W O R L D

Lawmakers’ adieu to Indian diplomat
WASHINGTON, Oct 27 — Rep. Jim McDermott, who will take over as the Democratic co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans later this year, several senior Congressional staffers and close friends were on hand last week to bid farewell to Taranjit Sandhu, First Secretary (Political) at the Indian Embassy, at a reception and dinner hosted by Ambassador Naresh Chandra at his residence here.

Israeli troops kill 2 Palestinians
JERUSALEM, Oct 27 — Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians in the West Bank today on a “day of rage” which ended a lull in monthlong fighting and the Israeli army said it feared the violence would rage on into next year.

• Suicide bomber worries Israel

Bhutto owns $1.5b assets abroad: NAB
ISLAMABAD, Oct 27 — Pakistan’s anti-corruption bureau yesterday said it had 22,000 pages of proof that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto misused her power to accumulate $ 1.5 billion.

Easier Pak visas for all but Indians
ISLAMABAD, Oct 27 — The Pakistani military regime has allowed tourists from all over the world to fly to Pakistan, except those from India and non-resident Indians without prior clearance from the country’s missions abroad, a leading English daily said today.

UN vote backs Libya
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 27 — The UN General Assembly adopted by near unanimous vote a resolution criticising unilateral sanctions, which Libya said was aimed at the United States of America.

Japan minister quits over sex scandal
TOKYO, Oct 27 — In a fresh blow to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, a senior Cabinet minister resigned today over allegations of a scandal involving a mistress, use of drugs and ties with Right-wing extremists.

Rival accepts FPI chief as Ivorian President
Over 60 die in clashes

ABIDJAN, Oct 27 (AFP, Reuters) — Ivory Coast’s former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara today implicitly recognised his rival, Laurent Gbagbo, as President today, a day after at least 44 people died in clashes between their supporters.

Emerging from talks with the head of state sworn in by the Supreme Court late on Thursday on the strength of Sunday’s controversial poll, Ouattara referred to him as “President Laurent Gbagbo”. He did not repeat an earlier call for a fresh presidential election, but dismissed a role in government for the time being.

All along Mr Ouattara and his Rally of Republicans (RDR) Party have slammed the election, which he was barred from contesting, as “illegit mate and worthless”.

After the military junta, which called the election, was toppled on Wednesday, the RDR called for fresh elections that would include parties that had been barred by the Supreme Court.

Both the RDR and the Ivory Coast Democratic Party (PDC), the country’s largest political party, had their presidential candidates barred from running as junta leader, Gen Robert Guei, tried to assure victory for himself by having only Mr Gbagbo as a heavyweight opponent.

“We explained to President Laurent Gbagbo that we are reoccupied, our priority is to mourn our dead and bury our dead supporters,” said Mr Ouattara.

At least 44 people died in clashes yesterday between RDR supporters and those of Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front (FPI).

Meanwhile, people in the capital, Abidjan, began to drift back to work today, mostly on foot, as Ivory Coast’s new president Laurent Gbagbo prepared to defuse a political crisis.

Most districts were calm after an overnight curfew ended at 6 a.m. (GMT), but young supporters of Ouattara’s Rally of the Republicans party were trying to stop people and cars from circulating in the sprawling northern suburb of Yopougon.

Witnesses said police had fired in the air to disperse the RDR supporters. Elsewhere, taxis were appearing on the streets although there were few buses or minibuses, which many Abidjan people use. Schoolchildren in uniform were walking to classes.

At least 60 people died when the two parties supporters clashed. with the security forces.

At issue is the fallout from the overthrow of army ruler General Guei, toppled when Gbagbo’s people took to the streets on to overturn the presidential election victory he had fraudulently claimed and install Mr Gbagbo.

Mr Ouattara took refuge in the home of the German ambassador on Thursday when paramilitary gendarmes attacked his residence after he backed the street protests by his supporters.

The new President has, however, pledged to form a broad government which he said would include members of the RDR.

In his inaugural address, Gbagbo ruled out any rewriting of a constitution that barred Mr Ouattara from the presidential race.

Mr Ouattara was excluded because of doubts about his nationality and that of his parents, and also because he had used Burkina Faso nationality to his advantage at various stages of his academic and professional life, the Supreme Court ruled.

James Astill of The Guardian adds: Over 60 people have been killed in three days of protests, and the defence chief of staff said yesterday that anyone breaking the curfew, which will be in force until Monday, would be shot on sight.

