Global News Post: South Asia

Islamabad Market Bomb Kills at Least 21

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">By
VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Pakistani
authorities say at least 21 people were killed and 70 wounded in a bomb blast
at a crowded market in Islamabad Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Police
said the bomb was hidden in a crate of fruit and set off by remote control
while the market was packed with shoppers and dealers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Pools
of blood and body parts were scattered across the scene.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">No
one has claimed responsibility for the blast. The Pakistani Taliban issued a
statement to reporters denying it was behind the attack. It came a day after a
passenger train was bombed in Baluchistan province, in southwestern Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">At
least 14 were killed and 40 wounded in that incident.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Police
said a bomb was hidden inside a suitcase and also set off by remote control.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
spokesman for the United Baluch Army rebel group telephoned VOA to claim
responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif's government has engaged the Taliban in peace talks to
end years of extremist violence in the country. Wednesday's blast occurred two
days before a Taliban ceasefire is set to expire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Islamabad Market Bomb Kills at Least 21

By VOA News Pakistani authorities say at least 21 people were killed and 70 wounded in a bomb blast at a crowded market in Islamaba...

Rival Afghan Candidates Already Claiming Victory

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">By Sharon Behn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Afghanistan’s April 5 presidential ballot has been
widely hailed as a triumph for the people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> 
</span>With votes still being counted, hopes for a smooth end to the election
are beginning to fade as candidates appear to maneuver for a political fight to
the finish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Technocrat Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank
official, told media he is certain he received a majority of the votes, given
the turnout in areas where he gathered a lot of support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">His chief competitor, former foreign minister
Abdullah Abdullah, has said he is sure that 60 percent of the voters had cast
their ballots for him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">To win the election, a candidate needs 50 percent
plus one vote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>If no one reaches that
threshold, there will be a run-off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Omar Samad, an Afghan expert at the New America
Foundation in Washington, D.C., says it is likely that the front-runners will
fight to the finish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“They have indicated they will go all the way
because both of them are in favor of a stronger mandate by going to the end of
the second round,”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Samad adds that the other six candidates could
soon start negotiating throwing their support behind one of the two assumed
leading candidates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Results <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Partial results could be announced as early as the
end of this week. The final tally is not expected until mid-May.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani, the head of the
Independent Election Commission, called on the candidates to wait for the
official announcement of the vote results.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">He says his request to all the candidates and
people of Afghanistan is to avoid predictions, or publishing numbers, so as to
not confuse people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Let the Independent Election
Commission announce the results as scheduled, he says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">According to the National Democratic Institute, a
full accounting of all ballots will be particularly important in this
hotly-contested election, where the margin of victory is expected to be slim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Jandad Spinghar, executive director of the Free
and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA), says so far the effective
security efforts and higher-than-expected voter turnout has lent huge
credibility to the election.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">He says all the ballots must be counted and
complaints of fraud or vote-rigging must be resolved before a final count can
be released.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Then we can say that we will have complete
legitimate election and the result will be acceptable," said Spinghar.
"If there will be second round, so we can expect that before second round
there will be a kind of negotiation between two candidates.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Fraud <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">According to FEFA, its election monitors observed
2,600 cases of fraud and misconduct.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Afghanistan’s senior electoral officer, Ziaulhaq Amarkhail,
has said every documented election complaint would be investigated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">He says Afghans are holding elections under
conditions of war and insecurity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>But if
there is any credible evidence showing that someone interfered with the
documents in favor of or against any candidate, he says the Independent
Election Commission wants to assure the nation that it takes all such
complaints seriously and is ready to deal with such situations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Analyst Samad says the election’s overall
credibility will depend heavily on how the election and complaints commissions
perform their jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Asian Networks for Free Elections Foundation
warned in a statement Wednesday that candidates' “premature and unfounded
declarations of victory can create an unrealistic expectation among
supporters.”---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rival Afghan Candidates Already Claiming Victory

By Sharon Behn Afghanistan’s April 5 presidential ballot has been widely hailed as a triumph for the people. With votes still bei...

