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Russia conducts Nuclear tests Mishap in N-plant, 4 workers die Nagasaki marks
anniversary of A-bomb dropping Iraq oil ministry gets mortar hits
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Twin blasts kill eight
in Karachi Six
Taliban killed 28 Italy-bound
immigrants dead
Indo-Pak joint peace rally
in Washington Florida varsity
to offer Sanskrit
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Russia conducts Nuclear tests Moscow, August 9 “Such experiments are conducted every year to verify the integrity of nuclear warheads,” Chief of Atomic Energy Agency Alexander Rumyantsev was quoted as saying by ITAR-TASS. Speaking at a Kremlin meeting presided by President Vladimir Putin, Rumyantsev said the tests conducted jointly with the 12th Main Directorate of the Defence Ministry involved “non-nuclear explosive experiments”. He, however, did not say when and how many tests were conducted by Russia. Under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) — ratified by Russia, but its failure to enter into force due to the US Senate’s non-ratification and India, Pakistan and Israel’s refusal to join it — allows five recognised members of the nuclear club to conduct ‘sub-critical’ tests from time to time to verify their nuclear arsenals and virtually develop new generations of the deadly weapons. On the anniversary of Hiroshima atomic bombardment today, Russian Foreign Ministry lamented that due to North Korea’s denunciation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and India, Pakistan and Israel’s refusal to sign it the non-proliferation regime has not become global.
— PTI |
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Mishap in N-plant, 4 workers die
The nuclear power plant at Mihama, 350 km west of Tokyo, shut down automatically when an alarm sounded just before the accident. The plant’s operators stressed there was no danger of a radiation leak. A police spokesman in Fukui prefecture confirmed four workers were killed in the accident. The accident happened in the turbine room of a pressurised water reactor at the plant which was run by the Kansai Electric Power Company. A spokesman for the local fire brigade said the heart of another worker stopped beating at one stage, but it was not possible to confirm the patient’s condition. An official from Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the leaked steam would not have contained radiation as the turbines in the water reactors did not come into contact with the nuclear reactors. Today’s incident is likely to further undermine public confidence in Japan’s nuclear industry which has been shaken by a series of accidents and scandals in recent years. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed regret at the loss of life and stressed the need for high safety standards in an industry that provided Japan with over a quarter of its energy.
— AFP |
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Nagasaki
marks anniversary of A-bomb dropping
Nagasaki, August 9 “We would like to ask US citizens to cooperate with us to extinguish nuclear weapons,’’ he said at a peace commemoration to mark the day. A minute of silence was observed at 11.02 a.m., marking the exact time when the bomb, named Fat Man, devastated the city. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reiterated Japan’s commitment to the global elimination of nuclear arms. The total number of victims claimed by the nuclear bomb was 1,34,592, including an estimated 74,000 persons who died as a direct result of the bombing. The US military dropped the bomb on Nagasaki three days after Hiroshima - the first time ever in history such a destructive weapon was used.
