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Monday,
December 30, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Kibaki elected Kenyan President
Terrorist threat in Indonesia: Canada Pak Kashmir panel calls for fresh initiative Pakistan’s rented satellite enters orbit Pak cops’ entry barred into
suspect’s house |
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Al-Qaida terror still looms large India renews claim on Kohinoor Nepal PM for talks with Maoists Strike paralyses Kathmandu UK police, army to
get more powers Iraq: UN experts search sites Bollywood holds Durban captive
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Kibaki elected Kenyan President
Nairobi, December 29 “According to provisional results, Mr Kibaki has won the Presidential elections,” said Obuya. Mr Kibaki (71) was the Presidential candidate for the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), which groups more than 12 opposition parties. Presidential, parliamentary and local council elections were held on Friday. “According to provisional results Mr Kibaki is far ahead of Uhuru Kenyatta because we have already counted more than half of the results from the 210 constituencies and the remaining areas cannot much change the outcome of the results,” Obuya added. Kenyatta (42) was the presidential hopeful for the Kenya African National Union (KANU), which has been in power since Kenya’s independence in 1963. Outgoing President Daniel arap Moi, in power since 1978, was constitutionally barred from running for the top post again. The NARC also won an absolute majority in Parliament, according to provisional results confirmed by Obuya. The results were compiled by the Institute for Education in Democracy (IED), a private think-tank that advises the electoral commission, which released similar preliminary tallies. Three minor candidates trailed far behind. Officials at the state House said they planned an inauguration ceremony for Kenya’s new President tomorrow, several days earlier than expected. Nairobi was relatively quiet, with many residents glued to radio or television sets to watch the electoral bloodbath for a party that has ruled for so many years. The Vice-President and Finance Ministers were among 10 senior KANU ministers who succumbed to the opposition onslaught as the NARC surged ahead in the race to fill the 210 elected seats in the largely powerless parliament. The NARC was ahead with 92 seats, against 35 for KANU and 12 for other minor parties, according to the IED.
Reuters, AFP |
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Terrorist threat in Indonesia: Canada
Jakarta, December 29 “The Embassy has received credible information that terrorists may be planning attacks in Jakarta, Manado, Balikpapan, and Batam in the near future,” an Embassy circular to its citizens, dated Friday but obtained here today, said. The latest warnings come amid continuing security fears in the wake of the October 12 bombings in the Indonesian resort island of Bali which killed more than 190 persons. Manado, at the northern-most tip of Sulawesi island borders the southern Philippines, where armed Muslim insurgents have waged a long struggle against Manila. A bomb exploded in front of the Philippine consulate there in October but caused no victims. Balikpapan is a major oil town in East Kalimantan while Batam is an industrial island just south of Singapore. The Embassy warning said that the possible targets of the attacks included luxury hotels and churches, as well as bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues catering to expatriates. It urged Canadians in the country to exercise “extreme caution” and take extra security precautions, including avoiding the establishments. The circular gave no other details and the Embassy said that it would inform its citizens of any further developments as soon as information became available. Canada’s travel report for Indonesia already recommends citizens avoid travelling to the country, including to Bali. Canadians already in Indonesia are also urged to consider leaving the country if their presence is not essential, the travel report said.
AFP |
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Pak Kashmir panel calls for fresh initiative
Islamabad, December 29 In a letter to Gen Musharraf, issued to the media here, Mr Qayyum, also former Prime Minister and President of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), said though the convening of the committee a year ago by Gen Musharraf was a great initiative, it was bogged down with the “half century of conventionalism on the part of bureaucracy.” He said the new government in Jammu and Kashmir led by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed called for “serious and timely” attention. “It has to be a multi-dimensional approach, from timely relief to political initiative. I shall be eagerly looking forward to your guidance,” he wrote to Gen Musharraf. About the performance of his Committee, Mr Qayyum said “except for a few productive visits at home and abroad the committee has nothing to offer as its credit.” “If this inaction has to continue for sometime more the very commitment becomes a question mark and the entire blame will rightly be put on me as Chairman. More so because I cannot shift or escape the blame,” he said. Mr Qayyum, considered a moderate, is the first Kashmiri leader to have been appointed as the Chairman of the committee, which was revived by Gen Musharraf last year. The committee is comprised of several journalists, intellectuals and political leaders. It was not clear yet what prompted Mr Qayyum to write the letter. The committee, which remained inactive in recent months, also appeared unwilling to take an active stand on its approach to Indian Kashmir Committee headed by Ram Jethmalani. Mr Qayyum said the committee lacked general direction, adding that “I have been seeking guidance from Chief Executive’s office and other relevant quarters about future of this committee. Mr Qayyum said though the appointment of the committee was a “great initiative” by Gen Musharraf, the system did not permit it to take any initiatives. “It pre-supposes only defensive and reactive response but not proactive approach.”
