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Suicide attack kills 5 in Israel
Hezbollah behind attack
Benazir going to US for democracy talks
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Canada opts out of America’s missile defence system
WB suspends aid to Nepal
Maoists withdraw blockade
Life on Mars, a probability: experts
Amnesty founder dead
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Suicide attack kills 5 in Israel
Tel Aviv, February 26 The area was crowded with young Israelis. About 20 to 30 persons were waiting to get into the "Stage" club on Herbert Samuel street, close to the promenade. "I was near the club. There were about 20 persons outside. Suddenly, there was an enormous explosion," said a witness, identified only as Tsahi. Tel Aviv police chief David Tzur said security guards outside the club spotted the bomber and didn't allow him in. "The impact, if he would have gone inside, would have been tragic," he said. He said four persons were killed and several wounded. Israeli media said more than 50 persons were wounded, many of them seriously. There were conflicting reports of who was behind the attack. Initial reports said Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. But the group, as well as other militant groups Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, all issued denials of involvement. Palestinian security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has been trying to disrupt the ceasefire, orchestrated the blast. They said they had tracked recent communications between Hezbollah militant Kais Obeid and an unnamed Palestinian, whom they believed was the attacker. However, a Hezbollah official in Beirut denied involvement. "As far as we are concerned, there is no need to respond to such lies that we have become used to it," the official said. Meanwhile, Israeli troops imposed a curfew early today on a West Bank village, the apparent home of the suicide bomber (whose identity was not confirmed), Palestinian security officials said. — AFP, AP
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Israel
does not rule out the involvement of the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah in a suicide attack by a Palestinian bomber, a government spokesman said.
“The media of Hezbollah have been the first to attribute responsibility for this attack to Islamic Jehad, but we do not want at this stage to draw any conclusions,” he added. |
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Benazir going to US for democracy talks
Washington, February 26 PPP sources told The Dawn that Ms Bhutto would meet senior US officials in Washington and expressed the hope that meetings would help restore democracy in Pakistan. When her aides contacted the State Department for arranging her meetings with US officials they were told that Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Christina Rocca or other senior officials would be happy to meet Ms Bhutto, her party source said. On Thursday, President Musharraf told reporters that his government was negotiating with Ms Benazir a certain arrangement on the future political setup of the country. "We need to discourage extremist elements by working with moderate political parties, including the PPP, especially to have some agreement beyond 2007," he said. Earlier this month, State Department's spokesman Richard Boucher also urged President Gen Musharraf to quit the army but said for Washington democracy in Pakistan was 'more than the (dispute over Musharraf's) uniform' and that the United States wants the next elections, scheduled in 2007, to be held in accordance with 'international standards' and with 'full participation' of all political parties. In Washington, PPP and PML-N are both considered moderates and diplomatic observers say that for some time Washington has been urging President Musharraf to allow the two parties to play their role in the Pakistani politics, particularly to counter religious parties who have increased their influence since the October 2001 US action in Afghanistan. The US administration is particularly alarmed at, what it sees as, an unexpected increase in MMA's influence in the NWFP and Balochistan because provinces border Afghanistan where Washington still had more than 18,000 troops. |
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Canada opts out of America’s missile defence system
Toronto, February 26 The decision by Prime Minister Paul Martin, who had earlier said he favoured signing on to the system, was an acknowledgement of the deep unpopularity among Canadians of President Bush and his administration's project to try to shoot down missiles headed towards the United States. “We will continue to work in partnership with our southern neighbors on the common defence of North America,” Martin said. “However, ballistic missile defence is not where we will concentrate our efforts.” His decision has more political than practical impact, since Canada agreed last August to allow its operators at the North American Aerospace Command centre in Colorado to share information on incoming missiles, a key concession that had been sought by the United States. Canada's new ambassador to Washington, Mr Frank McKenna, embarrassed the government on Tuesday by acknowledging that the earlier decision meant ``we're part of it now.'' During a raucous Parliamentary session in Ottawa on Thursday, legislators complained that the government was “halfway in and halfway out'' of the U.S.
programme. — By arrangement with Los Angeles Times and Washington Post |
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WB suspends aid to Nepal
Kathmandu, February 26 The extremely slow implementation of agreed reform measures compelled the Bank to take such a decision, the official said in a statement. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also indicated that it will follow the WB's line. The IMF has also postponed its high-level delegation to review the progress of the Poverty Reduction Growth Facility, the official said. The decision by the Bank will have a strong impact on the foreign aid dependent Nepal's budget.
— PTI |
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Maoists withdraw blockade
Kathmandu, February 26 “To show our greater responsibility towards the general public, we have decided to call off the ongoing nationwide indefinite transport blockade as of Saturday,” the statement by rebel leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, popularly known as Prachanda said.
— PTI |
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Life on Mars, a probability: experts
Noordwijk (Holland), February 26 The recommendations came at the end of a weeklong conference in the Netherlands to analyse results from the European Space Agency's Mars probe. A poll conducted among 250 conference participants showed that 75 per cent now believed life in the form of bacteria once existed on Mars and 25 per cent thought it might still be there. Scientists long have theorised that there once was water on Mars, the planet most like the Earth in our solar system.
— AP |
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