India, Pakistan to notify missile tests
by Surinder Kapoor

     Islamabad: India and Pakistan on Monday signed agreements on "Pre-notification of Ballistic Missile Tests" and "Establishment of communication link between the Indian Coast Guard and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency" during the Joint Commission meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries in Islamabad. The agreement on pre-notification of missile tests was signed by Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan, whereas Director General, Coast Guard, Vice Admiral A K Singh and his Pakistani counterpart singed the agreement on establishment of communication links between Coast Guard and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency. The agreement on pre-notification of ballistic missile tests entails that both countries provide each other advance notification of flight tests that intend to undertake any surface-to-surface ballistic missile tests.

     External Affair Minister K.Natwar Singh also handed over a draft MoU on measures to reduce risks of accidental and unauthorised use of nuclear weapons under the control of both countries. The MoU on establishment of communication link between maritime security agencies will lead to an early exchange of information between the two sides regarding apprehended fishermen who inadvertently stray into each other's countries. The draft on pre-notification of ballistic missile tests was presented by India during the first round of Expert Level Talks on Nuclear confidence-building measures (CBM) in June 2004. During the second round of talks held on December 14, 2004, detailed discussions were held on the draft agreement. The third round of the Nuclear CBM talks was held on August 5-6 where both sides had reached an understanding on the Agreement. The Joint Commission meeting is taking place after a gap of 16 years.

     External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh is leading the Indian side at the talks, while the Pakistan team is headed by Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri. The two ministers are being assisted by a bevy of officials, including Foreign Secretaries Shyam Saran and Riaz Muhammad Khan and High Commissioners Shiv Shanker Menon and Aziz Ahmed Khan. On Sunday, Singh said that he was looking forward to meeting Kasuri and other leaders of the Pakistan government for fruitful talks during his four-day stay there. A meeting of the joint commissions for cooperation in the fields of trade, energy, telecom, security, visa and consular access to detained nationals of the respective countries, are also to come up during the meetings On Tuesday, he will meet President Musharaf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz before leaving for Karachi after which he will return to Delhi on October 5.

     This is Natwar Singh's second visit to Pakistan in the last eight months. During his last visit between February 16 and 18, the two foreign ministers had agreed on mutually acceptable procedures for establishing a bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad. They also agreed to look at a pipeline through Pakistan subject to satisfaction of concerns relating to security and assured supplies. Officials were also instructed to firm the next round of meetings on various issues, which culminated in the foreign secretaries of the two countries reviewing the progress made on September 1 and 2.

India test-fires Akash missile thrice (Go To Top)

     Chandipur-On-Sea (Orissa): Indian scientists at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur On sea in Orissa's Balasore District test-fired the Akash surface-to-air missile thrice within a span of 17 minutes on Monday. The multi-target missile, with a striking range of 25 km was directed at targets, suspended from a Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA) which was flown earlier, defence sources said. The sleek 5.6 metre long missile, with a launch weight of 700 kg and capability to carry a warhead of 60 kg, blasted off at 12.48 pm. This was followed by two more rounds of test-firing at 1 p.m. and 1.05 p.m. The tests by defence scientists were conducted to prove the missile's consistency during the entire flight. The sources said the Army and the Indian Air Force, who would be using the missile, had wanted the missile test to demonstrate its consistency during an entire flight. The sophisticated missile uses an Integral Ramjet Rocket Propulsion System and has low reaction time. It operates in conjunction with the indigenously-built Rajendra Surveillance and Engagement Radar being developed by the Hyderabad-based Electronic Research and Development Establishment (ERDE). The radar is capable of tracking 64 targets and can guide upto 12 missiles simultaneously. Apart from the 'Akash', the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed other missiles like the Agni, the Prithvi, the Trishul and the Nag.

Thousands take holy dip on Solar Eclipse (Go To Top)

     New Delhi/Kurukshetra/Varanasi/Mumbai: Thousands of Hindu pilgrims took a holy dip in the Brahm Sarovar in Kurukshetra, Haryana and in the holy Ganga in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on Monday morning, hours before the annular solar eclipse. The eclipse began at 4.12 p.m. (Indian Standard Time) and was expected to last till 6.03 p.m. (IST). In India, only 27 per cent of the sun's diametre would be covered in Mumbai when the eclipse is at its greatest, Mumbai-based Nehru Planetarium Director Piyush Pandey said, adding that general visibility of the eclipse would cover Eastern Greenland, Iceland, Europe (including the British Isles), Africa except the Southern tip, and Western Asia. Heeding medical advice, people opted to stay indoors or move about with shades on Monday afternoon to avoid direct contact with the sun during the period of the eclipse. In Rajkot, a programme was organised by the Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha, an organisation committed to promoting scientific temper in the country, to expose the futility of hanging on to superstitions surrounding eclipses like it having an effect on pregnant women to eating cooked food that remains unused during eclipse. The Pondicherry Science Forum (PSF) also warned people not to view the solar eclipse with naked eye.

