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3 Tripura insurgents DHAKA, Nov 16: Three National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) insurgents were arrested and a huge quantity of ammunition seized from........more Bush,
Putin wrap up WASHINGTON, Nov 16: Backing efforts to speed up creation of a post-Taliban dispensation in Afghanistan, US President......more Another
kill plot against COLOMBO, Nov 16: Sri Lankan Police have unearthed an LTTE plot to assassinate President Chandrika Kumaratunga during the election campaign. ......more PM
to visit Japan early TOKYO, Nov 16: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will visit Japan from December 7 to 11 to meet Japanese leaders, the Government said today. ....more |
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Groups linked to Laden AMMAN, Nov 16: The coffers of Muslim extremists groups, including those linked to alleged terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden, are largely fattened ....more Northern
Alliance has LONDON, Nov 16: The Northern Alliance has acted responsibly despite marching into Kabul against Washington’s wishes........more Muslims pray for US KHOBAR, SAUDI ARABIA, Nov 16: Arab worshippers prayed for America’s demise and Osama ..........more Israeli right-wingers JERUSALEM, Nov 16 : Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon faced right-wing pressure on Friday to........more |
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3 Tripura insurgents held in Bangladesh DHAKA, Nov 16: Three National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) insurgents were arrested and a huge quantity of ammunition seized from them in Chittagong district of Bangladesh, BSS news agency said today. On a tip off, Bangladesh police on Wednesday intercepted a coach in Lohagara area and arrested the three insurgents identified as Baik Ruf Bruk, Tamp Ha and Koibek, it said. Police seized 500 rounds of bullet of M-16 rifle and 30 round of 9mm rifle from them during a search of their baggage. During preliminary investigation, the three confessed they were active members of NLFT, the agency said quoting police. (PTI) |
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Bush, Putin wrap up summit without agreement on ABM WASHINGTON, Nov 16: Backing efforts to speed up creation of a post-Taliban dispensation in Afghanistan, US President George W Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin wrapped up their three-day summit in Texas with deepening of US-Russian relations but without any agreement on crucial anti-ballistic missile pact. The two leaders "talked about the importance of getting the political arrangements (in Afghanistan) accelerated now, given the accelerating situation on the ground," US National Security Advisor Condleeza Rice told reporters said after the conclusion of the summit yesterday. "Both instructed their Foreign Ministers to press that point very, very hard with the United Nations, as well as with their colleagues in other places," she said adding the Afghan issue turned out to be the "dominant issue" at the talks at Bush’s 1,600 acre ranch. They also discussed the problems of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their joint concerns about Osama Bin Laden’s desire to acquire such weapons. And they pledged again very close cooperation in intelligence gathering, in information sharing to "try and thwart" terrorist plans, Rice said. One major result of the summit was a drastic reduction in strategic arms which each would carry out apparently independently. "We’re both pledging to reduce the amount of nuclear weapons, offensive weapons, we have in order to make the world more secure. We’re talking about ways to cooperate in anti-terrorism and anti-proliferation," Bush said earlier. The two leaders, however, said they still have different views on the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. Bush said he believes the ABM Treaty should be scrapped because it is no longer relevant to the changed relationship between the United States and Russia. "We have a difference of opinion. But the great thing about our relationship is our relationship is strong enough to endure this," he said, adding he plans to visit Russia soon, although the date has not been yet set. Putin said there is "common ground" for further dialogue. The objective of both US and Russia "is to achieve security for our states, for our nations, and for entire world." "We differ in the ways and means we perceive that are suitable for reaching the same objective," Putin said. "And given the nature of the relationship between the United States and Russia, one can rest assured that whatever final solution is found, it will not threaten or put to threat the interests of both our countries and of the world. And we shall continue our discussions," he said. The US and Russia are continuing at both the presidential level and at the expert level to share more and more information about how us missile defence plans are developing, Rice said. Whatever may happen, she said, "whatever we do to address our concerns about missile defence, this is in the context now of a substantially changed relationship from where we were several months ago." "And that’s just an extremely important point to keep in mind. This is a smaller element of the US-Russia relationship than it was several months ago, and certainly than it was before September 11th," she said. (PTI) |
