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.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in
Comments