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Updated on October 25, 2002 |
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--- South Asian News, August 12, 2002 ---(International)
Following the death of the fourth nurse in the hospital attack, Pakistani authorities have arrested more than five people believed to be from one of two banned Islamic militant groups, either the Jaish-e-Mohammad or Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. In Sri Lanka, the government has agreed to allow Tamil Tiger rebels the peaceful use of the contested route along the island's eastern seaboard. In business news, a survey says more Indian manufacturing industries expanded at a faster pace in the three months ended June 30 from a year earlier boosted by motorcycles, transformers and electronics such as video compact disc players.
Africa
* Pearl buried in LA (News24)
* Mother Teresa voted top Indian (News24)
Americas
* Pakistan chapel attack claims fourth victim (Globe and Mail)
* Nervous Pakistan Christians worship (The News Mexico)
* India monsoon, landslides kill 43 (The News Mexico)
Asia-Pacific
* Arrests made over hospital attack (Daily Telegraph) (Australian News)
* Death toll in Pakistan hospital grenade attack rises to five (Channel News Asia)
* Sri Lanka heading for snap polls (The Manila Star)
* Pakistan militants striking at 'soft' targets ()
* Tamil Tiger rebels gain key concession (Australian Broadcasting)
* Polling for India's Vice Presidential election begins (Xinhuanet)
* Kumaratunga halts probe into limos (Strait Times)
* Strife-torn Gujarat, Kashmir polls skating on thin ice(Strait Times)
* Mother Teresa ranked as greatest Indian in magazine poll (Bangkok Post)
* BJP chiefs wary of Indian President's visit to Gujarat (Strait Times)
* Indian minister's gift to Kabul - his plane (Strait Times)
* Cloudburst kills 33, devastates four villages in India (Australian Broadcasting)
Europe
* Thirteen killed in fresh Kashmir violence (Swiss Info)
* Islamic group seen behind Pakistan church attack (Swiss Info)
* Murdered journalist laid to rest (BBC)
* Indian troops killed in attacks (BBC)
* Fresh Kashmir Fighting Kills Eight (Sky)
* Attacks Rattle Pakistan Christians (Guardian)
* Pakistan raids show Islamic militants seek `soft' targets (Reuters)
* Indian president visits riot-hit state (BBC)
* Armed police guard church as Christians defy bombers (Times Online)
Middle East
* Rebel link to blast is probed (Gulf Daily News) (Gulf Daily News)
* EC to decide on polls 'in a few days' (Arab News) (Gulf Daily News)
* Polling for India's vice presidential election begins (IRNA)
* India donates jet to Afghans (Gulf Daily News)
* PAT move to form alliance with PPP (Gulf News)
Editotial/Opinion
N/A
Business/Technology
* Indian Industry Picks Up Pace in Quarter to June, Survey Says (Bloomberg)
* Does Pakistan need a new strategy to attract investment? (Arab News)
* Karachi IT expo amid heavy security (Gulf Daily News)
Africa
* Pearl buried in LA
Los Angeles -- Slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was buried on Sunday in a private ceremony in Los Angeles, a family spokesperson said. "We finally laid to rest our beloved son, husband, brother and father in his hometown, overlooking the concert hall where he loved to perform with his youth orchestra," the Pearl family said in a statement. "Danny will continue to inspire his family and the millions of friends and strangers who were touched by his life and death.
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Americas/0,1113,2-10-33_1240666,00.html
* Mother Teresa voted top Indian
New Delhi -- Mother Teresa has been voted the greatest Indian since the country's independence in 1947 in a magazine survey which received 50 000 responses. She was ranked ahead of independent India's first prime minister, Jawaharal Nehru, as well as frontline independence leader Sardar Vallabhai Patel, who was instrumental in getting 562 princely states to join the Indian Union. The poll, for Outlook magazine, did not include the leader of India's non-violent freedom struggle Mahatma Gandhi because the magazine decided "to keep the father of the nation above a voting process".
