BUSHEHR, August 21 (AP): Iranian and Russian engineers began loading fuel Saturday into Iran’s first nuclear power plant, which Moscow has promised to safeguard to prevent material at the site from being used in any potential weapons production. After years of delays, the fueling of the Bushehr plant in southern Iran marks the startup of a facility for energy production that the U.S. once hoped to block as a way to pressure the country to stop separate nuclear activities of far greater concern. There have not been strong objections to the Bushehr plant itself as there have been with Iran’s separate efforts at other sites to accelerate uranium enrichment – a process that makes the fuel for power plants but which can also be used in weapons production. Even as Iran’s nuclear chief said the plant demonstrated the country has only peaceful aims, he celebrated it as a defiant “symbol of Iranian resistance and patience” in the face of Western pressure. “Despite all pressure, sanctions and hardships imposed by Western nations, we are now witnessing the startup of the largest symbol of Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities,” Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters inside the plant. Washington and other nations do not oppose Iran’s stated aim of producing nuclear energy, but are concerned that if Iran masters the enrichment cycle it would have a pathway to weapons production under the convenient cover of a peaceful energy program. Iran denies such an intention. It is the enrichment work that has been the target of four rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions. Russia, which helped finish building Bushehr, has pledged to prevent spent nuclear fuel at the site from being shifted to a possible weapons program. After years of delaying its completion, Moscow says it believes the Bushehr project is essential for persuading Iran to cooperate with international efforts to ensure Iran does not develop the bomb. The United States, while no longer formally objecting to the plant, disagrees and says Iran should not be rewarded while it continues to defy U.N. demands to halt uranium enrichment. On Saturday, a first truckload of fuel was taken from a storage site to a fuel “pool” inside the reactor building under the watch of monitors from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency. Over the next two weeks, 163 fuel assemblies – equal to 80 tons of uranium fuel – will be moved inside the building and then into the reactor core. Workers in white lab coats and helmets led reporters on a tour of the cavernous facility. It will be another two months before the 1,000-megawatt light-water reactor is pumping electricity to Iranian cities. The Bushehr plant is not considered a proliferation risk because the terms of the deal commit the Iranians to allowing the Russians to retrieve all used reactor fuel for reprocessing. Spent fuel contains plutonium, which can be used to make atomic weapons. Additionally, Iran has said that IAEA experts will be able to verify that none of the fresh fuel or waste is diverted. Of greater concern to the West, however, are Iran’s stated plans to build 10 new uranium enrichment sites inside protected mountain strongholds. Iran said recently it will begin construction on the first one in March in defiance of the U.N. sanctions. Nationwide celebrations were planned for Saturday’s fuel loading at Bushehr. “I thank the Russian government and nation, which cooperated with the great Iranian nation and registered their name in Islamic Iran’s golden history,” Salehi said. “Today is a historic day and will be remembered in history.” He spoke at a news conference inside the plant with the head of Russia’s state-run nuclear corporation, Sergei Kiriyenko, who said Russia was always committed to the project. “The countdown to the Bushehr nuclear power plant has started,” Kiriyenko said. “Congratulations.” Iran’s hard-liners consider the completion of the plant to be a show of defiance against U.N. Security Council sanctions that seek to slow Iran’s other nuclear advances. Hard-line leader Hamid Reza Taraqi said the launch will boost Iran’s international standing and “will show the failure of all sanctions” against Iran. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated Friday that Tehran was ready to resume negotiations with the six major powers trying to curb Iran’s enrichment work – the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany. Ahmadinejad, however, insisted Iran would reject calls to completely halt uranium enrichment, a key U.N. demand. The president had earlier said the talks could start in September, but in an interview with Japan’s biggest newspaper, The Yomiuri Shimbun, he said the talks could start as early as this month.

