrect but obstinately held ideas.The
crucial incorrect idea here is that there is nothing surprising
about cereal consumption falling -- as a country develops and its
per head income rises, people diversify their consumption away from
'inferior' cereals and towards 'superior' food, including milk,
eggs, meat, and so on.Most economists thus believe in what they call
a 'negative income elasticity of cereal demand' and this influences
many others, so they actually interpret declining grain consumption
in a positive light.Th eir idea however arises from ignorance and is
factually incorrect.It represents a fallacy of composition, in which
only a part of total cereal demand -- that directly consumed (as
boiled rice, chapatti and so on) -- is taken into account and cereal
demanded as livestock feed converted to milk, eggs, meat, and so on
is ignored.Fifty years of data from the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization show that as average income rises in a
country and diets become more diversified to superior foods, the per
head cereal/food grain demand far from falling rises steeply, and
average calorie and protein intake rise in tandem.This happens
because much more cereals get consumed indirectly as feed converted
to animal products.The higher the average income of a country, the
higher is its cereal consumption and the higher the share of the
latter, which is indirectly consumed, as the Table shows.The richest
country in th e world, the United States, consumed nearly 900 kg per
head of cereals in 2007 of which only one-eighth was directly eaten
and three-fifths used as feed converted to animal products, with the
balance being processed.Its cereal consumption was more than five
times higher than the 174 kg recorded by India and its normalised
calorie intake (namely, deducting 1000 calories as survival level)
was two and a half times higher than in India.China has been raising
its income fast -- we are talking of purchasing power parity
adjusted U.S. dollars -- and by now it converts a massive 115
million tonnes of cereal output as feed to animal products, compared
with less than 10 million tonnes in India.Its people consume
directly as much as Indians do, but owing to more diversified diets
they consume nearly 300 kg cereals per head, 115 kg more than we do
and their average calorie and protein intake is higher.Why has
India's average consumption declined to such a low level despite
rising average income?Since India and China have seen high growth
rates, ob servers as disparate as Paul Krugman and George Bush
(wrongly) explained the 2008 global food price rise in terms of fast-
rising cereal demand in these countries.They were quite right to
expect rising demand in India but quite wrong to think it had
actually happened.The fall, which has taken place over the last
decade, pushing India below Africa and the least developed
countries, is not normal for a country with rising average income,
and has resulted from the lopsided, inequitable nature of
growth.Krugman et al did not take account of the adverse changes in
income distribution, owing to severely income deflating fiscal
policies advised by the Bretton Woods Institutions and faithfully
implemented by successive Indian governments after 1991, which sent
agriculture in particular into a depression from which it has still
not recovered.With unemployment rising, with the fruits of growth
going to a tiny minority while the masses suffered income deflation,
the effects of dietary d iversification by the rich have been
swamped by an absolute decline in cereal intake for the
majority.National Sample Survey (NSS) data show for all except two
States an absolute fall in average animal products intake as well,
along with falling direct cereal intake over the reforms period.No
wonder average energy and protein intake have both fallen.People
other than the rich are not diversifying diets; even the hungry are
forced to cut back and are suffering nutritional decline.By 2008,
the situation was even worse despite good output.A record 31.5
million tonnes of food grains were exported plus added to stocks,
reducing domestic cereal supply steeply to 156 kg per head.This
happened because the global recession impacted to raise unemployment
and food prices spiralled to lower real incomes, so that there was a
fresh round of loss of purchasing power.What is to be done?Bold
measures are required, not the timid and reluctant half-measures we
see.The Mahatma Gandhi National R ural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS) needs to be seriously implemented to raise purchasing
power and extended to urban areas that have seen a steep rise in
poverty.For example, in Delhi State the percentage of persons not
able to afford 2100 calories per day rose from 35 to 57 between
1993-4 and 2004-5 and the situation by now is definitely
worse.MGNREGS can be used as well for a crash programme of building
storage facilities for food grains now rotting in the open.Food
distribution through the PDS should be universal, freed from
targeting, from the shackles of arbitrary and incorrect official
poverty estimates.The recent decision to do away with targeting only
in some districts will help very little.The government wishes to
restrict the food subsidy but fails to realise that a version of the
paradox of thrift operates here as well -- the more it tries to
reduce subsidy by restricting access, the more the subsidy will rise
uselessly to finance holding unsold food stock s as now.This country
can afford to feed all its people at a decent level -- what is
holding it back is not lack of resources but ignorant and incorrect
ideas.Will the economists at the highest levels of policymaking
abjure dogmas and think the problem through rationally?Or will they
inflict more punishment on the people, subjecting this country to
the shame of falling even further behind the least developed
countries and Africa?
(Description of Source: Chennai The Hindu Online in English --
Website of the most influential English daily of southern
India.Strong focus on South Indian issues.It has abandoned its
neutral editorial and reportage policy in the recent few years after
its editor, N Ram, a Left party member, fell out with the Bharatiya
Janata Party-led government and has become anti-BJP, pro-Left, and
anti-US with perceptible bias in favor of China in its write-
ups.Gives good coverage to Left parties and has reputation of
publishing well-researched editorials and commentaries; URL:
www.hindu.com
)
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22) Back to Top
Trinamool Tells Congress to 'Delay', 'Change' Amended Land
Acquisition Act
Unattributed report: Mamata Land Law Message to Cong - The
Telegraph Online
Monday September 13, 2010 10:20:02 GMT
Calcutta, Sept 12 -- Mamata Banerjee today told Congress leader
Pranab Mukherjee over the phone that she wanted the amended land
acquisition act to be sent to a standing committee, a move that will
effectively delay its tabling till the Bengal elections are over
next year.The Congress wants to table the bill in the wi nter
session."Given the sensitivity attached to land acquisition in
Bengal, we don't want to take any risk during the Assembly polls.So
it is better if the bill is sent to a standing committee.By the time
the committee gives its opinion on the bill, our Assembly polls will
be over," a Trinamul junior minister said.A party source said that
Mamata conveyed "everything concerning the land bill" to Mukherjee
who was in Calcutta till this morning.Sudip Bandopadhyay, the
Trinamul chief whip in the Lok Sabha, however, added a twist to the
matter by saying that Mamata had conveyed to UPA chairperson Sonia
Gandhi that a "new land law" should be put in place of the Land
Acquisition Act of 1894."The 1894 Land Acquisition Act is a British
law.We want a thoroughly changed new land law in place of this old
act," he said.
(Description of Source: Kolkata The Telegraph online in English --
Website of Kolkata's highest circulation English daily, owned by ABP
Group, with a flagship publication Anandabazar Patrika in
Bengali.Known for in-depth coverage of east and northeast India
issues, and India-Bangladesh relations.Maintains an impartial
editorial policy.Circulation 457,100; URL: www.telegraphindia.com)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
23) Back to Top
Trinamool Launches Programs To 'Counter' Congress Campaign in Bengal
Unattributed report: Trinamul Eyes Rahul Show - The Telegraph Online
Monday September 13, 2010 10:20:03 GMT
Calcutta, Sept 12 -- The Trinamul Congress's youth wing today
announced a string of programmes in an appare nt bid to counter the
Congress's membership drive in the districts that will begin with
Rahul Gandhi's three-day trip to the state starting Tuesday.
State Trinamul Youth Congress president Subhendu Adhikari, who
chaired the party's youth convention in West Midnapore's Sabang
today, said: "Didi (Mamata Banerjee) has asked the youth wing to
steer our party's anti-CPM programmes till December."Trinamul
sources said Adhikari had deliberately used Sabang for launching the
party's programmes as it is state Congress chief Manas Bhuniya's
constituency.Bhuniya had won the Sabang Assembly constituency in
2006 by a margin of 6,000 votes."Subhendu's aim was to throw a
challenge to Bhuniya who claims to have better organisational clout
in Sabang," a Trinamul secretary said.Several Youth Congress members
were present at the Trinamul event today, Adhikari claimed. "We hope
to involve more youths from like-minded parties in our anti-CPM
movement," he sai d.Madan Mitra, the all-India Trinamul Youth
Congress president, said some of the party's programmes would "run
parallel" to those of the Congress's.He said the youth wing of his
party had convened "an emergency meeting" of its office bearers at
Trinamul Bhavan in Topsia on September 14, the day Rahul begins his
three-day trip by touring Birbhum, North 24-Parganas and Calcutta's
Garden Reach.On September 16, when the AICC general secretary is
scheduled to address a convention of the Congress's Scheduled Caste
workers at West Midnapore's Garbeta, Trinamul will organise a
demonstration in Jhargram in the same district.Trinamul sources said
the party, desperate not to yield any political space to the
Congress in the state, had apparently planned the programmes in such
a way that it coincided with the events Rahul is going to
address.Bhuniya evaded questions on the issue. "It is Trinamul's
internal matter," he said.However, state Congress sources sai d the
Trinamul programmes during Rahul's visit "would embarrass us".Sonia
visitSonia Gandhi is likely to defer her visit to Calcutta on
September 25 by a month, Pranab Mukherjee has reportedly told state
Congress leaders.The Congress president will be "preoccupied" as the
verdict of the Babri Masjid demolition case will be announced on
September 24.
(Description of Source: Kolkata The Telegraph online in English --
Website of Kolkata's highest circulation English daily, owned by ABP
Group, with a flagship publication Anandabazar Patrika in
Bengali.Known for in-depth coverage of east and northeast India
issues, and India-Bangladesh relations.Maintains an impartial
editorial policy.Circulation 457,100; URL: www.telegraphindia.com)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.< br>
24) Back to Top
Editorial Urges India To Settle for Muted Response to Obama's
Outsourcing Policy
Editorial: Obamas Obsession &amp; What to Do About It - Daily
News and Analysis Online
Monday September 13, 2010 10:40:19 GMT
If you keep repeating half-lies, you will soon start believing
them.This is the case with Barack Obama, beleaguered president of
the US.With his Democratic party facing a rout at the November
elections, Obama is switching to populist mode in domestic politics,
where the big concern is jobs.Obama has chosen the outsourcing
industry for a bashing.He said, "For years, our tax code has
actually given billions of dollars in tax breaks that encourage
companies to create jobs and profits in other countries."Here's our
advice: please do withdraw the m, Mr Obama.There are no tax breaks
for shipping jobs overseas.What Obama was probably referring to was
the tax law which allows US companies to keep the profits made
overseas outside.Since these profits are taxed only if they are
repatriated to the US, Obama thinks this is a tax break.The truth
is, capital is kept where it fetches the highest return.If US
companies are offshoring jobs, it is because it is cheaper and more
efficient to get these jobs done outside.The profits from these
operations are probably better deployed there.If Obama decrees that
every dollar earned must be repatriated here and now, so be it.He
may earn more taxes in the short run, but offshoring is not going to
become less lucrative for that reason.A week earlier, Obama also
said that if tax breaks had to be given, he would rather give them
to companies that created jobs in America.Once again, he is on the
wrong trail.Sure, he can do so.But he should know that it will
reward companies that are anyway planning to create jobs --
including the same Infosyses and TCSes that are his whipping
boys.This is not to say his worries are not real.US unemployment has
gone into double-digits and Obama's approval ratings have been
steadily falling.To improve his party's standing before the November
election, he has to do something.He has already announced billion-
dollar plans to improve infrastructure and give the US economy a
fillip.The outsourcing rhetoric is part of the overkill required for
reviving his political fortunes.The question for India really is
whether to react with outrage or settle for something more muted.The
answer is the latter.Outsourcing may be a political football, but it
is also an economic dynamo.Kicking the ball back and forth is not
going to undo the economic logic driving it all.So let's sit tight
and watch the fun.
(Description of Source: Mumbai Daily News and Analysis (DNA) online
in English -- Indias first "all-color page" English-languag e
daily, owned by the Diligent Media Corporation, a joint venture
between industry majors -- the Dainik Bhaskar (Indias number one
Hindi daily) Group and Zee Group.Launched on 30 July 2005, DNA
started with a subscribed circulation of 300,000.The daily targets a
young readership; URL: www.dnaindia.com)
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the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
25) Back to Top
Indian Editorial Urges PM Singh To Create Fund for 'Victims of
Development'
Editorial: Another Way - The Telegraph Online
Monday September 13, 2010 10:23:05 GMT
The prime minister's cabinet is divided on land acquisition for
industry, mines, a irports and other "developmental"
purposes.Ministers charged with making India an advanced country
want to acquire large tracts; the ministry of environment, about the
last ministry in the government with powers of licensing, often
prevents them from advancing.This has led to a civil war between
Jairam Ramesh and other ministers.What the media see is just the
skirmishes; the real battles are fought in the cabinet and in file
notes.Being at the centre of these battles, the prime minister can
hardly have missed the fact that land use is the cause of the
deepest rift in his government.He addressed the issue in his press
conference with his usual deftness.Since he is an economist, it is
not surprising that he leaned towards development and
industrialization.He decried the licence-and-permit raj of the
environment ministry; but intriguingly, he also advised trade and
industry to accept it.This tendency to see merit in opposing
positions makes him a good chairman of the cabinet of ministers.But
it is also the main factor behind his public image as a mild,
unassertive and indecisive prime minister.Neither image does him
justice, for he is not a particularly communicative person; what he
says gives a rather flat, two-dimensional view of a multifaceted
personality.What he said, however, suggests that he has not given
adequate attention to the raging controversies around
environment.The least that is necessary is to separate the vague and
universal issue of environment protection from that of livelihoods
and cultures.On the first issue, it is obvious that a country with
India's large and rapidly rising population cannot protect pristine
environment everywhere.But it can and should protect it somewhere;
and there it should give environment effective immunity from human
intervention.An example is the protection of tigers.The government
has created a number of habitats where they should survive and
multiply.But in fact their numbers are inexorably
declining.Ineffectual protection is worse than no protection.On the
second issue, it may make sense to say that a few primitive tribal
people cannot hold up the march of miners into the mountains of
central India.But the tribal people see no redress in India's
political processes, and have taken to fighting for their
habitat.Surely a better solution is required than an assertion of
the primacy of development.The prime minister may, on his next trip
abroad, profitably make a detour to Alaska, made notorious by Sarah
Palin.This state of the United States of America created a fund by
putting aside a quarter of royalties on natural resources, to be
used to generate income (not to "develop" the state).This Alaska
Permanent Fund has grown from $734,000 in 1977 to $35,135,800,000 on
September 3. India needs a similar fund, whose use should be decided
by the victims of development.
