July 7, 2005	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 29, 1426

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

Africa must promote democracy, fight graft: Bush delivers tough message COPENHAGEN, July 6: US President George W. Bush delivered a tough message for African nations hoping for more aid or debt relief, saying on Wednesday they had to abide by the rules of democracy and fight corruption....		US rejects SCO call for pullout from C. Asia WASHINGTON, July 6: The US State Department has rejected the demand for withdrawing troops from Central Asia, saying that US troops in Afghanistan and neighbouring states would stay for as long as those countries want them to stay....
US revising ‘kill and capture approach’ to push democracy WASHINGTON, July 6: The Bush administration is revising its post-Sept 11 counterterrorism strategy, moving beyond a “kill and capture approach” by pushing Washington’s campaign for democracy and economic reform, officials familiar with the project said....		Pakistan, India ripe for sugar sweetener in trade MUMBAI: Opportunity and necessity may be knocking in the sugar trade between Pakistan and India, which in turn is raising hopes of greater trade between the arch rivals....
Colombo, LTTE trying to defuse ceasefire spat COLOMBO: A Tamil Tiger threat to breach Sri Lanka’s three-year ceasefire because of attacks against its cadres is worrying, but the government and the rebels will likely reach a deal to avoid escalation, observers say....		BD minister concedes corruption in govt DHAKA: Bangladesh’s Finance and Planning Minister M. Saifur Rahman, who blasted the Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International a few months ago for branding Bangladesh the most corrupt country for the fourth...
India wakes up to plight of battered women MUMBAI: Squatting on the floor of a women’s shelter, 33-year-old Swati lifts her blue cotton sari to reveal blackish scars on her disfigured feet. “They held me down and poured kerosene...		Iran asks UN to let it break seals on N-parts VIENNA, July 6: Iran has asked the UN nuclear watchdog to let it temporarily break UN seals on atomic equipment that has been mothballed under an agreement with the EU’s three biggest powers, diplomats said on Wednesday....
US blocking deal on climate: activists GLENEAGLES, July 6: The Group of Eight summit is likely to yield only lacklustre promises on climate change, thanks to hardline tactics by US President George Bush, green activists said here on Wednesday....		New York Times reporter jailed WASHINGTON, July 6: A judge here sent New York Times reporter Judith Miller to prison on Wednesday for refusing to divulge the name of a source to a grand jury probing the leak of the identity of a CIA agent....
BD traders, bureaucrats trade barbs over bribery DHAKA, July 6: Top Bangladesh bureaucrats and business leaders on Tuesday traded sharp verbal exchanges over corruption and inefficiency in each other’s closet. Business leaders said sections of government officials and employees held a significant share of black money....		Sharp fall in forced marriages in BD DHAKA: The number of forced marriages in Muslim-majority Bangladesh has dropped sharply over the past 30 years with most parents now seeking the opinion of their children before a match, a study said Monday....
Naxalites gaining strength in India BAIRGANIA (India): They call it revolution and project themselves as Bihari Robin Hoods committed to protecting peasants. They wilfully kill the “oppressor” — men in khadi and khaki — and do so with a fierceness calculated to shake the establishment....		Landmine awareness campaign in Lanka COLOMBO: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has begun a campaign to raise landmine awareness among farmers in Sri Lanka to avoid an expected upsurge in casualties during the planting season....
G-4 seeks debate on SC expansion UNITED NATIONS, July 6: As the Group of 4 (G-4) comprising Japan, Germany, India and Brazil called for a debate in the UN General Assembly for consideration of their framework resolution...		Threat to kill envoy DUBAI, July 6: The group of Al Qaeda’s frontman in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, threatened on Wednesday to execute the top Egyptian envoy to Iraq after posting pictures of the abducted diplomat’s IDs....
Zarqawi’s ex-mentor arrested in Jordan AMMAN, July 6: The Jordanian authorities have arrested the former mentor of Iraq’s most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a week after releasing him from jail, for making contact with “terrorist” groups, Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Moasher said on Wednesday....		DPRK accused of helping Iran VIENNA, July 6: Recent intelligence reports accuse North Korea of secretly helping Iran develop its nuclear programme, raising fresh concerns about Pyongyang’s nuclear proliferation and Tehran’s atomic intentions....
UN hands over 109 homes to Palestinians UNITED NATIONS, July 6: With the homes of nearly 30,000 people in the Gaza Strip demolished or damaged beyond repair by the Israeli military, the main United Nations agency helping Palestinian...		77 troops lost last month in Iraq: Pentagon WASHINGTON: More than two US soldiers were killed every day in Iraq last month; most were under 25 years of age and they came from all over the United States, according to information provided by the Pentagon....