"The proposed conference on terrorism and Islam, to be organised by Malaysia next year, will be the first giant step to be taken by Islamic nations to seek a clearer line between terrorism and jihad (holy war), Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said yesterday. He said the conference would be the best platform for members of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to deliberate the issue. Since the conference’s main objective is to define jihad and terrorism, it is also the best forum for Islamic nations to correct the religion’s image which has been marred by linking it with terrorism," reported The Star newspaper of Malaysia
"India began preparations to camouflage the Taj Mahal out of fear of Pakistani air strikes, as war fears escalated yesterday between the two nuclear rivals," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees are streaming home in the vanguard of what relief agencies say could be one of the biggest population movements of modern times. The migration reflects confidence that the fragile peace will endure, although some relief agencies warn that the influx will strain resources in communities racked by war and drought," reported the Guardian News Service.
"Suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden has fled Afghanistan for the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar, an Afghan defence ministry source said yesterday. It was the second such claim in two days from the ministry, which had urged the United States to halt bombing in the country now that Osama’s al-Qaeda fighters were almost wiped out," reported the AFP news service.
"The Pentagon has declined to rule out fresh air strikes in Afghanistan despite pressure from the new interim government to stop bombing, and President George W. Bush predicted it would take a long time to mop up the remaining forces loyal to Osama bin Laden. We have very seldom ruled out anything, Victoria Clarke, the chief Defence Department spokesman, told reporters when asked about an Afghan Defence Ministry request to wind up bombing. And we will do what it takes to achieve what it is we’re trying to achieve," reported the Reuters news agency
"Police will use metal detectors to check revellers before they enter Times Square in New York for the raucous New Year’s Eve celebrations tomorrow night. People also will not be allowed to carry large bags, and police will inspect smaller ones and other items, said Chief Allan Hoehl, commanding officer of the Manhattan South patrol unit. Bomb-sniffing dogs and other measures will also be employed," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"The European Union has added Basque separatists, northern Irish groups and Palestinian militants to its list of groups and individuals accused of terrorism, clearing the way for asset freezes and other sanctions against them," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Iraq said on Friday that more than 1.6 million people had died as a result of economic sanctions imposed on Baghdad since 1990 by the United Nations, the state Iraqi News Agency (Ina) said. The agency was quoting from a letter sent from Iraq’s UN mission to Kofi Annan, secretary-general of UN. A total of 1,614,203 people, out of which 667,773 children under the age of five have died since the imposition of sanctions in 1990 until November 2001, Ina quoted the letter as saying," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Palestinians have called for renewed US mediation in the Middle East, saying they were ready to show what they had done to meet Washington’s conditions for the return of its envoy. After its weekly meeting on Friday, the Palestinian Cabinet urged the United States to send back envoy Anthony Zinni to begin implementing proposals for securing peace with Israel," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US forces sealed off a northern Afghanistan prison yesterday so that they could transfer detainees, foreigners and possibly some Afghans as well to a staging area for suspected al-Qaeda members and Taliban collaborators in the southern part of the country. We’re taking them out of here, and taking them down to Kandahar as quickly as we can,’’ said Maj Joseph Fenty, commander of the forces conducting the operation. We’re primarily looking at detainees that we can use for collecting intelligence," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"A bomb exploded at an Islamic conference considering the possible implementation of Muslim sharia law in Indonesia's South Sulawesi province, injuring three people, police said Monday. Several Islamic groups are hoping to take advantage of recently introduced regional autonomy regulations to implement Islamic law in Sulawesi, where Muslims form the majority like elsewhere in Indonesia. Christians and Muslims have been fighting each other in parts of Sulawesi island for the past three years," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Pakistan said Monday it had arrested the outspoken former leader of a militant Islamic group accused by India of helping orchestrate an attack on its Parliament that has taken the two countries to the brink of hostilities. Hafiz Saeed, until last week the leader of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, was charged with making inflammatory speeches and inciting people to violence, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. His colleagues denounced the arrest. This is a highly condemnable act. He was just preaching Islam in Pakistan. He had never been involved in any kind of terrorism, said Mohammad Raza, an Islamic leader in Lahore and a close colleague of Saeed," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Israeli troops shot dead six Palestinians in two separate confrontations Sunday evening near the border with the Gaza Strip, a surge of violence that followed days of relative calm, the military said. The shootings came only hours after senior Israeli security officials had announced that attacks by Palestinian militants had dropped significantly since Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's speech two weeks ago calling for a cessation of violence," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Osama bin Laden looked pale and haggard, but as healthy as could be expected of a man on the run, experts say. If he is fasting for Ramadan, then it means he's not suffering any chronic diseases. If he was speaking after the breaking of the fast and he didn't pause so often to drink water as he did in previous tapes, then he is also in a good shape," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Kabul’s new rulers apparently backed down to Washington, saying the US bombing in their country should continue until all pockets of resistance from Osama’s al-Qaeda fighters are crushed," reported the AFP news service.
