Weapons

Karzai meets Manmohan, discusses enhanced defence cooperation

New Delhi: Afghan President Hamid Karzai held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday night discussing the situation in the region in the backdrop of Afghanistan's keenness to enhance defence cooperation with India and get supply of "lethal and non-lethal" weapons. Karzai, who arrived in Chandigarh on Monday to receive a a 'Doctorate Honoris Causa' by a private university, held talks on various key bilateral and regional issues with Manmohan who also hosted a dinner for the visiting dignitary at his official residence.

"The visit is indicative of the strong and close relations that we have with Afghanistan and the frequent contacts between the senior leaders of the two countries," the spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs had said ahead of Karzai's visit.

When asked about Afghanistan Ambassador Shaida M Abdali to India's demand for an enhanced bilateral defence cooperation and supply of lethal and non-lethal military equipment, the spokesperson said India was ready to discuss and consider Afghanistan's request for arms supplies, as and when raised.

Terming Afghanistan as a "strategically important" neighbour, the spokesperson said the two countries had mechanisms available to address all issues under Strategic Partnership Agreement. "Our view is that there is a mechanism available and all issues are discussed under this mechanism. And within our own modest means as a developing country, we will continue to discuss and respond to specific requests of the Afghan government," he said....more    

Military options remain open in Syria crisis, says Obama

Washington: President Barack Obama said on Thursday he reserves the right to resort to a range of both diplomatic and military options if he receives conclusive proof that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons in the country's civil war. Obama, at a joint news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, said there was evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria but that it is...  

Financial sanctions delay North Korea's atom bomb work: UN

United Nations: A combination of increasingly tough financial sanctions, an arms embargo and other international restrictions on trade with North Korea have not stopped Pyongyang's illicit nuclear arms program but appear to have significantly delayed it, according to a confidential report by a UN panel of experts seen by Reuters on Tuesday. "While the imposition of sanctions has not halted the development of nuclear and ballistic missile programs, it has...  

Wounded Syrians show signs of chemical attack, says Turkey

Amman: Syrian casualties treated in Turkey show signs of being victims of chemical weapons, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday, adding to indications that President Barack Obama's "red line" on the use of such arms may have been crossed. Wary of the false intelligence used to justify the 2003 war in Iraq, the United States says it wants proof that chemical weapons have been used before taking any action...  

Syria 'likely' to have used chemical weapons, says UK

London: Britain said on Thursday it was "very likely" the Syrian government had used chemical weapons, and Turkey announced it was stepping up testing of people fleeing the Syrian civil war for traces. US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed gratitude to Russia for its willingness to try to arrange a "Geneva two" conference to negotiate an end to the conflict, in a sign of a thawing of the long...  

US may give lethal weapons to Syrian rebels: Report

Washington: The US is considering providing lethal weapons to Syrian opposition forces and a decision is expected within weeks, a media report said on Wednesday. "President Barack Obama is preparing to send lethal weaponry to the Syrian opposition and has taken steps to assert more aggressive US leadership among allies and partners seeking the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad," the Washington Post reported, citing senior US officials. "The officials said...  

US suspects Syria used chemical weapons against rebels

Washington: US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced the US intelligence community believes that the Syrian government used sarin gas on a small scale against the rebel forces that are trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's government. The disclosure created a quandary for US President Barack Obama, who has set the use of chemical weapons as a "red line" that Assad must not cross, and triggered calls from some hawkish Washington...  

Gujarat High Court stays trial against Sanjiv Bhatt

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday temporarily stayed the trial against suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a 16-year-old case of custodial torture in Porbandar. Justice SR Brahmabhatt ordered stay till further orders and fixed the hearing in the first week of May 2013. Bhatt, who was posted as SP in Porbandar in 1997, and constable Vajubhai Chau, are facing a trial for alleged custodial torture of a history-sheeter...  

