AFP_ENG_19970423.0686

JAKARTA, April 24 , 1997 (AFP)

Indonesian military promises reward to locate rebel leader

The Indonesian military has promised a reward to anyone who providing information about a notorious rebel leader in the easternmost Irian Jaya province, a report said Thursday.

Major General Johny Lumintang, responsible for security in the province, said in the province's capital of Jayapura Wednesday that the military will provide "an attractive reward" for information on the whereabouts of Kelly Kwalik, one of the leaders of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM).

"If anyone knows anything, please let me know so that he could be captured immediately," Lumintang said without elaborating as quoted by the state Antara news agency.

The OPM has been seeking an independent state in Irian Jaya, which shares a border with Papua New Guinea, since the late 1960s.

Kwalik's group in January last year kidnapped 26 people, including seven European scientists, in the mountainous jungle area in central Irian Jaya.

They gradually released most of the hostages until the remaining nine, including seven foreigners, were freed four months later following a military operation in May. Two Indonesian hostages were killed in the operation.

Central Irian Jaya is mostly covered by mountainous jungles and experiences heavy rainfall and temperatures as low as ten degrees Celcius (minus 12 degrees Fahrenheit).

promised

providing

said

said

provide

knows

let

know

captured

said

elaborating

quoted

seeking

shares

kidnapped

released

freed

following

operation

killed

operation

covered

experiences


AFP_ENG_20061201.0595

PARIS, Dec 1 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - ADDS more quotes from statement, background ///

European plane maker Airbus is to develop its A350 passenger jet, parent company EADS announced on Friday, ending months of speculation and handing a boost to the European aerospace industry.

The board of EADS met in Amsterdam to discuss the A350 programme and decided to "give the go ahead" for the commercial development of the aircraft, a statement from EADS said.

"The A350 XWB, together with the A330/A340 aircraft family, will meet a market that requires some 5,700 new aircraft being delivered in the next two decades, with more than 1,000 billion dollars in value," the statement said.

The twin-engine Airbus A350 XWB has been designed to compete with two Boeing airliners, the existing 777 and the future 787 Dreamliner, which has proved highly popular with airlines.

Initially drawn up in 2005, the Airbus A350 design was sent back to the drawing board after prospective clients complained of insufficient passenger capacity and excessive fuel consumption. It re-emerged in July this year as the A350 XWB. XWB stands for extra wide body.

Financing of the project is considered by analysts to be a critical issue and, tellingly, Airbus was vague about the details of how the 10-billion-euro (13-billion-dollar) project will be paid for.

EADS and Airbus, which is a 100-percent-owned unit of EADS, are financially stretched because of cost over-runs with the Airbus A380 superjumbo project, which is running two years behind schedule.

As a result, EADS stressed on Friday that the decision on the A350 was linked to the "full implementation" of a vast restructuring plan called Power 8, which aims to cut costs throughout the business.

It said the A350 would be financed "predominantly from the company cash flows".

Nevertheless, EADS and Airbus are still expected to need other sources of capital to finance the project, the costs of which are forecast to be about double the initial estimate.

Other sources could be the capital markets, in the form of a share issue or a bond issue, but might also be from European governments, namely Britain, France, Germany or Spain.

The involvement of governments, which are able to grant low-interest loans or guarantees, is a prickly issue given the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and the European Union.

The United States has filed a complaint at the World Trade Organisation alleging the government loans to Airbus amount to illegal state aid.

The European Union has countered with its own case, alleging that Boeing also benefits from illegal state aid, particularly in the form of uncontested military contracts.

"The funding requirements going forward will be proactively managed in line with company policy to preserve a strong balance sheet," EADS said.