(Description of Source: Kolkata The Telegraph online in English --
Website of Kolkat a's highest circulation English daily, owned by
ABP Group, with a flagship publication Anandabazar Patrika in
Bengali.Known for in-depth coverage of east and northeast India
issues, and India-Bangladesh relations.Maintains an impartial
editorial policy.Circulation 457,100; URL: www.telegraphindia.com)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
26) Back to Top
Indian Editorial Criticizes Govt for Reviving 'Colonial Practice' of
Caste Census
Editorial: What's the Sense of It? - The Hindu Online
Monday September 13, 2010 10:23:04 GMT
The central argument in favour of caste enumeration has a plausible
ri ng to it.Given the strong, if complex, correlation between caste
and socio-economic status, the exercise seems to offer the promise
of yielding relevant data so that social and economic disparities
can be more accurately targeted by policy.On closer analysis, the
advantage turns out to be largely illusory.In fact, the political
demand for reviving the colonial practice of caste enumeration --
given up by independent India except for the Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled Tribes -- has been driven less by ameliorative ideals
than by expediency and self-serving, divisive political agendas.At
best, fresh caste enumeration can provide only marginal benefits
because, as sociologist Nandini Sundar points out, it holds out only
an "illusory promise of formal employment."The long-term societal
benefits of reservation -- in terms of making a constitutionally
sanctioned statement against social inequality and actually
providing educational and economic opportunity to histori cally and
socially disadvantaged or oppressed communities -- are there for
everyone to see.But with the majority of India's workforce
languishing in the informal sector and the state's role in providing
jobs declining over the past two decades, it is clear that
reservation is becoming less and less potent as a countervailing
force.But the objections to the Cabinet's nod for a "focussed,"
standalone house-to-house caste headcount between June and September
2011 are not only political-ideological.They are also practical.As
any modern sociologist knows, answers to the question, 'What is your
caste?' can be notoriously variable, subjective, and influenced by
contingent factors.Caste has an elusive arithmetic in a country that
is home to a staggering number of sub-castes, where caste names vary
depending on context (for marriage or for religious rituals), and
where the social implications of a caste tag vary from region to
region.Any 21st century caste enumeration that relies on self-
certification will face the same problem encountered by the colonial
censuses -- what legal scholar Marc Galanter describes as the
"unseemly scramble to use census listings to...inflate numbers for
political advantage."But there is yet another objection, pressed in
fact by progressive advocates of caste enumeration in the main
census exercise: a standalone headcount of caste will be a "futile"
exercise because it will be impossible to integrate it with "the
socio-economic, educational and demographic data" gathered during
the census headcount.If such integration is ruled out by the
subsequent standalone headcount, then why do it?
(Description of Source: Chennai The Hindu Online in English --
Website of the most influential English daily of southern
India.Strong focus on South Indian issues.It has abandoned its
neutral editorial and reportage policy in the recent few years after
its editor, N Ram, a Left party member, fell o ut with the Bharatiya
Janata Party-led government and has become anti-BJP, pro-Left, and
anti-US with perceptible bias in favor of China in its write-
ups.Gives good coverage to Left parties and has reputation of
publishing well-researched editorials and commentaries; URL:
www.hindu.com
)
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the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
27) Back to Top
Karnataka Weavers Create 'Almost Weightless' Silk Scarf, Sari for
Obamas
Unattributed report: Gifts in Silk Await Obamas - Karnataka
Couples Scarf Can Fit Into Matchbox - The Telegraph Online
Monday September 13, 2010 10:07:51 GMT
Sept 12 -- Don't be surprise d if Barack Obama's Indian hosts slip
him a matchbox when he comes visiting in November.No, New Delhi
doesn't want the US President to defy his doctors who want him to
quit smoking.If such a box is presented to Obama, it will contain no
matchsticks but a beautiful, 36in-by-36in silk scarf that an
acclaimed weaver from Karnataka has made for the American.It's so
fine that it weighs just 30gm and "can be folded and put inside a
matchbox", said its creator, master craftsman Gurum R.Narayanappa,
69.Michelle Obama will not be left out, either.Narayanappa and his
wife Kamalamma, 67, have a gift for Michelle that will no doubt give
her bragging rights over her supposed rival in the geopolitical
style stakes, French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.The weaver
couple are making a silk sari for her at their home just outside
Bangalore.At the standard size of 6.5 metres in length and 44 inches
in width, the sari will weigh just 70 grams.A normal silk sari of
that size weighs 60 0gm to 1,000gm.Narayanappa and Kamalamma have a
dream: to see Michelle draped in their creation.But will they get to
meet the Obamas?"I may not get a chance to meet him.For me, meeting
him is not important.I will be happy if my gifts reach them," said
Narayanappa, winner of many state and national awards for his
excellence at weaving silk saris.He said the Central Silk Board and
the Karnataka silk minister had assured him that his gifts would be
passed on to the Obamas.Narayanappa has already finished weaving the
scarf, made from high-quality bivoltine silk. "It has golden zari
with a temple design.It has been woven in 20 days using silk fibre
from just two cocoons," he said.Michelle's sari too will sport a
temple motif and gold zari, and will be prepared from just three or
four cocoons.According to Narayanappa, creating an almost weightless
sari with hairline threads requires an eye for detail and a
commitment to perfection. "I am thankful to God th at even at this
age, we are blessed with good eyesight," he said.Narayanappa thought
of the gifts when he read about Obama's scheduled visit in the
newspapers.The craftsman had 10 years ago woven a 6.5m-by-44in silk
sari -- the same size as the one meant for Michelle -- that weighed
only 35 grams.It fit into a matchbox.
(Description of Source: Kolkata The Telegraph online in English --
Website of Kolkata's highest circulation English daily, owned by ABP
Group, with a flagship publication Anandabazar Patrika in
Bengali.Known for in-depth coverage of east and northeast India
issues, and India-Bangladesh relations.Maintains an impartial
editorial policy.Circulation 457,100; URL: www.telegraphindia.com)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
28) Back to Top
Suspected Maoists Shoot at CPI-M Member in Bengal in Apparent Turf
Battle
Unattributed report: Maoists Strike Back in Lalgarh - The
Telegraph Online
Monday September 13, 2010 10:29:07 GMT
Midnapore, Sept 12 -- Suspected Maoists today shot at a CPM
functionary in the heart of Lalgarh at a time the CPM is planning to
"recapture" the town by launching attacks from pockets recently
reclaimed from the rebels.Tarun Banerjee, 38, a CPM branch committee
member, was shot at twice by a youth on a bicycle when he was
returning home from a market.Banerjee, who works for the public
health engineering department, suffered bullet injuries in his chest
and left wrist.
Police said the attack, the first on a CPM member in Lalgarh town
since the beginning of the Maoist movement there in 2008, was a "ch
allenge" to the party by the rebels after the Left recaptured
neighbouring Dharampur, Ramgarh and Pirakata in recent weeks.CPM
sources said Banerjee was the only party leader in Lalgarh who had
not fled in the face of Maoist threats.Today's attack happened in
front of Banerjee's home, barely 300 metres from the school ground
where Mamata Banerjee held her rally on August 9.Eyewitness Amit
Ghosh (name changed), a schoolteacher, said: "I was passing by
Tarun's house this morning when I saw him coming from the opposite
direction.Suddenly, a youth in black shorts and a T-shirt of the
same colour approached him from from behind on a bicycle.The youth
fired at him but missed."As the youth got down from the cycle and
aimed his revolver again at Tarun, he rushed forward and clutched
the assailant's hand and began shouting for help.But the youth
wrenched free and shot at Tarun twice."He then fished out another
revolver from his pocket and aimed them at me and the other
bystanders.As we retreated, he left his cycle behind and ran towards
the neighbouring Bhulagera forest."Banerjee was taken to Midnapore
Medical College and Hospital from where he was shifted to a private
hospital in Calcutta.Joint forces from a camp on the outskirts of
Lalgarh combed the area but drew a blank.West Midnapore
superintendent of police Manoj Verma said: "Even though only one
Maoist attacked him, we think a group of rebels were hiding
nearby.They probably helped him escape."Rebel explosionA group of 30
Maoists set off an explosion at the CPM local committee office at
Lodhashuli, 15km from Jhargram town, in the early hours today.The
rebels broke open the office door, flung the furniture outside and
damaged them.Then they blew up part of the office.
(Description of Source: Kolkata The Telegraph online in English --
Website of Kolkata's highest circulation English daily, owned by ABP
Group, with a flagship publication Anandabazar Patrika in
Bengali.Known for in-depth coverage of east and northeast India
issues, and India-Bangladesh relations.Maintains an impartial
editorial policy.Circulation 457,100; URL: www.telegraphindia.com)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
29) Back to Top
Russia to put unique missiles on Indian Air Force aircraft -
commander - Interfax-AVN Online
Monday September 13, 2010 16:52:27 GMT
commander
Excerpt from report by corporate-owned Russian military news agency
Interfax-AVNDelhi, 13 September: India has always been and will
remain a strategic partner for Russia, Russian Air Force C-in-C Col-
Gen Alek sandr Zelin has told Interfax at the end of a five-day
visit to Delhi."The future of the Indian Air Force belongs to our
MiG-35 and Su-30 aircraft, above all because Russia is willing to
equip them with the latest models of combat weapons, which, I
stress, have no parallel anywhere in the world," Zelin said."These
are first a foremost the missiles that we are shortly going to put
on the Indian Air Force's combat aircraft," he said, without
specifying what missiles he was talking about.Overall, the C-in-C of
the Russian Air Force was "very pleased with the visit, which
enabled (him) to familiarize (himself) with the system for training
professional pilots in the friendly country, and to expand the
prospects of cooperation ".Zelin also had talks with Chairman of the
Chiefs of Staff Committee - Chief of Staff (commander) of the Indian
Air Force Chief Air Marshall Pradeep Vasant Naik, and met Indian
First Deputy Defence Minister (Defence Secretary) P. (Pradeep)
Kumar, and representatives of the country's Army and Navy
commands.Zelin visited the Indian Air Force Academy on the outskirts
of Hyderabad, and several airbases, including Jodhpur (border state
of Rajasthan), the base of the 10th squadron of the Indian Air
Force. He inspected the simulators on which pilots are trained to
fly the MiG aircraft, and the air navigation equipment laboratory,
and took part in a briefing with the commander and senior officers
of the base.The Air Force C-in-C visited India between 7 and 11
September.The visit coincided with the meeting of the working group
for bilateral military-technical cooperation, at which founding
documents were signed in the Indian capital for the establishment of
a Russian-Indian joint venture to develop and produce a multirole
transport aircraft. (Passage omitted)The two countries' governments
have already allocated 300m dollars each for the creation of the JV.
(Passage omitted) The HQ of the joint venture, whi ch will be known
as MTA Limited, will be in India, and a branch will open in
Moscow.Head of HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) Ashok Naik says India
intends to buy 45 aircraft, and Russia, 105. Overall, the founders
of the JV estimate the world market capacity for this class of
aircraft is about 400 items. The partners expect a third of the
multirole transport aircraft they produce to be successfully sold to
interested countries.In addition to that, "before the end of this
year, India and Russia plan to sign a contract for the development
of a concept design of the T-50 advanced frontline aircraft system
(PAK FA)", (First Deputy Director of the Federal Service for
Military-Technical Cooperation) A. (Aleksandr) Fomin has said. The
HAL corporation will develop PAK FA from the Indian side, and the
United Aircraft Construction Corporation, from the Russian side.Naik
told Interfax that "the actual joint work on the project will begin"
once the contract has been s igned. The two sides will spend a total
of 8-10bn dollars on the creation of PAK FA.(Description of Source:
Moscow Interfax-AVN Online in Russian -- Website of news service
devoted to military news, owned by the independent Interfax news
agency; URL: http://www.militarynews.ru)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
30) Back to Top
Xinhua 'China Exclusive': Chinese Vice FM Calls on G20 To Draw on
Experience of Developing Nations
Xinhua "China Exclusive": "Chinese Vice FM Calls on G20 To Draw on
Experience of Developing Nations" - Xinhua
Monday September 13, 2010 08:00:57 GMT
T IANJIN, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui
Tiankai said here Monday it's important for G20 nations to draw on
the experience of developing countries on economic issues and get
rid of outdated theories.
