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--- South Asian News, October 29, 2002 ---

Newswires/Breaking News

* US urges further Indian economic reform (reuters): The United States urged India on Tuesday to press ahead with its uncertain and slow economic reforms which the U.S. believes willIndia's markets and give it clout in international affairs. Washington's envoy to India, Robert Blackwill, told business leaders commercial ties between the two countries lagged far behind advances in their political relationship, including military cooperation and counter terrorism. "Unfortunately, the image among many U.S. investors, and the underlying reality, is that India Inc. is only partiallyfor business," he said, adding neighbouring China had forged far ahead in the past decade. http://in.news.yahoo.com/021029/137/1x2ti.html

* Talk to Pakistan, US official suggests (IANS): A senior U.S. official Tuesday urged India to reconsider its stand of refusing to talk to Pakistan until the latter stops its backing to cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Richard Haass, director of policy planning in the State Department, said the decision by India and Pakistan to withdraw their troops from the border provided a "breathing space" to resolve mutual differences. Haass said New Delhi ought to review its stand of linking resumption of talks to an end to Islamabad 's support for infiltration by Islamist militants into Jammu and Kashmir. http://in.news.yahoo.com/021029/43/1x2uf.html

* Trade and investment missing links in ties: envoy (IANS): Calling trade and investment the "missing link" in the dramatically transformed U.S.-India relations, American ambassador Robert Blackwill Tuesday urged New Delhi to get on board the "high-speed train" that is the global economy. "The train does not wait. It is never cancelled. No one knows how to slow it down or change its direction. It is the future," said the blunt-speaking envoy, sounding frustrated with India's slow pace of economic reforms. In an address to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here, he even taunted the audience comprising captains of industry by making a comparison between the performances of the Indian and Chinese economies. http://in.news.yahoo.com/021029/43/1x2s8.html South Asia tensions spoil India-US trade relations: US Ambassador (AFP): http://in.news.yahoo.com/021029/6/1x2nz.html Terrorism in Kashmir is externally driven: US Ambassador (AFP): http://in.news.yahoo.com/021029/6/1x2km.html


US releases four more al-Qaida and Taliban suspects from Guantanamo Bay and sends them to Pakistan. Elections in the Gujarat state in India, where more than 1,000 people have died in Hindu-Muslim riots, are scheduled for December. At least 32 Maoist rebels killed in an encounter with Nepalese security forces. The editorial section discusses India's secular society and the threat it faces by an ordinance curbing people's religious freedom. In the business section, Bangalore, India's Silicon plateau is emerging as a hub for global information technology.

Top Stories

* U.S. releases 4 Guantanamo detainees (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (Washington Post) (LA Times) (Las Vegas Sun) (Burlington County Times) (Knoxville News-Sentinel) (The Salt Lake Tribune) (Press Enterprise) (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) (News Observer) (/spacer.gif) (San Francisco Chronicle) (News Day) (News Day) (San Diego Union-Tribune)
* Pakistan police arrest spokesman of exiled Prime Minister (Wall Street Journal)
* Pakistan hopes for release of all US-held detainees (Wall Street Journal)
* Pakistan takes hunt for Al Qaeda to cities (Christian Science Monitor)
* Bhutto urges U.S. not to support Musharraf (Washington Times)
* US tells India, Pakistan to talk over economy, cultural ties (Wall Street Journal)
* As Kashmir looks to peace, India's Gujarat to vote (MSNBC)
* Elections in India's riot-torn Gujarat state set for December (NY Times) (Washington Post) (Las Vegas Sun) (San Francisco Chronicle) (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) (Press Enterprise) (Star Tribune) (San Diego Union-Tribune) (MSNBC)
* Indian President seeks 'e-concern' for rural areas (NY Times) (Washington Post)
* British airways plane makes emergency landing in India (Wall Street Journal) (United Press International)
* Indian police arrest 600 farmers protesting water sharing (Wall Street Journal)
* Seven killed in fresh fighting in Kashmir (Wall Street Journal)
* Torture, mystery deaths amid Bangladesh anticrime campaign (Wall Street Journal)
* 2nd round of Sri Lanka talks to focus on security (Wall Street Journal)
* Nepal army repulses airport attack, 32 rebels die (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (Washington Post) (LA Times) (Action News) (Boston Herald) (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) (Press Enterprise) (Star Tribune) (San Francisco Chronicle) (News Day) (Voice of America) (MSNBC)

