Foreign pressure required to push womens rights in Iran

TEHERAN, Dec 29: Equal rights for women in Iran can only be achieved through foreign pressure, a senior female MP told the news website women in Iran today.

"We have witnessed that the rights of women cannot be amended without foreign pressure," said Elaheh Kulaie, spokeswoman for the Parliamentary Commission for Foreign Policies.

Kulaie was referring to the visit earlier this month of a 20-strong EU delegation which held talks with Iranian officials in Teheran on human rights in general and that of women in particular.

Such a trend was unacceptable for a political system which claimed to follow an independent policy, she said, regretting that such developments could not be achieved internally.

Preserving womens rights and joining relevant international conventions was one the main conditions bestowed on Iran by the EU if it wants to boost ties with Europe, in addition to releasing political prisoners and abolishing the death sentence by stoning.

"Concessions are only made on womens rights when we feel pressured from outside," said another female MP, Jamileh Kadivar, a member of the womens parliamentary faction.

The news site women in Iran however quoted Iranian scholar Ehsan Naraqi as saying that social developments in the country made changes to womens rights inevitable, regardless of foreign pressure.

With a constant increase in the educational level of girls compared to boys, the country will have in the near future up to 70 per cent female experts and in that case no court can come and say women only have half of the rights of men, Naraqi said.

Iranian women, obliged to wear long gowns and headscarves in public to hide hair and body contours, have no equal rights in numerous situations, such as inheritance, divorce and child custody.

Women activists in the Parliament and reformist officials are trying to amend at least parts of the current laws to give women improved legal rights. (DPA)

Investigators struggle to find people behind Grozny bombing

MOSCOW, Dec 29: Russian authorities still had no definite leads today as to who was behind the suicide bomb attack on the headquarters of the pro-Moscow administration in Chechnya.

The head of the regional Government, Mikhail Babich, confirmed today that at least 52 people had died in the bombing and 153 were injured when Chechen suicide bombers drove a jeep and a truck, carrying an estimated ton of explosives, through the perimeter of the heavily-guarded administration building on Friday.

"No-one has been arrested yet," Chechnya’s Minister for the Interior, Ahmed Dakayev, told the Itar-Tass newsagency. The investigators are continuing to look for the "smallest clues", that would lead them to the people behind the attack.

It was earlier believed that the authorities were following an "Arabic connection". Chief of Staff of the Caucasus Troops, Ilia Shabalkin, yesterday pointed the finger of blame at the Arab mercenary Abu Tarik, who was killed the day before the attack.

Police said the bombers used vehicles with military registration numbers. They passed through numerous checkpoints on the city limits using forged documents before driving to the Government building where they broke through three checkpoints before detonating the explosives.

The Russian Foreign Ministry described the attack as international terrorism’s reaction to President Vladimir Putin’s uncompromising line on the political solution to the Chechen conflict.

Christians stay away from service following X’Mas attack

CHIANWALA (PAKISTAN), Dec 29: Frightened Christians stayed away from Sunday services in this tiny Pakistani village after a deadly Christmas Day attack here killed three girls and wounded 13 others. Many said they were too traumatised to return to their church.

"There are no Sunday services in the church because people can’t bring themselves to visit it," said the Rev. Rehmat Asim, head of the protestant congregation, outside his simple, cottage-sized church. "They’re in shock."

Two assailants in Burqas burst into the white cement church, tossing grenades at about 40 worshippers attending a Christmas Day service in Chianwala, about 65 km northwest of Lahore.

On Sunday, blood still stained the church floors and walls.

"Nobody has visited it after the attack and I do not have the courage to wash the church because it was such a big tragedy," Asim said.

Six people have been arrested for questioning and five others are being sought.

No charges have been filed and police today didn’t sound optimistic.

"There is no major breakthrough yet, but we are still investigating," said Shahid Iqbal, chief of police in Sialkot, the district headquarters for Chianwala. (AP)

Israeli daily leaks revised mideast roadmap, says little new

JERUSALEM, Dec 29: The latest draft of the Middle East "roadmap" contains little new material but does call on Palestinians to take concrete measures to curb violence, an Israeli daily said today.

The plan, drawn up by US, UN, EU and Russian officials from the so-called quartet sets out steps to end the 26-month conflict and create an independent Palestinian state by 2005.

The Jersuaelm Post said it had obtained the main points of the latest version from a senior quartet official, adding that little new was presented in the draft, whose finalisation the United States has delayed, at Israel’s urging, until after the Jewish state’s January 28 elections.

It did say however that in the new blueprint the Palestinians were obliged to take concrete steps to crack down on violence, including collecting illegal weapons, instead of merely calling for an end to attacks as previous drafts had stipulated.

The daily said in the first stage, from January to June 2003, Israeli commitments would include a total freeze on Jewish settlements in the West Bank and dismantling outposts built since March 2000, a pullback to positions held before the uprising began and an end to attacks on civilians and the demolition of buildings.

On the Palestinian side, the plan calls for elections as soon as possible, security and political reforms, fiscal transparency and a "visible effort to arrest, disrupt, restrain terrorists."

The second phase, from June to Decemeber next year, would include a quartet-mediated conference to establish a Palestinian state with provisional borders, while the Palestinians appoint a Prime Minister, ratify a constitution and reinforce reforms.

In stage three, lasting a year from January 2004, both sides would attend a conference to thrash out thorny final status issues such as borders, Jewish settlements, Jerusalem and the question of Palestinian refugees.

The paper said that moving from stages two to three would depend on whether the quartet judged both sides had fulfilled their commitments.

