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US DRAMA Enacted once again to Please Indian Free Market Democracy and ruling Manusmriti Hegemony Zionist as US talks Tough with Pak, Hillary delivers Chilling Warning!

US DRAMA Enacted once again to Please Indian Free Market Democracy and ruling Manusmriti Hegemony Zionist as US talks Tough with Pak, Hillary delivers Chilling Warning!

Dead bodies of CRPF personnel in Raipur for state funeral! Chidambaram`s corporate War has become an EXTENDED BOOBY Trap for the Security forces despite NASA, PENTAGON, World Bank fed NGO CIVIL SOCIETY INTELLIGENTSIA and FDI fed Pet Media Support! Thanks , Parliamentary Budget Guillotine Session is Over!


Sanskriti Express flagged off from Howrah!Mind you, the Democratic  Demagogues Marxist Brahmins ruling Bengal for Three Decades have already killed the Democratic Process and welcomed the Butcher of Vietnam as well as Israeli diplomat to FETCH US Nuclear Plant, Chemical Industries and Foreign capital to Kill the Indigenous Aboriginal Communities ! The Hegemony factions led by Mamata and Marxists are Indulged in INVOKING Anglo Saxon colonial Bengali Brahaminical Nationality for Ethnic Cleansing with PACHISHE BAISHAKH Hype already set in for a Full Year and Bengali Manusmriti Virus OUT on Monopolistic Aggression against the People of India as KEERNAHAR Brahamin Pranab Mukherjee Manages the Floor very well for the Final Kill in India Incs government Set Up led by Extra Constitutional Elements!



Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - THREE HUNDRED SIXTY Five

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

A poetic selling point
- Rabindranath featured in over 100 advertisements, promoting ghee to face creams to harmoniums

Today begins the celebration of Rabindranath's 150th year and the poet is everywhere. His face adorns even an ad for ringtones. But in his lifetime, too, Tagore was a man much featured in advertisements. The poet, when he was alive, was as popular in Bengali advertisement as Shah Rukh Khan is to Indian ads today. The similarity ends there.

The poet is estimated to have featured in more than a hundred advertisements. Arunkumar Roy, who is researching Tagore in advertisements, says that going through publications between 1889 and 1941, the year of Tagore's death, he came across about 90 such advertisements. From ghee to skin creams to sweets to harmoniums, Tagore endorsed a wide range of products. Advertisers used his celebrity the way they use that of film actors and cricketers now, says Roy, who edits Purasree, the monthly magazine of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation.

There would, of course, be several factors that would distinguish a Tagore ad. For one, he is not known to have charged in crores or their equivalent amount a century ago; two, he endorsed a product to often push the nationalist agenda; three, though the ads were tiny pieces of work, they would often hint at the power Tagore had over words. They were laconic, often almost matter-of-fact, but a wry sense of humour could break through them.

In the well-known ad for Jalajoga, Tagore says: "I tasted the sweetmeat prepared by Jalajoga. It is satisfying. It has a distinct taste, which is why it is to be appreciated. The curd (dadhi) that was served with it deserves special praise." Jalajoga is not famous for its sweets any more. It is known for its cakes, if at all.

The nationalist agenda surfaces in the ad for Radium Cream, which does not survive, or Sri Ghrita, one Bengali institution that does survive. About Sri Ghrita, Tagore says: "With the decline in the standard of ghee in Bengal, the decline in the condition of livers has become inevitable. I wish that Sri Ghrita drives away this malady and helps Bengalis lead a better life." About Radium Cream, he says: "Those who use beauty products like snow and cream or eau de cologne, on using the products manufactured by the Radium factory will find no difference between them and foreign products" and encouraging this "swadeshi enterprise" was a "duty".

Tagore had also endorsed Napier's Paint Works ("The founder of this factory who through difficult steps has reached a remarkable height of success deserves the gratitude of his countrymen"), a young artiste from Senola Records, paper merchants Bholanath Dutt & Sons Ltd ("Sjt. Bholanath Dutt should inspire our unemployed youngmen with hope and courage") and Dwarkin's Harmonium. Of these the record company is extinct, the paper business is almost extinct and Dwarkin's Harmonium has had to face some music.

Tagore had also written a tribute to Haren Ghosh after his death. Ghosh was an impresario whose office was at 8 Dharamtala Street.

Rabindranath was not alone. He was the most popular choice when it came to promoting a product. The use of his name was unparalleled in advertisements, says Roy. With Tagore, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were popular choices too.

The ads occurred most frequently in magazines and journals such as Probasi, Basumati, Calcutta Municipal Gazette, Bhandar, Shonibarer Chithi, Sadhana, Tattvabodhini Patrika, etc., and in the newspapers Anandabazar Patrika, Amritabazar Patrika, The Statesman and Advance. Among newspapers, the largest number of advertisements appeared in Anandabazar Patrika.

Roy says that Tagore's presence in advertisements is one aspect of his life and works that has not been discussed and hopes for further research in this area.

 

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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100509/jsp/calcutta/story_12428643.jsp

Dead bodies of CRPF personnel in Raipur for state funeral!Pakistani-American suspect in the failed Times Square bombing was likely working with the militant Taliban movement in Pakistan, President Barack Obama's top terrorism adviser said Sunday.Officials in the White House and Democratic Party officials are reportedly working on US First Lady Michelle Obama to take on a more proactive political role.The bungled car bombing attempt in Times Square with suspected links to the Pakistani Taliban has resulted in Washington and the Obama Administration being confronted by a new and disturbing, question - Have the stepped-up attacks in Pakistan - notably the Predator drone strikes - actually made Americans less safe? Nine months ago, US President Barack Obama's strategy review saw only Al Qaeda

US DRAMA Enacted once again to Please Indian Free Market Democracy and ruling Manusmriti Hegemony Zionist as US talks Tough with Pak, Hillary delivers Chilling Warning!The United States has warned Pakistan of "very severe consequences" if a successful terror attack in America was traced back to that country. The Obama administration has delivered new and stiff warnings to Pakistan after the failed Times Square terror plot that it must urgently move against the nexus of Islamic militancy in the lawless tribal regions, American and Pakistani officials said.At Home back in India, Maoists killed eight Central Reserve Police Force jawans in a mine blast in Chhattisgarh on Saturday. This was the first major attack on the CRPF since the massacre of 76 men from the force little more than a month ago.Chidambaram`s corporate War has become an EXTENDED BOOBY Trap for the Security force's despite NASA, PENTAGON, World Bank fed NGO CIVIL SOCIETY INTELLIGENTSIA and FDI fed Pet Media Support! Thanks , Parliamentary Budget Guillotine Session is Over!
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Meanwhile, RSS takes control of the JHARKHANDI Part of Aboriginal Tribal landscape and well set to replicate SALWA JUDUM to SELL India!The BJP will head a new coalition govt in Jharkand with ruling alliance partners JMM and AJSU announcing their support ending the crisis but questions remained over rotating chief ministership. BJP Parliamentary Board will meet on Monday to decide its CM.
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Mind you, the Democratic  Demagogues Marxist Brahmins ruling Bengal for Three Decades have already killed the Democratic Process and welcomed the Butcher of Vietnam as well as Israeli diplomat to FETCH US Nuclear Plant, Chemical Industries and Foreign capital to Kill the Indigenous Aboriginal Communities ! The Hegemony factions led by Mamata and Marxists are Indulged in INVOKING Anglo Saxon colonial Bengali Brahaminical Nationality for Ethnic Cleansing with PACHISHE BAISHAKH Hype already set in for a Full Year and Bengali Manusmriti Virus OUT on Monopolistic Aggression against the People of India as KEERNAHAR Brahamin Pranab Mukherjee Manages the Floor very well for the Final Kill in India Incs government Set Up led by Extra Constitutional Elements!

Sanskriti Express flagged off from Howrah!

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Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Sunday flagged off the Sanskriti Express exhibition train from Howrah station as part of the celebrations of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary and to showcase his life and philosophy.

The five-coach train, adorned with various literary creations and paintings of Tagore, will touch important stations in various parts of the country before returning to Kolkata May 8 next year.


'It is our tribute to Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary. This train will travel across India for one year. This train will carry various literary creations and paintings of Kabiguru,' said Banerjee at the flag off ceremony in the presence of several intellectuals and artists.


The five air-conditioned coaches have been modified at the Liluah Railway Workshop in Howrah to depict Tagore's achievements and thoughts.


The first coach, named 'Jibon Smriti', will depict the life of Tagore through photographs, while the second 'Gitanjali' will exhibit his poems and songs.


'Jogajog'/'Muktodhara' will exhibit his literature, the fourth 'Chitrarekha' will depict paintings of Tagore and other eminent artists. The last 'Smaranika' will exhibit and sell handicraft and other items from Santiniketan, founded by the poet.


Singer Dwijen Mukhopadhaya, veteran dancer Amala Shanker, leading theatre actor and Railway Committee on Heritage & Culture chairperson Shaoli Mitra, painter Suvaprasana and writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay were among those felicitated by Banerjee on the occasion.


'We will construct a Rabindra Museum at Howrah and Gitanjali Museum at Bolpur. We will also form a cultural promotion board of railways just like its sports promotion board.


The board members will be constituted by Suvaprasana, Shaoli Mitra, Bratya Basu, and many other intellectuals,' said Banerjee.


'We are also having plans to open rail service between Epar Bangla (West Bengal) and Opar Bangla (Bangladesh). We want a union of the culture and traditions of the two Bengals,' she added.


Tagore, who was born in 1861 and died in 1941, is among the most revered writers in the world who churned out poems, plays, songs, novels and short stories. He was the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in 1913.

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The bodies of personnel of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), who were killed in a Maoist attack in the Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh, were brought to the state capital Raipur on Sunday, where they will be given a state funeral.

Talking to the reporters, Superintendent of Police Om Prakash Pal, provided details of the last rites.


"The soldiers, who were killed yesterday in CRPF, Bijapur, their last rites would take place here. They will be given a state funeral after which their bodies will be sent to their respective families," Pal said.


He also revealed the states to which the eight dead soldiers belonged to.

"Yes, it has a soldier from Chhattisgarh, and he is a resident of Kareli village in Tilda Neora area. Apart from this, the soldiers are from different states, one is from Assam, one is from UP (Uttar Pradesh), one is from Tamil Nadu, two are from Rajasthan, and two are from Madhya Pradesh," Pal said.


The eight Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a landmine attack on Saturday evening.


One CRPF constable and two civilians on a motorcycle were also injured in the explosion.


The Maoists, described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the country's biggest internal security threat, started their armed struggle in the Naxalbari town of West Bengal in 1967. Hence the name Naxalites, and over the past four decades, they have expanded their support among farmers by tapping into resentment at the government's pro-industry push.


The Maoists say they are crusading against the prevailing political system and in cause of the poor and marginal farmers and landless labourers.

They have spread into rural pockets in 20 of India's 28 states and the movement has upset business prospects worth billions of dollars in mining industries in central and eastern India.

The Pakistani Taliban is suspected to be behind the failed bid to bomb New York's Times Square last Saturday. If proven, it would be the group's first act in the US.

"We've made it very clear that if - heaven forbid - an attack like this that we can trace back to Pakistan were to have been successful, there would be very severe consequences," said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday in an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes.

Her remarks came in the backdrop of the arrest of Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad, 30, who has been charged with driving the crude homemade bomb into Manhattan. While he has reportedly told authorities that he acted alone, investigators have uncovered possible links to the Pakistani Taliban and a Kashmiri Islamist group. Shahzad has admitted to the failed plot and to receiving training in Pakistan's North Waziristan region.

The American military commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley A McChrystal, met the Pakistani military chief, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, in Islamabad on Friday and urged Pakistan to move more quickly in beginning a military offensive against the Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda in North Waziristan, Americans and Pakistanis familiar with the visit said.

The new pressure from Washington was characterised by both the Pakistani and American officials as a sharp turnaround from the relatively polite encouragement adopted by the Obama administration in recent months. "We are saying, 'sorry, if there is a successful attack, we will have to act'," said one of the American officials.

According to another American official, General Kayani was essentially told that "you can't pretend any longer that this is not going on...we are saying you have got to go into North Waziristan."

The American ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, met Pakistan's President, Asif Ali Zardari, after the failed bombing and used "forceful" language to convey the American point that the Pakistanis had to move more assertively against the militants threaded through the society, a Pakistani official said.

