Iraqi Parliament Debates New US Military Pact
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Agreement, still needs parliamentary approval, described as 'historic' by US Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari after signing ceremony
Iraq's parliament has begun debate on a new military pact with the United States that was approved Sunday by the country's Cabinet. But Radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr, is threatening to torpedo the vote, as Edward Yeranian reports from Cairo.Iraq's parliament began deliberations on a new military pact with the United States, which is to replace a U.N. mandate that expires December 31. The Iraqi Cabinet approved the pact Sunday, after a bitter and protracted debate and the obstruction of several influential Shi'ite leaders.The text of the agreement was read to Iraqi legislators, before the special session of parliament was adjourned. More than two-thirds of Iraq's 275-member parliament attended the session, despite calls from anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to obstruct the debate. The pact is scheduled for a vote on November 24.U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, left, and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, right, shake hands after signing ceremony for security pact in Baghdad, 17 Nov 2008Earlier, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari signed the accord. Ambassador Crocker said the new pact would be the cornerstone of U.S.-Iraqi relations for "economy, culture, science, technology, health and trade."Foreign Minister Zebari addressed the concerns of many Iraqis, saying the government had gotten the best possible deal in its negotiations with the United States.He says most important was the Iraqi negotiating team's skill in arriving at a final date for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. No clear date was set, before this pact, he says, and everyone was putting out conflicting signals, but now the government has hammered out a final accord spelling out that the United States will leave in three years time, at the latest.Firebrand Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has threatened to withdraw his 30 members from parliament in a bid to obstruct that body's vote to approve the deal.But Iraq's revered top Shi'ite authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani gave his blessing to the new pact, several days ago, saying he would not object if it was approved by a substantial majority in parliament.Analyst Paul Salem of the Beirut-based Carnegie Center for Peace in the Middle East describes the logistical achievement of concluding the new Iraqi-US military pact."There was a clear common interest, there, but the great difficulty was the political situation in Iraq, and I think there is still a bit of a challenge," Salem said. "It was an achievement that Maliki was able to get it through the government. That is a good sign he should be able to get it through parliament. It indicates, I think, that Nouri al Maliki himself is more in control of the situation."Neighboring Syria, which has long opposed the U.S. presence in Iraq, slammed the new accord, calling it a "surrender" to U.S. interests.But Iran's judiciary chief, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, said the Iraqi Cabinet acted "very well" in approving the pact. Shahroudi is reportedly very close to Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenai. The Website of Iran's state television quoted Shahroudi as saying he hoped the United States will withdraw from Iraq within the time specified in the deal. A television commentary called it "a victory" for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government.The Iranian government has long expressed opposition to the pact, arguing that a continued U.S. presence in Iraq undermines its own security and stability.Analyst Salem says he does not think Tehran will attempt to scuttle the deal, especially after its previous history of reining in ally Moqtada al-Sadr."Iran has sort of pulled back Moqtada al-Sadr in 2007, and in general the Iranians have been playing the double game of wanting the Americans to stay long enough to secure the situation, but also to be uncomfortable enough to seriously commit to leaving at some point," he said. Al-Sadr is calling for a popular protest against the accord Friday in Baghdad.
