Investigators say twojihadist groups, including a homegrown terroristorganization, are behind the Mumbai bombings.
By By Sudip Mazumdar, Zahid Hussain and Ron Moreau | NEWSWEEK
Jul 24, 2006 Issue
Recommended (6) Mail Call: Free the Burmese
Mail Call: A Crisis of Faith
Back to Square One?
Perspectives
Opinion: A Cause for Comfort
Terror on The Tracks
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India
Al Qaeda
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They seem to have drawn little notice as they squeezed aboard the packed first-class carriages. Most passengers were concentrating on getting home from a long, rainy Tuesday at the office in India's financial center, Mumbai. The men placed their duffel bags and metal lunchboxes on the overhead luggage racks, and then, apparently, pushed their way off again, unnoticed--until 6:24 p.m., when the explosions began. Within 11 minutes, bombs had ripped through seven suburb-bound commuter trains on the same rail line. The blasts left 197 passengers and crew dead or dying and 800 others injured.
Police investigators are convinced they know who was behind the Madrid-style bombings. Only two terrorist organizations in the region have the skills and resources for such a massive, coordinated attack--and this, police believe, was a joint operation by both networks. One alleged partner is Lashkar-i-Taiba, a Kashmiri separatist group that has been outlawed since 2002 in Pakistan, the country where it began 16 years ago. The other group is the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), a homegrown jihadist outfit that is spreading rapidly among disaffected young Muslims across much of India. Both groups are denying any involvement, but police say evidence against them is piling up.
The authorities released photos of three bearded young men in connection with the attacks. Police said one of the men was the fugitive ringleader of a dozen alleged SIMI operatives who were arrested two months ago in Aurangabad, some 350 kilometers east of Mumbai. In the course of that sweep, police seized dozens of AK-47 automatic rifles, crates of ammunition and more than 45 kilograms of RDX, a military-grade explosive. The arrests had resulted from an investigation that began earlier this year after cops apprehended a pair of suspected Lashkar operatives getting off a train in downtown Mumbai. Police said the two men were found with one kilogram of RDX.
The two organizations are united by the same wild-eyed cause: bringing the entire Subcontinent back under Muslim rule for the first time since the 19th century. As followers of a harshly intolerant strain of Saudi-style Wahhabi Islam, they reject any notion of majority rule in a land where "polytheist infidel" Hindus outnumber Muslims. The Lashkar-SIMI partnership has been growing for several years, and in the past year or so Indian police believe that the two groups have collaborated on a series of attacks, including the bombing of a temple this March in Hinduism's holiest city, Varanasi, and the October bombing of two New Delhi markets, killing more than 60. After the Varanasi blast, Indian police arrested a rabid anti-Hindu mullah, named Waliullah, who led investigators to several other militants belonging to extremist groups linked to Lashkar and SIMI.
The Indian government banned SIMI in 2001, but it continues to operate and grow, according to investigators. Indian police think SIMI may have 500 hard-core members and as many as 20,000 sympathizers who can be relied on for assistance and shelter. The group is said to have a sizable following in Maharashtra state, where Mumbai is located, as well as in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, which have significant Muslim populations. With SIMI's support, Lashkar's fighters can now operate deep inside India without a lifeline to Pakistan's side of the border.
That development has raised new fears of international terrorism on Indian soil. B. Raman, a former senior Indian intelligence official, says analysts this year have detected a Qaeda interest in disaffected Indian Muslims. "Al Qaeda is now trying to take advantage of Muslim anger for its Pan-Islamic and anti-U.S. objectives," he warns. Lashkar has always denied any ties to Al Qaeda, but their common agenda of Islamic supremacy has brought them closer together. Both Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, have lambasted Hindu India for its growing ties with America. Last week a man purporting to be a spokesman for Al Qaeda expressed "gratitude" for the bombings and said the terrorist group had established a unit in India-controlled Kashmir. If true, that is an ominous portent.
© 2006
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
8 slayings, 2 states —1 suspect caught
Ax may have been the weaponThe Midwest was on high alert for Nicholas Sheley (left), believed to be involved in killings in four towns, until his arrest at a Downstate bar
.An intense manhunt for the "armed and dangerous" suspect in a murderous rampage that claimed eight lives across Illinois and into Missouri concluded quietly Tuesday night when Nicholas Troy Sheley stepped outside a bar to smoke and was taken into custody by police in the southwest Illinois town of Granite City.
The arrest ended a day of alarm in the Midwest as police in Rock Falls, Ill., investigated the killings of two men, a woman and a child, while police in Festus, Mo., tried to make sense of the bloody slayings of a visiting couple from Arkansas. Also killed in the spree were men in the western Illinois towns of Sterling and Galesburg.
