USA rejects Taliban offer for talks
WASHINGTON, Oct 25 — The USA has rejected an offer by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan for talks on all outstanding issues, including the American demand that the regime hand over Saudi terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden for trial.

Peronists’ rule ends in Argentina
Centre-Left combine leader is President
BUENOS AIRES, Oct 25 — Argentina’s Centre-Left alliance put an end to 10 years’ of Peronist rule in yesterday’s elections, with President-elect Fernando De La Rua promising a “moral change” after Mr Carlos Menem’s free-market zeal.

Human eggs to be auctioned on Net
LONDON, Oct 25 — Fertility groups have reacted with horror to an American website which offers to sell eggs donated by models to the highest bidders in an online auction.

Swoop on Falungong
BEIJING, Oct 25 — The Chinese police rounded up dozens of followers of the banned mystical Falungong sect who had gathered on and around Tiananmen Square today to protest against new anti-cult legislation.

Pak may face challenge from Islamic groups

ISLAMABAD, Oct 25 (PTI) — A confrontation between new military rulers and extremist Islamic groups in Pakistan looks imminent as Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf rushed to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the two countries believed to be funding the religious groups, to hold consultations with the rulers there.

The first sign of confrontation emerged a couple of days ago when the chief of the country’s largest religious party, Jamaat-e-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, was banned from entering the sensitive frontier province after he launched an indirect attack on General Musharraf.

In another development, the Council for Islamic Ideology (CII), on the opening day of its three-day convention here yesterday, called for accelerating the Islamisation process in the country.

The CII, which is a constitutional body on an advisory capacity composed of Islamic scholars, demanded Islamic scholars be included in the National Security Council and that Fridays be declared as weekly holidays.

These demands coupled with the stand of Jamaat-e-Islami goes contrary to the image of General Musharraf, who is not only being considered as a moderate man but had also spoken strongly against the exploitation of religion in the country during his address to the nation on October 17 while making his first policy statement after seizing power.

He had urged the Islamic scholars to present Islam in true light while urging them to "curb elements which are exploiting religion for vested interests and bringing bad name to our faith".

General Musharraf gave a clear indication of his moderate views while speaking to Turkish television last week when he said he had lots of respect for Kamal Ataturk, the founder of secular modern Turkey.

This evoked instant reaction from Jamaat chief who condemned Ataturk for his policies in Turkey and said "Kamalism" or "secularism" would not have any place in Pakistan and that people of Pakistan wanted strict Islamic laws to be enforced in the country.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed’s tirade came during address to the Friday prayers at Peshawar which immediately invited a ban on him from entry to the area for 30 days by the authorities. 

Sharif lived like a king

ISLAMABAD, Oct 25 (PTI) — Deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lived like a king and turned a Nelson’s eye to corruption by his own business concern and cronies despite a public pledge to the contrary, media reports here said yesterday.

Not only did Mr Sharif incur huge expenses on his palatial residence off the state exchequer but also converted his personal Boeing into a virtual “airborne palace”, English daily The News said in an investigative report.

This, despite the fact that he had immediately after international sanctions due to the nuclear tests of May, 1998, embarked upon a major austerity drive to curtail expenses.

Mr Sharif had then pledged to shift to a modest house vacating his official residence and hand over his Boeing to national carrier PIA and travel by a commercial flight, the report said.

Immediately after announcing his austerity measures, Mr Sharif instead of returning his Boeing to the PIA ordered a $ 1.8 million renovation of the aircraft converting it into an “airborne palace”, the report said.

All seats in the plane were converted into first class ones and the PIA even hired a special cook considering Mr Sharif’s craze for “good food” and his special liking for carrot dessert “gajrela”.

Mr Sharif and his entourage were always served seven course meals during their trips, the report said.

During his 32-month tenure as premier, Mr Sharif undertook 28 trips abroad spending Rs 110 crore and on almost all occasions he used his special plane, it said.

