Delhi sanctions extra forces for Assam-Bhutan border
SANAT MUKHERJEE, KOLKATA
Dec 17: Agreeing to the persistent demand for extra forces for
effective border patrolling of the northeast section of Indo-Bhutan border, the Centre
sanctioned another 20 battalion for Armed Border Force, commonly known as SSB. The new SSB
battalion was in addition to its existing 8-battalion strength.
Talking to the Bhutan national newspaper – Kuensel – on
Friday, the Inspector General of SSB, M L Chaudhury said that as per of its mandated duty,
the SSB was commanded to keep surveillance on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh-Sikkim-West
Bengal borders with Bhutan to thwart unscrupulous elements’ activities. However, the
latest sanction for 20 more battalions in this segment would definitely act as a deterrent
to unscrupulous activities.
During the two-day dialogue on security question between Bhutan and the
Indian government officials at Punakha in Bhutan on December 15 & 16, the need for
"effective border patrolling", particularly security problems and forest goods
smuggling, was highlighted by both the parties. Also, the threat posed by Indian insurgent
groups and other miscreants, smuggling of cannabis and forestry products figured
prominently.
Chaudhury said that all the sensitive and hypersensitive areas along
the Indo-Bhutan border were identified and suitable reinforcements were already put in
place accordingly. He further delineated the proposed security arrangements along Bhutan
border when the new 20 SSB battalions would become operational. These new battalions
(1,000 men in each battalion), when fully raised in two years time, would be stationed in
Alipurduar in West Bengal, Gosaigaon, Hauli and Rasgia in Assam and at Chrag in Andhra
Pradesh.
Admitting salutary effects on security situation in the region
following recent action by the Royal Bhutanese Army in snuffing out the ULFA and the NDFB
bases from Bhutan soil, an Assam official said that the threat from the ULFA and NDFB did
not yet diminish in view of their continued belligerent postures towards India.
Possibility of fresh bases of these two groups in Bhutan had not been totally eliminated,
the official added.
Speaking on recent phenomenon of the Maoism in the region, the Assam
home commissioner Rajiv Bora said, "We are on guard and we will not allow it to get
out of hand…We will make sure that the problem is solved as quickly and effectively
as possible". It may be mentioned that the armed Maoists had become a serious law and
order problem in large swathes of land in parts of Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand.
On Bhutan security situation, Bora assured of the Indian assistance for
maintenance of security for Bhutanese people and vehicles. Quoting Bora, the Bhutanese
biweekly said that Assam home commissioner reportedly pledged, "We will not, in any
way, dilute the security arrangements. SSB provides security along the five major routes
(to Bhutan from India)". Besides SSB, Assam Police too provided security to Bhutanese
vehicles for their journeys to and for from Bhutan.
UN convention against corruption comes into force
A. FATTAH, VIENNA
Dec 17: The United Nations Convention against Corruption, a major
obstacle to development in developing countries, came into force , providing the first
legally binding global instrument for the return of assets illicitly acquired by dishonest
officials, as well as preventive steps to detect plundering of national wealth as it
occurs.
"Time and again, countries’ assets have been looted by
corrupt leaders, while in the corporate world, many shareholders have been robbed by
corrupt managers," said Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which is the custodian of the Convention.
"This Convention demonstrates that Governments are no longer
prepared to tolerate a destructive practice which is as old as history and as wide as the
globe. It gives nations the legal tools they need to transform their economies," he
added.
The Convention, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in October
2003, signed by 140 countries and ratified by 38, rests on four pillars: prevention and
criminalization of corruption, international cooperation and asset recovery.
"The tough new provisions on asset recovery represent a major
breakthrough," Mr. Costa said. "The fact that nowhere in the world will be
exempt from the obligation to return looted assets, and that old excuses such as banking
secrecy will no longer be an impediment, will be of major assistance in preventing
corruption."
Under the treaty, States are required to return money and other assets
obtained through corruption to the country from which they were stolen. "This sends a
warning to corrupt officials everywhere that they can no longer expect to enjoy the fruits
of their crimes by moving stolen assets abroad. It is also a message of hope to millions
of people who have grown angry and frustrated at seeing their country’s wealth
plundered by criminals," he added.
The 90-day countdown for today’s entry into force was started at
the UN World Summit on 15 September when Ecuador provided the required 30th
ratification. Mr. Costa appealed to all Member States to ratify the Convention.
"This new instrument must be only the beginning of our redoubled
efforts to prevent and control corruption. We must all make sure that the momentum that
made its negotiation and entry into force possible is not allowed to dissipate," he
declared.
Implementation, which rests firmly in the hands of governments, would
be a word devoid of meaning if the Convention did not become the global standard that it
was intended to be, he said.
UNODC has been assisting countries in developing anti-corruption
strategies, implementing prevention measures and establishing the institutions they need
to fight corruption effectively.
US House adopts tougher immigration bill
AFP, WASHINGTON
Dec 17: The US House of Representatives has adopted tougher immigration
legislation, including a measure to set up vast border fences that has strained ties with
Mexico.
The bill was adopted late Friday in a 239-182 vote, and deprived
President George W. Bush of his proposed guest worker program.