At about 7 p.m., a disheveled Sheley happened into a nearly empty Granite City tavern called Bindy's that is frequented by off-duty police, said Bill Watson, 55, the bar owner. Sheley looked nervous, disoriented and shaky, Watson said, "not our usual clientele."
Two regular customers—Gary Range and Samantha Butler—and bartender Jennifer Lloyd immediately recognized him, said Watson, who also was in the bar. Just before Sheley arrived, they had been watching television coverage of the slayings that featured Sheley's mug shot, Watson said.
Afraid of alerting Sheley that they knew who he was, Range quietly stepped outside and flagged down nearby police officers, who were searching for the suspect, Watson said. Soon after Range returned, Sheley tried to light a cigarette and was sent outside to smoke.
"That's the first time the smoking law [has] done us any good," Watson said. "He went outside to smoke, and that's when the police caught him."
In a statement Tuesday, the FBI said all eight victims were killed by "blunt force trauma" to the head. A law-enforcement source said an ax was used in one or more of the homicides, and that method led authorities to begin linking the crimes.
Authorities say the rampage began June 14, when they allege that Sheley, a construction worker in the Sterling area, broke into the home of an elderly woman in Sterling and forced her to write him checks. Police issued an arrest warrant for Sheley and began searching for him but were unsuccessful, federal authorities said Tuesday.
Friends and relatives of Sheley's said he had been battling drug and alcohol addiction. And authorities said Sheley spent part of his time after June 14 buying drugs in Chicago.
Sheley is suspected of killing the first person, 93-year-old Russell Reed of Sterling, around June 23, Whiteside County law-enforcement sources say. At a court hearing Tuesday in Whiteside County, testimony indicated that Sheley's brother, Josh, allegedly contacted an acquaintance, Jenna B. Henson, on June 24 and asked her to park Reed's 2003 Buick Century in her driveway. Testimony also indicated that on the next day, Josh Sheley and Henson, both of Sterling, drove with Nicholas Sheley to Chicago, allegedly to dispose of evidence from Reed's slaying. Last Thursday, authorities found the car with the man's body in the trunk in Henson's driveway.
Authorities have charged Josh Sheley, Henson and Sheley's cousin, Eric A. Smith, 28, with obstructing justice.
At one point Saturday, Nicholas Sheley was in Iowa and called his wife from a rest area between Davenport and Bettendorf, an FBI affidavit said. Saturday also was the last day the four Rock Falls victims and the Galesburg victim were seen alive.
Early Monday, authorities responding to a request for a well-being check at the Rock Falls apartment found the bodies of two men, a woman and a boy. Authorities identified them as Brock Branson, 29, and Kenneth Ulve Jr., 25, both of Rock Falls; Branson's fiance, Kilynna Blake, 20, until recently of Cedar City, Utah; and Dayan Blake, Kilynna Blake's 2-year-old son from a previous relationship.
Also on Monday, the body of Ronald A. Randall, a 65-year-old retiree, was found behind a grocery store in Galesburg. The Galesburg Police Department obtained an arrest warrant Tuesday for Sheley, saying he confronted Randall at a Galesburg car wash Saturday.
The day of those grisly discoveries, police in Festus, south of St. Louis, received a call from the attendant at a Comfort Inn stating that a man had found two small dogs in the parking lot of the hotel, both covered in what appeared to be blood. Later that afternoon, police discovered the bodies of Thomas and Jill Estes, an Arkansas couple who had been visiting the St. Louis area for a graduation and family reunion.
Authorities also recovered Randall's truck in Festus, and they said Sheley's fingerprints were inside.
Tuesday morning, police in tactical gear searched a Collinsville, Ill., apartment building for Sheley, but were unable to locate him.
After Sheley was arrested Tuesday night in Granite City, just north of St. Louis, authorities in Whiteside County issued an arrest warrant for Sheley in connection with the slaying of Reed.
In Galesburg, friends gathered at Randall's modest one-story home Tuesday afternoon, where his collection of lighthouse statues is scattered throughout the yard. Randall worked for 30 years at the town's Maytag factory, retiring in 2004 when the plant shut down, co-workers said. His sister and daughter still live in the area.
"He was just the nicest guy," said Connie Clague, his former supervisor, as tears welled in her eyes. "What terrifies me the most is I know Ronnie. He must have been scared to death."
Pat Randall described her brother as kind-hearted.
"It was just the wrong place at the wrong time," she said of her brother's suspected brush with Sheley.
