South Asia

Taliban aide is arrested in bomb attack

October 22, 2004

KABUL, Afghanistan - Security forces arrested a deputy of a top Taliban commander Thursday in connection with a bomb attack that wounded three U.S. soldiers, and an American soldier died when an Air Force helicopter crashed on a nighttime mission to rescue an election worker.
Interim leader Hamid Karzai, meanwhile, nudged closer to victory in Afghanistan's landmark presidential poll with nearly two-thirds of the vote counted - although his huge lead narrowed slightly as the third- and fourth-place candidates gained some ground.
A homemade bomb destroyed two American Humvees in southeastern Paktika province near the Pakistan border, wounding three U.S. soldiers, one critically, and their Afghan interpreter, a U.S. military statement said.
Paktika Gov. Gulab Mungal said Afghan forces later arrested a suspect in the attack, whom he identified only as a deputy of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a front-line Taliban commander who served briefly as tribal affairs minister before the fall of the hard-line Islamic regime in late 2001. He remains at large.Second former Costa Rica president is detained.
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - Former President Rafael Angel Calderon was detained Thursday in connection with a corruption investigation, local media reported.
He is the second former leader to be detained in less than a week. On Saturday, a judge ordered six months of house arrest for Miguel Angel Rodriguez, president from 1998 until 2002, while prosecutors prepare a case against him for illegally sharing commissions on government contracts.
Calderon, president from 1990 to 1994, has been caught up in questions involving an almost $40-million Finnish government loan meant to help Costa Rica's social security system purchase medical equipment.
Elsewhere . . .
CHINA MINE BLAST: Rescue workers in central China searched Thursday for 88 coal miners who were missing after a gas explosion ripped through a shaft, killing at least 60 - most by suffocating toxic fumes - in the country's deadliest mine disaster this year. The blast occurred Wednesday night in the Daping Mine in Henan province, said Sun Huashan, deputy administrator of the State Administration of Work Safety.

BDWN

Two tankers taking fuel to Afghanistan damaged

PESHAWAR, Oct 21: Two tankers transporting fuel to a US army base in Afghanistan were apparently blown up by saboteurs on the Kohat Road on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday night.
The tankers owned by a private company responsible for supplying fuel to the US forces at Bagram base in the Parwan province of Afghanistan, caught fire at 10pm near a police checkpoint at Zangali on the Kohat Road.
"We are still investigating the causes of the explosions, which burst only the tyres of the vehicles," said SSP (Operations) Abid Ali. He added that he could not rule out the possibility of sabotage.
The owner of the tankers, Haji Kabul Sher, blamed fuel vapours for the fire which gutted the vehicles.
The government has allowed several contractors to transport fuel to the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.
But many oil tankers have been blown up by saboteurs in the past at Chaman in Baloshistan.
A day before the presidential election in Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army seized an oil tanker laden with explosive in the Spin Boldak area of Kandahar. Three Pakistanis, who were carrying the truck, were arrested.

BDWN

US pilot killed in Herat

KABUL, Oct 21: The pilot of a US military Black Hawk helicopter died when the aircraft crashed near Afghanistan's western city of Herat, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

The helicopter was on a mission to rescue an electoral educator who had been accidentally shot by his armed escort and needed to be taken to hospital, a spokesman told a briefing in Kabul.

But the Black Hawk crashed as it approached the scene and the US airman was killed, he said. The US military earlier said the accident was caused by technical problems and had injured two crewmembers.

BDWN

One Killed in Air Force Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2004 – An Air Force HH-60 helicopter crewmember was killed and two others were injured when their aircraft crashed during a medical evacuation mission about 11 p.m. Oct. 20 east of Shindand, Afghanistan.
An Afghan civilian who was the person being evacuated also was injured. The injured were taken to a medical facility at Kandahar Air Field. No information was available on their condition.
In a written statement, military officials in Afghanistan said the accident was not the result of hostile action, and that the crash is under investigation. The coalition routinely uses helicopters to move personnel and supplies around Afghanistan. The HH-60 was not on a combat mission, officials said.
Elsewhere in the country, three U.S. soldiers and one interpreter were wounded following the detonation of an improvised explosive device in the Naka district Oct. 20.
One soldier was in critical condition, one was in serious condition, and the third soldier and the interpreter were in stable condition, officials said. Two Humvees were destroyed in the incident.

BDWN

India's inflation rate dips as food prices fall

NEW DELHI 22 October 2004 - India's weekly inflation rate fell slightly to 7.10 percent due to a drop in prices of food and manufactured goods, official figures showed.
Inflation for the week to October 9 was down from 7.20 percent the previous week.
India's new coalition government has been desperately trying to keep inflation under control in the face of rising global oil prices, a crucial issue in a country which imports about 70 percent of its energy requirements.
It has eased tariffs on various goods and oil products in an attempt to dampen imported inflation while tightening credit at the banks.
The moves appear to be having some effect as inflation has come off a 42-month high of 8.33 percent recorded in late August.
Rising prices have become the biggest economic headache for the new government since it took office in May with a pledge to help ordinary people improve their living standards.