Pakistan to Re-Engage With India as Soon as New Govt. Is Formed

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">WASHINGTON (NNN-PTI) -- Pakistan is looking to
re-engage with India as soon as the new government is formed in New Delhi post
the ongoing general elections and has recommended the non-discriminatory market
access (NDMA) to be proactively followed.<br />
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Visiting Pakistan's Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said, "We have
again got re-engaged with India in a very proactive manner in the last few
month, in order to increase the trade between the two countries".<br />
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"The non-discriminatory market access (NDMA) is a new term we have coined
for mutual expansion of the trade. We wish to minimise the negative list of
both the countries," Dar said.<br />
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He said a Pakistani government committee headed by him, also reviewed the future
road map of trade with India.<br />
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"We have recommended to the Cabinet and to the Prime Minister that this
NMDA is to be proactively followed," he said.<br />
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In his address to the US Institute of Peace, a Washington-based think-tank, Dar
said, "Whosoever they elect let me assure you, the spade work is there,
Indian establishment know the entire detail. So as soon as a new government in
India is sworn in, we will be happy to re-engage the Indian government on this
subject".<br />
<br />
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recently deferred a decision on this important
issue during the duration of the elections, which started on April 7.<br />
<br />
Dar said the PML-N lead by Sharif, was the one which triggered the process of
dialogue with India way back in 1999.<br />
<br />
But the process could not be completed and accomplish its goal as a result of
the coup in Islamabad that resulted in an overthrowing of the
democratically-elected government.<br />
<br />
"Of course, the dialogue was at a very advance stage, but certainly we
believed that it is not the time that we should conclude this deal with the
Congress (government), with the sitting government, because we might be seen
that we are becoming partisan to the Indian general elections," he said.<br />
<br />
Even a tentative meeting of the cabinet was cancelled, for this very reason, he
said. --NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Pakistan to Re-Engage With India as Soon as New Govt. Is Formed

WASHINGTON (NNN-PTI) -- Pakistan is looking to re-engage with India as soon as the new government is formed in New Delhi post the ongoing...

India Sells First Aircraft Carrier for US$10 Million

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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">NEW
DELHI (NNN-Bernama) -- India has sold its first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant
to a ship breaker for US$10 million following an auction, China's Xinhua news
agency reported.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">INS
Vikrant, purchased as HMS Hercules from Britain in 1957, had played a key role
in enforcing the naval blockade on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) during the
Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
Indian Navy vessel was sold to a company named I.B. Commercial Pvt Ltd. and has
30 days to settle the payment and tow the ship away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
ship was commissioned as the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy in 1961.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After
a distinguished service, it was decommissioned in January 1997 and preserved as
a museum ship in Cuffe Parade in Mumbai until it was closed in 2012 due to
safety concerns. --NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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India Sells First Aircraft Carrier for US$10 Million

NEW DELHI (NNN-Bernama) -- India has sold its first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant to a ship breaker for US$10 million following an auctio...

Report On Indian N-Plants Presented At Nuclear Global Convention

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">CHENNAI
(NNN-PTI) --India has submitted its latest national report on safety status of
its atomic power plants and its nuclear safety review and regulatory system at
the Convention of Nuclear Safety at Vienna. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
14-member Indian team led by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) chairman S S
Bajaj presented the report at the sixth review meeting of the Convention of
Nuclear Safety held between March 24 and April 4, AERB Secretary R Bhattacharya
said in a statement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
recent safety enhancements in Indian nuclear plants following the Fukushima
accident in Japan and the Indian system of licensing of power plants based on
periodic safety reviews were also highlighted in the report, he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
total of 74 countries, including India, are signatories to the Convention of
Nuclear Safety as on March this year and all of them have to submit a national
report on safety of their nuclear power plants every three years. These reports
are also peer reviewed and presented in the CNS review meeting. --NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Report On Indian N-Plants Presented At Nuclear Global Convention

CHENNAI (NNN-PTI) --India has submitted its latest national report on safety status of its atomic power plants and its nuclear safety rev...

Nepal Tells India to Shut Down Its Field-Office

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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">KATHMANDU, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Nepal</st1:country-region>   (NNN-Xinhua) -- The government of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Nepal</st1:country-region> has asked the reluctant <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> to immediately close its
field-office, which was basically opened to assist the flood victims in
Biratnagar, a town in eastern Terai plains in 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"We have
asked the Indian government through diplomatic cables to shut down the
field-office, as it is no more relevant," <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nepal</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s Minister for Foreign
Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha was quoted as saying by Republica daily on
Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Despite <st1:country-region w:st="on">Nepal</st1:country-region>'s several requests, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
reportedly, has not shown interest to close the office, which facilitated
vehicular movements in the past following the aftermath of Koshi river floods
in the eastern Terai.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Earlier in
January 2011, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nepal</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote a letter to the Indian Embassy about the
necessity to close the office. With no response in hand, Nepali side had to
remind the Indian side for the closure of the office again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"In spite
of several directives from the Nepali side, it is surprising that the Indian
side has been dilly-dallying to shut down the office," said a Foreign
Ministry official.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Initially,
the field-office was based near Koshi Barrage on Nepal-India border, before it
was relocated to Biratnagar. While transferring the office, <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> did not seek the consent of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nepal</st1:place></st1:country-region>,"
the official added.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">India</span></span></st1:country-region><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> has been a key development partner of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nepal</st1:place></st1:country-region>. However,
its non-compliance with Nepali legal system often creates rift between the two
countries. While <st1:country-region w:st="on">Nepal</st1:country-region>
shares the northern border with <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>,
it shares the southern border with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>. -- NNN-XINHUA<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>

