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

03.14.05 Gunmen seize Indonesian gas tanker in Malacca Strait

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP), March 15 – A gang of 35 pirates armed with machine guns and rocket launchers seized a fully-laden gas tanker in the Malacca Strait at the weekend, a piracy watchdog reported Monday, rekindling fears of a terrorist attack in the vital waterway. The ship has been released but the captain and chief engineer were kidnapped and the pirates are demanding a ransom, Noel Choong, regional manager of the Piracy Reporting Centre of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), told AFP. The 1,289-tonne Indonesian-owned MT Tri Samudra was carrying a cargo of methane gas from Samarinda in Kalimantan province on Borneo island to Belawan on Sumatra island when it was boarded in the early evening on Satuday, Choong said.

"The pirates attacked the ship as it was heading towards Belawan and ordered it to sail to Dumai (also in Sumatra). During the journey to Dumai the captain and chief engineer were kidnapped and taken off the ship." [More>>thejakartapost.com]

03.14.05 Iraqi government talks at impasse as eight killed in attacks

BAGHDAD, March 14 – Talks on forming Iraq�s government were at an impasse on Monday over Kurdish demands on the ethnically-divided city of Kirkuk and their Peshmerga fighters, as violent attacks killed at least eight people.

With the historic first session of the country�s new parliament just two days away, Kurdish chieftain Jalal Talabani said negotiations with Iraq�s election-winning Shia list had fallen into deadlock. �There are disagreements about two points. The first is the fate of the Peshmerga, and the second one is concerning Kirkuk. Our negotiations with the (Shia) alliance continue,� Talabani told reporters as he announced he was heading to Baghdad for Wednesday�s session of the 275-member national assembly. He added the Kurds wanted to seal an agreement with the Shia list, the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), and then bring other parties into the new government, including outgoing prime minister Iyad Allawi who has so far refused any post other than premier.

Negotiations were expected to resume Monday after the Kurds return to Baghdad, UIA members said. Talabani, who is the frontrunner for Iraq�s presidency, was speaking after Kurdish leaders said Sunday they were insisting on changes to a draft agreement setting out the terms for an alliance with the UIA, which has the largest share of seats in the new parliament with 146 members. [More>>khaleejtimes.com]

03.14.05 Thousands rally against Syria in Beirut

March 14 – Hundreds of thousands of people have rallied in central Beirut in the largest anti-Syrian protest in Lebanon since the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. Flag-waving crowds from across Lebanon gathered in Martyrs'
Square in central Beirut on Monday, just metres away from al-Hariri's grave, to demand an international inquiry into his killing, the sacking of Syrian-backed security chiefs and a total Syrian pullout. The opposition rally came a day after huge crowds turned out in the south for an anti-US demonstration organized by Lebanon's Shia Muslim Hizb Allah group, an ally of Syria.

Organizers of the Beirut protest say it will draw hundreds of thousands to the central Beirut square that has been seeing daily protests demanding a full Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon. [More>>aljazeera.net; see also dailystar.com.lb and turkishpress.com, "Almost a million Lebanese turn out to press for Syrian pullout."

03.14.05 Israeli wall to engulf Jerusalem

March 14 – Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has approved the final route of the illegal barrier around Jerusalem that will include Jewish settlements in parts of the West Bank, officials said. The decision means the illegal barrier will engulf the whole city of Jerusalem and encompass Palestinian lands envisaged for a future state, including Arab east Jerusalem, the intended Palestinian capital.

The Israeli decision on the final route of the Jerusalem segment of the illegal barrier was made late on Sunday in a meeting of senior Cabinet ministers chaired by Sharon, said a senior Israeli government official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Under the plan the almost 80% of West Bank Jewish settlements would be engulfed by the internationally condemned separation wall. Eleven crossings would be built into the barrier to allow access from the West Bank, and construction is to be completed by the end of the year, the official said. [More>>aljeazeera.net]

03.14.05 WWF warns melting of Himalayan glaciers, water crisis looming

GENEVA (Xinhuanet) March 14 – The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warned Monday that global warming is spurring the melting rate of glaciers in the Himalayan region, and will cause water shortage for people in China, India and Nepal. The WWF said in a new report that the glaciers are now retreating at an average rate of 10 to 15 meters per year. It "will first increase the volume of water in rivers, causing widespread flooding," said Jennifer Morgan, director of the WWF's Global Climate Change Program, in a statement. "But in a few decades, this situation will change and the water level in rivers will decline, meaning massive economic and environmental problems for people in western China, Nepal and northern India," she added. As water flows from the glaciers dwindle, the energy potential of hydroelectric power will decrease, causing problems for industry. Crop yields will also be affected due to reduced irrigation. [More>>xinhuanet.com]