"EADS expects to spread the development costs of the full XWB family over the years 2007 to 2014, with the bulk of the spending occurring in 2010-2013."

develop

announced

ending

handing

boost

met

discuss

decided

give

development

said

meet

requires

delivered

said

designed

compete

proved

drawn

sent

complained

re-emerged

stands

considered

vague

paid

stretched

running

stressed

decision

linked

aims

cut

said

financed

expected

need

finance

forecast

involvement

grant

dispute

filed

alleging

countered

alleging

benefits

going

managed

preserve

said

expects

spread

spending


XIN_ENG_20051108.0011

JAKARTA, Oct. 8 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Indonesia unhappy with China Open drawing

The Indonesian squad questioned the recent drawing of the International Badminton Federation (IBF), which could see early battles among Indonesian top shuttlers in the China Open badminton tournament, local media reports said Tuesday.

According to the drawing, Indonesia's top duo Candra Wijaya/Sigit Budiarto could face compatriots Flandy Limpele/Eng Hian if both pairs made it to the second round, said the Media Indonesia daily.

The drawing, released in the IBF official website, may also see all Indonesian affairs in the third round between Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Simon Santoso in men's singles and Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan and Luluk Hadiyanto/Alven Yulianto in men's doubles.

"We will send a letter to the IBF (to ask) why many our players meet in the early stages," head of Indonesian coaching team Rudy Hartono was quoted as saying.

questioned

drawing

see

battles

said

According

face

made

said

released

see

doubles

send

ask

meet

quoted

saying


AFP_ENG_20061230.0254

WATFORD, England, Dec 30 , 2006, 2006

Heavy rain stops Watford-Wigan match

The English Premiership match between Watford and Wigan at Vicarage Road on Saturday was abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch.

Referee Steve Tanner called a halt to proceedings about 15 minutes into the second half with the scores level at 1-1 as rain lashed down.

Emile Heskey had given the visitors the lead before Tamas Priskin headed an equaliser for Watford.

abandoned

called

proceedings

lashed

given

headed


XIN_ENG_20051107.0216

KABUL, Nov. 7 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Big fire in Kabul destroys building of Revenue Department

A big fire happened Monday night in Afghan capital Kabul destroyed the building of the Revenue Department, but left no casualty till now, a local official said.

The fire happened at about 6 p.m. has destroyed almost the whole two-floor building of the Revenue Department. The keepers of the nearby clothes shops were hurried to take all the goods out of the shops in order to prevent from the further destruction of the fire.

"Afghan firefighters and police have come here soon after the breaking of the fire, and firefighters from ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) also came just now. There is a good cooperation between the two sides, and we will try to control the fire as soon as possible," the provincial police chief of Kabul Gen. Jamil Junbish told Xinhua.

"The reason of the fire is still unclear, but probably because of the electric shortage. Since it's already after the working time, so there is no casualty, but the property loss will be big especially some official documents will be lost," the police chief added.

When asked about the possible reason of someone set the fire intentionally to destroy documents of the corruption record, Junbish said "our forces arrived the place on time and took most of the important documents from the archives already".

Until the time of report, the fire is still going on, but the sudden small rain will probably help the work of killing the fire.

happened

destroyed

left

said

happened

destroyed

hurried

take

prevent

destruction

come

breaking

came

cooperation

try

control

told

big

lost

added

asked

set

destroy

said

arrived

took

going

help

killing


XIN_ENG_20061120.0329

DAKAR, Nov. 20 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Chinese, Senegalese experts hold seminar on fight against malaria

Chinese and Senegalese health experts and officials gathered here on Monday to discuss the prevention of malaria, the selection of anti-malaria drugs as well as the financing of and cooperation in the fight against the disease.

At the opening ceremony of the three-day seminar, Zhou Zhaoming, the commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Dakar said this event, sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, was a concrete action taken by China to carry out its promise to help Africans fight malaria.

The seminar took place just two weeks after the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, during which Chinese President Hu Jintao announced a series of measures to assist Africa in combating malaria, he said.

Abdoulaye Ly, advisor of the Senegalese Health Ministry, attended the opening ceremony on behalf of the health minister. He said that China had accumulated enormous experience and made remarkable progress in its efforts to control the malaria epidemic.