Editorial/Op-Ed

* Religious rights take a hit in India (Christian Science Monitor)
* Technician`s view: Greenpeace scares for positive results (Technician Online) (Miami Herald)

Business/Technology

* Bangalore is where IT happens (E-Insite.net)
* Dispute spurs Indian companies to offshore backups (InfoWorld Media Group)

Other Stories

* India sends lavish love epic 'Devdas' to Oscars (NY Times) (Washington Post) (ABC News) (CNN) (Kansas.com)
* U.S. antipathy to Kyoto Pact on display at India meet (Common Dreams News Center) (Environmental News Network) (CNN) (Planet Ark)

Top Stories

* U.S. releases 4 Guantanamo detainees

Kabul -- The United States has released four Al-Qaida and Taliban suspects from Guantanamo Bay, the first detainees to leave the island prison because they no longer pose a threat, officials said Monday. Three Afghan detainees were handed over Sunday to Afghan officials at Bagram Air Base, Red Cross and U.S. officials said. The fourth detainee, a Pakistani, was flown on to Pakistan.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB-search,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Afghan-Guantanamo-Prisoners.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct28.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-afghan-guantanamo-prisoners1029oct28,0,4399001.story
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2002/oct/28/102803704.html
http://www.phillyburbs.com/%2E%2E/apNews/apstory.asp%3FArticleNo%3D85636
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/world/article/0,1406,KNS_351_1509065,00.html
http://www.sltrib.com/10292002/nation_w/11635.htm
http://www.pe.com/ap_news/International/Afghan_Guantanamo_Prisoners_35664I.shtml
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Afghan%20Guantanamo%20Prisoners
http://newsobserver.com/24hour/world/story/594551p-4621040c.html
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2002/10/28/detainees/index.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/10/28/international1349EST0580.DTL
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ny-world292983111oct29,0,4184017.story
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-afghan-guantanamo-prisoners1029oct28,0,1158843.story
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/terror/-afghan-guantanamoprisoners.html

* Pakistan police arrest spokesman of exiled Prime Minister

Islamabad -- Police Tuesday arrested the spokesman for exiled prime minister Nawaz Sharif as he was heading to work with his son, party sources said. Sadidue al-Farooq, one of the main critics of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's policies, last week released a report alleging large-scale rigging in Oct. 10 elections in which Sharif's party, the Pakistan Muslim League, received 14 out of 272 General Assembly seats.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021029_001347-search,00.html

* Pakistan hopes for release of all US-held detainees

Islamabad -- Pakistan's government expressed hope Monday that all of its citizens will eventually be freed from the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, where they are being held on suspicion of links to al-Qaida and the ousted Taliban regime. "We have given our report to the United States about these detainees. We are hopeful that they will gradually be released," Foreign Ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan said in the capital, Islamabad.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021028_002723,00.html

* Pakistan takes hunt for Al Qaeda to cities

Karachi, Pakistan -- Endless blocks of apartments as far as the eye can see. Violent, teeming slums that police won't enter. A porous coastline where fugitives can slip away to Arab shores. If you're an Al Qaeda terrorist on the lam, immense, poorly regulated Karachi may be the perfect place to hide. And increasingly, say Pakistani officials charged with hunting down foreign extremists, that's precisely what they're doing.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1029/p08s01-wosc.html

* Bhutto urges U.S. not to support Musharraf

Washington -- Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto urged the United States Monday to dump her country's military ruler and support democratic forces instead. Bhutto, who is scheduled to meet senior U.S. officials Monday, visited Washington to persuade the Bush administration not to support President Pervez Musharraf, who came to power in October 1999 after toppling an elected government.