Cui made the remarks at a panel discussion of the World Economic
Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the
Summer Davos, in north China's port city of Tianjin.He said half of
G20 nations are emerging economies, including six Asian countries,
which is a historic step forward for developing economies.The trend
of shifting of the global economic development to Asia is going on,
and developing economies will continue to make contribution to the
global economic recovery, Cui said.Cui said the world saw the rise
of developing countries as a group in recent years, not only China
but also others like Indonesia, India and Brazil.Although with the
world's biggest population, China has attracted the most attention,
"but I think we shouldn't put too much focus on an individual
country," he said.Cui noted developing countries are playing an
increasingly greater role in regional cooperation.This is a historic
development, a more equitable and balanced development, and "we
should certainly welcome that," Cui said.International financial
institutions also need some reforms to better represent the
interests of developing countries, Cui added.He also called for
greater representation of African nations and other developing
economies in the G20.He said African nations should have more voices
heard and other developing countries, including some small island
countries, should also have more representation in the G20, even if
they may not be a member of the club currently or will not join it
in the future."We have no prejudice against the European countries,
but when we have a group of limited membership, we have to consider
an appropriate representation in the group," Cui said.He said &
quot;full consideration" should be given to the concerns and needs
of developing countries.Mari Elka Pangestu, Indonesian trade
minister, also said the European countries are over represented in
the G20 while African countries should have their opinions and
voices heard at the international platform.Some 1,500 government
officials and business executives from nearly 90 countries are
participating in the forum in Tianjin from Sept. 13 to 15.The Geneva-
based WEF, established in 1971, is best known for its annual meeting
at the Swiss winter resort of Davos, while the Annual Meeting of the
New Champions in China mainly focuses on newly emerging businesses
and nations.China had held three Summer Davos meetings as the world
is showing an increasing interest in the developing country's
economic development.(Description of Source: Beijing Xinhua in
English -- China's official news service for English-language
audiences (New China News Agency))
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31) Back to Top
Hizbul Mujahidin Leader Sayed Salahuddin Criticizes India
Unattributed report: "We Will Continue Struggle Until Complete
Withdrawal Of Indian Army: Salahuddin" - Nawa-e Waqt
Monday September 13, 2010 16:08:55 GMT
Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC), has said that India will be made to
pay for every single drop of Kashmiri blood. The Armed struggle
would continue as long as there was even one Indian soldier present
on Kashmiri soil, he said. Putting Syed Ali Gilani and other
Hurriyat freedom leaders under house arrest was condemnable, he
said. Use of unlimited force on pea ceful protestors could not end
the unremitting struggle, he said. Indian state terrorism had turned
occupied Kashmir (Indian- administered Kashmir) into a military
state, he said.
According to a statement received by Hizbul Mujahidin Spokesperson
Ehsan Elahi, an emergency session of the central command council of
the organization was headed by Syed Salahuddin, in which the current
political and military situation in Jammu and Kashmir was discussed
expressing concern over the arrest of all the Hurriyat leaders, and
the incidents of firing by Indian Army on innocent Kashmiri people.
Addressing the session, Syed Salahuddin said that Hurriyat Chief
Syed Ali Gilani was a symbol of Kashmiri freedom movement; he is old
and extremely unwell because of physical illnesses, and arresting
him in this condition and putting him behind bars was a serious
violation of human rights as well as against humanitarian values and
morality. His arrest was also a clear proof of the fact that the
imperial occupant forces and state administration was scared of this
pious and righteous man, Salahuddin said. India is scared that
hundreds and thousands of people would be gathered at places
arranged to offer 'Id prayers, on the occasion of 'Id al-Fitr, and
the freedom movement would get a new zeal and fervor after people
listen to his bold speech and instructions, he said. He said that
history bear witness that the last Prophet used to release all the
prisoners on the occasion of 'Id; even today civilized and cultured
nations release political prisoners on their national festivals.
However, the Ganges stream of so-called democracy of India flows
backwards and unarmed and innocent people were put behind bars over
here, he said. Their families were deprived of the joy of 'Id, which
was condemnable to the highest extent, he said. Syed Salahuddin said
that the barbaric, brutal, and terrorizing attitude which the
occupant forces had adopted in the last three months, agains t the
defenseless people was extremely alarming and condemnable, and this
administrative terrorism had turned the entire state into a military
state and had made it difficult for the Kashmiri people to survive.
He said: "The bravery, patience, perseverance, determination, and
strength displayed by the Kashmiri people is commendable and
impressive; we salute them and pay tribute to all those who lost
their lives during all this turmoil. Their blood and their sacrifice
is a priceless asset of our nation and it is a must for every
Kashmiri to honor and appreciate it." Expressing heartiest sympathy
with the relatives of the martyrs and the injured, he said that the
sympathies of the whole nation were with the families of the injured
and the martyrs, and Hizbul Mujahidin appealed to its honorable
nation to celebrate 'Id al-Fitr with simplicity. He said that a new
strategy to respond to the brutal and barbaric activities of the
Indian Government was also analyzed in this session and the decision
was made that India would be made to pay for every single drop of
blood. The armed struggle would continue as long as there is even
one Indian soldier present on the Kashmiri soil, he said.
(Description of Source: Rawalpindi Nawa-e Waqt in Urdu -- Privately
owned, widely read, conservative Islamic daily, with circulation
around 125,000. Harshly critical of the US and India.)
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the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
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US Dept. of Commerce.
32) Back to Top
3rd Ld-Writethru: Chinese Vice FM Calls on G20 To Draw on Experience
of Developing Nations
Xinhua: "3rd Ld-Writethru: Chinese Vice FM Calls on G20 To Draw on
Experience of Developing Nations" - Xinhua
Monday September 13, 2010 07:06:59 GMT
TIANJIN, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui
Tiankai said here Monday it's important for G20 nations to draw on
the experience of developing countries on economic issues and get
rid of outdated theories.
Cui made the remarks at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual
Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in
north China's port city of Tianjin.He said half of G20 nations are
emerging economies, including six Asian countries, which is a
historic step forward for developing economies.The trend of shifting
of the global economic development to Asia is going on, and
developing economies will continue to make contribution to the
global economic recovery, Cui said.He said the world saw the rise of
developing countries as a group in recent years, not only China but
also others like Indonesia, India and Brazil.Although with th e
world's biggest population, China has attracted the most attention,
"but I think we shouldn't put too much focus on an individual
country," he said.Cui noted developing countries are playing an
increasingly greater role in regional cooperation.This is a historic
development, a more equitable and balanced development, and "we
should certainly welcome that," Cui said.International financial
institutions also need some reforms to better represent the
interests of developing countries, Cui added.Some 1,500 government
officials and business executives from nearly 90 countries are
participating in the forum in Tianjin from Sept. 13 to 15.The Geneva-
based WEF, established in 1971, is best known for its annual meeting
at the Swiss winter resort of Davos, while the Annual Meeting of the
New Champions in China mainly focuses on newly emerging businesses
and nations.China had held three Summer Davos meetings as the world
is showing an increasing interest in the de veloping country's
economic development.(Description of Source: Beijing Xinhua in
English -- China's official news service for English-language
audiences (New China News Agency))
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
33) Back to Top
Smolensk Kristall To Increase Diamond Sale By 50% In 2010 - ITAR-TASS
Monday September 13, 2010 13:41:14 GMT
intervention)
MOSCOW, September 13 (Itar-Tass) - the Smolensk-based open joint-
stock company PO Kristall (Kristall Production Corporation) intends
in 2010 to increase the sales of diamonds by 50 percent and is
expected to get over 30 million US dollars in proceeds, the
enterprise's Director General Maxim Shkadov told Prime-Tass at the
Junwex 2010 jewellery exhibition.Shkadov believes that the "most
developing markets at present are China, as well as India, the
retail market, the consumption in India is growing, and people there
prefer to buy high-quality products.""This year we have restored the
pre-crisis level of diamond production practically in full, and I
think that in 2011 we will also be increasing their production, the
demand growth trend on the market exists at present," Shkadov noted.
"If we have the possibility to buy raw materials, and also if the
government makes a decision next year to increase the sales of raw
diamonds from Gokhran (a State Institution under the Ministry of
Finance for the formation of the State Fund of Precious Metals and
Precious Stones of the Russian Federation), then it will be possible
to speak about the further production increase."According to
Shkadov, " ;The market situation is rather favourable for us
today.The demand for our products is rather stable and is developing
so that we cannot always satisfy it in full volume.This trend will
persist in the short term."The Smolensk-based Kristall is a major
diamond producer in Russia, 100 percent of the company's stocks
belong to the RF in the name of the Federal Property Management
Agency.Kristall is among the country's strategic enterprises and is
under direct control of the President of Russia.The design capacity
of the enterprise is cutting one million carats of diamonds per
year.In 2009, Kristall produced diamonds to a total sum of over 200
million US dollars and about half of the products the enterprise
sold to the RF Gokhran.Kristall Production Corporation is a
manufacturer from 1963 and during its existence it gained a huge
experience in polished diamonds manufacturing, so it produces not
only classical diamond cuts and develops more and more new
shapes.Currently ther e are some hundred diamond shapes and the
company is aimed at its designs at jewellery markets of the world.A
total of 2,400 employees work at the company today.These are highly
qualified specialists, possessing an experience of traditional
school of cutting which are passing from generation to generation,
with recent trends of diamond industry.Every year Kristall polishes
over 600,000 carats of rough diamonds.(Description of Source: Moscow
ITAR-TASS in English -- Main government information agency)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
34) Back to Top
India To Call Back Military Attache From China
Report by Javed Rashid: "China-India Tension: India Decides To Call
Back Its Milita ry Attache" - Jang
Monday September 13, 2010 15:47:33 GMT
Ministry of External Affairs officials are summoning the Chinese
ambassador to India repeatedly. The New Delhi Government has now
decided to call back its military attache from China, and has also
hinted the Chinese military attache to go back from New Delhi.
It all happened in a high-level meeting, held in the Prime Minister
House on 10 September. The defense minister, senior officials of the
Defense Ministry, home minister and senior officials of the Home
Ministry, senior commanding officers of the three forces, and forces
chiefs, national security advisors, and senior officials of NIC
(National Information Centre) as well as members of the
Parliamentary defense committee also attended this meeting.
It has also been learned that the Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan
Singh and senior Minister Pranab Mukherji h eld brief meetings with
the US and Russian ambassadors, prior to this meeting. However, the
prime minister refused to meet with the Chinese ambassador.
(Description of Source: Rawalpindi Jang in Urdu The War, an
influential, largest circulation newspaper in Pakistan, circulation
of 300,000. One of the moderate Urdu newspapers, pro-free
enterprise, politically neutral, supports improvement in Pakistan-
India relations)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
35) Back to Top
China's Stock Market Value to Top That of U.S. in 2030: Goldman
Sachs - Yonhap
Monday September 13, 2010 07:09:26 GMT
C hina bourse-market value
China's stock market value to top that of U.S. in 2030: Goldman
SachsBy Kim Young-gyoHONG KONG, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- China's stock
market value is expected to surpass that of the United States in
2030 on its rapid economic growth, becoming the world's biggest
equity market, Goldman Sachs said Monday.The stock market
capitalization of all the listed companies in China will make up 28
percent of the world's total stock market value within 20 years,
rising from the current 11 percent, the investment bank said.China
will be followed by the U.S., India, Japan, Brazil and Russia,
according to Goldman Sachs. The market capitalization of the Chinese
bourse accounted for 1 percent in 2000.In June, the China Securities
Regulatory Commission said China has become the world's third-
largest stock market, 30 years after the country established a
bourse.China's first stock market was set up in the southern city of
Shenzhen in 1989. In 1993, a second stock ma rket was set up in
Shanghai.The total market value of the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets
hit US$3.07 trillion as of the end of May, up 393.76 percent from
2003, the commission said. Some 2,300 companies are listed on the
Chinese markets.Goldman Sachs also said that the combined value of
stock markets in the emerging economies, including China, India,
Russia and Brazil, will likely expand five-fold to $80 trillion in
2030 from the current US$14 trillion.The amount will be equivalent
to 55 percent of the world's stock market value, up from 31 percent
in 2010, the investment bank added.(Description of Source: Seoul
Yonhap in English -- Semiofficial news agency of the ROK; URL:
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr
)
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the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
36) Back to Top
Thwarting of Northern Lanka-India Secret Sea Line Communication
Links Stressed
Report by Shamindra Ferdinando: Pivotal Importance of Continuous
Sri Lanka Navy Watch on Indo-Lanka Maritime Boundary Stressed - The
Island Online
Monday September 13, 2010 11:50:24 GMT
Sri Lanka needs to closely watch the Indo-Lanka maritime boundary to
thwart any future attempt to re-establish a clandestine sea line of
communications between northern Sri Lanka and India.Maintaining
surveillance on the Indian fishing fleet, as well as the local
fishing population is essentially one of the most important factors
in the overall naval strategy in a post-war era.Although the LTTE no
longer posed a conventional military threat, Sri Lanka shouldn't be
complacent, Navy Commander Vice Admiral T.S.G. Samarasinghe said.
