New Zealand tops Denmark as world's least corrupt nation

SYDNEY, Nov 18: New Zealand was on Wednesday named the world's least corrupt nation out of a list of 180 countries, unseating Denmark after a year in which the global recession and ongoing conflicts proved challenging.

The annual index by Transparency International ranked 180 countries on a scale of zero to 10 according to 13 independent surveys, with zero being perceived as highly corrupt and 10 as having low levels of corruption.

New Zealand topped the table with a score of 9.4 after coming second last year. In second place was last year's leader, Denmark with 9.3 followed by Singapore and Sweden tying at 9.2 and Switzerland at 9.0.

Countries at the bottom of the table were those which are unstable or impacted by war and ongoing conflicts that have affected the public sector and torn apart governance infrastructure.

Somalia had a score of 1.1, Afghanistan was 1.3, Myanmar ranked 1.4 and Sudan tied with Iraq at 1.5.

"Stemming corruption requires strong oversight by parliaments, a well-performing judiciary, independent and properly resourced audit and anti-corruption agencies, vigorous law enforcement, transparency in public budgets, revenue and aid flows, as well as space for independent media and a vibrant civil society," said Huguette Labelle, chairwoman of Transparency International.

"The international community must find efficient ways to help war-torn countries to develop and sustain their own institutions."

Rounding out the top 10 least corrupt nations were Finland, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Iceland.

Britain came 17th in the list and the United States was 19th with a score of 7.5.

More than 130 of the countries scored below 5.

India denies strain in China ties over Dalai Lama trip

NEW DELHI, Nov 4: Denying any strain in bilateral ties due to the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, India Wednesday said Sino-Indian ties were set to acquire “more substance and relevance” in days to come.

"There is no strain in bilateral ties,” Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters in New Delhi when asked whether the Dalai Lama's scheduled visit to Arunachal Pradesh Nov 8 had strained ties between the two countries.

"Our position is very clear,” Rao said while alluding to New Delhi's stance that the Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in the hill resort of Dharamsala for the last five decades, can go anywhere in India provided he does not indulge in political activities.

Describing the relationship with China as “complex”, Rao said the rise of India and China was “a source of dynamism” in the region and the world.

Speaking at a seminar on South Asia organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), Rao stressed that despite “outstanding issues”, India-China ties were set to acquire “greater dynamism and relevance” in days to come.

Rao pointed out that the resolution of outstanding issues like the border dispute would take some time and entail greater political will on part of both countries.

Rejecting Beijing's objections to the Tibetan leader's visit to India's northeastern state, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said last week after meeting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that the Dalai Lama was “an honoured guest” of India.

"(But) we do not allow Tibetan refugees to indulge in political activities. As a proof of that, last year we took resolute action at the time of Olympics when there were reports that some Tibetan refugees might disrupt (the Olympic torch relay)," he had said.

In a subtle shift of stance, China Tuesday accused the Dalai Lama of trying to “wreck” Sino-Indian ties by his proposed trip to Arunachal Pradesh, over which Beijing claims sovereignty, but refrained from condemning New Delhi for allowing the visit.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu Tuesday flayed the Dalai Lama for his "separatist" activities. "The Dalai Lama often lies and often engages in acts to sabotage China's relations with other countries," said Ma.

Indian terror link proof yet to be given to New Delhi: Pak

ISLAMABAD, Nov 4: The evidence of Indian arms, bombs and medicines being found in South Waziristan, where the Pakistani army is battling the Taliban, was yet to be handed over to New Delhi, a foreign office spokesman said late on Tuesday.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit Khan said there exist evidences in South Waziristan Agency (SWA), which speak volumes of Indian involvement in prevailing uprising and insurgency in agency, Geo News reported.

He told Geo News that the evidences found against India in South Waziristan included Indian arms, bombs and Indian medicines.

Khan said that the evidences were being investigated.

"We have yet to entrust proofs to Indian government," he added.

New Delhi on Tuesday refuted Islamabad's accusation that it was instigating trouble in the neighbouring country and rejected any connection with its internal developments.

"We have absolutely nothing to do with whatever is happening in Balochistan or whatever is happening within Pakistan. I think it is their own making," foreign minister S M Krishna said.

Pakistan's military spokesperson Athar Abbas on Tuesday claimed that Islamabad has enough evidence to substantiate that India was funding terror in South Waziristan.

He alleged that Pakistani security forces had seized Indian-made arms and equipment from the Taliban bastion of South Waziristan and added that Islamabad would soon raise the issue through diplomatic channels.

Pakistan army 'kills 21 Taliban'

ISLAMABAD, Nov 4: Pakistani forces say they have killed 21 militants and taken control of Sararogha region from the Taliban in South Waziristan.

The army said two suspected militants had also been arrested in the continuing offensive against militants that began in the region on 17 October.

There is no independent confirmation of the claim. The assault has sparked a string of suicide bombings in Pakistan.

About 300 people have died in attacks since mid-October.

The Pakistani military said in a statement that 16 militants had been killed and two suspected militants arrested during the operation at Sararogha.

One soldier had been killed when a mine exploded during the operation, the military said.

Another five militants were killed during an operation in the Ghani Khel area, the army said.

Security forces have also begun search and clearance operations at Kaniguram, one of the Taliban's key regional strongholds, which the army said it took on Monday.

Separately, the army said 21 suspected militants had been taken into custody from the Swat area.

The army said 10 militants had "voluntarily surrendered" and a large number of arms and ammunition had been seized in the area.

Pakistan's government has offered rewards totalling $5m (£3m) for information leading to the capture of Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, two other Taliban leaders and 15 commanders.

It said Mr Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taliban group was involved in acts of terrorism that were causing the death of innocent Muslims on a daily basis.

There has been a spate of violence in Pakistan since the beginning of the operation in South Waziristan.

Last week, more than 100 people were killed when a huge car bomb ripped through a busy market in Peshawar.

The violence led the United Nations to announce on Monday that it was withdrawing international staff from north-west Pakistan.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that the decision had been taken "bearing in mind the intense security situation in the region".

Karzai poll lacks 'legal basis'

KABUL, Nov 4: Former Afghan foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, who quit the presidential poll race recently, says Hamid Karzai's re-election has "no legal basis".

Mr Abdullah, Mr Karzai's main rival, said the current government cannot bring legitimacy to the troubled nation and will fail to control corruption.

He also criticised the election commission for declaring Mr Karzai the winner of the 20 August poll.

On Sunday, Mr Abdullah announced that he was withdrawing from the election.

The commission proclaimed Mr Karzai the victor on Monday, cancelling a planned runoff and ending a political crisis two and a half months after a fraud-marred first round.

Hundreds of thousands of votes were discounted from August's first round of voting.

An investigation by the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) said Mr Karzai's share of the vote was 49.67% - below the crucial 50% plus one vote threshold needed to avoid a second round.

India, Russia, China agree to jointly fight terrorism

BANGALORE, Oct 27: India, China and Russia on Tuesday agreed to jointly expand their trilateral cooperation in combating international terrorism and called for greater democratisation of international bodies.

External Affairs Minister SM Krishna held talks with his counterparts, Yang Jiechi of China and Sergei Lavrov of Russia, on a wide range of regional and international issues in this Indian IT hub.

A joint declaration said the three ministers discussed ways to expand their trilateral cooperation on issues like international terrorism, the global financial crisis, climate change, energy security and the reform of international bodies.

The resurgence of Taliban-led violence in Afghanistan figured prominently in the discussions.

This was the ninth trilateral meeting between foreign ministers of the three emerging economies that hold the key to an emerging international order.

"We discussed trilateral action against terrorism and transnational crime," Krishna said at a joint press interaction with his counterparts from Russia and China.

Krishna said the three foreign ministers identified "common approaches" in addressing a host of regional and international issues.

Yang described the meeting as a "very productive one" and underlined that it marked a "new progress" in trilateral cooperation. He emphasised that the three countries shared "similar approaches" on regional and international issues.

Yang also called for greater democracy in international relations and underlined the need for creating "a more just and equitable international order".

Lavrov emphasised the need for enhanced cooperation in combating rising terrorism in Afghanistan and the common stake of the three countries in the restoration of peace and stability in the violence-torn country.

Don't travel to Pakistan, India tells its citizens

NEW DELHI, Oct 27: The government on Tuesday advised all Indian citizens to avoid visiting Pakistan in view of deteriorating security situation there following a string of militant attacks on military, police and civilian targets.

"The government of India is of the view that it is not advisable for the Indian pilgrims to visit Pakistan in the prevailing situation when frequent terrorist attacks are taking place in Punjab province of Pakistan, where all gurudwaras are situated," said a statement issued by the home ministry.

"Accordingly, the government advises all Indian citizens to avoid undertaking any visit to Pakistan for this purpose, till the security situation in Pakistan improves."