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Iran begins fueling first nuke reactor

BUSHEHR, August 21 (AP): Iranian and Russian engineers began loading fuel Saturday into Iran’s first nuclear power plant, which Moscow has promised to safeguard to prevent material at the site from being used in any potential weapons production. After years of delays, the fueling of the Bushehr plant in southern Iran marks the startup of a facility for energy production that the U.S. once hoped to block as a way to pressure the country to stop separate nuclear activities of far greater concern. There have not been strong objections to the Bushehr plant itself as there have been with Iran’s separate efforts at other sites to accelerate uranium enrichment – a process that makes the fuel for power plants but which can also be used in weapons production. Even as Iran’s nuclear chief said the plant demonstrated the country has only peaceful aims, he celebrated it as a defiant “symbol of Iranian resistance and patience” in the face of Western pressure. “Despite all pressure, sanctions and hardships imposed by Western nations, we are now witnessing the startup of the largest symbol of Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities,” Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters inside the plant. Washington and other nations do not oppose Iran’s stated aim of producing nuclear energy, but are concerned that if Iran masters the enrichment cycle it would have a pathway to weapons production under the convenient cover of a peaceful energy program. Iran denies such an intention. It is the enrichment work that has been the target of four rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions. Russia, which helped finish building Bushehr, has pledged to prevent spent nuclear fuel at the site from being shifted to a possible weapons program. After years of delaying its completion, Moscow says it believes the Bushehr project is essential for persuading Iran to cooperate with international efforts to ensure Iran does not develop the bomb. The United States, while no longer formally objecting to the plant, disagrees and says Iran should not be rewarded while it continues to defy U.N. demands to halt uranium enrichment. On Saturday, a first truckload of fuel was taken from a storage site to a fuel “pool” inside the reactor building under the watch of monitors from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency. Over the next two weeks, 163 fuel assemblies – equal to 80 tons of uranium fuel – will be moved inside the building and then into the reactor core. Workers in white lab coats and helmets led reporters on a tour of the cavernous facility. It will be another two months before the 1,000-megawatt light-water reactor is pumping electricity to Iranian cities. The Bushehr plant is not considered a proliferation risk because the terms of the deal commit the Iranians to allowing the Russians to retrieve all used reactor fuel for reprocessing. Spent fuel contains plutonium, which can be used to make atomic weapons. Additionally, Iran has said that IAEA experts will be able to verify that none of the fresh fuel or waste is diverted. Of greater concern to the West, however, are Iran’s stated plans to build 10 new uranium enrichment sites inside protected mountain strongholds. Iran said recently it will begin construction on the first one in March in defiance of the U.N. sanctions. Nationwide celebrations were planned for Saturday’s fuel loading at Bushehr. “I thank the Russian government and nation, which cooperated with the great Iranian nation and registered their name in Islamic Iran’s golden history,” Salehi said. “Today is a historic day and will be remembered in history.” He spoke at a news conference inside the plant with the head of Russia’s state-run nuclear corporation, Sergei Kiriyenko, who said Russia was always committed to the project. “The countdown to the Bushehr nuclear power plant has started,” Kiriyenko said. “Congratulations.” Iran’s hard-liners consider the completion of the plant to be a show of defiance against U.N. Security Council sanctions that seek to slow Iran’s other nuclear advances. Hard-line leader Hamid Reza Taraqi said the launch will boost Iran’s international standing and “will show the failure of all sanctions” against Iran. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated Friday that Tehran was ready to resume negotiations with the six major powers trying to curb Iran’s enrichment work – the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany. Ahmadinejad, however, insisted Iran would reject calls to completely halt uranium enrichment, a key U.N. demand. The president had earlier said the talks could start in September, but in an interview with Japan’s biggest newspaper, The Yomiuri Shimbun, he said the talks could start as early as this month.

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Iran begins fueling first nuke reactor