"The United States has a rich immigrant background and continues
to benefit from the arrival of law-abiding citizens of other cultures and nationalities.
But in this age of terrorism we cannot be lax when it comes to
controlling our borders," House speaker Dennis Hastert said when the bill passed.
"Securing our nation's borders is an imperative and this bill does
it," added House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican.
The bill orders the Homeland Security Department to obtain
"complete operational control" of US borders within 18 months. In addition to
the southwestern fences, it orders the department to study the feasibility of erecting
barriers on the border with Canada.
The legislation also calls for immigrants in the country illegally to
face felony charges and potential jail time.
And the 8.4 million US employers would be required to contact a
verification system by phone or through the Internet to ensure that a job applicant's
Social Security number matches with one on file in the data bank.
Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum, a
pro-immigrant organization that opposed the bill, said: "It's a seismic shift in
terms of how we treat people who are illegally in the country."
Bush released a statement saying: "I applaud the House for passing
a strong immigration reform bill.
"America is a nation built on the rule of law, and this bill will
help us protect our borders and crack down on illegal entry into the United States.
Securing our borders is essential to securing the homeland. I urge the
Senate to take action on immigration reform so that I can sign a good bill into law,"
Bush added.
A proposal to end the automatic right to US citizenship for all those
born on US soil, defended by some conservatives, failed to gain support.
The House rules committee refused to allow consideration of guest
worker plans pushed by Bush and others. Business groups and immigrant advocacy groups say
such a program is needed to ensure a steady flow of immigrant labor into the United States
and give workers full legal protections.
But a highly controversial fence-building plan-to set up five
double-layer border fences in California and Arizona, totaling 1,123 kilometers (698
miles) -- did pass the House.
"A (legal) reform that only focuses on security will not
contribute to better bilateral and overall management of migration," the Mexican
foreign ministry said in a statement.
The future of the bill in the US Senate is still uncertain. The Senate
is due to deal with immigration in February.
Wednesday, Mexican President Vicente Fox expressed hope that Mexico and
the United States will be able to reach an agreement on immigration next year.
"I expect that next year we finally will be able to reach an
immigration agreement and end the shameful situation we have today," said the Mexican
leader as he visited the border city of Reynosa.
Fox spoke strongly against building more fences or walls between the
two countries and argued that migrant Mexican workers were strengthening the US economy.
"Violating human rights and labor rights will not protect the US
economy," Fox had said.
He insisted the United States needed "a young, energetic and
productive work force that will increase its competitive edge."
A recent study by the Congressional Budget Office found that one worker
in seven in the United States had immigrated, and more than 70 percent of them from
neighboring Mexico and Central America.
The number of illegal immigrants in the United States is estimated
conservatively at between eight and 12 million.
Bush says 'zero violence' unlikely in Iraq
AFP, WASHINGTON
Dec 17: US President George W. Bush says victory in Iraq did not
require completely quelling deadly violence, but that giving the country's Sunni Arab
minority a key role in government would reduce clashes.
"The Sunnis have to feel that they've got a voice in the future
government" and will be protected from those who "might seek revenge" for
Saddam Hussein's abuses, the US president told PBS television in an interview.
"I think if we have a policy of zero violence, it won't be met,
but the policy of getting the Iraqis in the fight and marginalizing those who are trying
to stir up trouble will be effective," Bush told PBS.
"And the definition of victory, which is really an important thing
for the American people to understand, is that we have an ally in the war on terror, that
democracy is able to sustain itself and defend itself, and the Iraqi people feel that the
security forces that we've trained up are capable of defending themselves against the
violent," he said.
Later, the White House said Bush would cap a month-long public
relations offensive to revive flagging US support for the war with a 9:00 pm Sunday (0200
Monday) speech from the Oval Office.
The address, coming after four speeches on political, economic, and
security progress in Iraq, was to be the first from the Oval Office since March 2003, when
he announced the beginning of military operations to oust Saddam.
The president has come under increased pressure to bring home at least
some of the 160,000 US troops in Iraq from opposition Democrats who say they want a
precise timetable for a withdrawal -- but he has rejected calls to do so.
On Friday, Bush reiterated that Iraq's historic parliamentary elections
were a crucial step toward building a democracy, but again warned that they would not put
an end to violence that has claimed the lives of 2,140 US soldiers.
The president also urged leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi
Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait in separate telephone calls to help Iraq set up a government
after historic elections, said Bush spokesman Scott McClellan.
"It's going to take some time to get the government in place, but
all of us want to do what we can to assist the Iraqi people as they move forward on
forming their government," said McClellan.
Influential congresswoman faults Bush on Iran
REUTERS, WASHINGTON
Dec 17: An influential Republican congresswoman expressed frustration
on Friday over President George W. Bush's approach to Iran and said pressure is building
for a tougher U.S. policy.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, a Bush loyalist who chairs a House
of Representatives subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia, also endorsed a
stricter line toward Russia for failing to crack down on Tehran.
"I love President Bush and I support him, but on the issue of
Iran, I take great exception to what they have been doing," she said in an interview
with Reuters.