Nearly 200 people have been killed in the latest wave of militant violence, which started with a suicide bombing at the offices of the UN World Food Programme in Islamabad Oct 5.

The most audacious attack came on Oct 10 when 10 terrorists in military uniform laid siege to the Pakistan Army's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, close to the capital. At least 19 people, including nine raiders, died in the 22-hour standoff.

The brazen attacks have shown a range of tactics and targets. While some have been suicide blasts by attackers on foot or in vehicles, others have involved teams of gunmen staging raids.

Set clear vision for ASEAN, says Thai PM

HUA HIN, Oct 23: Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Friday called on ASEAN leaders to set a clear vision of what the association wants to achieve in the year 2015 and beyond.

At the opening ceremony of the 15th ASEAN Summit and Related summits here, Mr. Vejjajiva said: "Much has been discussed about realising an ASEAN Community - one that is a community of action, a community of connectivity, and a community of people.

"What we need to do is to collectively set a clear vision of what we want to achieve in the year 2015 and beyond."

Mr. Vejjajiva said his vision of ASEAN is a community of action which is able to act decisively and in a timely manner to threats and challenges facing ASEAN.

The official theme for the summit is "Enhancing Connectivity, Empowering Peoples", which underlines the importance attached to the improvement of connectivity, both physically and spiritually, as well as the betterment of the lives of all ASEAN people.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, as well as the host, Thailand, while the six dialogue partners are China, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.

Highlights for the summits include the inauguration of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, the adoption of a declaration on climate change to reaffirm ASEAN position in the negotiation under the UN Frameworks Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as well as the adoption of a declaration on education cooperation to achieve an ASEAN Community.

Manmohan to meet Wen in Thailand

NEW DELHI, Oct 21: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Thailand later this week, ahead of which the two sides struck a conciliatory tone saying the ties were on a “very good term” and the boundary disputes can be resolved amicably.

Both India and China on Wednesday confirmed the meeting between Mr. Singh and Mr. Wen in Hua Hin beach town on the margins of the ASEAN and East Asia Summits on October 24 and 25.

Mr. Singh would hold bilateral meetings with the leaders including Mr. Wen attending these summits, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs N. Ravi told reporters here when asked if the Prime Minister will meet his Chinese counterpart.

He said the schedule for bilateral meetings is being worked out. Sources, however, indicated that meeting between Mr. Singh and Mr. Wen could take place on Saturday.

Asked if the two leaders would discuss the boundary issue, Mr. Ravi said, “relations between India and any other country including China covers wide range of subjects of mutual interest.”

In Beijing, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue also said that the two Prime Ministers would have an “important meeting” in Thailand.

“There has been good progress in our bilateral relationship and we hope this momentum can be sustained,” Mr. Hu said.

Ahead of the meeting, the two countries, which have recently been engaged in recriminations over Arunachal Pradesh and other issues, talked in conciliatory language.

Abdullah accepts November 7 runoff

KABUL, Oct 21: Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s chief political rival agreed on Wednesday to take part in the November 7 runoff election, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown in the face of Taliban threats and approaching winter snows.

The former Foreign Minister, Abdullah Abdullah, made his comment to reporters one day after Mr. Karzai bowed to intense U.S. and international pressure and accepted findings of a U.N.-backed panel that there had been massive fraud on his behalf in the August 20 vote. Those findings showed Mr. Karzai failed to win the 50 per cent required to avoid a runoff.

As part of efforts to avert cheating in the upcoming ballot, election officials have fired 200 district election chiefs following complaints by candidates or observers about misconduct in their regions, the U.N. said last week. It was not immediately known how many posts in total there were.

Holding the second round of polling as Afghanistan enters its winter season poses serious challenges, both for drawing voters and distributing ballots nationwide, which the U.N. said would begin on Thursday. Mr. Abdullah said U.S. and Afghan forces also must provide security to prevent a repeat of a wave of Taliban attacks in August that killed dozens. In some areas, militants cut off the ink-marked fingers of people who had voted.

Voters “are taking a risk in some parts of the country and they should be confident that that risk is worthwhile,” said Mr. Abdullah, who said he called Mr. Karzai to thank him for agreeing to hold the second-round. “I would like to see that our people are participating without an environment and atmosphere of fear and intimidation.”

Mr. Abdullah’s declaration sets the stage for an election that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said would be a “huge challenge” to pull off without repeating the widespread fraud that marred the first-round balloting. The world body has set aside more than $20 million to support the poll, according to the U.N. spokesman in Kabul, Aleem Siddique.

Finding replacements for election workers implicated in fraud will be difficult. The government had to scramble this summer to recruit enough election officials and poll workers, especially at voting stations for women. It is unclear if they would be able to fill open posts with better-qualified people.

The Independent Election Commission, the Afghan body that runs elections, must also finalise the list of polling stations. Much of the fraud in the August balloting came through ballots that arrived from so-called “ghost polling stations” that never opened because they were in dangerous areas.

But closing the questionable stations would prevent voters in those areas from casting ballots. Kai Eide, the U.N. chief in Afghanistan, has said he worked to open the stations to avoid disenfranchising voters.

Mr. Abdullah said on Wednesday that he was preparing a list of conditions that his team wanted election organisers to commit to in order to have a fair vote. He said he would be open to negotiating the conditions, but would not accept an election organised on the same terms as the August vote.

Many 'disappeared' after Xinjiang riots: report

BEIJING, Oct 21: Dozens of minority Uighurs have “disappeared” and been “unlawfully detained” by Chinese authorities in the wake of July’s ethnic unrest in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang region, a report alleges.

Human Rights Watch, a United States-based rights group, has documented the “enforced disappearances” of 43 Uighur men and teenage boys through interviews with their family members and witnesses. The report says these men were picked up by authorities in security sweeps in the aftermath of the July riot, but are neither in official police detention nor have been charged with crimes. Their families say they have vanished without a trace.

On July 5, Uighur mobs went on the rampage in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital, targeting Han Chinese, China’s majority ethnic group. At least 197 people were killed and 1,600 injured in the violence, most of who were Han Chinese.

At least 825 people, mostly Uighurs, were detained following the riots, according to officials, and 108 of them have so far been charged. In a report released on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said dozens of Uighurs who were rounded up in security sweeps conducted on July 6 and 7 in Uighur neighbourhoods were still missing.

Quoting residents and witnesses, the report said the Chinese military, paramilitary armed police and local police rounded up dozens of Uighur men, mainly in their 20s, from their homes in the days after the violence. All those with wounds or bruises or who had not been in their homes during the violence on July 5 were taken away.

But many of them were not charged with any crimes, and almost four months on, their families still have not heard from them. Police officials who were approached by family members either denied any knowledge of the arrests or chased the families away, the report said.

The report documents 43 specific cases, quoting interviews with family members and witnesses. The report says the number of “disappearances” is likely to be far higher, given that the group only had limited access to interviewees in Urumqi.

The group has called on the Chinese government to immediately account for all detainees. “China should only use official places of detention, so that everyone being held can contact family members and legal counsel,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch.

The Chinese government has said all those detained would be tried in accordance with the law. Last week, the first round of trials began for 108 suspects who have been charged. Of 21 suspects who stood trial, 12 were given the death sentence. No date has yet been fixed for the trial of the 87 others who have been charged.

China projects Kashmir as a separate country

KATHMANDU: Besides issuing separate visas to Indian passport holders from Jammu and Kashmir, China is also projecting the disputed territory as an independent country in other ways.

Visitors to Tibet, especially journalists invited by the Chinese government, are given handouts where Kashmir is indicated as a country separate from India.

Media kits providing "basic information" about Tibet - which China attacked and annexed in the 1950s - says Tibet "borders with India, Nepal, Myanmar and Kashmir area".

Except the "Kashmir area", the other three are sovereign countries.

Maps too, available in China, Myanmar and Nepal, show an India denuded of Kashmir.

Also, China's policy of extending assistance to only the government of a country indicates it considers India's nuclear rival and neighbour Pakistan to be in control of Pakistan-administered Kashmir by offering financial assistance to build a dam on the Indus river there.

China, now locked in a row with India, is also asking for the tightening of the open border between India and Nepal that, it says, is abetting anti-China activities and demonstrations by Tibetans crossing into Nepal from India.

Beijing is also indirectly asking for the closure of the seat of the Dalai Lama, the exiled leader of the Tibetans, in Dharamshala in India, hinting that such a step would improve India-China relations.

China, which fought a war with India in 1962, says Arunachal Pradesh belongs to it. India says it is an integral and inalienable part of India.

On the eve of the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh in November, China has been hurrying Nepal to deploy armed security forces along the border between northern Nepal and Tibet.

Both Nepal's Home Minister Bhim Rawal and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal recently visited Mustang, the northernmost district in Nepal to assess the security plan.

Mustang was once both part of an ancient Tibetan kingdom and later the base of anti-China guerrilla attacks by Tibet's Khampa warriors.

