KATHMANDU, Dec 9 (UNI): At least 60 Maoists were killed and several injured in an encounter with soldiers of the Royal Nepal army at Ratmate of Rolpa district yesterday, the defence ministry said here this evening.
Four jawans were also killed and eight injured in the encounter, the ministry said in a release.
The encounter took place after a gang of Maoists assaulted soldiers on duty at Ratmate with weapons looted from the barracks at Ghorahi.
The troops were guarding the repeater station of the Nepal telecommunications corporation.
After seven hours of fighting, the rebels were beaten back.
The injured have been brought here and reinforcements mobilised.
Bodies of abour 60 rebels were scattered around the repeater station, while others killed or injured were carried away by their comrades.
Soldiers have recovered weapons, including three light machine-guns looted from the dang barracks on November 23.
Two militants were killed when soldiers resisted an assault on an army patrol in Chaughada area of Nuwakot district yesterday.
As many as 25 ultras were arrested in that incident.
Afghan tribal leader disputes Kandahar fighting Chaman, (Pakistan) Dec 9 (Reuters): A Pashtun commander said Afghan tribal forces fought fierce gun battles for control of the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar today, but the spokesman for a rival leader said all was quiet.
The commander, who asked not to be named, said the fighting endangered prospects for a Jirga, or traditional tribal assembly, which had been called by Hamid Karzai, Afghanistans designated interim prime minister, to try to resolve disputes over who should rule Kandahar and the border town of spin Boldak.
He said forces loyal to former Kandahar governor gul agha were also confronting those of Mullah naqibullah, who presided over the talibans surrender, at the citys airport to the south.
The taliban, who relinquished their birthplace and last bastion on friday, gave all their tanks and heavy weapons to mullah Naqibullah, the commander said.
"Out of all the Pashtun commanders, Mullah Naqibullah has the biggest number of weapons and tanks in the city, he said.
Khalid Pashtoon, spokesman for Gul Agha, a former Kandahar governor, denied reports of fighting.
"This is all lies, i dont know why this is being said, Pashtoon told Reuters by satellite telephone from the city.
"Last night the situation in Kandahar was completely quiet.
An aide to Gul Agha, who declined to be identified, told Reuters in quetta there had been no fighting.
"There is no fighting going on.
The airport is under the total control of Gul Aghas people.
The city is peaceful and talks are going on.
Other tribal leaders are reaching the city to participate in the talks, he said.
Vajpayee pays homage to Netaji in Tokyo TOKYO, Dec 9 (UNI): It was the Historic turn of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today to visit the Rengoji temple here and pay homage to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose whose ashes are believed to be kept here.
The prime minister paid floral tributes at the bust of Netaji and met Chief Priest Koshi Mochizuki, the 30th head priest of the temple.
The bust was installed on august 18, 1990.
Netajis associates and followers observe his death anniversary on August 18 at this temple every year.
The ashes are kept in the first floor of the Buddhist temple, built in 1954, next to the sanctum sanctorum.
A full - size photograph of Netaji adorns the place where the ashes are kept.
Earlier, prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi had visited the temple in 1957 and 1969 respectively.
President Rajendra Prasad visited the temple in 1958 and external affairs minister Jaswant Singh in 1999.
The temple belongs to the Nichiren sect of Buddhism which teaches that human salvation lies only in the lotus sutra.
There are controversies over the last days of Netaji.
According to the temple authorities, the ashes reached the temple on september 18, 1945.
Though ashes are normally brought to temples only for the funeral ceremony, rev.
Mochizuki, the father of the present chief priest, agreed to keep the ashes safely.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister arrived here from Osaka on the second leg of his five-day official visit to Japan.
After his visit to the Rengoji temple, Mr Vajpayee joined a meeting of Japanese businessmen in the new Otani hotel where he is staying.
Disinvestment minister Arun Shourie addressed the meeting.
A ceremonial welcome will be accorded to Mr Vajpayee at the Akasaka Palace tomorrow.