http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/r.htm

* US tells India, Pakistan to talk over economy, cultural ties

New Delhi -- With India and Pakistan demobilizing troops along their contentious border, the nuclear-armed rivals should resume dialogue on economic and cultural ties, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday. Richard N. Haass, the U.S. State Department's director of policy planning, said better ties between India and Pakistan shouldn't be stymied by their dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir - the cause of two earlier wars between the two.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021029_001159-search,00.html

* As Kashmir looks to peace, India's Gujarat to vote

New Delhi -- After a critical election in troubled Kashmird a rare window for peace, India on Monday called a risky poll in volatile Gujarat where religious tensions will test the Hindu nationalist government's strength. The independent Election Commission, which had blocked plans for an early election after more than 1,000 people died in Hindu-Muslim clashes this year, said conditions had improved and voting would be held on December 12 under massive security.

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA

* Elections in India's riot-torn Gujarat state set for December

New Delhi -- Elections will be held in December in a state in western India where more than 1,000 people have died in Hindu-Muslim riots this year. The federal government has been asked to send 40,000 soldiers and paramilitary troops to Gujarat state for the Dec. 12 vote, J.M. Lyngdoh, India's chief election commissioner, told a news conference Monday.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-India-Gujarat-Elections.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct28.html
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2002/oct/28/102802490.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/10/28/international0815EDT0481.DTL
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=India%20Gujarat%20Elections
http://www.pe.com/ap_news/International/India_Gujarat_Elections_35652I.shtml
http://www.startribune.com/stories/670/3393515.html
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/-india-gujaratelections.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA

* Indian President seeks 'e-concern' for rural areas

Bangalore, India -- India's rocket scientist-turned president, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Monday asked the nation's prospering information technology workers to consider the poor and how IT can help develop rural areas. "I will celebrate the day IT goes to remotest corners of the country, in the form of tele-medicine, tele-education, e-governance and above all, e-concern for the people," Kalam said in the technology capital of Bangalore as hed the state's annual BangaloreIT.com trade show.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-tech-india-president.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct28.html

* British airways plane makes emergency landing in India

New Delhi -- A British Airways (BAB) jet made an emergency landing in the Indian capital early Tuesday after the crew spotted what they suspected was a bomb, authorities said. The flight en route from Singapore to London made the emergency landing shortly before 2 a.m. (2100 GMT), according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021028_009667-search,00.html
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=r

* Indian police arrest 600 farmers protesting water sharing

Bangalore, India -- Police in India's southern Karnataka state Monday arrested nearly 600 farmers protesting the state government's decision to release river water to a neighboring state, a local police officer said. Protesters pelted police with stones, prompting officers to fire tear gas and beat demonstrators with batons in Mandya, a town 100 kilometers southwest of Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka state.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021028_005933,00.html

* Seven killed in fresh fighting in Kashmir

Jammu, India -- At least six suspected Islamic militants and one Indian paramilitary soldier were killed in three separate clashes in troubled Kashmir on Monday, police said. Indian paramilitary forces shot and killed four suspected insurgents in a raid on their hide-out in Mahore, a forested village 130 kilometers north of Jammu, the winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, a police officer said on condition of anonymity.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021028_004274,00.html

* Torture, mystery deaths amid Bangladesh anticrime campaign

Uttarkhan, Bangladesh -- Yakub Ali's wrists, ankles and waist were badly bruised. His hands and legs, pelvis and right collar bone were crushed, his spine broken in three places, according to his family. The official cause of death: a heart attack. Ali, 40, a building contractor, died in custody after he was picked up Oct. 17 by army troops deployed to curb rising crime in Bangladesh. He was accused of having illegal weapons.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021028_001505,00.html

* 2nd round of Sri Lanka talks to focus on security

Colombo -- The second round of peace talks between the government and Tamil rebels will focus on security and development in war-ravaged northeastern Sri Lanka, an official said Tuesday. The four-day talks, whichThursday in Thailand, are another step toward ending the island-nation's 19-year ethnic conflict.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021029_000777-search,00.html

