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KUWAIT CITY (Agencies): Scores of Kuwaitis, including an Islamic culture instructor at the Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences, were recently rounded up by Saudi authorities in the wake of the Riyadh blasts on May 12, a newspaper reported Sunday. Al-Watan quoted Kuwaiti security sources as saying the Saudi authorities are questioning a number of Kuwaitis on their alleged involvement with al-Qaeda organisation. They said tens of Kuwaitis being interrogated include a Kuwaiti instructor, identified only as M.S., who went missing late last month, and entered Saudi Arabia without an exit record at any Kuwaiti border post. Saudi authorities suspecting...

Security agencies have warned of major terrorist offensives in Doda, Rajouri and Poonch areas of Jammu region and Shopian area of Kashmir valley as more than 90 per cent of terrorists hiding in Hil Kaka region are understood to have fled to these regions to escape Army's Operation "Sarp Vinash". According to sources in the Home Ministry, Intelligence agencies have submitted a report stating that several terrorists belonging to Pakistan-based outfits like Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen and Hizbul Mujahideen escaped from Hil Kaka following the Army attack and fled to nearby Darhal, Thana Mandi in Rajouri and areas of Doda...

JAMMU, June 20: Army and police today gunned down four militants in Banihal and apprehended two Pakistanis—one in Nowshera and another in Arnia sector—while the ultras beheaded an ex-serviceman in Surankote in the militancy-related incidents overnight. In two separate explosions, an Army Major and a Lieutenant were among four security personnel injured in Mahore and Samba today, official sources said. They said the troops of 23 Rashtriya Rifles and Banihal police launched a joint operation at village Tiranga in Khari area in Banihal tehsil under the jurisdiction of Ramban police district late last night. Operation was based on a specific...

The United States consul general in Jeddah recently said in this newspaper that now was the time to apply for a US visa for new or renewing Saudi students as it “may take a couple of months.” She made it look like a matter of simple routine, and as though Saudi students were welcome in the US and it was only a matter of time before they received their visa. She must be joking. What Saudi in his right mind would think about studying in the United States these days? The obstacles start with the application process. The wait is...

SRINAGAR, June 19: A self-styled district commander of Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen (JuM) and two Tehreek-e-Jehad (TeJ) ultras were killed, even as a major tragedy was averted with the timely detection of a powerful improvised explosive device weighing 60 kg in Kashmir valley since last night, officials said today. District Commander of JuM, Bilal Ahmad, was killed in an encounter with troops of 33 Rashtriya Rifles in Choornar forest in frontier district of Kupwara today, an official spokesman said. He said two TeJ militants, Mohammad Shafi Khan and Mohammad Yousuf Malik, were killed in a night-long operation in old town area of Baramulla...