Nepal Tells India to Shut Down Its Field-Office

KATHMANDU, Nepal (NNN-Xinhua) -- The government of Nepal has asked the reluctant India to immediately close its field-office, whic...

How best to serve Pakistan’s 750,000 IDPs?

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Rebecca
Conway/IRIN</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Pakistani men displaced by fighting in<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Khyber tribal region drink tea outside<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">a shop near <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:city w:st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">PESHAWAR</span></span></st1:city><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (IRIN) - Residents escaping the latest round of fighting in
Khyber Agency in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) say they did not even have time to
bury their dead before leaving their homes in the Tirah valley.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">They are the
latest of hundreds of thousands of people who have fled their homes in the
tribal belt close to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>’s
border with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
over the past five years of Pakistani military operations. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Conflict is not
the only cause of displacement - natural disasters have also played a role,
creating what humanitarians call a “complex emergency”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But despite the
existence of camps set up for internally displaced persons (IDPs) where the
government and humanitarian organizations provide assistance, most choose to
flee elsewhere - creating a challenge for those wanting to help these
vulnerable communities. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Over 75,000
people live in three established IDP camps (such as Jalozai, a half-hour drive
from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>)
which house families in tents or makeshift structures, and provide food aid,
medical facilities and drinking water. They also serve as a central
registration point for families arriving from areas hit by conflict or natural
disaster. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Large though
these camps are, they only account for 10 percent of the three-quarters of a
million IDPs, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Humanitarian
agencies are increasingly being pushed to take care of those who prefer to live
elsewhere; often in <st1:city w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:city>, the capital of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KP), and elsewhere in KP. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NGOs and the UN
working in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
carry out so-called IDP vulnerability assessment and profiling (IVAP) surveys
to gather information on where off-camp IDPs are, and the type of support they
need - from shelter and food to health care and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
(WASH) assistance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">They also gather
information about what IDPs say they will need on returning to their homes,
generally in FATA - with housing, security and agriculture of particular
concern to families. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">IVAP findings
are then passed to humanitarian partners in an effort to ensure that assistance
is targeted where there is the greatest need. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The European
Commission-funded IVAP project recommends that aid agencies prioritize
assistance for off-camp families, 82 percent of whom have to pay rent and live
in difficult, cramped conditions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">IDPs outside the camps <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Providing
humanitarian services outside of the camp environment can be challenging. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">IDPs have direct
access to facilities at camps, but tribal customs, perceptions of camp life and
a preference to stay with relatives and friends, mean a large number of IDPs
choose to live outside the camps, making it more difficult for the authorities
and humanitarian organizations to keep track of them and offer assistance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Those providing
aid, and the IDPs receiving it, would be better served if distribution was
decentralized, said Sobat Khan Afridi, chairman of the Tehreek-e-Mutasireen
Khyber Agency, an NGO set up by different political parties to assist IDPs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It is easier
for larger organizations, especially international NGOs, to operate from the
camp as it is easier to manage for them. The problem is that it is still
difficult for all the families not living at the camp to reach Jalozai and get
aid,” said Afridi. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It would be
better if they set up distribution points across <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city> in the areas where a lot of IDPs
live. That would mean less stress for the authorities at Jalozai, and less
problems for off-camp IDPs too.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Yar Mohammed,
29, arrived in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>
from Tirah in January after walking with his family for five days, much of the
journey through heavy snow. He says going to Jalozai was not an option. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The ones
in the camps are the most vulnerable. They have no other means or resources to
set up something else for themselves."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I spoke to some
people who told me the facilities at Jalozai are not enough. They were going to
give just one tent to us, and that will not do for 10 people.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Instead,
Mohammed stayed with his cousin until he found a three-room mud house in the
