Iraq, Afghanistan,
expansion NATO’s
new boss faces

BRUSSELS, Dec 31: He’s down-to-earth, he’s reliable, he’s fair. And he’s going to need all these diplomatic skills attributed to him and more when he .....more

Tonnes of relief aid
pours into quake-hit Iran

BAM, IRAN, Dec 31: Tonnes of humanitarian aid poured into Iran today as relief workers sought to improve living conditions for tens of thousands of ......more

Japan compensates Chinese poison gas victims

BEIJING, Dec 31: Japan paid 300 million yen ( 2.8 million) compensation to China after more than 40 people fell ill . .....more

Senior Singapore lawyer pleads guilty to misusing clients’ funds

SINGAPORE, Dec 31: A former national football team manager and senior lawyer admitted....more

WASHINGTON, Dec 31: US President George W Bush designated Thailand a major ally of the United States, opening the door for greater military ....more

China rings in new year, rings out Haemorrhoid ADs

BEIJING, Dec 31: China is ringing in the new year by banning television advertising for sanitary towels, Haemorrhoid ......more

Indonesia park puts
world’s longest snake
on show

KENDAL, INDONESIA, Dec 31: A recreation park in Indonesia is displaying a 15-metre python — making it the longest ever captured — that was ......more

Clapton honoured a rung below Sir Mick and Sir Paul

LONDON, Dec 31: Guitar legend Eric Clapton becomes the latest British rock legend to win high honours from ....more

Iraq, Afghanistan, expansion NATO’s new boss faces

BRUSSELS, Dec 31: He’s down-to-earth, he’s reliable, he’s fair. And he’s going to need all these diplomatic skills attributed to him and more when he officially becomes NATO’s top man next Monday.

Dutch diplomat Jaap De Hoop Scheffer faces enormous challenges when he takes over as Secretary-General at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s Brussels headquarters.

At the top of the agenda will be how to tackle Iraq, Afghanistan and the biggest single expansion in the alliance’s history.

In particular, Iraq conflict, which almost traumatised NATO, is proving to be an ordeal rarely experienced since the organisation was founded 55 years ago.

War supporters led by Britain and the United States, and war opponents led by France and Germany, were long at Loggerheads.

For an organisation that reaches its decisions unanimously, that proved almost unbearable, damaging the partnership’s transatlantic soul.

Even though the alliance has returned to practical conduct, De Hoop Scheffer will have to ensure that all wounds have been healed and do not fester.

The US, which forms the organisation’s backbone militarily, has voiced its demands clearly and that means greater involvement in Iraq.

If US Secretary of State Colin Powell has his way, the issue will be discussed in concrete terms at the next NATO summit in Istanbul in June.

At present, NATO gives logistic aid to the polish contingent in an Iraqi security zone. De Hoop Scheffer, former Dutch Foreign Minister, a true "atlantican" and supporter of the Iraq war will have to sound out all possible options discreetly.

He may be able to gain more insight from the ongoing NATO mission in Afghanistan and start strengthening ties before the June summit.

Operations in the country began with a supportive role for NATO and last August it took command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The 5,700-strong ISAF contingent is now expanding its sphere of activity beyond Kabul. About 200 German soldiers, who form a so-called regional reconstruction team in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, will now come under ISAF command.

Eight such teams and civilian helpers are presently working in provincial Afghanistan under the US led anti-terror mission "enduring freedom".

US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld indicated early December in Brussels that the operation could be placed under ISAF command, but without giving a schedule.

Apart from questions about NATO’s presence worldwide, its capabilities of keeping peace and containing international terrorism, De Hoop Scheffer will also have to remodel the alliance’s structure.

At the end of the cold war, NATO had to become militarily sleek, mightier and faster. Much has yet to be done even though the reforms of the command structure and equipment have been initiated.

Seven new aspirants - Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia - will become members at next year’s summit in Istanbul bringing contingent strength to 26.

Outgoing Secretary-General George Robertson summed up the main problems in one of his last interviews during his tenure:

If NATO countries cannot make more troops available and do not have the equipment to bring them quickly to where something is happening, the organisation will become increasingly superfluous, he warned.

