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UN, Amnesty against death US forces drugged Saddam, Bush to meet Saddam’s fate,
says Khamenei
Vajpayee likely to meet Jamali on SAARC sidelines
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Human clone experiment repeated successfully 2 more kids born to cloned goat
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UN, Amnesty against death to Saddam
United Nations/Washington, December 16 “The UN does not support death penalty. All courts we have set up have not included death penalty. So, as an organisation, we are against death penalty,” he asserted. Mr Annan’s comment came a few hours after US President George W. Bush said Saddam would be put on public trial for his crimes in a manner to be set in consultation with Iraqis. US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: “We’ll be working with the Iraqis as they set up the court, and obviously, we’ll be consulting with them closely as they make the decisions as we can proceed to some sort of justice for Saddam Hussein.” British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Saddam’s trial “should be determined by the Iraqi Government and the Iraqi people. It should be left to them. Amnesty International demanded a “fair and independent” trial and said it was essential that it meets international standards. Amnesty International said it opposed death penalty and expressed concern that the Iraqi Governing Council had not ruled out the option. BAGHDAD: Stunned supporters of Saddam Hussein rioted in a number of Iraqi cities as indications rose it would be some time before the captured former dictator faces trial for his actions over the past three decades. US military sources and witnesses said at least one Iraqi gunman was killed and a US soldier was wounded in an exchange of fire during riots last night in the restive town of Falluja, 50 km west of Baghdad. Witnesses said hundreds of pro-Saddam protesters overran the office of the US-appointed mayor in Falluja and set ablaze the office of a small US-backed political party. Witnesses said three Iraqis died in the clash which lasted for three hours. The protest in Falluja was one of several demonstrations by supporters of Saddam in the mainly Sunni Muslim areas of Baghdad and towns to the west and north. The current head of Iraq’s US-appointed Governing Council, Mr Abdelaziz al-Hakim, however, said during a visit to Paris yesterday that Saddam could be tried by Iraqis in a special court set up by the council last week and could face the death penalty.
— PTI, Reuters |
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US forces drugged Saddam, sister tells newspaper
Dubai, December 16 "Saddam Hussein, hero of Arabs, would never surrender like this. He must have been subjected to drugs or nerve gas to paralyse him, for he is not one to surrender in this humiliating manner,’’ Nawal Ibrahim al-Hasan told London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi by telephone from an unidentified Arab capital. The 66-year-old former Iraqi dictator was caught on Saturday in a pit hideout near his northern Iraqi hometown of Tikrit without firing a shot. A grubby Saddam was later shown by video submitting to medical exams at the hands of US soldiers. "Is it possible for a President to be humiliated like this and for the Americans to comb through his hair for nits?’’ Al-Hasan said in the interview, to be published in the Arabic-language daily’s yesterday’s edition. "This is not the Saddam Hussein we know. He must have been drugged or injected with illegal chemicals. What happened is an insult to all Arabs and Muslims,’’ the paper quoted her as saying as she wept. Al-Hasan said Arab leaders should ensure that her brother had a fair trial in an international court and not in Iraq. "Saddam Hussein was a desert fighter resisting the occupation of his country, and therefore Arabs and Iraqis must ...defend him and guarantee that he is treated well and tried fairly,’’ Al-Hasan said.
— Reuters |
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Bush to meet Saddam’s fate,
says Khamenei Tehran, December 16 Addressing a crowd of thousands in the city of Qazvin, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed joy over the arrest of Saddam, who invaded Iran’s fledgling Islamic republic in 1980, starting an eight-year war that left hundreds of thousands dead. “Now that he has been captured, the Islamic world and all those who know what a savage animal he was feel delighted,” Mr Khamenei said in a speech broadcast live on state television. But Mr Khamenei also used Saddam’s downfall to take a swipe at Iran’s two other great political enemies — the USA and Israel — by condemning their respective leaders, President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon. “I heard the US President saying the world is a better place without Saddam. I want the US President to know that a world without Bush and Sharon is a much better place,” he said.
— Reuters Saddam kin for international, fair trial Dubai, December 16 |
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Vajpayee likely to meet Jamali on SAARC sidelines
Islamabad, December 16 All SAARC-member countries have confirmed their participation in the 12th summit being held in Islamabad from January 4, Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan told newspersons in his weekly briefing here last evening. The schedules for meetings on the sidelines of the summit were still being finalised, he added. "There is a distinct possibility that Mr Vajpayee will meet with Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali at the sidelines of the summit," he said. Mr Khan said the apparent attempt on President Pervez Musharraf's life in Rawalpindi on Sunday would have no impact on the summit and security had been tightened for the event. The Daily Times reported today. The spokesman pointed out that the bilateral and international agreements pertaining to the Line of Control (LoC) were binding and could not be re-negotiated. "These agreements are not open for negotiations," he said. Responding to questions regarding LoC fencing by India, Mr Khan said "We have stated our position and made our demarche to the Indian Government through its High Commission here and our High Commission in New Delhi."
— UNI |
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17 Maoists killed in Nepal Kathmandu, December 16 |
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Human clone experiment repeated successfully
Washington, December 16 Researchers at Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) of Worcester, Massachusetts, have also repeatedly created embryos using a process called parthenogenesis — using only a human egg cell and no sperm, and without cloning. The company says the experiments, reported in the January issue of Wired magazine, are not breakthroughs but a natural progression of its efforts to create human embryonic stem cells to use for medical treatments. “It’s not a scientific advance,’’ ACT Medical Director Dr Robert Lanza said in a telephone interview. But he said the researchers had managed to replicate experiments reported in late 2001, in which they used cloning technology to create a human embryo that grew to the six-cell stage. They also created more advanced embryos, called blastocysts, using parthenogenesis. Sheep, cattle and pigs have all been cloned using an egg cell and an adult cell from another animal. But critics had questioned whether the cloning process known as nuclear transfer has ever worked with humans. Dr Lanza said the new experiments, which began in last June, suggested that they were successful. Even more successful were the parthenogenesis experiments — in which five of eight human eggs were coaxed into growing into blastocysts. At this stage — approximately 100 cells — an embryo can be mined for its stem cells. The stem cells — nature’s template for all cells — can become any sort of cell or tissue in the body. Scientists hope the cells may one day allow custom-made tissue transplants to heal damaged hearts or cure diabetes by replacing dead pancreatic cells. Opponents raise moral objections, saying that cloning technology involved in making embryonic stem cells creates a living human being.
— Reuters |
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2 more kids born to cloned goat
Beijing, December 16 However, only one of the male kids survived, Xinhua news agency reported. So far Chengcheng, the first cloned goat in the city, has fathered 14 kids, including 10 males and four females. There are three cloned goats in the scenic resort city of Qingdao, all bearing certain genes of high medical value, all owned by Senmiao Industrial Co. Ltd. of Qingdao and its affiliated Senmao Bio-technology Institute. Chengcheng reached maturity early this year and mated with 20 local pure-breed female goats. The 14 kids born to Chengcheng have been produced by 10 mothers.
— PTI |
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