New Delhi, August 22 (PTI): Toughening its stand, Government has conveyed to the BlackBerry makers to install its server in India for tracking its messenger and enterprise mail service as the offer made by it to provide data from its Canada-based server could be detrimental to national security. Officials of BlackBerry maker RIM (Research In Motion) had offered to provide information on a deferred basis after it faced the threat of a shutdown of the core features by August 31 if security agencies cannot gain access to heavily encrypted corporate email sent on a Blackberry handset. The RIM had provided an option to the security agencies and officials of the Home Ministry that they could hand over the details of BlackBerry phones needed to be monitored and the firm in turn will decrypt the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) and BlackBerry Enterprise mail Service (BES) of the smart phones in question, sources in the Telecom Ministry said. The RIM officials were ready to provide the information initially manually and later through a non-human interface using the “cloud computing environment” method under which a separate wall created in the server and code and pass-code is handed over to the overall coordinator, in this case India, the sources said. However, the proposal was rejected prima facie as security agencies claimed that handing over telephone numbers for monitoring was fraught with the danger of exposing the source to an outside company and thus can be detrimental to country’s security, the sources said. Even the automated system of extracting information from Canada-based server was not free of danger because the information could be hacked midway, the sources said. The sources said that RIM officials were conveyed in no uncertain terms that they should deploy their interception server in India with the Indian Service Provider having a definitive tracking system. Taking serious exception to BlackBerry’s inability to provide a solution to BES, the Home Ministry again wrote to the Telecom Ministry that if the RIM officials in collaboration with the service providers do not come up with a solution to BES, the service should be stopped immediately. The BES is a technology of the BlackBerry where by a close user group within a few individuals is created and no mails sent from their smart phones to each other can be intercepted, the sources said. Earlier the BlackBerry, which has over 1 million connections in India, had come up with a proposal of under which a mobile number that needed to be monitored would to be handed over to the RIM who in turn will provide the information within a maximum of 10 days. However, the security agencies insisted on a real time information rather than a deferred one in the interest of national security. The BlackBerry makers are racing against time to meet the August 31 deadline set by the Government earlier this month to provide a solution for intercepting the BBM and BES or see the prospect of the mobile phone’s popular services being shut down in the country. The Government is firm that any proposal of RIM would be accepted only after security agencies are satisfied with the technology of interception.

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Install server here or end service: Govt to RIM

New Delhi, August 22 (PTI): Toughening its stand, Government has conveyed to the BlackBerry makers to install its server in India for tracking its messenger and enterprise mail service as the offer made by it to provide data from its Canada-based server could be detrimental to national security. Officials of BlackBerry maker RIM (Research In Motion) had offered to provide information on a deferred basis after it faced the threat of a shutdown of the core features by August 31 if security agencies cannot gain access to heavily encrypted corporate email sent on a Blackberry handset. The RIM had provided an option to the security agencies and officials of the Home Ministry that they could hand over the details of BlackBerry phones needed to be monitored and the firm in turn will decrypt the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) and BlackBerry Enterprise mail Service (BES) of the smart phones in question, sources in the Telecom Ministry said. The RIM officials were ready to provide the information initially manually and later through a non-human interface using the “cloud computing environment” method under which a separate wall created in the server and code and pass-code is handed over to the overall coordinator, in this case India, the sources said. However, the proposal was rejected prima facie as security agencies claimed that handing over telephone numbers for monitoring was fraught with the danger of exposing the source to an outside company and thus can be detrimental to country’s security, the sources said. Even the automated system of extracting information from Canada-based server was not free of danger because the information could be hacked midway, the sources said. The sources said that RIM officials were conveyed in no uncertain terms that they should deploy their interception server in India with the Indian Service Provider having a definitive tracking system. Taking serious exception to BlackBerry’s inability to provide a solution to BES, the Home Ministry again wrote to the Telecom Ministry that if the RIM officials in collaboration with the service providers do not come up with a solution to BES, the service should be stopped immediately. The BES is a technology of the BlackBerry where by a close user group within a few individuals is created and no mails sent from their smart phones to each other can be intercepted, the sources said. Earlier the BlackBerry, which has over 1 million connections in India, had come up with a proposal of under which a mobile number that needed to be monitored would to be handed over to the RIM who in turn will provide the information within a maximum of 10 days. However, the security agencies insisted on a real time information rather than a deferred one in the interest of national security. The BlackBerry makers are racing against time to meet the August 31 deadline set by the Government earlier this month to provide a solution for intercepting the BBM and BES or see the prospect of the mobile phone’s popular services being shut down in the country. The Government is firm that any proposal of RIM would be accepted only after security agencies are satisfied with the technology of interception.

