Dedicated Hosting

CIA rebuffs Cheney over interrogation documents

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:32:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - The CIA on Thursday rejected a request by former Vice President Dick Cheney that the public documents he said showed the effectiveness of the use of harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects.

Cheney had the agency declassify two memos that he thinks back its claim that useful knowledge was obtained by such methods. The Bush administration approved the use of water boarding, sleep and food poverty and forced nudity, as it comes to information after 11 September attacks.

The CIA says the two memos Cheney invited to be made available to the public were required for pending litigation.

"For this reason - and for that reason only - CIA Mr. Cheney does not accept the request for a binding release review," Paul Gimigliano, CIA spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for Cheney, who has become the most public defenders are much more important aspects of George W. Bush 's presidency, in January, said he was preparing a complaint.

He has been in an increasingly contentious battle with the Obama administration on the interrogation program whose disclosure prompted international anger and the United States' reputation around the world.

In one of his first acts as president, Barack Obama appoint humane treatment of terror suspects.

Obama called water boarding, a form of simulated drowning, a form of torture and has not ruled out criminal prosecution of the Bush administration, is authorized.

Cheney criticized Obama's decision last month to legal opinions, while the Bush administration, the use of the techniques employed against some caught in Bush's war against terrorism after 11 September attacks.

Obama to DEBATE

The dispute over prisoner abuse has entangled the Speaker of the House (of Representatives), Nancy Pelosi, in a dispute about how much they knew, that the program could be created in advance and Obama in a debate about whether images of the abuse to be released.

Obama on Wednesday reversed its position and refused to make public dozens of photos, which says that the images could ignite a counter-movement against the U.S. troops.

"The concern was that the release of these photos would have a negative impact on the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan," Attorney General Eric Holder said at a House Judiciary Committee hearing.

"We have to argue that in court, and we are prepared to do this," he said. Obama's decision was "consistent with the interests of our troops," said Holder.

Human rights activists want a full investigation into the interrogation program and the official who is authorized.

House (of Representatives) Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, who for a commission to investigate behavior in Bush's war against terrorism, said more than a dozen members of the Committee was the appointment of a special advisory to the treatment of prisoners.

The American Civil Liberties Union, working for the release of the photos, is also responsible for the appointment of an independent prosecutor, to the interrogation methods.

Legislators also worried about the owners about the possibility that some of the prisoners of Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. naval base in Cuba, where many terror suspects are held, could be transferred to the United States.

Representative Lamar Smith, the senior Republican on the Committee, said closing Guantanamo Bay, where 241 terror suspects are "endanger American lives."

He warned that American prisons holding terrorism suspects "could be a target for terrorist attacks sleeper cells here and around the world."

Owners said no final decisions have been taken, what to do with Guantanamo Bay prisoners.

Analysts and diplomats have said Saberi arrest should not be interpreted as a sign that Obama rejects Iran's Overture, but they say, and their release was influenced by it.

Some saw the arrest as a warning to foreign media in Iran presidential elections in June, while others say that he had an offer from hardliners to obstruct any thaw in US-Iran relations or to use it as a "trump card".

Freed reporter Saberi arrives in Austria from Iran

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:14:00 +0000

VIENNA - US-born journalist Roxana Saberi arrive in Austria on Friday from Iran, four days after the authorities freed them from Tehran prison and lifted its eight-year sentence for espionage.

"We can confirm that they arrived in Vienna," said a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Vienna. Another U.S. official said Saberi was expected to stay in the Austrian capital for a few days. U.S. officials further comment.

Earlier, the Iranian lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, Reuters said the 32-year-old freelance journalist in Tehran, had an overnight flight for Europe and will continue in the United States.

U.S. National Public Radio said Saberi was traveling with her parents. It also has U.S. and Iranian citizenship and worked for the BBC and NPR.

It was in January to work in Iran after their press credentials had expired. She was later accused of espionage, found guilty and for eight years in prison. She was released from prison after her sentence on Monday cut on appeal to a suspension of two years.

"She was good, but sad that they do not return to Iran soon to do the reporting," Khorramshahi added.

Saberi other lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, said on Tuesday the change in the ruling was by a different interpretation of the relevant legislation not because of political considerations.

But her release on Monday removed a potential obstacle to the

President Barack Obama's attempts to thaw U.S. relations with the Islamic Republic after three decades of enmity.

Saberi Obama welcomed the release as a "humanitarian gesture".

The two countries are in dispute over Iran's nuclear program which the West fears is aimed at making nuclear bombs. Iran says it is for generating electricity.

The United States had said the charges were baseless and had demanded the immediate release Saberi. Tehran does not recognize dual citizenship, and told Washington not to disrupt.

Obama, Iran has a new beginning in relations if Iran says Washington really begin to change policy.

Analysts and diplomats have said Saberi arrest should not be interpreted as a sign that Obama rejects Iran's Overture, but they say, and their release was influenced by it.

Some saw the arrest as a warning to foreign media in Iran presidential elections in June, while others say that he had an offer from hardliners to obstruct any thaw in US-Iran relations or to use it as a "trump card".

WHO chief warns against false security about H1N1 flu

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:11:00 +0000

The World Health Organization on Friday warned against a false sense of security and seemingly dwindling light outbreaks of avian flu H1N1, which says that the worst may not be longer than for the newly discovered virus.

WHO Director General Margaret Chan, the Organization of the United Nations, the pandemic alert to the second highest level, so it remained "considerable uncertainty" about the exposure, the specific threats in Southeast Asia.

"We meet at a time of crisis, the global impact," she told an intergovernmental meeting on pandemic event at the WHO headquarters in Geneva.

The meeting is to tackle the sensitive issue of virus sharing, the countries in which the biological samples to the international community for use by pharmaceutical companies and decision makers, the vaccine formulation JAB ingredients.

At the height of fears about bird flu, Indonesia had refused to H5N1 virus samples with no guarantees that any vaccines developed from them will be made available to poorer countries at an affordable price.

Leading decision-makers including the flu vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis and Baxter International expect the WHO guidelines, whether to start mass production of vaccines against H1N1, which may require less seasonal flu shots.

On Friday, Chan said countries with H1N1 infections for their "exchange of samples for risk assessment and the seed vaccine." Another top WHO officials, Keiji Fukuda, there have been "fast and wide distribution of samples to date.

The participants in the meeting - a precursor to next week's annual World Health Assembly - try to reach an agreement on standards for transparency, trust and sovereignty in relation to virus sample sharing.

"I hope the result is something really balanced, and we can for a long time," said Fukuda.

According to the latest WHO count, more than 7,500 people in 34 countries were infected with the strain of a genetic mix of swine, bird and human viruses. The symptoms are easy for most patients, but 65 people have died from the flu, especially in Mexico.

Chan said the WHO's leadership was aware of parts of Southeast Asia saw that major outbreaks of the H5N1 bird flu virus - a virus that can kill if it's from birds to humans, but has simply not among the people until today.

A mixture of H5N1 and H1N1 viruses could have a major influence, she said, while stressing: "I am not saying that will happen."

Malaysia confirms first case of A(H1N1) flu

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:07:00 +0000

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia on Friday its first case of A (H1N1) flu in a 21-year-old students who return from the United States on Wednesday morning.

All the 192 passengers on a Malaysia Airlines flight MH091 from Newark on Wednesday urged to contact the Ministry of Health, using 03-88810200 or 03-88810300

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the case from the 36th Malaysia Country to be affected by the virus.

Health officers at the Sungai Buloh Hospital on high tender after the first A (H1N1) flu case in a 21-year-old students who return from the United States on Wednesday morning.

"Malaysia is now on high alert," said Liow, now in London, enroute to Geneva for a meeting of the World Health Organization. He added that he would his return earlier than planned in the next Friday.

Liow said Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, who is now the acting health minister would hold a press conference with Deputy Health Director-General Datuk Dr Ramlee Rahmat at Putra Jaya by 3 clock

Meanwhile, a statement by the Ministry of Health, the Director-General, Dr Ismail Merican said the young man was on Thursday in the hospital for fever, sore throat and body aches.

Tests confirmed that he was infected with the A (H1N1) virus, the statement said. He receives anti-virus treatment and was in a stable condition, he said.

Ismail said the ministry had contact with members of his family, but they were not under quarantine.

Ismail said his department was the steps to protect public health, and there is no reason to panic.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that a man from Bukit Mertajam under observation in the isolation ward of the hospital, Penang was declared free of avian influenza A (H1N1).

