Controversial WB loan cleared
WASHINGTON, June 25 — The World Bank has approved a $ 160 million loan for China’s poverty alleviation project after deciding to withhold that part of the money which would, according to the USA, be used in a way that would harm Tibetans’ interests.

N Korea condemns US build-up
GENEVA, June 25 — North Korea has said the USA is building up a large “armada’’ off the Korean peninsula after achieving its military goals in Kosovo.

6 US embassies closed for security reasons
WASHINGTON, June 25 — The USA has temporarily closed six of its embassies because of security concerns, the State Department said yesterday.

Obey Jiang Zemin, says ‘Panchen Lama’
BEIJING, June 25 — One week after his return to Tibet, the Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama has urged Tibetan Buddhists to obey President Jiang Zemin, the official media said today.

Man executed for raping daughters
MANILA, June 25 — A 46-year-old man who raped or molested his three teenage daughters was put to death by lethal injection today in the Philippines’ second execution in four months. Eduardo Agbayani was declared dead at 3:11 P.M. (local).

Zinni tells Pak to defuse tension

ISLAMABAD, June 25 (PTI) — The USA which has adopted a tough stand against Islamabad on the Kargil issue, today told Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif to take steps to "de-escalate the current tension on the Line of Control (LoC)", but the latter said unless the Kashmir problem was resolved in the "shortest possible time" such situations would continue to erupt.

The high-level American mission led by Commander-in-Chief of the US Central Command (Centcom) General Anthony Zinni conveyed to Mr Sharif a message from President Bill Clinton underscoring the need for "de-escalation of the current situation in Kashmir and the importance of a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute".

But a Pakistani official statement said Mr Sharif told Gen Zinni that "the confrontation in Kargil is symptomatic of problems that have bedevilled Pakistan-India relations over Kashmir."

"Unless a peaceful solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is reached in the shortest possible time, situations like Kargil would continue to erupt, threatening peace and endangering the stability of the region," he said.

He also told the US team, that included Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gibson Lanpher, that a "balanced and constructive approach" was needed to bring peace in South Asia.

Mr Sharif said a final settlement of the Kashmir problem had to be as per the 50-year-old United Nations resolutions by giving the right of self-determination to Kashmiris, and also demanded stationing of neutral observers on the Line of Control (LoC) which he alleged India had violated.

Mr Sharif also claimed Pakistan was committed to its obligations under the Simla agreement which entailed mutual respect for the LoC pending the final settlement of the Kashmir issue.

The statement said Gen Zinni undertook to convey Pakistan’s point of view to Mr Clinton who, he said, was interested in promoting a comprehensive solution of the Kashmir dispute.

Last night, Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Tariq Altaf had said that the message brought by the US team was "not fair and balanced".

EU, too, for withdrawal

BONN: The European Union (EU) has called for immediate withdrawal of Pakistan-backed infiltrators from Kargil and urged Delhi and Islamabad to show the maximum restraint and resume a dialogue in accordance with bilateral commitments and the Lahore Declaration.

"The EU calls for immediate withdrawal of the infiltrators and urges both countries to work for the immediate cessation of fighting to fully respect the Line of Control (LoC) and to prevent further trans-border infiltration," an EU presidency statement issued here on Thursday said.

Sharif turns to US Senator

ISLAMABAD: Facing severe pressure from the Clinton Administration to withdraw infiltrators from Kargil, Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif has turned to a senior Democratic Party Senator to urge the USA to play a mediatory role between India and Pakistan to defuse the crisis.

Mr Sharif on Thursday night had a lengthy telephonic talk with Senator Tom Harkin, a prominent member of the Pakistani Caucus in Capitol Hill, and conveyed to him his desire to resume the dialogue with India and bring peace and stability to South Asia so that defence spending by both countries could be slashed, media reports here said.

Kids denounce Pak

MUMBAI: Over 5,000 schoolchildren from central and north central Mumbai joined hands on Friday to express solidarity with jawans fighting Pakistani intruders in Kargil.

The procession which denounced Pakistan was organised by the Shiv Sena local unit in Dadar, Central Mumbai and it started from Five Garderns, Matunga at 11 am and wending its way from the city’s busy thoroughfares in Dadar T.T., Plaza Cinema converged into a gathering at Shiv Sena Bhavan.

