AMMAN, Dec 25: The Arab Parliamentary Union (APU) will hold an emergency meeting in Amman on Sunday to discuss last week’s US-British strike against Iraq, according to Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali. ...more

China makes justification
of crackdown on dissidents

WASHINGTON, Dec 25: China is not bound by the international covenant on civil and political rights because it has not ratified ....more

Row over phasing
out nuclear
energy subsides

BONN, Dec 25: The first major row between the two coalition partners of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s Government has ...more

Newspaper offers
Ist glimpse of
new Russian jet fighter

MOSCOW, Dec 25: A newspaper published the first photos of Russia’s most advanced fighter jet, but reported Wednesday that the country..more

ISLAMABAD, Dec 25: Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz today called for the lifting of United States military sanctions against Pakistan.....more

Balloonists halfway around
world elude Pacific weather

LONDON, Dec 25: Three balloonists streaked across the Pacific Ocean on a jetstream yesterday, hoping to elude a troublesome....more

China to put labour rights
activist on trial

BEIJING, Dec 25: After swiftly convicting three democracy campaigners, Chinese authorities will put on trial Sunday a ...more

Clinton, Lewinsky
praises Ukrainian
confectionery

KIEV (UKRAINE), Dec 25: US President Bill Clinton sent a letter of praise a few years back to the Khmelnytsky Candy ..more

APU will hold meeting in Amman on Sunday

AMMAN, Dec 25: The Arab Parliamentary Union (APU) will hold an emergency meeting in Amman on Sunday to discuss last week’s US-British strike against Iraq, according to Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali.

Mr Majali said last evening that Jordan’s crown prince Hassan would chair the day-long meeting, coming only days after Amman’s Parliament, in a non-binding resolution, demanded unilateral lifting of sanctions against Iraq.

The lower House of Parliament called on the Jordanian Government and other Arab countries to end the embargo against Iraq and work towards alleviating the suffering of the Iraqi people.

Mr Majali said he sent a letter to head of the APU, Ahmad Srour, informing him about the Jordanian Parliament’s decision and telephoned other Parliament Presidents, stressing the need of collective Arab action.

Amman’s Parliament has strongly condemned the strikes against Iraq, calling them "brutal aggression." (AP)

China makes justification of crackdown on dissidents

WASHINGTON, Dec 25: China is not bound by the international covenant on civil and political rights because it has not ratified it although it has signed it, Ye Shuning, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington has said.

He was commenting on the recent crackdown on pro-democracy activists in China and the US State Department spokesman’s charge that China is violating the international treaty it has signed.

Diplomats agree that the Chinese position is correct because nations are bound not by treaties, convenants or agreements they have signed until they have ratified it.

They pointed out that thesis a technique the US also employs. Among the many international treaties the US has signed but not ratified and hence not bound by their provisions is the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Kyoto protocol on the environment. Some of the UN Human Rights Treaties are also in this category.

The US is bound only by treaties the senate ratifies by a two-thirds majority.

The Chinese spokesman told reporters that apart from the fact that nations are only bound by treaties they ratify, even if the treaty had been ratified, China would still have imprisoned pro-democracy activists Xu Wenli, Wang Youcai and Qin Yongmin because they broke Chinese law.

He said the sentences on these people have nothing to do with the signing of the covenant. They have sought and received funding from hostile overseas organisations and, in collusion with them, they conducted activities to subvert state power.

They have already violated the criminal law of China. That is why they were arrested, tried and sentenced to different prisons. This is very natural, for many countries in the world punish subversive activities.

Under Chinese law, Chinese cannot receive funding from think tanks and non-Governmental or Governmental organisations and individuals abroad without Government permission.

Commenting further on the dissidents’ efforts to organise opposition to the Communist Government, Yu drew attention to US laws against the overthrow of the US Government.

The US has rejected Chinese explanations. The crackdown is a severe rebuff to President Clinton, who has tilted towards China against India and said during President Jiang Zemin’s visit that China is on the road to democracy because of the UN covenants Jiang has promised to sign.

