Kurds storm UNESCO headquarters
PARIS, Feb 20 (UNI) — Angry Kurdish protesters stormed the UNESCO headquarters here demanding immediate release of their leader Abdullah Ocalan, now in Turkish prison, while Kurds in Germany continued their fourth day of demonstrations with some of them turning violent.

Bangladesh ‘Laden’s latest target’
WASHINGTON, Feb 20 — Terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden may have asked the fundamentalist Harkat-ul-Jihad to introduce Taliban-style rule in Bangladesh, media reports said yesterday.

Tarar vows ‘political support’ to Kashmiris
ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 — The Pakistan President, Mr Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, today vowed his country’s continued "moral and political" support to "Kashmiris’ struggle".

Study on growth hormones
NEW HAVEN, (Connecticut), Feb 20 — Giving growth hormones to short but otherwise healthy children adds only a modest 2 inches to their height on average, a study found, leading some experts to question whether up to 10 years of daily injections are worth the cost and the trouble.

Libya upset over UN assurances
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 20 — Libya has expressed dissatisfaction over assurances given by the UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan about the arrangements for the trial of two of its nationals suspected of bombing a Pan Am jetliner in 1988 and has sought further clarifications.

Clinton supportive of Hillary’s candidacy
WASHINGTON, Feb 20 — The US President, Mr Bill Clinton, has said he will be “strongly supportive” of his wife should she decide to run for the US Senate next year from New York state.

Record arms exports by USA
WASHINGTON, Feb 20 — US arms exports reached a record last year — 44 per cent of the global market — according to the Congressional Research Service.

• Last crew blasts off for Mir

Kurds storm UNESCO headquarters

PARIS, Feb 20 (UNI) — Angry Kurdish protesters stormed the UNESCO headquarters here demanding immediate release of their leader Abdullah Ocalan, now in Turkish prison, while Kurds in Germany continued their fourth day of demonstrations with some of them turning violent.

Security was tight at the UNESCO building, in the 15th district of Paris, after Kurdish protesters occupation of Greek and Kenyan embassies here and UN missions in Geneva early this week following the arrest of Ocalan.

Around 500 demonstrators gathered in front of the UNESCO building yesterday but were prevented by the police from entering the complex. However, 20 of them managed to sneak in and went to the seventh floor shouting pro-Ocalan slogans and waving Kurdish flags.

UNESCO officials met representatives of Kurds who wanted Ocalan to be freed immediately. They had negotiations with the UNESCO officials. They left the complex after an hour.

Ocalan, leader of the Kurdish Workers Party, was whisked away by Turkish commandos on Monday at Nairobi under mysterious circumstances. Turkey holds him responsible for over 29,000 deaths in the ongoing civil war in the south-east region, where Kurds are waging a battle for more autonomy.

Meanwhile, Kurdish demonstrators continued their violent protests in various towns of Germany even though Chancellor Gerard Schroder warned that those indulging in violence will be deported.

In the town of Heibronn, they damaged a Turkish cultural centre and attacked visitors injuring four persons, the police said. In Bremen, petrol bombs were thrown into the two Turkish travel agencies, causing extensive damage.

B’desh ‘Laden’s latest target’

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (PTI) — Terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden may have asked the fundamentalist Harkat-ul-Jihad (HUJ) to introduce Taliban-style rule in Bangladesh, media reports said yesterday.

The billionaire Saudi dissident, wanted in connection with the US Embassy bombings in eastern Africa in August last year which killed over 250 persons, has routed funds to at least one Muslim militant group — the HUJ — to carry out his orders, The Washington Post said.

India, Pakistan, China, Iran and the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia were worried that the Taliban would try to push in militants into their countries, it said.

The newspaper quoted Bangladeshi security officials as saying that they were unfamiliar with the HUJ until last month, when three of its members unsuccessfully tried to kill a leading Bangladeshi poet, Shamshur Rahman (70), with an axe.

During police interrogation, two attackers in custody said the HUJ had planned to kill Rahman and three other intellectuals because of their liberal beliefs, the paper said.

“I don’t think most of our people have become fundamentalists,” the soft-spoken Rahman told the paper, “but you don’t need to have many people to kill an intellectual.”

Clinton faces another sex charge

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (AP) — In the first-published account of her story, an Arkansas woman claims she was sexually assaulted by Bill Clinton 20 years ago while he was the state’s Attorney-General.

Juanita Broaddrick’s account of the alleged attack by Mr Clinton appeared in yesterday’s op-ed pages of The Wall Street Journal.

White House spokesman Joe Lockhart was dismissive of the story.

“I spend very little time reading The Wall Street Journal editorial page,’’ Lockhart told reporters. “They lost me after they accused the President of being a drug smuggler and a murderer.’’