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Major Bank Cuts 50,000 Jobs
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Report says Citigroup plans to cut about 14 percent of its workforce, reduce expenses by 20 percent
Men pass by Citigroup center in New York (file photo)The slumping global economy has forced Citigroup, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, to cut 50,000 more jobs worldwide.The banking giant announced Monday it is cutting about 14 percent of its workforce to reduce expenses by about one-fifth. The news followed reports from Tokyo showing Japan has officially slipped into a recession.Japan's economy - the world's second largest - shrank one-tenth of a percent in the three months ending in September. Economic problems are also prompting the head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to say the group needs an extra $100 billion in the next six months to aid struggling nations.Major world economies are taking their own measures to prevent a financial meltdown.In Washington, the U.S. Senate begins work Monday on an aid package for the struggling American auto industry, a major player in the world's largest economy. Analysts say the United States is on the verge of a recession, and 15 European Union nations are in one already.British PM Gordon Brown seen during meeting as part of the G-20 summit on the global financial crisis in Washington, 15 Nov 2008In London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for a coordinated approach to solve the global economic crisis. Mr. Brown and other leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries met in Washington Saturday to discuss what actions to take to stabilize the financial system.Stock prices rose a bit Monday, in Tokyo, but were down in other Asian, European, and U.S. trading.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Obama Says Economy, Security Are Top Priorities
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President-elect tells '60 Minutes' interviewer he intends to do whatever it takes to stabilize economy, restore consumer confidence and create jobs
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama says he intends to do whatever it takes to stabilize the U.S. economy, restore consumer confidence and create jobs. VOA's Purnell Murdock reports from Washington Mr. Obama spoke during his first major post-election interview.President-elect Barack Obama talks to 60 Minutes, 16 Nov 2008Speaking Sunday night on the CBS news program, 60 Minutes, President-elect Barack Obama laid out what are the top priorities his new administration will face. Mr. Obama said he has spent days since the November 4 election planning to stabilize the economy. He credited Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson for trying to remedy the financial crisis and refrained from criticizing efforts by the Bush Administration."We have got an unprecedented crisis, or at least something that we have not seen since the first depression," Obama said. "And I think Hank [U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson] would be the first to acknowledge that probably not everything that has been done has worked the way he had hoped it would work. But I am less interested in looking backward than I am in looking forwards."Mr. Obama said fighting back a deepening recession is more important than balancing the country's budget. He also said it is important to restore faith in financial markets to allow the economy to move forward in a strong way."We have to do whatever it takes to get this economy moving again," he noted. "We are going to have to spend money now to stimulate the economy. And that we should not worry about the deficit next year or even the year after. That, short term, the most important thing is that we avoid a deepening recession."Mr. Obama said he intends to focus on homeowners facing foreclosure. The president-elect said the government should set up a system of negotiation between banks and borrowers to help people stay in their homes.Concerning national security matters, Mr. Obama said he will make the selection of his national security team a top priority because transition periods are times of vulnerability to terrorist attacks."We want to make sure that there is as seamless a transition on national security as possible," Obama stressed.Mr. Obama reaffirmed his campaign pledges to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to work with military commanders to draw down U.S. troops in Iraq. He said he also plans to capture or kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, saying doing so will be a critical aspect of stamping out the terrorist network.Mr. Obama acknowledged meeting with former Democratic primary rival Senator Hillary Clinton last week. But he refused to say whether she was being considered for secretary of state, as has been widely reported.Mr. Obama will be sworn into office on January 20.
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Pirates Hijack Saudi Tanker off Kenyan Coast
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Spokesman for US Navy's Fifth Fleet says pirates seized control of tanker Sirius Star on Saturday
The US Navy says pirates have hijacked a Saudi-owned oil tanker off the coast of Kenya.Undated picture of 'Sirius Star' tanker conducting trial run in South Korea A spokesman for the Navy's Fifth Fleet, Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, says pirates seized control of the tanker Sirius Star on Saturday.In a statement Monday, the Navy says the tanker was attacked 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa. It says the vessel has a crew of 25, including citizens of Britain, Croatia, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia.The Navy says Sirius Star is flagged in Liberia and is owned by Saudi-based Saudi Aramco. The ship can carry about two million barrels of oil.Pirates based in Somalia have made the waters off east Africa some of the most dangerous in the world. Monday's attack occurred well south of where the Somali pirates usually operate.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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Pakistan Intensifies Crackdown on Extremists in Tribal Areas
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Islamabad expects tougher stance by incoming Obama administration
Pakistan is carrying out a sustained military campaign against Islamist extremists in the semiautonomous tribal areas in the northwestern part of the country. Despite the push to flush out Taliban and al-Qaida militants from the region, they continue to carry out attacks and even kill foreigners. Pakistan's new President, Asif Ali Zardari, remains hopeful the military campaign will succeed but he also must convince the Pakistani people the military offensive is in Pakistan's national interest. VOA's Ravi Khanna has the story.
