W O R L D

Musharraf mulls emergency option: Report
Islamabad, February 4
President Pervez Musharraf reportedly considered the option of imposing emergency to tide over the security and political problems that seems to have engulfed Pakistan, a report here said today.

4-point plan can provide solution: Pervez
Islamabad, February 4
Asserting that his four-point proposals can provide a durable solution to the Kashmir issue, President Pervez Musharraf has said the aspirations of Kashmiris will be kept in mind while resolving the tragic dispute.

Bangladesh crackdown: 10 ex-ministers, politicians held
Dhaka, February 4
In the first major crackdown by the caretaker Bangladesh Government, security forces detained at least 10 former ministers and senior politicians from the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in overnight raids.

UK culls turkeys to quell bird flu outbreak
Holton, England, February 4
Britain gassed tens of thousands of turkeys and extended restrictions on the movement of poultry today to try to prevent the spread of deadly bird flu from a farm in eastern England.

Moon’s surface can get ‘electrically charged’
New York, February 4
Lunar colonists could be in for a nasty shock as a team of US scientists has found that the Moon's surface can become charged with up to several thousand volts of static electricity disabling electronic equipment and space buggies.

Shilpa quizzed by police in racism case
London, February 4
Actress Shilpa Shetty, who was allegedly subjected to racist taunts on Celebrity Big Brother, was quizzed by the British police, which also plans to question the Indian star’s tormentors and producers of the show.

3 killed in police firing  in Nepal
Kathmandu, February 4
Three protesters were killed and over 12 injured in police firing as violence protests continue in Nepal’s Terai region

15 killed in Baghdad
Baghdad, February 4
A string of bombings and firing in Baghdad today killed at least 15 persons, including four policemen, security officials said. The four policemen died when their patrol was hit by a roadside bomb in the north-eastern Al-Qasra district, a security official said. — AFP

A resident evacuates a two-week-old baby from a flooded area in east Jakarta on Sunday. At least five persons have been killed in severe floods in Indonesia's capital and surrounding areas with more than 100,000 people left homeless. — Reuters

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Musharraf mulls emergency option: Report

Islamabad, February 4
President Pervez Musharraf reportedly considered the option of imposing emergency to tide over the security and political problems that seems to have engulfed Pakistan, a report here said today.

With the growing internal security problems, including a spate of suicide bombings by militants groups, and the possible stand-off with the Opposition ahead of his re-election plans, a proposal to impose emergency is gaining ground, The News quoted an unnamed senior official as saying.

The official said the imposition of emergency by the President would be an option and if the proclamation is endorsed by a joint-sitting of Parliament it would automatically extend the term of the National Assembly for a period not exceeding one year and not extending, in any case, beyond a period of six months after the proclamation has ceased to be in force.

"The government is privy to secret consultations of the Opposition to launch an agitation by opting for politics of destruction. In that case, the proclamation of emergency would be a must," the officer said.

However, many of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q, (PML-Q) leaders felt that there was no such move in the offing as no such circumstances existed that called for the imposition of emergency, the newspaper said.

There is no official word here yet but a number of ruling and Opposition leaders privately believed that with the spate of suicide bombings and an attempt to fuel sectarian strife in the country, the imposition of emergency could be one of the convenient options for Musharraf, the report said.

Many officials believe that the deteriorating situation presented an opportunity for Musharraf to consolidate his political base with the imposition of emergency.— PTI

4-point plan can provide solution: Pervez

Islamabad, February 4
Asserting that his four-point proposals can provide a durable solution to the Kashmir issue, President Pervez Musharraf has said the aspirations of Kashmiris will be kept in mind while resolving the tragic dispute.

“My four-point proposal on Kashmir is also aimed at breaking the decades-old deadlock and given sincerity and goodwill, can provide a durable solution that genuinely reflects the aspirations of all Kashmiris”, General Musharraf said in a message ahead of the Kashmir Day, to be observed in Pakistan tomorrow.

The Pakistan Government had declared a holiday tomorrow to observe the day.

Information Minister Muhmmad Ali Durrani said sirens would be sounded and the government planned to organise a Kashmir convention and a Kashmir cultural festival.

Before the commencement of the Indo-Pak peace process, the Kashmir Day used to be a major occasion, during which the hardline Islamic parties held rallies.

General Musharraf, who had ruled out taking militants on board on the Indo-Pak efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue, said his proposals to resolve the dispute would genuinely reflect the aspirations of Kashmiris and the recent visit by a Hurriyat delegation to Pakistan was a part of the process to involve Kashmiris in the dialogue. — PTI

Bangladesh crackdown: 10 ex-ministers, politicians held

Dhaka, February 4
In the first major crackdown by the caretaker Bangladesh Government, security forces detained at least 10 former ministers and senior politicians from the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in overnight raids.

The former ministers and senior politicians were picked up from their homes in the capital.

No official announcement has been made on the arrests but it was learnt that former AL Home Minister Mohammad Nasim, former state minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and prominent leader Pankaj Devnath were detained by the joint security forces, which includes the army.