Pakistan reviving ‘Khalistan’

ISLAMABAD, June 25 (UNI) — The Pakistani army appears to be trying to encourage revival of the “Khalistan” movement in Indian Punjab to divert the Army’s attention from its operations to evict Pak-supported invaders from the Kargil-Dras region.

The Jamaat-i-Islami, which has closed links with the Pakistani army and has been playing a leading role in Islamic militancy in Kashmir, assured a recent gathering of separatist Sikhs in a Lahore hotel, “do not consider yourselves alone in the fight for freedom: all Muslims of the world are with you”.

The Sikh separatists had collected in Lahore from different parts of the world to attend “sang sabha” organised by the Dal Khalsa, the Babar Khalsa and International Sikh Youth Federation in connection with the 15th anniversary of Operation Bluestar.

The chief of the Lahore unit of the Jammat-i-Islami , Frid Piracha, addressed the sabha and told the Sikhs that the Muslims were with them. A Jamaat-i-Islami poet declared at the meeting, “Now Jammat-i-Islami and Sikhs have become one”.

Lahore’s Urdu daily Pakistan, which reported this gathering later in a news letter, captioned the report: “When will Khalsa wake up?”.

In the Urdu daily Nawa-i-Waqt, former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Hamid Gul wrote an article, saying, “Now is the time the Kashmir Mujahedin established contacts with ‘Khalistanis’”.

During the early 1980s Gen Zia-ul-Haq had used the Muslim League leader from Punjab Choudhry Zahoor Elahi to keep in touch with visiting Sikhs and try to poison their minds about India. The army has now apparently given this role to the Jammat-i-Islami.

Ackerman opposes aid to Pak

WASHINGTON, June 25 (UNI) — Democratic Congressman Gary Ackerman last night circulated a draft resolution among fellow lawmakers which calls upon various financial institutions, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank, to withhold grant of all loans to Pakistan until it withdraws its forces from the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC).

Mr Ackerman, who is Chairman of the congressional caucus on India and Indian-Americans, wants to muster support for the document before it is placed before the House of Representatives for its formal approval.

It accuses the Government of Pakistan for “encouraging and assisting’’ the Islamic fundamentalists who had infiltrated into the Indian territory, leading to the present war-like situation.

It says there is no dispute over the demarcation of the LoC in the area where the insurgents crossed from Pakistan. “The LoC must not be altered by force and the unity and territorial integrity of India is non-negotiable,’’ it says.

The draft demands withdrawal of all Pakistani troops from the Indian territory and commends the Indian security forces for showing “remarkable restraint’’ in dealing with the armed provocation.

It insists a meaningful dialogue between India and Pakistan can begin only after Pakistan completely pulls back all its forces from inside the Indian side of the LoC.

It asks all parties to respect the spirit of the “Lahore declaration,’’ by refraining from intervention in each other’s internal affairs, both governments should reaffirm their condemnation of terrorism “in all its forms and manifestations and their determination to combat the menace.’’

The draft urges the two countries to exercise restraint, pending a diplomatic solution of the Kargil crisis, and India and Pakistan should resolve to settle all their differences within the framework of the 1972 Shimla agreement, which rules out third-party intervention in their bilateral disputes.

Disarmament talks fail

BONN, June 25 (PTI) — The 61-nation Conference on Disarmament (CD) has failed to break an impasse over beginning substantive talks on nuclear disarmament with major nuclear states stalling a consensus on negotiations for complete elimination of all such weapons.

The Geneva-based CD, which includes India, ended its second six-week long plenary session for 1999 yesterday without arriving at an agreement on establishing an ad hoc committee to discuss steps for universal and non-discriminatory global nuclear disarmament.

While India and the Group of 21 developing countries (G-21) within the CD have clearly committed themselves to going ahead with the creation of a negotiating committee based on principled positions, the nuclear states are yet to give their support to it.

“The current impasse in efforts for the CD’s programme of work are related to inflexible positions of a few delegations that have prevented agreement being reached on the two outstanding issues — nuclear disarmament and outer space,” India’s permanent representative to the CD, Ms Savitri Kunadi, said on the last day of the plenary session.

She did not identify the delegations but the reference to the five nuclear powers was obvious.

A consensus on starting talks on issues relating to outer space such as ballistic missile defence (BMD) systems also eluded the conference following serious differences between China and the USA. Washington is opposed to setting up any group to deal with the issue.

