Maravot's News of the World: news headlines and trends

2.05.05 Bush is said to seek sharp cuts in farm and commodity programs

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 – President Bush will seek deep cuts in farm and commodity programs in his new budget and will propose overall limits on subsidy payments to farmers, administration officials said Saturday. Such limits would help reduce the federal budget deficit and would inject market forces into the farm economy, the administration says.

The proposal puts Mr. Bush at odds with some of his most ardent supporters in the rural South, including cotton and rice growers in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. The new chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, and more than 100 farm groups are gearing up to fight the White House proposal, which reflects a major shift in farm policy. [More>>nytimes.com]

2.05.05 Militants arrested in Kuwait raid

Feb. 5 – At least five foreign suspected militants have surrendered to the Kuwaiti security forces, the state media reports. An urgent bulletin on state TV said the men - two Saudis and three Jordanians - had been hiding in a house in Kuwait City's Sulaibiya area. The militants were surrounded by police as gunfire reportedly broke out. It is the fifth confrontation this year between police and militants believed to be planning terrorist attacks. [More>>bbc.co.uk]

2.05.05 Wreckage of missing plane found in Afghanistan

Feb. 5 – The wreckage of an Afghan airliner missing for two days has been found in mountains near Kabul. All 104 passengers and crew were killed. The plane vanished from radar screens on 3 February shortly after it turned away from Kabul airport in a snowstorm, sparking a huge search operation by Afghan and international troops. Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal told RFE/RL the wreckage has been found, and that there were no survivors.

"Today in the morning, after a short break, the search operation conducted by the Interior Ministry, Defense Ministry, coalition forces, and ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] forces started again. Some parts of the plane were found between the Bagrami district and the Band-e Ghazi area in the Tsaparai mountains. Unfortunately, the plane was completely destroyed. All the passengers -- mostly Afghans but including some foreigners -- were killed," Mashal said. [More>>Radio Free Europe; see Reuters for update with photo of wreckage]

2.05.05 21 dead in new Iraq attacks

(Agencies) Feb. 5 – Insurgents have killed 17 Iraqis and two US soldiers in a fresh wave of attacks, as partial returns from the elections show a Shiite alliance with ties to Iran rolling up a strong lead over pro-US prime minister Ayad Allawi. More returns from the voting for the 275-member National Assembly were expected to be announced today. They are expected to confirm a strong showing by the United Iraqi Alliance, which is endorsed by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric. [More>>guardian.co.uk; Reuters article 1:16pm ET says, "Insurgents have killed 21 Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers in recent assaults, showing there has been no respite in the fight against U.S.-led forces and their allies since Sunday's election. The Army of Ansar al-Sunna posted a video on its Web site on Saturday showing seven National Guards captured in an ambush near Baghdad on Thursday being shot as they knelt blindfolded.]

2.05.05 French protests over 35-hour week

Feb. 5 – Thousands of people are taking part in demonstrations across France against the centre-right government's plan to reform the 35-hour week. Trade unions hope 300,000 people will take part in more than 100 marches. The unions held three days of strikes in the public sector last month, and believe there is a growing mood to challenge the government. The government says the 35-hour week has raised labour costs and kept unemployment high. The largest demonstration in Paris was headed by trade union leaders as well as by prominent figures in the opposition Socialist party. At least 12,000 protestors took to the streets in Toulouse, in south-west France, police said, although organizers said at least 20,000 took part. [More.>bbc.co.uk]

2.05.05 Saudis killed 92 'terrorists' in 2 years

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (World News), Feb. 5 : Saudi Arabia said Saturday authorities have killed 92 suspected terrorists during the past two years, while 39 security officers were killed in clashes. Revealing the casualty toll for the first time since launching a crackdown on suspected terrorists in the kingdom two years ago, Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz said 213 security personnel were also injured in operations. He added material losses in the oil-rich kingdom were estimated at about $266 (one billion riyals). He said 52 planned terrorist attacks were aborted. But the minister did not present a civilian casualty toll of hundreds believed to have been killed and injured...[More>>newkerala.com]

2.05.05 Israel to request Egypt to patrol Philadelphi Corridor

Feb. 5 – Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's top aide Dov Weisglass will head on Sunday to Cairo in order to finalize arrangements ahead of Tuesday's summit in Sharm e-Sheikh, hosted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and attended by Sharon, Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah.

