The manoeuvre, code-named zolfaqar-2 after the. ... ...more

Israel delays application
of peace deal

JERUSALEM, Nov 2: Israel said today that it was delaying the application of its latest peace agreement with the Palestinians by at least 10 days, until November 12, to give Parliament time to vote on the deal. ......more

Chinese edition goes out of print

BEIJING, Nov 2: Arundhati Roy’s famous novel, The God Of Small Things, has gone out of print in China with the publisher mulling over printing a second edition in view of the run-away success of the Chinese language edition.

We are overwhelmed by the success of the Chinese edition and with more requests from book lovers all over China, we hope to bring out a second edition in the Nea Utr, Iceaeditor of Nan Hai publishing house Sun Jihe said.

We printed 10,000 copies and now we don’t have copies to cater to the demand from many ardent Chinese readers who love to know about India through works of high quality, Yang Wen, Dean of the editorial desk of the leading Chinese publishing company told here.

Despite the low-key publicity to the launch of Roy’s famous book in China, they were surprised by the response from the Chinese readers, sun said while noting that The God Of Small Things was launched only in June this year.

The first edition was of only 10,000 copies and are receiving orders for more, he said adding that the novel has received raving reviews in leading Chinese literary newspapers. (PTI)

Storm deaths rise above 1,300 in central America

MANAGUA, NICARAGUA, Nov 2: The grim death count following a week of devastating floods in central America climbed above 1,300 after 610 bodies were pulled from the waterlogged slopes of a Nicaraguan Volcano.

Officials said the number could oar even higher because up to 1,500 people were feared buried after a week of torrential rains sent tons of mud and rocks hurling down the Casita Volcano on villages in Northwestern Nicaragua.

Mitch, since weakened to a tropical depression, was already one of the most deadly storms in the largely impoverished region since Hurricane Fifi killed 3,000 in Honduras in 1974.

We are dealing with a national tragedy which all of Nicaragua is mourning, Nicaraguan Defence Minister Pedro Joaquin Chamorro said.

The confirmed deaths from the mudslide brought to 808 the national death count for Nicaragua so far.

Overwhelmed officials from Honduras to El Alvador pleaded for disaster relief from rich countries, saying they feared pile of bodies could surge higher.

There were 1,302 known dead across central America since mitch hit land from the Caribbean last Monday when it was the fourth most powerful Athantic Hurricane on record, with Catastrophic 295-kph winds. (REUTERS)

I can tell you with full authority and honestly that we have had no access to any Chinese data, he was quoted as saying by a leading defence magazine.

If we produce a hamburger, you in the west will say that it has been copied from McDonald’s, Dr Khan told Jane’s defence weekly in an interview to be published today.

Dr Khan revealed that one of the tested bombs could be deployed on Pakistan’s Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile —Ghauri.

We don’t want to indulge in an arms race. We don’t want to put all our money into weapons and weapons programmes. Whatever we have a Integrity. It’s enough for now, He was quoted as saying.

Nuclear weapons analysts have accused China of conducting a cold test for Pakistan in the mid-1980s and providing designs for weapons.

Dr Khan acknowledged that some bomb parts were imported from Europe, but denied Pakistan had received outside technical assistance and claimed research and widely available literature were used to build the nuclear devices. (PTI)

Tibetan Parliament authorises Dalai for Sino-Tibet dialogue

SARNATH, Nov 2 : The Parliament-in-exile of tibet has authorised supreme Tibetan leader Dalai Lama to formulate the crucial policy regarding political future of Tibet for the proposed summit between the Dalai Lama and top Chinese leader Jiang Zemin.

Professor Sardhong Rinpoche, the chairman of the Parliament in exile, told UNI here yesterday that the dalai lama might undertake a "pilgrimage" to Mount Wutai, in mainland China in the near future. This historic event might also bring some good news for the Tibetans living in tibet and in exile, Prof Rinpoche said.