"We have just confirmed a report that the blood test on the 26-year-old man was negative," state health, welfare, caring society and environment chairman Phee Boon Poh said when contacted by Bernama Friday.

A test on a sample of his blood was sent to Kuala Lumpur.

The man was held for observation Thursday after it was found that fever and symptoms similar to those of influenza A (H1N1) in his return from the United States.

Two weeks ago, a New Zealand tourist was on the isolation ward of the hospital due to influenza A (H1N1), but also a blood test showed negative.

U.N. Security Council debates Gaza violence

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:34:00 +0000

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Arab countries called an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to debate the violence in Gaza, demanding in a draft resolution an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants.

The evening session adjourned without a vote being called and diplomats said negotiations would be held in coming days over the draft, which Western delegates described as unbalanced and focusing almost entirely on Israel's actions.

The resolution, presented by Libya, called for "an immediate ceasefire and for its full respect by both sides." It also demanded protection for Palestinian civilians, opening border crossings into Gaza and "restoration of calm in full."

It denounced "the excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by Israel" but its only mention of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel was a vague reference to "the deterioration of the situation in southern Israel."

"It's going to need a lot of work," one Western diplomat said of the resolution.

The council has already issued a statement, which lacks the weight of a resolution, calling for a halt to the violence in Gaza, but it has been ignored. Nearly 400 Palestinians and four Israelis have been killed so far.

The United States says any ceasefire must be durable and binding on the Hamas Islamists who control Gaza, as well as on Israel. The Jewish state, which began air strikes on Gaza on Saturday to try to stamp out the Palestinian rocket fire, has rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Following a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, an Arab ministerial delegation is expected to arrive in New York early next week to press their case on Gaza at the United Nations, diplomats said.

They suggested a vote would not take place before then.

BALANCED RESOLUTION

British Ambassador John Sawers told reporters the draft "needs to reflect the responsibilities of all the parties." But he said a balanced resolution "will have a good chance of securing support across the Security Council."

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told the council Washington wanted to see "an immediate ceasefire that is sustainable and implemented by all."

But both he and Israeli Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said the best approach was to reach an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians to end the fighting, then enshrine it in a resolution rather than the council trying to impose a ceasefire.

In the council debate, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, echoed by European speakers, faulted both sides for what he called the "terrifying" conditions in Gaza. He attacked the "irresponsibility" of the rocket attacks and the "disproportionality" of Israel's response.

Arab and Muslim speakers laid the blame on Israel and made little reference to the rockets.

In a harshly worded speech, Libyan Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi said Israel's attacks and restrictions on aid convoys into Gaza "in their own way represent a crime of genocide."

He urged fellow envoys to adopt the resolution "so that we do not add another Srebrenica (in Bosnia) or Rwanda to the history of this council" -- a reference to massacres in the 1990s that the United Nations failed to prevent.

Israeli planes strike government buildings in Gaza

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:31:00 +0000

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli aircraft attacked government buildings in the Gaza Strip on New Year's Day and Hamas fired more rockets at Israel after both foes spurned international calls for a ceasefire. Palestinians look at buildings damaged after an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip January 1, 2009. (REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

Israeli tanks and troops were massed near the border of the Hamas-run coastal territory and the Haaretz newspaper reported on Thursday the Israeli army had recommended a major but short-term ground offensive into the densely populated enclave.

In fresh raids on the sixth day of hostilities, Israeli aircraft and naval forces attacked about 20 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian medical officials said three civilians were killed and 100 people wounded.

Hamas security officials said buildings housing the education and transportation ministries had been virtually destroyed. The Palestinian parliament building was also hit, they said. Gazans who ventured out of their homes walked along rubble-strewn streets to survey the destruction.

Hamas rockets hit the Israeli cities of Beersheba, Ashdod and Ashkelon. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Diplomats said the deadliest conflict in the Gaza Strip in four decades could get even bloodier after days of Israeli air strikes that have killed at least 399 Palestinians, about a quarter of whom, U.N. figures showed, were civilians, and wounded more than 1,700.

Three Israeli civilians and a soldier have been killed by rockets from the Gaza Strip since Israel began an air offensive on Saturday with the declared aim of ending the rocket threat.

Foreign pressure grew on both sides to hold their fire but Israel brushed aside as "unrealistic" a French proposal for a 48-hour truce that would allow in more humanitarian aid for Gaza's 1.5 million residents.

In New York, the U.N. Security Council held an emergency session but adjourned without a vote after Arab countries pushed for a demand for an immediate ceasefire. Western delegates described the Arab-drafted resolution as unbalanced and said negotiations would continue to reach an agreed text.

"ONLY THE BEGINNING"

France said it would host Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Thursday and an Israeli official said French President Nicolas Sarkozy planned to visit Jerusalem on Monday.

Israel Radio said Israeli forces massed at the Gaza border were readying for a possible ground offensive.

"This is only the beginning," Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai said on Israel's Army Radio.

"We are operating now, for exactly what we have said from the start, and nothing has changed, to deal Hamas a heavy blow. It has already been wounded." He said Israel would insist on an end to all rocket fire from Gaza.

The Gaza operation, launched after a six-month ceasefire expired on Dec. 19 and Hamas intensified rocket strikes, could affect the outcome of the national election Israel is to hold on Feb. 10.

A poll in the Haaretz daily showed a majority of Israelis, 52 percent, favoured pursuing the attacks in Gaza, with just 20 percent backing calls for a ceasefire, and 19 percent favouring the launch of a ground offensive into Gaza.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli attacks must stop before any truce proposals could be considered. Israel must also lift its economic blockade of Gaza and open border crossings.

"After that it will be possible to talk on all issues without any exception," Haniyeh said in a televised speech.

U.S. President George W. Bush spoke by phone to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the White House said. Bush put the onus on Hamas to stop firing rockets as a first step to a truce.

Olmert told his security cabinet that if a diplomatic solution could be found that ensured better security for southern Israel, the government would consider it.

"But at the moment, it's not there," an aide quoted Olmert as saying. "We didn't start this operation just to end it with rocket fire continuing as it did before it began."

Israeli ministers approved the mobilisation of 2,500 army reservists, expanding on an earlier call-up of 6,500 soldiers for the force on the Gaza border.

Rain that could impede an armoured invasion largely cleared on Thursday and forecasters predicted clear skies for the next several days.

Food supplies in Gaza were running low and there were power cuts. Hospitals struggled to cope with the high number of casualties from the offensive.

Israel said it would continue to let humanitarian supplies into Gaza and that more than 90 truckloads with food and medicine would be permitted into the territory on Thursday. A similar amount of supplies went in on Wednesday.

Israel and Hamas under pressure for Gaza aid truce

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:29:00 +0000

GAZA (Reuters) - Foreign powers stepped up calls on Israel and Hamas on Tuesday to halt hostilities after four days of Israeli air attacks on the Gaza Strip and rocket salvoes by the Islamist militants deep inside the Jewish state.

The Quartet of Middle East peace brokers -- the United Nations, United States, Russia and European Union -- urged an immediate ceasefire, a U.N. spokeswoman said after telephone consultations by the group's foreign ministers.

Israeli warplanes destroyed Hamas targets for a fourth day, including five ministerial buildings and a structure belonging to the Islamic University in Gaza City.

Medical officials put Palestinian casualties since the aerial onslaught began on Saturday at 384 dead and more than 800 wounded. A U.N. agency said at least 62 of the dead were civilians. Four Israelis have been killed.

Israeli media quoted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as saying the Gaza offensive, launched by his centrist government six weeks before an election that opinion polls predict the opposition right-wing Likud party will win, was in "the first of several stages".

Israel says its air bombardments are aimed at ending rocket attacks launched from Gaza, which have caused panic for months in areas where one-eighth of its population lives.

Two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip hit the city of Beersheba on Tuesday, 42 km (26 miles) inside Israel, police said -- the deepest such attack yet by militants, who have launched more than 400 rockets across the border since Saturday, according to an Israeli military assessment.

Three Israelis were killed by rockets on Monday but there were no reports of serious casualties inside Israel on Tuesday.

FOOD AND POWER LOW

In Gaza, basic food supplies were running low and power cuts were affecting much of the territory. Hospitals lacked at least 80 essential medicines as well as scores of instruments, Health Ministry official Muawiyah Hassanein said.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner proposed Israel accept a 48-hour truce to allow aid into Gaza. France said it would host Livni on Thursday and an Israeli official said French President Nicolas Sarkozy might visit Jerusalem next Monday.

