‘Goofy’ admits to killing 140 kids
BOGOTA, Oct 30 — A handyman known as “Goofy” has confessed to raping, torturing and then beheading some 140 children during a seven-year orgy of bloodshed in Colombia’s biggest-ever serial murder case, the authorities have said.

Pak FIA Karachi office sealed
KARACHI, Oct 30 — Pakistan’s military-led government sealed the main offices of corruption-busting Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the port city of Karachi, officials has said.

Fatwa against US playwright
LONDON, Oct 30 — Islamic militants in Britain have issued a fatwa against US playwright Terrence McNally for a stage production which has stirred controversy on both sides of the Atlantic for portraying Jesus Chirst as a homosexual.

18 EcoSoC seats filled
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 30 — The UN General Assembly has filled 18 seats on the 54-nation UN Economic and Social Council (EcoSoC) that fall vacant at the end of the year.

Fresh charges against Anwar
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — Serving a six-year jail term for corruption and standing trial on a sodomy charge, former Malaysian Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim is still not out of the woods.

Pak creating breathing space
From I.A. Rehman

Lahore, Oct 30 — Assurances of legitimacy being the foremost requirement of any regime created after a coup, no one should be surprised at the ongoing efforts of Gen Parvez Musharraf to first secure some breathing space. As indicated in his October 17 address, he has his eyes on both foreign and domestic audiences.

There were several reasons for the General’s quick dash to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Every Pakistani ruler wishes to reassure the population of his bona fides as a good Muslim by making a pilgrimage to Mecca and by indicating that good relations with Islamic states remains a cornerstone of the nation’s foreign policy.

Besides, in view of Mr Nawaz Sharif’s special relationship with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both countries had to be convinced that the coup was forced on the General and had become unavoidable.

All the governments in Pakistan have also tried to seek short-term financial assistance from the richer members of the international fraternity. But it is not impossible that in addition to explaining what has happened in Pakistan, the General considered it prudent to inform the friendly states of how he wished to proceed in areas in which the latter are also interested. For example, the new regime’s policy on Afghanistan, in particular its attitude towards the Taliban.

As regards the Western world, the regime seems to have gathered some confidence vis-a-vis those creating panic. The effect of the softening of the US attitude is quite visible and Islamabad has been relieved to find that the Commonwealth is mainly interested in receiving a pledge to abide by a short time-frame for extra-constitutional rule. Above all, signals from various directions that external opinion favours a crackdown on the corrupt and a revision of the country’s constitutional framework offer the space the regime at the moment needs.

Significantly, before meeting the Commonwealth mission General Musharraf chose to declare that he was not obliged to give any time-table to the outside world. He thus not only decided to strengthen his bargaining position but also seemed to argue that his overriding concern was to make Pakistan governable.

This posture is also considered helpful to the regime with regard to domestic opinion which has been led to believe by a succession of regimes, from that of Gen Zia-ul-Haq to the one headed by Mr Nawaz Sharif, that Pakistan has the capacity to assert its independence in matters of supreme interest.

Both at home and abroad, the regime is coming under pressure to spell out what it intends to do with Mr Nawaz Sharif and his close associates who remain under detention. There is little doubt that many of them are going to be tried, but it seems the regime does not wish to go to court with its ill-planned prosecution briefs, a lesson it may have learnt from the mistakes made by Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr Nawaz Sharif. But any further delay in revealing the charges against the detainees, or freeing them, may become an issue unwelcome to the military regime.

Meanwhile, the military regime has received comfort from signs of disarray in the Nawaz Sharif-led party. The President may be uncomfortable but his remark to the Commonwealth mission that the circumstances leading to the coup could not be ignored was meaningful. As regards the Muslim League parliamentary party, its declarations that the party remains inset do not mean much until it specifies its immediate demand, which it is avoiding under the specious plea that it does not want to confront with the military authorities.

Apart from former army officers who became politicians, an ousted minister was heard saying that in any case his party could not defy the military with whom it had had a special relationship. However, the claim that the party is united behind Mr Nawaz Sharif has begun to be questioned. About 15-20 parliamentarians have come out in opposition to Mr Nawaz Sharif and have asserted that they had never failed in their duty to protest against the supremo’s wrongdoings — in private or at party meetings.

