 |
 |
 |
| Home |
Updated on July 17, 2003 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
SOUTH ASIA NEWS |
STRING |
|
US
NEWS SOURCES -February 14, 2003 |
|
|
|
BREAKING NEWS
/ NEWSWIRE |
| * |
Pakistan should stop cross-border terrorism:
Congressman * (IANS) |
| |
Pakistan should keep its commitment to
the international community to put a permanent end to
terrorist incursions into Jammu and Kashmir, says U.S.
Congressman Joe Crowley. "Pakistan should not allow
itself to be used as a vehicle to export terrorism into
India," he said at a meet organised by the World
Business Forum Thursday. Crowley, who is also co-chair
of the Congressional Caucus on India |
| |
http://in.news.yahoo.com/030214/43/2150l.html |
| * |
Jindal leaves Bush administration, might run
for governor * (IANS) |
| |
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, who is leaving
his post as the highest ranking Indian American in the
Bush administration since July 2001, said he is
considering running for governor of Louisiana. Jindal,
who was assistant secretary for planning and evaluation
at the Department of Health and Human Services, told
IANS: "I am being encouraged to do that (run for
governor). The current governor has asked me to consider
it." He will work at the department till the end of next
week. "I will go back to Louisiana and make a decision
soon after that. I haven't made a decision yet."
|
| |
http://in.news.yahoo.com/030214/43/2150k.html |
| * |
Infiltration across LoC continuing: US
official (Feb 13) * (ANI) |
| |
A top US official Thursday told the
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that the
continuing cross-border infiltration across the Line of
Control was increasing the potential for hostilities
breaking out between India and Pakistan, a foreign news
agency said. "With the Kashmir situation still
unresolved and with continued 'cross-border infiltration
from Pakistan, the potential for miscalculation between
the two countries remains high, especially in the wake
of some violent 'triggering event' such as another
spectacular terrorist attack or political
assassination," Vice Admiral Lowell E Jacoby, Director
of the US Defence Intelligence Agency, told the
Committee. This is in spite of steps taken by both
countries to defuse tensions, after last year's military
standoff along the LoC, he said.(ANI) |
| |
http://in.news.yahoo.com/030213/139/211un.html |
| * |
ISI sheltering Taliban along Pak-Afghan border
US senators (Feb 13) * (ANI) |
| |
Two senior members of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee have said that Pakistan's
powerful intelligence agency ISI was sheltering Taliban
fighters along the border, thus undermining the
stability of Afghanistan. The senators - Richard G.
Lugar, Republican of Indiana, and Joseph R. Biden Jr.,
Democrat of Delaware - said they did not believe that
President Pervez Musharraf was involved in the
destabilizing activities, says New York Times
|
| |
http://in.news.yahoo.com/030213/139/211qx.html | | |
|
|
Prosecutors accuse an
American doctor and 4 others of having links with the al-Qaeda. 15
more Bangladeshis sneaking into India have been sent back as India
vows to expel 20 million Bangladeshi refugees from its territory.
Tamil rebels demand withdrawal of government troops in a rally in
Jaffna, Sri Lanka. The editorial discusses, India's software
industry and their ongoing efforts to sustain the current growth
rate. |
HEADLINES |
| TOP STORIES |
 |
A last bid to be Americans (NJ Star
Ledger) |
|
Bobby Jindal resigns post as Bush adviser
(Shreveport Times) |
|
Ex-Foster aide resigns post as Bush health-care adviser
(New Orleans Picayune) |
|
4 Eyes on Baton Rouge (Washington
Post) |
|
US legislation seeks to prevent deportation of Pakistani
woman, four daughters (Voice of America) |
|
Philippines to ask Indian rice supplier for $2.5 million
refund (Nasdaq News) |
|
One dead, 10 missing after Bangladesh boat
sinks (New York Times-Registration required) (Washington Post)
(ABC News) |
|
Pakistan to accept Renminbi in export trades with
China (Global Sources) |
|
Long preparations seen before Nepal peace
talks (Yahoo News) |
|
Devastated Nepal cuts funds for
environment (Environment News Service) |
|
U.S. targets within Pakistan could face renewed
attacks (Wall Street Journal-Subscription
required) |
|
Foreign national arrested in southwestern
Pakistan (Wall Street Journal-Subscription
required) |
|
India calls missile test a success (Buffalo
News) |
|
We can do something about deadly
smoke (International Herald Tribune) |
|
Several Asian governments set for diplomatic pullout from
Iraq (Voice of America) |
|