In the main city Abidjan, three mosques and a church were ransacked and set alight as supporters of the largely Christian Ivorian Popular Front fought with their Muslim rivals, the Rally of the Republicans, to press home their candidates’ claims to the presidency.

The electoral commission, which General Guei dissolved after the results began going against him on Sunday, said yesterday that FPI leader Laurent Gbagbo had won more than 59 per cent of the vote.

Gen Guei won about 32 per cent and the turnout was 37 per cent, the commission said.

Lawmakers’ adieu to Indian diplomat
from Aziz Haniffa

WASHINGTON, Oct 27 — Rep. Jim McDermott, who will take over as the Democratic co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans later this year, several senior Congressional staffers and close friends were on hand last week to bid farewell to Taranjit Sandhu, First Secretary (Political) at the Indian Embassy, at a reception and dinner hosted by Ambassador Naresh Chandra at his residence here.

Mr Sandhu, who was in charge of covering and monitoring the US House of Representatives during his time here, will leave for New Delhi next week with his wife, Reenat, First Secretary (Commerce) at the embassy, for consultations, before taking up a posting as Political Counsellor at the Indian High Commission in Colombo.

Mr McDermott, who represents Washington state and is one of the founder-members of the India Caucus, who has been to India 13 times, declared that Taranjit had done a “great job” and predicted that the High Commission in Colombo is lucky to get Taranjit “because he is a real gem.”

“Taranjit had a very successful run here,” Mr Chandra told India Abroad. “He is very friendly and that helps him to develop very good and effective relationships and he had a good time on the (Capitol) Hill.”

“Sometimes,” Mr Chandra joked, “I used to question him whether it’s all work or he’s just enjoying himself. But his output was very good and he has commitment. He is committed to the mission, whatever work is given to him, and applies himself extremely well.”

Rep. Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut, who is the senior Democrat in the House International Relations Committee, said: “Taranjit Sandhu has been a tremendous asset for the Indian government in improving U.S.-India relations, particularly with respect to the U.S. Congress.”

Mr Gejdenson asserted: “ He was very helpful to me and my staff when we took a trade mission to India last January. Taranjit, Deputy Chief of Mission T.P. Sreenivasan, and the ambassador have all been extremely gracious and helpful whenever we have needed any information or assistance with an issue.”

“As the principal liaison for the Indian Embassy with the House of Representatives, he said, “Taranjit deserves a great deal of credit for the high level of interest and support for India in the House. His grasp of the inner workings of the U.S. Congress made him very effective.”

But, perhaps the most powerful compliment to Sandhu was what was conveyed directly to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee by Rep. Benjamin Gilman, New York Republican and chairman of the International Relations Committee.

Gilman, whose committee hosted Vajpayee for tea following the Prime Minister’s address to a joint session of Congress on September 14, said during his welcoming remarks that “Ambassador Chandra is doing an excellent job representing your country. We will miss the embassy’s Political First Secretary, Mr Taranjit Sandhu,” Gilman told Vajpayee, “You should know that he has been very effective in educating policy makers on Capitol Hill.”

“Accordingly,” Gilman said, “we look forward to working closely with you and your government and we hope that the future will bring peace and prosperity to India and Asia, and much stronger bonds of friendship between our two nations.” — IANS

Israeli troops kill 2 Palestinians

JERUSALEM, Oct 27 (Reuters) — Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians in the West Bank today on a “day of rage” which ended a lull in monthlong fighting and the Israeli army said it feared the violence would rage on into next year.

Clashes erupted between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers firing teargas, rubber bullets and in some cases live ammunition in several West Bank and Gaza Strip flashpoints after Friday prayers, witnesses said.

The army, shocked by a suicide bombing in Gaza on Thursday, said it feared the violence would make 2001 “a year of unrest, a year that we have to plan our operations to face the situation of a continuing dispute.”

Security was tight in Israel for fear of more suicide bomb attacks by militant Islamic groups and people avoided travelling in buses or mingling in shopping malls.

Suicide bomber worries Israel

GAZA, Oct 27 (Reuters) — A 24-year-old Palestinian on a bicycle blew himself up outside an Israeli army post in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the first suicide attack during nearly a month of clashes.

One soldier was slightly hurt in the bombing, which increased fears of guerrilla attacks in Israel itself and heightened concern that the conflict was entering a dangerous new phase.

The bomber’s family identified him as Nabil al-Arair and said he was affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement, which opposes peace moves with Israel. “We are very proud of what our relative has done,” Abdel-Rahim al-Arair, a cousin, said at the bomber’s Gaza home.