Meanwhile, Clinton acknowledged that Pakistan has become far more helpful in fighting terrorists during the past year. "We've gotten more cooperation. It's been a real sea change in the commitment we have seen from the Pakistani government. We want more, we expect more," Clinton said in the interview to be aired on Sunday. Excerpts were released on Friday.

"We also have a much better relationship, military to military, intelligence to intelligence, government to government than we had before," said Clinton. "I think that there was a double game going on in the previous years, where we got a lot of lip service but very little produced," she said.

Army undertakes recruitment drive in Kashmir Valley

Kupwara (Jammu and Kashmir), May 9 (ANI): The Indian Army is conducting a recruitment rally in the Kupwara District of Jammu and Kashmir to provide an opportunity to unemployed youth to join.

The rally is being conducted in phases. Currently, it is being held at the headquarters of 28 Infantry Division in Kupwara.

"We started the recruitment rally on April 30. The phase one of the rally was conducted in Tangdhar and Vajra Shakti Bridage (It involves exercising an infantry division and an independent mechanized brigade of 11 Corps). They requested us and you know that it is a difficult and remote region of the country. The second phase is being conducted here in Trigram, as you can see. This is the Vajra Division; the rally is being conducted here on their request," said Brigadier K D Malhotra, 28 Infantry Division, Kupwara.

He also said that several candidates have turned up in spite of bad weather. Passion for joining the army could be seen in every candidate, he added.

"Sir, I would love to join the army. I had a brother who was in the army. One day we went to a forest just like that, where he was shot dead in front of me. That day, I took a pledge to join the army. I feel that even if I have to sacrifice my life, I would do that because I have seen so much," said Ghulam Qadir, a candidate.

Unemployment is a major problem in the border and militancy prone areas of the Kashmir Valley. Such rallies are seen as a good opportunity for the unemployed young generation of the region.

Such rallies are held more in the backward and underdeveloped areas of Kashmir like Tangdhar, Gurez, Keran, Machil. (ANI)


Tripura pays tribute to Tagore on his 150th birth centenary

Oneindia - ‎2 hours ago‎
Agartala (Tripura), May 9 (ANI): Morning processions and cultural programmes on Sunday marked the beginning of year-long celebrations of the 150th birth ...

Railways pay tribute to Tagore by launching exhibition train

Oneindia - ‎2 hours ago‎
Howrah (WB), May 9 (ANI): Indian Railways launched a special exhibition train, called the 'Sanskriti Express' to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of ...

Government to rekindle interest in Tagore's rich legacy: PM

Hindustan Times - ‎4 hours ago‎
Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore used art as a bridge to connect the individual with the world at large, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday ...


...Laureate Rabindranath Tagore used art as a bridge to connect the individual with the world at large, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday adding that the government has set up a panel to "rekindle public interest in Gurudev's rich cultural legacy".
more by Manmohan Singh - 4 hours ago - Hindustan Times (10 occurrences)


Birth anniversary events will befit Tagore's legacy: Manmohan Singh

The Hindu - ‎8 hours ago‎
PTI The Hindu Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with BJP Leader LKAdvani, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj on the 150th ...

Tagore loved northeast and it loves him back

Times of India - ‎8 hours ago‎
It is yesterday once more in the northeast cultural calendar as the region brushes the dust off its ties with Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, ...

Tagore's birth anniversary, but its hardly a reason for Mumbai to celebrate

Daily News & Analysis - Ranjib Mazumdar - ‎9 hours ago‎
Mumbai: India's first Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary is being celebrated today, as per the Bengali calendar. ...

Nobel for a school dropout

NDTV.com - ‎12 hours ago‎
Today is the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindra Nath Tagore, an event that the country will celebrate over the next 12 months. Among those marking the day ...

Tagore flavour, Bengal to Paris

Times of India - Arnab Ganguly, Someswar Boral - ‎14 hours ago‎
SANTINIKETAN: From Santiniketan to Paris, Visva-Bharati wants Rabindranath Tagore's sesquicentennial celebrations to leave a permanent mark. ...

Rabindra Sangeet to get in tune with times

Times of India - Prithvijit Mitra - ‎17 hours ago‎
It began with "Charulata", and a rendition of "Ami chini go chini" by Kishore Kumar in 1964. Some Tagore scholars and members of the Visva Bharati music ...

Santiniketan, Tagore's dream, breathing its last?

Times of India - Arnab Ganguly, Mainak Sain - ‎17 hours ago‎
SANTINIKETAN: In the twilight years of his life, Rabindranath Tagore was an extremely worried man. The future of Visva Bharati — the most precious of his ...

Timeline of articles

Timeline of articles
Number of sources covering this story

Government to rekindle interest in Tagore's rich legacy: PM
‎4 hours ago‎ - Hindustan Times

Tagore loved northeast and it loves him back
‎8 hours ago‎ - Times of India

Rabindranath Tagore's tunes still a hit with Bengal's young
‎May 7, 2010‎ - Daily News & Analysis

Poll code: Tagore train to give Bengal a miss
‎May 6, 2010‎ - Times of India

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Daily News & An...
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Thaindian.com
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indiablooms
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U.S. says Pakistani Taliban behind bomb attempt

Sun, May 9 06:28 PM

This undated image, obtained from orkut.com on May 4, 2010, shows Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American... Enlarge Photo This undated image, obtained from orkut.com on May 4, 2010, shows Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American...

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Sunday that the Pakistani Taliban was behind the attempted Times Square car bombing in New York.

"We've now developed evidence that show the Pakistani Taliban was behind the attack," Holder said in an interview on ABC television's "This Week."

Holder said there was nothing to suggest that the government of Pakistan was aware that Faisal Shahzad, 30, a naturalized American citizen born in Pakistan, intended to make the attempt.

Shahzad was arrested last Monday, two days after authorities say he parked a crude car bomb in New York's busy Times Square.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville)

Mine fools scanners, blows up 8
- CRPF bleeds again as Maoists target highway

Raipur, May 8: As many as eight central paramilitary jawans fell prey to a Maoist landmine on a bustling national highway in Chhattisgarh this evening, the bomb escaping a road opening party that had combed the stretch a few hours ago.

The death of the CRPF personnel came a little over a month after 76 policemen were cut down in the same state in the worst massacre of security forces in the country and raised questions about the promises made then to plug lethal loopholes.

Today's attack in Bijapur district also added a menacing factor to the Maoist offensive: rarely has a national highway been picked out in the state for such a bloody carnage and that too at the evening rush hour.

Two civilians who were on a bike nearby were injured in the blast, which tossed the vehicle carrying the jawans several feet in the air. The vehicle broke into pieces as it landed in an eight-foot crater created by the explosion, officials said.

The powerful blast took place on NH-16 that connects Nizamabad in Andhra Pradesh with Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh. The site is around 100km from Dantewada, where the 75 CRPF jawans and their police guide were massacred on April 6.

The dead have been identified as Santosh Chaurasia (sub-inspector), Hazarilal (head constable), H.K. Ghosh (head constable from Assam), M. Subramanium (head constable) and Tekram Verma, Rakesh Meena, Santosh Chauhan and Salab Singh (constables).

They were travelling in what officials said was an "armoured vehicle" — another instance that suggests the guerrillas have figured out the quantity of explosives needed to smash through the barrier.

In Dantewada, too, the Maoists had blown up a vehicle, variously described as mine-protected and armoured. Even if protected, the vehicles can withstand the impact of only a certain amount of explosives.

However, the oversight that appeared most glaring was the ineffective presence of the road opening party, which is supposed to sanitise roads.

"Senior officials were visiting Awapalli (the scheduled destination of the jawans) and an opening party was at work on the road," an official said. However, the road opening party failed to spot the mine.

The jawans were heading to Awapalli for administrative work. The nature of the assignment and the absence of any Maoist strike on the stretch for over four months could have made the group complacent, sources said.

In the morning, there was heavy movement of security personnel in the area. But the rebels waited till evening, by when the jawans might have been convinced that the area was safe.

When the vehicle reached Peddakodepal, about 9km from Bijapur, the mine was detonated. "Six jawans died on the spot, one succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital," deputy inspector-general of police (intelligence) Pawan Deo said. Another jawan died later.

The site of the explosion has alarmed security agencies. "We have to investigate how the Maoists managed to plant mines on a national highway and trigger the blast," inspector-general of police R.K. Vij said.

The sources said the rebels could have planted the mine months ago, and waited waiting for an opportunity to wreak maximum damage.

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  • Mine fools scanners, blows up 8
  • At Pak doorstep, penetration drill
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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100509/jsp/frontpage/story_12428740.jsp

Dead bodies of CRPF personnel in Raipur for state funeral

Oneindia - ‎30 minutes ago‎
Raipur (Chhattisgarh), May 9 (ANI): The bodies of personnel of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), who were killed in a Maoist attack in the Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh, were brought to the state capital Raipur on Sunday, ...

Blasts waiting to happen: Many bombs under roads in Naxal area

Daily News & Analysis - ‎4 hours ago‎
PTI For example, the explosive device which killed eight CRPF jawans in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district yesterday was probably planted deep under the road at the time when the road was being constructed, official sources said. ...

Bodies of CRPF personnel killed in Maoist attack being brought to Raipur

Oneindia - ‎2 hours ago‎
Bijapur, May 9 (ANI): Bodies of Central Reserve Police Force personnel, who were killed in a Maoist attack in Bijapur district, were airlifted to Raipur for being given state honours on Sunday. Eight CRPF personnel of 168 Battalion, including a driver, ...

Maoists have massively mined Chhattisgarh forests: Police

Economic Times - ‎8 hours ago‎
RAIPUR: A day after eight paramilitary troopers were killed in a landmine blast by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, a top police official said the guerrillas have massively mined the state's forested areas and it was difficult to de-mine the ...

CRPF commandant suspended for supplying ammo to Maoists

Times of India - ‎May 7, 2010‎
Even as the CRPF instituted a court of inquiry into the illegal sale of weapons and ammunition to the Maoists, a commandant of the CRPF at the group centre in Rampur was suspended late on Thursday. The CRPF court of inquiry, led by DIG, CRPF, MK Dubey, ...

Police intensify campaign against Naxals after Bijapur attack

Daily News & Analysis - ‎3 hours ago‎
PTI Raipur: A day after eight CRPF jawans were killed by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said they have intensified campaign against the Naxals and search is on to nab the outlaws. Following yesterday's incident, Bastar police has ...

'Use army to tackle maoists menace'

Oneindia - ‎5 hours ago‎
Raipur, May 9: A day after Naxals killed 8 CRPF personnel in Bijapur district of Chattisgrah, the state Home Minister asked the Center to seek Army's help in tackling the Maoists menace in the district. "As per my knowledge six people have been killed ...

C'garh forest heavily mined by Maoists: Police

Oneindia - ‎6 hours ago‎
Raipur, May 9: In the wake of the Maoists attack on CRPF, a top police official said that the state's forest areas were heavily mined by the rebels and it was difficult to de-mine the vast area. "The big problem is we have no technology and resources ...

Maoists blow up CRPF truck, 8 killed

Indian Express - ‎10 hours ago‎
A Little over a month after they killed 75 CRPF personnel in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, Maoist rebels struck the paramilitary force again in the state on Saturday, triggering a powerful landmine blast that killed eight CRPF personnel traveling ...

Maoists blast CRPF vehicle; 8 jawans killed

Oneindia - ‎11 hours ago‎
Raipur, May 9: In a gruesome reminder of Dantewada massacre,eight jawans were killed on Saturday, May 8, when the armed rebels blew up their vehicle in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district. "The Maoists blew up a bullet-proof vehicle in the Koretal forested ...

Timeline of articles

Timeline of articles
Number of sources covering this story

Dead bodies of CRPF personnel in Raipur for state funeral
‎30 minutes ago‎ - Oneindia

Naxals strike again, kill 8 of CRPF in Chhattisgarh
‎May 8, 2010‎ - IBNLive.com

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Seven CRPF jawans killed in Naxal attack in Bijapur
Asian News International (ANI)  -  2 hours ago Watch video



Chhattisgarh: CRPF jawans killed in landmine blast
NDTV.com  -  6 hours ago Watch video



Naxals strike again, 8 CRPF jawans killed in Bijapur
NewsX  -  7 hours ago Watch video




UK Conservatives seek ways to govern with Lib Dems
un, May 9 06:38 PM Britain's Conservative Party leader David Cameron (R) and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg stand during... Enlarge Photo Britain's Conservative Party leader David Cameron (R) and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg stand during...

