Chronology of events in Parliament attack case

NEW DELHI, Oct 29: Following is the chronology of events in the Parliament attack case, in which the Delhi High Court today acquitted two of the accused S A R Geelani and Afsan Guru while confirming the death penalty of the other two accused. This is the first case under POTA where capital punishment was imposed.

Dec 13, 2001: five Pakistani terrorists attack Parliament house. Nine security personnel killed, 16 others injured.

Dec 14, 2001: India asks Pakistan to act against LET, JEM terrorist outfits.

Dec 15, 2001: Police arrest Delhi university lecturer S A R Geelani, MD Afzal, Shaukat Hussain and his wife Navjot Sandhu. A laptop and Rs 10 lakh recovered from Afzal and Shaukat in Srinagar.

Dec 16, 2001: The then Delhi Police Chief Ajai Raj Sharma says Pakistan supervised the attack, Pakistan calls for joint probe

Dec 18, 2001: Home Minister L K Advani blames ISI for the attack. PM Vajpayee rejects call for joint probe.

Dec 19, 2001: Pakistan rejects Advani’s charge, demands evidence.

Dec 22, 2001: MD Afzal, Shaukat Hussain and S A R Geelani confirm their confessional statements recorded by DCP special cell

Dec 24, 2001: US, UK, EU issue demarche to Pak, demand ban on LET, JEM.

Dec 25, 2001: JEM chief Masood Azhar arrested in Pak

Apr 01, 2002: JEM chief Maulana Masood Azhar, its chief commander in Jammu and Kashmir Ghazi Baba and his close aide Tariq Ahmad declared proclaimed offenders.

May 14, 2002: Chargesheet filed in the case against Afzal, Shaukat, his wife Afsan, Geelani, Azhar, Ghazi Baba and Tariq.

Jun 04, 2002: Special Court frames charges. All the accused plead not guilty. Jul 08, 2002: Trial begins under POTA.

Jul 11, 2002: Special Judge rules telephonic intercepts are admissible in evidence.

Jul 25, 2002: Geelani and Afsan challenge special Court ruling in Delhi High Court. Oct 30, 2002: Delhi High Court upholds their plea and quashes trial Court order on telephonic intercepts.

Nov 25, 2002: Special Judge reserves order in the case after completion of final arguments and fixes December 11, 2002 for pronouncement of judgment.

Dec 16, 2002: Court holds all the four accused guilty. Dec 17, 2002: Court hears arguments on quantum of sentence: prosecution seeks death penalty while accused plead leniency.

Dec 18, 2002: Court awards death penalty to Afzal, Shaukat and Geelani but five years RI on Afshan.

Jan 14, 2003: Geelani, Afsan challenge conviction in Delhi High Court.

Jan 15, 2003: Afsan’s appeal admitted.

Jan 16, 2003: Geelani’s appeal admitted.

Jan 17, 2003: HC receives reference on death penalty to Afzal, Shaukat and Geelani. Jan 22, 2003: Sahukat files appeal against conviction.

Jan 27, 2003: Afzal files appeal against conviction.

Jan 31, 2003: prosecution files appeal challenging acquittal of Afsan in other offences and seeks enhancement of sentences against all the accused.

Apr 2, 2003 : HC begins day-to-day hearing.

Aug 28, 2003: Judgement reserved.

Oct 29, 2003: HC acquits Geelani and Afsan while confirming the death penalty awarded to Afzal and Shaukat. (PTI)

Greying Japan puts pensions in election spotlight

TOKYO, Oct 29: A crisis in Japan’s pension system, deepening by the day as the population ages, is forcing politicians to confront the problem ahead of a November election and even address the long-taboo idea of a tax increase.

Since the days of post-war reconstruction, Japanese had been safe in the knowledge that their hard work and sacrifice would be rewarded in retirement by a generous state pension system.

Now, that certainty has evaporated and the issue has become the hottest topic for the November 9 poll.

"By the time I get old, I’m not sure if I’ll get much," said 28-year-old Yumi Sudo, a college administrator.

"I pay contributions through a company programme but I wonder if it’s just better to invest it in stocks or something myself."

