S P O T L I G H T

UK to seek review of Omar’s death penalty
Islamabad, July 20
Britain will seek a review of the death penalty awarded to Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh in the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl kidnapping and murder case and press for diluting the sentence to life imprisonment. "Omar Sheikh is a British national and we treat him as such. We oppose capital punishment and are trying to have counsellor access to Omar Sheikh in this regard," the News reported today quoting British High Commission spokesperson Colin Hicks. "We are in touch with the Foreign Office of Pakistan. I do not recall that anyone in Britain has been sentenced to death during the past 50-55 years," he said. UNI

Al-Qaida men held
Washington, July 20
The US authorities have arrested a Jordanian-born man carrying $ 12 million in false cashier’s checks at an airport on suspicion of being linked to the Al-Qaida terrorist network. Omar Shishani, 47, was detained on Wednesday as he arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Indonesia. Officials said Shishani’s name appeared on a watch list of people trained in Afghanistan by the Al-Qaida, the Washington Post reported here today. PTI

Consulate bombing
Karachi, July 20
A Pakistani court ordered the police today to file charges within a week against two men arrested in connection with the suicide bombing outside the US consulate following a request by investigators for more time. An anti-terrorism court directed the police to submit the charges against the two — Mohammad Imran Bhai and Mohammad Hanif Ayub — on July 27 when the case will be taken up for hearing, public prosecutor Habib Ahmed said. AFP

Jual Oram meets PM
New Delhi, July 20
Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today and explained his position in the wake of media reports that his office took bribes from the NGOs which applied to the ministry for grants, sources said. The reports had said that the Intelligence Bureau had investigated Mr Oram’s office at the behest of Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and found that it had taken bribes from the Oju Welfare Association, an NGO in Arunachal Pradesh working for the uplift of orphans and destitute women. UNI