The army said the bomber appeared to be carrying a satchel or book bag. Israel Radio said the man had carried about 6 kg of explosives on his back.

“It is clear he came to commit suicide,” said Major General Yom-Tov Samia, Israel’s southern Commander responsible for the Gaza Strip.

The attack was carried out on the fifth anniversary of the assassination in Malta of Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shqaqi, widely believed to have been killed by Israel.

Islamic Jehad did not immediately comment. It and the rival Hamas movement have carried out suicide attacks in Israel that have killed scores of people in buses, open-air markets and other public places.

In fresh West Bank unrest on Thursday, Israeli troops in Ramallah fired rubber-coated metal bullets and teargas to disperse Palestinian stone-throwers.

The violence followed two days of relative calm during heavy storms in the Palestinian-ruled parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and erupted despite the first meetings between security officials from both sides for two weeks.

Although there was no clear sign of progress from the meetings, an Israeli General said he was heartened by the joint bid to restore security cooperation following bloodshed in which at least 132 persons, almost all of them Arabs, have died.

Several ceasefires have failed to end the violence and it remains unclear whether a proposal by US President Bill Clinton to invite the warring leaders to Washington for separate talks will get off the ground.

Neither Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak nor Palestinian President Yasser Arafat seemed in any rush to go to Washington. Neither has commented publicly on Clinton’s proposal.

French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said he feared the sides had reached a point at which dialogue was impossible.

The Israeli army blamed the Palestinian Authority led by Arafat for not preventing the suicide attack, which occurred on the main north-south Gaza road near an army post guarding the entrance to the Kissufim Jewish settlement.

A Hamas official, without claiming responsibility for the explosion, said: “In a situation like this, a situation of war, I believe that the option is open to all Palestinians to defend themselves by all possible means.”

Bhutto owns $1.5b assets abroad: NAB

ISLAMABAD, Oct 27 (AP) — Pakistan’s anti-corruption bureau yesterday said it had 22,000 pages of proof that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto misused her power to accumulate $ 1.5 billion.

Ms Bhutto, who moves between Britain and the United Arab Emirates, was convicted in 1999 in Pakistan in absentia of corruption and sentenced to five years in jail and disqualified from politics for seven years.

She also faces five further charges of corruption.

According to the Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau —whose job is to investigate, arrest and prosecute those suspected of corruption — Ms Bhutto owns homes in Britain, France and the United States of America.

Her real estate holdings include a $ 5 million rambling country estate in Surrey in Britain, a stud farm in Texas, six homes in Florida, and two homes in France.

“As shocking as it may be ... we have 22,000 pages of supplemental documents that show irrevocable proof that these properties and bank accounts belong to Benazir Bhutto,” the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Prosecutor General Farouk Adam said in an interview.

The government accuses Ms Bhutto of corrupt practices to accumulate the wealth and of failing to declare the $ 1.5 billion in assets in her last Income Tax Return in which the former Prime Minister said she was worth $ 822,528, according to NAB documents.

Mr Adam said the 22,000 pages of documents have been given to the courts in Pakistan “for determination in accordance with due process of law.”

As well as properties, NAB documents charge Ms Bhutto has 11 separate bank accounts in Switzerland, one in the United Arab Emirates, five in France, five in Britain and four in the United States of America. The amounts in each account was not available.

Ms Bhutto’s Swiss accounts were frozen by the Swiss government in 1997 because of an investigation launched by the ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Sharif has been in jail since October 1999 when his government was toppled in a bloodless army coup.

A new National Accountability law was enacted that gave sweeping powers of arrest and detention.

The law, which puts the onus of proof of innocence on the accused and gives the government the authority to hold a suspect for 90 days without laying a charge, has been sharply criticised by human rights groups.

Ms Bhutto’s spokesman, Farhatullah Babar said the former Prime Minister was being “victimised” by the anti-corruption bosses in Pakistan, including Adam. 

Easier Pak visas for all but Indians

ISLAMABAD, Oct 27 (PTI) — The Pakistani military regime has allowed tourists from all over the world to fly to Pakistan, except those from India and non-resident Indians without prior clearance from the country’s missions abroad, a leading English daily said today.

Except Indians and foreign nationals of Indian origin, all tourists would be issued landing permits at Pakistani airports or other entry points upon their arrival, The Dawn quoted Interior Secretary Hasan Raza Pasha as saying.

The condition of police registration has already been abolished for all foreigners except Indian nationals and NRIs, the paper said.

Kenya has also been excluded from the negative list of 16 countries after it relaxed visa restrictions for Pakistani businessmen, the daily reported.

