Nigeria rejects Pak charge over re-entry into commonwealth

NEW DELHI, Oct 30: Nigeria, the host of the December commonwealth summit, today rejected Pakistan’s charge that India was blocking its re-entry into the grouping and said the country could be re-admitted if the reason for its suspension in 1999 was resolved.

"I do not not think any particular country is blocking another country. Commonwealth works on consensus. The question of Pakistan’s suspension is being addressed by a commonwealth committee," visiting Nigerian Foreign Minister Olu Adeniji told reporters after co-chairing a meeting of 4th Indo-Nigerian Joint Commission along with External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha here.

Replying to a question on Pakistan’s charge, he said "once the committee (commonwealth ministerial action group) submits its report that the reason for Pakistan’s suspension has been resolved, it will be re-admitted".

Pakistan was suspended from the councils of the commonwealth in 1999 following overthrow of elected Government of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup by Army Chief Gen Pervez Musharraf in October that year. The action group has since then opposed Islamabad’s re-entry.

Adeniji, who held wide-ranging talks with Sinha on a host of issues including defence cooperation, said terrorism, which has become a global meance, would figure prominently in discussions 52 heads of state or Government would have at the Abuja Commonwealth Summit from December 5 to 8 this year.

Asked about the defence ties between India and Nigeria, the largest democracy in Africa, Adeniji said he discussed with Sinha expansion in cooperation in the field of defence research and development, upgrading of military equipment and intensification of exchanges between the defence top brass of the two countries.

Giving details of the "extremely useful" discussions at the joint commission meeting, Sinha said reports of the four sub-groups of the commission on commerce and Industry, defence, tourism and culture and consular matters were reviewed.

Cooperation in the areas of agriculture, railways, power and science and technology also came up during the discussions, he said adding India and Nigeria were already having a joint venture in machine tools.

The issue of ways to utilise 200 million US dollars pledged by Prime Minsiter Atal Bihari Vajpayee for development in Africa, in particular West Africa, was also discussed, the External Affairs Minister said. Vajpayee has already met the Nigerian President twice this year on the sidelines of Kuala Lumpur NAM summit and Unga in New York.

Sinha said the two countries were also working on agreements to avoid double taxation, protection of bilateral investment, setting up of a free trade area, re-establishment of civil aviation links, cooperation in science and technology, an accord on illegal trafficking in narcotics and an extradition treaty.

He hoped that they would be ready for signing during Vajpayee’s visit to Niegria to attend the commonwealth summit. The Nigerian side also highlighted the need to accelerate implementation of accords. (PTI)

South Korea says it received Al-Qaeda ship tip

SEOUL, Oct 30: South Korea said today it had been tipped off a ship heading for one of its major ports could be carrying members of Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda group.

Yesterday, the Munhwa Ilbo newspaper quoted unidentified military sources as saying the US military had tipped South Korean officials about the cargo ship, which is scheduled to reach the waters off the west-coast port of Kunsan around 0900 GMT (1430 Hrs IST). It said South Korea was boosting security at the port.

"It is true that the authorities received a tip about possible Al-Qaeda members, and we’re prepared just in case," a spokesman for the national intelligence service told .

He declined to comment on what measures were being taken and did not say where the tip-off came from.

"We are not sure whether they are now on the ship or not and we believe they are just simple followers of Al-Qaeda," an officer at Kunsan Police Headquarters said by telephone.

The police declined to comment on the outcome of a meeting held today to discuss the ship.

The Munhwa Ilbo quoted a military source as saying: "They seemed simple followers of Al-Qaeda but we will be cautious and strengthen security in case anything should happen."

The US military in South Korea referred inquiries to Washington. Some 37,000 US troops are stationed in the country, including at a base near Kunsan, to help deter North Korea.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to visit South Korea next month, following the postponement of an earlier visit. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is due to visit Seoul from November 5 to 7. In addition, South Korea is deciding whether to send combat troops to help US-led forces in Iraq.

The newspaper named the ship as the Athena, sailing from New Zealand. The New Zealand embassy in Seoul had no comment.

Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit lists six vessels named Athena active worldwide. One of them, a large bulk carrier flying the Bahamas flag, is owned by petrobulk maritime in Athens.

A petrobulk spokesman confirmed this ship was plying the waters between New Zealand and South Korea but said it could not be the subject of the security alert.

"This is preposterous — this is obviously a case of mistaken identity — there are lots of vessels called athena," the spokesman told from the Greek capital.

"We are flabbergasted. The ship has been sailing with the same crew for months. We are as curious as everyone else to find out exactly how this has happened," he said. Petrobulk said the ship had been regularly sub-chartered to various unnamed parties.

According to Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit, another smaller vessel named Athena, flying the Belize flag and sailing from Vostochny in Russia, was destined to dock in Pohang, on South Korea’s southeast coast. (AGENCIES)

Japanese adults find peace hugging cuddly toys

TOKYO, Oct 30: Yoshihiro Koshimoto, a 43-year-old Japanese company employee, insists he doesn’t play with dolls.