The Scot, who held the office for nearly four years, also warned that Europe’s armies are in danger of falling behind in technological terms compared to US forces. Another problem for De Hoop Scheffer. (DPA)

Tonnes of relief aid pours into quake-hit Iran

BAM, IRAN, Dec 31: Tonnes of humanitarian aid poured into Iran today as relief workers sought to improve living conditions for tens of thousands of survivors of last week’s earthquake which killed at least 30,000 people.

With Government officials saying the death toll from one of the worst natural disasters of modern times may rise as high as 50,000, there were unconfirmed reports of survivors still being found alive under the ruins left by the December 26 tremor.

But most international rescue teams based in the worst-hit ancient silk road city of Bam 1,000 Km southeast of Tehran have already abandoned their search.

"Members of the public are still asking our teams to search in some areas," said Ted Pearn of the United Nations disaster assessment and coordination.

Ian Scher, head of search team rescue South Africa, said the prospects were very slim of pulling any more survivors from the rubble in Bam and surrounding areas where roughly 70 per cent of the mud-brick dwellings were badly damaged or destroyed.

"All we’re doing is finding bodies. We’re winding up the rescue," he said. Scher added, however, that body recovery was important to give "closure" to bereaved family members.

State television reported that two men and two women aged between 20 and 60 had been found alive by search teams on Tuesday evening by the Iranian Army and transferred to a nearby hospital. The report could not immediately be confirmed.

Television said 30,000 bodies had been recovered and buried so far and 14,000 injured had been taken to hospitals. The pre-dawn quake killed whole families as they slept.

Nearly 500 million dollars in relief assistance has been pledged to Iran from dozens of organisations and countries, including some that have strained relations with the Islamic republic.

Arch-foe Washington, which broke ties with Tehran shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution, was at the forefront of the relief effort, sending an 84-strong team and planeloads of blankets, sheeting, medical supplies and water.

Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami welcomed the US aid, but insisted it would not alter relations between the two countries.

"This has nothing to do with political issues. The problems in Iran-US relations are rooted in history," he said.

Planeloads of tents, blankets, tarpaulins, light construction materials, medicines, water and food were being stockpiled at Bam’s small airport, the UN’s Pearn said.

With healthcare a top concern following the destruction of Bam’s two main hospitals in the quake, two more field hospitals were set up yesterday in addition to the four already sent by foreign donors.

Overnight, groups of survivors huddled against near-freezing temperatures in tents outside the rubble of their homes.

"It’s very cold and we don’t have any equipment for cooking, just tinned food and bread," said Fariba Barami, 30.

Residents said some children who survived the quake had died from exposure in the bitter cold nights immediately afterwards.

Hundreds of clerics from the Shi’ite holy city of Qom in central Iran had set up a camp on the outskirts of the city.

"There are children and bereaved who must be consoled. That is our job," said Mohammad Hashemi who had exchanged the usual clerical garb of long gown and turban for an Anorak, army fatigue pants and a black woollen hat.

He added that it was "only for God" to understand why such a terribly tragedy had occurred. (AGENCIES)

Indonesia park puts world’s longest snake on show

KENDAL, INDONESIA, Dec 31: A recreation park in Indonesia is displaying a 15-metre python — making it the longest ever captured — that was revered as a tribal ruler and has a huge appetite for dogs.

The huge, dark-coloured male snake has a diameter of 85 centimetres, weighs 447 Kg and is 14.85 metres long, according to keepers of an animal exhibition at the Curugsewu park in the small central Java town of Kendal.

Snake handler Imam Darmanto told the nameless serpent likes to gulp down dogs.

"This snake swallows up dogs. In a month, it can eat around five dogs," he said.

According to the Guinness World Records, the longest discovered snake was also a reticulated python from Indonesia. It was 10 metres long when found in Sulawesi island in 1912.

Last year, Samantha, a snake measuring eight metres and which was dubbed the largest in captivity, died in the Bronx zoo in New York. Samantha came from Indonesia’s side of Borneo island.

Darmanto found the reticulated python last year on Sumatra island, where it had been caught and kept in captivity by villagers.

But it took months to get permission from the villagers, who revered the creature, to bring it to Java.

"It was seen as the ruler of the Kubu tribe. So, we had to go by the book and the tourism authorities had to ask for it," Darmanto said.