Situation in Pak very serious: Antony

NEW DELHI, Oct 19: Warning that the situation in Pakistan is "very serious", Defence Minister A K Antony has said terrorism is "spreading" in that country and asserted that India is prepared to meet any challenge from Taliban militants.

"The situation in Pakistan is very serious and terrorism is spreading," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Territorial Army Day parade at New Delhi on Monday.

Pakistan has been in the grip of a terror wave with six major attacks in the last fortnight by suspected Taliban militants, the latest being a suicide bomb attack in Peshawar in the restive North West Frontier Province on Friday last killing 14 people.

Asked if Talibans' threat to carry out attacks on India was a cause of concern, Antony said, "We are always prepared to meet any challenge to our territorial integrity and national security from any quarter. Our security forces are keeping eternal vigilance".

Replying to a query on Coastguard and Navy's joint operation 'Raksha', he said, "We learnt a lot of lessons from 26/11 last year. After that, now there is a coordinated effort for coastal security and Indian Navy and Coastguard are taking serious steps.Government is also giving all out support to strengthen them".

On the possibility of involvement of Pakistan based terror groups in Sunday’s blast in Iran, Antony said, "I cannot say anything off hand. But the thing is that terrorism is spreading. It is the real menace to the world. Terrorism is a reality. Fight against terrorism is a common challenge to all peace leaving nations and communities".

Asked if India was prepared to tackle the threat from China, he said there will no compromise on national interest.

"We will protect all our territory and at the same time, we will continue our effort for extending relations with all our neighbours," he said.

Iran blames Pak-based elements for attack on elite force

TEHERAN, Oct 19: Iran Prez Ahmedinejad has blamed Pak-based elements for a suicide attack that killed 42 people, including 5 senior officers of the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps, and asked Islamabad to help bring the perpetrators to justice.

Iran's foreign ministry summoned the Pakistani charge d'affaires in Tehran and told him that "the perpetrators of this attack came to Iran from Pakistan," Iran's state-run media reported.

Ahmadinejad too accused Pakistan of having links to the bombers who carried out the attack in Iran's Sunni-majority Sistan-Baluchistan province.

"We have heard that certain officials in Pakistan cooperate with the main agents of these terrorist attacks in eastern parts of the country. It is our right to ask (for the extradition) of criminals," Ahmadinejad was quoted by Iran's Press TV as saying.

Iran's state media reported that Sunni militant group Jundallah (God's soldiers) had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Earlier, Iran's Ambassador to Pakistan Mashallah Shakeri told reporters in Islamabad that Jundallah chief Abdolmalek Rigi was present in the country.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit denied the attack was planned in Pakistan but said authorities were looking into the matter. Pakistan and Iran have been cooperating with Afghanistan to fight terrorism, he said.

Maldives Prez to head high level delegation to India

NEW DELHI, Oct 19: After highlighting the threat to his nation from rising sea waters by holding an underwater cabinet meet, Maldivian President Mohammad Nasheed is to visit India from Wednesday to attend a conference on climate change and review the bilateral ties.

Nasheed would be accompanied by a high level delegation comprising ministers, MPs, businessmen and media persons, official sources said from capital Male.

He is visiting India on the invitation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and would be the guest of honour at Delhi High Level Conference on Climate Change and Technology Transfer, the sources said.

During his five-day visit from 21st-25th October, Nasheed will meet the Indian Prime Minister, reiterating commitment to strong bilateral relations. Both sides will review ongoing cooperation in the field of health, education, economic projects and developmental assistance.

"India is likely to provide further assistance to renovate and strengthen the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Mal ", the sources said.

Both the countries are expected to agree to work together on climate change issues and have a regular dialogue on the subject.

60 militants, 5 Pakistani soldiers killed in Waziristan

ISLAMABAD, Oct 18: Pakistani jets and artillery bombarded militant hideouts for a second day killing over 60 militants and five soldiers in the lawless Waziristan region on Sunday, as ground forces moving in from three directions took control of two key areas in face of stiff resistance in the Taliban stronghold.

On Saturday, the army launched a major offensive to "dismantle the network" of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and to flush out militants in South Waziristan who were responsible for 80 per cent of recent terrorist attacks in the country, military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said.

Security forces have taken control of Spinkay Raghzai and Ghazai areas in South Waziristan following fierce fighting on Saturday, even as militants offered "stiff resistance" at Shahwangi and Khesora areas, officials said.

Combat jets targeted militant positions in Ladha and Sarvakai, two key strongholds of the Taliban.

Check posts have also been established in Kotkai area, where Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud has his home.

However, the figures could not be verified as there was no official word on casualties and all access to South Waziristan has been cut off.

The military said on Saturday that four soldiers were killed and a dozen others injured in clashes in North and South Waziristan.

Thousands of troops began advancing towards Taliban strongholds in South Waziristan from three directions on Saturday after curfew was clamped in the region.

The operation was launched after leaders of Pakistan's main political parties endorsed the government's plans to root out terrorism by taking on the Taliban in South Waziristan, saying they posed a threat to the country's integrity.

Suicide bomber kills 29 in attack on Iran's elite Guards

TEHERAN, Oct 18: A suicide bomber blew himself up at a meeting of the elite Revolutionary Guards in southeastern Iran on Sunday, killing 29 people including top commanders and tribal leaders, the interior ministry said.

The attack took place in the city of Pisheen near the border with Pakistan in restive Sistan-Baluchestan province, which hosts a substantial Sunni population, local news agencies said.

Iran's parliament speaker said the United States was behind the attack, while the Guards accused Western powers of carrying out the assault, the deadliest against them since a bombing in February 2007 in the same province killed 13 people.

"Based on the information... as a result of today's terrorist action... so far 29 people have been martyred and 28 have been wounded," the interior ministry said on its website.

"The martyrs include several innocent Shiite and Sunni people, tribal chiefs and commanders of Guards. But very soon we will catch the perpetrators of this terrorist action and punish them."

Iran's state broadcaster said Sunday's blast occurred at around 1000 IST in front of a local gymnasium in Pisheen.

The news agency said the bomber struck when Guard officers were preparing for a meeting with local leaders of Shiite and Sunni communities. Some local tribal heads were among the dead, media reports said.

Will walk extra mile if Pak acts against 26/11 attackers: India

NEW YORK, Oct 16: India is prepared to walk the "extra mile" to normalise relations with Pakistan if it takes action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks and dismantles terrorism infrastructure, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has said.

Tharoor, who is on a visit in New York, said India was not interested in an environment of conflict and hostility with its neighbour and asked Pakistan to step up efforts to combat terrorism in a "holistic way".

"The action that is expected from Pakistan has to take place before we can engage once again in the kind of comprehensive dialogue process that we want," he told PTI in New York.

"We are prepared to walk the extra mile but the first step should come from them because what happened in Mumbai came from their side," the former UN diplomat said.

He also recalled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement in July that India would meet Pakistan more than half way if it took decisive action against terrorism.

Tharoor also said India is "certainly disappointed" on the lack of progress in any action against JuD chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed and in the Mumbai attack case in Pakistan.

Based on the testimony given by Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive during the 26/11 attacks, Tharoor said India believes that Saaed had masterminded the strikes, "given exaltation and operational guidance to the killers".

41 killed in Pak suicide attack

ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: At least 41 people have been killed and over 40 injured in a suicide attack in a market in northwest Pakistan's restive Malakand area on Monday, the latest in a series of terror strikes that have rocked the country.

The suicide attacker blew himself up near a security forces vehicle in the main market at Alpurai in Shangla district, which is part of the Malakand division, witnesses were quoted as saying by TV news channels. The attack occurred near a police station.

Police officials put the death toll at 41. More than 40 people were injured in the blast, they said.

The army had launched a major operation against the Taliban in Malakand division, which includes the troubled Swat valley, in May. The army claims it has killed over 2,000 militants in the region so far.

Monday's suicide bombing was the latest in a deadly wave of militant attacks across Pakistan. A suicide attacker struck the UN food agency's office in Islamabad last week, killing five persons while over 50 had died in a suicide car bombing in Peshawar a few days later.

Eight soldiers and nine terrorists were killed over the weekend when a group of heavily-armed militants attempted to storm Pakistan army's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. The terrorists also took some 50 hostages, who were rescued in an operation carried out by army commandos.

49 killed in bomb blast in Peshawar

PESHAWAR, Oct 9: A minibus packed with explosives detonated along a road near a well-known and crowded market in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday, killing at least 49 people and wounding over 100, according to Provincial health minister Syed Zahir Ali Shah.

The attack in the Khyber Bazaar area demonstrated terrorists' continuing ability to strike Pakistan's major cities, despite military offensives pressuring their networks.

Television footage showed the charred skeleton of what appeared to be a bus flipped on its side in the middle of a major road. Twisted remains of a motorbike lay alongside the bus. A nearby vehicle was in flames.