This will be followed by discussions with Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi and other dignitaries including foreign minister Makiko Tanaka, finance minister Masajuro Shiokowa Hiranuma and opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama, President of the Democratic Party.
The Japanese prime minister will host a banquet in honour of Mr Vajpayee tomorrow night.
Mr Koizumu, who had gone to Belgium for a summit with the European Union on Afghanistan has since returned to Tokyo.
Bin Ladens mother disappointed by her son ROYADH, Dec 9 (Reuters) The mother of Osama bin Laden was quoted today as saying that she was not angry with her son, but just disappointed by his ideas and actions.
"I do not approve of his ambitions and the actions attributed to him, but I am not angry with him," the woman, whose name was withheld, said in comments published by Saudi Arabias English-language Arab newspaper.
"Like all mothers, I am satisfied and pleased with my son and pray to god to guide him and save him," she added.
The United States accuses bin Laden of masterminding the devastating September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, and U.S.
troops in Afghanistan are currently hunting him down.
The soft-spoken Islamist militant is also wanted in connection to the 1998 U.S.
embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya and other strikes against U.S.
Bin Laden is said to be 17th of 57 children born to his father, who was killed in an air crash when his son was a teenager.
Bin laden himself was reported some years ago to have three wives and more than a dozen children, one of whom was believed to have been killed in a U.S.
air strike a few days ago.
Ranil takes oaths as Lankas 14th PM COLOMBO, December 9 (UNI) Leader of the United National Party(UNP), Ranil Wickremesinghe was today sworn in as the 14th prime minister of Sri Lanka by president Chandrika Kumaratunga.
The oath-taking ceremony held at Janathipathi Mandiraya, the presidents official residence, at 1425 hrs local time was attended among others by Ms Maithree Wickremesinghe, UNP S deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya and secretary to the president K Balapatabendi.
After taking oath Mr Wickremesinghe visited the Gangarama Vehara, Kollupitiya, for a Buddhist religious ceremony.
All the elected MPs, and party activists were also present at the religious ceremony.
Mr Wickremesinghe (52), a grand nephew of Sri Lankas first executive president J.R.
Jeyawardena, takes over charge at a time when the islands economy is facing a bleak outlook and efforts to find a negotiated political settlement to the long-standing ethnic conflict with the Tamil Tigers have not borne positive results.
The new cabinet will be selected after consultation with the constituent partners of the United National Front (UNF) headed by Mr Wickremesinghes UNP,such as the cwc and the slmc.
Although MrWckremesinghe wants to set up a national government by including the opposition peoples alliance members in his new cabinet, PA Stalwarts are not in favour of this.
Mr Wckremesinghe, a lawyer, had during his campaign stated that the priorities for his new government would be to engage in dialogue with the ltte rebels and revive the nations economy.
Though the oath-taking ceremony was to be telecast live on the state controlled Rpavahini TV was not shown for reasons unknown.
Ranilakes oaths as Lankas 14th Prime Minister COLOMBO, December 9 (UNI) Leader of the United National Party(UNP), Ranil Wickremesinghe was today sworn in as the 14th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka by president Chandrika Kumaratunga.
The oath-taking ceremony held at Janathipathi Mandiraya, the presidents official residence, at 1425 hrs local time was attended among others by MS Maithree Wickremesinghe, UNP s deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya and secretary to the president K Balapatabendi.
After taking oath Mr Wickremesinghe visited the Gangarama Vehara, Kollupitiya, for a Buddhist religious ceremony.
All the elected MPS,and party activists were also present at the religious ceremony.
Mr Wickremesinghe (52), a grand nephew of Sri Lankas first executive president J.R.
Jeyawardena, takes over charge at a time when the islands economy is facing a bleak outlook and efforts to find a negotiated political settlement to the long-standing ethnic conflict with the Tamil tigers have not borne positive results.
