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| Thursday, January 25, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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W. Asia peace talks suspended Blair summons
Mandelson Blast kills 11 troops in
Lanka Bush sends education
plan to Congress |
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PML hails
ceasefire extension 2 rebel Islamic chiefs held in B’desh Efforts to contain
fuel spill on Manila’s first First Husband Texas fugitives
holed up in motel
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W. Asia peace talks suspended TABA (Egypt), Jan 24 — Peace talks hung in the balance today after the killing of two Israelis prompted Israel to suspend a last-minute drive to agree a framework deal with the Palestinians before a looming Israeli election. “If the Israelis don’t come back today, we are leaving,” said a Palestinian negotiator in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Taba where intensive talks began on Sunday night. But another senior Palestinian official said Palestinian President Yasser Arafat had asked his negotiators to stay in Taba because “he thought things would cool down”. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak recalled senior members of his team from the talks after Tuesday’s slayings for consultations on whether to continue the peace drive less than two weeks before a Prime Ministerial election on February 6. Barak’s “peace cabinet” was due to meet in the afternoon, but it was not immediately clear whether negotiations could restart before the funerals of the two Israelis on Thursday. A spokesman for the Israeli delegation at the talks said the negotiations were “suspended until further notice”. But Israel’s Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh said he expected the talks would resume shortly. “We have to resume it (the talks). There is no reason to stop it, especially now when there is a glimmer of hope, it is impossible that a few terrorists...will derail the entire process,” Mr Sneh said. Mr Sneh said the two Israelis were restaurant owners from Tel Aviv who, accompanied by an Israeli Arab business acquaintance, were shopping in the Palestinian-ruled West Bank town of Tulkarm. He said they were seized while eating lunch and the two Israelis were shot dead, their bullet riddled bodies dumped by the side of a road. The Israeli-Arab was freed. The deaths brought the toll to at least 310 Palestinians, 47 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs killed in almost four months. Senior Palestinian Negotiator Ahmed Korei said the talks would be delayed by at least a day and the sides would decide today how to proceed. “The Palestinian authority expresses its condemnation of the killing of two Israeli civilians,” a senior Palestinian Authority official said. In Jerusalem, the armed wing of the militant Islamic group Hamas, Izz el-Din Al-Qassam, said it was behind the killings and that it had filmed the two being kidnapped and executed. Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath told newsmen he had not expected Israel to break off the talks. “It’s surprising for people who claim they needed an agreement quickly,” he said. Israeli Justice Minister and negotiator Yossi Beilin, an architect of the 1993 Oslo accords that form the basis of the peace process, made it clear he was all too conscious that time was running out for a pre-election deal. Opinion polls say Labour Party leader Barak will lose the vote heavily to hawkish Likud Party chief Ariel Sharon. “There is a short time, maybe too short to reach the path that we want to reach, but I believe that if we return to the talks we will be able to reach more understandings and we will be able to perhaps determine the line we want to reach,” Israel’s Army Radio quoted Mr Beilin as saying. Israel and the Palestinians are trying to forge a framework agreement on the thorniest issues dividing them — the fate of Jerusalem, borders, Palestinian refugees and Jewish settlements. Mr Beilin suggested that seemingly intractable issues could be finessed if the focus stayed on the practical outcome. “It seems to me that the great advantage also on the issue of refugees for both sides is what will be the solution on the ground. In many cases, the solution is how will it be written and not what will happen,” Beilin said. Palestinians say Israel must recognise the right to return or compensation of refugees who lost their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war at the birth of the Jewish state. Israel rejects the idea of any wholesale Palestinian right to return. A Palestinian negotiator said that in the latest talks Israel was offering “to acknowledge the suffering of Palestinian refugees, but not to implement the right of return”. The negotiator, who asked not to be named, spoke of “real progress” on the refugee issue and voiced optimism that the two sides could forge an outline agreement. Israeli elder statesman Shimon Peres said violence should not be allowed to block peace efforts. “It’s impossible to put out fire with fire. It’s possible to put out fire with water. And the talks are like water,” Mr Peres told Army Radio. But some Israelis want Barak, to take a tougher line with Palestinians after nearly four months of a Palestinian uprising for independence.
