Tuesday, January 12, 1999
today's calendar
....... |
W O R L D | Tuesday, January 12, 1999 |
|
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
....... |
||
|
Riyadh, Cairo call to oust Saddam Iraq rejects Saudi call on sanctions DUBAI, Jan 11 — Saudi Arabia and Egypt today urged Iraqi people to “overthrow” President Saddam Hussein saying he was a “shame” for the entire Arab world. Anwar
hails successor |
 |
 A policeman attends on Chan Mohammed (45) after he set himself on fire outside Prime Minister Sharif’s residence in Lahore on Sunday. — AP (Click for story) |
|
Hillary
now matter for biographies
Massive
win for Obasanjo’s PDP in Nigeria Nazarbayev
re-elected President |
|||||||
 |
||||||||
Riyadh, Cairo call to oust Saddam DUBAI, Jan 11 (PTI) — Saudi Arabia and Egypt today urged Iraqi people to “overthrow” President Saddam Hussein saying he was a “shame” for the entire Arab world. The Saudi and Egyptian statements, the first direct Arab calls to remove the Iraqi leader, come days after Saddam exhorted Arabs to rise up against rulers “who boast of friendship with the United States,” of America”. Saudi official news agency SPA called on the Iraqis to “overthrow” their President and the Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa openly voiced the same sentiments saying Saddam was a “shame” to the entire Arab world. The statements came ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers of Gulf Arab nations in Jeddah to discuss the UN sanctions against Iraq slapped in 1990 during the Gulf war. The Iraqi newspapers have charged Egypt with being a “puppet” of the United States of America. “The United States is encouraging Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to participate with them in this aggression (against Iraq),” Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed Al Sahhaf said in Baghdad. In a hard-hitting commentary by an unnamed political editor, the Saudi agency said Saddam was a ‘tyrant’ and Iraqis should revolt to topple him. Coinciding with the statement was an article in the Saudi government-owned”Ashraq Al Awsat” daily stressing that Riyadh will not back Saddam. The Egyptian Foreign Minister told a German daily Berliner Kurier that Saddam was “shaming the Arab world causing misery to his people” and that resourceful Iraq had become poorer during his rule. Meanwhile, Kuwait put its armed forces on the maximum alert as the war of words escalated in the Gulf today with Iraq rejecting Saudi Arabia’s call for lifting crippling UN sanctions on Baghdad. “This suggestion is intended to cover the Anglo-American aggression and to impose new restrictions on Iraq after the failure of the aggression from 1990 until today,” Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz told the official INA news agency. Mr Aziz’s comments came in the wake of calls by Saudi Arabia and Egypt to the Iraqi people to revolt against Saddam and overthrow his government. RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will push for an easing of crippling UN sanctions on Iraq, the kingdom’s official SPA news agency said today. Saudi Arabia “will act to lift the embargo to ensure they (the Iraqi people) receive food, medicine, clothes, teaching materials and all that is needed for a decent life,” SPA’s political commentator said. But the agency said this did not show sympathy for the Iraqi regime and branded its leader Saddam Hussein a “tyrant”. It urged the long-suffering Iraqi people to “revolt” against the Baghdad government. The London-based Al-Hayat Arabic language daily today said Gulf states support the Saudi proposal to ease crippling UN economic sanctions on Iraq. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers meeting yesterday in the Red Sea port of Jeddah, “supported the Saudi initiative”, the Saudi-financed newspaper said. KUWAIT: Kuwait has placed part of its military on full combat alert in response to Iraqi “threats” to neighbouring Gulf Arab states, a Defence Ministry spokesman said today. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Sheikh Salem Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah chaired an emergency Defence Council meeting last night to discuss Iraqi threats to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Colonel Ahmed Al Rahmani told Reuters. “We have some units always on alert since the 1991 Gulf war and the latest measure is to further boost their readiness and level of alertness” he added. The official Kuwait news agency Kuna said the Defence Council also “stressed the importance of preparing to call in some reserves”. TOKYO: The United States of America is prepared to respond if Iraq moves against its neighbours or against the ethnic Kurds in the North, US Defence Secretary William Cohen warned on Monday. Cohen was responding to
calls by members of the Iraqi Parliament for Baghdad to
renounce UN resolutions setting Iraq’s borders with
Kuwait. |
Iraqi site targeted by US planes WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) — US fighter jets today opened fire on an Iraqi missile site in the northern no-fly zone, a US defence spokeswoman said. She said the US planes patrolling the no-fly zone had been targeted by the Iraqi site near Mosul, which had posed a threat to the allied planes. There was no damage to
coalition aircraft and the planes returned to base in
Incirlik, Turkey. |