BDWN

Marble trade sucks Indian villages dry

20-10-2004 :Competing demands for water are a growing problem as scarcity increases around the world. Sanjoy Majumder explores the issues facing drought-prone Rajasthan as part of Planet Under Pressure, a BBC News series on some of the world's biggest environmental problems.
The highway from the Indian capital Delhi stretches across the arid rocky landscape that makes up the desert state of Rajasthan.
Trucks drive past, carrying heavily laden cargo from ports along the western coast of India to the national capital and beyond.
Kishangarh lies just off the highway, some 350 kilometres south-west of Delhi.
It is surrounded by rocky hills, part of the Aravalli range that stretches from Delhi down through Rajasthan to the state of Gujarat.
Rajasthan is one of India's driest states. It gets little rain compared to other parts of India and has been hit by drought several years in a row.
But in Kishangarh, as in many other parts of the state, the natural problem is exacerbated by human intervention.
Precious resource
The town is an important centre for the lucrative marble trade being conveniently located near marble mines and also because of its proximity to the main Delhi-Mumbai (Bombay) highway.
Large blocks of marble are brought here from quarries and cut and polished, before being ferried to customers across India. The local Makrana marble was, for instance, used to build the Taj Mahal.
But it is a process which needs large quantities of water - in an area which has very little of the precious resource.
The Anant Sree Sangamarmar marble factory is one of 400 marble cutting units in Kishangarh, which between them employ nearly a 100,000 people.
Most of them have sprung up in the last decade to cater to the rising demand for marble from India's rapidly expanding middle class.
"The marble is brought here from local mines as well as those located some 250-300 kilometres away," explains factory owner Anil Kumar Agarwal.
It is cut into blocks, polished and then despatched to wholesale marble markets across India.
Groundwater use
High-speed water jets are used to spray the blocks and keep them cool while they are being cut to size.
This one factory alone uses 10,000 litres of water a day, pumped entirely from the area's groundwater sources.
Groundwater is also the only source of water for the many villagers who live in the area and depend on farming for their livelihood.
"They use so much water while we barely have enough to cover our basic sanitary needs, let alone water our crops," says Gopal Gujar a local farmer.
Like the more than two million villagers who live in the vast district of which Kishangarh is the capital, Gujar is forced to buy water from private suppliers to supplement his daily supply.
Special tankers, drawn by tractors, make the rounds of the villages in Kishangarh every day.
They sell about 5,000 litres of water for 100 rupees ($2) - about the same as the average daily wage of labourers working on the land or in the factories, and a significant portion of the 600 to 1,000 rupees local farmers earn every day.
Earlier this year, during the summer, the situation had got so bad that the government shipped water in special trains to help the local farmers overcome the drought.
Dust problem
But environmentalists and local villagers say that is not the only problem they face.
The process of cutting marble generates a huge amount of fine dust which settles into the ground.
"It covers the ground with a fine layer, which prevents rain water from percolating into the soil," says environmentalist Lakshman Singh.
The factory owners say they are doing their best to help counter the problem.
The local association of factory owners is in the process of building a vast dumping ground for the marble waste and dust, which they say will prevent it from spreading.
But many argue that it is hardly going to prevent the dust from polluting the atmosphere and settling onto the ground.
Factories such as the Anant Sree Sangamarmar have also built vast tanks to recycle the water they use.
But environmentalists say it is too little too late.
"Twenty years ago, Kishangarh had two large lakes which supplied it with water through the year, even when there was little rainfall," says Lakshman Singh.
"Ever since the marble factories came up, they have dried up completely."
Green fields
So what is the solution?
Some 15 km from Kishangarh is the village of Tillonia.
Approaching it through the same arid landscape, you are suddenly confronted with lush green fields.
Here environmentalists have been working with local villagers to help recharge the groundwater by harvesting rainwater.
A network of pipes and drains transports rainwater to special pits and wells and eventually filters down into the ground.
On average, this part of Rajasthan gets anywhere between 150-400 millimetres of rainfall every monsoon season, in the months of July to September.
"In an 80,000 square feet area we can collect 700,000 litres of water for as little as 100 millimetres of rain," says Lakshman Singh.
Even during four years of drought the villagers of Tillonia never ran out of water.
"It's a traditional solution using local skills and knowledge and tapping the resources of the local community," says Mr Singh.

BDWN

Two die as troops hunt killers of Indian Kashmir minister

22/10/2004

SRINAGAR, India - Indian troops killed two Muslim rebels in Indian-administered Kashmir (news - web sites) as a hunt was launched for militants suspected of murdering a former state minister, police said.
The two rebels were shot dead overnight in the southern district of Poonch bordering Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a police spokesman said on Friday.
"The two were shot dead by troops during a cordon and search operation," the spokesman said.
Meanwhile police backed by troops launched an extensive search in southern Anantnag district to track down the killers of former state minister Safdar Ali Beigh, who was murdered on Thursday as he left his family home.
Police blamed militants for the daylight slaying, but no rebel group has claimed responsibility.
"We have launched search operations and specific raids to arrest the militants involved in the killing," a police officer told AFP.
Scores of pro-Indian politicians have been killed by separatist guerrillas since an insurgency against New Delhi's rule in the disputed region began in 1989, claiming tens of thousands of lives.
In a separate incident overnight, militants hurled grenades and opened fire at the home of ruling People's Democratic Party politician Bashir Mir in the central Kashmir district of Budgam, police said.
"The blasts and firing caused some damage to the house but there were no casualties," a police spokesman said.
Violence has continued unabated in Indian Kashmir despite nascent peace moves between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan. Each holds part of the region but claims it in full.

BDWN

Hindu-Muslim amity at Cologne Durga festival

Cologne, October 22

This year's Durga Puja festival, celebrated in Cologne by the Germany-based Bengali community with much fanfare and devotion, has turned into a veritable show of Hindu-Muslim amity.
Many Muslims are taking part and lending a helping hand in the organisation of the October 19-23 festivities at the Buergerzentrum Chorweiler - the local town hall - of this city on the banks of the river Rhine.
The festival has been held under the aegis of the Indischer Kulturverein - or the Bharat Samiti - a Cologne based Indian cultural association dominated by people of Bengali origin, though it also claims other Indians and even Muslims from Bangladesh amongst its members.
Association president DK Bannerjee, a businessman, said the festival reflected the "true spirit of reconciliation and brotherhood among people of all faiths".
"We have had Muslim volunteers from Bangladesh helping out in our kitchen and cooking food for five days on a voluntary basis," he said.
Many of the volunteers have taken leave of absence from their work for several days to help in organizing the programmed.

BDWN

J&K seeks Rs 6.24 Cr for madrasas

October 22, 2004

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government has sought financial assistance of Rs 6.24 crore from Centre for modernisation of madrasas.
"A Rs 6.24 crore proposal has been sent to the Centre for modernisation of madrassas run by Wakf Board. We want to develop madrasas into centre of theology and scientific knowledge by providing them teaching and infrastructural facilities," Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was told during a meeting of the board.
Sayeed called for better management of Wakf resources and said 100 hectares of orchards belonging to the board in different parts of the valley should be brought under cultivation and medicinal plants should also be grown in the 350 hectares of Wakf forest land at Baba Rishi, Tangmarg.
The chief minister also chaired the meeting of Wakf Council. The newly appointed Vice Chancellor of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University Masud Choudary gave an overview of the proposed plan for the university.
The meeting decided that the university would start its courses in management studies and information technology from the coming academic session next year.

BDWM

Assam government asked to begin peace process with NDFB :

New Delhi, Oct 21 : The central government Thursday gave the green signal to authorities in Assam to initiate formal peace talks with the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) after it accepted a ceasefire offer.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced here Thursday after meeting Home Minister Shivraj Patil that his government would also participate in the talks.
The government had given him "the go-ahead" to start the formal peace process, Gogoi told reporters.
"We are ready to begin the tripartite talks. The home minister and I also discussed the implementation of the Bodo accord. We have already created the Bodoland Territorial Council," Gogoi told reporters.
The council was created last year following peace talks with another rebel group, the Bodo Liberation Tigers, which entered a ceasefire with the government in 2000.
The central government asked the Assam government to make "restrained use of force" against the NDFB, which accepted a unilateral ceasefire offer from Gogoi earlier this month.
During the meeting, the first between Gogoi and Patil after the NDFB accepted the truce offer, it was decided there was a need to prepare the ground before talks began.
Gogoi said modalities for tripartite talks involving the central and Assam governments and the NDFB would be worked out with NDFB representatives.
"If necessary, we will release the NDFB leaders who are currently in jail," he said.
The Assam government had Tuesday offered safe passage to NDFB leaders to emerge from hiding and formalise a ceasefire agreement with the central government.
The NDFB has been fighting for an independent state for Bodo tribals in Assam for almost last two decades.
Peace efforts with the rebels were intensified since the NDFB claimed responsibility for killing more than 20 people in random strikes in Assam in the first week of this month.
Responding to a peace offer made by Gogoi to the NDFB and ULFA, representatives of the NDFB last week met the chief minister in Guwahati and announced their decision to accept a truce beginning Oct 15.
The ULFA, also fighting for a separate state since 1979, has spurned the ceasefire offer.

