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--- South Asian News, October 11, 2002 --- (International)

Indian Kasmir chief quits after shock defeat in the polls and in Pakistan, Islamic parties put up a strong show as the results are still coming in. US praises the Kashmir voters for defying terror and the commonwealth observers approve of Pakistan's elections as "well organised and for the most part transparent". In other news, violence in eastern Sri Lanka raises concerns on the ongoing peace process.

Africa

* Kashmir chief minister quits after shock loss (Independent Online)

Americas

* Kashmir rejects pro-India party (The News Mexico)
* Few bother to vote in Pakistan's election (Globe and Mail)
* Pakistan votes with shadow of Musharraf looming large (The News Mexico)
* Maoist rebels vow to take advantage of Nepal's political chaos (The News Mexico)

Asia-Pacific

* Farooq Abdullah submits resignation as head of Kashmir (Malaya Star) (Channel News Asia)
* Ruling party savaged in polls (Malaya Star) (Xinhuanet) (Australian Broadcasting)
* Washington endorses Kashmir elections (Australian Broadcasting)
* Kashmir ready to form new gov't (Japan Today)
* 17 militants among 20 killed in Jammu, Kashmir (Xinhuanet) (Malaya Star)
* Polling in Pakistan largely peaceful (Xinhuanet) (Malaya Star) (Australian Broadcasting)
* Islamic parties make strong showing in Pakistan polls (Australian Broadcasting) (Channel News Asia) (Australian News)
* Main parties neck and neck in Pakistan (Japan Today) (Australian Broadcasting)
* Ex-PM Bhutto confident party will win majority of Pakistan polls (Channel News Asia)
* Three injured in grenade explosion in Sri Lanka (Malaya Star)
* 9 anti-government guerrillas killed in Nepal (Xinhuanet)

Europe

* Kashmiri voters redraw the political map (Guardian)
* Kashmir chief minister quits (BBC) (Guardian)
* Coalition talks begin in Indian Kashmir (Reuters)
* Islamic parties surge in Pakistan poll (BBC) (Ananova) (Guardian)
* Musharraf allies ahead in Pakistan poll (Reuters)
* Bhutto party lead deals blow to Musharraf (Times Online)
* Pakistani elections were 'transparent' (Ananova)
* Two die in Sri Lanka clash (BBC)
* Inquiry into Sri Lanka shooting (BBC)
* Nepal king set to name new PM (BBC) (Guardian)

Middle East

* Jammu and Kashmir chief minister resigns (IRNA) (Arab News) (Gulf News) (Gulf Daily News)
* Counting ends in Kashmir, National Conference leads (IRNA)
* Hurriyat 'accepts poll verdict' (Gulf News)
* Four shot dead as clashes mar polls (Gulf Daily News)
* Musharraf to transfer power Nov. 1 (Arab News)
* Poll results being held back says Benazir (Gulf News)
* Fahim flies to London for talks with Benazir (Gulf News) (Gulf Daily News)
* Mandate a body blow for govt's pro-US policies: Pakistani expats (Arab News)
* Nine Indian soldiers killed in separatists' ambush (IRNA)
* Life in Ampara comes to standstill (Gulf News)
* Khaleda seeks help in fight against crime (Gulf News)

Editorial

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Business/Technology

N/A

Africa

* Kashmir chief minister quits after shock loss

Chief Minister of Indian-administered Kashmir Farooq Abdullah resigned Friday after his National Conference (NC) party suffered a shocking defeat in the regional state elections. The ruling NC was voted out of power on Thursday with a split mandate resulting in a hung 87-member assembly. The big gainers were the Congress Party and the People's Democratic Party (PDP), who are negotiating to form a coalition government.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=126&art_id=qwW643&set_id=1

Americas

* Kashmir rejects pro-India party

Srinagar, India -- Voters in troubled Indian-controlled Kashmir soundly rejected the pro-India ruling party in state elections, but final returns Thursday assured a coalition among parties opposed to negotiating with Pakistan while cross-border terrorism continues. In rejecting National Conference party rule, voters were seen to have dumped it for causes other than independence - its failure to meet voter aspirations for a better life, more jobs and less government arrogance and corruption. The party, which has ruled the Himalayan province for the past six years and dominated state government since independence in 1947, took only 28 seats, slipping dramatically from its 56-seat majority in the last assembly.

http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=37266

* Few bother to vote in Pakistan's election

Rawalpidi, Pakistan -- Early returns showed former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party in the lead, but unlikely to form a majority. What was clearer was that an astonishingly low number of people bothered to vote. At two of the biggest polling stations in this city of 800,000 people, clerks said the turnout was between 20 and 25 per cent, though they hinted the "official" figures would be much higher. "The government will say it was between 50 and 60 per cent," one poll official said. The truth is that yesterday's parliamentary election was largely ignored by the country's largest constituency: the poor.