Anwar hails successor KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 (AFP) — Sacked Malaysian Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim today welcomed Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as his successor, but slammed the reappointment of Daim Zainuddin as the new Finance Minister. In a statement read by his wife Azizah, Anwar hailed Abdullah’s appointment but warned “his credibility would be questioned if he just obeyed the Prime Minister.” “The public would certainly want to know his views on the extravagant projects, corruption and the blatant use of force for oppressing the people,” Anwar said. Abdullah, who was Foreign Minister since 1991, assumed office today as Deputy Premier. He also takes control over the Home Ministry from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad amid an outcry over the beating of Anwar in police custody. Anwar said Mahathir’s decision to relinquish the Home Ministry was appropriate. Meanwhile, the final prosecution witness in the corruption trial of Anwar Ibrahim today told the court that it should not rely solely on DNA evidence. Chemist Lim Kong Boon, who earlier testified that he found semen stains of Anwar on a mattress used as evidence of sexual misconduct, said caution should be exercised in the interpretation of DNA findings. “DNA evidence should be supported by other evidence,” Lim said under cross-examination by defence counsel Sulaiman Abdullah. “It is not safe to rely solely on DNA evidence.” Judge Augustine Paul told
Lim he should have warned the court earlier but conceded
that a “DNA match cannot be the sole
foundation” to find a person guilty. |
Republicans press for witnesses WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (AP) — The impeachment trial of US President Bill Clinton has stirred strategists from both political parties, with Republicans pressing to hear testimony from Monica Lewinsky and other witnesses, and the White House taking the measure of public opinion and urging an early dismissal. “It seems to me it is hard to have a trial without witnesses,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Republican said yesterday. “If House prosecutors say that need live testimony, it’s going to be pretty hard for Senators to vote against it.” Sen John Breaux, a Democrat, warned that the witness problem could destroy the Senate’s fragile mood of cooperation. “We are in a bipartisan mode for the opening kick-off. Halftime is questionable and if we go into overtime, all bets are off,” said Mr Breaux. Other Democrats said testimony could unnecessarily prolong the trial. Meanwhile, White House
spokesman Jim Kennedy said Mr Clinton planned to deliver
the State of the Union speech as scheduled on January 19,
even though the trial would be underway. “We have no
intention of being diverted from addressing the issues
that are important to the country,” he said. |
Hillary now matter for biographies NEW YORK, Jan 11 (AP) — Pulitzer prize-winner Carl Bernstein and best-selling author Gail Sheehy, two writers with a talent for digging deep, are working on competing biographies of Hillary Rodham Clinton. The books are expected to examine Mrs Clinton’s turbulent marriage before and during the White House years as well as her political partnership with her husband. Bernstein, whose stories in Washington Post with Bob Woodward helped bring down President Richard Nixon, has signed a deal with Alfred A. Knopf. He would not reveal the terms of the deal. Sheehy, author of nine books, including the best-seller “Passages,” is expected to announce a deal by next week, said her agent Lynn Nesbit. “Don’t expect Hillary Clinton to cooperate. I don’t think she will do any interviews. At some point there is speculation about whether she will write a book, and frankly, she would be the best source for her book,” said Mrs Clinton’s spokeswoman Marsha Berry. Sheehy got a jump on Bernstein with her 15,000-word article exploring the Clinton’s marriage in Vanity Fair’s February issue, which hit news-stands on Wednesday. Sheehy and Bernstein are contributing writers at Vanity Fair. Sheehy characterised the First Lady as a woman with two identities: a moral methodist and a radical feminist.Both of which, Sheehy writes in the article, have influenced Hillary Clinton’s marriage and public life. Her life strategy, decided long ago, was to take the raw material of a brilliant, emotionally battered child with a good heart and a desperate ambition and shape him into a political star.... Hillary was to raise a President,” Sheehy wrote. When the Clintons moved to the White House, Sheehy wrote: “Hillary believed that, at last, Bill would be more or less exclusively hers. If not because of a change of heart, then because of diminished opportunity. She told friends they had grown closer than ever.” “When allegations of sexual improprieties arose, Hillary presumably learned not only to rationalise, but even to capitalise on her husband’s weaknesses,” the article said. Sheehy also speculated in her article that the President would fight hard to keep his marriage, quoting Betsy Wright, who was Clinton’s Chief of Staff while he was Governor of Arkansas. “That man would lie
down and kill himself before he would let her
leave,” Wright said. |
