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Updated on October 25, 2002 |
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--- South Asian News, August 13, 2002 ---
The ruling party nominee, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, is elected India's new vice president. In Pakistan, a pro-Musharraf alliance is formed before parliamentary elections much to the discomfort of the opposition. In the editorial section, an article discusses how Musharraf's laws have changed the legal system in Pakistan for the better. Infosys stands unhindered by the departures of two top executives in its U.S. sales team.
Top Stories
* US reaffirms warning to American travelers (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (Washington Post) (SF Gate)
* India's ruling party elects new vice president (Wall Street Journal) (LA Times) (Washington Times) (Washington Post) (Boston.com)
* Indian president, on his first official trip, visits site of riots (NY Times)
* Pakistani parties backing Musharraf form alliance (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (Washington Post) (Voice of America) (Boston.com)
* EU team says it won't interfere in Pakistani politics (Wall Street Journal)
* Pakistani court admits appeals in Pearl murder case (Wall Street Journal) (LA Times) (Washington Post) (Miami Herald) (SF Gate) (Voice of America)
* Brother defends Pearl convict (LA Times)
* Kashmiri separatists agree to meet with non-government Indian delegation (Voice of America)
* Security forces kill 10 rebels in attack in western Nepal (Wall Street Journal)
* Indian magazine polls lists Mother Teresa as country's greatest citizen (NY Times) (LA Times) (Washington Post) (Boston.com)
Editorial/Op-Ed
* Musharraf's laws enable terror trial (Washington Times)
* A band of Maoist rebels terrorizes an Indian region (Christian Science Monitor)
* The mouth of death (NewsDay.com)
Business/Technology
* Pressure on pricing from US market continues, says India's Infosys (Wall Street Journal)
* India's Sasken clings to wireless dream (NY Times)
Other Stories
* Indian villagers blame UFO for attacks, but police blame insects (NY Times) (Washington Post) (Boston.com)
* Sweet but deadly addiction is seizing the young in India (NY Times)
* Poverty in Pakistan: bad and getting worse (Washington Times)
* Far from eradication, India sees sharp increase in polio (LA Times) (Washington Post) (SF Gate)
Top Stories
* US reaffirms warning to American travelers
August 12, Washington -- Citing recent attacks on Christian facilities in Pakistan, the State Department reaffirmed on Monday its warning to U.S. citizens to defer travel to Pakistan and also urged Americans inside the country to depart. A department travel warning said another cause for concern for the safety of Americans was the July conviction and sentencing of four men charged with the kidnapping and murder of a Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl.
(Subscription Required)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020812_007546-search,00.html
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http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-US-Pakistan.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AAug12.html
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/08/12/national2055EDT0740.DTL
* India's ruling party elects new vice president
August 12, New Delhi -- The candidate representing India's ruling coalition, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, was Monday elected the country's vice president. Shekhawat defeated joint opposition candidate Sushil Kumar Shinde by 149 votes in the 788-member electoral college. Shekhawat polled 454 votes against Shinde's 305. The previous vice president, Krishan Kant, died July 27 of a heart attack, just 24 days before he was to leave office.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020812_003549-search,00.html
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-india-politics0812aug12.story
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/r.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8180-2002Aug12.html
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/224/world/Ruling_party_nominee_elected_I:.shtml
* Indian president, on his first official trip, visits site of riots
India's new president, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, visited the riot-torn state of Gujarat today, marching into politically sensitive terrain on his first official trip. Earlier this year Gujarat was the scene of India's worst Hindu-Muslim violence in a decade, and Muslims have bitterly accused the state's ruling Hindu nationalist government of doing nothing to protect them from rampaging Hindu mobs.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/13/international/asia/13HIND.html
* Pakistani parties backing Musharraf form alliance
August 12, Islamabad -- Several political parties that support President Pervez Musharraf formed an alliance Monday to compete in the October parliamentary elections. Opposition leaders accused the government of providing state resources to give the alliance an unfair edge. The Grand National Alliance comprises five parties led by several well-known Pakistani leaders, including a former president and prime minister. It has yet to name candidates for the elections, which are aimed at returning Pakistan to civilian rule.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020812_004144-search,00.html
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http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Pakistan-Politics.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8824-2002Aug12.html
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?ObjectID=522D8C70-C198-4A80-833F438122004FE7
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/224/world/Pro_government_alliance_formed:.shtml
* EU team says it won't interfere in Pakistani politics
