Bush, top generals mull changes in Iraq strategy

WASHINGTON, Oct 22: Amid a surge in US soldier deaths and under increasing pressure to change course in Iraq, President George W Bush has met with top military commanders to mull possible adjustments to US strategy, the White House said.

Bush held talks with General John Abizaid, the top commander in the Middle East; General George Casey, the US commander in Iraq; Vice President Dick Cheney; Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; national security adviser Stephen Hadley; deputy national security adviser Jack Crouch; and US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, according to Nicole Guillemard, a White House spokeswoman.

Guillemard said yesterday's top-level meeting, with Casey and Khalilzad participating via video link from Baghdad, was part of ongoing talks on Iraq policy and prospects.

This meeting was the third in a series of consultations between the US president and his commanders in the field on Iraq.

"The participants focused on the nature of the enemy, the challenges in Iraq, how to better pursue our strategy and the stakes of succeeding for the region and the security of the American people," the spokeswoman said.

The New York Times reported on its website later yesterday that the United States planned to give the Iraqi government a timetable to address sectarian violence and get a handle on the security situation, and it will threaten penalties if the Iraqis fail to reach US-established benchmarks. (AFP)

Jazeera--US official admits "arrogance", "stupidity" in Iraq

LONDON, Oct 22: The Arabic news channel Al Jazeera today quoted a senior US official as saying that the United States had shown ''arrogance'' and ''stupidity'' in Iraq.

Asked about the report, a US State Department spokesman said department official Alberto Fernandez had been misquoted.

''We tried to do our best (in Iraq) but I think there is much room for criticism because, undoubtedly, there was arrogance and there was stupidity from the United States in Iraq,'' Al Jazeera quoted Fernandez, director of public diplomacy in the State Department's bureau of Near Eastern affairs, as saying.

His comments were published on Al Jazeera's English-language Web site, which said he had made them in Arabic in an interview with the station aired late yesterday.

Asked about the report, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said: ''What he (Fernandez) says is that it is not an accurate quote.'' Asked whether he thought the United States would be judged as being arrogant, McCormack said ''No''.

Fernandez was also quoted as saying Washington was ready to talk to any Iraqi group except al Qaeda in Iraq to end violence.

Al Jazeera said a spokesman for ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's Baath Party had earlier said the United States was seeking a face-saving exodus from Iraq and insurgents were ready to negotiate but would not lay down their arms.

The spokesman, Abu Mohammed, outlined a series of conditions he said would have to be met before talks with the Americans could begin, the Web site said.

The demands included the return to service of Saddam's armed forces, the scrapping of every law adopted since his removal from power, the recognition of insurgent groups as the sole representatives of the Iraqi people and a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

Al Jazeera said Fernandez had dismissed the Baath Party's conditions.

''There is an element of the farcical in that statement ... They are very removed from reality,'' it quoted him as saying.

US President George W Bush, facing public discontent with the Iraq war ahead of November 7 midterm elections, acknowledged in his weekly radio address yesterday that violence in Iraq had risen sharply.

He met top US military commanders yesterday to discuss the Iraq war and told them he would make ''every necessary change'' in tactics to try to reduce the bloodshed.

He insisted, however, he would not abandon his goal of building a self-sustaining democratic Government in Iraq. (AGENCIES)

Iraqi forces will take over within a year: British minister

LONDON, Oct 22: Iraqi soldiers and police will be ready to take over security from coalition troops within a year, British junior foreign minister Kim Howells said Saturday.

He told BBC radio that he would be surprised if Iraqi forces had not taken over command by that time.

His comments came as British troops remained on standby to re-enter the southern city of Amara. Security control was handed over to local forces in August but they have struggled to quell Shiite militia there.

"I would have thought that certainly in a year or so there will be adequately trained Iraqi soldiers and security forces -- police men and women and so on -- in order to do the job," Howells said.

"I would be very surprised if there was not that kind of capacity taking on a lot of the work done by the coalition forces.

"I have not had a recent briefing on just how advanced the training is, but the messages I have been receiving are that the Iraqi army is coming along very well.

"But the problem is we do not know what the state of play is vis-a-vis the militias -- how well armed they are, how sustainable their present rate of fighting is.

"Those are imponderables and the only way you are going to get that information is by speaking to the generals and intelligence services who watch these things very carefully."

Howells warned that a "big conflict" was looming between the Iraqi Government and militia groups. (AFP)

Former South Korean president Choi dies at 87

SEOUL, Oct 22: Former South Korean president Choi Kyu-hah, the country's shortest-serving leader ousted in 1980 in the wake of a military coup, died today aged 87, a Seoul hospital official said.

As prime minister, Choi succeeded authoritarian president Park Chung-hee on his assassination in late 1979. Choi was toppled a few months later by a group of generals led by Chun Doo-hwan, who ruled until forced to call free elections in 1987.

Choi was taken to Seoul National University Hospital on Sunday where he was pronounced dead, the official said. One of the former president's aides said he apppeared to have suffered heart failure.

Choi served Park as foreign minister (1967 to 1971), presidential security advisor (1971-75) and prime minister from 1976.

After his overthrow, Choi lived quietly out of public view. (AGENCIES)

Amnesty sought for 28 Indian convicts in Qatar

DUBAI, Oct 22: The Indian Embassy in Qatar has submitted names of 28 Indian convicts to be considered for the annual amnesty declared by the Qatari Emir during the month of Ramadan.