The Kubu tribe live in the jungles of southern Sumatra and shun encounters with the modern world.

The snake has tripled the number of visitors to the state-run park, normally known just for its scenery and waterfalls. (AGENCIES)

China sentences sect member to death for murder

BEIJING, Dec 31: A Chinese Court has sentenced to death a man it said was a follower of the banned Falun Gong spiritual sect for killing 16 people with rat poison, state television reported today.

Chen Fuzhao was sentenced in the coastal city of Wenzhou, accused of killing 15 beggars by pouring a potent banned rat poison into drinks, it said. He also dumped poison into drinking water at a temple, which killed one woman, it said.

It did not say if Chen, a medical worker who had practised Falun Gong since 1996, had already been executed.

The report said Chen’s spirit was controlled by Falun Gong, which Beijing has branded an "evil cult", and that he killed the beggars to increase his spiritual strength.

Falun Gong practises a mixture of Taoism, Buddhism traditional Chinese breathing exercises and the beliefs of its US-based founder, Li Hongzhi.

China outlawed the group in 1999 after thousands of adherents besieged the central leadership compound in Beijing to demand official recognition of their faith.

The group has been all but snuffed out in public in China in a relentless and often brutal crackdown. (AGENCIES)

Geneva airport beats passenger record in 2003

GENEVA, Dec 31: Geneva’s international airport celebrated its eight millionth passenger to pass through this year — a record for one of Europe’s first airline terminals.

The previous passenger record for the booming cointrin airport was 7,826,303 in the year 2000, just before global economic woes hit leisure air travel.

The surprised traveller, a Frenchwoman from nearby Annemasse flying to Budapest, was toasted in Champagne yesterday before boarding her flight.

Officials at the airport, its fortunes boosted by the growing presence of budget airline easyjet which uses Geneva as a hub serving many European cities, said the surge this year was at least six percent higher than the continental average.

In 1920, its first year of operations, it processed 534 passengers, but it was not until 1961 that it passed a million. (AGENCIES)

Iran says escaped Bam prisoners ‘on leave’

TEHRAN, Dec 31: Iranian officials said they were revising the status of about 600 prisoners missing since their escape from an earthquake-damaged jail in Bam last week to "on leave".

A spokesman for the judiciary told IRNA news agency that prisoners from the stricken area whose relatives were hurt or killed in Friday’s quake may be given amnesty.

The prisoners have been on the run since the walls of their jail crumbled. An unknown number of inmates were killed.

"The judiciary is looking into amnesty for those prisoners whose families have been affected by the earthquake," the spokesman said. "For the moment, these prisoners are free on leave to help with their families’ problems."

State officials had been busy trying to quell fears the escaped convicts could pose security problems, saying they were most probably searching for their families. (AGENCIES)

Indians in Israel happy, demand voting rights

JERUSALEM, Dec 31: Indians in Israel are to demand for voting rights and a ‘reasonable’ fee for acquiring Indian citizenship, amidst a jubilant mood at the recent initiative by the Indian Government to extend dual citizenship to them.

President of the Israel-India Cultural Association, Roley Horowitz, who is going to represent the community at the Pravasi Diwas celebrations said that most of the Indian Jews feel that extending voting rights would firmly put them in the thick of things happening in India , strengthening their connections. She also emphasised on the need for fixing a ‘reasonable’ fee to make the initiatives successful.

The response to an earlier Indian Government initiative to provide PIO cards got a lukewarm response here and most of the people blame the unusually high fee fixed for the card responsible for it.

Speaking at the launch of a book India’s Jewish heritage edited by Dr Shalva Weil of the Hebrew university, Horowitz also lamented the lack of importance being given by the Governments at promoting cultural activities when Defence and Security Affairs steal away all the attention.

The book, authored by nine writers, explores in pictures and prose the rituals, architecture and contributions of the Bene Israelis, the Cochinese and the Baghdadis Jews of India, who despite being miniscule in numbers retained their Jewish identity while getting absorbed in the culture and customs of their adopted land.

Indian Ambassador Raminder Singh Jassal’s announcement of the new initiative extending dual citizenship to PIO’s of sixteen country, including Israel, was received with applause by a big gathering of Indian Jews who came for the programme from all over the country. (UNI)