W O R L D

Israel, Hizbollah swap prisoners
Cologne, January 29
Israel and the Hizbollah mounted a landmark prisoner swap in Germany today with Israel freeing Arabs and Hizbollah releasing a kidnapped Israeli. Israeli radio said a German aircraft flew into Cologne military airfield with Israeli businessman Elhanan Tannenbaum and three wooden coffins containing the remains of Israeli soldiers.

An unidentified released Palestinian prisoner kisses his son out of a bus window on arrival in Gaza Strip on Thursday. — Reuters photo

BBC Director General quits
London, January 29
Director General of BBC Greg Dyke resigned today, a day after an inquiry questioned the it’s editorial.

BBC tenders apology
EDITORIAL: Blair bailed out

Annan receives EU rights award
Brussels, January 29
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan received the European Union’s top human rights prize today with a strong appeal to the EU to open its borders to more refugees and migrants seeking a new life. 

BRIEFLY

A woman cleans benches buried under snow in Sarajevo on Thursday. The Bosnian capital is covered under a snow blanket following a snow storm a day earlier. — Reuters

	India to quicken issue of visas for Pak businessmen January 29, 2004
	Indo-Pak thaw: Powell for US-Russian efforts January 28, 2004
	Foreign accounts of two Pak N-scientists traced January 26, 2004
	Pervez hints at solutions to Kashmir issue January 25, 2004
	Kashmir can’t be sidelined, says Pervez January 24, 2004
	Pervez rules out unilateral shift on Kashmir January 23, 2004
	Bush defends action against Saddam January 22, 2004
	23 killed in Algeria refinery blast January 21, 2004
	Pak admits quizzing six N-scientists January 20, 2004

10 die as suicide bomber blows himself up

Jerusalem, January 29
A suicide bomber blew up on a bus in Jerusalem today, killing at least 10 bystanders and wounding about 30 in an attack outside Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s official residence, the police and paramedics said. The Prime Minister wasn’t in the area.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The explosion coincided with a German-brokered prisoner swap between Israel and the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah. It was not clear whether there was a connection.

The explosion went off just before 9 a.m. (12.30 pm IST) in the Rehavia district in downtown Jerusalem, just 15 metres from Sharon’s official residence. Sharon was at his farm in southern Israel at the time, his aides said.

Eli Beer, a paramedic, said victims had been scattered over a wide area.

The bomber was in the back of the bus when he detonated the explosives, said Jerusalem Police Chief Mickey Levy.

“It was a very serious attack on a bus packed with passengers,” Levy said at the scene. “According to what we know at the moment ... we’re talking about a suicide bomber.”

The green bus was charred, with wires dangling everywhere. One side of the bus had been blown out and the back half of the roof was blown off.

Police investigators with sniffer dogs searched the bus. Palestinian Authority officials condemned the bombing.

Sharon’s spokesman Raanan Gissin said the attack illustrated why Israel was building a contentious separation barrier in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, Palestinian militant group al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, according to Hizbollah television.

The report was issued by the Lebanese guerrilla group’s al-Manar television station in Beirut. Al Aqsa is an armed faction linked to the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie. — AP, Reuters

Israel, Hizbollah swap prisoners

Cologne, January 29
Israel and the Hizbollah mounted a landmark prisoner swap in Germany today with Israel freeing Arabs and Hizbollah releasing a kidnapped Israeli.

Israeli radio said a German aircraft flew into Cologne military airfield with Israeli businessman Elhanan Tannenbaum and three wooden coffins containing the remains of Israeli soldiers. Witnesses said a second plane believed to be carrying 30 Arabs, mostly Lebanese, landed minutes later.

The two planes rolled towards the same hangar at the airfield, which was cordoned off by German troops.

Germany has brokered the swap between the Lebanese Hizbollah and the Jewish state.

The exchange will not be completed until forensic tests confirm the bodies are those of the soldiers abducted on a border patrol in 2000. — Reuters

BBC Director General quits

London, January 29
Director General of BBC Greg Dyke resigned today, a day after an inquiry questioned the it’s editorial. His resignation came on the heels of the departure of Gavyn Davies, Chairman of the Governors who guarantee its independence, after judge Hutton dismissed as “unfounded” a report that the government had doctored military intelligence about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.— AFP

BBC tenders apology

London, January 29
The BBC today issued an unconditional apology after its top two executives resigned in the wake of the Hutton report.

Earlier, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has demanded an apology from the BBC after a judicial inquiry cleared his government of the allegations aired by the public broadcaster that it doctored intelligence on Iraq, his spokesman said today.

“We still do want an apology,” the spokesman told reporters, as BBC governors met to discuss their next move in the wake of Lord Brian Hutton’s report.

BBC Director-General Greg Dyke apologised yesterday for errors in its May 29 report alleging that a September 2002 dossier on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction had been “sexed up” in the run-up to the Iraq war. — AFP, Reuters

Annan receives EU rights award

Brussels, January 29
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan received the European Union’s top human rights prize today with a strong appeal to the EU to open its borders to more refugees and migrants seeking a new life. “Europe needs migrants,” Mr Annan said in his acceptance speech.

“A closed Europe would be a meaner, poorer, weaker, older Europe.Migrants are a part of the solution, not part of the problem,” he told the European Parliament. “They should not be made the scapegoats for a vast array of social ills.”

Mr Annan was awarded the annual Sakharov prize on behalf of all UN staff and in memory of his envoy to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and other United Nations workers killed on duty in Baghdad.

Mr Annan appealed to the European nations to show understanding and leadership and open their borders to more immigrants. — AP

Pak orders culling of birds with flu

Islamabad, January 29
Pakistan, the first South Asian country to detect bird flu, has ordered the culling of all infected poultry in its south but offered no compensation to breeders, officials said today.

“The cabinet has ordered the culling of infected chickens and birds in Karachi,” a Health Ministry official said. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting late yesterday.

“No compensation has been offered and the government has asked provincial authorities to ensure that destroyed poultry is not used for any animal feed.” Pakistan only confirmed the presence of the H-7 and H-9 strains of avian influenza, less fatal variations of the H-5N1 strain that has killed at least 10 persons across South East Asia.

Kabul: Afghanistan has banned the import of live chickens from Pakistan, a Health official said today.

“To prevent the outbreak of disease in Afghanistan we have temporarily banned the import of live chickens only from Pakistan,” Deputy Health Minister Abdullah Fahim said.

Jakarta: Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri today ordered the immediate culling of all poultry infected with bird flu, the Welfare Minister said. “However much it will cost, we will help the farmers,” he said.

Taipei: A strain of the bird flu virus has been found in ducks and chickens at four farms in southern Taiwan, agricultural authorities said today. The virus was also detected in one chicken farm in Tainan and two in Chiayi.

Cairo: Saudi Arabia has banned all poultry imports from six Asian countries that have suffered outbreaks of bird flu, the Agricultural Ministry said yesterday. The ban includes eggs and all live birds from South Korea, Thailand, China, Japan, Vietnam and Pakistan, the ministry said yesterday.

BEIJING: China has placed 23 persons who had contact with bird flu-infected ducks in the southern region of Guangxi under close medical observation, a news service said today. Till yesterday, no infections had been discovered among them, it said.

Brussels: The European Union’s Executive Commission has suspended the import of pet birds, such as parrots, from South-East Asia, which has been hit by bird flu, it said in a statement.

The countries falling under this ban are Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. — Agencies