However, the euphoria over the ouster of a bad government will not be enough to sustain the military regime. It will be judged by its ability to satisfy the people whose expectations have been aroused to an extent that any government would find daunting. The people are watching not only how the regime goes about implementing its agenda but also the instruments it employs. In this regard the regime’s selection of the members of the National Security Council did not create a favourable impression.

The reappearance of Mr Sharifuddin Pirzada in particular caused misgivings because he has been helping successive regimes to circumvent the law instead of upholding it. Mr Abdus Sattar, the new Foreign Minister, is respected for his personal qualities but many have wondered whether Pakistan needed at this time a hard-liner traditionalist. The signal to India and the West may not be the appropriate one, although this may assuage the feelings of the hawks at home.

The economy is manifestly high on the regime’s agenda but in this case the choice of too many cooks — the selection of a banker as the Finance Minister, the elevation of the State Bank Governor to the National Security Council, and his replacement by an expert from the World Bank (whose recent book on Pakistan’s economy is still being digested) — regardless of their proficiency in the areas of their specialisation, does not inspire confidence in the future.

A big challenge the regime faces is that it is expected to show quick results even though there is a consensus that Pakistan’s problems can be resolved only after a sustained effort over a long period. The outlook in general remains uncertain.

22 bonded peasants escape from ‘jail’

KARACHI, Oct 30 (ANI) — Twentytwo bonded peasants, including 11 women and children, escaped from the private jail of a Khipro-based landlord and reached the Special Task Force of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

The coordinator of the task force for Sind, Mr Nasreen Shakil Pathan, brought them to Hyderabad Press Club where they narrated the hair-raising story of plight to journalists.

They were detained by landlord Abbas Punjabi for the past six years and were subjected to inhuman torture and long hours of work. Women workers were even raped and sold.

Assistant coordinator of the HRCP Aftab Ahmed said the commission had filed a case in the Sind High Court against the illegal detention of peasants but the court had dismissed the case due to non-availability of the address where the peasants were being kept.

He alleged the SHO of Khipro, after finding out the activities of the HRCP, and the case in the court, had leaked out the information to the landlord, who shifted all of them to another landlord, Saleem Bugti. However, when the guards of Saleem Bugti were asleep at night the peasants escaped.

Meanwhile, the special task force of the HRCP for Sind has invited the attention of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Hyderabad division, towards the alleged illegal detention of peasants of the Khoso tribe by the Kotri police.

Western Sahara
Referendum may be delayed

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 30 (PTI) — The UN-supervised referendum in western Sahara is likely to be delayed further, thus raising its cost substantially, a new UN report stated.

The referendum to decide whether the territory should join Morocco or become independent, has already been delayed several times due to differences between the Morocco Government and the Polisario front fighting for independence mainly over voter eligibilty.

It is expected to be further pushed back because filing of appeals by thousands of people whose applications to be included among voters were rejected.

Long appeals have to be gone through before the voter lists are finalised.

In a report released recently on the preparations for a referendum on the future of western Sahara, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan notes some progress and calls for persistent cooperation of the parties.

The report says progress has been made in identifying the so-called “contested tribes”. He urges both parties to maintain cooperation so that the process can be completed, as planned, by the end of December.

The “contested tribes” are those whose eligibility to take part in the referendum has been questioned by either party.

Mr Annan points out in the report that over 79,000 applicants, who have submitted appeals, correspond very closely with the number of people omitted from the first part of the provisional list of potential voters issued on July 15.

“Under these circumstances,” the Secretary-General says, “we might be confronted with lengthy appeal process involving almost all applicants rejected in the first instance, as well as a large number of applicants whose inclusion in the provisional voters’ list has been challenged”.

This will affect the level of staff, financial and other resources required for the mission.

Budget impasse may hurt talks: Clinton

ATLANTA (Georgia), Oct 30 (AFP) — US President Bill Clinton has warned the ongoing budget impasse between the White House and Congress could hurt prospects for peace in West Asia.