Pakistan's Military CrackdownPakistan is intensifying its military crackdown on Taliban and al-Qaida extremists, entrenched in the semiautonomous tribal areas known as FATA. The militants also have intensified their drive against the Pakistani government, carrying out suicide bombings and other attacks. In recent days, militants kidnapped an Iranian diplomat in Peshawar, after killing his Pakistani guard -- and also shot a Japanese journalist in a failed kidnapping attempt. Earlier, suspected militants killed an American aid worker and his driver in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar. Despite these attacks, Pakistan's new President, Asif Ali Zardari remains determined to continue the military crackdown. "They've realized there is a force here, and there's the people of Pakistan to be reckoned with," he said. "And we've got the people involved and its the people's war against some miscreants"
US Interventions in PakistanPakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (File photo)Yet the continuing US missile attacks on militant hideouts inside Pakistan are proving to be an embarrassment for Mr. Zardari. He says the attacks undermine support for the military offensive. "We feel that it's an intrusion in our sovereignty and which is not appreciated by the people at large and the first aspect of this war is to win the hearts and minds of the people," he said. Experts say the dilemma facing Mr. Zardari is that many Pakistanis do not realize those being targeted by US predator attacks are trying to bring down the country. Haider Mullick teaches at the Joint Special Operations University run by the US Defense Department. "Because the government is not open about their particular dealing with the Americans when it comes to drone attacks in FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Agencies]," Mullick said. "So there is that problem between the people and the government."With a new administration soon to take office, the situation in Pakistan is likely to be a high priority. While in the Senate, incoming Vice President Joe Biden supported a proposal to provide a $1.5 billion annual aid package for the development of Pakistan's northwestern tribal region Haider Mullick says the aid proposal is a good idea. "You have civilian aid directly targeted to development with pre-conditions that Pakistanis are spending it in areas that need it, are doing it to strengthen democracy, to have a better civil-military relationship, and that they are going after the bad guys," he said. And President-elect Barack Obama will be able to help too by reaching out to the Muslim world, says Lisa Curtis at the Heritage Foundation.
Lisa Curtis (File photo)"There has been a wide perception in the Muslim world, particularly in Pakistan, that the US goal in the war on terrorism is a fight against the religion of Islam," Curtis said.. "That is a misperception that the US must defeat, and I think (President-elect) Obama can do that."Haider Mullick says the Obama administration is also expected to push for peace between India and Pakistan. This could help President Zardari to fully concentrate on fighting terrorism on the western border with Afghanistan.
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Bomb Kills Suspected Israeli Crime Boss
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Officials believe rival crime family targeted Ya'akov Alperon in Monday attack
Israeli police officer walks away from car as colleague examines body of victim on passenger side after explosion in Tel Aviv, 17 Nov 2008Israeli police say a car bomb in central Tel Aviv has killed the suspected leader of one of the country's top crime families.Officials say they believe a rival crime family targeted Ya'akov Alperon Monday, in the attack. The blast also slightly wounded two bystanders, including a 13-year-old boy.Media reports say Alperon was returning from a court hearing for his son, Dror, who is facing extortion charges. Witnesses say they heard a huge explosion, and some thought it was a terrorist attack.In June, another car bomb in Tel Aviv killed one of Israel's top criminal lawyers, in what police said was a criminal, not a terrorist, act.The lawyer, Yoram Haham, had represented several notorious mobsters during his career as a criminal lawyer.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Tibetan Exiles Discuss Future of Tibet
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Meeting considers fresh approaches toward China, though armed struggle not an option, says Tibetan parliament-in-exile
Tibetan government-in-exile PM, Samdhong Rinpoche addresses the Dharamshala conference on Tibet, 17 Nov 2008Hundreds of Tibetans from around the world have begun a week-long conference in northern India to discuss the future of their campaign for Tibet.Tibet's exiled spiritual leader - the Dalai Lama - organized the six-day meeting. He said he hopes it will be a forum for open and frank discussion about the situation in Tibet.The Dalai Lama recently expressed frustration with talks between Tibetan and Chinese negotiators to win greater autonomy for the remote Himalayan region. He has long sought what he calls meaningful autonomy for Tibet, instead of the full independence that many younger Tibetan activists demand.Some Tibetan exiles said that his approach has failed and that it should now be replaced by a more aggressive pro-independence stance.Karma Chophel, the speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, said that in a recent survey of 17,000 Tibetans still living in China, most [about 8,000] would follow any decision the Dalai Lama made.Another 5,000 said they wanted Tibetan independence.Tibetan parliament-in-exile Speaker Karma Chophel, left, and deputy- speaker Dolma Gyari in Dharamsala, India, 