BDWN

Two criminals shot dead by police

India News > Varanasi, Oct 21 : Two alleged criminals were shot dead in an encounter and firearms including an AK 47 rifle were recovered from their possession, a senior police official said here today.
Manoj Singh alias Rinkoo Singh, carrying a reward of Rs 2,500 on his head, and his associate Sanjaya Singh were going to commit a crime on a motorcycle when a police team challenged them.
In the ensuing encounter the duo was killed on the spot, SP Ashok Pradhan told PTI here.
One AK 47 rifle and a point 38 bore pistol and several round of cartridges of the two weapons were recovered from their posession, he said, adding at least two dozen cases of murder, extortion and loot were registered against the duo at various police stations of the district.
However, policeman Rakesh Tiwari sustained bullet wounds in the firing by the two sides and was admitted in a hospital where his condition was out of danger, he said.
IG, DIG and SSP announced rewards of Rs 5,000, Rs 2500 and Rs 2500 respectively for the policemen along with out of turn promotions.

BDWN

Tata investment proposal needs cautious negotiation

Oct 20, 2004

The two-billion dollar investment proposal by the Indian conglomerate TATA in Bangladesh is obviously the highest figure so far coming from a single source but it requires cautious negotiations to put it into working shape .
Meanwhile, there are more such investment moves taking shape on the ground involving several hundred million dollars in different areas to speak of a fast changing investment climate in the country, concerned sources said.
Some of these investments include 200-million dollar investment by Orascom, an Egyptian telecommunication firm which bought the Sheba telecom in Bangladesh recently. Another Singapore-based telecom firm SingTel has signed agreement with Citycell to put 200 to 250 million dollars in equity to expand the network.
A Taiwan textile house is now setting up a state of art textile mill here at a cost of 20 million dollars. Some other Taiwanese textile giants are also on the move to set up factories here to cash profit from the post MFA period when Bangladesh's garment exports is likely to get a new fillip.
Meanwhile, La Farge, a French company, is building a 350- million dollar cement factory at Chhatak which is expected to go into production very soon. Some new hospitals are also in the pipeline with foreign direct investment.
Bangladesh received 441 million dollars FDI in 2003 which is about 135 per cent higher than the previous year and the highest-ever growth rate in the South Asian region.
But the Tata's proposal is so far the biggest in the FDI sector that merits serious considerations, official sources said. However, they called for cautious approach in negotiating the deals. The country stands to gain profoundly from it but the risks are also enormous from striking poor deals, particularly when gas supply on concessional rate on long term basis remains Tata 's one of the major demands, they said.
The Indian conglomerate is taking interest to set up a huge power generation plant having 1000 MW capacity, a steel mill with 4.2 lakh tonnes annual capacity and a fertiliser plant having one million tonnes yearly production.
They foresee a huge development potential in the country in near future and want to be partner to Bangladesh's socio-economic growth, Ratan Tata said while speaking out his mind on the new move during his recent visit to Bangladesh.
"This is a good initiative coming at a time the country is emerging as a potential developing nation," said a chamber leader but asked for careful handling of the forthcoming negotiations.
He said since gas supply remains at the center of the whole proposition, the government should take maximum care so that the KAFCO episode is not repeated. Moreover, the government can't discriminate against other investors now paying gas bills at the standard rate, he said.
The same sound of caution was also echoed by Finance Minister M. Saifur Rahman in his speech at the signing ceremony of the expression of interest (EOI) agreement.
He said the country lost too much to KAFCO when democracy was not at work in the country. But this government will not do something that will further jeopardise the country's interest - too much for too long.
The government will do everything to protect the interests of both sides, he said while welcoming Tata 's initiatives to set up basic industries in this country, he added.
In the domestic front, investments are also increasing significantly in textile and ready-made garments, service and small engineering, information technology, chemicals, particularly in cement factories, and agro-based industries sectors.
Much of it has been prompted with phenomenal success of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and other special forces' combating terrorism. The new investment climate can put Bangladesh into a turning point in the manufacturing and other service sectors in an era of faster growth.

BDWN

Bangladesh top on corruption: Moudud rejects Transparency report

Oct 20, 2004 :Bangladesh has retained its championship in corruption for the fourth consecutive year by scoring the lowest among 146 countries in the list of Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Transparency International. However, this year Bangladesh has been joined by Haiti, scoring 1.5 each in the CPI.
"Corruption is perceived to be most acute in Bangladesh, Haiti, Nigeria, Chad, Myanmar, Azerbaijan and Paraguay, all of which have scored less than 2," the TI said.
On the other hand, Finland, New Zealand, Denmark, Iceland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland have appeared to be the least corrupt countries in the world, scoring higher than 9 in the CPI 2004. The United States, which has scored 7.5, has been placed at the 17th position in the CPI.
In South Asia, India has occupied the 87th position scoring 2.8, Pakistan 129th position scoring 2.1, Sri Lanka 67th position scoring 3.5, Nepal 90th position scoring 2.8, Myanmar 142nd position scoring 1.7, and Bangladesh 145th position scoring 1.5.
CPI score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).
Launching the CPI 2004 in London yesterday, TI Chairman Peter Eigen said corruption in large-scale public projects is a daunting obstacle to sustainable development, and results in a major loss of public funds needed for education, healthcare and poverty alleviation, both in developed and developing countries.
"If we hope to reach the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015, governments need to seriously tackle corruption in public contracting," said Eigen.
TI estimates that the amount lost due to bribery in government procurement is at least US$400 billion per year worldwide.
In Bangladesh, the CPI 2004 was launched by the Bangladesh Chapter of Transparency International at a press conference at National Press Club yesterday.
Releasing the CPI 2004, Professor Muzaffar Ahmad, Chairman of the Trustee Board of TIB, said it is not important how much corrupt Bangladesh is and how much the country has scored in this year's CPI. Rather, what is its implications for Bangladesh is important for all.
Reacting to the TI's ranking of Bangladesh as the most corrupt country in the world for the fourth consecutive year, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Moudud Ahmed said the TI report is not acceptable to them.
"I don't accept the Transparency International's CPI 2004. It's not based on truth," he said.
According to TI Vice Chair Rosa Ines Ospina Robledo, across the globe, international donors and national governments must do more to ensure transparency in public procurement by introducing no-bribery clauses into all major projects.
Tenders should include objective award criteria and public disclosure of the entire process, argues TI. Exceptions to open competitive bidding must be kept to a minimum, and explained and recorded, since limited bidding and direct contracting are particularly prone to manipulation and corruption. Public contracting must be monitored by independent oversight agencies and civil society.

