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India sets sights on cruise missile market By Siddharth Srivastava NEW DELHI - Long considered among the top importing nations for defense hardware, India is now looking to access the fast-growing international market for cruise missiles, considered a lethally efficient weapon. US forces used almost 1,000 such missiles when they first entered Iraq in 2003, and the total worldwide market is expected to be more than US$10 billion in the next decade. An inventory of more than 80,000 such missiles is estimated already to exist around the world. Indian Defense Minister A K Anthony has said New Delhi is holding...

Pakistan has refused US demands to talk to Abdul Qadeer Khan, whose black market network sold nuclear technology to Iran and North Korea The security ring surrounding Abdul Qadeer Khan’s sprawling mansion at the foot of Margalla hills in Islamabad has visibly tightened in recent weeks. Uniformed soldiers with machine guns block all access to the property and scrutinise every passing vehicle. Mr Khan, the "Father" of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, has been under house arrest since February 2004 when he confessed to operating an international bazaar for nuclear technology, and spends his days confined with his Dutch wife, Henny, inside...

New Delhi - At least 10 policemen were killed and six injured in two attacks by Maoists in India's central Chhattisgarh state on Sunday, police said. A group of 60 rebels opened fire at an outpost of Chhatisgarh Shashatra Bal (Chhatisgarh Armed Forces) located in Bijapur district, some 500 kilometres south of state capital Raipur. 'The guerrillas, armed with sophisticated weapons launched a massive attack this morning. Six civilians recruited as special police officers and four Chattisgarh Armed Forces personnel were killed in the attack,' said Ram Rattan, a policeman at the Bijapur control room. Four policemen who were seriously...

India to act tough against Nepal king NEW DELHI: As violence in Nepal escalates and the crackdown on anti-government protesters gets harsher, New Delhi is getting ready to back up strong words with tough steps to push for the restoration of multi-party democracy in the Himalayan kingdom. "We will have to go beyond merely tough talk. If the situation doesn't improve, we will have to take some tough action," a high-level official source said. "We have many levers to call Nepal's king to account. The only problem is that such measures might give some sections in Nepal fodder for...