"There is a growing restlessness at a bipartisan level in the
House to get tougher on Iran and I think that that's going to build up even more"
when lawmakers are in the home districts in the next two weeks for the holidays, said
Ros-Lehtinen, who wants to be the next chair of the House of Representatives International
Relations Committee. The panel's current chairman, Illinois Republican Rep. Henry Hyde
(news, bio, voting record), is retiring.
The United States and major European nations accuse Iran of developing
nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian energy program, a charge Tehran denies.
Aiming to resolve the issue, Britain, France and Germany, with American
backing, have been trying to negotiate a compromise with Iran. But the process appears to
have reached a stalemate. The so-called EU3 and Iran are to meet next week in another
attempt to see if they can make progress.
Concerns about Iran's direction have intensified since President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office last June. In recent days, he triggered international
condemnation for calling the Holocaust a myth and saying Israel should be "wiped off
the map."
Ros-Lehtinen is a co-sponsor of a bill called the Iran Freedom and
Support Act of 2005, which would codify existing sanctions, controls and regulations in
place against Iran, expand the list of entities that can be sanctioned for doing business
with Tehran and authorize $10 million for democracy groups opposed to the Iranian regime.
But the bill, endorsed by more than 300 of 435 lawmakers, has been
stalled by the administration, which opposes the legislation while it pursues EU-led
diplomacy.
EU clinches budget deal, moves toward reconciliation
AFP, BRUSSELS
Dec 17: European Union leaders clinched a budget deal early Saturday
after hours of intense diplomacy, ensuring a flow of vital funds to poorer new members
from the east and averting a potentially debilitating crisis.
After some 30 hours of talks that saw alliances form and dissolve
around key parts of the plan for European Union spending from 2007 to 2013, the British EU
presidency announced it had sealed a compromise at about 2:30 am (0130 GMT).
"This is an agreement that allows Europe to move forward,"
British Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters. "If we'd failed to reach an
agreement at all, I think that Europe would have been in a very severe crisis." The
Union was already in its worst-ever crisis, created six months ago when voters in France
and the Netherlands rejected Europe's painstakingly assembled constitution-its blueprint
for the future.
The budget deal sees Britain effectively lose 10.5 billion euros from
its jealously-guarded budget rebate, with funds being shifted towards the poorer, mainly
former communist countries which joined the EU last year. It also agreed to boost the
overall budget to some 862.4 billion euros (1,035 billion dollars).
In exchange, Blair won a commitment for a review and potential
modernisation of the package during the seven-year period to include the EU's expensive
farm subsidy system that France staunchly defends. "This is a good accord for Europe
which will provide it with the means to finance its ambitions, its common policies, and
this agreement will allow for the adequate financing of enlargement," French
President Jacques Chirac said. His foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, praised Blair
for ceding ground on the rebate despite extreme pressure at home. "He has been
intelligent, courageous. He challenged a clear advantage amid a difficult domestic
political climate," Douste-Blazy said. The budget includes the EU's 10 newest member
states for the first time and takes into account Bulgaria and Romania which are due to
join in 2007. The final accord was delayed as the biggest of the newcomers, Poland, held
out for more aid.
When the deal was done, and after winning some four billion additional
euros, normally austere Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz punched the air
shouting "Yes, Yes" in celebration.
Ecuadorean woman, 116, is world's oldest
AP, GUAYAQUIL
Dec 17: At 100 years old, she became bedridden and so weakened from a
stomach ailment that a priest administered last rites. But Maria Esther de Capovilla
recovered, and 16 years later she has become the oldest person on Earth, according to
Guinness World Records.
Born on Sept. 14, 1889, the same year as Charlie Chaplin and Adolf
Hitler, Capovilla was married the year the United States entered World War I - 1917 - and
widowed in 1949.
"We see the condition she is in, and what is admirable is not only
that she reached this age, but that she got here in this shape, in very good health,"
Capovilla's daughter, Irma, told an Associated Press reporter at the home where her mother
lives in this coastal city.
Seated on a sofa and waving a fan with a slender, steady hand in the
tropical heat, Capovilla seemed bemused by the presence of strangers. Irma, 79, leaned
close to her mother's ear, and speaking in a loud voice, told her she was famous because
she was the world's oldest person. Capovilla shook her head and smiled. Her calm
disposition may be the secret to her longevity, her daughter said.
"She always had a very tranquil character," Irma said.
"She does not get upset by anything. She takes things very calmly and she has been
that way her whole life."
Capovilla, who comes from a well-to-do family, was confirmed as the
oldest person on Dec. 9, after her family sent details of her birth and marriage
certificates to the British-based publisher.
Turkish PM defends author, but rejects EU pressure on trial
AFP, ANKARA
Dec 17: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended Saturday
author Orhan Pamuk's right to free speech, but rejected European Union pressure on Ankara
to halt the controversial trial of the internationally renowned novelist.
"My stance on freedom of thought is clear because I myself have
become a victim (of restrictions) in this context," Erdogan was quoted as saying by
Anatolia news agency in the central city of Konya. He said, however, that the EU, which
sees Pamuk's trial as a test for Turkey's commitment to democracy and human rights,
"is trying to put our judiciary under pressure," Anatolia reported.
"This is wrong," Erdogan said. "Either right or wrong,
the case is now before the justice... Let's see the outcome and then make comments."
