‘1700 Pak armymen’ directing Taliban LONDON, Aug 28 — Half of the Taliban soldiers currently engaged in major offensives against the forces of Northern Alliance in Afghanistan are Pakistanis who are providing logistic support, command and control, Janes Defence Weekly has reported.

Bombing accused faces murder charge
NEW YORK, Aug 28 — An accused in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi has been charged under 14 criminal counts, including murder of 12 Americans killed in the blast, hours after he was flown here from Kenya.

USA issues alert in S. Korea
WASHINGTON, Aug 28 — The State Department warned Americans in South Korea to “be alert” after the US Embassy in Seoul received information about a possible terrorist attack targeting Americans.

Sindh Govt will survive: minister
ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 — A top federal minister has claimed majority for the Pakistan Muslim League government in Sindh despite its parting of ways with major coalition partners-the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

Monica contradicts Clinton’s secretary
WASHINGTON, Aug 28 — Clouding an obstruction of justice investigation, Monica Lewinsky and Presidential Secretary Betty Currie have given prosecutors differing recollections about the return of President Bill Clinton’s gifts to the former intern, according to people familiar with their accounts.

Gore faces probe on fundraising
WASHINGTON, Aug 28 — US Vice President Al Gore, cleared once for controversial campaign-fundraising telephone calls, is again facing investigation on the issue.

Indian kids create records in UK
LONDON, Aug 28 — A six-year-old Indian boy has created a record in Britain by becoming the youngest student to pass the General Certificate of Secondary Education examination.

India against Taliban getting into NAM

DURBAN, Aug 28 (UNI) — India will oppose any move to grant membership of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to the Taliban militia, which was lobbying for it through some friendly countries.

"We will oppose conferring the Non-Aligned Movement’s membership to the Taliban government tooth and nail" a senior Indian government official said.

The Taliban government is recognised by only three nations — Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia — and, as such, has no chance of getting the approval of the 12th NAM summit to become part of the 112-member organisation.

Afghanistan’s membership in the NAM is held by the Burhanuddin Rabbani-led National Alliance front which occupies barely 5 per cent of Afghanistan. The alliance’s stronghold Mazar-Sharief fell to the Taliban early this month.

Besides India, countries such as Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and some Arab and African nations, which are victims of terrorism, will frustrate the Taliban’s move.

Ousted President Rabbani will also attend the summit to mobilise the NAM’s support for his alliance, Afghanistan Ambassador to India Masood Khalili said.

Mr Khalili has been deputed by Mr Rabbani to attend the ministerial meeting of the NAM. He will brief the NAM members about the latest political situation in his country, especially the Taliban government’s support to various militant groups, operating in several countries, including India.

Meanwhile, India’s initiative to evolve a coordinated international action plan to combat terrorism is set to receive overwhelming support from developing countries at the summit.

India, which is the worst victim of cross-border terrorism, has repeatedly sought mobilisation of the world opinion to root out the menace which poses a serious challenge to a number of sovereign countries.

The recent bombing of the US mission’s in Kenya and Tanzania and subsequent missile attacks by the USA on Sudan and Afghanistan has strengthened India’s position for immediate and urgent measures to fight terrorism, which has been described as the greatest crime against humanity and the main reason for human rights violations.

The question of terrorism will prominently figure at the ministerial as well as the Heads of State and government meetings, say senior South African and Indian officials.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is certain to raise the issue during his speech at the summit on September 3. Mr Vajpayee had recently favoured firm action to stamp out terrorism completely.

He stated that the international community should realise that cross- border terrorism is a serious menace for the entire world. It has turned a deaf ear in the past to India’s repeated insistence that terrorism was being perpetuated by her neighbouring country.

Meanwhile, unprecedented security arrangements have been made for the summit here, following Tuesday night’s bomb blast at a restaurant in Cape Town.

Mr Joseph Nogobani, spokesperson of the South African security service said, "We are prepared for all eventualities". Police personnel in adequate strength have been deployed at all important public places and government buildings besides hotels, where leaders and delegates from 112 countries are being lodged.

The International Convention Centre, where the summit will be held, has been declared out-of-bounds for the public.

UN terms for ending sanctions
Gaddafi seeks guarantees

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 28 (AP) — Seeking to bring about justice in the Panam bombing case the Security Council voted unanimously yesterday to suspend sanctions against Libya once it hands over two intelligence agents for trial in the Netherlands.

The resolution, approved 15-0, also threatens additional measures if the suspects fail to show up for trial before a panel of three Scottish judges under Scottish law.

“This unanimous signal from the security council to the authorities of Libya could not have been stronger,” said Britain’s Deputy Ambassador, Stephen Gomersall. “This is now the moment of truth for Libya to come good on the commitments it has made.”