03.14.05 Recovery workers discover more tsunami corpses in Indonesia

JAKARTA (AP) March 15 – Recovery workers pulled 300 more bodies from debris left by the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami that hit Aceh province, bringing Indonesia's death toll to 126,296, a government agency said Monday. The missing tally fell to 93,837, the National Disaster Relief Coordinating Board said. Most of those still unaccounted for are feared dead, but can't be legally declared so for a year.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's Social Affairs Ministry said it had stopped updating its death toll. The agency had been giving slightly differing tolls of both the dead and missing. The government never explained the differences in the two counts. The NDRCB said all 300 bodies were found over the last three days among the debris in Aceh's capital, Banda Aceh, and its surrounding area of Aceh Besar district. [More>>thejakartapost.com]

03.14.05 Russia backs China on anti-secession law involving Taiwan

MOSCOW (PTI) March 14 – Russia today expressed understanding' at the passage of anti-secession law by the Chinese parliament allowing use of force in case Taiwan moves further toward independence. "The Russian side considers the Taiwan issue as China's domestic affair. We understand the reasons which made the Chinese National People's Congress pass this law," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said. "The law outlines the key priority of the Chinese government – peaceful methods of the country's unification within the framework of the 'one state – two systems' policy and readiness to take maximum goodwill efforts for this purpose," Yakovenko said. [More>>Press Trust of India; to read the Anti-Secession Law adopted March 14, 2005 go to chinadaily.com.cn; See also, "Taiwan condemns China's anti-secession Law, lawmakers torch flag," newkerala.com]

03.14.05 Chinese Premier to visit India to resolve boundary dispute

BEIJING (PTI) March 14 – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today announced that he will visit India soon with a three-point agenda, including enhancing bilateral ties to strategic levels and to seek a "fair" resolution to the vexed boundary issue on the basis of "mutual accommodation and accommodation of reality". Speaking at his annual customary press conference at the end of the 10-day session of the Chinese parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), Wen stressed that China and India were not rivals but friends. [More>>Press Trust of India]

03.14.05 Darfur death toll tops 180,000

March 15 – More than 180,000 people had died in the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region in the past 18 months, the United Nations said today. On average, at least 10,000 people had died each month over that period, said Jan Egeland, the UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs. The UN had previously said at least 70,000 people had been killed in Darfur. Last week, Mr. Egeland said that figure was out of date, without giving a new estimate. [More>>theaustralian.news.com.au]

03.12.05 update; 03.11.05 US warns of possible bomb threat at World Trade Center in Jakarta

WASHINGTON / JAKARTA, March 11- The US embassy in Jakarta warned on Friday of a "possible bomb threat" at the World Trade Center Mangga Dua in northern Jakarta between March 11-14. In a statement posted on its Web site and circulated to US citizens in Indonesia by e-mail late on Friday afternoon Jakarta time, the embassy said: "Americans in Jakarta should avoid the area surrounding this facility." The one-paragraph warning did not offer any details on what prompted the alert or who might be behind such a threat. An embassy spokesman in Indonesia declined to elaborate. "We do not discuss specifics."

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has been hit by several bomb attacks in recent years blamed on Islamic militants linked to Al-Qaeda. The deadliest, on nightclubs in the resort island of Bali in 2002, killed 202 people. The most recent was in September against the Australian embassy in Jakarta and killed 10. [More>>hindustantimes.com; 3.12.05 Australia issued a warning to its citizens based upon the same threat: thejakartapost.com]

03.12.05 China intends to build energy-efficient and environment-friendly society in China

3.12.05 Taking a path that is certainly the opposite of the Bush administration, President Hu Jintao of China, in a meeting Saturday, stressed the importance of building an energy-efficient and environment-friendly society in China. Hu Jintao said that the comprehensive implementation of the "scientific concept of development," the further adjustment of China's economic structure and the transformation of economic growth methods are essential to ease pressure on population, resources and environment for the comprehensive, coordinated and sustained socio-economic growth in China. [More>>CRI online]

