Tuesday, August 18, 2009 NEW DELHI: Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has reacted to a possible arms deal involving sale of US drones to Pakistan. Krishna has emphatically told America that an arms sale would create instability in the region adding that in the past, such weapons have always been used against India. Pakistan has drawn up a big list of military purchases from the United States. But, what's worrying India is that Islamabad is lobbying hard to get the deadly Predators Drones from the United States. The worries of New Delhi are that any military equipment bought by Pakistan is essentially meant to be used against India, said Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna. Pakistan is seeking Predator Drones from the United States saying they need the drones to fight militancy along the Afghan border. But, invariably the drones would be used along the Indian border both for spying and combat missions, he worried A list has been drawn up and they include helicopters, night vision devices, laser guided ammunition. Predator drones are particularly worrisome as they constitute top of the line technology. They are unmanned aerial vehicles with weaponry that can accurately hit targets. The United States is using them extensively for fighting militants, including in parts of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province area. India does not have anything equivalent to the predators and there is concern about India having them. Currently India is working to get an equivalent of the predator. This is the Harop system from Israel but it will be a long time before India gets them, he added.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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