Mount Wutai, which the Tibetans call as mountain of five peaks, is considered the abode of two Bodhisatvas, Manjushree and Mitraiyanath, who preached the message of peace and non-violence to the Chinese.

Prof Rinpoche said the Dalai Lama would soon make an announcement regarding the Tibetan stand to be adopted in the proposed summit.

"Much depends on the Chinese leadership on whether this first ever direct dialogue between the Dalai Lama and them would succeed," he added.

He said the Tibetan leadership was of the opinion that the United States and other Western countries could help in creating a favourable atmosphere fore the success of the summit but, "we do not favour a mediation by any Western powers in resolving the Tibetan problem."

The Tibetan leader said the countries of the Himalayan region, specially India could play a role if the need for any mediation arose.

The Dalai Lama, in his "Tibetan uprising day" message, released on March 10 this year had favoured mediation by India in resolving the Tibetan problem. The Indian Government did not respond positively to the suggestion made by the Dalai Lama.

Further, the nuclear explosion by India had generated criticism by Western powers and China, thus diminishing the possibility of any Indian role in the issue, Prof Rinpoche observed.

He said,"the policy of one nation and two system cannot be applied to Tibet as the case of tibet was entirely different from that of Hong Kong and Taiwan. Historical facts regarding polity and culture of Tibetan people reveal that in some respect, Tibet deserves more freedom", he said.

Elaborating the middle path approach of the Dalai Lama, Prof Rinpoche said the matter relating to Defence and External Affairs could be left to Beijing and in the remaining areas, Tibet should be granted freedom to manage its own affairs.

The division of Tibet into six areas should end and the whole country should be brought under the control of Lhasa, he said.

He said that Chinese leadership was giving contradictory signals regarding the resolution on the Tibetan issue and it appeared that opinion of the former was divided between the hardliners and the softliners. "We hope that China will realise that a self ruled Tibet will be in the interest of both- the tibetan and the chinese people, " he remarked.

Prof Rinpoche said Tibetans favoured a democratic system and constitutional rule in their country while maintaining a fruitful relationship with China.

Explaining the religious importance of Mount Wutai, Prof Rinpoche said the place was regarding holy by Buddhists the world over. The young Dalai Lama had requested for permission to visit the place in 1955 when he was on a trip to Beijing, but the Chinese authorities had turned down his request on the ground that the situation there was not normal. The main reason behind the Chinese decision was that the communists had caused a lot of destruction there, targetting Buddhist shrines and monasteries, he said.

The Tibetan leader said international support for Tibet was increasing and no government could ignore popular sentiments. Many governments and Parliaments had supported the Tibetan cause and chinese leadership was under severe criticism for human rights violations in Tibet, he said.

He said the fate of the boy selected by the Dalai Lama as the Panchen Lama, was still unknown. Recently the Chairman of United Nations Human Righrs Commission inquired about the boy but the Chinese authorities did not give any reply.

His well being was a cause for concern to all Tibetans and the world community should ensure his safety. He is to occupy the seat of Panchen Lama, the second most important seat of Tibetan Buddhism, after the Dalai Lama, Prof Rinpoche said. (UNI)

Israel waiting for Palestinian security assurances to arrive

TEL AVIV (ISRAEL), Nov 2 : Israel said it was lifting a 50-day blockade on Palestinian areas today, in a move described by a senior Israeli official as a "good-will gesture" that would allow some 60,000 Palestinian labourers to return to their jobs in Israel.

Israel and the Palestinians were also set to begin implementing the latest West Asia peace today with the completion of a Palestinian security document.

David Bar-Illan, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "nothing can move before this document is presented to the administration." Israel was also awaiting U.S. guarantees which accompanied the agreement signed late last month at the White House.

"The American letters confirm their interpretation of several important issues in the memorandum," he said.

For Mr Netanyahu, the letters and the Palestinian action plan on fighting terrorism are key to selling the land-for-peace accord to his right-wing constituents and hardliners in his coalition. His cabinet is expected to vote on the agreement tomorrow.

