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Saturday,
September 6, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Pak to press USA for Belgian F-16 jets
USA freezes assets of 10 terror suspects USA to recruit Saddam’s troops
Sunni leader, son shot dead in Pak |
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Dalai Lama’s terms to end exile SARS may return in China, says paper
Sydney girl is Miss India Australia
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Pak to press USA for Belgian F-16 jets Islamabad, September 5 General Musharraf will leave for New York on September 20 to address the UN General Assembly. Mr Jamali will go to Washington on September 28 to hold talks with Mr Bush and his senior colleagues. During his stay in New York, General Musharraf will meet Mr Bush and is expected to discuss the Indo-Pakistan peace process, the sending of Pakistani troops to Iraq and the UN role in the war-torn country. This will be General Musharraf’s second meeting with Mr Bush in three months. He will also press for the US nod to allow Belgium to sell a squadron of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan and ask for other military equipment from the USA. Mr Bush had not granted General Musharraf’s request to directly sell US-made F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan when the two met in Camp David in June, but gave six C-130 aircraft to it as part of $ 1.5 billion defence aid. Pakistan later sent a request to Belgium to buy a squadron of F-16s. Belgium has said the sale is possible only if the USA permitted it. Mr Jamali, who will leave for the USA on September 28 on his maiden foreign trip after taking over as Prime Minister last year, will hold talks with Mr Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell. Meanwhile, Pakistan has denied media reports that the USA had offered to sell nine billion dollars worth of arms to Pakistan. A Defence Ministry statement issued here yesterday said Pakistan would not indulge in an arms race to acquire huge weapons systems and also could not afford such big-ticket purchases. Meanwhile, the USA has said its invitation to Mr Jamali should not be seen as intervention in Pakistan’s democracy. Asked whether Mr Jamali’s visit would strengthen democracy in Pakistan, a state department spokesman replied “Not necessarily.”
— PTI |
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USA freezes assets of 10 terror suspects Washington, September 5 “Today’s action identifies 10 individuals at the heart of the network,” he said in a statement released here before giving a news conference on the action at an Asia-Pacific economic gathering in Phuket, Thailand. Jemaah Islamiyah is blamed for a string of attacks including Indonesian church bombings which killed 19 persons on Christmas Eve 2000, the Bali blasts last October 12 that left 202 persons dead and the last month’s Jakarta Marriott hotel blast that claimed 12 lives. “These terrorists have worked to achieve Al-Qaeda’s terrorist goals in Southeast Asia,” Mr Snow said. “They have plotted to assassinate international leaders, they have planned and supported attacks such as the Bali bombing — a horrific act that took lives of 200 persons and wounded 300,” he added. “We look forward to working with our allies in the region to dismantle the group — to shut down their sources of financing and support, and to eliminate the threat that they present to the people of Southeast Asia. The US designation would freeze assets belonging to the 10 Jemaah Islamiyah members in the USA and prohibit all transactions between them and US citizens.
— AFP |
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USA to recruit Saddam’s troops Washington, September 5 The US military is accelerating the process of bringing former members of Saddam Hussein’s military — and possibly his security services — into the Iraqi security forces, Mr Rumsfeld, who is on an inspection tour in Iraq, said yesterday. He said the top US Generals in Iraq didn’t want more than the 140,000 American troops already on duty in the country. But they wanted more Iraqis working as police, soldiers, security guards and border patrolmen. Iraqi enlisted soldiers and junior officers from Lieutenant-Colonel on down could be eligible to join the new Iraqi army, Mr Rumsfeld said, adding that all would be carefully screened to weed out those with anti-American leanings. Mr Rumsfeld said between 50,000 and 60,000 Iraqis were doing security work now, more than half of them working as police officials. US officials still didn’t have a good idea whether Saddam loyalists, foreign fighters or other forces were behind the recent bombings in Iraq, sources said. The Defence Secretary said the USA was working with allied countries surrounding Iraq — Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait and Jordan — to help stem the flow of foreign fighters streaming into Iraq. But he said cooperation had been spotty so far.