Tamils demand Sri Lankan troops withdraw from
Jaffna (Wall Street Journal-Subscription
required) |
|
Pakistan prosecutors say US doctor has ties to
al-Qaeda (Wall Street Journal-Subscription
required) |
|
India-Bangladesh border row ends ahead of
talks (Washington Post) (ABC News) (Wall Street
Journal-Subscription
required) |
| EDITORIALS / OP-ED |
|
India tech companies may shift their focus (New
York Times-Registration required) (Washington
Post) |
| BUSINESS / TECHNOLOGY |
|
AirTel unveils pan-India GPRS network (Wireless
Week) |
|
Snecma to triple sales in India within five
years (Bloomberg News) |
|
Indian fears on U.S. outsourcing (International
Herald Tribune) |
|
Pakistan's SECP chairman resigns (Nasdaq
News) |
|
U.S. positioned to capture India's cotton
needs (Agricultural Web) |
|
Vajpayee - Government must stop 240 billion rupees/year
electricity distribution losses (Nasdaq News) |
|
Pakistan government plans to sell 51% stake in Jamshoro
Power (Nasdaq News) |
|
Bangladesh minister: Gas exports to India being
considered (Wall Street Journal-Subscription
required) |
| OTHER STORIES |
|
Bollywood musical 'Guru' fails to make believers out of
us (Seattle Post Intelligencer) (Washington Post) (Boston
Globe) |
|
Indian films are big hits at Novi theater (Detroit Free
Press) |
|
Indians to celebrate Valentine's Day despite
protests (Wall Street Journal-Subscription required) (Twin Cities
News) (Las Vegas Sun) (The State) (San Francisco
Chronicle) |
|
Sri
Lanka postpones reng of Jaffna library complex (Wall Street
Journal-Subscription required) |
|
Cupid told to go fly a kite (Washington
Times) |
|
Two
Pakistanis Indicted in ID Scam (LI NewsDay) |
|
| TOP
STORIES |
|
* |
A last bid to
be Americans |
| |
In a final
attempt to keep the family of a hate crime victim from being deported, New
Jersey Rep. Rush Holt (D-12th Dist.) reintroduced a bill yesterday that
would grant permanent residency to a Milltown widow and her four
daughters. Waqar Hasan, a native of Pakistan, was shot to death while
working at a Texas convenience store on Sept. 15, 2001. His alleged
killer, who said he wanted to "retaliate" for the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, is now on death row awaiting sentencing for another killing.
Besides mourning Hasan's death, his wife, Durreshahwar, and her teenage
daughters face deportation because his application for legal residency for
himself and his family was automatically closed. |
| |
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-3/.xml |
|
* |
Bobby Jindal
resigns post as Bush adviser |
| |
Louisiana native
Bobby Jindal has resigned as President George W. Bush's chief health-care
policy adviser to come home to Louisiana to consider running for governor.
"I still have a decision to make," the 31-year-old Jindal told Louisiana
Gannett News on Thursday. "I honestly want time to stop, listen, think and
pray to decide what I want to do next." Gov. Mike Foster and others have
encouraged the former state policy maker to run for governor in the fall
elections. "It is something I will consider," Jindal said. "I haven't had
time to think about it." |
| |
http://www.nwlouisiana.com/html/C93C3079-207F-4526-86CA-E49E3F1E2A3C.shtml |
|
* |
Ex-Foster aide
resigns post as Bush health-care adviser |
| |
Bobby Jindal, who
has been urged by term-limited Gov. Foster to join a fast-growing field of
candidates in the fall governor's race, appeared to take a step in that
direction Thursday when he resigned his position as a health-care policy
adviser in the Bush administration. In an interview, the 31-year-old Baton
Rouge native, a Republican, said he has not yet decided whether he will
seek office. But his letter of resignation to President Bush offered
strong hints that he is leaning that way. |
| |
http://nola.com/news/t-p/capital/index.ssf?/base/news-0/.xml |
|
* |
4 Eyes on
Baton Rouge |
| |
Bobby P. Jindal,
former president of the University of Louisiana system and secretary of
the state department of health and hospitals, and more recently assistant
secretary for planning and evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, is leaving "to consider other opportunities in his home
state," HHS announced somewhat enigmatically yesterday. Speculation in
Louisiana is that Jindal is going to run to try to succeed Gov. Mike
Foster (R), who's leaving after two terms. But latest word is that Jindal
and his wife are still thinking things over. Better hurry up! The election
is this year. |
| |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5747-2003Feb13.html |
|
* |
US legislation
seeks to prevent deportation of Pakistani woman, four
daughters |
| |
A U.S.