— Reuters |
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Blair summons
Mandelson LONDON, Jan 24 (PTI) — British Minister Peter Mandelson, facing demands for resignation for helping Indian businessman S.P. Hinduja get a British passport, was today summoned by the Prime Minister Tony Blair amidst speculation that he might be asked to quit. Mr Blair called Mr Mandelson, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to “establish the facts” in the matter regarding his involvement in the application from the Chairman of the Hinduja Group, a major donor to the Millennium Dome project. Blair’s spokesman said the meeting took place in Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s official residence. Details were awaited. Mr Mandelson has been facing mounting anger today over his involvement in a British passport application by an Indian tycoon. Mr Mandelson insisted in a round of television interviews that he had done nothing wrong in connection with the application by Mr Srichand Hinduja. Many newspapers accused Mr Mandelson of failing to tell the truth about the matter after he first denied personally contacting another british minister over the passport application and then admitting that he had, in fact ,done so. “He must go,’’ said the daily Express in a front — page headline. “He fights for political life as passports for favours row boils over,’’ said the Mirror. Political analysts believe Mr Mandelson will most likely survive this episode, but agree it raises serious questions about his ambition to become the Foreign Secretary. With an election expected in May, Mr Blair’s Labour Party runs the risk of being tarred with the same sort of sleaze allegations that helped to bring down the Conseravtives in 1997. Mr Mandelson, who has resigned once before from the government over a financial scandal, was adamant that he was guilty of no impropriety and Mr Blair’s office made clear that he had the Prime Minister’s backing. “I acted in an entirely proper way,’’ Mr Mandelson said. “I did not intercede on behalf of any member of the Hinduja family.’’ Mr Mandelson said he had talked to the Immigration Minister in 1998 about Mr Hinduja’s passport application. Mr Hinduja later made a payment of £1 million towards the cost of the millennium dome, for which Mr Mandelson had been responsible. Mr Mandelson rejected a suggestion that his actions in the matter had the appearance of corruption. “No, I don’t accept that claim,’’ he said. “The facts don’t substantiate that.’’ He said he had neither supported nor sponsored Mr Hinduja’s application for a passport. “An innocent inquiry was made in a two-minute phone conversation facilitated by civil servants and monitored by them,’’ he said. “That is the beginning and end of this story.’’ Mr Mandelson spoke to Home Office Minister Mike o’Brien about the process of passport requests, having met Mr Hinduja at a party. Mr Blair’s spokesman said Mr Mandelson had merely passed inquiries on to the relevant department. “There is nothing improper at all in Peter having been approached at an event.’’ But he was forced to admit that the government’s line earlier in the week — that Mr Mandelson had been asked to get involved but had not—had not proved strictly accurate. Mr Mandelson, the archetypal spin doctor, was widely credited as the architect of Labour’s 1997 lanslide election victory. But he was forced to resign from the government in 1998 when it was discovered he had borrowed a large sum from ex-minister and millionaire Geoffrey Robinson to help buy a house. Mr Mandelson failed to declare the money to his home loan company. His department was investigating Mr Robinson’s business affairs at the time. Mr Blair brought him back into the fold within a year, making him a favourite target for Britain’s media. LONDON,
Jan 24 (PTI) — British Minister Peter Mandelson, accused of helping Indian businessman
S P Hinduja get a British passport, resigned today. Mandelson’s resignation came shortly after he was summoned by Prime Minister Tony Blair to ‘establish the facts’ following a political storm over the intervention of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the second passport application of Hinduja, a major donor for the Millennium Dome project. |