August 12, Islamabad -- A European Union election-monitoring team on Monday reiterated its pledge to not interfere in Pakistan's internal politics - a response to government statements that it was meddling in the country's affairs. "I have stressed at our initial press conference, at every subsequent media interview and every single meeting with political parties that a fundamental principle of how the mission would operate is a pledge that we will not interfere in the internal politics of Pakistan ," said a statement by John Cushnahan.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020812_002257,00.html
* Pakistani court admits appeals in Pearl murder case
Karachi, Pakistan -- A court admitted appeals Tuesday from four men seeking to overturn their convictions in the kidnap-slaying of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and from prosecutors seeking the death penalty for three of the men who received only life sentences. A hearing date hasn't been set. The four men were convicted last month. British-born militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was sentenced to death by hanging and the three others received life sentences. Seven others are being sought in the case.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020813_000652-search,00.html
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-slain-journalist0813aug13.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AAug13.html
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/3853289.htm
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/08/13/international0512EDT0472.DTL
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?ObjectID=69EC13B3-0081-48C0-A8087599FB7D24EE
* Brother defends Pearl convict
August 12, London -- The Islamic militant sentenced to death for his involvement in the kidnapping and killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl did not mastermind the crime and was convicted in an unfair trial, the militant's brother said Monday. Awais Sheikh told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that his brother, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, complained of brutal interrogations and said police forced him to sign blank statements by threatening his family.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-britain-slain-reporter0812aug12.story
* Kashmiri separatists agree to meet with non-government Indian delegation
The main Muslim separatist alliance in Indian Kashmir has agreed to hold talks with a non-government committee trying to find ways to resolve the ongoing dispute in the region. The separatist alliance - the All Party Hurriyat Conference - Monday endorsed a decision by its executive council to hold talks with a delegation led by former Indian Law Minister Ram Jethmalani. Mr. Jethmalani says he expects to hold the first meeting later this week in Srinagar - the summer capital of Indian Kashmir.
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?ObjectID=6C0C231E-4D2F-43D7-9B48E517FBAE77E5
* Security forces kill 10 rebels in attack in western Nepal
August 12, Katmandu -- Security forces killed at least 10 Maoist rebels in a gun battle Monday in western Nepal , the Defense Ministry said. Defense Ministry spokesman Bhupendra Poudel said the guerrillas had taken shelter in the jungles near the village of Naubasta, 375 miles southwest of the capital Katmandu.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020812_002760,00.html
* Indian magazine polls lists Mother Teresa as country's greatest citizen
New Delhi -- Mother Teresa, the Macedonian-born Catholic nun who spent her life caring for the poor in the slums of Calcutta, has been voted India's greatest citizen in a magazine poll. In a survey published this week by ''Outlook'' magazine, Mother Teresa was voted the greatest Indian since the country's independence in 1947, from a poll of more than 50,000 responses. Mother Teresa, who won the Nobel Peace prize in 1979 for her work in Calcutta, beat India's charismatic first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who came in second. Indira Gandhi, India's prime minister for 15 years, placed fourth in the list of 10.
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http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-India-Mother-Teresa.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-india-mother-teresa0813aug12.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AAug13.html
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/225/world/Indian_magazine_polls_lists_Mo:.shtml
Editorial/Op-Ed
* Musharraf's laws enable terror trial
Islamabad -- Legal changes introduced by President Pervez Musharraf lie behind a decision to put four men accused of raping an 18-year-old woman on trial in an anti-terrorism court, a senior Justice Ministry official said. In the past, "you would not even have heard of these cases," the official said in a recent interview. About three months ago, Gen. Musharraf took several steps that proved crucial in prosecuting a June 22 gang rape that was ordered by a village council to punish members of a rival clan, said the official, who asked not to be identified.
http://washingtontimes.com/world/.htm
* A band of Maoist rebels terrorizes an Indian region
Jagdalpur, India -- The dense jungles of the Bastar region are far from the war-torn lands of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka - indeed, far from just about everything. But the Maoist-inspired rebels here are increasingly a cause for security concerns in Central and South Asia. The People's War Group (PWG), or the Naxalites, are so isolated even Hinduism has barely touched the ancient religion of its tribal people. Their ideology comes straight from the violent leftist movements of the 1960s, which called for the destruction of all governments, and their stated goal is the uplifting of downtrodden tribal people who are considered the lowest rungs of Indian society.
