Daily Excelsior... World

British officials
convinced July 7
bombers ‘homegrown’

LONDON, Sep 3: British counter-terrorism officials are convinced that plotters for the July 7 bomb attacks in London were "homegrown" despite an Al-Qaeda video claiming responsibility for the attack......more

CNOOC to donate 198,000
dollars to Katrina victims

BEIJING, Sept 3: China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), which recently failed in its bid to acquire US-based oil giant Unocal, will donate 198,000 dollars to those affected by Hurricane Katrina in the US.........more

Taliban kidnap Afghan
vote candidate, four others

KABUL, Sept 3: Taliban insurgents have kidnapped a candidate in September 18 elections along with a senior district.......more

Hike in oil price affecting
UN fuel budget
for Bhutan refugees

NEW YORK, Sept 3: Rising world oil prices are having a devastating effect on the UN refugee agency's fuel budget for more than one lakh Bhutanese..........more

Taiwan president pleads
for passage of arms budget

TAIPEI, Sept 3: Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has urged opposition parties to pass a freshly trimmed US11 billion dollars special budget to buy arms that........more

China says committed to
peace but warns Taiwan

BEIJING, Sept 3: China marked the 60th anniversary of Japan's World War Two defeat today with a reassurance that it was committed to peace, but warned self-ruled Taiwan -- which Beijing claims as its own -- against declaring statehood........more

S Korea to take over North
bomb defence from US

SEOUL, Sept 3: South Korea will take over defence command against possible North Korean artillery attack from the U S military, a South Korean defence official said today........more

Playboy looks to bunny
brand to boost business

LAS VEGAS, Sept 3: Forget the Playmates; the hot property at Playboy these days is the bunny.Revenue is stagnant at its flagship adult magazine, but Playboy Enterprises Inc. Is......more

Germany grants USD 307,125 for Bhutanese refugees ..........

Bush orders Energy Secy to draw fuel from petroleum reserve ...........

Joint force recovers huge cache of arms, ammunition in Bangladesh ......

China ropes in Lanka's support against time-bound UN reform...........

British officials convinced July 7 bombers ‘homegrown’

Describing the broadcast as "the Al-Qaeda leadership, post-event, trying to stake some kind of claim to the July 7 attacks," the officials said there was nothing in video telecast on Thursday of Mohammad Sidique Khan, one of the bombers, reading out his last testimony, to show that the outfit was more closely linked to the attacks than previously assumed.

"It leaves us in the same position," a senior source told the Guardian.

Officials still hold the view that the plotters were "home-grown" and say there is no evidence of any "mastermind" behind the attacks.

According to the report officials said that although Khan referred to Osama bin Laden, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Bin Laden’s deputy, and Musab Al-Zarqawi, the self-proclaimed leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, as "today’s heroes", the Briton from Dewsbury, Yorkshire, did not say he was inspired by them or had acted under their orders.

Officials are also convinced that there was no link between the July 7 attacks and the failed July 21 attacks, whom they regard as "copycat" bombers.

They base their view chiefly on the unplanned bombing of the bus in London’s Tavistock Square by one of the July 7 suicide bombers, Hasib Hussain.

What worries intelligence officials is Al-Qaeda’s ability to use the media to mount a huge propaganda exercise directed at a British audience and the Arab world, albeit weeks after the event.

Intelligence and counter-terrorism officials are now trying to find out when and where Khan made his video, and how it found its way to the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera station.

Answers to these questions could provide clues to links between Khan and the Al-Qaeda network, and to what Khan got up to during his three-month stay in Pakistan last December. British intelligence officials still do not know what Khan did or where he went in the country of his ancestors.(PTI)

CNOOC to donate 198,000 dollars to Katrina victims

On hearing that the hurricane has hit Louisiana and caused severe loss of life and property, employees of CNOOC donated nearly USD 99,000, media reports said here.

CNOOC, China's largest offshore oil producer, said the company will donate an equal amount to help the victims rebuild their lives.

CNOOC will shoulder its social responsibility to offer as much humanitarian help as possible to the victims, Xinhua news agency quoted sources with the company as saying.

The state-run Chinese oil giant's bid to take over Unocal for USD 18.5 billion created international headlines.

CNOOC withdrew its bid last month, citing "unacceptable risk" resulting from the "unfavourable political environment" in the United States. (PTI)

Taliban kidnap Afghan vote candidate, four others

KABUL, Sept 3: Taliban insurgents have kidnapped a candidate in September 18 elections along with a senior district official and three policemen in the troubled south of Afghanistan, police said on today.

