The conspiracy theorists will love this one. The Tri-Lateral Commission (click on) once called it 'One World Government.' The ultimate in Global Slavery. Then you wonder where Bush gets it from. The Tri-Lateral Commission has never put forward an effort to stem the dangers of Human Induced Global Warming. Their aspirations would not allow for it. One has to wonder the true intellect of people unable to grapple with the reality of Geophysics. The Tri-Lateral Commission is a 'Good Ole Boys Club.'
President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Hu Jintao of China spoke out against Bush's agenda for a unipolar world.
Global Realignment and the Decline of the Superpower (click on)
by Mike Whitney
Global Research, March 9, 2007
The United States has been defeated in Iraq. That doesn’t mean that there’ll be a troop withdrawal anytime soon, but it does mean that there’s no chance of achieving the mission’s political objectives. Iraq will not be a democracy, reconstruction will be minimal, and the security situation will continue to deteriorate into the foreseeable future.
The real goals of the invasion are equally unachievable. While the US has established a number of military bases at the heart of the world’s energy-center; oil output has dwindled to 1.6 million barrels per day, nearly half of post-war production. More importantly, the administration has no clear strategy for protecting pipelines, oil tankers and major facilities. Oil production will be spotty for years to come even if security improves. This will have grave effects on oil futures; triggering erratic spikes in prices and roiling the world energy markets. If the contagion spreads to the other Gulf States, as many political analysts now expect, many of the world’s oil-dependent countries will go through an agonizing cycle of recession/depression.
America’s failure in Iraq is not merely a defeat for the Bush administration. It is also a defeat for the “unipolar-model” of world order. Iraq proves that that the superpower model cannot provide the stability, security or guarantee of human rights that are essential for garnering the support of the 6 billion people who now occupy the planet. The mushrooming of armed groups in Iraq, Afghanistan and, now, Somalia foreshadows a broader and more violent confrontation between the over-stretched American legions and their increasingly adaptable and lethal enemies. Resistance to the imperial order is on the rise everywhere.
AT issue is this. When will all this 'corporate' jostling of the world end? When someone like Walker Bush and Cheney take office the world is forced to deal with war mongers seeking 'overwhelming WEALTH' through overwhelming force. The USA needs to speak about peace and pursuing a global strategy for all countries to participate in that will provide quality of life and environmental safety.
When countries are forced to deal with their national security due to the wrongful use of American military might, their priorities turn from quality of life to protecting borders and securing a nation for their citizens to live within. When assets of a country are taken from the people to strengthen a military, the corporate military contractors are satisfied. It's a vicious negative feedback loop that leads to poor quality of education, medical care, food and housing. We see it even in the USA whereby the newsprint is chronically turning up quality of life issues that have been sacrificed to fuel the illegal war in Iraq.
Russia is spending $190 billion for military equipment. I promise you this would never be an agenda for that country if the USA wasn't misbehaving globally and literally terrifying sovereign governments. Bush is little threat to terrorists but more an ally when governments have to focus on protecting themselves from the USA rather than the real bad guys, namely organizations such as al Qaeda.
The focus of the world has become hideous and dangerous. The troposphere of Earth is under assault as well by the elected Republicans in the USA government. It has to stop. Humanity cannot continue down this path.
This is the year 2007. Global domination? Hello?
RIA Novosti
Russian leader says $190 bln funding for military equipment
09/ 03/ 2007
MOSCOW, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - A total of 5 trillion rubles ($190 billion) will be earmarked to equip the army and Navy with modern arms until 2015, Russia's president said Friday.
Speaking at a military award ceremony in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin said the global situation dictated the need to improve Russia's military structure.
"We cannot fail to notice the constant attempts to resolve international disputes by force, the threat of international conflicts, terrorism, the escalation of local conflicts and the spread of weapons of mass destruction," the president said
He said a considerable part of the funds will be allocated to buy state-of-the-art weapons and hardware, develop science and the defense industry.
"We are trying to integrate the defense industry with the civilian sector of the economy, primarily with the high tech sectors," the head of state said.
He set the top brass the task of focusing on combat training. "The Armed Forces once and for all must resume the [permanent] practice of large scale military exercises, missile launches and remote marine missions," Putin said.
He stressed that Russia consistently promoted the creation of a global security system.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070309/61775591.html
Iran insists on timely nuclear fuel supplies to Bushehr - official
09/ 03/ 2007
TEHRAN/MOSCOW, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - The problem surrounding construction of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant will stop being purely technical if Russia fails to supply nuclear fuel to Iran in March, an Iranian nuclear official said Friday.