http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20021011/UPAKKN/Asia/
internationalAsia/internationalAsia_temp/2/2/6/

* Pakistan votes with shadow of Musharraf looming large

Pakistanis voted Thursday in elections meant to return power to civilians after three years of military rule under President Pervez Musharraf, amid sluggish voter turnout and clashes that left at least four people dead and more than two dozen injured. Feared terror attacks did not eventuate, but party rivalry burst into violence in two districts in southern Sindh province, with three people killed including a pro-government supporter who was shot dead. An activist from the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was also shot dead around noon (0700 GMT) in a village outside Multan in central Punjab province, police said.

http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=37247

* Maoist rebels vow to take advantage of Nepal's political chaos

Maoist rebels vowed Thursday to take advantage of political chaos in Nepal to press their demand for an end to the monarchy, after King Gyanendra delayed a deadline to relinquish power. The Maoists, who in the past have been fiercely critical of Deuba and his administration's military crackdown on the rebels, demanded Thursday that the king restore the government. In a statement faxed to Nepali-language newspapers in Kathmandu, the rebels called on Gyanendra to convene "a round-table conference of patriots and democratic forces" to resolve the crisis. "Our struggle has been crystallized by this royal announcement. We pledge to revolt against this situation that the king has created," the rebels said.

http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=37252

Asia-Pacific

* Farooq Abdullah submits resignation as head of Kashmir

Srinagar, India -- A day after ballot-counting showed that voters had rejected the party that has governed Jammu-Kashmir for six years, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah submitted his resignation Friday. The flamboyant longtime leader of the National Conference party was asked to remain on as caretaker administrator of India's only Muslim-majority state until a new government has formed. Results released Thursday by the Election Commission showed that no party had won a majority of seats in the 87-seat state legislature, but the opposition Congress and People's Democratic Party were likely to form a coalition, with the help of independents and smaller parties.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/10/11/asia/1110kash&sec=asia
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/21446/1/.html

* Ruling party savaged in polls

The family dynasty that has ruled Indian Kashmir on-and-off for more than half a century appeared headed for defeat yesterday after early counting showed its party being savaged in a state election. Omar Abdullah, 32-year-old leader of the ruling National Conference, failed even to win his own seat as the party founded by his grandfather suffered a string of unexpected electoral defeats across Jammu and Kashmir state.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/10/11/asia/kasdynas&sec=asia
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/10/content_592174.htm
http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_698585.htm

* Washington endorses Kashmir elections

The United States welcomes what it describes as the successful conclusion to elections in India's Jammu and Kashmir state. Washington also praised voters for defying violence to cast their ballots and urged India and Pakistan to use the chance to launch dialogue. America's Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca, says Mr. Vajpayee's personal commitment in making the electionsand transparent was critical. A State Department spokesman added that Washington hoped the conclusion of the polls will be the first step in bringing peace to the region.

http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_698828.htm

* Kashmir ready to form new gov't

Hectic parleys started Friday to form a new political alliance that is likely to take over reins in the insurgency-wracked Indian state Jammu and Kashmir, edging out years of unpopular rule by a regional party headed by the state's most powerful family. The Congress Party, India's oldest political entity, and the People's Democratic Party (PDP), a local center-left party, along with others, including independents, are likely to form the state's new coalition. The Congress Party won 20 seats of the state assembly's 87 seats and the PDP 16. Twenty-two seats have gone to others, including independents and former militants who will play a crucial role in government formation. The National Conference won 28 seats, while the BJP party, led nationally by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, won one.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=234003

* 17 militants among 20 killed in Jammu, Kashmir

Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit Thursday suffered a major jolt when 13 of its hard-core militants were killed in two encounters with security forces in Kashmir valley, a police spokesman of India said Thursday. An army soldier and a civilian were also killed in the encounters which took place during search operations at Mirpora-Beerwah in Badgam district and Banday Payeen near Kreeri in Baramulla district. Elsewhere in Jammu and Kashmir, five persons, including four militants, were killed and six others injured, while a People's Democratic Party leader escaped unhurt in a militant attack since Wednesday night, he said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/11/content_592204.htm
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/10/11/asia/himal&sec=asia

