World Vignettes

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has denied any possibility of re-opening of the Khokrapar railway border for now despite India8217;s willingness to open the rail link that would connect Rajasthan with the Sindh. Pakistani foreign office spokesman Tariq Altaf dismissed the idea saying, quot;not at the moment.quot; Recently, the newly appointed Indian High Commissioner G Parthasarthy had stated that India was willing to re-open the rail border. The Indian High Commissioner during his visit to Karachi was flooded with requests for facilitating the visa procedure as well as providing alternative transit facility for the people of Karachi who want to travel to India.

COLOMBO: India has offered to permit duty free imports of specified quantities of tea and garments to Sri Lanka in an attempt to break the deadlock over the implementation of the recently concluded India-Sri Lanka free trade treaty, official sources said. The treaty signed between Prime Minister, A B Vajpayee and Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratungaran into trouble after New Delhi in the last minute withdrew its offer to permit duty free imports of tea and rubber, which were of some export value to Sri Lanka. However, bowing to the pressure from domestic traders and producer lobbies, India has included both tea and rubber in the negative list of items which would not qualify for duty concessions.

DUBAI: The UAE Supreme Court has commuted the death penalty awarded to a Filipino for the murder of an Indian and sentenced him to 15 years in prison instead. The reports said the court also ruled that the ten years that the Filipino, John Aquino, had already spent in prison would be deducted from his term. Also, the court reduced his term by a further two and a half years for good behaviour. Aquino was sentenced to death by the Shariah court in 1990.