Rebel ISI men in Pak are aiding Taliban

London - Despite Islamabad's much-hyped support for the US-led war on terror, the Sunday Telegraph, quoting Taliban commanders, said that individual officials of the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) were backing the Afghan rebels. The Taliban's negotiations with ISI officials are said to be led by Hamid Aghaf and Mullah Qudratullah Jamal, members of the Shura set up by Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban supreme leader, to lead the new jehad against foreign forces and their local allies. Mullah Jamal travelled to Pakistan for talks with ISI officials last month, the Taliban commander said, following up the deal to supply 700 motorbikes, rocket-propelled grenades, Kalashnikov rifles, wireless sets, dozens of satellite phones, torches and radios.

The Times of India - December 1, 2003

BSF worry: 15 J&K girls trained to throw grenades

New Delhi - November 30, 2003 - The Border Security Force has learnt that the Hizbul Mujahideen has trained 15 girls in Srinagar city to throw grenades. There are also unconfirmed reports about militant groups recruiting women as "fidayeen" or suicide killers. If this information with the BSF proves correct, it could add a troublesome new dimension to militancy in Kashmir. Women throwing grenades will make the job more difficult for security personnel manning posts in crowded urban areas. After the August 25 twin bomb blasts in Mumbai, the police found that a woman and her daughter were among those who had planted the two bombs which left about 50 people dead.

The Asian Age - December 1, 2003.

First woman commander in UK to fight against terror

London - December 1, 2003 - Scotland Yard has appointed its first woman, Jamet Williams, as commander of the Special Branch to lead the fight against terrorism. She is a highly experienced counter-terrorism detective. Two other women head Scotland Yard frontline units. Detective chief superintendent Sharon Kerr runs the Flying Squad and Commander Cressida Dick is the head of Operation Trident, which combats gun crime in the black community.

The Asian Age - December 2, 2003.

Saudis use religion to get details from Qaeda men

Washington - December 1, 2003 - Saudi Arabia is trying a gentler approach to get information from some Al Qaeda captives. Saudi interrogators often bring clerics and a Quran to their prison interviews to establish a religious connection, a technique that has proved successful in eliciting information from terrorist suspects and reorienting them to less violent religious beliefs. The tactic has impressed their American counterparts so much that Saudi intelligence was permitted to use some of the principles on their citizens being held at the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Saudi.

The Asian Age - December 2, 2003.

Afghan militants set up bases in J&K

Jammu - December 3, 2003 - More than 500 Afghan militants have fled Pakistan and set up bases in the Sonamarg-Gund belt of the Kashmir Valley. The ultras have constructed cement bunkers, and stored heavy weaponry, including LMGs, anti-aircraft guns, AK-56 rifles and RPGs, and also huge amount of rations. "It is clear from their height and built that these militants are not from PoK," said a senior officer of the security forces. "And though they have recruited some locals in their ranks, they are neither Punjabi nor Kashmiri speaking." Reports from the Gund area have confirmed the heavy presence of militants.

Hindustan Times - December 4, 2003.

Qaeda continues to 'abuse' charities worldwide: UN

United Nations - December 2, 2003 - In a report, the Security Council committee overseeing sanctions against Al Qaeda and Taliban said the terrorists were "abusing" charities dedicated to religious and humanitarian activities. Obstacles also remain in successfully monitoring and upholding the arms embargo against Al Qaeda and Taliban, the committee reports. Chairman of the committee, ambassador Haraldo Munoz of Chile, said Southeast Asia seemed to have become a new theatre of action in the terrorist network, drawing in Al Qaeda and another 30 to 40 groups it had helped to fund and train. "Some academic institutions and non-governmental organizations had more information regarding arms than the committee itself. We need more cooperation from member states," he added.

The Asian Age - December 3, 2003.