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Install server here or end service: Govt to RIM

JERUSALEM, August 22 (AP): Hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has the security credentials and the political strength to pull off a peace deal with Palestinians now that the U.S. has brokered a new start to direct talks. The big questions is: Does he have the will? Netanyahu heads to Washington on Sept. 1 for the launch of the first direct negotiations in nearly two years with the Palestinians. The White House hopes to forge a deal that has eluded its predecessors within a year – a formidable challenge. Though Netanyahu has built his political career in part as an outspoken critic of peace moves by past Israeli leaders, he has shown surprising pragmatism in dealing with the moderate Palestinian leadership of the West Bank. Netanyahu has made a series of concessions under heavy U.S. pressure – an indication that he is both pragmatic and susceptible to arm-twisting from Israel’s closest and most important ally. Shortly after his re-election a year ago, the prime minister removed dozens of military checkpoints in the West Bank. The lifting of the travel restrictions, which Israel said were a security measure during a previous decade of violence, helped breathe life into what has become a miniature economic boom in the Palestinian territory. Last year, Netanyahu endorsed the concept of a Palestinian state, and later imposed a 10-month slowdown on construction of new homes in West Bank Jewish settlements. Earlier this year, he informally imposed a similar, albeit undeclared, freeze on new Jewish housing developments in east Jerusalem. Such moves would have been unthinkable for him a few years ago. Still there are enormous obstacles to overcome before any deal can be reached. Netanyahu says he will not give up east Jerusalem and has not talked about the possibility of a broad withdrawal from the West Bank, where more than 200,000 Jewish settlers live among about 2.4 million Palestinians and Israel maintains military control. Palestinians claim all the West Bank and east Jerusalem as well as Gaza – areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war – for their future state. The international community backs the Palestinian demand. This has made the Palestinians extremely leery about speaking to the Israeli leader. Another problem is the roughly 4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are deeply divided. They have different governments. And Netanyahu’s partner for talks, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, is weak and only represents about half the Palestinians in the territories. Nevertheless, there is some reason for hope that President Barack Obama’s initiative will fare better than the doomed attempts of past American leaders. In dealing with the Israeli public, Netanyahu’s credibility as a security hawk and secure political standing could enable him to follow in the footsteps of former Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon, two other right-wing icons who ultimately made sweeping gestures for peace. Begin reached the 1979 historic peace accord with Egypt, requiring a full withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula, while Sharon withdrew all Israeli troops and settlements from the Gaza Strip five years ago. Netanyahu’s actions have not always matched his tough-talking rhetoric. In his previous term as prime minister in the 1990s, he withdrew Israeli forces from Hebron and handed over additional control of the West Bank to Palestinians. Equally significant, his coalition government, a grouping dominated by a mix of nationalistic and hard-line religious parties, has remained solidly intact despite unhappiness with some of Netanyahu’s moves. Without any serious opposition, Netanyahu has great freedom in conducting negotiations. And if any hard-line coalition partners were to break away, Netanyahu could turn to the moderate opposition to remain in power. For now, it remains unclear whether Netanyahu is ready to make bold steps toward peace. One reason for skepticism is his endorsement of Palestinian independence last year included so many caveats that the Palestinians said it was insincere. Likewise, the limited settlement freeze included several loopholes that allowed construction of thousands of apartments to proceed. A former army commando and the son of a renowned hawkish Zionist historian who still wields heavy influence over him, Netanyahu has led the fight against previous peace initiatives over the past two decades. His opposition has been rooted in both security grounds and an ideology stressing the Jewish people’s connection to the Holy Land. Since winning election last year, Netanyahu has given few signs that he is willing to make the tough concessions demanded by the Palestinians and the international community: a withdrawal from occupied lands claimed by the Palestinians, shared sovereignty of the holy city of Jerusalem and a solution for the millions of Palestinians who became refugees as a result of Israel’s creation in 1948. The Palestinians view him with deep suspicion. To lure Netanyahu to the negotiating table, the White House had to agree to his demands that there be no preconditions and that he not be bound to pledges made by more dovish Israeli leaders in the past. In accepting the White House’s invitation, Netanyahu said protecting Israel’s security interests would be his foremost concern. The Palestinians joined the talks only after the international Quartet of Mideast mediators issued an accompanying statement Friday calling for an agreement “that ends the occupation which began in 1967.” Mideast talks should not be ‘wasted’: UN UNITED NATIONS, August 22 (AFP): UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the upcoming talks in Washington between Israel and the Palestinians are a chance for peace that “must not be wasted.” Ban “welcomes the decision by both Israeli Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas to begin direct negotiations, following the statement of the Quartet and at the invitation of the US government,” the United Nations said in a statement. He “believes that negotiations are the only way for the parties to resolve all final status issues and he calls upon both sides to show leadership courage, and responsibility to realize the aspirations of both peoples. “We should all be aware that this is an opportunity that must not be wasted,” the statement read. In the first direct talks in 20 months, Netanyahu and Abbas will meet face-to-face in Washington on September 2 with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Those negotiations will come a day after Netanyahu and Abbas meet separately with US President Barack Obama, Clinton announced. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah II have also been invited for bilateral talks with Obama on September 1. Backed by the diplomatic Quartet — the United States, Russia, the United Nations and European Union — the parties will “relaunch direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues, which we believe can be completed within one year,” Clinton said.