Granite City Police Chief Richard Miller said Sheley was arrested without incident. Sheley will be held in Granite City until Wednesday, when officials will decide where he will be sent.
James Kimberly reported from Sterling, with James Janega in Chicago. Tribune reporters Gerry Smith in Sterling, Emma Graves Fitzsimmons in Galesburg and Ted Gregory and Azam Ahmed in Chicago and freelance writer Bill Bryan in Granite City contributed to this report.
.An intense manhunt for the "armed and dangerous" suspect in a murderous rampage that claimed eight lives across Illinois and into Missouri concluded quietly Tuesday night when Nicholas Troy Sheley stepped outside a bar to smoke and was taken into custody by police in the southwest Illinois town of Granite City.
The arrest ended a day of alarm in the Midwest as police in Rock Falls, Ill., investigated the killings of two men, a woman and a child, while police in Festus, Mo., tried to make sense of the bloody slayings of a visiting couple from Arkansas. Also killed in the spree were men in the western Illinois towns of Sterling and Galesburg.
At about 7 p.m., a disheveled Sheley happened into a nearly empty Granite City tavern called Bindy's that is frequented by off-duty police, said Bill Watson, 55, the bar owner. Sheley looked nervous, disoriented and shaky, Watson said, "not our usual clientele."
Two regular customers—Gary Range and Samantha Butler—and bartender Jennifer Lloyd immediately recognized him, said Watson, who also was in the bar. Just before Sheley arrived, they had been watching television coverage of the slayings that featured Sheley's mug shot, Watson said.
Afraid of alerting Sheley that they knew who he was, Range quietly stepped outside and flagged down nearby police officers, who were searching for the suspect, Watson said. Soon after Range returned, Sheley tried to light a cigarette and was sent outside to smoke.
"That's the first time the smoking law [has] done us any good," Watson said. "He went outside to smoke, and that's when the police caught him."
In a statement Tuesday, the FBI said all eight victims were killed by "blunt force trauma" to the head. A law-enforcement source said an ax was used in one or more of the homicides, and that method led authorities to begin linking the crimes.
Authorities say the rampage began June 14, when they allege that Sheley, a construction worker in the Sterling area, broke into the home of an elderly woman in Sterling and forced her to write him checks. Police issued an arrest warrant for Sheley and began searching for him but were unsuccessful, federal authorities said Tuesday.
Friends and relatives of Sheley's said he had been battling drug and alcohol addiction. And authorities said Sheley spent part of his time after June 14 buying drugs in Chicago.
Sheley is suspected of killing the first person, 93-year-old Russell Reed of Sterling, around June 23, Whiteside County law-enforcement sources say. At a court hearing Tuesday in Whiteside County, testimony indicated that Sheley's brother, Josh, allegedly contacted an acquaintance, Jenna B. Henson, on June 24 and asked her to park Reed's 2003 Buick Century in her driveway. Testimony also indicated that on the next day, Josh Sheley and Henson, both of Sterling, drove with Nicholas Sheley to Chicago, allegedly to dispose of evidence from Reed's slaying. Last Thursday, authorities found the car with the man's body in the trunk in Henson's driveway.
Authorities have charged Josh Sheley, Henson and Sheley's cousin, Eric A. Smith, 28, with obstructing justice.
At one point Saturday, Nicholas Sheley was in Iowa and called his wife from a rest area between Davenport and Bettendorf, an FBI affidavit said. Saturday also was the last day the four Rock Falls victims and the Galesburg victim were seen alive.
Early Monday, authorities responding to a request for a well-being check at the Rock Falls apartment found the bodies of two men, a woman and a boy. Authorities identified them as Brock Branson, 29, and Kenneth Ulve Jr., 25, both of Rock Falls; Branson's fiance, Kilynna Blake, 20, until recently of Cedar City, Utah; and Dayan Blake, Kilynna Blake's 2-year-old son from a previous relationship.
Also on Monday, the body of Ronald A. Randall, a 65-year-old retiree, was found behind a grocery store in Galesburg. The Galesburg Police Department obtained an arrest warrant Tuesday for Sheley, saying he confronted Randall at a Galesburg car wash Saturday.
The day of those grisly discoveries, police in Festus, south of St. Louis, received a call from the attendant at a Comfort Inn stating that a man had found two small dogs in the parking lot of the hotel, both covered in what appeared to be blood. Later that afternoon, police discovered the bodies of Thomas and Jill Estes, an Arkansas couple who had been visiting the St. Louis area for a graduation and family reunion.
Authorities also recovered Randall's truck in Festus, and they said Sheley's fingerprints were inside.
Tuesday morning, police in tactical gear searched a Collinsville, Ill., apartment building for Sheley, but were unable to locate him.