Secretary of state Madeleine Albright was even more enthusiastic over America’s newfound friendship for China.

US Ambassador to China James Sasser said the continuing crackdown on political dissent could put a chill in Sino-American relations. (PTI)

Row over phasing out nuclear energy subsides

BONN, Dec 25: The first major row between the two coalition partners of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s Government has subsided after agreeing that all sides would have to compromise in reaching an accord in phasing out nuclear energy in Germany.

Schroeder, who completes two months in office tomorrow, had to intervene early this week in averting a threat to the chances of a consensus in shutting down Germany’s 19 nuclear power plants due to differences between the dominant social democrats and junior allies, the environmentalist greens party.

The differences between Schroeder and the Environment Minister Juergen Trittin came out in the open on the manner in which a major policy reversal could be achieved, even as they renewed their commitment on abandoning nuclear energy.

Schroeder publicly rebuked trittin for unilaterally winding up the Government’s two advisory panels on nuclear safety ahead of consultations with the power companies on closure of nuclear power plants.

Trittin was accused by Schroeder of substituting pompous airs and political symbolism for serious negotiations even as the chancellor rejected pressure for a fast timetable from the environmentalist greens.

At the same time, Schroeder made it clear that no final decision has been taken on giving the country’s nuclear utilities atleast 20 years to scrap nuclear power. (PTI)

Newspaper offers Ist glimpse of new Russian jet fighter

MOSCOW, Dec 25: A newspaper published the first photos of Russia’s most advanced fighter jet, but reported Wednesday that the country can’t afford to mass produce the plane any time soon.

Almost everything about the MFU, the Russian acronym for the multi-functional fighter has been kept under wraps since development began in late 1980s.

But Nezavisimaya Gazeta published a front-page photo yesterday of the MFI, known as "Project 1.42" in the West.

The newspaper claimed the MFI can match the most advanced US fighter, the F-22 Raptor, and has a "thrust vectoring" system that allows the plane to make sharper turns than current fighters.

The single-seat, twin-engined MFI is designed to fly faster than mach 2, and can be equipped with custom-designed air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles.

Like its US counterpart, the new aircraft has stealth capabilities, relying on composite materials and a special shape to avoid detection by enemy radars.

But unlike the F-22, which made its maiden flight last year, the Russian fighter has yet to fly. The plane’s development has been slowed by severe funding shortages.

"The MFI’s faces a difficult future," the newspaper said.

"The current economic situation won’t allow its production in the foreseeable future since one plane is expected to cost around dlrs 70 million."

The Russian air force doesn’t have enough money to maintain its current fleet or properly train pilots.

Without citing sources, the newspaper claimed that China has offered to help finance development, but only if it can buy the aircraft and maybe even the technology.

Russian leaders recently raised the prospect of a strategic partnership including Russia, China and India to counter perceived US domination in global affairs.

China has evolved into a key customer for the Russia’s ailing weapons industries, purchasing combat jets, missiles and navy ships. (AP)

Pak urges US to lift military sanctions

ISLAMABAD, Dec 25: Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz today called for the lifting of United States military sanctions against Pakistan following recent defence deal between Russia and India.

"We will press for the lifting of these sanctions in the forthcoming talks with US as there is greater urgency for that in view of India-Russia agreement," domestic news services quoted Mr Aziz as saying.

Mr Aziz said the massive arms purchase deal, signed in New Delhi during the recent visit of Russian Prime Minister Yegenev Primakov, would greatly affect the balance of power in the region. "This unusual addition in defence purchases by India are not in the spirit of reconciliation in the region."

Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday that military cooperative deal between Moscow and New Delhi would "adversely impact" nuclear non-proliferation efforts in South Asia and dialogue with India. (DPA)

Balloonists halfway around world elude Pacific weather

LONDON, Dec 25: Three balloonists streaked across the Pacific Ocean on a jetstream yesterday, hoping to elude a troublesome weather pattern that could threaten their bid to achieve the first non-stop trip around the world in a balloon.