NATO needs plan for Syrian chemical weapons, says Kerry

Brussels: US Secretary of State John Kerry urged NATO on Tuesday to prepare for the possible use of chemical weapons by Syria on the same day that a senior Israeli military intelligence official said Syrian President Bashar Assad had used such weapons in March 2013 in his battle against insurgents. It was the first time Israel had accused the embattled Syrian leader of using his stockpile of nonconventional weapons. The...  

China may have provided Pakistan nuclear weapon designs

Washington: In the late 1970s, Central Intelligence Agency had information that China might have provided a fairly comprehensive package of proven nuclear weapons design information to Pakistan, a recently declassified document has revealed. According to recently declassified CIA data, obtained by the National Security Archive under the Freedom of Information Act, the CIA had evidence suggesting close Pakistan-China nuclear cooperation, to the point of facilitating a nuclear weapons capability, although...  

US: Five, including a woman killed in apartment shooting

Washington: Five people, including a woman, were killed in a shootout, apparently sparked by a dispute, at a Washington state apartment complex, police said on Monday. Officers responding to an emergency call on Sunday night at the apartments in Federal Way, about 32 kilometres south of Seattle, encountered a chaotic scene, with bullets flying. "When officers arrived there were still shots being fired," said Federal Way police spokeswoman Cathy Schrock....  

After weeks of NKorean fury, calm on key holiday

Pyongyang: North Koreans celebrated the birthday of their first leader Monday by dancing in plazas and snacking on peanuts, with little hint of the fiery bombast that has kept the international community fearful that a missile launch may be imminent. Pyongyang fired off a rocket ahead of the last anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birth - the centennial - but this time the day was simply the start of a...  

North Korea has nuclear missiles: US report

Washington: North Korea has nuclear weapons capable of delivering by ballistic missiles, an unclassified US intelligence report says, amid heightened tensions in the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang's saber-rattling. DIA (Defence Intelligence Agency) assesses with moderate confidence the North Korea currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivering by ballistic missiles, however the reliability will be low, Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn said during a Congressional hearing on Thursday. The Pentagon, however, said...  

Embassies staying put in North Korea despite tension

Seoul: Staff at embassies in North Korea appeared to be remaining in place on Saturday despite an appeal by authorities in Pyongyang for diplomats to consider leaving because of heightened tension after weeks of bellicose exchanges. North Korean authorities told diplomatic missions they could not guarantee their safety from next Wednesday - after declaring that conflict was inevitable amid joint US-South Korean military exercises due to last until the end...  

No agreement on Syria access for UN chemical arms inspectors

United Nations: The United Nations and Syria have not yet agreed on how much access a team of chemical weapons inspectors will have to investigate allegations that such arms were used recently in the Syrian conflict, according to a letter to Syria's UN envoy. The United Nations said in March it would investigate the Syrian government's allegations that rebels used chemical arms in an attack near the northern city of...  

North Korea's decision to restart nuclear facilities disappoints China

North Korea said on Tuesday it will restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and increase production of nuclear weapons material, in what outsiders see as its latest attempt to extract US concessions by raising fears of war. ...  

Changes to defence procurement rules to be approved

The Defence Acquisition Council is expected to approve changes to procurement rules on Tuesday and sources said the new rules will give domestic industry, both public and private, the right of "first refusal" before the import option is exercised. ...  

US deploys warship closer to North Korean coast

Amidst escalating tension in the Korean peninsula, the US Navy is moving a warship and a sea-based radar platform closer to the North Korean coast as a shield against any missile attack by North Korea and in order to monitor Pyongyang's military moves. ...  

North Korea to restart work at closed nuclear reactor

North Korea will restart all nuclear facilities including its shuttered Yongbyon nuclear reactor, its official KCNA news servce said on Tuesday. ...  

Nuclear weapons guarantee peace: North Korea

North Korean nuclear weapons act as a deterrent to potential aggressors and as a foundation for its prosperity, the country's leader said in a speech delivered on Sunday and published in full by the country's KCNA news agency on Tuesday. ...