After Sheley was arrested Tuesday night in Granite City, just north of St. Louis, authorities in Whiteside County issued an arrest warrant for Sheley in connection with the slaying of Reed.
In Galesburg, friends gathered at Randall's modest one-story home Tuesday afternoon, where his collection of lighthouse statues is scattered throughout the yard. Randall worked for 30 years at the town's Maytag factory, retiring in 2004 when the plant shut down, co-workers said. His sister and daughter still live in the area.
"He was just the nicest guy," said Connie Clague, his former supervisor, as tears welled in her eyes. "What terrifies me the most is I know Ronnie. He must have been scared to death."
Pat Randall described her brother as kind-hearted.
"It was just the wrong place at the wrong time," she said of her brother's suspected brush with Sheley.
Granite City Police Chief Richard Miller said Sheley was arrested without incident. Sheley will be held in Granite City until Wednesday, when officials will decide where he will be sent.
James Kimberly reported from Sterling, with James Janega in Chicago. Tribune reporters Gerry Smith in Sterling, Emma Graves Fitzsimmons in Galesburg and Ted Gregory and Azam Ahmed in Chicago and freelance writer Bill Bryan in Granite City contributed to this report.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Karat blames PM for political crisis
CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat today squarely blamed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the prevailing political crisis saying his "renewed bid" to go to the IAEA to seek its approval for the safeguards agreement to operationalise the Indo-US nuclear deal was the main reason for it.
In an article in the latest issue of the CPI(M) party organ "People's Democracy" Karat said that there was actually no time table set for the deal, except that of President Bush ending tenure at the White House. "It is this schedule set out by the United States which is impelling the Prime Minister to go ahead regardless of the consequences," the CPI(M) leader said.
Karat said the reason for such urgency was "the insistence of the Bush Administration that India complete the procedures for the safeguards agreement with the IAEA so that the Americans can take the step of formally initiating the process in the Nuclear Suppliers Group to get the waiver for nuclear trade with India."
"President Bush wants to ensure in the last few discredited months of his presidency that at least the Indo-US nuclear deal will remain as a legacy to be taken up by the next President. This will have some certainty if the NSG clearance is got before his term expires," he said.
Karat, who has been holding parleys with Left, UNPA, Congress and UPA leaders on the issue, said: "the tactics adopted (by the government) has been to try and get the Left to agree piecemeal to a step by step operationalisation of the 123 agreement."
He said it was "a fact that consultation process in the NSG has already been initiated by the US. In September 2007, the Bush Administration presented a pre-decisional draft titled 'Submission of Civilian Nuclear Cooperation with India' to an informal meeting of the NSG."
"It is learnt that a revised note has been submitted subsequently," Karat said, adding that the NSG was awaiting the IAEA clearance to start the procedure. "The way it will go will be that the US would make a request formally for an exemption," he quoted former NSG Chairman Abdul S Minty as saying.
Maintaining that the UPA side was trying to convince the Left that IAEA approval would pave the way for nuclear cooperation with Russia and France, Karat said "nothing can be further from truth."
"In February, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns had categorically stated that the US would not get the NSG waiver for India in a "worst case scenario of the 123 agreement being bypassed and India trying to engage in nuclear commerce with other countries," said Karat.
"So that 'passport' which is being sought can be nothing but an American passport," Karat said. Observing that the government and the Congress were fully aware that Left would not be party to them trying to push the deal "through a strategic alliance with the US," he reiterated that there could be "no compromise" on the issue.
In an article in the latest issue of the CPI(M) party organ "People's Democracy" Karat said that there was actually no time table set for the deal, except that of President Bush ending tenure at the White House. "It is this schedule set out by the United States which is impelling the Prime Minister to go ahead regardless of the consequences," the CPI(M) leader said.
Karat said the reason for such urgency was "the insistence of the Bush Administration that India complete the procedures for the safeguards agreement with the IAEA so that the Americans can take the step of formally initiating the process in the Nuclear Suppliers Group to get the waiver for nuclear trade with India."
"President Bush wants to ensure in the last few discredited months of his presidency that at least the Indo-US nuclear deal will remain as a legacy to be taken up by the next President. This will have some certainty if the NSG clearance is got before his term expires," he said.
Karat, who has been holding parleys with Left, UNPA, Congress and UPA leaders on the issue, said: "the tactics adopted (by the government) has been to try and get the Left to agree piecemeal to a step by step operationalisation of the 123 agreement."
He said it was "a fact that consultation process in the NSG has already been initiated by the US. In September 2007, the Bush Administration presented a pre-decisional draft titled 'Submission of Civilian Nuclear Cooperation with India' to an informal meeting of the NSG."