As in many countries in Europe, Japan’s pension system is creaking under the strain of a falling birth rate, a shrinking working population and increased longevity.

By 2025, Japan is likely to have one person over 65 for every two of working age, the highest ratio among industrial nations.

"The economy still looks bad and everyone is worried about their jobs and the future, so naturally the concern for pensions in the election is going to be very high," said Muneyuki Shindo, a political scientist at Chiba University near Tokyo.

"But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the policies being pitched are reflecting this," he added.

So far, the ruling liberal democratic party and opposition democrats have not come up with clear answers on how Japan, which boasts the world’s longest life expectancy, can stop money draining out of the pension system faster than it comes in.

They do agree on one core issue — raising the State’s contribution to the basic pension scheme covering non-salaried citizens aged 20 to 59. Individuals’ contributions are 37 per cent short of where they should be as people give up paying.

The problem is that this would cost some 25 billion dollar at a time when tax revenue is falling and Japan wrestles with the largest fiscal deficit of any industrialised nation, crimping its money-raising abilities.

The LDP plans to start raising state contributions to a half from a third next year but has kept quiet about how it will be paid for. The democrats want to raise the share to a half over five years by cutting down on "wasteful" spending in the budget. Beyond this, both parties are short on specific ideas for long-overdue reform of the entire social welfare system.

But they have said a future rise in the five per cent consumption tax may be inevitable to fund the pension system.

The LDP has stopped short of saying in its campaign platform that the consumption tax needs to be raised and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who heads the LDP, has pledged not to increase the tax while in office.

Koizumi has acknowledged, though, that the tax will have to be raised eventually and has welcomed debate on the issue.

Many analysts have said a tax hike is unavoidable given the dire conditions of the State coffers. Public antipathy to the idea has also lessened over the years.

The democrats have proposed a two-tier pension system under which a basic scheme funded by the consumption tax is topped up by contributions based on wages. Party officials have said the tax would be raised by two percentage points under the plan.

But while many analysts give the idea credit, they say the plan lacks specifics.

"What politicians should be saying is that in exchange for a hike in the consumption tax, contributions will be kept in check and people can stop worrying about future benefits," said Kousuke Shiraishi, a senior economist at Mitsubishi Research Institute.

The democrats have said that the consumption tax would rise once economic growth reaches a nominal two percent.

That could be some time away given official forecasts for a 0.2 per cent nominal contraction in the fiscal year to March 2004.

"The democrats, by saying they won’t raise the consumption tax right away, are no different from the LDP," said Shigenori Okazaki, political analyst at Ubs Warburg. "The fact that there is no difference is the biggest problem in this debate."

For older voters about to get their pension, the political jockeying offers little to reassure.

"I worry about how much I’ll be getting, especially when I hear people are getting less and less already," said Yasunori Hisai, a 57-year-old marketing manager.

"Sure, we might need to pay more taxes in the end, but I don’t trust the current system so I’m against it. I don’t think politicians are dealing seriously with the issue at all." (AGENCIES)

Indian-American wins $49 million jackpot

SILICON VALLEY (US), Oct 29: Narinder Badwal, an Indian-American threw a party at his friend’s Milpitas restaurant after learning that he was to receive a usd 2,47,500 commission for selling one of the state’s two winning USd 99 million super lotto tickets.

What Badwal didn’t know was that he had sold one of the winning tickets to himself — and that he had won 49.5 million USd, representing his half of a jackpot that he shared with an aspiring actress from southern California.

Owner of a convenience store in Santa Clara, in the heart of the Silicon Valley, Badwal told reporters that he didn’t bother to check his tickets, which he had bought about 90 minutes before last Wednesday’s draw, because "it was so busy at the store."

An aspiring actress and her fiance stepped up to claim half the prize — $49.5 million (for the other ticket sold elsewhere.)

but on Friday morning, his brother, Parminder Badwal, knowing no one had stepped forward to claim the other half of the jackpot, phoned and suggested that Narinder check his tickets, the San Jose Mercury reported yesterday.

"I said, `forget it, you know that I never win more than $10 or $11, so what’s the big deal?’ " said Badwal, who has played the lottery since it began in 1985.

