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Saddam had 45 minutes to escape, say pilots

          Washington, Apr 9: The crew of the plane that bombed a Baghdad building where Washington believed President Saddam Hussein was holding a meeting, said on Tuesday that the Iraqi leader had 45 minutes to escape. In a satellite interview with reporters at the Pentagon, the two pilots of the B-1 plane said the attack ... (Contd)

Turks 'will intervene' if Iraqi Kurds grab oil wells
-by Ioannis Solomou

          Nicosia, Apr 9: A possible occupation of the oil wells of Mosul and Kirkuk by Iraqi Kurds would be a reason for an intervention by the Turkish army in the northern part of Iraq, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Ertogan was quoted as saying by the Anatolia semi-official news agency.

         "It is out of the question for Turkey to intervene in northern Iraq as long as there is no problem related to Iraqi territorial integrity or if there is no move aiming at occupying the oil producing regions of Mosul and Kirkuk," Ertogan has told journalists. He also stressed that a mass influx of refugees to the Turkish borders would also justify a Turkish invasion in Iraq. Turkish daily Hurriyet reported that Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul last Friday warned the US for one more time concerning his country's reaction to a possible advance of Peshmergas (Kurdish fighters) towards Mosul and Kirkuk. Gul reminded the US that they had undertaken a commitment towards Turkey not to allow Kurdish fighters to seize control of these two cities.

           The Kurds in northern Iraq insist that the majority of the population of oil-rich Kirkuk and Mosul region are Kurdish and belong to their autonomous region. For their part, Turks fear that if Kurds manage to seize control of the important oil reserves of the area, they will acquire the means to exercise their policy in favour of an independent Kurdish state, something that will affect Turkey's southern provinces, which are mainly populated by Kurds.

Iraqis on looting spree as Baghdad falls (Go To Top)

          Baghdad, Apr 9: As the government of Saddam Hussein on Wednesday lost control over Baghdad, the Iraqis went on the rampage looting everything they could lay their hands on. The day began with cheering Iraqis greeting marines arriving in the Shia stronghold of Saddam City. The largely calm crowd pulled down a huge statue of Saddam Hussein with a rope and a sledgehammer. The United Nations offices were ransacked and the Olympic Committee building - headquarters of Saddam Hussein's elder son Uday - set on fire. Television pictures showed people shouting anti-Saddam slogans, kicking his images and carrying off everything from elaborate vases to office furniture.

Iraqi opposition for prompt self-rule but okays interim regime (Go To Top)
-by Trevor Barnard

          London, Apr 9: Iraqi opposition parties are united in their demand that Iraq should be handed over to Iraqis as soon as possible after the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime. But they accept that there must be an interim administration controlled by the victorious coalition. This was the consensus that emerged when representatives of seven opposition organisations based in London faced journalists and television cameras to answer questions on their hopes for the future of Iraq.

          Dr. Ghassan Attiyah, Editor of the independent Iraqi File summed up their views thus: "The view of all the opposition is basic - to end dictatorship and to hand power to the Iraqi people to choose their rulers." He said the Iraqi people had the right, after a transitional period of a year or 18 or 20 months, to cast their vote freely, under international supervision, in a ballot box and choose their rulers.

           Sharef Ali Hussain, of the Monarchist Constitutional Movement, declared: "We Iraqis are quite capable of running our own affairs. When the dictatorship has been removed from power, authority should be transferred to the Iraqi people as quickly as possible, but on the condition also that it is representative of the Iraqi people, and is derived as quickly as possible from the will of the Iraqi people. The authority should not be appointed by either the allies or the United Nations. We are not a colony, we are not under a mandate of the United Nations, we are a free sovereign state."

           Answering a question, he said he supported the restoration of a constitutional monarchy in Iraq, but emphasised that his party's objective was the empowerment of the Iraqi people - "to give the Iraqi people the system of government that they want by direct referendum and then for the Iraqi people to decide who governs them through the ballot box. Our belief is that the majority want the return of the monarchy as the best guarantee of the resurgence of democracy." (The last monarch, Faysal II, and his Crown Prince were killed in the 1958 revolution that established a republic.)

           There was general agreement that an interim period of control by the invading armies would be essential. Dr. Saleh Al Shaikhy, of the Iraq National Accord, said: "The army has collapsed, the security services have collapsed, the police have collapsed, so we need an interim power to keep law and order in the country, and that, I feel is the responsibility of the incoming armies - the coalition, the United States and Britain."

