W O R L D

Demonstrators hold a rally in Karachi on Friday to protest
against US President Bill Clinton’s visit to Islamabad on
Saturday. The protest was organised by an Islamic student
group despite a ban on political rallies imposed by the
Pakistani government. — AFP

Innocents being framed, says Sharif’s counsel
KARACHI, March 24 — The defence lawyer for deposed Premier Nawaz Sharif today said the military regime had implicated innocent people in the criminal case.

Barak’s pullout offer to Syria
JERUSALEM, March 24 — Israeli Premier Ehud Barak has apprised the USA of a "crucial peace offer" to Syria ahead of Sunday’s Geneva summit between US President Bill Clinton and his Syrian counterpart Hafez Assad, the media reported today.

Israelis stress claim to Jerusalem
JERUSALEM, March 24 — Israeli officials have hammered home their claim to all of Jerusalem, leading to a bitter Jewish-Muslim dispute in front of Pope John Paul II at a meeting to heal religious differences.

Koehler elected IMF CMD
WASHINGTON, March 24 — The executive board of the International Monetary Fund has unanimously elected Mr Horst Koehler of Germany as its chairman and managing director.

$ 200b tax cuts in US budget
WASHINGTON, March 24 — The Republican Party-dominated US House of Representatives today narrowly passed a $ 1.8-trillion budget calls for $ 200 billion in five-year tax cuts in the face of strong Democratic Party opposition.

‘Water’ disruption cost 2.5 cr
LONDON, March 24 — The disruption of the shooting of Deepa Mehta’s controversial film ‘Water’ has cost the filmmaker Rs 2.5 crore so far, according to its lead actress Shabana Azmi.

Will Pak amend constitution?
ISLAMABAD, March 24 — Pakistan will have about six lakh new politicians by August, 2001, at the local bodies level under the devolution of power framework.

Taiwan’s Lee quits as KMT chairman
TAIPEI, Mar 24 — President Lee Teng-hui resigned today as Chairman of Taiwan’s Kuomintang Party, a party official said. The resignation came after days of protests over the party’s humiliating defeat in presidential elections.

Rwanda head quits
KIGALI, March 24 — Rwanda’s Hutu President Pasteur Bizimungu, in office for almost five years since the genocide of 1994, has resigned in the wake of rows with fellow members of the mainly Tutsi ruling party.

Innocents being framed, says Sharif’s counsel

KARACHI, March 24 (DPA) — The defence lawyer for deposed Premier Nawaz Sharif today said the military regime had implicated innocent people in the criminal case.

Kawaja Sultan, who opened final arguments in the case, said an FIR of the case was registered 28 days after the alleged hijacking incident and sufficient material evidence was not produced in the court.

"The statement of Aminullah Chaudhary, a key prosecution witness, was not supported by other witnesses’, Mr Sultan said.

Chaudhary was accused in the case along with Mr Sharif and six others. But Chaudhary later turned state’s witness against Mr Sharif and was pardoned by the authorities.

Mr Sharif and six of his aides, including his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, are facing charges of hijacking, abduction, terrorism and attempted murder in an anti-terrorist court in Karachi.

The charges are related to the events of October 12, when Mr Sharif first dismissed the Army Chief, General Pervez Musharraf, who was on his way back home from an official visit of Sri Lanka. But army generals revolted against the decision and seized control of the country.

Military regime alleges that Mr Sharif had denied landing permission to Pakistan International Airlines flight PK 805, carrying General Musharraf and 198 passengers, while the plane was running low on fuel.

The same night the army overthrew Mr Sharif’s government and General Musharraf assumed power as Chief Executive.

"Delayed registration of the FIR creates doubts that the story was fabricated, and innocent people have been implicated in the case," Sultan said. The names of three accused were not mentioned in the FIR that shows even after almost one month there was no proof of their involvement in the case.

Mr Sultan cited statements of the prosecution witnesses and said when the alleged hijacking incident occurred, the army was in control of the air traffic control (ATC) and all actions were done on the instructions of the army.

He said the presence of the army at the Karachi airport on the fateful day shows that their action was to frustrate Mr Sharif’s order of dismissing General Musharraf, who was sacked at 4:30 p.m.

The Judge, Rehmat Hussain Jafri, adjourned the trial until Saturday when the defence lawyer would continue his arguments.

Barak’s pullout offer to Syria

JERUSALEM, March 24 (PTI) — Israeli Premier Ehud Barak has apprised the USA of a "crucial peace offer" to Syria ahead of Sunday’s Geneva summit between US President Bill Clinton and his Syrian counterpart Hafez Assad, the media reported today.

"Barak is willing to withdraw to the June 4, 1967, boundaries, with certain modifications," English daily Jerusalem Post reported quoting diplomatic sources.

In his meetings with US Ambassador Martin Indyk earlier this week, Barak clarified his negotiating position on the border issue to enable Americans to present it accurately during the Assad-Clinton meeting, the Post said.

Barak has asked Clinton to use the offer if Assad agrees to the border modifications, said the Post.