BDWN

Bangladesh death sentences given

20/10/2004
The 30-year-old case of four murdered Bangladeshi politicians has finally ended with death sentences for three former junior military officers.
High court in Dhaka sentenced the men, all of whom are on the run, for killing the aides of assassinated president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in a prison in 1975.
Twelve senior officers, 11 of whom have already been sentenced to death for killing Rahman, were given life terms.
Five people were acquitted of killing the politicians.
Only three of the 12 officers given life sentences were in the dock, the others are also on the run.
The five acquitted defendants - four politicians and an officer - had been given bail and were in court to hear the verdict.
All the defendants who appeared for the trial had denied all the charges. Police believe most of those who absconded have left the country.Dismissed
The main opposition party, the Awami League, condemned the acquittal of the four politicians, who included K.M Obaidur Rahman an MP of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
It called a half-day general strike for 3 November.
The BBC's Waliur Rahman in Dhaka says the judgement for a case that has gripped the country for decades was delivered amid tight security.
Judge Mohammad Motiur Rahman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Court read out the judgement in a makeshift court compound near the city's central jail after it had been deferred twice last month.
Those given death sentences were Risaldar Mosleh Uddin, Dafadar Marafat Ali Shah and Dafadar Abul Hasem Mridha.
All were junior officers in the army who were dismissed from the service.
They absconded when trial proceedings were ordered in 1996; two decades after the murders took place in Dhaka's central jail. Delays
The Supreme Court is currently reviewing the death sentences handed to the 11 senior officers for assassinating Rahman, the country's first president, who was killed with most of his family members in August 1975.
The sessions court heard that his four aides were then killed when they refused to join the then government of President Mushtaque Ahmed.
Ahmed and a former civil servant were also charged with the killings but both died before legal proceedings began.
The proceedings were only instigated in 1996 after Rahman's daughter, Sheikh Hasina, led her Awami League party to power.
The four murdered politicians - Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Mansur Ali and AHM Qamaruzzman - were all members of the Awami League.
Wednesday's verdict had been scheduled for 7 September but was put back to 21 September because of the illness of the judge.
It was further delayed following a petition by a defence lawyer.
The Awami League said the verdict had been dictated by the ruling BNP government of Begum Khaleda Zia.
The families of the murdered men say her government has interfered in the trial process to save some of the accused.
But Law Minister Moudud Ahmed said the court had never been influenced and the government had no political interest in the case.

BDWN

Sri Lanka extend lead to 164 runs against Pakistan

FAISALABAD, 22/10/2004 Pakistan (AFP) - Sri Lanka extended their lead to 164 runs against Pakistan on the back of an unbeaten half century by Sanath Jayasuriya on the third day of the first Test at Iqbal stadium here.
At tea, Sri Lanka was comfortably placed at 185-2 in their second innings, thanks largely to a resolute 75 from veteran Jayasuriya.
Mahela Jayawardene was at the crease with Jayasuriya on 37, with the pair putting on 87 runs for the third wicket after Pakistan express bowler Shoaib Akhtar gave the Sri Lankans a few early scares.
Akhtar, who took 5-60 in Sri Lanka's first innings, struck early when he trapped skipper Marvan Atapattu without scoring for the second time in the match.
Akhtar, who holds the key for a home-team comeback, then had Jayasuriya caught behind for nine only to see New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden signal a no-ball.
Kumar Sangakkara initially steadied Sri Lanka's innings with a polished 59, his 18th Test half century.
He took Sri Lanka to lunch at 98-1 but fell caught behind to an Akhtar delivery with the first ball after the interval.
For Jayasuriya, it was his 30th Test half century with his 166-minute innings so far comprising eight boundaries.
Resuming at 256-8 at the start of the day, Pakistan were bowled out for 264 for a lead of 21 runs in the first innings.
Pakistan's tail hung on for 37 minutes, with the end of the innings coming when number 11 Danish Kaneria was run out for one.
Akhtar was the ninth wicket to fall, trapped leg before wicket for 9 by left arm spinner Rangana Herath, who was pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers with 3-68. Scoreboard
Sri Lanka Ist innings 243 T. Samaraweera 100, Shoaib Akhtar 5-60, ohammad Sami 4-71

Pakistan 1st innings

1. Yasir Hameed c Mubarak b Fernando 58
2. Imran Farhat c Mubarak b Malinga 11
3. Asim Kamal c Jayawardene b Fernando 17
4. Inzamam-ul Haq c Malinga b Herath 32
5. Yousuf Youhana c Kaluwitharana b Herath 17
6. Shoaib Malik run out 48
7. Abdul Razzaq c Jayawardene b Vaas 39
8. Moin Khan b Jayasuriya 5
9. Mohammad Sami not out 5
10. Shoaib Akhtar lbw b Herath 9
11. Danish Kaneria run out 1

Extras b6, lb4, nb12 22

Total 264

Fall of wickets 1-28, 2-94, 3-109, 4-134, 5-188, 6-227, 7-246, 8-248, 9-262

Bowling Vaas 26-5-62-1, Malinga 10-1-50-1, Fernando 16-0-65-2,

Herath 27.1-5-68-3, Samaraweera 1-0-5-0,

Jayasuriya 4-1-4-1

Overs 84.1

Sri Lanka 2nd innings

M. Atapattu lbw b Akhtar 0

S. Jayasuriya not out 75

K. Sangakkara c Moin b Akhtar 59

M. Jayawardene not out 37

Extras b4, lb1, nb7, w2 14

Total for two wkts 185

Fall of wickets 1-0, 2-98

Bowling Akhtar 9-0-47-2, Sami 8-1-36-0, Razzaq 13-5-39-0,

Kaneria 9-0-40-0, Malik 4-0-18-0

Overs 43.