He told his brother, Parminder Badwal, to check the tickets, which were in his office. He had picked the same numbers, which have no special significance, for the past four months. But he never figured he would win.

Fifteen minutes later, Narinder’s brother informed him of the lottery win.

Narinder Badwal, 49, said he is planning no significant changes in his life and intends to keep running his store.

But he will increase his donations to charity, the first big beneficiary of which would be the Sankara eye foundation, which funds research on blindness and provides eye care to the poor in India.

Yesterday, the couple again gathered at their friend’s restaurant once again for another celebration and the official presentation from lottery officials. (PTI)

UN shocked at adverse girl child ratio in India

UNITED NATION, Oct 29: Alarmed at the "shocking decline" in the ratio of the girl child in India due to selective abortions and infanticide, the United Nations has said the problem "must be addressed."

As a result of the sex selective abortions and infanticide, the ratio of girls to boys in India has shown a "shocking decline" in the last decade, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed said.

"These findings reveal an alarming trend, which must be addressed," Obaid said adding that "discrimination against girls anywhere in the world is a social ill and human rights violation, which must be stopped."

The data disclosed in a booklet, "missing: Mapping the adverse child sex ratio in India" has been compiled by India’s Registrar-General and Census Commissioner, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and UNFPA.

The publication notes a national decline from 945 to 927 in the number of girls per 1,000 boys aged 0-6 between 1991 and 2001 and a "grave" situation in states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, where the ratio has "drastically declined" to fewer than 800 girls for every 1,000 boys. (PTI)

Much to be done before stem cell research actually leads to cures

SINGAPORE, Oct 29: There is still a lot more to be done beforestem cell research actually leads to cures for diseases, an Oxforduniversity expert said at a Singapore conference attended by morethan 500 scientists.

The degenerative disorder Parkinson’s disease is an earlycontender, followed by heart disease and type 1 diabetes, said SirGeorge Radda at the world’s largest stem cell gathering.

Scientists already know what cells need to be replaced inpatients with Parkinson’s, he said yesterday, while others areworking hard to use stem cells to repair hearts damaged by disease.

The experts attending the three-day event are focusing on how toharness stem cells, the master cells that can grow into almost anytissue in the body.

They hope to use them to replace unhealthy cells as a cure for avariety of medical conditions.

Touching on the importance of public stem cell banks such as onethat opened recently in Britain, the Oxford scientist said suchbanks could be a global resource for work in the field.

"Singapore would be a very good place to have this kind of bank,and this will help overcome the problem faced by researchers of nothaving enough lines for research," he said.

Stem-cells from embryos have drawn opposition from some anti-abortion activists. US President George Bush restricted federalfunding two years ago to those cell lines that already were beingused for research.

Unlike stem cells that are "fed" on animal cells, thosenourished with adult skin cells can be used safely for human trials,said Dr Ariff Bongso, a Singapore scientist who became the first togrow human stem cells without using animal cells in June 2002.

"When we get a tiny skin sample, we can grow the skin cells inthe lab, and these form a good feeder for stem cells", said Bongso.

With strong Government support, the city-state has become acentre for research into embryonic stem cells.

Singapore has liberal guidelines for research allowing scientiststo clone human embryos and keep them alive for up to 14 days toextract stem cells.(DPA)

Thousande flee as California wildfires roars back

LOS ANGELES, Oct 29: A towering firestorm sent thousands ofresidents in southern California’s mountain communities running fortheir lives yesterday as the most destructive of the state’swildfires roared back to life after diminished winds briefly lulledits flames.

With officials describing the fires as a once in a 100 yearsdisaster, Gov Gray Davis put losses from the wildfires burning fromnorth of Los Angeles to the US-Mexico border at 2 billion infirefighting costs, damage and lost income.

Nearly 2,000 homes have been destroyed by the flames andofficials fear that the death toll of 18 will jump dramatically oncerescue workers are able to scour the burning border areas betweenMexico and San Diego where would-be illegal immigrants are feared tohave died.

Residents jammed narrow winding roads leading out of a burningmountain about 80 Kms east of Los Angeles yesterday as one of the 10wildfires raging across southern California threatened to engulf twopopular resort towns.