Editorial note: While George W. Bush misleads Americans into believing that using the sword to secure and consume nations (is his divine right), Maravot News has been reporting how China has been forming new alliances and interests, and those interests put the US as odd-man-out in the new world that is forming led by the EU, Russia, India, China, etc. That new coalition excluding the US has been heavily engaged in exchanging swords for plowshares. Simply put they have been tying up the world oil resources and their pipelines, and at the same time they have been establishing new trade and mutual security interests. This is what Maravot News has been all about: tracking the trends of the new economic centers of the world. In a couple of years America will be sucking the hind tit of the hog as it were. France should be closing the deals she has been making, as the trend indicates she will lead the EU out of the Dark Age reintroduced by the two Bush administrations.

03.12.05 US plans to deploy troops in East Europe

SOFIA (Xinhua) March 11 – The United States will form an East Europe Brigade to be based in Bulgaria and Romania, a Bulgarian newspaper reported on Friday. Gen. James Jones, the top commander of US and NATO forces in Europe, have told the US House of Representatives that the new brigade would be made up of 5,000 troops and several logistic teams, the Bulgarian newspaper 24 Chasa said. Jones said he had discussed the issue of military bases with Bulgaria and Romania and had inspected possible sites during his visit to the two countries in January. The newspaper said that the general was interested in renting an army base, two air bases, a missile launching base and a naval base from Bulgaria. [More>>xinhuanet.com]

03.12.05 'Stronger' US action if Iran does not end nuclear weapons ambitions: Cheney

WASHINGTON (AFP) – March 12 – The United States will pursue "stronger action" if Iran does not abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions, Vice President Dick Cheney said in an interview Friday. The statement comes as Washington announced it would drop objections to Iran joining the World Trade Organization to support efforts by Britain, France and Germany aimed at persuading Tehran to end its suspect nuclear program. If the Iranians are interested only in civilian nuclear power they can acquire reactor fuel from several different commercial sources, Cheney said in an interview with Fox News. [More>>newkerala.com]

03.12.05 US says North Korea need not completely disarm before reaping benefits

March 12 – WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States said that North Korea need not completely dismantle its nuclear weapons arsenal before receiving benefits under an aid-for-disarmament proposal offered to the Stalinist state. "I don't think anyone is asking DPRK to completely disarm ... and only then will the United States and other members of the six-party process give them benefits," senior State Department official Evens Revere said Friday. "That's not the explanation we provided to the DPRK," he said, referring to Pyongyang's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Under the proposal, the United States requires a "commitment" upfront from North Korea "to start a process" for ending its nuclear weapons drive, and "as the commitment is fulfilled, we would fulfill out part of the deal in terms of providing certain benefits and signing on certain agreements and understandings," he said. Revere, the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, was speaking at a Washington forum on the six-party talks designed to end North Korea's nuclear weapons program. [More>>newkerala.com]

03.12.05 No US pressure over gas pipeline: PM

ISLAMABAD – March 12 – Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday denied the United States has been putting pressure on Islamabad over a planned trilateral gas pipeline involving Pakistan, Iran and India. "There is no pressure on us," the prime minister told reporters when asked whether the United States, which has already reportedly conveyed its concern to India over the project, had also raised the matter with Islamabad.

US Ambassador to India, David Mulford, said in New Delhi this week that Washington had reservations about the energy deal, according to a report in the Indian Express newspaper. Mulford had raised the issue in a meeting with Indian Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, said the report, which comes amid mounting US concerns about Iran's nuclear weapons programme.

Washington's concerns were likely to be raised again when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits India on March 16, the Indian newspaper said. [More>>jang.com.pk]

03.12.05 Iranian Foreign Ministry regards US statement on Iran's membership in WTO as change of strategy

TEHRAN (RIA Novosti's Nikolai Terekhov) March 12 – Official spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Hamid Reza Asefi regards the recent statement of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the lifting of restrictions on Iran's membership in the WTO as "a would-be change of strategy." According to Mr. Asefi, "Dr. Rice's statement on Washington's consent to Iran's membership in the World Trade Organization is a would-be change of US policy on Iran and our negotiations with the European Union."

"The Islamic Republic decided to use peaceful nuclear technologies and any pressure, bribery or threats cannot make us give up the right to develop these technologies," Mr. Asefi stressed. In his opinion, "the compensation of some errors of the White House and lifting of minimal restrictions which were imposed on Iran without any reasons cannot make us give up our legal rights."