The attack came days after a suicide attack killed five at a UN office in the capital, Islamabad, and as Pakistan's army prepares for a potential new operation in the South Waziristan tribal region, a major base for the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Just two weeks earlier, another blast in a Peshawar commercial area left 11 dead.

Footage from a nearby hospital showed rooms so crowded with the wounded that bloody and bandaged patients were forced to share gurneys.

``Death has to come one day, but we will keep chasing these terrorists, and this attack cannot deter our resolve,'' said provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said as he visited the bloody scene.

Also on Friday, interior minister Rehman Malik said a suspect had been arrested in Monday's suicide attack at the office of the UN's World Food Program in Islamabad. Malik says the man was alleged to have given the attacker shelter, but gave few details.

Terrorists’ in Pakistan also have targeted trucks carrying supplies for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Early Friday, militants ambushed a tanker carrying fuel for the Western troops at a gas station near Peshawar, torching it, said Fazal Rabi, a police official. No injuries or deaths were reported.

The attacks come amid growing tensions between the US and Pakistan over a multi-billion-dollar U.S. aid package that is aimed at helping Pakistan's economy and other non-military sectors.

Go to jail or join jihad against India: ISI tells surrendered Taliban

NEW DELHI, Oct 7: In a new shift in tactics, Pakistan is planning to push as many as 60 "surrendered" Taliban into Jammu and Kashmir to become part of the "jihad" against India. The ISI is said to have offered the extremists the option of either going to jail or crossing the Line of Control.

The "jail or jihad" option offered to the Taliban seems a useful diversion for ISI. The Pakistan military establishment has had to fight the Taliban, once its close allies in Afghanistan, but is looking to turn the situation to its advantage.

Apprehensions in Indian security circles that the crackdown by the Pakistan army on Taliban — seen as a last resort after the jihadis turned their guns on the Pakistani state — could mean trouble in Kashmir are being proved correct. Not only have infiltration attempts by regular jihadi outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba gone up, the presence of Taliban poses a new threat.

Highly placed sources said BSF and the Army had been alerted about the developments after intelligence intercepted talk about infiltration bids in the next 15 to 20 days.

"Although the Taliban is yet to successfully infiltrate into India, the coming days will pose a challenge as their attempts to sneak in are expected before the onset of winter," said a senior official. The infiltration is closely controlled and monitored by the ISI and Pakistan army which is often involved in the crossings.

The issue cropped up as a major security concern during the two-day visit to Srinagar by a high-powered central team led by cabinet secretary K M Chandrashekhar and comprising home secretary G K Pillai, defence secretary Pradeep Kumar and other senior officials.

Top security and intelligence officials deliberated over the move by state actors in Pakistan to utilize the Taliban for their objectives in Kashmir. Taking note of the assessment, officials are learnt to have unequivocally noted during the reviews in Srinagar that there was no change in Pakistan's support to terror groups post 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

The Taliban, who recently fought against Pakistan army in Swat Valley and other areas along the Pak-Afghan border, were well trained and battle-hardened. They could put their experience of fighting US troops to use in Kashmir.

Apart from the group of 60, there are nearly 250 to 300 jihadis — armed with sophisticated weapons, Thuraya satellite phones and Indian mobile SIM cards — poised at launch pads along LoC. This feeds into the view that violence could escalate in J&K in the winter months.

The meeting in Srinagar, attended by senior Army and paramilitary personnel, also took note of repeated use of Pakistani Air Force helicopters to evacuate injured infiltrators along the LoC and as many as 42 terror camps in PoK and Pakistan.

"Such incidents (like use of choppers) clearly show the involvement of Pakistani authorities in facilitating infiltration. Though our forces are fully alert to thwart Pakistani designs, the next 15-20 days are quite crucial as this is the period when they will do everything to infiltrate as many terrorists as possible," said a senior official. That is when winter will begin to set in.

Indian's body found, another 'Indian' stabbed in Australia

MELBOURNE, Oct 7: The body of Indian businessman Pardeep Kumar, who went missing two weeks back, has been found in Australia's Victoria state even as a man of "Indian or Asian appearance" was stabbed on Wednesday here after a brawl.

Detectives say they are investigating possible business connections of Kumar who is presumed murdered at Mildura, in northwest Victoria, ABC Online reported on Wednesday.

Kumar, 33, has been living in Mildura for a year. He had set up a labour contracting company.

Homicide squad detective Ron Iddles said Kumar went to a meeting about a business deal at the Mildura Library two weeks ago, and has not been seen since.

"He came here to meet someone, this was what he told someone, it was going to be a good deal for him and sadly I think he has met with foul play," Iddles was quoted as saying.

Kumar's blue Commodore car was found two days later outside the Mildura railway station.

Iddles said Kumar's phone and bank accounts have not been touched since he went missing.

The police official stated that Kumar was well-connected in the local Indian community and "he was very popular with his workers because he was giving them work, accommodation and he actually bought food for them".

"At times, he had 15 to 20 people staying in his house," Iddles added.

In a separate incident, a man of "Indian or Asian appearance" was stabbed at a busy intersection on Wednesday in Melbourne suburb of Abbotsford following a brawl involving up to 10 men.

An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson told The Age that up to 10 people were involved in the fight that spilled on to tram tracks at the corner of Victoria and Hoddle Streets just after 3.30pm.

During the brawl the 28-year-old man was stabbed and kicked to the ground, she said.

'Daniel', a witness, said that a man of Indian or Asian appearance, believed to be the stabbing victim, was sitting on the ground propped against a shop front.

He said: "He didn't look too healthy."

Paramedics arrived at the scene to find the man "dazed and confused" and with a significant wound to his upper body.

A Victoria Police spokesperson said the victim was taken to Royal Melbourne hospital with a non life threatening single stab wound.

He said there were believed to have been five attackers of Asian appearance who jumped on a tram heading for Box Hill.

Taliban vow 'long fight' despite 100 dead in clashes

KABUL: A fierce weekend clash in the remote mountains of eastern Afghanistan that left eight US soldiers dead also killed more than 100 Taliban fighters, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said Tuesday.

But on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the US-led military action to oust them from power, the Taliban vowed to continue their deadly insurgency, warning foreign forces: "We are prepared for a long fight."

Three days after NATO's biggest loss of life in a single incident since 10 French troops were killed in an ambush in August 2008, NATO said the Taliban had suffered "significantly higher losses than originally thought".

"A more detailed battlefield assessment following the October 3 attack in Nuristan (province) has determined that enemy forces suffered more than 100 dead during the well-coordinated defence," an ISAF statement read.

Hundreds of militant fighters on Saturday swept down a hillside at dawn near the mountainous border with Pakistan, over which Al-Qaeda and Taliban sympathisers are based, to attack two Afghan army and NATO outposts.

The resulting firefight lasted into the night and led to US troops calling in airstrikes.

Two Afghan soldiers and a police officer also lost their lives in the attack, which was claimed by the Taliban.

Some 13 police officers and two Afghan journalists working for a radio station set up with US help were captured, local officials said, adding that only five Taliban were killed.

ISAF said Tuesday the Hizb-i-Islami militia of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was also possibly involved.

Hekmatyar, a Pashtun warlord and former Afghan prime minister, is one of Afghanistan's most wanted men and known to ally himself with guerrillas opposed to foreign forces.

In the wake of the attack, NATO and Afghan troops conducted a joint operation to flush out insurgents thought responsible.

This year has been the deadliest for foreign forces in Afghanistan since the war began. According to an independent website, icasualties.org, which tracks coalition deaths, 400 international soldiers have died so far in 2009.

Faced with an upsurge in violence, the head of the 100,000-strong US and NATO force, General Stanley McChrystal, has reportedly asked for 40,000 more troops and wants a switch to concentrating on the militant threat in cities.

But some analysts have suggested that redeploying troops from rural regions, particularly in the strategically important border areas, could allow the Taliban to spread their footprint further.

Haroun Mir, director of Afghanistan's Centre for Research and Policy Studies, told AFP that more similar large-scale attacks were likely as the Taliban seek to exploit a lack of NATO and Afghan troops along the remote frontier.

One think-tank has said that despite being virtually wiped out in early 2002, the Taliban now has a "permanent presence" in 80 percent of Afghanistan.

The Taliban said in a statement that they were still fighting for the "freedom of the country and Islamic sovereignty", as the increasingly bloody war enters its ninth year.

The statement, emailed to news organisations and written in Pashtun, denied they ever had a programme to harm other countries.

But they warned foreign forces: "If you still want to occupy this proud and religious people's country under the name of fighting terrorism, you should know that we have a lot of patience and we are prepared for a long fight."

The militants also warned the "Western occupiers" that they should "learn from history" and that Afghans were prepared to sacrifice their lives for Islam and their country.