Britain's Conservatives entered detailed talks with the smaller Liberal Democrats on Sunday to look for ways to form a government, under pressure to make progress before nervous financial markets reopen on Monday.

David Cameron's Conservatives won the most seats in Thursday's parliamentary election but fell short of a majority and are seeking the support of Nick Clegg's third-placed Liberal Democrats, or Lib Dems, to end 13 years of Labour Party rule.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose Labour came a distant second, remains in office in a caretaker role. He stands ready to try for an alliance with the Liberal Democrats if they are unable to agree with the Conservatives.

The election was the first since 1974 to give no party overall control. It has come at a time when Britain's budget deficit is running at a peacetime record of more than 11 percent of national output, unnerving financial markets.

They want to see a stable government emerge as quickly as possible and start aggressively cutting the deficit.

"We are very conscious of the need to provide the country with a new, stable and legitimate government as soon as possible," said senior Conservative William Hague, one of the small team negotiating with the Lib Dems, as talks resumed.

"The initial meeting we had on Friday night and the meeting between the party leaders last night were both very constructive, very positive, very respectful of each other's positions in the nature of those meetings.

"So we are going into these negotiations very much in that spirit today," Hague told reporters.

The Lib Dems said the first rounds of talks had been mostly about process and Sunday's meeting would be the longest negotiation on substantive issues so far. Neither Cameron nor Clegg were attending the talks on Sunday.

"MOOD IS GOOD"

The greatest stumbling block may well be electoral reform, a long-cherished ambition of the Lib Dems who would win far more seats if Britain switched from its winner-takes-all system to proportional representation.

Opinion polls in Sunday's newspapers suggested most Britons favoured a more proportional system of voting, but the Conservatives are firmly opposed to such a change.

The parties must overcome other key differences on economic policy, defence, immigration and Britain's stance towards Europe, but they could find common ground on issues such as lower taxes for the poor, education and the environment.

"The mood is good, there is a willingness to try and sort things out in the national interest," Conservative education spokesman Michael Gove, one of Cameron's closest allies, told BBC television.

He said it was important the two sides showed progress by Monday when the markets open, but that any agreement would allow them to feel comfortable and that it would last.

When asked if he would be prepared to give up his chance of a ministerial post to make room for a Lib Dem and help clinch a deal, Gove replied "yes" without hesitation.

He suggested several scenarios were possible, including a minority Conservative government supported in parliament by the Lib Dems on certain key issues, a more formal coalition with ministers from both parties, or something in between.

Senior Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes sounded a note of caution, warning that positions on electoral reform were very far apart and his party was suspicious of the Conservatives.

"We are wanting to get on with this as quickly as we can, but nobody thinks we can get a deal by tomorrow ... If it takes a few days, so be it," he told the BBC.

"They have sounded superficially accommodating (on voting reform) but fundamentally pretty unreconstructed, and the further you go away from the leadership the more unreconstructed they are," Hughes said.

"So our party is very suspicious of the Tory (Conservative) party being able to deliver."

(Additional reporting by Avril Ormsby, Jodie Ginsberg and Paul Hoskins, writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Matthew Jones)

India placed on US 'watch list' on religious freedom

Thu, Apr 29 07:10 PM

Washington, April 29 (IANS) A bipartisan US panel on global religious freedom has named Pakistan and 12 other nations as 'countries of particular concern' while placing India on its 'Watch List' for the second year in succession.

In a report to the US Congress Thursday, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) termed India's progress in protecting the rights of minorities as mixed and placed it on the second category watch list.

While not rising to the statutory level under US law requiring designation as a 'country of particular concern', watch list countries require close monitoring due to the nature and extent of violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the governments, the report said.

The Indian government at various levels recognised the problem of communal violence and created some structures to address these issues, it said. 'However, justice for victims of communal violence was slow and often ineffective, thereby perpetuating a climate of impunity.

'While there was no large-scale communal violence against religious minorities during the reporting period, attacks on Christians and Muslims and their places of worship continued, along with incidences of intolerance against both,' the report said.

The USRIF, which was denied visas by India to have a spot assessment of the ground realities for the second consecutive year, urged 'the US government to integrate concern for religious freedom and related human rights into all bilateral contacts with India, and for US ambassador to India to speak out against, and seek to visit sites of, communal violence'.

In November 2009 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the US on the first state visit of the Obama administration, USCIRF wrote to President Barack Obama, urging him to raise religious freedom concerns in India with his guest.

The letter, while noting the stated commitment of the Congress party to religious tolerance, called attention to what it called the Indian government's 'inadequate responses' to violence against religious minority communities, including Christians in Orissa in 2008 and Muslims in Gujarat in 2002.

In a note of dissent, however, Felice D. Gaer, who was the USCIRF chair last year, said: 'The Commission's conclusion that the system's 'capacity and will is severely limited' and that government response to such incidents has been 'largely inadequate' seems to fly in the face of the evidence of serious measures that have been undertaken.'

Gaer argued the response of the Indian government during the past year have been significant, citing amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, establishing fast track courts to take up cases in Orissa, appropriating of funds for rebuilding and paying compensation to victims or the families, and to permitting a 10-country delegation of the European Union to travel to the region for a first-hand examination.

'I respectfully dissent from the decision to recommend that India be placed on the Commission's Watch List of countries with egregious, severe violations of religious freedom that fall short of the statutory requirement for countries of particular concern,' Gaer said.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)


ANI
Ramesh does not see climate change agreement in 2010

Beijing, May 9 (ANI): There is little prospect of a breakthrough in forging an international climate change agreement in 2010, said visiting Indian Minister for Forests and Environment Jairam Ramesh.

"So far as negotiations are concerned... the prospects of a breakthrough in 2010 are very, very remote," Ramesh told reporters here.

"I don't see any silver lining or any silver bullet anywhere which is going to lead to an agreement," he added.

"We may have a political statement in Mexico, in Cancun, we may have a little more detailing of the Copenhagen accord... but if you ask me whether we will have an international agreement in Cancun, the answer is no," the Dawn quoted him, as saying.

Major players also seem to have given up on the goal of a treaty by the year end.

The task before them is to agree to keep greenhouse gas emissions from rising more than 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the target of the Copenhagen Accord. (ANI)


Russia hosts spectacular 65th 'V-Day' parade in Red Square

Moscow, May 9 (ANI): Russia on Sunday played host to a spectacular 'Victory Day' parade that marked the 65th anniversary of its victory over Nazi Germany.

The military parade took place in the Red Square in central Moscow.

It started at 10 a.m. Moscow time when Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and the Moscow Military District Commander Valery Gerasimov inspected and saluted the troops with festival greetings.

"I congratulate you on the jubilee of the great victory," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in his address at the beginning of the parade.

"This war made us a strong nation ... We have won not simply a military victory but also a moral victory," the Xinhua news agency quoted him, as saying further.

The parade, which was accompanied by over 50 Russian and foreign military orchestras, was divided into the military personnels' march, the parade of military armaments on the ground and in the sky.

Russia's newest ground-based missile launcher, the Topol-M, and the Pantsir-S air defense system made their debut. Other weapons displayed included the Iskander-M tactical missile systems.

The climax of the parade came with the air show and the cheering from crowds on the ground.

Ten Mi-8 helicopters pioneered the fly-past presentation while hanging various kinds of flags. The helicopter formation displayed banners marking "65" and "Victory" in mid-air.

Then, a huge number "65" was displayed in the sky, with 11 Su-25 fighter jets forming the number "five" and MiG-29 fighters the number "six."

Additionally, six Su-25 fighter jets released red, white and blue smoke in the colors of the Russian flag while flying over the Red Square.

Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, were joined by leaders from over 20 countries, including China and Germany, at the Red Square to watch the grand parade that is the centerpiece of the weekend celebrations.

About 3,000 veterans of the Second World War and other domestic and foreign guests, attended the unprecedented celebrations.

Around 10,500 personnel, 159 military armaments, 127 aircraft and helicopters participated in the Red Square parade. (ANI)



Afghan, NATO soldiers among 24 killed in Afghanistan

Sun, May 9 08:07 PM

Kabul, May 9 (DPA) A NATO soldier, three Afghan army personnel and 16 insurgents were killed in separate clashes in Afghanistan, and Taliban militants beheaded four militiamen, officials said Sunday.

In the latest incident, a NATO soldier was killed in a Taliban attack in volatile southern Afghanistan Sunday, NATO military forces said in a statement.

The statement did not disclose the soldier's nationality, citing the alliance policy that does not reveal identity prior to the relevant national authorities doing so. The death took the total number of foreign troops killed so far this year in Afghanistan to 186.

Separately, a suicide squad and other fighters planned to attack a US military base in the Shindand district of the western province of Herat Saturday, Zeinudin Sharifi, an army commander for Afghan regional commandos, said.

The militants 'by chance encountered' a group of pro-government fighters, locally hired to protect their villages, Sharifi told DPA.

'The militants beheaded four of the community defence forces, but the fifth one is still missing,' he said.

Afghan commandos and US forces stationed in a nearby military base were deployed to the area and killed 10 Taliban fighters, he said.

'Four of them were suicide bombers, who were killed when their suicide vests were detonated by bullets during the fighting,' Sharifi said, adding that there were no casualties among the combined forces.

The incident came five days after nine Taliban suicide bombers stormed government installations in the western province of Nimruz, killing four people including a provincial lawmaker. The nine bombers were also killed either by their own explosives or by Afghan police.

Separately, three Afghan soldiers were killed Saturday when Taliban militants attacked their unit in the Sangin district of the southern province of Helmand, the Afghan Defence Ministry said in a statement Sunday.

In the southeastern provinces of Paktia and Paktika, Afghan and US-led coalition forces killed six Taliban militants in two separate operations Saturday, the army statement said.


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Iran hangs five for plotting bomb attacks

Five people were hanged Sunday in Tehran for plotting bomb attacks, Iranian state-run Press TV reported.

They were hanged in Tehran's Evin prison, the public prosecutor's office said.

The PJAK terrorist group, the Iranian offshoot of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), planned one of the attacks.

Three accused were arrested in 2006. Weapons and explosives were seized from their possession.

One more was arrested for planting a bomb near a military base in Tehran.

The last of the five was convicted for involvement in a deadly bombing in Shiraz city in 2008.
EU seeks mechanism to contain Greek debt crisis

European Union finance ministers called for strong action to ensure stability before a meeting on Sunday to discuss ways of ring-fencing Greece's debt crisis to stop it spreading to countries like Portugal and Spain.

European Union officials have been working out the details of a financial support mechanism that the finance ministers aim to set in motion before markets open on Monday.

"We are going to defend the euro... we have to give more stability to our guarantee," Spanish Economy Minister Elena Salgado told reporters before the Brussels talks.

Ministers of France, Finland and other countries also stressed the need to defend the euro currency.

"I think it is important that we do everything we can to stabilise the markets, to show that we are coming through one of the difficult periods, and that we are prepared to do what is necessary to ensure that we have that stability," British finance minister Alistair Darling told reporters.

Financial markets have been pounding euro zone countries with high deficits or debts as well as low economic growth, threatening to force Portugal, Spain and Ireland into a position where, like Greece, they would need to seek financial aid.

An EU summit on Friday approved $110 billion euros ($147 billion) in emergency EU/IMF loans to Greece over three years to help it over a budget crisis in exchange for austerity measures so sharp that they have already caused violent protests.

Economists estimate that if Portugal, Ireland and Spain eventually come to require similar three-year bailouts, the total cost could be some 500 billion euros.

The leaders of the 16 countries that use the single currency said on Friday after talks with the European Central Bank and the executive European Commission that they would take whatever steps were needed to protect the stability of the euro area.

They decided to ask all 27 EU countries to agree a financial mechanism to stop the Greek crisis spreading.

MARKET TURMOIL

Euro zone leaders, who have been accused of heightening market uncertainty through lack of action, agreed last week to speed budget cuts and ensure deficit targets are met this year.

"The euro zone is going through the worst crisis since its creation," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after Friday's euro zone summit in Brussels.

"The leaders have decided to put in place a European intervention mechanism to preserve the stability of the euro zone. The decisions taken will have immediate application, from the point that financial markets open on Monday morning."

