Renowned Indian journalist shows mirror to Modi on Kashmir policy

narendra-modi1 — Renowned Indian journalist shows mirror to Modi on Kashmir policy

ISLAMABAD, Oct 23 (APP): Rebuffing the untrue picture
presented by Indian officials on Kashmir situation, a renowned
Indian journalist Santosh Bhartiya has shown Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi the mirror on his Kashmir policy, summarising that
`the land of Kashmir is with us but the people of Kashmir are not
with us.’
In a letter addressed to Premier Modi, the journalist
encompassed all of his findings during his travel to the valley,
including the brutal killings, use of excessive force, strong anger
in Kashmiri people, raising of Pakistani flags, the disturbance
among the Indian army and mishandling of the Kashmir issue by the
India, particularly the Modi regime.
While writing to his prime minister, Bhartiya was not much
hopeful of any response from his office or even the addressee might
not receive this above 3,400-word letter, so opted to publish it in
the Rising Kashmir newspaper.
He said he was in a state of restlessness after returning from
the Valley. Kashmiris have painful aggression in them against the
Indian system; be it a man of 80 year old or a six-year-old child
and believed this situation would lead them to the disastrous
“massacre” situation.
He said a dangerous misconception was growing in the minds of
the officials of our military troops and security forces that if
anybody who raises the voice against the prevailing system in
Kashmir he or she should be killed to suppress the separatists
movement’, but it is an entirely wrong policy to peruse.
He said what was going on in Kashmir was actually a revolution
of every common man of Kashmir, where a man of 80 to a child of six
raises the slogans of “Freedom and Azadi”.
Calling for correcting the past mistakes committed by India
and balming the people of Kashmir, Santosh Bhartiya said regardless
of creed and age, all Kashmiris believe that a blunder has been done
to the Kashmiris and the system of Kashmir.
“A Kashmiri who does not hold a stone in hand, keeps the stone
in his heart. This revolution has taken a shape of mass-movement
same as the movement of 1942 or JP Movement in which the
contribution of public was more than the leaders,” he said.
Baqr Eid was not celebrated in Kashmir this time. Neither
anyone wore new clothes. Not a single home celebrated Eid. Isn’t
this move of Kashmiris a slap on the faces of the people who talk
aloud and swear upon democracy?
In his letter the journalist quoted Kashmiri people as saying,
” The Valley is bedewed in blood of Kashmiris as more than 10,000
Kashmiris are badly injured by pellet guns; more than 500 have lost
their eyes forever. In such a gloomy atmosphere, “We don’t want to
light up our homes with four bulbs, we don’t feel like and we don’t
want to hurt each other by doing so. We will live by lighting up
with only one bulb.”
The journalist recalled witnessing how people lived on one
bulb light and how young boys piled up the stones on the roads and
the same boys remove those heaps of stone in the evening at six.
He told Modi that during night Kashmiri people slept with the
doubt of pathos that anytime the military and security forces would
enter their homes to pick them up, and they would never ever return
to their homes. Such a situation was never witnessed in our history
not even during the times of British Rule.
Entire generation that was born in 1952 had not seen a single
day of democracy but army, paramilitary forces, bullets, guns, dead
bodies, mass graveyards, disappeared people, torture and mass rapes.
Bhartiya told the prime minister that some people had made him
believe that each person in Kashmir was a Pakistani. In fact, they
say that whatever Indians promised was never respected.
On every tree, on every mobile tower, Pakistani flag swirls in
Kashmir. We inquired about it and people responded by saying that,
“India hates Pakistan. So in order to tease you we swirl Pakistani
flags.”
In order to hurt Indian government, when India looses a
cricket match with Pakistan Kashmiris celebrate even if India loses
a cricket match against New Zealand, Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka
Kashmiris do celebrate. They think that they are able to express
their protest by this way.
“Dearest Modiji, don’t you think that we seriously need to
understand their mentality. If people of Kashmir are not with us
then what are we going to do with bare land of Kashmir. There will
be nothing do business with, no tourism, no love; only our
government will be there followed by our army. People of Kashmir
want to be self-decisive. The only thing Kashmiris say is, “Just ask
us once whether we want to live with India or Pakistan; or want an
independent Kashmir, where there is Pakistan ruled Kashmir, and
Gilgit-Baltistan,” the letter said.