EU foreign ministers called late on Tuesday for an immediate and lasting truce and for humanitarian aid to be let into Gaza.

The EU said it would work with other members of the Quartet, and send a delegation of ministers to the region shortly.

Turkey, Egypt and several other Arab governments are also pursuing their own initiative calling for a ceasefire and reopening of Gaza's crossings with Israel, diplomats said.

Olmert met Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni late on Tuesday to discuss the initiatives, Israel Radio said.

Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev said Israel supported the idea of letting aid into Gaza.

"We want to see convoy after convoy of humanitarian support and we are willing to work closely with all relevant international parties to facilitate that goal," he said.

"At the same time, it is important to keep the pressure up on Hamas, not give them a respite, time to regroup and reorganise."

About 1.5 million Palestinians live in Gaza, which has one of the highest population densities and growth rates in the world. Most Gazans live on less than $2 a day and up to 80 percent are dependent on food aid, according to aid groups.

Hamas seized Gaza from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah faction in fighting in June 2007. The Islamists have rejected international demands to recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept existing interim peace deals.

"VICTIM AND JAILER"

Hamas was cool to the idea of a truce. It said the onus was on Israel to stop firing and lift the blockade of Gaza.

"You can't equate the victim and the jailer," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told reporters. "What is required at this time is an Arab and international effort to stop the (Israeli) aggression and open the (border) crossings."

The White House said President George W. Bush had spoken to Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday to discuss how to end the violence.

According to internal Israeli assessments, the air offensive has destroyed a third of the Hamas rocket arsenal but the faction's guerrilla army remains largely intact, Israel's Channel 10 television reported.

"None of us can say how long it will take," Israeli President Shimon Peres said after being briefed at the Defence Ministry about Israel's deadliest Gaza campaign since the 1967 Middle East war, when the territory was captured from Egypt.

Barak said he would seek Israeli cabinet approval for the mobilisation of 2,500 army reservists, compounding an earlier call-up of 6,500 reservists for the garrison on the Gaza border.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was due in Syria and Jordan on Tuesday. Al Arabiya television said he would meet Khaled Meshaal, the exiled Hamas leader living in Damascus, although Erdogan's office said no such meeting was scheduled.

Palestinian officials said Abbas would meet Erdogan in Jordan in the evening.

In northern Gaza, two Palestinian sisters were killed in an air raid near their home, medical workers said. The area has been a launching ground for cross-border rocket attacks.

"We are living in horror, we and our children. The situation is not just bad, it is tragic," said Gazan Abu Fares, standing outside his home near the rubble of a building bombed overnight.

Obama, Clinton face new tests in White House duel

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:10:00 +0000

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton faced crucial tests in their grueling White House fight on Tuesday, as voters in Indiana and North Carolina began casting ballots in the latest Democratic showdowns.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-IL) (L) greets Andrea Raes after she voted along with her daughters Lilia (in pink), 3, and Sophia, 2, outside the polling location at Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis May 6, 2008. (REUTERS/Brent Smith)

The two states, with a combined 187 delegates to the August nominating convention at stake, are the biggest prizes remaining in the tight race to see who will be the party's candidate in the November presidential election. After Tuesday, only six of the state-by-state contests will be left.

"The stakes are high and the consequences are huge," Clinton told supporters at a New Albany, Indiana, fire station on Monday night.

Polls in both states opened by 7 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) and were scheduled to close in Indiana at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) and in North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT), with results expected soon afterward.

Clinton has cut Obama's advantage in North Carolina to single digits in most polls over the past few weeks. The two run closer in Indiana, where Clinton has a slight edge.

"Obviously we hope to do as well as we can, but, you know, we started out pretty far behind," she said late on Monday. "I never feel confident; I just try to do the best I can."

Obama, an Illinois senator, has an almost unassailable lead in pledged delegates who will help select the Democratic nominee to face Republican John McCain in November.

If Obama wins in both Indiana and North Carolina on Tuesday, it would end Clinton's slender hopes of overtaking him in either delegates or popular votes won in the battle for the nomination and spark a fresh flood of calls for the New York senator and former first lady to step aside.

Clinton victories in both states could fuel doubts about Obama's electability and persuade some superdelegates -- party insiders free to back any candidate at the nominating convention -- to move toward her.

Neither can win enough delegates to clinch the race before voting ends on June 3, leaving the decision to the nearly 800 superdelegates.

A split decision would leave the race largely unchanged heading to the last six contests, in which 217 delegates are at stake. "Today is likely to be 'Groundhog Day': six more weeks of this campaign," said George Stephanopoulos of ABC News.

OBAMA'S ROUGH STRETCH

Obama has struggled through a rough campaign stretch after last month's loss to Clinton in Pennsylvania, dogged by a furor over his comments on "bitter" small-town residents and a controversy over his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, has won the votes of nine out of 10 black voters in other states, and is expected to benefit from a strong turnout in North Carolina, where African-Americans could make up more than one-third of voters in the Democratic primary.

The two Democrats, courting the working- and middle-classes suffering from an ailing economy and high gas prices, spent much of the past few days focusing on Clinton's proposal to lift the federal gasoline tax for the summer.

Obama and many economists called the plan a political gimmick that would save little money for most families, but Clinton launched an advertisement in both states questioning her rival's stance.

"What has happened to Barack Obama?" an announcer asks. "He is attacking Hillary's plan to give you a break on gas prices because he doesn't have one."

Clinton says a suspension of the tax during June, July and August, when many Americans take vacations, would help people deal with record gas prices in a faltering economy. Congressional leaders say there is little chance Congress will take up any gas tax proposal this year.

"Do I think we can get it done, past a veto by President (George W.) Bush as the ultimate blocker?" Clinton said. "It's obviously a very difficult challenge. But that doesn't mean you don't try."

Obama released his own advertisement that said Clinton offered "more of the same old negative politics." He told supporters the gas tax holiday was a dishonest approach to a real problem.

"The majority of people do find me trustworthy, more than they do the other candidate," he said. "We can't solve problems if people don't think their leaders are telling them the truth."

U.S. slams Russia over rising tensions with Georgia

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:09:00 +0000

The United States on Tuesday condemned the Russian government for taking "provocative actions" against neighboring Georgia and urged both sides to take steps to avoid armed confrontation.

The White House accused Moscow of escalating tensions over the Georgian breakaway province of Abkhazia by sending in more troops, shooting down an unarmed, unmanned aerial vehicle over Georgia and boosting ties with the separatist regions.

"In recent days and weeks, the Russian government has taken what we would call provocative actions which have increased tensions with Georgia," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters.

"These steps have significantly and unnecessarily heightened tensions in the region," she said.

Georgia has tried to reassert control over Abkhazia and South Ossetia since they broke away in the early 1990s. Russia has said its troop increases were aimed at countering an attack planned by Georgia on Abkhazia and it denied the drone shootdown.

Perino urged the Russian government to reiterate its commitment to Georgia's territorial borders and sovereignty, reverse the troop movements and "cease from further provocation.

"In contacts with both the Russian and Georgian governments at the highest levels, the United States has firmly reiterated our support for Georgia's territorial integrity and strongly urged Russia to de-escalate and reverse its measures," she said.

The United States and Western allies have suspected Russia of trying to punish Georgia -- a small Caucasus country on Russia's southern border -- for its attempt to join the NATO alliance which Washington supports.

Greed behind food price rises - development bank head

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:08:00 +0000

The food price crisis is caused largely by greed and speculation rather than food shortages, the head of Southern Africa's development bank said on Tuesday.

People climb a truck loaded with vegetables in Kenskoff to sell them at the streets markets of Port-au-Prince May 2, 2008. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)

Spiralling food costs -- called a "silent tsunami" by the World Food Programme -- have ignited fury and a rash of protests from Haiti to Somalia to Bangladesh. Exporting countries have curbed shipments to ensure domestic supplies and tame inflation.

"These increases in food prices are not the consequence of food shortages, it's the consequence of human greed that is putting at risk the lives of millions of men, women and children," Jay Naidoo told Reuters.

"There are companies that are making super profits on this issue."