"Talks between Afghanistan’s interim government and British officials ended last night without the expected final agreement on the deployment of a peacekeeping force, a government official said. The talks are over, said Frydon, secretary to Interior Minister Yunus Qanooni. There is no agreement. There is nothing to sign, he said. He could not give an indication when the talks would reconvene," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Afghanistan’s new government will restore the Bamiyan Buddhas, an emblem of culture destroyed by the Taliban regime, Minister of Culture and Information Raheen Makhdoom said yesterday. The two giant statues, which date back some 1,800 years, were blown up the Taliban in March by a 20-day barrage of dynamite, rockets and tank shells that sparked international outrage," reported the AFP news service.
"Pakistan yesterday announced the arrest of a top extremist leader and rounded up dozens of militants linked with a bloody attack on India’s parliament, in a bid to defuse a brewing regional crisis. India welcomed the crackdown on Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, which it accused of carrying out the Dec 13 parliament raid that has sent military tensions soaring. Pakistan’s actions were taken at the urging of the international community led by the United States, which is concerned conflict between the two nuclear-capable rivals will fracture its anti-terrorism coalition," reported the AFP news service.
"It was the telephone call authorities all over the world have been waiting for: Osama bin Laden, hunted fugitive and suspected terrorist mastermind, had been spotted. And he was waiting patiently in a coach station in southeastern Spain for the next bus to Sevilla, Spain. But what the officers found after an excited yet thorough identity check was not the notorious al-Qaeda leader, but Mohamed Bouchrif, a Moroccan-born Belgian carpenter who had been visiting his son and friends in Spain," reported the AFP news service.
"The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee says information given him indicates that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is alive but his whereabouts remain a mystery. The latest intelligence we had indicates that the high probabilities are that Osama is still alive," Sen Bob Graham, a Florida Democrat, said on Sunday on CNN’s Late Edition.
"The New York Times newspaper reported that classified US intelligence documents it obtained show that representatives of Osama contacted Iranian intelligence agents in the mid-1990s in an attempt to forge an alliance against the United States," reported the AFP news service.
"US warplanes killed more than 100 people, including many women and children, in a devastating raid on a village in eastern Afghanistan, residents said yesterday. At least one fighter jet, a B-52 bomber and two helicopters swooped on the village here, about four kilometres north of the city of Gardez, capital of eastern Paktia province, villager Janat Gul said. There are no al-Qaeda or Taliban people here, said Gul," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Six Palestinian militants, on apparent attack missions, were killed by Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip late Sunday, shattering a recent calm which has created expectations for the return of the US peace envoy. Israeli security troops killed three armed Palestinian militants who they said were trying to enter Israel near the village of Beit Hanun and who, according to army radio, had bombs strapped to their bodies. Just hours earlier, Israeli troops killed three other armed Palestinian militants as they were apparently trying to break into the nearby Jewish settlements of Alei Sinai and Nitzanit. The militants were allegedly trying to smuggle a bag of explosives into the settlements, but were spotted by a patrolling armoured vehicle and killed by a tank shell,military sources said," reported the AFP news service.
