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BBC: Thursday, January 3, 2002
A Nigerian woman fled home with her new-born son because her husband wants to name their baby Osama bin Laden! This comes as reports from mainly Muslim northern Nigeria say that there has been a massive increase in the number of baby boys called Osama - after Bin Laden. In one hospital in Kano, where there were celebrations after the 9/11 attacks, seven out of 10 babies are said to be being given the name Osama.

The mother's action may be a crime in Nigeria.
Nigeria's sizeable Christian population has opposed the implementation of Sharia, which includes punishments such as amputation for theft, stoning for adultery and flogging for the drinking of alcohol.

Nigeria's Kano state, which has seen the latest sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims, is one of a number of northern states which extended the scope of Islamic law last year.

A 27-year-old man has been hanged for murder in Nigeria in the first execution since Islamic law - or Sharia - was introduced in much of the north of the country. The Islamic court in Katsina had initially sentenced Yakubu to die by stabbing, using the same knife he was alleged to have used to murder his victims.

In Sokoto state last week, an Islamic court sentenced a 30-year-old pregnant woman to death by stoning, after she was found guilty of having pre-marital sex. The man was only identified as "her lover" and was released, because the investigation determined there was insufficient evidence to hold him.

Volunteer vigilante groups have been roaming the streets, keeping an eye open for any transgressions of Sharia regulations. Human rights' groups have complained that these religious laws are archaic and unjust, and create an atmosphere of intimidation against Christians - even though they are not subject to the Sharia.

Thousands of young men in Kano have no jobs and no education, and frustrations over economic hardship leave them prey to political opportunists who want to foment violence.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who took power in May 1999 after 16 years of military rule, has failed to defuse religious tensions and economic problems that seemingly only increase the discontent.

AFGHANISTAN -- Afghanistan's new rulers said they are negotiating the surrender of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar as American paratroopers flew in to join the hunt for remnants of Osama bin Laden's fighters. The slow pace of the surrender of Taliban soldiers in Afghanistan has raised concerns that senior Taliban leaders might slip away as in Kandahar in December. The whereabouts of leader Mullah Omar are now unclear. Nobody knows where bin Laden may be.

In a gesture of growing confidence in its own authority, the interim government released 269 frontline Taliban fighters, some of whom had been held as prisoners of war by opposing forces for as long as five years. Court in Afghanistan is beginning to take shape with guidance of the former king, Burhanuddin Rabbani.

Afghanistan's New Year began on a bitter note, with charges that U.S. bombs had killed 107 civilians at a village near the town of Gardez. The US military rejected the accusation from local Afghans, saying its planes had destroyed a compound used by al Qaida and the Taliban. A US intelligence official said the military believed its bombs had killed Taliban intelligence chief Qari Ahmadullah during the last week of December.

The people of Afghanistan are being shown pictures of terrorists and being asked to identify anyone that seem suspicious. The designated mission of eliminating terrorist networks will determine the length of the campaign, Bush said, emphasizing that military decisions rest in General Tommy Franks' hands.

January 3 - The U.S. military is airlifting hundreds of paratroops into southern Afghanistan to join the hunt for leaders of Osama bin Laden's al Qaida network and his Taliban protectors. The paratroops, who will eventually total more than 1,000, would replace more than 1,000 Marines already there. As the Afghan allies are attempting to negotiate a surrender of ousted Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Pentagon said it is counting on Afghanistan's interim government to hand him over if he is taken.

People in Afghanistan are in danger of starvation and they are suffering from injury, mental ills, disease, and the cold to name a few. The Afghan refugee situation is a crisis.

Continuous warring in Afghanistan during the last 22 years translated into that most Afghans suffer from some type of stress disorder. In addition, it is estimated that about two million Afghans are affected by serious mental health problems. Mental illnesses common in any population have not been addressed there for years. Those affected by mental health problems are in immediate need of professional attention.

Tuberculosis strikes about 72,000 Afghans each year. Outbreaks of other diseases, such as malaria, cholera, measles, typhoid, meningitis and hemorrhagic fever, occur with deadly consequences. Trained professionals, early warning and response systems, technology and treatments for communicable diseases need to be in place across the nation.

KABUL (Reuters) - President Bush pledged to maintain America's declared war on terrorism in 2002, while India vowed to stamp out what it called Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attacks in Kashmir.

Contrary to some reports, a spokesman for the U.S. diplomatic mission in Kabul said the United States had received no request from the government to stop bombing. Apparently there are mixed signals coming from Kabul but officially, the interim government announced that America can continue actions until all of the Taliban and al Qaida are caught, killed, or flee from Afghanistan.