— DPA  |
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Iraq oil ministry gets mortar hits Baghdad, August 9 The most intense salvos fell on the oil ministry compound in the east side of the capital facing Sadr city, a stronghold of the Mehdi Army militia fighting the US forces. Several rounds also fell on the nearby Water Resources Ministry compound. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Seven mortar rounds hit the Oil Ministry on Saturday, injuring one guard. There was little sign of the police or the Iraqi security forces in the eastern districts of Baghdad, where a police chief was kidnapped yesterday and several police stations were abandoned, according to residents of the area. At least three petrol stations were looted and destroyed in eastern Baghdad today. |
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Twin blasts kill eight in Karachi Islamabad, August 9 The bombs went off within a span of 15 minutes at about 7 pm local time (7.30 pm IST) last evening, near the Binoria seminary, according to the police. The Dawn quoted Karachi police chief Tariq Jameel as saying that a third explosive device lying on the main road was defused by the bomb disposal squad. He said apparently students of the seminary were the target. The first bomb, which was comparatively of low intensity, exploded at about 7 pm, injuring two persons. As people began thronging the scene, the other bomb went off 15 minutes later, The News reported, quoting Karachi DIG (Operations) Fayyaz Ahmed Khan Leghari. ‘’It would be too early to comment on anything regarding the blasts. We are investigating on different points, but at the moment we are not in a position to say anything firmly about the incident,’’ he said. Police teams have begun investigations to nab the culprits. The police said the first bomb was planted in a parcel while the second was placed on a motorcycle. The Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) defused another bomb that was hidden in a shopping bag. Hospital sources confirmed eight deaths and said over 40 wounded had been brought to the hospital. They said the condition of four of the injured is serious as they sustained head injuries. Following the blasts, angry students and locals pelted stones, damaging three police vehicles but the police managed to bring the situation under control. KARACHI: Meanwhile, the police today ruled out Al-Qaida’s hand in the weekend bomb blasts. Karachi police chief Tariq Jamil said the attack was probably sectarian, referring to rivalry between extremists in the majority Sunni and minority Shia Muslim sects. “Why would Al-Qaida kill religious elements? Even to create terror in the city, Al-Qaida will not target religious students,” he said. “The main possibility on which we are working is sectarianism.” —
AFP, UNI |
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Six Taliban
killed Kabul, August 9 The six were killed in a clash yesterday in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province, the Taliban’s former main stronghold, the governor of neighbouring Uruzgan province, Mr Jan Mohammad Khan said. On Saturday, government forces arrested five local Taliban commanders in an area of Uruzgan following a
tip-off, he said. He said government forces suffered no losses.
No Taliban official could be reached immediately for
comment. None of the arrested commanders appeared close to Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taliban’s reclusive leader who had been on the run since his regime was overthrown by the US led forces in late 2001.
— Reuters |
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28 Italy-bound immigrants dead Rome, August 9 The Italian authorities said on Sunday that a total of 73 would-be immigrants were picked up from their drifting boat on Saturday by the crew of a container ship. |
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Americans should be trained to fight terrorism: Kerry Trinidad (Colorado), August 9 “If we do that to protect ourselves against vandals or a burglary, why would we not do it to protect ourselves against a terrorist?” Kerry asked on Saturday during an interview with reporters aboard his campaign train. Kerry, who was joined on the train by his running mate John Edwards, said the current system of nationwide, colour-coded alerts was confusing. “We need a neighbourhood watch kind of system so that we have a way to notify people, they know what they’re supposed to do,” Edwards said. “We shouldn’t have millions of Americans, or hundreds of thousands, trying to figure out at 3 o’clock in the morning what they are supposed to do. They ought to know what they’re supposed to do.” Kerry also said he would continue research on a programme to develop weapons to shoot down incoming missiles if he was elected. “I believe in pursuing and researching and developing missile defence. I’ve supported missile defence research,” Kerry said.
— AP |
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Indo-Pak joint peace rally in Washington Washington, August 9 Indians and Pakistanis, living in the greater Washington area, have planned the peace march to mark their Independence Days, which fall on August 15 and 14 ,respectively. Organisers said the rally would be held on August 14 when it would still be Pakistan’s Independence Day in the United States while people in India would have begun their Independence Day celebrations. “Celebrate the day as a day of peace for non-violent conflict resolution of all issues,” a flyer distributed by the organisers this week said.
— UNI |
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Florida
varsity to offer Sanskrit Houston, August 9 The four-course sequence is fully accredited by Florida University, state university in Miami, and is available to students worldwide. “This is a pioneering partnership between a public university and America’s only Hindu university,” Dr Nathan Katz, Chairman of FIU’s Religious Studies Department, said. The courses have been developed by Dr B.V. Venkata Krishna Sastry, a professor at Hindu University and an adjunct faculty at FIU, and will carry the technical support from FIU. The course is open to all students. While the fees is $ 675 for non-Florida residents, for those residing in the sunshine state, the cost is the regular in-state tuition fees (which is yet to be determined) of plus $ 275. The registration for the courses will begin from August 18.
— PTI |
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