— PTI |
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Sunni leader, son shot dead in Pak Islamabad, September 5 Also today, paramilitary troops in the southern port of Karachi said they arrested a member of a militant Sunni group in connection with the deaths of minority Shia Muslims. Mohammed Khalid of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group was taken into custody late yesterday following a raid in Karachi, said Capt Imran Ahmad of the Rangers. Khalid’s group has been implicated in the killing of hundreds of Shias. It was one of the seven militant groups outlawed by President Pervez Musharraf in an attempt to purge the country of sectarianism and terrorism. Radical Sunni Muslims regard Shias as heretics because of a dispute dating back to the 7th century on the rightful heir to Islam’s leadership following the death of Prophet Muhammad.
— AP |
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Dalai Lama’s terms to end exile London, September 5 “I am hopeful of visiting Tibet, to see my old place with my own eyes, and try to cool down the situation,” the Tibetan spiritual leader told The Guardian newspaper. “You ask under what circumstances? China should give me the green light, without preconditions”, he said. The Dalai Lama’s comments came on the eve of his three-day trip to the USA, which began yesterday. He is likely to discuss his possible return to Tibet with President George W. Bush, whom he is to meet next week. The Dalai Lama said that negotiations with China had been “positive” and stressed that the only way of finding a solution to the Tibet problem was through a “dialogue”. However, meaningful negotiations with China had not yet taken place with Beijing unwilling to make any concessions. “We have yet not started serious discussions. For the moment, I believe it is very essential to develop confidence. This is the moment to try and build confidence and understanding,” the Dalai Lama, who is living in exile in India, said. He also reiterated his demand for Tibet to be given a degree of self rule. “Our position is not seeking independence for Tibet but genuine autonomy, which the Chinese constitution mentions,” he said.The Dalai Lama said China might appoint a successor to him, “a young lucky boy,” but Tibetans would reject him. “They will not respect him. He will not have any influence”.
— PTI |
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SARS may return in China, says paper Beijing, September 5 Some medical experts have said the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), an epidemic which originated in south China in November and faded in July, may only be dormant while others fear there are milder, mutated versions that may still be circulating. People should take “all possible measures to prevent influenza this autumn and winter which may also see the return of SARS,” the newspaper said, quoting the health authorities. It did not elaborate. But it quoted the authorities as saying they were also concerned that future flu cases and other respiratory diseases could be mistaken for SARS, which killed more than 800 persons in 30 countries and infected thousands. Hong Kong scientists said yesterday genetic testing of animals sold as delicacies in a southern Chinese market had confirmed suspicions that SARS jumped to humans from animals. The researchers found clear differences between the animal and human strains of the virus, but said they were minor enough to show SARS came from animals, as influenza and other viruses had done. The lead suspect was the palm civet, a raccoon-like animal eaten as delicacy. The World Health Organisation said in August that China’s decision to lift a ban on the sale of 54 exotic animals for food was premature.
— Reuters |
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Israeli troops kill Palestinian Nablus (West Bank), September 5 The troops fired four missiles at a four-storeyed apartment building where the gunmen — defying a call over loudspeakers to surrender — were holed up, damaging two floors of the structure after residents fled. The body of a suspected militant was removed from the scene, the officials said. An Israeli military source said: ‘’Israeli forces entered Nablus on a routine operation to make a number of arrests. During the operation they encountered Palestinian gunmen and there were exchanges of fire.’’
— Reuters |
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Sydney girl is Miss India Australia Sydney, September 5 Rashi, (19) who is studying accountancy, will represent Australia in the Miss India Worldwide beauty pageant to be held in San Francisco later this month. Another local girl, Gaby Grewal, was the runner-up. The judges included former Miss India Poonam (Gidwani) Chandramani. “Rashi, with her intelligence and looks, stands a good chance to win the Miss India Worldwide title,” Raj Suri, national director of Miss India Australia, said.
— IANS |
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