"We have given the names of 28 Indians, who are undergoing their punishments for various crimes, at the Central jail. We have appealed the Emir to have His Highness' mercy up on them. We hope at least some of them would be released," Indian Ambassador George Joseph told monthly open house here.

At the open house, Kanoth Muhammed Anwar, a worker from Kerala, sought the assistance of the Indian mission to get his eight month's salary from his employer.

Anwar who arrived in Qatar eight months ago on a work visa of a construction company was offered a monthly payment of QR 2000. However, on his arrival, the company informed him that it was prepared to give only QR 1200, he claimed. (PTI)

Chirac's city hall wine collection makes a million

PARIS, Oct 22: Wine enthusiasts paid just over a million dollars to buy some of the best wines collected by French President Jacques Chirac while he was mayor of Paris.

Once Chirac's collection of wines used to dazzle prominent guests during his almost two-decade reign as mayor of the City of Light. Now the sale of about 5,000 bottles prised from the city hall's grand wine cellar has bested expert estimates.

The sale earned 961,630 euros (1.21 million dollars) against expectations of up to 700,000 euros, a spokeswoman for the Credit Municipal auction house said yesterday.

''It all sold very well,'' the spokeswoman said.

The most expensive lot was two bottles of 1986 Romanee Conti, sold to Britain's Antique Wine Company for 5,000 euros each -- plus 15 per cent commission.

''I know that Chirac was heavily criticised for his flamboyant purchases. After this sale one could perhaps conclude it was a good investment,'' Antique Wine Company chairman Stephen Williams told Le Parisien newspaper.

The sale, which took place over two days, was ordered by Socialist Mayor Bertrand Delanoe after an audit revealed the value of the collection had risen sharply.

The bottles date back to the days when Chirac used to host lavish receptions in the gilded city hall building, earning himself a bon vivant image that proved popular with some voters but also prompted accusations of excess. (AGENCIES)

Iceland breaks 21-year-old whale hunting ban

OSLO, Oct 22: Icelandic whalers broke a 21-year-old international ban on whaling when they harpooned the first fin whale since the moratorium was imposed in 1985, a whalers' spokesman said.

Fin whales are rated an endangered species on a ''Red List'' compiled by the World Conservation Union but Iceland says they are plentiful in the north Atlantic.

Reykjavik decided on Tuesday to catch nine fin whales and 30 minke whales in the year to August 31 2007 despite the 1985 moratorium imposed by the International Whaling Commission.

''One fin whale was caught today and will be landed tomorrow,'' said Rune Froevik, spokesman of the Norway-based High North Alliance which represents the interests of Arctic hunting and fishing communities.

He said yesterday the whale was a large specimen, 65-70 ft long. Whales are caught for food, often favoured as steaks.

Iceland, which has hunted minke whales since 2003 as part of scientific research, has joined Norway as the only nation that sanctions full-blown commercial whaling. Japan allows whaling, but says it is for research purposes.

Reykjavik argues that it is merely harvesting whales in line with other marine resources, such as cod, around the volcanic island of almost 300,000 people.

Many countries say that whale stocks are still too uncertain to allow catches or argue that harpooning the world's largest mammals is cruel. Blue whales, bigger than any dinosaur, are among species that have been hunted close to extinction.

Whaling nations argue that stocks of some species have recovered since the moratorium. Iceland says there are about 70,000 minke whales and 25,800 fin whales in the central North Atlantic region.

Froevik said that Iceland had hunted some fin whales as part of a scientific research programme in the late 1980s but had not caught any in a commercial hunt since 1985. (AGENCIES)

British police told to avoid Ramadan prayer time arrests

LONDON, Oct 22: Police in the British city of Manchester have been told not to arrest Muslims wanted on warrants at prayer times during Ramadan.

Greater Manchester Police said it had asked detectives not to make planned arrests during those periods for reasons of religious sensitivity.

Police said it was not a blanket ban, just a "request for sensitivity", the BBC reported.

The order did not apply to on-the-spot arrests, only the execution of arrest warrants.

"The primary objective of Greater Manchester Police is to fight crime and protect people. The month of Ramadan is an important time of the year for members of the Muslim community throughout the world," a GMP statement said.

"It is important that normal, planned policing activities and operations are maintained, while ensuring that officers are professional and respectful to members of the community while going about their duties."

Liberal Democrat councillor Simon Ashley, who represents the city's Gorton South ward said: "This sounds odd but we would need to find out what impact rescheduling arrests had on police operations. (PTI)

'House of Wax' actress Phyllis Kirk dead

LOS ANGELES, Oct 22: Actress Phyllis Kirk, famous for her role as the damsel in distress in the 1953 3-D horror classic ''House of Wax,'' has died at age 79, her former publicist said.

Kirk died on Friday from a post-cerebral aneurysm at the Motion Picture & Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, publicist Dale Olson said yesterday.

Early in her career, the wide-eyed, sultry-voiced actress appeared in several Broadway plays.

After moving to Hollywood, she took on numerous television and film roles through the 1950s, including ''House of Wax,'' where she was stalked by Vincent Price.

She is also well-known for her role as Nora Charles in the late 1950s television series ''The Thin Man,'' with Peter Lawford playing her husband. (AGENCIES)

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