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Asia/0,1113,2-10-20_1240715,00.html
Americas
* Pakistan chapel attack claims fourth victim
Islamabad -- A Pakistani nurse died yesterday, bringing the death toll among female missionary staff from Friday's grenade attack on a hospital chapel to four, a hospital worker said. The attack on a Presbyterian missionary hospital, in which more than 20 missionary staff were injured and one of the attackers killed, was the second strike against a Pakistani Christian institution in a week. The attacks have been attributed to radical Islamic groups opposed to Pakistan's support of the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20020812/UREPOM-2/International/international/internationalAsiaHeadline_temp/5/5/6/
* Nervous Pakistan Christians worship
Islamabad -- Christians in this overwhelmingly Muslim country went to worship services Sunday in what has become an act of bravery and, for some, faithful defiance in the face of deadly attacks by Islamic extremists bent on revenge for the U.S.-led war on terrorism. In the capital, Islamabad, Protestant worshippers filed into St. Thomas Church past patrols of motorcycle police, security guards with metal detectors and female security agents checking women's bags. In his sermon, Rev. Irshad John told the congregation they should not fear death, but later asked them not to gather in groups outside the church gates once the service was over. That could make them a target, he said, and ``that could be a problem for all of us.''
http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=32677
* India monsoon, landslides kill 43
Lucknow, India -- While Torrents of muddy water from monsoon rains swept away several villages in remote northern India Sunday, killing at least 43 people, government officials said. Rescue efforts that included helicopter flights were hampered by pouring rain and lack of roads in Uttaranchal state, nearly 185 miles northeast of the Indian capital, New Delhi. Army and paramilitary soldiers called in to help were not expected to reach the area until early Monday, said R.S. Tolia, Uttaranchal's chief secretary. The death toll mounted Sunday as rescuers battled heavy rain to clear debris and pull bodies from piles of mud, rocks and uprooted trees.
http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=32675
Asia-Pacific
* Arrests made over hospital attack
Pakistani authorities have arrested more than five people over an attack on a Christian hospital chapel in which four medical staff and one attacker died, a local official said. "A few people have been arrested and they are being questioned, investigations are going on. I don't know the exact number of people but it is more than five," Tariq Khiani, the mayor of Rawalpindi district, told AFP. Rawalpindi covers the town of Taxila, 25 kilometres west of the capital Islamabad, where three men hurled grenades at worshippers as they emerged from a morning prayer service in the chapel of Taxila's Christian Hospital last Friday.
http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,4887010%255E401,00.html
http://theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,4887010%255E401,00.html
* Death toll in Pakistan hospital grenade attack rises to five
A Pakistani nurse has died from wounds sustained during Friday's grenade attack on a hospital chapel, bringing the death toll to five. The 28-year-old Christian nurse, a mother of three, died as the result of severe shrapnel wounds. Hospital officials said two other nurses injured in the blast were still in a serious condition. Meanwhile Pakistani investigators said that the three men behind the attack were believed to belong one of two banned Islamic militant groups, either the Jaish-e-Mohammad or Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/15785/1/.html
* Sri Lanka heading for snap polls
Colombo: Sri Lanka's eight-month-old government is facing potential setbacks to its agenda, including the peace process with Tamil rebels, as a hostile president contemplates snap elections anytime after December, party officials and political sources said. Government spokesman G. L. Peiris said the administration was unable to press ahead with its political agenda because of fears that President Chandrika Kumaratunga could sack parliament.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/8/12/asia/srilank&sec=asia
* Pakistan militants striking at 'soft' targets
Islamabad -- Last week's attacks on Christian targets in Pakistan may signal a new offensive strategy by militants angered by Pakistan's alliance with the US, military and intelligence sources said yesterday. 'These were 'soft' targets, whereas before the focus of the militants was on high profile targets such as the US consulate and the French naval engineers in Karachi,' said military spokesman Major-General Rashid Qureshi.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/story/0,1870,137048,00.html?