Congressman has introduced legislation to prevent the deportation of a
Pakistani woman and her four daughters. The woman's husband had been
killed in an incident attributed to an anti-Muslim backlash after the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. Waqar Hasan
left his native Pakistan in 1993, seeking a better life in the United
States after surviving an armed robbery on the streets of
Karachi. |
| |
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=20CD385F-00AD-474F-8424D75F8BDF23CF |
|
* |
Philippines to
ask Indian rice supplier for $2.5 million refund |
| |
Manila -- The
Philippines is set to ask for a $2.5 million refund from India's Projects
and Equipment Co., or PEC, for supplying around 100,000 metric tons of
infested and odor-emitting rice in 2002, a senior official said Thursday.
National Food Authority administrator Arthur Yap said the claim will be
filed by Philippine International Trading Corp., which contracted all of
the country's rice imports in 2002. The $2.5 million claim represents the
"reconditioning" cost incurred by the NFA on around 100,000 tons of rice
imports supplied by India. |
| |
http://news.nasdaq.com/news/newsStory.aspx?&cpath=20030213\ACQDJONDOWJONESDJONLINE000435.htm |
|
* |
One dead, 10
missing after Bangladesh boat sinks |
| |
Dhaka -- A ferry
sank in Bangladesh, killing one man and leaving 10 members of a family
missing, police said Friday. The boat sank on the river Meghna near the
town of Matlab, about 100 miles southeast of the capital Dhaka, on
Thursday evening, they said. `A man died and 10 people of a family are
missing. Others either swam to safety or were rescued by other boats,' a
police officer at the scene told reporters. |
| |
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-bangladesh-boat.html |
| |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6103-2003Feb14.html |
| |
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20030214_26.html |
|
* |
Pakistan to
accept Renminbi in export trades with China |
| |
Beijing --
Renminbi will be used to pay for the commodities imported from Pakistan.
Ishrat Hussain,president of Pakistan central bank said that Pakistan had
approved to accept Renminbi when export commodities to China. Ishrat
Hussain said on last Wednesday that Euro had been approved to be used in
Pakistan's trades. All the commercial banks of Pakistan had been indicted
to accept Euro. And Pakistan central bank approved to use Renminbi in
export trades with China. |
| |
http://www.globalsources.com/TNTLIST/2003/02/12/as/0000-6702-KEYWORD.Missing.htm |
|
* |
Long
preparations seen before Nepal peace talks |
| |
Kathmandu --
Peace talks between the Nepali government and Maoist rebels are expected
to take a long time to get started because preparations are necessary to
ensure their success, a government minister said on Thursday. Thursday was
the seventh anniversary of the beginning of the revolt aimed at
overthrowing the Himalayan country's constitutional monarchy and setting
up a one-party communist republic. More than 7,200 people have been
killed. |
| |
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=834&ncid=731&e=10&u=/nm/20030213/wl_india_nm/india_104068 |
|
* |
Devastated
Nepal cuts funds for environment |
| |
Kathmandu --
Although seven years of insurgency have destroyed Nepal's environment,
triggering massive deforestation and a spurt in timber smuggling and rhino
poaching, the cash strapped Nepalese government has slashed this year's
environment budget by 14 percent. Environment has been put on the back
burner by the government in the fragile Himalayan nation. "Recently, the
government made environment a low priority sector," said Purushottam
Prasad Tiwari, spokesperson at the Ministry of Population and
Environment. |
| |
http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2003/.asp |
|
* |
U.S. targets
within Pakistan could face renewed attacks |
| |
Islamabad --
Islamic militants could renew terrorist attacks on U.S. targets in
Pakistan in the event of a U.S. war with Iraq, military analysts say,
suggesting further instability in a region already roiled by al Qaeda
assaults. The prospect of fresh militant assaults worries diplomats and
independent analysts here because of the region's exceptional volatility.
Long the center of al Qaeda activity, the region also has two
nuclear-armed neighbors -- Pakistan and India -- that routinely threaten
each other with war. |
| |
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB-search,00.html |
|
* |
Foreign
national arrested in southwestern Pakistan |
| |
Quetta, Pakistan
-- Police in southwestern Pakistan said Friday they have arrested a
foreign national on suspicion of ties with a terrorist organization,
possibly al-Qaida. The suspect was arrested during a raid of a house in
Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, where he had been living with
a Pakistani family, police said. |
| |
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20030214_001006-search,00.html |
|
* |
India calls
missile test a success |
| |
New Delhi --
India on Wednesday conducted its fourth missile test this year, firing a
supersonic cruise missile capable of hitting major cities in Pakistan.
