Israel slammed for destructing Islamic heritage

By: Sultan Ahmed

RABAT, Morocco: The Islamic Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) has urged international and regional bodies to take immediate action to save the remains of Islamic heritage in Palestine.

Condemning the demolition of the historic structures in the Old City of Hebron at the hands of Israel, the Rabat-based ISESCO described these actions on the part of Israel as a clear “violation of international law and norms”.

It said that Israeli actions of destructing heritage are also contrary to the UN agreements that had also been signed by Israel as being a member of UNESCO – a body responsible for heritage preservation.

In a statement, the organization said Israel’s West Bank military governor ordered the construction of a 12-meter-wide road between the Kiriyat Arba Jewish settlement and the Abraham Sanctuary, and to pave the way for such a road, it would be imperative to raze a number of ancient and historical building, many of them dating back to the Ottoman and Mameluke eras.

Bulldozers have already been sent to the area for this purpose, it said adding that the preservation and protection of historical and heritage structures in all Palestinian cities and towns is responsibility of international community.

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India tests Agni missile; Pak criticizes

By: Irfan Malik

NEW DELHI, India: India on early Thursday conducted test of its first intermediate-range ballistic missile Agni that is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, defense ministry said.

The missile was fired from the Interim Test Range at Chandipore-on-Sea in India's eastern coastal state of Orissa and was witnessed by Minister of Defense George Fernandez.

According to a ministry spokesman the surface-to-surface ballistic missile has a range of about 600-800 kilometres (372-496 miles) and is a shorter-range variant of the Agni missile.

Pakistan Information Ministry while reacting over the Indian move said the test demonstrates the “war-mongering mindset” of its leadership, and that Pakistan is above such war-mongering psyche.

Talking to newsmen, foreign ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan said the test was “not unexpected as India's nuclear and missile ambitions were well known. Pakistan conducts tests when our technical requirements so demand.”

Canada has expressed its concerns over Indian missile test.

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N Korea offers high-level meet with South

By: Khadija Chinese

SEOUL, South Korea: Pyongyang on Thursday has called for high-level talks with Seoul in the third week of January, a day after Washington offered a dialogue with the North over its nuclear program.

South Korean officials said the North's proposal to hold four-day talks starting from January 21 in Seoul came in response to South Korea's earlier offer that the cabinet-level meeting should be held from January 14.

The ministerial-level meeting will be the first since North Korea began reactivating its nuclear weapons program that is believed to be capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium.

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Annan due in Sri Lanka next month

By: Special Reporter

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to pay visit to Sri Lanka in late February, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

The visit, which is the first in 35 years by a UN chief, came in the midst of growing efforts aimed at ending 19-year ethnic war in the island.

Annan’s tour adds to a growing list of foreign visitors showing support for the peace process between the government and Tamil Tiger.

During his two-day stay in Sri Lanka, Annan will visit Jaffna with Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando.

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Turkish military planes collide

By: Sultan Ahmed

MALATYA, Turkey: Two Turkish F4-fighter planes have collided mid-air in the southeastern province of Malatya hours after a Turkish RJ-100 airbus crashed near Diyarbakir in the same region leaving 75 on board dead.

According to the state news agency Anatolian the two fighter jets were taking part in a training flight. There are unconfirmed reports that all four airmen aboard killed in the crash.

Although Malatya province has been shrouded in the same thick fog that has covered Diyarbakir and is being blamed for Wednesday's commercial flight crash, the cause of the mid-air collision is not known.

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