Fears that a euro zone debt crisis could rock banks and the global economy like the September 2008 collapse of U.S. bank Lehman Brothers swept through markets last week, pushing global stocks to around a three-month low.

Euro zone sources said late on Friday that the new EU mechanism to stabilise markets could be funded by bonds issued by the European Commission with guarantees from euro zone states.

No details have been disclosed so far, but the sources said EU law provided a legal basis for such a mechanism.

The treaty governing the EU says that if a member of the 27-nation bloc is in difficulties caused by circumstances beyond its control, EU ministers may grant it financial assistance.

"Two mechanisms have been agreed -- one based on article 122.2 of the Treaty saying the council can help a member state with serious difficulties," one of the sources said.

"The other will enable the European Commission to go on the markets and get money with an explicit guarantee of the member states and an implicit guarantee of the ECB (European Central Bank," the source added.

A second source said: "The details of this mechanism will be agreed by Sunday and the idea is to trigger both on Sunday."

(Writing by Charles Dick)


ll Business News

All Business
  • HIGHLIGHTS - EU finance ministers' meeting on crisis mechanism
    - Reuters - Sun 09 May, 07:10 PM
    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The following are comments by European Union finance ministers and other officials on Sunday ahead of their meeting to agree on a mechanism aimed at preventing Greece's debt turmoil spreading to other...
  • Spl package for Himachal & U'khand stays, says Sharma
    - Indian Express - Sun 09 May, 06:51 PM
    Commerce minister Anand Sharma cleared the air on Saturday over the status of the special industrial package given to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in 2003, saying it has not been withdrawn. He also said Punjab and Haryana were exaggerating the...
  • Lateral, Not Literal Branding
    - Indian Express - Sun 09 May, 06:50 PM
    What s in a name? Everything, if one were to take note of the logic behind brand names of late. Lateral thinking, the element of surprise, the ability to connect and recall value branding these days is as far removed from the obvious as possible....
  • India Inc lines up for stock splits
    - Indian Express - Sun 09 May, 06:50 PM
    India Inc is on a stock split spree. Barely one month into the new financial year, the market has seen a growing number of companies, including HDFC, Sterlite, Engineers India, Tata Tea and Kotak Mahindra Bank, going for sub-division of shares....
  • SNB still aims to prevent excessive franc rise - paper
    - Reuters - Sun 09 May, 06:00 PM
    ZURICH (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank is still aiming to prevent too sharp a rise in the Swiss franc in order to avoid deflation in the Alpine economy, central bank chairman Philipp Hildebrand said in a newspaper...
  • BP seeks solution after U.S. Gulf spill plan glitch
    - Reuters - Sun 09 May, 05:30 PM
    ROBERT, La. (Reuters) - BP Plc engineers will search for a solution on Sunday after suffering a setback in an attempt to contain oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico with a huge metal dome, dashing hopes for a quick, temporary solution to a growing...


Kasab to hang on a Bihar rope

India, May 8 -- When the hangman's summon arrives for Ajmal Amir Kasab, ordered hanged by a Mumbai court, his end would come with a specially woven Buxar Manila rope around his neck.

The hangman's rope, 15-feet in length and weighing 3.75 kilograms, is a speciality of the prisoners ward of Buxar Central jail-handwoven with a special cotton thread known as the J-34 variety. The Buxar Central jail has been the sole supplier of the hangman's rope for the last one decade to each and every jail in the country.

The last order, it received was in 2005, when the Supreintendent of Tihar jail in New Delhi had asked for one in preparation for the hanging of Afzal Guru. Jail Superintendent, Jaishankar Prasad said, while no request has been placed with the rope manufacturing cell here, the rope making process does consume much time.

He said, the the J-34 thread is soaked in wax to make it soft, so that it does not get knotted. Two weaves of six thick strands on one side and 16 on the other side are interwoven to prepare the Manila rope, so preferred by executioners. The jail already has requests for 28 ropes.

If Kasab's is ordered for, it would be the 29th.


Nirupama's boyfriend charged with rape, abetting suicide

Police Saturday filed a case of cheating, rape and abetment to suicide against the boyfriend of journalist Nirupama Pathak who was found dead in her Jharkhand home April 29.

A first information report (FIR) has been filed at the Tilaiya police station of Koderma district, around 200 km from here, a police official told IANS.

'The role of Priyabhanshu (Ranjan) is being investigated. He might have tried to play foul with Nirupama,' the official said.

'He will be further interrogated and asked to come to Koderma to cooperate in the investigation. We will take the extreme step of arresting him if he does not cooperate,' the official added.

Both Nirupama, 23, and Ranjan were journalists based in New Delhi. She was a reporter in a business daily and had come home in Koderma April 19 and was due to return to New Delhi April 28.

But her reservation was cancelled and she was was found dead April 29.

Nirupama's family insists she committed suicide. But her post-mortem examination showed she was smothered to death and that she was 10-12 weeks pregnant.

Her mother Sudha was arrested Monday in connection with the death but has been allowed to perform Nirupama's last rites.

A Ranchi court Friday directed the police to lodge an FIR against Ranjan on a petition by Nirupama's mother.

She has accused Ranjan of sexually exploiting Nirupama by promising to marry her.

As soon as the order came, a joint team of Jharkhand and Delhi Police questioned Ranjan in New Delhi for over seven hours about his relationship with the dead journalist.

According to police sources, Nirupama sent 33 SMSes to Ranjan between April 19 and 28.

He has allegedly deleted all SMSes. During interrogation he denied receiving any SMS except one. He also allegedly took away the laptop and diaries from Nirupama's Delhi house when she went to Koderma.

The family has admitted they were opposed to Nirupama's planned marriage with Ranjan, her former batchmate at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC).

According to police sources, the three-doctor team that conducted Nirupama's autopsy did not mention the time of death. They also did not preserve the viscera and foetus.

Nirupama's father Dharmendra Pathak and brother Samrendra are government officers in Gonda and Mumbai respectively. They have also been questioned in what some believe to be a case of 'honour killing'.

BP seeks solution after U.S. oil spill setback

Sun, May 9 07:59 PM

Adam Shaw, a Louisiana oilfield diver assigned to the Premier Explorer, performs a surveillance mission... Enlarge Photo Adam Shaw, a Louisiana oilfield diver assigned to the Premier Explorer, performs a surveillance mission...

BP Plc engineers searched on Sunday for ways to control gushing oil from a ruptured Gulf of Mexico well after a setback with a huge metal containment dome dashed hopes for a quick, temporary solution to a growing environmental disaster.

BP was pondering its next move after a buildup of crystallized gas in the dome forced engineers to suspend efforts to place the four-story chamber over the rupture, the company's best short-term solution to containing the spill.

The mammoth dome was set aside on the sea floor while BP seeks solutions -- a process it said could take two days.

"People are working around the clock at BP headquarters," U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen told National Public Radio. But conducting operations at depths of one mile (1.6 km) below the surface was complicating the challenge, he said.

"We're actually dealing with a source that doesn't have human access," Allen said.

At least 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 litres) of oil a day is gushing unchecked into the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 crew members and rupturing the well.

The spill, which could become the worst in U.S. history, threatens economic and ecological disaster on Gulf Coast tourist beaches, wildlife refuges and fishing grounds. It has forced President Barack Obama to rethink plans to open more waters to drilling.

BP engineers planned to take the next few days seeking ways to overcome the containment dome's problem with gas hydrates -- essentially slushy methane gas that would block the oil from being siphoned out the top of the box.

OTHER OPTIONS

The company had warned there was no guarantee of success for the dome. Possible solutions could include heating the area or adding methanol to break up the hydrates, Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said.

If the problem is solved, engineers would attach a pipe to the dome and pump the captured oil to a surface tanker. The goal was to capture about 85 percent of the leaking crude.

BP also may try to plug up the damaged blowout preventer on the well by pumping debris into it at high pressure or attaching a new preventer on top of it. It is also drilling a relief well to halt the leak, but that could take three months.

Hundreds of boats deployed protective booms and used dispersants to break up the thick oil in the Gulf again on Sunday. Crews have laid more than 900,000 feet (270,000 metres) of boom, and spread 290,000 gallons (1.1 million litres) of chemical dispersant in fighting the growing slick.

On Dauphin Island, Alabama, a barrier island and beach resort full of weekend swimmers and beachcombers, sunbathers found tar balls and tar beads washing up on Saturday along a half-mile stretch of the white-sand beach.

A team of dozens of BP-contracted workers in rubber boots and gloves was dispatched to lay down special clusters of oil-absorbing synthetic fibers called pom-poms, erect storm fencing along the beach and collect samples of the tar and water for testing. The beach remained open.

Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said he suspected the tar came from the leaking well, but only testing would confirm it.

ALARM IN ALABAMA

A spokesman for the spill response Unified Command in Mobile said tar washing ashore was a "common occurrence" along Alabama beaches, but some local residents disagreed.

"I have never seen this and I am here once a week every summer. This is the first time I have seen anything like this here," said Molly Hunter, 34, of Mobile, holding up a chunk of tar about the size of an open hand.

"All we need is a hurricane to come through and blow it 2 miles (3.2 km) inland. It would contaminate Mobile. It would be awful," stevedore superintendent Adam Fornander said of the spill as his team loaded luggage on Saturday for cruise ship passengers.

Crews labored to cordon off the entrance to Mobile Bay with a containment boom fence in a bid to safeguard America's ninth-largest seaport.

The barrier, anchored to newly driven pilings and designed with a double gate in the middle to enable ships to pass without letting oil into the bay, was expected to be completed by Sunday evening or early Monday, said Judith Adams of the Alabama State Port Authority.

The spill's only major contact with the shoreline so far has been in the uninhabited Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana, mostly a wildlife reserve.

"Right now, it appears that the impact is localized in southeast Louisiana, with the next areas likely to be impacted, Mississippi and Alabama," Coast Guard chief Allen said.

IMPACT ON SEAFOOD INDUSTRY

Louisiana officials closed more state waters to shrimp and oyster harvesting as the slick edged westward. Shrimp harvesting is now banned from Freshwater Bayou on the central coast to Louisiana's border with Mississippi. Some oyster beds located west of the Mississippi River were also shut.

Seafood is a $2.4 billion industry in Louisiana. More than 30 percent of the seafood produced in the continental United States is harvested in Louisiana.

In Bayou La Batre, the heart of Alabama's seafood industry, the docks were largely quiet as thousands of shrimpers and seafood processors remained idled by fishing restrictions.

About 30 oyster-processing plants have run out of product and shut down, putting as many as 900 people out of work, said Wayne Eldridge, owner of J&W Marine Enterprises and an oyster plant operator himself.

"I'm screwed," Eldridge said. "The biggest thing is I've got 35 people unemployed there."

(Additional reporting by Anna Driver in Houston; Tom Brown and Pascal Fletcher in Miami; Steve Gorman, Verna Gates and Kelli Dugan in Dauphin Island, Alabama; Writing by Jeffrey Jones and John Whitesides; Editing by Jackie Frank)

Asia News

Afghan, NATO soldiers among 24 killed in Afghanistan

IANS - 08:07 PM

Kabul, May 9 (DPA) A NATO soldier, three Afghan army personnel and 16 insurgents were killed in separate clashes in Afghanistan, and Taliban militants beheaded four militiamen, officials said Sunday.

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  • Ramesh does not see climate change agreement in 2010 ANI - 08:00 PM

    Beijing, May 9 (ANI): There is little prospect of a breakthrough in forging an international climate change agreement in 2010, said visiting Indian Minister for Forests and Environment Jairam Ramesh.

  • 10 suspected militants killed in US drone strike in North Waziristan ANI - 08:00 PM

    Islamabad, May 9 (ANI): At least 10 suspected extremists were killed and several others wounded in a US drone strike in North Waziristan on Sunday.

  • This undated image, obtained from orkut.com on May 4, 2010, shows Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American who is suspected as the driver of a bomb-laden SUV into New York's Time Square on May 1. REUTERS/Courtesy of Orkut.com/Handout
    U.S. says Pakistani Taliban behind bomb attempt Reuters - 06:29 PM

    U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Sunday that the Pakistani Taliban was behind the attempted Times Square car bombing in New York.

  • Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (L) and China's President Hu Jintao shake hands as they meet in Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, May 8, 2010. REUTERS/RIA Novosti/Pool/Alexei Nikolsky
    China's Hu holds Moscow talks with Putin, Medvedev Reuters - 07:11 PM

    Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev during a short trip to Moscow to mark World War Two Victory Day, officials said on Sunday.

