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Arafat critically ill, some powers handed to PM PARIS, Nov 5: Yasser Arafat was critically ill in a French military hospital today after falling into a coma, and a senior official said some of the .....more Noon wins international Punjabi society award for 2004 LONDON, Nov 5: NRI industrialist Sir Gulam Noon has won the international Punjabi society award for 2004 for his entrepreneurship, philanthropy and .....more Bush says changes inevitable in cabinet WASHINGTON, Nov 5: President George W Bush said that changes are inevitable in his cabinet in a second term, .....more Dutch
probe bombing AMSTERDAM, Nov 5: Dutch authorities are investigating a possible link between the suspected killer of a filmmaker . .......more |
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French Muslims fight Jewish bid to oust leaders PARIS, Nov 5: One of France’s largest Muslim organisations have rejected charges of anti-semitism brought by a US-based Jewish group seeking . .....more Reyat protecting AI bombing conspirators: Prosecutor VANCOUVER, Nov 5: Convicted terrorist Inderjit Singh Reyat did everything possible to protect other conspirators .....more US
marines set for NEAR FALLUJA, IRAQ, Nov 5: A senior US commander said today marines were making final preparations ...more US
Europe unprepared BARCELONA, SPAIN, Nov 5: Future widescale terror attacks will be executed by a person sitting behind a computer, not necessarily by a ....more |
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Arafat critically ill, some powers handed to PM PARIS, Nov 5: Yasser Arafat was critically ill in a French military hospital today after falling into a coma, and a senior official said some of the Palestinian President’s powers had been handed to his Prime Minister. Aides said the condition of the 75-year-old leader, a decades-old symbol of the Palestinian struggle against Israel for a state, deteriorated yesterday. But the aides and a hospital spokesman denied reports he was dead. They also dismissed reports he was brain dead, although the exact nature of his illness remained unclear. "President Arafat is in a very serious condition," said one senior Palestinian official, declining to be named. "He is still in a coma. The sense people are getting is that they are increasingly pessimistic." Dozens of Arafat supporters gathered in front of the hospital in the southwest Paris surburb of Clamart, waving flags and holding up pictures of the Palestinian leader. French President Jacques Chirac visited Arafat yesterday afternoon. "If he’s dying tonight, I will be here," one Palestinian supporter told French radio. "I like this man a lot." Arafat’s condition has raised fears of chaos among Palestinians locked in a 4-year-old uprising against Israel. Security had been boosted at Jewish settlements in the West Bank for fear of mass violence against them, Israeli TV said. The death of a Palestinian leader Israel and Washington see as an obstacle to peace could reshuffle the cards in the Middle East conflict. The former guerrilla is loved by most Palestinians and reviled by many Israelis. A senior Palestinian official said Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie, a leading moderate, had taken over some of Arafat’s powers for security and financing. Arafat has not named a successor and had earlier been reluctant to cede any powers. Palestinian security services held an emergency meeting late yesterday at Arafat’s shell-battered headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, security sources said. US President George W Bush, responding to the reports about Arafat’s death, said: "God bless his soul." "We will continue to work for a free Palestinian state that’s at peace with Israel," he said. While Bush has backed the idea of a Palestinian state as part of a peace deal, he has tried to shut Arafat out of the West Asia picture. Both Washington and Israel accuse Arafat of fomenting violence against Israel, a charge he denies. The Palestinians want Gaza and the West Bank — territories captured by Israel in the 1967 west Asia war — for a state. Arafat’s condition has also stirred speculation about where he could be buried if he died. Israeli and Palestinian political sources have said Arafat would probably be laid to rest in the Gaza Strip because Israel refuses the Palestinian President a grave in Jerusalem. Throughout yesterday, Palestinian officials issued conflicting reports and at one point Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker announced Arafat had died. He later retracted his statement. Doctors carrying out tests on Arafat since he was airlifted to France last Friday have ruled out leukaemia, but still did not know what was wrong with him, aides said. He was transferred to the intensive care unit on Wednesday. "He has no immunity whatsoever," one aide said, adding Arafat had slipped into the coma around 2 a.m. Yesterday. Arafat, short, stubble-bearded and usually seen in his trademark black-and-white arab headdress, was rushed to France last Friday suffering from severe stomach pains, diarrhoea and vomiting. Until he was airlifted to France, Arafat had been effectively confined to his shell-shattered Ramallah headquarters by Israeli forces for 2-1/2 years. (AGENCIES) |
