W O R L D	Thursday, July 23, 1998
weather n spotlight today's calendar	.......

Pak SC objects to emergency ISLAMABAD, July 22 — Pakistan’s Supreme Court has taken exception to the imposition of emergency in the country by the Nawaz Sharif Government saying the nation did not face a physical threat of war... Cuban President Fidel Castro addresses the opening of the National Assembly of the People's Power, Cuba's parliament in Havana on Tuesday. The assembly, which met in its first plenary session this year, is to debate various environmental issues as well as review Cuba's economic situation. AP/PTI

Asif Ali Zardari, husband of Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, who is facing corruption charges, arrives at High Court to appear before Judge in Lahore on Tuesday. AP/PTI Pakistan given Zardari case papers ISLAMABAD, July 22 — The Swiss government has handed over a set of documents to Pakistan on corruption allegations against former Premier Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari, officials said here yesterday. Khatami ally new Interior Minister CAIRO, July 22 — Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami today won political victory when the country’s hardline Parliament approved the nomination of his ally as the new Interior Minister...

N-tests 'weaken India's case' for UN seat WASHINGTON, July 22 — Hardening its position against Indian efforts to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the USA has said that by conducting nuclear tests Delhi has made it “far harder” than before to “ever” achieve its goal... War crimes court a threat to India? WASHINGTON, July 22 — The proposed international court to try those accused of war crimes could prove to be a threat to several countries, including India, former US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organisations John Bolton has said... Nigerians wary of promises ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, July 22 — It was a sweeping announcement, replete with denunciations of the former dictator’s plans, the abolishment of politically subservient parties, a promise of free elections and a return to civilian rule for Nigeria... Militants blamed for A-I jet bombing VANCOUVER, July 22 — Indicating it has nearly finished a 13-year investigation, the Canadian police confirmed yesterday that it had given prosecutors a summary of evidence related to the 1985 bombing of an Air India jet that killed 329 persons..

Pak SC objects to emergency ISLAMABAD, July 22 (PTI) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court has taken exception to the imposition of emergency in the country by the Nawaz Sharif Government saying the nation did not face a physical threat of war. Stating that the emergency had been imposed merely on the basis of threatening statements issued by an Indian minister, a seven-member Bench of the court observed that the emergency could be declared only “when a threat to state security by a physical war is there and this situation distinguishes it from the mere threat of war”. “The enemy had been hurling threats over the last many years but never was an emergency proclaimed in the country except in 1965 and 1971 when Pakistan had been locked in a physical war with India,” the court observed during the hearing on a number of petitions against the imposition of the emergency, media reports said. The Nawaz Sharif Government has imposed on emergency in the country in the wake of Pakistan’s five nuclear tests on May 28 claiming that there was threat of attack from India. The government also referred to the “threatening” statements of Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani. The Supreme Court, however, observed that, “the present emergency appears unique in the context that it has been declared in the wake of some threatening statements by an Indian minister and that too when Pakistan had tested nuclear devices as a measure to demonstrate its capability”. Meanwhile, the Opposition is mounting pressure on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign, saying he has failed to overcome the crisis that the country faces. The chief of Jammat Islami, Quazi Hussain Ahmed, asked Mr Sharif to step down, for according to him, Mr Sharif lacks the ability to steer the country out of the current financial mess. Mr Ahmed said the present economic crisis was casting a shadow on national politics. He held the policies of the government responsible for the present state of affairs rather than the sanctions imposed by the big powers following the nuclear tests. Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan has also sought the government resignation and its replacement by a caretaker government. He said the policies of the Nawaz Sharif Government could not take Pakistan anywhere. Mr Asif Zardari, husband of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, told newsmen on the premises of the Lahore High Court that present government has tarnished the image of the country abroad and that it has no idea of where it is going.

N-tests 'weaken India's case' for UN seat WASHINGTON, July 22 (PTI) — Hardening its position against Indian efforts to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the USA has said that by conducting nuclear tests Delhi has made it “far harder” than before to “ever” achieve its goal. “Let me be very clear on that. Secretary of State (Madeleine) Albright has been very clear on that. India is not going to blow its way into the Security Council as a permanent member”, State Department spokesman James Rubin told reporters yesterday when asked whether Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott had discussed the issue with Indian leaders in Delhi. “With the current trend away from the proliferation of nuclear weapons, with more and more countries forswearing them, India has made it far, far harder for it “ever” to join the UN (Security Council) as a permanent member”, Mr Rubin said. He said by conducting atomic tests all India had done “is to harm and make impossible, in the current circumstances (of its) joining the Security Council as a permanent member. We cannot support that kind of policy.” “Let’s bear in mind that Germany and Japan, the other countries that we have supported for Security Council membership, have forsworn nuclear weapons and are members of the NPT (nuclear nonproliferation treaty). So there is no relationship between having nuclear weapons and American support for permanent membership”, Mr Rubin said.

