India Republic Day Celebrations Security

NEW DELHI — Paramilitary soldiers and police set up road blocks and snipers took positions atop government buildings as hundreds of thousands of people turned out to celebrate India's national day Tuesday.

India celebrates its Republic Day on Jan. 26 every year, but this year security measures were notched up following intelligence reports of a possible terrorist attack by Islamic militants.

Last week, the Indian government put its airports on high alert amid reports that al-Qaida-linked militants planned to hijack a plane. Security has also been tightened at all major government telecommunications and power installations, police said.

At least 15,000 paramilitary soldiers were deployed in and around the capital of New Delhi to ensure safety along the route of the annual parade - the highlight of India's Republic Day festivities, said police spokesman Rajan Bhagat.

In downtown New Delhi, hundreds of thousands of people gathered to witness the parade - a showcase of Indian military and cultural pomp - under the eyes of police.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who is on a four-day official visit to India, was the main guest at the parade, which included marching bands and contingents of soldiers and schoolchildren and an aeronautic display by air force planes.

India is observing the 60th anniversary of the 1950 adoption of its constitution. The country gained independence from Britain in 1947.

Islamic militants attempted to disrupt celebrations by crossing from Pakistan into Indian Kashmir early Tuesday, said J.B. Sangwan, a Border Security Force official. He accused Pakistani soldiers of firing at Indian border posts to provide cover for the extremists.

"There was heavy gunfire from the Pakistani side directed at Indian border posts," Sangwan said. Indian soldiers returned fire, Sangwan said.

A different version of events came from the Pakistani side. A military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media said Indian forces fired first and Pakistani soldiers responded.

Neither side reported casualties.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over control of Kashmir, the Himalayan territory that both claim in its entirety. More than a dozen militant groups have fought Indian forces since 1989, seeking independence for the Muslim-majority state or its merger with Pakistan.

In India's restive northeast, several separatist groups called for a boycott of national day, but thousands of people defied the strike and thronged to celebrations to mark the day.

Source: google.com

TRAVEL GROUP ANNOUNCES: N.Korea to admit more US visitors

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SEOUL, January 13, 2010 (AFP) - North Korea is opening its doors wider to tourists from its traditional enemy, the United States, a Beijing-based travel group said Wednesday.

US tourists will now be allowed to visit the communist state year-round instead of only during the Arirang Festival from August to October, Koryo Tours said.

Founder Nick Bonner said he had received an email Wednesday from the state-run Korea International Travel Company notifying him of the change but giving no further immediate details.

The secretive nation opened to Western tourists in 1987-88 but excluded US citizens a couple of years after that.

In 2002 it allowed Americans to visit for Arirang, a gymnastics and propaganda festival involving tens of thousands of performers.

Bonner said his firm, which specialises in tourism to North Korea, brought in 292 US citizens for Arirang last year.

The North was hit by tougher sanctions last year following its nuclear and missile tests. It is also losing tens of millions of dollars a year after tour programmes for South Koreans shut down amid worsening relations.

Bonner told AFP he saw the latest move as a gradual opening of the tourism industry rather than being motivated by a desire to raise revenue.

"But I don't think it would have happened unless relations (with the US) had calmed down in recent months. Tourism is often at the lead of diplomacy," he said.

After months of tension, Pyongyang last summer began making peace gestures to Washington and Seoul. US envoy Stephen Bosworth visited the North last month to try to persuade it to return to stalled nuclear disarmament talks.

The United States has not had diplomatic relations with the North since the 1950-53 war, in which US forces fought for South Korea.

In a New Year message the North said it wanted better relations with the United States, but it has given no clear signal of readiness to return to the disarmament talks.

Source: javno.com