The root causes of the more than 40 percent rise in food prices in the last year are disputed. Experts point to strong demand from Asian emerging markets, adverse weather in some producer countries and increased use of biofuels.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it would give up to $500 million in emergency loans to regional economies hardest hit by the crisis and double investment in the farm sector to $2 billion in 2009.

After four days of talks in Madrid, governments remained split on whether they should use export bans and market intervention to ensure 1 billion poor Asians living on less than $2 a day do not slip back into hunger and malnutrition.

"Trade measures or price controls are not efficient ways to combat the food crisis or food price inflation. It distorts the market and could exacerbate the situation in the international grain market," ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda told Reuters.

"... the best way to address the immediate difficulty is to strengthen social safety nets through targeted support for the poor rather than generalised food subsidies or trade measures or price controls."

Naidoo, of the Development Bank of Southern Africa, said on the sidelines of a conference on malnutrition in Brussels that governments and world bodies should take concerted action to control surging food prices.

RICE DOWN

Thai rice prices fell around 10 percent on Tuesday after importers taking their cue from Manila's decision to scrap a large tender held back on purchases.

Five Thai exporters quoted prices for 100 percent B trade white rice , the world's benchmark, at between $900 and $920 a tonne, free on board. That is down from last week's $990-$998 a tonne.

Calming nerves further, Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, backed off its proposal for an "OPEC-style" rice cartel. "If Thailand was going to set up a rice cartel to fix the price, that would worsen food security," Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama told reporters.

On Monday, the Philippines, the world's top rice importer, scrapped its largest rice tender of the year.

Vietnam, the world's second-largest rice exporter, said it was considering imposing a duty on rice exports because it wants to save more of the grain for domestic consumption.

In Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo cut import taxes on staples including "rice, maize, wheat flour, sugar, vegetable oil, powdered milk, cement, mackerel, chicken, beef ... and equipment necessary for production," according to a government statement published on Tuesday.

Traders said the fall in prices could be limited if Myanmar, which has committed rice exports to neighbouring countries, decides to halt overseas sales and instead starts to import the grain after being hit by a devastating cyclone.

Some of Myanmar's rice customers are expected to turn to Thailand for supplies after the military-ruled country was lashed by Cyclone Nagris. The storm killed up to 22,500 people and ripped through Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta, its main rice growing area once dubbed the "rice bowl of Asia".

Interpol launches paedophile photo campaign

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:07:00 +0000

The global police body Interpol launched a worldwide photo appeal on Tuesday to find a suspected paedophile after its first such campaign led to the arrest and trial of a Canadian in Thailand.

Interpol posted pictures of a white-haired, balding man on its website, saying they were part of a series that showed him sexually abusing boys aged between 6 and 10 in southeast Asia.

The identity, nationality and whereabouts of the man were not known. The first pictures of him were found by police in Norway in March 2006 and so far about 800 images have been discovered, all featuring the same victims and locations.

Interpol, based in the French city of Lyon, said it believed the photographs were taken between April 2000 and May 2001 and the man would look older today than he appeared in the pictures."

"The law enforcement community around the world has done all it can to find this man who clearly presents a danger to young children, and we are now asking the public to help identify this predator and protect other potential victims from abuse," said Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble.

The campaign is a repetition of the first such appeal last October, when Interpol unscrambled images of a suspect's "swirly face" on the Internet.

This led to the arrest of 32-year-old Canadian Christopher Neil, who has since gone on trial in Thailand charged with molesting and distributing pornographic images of two Thai boys.

If found guilty he faces up to 20 years in prison.

website: http://www.interpol.com/

Georgia says "very close" to war with Russia

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:06:00 +0000

Russia's deployment of extra troops in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia has brought the prospect of war "very close", a minister of ex-Soviet Georgia said on Tuesday.

A member of the Georgian Interior Ministry's troops keeps watch at a checkpoint in Upper Abkhazia May 1, 2008. (REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili)

Separately, in comments certain to fan rising tension between Moscow and Tbilisi, the "foreign minister" of the breakaway Black Sea region was quoted as saying it was ready to hand over military control to Russia.

"We literally have to avert war," Temur Iakobashvili, a Georgian State Minister, told reporters in Brussels.

Asked how close to such a war the situation was, he replied: "Very close, because we know Russians very well."

"We know what the signals are when you see propaganda waged against Georgia. We see Russian troops entering our territories on the basis of false information," he said.

Georgia, a vital energy transit route in the Caucasus region, has angered Russia, its former Soviet master with which it shares a land border, by seeking NATO membership.

An April summit of the U.S.-led Western alliance stopped short of giving it a definite track towards membership but confirmed it would enter one day.

Russia has said its troop build-up is needed to counter what it says are Georgian plans to attack Abkhazia, a sliver of land by the Black Sea, and has accused Tbilisi of trying to suck the West into a war -- allegations Georgia rejects.

Tensions have been steadily mounting and escalated after Georgia accused Russia of shooting down one of its drones over Abkhazia in April, a claim Russia denied.

An extra Russian contingent began arriving in Abkhazia last week. Moscow has not said how many troops would be added but said the total would remain within the 3,000 limit allowed under a United Nations-brokered ceasefire agreement signed in 1994. Diplomats expect the reinforcement to be of the order of 1,200.

SECURITY GUARANTEES

Russian soldiers acting as peacekeepers patrol areas between Georgian and Abkhazian forces but handing full military control of the breakaway province to the Kremlin would alarm both the Georgian government and its allies in the West.

"Those 200 km (120 miles), the distance between the Psou and the Inguri rivers, are all Abkhazia. We agree to Russia taking this territory under its military control," Sergei Shamba, "foreign minister" of Abkhazia, told the Russian newspaper Izvestia.

"In exchange, we will demand guarantees of our security."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had not received an official request from Abkhazia for its military to take control of the region.

After the NATO summit, Moscow announced plans to establish legal links with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, another "frozen conflict" region inside Georgia.

NATO has urged Russia to reverse the steps and complained that the deployment of extra troops would add to tensions. The European Union has also expressed concerns.

Iakobashvili said Georgia was urging the European Union to take a more active role in reducing tensions, with options including participating in border control or policing.

"We should have more Europe in these conflict zones," he said, while adding that no decisions on a bigger EU role had been taken during his talks in Brussels.

China's Hu urges close Japan ties, offers two pandas

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:05:00 +0000

Chinese President Hu Jintao lauded closer cooperation with Japan -- and offered a pair of pandas as a friendly gesture -- after arriving on Tuesday for a state visit intended to nurture trust between the wary Asian powers.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda head to a dinner hosted by Fukuda, at Hibiya Matsumotoro restaurant in Tokyo May 6, 2008. (REUTERS/Japan Pool)

The state visit, the second ever by a top Chinese leader, comes as China seeks to soothe international concern over Tibetan unrest, which has threatened to mar Beijing's Olympic Games in August.

Hu was greeted at the airport by senior Japanese officials and flag-waving well-wishers, mostly Chinese, but in the centre of the capital, more than 1,000 protesters marched peacefully chanting "Human rights for Tibet".

Trucks carrying right-wing activists roamed the city blaring anti-China slogans and Japan's national anthem. Some 7,000 police were deployed amid concern over protests by the activists, who see China as a threat, but there were no reports of scuffles.

China wants to promote an image as a friendly neighbour after years of feuding over Japan's handling of its wartime aggression.

Hu, who has stressed forward-looking goals for his five days of summitry and ceremony, said stable and friendly ties were good for both countries, whose economies are increasingly intertwined.

"Relations between the two countries now have new opportunities for further development," he said in a written statement upon arrival in Tokyo. "I hope through this visit to increase mutual trust and strengthen friendship."

In a gesture that might help woo a sceptical Japanese public, Hu offered to give Japan two pandas for research purposes, Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement, following the recent death of popular Ling Ling panda at a Tokyo zoo.

He made the offer during an informal dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda at a Tokyo restaurant with historical links to Sun Yat-sen, considered the "father" of modern China.

OPPORTUNITIES, ANXIETIES

China replaced the United States as Japan's top trade partner last year, with two-way trade worth $236.6 billion, up 12 percent from 2006.

"As two important powers, if China and Japan can coordinate and cooperate more, and together promote regional economic integration and respond together to international financial, energy, environmental and a series of other challenges, that would be an excellent supplement to our two countries overall trade and economic relations," Chinese ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai said in a recent interview on Chinese state TV.