Weisglass is slated to meet with Egypt's intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, and is to discuss with him the possibility of deploying Egyptian troops along the Philadelphi Corridor. Israel hopes that the presence of Egyptian soldiers along the border between the two countries will put an end to the smuggling of arms from the Sinai peninsula to the Gaza Strip. [More>>Jerusalem Post; see haaretzdaily.com: "Israel and Egypt will sign an agreement on Thursday enabling the Egyptian army to secure the Gaza border area adjacent to the Philadelphi route.]

2.05.05 Afghanistan: Self-immolatin by women in Herat continues at alarming rate

Feb. 4 – Ron Synovitz reports: Self-immolation by women in the western Afghan province of Herat continues to alarm officials and aid workers more than a year after a delegation from Kabul investigated the trend. The delegation determined that within just a few months, at least 52 women in the province had burned themselves to death -- often to escape an abusive marriage. Afghan doctors and officials say at least 184 woman brought to Herat's regional hospital are thought to have set themselves on fire during the past year -- and more than 60 have died as a result. The real number of self-immolation suicides and attempted suicides is likely to be even higher because only those brought to a hospital are being registered. [More>>Radio Free Europe]

2.04.05 Indonesia lost 1,057 school buildings to the tsunami

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (Antara), Feb. 5 – At least 1,057 school buildings were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in Aceh on Dec. 26, causing losses of about $21.85 million, an official said on Friday. Bustaman Aly, spokesman for the Aceh education office, said it would take a long time to repair and replace the damaged and destroyed schools.

"Lost of school equipment such as laboratory equipment can no longer be used or was just swept away by the tidal wave," he said. As many as 155 of the destroyed schools are located in the Aceh capital of Banda Aceh, including 28 kindergartens, 76 elementary schools, 21 junior high schools, 21 high schools and three Muslim boarding schools. [More>>the jakartapost.com]

2.04.05 Habib 'in terror camp' as 9/11 unleashed

Feb. 05 – Freed terror suspect Mamdouh Habib allegedly trained with al-Qa'ida and its south Asian offshoot Lashkar-e-Taiba five times since 1998 and was at an advanced terror course in Afghanistan during the 9/11 attacks, the federal Government has claimed. At least three other alleged terrorists under detention have identified Mr. Habib as being present at several of the camps, including the al-Qa'ida graduate course he is accused of attending for two months from August 2001.

The former Sydney cleaner is also alleged to have been in contact in Afghanistan with the man who once led the terror group's military committee, Mohammed Atef, before he was killed during an air strike in the Afghani capital, Kabul, in late 2001. He is believed to have met in Afghanistan the one Australian still detained in Guantanamo Bay, David Hicks, and associated with Melbourne man Jack Thomas, who was arrested late last year on terrorism charges. The allegations form the backbone of the federal Government's case against Mr. Habib and are in part spelled out in documents tendered to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in support of a decision to refuse him a new Australian passport. [More>>theaustralian.news.com.au]

2.04.05 'Tens of thousands 'in slavery'

Feb. 05 – About 880 slaves, said to have been abducted in southern Sudan by government-backed raiders, had been freed, but tens of thousands were still held in Darfur and elsewhere, a Swiss-based group said today. Christian Solidarity International said the Government had transported 607 freed slaves, mainly women and children, back to southern Sudan from northern Sudan, while CSI had helped free 273 slaves, mainly boys.

"Eight hundred and eighty liberated slaves returned to their homeland of northern Bahr El Ghazal, southern Sudan, between January 23 and February 2," the Zurich-based group said. It has spearheaded a controversial campaign to buy back slaves. "Tens of thousands of black Sudanese women and children remain enslaved in Sudan – mainly in Darfur and neighboring Kordofan – notwithstanding the peace agreement signed by the government of Sudan and SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement)," it added. [More>>theaustralian.news.com.au]

2.04.05 US casualties in Iraq attack

Feb. 4 – One US soldier has been killed and seven wounded in a roadside bombing near the key northern Iraqi oil refinery town of Baiji, the US military said. One Task Force Danger soldier was killed and seven wounded in an improvised explosive device attack on a US combat patrol near Baiji, 200km north of Baghdad, said a statement on Friday. No further details were immediately available.

