"Asean must not become a place for militant groups to engage in and export terrorist activities, said Singapore police chief Commissioner Khoo Boon Hui. He said it was the responsibility of law enforcement agencies in the region to ensure terrorism did not have a place in Asean," reported the Malaysian Star newspaper.
"The Sept 11 terror attacks on the United States were a warning of worse atrocities to come, US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said yesterday. The conference on Asian security has locked on to the issues of global terrorism and the immediate neighbourhood threat of a war between India and Pakistan. In a speech opening the conference on Friday, Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew said al-Qaeda militants linked to Osama bin Laden were plotting to overthrow governments in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore to set up an Islamic state. Much of the discussion is taking place behind closed doors," reported the AFP news service.
"A secret FBI report warned the agency director in the months before Sept 11 of a significant terror threat from the Middle East and said the bureau did not have the resources to combat it," reported the Reuters news agency.
"FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley will appear before a US Senate committee next week, but will not discuss details of the case against alleged Sept 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Amid intense new diplomatic efforts to kick start peace talks, Israel maintained its pressure on the Palestinians in the West Bank, re-occupying most of Nablus and sending troops back into Bethlehem and other places to hunt for militants. However the Palestinians say the raids are aimed at further undermining their autonomy," reported the AFP news service.
"The United Nations said yesterday it would evacuate dependants of its foreign staff in India and Pakistan because of military tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries that have sparked fears of war," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Declaring the nuclear option unthinkable, Pakistan’s military President Pervez Musharraf yesterday sought to calm escalating fears that a military standoff with India could lead to atomic war," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Two Kashmiri boys were killed in militant attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir yesterday, as India’s defence minister said he didn’t see an immediate resolution to a tense border standoff with rival Pakistan," reported the AP news agency.
"All-out nuclear war between India and Pakistan could kill as many as 12 million people and injure as many as six million, a Pentagon official said on Friday, citing a classified report. That would make it the second most deadly war ever after World War Two," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The federal government doled out nearly US$20bil (RM76bil) in health, housing, food and other benefits to people and companies that were not entitled to them, the White House said on Friday in a report calling for tighter controls on spending while the nation is at war," reported the Reuters news agency.
"An independent Russian TV channel whose closure in January triggered concerns about media freedoms in Russia went back on the air yesterday, but under the eye of a politician with strong Kremlin links," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez portrayed himself on Friday as the heroic survivor of the coup against him last month, saying the plotters had planned to kill him and denying charges that he ordered a massacre of demonstrating opponents. Giving his first public testimony to a parliament inquiry into the April 11-14 coup, the left-wing former paratrooper pilloried his foes as Nazis and defended his self-proclaimed revolution in the world’s number five oil exporter," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland confessed on Friday to having sinned in his sexual relationship with a theology student and said he had been cowardly to pay the man US$450,000 in church funds," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A Costa Rican Catholic priest was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday for sexually molesting a 14-year-old boy," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The Green Bay Roman Catholic diocese, responding to the sex abuse scandal sweeping the church, said on Friday it had identified 39 priests accused of sexual misconduct, seven of whom are still active, in a review of personnel files going back 143 years," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US-led forces were hunting for Islamic militants in the rugged eastern Afghanistan frontier after Pakistan said it would likely move troops from there to its border with India," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The United Nations estimates that up to 3,000 tonnes of opium will be reaped in Afghanistan’s spring harvest, its spokesman Antonella Deledda said. Until Afghan peasants have alternative ways to feed off their land, the massive production of drugs will continue. Much of the Afghan output heads for western European and Russian markets via a drug route through the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan," reported the AFP news service.
"Some one million Afghans have now flocked back to their homeland this year in what is set to be the biggest return of refugees ever seen, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR)," reported the AFP news service.
"Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has offered Cabinet posts to Hamas and other militant groups involved in suicide attacks against Israelis as part of a planned government reshuffle he plans to announce in coming days," reported the AP news agency.
"Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday ruled out a meeting with the leader of Pakistan on the sidelines of a conference in Kazakhstan, dealing a blow to efforts by world leaders to try to defuse tension between the two nuclear-ready rivals," reported the AFP news service.
"Once a haunt for Indian film stars and holidaymakers the world over, the breath- taking Himalayan resort of Gulmarg is now deserted thanks to its unnerving proximity to the disputed border between arch-rivals India and Pakistan," reported the AFP news service.
"An Islamic militant captured by the Indian army in Kashmir claimed yesterday that Pakistani troops were facilitating the inflitration of rebels into the troubled Himalayan region," reported the AFP news service.
"US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz held talks with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday on further steps the United States would take to help defeat local Muslim guerillas linked to Osama bin Laden," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Villagers in Basilan island, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold in the strife-torn southern Philippines, yesterday urged President Gloria Arroyo to extend the US military presence there. In a circular signed by Cirillo Nacorda, this town’s Roman Catholic parish priest, and other town officials, residents said the presence of the US troops has brought peace and prosperity back to the troubled island," reported the AFP news service.
"Months before the Sept 11 attacks, the CIA knew two of the hijackers were in the United States and that they were connected to the al-Qaeda organisation. The CIA did nothing with the information, neither notifying the FBI, which could have tracked the two men, or the Immigration and Naturalisation Service, which could have turned them away at the border. Instead, Newsweek said that for a year and nine months after the CIA identified them as terrorists, al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar lived openly in the United States, using their real names, obtaining driver’s licences, opening bank accounts and enrolling in flight schools," reported the Reuters news agency.
"In prayers, song and poetry, tearful families of those killed in the Sept 11 twin towers attack said farewell on Sunday at Ground Zero, the final resting place of most of the victims," reported the Reuters news agency.
"India and Pakistan came under increased pressure yesterday to defuse a crisis that has brought the two nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of war as their leaders found themselves in the same city for an Asian security summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to persuade the two leaders to meet face-to-face at a forum in Kazakhstan’s commercial capital of Almaty in a bid to cool tensions that some fear could spill over into a nuclear conflict," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A Palestinian military tribunal yesterday ordered the release of the leader of a radical PLO faction held in a West Bank jail under British and US supervision," reported the AP news agency.
"Israeli troops raided a West Bank refugee camp yesterday and rounded up about 400 Palestinians, as CIA chief George Tenet was en route to the West Bank for talks on re- structuring the Palestinian security services," reported the AP news agency.
"Hamas has officially informed the Palestinian Authority it will not participate in a new government to be announced in the coming days. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, two secular movements in the Palestine Liberation Organisation, announced last week they too would not partake in a reshuffled Palestinian Authority," reported the AFP news service.
"The Philippines and the United States agreed yesterday to move American special forces closer to combat areas in the country’s south in a stepped-up manhunt for guerillas linked to Osama bin Laden," reported the Reuters news agency.
"In facing giant nuclear neighbor India over Kashmir, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf must contend with a more immediate threat from conservative religious elements, both inside and outside the military, that are already bitter over his ties to the United States," reported the AP news agency.
"Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has told CIA Director George Tenet that he will cut the number of his security forces in half, in response to Israeli and international demands for reforms to deal with terrorism. But Israeli leaders remained skeptical, some Palestinians were not convinced and Israeli media reported that Tenet called the plan unacceptable," reported the AP news agency.
"The US Central Intelligence Agency has created a new super secret paramilitary unit to target known terrorists and their leaders abroad, a US government official disclosed late on Monday. US President George W. Bush has repeatedly stated he wants al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden dead or alive. But so far, the Saudi-born extremist has eluded not only capture but even sightings," reported the AFP news service.
"Yasser Arafat presented yesterday a plan for reforming the Palestinian security services to visiting CIA chief George Tenet, with the Palestinian leader proposing to halve their number and tighten supervision. The make-over is part of a broader reform package sought by the United States, which has called for greater democracy in the Palestinian Authority and a more effective fight against militants carrying out terror attacks on Israelis," reported the AP news agency.
"Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was quoted on Monday as saying his intelligence services warned US officials about a week before Sept 11 that Osama bin Laden’s network was in the advance stages of executing a significant operation against a US target. One of the main criticisms of US security agencies has been that they failed to share intelligence among themselves," reported the Reuters news agency.
"President George W. Bush said the CIA and FBI failed to communicate adequately before Sept. 11 as lawmakers began extraordinary closed-door hearings into intelligence lapses with bipartisan promises to search for facts, not scapegoats. speaking at the National Security Agency, Bush also said there is no evidence that U.S. officials could have averted the attacks, even if agencies had worked together better," reported the AP news agency.
"Israeli tanks and troops withdrew from the West Bank city of Jenin after a brief raid early yesterday," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Indian and Pakistani leaders sat down at the same table for the first time in five months yesterday, but stuck to the same positions over Kashmir that have brought the two nuclear- armed neighbours to the brink of war," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf studiously avoided each other yesterday even though they were barely a few feet apart soon after a regional summit ended," reported the AFP news service.
"The phrase nuclear war is enough to make any Westerner shudder, but ordinary Pakistanis are not afraid because they don’t understand what it means. Thousands of foreign workers, embassy staff and UN families have pulled out of the two countries as the threat grows of all-out conflict over the disputed territory of Kashmir. But Pakistanis on the street, armed with a strong Muslim faith, traditional fatalism and fierce nationalism, are carrying on very much as usual," reported the AFP news service.
"Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday ordered a massive manhunt for armed assailants who attacked a schoolbus and killed two students in what the army has described as an act of terrorism," reported the AFP news service.
"Israeli tanks surrounded Yasser Arafat's office compound early Thursday after a Palestinian terrorist blew up a huge car bomb next to a bus in Israel's north, killing himself and 17 Israelis. Thirteen of the 17 dead were soldiers in their late teens and early 20s. Thirty-eight others were hurt, 10 seriously. The attacker was also killed. Though Israeli forces are holding West Bank cities and towns in a tight grip, attackers still manage to infiltrate across the unmarked and unfortified line between Israel and the West Bank," reported the AP news agency.
"Russia's largest oil producer said Wednesday it will invest billions of dollars in the Caspian Sea region, and expressed interest in helping develop a huge Azerbaijani field also claimed by Iran," reported the AP news agency.
"A US Air Force officer, Lt Colonel Steve Butler as vice-chancellor for student affairs at the Defence Language Institute, has been suspended from duty after he wrote a letter to a California newspaper accusing President George W. Bush of allowing the Sept 11 attacks to happen because he needed the war on terrorism. Butler’s letter accused Bush - the commander in chief of the US armed forces - of allowing the Sept 11 attacks to occur for his own political ends. Butler’s letter said, of course, Bush knew about the impending attacks on America, but he did nothing to warn the American people because he needed the war on terrorism; his daddy had Saddam and he needed Osama. He further wrote that Bush's presidency was going nowhere. He wasn’t elected by the American people, but placed into the Oval Office by the conservative Supreme Court ... the economy was sliding into the usual Republican pits and he needed something to hang his presidency on," reported the Reuters/AP news agency.
"A Kuwaiti lieutenant of Osama bin Laden is believed to have masterminded the Sept 11 terrorist attacks, a senior US law enforcement and counter-terrorism official said on Tuesday," reported the AP news agency.
"Law enforcement officials said the US administration is proposing to photograph, fingerprint and get detailed information from thousands more foreign visitors to the United States. Foreigners seeking to live in the United States are photographed, fingerprinted and must provide detailed background information to the government. But the same is not required of most visitors," reported the AP news agency.
"Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to London said in an interview published yesterday that a group of Jews had beaten his son and four friends with baseball bats and bottles on the streets of the British capital. He gave few details but said the attack took place last month, although he informed neither the Foreign Office in London nor Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry there," reported the AFP news service.
"Chief George Tenet told Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat hours before yesterday’s deadly suicide blast he would face the wrath of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on his own in case of any more such attacks. Tenet said in talks with Arafat on Tuesday that if there are any more suicide bombings then this time the United States will not intervene and Sharon will have a free hand," reported the AFP news service.
"Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee yesterday called on Pakistan to jointly monitor their disputed Kashmir border, a conciliatory proposal that could pull the nuclear-armed rivals back from their war footing. Vajpayee said India and Pakistan should work together to patrol the border and verify Islamic militants were no longer crossing into Indian-controlled Kashmir to launch attacks against Indian security forces and Kashmiris," reported the AP news agency.
"India opposes a Pakistani proposal for an international force to patrol the powder keg province of Kashmir, India’s National Security Advisor Brajesh Chandra Mishra said yesterday. Vajpayee proposed on Wednesday that New Delhi and Islamabad carry out joint patrols of the disputed Himalayan region. However Islamabad appears concerned that Indian forces, who outnumber those of Pakistan, would immediately take a dominant role on the border," reported the AFP news service.
"India yesterday successfully completed a second test of its ambitious home-grown fighter jet, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), in the southern city of Bangalore. Defence Minister George Fernandes said the test had nothing to do with border tensions with Pakistan," reported the AFP news service.
"Indian security forces have shot dead the chief of a pro-Pakistan rebel group in revolt-racked Indian Kashmir. The death of Mohammed Rafiq Lone, head of the Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami rebel group that is fighting for Indian Kashmir’s merger with neighbouring Pakistan, came as the two countries stood on the brink of war," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Israeli tanks staged a lightning pre-dawn raid on Yasser Arafat’s headquarters here yesterday after a deadly suicide bombing delivered a further blow to the Palestinian leader’s reputation in Washington as the only one who can stem attacks on Israel. In a further sign of Arafat’s vulnerability, a top Palestinian diplomat said the 72-year-old leader, who made a weary show of defiance after touring his wrecked living quarters, was considering retirement once he has secured a state for his people," reported the AFP news service.
"A Hong Kong woman lost her case for compensation against a hair salon which she claimed made her look like Osama bin Laden when she wanted a hairstyle like Hollywood actress Julia Roberts," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Malaysia and the Holy See have called for international intervention in the Middle East conflict through the involvement of a third party to separate the Palestinians and the Israelis. Asked how Muslim countries can help combat terrorist organisations such as Al-Qaeda, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said apart from using military and security measures, the world needed to find out the causes of terrorism. He believes it is related to what is happening in Palestine, the question of Palestinians losing their land through expulsion and occupation. He conceives it as not so much a religious war, (but) more a fight to regain their own territory. Because the majority of the Palestinians are Muslims, their struggle attracts a lot of sympathy from the Muslim world. He also said Muslims the world over felt they were being oppressed as a number of Islamic countries had come under attack and sanctions imposed on them," reporte d the Malaysian Star newspaper.
"Israeli armour rumbled into the centre of this West Bank city yesterday, keeping pressure on the Palestinians a day after tanks and troops stormed Yasser Arafat’s compound in Ramallah. The White House said it was not clear what Israel’s aims were in carrying out the Ramallah raid, stressing that both sides needed to take constructive steps towards peacemaking. Palestinian officials have said Israeli occupation in the West Bank and the army’s encirclement of Palestinian cities – a measure Israel says is necessary to stop suicide bombings – breed hatred that leads to such attacks," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Russia will seek to reassure China at a summit here that its rapprochement with the West does not undermine their own friendship," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The suspected ringleader of the Sept 11 hijackers, Mohammed Atta, applied for a US government loan to buy a small airplane more than a year before the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, according to a federal employee who rejected his application," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US Vice-President Dick Cheney singled out Iraq in calling on Thursday for a decisive response to counter a growing danger of terrorist groups acquiring weapons of mass destruction from sympathetic states," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A senior US envoy began talks in India yesterday on the second leg of a peace trip that has raised hopes South Asia’s nuclear-armed rivals can be pulled back from the brink of all-out war," reported the Reuters news agency.
"An American missionary held hostage for more than a year by Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines was killed and his wife wounded yesterday in a gunbattle between the kidnappers and troops," reported the Reuters news agency.
