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Uncover your NATURAL RADIANCE. y^Wex V—^\^osthetics at Cutler 2 Salon (979) 764-3000 In Caldwell call 567-3000 Tuesday, November 12, 2002 m THf : BATI.J India frees top Kashmiri separati leader in attempt to ease tension SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Kashmir’s new provincial government freed a promi nent separatist leader from prison Monday as Islamic militants who also seek inde pendence for Kashmir killed 13 parliamen tary police in a bomb attack. Separatist leader Yasin Malik, an icon to thousands of Kashmiri youths, was released eight months after his arrest for allegedly laundering money to finance terrorism. His release was an attempt by the new Kashmir state government to ease tensions in the region disputed by India and Pakistan and to stem a tide of violence in the province. The bomb exploded along the main Kashmir highway as police traveled in a truck near the town of Ramsoo, about 130 miles south of Srinagar, said Neeraj Kumar of the Border Security Force. In addition to the 13 dead, five police were injured. The Pakistan-based Hezb-ul Mujahedeen, the largest guerrilla group in Kashmir, claimed responsibility for the attack. Malik, a former militant leader whose Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front is now a separatist political party, was flown to Srinagar on Monday from the high security Kot Bhalwal prison outside Jammu, the win ter capital of Jammu-Kashmir state. Malik confirmed his release in a brief phone call to The Associated Press. The decision to release Malik came soon after the installation of a new government in Jammu-Kashmir, the heartland of a 12-year Islamic insurgency. Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the new state administrator, has promised to improve the government’s image and to provide a “healing touch” to the region, where more than 61,(XX) people have been killed since 1989. Malik is one of the seven key decision makers of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, the main Kashmiri separatist alliance. He was arrested in March on charges of smuggling $100,000 to finance anti-Indian militants in the Kashmir Valley. Police offi cers stormed a press conference he was giv ing in Srinagar and dragged him away. His arrest came after police detained a woman traveling from Nepal carrying cash allegedly intended for him. Malik denied the allegation. Malik, who suffers from a heart ailment, was granted bail in July after a court was told that his health had deteriorated. But within moments, he was arrested again and booked under the Public Safety Act, under which he could be detained for two years without trial. On Monday, police revoked the Public Safety charges. Malik’s release was intended as a good will gesture by the state government, which is hoping to persuade the separatists to give up their campaign and end the violence. Malik is among the most popular young leaders in Kashmir. His group led the first wave of young Kashmiris that took up arms in the disputed Himalayan region in the late 1980s, sneaking across the border to Pakistan where former members say they received weapons training to return to fight Indian security forces. India has said it would not resume peace talks with Pakistan until it stops providing arms and money to separatist guerillas — a charge Pakistan denies. On Monday, Pakistani officials said they were waiting for a positive signal from India to resume peace talks on the divided province, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. “The ball is in India's court ... we have not shied away or hesitated in entering talks with India,” said Aziz Ahmad Khan. “We Northern Areas CHINA Explosion killed 13 paramilitary police 4- Mss Ctis (Cto -Oct. ,Snnagar Ramsoo Ag: PAKISTAN t rah ui it Sea want to resolve all disputes through talks and negotiations.” Since a Dec. 13 attack on the Mat liament. the two nations have amassedm ly 1 million troops along their 1$M border. The South Asian neighbors ri went to war earlier this year, but ter.' since diminished, and both coe pledged last month to begin withfc: their troops. Media restricted at China’s Communist Party congress despite ‘warm welcome BEIJING (AP) — China invited international news organ izations, set up a Web site and modern press center, solicited interview requests, even wel comed journalists with a lavish cocktail party. At first blush, it looked like a political media event anywhere else in the world. But the surface openness at China’s Communist Party con gress this week in Beijing has, in many ways, proven to be an illu sion. Al least one foreign reporter has been detained by police. Overseas television broadcasters have had outgoing stories cut by censors. And the world has been denied any real glimpse into the inner workings of the weeklong meeting, expected to produce the next leaders of the world’s most populous country. While China has adopted some of the glossy trappings of modern public relations, its polit ical system remains as opaque and unwelcoming as ever. It’s a contradiction common in today’s China, where one of the world’s last communist regimes presides over a robust, increasingly free- market economy. The clumsy mix of friendly talk and intimidation reflects the party’s sensitivity to the portray al of this congress and particular- It’s clear