But Beijing's expanding diplomatic and military reach has also stirred anxieties in Japan over disputed energy resources, military power and the safety standards of Chinese exports.

"Although the iceberg between China and Japan has melted, fully warming relations require further efforts from both sides," a commentator wrote in China's People's Daily.

The political climax of Hu's visit is set to be a summit on Wednesday with Fukuda, when they hope to unveil a blueprint for managing future ties.

Beijing and Tokyo are keen to avoid a rerun of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin's visit to Japan a decade ago, which left a chill after he delivered pointed lectures on Japan's 1931-1945 invasion and occupation of China.

Sino-Japanese ties chilled during Junichiro Koizumi's 2001-2006 term as prime minister over his visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni war shrine, but tensions have eased since then.

Japanese media reports said that touchy references in the joint document to Taiwan, human rights, and Japan's hopes for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council were still under negotiation.

The two countries are also quarrelling over the rights to gas beds beneath the East China Sea, while a row over Chinese-made dumplings laced with pesticide that made several people sick has become for some a symbol of Japanese alarm at China's rise.

GOODWILL, NOT BREAKTHROUGHS?

Japan wants greater transparency about China's surging defence spending, set at 418 billion yuan ($60 billion) for 2008, up 17.6 percent on 2007 and outstripping Japan's defence budget. Foreign critics say China's real military budget is much higher.

Tokyo wants Chinese backing for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, an issue that in 2005 fuelled anti-Japanese protests in China, where there is deep rancour over Japan's harsh wartime occupation of much of the country.

China has pressed Japan to spell out again its stance on Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing says must accept reunification. Tokyo has said it supports "one China" that includes Taiwan, which was a Japanese colony for fifty years until 1945 and keeps close ties to Japan.

Few expect big breakthroughs on specific disputes, but the two sides are keen to stress forward-looking goodwill and are to issue a joint document on fighting climate change, a key topic for Japan as host of the July G8 summit.

Hu will speak to Japanese students at Tokyo's Waseda University and may unwind a bit by playing ping-pong with Fukuda.

Bone marrow treatments restore nerves, expert says

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:03:00 +0000

An experiment that went wrong may provide a new way to treat multiple sclerosis, a Canadian researcher said on Tuesday.

Patients who got bone marrow stem-cell transplants -- similar to those given to leukemia patients -- have enjoyed a mysterious remission of their disease.

And Dr. Mark Freedman of the University of Ottawa is not sure why.

"Not a single patient, and it's almost seven years, has ever had a relapse," Freedman said.

Multiple sclerosis or MS affects an estimated 1 million people globally. There is no cure.

It can cause mild illness in some people while causing permanent disability in others. Symptoms may include numbness or weakness in one or more limbs, partial or complete loss of vision, and an unsteady gait.

Freedman, who specializes in treating MS, wanted to study how the disease unfolds. He set up an experiment in which doctors destroyed the bone marrow and thus the immune systems of MS patients.

Then stem cells known as hematopoeitic stem cells, blood-forming cells taken from the bone marrow, were transplanted back into the patients.

"We weren't looking for improvement," Freedman told a stem cell seminar at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

"The actual study was to reboot the immune system."

Once MS is diagnosed, Freedman said, "you've already missed the boat. We figured we would reboot the immune system and watch the disease evolve. It failed."

STEM CELL REPAIR

They had thought that destroying the bone marrow would improve symptoms within a year. After all, MS is believed to be an autoimmune disease, in which immune system cells mistakenly attack the fatty myelin sheath that protects nerve strands.

Patients lose the ability to move as the thin strands that connect one nerve cell to another wither.

Instead, improvements began two years after treatment.

Freedman reported to the seminar about 17 of the patients he has given the transplants to.

"We have yet to get the disease to restart," he said. Patients are not developing some of the characteristic brain lesions seen in MS. "But we are seeing this repair."

MS patients often have hard-to-predict changes in their symptoms and disease course, so Freedman says his team must study the patients longer before they can say precisely what is going on.

"We are trying to find out what is happening and what could possibly be the source of repair," Freedman said.

But he has found some hints that may help doctors who treat MS by using drugs to suppress the immune system.

"Those with a lot of inflammation going on were the most likely to benefit (from the treatment)," he said.

"We need some degree of inflammation." While inflammation may be the process that destroys myelin, it could be that the body needs some inflammation to make repairs, Freedman said.

Immune cells secrete compounds known as cytokines. While these are linked with inflammation, they may also direct cells, perhaps even the stem cells, to regenerate.

The treatment itself is dangerous -- one patient died when the chemicals used to destroy his bone marrow also badly damaged his liver.

Russia, U.S. sign civilian nuclear pact

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:02:00 +0000

Russia and the United States signed a pact on Tuesday allowing the world's two biggest atomic powers to boost their nuclear trade and work on new ways to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

File photo of U.S. President George W. Bush (L) and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Sochi April 5, 2008. Russia and the U.S. signed on Tuesday a long awaited civilian nuclear cooperation pact that will allow firms from the world's two biggest atomic powers to expand bilateral nuclear trade. (REUTERS/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Files)

The civilian deal will open up the booming U.S. nuclear market and Russia's vast uranium fields to firms from both countries by removing Cold War restrictions that prevented bilateral trade potentially worth billions of dollars.

U.S. ambassador to Russia, William Burns, signed the deal with the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation, Sergei Kiriyenko, on the last full day of Vladimir Putin's presidency.

"The United States and Russia were once nuclear rivals -- we are today nuclear partners," said Burns.

At the 2006 Group of Eight summit in St Petersburg, President George W. Bush and Putin ordered ministers to reach a deal but it has faced opposition from some U.S. congressmen because of Russia's nuclear cooperation with Iran.

A 123 agreement, so-called because it falls under section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, is required before countries can cooperate on nuclear materials.

It is critical to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, or GNEP, which the United States and Russia have discussed for more than a year as a way to expand peaceful nuclear energy development and mitigate proliferation risks.

"What this agreement allows us to do is to implement some very creative ideas that both Russia and the United States have put forward to deal with the growing challenge of proliferation of nuclear weapons," Burns said.

He said the deal would allow Washington and Moscow to move forward on proposals for international nuclear fuel centres, which would sell developing countries access to nuclear energy but remove the need for their own enrichment programmes.

NUCLEAR GIANTS

Russia and the United States control the largest arsenals of nuclear weapons in the world and both have ambitious plans to build hundreds of new reactors for power production.

Some U.S. politicians have said nuclear cooperation with Russia should be shunned because Moscow is helping Iran build an atomic power station, but the Bush administration is keen to have the pact approved this year.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington that now that the deal has been signed, it would be sent to Congress for lawmakers to review "in due course".

When asked about speculation that Bush may not submit the deal to Congress -- possibly leaving it for the next president to do -- McCormack said: "Usually we don't sign agreements we don't intend to send to Congress for ratification."

Once the agreement is sent to lawmakers, it would go into force if Congress did not pass a disapproval resolution within 90 legislative days. Russia's parliament, controlled by Putin's party, must also ratify the treaty.

Russia, one of the world's biggest sellers of enrichment services, has been trying to break into the nuclear markets of the United States and European Union.

"The signing of this agreement opens a gigantic field of opportunities for the economic cooperation in the large and growing businesses linked to the civilian use of nuclear energy," Kiriyenko said after the signing.

Tuesday's agreement simplifies life for companies in both countries and allows them to strike deals on trade in nuclear materials directly among themselves.

Putin has reformed Russia's nuclear sector to boost competition and open it up to atomic firms such as Japan's Toshiba Corp, which owns U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric.

Russia has crafted a nuclear behemoth called Atomenergoprom -- which officials say is an atomic version of Russian gas giant Gazprom -- to compete with the biggest nuclear companies on the world market.

Austrian incest victim may sue for compensation

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:01:00 +0000

Austrian Elisabeth Fritzl, who was imprisoned by her father for 24 years and gave birth to seven of his children, may sue her father for compensation, her lawyer said on Tuesday.

An Austrian police officer looks on as forensic experts walk into the backyard of a house in Amstetten, where Josef Fritzl imprisoned his daughter for 24 years and fathered her seven children, in eastern Austria May 5, 2008. (REUTERS/Herbert Neubauer)

Fritzl, 73, kept Elisabeth and three of her six surviving children in a windowless basement prison for nearly a quarter of a century, while raising three of their children as his own upstairs.