As exhausted firefighters tried desperately to beat back theflames on the mountain in the San Bernardino range, authoritiesordered more than 40,000 residents of lake arrowhead and big bear,both popular resorts, to flee their homes.

The fire burned over a ridge through bone-dry and disease-infested timber that provided ideal fuel for an inferno that spewedout a towering plume of smoke and ash.

The fire has claimed at least 20 homes near lake arrowhead sincelate Monday, and could incinerate thousands more before firefighting crews are able to contain it.

Kristel Johnson, a US forest service spokeswoman, said the firewas so intense that it had created its own weather system of hot,swirling winds that drove walls of flame erratically down hillsides.(AGENCIES)

US instructor held by Iran may soon be freed

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 29: An Iranian-born instructor inpolitical science at the university of California at Berkeley, whois being held in Tehran on charges of espionage, may soon be freed,colleagues have said.

Officials at the prestigious university yesterday appealed tothe Government of Iran to release Dariush Zahedi, 37, who wasimprisoned on unspecified espionage charges while visiting hisfamily in Iran over the summer.

Zahedi in 2000 published a book called "the Iranian revolutionthen and now: Indicators of regime instability." He also served asthe Director of a branch of the American Iranian Council, anon-profit educational organization founded to forge betterrelations between Iran and the United States.

A colleague of Zahedi’s said he learned from the man’s family inJuly that he had been imprisoned.

In recent days, he said he had spoken to Zahedi’s relatives inIran, who informed him that he was soon to be released.

But no further details were available.

Zahedi was due to teach a course during the fall semester atBerkeley entitled "war and peace in the Middle East," but thatcourse has been canceled. University officials, who asked not to beidentified, said they were hopeful he would return to the UnitedStates shortly.

Colleagues said they had no knowledge of his working as apolitical activist and believed any espionage charges to be untrue.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said on Sundaythat his office was taking up the case with the judiciary, which hasclosed down more than 90 reformist newspapers and jailed scores ofjournalists in recent years.

Human rights watch called last week for Zahedi’s immediate andunconditional release from the Evin prison in Tehran, which is knownto hold large numbers of dissident and intellectual prisoners.

Washington and Tehran cut ties after the 1979 Islamic revolution.(AGENCIES)

Canada house backs embryonic stem cell research

OTTAWA, Oct 29: The Canadian house of commons approvedlegislation that would permit research on stem cells from embryosand ban human cloning, but the bill’s final passage remains uncertain.

The battle over the bill has become a surrogate debate overabortion — a legal medical procedure in Canada — because ofthe implications of whether embryos are human beings. It hasalso become tangled in the political flux surrounding thetransition of power in Ottawa.

With Prime Minister Jean Chretien pledging to step down noearlier than February, and with fellow liberal Paul Martinprimed to replace him, Chretien’s once-iron grip on his liberalCaucus has weakened and some members have mounted concertedcampaigns against legislation from his cabinet.

"It is my opinion that the bill is not a good bill but afatally flawed bill," Paul Szabo, a liberal Martin supporterwho has led opposition to the legislation, told the house ofcommons at the conclusion of debate on Monday afternoon.

The bill, which also bans payment to sperm and egg donors,seeks to fill a legislative vacuum in Canada over a vast arrayof practices in the rapidly developing field of humanreproduction.

"It is time to act," the bill’s sponsor, Health MinisterAnne Mclellan, told reporters before the vote. "There is alegislative and regulatory void."

The legislation passed the house of commons by a vote of149-109. It will still have to get through the senate, alongwith a host of other last-minute bills that chretien is tryingto rush through as part of his legacy.More reuters vd ns0704jmu 12 00 fn 40science-canada-cloning two last ottawa

but with martin taking over as liberal leader on nov. 14, many inottawa are talking about parliament, or at least the house ofcommons, adjourning until martin formally becomes prime minister,with an election expected soon afterward.

Any legislation not passed by then would die.

Szabo, author of a book on stem cells, said that because of theway cloning is defined in the bill, human cloning for research andexperimentation would in fact not be banned.

‘’this is unacceptable,’’ he said.

