New Indian cabinet to be sworn in

Mr Singh will be taking charge fora second term, only the second PM after Jawaharlal Nehru to be returned to power after a full five-year term. The Congress party won a decisive mandate in the recent polls and Mr Singh has emerged politically stronger. However, a key ally of the Congress has left the governing alliance after disagreements over ministerial posts. The Tamil Nadu-based DMK party said its 18 members of parliament would not serve in the government but would still support the coalition in the house.

The move is seen as the first setback to the coalition, but analysts say it is unlikely to pose a serious threat to the government. The Congress party and its allies swept back to power when votes from the marathon five-phase general election were counted last weekend. Mr Singh and a 19-member cabinet will take the oath of office from Indian President Pratibha Patil at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, in Delhi on Friday evening. Mr Singh has displayed an ability to stand firm and outlast his most trenchant critics.

Security forces operation against militants continues

SWAT: Security forces operation against militants in different districts of Malakand division continued.

District Swat remained under curfew for seventh consecutive day whereas relaxation in curfew has been announced from 7 am to 4 pm in tehsil Maidan of Lower Dir.

Security forces action continued overnight in Kambar, Takhtaband, Shamozai, tehisl Matta and upper areas of Char Bagh. Periodic shelling carried out at militants positions. The supply of gas, water and power to district Swat remained suspended.

Meanwhile, security forces from Lower Dir headquarters Timergira pounded the suspect hideouts of militants.

Zardari-Altaf's telephonic talk

LONDON: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Quaid, Altaf Hussain talking to President Asif Ali Zardari on telephone said that MQM was all out with Pakistan Army and the government in fight against terrorism.

Both the leaders deliberated in detail on matters relating to the war against terror in Malakand and the situation emanating thereafter.

Altaf Hussain said that the registration of all the displaced persons must be undertaken in all the provinces and they should be restrained within the camps.

President Asif Ali Zardari on this occasion said that the government would not rest until relieving the country of the terrorists. He apprised of that registration of the migrants was being ensured.

Reducing spread of nukes a high priority: Obama

WASHINGTON: Satellite photos released show Pakistan has expanded two sites crucial to its nuclear program as part of an effort to bolster the destructive power of its atomic arsenal, a US arms control institute said. US President Barack Obama said it is "absolutely imperative" that the United States take the lead in reducing the spread of nuclear weapons.

"It is absolutely imperative that America takes leadership working with, not just our Russian counterparts, but countries all around the world to reduce and ultimately eliminate the dangers that are posed by nuclear weapons," the president said after an Oval Office meeting with former secretaries of state George P. Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former Defense Secretary William Perry and former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia.

Obama mentioned possible steps to "lock down loose nuclear weapons," including revitalizing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, making progress on a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and working with Russia to reduce dependence on nuclear weapons.

Russia and the U.S. have the world's largest nuclear stockpiles.

"We are going to be pushing this as one of our highest priorities, to take specific steps, measurable steps, verifiable steps, to make progress on this issue, even as we keep a long-term perspective and a long-term vision about what can be achieved," Obama told reporters. "And we can think of no better advisers, counselors, and partners in this process than the four gentlemen who joined us here today."

US aid proof of support to Pakistan

WASHINGTON: Pakistan ambassador in the United States Hussain Haqqani has welcomed the announcement of emergency aid of 100 million dollars from America for the affected people of Swat operation.

In a statement issued from Washington, Hussain Haqqani said that this aid is another proof of the full support to the Pakistani people by the United States but more aid is needed from the international community for rehabilitation of the affected people of Swat.

Hussain Haqqani said that Pakistan needs aid for rehabilitation of the people affected by the war on terror and the elimination of human crisis.

He said we expect from the US people to help generously and they can participate in the mission by typing Swat to 20222 on their cell phones.

Arms from U.S. may be falling into Taliban hands

NEW YORK: Insurgents in Afghanistan, fighting from some of the poorest and most remote regions on earth, have managed for years to maintain an intensive guerrilla war against materially superior American and Afghan forces.