The Taliban, ousted by US and opposition forces in 2001, have condemned the parliamentary and provincial elections and claimed responsibility for attacks on several candidates.

The candidate, Khan Mohammad,running for a seat on the provincial council in Kandahar province, was captured along with the district chief and the three policemen when they were travelling together yesterday, police said.

''Taliban caught these five and took them away,'' said Haji Padshah, police chief of Ghorak district. A Taliban spokesman said Taliban fighters had taken the five. A Taliban council, or shura, would decide their fate, the rebel spokesman said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

More than 1,000 other people, most of them militants but including 49 US soldiers, have been killed in a surge of clashes, ambushes and bombings this year.

U S and Afghan government forces have mounted a series of operations in the south and east in recent months aimed at clearing out militants and ensuring security for the elections.

U S and Afghan officials say the vote will not be disrupted. (AGENCIES)

Hike in oil price affecting UN fuel
budget for Bhutan refugees

NEW YORK, Sept 3: Rising world oil prices are having a devastating effect on the UN refugee agency's fuel budget for more than one lakh Bhutanese refugees in camps in eastern Nepal, who rely on kerosene for cooking and lighting.

The agency said it has approved more than half a million dollars extra to meet the shortfall but did not reduce the fuel ration as, it pointed out, there is already frustration in the camps and any reduction would have affected the refugees' daily lives.

The oil prices have risen by more than 61 per cent since January in Nepal and a further increase is expected with the crude oil prices skyrocketing.

"The main cooking and lighting fuel for the 105,000 Bhutanese refugees in the seven camps is kerosene," the agency said.

"It's always been a major part of our total assistance budget for the refugees - just under 50 per cent. But the oil price hikes over the last few months have really hit us hard, and we had to ask for about 675,000 dollars more than was planned for 2005."

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has already been exploring alternative, more sustainable fuel sources, in particular carbon briquettes. Current rise in oil prices will add urgency to search for viable fuel alternatives, it said.

"UNHCR never has enough funding. And these continuing hikes in oil prices are not going to go away. Even if we have succeeded this time in getting the extra money we need for the Bhutanese refugees up until the end of the year, we are still going to face the same problem next year," agency said.

The refugees, of Nepalese ethnic origin, sought refuge 15 years ago after being evicted from Bhutan. (PTI)

Taiwan president pleads for passage of arms budget

TAIPEI, Sept 3: Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has urged opposition parties to pass a freshly trimmed US11 billion dollars special budget to buy arms that would help counter the threat from the rising military power of China.

Opposition parties, which control a slim majority of seats in parliament, have blocked the budget for the arms package, approved for sale by the United States in 2001, questioning whether the weapons were needed.

''Time is not on Taiwan's side,'' Chen said late last night at an event marking Armed Forces Day. ''As efforts to strengthen Taiwan's ability to defend itself have been idled due to domestic politics, China has continued to modernise its military.''

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has vowed to bring the self-ruled island of 23 million back into the fold -- by force if necessary.

Chen said the government's decision to revise the budget -- which it slashed earlier this week from US$15 billion -- was a show of good will to opposition parties and he hoped the budget would be passed in the next parliamentary session.

''Political parties should take a rational and pragmatic approach to handling the arms budget,'' Chen said.

The arms package now includes eight diesel-electric submarines and 12 P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft.

The government dropped funds for six anti-missile Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) from the special budget, although it still plans to buy the systems, but they would be funded from the defence ministry's regular annual budget.

The defence ministry has already cut the arms budget once, from 18 billion dollars to 15 billion dollars in February, in an effort to get the package approved by Parliament.

The delay has fuelled worries in Washington that Taipei is not serious about its own defence. The United States recognises Beijing's ''one China'' policy but is also obliged by the Taiwan Relations Act to help Taipei defend itself.

Chen re-emphasized the threat from China, pointing to double-digit growth of its military budget and the positioning of between 650 and 730 missiles aimed at Taiwan as highlighted recently in the U S Department of Defence's annual report on China's military.

''Recently China and Russia have held joint military exercises, which are clearly aimed at the United States and Japan in any possible future war in the Taiwan Strait,'' Chen said.

It was unclear whether the plea would alter the opposition's stance.

Local media today reported that parliamentary speaker Wang Jin-pyng of the main opposition Nationalist party had said it was time for parliament to review the budget.