Lawyer Christoph Herbst said he was looking into claiming compensation from Fritzl, who had four or five real estate assets in his name, for those who had been locked in the basement.

"There is the possibility of claiming compensation for imprisonment and the damage that has been incurred by it," Herbst told Reuters in an interview.

Fritzl's assets also have debt attached to them and it is unclear how much money will be left in the end, he said.

"Now it is all about evaluating his financial circumstances. Does he actually have any wealth so that it pays off to start proceedings?"

Herbst said he had the impression that the victimised family had a loving relationship when he met them.

"My experience of the family was a very positive one. Looking at the way they treat each other, it is really very loving, they are open towards each other and they play together," he said.

United for the first time just over a week ago, Elisabeth Fritzl, five of her children and her mother Rosemarie are now in the care of a hospital in Amstetten, some 130 km (80 miles) west of the capital Vienna.

"If you see the family with your own eyes, it makes you feel much better than looking at the whole case in theory and from afar," he said.

The case came to light when the eldest child of the incestuous relationship, a 19-year-old daughter, became seriously ill and was taken to hospital more than two weeks ago.

She remains in an artificial coma and needs artificial respiration, according to her doctor.

One baby died shortly after being born and Fritzl, who also has seven children with his wife Rosemarie, burnt its remains in a furnace.

Prosecutors are investigating Fritzl for rape, incest, coercion and the death of the baby.

Clinton, Obama go on attack ahead of crucial vote

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:32:00 +0000

With two days to go before a crucial U.S. presidential vote, Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton sharpened their attacks on Sunday, with Clinton pouncing on Obama for saying Republican John McCain would be better for the country than George W. Bush.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton smiles during a rally at Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, April 20, 2008. With two days to go before a crucial U.S. presidential vote, Democrats Barack Obama and Clinton sharpened their attacks on Sunday. (REUTERS/Tim Shaffer)

Obama told a rally in Reading, Pennsylvania McCain would be an improvement over Bush, a comment that seemed to undercut the message he often pushes that electing McCain would amount to giving the current Republican president a third term.

"You have a real choice in this election -- you know, either Democrat would be better than John McCain, and all three of us would be better than George Bush," Obama said.

Clinton, vying with Obama for the Democratic nomination and the right to run against presumptive Republican nominee McCain in the November election, criticized Obama's comments.

"We need a nominee who will take on John McCain, not cheer on John McCain," she said at a rally in Johnstown.

The two candidates sparred ahead of Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary, which has become a major test in the race for the party's nomination.

Clinton, a New York senator who needs a win in the state to keep her presidential ambitions alive, leads in polls but Obama, an Illinois senator and the national front-runner, has cut into her one-time double-digit lead in recent weeks.

At a later event in Scranton, Obama appeared to backtrack on his suggestion that McCain would be better than Bush, once again reiterating his view that the Arizona senator was "running for George Bush's third term."

"We can't afford four more years of George Bush policies under the guise of John McCain," Obama said.

He also said Clinton's campaign tactics amounted to "game-playing" and said she would not represent enough of a change from the Bush administration.

'CHEAP POLITICAL POINTS'

"Trying to score cheap political points may make good headlines and good television but it doesn't make for good government," Obama said.

"If we're really going to solve big problems then we can't just settle for a little bit better. We need something fundamentally different," he added.

Clinton said it was Obama who had gone negative since their Philadelphia debate last week.

"It's no wonder that my opponent has been so negative these last few days of the campaign because I think you saw ... a big difference between us," she said at a rally in Bethlehem.

"While my opponent says one thing, his campaign, he does another. You can count on me to tell you what I will do," she said in Johnstown.

Clinton, who with her husband former President Bill Clinton has been the subject of many conservative investigations since the couple first entered the White House in 1993, was endorsed on Sunday by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review whose publisher, Richard Mellon Scaife, funded many of those probes.

"Clinton's decision to sit down with the Trib (editorial board) was courageous, given our long-standing criticism of her," the paper said. "Political courage is essential in a president. Clinton has demonstrated it. Obama has not."

Obama picked up an endorsement, too, from the Financial Times. "After Tuesday's vote, the Democrats should move quickly to affirm Mr. Obama's nomination," it said. "He is, in fact, the better candidate."

Ahead of Tuesday's Pennsylvania vote, most analysts believed Clinton would win but the size of the victory has become the focus of both campaigns.

McCain this week was heading off on a multistate tour of areas hard hit by poverty. Before leaving, he addressed the issue of his temper, which was the subject of a front-page Washington Post story on Sunday.

He said on ABC's "This Week" examples given in the story were decades old, "totally untrue or grossly exaggerated."

"I am very happy to be a passionate man," he said. "I love this country. I love what we stand for and believe in, and many times I deal passionately when I find things that are not in the best interests of the American people."

U.S. Democrat Obama hauls in $42.8 million in March

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:31:00 +0000

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised more than $42 million in campaign donations in March, his campaign reported on Sunday.

The Illinois senator hauled in $42.8 million in the scramble for cash ahead of a showdown with rival Sen. Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary, the campaign said in a monthly fund-raising report.

U.S. Senator Barack Obama addresses supporters at a town meeting in Reading, Pennsylvania April 20, 2008. Obama raised more than $42 million in campaign donations in March, his campaign reported on Sunday. (REUTERS/Bradley Bower)

The $42.8 million Obama raised in March was less than the $55 million his campaign brought in during February.

The February total for the Illinois senator was an all-time high for any presidential candidate during a primary and the March number, while lower, was the second highest.

The candidates had until midnight EDT Sunday to file monthly campaign fund-raising reports with the U.S. Federal Election Commission.

Sen. Hillary Clinton's March report was not out yet. A campaign source said earlier this month the New York senator expected to raise about $20 million.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain began April with $11.6 cash on hand, his campaign said in its fundraising disclosure report.

The Arizona senator, who has clinched the Republican presidential nomination to contest the November election, raised $15.4 in March and spent $11.8 during the month, the campaign reported.

Hillary, Obama hit each other in attack ads

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:30:00 +0000

Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton were bashing one another with the most negative attacks of the primary season, bidding for undecided voters in Tuesday's critical Pennsylvania primary.

The former first lady gained the endorsement of a Pittsburgh newspaper whose owner funded probes that led to her husband's impeachment a decade ago.

With just 10 pre-convention contests remaining after Pennsylvania, it appeared mathematically impossible for either candidate to gather the 2,025 delegates needed for nomination going into the party convention in August. That leaves the nomination in the hands of so-called superdelegates, the nearly 800 party officials who can vote for either candidate regardless of state primary or caucus results.

The battle for Pennsylvania has turned particularly nasty as Clinton, who initially was expected to win easily and by a large margin, has seen her lead shrink in state polls. Obama _ who is the clear front-runner for the nomination _ is fighting equally hard to keep his expected loss as narrow as possible, hoping to diminish Clinton's argument to the superdelegates that she has unstoppable momentum.

She goes into the Pennsylvania primary having most recently won the delegate-heavy states of Texas and Ohio, but Obama leads nationwide in delegates selected in primary elections and state caucuses, in the popular vote and the number of pre-convention state contests won.

Overall, including the nearly 500 superdelegates who have committed to one of the Democrats, Obama leads 1,646 to 1,508. On Sunday, Clinton's campaign was bristling over new Obama TV ads that claimed the New York senator's health care plan would force Americans to buy into the program even if they couldn't afford it. Obama also was striking out at Clinton, charging her with having cozy links to lobbyists _ that in response to her campaign claims that he was taking money from special interest groups.

In a development that would have seemed impossible as the campaign opened, Clinton won the backing of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and its owner and publisher, billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife.

In the 1990s, he spent $2.3 million (euro1.46 million) to fund a series of articles by The American Spectator magazine that dug into Bill Clinton's behavior as governor of Arkansas. The magazine reported that Clinton had asked state troopers to help procure women for him and that he had sexually harassed a state worker named Paula Jones. Jones's legal case against Clinton helped launch an independent counsel investigation that eventually exposed his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Hillary Clinton famously defended her husband at the time, saying the allegations were part of a "vast right-wing conspiracy'' heavily funded by Scaife. Clinton was impeached in the House of Representatives, but the Senate failed to convict him on charges brought by the Republican-dominated lower house.

Candidate Clinton met with the Tribune-Review's editorial board, including Scaife, last month. Afterward, Scaife wrote an editorial titled "Hillary, Reassessed,'' telling his readers he was impressed by the former first lady.