Scheme Chowk area of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>.
He pays 4,000 <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
rupees (US$41) a month, and hopes to move his family to a better house soon. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The movement of
off-camp families, especially those from Khyber, is very volatile. Sometimes
they are living with relatives. If they can afford it, they rent a house of
their own. We try our best to register all of them, but it is a challenge,”
said Faiz Muhammad, the KP government’s chief coordinator for IDPs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Efforts are made
to keep in touch with families who choose to live among relatives or rent
property. The government uses mobile phone numbers to register families living
off-camp, and officials try to reach families that are not registered in this
way during monthly food distributions at designated points, he added. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Even if they
are not staying at camp, most of them visit the food distribution points and
that allows us to get information from them, give them information and assess
the situation.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Humanitarian
organizations and the government have identified areas in and around <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city> with a high
concentration of IDPs, and some assistance, such as medical care, is also
provided in those areas. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Identifying
off-camp families was a challenge because of the reluctance of many IDP
families to register, as well as humanitarian organizations’ own security
concerns. That was overcome to some extent by mapping families initially based
on information from IDPs living in camps, and then expanding the effort to
surveys of off-camp families in host communities,” said an aid worker with Save
the Children in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
who preferred anonymity. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Moving on <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Khalid Shah from
Khyber Agency lives in Sufaid Dheri, a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>
neighbourhood that is home to an estimated 250 displaced families. Two years
ago, worried about the safety of his children as fighting escalated in the town
of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bara</st1:place></st1:city>, he
boarded up his small shop and left home. His first stop was Jalozai. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Everyone told
me that going to the camp was the best idea. It was safe and there was food and
shelter. But after a couple of months, I couldn’t take it any more,” Shah, 42,
said. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He started
commuting from Jalozai to Sufaid Dheri, where he would earn a daily wage
loading and unloading goods in a market. Today, he lives in a two-room
apartment in the same neighbourhood with his family. He remains registered with
the Jalozai authorities, and often travels to the camp if he requires
assistance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I have managed
to move here, but my brother and his family are still in Jalozai. He works here
with me but stays registered there. You never know,” said Shah. The brothers
also take turns visiting their land and their shop in Bara every month. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">For many
families, pessimistic about the prospects of peace in their villages and towns,
the next step is to plan for a new life away from Khyber. Many have sold their
land to buy property in and around <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>.
Those with the money have set up businesses too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The day I am
convinced Bara is peaceful, I am going back,” said Shah. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">However, those
without even modest financial resources are the real challenge for policymakers
in terms of a return strategy. The poorest of the IDPs have no option but to
register and live in camps like Jalozai, where the services provided are far
superior to what they could hope for back home. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The ones in the
camps are the most vulnerable. They have no other means or resources to set up
something else for themselves. They get health, education and food at the
camp,” said Faiz Muhammad of the KP government. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It’s an obvious
question: why would they go back?” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Security fears <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Pakistani
officials say return plans cannot be successful until peace is established in
the affected areas. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“We can only
begin working on a return programme for IDPs after the government and the
military determine that the affected area is safe,” said Faiz Muhammad. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In a refugee
camp on the outskirts of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>’s
capital <st1:city w:st="on">Islamabad</st1:city>, home to many families displaced
by the conflict on the border with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Sher Mohammed, from
the Mohmand Agency in FATA, says the military has cleared his village, but his
family members that visited still fear militant attacks. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“My cousins went
back last summer and they had to come back because it was still dangerous
there. I can’t afford to go back unless it is absolutely safe. It costs 50,000
rupees to take my family back. If it’s not safe, I’ll have to spend another
50,000 rupees to come back here,” said the 40-year-old. “I don’t have that kind
of money.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>

How best to serve Pakistan’s 750,000 IDPs?

Photo: Rebecca Conway/IRIN Pakistani men displaced by fighting in Khyber tribal region drink tea outside a shop near Peshawar ...