  • Flash floods kill 87 Afghans in a week IANS - 07:08 PM

    Kabul, May 9 (DPA) Flash floods triggered by torrential rains have killed 87 people in Afghanistan in the past week as aid agencies were still trying to rush relief supplies to the affected areas, officials said Sunday.

  • U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat (L) wave to the media before Mitchell's meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas (not pictured) in the West Bank city of Ramallah May 9, 2010. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
    Palestinians say indirect talks with Israel have begun Reuters - 05:03 PM

    The Palestinians declared on Sunday the start of indirect talks with Israel mediated by the United States, the first Middle East peace negotiations in 18 months.

  • Iraq recount 50 pct done, no big change in results Reuters - 06:44 PM

    Iraq's parliamentary election results have not changed significantly as the result of a recount of 2.5 million ballots that has now reached the halfway point, an elections official said on Sunday.

  • 23 militants killed in Pakistan's Orakzai region IANS - 06:02 PM

    Islamabad, May 9 (IANS) Pakistani troops backed by helicopter gunships pounded militant hideouts in the northwestern Orakzai region Sunday, killing at least 23 fighters and injuring eight, an official said.

  • 'India, Pak should use SAARC summit 'goodwill' to resolve issues' ANI - 05:30 PM

    Islamabad, May 9 (ANI): The 'goodwill' generated between India and Pakistan during the XVIth South Asian Association Summit (SAARC) in Thimpu last month should be utilised by both estranged neighbours to achieve the common objective of regional peace and stability.

  • Over a dozen injured in Maoist scuffle in Maitighar ANI - 05:30 PM

    Kathmandu, May 9 (ANI): At least a dozen Maoist cadres and three policemen have been injured in clashes between the agitating Maoists and the police deployed at Maitighar area in Kathmandu on Sunday.

  • Pak intelligence warns of attack on US Embassy ANI - 05:30 PM

    Lahore, May 9 (ANI): Pakistan's intelligence agencies have issued a warning regarding Al-Qaeda plans to target the US Embassy in Islamabad.

  • FACTBOX - Factors to watch as Israel, Palestinians begin talks Reuters - 05:25 PM

    Indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have begun under U.S. mediation, the Palestinian chief negotiator said on Sunday.

  • Zardari to chair special Sindh cabinet meeting Monday IANS - 05:19 PM

    Karachi, May 9 (IANS) Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned a special meeting of the Sindh cabinet Monday to review the performance of the provincial government.

  • U.S. military personnel march along Red Square during a military parade in Moscow May 9, 2010. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin
    Russia offers olive branch as NATO joins parade Reuters - 05:16 PM

    President Dmitry Medvedev struck a conciliatory note at Russia's Victory Day military parade on Sunday, urging world powers to unite for peace and defending his decision to invite NATO troops to march on Red Square.

  • Afghan President Hamid Karzai talks to U.S. soldiers during a visit at Bagram Airfield May 8, 2010. REUTERS/Massoud Hossaini/Pool
    Afghans wary of U.S. end game Reuters - 04:54 PM

    Away from all the probable pomp, ceremony and firm handshakes in President Hamid Karzai's trip to Washington next week, many Afghans will be seeking a strong signal that the U.S. will not cut and run from its 9-year-old war.

  • Iran hangs five members of Kurdish "terrorist" group Reuters - 04:32 PM

    Iran hanged five members of a Kurdish "anti-revolutionary" group for various charges, including "moharebe" or waging war against God, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday

  • Japan to decide on U.S. base plan Monday - media Reuters - 04:29 PM

    The Japanese government is set to decide on Monday on a proposal to relocate a controversial U.S. airbase, Kyodo News Agency reported on Sunday, but there was no sign Washington or local residents would agree to the plan.

  • Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gestures during a speech at a meeting of his delegation with their counterparts from Paraguay, in Ponta Pora in this May 3, 2010 file photo. REUTERS/Jorge Adorno/Files
    Brazil will explore all options in Iran nuclear talks Reuters - 04:27 PM

    Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he would try everything to reach a solution with Iran over its nuclear programme, according to a newspaper interview on Sunday.

  • Fire extinguished at Gaoqiao refinery near Shanghai Reuters - 04:26 PM

    A fire at a storage tank at the Gaoqiao oil refinery in Shanghai's industrial Pudong district has been extinguished after an explosion on Sunday morning sent black smoke billowing into the sky.

World News

Top-Paid Female Chief Executives

Top-Paid Female Chief Executives

Forbes - Thu, May 6

Mary Ellen Egan, Forbes.com
Irene Rosenfeld of Kraft Foods tops our list of the highest-paid female chief executives. Our list, comprised of chief executives of the 500 biggest companies in the U.S. (as measured by a composite ranking of sales, profits, assets and market value), has 15 female chief executives from a handful of industries including food, insurance and energy.

View: Headlines Only | Include Summaries | Include Photos
  • The Worst Oil Spills
    The Worst Oil Spills Forbes - Thu, May 6

    The Deepwater Horizon spill is now gushing 5,000 barrels a day into the Gulf of Mexico. As bad as it is, the world has seen far worse.

  • How To Unmask A Liar
    How To Unmask A Liar Forbes - Thu, May 6

    Helen Coster and Melanie Lindner, Forbes.com
    The world is filled with liars: philandering husbands, big-time embezzlers, bogus health gurus. But even the most saintly people tell an occasional lie.

  • The Conversation: Male Vs. Female Bosses Forbes - Tue, May 4

    Meghan Casserly, Forbes.com
    This week on the Huffington Post, Ella L.J. Edmondson Bell, an associate professor at the Tuck School of Business examined one of the final frontiers of gender (in)equality in the workplace: the perception of women as bitches--or at least bad bosses.

  • What Men And Women Are Doing On Facebook
    What Men And Women Are Doing On Facebook Forbes - Thu, Apr 29

    Jenna Goudreau, Forbes.com
    "The world's gone social. And women are more social than men." --Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.

  • Worst Words To Say At Work Forbes - Thu, Apr 29

    Linnda Durre, Forbes.com
    Let's look at some specific words and phrases that are used by some people to buy time, avoid giving answers and escape commitment. If you use these words and phrases yourself, take a scalpel and cut them out of your thinking, speaking and writing. Words like these only weaken you and make you sound noncommittal, undependable and untrustworthy.

  • America's Greenest Companies
    America's Greenest Companies Forbes - Thu, Apr 29

    Jonathan Fahey, Forbes.com
    The brains of your computer, if they were made by Intel at least, were created with power from the wind, the sun or the earth.

  • Convince The Boss That You Should Telecommute Forbes - Thu, Apr 29

    Alexandra Levit, Forbes.com
    As a design project manager at a top Internet marketing firm, Lindy Morris loved her job but couldn't stand the commute. When the price of gas soared to over $4 a gallon, she realized she was spending a small fortune getting to and from her office on Colorado's western slope.

  • Ten Simple Tricks To Remembering Names
    Ten Simple Tricks To Remembering Names Forbes - Mon, Apr 26

    Helen Coster, Forbes.com
    Few situations will make you cringe more than standing next to someone you've met several times and drawing a blank on his or her name.

  • The Cleanest Countries In The World
    The Cleanest Countries In The World Forbes - Thu, Apr 22

    Europeans getting a shower of ash might disagree, but researchers rate Iceland tops in environmental performance.

  • The Profits Of Piracy
    The Profits Of Piracy Forbes - Thu, Apr 22

    Who's making out in the piracy boom off the Horn of Africa? Insurers, security consultants and, oh yeah, pirates.

  • The World's Leading Companies
    The World's Leading Companies Forbes - Thu, Apr 22

    This comprehensive report analyzes the world's biggest companies and the best-performing of these titans.

  • Why Women Are Freezing Their Eggs
    Why Women Are Freezing Their Eggs Forbes - Mon, Apr 19

    Some career-minded women are freezing their eggs so they can continue their climb up the corporate ladder.

  • Use Technology To Spend Less Time Working Forbes - Mon, Apr 19

    Alexandra Levit, Forbes.com
    The average employee receives thousands of interruptions every day, from instant messages and texts to e-mails and the good old ringing phone. Workers are so distracted by the various methods people use to get in touch that they often blame technology for reduced productivity and longer hours.

  • Thirty Jobs You Can Get In Asia
    Thirty Jobs You Can Get In Asia Forbes - Wed, Apr 14

    Hana R. Alberts, Forbes.com
    Layoffs and record-high unemployment rates are still making headlines in Western markets, as much of the world reels from the worst downturn since the Great Depression. In Asia, meanwhile, companies are expanding their payrolls.

  • Who's Visiting The President?
    Who's Visiting The President? Forbes - Wed, Apr 14

    Among the most frequent nongovernmental guests at the White House: union chiefs, a banker and a Chicago billionaire.

  • The 100 Most Trustworthy Companies Forbes - Wed, Apr 14

    These are the American businesses that have the most transparent and conservative accounting practices and most prudent management.

  • Must-Have iPad Apps For Professionals
    Must-Have iPad Apps For Professionals Forbes - Wed, Apr 14

    Meghan Casserly, Forbes.com
    This week, across the country, people are ripping open some very precious Apple boxes to reveal Steve Jobs' newest wondertoy, the iPad. Sales analyses for the tablet computer's opening weekend are estimated at around 700,000 units, including pre-orders, at a starting price of $499 per model; Apple hasn't offered any official numbers.

  • The Second Life Of Victoria's Secret Models
    The Second Life Of Victoria's Secret Models Forbes - Thu, Apr 8

    Everybody knows their faces, their bodies, their names. A notable few have gone on to media or entrepreneurial careers with astonishing success.

  • Toss Out Your Old Resume
    Toss Out Your Old Resume Forbes - Thu, Apr 8

    Writing a great resume can be a daunting task for even the most accomplished professional. But for women who have spent time out of the workforce raising children or for other personal reasons, it is particularly troublesome.

1 23  Next »

World News

Tsunami warning issued after strong quake off Indonesia

HT - 05:20 PM

Indonesia issued a tsunami warning Sunday after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the Sumatran coast of Aceh province.

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  • Blair's Which Project HT - 10:40 AM

    In the last week of the British general election campaign, former prime minister Tony Blair made a sudden appearance at a marginal constituency to shore up flagging Labour morale. Surprised reporters asked if he was an asset or a liability to the Labour campaign.

  • Life returns to normal in Nepal HT - 10:40 AM

    Life across Nepal began limping back to normalcy on Saturday, a day after Maoists called off their indefinite strike that had crippled the Himalayan nation for six days.

  • 'Alarmist view will hurt Copenhagen spirit' HT - 09:10 AM

    India?s Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh says there is a danger that the upbeat bilateral cooperation with China in the ?Copenhagen spirit? will not last long unless India changes a ?needlessly restrictive, alarmist? approach to Chinese investment in telecom and infrastructure.

  • Sunday will be crucial for both India and hosts WI HT - 09:10 AM

    If misery does indeed love company, then India can console themselves with the fact that they are not alone, at least for now. Having been handed a proper hiding by Australia, India would have noted with some glee that their next opponents, West Indies, suffered similarly at Sri Lanka?s hands.

  • Japanese party asks for removal of US air base HT - Sat, May 8

    Kazuo Shii, leader of the Japanese Communist Party, has called for the unconditional removal of the US Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture in a meeting with a State Department official.

  • Footballer shot dead in Mexico HT - Sat, May 8

    A 21-year-old footballer who was active in the second category of Mexican football was shot dead in an apparent hold-up in southern Mexico City, his club said.

  • Life slowly returns to normal in Nepal after strike HT - Sat, May 8

    Life across Nepal began limping back to normal on Saturday, a day after opposition Maoists called off their indefinite strike that had crippled the Himalayan nation for six days.

  • Nepal Maoists withdraw strike; to continue agitation HT - Sat, May 8

    After bringing the country to a halt for six days seeking removal of the government, opposition Maoists in Nepal withdrew their indefinite strike late on Friday evening.

  • Nepal Maoists withdraw strike on day 7 HT - Sat, May 8

    After bringing the country to a halt for six days seeking removal of the government, Maoists in Nepal withdrew their indefinite strike late on Friday evening.

  • Bargaining on in hung UK House HT - Sat, May 8

    The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats began negotiations on Friday in a step that could give Britain its first coalition government after Thursday?s general election returned a Conservative-dominated but hung parliament.