"It is learnt that a revised note has been submitted subsequently," Karat said, adding that the NSG was awaiting the IAEA clearance to start the procedure. "The way it will go will be that the US would make a request formally for an exemption," he quoted former NSG Chairman Abdul S Minty as saying.
Maintaining that the UPA side was trying to convince the Left that IAEA approval would pave the way for nuclear cooperation with Russia and France, Karat said "nothing can be further from truth."
"In February, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns had categorically stated that the US would not get the NSG waiver for India in a "worst case scenario of the 123 agreement being bypassed and India trying to engage in nuclear commerce with other countries," said Karat.
"So that 'passport' which is being sought can be nothing but an American passport," Karat said. Observing that the government and the Congress were fully aware that Left would not be party to them trying to push the deal "through a strategic alliance with the US," he reiterated that there could be "no compromise" on the issue.
Oil rises to $142 for the first time
Crude oil rose to a record above $142 a barrel in New York on Friday and gold advanced as falling stock markets spurred investment in commodities.
Oil has gained 47 percent this year, headed for the biggest six-month gain since 1999, as recession concerns have pushed the MSCI World Index of global equity markets down 12 percent. Oil may rise further if the European Central Bank raises rates on July 3, further weakening the U.S. dollar, traders said.
"It's a combination of equities underperforming and pricing in some further risk on what the ECB will do next week," said Oliver Jakob, managing director of Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland. Trading volumes are so low that price movements are being exaggerated, he said.
Crude oil for August delivery rose as much as $2.62 a barrel, or 1.9 percent, to $142.26 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $141.95 at 12:31 p.m. London time.
On Thursday the contract rose $5.09, or 3.8 percent, to $139.64 a barrel, a record settlement price, as Libya threatened to cut output and the president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said prices may reach between $150 and $170 within months.
Multimedia
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Stocks sag worldwide as oil price surges
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Oil rises to $142 for the first time
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Many of the companies most reliant on oil, like airlines and refiners, are having to buy futures now after waiting earlier in the year in the expectation of lower prices, said Gerrit Zambo, an oil trader for BayernLB in Munich.
"In the first months of this year consumers were waiting, but now they've reached a painful limit and have no choice but to hedge," Zambo said. "The costs put so much pressure on the companies and they have no choice."
The doubling of prices in the last year is "a blessing in disguise" for Asian economies and currencies, according to Stephen Jen, chief currency strategist at Morgan Stanley in London. High transport costs will force the region to become less reliant on exports and more on local demand, Jen said in a report Thursday.
Gold headed for a second weekly gain as the dollar weakened, increasing the appeal of the metal as a hedge against inflation and an alternative investment to the U.S. currency. Gold for immediate delivery rose $5.17, or 0.6 percent, to $922.47 an ounce as of 11:39 a.m. in London.
The MSCI World Index lost 1.8 percent to 1,403.36 at 10:37 a.m. in London as 8 of the 10 industry groups retreated.
The U.S. dollar was 0.2 percent lower at $1.5757 against the euro, and 0.6 percent weaker versus the Japanese currency at 106.33 per yen at 11:37 a.m. London time.
Brent crude oil rose as much as $2.30, or 1.6 percent, to a record $142.13 on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract traded at $141.74 a barrel at 12:31 p.m
Oil has gained 47 percent this year, headed for the biggest six-month gain since 1999, as recession concerns have pushed the MSCI World Index of global equity markets down 12 percent. Oil may rise further if the European Central Bank raises rates on July 3, further weakening the U.S. dollar, traders said.
"It's a combination of equities underperforming and pricing in some further risk on what the ECB will do next week," said Oliver Jakob, managing director of Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland. Trading volumes are so low that price movements are being exaggerated, he said.
Crude oil for August delivery rose as much as $2.62 a barrel, or 1.9 percent, to $142.26 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $141.95 at 12:31 p.m. London time.
On Thursday the contract rose $5.09, or 3.8 percent, to $139.64 a barrel, a record settlement price, as Libya threatened to cut output and the president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said prices may reach between $150 and $170 within months.
Multimedia
Interactive Graphic: World Markets
» View
Related Articles
Stocks sag worldwide as oil price surges
Today in Business with Reuters
Oil rises to $142 for the first time
Gloom descends over Wall Street again
Japan annual inflation hits decade high in May
Many of the companies most reliant on oil, like airlines and refiners, are having to buy futures now after waiting earlier in the year in the expectation of lower prices, said Gerrit Zambo, an oil trader for BayernLB in Munich.
