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Lankan Air
Force COLOMBO, Oct 23 : An MI-24 helicopter of the Sri Lankan Air Force was shot down by the LTTE rebels, while two passenger vessels of the Sri .....more LTTE suicide boats wrecks COLOMBO, Oct 23: Tamil rebels launched simultaneous suicide boat attacks on....more
SBI launches road shows DUBAI, Oct 23: The State Bank of India has launched the road show for ....more Massive hunt launched to LONDON, Oct 23: British Police have launched a massive hunt to trace the killer....more |
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India for inalienable ALLIERS, Oct 23 : In the first major comment on the West Asia crisis, External Affairs Minister.......more Israeli troops circle JERUSALEM, Oct 23: Israel announced today it was deploying troops to circle the Palestinian area...more Amnesty urges Pak ISLAMABAD, Oct 23: Global human rights watchdog Amnesty International called on...more China refuses to offer fresh BEIJING, Oct 23: China today refused to make fresh trade concessions to the European Union but....more |
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Lankan Air Force helicopter shot down by LTTE rebels COLOMBO, Oct 23 : An MI-24 helicopter of the Sri Lankan Air Force was shot down by the LTTE rebels, while two passenger vessels of the Sri Lankan Navy were destroyed after a sea tiger suicide boat entered the eastern Trincomalee harbour and rammed into the Berthed vessels this morning, defence official said. Army spokesman Brigadier S G Karunaratne said the LTTE launched a pre-dawn attack with artillery and mortar at Trincomalee harbour. A Flotilla of four terrorist suicide boats attempted to enter the barhour at about 0530 hrs, but were challenged by the Navy. During confrontation, three enemy boats were destroyed. One tiger boat managed to enter and exploded close to the Naval bay damaging one fast passenger carrier and one fast gunboat of the Navy. During confrontation the Naval units deployed outside challenged two more terrorist boats moving towards the harbour and destroyed them. He said two sailors were killed and 3 injured in the confrontation lasted for more than one hour. Meanwhile, an MI-24 helicopter of the ground force, which was pressed into service, was missing, the spokesman said. In all probability the helicopter might have been shot down, he said. Trincomalee is about 340 km East of Colombo. The spokesman said there were passengers in the ship at the time of attack, but added that there could be some casualties outside due to the mortar attack by the LTTE. The ferry service to muttur operating from Trincomalee has been suspended and no civilians was allowed to enter the harbour this morning. According to reports, the LTTE started shelling the harbour area after the fierce battle which lasted for more than an hour. The ground troops then embarked on a rescue mission with the support of the MI-24 helicopter over the harbour area. Initial reports said it was shot down at a place called Upali. This is the second MI-24 helicopter shot down by the LTTE with four days. On October 19, the LTTE shot down an MI-24 helicopter after they launched a heavy attack on security forces in Nagarkovil, 35 km south of Jaffna. More than 100 LTTE cadres and 17 soldiers were killed in the two-day fighting. The LTTE has stepped up its activities immediately after the new cabinet of the People’s Alliance Government was sworn in Colombo on October 19, with a suicide bomber exploding himself up near the town hall killing two and injuring 23.(UNI) |
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LTTE suicide boats wrecks havoc at Trinco harbour COLOMBO, Oct 23: Tamil rebels launched simultaneous suicide boat attacks on a strategic naval base in eastern Trincomalee and other areas in eastern coast today killing two naval sailors and also shot down an army helicopter, second in less than five days. Army spokesman Brig Sanath Karunarathne said that four LTTE suicide boats packed with explosive and heavy weapons launched a dawn attack on the trincomalee harbour which also housed navy’s eastern command headquarters. While one suicide boat exploded near a newly acquired naval personnel carrier, the other three rebel boats were destroyed by naval gunfire, he said, adding that the personnel carrier sustained heavy damage and started drifting. Karunarathne said there were at least two rebels in each of the boats and all were killed in the attack. Simultaneously, LTTE launched heavy mortar attack on naval detachments near Trincomalee harbour, he said. Two naval sailors were killed and 40 injured in today’s LTTE attack, Karunarathne said. Rebels using anti-aircraft missiles shot down an MI-24 helicopter, when it went to engage LTTE mortar positions. The chopper with four crew members went missing near Upparu in Trincomalee district, Karunarathne said. This was second MI-24 helicopter to have been shot down by rebels. On October 19, LTTE said it shot down a helicopter with anti-aircraft missiles during fighting for the control of a military garrison in Northern Jaffna. Karunaratne said that LTTE boat and fast attack naval craft also clashed today at Kokilai and fowlpoint on the eastern coast. Heavy fighting broke out between a flotilla of rebel boats carrying reinforcements to Northern Jaffna and the naval craft in the Kokilai and fowlpoint coasts, which were located beyond Trincomalee on the eastern coast in which navy reported to have destroyed three LTTE boats. Trincomalee, considered to be one of the best natural ports in the south region was also the most strategic harbours in Sri Lanka’s east, from where navy attempts to control the ltte dominated eastern coast. Trincomallee was also the last major port in the east that was still under the control of the navy. The LTTE controlled the north-eastern coast which included the mullaithivu and parts of north-eastern Jaffna coast, which were located beyond trincomalee. The latest attack was reportedly in retaliation to navy sinking three LTTE boats carrying reinforcements to Nagerkovil in the Jaffna coast two days ago where the rebels lost a major battle to regain control of an army garrison. Over 80 rebels were reported to have been killed in the attack. (PTI) |