BDWN

Pakistani Forces Pound Militants in Tribal Region

Fri Oct 22, 2004

WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani forces pounded suspected Islamic militants with helicopter gunships and mortar fire on Friday, but have failed to find the mastermind of the kidnapping this month of two Chinese engineers.
The offensive began at 3 a.m. (1800 EDT Thursday) against a suspected militant hideout in Kotkai, close to the scene of recent fighting, said Lieutenant-General Safdar Hussain, military chief in the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
"We were told there was a large group of militants," he told Reuters. "We attacked them with artillery, mortars and helicopter gunships. They split into smaller groups who are now playing hide and seek with the troops in the gullies and ravines."
But it appeared that al Qaeda-linked kidnapper Abdullah Mehsud, a former inmate of Guantanamo Bay, was not among the militants, he said.
Abdullah is wanted by Pakistan for masterminding the Oct. 9 kidnapping of two Chinese engineers working on a dam project in the South Waziristan tribal area.
One of the engineers and all of the kidnappers were killed in an operation by Pakistani forces to end the standoff that tested ties with Beijing, one of Islamabad's closest allies.
South Waziristan, 250 miles southwest of the capital Islamabad, has been the scene of fierce clashes between security forces and al Qaeda-linked militants in recent months.
Witnesses saw troops digging trenches near Kotkai on Friday, apparently in preparation for more clashes with the fighters.
There are hundreds of foreign militants, some with links to the al Qaeda network, hiding in Pakistan's tribal regions, including Chechens, Arabs and Uzbeks.
They enjoy widespread support from local tribesmen, many of whom fought with them against the Soviets in neighboring Afghanistan.
U.S. officials believe al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and other senior figures in the network are most likely to be hiding in Pakistan and could be protected by foreign fighters in remote tribal regions.
But Pakistani officials say bin Laden is unlikely to be hiding in the tribal zone.
Pakistan has deployed more than 70,000 troops to its tribal belt since joining the U.S.-led war on terror in 2001, prompted by the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States blamed on al Qaeda.

BDWN

Feel of Kashmir soon through santoor notes

Friday, October 22, 2004

Jammu, October 22: The sounds of the Valley have been captured, and this time, it is the resonance of the santoor which would reflect it. The turmoil in Kashmir, the pain and the hope for peace would soon be expressed through the notes of santoor in the composition of Rahul Kumar, son of santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma.
Talking to The Indian Express here about his son’s latest composition, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma says the language of music has expressed each place in Kashmir with precision, be it Dal Lake, Pari Mahal, or Shankaracharya. The unrest in the Valley, and the hope for better days have been spoken about through music in the album Jannat, which would be released next month.
Sharma, who is in the city to receive the first Maharaja Gulab Singh Memorial Award, says the album on Kashmir comes after over 37 years, after he had composed ‘Call of the Valley’ in 1967-a theme based on traditional ragas.
Sharma, who is responsible for the international fame of santoor, says now there is a general wave of goodwill between India and Pakistan, and the artists can play an important role in promoting peace. “Music, art and culture create an atmosphere where there are no boundaries,” he adds.

BDWN

Militant attacks will not weaken anti-terror resolve : Musharraf

22 , October 2004
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has reaffirmed to the military his resolve to eradicate terrorism and not be deterred by militant attacks, local media reported on Friday.
“Pakistan is a responsible country and shall continue to play its rightful role in eradicating the menace of terrorism,” daily newspapers quoted Musharraf as telling a corps commanders’ conference on Thursday.
“We shall not allow these terrorists to keep our society hostage to their malicious agenda.”
Musharraf was speaking as Pakistan’s military continued an offensive in the remote northwest tribal region to capture or kill the Al Qaeda-linked mastermind behind this month’s kidnapping of two Chinese engineers.
Troops launched the operation against Abdullah Mahsud on Wednesday and local government officials reported on Thursday an exchange of heavy weapons at his suspected hideouts in the Spinkai Raghzai region.
Mahsud, a former US prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, orchestrated the October 9 abduction of the Chinese pair. One of the Chinese men was killed and the other was freed during a commando rescue raid five days later.
“Pakistan will not be deterred with sporadic terrorist activities aimed at tarnishing the country’s image and sabotaging the domestic peace,” Musharraf told the corps commanders.
Security forces have already carried out repeated operations against hundreds of foreign Al Qaeda-linked militants believed to have taken shelter in the rugged tribal terrain along the Afghan border.
Military officials said this week 246 militants, including 100 foreigners, and 171 soldiers have been killed in the offensives since March.

BDWN

Sri Lanka military to step up training amid truce

22/10/2004

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's military chief promised to step up training for the armed forces and praised his rank and file for upholding a truce with Tiger rebels despite provocation.
Lieutenant General Shantha Kottegoda said he was committed to a vigorous training campaign to increase professionalism in the military, which has evolved from a ceremonial outfit to an experienced anti-guerrilla force.
"No military in the world has gained the kind of experience we have had in the past 20 years in dealing with terrorism," Kottegoda said at a ceremony to mark the army's 55th anniversary on Sunday.
He thanked soldiers for upholding the Norwegian-arranged ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels and said despite grave provocation in the past two and a half years the military had acted with restraint.
The military chief said the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam had used the ceasefire period to test soldiers psychologically and to provoke them into action that would be advantageous for the rebels.
"However, you have considered the future of the country and acted with restraint," he told soldiers at the army headquarters. "I congratulate all my men and officers for the way they have upheld the truce."
He vowed to step up training for soldiers, saying that higher training was the best form of welfare of troopers.
He also pledged to increase language skills of troops, who are mainly from the majority Sinhalese community, and said learning Tamil could help improve relations with minority Tamils in embattled regions.

BDWN

Sri Lanka opposition offers 'carte blanche' to open talks with Tigers

Friday Oct 22, 2004

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's main opposition, which could make or break a deal with Tamil rebels, said it was giving the Marxist-backed government "carte blanche" to revive stalled peace negotiations.
Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe told President Chandrika Kumaratunga his party would not stand in the way but urged her to resolve internal conflicts within her coalition so Norwegian-backed talks can be revived.
"We have given you and your government carte blanche to proceed with the engagement with the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) in talks...," Wickremesinghe said in a letter to the president, a copy of which was released to reporters here on Sunday.
He said the negotiations could be on the basis of agreements reached between his then government in December 2002 when the two parties agreed to work towards turning the country into a federal state.
Wickremesinghe, however, said the new administration had serious differences on a federal structure as Kumaratunga's main ally, the JVP or People's Liberation Front, was opposed to any devolution of power to Tamils.
"There is no secret about the views of the JVP on talks with the LTTE," Wickremesinghe said. "What the country expects from you is to resolve your internal contradictions and begin the process (of talks)."
He also urged Kumaratunga to keep the peace process outside a national political debate as any open criticism would detract the country from the urgent need to resume talks with Tigers.
Kumaratunga last week launched a national advisory council in a bid to involve a wider cross-section of society on the ongoing peace moves, but Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) boycotted the meet.
However, Wickremesinghe said Sunday he was available at any time to discuss the peace process with Kumaratunga and wanted her to go for a public debate after reaching agreement with the Tigers of a final settlement.
The president sacked the government of Wickremesinghe in February after accusing him of making too many concessions to the Tigers and her Marxist-backed party went on to narrowly win the snap elections held in April.
Any political settlement with the Tiger rebels require the re-writing of the country's constitution, a move that needs a mandatory two thirds in the legislature. Kumaratunga's party depends on the opposition for such a majority.
However, her administration has failed to open talks with the Tigers. Negotiations have remained suspended since April 2003 when the Tigers abruptly pulled out. Diplomatic efforts since then to revive the process remain inconclusive.
Kumaratunga told the UN general assembly last month that the Tigers were refusing to resume peace negotiations aimed at ending three decades of ethnic bloodshed which has claimed over 60,000 lives. Tigers denied the charge.
The Tigers and government forces have been are observing a truce since February 2002. Kumaratunga has accused the Tigers of attacking rivals and killing over 250 people despite the ceasefire.