Cyanide seized: Police - 'The substance was recovered from terrorists for the first time'

New Delhi - The two alleged Pakistani terrorists, killed in an encounter on Sunday night near Lotus temple, were carrying potassium cyanide filled in two ball-point pens, besides Chinese pistols in a car reportedly owned by one B.K. Asthana, a resident of Ghaziabad. Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) said this was the first time that the police had recovered cyanide form terrorists. The killed terrorists had planned to meet two Kashmiris, Tanzeem Ahmed and Tariff Hussain, outside the temple, who were supposed to hand over Rs.15 lakhs and arms to the Pakistanis.

The Times of India - December 9, 2003.

6 die in Moscow suicide blast

Moscow: A suicide bomb attack killed at least six people in the heart of Moscow on Tuesday. "We can say with certainty that this was a terrorist act linked to the elections to the State Duma," said a spokesman for Moscow's mayor. Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said the explosion might have been the work of one or possibly two women suicide bombers. "The actions of criminals, terrorists which we have to confront even today are aimed against all that," said Putin.

The Times of India - December 10, 2003.

40 die in Russia train blast

Rostov-on-Don: A powerful bomb tore through a consumer train near Chechnya in the morning on Friday killing 40 people and injuring scores of others. The body of a male suicide bomber was found with grenades still strapped to his legs, FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev told President Vladimir Putin, according to Interfax. Bomb explosives experts carefully entered the wreckage to blow up un-detonated explosives, setting off three booms, Russian state television reported. "We will find those who did it." Boris Gryzlov, the interior minister, was quoted by the Interfax news agency. In a statement distributed to newsmedia, the rebel Chechen government led by president Asian Maskhadov denied it was responsible for the explosion.

The Times of India - December 6, 2003.

Kandhar blast hurts 18

Kandhar - December 6, 2003 - A bomb exploded in the main market of the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Saturday, wounding at least 18 people. Kandhar police chief blamed Islamic militants fighting the US-backed government, and told reporters: "This is the work of the Taliban and their foreign supporters". But a Taliban spokesperson denied it by saying it could be the work of a disgruntled government military commander unhappy about elections to a constitutional Assembly due to meet in Kabul this month.

The Sunday Express - December 7, 2003.

Osama: Taliban rule in celluloid

Kandahar - December 6, 2003 - A new film titled 'Osama' stars an illiterate 12-year old found begging in the streets of Kabul, who plays a girl who poses as a boy so she can work. It is the time of the Taliban; the men in her family are dead, and women cannot leave home unless accompanied by male relatives. The movie is the story of a young Afghan girl who is raised by her mother and grand-mother in Kabul during the Taliban regime. The movie is the first feature film made by an Afghan since the ouster of the hardline Islamic regime. It was honoured this year at several international film festivals.

The Sunday Express - December 7, 2003.

Around the World: Terrorists regrouping in Indonesia, minister warns

Bali, Indonesia: In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, terrorist cells are probably "regrouping, retraining and recruiting," and could be planning more deadly bombings here, the country's top security minister warned on Sunday. The Al Qaeda-linked south-east Asian terror group, Jamaah Islamiyah, was blamed for the 2002 Bali attacks.

The Asian Age - December 7, 2003.

Pentagon contract to 'study' Al Qaeda tactics

United Nations - December 5, 2003 - The US Defence Department has quietly awarded a $300,000 contract to a Defence consultant to study how Pentagon could design "effective strategic influence" campaign to combat global terror, a report said today quoting internal documents. Senior Pentagon officials said it was merely a study to understand Al Qaeda better and find ways to combat it. "Our inability to seize the initiative in the 'war of ideas' with Al Qaeda is a shortcoming so far in the war against terrorism," said the document, dated September 17, 2003. "We do not understand Al Qaeda and its relationship to supportive communities in the Islamic world, and so are not able to develop a strategy for countering its propaganda, let alone winning the campaign in the war." The Times said a senior Defence official winced at the wording, "We're asking for a menu of thoughts on how to approach this," he explained. "This is not a document on how we're going to change the Arab world's perception of the US."

