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| Laura Bush pushes US policy with gentle diplomacy MOSCOW, Oct 2: US first lady Laura Bush, on a two-stop European tour that ended today, used a soft touch to promote.....more US keeps
control in Iraq UNITED NATION, Oct 2: Trying to win over skeptics, the Bush administration revised a UN resolution that emphasizes......more US soldier
killed BAGHDAD, Oct 2: A rocket-propelled grenade attack on a US convoy near the Iraqi town of Samarra, north of Baghdad.....more US
official delays WASHINGTON, Oct 2: US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has delayed his departure to Pakistan and....more |
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South Africa honours Gandhi with Johannesburg statue JOHANNESBURG, Oct 2: South Africa marked the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth today with a two and a half.....more White
House gives WASHINGTON, Oct 2: The White House today gave no ground on democratic calls for a special counsel to investigate the....more Pakistan
kills ANGOR ADDA, PAKISTAN, Oct 2: Pakistani forces killed 12 suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda......more Australians
thrilled SYDNEY, Oct 2: Australian academics were today celebrating the news that adelaide....more |
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Laura Bush pushes US policy with gentle diplomacy MOSCOW, Oct 2: US first lady Laura Bush, on a two-stop European tour that ended today, used a soft touch to promote foreign policy goals that her husband has sparred over with foreign leaders. Mrs Bush briefly met the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Cherie, in Moscow today for what aides described as a courtesy call. It was her last event before leaving for Washington after her five-day trip to Paris and the Russian capital. On a high-profile trip, she defended US policy in Iraq and subtly prodded Russia on press freedom. She scored points internationally by pledging an "enthusiastic" US return to UNESCO after a 19-year absence — a warm nod to the United Nations where Washington is struggling to win new backing on Iraq. "That’s sort of the point...To let people in Russia and in France know that Americans want to be friends, that we all have the same concerns," Mrs Bush told reporters on Wednesday. French President Jacques Chirac kissed her hand, and Russian President Vladimir Putin paid an unplanned visit on Tuesday to a dinner held for Mrs Bush and other leading ladies in Moscow to attend a book festival hosted by Putin’s wife, Lyudmila. Despite Chirac’s call to "let bygones be bygones" over Iraq, however, there was no sign the United States has bridged differences with France over the course of Iraq’s post-war transition. And Putin, who remains on good personal terms with US President George W Bush, last week rejected his call to stop nuclear sales to Iran. Both Russia and France have been annoyed by what Chirac has described aheavy-handed, go-it-alone foreign policy conducted by President Bush, and domestic pressure on Bush over Iraq reached a new level this week with a justice department criminal probe of the White House over an Iraq-related leak. But Mrs Bush, who said it was difficult to be away while the leak controversy grew, said she had been pleased with her reception abroad and was confident her messages were heard. "It’s been a really good trip for me, (and) for the United States," she said. Mrs Bush has said her goal was to promote American values. This comes as a report for Congress this week criticised US public diplomacy and said "the bottom has fallen out" of support for the United States among Muslims and Arabs abroad. Mrs Bush said in her UNESCO speech that a stable Iraq would be a "powerful beacon of freedom." in Moscow, she expressed US concerns over potential threats to press freedom in Russia by lauding the freedom to write and read. But she also pointed a critical finger at American culture in saying US children were "addicted to television." Her third solo foreign trip amounted to an infrequent turn in the spotlight. Her activities as first lady, which focus on education and literacy, rarely get the attention domestically she has received on her European trip. "That was because I’m not with Jacques Chirac. I think if I were with him back home, you all would be picking it up (paying attention) too," she said. (AGENCIES) |
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US keeps control in Iraq in new draft resolution UNITED NATION, Oct 2: Trying to win over skeptics, the Bush administration revised a UN resolution that emphasizes an eventual transfer of power to Iraqis but still leaves the US-led coalition in firm control. The new draft, obtained yesterday, gives the United Nations a list of duties, similar to earlier versions. But it falls short of demands by France, Russia, Germany and others that the world body play a pivotal, independent role in overseeing the country’s transition. Diplomats expect considerable suggestions for changes before the measure is adopted by the 15-member Security Council. At minimum, they say, the draft should set a date for when a plan leading to Iraqi sovereignty could be submitted. The main purpose of the new resolution, as before, is to transform the military operation into a UN-authorized multinational force under American command. This provision is aimed at attracting more contributions from nations wary of sending soldiers as part of an occupation force, although volunteers