Pamuk, Turkey's best-known writer and winner of many international awards, appeared before
court in Istanbul Friday on charges of denigrating Turkish national identity for telling a
Swiss magazine that "one million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in these
lands and nobody but me dares talk about it."
The catch of a lifetime
REUTERS, NEW YORK
A New York woman threw her one-month-old son from the third floor of a
burning building and the baby was caught by an amateur baseball player standing outside,
media reports said on Thursday.
Local television stations aired a videotape of Wednesday's dramatic
rescue in the Bronx taken by a surveillance camera. It showed the baby, swathed in white,
tumbling some 30 feet into the arms of Housing Authority employee Felix Vazquez, one of
several people waiting below. The Daily News said firefighters rescued Tracinda Foxe from
her apartment shortly after she tossed her baby to Vazquez, who plays catcher on a
neighborhood baseball team.
You've got mail, and maybe gonorrhea
REUTERS, LOS ANGELES
You've got mail -- and possibly gonorrhea, HIV or another sexually
transmitted disease.
E-mail sent through Web sites launched in Los Angeles and San Francisco
is providing people with a free, sometimes anonymous, way to tell their casual sex
partners they might have picked up more than they bargained for.
Los Angeles County health officials launched www.inspotla.org this week
in a bid to reduce the rapidly rising spread of STDs by encouraging sexually active men
and women to get tested. "This is another opportunity for people to disclose STD
exposure to partners because sometimes people don't always have that face-to-face
opportunity, or that level of relationship," Karen Mall, director of prevention and
testing at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said on Thursday.
US to wall up Mexico border
AFP, WASHINGTON
Dec 17: The House of Representatives voted to build a wall along the US
border with Mexico to stop illegal immigration.
The 260-159 voice vote on an amendment to a bill on illegal immigration
"mandates the construction of specific security fencing, including lights and
cameras, along the Southwest border for the purposes of gaining operational control of the
border.
"Fencing has been designated in sectors that have the highest
number of immigrant deaths, instances of drug smuggling and illegal border
crossings," because of the large number of would-be immigrants who die in the desert
attempting to cross the US border.
The US border with Canada was not forgotten. The bill "includes a
requirement for the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a study on the use of
physical barriers along the Northern border." The US-Mexico border is 3,200
kilometers (2,000 miles) long.
Moldovan peace talks end in failure
AFP, CHISINAU
Dec 17: Internationally mediated peace talks between Moldova's
government and ethnic-Russian separatists of the Transdniestr province has ended in
failure, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has said.
"Participants in the negotiations were not able to come to
agreement on any question," OSCE mission chief William Hill told journalists Saturday
after talks broke up late in the night. "The talks were very complex. I am not
satisfied with the result. We were expecting better."
Moldova, an ex-Soviet republic bordering Ukraine and Romania, lost
control of the Transdniestr territory after a brief war in 1992. Russian troops now patrol
a buffer zone, although the OSCE says that a multinational force should be in place.
The key issue discussed Friday was a previously accepted proposal for
Transdniestr to hold parliamentary elections under the guidance of the OSCE and in
parallel with demilitarisation and confidence-building measures.
This idea has since appeared to have collapsed, because the rebel
province went ahead on December 11 with elections at which an OSCE evaluation team was not
present.
Macedonia wins EU candidacy green light
AFP, BRUSSELS
Dec 17: One-time Balkan tinderbox moved a step closer Saturday to
realising its dream of European Union membership when EU leaders gave their blessing for
the start of membership talks.
It becomes the second former Yugoslav republic, after Croatia, to get a
green light this year to open negotiations with Brussels to eventually join what now is a
25-nation bloc. Slovenia joined last year.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose nation holds the EU
presidency, confirmed the decision on Macedonia unlocked by an agreement on an EU budget
for 2007-13, which dominated a gruelling two-day summit here. "That I hope again
emphasises that again, in the future, we hope to see a Europe reunited in all it's
aspects. Obviously, Macedonia is an important part of that vision," he said at a
press conference in the early hours.
Macedonia had been praised for its concerted effort to implement
reforms in the wake of an uprising by its ethnic Albanian minority which threatened at the
start of the decade to spiral into all-out civil war.
Britain ran torture camp after World War II
REUTERS, LONDON
Dec 17: Britain ran a secret prison in Germany for two years after the
end of World War Two where inmates including Nazi party members were tortured and starved
to death, the Guardian said on Saturday.
Citing Foreign Office files which were opened after a request under the
Freedom of Information act, the newspaper said Britain had held men and woman at a prison
in Bad Nenndorf until July 1947.
Locals at the time said you could hear prisoners scream at night.
The Foreign Office files detailed an investigation carried out by a
Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Tom Hayward, who found evidence of torture and said at
least two inmates had starved to death while another had been beaten to death. "Even
today, the Foreign Office is refusing to release photographs taken of some of the 'living
skeletons' on their release," the newspaper said.
Former prisoners told Hayward they had been whipped as well as beaten
and any prisoner thought to be uncooperative during interrogation was taken to a
punishment cell.
