Suspect in Tommy extortion case arrested: Jakarta Police arrested

Suspect in Tommy extortion case arrested: Jakarta Police arrested
Raden Dodi Sumadi on Wednesday night, a suspect in a Rp 20
billion extortion scandal involving former president Soeharto's
son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra. Dodi, who was arrested in
Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, allegedly arranged a meeting
between Tommy and former president Abdurrahman Wahid to discuss a
pardon. Dodi almost evaded a police search of his house until the
ceiling of his kitchen, where he had been hiding, collapsed. --JP

16 killed in Kashmir: Sixteen people, most of them separatist
Muslim militants, were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir amid
tightened security ahead of weekend Republic Day celebrations,
police said Wednesday. --AFP

Pope urges prayers: Pope John Paul II, deeply concerned about the
impact of the Sept. 11 attacks, urged prayers Wednesday so that a
gathering of world religious leaders in Assisi, Italy could
contribute to an "authentic and lasting peace." --AP

Ukraine hit by sanctions: U.S. trade sanctions on Ukrainian goods
imposed over the illegal copying of CDs came into effect on
Wednesday, despite pledges by Kiev to crack down further on
compact disc piracy. --Reuters

Israeli warplanes raid south Lebanon: Israeli warplanes attacked
suspected Hezbollah guerrilla positions in southern Lebanon on
Wednesday after the guerrillas fired rockets and mortar shells at
Israeli outposts in a disputed border area. --AP

Food aid reaches volcano-hit Goma: The first bulk supplies of
food flowed into volcano-stricken Goma in the Democratic Republic
of Congo on Wednesday, six days after its long-suffering people
lost much of their home town to Africa's deadliest eruption in 25
years. --Reuters

Myanmar nuclear reactor: Russia has drafted a plan to build a
nuclear power reactor in military-ruled Myanmar, despite strong
US objections to the project, Russian news agencies reported on
Wednesday. --AFP

Guantanamo Bay: The U.S. military has put on hold transfers of
prisoners from Afghanistan to the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, while detention facilities are added and upgraded, U.S.
military officials said on Wednesday. --AFP

Sudanese army: The Sudanese army has begun observing a cease fire
with the rebel movement in the Nuba Mountains in line with a
U.S.-brokered agreement made in Switzerland, officers said in
remarks published Wednesday. --AFP

Al-Qaeda detainees: The director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation said on Wednesday that interrogating members of
Osama bin Laden's terror network detained at the U.S. military
base in Kandahar has prevented new attacks against U.S. targets
worldwide. --AP