PTI |
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Pakistan’s rented satellite enters orbit
Islamabad, December 29 The satellite re-named as Pak Sat has completed its initial manoeuvres and locked itself in a geo-synchronous orbit, 36,000 km above the earth, Chairman of the National Telecommunication Corporation, Air Vice Marshal Azhar Maud, told a press conference here. The Pakistani Government acquired the satellite from Hyghes Global Systems (HGS) of the USA in July this year and is paying $ 4.5 million per annum as rental costs. Pakistani officials have defended the decision to acquire the used HGS synchronous satellite, which has occupied the only remaining slot of Pakistan, which would have expired on the April 19 next year. “Had Pakistan not launched this satellite, it would have lost all chances of ever being able to put its own satellite in the orbit,” Mr Maud said. He said reports received from Frequency Allocation Board in Islamabad revealed that the satellite had been stabilised in its new location and its signals were successfully received at the monitoring centres. Its bacon frequencies are being received at the pelemetery, tracking and control stations in Perth, Australia, after being relayed from England, he said. Pakistan acquired the use of the in-orbit satellite from HGS to protect its right at the orbital location for a very low cost while planning is taking place for a follow-on satellite to fully exploit the slot. This is a major event in the history of Pakistan and opens up a new era in the development of space communication technology and its applications for the country, Mr Maud said. He said the satellite has 30 transponders. The movement of this satellite started on December 5 and it reached 38 degrees east on the 20th of this month. Though not officially announced, the satellite was also expected to partially meet Pakistan’s requirements for military espionage. The satellite can be used for telecommunication, TV satellite broadcast and up-linking. The main users of this satellite will be Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation and it can be useful for increasing internet bandwidth, video conferences by the government in addition to many other fields. PTI |
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Pak cops’ entry barred into suspect’s house Lahore, December 29 Authorities were turned away by the family of Dr Ahmed Javed Khawaja, whose Lahore home was raided by the police and the FBI. “They came and tried to arrest Arab women here (last night) but the family here did not allow them in,” a Khawaja family member told AFP. Ahmed Nadeem Khawaja, one of the four relatives released after the initial raid, insisted there were no Arab woman in the house.
AFP |
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Al-Qaida terror still looms large Al-Qaida still poses a major threat to global peace and security, notwithstanding the “great strides” that have been made in combating the international terrorist group, according to the Chairman of a UN Security Council monitoring group. Mr Michael Chandler, who chairs the monitoring group on sanctions against Al-Qaida, the Taliban and associates, has told the media at the UN headquarters in New York that many Al-Qaida operatives remained at large and new recruits were constantly joining its ranks. The terrorists had also formed alliances with national or regional extremist groups bent on using terror to achieve their objectives. “Al-Qaida is an insidious movement and no country or group of countries can handle this problem alone,” Mr.Chandler said, while underlining the need to improve international cooperation, including broad information-sharing, cooperative police investigations and the application of systemwide financial controls to keep Al-Qaida from resisting, recruiting and rearming. The key to international cooperation, he said, was the United Nations Consolidated List, which was intended as a full catalogue of persons and entities making up or associated with Al-Qaida. However, that list continued to include only a small subset of people identified as Al-Qaida members or known by some countries to be linked with terrorists. Mr Chandler said the monitoring group’s third report—which focused on measures taken against Al-Qaida to freeze financial and economic assets and impose a travel ban and arms embargo — has urged the committee dealing with sanctions against Taliban and the security council to encourage countries to provide the names of all individuals they had identified as Al-Qaida members or associates. Those lists should include all people trained as terrorists in Al-Qaida’s Afghanistan camps, in South-East Asia and elsewhere, particularly those schooled in explosives, hijacking and chemical or biological agents. Noting that the monitoring group had identified 104 individuals from press reports and other information and who did not yet appear to be on the UN list, he said it had asked countries whether or not those individuals should be on the UN list, and some had already come forward to confirm or refute the names. Mr Chandler expressed concern over the appearance of new Al-Qaida training camps in eastern Afghanistan since their emergence signified that people were still disillusioned enough to side with the terrorist group. Indeed, he said, sympathy for the organisation was widespread in some countries. |
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India renews claim on Kohinoor
London, December 29 “The Indian government has a legitimate claim on the diamond. We hope to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” a spokesman for the Indian High Commission has said. British officials are, however, firm that it must remain in Britain. “The Queen Mother was especially close to Prince Charles and he believes that she would have been happy to see the crown go to Camilla,” a senior courtier was quoted as saying in the Sunday Telegraph today. The Kohinoor diamond was given to Queen Victoria by its last male owner, the nine-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh, who had inherited it after a clutch of claimants killed each other during the 19th century Punjab wars. The diamond is said to be the subject of an ancient curse that is avoided only when it is in the possession of a woman. “The Kohinoor has a sufficiently blood-drenched history for the curse to be taken seriously and, for that reason, it may well be in everyone’s best interests that it is passed on as soon as possible,” Christy Campbell, the author of Duleep Singh’s biography, “The Maharajah’s Box”, says. “Since Queen Victoria, the diamond has always gone to the wife of the heir to the throne. So it makes sense that Camilla may soon be wearing it,” she said.