Barak’s spokesman Gadi Baltiansky, however, denied that the Premier had made any offer to the Syrians through the Americans or had discussed anything specific about the border with Indyk,the paper said.

The compromise solution being drawn up by the Americans involves Israel agreeing to a withdrawal to the 1967 border, and the Syrians agreeing to forgo access to the Kinneret in exchange for a parcel of land elsewhere.

Meanwhile, during discussions with Turkish President Suleyman Demirel and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak yesterday, Barak stressed that if a deal was not struck, Israel would not hesitate to retaliate harshly any Hizbullah attack.

Israelis stress claim to Jerusalem

JERUSALEM, March 24 (AFP) — Israeli officials have hammered home their claim to all of Jerusalem, leading to a bitter Jewish-Muslim dispute in front of Pope John Paul II at a meeting to heal religious differences.

The pontiff, who is on his first pilgrimage to the Holy Land, has been assailed by declarations from Israeli religious and political officials that disputed east Jerusalem is part of Israel’s eternal capital.

Hardly had the Pope emerged from his plane at Ben Gurion airport on Tuesday when President Ezer Weizman set the tone for the visit: "Tonight you will be in Jerusalem, the city of peace, the capital of Israel and heart of the Jewish world."

Half an hour later, when the Pope’s helicopter arrived in Jerusalem, Mayor Ehud Olmert revisited the topic, saying: "Welcome to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel."

Israel captured and annexed the eastern portion of Jerusalem in 1967 and claims all of the holy city as its capital, a position not recognised by the international community, including the Vatican, which only recognised the Jewish state in 1994.

The Palestinians insist east Jerusalem will be their future capital, and the sector’s fate is on the agenda for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Yesterday, during the Pope’s emotional visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, Prime Minister Ehud Barak again put forward this position, welcoming John Paul to "Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem."

Koehler elected IMF CMD

WASHINGTON, March 24 (PTI) — The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has unanimously elected Mr Horst Koehler of Germany as its chairman and managing director (CMD).

Mr Koehler, who at present heads the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, replaces Mr Michel Camdessus who resigned on February 14 this year citing personal reasons.

Mr Koehler (57) has a doctorate in Economics and Political Science.

Although the USA was initially not happy over the choice of Mr Koehler, it decided to comply with it as the European Union members stood by the choice.

According to a post-World War II agreement, a European would head the IMF and an American the World Bank.

$ 200b tax cuts in US budget

WASHINGTON, March 24 (ANI) — The Republican Party-dominated US House of Representatives today narrowly passed a $ 1.8-trillion budget calls for $ 200 billion in five-year tax cuts in the face of strong Democratic Party opposition.

The Republicans said their budget would safeguard social security reserves by applying them to pay down $ 1 trillion of national debt and give up to $ 250 billion in tax cuts over five years. It was passed 211-207 along nearly straight party lines shortly after midnight.

"Tax relief and debt relief are the pair of forged-steel handcuffs that will stop President Clinton and Democrats from spending the surplus on more wasteful government programmes" said Mr Bill Archer, the Texas Republican who chairs the Ways and Means Committee that writes tax policy.

‘Water’ disruption cost 2.5 cr

LONDON, March 24 (PTI) — The disruption of the shooting of Deepa Mehta’s controversial film ‘Water’ has cost the filmmaker Rs 2.5 crore so far, according to its lead actress Shabana Azmi.

Shabana Azmi told a "meet-the-press programme," organised by the Indian Journalists Association here yesterday, "The important thing is not to see "Water" as an isolated incident but a design by certain elements to throttle the freedom of expression.

The actress-turned-parliamentarian said she was hopeful that the shooting of the proposed film would commence in West Bengal or Madhya Pradesh in September.

The shooting of ‘Water’ in Varanasi incurred the wrath of Sangh Parivar outfits following which Deepa had postponed its filming.

Asked if she did not foresee further obstructions for the shooting, she said: "If the state government so decides, it is perfectly possible to shoot the film".

Claiming that according to a survey at least 76 per cent population of Varanasi, including students, wanted the film to be produced in that city, Shabana said it was time for secular and liberal minded people to be vocal on such matters.

Actor-Director Girish Karnad, who was also present on the occasion, said every one had the right to express dissatisfaction but it should not impinge on other’s freedom of expression.

Will Pak amend constitution?

ISLAMABAD, March 24 (ANI) — Pakistan will have about six lakh new politicians by August, 2001, at the local bodies level under the devolution of power framework.

The Chief Executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, on Thursday announced the framework for the "devolution of power and responsibility, establishing the foundation of democracy."

National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) chairman Syed Tanvir Naqvi said each district would have a union council, comprising 26 members, district assembly, comprising 66 members, and tehsil council, comprising 34 members.

There are 4,147 union councils, 106 districts and 376 tehsils in the country.

It means that around 600,000 new politicians will emerge on the political horizon.

The biggest question is how the constitution, now is held in abeyance, will be amended in certain cases. One such example is Article 51 (2C), which says: "A person shall be entitled to vote if he is not less than 21 years of age." That condition is applicable to all elections. But General Musharraf announced the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18 years "to increase the number of voters and to bring the youth into the main stream."