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Another kill plot against Chandrika unearthed COLOMBO, Nov 16: Sri Lankan Police have unearthed an LTTE plot to assassinate President Chandrika Kumaratunga during the election campaign. Investigators probing the July 24 attack on the main air force base at Katunayake and adjoining international airport near here have recovered evidence from a safe-house used by the rebels in Negombo town in the vicinity of the airport, the state-run ‘Daily News’ today quoted police and CID as saying. The plan was confirmed when sketches showing the lay-outs of the official residence of the President and a high-security conference hall here were recovered by a police special task force during an operation to destroy an LTTE camp in the east, the report said. The Negombo safe-house bust led to the seizure of two jackets meant for suicide bombers, 35 cyanide capsules, a pistol, hand grenades, explosives, forged identity cards, cellular phone accessories and sketches of the President’s house at Kandy and Anuradhapura and the perimeter of the well-known Buddhist shrine, Shri Maha Bodhi, at Anuradhapura. Kumaratunga survived an assassination attempt by a suicide bomber at the Colombo town hall at her last campaign rally before the December 1999 presidential election, but lost her right eye. The daily said the police had traced the luxury bus used for transporting the assailants to the vicinity of the Katunayake Air Force base on the night of July 23 before the attack. Two other safe-houses used for the operation to conceal arms and explosives were also unearthed. It spoke of the arrest of the "main suspects" involved in providing logistic support to the attack, but did not name or number them. Fourteen "black tigers", members of the LTTE’s suicide wing, died in the operation in which seven security personnel were also killed and several military and civilian aircraft destroyed. Police also identified the communication centres used by them in various cities and pieced together evidence relating to the ramifications of the plot in the capital, Negombo and other places in the north and east. One of the arrested suspects had told the police that he had also been involved in an attempt to assassinate Deputy Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte at Rajagiriya, a suburb of Colombo, in March 2000. (PTI) |
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PM to visit Japan early December TOKYO, Nov 16: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will visit Japan from December 7 to 11 to meet Japanese leaders, the Government said today. Vajpayee is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi as well as Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. "The Japanese Government welcomes the Prime Minister’s visit as it would deepen the friendly relationship between Japan and India," the Foreign Ministry said. (AFP) |
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Groups linked to Laden financed through "religious tax" AMMAN, Nov 16: The coffers of Muslim extremists groups, including those linked to alleged terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden, are largely fattened thanks to money pouring in from "Zakat" or religious taxes which are usually earmarked for charity, an Arab official has told AFP. "In several Arab and Muslim countries, the Zakat replaces taxes and are usually given to charity organisations which in turn hand them over to so-called, ill-defined, Islamic `good causes’," the official said on condition of anonymity. Such is the case of the Bin Baz Foundation in Saudi Arabia which is named after the Kingdom’s late grand Mufti, Abdel Aziz Bin Baz who died in 1999, and is charged with collecting Zakat, the official said. "Millions of dollars, from Zakat collections and donations made by wealthy Saudis, are thus poured into this foundation each month," said the official. The wealthy Arab Gulf residents of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates also pour millions of dollars into Zakat funds. Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam and represents a religious tax that Muslims must give once a year according to their wealth. Sunni Muslims are asked to hand over 2.5 per cent of their total wealth, while it is set at a steep 10 per cent for Shiite Muslims. "Non-Government Organisations, Islamic banks and charities decide how to spend these funds while the donors are kept in the dark on where their Zakat money goes," the official explained. Over the years Islamic theologians have issued several fatwas, or religious decrees, legalising the use of the colossal sums of money collected through Zakat for Islamic ‘good causes’. "The problem, however, is that these causes are not spelled out and in most cases the money goes to finance the purchase by Islamist groups of weapons rather than to humanitarian aid," the official said. In the 1980s, millions of dollars were given by Saudi groups to the Afghan people who were fighting, with US support, a Soviet invasion. Later on, Zakat money was poured into the coffers of Bin Laden - the prime suspect in the September 11 terror attacks in the US - and those of Philippines Muslim rebels, such as the Abu Sayyaf group, as well as to Chechen and Bosnian Muslim fundamentalists and similar groups in South America, Asia and the Balkans. "In Pakistan alone nearly 3,000 Islamic schools were set up thanks to Zakat money" given by members of the Saudi ruling family as part of their deep-rooted desire to spread Saudi fundamentalist Wahabi Islam. (AFP) |
