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--- South Asian News, November 11, 2002 --- (Weekend International)

In Nepal, a security guard of the U.S Embassy is shot dead. In Pakistan, the Prime Ministerial candidate, Fazl-ur Rahman demands the withdrawal of U.S troops. The Indian Defence Minister makes no offer of a cease-fire with the militants in Kashmir in the month of Ramadan. The Bangladesh government strongly denies the allegations of the presence of al-Qaeda in their country.

Africa
-------

N/A

Americas
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* Pakistan rebuffs India, declines bodies of New Delhi plaza militants (The News Mexico)
* Scientist from India wins UN environmental prize (The News Mexico)

Asia-Pacific
------------

* Security guard of US Embassy in Nepal murdered (Xinhuanet) (Japan Today) (Channel News Asia)
* Pakistani prime ministerial candidate calls for US withdrawal (Channel News Asia)
* No cease-fire in Kashmir during Ramadan: Indian minister (Xinhuanet)
* Special force to tackle nuclear or biological attack in India (Xinhuanet)
* Gates spreading panic, says India (Malaya Star)
* South Korean PM meets Bangladeshi president (Xinhuanet)
* Bangladesh welcomes UN resolution on Iraq (Xinhuanet)
* Sri Lankan university violence suspects arrested (Xinhuanet)
* 1 charred to death, 10 injured in Indian godown fire (Xinhuanet)
* 3 wounded in bomb explosion in Nepal's capital (Xinhuanet) (Channel News Asia)

Europe
------

* Bangladesh denies al-Qaeda accusation (BBC)
* Thai trawlers 'attack Indian fishermen' (BBC)
* Fishing bans eased in Sri Lanka (BBC)

Middle East
-----------

* US embassy guard shot dead in Nepal (Gulf Daily News)
* Five indicted for U.S. consulate bombing (Gulf News)
* Pakistan cleric wants premiership (Gulf Daily News)
* Vajpayee's South-East Asian tour ends, a new relationship begins (IRNA)
* SOG winds up anti-terrorist operations (Arab News)
* No threat from China along eastern frontiers: Fernandes (IRNA)
* Military officials to meet LTTE leaders (Gulf News)
* Congressto coalition politics: Sonia (Arab News)
* MMA rules out bargaining on PM's post (Gulf News)
* PML-N wants post of deputy speaker (Gulf News)
* Jammu and Kashmir govt releases two militants (IRNA)
* Cheap synthetic drug claims several lives in India's Mizoram (IRNA)

Editorial
---------

N/A

Business/Technology
---------------------

* India forges Thai links (BBC)


Africa
-------

N/A

Americas
-----------

* Pakistan rebuffs India, declines bodies of New Delhi plaza militants

November 9 -- Nuclear rival Pakistan Friday rejected India's demand to collect the bodies of two suspected Muslim militants slain by the police at a mall, saying the two were neither Pakistanis nor the gun battle genuine. The rebuff came on India's demand that the pair killed in a bloody encounter with the police Sunday at New Delhi's trendy Ansal Plaza arcade were Pakistanis. Allegations of a so-called eye witness that the pair were unarmed when they were slaughtered has cast a shadow on what the police has billed as a hugely successful counter-terrorism operation.

http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=39440

* Scientist from India wins UN environmental prize

November 9 -- A scientist from India who has devoted his life to protecting the environment was named as this year's recipient of the United Nations Environment Program's Sasakawa Prize. Ashok Khosla, who founded the first major non-governmental organization in India to promote environmentally friendly and commercially viable technologies, is to receive the award Nov. 19 in New York. The prize is worth 200,000 dollars and comes from funds donated by the late Japanese industrialist Ryoichi Sasakawa. The environment prize is the only award given out every year by the UN Environment Program for the world organization. The technologies being promoted by Khosla aim to help villages in India manage power plants and use agricultural wastes as fuel and aid small factories that recycle paper and local enterprises that produce low-cost roofing tiles.

http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=38729

Asia-Pacific
-------------

* Security guard of US Embassy in Nepal murdered

November 10 -- A security guard at the US Embassy in Nepal was shot dead at his rented house at buddhanagar in Kathmandu city Saturday afternoon, according to a police officer. "A group of three young men broke into the house at around 4:00p.m. and ran away after shooting at Dipak Pokharel, who was asleepover there," said an unnamed police officer, who quoted Pokharel's sister-in-law, an eyewitness, as saying. Pokharel, who is a local Nepalese, had sustained serious injuries and died on the way to the hospital, the officer added.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-11/10/content_624380.htm
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=237930
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/24129/1/.html