But newly appointed party chairman, Ma Ying-jeou, who defeated Wang in the recent chairmanship race, continued to question the need of the weapons, according to the China Times. (AGENCIES)

China says committed to peace but warns Taiwan

The warning came two days before President Hu Jintao leaves for a thee-day visit to the United States, during which he is expected to seek to play down perceived economic and military threats posed by an emerging China.

''By solemnly commemorating that victory, we will keep history in mind, never forget the past, cherish peace and create a better future,'' Hu told an audience of 6,000 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

''China did not seek hegemony in the past and it will never seek hegemony in the future,'' Hu, who doubles as Communist Party chief, said, reading from a prepared text.

Nevertheless, Hu said China would continue to modernise its military to avert foreign bullying.

He tipped his hat to Kuomintang, or Nationalist, generals for fighting the invading Japanese -- a departure from the practice of claiming the Communists were solely responsible for victory.

The Nationalists lost the ensuing civil war in 1949 and fled to Taiwan, where they ruled for five decades until they lost the 2000 presidential elections.

Hu warned Taiwan's incumbent leaders against formally declaring the island independent, but stopped short of repeating a longstanding invasion threat.

During his US. Visit, Hu is expected to ask the United States to stop selling advanced weapons to Taiwan, which Beijing views as a breakaway province that must be returned to the fold. (AGENCIES)

S Korea to take over North bomb defence from US

SEOUL, Sept 3: South Korea will take over defence command against possible North Korean artillery attack from the U S military, a South Korean defence official said today.

The handover is part of a partial transfer of control over the combined defence of the South against the North agreed between the South Korean and U S military last year, he said.

''The two sides agreed to go ahead with the transfer during the Ulchi Focus exercises and it will formally take place on October 1,'' the South Korean defence ministry official said by telephone.

Ulchi Focus Lens exercises are annual, computer-simulated drills designed to test US and South Korean readiness and coordination of command posts. They began this year on August 22 and ended yesterday.

The anti-artillery defence command aims to intercept incoming attack from more than 13,000 North Korean artillery pieces.

Many of the guns are deployed near the Demilitarised Zone border and are believed to be aimed at Seoul and key installations in the South.

The move involves the transfer of command and not the makeup of the combined South Korean and US artillery defence, the official said.

North and South Korea are technically at war under a truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea is the world's most heavily militarised country relative to population.

North Korea has declared it possesses nuclear weapons for what it calls self-defence against US plans to attack it.

Its official mouthpiece, the KCNA news agency, said yesterday Friday that the Ulchi Focus Lens drills were ''totally aimed to mount a preemptive nuclear attack on the DPRK''.

DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Washington has said it has no intention to attack or invade the North and its deployment of about 32,000 troops in the South is a deterrent against possible North Korean attack.

North Korea is involved in negotiations with South Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia and China aimed at ending its nuclear programmes in return for aid and security guarantees. The talks are scheduled to resume in the week of September 12 in Beijing.

(AGENCIES)

Playboy looks to bunny brand to boost business

LAS VEGAS, Sept 3: Forget the Playmates; the hot property at Playboy these days is the bunny.

Revenue is stagnant at its flagship adult magazine, but Playboy Enterprises Inc. Is popping the iconic bunny logo on everything from lipstick to jeans to lingerie as it looks to its legendary brand to boost business.

The success of two Playboy boutique stores, one in Tokyo opened in 2002 and a Las Vegas storefront opened in May, has encouraged the company to plan a small upscale retail chain.

Founder Hugh Hefner started the men's magazine in his kitchen. The first issue in 1953 offered a calendar picture of Marilyn Monroe in the nude, and the magazine known for its voluptuous centerfolds became a cultural touchstone in the 1960s and 1970s, when Playboy opened a series of clubs representing bachelor glamour.

Clubs closed in the 1980s, but Playboy is about to return to the scene with a four-story venue atop a new tower under construction at the Palms casino, a trendy resort off the Las Vegas Strip.

At a recent visit to the Las Vegas boutique, meanwhile, there was no sign of lagging interest in the iconic brand that conjures up the carefree life.

Moreover, the airy, bright space with plenty of pink -- and some fake wood paneling reminiscent of the Playboy Mansion -- is no man's bastion.

Playboy the brand is seeking women shoppers, and a number were browsing bunny martini glasses, golf bags, racks of apparel -- and lingerie.

''We as a brand should own the lingerie market,'' Lorna Donohoe, vice president of Playboy's worldwide retail and merchandising division, said on the sidelines of the Magic Marketplace fashion trade show in Las Vegas this week.

Playboy plans to open three stores annually over the next three years and launch a premium lingerie line, she said.