IAEA to inspect Iran's Qom site on Oct 25: ElBaradei

TEHRAN, Oct 4: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will inspect Iran's new uranium enrichment site in Qom on October 25, its chief Mohammed ElBaradei said on Sunday.

ElBaradei said at a news conference with Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, that Iran's relations with the West were moving from "conspiracy" to "cooperation" and that the nuclear dispute could be solved through diplomacy.

"It is important for us to have comprehensive cooperation over the Qom site. We had dialogue, we had talks on clarification of the facility in Qom, which is a pilot enrichment plant," ElBaradei said, adding Iran should have informed the IAEA of Qom when it decided to build the site.

Salehi praised his talks with the U.N. agency chief as "very successful".

Shed mindset of using terror as state policy, Indian PM tells Pak

PITTSBURGH, Sept 25: Ahead of Indo-Pak Foreign Ministers meeting in New York, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India seeks to normalise relationship with Pakistan but it should shed its mindset of using terror as an instrument of state policy against New Delhi and take action against those involved in the Mumbai terror attacks.

Dr Manmohan Singh made it clear that there was no change in India's stand on Pakistan since the Sharm-el-Sheikh talks with his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, a position he has made clear in Parliament.

"India's message is that India seeks to normalise its relationship with Pakistan. But the only obstacle is that it should shed its old attitude of using terror as a state policy," Singh told a press conference winding up his two-day trip to Pittsburgh where he attended the G-20 Summit.

"We have supplied our material and evidence for them to carry out investigation. Although the tragedy took place in India, the conspiracy took place in Pakistan. Pakistan has admitted to this. We want them to bring to book the culprits involved in the November 26 attacks," he said.

Singh recollected that he has already said that if Pakistan took proper action India would move the extra mile to normalise relations.

The Prime Minister's comments come as Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan are set to meet tomorrow during which Islamabad's action against terror emanating from its soil will be discussed.

Singh said India and Pakistan are neighbours and they have an obligation to move as neighbours.

Asked how he looked forward to moving ahead with the relations with Pakistan after the Sharm-el-Sheikh episode, Singh said "If you read my statements in Parliament, I have explained the Government's position and I think there is no change on this."

Asked about a report by US General Stean McChrystal that India was doing good work in Afghanistan but it could lead to instability in the region, he said: "I think to my knowledge there US and other European powers are appreciative of the role played by India in Afghanistan.

"We have not supplied any arms, we are also helping them in construction and financing of projects in power health and education sectors. Untill today we have committed USD 1.5 billion in Afghanistan.

"Not only people of Afghanistan appreciate but Europe and American leaders are of the same view. As far as Afghanistan is concerned, I agree that we have to sail in these difficult waters," he said.

Iran should fulfill its obligations as NPT signatory: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said Iran should fulfill all its obligations as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), while it also enjoys rights under that agreement.

Answering a question on US, Britain and France threatening sanctions against Iran for secretly pursuing uranium enrichment facility, Singh told a press conference here that Iran issue did not come up during the G-20 Summit.

"Our position is that Iran as a signatory to the NPT has all rights to peaceful use of atomic energy and also should carry out its obligations," he said.

India's stern warning to Pak on ceasefire violations

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Sept 19: Ahead of Foreign Ministers meeting in New York, India on Saturday said Pakistan should address in "full seriousness" concerns on terrorism directed from its soil and take satisfactory steps to end the menace.

It also said Pakistan should address squarely the issue of violence from its soil.

Speaking to newsmen here, India's Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said there have also cases of sniper and rocket firing from that side. "It is the responsibility of Pakistan to see that whosoever is doing it from their side should not have a license to destabilise the situation," added Rao.

Responding to a question, she said "Our expectations are that Pakistan should concentratedly focus sincerely and meaningfully to address our concerns on terrorism directed against us from there".

"This has been conveyed by the government and it is our expectation that Pakistan will address these concerns in full seriousness so that the outcome is to our satisfaction," she said.

She was replying to a question about Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Quershi's statement that he was not expecting any breakthrough from his meeting with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on the sidelines of UNGA in New York.

Rao said dates were being finalised for meetings between two Foreign ministers and between her and Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir before that.

To a question on Pakistan's stand that stalling of the composite dialogue process would only help those elements against peace in South Asia, Rao said engagement between India and Pakistan works in the long-term interest of both and a potential exists.

"But we cannot shut our eyes to the threat of terrorism from Pakistan. the Composite Dialogue process is contingent on an atmosphere free from violence. Pakistan should address squarely the issue of violence from their soil."

On the latest ceasefire violations from Pakistan, she said there have been incidents in the last few days besides higher levels of infiltrations.

There have also cases of sniper and rocket firing from that side, she said.

"There are mechanisms. The Directors General of Military Operations have been in touch. It is the responsibility of Pakistan to see that whosoever is doing it from their side should not have a license to destabilise the situation," Rao said.

Sino-India border peaceful: Nirupama Rao

NEW DELHI, Sept 19: Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said that there has been "no significant increase" in intrusions across all sections of the Sino-Indian Line of Actual Control.

"Contrary to the popular perception, the situation along the (Sino-Indian Line of Actual Control) has remained peaceful for decades," Ms Rao told a news conference here Saturday.

She said that transgressions by military patrols happened because there was no mutually agreed or delineated border. "This is not a new phenomenon. It has been going on for years," she said.

Ms Rao, a former ambassador to China, said that the leadership of the two countries were in regular communication over important bilateral issues.

"We remain in constant touch over all mutual issues. This is a relationship we have been able to develop. The leadership-level understandings and communication remain open all the time," she said when asked if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Chinese President Hu Jintao recently over the issue of incursions.

"There is regular communication and a mutual recognition that outstanding issues can be resolved through dialogue and communication between two nations as large as ours with international responsibilities," she added.

Ms Rao, however, said that no bilateral meeting was planned between Prime Minister Singh and President Hu on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, the United States, next week.

She also played down reports of China attempting to block an Asian Development Bank loan for projects in Arunachal Pradesh. “The Country Partnership Strategy has been endorsed by the ADB and that’s where the matter stands,” she said.

Car bomb in Kabul kills 6 Italians, 10 Afghans

KABUL, Sept 18: A suicide car bomber killed six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians Thursday in the heavily guarded capital of Kabul — a grim reminder of the Taliban's reach amid political uncertainty in Afghanistan.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack for the Italian contingent in the country.

Violence has increased since the U.S. sent thousands more troops to push back the resurgent Taliban and bolster security for last month's still-unresolved presidential election. The Taliban made good on threats to disturb the vote, and militant attacks have risen not just in the group's southern heartland but also in the north and in Kabul and surrounding areas.

The bomber rammed his explosives-filled car into two Italian military vehicles in a convoy about midday. Four Italian soldiers were also wounded, said Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa. The Afghan Interior Ministry said an additional 55 civilians were injured.

The explosion shattered windows in buildings about half a mile (a kilometer) away and shook offices and homes throughout the central Afghan neighborhood that houses embassies and military bases.

Charred vehicles littered the road just off a main traffic circle that leads to the airport. A reporter saw six vehicles burned, including an Italian Humvee, and two bodies covered with plastic sheets.

Shopkeeper Feraudin Ansari said he felt the blast in his store about 50 yards (meters) away. Windows were broken in all the shops on the street. He said he was angry at NATO forces for being in the downtown area.

"Why are you patrolling inside the city? There is no al-Qaida, no Taliban here," said Ansari, 25. "My shop is destroyed, and my head hurts from the blast."

Elsewhere, a NATO service member died from a bomb strike in the south Wednesday, NATO forces said.

In addition to violence, Afghanistan is mired in debates about the legitimacy of the fraud-tainted presidential balloting, whose uncertain result threatens to undermine the government's authority.

In his first public comments on the disputed election, President Hamid Karzai defended its integrity, saying Thursday he had seen only limited proof of fraud. Full preliminary results showed him with 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of leading challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. But recounts and fraud investigations could drive Karzai's total below 50 percent, forcing him into a runoff.

A U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission, which is the final judge of the count, has ordered a recount of about 10 percent of polling stations countrywide because of suspect results. The complaints panel has thrown out results from 83 polling stations because of "clear and compelling" evidence of fraud.

Acknowledging fraud, Karzai said "there were some government officials who were partial toward me," but he alleged that others had manipulated results to favor Abdullah.

Abdullah alleged "state-engineered fraud," adding that if the fake ballots were not discounted, "the champions out of this will be the Taliban."

The increased fighting and complaints about the election have raised questions abroad about whether the Afghan war is worth the cost in lives and financial support. Officials have said the war just needs to be refocused.

La Russa, the Italian defense minister, said early in the day that the "cowardly" attack in the Afghan capital would not affect his country's commitment. But later Thursday he indicated the role of Italy's mission would be reviewed.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said it would be best for international troops to leave Afghanistan soon, but any decision would be made with allies.