The Indian Express - December 6, 2003.

A first find in J&K: pistol with nerve gas in bullets

Srinagar - December 12, 2003 - A highly sophisticated penpistol using bullets laced with nerve gas has been found in a militant arms dump in the valley. As soon as the Dy. S.P. opened the box, he was rushed to hospital because he collapsed after inhaling the noxious fumes. The Inspector General of Police, Kashmir range, said, "It was a penpistol which could be loaded with a single bullet and triggered by pressing the clip." "We have no idea where the militants planned to use this weapon. There is no clue about the identity of the militant group that dumped this pen pistol there." The police also seized a diary which "carried instructions about the use of poisonous chemical gases apart from usual explosives and bombs."

The Indian Express - December 13, 2003.

Arrest of Saddam Hussein

Baghdad - December 14, 2003 - Saddam Hussein's arrest was carried out without a shot being fired. He was captured after a tip-off from a member of a family "close to him", said Major General Raymond Odierno, commander of the 4th Infantry Division that captured Hussein. "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," L. Paul Bremer, the US administrator in Iraq said. He was found hiding in a dirt hole in a farmhouse near his hometown of Tikrit. The announcement of the arrest was made only after DNA testing confirmed that the man who was held was Saddam Hussein. A Shilte leader who met Hussein in captivity said he was "unrepentant and defiant." Sanchez, who saw Hussein overnight, said the deposed leader had "been cooperative and is talkative". He described Hussein as "a tired man, a man resigned to his fate".

Hindustan Times - December 15, 2003.

9 die in Iraq car blasts, first after Saddam capture

Baghdad - December 15, 2003 - Two car bombs in Iraq on Monday killed nine people and shattered hopes that the capture of Saddam Hussein would bring a quick end to violence. A car bomb killed 17 people at a police station in Khalidiyah, west of Baghdad, on Sunday before US forces announced they had seized Saddam on Saturday. Nine people were killed and more than 20 injured when a car bomb ripped through a police station at Husseiniyah village, 30 KMs north of Baghdad on Monday. A second explosives-laden car, with the driver inside, blew up outside Amiriyah criminal investigation department in Baghdad shortly afterwards. A third car bomb was found and defused.

The Asian Age - December 16, 2003.

Clashes between Maoists & Security Forces kill 70 in Nepal

Kathmandu - December 15, 2003 - In Nepal, clashes between Maoist rebels and security forces left at least 70 people dead over the weekend, officials and media reports said. Fighting erupted when the rebels attacked on Army patrol near Piyakolek, the radio report said. On Sunday, rebels ambushed a police vehicle in eastern Nepal, killing at least 11 policemen and injuring four others, a senior police official said. Elsewhere, 13 rebels were killed in two separate gun-battles with soldiers on Sunday, the radio said quoting unnamed officials. On Saturday, troops killed 11 suspected insurgents.

The Asian Age - December 16, 2003.

Chechen ultras kill 10 guards

Moscow - December 15, 2003 - On Monday, a large group of Chechen rebels, attempting to cross into Dagestan in North Caucasus, killed in ambush 10 Russian border-guards. Russian TV stations reported quoting Federal Security Service (FSB) officials that rebels held four hostages, including a doctor from a hospital, in Shauri, and were retreating to neighbouring Georgia. Russian troops have been fighting in Chechnya since 1999, when the then prime minister Vladimir Putin sent forces after militant seized two villages in Dagestan for several weeks, saying they were supporting a declaration of an independent Islamic state in parts of Dagestan and Chechnya.

The Indian Express - December 16, 2003.

