Extracts. US Launches Fiercest Daylight Attack on Kabul Monday. US-led forces launched the fiercest daylight attack on Kabul Monday, according to news reports from Kabul. Warplanes began roaring high above the city shortly after dawn and were still flying back to strike in the afternoon. At least 10 large explosions were heard in the north of the city and a traditional Afghan mud-brick civilian home may have been hit, the reports said. The airport just outside the city and the Taliban military bases are the main U.S. targets, all within the city and close to residential areas. The early morning bombing on Kabul started about five hours after U.S.-led forces ended a night attack in which at least seven bombs were dropped. Meanwhile, daytime raids also targeted Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, hitting a Taliban military base just outside the city, the reports said. **** US Attacks Should Target Terrorists, not Innocent People: Saudi Official. A senior Saudi official on Monday said that the US-led military attacks against Afghanistan should extract terrorists and cause no casualties to innocent people, Kuwait's official KUNA news agency reported. In a statement issued in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, Saudi Interior Minister Nayef Ibn Abdul-Aziz stressed the importance of focusing the military operation on the terrorists and the Al-Qaeda network led by Osama bin Laden, blamed by Washington as the top suspect of the September 11 terror attacks in the United States. On the involvement of Saudi citizens in last month's attacks in the U.S., which left nearly 6,000 people dead, Abdul-Aziz said that "Saudi Arabia has not received any clear evidence that proves the involvement of any Saudi in the attacks." He also rejected the claims by some American individuals and institutions who doubt the kingdom's ability to stop donations from reaching bin Laden. "All Saudi donations through Islamic societies reach their beneficiaries in a direct and guaranteed manner," he said. The interior minister reiterated the condemnation of the devastating terror attacks in the U.S. and his country's "full support" for the international efforts to fight against terrorism. **** 670 Afghans Killed During Week-long US Attacks: Taliban. At least 670 Afghans including 30 Taliban fighters have been killed during the week-long US- led air attacks which began on October 7, according to the leading Pakistani Urdu paper Daily Jang on Monday. Quoting Taliban Defense Minister Mullah Abidullah, the newspaper said Taliban's radar systems in Kandahar and Jalalabad were seriously damaged but the defense system of the Muslim militia was still functioning. The Taliban minister said the injured during the attacks were getting treatment in a military hospital in Jalalabad, which had 500 beds and 400 working staff including 160 doctors. He accused the U.S.-led coalition of targeting civilians rather than military personnel, saying the actual death toll of innocent civilians could be more. **** No Rifts in Taliban: Taliban Representative. Osama bin Laden and the Afghan ruling Taliban's supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar are alive and well, top Taliban representative to Pakistan told the press Monday. Reports of Taliban rifts were groundless, the representative added. "Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar are alive and well," he was quoted by the reports as saying. He also told the press that "Taliban Foreign Minister Maulawi Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil was in Afghanistan", dismissing stories that he had left the country and rifts had opened up in the Taliban after the U.S.-led forces began the second week of airstrikes against Afghanistan for protecting Osama bin Laden, prime suspect of the September 11 terror attack on the United States. "I contacted the foreign ministry in Kabul, they said Muttawakil is here and they also denied reports of any differences, " he added. **** Arafat Arrives in London for Talks with Blair. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat arrived in London on Sunday night for talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair on the bombardment of Afghanistan and the situation in the Middle East. "This is a very important visit and we hope we will discuss with the Prime Minister the whole situation in the Middle East and the whole situation internationally, especially after what has happened with the terrorist activities," Arafat told reporters on arrival in London. The Palestinian leader flew into London's Heathrow Airport amid tight security aboard a private executive jet. Armed police patrolled the tarmac around the airport's VIP suite and Arafat's motorcade was given a police guard. Britain has said it is vital to re-start the Middle East peace process to maintain the world coalition against terrorism. Blair, who is expected to meet Arafat on Monday, conducted a three-day Middle East tour last week to bolster the alliance against Osama bin Laden, prime suspect accused of masterminding last month's attacks on New York and Washington. **** Powell Heads to Pakistan, India. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell headed to Asia Sunday on a diplomatic mission intended to keep tensions between Pakistan and India from further complicating the U.S. anti-terror campaign in neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistan has been supporting Islamic militants who seek an end to Indian rule in the predominantly Muslim region of Kashmir. A terrorist attack last week in the Indian sector of Kashmir killed about 40 people. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said last week that Powell would try to see if there were a way ``to lower the temperature'' before the two countries. Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, has cooperated with U.S. efforts to track down Osama bin Laden and go after his Taliban government hosts in Afghanistan. Musharraf has allowed American military aircraft to land in Pakistan and has granted the United States use of at least two air bases despite widespread protests in Pakistan. Mindful of that cooperation, President Bush last month lifted sanctions against Pakistan and India that were imposed after the two nations tested nuclear weapons in 1998. The sanctions barred economic and military assistance to the two countries. The United States and Pakistan also recently signed an agreement to reschedule $379 million in bilateral debt. On Friday, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation announced a variety of economic initiatives for Pakistan, including extension of a $300 million special line of credit. OPIC is a self-sustaining federal agency that backs U.S. business expansion programs in developing countries. India also has won praise from the State Department for sharing intelligence on terrorist groups after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. Pakistan's foreign minister, Abdul Sattar, said Sunday on ABC's ``This Week'' that the United States and the United Nations ``can help recommence a dialogue between Pakistan and India so that we, with the rest of the world community, can attempt to arrive at the solution acceptable to the people of Kashmir.'' After visiting Pakistan and India, Powell will travel to Shanghai, China, where he will join President Bush at the meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation ministers. The 21-nation organization plans to use the summit, the first top-level international gathering since the Sept. 11 attacks, to pledge its commitment to fighting terrorism. **** At Least 235 Arrested in Riots in Northern Nigeria. As an uneasy calm gradually returned to the Nigerian northern city of Kano after a violent clash between Muslims and Christians at the weekend, the police have arrested at least 235 persons in connection with the disturbance, local media reported on Monday. The riots, which started as a protest against United States-led strikes on Afghanistan last Friday, turned violent on Saturday, claiming many lives and properties. Alhaji Yakubu Bello Uba, the Kano State Commissioner of Police, confirmed that 18 have been killed in the riots and five leaders of Jama'atul Tajdidul Islam, an Islamic group, were among those arrested in connection with the religious clashes. According to Uba, 40 persons were injured, four churches burnt, 13 vehicles burnt and 23 buildings including four mosques were set ablaze. However, the state government put the death toll at 13 and said about 100 people were wounded. Because of the ferocious crisis, it has not been possible to get the actual figure of the people killed. While fleeing residents claimed the number of deaths had risen from eight to at least 200. On Sunday night, under the federal government's order, soldiers and anti-riot policemen deployed from the neighboring states of Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa and Bauchi were still trying to contain the riots, which had spread to other parts of the city. While reacting to the riots, Speaker of the House of Representatives Alhaji Umar Ghali Na'Abba called for calm in all states, saying that the conflicts in the Middle East and the standstill between the U.S. and the Taliban can only be resolved by dialogue. Na'Abba said Kano had lost too many lives to such crises in the recent past and can not afford to become another "tinder box of unrest". "Rather than maim each other, all religious groups should pray fervently to bring peace to the country and the world," he added. Kano, Nigeria's second largest commercial center after Lagos, has the largest Muslim population in the country and has been identified as a hotbed for bloody religious riots. In the last 20 years, Nigeria has faced scores of religious and ethnic unrest along with other violent turmoil, which have claimed thousands of lives and destroyed many properties in different parts of country. **** Kenya Committed to One-China Policy. Mohammed Affey, assistant minister of Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said Monday in Nairobi that Kenya was committed to One-China policy. Affey made the remarks when he met with Li Tieying, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Li is leading a CPC delegation visiting this eastern African country at the invitation of the Kenya African National Union (KANU), Kenya's ruling party. Affey said Kenya and China enjoyed warm and friendly relations and were cooperative in many fields, adding that "China is Kenya's real friend. We are committed to One-China policy and respect China's position on the issue of human rights". He expressed the hope that the visiting Chinese delegation would exchange experiences with the KANU on issues related to the political party building. Li Tieying said the Chinese leaders, including those of the old generations, had attached great importance to the friendly relations with Kenya and other developing countries in Africa. He noted that China and Kenya and other African countries supported each other in many international affairs, saying "our friendly relations are built on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and cooperation". The CPC delegation arrived here on Sunday and will leave here for South Africa on Wednesday. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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