The story of the alleged attack on Mrs Broaddrick has been circulating for years. She had refused to comment until now.

According to Mrs Broaddrick, she first met Mr Clinton when he visited the nursing home she ran in 1978. He was running for Governor at the time she was a campaign worker. Mr Clinton invited her to visit him sometime at campaign headquarters in Little Rock, she said.

Mrs Broaddrick said she was in Little Rock for a nursing home seminar the next week and called campaign headquarters and arranged to meet him for coffee at the hotel where she was staying. Mr Clinton suggested they have coffee in her room, she said.

In the hotel room, Mr Clinton forced her to have sex, Mrs Broaddrick told the journal in a detailed account.

In a brief interview yesterday with the Associated Press, Mrs Broaddrick said she did not go to the police at the time because of the mentality of the 70s. “There I was, I was married, I was also in a relationship with another man, and ... I was there alone in a hotel room with the Attorney-General and I didn’t think anyone would possibly believe me.’’

Asked why she was telling her story now, Mrs Broaddrick said she was countering rumours that she had been bribed and intimidated to stay quiet. She also did an interview with NBC that has not been broadcast. Mrs Broaddrick said she felt NBC had let her “hang out to dry.’’

NBC spokeswoman Alex Constantinople said, “we don’t comment on our news gathering.’’

As for Mr Clinton, Mrs Broaddrick said, “I don’t have an agenda where he is concerned. I could care less what happens to the man.’’

Mrs Broaddrick’s name first came to light in the 1992 presidential campaign, when a friend to whom she had confided wrote a letter recounting her story.

Lawyers for Paula Jones subpoenaed her and obtained an affidavit in which she denied that the President made unwelcome sexual advances toward her in the late 70s”.

However, during independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s investigation of the Monica Lewinsky matter, Mrs Broaddrick told investigators that the affidavit was false, according to a written summary of their interview with her. Mr Starr sent some materials relating to Mrs Broaddrick to the US House of Representatives, where they were available for members to review before voting on impeachment.

Tarar vows ‘political support’ to Kashmiris

ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (AFP) — The Pakistan President, Mr Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, today vowed his country’s continued "moral and political" support to "Kashmiris’ struggle" even as the Prime Minister Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, arrived in Lahore for two days of talks with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on bilateral relations.

Mr Tarar told reporters here that peace and security in the region depended entirely on the resolution of the dispute between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir issue.

The President, welcoming the bilateral dialogue as essential for resolving disputes, said it was a good omen that "Kashmir is on the top of the agenda," adding that it was "proof that India too has accepted Kashmir as a dispute."

He expressed the hope that the dispute would be finally resolved in line with the decades-old UN resolutions, which call for a UN-supervised referendum on Kashmir.

Study on growth hormones

NEW HAVEN, (Connecticut), Feb 20 (AP) — Giving growth hormones to short but otherwise healthy children adds only a modest 2 inches to their height on average, a study found, leading some experts to question whether up to 10 years of daily injections are worth the cost and the trouble.

The 10-year study in the New England Journal of Medicine is the first long-term look at the controversial practice of administering growth hormones for cosmetic reasons, a use that has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Dr Raymond L. Hintz and colleagues at Stanford University showed that about 80 per cent of the children studied reached heights greater than would have been expected otherwise. However, the results in individual children varied, and 20 per cent saw no height increase.

What’s more, few of the children reached the target height set by doctors based on the size of the child’s parents.

Dr Hintz called the results “somewhat disappointing.’’

The question is: Do we treat, understanding that it’s not a 100 per cent guarantee and that it’s years of treatment, or do we let nature take its course?’’ he said. “This is going to be a difficult judgement. I think different parents are going to give different answers.’’

The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends the use of growth hormones only in children who have a deficiency of the hormones, a rare chromosomal abnormality called Turner Syndrome that stunts growth in girls or a chronic kidney disorder that retards growth.

The academy warns that the hormones should not be widely used for cosmetic reasons because they could lead to tumours, diabetes, hip problems or difficulties with self-esteem. This study found no side effects.

Libya upset over UN assurances

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 20 (PTI) — Libya has expressed dissatisfaction over assurances given by the UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan about the arrangements for the trial of two of its nationals suspected of bombing a Pan Am jetliner in 1988 and has sought further clarifications.

Libya, which had proposed trial of the two suspects by Scottish judges in a neutral country, recently conveyed its preliminary observations on a letter by Mr Annan, assuring that prosecutors would not try to undermine Tripoli and would not interrogate them.

Mr Annan’s spokesman, Mr Fred Eckhard, said Libyan ambassador Mr Abuzed Dorda, had made some preliminary observations on the letter and “we are now studying those.”

