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Taliban Envoy says Americans Arrested in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban chief representative in Islamabad, Mulla Salam Zaeef, told a press briefing Monday in Islamabad that an unspecified number of Americans had been arrested inside Afghanistan. However, the Taliban official did not say who are these Americans, whether they are military personnel, aid workers or journalists. Answering a question, Zaeef said that "There have been arrests. " "I don't know how many there are or where they are or what their condition is," he added. Since the start of the U.S.-led military strikes on October 7, the Taliban have been holding a number of foreigners, including three journalists, a Japanese national and eight aid workers who are accused of promoting Christianity. The Taliban envoy said he thought one or two Americans were arrested with Abdul Haq, the veteran anti-Soviet guerrilla executed by the Taliban on Friday after being captured inside Afghanistan the same day. Meanwhile, Zaeef called on the U.N. aid agencies and Non- Governmental Organizations to provide food and medicine in emergency to the Afghan people as they are suffering from what he said the American "genocide." **** French Communist Party Calls for End of Bombing in Afghanistan. CPF's First Female Leader The French Communist Party on Sunday demanded an end of the United-Stated led military strike on Afghanistan at the closing ceremony of the party's three-day congress. "The end of the bombing is a necessity," said Robert Hue, long- time leading figure and newly elected president of the party, while commenting on the military strikes in Afghanistan. In her speech, Marie-George Buffet, National Secretary of the party and Minister of Sports of the Socialist-led government, said: "The escalation threatens. It is enough. The bombing must be ended. " The congress, with the participation of 822 delegates of the party, issued a resolution reaffirming: "We demand the end of bombing against Afghanistan. We refuse the war." French Communists Nominate Presidential Candidate French Communists on Sunday ended a three-day party congress with documents approved for reform and for the nomination of their long-time, leader Robert Hue, as candidate for next May's presidential election. A majority of the 822 delegates attending the meeting voted for the establishment of a national executive committee to replace the former executive arm of the French communist party's national council. Hue was re-elected President while Marie-George Buffet, Minister of Sport in the current Socialist-led government, was elected the party's National Secretary. Hue, 54, France's most prominent communist has launched a series of structural reforms within his party in recent years. He said at the closing ceremony he would soon start his election campaign. "I will not be a candidate of witness that serves only to assure the election of the socialist candidate in the second round, " said Hue, who got 78 percent support in a party poll earlier in October. "The presidential election has never been easy for our party," he added. The Communist Party of France was created in the 1920s and now has 139,000 members, compared to 800,000 in 1946 when it was France's biggest political group. **** Musharraf, Vajpayee May Meet Next Month. Another meeting between President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is likely to take place in the second week of next month in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly. Several countries particularly the United States have forcefully impressed upon both the sides for the Musharraf-Vajpayee meeting to de-escalate tension that intensified after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon. A diplomatic source told The News that top foreign leaders, who have been rushing to Pakistan with some of them also visiting India in the same trip, have urged President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee to resume the dialogue at the highest level in order to resolve the longstanding problems through talks. Musharraf, an official said, has told every foreign leader who met him in the recent days that he is all for resumption of a meaningful dialogue that is not just confined to mere discussions. "Pakistan and India should resume dialogue by reviving the format agreed upon during the Agra summit," the President said on Sunday. "India is exercising persistent hostility against Pakistan so as to seek hegemony and role of a regional power. The Kashmir issue must be resolved in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people, as laid down in the UN resolutions." The official said that Pakistan was willing for resumption of dialogue despite the fact that India was engaged in vociferous propaganda against it out of frustration in its bid to include Pakistan in one or the other among the countries against whom the ongoing terrorist campaign was directed. The most powerful urging to Pakistan and India for reduction of tension has come from the United States that wants to keep its attention focussed on the military campaign against Afghanistan and does not want any other issue, how serious it may be, to come on the centre stage of the world. He said that India's charges against Pakistan on account of militancy in the occupied Kashmir were also amply reflective of its disappointment over Pakistan's becoming the frontline state in the international war against terrorism. The official said that President Musharraf had phoned Prime Minister Vajpayee in the wake of bloody terrorist attack on the legislative assembly of the occupied