Bhutan fights in India's war on terror

Kolkata: At least five ULFA and two Bodo militant camps were destroyed during the day's operations, GOC-in-C Eastern Command Lt. Gen. J.S. Verma briefed state chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on the operations. King Jigme Singve Wangchuk and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had discussed military action when they met on September 14, when the former mentioned that he would move his forces against the militants in December. The Indian Army had started quietly moving troops from Tezpur to the Indo-Bhutan border in Assam in October itself. Making a suo motu statement in Parliament today, External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, said Vajpayee conveyed to Wangchuk that the government and the people of India stood stand firmly and solidly behind the Bhutan government and "would provide all necessary support as requested, till the task is completed."

The Indian Express - December 16, 2003.

FIRST BLOOD: Bhutan Goes to war

The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan had fought war against the British Army in 1865. Since then the mountain nation has been tranquil. This month the Bhutanese army went into battle for the first time, attacking 30 camps inside the country's southern border occupied by 3,000 separatist guerrillas from the Indian state of Assam. The Indian army sealed its side of the frontier By late last week, 92 guerrillas and 37 Bhutanese soldiers were reported killed in clashes, and hundreds of guerrillas, including some senior leaders, had been captured. The King's 19-year-old son, Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck, took leave from Oxford University last month to return home to join the fight.

Time - December 29, 2003.

Beijing seeks global help on terrorism

Singapore - December 16, 2003 - Beijing asked the international community to 'disband' four designated terrorist organizations - the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the East Turkistan Liberation Organisation, the World Uygur Youth Congress and the East Turkistan Information Centre - that were detected to be behind the anti-state acts and violence in Xinjiang in particular, and 'investigate the whereabouts' of 11 terrorists. It also sought their extradition. China said that the four groups had colluded with one another and developed close links with Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Chechen rebels and other terrorist organizations.

The Hindu - December 17, 2003.

Pakistan - training base for S-E Asian militants, say Malaysian officials

Kuala Lumpur - December 17, 2003 - In recent crackdown, five Malaysian students, including four teenagers, were arrested following raids on Islamic boarding schools in Karachi. The students underwent training in Afghanistan and Kashmir, and some met Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden before the Afghan war started in late 2001, Malaysian police told Associated Press. Three of the five students are sons of members of an alleged Malaysian cell of Jemaah Islamiyah - the Al Qaeda-linked network operating throughout S-E Asia - who were jailed two years ago. The five were indoctrinated in an extreme version of Islam and were learning how to attack US targets in Malaysia and elsewhere, authorities said. Under interrogation, the students said their instructors told them they must take up arms, especially against westerners, as it was the purest form of defending Islam, the Malaysian official said.

The Indian Express - December 18, 2003.

Maoist bomb police truck, 5 soldiers, 5 policemen die

Kathmandu: Maoist rebels, fighting to overthrow Nepal's constitutional monarchy, set off a bomb under a truck on Wednesday, in Kapilvastu, 300 KMs west of Kathmandu, killing five soldiers and five policemen, officials said. The blast was the second major attack on security forces this week. Violence in the Himalayan kingdom has surged since the rebels abandoned a truce in August.

The Asian Age - December 18, 2003.

Truck bomb kills 17 in Baghdad

Baghdad: A fuel truck bomb, which tore through a packed minibus and several civilian cars, killed 17 people in Baghdad on Wednesday, the police said. According to a police officer, the truck appeared to be aiming for a nearby police station but collided with the minibus. US forces said they arrested eight people in the town of Samarra and rounded up three suspected insurgents in Baquba.

The Times of India - December 18, 2003.

2 J&K cops killed in suicide attack

A Lashkar-e-Tayyeba militant carried out a suicide attack on the DIG's office in Rajouri on Thursday, killing two policemen and injuring two others. Senior police and civil officials had a narrow escape. When the militant wearing army fatigues was questioned on suspicion by the guards posted outside the DIG's office, he opened fire from an AK-47. He was chased and killed in less than one hour's time. A chit found in his pocket proved he belonged to the "Al-Mansurian", an offshoot of the LeT, S.M. Sahai, DIG of Rajouri-Poonch, said.

Hindustan Times - December 19, 2003.

