20 January 2004 Tuesday 27 Ziqa'ad 1424 Bush dispatches Baker to Middle East WASHINGTON, Jan 19: US President George Bush on Monday dispatched his special envoy on Iraq debt, James Baker, to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for a new round of debt-reduction talks. ... Washington's Iraq plan is a facade LONDON: The occupation of Iraq continues to get worse for George Bush and Tony Blair. The deaths of at least 20 people in a suicide bomb attack outside the coalition headquarters in Baghdad on Sunday underlines the spiralling unrest in the country. ... UN may help US if it changes its occupation policy in Iraq UNITED NATIONS: Secretary-General Kofi Annan was due to meet officials from the coalition provisional authority and Iraqi officials on Monday. The secretary-general will be under pressure from the United States to have his organization play a "pivotal role" in helping resolve a crisis that shows no sign of abating. ... Sharon warns Jordan of consequences: Opposition to barrier TEL AVIV, Jan 19: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday warned that Jordan would "have much to lose in worsening of its relations" with Israel by joining an international campaign against the separation barrier being built in the West Bank. ... Yassin is a target, says Israeli general TEL AVIV, Jan 19: Israeli army chief General Moshe Yaalon said on Monday that Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, founder of the Hamas, was a target for assassination. ... Israel plans to alter fence's route TEL AVIV, Jan 19: Israel, facing a World Court hearing over its contentious barrier in the West Bank, plans cosmetic changes to its route, political sources said on Monday. ... Hezbollah kills Israeli soldier KIRYAT SHMONA, Jan 19: An Israeli soldier was killed and another seriously wounded when their bulldozer was destroyed in an anti-tank rocket attack along the Lebanese border on Monday, military sources said. ... BD seminar condemns India-Israel nexus DHAKA, Jan 19: Speakers at a Seminar on Geo-strategic Implications of Indo-Israel Nexus were critical of the nexus, while some of them observed on Monday that Israel's intrusion into South Asia might bring misfortune to the people of the region. ... Rabin killer's bid to marry blocked TEL AVIV, Jan 19: Israel's prison director said on Monday he would forbid the killer of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin to marry in prison, after reports of his wedding plans stirred a national uproar. ... Taliban's drug control steps termed most effective LONDON, Jan 19: The Taliban's attack on Afghan heroin production was the "most effective" drug control policy of modern times, but production soared again after their government was ousted, researchers said on Monday. ... Tajiks watch warily as Afghans grow poppy DUSHANBE: Geography has rendered Tajiks keen observers of Afghanistan and lately they see two worrying trends emerging in their southern neighbour - radicals are establishing bases in the north and poppy fields are multiplying. ... Khatami's party threatens to boycott elections TEHRAN, Jan 19: President Mohammad Khatami's political party has threatened to boycott Iran's parliamentary elections unless bans on hundreds of aspiring liberal candidates are promptly reversed, newspapers and officials said on Monday. ... Parliament attack in India: SC stays death NEW DELHI, Jan 19: India's supreme court on Monday stayed the death penalties handed to two Kashmiris for their role in an attack on the parliament in 2001. ... 17 Indians detained in Russia VORONEZH, Jan 19: Russian border guards have detained 17 Indians who illegally crossed into the country from Ukraine, news agencies reported on Monday. ... India to get Russian aircraft carrier NEW DELHI, Jan 19: Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov arrived here on Monday with a promise that Moscow would deliver by 2008 a revamped Soviet-era aircraft carrier which India plans to buy for 1.8 billion dollars. ... Dalits for action to end untouchability MUMBAI, Jan 19: Campaigners for Hinduism's lowest caste, the Dalits, on Monday sought a global alliance to wipe out caste discrimination. More than 5,000 Dalits sang, danced and held banners as they marched onto a Mumbai exhibition grounds for the World Social Forum ... Georgia's new leader risks war with Russia TSKHINVALI (Georgia): Georgia's new leader Mikhail Saakashvili has made returning his country's lost territories the rallying cry of his presidency, but the people in this tiny breakaway region say there will be war if he tries to reunite them with Georgia. ... Saudi Arabia blocks funds for Chechen fighters: Pro-Moscow govt recognized MOSCOW, Jan 19: Saudi Arabia has cracked down on groups funding guerillas in Russia's war-torn republic of Chechnya and has recognized its pro-Moscow government, Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov told a news conference on Monday. ... Eight rebels killed in Indonesia BANDA ACEH, Jan 19: Indonesian troops have shot dead eight guerillas and seized several weapons in Aceh province, the military said on Monday. ... 18,000 affected as strike grounds Italian planes ROME, Jan 19: Italy's national carrier, Alitalia, grounded 364 flights on Monday after unions called an eight-hour strike in protest at a plan to slash 1,500 jobs over the next three years and outsource a further 1,200. ... LTTE seeks donors' pressure on govt COLOMBO, Jan 19: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerillas have warned that their cease-fire could collapse due to a power struggle between the president and the prime minister ... Racial tension rising in UK: poll LONDON: Four out of 10 white people in Britain do not want an Asian or black Briton as their neighbour, according to a survey published this week. ...

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