Ly said the seminar offered a vital opportunity for China and Senegal to draw up strategies in their anti-malaria cooperation and share experiences in preventing and curing the disease.

China has been leading in the field of developing artemisinin-based anti-malaria medicines, which have been proved very effective in curing the disease. According to Chinese experts participating in the seminar, the number of people infected with malaria in China currently stood at 35,000, compared to the more than 60 million recorded in 1949.

Malaria, an infectious disease characterized by cycles of chills, fever, and sweating, is caused by the parasitic infection of red blood cells by a protozoan of the genus Plasmodium, which is transmitted by the bite of an infected female anopheles mosquito.

Though it is largely preventable, the disease kills some 3,000 children a day worldwide and claims nearly a million lives in Africa every year, according to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO). More than 90 percent of the world's malaria cases occur in Africa.

gathered

discuss

prevention

selection

cooperation

fight

ceremony

said

sponsored

taken

carry

promise

help

fight

took

summit

announced

measures

assist

said

attended

ceremony

said

accumulated

control

said

offered

draw

preventing

curing

leading

developing

proved

curing

participating

stood

recorded

characterized

caused

transmitted

kills

claims

occur


AFP_ENG_20061212.0398

BERLIN, Dec 12 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - ADDS background, Olmert comment on Iran ///

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday reiterated his country's longstanding position that it will not confirm or deny having nuclear weapons.

"Israel will not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons to the region. That is our policy and it has not changed," he told a press conference after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"There is no need to explain it any further."

Olmert sparked an uproar on Monday when he made remarks in an interview with a German television station that were interpreted by some as a break with Israel's traditional nuclear "policy of ambiguity".

He told N24 Sat1 television: "Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map.

"Can you say that this is the same level, when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as France, America, Russia and Israel?"

Th apparent blunder came less than a week after Israeli officials rounded on the incoming US defense secretary Robert Gates for the same slip-up, and drew calls from across the political spectrum in Israel for Olmert to resign.

The prime minister's spokeswoman however immediately denied that his words had signalled any departure from established policy.

Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity dates back to the early 1960s, to an agreement struck with the United States and France.

Under this policy, the Jewish state would not carry out any nuclear tests and would stay silent on the issue in order to prevent a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

Observers have warned however that Olmert's statement could undermine efforts by Israel and the West to prevent its arch-foe Iran from pursuing its bitterly contested nuclear power program.

But they also said that the prime minister's remarks were unlikely to change the way the world views the Jewish state's nuclear capabilities because it is widely assumed to have an atomic arsenal.

Olmert on Tuesday described Iran's hardline regime as "a danger" for all of the western world. Israel and the West fear that Tehran's nuclear power programme masks an attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

reiterated

confirm

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introduce

changed

told

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made

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told

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say

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came

rounded

drew

resign

denied

signalled

departure

dates

agreement

struck

carry

stay

prevent

warned

undermine

efforts

prevent

pursuing

contested

said

change

views

assumed

have

described

fear

programme

attempt

develop


XIN_ENG_20051127.0195

LONDON, Nov. 27 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Middlesbrough draw with West Brom 2-2

Yakubu scored a second-half penalty to earn Middlesbrough a 2-2 draw with visiting West Brom in the English Premier League on Sunday.

The Nigerian converted his spot-kick after Paul Robinson was adjudged to have fouled substitute Szilard Nemeth.

Middlesbrough took the lead when Mark Viduka's effort with the outside of his boot left keeper Tomasz Kuszczak stranded.

West Brom equalized through Nathan Ellington's rifled shot and then led 2-1 when Nwankwo Kanu fired home from Robinson's pass.

The final result was a fair one after both sides created ample chances and provided great entertainment on a rain-drenched day in Middlesbrough.

The first half-chance fell to the home side and resulted in a goal.

Viduka, who has often been criticized for not putting in enough effort during matches, proved what a valuable asset he is to Steve McClaren's squad, with a goal that would have scored 10s for artistic merit.

"Kanu is my vote for man of the match - he was fantastic."