On board his special plane Mr Sharif was always served ‘lassi’ or “badami milk” in Mughal style silver glasses by a crew of his choice, it said. Only Perrier water, not even available to first class passengers, was served during these flights and the towels used by Mr Sharif were embroidered with gold.

The report also claimed that Mr Sharif, immediately after his announcement that he would vacate his palatial official bungalow, ordered a new set of imported crockery for his personal use.

The Prime Minister’s house was permanently occupied by a set of “personal cronies”, it said. One of them was exclusively assigned the task of cracking jokes and playing songs for the premier.

Mr Sharif also ordered a number of out of turn appointments including at least 30 persons in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and ignored corruption charges against his party leader and former Sindh Chief Minister Liaqat Ali Jatoi, it claimed.

Even his brother Shahbaz Sharif drew his attention to a set of people working under Mr Sharif’s close friend Saifur Rehman in the Accountability Bureau who were allegedly involved in extortion of money from those being investigated on various charges but Mr Sharif ignored it, it added.

Safe passage for Palestinians opened

EREZ CROSSING (Gaza Strip), Oct 25 — Israel and the Palestinians today opened a route across Israel enabling safe passage for Palestinians between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, lands they hope to unite in a future state.

“We see the passage as a passage of peace,’’ Mr Aryeh Ramot Shifman, Director-General of Israel’s Public Security Ministry, said at a modest ceremony before a Palestinian motorist drove up with his son to the Erez check-point, the first private car to leave Gaza for five years.

Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Jamil Al-Tarifi said he hoped the safe passage would facilitate the movement of goods and people in an atmosphere that would boost negotiations on a final peace accord due to be sealed by next September.

The 44-km route along existing Israeli roads is meant to answer years of complaint that Israel prevents Palestinians in the separate self-rule areas from visiting friends and family.

The corridor, set up under peace deals dating back more than five years, runs between Erez at the northern edge of the Gaza Strip and the Turkumiya junction in the southern West Bank.

For Palestinians, the first right-of-way across the Jewish state is also an important symbol of their aspirations for a state of their own, side-by-side with Israel on land captured by Israeli forces in the 1967 Middle-East war.

“We in the Palestininan Authority are very happy because it will mean freedom of movement between the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” Mr Tarifi said.

JERUSALEM: Israel said today it had cleared the way for veteran guerrilla leader Nayef Hawatmeh to enter the Palestinian self-ruled West Bank and Gaza Strip, citing his readiness for peace.

In a statement, Prime Minister Ehud Barak said he had approved the entry in response to a request by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and in light of Mr Hawatmeh’s support for making peace.

Mr Hawatmeh, of Jordanian origin, set up the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) in 1969 as an opposition faction to Mr Arafat. It carried out a series of deadly attacks in Israel and had been counted as one of its biggest enemies.

Israel holds him responsible for the death of 24 schoolchildren and a soldier during a shootout between soldiers and three DFLP guerrillas who had taken over a school in the northern Israeli town of Maalot in 1974.

Missiles pound Chechen villages

GEKHI (Russia), Oct 25 (Reuters, DPA) — Artillery shells and missiles today slammed into villages in the west of the breakaway Republic of Chechnya as Russia’s leaders met to discuss their month-long offensive in the region.

The villages of Samashki, 30 km from the regional capital Grozny, and Bamut, about 40 km away, were hit through Sunday night and Monday morning as Russia pursued its aim of crushing Muslim rebels in Chechnya.

The explosions of artillery shells landing in Samashki and Bamut and the multiple crashes of Grad missiles could be heard from Gekhi, about 25-30 km from the two villages. There were no early reports of casualties from the attacks.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today met in the Kremlin to discuss the offensive.

Mr Yeltsin was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying at the start of the meeting that he supported the results of Mr Putin’s policy in the North Caucasus, which he called “useful work”.

Moscow says only rebel positions have been hit but there are many accounts of civilians dying in the attacks, which many fear will turn into a repeat of the disastrous 1994-96 Chechen war, in which tens of thousands of people died.