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Talks to test Netanyahu’s will for peace

JERUSALEM, August 22 (AP): Hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has the security credentials and the political strength to pull off a peace deal with Palestinians now that the U.S. has brokered a new start to direct talks. The big questions is: Does he have the will? Netanyahu heads to Washington on Sept. 1 for the launch of the first direct negotiations in nearly two years with the Palestinians. The White House hopes to forge a deal that has eluded its predecessors within a year – a formidable challenge. Though Netanyahu has built his political career in part as an outspoken critic of peace moves by past Israeli leaders, he has shown surprising pragmatism in dealing with the moderate Palestinian leadership of the West Bank. Netanyahu has made a series of concessions under heavy U.S. pressure – an indication that he is both pragmatic and susceptible to arm-twisting from Israel’s closest and most important ally. Shortly after his re-election a year ago, the prime minister removed dozens of military checkpoints in the West Bank. The lifting of the travel restrictions, which Israel said were a security measure during a previous decade of violence, helped breathe life into what has become a miniature economic boom in the Palestinian territory. Last year, Netanyahu endorsed the concept of a Palestinian state, and later imposed a 10-month slowdown on construction of new homes in West Bank Jewish settlements. Earlier this year, he informally imposed a similar, albeit undeclared, freeze on new Jewish housing developments in east Jerusalem. Such moves would have been unthinkable for him a few years ago. Still there are enormous obstacles to overcome before any deal can be reached. Netanyahu says he will not give up east Jerusalem and has not talked about the possibility of a broad withdrawal from the West Bank, where more than 200,000 Jewish settlers live among about 2.4 million Palestinians and Israel maintains military control. Palestinians claim all the West Bank and east Jerusalem as well as Gaza – areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war – for their future state. The international community backs the Palestinian demand. This has made the Palestinians extremely leery about speaking to the Israeli leader. Another problem is the roughly 4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are deeply divided. They have different governments. And Netanyahu’s partner for talks, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, is weak and only represents about half the Palestinians in the territories. Nevertheless, there is some reason for hope that President Barack Obama’s initiative will fare better than the doomed attempts of past American leaders. In dealing with the Israeli public, Netanyahu’s credibility as a security hawk and secure political standing could enable him to follow in the footsteps of former Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon, two other right-wing icons who ultimately made sweeping gestures for peace. Begin reached the 1979 historic peace accord with Egypt, requiring a full withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula, while Sharon withdrew all Israeli troops and settlements from the Gaza Strip five years ago. Netanyahu’s actions have not always matched his tough-talking rhetoric. In his previous term as prime minister in the 1990s, he withdrew Israeli forces from Hebron and handed over additional control of the West Bank to Palestinians. Equally significant, his coalition government, a grouping dominated by a mix of nationalistic and hard-line religious parties, has remained solidly intact despite unhappiness with some of Netanyahu’s moves. Without any serious opposition, Netanyahu has great freedom in conducting negotiations. And if any hard-line coalition partners were to break away, Netanyahu could turn to the moderate opposition to remain in power. For now, it remains unclear whether Netanyahu is ready to make bold steps toward peace. One reason for skepticism is his endorsement of Palestinian independence last year included so many caveats that the Palestinians said it was insincere. Likewise, the limited settlement freeze included several loopholes that allowed construction of thousands of apartments to proceed. A former army commando and the son of a renowned hawkish Zionist historian who still wields heavy influence over him, Netanyahu has led the fight against previous peace initiatives over the past two decades. His opposition has been rooted in both security grounds and an ideology stressing the Jewish people’s connection to the Holy Land. Since winning election last year, Netanyahu has given few signs that he is willing to make the tough concessions demanded by the Palestinians and the international community: a withdrawal from occupied lands claimed by the Palestinians, shared sovereignty of the holy city of Jerusalem and a solution for the millions of Palestinians who became refugees as a result of Israel’s creation in 1948. The Palestinians view him with deep suspicion. To lure Netanyahu to the negotiating table, the White House had to agree to his demands that there be no preconditions and that he not be bound to pledges made by more dovish Israeli leaders in the past. In accepting the White House’s invitation, Netanyahu said protecting Israel’s security interests would be his foremost concern. The Palestinians joined the talks only after the international Quartet of Mideast mediators issued an accompanying statement Friday calling for an agreement “that ends the occupation which began in 1967.” Mideast talks should not be ‘wasted’: UN UNITED NATIONS, August 22 (AFP): UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the upcoming talks in Washington between Israel and the Palestinians are a chance for peace that “must not be wasted.” Ban “welcomes the decision by both Israeli Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas to begin direct negotiations, following the statement of the Quartet and at the invitation of the US government,” the United Nations said in a statement. He “believes that negotiations are the only way for the parties to resolve all final status issues and he calls upon both sides to show leadership courage, and responsibility to realize the aspirations of both peoples. “We should all be aware that this is an opportunity that must not be wasted,” the statement read. In the first direct talks in 20 months, Netanyahu and Abbas will meet face-to-face in Washington on September 2 with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Those negotiations will come a day after Netanyahu and Abbas meet separately with US President Barack Obama, Clinton announced. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah II have also been invited for bilateral talks with Obama on September 1. Backed by the diplomatic Quartet — the United States, Russia, the United Nations and European Union — the parties will “relaunch direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues, which we believe can be completed within one year,” Clinton said.