"We are all convinced it's best for everybody to get out soon," Berlusconi told reporters in Brussels. But he said Italy is "dealing with an international question that you can't decide on your own because that would betray an accord."

U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly also condemned the bombing but said that the attack "reinforces the need for the U.S. and allies, in partnership with the people of Afghanistan, to continue our critical work."

International forces are trying to refocus their tactics on protecting civilians rather than routing the Taliban. But that approach already derailed this month when a German-ordered airstrike on two hijacked fuel tankers killed civilians who had swarmed the vehicles to siphon fuel.

An Afghan commission investigating the incident gave its report Thursday to Karzai, saying 30 civilians and 69 militants were killed in the strike in northern Kunduz province. NATO said civilians died but has not said how many.

The German commander has said he ordered the bombing because he feared the hijacked trucks would be used for suicide bombings.

Karzai said that while Germany remained a "great friend" of Afghanistan, the strike was a mistake.

"The operation was wrong. It should not have been conducted. It could have been done through other means," he said.

The Kabul attack was the fourth major strike in the capital in five weeks. A car bomb exploded near the military airport Sept. 8 in an attack on a NATO convoy that killed three civilians. The Taliban also claimed responsibility.

On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry took a public walk around a Kabul neighborhood, saying international officials need to spend less time behind blast walls and more time interacting with the people.

The commanding officer of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has called for the military to be more engaged with the Afghan people to better protect them from the Taliban, and hopefully win their trust.

India expresses concern over attack on three Indians in Melbourne

NEW DELHI, Sept 16: Concerned over the recurring attacks on its nationals in Australia, India on Wednesday took up the issue with Australian government and said additional measures should be put in place at the earliest to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

"We are concerned at the recurring attacks on Indians in Australia. The matter was taken up with Foreign Minister Stephen Smith by our High Commissioner in Canberra today who has also written to the premier of Victoria," External Affairs ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash told reporters.

Following a lull in the attacks, three Indians were "brutally bashed" on 12th September by a group at a birthday party in a bar in Melbourne after facing racist remarks.

"As we take note of the assurances given, including from the highest levels of the government and provincial authorities of Australia, it is our earnest hope that the authorities concerned would take all necessary steps towards the safety and security of Indians in that country," Prakash said.

Hoping that the latest incident is investigated "with care and the culprits are dealt with", he said "it would also help, if various measures being contemplated by the Australian side, in addition to those already announced, are put in place at the earliest, to prevent recurrence of such incidents."

India has been informed that police arrested four persons who have since been released pending further investigations, he said.

Prakash said the Indian Consul General in Melbourne is in contact with authorities in Victoria including police.

The officials are also in touch with family members of the victims who have been assured all assistance by the Consulate, he said.

One of the Indians, Sukhdip Singh, sustained serious injuries and is undergoing treatment, Prakash said.

Three Indians attacked in Australia

MELBOURNE, Sept 15: After a brief lull in attacks on Indians in Australia, two students and their uncle were "brutally bashed" by a group of around 70 youth while playing here. 26-year-old Sukhdip Singh, his brother Gurdeep Singh and uncle Mukhtair Singh were attacked by the group when they were playing pool in the eastern suburb of Epping on Saturday.

"At around 11'o clock my brother-in-law Sukhdip was playing pool along with few family members when they were attacked by around 70 locals who were attending a party," according to the victim's relative Onkar Singh.

"They were quitely playing and were trying to avoid trouble even after these locals were trying to provoke them by passing comments," he said.

The group started telling them to go back to their country. "When they reached the car park to leave the place a huge crowd attacked them and started bashing. The attackers were in their teens and around twenties," he said.

Onkar claimed police have informed him that six of the 70 attackers have been arrested.

The attacks come a month after Australian government assured External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, during his visit here, that Indian students will be protected. Around 30 Indian students were attacked in various cities from June to August.

India, Mongolia sign civil nuclear cooperation pact

NEW DELHI, Sept 14: India has signed a pact for civil nuclear cooperation with Mongolia making it the sixth country with which New Delhi has linked similar deals since it acquired a waiver from NSG allowing it to carry out nuclear commerce.

The nuclear agreement and four other pacts were signed after wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj here.

India has already inked civil nuclear agreements with the US, Russia, France, Kazakhstan and Namibia.

The `Memorandum of Understanding on Development of Cooperation in the field of Peaceful Use of Radioactive Minerals and Nuclear Energy' would enable India to procure for uranium in Mongolia.

"We have signed agreements in the field of peaceful uses of radioactive minerals and nuclear energy, health, culture and statistics. India will provide Mongolia a soft loan of US $25 million to help it to stabilise its economy in the wake of the global financial crisis," said Singh.

The pacts were signed after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the visiting Mongolian President, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest.

“We have today decided to update our bilateral ties to the level of a ‘Comprehensive Partnership,” Dr. Singh said.

He said India attached importance to its expanding defence exchanges and cooperation with Mongolia, including regular joint exercises between the armies, and agreed to strengthen cooperation in this area.

Dr. Singh said Mr. Elbegdorj’s visit to India, his first overseas tour after elections in June this year, opened a new chapter in India-Mongolia relations.

Dr. Singh said he accepted an invitation by Mr. Elbegdorj to visit Mongolia.

Pakistan diverted US funds to strengthen defence against India: Musharraf

ISLAMABAD, Sept 13: Former President Pervez Musharraf has said that military aid provided by the US to Pakistan for the war against terror during his tenure had been used to strengthen defences against India, the first such admission by any top Pakistani leader.

Musharraf admitted that he had violated rules governing the use of the military aid, and justified his actions by saying he had "acted in the best interest of Pakistan."

In an interview with a news channel, he said he "did not care" whether the US would be angered by his disclosure.

The former military ruler, who resigned as President in August last year to avoid impeachment, said he was not ready to compromise on Pakistan's interests.

India and several influential lawmakers in the US have been saying that Pakistan had used funds given to it by the US to take on militants to strengthen its defences against India.

However, Pakistan had been denying the charges.

Musharraf said that if he had not supported the US in the war against terror after the 9/11 attacks, American forces could have entered Pakistan to capture its nuclear assets. He said it was also possible that the US and India could have jointly attacked the country.

Pakistan's Supreme Court recently declared the emergency imposed by Musharraf in 2007 as illegal unconstitutional, raising the possibility of his trial for treason.

Musharraf also said President Asif Ali Zardari's policy on relations with the US was similar to his policy. He justified joining the US-led war on terror, saying he feared America would use force against Pakistan if he had refused to become an ally in the campaign.

The former President quit in August last year to avoid impeachment. He has been living outside Pakistan since mid-April.

Onus on Pakistan to unveil Mumbai attack conspiracy: India

NEW DELHI, Sept 10: India on Thursday put on Pakistan the onus of unveiling the conspiracy behind the Mumbai attacks and ruled out meaningful dialogue till concrete action is taken against those responsible.

The firm message was sent out by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna ahead of his meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in New York later this month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

On the eve of the ministerial meeting, Foreign Secretaries Nirupama Rao and Salman Bashir will meet to discuss the progress on investigation of the 26/11 attacks and prosecution of those arrested in connection with it.

"It is in our vital interest to normalise our relations with Pakistan. However, we are at a stage where it is for Pakistan to determine the kind of relationship that it wants to have with India," Krishna said while addressing the Editors Guild in New Delhi.

Talking about the Mumbai attacks, he said it was launched from Pakistan and the conspiracy was hatched there.

"Clearly, the onus is on Pakistan to unveil the conspiracy," he said, adding India had sought to "assist" them in that task by providing vital evidence.

Karzai wins absolute majority amid 'clear proof of fraud'

KABUL, Sept 9: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has 54 percent of the votes in the presidential election, with 91.6 percent of votes counted, the election commission said on Tuesday.

This would give Karzai the absolute majority he needs for a first-round victory, though election authorities have to examine charges of vote fraud before confirming the result.

The election was held on 20th August.

Suicide bomber attacks Kabul airport base

KABUL, Sept 8: A suicide car bomber blew up his vehicle outside a NATO military base at Kabul's main airport on Tuesday killing at least two civilians, in the biggest attack in the Afghan capital since last month's presidential election.

The attack was a further demonstration of deteriorating security at a time when violence is at its worst, an unresolved election has put the country's political future in doubt and Western popular support for the war is being tested.

The Interior Ministry said two civilians were killed and six wounded, two of them seriously, in the airport attack. It did not say whether Western troops were hurt at the base. The NATO-led force was not immediately able to comment.

A shopkeeper who witnessed the blast told Reuters the suicide bomber had detonated his explosives close to one of the entrances of the military side of the airport.

"A suicide bomber in a 'Surf' car (off-road vehicle) exploded himself near the main gate (guarded) by Nepali guards," said the shopkeeper, Izmarai, who uses only one name.