The navy vete ran went on to say that patrolling the seas is a
formidable task, particularly in view of the ever increasing
poaching by the Indian fishing fleet.In his presentation to the
Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), he discussed
both post and pre-war security scenarios in relation to naval
operations, with the emphasis on humanitarian operations undertaken
by the navy.
Producing technical and photographic evidence, Vice Admiral
Samarasinghe explained that the LTTE had cleverly exploited the
Indian fishing fleet to its advantage.The navy chief said that the
LTTE never suspended its clandestine sea line of communications,
even during the Norwegian-arranged CFA.He recalled the detection of
an Indian trawler in Sri Lankan waters on February 6, 2003, carrying
arms and ammunition.
Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said that at the time of the detection,
there had been a Nordic member of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
(SLMM) onboard one of the SLN Fast Attack Cra ft (FAC) involved.The
navy chief said: "...as we suspected this Indian trawler, we got the
SLMM member to get on the trawler where he recovered ammunition and
a 20 or 30 mm weapon.Those onboard the trawler threatened the SLMM
member, forcing him to jump overboard.Although we rescued the
foreigner, the LTTE blew up the trawler to avoid being apprehended."
Commenting on the formidable threat posed by the Sea Tigers on naval
movements, particularly between Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai
during the Eelam war IV, Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said that a
substantial force had to be deployed to protect the troop carrier,
Jetliner, which also accommodated civilians.
The navy had to deploy two Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), one Fast
Gun Boat (FGB), 20 Fast Attack Craft (FACs), 22 Arrow Boats, two
Inshore Patrol Craft (IPCs), one Mi 24 helicopter gunship and one
Beech craft.The army placed artillery pieces along the coast on
alert to provide gun fire support in c ase of an attack.
Vice Admiral Samarasinghe explained the difficulties faced by the
men in policing waters, not only in north-eastern waters, but north-
western waters as well.
Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said that had the war lasted, LTTE
underwater fighting craft (submersibles) would have posed a grave
threat.According to him, the LTTE had carried out its first suicide
attack on an SLN vessel on May 4, 1991, in the Jaffna peninsula.He
briefly explained the gradual LTTE build-up leading to the three-
year-Eelam war.
The war ended on May 19 last year.
Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said that throughout the war the
government maintained a sea line of communication to the Jaffna
peninsula, though the government lost the overland supply route in
1990.
According to the navy chief, there had been 300 ship loads of
supplies sent for the civilians living in the Jaffna peninsula
during the three-year long military offensive.The Commissioner
General of Essen tial Services had handled this daunting task to
move about 100 ship loads annually, Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said.
During this period the government also provided safe sea passage to
over 200,000 civilians to move to and from the Jaffna peninsula.
Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said: "We never isolated the North from
the South during the war," proudly declaring the navy maintained a
sea line of communications throughout the war despite repeated S ea
Tiger attacks.
During Eelam war IV ships carrying food and fuel for civilians
didn't have ICRC protection
Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said that Sri Lanka ensured the safety of
ships passing Sri Lanka.According to him about 150 ships take this
route every day.
He recalled the LTTE attempts to cripple Galle and Colombo harbors
at the height of the war.
On the directions of the government, the navy despite a threat posed
by the LTTE, had brought large generators to Kankesanthurai and mov
ed them to Chunnakam to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the
people of Jaffna.KKS had to be used, though it was not equipped to
accommodate heavy cargo as the government was in a hurry to provide
electricity, the navy chief said.
He emphasized the importance of keeping sea lines of communications
despite LTTE either destroying or damaging ships carrying cargo to
the north.
Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said that the international community
never took tangible action against the LTTE, though it targeted
ships.The seizure of Farah III is a case in point, he said, adding
that the navy had to hunt down the 'LTTE floating arsenals' on the
high seas after the LTTE shifted its major operations from India to
several other countries in the region.
Ten LTTE vessels destroyed by the navy, had International Maritime
Organization's numbers, the navy Commander said adding that had the
international community investigated, it could have identified those
who registered the vessels.
During the period LTTE floating arms warehouses were destroyed he
was the Director General Operations and Commander Eastern Naval
Area, from 2006 to 2008.
The navy chief revealed that the navy had lost seven FACs each worth
$ 7 million and 13 merchant vessels during the fourth phase.He went
on to explain the circumstances in which the LTTE had attacked a
cargo vessel as late as November 22, 2008, using a semi-submersible
craft packed with explosives.
Of the seven FACs lost in action, the last was on January 19, 2009,
off Mullattivu.
Commenting on the last stage of the ground offensive, Vice Admiral
Samarasinghe said that over 700 boats carrying people, had escaped
from areas under LTTE control as the army advanced towards the
Mullattivu coast.He explained the deployment of high tech equipment
to identify LTTE craft trying to exploit the civilian exodus to its
advantage.Touching on the measures taken by the navy to help
civilians, Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said that the enemy
successfully targeted two SLN vessels (small boats) taking cover of
civilians, though the navy reacted cautiously without resorting to
indiscriminate fire.
We lost two vessels in attacks carried out by the LTTE taking
advantage of civilians, though they expected the navy to fire
indiscriminately we never did that.
Getting back to the Indian issue, Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said
that over 500 Indian fishing craft poach in Sri Lankan waters on
Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.Their presence could be exploited
by terrorists, Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said, while recalling how
the Sea Tigers had used Indian fishing fleet as a cover to operate
across the Indo-Lanka maritime boundary and then take refuge among
fishing villages along the north-western coast north of Mannar.The
navy chief said that they had not been able to attack Sea Tiger
craft after they reached the land due to the presence of civilians.
The officer told the LLRC identifying terrorists operating among
fishermen was a tremendous task.
The navy chief recalled the LTTE suicide attack on a Dvora FAC (P
413) on Dec 26th 2007, just two nautical miles from the Indo-Lanka
maritime boundary.Of the 14-man crew, only one survived.A grave
looking navy chief said that fighting suicide cadres was mentally
difficult task. "Those operating suicide boats may miss their
targets.Then they will have to come back again."He said.He called
the navy, who operated in what he called suicide craft infested
waters, as gallant and co urageous men.
He emphasized the importance of a permanent blockade of the
clandestine Indian route to thwart any eventuality.The navy chief
explained measures adopted by the navy to ensure local fishermen
could not engage in nefarious activities.Setting up of fishing
marshalling points had helped the close monitoring of local boats in
and out of Sri Lanka, he said, adding, however, that illegal
movements still take place.
Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said that in the post-war era there could
be serious disputes between Sri Lankan and Indian fishermen due to
Indians poaching in Sri Lankan waters.He alleged that the situation
had been worsened by the use of illegal fishing methods by the
Indians.
He explained efforts taken by the navy on the Defense Ministry
instructions, to gather data on all fishermen in a bid to meet their
needs.Banks had been brought in to provide help to local fishermen
and since the end of the war the fish production has increased.
Commenting on the last stages of the battle, the navy chief said
that overland supply convoys had to be suspended on January 21,
2009, due to heavy fighting.
"The ICRC facilitated the effort obviously because the terrorists
too agreed for their role.Beginning February 1, we moved food and
medicine to the gradually shrinking area under LTTE control and
brought back the sick and the wounde d, including LTTE sympathizers
and LTTE cadres."Vice Admiral Samarasinghe appreciated the support
given by India to take care of those arriving in Pullmoddai.The
Indian government deployed medical teams in support during the final
phase of the fighting and then moved them to Vavuniya to help look
after the war displaced.
The navy chief praised Tamil public servants, who helped the navy's
efforts to bring in supplies and distribute them in Jaffna.He
especially thanked Jaffna GA Ganesh and Tamil civilians from
Karainagar and other coastal villages who had helped unload ships
under tremendous difficulties during the war.
The navy went to the extent of deploying the Jetliner and FACs to
transport civilians, sick and the wounded, regardless of regulations.
The navy chief recalled LTTE attacks on ships and how the LTTE had
trapped two FACs which had moved to assist Irish Mona in LTTE waters.
The navy chief reminded the LLRC steps taken by security forces
during the war to prevent attempts to smuggle bombs and explosives
in to ships carrying food to the north.Ships taking goods to the
North had to be checked thoroughly to thwart attempts to load bombs
with supplies to destroy vessels.
Vice Admiral Samarasinghe emphasized the importance of deploying
what he called onboard security teams to protect ships vulnerable to
attack.The vessels carrying supplies for civilian in the Jaffna
peninsula had such teams onboard to help thwart LTTE attacks, he
said, adding that Sri Lanka had suggested to the UN that onboard
security units could be the answer to the threat posed by pirates.
Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said that protection of harbors had been
of critical importance to sustain the war against terrorism.Had they
succeeded in disturbing harbor activity it would have caused an
irreparable damage to the war effort, he said.
Although the navy had to prohibit fishing in some areas in the
northern and eastern provinces as part of overall security measures,
particularly to enhance security of harbors and other coastal
installations, action was taken to allow fishing under the
supervision of the navy.The restrictions particularly affected the
fishing community in the North, he said, since the conclusion of the
war there had been a marked improvement in fishing activity.
(Description of Source: Colombo The Island Online in English --
Website of the independent daily published by Upali Newspapers Ltd.
The paper, which has a circulation of 30,000 for the daily edition
and daily and 140,125 on Sundays, provides a balanced view of
political affairs and wide coverage of defense, financial, and
business matters; URL: www.island.lk)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited.Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
Dept. of Commerce.
37) Back to Top
Indian Commentary Says Poverty, Violence, Money Power Hinders
Governance
Commentary by Gopalkrishna Gandhi: A Tale of Three Lions --
Poverty, Violence, Corruption and the Power of Money Hinder
Governance; first part of an edited version of a talk on governance
in India at the IIC, Delhi; text in bold face as formatted by the
source. - The Telegraph Online
Monday September 13, 2010 11:18:55 GMT
The three lions on our emblem stand as metaphors for the three
haqiqat that prevail in India -- awaam, siyaasat and hukumat.These
three -- the people of India, India's political life, and the Indian
State -- are, like the lions, majestic alike.But with each facing a
different direction. Awaam-e-Hind Touring the Kannada countryside in
1927, Mahatma Gandhi asked a poor villager: "Who rules Mysore?&
quot;The answer was, "Some god."If an average Indian were asked
today, "Who rules India?" -- the answer is likely to be, "God
knows."That two-word answer says more than any lecture can.The aam
admi is perplexed -- by the condition of his surroundings.And by his
own condition.Everything grows in Awaam-e-Hind.Its population, of
course, grows the fastest, thanks to the startling rise in average
life expectancy at birth and a falling death rate.Its prosperity
grows in huge strides.Assets grow, litigation grows.Does our poverty
grow too?Statistics vary.The Union Planning Commission might not
accept Arjun Sengupta's figures unquestioningly.But being number 134
in the human development index behind a ravaged Sri Lanka is a
statistic that speaks for itself.Ranking 66th among the world's 88
hungriest countries is one that more than speaks for itself.Awaam-e-
Hind's global presence grows, its image glows and draws admiration
for all the 'I's of India -- in telligence, intellect, initiative,
innovation, information, infotainment, industry, investment, and of
course IT, no longer confused with income tax.We should, and we do,
bask in that glory.Not unoften, that other 'I', integrity, shows up
feeling neglected by all the other roaring 'I's.And what about crime?