* Polling in Pakistan largely peaceful

Pakistan voted on Thursday in a largely peaceful and orderly fashion national and four provincial assemblies. The polling for direct elections continued for well over nine hours, from 8:00 am to 5:00 PM. The people deciding to exercise their right of franchise out of an estimated 72 million registered voters made amends for sluggish turnout in the morning hours by making long queues at polling stations in the afternoon, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan. There were scattered incidents of election-related violence, in which four deaths were reported across the country.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/11/content_592205.htm
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/10/11/asia/pakmati&sec=asia
http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_698739.htm

* Islamic parties make strong showing in Pakistan polls

Radical Islamic parties strongly opposed to Pakistan's support for the US-led war on terror are making strong early gains in the country's first general elections after three years of military rule. Unofficial first results give the United Action Front 10 of the 272 contested seats in the national assembly, compared to just four in 1997. The AFP news agency says the six-party alliance is unlikely to challenge the mainstream parties, but a clear overall picture is expected to emerge later on Friday. AFP says however, the alliance could hold the balance of power in a future Pakistan parliament.

http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_699215.htm
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/21476/1/.html
http://theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,5267046%255E401,00.html

* Main parties neck and neck in Pakistan

Vote counting in Pakistan's national and provincial assembly elections continued Friday, with unofficial early results showing a close race between parties close to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and main opposition parties. With 90 seats counted out of the 272 National Assembly seats up from grab, the pro-government Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam), a splinter of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) of exiled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, won 19, while the leading opposition Pakistan People's Party led by exiled Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto garnered 12. The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) grabbed five seats, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=234030
http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_699060.htm

* Ex-PM Bhutto confident party will win majority of Pakistan polls

Despite early opinion polls predicting a tight race in the Pakistan elections, self-exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto says she is confident her Pakistan People's Party will win a majority of the vote. But she believes the military regime headed by President Musharraf may try to deny her victory by rigging the count.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/21482/1/.html

* Three injured in grenade explosion in Sri Lanka

A grenade explosion injured three people in eastern Sri Lanka on Friday, prompting authorities to send troops onto the streets and impose a curfew in the area, a defense official said. The grenade exploded in a village near Trincomalee, a town 240 kilometers (130 miles) northeast of Colombo, where earlier this week police troops fired on a crowd that stormed a police base.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/10/11/asia/1110sri&sec=asia

* 9 anti-government guerrillas killed in Nepal

At least 9 anti-government guerrillas were killed Wednesday by the government security forces in Nepal, according to a press release issued by the Nepali Defense Ministry Thursday. At least six anti-government guerrillas were gunned down on the spot in Rukum district, three others were killed in Kanchanpur district, all located in western Nepal, the press release said. The guerrillas were killed when they exchanged fires with the government security forces and the government security forces also seized some arms, ammunitions and explosive materials from the guerrillas during their cordon and search operations in these districts, it noted.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/11/content_592191.htm

Europe

* Kashmiri voters redraw the political map

The family that has ruled Kashmir for most of the past half century was dramatically humiliated yesterday when its party was ejected from office. The National Conference party, which supports Indian rule, had been expected to hold on to power in the Jammu and Kashmir state elections, but it suffered a series of unexpected and crushing defeats. Omar Abdullah, its urbane 32-year-old leader, failed to retain his seat. With virtually all the results in, the NCP had won only 28 seats in the 87-seat assembly. Its two main rivals, the Congress and the People's Democratic Party, had 20 and 16 seats respectively. They are likely to form coalition with the help of independents.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/kashmir/Story/0,2763,809833,00.html

* Kashmir chief minister quits

The chief minister in Indian-administered Kashmir has resigned after his party's shock defeat in state elections. Farooq Abdullah said he formally handed in his resignation to the Jammu and Kashmir state governor, GC Saxena. His National Conference party failed to win a majority when results for the state assembly elections were declared on Thursday. It is not yet clear if Mr. Abdullah will be asked to stay on in a caretaker role until a new administration is formed - or if the state governor will take control.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2319187.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/kashmir/Story/0,2763,810062,00.html

* Coalition talks begin in Indian Kashmir

India's main opposition Congress party is in talks with a possible coalition partner to run troubled Kashmir after voters threw out a dynasty that has dominated the bloodied region for decades. The Congress party, which did well in the state's Hindu-dominated Jammu region, has said it could form a coalition with the People's Democratic Party, which made a strong showing in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley. "Talks are going on," said Ambica Soni, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=XJAZTYJ0QFIEWCRBAEOCFFA?type=worldNews&storyID=1563257

* Islamic parties surge in Pakistan poll

Anti-American Muslim fundamentalist parties are making a surprisingly strong showing in Pakistan's general elections. With more than a third of the results counted, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), or United Action Front, has won at least 27 seats. Traditionally, the Islamic parties have always found it hard to actually win seats but this time they have sought to capitalise on opposition to Pakistan's partnership with the United States in the bombing of Afghanistan and in the war on terror. The MMA appears to be doing particularly well in North West frontier province, bordering Afghanistan.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2318561.stm
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_688017.html?menu=news.latestheadlines.worldnews
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,2763,810103,00.html

