24 January 2004 Saturday 01 Zilhaj 1424 Iran to put Al Qaeda captives on trial DAVOS, Jan 23: Iran plans to put about a dozen jailed Al Qaeda suspects on trial, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said on Friday. "They are currently in prison. ... Saddam's capture: hole to be plugged TIKRIT, Jan 23: The hole in which US soldiers found former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein hiding could be filled in to prevent it becoming a "shrine", a US military spokesman said on Friday. ... Ashcroft seeks help against terrorism DAVOS, Jan 23: US Attorney General John Ashcroft appealed on Friday for help from the international community in the "war on terrorism", while defending the Bush administration. ... US-Egypt alliance shows signs of stress WASHINGTON: A bulwark of America's Middle East policy for a quarter-century, ties between the United States and Egypt are showing new strains in the wake of the war in Iraq ... Israeli troops must change attitude, says commander TEL AVIV, Jan 23: The general who heads Israel's "civil administration" in the West Bank called on Friday for a major rethink on the scores of army roadblocks that impede Palestinian movement across the territory. ... ME peace process at 'stalemate': Armitage WASHINGTON, Jan 23: Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said on Thursday that Middle East peace efforts were "at a bit of a stalemate" as two senior US diplomats prepared for a mission to the region to press Israel and the Palestinians to resume talks. ... Israel introduces 'anti-bomb' buses TEL AVIV, Jan 23: Israel has come up with a new system aimed to stop suicide bombers boarding buses before blowing themselves up, by detecting the explosives they are carrying. ... US, Russia making noprogress on HR: Swedish report STOCKHOLM, Jan 23: Respect for human rights is on the rise in most countries, but glaring exceptions are the illegal detention of prisoners by the United States and Russian operations in Chechnya, a Swedish report said on Friday. ... Turkish army backs Cyprus talks ANKARA, Jan 23: Turkey's political and military leaders threw their weight on Friday behind a resumption of stalled peace talks for the divided island of Cyprus and said they aimed for a speedy deal. ... BJP launches campaign with focus on Vajpayee NEW DELHI, Jan 23: The Bharatiya Janata Party launched a re-election campaign centred on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Friday, cashing in on the anniversary of one of the nation's most revered freedom fighters. ... Talks on Kashmir augur well; long road ahead NEW DELHI: Talks between the Indian government and Kashmiri leaders have broken new ground, but there is a long way to go before life returns to normal in occupied Kashmir, analysts say. ... UK MP sacked over suicide bomber remark LONDON, Jan 23: A British parliamentarian lost her party job on Friday for saying she would consider becoming a suicide bomber if she were a Palestinian, remarks that caused widespread outrage. ... US and the rest; who needs whom? LONDON: Try this exercise: imagine that Britain had joined France and Germany in refusing to support the war on Iraq. Where would the British be today? ... Genetic revolution yet to bear fruit LONDON: Few revolutions happen without misplaced hopes - and the fledgling genetics revolution of the 1990s was no exception. If you believed the hype, as soon as scientists mastered how to handle genes ... European spacecraft reveals ice on Mars DARMSTADT, Jan 23: Data relayed from Europe's mission to Mars gave dramatic backing on Friday to theories that the Red Planet was once awash with water, one of the precious ingredients for life. ... The Red Planet: some facts LOCATION: Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, orbiting at a mean distance of 227.9 million kilometres, about half as much again as the distance between the Sun and Earth. ... Congressman calls for freeing Pakistani boy NEW YORK, Jan 23: Democratic Congressman from Harlem New York, Charles Rangel, has joined a Hudson Valley citizens group in calling for the release of a Pakistani pizza deliveryman detained in a federal prison ... Halliburton officials took bribes: paper NEW YORK, Jan 23: Two officials of Halliburton corporation, the biggest contractor in Iraq, accepted up to six million dollars in kickbacks from a Kuwaiti company that was awarded contracts to supply US troops in Iraq, said the Wall Street Journal. ... Rover resumes sending signals LOS ANGELES, Jan 23: The Mars rover Spirit resumed sending data to Earth on Friday after the robot suffered from garbled communications and periods of intermittent silence, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on Friday. ... Mini-nukes: new defence or threat? SAN FRANCISCO: The US effort to design a new generation of low-power nuclear weapons, approved in the defence budget for 2004, is politically, technically and militarily unjustifiable, say critics. ...

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