Violence is crime's signature.And that signature, in its many twists
and loops, grows.And it often becomes oblique.Psychological violence
continues to be encountered by vulnerable women.Commercial
endorsements by our superstars of so-called skin-lighteners increase
the vulnerability of girls in our colour-prejudiced society.An
excellent new law has shown a return fist to domestic violence.But
that villain is yet to see the strong arm of the law.Does the sense
of security in our minority communities, especially among their
poorer sections, grow?If there is a real sense of insecurity among
vulnerable sections of minority communities, it can be found inter
se within those com munities as well as by liberals, dissenters and
nonconformists.Javed Akhtar is his own person.All of us know what
that frank man has experienced.Intolerance, of course, is no
monopoly of theologies.It is to be found in political communities
too, where a difference of opinion can lead to excommunication,
papal style.The active Indian liberal questions, objects and raises
a finger to protest because in a liberal society that is the natural
thing to do.And when he does that he can court danger.If an Indian
who RTIs a department or a project and gets his answer, he is a
persevering querist.But when he pays for his perseverance with his
life, our liberal and open democracy stands brazenly
assaulted.Except when traumas such as regularly witnessed in Kashmir
and the one that has agonized Manipur for so long, and except when
the chronic enervations of tribal and Dalit India rapidly move from
individual to collective rage, the prominent mood of Awaam-e-Hind is
that of pained dejectio n and cynical resignation, a 'who cares?'-
ness. Siyaasat-e-Hind
Like so much else, money grows in our beloved land: it rules like
"some god".It rules through the moneyed man, but even more through
the moneying or monetizing of our lives.In 1950, deposits -- simple
bank accounts -- in India amounted to Rs 888 crore.Today, they
amount to over Rs 750, 000 crore.In 1950, the currency in
circulation in India was Rs 1,247 crore.Today it is Rs 5,17,434
crore.And we are talking of accounted money.But there is something
even more important about money in India than its growth -- its
enhanced availability, its heightened visibility.And that is the
change in its role and action.Money is no longer just an instrument
of exchange; it is now a device for delivery.Money can secure
employment, admissions, promotions, preferments, transfers,
exonerations.It can create delays, spur speed.Money can permeate
that which was until only the other day the preserve of pure
enjoyment -- sport.Cricket is today as much about money as it is
about the gentleman's game -- we can call it Mocket or Croney.It can
threaten to tarnish the izzat and imaan of our nation's collective
integrity by appearing like pustules on a global sports event.Money
can and does do worse.It can abduct, assault.It can finance hurt, it
can fund harm, it can injure and manage to look injured.It can
purchase death.There is another thing that is growing in its spread
and strength and may be said to be trying to 'rule' India.And which
contributes not to cynical resignation, but to fear and anxiety.And
that 'thing' is, with narcotics, a close cousin of money: namely,
the illegal small firearm.India has not one million, not four
million, not 10 million but, at a conservative estimate, 40 million
illegal small arms floating around all over the land.Mischief, of
course, does not come from illegal arms alone.The incidents of
police or paramilitary firings and encounters, which have later been
judged unjustified and unlawful, have been around the use of legal
arms.So, going beyond the phenomenon of illegal arms in India, the
question to ponder is the larger one of weapons and the 'culture' of
weapons entering the bloodstream of our lives.It has done so in some
parts of India devastatingly.Elections are our pride.The Election
Commission deserves our approbation for monumental patience, above
all else, in the manner in which it keeps its cool, stays the course
with the election laws, and after the catharsis of polling and
counting, delivers the mandate which we have defined in the
assurance of confidentiality, fairness and freedom.But the
commission knows better than others how money, authorized and
unauthorized, and human biceps and triceps, authorized in the armed
personnel billeted to election duty and unauthorized in others, can
play a role in the proceedings.Currency notes come into the election
bazaar first in container and cargo quantities, then in truckloads ,
going into wholesale, small retail and finally in attache, thaila,
jhola and jeb-sized portions every five years at the least and often
oftener than that.They originate either legally, through licit
company donations, or come from a myriad sources which, as Amit
Bhaduri explained recently to a Chennai audience, necessarily and
unavoidably go back to our natural resources such as mines, forests
and land.Illegal transactions in all these yield harvests of black
cash.I wish the Reserve Bank of India depicted on the large
denominations of our currency any person from the scroll of our
great kings and emperors who commanded mints and treasuries or,
better still, chose non-human images.But if it had to carry the
likeness of Mahatma Gandhi, I wish it did so only on the coin of the
smallest denomination, the one rupee coin which cannot cover large,
inappropriate and concealed transactions of money for, among other
dubious uses, the buying and selling of weapons of murder.I believe
the time has come for the laws in respect of the funding of our
elections to be brought bravely a nd transparently under the public
scanner once again, focused on the working of Section 293A of the
Companies Act.But going beyond study, hard and exemplary action
needs to be taken by those who are empowered to do so, whenever and
wherever funds in excess of permissible quantums are patently
employed.Simultaneously, the government and political parties should
hearken to the public mood and disengage senior politicians, and
certainly those who are in public office, from responsibilities in
cash-rich sports federations.Their dual charge can only be to the
detriment of either the sport or of the public office concerned.The
public is no fool; it knows who is where for what.Our new chief
election commissioner's determined statement to the effect that he
will address the question of money in elections is therefore deeply
satisfying and hope-giving.We need to redeem our elections fro m the
vice-like grip over it of money, for elections are precious to us,
as is money in its rightful place and role.And, indeed, every licit
firearm in the defence of the country and the protection of its
people.Our political spectrum diffuses the unpolluted beam of hope
as it passes through the waters of political choice into a million
competing colours.Our society is splintered into majority-minority,
minority-sub-minority, community-sub-community, caste-sub-caste, and
avarna-savarna.But the opportunistic exploitation of that
splintering disgraces Siyaasat-e-Hind.The latest form of this
exploitation is the retrieval, suddenly from a forgotten past, of
the splintering splinter of splintered splinters -- namely, gotra-
sagotra being imposed on couples by village venerables.Even in his
most pessimistic contemplations of the Hindu code bill, B.R.
Ambedkar could not have imagined that 60 years after India's
becoming a republic it would see honour killings in the name of this
ata vistic recoil.Which brings me to the last of the three 'sher'.
Hukumat-e-Hind The legislators of India, our lawmakers, have given
to us constitutional amendments, notably the 73rd and 74th, and
several new law enactments, which have changed India's life
rhythms.Some of the finest, most humanitarian, compassionate and
even revolutionary laws that protect the weak, the jeopardized, and
the vulnerable, especially women, have come from the community of
India's politicians.When we despair of the politics of individual
politicians we must remember this larger picture.It is also notable
that it is our Parliament that has enabled the enemy property bill,
meant to replace an ordinance with the same incredible title, and
has put it on hold for further examination.My faith in the destiny
of Indian self-correction has been strengthened by the news that
there is serious rethinking going on about it.Another piece of
legislation before our Parliament has been powered by world
opinion.It is a bill to restrain the monster called torture.We
should be making torture impossible.Instead, the bill raises the bar
of the definition of torture, thereby indemnifying such acts as
leave no mark on the individual's body.Obviously, those who have
vetted this bill are unaware of certain pieces of furniture and
appliances in lock-ups, and of the infinite possibilities of the
spoken word.I trust the bill will reverse all attempts to let
torture slip through definitional openings.The Indian policeman,
too, does not make an easy hero and the dictionary of swear words is
far too accessible to him.But let us also acknowledge the fact that
he, too, is the easy butt of jokes in our free country.In how many
countries are policemen shown in a negative light as in our cinema,
stories, even in our media?So, I would like to believe that the day
will come when a policeman passing by a thhelawala will not send
shivers down the poor vendor's spine, nor an income tax inspector's
unexpected v isit cause the shop assistant in a commercial
establishment to go running to arrange chai.I would like to believe
that the day will come when a decent chair with a backrest and
armrests replaces the interrogation seat beneath a naked bulb.The
day will come -- not very far from now, I am sure -- when the civil
and police administrations will be able to draw a distinction
between civil rights activists, writers and sociologists on the one
hand and those who are waging a war against the Indian State on the
other, when no tribal person is presumed to be a Naxal, or his home
to be a Naxal hideout, and his land a 'territory lost to Maoist
influence', leading to the innocent man or woman's interrogation and
displacement.This can and will happen, thanks to the growing
sensitivity of the State, to public opinion and to questions of image.
(Description of Source: Kolkata The Telegraph online in English --
Website of Kolkata's highest circulation English daily, owned by ABP
Grou p, with a flagship publication Anandabazar Patrika in
Bengali.Known for in-depth coverage of east and northeast India
issues, and India-Bangladesh relations.Maintains an impartial
editorial policy.Circulation 457,100; URL: www.telegraphindia.com)
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copyright holder.Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US
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38) Back to Top
Indian PM says 'grievances' of Kashmiri youth need to be addressed -
PTI News Agency
Monday September 13, 2010 11:18:56 GMT
Text of report by Indian news agency PTINew Delhi, 13 September:
Voicing concern over the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir (Indian-
administered Kashmir), Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Si ngh on
Monday (13 September) sought to reach out to the people there,
saying their grievances have to be addressed and promised talks
within the Indian constitution with those who abjure violence.As his
government weighs options to deal with the situation in Kashmir,
Singh emphasized the need for better delivery of services and
generating avenues for economic advancement of the people of the
state."Unrest in the state of Jammu and Kashmir over the last few
weeks is a matter of concern.The youth of Kashmir are our citizens
and their grievances have to be addressed," he told top commanders
of the armed forces at a conference here."We are willing to talk to
every person or group which abjures violence, within the framework
of our constitution," he said.Singh, however, made no mention of the
controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (Act), whose
withdrawal from the state is being sought by Chief Minister Omar
Abdullah.The prime minister is expected to dis cuss this issue at
the Cabinet Committee on Security.Army, supported by Defence
Minister A.K. Antony, is strongly opposed to the revocation or
dilution of the law, arguing that the situation in the state was not
conducive for such a step.Antony had articulated these views at the
Congress Core Committee meeting chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi
last Friday.The group was divided on the issue, with Home Minister
P. Chidambaram backing the proposal for partial withdrawal of the
special law that gives sweeping powers and immunity to the security
personnel.Hailing the security forces for securing the nation's
interest, apart from disaster mitigation, the prime minister said
the armed forces "deserve the best" and assured them of government's
support to ensure this."Our armed forces deserve the best and I wish
to assure you that the government will make every effort to ensure
this.No country can make progress without ensuring its security and
territorial integrity, " he said.Asking the defence forces to set
higher standards for their modernization in view of economy growing
and technological capabilities expanding, Singh said: "It is not
enough for us to keep pace with change.When it comes to defence
capability, we must be ahead of the technology curve."Terming
defence modernization as "a complex task," Singh said: "If it is to
be effective, it must involve the full chain, starting with updating
our war-fighting doctrines to meet new threats to our security,
preparation of appropriate staff quality requirements and creating a
broad-based production and delivery infrastructure on the
ground."Noting that border infrastructure was an integral part of
defence preparedness, he said this involved not just the land
borders, but also ensuring appropriate coastal security for which
several measures had been initiated."But it is important that all
ministries and departments work in close coordination to en sure
timely implementation of existing plans.It is necessary to approach
this task with a sense of urgency," he added.Describing naxalism
(Maoism) as "a serious challenge" to internal security, the prime
minister said the government would do all that was necessary to
protect each and every citizen of the country and deal firmly with
those who resorted to violence."This is a collective task involving
the Centre (federal government) and the states.At the same time, we
have to accelerate our development efforts in the naxal-affected
areas and make our administrative machinery more sensitive and
responsive to local concerns," he added.Pointing out that the
nation's strength flowed from the strength of its institutions,
values and economic competitiveness, Singh said if India was looked
upon today with respect and seen as a force for the future, it was
because of the stable and orderly fashion in which the country was
transforming the lives of its people. "Transformation on such a
scale, within the framework of a democratic and pluralistic society,
has not been seen in the world before.If we succeed, our example
will have repercussions for the new global order," he
added.Emphasizing the country's "strategic autonomy", Singh said it
was "an article of faith" and India was "too large a country to be
boxed into any alliance or regional or sub-regional arrangements,
whether trade, economic or political."He said if India had to
sustain its nine to 10 per cent growth, it needed foreign capital
inflow, both portfolio and direct investment, the best of modern
technology and access to markets of the advanced economies, and the
country had to modernize its infrastructure.For all this, India
needed to maintain healthy relations with all major powers, he
added.On the global terms, the prime minister said there was a shift
of economic and political power to Asia, with the Asia Pacific
region, includ ing the Southeast Asia, needing more attention from
India."This must seep into our defence and foreign policy planning
as never before.This is a palpable desire on the part of the
countries of this region to enhance cooperation with us, which we
must reciprocate," he added.Noting that some of the "toughest
challenges" lay in India's neighbourhood, Singh said the country
would not realize its growth ambitions unless peace and stability
was ensured in South Asia.Describing the nations of the Gulf region,
West and Central Asia as "natural partners", he said India had
tangible interests in these regions, among which energy security was
most important."We have to ensure adequate availability of
commercial energy to support our growth targets.This requires not
only diversification of the sources of our energy imports but also
widening of our overall energy mix.It is in this context that we
need to operationalize our nuclear energy option, which h olds great
promise and is a necessity," he added.Referring to the global
economic crisis of 2008, Singh said India had weathered it better
than most large economies, as there was a continental-sized economy
and large internal market.But the challenge, he said, would be to
ensure that growth was balanced across all regions and reached all
sections of society."Given our youth demographic profile, we will
also have to ensure access to good quality education and health
services to all.We have to put in place a National Skill Development
Mission to empower our youth which will yield positive results," he
added.Singh also assured the armed forces that the country would
accord priority to equipment, training and welfare of soldiers and
retired defence personnel."We will do all that is necessary to
ensure the armed forces attract the best talent in the country," he
added.(Description of Source: New Delhi PTI News Agency in English )
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39) Back to Top
EU To Make Decision On M-55 Geofizika Repairs In 2011 - Interfax-AVN
Online
Monday September 13, 2010 08:59:43 GMT
intervention)
MOSCOW. Sept 13 (Interfax-AVN) - The European Union will make a
decision on possible repairs and modernization of Russia's M-55
Geofizika high altitude plane, which takes part in international
studies of upper atmospheric layers practically every year, in
January 2011, a defense industry source told Interfax-AVN."European
experts think that it is impossible to assign funds for repairing
the M-55 Geofizika right now," he said, ad ding that the same
experts believed there was no alternative to the plane as a carrier
of scientific instruments.The repairs will extend the plane's
service life for another ten years. The engine will be repaired, and
some of the avionics will be replaced. The approximate cost of
repairs nears ten million euros. The sum may be halved "if the
service life is extended for five instead of ten years," the source
said."A final decision may be made in January, when the program of
future expeditions is drafted," he said."There is no expedition plan
for 2011 so far, but expeditions in India and the United Arab
Emirates have been proposed," the source said."The current condition
of the M-55 Geofizika makes it possible to fly for no more than 30
hours in 2011," he said.The M-55 Geofizika is a product of the
Myasishchev Experimental Machine Building Plant. It was meant to be
a high altitude military reconnaissance plane in 1988, but only four
pla nes were built and two were lost in accidents.The plane can
carry up to 2,200 kilograms of special equipment to an altitude of
21,500 meters. It has two PS-30V-12 unboosted engines with a normal
thrust of 4,500 kilograms (670 kilograms at an altitude of 21,000
meters). The cruising speed is 740 kilometers per hour and the
maximum flight range at an altitude of 17,000 meters if 5,000
kilometers.(Description of Source: Moscow Interfax-AVN Online in
English -- Website of news service devoted to military news and
owned by the independent Interfax news agency; URL:
http://www.militarynews.ru
)
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40) Back to Top
Southeast Asia Chinese-Language Media Reportin g on PRC 13 Sep 10
The following lists selected reports on China from Southeast Asian
Chinese-language media on 11-13 September. To request additional
processing, please contact OSC at (800) 205-8615, (202) 338-6735; or
fax (703) 613-5735. - Southeast Asia -China -- OSC Summary
Monday September 13, 2010 09:51:29 GMT
(Phnom Penh Hua Shang Ri Bao Online in Chinese - Website of the self-
claimed largest Chinese paper in Cambodia. Established in 1993 by
Cambodian banker Fang Qiao "to promote Chinese culture and improve
integration of commerce." Extensively carries reports on local
Chinese community news and activities, and pro-China news and
commentaries, Circulation: 6,000; URL: http://tcnewscambodia.com )
2. Report by Na Li and Huang Dingguang entitled "Hun Sen Meets CCCC
Vice President Chen Fenjian" The report says that Cambodian Prime
Minister Hun Sen recei ved a courtesy visit by Chen Fenjian, vice
president of China Communications Construction Co Ltd (CCCC) at his
residence in Phnom Penh on 11 September. Chen has told Hun Sen that
his company is one among the world's top 500 corporate and it had
set up two subsidiaries in Cambodia to introduce the most advanced
technology in the country and assist Cambodia in the development of
the construction industry (270 words). (Phnom Penh Hua Shang Ri Bao
Online in Chinese) Philippines
3. Unattributed report entitled "Seven Representatives from
Philippines participated in Xinjiang trip organized by China
Association for Overseas Exchange"The report says that seven
representatives of the Philippines' China Association for Overseas
Exchange participated in a Xinjiang trip coorganized by the Overseas
Chinese Affairs Office of China State Council and the China
Association for Overseas Exchange in collaboration with the
counterparts of the two institutions in Xinjiang. The p rogram was
conducted from 30 August to 7 September in Xinjiang. The launching
ceremony was held in Yindu Hotel in Urumqi and the leaders who
attended the ceremony included Li Haifeng and Xu Yousheng, head and
vice head of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of China State
Council respectively; and Nuer Baikeli and Hu Wei chairman and vice
chairman of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region respectively. (570
words). (Manila Shi Jie Ri Bao Online in Chinese - Website of the
largest Chinese newspaper in the Philippines. Carries domestic and
international news as well as reports on activities of the local
Chinese community, including exchange of visits with China. It has a
pro-China stance and criticizes the United States whenever there is
dispute between the two countries. Reported circulation of 20,000;
URL: http://www.worldnewsph.net)
4. Unattributed editorial titled "Should Teach Japan a Lesson!" The
editorial discusses the incident in which Japan arrested a Ch inese
fisherman and seized a Chinese fishing boat in the waters near the
Diaoyudao Islands. The editorial sides with China on this issue and
the issue of China's sovereign right over the Diaoyudao Islands. It
argues that although military action may not be proper in dealing
with the detention issue, China must at least teach Japan a lesson.