"The sale of spare parts of passenger lines to Iran which the United States agreed to is a peaceful action and cannot be considered a privilege. The WTO membership is a right of any country," the Iranian diplomat noted.

"The US assumes wrong hypotheses and deceives Europe into the belief that Iran is creating nuclear weapons while the transparency of Iran's activities in the sphere of nuclear technologies is obvious. The IAEA claimed the peaceful character of Iran's nuclear programs in its reports," Hamid Reza Asefi emphasized. [More>>rian.ru]

Editorial note: Maravot News Archives are records for those who are interested in the history behind the next step in George W. Bush's strategy of bludgeoning nations for oil. Other international relationships and considerations, of course, hinge on these historical notes so recorded by Maravot News and others. This process will be compared to the EU, Chinese, and Indian approach to economic and political security in the 21st century.

03.12.05 President of Kazakhstan proposes Union of Central Asian states

March 12, (unedited text; note that Kazakhstan is at the center of Euro-Asian oil supply and pipeline routes) – Message of our President is discussed in many states of the world. It inspired most of famous politicians and authoritative analysts. For example, the Kyrgyz leadership reacted onto the proposal of Nursultan Nazarbayev to found a Union of Central Asian states and introduce in future common currency. Turkey also supported this idea. The editor-in-chief of the "Turkish Daily News" considers that integration plan of the Kazakhstani President is a single possible mechanism to bring back the former importance to Central Asia and it can help the region to make a technological progress and supply with economic security. According to a new Prime Minister of the Ukraine, Yulia Timoshenko, Kazakhstan�s success deserves a special attention. Japan also considers our Republic to be a leader in Central Asia. The text of message was published in Georgia, and President Saakashvili promised to send a written response on it. Most of politicians and businessmen of Israel say that under the leadership of Nursultan Nazarbayev Kazakhstan reached noticeable success. Director of British center of political sciences published an article where he noted a democratic style of the message. The author of the article welcomes the orders of the President to improve juridical security of elections, continuation of decentralization of power, simplification of bureaucratic procedures and increase of effectiveness in fighting corruption. The Bulgarian leader also wished success to our President in this. General prosecutor of Azerbaijan described Nursultan Nazarbayev as a far-seeing politician who has a great authority in the international circles and the first Azeri Vice Premier stressed that reforms that are conducted under the leadership of Nazarbayev, enter absolutely new level. These are only some of comments on the February message of Nursultan Nazarbayev to the Kazakhstani people. [More>>khabar.kz]

03.12.05 'EU not insisting that Tehran abandon uranium enrichment'

VIENNA, March 12 – EU negotiators are not insisting that Iran abandon uranium enrichment, and talks between Iran and the 25-member bloc are focusing on how Tehran can give other guarantees that its nuclear program is peaceful, a senior Iranian negotiator said Saturday.

�It is quite clear that for the Europeans the abandoning or cessation (of uranium enrichment) is not even on the negotiating table,� said Syrus Nasseri, who led the Iranian team that met with representatives of the EU �big three� Britain, France and Germany this week in Geneva. The United States backs the EU�s offer of trade and other incentives to Iran in return for a halt to enrichment, a fuel process that could also provide Tehran�s clerical regime with the capacity to build a bomb. [More>>khaleejtimes.com]

03.12.05 Seven killed in Iraq, including foreign trucker as Afghans arrested

MOSUL, March 12 – Three Iraqi policemen were gunned down in Mosul and a foreign truck driver killed near Baiji on Saturday as three Afghans allegedly on their way to fight in the northern city were arrested in Baghdad. The policemen, including an officer, were gunned down by assailants aboard a vehicle in the Al-Sukar neighborhood on Mosul�s northern side, said Mohammed Fathi, a local police commander. He said the attack happened at about 1:00pm (1000 GMT), and a medic at a city hospital said the men were hit in the head and abdomen. The attacks come two days after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shiite funeral in the city killing 47 and wounding 81. [More>>khaleejtimes.com]

03.12.05 Indian firm clinches Oman oil deal

March 13 – India's largest private sector company has signed a deepwater oil exploration and production agreement with the government of Oman. Reliance Industries said on Saturday that the deal is for exploring oil in block-18 off the Batinah coast in the Gulf of Oman, spreading across 18,000sq km(6,8950sq miles). "Reliance will be the operator of the block with 100% working interest," the company said in a statement. With a presence in Oman and with its other overseas projects, the company is now active right across the petroleum value chain, from upstream to refining to retailing, it said. [More>>aljazeera.net]

03.12.05 Leaders of Iran, Venezuela blast US again

CIUDAD BOLIVAR, Venezuela, March 12 – Visiting Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez turned up the heat Saturday on the United States in the final day of Khatami's three-day visit. At the opening of a tractor factory in Ciudad Bolivar, 500 kilometers (310 miles) southeast of Caracas, Khatami urged Venezuela and other countries pressed by Washington to "be strong" and "reject their threats to invade us."