Money for terror

A Turkish militant, accused of acting as a link to suicide bombers who killed 62 people in Istanbul last month, allegedly told the police that he had received US$150,000 from Al-Qaeda for attacks against US targets.

Times of India - December 21, 2003.

We are still chasing Americans: Osama

Cairo - December 20, 2003 - The Pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera broadcast excerpts from a 10-minute audio-tape reportedly recorded by Ayman Al-Zawahari, the No.2 figure in Al Qaeda, which warned that the terror group would target Americans "in their homeland" and would drive US forces from bases in the region. "We are still chasing the Americans and their allies everywhere, even in their homeland," he said. Al Jazeera's newscaster quoted the tape as saying: "Those renegades who offered the Americans military bases and support to kill Muslims should prepare for the day of settling scores because the Americans are ready to flee." An Egyptian lawyer who knows Al-Zawahari, heard the tape and said it was undoubtedly Al-Zawahari's voice.

The Asian Age - December 22, 2003.

Singapore and Thailand to place air marshals on flights

Singapore: Singapore and Thailand are close to sealing an agreement to put armed air marshals on flights between the two southeast Asian countries. Singapore's deputy prime minister said on Saturday. Mr. Tony Tan, who is also Singapore's coordinating minister for security and defense, said officials from both countries were already "putting in place" arrangements for air guards.

The Asian Age - December 22, 2003.

Laden to cash in on Saddam arrest

New York - December 22, 2003 - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden will try to capitalize on Saddam Hussein's humiliating arrest to radicalize and Islamise the anti-US-resistance in Iraq, a media report said on Monday quoting Taliban fighters. "The arrest of Saddam will have a positive effect on the anti-US jihad and Qaeda operations in Iraq," Rahman Hotaki, a Taliban official, working on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, was quoted as saying. "Many Iraqis hated Saddam, so they didn't join the fight. Now that he is gone, more Iraqis will join a holy jihad against the US," he told Newsweek magazine.

The Asian Age - December 23, 2003.

A New Terror Tactic?

Regional Muslim militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) - blamed for bombings across the region, including the devastating attack in Bali a year ago - appears to be on a chilling new tack in its fight to establish an Islamic state in Southeast Asia: slaughtering Christians, in the hope of reigniting murderous inter-religious conflict in Sulawesl. Masked gunmen recently murdered 12 Christian villagers in two attacks on October 12 - the first anniversary of the Bali blasts. Police killed six alleged gunmen in a firefight on Oct.16 and arrested 17 others. Officials say the attackers were JI members. So far, Jakarta's swift clampdown has forestalled retaliatory attacks by Christian vigilantes that could restart the cycle of tit-for-tat violence. According to Sidney Jones, Southeast Asia project director for the International Crisis Group, there are several hundred JI members and sympathizers in the region where the attacks took place.

TIME Magazine - November 17, 2003.

Around the World: Intelligence shows Qaeda fascination for aircraft

Washington: The United States has information that Al Qaeda continues to study potential weaknesses in America's revamped aviation security net looking for ways to strike again through the air, US officials say. The information has been gleaned from sources as diverse as Al Qaeda master-mind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and low-level terror network members in Saudi Arabia and has US officials to quickly adapt security procedures several times in recent months, the official said.

The Asian Age - December 24, 2003.

Police probes a plot on Italy PM

Milan: The Italian police is investigating a possible plot against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi after phone taps of suspected Islamic extremists suggested they might be planning an attack, an Italian newspaper reported. Security has been stepped up around Mr. Berlusconi and his family. The police is probing two Somali men whose conversation was overheard.

The Asian Age - December 24, 2003.

US scans foreign flight crews

Washington - December 24, 2003 - US security officials have been checking the identities of foreign flight crews before their departures from US airports and upon their arrival in the US. Recent intelligence reports prompted the government to elevate the nation's alert level to "code orange" or "high". Passengers will have to be picked up and dropped off at nearby parking garages. Passengers coming into at least one major airport on Air France and flights from Mexico will be subject to more security procedures. After 9/11, the Federal Aviation Administration created a database of foreign flight crews from 17 foreign airlines. Foreign crews are matched to the database and the FBI watch list.