Otherwise, it will become a bad precedence if the fisherman is only
released after detention, trial, and fine like in the previous case
of Taiwanese fishermen being detained by Japan. (1060 words) (Manila
Shi Jie Ri Bao Online in Chinese) Singapore
5. Commentary by Ou Jihong entitled "Issue of collision of Chinese,
Japanese Vessels Should be resolved with peaceful approach"The
author has proposed to abide by the principle of "putting aside
conflicts" advocated by Deng Xiaoping and adopt a peaceful approach
in the issue of the collision between a Chinese fishing boat and a
Japanese patrol vessels, and the subsequ ent detention of the
fishing boat and its captain. He has premised his suggestion on
three arguments. First, political stability in East Asia is
favorable to China's development, and economy remains the most
important agenda for China at the present. Secondly, there is no
urgency for China to take control over the energy resources in the
waters around the Daiyudao Islands as China has sufficient resources
from the South China Sea and Japan has not exploited the resources
there arbitrarily. Thirdly, as opposed to the presumption of Chinese
netizens, China's Naval power is not at par with Japan as yet (2,630
words). (Singapore Lianhe Zaobao Online in Chinese -- Website of the
leading Chinese newspaper in Singapore; URL: http://www.zaobao.com.sg)
6. Commentary by Hu Zhiyong titled "China's Indian Ocean Strategy
and Its Essences" The commentary discusses the importance of the
Indian Ocean to China and argues that China's "Indian Ocean
Strategy" should take into account the following aspects: (i)
Strengthen its ties and cooperation with the countries around the
Indian Ocean and make use of the relations to build its military
bases in this region; (ii) Establish a land passage to the Indian
Ocean with the help of Pakistan; (iii) Encourage and support the
peace process between India and Pakistan; (iv) Establish a passage
via the Kra Isthmus; (v) Establish and maintain its military
presence in the Persian Gulf to break the monopoly of the West over
the oil resources in the Middle East. The author also suggests China
to strengthen its ties with Africa and Burma. He says that China has
to expand and protect its interests in the Indian Ocean and at the
same time, work together with other countries to maintain the order
at the seas, which has a vital role in globalization (2,330 words).
(Singapore Lianhe Zaobao Online in Chinese) Vietnam
7. Unattributed report entitled "Ma Biao Calls For Boosting
Cooperation and Excha nge With Vietnam" The report says that Nguyen
Phu Trong, chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly, met Ma
Biao, chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on 10
September. Ma will be in Hanoi from 9 to 14 September to attend the
meeting of the working committee between the four Vietnamese
provinces -- Cao Bang, Lang Son, Quang Ninh, and Ha Giang and
Guangxi Province of China. Trong congratulated Guangxi for its rapid
development, a record GDP of $113 billion, and per capita income of
$2,200 in 2009. The report also mentions the bilateral trade between
Vietnam and Guangxi that has reached $4 billion and which
constituted one-fifths of the total Chinese-Vietnamese bilateral
trade. (430 words). (Hanoi Yue Nan Gong Chan Dang Dian Zi Bao Online
in Chinese -- Chinese version of the Communist Party of Vietnam
online newspaper. It has a special section called "China-Vietnam
Friendship," which carries bilateral activities of Chinese and
Vietnamese Governmen ts as well as articles on economic and cultural
exchange events. Editor-in-chief is Dao Duy Quat; URL:
http://www.cpv.org.vn/cpv/index--c.html#IlihPEaDCV9g
)
8. Unattributed report titled "Ho Chi Minh City Leader met CPC
International Liaison Department Head." A brief report on the
meeting between Le Hoang Quan, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City
People's Committee, and Wang Jiarui, chief of the International
Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC), that was
held on 11 September. Wang was in Danang, Vietnam to take part in
the sixth CPC- Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Theory Conference
(200 words). (Hanoi Yue Nan Gong Chan Dang Dian Zi Bao Online in
Chinese)
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41) Back to Top
India president arrives in Cambodia on six-day visit - PTI News Agency
Monday September 13, 2010 09:40:17 GMT
Text of report by Indian news agency PTIPhnom Penh, 13 September:
Indian President Pratibha Patil arrived here on Monday (13
September) on a six-day state visit to Cambodia, during which she
will meet King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen.Patil
arrived here from Laos as part of the second leg of her visit to the
two ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries. During
the visit, the two sides will also sign cultural and business
agreements.She was received at Phnom Penh airport by Deputy Prime
Minister of Cambodia Samdech Chaufea Veang Kong Som Ol and several
senior defence and civil officials.The president will be accorded a
ceremonial welcome tomorrow prior to her meeting with King
Sihamoni.She will visit the Independence Monument and lay a wreath
there in memory of those who fought for Cambodia's independence from
France. The monument was built in 1953.President of the Cambodian
Senate Chena Sim, President of the National Assembly Heng Samrin and
Prime Minister Hun Sen will call on President Patil separately
tomorrow at the Royal Palace.Patil is travelling with a high-level
business delegation from India.During this state visit, the Indian
President will also meet members of the India-Cambodia Friendship
School and attend an India-Cambodia Business meeting on
Wednesday.The six-day visit also includes a trip to Seam Reap to
visit the world-famous Ankor Wat and several museums located there.
She will lay the foundation stone for the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation
Museum for traditional Asian Textiles at Seam Reap.The two countries
had already signed the Mekong-Ganga Agreement which encourages trade
and cultural ties between them.(Description of Source: New Delhi PTI
News Agency in English )
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42) Back to Top
Vietnam's Rice Export Volume up in First Eight Months
Xinhua: "Vietnam's Rice Export Volume up in First Eight Months" -
Xinhua
Monday September 13, 2010 09:05:50 GMT
HANOI, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam exported 5.01 million tons of
rice to the world market in the first eight months, up 10.8 percent
year-on-year, said a report of the Vietnam Food Association on Monday.
The country earned 2.35 billion U.S dollars in the first eight
months of this year, up 11.4 percent year-on-year, said the
report.Vietnames e exporters shipped abroad 813,100 tons of rice in
August alone, raking in 302.2 million U.S. dollars, said the
report.The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
said here on Monday that rice demand in the world is increasing as
major rice exporting countries including India, Pakistan, and China
are paying more attention on food security.Another reason is that
Russia has recently ceased exporting wheat, which made wheat-
importing countries have to import rice for food instead, said the
ministry.Increasing world rice demand creates good chances for
Vietnam to boost rice exports, said the ministry.Last year, Vietnam
earned nearly 2.67 billion U.S. dollars from exporting six million
tons of rice, up 25.4 percent in volume but down eight percent in
value year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office of
Vietnam.(Description of Source: Beijing Xinhua in English -- China's
official news service for English-language audiences (New China News
Agency))
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Indian Media Highlights 12-13 Sep 10 - India -- OSC Summary
Monday September 13, 2010 09:24:05 GMT
: The issue of "protectionist measures" introduced in the US against
the Indian IT industry will feature in a trade policy forum meeting
and a global services summit in Washington later in September, but
the priority of the bilateral dialogue will be to finalize an Indo-
US totalisation agreement that would help Indian IT employees
working in the US avoid the tax burden accruing from social security
payments, Union Commerce Minister Anand Sha rma said on 11 September
(The Indian Express, SAP20100912534019). India and the US will have
a series of high-level meetings starting from this week with the
visit of Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to that country to set the
agenda for President Barack Obama's tour in November (PTI,
SAP20100913950004). Defense Issues
: With Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Dmitry Medvedev slated to
visit India in quick succession in November-December, India is fast-
tracking major defense contracts with the United States, France and
Russia (The Times of India (ToI ), SAP20100913463001). Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) plans to form a
commercial arm by 2010-end as it seeks to put in place "an
aggressive approach" toward marketing and commercialization of its
products and technologies and exports (PTI, SAP20100913571001).
India-Pakistan Ties
: External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna is likely to visit the
United States on 20 September to attend a session of the UN General
Assembly. An array of meetings is scheduled on the sidelines of the
meet where Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood
Qureshi will come face-to-face. Sources say though no India-Pakistan
meet has been scheduled, a pull-aside bilateral meeting cannot be
ruled out (Mail Today, SAP20100913463003). Terrorist Groups in Uttar
Pradesh
: Intelligence agencies face a deadly challenge from the combined
strength of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Students' Islamic Movement of India,
and Harkat-ul Jihad-al-Islami, especially in Uttar Pradesh, and have
been giving inputs to the state police top brass on a regular basis
(The New Indian Express, SAP20100913532003). Civil Nuclear Liability
Bill
: Moscow is now looking for an "official clarification" from New
Delhi on the civil nuclear liability bill, recently passed by the
Indian Parliament's lower house, which leaves a window open for
making suppliers of raw material and equipment liable for damages in
case of an accident (The Times of India, SAP20100913428003). UN Panel
: Members of a UN panel have charged that some Third World companies
are producing far more of a deadly greenhouse gas than they need to,
since burning the gas -- and thus preventing it from entering the
atmosphere -- earns them carbon credits and hefty profits. These
include five Indian companies: SRF Ltd, Chemplast Sanmar Ltd,
Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd, Navin Fluorine International Ltd and
Hindustan Fluorocarbons Ltd (Hindustan Times, SAP20100913463005).
Change in DAE Procurement Rules
: The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has changed its procurement
rules after the government auditor found that as much as 94% of all
procurements made by nuclear plants were given out to a single or
limited vendors, wiping out all competition. When questioned by the
auditors, DAE had reasoned that it was done due to "urgency of
requirement." In several cases, the single bidders were private
foreign players from the US, Switzerland, France and Singapore (ToI,
SAP20100912534006). Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
: Besides the Army's opposition to any change in the Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act, intelligence agency reports, too, may have
influenced the government's decision to withhold partial withdrawal
of the controversial Act from the Kashmir Valley. The agencies have
warned that any such move, at a juncture when infiltration is on the
rise, might backfire (Mail Today, SAP20100912534013).