Former Boro boss Bryan Robson knows the importance of having a player with Viduka's guile and ingenuity in the squad.

In Kanu, he has that, although the Nigerian's strike rate is far lower than that of his Middlesbrough counterpart.

But Robson has kept faith with the former Arsenal striker throughout the season for that little bit extra he gives the team.

His selection of Kanu for Sunday's match paid dividends six minutes after Viduka's strike.

First, the Nigerian directed Quedrue's failed clearance into the path of Ellington, who punished the Frenchman's mistake.

And shortly after the break, he gave the visitors the lead, picking up Robinson's square ball, selling Middlesbrough's defenders a dummy before passing the ball past keeper Mark Schwarzer.

Robinson, who had come back into the first team following a three-match suspension, also had a hand in the next goal - although it went to Middlesbrough.

As the cross from Boro midfielder Fabio Rochemback came in, Robinson climbed over Nemeth, which resulted in referee Peter Walton pointing to the spot.

Yakubu converted to silence the vocal Baggies travelers.

The Nigeria striker should have given Boro the win, but failed to round keeper Kuszczak, while Jonathan Greening went close with a low effort that shaved Schwarzer's left-hand post late in the game.

scored

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led

fired

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created

provided

entertainment

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putting

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matches

proved

scored

vote

knows

lower

kept

gives

selection

paid

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directed

failed

punished

mistake

break

gave

picking

selling

passing

come

went

came

climbed

resulted

pointing

converted

given

failed

round

went

effort

shaved

game


XIN_ENG_20051130.0265

MOSCOW, Nov. 30 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Russian defense minister says CSTO expects cooperation with NATO

The members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) expect to cooperate with NATO in tackling common threats and challenges, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday.

The CSTO has long been interested in cooperation with NATO in countering modern threats that both organizations face, such as drug trafficking, Ivanov was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying at a meeting of the group's defense ministers' meeting in Moscow.

"We shall get nowhere by definition unless we take joint measures," Ivanov said.

The CSTO links Russia with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would discuss cooperation with the Western alliance on behalf of the CSTO at a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council next week, Ivanov said.

expect

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tackling

said

interested

countering

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meeting

get

take

said

links

discuss

cooperation

meeting

said


AFP_ENG_20051215.0400

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 , 2005

US industrial output up 0.7 percent

US industrial output expanded by 0.7 percent in November over the month before as the energy industry rebounded from damaging hurricanes, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.

The increase was just ahead of analysts' forecast for a rise in production of 0.5 percent, and compared with an upwardly revised gain of 1.3 percent in October.

"Further recoveries in petrochemical and energy-related industries affected by the hurricanes again contributed significantly to the increase in output in November," the Fed said in a statement.

Powerful hurricanes in late August and September played havoc with US oil drilling and refining activities in the Gulf of Mexico and on the southern coast.

Manufacturing output rose 0.3 percent in November, the Fed said. Output at mines surged 4.8 percent in November after falling in the previous four months, while production at utilities was up 0.3 percent.

Output of consumer goods fell 0.8 percent but construction was up 0.5 percent.

expanded

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said

played

havoc

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said

surged

falling

fell

construction


XIN_ENG_20061111.0114

BEIJING, Nov. 11 , 2006 (Xinhua)

launched in Beijing

The World of Chinese, China's only bilingual magazine for the overseas Chinese language learners, starts publication in Beijing on Sunday .

Co-produced by the Beijing Center for the Promotion of Chinese Language Teaching Overseas and the Commercial Press, the Chinese-English bimonthly is mainly published overseas, said Zhu Xiaojian, chief editor of the magazine who is also a professor with the Beijing Normal University.

"We hope the magazine will help the people, who are interested in China and want to learn Chinese, overcome the hardship of learning the so-called one of the most difficult language in the world," said Zhu.

"What's more, we believe the magazine will set up a bridge for foreigners to get to Chinese culture and the people who speak the language," he said.