British Tycoon Richard Branson, American millionaire Steve Fossett and Per Lindstrand of Sweden were moving at 233 kph, 2,400 km East of Japan, when they soared past the halfway mark on an eastward circuit of the globe that began in Marrakech, Morocco on December 18.

"They are pleased with their progress, but there is still a worry about the weather in the Pacific," said ground crew spokeswoman Jackie McQuillan in the afternoon.

"We are watching it very carefully, but we are feeling slightly more confident about things than we were this morning," she said.

Ground crew director Mike Kendrick had sounded "a note of concern" in the morning about a high pressure trough developing over the ocean. "We’re not panicking yet," he said, explaining that if the balloon gets into the trough it could be dragged to a lower altitude and have to ditch in the ocean.

"If we fall out of the jetstream into this trough over the Pacific then there is only one way, and that is back to Hawaii and they are going to go for a swim," he told Sky TV.

The Pacific crossing is dangerous, he said, because the frequency of shipping is not very high and rescue would be difficult. The ground crew were tracking the position of all ships that would be under the balloon in the pacific.

The three-man crew, flying at 8,500 to 9,500 meters in a pressurized capsule, is aiming to reach north America sometime Christmas Day, most likely in the evening over Southern Canada or Washington state.

Balloon pilots navigate by changing the lift of the balloon to ascend or descend into different wind systems, and cannot plan their courses and speeds precisely.

The 83-meter-high hot and helium balloon is flying at about the same altitude as a Jumbo jet and could be visible from the ground if the weather is clear.

The trip is expected to last from eight days to nearly three weeks and finish in Western Europe at the end of a 38,000 kms flight.

The team secured permission from 97 countries for overflights and initially had only four refusals Iran, Iraq, Russia and North Korea.

China had said the balloonists could cross their territory below 26 degrees North latitude. But the trio drifted further North Monday after navigating around mediterranean storms and closed airspace over Iraq, Iran and Russia.

The project ground crew said that the Chinese asked the balloonists to land at the Lhasa airfield yesterday morning, but the balloon overshot the field and it was impossible to come down anywhere else.

With the help of British diplomats, the balloonists won Chinese permission to continue if they got out of the country as quickly as possible. (AP)

China to put labour rights activist on trial

BEIJING, Dec 25: After swiftly convicting three democracy campaigners, Chinese authorities will put on trial Sunday a labour rights activist who tried to set up a group to assist unemployed workers.

Zhang Shanguang is accused of endangering state security by passing on intelligence to overseas groups, the Hong Kong-based information center of human rights and democratic movement reported yesterday. He faces from three years to life imprisonment if convicted.

His wife said the court in Southern hunan province’s Huaihua City told Zhang’s lawyer about the trial on Tuesday, less than the 10 days notification families are supposed to receive under Chinese law.

Zhang’s case mirrors the handling of the trials for Xu Wenli, Wang Youcai and Qin Yongmin. The three, among China’s most prominent dissidents, were arrested last month and charged with endangering state security. They were sentenced this week to 13, 12 and 11 years in prison for trying to organize the China Democracy Party.

Amid the arrests and trials, Chinese leaders have made strident speeches threatening to destroy challengers to communist party rule. Chinese President Jiang Zemin ordered law enforcement officials Wednesday to eliminate any threats to "social stability."

Zhang spent seven years in prison in the nationwide crackdown that followed the crushing of democracy demonstrations in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989. After his release, Zhang informed overseas groups about labour protests in hunan, the information center reported.

Zhang decided in July to set up the association to guarantee the rights and interests of laid-off workers. He was detained shortly afterwards and has not been let out since.

The Huaihua Court has decided to try him on Sunday to clear a backlog of cases before year’s end, the information center reported. (AP)