At Least 44 Dead in Bangladesh Clashes

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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">By VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">At least 44
people have been killed in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:country-region></st1:place>
in a wave of violence sparked by a special tribunal's decision to sentence a
top Islamist opposition leader to death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Reports Friday
said the latest deaths took place in Gainbandha district, after two days of
clashes between protesters and police. The protests were expected to continue
after Friday prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Many of the
victims were shot Thursday in clashes between security forces and supporters of
Delwar Hossain Sayedee. He was found guilty of crimes, including mass killings
and rape, committed during the 1971 war against <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>
for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
independence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Thursday's
violence occurred during a nationwide shutdown called by Sayedee's party,
Jamaat-e-Islami, to protest his trial and demand he be freed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A VOA reporter
in <st1:place w:st="on">Dhaka</st1:place>, Zahurul Alam, said two police
officers were among the dead, and more than 200 people were wounded. He said
Jamaat-e-Islami has called for another nationwide shutdown starting early
Sunday.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Jamaat has
again called a 48-hour-long continuous countrywide shutdown from Sunday morning
in protest of the verdict against Sayedee and the killing of his supporters by
BGB and police," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Sayedee's lawyer
has called the verdict unjust and vowed to appeal. Sayedee is the third Jamaat
party member to be sentenced for war crimes since <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s war crimes tribunal
was established in 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Arial;"></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Watch Related Video</span></b></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="506" scrolling="no" src="http://www.voanews.com/flashembed.aspx?t=phg&id=1613199&w=640&h=506&skin=embeded" width="640"></iframe><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /></span></span>

<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On January 21,
the tribunal sentenced Abul Kalam Azad to death in absentia, finding him guilty
of torture, rape and genocide. On February 5, it sentenced Abdul Quader Mollah
to life in prison on similar charges. At least eight more Jamaat members are
still on trial.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Human rights
groups have questioned the fairness of the trials, saying members of the
defense have been unduly pressured.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Bangladesh</span></span></st1:country-region><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> fought a nine-month war against <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 1971 to obtain its
independence. The government says 3 million people died in the violence,
although other estimates give a lower death toll.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>

At Least 44 Dead in Bangladesh Clashes

By VOA News At least 44 people have been killed in Bangladesh in a wave of violence sparked by a special tribunal's decision...

Improvement Needed in Standards of Higher Education: Indian Pres Mukherjee

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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The President, Pranab
Mukherjee delivering the </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">convocation address at the 8<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Convocation of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">SRM</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
in </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Chennai on December 28, 2012. Photo © PIB<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">CHENNAI (INDIA) (NNN-PTI) -- President
Pranab Mukherjee on Friday pitched for improving the standards of higher
education by Indian universities and asked the private players also to
contribute their best as there were 'unlimited' demands and 'limited' resources
in the sector.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The standards of higher education in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> today
need improvement. In ancient India, we had universities like Nalanda and
Takshashila which had established themselves as international centers of
educational excellence where students from all over the world came and
studied", Mukerjee said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In contrast, many Indian students today
choose to go abroad for higher studies, Mukherjee said in his Convocation
Address at the <st1:placename w:st="on">SRM</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> here in south <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Observing that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> needs universities to provide
quality education that met international benchmarks, he said, "we must
change the reality of our universities not figuring in the list of top
universities of the world. Indian universities should aim at becoming top
educational institutions in the world with global standards of research,
teaching and learning."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Noting that there were 'unlimited' demands
and 'limited' resources in the field of higher education he said, "it is
important that the private sector also contributes its best to the provision of
higher education in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The private sector has played a key
role in higher education in other countries across the world. Many top
universities including Harvard, Yale and Stanford are the result of efforts of
the private sector. There is no reason why Indian private sector cannot achieve
similar results", he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Stating that Indian education system was
"burdened" with demands of both "quantity" and
"quality", he said, "the numbers of students who seek admissions
in universities today far exceed the capacity of government educational
institutions".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"We need many more universities to be
able to address the demands of higher education. And along with quantity, we
also need to focus on quality", he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Defence Research Development Organisation
Director General V K Sarasvat and noted physician Pawan Raj Goyal were awarded
Doctorates in their field of expertise by Mukherjee on the occasion. -- NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

Improvement Needed in Standards of Higher Education: Indian Pres Mukherjee

The President, Pranab Mukherjee delivering the convocation address at the 8 th Convocation of the SRM University , in Chen...

India to Launch Public Internet Database on Rapists

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<st1:city w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW DELHI</span></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti) - The government
of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
has decided to make a public internet database containing pictures, names and
addresses of people who were found guilty of rape crimes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Indian Minister for Home Affairs R.P.N.
Singh said the all-national database on rapists will be completed in the coming
months and its aim will be “to prevent new rapes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The move follows rallies last week in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">New Delhi</st1:city></st1:place> in support of a
gang-rape victim. Over 140 people, including 78 policemen, were injured after
law enforcers clashed with demonstrators using water cannons, batons and tear
gas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The protesters took to the streets in the
capital seeking justice for the 23-year-old woman who was raped by six men in a
bus two weeks ago. All the six accused have been arrested and the court trial
over them is scheduled for January 3.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>

India to Launch Public Internet Database on Rapists

NEW DELHI (RIA Novosti) - The government of India has decided to make a public internet database containing pictures, names and addre...