The present situation aroused only due to the failure of last four delegations sent to Kashmir from time to time. Their reports were never made public. No action was taken following these reports.
Bhartiya said Modi has celebrated Diwali amongst Kashmir and promised crores of money-package for Kashmir, but it was never received by the common people there.
Mocking the statements from Indian side, Bhartiya questioned Modi as amid curfew and with no people on roads how Pakistan could give 500 rupee to each stone-pelting boy every day? And was Indian system so helpless or hopeless that it could not catch a single man who distributed these 500-500 rupees to the young boys of Kashmir. This is sheer joke and even Kashmiris mock at us.
The senior journalist also censured Indian media for spreading and exaggerating the communalism in the country. Few of them were blinded by the ambition of becoming the Member of Parliament (MP) that they have forgotten their actual role of a journalist.
He said Modi would be remembered as a ruthless Prime Minister who didn’t bother to stop the massacres, but kept Kashmir intact with India? This will be very painful and bitter history for our coming generations.
Hurriyat is so dominating and powerful in Kashmir that the people strictly abide by their protest calendars.
Santosh Bhartiya seconded Indian corp commander asking the government not to entangle him in political clashes because army was for enemies and not for civilians.
He shared with Modi that every person in Srinagar was praising Atal Bihari Vajpyee for pursuing the policy of dialogue for friendship with Pakistan and remembered as a “masiha” who thought of giving some solution to this conflict.
“And the reason of not trusting you is that you are visiting every country and taking tours around the world; rather you are the only Prime Minister in the world who has visited so many countries in such a short span of time, but your own 60 lakh people back home in Kashmir are saddened and upset with you,” the letter said.
The journalist urged Premier Modi to go to Kashmir and meet people, apprehend the complications and talk to every stakeholder of Kashmir, even to Hurriyat.
Bhartiya, who visited the valley along with other India’s top journalists Ashoke Wankhade and Prof. Abhay Dubey said they actually wept by seeing the bleeding condition of Kashmir.
All the negativity about Kashmiris is actually spread deliberately and intentionally by a group of people in the rest of the country by labeling them as Pakistani-backed-terrorists and that every Kashmiri is a traitor and is against India.
Labelling Kashmir movement with Pakistan is a sheer made-up story and is not true at all.
Recently, there was big hue and cry over Kaveri in Karnataka and Bangalore, but not a single man died and police or army did not shot people. Why there is bloodshed in Kashmir only? Why pellets and bullets are showered in Kashmir only? Why the pellets and bullets are shot above the waist in Kashmir only? Why you need to shoot a six-year-old child? Why a six-year-old child and our own local police are against us?
Santosh Bhartiya asked Modi to free them from the treatment of prejudice and help them from freeing themselves from a fearful and merciless lives they have spend since last 70 years.

Indian nuclear bomb making capacity is far beyond than western estimates: Researchers

asd — Indian nuclear bomb making capacity is far beyond than western estimates: Researchers

(By Ejaz Shah)

ISLAMABAD Oct 23 (APP): New ground breaking research carried out by nuclear experts has disclosed that India can produce a maximum of 356 to 492 nuclear weapons, proving that the actual Indian nuclear bomb making capacity is far greater than most current western assessments.

This is the crux of the research carried out by four nuclear researchers in a book “Indian Unsafe guarded Nuclear Program” co authored by Adeela Azam, Ahmad Khan, Syed Muhammad Ali and Sameer Ali Khan.

“The research study reveals that India has sufficient material and technical capacity to make up to 356 to 492 nuclear bombs. This work is in contrast to various other earlier studies which have taken a much more modest view of the Indian nuclear bomb making potential,” said the authors, interacting with this scribe while divulging details about their startling study.

The findings of the study also provide food for thought to the member States of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) that they must consider the large and swiftly expanding Indian nuclear bomb making capacity while dealing with New Delhi’s NSG membership case and ensure that the Indian membership of this export control arrangement does not, in any way, help India further expand and accelerate its nuclear weapons program.

