W O R L D

70 killed in Mecca building collapse
Mecca (Saudi Arabia), January 5
More than 70 Muslim pilgrims were killed in the Saudi holy city of Mecca today when a building collapsed in the midst of the annual Haj, a French pilgrim at the scene said.

210 feared dead in landslides in Indonesia
Cijeruk (Indonesia), January 5
Soldiers and volunteers used their bare hands today to search for survivors buried beneath tonnes of mud and rock after landslides wiped out several Indonesian villages, leaving more than 210 persons dead or missing, officials said.

Suicide bomber near Shiite shrine kills 50
Karbala (Iraq), January 5
A suicide bomber detonated his explosives near one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines today, killing almost 50 people. The blast near the Imam Hussein shrine in central Karbala, 80 km south of Baghdad, killed 49 people and injured 52.

2 killed, 50 injured in police firing in B’desh
Dhaka, January 5
Two persons were killed and 50 injured when police opened fired on hundreds of angry villagers who attacked an electricity board’s office in western Bangladesh in protest over frequent power blackouts and introduction of new charges.

An unidentified woman joins family members and friends of 12 miners who were killed in a accident as they hold a candlelight vigil in Tallmansville on Wednesday. — AP/PTI

CIA gave Iran nuclear bomb design: book
Washington, January 5
The CIA, using a double-agent Russian scientist, may have handed a blueprint for a nuclear bomb to Iran, according to a new book which has ruffled the US national security establishment.

Khan’s N-network dismantled, claims Pak
Islamabad, January 5
Pakistan today said the underground nuclear network run by its former chief nuclear scientist could not still be operating, adding it had taken “appropriate action'' in dismantling the network of Adul Qadeer Khan.

Mirwaiz for global guarantee on Kashmir
Muzaffarabad (PoK), January 5
All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq has said that ''international mediation'' and ''guarantee'' are imperative for achieving a solution of the Kashmir issue.

Did Jesus exist? Italian court to decide
Rome, January 5
Forget the US debate over intelligent design versus evolution. An Italian court is tackling Jesus — and whether the Roman Catholic church may be breaking the law by teaching that he existed 2,000 years ago.

70 killed in Mecca building collapse

210 feared dead in landslides in Indonesia

Cijeruk (Indonesia), January 5
Soldiers and volunteers used their bare hands today to search for survivors buried beneath tonnes of mud and rock after landslides wiped out several Indonesian villages, leaving more than 210 persons dead or missing, officials said.

Close to a thousand grieving relatives and curious onlookers watched from behind police lines in Cijeruk village as rescue workers pulled more than 12 corpses caked in heavy mud from the debris, including a mother clinging to her child.

Thirty-four bodies have been recovered since yesterday, when the landslide cascaded onto the farming community just before dawn, said Aris Sudaryanto, coordinator of the search and rescue efforts. More than 100 others were missing and feared dead.

Meanwhile, helicopters were trying to reach survivors in the remote district of Jember, hundreds of kilometers to the east, where the death toll from flash floods earlier this week climbed to 103, said local government spokesman Purwanto. Several others were unaccounted for or stranded.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was planning to visit some of the affected areas on Java island later today. The USA and Australia together pledged more than $ 2,00,000 in emergency assistance.

The money will be used to charter helicopters to evacuate the injured, drop emergency aid and assess damage, and for the purchase of medicine, plastic tarps, hygine kits and sleeping mats. — AP

Suicide bomber near Shiite shrine kills 50

Karbala (Iraq), January 5
A suicide bomber detonated his explosives near one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines today, killing almost 50 people.

The blast near the Imam Hussein shrine in central Karbala, 80 km south of Baghdad, killed 49 people and injured 52.

Television images showed men ferrying the wounded in push carts, and pools of blood lying on the ground. The bomber appeared to have set-off the explosion only about 30 meters from the shrine in a busy pedestrian area surrounded by shops.

Alkhazraj blamed “takfiris and Saddamists” for the attack.

The takfiri ideology is followed by extremist Sunni Muslims bent upon killing anyone considered to be an infidel, even fellow Muslims who disagree with their doctrine. Al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is a takfiri.

Today’s attack follows a heavy day of violence yesterday, when at least 53 people were killed around Iraq. — AP

2 killed, 50 injured in police firing in B’desh

Dhaka, January 5
Two persons were killed and 50 injured when police opened fired on hundreds of angry villagers who attacked an electricity board’s office in western Bangladesh in protest over frequent power blackouts and introduction of new charges.

A probe was underway into last night’s incident in Kanshat area of Chapainawabgaj district, during which a mob attacked the office of Rural Electrification Board (REB).

Security officials said two people were killed and 50 others injured when the police opened fire to stop them from running over the REB office. — PTI

CIA gave Iran nuclear bomb design: book

Washington, January 5
The CIA, using a double-agent Russian scientist, may have handed a blueprint for a nuclear bomb to Iran, according to a new book which has ruffled the US national security establishment.

"State of War" by James Risen, the New York Times reporter, who exposed the Bush administration's controversial domestic spying operation, claims the plans contained fatal flaws designed to derail Tehran's nuclear drive.