India’s Economy Looks to Rebound in 2013

India’s Economy Looks to Rebound in 2013

By Anjana Pasricha India ’s economy has experienced its worst slowdown in nearly a decade this year. But there are signs that the c...

China Tightens Controls on Internet Use

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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">By Kate Woodsome<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">China</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’s legislature has approved new
rules that will tighten government control of the Internet by requiring users
to register their real names, and demanding Internet companies censor online
material.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The state-run Xinhua News Agency says lawmakers
approved the measures Friday at the closing meeting of a five-day session of
the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Beijing</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> says the regulations are aimed
at protecting the personal information of Web users and cracking down on abuses
such as junk e-mail. The rules also aim to “safeguard national security and
social public interests,” according to Xinhua. They have the same legal effect
as a law.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">China</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> has long tried to get Internet
users to register their real names rather than pseudonyms with service
providers, but with nearly half a billion netizens, the task has been an uphill
battle. The new regulations aim to change that and, for the first time, lay the
written groundwork to police companies that are not complying with the
government’s censorship policies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Identity protection
or censorship?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The decision says network service providers
will “strengthen management of information released by users” by instantly
stopping the transmission of “illegal information” once it is spotted and by
taking relevant measures. Those measures, Xinhua reports, include removing the
information and saving records, before reporting to it to authorities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The rules did not say what constitutes
illegal information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Beijing</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> has a complex information
management system that includes blocking foreign websites like YouTube and
Facebook, censoring Internet searches for sensitive words and phrases and
deploying an army of bloggers to steer online discourse away from potentially
volatile political and social issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Despite that, the growth of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
Internet has lead to a growth in online calls for reform. Complaints on Chinese
microblogs about corruption, abuse of power, human rights violations and
environmental pollution have led to action offline, including street protests
and the dismissal or resignation of corrupt officials.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Fighting corruption<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Human rights and free speech advocates say
real-name registration will curtail people's ability to report, often
anonymously, corruption and official abuses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Li Fei, a Standing Committee member,
dismissed those concerns Friday at a news conference in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beijing</st1:place></st1:city>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"We still call on the public to expose
any corruption by all means after the law comes out," he said. "The
illegal and corrupted will be punished.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Online chatter about a string of sex and
financial scandals has led to the downfall of several local officials in recent
weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Duncan Clark, a Beijing-based consultant and
a senior adviser to <st1:placename w:st="on">Stanford</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype>'s Graduate School of Business, says <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> seems to
be trying to strike a balance between information control and government
accountability.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"We’ve seen for a long time the
Internet being used to expose corruption but what’s been interesting in the
recent few weeks, which may be a counter current to these new crackdowns on the
Internet, is a lot of this has been followed up,” he said, describing the
Internet as a “scary thing” for many officials who don’t want their actions
questioned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The new normal?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The latest Internet regulations come amid a
crackdown on virtual private networks, or VPNs, which Web users need to get
around <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
so-called “Great Firewall.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Chinese officials say there has been no
change in the policy toward VPN providers, which they say must be registered
with the government. But the move has caused an uproar among Chinese netizens,
as well as foreign companies and journalists who say the crackdown is
preventing them from doing their jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Clark said there is often a spike in
Internet controls around sensitive events, like the recent 18th Communist Party
Congress that elected <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
new generation of leaders. He said after such events, there is a general lack
of enforcement, followed by another drive ahead of another big event. But this
time is different, he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Since the Party Congress, we’ve seen
increased measures, not lessened,” <st1:place w:st="on">Clark</st1:place> said.
“So the big question I would say, is when we get to the spring of next year,
when the new leadership takes up the formal positions in the new government, is
this the new normal?”</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Additional reporting by Victor Beattie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

China Tightens Controls on Internet Use

By Kate Woodsome China ’s legislature has approved new rules that will tighten government control of the Internet by requiring user...

