W O R L D

Christians echo Pope’s message of hope
Vatican City, December 25
In a world worried by possible war in Iraq, West Asia violence and North Korean nuclear arms, Pope John Paul said today Jesus’s message was one of peace and hope in times of conflict and suffering.

In video (28k, 56k) Pope John Paul II holds his face in St. Peters's Square during his Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) message on Wednesday. A frail Pope appealed in his Christmas message to the world to avoid a conflict in Iraq. — Reuters photo

US claims on weapons untrue: Saddam
Dubai, December 25
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in a Christmas Eve message has said the US claims that his regime has weapons of mass destruction would prove to be “lies”.

GLOBAL MONITOR

As she holds her son, Angel Gabriel, former Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi listens behind bars to a judge read a verdict that will leave her in prison on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2002. Trevi was extradited on December 21, 2002, from Brazil to Mexico. — Reuters

Islamabad, December 25 A Christmas attack on a church in the Pakistani capital was foiled when the police recovered a bag of grenades and ammunition that was apparently to be used by extremists, the police said today.
Policewomen check a woman’s purse outside a church on the occasion of Christmas in Islamabad on Wednesday. — Reuters photo

• 3 killed in Pak church attack

Visitors take photos of an ice sculpture at the Ice and Snow World exhibition in the northern Chinese city of Harbin on Tuesday. The exhibition, which occupies 400,000 square metre, uses 150,000 cubic metre of ice and 120,000 cubic metre of snow to build more than 2,000 ice sculptures. The annual show was launched four years ago and it has become an increasingly popular tourist attraction. — Reuters

Curbs on flights over New York, California
Washington, December 25
The USA has imposed a temporary flight ban over the Statue of Liberty and midtown Manhattan on New Year’s Eve due to possible security risks ahead of the high-profile festivities.

Amitabh arrives in South Africa
Durban, December 25
More than a decade after his first visit to South Africa, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan arrived here today — three days before the much-hyped concert on December 28 — to ensure a trouble-free event. Bachchan is here for the “Now-or-Never” concert to be held on Saturday at the Absa Rugby Stadium here.

Remains of German victims sent home
Kabul, December 25
In a sombre Christmas Day ceremony, the remains of seven peacekeepers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan were today flown out of Kabul on their final journey home to Germany.

Video

Visiting Iranian President Mohammad Khatami expressed hope that Pakistan and India would work out their differences by initiating meaningful dialogue.  (28k, 56k)

Christians echo Pope’s message of hope

Vatican City, December 25
In a world worried by possible war in Iraq, West Asia violence and North Korean nuclear arms, Pope John Paul said today Jesus’s message was one of peace and hope in times of conflict and suffering.

Leading the world’s Roman Catholics into Christmas, the Pope, looking tired but resplendent in gold and white vestments, told a midnight mass broadcast live to tens of millions of people: “Jesus is born for a humanity searching for freedom and peace.’’

The message of hope was echoed by Christians at church services around the world, even as the USA stepped up preparations for war in Iraq and worshippers in Asia were nervous over possible fresh acts of terror by Islamic militants.

Christians in Muslim countries in Asia flocked to churches for services that have so far passed off peacefully despite concerns over bomb attacks. The police has considerably tightened security in the run-up to Christmas.

In Latin America, several thousand people opposed to Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez prayed for peace during an open-air mass in Caracas as a strike kept a stranglehold on the nation’s vital oil industry.

In a dreary, rainy Bethlehem, the Vatican’s senior representative in the holy land issued an appeal in a midnight mass for freedom for Palestinians from the Israeli occupation.

Speaking in French to a packed congregation in the Roman Catholic Saint Catherine’s church, adjoining the Church of the Nativity where by tradition Jesus was born, Patriarch Michel Sabbah said in a message to Israelis: “Blood has been flowing in your cities and streets, but the key to solving this conflict is in your hands. By your actions so far, you have crushed the Palestinian people but you still have not achieved peace.’’

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was but a ghost of the past Christmas at the mass, his empty chair a symbol of holiday gloom in a town ringed with Israeli armour.

Sabbah, himself a Palestinian, addressed the empty chair which Arafat — although a Muslim — has occupied in the past before Israelis banned his presence for a second straight year.

“We wish you were with us tonight, and we call on God to give you the wisdom and the power under this siege to continue your mission toward peace and justice,’’ Sabbah said.

