 |
| Monday, January 10, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
|
Chechens
recapture two towns Israel-Syrian
talks winding down? 11
suicide bombers ‘enter Colombo’ UK
to prosecute ultra Scud
parts seized at airport |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Army should return to barracks: PML leader ISLAMABAD, Jan 9 — Deposed Premier Nawaz Sharif has said his Pakistan Muslim League would soon resume work for the nation’s welfare from where it was derailed by Army saying if today he was jailed for working for the people “tomorrow every house will have a Nawaz Sharif”.
Oppn
spurns Hasina’s overtures Poll
ban on 30 rebels, Khatami men People
are not ‘born brainy’ 3
killed in Aceh violence Sperm
export new business? Park
named PM Triplets
born to granny Miami
Cubans call off protests
|
Chechens recapture two towns MOSCOW, Jan 9 (Reuters, AFP) — Russia’s military and Chechen rebels stepped up a war of words today, with Moscow hailing its successes in the breakaway region’s mountainous south and the Chechens saying they were resisting the offensive.Action in the war-ravaged province turned to Chechnya’s rugged southern mountains for the second day after Moscow announced a partial suspension of its offensive against the capital Grozny, where troops are facing stiff rebel resistance. Ntv private television reported that Russians had blockaded two villages, Simsir and Sterch Ketch, about 70 km south-east of Grozny and news agencies said warplanes had pounded rebel bases across the southern mountains. It said troops had killed 60 rebels. Rebel spokesman Movladi Udugov told Reuters by telephone Chechen fighters had driven Russian troops out of Argun, to the south of Grozny, and were fighting for control of Shali, towards which columns of Russian tanks were moving. “Chechen troops have freed the towns of Argun and Mersky Yurt. These are now under the control of Chechen forces,” Udugov said. Udugov also denied that Russian troops had cut off Vedeno, saying it was impossible to surround the mountainous town. Ntv reported that Sergei Makarov, commander of the eastern division, had begun talks with elders in the town. Chechen troops were pulling out of Shali today just hours after launching a surprise raid on the important town southeast of the besieged capital Grozny, AFP, quoting a top rebel commander, said. “Our mission has been accomplished and we are pulling out of Shali and falling back to Germenchuk,” Movladi Udugov said on telephone. A large force of Russian armour had just arrived in the battle zone from Gudermes, Chechnya’s second city, said Udugov, a member of Chechnya’s military command. Udugov’s statement came less than two hours after he announced rebel forces had seized control of half of the town, which lies around 20 km from Grozny. The attack, which has not been confirmed by Moscow, would appear to be part of a Chechen tactic of hit-and-run attacks designed to harry Russian forces besieging Grozny. In the mountains, Russian forces are attacking from three directions, pressing up from the lowlands in the north, sending marines across mountain passes from the east and dropping paratroopers along the southern border with ex-Soviet Georgia. Russian forces in and around the Chechen capital were regrouping on Saturday after the Kremlin announced a partial suspension of their offensive for Orthodox Christmas. Acting President Vladimir Putin said the attack had been suspended partly because of celebrations of Christmas by Orthodox Christians and Id-ul-Fitr by Muslims. Mr Putin also made little of an announcement that two new commanders in Chechnya, Generals Vladimir Shamanov and Gennady Troshev, were being replaced. General Makarov, Troshev’s replacement, told ort television yesterday that the troops had been given “new, more complicated tasks” for the Chechen offensive. Some mediamen suggested they were preparing for a larger-scale onslaught on the battered capital. The Generals said the offensive had been slowed to allow civilians to leave the capital. The Russians said this
week rebels were using 20,000 civilians as human shields
in Grozny. The separatist fighters say 40,000 civilians
remained trapped by constant Russian bombing and
artillery fire. |