The Pennsylvania vote will divvy up 158 delegates to the August Democratic national convention, but the party's rules for apportioning those delegates mean that even a big victory will likely do little to close Obama's overall lead.

Geoff Garin, Clinton's new top strategist, faced David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, Sunday with each accusing the other of negative campaigning. But the one word that was not heard, as it usually is from Clinton campaign officials, was August.

In the past Clinton has vowed to fight for the nomination right to the convention late that month.

When asked on NBC television's "Meet the Press'' if Clinton might drop out if she turns in poor showings in the June 3 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, even if she wins in Pennsylvania, Garin said: "I would advise people to wait until June 3 when this process is played through, see how close, how close it is, how well the candidates are doing, how they're conducting themselves.''

Garin did not once repeat Clinton's determination to continue the struggle into the convention.

Also Sunday, Obama, who often argues that John McCain is the same as President George W. Bush, said the Republican presidential candidate would be better for the country than Bush had been.

"You have a real choice in this election. Either Democrat would be better than John McCain,'' Obama said to cheers from a rowdy crowd at Reading High School in central Pennsylvania. Then he said: "And all three of us would be better than George Bush.''

The comment threatened to undercut Obama's efforts _ and those of the entire Democratic Party _ to portray McCain as offering nothing more than an extension of Bush's unpopular tenure. At the very least, it provided fodder that Republicans can exploit in the general election.

Earlier, Obama renewed his criticism that McCain offers the same "failed'' policies of the Bush administration on everything from Iraq to the economy.

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded: "The remark underscores that John McCain has the strength to change America and move this nation forward. Barack Obama is a new face who represents old ideas.''

Obama spokesman Bill Burton shot back: "It's hard to imagine a president doing a worse job than President Bush but one thing is clear, John McCain wants to do his best to emulate Bush's failed economic and foreign policies and even his divisive political tactics.''

McCain, who has benefited from the acrimony generated between Clinton and Obama, reasserted his determination not to repeal tax cuts pushed through by the Bush administration. He also promised to assemble a "league of democracies'' to work against Iran's perceived efforts to build a nuclear weapon.

"I've already had conversations with (French) President (Nicolas) Sarkozy. Just recently, again, I had conversations with (British) Prime Minister (Gordon) Brown. We could get together a league of democracies.

We could impact the Iranians in a very significant way,'' McCain said on ABC's "This Week.''

McCain has said he would not rule out using American military force against Iran should it be on the verge of gaining a nuclear weapon and if all other efforts to deter Tehran had failed.

Rice in Iraq, violence surges after Sadr threat

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:29:00 +0000

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice backed Iraq's crackdown on militias in a visit on Sunday to Baghdad, where the worst fighting in weeks erupted after Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr threatened all-out war.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks during a meeting with Iraqi government leaders in Baghdad April 20, 2008. (REUTERS/Ceerwan Aziz)

Rockets blasted the fortified Green Zone compound where Rice met Iraqi officials and praised their month-old campaign against Sadr's followers.

She had harsh words for the reclusive cleric, who on the eve of Rice's visit vowed "open war" if the crackdown continues. Sadr has not appeared in public in Iraq in nearly a year.

"He is still living in Iran. I guess it's all out war for anybody but him," Rice told reporters. "His followers can go to their death and he will still be in Iran."

A military spokesman said U.S. forces had killed 20 fighters overnight in a series of gunbattles and helicopter missile strikes in Sadr City, the east Baghdad slum that is a stronghold of Sadr's militia.

"I would say it's been the hottest night in a couple of weeks," the spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Steven Stover said.

Arriving on an unannounced visit, Rice met Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and said she wanted to support what she called a new political "centre" in Iraq that has backed Maliki's anti-militia campaign.

"It is indeed a moment of opportunity in Iraq thanks to the courageous decisions taken by the prime minister and a unified Iraqi leadership," Rice said in brief televised remarks with President Jalal Talabani after they held talks.

A rebellion by Sadr's Mehdi Army militia -- whose tens of thousands of black-masked fighters control the streets in many Shi'ite areas -- could abruptly end a period of lower violence at a time when some U.S. forces are starting to leave Iraq.

Rice did not take questions during the televised appearance, and later told reporters she did not know how seriously to take Sadr's threat of war, made in a statement on his website.

Sadr's threat dramatically raises the stakes in his confrontation with Maliki, who has threatened to ban Sadr's movement from political life unless he disbands his militia.

ROCKETS HIT GREEN ZONE

Maliki's crackdown has led over the past month to Iraq's worst fighting in nearly a year, spreading through the south and Shi'ite parts of Baghdad. Although fighting in the south has died down, the Baghdad clashes have continued unabated.

The crackdown has been backed by all parties across Iraq's sectarian and ethnic divide except the Sadrist movement.

Referring to that support for Maliki, Rice earlier told reporters there was a "coalescing of a centre in Iraqi politics" that was working together better than at any time.

As Rice met Maliki and other ministers, rockets could be heard hitting the Green Zone government and diplomatic compound where the prime minister has his office. Rice left the meeting about five minutes after an all-clear signal was given.

Washington says the rockets are fired from Sadr City by rogue elements of the Mehdi Army that it says are armed, trained and funded by Iran. Tehran denies responsibility.

Maliki's initial operation last month in the southern city of Basra went poorly, and U.S. commanders have acknowledged it was carried out hastily and badly planned.

Since then, however, the government forces have moved more carefully into Basra, and on Saturday they took control of the neighbourhood that had been the Mehdi Army's main stronghold.

"It has not been the smoothest of processes but it is an important step that the Iraqi government has taken," Rice said.

Sadr has pivoted back and forth between armed confrontation and peaceful politics throughout the five years since the fall of Saddam Hussein, while remaining hugely popular and staunchly hostile to the American presence he calls an "occupation".

He led two anti-American uprisings in 2004, but joined the political bloc that included Maliki and won parliamentary elections in 2005. Last year his followers quit the government for failing to demand an American withdrawal, but then Sadr abruptly declared a ceasefire, winning Washington's praise.

As his stance has changed, so has the response of American leaders. In 2004 they issued a warrant for his arrest, but more recently they praised his ceasefire and started referring to him with the respectful Arabic honorific "Sayyed".

Sadr's Mehdi Army has put up a fierce fight in Sadr City against Iraqi forces, who are backed by U.S. ground troops and air strikes. Fighting in the Sadr City slum has claimed hundreds of lives since last month.

South Korea has new bird flu case, culling 5 mln birds

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:28:00 +0000

South Korea on Monday said it planned to cull a record 5.3 million birds as it announced its 17th case of bird flu in three weeks, in what has become the country's fastest and biggest outbreak of avian influenza.

South Korea has culled 4.86 million chickens and ducks since the beginning of April, as the highly virulent H5N1 strain, first reported in the southwest, has been confirmed in five provinces.

Chickens are culled at a farm with bird flu in Gimje, 215 km south of Seoul April 17, 2008. South Korea on Monday said it planned to cull a record 5.3 million birds as it announced its 17th case of bird flu in three weeks, in what has become the country's fastest and biggest outbreak of avian influenza. (REUTERS/The National Tax Service/Handout)

The agriculture ministry said on Monday it would start probing all of the country's 260 duck farms as a preemptive measure and continue quarantine work. Some 360 soldiers have been sent to the hardest-hit North Jeolla province to help slaughtering and burying farmed birds.

South Korea had to kill 5.29 million birds in its first outbreak between late 2003 and early 2004. The second outbreak in 2006-2007 saw about half that number culled.

No human deaths from the disease have been reported so far from the country.

Some 240 human deaths have been reported globally from the H5N1 strain and 381 confirmed cases of infection since 2003, according to World Health Organisation data.

China food safety law to allow for life in jail

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:27:00 +0000

China unveiled a new draft food safety law on Sunday that provides for penalties of up to life imprisonment for people responsible for the production of substandard food.

The National People's Congress, or parliament, is seeking public comments on the draft until May 20, the official Xinhua news agency said.

A worker transports steamed buns at a store in Yingtan, Jiangxi province in this March 11, 2008 file photo. China unveiled a new draft food safety law on Sunday that provides for penalties of up to life imprisonment for people responsible for the production of substandard food. (REUTERS/Stringer)

It did not give a timeframe for the law's approval, but most drafts that reach the stage of seeking public comments generally pass with few changes to them.

