Ship built of World Trade Center salvaged steel

NEW YORK: A warship built with steel salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center set sail for New York Tuesday.

Hundreds of people lined the banks of the Mississippi river near New Orleans as the USS New York sailed through the fog, local media reports.

Its bow stem contains 7.5 tons of steel salvaged from the rubble following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"That steel means a whole lot more than just metal," Ronnie Harris, mayor of nearby Gretna, Louisiana told the local Fox News station amid a swell of patriot music.

"The entire country comes together in the form of that bow stem and I'm so proud that this event puts it in the history books and in people's minds."

The 208-meter (684-foot-) long ship's main mission is to transport and deploy combat and support elements of Marine expeditionary units, the US Navy said.

It will carry approximately 720 troops and can deploy helicopters and other aircraft from its massive deck.

Two other ships -- the Arlington and Somerset -- are being built in honor of the victims of the attacks on the Pentagon and United Flight 93 and are also incorporating materials salvaged from those sites.

India asks China to stay out of POK

New Delhi: A day after India and China sparred aggressively over the ownership status of Arunachal Pradesh, India said that China must cease activities in Pak-Occupied Kashmir.

In a response to a question on Pakistan- China projects in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), the official spokesperson of the government said: “We have seen the Xinhua report quoting the President of China as stating that China will continue to engage in projects with Pakistan inside Pakistan Occupied Kashmir."

"Pakistan has been in illegal occupation of parts of the Indian State of Jammu & Kashmir since 1947. The Chinese side is fully aware of India's position and our concerns about Chinese activities in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir."

"We hope that the Chinese side will take a long term view of the India-China relations, and cease such activities in areas illegally occupied by Pakistan.”

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday reiterated that the State of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India.

The statement issued by a spokesman of the ministry shortly after China expressed "strong" dissastisfaction over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh for electioneering.

"The State of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India. The people of Arunachal Pradesh are citizens of India. They are proud participants in the mainstream of India's vibrant democracy. The Chinese side is well aware of this position of the Government of India," said the official spokesperson.

"It is well established practice in our democratic system that our leaders visit States where elections to Parliament and to the State Assemblies are taking place. The Government of India is deeply committed to ensuring the welfare of its own citizens across the length and breadth of our country," the official spokesperson added.

Expressing disappointment over the statement made by the official spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the official spokesperson said: "India and China have jointly agreed that the outstanding boundary question will be discussed by the special representatives appointed by the two Governments. We, therefore, express our disappointment and concern over the statement made by the official spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since this does not help the process of ongoing negotiations between the two Governments on the boundary question."

"India is committed to resolving outstanding differences with China in a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable manner, while ensuring that such differences are not allowed to affect the positive development of bilateral relations. We hope that the Chinese side will similarly abide by this understanding," the official spokesperson added.

On the same day, China's Ambassador to India Zhang Yang met officials of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) shortly after his government expressed ‘strong’ dissastisfaction over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh during electioneering.

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu had said: "We demand the Indian side address China's serious concerns and not trigger disturbance in the disputed region so as to facilitate the healthy development of China-India relations."

"China is strongly dissatisfied with the visit to the disputed region by the Indian leader disregarding China's serious concerns," Mas added in a statement posted on the ministry's website.

He noted that China and India had "never officially settled" demarcation of their border, and China's stance on the eastern section of the China-India border was "consistent and clear-cut".

The Indian Government has all along indicated that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and that the people of that state have a democratic right to elect a government of their choice.

Singh had toured and addressed an election rally in Arunachal Pradesh on October 3.

Recently, China had blocked a part of a loan to India from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for developmental projects in Arunachal Pradesh. China also protested a visit to the state last month by exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama.

India says China is illegally occupying 43,180 sq kms of Jammu and Kashmir. On the other hand, China accuses India of possessing some 90,000 sq km of Chinese territory, mostly in Arunachal Pradesh.

Singh had earlier visited Arunachal Pradesh on January 31 and February 1 and had then referred to it as "Our land of the rising sun" at a public rally, which was objected to by China.

China apparently saw it as India's assertion of its claim on Arunachal, which it claims is a "disputed territory".

Obamas celebrate Latin music at White House

WASHINGTON: The White House swayed to Latin beats, as President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted Hispanic musicians and singers on the mansion's south lawn.