The book published by the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI), dilates in threadbare upon the topics like, “Indian Nuclear Energy Needs and Uranium Reserves, Indian Uranium Enrichment Capacity and Future Requirement, Indian Unsafe guarded Nuclear Reactor Program and Indian Nuclear Reprocessing Program.”

Findings of this book are based on the critical review of hundreds of Indian documents, research studies, budgetary estimates, technical assessments, statements and research by senior Indian nuclear scientists and credible research of leading international nuclear experts, spanning more than six decades.

It also unveils the true size, extent and capabilities of the different aspects of the complex Indian nuclear program, which New Delhi has kept outside the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and proves that it is the largest and oldest unsafe guarded nuclear program in the entire developing world and among all the States not party to the Nuclear Non proliferation Treaty.

Adeela Azam, Visiting Fellow ISSI, has argued that India’s own mines have sufficient uranium reserves and capacity to run New Delhi’s existing reactors for more than a century. India has produced nuclear fuel beyond the current requirements of its Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors.

Ahmad Khan, Visiting Fellow ISSI, is of the view that India, despite starting its uranium enrichment program much later than Pakistan, has overtaken Islamabad in terms of its total known uranium enrichment capacity.

“Although the world’s spotlight continues to be on the Iranian nuclear program, in reality the Indian uranium enrichment program is perhaps the fastest growing in the World and provides New Delhi with ample Uranium enrichment capacity to not only run nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines but also to build nuclear and thermonuclear weapons,” he said.

Syed Muhammad Ali, Senior Research Fellow Center for International Strategic Studies, offers a new assessment of how many nuclear bombs India can actually make, based on the removal of weapon grade and reactor grade plutonium from its nuclear reactors, kept outside IAEA safeguards. Based on its current unsafe guarded nuclear reactor capacity,

India can make up to 492 plutonium based nuclear weapons.

“India acquired its nuclear bomb making capacity almost two decades before Pakistan, has consistently enlarged it, making New Delhi’s estimated stocks of weapon useable nuclear materials, the largest in the entire developing world and the Non NPT states,” he added.

Sameer Ali Khan, Visiting Fellow ISSI, extensive research on Indian reprocessing facilities reveals that New Delh’s large reactor grade plutonium stockpile is weapon useable and it has kept almost its entire known reprocessing capacity outside IAEA safeguards, which is available for military use.

In addition, India is keeping its Fast Breeder reactor program outside the IAEA safeguard for potential military use. Operating at 80% of their known capacities, Indian reprocessing plants could have separated more than one ton of weapon grade plutonium, sufficient for approximately 96 to 294 nuclear warheads. Moreover, India might have separated over 9 to 12 tons of additional reactor grade plutonium, Sameer said.

Alternatively, assuming a more conservative efficiency of the Indian reprocessing plants of 50% capacity, New Delhi could have separated over 700 kgs of weapon grade plutonium, sufficient for building 126 to 189 nuclear weapons besides separating over 5 to 7 tons of reactor grade plutonium, he said.

This additional 5 to 12 tons stock of reactor grade plutonium is potentially weapon usable and, if not used in Fast Breeder Reactors, could support an additional arsenal of 833 to 3000 reactor grade plutonium based nuclear weapons besides those based on weapons grade plutonium. Even if this unsafe guarded reactor grade plutonium stocks are used to fuel Indian Fast Breeder Reactors, the ultimate output (weapons grade plutonium) will find its only utility in nuclear weapons. This estimate does not mean that the estimates presented in earlier chapters are inconsistent with these estimates or incorrect.

The difference in these estimates is because each chapter has looked at the capacities of Indian nuclear facilities rather than actual production, he added.

Governments and Social Movements Disagree on Future of Cities

Activists protest during the Resistance to Habitat III social forum held at the Central University of Ecuador, which hosted the gathering held parallel to Habitat III, bringing together 100 NGOs from 35 countries, to debate on how to create cities for all. Credit: Emilio Godoy/IPS

QUITO, Oct 21 2016 (IPS) - The Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development and the alternative forums held by social organisations ended in the Ecuadorean capital with opposing visions regarding the future of cities and the fulfillment of rights in urban areas.