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44) Back to Top
One killed, two injured in police firing in Indian Kashmir 13
September - PTI News Agency
Monday September 13, 2010 09:12:56 GMT
Text of report by Indian news agency PTISrinagar, 13 September: One
person was killed and two others were injured when security forces
allegedly opened fire to quell a stone-pelting mob in Bandipora
district of north Kashmir on Monday (13 September), a police
spokesman said.A large number of protesters had gathered at Ajas, 45
km from here, and started raising provocative slogans, the spokesman
said.A section of crowd started pelting stones at security forces,
who fired warning shots to disperse them. Three persons were injured
in the incident, the spokesman said, adding one of the injured
identified as Nissar Ahmad Bhat was declared brought dead at a
Srinagar hospital.With Bhat's death, the toll in the 95-day unrest
in the valley has risen to 72.The spokesman said stone-pelting
incidents were also reported from several other places, including
Sabzi Mandi in Soura area of the city and Machow and Goga-Humhama in
Budgam district.Police used batons, lobbed teargas shells and fired
warning shots to disperse the protesters but there was no report of
any casualty, official sources said.(Description of Source: New
Delhi PTI News Agency in English )
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45) Back to Top
South Indian Press 13 Sep 10
The following is a selection of highlights from the South Indian
press on 13 September 2010 - India -- OSC Summary
Monday September 13, 2010 09:01:45 GMT
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said that since Monsoons
adversely affected var ious parts of India this year, rice and sugar
production was much low. Therefore, the union government is spending
enormous sums on import of rice and sugar from Thailand, China, and
other countries. The government is ready to pay high price to
foreign countries for rice, wheat, and sugar, whereas it is not
ready to give even minimum profitable price to our farmers.
The government concludes by saying that government should give
freedom to farmers to fix prices of agricultural products.
(Chennai Dinamani online: Tamil Daily owned by the Indian Express
Group; friendly to the US; critical of military aid to Pakistan;
supportive of Indian Government policies regarding external affairs;
maintains a neutral stand on regional politics; influential with
policy makers, academia, the business community, and the
intelligentsia; editorials tend to be on international issues. Four
editions with a combined circulation of 2,50,000. URL:
http://www.dinamani.com www. dinamani.com) Dinamani Report Says
Lankan Tamil Refugee Camp in Chennai Nerve Center of Crimes in City
Dinamani
online of 13 September in Tamil carries an approximately 900-word
report entitled: "Chennai Gummidipoondi Lankan Tamil refugees camp -
Nerve-center of all crimes, vice den, brothel house, fake Passports
and smuggling center - Policemen live under constant fear of terror
from LTTE groups in camp - our life is in peril and jeopardy, senior
police officer of the camp laments, breaks down in a sea of tears
and narrates to Dinamani reporter." The report says the Tamil Nadu
government opened in March 1990 in Chennai Gummidipoondi near
Tahsilder's office a refugee camp for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees.
There were just 15 inmates there for around 6 months then, and now
it is the biggest camp out of all 117 camps in Tamil Nadu. This camp
has 3,823 heads belonging to 1,073 families now. Most of these
inmates are hard-core Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (L TTE)
terrorists who are blackmailing innocent Lankan Tamils in camps and
are extracting money from them for their vice activities and
smuggling misadventures.
The report says this camp has now become the nerve-center of all
crimes, vice den, brothel house, smuggling coordination center, and
fake Passports generation quarter by innumerable LTTE terrorists
staying in this camp under the garb of Tamil refugees. Many LTTE
terrorists under the garb of Tamil refugees live outside the camp in
private rented houses with due permission from government
authorities. They control all crimes inside the camp. They visit the
camp daily in groups, plant terror here, coordinate smuggling
activities, and force womenfolk here into brothels and immoral
activities inside the camp and also outside.
The report adds that there is a full-fledged police station in front
of this camp, but this police station remains locked for years
together. All policemen of this station are working in different
places of Chennai, but their names are on the payrolls of this
station, and they get their salary on the name of this station. As
such, law and order is the worst in and around the camp.
The report further says that in 2009, 10 LTTE terrorists have
escaped from this camp and sneaked out of the country on fake
Passports. Three more LTTE cadres escaped this year to foreign soil
by the same modus operandi. Heroin, ganja, and all narcotics flow
freely outside and inside this camp. Women refugees are under the
fear of terror all the time. Inmates of this camp are involved in
every dangerous crime taking place everyday in Chennai. Dinamalar
Report Says Rameswaram Fishermen Buy Refurbished Boats Decertified
by Kerala Government Dinamalar
online of 12 September in Tamil carries an approximately 600-word
report entitled: "Rameswaram fishermen purchase at very low price
refurbished and reconstructed Kerala-manufactured fishing boats
decertified by Kerala government - This is the cause of all woes of
Rameswaram fishermen in mid seas - Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department
officer laments in Rameswaram." The report says that as applicable
to vehicles, motorized fishing boats have a prescribed period of
life, after which the Fisheries Department withdraws license for the
boats that should be scrapped by fishermen. Since every boat costs
nearly Rs.100,000, poor fishermen continue to use life-expired
boats. There are innumerable boat-manufacturing yards in Kerala.
These boatyards repair, refurbish, and refit old boats and make them
sea-worthy, and sell them to Tamil Nadu fishermen at a very low
price so that the Kerala manufacturer and Tamil Nadu fishermen are
equally benefited. But the danger is always that very old boats are
not strong enough to face the wrath of sea waves in times of
inclement weather in turbulent seas. Therefore, most of these boats
meet with tragedies.
The report says there is no demarca tion point in seas to show
Indian and Lankan maritime areas in seawaters. While big ships can
identify it through sophisticated machines, poor, ill-equipped
fishing boats can't do it. So the Lankan Navy attacks Rameswaram
fishermen in mid seas in Sri Lankan waters.
The report adds that the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department has
officially permitted fishing only in some areas of Indian Ocean that
are certified good and safe for fishing. Fishermen are not permitted
to go into deep seas that are dangerous in terms of human safety.
But fishermen do not obey these safety instructions! High-power
motor fishing boats from Kerala make these fish-greedy fishermen
have false courage and lead them to watery graves in deep seas where
fishermen get much less fish amidst all hazards, which take toll of
their precious lives also, apart from getting brutally attacked by
Lankan Navy.
(Chennai Dinamalar online: Tamil Daily - No editorials, independent,
left-off-center Tamil Na du-based daily with statewide influence;
providing comprehensive coverage of South Indian political issues,
particularly Tamil Nadu; impartial reporting on national issues;
good coverage of Sri Lankan civil war; circulation of 3,50,000 with
no editorials. URL: www. dinamalar.com) Dinamalar Report Says Large-
Scale Smuggling Takes Place From Tamil Nadu Coasts To Sri Lanka
Dinamalar
online of 13 September in Tamil carries an approximately 500-word
report entitled: "Smuggling through Ramanathapuram seashores sprout
and continue unabatedly - Spreading all over Tamil Nadu coasts!" The
report says after the Lankan Army totally eliminated the LTTE
terrorist group in 2009, all explosives smuggling crimes by LTTE
terrorists fell down to a grinding halt. This was a great and well-
deserved relief, solace, and reward for Tamil Nadu police who were
unsuccessfully grappling with these smuggling episodes for 35 years.
The report says that of late, Ramanathapuram po lice find that
Ramanathapuram seacoasts have now becoming "smuggling coasts" for
remnant LTTE cadres, who are living underground all over Tamil Nadu.
Earlier, LTTE terrorists were smuggling out to Sri Lankan LTTE
hideouts all dangerous explosive materials such as country bombs,
acid, gelatin sticks, batteries, aluminum ingots, fuse wires, time
bombs, wireless communication sets, deadly narcotics, and
innumerable ot her types and forms of explosives. Tamil Nadu police
could never satisfactorily control this smuggling. Many LTTE
smugglers and terrorists were caught and hundreds of them escaped too.
The report says that now smuggling of electronic items such as
powerful radios, VCRs, DVDs, and TVs, is on the rise from all
Ramanathapuram coasts to Sri Lanka by LTTE terrorists because they
don't want explosives now. In a recent episode, the Ramanathapuram
police caught a huge consignment of such electronic items including
electronic and computer spares and co lor TV sets given free by the
Tamil Nadu government to poor sections of society. Apart from these,
heroin, ganja, and all narcotics, and ration rice sold for Rs.1 per
kg by Tamil Nadu government through ration shops are now on the way
to Sri Lanka. The beneficiaries of all these smuggling were LTTE
terrorists in Sri Lanka earlier, and now the common man in Lanka is
the beneficiary of all these smuggled items, which are being sold in
Lanka at exorbitant costs. LTTE terrorists, who are ace smugglers,
run this job now successfully through all Tamil Nadu coasts. Daily
Thanthi Report - New Rs.1.28 Billion Terminal Inaugurated at Madurai
Airport Daily Thanthi
online of 13 September in Tamil carries an approximately 500-word
report entitled: "New Rs.1.28 billion terminal inaugurated at
Madurai airport - Chidambaram, Praful Patel, and M.K. Alagiri grace
the colorful public function yesterday." The report says the new Rs.
1.28 billion, 17,500 square feet, fully ai r-conditioned terminal in
Madurai airport was inaugurated on 12 September. Union Home Minister
P. Chidambaram, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, and
Fertilizers Minister M.K. Alagiri attended the function. Airports
Authority of India (AAI) Chairman and Managing Director Agarwal
welcomed the participants.
Praful Patel said international flights would shortly land in and
depart from Madurai Airport. He said that during the past five
years, air traffic in India got 21% boost and there was a 300%
increase in air passengers. Cargo planes will be given equal
importance in the days to come. The AAI has started developmental
and upgradation works in 35 airports, including Madurai airport.
(Chennai Daily Thanthi online: Tamil Daily - Private, largest
circulation Tamil Daily with circulation of 500,000; topical news
with extensive coverage of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka). URL:
http://www.dailythanthi.com www.dailythanthi.com) Vaartha Editorial
Comments Rues Mudslinging by Congress Party Leaders of Andhra,
Telengana Vaartha
online of 13 September in Telugu carries an approximately 500-word
editorial entitled: "Will they remain united?" Referring to the
latest mudslinging political comments of Congress party leaders of
both Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema and Telangana, the editorial
says usually leaders of one political party exchange mudslinging
comments with another party leaders, but in Andhra Pradesh, Congress
party leaders alone are exchanging mud between Andhra and Telangana,
and leaders of other parties are silent.
The editorial comments on the recent visit of Andhra and Rayalaseema
Congress party leaders with Sri Krishna Commission leaders, and
their reported comment that Telangana leaders are politically
unemployed and they are creating commotion just to prove their
entity, the response from Telangana Congress party leaders and
Telengana Rashtra Samiti leaders is very strong and they did not
hesi tate to use slandering language. Forgetting totally that all of
them belong to same party, they began to use the most slandering
language, and none of them cares a jot about genuine public problems.
The editorial terms the demand for a separate state a the fallout of
age-old suppression and oppression of Telangana culture, traditions
and sentiments, and feels in conclusion that they can no longer live
together and any attempt to live together hereinaft er will be
shameless.
(Vaartha online version in Telugu -- Internet version of the leading
Telugu daily owned by Girish Sanghi, Congress MP and textile
businessperson. Known for its anti-Telugu Desam Party approach, the
daily branded as pursuing yellow journalism. The daily has nineteen
editions with a combined circulation of 500,000. URL:
http://www.vaarttha.com www.vaarttha.com) Mathrubhumi Report -- NIA
Questions Kerala Police Officer For Alleged Terror Links Mathrubhumi
online of 13 September c arries an approximately 500-word report
entitled: "NIA questions Thachankary over controversial visit." The
report says the central probe agency National Investigation Agency
(NIA) has questioned a senior Kerala Indian Police Services (IPS)
officer for his alleged association with certain people having
terror links, who he had met during his Qatar visit earlier this year.
The report says the NIA, which has been assigned to look into the
matter by the central government, has questioned Inspector General
of Police Tomin J Thachankary on three occasions, adding that an NIA
team is likely to visit Qatar for recording statements of officials
at the Indian Embassy there.
The report says the central government ordered a thorough
investigation after it received a report from its Qatar Embassy as
well as from other security agencies about Thachankary's alleged
misconduct.
According to reports, Thachankary, a 1987 batch IPS officer, had
allegedly met so me persons in Qatar who are said to have terror
links. However, the officer refuted the charges. Reports had claimed
that Thachankary met some Keralites allegedly having terror links in
the Gulf, and offered to help them return to their home state.
The External Affairs Ministry had passed on this information to the
Home Ministry, which had asked the state government to carry out
investigations in the matter. Thachankary was suspended when he was
Inspector General some months back for making a foreign trip
allegedly without government permission in violation of service
rules. Earlier also, he was suspended following a case relating to
amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
However, he was reinstated following a high court order as the
vigilance probe in the case kept dragging on.
(Thiruvananthapuram Mathrubhumi online in Malayalam -online
independent Malayalam daily. Carries special reports on activities
of Malayalees living in Gulf cou ntries. Circulation of 900,000. URL:
http://www.mathrubhumi.com www.mathrubhumi.com) Kannada Prabha
Editorial Alarmed at Continuing Violence, Unrest in Kashmir Kannada
Prabha
online of 13 September in Kannada carries an approximately 250-word
editorial entitled: "Kashmir Still Burning." The editorial discusses
the violence that is still continuing in Jammu and Kashmir for the
past three months, and adds that despite all efforts by Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah, continued violence and killings have led to
curfew being imposed in many places in and around Srinagar.
