Spy tools unmasked

All is not what it seems at this museum. That tube of blood-red lipstick? It is actually a tiny pistol dubbed " the kiss of death" carried by female-KGB agents. The ordinary US Postal service mailbox? It is one used by former CIA staffer Aldrich Ames to drop sensitive documents for pickup by Soviet operatives. And the photo sitting innocently on a desk? The frame is outfitted with a bugging device.

The stuff of real-life cloak-and-dagger gathered from around the globe, fills the new International Spy Museum in downtown Washington which opened on July 19.

-Hindustan Times - July 12, 2002

World crime court turns real amid rows.

The first permanent World Criminal Court, dreamed of for decades, became a reality on 1st July 2002, even as the United States fought tooth and nail to avoid its jurisdiction over humanity's most heinous crimes.

Without fuss or fanfare, the International Criminal Court's (ICC's) first four workers arrived at temporary quarters in an office block on the outskirts of Hague to handle complaints of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes worldwide.

- The Indian Express - July 2, 2002.

New Delhi Teheran vow to fight terror

India and Iran agreed to cooperate in combating terrorism in the region and stressed on the need for early finalisation of comprehensive UN Convention to fight the menace.

The two sides also supported cooperative approaches to deal with challenges posed to their common security environment and to international peace and security, according to a joint statement issued at the end of a four day India visit by Hasan Roohani, Secretary of National Security Council of Iran.

- Hindustan Times - June 29, 2002