Lesser violations of the law could incur fines, confiscation of income from sales of substandard products, or revocation of licenses, Xinhua said.

China has been hit by a series of food safety problems in the past few years, coming into the global spotlight last year through scandals over the quality of exported toothpaste, pet food and fish.

Domestic fears about food safety grew in 2004, when at least 13 babies died of malnutrition in Anhui province, in the east of the country, after they were fed fake milk powder with no nutritional value.

British actor and comedian Eddie Izzard eyes possible career in European politics

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:26:00 +0000

British comedian Eddie Izzard, whose acting career is taking off, is eyeing yet another possible career _ politician.

Izzard, who plays Wayne Malloy in FX's "The Riches'' and who just finished shooting "Valkyrie,'' starring Tom Cruise, told Newsweek he sees himself getting into European politics at some point.

"We've got to make it work in Europe,'' the cross-dressing comedian, 46, told the magazine for its issue hitting newsstands Monday. "People are very worried about sovereignty and the loss of sovereignty. I think the stakes are if we don't make the European Union work, then the world is screwed. End of story.''

Izzard, who's lending his voice to the upcoming film "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,'' said he enjoyed working on "Valkyrie.'' The film stars Cruise as Col. Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg, the aristocratic army officer executed after a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944.

Izzard's standup comedy act, "Stripped,'' is set to begin April 28 in Boston.

Enel CEO says rise of CO2 emission indicates Kyoto failure

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:25:00 +0000

The continuing rise of carbon dioxide emissions are an indication the Kyoto Protocol is basically ineffective because it lacks greater global participation, the chief executive of Italian utility Enel SpA said at a the International Energy Forum.

The Kyoto Protocol is not working in part because signatories to the agreement account for only 30 percent of total emissions, only a few sectors bear the brunt of the reduction and technology transfer is not being given sufficient importance, Fulvio Conti said in a speech.

Conti also said that reciprocity should be encouraged between the companies of energy-consuming countries and those of producing ones.

"With this perspective, Enel is committed to opening a portion of its domestic market to Gazprom,'' Enel's CEO said in his speech Sunday.

Government ministers from oil-rich nations and international oil company executives were meeting in Rome for a three-day energy conference that ends Tuesday.

While the energy ministers of most OPEC states will be present, the group was not expected to announce any policy shifts during the International Energy Forum, which was being held as crude oil prices have reached a new high of US$117 a barrel.

Italy's outgoing development minister, Pier Luigi Bersani, told the conference in his opening remarks Sunday that the high price of oil will have an impact on inflation for all of 2008.

"The price of oil has had an impact on the inflation dynamic in many countries and it is reflected in part also on food stuffs in general,'' Bersani said. "This dynamic will persist for all of 2008.''

Earlier, Eni SpA Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni said that the share of profits taken by governments of oil-rich countries is cutting international oil companies' profits, in some cases below their capital costs.

"The average government take is now moving to overcome the critical barrier of 90 percent, which means that oil companies' profitability is decreasing,'' Scaroni said.

Western oil majors have had to face a spate of re-negotiations of their contracts as hydrocarbon-rich countries aim for a bigger slice of profits on the back of surging crude prices.

International oil companies need to "profoundly rethink their business model in order to survive and prosper,'' Scaroni added.

On the sidelines of the conference, Eni signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar Petroleum International to pursue key joint projects in Africa and the Mediterranean focusing on natural gas and crude oil. It also envisions cooperation in the petrochemical industry and power generation.

It is the latest in a string of deals by Eni _ Italy's biggest oil and gas company _ to expand its ties with state-run oil companies.

Eni recently signed new deals with companies in Venezuela and is intensifying its ties with Gazprom. Late last year, Eni reached a deal with the Libyan government to jointly develop oil and gas projects in the North African country and extend existing contracts.

Eni pulled out of Qatar in 2002, saying it was too expensive to operate, but Scaroni said the "mistake'' had been rectified.

Benedict praises US church at Mass in Yankee Stadium, then heads home after 6-day visit

noreply@blogger.com (de_kerinchi) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:24:00 +0000

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass and American Catholicism in storied Yankee Stadium, telling his massive U.S. flock to use its freedoms wisely as he closed out his first papal trip to the United States.

Benedict beamed before a joyous crowd of 57,000 on Sunday, hours after making a solemn stop to pray at the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

He called the Mass "a summons to move forward with firm resolve to use wisely the blessings of freedom, in order to build a future of hope for coming generations.''

And he repeated a core message of his six-day pilgrimage _ that faith must play a role in public life, citing the need to oppose abortion.

The unwavering truth of the Roman Catholic message, he said, guarantees respect for the dignity of all, "including the most defenseless of all human beings, the unborn child in the mother's womb.'' The crowd applauded the line.

Worshippers filled the seats, chanting, clapping and waving white and yellow handkerchiefs in the Vatican's colors as the white popemobile pulled in. At the end of the service the German-born Benedict again processed out slowly, serenaded by the strains of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy.''

Outside the stadium, two dump trucks filled with sand blockaded 161st Street before Mass, an extra level of security along with the heavy police presence. Pilgrims without tickets pushed up against metal police barricades, hoping to get a glimpse of the arriving pope.

Inside, ad-splashed outfield walls were draped in white with purple and yellow bunting. A white altar perched over second base, and the papal seal covered the pitcher's mound, suspended by white and yellow ribbons.

"I have never seen Yankee Stadium so beautiful, and I have season's tickets,'' said Philip Giordano, 49, a tax attorney from Greenwich, Connecticut, who won seats in the loge section behind home plate through a parish lottery. "It sure beats sitting in my local church.''

Added his wife, Suzanne: "I'm hoping to feel something from (Benedict). Everyone who has seen him says they crumple, their knees buckle. You come away just feeling different.''

New Orleans crooner Harry Connick Jr., on the pre-Mass concert program, remarked that he is often asked if he's a practicing Catholic.

"Practicing?'' he said. "I'm playing for the pope today.''

Benedict seemed to enjoy his long journey to the altar in the popemobile, waving to people in the stands. From the altar, he stood to acknowledge the crowd's roar when New York Cardinal Edward Egan welcomed him.

He praised the U.S. church, which has 65 million members, in his homily, saying that "in this land of freedom and opportunity, the church has united a widely diverse flock'' and contributed greatly to American society.

The pope departed on a special airliner nicknamed "Shepherd One'' after a farewell ceremony hosted by Vice President Dick Cheney, with Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Clinton in attendance. "May God bless America!'' the pope said before departing.

Earlier, on a chilly, gray morning, the pope blessed the site of the terrorist attacks and pleaded with God to bring "peace to our violent world.''

The visit by Benedict to ground zero was a poignant moment in a trip marked by unexpectedly festive crowds such as the one at Sunday's Mass.

Benedict was driven in the popemobile part-way down a ramp now used mostly by construction trucks to a spot by the north tower's footprint. He walked the final steps, knelt in silent prayer, then rose to light a memorial candle.

Addressing a group that included survivors, clergy and public officials, he acknowledged the many faiths of the victims at the "scene of incredible violence and pain.''

The pope also prayed for "those who suffered death, injury and loss'' in the attacks at the Pentagon and in the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. More than 2,900 people were killed in the four crashes of the airliners hijacked by al-Qaida.

"God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world,'' the pope prayed. "Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred.''

Benedict invited 24 people with ties to ground zero to join him: survivors, relatives of victims and four rescue workers. He greeted each member of the group individually as a string quartet played in the background. In his prayer, he also remembered those who, "because of their presence here that day, suffer from injuries and illness.''

New York Deputy Fire Chief James Riches, father of a fallen Sept. 11 firefighter, said the pope's visit gave him consolation. "We said 'Where was God?' on 9/11, but he's come back here today and they've restored our faith,'' Riches said.

The site where the World Trade Center was destroyed is normally filled with hundreds of workers building a 102-story skyscraper, a memorial and transit hub. It bears little resemblance to the debris-filled pit where crews toiled to remove twisted steel and victims' remains.

The remains of more than 1,100 people have never been identified.

Back at Yankee Stadium, some worshippers filed out of the service slowly, trying to soak up the atmosphere as long as they could.

"It was great for the young, it was great for the old,'' Judith Halsey, a nurse from Bayonne, New Jersey, said of Benedict's visit as she left the Mass. "It was an uplifting time for the entire Catholic religion. Everyone needed this.''