* Musharraf allies ahead in Pakistan poll

A party seen as closest to President Pervez Musharraf has emerged as frontrunner as results come in from Pakistan's first election since a 1999 army coup, but hardline Islamic parties have made surprising gains. Religious parties exploited opposition to Pakistan's cooperation in the U.S.-led war on terror to virtually sweep the board in conservative parts of the northwest. Elsewhere around the country, the early frontrunner was the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam, or PML(QA), dubbed the "king's party" for its perceived support for Musharraf.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=1563963

* Bhutto party lead deals blow to Musharraf

Pakistan's military ruler suffered a setback yesterday when the party of Benazir Bhutto, the exiled former Prime Minister, became the frontrunner in the first parliamentary elections since the army coup of 1999. The strong showing by the Pakistan People's Party came despite widespread allegations of rigging by the military and the fact that Miss Bhutto had to campaign from London. The projections of support for Miss Bhutto were seen as a serious blow to President Musharraf's plan to impose a "military guided" democratic system.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-442811,00.html

* Pakistani elections were 'transparent'

The first general election in Pakistan since a military coup in 1999 was "well organised and for the most part transparent," say Commonwealth observers. President Pervez Musharraf has had hailed the vote as a return to democratic rule. However, opposition and human rights groups are accusing him of keeping power through a series of new decrees. More than 200 international monitors watched the race for the National Assembly, or lower house of Parliament, and four provincial legislatures. Tan Sri Musa Hitam, chairman of the Commonwealth observers, says government action in the run-up to the polls has caused some concern.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_688283.html?menu=news.latestheadlines.worldnews

* Two die in Sri Lanka clash

At least two people have been killed and another 30 injured following a grenade attack in north-eastern Sri Lanka. The incident occurred when members of the minority Tamil community in the Trincomalee area stopped work to protest at the killing of seven people in Ampara on Wednesday. It is not clear who was responsible for the attack, but correspondents say tensions between the Sinhala and Tamil communities in the region have recently risen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2319437.stm

* Inquiry into Sri Lanka shooting

October 10 -- The Sri Lankan Government has started an investigation into a shooting that killed seven people in the east of the country. Reports said paramilitary police in the Ampara district allegedly fired on a group of Tamil rebels at a check-point on Wednesday, in what they say was a response to a Tamil Tiger attack on one of their camps. The government spokesman GL Peiris said the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka ordered a defence ministry team to assess the situation in the eastern region of Sri Lanka. Scandinavian truce monitors, conducting their own investigations have blamed an uncontrolled protest demonstration for the deaths of the seven people.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2316393.stm

* Nepal king set to name new PM

Nepal's King Gyanendra is set to name a new prime minister a week after he sacked the government and assumed power to run the country himself. Former Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand is likely to take over as prime minister of an interim administration. But the king has not yet made a formal announcement about Mr. Chand's appointment. Reuters news agency quoted an official from Mr. Chand's Rashtriya Prajatantra Party as saying "Mr. Chand has been called in for swearing in at 5.00 p.m. (1115 GMT)".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2319517.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2081398,00.html

Middle East

* Jammu and Kashmir chief minister resigns

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Friday resigned from his post in the wake of his party National Conference's defeat in the state assembly polls which have just ended. Abdullah submitted his resignation to Governor G C Saxena after the cabinet met this morning at his residence here. The focus now has shifted on forming the new state government. Congress and Peoples Democratic Party Friday continued to explore various options to form the government.

http://www.irna.com/en/head/.ehe.shtml
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=19359
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65327
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=34538&Sn=WORL

* Counting ends in Kashmir, National Conference leads

At the end of the counting of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, the ruling National Conference got 28 seats and emerged as the largest single party in the 87 member state assembly. As the results of all 87 seats were declared, no single party got the required majority for forming the new government in Jammu and Kashmir. The Congress Party occupied 20 seats, while Peoples Democratic Party got 16 seats, and the rest went to other parties.

http://www.irna.com/en/head/.ehe.shtml

* Hurriyat 'accepts poll verdict'

Leaders of Jammu and Kashmir's secessionist movement accepted the results of the elections declared yesterday, but challenged the new government to meet the aspirations of the people. In a bid to rationalise the evidently free and fair polls, and the turnout in defiance of their boycott call, senior leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference called the vote a tangential endorsement of their own stand. It was a vote against "black laws", excesses by the security forces and for a meaningful dialogue between India, Pakistan and the representatives of Kashmir, they said.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65334