But the deliberate errors were so rudimentary they would have been easily fixed by sophisticated Russian nuclear scientists, the book said.

The operation, which took place during the Clinton administration in early 2000, was code named Operation Merlin and "may have been one of the most reckless operations in the modern history of the CIA," according to Risen.

It called for the unnamed scientist, a defector from the Soviet nuclear program, to offer Iran the blueprint for a "firing set"— the intricate mechanism which triggers the chain reaction needed for a nuclear explosion.

He had been told by CIA officers that the Iranians already had the technology detailed in the plans and that the ruse was simply an attempt by the agency to find out the full scope of Tehran's nuclear knowledge.

But, contrary to orders not to open the packet, he added a note which made it clear he could help fix the flaws for money. — AFP

Khan’s N-network dismantled, claims Pak

Islamabad, January 5
Pakistan today said the underground nuclear network run by its former chief nuclear scientist could not still be operating, adding it had taken “appropriate action'' in dismantling the network of Adul Qadeer Khan.

“Pakisan is very sorry and is very upset and has taken all appropriate action in dismantling the underground network,'' Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri said of the network formerly headed by the founding father of its nuclear weapon programme.

“Dr A Q Khan had fallen from the high pedestal that he had,'' he said, adding that Khan had already been ``treated very harshly.'' Kasuri made the comments after meeting Taro Aso, the Japanese minister for foreign affairs in Islamabad. He made the remarks a day after the Guardian, a British newspaper, alleged Khan's network may still be in operation. The report cited an unnamed European Union source.

In February 2004, Khan acknowledged that he gave sensitive nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

Iran and North Korea were named as part of US President George W. Bush's “axis of evil,'' and are potential nuclear threats, governments and analysts say.

President Pervez Musharraf pardoned Khan in 2004, and he has been living under house arrest amid tight security in Pakistan's capital. — AP

Mirwaiz for global guarantee on Kashmir

Muzaffarabad (PoK), January 5
All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq has said that ''international mediation'' and ''guarantee'' are imperative for achieving a solution of the Kashmir issue.

He was talking to reporters at the residence of Sahibzada Ishaque Zafar, MLA, yesterday.

Senior Hurriyat leaders Professor Abdul Ghani Bhat and Bilal Ghani Lone were also present on the occasion.

Supporting the India-Pakistan talks and peace process, he said dialogue was imperative, but there should be the world community's involvement at a certain level to reach a solution acceptable to all concerned parties.

The Mirwaiz was of the view that frequent visits by Kashmiri leaders across the Line of Control were essential to evolve a strategy and consensus to reach any settlement.

He said "intra-Kashmiri" talks were important and it would only be possible by frequent visits of leaders.

Earlier, addressing a reception hosted by Mr Zafar, Mirwaiz Farooq stressed the need for resolving the Kashmir issue for durable peace in the region.

Earlier, talking to the APHC leader, Mr Zafar said, "War is no solution and the Kashmir issue should be resolved through talks.'' — UNI

Did Jesus exist? Italian court to decide

Rome, January 5
Forget the US debate over intelligent design versus evolution. An Italian court is tackling Jesus — and whether the Roman Catholic church may be breaking the law by teaching that he existed 2,000 years ago.

The case pits against each other by two men in their 70s, who are from the same central Italian town and even went to the same seminary school in their teenage years.

The defendant, Enrico Righi, went on to become a priest writing for the parish newspaper. The plaintiff, Luigi Cascioli, became a vocal atheist, who, after years of legal wrangling, is set to get his day in court later this month.

''I started this lawsuit because I wanted to deal the final blow against the church, the bearer of obscurantism and regression,'' Cascioli said.

Cascioli says Righi, and by extension the whole church, broke two Italian laws. The first is ''Abuso di Credulita Popolare'' (abuse of popular belief) meant to protect people against being swindled or conned. The second crime, he says, is ''Sostituzione di Persona'', or impersonation.

''The church constructed Christ upon the personality of John of Gamala,'' Cascioli claimed, referring to the 1st century Jew who fought against the Roman army.

A court in Viterbo will hear from Righi, who has yet to be indicted, at a January 27 preliminary hearing meant to determine whether the case has enough merit to go forward.

''In my book, The Fable of Christ, I present proof Jesus did not exist as a historic figure. He must now refute this by showing proof of Christ's existence,'' Cascioli said.

Righi, 76, sounded frustrated by the case and baffled as to why Cascioli — who, like him, came from the town of Bagnoregio — singled him out in his crusade against the church.

''Since I'm a priest, and I write in the parish newspaper, he is now suing me because I 'trick' the people.'' Righi claims there is a plenty of evidence to support the existence of Jesus, including historical texts.

He also claims that justice is on his side. The judge presiding over the hearing has tried, repeatedly, to dismiss the case — prompting appeals from Cascioli.

''Cascioli says he didn't exist. And I said that he did,'' he said. ''The judge will decide if Christ exists or not.'' Even Cascioli admits that the odds are against him, especially in Roman Catholic Italy. — Reuters