appear to be scarce. The 25-member Iraqi Governing Council, appointed by the United States, would provide a timetable and program for drafting a new constitution and for elections, in cooperation with the occupation authorities and the United Nations. The United Nations would help, if asked by Iraqi leaders, to establish an electoral process along with "advancing efforts to restore and establish national and local institutions for representative Government," the draft says. To meet some objections, the text speaks of the "temporary nature" of the US-led occupation "until an internationally recognized, representative government is established." It says that the administration of Iraq will be "progressively undertaken by the evolving structures of the Iraqi interim administration. "The day when Iraqis govern themselves must come quickly," the preamble of the draft says. US Ambassador John Negroponte, this month’s Security Council President, hopes the resolution can be adopted before an Oct 23-24 donors conference in Madrid. No council member has threatened to veto the measure but France and others said they might abstain. The measure was circulated as u.N. Sources said some 35 billion would be needed to rebuild Iraq over the next four years in contributions from Governments and Iraq’s own resources. The figure is based on an assessment by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations in anticipation of the Madrid meeting. Negroponte presented the draft on Wednesday to the other four permanent council members with veto power — France, Russia, China and Britain. Germany also received a copy. France has advocated some immediate gesture of sovereignty while Russia wanted the United Nations set a timetable and guide Iraqi leaders to free elections. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan prefers a plan to turn over power to a provisional Iraqi Government within three to five months, UN officials said. "What we want is a sovereign provisional Government as soon as possible so we can work in Iraq like we do in other countries instead of being asked to be part of military occupation," one UN official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Despite calls for a bigger UN role, the United Nations this week pulled out more international staff from Iraq and is not willing to send them back until their security improves.. Annan withdrew political staff after the bombing on Aug 19 that killed 22 people, including the head of mission, Brazilian Sergio Vieira De Mello. Before the bombing, more than 600 foreign UN staff were in Iraq. (AGENCIES) |
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US soldier killed in attack north of Baghdad BAGHDAD, Oct 2: A rocket-propelled grenade attack on a US convoy near the Iraqi town of Samarra, north of Baghdad, killed a soldier overnight, the US military today said. Yesterday night’s attack was the third fatal ambush on us forces in the space of a few hours. The soldier belonged to the 4th infantry division. It brought to 84 the number of US soldiers killed in guerrilla-style attacks since US President George W Bush declared major combat over on May 1. The US military had earlier reported a 1st armored division soldier was killed and one was wounded in a gun attack while patrolling the Mansur district of Baghdad yesterday night. In Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s home town north of Samarra, a US woman soldier was killed and three soldiers were wounded by a roadside bomb blast that hit a military convoy on Wednesday. In Washington, the US State Department said Secretary of State Colin Powell briefed fellow members of the UN Security Council by phone on changes made to a draft resolution on Iraq’s future. Spokesman Richard Boucher said the new version defined more clearly the role of the UN representative in Iraq, responded to criticism that a first draft was too vague on the political process and made clear a multinational force would be tied to the aim of transferring authority to Iraqis. One of the aims, from the US point of view, would be to encourage other Governments to contribute troops to the multinational force and money for reconstruction. But its efforts so far have met a cool response. (AGENCIES) |
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US official delays Pak trip for illness WASHINGTON, Oct 2: US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has delayed his departure to Pakistan and Afghanistan because of a brief illness and will postpone visits to several central Asian countries till a later date, a State Department official said today. Armitage was originally due to leave on Tuesday evening to consult some key supporters in the US war on Al Qaeda and its allies, US officials said. He will now leave tomorrow, confining his tour to Pakistan and Afghanistan. "He was delayed by a brief illness. He’s planning to depart Friday," said the official, who asked not to be named. The United States and its allies continue to search for Osama bin Laden, the leader of the Al Qaeda network blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks who is believed to be hiding in the mountainous region along the Afghan-Pakistan border. (AGENCIES) |
