Thousands protest for reform in Iran
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TEHRAN, Dec 8: Baton-wielding security forces arrested at least 60
people in the Iranian capital on Saturday, a city official said,
as thousands gathered in and around Tehran University to call for
political reform.

The demonstration, which coincided with National Students' Day,
was the most significant sign in recent weeks that ordinary
Iranians were willing to join students in the largest pro-reform
protests in the Islamic Republic for over three
years.....(Reuters)

http://www.dawn.com/cgi-bin/dina.pl?file=top16.htm&date=20021209

(3)

Muslims in Gujarat fear communal violence
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AHMEDABAD, Dec 16: Muslim leaders in Gujarat said on Monday they
believed a resounding victory for Hindu nationalists could usher
in a period of peace rather than fuel further communal violence.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept state assembly elections,
grabbing 126 seats in the 182-member state legislative assembly,
while the Congress managed to win only 51 in results announced on
Sunday.....(AFP)

http://www.dawn.com/cgi-bin/dina.pl?file=top16.htm&date=20021217

(5)

India planned twice to attack Pakistan, says report
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By Jawed Naqvi
NEW DELHI, Dec 17: Indian leadership had planned twice to attack
Pakistan this year - first on Jan 14 and later on June 10 - but
was deterred by the prospect of a nuclear retaliation by Islamabad
as well as the fear of getting bogged down, during the proposed
summer thrust, by the arriving monsoons, India Today reported on
Tuesday.

"Twice this year, India was on the verge of striking against
Pakistan," the magazine said in its latest edition.....

http://www.dawn.com/cgi-bin/dina.pl?file=top13.htm&date=20021218

(6)

The South Asian Crisis of 1971
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB79/

Washington D.C.: On the 31st anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh,
the National Security Archive published today on the World Wide Web 46
declassified U.S. government documents and tape recordings concerned with
United States policy towards India and Pakistan during the South Asia Crisis
of 1971.

The documents, declassified and available at the National Archives and the
Presidential Library system detail how United States policy, directed by
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, followed a course that became infamously
known as "The Tilt."

(7)

How we forgot about the women of Afghanistan

It shows just how long our concern will probably last for those affected by our next military adventure

http://argument.independent.co.uk/regular_columnists/natasha_walter/story.jsp?story=362847

(8)

Germany slams door on 'green card' immigrants

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=362874

German government plans to ease foreign immigration substantially were ruled invalid by the country's constitutional court yesterday, dealing a major policy blow to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's embattled coalition of Social Democrats and Greens.