On Thursday Oct. 20, the representatives of 195 countries taking part in the Habitat III conference adopted the Quito Declaration on Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements for All, after four days of deliberations.

The basis of the declaration, also known as the New Urban Agenda, is the promotion of sustainable urban development, inclusive prosperity, and spatial development planning.

“If you see the New Urban Agenda as building international cooperation, agreed on by the countries and implemented by municipal governments, which did not take part in drawing it up, it’s heading for a crisis, because there will be clashes.” -- Fernando Carrión

In the 23-page declaration, the states commit themselves to fighting poverty, inequality and discrimination; improving urban planning; and building cities with resilience to climate change.

At the same time, academics and social movements laid out their visions of social development of cities in two alternative social forums held parallel to the Oct. 17-20 summit, criticising Habitat III’s approach to urbanisation and questioning how effectively it can be applied.

During this parallel forum, held at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), some 140 speakers from 32 nations and 40 organisations from around the region discussed urban rights; the dialogue with local governments and social movements; housing and spatial justice, a term similar to the right to the city.

Habitat III, the cities summit organised by U.N.-Habitat, drew around 35,000 delegates of governments, non-governmental organisations, international bodies, universities, and companies, and gave rise to the New Urban Agenda, which is to chart the course of political action aimed at sustainable urban development over the next 20 years.

After the United States and Europe, Latin America is the most urbanised part of the planet, as 80 percent of the region’s total population of 641 million people live in urban areas.

At least 104 million Latin Americans live in slums; worldwide the number of slum dwellers amounts to 2.5 billion, according to U.N.-Habitat.

This phenomenon poses the challenges of land title regularisation and the provision of basic services, while aggravating problems facing cities like pollution, increasing traffic, urban sprawl and inequality.

“We need to rethink how to organise cities. We have to organise and mobilise ourselves. We’re going to assess compliance by national and local governments, which are key, because many things will depend on their compliance,” Alison Brown, a professor at the University of Cardiff in the UK, told IPS.

Since the first Habitat conference, in Vancouver in 1976, the world has only fulfilled 70 percent of the commitments adopted at the first two summits, while progress has practically stalled since Habitat II in Istanbul in 1996. Credit: HCI

The Quito Declaration drew criticism on some points. One of the main concerns that arose in the debates was about the “post-Quito” implementation of the commitments assumed by the states and social organisations.

The Habitat III accords “cannot generate the urban reforms that we need, such as integral access to land with services. That can only be achieved through struggle. It is local political participation that makes it possible to press for urban reform,” Isabella Goncalves, an activist with the Brazilian NGO Brigadas Populares, told IPS.

She attended the Oct. 14-20 Resistance to Habitat III social forum, which brought together delegates from about 100 social organisations from 35 nations to address issues such as opposition to evictions, the promotion of social housing, and defending the right to the city.

In its final declaration, the social forum called for strengthening the movements defending the right to land and territory and respect for the universal right to housing, and questioned Habitat III for pushing for urbanisation to the detriment of rural areas and their inhabitants.

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The Habitat International Coalition criticised the New Urban Agenda’s “narrow vision”, and lamented that Habitat III had forgotten about protecting people from forced eviction and about the need to fight the shortage of housing and to achieve the right to universal housing.

It also urged countries to “regulate global financial transactions; end or limit opaque speculative financial instruments; steeply tax real-estate speculation; regulate rents; enhance the social tenure, production and financing of housing and habitat; and prevent privatisation of the commons, which is subject to attack under the neoliberal development model.”

Academics and social movements want to avoid a repeat of what happened post-Habitat II, which was held in 1996 in Istanbul, and whose implementation lacked follow-up and evaluation.

For that reason, the organisers of Towards an Alternative Habitat 3 agreed on the creation of an observatory for monitoring the decisions reached, biannual meetings, wide publication of the results of research and follow-up on the progress made by cities.

The Quito Declaration mentions periodic reviews, and urges the U.N. secretary general to assess the progress made and challenges faced in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, in his quadrennial report in 2026.

The decade between the summit in Istanbul and the one held this week in Quito serves as a demonstration of what could happen with the New Urban Agenda.