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South Africa honours Gandhi with Johannesburg statue JOHANNESBURG, Oct 2: South Africa marked the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth today with a two and a half metre bronze statue of the Indian hero who once practised law in Johannesburg. A message from former South African President Nelson Mandela was read out at the unveiling of the statue, which shows the young Gandhi in a suit and lawyer’s gown, a book under one arm. Mandela said Gandhi’s political technique and elements of the non-violent philosophy developed during his stay in Johannesburg became an enduring legacy for the continuing struggle against racial discrimination. Gandhi’s experience of racial discrimination in South Africa helped to form the political ideas of passive resistance that he later used to win India independence from Britain in 1947. (AGENCIES) |
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White House gives no ground in case of CIA leak WASHINGTON, Oct 2: The White House today gave no ground on democratic calls for a special counsel to investigate the leak of a CIA agent’s identity, despite a poll showing most Americans want such an independent probe. The controversy surrounds allegations that someone in the White House blew the cover of cia operative Valerie Plame in retaliation for her husband’s criticism of the way intelligence was handled in the run-up to the Iraq war. According to a Washington Post/ABC news poll, nearly seven in 10 Americans favored the appointment of a special counsel in the case that is now being investigated by the Justice Department. Asked about such support for an independent probe, White House Spokesman Scott McClellan maintained that the Justice Department was capable of handling the investigation. "The Department of Justice is the one who makes those decisions. The Department of Justice has publicly said that all legal options remain on the table," McClellan said. "Keep in mind that the Justice Department, the career professionals who are overseeing the investigation, want to get to the bottom of this," he added. Galvanized by the poll numbers in support of a special counsel, democrats pressed the issue. "I don’t think we should take that first no for an answer," said US house of representatives minority leader nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat. Under regulations adopted in 1999, a special counsel can be appointed by the Attorney General when the investigation or prosecution would present a conflict of interest for the Justice Department or when it would be in the "public interest" because "extraordinary circumstances exist." Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo has declined to rule out the possible appointment of a special counsel in the future. "We are not closing any doors," he said. "No legal options are closed." (AGENCIES) |
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Pakistan kills militants, Afghan violence worsens ANGOR ADDA, PAKISTAN, Oct 2: Pakistani forces killed 12 suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters today and arrested 12 in an operation near the Afghan border touted as a demonstration of commitment to the US-led war on terror. In neighbouring Afghanistan, two Canadian peacekeepers were killed and three hurt when their vehicle hit a landmine, the first Canadian casualties since joining the NATO-led force in August. Afghan officials reported another 17 deaths, including 10 soldiers and two children, taking to over 300 the number of people killed in violence, much of it blamed on a resurgent Taliban. An official from the ousted hardline regime said the militia’s elusive one-eyed supreme leader Mullah Omar had approved a new commander for southern afghanistan, Mullah Wakil Ahmed, and attacks were likely to be stepped up. Just outside Angor Adda, a dusty Pakistani frontier town a few km (miles) from the Afghan border, small-arms fire crackled and a cobra helicopter swooped overhead firing machineguns at positions in the rugged tribal country. Reporters taken by helicopter to the scene, 350 km southwest of the capital Islamabad, saw four dead bodies under blankets and military officials said there were eight more lying where they fell, some with central Asian features. Major General Faisal Alavi said the guerrillas put up stiff resistance. One Pakistani soldier was killed and at least one was wounded by grenades, according to a military spokesman. Twelve fighters were arrested, some possibly of Arabic origin and the rest apparently Pakistanis or Afghans. Some detainees were blindfolded and all had their hands tied behind their backs. A large cache of arms, mines and basic surveillance equipment was found in one of the rebel compounds. (AGENCIES) |
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Australians thrilled by Coetzee’s nobel literature prize SYDNEY, Oct 2: Australian academics were today celebrating the news that adelaide resident J M Coetzee had won the 2003 nobel literature prize. South African-born Coetzee, who is a research fellow at the university of Adelaide, has lived in the South Australian State Capital with his partner, the literary critic Professor Dorothy driver, since 2002. Coetzee, 63, is currently in the United States on a teaching tour. Colleagues at Adelaide University described the two-time booker prize winner as "a recluse" who had won the affection of his creative writing students. "This is without a doubt most exciting news for the university," Adelaide University Vice Chancellor Professor James Mc Wha told Australia’s AAP news agency. "It’s a significant shot in the arm for the humanities discipline and I know that everyone at the university will be excited when they hear the news." He added: "I congratulate dr coetzee on this recognition