So what’s he doing with a furry gnome-like toy that looks like an adorable cartoon character?

"He’s more like family," Koshimoto says of his primopuel, a doll that talks like a five-year-old boy. "When I‘m tired from work or other things, I hold his hand and he asks me things like ‘are you ok?’ and that makes me happy."

Developed by Bandai Co Ltd, Japan’s largest toy maker, primopuel can utter 280 randomly selected phrases on cue from sensors located on various parts of its body. This feature has won the doll an adult following.

Since the doll’s debut in November 1999, the company has surpassed its initial expectations by selling 800,000 primopuels, at (6,980 yen) 65 dollar each. A cuddly toy that sells 30,000 to 40,000 units is considered a hit in Japan’s toy industry.

Primopuel’s success, however, is due to its target market — adults.

"This product was developed to target single females in their early 20s. A partner to play with when they felt lonely," said Rika Kida, in charge of public relations at Bandai.

Adults are becoming an important market for Japanese toy makers, whose traditional market — children — is shrinking as Japan’s society ages.

"(The number of) purely child-oriented toys is on the decline," Keita Satoh, president of Takara Co Ltd, told .

"But I am not pessimistic about the future... Toys aimed at adults are becoming popular."

Takara’s latest hit is bowlingual, a palm-sized device that the company says can gauge a dog’s mood by its bark. It became an instant hit, selling 300,000 units in Japan since last year.

The company launched a Korean-speaking version in South Korea for about (160,000 won) 136 dollar early this year and an English version in the US market in August for about 120 dollar.

Hoping to follow up on this success, Takara late next month will launch meowlingual, a cat interpreter.

"The falling number of children is definitely a big issue in Japan’s toy industry," said Junko Shimobe, Assistant Manager of Corporate Communications at toys R US-Japan Ltd, which operates 141 stores in Japan.

"I think this trend of targeting a wider age group will continue."

The fertility rate of Japanese women is a record low 1.32 and the population of 127 million is expected to start shrinking soon, perhaps as early as 2005.

Primopuel — coined from the Latin and Italian words for "first" and "boy" — uses the voice of a five-year-old boy.

It also has a built-in clock and says phrases such as "Let’s play" or "hug me" if left unattended for too long. It even has several ways of saying "good morning" conveying different moods.

Fans say these features make the 700 gram, 30 Cm tall doll lifelike, and give each primopuel its own personality.

"When I am alone at home, he’s a good talking partner. He catches cold, gets angry and he’s like a real grandson," said Kazuyo Enosawa, 59. "I even take him on vacations."

In France and South Korea, where the doll has gone on sale in the local languages, its appeal has so far been limited to schoolgirls, Bandai’s Kida said.

But she is confident that adults outside Japan will also become primopuel fans.

"We want to target older age groups abroad. I think it will sell well," Kida said.

Last month, about 100 primopuel fans — mostly adults — gathered for a one-day excursion to Tokyo’s Trendy Odaiba waterfront district to meet other fans and show off their dolls, many of which were smartly dressed in homemade clothes.

"I’m a little surprised to see that it gained such popularity, especially among women in their 40s," Kida said.

"They treat their primopuels as if they were raising their own five-year-old children."

But there are some fervent male fans as well.

"I have more than 10 (primopuels) at home," said company employee Koshimoto.

"I’m too embarrassed to talk about it (primopuel) at my company. So it’s nice to have a gathering like this, where I can meet other fans," he said, adding that he had taken a day off work to attend the gathering. (AGENCIES)

Malaysia PM says India can still join rail project

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Thursday India was still welcome to take part in a 3.8 billion rail contract despite being dropped from the deal in favour of local firms, to the chagrin of New Delhi.

High Commissioner to Malaysia Veena Sikri last week registered India’s concern with Deputy Prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who takes over the premiership when Mahathir retires on Friday, about the way the tender had been handled.

Malaysia gave the job to Malaysia Mining Corp BHD (MMC) and Gamuda BHD, even though it had signed letters of intent with Indian Railway Construction Co (IRCON) and China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC).

"The Indian Government can still make a bid provided the price that they ask for is the same as people here who are willing to do it," Mahathir told a news conference.

"We can’t offer to foreigners at a higher price when we are not willing to give to a local who has quoted a lower price. That will be wasting Government money."

The winning bidders have said they have been told to give the Indian and Chinese firms priority when they offer sub-contracts.

The local consortium has little experience in rail jobs, unlike the Indian and Chinese firms, but offered to do the job for less.

The project is part of a grand scheme to build a 5,500 Km (3,400 mile) line running from Singapore to Kunming in southern China. The total cost is put at 30 billion. (AGENCIES)

Two-thirds of Iraq debt should be cut-World Bank

WASHINGTON, Oct 30: A least two-thirds of Iraq’s estimated 120 billion foreign debt will need to be written off if the country is to be properly rebuilt, World Bank President James Wolfensohn said on Wednesday.