Children from Africa, India, Italy, South Korea, Ecuador, Canada, Poland and China offered symbolic gifts to the Pope as the Sistine Chapel choir sang in Latin and Italian.

In Indonesia, Christians packed churches across the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

The security forces in the Philippines, a Roman Catholic nation of 80 million people, were on a high alert today for attacks on crowded churches and malls by Islamic militants.

In Pakistan, nine persons were wounded yesterday in a small explosion near a hotel in Rawalpindi, close to Islamabad, officials said.

Britain had warned its citizens to avoid churches in Indonesia. The USA and Australia had earlier warned its nationals of fresh terror attacks during the holiday season. Reuters

US claims on weapons untrue: Saddam

Dubai, December 25
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in a Christmas Eve message has said the US claims that his regime has weapons of mass destruction would prove to be “lies”.

“Aggressors use flimsy pretexts and fabrications, totally alien to truth, despite the fact that Iraq has cooperated and continues to cooperate with the UN and the Security Council...not out of weakness or fear of anyone, but rather to prove to the world the fabrications of the US administration,” he said attacking the USA and its allies.

Saddam terming the USA and its allies as “the forces of evil and darkness”, said these forces sought to create “instability and chaos” in many parts of the world to “impose their hegemony” on other countries, “whose wealth they sought to control,” the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.

“We are confident the outcome of the inspection operations will be a big shock to the USA if things remain on a technical and professional course with no hidden agendas, and if only the inspection teams could rid themselves of the pressures put on them by the USA, UK and Zionism”. PTI

Pak police foils bid to attack church

Islamabad, December 25
A Christmas attack on a church in the Pakistani capital was foiled when the police recovered a bag of grenades and ammunition that was apparently to be used by extremists, the police said today.

The bag was found on Christmas eve some 100 metres from the St. Thomas church in Islamabad, where Western and Pakistani worshippers were due to gather for Christmas services.

City police chief Syed Kaleem Imam told the Daily Times that “anti-state elements” had placed the bag near the church, which has been under tight security in the run up to the holiday. Authorities had been tipped off to the bag in advance, he added.

Worshippers were evacuated from the church yesterday, and the police eventually found the bag which contained two grenades and about 30 rounds of ammunition, Razzaq said.

The wife of Father Nadeem Kamran said Christmas services continued today amid tight security. AFP

3 killed in Pak church attack

Islamabad, December 25
Three persons were killed and at least 10 injured tonight when unidentified assailants hurled explosives into a Protestant church in Pakistan’s central Punjab province, the police said. AFP

China, Bangladesh sign defence pact

Beijing, December 25
A day after inking a landmark bilateral defence cooperation agreement, Chinese leaders today described Bangladesh as “a reliable and trustworthy friend” and offered millions of dollars as aid to boost all round relations between the two countries.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin said China and Bangladesh are close and friendly neighbours and their friendship boasts of a profound historical basis.

Bilateral relations have advanced smoothly on the basis of the five principles of peaceful co-existence although the two countries forged diplomatic ties not too long ago, Mr Jiang said during a meeting here with visiting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

There are no prominent problems between the two countries, he said according to the official Xinhua news agency.

With the signing of the umbrella defence cooperation agreement, China has become the first country to have a broad-based defence cooperation with Bangladesh. The pact is an effort to institutionalise existing agreements in the military field. It would ‘rationalise’ the existing peace-meal agreements to enhance cooperation in training, maintenance and in some areas of production, official sources said.

Earlier, China’s top legislator, Mr Li Peng said Beijing has always regarded Dhaka as a reliable and trustworthy friend.

Mr Li, who is the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, stressed that China and Bangladesh have respected, trusted and supported each other on an equal basis since they forged diplomatic ties in 1975.

Yesterday, during official talks, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji also gave the same message to Zia saying “the friendship between China and Bangladesh is based on a high level of mutual trust between their leaders and people,” Mr Zhu said.

China and Bangladesh yesterday signed three agreements to enhance bilateral economic and defence cooperation. PTI

Jehad to be stepped up: Hekmatyar

Islamabad, December 25
A renegade Afghan rebel leader warned today that “jehad” or holy war would be stepped up throughout his homeland to target anti-terror coalition forces and peacekeepers. He also said his fighters were aligned to the defeated Taliban and Al-Qaida fugitives.

