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India seeks extradition of hijackers
India giving negative signals on Kashmir,
says Musharraf African immigrants storm Spanish border
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Thai troops pulling out of Iraq USA denies German access to Qaida prisoners Cuddle parties latest craze in New York Sanjay Dutt hurt by
Canadian media
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India seeks extradition of hijackers Islamabad, August 10 During the two-and-half hour “candid” discussions between the Indian Home Secretary Dhirendra Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Tariq Mahmood, the issues of terrorism and drug trafficking were discussed in a comprehensive manner, a brief official statement said. “The talks were held in a frank and candid atmosphere. Both sides shared their respective perceptions on the issues,” said the statement. Singh, leading an eight-member delegation of officials from Home and External Affairs Ministry and Narcotics Department, declined to comment on the course of the talks, being held under the current round of Composite Dialogue process. A joint statement was expected at the end of the talks tomorrow. The two sides held a substantive dialogue on their respective positions on key issues relating to terrorism and shared their perceptions, the official sources said. India talked about terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, extradition of hijackers of Indian Airlines plane in 1999 and the accused wanted in connection with Bombay blasts as well as continued functioning of jehadi groups like Lashkar-e-Toyaba and Jaish-e-Muhammad, they said. Pakistan’s response on these issues was not immediately known. It was also not clear whether the two sides managed to narrow down their differences on these issues. Pakistan, which considers militancy in Kashmir as “freedom struggle,” said yesterday that issues like definition of terrorism would not figure in talks. On the eve of the talks, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan had told reporters that efforts would be to explore all possibilities of removing irritants and understanding each other’s point of view and come to an understanding on all issues including the question of terrorism. Talks on terrorism and drug trafficking are being held as part of the composite dialogue process on Kashmir and seven other issues announced earlier this year. Both sides were expected to work out modalities of cooperation to curb drug trafficking. Already officials of the two sides made significant progress in their talks on June 16 here to share intelligence and to adopt a co-ordinated strategy to prevent drug trafficking, specially the smuggling of large quantity of heroin being produced in Afghanistan through the well established networks in both the countries.
— PTI |
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India giving negative signals on Kashmir, says Musharraf
Islamabad, August 10 “On one side I am hopeful, while on the other Indians are giving negative signals. I am confused,” he said in a wide-ranging interview to English daily The News. In talks, he said, Indians looked serious in solving the Kashmir problem, but in public, “they do not speak with the same mind.” The President said he expressed this to External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh when he called on him recently. Mr Musharraf went on to add: “Then I have my doubts they are playing tricks. I think they are moulding their public opinion gradually. There is a new government in India, and one should give it a chance.” Describing Kashmir as a “flashpoint”, he said the public in India was for peace and once the issue was resolved “rest will fall in line.” He also said he would be meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September. “There are some feelers from there (India) and I would meet him, certainly,” he said. Both leaders are expected to be in New York to attend the UN General Assembly. Mr Musharraf said although no result was achieved in the Pak-India talks on Siachen and Sir Creek, there was no breakdown as the two sides had met for the first time. “...The Sir Creek issue has an impact on our economic zone. There is no end of dialogue... talks are going on,” he said. On Siachen, the world’s highest glacier, he claimed: “Tt is India which is suffering the most as its soldiers were perched on the icy heights,” and “If they want to continue to sit there let them sit there licking their wounds.” During the course of the lengthy interview, Mr Musharraf also said militant groups in Pakistan would be “packed up” after the resolution of the Kashmir issue. “God blessing, if we find a solution on Kashmir with India, all jehadi organisations have to pack up,” he said, while elaborating on his government’s crackdown on terrorist groups. Mr Musharraf said deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s recent comments on Kargil, in which he is reported to have said that military operation was held without his knowledge, were “shameful.” “It is sad that an ex-PM said that Pakistan suffered a lot. Nawaz Sharif knows he is spitting lies... it is so sad. It is quite the opposite, as everything is documented,” Mr Musharraf said. The Pakistani President also referred to the example of Indian army court marshalling its personnel involved in fake encounters, while referring to his attempts to crackdown on the Pakistan military personnel with links to the terrorist groups.
— PTI |
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African immigrants storm Spanish border
Madrid, August 10 Around 50 Spanish police clashed with the immigrants while the Moroccan police did the same on the other side of the fence yesterday. At least seven persons sustained slight injuries. Several immigrants reportedly managed to enter the enclave. The migrants from Mali, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal and Niger were living in nearby mountains, waiting for an opportunity to enter Melilla in the hope of travelling to mainland Spain. The daily El Mundo said many of the immigrants had stayed in the mountains for years. Those who died of diseases and malnutrition were buried by their comrades in a mass grave. Melilla reinforced the frontier with more police patrols and asked the central government to provide it with more means to fight illegal immigration. The numbers of Africans attempting to enter Spain usually soars in the summer months, when the weather favours clandestine sea crossings. Hundreds of illegal immigrants have been detained in Spain over the past few weeks.