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Noon wins international Punjabi society award for 2004 LONDON, Nov 5: NRI industrialist Sir Gulam Noon has won the international Punjabi society award for 2004 for his entrepreneurship, philanthropy and vision. The award was conferred on him by the President of the International Punjabi Society, European division, G S Gujaral, CBE (Commander of the British Empire) at the annual dinner and Diwali celebrations of the society at a hotel here last night. Present on the occasion were Satyabrata Pal, deputy High Commissioner for India, Piara Singh Khabra, Labour MP, dominic grieve, conservative MP, shadow Attorney General and NRI industrialist Rami Ranger. Reading out the citation, Rami Ranger described Sir Gulam as not only a successful businessman but perhaps the biggest employer of Punjabis in the UK. "Sir Noon is a social reformer and a man of vision, a role model and inspiration to us all," Ranger said. "There are very few businessmen of Sir Gulam Noon’s stature who put back as much into society as he does." The success of Sir Gulam Noon is a classic ‘rags to Riches’ tale. From humble beginnings in Mumbai, Sir Gulam has become a formidable business figure in the UK. Sir Gulam’s core enterprise ‘Noon products’ enjoy an annual turnover of 90 million pounds. For this venture and his contribution to business and society, he was knighted in 2002. He was the founder chairman of the Asian business association, which works under the umbrella of the London Chamber of Commerce, and in 1998 Sir Gulam was appointed to the main board of the London Chamber of Commerce for 18 months. Sir Gulam is now raising funds for the Oval cricket ground to establish a room, to be called the India room. In 1966 he received the MBE and 2002 he was knighted by the Queen in her jubilee year. In 1994 he was voted the Asian of the year and in 1998 he received honorary masters degrees from surry university, guildhall university and Birmingham and Middlesex university. Sir Gulam is married to Punjabi writer Mohni Kant. Speaking on the occasion, Pal described the Punjabi businessmen and industrialists as "jewels of the British and Indian societies" and lauded their contribution to the strategic partnership between the two countries. On the occasion, Rami Ranger suggested that British Government should consider declaring Diwali a national holiday. Dominic grieves concurred with ranger and said diwali, clubbed with the britain’s bonfire night be declared as a national holiday. Accepting the awards, Sir Gulam acknowledged the opportunity provided in Britain for entrepreneurship. "I am like you, proud to be a British asian. It does not mean I’m less Indian. Similarly here the society has given me opportunity to come up. If you have fire in your belly and take risk , you can achieve your dream," he said. Sir Gulam said Indians in Britain had made remarkable progress because they utlised the oppurtunity to educate their children here."Britain is the Mecca of education". (PTI) |
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Bush says changes inevitable in cabinet WASHINGTON, Nov 5: President George W Bush said that changes are inevitable in his cabinet in a second term, and republicans said there would be new faces but perhaps not right away in some of the top jobs. At a post-election news conference, Bush yesterday said he would do some thinking about the shape of his cabinet and senior white house staff during a long weekend at the camp David Presidential retreat outside Washington. "In the cabinet, there will be some changes. I don’t know who they will be. It’s inevitable there will be changes. It happens in every administration," he said. Many republicans think both defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell will leave, if not immediately, then after a reasonable interval. Chief pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said there are priorities remaining that Rumsfeld, 72, wants to do not only on Iraq but on continuing to reshape the US military from its cold war past into a more agile 21st century force. Di Rita said he could not state Rumsfeld’s intentions, but told reporters, "he’s at work. He’s doing his job. He’s thinking about the future. And there’s a lot of work to be done in this epartment." "What we’re doing in terms of transforming this department into a 21st century institution is closer to the beginning than to the end," Di Rita said. Rumsfeld’s Deputy Defense Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, would be considered a candidate to replace Rumsfeld, but as a leading voice for the Iraq war over Weapons of Mass Destruction that were never found, his confirmation by the US senate could be difficult. Powell, in many ways a lonesome dove in a Hawkish administration, was long thought to be on his way out. But there are indications he could stay on at least for a while. State department spokesman Richard Boucher would not speculate on Powell’s future but said Powell, in the morning staff meeting, talked about "a very active upcoming agenda of foreign policy that he and the President have planned, and that it will be our duty, along with the secretary, to implement." Boucher also outlined Powell’s plans for several trips abroad over the next few weeks and said the department’s agenda also included the Iraqi and Afghan elections in January and the spring respectively. They include appointment of international observers like former US President Jimmy Carter and a promise that US and British troops will be confined to barracks within four weeks of the election. "These demands are serious and feasible and what they are signaling is a willingness to play the electoral game," he said in a telephone interview. Indyk, at a brookings program, said January elections might inflame violence if angry Sunnis, who controlled Iraq under Saddam Hussein, feel alienated from politics and find themselves dominated by Shias. Suggesting polls should be delayed until the situation stabilizes, Indyk said: "It’s very important in this process to understand that elections do not equal democracy." But Judith Yaphe of the national defense university said Iraqis are insisting elections go forward, in part because they would legitimize the Government. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has suggested polls could be held as scheduled in some parts of the country and delayed where violence remains a problem. But Daniel serwer of the United States institute of peace said this is unworkable and would undermine faith in the process. Although Washington has insisted polls will for go forward in January, experts say security concerns and technical preparations may indeed force a three or four month postponement and this could be accepted by key Iraqis if they believe maximum effort was made to hold the polls in January. Rumsfeld and military commanders have hinted at a reduction in US troop levels — now at 135,000 — some time after the elections, if the security situation stabilizes and Iraqi units can handle more responsibility. But Chief Pentagon spokesman lawrence Di Rita insisted yesterday there was no time line for a withdrawal. Retired US Army Col Andrew Bacevich, a Boston university professor, said Washington may need to scale back its goals for Iraq in order to reduce US troop levels any time soon. To prepare for elections, the Pentagon has extended the tours of some US troops and there is speculation more forces may be needed. But bush told reporters on Thursday Rumsfeld and military commanders have not raised this issue with him. (AGENCIES) |
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Dutch probe bombing link in filmmaker killing AMSTERDAM, Nov 5: Dutch authorities are investigating a possible link between the suspected killer of a filmmaker critical of Islam and last year’s Casablanca bombings, a security source said. The source confirmed a report in the Algemeen Dagblad daily that the suspect, identified by Dutch media as Mohammed B., had connections with people who were questioned after the May 2003 suicide bombings in the Moroccan city which killed 45. Filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was repeatedly stabbed after he was shot as he cycled to work in Amsterdam. His throat was slit and a five-page letter suggesting a "radical Islamic" motive was pinned to his body with a knife. Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner yesterday said the letter found on the victim and another carried by the suspect expressed "an extreme religious ideology, in which enemies of Islam must fear for their lives". The suspect’s letter resembled a farewell by someone who was prepared to die for his ideals, Donner told a news conference. The other was directed at politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali and had "the character of a direct warning to her", he said. Hirsi Ali, a somali refugee, is a member of Parliament for the Dutch liberals and worked with Van Gogh on a film about abuse of Muslim women. She has police protection after many threats. Police said in a statement on Thursday that a 26-year-old with dual Moroccan and Dutch nationality arrested after the killing had already come to their attention in a probe in October 2003. That investigation concluded the suspect was linked to individuals who were possibly preparing "terrorist activities" although he himself was not involved in those activities. The authorities announced on Wednesday they had arrested eight north Africans who knew the suspect — six Moroccans, one Algerian and one with dual Spanish and Moroccan nationality. They said yesterday they were holding the eight on suspicion of possible terrorist crimes and said they had seized computers, video tapes, books and fundamentalist literature in searches of five houses in Amsterdam. The Centre-right Government faces mounting criticism for its handling of the case, in particular because the suspected killer was known to the aivd security service. Jozias Van Aartsen, Parliamentary leader of the VVD liberals who are partners in the Government coalition, said the security services had failed. "The mood reminds me a bit of May 1940. The Netherlands was completely taken by surprise by the German invasion. It seems to me that we are again being surprised," Van Aartsen told the Trouw newspaper in an interview. Parliament is due to debate the issue with ministers next week, probably after Tuesday’s cremation of Van Gogh. The suspect, who was shot in the leg as police tried to arrest him, is in a prison hospital. International police believe the Moroccan Islamic combatant group was behind the Casablanca attack. Spain suspects it has links with Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network and was involved with the train bombings in Madrid in March. (AGENCIES) |