  • Short circuit singes India HT - Sat, May 8

    At the Kensington Oval, a bevy of West Indian legends jostle for space. Acutely aware of their cricketing heritage, officials have named one stand after Worrell, Walcott & Weekes. Close at hand is the Hall & Griffith Stand, and square of the pitch is the Greenidge & Haynes Stand.

  • India has reason to smile HT - Sat, May 8

    The wheels of fortune turned for Indian-origin candidates in the British elections as a suave 42-year-old Sikh businessman won a parliamentary seat once represented by an MP who promised ?rivers of blood? over immigration.

  • Islamic mortgage system introduced for Muslims in Canada HT - Fri, May 7

    At a time when failed mortgages have led to collapse of major banks and foreclosure of millions of homes in the US, a credit union in Canada has introduced Islamic mortgages for Muslims.

  • How war, recession upset UK politics HT - Fri, May 7

    From the ghost of the Iraq war to a bloody military engagement in Afghanistan and the global recession, the British general election had much to do with the world outside ? bruising events that may have contributed to a feeling of helplessness among voters.

  • Brown wants to secure stable government in Britain HT - Fri, May 7

    British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Friday it was his duty to play his part in securing strong and stable government in Britain after the general election.

  • Patience runs out, tempers flare as Maoist strike continues HT - Fri, May 7

    Patience is running out and tempers are flaring as the indefinite strike called by opposition Maoists in Nepal to oust the government continued for the fifth day on Thursday.

  • Brown on slippery wicket HT - Fri, May 7

    Millions of Britons voted on Thursday in the country?s closest-fought general election for decades amid predictions they were set to hand over power to the Conservative party, ringing the curtain down on 13 years of New Labour rule.

  • Clashes in Nepal on Day 5 of Red strike HT - Fri, May 7

    Patience is running out and tempers are flaring as the indefinite strike called by opposition Maoists in Nepal to oust the government continued for the fifth day on Thursday.

  • Pakistan neither backs judgment, nor condemns it HT - Fri, May 7

    The reaction to the death sentence on Ajmal Kasab delivered by a Mumbai court on Friday has been muted in Pakistan. Many said it was an internal matter of India.

World News

EU works on mechanism to stop Greek crisis spreading

FE - 03:19 PM

European Union officials were working out the details of a financial support mechanism on Saturday to prevent Greece's debt turmoil spreading to Portugal and Spain, ready for approval by EU finance ministers on Sunday.

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  • UK goes to polls today FE - Thu, May 6

    Polling booths opened across the United Kingdom for what is considered as the most tightly contested election since the second world war with Conservative party holding the edge in last night opinion polls.

  • Arrest warrant against sex gurus FE - Thu, May 6

    This may be yet another nail in the faith-healing coffin, abroad.
    Guyanese police today were searching for at least four Indian nationals they say posed as miracle-healing Hindu priests and fleeced their local followers.

  • Newsweek magazine up for sale! FE - Thu, May 6

    The Washington Post Co. is putting Newsweek up for sale in hopes that another owner can figure out how to stem losses at the 77-year-old weekly magazine.

  • Terror scare over US immigration law FE - Wed, May 5

    American citizenship, or even the 'Green Card', may just have become much harder to get.
    Prospective migrants fear that the rising frequency with which foreign, 'naturalised', citizens are turning against their new country may change US immigration laws.

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A town called terror

Once in a while, peace reigns over Bhatkal. That's when the Karnataka town's Hindus lead a procession on Ram Navami. In a tradition that goes back a hundred years, a group of Hindu elders visits the residence of a Muslim clergyman to seek his permission for a rath yatra to pass through a street and town dominated by Muslims.

On other days, suspicion stalks the town that's being described in some circles as the home of the Indian Mujahideen — a fundamentalist group that's started making its presence felt in the country. And that's not all. Hindu radical groups are taking root in the town, which is getting more and more divided on communal lines.

"We wish the atmosphere of brotherhood — visible during Ram Navami — exists all through the year. But that's just wishful thinking," says C.B. Vedamurthy, deputy superintendent of police, Bhatkal.

Many believe it was the same rath yatra that sowed the seeds of discord in 1993. In the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya, riots broke out in and around Bhatkal, a port town on the Arabian Sea, 150km north of Mangalore. The riots lasted for almost a year, resulting in a huge loss of life and property. That, residents stress, was the beginning.

"Occasional riots, hate speeches, political assassinations and minor skirmishes over the years have scarred the psyche of both the communities. This has helped extremists from both sides to take advantage of the situation," says Surendra Shanbag, the head of Bhatkal Seva Samiti, a group working for communal amity.

On Thursday, as Ajmal Kasab, one of the terrorists who struck in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, was sentenced to death, the spotlight was once again on Bhatkal, which some fear has been spawning terrorists. Two suspected Indian terrorists are even being referred to as the "Bhatkal Brothers" for their association with the town.

But Riyaz and Iqbal Shabandari, accused of executing bomb blasts including the Pune German Bakery blast, never lived in Bhatkal. They grew up in Mumbai, but visited the town often because they had relatives there, their mother says.

"We gave them a good education and taught them to be good Muslims. We haven't seen their faces for years now," says mother Sayeeda, sitting in her two-storeyed house, while Riyaz's small son pesters her to buy him candy. The two brothers' wives and seven children live in the same dimly lit house, as two intelligence bureau officers staying in the neighbourhood keep an eye on them.

"I say, please hang them if they are guilty, but stop harassing us. Every time there is a blast anywhere, the police land at our doorstep," she says.

Observers say that after the 2002 Gujarat riots, Riyaz started getting close to a few radical youths of Bhatkal following the Salafi way, a puritanical form of Islam. Most Muslims in Bhatkal follow the Shafi religious school, which is also orthodox. Not surprisingly, the only women you see in town are swathed in a burqa.

The Salafis, though in a minority, have now established their own mosque in Bhatkal. But Hanif Shabab, a prominent local doctor, stresses that when elders of the community confronted the Salafi followers, they were assured that the group was merely interested in following Islam. "Even if they are extreme in their thoughts, we are sure that they are incapable of carrying out any large scale activities," he says.

Intelligence agencies, however, suspect that Bhatkal was the base for the Shabandari brothers and others involved in bomb blasts. Bhatkal, they say, is a hotbed of terrorism not only because the memory of the 1993 riots is still vivid. The town, some point out, is on the coast, which makes it easier for people to access the sea. The cultural divide between the Hindus and Muslims has also been strengthened by the fact that the Muslims speak their own language — a mix of Konkani and Marathi called Navayathi.

But the local police and intelligence units brush aside the home ministry's claims that beachfront houses on the Jali beach act as safe houses for terrorists. "We don't know how the intelligence agencies came to such a conclusion," says a Karnataka Police intelligence official.

Besides the brothers, Bhatkal residents who have been linked to terror include Ahmed Sidi Bapa, Muhammad Hussain Farhan, Abdul Majid, Muhammad Gurfan and Dr Mohammed Arif — names which routinely come up whenever there is a blast in the country.

The locals, however, stress that Bhatkal is being given a bad name for no reason at all. Arif, who has been accused of being an accomplice in the blasts and is believed to be on the run, practises medicine in Bhatkal's Medina Colony. "This is how our intelligence agencies work. They are supposed to be searching for me when they know that I am very much here," says Arif.

Even the local police say that the names of the so-called terrorists that intelligence agencies have unofficially disclosed to the media have no terrorist links. "These names appear out of nowhere. We don't have any record on any one of these people except Riyaz," says Vedamurthy.

S.J. Khalid, general secretary of the Tanzeem, a religious group, stresses that "many of the so called absconding people" work in the Gulf. "We have arranged telephonic conversations between them and the intelligence agencies and they know that these boys are innocent, but their names keep cropping up."

The Navayath community now fears that the terror allegations could radicalise the youth. "We are finding it very difficult to convince our youth to stay calm despite the provocations from the Hindu Right," says Khalid.

Indeed, some Hindu organisations have been quick to pounce on what they see as an opportunity. The Bajrang Dal, Hindu Jagarna Vedike and Karavali Hindu Samiti have been setting up offices in Bhatkal.

"We have been telling our police that Bhatkal is a mini Pakistan and there is enough RDX in the town to blow it up many times over," alleges Krishna Naik, head of the BJP Bhatkal unit. The Hindu organisations also blame Muslims for the assassinations of BJP MLA U. Chittaranjan in 1996 and local BJP worker Thimappa Naik in 2004 in Bhatkal. Both the cases remain unsolved.

Bhatkal has also been the focus of Srirama Sene, known for its violent agitations in Karnataka. At a recent rally, its local convener Shabbanna Kollur said, "We look forward to the day when Bhatkal will become a Hindu rashtra." Prominent fundamentalist Hindu leaders such as Shankar Naik, allegedly involved in attacks on churches, and Girish Shetty have made Bhatkal their base.

Intelligence agencies are also worried about moderate Hindus turning radical in deeply polarised Bhatkal. "I wouldn't be surprised if some people make it to Abhinav Bharat," says a senior police officer, referring to the organisation accused of carrying out bomb blasts in Malegaon and Ajmer. "We had earlier seized some explosives in the Karwar region that were bound for Goa. But investigations are still on," he says.

J.D. Naik, the Congress MLA from the region, blames the BJP and Hindu organisations for vitiating the atmosphere. "These organisations have tried to spread a fear psychosis among Hindus and I must admit they have succeeded to a great extent," he says.

The extent of polarisation can be gauged from the fact that there are hardly any Hindu homes in upmarket areas, which are full of gleaming bungalows where Muslims live. Unkempt buildings and thatched houses mark the Hindu areas.

Surrounded by rolling hills on three sides and the Arabian Sea on the other, Bhatkal is a town with well laid roads and sprawling bungalows. People have easy access to hospitals, ATMs and modern educational institutions. But unlike other towns, it's the Muslim here who is prosperous, and not the Hindu.

"We are a trader community and we have at least one person working in the Gulf from every family. Not many Muslims in our country are as affluent as we are. There is certainly some jealousy against this. And this has been tapped by fringe organisations," says D.H. Shabbar, vice-president, Anjuman Hami Muslimeen, which runs many educational institutions.

In a town of 45,000 people, the Bhatkal Urban Co-operative Bank alone has around 20,000 accounts. "About 25 per cent of these are non resident Indian bank accounts. Even individual investors have robust bank balances," says Abdul Razaq, managing director of the bank.

But the divide between the communities is palpable. Even children are not spared. The Anjuman-run schools have no Hindu students, while there are few Muslims in Vidya Bharati and private schools. "That's the tragedy of Bhatkal. I was educated at Anjuman and even some BJP leaders studied there," says Congressman Naik.

Some locals have set up peace committees — but the efforts haven't been successful. "Whenever we try to bridge the gap between the two communities, communal forces somehow succeed in keeping the pot of hatred boiling," rues Qadir Meran Patel, president of the Islamic welfare society, which gives out interest-free loans to people of both the communities.

Not surprisingly, some old residents look forward to Ram Navami. At least that's one day of peace.

Top
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Pakistani Taliban Behind Times Sq. Plot, Holder Says

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Pakistani Taliban Behind Times Sq. Plot, Holder Says
‎1 hour ago‎ - New York Times

U.S. says Pakistani Taliban behind bomb attempt
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No rotation, it'll be a BJP CM in Jharkhand
‎18 hours ago‎ - Times of India

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Double your luck to get closer to Kareena!

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Economic Times - ‎May 7, 2010‎
NEW DELHI: India's largest IT training company NIIT Limited on Friday reported a 40% rise in its quarterly net profit to Rs 24.7 crore, from last year, on the back of increased enrollments and return of growth in the job market.

Be prepared to more than walk on the boulevard

The Hindu - ‎May 7, 2010‎
BANGALORE: Ever since the civil works beneath the elevated Namma Metro track on MG Road was completed, the question on every true-blue Bangalorean's mind was this: will we get our old boulevard back as promised?
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Satyam's Raju objects to video trial

Times of India - ‎May 7, 2010‎
HYDERABAD: Satyam Computers' former chairman B Ramalinga Raju on Friday objected to the trial court's efforts to hear the CBI's plea for examining him through video linkage.

Now, neglecting your pets can land you in soup

Times of India - Nitin Sethi - ‎May 7, 2010‎
NEW DELHI: Now, neglect your pet at your own peril. An inspector could soon be visiting your house to check on your pet and ensure you have kept it well fed and exercised, provided it adequate sleep, minimum physical space and made adequate ...