The latest figures bring to 1446 the number of US soldiers killed since the US invasion in March 2003. Meanwhile, a purported Iraqi group - the Army of Ansar al-Sunna – said on Friday it had killed 29 Iraqis and taken seven prisoners when it ambushed a 50-strong Iraqi police convoy this week, an internet statement said. [More>>Al-Jazeera]

2.04.05 After election boycott, Sunnis seek political role

BAGHDAD, Feb. 4 – Sunni political and religious leaders, who led the boycott of Sunday's parliamentary elections, are signaling a renewed desire to engage in the political process. The softening of formerly hardline stances may represent a major turning point in efforts to woo Iraq's former ruling minority, whose opposition to the new political order has fueled the country's violent insurgency and threatened prolonged instability.

Influential parties and groups that boycotted the election are now quietly engaging in negotiations to play a role in the writing of Iraq's permanent constitution. Following today's prayers at Baghdad's Umm al Qurra mosque, headquarters for the hardline Muslim Scholars' Assn., a government official was permitted to issue a call for Sunni participation in future electoral rounds. [More>>latimes.com]

2.04.05 US establishes contact with new regime in Nepal

WASHINGTON (PTI) Feb. 4 – The United States has established contact with Nepal's new regime, unveiled by King Gyanendra after assuming power early this week, and started holding talks with its neighbours about the present conditions in the Himalayan Kingdom. "Deeply troubled" over the sacking of the Sher Bahadur Deuba government, Washington has also called for immediate restoration of multi-party democratic institutions under a constitutional monarchy.

Making its first contact with the new administration, US ambassador to Nepal James Moriarty met the newly-appointed Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey in Kathmandu and "reiterated with him privately our position we have stated publicly," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told newsmen yesterday. The United States was consulting the neighboring countries as well about conditions in Nepal, he said, without disclosing details of the nations contacted. [More>>Press Trust of India]

2.04.05 Nepal government tells Maoists to negotiate or risk

Feb. 5 – Nepal's new government told Maoist rebels to hold peace talks or risk "alternate steps" and imposed a ban on any criticism of King Gyanendra's seizure of power. The government's bid for talks came as it warned on the front-page of the state-run Nepali-language daily Gorkhapatra that any "writing or opposition to the royal proclamation ... has been prohibited for six months." Nepal's journalist federation swiftly defied the ban, branding Gyanendra's sacking of the government and its replacement with a 10-man loyalist cabinet a "coup against democracy". Tuesday's move had "destroyed all the remaining structures of democracy," the Federation of Nepalese Journalists said, adding its voice to global condemnation of Gyanendra's actions. [More>>asianewsnet.net]

2.04.05 Resolve Kashmir in line with UN resolutions: Musharraf:

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 4 – Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Friday stressed the need for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute in line with UN resolutions, Online news agency reports. On the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day, Musharraf and Aziz reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to the Kashmir issue. "Pakistan's support for the just Kashmiri cause is based not only on the bonds of kinship, but accords fully with our obligations and responsibility under international law, the UN charter and principles and relevant Security Council resolutions," Musharraf said.

Musharraf's reference to the solution of the Kashmir issue in line with UN resolutions marked a departure from recent statements by Pakistani leaders, who had refrained from harping on the world body's call for holding a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir. [More>>newkerala.com]

2.04.05 Egyptians protest against Mubarak

Feb. 4 – Several dozen Egyptians have demonstrated against a fifth term for President Husni Mubarak. Thousands of police kept the protesters apart from tens of thousands of visitors attending the Cairo International Book Fair in the suburbs of the Egyptian capital on Friday. "Enough!" said one banner, in an apparent reference to Mubarak's 24-year rule and his expected decision to run again later this year. "No to the Renewal [of Mubarak's mandate]," the demonstrators chanted. "No to heredity," they said, referring to speculation that if Mubarak, 76, does not stand his eldest son Gamal will be anointed in his place. Under the Egyptian system, parliament will elect a single candidate for the presidency in May, whose name will then be put to a referendum in September. [More>>Al-Jezeera]

2.04.05 Another Thai takes wrath out on vehicle that is plagued

Feb. 5 – Toyota Motor Thailand Co. is willing to continue talking with an irate customer about compensation for a vehicle he says is plagued with problems, and which he took to yesterday with a spade to draw media attention. The owner battered his vehicle in a high-profile protest, the second vehicle owner to take such action in two weeks.