"In the first months of this year consumers were waiting, but now they've reached a painful limit and have no choice but to hedge," Zambo said. "The costs put so much pressure on the companies and they have no choice."
The doubling of prices in the last year is "a blessing in disguise" for Asian economies and currencies, according to Stephen Jen, chief currency strategist at Morgan Stanley in London. High transport costs will force the region to become less reliant on exports and more on local demand, Jen said in a report Thursday.
Gold headed for a second weekly gain as the dollar weakened, increasing the appeal of the metal as a hedge against inflation and an alternative investment to the U.S. currency. Gold for immediate delivery rose $5.17, or 0.6 percent, to $922.47 an ounce as of 11:39 a.m. in London.
The MSCI World Index lost 1.8 percent to 1,403.36 at 10:37 a.m. in London as 8 of the 10 industry groups retreated.
The U.S. dollar was 0.2 percent lower at $1.5757 against the euro, and 0.6 percent weaker versus the Japanese currency at 106.33 per yen at 11:37 a.m. London time.
Brent crude oil rose as much as $2.30, or 1.6 percent, to a record $142.13 on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract traded at $141.74 a barrel at 12:31 p.m
North Korea destroys nuclear reactor tower
North Korea destroyed the most visible symbol of its nuclear weapons program Friday, blasting apart the cooling tower at its main atomic reactor in a sign of its commitment to stop making plutonium for atomic bombs.
An explosion at the base of the cylindrical structure sent the tower collapsing into a cloud of white and gray smoke that billowed into blue skies as international journalists and diplomats looked on, according to video footage filmed by broadcaster APTN at the site.
The demolition of the 60-foot-tall cooling tower at the North's main reactor complex is a response to U.S. concessions after the North delivered a declaration Thursday of its nuclear programs to be dismantled.
"This is a very important step in the disablement process and I think it puts us in a good position to move into the next phase," said Sung Kim, the U.S. State Department's top expert on the Koreas who attended the demolition. Kim shook hands with a North Korean official following the tower's tumble to the ground.
In its first reaction to the developments this week, North Korea's Foreign Ministry welcomed Washington's decision to take the country off the U.S. trade and sanctions blacklists.
"The U.S. measure should lead to a complete and all-out withdrawal of its hostile policy toward (the North) so that the denuclearization process can proceed smoothly," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The symbolic tower explosion came just 20 months after Pyongyang shocked the world by detonating a nuclear bomb in an underground test to confirm its status as an atomic power. The nuclear blast spurred an about-face in the U.S. hard-line policy against Pyongyang, leading to the North's first steps to scale back its nuclear weapons development since the reactor became operational in 1986.
Last year, the North switched off the reactor at Yongbyon, some 60 miles north of the capital of Pyongyang, and it already has begun disabling the facility under the watch of U.S. experts so that it cannot easily be restarted.
The destruction of the cooling tower, which carries off waste heat to the atmosphere, is another step forward but not the most technically significant, because it is a simple piece of equipment that would be easy to rebuild.
Still, the demolition offers the most photogenic moment yet in the disarmament negotiations that have dragged on for more than five years and suffered repeated deadlocks and delays.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the tower's destruction would mark a step toward disablement, something that has been ongoing for many months to prevent the North from making more plutonium for bombs.
"It is important to get North Korea out of the plutonium business, but that will not be the end of the story," she said in Kyoto, Japan, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized countries.
North Korea's nuclear declaration, which was delivered six months later than the country promised and has not yet been released publicly, is said to only give the overall figure for how much plutonium was produced at Yongbyon — but no details of bombs that may have been made.
Experts believe the North has produced up to 110 pounds of weapons-grade plutonium, enough for as many as 10 nuclear bombs.
The declaration was being distributed Friday by China, the chair of the arms talks, to the other countries involved, U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said.
"We'll have to study it very carefully and then we'll have to work on verification," Hill said in Kyoto.
The declaration does not address the North's alleged uranium enrichment program or suspicions of its nuclear proliferation to other countries, such as Syria
An explosion at the base of the cylindrical structure sent the tower collapsing into a cloud of white and gray smoke that billowed into blue skies as international journalists and diplomats looked on, according to video footage filmed by broadcaster APTN at the site.
The demolition of the 60-foot-tall cooling tower at the North's main reactor complex is a response to U.S. concessions after the North delivered a declaration Thursday of its nuclear programs to be dismantled.
"This is a very important step in the disablement process and I think it puts us in a good position to move into the next phase," said Sung Kim, the U.S. State Department's top expert on the Koreas who attended the demolition. Kim shook hands with a North Korean official following the tower's tumble to the ground.