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Northern Alliance has acted responsibly: Cheney LONDON, Nov 16: The Northern Alliance has acted responsibly despite marching into Kabul against Washington’s wishes, US Vice-President Dick Cheney said in an interview with the BBC. "We believe the Northern Alliance has conducted themselves in a responsible fashion under the extraordinary circumstances that do exist," Cheney said yesterday. Cheney’s comments came after the Northern Alliance swept into Kabul on Tuesday directly reneging on a deal with the US not to storm into the capital. Washington feared that if Kabul fell without outside monitors present there would blood-letting and revenge killings amidst rival factions. The US Vice-President reiterated Washington’s desire for a post-Taliban Government that respects the different factions and ethnic groupings in Afghanistan. "We think it’s very important for those of us involved in the coalition to support the notion that the ultimate Government that emerges here has to be one that clearly has the support of the Afghan people and that is broadly representative of the Afghan people," he said. Cheney also said that the US would be involved in building any future Afghan Government. "We will work with the United Nations and other international organisations to try to establish a secure, stable representative Government, long-term," he said. Cheney also defended the right of the US and its allies to share in this process following criticism from some Muslim countries that Washington was embarking on a new form of nation-building. "I think the rest of the world does have an interest in seeing to it that we don’t have the kind of situation emerge again that arose under the Taliban. That is to say that Afghanistan becomes a home for terrorists or a sanctuary where terrorist organisations can operate from," Cheney said. Despite the capitulation of Taliban forces over the last few days the US Vice-President said there was still work to be done in the war against terrorism. "I wouldn’t say it’s over yet. I think it’s clearly been a very successful campaign up to this point, but there are still parts of the country today that are under Taliban rule," he said. Cheney reaffirmed Washington’s belief that chief terror suspect Osama Bin Laden would be caught, but said that there were still other fronts to be fought outside Afghanistan. "There are a great many places around the world where there are cells of the Al-Queda organisation; Maybe as many as 40 or 50 countries," he said. "We’re working now with the services of other countries and other Governments to try to wrap those organisations up, and we’ll continue to work to dry up their financial assets and resources where it’s appropriate," he added. (AFP) |
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Muslims pray for
US defeat, Laden victory KHOBAR, SAUDI ARABIA, Nov 16: Arab worshippers prayed for America’s demise and Osama bin Laden’s safety and victory as anti-US sentiments soared on the first day of Ramadan. From Saudi Arabia to Jordan, worshippers and prayer leaders sought revenge against the US for its attacks on Afghanistan. "The Americans are digging their own grave and, God willing, our holy warriors in Afghanistan will bury them soon," said Ahmed, a 25-year-old Saudi from Khobar. The prayer leader at a Khobar mosque gave an unusually moderate sermon in comparison to the anti-US sentiments felt by worshippers outside. Sheik Mohammed Al-Tawwash’s brief sermon followed crown prince Abdullah’s urgings Wednesday to Muslim clerics to be cautious in their pronouncements, saying they had a responsibility toward their faith and Government. "You know that we are now passing through critical days and our duty requires that we be mindful ... Because you are now a target for those who are biased against the Islamic faith," Abdullah said. Saudi - Washington’s closest gulf ally - is mindful of maintaining close US ties while also appeasing Saudis who see the airstrikes as a war against Islam. Al-Tawwash’s sermon did not mention the attacks on Afghanistan, whose radical Taliban militia rulers suffered numerous defeats following relentless US-led airstrikes and ground assaults by the opposition Northern Alliance. But he did call on God to "protect the innocent Muslims and give them victory over the infidels and enemies of Islam." Many in the Arab and Muslim worlds oppose the attacks on Afghanistan - launched Oct 7 against the Taliban and bin Laden’s Al-Qaida network - for killing innocent Afghans and Muslims. Throughout his sermon, Al-Tawwash urged Muslims to fast, give alms to the poor