BNP chief’s Parliamentray Adviser Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, former State Minister for Energy Iqbal Mahmud and Naser Rahman, a former MP and son of former Finance Minister Saifur Rahman, were also arrested, media reports heresaid.

Security sources also said former Communications Minister Nazmul Huda, former state minister Amanullah Aman and Mir Nasir of the BNP and AL businessmen-cum-politicians Salman Rahman and Lotus Kamal were arrested in the overnight drive.

Mr Fakruddin Ahmed’s caretaker government has vowed to deal with corruption and crime lords before announcing plans for general elections, which was due for January 22, but cancelled after a state of emergency was proclaimed on January 12.

Meanwhile, some 3 million Muslim devotees raised their hands in prayer seeking global peace and harmony at one of the world’s biggest mass religious congregations, the police and organisers said today.

The final prayer capped a three-day Islamic gathering on the sandy banks of the Turag river outside Dhaka.

“We estimate at least 3 million people are at the prayer. There were about 2.5 million devotees at the final prayer last year,” local police official Kaium Biswas told The Associated Press.

Many of the pilgrims were on boats or on the rooftops of nearby buildings as the crowd overflowed the designated venue.

President Iajuddin Ahmed, the country’s interim leader Fakhruddin Ahmed and two former Prime Ministers -- Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina -- joined the prayer on the final day of the gathering. Many devotees from the capital left work early to join the prayer. Today is normally a working day in this country. — PTI, AP

UK culls turkeys to quell bird flu outbreak

Holton, England, February 4
Britain gassed tens of thousands of turkeys and extended restrictions on the movement of poultry today to try to prevent the spread of deadly bird flu from a farm in eastern England.

The discovery of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu on a farm run by Europe's largest turkey producer surprised experts and raised questions about how the virus had been introduced into a sealed shed.

However, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) expressed optimism today that the virus had been confined to the Bernard Matthews farm near Lowestoft in the county of Suffolk.

''Obviously, though, we need to be very vigilant in the coming days,'' a spokeswoman said.

The slaughter of 159,000 birds at the farm, which started late yesterday, is expected to take another two days. The dead birds were being transported from the farm in sealed trucks to be incinerated.

About 2,500 turkeys died in the initial outbreak of the virus, which appears to have been confined to one of 22 sheds at the farm.

The restrictions on the movement of poultry were extended overnight to a 2,000-sq-km area around the farm. — Reuters

Moon’s surface can get ‘electrically charged’

New York, February 4
Lunar colonists could be in for a nasty shock as a team of US scientists has found that the Moon's surface can become charged with up to several thousand volts of static electricity disabling electronic equipment and space buggies.

The charging could release sparks that disable electronic equipment, including monitors, space buggies or even the front door of a Moon base besides causing dust clouds that clogs up instruments, Nature magazine has reported.

What's worse, it can be caused by bad weather in space: just when astronauts need their equipment to give them warning and allow them to shelter from radiation, the report said.

Jasper Halekas of the University of California, Berkeley and his co-workers, the magazine said, knew that the Moon's surface could become charged when electrically charged particles in the solar wind plough into it. But Nature says they realised that this process could have left an imprint after the Lunar Prospector orbited the Moon in 1998-99.

So Halekas and colleagues scanned through the data collected by the Lunar Prospector, and found that the surface charge can get as big as 4,500 volts.

"That's more than enough to do some damage, if the electric field only extends over small distances," says Halekas. Any metal equipment would be vulnerable, though an astronaut might be protected by the insulation of his or her suit. — PTI

Shilpa quizzed by police in racism case

London, February 4
Actress Shilpa Shetty, who was allegedly subjected to racist taunts on Celebrity Big Brother, was quizzed by the British police, which also plans to question the Indian star’s tormentors and producers of the show.

The actress spent an hour being questioned at a London hotel over the treatment she received on the show.

The police told her it was planning to interview Jade Goody, her mother Jackiey and the bosses of Channel Four in connection with the alleged racist remarks made against her.

Quoting a source, the Sunday Mirror today said: “The police quizzed Shilpa on what went on in the Big Brother house.

“They asked about her feelings when she was inside and now she is out. They also wanted to know if she thought her contract had been breached — and if she felt any of the attacks were racially motivated,” it said. — PTI 

3 killed in police firing in Nepal
Shirish B. Pradhan

Kathmandu, February 4
Three protesters were killed and over 12 injured in police firing as violence protests continue in Nepal’s Terai region. Two agitators were killed and more than 12 wounded when police opened fire to disperse the protesters who burnt the house of former minister and Nepali Congress leader Ramhari Joshi at Malangawa town, 250 km from here, the police said.

Another protester was killed at Birgunj city, west of Malangawa, in a clash between security forces and demonstrators, Independent Kantipur television reported.

The protesters have been demanding greater autonomy, more seats in the national legislature and a guaranteed number of slots in the country’s administration for the south.

At least 18 persons, including an Indian, have been killed in violent demonstrations. — PTI