The Global Urban Futures Project’s Habitat Commitment Index, presented during Habitat III, shows how little has been achieved since 1996.

Between Habitat I, held in 1976 in Vancouver, and Habitat II, the global average score in terms of fulfillment of the commitments assumed was 68.68, according to the Project, a network of academics and activists based at the New School University in New York City, which created the Index based on infrastructure, poverty, employment, sustainability, institutional capacity, and gender indicators.

But since the 1996 conference, the global average only increased by 1.49 points. Latin America and Southeast Asia increased their scores, while North and sub-Saharan Africa showed extremes in both directions, with large increases and decreases in HCI scores.” India made no progress, and China saw a “significant decline” in its score.

With respect to the different dimensions taken into account by the Index, the greatest progress was seen in gender, modest progress was seen in poverty and sustainability, and minimal progress was seen in infrastructure.

“We didn’t manage to get a citizen monitoring mechanism or advisory committee included in the New Urban Agenda,” Luis Bonilla of El Salvador, who is the chief operating officer for TECHO International, told IPS.

“For that reason, we will create a follow-up mechanism. Concrete commitments are needed” within the agenda, he added.

Carrión, a professor at FLACSO and a coordinator of working groups in the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLASCO), said “the attention of many organisations was drawn, and now we will see what can be done from here on out.” For social movements, then, Quito marked the start of a long road ahead.

Limitless Cigars and Rum for U.S. Tourists in Cuba

Bolivar Belicoso Fino, Cohiba Siglo IV, Cuaba Distinguidos, Trinidad Robusto Extra and Hoyo Churchill brand cigars. Credit: Alex Brown/cc by 2.0

ROME, Oct 23 2016 (IPS) - After more than a half-century of a commercial, financial and economic embargo, U.S.-Cuban trade relations took a significant step forward this month.

On Oct. 14, the Barack Obama administration announced a round of executive actions designed to increase trade and travel with Cuba. One of these included lifting restrictions on Cuban rum and cigars for U.S. travelers in Cuba.

The executive actions were taken following a series of changes made since Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced on Dec. 17, 2014 that they were committed to normalise relations after decades of enmity.

The lifting of trade restrictions signifies the willingness of both policymakers and the public to form a positive relationship between the U.S and Cuba. Many hope the breakdown of trade barriers will lead to a new era of economic vitality for Cuban citizens.

The Obama administration has called for a rescinding of the 50-year-old economic embargo on the island. The U.S. administration’s ultimate goal would be to make Obama’s trade policy with Cuba irreversible through the establishment of a wide network of trade relationships strong enough to defeat any future opposition from the public or Republican lawmakers alike.

Although lifting restrictions on cigars and rum may seem like a small step, these reforms could pave the road to open trade between the nations. There is just as much demand in Cuba for U.S commodities such as rice, wheat, and corn as there is in the U.S. for organic fruit, seafood and sugar produced in Cuba. With over 11 million citizens just 90 miles off the Florida coast, Cuba presents itself as a prosperous market for U.S food and agricultural exports.

Advocates of normalising trade relations say it would not only enhance Cuban citizens access to affordable food, it will also provide the U.S agri-business sector with a host of new trade opportunities with the island nation. Lifted restrictions will also make it easier for U.S. companies to import Cuban-made pharmaceuticals and for Cuban citizens to purchase affordable, high-quality products from the U.S online.

“The Treasury Department has worked to break down economic barriers in areas such as travel, trade and commerce, banking, and telecommunications,” Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew explained in a statement.

“Today’s action builds on this progress by enabling more scientific collaboration, grants and scholarships, people-to-people contract, and private sector growth. These steps have the potential to accelerate constructive change and unlock greater economic opportunity for Cubans and Americans.”

Many believe this lift could rebuild the booming rum and cigar trade relations the U.S. shared with Cuba in the past. In fact, cigars are widely considered to be Cuba’s most prized export. The island is renowned for being one of the world’s best tobacco producers.

In the 18th century, tobacco was the second most exported product in the nation, after sugar. Before the embargo, the U.S and Cuba shared a close trade relationship with the U.S having consumed some 300 million Cuban cigars by the mid-19th century, and many Cuban cigar-makers migrating to nearby Florida, where Tampa became known as “Cigar City” by the early 20th century.

