Cleric threatens holy war in standoff

May 21, 2007

ISLAMABAD -- The chief cleric of a radical Islamic mosque and seminary yesterday threatened holy war against the government if authorities use force to free two police officers being held captive by students. The officers were abducted Friday at a seminary attached to the Red Mosque, which has boldly challenged the authority of President General Pervez Musharraf's government in recent months. Islamabad police chief Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmed warned the students that the government was considering all options, including the use of force, to free the officers. "We would like that . . . they release the policemen so that the government does not have to make use of force," Ahmed said. (AP)

China

BEIJING -- China plans to launch a lunar orbiter in the second half of 2007, in a first step toward a lunar probe, Xinhua news agency quoted the director of the National Space Administration as saying yesterday. If the Chang'e I orbiter succeeds in orbiting the moon, the next step would be an attempt to land. Ultimately a moon rover would collect samples before returning to earth, Sun Laiyan said in a speech at Beijing Jiaotong University. "The moon probe project is the third milestone in China's space technology after satellite and manned spacecraft projects, and a first step for us in exploring deep space," Sun said. (Reuters)

Turkey

SAMSUN -- Thousands of flag-waving Turks filled a square in this Black Sea coastal city yesterday in the latest of a series of nationwide protests against the pro-Islamic government they fear is challenging secular Turkish society. The demonstration in Samsun comes ahead of the July 22 general elections which will pit Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party against the secular opposition. Yesterday's rally drew a smaller crowd than the previous protests, but it was symbolic because of Samsun's importance in recent Turkish history. The city was where the country's secular founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, launched the war of independence . (AP)

Indonesia

JAKARTA -- An Indonesian fisherman hooked a rare coelacanth, a species once thought as extinct as dinosaurs, and briefly kept the "living fossil" alive in a quarantined pool. Justinus Lahama caught the 4-foot, 110-pound fish early Saturday off Sulawesi island near Bunaken National Marine Park, which has some of the highest marine biodiversity in the world. The fish died 17 hours later, an extraordinary survival time, marine biologist Lucky Lumingas said yesterday. (AP)

Colombia

BOGOTÁ -- A Colombian woman kidnapped last week along with her Swedish husband escaped after a gun battle between her captors and police, and was said to be in good health yesterday. Diana Patricia Pena, 36, was abducted by armed men May 16 with her husband, 68-year-old Roland Erik Larson, at their farm in northern Colombia. Larson was still missing. Troops shot dead two of the couple's alleged captors Saturday, according to Colonel Carlos Gustavo Leyva . (AP)