"Even though it is constantly evolving and changing, Latin music speaks to us in a language we all can understand it moves us, and it tends to make us move a little bit ourselves," Obama said in welcoming his guests at the "Fiesta Latina" gala.

"In the end, what makes Latin music great is the same thing that's always made America great: the unique ability to celebrate our differences while creating something new."

Performing stars at the event celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month included Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony and Los Lobos, while guests delighting in the lively rhythms included Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Govt to send 500 more troops to Afghanistan: reports

LONDON — The government is to send an extra 500 troops to Afghanistan, media reports said on Wednesday ahead of a statement by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Brown was set to announce the move in a statement to the House of Commons from 12:30pm, his first since MPs returned from a three-month summer recess Monday.

It is thought there will be conditions attached to the deployment -- including assurances from NATO partner countries that they will also boost their presence.

Britain currently has around 9,000 troops in Afghanistan, the second largest deployment after the United States. There have been 221 British deaths there since the war began in 2001.

The news is likely to be welcomed in the US, where President Barack Obama has struggled to persuade even Washington's closest allies to dispatch more troops to Afghanistan amid spiralling violence and waning public support.

It comes as Obama holds in-depth talks with his war council Wednesday, the latest meeting on a grim assessment of the war by the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal.

Obama said Tuesday he would conclude "in the coming weeks" whether to fulfil McChrystal's request for reportedly up to 60,000 more troops to bolster the US effort.

Before he makes his announcement, Brown is expected to follow convention by reading out the names of all 37 soldiers who have died since he last addressed the Commons in July.

Many died in the run-up to August's presidential elections which were plagued by allegations of fraud. Preliminary results suggest Hamid Karzai will be voted back in.

Brown has been facing growing political pressure over the purpose, scope and resourcing of the mission in Afghanistan in recent months.

In a highly controversial move, the former head of the army Richard Dannatt was last week named as an advisor to the main opposition Conservative party on defence -- and could be made a minister if, as polls suggest is likely, they win a general election which must be held by next June.

Officials have recently been stressing the need for troops to be properly equipped, plus for the Afghan army and police to be built up, a process known as "Afghanisation".

"If there was to be an increase (in troop numbers), I am sure that is something they would be engaged in," Brown's spokesman has said.

A Populus opinion poll for the Times newspaper out Wednesday showed that public calls for troops to pull out of Afghanistan have risen sharply as casualties mount.

Some 36 percent of voters now believe all forces should be withdrawn, compared to 29 percent in mid-September.

Qaeda suspects, policeman shot dead in Saudi

RIYADH: Two suspected members of al-Qaeda were killed and a third was arrested in a firefight in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that also resulted in the death of a policeman, the interior ministry said.
The official SPA news agency quoted ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki as saying the early morning shootout took place at a police checkpoint in Jizan province on the southern border with Yemen.
Turki told the agency that two of the three suspects, who had been on board a vehicle, were wearing women's clothing and wore explosives vests and carried grenades.
"More grenades, automatic weapons and bomb-making materials" were also found in the vehicle, he added.
The shooting broke out when the vehicle was about to undergo a security check on the basis of "information on the planning of terrorist acts by the deviant minority," official Saudi phraseology for al-Qaeda.
The spokesman said that when a policewoman wanted to check the identities of two people in the vehicle dressed in women's robes the suspects began shooting at security forces, who returned fire.
He said the hail of bullets resulted in "the deaths of two passengers in the vehicle and the arrest of a third."
Turki said one police officer was killed and another wounded in the exchange of fire, and added that no further details would be given for the moment "so an inquiry can get under way."

Assasination attempt

On Aug. 28 Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a member of the Saudi royal family responsible for the kingdom's anti-terror fight, escaped a suicide bomb attack in Jeddah that was claimed by al-Qaeda.
The deputy interior minister suffered only superficial injuries when a suicide bomber got close to him and detonated his explosives.
The royal court said the bomber -- the only person to be killed in the blast -- was a wanted terrorist who had approached the prince under the pretext he wanted to give himself up.
That attack followed the arrest in Saudi Arabia earlier in August of 44 al-Qaeda suspects, including one foreigner, and the discovery of arms caches used by the group.
Police found around 70 machine guns and ammunition, as well as 280 electronic detonation devices in Riyadh, and another 96 similar devices hidden in the desert in the Qassim region north of the capital, SPA said.
The United States and Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, are concerned that instability in Yemen could be exploited by al-Qaeda to launch attacks.