Islamabad denounced the test as a sign of New Delhi's "massive
militarization." The test comes at a time of tension between the two
nuclear-armed nations. India's defense minister, George Fernandes, said
the Brahmos missile was launched off an Indian navy destroyer and hit its
target. |
| |
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030213/1016147.asp |
|
* |
We can do
something about deadly smoke |
| |
New Delhi -- Some
of the world's worst air pollution takes place far from urban smokestacks
and vehicle emissions. It's right inside the homes of countless rural
dwellers, causing widespread health problems and well over a million
deaths a year. Nearly half of the world's households use unprocessed
biomass fuels - wood, animal dung, crop residues and grasses - for cooking
and heating. Most is gathered from the countryside. Such fuels are an
inefficient source of energy. Burning them infireplaces or in simple
indoor stoves does not result in complete combustion. Instead it releases
large amounts of air pollutants. |
| |
http://www.iht.com/articles/86672.html |
|
* |
Several Asian
governments set for diplomatic pullout from Iraq |
| |
A number of Asian
governments are pulling out or preparing to pull diplomatic staff out of
their embassies in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The measures come as Asian
countries brace for a possible U.S. led military invasion of Iraq.
Pakistan, a key U.S, ally, is one the countries scaling back its
diplomatic representation in Baghdad. Even though Islamabad has cautioned
against going to war to divest Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction, it
is preparing for the conflict. Pakistan Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aziz
Ahmed Khan said "Pakistan has withdrawn the families, because of the
prevailing situation, as well as some non-essential staff from our Embassy
in Baghdad. But otherwise our diplomatic officers and staff are all
present." |
| |
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=8FE7F0B4-E90B-488F-A54FD1CC4D146578 |
|
* |
Tamils demand
Sri Lankan troops withdraw from Jaffna |
| |
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
-- Thousands rallied Friday in northern Sri Lanka to demand the withdrawal
of government troops after a fist fight between soldiers and Tamil rebels
dealt a blow to a year-old truce. At least 8,000 people carrying placards
and shouting slogans rallied in the northern town of Jaffna, in the
traditional homeland of Sri Lanka's minority Tamils. |
| |
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20030214_000843-search,00.html |
|
* |
Pakistan
prosecutors say US doctor has ties to al-Qaeda |
| |
Lahore, Pakistan
-- Prosecutors Friday told a court in eastern Pakistan that they have
evidence to prove that a naturalized American doctor and four family
members detained by police in December had links with the al-Qaeda
terrorist network. In a raid leading to the arrests, police seized the
Egyptian passports of several al-Qaeda suspects, plus foreign currency and
computer disks from the home of Dr. Ahmad Javed Khawaja near the eastern
city of Lahore, chief prosecutor Shabbar Raza told the provincial
court. |
| |
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20030214_001499-search,00.html |
|
* |
India-Bangladesh border row ends ahead of
talks |
| |
Calcutta, India
-- Fifteen Bangladeshis who tried to sneak into India have returned home,
Indian officials said Friday, ahead of talks to try to defuse an
immigration row between the increasingly uneasy neighbors. The group is
the second this month caught trying to slip across the border, as Indian
vows to expel 20 million Bangladeshi illegal immigrants it says are in
India. |
| |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6626-2003Feb14.html |
| |
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20030214_60.html |
| |
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20030214_000472-search,00.html |
|
| EDITORIALS / OP-ED |
|
* |
India tech
companies may shift their focus |
| |
Mumbai, India --
To remain globally competitive, Indian technology companies should change
their focus from developing software for foreign clients to managing call
centers and other outsourced services, experts say. `The wave is just
starting to happen. The emphasis should be on support services,' Chris
Gentle, European director of research at London-based Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu, told a conference in India's financial capital on Wednesday. `I
still believe India will be the dominant offshore location, but India will
have to compete,' Gentle said. |
| |
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-India-Software.html |
| |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2108-2003Feb13.html |
|
| BUSINESS / TECHNOLOGY |
|
* |
AirTel unveils
pan-India GPRS network |
| |
New Delhi -- With
competition in the mobile sector hotting up, the largest operator - Bharti
Cellular Ltd. has launched its next generation GPRS services in 15 circles
across the country, where it operates under the brand name AirTel.