In the excerpt that has been broadcast by the Qatari station, bin Laden condemns the West for excessive bombing of Muslims in Afghanistan, referring specifically to an attack during Ramadan prayers a few weeks ago.  BBC: 1) This one was made for release 2) Osama claims to be a good terrorist

More News: Afghanistan

BRITAIN -- Jamaica's narcotics police have reportedly agreed that dozens of passengers on every flight to London from the Jamaican capital, Kingston, are drug mules, according to the British High Commission. The problem has been blamed on the worsening economic situation on the Caribbean island, where most of the smugglers come from areas of desperate poverty. The smugglers evade customs checks by swallowing cocaine.

Even if successful, they are dicing with death!

A survey last year had reportedly shown that 65% of all drugs in the UK had come from Jamaica. On December 17, twenty-two Jamaicans were charged with attempting to smuggle a Class A drug after disembarking from an Air Jamaica flight to Heathrow.

INDIA - NEW DELHI -- Prospects for early talks to ease tensions between India and Pakistan recede with the delay of a regional summit in Nepal.

With tension high on the border between the nuclear-armed neighbors, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee vowed to stamp out the guerrilla campaign in Kashmir. Indian police said at least 50 percent of villagers living in several border areas of India's disputed Jammu and Kashmir state had migrated to safer places over the past week. Security around the Taj Mahal is tight following an e-mail threat from the Lashkar-e-Taiba to blow up India's most famous monument. Lashkar also threatened to blow up a makeshift temple built at a disputed site in Ayodhya. Security has tightened in and around the Ayodhya temple after a group of Hindu hardliners barged into the heavily-guarded complex in October.  MORE

Tremors rocked New Delhi, Kabul and Islamabad on January 3 in the early morning. The seismological bureau in New Delhi confirmed there had been an earthquake. The tremors shook the New Delhi with intensity around 6.0 on the Richter scale.

Pakistan and India UPDATEs - They are at the brink of war! This may be the first all-out nuclear war. Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated since 14 people were killed in an attack on India's Parliament. Musharraf said Pakistan would not initiate a war with its nuclear neighbor.

PAKISTAN - ISLAMABAD -- Witnesses said Pakistan had started thinning out troops along its western frontier with Afghanistan in the face of rising tension with India in the east. Pakistan officials said Indian firing across the Line of Control dividing Kashmir had prompted evacuations on their side. Pakistan's official APP news agency said Islamabad had taken all Indian television channels off its airwaves. MORE

Pakistani foreign affairs spokesman, Aziz Ahmed Khan "Pakistan has exercised restraint"

January 3 - Pakistan's meteorological office said a quake shook northern Pakistan, including the cities of Islamabad and Peshawar. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The officials said the quake was centred on the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan, but they were still gathering data on its location and magnitude.

MIDDLE EAST -- US envoy Anthony Zinni arrived on a second attempt in a new mission to bring about a cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians, encourage a Palestinian crackdown on militants and discuss with Israel steps to make life easier for the Palestinian people, US officials said.

Zinni spent several weeks in the Middle East in November and December, a time of extreme violence, but made no progress on a peace plan that has been at the center of Middle East diplomacy since April.

Israeli forces advance into a Palestinian-controlled village on the West Bank, as a US envoy met Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The Palestinian Authority denies all knowledge of a seized ship which Israel claims was smuggling arms destined for Palestinian militants.

Reportedly, Saudi militant members of Hamas have been sending money, instructions and information to terrorists operating in Gaza to help them with their Kassam rocket-development project. The Kassam was designed to serve as a longer-range mortar, with a range of up to 2 miles and a 2.2 pound warhead.

Iran too... see the Reality Check, below.

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President Bush signed an executive order allowing foreigners suspected of international terrorism to be tried in special military tribunals. Suspects detained under the Executive Order may not even be told a reason for their arrest. Human Rights Watch called on President Bush to rescind that order. "The next time the United States criticizes a foreign dictator for trying a dissident - or even an American citizen - before a military court, this is going to be thrown back in America's face," Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch said.

This past week the Bush administration began working to bring the criminals to a trail in the US if necessary. Bush did not back down from the possibility that tribunals will be used. However, there are none planned.

Genocide Conviction Predicted
The chief prosecutor of the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague has said she is convinced there is now enough evidence for the former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic to be convicted of genocide. Milosevic says the court is prejudiced against him.

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Afghan Refugees
The worst fighting may be over in Afghanistan but aid agencies warn that the refugee crisis will not be solved for years to come. Three and a half million Afghan refugees are fighting to survive in bordering countries, and the number has been increasing every day since the U.S. vowed retaliation for the September 11 attacks.

Afghan women who fled the ruling Taliban's oppressive regime comprise more than 70 percent of those in refugee camps; many are already starving. The primary obstacle to large-scale repatriation now is security as tribal warlords continue to fight over the spoils of war.

Does the West need to do more to help the Afghan refugees? What should the new interim government do to help the Afghan people repatriate?

