Qatar agrees to OIC meeting
Qatar agrees to OIC meeting
MALAYSIA: After rejecting Malaysia's plan to hold a formal
emergency meeting of Islamic countries, Qatar has agreed to
informal talks to discuss the specter of war in Iraq and the
Palestinian issue, Malaysia's foreign minister said on Tuesday.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting will
be held on Feb. 26 in Kuala Lumpur, following a summit of the
Non-Aligned Movement on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 which about 40 of the
organization's 57 members will be attending.
Qatar, the current chairman of the Islamic conference, last
week turned down Malaysia's proposal to host a full emergency
meeting. Malaysia will take over the chairmanship of the
conference later this year.
But the emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, spoke
with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday and
expressed support for the informal meeting, said foreign minister
Syed Hamid Albar. --AP
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ATW-Colombia-Village bomb
Residents of village destroyed by rebel bomb fearful about their
JP/11/ATW
Village destroyed by rebel bomb
COLOMBIA: A thunderous blast shook the earth, gouging a deep
crater in the village and collapsing homes for 90 meters in every
direction.
The explosion was heard kilometers away at the farms where
villagers had taken shelter to get away from the huge bomb left
by guerrillas. They knew La Union was no more.
No one was hurt, but the destruction of an entire village
marked a new level of violence in Colombia's nearly 40 years of
civil war. And it underlined the challenges facing President
Alvaro Uribe.
Guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia had
hauled in the bomb in December, leaving it inside the nicest
house. The rebels planned to detonate the bomb by remote control
whenever an army patrol passed through. --AP
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Maldives-Jailed Journalists
Activists demand release of journalists jailed for 10 years on
JP/11/ATW
Journalists jailed in Maldives
MALDIVES: International activists demanded the release of three
journalists and their assistant who have been sentenced to prison
in the Maldives for 10 years over articles criticizing the
country's president and government.
An information ministry official in the Maldives' capital,
Male, on Tuesday confirmed that a local court sentenced the four
to 10 years in July 2002. He spoke on condition of anonymity and
refused to give details.
Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders
released a statement on Monday urging the Maldives' President
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to immediately order the release of the
four, whose "only crime was to exercise their right to freedom of
speech".
Reporters Without Borders identified the four as Mohamed Zaki,
Ibrahim Luthfee and Aminath Didi, editors of the Internet
newsletter Sandhaanu, and their assistant, Fathimath Nisreen.
--AP
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ATW-Australia-Howard
Howard signals he will lead Australian government through next
JP/11/ATW
Howard expects to remain in power
AUSTRALIA: Prime Minister John Howard signaled on Tuesday he
would stay in office through the next election -- due by early
2005 at the latest -- saying he will be personally accountable to
voters for his administration's tough policies on Iraq.
Howard was defending his government's dogged support of U.S.
President George W. Bush's tough approach to Baghdad, and his
decision to send 2,000 troops to join U.S. and British forces in
the Persian Gulf preparing for war with Iraq.
The comment will likely trigger a wave of speculation that
Howard will not, as widely expected, retire from politics this
year, but lead his party to the next election.
For the past two years Howard has told voters he will consider
his future in politics on his 64th birthday on July 26 this year.
Most analysts have believed that with three election victories
to his name and seven years as prime minister, Howard would step
down this year and hand over the top job to his finance minister
and ambitious heir apparent, Treasurer Peter Costello. --AP