Russian specialists are completing the construction of Iran's first NPP under a $1 billion contract signed in 1995, but Russia claimed last month that Iran had an unpaid debt for its construction services, and said that as a result construction might take longer than previously expected.
"As of today, the existing problems with the Bushehr NPP construction are financial and technical. But if Russia fails to deliver nuclear fuel to Iran in March, it will mean the problem is more than just technical," Mohammad Saidi, a deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told Iranian news agency IRNA in Moscow.
He said he hopes the remaining problems will be resolved next week during a Russian delegation visit to Tehran next week.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070309/61778173.html
UN nuclear body suspends half of technical aid programs to Iran
08/ 03/ 2007
VIENNA, March 8 (RIA Novosti) - A 35-nation meeting of the UN nuclear agency moved Thursday to suspend nearly half of technical assistance programs to Iran over its defiance of international nuclear demands.
The Board of Governor of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) voted to shut down or freeze 23 out of 55 projects with the Islamic Republic suspected of pursing nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian program.
The decision falls in line with U.N. Security Council's December 23 sanctions to punish Iran for defying demands that it halt its uranium enrichment activities.
The five permanent Security Council members are discussing additional sanctions against Tehran, which ignored the deadline to end enrichment last month. They could include a travel ban, the freeze of companies' and individuals' assets, an arms embargo and trade restrictions.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070308/61729189.html
Technical aid cuts may affect cooperation with IAEA - Iranian FM
09/ 03/ 2007
TEHRAN, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - A decision by the UN nuclear watchdog to suspend nearly half of technical assistance programs to Iran will not stop, but may affect Tehran's cooperation with the regulator, the foreign minister said.
The Board of Governor of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) voted Thursday to shut down or freeze 23 of 55 projects with the Islamic Republic, suspected of pursing a covert nuclear weapons program.
"Moves like this could affect our cooperation with the IAEA," Manouchehr Mottaki said.
He urged the agency to act within its jurisdiction and refrain from making politicized decisions.
The decision by the 35-nation Board of Governors fell in line with the UN Security Council's decision December 23 to introduce sanctions. Iran is defiant and has consistently claimed it is pursuing peaceful nuclear development since it resumed uranium enrichment in January 2006.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070309/61762700.html
Iran to conduct air defense exercises
06/ 03/ 2007
TEHRAN, March 6 (RIA Novosti) - Iran will conduct air defense exercises Tuesday in preparation for a possible air strike on its uranium ore conversion center at Isfahan, the IRNA news agency said Tuesday.
The international press has in recent months actively discussed the possibility of U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, but almost all key figures in the Bush administration have repeatedly refuted the existence of any plans to do so.
However, U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney has not ruled out a military strike, saying all options were on the table.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors convened Monday at its Vienna headquarters for a five-day session to discuss the possible suspension of at least 20 aid projects in Iran following a recent report by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, which concluded that Iran has ignored a UN Security Council demand to halt its uranium enrichment program and was in fact seeking to expand it.
Iran has been at the center of international concerns since January 2006 over its nuclear program, which some countries, particularly the United States, suspect is geared toward nuclear weapons development. Tehran has consistently denied the claims, saying it needs nuclear power for civilian purposes.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070306/61628603.html
Iran ready to cooperate with IAEA on nuclear dossier - minister>
06/ 03/ 2007
TEHRAN, March 6 (RIA Novosti) - Iran is prepared to answer any questions about its nuclear research posed by the international nuclear watchdog, the foreign minister said Tuesday.
"If the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has any questions [with regard to Iran's nuclear program], they should ask so that a resolution [for the current crisis] can be found through dialogue," Manouchehr Mottaki said.
The IAEA Board of Governors convened Monday at its Vienna headquarters for a 5-day session to discuss possible suspension of at least 20 aid projects in Iran following the recent report by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei that Iran had ignored a UN Security Council demand to halt its uranium enrichment program and was seeking to expand it.
Iran has been at the center of international concerns since January 2006 over its nuclear program, which some countries, particularly the United States, suspect is geared toward nuclear weapons development. Tehran has consistently denied the claims, saying it needs nuclear power for civilian purposes.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070306/61622013.html
Iran and the U.S.: a delicate balance between war and peace
21/ 02/ 2007
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov) - On February 23, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency will deliver a report to the UN Security Council on Iran's compliance with Resolution 1737, adopted last December.