You can call the US Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected with your senator’s office. Urge your senators to:

1. Expand humanitarian aid for the people of Afghanistan by supporting Senator Biden’s proposal for $1 billion in aid.

2. Urge aid for the smaller indigenous nonprofit organizations, especially the women-run groups, that will continue their assistance long after our aid dollars are gone.

	CNN: Some refugees are heading home.
	BBC: A Bittersweet return home.

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US HIGHLIGHTS

Firing his first political salvo of 2002, President George W. Bush used his weekly radio address on January 5, 2002 to accuse Senate Democrats of blocking his plan to provide Americans with economic security. Bush is seen during the unveiling of his official portrait as Governor of Texas at the Texas State Capitol in Austin January 4.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration has renewed its call for US law enforcement agencies to remain vigilant for unspecified threats, extending the current high alert status for three months and covering the Winter Olympic Games in Utah.

"The FBI issued a general alert to local law enforcement agencies extending their previous alerts," Homeland Security Office spokesman Gordon Johndroe saying: "It urges local law enforcement to continue at high alert and to notify the FBI of anything suspicious or usual."

--  Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person so far to face charges in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, invoked Allah and told an Alexandria courtroom this morning that he didn't have anything to plead before a judge accepted a not guilty plea on his behalf. Moussaoui, a 33-year-old French citizen of Moroccan descent, appeared in a court in Alexandria, Virginia, not far from the Pentagon that was badly damaged in the September 11 suicide attacks.

Moussaoui's mother is in France. After issuing a public plea that her son's life be spared, she declined to visit her son after authorities said an FBI agent would be present.

A federal grand jury has charged jailed French Moroccan Zacarias Moussaoui with six counts of conspiracy in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  It is the first indictment directly related to the hijackings of four airliners that killed more than 3,000 people.

ECONOMIC HIGH
--  Stocks rallied as growing hopes for a revival of the computer industry hoisted the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average.

--  The US manufacturing sector led us into recession, according to most experts. In good news then, US manufacturers increased production in December as a wave of new orders flowed in, an industry report showed on Wednesday, suggesting the factory sector is well on its way to clawing out of a 17-month slump.  With inventories now looking extremely trim and orders improving, factories were able to raise production rather than rely on drawing down warehouse stocks to meet demand. While industry conditions improved slightly in Europe, a US report showed new orders for US exports declined in December as foreign demand remained sluggish. Overall the news added to evidence that the economy, while still sluggish, is climbing out from the recession that began last March.

TERRORs
--  Part of the U.S. Capitol was closed briefly on Thursday after a threatening letter with a powdery substance was opened in Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's office, but authorities said the material was not harmful.

--  The Bush administration is considering the dispatch of a senior official to South Asia to try to facilitate talks between India and Pakistan and defuse a military standoff between the two nuclear rivals. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he was confident that nuclear powers India and Pakistan, which have engaged in a belligerent military build-up, would resolve their differences peacefully.

--  US Planned for Terror but Failed Action! According to the NY Times, dozens of interviews with current and former officials demonstrate that even as the threat of terrorism mounted through eight years of the Clinton administration and eight months of President Bush, the government failed to act.

• Defensive work of tightening the borders and airport security was studied but never acted upon.
• The rising threat of the Islamic jihad movement was first detected by United States investigators after the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. The inquiry into that attack revealed a weakness in the immigration system used by one of the terrorists, but that hole was never plugged.
• In 1996, a State Department dossier spelled out Mr. bin Laden's operation and his anti-American intentions. And President Bill Clinton's own pollster told him the public would rally behind a war on terrorism. But none was declared.
• By 1997, the threat of an Islamic attack on America was so well recognized that an F.B.I. agent warned of it in a public speech.
• In 2000, after an Algerian entered the country with explosives, a White House review recommended a crackdown on cells in the United States. That plan remained incomplete.

SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES?

--  Xenotransplants

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rival teams of scientists said on Thursday they had genetically engineered pigs and then cloned them in a first step toward making pigs suitable for animal-to-human transplants. Companies hope to create animals that can fill the ever-growing need for organs and tissues for transplant.

The pigs are missing a copy of a gene that animals have but that humans and some monkeys do not. The gene produces an enzyme called alpha 1,3 galactosyltransferase, which causes animal organs to die quickly when transplanted into humans. That was the biggest barrier to animal-to-human transplants, also called xenotransplants.

NOTE: In London, Dolly, the world's first cloned sheep, has developed arthritis, raising fears that the cloning process may have given her a genetic defect.

MORE

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Middle East

Former Iranian president Ali Akhbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in a major speech, has advocated the annihilation of the state of Israel with nuclear weapons.

If the Islamic world comes to possess nuclear weapons, he said in his "World Al-Quds Day" sermon, attended by thousands of Islamic worshippers, their use in attacking Israel would "leave nothing on the ground" in the Jewish state, but would only damage Islam.

Iran's annual tradition of marking World Al-Quds Day on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan to show its solidarity with the Palestinian people was introduced by the late Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomenei.

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