With the rapid development of Chinese economy and the increasing exchanges between China and the rest of the world, a "fever of learning Chinese language" is spreading worldwide.

An investigation with the Beijing Center for the Promotion of Chinese Language Teaching Overseas estimated 30 million of overseas Chinese learners.

"Now, the whole world is wondering why China is developing so fast and so well. If people can not understand China's history or they are not aware what the 1.3 billion people like, hate, pursue and think, they won't find the answer," said Xu Jialu, a distinguished Chinese linguist and vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

"I hope the World of Chinese will become a key to their questions," said Xu.

The magazine includes more than 30 columns, such as Popular New Words and Phrases, Enigmatic Chinese Characters, China Album and Life style,which are taken in charge of by prestigious Chinese teaching experts and foreigners who know Chinese well, according to Zhu.

"In fact, besides overseas learners, foreigner in China and those Chinese who are interested in English are also are target readers," Zhu said.

In addition, the Chinese-Japanese and Chinese-Korean versions of the magazine is under planning, he said.

starts

published

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learning

said

believe

set

get

speak

said

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increasing

learning

spreading

investigation

estimated

wondering

developing

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aware

pursue

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find

said

hope

become

said

includes

taken

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according

foreigner

said

said


AFP_ENG_20051215.0526

OTTAWA, Dec 15 , 2005

US ambassador hints at lumber dispute resolution with Canada

US ambassador David Wilkins offered an olive branch in a lumber dispute with Canada Thursday during a speech at a Toronto luncheon, on the heels of a war of words between Ottawa and Washington.

"I understand and appreciate Canada's position on softwood lumber. You have made legitimate points. I am very encouraged, as you should be, by recent developments in the past six weeks," Wilkins said, after earlier rebuffing Prime Minister Paul Martin's criticisms of US environmental policies.

Wilkins was referring to a decision in November by the US Department of Commerce to comply with a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panel decision ordering the United States to reduce punishing duties on Canadian softwood lumber imports.

The US Commerce Department said it would recalculate its so-called countervailing duty on softwood lumber from Canada at a rate of 0.8 percent, down from 16 percent.

A separate "antidumping" duty of about four percent is not affected.

"Once that process is completed, assuming there is no (US) appeal from it, that would result probably as early as the end of January that there would be no tariffs on softwood," Wilkins said.

"It's got to play itself out, ... but that's the direction it's headed," he said, in the first sign that the United States might concede defeat in this trade dispute.

Wilkins said Washington still hoped for a negotiated settlement after Canada's January 23 election.

Canada walked away from the bargaining table in August to protest Washington's handling of the issue.

Martin said he would need a sign from Washington, such as refunding some four billion US dollars in duties collected so far, before returning to the negotiating table.

"I would submit to you that showing of good faith is there. It doesn't get any clearer than that -- the commerce department's recent decision to slash the tariffs, to render a decision that would result in the elimination of tariffs probably as early as January," Wilkins said.

Washington could still make an "extraordinary challenge" to the NAFTA panel ruling under the trade pact that would take additional time.

Meanwhile, Ottawa unveiled a plan in recent weeks to provide an additional 1.5 billion Canadian dollars (1.2 billion US dollars) in aid for lumber companies and communities affected by the trade dispute, a move that quickly drew criticism from US lumber groups.

offered

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appreciate

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said

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duty

affected

process

completed

assuming

appeal

result

said

got

play

headed

said

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defeat

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said

hoped

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election

walked

protest

handling

said

need

refunding

returning

submit

get

decision

slash

render

decision

result

elimination

said

make

ruling

take

unveiled

plan

provide

affected

dispute

drew


XIN_ENG_20061119.0021

HANOI, Nov. 19 , 2006 (Xinhua)

URGENT: Russia, US sign agreement on WTO deal in Vietnam

Russia and the United States Sunday signed a bilateral agreement on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the sidelines of the ongoing Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperaiton Economic Leaders' Meeting in Hanoi.