Huawei part of Chinese spy network, says R&AW

Economic Times - ‎May 6, 2010‎
NEW DELHI: Chinese telecom major Huawei may aggressively deny any link to the China's People's Liberation Army, but independent assessments of Indian intelligence agencies so far clearly point out that PLA remains a customer of the company and has ...

Novartis Mar qtr net up 34pc; to pay 200pc dividend

Economic Times - ‎May 7, 2010‎
7 May 2010, 1858 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: Pharma firm Novartis India today reported a 34 per cent jump in its March quarter net profit at Rs 27.8 crore over the same period previous fiscal.

India gets more foreign tourists in April

The Hindu - ‎May 8, 2010‎
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India Post to deliver unique identity numbers

Economic Times - ‎May 8, 2010‎
NEW DELHI: The Department of Posts and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) have entered into a two-year agreement under which India Post will deliver the unique identity numbers and related communication to citizens.
UID Project Gathering Steam Blog of India (blog)

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New Delhi: Good news for metro commuters as Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is going to add another 100 trains by year end. Acute crowding can be a thing of the past on Metro trains, by December, when they start to run every 2.30 to 2.45 minutes.

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The Hindu - ‎21 hours ago‎
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Pakistan – United States relations

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United States – Pakistan relations
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     United States      Pakistan

Pakistan – United States relations are the relations between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the United States of America. The United States established diplomatic relations with Pakistan started on October 20, 1947. The relationship since then was based primarily on U.S. economic and military assistance to Pakistan. Pakistan is a Major non-NATO ally of the United States.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Military pacts and suspension of aid

Pakistan's partnership in the Baghdad Pact, CENTO and SEATO strengthened relations between the two nations. At the time, its relationship with the U.S. was so close and friendly that it was called the United States' "most-allied ally" in Asia. The U.S. suspension of military assistance during the 1965 Pakistan-India war generated a widespread feeling in Pakistan that the United States was not a reliable ally. Even though the United States suspended military assistance to both countries involved in the conflict, the suspension of aid affected Pakistan much more severely,as India still received aid from Soviet Union. Gradually, relations improved and arms sales were renewed in 1975. Then, in April 1979, the United States cut off economic assistance to Pakistan, except food assistance, as required under the Symington Amendment to the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, due to concerns about Pakistan's nuclear program.

[edit] Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 highlighted the common interest of Pakistan and the United States in peace and stability in South Asia. In 1981, Pakistan and the United States agreed on a $3.2 billion military and economic assistance program aimed at helping Pakistan deal with the heightened threat to security in the region and its economic development needs. With U.S. assistance – in the largest covert operation in history – Pakistan armed and supplied anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan, eventually defeating the Soviets, who withdrew in 1988.

[edit] Nuclear weapons

Recognizing national security concerns and accepting Pakistan's assurances that it did not intend to construct a nuclear weapon, Congress waived restrictions (Symington Amendment) on military assistance to Pakistan. In March 1986, the two countries agreed on a second multi-year (FY 1988–93) $4-billion economic development and security assistance program. On October 1, 1990, however, the United States suspended all military assistance and new economic aid to Pakistan under the Pressler Amendment, which required that the President certify annually that Pakistan "does not possess a nuclear explosive device."

India's decision to conduct nuclear tests in May 1998 and Pakistan's matching response set back U.S. relations in the region, which had seen renewed U.S. Government interest during the second Clinton Administration. A presidential visit scheduled for the first quarter of 1998 was postponed and, under the Glenn Amendment, sanctions restricted the provision of credits, military sales, economic assistance, and loans to the government. An intensive dialogue on nuclear nonproliferation and security issues between Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmad and Deputy Secretary Talbott was initiated, with discussions focusing on CTBT signature and ratification, FMCT negotiations, export controls, and a nuclear restraint regime. The October 1999 overthrow of the democratically elected Sharif government triggered an additional layer of sanctions under Section 508 of the Foreign Appropriations Act which include restrictions on foreign military financing and economic assistance. U.S. Government assistance to Pakistan was limited mainly to refugee and counter-narcotics assistance.

[edit] Alliance with US

Prior to the September 11 attacks in 2001, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were key supporters of the Taliban in Afghanistan, as part of their "strategic depth" objective vis-a-vis India, Iran,Russia and to try to bring stability to Afghanistan after years of civil war following the Soviet withdrawal. The Taliban, being primarily Sunni and Pushtun, are of the same ethnic origin as Pakistanis on the other side of the Afghan border and were natural allies.However U.S initially did support Taliban ,but later pulled support.

After 9/11, Pakistan, led by General Pervez Musharraf, reversed course under pressure from the United States and joined the "War on Terror" as a US ally. Having failed to convince the Taliban to hand over bin Laden and other members of Al Qaeda, Pakistan provided the U.S. a number of military airports and bases for its attack on Afghanistan, along with other logistical support. Since 2001, Pakistan has arrested over five hundred Al-Qaeda members and handed them over to the United States; senior U.S. officers have been lavish in their praise of Pakistani efforts in public while expressing their concern that not enough was being done in private. However, General Musharraf was strongly supported by the Bush administration – a common theme throughout Pakistan's relations with the US has been US support of military dictators to the detriment of democracy in Pakistan.

In return for their support, Pakistan had sanctions lifted and has received about $10 billion in U.S. aid since 2001, primarily military. In June 2004, President George W. Bush designated Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally, making it eligible, among other things, to purchase advanced American military technology.

Pakistan has lost thousands of lives since joining the U.S. war on terror in the form of both soldiers and civilians, and is currently going through a critical period. Suicide bombs are now commonplace in Pakistan, whereas they were unheard of prior to 9/11. The Taliban have been resurgent in recent years in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands of refugees have been created internally in Pakistan, as they have been forced to flee their homes as a result of fighting between Pakistani forces and the Taliban in the regions bordering Afghanistan and further in Swat. In addition, the economy is in an extremely fragile position.

A key campaign argument of U.S. President Barack Obama's was that the US had made the mistake of "putting all our eggs in one basket" in the form of General Musharraf. Musharraf was eventually forced out of office under the threat of impeachment, after years of political protests by lawyers, civilians and other political parties in Pakistan. With President Obama coming into office, the U.S. is expected to triple non-military aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion per year over 10 years, and to tie military aid to progress in the fight against militants. The purpose of the aid is to help strengthen the relatively new democratic government led by President Zardari and to help strengthen civil institutions and the general economy in Pakistan, and to put in place an aid program that is broader in scope than just supporting Pakistan's military.

[edit] Aid from the United States since 9/11

Pakistan is a major non-NATO ally as part of the War on Terrorism. A leading recipient of U.S. aid [1].


[edit] Post Independence: 1947–52

Liaquat Ali Khan meeting President Truman(during the 1950's when Pakistani Prime minister made a good will tour in the U.S.[2]

After Pakistan's independence by the partitioning of the British Raj, Pakistan followed a pro-western policy. The Indian government followed a different, non-aligned policy stance, which leaned closer to the Soviet Union rather than the United States of America. Pakistan was seeking strong alliances to counter its neighbour, India. At this time, India was neutral and went on to be a part of Non Aligned Movement.

[edit] Ayub Khan era: 1952–69

Pakistan joined the US led military alliances SEATO and CENTO. In 1954 the United States signed a Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement with Pakistan.

[edit] Partition of East Pakistan: 1969–72

President Richard Nixon used Pakistan's relationship with China to start secret contacts with China which resulted with Henry Kissinger's secret visit to China in July 1971 while visiting Pakistan. America supported Pakistan throughout the war and supplied weapons to West Pakistan although Congress had passed a bill suspending exporting weapons to the nation. Near the end of the war and fearing Pakistan's defeat by the joint forces of Mukti Bahini and Indian forces, Nixon ordered the USS Enterprise into the Indian Ocean, although it was never used for actual combat.

[edit] Zia era: 1977–1988

In 1979, a group of Pakistani students burned the American embassy in Islamabad to the ground killing two Americans.

In the 1980s, Pakistan agreed to pay $658 million for 28 F-16 fighter jets from the United States; however the American congress froze the deal citing objections to Pakistani nuclear ambitions. Under the terms of the American cancellation, they kept both the money and the planes, leading to angry claims of theft by Pakistanis.[3]

[edit] Democratic governments: 1988–1998

The stage was set for a very tumultuous situation; the 1990s was an era of intense upheaval in Pakistan. Pakistan found itself in a state of extremely high insecurity as tensions mounted with India and Afghanistan's infighting continued. Pakistan's alliance with the U.S. was strained due to factors such as its support for the Taliban and public distancing of the Pakistani government from the U.S. However the U.S. initially supported the Taliban

[edit] Post-September 11

President Musharraf with President Bush.

After the September 11 attacks in 2001 in the United States, Pakistan became a key ally in the war on terror with the United States. In 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush strongly encouraged Pakistan government to join the U.S. war on terror, as a result Pakistan joined the U.S. war. Pervez Musharraf acknowledges the payments received for captured terrorists in his book:

We've captured 689 and handed over 369 to the United States. We've earned bounties totaling millions of dollars
—Former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf

In 2003, the U.S. officially forgave US$1 billion in Pakistani debt in a ceremony in Pakistan as one of the rewards for Pakistan joining the U.S. war on terror. "Today's signing represents a promise kept and another milestone in our expanding partnership," U.S. Ambassador Nancy Powell said in a statement, "The forgiveness of $1 billion in bilateral debt is just one piece of a multifaceted, multibillion dollar assistance package." The new relationship between the United States and Pakistan is not just about September 11,' Powell said. "It is about the rebirth of a long-term partnership between our two countries." However Pakistan support of the U.S. and its war has angered many Pakistanis that do not support it., April 2010 

In October 2005, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a statement where she "promised ... that the United States will support the country's earthquake relief efforts and help it rebuild" after the Kashmir Earthquake [4].

On 11 June 2008, a US airstrike on the Afghan-Pakistani border killed 10 members of the paramilitary Frontier Corps. The Pakistani military condemned the airstrike as an act of aggression, souring the relations between the two countries.[5].However after the drone attacks in June, President Bush had said 'Pakistan is strong ally '.[6].Western officials have claimed nearly 70%( roughly $3.4 billion) of the aid given to the Pakistani military has been misspent in 2002-2007.However U.S-Pakistani relationship has been a transactional based and U.S military aid to Pakistan has been shrouded in secrecy for several years until recently .[7] [8][9].[10][11].Furthermore a significant proportion of U.S. economic aid for Pakistan has ended up in back in the U.S., as funds are channeled through large U.S. contractors. A U.S. lawmaker also said a large sum of U.S. econmic aid has not left the U.S. as it spent on consulting fees and overhead cost.[12][13]


In the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, the United States informed Pakistan that it expected full cooperation in the hunt for the plotters of the attacks.

[edit] United States-Pakistan skirmishes

The United States and Pakistan have experienced several military confrontations on the Durand Line. These skirmishes took place between American forces deployed in Afghanistan, and Pakistani troops guarding the border. These incidents ended and reportedly caused no casualties.

[edit] Present relations

Clinton with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani during an October 2009 visit to Islamabad.

U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson addressed senior bureaucrats at the National Management College and emphasized that the United States will assist Pakistan's new democratic government in the areas of development, stability, and security.[14] The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations World Food Program, in Pakistan, officially announced the signing of an agreement valued at $8.4 million to help ease Pakistan's crisis.[14]

The CIA believes Osama Bin Laden to be hiding in Pakistan.[15][16]

On 14 September 2009, former president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, admitted that U.S. Foreign Aid to Pakistan was diverted by the country from its original purpose to fighting the Taliban, to prepare for war against neighboring India.[17]. The United States government has responded by stating that they will take these allegations seriously.[18].However Pervez Musharraf also said '"Wherever there is a threat to Pakistan, we will use it [equipment provided by the US] there. If the threat comes from al-Qaeda or Taliban, it will be used there. If the threat comes from India, we will most surely use it there,"[17].