Sales of licensed products doubled in the region in the year after Playboy opened its Tokyo boutique.

In 2004, global retail sales of Playboy-licensed products grew to about 500 million dollars. Playboy, which gets only a portion of licensing sales, posted licensing revenue of 20 million dollars, compared with publishing revenue of 120 million dollars and 189 million dollars from the television-dominated entertainment unit.

In August, the company posted a better-than-expected second quarter profit, helped by growth from its licensing and entertainment businesses.

Pointing to vintage magazine covers and a pair of Hef's slippers for sale in a glass case on the wall of the Las Vegas store, Playboy Creative Director of Licensing Aaron Duncan added that designers drew on Playboy's history when building the stores.

''It is tapping into the emotional part of the brand so people can get a piece of the Playboy lifestyle,'' said Duncan. He saw infinite possibilities for the brand in fashion, fragrances, home furnishings -- everything but baby clothes.

Shoppers looking for something a little more decadent can snap up an authentic Playboy bunny costume for 30,000 dollars or slip into a pair of slippers worn by Hefner for a price of 5,000 dollars.

''We are trying to make the stores a destination where people can interact with the brand,'' Donohoe said. (AGENCIES)

Germany grants USD 307,125 for Bhutanese refugees

KATHMANDU, Sept 3: Germany has provided a grant assistance of USD 307,125 to Nepal to support 105,000 Bhutanese refugees living in various refugee camps in the Himalayan Kingdom.

The assistance is expected to cover the cost of supporting the refugees, living in seven camps in eastern Nepal, from August 15 till the year end, according to a statement issued by the German Embassy.

The German Embassy has handed over the donation to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) project entitled 'Humanitarian Assistance and International Protection of Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal'. (PTI)

Bush orders Energy Secy to draw
fuel from petroleum reserve

WASHINGTON, Sept 3: To meet the shortage of oil and hike in its prices as a result of damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, US President George W Bush has orderd his Energy Secretary to draw down and sell fuel from the government's strategic petroleum reserve.

Bush said that recent events in connection with Hurricane Katrina have resulted in a severe energy supply interruption.

He, therefore, finds that an emergency situation exists and there is a considerable reduction in supply which is of significant scope and duration.

A severe increase in the price of petroleum products has resulted from such emergency situation and such price increase is likely to or may cause a major adverse impact on the national economy.

For these reasons, Bush has directd the Energy Secretary to draw down and sell fuel from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (PTI)

Joint force recovers huge cache of
arms, ammunition in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Sept 3: The Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Rifles and the Rapid Action Battalion seized a huge cache of sophisticated arms and ammunition, including 20 AK-47s, in the dense hill forests of southeastern Bandarban hill district.

Official sources said 20 AK-47s, 7,716 bullets of the assault rifle, 44 magazines, six drum magazines, 18 oil cans and 27 cleaning kits were recovered from Jaruliachhari and Lembuchhari in Naikhyongchhari sub-district of Bandarban in a search operation which started on Thursday afternoon and continued till yesterday afternoon.

United News of Bangladesh said law-enforcers recovered 26 AK-47 rifles, one M-16 rifle, four landmines, 10 LG rifles, 40,000 bullets of different weapons and three bags of high-power T and T explosives from the forests of Jaruliachhari and Lembuchhari in last two months.

A total of 25 foreign nationals were arrested by Army and BDR soldiers.

(UNI)

China ropes in Lanka's support against
time-bound UN reform

BEIJING, Sept 3: China, actively campaigning against the G-4 draft resolution on UN reforms, has roped in Sri Lanka to back its stance against time-bound reform of the world body even as the two sides discussed possibilities of setting up institutional links between SAARC and Beijing.

According to a joint communique issued here late last night at the end of Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga's state visit to China, the two sides stressed that UN reform should be based on the principle of "widest possible consensus".

The communique, carried by the official Xinhua news agency, noted that on the forthcoming 60th Session of the United Nations, "the two sides agreed that the UN reform should be effected on the basis of the widest possible consensus of the entire international community including the developing countries."

China and Sri Lanka agreed to continue consultations on all issues of mutual concerns in international arena including on practical action towards realisation of the Millennium Development Goals, human rights and anti-terrorism, the communique said.

It said that the two sides also expressed their view that the next Secretary General of the United Nations should be a representative of the Asian Region.

The communique said the two sides welcomed strengthening of ties between China and South Asian States following exchange of high-level political and other visits and discussed the possibilities of setting up institutional links between the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and China. (PTI)