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French Muslims fight Jewish bid to oust leaders PARIS, Nov 5: One of France’s largest Muslim organisations have rejected charges of anti-semitism brought by a US-based Jewish group seeking legal action to replace its leadership with more moderate Muslims. Fouad Alaoui, Secretary General of the powerful Union of French Islamic Organisations (UOIF), denied his group was anti-Jewish and accused the Simon wiesenthal centre of wanting to block the integration of Muslims into French society. The Paris office of the Los Angeles-based Wiesenthal centre, which combats anti-semitism worldwide, has urged France to investigate links between the UOIF and pro-Palestinian groups it says collect money for the militant Islamist group Hamas. "I defy anyone to prove the UOIF has anti-semitic positions," said Alaoui, whose group — which is popular with disaffected Muslim youths in France — is said to be close to the fundamentalist Muslim brotherhood. He said he would welcome a probe because it would show "that there are people here in France who don’t want Islam to be established legally or Muslims to be seen as full citizens." The Wiesenthal centre’s Paris office last week urged the Government "to launch an inquiry leading to the dismantling and possible condemnation of this organisation’s current leadership and its replacement by more moderate voices of French Islam." Its Director Shimon Samuels said the UOIF was "a radical political organisation" linked to the Muslim brotherhood spiritual guide Sheikh Youssef-al-Qaradawi, who has issued Fatwas (religious decrees) supporting suicide bombers. It also linked the UOIF to a pro-Hamas group banned in the United States. Samuels also provided texts from a forum on the UOIF website which he said documented the anti-semitic views it condoned. The Wiesenthal centre’s initiative was the latest accusation against Islamic preachers or groups popular with youths in France’s 5-million-strong Muslim minority. Two books have come out in recent weeks attacking Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss Muslim intellectual popular in France who was banned in September from entering the United States to take up a teaching post there at a catholic university, Notre Dame. Another popular preacher, Hassan Iquioussen, has been indirectly criticised by Interior Minister Dominique De Villepin for anti-semitic comments in his sermons that were exposed by the daily newspaper Le Figaro. Iquioussen has apologised for any comments which he said he might have made unintentionally. Le Figaro found the comments on a tape of his sermons being sold in an Islamic bookshop. Alaoui told France 2 television Iquioissen did not speak for his organisation, which is the main rival to the moderate grande Mosque of Paris group whose rector, dalil Boubakeur, heads the official French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM). Villepin did not name the UOIF or Inquioussen in Parliament last week when, in an apparent reference to the dispute, he said Paris wanted to eliminate radical Islam in France. (AGENCIES) |
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Reyat protecting AI bombing conspirators: Prosecutor VANCOUVER, Nov 5: Convicted terrorist Inderjit Singh Reyat did everything possible to protect other conspirators involved in the Air India bombing, including co-accused Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik, Crown prosecutor Gordon Matei told a British Columbia Court. Reyat, who pleaded guilty to Manslaughter last year after admitting a minor role in the bombing, was only willing to pin the terrorist attack on suspected mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar because he was dead but refused to indentify others in the plot, Matei told Justice Ian Bruce Josephson yesterday. Matei said much of Reyat’s evidence "must be rejected" because it is "not only internally inconsistent, but defies logic and common sense". Reyat was convicted in 1991 of building the bomb that exploded in a suitcase from Vancouver at Tokyo’s Narita airport on June 23, 1985 as it was being transferred to an Air India flight. During his testimony, Reyat claimed Parmar asked him to build a bomb after the army operations in the golden temple, but also claimed that Parmar’s request had come before June, 1984. Matei suggested that it is simply unbelievable Reyat could attempt to build a bomb for Parmar, but not ask what it was used for. He said the evidence all points to a conspiracy headed by Parmar, but which also involved Reyat, the two other co-accused and others who have never been charged. "The evidence proves that Parmar asked Reyat to build two bombs and it was the intent of Parmar and other co-conspirators that those bombs be loaded onto two Air India planes. Their intention was to destory both planes and kill all on board. Parmar received assitance in the conspiracy not only from Reyat, Malik and Bagri, but also a from a number of other co-consiprators. He also said that the fact Malik financially supported "Reyat’s family for years is proof of their link in the conspiracy," Matei was quoted as saying by Canadian daily `The Vancouver Sun’ "Reyat’s involvement in these offences was also demonstrated by the post-offence conduct of Malik who, for many years, provided financial assistance in the amount of many thousands of dollars to Mrs Reyat," he said. Altoghether 329 people were killed when the Air India jetliner crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 23, 1985. (PTI) |