The new cabinet will be selected after consultation with the constituent partners of the United National Front (UNF) headed by Mr Wickremesinghes UNP, such as the CWC and the SLMC.
Although Mr Wickremesinghe wants to set up a national government by including the opposition peoples alliance members in his new cabinet, PA stalwarts are not in favour of this.
Mr Wickremesinghe, a lawyer, had during his campaign stated that the priorities for his new government would be to engage in dialogue with the ltte rebels and revive the nations economy.
Though the oath-taking ceremony was to be telecast live on the state controlled Rapavahini TV it was not shown for reasons unknown.
LTTE leader Prabhakaran, in his annual heroes week speech, said that the talks were possible with any government only if his organsation was deproscribed and accepted as the legitimate representative of the Tamil people.
The Tamil National Alliance(TNA) led by the TULF, which won 15 seats and is likely to support the unf government from the opposition benches, has been aggressively campaigning for peace negotiations with the LTTE after accepting them as bona fide representatives of the Tamils.
With the PA already accusing the UNP of a secret pact with the ltte it would be rather difficult for Mr Wickremesinghe to lift the ban before the commencement of formal talks with the LTTE, even if he is agreeable to it.
He is expected to revive Norways engagement in the peace process by upgrading its position to a mediator.
He also could adhere to the Liam Fox agreement to keep the main opposition party informed.
The lawyer turned politician Ranil Wickremesinghe, married to Maithree, an English lecturer has already served as prime minister between 7 May 1993 and 19 August 1994 following the assassination of former president Ranasinghe Premadasa.
Vajpayee assures to remove irritants in way to increasing Indo-Japanese cooperation TOKYO, Dec 9 (UNI) Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today assured Japanese businessmen that immediate steps would be taken to remove the irritants in the way of increasing Indo-Japanese cooperation and speeding up Japanese foreign direct investment in India, including setting up joint ventures.
The Prime Minister was responding to leading Japanese businessmen who urged him to create a congenial atmosphere for Foreign Direct Investment in India through promotion of tourism, boosting of information technology initiatives, simplification of procedures and a Japan-oriented approach for business expansion.
During an interaction with the Prime Minister they said there was an information gap in Japan about India and serious efforts should be made to fill this gap.
The Prime Minister invited the business community to come to India and said their suggestions would be followed up and irritants would be removed to increase cooperation between the two countries in various fields.
He said the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) would ensure that quick action was taken in the case of the suggestions made so that Japanase Foreign Direct Investment flow to india could be speeded up.
Stressing the need for more Indo-Japanese cooperation, the Prime Minister said this cooperation would not be confined to the economic arena alone, but would extend to various other areas.
The two countries together could play a vital role in the global scene, he said.
Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie listed the steps being taken by the Indian government and said the reform process would be further speeded up.
Mr Shourie said a more assertive Japan was in the interest of Asia in particular and the world in general.
The Japanese indusetry leaders said promoting tourism could play a major role in expanding Indo-Japanese cooperation.
While about 14 million Japanese tourists visit China every year, the Japanese going to India are not even ten per cent of this, they said.
According to them, lack of information, absence of regular flights and lack of facilities were some of the reasons for this.
They suggested a better performance by India and extension of facilities to visit Buddhist centres like Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.
They wanted more it professionals from India to come to Japan, software engineers in the field of conversion from analog to digital and similar areas.
They also offered to set up an Indo-Japanese IT institute to combine the capabilities of the two countries in this field.
They said Indian it development was West-oriented and this should change.
They also suggested that Japanese language be made a subject in the Indian schools.
In a bid to speed up cooperation, a permanenet office of the Indian private industry should be set up in Japan, they said.
The Japanese industry leaders said they were ready to host more Indian professionals to Japan.
They also suggested setting up an advanced research centre by the two countries.
Other suggestions included initiatives by placement firms to recruit more Indians for Japan and strengthening of security dialogue for strategic relations.