Weapons from a police post linked to an attack on Americans. Most rifles were the kind issued by the United States. Arms and ordnance collected from dead insurgents hint at one possible reason: Of 30 rifle magazines recently taken from insurgents’ corpses, at least 17 contained cartridges, or rounds, identical to ammunition the United States had provided to Afghan government forces, according to an examination of ammunition markings by The New York Times and interviews with American officers and arms dealers.

The presence of this ammunition among the dead in the Korangal Valley, an area of often fierce fighting near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, strongly suggests that munitions procured by the Pentagon have leaked from Afghan forces for use against American troops.

The scope of that diversion remains unknown, and the 30 magazines represented a single sampling of fewer than 1,000 cartridges. But military officials, arms analysts and dealers say it points to a worrisome possibility: With only spotty American and Afghan controls on the vast inventory of weapons and ammunition sent into Afghanistan during an eight-year conflict, poor discipline and outright corruption among Afghan forces may have helped insurgents stay supplied.

Pakistan expanding nuclear sites

Satellite photos released show Pakistan has expanded two sites crucial to its nuclear program as part of an effort to bolster the destructive power of its atomic arsenal, a US arms control institute said. The commercial images reveal a major expansion of a chemical plant complex near Dera Ghazi Khan that produces uranium hexalfuoride and uranium metal, materials used to produce nuclear weapons, said analysts at the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS). At a site near Rawalpindi, photos suggest the Pakistanis "have added a second plutonium separation plant adjacent to the old one," the ISIS report said. Pakistan in recent years also has been building two new plutonium production reactors.

"All together, these recent expansion activities indicate that Pakistan is indeed progressing in a strategic plan to improve the destructiveness and deliverability of its nuclear arsenal" .

The expansion would enable Pakistan to build smaller, lighter plutonium-fission weapons and thermonuclear weapons that employ "plutonium as the nuclear trigger and enriched and natural enriched uranium in the secondary”.

The report urged the US government to persuade Pakistan to halt production of fissile material and join talks for a treaty that would ban the production of plutonium and highly enriched uranium.

Pak, Australia agreed to boost anti-terror cooperation

Pakistan and Australia have agreed to boost cooperation for curbing terrorism. Pakistan will send 70 military personnel to Australia to get counter insurgency training training. This was decided during a meeting between Australian Minister for Defence Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon and General Tariq Majid, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Mr Fitzgibbon and General Tariq Majid discussed the significant military operations currently being conducted against militants in the North West Frontier region of Pakistan. Mr Fitzgibbon expressed his sorrow for the losses suffered by the Pakistan Armed Forces in the fight against terrorism, and for the suffering of the civilian populations as a result of the recent fighting.

“Pakistan’s success in its conflict with Taliban extremists on its soil is critical to regional and global security, as well as Australia’s own national interest.
Australia also recognises the complex challenges that Pakistan faces and appreciates the efforts of Pakistan towards maintaining security. He announced a significant increase in access to Defence Cooperation Program training courses in Australia for Pakistan Military personnel. “The Australian Defence Force is working with the Pakistan Military on a number of counter insurgency training initiatives both in Australia and Pakistan. “We appreciate that the Pakistan military has significant expertise in confronting the extremist and terrorist threat. Our increased engagement is focused on providing training to assist Pakistan in this task.”

Mr Fitzgibbon emphasised that Australia was developing the engagement program in close consultation with Pakistan, and he expressed the desire to explore options to increase this assistance further.

General Tariq Majid said that Pakistan appreciates the role played by Australia as part of the Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and emphasised that Pakistan and Australia have common interests and shared objectives in promoting peace and stability in the region.

Holbrooke calls for strong backing of Pakistani government

Veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke also dismissed rumors that the Obama administration is backing away from its support for embattled Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari as he is tested by Taliban and al Qaeda extremists. We have not distanced ourself from President Zardari."

Holbrooke testified before the committee on a day when concerns over recent Taliban gains in Pakistan and Afghanistan dominated the agenda in Washington.
Holbrooke argued that questions about Pakistan's stability do not indicate a withdrawal of American support. We do not think Pakistan is a failed state. Holbrooke's testimony came the day after two leading members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee introduced legislation tripling nonmilitary aid to Pakistan.
The legislation also would separate military from nonmilitary aid, promising that economic aid "is no longer the poor cousin to military aid."