"We are willing to sit down and talk with the car owner but his battered vehicle must first be repaired at his own expense," said executive vice-president Phaiboon Waiquamdee.

Two weeks ago an enraged Honda CR-V owner smashed her vehicle to protest at the bad treatment she says she received from Honda. Yesterday, Wing Commander Noraset Rungpraphan used a shovel to smash his Toyota Hilux Tiger Sports Cruiser outside the Consumer Protection Board after his bargaining for compensation with Toyota failed. [More>>bangkokpost.net]

2.04.05 Convienience stores may broker home loans in Japan

In Japan convenience stores and supermarkets will likely be allowed to start handling bank deposits and brokering housing loans later this year, according to a report released by a government panel studying deregulation of banking agents.

The convenience store industry has grown rapidly by taking advantage of a series of deregulatory measures. Should it gain permission to provide such financial services, the role of convenience stores in the provision of a comprehensive range of services will be further enhanced, observers said. [More>>Daily Yomiuri]

2.04.05 Japan's 1st case of human mad cow disease confirmed

TOKYO, Feb. 4 – The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Friday it has confirmed Japan's first case of the human variant of mad cow disease in a Japanese man who died in December. The ministry suspects the patient in his 50s was infected with the variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in Britain where he had stayed for about a month around 1989 while the country was in the midst of an outbreak of mad cow disease.

''All patients diagnosed with the variant disease outside of Europe had a history of staying in Britain and it is very likely that this patient was also infected there,'' said Tohoku University professor Tetsuyuki Kitamoto, who heads the ministry's experts committee on CJD and other diseases. [More>>kyodo.co.jp/]

2.04.05 G-7 to begin 2-day talks, eyeing weak dollar, high oil, China

LONDON, Feb. 4 – Financial leaders from the Group of Seven major economies are set to start a two-day meeting here Friday, focusing on a weak U.S. dollar, high oil prices and developments in China's economy as possible risk factors to the world economy. While projecting sound global economic growth this year of nearly 4 percent, top financial officials from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States are also expected to discuss the Asian tsunami disaster and development of Africa.

Separately, the world's most powerful economies will meet with financial leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China – four major emerging economies known collectively as the BRICs – and South Africa over breakfast Saturday to discuss the world economy and possibly energy issues. It will be the first time for the BRICs to jointly attend G-7 meetings, signaling changes in the international financial landscape. The meeting comes at a time when the dollar has seen sharp falls against the yen and euro since the last gathering in October in Washington amid growing jitters over the United States' swelling current account and fiscal deficits. [More>>kyodo.co.jp]

2.04.05 Diplomacy between China, North Korea planned amid focus on nukes

BEIJING Feb. 4 – China and North Korea are planning to exchange high-level visits later this month, diplomatic sources and news reports said Friday, as focus fell on whether Pyongyang will agree to attend a fresh round of six-way talks on its nuclear ambitions. North Korean Prime Minister Pak Pong Ju is expected to visit China in late February, sources informed about relations between the two countries said. The trip is billed as part of a plan expressed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il during a visit to China last year to expose the North Korean leadership to China's economic policies, according to the sources.