<p>Are the Chinese serious about human space flight? Most definitely. And they are interested in doing more than simply going to low Earth orbit. They are headed for the moon. For most of last year, the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry looked at our nation's position relative to our global competition. Clearly, the Europeans are determined to challenge our preeminence in commercial aviation, and the challenge to our leadership in space is coming from the Pacific Rim. The conclusion that the Chinese are engaged in an aggressive space program is my own, based upon the commission's findings, but not included in the panel's final report. What we saw and heard during our year of hearings and investigation convinced me that China intends to be on the moon within a decade and will announce they are there for a permanent stay. An investment of less than 1 percent of their growth revenues over the next decade would provide revenue for a very robust program. When the aerospace commission visited the Russian cosmonaut training facility at Star City, we found a Chinese crew in residence. Since the Chinese space program seems to be basing its technology on Russian equipment, the presence of Chinese in Star City was not all that surprising. But where they were training was. The day we were visiting, the Chinese crew was utilizing the EVA (extra-vehicular activity) building. You do not train for EVAs if you are doing simple orbital missions. EVAs are typically related to space-based construction work. Put the Star City experience together with some direct discussions on the Pacific Rim and the picture becomes clear. Many Japanese space observers are convinced that China has a moon program and that, ultimately, Japan may be drawn into the competition. India already has created its own moon mission, in large part because they are monitoring Chinese space efforts. At my Washington office a few weeks ago, I met with a visiting Japanese parliamentarian who specializes in science and technology issues. I related to him my belief that the Chinese would be on the moon within a decade with a declaration of permanent occupation. He disagreed. He smiled and said my conclusion was accurate but my timing was off. In his view, the Chinese would be on the moon within three to four years. Regardless of who is right about the time frame, and I still believe that even a decade is ambitious, the fact remains that the Chinese are devoting resources and gearing up to do something that we are no longer technologically capable of achieving in the immediate future. We went to the moon, planted our flag, gathered samples, took credit for an amazing achievement in human history and then abandoned the effort. The space technology available to us today could not be used to replicate what we did 35 years ago. For many Americans, our inability to compete in a new moon race will not be important. Been there, done that. But for our strategic thinkers and planners, there are some serious questions that arise from a Chinese moon capability. First, a nation with the technological capacity to do a sustained moon program would have achieved an ability to build, integrate and utilize spacecraft. Without even ascribing any hostile intent to such a capability, our strategic planners would have to acknowledge the profound impact on the balance of power. Second, the Chinese have a long history of undertaking projects designed to enhance their national image. As the second nation ever to land humans on the lunar surface, China would attain international prestige. As the nation that establishes a permanent presence on the moon, the Chinese would have an ongoing international impact. Third, as the nation in position to exploit moon resources, China could leapfrog the world in some important earthbound technologies. Scientists have acknowledged the usefulness of H3 in helping achieve nuclear fusion success. The moon appears to be a large source of naturally occurring H3, a commodity that would be of such value that the transport back to Earth would be economically feasible. So far, there has been little recognition of or concern about the Chinese moon program in U.S. policy circles. But it represents a real challenge to our leadership role in space. Our response to the challenge should be aimed not at another moon program of our own, but the development of technologies that would give us the option of several different missions within a decade. Building new propulsion systems, such as nuclear plasma engines, would provide us with the ability to go back to the moon, but also to go to Mars in a mission taking weeks rather than months. The Chinese moon program appears to be a go whether we get back in the game or not. Space dominance is a 21st-century challenge we dare not refuse. The aerospace commission concluded that stretching our technological reach with new power and propulsion options and developing the capacity to get to low Earth orbit regularly and less expensively would help us hold our space leadership position well into the future.</p>

Speaking to the American Jewish Committee in Washington recently, India’s national security advisor Mr Brajesh Mishra informed the audience that Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is scheduled to visit India in June. Mr Mishra is the leading proponent of a policy of engagement with Israel. While the dates for Mr Sharon’s visit have not been finalized as yet, Indian official sources say the invitation was extended some time ago. If the visit comes through, this will be the first time an Israeli prime minister would be visiting India. Previous high-level Israeli visits to India included the 1996 visit by president...

The fattest speaker at a recent conference on obesity was the anti-fat campaigner Kelly Brownell, who never tires of comparing Ronald McDonald to Joe Camel. If pointing to Brownell's gut or his extra chin seems mean, consider how you would feel about a chain-smoking anti-tobacco activist or a slots-playing anti-gambling crusader. Brownell is not the only portly leader of the fight against obesity. John Banzhaf, the George Washington University law professor who is a conspicuous advocate of suing fast food companies, also could stand to lose more than a few pounds. But according to Brownell, a psychologist who heads Yale's...

Try these for fighting words: "Rumsfeld is a new Hitler" and "Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld are the Axis of Evil" and "Powell is even more stupid and deceitful than Mrs. Madeleine Albright." And they don't come from French antiwar protesters or San Francisco fringe groups, but from the pages of two of the top government-run newspapers in U.S.-allied Egypt. With the State Department signing off every year on American taxpayers' annual $2 billion subsidy to the Egyptian government, the average citizen might think someone in Washington would be leaning on Cairo to stop inciting anti-U.S. hatred through the regime's mouthpieces....

RIYADH: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday agreed to cooperate in combating international terrorism during a daylong visit by President Pervez Musharraf to the oil-rich kingdom. In a one-hour meeting between President Musharraf and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz at the Crown Prince Palace, both the leaders agreed to work more closely against terrorism and also exchanged views on bilateral relations between the two countries. Prince Abdullah said the two countries enjoyed “excellent, brotherly and solid relations”. “They are so good we need not talk about it,” he remarked. Both the leaders also discussed the developments in the...

IT HAS LONG been known that the Bharatiya Janata Party, like its parent Jana Sangh, has a special admiration for the state of Israel, which is rooted deep in its ideology. Over the last five years, it has elevated India-Israel political and military relations to heights never before contemplated. Even so, few people expected the BJP-led government to propose a unique "core" alliance to fight "international terrorism," including India, Israel and the United States. Even more astonishing is its move to invite Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to visit India in the second week of June. Consider the factual record....