* Tamil Tiger rebels gain key concession
Sri Lanka's government has agreed to allow Tamil Tiger rebels the peaceful use of a contested sea route. The concession comes as combat units on both sides discuss setting up direct radio links ahead of peace talks. The head of Colombo's peace secretariat Bernard Gunatilleke says the government has told a Scandinavian team monitoring a ceasefire between the government and the guerrillas that it is willing to allow Tiger rebels the use of a route along the island's eastern seaboard.
http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_646760.htm
* Polling for India's Vice Presidential election begins
NEW DELHI, August 12 -- Polling began in Parliament for the Vice Presidential election Monday morning in which former Rajasthan Chief Minister and veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde are locked in a straight contest. The polling started at 1000 hours and would continue till 1700 hours and the results would be announced later in the evening. The victory of Shekhawat is almost certain in view of the support enjoyed by the ruling National Democratic Alliance. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan was the first to exercise his franchise in the election.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-08/12/content_521029.htm
* Kumaratunga halts probe into limos
Colombo -- Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga used her executive powers to halt a probe into the import of more than 50 high-powered bullet-proof limousines under her former government, her office said yesterday. The president's office admitted that the vehicles had been imported without following the strict tender procedures at a time when her party was in power, but refused to cooperate with a probe ordered by the new government.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/story/0,1870,137029,00.html?
* Strife-torn Gujarat, Kashmir polls skating on thin ice
New DelhiI -- Upcoming elections in India's violence-torn states of Gujarat and Kashmir appear to be on shaky ground, with a boycott and war of words threatening to disrupt the polls. India's Chief Election Commissioner James Lyngdoh has slammed officials in Gujarat for misleading him and the leading Kashmiri separatist group has said it will stay away from the vote.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/story/0,1870,137012,00.html?
* Mother Teresa ranked as greatest Indian in magazine poll
Mother Teresa has been voted the greatest Indian since the country's independence in 1947 in a magazine survey which received 50,000 responses. She was ranked ahead of independent India's first prime minister, Jawaharal Nehru, as well as frontline independence leader Sardar Vallabhai Patel, who was instrumental in getting 562 princely states to join the Indian Union. The poll, for Outlook magazine, did not include the leader of India's non-violent freedom struggle Mahatma Gandhi because the magazine decided "to keep the father of the nation above a voting process".
http://matrix.bangkokpost.co.th/afp_news/120802/.zdt74cok.html
* BJP chiefs wary of Indian President's visit to Gujarat
New Delhi -- The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders seem to be disturbed by newly elected President APJ Abdul Kalam's decision to visit Gujarat state today to review the rehabilitation programme for victims of violence. The state has seen the worst violence between Muslims and Hindus in a decade earlier this year and BJP leaders fear that any comments from the President - who is a Muslim - could strengthen the case of the opposition.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/story/0,1870,137055,00.html?
* Indian minister's gift to Kabul - his plane
Kabul -- India's Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha made his first visit to Afghanistan on Saturday with an unusual gift for his hosts - the jet on which he had arrived. The Air India Airbus-300B4, a 280-passenger, twin-jet airliner, will be the third aircraft in the fleet of the Afghan government's Ariana Afghan airline, which is resuming operations slowly following the war that brought down the Taleban government here.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/story/0,1870,136997,00.html?
* Cloudburst kills 33, devastates four villages in India
At least 33 people have been killed in torrential rains that triggered landslides and flattened homes in the northern Indian mountainous state of Uttaranchal, officials said. Anil Raturi, Deputy Police Inspector General, said 18 of the victims killed across four hilly villages, were women and added that an unspecified number of others were missing following the rains. He said landslides killed as many as 15 people in the village of Marwari while 11 more died in neighbouring Agunda village.
http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s645762.htm
Europe
* Thirteen killed in fresh Kashmir violence
rinagar, India -- Thirteen people have been killed in fresh separatist violence in India's restive Kashmir region, police have said. A police spokesman said on Sunday two villagers and two militants were killed in a gunbattle in Anantnag district, south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, which is at the heart of a military face-off between India and Pakistan. Security forces shot dead another militant in the neighbouring Bijbehara area, police said.