Kashmir to express his anguish over the incident and signal a message that Pakistan condemns such activity and wants to re-start the dialogue to solve the Kashmir dispute and all other outstanding issues between the two countries. The first high-profile Musharraf-Vajpayee meeting held in Agra on intense international prodding some time back had turned out to be a fiasco because of the Indian obstinacy to solve the Kashmir issue according to the aspirations of the Kashmiris. This time too, no high hopes are being attached to the likely summit in New York. On many occasions, the top leaders of the two countries had been holding such meetings in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. It was during such a summit in 1998 that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Vajpayee had agreed for the Indian Premier's famous bus diplomacy culminating in the signing of the Lahore Declaration. **** Iran Calls for Identification of Root Causes of Terrorism. Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on Sunday called for identification of the root causes of terrorism to avoid hasty actions in dealing with the ominous phenomenon, the official IRNA news agency reported. During a meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister John Manley, Khatami said that "all countries should avoid hasty and unilateral actions in dealing with terrorism. They should display firm resolve to identify the root causes of terrorism and then go on to fight terrorism." "Be certain that as long as oppressions and injustice exist, peace and security will not prevail in the world," he stressed, saying that the international community should understand past mistakes and take effective measures to prevent repetition of such mistakes. Khatami expressed hope that the "current war and killing of innocent and poor Afghans would come to an end soon and a durable peace would be established" in the war-torn country. Iran "welcomes expansion of trade relations and economic cooperation with all countries, especially Canada, on the basis of mutual respect and common interests," he said. He said that the September 11 terror attacks against the U.S. proved that the use of force and violence for political objectives are condemned worldwide and campaign against the ominous phenomenon should be carried out internationally. He called for Iran's effective role to bring to an end the current Afghan crisis to help restore peace and security in the world. Manley arrived here on Saturday. He was the first Canadian foreign minister to visit Iran in 10 years. **** President Jiang Meets Taiwan Delegation. Chinese President Jiang Zemin urged compatriots across the Taiwan Straits to step up contact and increase cooperation, and to make concerted efforts towards a peaceful reunification of the motherland as early as possible. Jiang, also General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made the call while meeting with a delegation of China Reunification Alliance of Taiwan (CRAT) in Beijing Monday. President Jiang praised CRAT's unswerving efforts toward promoting the development of relations across the straits and the process of reunification of the motherland and asked compatriots across the Taiwan Straits to continue to promote the development of relations across the straits, and to work for direct mail, trade and transport service between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. "Solving the issue of Taiwan and realizing a full reunification of the motherland conform to the popular sentiments," said Jiang, "and no body or force can hold up the historical tide." "In the new century, we will continue to persist in the basic principle of 'peaceful reunification, and one country, two systems ' and eight proposals I put forward in 1995 about promoting relations across the straits and advancing a peaceful reunification of the motherland," Jiang went on. Jiang noted that at present the fundamental obstacle for an improvement and development in relations across the Taiwan Straits is that Taiwan authorities refuse to accept the one-China principle. "We have again and again reiterated as long as Taiwan authorities clearly accept the one-China principle, the relations across the straits can be ensured of a steady development, dialogues and negotiations across the straits can also be resumed, " said Jiang, who also pledged support to compatriots, groups and personages on Taiwan who recognize the one-China principle and endorse the reunification of the motherland. **** President Jiang: Solving Taiwan Issue Conforms to Popular Sentiments. Chinese President Jiang Zemin urged compatriots across the Taiwan Straits to step up contact and increase cooperation, and to make concerted efforts towards a peaceful reunification of the motherland as early as possible. Jiang, also General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made the call while meeting with a delegation of China Reunification Alliance of Taiwan (CRAT) in Beijing Monday. President Jiang praised CRAT's unswerving efforts toward promoting the development of relations across the straits and the process of reunification of the motherland and asked compatriots across the Taiwan Straits to continue to promote the development of relations across the straits, and to work for direct mail, trade and transport service between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. "Solving the issue of Taiwan and realizing a full reunification of the motherland conform to the popular sentiments," said Jiang, "and no body or force can hold up the historical tide." "In the new century, we will continue to persist in the basic principle of 'peaceful