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http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0813/p07s02-wosc.html
* The mouth of death
Peshawar, Pakistan -- Ashraf Ali Afridi cannot remember the exact day his brother vanished. "Suddenly he disappeared," Afridi said. "We only found out two or three days later when he didn't come home." That day, lost in a fog of confusion, was the last time Afridi, a slight man who gives his age as "28 or 29," saw his brother, Rahmat. "He went to fight in Afghanistan," Afridi said, "and he has never come back."
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-wopaki0813.story
Business/Technology
* Pressure on pricing from US market continues, says India's Infosys
New Delhi -- Infosys Technologies Ltd. (INFY), India's largest listed software exporter, Tuesday said its revenue projections for the current financial year won't be affected by the departures of two top executives in its U.S. sales team. Infosys' Chief Executive Nandan Nilekani told reporters in a media conference in New Delhi that it will be business as usual in the U.S., the company's key market.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020813_001157-search,00.html
* India's Sasken clings to wireless dream
August 12, Bangalore, India -- India's Sasken Communication Technologies, smothered by a brutal telecoms crunch last year, is shaken but is hanging on to its wireless dream by adding trendy devices to its staple software services. The high-tech firm, whose investors include chip maker Intel and Citigroup is confident of bouncing back to profits in the year to March 2003 after a humbling 2001, and its eyes are set on a future world buzzing with Internet traffic on mobile handsets.
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http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-tech-india-sasken.html
Other Stories
* Indian villagers blame UFO for attacks, but police blame insects
Shanwa, India -- It comes in the night, a flying sphere emitting red and blue lights that attacks villagers in this poor region, extensively burning those victims it does not kill. At least that's what panic-stricken villagers say. At least seven people have died of unexplained injuries in the past week in Uttar Pradesh state. ''A mysterious flying object attacked him in the night,'' Raghuraj Pal said of his neighbor, Ramji Pal, who died recently in Shanwa. ''His stomach was ripped He died two days later.''
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http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-India-UFO.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8846-2002Aug12.html
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/225/world/Indian_villagers_blame_UFO_for:.shtml
* Sweet but deadly addiction is seizing the young in India
Bombay, India -- Promoted by a slick and many-tentacled advertising campaign, gutka, an indigenous form of smokeless tobacco, has become a fixture in the mouths of millions of Indians over the last two decades. It has spread through the subcontinent, and even to South Asians in England. But what has prompted particular concern here is the way that in the last 10 years, gutka - as portable as chewing gum and sometimes as sweet as candy - has found its way into the mouths of Indian children.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/13/international/asia/13INDI.html
* Poverty in Pakistan: bad and getting worse
August 12, Islamabad -- The proportion of Pakistanis living below the poverty line has risen from 26 percent in 1993 to almost 32 percent in 1999, an Asian Development Bank report released Monday said. Releasing the report at a news conference in Islamabad, the bank's country director, Marshuk Ali Khan, said almost 47 million people in Pakistan lived below the poverty line in 1999 -- up 12 million from 1993. The number is estimated to have risen further since. He said the ADB would provide $2.5 billion worth of assistance to Pakistan during the next four years, with a focus on poverty alleviation. About $1.1 billion will be spent this year.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/r.htm
* Far from eradication, India sees sharp increase in polio
August 12, New Delhi -- Polio cases in India have nearly tripled in the first half of this year compared with the same period a year ago, a jump that could set back the world's drive to wipe out the crippling virus by 2005. The new figures were dismaying for India, which only two decades ago saw tens of thousands afflicted with polio every year, but was now thought to be on the last lap in the race to wipe out the disease after an ambitious immunization campaign.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-india-polio-shock0813aug12.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AAug12.html
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/08/12/international1511EDT0619.DTL&type=health
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--- South Asian News, August 13, 2002 ---
The Indian American Center for Political Awareness (IACPA) is a national non-profit organization committed to the political empowerment of the Indian American community. For additional information on IACPA, please visit www..
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