http://www2.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&eid=1267885
* Islamic group seen behind Pakistan church attack
Islamabad -- Pakistani investigators have that the three men behind Friday's fatal grenade attack on a hospital chapel were believed to belong one of two banned Islamic militant groups. One of the three died in the attack, in which grenades were lobbed into a crowd of women filing out of a Presbyterian chapel, killing four nurses and injuring over 20 more. The fourth nurse died of her wounds in the early hours of Sunday. "After identifying the accused who was killed in the attack, we have information that the attackers were members either of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammad or Harkat-ul-Mujahideen groups," Rawalpindi District Mayor Tariq Kiani told Reuters on Sunday.
http://www2.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&eid=1267560
* Murdered journalist laid to rest
The funeral has been held of the American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was murdered in Pakistan earlier this year. Mr Pearl's remains were buried at a private ceremony on Sunday in the Encino area of Los Angeles, three days after they were returned from Pakistan. The 38-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter was kidnapped in January while investigating Muslim militants in Pakistan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2187508.stm
* Indian troops killed in attacks
Police in India say at least 11 members of the security forces have been killed in two separate attacks in eastern India. In the state of Orissa, at least seven soldiers were killed - and four others injured when a vehicle carrying troops from the Central Reserve Police Force hit a landmine.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2186942.stm
* Fresh Kashmir Fighting Kills Eight
Eight people have been killed in fresh clashes between Indian security forces and Islamic militants in Kashmir. Two villagers and two militants died in a gunbattle in Anantnag district, south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The region is at the centre of a military faceoff between India and Pakistan. Security forces shot dead another militant in the neighbouring Bijbehara area.
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,,00.html
* Attacks Rattle Pakistan Christians
Islamabad, Pakistan -- Christians in this overwhelmingly Muslim country went to worship services Sunday in what has become an act of bravery and, for some, faithful defiance in the face of deadly attacks by Islamic extremists bent on revenge for the U.S.-led war on terrorism. In the capital, Islamabad, Protestant worshippers filed into St. Thomas Church past patrols of motorcycle police, security guards with metal detectors and female security agents checking women's bags.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-1941272,00.html
* Pakistan raids show Islamic militants seek `soft' targets
Rawalpindi -- Pakistan said yesterday Islamic militants, blamed for two raids on missionary institutions this week, were increasingly attacking "soft" targets and that intelligence must improve to counter them. The government was responding to calls for greater security for Pakistan's 3-4 million Christians in the wake of separate attacks on a missionary school and missionary hospital in which a total of 10 people, including one attacker, died. "The authorities must beef up security for Christian institutions and places of worship and come down hard on those behind these horrifying acts of terrorism," wrote the respected Dawn newspaper in an editorial.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=196140&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
* Indian president visits riot-hit state
Indian President Abdul Kalam is due to pay a controversial visit to the troubled state of Gujarat on Monday. The president - who is on his first official trip since assuming the largely ceremonial office last month - will visit victims of recent religious violence that claimed more than 1,000 lives, mostly Muslim. His visit comes a day after India's election chief strongly criticised local officials in Gujarat for playing down the scale of the violence.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2187626.stm
* Armed police guard church as Christians defy bombers
After two attacks on Christian institutions near Islamabad last week, the Sunday morning services at St Thomas's Church in the heart of the city's business district were tense affairs yesterday. Many worshippers stayed at home. Those who did attend were frisked. Policemen with automatic weapons were posted outside the building and soldiers with machineguns patrolled in lorries. The measures did little to alleviate the fears of Islamabad's sizeable Christian population. "Attendance has dropped by almost 15 per cent because people are afraid," the Rev Kamran Nadeem, a deputy pastor, said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,,00.html
Middle East
* Rebel link to blast is probed
Islamabad: Pakistani investigators said yesterday that the three men behind the grenade attack on a hospital chapel were believed to belong one of two banned Islamic militant groups. One of the three died in the attack, in which grenades were lobbed into a crowd of women filing out of a Presbyterian chapel, killing four nurses and injuring over 20 more. The fourth nurse died of her wounds in the early yesterday.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=29894&Sn=WORL&IssueID=25145
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=29797&Sn=WORL&IssueID=25144
* EC to decide on polls 'in a few days'
New Delhi, 12 August - Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh, who returned here yesterday after an eventful visit to violence-hit Gujarat, said a decision on holding elections to the state assembly would be made in a "few days". "We don't want to say anything now. A decision will be taken in a few days," he told reporters on arriving here from Gujarat, where he spent the past two days meeting officials and victims of the sectarian violence that hit the state this year.