Pakistani Interior Ministry had announced on October 13 that tourists from countries on the negative list would not be given relaxation of entry permit.

With the latest amendment in the visa policy, now all tourists except Indians living anywhere would be issued 30 days landing permit at airports and other entry points in Pakistan on their arrival.

Wahid cleared in embezzlement case

JAKARTA, Oct 27 (AFP) — The police has cleared Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid of involvement in a multi-million dollar embezzlement scam involving the state food distribution agency Bulog, the police said today.

“The police will not be summoning or questioning Gus Dur Wahid’s nickname because the masseur, Suwondo, has already told us that the President was not involved,” National Police spokesman Brigadier General Saleh Saaf told AFP.

Alip Agung Suwondo, Mr Wahid’s former masseur, was arrested on charges of convincing the deputy Chief of Bulog, Dapuan to release 35 billion rupiah (almost $ 4 million) to him, allegedly by using Mr Wahid’s name.

Under questioning, the police said he maintained the money was a personal loan from Sapuan, who is now on trial for involvement in the scandal.

UN vote backs Libya

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 27 (Reuters) — The UN General Assembly adopted by near unanimous vote a resolution criticising unilateral sanctions, which Libya said was aimed at the United States of America.

The measure, sponsored by Libya, calls for the repeal of “unilaterally imposed extraterritorial coercive economic measures on trade and financial and economic cooperation, including at the regional level.’’

The text had been negotiated with the European Union whose 15 members supported it.

Until a Scottish court in the Netherlands rules on two Libyan men accused of blowing up a Pan- American airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, the USA is expected to keep most embargoes against Libya in place.

The vote was 136 to 2 with 10 abstentions. The USA and Israel itself the target of, off and on, boycotts from Arab countries, voted ‘’no.’’

Japan minister quits over sex scandal

TOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) — In a fresh blow to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, a senior Cabinet minister resigned today over allegations of a scandal involving a mistress, use of drugs and ties with Right-wing extremists.

The departure of Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa, Mr Mori’s close aide, was intended to placate Young Turks within the dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as well as the Opposition.

WORLD BRIEFS

Annan plans to replace Gen Jetley
UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has said he plans to replace Major-General Vijay Jetley from force commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone and appoint a new commander in the coming few days who would be able to “lead the men in the field and mould them into a cohesive, active force”. Mr Annan did not mention any name but diplomats say ‘Deputy’ Chief of Kenya’s Armed Forces Lt-Gen Daniel Opande is being considered as the replacement of General Jetley. (PTI)

“Photographer of Hitler” dies
LA PAZ (BOLIVIA): Hans Ertl, a renowned German photographer who made his name documenting the Nazi war machine, died on Monday at the age of 93 in the Bolivian hacienda where he spent the second half of his life, newspapers here said. (Reuters)

Four new moons found for Saturn
WASHINGTON: Astronomers said on Thursday they had found four new moons orbiting Saturn, giving the ringed planet more known moons than any other in the solar system. This gives Saturn a total of 22 known moons, one more than the 21 seen orbiting Uranus. (Reuters)

Play on Muslim community banned
SINGAPORE: Singapore has banned a controversial play about marital violence and rape in the Indian Muslim community that was due to be staged this weekend. “Talaq” a one-woman show about the miserable marriage and divorce of a woman named Banu, has outraged some members of the local Indian Muslim community and resulted in a death threat against the author, Elangovan. (AP)

Netherland’s ex-PM to head UNHCR
UNITED NATIONS: Former Netherland’s Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers has been appointed the new UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced. Annan said Lubbers, who succeeds Sadako Ogata of Japan brought with him an extraordinary record of high-level accomplishment, not just as Prime Minister for 12 years, but also as a scholar. (PTI)

Hero’s welcome for Castro in Venezuela
CARACAS: Cuban President Fidel Castro, starting a rare visit to Venezuela, received a hero’s welcome on Friday from President Hugo Chavez, who has offered the Communist leader an oil deal to relieve his embargoed island. The five-day trip is Mr Castro’s first state visit to the South American nation since the days following his 1959 revolution. (Reuters)

Sex parties banned in Israeli town
TEL AVIV: A magistrate’s court in the Israeli town of Herzlia has prohibited sex parties from being held in a suburban villa because the noise disturbed neighbours. The Yediot Aharanot daily reported on Wednesday that the judge rejected the claim by those behind the parties that the villa was merely the venue for a private social gathering, saying organisers had charged a participation fee. (DPA)