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NASA launches new infrared telescope CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA, Aug 25: A new NASA infrared observatory designed to see objects either too cold to cast their own light or obscured . ......more Moaists
threaten to KATHMANDU, Aug 25: Maoist rebels have given a three-day ultimatum to the Nepalese Government to agree to an assembly that would draft a new . ....more Dalai
Lama says PARIS, Aug 25: The Dalai Lama said talks with China over greater autonomy for Tibet must yield results in the next two or three....more US reluctant to counter Taliban raids militarily: Stratfor WASHINGTON, Aug 25: The United States’ reluctance to respond militarily to ......more |
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Israel kills 4 Hamas JERUSALEM, Aug 25: Amidst escalating violence, four Hamas militants have been killed and several Palestinians injured as Israeli Apache.....more EU, Canada, Russia condemn Mumbai blasts BRUSSELS, Aug 25: European Union, Canada and Russia today condemned bomb blasts in Mumbai, saying those responsible must be brought to justice. .......more Israel
returns bodies JERUSALEM, Aug 25: In a goodwill gesture preceding the possible swap of prisoners under German mediation, Israel has unilaterally handed over the ....more Russia, US hold talks on nuclear, strategic issues MOSCOW, Aug 25: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak and the US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security ....more |
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NASA launches new infrared telescope CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA, Aug 25: A new NASA infrared observatory designed to see objects either too cold to cast their own light or obscured by interstellar dust launched early today from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Lift off of the Boeing Delta II rocket carrying the 700 million dollar satellite came at 1:35 AM EDT (1105 Hrs IST). "The expectation is to really revolutionize our understanding of our universe by looking in a completely new low length spectrum," said Dave Gallagher, NASA’s mission project manager. From failed stars that never turned on, to the galaxy’s own dust-shrouded heart, the space infra red telescope facility will look into the dark, cold corners of the universe, making itself sensitive to the faintest heat signatures by cooling its own instruments to just a degree or two above absolute zero. Sirtf is the last of NASA’s so-called great observatories. When combined with the hubble space telescope, which sees in the visible light spectrum, and the Chandra X-ray observatory, astronomers will get their most complete view yet of matter and energy near the edge of the known universe. As NASA scientist Anne Kinney explained, when all three telescopes peer deeply into space, the Chandra will see objects that are millions of degrees in temperature, the hubble, objects that are thousands of degrees, and Sirtf, those that are hundreds of degrees. "That way, you get a full range of information about what’s out there," said Kinney. Sirtf also has a job closer to home. Scientists know little about a wide belt of icy objects that circle the sun beyond the orbit of pluto. This area, known as the Kuiper belt, sometimes sends one of its ice balls into the inner solar system, where it becomes a comet when heated by the sun. With Sirtf, NASA for the first time has launched an observatory into an earth-trailing orbit around the sun so that the planet’s radiation will not interfere with its observations. Earlier infrared telescopes have given only a vague sense of what lies there, but Sirtf observations should be like turning on a light switch in a room that has never before been lit, scientists say. And astronomers should get their best look yet at the mysterious heart of the galaxy, where the star field is much denser. Mission project scientists explain that less than 2 per cent of the matter in the universe is hot enough to generate light, and much of that is obscured by dust. When viewed by Sirtf, the universe will not be a field pinpointed by individual lights but a swirling maelstrom of energy sources. Sirtf will be given a proper name, like hubble, Chandra and the defunct Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, about 60 days after launch, once all its systems have checked out, said NASA. Sirtf has a 35.5-inch mirror and instruments that will be kept cold by liquid helium released from an Onboard tank. NASA said there should be enough of the helium to keep the satellite operating about five years. (AGENCIES) |
