W O R L D

Twin car bombs kill 7 in Baghdad

Baghdad, December 4 Twin suicide car bombs blew up outside a police station near Baghdad’s Green Zone on Saturday, killing seven persons and wounding 57 in the latest deadly strike against Iraq’s shaky security forces. Iraqis carry an elderly man away from the scene of an early morning car bomb attack, which went off near a police station beside the heavily protected Green Zone, in central Baghdad on Saturday. — Reuters photo

ARD chief to meet Benazir in Dubai
Islamabad, December 4
Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim left for Dubai to meet PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, a source told Dawn here on Friday. The source said Ms Bhutto had summoned Mr Fahim to Dubai to discuss political developments in the wake of the release of her husband Asif Ali Zardari.

Bush hopeful of solution to Indo-Pak problem
Washington, December 4
After meeting with Pakistani ruler Pervez Musharraf, in which the Indo-Pak peace process also figured, US President George W. Bush today expressed the hope that a peaceful solution to “historically difficult” Kashmir problem would be found.

Bin Laden alive, says Pervez Buenos Aires, December 4 Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was quoted as saying that Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden was alive. The statement came in an interview published by La Nacion newspaper after the Pakistani leader had concluded his 48-hour visit to Argentina yesterday. “Based on interrogations of other members of Al-Qaida, I know he is alive,” the Spanish-language paper quoted President Musharraf as saying. — AFP

Air-India trial: verdict on Mar 16
Vancouver, December 4
Final arguments in the Air-India bombing trial have concluded with the verdict set to be delivered on March 16 next year, ending one of the most exhaustive and expensive trials in the Canadian history.

British woman undergoes euthanasia
London, December 4
A terminally-ill British woman who won a legal battle to undergo euthanasia in Switzerland has carried out her wish, according to the Dignitas patients’ association which announced her death today.

EU backs Annan
United Nations, December 4 
The European Union threw its political weight behind beleaguered UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, but the United States again refused to back him as a US Senator reiterated his call for the UN chief to resign.

Ex-Botswana President gets Gandhi Peace Award
Durban, December 4
Former Botswana President, Sir Ketumile Masire, has been honoured with Mahatma Gandhi International Peace Award for his efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in the African continent.

Twin car bombs kill 7 in Baghdad

Baghdad, December 4
Twin suicide car bombs blew up outside a police station near Baghdad’s Green Zone on Saturday, killing seven persons and wounding 57 in the latest deadly strike against Iraq’s shaky security forces.

Police sources said the simultaneous explosions, which shook the city centre shortly after 9.30 am, also destroyed 35 vehicles, including 17 police cars.

It was not clear how many of those killed were policemen.

A thick column of black smoke emanated from the site of the blasts, near a main entrance to the Green Zone, home to the interim Iraqi government and several foreign embassies.

The heavy thud of machine gun fire could be heard immediately after the explosions as Iraqi police returned fire.

One survivor, policeman Rafid Khudeir, described the moments before the explosion: “I was in the criminal investigation department and saw our guards open the gates for a police patrol. Then a white car followed them in and blew up outside our building,” he said from his hospital bed.

One blast was so powerful that it blew a car onto the roof of an annexe next to the police station.

The area around the site of the attack, which includes an entrance to the protected Green Zone often used by foreigners and the media, was quickly sealed off by US and Iraqi forces.

Guerrillas have repeatedly attacked Iraqi police and police stations in recent days, part of a months-long campaign to destroy the confidence of the fledgling security force. — Reuters

ARD chief to meet Benazir in Dubai
By arrangement with The Dawn

Islamabad, December 4
Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim left for Dubai to meet PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, a source told Dawn here on Friday. The source said Ms Bhutto had summoned Mr Fahim to Dubai to discuss political developments in the wake of the release of her husband Asif Ali Zardari.

Mr Fahim’s visit to Dubai only two days before the launching of an anti-government campaign by the ARD is considered significant particularly amid reports of ‘indirect’ contacts between the PPP and President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Though the PPP has been constantly denying reports of any ‘direct’ contact with the government, certain government representatives have been giving the impression that a reconciliation process between the regime and the PPP was under way. When contacted, PPP spokesman Senator Farhatullah Khan Babar said Mr Fahim had gone to Dubai on a ‘routine visit’.