Hectic move to form new Iraq govt
US General expects troop levels to drop
AFP, BAGHDAD
Dec 17: Political leaders in Iraq and abroad focused Saturday on the
shape of a government for the next four years, mulling how to include Sunni Arab elements
and curb the nation's chronic violence. Though the Independent Electoral Commission of
Iraq cautioned that ballots were still being counted and official results would not be
available for some time, preliminary estimates indicated polarized results similar to the
last elections in January.
Adnan al-Dulaimi of the Iraqi National Concord Front, a list strongly
supported by Sunni Arabs, said Saturday that he was ready to join a coalition. "We
will work towards finding a strong coalition in the national assembly that can protect the
rights of Iraqis," he said.
The current government, an alliance of religious Shiites and Kurds,
took months to form and has been accused of sidelining the country's disaffected Sunni
minority.
After voting, Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said that if his coalition
lost he would respect the choice of the Iraqi people and work with whoever won "even
if they are not qualified."
Jaafari met Saturday with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual
leader of Iraq's Shiites, in all likelihood to discuss the political future of the
country.
The religious Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, according to estimates from
commission sources and party officials, appeared to have swept the largely Shiite south,
while a Kurdish Alliance had a commanding lead in the north. Facing anemic poll numbers at
home over his Iraq policy, US President George W. Bush has trumpeted Thursday's
legislative election as a victory for the Iraqi people and US policy in Iraq and is hoping
for the rapid formation of a strong government.
"The Sunnis have to feel that they've got a voice in the future
government" and will be protected from those who "might seek revenge" for
Saddam Hussein's abuses, Bush said on Friday.
The new 275-member parliament will appoint a president and two vice
presidents. The presidential council will then have 15 days to name a prime minister, who
has 30 days to form a cabinet with parliamentary approval. According to his spokesman,
Bush has contacted the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab
Emirates and asked them to help Iraq set up its new government.
US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, and General George Casey, the
commander of coalition forces in Iraq said in a statement: "The newly elected leaders
should come together quickly and build bridges for national unity." The statement
also called on Iraqi leaders to "establish an effective, broad-based government that
Iraqis across ethnic and sectarian lines have confidence in."
The UN Security Council called for "the rapid formation of a
representative government" and stressed "the importance of inclusiveness,
dialogue and national unity as Iraq's political development moves forward." Few
deaths were reported during the vote, but ongoing instability in Iraq was underlined by a
mortar attack Friday that killed four children playing football and an Iraqi soldier at a
school near the western town of Haditha that had hosted a polling station.
Dulaimi told reporters Saturday that the insurgents had agreed not to
attack polling stations during the elections and thanked them for holding to their
promise.
In an interview Friday, Bush admitted that the elections would not
solve the problem of the insurgency in Iraq, and that violence would likely continue.
"I think if we have a policy of zero violence, it won't be met,
but the policy of getting the Iraqis in the fight and marginalizing those who are trying
to stir up trouble will be effective," he said. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Central
Investigating Court issued an arrest warrant for Mullah Halgurd al-Khabir, accused of
masterminding the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003, among other
attacks.
Meanwhile, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq said Friday he would
make recommendations in the next few weeks about troop withdrawals from Iraq, and he
expects the force level will drop back to 138,000 by early February. That has been the
usual number this year. Speaking from Iraq, Gen. George Casey told Pentagon reporters that
by late next fall, the Iraqi military should be able to largely take the lead in the
country's defense, with continued support from U.S. and coalition transition teams.
"We just had the election, we're doing our assessments, and I'll
make some recommendations in the coming weeks here about whether I think it's prudent to
go below that baseline," said Casey, adding that the two extra battalions that were
sent to Iraq for election security will be heading home in January. But he made it clear
that U.S. forces will still be in the lead in portions of Iraq until sometime in 2007.
Depending on the progress of the new Iraqi government ministries, he said it will take
until then for Iraqi security to be able to completely take control of its forces across
the country. As Iraqi security takes over, U.S. troops will be able to withdraw.
And even with Iraqi forces in the lead, some levels of U.S. support
would still be needed for support. There are about 153,000 U.S. troops in Iraq now.
Casey also said the Iraqi police forces would not be able to take
charge of internal security until late next year or early 2007.
Coming on the heels of what U.S. officials have touted as a successful
parliamentary election in Iraq Thursday, Casey tempered his comments saying he expects
insurgents to escalate their attacks to demonstrate they are still a force to be reckoned
with.
Syria behind Hariri murder: UN investigator
AFP, BEIRUT
Dec 17: The head of the UN probe into the slaying of Lebanon's
ex-premier Rafiq Hariri for the first time unequivocally accused Syria of being behind the
assassination, in an interview published Saturday. Despite repeated Syrian denials of
involvement, outgoing German magistrate Detlev Mehlis who has been heading the
investigation since June, showed not a flicker of doubt that its "authorities"
were responsible. Asked by the Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat if he was "perfectly
convinced of Syria's responsibility in the murder of Hariri," Mehlis said: "Yes.