Announcing the launch of these services, Mr Anil Nayyar, President,
Mobility, Bharti Televentures Ltd., noted that to begin with the customers
would have access to multi-media messaging services which bundles the text
messages with pictures, images and sound clips. |
| |
http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=story&articleId=NEa0212412.5iw&verticalID=110&vertical=Wireless+Internet |
|
* |
Snecma to
triple sales in India within five years |
| |
Singapore --
Snecma SA, which makes the world's best-selling aircraft engine in a
venture with General Electric Co., expects to almost triple sales in India
in five years as airlines renew their fleets. India was the main
contributor to Snecma's sales in Asia last year, which accounted for about
a quarter of total sales at the state-owned French company, said Snecma
Singapore Ltd. President Michel Turpin in an interview. As regional sales
outside India rise by an annual pace of 10 percent, Snecma is trying to
interest Singapore in Dassault Aviation SA's Rafale fighter, for which it
supplies engines. |
| |
http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?ptitle=Top%20Financial%20News&T=markets_box.ht&middle=ad_frame2_all&s=APkxPfRRkU25lY21h |
|
* |
Indian fears
on U.S. outsourcing |
| |
Mumbai, India --
Is the United States going to start turning its back on outsourcing, the
lifeblood of India's software and services industry? The global economic
downturn and threat of war with Iraq are, of course, both significant
concerns for industry executives, who are gathered here this week for an
annual industry conference to meet with analysts, consultants and the
chief information officers from American corporations, their most
important customers. But the growing threat of a political backlash
against outsourcing is the worry dominating the
discussion. |
| |
http://www.iht.com/articles/86592.html |
|
* |
Pakistan's
SECP chairman resigns |
| |
Karachi, Pakistan
-- The chairman of Pakistan's top stock market regulatory agency, Khalid
Mirza, will step down two weeks before the end of his three-year contract,
officials said Friday. A spokesman for the Securities and Exchange
Commission of Pakistan, or SECP, told Dow Jones Newswires that Mirza will
join the World Bank Monday as head of the division overseeing the
development of the financial and private sectors in East Asia and the
Pacific region. |
| |
http://news.nasdaq.com/news/newsStory.aspx?&cpath=20030214\ACQDJONDOWJONESDJONLINE000225.htm |
|
* |
U.S.
positioned to capture India's cotton needs |
| |
USDA's Foreign Ag
Service says the US is positioned to capture India's cotton needs as
domestic supplies tighten. USDA cites reduced exportable supplies in
Australia and West Africa as the main reason the US could gain import
demand. USDA has lowered India's cotton import forecast for MY 2002/03 by
300,000 bales to 1.5 million bales - below total MY 2001/02 imports.
"India's cotton imports and export-oriented textile industries have shown
strong growth in recent years, and this summer's weather troubles caused
doubts about India's production and raised expectations for imports," says
USDA. |
| |
http://www.agweb.com/news_show_news_article.asp?file=AgNewsArticle__4712&articleid=95313&newscat=GN |
|
* |
Vajpayee -
Government must stop 240 billion rupees/year electricity distribution
losses |
| |
Bangalore, India
-- Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee ordered electricity officials to
plug 240 bln rupees in annual losses from power transmission and
distribution. "According to one estimate, 240 bln rupees disappears due to
loss in distribution and transmission (of power) in a year," Vajpayee said
at the inauguration of a power project in southern Karnataka's Kolar
district. |
| |
http://news.nasdaq.com/news/newsStory.aspx?&cpath=20030214\ACQAAFAFXNEWS_EN_AAF_F_1855_14.htm |
|
* |
Pakistan
government plans to sell 51% stake in Jamshoro
Power |
| |
Karachi, Pakistan
-- Pakistan's Privatization Commission said Friday it plans to sell a 51%
government stake in Jamshoro Power Co., which operates two power plants in
southern Sindh province. The commission is inviting expressions of
interest for the stake, it said in a statement. Interested parties can
submit their proposals by April 21. The government owns 100% of Jamshoro
Power, which operates an 880-megawatt fuel-fired power plant in Jamshoro
town and a smaller 174-megawatt natural gas power plant in Kotri town, 165
kilometers north of Karachi. |
| |
http://news.nasdaq.com/news/newsStory.aspx?&cpath=20030214\ACQDJONDOWJONESDJONLINE000097.htm |
|
* |
Bangladesh
minister: Gas exports to India being considered |
| |
New Delhi --
Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, M. Morshed Khan, said Friday his government
is still considering the possibility of exporting natural gas to India.