In late 2009, Hillary Clinton made a speech in Pakistan about the war against the militants where she said "we commend the Pakistani military for their courageous fight, and we commit to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistani people in your fight for peace and security."[19]

In December 1, 2009, President Barack Obama in a speech on a policy about Pakistan said "In the past, we too often defined our relationship with Pakistan narrowly. Those days are over.... The Pakistani people must know America will remain a strong supporter of Pakistan's security and prosperity long after the guns have fallen silent, so that the great potential of its people can be unleashed."[20]

In the aftermath of the thwarted bombing attempt on a Northwest Airlines flight, the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has issued a new set of screening guidelines that includes pat-downs for passengers from countries of interest, which includes Pakistan[21]. In a sign of widening fissures between the two allies, Pakistan on January 21 declined a request by the United States to launch new offensives on militants in 2010 [22]. Pakistan say it "can't launch any new offensives against militants for six months to a year because it wants to 'stabilizes' previous gains made. However the U.S praises Pakistan's military effort against the militants.[23]. Furthermore Pakistan president, in meeting with the U.S. delegation, had said Pakistan "had suffered a... loss of over 35 billion dollars during the last eight years as a result of the fight against militancy." But the President also said for "greater Pak-US cooperation".

In October 2009, the U.S. Congress approved $7.5 billion of non-military aid to Pakistan over the next five years. In February 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama sought to increase funds to Pakistan to "promote economic and political stability in strategically important regions where the United States has special security interests".[24].Obama also sought $3.1 billion aid for Pakistan to defeat Al Qaeda for 2010.[25]

In February 2010, Anne Patterson (U.S. Ambasador to Pakistan) said that the United States is committed to partnership with Pakistan and further said "Making this commitment to Pakistan while the U.S. is still recovering from the effects of the global recession reflects the strength of our vision. Yet we have made this commitment, because we see the success of Pakistan, its economy, its civil society and its democratic institutions as important for ourselves, for this region and for the world."[20]

Between 2002-2010, Pakistan received approximately 18 billion[26] in military and economic aid from the United States. In February of 2010, the Obama administration requested an additional 3 billion in aid, for a total of 20.7 billion[27].

In mid February, after the capture of Taliban No.2 leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Pakistan the White house 'hails capture of Taliban leader'.Furthemore White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that this is a "big success for our mutual efforts(Pakistan and United States)in the region" and He praised Pakistan for the capture, saying it is a sign of increased cooperation with the U.S. in the terror fight.[28].Furthermore Capt. John Kirby, spokesman for Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said 'We also strongly support Pakistani efforts to secure the border region,Kirby added, noting that Pakistan has lost soldiers in that effort.'Mullen, (President Barack Obama's senior military adviser)has made strengthening 'U.S. military relationship with Pakistan a top priority'.The U.S. and Pakistan have a robust working relationship that serves the mutual interests of our people,' Kirby said. "We continue to build a long-term partnership that strengthens our common security and prosperity.".[29]

In March, Richard Holbrooke U.S special envoy to Pakistan had said U.S.-Pakistani relations have seen 'significant improvement' under Obama. Furthermore he also said 'No government on earth has received more high-level attention' than Pakistan[30][31]

[edit] Military aid from the United States

Pakistan is a major non-NATO ally as part of the War on Terrorism. A leading recipient of US military aid, Pakistan is expected to receive approximately 1.3 billion for 2010[32]. 25% of the military is subsidized by the US government.[33].

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ Benjamin, Daniel & Steven Simon. "The Age of Sacred Terror", 2002
  4. ^ [3]
  5. ^ Riaz Khan (2008-06-11). "Pakistan blames US coalition for troops' death". Google News (Associated Press). http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5grIg92cf-0y_bvBUJXG4vaRlDHuQD917R49O0. Retrieved 2008-06-11. 
  6. ^ [4]
  7. ^ [5]
  8. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/27/pakistan.usa
  9. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/world/asia/24military.html
  10. ^ Peters, Justin (2007-12-24). "Foreign Aid Betrayed". Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/2180830/. 
  11. ^ ROHDE, DAVID; CARLOTTA GALL, ERIC SCHMITT and DAVID E. SANGER (2007-12-24). "U.S. Officials See Waste in Billions Sent to Pakistan". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/world/asia/24military.html?pagewanted=print. 
  12. ^ [6]
  13. ^ [7]
  14. ^ a b "The United States Embassy" (in English (U.S.)). http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/. Retrieved 2008-12-21. 
  15. ^ CIA chief says bin Laden in Pakistan, The Boston Globe, 2009-06-11 (link broken)
  16. ^ CIA says Bin Laden is in Pakistan, CBS News/AP, 2009-06-11
  17. ^ a b [8]
  18. ^ [9]
  19. ^ [10]
  20. ^ a b [11]
  21. ^ http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/19-patting-down-pakistanis-hh-06
  22. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8471789.stm
  23. ^ [12]
  24. ^ [13]
  25. ^ [14]
  26. ^ http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=226110
  27. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-got-18bn-aid-from-US-since-2001/articleshow/5605864.cms
  28. ^ [15]
  29. ^ [16]
  30. ^ [17]
  31. ^ [18]
  32. ^ http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/12-us+senate+approves+defence+funds+for+pakistan--bi-10 Dawn Pakistani media
  33. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-got-18bn-aid-from-US-since-2001/articleshow/5605864.cms India Times

[edit] External links


  • September 19, 2003


    Is Pakistan an effective ally of the United States?

    Yes and no, experts say. President Pervez Musharraf accommodated U.S. requests for assistance after 9/11, especially in the search for al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. "The United States and [President] Bush have confidence in Musharraf. He's seen as the best alternative in Pakistan," says Mahnaz Ispahani, senior fellow for South and West Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. At the same time, many experts say Musharraf is not doing enough to crack down on Islamic radicals in Pakistan who have strong ties to theTaliban and sympathies for al Qaeda.

    What has Pakistan done in the war on terror?

    Pakistan joined the U.S. war on terror and broke relations with Afghanistan's Taliban government, to the chagrin of many Pakistanis. In June 2003, Bush announced that Pakistan had arrested more than 500 Taliban and Qaeda members. One of the most significant catches: the March 2003 arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the former No. 3 leader of al Qaeda and the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks. Pakistan has also deployed 25,000 troops to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the mountainous region that borders Afghanistan, to track Qaeda fugitives.

    Why do critics say it hasn't done enough?

    Many critics doubt the loyalty of Pakistan's armed forces and the military's intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence; some members of both have openly sympathized with al Qaeda and its fight against the West. Pakistani military officers have recently been arrested for alleged ties to al Qaeda, including a solider who reportedly sheltered Mohammed. And politicians in Musharraf's government express open admiration for al Qaeda. In addition, the government hasn't been able to locate bin Laden or other Qaeda figures thought to be hiding out in border regions. That's partially because many locals revere bin Laden and his fellow extremists. "Nobody will turn them over," says Kathy Gannon, Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Associated Press Pakistan and Afghanistan bureau chief since 1989.

    What were U.S.-Pakistan relations like before 9/11?

    Chilly. Experts point out that Pakistan used to be a world pariah: censured and sanctioned for its nuclear ambitions, which culminated in five successful nuclear tests announced on May 28, 1998. It also actively supported the Taliban and was one of very few countries to recognize Taliban rule in Afghanistan as legitimate.

    What effect did 9/11 have?

    Pakistan sided with the United States in the war on terror and, as a result, regained the strategic importance it had during the 1980s, when it was a base for U.S. aid to Islamic militias fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. On June 24, 2003, President Bush hosted Musharraf at Camp David and announced a $3 billion aid package for Pakistan, as well as $1 billion in loan forgiveness, in recognition of its assistance to the United States in fighting al Qaeda.

    Is the aid package what Musharraf wanted?

    Yes and no. The amount pledged almost equals the sum given to Pakistan under Ronald Reagan's administration, when fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan was a regional security concern. It will certainly help Pakistan pay down its crushing debt burden, which in 2001 was 115 percent of its gross domestic product. However, the aid package announced by Bush does not include 28 F-16 fighter jets that Pakistan ordered from the United States 13 years ago. The sale has been blocked since then by the U.S. Congress because of concerns over Pakistan's nuclear program and Musharraf's path to power.

    Is Musharraf the elected leader of Pakistan?

    No. He seized power in a 1999 military coup. Tensions between then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Musharraf were exacerbated after Sharif in July 1999 ordered Pakistani troops to retreat from their positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control, which divides the disputed territory of Kashmir. That decision was highly unpopular with the army. The crisis came to a head when Musharraf, then the head of the army and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, was flying home from Sri Lanka in October 1999 and Sharif's government denied his plane permission to land. With fuel running low, the plane was at risk of crashing. Musharraf supporters stormed the palace, took over the airports, state radio, and television, and allowed the plane to land. They also took Sharif into custody.

    Where is Nawaz Sharif now?

    Living in exile with his family in Saudi Arabia. Sharif accepted a 10-year exile in return for his release from prison after the coup. Another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, also lives in exile abroad. She was convicted in absentia of corruption, and faces arrest if she returns to Pakistan.

    When did Musharraf become president?

    Musharraf named himself president of Pakistan before meeting with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in July 2001. He resisted calls for elections at that point, but engineered a referendum in 2002 that confirmed him as president for five years. He also changed the constitution to grant him increased powers over parliament and the new government.

    Is Musharraf a reliable partner for the United States?

    Experts aren't entirely sure. "We're dependent on someone who has done a lot of distorted and anti-democratic things to get into power," says Ispahani. "I don't think we can rely on one man, especially a military man." Gannon says that Musharraf will not sacrifice either his domestic or regional agenda--particularly the twin issues of Kashmir and nuclear weapons--for the United States. At the same time, Musharraf has given the United States almost everything it's asked for since 9/11, including public support, the use of military bases, and a crackdown on local militants--at significant domestic political cost.

    What are the political costs?

    There is a "deep and wide anti-Americanism in Pakistan today," Ispahani says. The country, officially an Islamic republic, is more than 97 percent Islamic, and many Pakistanis are angry that Musharraf has joined forces with the United States to hunt down Muslims. Pakistani Muslims are, by and large, moderates, and the country has a history of secularism and freedom of religion, Ispahani says. However, radical fundamentalist groups are gaining in both strength and numbers.

    What happened in Pakistan's October 2002 elections?

    Religious parties made large gains, in part due to Musharraf's maneuvering, some analysts say. Instead of running against Bhutto and Sharif, whom he probably would have defeated, Musharraf banned them from participating. This left their supporters in the secular political parties--Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples' Party and Sharif's Muslim League--disorganized, and created an opportunity for Muttahida Majlis e Amal (MMA), or United Action Front, an alliance of religious parties. The MMA polled 11 percent of the vote, which gave it control of 20 percent of Pakistan's parliament. It now also governs the North-West Frontier Province and shares power in Baluchistan province.

    What's the status of Pakistan's parliament?

    Stymied. Last year, members of Parliament objected when Musharraf named himself president, because the Pakistan constitution forbids the head of the army from becoming president. Musharraf promptly sidelined them. Parliament still meets but exercises little power.

    Do some of Pakistan's religious parties have links to terrorism?

    Yes. One political party, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), is part of the powerful Deobandi sect that controls 65 percent of nation'smadrasas, or religious schools. As many as 15 percent of the students at madrasas are thought to be foreigners. The party is also associated with Harakat-ul-Mujahadeen, the first Pakistani group to be put on the U.S. list of terror organizations. The JUI has a large component of ethnic Pashtuns, the tribe many Taliban belong to, and both groups have strong ties to the Taliban.

    What is the biggest issue for Pakistan's religious parties?

    Kashmir. The predominantly Muslim province has been a point of contention and the cause of three wars between India and Pakistan since Partition in 1947. Pakistan supports an army on the Line of Control and is accused by India of funding armed militants who cross it into Indian territory. "Kashmir allows a playing field for jihadis," Ispahani says. Many Islamists in Pakistan also oppose the government of Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan, which they think is biased against Pashtuns and which, Gannon says, is seen in the region as "hugely corrupt."

    Why is Kashmir important?

    "Kashmir is the focal point of extremism" in the region, says Gannon. "The radicals can claim,'Islam is under attack,' and rally everyone under the Kashmir banner." She says there must be progress on resolving the Kashmir problem in order for Pakistan's military and intelligence service to be "de-radicalized." The international community has to make a commitment to settling the Kashmir dispute, Gannon says, before Musharraf can face down Islamic parties at home and reduce their influence.

    Does Musharraf face personal risk from radical groups in his own country?

    Yes. He cannot travel safely in Pakistan, says Ispahani, and has faced several assassination attempts. But, she points out, "he's survived so far, and that's a great sign."

     

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