Speaking at the annual dinner of the human rights group, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), here yesterday, Mr Clinton criticised Congress for what he said was a failure in its recent budget Bill to provide adequate funds to assist Israel, Jordan and other West Asia allies.

‘‘The Bill sent a terrible signal to our friends in the Middle East and the strongest possible encouragement to the enemies of peace that there will be no immediate rewards for peace,’’ the US President said.

‘‘That’s why I vetoed it and I will veto it again if it does not provide for the funding of our obligations around the world,’’ said Mr Clinton.

The impasse has highlighted the stormy relationship between the White House and the Republican-led Congress, especially in foreign policy matters.

Mr Clinton prepares to travel this weekend to Oslo in Norway for meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

‘‘They have made some hard decisions, they are working hard on preserving security and fighting terrorism,’’ Mr Clinton said.

‘Goofy’ admits to killing 140 kids

BOGOTA, Oct 30 (Reuters) — A handyman known as “Goofy” has confessed to raping, torturing and then beheading some 140 children during a seven-year orgy of bloodshed in Colombia’s biggest-ever serial murder case, the authorities have said.

The mutilated corpses of at least 114 of his mostly male victims, aged between 8 and 16, had been discovered near more than 60 towns in 11 of Colombia’s 32 provinces, Chief Prosecutor Alfonso Gomez told a news conference yesterday.

“Luis Alfredo Garavito has admitted the murder of about 140 children of which we have so far found 114 skeletons and we’re still investigating the disappearance of other children,” Mr Gomez said in a report sure to shock the nation just two days before Halloween.

“The bodies were beheaded and bore signs of having been tied up and mutilated,” he added, saying Garavito, 42, would drink heavily and then bind his young victims with a nylon cord.

He said that Garavito, also known by the aliases of “the priest” and “the madman”, posed as a street trader or a monk and loitered near schools across the country chatting to pupils.

Mr Gomez said the alleged serial killer befriended the children of poor and even peasant families and invited them to take a walk to remote rural areas until they became tired. He would then attack his victims, tie them up, torture and rape them before slashing their throats and beheading them, Gomez said.

The nationwide murder investigation was triggered after 36 decomposing corpses were found in shallow graves in Scrubland on the outskirts of the city of Pereira in 1997.

At the time, investigators said the children, whose remains were discovered in the lead-up to Halloween, may have been slaughtered in a black magic ritual.

Garavito was arrested in April this year and was being held in the eastern plains city of Villavicencio on charges of attempting to rape a child.

Investigations led to his confession to the 140 deaths during a court session on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by the Chief Prosecutor’s office, Garavito confessed to starting his horrific campaign with five killings in 1992. The number hit a peak in 1997 with at least 40 slayings.

Pak FIA Karachi office sealed

KARACHI, Oct 30 (AFP) — Pakistan’s military-led government sealed the main offices of corruption-busting Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the port city of Karachi, officials has said.

Paramilitary troops yesterday seized the record of investigations into corruption cases, mostly those registered during the government of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was toppled in a coup on October 12, they said.

Fatwa against US playwright

LONDON, Oct 30 (DPA) — Islamic militants in Britain have issued a fatwa against US playwright Terrence McNally for a stage production which has stirred controversy on both sides of the Atlantic for portraying Jesus Chirst as a homosexual.

McNally was sentenced to death by the Shari’ ah court of Britain after his play, "Corpus Christi", opened in London.

Muslims regard Jesus as a messenger of God and revere his mother, the Virgin Mary, so the play was declared a blasphemy by Al-Muhajiroun Defenders of the Messenger Jusus, the Islamic court announced yesterday.

Supporters of the group, which claims around 800 British members, passed out copies of the fatwa signed by Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, judge of the Shari’ ah court, outside the debut at London’s Pleasance Theatre.

The police is understood to be concerned enough about the threat to warn McNally at his home in New York.

His play, which shows a gay Jesus betrayed by his lover Judas, provoked fury among Christians when it opened in Edinburgh during this year’s festival.

18 EcoSoC seats filled

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 30 (Reuters) — The UN General Assembly has filled 18 seats on the 54-nation UN Economic and Social Council (EcoSoC) that fall vacant at the end of the year.