The Syrian authorities are responsible," without giving further details. His comments
are set to further ratchet up the pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, coming
just after the latest in a slew of killings of anti-Syrian critics that have hit Lebanon
following the Hariri murder. Mehlis insisted that "there is a link between the
attacks that hit Lebanon" since Hariri's murder in February and the killing Monday in
a massive car bomb of anti-Syrian MP and press magnate Gibran Tueni. Mehlis, whose mandate
ended Thursday and is waiting for a replacement to be chosen, accused some parties of
seeking "to deviate the course of the investigation", in a reference to Syrian
witness Hussam Hussam. A former Syrian intelligence officer, Hussam initially told UN
investigators that the brother and brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were
implicated in the Hariri murder before recanting his testimony in November.
Mehlis has released two reports since October on the Hariri murder
implicating Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officers. The second one, which coincided
with Tueni's killing, cited fresh evidence of Syrian and Lebanese involvement and charged
that Damascus was not cooperating in the probe.
However Mehlis' comments in the newspaper interview were the first time
he had so unambiguously pointed the finger at Syria. The UN Security Council on Thursday
renewed a call for Damascus to renew its cooperation with the probe and extended by six
months its mandate, drawing international satisfaction.
"We're satisfied with the step the Security Council took,"
White House spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
"I don't think the Syrian government should take any comfort in
yesterday's action ... (which) keeps the spotlight on Syria, keeps the spotlight on
Syria's failure to fully cooperate with this investigation," he said.
Iran law threatens to block nuclear inspections
AFP, TEHRAN
Dec 17: Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this week signed off on
legislation that could limit UN inspections into Iran’s nuclear sites if its case is
taken to the UN Security Council.
The new law obliges the government to "stop voluntary and
non-legally binding measures and implement its scientific, research and executive
programmes" if the Iranian case is taken up in the Security Council.
It does not refer to specific forms of retaliation, but
counter-measures could include refusing to adhere to the additional protocol of the
nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which gives increased inspection powers to the
International Atomic Energy Agency.
The law was signed by Ahmadinejad on December 13 and came into effect
the same day.
Ahmadinejad has ordered the head of Iran's atomic energy organization
Gholam Reza Aghazadeh to be prepared to apply the law, the Fars news agency said Saturday.
Iran's conservative parliament adopted the bill last month, and it was
ratified on November 30 by the powerful Guardians Council that vets all legislation.
With regard to nuclear matters, the additional protocol was signed by
the previous reformist government but was never ratified by deputies.
Sydney beaches quiet after race riot warning
AFP, SYDNEY
Dec 17: Sydney beaches seen as potential flashpoints for new racial
rioting remained quiet through early Saturday afternoon as people heeded police calls to
stay away, Australian national radio reported. Cronulla beach in south Sydney, where
racial violence first erupted last Sunday, was virtually deserted as police blocked roads
leading into the suburb and staged random vehicle searches, ABC radio said. Up to 2,000
police have been deployed to patrol troubled beaches in Sydney on Saturday and Sunday, as
well as some to the north and south of the city. A special task force set up to crack down
on the violence made 19 arrests overnight, but most were for drunk driving, traffic and
drug offences, police said.
Dozens of people were injured and arrested in riots after white mobs
set out to "reclaim the beach" from groups of ethnic Lebanese at Cronulla last
Sunday, sparking days of revenge attacks.
The New South Wales parliament was recalled from its summer recess to
pass legislation giving police extra powers to combat unrest, and police warned
intelligence indicated gangs would target the beaches again this weekend. "I would
urge people who do not live in these areas to stay away unless they have a good reason to
be there," police chief Ken Moroney said. It was a surprising call in a country that
thrives on Australia's combination of sun, sea and sand, but early indications were that
it was being taken seriously.
Despite warnings of further race riots, surfers, swimmers and
sunbathers were outnumbered by police at Sydney beaches on Saturday as road blocks were
set up and people heeded advice to stay away. Up to 2,000 police, including riot and dog
squads backed by helicopters and boats, were deployed over the weekend to patrol troubled
beaches in Australia's largest city and to the north and south.
The popular Cronulla beach in south Sydney, where racial violence first
erupted 1ast Sunday, was nearly deserted as police staged random vehicle searches on
approach roads, national radio said.
There were no reports of violence by nighfall but police were
maintaining patrols in troubled areas throughout the night and said they would turn out in
force at the beaches again on Sunday.
Rights group urges Thailand to end blacklists in restive
south
AFP, BANGKOK
Dec 17: Thailand should stop using blacklists to track down suspected
militants and their supporters in restive Muslim provinces, Human Rights Watch said
Saturday, saying the lists were flawed and could lead to abuses.
"The use of blacklists is eroding trust between Muslim villagers
and the government because they are being used arbitrarily and without due process of
law," HRW's Asia director Brad Adams said in a statement. "Muslim villagers are
living in fear that they will be told by district officials and security forces to
surrender to authorities or face arrest-or worse."
The government uses the blacklists to target suspected militants, their
sympathizers, as well as a loosely defined group of people considered at "high
risk" of supporting the insurgency that has left more than 1,000 dead over the last
two years, HRW said.
Officials say they conduct intelligence to create the lists, which
authorities use to pressure Muslim villagers to turn themselves in to authorities.
The villagers are often then forced to attend reeducation camps known
as "peace-building courses" at army bases in the three southern provinces along
the Malaysian border.