of his contribution to the literary field. It’s a great privilege to have him teaching at the university." The three other nobel laureates associated with Adelaide University are father and son team Sir William and Lawrence Bragg (physics, 1915) and Lord Howard Florey (physiology or medicine 1945). (DPA) Schwarzenegger apologizes for bad behavior to women SAN DIEGO, Oct 2: Arnold Schwarzenegger, facing new allegations that he groped women that have dogged his bid to become California’s Governor, today acknowledged behaving badly to women in the past and apologised. "Yes, I have behaved badly some times, yes it is true that I was on rowdy movie sets ... And I have done things I thought were playful that now I recognize that I have offended people," Schwarzenegger told a rally in San Diego to kick off a four-day bus tour of the state. "I want to say to them that I am deeply sorry because that is not what I was trying to do. When I am Governor I will prove to them that I will be a champion for women. I hope you will give me the chance to prove this." He was reacting to a front-page Los Angeles Times story in which six women who met the actor on movie sets and other places over the last three decades said he groped them. (AGENCIES) Kuwait says OPEC may not need Dec oil output cut OSLO/KUWAIT, Oct 2: The OPEC oil cartel may not need to make fresh supply cuts at a December meeting if oil prices stay high, Kuwait’s Oil Minister said on Thursday. "If the price continues at the same level maybe we will continue with the same production level," Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah told reuters at an oil industry ceremony. "At the moment I don’t see a reason to change." OPEC last week agreed to cut production by 3.5 percent from November 1 to curb growth in consumer inventory stockpiles as rival production rises from Russia and West Africa and Iraq’s post-war production slowly recovers. The group, which controls around half the world’s oil trade, has said it expects non-OPEC producers to join in if further cuts are needed, even though prices seem too high for non-OPEC states to consider sharing the load. OPEC’s third largest producer Venezuela will host Norway’s oil minister for market discussions later this month, a Norwegian Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday. Norway’s Einar Steensnaes meets Venezuela’s Rafael Ramirez on October 28 after seeing non-OPEC Mexico’s Energy Minister Felipe Calderon on October 24. "There is a possibility to cut the production quota at the next session, but that depends on non-OPEC and whether they will cut or not," Indonesian Oil Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, who will take over as OPEC President from January 1, said on Thursday. In 2002, top non-OPEC producers Russia, Norway and Mexico supported OPEC cuts by making its own curbs, but only after prices had fallen to 17 a barrel. OPEC’s basket of crude oil was last valued at 27.08 a barrel, near the top of the Cartel’s 22- 28 target range which it has successfully defended four the last four years. "OPEC is testing the water. At these prices and given a normal winter there doesn’t seem a pressing need for accommodation with non-OPEC," said David Stedman, analyst with Daiwa Securities. "Next year could be a different story depending on how high Iraqi production goes," Stedman added. (AGENCIES) Sri Lanka aid seen up despite stalled talks COLOMBO, Oct 2: Sri Lanka will receive about 50 percent more aid this year to revive its war-battered economy even though peace talks between the Government and Tamil tiger rebels have stalled, aid donors said today. "We are assuming that before long there will be significant progress," said Peter Harrold, Country Director of the World Bank. Total aid would jump to one billion dollars this year, up from 650 million dollars last year, with the Tamil-dominated north and east of the island getting under one tenth of that, he said. The rebels are currently finalising proposals for a power-sharing body for the Tamil-dominated areas and are expected to present them later this month, leading to a resumption of direct peace talks within several months. Officials from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), spoke to reporters after a meeting to co-ordinate aid programmes in the island, a first for the three aid donors in asia. "A tremendous amount needs to be done still on procurement guidelines and management," he said. (AGENCIES) US factory orders fall 0.8 pct in August WASHINGTON, Oct 2: New orders for US manufactured goods tumbled in August, the Commerce Department said on Thursday in a report that provided another sign America’s manufacturing sector is ailing. Commerce said factory orders dropped a larger-than-expected 0.8 percent in August, led by a 2.3 percent drop in transportation-related orders. Orders for durable goods - items meant to last three or more years - were revised to a 1.1 percent decline from the 0.9 percent drop reported last week. Factory orders for July, however, were revised up slightly in Thursday’s report, to a 2.0 percent gain. The August decline was the first since April, when orders slid 2.6 percent, and was steeper than Wall Street forecasts for a 0.2 percent decline. US manufacturing has been among the sectors hardest hit by the sluggish economy. Companies have been slow to invest in new plants or equipment, or hire new workers, because they have excess production capacity. (AGENCIES) |
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