* Nepal army repulses airport attack, 32 rebels die

Kathmandu -- Security forces in Nepal killed at least 32 Maoist rebels when they tried to storm a rural airport, an army official said on Monday. Two soldiers also died in the fierce overnight gunbattle with the guerrillas who are battling to overthrow the impoverished country's constitutional monarchy, he said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021028_003277,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Nepal-Rebels.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct28.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-nepal-rebels1028oct28,0,6773456.story
http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/wsbtv/news/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V2764.AP-Nepal-Rebels.html
http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/international/ap_nepal10282002.htm
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Nepal%20Rebels
http://www.pe.com/ap_news/International/Nepal_Rebels_35655I.shtml
http://www.startribune.com/stories/670/3393836.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/10/28/international1048EST0510.DTL
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-nepal-rebels1028oct28,0,7144744.story
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectid=9F1F6A5A-22E4-4E11-A1088C45EB8D3272
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA

Editorial/Op-Ed

* Religious rights take a hit in India

Chennai, India -- Here, in India's southernmost state of Tamil Nadu, a state ordinance banning "forced" religious conversions is setting up the conditions for a clash between the state's religious minorities and majority Hindu community. On its face, the new law - which went into effect last Thursday and which punishes offenders with up to four years in prison - does not specify any particular religious group as its target.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1029/p06s01-wosc.html

* Technician`s view: Greenpeace scares for positive results

Seventy-eight years from now, we may live in a world more closely resembling a Kevin Costner movie than that which we are accustomed. According to a senior official of Greenpeace, by the year 2080 much more of the world may be underwater if nothing is done to combat global warming. While Greenpeace may believe the effects of greenhouse gas could cause geographic catastrophe, it is unnecessary to scare the rest of the world in order to generate a helpful response.

http://technicianonline.com/read/tol/opinion/006175.html
http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/news/local/4382487.htm

Business/Technology

* Bangalore is where IT happens

Bangalore has emerged as a hub for global information technology majors. Popularly known as the Silicon Valley of India, the city has attracted close to 40 per cent of the IT-related foreign direct investment that came into India between January 2001 and May 2002. The cumulative investment in the Bangalore software industry is estimated to be around $1.3 billion in 2001. Close to 150 foreign IT companies, majority of which are from the US and Europe, are present in the city not only to take advantage of the labour costs, but also of the skilled human resource base in the state.

http://www.e-insite.net/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=NEa1027237.2iw

* Dispute spurs Indian companies to offshore backups

Bangalore,India -- Infosys Technologies, a Bangalore-based IT services company, announced Monday that it is setting up a disaster recovery center in the neighboring island of Mauritius. The company had earlier planned to set up the disaster recovery center in Singapore, but negotiations with the local authorities there reportedly failed as the Singapore government was not willing to issue about 2,000 visas that would be required to move Infosys' engineers quickly to Singapore in the event of a crisis.

http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/02/10/28/021028hnindia.xml?s=IDGNS

Other Stories

* India sends lavish love epic 'Devdas' to Oscars

Bombay, India -- India has chosen "Devdas," an opulent love story with some of Bollywood's most popular stars, as its entry for next year's Oscars, an industry official said Monday. The three-hour musical extravaganza cost $10.3 million to make -- the most expensive Indian film ever. It- was chosen over six other films by a 16-member jury, the official told Reuters.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/arts/entertainment-arts-india-oscar.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct28.html
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment/reuters20021028_269.html
http://asia.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/10/28/india.bollywood.reut/
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/entertainment/4388706.htm

* U.S. antipathy to Kyoto Pact on display at India meet

New Delhi -- The U.S. government's opposition to the Kyoto Protocol is evident at the United Nations conference on climate change here, through remarks by its chief negotiator Harlan Watson Thursday that affirmed Washington's willingness to go it alone on the issue of global warming. At a press briefing at the 8th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, Watson reaffirmed his country's inability to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, saying it would mean a 35 percent reduction in economic growth and have significant consequences for other countries as well.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1025-08.htm
http://www.enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/10/10292002/reu_48822.asp
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/10/28/india.climate.reut/
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/18347/story.htm

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