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US marines set for assault on Iraq’s Falluja NEAR FALLUJA, IRAQ, Nov 5: A senior US commander said today marines were making final preparations for an imminent offensive against Iraq’s rebel bastion of Falluja and awaiting orders to strike. "We are almost ready. We are making last preparations. It will be soon. We are just awaiting orders from Prime Minister (Iyad) Allawi," Colonel Michael Shupp, commander of regimental combat team one, told . Allawi was due to meet European Union leaders in Brussels today and was expected to return to Iraq after that. The US-led offensive is designed to crush Islamic militant followers of Al-Qaeda ally Abu-musab-al-Zarqawi and Saddam Hussein loyalists who the Americans say are entrenched in Falluja, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad. Allawi hopes that pacifying Falluja will break the back of an insurgency raging across Iraq and stabilise other rebel strongholds ahead of elections scheduled for January. Shupp said he did not know if Zarqawi, whose group has claimed responsibility for hostage beheadings and some of Iraq’s most spectacular bombings, was in Falluja. "Capturing or killing Zarqawi would be a real boon," said Shupp. But he added that the offensive would still be considered a success even if Zarqawi survived it. "The operation will be over when the terrorists are crushed and Falluja is handed back to the legitimate Iraqi Government," he said. Marines halted an offensive on Falluja last April after an international outcry over civilian casualties, when local doctors reported more than 600 people killed. "My biggest concern is trying to make sure civilians are not hit. We will pursue precision strikes," said Shupp, whose regiment includes infantry, tanks and warplanes. Unlike in April, Marines say Iraqi troops, including former special forces who served under Saddam, will go into battle alongside them. In April, Iraqi units refused to fight or deserted in a major setback to efforts to rebuild Iraqi security forces. "They will take part in all operations, including on front lines," Shupp said of the interim Government’s forces. Many of the Marines who storm into Falluja will be seeing the city for the first time because it fell into full rebel control after the abortive April offensive. Most of the city’s population has fled. The Marines have been briefed on enemies said to include Zarqawi’s fighters, hardcore Islamic militants from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Egypt who are prepared to drive car bombs into tanks and humvee vehicle convoys. Saddam supporters, described by US and Iraqi forces allied with the Marines as Shrewd planners with military expertise, also have strongholds in Falluja. "We try not to distinguish between Saddam’s people and militants. They are all seen as enemies. They are not rifle-trained but they are a hardcore group that will fight," said Shupp. Aside from rocket-propelled grenades, roadside explosives and mortars, Shupp said he expected suicide car bomb attacks that have been on the rise against US mulitary convoys. "They will try this whenever they can," he said. US fighter jets, AC-130 gunships and artillery have been pounding guerrilla targets ahead of the offensive. Shupp estimates between 1,000 and 6,000 hardcore rebels are moving their ammunition around and digging in for battle. "We are going to give it to them," he said. (AGENCIES) |
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US Europe unprepared for cyber-attack BARCELONA, SPAIN, Nov 5: Future widescale terror attacks will be executed by a person sitting behind a computer, not necessarily by a suicide truck bomber or plane hijacker, a United States lawmaker has predicted. Counter-terrorism agents are grappling with a new type of security threat — a malicious piece of computer code capable of disabling the world’s critical infrastructure from power grids to air traffic control networks. "If you’re a terrorist, you don’t even need the bombs. If you can control the (power) grids, if you can do it from a computer somewhere, you can do a lot of damage," US Congressman Tom Davis, a co-chair of the US Government’s Information Technology Working Group, told in an interview. "We’re nervous about it," the virginia republican said. "The US is not where we need to be on defending against this (type of threat). Europe is not where they need to be on this. "You don’t want to wait for a cyber pearl harbor." With the US elections over, a victorious Davis has come to Europe to discuss further collaboration between America and the European Union on fortifying information networks against increasingly damaging cyber attacks. Davis said he would like to see America spend more of its 60 billion annual it budget on network security-related measures. And, he said, he’d like to see more of that money flow to European and overseas technology companies. He said European and Israeli technology firms may be perfectly suited to win more security contracts from the US Government because these regions have been dealing with domestic terrorism for longer. "There is some interesting expertise here," he said following a keynote speech at a security conference in this Spanish coastal city. Moreover, he said, the US has run up an 8 billion trade surplus in it products and services. "That’s all the more reason our Government shouldn’t just say ‘buy American’. That just invites retaliation," he said, adding that as the world’s largest consumer of it products, the US Government should shop around for the best software at the best price. But an equally urgent matter is for the Bush administration to bolster ties with europe in the area of cyber defences, he said. He pointed to a growing level of denial-of-service attacks on web sites and online con jobs that appear to be the