17 Nov 2008Chophel declined to give any details on how or when the survey was conducted.Chophel has said this week's meeting will look at fresh approaches toward China, but adds that armed struggle is not an option. On Sunday, the Dalai Lama's envoys expressed frustration with the lack of progress in their talks with China. They said the talks confirmed the failure of Beijing to seriously respond to the Tibetan movement's desire for autonomy. China has also said the talks made no progress, adding that it would never accept the Dalai Lama's call for greater autonomy.China took control over Tibet in 1951. Eight years later, the Dalai Lama fled and resettled in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala after a failed uprising against Chinese communist rule.Dharamsala is the site of this week's meeting and also the headquarters of Tibet's government-in-exile.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Democracy in Vietnam Takes Step Back
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Last month, the government proposed a pilot program to allow direct elections for some local leaders, but on Saturday the National Assembly rejected the plan
Vietnamese watched the U.S. elections on November 4 with fascination and enthusiasm. But their attitudes toward introducing more democracy in Vietnam are mixed. Last month, the government proposed a pilot program to allow direct elections for some local leaders. But on Saturday the National Assembly rejected the plan. Matt Steinglass has more from Hanoi. A party hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi to watch the results of the American presidential elections attracted dozens of curious Vietnamese. Do Hoang Anh, who works for an American-funded aid project, said it was the first time she had seen how elections in the United States work. "For outsiders, not really outsiders but foreigners like me, it is very interesting to watch how the political system in the United States works to have the best candidate for the system," she said. Vietnam has its own elections every five years, but the Communist Party is the only legal political party. Voters elect a National Assembly and local People's Councils from a list of party-approved candidates. But the People's Councils are weak and ineffective. The real power lies with bodies called People's Committees. This month, for the first time, the government proposed testing a new idea in dozens of districts. The proposal was to get rid of the People's Councils and hold direct elections for the most powerful official in each district, the chairman of the People's Committee. Tim McGrath is a governance expert with the United Nations Development Program in Hanoi. He says the plans' details were unclear. "At the moment, the People's Committee is approved by the People's Council," he said. "And you remove the People's Councils at district level and it is really not clear what happens then." The proposal did not specify who would be allowed to run for People's Committee chairman. Vietnamese lawyer Cu Huy Ha Vu says the reforms will fail unless they open the elections more widely.Vu says the proposal is a strong move toward democracy, but that anyone who wants to should be allowed to run. Southeast Asia expert Carl Thayer, with the Australian Defense Academy, says the reforms are part of what the government calls "grassroots democracy" measures. Those measures began more than a decade ago, after a wave of protests in Thai Binh province."The ruling party and the regime saw that the behavior of local officials, redirecting development funds, raising all sorts of illegal taxes to feather their own nests, caused popular discontent," said Thayer. "How do you prevent such hot spots from recurring and creating instability?"The answer is to allow more popular input into government. Thayer says Vietnam may also be imitating reforms in China."China is ahead of Vietnam at local levels in directly electing, and Vietnam, although they will always claim they are independent and follow their own course, very closely studies the policies of neighboring countries, including China," he said. But the vice president of Vietnam's Diplomatic Academy, Ngo Quy Ngo, says other countries' experiences teach the Vietnamese to take democratization slowly. "Foreign investment [is] coming to Vietnam a lot. Because why? Because society is very stable. That is why we look outside, we look to other regions. And we see that when society is not stable, nobody wants to come to do business," said Ngo. "For example in Africa, and in some countries in Middle East, even in some Southeast Asian countries." Ngo says Vietnam is introducing democracy step by step. For some Vietnamese, the reforms do not go far enough. The director of Vietnam's Institute for Sociology, Trinh Duy Luan, says more fundamental change is needed. Luan says moving from a representative democracy to a direct one requires a fundamental change of principles, and he does not see what the principle behind the proposed reform is. The Communist Party and by the powerful Ministry of Home Affairs approved the reform plan, but on Saturday, the National Assembly rejected it. National Assembly deputy Dung Truong Quoc says the rejection is almost unprecedented. Quoc says the deputies voted to go ahead with eliminating the elected People's Councils in the pilot districts. But the proposal to elect People's Committee chairmen was postponed. He goes on to say some deputies worried that if the chairman is directly elected, there would be no way to ensure Communist Party control. That, of course, is the point of democratic governance: to increase popular input, rulers must give up some control. And that appears to be a troubling idea to many in Vietnam's Communist Party.