BDWN

Sri Lanka eyes petro-dollar loans to fuel recovery

22 October 2004

COLOMBO : Sri Lanka's foreign reserves are falling, inflation is galloping, balance of payments is in the red, but the island is banking on petroleum price boom to get out of the woods.
The country has no oil of its own and the sharp rise in the petroleum market has sent its energy import bill soaring to 1.2 billion dollars this year from an originally estimated 0.9 billion dollars and eroded foreign reserves.
However, the finance ministry's top official P. B. Jayasundera is hoping that the oil exporting countries with their soaring incomes would now be more willing to bankroll Sri Lanka.
"When OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) have more money, they are able to give us longer term credit and contribute more by way of development assistance to us," Finance Secretary Jayasundera said.
He said Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama would visit Malaysia soon seeking extended credit for oil imports. A similar request has been made to Iran.
The OPEC itself is being tapped for development aid.
"What we need is credit to tide over the immediate period," Jayasundera said. "We expect oil prices to come down from about February."
He said the government was not concerned about the high rate of inflation which he attributed to consumer-led demand and played down worries over the dwindling foreign reserves.
"At these high prices, there is going to be a decline in demand and inflation will ease. I am not concerned about inflation," Jayasundera said. "We expect this kind of (high) rates till about February."
Year-on-year inflation jumped to 11.6 percent at the end of last month compared to 4.8 percent a year ago. Sri Lanka's official foreign exchange reserves dropped to 1.95 billion dollars at the end of July, down 16 percent since December.
The trade deficit widened by 56 percent in the first seven months of this year to 1.28 billion dollars partly because of the higher cost of importing oil.
The Central Bank said last month that economic growth slowed between April and June to 5.2 percent compared with 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2004.
However, Jayasundera is still upbeat about maintaining the budget deficit at 8.0 percent of GDP this year and even reducing it further to 7.5 percent of GDP next year.
He said more than a million people in the public sector can expect a salary increase in the 2005 budget to be unveiled next month and that the government would offer incentives to the rural agricultural and small industrial sectors.

BDWN

Dateline Colombo: Commandos kill Tiger hitman

Web posted at: 22/10/2004

elite police commandos yesterday shot dead a renegade Tamil rebel who killed a regional commander from the main guerrilla group, an official said. The breakaway faction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) shot dead a local commander known as Jude in the eastern Akkaraipattu region and minutes after commandos gunned down the assassin, police Special Task Force chief Nimal Leuke said. The man killed by the commandos belonged to the breakaway faction of renegade commander V Muralitharan, better known as Karuna, who went underground in April after leading an unprecedented split in March. “We’ve been accused of siding with Karuna’s group, but what we have shown that all we are interested is in maintaining law and order in areas where we are present,” Leuke said. Diplomats involved in Sri Lanka’s stalled peace process have said the factional fighting was holding up efforts to revive direct negotiations.newspapers reported two major military developments yesterday — Army commander Shantha Kottegoda disbanding a controversial counter-insurgency unit and a well-known Tamil guerrilla leader threatening to leave the movement. The Daily Mirror said Lt Gen Kottegoda has disbanded the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP), a specially trained counter-terrorist unit formed by the Directorate of Military intelligence. A top defence official was quoted as saying that the unit was disbanded in a circular order by the commander with no reasons given for the move. The LRRP was the army’s Special Force that was feared by the LTTE. It had been operating from its base at the Wanni Security Forces Headquarters since the late 1990s.

A seven-member TNA delegation led by its leader R Sambanthan will meet the Malwatte and Asgiriya Mahanayake Theras, the two top leaders of the Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka tomorrow to discuss the current status of the peace process. TNA Jaffna district MP K Sivajilingam was quoted as saying the delegation would brief the two Mahanayakes of the situation regarding the peace talks and seek their help in urging the government to resume peace talks immediately. “The LTTE is willing to resume talks and President Kumaratunga has also realised there is no option but to solve the conflict through negotiations with the LTTE. Though there are different views about how talks should be resumed, the negotiations should start to sort out any problems,” he said.rackdown on adult films
The UNFPA government in a crackdown on adult movies show at local theatres said its Public Performances Board has only approved six films in the category of ‘X-rated adults only’ compared to 25 during the previous regime. Cultural Minister Vijitha Herath gave these figures when replying to a question raised by former commerce minister Ravi Karunanayake in parliament. The minister said a special unit had been set up to track errant film hall owners who were screening ‘adults only’ films without proper approval.
The price of bread, after many years, is to be brought under price control. A spokesman for the Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry told the Daily News that Consumer Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle had taken this decision as another measure of easing the cost of living burden. The minister will be meeting bakery owners shortly at which he will announce his view to maintain the price of a 450gm loaf of bread at Rs13. At present, there is no standard rate for bread sold in the market.

BDWN

Nepal govt announces truce

Kathmandu | October 22, 2004

Welcoming the Maoists announcement to suspend all armed operations for a week, the Nepal Government today said it will temporarily halt military action against the rebels during the Hindu festival beginning October 20.
"The Government takes positively the Maoists' announcement to temporarily halt military activities and asks the rebels not to avoid dialogue but to honestly come forward for dialogue to resolve the problems peacefully," Nepal's Minister of Information and Communications Mohammad Mohsin told reporters.
The Nepalese Government has decided to suspend all military actions against the Maoists during the Hindu festival starting this week and ending in mid November, he said.
"The Government is always committed to respecting the Nepalese peoples' constitutional rights to involve in peaceful activities," the Minister said reading out the Government statement issued after the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
The government has also made it clear that all citizens will be allowed to move freely and observe cultural-religious activities without any obstacle during the festival period, he said.
However, all violent activities including, abduction, extortion, threats, arms exhibition, movement carrying arms or involvement in any activity that threatens national unity and integrity will be prohibited, he said.
The Nepalese Government's statement comes four days after the Maoists announced a unilateral ceasefire. The CPN-Maoist President Pushpa Kamal Dahal, popularly known as Prachanda, had issued a statement on Friday saying the party would halt all military activities for nine days during the Hindu festival.
The Government's decision to reciprocate the Maoists' statement came after tremendous pressure from the civil society members, human rights groups and political parties including Nepal Communist Party-UML, the major coalition partner.

