B J P PUTS ON HOLD CANDIDATES' SELECTION

The Bharatiya Janata Party will launch on Sunday a weeklong protest the alleged offer to money to MPs to defy their party whip during the recent trust vote.
Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani will address a rally in Delhi on Sunday, while BJP president Rajnath Singh will go to Rameswaram on August 1 and to Lucknow the next day.
The former Union Minister, Jaswant Singh, will address a meeting in Chennai on Monday. A large number of party leaders will participate in this exercise up to August 2, vice-president M.A. Naqvi said here on Saturday.
Mr. Naqvi alleged that “power brokers” had invested Rs. 600 crore to save the government and now they would be looking at getting their money back with interest. The bhanda phod abhiyan (expose the truth campaign) agitation would be held in all State capitals.
While BJP deputy leader in the Lok Sabha V.K. Malhotra lamented that “eight of our MPs had sold themselves out,” Mr. Naqvi said the process of selection of candidates for the next Lok Sabha election, which had begun, was put on hold. For, there was rethinking on the question of checking the credentials of potential candidates.
“Earlier we used to give 50 per cent marks for ‘personality’ and 25 per cent each for party and principles, now we plan to keep only 25 per cent for personality,” Mr. Naqvi said. He explained “personality” as the candidate’s ability to win an election.
“Rethinking” means State units have been asked to revise their lists of candidates and a meeting of the Central Election Committee, scheduled for Monday, has been postponed indefinitely.

ANICIANT BURIAL SITE FOUND

An ancient burial site dating to the 15th century has been discovered at the Malacca Fort, in the historic Malaysian city of Malacca, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Centre for Archaeological Research Malaysia on Friday unveiled an initial analysis of the site, a press release said.
Malacca was a strategic trading post for South-East Asia in the 15th and 16th century. The burial site is pre-Portuguese and could hold clues to the history of the region.
In late May 2007, human skeletal remains were found during excavation undertaken to trace the walls of the ancient Malacca Fort known as Bastion Courassa (Portuguese) and Fredrick Hendrick (Dutch) by the Department of National Heritage; and the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage, in the compound of a Tourist Police Station in Bandar Hilir. Further excavations until early September 2007 uncovered at least 10 human skeletons and hundreds of broken pieces of human bones.
The removal, conservation and analysis of the remains were carried out by researchers from the Centre for Archaeological Research Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, with staff from the Department of National Heritage.
Four of the better preserved and more complete skeletons were removed for further study. These were rather fragile and had to be conserved on-site as well as in the laboratory at the Centre for Archaeological Research. A tibia of one of the skeletons was sent for AMS dating in Florida. The results suggested a date between A.D. 1400 and 1450.
Since the discovery in the Fort, an area of about 6 sq m was excavated to a maximum depth of 120 cm by the Department of National Heritage, revealing a burial site with more than 10 skeletons. It is believed to be part of a much larger burial site, as suggested by some of the unexcavated human skulls exposed at the site, as well as human bones found at the walls of the trenches.
A large number of loose human bones, broken tiles, ceramics, animal bones, shells, and coins were found scattered, especially in the upper layer.
Observation of the finds and the soil profile suggested that the upper layer probably comprised backfill or “tanah tambak” with broken tiles, ceramic shards, shells, coins and animal bones. All the intact skeletal remains appeared to have come from the burial ground, which is situated on the lower layer, 80 cm to120 cm deep.
A preliminary on-site examination revealed that the four skeletons were laid in an extended position and placed in an east-west orientation with the head pointed west. Three of them were identified as those of males; one was of a female. The skeletons of a male and a female were together in a grave.
Testing of the soil surrounding the first of the skeletons showed slightly alkaline soil. This must have helped preserve them for more than 600 years; acidic soil would have destroyed them.
Malacca, locally known as Melaka, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list on July 7. Along with Georgetown, the historic cities of the Straits of Malacca have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca.
The influences of Asia and Europe have lent the towns a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century.