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SBI launches road shows for IMDs programmes DUBAI, Oct 23: The State Bank of India has launched the road show for its much-publicised "India Millennium Deposits (IMDs)" programme in West Asia with fanfare and its chief says the Bank will soon enter the insurance sector as well in a big way. At a press conference here yesterday, a day after launching the IMDs for mobilising funds from Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), SBI chairman G G Vaidya said the response to the IMDs had been "tremendous" and, therefore, the deposit acceptance might end on October 31. He said he had personally come to Dubai to launch the roadshow because the SBI’s expectations from West Asian region, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE), were quite high. He said the IMDs had been launched keeping in view the fact that the NRIs in West Asia, especially those in Dubai, had been for quite some time been demanding that the bank launch a new product like its previous NRIs bonds, India Development Bonds and resurgent India bonds. The core size of the IMDs was two billion U.S. dollars although the SBI had received assurances of investments worth about five billion dollars in the IMD, Mr Vaidya, who was accompanied by his deputy Janaki Ballabh, said. He denied that the IMD had been launched by the SBI at the instance of the Indian Government to meet the shortage of foreign exchange reserves in the wake of a sudden hike in oil prices. "The IMD has been launched by the SBI at its own initiative and not at the instance of the Government of India", he asserted. Mr Vaidya, who also had meetings with prospective investors, said the resources raised from the IMDs would be substantially utilised for financing infrastructure, which was a priority area for the country, after meeting other statutory and regulatory requirements. "The NRI community constitutes a very large and important resource and the SBI proposes to channelise the funds deposited by them for building up the basic infrastructure so as to provide an impetus to the economic growth and development of India", he added. Asked why the IMDs had not been launched in the United States, he said "due to applicable regulatory matters in the U.S, it was not possible to implement the IMDs within the timeframe of this deposit programme". He said there was nothing the SBI was thinking of launching in the U.S as a substitute for the IMDs. He made it clear that any attempted sale, resale, pledge, transfer, assignment or delivery of IMD deposit certificates within the U.S or to a U.S person would not be recognised or accepted by the SBI. Mr Vaidya said SBI teams had gone to various parts of the world to organise roadshows for the product. He himself would go to Abu Dhabi and Kuwait for explaining the new product to the NRIs there. Asked what were the other projects the SBI was concentrating upon, the Bank chairman said "we will soon be entering the insurance sector as the Reserve Bank of India has permitted us to do so". He was confident that the SBI would do well in the insurance sector too because of its very popular brand equity. Another subject the SBI was carefully examining was the possibility of launching the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS), which had been approved by the Government for all Public Sector Undertakings. (UNI) |
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Massive hunt launched to nab Hindu priest’s killer LONDON, Oct 23: British Police have launched a massive hunt to trace the killer of a Hindu priest whose body was discovered on Friday inside a partly burnt house in Leicester, about 100 km north of here. The murder of 42-year-old Harish Purohit, the president of the Hindu Federation in Britain, has shaken the city’s large Hindu community ahead of Diwali. No motive has been established for the killing but there is no evidence to suggest that it was racist either, police said today. "At this stage, we have no evidence at all to suggest that this was a racist attack, but we are of course keeping an open mind," police said. Detective Superintendant Bryan Warraker, who is leading the investigation, said that they were trying to piece together Purohit’s last known movements. Among Hindus, who are mainly Gujarati and devoted to their religion, purohit was a high profile "celebrity" priest who aggressively championed the Hindu cause on local radio. Purohit, also the secretary of the National Association of Hindu Priests, was stabbed more than ten times in a Frenzied attack. Police said that his killer may have tried to start a fire in the house to hide the evidence after the murder. Purohit’s body was found on Friday by his elder brother Janardan, after neighbours smelt smoke coming from the house. Purohit was stabbed by "some sort of pointed or bladed weapon", the police said. Janardan said that Purohit might have gone to the house, which the family owned in Leicester, to check on building work. "The house is being renovated and we think he went there on Thursday night to check how the builders were getting on," he added. "My brother was found lying in a pool of blood in a downstairs room. There were multiple wounds. It had obviously been a vicious attack. We think the person who did this got rid of the evidence. The gas (stove) had also been left on," he added. Warrakar said "everyone involved in this investigation is committed to finding the person responsibile. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the (Purohit) family, and we are grateful for the help that they and others have already been able to give us," the detective Superintendant said. His neighbours have been asked to check their gardens and dustbins for the weapon used in the murder. Purohit’s missing BMW car was found abandoned near a canal. Born in Kenya, Purohit moved to Britain with his family when he was seven years old. Purohit, who worked with people handicapped with learning difficulties, is survived by wife Anjana Joshi. They had no children. (PTI) |