The resolution instructed Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment activities by February 21. If the report says that Tehran has ignored these demands, the Security Council will take additional measures to toughen its sanctions.
Meanwhile the stand-off with Iran is developing beyond its nuclear program. The United States is forcing events. According to The New Statesman, the forces deployed in the northwest part of the Indian Ocean and in the Persian Gulf would allow the U.S. president to destroy Iran's political, economic and military infrastructure within a few hours.
Now it has become obvious that Iran's nuclear program is not the main problem in its relations with the U.S. Washington has made it clear that Tehran will not dominate the Middle East, will not control the Persian Gulf and that the U.S. will protect its interests in the region and will not abandon it under any circumstances. Washington has also made it clear that it is not going to tolerate Tehran's policies toward Iraq. All this has been announced as George W. Bush's new strategy.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070221/61079202.html
Russia hails demolition of dividing wall in Nicosia - ministry
09/ 03/ 2007
MOSCOW, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia approved the Cypriot authorities' decision to demolish a wall running through the heart of capital Nicosia dividing the Greek and Turkish parts of the island, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.
Cyprus has been divided into an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey occupied the north.
"Moscow considers this decision a step toward building trust between the two sides," Mikhail Kamynin said.
The UN Cyprus mission was closed following the Greek Cypriots' rejection of the 2004 summer referendum to unite the two parts of the island according to Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General, scenario.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070309/61778969.html
NATO has yet to discuss U.S. missile shield in Europe - official
07/ 03/ 2007
BRUSSELS, March 7 (RIA Novosti) - NATO has not yet discussed U.S. plans to deploy elements of its missile defense system in Europe, a spokesman said Wednesday.
The United States recently announced plans to build a radar installation in the Czech Republic and a missile base in Poland in the next five years. The U.S. insists that the European missile shield is designed to counter possible attacks from "rogue states," including Iran and North Korea.
James Appathurai said that NATO would consider the political implications of the move in the near future.
He also said that the United States has shown "full transparency" in announcing the future deployment of its missile shield in Europe, and informed members of the Russia-NATO Council about its plans in advance.
Moscow has strongly objected to the proposed deployment of the shield in Central Europe and Central Asia, and has long been concerned about the further eastward expansion of NATO.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070307/61706203.html
No U.S. missiles on Armenian soil - deputy FM
09/ 03/ 2007
YEREVAN, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - Armenia's deputy foreign minister said Friday the Caucasus state was not considering the possibility of deploying elements of a U.S. missile defense system on its soil.
A senior Pentagon official said March 1 that the United States would like to deploy a radar base in the post-Soviet Caucasus, without specifying in which country. The statement further strained relations with Moscow already unnerved by earlier reports of U.S. plans to deploy elements of a missile shield in Central Europe.
"I would like to make an official statement that we have not received any inquiries or proposals on that score from the U.S. or NATO commanders," Arman Kirakosyan said.
He said Armenia's Foreign Ministry was unaware whether such proposals had been made to Georgia and Azerbaijan, the ex-Soviet states in the region that Russia has singled out as the most probable sites for a U.S. radar.
Both Georgia and Azerbaijan have said they know nothing of the plans.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070309/61762726.html
Foreign Ministry blasts U.S. human rights report on Russia
09/ 03/ 2007
MOSCOW, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Foreign Ministry categorically rejects the U.S. State Department's annual country report on human rights practices that finds Russia backsliding on human rights, the ministry's official spokesman said Friday.
Among other conclusions, the report said that the Russian Federation has a weak multi-party political system and a poor human rights record, specifically in the continuing internal conflict in and around Chechnya.
In addition, it said prison conditions are severe and often life threatening, that law enforcement suffers from rampant corruption, arbitrary arrests and detention, that media freedom is on the decline, and that non-governmental organizations are systematically harassed
Mikhail Kamynin said the report's section regarding Russia is "biased, politicized and confrontational in many aspects."
"The politicization of human rights problems leads not to the resolution of existing problems, but to the devaluation of principles and goals of international cooperation in this sphere," he said.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070309/61760914.html
Moscow questions U.S. conviction of Russian diplomat in UN
19:19
08/ 03/ 2007
MOSCOW, March 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Foreign Ministry questioned Thursday a New York court's conviction of a former UN official, Russian Vladimir Kuznetsov, for involvement in a money laundering scheme.
