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India loses precious southern tip in Indian Ocean forever
CAMPBELL BAY (Great Nicobar Island), Dec 22 (PTI): India has lost precious strategic land to the tsunami forever as large stretches in its southernmost tip, about 120 km from the Indonesian shores, remain underwater even an year into the mammoth natural disaster.
An aerial tour of the region confirmed what the local administration and combined defence forces of the southern Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar islands have not officially admitted till now.
Just 125 km away from the epicentre of the earthquake that jolted the Indian Ocean region on December 26 last year, this was the first landmass hit by the waves in the North-West direction gulping about 20 km of land.
Blair's surprising visit to Iraq
BASRA, DEC 22 (AP): Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in southern Iraq Thursday on a surprise visit to British troops.
The pre-Christmas visit - Blair's fourth trip to Iraq since the2003 invasion - was intended partly to thank the 8,000 British troops, who will be away from home over the holiday period.
At home, Blair has been dogged by questions about how long they will remain in Iraq.
Blair flew into Basra from Kuwait aboard a British military plane on a trip not disclosed in advance for security reasons.
Blair was due to be briefed by senior British and American officials, including U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad; the senior.
$45-$55 barrel oil prices doesn't hurt world economy: OPEC
SINGAPORE, DEC 22 (AP): The acting secretary-general of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said Thursday that at US$45-US$55 a barrel, oil prices don't hurt the world economy, according to a CNBC report.
Adnan Shihab-Eldin also said the oil market is well-balanced ahead of the winter's peak.
Shihab-Eldin and other top OPEC officials are with the group's president, Sheik Ahmad Fahad al-Sabah, on an official visit to China, in a bid to further deepen dialogue between world oil producers and consumers.
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