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Moaists threaten to pull out of talks if demands not met KATHMANDU, Aug 25: Maoist rebels have given a three-day ultimatum to the Nepalese Government to agree to an assembly that would draft a new Constitution and warned that they would consider the peace talks finished if their demands were not met. "The Nepalese Government should be prepared to declare a Constituent Assembly unconditionally within three days or else the rebels will be forced to view it as a one-way declaration of breaking away from further peace talks," chief Maoist negotiator Baburam Bhattarai said in a statement. The rebels ultimatum came after the Nepalese Government firlmly ruled out agreeing for an Assembly to redraft the Constitution and asked them to first lay down their arms. "Unless the Government agrees to our demand for the Constitution Assembly, there is no point in continuing the peace talks with the Government," he said. "We do not see any possibility on our part to compromise on our demand for constituent Assembly Elections as it is the only way to fulfil the people’s requirements and address the present political imbalance." He said. The deputy rebel leader said the ongoing talks would cease automatically if the Government declined to come up with its revised agenda by tomorrow. Bhattarai also blamed the Government for the current stalemate in the talks due to its regressive agenda. "The Government’s attempt to institutionalise the feudal monarchy and the authoritarianism of the Royal Army and giving continuity to them through backing of foreign forces is the main cause for the present obstacle in the process," he alleged. The two sides have had three rounds of peace talks since a January ceasefire but the latest round ended last week without a breakthrough. A date for a fresh round of talks was to be decided this week. The rebels want the Constituent Assembly to decide if Nepal’s king should continue as a Constitutional Monarch. The Government has, however, said it would not compromise or negotiate on the issues of Nepal’s multi-party democracy or its Constitutional Monarchy, but was prepared to make concessions on other issues. "We have asked the Maoists to lay down their arms first and then talk about electing a constuent assembly to redraft a new Constitution," Government’s negotiator Prakash Chandra Lohani said yesterday. He said the Maoists’ rigid stance during the third round of talks on holding a constituent Assembly may be their "strategy to control state power through the use of gun." No compromise could be made on multi-party democracy, Constitutional Monarchy, national integrity and independence as well as sovereignty of the people succumbing to the Maoist pressure, he said. (PTI) |
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Dalai Lama says China contacts must yield results in 2 or 3 yrs PARIS, Aug 25: The Dalai Lama said talks with China over greater autonomy for Tibet must yield results in the next two or three years, or he could no longer justify his conciliatory approach to youths clamouring for independence. Tibet’s exiled Buddhist spiritual leader told the French daily Le Figaro in an interview published today that he welcomed a thawing in relations with China, although no real progress had been made in the talks. The Dalai Lama said that Tibetan youth organisations, including the Tibetan Youth Congress, disagreed with his demand for increased autonomy and were demanding instead full independence for the Himalayan territory. "We must be patient. The renewal of contacts with China only goes back to last year. But if in two or three years it does not produce any result, it will be difficult for me to explain to young people the validity of the middle way approach," he said. "However, I hope to succeed," the paper quoted him as saying. Tibetan envoys visited China in late May as part of a contact-building process that began last year when the Tibetan god-king’s envoys visited China. That trip was the first direct contact between them since 1993. "We welcome this new direct contact with China. Our envoys said the meetings took place in a very friendly spirit. We hope there will be others and that they will lead to serious discussions," said the Dalai Lama. "For the moment, there is no real fundamental change. Since the 1980s we have been asking for greater autonomy and no longer independence. The Chinese are fully aware of this," he added. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 and runs a Government in exile in the North Indian town of Dharamsala. Analysts say the re-establishment of contacts between China and the Dalai Lama’s representatives reflects a slight softening in Beijing’s position as it tests the waters for some kind of political solution. Beijing, which imposed Communist rule on Tibet after its troops entered in 1950, established direct contact with the Dalai Lama in 1979 and allowed him to send representatives on four fact-finding missions up to 1985.(AGENCIES) |