Holbrooke reiterated the administration's support for such legislation, while urging Congress to find a "sweet spot" in terms of requirements made on Pakistan's government. Meanwhile, Pakistan's military continued an assault on militants in Taliban-held areas after they seized territory in violation of an agreement signed this year by Zardari. The recent operations are part of the Pakistani army's intensified drive against the Taliban in its restive tribal regions. The Pakistani government has been criticized for not cracking down on militants along its border with Afghanistan. "Pakistan is a nation that is committed to rooting out extremism and Talibanization in our region, Pakistan's U.S. ambassador Husain Haqqani said Tuesday on CNN's "American Morning."

"As partners, (the United States, Pakistan, and Afghanistan) can certainly contain the Taliban. Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently called Taliban gains in Pakistan an "existential threat" to the country.

Taliban in Pakistan threaten peace in Afghanistan

Afghanistan's president Tuesday praised U.S. plans to provide more civilian help to his country, and expressed hope that the country become less dependent on international partners in coming years. Hamid Karzai departs after registering as a candidate for August presidential elections in Kabul on Monday.
Addressing the re-emergence of Taliban militants, who were ousted from power by a U.S.-led coalition after the September 11 attacks on the United States, Karzai said, "We did not address the question of sanctuaries in time," a reality, he said, that hurts Afghanistan and Pakistan. We will continue to suffer," Karzai said.
Taliban gains in Pakistan are a major theme this week in Washington, where Karzai and Zardari will be visiting key congressional leaders and policymakers before meeting with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Karzai, who made his remarks as Holbrooke testified about the problems in the region before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, touched on Obama's strategy, announced in March, to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Obama said sending "agricultural specialists and educators; engineers and lawyers" to Afghanistan will help "advance security, opportunity and justice" across the country. Karzai said the program will work if it is carried out "with the requirements of Afghanistan, with the plans of Afghanistan shared and supported by and agreed with by the United States, and in a manner that will add to Afghan capacity building."
It's important, he said, that Afghans see the war bringing them "safety and security," and improved security forces that can defend the country.
Karzai is running for re-election and has announced two running mates: current Vice President Kamil Khallili and a controversial former warlord, Mohamed Fahim.
Human Rights Watch was quick to criticize Karzai's decision to add him to the ticket.
Karzai defended Fahim, saying he "will be a factor of stability and unity for the Afghan people," noting that he has "contributed immensely in the war against terrorism, shoulder to shoulder with U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan."
The president said he looks forward to a proper race.

Iran 'Test Launches' Medium-range Missile

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Sajjil-2 missile used "advanced technology" and had "landed exactly" on the unspecified target. He was speaking in Semnan, from where the missile, with a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles), was reportedly launched.
Correspondents say the test may be seen as provocative by Iran's Arab neighbours and its enemies in the West.
"The defence minister [Mohammed Najjar] told me today that we launched a Sajjil-2 missile, which is a two-stage missile and it has reached the intended target," Mr Ahmadinejad told a crowd in the northern town. Solid-fuel missiles are reputedly more accurate than liquid-fuel missiles, which make up the majority of Iran's long-range arsenal.

Iran tested a Sajjil missile in November last year, described by officials at the time as a highly accurate "defensive" weapon.
Iran says its missile development programme is solely for defensive and scientific purposes, but critics say the rockets could one day be used to nuclear weapons, although Iran denies its nuclear programme has any military dimension.
The announcement of the launch came shortly after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was confirmed as one of the four candidates cleared to stand in Iran 12 June presidential elections. He will run against two leading reformists - former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi and ex-parliament speaker Mehdi Karoubi - and Mohsen Rezai, former chief of the Revolutionary Guards.