CONTROVERSY OVER TEMPLE LAND HOTS UP

Cambodian officials said more Thai troops crossed into their country’s territory on Wednesday in the second day of alleged incursions amid tensions over disputed border land near a historic temple.
Thai officials have denied any incursion, saying the troops are deploying on what was clearly Thai territory to protect its sovereignty. However, a senior Thai military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said about 200 Thai troops were inside what he called “disputed border territory.”
The director of Cambodian agency in charge of the Preah Vihear temple, Hang Soth, said the Thais continued to cross the border on Wednesday.
The confrontation came after UNESCO declared Preah Vihear, which is at the centre of a long-standing border quarrel between the neighbours, a World Heritage site last week. Both countries claim 4.6 square km of land around the temple, and Thai anti-government activists have recently revived nationalist sentiment. The activists and some government officials fear the temple’s new status will jeopardise their country’s claims to land adjacent to the site.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded Preah Vihear and the land it occupies to Cambodia, a decision that still rankles many Thais even though the temple is culturally Cambodian, sharing the Hindu-influenced style of the more famous Angkor complex in Cambodia

MOAISTS KILL 20 POLICEMAN

Left-wing extremists struck again in Orissa’s Malkangiri district on Wednesday evening killing at least 20 policemen. They triggerred a powerful landmine blast.
Unofficial reports put the death toll at 24.
“Nearly 20 policemen have been killed in the attack,” Director-General of Police Gopal Chandra Nanda told The Hindu over the phone.
This was the second major Maoist strike in the district in less than 20 days. As many as 38 people were killed when a boat carrying Greyhound personnel from Andhra Pradesh was ambushed in the Chitrakonda reservoir on June 29.
The landmine blast occurred at 4 p.m. in the MV-126 area when an anti-landmine van carrying the police team was returning to the district headquarters town of Malkangiri. They had gone to MPV-41 village, where a contractor’s house was attacked by Maoists on Tuesday night.
According to sources, 29 policemen were in the party that visited MPV-41 village. While a majority of them were in the vehicle, the remaining were on motorcycles.
Soon after causing the blast, the Maoists, hiding in the nearby forest, fired at the policemen.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condemned the Maoist attack and condoled the death of the policemen.
The government announced a compassionate grant of Rs.4 lakh and insurance cover of Rs.10 lakh each to the families of the victims.
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RUSSIA,CHINA VETO U. NSANCTIONS AGAINST ZIMBABWE

Russia and China vetoed proposed sanctions on Zimbabwe’s leaders on Friday, rejecting U.S. efforts to step up punitive measures against President Robert Mugabe’s regime after a widely discredited presidential election.
Western powers mustered nine votes, the minimum needed to gain approval in the 15-nation council. But the resolution pushed by the Bush administration failed because of the action by two of the five veto-wielding permanent members. The other three nations with veto power — the U.S., Britain and France — argued sanctions were needed to respond to the government-sanctioned violence and intimidation against opponents of Mr. Mugabe before and after Zimbabwe’s recent presidential election. Violent deaths
Zimbabwe’s opposition party reported on Friday that at least 113 of its members have been killed in violence since March.
The proposal would have imposed an arms embargo and an international travel ban, and a freeze on the personal assets of Mr. Mugabe and 13 other officials. It also called for a U.N. special envoy for Zimbabwe to be appointed. In addition to dodging sanctions, Mr. Mugabe “will be coming” to the U.N. General Assembly in September, said Zimbabwean U.N. Ambassador Boniface Chidyausiku.
Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said sanctions would have taken the U.N. beyond its mandate by having it interfere in a country’s domestic political disputes and “artificially elevating them to the level of a threat” to international peace and security. Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya, whose nation is one of Zimbabwe’s major trading partners, also expressed fears of nation-tinkering and said Zimbabwe should be left to conduct its own talks on how to resolve its political crisis.
“The development of the situation in Zimbabwe until now has not exceeded the context of domestic affairs,” said Mr. Wang. “It will unavoidably interfere with the negotiation process,” he added. — AP
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