India extends treaty of Transit with Nepal till April NEW DELHI, JAN 5 (PTI) : India has extended till April 05 the Treaty of Transit with Nepal, which expired today after seven years, even as officials of the two countries held talks here to review modalities of the bilateral accord. "The modalities, routes, conditions of transit and customs arrangements as contained in the Protocol and Memorandum to the Treaty have been extended by us for a period of three months from January 6, 2006 upto April 5, 2006," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said here in response to a question. This has been done to enable the two governments to complete the review process as required under Article XI of the Treaty, he said. The two countries held Joint Secretary-level talks between the Ministries of Commerce here yesterday and today to review the modalities, routes, conditions of transit and customs arrangements as contained in the Protocol and Memorandum to the Treaty of Transit, Sarna said. The Treaty has a term of seven years after which it is reviewed. Ten Afghans killed in suicide bombing KANDAHAR, JAN 5 (AP): A suicide attacker blew up explosives strapped to his body in a central Afghan town Thursday during a visit by the U.S. ambassador, killing 10 Afghans and wounding 50, Afghan officials said. The U.S. Embassy and Afghan officials said Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann and other U.S. officials were unhurt in the attack in Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province. A purported Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility. The attack happened about a half-kilometer (quarter-mile) from the Uruzgan governor's house, said Abdullah Khan, the governor's spokesman. The ambassador and his party were inside the building meeting local leaders and were unhurt, he said. Abdul Aziz, the deputy provincial governor, and local Afghan army commander Rhamatullah Rawofi said 10 Afghans standing outside the building were killed. India sees 14b rupees from Maruti sale NEW DELHI (Bloomberg) : India expects more than 14 billion rupees ($320 million) from the sale of a stake in Maruti Udyog Ltd., the country's biggest carmaker. The government set a minimum price of 620 rupees a share for local state-run lenders to bid for the stakes in New Delhi- based Maruti, said a finance ministry official, who didn't want to be identified. The reserve price, set after the market closed, is 7.8 percent below today's closing price of 672.3 rupees on the Mumbai stock exchange. India is counting on the sale of stakes in state-run companies to finance social sector programs and the building of roads, ports and schools in Asia's fourth-biggest economy. The government is seeking to improve the lives of more than 650 million people who live in rural areas by stake sales amid opposition from communist party allies. Companies have to make their bids for the 8 percent stake the government is selling in Maruti by Jan. 11, the official said in New Delhi. The government will set the final sale price the next day, the official said. UN fears more deaths in Pakistan quake-zone chill ISLAMABAD (Reuters) : Heavy snow and extreme cold in Pakistan's earthquake zone have increased the risk of illnesses like pneumonia and could lead to more deaths, the United Nations said on Thursday. Up to 18 people have already died of pneumonia in the quake zone in the past six weeks, Mohamud Khalif Bile, senior representative in Pakistan of the U.N.'s World Health Organisation, told a news conference. A long-anticipated cold spell struck on Saturday and Jan Vandemoortele, who is heading the U.N. relief effort, said there were fears the number of deaths due to cold would rise. "The threat is absolutely there, and that is why we have to be vigilant," he said. "Our teams have not been able to reach the high altitudes to assess the situation, but we know that it is likely to be grave.
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