W O R L D

Indonesian ex-President Suharto dead
Jakarta, January 27
Former Indonesian President Muhamad Suharto, who ruled the world's fourth-most populous country with an iron-fist for more than three decades, died today in Jakarta of multiple organ failure. He was 86. Suharto died at about 1:10 p.m. (0610 GMT) at Pertamina Hospital in Jakarta.

Mush: I won’t interfere with PM’s working
President Pervez Musharraf has promised to let the new Prime Minister, emerging from the February 18 elections, function as an effective chief executive.

Pak nod to ‘regular’ screening of Indian films
Islamabad, January 27
Bowing to pressure from powerful film distributors, the Pakistan government has finally decided to allow "regular" screening of Indian films in the country’s theatres that have been reduced to just 200 from 1,400 in the 1980s.

Mystery winner scoops £18.9 m in UK Lotto
London, January 27
British lottery organiser Camelot was waiting today to hear from a ticket holder, who scooped £18.9 million in a triple rollover jackpot, the sixth largest UK Lotto prize.

Republic Day celebrated in Rome
London, January 27
Amid traditional splendour and gaiety, Republic Day was celebrated at the Indian embassy in Rome.

14 more killed in Kenya ethnic clashes
Nairobi, January 27
At least 14 people burned to death in their homes today as ethnic clashes spread to Kenya’s Rift Valley town of Naivasha, overshadowing a push to resolve the post-election crisis by Kofi Annan.

Indonesian ex-President Suharto dead

Mourners gather in front of former Indonesian President Suharto’s residence in Jakarta on Sunday. — Reuters photo

Jakarta, January 27
Former Indonesian President Muhamad Suharto, who ruled the world's fourth-most populous country with an iron-fist for more than three decades, died today in Jakarta of multiple organ failure. He was 86. Suharto died at about 1:10 p.m. (0610 GMT) at Pertamina Hospital in Jakarta. All of Suharto's children were present at his bedside when the former strongman died.

Suharto died following a prolonged illness. According to reports, Suharto, who had lapsed into a coma after more than three weeks in hospital, had suffered multiple organ failure.

Suharto was admitted to the hospital in critical condition on January 4 with anemia and a low heart rate.

Suharto was President of Indonesia from 1967 until his resignation in 1998. He steered Indonesia through a period of economic improvement, was staunchly anti-Communist and drew his country closer to the West.

Suharto was accused of being one of the 20th century's worst kleptocrats by amassing billions of dollars for himself, his family and cronies while in power.

A criminal trial against him was abandoned on health grounds, though a civil suit is currently being heard.

The government is seeking $1.4 billion in damages and returned assets allegedly accrued through a charitable foundation Suharto chaired while in power.

A former general, he stepped down under immense political pressure following widespread student demonstrations and rioting.

Since then he was seldom seen in public due to several strokes, which had affected his speech and brain function, as well as giving him grounds to avoid appearing in court. — ANI

Mush: I won’t interfere with PM’s working
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

Contrary to his previous practice when all three Prime Ministers working under him between 2002-2007 acted more as dummies while he himself called the shots, Musharraf dismissed the impression that the previous system of governance would continue after elections as well. He said there will be no clash between the President and the Prime Minister. He said the law was very clear to this effect, and both organs of the state could perform their responsibilities independently, keeping the national interest supreme.

Rebuffs increasing US military role in Pak

New York: President Pervez Musharraf has rebuffed US proposals to let its forces engage in combat operations in Pakistan’s restive tribal areas, but both sides are discussing ways to enhance US intelligence gathering missions, including surveillance by armed Predator aircraft.

America’s top two intelligence officials, national intelligence director Mike McConnell and CIA director Gen Michael V Hayden, secretly travelled to Pakistan on January 9 to meet Musharraf, the New York Times reported.

But the President rebuffed their proposals to expand any American combat presence, either through covert CIA missions or by joint operations with Pakistani security forces, it said. — PTI

Pak nod to ‘regular’ screening of Indian films

Islamabad, January 27
Bowing to pressure from powerful film distributors, the Pakistan government has finally decided to allow "regular" screening of Indian films in the country’s theatres that have been reduced to just 200 from 1,400 in the 1980s.

“The proposal for approval is with the Prime Minister and a formal notification can be issued any time,” a senior official in the Prime Minister's secretariat told IANS.

The official said the caretaker Prime Minister had not yet seen the recommendations by the standing committee of the Senate (Upper House of Parliament) that had favoured screening of the Indian films. But the Prime Minister had been briefed on the proposal.

The committee at its meeting held last week in Islamabad finalised and sent its recommendations to the Prime Minister for approval.

The official said under the proposal, Pakistan would screen at least 12 Indian movies through local distributors and the same number of films would be sent to India. — IANS

Mystery winner scoops £18.9 m in UK Lotto

London, January 27
British lottery organiser Camelot was waiting today to hear from a ticket holder, who scooped £18.9 million in a triple rollover jackpot, the sixth largest UK Lotto prize.

“We have the champagne on ice, but nobody has come forward as yet,” said a spokeswoman for Camelot after a punter selected the winning numbers 1, 2, 6, 13, 38, 43 and the bonus ball of 24 in yesterday’s draw.

“If someone has the winning ticket please give us a call, though we won’t be able to validate the winning ticket until tomorrow,” the spokeswoman said.

In the run-up to the draw, only the fourth triple rollover jackpot in the game’s 13-year history, Camelot had been expecting 3 million ticket sales per hour.

The first Lotto triple rollover was in May 2004, when six ticket holders each won £3.7 pounds.

The second saw Irene and Ronald Jones from the West Midlands and a syndicate of 14 postal workers share £18.7 million in October 2006. — Reuters

Republic Day celebrated in Rome

London, January 27
Amid traditional splendour and gaiety, Republic Day was celebrated at the Indian embassy in Rome.

Indian ambassador to Italy Rajiv Dogra unfurled the tricolour and read out the President of India’s address to a large gathering of members of Indian community and Italian nationals at the embassy, located in the heart of the city.

The function was attended by Indian nationals from the international organisations such as Food and Agriculture Organisation, International Fund for Agricultural Development, World Food Programme and International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property. — PTI

14 more killed in Kenya ethnic clashes

Nairobi, January 27
At least 14 people burned to death in their homes today as ethnic clashes spread to Kenya’s Rift Valley town of Naivasha, overshadowing a push to resolve the post-election crisis by Kofi Annan.

Nine people were killed earlier in clashes between gangs of youths in the slums of the lakeside tourist town, bringing the toll in the western Rift Valley since Thursday to 130. “We have found 14 bodies burnt in houses,” a police commander told AFP. “It appears the attackers locked them in and set them ablaze.” — AFP