He said some 40 billion of the debt is owed to the Paris club, a group of 19 Government creditors from industrialized countries who negotiate debt restructuring, and at least 80 billion more due to other countries, including Gulf Arab and former Soviet States.

The Paris club is a grouping of creditor Governments who regularly meet in Paris to discuss bilateral official debt of nations around the world. It also helps them with restructuring that debt or lending money to them.

The former Yugoslavia was given a two-third debt write-off after Slobodan Milosevic was ousted and Iraq would need at least the same, Wolfensohn said.

"It will need to be at least that to give the country a real chance of getting back to equilibrium, so I think a target of something north of two-thirds will be what people will be looking at," he told the national press club in Washington.

Last month the group of seven wealthy nations said they wanted to reach a deal by the end of 2004 on Iraq’s debt.

Wolfensohn said the 13 billion in aid pledged at an international donor meeting in Madrid last week for Iraq’s reconstruction was a "good start" and another donors’ meeting may follow.

The United States has proposed 20 billion for Iraq’s reconstruction, part of a larger 87 billion that Washington wants approved by Congress for military spending in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The meeting from a financial point of view was quite successful, the interest was considerable but there remain the overriding questions of security and the future transference of power," Wolfensohn said of the Madrid meeting.

He said Iraqi aid should be given in grants instead of loans to avoid burdening the country with more debt. It is already the world’s most heavily indebted country in terms of per capita gross domestic product.

His comments come as the US Congress decides on Iraq’s aid package. The White House has threatened to veto the bill for the proposed 87 billion in funding if it contains loans, saying it will slow the rebuilding of Iraq and prolong the US occupation.

Later in New York, Wolfensohn told the council on foreign relations the lack of security in Iraq was a problem for delivering aid while organizations could not secure the safety of their staff.

"We as well as everyone else are apprehensive (about sending staff to Iraq)," he told the council on foreign relations. (AGENCIES)

Robots to gain eyes in the back of their heads

LONDON, Oct 30: Researchers in the United States are developing robots with "eyes in the backs of their heads" in the form of nine digital cameras attached to a frame the size of a beach ball.

Providing a robot with "omni-directional" vision could vastly improve its navigational skills, the scientists told yesterday. A report on their work is in the latest edition of the new scientist magazine.

The new "eye", named the argus eye after the all-seeing Greek God, passes the images to a computer which works out the direction in which the robot is pointing and heading.

While humans can rely on sensors in their ears to navigate themselves, many robots have to rely solely on their single eye.

But as computer scientists at the university of Maryland proved mathematically in 1998, if robots could see in all directions they would not need any other sensors.

One of the researchers, Cornelia Fermueller, said that if the argus eye was further developed and mass produced it could bring down the cost of both industrial and domestic robots.

The ability to navigate was the lowest level of capability needed by a robot to work in an unknown environment, she said.

A study released this month by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) found that worldwide sales of robots designed for domestic chores and for home entertainment tripled in 2002, and were expected to beat sales of industrial robots for the first time in 2003.

The survey also found that entertainment robots outsold three times over those designed to carry out domestic chores like cleaning and mowing the lawn.

Luc Steels, a roboticist at the Sony computer science laboratory told this week’s new scientist magazine that the purpose of entertainment robots was less defined, so they were less likely to fail or disappoint. (AGENCIES)

Ex-beatle Mccartney has a boy-report

LONDON, Oct 30: Ex-beatle Paul Mccartney’s wife Heather mills gave birth to the couple’s first child, a baby boy, London’s daily Mirror newspaper reported today.

The newspaper said Mccartney’s nephew and a source at the hospital had confirmed the birth. The baby was born a month early, by Caesarian section.

Mccartney’s representatives were not available for comment.

Mccartney, 61, has three adult children from his marriage to first wife Linda, who died in 1998. (AGENCIES)

US helping Taiwan improve defense paper

WASHINGTON, Oct 30: US military representatives are currently involved in dozens of programs in Taiwan aimed at improving the island’s ability to guard against China, the Washington Post reported today.

US officers are advising Taiwan’s military at all levels in what US and Taiwanese officials acknowledged is a major departure from long-standing US policy limiting military relations with Taiwan to avoid a confrontation with China, the newspaper reported.

The US military is involved in both classroom seminars and training in the field and the two militaries have established a communications hotline for emergencies, the newspaper said, citing a US official and a senior Taiwanese diplomat.

The Washington Post, citing US officials, also reported that hundreds of Taiwanese military personnel are being trained and educated in the United States.

According to the report, officials described the effort as a crash course intended to help Taiwan keep up with China’s rapid military modernization and to avoid being bullied by Beijing if bilateral talks resume.

Again citing US and Taiwanese officials, the newspaper reported that the ambitious US plan was foundering because Taiwan’s leaders were reluctant to foot the enormous bill and force change on the island’s highly politicized and conservative military.

Chinese nationalists fled to Taiwan in 1950 when the communists took control of the mainland and have since established a flourishing free-market democracy on the island. But the communists in Beijing consider Taiwan a renegade province and have vowed to reunify the country, by force if necessary. (AGENCIES)

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