Residents in the village of Serzhen-Yurt said 27 persons were killed when war planes bombed yesterday. Scores were also killed during a rocket attack on a market in Grozny on Thursday, although Russia has denied carrying out any such attacks.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said about 400 Pakistani and Arab mercenaries have joined the ranks of the Chechen militants in recent days and 500 more are being sent from Afghanistan.

Jordan-born warlord Khattab had also urged international terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden to send reinforcements of the depicting ranks of militants under continued Russian air and artillery strikes.

KABUL (AP): The Taliban religious army on Monday protested Russia’s assault on Chechen separatists and sharply criticised fellow Islamic countries for their silence.

“Islamic countries are watching and doing nothing... It is the responsibility of every Muslim country to urge the Russians to stop,” Deputy Minister of Information Abdul Rehman Ottaq said.

In a statement issued he called the Russian assault “massacre and one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century.” He accused the Islamic countries of being a party to the tragedy by their silence.

USA rejects Taliban offer for talks

WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (PTI) — The USA has rejected an offer by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan for talks on all outstanding issues, including the American demand that the regime hand over Saudi terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden for trial.

“Handing over Laden is more important than discussions. We have had more discussions before and they’ve been unwilling thus far to do what the international community is demanding they do,” State Department spokesman James Foley told reporters here yesterday.

He was reacting to the Taliban’s “open-ended” offer on Saturday to hold talks with the USA on all outstanding issues.

“We are ready to solve all issues with America, including that of Osama bin Laden,” Taliban’s Information Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has said in a statement issued in Kabul, days after the regime rejected a November 14 UN deadline to hand Laden over or face limited sanctions.

“It is our policy to have good relations with all countries of the world, especially the USA,” he said. “We want to solve the issue of Laden with America, but that has to be in line with our Islamic law and Afghan culture.”

RIYADH (AFP): Riyadh will not request the extradition of Islamic militant Osama bin Laden if the Afghan Taliban militia ever heeds UN demands to hand him over even though he is a former Saudi national, officials have said.

“Osama bin Laden is not of much interest to us — only Saudi nationals interest us and Laden isn’t Saudi,” Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdel Aziz told reporters here yesterday.

Peronists’ rule ends in Argentina
Centre-Left combine leader is President

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 25 (Reuters) — Argentina’s Centre-Left alliance put an end to 10 years’ of Peronist rule in yesterday’s elections, with President-elect Fernando De La Rua promising a “moral change” after Mr Carlos Menem’s free-market zeal.

The 62-year-old Buenos Aires Mayor, whose sobriety appealed to an electorate tired of outgoing President Menem’s “pizza and champagne” style, thrashed hapless Peronist Eduardo Duhalde by winning nearly half the votes, meaning victory in one round.

Mr De La Rua immediately pledged to remedy social and moral ills considered the Achilles’ heel of Mr Menem’s successful reign of enthusiastic economic reforms: a high jobless rate, a widening gap between the rich and the poor and rife corruption.

With 94 per cent of votes counted, Mr De La Rua had 47.5 per cent versus 40 per cent for Mr Duhalde. Addressing the nation of 36 million people, the President-elect said: “You have elected a President who will put an end to privilege, especially the privilege of power.’’

The victorious alliance and defeated Peronists alike saw reason to celebrate the consolidation of democracy. Peronism, founded as a populist working-class movement by Juan and Eva Peron in the 1940s, was ousted by coups in 1955 and 1976 and has never lost power by the ballot box.

Mr Menem (69), is already setting his sights on seeking a third presidential term in 2003.

Mr De La Rua, a grey, balding lawyer on the conservative wing of the centrist, century-old Radical Party, failed in a vice-presidential bid in 1973 and a bid for the radical’s presidential candidacy in 1983, but became the first elected Mayor of the capital in 1996. The radicals and Left-leaning Frepaso formed the alliance in 1997.

The Peronists retain a majority in the Senate, not up for renewal, but the alliance won the largest minority in the Chamber of Deputies.