A dependence that's so strong it's almost like a narcotic. You don't question the pusher." It may sound like the language of drug addiction, but in fact Robert Baer, a former CIA agent in the Middle East, is describing American dependence on Saudi Arabia and its oil. In "The Fall of the House of Saud" (May Atlantic), Baer details the United States's absolute reliance on oil from a country that is deeply, dangerously unstable. The history of U.S. involvement in Saudi Arabia goes back nearly to that nation's birth. In 1933, a year after the kingdom was declared, the first...

The US Defence Department has recommended viewing India as a strategic partner and selling modern American technology and equipment to ensure inter-operability between the two countries to meet any regional crisis or threats that may loom in the 2020s. The Pentagon recommendation is on the lines of the advice of US ambassador to India, Robert Blackwill. The report "Indo-US Military Relationship, Expectations and Perceptions," said the most promising areas for cooperation are the naval sector and the joint exercises in dense jungles and learning to flush out terrorists out of their hideouts. Prepared by John E Carbaugh, a consultant who...

Any plan that helps to create a terror state cannot be termed a peace plan. The Quartet's Road Map for peace, if implemented "as one package ... and without any changes" will not only ensure the destruction of Israel but will also sow the seeds of an eternal terror. Let's see how? 1) The road map endeavors to create a Palestinian state without first changing the militant ethos of a people. It is a historical fact that Arabs believe in the use of terror to overcome their opponents. A Palestinian state without changing this mind-set will further perpetuate this thinking....

You tease the Lucknow lady at your own peril. With over 572 gun licenses issued to the fairer sex in recent days, you could get hit by a lot worse than just killer looks. Police sources admit there has been a sharp rise in the number of arms licenses issued after the shocking daylight murder of poetess Madhumita Shukla. Fed up by increasing instances of violence in the city, more and more women in the city are looking to defend themselves against potential rapists, thieves and ever-teasers. According to Satyendra Veer Singh, Superintendent of Police (Trans-Gomti area), the number of...

RAJOURI, May 26: In yet another massacre—the second during last 10 days—the militants gunned down all five members of a family including a couple and their three children and set their house on fire at village Seri Khwas in Koteranka area in Budhal, about 75 kms from here, late last night. Police sources here said that a group of six to seven militants intruded into the house of a 30-year old Village Defence Committee (VDC) member Kesar Din son of Nawab Din in remote village Keri Khwas at about 2130 hours last night and shot dead all five family members....

While infiltration may be looking down, acts of terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir have not subsided. This will only happen once the swamps and pits of terrorist infrastructure have been dried and destroyed, permanently and irreversibly. This is easier said than done. The Indian Army early this month launched one of its biggest terrorist hunting operations in recent times in the Surankote forests in a place called Hilkaka on the southeastern slopes of the Pir Panjal range which separates Srinagar valley from Jammu. In the old days, in summer, the Mughal caravans from Delhi would cross over the Pir Panjal...

SURANKOTE, May 23: The army, which has so far remained silent on the use of helicopters for flushing out militants from Surankote area recently, today said that choppers were indeed used in the operation but only for logistic support. "The choppers were used to trace out the bunkers at the top of the hills and were used to destroy a bunker used by the ultras in the Hill Kaka area," GoC Romeo Forces of the Rashtriya Rifles Major General Gardev Liddar told pressmen who visited the border area. Airpower could be used as this area was not populated, Major General...

SRINAGAR, May 7: Even as the US Secretary of State Gen Collin Powell’s deputies—Richard Armitage and Christina Rocca—have landed in Pakistan to bring New Delhi and Islamabad closer, troops in the Valley have intercepted a fresh group of Pakistani militants. One Captain, one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), one Rifleman and five militants died in the bloody gun battle that rattled Shopian-Chrar-e-Sharif belt of south Kashmir in Yusmarg foothills of Pir Panjal mountain range since yesterday. Five more militants and three more soldiers have reportedly died in other encounters between militants and security forces in Kashmir valley since last evening. Informed...

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration and the nation's intelligence agencies are blocking the release of sensitive information about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, delaying publication of a 900-page congressional report on how the terrorist assault happened. Intelligence officials insist the information must be kept secret for national security reasons. But some of the information is already broadly available on the Internet or has been revealed in interim reports on the investigation, leading to charges that the administration is simply trying to avoid enshrining embarrassing details in the report. Disputed information includes a...