War crimes court a threat to India? WASHINGTON, July 22 (PTI) — The proposed international court to try those accused of war crimes could prove to be a threat to several countries, including India, former US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organisations John Bolton has said. Going by the way the world court’s statute has been approved, “India could face claims that Kashmir is an occupied territory, China could face claims that Tibet is occupied and the Kurds could claim that they have been occupied by Iraq”, Mr Bolton said in a statement. After five weeks of tough negotiations, a large majority of 160 nations had on July 17 adopted a statute setting up the world’s first court to try those accused of war crimes. India, which had abstained from voting in Rome, had insisted that weapons of mass destruction — including nuclear, chemical and biological weapons — be included in the list of weapons whose use constituted a war crime. But the last-minute proposal was crushed by a majority of 160 nations. As many as 120 countries had voted for the International Crime Court (ICC), while seven voted against and 21 had abstained. Twelve did not take part in the vote. The conference had also rejected a US amendment which would have made it impossible for the future court to try citizens from countries which had not signed up to the ICC. Indian delegate to the UN conference to establish a world war crimes court, Dilip Lahiri, had denounced the shortcomings of the court and announced that Delhi would not sign the statute. But Lahiri had abstained from voting saying despite the shortcomings, India still supported the principle of establishing a court to try genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression.

Pakistan given Zardari case papers ISLAMABAD, July 22 (AFP) — The Swiss government has handed over a set of documents to Pakistan on corruption allegations against former Premier Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari, officials said here yesterday. The documents handed over by Swiss Ambassador Mare Andre Salamin on Monday include an original indictment order of Swiss Judge Daniel Devoud against Zardari, they said. The indictment order will now be served on Zardari. It alleged the couple stashed away million of dollars “extorted through kickbacks and commissions” in award of pre-shipment inspection contracts to two foreign firms, SGS and Cotecna. The documents revealed that the former Prime Minister and her spouse had a secret account in Switzerland in the name of the Bomer Company. The account was operated by their agent, Jens Schelegilmilch, who maintained a handwritten ledger to conceal the real identity of the beneficiaries, it alleged. The agent however testified before the investigating judge that Ms Bhutto and Zardari “shared the account on a 50:50 basis,” the accountability cell claimed.

Nigerians wary of promises ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, July 22 (AP) — It was a sweeping announcement, replete with denunciations of the former dictator’s plans, the abolishment of politically subservient parties, a promise of free elections and a return to civilian rule for Nigeria. For a country in search of democracy, there wasn’t much more that Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar could have promised. But the announcement left Nigerians used to years of crippling military rule with several questions: Why did Mr Abubakar set no date for presidential elections, and why is the transition planned for the end of next May instead of earlier? This west African nation, the continent’s most populous, has heard countless promises of democracy in its 38 years of independence. Even its most callous dictators quickly learn the tunes of empty political promises. Gen Sani Abacha, the dictator whose death last month ushered Mr Abubakar into power, staged his 1993 coup and quickly promised real democracy later. In reality, though, Nigeria’s post-colonial political history has been a litany of coups and military rulers. Nigerians, in turn, have become a people steeped in political cynicism. So it was no surprise that reaction to Mr Abubakar’s announcement on Monday was a mixed combination of wait-and-see optimism and utter disdain. The government’s most ardent critics are furious that no interim government was quickly brought in, and will have to wait for elections Abubakar promised for the first quarter of 1999. Much of the praise for the speech came from average Nigerians, who saw more hope in promises of pay reform and better telephone systems than in vows of democracy. To many Nigerians, General Abubakar’s vows will remain empty promises until he actually follows through. But General Abubakar has been warmly welcomed by Nigeria’s international critics and his speech was one more reason for praise. And it was the West, in part, that General Abubakar was addressing. With the West’s help from debt relief and trade agreements to an end to travel restrictions on Junta leaders General Abubakar knows his country could flourish. He does have an established track record. He has freed many political prisoners and met with some of the country’s best-known opposition leaders. He admits that corruption has harmed the country. The General has also risked alienating his fellow soldiers, some of whom would pay a financial price by the rise of a civilian government. The corruption-driven income that has made many Generals Rich would suddenly be cut off. General Abubakar apparently doesn’t fear his fellow Generals. Most of the pro-Abacha military claque has been farmed out to the provinces, retired or has simply disappeared from view. The danger for him if he fails to deliver will be from the other side of Nigerian society — people who could take to the streets in revolt.

Militants blamed for A-I jet bombing VANCOUVER, July 22 (AP) — Indicating it has nearly finished a 13-year investigation, the Canadian police confirmed yesterday that it had given prosecutors a summary of evidence related to the 1985 bombing of an Air India jet that killed 329 persons. The attack has been linked to Sikh militants in British Columbia believed to have been seeking revenge on the Indian Government for its treatment of the country’s Sikh minority, especially operation Bluestar. “No time frame has been set for the approval of charges, if any by the crown counsel”, RCMP Sgt Russ Grabb said. “The charge approval process will only commence once the comprehensive court brief has been submitted.”