Taiwan’s Lee quits as KMT chairman

TAIPEI, Mar 24 (Reuters) — President Lee Teng-hui resigned today as Chairman of Taiwan’s Kuomintang Party (KMT), a party official said. The resignation came after days of protests over the party’s humiliating defeat in presidential elections.

"The Chairman resigned during the central standing committee meeting,’’ an aide to Nationalist spokesman Huang Hwei-chen said by telephone.

The aide declined to confirm if Nationalist Vice-Chairman Lien Chan, who finished a distant third in the presidential elections, would become the party’s acting Chairman.

Mr Lee will remain as President until President-elect Chen Shui-bian takes office on May 20.

Rwanda head quits

KIGALI, March 24 (AFP) — Rwanda’s Hutu President Pasteur Bizimungu, in office for almost five years since the genocide of 1994, has resigned in the wake of rows with fellow members of the mainly Tutsi ruling party.

His resignation, submitted yesterday, was accepted within hours by the Transitional National Assembly (TNA) meeting in extraordinary session, parliamentary speaker Vincent Biruta told AFP.

WORLD BRIEFS

Probe opened into White House e-mail
WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department has launched a criminal probe into charges that the White House failed to hand over electronic mail sought by campaign finance investigators and used intimidation to keep the mail secret. The probe, disclosed in court documents on Thursday, marks an escalation of charges that the White House hid the existence of thousands of e-mail messages — possibly related to campaign finance, the Monica Lewinsky sex-and-perjury scandal and other issues -after a computer error led to them being initially overlooked. — Reuters

38 die in truck accident
BANGKOK: At least 38 farmers were killed when the truck in which they were travelling missed a sharp bend on a highway and plunged down a hillside in north-eastern Thailand late on Thursday night. Police officials in Chaiyaphum province said the 10-wheel truck was taking 60 farmers home when it went off the road. Twenty-six passengers died on the spot, while another twelve died in hospital. — ANI

Boy holds class at gunpoint
LISBON (Ohio): A 12-year-old boy held his class and teacher at gunpoint before another teacher talked him into handing over the weapon, the police said. The sixth-grade student later told a school official on Thursday that he pulled the gun because he wanted to join his mother in jail. — Reuters

Car recovered after 25 years
LONDON: A Scottish couple who had their car stolen in 1975 have been reunited with their treasured possession after it was found at the bottom of a canal in Glasgow. The Morris Traveller, which belonged to Pam and Charles Ward, was discovered when the water was drained from the Forth and Clyde Canal as part of British waterway’s millennium link project. — DPA

Massive iceberg in Antarctica
WASHINGTON: One of the largest icebergs ever observed peeled off the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica early this week and could soon drift to sea, the U.S. National Science Foundation has said. The iceberg measures 274 km long by 40 km wide - a width that would normally take the ice shelf 50 years to 100 years to replace, the foundation said. At 11,000 sq km, the iceberg is approximately the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut. — DPA

Reward for man who found stolen Oscars
LOS ANGELES: The scrap metal dealer who found 52 of the 55 Oscars that were stolen on their way to the Academy Awards show was given a $ 50,000 reward and said his story should serve as a lesson that honesty pays. Mr Willie Fulgear, who found the crates of statuettes near a trash bin behind a discount grocery store and alerted authorities, was on Thursday awarded the money by Roadway Express Co., whose employee allegedly stole the statuettes. — Reuters

Knowledge of Polar lander flaw denied
WASHINGTON: The US space agency NASA has ‘‘categorically denied’’ a report alleging it knew in advance of a fatal design flaw in the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) that disappeared in space in December. The space agency was responding to a US news report that said NASA knew there was a problem with the Mars Polar Lander propulsion system prior to the December 3 landing attempt on Mars, but suppressed the information. —AFP

Associated Press wins award
WASHINGTON: The Associated Press has won the 1999 SAIS-Novartis International Journalism award for its efforts to uncover the truth about Korean civilians killed by American troops at the start of the Korean War. The story of No Gun Ri, where US soldiers gunned down hundreds of helpless South Korean civilians, had never been reported. The award is shared by AP Special Correspondent Charles J. Hanley, reporters Martha Mendoza and Sang-Hun Choe, and researcher Randy Herschaft. — AP

UN abolishes Iraq envoy’s post
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations has abolished the post of Secretary-General’s special envoy to Iraq and told its incumbent, Mr Prakash Shah, that his services were "no longer needed" because of changes to the UN’s arms inspection plan for the country. — PTI

300-year-old tomb unearthed
BEIJING: Chinese archaeologists have unearthed a 300-year-old skeleton and some artefacts belonging to the Ging dynasty from the US Embassy premises here, a media report said. The archaeologists from the Beijing Culture and Heritage Preservation Bureau (BCHPB) removed a skeleton, some coins, and a jar with a rare green glaze on March 3, Xinhua news agency said. — PTI