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Blast kills 11 troops in Lanka COLOMBO, Jan 24 (AFP) — At least 11 soldiers were killed and five seriously wounded by a blast attributed to Tamil Tiger guerrillas in northern Sri Lanka, the Defence Ministry said today. Three officers were among the troops killed when a booby-trapped device exploded at Muhamalai in the Jaffna peninsula yesterday evening, ministry spokesman Sanath Karunaratne said. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s government urged the Tamil Tiger rebels today to return to negotiations, but rejected the guerrillas’ call for a ceasefire, saying the talks must come first. The rebels earlier said their unilateral one-month ceasefire, which had been scheduled to expire today, would be extended by another month. The announcement came as government troops made considerable gains in the northernmost tip of this island nation off the southeastern coast of India. The rebels must “come to the negotiating table along with a durable, concrete political solution,” the government said in a statement. The government also accused the rebels of using the ceasefire as a ploy to influence international opinion, saying the insurgents should find a durable solution to the violence “instead of using the self-imposed ceasefire as a positive device of deceiving the international community.” There was no comment from the rebels. The military yesterday said it had captured most of the northern Jaffna peninsula after a series of recent attacks, and had forced the militants to flee their former stronghold and retreat to the jungles. The government now controlled about 90 per cent of the Jaffna peninsula — the site of fierce fighting for years — said military spokesman Brig Sanath Karunaratne. The rebels were fighting to retain control of a strategic land corridor, known as the Elephant Pass, and some villages. |
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Bush sends education plan to Congress WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) — president George W. Bush made education reform his first proposal to congress offering a multibillion-dollar plan linking federal aid to school performance, including a controversial voucher programme. “We must focus the spending of federal tax dollars on things that work,’’ Mr Bush said yesterday while outlining his proposal during a white house east room event. “too often, we have spent without regard for results, without judging success or failure from year to year,’’ he said. Mr Bush proposed testing children every year in math and reading from the third through the eighth grades. States, districts and schools that improve achievement would be rewarded, while failure would have consequences, he added. One such consequence is controversial. Mr Bush proposed allowing poor students in failing schools to apply the federal and state aid their schools receive — averaging about $1,500 a year — to help low-income parents pay for private tuition, a tutor or after-school programme. Democrats reject this idea as an example of vouchers they have long opposed because they would siphon badly needed money out of the public schools system. Many Democrats believe that Mr Bush will ultimately let the idea die so as not to hold up overall reform. “We can achieve bipartisan progress on education this year,’’ said senate democratic leader Tom Daschle of south Dakota. “But vouchers should not be part of that plan,’’ he added. On capitol hill, a group of moderate house and senate democrats, led by the former democratic vice-presidential candidate, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, introduced an education plan of their own similar to Mr Bush’s but without vouchers. The measure would increase federal spending on education by $35 billion over five years, reward schools that excel with bonuses and force failing ones to implement new lesson plans or shut down.
He does it with Bush too WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (AP) — Just after President George W. Bush was inaugurated, a man without any security clearance bypassed three security checkpoints and shook Mr Bush’s hand — an escapade he pulled at President Bill Clinton’s second inauguration, authorities said. The man’s success at gaining access to Mr Bush startled Secret Service agents and US Capitol Police officers because security was intensified in preparation for large groups of protesters. “There was an individual who had an unscheduled handshake with the President,” Lt Dan Nichols, a spokesman for the Capitol Police, said last night. “It was noticed immediately and he was removed.” The Washington Post, which first reported the incident in today’s editions, said the man had a standing-room ticket for Saturday’s swearing-in ceremony but somehow made it into the VIP section and into the Capitol. The man who shook Mr Bush’s hand, was the same man who bypassed security after Mr Clinton’s inauguration in 1997, a police official said. Mr Nichols said the incident would be considered during a review of security.