           All but one of the leaders wanted the United Nations to supervise the setting up of a transitional administration. The exception was Dr. Latif Rashid, of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, who declared: "We do not want the UN to be responsible for implementation of executive power in Iraq." He said the Kurds had had bad experiences of the UN.

           The press conference was the first attempt by Iraqi opposition interests based in Britain to give publicity to their views. Further briefings are planned by individual organisations and are likely to proliferate as the practicalities of setting up a post- Saddam administration become a reality.

Singapore can help improve Sino-Indian ties, Goh tells Sonia  (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Apr 9: Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had a meeting with Sonia Gandhi, Congress president, here on Wednesday. Goh, who is on a three-day visit to India, hopes to build better relations between India and China by making his country act as a bridge and complete talks for a free trade area with India within a year. Ho leaves for Singapore on Wednesday evening. Ties between China and India, which fought a brief border war in 1962, have normalised but trade is smaller than what Singapore has with China.

          Singapore, which initially developed as a centre for trade between India and China, will probably invest more in India's high-tech industry if a free trade agreement is sealed. The big winners from India, which has high tariffs on most imports, could be white-collar professionals, particularly accountants and engineers. Singapore wants major Indian firms to set up operations and create jobs.

Liberhan Commission hearing adjourned (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Apr 9: The Liberhan Commission, probing the Babri-Masjid demolition, adjourned the hearing of the case here on Wednesday even as the Centre sought more time to file written statements. The final arguments were slated to take place on Wednesday. The Centre's counsel Lalaram Gupta requested the court that he needed time to study the "voluminous records" before filing written arguments. Allowing his request, the Commission adjourned the hearing the case till April 21.

           This was the second time that the final arguments in the case could not be held. Earlier, on March 7 the Commission had provided an opportunity to both the parties, the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government, to file their written submissions so that the stage of final arguments could begin. However, none of the parties filed written submissions. Some of the parties, including the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, even alleged that they were not given all relevant documents. It was later learnt that the Commission was still in the process of providing the documents to the parties.

           Headed by Justice M.S. Liberhan, the Commission was set up by the Centre ten days after the "destruction of Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid structure" at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. In its decade-long working and about 315 sittings, it has recorded statements of 99 witnesses including that of Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, and former prime ministers P.V. Narasimha Rao and V.P. Singh.

Jamali warns India against pre-emptive strike (Go To Top)

         Islamabad, Apr 9: Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali has warned India against any attempt to go in for pre-emptive strikes against Pakistan. "Pakistan is fully capable of defending its territory. India or any other country should not underestimate our defence, otherwise they will face undesirable consequences," he told newsmen on Tuesday. "India is trying to defame Pakistan by levelling false allegations but we would like to make it clear that the threat of pre-emptive attacks would not alter our determination to defend our homeland," Jamali said.

Another suspected SARS case in Hyderabad (Go To Top)

          Hyderabad, Apr 9: India on Wednesday reported another suspected case of the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS virus, hours after doctors gave the all-clear to a American woman in Mumbai thought to be India's first case. David Raphael Anthony, a software worker who arrived in Hyderabad from Singapore, was suffering from high fever, cough and cold - symptoms of the killer pneumonia virus which has claimed over 100 lives worldwide.

           Anthony, 48, travelled to India from Australia via Singapore, which has the fourth-highest number of SARS patients. Doctors said it was too early to say Anthony could be afflicted with SARS virus. "Patient is excellently in good condition. Lungs are clear. General condition is good. Pulse is good. No serious manifestations of any disease ... This is not a confirmed case of SARS. It has to be confirmed. I will send the (blood) samples and get the confirmation," Dr K Venu, Superintendent of the Government Chest Hospital said.

Malaysia stops issuing visas to Chinese (Go To Top)

          Kuala Lumpur, Apr 9: In a bid to check spread of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), Malaysia has stopped issuing visas for travellers from China, it was reported on Wednesday. This would continue till the epidemic is brought under control completely, sources said. However, members of Chinese government delegations and business trips have been kept away from the directive, sources said. "But they have to satisfactorily prove that they are SARS-free," they added.

           The outbreak of the killer pneumonia has so far claimed over 100 lives across the world, especially in the southeastern countries, including China and Singapore. The SARS virus was first reported from China. Besides, more than 2600 people have so far been infected with SARS worldwide. China's southern province of Guangdong has reported a total of 43 deaths and 1,206 cases of infection, thereby making it the hardest-hit region.