Mr De La Rua’s promises to reduce 14.5 per cent unemployment and poverty — 45 per cent of children under 14 live in poverty — look as though they will be tough to fulfil in the economic climate.

Human eggs to be auctioned on Net

LONDON, Oct 25 — Fertility groups have reacted with horror to an American website which offers to sell eggs donated by models to the highest bidders in an online auction.

The site, which would be illegal in Britain, asks for bids for the eggs of models, whose photographs appear on the site. From today minimum bids of between $15,000 and $150,000 — depending on the model — can be made. The highest bidders will receive the eggs.

Mr Ron Harris, owner of the Ron’s Angels site, claims it is Darwin’s natural selection at its best. Mr Harris, a photographer and film-maker whose work appears on pornographic websites, claims, “There are millions of men from around the world who would love to have their genes combined with the most beautiful and genetically advanced women. Many men have substantial financial resources yet are unable to find the genetic combinations that would impart beauty to their offspring.”

But fertility groups on both sides of the Atlantic accuse Mr Harris of turning human life into a commodity and trivialising the problems of infertile couples. Mr Sean Tipton, spokesman for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, said the scheme was unethical and distasteful.

Mr Tim Hedgley, director of Issue, a British Charity representing infertile couples, said: “This kind of service damages irreparably the public perception of what infertility treatment is for.” Britain’s Human Embryology and Fertility Authority said it was not able to regulate services offered overseas but it was concerned about what screening was available and what guarantees were in place to ensure the eggs were really from the person selected.

The website asks potential parents to make their choice on the basis of information, including the model’s body statistics and the ages of her parents and grandparents.

Bidders must become members of the site, which costs $24.95 a month. Even if a bid is “successful”, all women reserve the right of refusal. If it goes ahead, purchasers would have to pay the medical bills to fertilise and implant the egg.

Non-members can only access information on one model — a 25-year-old brunette, who has a 79-year-old grandmother and wants the money to “not be dependent on a man”.

Mr Harris says his next venture will be to sell the sperm of male models.

— The Guardian, London

Swoop on Falungong

BEIJING, Oct 25 (AFP) — The Chinese police rounded up dozens of followers of the banned mystical Falungong sect who had gathered on and around Tiananmen Square today to protest against new anti-cult legislation.

The protesters chanted “Falungong is good, Falun Dafa is good,” using the Chinese term for the Buddhist-style teachings of the Falungong, as they were driven away from the Great Hall of the People, where legislators were discussing a further crackdown on their activities.

The bus was heavily escorted by police vehicles, and driven fast along a walkway as it left the scene.

A spokesman for the group in the USA told AFP on the telephone that “tens of thousands” of followers were expected to head to Tiananmen Square.

President re-elected
Tunis: Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was re-elected to a third five-year term with over 99 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s elections, according to first results. The results issued by the Interior Ministry at 9.30am IST showed Ben Ali (63) winning between 99.95 per cent and 99.35 per cent of the vote in each of the country’s 25 constituencies. It was the first multiparty presidential race since Tunisia’s independence in 1956. — AFP

Rape victims
BERLIN: Half of all prostitutes have been raped or sexually coerced in childhood and in their early teens, a survey of 250 working and former prostitutes has found. The survey findings were presented by Mr Anand Pant at the Free University of Berlin at the 20th congress of applied psychology in the German capital.— DPA

Wife burnt alive
MULTAN: A Pakistani man burnt his wife alive just two months after their marriage when she refused to hand over Rs 50, the police said on Sunday. The woman identified as Azra said she had received the money as part of a local custom when the couple paid their neighbours the first visit after marriage in the nearby town of Jhoke Vance. — AFP

Spy honoured
JERUSALEM: The visiting British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, has paid tribute to a British diplomat and spy who helped thousands of Jews flee Nazi Germany during the 1930s. Mr Cook joined a ceremony at Israel’s Yad Vashem holocaust memorial to honour Frank Foley, posthumously awarded the title “Righteous Among the Nations” given to Gentiles who helped Jews during the holocaust. — AFP