Chavez, for his part, repeated his accusation that Washington intends to assassinate him, and prayed that God "save us" from US President George W. Bush. He also repeated his support for what he called Iran's right to develop nuclear energy. [More>>turkishpress.com]

03.11.05 Fatwa issued against bin Laden

March 12 – Spain's leading Islamic body has issued a religious order declaring Osama bin Laden to have forsaken Islam by backing attacks such as the Madrid train bombings a year ago. The Islamic Commission of Spain timed its "fatwa" to coincide with the first anniversary of last year's attacks, which killed 191 people and were claimed in the name of al-Qaeda in Europe.

The commission's secretary general Mansur Escudero said the fatwa had moral, rather than legal weight and would serve as a guide for Muslims. "We declare ... that Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organisation, responsible for the horrendous crimes against innocent people who were despicably murdered in the March 11 terrorist attack in Madrid, are outside the parameters of Islam," the commission said. The commission said the Koran barred Muslims from committing crimes against innocent people. [More>>theaustralian.news.com.au]

03.11.05 Russia says it will not sell arms to Pakistan

MOSCOW, (PTI) March 11 – Russia has made it clear that it has not supplied arms to Pakistan in the past and will not do so in the future. "We do not have military-technical cooperation with Pakistan and will not have it," Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency. Responding to the West's concerns over Russian arms supplies to Syria, Iran and some other countries, he said "there are cases, when Russia does not like the military-technical cooperation of the Western countries with individual nations, including Pakistan." [More>>Press Trust of India]

Editorial note: Economic alliances formed between Pakistan and the US, India and Russia, China with India, Russia with Turkey, the EU with Iran, India with Iran, China with Iran, etc. are reflected in this posture, where the US has been running around rattling sabres and threatening the world whilst other nations have been doing sound bargaining around the US, tying up pipelines and their routes and future oil supplies. All of the above (except the US) have been courting the Central Asian nations.

03.11.05 Indian women want comfortable clothes

BANGALORE, March 12 – Spoiled for choice with easy-to-wear Western-style clothing, Indian urban women are discarding the traditional Indian sari en masse. Top fashion gurus say the sari, a long strip of cloth with one end wrapped around the waist to form a skirt and the other draped over the shoulder or covering the head, is fast being cast aside in favour of skirts, dresses, tops, jeans and trousers. Long the bedrock of Indian attire, the sari was seen as a dress for all seasons _ be it in the home or at the office, weddings or parties. The only differentiation was in the texture, fabric and the heavy embroidery. But with Indian markets opening up, typical Western clothing and Indian alternatives such as the salwar kameez (a long shirt worn with loose pants) and kurti (a short tunic) have flooded fashion stores. [More>>bangkokpost.net]

03.11.05 Muslim women are finally demanding equality

March 12 – Kamal Nawash reports: Something wonderful is happening in America. For the first time in 1400 years a woman will lead the prayers for a mixed gender congregation.

It has been said that an Islamic reformation and modernization will be spearheaded by American Muslims and this appears to be happening. American Muslims are among the few Muslims in the world who can freely express themselves without retribution.

On Friday, March 18, in New York City, Dr. Amina Wadud will be the first woman in 1400 years to lead a public prayer and deliver the Friday sermon to men and women.

It is a generally held view in the Muslim world and among American Muslim leaders that women cannot lead mixed-gender prayers. Unfortunately, many Muslim clergy and leadership refuse to accept that a woman is or should be equal to men. This custom of segregating women and not allowing them equality in any circumstance, including in worshiping God has hindered the development of Muslim society.

These archaic rules which are made by Muslim cave-men are pervasive and go unchallenged. However, research by progressive Muslims and scholars indicate that neither the Koran nor the Prophet of Islam have ever prohibited women from leading mixed-gender prayers or from given sermons. Over the centuries, Muslim women have been deprived of their place as intellectual and spiritual leaders and this must be reversed.