INDIA: Famous Bizman Ratan Tata to Retire Friday

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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MUMBAI, India   (NNN-Bernama) -- Ratan Tata, who led the
transformation of the Tata group from a conventional corporate house into a
US$100 billion global conglomerate with high-profile acquisitions abroad, will
retire Friday ending a 50-year run in one of India's oldest business empires,
reports Press Trust of <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">India</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (PTI). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Marking a generational change, Tata, who
turns 75 on Friday, will hand over the reins of the group to 44-year-old Cyrus
Mistry, who was chosen his successor last year and formally appointed Chairman
earlier this month. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Tata is hanging up his boots after steering
the group for 21 years as its Chairman, when he succeeded the legendary JRD
Tata. While JRD made Tata the Chairman out of the blue in 1971, Mistry of the
Shapoorji Pallonji group and whose family owns 18 per cent stake in Tata Sons,
was chosen by a five-member selection committee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">During Tata's tenure, the group's revenues
grew manifold, totaling US$100.09 billion (around Rs 475,721 crore) in 2011-12
from a turnover of a mere Rs 10,000 crore (over US$2 billion) in 1971. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">His vision to transform the group into a
multinational giant resulted in high profile acquisitions such as Tata Tea's
takeover of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region>
brand Tetley for US$450 million in 2000. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But Ratan Tata set new standards for the
Indian corporates in the current era of globalisation when Tata Steel acquired
Anglo-Dutch rival Corus for 6.2 billion pounds beating CSN of Brazil in 2007. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A year later, the group's automotive firm
Tata Motors lapped up British luxury vehicle maker Jaguar Land Rover for US$2.3
billion from Ford Motor Co. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Even as Tata was concentrating on activities
abroad, he came up with the idea of producing the world's cheapest car when he
conceived the 'Rs one lakh' small car Nano. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">(One Lakh: 100,000) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Tata group underwent moments of high
tension in executing the Nano project when it got into problems on acquisition
of land in Singur in eastern Indian state <st1:place w:st="on">West Bengal</st1:place>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ironically, the group had to shift the
project from Singur, where he was invited by Marxist Chief Minister Buddhadeb
Bhattacharya, to Sanand in western state <st1:place w:st="on">Gujarat</st1:place>
at the invitation of Narendra Modi. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Although Nano could not live up to the
expectations after its initial worldwide acclaim, the small car will still be
remembered as Tata's desire to provide a "safer" option to many
Indian lower-middle class families riding two-wheelers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In a recent interview to PTI, he said Singur
was a "great disappointment" for him because he went there "in a
leap of faith" thinking that part of the country was being ignored
industrially. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Tatas will still go to <st1:place w:st="on">West
 Bengal</st1:place> someday, he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Under Tata, the group also made great
strides when it capitalised on the sunrise industry of information technology
in the 90's. With revenues of over US$10 billion in 2011-12, Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS) is today <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s
largest IT Company. -- NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>

INDIA: Famous Bizman Ratan Tata to Retire Friday

MUMBAI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Ratan Tata, who led the transformation of the Tata group from a conventional corporate house into a US...

INDIA: PM for Shifting Farmers to Non-Agri Jobs

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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Indian
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday emphasised on the need to shift large
surplus farmers to non-agriculture sector, saying per capita income of farmers
would rise only when fewer people engage in farming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He also said farmers' income and agri-land
yields need to be enhanced to meet the growing foodgrains demand in the coming
years, building on the success of the 11th Plan, Press Trust of India (PTI)
reported. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Addressing the 57th meeting of the National
Development Council (NDC), Manmohan Singh said: "Paradoxically, we should
not aim at increasing total employment in agriculture. In fact, we need to move
people out of agriculture by giving them gainful employment in the
non-agricultural sector. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"It is only when fewer people depend
upon agriculture that per capita incomes in agriculture will rise significantly
and sufficiently to make farming an attractive proposition." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Although the agriculture share in GDP has
fallen to 15 per cent, about half of the population still relies on farm
activities as its principal income source, he added. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Since large population is engaged in farm
activities, he said, "what happens in agriculture is therefore critical
for the success of inclusiveness." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Better agricultural performance during the
11th Plan is an important reason why poverty declined faster, he added. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Agriculture being a state subject, the Prime
Minister said that most of the policy initiatives needed are in the realm of
state governments. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">However, the 12th Plan strategy contains
many elements which will ensure growth is as inclusive as possible, he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">During the 11th Plan (2007-12), the average
agriculture sector growth reached 3.3 per cent from 2.4 per cent in the
previous Plan period, while farm wages grew annually at 6.8 per cent in the
recent years, compared to only 1.1 per cent in the period before 2004-05, he
added. -- NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

INDIA: PM for Shifting Farmers to Non-Agri Jobs

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday emphasised on the need to shift large surplus farmer...