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Talks to test Netanyahu’s will for peace

Former Union minister Shashi Tharoor today tied the knot with Dubai-based entrepreneur Sunanda Pushkar in a typical Malayali wedding ceremony in his ancestral home at Elavanchery village near here. 54-year-old Tharoor, a former UN Under Secretary General and now a Lok Sabha MP, tied the ‘thali’, symbolising the marital bond as per the Hindu custom, amid playing of ‘Nadaswaram’ and beating of drums at the auspicious moment shortly before 8.30 am. While Throor was clad in traditional Malayali attire of kurtha and mundu, 48-year-old Sunanda, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, turned up in an off-white ‘veshti-mundu set’ like any Malayali bride would have preferred on her wedding. Before the wedding ceremony, the two sought the blessings of gods and elders of the family, who included Tharoor’s 94-year-old maternal grandmother Jayasankari Amma. The tying of ‘thali’ was followed by exchange of garlands and handing over the ‘pudava’, a piece of new cloth to the bride by the bridegroom, a long-followed tradition of matrilineal Nair families of Kerala. The ceremonies took place before a brass metal lamp with a ‘para’ filled with paddy and coconut shoots, symbolising plenty and prosperity. The invitation to the wedding on the eve of Onam festival was limited to close relatives, friends and well-wishers. But a large number of mediapersons gathered to cover the occasion. The party from the bride’s side included Sunanda’s father Col Pushkarnath Das. Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar was the only senior politician present for the ceremony. Tharoor’s mother Lily Tharoor, sons by his first marriage Eshan and Kanishk and sisters Sobha and Smitha were present. This is the former UN diplomat’s third marriage. His first marriage was to Tilottama Mukherjee, an academic who he knew from school days in Calcutta. Tharoor recently divorced his second wife, Canadian Christa Giles. Sunanda was overwhelmed by emotion for a moment as the wedding ceremony got over. A Kashmiri, Sunanda holds a Canadian passport. For her too, this is the third marriage. Her first husband was Sanjay Raina, a Kashmiri. After that marriage ended in a divorce, she married a Kerala businessman Sujith Menon but he died in a road accident in 1997. She has a 17-year-old son from her second marriage. When reporters urged him to speak a few words before the ceremony, Tharoor quipped, “This is wedding, no sound byte is necessary.” However, his friend Aiyar, who came with his wife, was the first to greet the newly wed couple. “We are very much delighted to see Shashi and Sunanda getting married and live happily together. We thought this is a moment we should share,” Aiyar said. Tharoor is hosting a reception tomorrow in Thiruvananthapuram, from where he was elected to Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket.