The Japanese businessmen who participated in the meeting included Mr Toru Arakawa, President, Access Company Ltd, Mr Hiroshi Fujiwara, President, Internet Research Institute, Mr Hideo Sawada, President, HIC Co Ltd.
Mr Yuji Inouse, Senior Director, NTT Data Corporation, Mr Koichi Suzuki, President, Internet Initiative Co, Mr Akinobu Kanagusi, Director, NEC Co Ltd, Mr Kouji Ohboshi, Chairman, NTT Docomo Inc.
and Mr Yoshimi Ishikawa, a writer.
Later, Indias ambassador Aftab Seth hosted a reception in the Prime Ministers honour.
A large number of Japanese leaders attended the reception.
Kazakhstan, US stress partnership, disagree on oil ASTANA, Dec 9 (Reuters) The United States and Kazakhstan today stressed their strategic partnership in fighting international terrorism, but agreed to differ on the issue of pipeline routes to export Kazakh oil to western markets.
"We had a further discussion of all the issues that define the structure of our strategic partnership and relationship," US Secretary of State Colin Powell said after meeting Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev.
"We did focus on the campaign against terrorism, especially the campaign in Afghanistan," Powell told a news conference in the countrys capital Astana.
Ending a two-day visit to the central Asian country with Uzbekistan one of two he visited at the weekend Powell thanked Kazakhstan for its backing of the U.S.-led anti-terrorist coalition.
The vast country gave military support in the form of overflight clearances and offered Washington use of its bases.
Powell later left Kazakhstan on a 3-1/2 hour flight to Moscow where he will meet Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday.
"The horrible events of September 11...have brought our countries closer in understanding the need of fighting terrorism together," Nazarbayev said.
"From the very first day, Kazakhstan declared it would be in a coalition fighting terrorism and would help with all the forces it has at its disposal.
We are keeping our word today." Nazarbayev said his huge, resource-rich nation of 15 million was ready to work with the United States in rebuilding post-war Afghanistan.
Powell thanked him for offering Kazakh facilities, bases and technical staff for humanitarian operations.
Kazakhstan does not border Afghanistan.
The two sides however disagreed on pipeline routes to take Kazakhstans oil to western markets.
Powell, who said Kazakhstans crude was becoming of "critical importance" in meeting western energy demands in the next few years, said Washington preferred two oil export routes in the region.
One is the Caspian pipeline consortiums pipe from western Kazakhstan to Russias black sea port of Novorossiisk.
The multinational 2.5 billion dollar, 1,530 kilometre pipeline was officially opened last month.
The second one, which is in the planning stages, will run from Azerbaijans capital Baku to Ceyhan on Turkeys Mediterranean coast, crossing only U.S.-friendly states.
Powell made clear that a certain rapprochement between the United States and Iran after the September 11 attacks on U.S.
cities had not changed Washingtons critical attitude towards a more cost-effective, possible third route which would take crude exports via Iran.
"The two pipeline projects...Seem to me to indicate that there will be stability with respect to supply of fuel...And I see nothing in the post-September 11 that suggests that we should rethink that," Powell said.
Nazarbayev, who said he backed the Baku-Ceyhan route, said oil investors working in Kazakhstan considered crude shipments to the gulf across Iran to be "most advantageous".
"I think the secretary of state has deliberately avoided this issue so as not to provoke additional questions," Nazarbayev quipped.
Powell smiled but did not retort.
Nazarbayev said crude exports to consumers worldwide remained a "burning" issue for his landlocked country which plans to start developing the giant Kashagan offshore field in the Caspian in 2005.
He said Kazakhstan would be able to export annually 150 million tonnes of crude from 2015.
At the same time, the country would consume just 20 million tonnes of oil a year, he added.
About us | Advertisers | Other Publications | Subscriptions | Advertising Weather | Letters | Search | Suggestions | Send Mail | Vaishnodevi ________________________________________________________ (c) 1998, The Kashmir Times Press Pvt.
Ltd., Residency Road, Jammu Tawi.