Under the accord, the Palestinians are to crackdown on militants and their infrastructure in exchange for an Israeli handover of another 13.1 per cent of the West Bank.

Since a suicide bombing Thursday claimed by the militant Islamic group Hamas, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has ordered sweeping arrests and placed the group’s spiritual leader under house arrest.

But yesterday, Hamas issued an unprecedented attack on Mr Arafat’s Palestinian authority and, in a first sign of a possible civil conflict among Palestinians, threatened to strike back.

The leaflet denounced the house arrest of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, whom it called "the prince of holy warriors" and warned Palestinian security forces against pursuing Mohammed Deif, a top leader of Hamas’ military wing whose arrest has been demanded by Israel. The leaflet condemned the new peace accord as a black agreement."

The threat, in a leaflet faxed to news organisations, cast a pall over this week’s efforts to begin implementing the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, but as of yesterday, both sides were still pledging to move ahead as scheduled.

Asked whether the hamas leaflet would impeded Arafat’s abilities to fulfill commitments and continue a crackdown on its opposition, Bar-Illan said "the Palestinians have told us that they will carry out the provisions of the accord." (AP)

It is the second time in two months a Chinese Eastern airliner taking off from Shanghai has experienced a landing gear malfunction.

The Airbus-300 took off from Shanghai’s Hongqiao Airport at 9:45 a.m. local time bound for Osaka, Japan, but was forced to turn around after repeated unsuccessful attempts to operate the front landing chassis, the Xinhua News Agency said.

The plane was carrying 15 crew and 87 passengers, including 55 Japanese nationals and one passenger from Taiwan. No-one was injured during the emergency landing, Xinhua said. (DPA)

American scientists, who worked on the thumb used patient’s own cells to grow a replacement bone which was encased in a framework of flesh that had been saved from the accident.

Raul Murcia, the patient, said his new thumb was now ‘only little painful’ and lacked nail, it was published yesterday.

Dr John Shufflebarger, a plastic surgeon at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Boston, said ‘the patient had lost the majority of his bone, half of his joint and all the nail-forming elements. What was left was the soft tissue on the surface of the thumb that is important for touch and pinch.’

The new ‘bone’ as covered by flesh grown from the tiny part of the tip of Muricia’s thumb that survived the accident.

The operation comes just weeks after an international team of scientists and doctors transplanted a hand from a dead man on to a patient who had lost his hand in an accident.

Once the vessels had been joined, the blood started flowing and the hand began to look ‘alive’. Surgeons then linked up tendons and muscles.

The French Hospital where the operation - the world’s first arm transplant - took place said that it would give ‘hope to millions of victims of workplace and domestic accidents, survivors of war or land mines and individuals born with hereditary deformities.’ (GNA)

The manoeuvre, code-named zolfaqar-2 after the sword of the first Shiite Imam Ali, started in the South-Eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province under direct orders of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is commander in chief of the armed forces, the TV said.

Participating are 200,000 troops from the regular army plus 70,000 from the para-military revolutionary guards. The manoeuvre is mainly aimed against the ultra-Islamic Taliban group which controls 90 per cent of Afghanistan.

The manoeuvre is held in an area of 50,000 sq km alongside Iran’s 850 km long Eastern border with Afghanistan ranging from North-Eastern to South-Eastern Iran.

It is widely feared that the new Iranian move could once again heighten the danger of a regional war despite a successful mediation by the United Nations and repatriation of the diplomats’ corpses and about 50 of the hostages.

Iran has proclaimed that it will use its most advanced home-made military hardware in the manoeuvre, including jet fighters and tanks as well as armoured vehicles and various electronic systems.

Also participating will be units from seven army divisions and two brigades as well as logistic, transport and communication units and naval marine and air force troops.

President Mohammad Khatami warned yesterday once again that the Taliban -"under the pretext of Islam" - is posing a danger not only for bordering countries but also for the whole region. (DPA)

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