It is time for progressive Muslim men to help Muslim women fight for their rights. At the same time, Muslim women must demand equality and not wait on Muslim men to finally wake up and realize that they have no right to deprive women of equality. [More>>freeemuslims.org]

Editorial note: Women have produced great, revolutionary changes in the world. If you read the gospels of Christ (who is mentioned as the Messiah in the Koran, as well as a prophet), you will find that it was the women, especially the two Marys, who were with him much of the time, accompanying him from Galilee to Jerusalem; and Mary Magdalene took her place in Christian history as being one of the greatest ministers of the early Christian church. Since then women in the Christian churches have been fighting to have a right to do what Mary Magdalene did 2,000 years ago. A few women following her, before women were restricted from the ministry, converted Roman governors and perhaps did more to convert the Roman Empire to Christianity than most of their male counterparts, for they had personal relationships in high places. About 1789 women in France marched upon Versaille, carrying their kids in train, to protest the poverty and abuse caused by Louis XVI. On their way back to Paris their husbands – no doubt feeling a bit guilty – joined the march. Because the French prison, called the Bastille, contained a vast armory, the marchers concluded their march by attacking the fortress and launching their revolution. Of course we can count on Queen Elizabeth I who changed the map of the Western world, as well as Catherine the Great, Elenor of Aquitane, etc. as individual contriutors who made changes to our world. I am optimistic, therefore, that Moslem and other women will bring an air of freedom to this planet.

03.11.05 US will back European efforts on Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) March 11 – The Bush administration will support European diplomatic efforts to end Iran's purported nuclear weapons ambitions by offering modest economic incentives to the Tehran regime. The administration agreed to drop objections to Iran's eventual membership in the World Trade Organization and agreed to allow some sales of civilian aircraft parts to Tehran, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday.

Rice said in a statement that the administration will consider allowing the spare parts sales on a case-by-case basis. Many of the sales would be from European Union countries. "We share the desire of European governments to secure Iran's adherence to its obligations through peace and diplomatic means," the secretary said, referring to Iran's commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. "Today's announcement demonstrates that we are prepared to take practical steps to support European efforts to this end," Rice said. [More>>Associated Press via CRI online]

03.11.05 British-sponsored commission calls for doubling world aid to Africa

March 11 – A panel chaired by British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for the international community to spend an extra 25 billion dollars (19 billion euros) a year for the next three to five years to finance urgent reforms in Africa. In a far-reaching report coinciding with Britain's chairmanship of the G8 group of leading industrial countries, the multinational Commission for Africa labelled widespread poverty and economic stagnation on the continent "the greatest tragedy of our time." "Africa requires a comprehensive 'big push' on many fronts at once," it said, listing corruption, security issues, education, AIDS and health measures and fair trade as major priorities. [More>>asianewsnet.net]

03.11.05 India, Brazil, South Africa talk trilateral cooperation

CAPETOWN, South Africa (IANS) March 11 – India, Brazil and South Africa are holding talks here to step up cooperation in a wide array of sectors ranging from trade to defence under a new initiative for forging a unique trilateral south-south alliance.

India's External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma met here to discuss issues of trilateral, regional and global concern including reform of the UN.

At the opening plenary session of the IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) Trilateral Commission Thursday, Singh said the concept of IBSA was without precedent - three countries, from three different continents coming together to jointly consider global issues of common interest, as well as ways in which collaborative action among them could be strengthened. [More>>Indo-Asian News Service]

03.11.05 India, Brazil, South Africa talk trilateral cooperation

NEW YORK, March 11 – Special UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen will give Syrian President Bashar al-Assad an ultimatum when they both meet Saturday in Damascus, threatening him with political and economic isolation if he does not withdraw his troops quickly and completely from Lebanon, an international media said, quoting UN and US officials.

"If he doesn't deliver, there will be total political and economic isolation of his country. There is a steel-hard consensus in the international community," a senior UN official said.