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US reluctant to counter Taliban raids militarily: Stratfor WASHINGTON, Aug 25: The United States’ reluctance to respond militarily to the recent spate of attacks by Taliban fighters on Afghan Government forces could come back to haunt it and impair us credibility in Afghanistan, according to geopolitical analysts. A fresh series of attacks attributed to Taliban fighters and forces loyal to warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has broken out in Afghanistan’s Paktika province. So far, the US military has not responded to these attacks, analysts at strategic forecasting (Stratfor) pointed out. The reasons, they said, could be that the United States’ wants to push more combat responsibilities toward its nato allies or it could be a reflection of the dilemma us forces are facing in Afghanistan, where they battle an enemy that can quickly retreat across the border into Pakistan, cutting off legal pursuit. In either case, the United States has yet to move to curtail activity by the Taliban or Hekmatyar in Paktika, and continued inaction could lead to a larger threat in the future. In a new report on Afghanistan, Stratfor said seven Afghan Police officers were killed and four others were taken hostage on August 17 in Paktika province, during two separate raids attributed to Taliban fighters and forces loyal to warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Eyewitnesses estimated that around 200 Taliban fighters armed with rifles, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers were involved in the raids, which took place in scattered locations and hours apart. Authorities believe the fighters entered Afghanistan from Pakistani territory and fled back across the border with their hostages. The United States so far has not responded militarily. The absence of a US response could mean that Washington is trying to nudge its NATO allies into taking on a larger role in Paktika, particularly while US forces have their hands full in other parts of the country and in Iraq. It is also possible, however, that Washington does not view the recent violence in Paktika — which has not targeted US forces — as significant enough to warrant a military response, or — because the military cannot chase its enemy into safe territory in Pakistan —that roll-up operations in the Afghan-Pakistani border region are now considered moot. "Ultimately, however, the lack of action could come back to haunt the United States, whose credibility in Afghanistan is at stake," Stratfor said. If US forces do not respond militarily to the raids, which killed more than 70 people in the first weeks of August alone, their credibility among the local populace will crumble, it added. "Troops loyal to Taliban ideals and to Hekmatyar could become emboldened and will strike repeatedly and more deeply into Afghanistan." The August 17 attacks were the latest in a string of recent raids that reportedly were launched from Pakistan’s Waziristan Agency and northwest frontier province, areas that have been safe havens for Taliban activity and planning. The Pashtun majority in these areas is frequently sympathetic to the Taliban ideology, which is closely aligned with Pashtun tribal customs and beliefs. "The United States is shifting its strategy in Afghanistan, due to the limited number of forces in country, NATO’s expanded role in peacekeeping operations, a desire for Afghan authorities to step up to the plate in enforcing order and the lack of progress in attempts to strengthen security along the Pakistani border," Stratfor said. In light of these issues, the United States is likely to shift away from its strategy of sweeping the Southeastern regions to eliminate pockets of Taliban fighters, focusing instead on intelligence gathering in attempts to pre-empt attacking forces, it added. "However, failure by the United States to act sooner rather than later might allow the Taliban and Hekmatyar’s fighters to solidify their operations in the border region, ultimately necessitating a larger-scale US response." Significant combat still could lie ahead whether as a show of force by the United States or provoked by the growing violence in southeastern Afghanistan, Stratfor analysts predicted. (UNI) |
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Israel kills 4 Hamas militants JERUSALEM, Aug 25: Amidst escalating violence, four Hamas militants have been killed and several Palestinians injured as Israeli Apache helicopters fired anti-tank missiles on the car of a wanted Hamas operative, prompting vows of revenge from the Palestinian militant organisation. As Israeli tanks continue their operation deep into Palestinian territory, Hamas’ military wing vowed revenge for Israel’s assassination of senior Hamas operatives in the Gaza Strip last night, Israel radio reported today. The fresh threats come close to Hamas and Islamic jihad’s combined pledge to avenge last week’s assassination of top hamas official Ismail Abu Shanab. Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, approving the calls for vengeance, today said Israel will have to pay the price for yesterday’s "murder." Israel, meanwhile, stood firm with its policy of renewing targetted assassinations, with Israeli Defence Forces Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon saying that Israel views "all Hamas personnel as targets for pinpoint preventions." Israeli Defence sources said the principal target of yesterday’s attack was Ahmed Shatiwi, a senior member of Hamas’ military wing who served as the liaison between Hamas’ leadership in Gaza and its cells in the West Bank. A second target has been identified as Walid Alhumas, who chaired the student association at Gaza’s Islamic University. Justifying the attack, Tel Aviv said the targetted killing was aimed at preventing a double suicide attack that Hamas’ military wing had planned to carry out in the near future. As operatins in the West Bank town of Nablus continue, Israel, on receiving specific terror warnings originating from the city, has imposed a full curfew. Meanwhile, a key US lawmaker yesterday told CNN that the military involvement by the United States and its NATO allies may be necessary to create stability between Israel and the Palestinians, local media reported. "If we’re serious about having a situation of stability, a very direct action, I think, is going to be required," said Republican Senator Dick Lugar, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Israel has repeatedly objected to the stationing of an international force in the region.(UNI) |
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EU, Canada, Russia condemn Mumbai blasts BRUSSELS, Aug 25: European Union, Canada and Russia today condemned bomb blasts in Mumbai, saying those responsible must be brought to justice. "I am shocked by and strongly condemn today’s terror attacks against innocent civilians...There can be no justification for such acts," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in a statement. "I hope those responsible will be brought to justice," he added, sending his condolences to the families of the victims and the Indian Government. "Canada strongly condemns this senseless violence directed at innocent civilians," said Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham in Toronto. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those who have been killed and injured," he said. Graham stressed Canada’s ongoing commitment to working closely with the international community to eradicate all forms of terrorism. "Russia resolutely condemns the terrorist acts in Mumbai and is confident that those who organised and carried them out will be tracked down and severely punished," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement in Moscow. "Russia shares the Indian people’s grief over the death of innocent people and it sends its condolences to their families and relatives," it said. Moreover, the techniques used by the bombers were "similar" to those used in Mozdok and Baghdad, the ministry said. (AFP) |
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Israel returns bodies of two Hizbollah militants JERUSALEM, Aug 25: In a goodwill gesture preceding the possible swap of prisoners under German mediation, Israel has unilaterally handed over the bodies of two dead Hizbollah guerillas killed in clashes with the Israel defence force, to the representatives of the red cross at the Lebanese border, local media reported. Israeli officials expressed "cautious optimism" that the step would positively affect the issue of exchange of prisoners and would also help in extracting information on missing Israeli soldiers in Lebanon. A security official in Jerusalem was quoted by Ha’aretz to have said in anonymity that the transfer is a "part of negotiations taking place through coordinators to make a deal to bring back missing Israeli soldiers and citizens." As per the confidence building measure, Israel handed over the bodies of Ammar Hussein Hammoud, 24, and Ghassan Mohammed Zaatar, 31, to the International Committee of the Red Cross at the Lebanese border town of Naqoura at 1830 hrs Ist. Hammoud was killed after carrying out a suicide attack against an Israeli military convoy on the Qlai-Marjayoun road in southern Lebanon and Zaatar was killed in fighting with Israeli troops in Iqlim Al-Tuffah in southern Lebanon, local media reported. The bodies of the Hizbollah men were buried in a cemetery for terrorists in the north of the country. Israel has handed over bodies of fighters to the Hizbollah before, usually during periods of improved negotiations between the two sides. The step comes close to the return of general Ilan Biran, the head of the Israeli team working for the return of Israeli prisoners, from Germany which is mediating a prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hizbollah. Israeli officials had yesterday acknowledged the possibility of such a deal but said that no deal had been finalised yet. Hizbollah is holding four Israelis including three soldiers and a retired colonel. The Israeli soldiers were captured in the disputed har dov area near the border with Lebanon in October 2000, while the reserve colonel was seized overseas during a "complicated operation" in the movement’s words. Israel is holding about 18 Lebanese detainees, among them Hizbollah official Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid. Earlier this month, Hizbollah Movement head Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah had threatened to kidnap more Israelis if the Jewish state did not move the issue of the prisoners swap. Israel’s northern border went through a brief flare up this month with Hizbollah missiles hitting the har dov region, killing an Israeli. Nasrallah was also quoted in media reports to have confirmed progress made on the issue saying "I assure you that the issue is making some progress and that we are working to solve it very soon" to his followers. (UNI) |