that what Jiang is concerned about is image. He ivants to be celebrated as a great contributor to China's modernization. — Tim Weston Assistant history professor. University of Colorado ly President Jiang Zemin, 76, expected to retire as party chief this week and be replaced by 59- year-old Vice President Hu Jintao. “It’s clear that what Jiang is concerned about is image. He wants to be celebrated as a great contributor to China’s modern ization,” said Tim Weston, an assistant professor of history at the University of Colorado at Boulder who is writing a book on journalism in China. Coverage of the congress in China’s state-run press has con sisted of ceaseless praise for Jiang’s accomplishments — even to the point of doctoring quotes from Western journalists to make them sound rosier. The dozens of newspapers in the capital carry the same centrally generated sto ries, and often the same photos and front-page layouts. Press restrictions are nothing new during Communist Party congresses, held every five years. But the number of non-mainland journalists has grown as China’s economy has opened. There are 759 this year — some 1(X) more than 1997, according to organiz ers. Failure of foreign journalists to toe the government’s line has provoked some harsh responses. At least one photographer was detained and forced to delete digital-camera images after tak ing photos of police leading off a protester. The photographer was told his pictures were “unautho rized” and his press credentials applied only to official events. Several protesters, most act ing alone, have appeared outside the Great Hall of the People, the huge building facing Tiananmen Square where the congress is being held. They are quickly bundled away, and any pam phlets they try to hurl toward reporters or delegates are aggres sively scooped up by police. News reports on the congress by Canadian, German, fo and Hong Kong televisions cies. all intended for hoirc^ ences, were blocked as tfe - beamed put of China. S'- said. The footage sliT- Chinese protests in TM'Y tioners of the outlawe. Gong religious sect anJ® politically sensitive matefr Foreign television ap also said their requests shots outside the Great nil been rejected. Satellite casts by CNN and the ble at hotels and foreign^] pounds in Beijing ha« ® repeatedly blacked out tor intervals during reports on* live political issues. The treatment contrasted’ the friendly greeting gi' en eign reporters at the cong© carpeted media center. attendants offered a coa ^ Internet access and stacks reference books in several g -Warm welcome to all P nalists both at home an j for covering the I6tl' 11 TOI COVCime ^ Congress of the ^ Party of China, said an* ner on one wall, onn available to request , with party delegates, b»t < for top and even midle*' 1 gates were rejected. Men’s Antoine Aggie unifoi The fresh a team-high Texas A&M over MBC h | “It felt gc from getting so I was Vc before the g not let meg to play.” Wright 1 hazing aftei comer turn front before game interv King adi transfer, ad I trailed in th Because Watkins wo floor. A&V point effort “We wt Aggie first a NCAA The No. team will action fc Tournarm Aggie Soc The A Northwes 7:30 p.m A&M w Champio the tourn Northw the Soul ning the The Ag schools ’ the touri The 1 Longhor in Colle| Athletic Southen at 5 p.rr The w will plav on Sum Comple Gates pledges $100 million to fight AIDS in India NEW DELHI, India (AP) — The richest man in the world met with some of its poorest Monday, and pledged $100 million to fight the spread of AIDS in India. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates opened his four-day, controversy-laced visit to the South Asian nation by visiting HIV-positive patients in a private hospice. "It's a very brave thing to speak out and it's a problem that needs a lot of brave people," Gates told Naveen Kumar, an HIV-positive man who told him how he was rejected by public- health facilities in India. NEWS IN BRIEF "The problem needs all the great talent that exists in this country," said Gates, who was wearing the "tika," or red Hindu mark, on his forehead. The $100 million contribution from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest grant given by the foundation to a country to fight the deadly virus. Gates said the foundation was funded by his personal wealth, which stood at $43 billion in September. Palestinian gunman kills 5 in Israeli farming community KIBBUTZ METZER, Israel (AP) - A Palestinian gunman crawled under a security fence at this burst into a home and shot de s er and her two children as s al , ing them a bedtime stor Y |j S befo^ then killed two more Israel escaping in the dark. . Terrified residents at Ki ^ spent the night huddled ![] ^ongtl# fearful the gunman was still amo By daybreak Monday, Isr a( . forces said the attacker had ^ ^ ently to the nearby Wes distance away. . , a pfilitart The Al Aqsa Martyrs j Br, 8 a f r i 'p a | e5 tinia» group loosely affiliated ^' leader Yasser Arafat s F ^ ah , claimed responsibility for 11 BIRKENSTOCKS Save $$$ Order online at www.clubcloseout.com Where the smart people buy (gy € 1^ <3 © (S' !£/ ^ i nr- & W § & ra ^ <g Perform the highest setvig^ - tette Come teach at The Brazos School Volunteers wanted to teach at-risk kids in grades 3- You can be a cyber-tutor miieachUiL Call 361-0888 or e-mail ros505@aol.com Please see our website at bsicARj^