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PML hails
ceasefire extension ISLAMABAD, Jan 24 (UNI) — Pakistan Muslim League (Qasim group) President Syed Kabir Ali Wasti has welcomed India extending the ceasefire in Kashmir, and said every step aimed at achieving a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue should be welcomed. Mr Wasti, who is perhaps the first Pakistani leader to welcome the ceasefire extension, said Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee should be appreciated for the step taken against heavy odds and intense opposition from within the country. “There should be a permanent ceasefire in Kashmir and the peace-loving people on both sides should rise against extremist elements who do not want to see the normalisation of relations between the two countries,” Mr Wasti said in a statement here. DUBAI: A senior Pakistani politician has extended his support to the peace process in Kashmir if that could help in finding a solution to the lingering dispute over it in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. “However, at the moment, it appears that efforts are being made to implement the so-called third option, which, I think, won’t benefit Pakistan,” Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of the Jamait Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) told Khaleej Times. He warned the military regime in the country that any attempt to implement “the US agenda of sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan will be met with strong resistance at home”. Maulana Rehman asked the Pakistan Government to be “psychologically strong and prepare itself to guard Pakistan’s national interests instead of towing the line of foreign powers.” |
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2 rebel Islamic chiefs held in B’desh DHAKA, Jan 24 — The headquarter of the Ultra Islami Armed Group, Arakan Ruhingya National Organisation (ARNO), assisting Mujahideen forces was unearthed and two of its chiefs were arrested by the police on Monday night at a residential area at the port city of Chittagong in the southeast of Bangladesh. The arrested are Selimullah Selim, chief of staff of the organisation, and his associate Noor Mohammad. The police also located the headquarter of the ARNO at another residence , seized incriminating documents, computers, photostat machine, various foreign currency and three passports. The police told mediapersons that the group had links with the Bangladesh chapter of the Harkatul- Mujahideen and two opposition parties. The group had its main headquarter at Libya. In Bangladesh they had 5000 cadres with arms training in Libya. They possessed modern arms, including AK-47 assault rifles, LMG, Rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns, it added. Both the arrested leaders of the group are from Murang area of Arakan province of Myanmar. Nurul Islam , brother of arrested Nur Mohammad is the president of the organisation and is based in Libya. Nur Mohammad came to Chittagong seventeen years ago, married a local lady and was staying at his in laws house. They run more than six training centres for the armed cadres of the organisation at dense forest areas near
Coxsbazar. |
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Efforts to contain fuel spill on PUERTO BAQUERIZO, Jan 24 (AP) — A stricken tanker that had spilled some 6,43,500 litres of diesel into this fragile marine environment dumped its remaining fuel into the waters of the Galapagos Islands, the authorities said. An estimated 56,770 to 75,700 litres of additional fuel was spilled yesterday, apparently after pounding surf caused new breaks in the hull of the tanker “Jessica”, the officials said. “We have taken all precautions to confront this situation” said Eliecer Cruz, director of the Galapagos National Park. “We have scattered dispersants in the zone and we have established a perimeter of floating containment buoys to lessen the environmental impact.” Some 35 workers in small motor boats were doing their best to skim the rolling tidal waters manually to retrieve as much of the spilled fuel as possible, Cruz added. Pounding surf prompted suspension of recovery operations late Monday after a giant wave washed over the bow of the disabled tanker, injuring its captain and bruising several recovery workers. Ecuadorean Environment Minister Rodolfo Rendon said yesterday that fortuitous winds and strong currents had shifted the direction of the spilled diesel “toward the northwest, which is an open zone where there are no major islands.” He said the spill, which officials have blamed on navigational error, was “a problem, not a tragedy.” |
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Manila’s first First Husband MANILA, Jan 24 (Reuters) — The Philippines has its first First Husband, — Mr Jose Miguel Arroyo. “Just call me Mike,” he told reporters when asked how he preferred to be addressed, the Philippine Star reported today. His wife, Gloria, swept to power on Saturday when her disgraced predecessor, Mr Joseph Estrada, was dumped at the peak of a people power revolt. But he has no precedent to study on how to behave as First Husband. Ms Corazon Aquino swept to power in 1986 at the front of a people power movement largely because of the popularity of her assassinated husband, Benigno. Mike, (54) is a lawyer and has plans to take up certain "socio-civic’’ causes, the newspaper said, adding that he would also pursue his photographic ambitions in the Presidential Palace. |
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Texas fugitives
holed up in motel COLORADO SPRINGS, (Colorado), Jan 24 (Reuters) — The last two fugitives of the seven escaped convicts from a Texas prison, described as armed and extremely dangerous, had holed up in a motel and negotiating with the police today. “They’ve indicated that they are the two people. I think we feel very confident that the whole incident involving seven fugitives will end today,” Mr Skip Arms, spokesman for the Colorado Springs police force, said. “We feel time is our ally”, he added. Patrick Murphy (39) and Donald Newbury (38) had holed up in a Holiday Inn room and speaking to the police on the telephone. Mr Arms declined to disclose specifics of the conversation with the two escapees. |
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Forced landing NOVOSIBIRSK, RUSSIA, Jan 24 (Reuters) — A Russian jet with 89 persons on board made a safe emergency landing in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk after the landing gear on its right side failed to lock shut, an airport spokesman said today. Oleg Shulmin said a TU-154 airliner belonging to the Sibir airline took off from Irkutsk in eastern Siberia for Moscow early on Wednesday with 80 passengers and nine crew. |
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