Official Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said the trial over Kuznetsov, "who has flatly denied his guilt, triggered a lot of questions."
Kuznetsov, who chaired the UN' Budget Oversight Committee, has been convicted by a New York court for laundering money he received from a UN procurement official, who had taken bribes from companies seeking UN contracts, through an offshore company in 2000.
Kamynin said then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had not had enough grounds for lifting diplomatic immunity from Kuznetsov before his arrest in the United States September 1, 2005. He said it had been done in several hours' time without counseling with the General Assembly and Russia.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070308/61733726.html
Natalia Vodianova: the Cinderella of the Volga
08/ 03/ 2007
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Anatoly Korolev) – Natalia Vodianova, one of the world’s top ten models, currently lives in New York City.
She is married to Justin Trevor Berkeley Portman, half-brother of the 10th Viscount Portman, a lord born and bred, and a millionaire to boot.
Therefore, her children—her son Lucas and baby daughter Neva—indisputably belong to the British aristocracy.
Unbelievably, this glamorous Russian lady was a provincial vegetable vendor a mere seven years ago. Her unmarried mother had a hard time raising three daughters, one of whom had cerebral palsy. Being hungry, sometimes on the verge of starvation, was Natalia’s lot in childhood and adolescence—something she took for granted. When she turned 16, she weighed less than 50 kilos with a height of 176 cm (five feet ten).
That was the garden in which the exotic orchid grew—a nymphet if there ever was one, in whose countenance delicacy blended with obstinacy.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070308/61731032.html
China Daily
Storm tide affects 640,000 in E. China
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-03-09 20:10
JINAN -- The strongest storm tide to hit the northeast China coast since 1969 has left three people dead, seven missing and affected 640,000 people, government sources said Friday.
More than 60,000 people were evacuated ahead of the storm tide which hit the coast of Shandong Province on Sunday and Monday, said the provincial civil affairs department.
Three people were killed and seven are still missing in the storm tide in Weihai City.
The storm tide, with gusts of up to 100 kilometers per hour, also damaged more than 2,100 vessels and destroyed 600 houses in coastal areas of the province.
More than 35,000 hectares of crops were affected and losses of almost two billion yuan (US$250 million) were reported in the province.
The 4,360 fishermen marooned in the East China Sea by the storm tide have resumed work as conditions allowed, the Ministry of Communications said on its website on Friday.
The fishing crews were stranded in 559 vessels off the coast of Jiangsu Province when a strong storm tide appeared on Sunday. With winds gusting at up to 80 km per hour and waves six to seven meters high, the vessels were unable to return to harbor.
Vessels from the East China Sea Rescue Bureau and the East China fleet of the Navy of the People's Liberation Army, and passing ships, helped protect and guide the stranded fishermen. No casualties were reported.
The China Marine Rescue Center has officially announced end of the rescue operation.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-03/09/content_824260.htm
China warns distrust tests N.Korea nuclear talks
(Reuters/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-03-09 19:15
BEIJING - Deep distrust is challenging progress towards ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, China's envoy to six-party disarmament talks said on Friday, following discussions with North Korea on a nascent deal.
North Korea's chief negotiator for the North Korea-Japan talks Song Il-ho (C) is surrounded by media as he arrives for departure at the Noi Bai airport in Hanoi March 9, 2007. [Reuters]
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, ring-master in the talks on Pyongyang's nuclear future, said he had hopes of progress in implementing a February 13 agreement offering North Korea aid and improved security in return for first steps to dismantling its atomic facilities within 60 days.
But Wu warned that steps forward would not be easy as the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia wrangle over how to proceed.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-03/09/content_824252.htm
Olympic tickets to go on sale in April
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-03-09 08:32
Tickets for the 2008 Olympics will go on sale next month, but the buyers of tickets for some hot events will have to be decided by random draw, organizers said.
A girl stands alongside a Beijing Olympic Games poster in Shanghai.[newsphoto]
Chinese nationals and foreigners residing in China can now register to book tickets online after the Beijing Organizing Committee (BOCOG) launched the official ticketing website (www.tickets.beijing2008.cn/) on Thursday.
BOCOG released full details on ticket prices on the site and said ticket sales would be in three phases starting from April 2007.
The most expensive tickets will be for the opening ceremony on the evening of August 8, which will cost 5,000 yuan (US$646). The cheapest tickets for that event will be 200 yuan (US$25.8).