"Another man was riding his bicycle and fell to the ground. The police carried another wounded person away," he said.

Huge flames could be seen rising from the site of the blast and the wail of sirens could be heard several kilometres from the civil-military airport that has seen a series of Taliban rocket attacks and a suicide strike in the past.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said by telephone from an undisclosed location that the militants were responsible for the blast, targeting Western forces.

An Afghan soldier, Mohibullah, who said he had witnessed the blast, said two foreign soldiers had been killed, however this could not immediately be confirmed by the NATO-led force.

Afghan officials running the civil section of the airport said domestic and foreign flights were not interrupted.

The attack comes less than a month after a suicide car bomber struck the entrance to the NATO headquarters in Kabul, killing at least seven people and wounding 100 in the run-up to the vote.

ELECTION OUTCOME IN DOUBT

Election officials said they were finishing up the long-delayed count of results from the Aug. 20 election, and were due to publish an almost-complete tally later on Tuesday.

The latest results, with 74 percent of polling stations tallied, show President Hamid Karzai falling just shy of the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off -- so close the final outcome could be delayed for weeks more by fraud investigations.

Most of the remaining votes are in the south, where Karzai has had strong support but where his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, says ballots were stuffed on a huge scale.

Western officials initially hailed the election because Taliban fighters failed to scupper it, but as fraud allegations have mounted those assessments have become more guarded.

Results in the official tallies issued so far show Karzai winning 100 percent of the vote from entire southern villages, often with improbable totals: in one village in Kandahar province he won exactly 500 votes each at four separate polling stations.

On Monday, the White House said Afghanistan needs to deal with the fraud allegations.

"They've got to address any accusations that are out there and assure people of the legitimacy of the election," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters.

After the election commission issues complete preliminary results -- expected this week -- the Electoral Complaints Commission, a separate fraud watchdog mainly appointed by the United Nations, can exclude ballots it thinks were fake.

Increased violence in Afghanistan has sapped public support for the war in the United States, which now has about 65,000 troops among the 103,000 foreign troops there.

The war has also become a matter of huge controversy in Germany, weeks before a general election there, after German troops called in a U.S. air strike last week Afghan officials say killed scores of people, many of them civilians.

Karzai called the decision to bomb hijacked fuel trucks in the north of the country a major "error of judgment".

Chancellor Angela Merkel was to go before parliament later on Tuesday to explain the government's strategy.

German Defence Secretary Franz Josef Jung has defied calls to resign over the incident -- the deadliest involving German troops since World War II. Jung has said the attack was necessary and his information indicated only Taliban terrorists were killed.

The incident last Friday is a test for the new NATO commander, General Stanley McChrystal, who took charge of the force two months ago vowing to protect Afghan civilians. He has gone on television to reassure Afghans he is investigating it

Pakistan army: 30 Taliban killed in Swat battles

ISLAMABAD, Aug 31: Pakistani soldiers killed at least 30 Taliban militants in gunbattles across the volatile northwestern Swat Valley after a suicide bombing on a police station killed 17 cadets, the military said Monday.

Soldiers looking for militants after the bombing encountered resistance in several areas and battles raged overnight into early morning Monday, army spokesman Col. Akhtar Abbas said.

"Security forces have encircled a group of militants there and battles went on late into the night," he said, adding that 30 militants were killed.

A separate army statement said one soldier was killed in the fighting in three separate areas of the valley.

The military has said it is restoring security in Swat after a three-month operation to retake control of areas overrun by Taliban militants. Still, suicide attacks and skirmishes continue.

The death toll in Sunday's suicide attack rose to 17 as one of the wounded died, local hospital official Ikram Khan said. The bomber sneaked into a police courtyard in the valley's main town of Mingora and detonated his explosives next to a group of volunteers training for a community policing force. The attack was the deadliest since the military regain control of most of Swat in July.

Pakistani officials blamed the bombing on the Taliban, saying the Muslim extremists were ramping up strikes to avenge the loss of Swat and the death of their top leader in a CIA missile strike near the Afghan border.

Nepal's ex-prince Paras linked to Dawood's fake currency racket

NEW DELHI, Aug 31: Nepal's ex-prince Paras, son of the former Nepal king Gyanendra, has been linked to a fake currency racket run by India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim. This was revealed by two Nepali nationals caught by the Madhya Pradesh ATS.

The two Nepali nationals, suspected to be Dawood aides, caught while trying to smuggle in the fake currency notes into India, revealed this vital information during interrogation. They also revealed that a prominent minister's son Yunus Ansari was working as as the conduit between King Gyanendra's son Paras and underworld kingpin Dawood Ibrahim, who between them have been pushing crores of fake currency into India.

According to media reports, Dawood is responsible for the printing and manufacture of the fake currency, while Paras arranges for the transit of the money from other countries into Nepal and then its flow into India.

Paras reportedly used his influence to ensure the money reached the transit points on the India-Nepal border without any hitch.

Karzai gains upper hand in early results

KABUL, Aug 26: Incumbent Hamid Karzai narrowly led the race for the Afghan presidency with just two per cent more votes than his closest rival, the election commission announced on Tuesday in the first partial results.

The partial results amount to about 10 per cent of the total ballots cast in only Afghanistan’s second direct presidential election, which was held last Thursday and has been overshadowed by claims of massive fraud.

“From the total 524,444 valid votes, his excellency Hamid Karzai has got 212,927 and his excellency Abdullah Abdullah has 202,889 votes,” said Daud Najafi, chief electoral officer at the Independent Election Commission (IEC). Those results handed Karzai 40.6 per cent of the initial votes announced and Abdullah 38.6 per cent.

Ramazan Bashardost, a popular Afghan lawmaker who camps out in a tent near parliament and campaigned against corruption, got 53,740 votes and former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani 15,143 votes, the commission announced.

The officer clarified that the results as unveiled amounted to 10 per cent of 95 per cent of the total votes counted.

Tuesday’s partial results came from 21 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces but did not amount to all votes from those provinces.

The IEC headquarters in Kabul are still awaiting ballots from two provinces — Helmand in the south, which is a Taliban stronghold, and Badakhshan in the relatively peaceful north.

Pakistan Taliban threatens to avenge Baitullah Mehsud's death

ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: Pakistan's new Taliban leader has threatened to avenge a US missile strike that killed his predecessor, but analysts said on Wednesday the extremist outfit has been greatly weakened.

Pakistani and US officials have been saying for weeks that Baitullah Mehsud was killed when a missile from a US drone aircraft hit his father-in-law's home on August 5, but Taliban officials insisted the feared warlord was simply ill.

Claims, counter-claims and rumours emerged over who would fill the shoes of Pakistan's most-wanted man, but the infighting appeared to have ended Tuesday as Hakimullah Mehsud declared himself head of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The young commander, who hails from the militant stronghold of South Waziristan in the tribal belt near Afghanistan, contradicted US and Pakistani reports and claimed that Mehsud only died a few days ago.

"He remained unconscious after being seriously injured in a drone attack and died on Sunday," said Hakimullah Mehsud.

"Now the shura (meeting of elders) has unanimously appointed me as new amir (head) of Tehreek-e-Taliban... We will take revenge and soon. We will give our reply to this drone attack to America."

He said the other top contender for Taliban leadership, Wali-ur Rehman, had been named militant chief for South Waziristan, and denied any infighting.

But observers and analysts say that rifts remain, with the two militant commanders apparently entering into a power-sharing deal.

Brigadier Mahmood Shah, former security chief of Pakistan's northwest tribal areas, said Mehsud's death was a "great loss" to the extremists.

"There has been infighting among different groups which finally resulted in the division of power and authority in the TTP," he said.

Hasan Askari, a political and defence analyst said that the TTP was going through a transition phase which might hobble any efforts to launch fresh strikes, but warned there was a supply of suicide bombers ready to attack.

"The TTP will not be fully paying attention to fighting against Pakistan, but this also does not mean that the threat is over," he said.

"They can send suicide bombers within Pakistan. But this is an opportunity for Pakistan to encourage internal rifts."

Hakimullah Mehsud, believed to be about 30-years-old, made a name for himself within the militant structure with his ruthless rule in the tribal districts of Orakzai, Khyber and Kurram, security officials say.

He was behind many attacks on NATO supply trucks heading to foreign troops over the border in Afghanistan, once posing for journalists with a US military Humvee vehicle reportedly snatched from one of the convoys.

Baitullah Mehsud was Pakistan's most-wanted militant, with a five million dollar US bounty on his head. The government has blamed the TTP for most of the attacks, which have killed more than 2,000 people here in the last two years.

Washington, meanwhile, had branded Baitullah Mehsud a "key Al-Qaeda facilitator" in the tribal areas.

The TTP operates out of Pakistan's semi-autonomous districts along the Afghan border, where Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels carved out a base after the 2001 US-led invasion pushed them out of neighbouring Afghanistan.