In its first reaction to the developments this week, North Korea's Foreign Ministry welcomed Washington's decision to take the country off the U.S. trade and sanctions blacklists.
"The U.S. measure should lead to a complete and all-out withdrawal of its hostile policy toward (the North) so that the denuclearization process can proceed smoothly," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The symbolic tower explosion came just 20 months after Pyongyang shocked the world by detonating a nuclear bomb in an underground test to confirm its status as an atomic power. The nuclear blast spurred an about-face in the U.S. hard-line policy against Pyongyang, leading to the North's first steps to scale back its nuclear weapons development since the reactor became operational in 1986.
Last year, the North switched off the reactor at Yongbyon, some 60 miles north of the capital of Pyongyang, and it already has begun disabling the facility under the watch of U.S. experts so that it cannot easily be restarted.
The destruction of the cooling tower, which carries off waste heat to the atmosphere, is another step forward but not the most technically significant, because it is a simple piece of equipment that would be easy to rebuild.
Still, the demolition offers the most photogenic moment yet in the disarmament negotiations that have dragged on for more than five years and suffered repeated deadlocks and delays.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the tower's destruction would mark a step toward disablement, something that has been ongoing for many months to prevent the North from making more plutonium for bombs.
"It is important to get North Korea out of the plutonium business, but that will not be the end of the story," she said in Kyoto, Japan, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized countries.
North Korea's nuclear declaration, which was delivered six months later than the country promised and has not yet been released publicly, is said to only give the overall figure for how much plutonium was produced at Yongbyon — but no details of bombs that may have been made.
Experts believe the North has produced up to 110 pounds of weapons-grade plutonium, enough for as many as 10 nuclear bombs.
The declaration was being distributed Friday by China, the chair of the arms talks, to the other countries involved, U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said.
"We'll have to study it very carefully and then we'll have to work on verification," Hill said in Kyoto.
The declaration does not address the North's alleged uranium enrichment program or suspicions of its nuclear proliferation to other countries, such as Syria
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
INDIAN SHARE MARKET
Wednesday, Jun 25, 2008 Updated 12:26 IST
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Home
Stocks
Mutual Funds
Futures & Options
Commodities
Global Markets
My Portfolio
Markets » Home
SENSEX 14120.33
13.75 0.10%
NIFTY 4216.25
25.15 0.60%
CNX BANK 5456.35
-33.50 -0.61%
CNX IT 4067.50
-41.45 -1.01%
CNXMCAP 5561.45
-2.45 -0.04%
CNX 500 3373.95
14.90 0.44%
NSE Gainers
NSE Losers
Market
Sensex | Nifty
Top Performers: Sensex
Top Gainers Top Losers
Company Price % Ch
SPICETELE 71.05 30.73
DCHL 120.65 5.93
CONCOR 794.00 5.87
GECALSTHOM 1286.50 4.57
CENTURYTEX 563.00 4.31
Company Price % Ch
IBREALEST 329.00 -7.89
PHOENIXLTD 192.95 -6.15
JAICORPLTD 336.45 -5.00
AIRDECCAN 80.00 -4.71
ESSARSHIP 101.00 -4.45
Stock Tips
CLSA sets a Buy on Hindalco
Citi sets Buy on Everest Kanto Cylinders
CLSA sets an outperform on Nalco
CLSA sets BUY on Cairn India
Merrill Lynch sets SELL on MM
Mutual Funds : Top Performers
Equity - Diversified 6 mth 1 yr 3 yr
DSP ML Small And Mid Cap ... 25.66 0.00 0.00
ICICI Pru Equity & De... 9.73 14.15 0.00
ICICI Pru Equity & De... 9.67 16.98 0.00
HDFC Arbitrage Fund - WP ... 5.05 0.00 0.00
HDFC Arbitrage Fund (Div-... 4.86 0.00 0.00
Global Markets
Index Last Change
NASDAQ 2368.28 -17.46 (-0.73%)
DJIA 11807.43 -34.93 (-0.29%)
NIKKEI 13820.98 -28.58 (-0.21%)
FTSE 5634.70 -32.50 (-0.57%)
SENSEX 14120.33 13.75 (0.10%)
NIFTY 4216.25 25.15 (0.60%)
Most Active: Sensex
Top Gainers
Company Price Volume % Chg
SPICETELE 71.05 34197450 30.73
RNRL 74.95 5549951 -1.19
IFCI 44.20 5096959 0.57
RPL 166.20 5080091 1.47
ISPATIND 24.40 4817243 0.21
Corporate Announcements
Binani Industries clarifies on news item
Binani Industries clarifies on news item
Birla Kennametal - Outcome of AGM
Odyssey Technologies - Outcome of AGM
Commodities : MCX
Top Gainers Top Losers
CFI 2025.00
NICKEL 930.00
CRUDEOIL 5864.00
CARDAMOM 607.50
CRUDEOIL 5869.00
LEAD 80.00
KAPASKHALI 455.00
ZINC 83.10
KAPASKHALI 438.40
LEAD 78.75
Top Stories
Stocks MF F&O Commodities
Market drops as data fans economic fears
Nikkei dips 0.5%, blue chips down
Euro mkts end lower on US economic woes
'India' firms AIM mkt cap crosses $6bn
Markets might see technical rally: IL&FS
10-15% correction likely: Chirnside
100-150pt rally likely in Nifty: Somesh
More
Business Quotient Quiz
How well do you know your business? Take this quiz and put your gyaan to test
Investor Quotient Quiz
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Millionaire Dreams
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Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Bill Clinton backs Obama, but that doesn't mean they're bosom buddies
Former President Clinton on Tuesday offered to help Barack Obama win the White House, although what work he'll do for his wife's former rival remained uncertain.