Ms Kunadi said the CD should begin talks for an agreement on a convention prohibiting the use or threat of nuclear weapons under any circumstances as demanded by the UN General Assembly. A resolution to this effect was co-sponsored by several nations, including India.

“Actions of individual states or groupings of states asserting the right to exclusive standards of national security at the expense of security of others does not promote realisation of the international disarmament agenda,” she said.

“We hope a decision on setting up an ad hoc working group will be a stepping stone for future work for negotiations on disarmament. This clearly shows our constructive approach towards finding a way out of the present impasse,” she said.

The CD has so far only agreed to hold talks on a fissile material cut-off treaty and on enlarging its membership.

Controversial WB loan cleared

WASHINGTON, June 25 (PTI) — The World Bank has approved a $ 160 million loan for China’s poverty alleviation project after deciding to withhold that part of the money which would, according to the USA, be used in a way that would harm Tibetans’ interests.

“In an unusual move, the Board of Directors agreed that no work be done and no funds disbursed for the $ 40 million Qinghai component of the project until the board decides on the results of any review by the independent inspection panel,” a bank Press release said.

The loan had been approved “to benefit almost 1.7 million of the poorest people in China,” it added.

The controversial part of the project, which will relocate some 58,000 poor Chinese farmers in Qinghai province to an area bordering Tibet, has been criticised by environmental and Tibetan groups and placed before a three-member independent panel.

The USA had also opposed the loan on the ground that it would dilute the Tibetan population.

The panel, created by the board after controversies arising in projects like Narmada, will “provide an independent forum to private citizens who believe that their rights or interests have been or could be directly harmed by a project financed by the bank because of lack of compliance with the bank’s policies and procedures in design, appraisal or implementation.”

Two non-governmental organisations have already requested a review of the project and the panel has said it will look at ways to strengthen and improve the project, and ensure that the bank has complied with its own rules and procedures.

Meanwhile, China has promised the fullest cooperation to all, including the media, who want to go to the area and form an assessment free from pressure of any kind.

It is being said that while the approval of the loan has saved China’s face, the Tibetans and the USA can also derive satisfaction from the fact that it will not be implemented unless the panel gives its approval.

N Korea condemns US build-up

GENEVA, June 25 (AP) — North Korea has said the USA is building up a large “armada’’ off the Korean peninsula after achieving its military goals in Kosovo.

“The current situation in the Korean peninsula is very worrying,’’ Ambassador Ri Tcheul told a 61-nation conference on disarmament yesterday.

Mr Tcheul said the USA was using the pretext of a naval clash between North and South Korea last week to build up a large “American armada’’ off its shores.

“The aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk has finished its mission in Yugoslavia and is steaming toward the Korean peninsula,’’ he said.

The naval build-up was coupled with US ground forces in South Korea reinforced by warplanes based in Japan and elsewhere, he said.

“These military movements, which coincide with numerous recent provocations at sea, are terribly threatening to us because these irresponsible acts could be followed by new military action in another zone of our planet,’’ Mr Tcheul said.

Representatives of South Korea and the USA said it was North Korea that was “menacing the South”, but that they would continue to try to defuse tension on the peninsula.

In the naval clash last week, one of the most serious between the two Koreas since the 1950-53 Korean war, North Korean warships testing a disputed demarcation line in the Yellow Sea exchanged gunfire with the South Korean navy.

WASHINGTON (OANA-YONHAP): A study of a suspected North Korean underground site has shown that the North has not violated the agreement to suspend its nuclear programme the US State Department has said.

6 US embassies closed for security reasons

WASHINGTON, June 25 (AP)— The USA has temporarily closed six of its embassies because of security concerns, the State Department said yesterday.

The embassies were to be shut down until June 27 as a precautionary measure because they were believed to have been under surveillance by suspicious individuals, a department spokesperson said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The embassies were in Gambia, Togo, Madagascar, Liberia, Namibia and Senegal.

The department had received no specific threats targeted at US citizens overseas. But the spokesperson said they should continue to exercise caution while abroad.

The State Department noted that US embassies in Africa and the rest of the world has been on a heightened alert status due to increased security concerns.

Most US embassies in sub-Saharan Africa were ordered closed for two days in December, following US action in Iraq. The US Embassy in Uganda also has closed on a few occasions due to security concerns since the nearly simultaneous bombings of the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August.