The Indian Express - December 25, 2003.

Europe on high terror threat alert

Brussels - December 25, 2003 - The European security establishments have stepped up security precautions at major airports, train routes and metropolitan areas as the US has raised the terror alert, which is affecting millions of travellers at airports and cities. The Euro Star security alert is maximum. Officials are especially on guard against a terrorist attack on passenger planes. France cancelled six Air France flights to the US. Only Britain, Spain, Denmark and Portugal have incorporated the system of pan-European search and arrest warrants.

The Hindu - December 26, 2003.

Iraq car bomb kills 4

A suicide car bomber killed three other people outside a government building in northern Iraq on Wednesday hours after US blasted suspected guerilla hideouts in Baghdad. Explosions and heavy machinegun fire echoed across Baghdad as aircraft buzzed overhead in one of the capital's heaviest bombardments since the end of the war.

The Hindu - December 26, 2003.

Baghdad rocked by Xmas attacks

Baghdad: Guerrillas launched their most serious offensive in Iraq with rockets and mortars since the capture of former dictator Saddam Hussein. They struck a major hotel and three foreign embassies. The bombardments took place on both the east and west banks of the Tigris River, with the main US Baghdad headquarters, the Sheraton hotel and embassies being among the most prominent targets. But there were no casualties, a US officer said. A shell flew over the German embassy, hitting the first floor of offices located behind the building. The Turkish embassy compound was struck by a rocket, but there was only minor damage and no casualties. Insurgents also fired a flurry of rockets at the Iranian embassy on Wednesday.

The Times of India - December 26, 2003.

Musharraf escapes successive blasts

Rawalpindi: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf narrowly survived a second assassination bid in less than two weeks on Thursday when suicide car bombers attacked his motorcade, killing themselves and at least 12 others. Forty-six people were injured. The attack took place when the 61-year-old military ruler was returning from Islamabad to his residence. He was unhurt. "It was an assassination attempt," said information minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed. A soldier and three policemen were among the dead. Some police officers in the motorcade were hurt and a diversionary open-topped Mercedes at the tail end of the motorcade was blown across the road by the blasts.

The Times of India - December 26, 2003.

US fears bio-terror, monitors air in 30 cities for 'agents'

Washington - December 26, 2003 - US homeland security officials have enhanced their ability to monitor the air for biological warfare agents in 30 cities. The alert also has activated special disaster-response teams, while federal officials have been conferring with foreign governments to prevent terrorists from boarding international flights bound for the United States. After the flight cancellations on Thursday, French investigators questioned seven men pointed out by US intelligence, but found no evidence that they planned to use a Los Angeles-bound jet to launch terror attacks against the US.

The Asian Age - December 27, 2003.

Greek terrorism: Olympian judgment

Athens - Stiff sentences are handed down, but terrorism still threatens. George Florides, Greece's public-order minister, would like to believe that this week's sentencing of 15 members of November 17, a leftist extremist group, will make Greece terrorist free. A special court handed out multiple life terms to the group's leaders, among them, Alexandros Yotopoulos, the Sorbonne-educated revolutionary who chose targets for assassination. Mr. Florides has said more arrests may be in the offing. More than 80% Greeks believe that several members of November 17 are still at large. Meanwhile small-scale bombings of parked cars and company offices continue. With the summer Olympics due to take place in Athens next August, advance teams of American security experts have begun to arrive. According to counter-terrorism experts in London and Washington, November 17 itself is unlikely to regroup by next August. But Mr. Florides cannot relax. Greece's northern and eastern borders are criss-crossed with tracks used by illegal immigrants. Its own Muslim minority in Thrace, close to Turkey and Bulgaria, could provide hideouts for extremists.

