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Monday,
May 14, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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China for good ties with all
nations
US citizens alerted |
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Britain exposed troops to N-tests
20,000 students
expelled in B’desh for cheating Benazir’s counsel being intimidated:
PPP ‘Smart drug’ for
tumours
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China for good ties with all nations Islamabad, May 13 “India is a close neighbour to China. Over the years, we have developed a close relationship with India. Our (Pakistan-China) relationship is not directed against anybody. We would like to develop a close relationship with all countries in the region,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Government said here last night. Briefing reporters on the outcome of Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji’s visit to Islamabad, the spokesperson said: “Our relationship with Pakistan is very good. It is an all-weather friendship. China wants to develop good relations with every country.” Asked about the Kashmir issue, she said China maintained a consistent stand on Kashmir stating that all parties should resolve the problem through peaceful means. “China can attempt to persuade all parties to safeguard peace and stability in the region.” She said the thrust of talks between Mr Zhu and military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf had been on promoting economic and trade ties. “The focus of the discussions was mostly economic, but issues relating to defence cooperation were an important element of China’s ties with Pakistan”, she said, adding that China wanted to further its ties with Pakistan in all fields. On the recent Indian military exercises in Rajasthan, the spokesperson said: “China has taken note of the development. We hope that whatever the country (India) is doing is good for peace and stability.” Asked whether China attempted to emerge as a superpower against the USA, she said China was a developing country and even if it developed more, it would not be a “super or hegemonic power.” “We are a peace-loving country. We are not interested in having spheres of influence. We want our people to live well,” she said. She said Mr Zhu and General Musharraf discussed Islamabad’s policies towards the Taliban and US plans to build a national missile defence system. “Although the USA was sending delegations all over the world to explain its position, it is obvious that there are more questions than answers,” she said. “The chief executive explained his country’s position and policies on Afghanistan. Our position is that the issue should be resolved through dialogue,” she said.
PTI |
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US citizens alerted Washington, May 13 The department said the US government had learnt that American citizens abroad might be the targets of a terrorist threat from extremist groups with links to Saudi renegade Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaida organisation. In the past, such individuals had not distinguished between official and civilian targets, the department said in its travel warning late on Friday. The warning came a day after a federal jury in New York began deliberations in the trial of four men accused in connection with the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa. Some 224 people died in the nearly simultaneous explosions. Jurors examined 19 items of evidence, which included a transcript of testimony defendant Waddih El-Hage gave to a grand jury investigating alleged terrorist Bin Laden in 1997. Deliberations will resume on May 14. Jurors have to reach verdicts on more than 300 counts to determine the guilt or innocence of each suspect. Four men are charged in connection with attacks in Kenya and Tanzania. Two of the defendants Mohamed Al-Owhali and Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, could receive the death penalty, if convicted. Two others, Waddih El-Hage and Sadeek Odeh, could face life in prison. The travel warning urged US citizens to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness to reduce their vulnerability. “US government facilities have and will continue to temporarily close or suspend public services as necessary to review their security posture and ensure its adequacy,” it added. It said: “Americans should maintain a low profile, vary routes and times for all required travel, and treat mail and packages from unfamiliar sources with suspicion. In addition, American citizens are also urged to avoid contact with any suspicious, unfamiliar objects, and to report the presence of the objects to local authorities.” US government personnel overseas have been advised to take the same precautions, it added.
IANS |
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Britain exposed troops to N-tests Sydney, May 13 The Australian Government was also aware that its servicemen had been exposed to excessive levels of radiation, according to a document released here at the weekend. The document was released to public scrutiny by National Archives yesterday, and shows that over a third of 76 personnel involved in British atomic tests in 1956 received radiation doses greater than the maximum “permissible exposure” of 0.3 roentgens over the course of a week. One serviceman registered a 0.66 reading after just a few hours. The records support work by British researcher Sue Rabbitt Roff, who said she had uncovered documents which proved troops were deliberately exposed to radiation in nuclear tests conducted in Australia’s outback in the 1950s. Her research found 24 men had been chosen from a force of more than 250 British, Australian and New Zealand officers and civilians. The men walked, crawled and drove through a fallout zone three days after an explosion to test three different types of protective clothing. “The object was to discover what types of clothing would give the best protection against radioactive contamination in conditions of warfare,” the archival document said. In all, 12 British atomic bombs were detonated in Australia between 1952 and 1957. British and Australian governments have long resisted pressure from veterans to accept they suffered radiation exposure and deserved compensation. The British Government claimed in the European Court of Human Rights in 1997 that humans had never been used as experimental subjects during nuclear weapons trials. However, Britain’s Ministry of Defence admitted on Friday it had used Australian servicemen as virtual guinea pigs during such tests. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the government would consider raising the matter with Britain. The archival document is dated October 12, 1956, and carries the letterhead of the Australian Military Forces Central Command. It refers to the ‘Buffalo Trials’ - a series of four atmospheric nuclear tests conducted on September 27, October 4, October 11 and October 22, 1956. The document also names 70 Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen and one civilian, plus five military officers from New Zealand, who were exposed to high levels of radiation over September 28 and 29. “As far as can be determined, the individual dose for round one was received over a period of two to three hours while the various indoctrinee groups were touring the target response area,” the document said. “Certain people were exposed to radiation on dates other than 28 and 29 September, during clothing trials or for a limited number during a tour of the contaminated area after round two.”
AFP |
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20,000 students
expelled in B’desh for cheating Dhaka, May 13 Another 160 were injured as riot police stormed examination halls and seized books and prepared answer scripts to stop students from copying. In the worst incident of violence since the higher secondary certificate examinations began on Thursday, the police fired rubber bullets after teargas and batons had failed to stop students going on the rampage in Nazirhat town near the south eastern port city of Chittagong. Most of the expulsions took place yesterday during the English language
test. DPA |
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Benazir’s counsel being intimidated: PPP Islamabad, May 13 In a letter, she asked the High Commissioner to take notice of such actions of harassment and intimidation of the lawyers representing both political figures of the country and request the government to refrain from such activities. “The sole object of this harassment and intimidation of their lawyers is to dissuade their lawyers from representing them in ongoing fabricated court cases and thus deny them the right of both a defense counsel and a counsel of their choice in breach of their human rights”, she said. Citing the events of harassment and intimidation, she wrote “during the hearing of Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari’s appeal in the Supreme Court, the former Deputy Attorney-General of Pakistan and member of Pakistan Bar Council Farroq Naek’s car was hijacked at gunpoint from the main commercial area of Karachi. His driver was threatened and dumped miles away.” She said: “After Naek was successful in the appeal, an army team raided his legal office along with electricity officers, claiming that his bills were unpaid. The army personnel were fully armed and manhandled Naek’s staff despite being shown evidence that all his bills had been paid.”
ANI |
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‘Smart drug’ for tumours San Francisto, May 13 Clinical test results, about to be officially announced, show the drug gleevec is an effective treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumours as well as for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), said Dr Brian Druker of the Oregon Cancer Centre, yesterday. Speaking at a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society gathering here, Druker said his team found gleevec targeted the enzyme at the root of the stromal tumours as well as a “cousin” enzyme that cause CML. “We got remarkable results,” he said of the effect on stromal tumours. Druker called for clinical trials on the potential for gleevec to inhibit the tumour-making mechanism. The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the gleevec pill for treatment of CML, rare life-treatenaing form of cancer.
AFP |
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Frank refuses to comment London, May 13 |
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