work of organised crime as a sign more international policing efforts are needed. If some of these cyber tools fall into the hands of extremist groups, he continued, they could be turned into weapons used to interrupt business operations and topple national security defences. "The chances of this happening in the next 10 or 15 years is high," he said. "It’s just too easy a target. Just look at the precision they worked with on 9-11. This is more easily do-able than that." The network security industry, for one, has grown frustrated by the lack of international cooperation in this area. "Network security needs to be a cabinet or ministerial issue. Just because they may not be a technologist is no excuse," said Arthur Coviello, CEO of RSA security inc which organised the conference. (AGENCIES) Arabs remind Bush of commitment to mideast peace CAIRO, Nov 5: Arab Governments has reminded US President George W Bush on Thursday of his commitment to west Asia diplomacy, in the hope a second Bush administration will pay more attention to one of their top priorities. Washington promised a new push to revive a stalled US-backed west Asia peace plan, but offered few specifics. The official Arab message to Bush, who was re-elected on Tuesday, was one of polite cajoling and willingness to work with the United States to revive west asiatalks, which made no significant progress in Bush’s first term. But their emphasis on his past commitments, to a Palestinian state for example, reflected low expectations that Bush would take any bold new steps to end a conflict that has dominated regional politics for more than 50 years. Arab commentators and ordinary people were divided between those who believed Washington would change course and those who thought Bush’s views were too deeply entrenched. Some forecast the situation would get worse. Bush has said he supports a Palestinian state alongside Israel and an international peace plan known as the "road map", which imposes obligations on both sides. But for most of the two years since he began to ostracise Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, his administration has made only sporadic attempts to bring Israelis and Palestinians together. President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, who has close ties with Washington despite some differences, said in a congratulatory message he was confident Bush would now work vigorously on common goals including a comprehensive west Asia peace. An official in the United Arab Emirates, who asked not to be identified, said: "We hope (Bush) will live up to his commitments, especially on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah also proposed joint efforts to solve the Palestinian problem and "combat terrorism and also realise security and peace in brotherly Iraq". There were similar calls from King Mohammed of Morocco, who called Bush a "great friend", from Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and President Bashar-al-Assad of Syria. Qurie said in a letter to Bush: "Your leadership for a second term provides an excellent opportunity ... Now is the time for the United States to take a strong and more active lead in resolving the current conflict." Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said Bush had promised the United Nations and Britain that after the elections he would try to revive the west Asia peace process. "We hope that these promises will be translated into deeds," he added. Assad, perhaps the Arab leader with the most to fear from the United States, called for dialogue. "I have a big hope that serious dialogue and the commitment in the international law ... Would be our way to reinforce the relation between our countries and to work together for just and comprehensive peace in our region," Assad said in a message. In Israel, Justice Minister Yosef Lapid suggested that a change in Bush’s approach to Israelis and Palestinians was possible during the US President’s second term. "The situation with the Bush administration will be less rosy than it is now. Naturally a President in his second term is less open to influence and could take more steps to satisfy those who aren’t exactly our friends," he told army radio. He was alluding to Israeli fears that, to try to dampen Arab hostility and get more allies involved in rebuilding Iraq, Bush may step up pressure on Israel to dismantle Jewish outposts and freeze construction at established settlements in the West Bank. But many Arabs expected no help from Bush. In an editorial headlined "to the shelters: It’s Bush", Joseph Samaha, Columnist for Beirut’s as-safir, said Arabs should prepare for the worst. "Bush will go ahead armed with a popular mandate, and Bush ii may make us wish for Bush I in the way that Bush the son made us wish for Bush the father," Samaha wrote. Mushir-al-Masri, Gaza spokesman for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, said: "Bush has taken unprecedented steps on behalf of the Zionist entity. He believed in what he did and I believe he is not going to change." But Hafez-al-Barghouthi, editor-in-chief of the semi-official Palestinian daily Al-Hayat-al-Jadida, said a second-term Bush might be different. "Bush could ask sharon to pay for positions the President has taken and this could embarrass Sharon and blow up his unilateral disengagement plan (for Gaza)," he said. (AGENCIES) Muslim marine killed in thai restive south ambush BANGKOK, Nov 5: Suspected Muslim militants killed a Thai marine guarding a Buddhist