India: Gang-Rape Victim Flown to Singapore

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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">An Indian woman who was the victim of a gang
rape and brutal beating earlier this month in New Delhi has been flown to
Singapore for further treatment, while the government pledges to focus on the
issue of women's safety.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The 23-year-old arrived at <st1:country-region w:st="on">Singapore</st1:country-region>'s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Mount</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Elizabeth</st1:placename>
 <st1:placename w:st="on">Hospital</st1:placename></st1:place> early Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">B.D. Athani, medical superintendent at the
Indian hospital where she had been treated, said the woman has already
undergone three operations and remains in critical condition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Based on the advice of a team of
doctors, the government of India has made arrangements that the patient be
shifted in a well-equipped air ambulance to a renowned hospital identified by
the doctors, involving minimum journey so that she can be provided with
state-of-art medical treatment that may perhaps stretch to many weeks," he
said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Athani says the hospital in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Singapore</st1:place></st1:country-region> has
an advanced multi-organ transplant facility, and that arrangements have been
made for the woman's family to accompany her there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">She was traveling on a charter bus December
16 when a group of men on board raped and beat her with an iron rod and then
threw her from the bus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Police have arrested six alleged attackers,
who are accused of rape and attempted murder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a
development conference Thursday that attacks against women happen "in all
states and regions" and require greater attention from national and local
officials.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The safety and security of women is of
the highest concern to our government," saidn Singh. "A commission of
inquiry is being set up to look into precisely these issues in the
capital."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He said <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> cannot have meaningful
development without the active participation of women, and that their security
must be assured.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The attack has sparked widespread protests
in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Delhi</st1:place></st1:city>
urging the government to address crimes against women.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">One panel announced by the government
Wednesday will review the police response to the attack, while another will
suggest ways to make the capital safer for women as well as changes to the law
to create stiffer penalties for such crimes. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>

India: Gang-Rape Victim Flown to Singapore

An Indian woman who was the victim of a gang rape and brutal beating earlier this month in New Delhi has been flown to Singapore for fu...

Pakistan Taliban Threaten to Target Indians to Avenge Kasab's Hanging

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:city w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">ISLAMABAD</span></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">  (NNN-PTI) -- The Pakistani Taliban on Thursday
threatened to target Indians "anywhere" in retaliation for the execution
of Ajmal Kasab and demanded that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> should return the body of the
LeT militant involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks to his family.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In calls made to journalists in northwest <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>, Tehrik-e-Taliban <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said his group would target Indians and Indian
interests "anywhere" to avenge the hanging of Kasab.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ihsan further said Indian authorities should hand over Kasab's
body to his family or to the Taliban.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He warned the Taliban would "capture Indians" and
"not return their bodies" if Kasab's body was not handed over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">25-year-old Kasab, who belonged to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>'s
most populous <st1:placetype w:st="on">province</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Punjab</st1:placename>, was executed in a Pune jail in the western
Indian state of <st1:place w:st="on">Maharashtra</st1:place> on Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">His body was buried within the prison.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>
government reacted cautiously to the hanging, with the Foreign Office spokesman
saying <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Islamabad</st1:place></st1:city>
was against all forms of terrorism and would cooperate with countries in the
region to tackle the menace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Kasab was the only surviving member of a 10-member team of
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who killed 166 people during a three-day
rampage in Mumbai nearly four years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Diplomatic sources said security measures at the Indian High
Commission, which are already very extensive, had been further tightened after
the Taliban threat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Indian diplomats in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> have faced threats in the
past too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In 2010, two deserters from a paramilitary force arrested for
terror links had revealed that militants aligned with the Pakistani Taliban had
plans to abduct Indian diplomats and target foreign missions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The men had revealed that militant groups had plans to kidnap
Indian diplomats, including the High Commissioner, to exchange them for militant
commanders being held by Pakistani authorities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">At that time too, security had been tightened for Indian
diplomats and their families.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On Wednesday, an unnamed LeT commander was quoted by media as
saying that the group regarded Kasab as a hero who would inspire more terror
attacks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ihsan was quoted by the Pakistani media on Wednesday as saying
that the Taliban were shocked by Kasab's hanging. -- NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Pakistan Taliban Threaten to Target Indians to Avenge Kasab's Hanging

ISLAMABAD (NNN-PTI) -- The Pakistani Taliban on Thursday threatened to target Indians "anywhere" in retaliation for the execu...