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Shashi Tharoor weds Sunanda Pushkar in Kerala

Former Union minister Shashi Tharoor today tied the knot with Dubai-based entrepreneur Sunanda Pushkar in a typical Malayali wedding ceremony in his ancestral home at Elavanchery village near here. 54-year-old Tharoor, a former UN Under Secretary General and now a Lok Sabha MP, tied the ‘thali’, symbolising the marital bond as per the Hindu custom, amid playing of ‘Nadaswaram’ and beating of drums at the auspicious moment shortly before 8.30 am. While Throor was clad in traditional Malayali attire of kurtha and mundu, 48-year-old Sunanda, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, turned up in an off-white ‘veshti-mundu set’ like any Malayali bride would have preferred on her wedding. Before the wedding ceremony, the two sought the blessings of gods and elders of the family, who included Tharoor’s 94-year-old maternal grandmother Jayasankari Amma. The tying of ‘thali’ was followed by exchange of garlands and handing over the ‘pudava’, a piece of new cloth to the bride by the bridegroom, a long-followed tradition of matrilineal Nair families of Kerala. The ceremonies took place before a brass metal lamp with a ‘para’ filled with paddy and coconut shoots, symbolising plenty and prosperity. The invitation to the wedding on the eve of Onam festival was limited to close relatives, friends and well-wishers. But a large number of mediapersons gathered to cover the occasion. The party from the bride’s side included Sunanda’s father Col Pushkarnath Das. Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar was the only senior politician present for the ceremony. Tharoor’s mother Lily Tharoor, sons by his first marriage Eshan and Kanishk and sisters Sobha and Smitha were present. This is the former UN diplomat’s third marriage. His first marriage was to Tilottama Mukherjee, an academic who he knew from school days in Calcutta. Tharoor recently divorced his second wife, Canadian Christa Giles. Sunanda was overwhelmed by emotion for a moment as the wedding ceremony got over. A Kashmiri, Sunanda holds a Canadian passport. For her too, this is the third marriage. Her first husband was Sanjay Raina, a Kashmiri. After that marriage ended in a divorce, she married a Kerala businessman Sujith Menon but he died in a road accident in 1997. She has a 17-year-old son from her second marriage. When reporters urged him to speak a few words before the ceremony, Tharoor quipped, “This is wedding, no sound byte is necessary.” However, his friend Aiyar, who came with his wife, was the first to greet the newly wed couple. “We are very much delighted to see Shashi and Sunanda getting married and live happily together. We thought this is a moment we should share,” Aiyar said. Tharoor is hosting a reception tomorrow in Thiruvananthapuram, from where he was elected to Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket.

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Shashi Tharoor weds Sunanda Pushkar in Kerala

