12 March 2004 Friday 20 Muharram 1425 Attacks bear Al Qaeda, ETA mark: US official WASHINGTON, March 11: US intelligence agencies believe it is too early to conclude who was behind the explosions in Madrid, but see the attack as bearing hallmarks of both the Basque separatist group ETA and the Al Qaeda network ... Egypt ready to secure its side of Gaza border CAIRO, March 11: Egypt offered on Thursday to secure its side of the border with Gaza if Israel decides to withdraw settlers from the Gaza Strip, Israeli sources said. ... US to impose 'firm' sanctions on Syria WASHINGTON, March 11: The Bush administration will act soon to impose firm sanctions against Syria, which it accuses of sponsoring terrorism, a State Department official said on Wednesday. ... Anti-Semitism or anti-Zionism? LONDON: It is impossible to doubt that genuine anti-Semitism is resurgent in Europe and even, in some circles, becoming respectable. A few years ago, my wife and I found ourselves at a dinner party that included several Austrian guests. ... Bunker-buster budget raises questions WASHINGTON: A report by a nonpartisan congressional research group says sharp increases in the proposed budget to build a "bunker buster" nuclear bomb raises questions about whether the controversial programme is only a study ... Karachi kebabs steal show in Delhi NEW DELHI, March 11: Bundoo Khan's delicious kebabs were all sold out here on Thursday. People made a beeline for Hashim's famed 'surma', and carted away exotic furniture ... Children stay in Indian prisons with their mothers NEW DELHI: Behind the formidable iron gates of New Delhi's Tihar prisons, children sit playing in circles - some are babies in cots - as mothers clean noses and soothe feverish foreheads. ... Dilemma of a deaf girl NEW YORK: Born deaf, Fahmida Ferdousi Saki has finally begun to hear the words spoken to her. She can form her own sentences, too, as a result of a medical procedure readily available in this city but absent in her native Bangladesh. ... 13 killed in Kashmir violence SRINAGAR, March 11: Thirteen people were killed in the latest violence in Kashmir, four of them when two guerillas holed up inside a girls' school traded fire with Indian troops after attacking an army camp, officials claimed on Thursday. ... Moscow opposes resolution :Tehran's nuclear plan VIENNA, March 11: Russia dislikes the explicit reference to a military link to Iran's nuclear programme in a draft UN nuclear resolution backed by the United States and would like this section deleted, diplomats said on Thursday. ... HEU traces found in Iran: diplomat VIENNA, March 11: United Nations nuclear inspectors have found in Iran traces of uranium enriched up to 80 per cent, a weapons-grade level, but think this is from contamination of imported equipment ... Islamic parties unlikely winners KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA: Malaysia, the world's most modern Muslim nation, and Indonesia, which brags the world's largest Muslim population, are heading for general elections in upcoming weeks ...

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