Now, U.S citizens can also enjoy the limitless consumption of what has made Cuba’s known as the ‘Isle of Rum’. Through an age-old tradition of rum-making using a combination of world-famous sugar cane (first introduced by Christopher Columbus in 1493), a favourable Caribbean climate, fertile soil, and the unique know-how of Cuban “Maestro Roneros” (master rum-makers) this distinctly Cuban beverage is sought after the world over.

Lawrence Ward, a partner at Dorsey & Whitney, an international law firm focused on U.S. national security law, international trade compliance law and licensing, said that, “Today’s announcement is a massive development in further opening trade between the United States and Cuba. The Obama Administration has been committed to normalizing U.S.-Cuban relations and these new changes come at an interesting time when U.S.-Russian relations are quite tense.”

Ward added that Cuban tobacco and alcohol products are two of the most sought after commodities for U.S. tourists to bring home for personal use.

Ex-SDF Officer Dies in Suspected Suicide with Explosive

Utsunomiya, Tochigi Pref., Oct. 23 (Jiji Press)--An eldery man, a former Self-Defense Forces officer, was burned to death in Utsunomiya, the capital of the eastern Japan prefecture of Tochigi, on Sunday, in a suspected suicide using an explosive.
   Around 11:40 a.m. (2:40 a.m. GMT), a policeman on patrol reported that a person was on fire at Utsunomiya Castle Park, where a local festival was being held. The person was confirmed dead, according to the Tochigi prefectural police department.
   A man nearby, 58, and another, 64, were seriously wounded, with a broken rib or bleeding from the head. A 14-year-old junior high school boy who was also near the scene suffered a minor injury.
   The police suspect that an explosive was used in the incident, because there reportedly were sounds of blasts, and injuries from metal fragments were confirmed.
   While the dead man's body was heavily damaged, what appears to be a suicide note was found from his right sock, according to police sources

LDP Secures Victory in 2 Japan Lower House By-Elections

Tokyo/Fukuoka, Oct. 23 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party won Sunday's two closely watched by-elections for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, possibly giving a boost to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy management.
   The LDP's victory could further fuel expectations among the ruling and opposition parties that Abe may dissolve the Lower House at an early date for a snap election, political analysts said.
   Still, Abe, also LDP president, is likely to carefully study the timing of the possible Lower House breakup while examining the public opinion and economic conditions.
   In the election in the No. 10 constituency in Tokyo, former Lower House member Masaru Wakasa, 59, an LDP candidate also backed by Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner, defeated his two rivals including Yosuke Suzuki, 40, who was fielded by the main opposition Democratic Party and supported by three other opposition parties.
   The Tokyo election was seen effectively as a one-on-one contest between Wakasa and Suzuki. Wakasa was elected to the Lower House for the second time.

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visa-free travel to EU by November 24

KIEV, October 23. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko said on Sunday the European Union will abandon entry visas for Ukrainians by November 24.

"Visa-free travel will come into effect by November 24 when the Ukraine-European Union summit is to take place. We have agreed that all the documents will be ready by that time," Poroshenko said in an interview with three Ukrainian television channels.

Opium production up in Afghanistan,

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Opium production in Afghanistan is up 43 percent over 2015 levels with very little eradication efforts in place, according to the latest Afghanistan Opium Survey.

Opium is used to produce heroin. The use of this illegal drug is on the rise in the United States with stronger enforcement taking place for abuse of prescription opioids.

Data released Sunday by the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics and the U.S. Office on Drugs and Crime showed a 10 percent increase in the amount of land used to grow poppies, from which opium is extracted, Al Jazeera reported.

Eradication efforts have dropped 91 percent since last year.

The increase in production is due to better farming conditions which have resulted in a higher yield, BBC reported. Producing opium is a crime in Afghanistan, but remains a robust cash crop for impoverished farming villages.

The commodity is taxed by the Taliban, which uses the money as a major source of income for its military activities.

The report, released Sunday, shows "a worrying reversal in efforts," said UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov.