Barcelona, August 22 (AFP): Lionel Messi scored a hat trick as Barcelona won a record ninth Supercup by beating Sevilla 4-0 in the second leg for a 5-3 aggregate on Saturday. After losing the first leg 3-1 in Seville, league champion Barcelona dominated from the start in its Camp Nou Stadium. In the 14th minute, Pedro Rodriguez delivered a low cross that rebounded in off defender Abdoulay Konko. In the 25th, Messi ran on to Xavi Hernandez’s long through pass and put a first-time shot past goalkeeper Andres Palop. The Argentina striker scored his second and put his side ahead on aggregate in the 44th, shooting high into the net after being put through by Daniel Alves. Messi ran on to Andres Iniesta’s pass to complete his hat trick in the 90th. “We’ve got another important trophy after overturning a very difficult (first-leg) result,” Messi told state broadcaster TVE. “We know who we are and we are calm enough to keep growing as the season goes on.” Barcelona fielded an under-strength side in the first leg, with none of its eight players who helped Spain to World Cup victory available. However, on Saturday coach Pep Guardiola fielded a more familiar-looking side. With doubts over the future of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and new signing David Villa starting on the bench, Bojan Krkic accompanied Messi and Pedro in attack. Victor Valdes returned in goal and playmaker Hernandez was in central midfield, alongside Sergio Busquets and Seydou Keita. Copa del Rey winner Sevilla, which went into the game following a 1-0 defeat to Braga in the Champions League, struggled in midfield and barely threatened in the first half as Spanish league champion Barcelona controlled possession. In the sixth minute, Messi burst out of midfield with a trademark run and struck a fierce shot high. In the 11th, Alves was ruled offside as he controlled the ball from a dangerous position on the right of the area. Barcelona kept up the pressure as Maxwell’s long-range shot nearly fooled Palop with a rebound off a defender. Messi fed the charging Krkic in the 23rd, although the striker put his shot wide of the left post. In the 57th, Villa came on for his first game for Barcelona since arriving from Valencia in the summer, replacing Pedro. Villa looked determined to score his first goal for the club and Palop had to parry a volleyed strike from the forward in the 77th. World Cup hero Iniesta was also brought on and shot wide just seconds after replacing Krkic. Sevilla responded by sending in Diego Perotti, Luis Fabiano and Luca Cigarini as coach Antonio Alvarez attempted to find some attacking spark. However, the Barcelona defense looked untroubled as the visitors rarely looked like scoring. Barcelona’s ninth Supercup trophy means it has one more than archrival Real Madrid. The win is also a boost for the Catalan side ahead of the league season, which begins next weekend.

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Messi leads Barca to Super Cup victory

Barcelona, August 22 (AFP): Lionel Messi scored a hat trick as Barcelona won a record ninth Supercup by beating Sevilla 4-0 in the second leg for a 5-3 aggregate on Saturday. After losing the first leg 3-1 in Seville, league champion Barcelona dominated from the start in its Camp Nou Stadium. In the 14th minute, Pedro Rodriguez delivered a low cross that rebounded in off defender Abdoulay Konko. In the 25th, Messi ran on to Xavi Hernandez’s long through pass and put a first-time shot past goalkeeper Andres Palop. The Argentina striker scored his second and put his side ahead on aggregate in the 44th, shooting high into the net after being put through by Daniel Alves. Messi ran on to Andres Iniesta’s pass to complete his hat trick in the 90th. “We’ve got another important trophy after overturning a very difficult (first-leg) result,” Messi told state broadcaster TVE. “We know who we are and we are calm enough to keep growing as the season goes on.” Barcelona fielded an under-strength side in the first leg, with none of its eight players who helped Spain to World Cup victory available. However, on Saturday coach Pep Guardiola fielded a more familiar-looking side. With doubts over the future of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and new signing David Villa starting on the bench, Bojan Krkic accompanied Messi and Pedro in attack. Victor Valdes returned in goal and playmaker Hernandez was in central midfield, alongside Sergio Busquets and Seydou Keita. Copa del Rey winner Sevilla, which went into the game following a 1-0 defeat to Braga in the Champions League, struggled in midfield and barely threatened in the first half as Spanish league champion Barcelona controlled possession. In the sixth minute, Messi burst out of midfield with a trademark run and struck a fierce shot high. In the 11th, Alves was ruled offside as he controlled the ball from a dangerous position on the right of the area. Barcelona kept up the pressure as Maxwell’s long-range shot nearly fooled Palop with a rebound off a defender. Messi fed the charging Krkic in the 23rd, although the striker put his shot wide of the left post. In the 57th, Villa came on for his first game for Barcelona since arriving from Valencia in the summer, replacing Pedro. Villa looked determined to score his first goal for the club and Palop had to parry a volleyed strike from the forward in the 77th. World Cup hero Iniesta was also brought on and shot wide just seconds after replacing Krkic. Sevilla responded by sending in Diego Perotti, Luis Fabiano and Luca Cigarini as coach Antonio Alvarez attempted to find some attacking spark. However, the Barcelona defense looked untroubled as the visitors rarely looked like scoring. Barcelona’s ninth Supercup trophy means it has one more than archrival Real Madrid. The win is also a boost for the Catalan side ahead of the league season, which begins next weekend.

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Messi leads Barca to Super Cup victory