8 killed in Israeli air attacks

BEIRUT, June 25 (DPA) — Israeli warplanes attacked and destroyed bridges in southern Lebanon and a power station near Beirut yesterday, killing at least eight persons and injuring 56 others in a series of raids in retaliation for Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel.

At least two Israelis were killed by Hezbollah Katyusha rocket attacks that came in response to the Israeli air strikes. Initially, five Israelis, including a soldier and four civilians, had been slightly injured by Katyusha rocket attacks that unleashed the Israeli air strikes, an Israeli military spokesman said.

Six persons were killed, most of whom were Lebanese civil defence workers, when Israeli jets carried out three air raids on a power station in Jumhour, 10 km east of Beirut.

Obey Jiang Zemin, says ‘Panchen Lama’

BEIJING, June 25 (AFP) — One week after his return to Tibet, the Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama has urged Tibetan Buddhists to obey President Jiang Zemin, the official media said today.

“The Panchen Lama told the lamas and believers to follow the instructions of President Jiang Zemin, to love the country and the religion, safeguard the country and serve the people, and make contributions to the region’s prosperity and stability,” Xinhua news agency reported.

The Panchen Lama is the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, has named a rival nominee to the boy put in place by Beijing. Both boys are nine years old.

“All lamas of Zhaxi Lhunbo (Tashilhunpo) Lamasery, including myself, and the believers should love the Communist Party of China, love our Socialist motherland and love the religion we believe in,” the Panchen Lama added.

Man executed for raping daughters

MANILA, June 25 (DPA) — A 46-year-old man who raped or molested his three teenage daughters was put to death by lethal injection today in the Philippines’ second execution in four months. Eduardo Agbayani was declared dead at 3:11 P.M. (local).

He was executed for raping a 14-year-old daughter in 1994, only a few days after initial charges of rape and acts of lasciviousness were withdrawn by two other daughters he abused.

Agbayani’s daughters earlier pleaded with President Joseph Estrada to commute their father’s death sentence to life imprisonment, but Mr Estrada turned a deaf ear to their 11th-hour appeal.

Kennedy killing
WASHINGTON: The museum at the Texas school book depository began showing a live camera view on Thursday from the window where Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy in 1963, angering Mr Kennedy’s only surviving brother. A spokeswoman for Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts denounced the “Dealey Plaza Cam’’ shot on the website www.jfk.org as “insensitive and tasteless’’, CBS News reported. At the sixth floor of the book depository, the actual window where Oswald fired the fatal shots that killed Mr Kennedy and wounded Texas Governor John Connally on November 22, 1963, is a popular tourist spot. —DPA

Beatles’ lyrics
LONDON: For an estimated £ 100,000 ($ 157,000) a lucky Beatles fan will be able to puzzle over alternate lyrics to the enigmatic song “I am the Walrus” penned by the self-declared “Walrus” himself. A sheet containing the lyrics handwritten by John Lennon forms the centerpiece of a trove of Beatles memorabilia that will be offered at a September auction at Christie’s. The lyrics up for sale differ slightly from those sung on the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” album, released in 1967. —AP

Contract killings
MOSCOW: The number of contract killings in Russia so far this year has risen to more than twice the level of 1998, police officials in Moscow have said. From January to June a total of 567 contract killings were registered, compared with 232 over the same period last year, Interfax News Agency quoted the Deputy Chief of Russia’s criminal Investigation Department, Mr Anatoly Khairov, as saying. He attributed the sharp rise in such crimes to the financial crisis that hit Russia in August last year and said most of the victims were bankers or businessmen who failed to pay debts. —DPA

CIA shooting case
WASHINGTON: A Pakistani man sentenced to death for the 1993 fatal shootings of two CIA employees outside the spy agency’s headquarters lost a Supreme Court appeal on Thursday. The justices, without comment, rejected an appeal in which Mir Aimal Kasi argued he should be allowed to challenge his seizure by FBI agents in Pakistan after a global manhunt. He said his FBI arrest in his homeland violated the Constitution’s ban on unreasonable seizures. The court ended its 1998-99 term on Wednesday when the justices left the Bench and began a summer recess, but the court’s clerk on Thursday issued scores of orders from the justices. —AP

3 hang themselves
MANAMA: Three Indians working in the Gulf Emirate of Bahrain hanged themselves from ceiling fans in their homes on the same day, The Gulf Daily News reported on Thursday. The police told the daily the suicides — two Keralites and a Tamil, all in their 30s and living alone — were not related. —AFP