Afghanistan has a stated government policy that prohibits opium production, but is often accused of looking the other way.

Earlier this year, one farmer said the local government was aware of his crop, but knows it is the only way anyone can make "decent money."

Afghanistan's southern region produces 54 percent of poppies. Helmand province produces the most, with more than 160,000 acres of land in cultivation. That area has also seen a resurgence in recent years of Taliban presence.

Last year, when eradication efforts were much stronger, seven insurgents and one law officer died when eradication teams were attacked. That region saw clashes between the Taliban and NATO-led forces before NATO withdrew in 2014.

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Two people gained "unauthorized access" to an American Airlines plane Sunday, delaying a flight from Philadelphia to Boston.

U.S. Navy commissions new combat ship, USS Detroit

Sailors man the USS Detroit during a commissioning ceremony Saturday on the Detroit River. Photo by Lockheed Martin

DETROIT, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy commissioned the USS Detroit in its namesake city.

A crowd of 4,000 along the Detroit River at the Renaissance Center watched the combat ship's ceremonies.

"Like the city of Detroit, this ship is tough, resilient and in good hands," said U.S. Sen.Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, one of several dignitaries who addressed the crowd.

The USS Detroit, the sixth U.S. Navy ship to carry the city's name, is the nation's seventh Littoral Combat Ship. It joined three other Freedom-variant ships in the fleet: USS Freedom, USS Fort Worth and USS Milwaukee. The Independence variant team is led by Austal USA.

Six Freedom ships are under constrution by Lockheed Martin.

"This ship represents so much," said Ray Mabus, secretary of the Navy, said in a release. "It represents the city of Detroit, the motor city. It represents the highly skilled American workers of our nation's industrial base, the men and women who built this great warship and it represents the American spirit of hard work, patriotism and perseverance. The USS Detroit will carry these values around the world for decades to come as the newest ship in our nation's growing fleet."

The USS Detroit, which was built in Marinette, Wis., near Green Bay, and delivered to the Navy on Aug. 12, is 389 feet long and can reach speeds of 40 knots, or about 46 mph.

"The entire Lockheed Martin-led LCS team is honored to have delivered USS Detroit and witness the ship being commissioned and brought to life in her namesake city," Joe North, vice president of Littoral Ships and Systems said in a release. "For decades to come, USS Detroit will serve in the defense of our great nation, enabling the U.S. Navy to carry out its missions around the world and representing our nation where and when needed."

The ship has been in Detroit since Oct. 14 for tours and other events. It will spend four days along the Detroit River in Windsor, Ontario. Then, it will be based out of Mayport, Fla., as part of the Atlantic Fleet.

The 70-person crew is aboard the ship that "will combine with aviation assets to deploy manned and unmanned vehicles and sensors in support of mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare or surface warfare missions," according to a release.

Space truck Cygnus successfully docked

International Space Station. Archival photo

MOSCOW, Oct. 23 -. RIA Novosti Space Private truck Cygnus ( "The Swan") on Sunday made a docking with the International Space Station (ISS), according to the website of the US Office of Aeronautics and Space Exploration, NASA.

US space truck Cygnus separated from Antares rocket

NASA noted that all pre-docking procedure took place in a normal mode and only with a slight delay from the scheduled time. Astronauts have connected a robotic manipulator arm came up to the ISS at a distance of several meters in 14.28 MSK truck."Congratulations to the flight control team on the successful arrival of Cygnus", - message broadcast by NASA ISS crew. Direct docking of the truck to the docking port of the ISS was held at 17.54 MSK.

NASA announced that Cygnus carries more than two tonnes of cargo, including food for astronauts, as well as samples to conduct a number of experiments, including measuring radiation levels on the ISS using a new more precise equipment.

The ship is divided into two sections - the instrument and cargo. Like the Russian, Japanese and European space transportation vehicles, the US "The Swan" - a one-off.

Previous models of this ship was sent to the station with the help of Atlas V produced by the American company United Launch Alliance rocket (ULA). The truck was undocked from the ISS on June 14 for Saffire experiment to study the spread of flame inside the ship and start-up of small satellites, which have become part of a group of devices, leading monitoring weather conditions and track the movement of ship

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