North Korea has implemented a series of economic reform steps since July 2002, including hikes in prices and wages as well as the abolition of rationing for certain goods. Economic cooperation between China and North Korea was also a major objective for North Korea's No. 2 leader Kim Yong Nam when he visited China last October. Kim is president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. [More>>kyodo.co.jp]

2.04.05 Countries step up efforts for six-way talks

Feb. 4 – Concerned countries are stepping up their diplomatic efforts to jump start six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, believing that US President George Bush's Wednesday pledge to strive for a peaceful settlement has brightened negotiation prospects. A senior Chinese official will visit Pyongyang after the next week's Lunar New Year holidays to discuss ways to resolve the nuclear issue, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said yesterday. And, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon will hold talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington on Feb. 14 to fine-tune measures to induce North Korea to return to the negotiation table, Chung, chairman of the National Security Council's standing committee, told reporters. Government officials and diplomatic experts agree the ball is now in North Korea's court to return to the multilateral nuclear talks...[More>>koreaherald.co.kr]

2.04.05 Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan to discuss railroad connection

BEIRUT, Feb. 4 – Road ministries of the islamic Republic, Russia and Azerbaijan will hold talks on connection of their railroads to one another in the next month, the ISNA news agency reported. Golam-Reza Shafiei, Iran's ambassador to Russia, said at a news briefing that implementation of this project would help the three countries boost economic growth. He added that Yevgeni Primakov, chairman of Russia's Chamber of Commerce and Industries will pay a visit to Iran on Feb. 11-13. [dailystar.com.lb]

2.04.05 Afghan aircraft still missing

Feb. 5 – A Boeing 737 plane carrying 104 people has gone missing in Afghanistan after failing to arrive in the capital amid heavy winter snow storms, officials said. An official from private Afghan company Kam Air said there had been no contact with the jet travelling from the western city of Herat to Kabul since late yesterday afternoon, when it had requested to land in Pakistan. "Yes the plane went missing. There were 96 passengers on board. The plane was going from Herat to Kabul," said Attila Kamgar, Kam Air's financial controller, adding he did not know the nationalities of those on the plane. [More>>asianewsnet.net]; as of 6:19pm ET the search was suspended for the night because of weather conditions. [More>>nytimes.com]

2.04.05 US general: 'its fun to shoot some people'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) Feb. 3 – A senior US Marine Corps General who said it was "fun to shoot some people" should have chosen his words more carefully but will not be disciplined, military officials said on Thursday. Lt. Gen. James Mattis, who commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and is slated to be portrayed by star actor Harrison Ford in an upcoming Hollywood movie, made the comments at a conference on Tuesday in San Diego, California.

"Actually it's quite fun to fight 'em, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up Front with you, I like brawling," Mattis said. "You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil," Mattis said during a panel discussion. "You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." [More>>expressindia.com]

2.04.05 Iraq demands oil-for-food repayment

Feb. 5 – Anyone who stole from the UN's oil-for-food program for Iraq must stand trial and the money be repaid to the Iraqi people, Iraq's human rights minister said on Friday. Bakhtiar Amin praised Thursday's report by Paul Volcker, the former head of the U.S. Federal Reserve charged with probing corruption in the program, and said it revealed that even UN dignitaries were not above robbing the poor for profit. "It shows that some so-called dignitaries had not an iota of shame in their bones, no conscience and no morals," Amin told Reuters in an interview. "They profited as parasites on the misery of an impoverished nation." [More>>dailystar.com.lb]

2.04.05 Jordanian FM: Deploy Palestinian solders to West Bank

Feb. 4 – Amman is proposing that a brigade of Palestinian soldiers trained in Jordan should deploy to the West Bank pending Israeli and Palestinian approval, Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani Fawzi Mulki said in an interview published Friday.
Speaking to the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al Hayat, Mulki said any step involving the brigade would be coordinated with Israel and the Palestinian Authority. "The Bader Brigade will deploy in Palestinian territories after it finishes its training in the camps of Jordanian special forces," pending Israeli and PA approval, he said in the interview. The comments come in the wake of the Israeli diplomatic cabinet's decision Thursday to gradually transfer five West Bank cities to Palestinian control. [More>>haaretzdaily.com]

2.04.05 Rice says attack on Iran 'not on agenda'

LONDON (AP) Feb. 4 – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that an attack on Iran over its nuclear program is "not on the agenda at this point." "We have many diplomatic tools still at our disposal and we intend to pursue them fully," Rice told a news conference after a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. [More>>Jerusalem Post]

(2) The name, Allah, in Arabic is an expression of surprise. It is not unusual for the God of the Bible to be known by many names . Jewish Midrash quotes passages in the Old Testament (Torah) that cite as many as seventy names of God (and more). But they can all be reduced down to one name.

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