— DPA |
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Two Lebanese, 2 Jordanians freed in Iraq Beirut (Lebanon), August 10 Nada Sayour told she had received a call from her husband, Kassem Murqbawi, a short time ago, saying he would be home in three days. Murqbawi told her a fellow truck driver who was kidnapped this month was also released. Sayour said he was one of the al-Jundi brothers, but she did not know which one. Speaking from her home in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli last night, Sayour said her husband told her he was in good condition. Four Lebanese truck drivers were abducted some time after August 1: Murqbawi, Taha al-Jundi and his brother Nasser, and Khaldoun Othman. The al-Jundi brothers left Lebanon for Iraq on August 1 and were seized some time after entering the country. Murqbawi and Othman, who were driving trucks loaded with Lebanese-produced juice to Iraq, were abducted about the same time. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry announced on August 6 that the four had been kidnapped and that the Lebanese charge affaires in Baghdad was trying to secure their release. Hundreds of Lebanese, mainly construction workers and industrialists, have gone to Iraq to look for opportunities in the postwar reconstruction. Meanwhile, two Jordanian truck drivers kidnapped in Iraq last month were freed and being looked after by embassy officials in Baghdad, officials and family said. “They were freed thanks to mediators,” said a Jordanian official yesterday, without elaborating. The drivers, previously identified as Fayez Saad al-Adwan and Ahmad Salameh Hussein, were seized on July 26. Their company, Daoud and Partners, later announced it was acceding to the kidnappers’ demand that it halt its activities in Iraq. Adwan’s brother, Omar, said he had spoken to him on the telephone and he was in good health. “I just had my brother on the phone and he told me he and his colleague were in the embassy in Baghdad after a checkup at the Jordanian hospital in Fallujah,” Omar Adwan said. “They are in good health and will return to Jordan tomorrow or the day after.” The brother denied any ransom had been paid to the kidnappers. “It was the mediation efforts of the honourable people in Iraq and Jordan that led to their release,” he said, without elaborating.
— AFP, AP |
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Thai troops pulling out of Iraq Bangkok, August 10 The troops have completed their year-long deployment, which has been marred by the deaths of two soldiers in a truck bomb attack in Kerbala in December. That attack shocked many Thais and had sparked of criticism that the government had failed to explain to the public the risks of deploying troops to Iraq, even on a humanitarian mission.
— Reuters |
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USA denies German access to Qaida prisoners Hamburg, August 10 The decision casts doubt on the prospects for the new proceedings against Mounir El Motassadeq, 30, who is charged with plotting the 2001 attacks alongside Mohamed Atta and others, and with membership of a terrorist organisation. In a letter to the German embassy in Washington, read out in the court, the US authorities said they had to protect the sources and methods of the security services. The letter said that “interactive access” to such prisoners could hamper their interrogation and lead to critical secret information, including about terrorist threats, being divulged. In February 2003, Motassadeq became the first person anywhere to be convicted in connection with the September 11 attacks and was sentenced to 15 years in jail.
— Reuters |
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Cuddle parties latest craze in New York New York, August 10 Everyone needs to be cuddled, especially in lonely New York, say creators Reid Mihalko and Marcia Baczynski, who add that it’s a good way to meet new and interesting persons. But the rules are clear. The PJs stay on the whole time and participants are reminded of Rule No. 7: “No dry humping!” In case things get too steamy, a small chime is kept on hand. Before the cuddling begins, it is struck several times so everyone gets the message. The idea for cuddle parties loosely came about after Mihalko, a masseur, began giving massages to other masseurs who never got the chance to receive them. “It started out as a joke,” said Baczynski. “Now we talk about cuddling all the time. It’s just been amazing.” Curiosity is a big driver for people who attend cuddle parties, and it is a better way to meet people than going to a bar, getting drunk and spending the night with someone just because of the need for some affection, she said. A cuddle party is really about communication and not therapy, say the organisers. Before any touching begins, participants gather in a circle to hear the rules and voice any questions or concerns. The first rule is that the event is not clothing optional, pyjamas must stay on and sex is not permitted. Participants team up into pairs and to ensure the boundaries of what is permissible are clear. An introduction to cuddling ensues, first by hugging three persons. People then get in a circle on their hands and knees, rub shoulders and moo like cows. After a bit of swaying, everyone falls to their side, which puts them into an easy cuddling position.
— Reuters |
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Sanjay Dutt hurt by Canadian media
Vancouver, August 10 Dutt, who is shooting for his latest movie “Dus” in the western Canadian city of Calgary, was caught in the eye of a storm after the media here reported that he had real-life links to terrorism in connection with the Mumbai serial bomb blasts. The actor, who had spent 18 months in jail for allegedly possessing an automatic weapon, said he and his family had been hurt and upset by the reports. “I never will come back to Canada ever in my life,” Dutt was quoted as saying by the CBS television. He said he and his family had been fighting the allegations for years.
— PTI |
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