The USA and Britain agreed to hold a trial in the Netherlands in the hope of finally getting justice in the ten-year-old case. Previously, both had said the trial must occur in the USA or Britain. Libya had rejected that demand, saying the suspects could never get a fair trial in either country.

Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah are accused of planting a bomb aboard the flight, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988, killing 270 people.

Libya’s UN Ambassador, Mr Abuzed Omar Dorda, harshly criticized the six-year-old U.N. sanctions and the speed with which Libya was asked to respond to the US-British proposal for a trial in the Netherlands.

“Nevertheless, Libya accepts that the two suspects be tried in a Scottish court in the Netherlands by Scottish judges according to Scottish law,” Mr Dorda said. “We reaffirm this position today.”

“This is a serious position, an irreversible position,” he added.

There were concerns earlier in the day that China might abstain from the vote because of its opposition to the resolution’s citation of Chapter Seven of the U.N. Charter, which could allow the use of force if Libya failed to comply.

But Deputy Ambassador Shen Guofang said China voted in favour of the resolution, despite having reservations about some of the language and having abstained on previous Libya resolutions that cited the use of force.

Earlier in the day, Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi said in Tripoli he wouldn’t surrender the men until he received guarantees that the USA and Britain wouldn’t play “tricks.”

Gaddafi’s comments to CNN came a day after Libya announced acceptance in principal of the US-British plan, at the same time demanding that sanctions be lifted.

What we need now from the Libyans is not equivocal or conditional statements, but simple straightforward acceptance, said U.S. Deputy Ambassador Peter Burleigh. “We expect their deeds to be the proof of their stated intentions.”

U.N. sanctions were imposed in 1992 to force Libya to surrender the two suspects. The measures ban air travel to and from the country, prohibit arms sales, freeze some assets abroad and limit sales of oil equipment.

Under the proposal, the suspects could not be extradited from the Netherlands. If found guilty, they would serve their sentences in Britain.

The proposal stipulates the “safe transfer” of the two from Libya to the Netherlands and says international observers may attend the trial.

The resolution also insists that Libya satisfy a French investigation into the bombing of UTA flight 772, which exploded over Niger on September 19, 1989, killing all 170 passengers and crew.

‘1700 Pak armymen’ directing Taliban

LONDON, Aug 28 (PTI) — Half of the Taliban soldiers currently engaged in major offensives against the forces of Northern Alliance in Afghanistan are Pakistanis who are providing logistic support, command and control, Janes Defence Weekly has reported.

The current Taliban offensive has been described by Western military sources as “operating like a professional army” and independent evidence has corroborated Pakistan military’s deep involvement in Afghanistan, prominent Afghan expert Anthony Davis has reported from Kabul.

“Some 400 new pick-up trucks imported from Pakistan, were used to spearhead the Taliban offensive, which began on July 12, and an estimated 1,700 Pakistan military men are involved in a mobile Taliban force of 8,000 in northern Afghanistan,” the defence weekly said.

Besides this, he stated that Western military sources believed hundreds of other Pakistani religious volunteers from Islamic terrorist camps based in southern Afghanistan, hit recently by U.S Cruise missiles, and in Pakistan were being coordinated by the Afghan bureau of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence directorate.

Citing how Pakistani army commanders were directing battlefronts, the weekly said logistic support was well coordinated with water tankers and food trucks accompanying the Taliban columns as they moved north across the arid terrain.

Mr Davis said as troops captured Dostum strongholds of Maimana, Shiberghan and Mazar-i-Sharif. Antonov transports were seen ferrying reinforcements to airbases.

“Similarly the campaign as a whole was characterised by several relatively sophisticated manoeuvres across a fast-moving battlefield. Such actions have no precedent in recent Afghan military history”, he pointed out.

He said the operation had the hallmarks of the capture of Kabul by Taliban in 1996, which had definitely been led.

Directed and coordinated by senior Pakistan military officers, Western intelligence sources believe a big element of the Pakistan army, including artillery and armoured units, was operating with the Taliban and senior Pakistan army officers were directing major manoeuvres.

The defence journal said as a consequence of Pakistan army’s active involvement, an outcome of the present military crises in Afghanistan would be continued guerrilla struggle by the northern minorities like Hazares, Vzbeks, Ismails and Tajiks.

Bombing accused faces murder charge

NEW YORK, Aug 28 (PTI) — An accused in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi has been charged under 14 criminal counts, including murder of 12 Americans killed in the blast, hours after he was flown here from Kenya.

Mohammed Rashed Daoud Al-Owhali, apparently handed over by the Kenyan authorities to America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) without any legal proceedings and brought here on Wednesday night, was charged yesterday with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.

A Yemeni national, al-Owhali in Kenya went by the name of Khalid Salim.

He appeared before a Manhattan court, where Judge Sharon E-Grubin ordered him to be held pending an appearance on September 8.