Government officials have said that complaints about the blacklists are
militant propaganda.
But the scheme took several embarrassing twists last week, after
Interior Minister Kongsak Vantana presided over one of the camps on December 10, only to
meet loud complaints from Muslims that they were innocent and had been tricked into
attending.
After officials double checked the list, only 46 of the 137 people at
the camp were supposed to be there, according to Thai media. Days later, opposition
Democrat lawmaker Jecharming Tochtayong accused the government of
luring Muslims to the camps with a false offer of a free trip to Bangkok.
Human Rights Watch warned that under an emergency decree enacted in
July, authorities have broad powers to punish anyone who defies a summons, which could
lead to abuses because blacklisted people have not been charged with crimes and have no
legal recourse.
Protesters break through to gates of WTO meeting
REUTERS, HONG KONG
Dec 17: Anti-globalization protesters fought pitched battles with Hong
Kong police on Saturday outside a convention center where trade ministers from around the
world were making a last-ditch effort to rescue a global pact.
Witnesses said hundreds of protesters from South Korean farmers'
groups, who say free trade is ruining them, broke through police lines to reach the
building, although they were prevented from getting inside.
"It is a stand-off at the building. Fifty riot police just rushed
inside the building. They are not allowing anyone out," said one Reuters reporter at
the scene.
Smoke could be seen rising from an area near the convention center
where the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting is underway and policemen could be seen
preparing to use tear gas, another Reuters reporter said.
The violence had no immediate impact on the negotiations inside, where
ministers from some 150 states were struggling to reach some minimal accords.
Diplomats said a failure to resolve the sticking points before talks
end on Sunday would reduce the chances of a deal next year freeing up global business in
farm and industrial goods and services.
"Either everything will unravel and we will have another Cancun
situation -- I hope it won't happen -- or we'll have lowered ambitions in the meeting in
Hong Kong," Kenyan Trade Minister Mukhisa Kituyi told Reuters in an interview.
Kituyi, who has mediated on agricultural issues at the talks in Hong
Kong since they got underway on Monday, was referring to the acrimonious collapse of
negotiations on the so-called Doha trade round at a WTO meeting in Cancun, Mexico, two
years ago.The United States put a brave face on the struggling talks.
"As we approach the final 24 hours of the negotiations, we have a
very large opportunity to put together an outcome that would be extremely positive for
development ... it is just beyond our fingertips," said Deputy Trade Representative
Peter Allgeier. Outside, protesters stormed heavily-fortified police lines, breaking
through the front ranks as riot police used pepper spray, batons and fire hoses to try to
beat them back.
Groups of protesters were also seen running down sidestreets close to
the convention center trying to outflank police lines.
Several tried to push over two police cars. More than 20 protesters had
been injured by pepper spray, witnesses said, and radio station RTHK reported at least one
policeman had been injured.
A draft of the 149-nation organization's final declaration, released
after negotiators worked through the night in a private "green room," showed
there was still no agreement on setting a date for ending farm export subsidies. The
European Union has balked at fixing a date because, it says, the United States, Australia,
Canada and New Zealand must agree to reforms of their farm export systems first.
The draft suggested a date of 2010 for the elimination of the subsidies
or within a period of five years but both suggestions were inside brackets, meaning
neither may be adopted in the end.
"It's a sad day when we're getting excited about an end-date in
brackets," said Bob Stallman, head of the United States' biggest farm group, the
American Farm Bureau Federation.
Tigers reject Asian venue for Sri Lanka peace talks
AFP, COLOMBO
Dec 17: Tamil Tiger rebels Saturday rejected a Sri Lankan offer to hold
peace talks at an Asian venue and insisted that any negotiations must be in the capital of
the peacebroker Norway. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said any discussions
with the Sri Lankan government must be in Oslo as originally proposed by Norway but
rejected by Colombo.
However, as a compromise, the Colombo government last week said it was
ready to hold talks at an Asian venue and Japan's peace envoy Yasushi Akashi six days ago
offered Tokyo as a venue.
"There is no change in our position with regard to the venue for
talks and we stand by the Norwegian facilitator's original suggestion that the talks on
effective implementation of the ceasefire takes place in Oslo," said LTTE's political
leader S. P. Thamilselvan.
India hopeful of getting int’l civilian nuclear
cooperation
AFP, NEW DELHI
Dec 17: Fuel-hungry India said Saturday it was hopeful it will soon be
able to get international help to develop its civilian nuclear energy capabilities.
"I am optimistic through constructive dialogue with the
international community, we will soon be part of the mainstream with full civilian nuclear
cooperation," said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In July India signed a landmark
deal with the US that would give it access to atomic technology, to which it has been
denied since first testing a nuclear weapon in 1974 and refusing to sign the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty.
But the pact, which must be approved by the US Congress, is opposed by
many
US lawmakers as well as nuclear experts who say it undermines
anti-nuclear.
Bomb hoax at parliament Indian
Police question 16 people
AFP, TIRUNELVELI
Dec 17: Indian police were Saturday questioning 16 people, including
the owner of an internet cafe, a day after an emailed bomb threat emptied the national
parliament.
