09 September 2004 Thursday 23 Rajab 1425 Accused trio 'met Karzai's brother': Torture trial KABUL, Sept 8: Lawyers for two of three Americans on trial for kidnapping and torturing Afghans in a vigilante counter-terror operation said on Wednesday they had videos showing the trio had met Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother. ... NATO seeking terrorist posing as cameraman KABUL, Sept 8: International peacekeepers in Afghanistan on Wednesday said they had received a tip off that a "terrorist" posing as a cameraman was trying to enter the capital. ... Annan casts doubt about Iraq polls UNITED NATIONS, Sept 8: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned on Tuesday that continued violence in Iraq could make it more difficult to hold successful elections in the country scheduled for January next year. ... Guantanamo prisoner 'improperly' held: US WASHINGTON, Sept 8: The Pentagon has determined for the first time that one of the nearly 600 Guantanamo Bay prisoners was improperly held by the United States as an "enemy combatant" and will be released to his home country, the Navy secretary said on Wednesday. ... UNSC to discuss Sudan next week UNITED NATIONS, Sept 8: The Security Council could take action on the crisis engulfing the Darfur region of Sudan within the next week, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday ... 100 French school girls violate scarf ban PARIS, Sept 8: About 100 French Muslim girls have refused to take off their headscarves in school despite a government ban on "conspicuous" religious insignia in state schools, Education Minister Francois Fillon said on Wednesday. ... Mars' watery climate lasted ages: study PARIS, Sept 8: Mars may be cold, dry and dusty today but it once had a watery climate that lasted for much of its history, according to a study published in the British science journal Nature on Thursday. ... New questions raised about Bush's military record BOSTON, Sept 8: President George W. Bush fell short of meeting his military obligations during the Vietnam War and was not disciplined despite irregular attendance at required training drills, The Boston Globe said on Wednesday. ... N-test should have been reported: Seoul SEOUL, Sept 8: South Korea should have reported a uranium enrichment test to the United Nations nuclear watchdog before it was conducted four years ago, a government official said on Wednesday. ... Typhoon kills 31 in Japan TOKYO, Sept 8: Typhoon Songda became the worst typhoon to hit Japan in recent years, leaving at least 31 dead by Wednesday morning with the toll expected to rise, authorities and news reports said. ... N-charges dropped against SA trader VANDERBIJLPARK, Sept 8: Charges have been withdrawn against a South African businessman arrested last week for his alleged links to a global nuclear smuggling ring, a senior prosecutor said on Wednesday. ... Peace hinges on civil society contacts NEW DELHI: It is becoming increasingly evident, after the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan failed to make significant progress in just-concluded peace talks ... Kathmandu looking for help from Delhi KATHMANDU: Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will seek more assistance from India to stamp out a deadly Maoist revolt during a five-day visit to New Delhi which began on Wednesday, officials said. ... Poverty blamed on bad governance CHENNAI: Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has blamed the governance model adopted during the first 30 years after Independence for the high poverty in India as it enforced government intervention at all levels and effectively killed individual initiative. ... Bangladesh is not a failed state DHAKA: A new subject has appeared to be taking hold of the public imagination. The question of whether or not Bangladesh is a failed state these days exercises the minds of a lot of people across the spectrum. ... Lankan army for more UN jobs PANAGODA (Sri Lanka): Sri Lanka's military on Wednesday said it was seeking more UN peacekeeping jobs as the island's first batch of 750 troops prepared to leave for Haiti. ...

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