Al-Owhali, who was injured in the August 7 bomb blast outside US Embassy in Kenya, has reportedly told investigators that the attack was “supposed to be a martyrdom operation which he did not expect to survive.”

Another suspect, Mohammed Saddiq Odeh, currently in custody of the FBI, was also expected to arrive shortly.

The FBI says the suspects are linked with Islamic militant Osama bin Laden, a Saudi billionaire, whom it blames for being mastermind in the attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Al-Owhali was arrested by the Kenyan authorities two days after the bombings.

LONDON: The renegade Saudi millionaire accused by the USA of inspiring attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania controls a 4,000-strong army, Jane’s Defence Weekly has reported, quoting a suspect in the attacks.

The respected military magazine reported yesterday that Sadiq Howaida, a Palestinian Arab arrested at Karachi airport on his arrival from Nairobi, told Pakistan’s intelligence officials that militants from Pakistan and Arab countries were working in the army of Osama bin Laden.

Howaida also disclosed he was on his way to Afghanistan with six other members of Osama’s forces, who were successful in evading security checks at Karachi airport, Jane’s said.

Jane’s said Howaida confessed to involvement in the embassy bombings.

NABLUS (West Bank): Palestinian militants burned US flags and called on Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, suspected of being behind the east Africa embassy bombings, to attack Israel and the USA.

Some 400 persons participated in the rally yesterday, where groups of masked men burned three US and then three Israeli flags.

USA issues alert in S. Korea

WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (AFP) — The State Department warned Americans in South Korea to “be alert” after the US Embassy in Seoul received information about a possible terrorist attack targeting Americans.

Security is being reinforced at the US Embassy in Seoul and at US military installations throughout South Korea because of the “potential threat,” a state department public announcement said yesterday.

“The US Embassy has received unconfirmed information that terrorist action may possibly be taken against officials of US Government installations and/or personnel in the Republic of Korea,” said the announcement.

Sindh Govt will survive: minister

ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (Agencies) — A top federal minister has claimed majority for the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) government in Sindh despite its parting of ways with major coalition partners-the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

The Federal Minister for Provincial Coordination, Choudhry Nisar Ali, said the Liaqat Jatoi government would not be affected by the ‘desertion’ as it was assured of support from ‘friends’ and Independents.

“The government enjoys a clear majority,” he said dismissing speculation that imposition of Presidents rule in the province was on the cards.

The ethnic MQM, which has 27 members in the provincial assembly, pulled out its seven ministers from the coalition citing non-implementation of its accord with the PML and the continued killings of its party activists allegedly by intelligence agencies and rival factions.

The withdrawal left Chief Minister Jatoi heading a minority government with only 15 PML legislators.

The Opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has now emerged as the single largest party in the 100-member legislature.

The ministers statement is widely being construed to mean that the ruling party has managed to engineer defections from rival groups especially in view of the sharp differences between the MQM and the PPP - which can provide an alternative government if they come together.

Senator Aftab Sheikh, deputy convener of the MQM coordination committee, while announcing his party’s decision to break its alliance with the PML, alleged that the league had adopted “Mohajir-bashing” policies by resorting to “state operation against MQM supporters”.

Mr Sheikh said his party had not yet made any alliance with any other opposition parties but would request the allotment of separate seats in the Opposition benches in both the National Assembly and the Sindh provincial Assembly.

He also did not rule out the possibility of his party supporting no-confidence move against the PML’s Sindh Chief Minister Liaqat Ali Jatoi.

The MQM, with 28 seats, is the second largest party in the 109-member Sindh assembly after Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The PML has 21 members.

The withdrawal of the MQM from the ruling coalition came after months of violence in Karachi as the MQM and one of its breakaway factions, MQM (Haqiqi), fought pitched battles in the port city resulting in the death of more than 200 people since early this year.

Meanwhile, media reports suggested that the MQM was trying to establish an alliance with the PPP. A leading English daily ‘Dawn,’ quoting provincial party sources said, the MQM and the Sindh unit of PPP were in touch.

Monica contradicts Clinton’s secretary

WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (AP) — Clouding an obstruction of justice investigation, Monica Lewinsky and Presidential Secretary Betty Currie have given prosecutors differing recollections about the return of President Bill Clinton’s gifts to the former intern, according to people familiar with their accounts.

Two sources familiar with Mrs Currie’s account, speaking on condition of anonymity, say President Clinton’s secretary has told prosecutors she went to the former intern’s apartment and retrieved the gifts at Ms Lewinsky’s request.

Ms Lewinsky has told prosecutors, according to sources familiar with her account, that she did not ask Mrs Currie to pick up the gifts that the former intern had received from President Clinton. These sources said Mrs Currie showed up at her apartment and indicated she understood she needed to pick up something.

Among the issues Mr Starr is investigating is whether Mr Clinton asked his secretary to retrieve the gifts and if so, was it part of an effort to obstruct lawyers in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit.