BDWN

4 dead, 25 injured in Nepal bus collision

2004-10-22

KATHMANDU -- At least four persons died on the spot and 25 others injured when two passenger buses plying at opposite directions collided with each other Monday morning in central Nepal, Radio Nepal reported.
The two buses met the accident on the Mahendra Highway at Judibela village in Rautahat district, over 100 km south of Kathmandu.
One of the two bus drivers and another three passengers including a child were killed in the collision, the state-run radio quoted a local police officer as saying.
The wounded are undergoing treatment at Hariwan and Chandranigahapur Health Centers, the officer said on condition of anonymity.
The accident occurred when the driver who was killed lost control of his high speeded bus and collided with another, he added.

BDWN

US studies Nepal refugee problem

22-10-2004 : A top US official arrives in Kathmandu on Monday to try to help resolve the 14-year-old old Bhutan refugees crisis.
Assistant Secretary of State for Refugees Arthur E Dewey will meet government officials and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Talks are set to focus on the refugees' repatriation and their resettlement.
Mr Dewey is also due to visit camps in eastern Nepal where more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees have been lodged for nearly a decade and a half.
US Embassy officials said after his visit to Nepal, Mr Dewey was scheduled to go to Bhutan and India.
Disputed survey
The refugees hope US efforts will lead to the resolution of the humanitarian crisis they have been suffering.
It was after the visit of a senior US official in 2001 that verification of refugees in one of the seven camps by a joint Nepal-Bhutan committee began.
The results showed that only less than 3% of more than 12,000 verified refugees were forcibly evicted Bhutanese citizens and that 70% voluntary migrated from their homeland in Bhutan.
Bhutan has agreed to provide citizenship to those who were found to be forcibly evicted but will keep in camps those who are verified as voluntarily migrated.
The refugees rejected the results, claiming they did not reflect reality. They claim almost all of them were forcibly evicted from their homeland in southern Bhutan.
Since the results of verification in the one camp were made public last year, the issue has been deadlocked.

BDWN

Japanese man dies of injuries received from beating in Nepal jail

October 22, 2004

KATHMANDU — A Japanese man jailed for alleged drug smuggling in Nepal died Sunday, nine days after he was reportedly beaten by another Japanese inmate at Nakkhu Jail in Kathmandu. Hajime Iwahori, 37, of Kanagawa Prefecture, was allegedly struck by a dumbbell around 6:45 a.m. on Oct 9 while he was sleeping.
He was one of three Japanese men arrested at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and charged with trying to smuggle hashish out of Nepal in April 2003. All three are still on trial. According to the lawyer representing Iwahori, another Japanese inmate covered Iwahori's head with a blanket and repeatedly pounded it with a dumbbell.

BDWN

Nepal to open embassy in South Korea

22-10-2004: Nepal is preparing to open an embassy in South Korea, a senior official said.
Minister for Labour and Transport, Raghuji Panta, who is visiting South Korea, expressed hope that the embassy would help in promoting bilateral relations between the two countries.
A formal announcement to this effect is yet to be made.
Addressing a function organised in his honour by 'Dakshin Korea Prabasi Nepali Samparka Samiti', in Seoul, Minister Panta said initiative had also been taken to start direct flights between the capitals of Nepal and South Korea.
According to Monday's Nepal Samacharpatra daily, Minister Panta said the government had enforced the `lottery system' to select the trainee employees to South Korea to `avoid irregularities.'
The Nepali delegation is expected to request the South Korean government to declare Nepal as a source country for labour import and increase the quota provided to Nepal to send 'trainee employees' there, reports said.
Nepal and South Korea had embarked towards planned economic development almost simultaneously in the sixties. While South Korea has transformed itself into an industrialized country, Nepal is now known as a country exporting 'unskilled laborers.'

BDWN

India, Myanmar to sign accord on non-traditional security issues

2004-10-22

NEW DELHI, Oct. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- India and Myanmar will sign an accord in the field of non-traditional security issues during the six-day state visit of Senior General Than Shwe from October 24, the first head of state visit from Myanmar in 24 years, the Press Trust of India reported Friday.
Than will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising eight cabinet ministers including those looking after industry, energy, rail transportation, communications, science and technology and health.
He will meet President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest and concern.
New Delhi views the visit as historic as it is expected to contribute significantly to further consolidating and expanding bilateral relations.
A cultural exchange program for 2004-06 and another Memorandum of Understanding on the Tamanthi hydroelectric project in Myanmar would also be signed during the visit.
The two sides are also expected to finalize an accord on counter-terrorism.
Myanmar is the only Association of South East Asian Nations country with which India shares both land and maritime boundaries.

BDWN

Myanmar leader to go ahead with visit to India

Fri October 22, 2004

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Myanmar's military leader Senior General Than Shwe will go ahead with a historic trip to India next week, which had been in doubt after a political shakeup in Yangon.
The Indian foreign ministry said Than Shwe, his wife, and a delegation including eight cabinet ministers, would pay a state visit from Oct. 24 to 29, the first by a leader of the former Burma in nearly a quarter century.
"This visit is historic in nature," it said in a statement.
"India has friendly relations with the Union of Myanmar. In recent years, the relationship has grown and diversified, based on the mutual desire to establish a long-term cooperative partnership, and culminating in Senior General Than Shwe's visit to India," it said.
This week's purge of Prime Minister Khin Nyunt could cast a pall over the trip to India, which has been pursuing closer ties with Myanmar despite some domestic opposition to the junta.
Khin Nyunt, who was also the powerful head of military intelligence, was sacked just over a year after he had announced the junta's seven-step "roadmap to democracy".
The military, which has ruled in various guises since 1962, pledged on Thursday to continue with the democracy roadmap dismissed by some Western critics as a way to entrench army rule.
Myanmar exiles living in India after New Delhi supported their pro-democracy cause in the late 1980s said they would protest against Than Shwe's visit.
"We are against his visit. We support Suu Kyi," said Thi Law, a spokesman for the Students' Youth Congress of Burma, referring to Myanmar's detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
New Delhi was among the first countries to condemn Myanmar's military rulers for their repression of pro-democracy activists in 1988.
But worried over the rising influence of China in Myanmar and prompted by a "look-east" policy that sought to boost ties with South East Asian countries, India did a dramatic turnaround in the early 1990s and pushed bilateral initiatives in trade, investment and security.
Than Shwe would hold talks with Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the statement said.
The two countries will sign security and cultural pacts and an agreement on the Tamanthi hydroelectric project in Myanmar, it said without elaborating. The Myanmar delegation would also visit the Taj Mahal city of Agra, India's technology hub Bangalore, Calcutta and the Buddhist holy centres of Sarnath and Bodh Gaya, the statement said.