* Pakistani prime ministerial candidate calls for US withdrawal

November 10 -- In Pakistan, a prime ministerial candidate is demanding that the United States military withdraws from the country. The leader of a six-party religious alliance, Fazl-ur Rahman, says Pakistanis are opposed to the US-led war in Afghanistan. The six-party alliance of religious parties, of which Fazl-ur Rahman's party is a dominant partner, campaigned almost exclusively on an anti-American platform. It demanded that US soldiers leave Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan, criticizing President Pervez Musharraf's support for the war on terror. Mr Fazl-ur said he did not want to answer questions about the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, or about them finding sanctuary in Pakistan under a government that included the religious right. "These are issues we will speak about in detail after the government is formed," he told reporters.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/24174/1/.html

* No cease-fire in Kashmir during Ramadan: Indian minister

November 9 -- Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes said on Saturday that there was no move to offer a cease-fire to so-called militants in India-controlled Kashmir during theongoing month of Ramadan. The government had no plan of offering a cease-fire to militants in Kashmir in view of Ramadan, Fernandes told reporters during his day-long visit to Guwahati, a major city of India's eastern state 1,960 kilometers from here.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-11/09/content_624358.htm

* Special force to tackle nuclear or biological attack in India

November 10 -- A specialized quick reaction force would soon be ready for deployment across the country to tackle any disaster caused by a nuclear or biological attack. The force, carved out from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), is meant to be the "first responder in the event of a nuclear or biological attack," senior officials said Sunday, according to the Press Trust of India. The force would be ready for action in about four months and would be deployed at four places across the country - Ghaziabad tocater to Delhi and other northern areas, Ranchi to cater to the east, Kota to the west and Chennai to the south, they said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-11/10/content_624962.htm

* Gates spreading panic, says India

November 10 -- India's health minister yesterday accused US software mogul Bill Gates and the US ambassador here of "spreading panic" over HIV and AIDS even as they pledged to help the country combat the deadly disease. Microsoft founder Gates was due tomorrow in India, a major software producer, where he is expected to pledge millions of dollars to prevent AIDS from spreading. US Ambassador Robert Blackwill, meanwhile, said in a speech on Wednesday in Madras that Washington was committed to help India fight AIDS and has dedicated US$63mil (RM239mil) to prevention programmes over the past five years.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/archives/story.asp?ppath=\2002\11\10&file=/2002/11/10/asia/delaids&sec=asia

* South Korean PM meets Bangladeshi president

November 9 -- President of Bangladesh Iajuddin Ahmed expressed his satisfaction with the excellent bilateral relations between Bangladesh and South Korea when visiting South Korean Prime Minister Kim Suk-Soo called on him at the President House here Saturday. The president said he hoped that Prime Minister Kim's visit will further strengthen relations and expand cooperation to the benefit of the two nations, according to the official Bangladesh News Agency.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-11/09/content_624312.htm

* Bangladesh welcomes UN resolution on Iraq

November 9 -- Bangladesh Saturday welcomed Resolution 1441 on Iraq unanimously adopted at the UN Security Council Friday, expressing the hope that it would create the condition to ensure peace and stability in the region. Speaking at a news briefing here, a spokesman for the foreign ministry said that Bangladesh welcomed the initiative to invoke a UN rule, specifically a role of the Security Council, with regard to the evolving situation on Iraq. The spokesman urged all parties concerned to fully cooperate with the United Nations and the Security Council "to create conditions congenial to peace and an atmosphere of cooperation with the ultimate objective to avoid conflict and avert war."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-11/09/content_624228.htm

* Sri Lankan university violence suspects arrested

November 10 -- Sri Lankan police in hot pursuit of killers of a student in campus violence that broke out here two days ago arrested seven students in a massive search operation on the northern outskirts of capital Colombo at early hours on Sunday. Students suspected to be involved in Friday clashes in the Jayawardenepura University on southwestern outskirts of Colombo which left one student dead and four critically injured were hiding in hostels of Kelaniya University,police said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-11/10/content_625011.htm

* 1 charred to death, 10 injured in Indian godown fire

November 10 -- A five-year old child was charred to death and 10 persons, including a fire fighter, sustained injuries in a fire Sunday in a chemical godown at a village near Barasat in east India's West Bengal state, police said. The fire, which broke out around 10:30 a.m., was brought under control in two hours by six fire tenders and the reason behind theblaze was yet to be known, police said. The deceased child belonged to the godown's security guard, wholived at the premises along with his family, police said, adding that the guard and his wife also sustained injuries.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-11/10/content_624969.htm