‘Titanic’ sails home with more honours PASADENA, Jan 11 (Reuters) — The 1999 entertainment award ceremony season has begun where it left off in 1998 as the film “Titanic” sailed home with more honours. The People’s Choice Awards, the first nationally televised US award ceremony of the year, yesterday handed out two awards to “Titanic”, which won 11 Oscars last year. The shipwreck film was chosen as favourite motion picture, beating out the space-action movie “Armageddon” and World War II drama “Saving Private Ryan.” “We are hoping this is closure,” director James Cameron told reporters about the latest awards. “It really is a great honour. After 1998 being such a fantasy year for all of us, this is a nice way to end it.” “Titanic” was also chosen as favourite dramatic motion picture, Canadian diva Celine Dion, who topped the charts with the “Titanic” hit song “My heart will go on”..., was named favourite female musical performer. “Saving Private Ryan” star Tom Hanks won the Favourite Movie Actor Award. After the ceremony he joked with reporters: “It is never too late to give an award to ‘Titanic’.” “Titanic” stars Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet, who failed to win awards at last year’s Oscars, lost again this time as Favourite Actor and Actress to Hanks and Sandra Bullock. The raucous “There is Something About Mary” was named Best Comedy movie. The awards were voted on by the public through a telephone poll conducted by the Gallup organisation. As part of the show’s 25th anniversary, members of the public were allowed to vote on the Internet for their favourite performers of all time. Harrison Ford, best known
for his roles in the star wars and Indiana Jones movies
won the All-time Favourite Movie Star Award. Comedian
Bill Cosby was honoured as All-time Favourite Television
Star. |
Massive win for Obasanjo’s PDP in Nigeria LAGOS, Jan 11 (AFP) — The Centre-Left Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of Presidential hopeful Olusegun Obasanjo confirmed its position as Nigeria’s leading political party in state elections, final results showed today. The PDP, which won sweeping victories in local elections held last December, took 20 state Governorships against nine for the All-People’s Party (APP) and six for the radical Alliance for Democracy (AD). The results showed some small inroads being made by the APP into the PDP’s strongholds in the north, but AD held on to its heartland of Yoruba in the South-West. Voting took place in 35 of Nigeria’s 36 states on Saturday but was deferred in Bayelsa state in the south because of recent clashes between security agents and locals demanding a greater share of oil wealth. A remarkable AD success
was in the economic capital, Lagos, where former Senator
and recently returned political exile, Mr Bola Tinibu,
won the Governorship in a remarkable turnaround in
political fortunes. |
Nazarbayev re-elected President ASTANA, (Kazakhstan), Jan 11 (Reuters) — Veteran Kazakhstan leader Nursultan Nazarbayev swept to an overwhelming victory in the ex-Soviet state’s presidential election, winning 78.3+ per cent of the votes, the Central Election Commission said today. Commission head Zagipa Baliyeva told reporters preliminary figures put Nazarbayev well ahead of his closest rival. Communist party leader Serikbolsyn Abdildin was second with 13.5 per cent of the vote in yesterday’s ballot. Gani Kasymov, head of the State Customs Committee, won 4.3 per cent and Senator Engel Gabbasov had 0.7 per cent. Voter turnout was more than 86 per cent, officials said. Nazarbayev, (58), who has
led the potentially oil-rich central Asian nation since
Soviet times, was criticised by western human rights
groups and the USA over the conduct of the election. |
Scribes killed in Freetown clashes FREETOWN, Jan 11 (AP)
— An Associated Press television producer has been
shot and killed and an AP bureau chief was wounded when
their car was hit by gunfire while covering Sierra
Leone’s civil war. Mr Myles Tierney, a Kenya-based
producer for Associated Press Television News, and Mr Ian
Stewart, based in Ivory Coast, were among journalists and
government Information Ministry officials who were
travelling in four cars through embattled downtown
Freetown on Sunday. They were being escorted by troops of
a west African coalition force, known as Ecomog, which is
protecting the elected government. Mr Tierney, (34), of
New York city, was shot and died instantly, Mr Stewart,
(32), suffered a head wound. AP photographer David
Guttenfelder of Waukee, Iowa was also in the car and
suffered cuts from broken window glass. |
‘Tobacco king’ jailed BEIJING, Jan 11 (Reuters) — China has jailed celebrated entrepreneur known as the “tobacco king” for embezzlement amid signs Beijing’s latest war on corruption is gathering steam. A court in southwestern
Kunming sentenced Chu Shijian, former chairman of the
Hongta (group) co, to life in prison for embezzling $
3.55 million, state media said on Sunday. Only five years
earlier Chu was named as one of the 10 most illustrious
figures of economic reform, the Procuratorial Daily said
in a biography of the fallen cigarette executive. |
| H |
|
||
| Poverty drove him to suicide bid LAHORE: A retired army soldier was seriously hurt when he set himself on fire outside Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s home in the Punjab provincial capital. Before Chan Mohammed showered himself with kerosene and set himself on fire on Sunday evening said, he shouted I can’t get any justice. No one will help me. I am a poor man.” Mr Mohammed, a father of six children, is in critical condition in hospital, doctors said. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the brother of the Prime Minister, said that the government would pay Mr Mohammed’s medical expenses. Doctors said he was with burns over 50 per cent of his body. — AP. Landslides kill 42 Zardari in
hospital Acid rain threat Colombia massacre |
 |
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | | Chandigarh | Editorial | Business | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