BDWN

Ethnic Peace May Be in Jeopardy in Myanmar

22/10/2004

BANGKOK, Thailand - One of the few unchallenged accomplishments of Myanmar's military junta — securing peace with the country's armed ethnic rebel groups — may be in jeopardy after Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt lost his job this week.
The interruption came after Khin Nyunt, architect of 17 ceasefires reached with ethnic separatists, was abruptly ousted on Tuesday and replaced with Lt. Gen. Soe Win, who is associated with a more hard-line army faction disinclined to compromise with its opponents.
Myanmar officials have quickly underlined that policies won't change on some of the major issues facing the regime — a promised timetable for gradual democratization and the cease-fires with ethnic minorities seeking greater autonomy.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962. The current group of generals has been in power since 1988 and has attracted widespread international criticism for its widely documented human rights abuses and refusal to allow democracy. It held elections in 1990, but refused to hand over power when the party of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory. Suu Kyi is currently in detention.
Amid the government assurances, the Karen are taking a wait-and-see attitude to the new premier. But another group, the Shan State Army, believes the future is bleak.
"The generals are clinging to a military solution, we believe that once they settle their internal affairs, the military will launch more offensives on the ethnic nationalities," said the group's spokeswoman, Khur Hsen.
Soe Win traveled to Myanmar's north to meet with former rebels to reassure them that the government would maintain its policy of granting them limited autonomy and promoting development in their regions, a news report said Friday.
Soe Win told former rebels in the northern Kachin state that the junta's "policy toward the cease-fire groups will not change," Radio Free Asia reported, quoting Ngu Yin Taung Haw, a spokesman for the New Democratic Army of Kachin.
Khin Nyunt, who was also military intelligence chief, was considered pragmatic and willing to engage in dialogue with both ethnic rebels and Suu Kyi's pro-democracy movement.
"Khin Nyunt was the man who masterminded cease-fires — 17 in all — and reduced the wars on the frontier even if he did not stop the predatory behavior of the military toward civilians," said Josef Silverstein, a longtime U.S. scholar of Myanmar affairs.
Debbie Stothard, head of the Southeast Asian human rights group ALTSEAN-Burma, said that as a result of the change in leadership: " In addition to a hardening line against democracy movement, there is a possibility that ethnic nationality communities will also see greater military attacks, and therefore more refugees leaving the country."
Unrest among ethnic minorities, mostly along the eastern border with Thailand, has bedeviled the country since it gained independence from Britain in 1948.
The junta since 1988 secured cease-fires with most of the restive groups by granting them a degree of autonomy. In some cases, this involved turning a blind eye to production of illegal drugs, such as heroin and methamphetamine.
The Karen National Union — the only major group that hasn't signed a full cease-fire agreement — entered into peace late last year. Its 16-member delegation arrived in Yangon for a third round of formal talks just as Khin Nyunt was being ousted.
Returning Thursday to bases on the Thai border, they said nothing untoward occurred during their abbreviated talks, denying reports they had been held under house arrest in the Myanmar capital.
"We understood their elders were busy because of sudden (political) changes, and they asked us to meet again next time but the date has not been fixed yet," said David Htaw, the group's foreign affairs chief and head of the delegation.
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Nyan Win told foreign diplomats that government policy toward ethnic minority groups with whom it has signed cease-fires would remain the same.
But Shan State Army spokeswoman Khur Hsen said that "They sacked Khin Nyunt because Khin Nyunt pushed for democracy and national reconciliation with ethnic minorities."

BDWN

New Myanmar PM behind attack on Suu Kyi: US

22/10/2004

WASHINGTON - The new Prime Minister of military-ruled Myanmar was directly behind an attack on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her convoy last year, the United States charged Wednesday amid calls for UN Security Council action against the Southeast Asian nation.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington had a credible report that Lieutenant General Soe Win, an ally of hardline junta chief Than Shwe, was "directly involved in the decision to carry out the brutal attack on Aung San Suu Kyi and her convoy on May 30, 2003."
"We did look into the matter extensively," Boucher said when asked for the basis of the charge.
"I'm not sure exactly where that report came from but I think we find it to be a report that is worth taking into account."
Last year's attack by a pro-junta mob on Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders and members of her National League for Democracy party heralded the Nobel peace laureate's latest period of house arrest.
At least six democracy campaigners were killed in the assault and eyewitnesses said the toll may have risen up to 70 as government-affiliated forces set upon the convoy with bamboo staves and metal pipes.

BDWN

China's CNOOC Signs Oil, Gas Contract With Myanmar

22/10/2004 SINGAPORE - A unit of China National Offshore Oil Co. joined with two other companies Thursday in a production-sharing agreement to explore for oil and natural gas in Myanmar, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.
The contract was signed between China National Offshore Oil Co. Myanmar Ltd., China Huanqiu Contracting and Engineering Corp., Golden Aaron Pte. Ltd. of Singapore and state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.
Under the contract, oil and gas exploration will be carried out at Block M, an onshore block in Kyaukpyu in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine state, Xinhua said. The onshore block covers about 7,760 square kilometers.
The report didn't provide any further details.
With 19 onshore and three main large offshore oil and gas fields, Myanmar possesses a total of 2.46 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves and 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserves in the country's offshore and onshore areas, according to official statistics, the report said.
Xinhua said the statistics also show that Myanmar produced 9.79 billion cubic meters of gas and 7.2 million barrels of crude oil in 2003.

BDWN

Bhutan nod to SSB patrol along border

OCTOBER 22: India and Bhutan have agreed to undertake specific measures to strengthen security along the border, including the deployment of SSB forces from the Indian side.
This was agreed during External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh’s brief visit to Bhutan on Tuesday. He held a two-hour meeting with Bhutan King Jigme Singye Wangchuk. Apart from SSB deployment, the two sides have also set up a regular consultation mechanism among officials of border districts.

BDWN

India, Bhutan move to improve relations

20/10/2004

India and Bhutan are to promote greater contact between their citizens through a newly established foundation.
India's ministry of external affairs says the foundation will focus on education, cultural exchanges and environmental preservation.
It is hoped the foundation will help foster a deeper understanding of each country's culture and ethos.
In December last year Bhutan launched its first military operation against Indian rebels after they ignored six years of demands to leave bases in the kingdom.
They had used the bases to stage hit-and-run attacks in the neighbouring Indian states of Assam and West Bengal.
Bhutanese troops destroyed about 30 camps belonging to outlawed groups, including the United Liberation Front of Asom and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, which are blamed for recent violence which has claimed more than 60 lives.

BDWN