Appointed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to ask Assad for a definite timetable in withdrawing Syria's military presence from neighboring Lebanon, the envoy first met Thursday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and will visit Lebanon before traveling to Damascus. [More>>jang.com.pk]

03.11.05 NATO meets in Kazakhstan to open up routes for expanding role in Afghanistan

March 11 – "....We also discussed with the foreign minister the expansion of NATO�s activities in Afghanistan, in western countries, and the importance of establishing routes via Kazakhstan for the purpose of reinforcing our acting military there," said Robert Simmons, NATO Secretary General�s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia. According to the meeting�s participants, negotiations on this issue will be continued until the sides come to a mutually beneficial decision. [More>>khabar.kz]

03.11.05 Crucial Shiite-Kurdish deal struck in Iraq

March 11 – Iraq's clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance and a Kurdish coalition have struck a deal that will allow a new government to be named when the National Assembly convenes next week, officials in both political groups said Thursday. The announcement came hours after a suicide bomber struck a Shiite mosque during a funeral in the northern city of Mosul on Thursday, killing as many as 30 people and wounding dozens as a fresh wave of violence swept through Iraq.

A police official in Baghdad said 30 people were killed in the attack in eastern Mosul. Hospital officials there said at least 16 bodies had been taken to the morgue.

The Shiite-Kurdish deal calls on the government to begin discussion on the return of about 100,000 Kurds to the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk and talks about redrawing existing Kurdish regions to include the city in Iraq's new constitution. It also gives the Kurds just one major Cabinet post - one less than they demanded - in return for making one of their leaders, Jalal Talabani, Iraq's first-ever Kurdish president. One ministry will go to the country's Sunni Arab minority. [More>>dailystar.com.lb]

03.11.05 Egypt slams Bush claims on Democracy

WASHINGTON, March 11 – Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abu al-Gheit disputed Thursday U.S. President George W. Bush's contention that democracy is catching on in the Middle East.

In an interview published Thursday by The Washington Post, Abu al-Gheit said: "What model are we talking about in Iraq? Bombs are exploding everywhere; Iraqis are killed in the streets every day, "adding: "Palestinian elections? There were elections seven years ago."

The Egyptian official was reacting to Bush's speech Tuesday at the U.S. National Defense University in which he spoke of a "thaw" melting authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and cited the recent Iraqi and Palestinian elections and anti-Syrian demonstrations in Lebanon as examples that democracy was on the march in the region. Referring to Syria, Abu al-Gheit countered Bush's comments by noting Tuesday's pro-Syrian demonstration mounted by Hizbullah. The rally, he said, showed that "there are other trends in society," and warned that U.S. pressure could lead to chaos in Lebanon, adding. "Maybe things will get better, but we see what we see." [More>>dailystar.com.lb]

03.11.05 Syrian troops pull out of most of north Lebanon

BEIRUT, March 11 – As almost all Syrian troops left northern Lebanon on Friday, the United Nations called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to present a timetable for the full withdrawal of his army and intelligence officers from Lebanon. The Syrian withdrawal weakens 29 years of solid military presence and underlines Syria's diminishing role in its small neighbor. A day ahead of his meeting with the Syrian leader, United Nations envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said Friday that the UN expects Syrian President Bashar Assad to produce a timetable for the full withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence officers from Lebanon. [More>>haaretzdaily.com]; See separate story, "Assad tightens grip in Lebanon," Jerusalem Post]

03.11.05 Prosecutors claim Jackson on brink of bankruptcy

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (Reuters) March 11 – Michael Jackson is more than $300 million in debt and faces a looming financial crisis brought on by his "spendaholic" ways, a prosecutor in the entertainer's child molestation case said on Friday.

"We have reason to believe that Mr. Jackson is on the precipice of bankruptcy," Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss said in a court hearing on whether Jackson's finances can be introduced as evidence at his trial. "He is in debt to the tune of over $300 million." [More>>reuters.com]

03.11.05 Howard Kurtz editorial: "Regulating Cyberspace?"

March 11 – The Federal Government, it appears, needs more things to regulate, including censorship of internet reporting, including blogs. Kurtz offers a survey of the problem: ...What about the heavy hand of government regulation? The Federal Election Commission, as you may have heard, is considering slapping some restrictions on political bloggers following a federal judge's ruling on some McCain-Feingold litigation.

The question, says FEC member Bradley Smith, is whether blogs that support Candidate X are in effect providing unpaid advertising to his campaign – especially if they provide links to X's Web site. He says some sites could receive a "press exemption," though I can't for the life of me figure out how you would draw the line. Here's a Smith interview with CNET News.McCain and Feingold, for their part, say this is "misinformation from the anti-reform crowd." Feingold blogs about it here. [More>>washingtonpost.com]

(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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