* Four shot dead as clashes mar polls

Four people were killed in shoot-outs and at least 42 wounded in clashes at several polling stations in Pakistan yesterday during an election meant to return the country to civilian rule, officials said. Three people were killed and at least 10 wounded when supporters of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the small National People's Party clashed in Sindh province. A PPP worker, Sumar Khokhar, was killed and three wounded in a gun battle with the supporters of the rival NPP party in Khipro, about 200km east of Karachi.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=34521&Sn=WORL

* Musharraf to transfer power Nov. 1

Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said he would hand over executive power by around Nov. 1 to the new prime minister as Pakistanis voted yesterday in the first general elections since the 1999 coup. Seven people were killed and more than 50 suffered injuries in scattered clashes between rival supporters across the country. According to initial results, the Pakistan People's Party of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Muslim League-QA were heading for significant victories.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=19357

* Poll results being held back says Benazir

As counting got under way in Pakistan's first general elections since the October 1999 coup, the Pakistan People's Party leader Benazir Bhutto told Gulf News that her party would emerge as the single largest party, raising the spectre of an uneasy cohabitation with President General Pervez Musharraf's government. Speaking to Gulf News from London, Bhutto who said her party had won 170 seats out of 267, excluding the reserved seats, but would "probably be allowed to have won only 100." She also alleged that "election results were being deliberately held back," and demanded the results be made public immediately. The former prime minister alleged that "within two hours of counting it was clear the PPP had emerged in the number one position."

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65326

* Fahim flies to London for talks with Benazir

The chief of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians, PPPP) Makhdoom Amin Fahim, left for London late yesterday to discuss the post-election scenario with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who has been disqualified from running in the elections. "We are receiving very good results in the elections", Fahim told Gulf News before his departure from Karachi hours after nationwide polling closed in the first election after three-year military rule. "We are hopeful that the PPP will take majority seats in the 342-member National Assembly," said Fahim, who led the PPP Parliamentarians wing in the elections. "I thought I must meet Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to discuss the post-election scenario."

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65346
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=34527&Sn=WORL

* Mandate a body blow for govt's pro-US policies: Pakistani expats

The results of Pakistan's first elections since President Pervez Musharraf's 1999 coup have shown that Islamic parties are leading in Baluchistan and other frontier areas, while feudal parties remain entrenched in Punjab and Sindh, according to a cross-section of Pakistanis contacted by Arab News in Riyadh. They felt that the voters have spoken out against the Pakistan government's pro-US policies by supporting the Islamists and dealing a blow to the pro-government party like the ML(Q), whose leader Mian Azhar lost the elections.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=19364

* Nine Indian soldiers killed in separatists' ambush

October 10 -- At least nine central soldiers were killed and three critically wounded Wednesday in an ambush by tribal separatists in India's northeastern state of Tripura, officials said. A police spokesman said heavily armed militants of the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) attacked a security convoy carrying soldiers of the Ground and Road Engineering Force (GREF) near village Eskapara, 195 kilometers south of state capital Agartala. "The militantsd indiscriminate gun fire with automatic weapons on the three-vehicle convoy killing nine army soldiers escorting the GREF personnel," N. S. Bali, Tripura's Inspector General of Police, told IRNA by telephone from Agartala.

http://www.irna.com/en/head/.ehe.shtml

* Life in Ampara comes to standstill

Life in the eastern Ampara district came to a standstill yesterday after protestors backed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) organised a strike against an overnight shooting incident by the police which has so far claimed the lives of eight people and left 13 injured, marking the worst incident during the nine-month-old shaky ceasefire. With tension running high in the district, transport services did not operate as schools, offices and shops remained closed throughout the day. The protest is expected to continue today and spread to two other districts in the eastern province. Prime Minister Ranil Wickreme-singhe ordered an investigation on the shooting which took place outside a police camp of the Special Task Force in the Kanchankudha area on Wednesday evening.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65329

* Khaleda seeks help in fight against crime

Bangladesh's deteriorating law and order situation dominated the speeches of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and the leader of the opposition, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, delivered yesterday to mark the first anniversary of the coalition government. In her speech aired by state-run media, Khaleda admitted that the law and order situation had not improved as fast as people expected, and appealed for help in continuing the fight against violence. She called for activating "anti-terrorism citizens' committees" in all parts of the country to intensify the fight against terrorism. She noted that premeditated violence stood in the way of improving law and order. "Take individual initiative in curbing terrorism and cooperate with police," she urged people from all walks of life.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65330

Editorial

N/A

Business/Technology

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