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Russia, US hold talks on nuclear, strategic issues MOSCOW, Aug 25: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak and the US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton here today began talks on a wide range of crucial issues, including non-proliferation and strategic stability. Mr Bolton is expected to call on Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev tomorrow as part of the Russian-US consultations on the non-proliferation regime and strategic stability. The talks in Moscow will focus on ways of overcoming the crisis on the Korean Peninsula as one of the stages of preparations for the six-way negotiations on Pyonyang’s nuclear problem, scheduled to be held in Beijing from August 27 to 29, Itar-Tass news agency reported. The two sides are also expected to touch upon Iran’s nuclear programme, even as Russia has declared its decision to supply nuclear fuel to Tehran for Bshehr nuclear power plant. (UNI) Pak irked by Hurriyat chief’s remarks, insists on its role ISLAMABAD, Aug 25: Pakistan today insisted on its inclusion in any process for a lasting and durable solution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue, two days after new Hurriyat chief Maulana Abass Ansari reportedly said he would not press for trilateral talks involving Islamabad. "I think in any arrangement, Pakistan cannot be excluded. Pakistan is a party to the dispute and there can be no lasting and durable solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute without active support and explicit concurrence of Pakistan," foreign office spokesman Masood Khan told reporters here. When referred to the desire of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to hold talks with all sections, including separatist Hurriyat Conference, Khan said "I think this kind of situation would not arise at all." "I hope the Indians are serious in initiating dialogue with Pakistan and Kashmiris," he added. Khan also claimed that Ansari’s reported comments that his organisation had agreed to talk to New Delhi had been presented in a "distorted" form. (AGENCIES) Iran charges two in Canada journalist death: IRNA TEHRAN, Aug 25: Iran said today that two interrogators in the case concerning the death of a Canadian photojournalist in july had been charged with complicity in "semi-intentional" order, the official IRNA news agency said. "The charges levelled against the interrogators, who are said to be members of the Intelligence Ministry, are announced as complicity in semi-intentional murder," IRNA quoted a report from the Tehran prosecutor’s office as saying. (AGENCIES) McDonald’s China franchise to launch Shanghai IPO SHANGHAI, Aug 25: Sanyuan foods, holder of McDonald’s franchises in Beijing and booming Guangdong province, said on Monday it would launch China’s first initial public offering linked to an international fast-food name. Beijing Sanyuan Foods Co Ltd, a unit of Hong Kong-listed Beijing Enterprises, would raise a net 374 million Yuan ( 45.19 million) by issuing 150 million shares in Shanghai at 2.60 yuan per share on Friday, hoping to open new outlets across the country, it said in an IPO prospectus. Though its core business is dairy products, its 50 percent-owned Beijing McDonald’s franchise and 25 percent-owned Guangdong franchise has evolved into a key income source, despite a walloping at the hands of sars in the first half of 2003. "McDonald’s has become a crucial part of our business," Sanyuan said in an issue prospectus published on the Shanghai stock exchange web site www.Sse.Com.Cn. But "first-half net profit fell sharply due to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Beijing McDonald’s sales." For instance, income from the McDonald’s operation in Beijing, one of the world’s heaviest SARS-hit areas, fell 82.6 percent on year to 1.66 million yuan in the first half of 2003. China’s outbreak of SARS, which peaked in the second quarter, decimated retail sales as people opted to stay at home, terrified of contracting the deadly flu-like disease. Nonetheless, the scarcity of fast-food plays on the local bourse could help Sanyuan generate interest. Hong Kong Chain Cafe De Coral has invested 4.9 million to buy half of the popular but distinctly local new asia Dabao Chain, run by Shanghai’s new Asia Group Co Ltd 900934.Ss . But there are no other fast-food chains with the national scope of a McDonald’s on the local Yuan-denominated a-share bourse, which is open to local and select foreign investors. "By 2004, Beijing McDonald’s plans to set up 130 outlets in places such as Beijing, and Hebei and Shanxi provinces," the company said. "Guangdong McDonald’s plans to open 90 stores by the same timeframe." (AGENCIES)
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