and be kind to others. "This is the time to win Allah and have your prayers answered," he said. However, many Khobar worshippers prayed for bin Laden’s safety, cursed America and hoped for its quick destruction. A Saudi cleric, who didn’t want to be identified, said: "Osama is a holy warrior and God will protect him." A Pakistani worshipper, Mohammed Kamran Khan, 28, prayed for the Taliban and bin Laden, a Saudi dissident. "The infidels are making Muslims fight against each other and they will pay the price for this," Khan said. All was quite in Khobar’s streets. Outside the mosque, people sold religious books about Ramadan and sticks used by Muslims to brush their teeth without breaking their fast. In Jordan, the preacher at an Amman mosque prayed for God to seek revenge from "Americans, Jews, their allies and whoever stands behind them." "God, disperse them and grant victory to the Mujahadeen in Palestine, Afghanistan and Chechnya," said Kassas Sbeh. Sheikh Abdul-Naser Abul-Bassal, the preacher at King Abdullah’s mosque, prayed for God to save "the blood of all the Muslims." Abul-Bassal’s speech was broadcast live on state-run Jordan television. In Lebanon, grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, a senior Shiite Muslim cleric, railed against perceived US attempts to establish a "strategic base" in Central Asia by defeating the Taliban. (AP) |
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Israeli right-wingers urge
Sharon to fire JERUSALEM, Nov 16 : Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon faced right-wing pressure on Friday to dismiss Foreign Minister Shimon Peres for telling the U N General Assembly there was support in Israel for a Palestinian State. The calls highlighted divisions in Sharon’s Broad coalition over how to handle a 13-month-old Palestinian uprising and how to respond to U S pressure for moves to end the conflict. Peres has endorsed a Palestinian state in the past, but his speech yesterday marked the first time he or any other Israeli official had made such remarks during a showcase speech at the United Nations. "Although this is not yet the formal policy of the Government of Israel, there is support for a Palestinian independence, for a Palestinian State," Peres said. Sharon did not immediately comment on Peres’s speech. But the Foreign Minister’s remarks incensed some right-wing members of the fractious coalition. Israel radio quoted Danny Naveh, a Minister without portfolio and a member of Sharon’s right-wing Likud Party, as saying Peres "had no mandate to make such a declaration". "The fact that this is the first time that an iIraeli leader expresses agreement from the U N Podium for a Palestinian State, at a time when we are in the midst of a harsh terror campaign against US, is a grave diplomatic mistake," he said. Benny Elon, an ultranationalist Cabinet Minister, told Reuters he would convene his seven-member national union faction to discuss the next move. "I don’t like to make threats, but if Peres is not fired then a walkout by us is likely," Elon said. "We’d all prefer to see the National Unity Government remain intact, but he did not have the authorisation to represent the nation as he did." The Yesha Council of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip called for the Government to pass a resolution precluding the creation of a Palestinian state. "If this does not pass, the Yesha Council will demand that the nationalist parties quit the coalition and cause the break-up of the National Unity Government," it said. At least 705 Palestinians and 188 Israelis have been killed in violence which erupted in September 2000 after peace talks stalled. The Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, land which Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war. Sharon vowed to restore Israelis’ security when he took office in March but his Cabinet, uniting the political right and left, has been deeply divided over how to quell the uprising. Peres has angered the right wing by meeting Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to discuss security matters although the Government has ruled out peace talks while violence continues. Sharon differs with Peres over how to handle the conflict but has shown no sign of wanting to remove the Left-wing elder statesman and they are working together on a peace plan. U S President George W. Bush said on November 10 he envisaged "two states — Israel and Palestine — living peacefully together", and U S Secretary of State Colin Powell could touch on the issue in a Middle East policy address due on Monday. With the U S administration promoting a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict in order to garner Arab support for its war in Afghanistan, Peres’s speech could have sent welcome signals to Bush, political analysts said. They said Sharon might have been glad Peres had voiced an opinion which it would have been politically risky for the Prime Minister himself to express. "One of Peres’s main jobs is to act as the punchbag of the right, to give Sharon the excuse he needs to get things done that he may not want to do," said one analyst, Mark Heller. (REUTERS) |
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