"We are exploring all the possibilities. Commerce should dictate the
terms. Once we have assured ourselves over the quantity (of natural gas to
be exported), other issues can be sorted out," said Khan at a conference
organized by the Confederation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry, or CII, in New Delhi. |
| |
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20030214_001420-search,00.html |
|
| OTHER STORIES |
|
* |
Bollywood
musical 'Guru' fails to make believers out of us |
| |
All Ramu Gupta
(Jimi Mistry) wants to do is dance, like his American hero, John Travolta.
The only dance this Indian immigrant in New York knows is the macarena,
but his dreams take musical flight in a kitschy but inspired marriage of
Bollywood splendor and American rock 'n' roll rebellion: a melting pot of
cultural fantasies swirled around the unreality of the screen
musical. |
| |
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/108530_guru14q.shtml |
| |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5852-2003Feb13.html |
| |
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/045/living/_Guru_not_crazy_enough_to_follow+.shtml |
|
* |
Indian films
are big hits at Novi theater (Detroit Free Press) |
| |
Hooray for
Bollywood! Or is it Tollywood? Movies from India have become a popular
fixture at Emagine Novi since the 18-screen cineplexd last October.
Hosting Indian films each week springs partly from a smart reading of
demographic trends; the Indian population in Michigan doubled during the
past decade to 54,000, most of whom live in Detroit
suburbs. |
|
* |
Indians to
celebrate Valentine's Day despite protests |
| |
Mumbai, India --
Hindu nationalists say Valentine's Day is offensive to traditional values,
but restaurants and shops in India hoped nonetheless to romance
free-spending lovers Friday with flowers and heart-shaped balloons.
Sporadic protests have been held by Hindu nationalists over the last three
years in Mumbai, India's financial hub, and several cities in northern
India. |
| |
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20030213_010806-search,00.html |
| |
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/world/5181771.htm |
| |
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2003/feb/14/021402035.html |
| |
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/world/5181771.htm |
| |
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/02/14/international0638EST0487.DTL |
|
* |
Sri Lanka
postpones reng of Jaffna library complex |
| |
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
-- The Sri Lankan government postponed the reng of the library in the
northern city of Jaffna on Friday and posted armed troops to guard it
after a controversy erupted between local councilors and Tamil rebels. All
23 members of the town council in Tamil-dominated city resigned Thursday,
alleging they had been threatened by rebel supporters who sought the
postponement. |
| |
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20030214_000754-search,00.html |
|
* |
Cupid told to
go fly a kite |
| |
Peshawar,
Pakistan -— The student wing of Pakistan's fundamentalist Islamic party,
Jamaat-i-Islami, has condemned Valentine's Day as a day of shame and lust.
"This is a shameful day. The people in the West are just fulfilling and
satisfying their sex thirst on this day," Khalid Waqas Chamkani, a leader
of the Islami Jamaat Talaba in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP)
bordering Afghanistan, said this week. "Celebrating Valentine's Day is
against our Muslim traditions." |
| |
http://washingtontimes.com/world/.htm |
|
* |
Two Pakistanis
Indicted in ID Scam |
| |
Two Pakistani men
have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn on charges they
conspired to fraudulently obtain foreign and U.S. immigration documents,
officials said yesterday. The defendants, Shabir Ahmed of Brooklyn and
Mohammad Yaqoob Bhatti of Jackson Heights, were arrested in December on a
federal criminal complaint stemming from a Justice Department probe into a
scheme to traffic in Pakistani and U.S. immigration documents. Federal
officials indicated that the case had no connection to any terrorism link,
but they also signaled that there is a continuing investigation into how
authentic U.S. green card documents were obtained from the Immigration and
Naturalization Service by the suspects. The officials are concerned that
any compromise of the immigration documentation system has the potential
for abuse by terrorists. |
| |
http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/ny-nyimmi143130442feb14,0,3624096.story?coll=ny%2Dnews%2Dprint |
|
|
--- South Asian News, February 14, 2003
--- |
|
|
These links are provided for informational purposes only and no
representation is made for the accuracy of information posted on other
websites. Kapil Sharma manages, edits and distributes the list. E-mail
Kapil Sharma at kap if you have any
questions. For information on Madison Government Affairs, please visit http://www.madisongov.net/.
String
Information Services is a provider of secondary research, data
harvesting and data conversion services and assists in the preparation of
these links. For additional information, please contact (http://www.stringinfo.com/ or
Prashant Kothari at ppkothari.) | | |
|
|