Pakistan Parliament to address Musharraf Impeachment

Pakistan's lower house of parliament convenes Monday evening with the task of removing President Pervez Musharraf from office high on its to-do list. President Pervez Musharraf stepped down as the chief of military last November. The first step towards impeachment will involve compiling a list of charges against Musharraf.
Sherry Rehman, spokeswoman for the ruling Pakistan People's Party, told reporters that lawmakers are preparing a charge-sheet that is "strong, voluminous and (a) powerful indictment of his systematic misrule and usurpation of parliament's powers."
The document will charge Musharraf with corruption, economic mismanagement and violating the constitution, among other malfeasance, she said. Once lawmakers submit charges, the National Assembly -- the lower house of parliament -- will vote on whether to move forward with impeachment. Next would come an actual vote on impeaching Musharraf.
Members of the National Assembly and Senate would cast ballots. Two-thirds of lawmakers would have to vote 'yes' for Musharraf to be impeached. The parties opposed to Musharraf have 274 members in the National Assembly and the Senate. In the meantime, the four provincial assemblies are expected to ask to cast votes of confidence on Musharraf this week. Musharraf can decide not to call for such a vote. Even if he does -- and lawmakers agree that they have lost confidence in the president -- the vote is non-binding. But symbolically, it might add pressure on Musharraf to step down. "There are no grounds for a resignation or an impeachment," Qureshi said.
For his part, Musharraf has several options:
No president has been impeached in the country's history. He can hope that the vote to impeach him falls short. He can dissolve parliament and declare a state of emergency. Musharraf stepped down as the chief of military last November. "We have consistently said the internal politics of Pakistan are an issue for the Pakistani people to decide," said U.S. State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos last week.
For many Pakistanis, the political machinations take a back seat to far bigger problems in the country: shortage of essential food items, power cuts, and a skyrocketing inflation.

U.S. aid to Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The United States is rushing emergency aid to Pakistan an initial $5 million to help people uprooted by the fighting against extremists, according to the State Department.

The State Department said Tuesday the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan and officials of the U.S. Agency for International Development were evaluating the needs of civilians fleeing the Swat valley and surrounding regions in northwest Pakistan.
On Capitol Hill, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, praised the new military offensive by the Pakistan military.
"In recent days we have seen encouraging signs that Pakistan's army is finally taking the fight to enemy, but much remains to be done," Kerry said in his opening to a hearing on Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Kerry and the senior Republican on the committee, Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, have introduced legislation to triple non-military U.S. aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year, for five years.

The Obama administration envoy on Pakistan and Afghanistan policy, long-time diplomat Richard Holbrooke, spoke to the Senate committee Tuesday about what the U.S. has at stake in Pakistan. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, said Congress should slow down consideration of new aid to Pakistan. "Ultimately the true decision makers are the people and leaders of Pakistan."
We are losing that war," Holbrooke told the committee.

An Indonesian military transport plane crashed on the island of Java

At least two people died on the ground as the plane hit houses before skidding into a rice field where it caught fire. The plane, en route from Jakarta to eastern Java, came down not far from an air base where it was heading. Visibility appears to have been good and there is no indication yet of what caused the crash. The C-130 Hercules had been carrying about 110 passengers and crew. Ten children were reported to have been on board. Fifteen passengers - some with bad burns - survived, officials said.

The plane was due to land at Iswahyudi air force base and struck houses in the village of Geplak, a few kilometres away, at about 0630 local time (2330 GMT).
The aircraft was almost completely destroyed in the crash; wreckage was strewn across rice fields and only the tail was left intact.
Rescue teams have been pulling the dead and injured from the smoking debris.
Eyewitnesses spoke of a big explosion before the plane came down near the town of Madiun.

A local villager, quoted by Kompas newspaper's website, said some aircraft parts including nuts and bolts fell from the sky. "One of the wings fell off... Then the plane nose-dived into the houses." A survivor said it felt like the plane's engines just stopped and then the aircraft began to break apart in mid-air. The man, who was interviewed on local TV, was thrown clear of the plane as it came down

Federal cabinet reviews situation in Swat

ISLAMABAD: An important Federal Cabinet meeting is underway here with Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in chair.

The participants are discussing the law and order situation in tribal areas, ongoing military operation in Swat and Malakand and the rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). In the federal cabinet meeting, the participants also reviewed post operation situation in Swat and steps being taken by the government to provide relief to the displaced people.

Finance Advisor Shaukat Tareen briefed the federal cabinet on country’s economic situation and preparation of new budget.