According to a report from Lahore the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal on Friday extended a formal invitation to the PPP and the PML-N to attend its public meetings to be held as part of its campaign against President Pervez Musharraf in Multan , Lahore and Rawalpindi and got a favourable response from them.

MMA’s Mian Maqsood Ahmed and Qari Zawwar Bahadur met PPP leaders Naveed Chaudhry, Altaf Hasan Qureshi, Haji Azizur Rehman Chan and Samiullah Khan and exchanged views on cooperation between the MMA and the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy.

According to Naveed Chaudhry, the PPP would come up with a positive response, but a formal decision would be taken by the ARD. The PML-N leaders with whom the MMA delegation met included Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Zaeem Qadri, Dr Asad Ashraf and Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor.

The PML-N leaders were of the opinion that all democratic forces should have to pool their strength against the dictatorship. MNA Hafiz Salman Butt and Secretary General of Jamaat-i-Islami Lahore Amirul Azeem said at a news conference that the Lahore meeting would be held at Minar-i-Pakistan.

Bush hopeful of solution to Indo-Pak problem

Washington, December 4
After meeting with Pakistani ruler Pervez Musharraf, in which the Indo-Pak peace process also figured, US President George W. Bush today expressed the hope that a peaceful solution to “historically difficult” Kashmir problem would be found.

“We discussed our bilateral relations and relations between India and Pakistan. We hope there will be a peaceful solution to what has been a historically difficult problem between India and Pakistan,” Mr Bush said, with Musharraf sitting besides him. — PTI

Air-India trial: verdict on Mar 16

Vancouver, December 4
Final arguments in the Air-India bombing trial have concluded with the verdict set to be delivered on March 16 next year, ending one of the most exhaustive and expensive trials in the Canadian history.

Ripudaman Singh Malik (57) and Ajaib Singh Bagri (55) are charged with planting bombs that exploded on June 23, 1985, aboard an Air-India plane, which was on its way from Toronto to India via London, killing 329 persons.

Both accused deny the charges. British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Ian Josephson announced yesterday that he would deliver the judgement on March 16, 2005. — PTI

British woman undergoes euthanasia

London, December 4
A terminally-ill British woman who won a legal battle to undergo euthanasia in Switzerland has carried out her wish, according to the Dignitas patients’ association which announced her death today.

Ms Z, whose name has been withheld, was diagnosed in 1997 with cerebellar ataxia, a degenerative brain disease. Her family had said she wanted to take her own life but was unable to travel without the help of her husband.

A British court this week lifted an injunction preventing the couple from travelling to Switzerland after ruling that helping someone travel to a country where euthanasia is legal did not necessarily constitute assisted suicide. — AFP

EU backs Annan

United Nations, December 4
The European Union threw its political weight behind beleaguered UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, but the United States again refused to back him as a US Senator reiterated his call for the UN chief to resign.

Outside the United States, there is no clamour for Mr Annan’s resignation and the Secretary-General has been picking up support from many of the 191 UN member-states.

He has the backing of four other veto-wielding members on the UN Security Council - Russia, China, Britain and France. — AP

Ex-Botswana President gets Gandhi Peace Award

Durban, December 4
Former Botswana President, Sir Ketumile Masire, has been honoured with Mahatma Gandhi International Peace Award for his efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in the African continent.

The award was presented to him by the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation, which is headed by Ela Gandhi, the only surviving grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa, at Kendra Hall here last night.

The ceremony was attended by more than 300 guests, including representatives of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government and Indian Consul-General, Ajay Swarup.
— PTI

BRIEFLY

UN awards for Blix, Kidman
United Nations: The United Nations Correspondents Association gave its second annual “Citizen of the World” awards to former UN weapons chief Hans Blix, top UN troubleshooter Lakhdar Brahimi and actress Nicole Kidman, who is a goodwill ambassador for the Children’s Fund in Australia.— AP

Landslide kills 39 in China
BEIJING: At least 39 persons were killed in a landslide that hit a mountainside village in southwestern China and rescuers were still searching for survivors among the toppled houses. More than 40 persons survived the landslide, but at least 20 were missing after the accident in the southwestern province of Guizhou in the early hours of Friday. — Reuters