At A Glance

KUALA LUMPUR: US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Monday met the wife of ousted deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim in a snub to the Malaysian authorities, after his supporters protested for the second day running. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was seen arriving at Albright8217;s hotel in a US embassy car, accompanied by her eldest daughter Nurul Izzah. 8220;I am very happy with the meeting, we had a lot of support from the Secretary of State,8221; Anwar8217;s wife, who has taken up his pro-reform cause said. The meeting came after Albright voiced support for Anwar, who has denied 10 charges of corruption and sodomy, at a press conference and traded barbs with a Malaysian minister over his imprisonment. 8220;The US has made clear a number of times that Anwar Ibrahim is a highly respected leader,8221; Albright said, adding 8220;he is entitled to due process and a fair trial8221;. Malaysian trade minister Refidah Aziz offered Albright assurances that Anwar would get a fair trial, then went on to say, 8220;Maybe when I go to the US, I willmeet Kenneth Starr.8221;

KARACHI: The Sindh provincial assembly building was sealed off by Pakistani authorities on Monday to thwart an opposition bid to hold a session in defiance of the federal government. Police personnel, backed by armoured vehicles, guarded the building. All approaches were barricaded with water tankers and barbered wire. Around 50 deputies from the ethnic-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement MQM and the main opposition Pakistan8217; People8217;s Party PPP of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto were barred from entering the assembly. Opposition lawmakers were told by police to disperse when they arrived. 8220;We do not want any trouble here. We will arrest, if any body breaks the law and tries to enter the assembly building,8221; a senior police official said. Last week the government suspended the powers of the Sindh assembly speaker and his deputy to summon the house.

WASHINGTON: Calling for a new government8217; in Baghdad, US President Bill Clinton on Sunday pledged greater backing forIraqi opposition groups as part of a long-term strategy to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Clinton8217;s comments suggested that Washington was opening a new front against Iraq amid growing frustration with a policy of containment that has led to frequent, costly and divisive mobilizations of US force in the Gulf. 8220;We will continue to contain the threat that he poses by working for the elimination of Iraq8217;s weapons of mass destruction capability under UNSCOM 8212; enforcing the sanctions of the no-fly zone, responding firmly to any Iraqi provocations,8221; the President said. 8220;However, over the long term, the best way to address that threat is through a Government in Baghdad 8212; a new government that is committed to represent and respect its people, not repress them, that is committed to peace in the region,8221; he said.