Authorities arrest suspect in Pearl kidnapping investigation

A main suspect in the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was arrested yesterday by Pakistani authorities. Ahmed Omar Sheikh, an Islamic militant, told authorities that Pearl was still alive. Authorities declined to release more information but maintained that Sheikh's word may have in fact been true and Pearl may be released soon, according to The New York Times. Sheikh, who was born in Britain and educated at the London School of Economics, was arrested three weeks after Pearl's disappearance on Jan. 23. It was only last week that Sheikh was publicly identified as a suspect. Since then Pakistani authorities have mounted an intense manhunt that has included the detention of his relatives and former associates in Pakistan's main intelligence service. Sheikh's organization, Jaish-e-Muhammad, is listed as a terrorist organization and it has since been banned by the Pakistani government. Experts have theorized that the kidnapping might have been meant as a signal to General Musharraf's government that his plans for a crackdown on Islamic militants faces significant opposition, including possible resistance from the intelligence agencies.

Los Angeles, California

Colleges rush to include Sept. 11 in course catalogue

With five months' hindsight, colleges across the nation are scrambling to offer classes related to Sept. 11 and its aftermath. New courses focusing on issues like the history of terrorism, Islamic religion, the history of Afghanistan and the engineering of tall buildings are appearing nationwide in institutions of higher learning, according to The New York Times. UCLA led the way, creating 49 seminars with themes related to the attacks in the days following Sept. 11. It is now offering a second round, including "Genetic Engineering Bioweapons: Reality or Hype?," "Responses to National and Personal Crisis in Modern Hebrew Poetry in Translation" and "Representations of Afghan Women in the Media." In offering such courses now, colleges are not only reflecting society's preoccupation with a provocative subject but also demonstrating a greater willingness-and speed-within academia to tackle current issues. During the Vietnam War, for example, many colleges were slow to offer their students courses about Vietnam and the war, according to The Times.

Boston, Massachusetts

State politicians divided over future of Clean Elections Law

Massachusetts lawmakers considered a fast-tracked bill to repeal the state's Clean Elections Law yesterday. The joint Committee on Election Laws late Monday approved the repeal legislation and sent it to the Senate. The Senate and House both have a majority of members who want to scrap the 1998 law, but with Acting Governor Jane Swift vowing to veto any measure that harms Clean Elections, opponents will need a two-thirds majority in both branches for an override, according to The Boston Globe. "I am astounded at the length my colleagues have gone and would go to thwart the will of the voters," said Representative Jay Kaufman. A two-thirds vote by the Senate to repeal Clean Elections would take the battle to the House, where an override is possible. The move by the Committee further complicates the stand-off between the legislature and the Supreme Judicial Court. The justices, on Feb. 1, declared that the legislature is violating the state constitution by failing either to fund or repeal the Clean Elections Law.