"Pakistani police have detained more Islamic militants from a group blamed by India for a bloody attack on its parliament, while other Islamic groups yesterday called for a halt to the crackdown. An official of the Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group, which is fighting Indian forces in disputed Kashmir, said more than a dozen of its activists had been detained in the southern province of Sindh," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A crystal ball honouring victims of the World Trade Centre attack dropped in Times Square at midnight on Monday, signalling the arrival of 2002 and giving patriotic revellers a chance to bid farewell to a year of horrors and heroes. Red, white and blue confetti fell as an estimated crowd of 500,000 turned out for the celebration. Neither heavy security nor harsh weather kept the crowds from turning out. New Year’s Eve revellers lined up at security checkpoints to stake out spots for the annual dropping of the Waterford crystal ball at the stroke of midnight," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday vetoed a plan by Israel’s president to declare a year-long truce with the Palestinians, and Israeli troops seized four suspected militants in two incursions into Palestinian territory. A senior Palestinian official, meanwhile, said US mediator Anthony Zinni is to return to the region on Thursday, for a new mission aimed at shoring up a truce and restarting peace talks," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Afghanistan’s new government yesterday defended the US bombing campaign, which helped bring it to power, saying American planes had no other choice but to attack an eastern village despite innocent deaths. The Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) says at least 92 civilians were killed in the US bombing of Nizai Qala in Paktia province overnight Saturday," reported the AFP news service.
"Pushing to snatch the elusive leader of Afghanistan’s deposed Taliban, American forces have launched a mission to capture him, probably from the mountains northwest of his movement’s one-time stronghold, the interim prime minister said. Pentagon officials confirmed on Monday that a mission was in progress but refused to comment further, saying it could endanger those involved. Afghan officials suspect Omar is in the Baghran area, a remote, mountainous region about 160km northwest of Kandahar," eported the Associated Press news agency.
"A Pakistan-based Kashmiri militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, who New Delhi blamed for an attack on its parliament last month, has threatened to blow up the Taj Mahal, an Indian official said yesterday," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A Pakistani-based Kashmiri militant group blamed by India for an attack on its parliament yesterday said it was moving its offices into India’s slice of Kashmir to escape a crackdown by Pakistani authorities," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Muslim rebels briefly occupied part of a southern Philippine town drawing army artillery and mortar fire to drive them out, the regional military spokesman said yesterday. Some 300 rebels from the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front(MILF) occupied a district of Mamasapano town in Maguindanao province on Monday, burning three houses and sending residents fleeing, Army spokesman Captain Noel Detoyato said," reported the AFP news agency.
"Taiwan and India are secretly developing military co-operation despite the lack of diplomatic ties. The two countries have started exchanging military intelligence and Taipei has sent a military attache to India," the United Daily News, a Chinese-language daily reported yesterday.
"Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has reiterated his insistence on seven days of total calm before implementing a US-brokered ceasefire, the government said in a statement yesterday," reported the AFP news agency.
"A final push was imminent to flush Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar out of his latest hideout. Omar, on the run since the fall of Kandahar on Dec 7, has reportedly established a new base in Baghran in the remote mountains to the northwest of Kandahar, where he is guarded by supporters and al-Qaeda loyalists. The US military has declined to confirm US media reports that some 200 US Marines have already joined the hunt for Omar, but local Afghan intelligence chief Haju Gulalai said a major operation involving marines was in the offing," reported the AFP news service.
"Zacarias Moussaoui, the first man to be indicted on charges involving the Sept 11 attacks on the United States, pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of conspiring with Osama bin Laden to kill thousands of people. The trial was set to open on Oct 14," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A Muslim militant group fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir dismissed as lies yesterday an Indian official’s accusation that the group had threatened to blow up India’s famous Taj Mahal monument. The Indian allegations are total lies, Abdullah Sayyaf, a spokesman for the Lashkar-e-Taiba guerilla group said in Pakistani-ruled Kashmir. We never issued such a threat. It is the handiwork of Indian intelligence to defame our group," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Indian soldiers killed nine suspected militants in India-held Kashmir, and in a separate incident, guerillas attacked a military post, killing two soldiers and wounding seven, police said yesterdayReported the Associated Press news agency.
"Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) overseas stations were placed on high alert on Wednesday after the emirate received a threat to KAC aircraft operating from South-East Asia, a newspaper reported yesterday. The daily al-Anba quoted security sources as saying Kuwaiti authorities had received an urgent telegram from a representative of an international security authority in the Middle East warning of serious threats to Kuwaiti planes coming from Jakarta, Bangkok and Singapore," reported the AFP news service.
"Supporters of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar have agreed to hand him over to Afghan authorities if the US bombing campaign is halted, an intelligence official said yesterday. Taliban commander Abdul Ahad, better known as Rayes Baghran, said he would also surrender along with his force of up to 1,500 men, said Nasratullah Nasrat from Kandahar’s provincial intelligence services," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Even as a tribal commander reported that negotiations were under way for the surrender of deposed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, US military officials said they had no evidence he was ready to give up," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Thirteen more Kumpulan Militan Malaysia(KMM) members have been arrested in Malaysia under the Internal Security Act. One of them, police believe, has links with the al-Qaeda terrorist group via the Kumpulan Militan Indonesia. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai, in disclosing this yesterday, said police were confirming reports that several of the KMM members had links with Zacarias Moussaoui, a Moroccan with French nationality whom the United States has charged with conspiring with terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden in the hijacking of two commercial aircraft which were used in the Sept 11 suicide attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York. A detailed training manual outlining 40 weeks of intense guerilla warfare, including the handling of various firearms, setting up of booby-traps and ways to conduct commando-style ambushes, was seized during a police blitz on a KMM group. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai said the manual, the first seized from a KMM wing, also detailed the struggles by the Islamic militant groups operating around the world including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the Philippines and others involved in Kashmir, Chechnya, Ambon and Afghanistan," reported The Star newspaper of Malaysia.
"Pakistan's president shook the hand of India's leader on Saturday, saying it was an offer of sincere friendship between the two countries whose armies are on war alert, but India's prime minister said the gesture should be followed by an end to support of terrorism. Gen. Pervez Musharraf walked from the podium as he addressed a South Asian summit and shook hands with Indian Prime Minister Atal Vajpayee, who appeared surprised, but stood up and responded, with a faint smile," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Pakistani authorities have rounded up dozens of Islamic activists in the central Punjab province in a crackdown on militants blamed for escalating tensions with neighbouring India, police said yesterday. A police official in Multan city said that some 33 members of two fundamentalist Islamic groups accused of involvement in sectarian violence had been picked up in an overnight sweep in the city. Most of these people belong to Sipah-e-Sahaba and Tehrik-e-Jaffria, the official said. The rival hardline groups are from the majority Sunni and minority Shia Muslim communities respectively," reported the Reuters news agency.
"South Korea will deploy new surface-to-surface US missiles over the next two years in a landmark defence deal which would put most of North Korea’s soil within range, officials said yesterday. The new US missiles to be fully deployed here by 2004 mark the first tangible result of the successful US-South Korean talks on extending Seoul’s missile range," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Israel said yesterday it had seized a Palestinian ship in the Red Sea smuggling 50 tonnes of mainly Iranian-supplied weapons, an announcement that cast a cloud over a US envoy’s renewed peace mission to the region. Nabil Abu Rdainah, a senior adviser to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, denied any knowledge of the weapons ship, which Israeli army chief Shaul Mofaz said was captured under the cover of darkness on Thursday," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Members of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network in Singapore are believed to have been about to launch an operation and then called off the plan for unknown reasons Jane’s Intelligence Review said. Responding to questions about the report, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said yesterday it was unaware of what the Jane’s report is referring to. The ministry did not comment further," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"In an al-Qaeda training camp in the heart of former Taliban territory, where tunnels link a warren of caves, items left behind after a search by US forces included graded terrorist exams, a book by Osama bin Laden declaring an anti-American jihad and instructions on making bombs," reported the Associated Press news agency.
"Street crime has increased dramatically in London since the Sept 11 suicide hijackings in the United States forced British police to spend far more time guarding the city against possible terrorist attacks, officials said on Thursday. Between September and November alone, Scotland Yard said 19,248 robberies were reported on city streets, up more than 100% from the 8,614 that had occurred during the same period in the previous year. To make matters worse, many young criminals switched from knives to guns in their attacks," reported the Associated Press news agency.