"We are questioning 16 people. One of them is Selwyn Muthuraj, who
owns the cafe from where the email had been sent," said a police inspector in the
southern state of Tamil Nadu, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official said the
other 15 had visited the cafe in the southern district of Tirunelveli, about 400 miles
(640 km) from Chennai. Parliament was evacuated after a warning of a bomb attack was
received by India's intelligence agency and the US embassy.
The message read: "Today there shall be a bomb blast in Parliament
and the US Consulate in India at 11.46 am. Stop it if you could. Cut relations with the
US. Long live Osama bin Laden."
Newspapers Saturday splashed pictures of parliamentarians gathered
outside the main building on Friday, as security officials used sniffer dogs and bomb
detection equipment to check the premises. Security forces threw up barricades around
parliament as commandos, soldiers and police with guns drawn surrounded the complex.
Security was also tightened at the nearby presidential palace and at the South and North
Blocks housing the main government offices.
Afghan villagers riot over suspected Taliban arrest
AFP, KABUL
Dec 17: Hundreds of villagers clashed with police near Afghanistan's
capital to demand the release of six men they said were ordinary mullahs but whom police
suspected were Taliban fighters, authorities said Saturday.
The villagers rioted in Logar province just south of Kabul on Friday,
breaking windows and throwing stones, deputy police chief Abdul Rasoul said. Gunfire was
also heard coming from the mob, he said. The crowd claimed police had shot dead two of the
protesters, Rasoul said, adding though that officers had only fired into the air and that
no bodies had been found after the clash.
"We've seen some blood at the scene of the riot but not any bodies
to back up their claims. We are investigating everything," he told AFP. The protest
erupted in the province's Charkh district after police arrested the men, alleging they had
been preparing to ambush a police convoy. "Four men were arrested on Thursday and two
others on Friday. We suspect that they have links to Taliban," Rasoul said. The men
were being questioned, he said.
Taliban kill 2 in school attack in Afghan
REUTERS, KABUL
Dec 17: Taliban guerrillas attacked a high school in southern
Afghanistan on Saturday killing a guard and a male teenage student, a witness said.
Two attackers arrived at the school in Lashkargah, the capital of the
troubled southern province of Helmand, just before noon, said the witness, Sargar
Mohammad. "They shot the watchman and opened fire on some teachers but didn't hit
any, but they shot dead an 18-year-old student," Mohammad said. They then went out
firing into the air and called on people to obey their orders to shut down schools, saying
they would be killed if they did not. Helmand police chief Abdul Rahman Sabir confirmed
that Taliban gunmen had killed two people in their latest attack on a school.
2,500 evacuated from Thai floods
AFP, BANGKOK
Dec 17: At least 2,500 people have been evacuated from their homes in
southern Thailand, where violent storms have lashed the region and sent floodwaters
rising, officials said Saturday.
"We have gathered boats from across the country, not only from
government agencies but also from private owners to help evacuate people," Kananat
Kachna, head of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, told AFP. "The
roads are completely impassable, only six- and ten-wheel trucks from the government will
be able to get through to assist villagers," he said. Downpours during the night
Friday caused up to 30 centimeters (one foot) of floodwater in Yala province, forcing the
evacuation of at least 800 people, Kananat said.
N Korea slams rights conference
AFP, SEOUL
Dec 17: North Korea on Saturday denounced an international conference
on its human rights record held here as part of a campaign to start a war against the
communist country.
A spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the
Fatherland said the forum was organised by South Korean hardliners backed by the United
States. "The smear campaign on the 'human rights issue in the north' conducted by the
South Korean ultra-right conservative forces at the instigation of the United States is a
part of the war moves against the north," said the spokesman as quoted by the
official Korean Central News Agency. "Accordingly, the anti-communist fanatics
including the (opposition) Grand National Party (GNP) cannot evade their responsibility as
the principal criminal of igniting a war," the committee was quoted as saying by
Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency.
Tajikistan, NATO to boost ties
AFP, DUSHANBE
Dec 17: Tajikistan and NATO are to boost cooperation in the region, a
high-ranking NATO official said during a visit to Dushanbe, commending the Central Asian
state for its fight against the inflow of drugs and terrorists from neighboring
Afghanistan.
"We both agreed on the importance of the increasing cooperation
between NATO and Tajikistan. We look forward to ways to increase the number of activities
in partnership," the NATO secretary general's special representative for Caucasus and
Central Asia, Robert Simmons, said late Friday. "Tajikistan's continuing cooperation
particularly as the transit point for forces in Afghanistan is important, and the
president (Emomali Rakhmonov) assured me that they will do that," Simmons said.
Thai govt worker dies in restive south
AFP, NARATHIWAT
Dec 17: A local government worker has been shot dead in Thailand's
Muslim-majority southern provinces, where an Islamic insurgency has left more than 1,000
dead, police said Saturday.
Sayan Wangthong, 32, was shot dead late Friday in Nhong Jig district of
Pattani province as he returned from evening exercises near his office, police Major Narit
Kaje said. He was shot three times in the back by a gunman on a motorcycle, Narit said,
adding that police could not confirm whether militants were behind the shooting. "It
has not clear yet whether the murder was committed by militants to intensify the southern
unrest," Narit said.
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