          Malaysian tourism minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir was recently quoted as saying that the outbreak has severely hurt Malaysia's tourism. Hotel occupancy has fallen to as low as 30 per cent, while airline bookings have plunged 40 per cent, he added.

Insat-3A launch postponed (Go To Top)

          Bangalore, Apr 9: The launch of country's multi-purpose satellite Insat-3A was postponed on Wednesday due to some "technical snag". The launch was due to take place between 0419 and 0500 IST from the European Space Agency centre in Kourou, French Guiana. The new date of the launch was not announced. The 2958-kg spacecraft is equipped with 12 C-band, six upper extended C-band, six Ku-band and one search and rescue transponder for providing telecommunication, television broadcasting, meteorology and satellite-aided search and rescue services. Insat-3A was originally scheduled to be launched in mid-February. But it was delayed because of a mishap on December 11 when a souped-up version of Ariane-5 veered off course shortly after lift-off and had to be destroyed by ground control.

Bihar minister resigns (Go To Top)

          Patna, Apr 9: Bihar Minister of State for Excise and Prohibition Surendra Prasad Yadav resigned on Wednesday following pressure by Chief Minister Rabri Devi. Earlier arrest warrants had been issued against him in connection with an abduction case. Yadav submitted his resignation to the Chief Minister, who forwarded it to Governor VC Pande. Later, Raj Bhavan sources said Yadav's resignation was accepted. Sources close to the CM said Rabri Devi had on Tuesday night asked the minister to tender his resignation.

          It may be recalled that a lower court in Gaya had on Tuesday issued warrants against Yadav. Besides, arrest warrants were also issued against RJD MLC Azad Gandhi and Pappu Yadav, brother-in- law of Subhash Yadav, an MLC and CM's brother.

Thai police arrest seven Indians for forgery (Go To Top)

          Bangkok, Apr 9: The Thai police claimed to have arrested seven Indians and a Thai woman on charges of forgery. The accused allegedly used to provide forged documents to Indians living here for short visas to enable them to apply for Thai citizenship, it was reported on Wednesday. Local newspapers quoted a senior Indian official that the fake documents were used to register marriages with Thai women allowing the foreigners to later seek Thai citizenship.

           According to Thai police, one of them, Dinesh Yadav, used to approach potential Indians for ensuring Thai citizenship. Two of his accomplices would produce fake statements about their customers' marital status. Later, Yadav used the forged documents to provide them with the citizenship.

           The customers allegedly paid 200 baht (about Rs 220) per document to Yadav. The police said one of the men would then stamp the documents with fake Indian embassy stamp and charge his customers between 4000 and 5000 baht. According to Thai rules, a marriage registration could allow the person to live and work in Thailand provided he renewed his visa every year. On expiry of five years such a person is eligible to apply for Thai citizenship.

24 feared killed in Orissa boat disaster (Go To Top)

          Bhubaneswar, Apr 9: Twenty-four passengers were feared drowned after their boat sank in Orissa, official sources said Wednesday. The boat was carrying 30 people from a weekly market and sank overnight in the Indravati reservoir near Koraput district, 650 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar. Six persons swam to safety and a search was on for others.

Saddam had 45 minutes to escape, say pilots  (Go To Top)

          (Contd) ... on the building was "directed by an air control station in Baghdad." They said the bombing was carried out 45 minutes after they received information from US intelligence sources in Baghdad that the Iraqi president, his two sons and some other senior leaders were meeting in the underground bunker of a restaurant in Baghdad's al-Mansur residential area.

           The pilots said the restaurant was identified to them as "a high priority leadership target." They said it took them 12 minutes to reach the target from their unidentified launching station. On reaching the target, the crew said, they first dropped two high-powered 900-kg bombs, followed by two more bombs of the same intensity with a 25-second delay fuse. "This very unusual combination of bombs," one of the crew said, "was used to ensure deep penetration into the target as the Iraqi leaders were said to be meeting inside a fortified bunker."

           The pilots said with this type of weapons, it would be almost impossible for anyone inside to escape the building alive. Pentagon officials said they could not confirm whether President Saddam and his sons were inside when the building was hit or they had escaped taking advantage of the 45-minute delay in the bombing. "It is presumed that Saddam and his sons were there when the bombs hit the building," said a Pentagon official.

           Meanwhile, Iraqi ambassador in the United Nations Mohammad Al Douri on Wednesday denied coalition troops' claim that Saddam Hussein had been killed during attack on Baghdad. He said the Iraqi President was alive and still leading his forces in the war.