Israel-Syrian talks winding down? SHEPHERDSTOWN, West Virginia, Jan 9 (AFP) — President Bill Clinton could put in another appearance here today to spur momentum in fragile Israeli-Syrian peace talks, White House officials said.After managing to break a stalemate in the procedure on Friday, Mr Clinton could return to Shepherdstown, 100 km west of Washington, for further contacts with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara. An Israeli official, who asked not to be named, said Mr Clinton was “definitely returning on Sunday.” But as delegates got set for the sixth full day in this latest phase of a U.S-mediated peace initiative, signs emerged that the round could be winding down. An Israeli official said Mr Barak could leave here for home on Monday, leaving behind Israeli experts to continue discussions with their Syrian counterparts on future borders, water rights, security arrangements and the normalisation of relations between the two countries. And a Syrian delegate, who asked not to be named, said the talks could break off on Monday, albeit with a fixed date for their resumption in the near future. Under another option, he added, Mr Barak and Mr Shara might return to their home capitals on Tuesday or Wednesday, leaving their teams of experts here. To date, however, work at a committee level has been halting at best, with the only evidence of any headway coming from Mr Clinton’s meetings with Mr Barak and Mr Shara, separately and on two occasions at a meeting involving Mr Clinton and both Middle Eastern leaders. Israel, meanwhile, has said progress has been made in peace talks with Syria after the USA changed tactics and had begun to rely on high-level shuttle diplomacy. “Since the USA changed the mechanism of the talks, temporarily dropping the committee work, drafted a working document and moved to high level shuttle diplomacy, much progress has been made,” an Israeli official said. “We are
coordinating the end of this round of talks with Syrians
and Americans and expect it to end soon,” he said. |
11 suicide bombers ‘enter Colombo’ COLOMBO, Jan 9 (PTI) — Search operations have been intensified and Sri Lankan cabinet ministers directed to cut down their public engagements following reports that 11 women Black Tiger suicide bombers have entered the capital city. While official media here said police interrogators were grilling 55 men and 14 women, who were taken into custody during last Friday’s search operations, military intelligence reports said 11 more dreaded women Black Tiger suicide bombers had infiltrated into the city. The police has intensified search operations here following the intelligence reports. Senior Cabinet Minister
and General Secretary of the ruling Peoples Alliance, has
told Sunday Times that the ministers had been asked to
minimise their engagements as there was strong suspicion
that the bombers might try to hit targets after a woman
bomber missed her target and exploded near the Prime
Minister’s Office here last Wednesday. |
UK to prosecute ultra LONDON, Jan 9 (PTI) — Britain has indicated that Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh, a Pakistan-born British national and one of the three militants released by India in return for the hostages of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane, may be tried under an Indo-British extradition treaty or under the anti-terrorists act, according to official sources. The British Government also said it has no desire to show any “favourable treatment” to Sheikh, and will allow relatives of one of his victims to file a case against the militant in Britain, the sources said. Britain, which earlier offered consular assistance to Sheikh, told the Indian acting High Commissioner Hardeep Puri that it was not aware of the fact that Sheikh, arrested in 1994 for offences relating to kidnapping of three British and one US nationals from a hotel in Delhi, was convicted. Sheikh was convicted by a session judge in an Indian court for three years rigorous imprisonment (RI) and Rs 5,000 fine under Section 332 of IPC and also two years RI and fine under Section 427 of IPC. The judgement was delivered on November 19, 1998. While the other two
freed Pakistani militants Maulana Masood Azhar and
Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar surfaced in Karachi and Muzaffarabad
respectively, the whereabouts of Sheikh, who carries a
British passport, is not yet known. |
Scud parts seized at airport LONDON, Jan 9 (ANI)—Crates of Scud missile parts which were being smuggled to Libya were seized at London’s Gatwick airport in November but their seizure was announced by the British Customs today. “There is an arms embargo to Libya but there is no suggestion that the United Kingdom is shipping anything directly. The country is obviously being used as a transit point”, said a Home Office spokeswoman. At least 32 crates of jet propulsion systems and other missile parts, disguised as automotive spares, were found on a British Airways flight bound for Tripoli via Malta. The export of missiles to Libya is illegal under the European Union arms embargo and an international treaty against the proliferation of ballistic missiles. This development is
likely to further damage Libya’s ties with the West.