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Australia Unveils Blueprint For Clean Coal
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Operators of a demonstration plant say it is the first of its type in the world and involves burning coal in oxygen rather than air, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions
A unique program to capture carbon at coal power stations has been unveiled in Australia. Operators of a demonstration plant say it is the first of its type in the world and involves burning coal in oxygen rather than air, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports. The pilot program in the northern Australian state of Queensland intends to show that existing power stations can be refitted to burn coal in a far cleaner way. Over the next four years the technology will be developed and officials believe it has the potential to be a gift to the world. The system burns coal in pure oxygen, making it easier for the capture of carbon dioxide, which many scientists say contributes to a warming planet. The carbon dioxide is then liquefied and buried deep underground in a process known as geo-sequestration. Queensland's Mines and Energy minister, Geoff Wilson, says the project could have significant environmental benefits. "In traditional coal-fired power stations, the coal is burnt in air in a big furnace in air and then the carbon is released into the atmosphere," Wilson said. "What is being done different here is that instead of burning the coal in air, it is being burnt in pure oxygen so that the amount of carbon emitted from the coal-fired process is significantly reduced, therefore making it easier to capture with ancillary technology the carbon produced and then to safely store it."Australian and Japanese companies are backing the project, with partial funding from the government in Canberra.The International Energy Agency has said that clean coal technology could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 25 and 28 percent. The environmental group Friends of the Earth is not convinced the technology will be a solution to climate change. A spokeswoman says it has "very limited potential" to cut emissions in the short term. Critics argue the technology is unproven and will not guarantee Australia's coal dependent economy an easy or cheap passage toward a low-emission future. Australia's hunger for cheap coal makes it one of the world's worst per capita emitters of greenhouse gases. Scientists warn that the Australian continent will be especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change and may suffer more severe droughts, floods and storms as a result.Australia's Labor government says tackling the causes of global warming are a major policy goal.
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Google Uses Search Queries to Track Influenza Outbreaks
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Google says Internet searches can help predict when flu epidemics are happening - maybe even sooner than public health officials can learn about them
Every day, millions of people around the world go to the search engine Google to look for information. When they're sick, they look for information about their illnesses. Now Google says all those searches can help predict when flu epidemics are happening - maybe even sooner than public health officials can learn about them using traditional data gathering. Rose Hoban reports. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - or CDC - maintains a surveillance system which talks to doctors across the country every week. The doctors report what percentage of their patients that they have seen have symptoms of the flu. Then epidemiologists at the CDC combine all this data and are able to survey how widespread the flu is. Meanwhile, Google software engineer Jeffrey Ginsberg says Google noticed that during flu season, searches about the flu and its symptoms increased sharply. So he compared five years of Google's data with five years of data from the CDC."We compared this week by week, region by region, and we found that there are some themes which occur whenever flu season is popular," he says. "Effectively, by counting and measuring how relatively popular these things are, we can make accurate estimates of how much flu there is in every state across the U.S.," Ginsberg says. Not only did the Google data match that of the CDC's, but it tracked flu trends in a more timely manner.Americans can use Google Flu Trends to get a clue as to whether influenza has come to their geographic area "It takes about a week or two for all of the doctor reports to trickle in. And so by the time they are collected, another week or two has passed," Ginsberg says. "Because we make our data available so quickly, we were able to detect the start of flu season one to two weeks before the CDC's own data."Using this concept, Ginsberg and his co-workers created an application called Google Flu Trends. At www.google.org/flutrends, Americans can see whether lots of people in their communities are searching for information about the flu - and get a clue as to whether influenza has come to town. Ginsberg says Google plans to gather U.S. data for a year or two. Then he wants to expand the application to help predict flu trends in other countries, too.
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