"He (Hakimullah Mehsud) can be dangerous for the Americans to the extent that TTP can provide support to Taliban in Afghanistan and give them refuge on Pakistan side," said Askari.

I have evidence Karzai rigged polls: Abdullah

KABUL, Aug 24: Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s main challenger said on Sunday that he had evidence which suggested that last week’s election had been widely rigged by the incumbent and that he had lodged more than 100 complaints. With counting underway following Thursday’s vote, the country is on tenterhooks ahead of an official result.

On Sunday former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, whom polls gave a fighting chance of pushing the election to a second round in October, said he had evidence of rigging. “The initial reports we are receiving are a bit alarming,” he said. “There might have been thousands of violations throughout the country, no doubt about it,” he added, while stating that rigging had been carried out by the incumbent, through his campaign team, the state apparatus and government officials.

In a separate news briefing, the country’s election watchdog said it was dealing with scores of complaints, but there was no sign they would directly affect the result. The Independent Election Commission also said partial results would be released on Tuesday, and repeated its warning to candidates that they should not make premature declarations.

The Election Complaints Commission said it had received 225 complaints of which 35 had been labelled a priority. “The allegations contained in the complaints we have received so far range from voter intimidation, violence, ballot box tampering (to) interference by some IEC (Independent Election Commission) officials,” Grant Kippen said. Kippen added that there were no specific charges against individual candidates such as Karzai.

India, Nepal sign new treaty to boost trade

NEW DELHI, Aug 22: India and Nepal signed a trade treaty on Saturday to allow Nepalese goods duty-free access to India and agreed to bolster security along their border to thwart militant attacks, officials said.

India will allow Nepal to use the southern port of Vishakhapatnam for foreign trade, Indian officials said.

Trade between the two neighbours stood at $1.9 billion and they hope it will more than double in a few years time. India is Nepal's sole fuel supplier and is the Himalayan nation's main foreign investor.

The treaty was signed during a visit to India's capital New Delhi by Nepal's new Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.

The moderate communist leader was chosen by Nepal's parliament as prime minister in May, three weeks after Maoist leader Prachanda resigned.

The two countries also agreed to boost security along a 1750 km (1,000 miles) border, which security officials say is being used by militants to enter India via Nepalese territory.

"The Nepalese side assured that it would not allow its territory to be used for any activity against India and the Indian side also gave the same assurance to the Nepalese side," a foreign ministry spokesman said

95 killed in Baghdad bomb carnage

BAGHDAD, Aug 19: A wave of attacks across Baghdad killed at least 95 people on Wednesday in the worst day of carnage to hit the Iraqi capital in 18 monthsand the bloodiest since US troops pulled out of the conflict-torn nation's cities.

An interior ministry official said 563 people were also wounded in attacks that included two massive truck bombings outside government ministries just minutes apart, including one near the heavily fortified Green Zone, a car bombing and a spate of mortar attacks.

"In the two attacks 95 people were killed and 563 wounded," the official said. A previous toll had 75 dead.

It was the deadliest day in Iraq since February 2008, and came on the sixth anniversary of a truck bombing on the UN compound in Baghdad that killed UN special envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 others.

Iraqis pointed the finger at their domestic security forces, which in turn blamed members of executed former dictator Saddam Hussein's regime.

"I was in my home with my family when the roof collapsed on us," said Hamid, 46, who lives a few hundred metres (yards) from the foreign ministry compound which was targeted along with the finance ministry.

"The government promised us security would return, but where is the security?"

One truck bomb exploded outside the foreign ministry in a residential area close to the Green Zone, sending plumes of smoke and dust into the air, leaving a crater three metres (10 feet) deep and 10 metres wide filled with the twisted wreckage of dozens of cars and several charred corpses.

The walls of the ministry compound in Salhiyeh district were destroyed and its facade badly damaged, while cars were buckled and burnt for hundreds of metres. Blast walls surrounding the compound were removed two months ago.

The bombing also destroyed water tanks on houses near the ministry, sending water gushing into homes.

Just minutes before, another truck bomb exploded outside the finance ministry in Baghdad's northern neighbourhood of Waziriyah, also destroying part of a nearby bridge, ministry officials said.

The finance ministry said the refrigeration truck that exploded in what it said was a suicide attack had been carrying 1.5 tonnes of explosives and ball bearings "to cause maximum casualties."

It said 13 civil servants in the ministry building had died in the attack.

"We accuse the Baathist alliance of executing these terrorist operations," said Major General Qassim Atta, the spokesman for the Iraqi Army's Baghdad operations, referring to members of Saddam's Baath party.

He added that security forces had arrested two senior al Qaida leaders in the Mansur neighbourhood of western Baghdad, and that a truck carrying one tonne of explosives had been defused near the Cardiac Hospital in Salhiyeh.

A car bomb also hit a market in the western neighbourhood of Bayaa, a defence ministry official said, while two mortar bombs landed in the Green Zone — an area of foreign embassies and government offices — and one exploded outside, a security official said.

Environment Minister Narmin Othman Hasan said a mortar landed on and slightly damaged her house inside the Green Zone.

The attacks — shortly before Muslims are due to begin the holy fasting month of Ramadan later this week — drew the city to a standstill as security forces shot into the air and closed roads, while ambulances struggled to make progress amid traffic jams.

It was the bloodiest day in Iraq since February 1, 2008, when bombs at Baghdad pet markets killed 98 people.

Recent attacks in the capital have appeared to target various ethnic groups in a bid to reignite the sectarian violence which engulfed Iraq in 2006 and 2007.

Wednesday's violence comes exactly six years to the day after a truck bomb struck the UN offices at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, killing 22 people including de Mello.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he was saddened by Wednesday's "appalling" attacks.

"I am saddened that the violence continues, including the appalling string of attacks today in Baghdad which took the lives of scores of innocent people," he said at a ceremony at UN headquarters to mark World Humanitarian Day.

French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner pledged Paris's "full support" to Iraq, saying the attacks "targeted symbols of Iraqi sovereignty."

Despite a reduction in violence compared with last year, attacks on security forces and civilians remain common in Baghdad, the restive northern city of Mosul and in the ethnically divided oil city of Kirkuk.

Australia foils suicide terror plot; arrests four

MELBOURNE, Aug 4: Australian police on Tuesday foiled a terrorist plot to storm into a military base to carry out a suicide attack. "The terrorists planned to storm into the military base in Sydney in New South Wales and open fire with automatic weapons at anyone in sight until they were shot dead," Acting Commissioner of Federal Police Tony Negus told reporters.

But a well-armed 400 strong Australian police posse foiled the plot as in a pre-dawn swoop they raided premises all around the city taking four people into custody.

Those taken into custody are alleged to have ties to al-Shabaab, an Islamist group that has been planning to overthrow Somalia's trans-national government.

Well-briefed police officers involved in the raids codenamed 'Operation Neath' carried out a smooth campaign to surprise the plotters in their homes and swiftly arrest them in an operation first on such a scale in the country.

The unearthing of the plot prompted Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to declare that the conspiracy was a "sober reminder" that Australia was still under threat of terrorism.

Four persons of Somali and Lebanese descent — all Australian citizens — in the age group of 22 to 26 were arrested, while several others were being questioned in connection with the plot, whereby the alleged terrorists planned to attack Sydney's Holsworthy Army base, police said.

Nirupama Rao takes over as new Foreign Secretary

NEW DELHI, Aug 1: Seasoned diplomat Nirupama Rao took over as the new Foreign Secretary on Saturday at a time when India's diplomatic relations with Pakistan are going through a critical phase.

Rao, a 1973-batch IFS officer, is the second woman to hold the post of the top diplomat after Chokila Iyer and will succeed Shivshankar Menon, who retired on Friday.

The 58-year-old diplomat, who was ambassador to China before her new assignment, will have tenure of 17 months as the top foreign ministry official.

Prior to her stint in China, she has served in various key positions, including India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and was the first woman spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry.

Earlier, she had served in the Indian Missions in Washington and Moscow, besides having a stint in the Ministry of External Affairs as Joint Secretary (East Asia).

Rao is assuming charge at a time when India's relations with Pakistan are going through testing times in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Besides Pakistan, dealing with other nations of the "turbulent" neighbourhood would be among the foremost challenges for Rao in her new position.

Menon, a 1972-batch IFS officer, demitted office after an eventful stint of two years and ten months whose highlight was the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

Born in Kerala on December 6, 1950, Rao holds a Masters Degree in English Literature from Marathwada University. Her early education took place in cities across the country, including Bangalore, Pune, Lucknow and Coonoor (Tamil Nadu).

She is an accomplished singer in her own right and has a penchant for classical music (Hindustani and Carnatic) besides theatre and writing.

Her first book of poems 'Rain Rising' was published in India in 2004. It was also released in Sri Lanka where she was posted from 2004 to 2006.