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=17682&ArY=2002&ArM=8&ArD=12
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=29895&Sn=WORL&IssueID=25145
* Polling for India's vice presidential election begins
New Delhi, Aug 12, IRNA -- Polling began in Indian Parliament for the vice presidential election Monday morning in which former Rajasthan chief minister and BJP leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde are locked in a straight contest, local media said on Monday. The polling started at 10.00 am (local time) and would continue till 5.00 pm (local time) and the results would be announced later in the evening.
http://www.irna.com/en/world/.ewo.shtml
* India donates jet to Afghans
India's foreign minister arrived in Kabul yesterday for his first visit to Afghanistan and promptly presented his hosts with an unusual gift - the plane he flew in on. The Air India Airbus-300B4, a 280-passenger, twin-jet airliner, will be the third aircraft in the fleet of the Afghan government's Ariana Afghan airline, which is slowly resuming operations in the aftermath of the war last fall that brought down the Taliban government here.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=29808&Sn=WORL&IssueID=25144
* PAT move to form alliance with PPP
With the October, 2002, elections having already produced some rather unlikely alliances, a new one between the Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) seems to be on the anvil. While PAT, led by Allama Tahirul Qadri, has in the past opposed leadership by a woman and is also seen as a conservative party. Qadri is now reported to have made an offer of cooperation to Benazir Bhutto, the PPP leader. This is said to have come about after the PAT carried out a detailed study of results in the recent civic polls and decided that the PPP was the only major party that could help it make gains at various levels across the country.
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/News.asp?ArticleID=60376
Editorial
N/A
Business/Technology
* Indian Industry Picks Up Pace in Quarter to June, Survey Says
New Delhi, August 12 -- More Indian manufacturing industries expanded at a faster pace in the three months ended June 30 from a year earlier boosted by motorcycles, transformers and electronics such as video compact disc players, a survey said. Fifteen industries, including motorcycles, expanded faster than 20 percent, compared with six industries in the year earlier period. The Confederation of Indian Industry survey covers 127 manufacturing industries and 12 service industries. Twenty-two industries grew at between 10 percent and 20 percent, the same number as last year, and 68 recorded growth of less than 10 percent, compared with 50 last year. The survey showed 22 contracted, compared with 29 a year earlier.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?mnu=news&ptitle=South%20Asia%20News&tp=topfinancial&T=as_storypage99.ht&s=APVcA7BW3SW5kaWFu
* Does Pakistan need a new strategy to attract investment?
Islamabad, August 12 -- Does Pakistan need a new monetary and business strategy to attract foreign private investment, and respark sluggish growth that has failed to respond despite piecemeal incentives? The central bank and the government even now keep hoping that their monetary policy, budgetary measures, smalltime tax breaks and reduced customs duties will deliver. But, investors, industry, business and independent economists point out that the country continues to experience a negative output growth since mid-1990s. The trend seems to be accentuating as the present government completes its three years of what it claims to be a period of reform and putting together a growth package.
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=17679&ArY=2002&ArM=8&ArD=12
* Karachi IT expo amid heavy security
A three-day international technology exhibition attended by 300 foreign and local companies began yesterday amid tight security in this volatile southern port city. More than 1,000 armed policemen and paramilitary officers inspected cars and barricaded all roads leading to the Expo Centre in east Karachi, site of the Information Technology and Commerce Network exhibition, said city police chief Asad Jahangir.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=29764&Sn=BUSI&IssueID=25144
================================================================================================
---South Asian News, August 12, 2002 ---(International)
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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Copyright © 2001, Indian American Center for
Political Awareness. All rights reserved.
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