* 3 wounded in bomb explosion in Nepal's capital

November 9 -- At least three people were wounded when a bomb exploded in downtown Kathmandu city Saturday morning, according to a police officer. "Three women were wounded when the bomb went off at Tebahal, near the Royal Nepal Airlines Office building in downtown city this morning," said an unnamed police officer, who was at the siteof the explosion.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-11/09/content_624073.htm
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/24105/1/.html

Europe
--------

* Bangladesh denies al-Qaeda accusation

November 10 -- The Bangladesh government has strongly protested against recent remarks of the Indian Deputy Prime Minister, LK Advani. Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shamser Mobin Chowdhury summoned the Indian High Commissioner Monilal Tripathi on Sunday and handed over the protest note. It described the allegations as baseless and incorrect. Mr Chowdhury said Bangladesh never expected such aspersions to be made by a responsible leader of the Indian government.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2437901.stm

* Thai trawlers 'attack Indian fishermen'

November 10 -- Indian patrol boats have been sent to an area of the Bay of Bengal where fishermen reported coming under fire from Thai trawlers. The fishermen say they were shot at by crew members on a number of Thai vessels to try to frighten them away from waters about 150 kilometres south of Calcutta. There are no reports of any injuries and the Thai authorities have yet to respond to the allegations. Correspondents say there are regular disputes between Thai and Indian fishermen in parts of the Bay of Bengal.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2435463.stm

* Fishing bans eased in Sri Lanka

November 10 -- The Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels have agreed to lift fishing restrictions off the country's northern coast. The agreement to allow fishermen back into four areas was reached during the first meeting of a committee of military representatives from both sides. The committee was established during peace talks in Thailand which ended a week ago. Puli Thevan, a Tamil Tiger representative at the meeting, said there was no deal on troop withdrawals from civilian areas. The committee met in a neutral territory, Omanthai, between the two front lines. It will confer again after the next round of Sri Lankan peace talks scheduled in Norway at the beginning of next month.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2438783.stm

Middle East
------------

* US embassy guard shot dead in Nepal

November 10 -- The security supervisor for the US embassy in Nepal was yesterday shot dead at his house by three gunmen, officials said. Deepak Prasad Pokharel was sleeping at his home in Kathmandu when three assailants entered, shot him at close range and escaped, a home ministry official said. Police have not caught any suspects, but local radio said the attack was likely carried out by Maoist rebels who are fighting to topple the monarchy and are staunchly anti-American. Meanwhile, three women were seriously injured after a bomb ripped through central Kathmandu ahead of a Maoist rebel strike to protest King Gyanendra's dismissal of the government.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=36762&Sn=WORL&IssueID=25235

* Five indicted for U.S. consulate bombing

November 9 -- A special anti-terrorism court judge yesterday formally indicted five militants for masterminding the June 14 car bombing outside the U.S. consulate in the restive port city of Karachi in which 12 people were killed. The accused, belonging to the shadowy Harkatul Mujahideen Al Alami group, pleaded not guilty to the charges of terrorism, murder, attempted murder and the use of explosives. Three of the five suspects, including their ringleader, Mohammed Imran, Mohammed Hanif and Mohammed Ashraf, were put on trial in August, but the judge decided to restart the case yesterday following the arrest of two more militants Shahrib, and Zubair Ahmed.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=67995

* Pakistan cleric wants premiership

November 10 -- The pro-Taliban leader of Pakistan's religious right insisted yesterday he should be the country's next prime minister, further complicating protracted efforts to form a new civilian government. Fazal-ur-Rehman, prime ministerial candidate of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal alliance of hardline Islamic parties, also said he hoped the anti-military Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto would support his bid.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=36763&Sn=WORL&IssueID=25235

* Vajpayee's South-East Asian tour ends, a new relationship begins

November 9 -- A rare spirit of comraderie marked Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's five-day, three-nation tour of Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, the unique hospitality extended by his hosts adding to Vajpayee's visible good humor at the conclusion of the trip, the local media reported. Talking to the media on his way back, India's prime minister said his visits to Laos and Cambodia were politically important and personally rewarding.

http://www.irna.com/en/world/.ewo.shtml

* SOG winds up anti-terrorist operations

November 10 -- Even as its future is being hotly debated, the anti-terrorist Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir police has ceased its activities in the state. "They (SOG) are not carrying out any anti-terrorist operations. They are waiting for orders from the new government," a police officer said. The SOG had been widely accused of rights violations. Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed had vowed during his People's Democratic Party's (PDP's) campaign for the September-October assembly polls that the group would be wound up if the party was elected to power. The SOG is likely to be merged with the state police and this would ensure greater transparency in their operations, the police officer said.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=20244

