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US warns Russia against selling missiles to Syria

     Washington: The United States warned Russia against selling missiles to Syria amid reports that Moscow was ready to provide Damascus with a sophisticated weapon that could hit any target in Israel. According to The News, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington could consider sanctions against Moscow if it went through with reported plans to sell Syria its SS-26 Iskander missile. Secretary of State Colin Powell also raised the reported sale in talks here Wednesday with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, according to a State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity. "The US policy on this is very clear," Boucher said. "We're against the sale of weaponry to Syria, against the sale of lethal military equipment to Syria, which is a state sponsor of terrorism." He said the United States was aware of reports a deal was brewing and "we think those kinds of sales are not appropriate. ... The Russians know about this policy. They know about our views." The Russian media carried reports of the planned sale as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad prepared to visit Russia on January 24 for talks with President Vladimir Putin. The press accounts said Israel was furious at the prospect of Syria obtaining the missile, an updated version of the Scud used by Iraq in the first Gulf War, that could strike almost anywhere in the Jewish state. However, Ivanov categorically denied any plans for such a sale.

RJD, Cong strike deal on seat-sharing (Go To Top)

      Patna: There are reports that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress have arrived at an agreement over seat sharing for the Bihar polls. Speaking to the press here, RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav said the RJD will fight elections in alliance with the Congress. "I spoke to Sonia Gandhi and we will sort out the problems we have about seat sharing. We will fight together that is clear, all secular forces will fight together to win and defeat the communal forces. There can be a problem about 10 to 15 seats that we will sort out," said RJD president. "But the main thing is to win. These are not the first elections that we have faced but the people of Bihar have always voted and given back a message that they will not let the forces who are not secular win in Bihar," he added. According to the formula being worked out, the Congress will contest about 80 seats in the state - some of these will be a friendly contest with the RJD. The Congress will not however field candidates in seats that were held by the RJD in the last elections. Earlier, Congress sprang a surprise on RJD by announcing that it would contest 80 of the 243 seats in the next month`s assembly elections in Bihar but left the doors open for talks for an alliance. "We have decided to contest 80 seats but the issue of alliance is still open," highly-placed Congress sources said.

Demand for separate Bolor state in Pak (Go To Top)

     Rawalpindi: Pakistani leaders in the Northern Areas (NA), Gilgit-Baltistan region, have raised a banner of revolt against the Pakistani government demanding a separate Bolor state. Describing their demand as "legitimate", the leaders at a seminar "Great Bolor State and Kashmir Issue" said the Gilgit-Baltistan region was being governed by the Kashmir Affairs and NA Ministry based in Islamabad and the elected representatives of the NA Legislative Council did not enjoy the same power as the district assembly despite the entire region being liberated in 1947. The seminar, organised by the Bolor Thinker Forum, was held at the Rawalpindi Press Club in the first week of this month to discuss the NA issue, which is also known as Bolor with reference to the Kashmir issue. The speakers at the seminar, including JKLF chairman Amanullah Khan, APNA chairman Wajahat Hassan Khan, APNA general secretary Sardar Arif Shahid, Bolor Research Forum chairman Amanullah Khan, and Boloristan chairman Nawaz Khan, said the people of Gilgit- Baltistan region were an essential component of the Kashmir issue but were currently being ignored. They said that due to the Kashmir conflict, the region's people were being deprived of their rights, and people from both Kashmir and PoK enjoyed their own legislative, administrative and judicial set-ups.