Clinton supportive of Hillary’s candidacy

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (DPA) — The US President, Mr Bill Clinton, has said he will be “strongly supportive” of his wife should she decide to run for the US Senate next year from New York state.

Asked about his wife’s possible political career during a press conference with the French President Mr Jacques Chirac, Mr Clinton yesterday said he would support Mrs Hillary Clinton “as she has supported me for more than 20 years”.

But he said talk of a candidacy was “a little premature”, even though Democrats were urging Ms Clinton to make a quick decision so that others may mount a campaign should she decline to run.

“To me, the most important thing is that she decides to do what she wants to do”. Mr Clinton said. “And I will be strongly supportive of whatever decision she makes,” he added

Record arms exports by USA

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (PTI) — US arms exports reached a record last year — 44 per cent of the global market — according to the Congressional Research Service.

Britain accounted for 17 per cent of the exports, France 14 per cent, Russia 7 per cent and all others, including China, combined 18 per cent.

US weapons most in demand abroad are Lockheed’s 25 $ million F-16 and Boeing’s $ 50 million F-15 warplanes, the airborne radar and command and control system, the AWACS and Raytheon’s Patriot anti-missile system, The Washington Post said in a report.

Yet another missile system that was popular abroad was Raytheon’s Amraam, which was often sold in tandem with US fighters.

The future of the F-16 seemed to depend entirely on foreign sales. For instance, the US Air Force was buying only one of the 1970’s vintage aircraft this year but Lockheed Martin hoped that its 11,000 workers would be able to keep the F-16 in production with orders from abroad.

The United Arab Emirates had announced a $ 5 billion order in this regard.

The Pentagon had a separate office to push foreign sales of US arms. Although currently the United Arab Emirate’s F-16s were more modern than those the US Air Force was flying, the general policy was to maintain US superiority in each category.

Adm Jack Shanahan (retd) explained: “Your friend today could be your enemy tomorrow. (If the USA sells its latest planes), we then have to turn around and build another plane in the USA to retain air superiority. It is a vicious circle.”

Last crew blasts off for Mir

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan, Feb 20 (AFP) — Possibly the last crew of the Russian space station Mir blasted off today for a six-month mission, 13 years to the day after the first elements of the station went into orbit.

Russian Viktor Afanasyev (50), Slovak Ivan Bella (34) and Frenchman Jean-Pierre Haignere (50) lifted off as planned at 4.17 pm GMT to go into orbit nine minutes later preparatory to the link-up with Mir.

Today’s launch could be the last for the veteran Mir, although private funds are being sought to save it from the orbital scrap-heap.

Their return is currently fixed for August 7.

Sex as remedy
OSLO: Want to feel better? In the Norwegian village of Steinhamn, the doctor’s remedy is simple. Have sex, drink wine. Dr Nils Carl Loennberg (59) distributed his 23-point prescription for a better, healthier life in the village of 1, 250 persons, raising eyebrows and making national news. Dr Loennberg’s tips include drinking more wine, but less hard liquor, and having sex at least twice a week. His tips include more conventional suggestions such as getting more exercise and eating more vegetables. — AP

Study on babies
WASHINGTON: A recent report in “Psychological Science shows at the age of six months babies start mumbling “mama” or “dada” and understand their meanings as well. However, Ruth Tincoff and Peter Jusczyk of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore said parents who boast their babies can speak even before they are six months old, were in delusion. Mr Jusczyk, a professor of psychology, said six months was the youngest age anyone has been able to show that children seem to pair sounds with specific meanings. — ANI

Dustin Hoffman
LOS ANGELES: Dustin Hoffman, who graduated as a clumsy, love-lorn student and went on to take Hollywood by storm, is the latest recipient of one of the movie industry’s top honours: the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award. At a sparkling, black-tie ceremony in Beverly Hills on Thursday night, Hoffman (61) joined such film legends as Elizabeth Taylor, Orson Welles, John Wayne and John Huston when he became only the 27th recipient of the prestigious honour. Anne Bancroft brought the house down when she said not a word but walked up to Hoffen and gave him a long lingering kiss. — Reuters

Mummified bodies
MOSCOW: A Kazakh doctor has been charged with murder after police found the mummified bodies of four of the woman’s relatives in her apartment, a news report has said. The bodies were discovered after a police officer on a routine inspection noticed a strange smell and went to examine the apartment, the Itar-Tass news agency reported on Friday. On of the mummies was lying in a cardboard box and three more were seated against a wall. The owner of the apartment, a doctor by training, said she didn’t have the money to bury her mother and three sisters who died of an unspecified diseases. — HAP