The Economist - December 20, 2003.

Guerrillas ambush 13 in Iraq

Karbala -December 27, 2003 - Guerrillas killed six coalition soldiers and at least seven Iraqis in southern Iraq on Saturday in a coordinated assault on nations that answered US calls for troops to stabilize the country it invaded. The attacks in Karbala also wounded 37 soldiers, including five Americans, and at least 80 Iraqis, US military officials and local hospitals said. General Andrzej Tyszkiewicz said the attackers used four suicide car bombs, mortars and machineguns against two foreign military bases and a town council building housing local police. "This was a planned, coordinated and massed attack," the Polish PAP news agency quoted Tyszkiewicz as saying of the Karbala raids.

The Sunday Express - December 28, 2003.

4 killed in blasts as Iraq probes coalition graft

Baghdad - December 29, 2003 - Guerrillas detonated a bomb in a Baghdad shopping district on Sunday, killed a US soldier and two Iraqi children, while another US soldier was killed and three wounded in an attack on a convoy. The Baghdad attack wounded five American soldiers, eight members of the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps and an Iraqi.

The Indian Express - December 29, 2003.

US orders air marshals on foreign flights

Washington: The Bush administration issued an emergency order on Monday demanding foreign airlines place armed air marshals on flights that travel into, out of or over, the US, if officials determine there is a threat. The administration has raised the nation's terror alert status to "high". Under the new American protocol, officials said that if they would get intelligence indicating that a particular flight might be targeted by terrorists, as happened last week, they would demand that the foreign airline post armed and trained air marshals, employed by the host government.

The Times of India - December 31, 2003.

Britain to deploy sky marshals on flights

London - December 29, 2003 - The British Government has decided to go ahead with plans to deploy armed guards on flights to America justifying the move on grounds of increased threat of an airborne terrorist attack. It will affect only British airliners, particularly British Airways and Virgin, both of whom are known to have strong reservations. The British Airlines Pilots' Association advised its members not to fly aircraft which had armed guards if they were "not comfortable" with the arrangement. The plan was also criticized by aviation experts who said having people with guns on board could jeopardize safety of passengers. But the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, defended the decision saying it was a "proportionate and appropriate level of response" to the terrorist threat. The move follows heightened security alert in America which led France to cancel several flights last week on what turned to be a false alarm by Americans. Several international airlines already carry sky marshals on board.

The Hindu - December 30, 2003.

Terrorists blow up Army vehicle in Kashmir

Srinagar - December 30, 2003 - At least 40 army personnel and a civilian were injured in a powerful landmine blast on the Baramullah-Srinagar Highway on Tuesday. The Hizb-ul- Mujahideden has claimed responsibility for the attack. The police put the number of injured at 13. Six private vehicles, a dozen shops, houses and other buildings were also damaged because of the explosion. This is second such Hizb attack on troops on the same highway in a week.

The Indian Express - December 31, 2003.

Qaeda aims to eliminate Saudi govt. officials: US

Washington - December 30, 2003 - Islamic militants in Saudi Arabia with links to Al Qaeda appear to be making a concerted effort to destabilize the Saudi government by assassinating top security officials, according to US officials. Until this year, most major attacks by suspected Qaeda militants in Saudi Arabia had been directed against US or other Western targets. However, in the past seven months, Al Qaeda militants have carried out a wave of major suicide-bomb attacks in capital Riyadh, killing at least 50 people. "The Saudis have done a good job in protecting their top leadership," a senior US official said. "But the situation continues to be very dangerous and militants may choose the royal family as a target." On Sunday, the British government warned that a terrorist attack could be in the final stages of preparation in Saudi Arabia.

The Indian Express - December 31, 2003.

Food for Thought

: Hope is state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good.

Vaclav Havel

***

Hope is the denial of reality.

Margaret Weis

***

The miserable have no other medicine but only hope.

Norman Cousins