     Explaining the phenomenon, Pandey said the moon's orbit around the earth is elliptical and not a perfect circle because of which the moons distance from earth varies every month in a regular cycle. When the moon is closest to the earth, it called perigee and when farthest, it is said to be at apogee. At apogee, the moon would appear a little smaller than at perigee. This behaviour plays an important role in deciding the nature of a solar eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in front of the sun and obscures it totally or partially, Pandey explained. This configuration can occur only on a new moon day when the sun, moon and earth are on a single line with the moon in the middle. An annular (shaped like a ring or annulus) eclipse occurs when the moons centre passes in front of the suns centre while the moon is near apogee. The moons angular diameter is then smaller than that of the sun with the result that a ring of the sun can be seen around the moon.

18 dead as Bundelkhand Express derails near Gwalior (Go To Top)

     Dadia (Madhya Pradesh): At least 18 people have died and over 100 were feared injured when six coaches of the Bundelkhand Express derailed near Dadia in Madhya Pradesh around 9:15 a.m. on Monday. According to reports, the train, which was going from Varanasi to Gwalior, collided with the signal building due to break failure. The injured have been admitted to hospitals in Gwalior. Official sources confirmed that over 60 persons had been injured. They said that the engine and six bogies of the train were badly damaged after going off the track and ramming into the cabin. The toll is likely to increase as some people are still feared to be trapped in the mangled bogies. The driver of the train, who was among the dead, is believed to have informed the authorities at DadiaRailway Station about failure of brakes, officials said adding that the exact cause of the accident would, however, be known only after an inquiry. Relief van and helpline services have been despatched from Jhansi division, they said adding the injured have been rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment. Local residents have also joined in the rescue and relief operations.

Simultaneous bomb blasts in three Bangladesh districts  (Go To Top)
by Nazrul Islam

      Dhaka: At least two people were killed and dozen others hurt in near-simultaneous bomb blasts Monday in three Bangladesh districts ' Chittagong, Chandpur and Laxmipur, according to police. As many as 5 bombs went off between 12 and 12.30 pm (local time) in front of the court buildings of the districts that killed one in Chandpur and another in Laxmipur districts. The injured were rushed to local hospitals. Panic gripped among the people as Monday's blasts were seem to be a follow up action of the Sunday night's blasts that killed two people in south-western Satkhira district and injured many others. Bangladesh's State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar told reporters that he was informed about the Monday's blasts while he was conducting a meeting of the senior law enforcers at the ministry. "Police in association with the local people nabbed three people involved in the blasts," Babar told reporters emerging from the meeting adding that he had asked the law enforcers for stern action against the bombers. Contacted by telephone at the office of the Superintendent of Police in Laxmipur, an on-duty officer said that police caught red handed one of the bombers from the court premises. The deceased in Laxmipur was identified as Mujibul Huq, according to hospital sources. In Chandpur, one Hasen Bapari was killed and an advocate received splinter injury in the bomb attack. A senior police officer of the district told ANI that two bombers were caught red-handed and two more suspects were brought to custody. They were being quizzed by the police, he said. Earlier on Sunday evening, the country's southern and eastern districts of Satkhira and Brahmanbaria were rocked by bomb blasts that killed at least two people. Unidentified criminals carried out the bomb attacks in Satkhira where two people were killed instantly and three others were injure critically. In Brahmanbaria, two powerful bombs were blast, but no casualty was reported. The attackers left a handwritten leaflet saying that they would carry out more attacks in the coming month of Ramandan if they find the sanctity of the holy month is not being maintained. Contacted to Satkhira district administration by phone, the officials say police started investigation into the blast. Meanwhile, police in Kishoreganj district recovered two abandoned bombs at a village. Locals informed police after finding the bombs in plastic jugs. The Bangladesh government has put its forces high alerts following the August 17 countrywide serial bombings. As many as 500 suspects, mostly belong to the banned Islamist outfit Jamaat ul Mujahedeen, were arrested since then.

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