Relations had of late started to improve slowly after
Tripoli handed over two suspects for trial in Netherlands
in connection with the Pan Am passenger flight that
crashed in Lockerbie in Scotland. |
Army should return to barracks: PML leader ISLAMABAD, Jan 9 (PTI) — Deposed Premier Nawaz Sharif has said his Pakistan Muslim League would soon resume work for the nation’s welfare from where it was derailed by Army saying if today he was jailed for working for the people “tomorrow every house will have a Nawaz Sharif”. “History stands witness to this fact that people’s will cannot be suppressed through force. If today Nawaz Sharif is being jailed just because he was working for the welfare of the people, tomorrow every house will have a Nawaz Sharif,” ‘The News’ reported Sharif as saying in his Eid-ul Fitr message from Landhi jail yesterday. Comparing the October 12 army take-over to a “dark night”, and expressing confidence that his Pakistan Muslim League’s journey for the welfare of Pakistan would soon start again, Sharif said the sun of hope would rise again. “We will start our journey again right from where we were stopped,” Sharif, facing a possible death sentence in treason and plane hijacking case, said. He asked the people to remain calm, saying “I know that Pakistan is in dire straits now-a-days, but I will ask you to remain calm and cool.” He said, though he was in jail, he shared the happiness of Eid with the people. “I am behind bars but I feel myself among the people on this auspicious occasion.” Sharif prayed to Allah to give him courage and determination to go through “this hour of trial.” LAHORE, (ANI): Pakistan Muslim League’s vice-president and member of the suspended National Assembly Mian Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri has said that the army should go back to the barracks at the earliest as it would not be in the national interest if it stayed in power for long. Talking to reporters here on Friday, he gave a positive reaction to Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf’s statement that he would think of restoring the assemblies at an appropriate time. Asked what in his
opinion was the reason behind the apparent change in the
General’s stance, about the fate of the Assemblies,
as in his earlier statements he had been ruling out their
restoration, the PML leader said. |
Oppn spurns Hasina’s overtures DHAKA, Jan 9 (PTI) — Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina has alleged that opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia was not reciprocating her repeated offers for talks to resolve political differences, threatening the country’s growth, amicably.“I personally telephoned her (Zia) thrice as part of initiative to solve the problems through discussions but she did not pick up the phone, nor she made a return call as a courtesy,” Ms Hasina said on a nationwide address over state-run radio and TV on the eve of Id-ul-Fitr yesterday. Ms Hasina blasted the opposition for calling frequent general strikes which had “punched a savage blow to business transactions of the traders and caused untold sufferings to the common people”. The Premier’s fresh call to the opposition for a dialogue came following a prolonged opposition boycott of parliament and its threat to intensify its oust Hasina campaign immediately after the festival and force elections. Appealing to shun the path of strikes, terrorism, bloodshed and poll-boycotts and resolve all issues amicably through discussions, Ms Hasina said “I firmly believe that it is possible to resolve any issue through discussions. But how the problem could be solved unless I get any scope for discussions.” However, former Premier Khaleda Zia, in a published statement, said: “Happiness of Id is marred by corruption, misrule of the present government which has created a suffocating situation throughout the country”. Ms Khaleda Zia alleged
that several of her party leaders and workers were now in
jail with the threat of false cases hanging over others. |
Poll ban on 30 rebels, Khatami men TEHERAN, Jan 9 (Reuters) — At least 30 MPs are among dozens of reformers banned from running for Iran’s crucial parliamentary elections next month, newspapers said today.The daily Iran, run by the state news agency Irna, said among those disqualified by the Guardian Council, a poll supervisory body controlled by conservative clerics, were many close allies of President Mohammad Khatami and liberal dissidents. It said the council had notified the Interior Ministry of the list of rejected candidates, although their names would not be published unless formally requested by those whose candidacies had been rejected. Newspapers said between 30 and 50 deputies in the present Parliament, which has 270 seats, had been barred from seeking re-election. The others are outspoken clerics, journalists and student leaders active in reformist and nationalist groups. Several rejected MPs said they were still waiting for final confirmation before they made any comments. “I don’t have
any problems to be rejected. If they have disqualified me
they had better back it up with written proof,” one
deputy told Reuters. Under a law recently passed by
Parliament, the Guardian Council has to provide written
proof for any rejections and hear complaints from
disqualified candidates. |