The Obama campaign is still smarting over some of Bill Clinton's criticism in the primary race, while the last Democratic president remains a popular political draw. But before the two can work together, they have to speak.
Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have taken steps to join efforts in the last three weeks — she met with him privately, endorsed his campaign and will campaign with him Friday. But the former Democratic president and the man running to be the next one haven't talked since the campaign ended.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the 42nd president came up in a phone call between Obama and Hillary Clinton on Sunday. They talked about how Obama should connect with Bill Clinton in the future, Burton said.
Bill Clinton extended his support to Obama for the first time Tuesday in a one-sentence statement from spokesman Matt McKenna.
"President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States," McKenna said.
It's not clear what Obama might ask him to do. The campaign wasn't specific when asked.
"A unified Democratic Party is going to be a powerful force for change this year and we're confident President Clinton will play a big role in that," was all Burton would say.
Bill Clinton will not be attending the rally with his wife and Obama Friday in the symbolic town of Unity, N.H. McKenna said the former president is in Europe this week to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, give speeches and work for the William J. Clinton Foundation.
Hillary Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee issued a statement after her husband's that didn't mention him. "Senator Clinton is very pleased with how quickly the party is coming together after the primaries, and she will continue to do everything she can to unite Democrats behind Senator Obama as our nominee," Elleithee said.
Bill Clinton was an outspoken critic of Obama during the primary race. He said Obama's opposition to the Iraq war was a "fairy tale" and raised questions about whether the first-term Illinois senator had the experience to lead the country. His remarks angered some black leaders who felt Clinton was dismissing Obama's historic bid, as when he compared Obama's win in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson's victories there in the 1980s.
Clinton fumed in response that it was Obama's campaign that "played the race card on me."
The Obama campaign is still smarting over some of Bill Clinton's criticism in the primary race, while the last Democratic president remains a popular political draw. But before the two can work together, they have to speak.
Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have taken steps to join efforts in the last three weeks — she met with him privately, endorsed his campaign and will campaign with him Friday. But the former Democratic president and the man running to be the next one haven't talked since the campaign ended.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the 42nd president came up in a phone call between Obama and Hillary Clinton on Sunday. They talked about how Obama should connect with Bill Clinton in the future, Burton said.
Bill Clinton extended his support to Obama for the first time Tuesday in a one-sentence statement from spokesman Matt McKenna.
"President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States," McKenna said.
It's not clear what Obama might ask him to do. The campaign wasn't specific when asked.
"A unified Democratic Party is going to be a powerful force for change this year and we're confident President Clinton will play a big role in that," was all Burton would say.
Bill Clinton will not be attending the rally with his wife and Obama Friday in the symbolic town of Unity, N.H. McKenna said the former president is in Europe this week to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, give speeches and work for the William J. Clinton Foundation.
Hillary Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee issued a statement after her husband's that didn't mention him. "Senator Clinton is very pleased with how quickly the party is coming together after the primaries, and she will continue to do everything she can to unite Democrats behind Senator Obama as our nominee," Elleithee said.
Bill Clinton was an outspoken critic of Obama during the primary race. He said Obama's opposition to the Iraq war was a "fairy tale" and raised questions about whether the first-term Illinois senator had the experience to lead the country. His remarks angered some black leaders who felt Clinton was dismissing Obama's historic bid, as when he compared Obama's win in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson's victories there in the 1980s.
Clinton fumed in response that it was Obama's campaign that "played the race card on me."
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