The editorial talks about the violence that took place even on the
day of Eid, and also discusses the serious debate that is going on
regarding the army's role in the state. It says that political
problems of the state have long back turned into sentimental
problems, and this has made it even more difficult to find a
solution to the situation.
The editorial adds that with Pakist an and China interfering into
matters, suffering of people of Jammu and Kashmir are continuing.
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copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
46) Back to Top
PM's Office Feels Media Adviser Playing 'Favorites' To Section of
Press
Report in unattributed weekly column under the rubric Reporters
Diary: Breach of Trust - The Asian Age Online
Monday September 13, 2010 08:30:20 GMT
(Description of Source: New Delhi The Asian Age online in English --
Website of the daily The Asian Age, with its flagship edition in New
Delhi; also published from Kolkata, Mumbai, and London. Run by T.
Venkattram Reddy, the owner of Hyderabad-based Deccan Chronicle
group. Maintains pro-government, centrist editorial policy.
Chronicle and Age share editorial content and their combined
circulation is claimed to be 1 million; URL: www.asianage.com)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
47) Back to Top
Unlimited Term of Presidency Blow to Sri Lankas Democracy
Editorial: Term Unlimited - Deccan Herald Online
Monday September 13, 2010 08:51:36 GMT
Sri Lanka's once vibrant democracy has been dealt a stunning blow
with a constitutional amendment that removes the two-term
restrictions on the Presidency. This means that pr esident Mahinda
Rajapaksa, the first beneficiary of the 18th amendment, can be
president for life, subject to re-election.The amendment also gives
the president the authority to appoint top judges and other public
officials, including heads of independent bodies such as the human
rights commission, the election commission and the public service
commission, unrestricted by a legal veto. Even before this
amendment, the powers of the Sri Lankan president were immense as
they could dissolve parliament, hold as many portfolios as they
wished and claimed complete immunity from the rule of law.The 18th
amendment gives a substantial boost to these powers. As worrying as
the implications of the amendment for Sri Lanka's democracy is the
manner in which it was passed by parliament. Listed as an 'urgent
bill', the amendment was tabled and passed in 10 days only. Clearly
the government, which has a clear majority in parliament anyway,
wanted no legal challenges to stop or slow its attem pt to push Sri
Lanka down the road to authoritarian rule.That Rajapaksa is popular
among the Sinhalese majority, especially since the defeat of the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009, is undoubted.
However, the manner in which he has been systematically building a
cult around himself, one that gives him god-like status, is
distasteful. He and his family control the levers of power in Sri
Lanka today, holding powerful positions as ministers and as heads of
corporations.Any threat to Rajapaksa's rule has been snuffed out;
the fate of former army chief, Lt Gen Sarat Fonseka is a telling
example of what happens to those who challenge the president.
Critics in the media have been severely dealt with. It is in the
context of this dramatic expansion of Rajapaksa's grip over power
that the 18th amendment must be seen. It paves the way for
perpetuation of the rule of an all-powerful president.The
possibility of Rajapaksa doing away with the fig leaf of periodic
elect ions now looms over Sri Lanka which is on its way to becoming
a full-fledged authoritarian dictatorship. The developments in the
island are of concern not only to the people of Sri Lanka but for
India and for democrats across the world.
(Description of Source: Bangalore Deccan Herald online in English --
Website of independent daily with good coverage of South India,
particularly Karnataka; URL: www.deccanherald.com)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
48) Back to Top
Eight killed in Maoists' shutdown in six Indian states - PTI News
Agency
Monday September 13, 2010 07:34:38 GMT
Text of rep ort by Indian news agency PTIJhargram/Raipur, 13
September: A two-day bandh (strike) called by the Maoists in six
states on Monday (13 September) began on a bloody note with Naxals
(Maoists) killing two policemen in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district
and five CPI-M (Communist Party of India -M) supporters in West
Bengal's West Midnapore district.The ultras also blew up a stretch
of railway track near Karmavad railway station in Giridih district
in the wee hours.The blast, which occurred around 2am, destroyed a
metre-long track besides wheels of a goods train, Divisional Railway
Manager, (Dhanbad Railway Division), A Upadhaya, said here.In West
Midnapore district, a group of Maoists attacked Dompara area in
Nachupatina village close to the Orissa border and dragged out five
Marxist supporters, including four of a family, from their houses
and assaulted them before shooting them dead last night, police
sources said.One of the victims was identified as Amrit Aagyuan,
whose mothe r was also injured in the attack while resisting the
Maoists. The others belonging to the same family were Rohin Aagyun,
Samaresh Aagyuan, Swapan Aagyuan and Prasanta Aagyuan.In Dantewada
district in Chhattisgarh, the Maoists attacked Bhejji police station
and shot dead two policemen, who were preparing to go out on a
patrol, after an exchange of fire this morning, police officials
said.On Sunday night, Maoists shot dead a man at Panchadumar village
in Jharkhand's Garhwa district, police sources said.The bandh has
been called in West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chattishgarh,
Andhra Pradesh, besides Gadchiroli, Bhandara and Chadrapur districts
of Maharashtra and Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh by top Maoist
leader Kishenji.The shutdown has been called to press for a probe
into the death of top Naxal leader Cherakuri Rajkumar alias Azad who
was killed in an encounter with the police on 2 July in Adilabad
district of Andhra Pradesh.(Description of Source: New Delhi PT I
News Agency in English )
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
49) Back to Top
Indian Daily Report Says Assam Government Faces Debt Worth $4.9
Billion
Report by Manoj Anand: Assam Govt Reels Under Debt Worth Rs.
22,881cr - The Asian Age Online
Monday September 13, 2010 07:34:37 GMT
(Description of Source: New Delhi The Asian Age online in English --
Website of the daily The Asian Age, with its flagship edition in New
Delhi; also published from Kolkata, Mumbai, and London. Run by T.
Venkattram Reddy, the owner of Hyderabad-based Deccan Chronicle
group. Maintains pro-government, centrist editor ial policy.
Chronicle and Age share editorial content and their combined
circulation is claimed to be 1 million; URL: www.asianage.com)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
50) Back to Top
Islamists Attack Victim Says Church Inventing Stories To Justify
Dismissal
Report by VR Jayaraj: "'Church Inventing Stories to Justify Self'" -
The Pioneer Online
Monday September 13, 2010 07:11:17 GMT
(Description of Source: New Delhi The Pioneer Online in English --
Website of the pro-Bharatiya Janata Party daily, favors
nationalistic foreign and economic policies. Circulation for its
five edition s is approximately 160,000, with its core audience in
Lucknow and Delhi; URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
51) Back to Top
Russia To Provide Indian Air Force With Latest Types Of Weapons -
Interfax-AVN Online
Monday September 13, 2010 07:10:58 GMT
intervention)
NEW DELHI. Sept 13 (Interfax-AVN) - India has always been and will
be Russia's strategic partner, and Russia is willing to provide it
with latest types of weapons, Russian Air Force Commander Col. Gen.
Alexander Zelin said in summing up outcomes of his five-day visit to
India."The Indian Air Force has a great future ahead with our MiG-35
and Su-30 planes primarily because Russia is willing to provide it
with the latest types of weapons, which - I would like to stress it
- have no analogues anywhere in the world," Zelin said."This chiefly
concerns missiles that we will start installing on Indian combat
planes in the near future," Zelin said. He did not specify, however,
what particular missiles he implied.(Description of Source: Moscow
Interfax-AVN Online in English -- Website of news service devoted to
military news and owned by the independent Interfax news agency;
URL: http://www.militarynews.ru)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
52) Back to Top
Indian Army Warns Govt of 'Renewed' Infiltration Attempts in Kashmir
by Militants
Report by Rahul Datta and Mohit Kandhari: "Mercenaries Back in
Valley" - The Pioneer Online
Monday September 13, 2010 07:09:31 GMT
(Description of Source: New Delhi The Pioneer Online in English --
Website of the pro-Bharatiya Janata Party daily, favors
nationalistic foreign and economic policies. Circulation for its
five editions is approximately 160,000, with its core audience in
Lucknow and Delhi; URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
53) Back to Top
Delhi Article Views Kashm iri Reaction to Farooq Abdullah's Anti-
Secession Speech
Article by Inayat Jehangir: "New Slogans" -- text in boldface as
formatted by source - Force Online
Monday September 13, 2010 07:19:26 GMT
National Conference president and Union minister Farooq Abdullah may
have earned a few brownie points with the rest of the country by
claiming that no Kashmiri wants to secede from India but he has
drawn ire of Kashmiris -- from Separatists to mainstream opposition
parties to the common masses.
Hard line Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, while
expressing views on Abdullah's statement in the Lok Sabha, dared the
former chief minister to take a walk around Lal Chowk for just five
minutes. "Abdullah's statement is an extreme case of buffoonery and
a bundle of lies. He should think more of his family's safety than
talking of Kashmir as he has lost his ground in Kashmir," Geelani
said.
The octogenarian separatist leader said if the claims made by
Abdullah were true, India should have no objection in holding
referendum in Kashmir. "Our fundamental demand is that plebiscite
should be held to ascertain view of Kashmiris so that it becomes
clear whether or not they want to live with India," he said.
He referred to the visit of Abdullah's son and chief minister Omar
Abdullah to SKIMS hospital to meet the persons injured in security
forces firing. "Omar Abdullah had to fly in a helicopter to cover a
distance of eight kilometers as the roads were not safe for him and
even when he reached the hospital he was booed away."
The Chairman of the moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz
Umar Farooq said the National Conference president was trying to be
'more loyal than the king' in his efforts to appease New Delhi.
"It is ironical that the party which has been in power for over six
decades has deliberately failed to acknowledge the aspirations of
Kashmiris mainly to show loyalty to India and satiate its vested
interests," Mirwaiz said.
The Hurriyat dove said it was 'shame' on part of leaders like
Abdullah, who claim to represent Kashmiris and yet ignore the
genuine aspirations for self determination among the people of the
state. "On the contrary, an MP from Hyderabad vociferously and from
the core of his heart acknowledged that innocents are being killed
in Kashmir and expressed serious concern over it. We want to tell
leaders like Farooq that for God's sake stop exploiting Kashmir
issue for their personal interests," he said.
The Chairperson of Dukhtaran-e-Millat Aasiya Andrabi castigated
National Conference president for claiming that autonomy was the
solution to the Kashmir dispute. "At a time when the Kashmiris
including children have only one objective and slogan of 'Quit Jammu
Kashmir', Abdullah's claim tha t they want autonomy is nothing more
than a bundle of lies. This has exposed the evil designs of National
Conference," Andrabi said.
The radical woman leader said Abdullah's statement was a blessing in
disguise as more and more people have started pledging support to
the ongoing 'Quit Jammu and Kashmir Movement'. "We have received
numerous phone calls from all sections of the society since Abdullah
made the speech in Indian Parliament, pledging support for 'Quit
Jammu Kashmir Movement'. The overwhelming support to ongoing
movement from over past three months has made it clear that this
movement does not belong to any individual but whole Kashmir. People
have taken vow that unless India accept the disputed nature of
Kashmir, the agitation will continue," she added.
Although opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) chose not to
react initially to the statement made by the president of arch rival
National Conference, a party spokesman told FORCE t hat the
statement of the union minister was, at the least, provocative and
would not help in improving the situation. "After having brought the
state on the brink of one of the worst crisis, the National
Conference leadership has now resorted to provocation, which is not
going to help in improving the situation in the state," Nayeem
Akhtar, PDP C hief spokesman, said.
The man on the street, however, is neither amused nor surprised at
the 'theatrics' of the former chief minister in the Lok Sabha.
"There is nothing new in what he has said.... He does it all the
time when he is Delhi and sings altogether a different tune when
back in Srinagar," Muzaffar Ahmad Bhat, a businessman, said.
While Abdullah was more brazen at misrepresenting the ground
situation of Kashmir in New Delhi, Bhat said every mainstream
politician from the state was doing the same. "Otherwise, how is it
possible that the decision makers in New Delhi do not know that peo
ple of Kashmir want azadi -- independence -- to decide their
destiny, once for all," he added.
(Description of Source: New Delhi Force Online in English --
Internet-based version of an independent monthly national security
and defense magazine focusing on issues impacting the Indian defense
forces; weapon and equipment procurement; missiles and delivery
systems; and counterterrorism; URL: http://www.forceindia.net)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
54) Back to Top
Visiting Minister Urges Indian Govt To Rein in Illegal Immigrations
to Canada
Report by Ramesh Ramachandran: Canada Battles Indian Visa Frauds -
The Asian Age Online
Monday September 13, 2010 07:11:20 GMT
(Description of Source: New Delhi The Asian Age online in English --
Website of the daily The Asian Age, with its flagship edition in New
Delhi; also published from Kolkata, Mumbai, and London. Run by T.
Venkattram Reddy, the owner of Hyderabad-based Deccan Chronicle
group. Maintains pro-government, centrist editorial policy.
Chronicle and Age share editorial content and their combined
circulation is claimed to be 1 million; URL: www.asianage.com)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by
the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the
copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS,
US Dept. of Commerce.
--
Animesh