* No threat from China along eastern frontiers: Fernandes

November 9 -- India's defense minister George Fernandes Saturday said there was no threat from China along its eastern frontiers, with the border well protected and safe. "The Sino-Indian border is safe and every inch of our territory is well protected and guarded," Fernandes told journalists in Assam's capital Guwahati. "There is no need for concern along our eastern frontiers". The defense minister's statement comes in the wake of reports of Chinese troops intruding into Indian territory along its unfenced border with the northeastern stateof Arunachal Pradesh.

http://www.irna.com/en/world/.ewo.shtml

* Military officials to meet LTTE leaders

November 10 -- Top military officials of the Sri Lankan government will meet senior Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leaders for official talks today for the first time as part of the Norwegian backed peace process to resolve a series of issues connected with security. Defence Secretary Austin Fernando will head the nine-member government delegation while the LTTE will be led by V. Muralitharan alias Karuna at the talks to be held in no-man's land between the security forces-controlled area and the guerrilla-controlled area in the Wanni district. Both sides will discuss security concerns in the north and eastern provinces with particular reference to issues regarding "High Security Zones" around major military camps in the north and eastern parts of the country.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=68077

* Congressto coalition politics: Sonia

November 10 -- The main opposition Congress party said yesterday it could join ranks with other political groups to try and oust the Hindu extremist-led government from riot-torn Gujarat state in upcoming polls. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said the Dec. 12 assembly elections in the western state could also impact on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's government, which, like the Gujarat administration, is headed by the Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "The Gujarat election is a challenge for us and for all those who believe that the road to progress is not that of violence," Sonia said at the end of a conclave of chief ministers from Congress-ruled states. "We areto working with like-minded secular parties in order to defeat communal forces (in Gujarat)."

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=20246

* MMA rules out bargaining on PM's post

November 10 -- Pakistani religious alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) yesterday ruled out a coalition deal with any party which does not accept its candidate for the slot of prime minister. "We shall under no circumstances change our position," MMA secretary general and prime ministerial nominee Maulana Fazlur Rehman told reporters after a meeting with Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) president Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan. "MMA has nominated its man for the prime ministerial office and there is no question of backing out on it," he told reporters. The ARD includes the PPP.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=68079

* PML-N wants post of deputy speaker

November 10 -- The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group) has demanded the office of the deputy speaker in the National Assembly as a condition for its support for Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) nominee Maulana Fazlur Rehman for the office of prime minister. An MMA-ARD coalition government at the centre would herald the chance of the return of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family, along with PPP leader Benazir Bhutto.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=68100

* Jammu and Kashmir govt releases two militants

November 9 -- Amid speculation that some All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders may be released from jails, the new Jammu and Kashmir government has released two militants who have been languishing in prison for over 10 years. The JKLF commander Nazir Ahmad Sheikh alias Gul Danter and Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Mohammad Ayub, were set free by a court on bail on Thursday, a few days after another JKLF commander Showkat Ahmad Bakshi, was granted bail. All of them were facing militancy-related charges. Sources said the government was also considering releasing Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mohammad Yasin Malik and Sheikh Abdul Aziz.

http://www.irna.com/en/world/.ewo.shtml

* Cheap synthetic drug claims several lives in India's Mizoram

November 9 -- Cheap synthetic drugs have claimed at least 100 lives during the past one year, fuelling fears of a mass addiction in India's northeastern state of Mizoram, officials Saturday said in Aizawl. "The situation is indeed frightening with youths taking to cheaper alternatives, illegal tranquilizers like amphetamines and methamphetamine tablets, thousands of which flood the local markets in Aizawl," Mizoram's Excise Commissioner Lal Biakmawia Khingte told IRNA.

http://www.irna.com/en/world/.ewo.shtml

Editorial
---------

N/A

Business/Technology
----------------------

* India forges Thai links

November 8 -- India and Thailand have agreed to expand air routes between the two counties and to broaden their economic ties. The agreement in principle was made between India's Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and his Thai counterpart, Thaksin Shinawatra. The Indian prime minister and his Thai counterpart agreed to step up efforts to strengthen the economic ties between the two countries at an extended working lunch. Their plan to increase air links between India and Thailand would involve increasing traffic on existing routes and introducing flights between Thailand's main northern city of Chiang Mai and Calcutta. This will increase bilateral trade and tourism, Indian officials told the BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2420831.stm

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