temple in the largely Muslim south, the latest retaliation for the deaths of 85 protesters last week, police today said. Armed with M-16 assault rifles, the gunmen attacked the temple compound in a Buddhist village in Narathiwat province’s Ruesoh district around midnight last night and killed a 22-year-old Muslim private in a five-minute firefight, they said. The death took to at least 15 the number of people killed by militants since last month’s deaths of 85 protesters, 78 of whom suffocated or were crushed after being crammed into army trucks for a long journey into detention. One of the victims was a Buddhist monk who was shot and severely wounded after a religious ceremony in nearby Songkhla yesterday and died later in hospital, police said. More than 450 people have been killed in a wave of violence which erupted in January when militants stormed an army camp in the remote south bordering Malaysia, killing four soldiers and making off with 300 assault rifles, most of them M-16s. With no signs the mainly Buddhist Government in Bangkok is any closer to coming up with policies or answers to resolve the unrest, the daily cycle of shootings and explosions appears to be accelerating. The government has sent a team of investigators to determine what exactly happened on Oct 25 at Tak Bai police station in Narathiwat when hundreds of people, mostly young Muslim men, demanded the release of six villagers accused of handing Government-issued weapons to militants. Police appear to be carrying out their own investigation. Yesterday, journalists said they were invited to a news conference in Narathiwat only to be confronted by a team of police investigators from Bangkok armed with warrants. The journalists said the warrants ordered them to tell police everything they knew about the Tak Bai incident. "They wanted us to tell them what happened from the start of the protest and wanted all our materials, including film and video tapes we shot," said one. (AGENCIES) Militants fire grenades at Manila oil offices MANILA, Nov 5: Philippine militants angry at sharp rises in fuel prices fired grenades at the offices of two oil firms in Manila’s financial district this morning, but the missiles failed to explode, police and witnesses said. The attacks on the offices of Caltex Philippines, the local unit of US firm Caltex, and Philippine oil company petron corp were similar to an incident earlier this year that was blamed by police on Leftist rebels. "We cannot yet conclusively pinpoint this to any terrorist group," said southern Police District Chief Superintendent Wilfredo Garcia. "However, we are still investigating all angles and one thing sure is that the perpetrators of this incident are those that are against price increase." Police said they would beef up security in the Makati business district from today by putting up checkpoints and deploying specialist troops in the area. In April, three men fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Manila headquarters of oil firm Pilipinas shell petroleum corp, the local unit of oil giant royal Dutch/Shell group, and sprayed the building with bullets, but there were no casualties. Spiralling world crude prices have pushed inflation to five-year highs above 7 percent this year in the Philippines, which imports nearly all of its oil needs. "I really suppose that this is a form of protest against prices which we cannot really control because it’s really the world market that’s determining the price," Petron spokeswoman Virginia Ruivivar said on television. (AGENCIES) Britain hopes to push US on climate change: Adviser BERLIN, Nov 5: Britain hopes it can exert influence on reelected President George W Bush and push the United States to do more to combat climate change, the British Government’s chief scientist said on Thursday. Prime Minister Tony Blair has made tackling global warming and reducing carbon emissions one of two priorities for Britain’s year-long Presidency of the group of eight (G8) richest nations starting in January. The United States refused to sign up to the Kyoto treaty on climate change in 2001 and it was held in Limbo until Russia’s Parliament ratified the treaty last month. Speaking on the sidelines of a British-German conference on climate change in Berlin, the British Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser David King, said London was looking to take advantage of its close relationship with Washington as the Bush administration prepared for its second four-year term. "What I can say is that we are looking for advantages in the present situation," King told . "We’ll be in there very quickly discussing these issues with them prior to our G8 presidency," he added. "I think we can feel quite optimisitic about that." The Kyoto treaty aims to cut Co2 emissions by 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. The United States has four percent of the world’s population but produces a quarter of global emissions. King said he was encouraged by comments over the summer by Jack Marburger, Bush’s Chief Scientific Adviser, and by Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham. "It’s very, very significant the statements that emerged from the US administration over the summer ... Stating that they fully accept the scientific arguments for climate change and are keen to play a leadership role," King said. "So far we’ve been focusing on Russia. Clearly now the spotlight is going to move." (AGENCIES) |
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