“We are together,” Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said in a Pashtu language message distributed in Pakistan by his followers.

“The Hezb-e-Islami will fight our “jehad” until the foreign troops are ousted from Afghanistan and Afghans have set up an Islamic government,” Hekmatyar said. AP

Curbs on flights over New York, California

Washington, December 25
The USA has imposed a temporary flight ban over the Statue of Liberty and midtown Manhattan on New Year’s Eve due to possible security risks ahead of the high-profile festivities.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has also issued flight restrictions along the Rose Parade route in Pasadena, California, at the state’s request, as a security precaution at the event which is expected to draw thousands of people.

“The temporary flight restrictions are in effect for security reasons,” said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown, adding that the Rose Parade has had such limits for several years.

She said between 4 am to 4 pm on New Year’s Eve, pilots will be prohibited from flying below 1,500 feet within a 1.6 km radius of the Statue of Liberty.

During the same time period, flights below 2,000 feet are also banned over the breadth of Manhattan Island between the 23rd street and the 96th street — a section slightly larger than the Central Park — at the request of the New York City Police Department, Mr Brown said yesterday. Reuters

Amitabh arrives in South Africa

Durban, December 25
More than a decade after his first visit to South Africa, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan arrived here today — three days before the much-hyped concert on December 28 — to ensure a trouble-free event. Bachchan is here for the “Now-or-Never” concert to be held on Saturday at the Absa Rugby Stadium here.

Bachchan, who is promoting the event with South Africa’s film producer Anant Singh, was accompanied by movie star Sanjay Dutt. Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Preity Zinta, Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Rani Mukherjee and Sushmita Sen are scheduled to arrive over the next day or two. PTI

Remains of German victims sent home

Kabul, December 25
In a sombre Christmas Day ceremony, the remains of seven peacekeepers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan were today flown out of Kabul on their final journey home to Germany.

Draped in the German flag, caskets containing the seven were loaded onto a transport plane as their comrades from the 22-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) saluted.

The seven died last Saturday when their Sikorsky CH-53 helicopter nosedived and burst into flames on the outskirts of Kabul after apparently experiencing technical difficulties. AFP

GLOBAL MONITOR

2 HOLIDAYING MOMS LEAVE IN LURCH
LONDON: As they made last-minute preparations on the Christmas Eve for the annual celebration that has the child at its focus, Britons were appalled at two cases in which mothers abandoned their pre-teen sons, leaving them to fend for themselves alone at home. The police revealed on Tuesday that an unnamed 11-year-old boy, about to set off on a three-week holiday to Canary Islands a week ago, had been sent home in a taxi with the front-door key, after his mother realised at Manchester airport that her son did not have a passport. Jill Parker, 53, left her son, Rufus Polak, 12, on his own for two weeks and went on a skiing holiday. DPA

FOUR SURVIVE AIR CRASH IN SCOTLAND
LONDON: In what was termed as a Christmas miracle, four persons survived an air crash near Aberdeen airport in Scotland on the Christmas Eve. The 17-seater mail plane with two persons aboard had just taken off and was heading for Aalborg in Denmark when it crashed on Wellheads Drive, a main thoroughfare of Aberdeen, and rammed into a car near the city’s airport on Tuesday. The pilot and co-pilot of the aircraft as well as the female driver of the car escaped with minor injuries. PTI

AMNESTY'S PLEA TO NEPALESE PM
LONDON: Concerned over the safety of two young women allegedly raped by Nepalese Army personnel, the Amnesty International has urged Prime Minister Lok Bahadur Chand to ensure safety of the women and prevent further human rights violations in the country. PTI

FIFTEEN KILLED IN SNOWSTORM
NEW YORK: At least 15 persons were killed in a snowstorm which swept parts of south-west, central and north-east USA, dumping up to 30 cm of snow, bringing heavy rain and spawning tornadoes. Most deaths were reported in cars spinning out of control as the snow made travelling conditions hazardous. PTI

BIOGRAPHY: EASTWOOD FILES LIBEL SUIT
SAN FRANCISCO: Actor Clint Eastwood filed a $10 million libel suit against the author and publisher of an unauthorised biography, which he says portrays him as an atheist and wife-abuser. The federal lawsuit filed on Wednesday accuses St Martin’s Press and author Patrick McGilligan of lying about Eastwood and “setting out intentionally to destroy (his) reputation.” AP