People are not ‘born brainy’ WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (PTI) — The most startling finding in the last decade has been the discovery that people are not necessarily born with all brain cells they will ever have, The New York Times reports. In fact, according to Dr Fred H. Gage, neuroscientist, Salk Institute, La Jolla, California, from birth through late adolescence, the brain appears to add billions of new cells, of freshly made neurons as children and teenagers interact with their environments. The process slows down in adulthood while new cell growth maintain mature circuits in the old age. The report said: “Although the congressionally mandated ‘decade of the brain’ produced many other discoveries, the finding that the brain develops and maintains itself by adding new cells is the most revolutionary. If these findings hold up to further scrutiny, the next decade of brain research promises a fresh look into human minds and how are they organised and constructed.” The new revelations have already suggested new ways to treat strokes and other brain disorders. They may also provide solutions to some mysteries, including the way young children who have half their brains surgically removed to treat severe epilepsy, go on to develop normally. Some researchers have
begun isolating special cells that continue to divide and
produce new brain tissue with the hope of implanting such
cells into areas of the brain damaged by disease or
accidents, the report added. |
3 killed in Aceh violence JAKARTA, Jan 9 (AFP) — Three Indonesian securitymen, two policemen and a soldier, have been killed in two separate incidents in the troubled province of Aceh, the official Antara news agency said today. Antara quoted Aceh police spokesman Lieut-Col Sayed Husaini as saying five unidentified gunmen opened fire and killed the two police officers in Simpang Ulim, East Aceh, yesterday following Eid-ul-Fitr prayers. Colonel Husaini said two other policemen were wounded in the attack, believed to have been carried out by armed rebels of the Free Aceh (GAM) separatist movement. In a separate incident, an Indonesian soldier was gunned down by two unidentified motorcyclists in Sigli, Pidie district, yesterday. First Sergeant
Syarifuddin was killed when he started to chase two
suspicious-looking men on a motor cycle. |
Sperm export new business? WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (PTI) — US and Danish exporters have discovered a new business export of human sperm, the Wall Street Journal reports.As a multiethnic country, US exporters of human sperm can provide any desired characteristic for progeny resulting from artificial insemination — white, black or brown. Denmark specialises in providing sperm to produce blue-eyed babies with the “viking look.” The Wall Street Journal in its report said countries imported sperms despite having plenty of resources as “sperm is relatively inexpensive for the purchaser”, and an average month’s supply costs around “ $ 300 to $ 400”. “Exports are a small niche in the global market, worth an estimated at $ 50 to $ 100 million. But a few commercial sperm banks have found that the international side of the business is growing fast,” the report said. The journal had identified about seven exporters of human sperm in the USA. It said for sperm banks, technology played a major role in the globalisation drive. Concern about genetic defects and infectious diseases had led to sophisticated and expensive means of testing the donations, the report said. It further added that growing complications in the storage and transport methods had added to the investment required to operate a sperm bank. The flip side, said the
journal, was that in smaller countries, sperm banking had
become both impractical and uneconomical. |
Park named PM SEOUL, Jan 9 (AFP) — Mr Park Tae-Joon, founder of South Korea’s giant Pohang and Steel Co, was nominated today to succeed Mr Kim Jong-Pil as Prime Minister and is expected to take up the post this week. Mr Park’s nomination was announced by the incumbent Premier, who has formed a ruling coalition with President Kim Dae-Jung. “Mr Park was nominated to the post of Prime Minister,” Mr Kim Jong-Pil said, adding that he would return to his United Liberal Democratic Party (ULD) to lead the campaign for the parliamentary elections in April. Mr Kim Dae-Jung allied
himself with the conservative ULD to win presidential
elections in 1997. |
Triplets born to granny YAKIMA (Washington), Jan 9 (AP) — A 54-year-old mother of eight, who has 15 grandchildren, has given birth to triplets. Arcelia Garcia gave birth by caesarean section to three healthy girls yesterday evening at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. The triplets, who weigh about 1.8 to 2.3 kg each, were born within about five minutes of each other. “It went very smoothly. Everything went as planned,” said Francisco Garcia (34), one of her sons. All of Arcelia Garcia’s eight children arrived in the hospital to be with their mother. Garcia plans to return to work as a farmworker as soon as her health and the babies allow, she said before the births. A woman in her 50s
pregnant with triplets is extremely rare, especially
without the aid of fertility drugs, said Dr Tom
Easterling, a maternal and foetal medicine specialist at
the University of Washington’s Medical Centre. |
Miami Cubans call off protests MIAMI, Jan 9 (DPA) — Miami’s Cubans have called off all demonstrations because of congressional efforts to keep a six-year-old Cuban boy from being returned home, reports said today. Elian Gonzales, who survived a shipwreck of fleeing Cubans in late November, last week was ordered by the immigration service to be returned to Cuba and his father by January 14. Congressman Dan Burton
of Indiana, however, subpoenaed the boy to testify before
the Congress on February 10 to block the January 14
deportation date. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | In Spotlight | 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 119 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