The EcoSoC coordinates the economic and social work of the UN and its specialised agencies.

Elected yesterday on the first round of balloting for three-year terms beginning on January 1, 2000, were Angola, Austria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Cuba, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Portugal and Sudan.

Fresh charges against Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 (ANI) — Serving a six-year jail term for corruption and standing trial on a sodomy charge, former Malaysian Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim is still not out of the woods.

He is now being arraigned for misuse of power when as Finance Minister he favoured some of his friends and cronies to earn millions from certain corporate exercises.

Former banker Abdul Murad Khalid, in a statutory declaration on Thursday, alleged that Anwar had pressed him to clear huge debts of his cronies.

2nd tallest building
HONG KONG: Hong Kong town planners have given the go-ahead to what could become the world’s second tallest building, a newspaper said on Saturday. The skyscraper will soar 580 metres — 128 metres above the existing tallest building, the 452-metre Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, The South China Morning Post said. But it will lose out on the world record by falling short of a proposed 609-metre residential and commercial skyscraper in Chicago. — DPA

Picasso’s heritage
MADRID: Spain is vying with France to become the main centre for the works of Pablo Picasso, who was born in Spain but who left his native country to settle in France until his death in 1973. “Parisians are jealous that Barcelona now has a Picasso museum almost bigger than that of Paris,” the painter’s son Claude Picasso said when the enlarged museum was recently inaugurated in the city where the founder of cubism spent much of his youth. — DPA

Jane Austen’s desk
LONDON: A Canadian descendant of Jane Austen’s family presented the novelist’s writing desk to the British Library. Joan Austen-Leigh of Victoria, BC, a great-granddaughter of Jane Austen’s nephew James, travelled to London to present the desk on Saturday, which had been in North America for the past 40 years. The desk will be a highlight of the British Library’s millennium exhibition, “Chapter and Verse: 1,000 Years of Literature”, which opens in March. — AP

Savings in tomb
TREVISO: An Italian widow stashed her saving — 230 million lire ($ 125,000) in 100,000-lire notes stuffed into two plastic bags — in an abandoned grave, thinking a cemetery was the safest place for her cash. But gardeners stumbled on the cache and handed it to the police, who on Friday said they at first believed criminals had chosen the tomb as a hiding place for their ill-gotten gains. They were surprised when the middle-aged woman, whom they did not name, arrived at the police station to claim the cash. — Reuters

Sex chromosomes
WASHINGTON: The difference in one chromosome that makes boys different from girls first appeared 300 million years ago, much earlier than previously believed, according to a study published in the journal Science. Bruce Lahn, professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago, and David Page of the Whitehead Institute examined the fossil record to determine how the difference developed. “The farther back in time we look the more similar X and Y appear, boosting the theory that they arose from a pair of identical autosomes”, Mr Lahn said. — AFP

Elephant gangs
AMSTERDAM: Rotterdam zoo staff have separated two hostile groups of Indian elephants and shipped one of them out of the Netherlands to England. The problem stemmed from a power struggle that followed the death of a respected member of the herd. In the leadership vacuum that ensued, two rivals formed what staff dubbed the “Tin Tin” and “Irma” gangs. The upshot is that the “Tin Tin” faction is staying in Rotterdam and a new home has been found for Irma’s group in southeastern England. — Reuters

2 students killed
RIO DE JANEIRO: A group of 15 Indians from a local reserve attacked and killed two young persons in a machete attack in northern Brazil, officials said. The attack happened on Thursday in Barra do Corda in the northern state of Maranhao, they said on Friday. Mr Jackson Mendes of the National Foundation of Indians, which oversees indigenous affairs, said the motive for the attack was revenge and the attackers probably belonged to the Guajajara tribe, one of many indigenous groups in the area. — AFP

Watergate tapes’ sale
WASHINGTON: People eager to own a piece of infamous US history will get their chance in January when copies of former President Richard Nixon’s notorious Watergate tapes go on sale for the first time ever, the US National Archives has announced. The tapes contain secretly recorded White House conversation between Mr Nixon and his top aides as they plotted the cover-up of the 1972 Watergate break-in into the Democratic Party’s national headquarters. — AFP