Ticket prices for the closing ceremony will range from 150 yuan (US$19.4) to 3,000 yuan (US$388).
Tickets to competition events will cost from 30-1,000 yuan (US$3.88-129.3), with the men's basketball final the highest priced.
BOCOG said last year that more than seven million tickets will be available for sale, with at least half to go to local fans and 58 percent of all the tickets would cost 100 yuan (US$12.75) or less, in line with efforts to make the Olympics affordable to average Chinese citizens.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/2008/2007-03/09/content_823408.htm
China may relax limits on individuals investing abroad
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-03-09 16:57
BEIJING -- China is mulling over whether to allow individuals to make direct investments in overseas assets, the foreign exchange regulator disclosed on Thursday.
"More channels will be open to individuals to make overseas investment as the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) raised the annual quota for individuals buying foreign currency from US$20,000 to US$50,000 last year," said Hu Xiaolian, director of SAFE.
The administration will soon increase the total investment quota for qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII) as the current investment sum is only 50 million U.S. dollars short of the US$10 billion-limit, she said.
She gave no indication of the new quota figure, only saying that it should be in line with a balanced international payment.
Currently, Chinese individuals can only buy investment products provided by banks and fund management companies if they want to invest abroad under a Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme.
Hu said the product scope would be broadened this year to meet customer demand.
She also disclosed that the authority was researching the arbitrage system between the A-share and H-share markets, but a timetable had yet to be set due to its complexity.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-03/09/content_824184.htm
Paulson: Sino-US relations 'globally important'
By Wang Zhenghua (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-09 08:30
SHANGHAI: With China's double-digit growth leading the country to become a leader of the global economy, the Sino-US relationship has become more important than ever before.
This was the main theme of US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's address to the Shanghai Futures Exchange yesterday. Paulson's speech was a highlight of his two-day tour of China, which is intended to pave the way for the second round of Sino-US strategic economic dialogue in Washington in May.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-03/09/content_823406.htm
China to form state forex investment company
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-03-09 13:41
China is preparing for the establishment of a foreign exchange investment company directly under the cabinet, to make better use of its massive foreign exchange reserve, Finance Minister Jin Renqing said on Friday.
"We will draw from international successful experience, such as the Temasek Holdings of Singapore, in the management of foreign exchange investment," the minister said at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing parliament annual session.
The new company will be under the direct leadership of the State Council, or the cabinet, instead of the Finance Ministry as it was reportedly to be, Jin said.
China's foreign exchange reserve reached 1.066 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of last year. The State Council has decided to separate the management of foreign exchange reserve and foreign exchange investment, Jin said.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-03/09/content_823928.htm
Stocks drop for first day in four
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-09 14:40
Shanghai's stocks fell for the first time in four days as some investors judged the gains excessive compared with earnings prospects. China Vanke Co paced the decline among stocks that had risen the most.
"It makes sense for the market to have a break after the recent rally," said Fan Dizhao, who helps manage the equivalent of US$1.8 billion at Guotai Asset Management Co in Shanghai, according to Bloomberg.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of domestic stock exchanges, lost 0.4 percent to 2915.95. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller one, dropped 0.5 percent to 759.41.
China Vanke, the nation's biggest property developer, lost 0.40 yuan (5 US cents), or 2.5 percent, to 15.42 yuan. The stock has more than tripled over the past year. China United Telecommunications Corp, which controls the nation's second-largest cell phone operator, fell 0.16 yuan, or 3 percent, to 5.19 yuan. The shares have gained 90 percent in the past year. Shanghai Automotive Co, the listed unit of China's largest automaker, retreated 0.58 yuan, or 4.3 percent, to 12.79 yuan, trimming its gain to 56 percent this year.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-03/09/content_824068.htm
Most people want interest rate to increase
By Zhang Yu (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-09 08:39
As China's economy faces mounting inflation, many believe that increasing the interest rate is the solution.
In a poll conducted on China Daily's website, www.chinadaily.com.cn, 61.33 percent of the 1,130 respondents said the central bank "should raise the interest rate to cope with inflation", 26.99 percent disagreed, and the rest did not know.
Although Yi Gang, assistant governor of the People's Bank of China, said in February that the central bank "is very concerned about the interest rate but hasn't taken it as a regulative target", many market researchers predicted the interest rate would be raised by 27 basis points and at least once in 2007.