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India for inalienable rights of Palestinians ALLIERS, Oct 23 : In the first major comment on the West Asia crisis, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh today made it clear that India stood for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and said "all provocative acts" must stop to allow peace to return to violence-torn Gaza strip and other areas. "We believe in the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the first requirement is restoration of peace," Singh told reporters on his arrival here on a three-day visit, first by an Indian Foreign Minister in last 15 years. "We must work towards cessation of all provocative acts," he added. Terming the blody clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces as a "great tragedy", Singh said India was "very concerned" over the West Asian situation and shunning use of force only could restore peace and calm in the region. (PTI) |
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Israeli troops circle West Bank village JERUSALEM, Oct 23: Israel announced today it was deploying troops to circle the Palestinian area of Beit Jala near the West Bank town of Bethlehem after gunfire from the area repeatedly targeted a Jewish settlement. "From this morning, Beit Jala will be surrounded," Israeli Army Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz told public radio. "I advise the residents of Beit Jala to leave their homes if there is new firing in the direction of Gilo (settlement) from their locality," Mofaz said. Attack helicopters fired rockets and machine-guns at three buildings in the town late yesterday after shooting from the area targeted the Jewish settlement of Gilo, south of Jerusalem. "The Army has set up roadblocks around Beit Jala to prevent armed elements entering the area," an Army spokesman told AFP. "We have the green light to react with all the means at our disposal to these attacks against Gilo," the commander of the Israeli forces in the sector, General Marcel Aviv, told military radio. He said the Palestians raked Gilo yesterday night with machine-guns and assault rifles. "We know that the residents of Beit Jala do not take part in these attacks, and we have no intention of punishing the innocent, that is why we have taken care not to target civilians in our retaliation," the General said. (AFP) |
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Amnesty urges Pak regime to release detainees ISLAMABAD, Oct 23: Global human rights watchdog Amnesty International called on Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf to release politicians who have been detained without charge. In an open letter to the General who took power in a coup last year, Amnesty said the politicians — mostly supporters of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif — should be released or charged. It said this would be a "first step" to ensuring that the rule of law was respected. The London-based group supported new initiatives to rebuild Pakistan’s economy and political system but stressed they would fail unless attention was also paid to human rights. "This is a unique opportunity for the current administration to rebuild respect for the rule of law and human rights, but it must approach this task with sincerity and determination," Amnesty said. "The military leadership’s priorities of ending corruption and reviving the economy are intimately related to human rights." The letter said endemic corruption had led to "crimes such as custodial violence, including rape and killings." Former Government figures who have been under detention since the October coup reportedly include ex-Information Minister Mushahid Hussain and his former Cabinet colleague Chaudhry Nisar Ali. Sharif is serving a life term for hijacking and terrorism. In July he was sentenced to 14 years for tax evasion and concealment of assets. (AFP) |
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China refuses to offer fresh trade concessions to EU BEIJING, Oct 23: China today refused to make fresh trade concessions to the European Union but assured the international community that Beijing will honour all its commitments to members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). China hopes that WTO members will not add "new requirements" in the multilateral negotiation process, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji told the opening ceremony of the second China-EU business dialogue here. "China can only join the WTO with the status of a developing country," Zhu told the meeting, attended by Jacques Chirac, President of France, the chair-nation of the EU, and European Commission president Romano Prodi and others. His comments raised further doubts about China’s accession to the WTO within this year as officials say a lot of legal work needs to be done. Zhu also said China will "absolutely not step back from any of the commitments it made in bilateral negotiations with the EU or other members of the WTO," the official Xinhua news agency reported. China and EU are highly complementary in the economic sector. The Chinese Government has always attached importance to Sino-EU relations and wishes to further expand the overall cooperation with EU, he said. He hoped that during the current Sino-EU summit both sides will consider China’s WTO entry from a "strategic perspective and reach consensus, so as to help complete the multilateral negotiations as early as possible." (PTI) |
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