reunification, and one country, two systems ' and eight proposals I put forward in 1995 about promoting relations across the straits and advancing a peaceful reunification of the motherland," Jiang went on. Jiang noted that at present the fundamental obstacle for an improvement and development in relations across the Taiwan Straits is that Taiwan authorities refuse to accept the one-China principle. "We have again and again reiterated as long as Taiwan authorities clearly accept the one-China principle, the relations across the straits can be ensured of a steady development, dialogues and negotiations across the straits can also be resumed, " said Jiang, who also pledged support to compatriots, groups and personages on Taiwan who recognize the one-China principle and endorse the reunification of the motherland. **** Eighth Case of Inhalation Anthrax Confirmed in US. A United States postal worker was confirmed with inhalation anthrax on Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced. The female New Jersey postal worker was not a new anthrax patient but rather had been previously listed as a suspect, and laboratory tests confirmed the diagnosis, the centers said. The mail worker became the eighth case of inhalation anthrax confirmed in the United States. So far, three Americans have died of the inhaled form of anthrax and two of the three dead were Washington-area mail workers. On Sunday night, the U.S. Justice Department said that several locations in a suburban Maryland postal facility which processed its mail and tested positive for anthrax and mailrooms within the department had been tested for the disease and results would be available by Tuesday. Before the Justice Department was found to be contaminated with the bacteria, off-site mail facilities of the White House, the State Department and the Supreme Court were found to be contaminated with anthrax. On Thursday, a mail worker with one of the State Department's off-site mail facilities was confirmed with inhalation anthrax. The same day, a test for anthrax in a mailroom in the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, Maryland, also came back positive. **** Philippine President Arrives for State Visit. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo arrived in Beijing Monday evening for a three-day state visit to China. Arroyo is paying the visit at the invitation of Chinese President Jiang Zemin. This is her first state visit to China after she assumed the presidency. **** Reservoir Damming China's Largest Urban Water Supply Project Completed. The damming of the Yunlong Reservoir on the Zhangjiu River, a tributary to the Jinsha River, the upper section of China's longest river, the Yangtze, was completed Sunday successfully. The reservoir will double the drinking water supply to Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province. Construction of the Yunlong Reservoir started at the end of 1999. The project is expected to cost a total of 3.9 billion yuan upon completion in 2005, when it will expand the daily water supply to Kunming from the current 700,000 tons to 1.4 million tons. Built with a holding capacity of 442 million cubic meters, the Yunlong Reservoir is designed to pipe 245 million cubic meters of water to Kunming annually. By 2004, the dam of the reservoir will be 77 meters high, the record dam height in Asia. He Youde, vice-mayor of Kunming and director of the water-construction project, said that earthwork for a tap-water plant for purifying the reservoir water before it is piped to Kunming has been half completed, and relocation of some 10,000 people near the dam area will be finished by March next year. **** Party Publicity Chief on China's Media Work. The full text of a speech made by Ding Guangen, head of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), about the country 's news media, was published Monday in Beijing. The speech was delivered by Ding, also a member of the Political Bureau and the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, at the first meeting of the sixth council of the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA), which opened on October 26 here. In his speech, Ding urged the Chinese media organizations to be more dynamic, competitive, and creative in pushing forward the reform in journalism. Ding said that the Chinese media should seek a development path that carries Chinese characteristics. The reform should take into full consideration of the need for building socialist ethics, follow the rules of the socialist market economy and the demands of journalism itself, and draw on the success of economic reforms and the beneficial practices of other countries. Under no circumstances can the news media alter its role as the mouthpiece of the Party and the people, he said. Ding asked journalists to further enhance their political consciousness, professional skills and upgrade ethical standards. Journalists should improve their work style and listen to public opinion in order to tell the truth and write news stories that can stand the test of time. He asked the journalists to study President Jiang Zemin's speech delivered on July 1, the spirit of the Sixth Plenum of the 15th CPC Central Committee, under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory and the "three represent's" put forward by Jiang Zemin. He said that news media should help promote reform, safeguard social stability, and help create a sound environment for the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics and the Party's 16th National Congress. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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