The bill would also ban the creation of embryos solely forscience but would allow stem-cell research on surplus embryos fromfertility clinics.

‘’it strikes me as utterly macabre to be talking aboutlegislating permission to experiment on humans. Ultimately, that isexactly what we are talking about,’’ said liberal tom wappel, anardent foe of abortion.

Stem cells hold promise for regenerating damaged organs or tissueand treating maladies such as alzheimer’s disease. Those who holdthat life begins at conception say cells should be harvested from adults.

But proponents of the bill say that left-over embryos fromin-vitro fertilization are destroyed anyhow, so why not use them in research.

‘’they either go in the garbage or they go to the lab,’’ liberallegislator carolyn bennett, who is a medical doctor, told reuters.

Britain and the united states allow the creation of embryosfor research and the use of surplus embryos from fertility clinics,but both practices are effectively banned in federally funded u.S. Research.

Bennett said the spirit and intent of the canadian legislationwas clear and it was her view that any loopholes szabo referred towere closed.Reuters vd ns0705jmu 12 01 fn 34energy-iran-iraq-usu.S. Wary of any iraq-iran energy dealswashington, oct 29 (reuters) the united states said it would beconcerned about any energy or oil swap deals between iran and theiraqi state oil authorities.

Iraqi officials said yesterday they were seeking to securesupplies of liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene from iran to helpfend off a heating fuel shortage this winter.

The potential deal signals early efforts to restore energytrading links between the two countries, which fought an eight-yearwar in the 1980s.

A deal could also clear the way for iran’s bigger proposalto help rebuild iraq with a crude oil swap.

But state department spokesman richard boucher said: ‘’we have alot of concerns about iranian behavior that would lead us to beconcerned. There would be issues that have to be examined withregard to any such arrangement with iran.’’

boucher noted that iraq is receiving electricity from a turkishproducer in exchange for iraqi oil.Reuters vd ns0634jmu 11 55 fn 17life-germany-grenade10-year-old girl’s ‘’plaything’’ turns out to be live grenade stuttgart, germany, oct 29 (dpa) a ‘’plaything’’ a 10-year-old girlin germany brought home to show her mother turned out to be a livevintage world war ii hand grenade, police in stuttgart said.

Unaware what the rusty object was, the mother told the girl toleave the explosive device outside when she and a friend came homefrom play.

It was only when the girl proudly presented the grenade to herstunned father that bomb-disposal experts were called in.

The girl said she and her school chum had played with the grenadeall afternoon.

Police issued a reminder that thousands of germany is litteredwith thousands of bombs, grenades and other explosive devices fromworld war ii.Dpa vd ns0534jmu 11 34 fn 66korea-ishihara-japantokyo gov says koreans responsible for annexationtokyo, oct 29 (reuters) nationalist tokyo governor shintaroishihara, who has angered asian nations in the past with hisremarks, appears likely to stir up fresh controversy after sayingkoreans bore responsibility for japan’s 1910 annexation of korea.

Ishihara made the comments at a rally in tokyo yesterday callingfor the issue of japanese abducted decades ago by north korea to beresolved, the asahi shimbun newspaper said.

‘’we didn’t invade using military force. I don’t mean to justify100 percent the japan-korea merger, but it is rather theresponsibility of their (koreans’) ancestors,’’ asahi quotedishihara as saying in a speech.

Other newspapers reported similar comments by ishihara.

Lingering resentment over japan’s 1910-1945 colonisation of thekorean peninsula still sometimes strains japan’s relations withsouth korea and draws angry criticism from north korea.

Ishihara, who is often mentioned as a potential future primeminister, is no stranger to controversy. His past remarks havetargeted women, homosexuals, the handicapped, foreigners and japan’sasian neighbours, including china.

In april 2000, he sparked a furore by using a term for foreignersthat was used after world war two as an insult for residents fromthe former japanese colonies of taiwan and korea.

More recently, he sparked an outcry last month when he said asenior japanese diplomat who received a bomb threat deserved it dueto his perceived soft stance towards north korea.

He referred to that incident again at yesterday’s rally.

‘’the rumour is it was done to gain sympathy,’’ the asahi quotedhim as saying.Reuters.

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