According to the sources, Ms Lewinsky told prosecutors that Mrs Currie’s visit occurred shortly after she had discussed with Mr Clinton her concerns about having his gifts while under subpoena.

The sources declined to give the exact date of that conversation except to say it occurred after December 28, when Ms Lewinsky met with Mr Clinton for the last time in the Oval Office and received additional gifts from the President.

Gore faces probe on fundraising

WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (PTI) — US Vice President Al Gore, cleared once for controversial campaign-fundraising telephone calls, is again facing investigation on the issue.

Attorney-General Janet Reno has ordered a preliminary investigation to determine if an independent counsel should be sought to probe the alleged phone calls Al Gore made from the White House to solicit campaign funds during President Bill Clinton’s re-election campaign in 1996.

The investigation — a 90-day review — is the second for the Vice-President, who was cleared of wrongdoing in December last year, based on what Mr Reno said was lack of credible evidence that he had violated the law.

Mr Gore has acknowledged making 45 telephone calls from his office during the campaign but denied violating the law.

Indian kids create records in UK

LONDON, Aug 28 (PTI) — A six-year-old Indian boy has created a record in Britain by becoming the youngest student to pass the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examination.

Krishan Radia, a student from Ryde College at Northwood in Middlesex County, achieved grade ‘C’ in the GCSE information systems examination in June.

Radia who hails from Gujarat and lives at Kenton in north London broke the record also held by fellow Indian girl Nisha Santhirarajah from Edgware who had cleared the GCSE examination in computers at the age of seven.

Last week, Priyesh Patel, a 12-year-old Indian from Harrow became the youngest person in the country to achieve an ‘A’ level grade after studying the nine-month computer classes.

Another Indian boy, Nitish Upadhyaya (8) from Loca Vivekananda School had also created waves by passing the GCSE exams on Hinduism.

15-year term for killing parents
WARSAW: A teenager who hacked his parents to death was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The youth, identified only as Tomasz S., killed his parents while they slept on September 26 after a row with his father over missing school that day. The bodies were discovered by his nine-year-old sister. Judge Zenon Martyniak’s ruling on Thursday rejected arguments by relatives and lawyers for the youth, now 17, that the father’s strictness was to blame. — AP

Royal change
LONDON: The British Royal family acknowledged that the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, spurred a modernisation of the monarchy. Buckingham Palace on Thursday said in a statement that all members of the household had taken note of the 36-year-old Princess’ public championing of causes and her informality with the public. Queen Elizabeth II now undertook less formal visits and spent more “quality time” talking to people from every walk of life. — AFP

Kala azar kills 17
KATHMANDU: The deadly kala azar disease, caused by sandflies, has claimed the lives of 17 persons in the tropical south-eastern region of Nepal known as the Terai since July, a Health Department official said.. “Kala azar has killed 17 persons since July in Bara district and some 20 persons are still affected by the disease in this district,” he said on Friday. — AFP

Indian drowns
HOUGHTON: A highly regarded Indian-born Michigan Technological University professor fell from an inner tube and drowned in Lake Superior, officials have said. Mr Mohan Krishnamurthy (33) joined the Michigan tech faculty in 1994 and was an Associate Professor of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering. He was this year’s recipient of the university’s annual research award, spokeswoman Marcia Goodrich said. He is survived by his wife.—AP

Keiko the whale
WASHINGTON: Keiko, the killer whale that stole children’s hearts in the “Free Willy” movies, will fly home to Iceland on September 9 aboard a US Air Force plane. The five-tonne Leviathan will be loaded onto a C-17 globemaster in a tank filled with cold ocean water for the eight-hour flight from Newport, Oregon to Iceland, the Air Force said on Thursday. — AFP

Terror cell
JERUSALEM: The Israeli Army said on Thursday that it had uncovered an organised Palestinian terror cell operating out of the West Bank but headquartered in Syria and with training bases in Lebanon. The army said it had arrested at least 20 members of the cell, which is part of the larger Abu Mussa faction. The group, based in Damascus, Syria, split in 1983 from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah Party. — AP

Plea for help
BEIJING: The wife and mother of a jailed, ailing human rights campaigner have appealed to the UN and US officials to press China to grant him medical parole, a rights group has said. In a letter to UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Ms Chu Hailan and Ms Wu Huifen said they had exhausted all government channels to gain medical treatment for Liu Nianchun, New York-based human rights in China reported on Thursday. — AP

Mudslide death toll
GUATEMALA CITY: At least 35 persons were killed and 16 missing after a huge mudslide struck four remote villages in northern Guatemala rescue workers said on Thursday. Torrential rains brought down tonnes of mud on Wednesday. “Among the victims, a 15-day-old baby was found”, firefighter Nery Urizar said in a telephone interview. “We also rescued two survivors.” — Reuters