The daily added that the implementation was not on a step-by-step basis, as Israel had hoped, but calls for both sides to undertake their commitments in parallel, which Israel fears will mean it makes concessions while the Palestinians drag their feet.

An Israeli official quoted on public radio said the Government was "content" with the new version and would give its official response after the elections. (AFP)

Saddam gathers top leadership

BAGHDAD, Dec 29: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein today chaired a meeting of the country’s top officials on "Arab, Regional and International" issues, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.

His number two Ezzat Ibrahim, Vice Presidents Taha Yassin Ramadan and Taha Mohieddin Maaruf, Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz and Speaker of Parliament Saadun Hammadi were among those attending.

Also present were Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, Information Minister Mohammad Said Al-Sahhaf, Justice Minister Munzer Al-Shawi and Ali Hassan Al-Majid, an influential member of Iraq’s highest body, the Revolution Command Council.

The gathering coincided with a massive buildup of US forces in the Gulf to back threats to disarm iraq by force if UN efforts fail.

INA gave no further details about the issues discussed. (AFP)

Cold wave sweeping Bangladesh leaves 36 dead

DHAKA Dec 29: A cold wave sweeping Northern Bangladesh left 36 people dead and scores in hospital as fog disrupted flights and ferry services, police and rescue workers said today.

Icy winds blowing from the Himalayan foothills pushed night temperatures to below 8 degrees celsius in worst-affected Thakurgaon district, where 13 fatalities were recorded in the past week.

Airport sources said international and domestic flights were diverted or delayed by dense fog which had greatly slowed life in the capital Dhaka.

About 300 people, including many children, attacked by cold-related illnesses were admitted to hospitals in Dinajpur and Rangpur districts.

Meteorologists said the temperatures were plummeting unusually for this time of the year because of the fog hiding the sun for a greater part of the day.

The victims of the cold wave are the elderly and infants from malnourished families lacking proper winter clothing, rescue workers said. (DPA)

Pak’s rented satellite reaches orbital position

ISLAMABAD, Dec 29: Pakistan’s first satellite, acquired on rental basis from the United States, has reached its orbital position and would be fully functional from the first day of February, a senior official said today.

The satellite re-named as "Pak sat" has completed its initial manoeuvres and locked itself in a geo-synchronous orbit, 36,000 km above the earth, Chairman of National Telecommunication Corporation, Air Vice Marshal Azhar Maud, told a press conference here.

The Pakistani Government acquired the satellite from Hyghes Global Systems (HGS) of the United States in July this year and is paying 4.5 million dollars per annum as rental costs.

Pakistani officials have defended the decision to acquire the used hgs synchronous satellite, which has occupied the only remaining slot of Pakistan, which would have expired on the 19th of April next year.

"Had Pakistan not launched this satellite, it would have lost all chances of ever being able to put its own satellite in the orbit," Maud said.

He said reports received from frequency allocation board in Islamabad revealed that the satellite has been stabilised in its new location and its signals were successfully received at the monitoring centres.

Its bacon frequencies are being received at the pelemetery, tracking and control stations in Perth, Australia, after being relayed from England, he said. (PTI)

UN experts pursue hunt for Iraq weapons

BAGHDAD, Dec 29: UN experts searched at least three suspect sites in Iraq today, a day after Baghdad supplied them with a list of more than 500 scientists associated with its banned weapons programmes.

Iraqi officials said inspection teams visited an electronics company north of the capital and an engineering company in central Baghdad. A team also searched a Baghdad administration office of the Iraqi customs service.

The two companies are run by the Military Industrialisation Commission (MIC). The MIC runs scores of state companies charged with developing and producing many civilian and military goods - -from electronic chips to missiles.

Brigadier Abdul-Sattar Ahmed, chief of Izz public company for electronics, told reporters his company produced electronics for communications systems and did not hide his displeasure with the two-hour inspection.

"I found it very strange that they came here. We have nothing to do with any nuclear programme," he said. "They delayed and disrupted our work...And they found nothing."

A small fire damaged a room on the ground floor of the UN inspectors headquarters on the outskirts of Baghdad, UN sources said.

Iraqi fire engines rushed to the building and put out the blaze, believed to have been caused by an electrical short circuit. They said the fire severed internet connections in the building.

Witnesses said a sonic boom caused by an unidentified warplane shook the capital and unnerved residents who are bracing for possible war with the United States.

Washington, which accuses Iraq of developing weapons of mass destruction, has threatened to disarm Baghdad by force if it does not come clean.

Iraq denies it has chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.

More than 100 inspectors are now in Iraq trying to uncover any evidence of such weapons developed since their predecessors left before US-British air raids in 1998.

A UN Security Council resolution adopted last month gave Iraq a last chance to disarm or face serious consequences.

The inspectors began last week to interview scientists who could shed light on Iraq’s previous programmes and any current ones.

They said yesterday Iraq provided them with a list of the names of more than 500 scientists linked with its chemical, biological, nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes.

The inspectors have carried out around 200 search missions across Iraq since resuming work on November 27. (AGENCIES)

Kenya’s Kenyatta concedes election defeat

NAIROBI, Dec 29: Ruling party candidate Uhuru Kenyatta today conceded defeat in Kenya’s presidential and parliamentary polls, six hours after the electoral commission reported the opposition had won according to interim results.

"I accept your choice," Kenyatta said in a statement addressed to Kenyans, referring to Friday’s polls for both President and Parliament won by opposition leader Mwai Kibaki.

"I now concede that Mwai Kibaki will be the third presdient of the republic of kenya," said Kenyatta, of outgoing President Daniel Arap Moi’s Kenya African National Union (KANU) party.

"KANU and I will respect him and his position in accordance with the constitution," he said. (AGENCIES)

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