PTI |
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Nepal PM for talks with Maoists Kathmandu, December 29 ‘’Dialogue is the only way out to resolve the present problem of the country and the government wants to resolve it,’’ Mr Chand said at a programme organised to pay tributes to the late King Birendra in Kathmandu. The Prime Minister also stated the government would be liberal if the Maoists come forward for a dialogue. ‘’The government is ready even to make public the condition of the prisoners, but the other side should also initiate a positive step for that.’’ His statement has come at a time when the Maoists have called a two-day strike in Bagmati and Narayani zones, including Kathmandu, from today. The rebels have also announced the strike on January 3 in Koshi and Mechi zones coinciding with the king’s civic reception programme at Biratnagar. ‘Trying to achieve political ambition through murder and violence is not acceptable to any civilised society, such heinous activities neither safeguards the rights of the people nor consolidates democracy,’’ the king asserted.
UNI |
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Strike paralyses Kathmandu Kathmandu, December 29 Army soldiers and police personnel patrolled the streets of Kathmandu and its suburbs to prevent any attack by the guerillas fighting since 1996 to replace the constitutional monarchy with a Communist government. “Mobilisation of security forces has been intensified”, Interior Ministry spokesman Gopendra Pandey said. The rebels, who draw their inspiration from Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, had called the two-day strike beginning today. Gynendra fired Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in October, saying he was incompetent, and replaced him with pro-monarchis Lokendra Chand. Although the king has the authority to dismiss the elected government, many believe he went too far in firing Mr Deuba and may have violated the Constitution in appointing Mr Chand.
AP |
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UK police, army to
get more powers London December 29 A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office, the government department that deals with domestic security, confirmed today that ministers were considering new measures but did not provide details. Armed police officers and military units could enforce cordons restricting movement and preventing escape following a biological or chemical attack, the paper said. But the Cabinet Office spokeswoman stressed there were no plans to give the police new powers to use force. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that a 7,000-strong civil contingency reaction force would have the option of carrying arms. Drawn from military reserve forces, primarily the volunteer reservists of the Territorial Army, the 500-strong force will be deployed at 14 centres across the UK next year. The Cabinet Office added that there would be a trial run of its effectiveness in London early next year.
DPA |
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Iraq: UN experts search sites Baghdad, December 29 Iraqi officials said inspection teams visited an electronics company north of the capital and an engineering company in central Baghdad. A team also searched a Baghdad administration office of the Iraqi customs service.
Reuters |
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Bollywood holds Durban captive
Durban, December 29 While Mukherjee and Khan captured the hearts of youngsters, Bachchan proved that he was still the greatest at 60. The three of them received a standing ovation by the large crowd when they sang a song from the hit film, “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham”. The teenage heartthrob Hrithik Roshan was a favourite, especially with the women. Karisma Kapoor and her sister Kareena, Shilpa Shetty, Preity Zinta, and Sanjay Dutt also attracted a wild applause from the enthusiastic fans, who said it was a high caliber and quality concert. “It’s something I have not seen before”, Krivani Pillay, one of the spectators, said. The stars performed for more than five hours.
PTI |
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