Kabul bombing will not deter India: PM

New Delhi, Aug 4 (DNS) Terming the Kabul embassy bombing as an attack on Indo-Afghan friendship, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today declared that it will not deter New Delhi from continuing its reconstruction of the war-torn country and announced a fresh assistance worth 450 mn USD for it। After his talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai against the "backdrop of serious threat posed by terrorism to security and stability of Afghanistan, India and the region", Singh said the two leaders agreed to fight the menace "unitedly and with firm determination". Addressing mediapersons along with Karzai, Singh said the two leaders decided that they will not allow terrorism to stand in the way of the boosting the friendly relations between their countries.

The Prime Minister noted that Karzai's visit was taking place at a "critical juncture" in India, Afghanistan and the region. "The attack on our embassy in Kabul on July 7 has tragically shown that terrorism has no barriers and is not bound by restraints," Singh said. "It was an attack on the friendship between India and Afghanistan," he said. Condemning the embassy attack in Kabul as well as the serial bombings in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, Karzai said Afghanistan and India face the same challenge of terrorism and "cold-blooded murderous activities". He said the two countries as also the world at large have "no option but to be united in the fight against terrorism" as it is "our moral responsibility as human beings to protect" the people.

2 more killed, Centre rushes top officials to Jammu

New Delhi, Aug 4 (DNS) The Centre today rushed Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta and Defence Secretary Vijay Singh to violence-hit Jammu, which continued to be tense over the Amarnath land row that claimed two more lives today।

During their visit, Gupta and Singh interacted with officials of the Jammu and Kashmir government and Army and took on the spot assessment of the volatile situation in the state which is witnessing unrest over the land controversy, sources said।

The decision to send two top officials came after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to his residence late last night upon his return from Colombo।

Patil also convened a meeting at his residence today during which the government reviewed the situation in the sensitive border state, currently under Governor's rule।

The steps being taken by the local authorities also figured in the meeting which also decided to provide all assistant required by the state government.

High Court refuses permission to abort 26-week foetus

Mumbai, Aug 4 (DNS) The Bombay High Court today refused permission to abort a 26-week foetus with a serious heart defect after rejecting the mother's plea to terminate the pregnancy in a case torn between trauma and ethical issues।

Dismissing an application by Niketa Mehta, the court observed that medical experts did not express any "categorical opinion that if the child is born it would suffer from serious handicaps।" Considering the defects as they are today, experts are not sure whether cardiac surgery will be required at or after birth, court said.

The court noted that even if the couple had approached before 20 weeks it would not have been possible to allow abortion, as the medical opinion was contrary।

Mehta also sought an amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy(MTP) Act so that pregnancy can be terminated even after 20 weeks if doctors believe that the child, if born, will have serious abnormalities, so as to render it handicapped। As per the 37-year-old abortion control laws, a pregnancy can be terminated after 20 weeks only if there was a fatal risk to the mother and not the foetus.

But a division bench of Justice R M S Khandeparkar and Amjad Sayed observed that they could not alter the provision।

"It is the job of the legislature to help you alter the provision। We cannot legislate the provision," Justice Khandeparkar observed.

Additional Solicitor General Rajinder Raghuvansh said the court felt that existing laws did not permit Niketa to abort the child. Niketa's lawyer Amit Kharkanis said the Mehta family was "disappointed" but no decision has been taken to approach the Supreme Court.