Wang Zhihao, a senior economist with Standard Chartered, said the central bank is likely to raise the benchmark lending rate by 27 basis points in the second quarter.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-03/09/content_823430.htm
Iraq's al-Maliki tours Baghdad streets
(AP)
Updated: 2007-03-09 20:08
BAGHDAD - Iraq's prime minister strolled Baghdad's streets and visited police checkpoints Friday to showcase security ahead of an international conference aimed at stabilizing the war-torn country with help from its neighbors.
A woman passes by a vehicle checkpoint as an Iraqi policeman checks the identity of a driver in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, March 8, 2007. [AP]
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki toured a neighborhood and chatted with people, one of his advisers said. But the tour - during a weekly four-hour vehicle ban every Friday for the Muslim holy day - also pointed out Baghdad's inherent risks.
Al-Makiki's office did not release any advance details of the outing or even say where he visited because of safety concerns.
Security was heightened across Baghdad as international envoys prepared to arrive for Saturday's conference, which would be held at Iraq's Foreign Ministry just outside the heavily fortified Green Zone.
"Additional security measures have been taken to protect the officials participating in the conference and to secure the location of the meeting," said Brig. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-03/09/content_824259.htm
UN: Rape widespread in Darfur conflict
(AP)
Updated: 2007-03-09 19:49
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Women in Darfur continue to be subjected to rape by all sides in the brutal conflict in western Sudanese region, the UN human rights chief said Thursday - International Women's Day.
Louise Arbour said she has about 75 human rights officers monitoring abuses in Darfur, and that many women were being attacked as soon they ventured out of refugee camps to carry out essential chores.
"Women are forced to go out of the camp to collect firewood," Arbour said at a meeting in The Hague of female leaders in international law. "They believe, they tell us, that if the men went out they would be killed, and that's why it's the women who expose themselves and they get raped."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-03/09/content_824255.htm
Delicacies from minorities
(sina.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-03-09 09:35
There are 55 minorities in all in China, which have their own cultures and life styles.
Things we talk most frequently are their delicacies made by unique methods, especially the household foods from southern minorities, they are very popular among Beijing and Shanghai, two China's big cities. Do you know where are those delicacies hiding?
Yi Ethnic Minority
Yi people like prepare big meals during the holidays and festivals. They usually put all attentions on their "Yi New Year" dinner. This is why their traditional foods are yummy and attractive. The reprehensive dishes of Yi food are Tuotuo Meat (salted meat), Mutton Sweetbread Soup, and Qiaoba (Baked buckwheat Pancak)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/citylife/2007-03/09/content_823581.htm
Japan to probe WWII military brothels
(AP)
Updated: 2007-03-09 06:43
TOKYO - Under intense pressure from Asia and the United States, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday that ruling party lawmakers will conduct a fresh investigation into the Japanese military's forced sexual slavery of women during World War II.
Abe triggered outrage in China, North and South Korea and the Philippines last week by saying there was no proof the women were coerced. He said Monday that Japan will not apologize again for the Japanese military's "comfort stations."
Abe also faces pressure from the United States, where the House of Representatives is considering a resolution urging Japan to formally apologize for its wartime brothels. Japanese leaders apologized in 1993 for the government's role, but the apology was not approved by Parliament. Abe said Thursday that he "basically stands by the 1993 apology."
The government is ready to cooperate with the investigation, Abe said Thursday, amid calls for a review from conservatives who question many of the claims by victims and others who say the government kidnapped the women and forced them into sex slavery.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-03/09/content_823128.htm
Give up pursuit of 'Tibet independence'
By Li Fangchao (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-09 07:23
Chances for Dalai Lama's return to Tibet Autonomous Region are slim unless he totally abandons his secessionist activities of "Tibet independence", a senior Tibetan official said yesterday.
Qiangba Puncog, government chairman of Tibet, denounced Dalai Lama's staunch "pro-independence" stance, at a news conference on the sidelines of annual NPC session yesterday.
"Unless Dalai Lama completely gives up the pursuit of 'Tibet independence' both in idea and deed, the chance for him to return is slim," he said.
He said the central government had never shut the door to talks with Dalai Lama through his personal representatives.
"But we will never recognize his so-called government-in-exile," he said.
"The attitude of the central government is clear-cut. He must completely give up his pursuit of 'Tibet independence'; he must recognize that Tibet is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory since the ancient times, and he must also recognize that Taiwan is a part of China."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-03/09/content_823175.htm
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