Khatami ally new Interior Minister CAIRO, July 22 (PTI) — Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami today won political victory when the country’s hardline Parliament approved the nomination of his ally as the new Interior Minister. Moderate cleric A. Mousavi Lari, received 177 votes in Parliament while 67 voted against him. There were 22 abstentions and four members did not turn up. Mousavi Lari, a Vice-President, was named Interior Minister earlier this month after the Iranian Parliament impeached former Interior Minister Dollah Nouri on charges of permitting political demonstrations that rocked the country.

Global monitor USA shifts stand on Lockerbie trial WASHINGTON: The USA has tried a new tack in its dispute with Libya over the Lockerbie bombing, saying it was looking at how a Scottish court could sit in the Netherlands to try two Libyan suspects. Libya, under UN sanctions for failing to hand over the men accused of blowing up a Pan Am airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, offered the same solution years ago. The USA and the British Governments have previously demanded the suspects face trial in Scotland or the USA. — Reuters Baghdad’s charge BAGHDAD: Baghdad has said that more than 1,000 Iraqis are still missing from the 1991 Gulf War and is calling on foreign countries to pressurise Kuwait to help account for them. The National Assembly has sent messages to humanitarian organisations and Parliaments in Arab and other countries, calling on them to press Kuwait, the official Iraqi news agency reported on Tuesday. There was no immediate comment from Kuwait. — AP Nerve gas WASHINGTON: An official investigation has concluded that there is no indication that the USA used lethal nerve gas in 1970 in Laos during the Vietnam war, US Secretary of Defence William Cohen said on Tuesday. The Pentagon also published its report on the June 7 broadcast by the Cable News Network Broadcast that claimed US commandos used sarin gas to kill defectors when they attacked an enemy camp in Laos. — DPA S. Korea’s gesture SEOUL: Despite recent spy incursions from its Communist neighbour, South Korea will send 781 tonne of powdered milk to hunger-stricken North Korea this week, government officials said on Tuesday. The $ 3 million donation was promised to UNICEF last year in response to its appeal for $ 4.8 million worth of free food for starving North Korean children. A ship carrying the powdered milk left Inchon port west of Seoul on Wednesday. — AP 4 UN officials die DUSHANBE: Four UN officials died in a car crash while driving on a mountain road east of Dushanbe, a diplomat said on Tuesday. A Japanese national military observer and a Tajik interpreter died in the accident, said the diplomat, who asked not to be identified. — AFP Wife sues Murdoch LOS ANGELES: The wife of media and entertainment mogul Rupert Murdoch has filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Mrs Anna Murdoch, a novelist and philanthropist, requested spousal support and will keep her married name, according to a petition filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles county Superior Court. The Murdochs separated in April after more than 30 years of marriage. Mrs Murdoch will remain on the board of Murdoch’s News Corp. — AP King Hussein ill DUBAI: King Hussein is ill and may be suffering from lymphoma, the CNN said, quoting Jordanian Television. “All indicators point that I have a lymphoma”, wrote King Hussein.“They still can’t determine that. They have to wait until results come out next Tuesday.” King Hussein is at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for treatment. “They took some samples from me on Friday. There has been some confusion because the cells they have removed don’t all give the same results”, he wrote. “That’s why they think there might be another reason for the infection.” — PTI UN officials to stay UNITED NATIONS: Relief workers and UN officials have agreed here that UN agencies should remain in Afghanistan despite the expulsion of non-government organisation, according to UN sources. At a meeting here on Tuesday of UN official and relief agencies called to discuss UN policy following the expulsion by Taliban authorities of several non-governmental agencies and the closure of their Kabul offices. “The consensus is to stay”, one UN source said. — AFP Price for democracy BEIJING: The family members of Chinese activist Fan Yiping, sentenced to three years in prison for helping dissident Wang Xizhe escape, has said that they are willing to pay the price of democracy. “Fan Yiping’s sentence shows that the people are now having to pay the price of the struggle for democracy. For Fan Yiping and his family, the price was a heavy one. However, we will pay it without flinching,” Fan Yiping’s brother Fan Weiping said in a statement received in Beijing on Tuesday. — AFP Bangla flood toll DHAKA: With 12 more deaths reported from various parts of Bangladesh, at least 104 persons have so far died due to floods in Bangladesh which have engulfed more areas of northern, north-western and central parts of the country, media reports said on Wednesday. Official sources, however, confirmed 48 deaths in more than two weeks flooding. But several newspapers here put the toll at 104 with 12 more deaths caused by fresh floods following heavy rain. — PTI Di’s car up for sale LONDON: The small silver car given to Princess Diana by Prince Charles as an engagement present is for sale via the Internet, and the owner says he has already turned down an offer of more than $ 1 million. Keith Lawson, an antique clock dealer from Scratby in eastern England, bought the 1981 Ford Escort Ghia for his daughter three years ago at a Sotheby’s auction for £ 6,000. — AP

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