signed

agreement

accession


WSJ891027-0133
 = 891027
 891027-0133.
 Dividend News:
@  Cambrex Corp.
 10/27/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 CBAM
 DIVIDENDS (DIV)

   CAMBREX Corp., Bayonne, N.J., declared its initial quarterly of five cents a share, payable Dec. 1 to stock of record Nov. 10.
The maker of specialty chemicals has about 5.9 million shares outstanding.
The company said the move recognizes its strong financial position.
Although profits were " squeezed" in 1989, mainly as a result of higher raw-material costs, the company said it is confident about future earnings and cash flow for 1990 and beyond.
In national over-the-counter trading yesterday, Cambrex shares rose 50 cents to close at $13 a share.

declared

payable

record

said

move

recognizes

position

squeezed

said

confident

earnings

flow

trading

rose

close

$13 a share


AFP_ENG_20061212.0328

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 , 2006, 2006

US trade gap falls to 58.9 billion dollars

Cheaper oil prices drove the US trade deficit down sharply to 58.9 billion dollars in October, from 64.3 billion dollars in September, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The figure was a big surprise to analysts, who had expected the US shortfall in goods and services to come to 63 billion dollars in October.

The deficit fell to its lowest point since August 2005, and its monthly decline of 8.4 percent was the largest since December 2001.

drove

said

expected

come

fell

decline

was


AFP_ENG_19970418.0186

BANGKOK, April 18 , 1997 (AFP)

Thai share prices down 0.2 percent

Thai share prices fell 0.2 percent Friday as investors factored in expectations of poor earnings in first quarter company reports due out next week, brokers said.

The broad-based Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index dropped 1.53 points to finish at 700.23 points, while the selected SET-50 index was off 0.19 points at 53.29 points.

fell

reports

said

dropped

finish


XIN_ENG_20061129.0322

BAGHDAD, Nov. 29 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Urgent: Sadr bloc suspends role in government, parliament

The political bloc loyal to Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr Wednesday announced suspension of their role in the parliament and government to protest Iraqi prime minister's meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush.

announced

protest

meeting


XIN_ENG_20061129.0338

OTTAWA, Nov. 29 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Philippines airliner makes emergecy landing in Vancouver

A Manila-bound jet carrying more than 280 passengers made an emergency landing at Vancouver International Airport shortly after take-off Wednesday morning.

Airport officials told media the Philippines airliner had just left the airport when a problem developed with one of its wing flaps.

The pilot decided to turn back and dumped fuel into the ocean on the way to Vancouver.

Fire and ambulance crews were dispatched as a precaution but the aircraft landed without incident.

It is unclear when the flight will resume.

carrying

made

told

left

developed

decided

turn

dumped

dispatched

landed

resume


WSJ891026-0153
 = 891026
 891026-0153.
 Diversified Investment Group
 10/26/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 DING STSS
 TENDER OFFERS, MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS (TNM)
 PHILADELPHIA

   Diversified Investment Group Inc. said it agreed to be acquired by Star States Corp. for stock valued at $13.75 a share, or about $24.4 million.

   Diversified, the holding company for Fidelity Federal Savings amp Loan Association, said the agreement also gives Star States the option to acquire 588,300 of Diversified's 1,774,326 shares outstanding "under certain circumstances."

   The acquisition would give Wilmington, Del.-based Star States access to the Pennsylvania market.

   The agreement is subject to regulatory approval and resolution of lawsuits brought by certain Diversified holders in connection with the proposed merger.

said

agreed

acquired

valued

said

agreement

gives

option

acquire

acquisition

give

access

agreement

subject

approval

resolution

brought

merger


AFP_ENG_20061214.0793

BRUSSELS, Dec 15 , 2006, 2006

=(PICTURE)=

European Union leaders meet Friday for the last time as a group of 25, amid agreement to slow down the process of enlargement until the bloc has the institutional tools it needs to support new members.

With Bulgaria and Romania poised to become the 26th and 27th EU countries in just over a fortnight, the leaders have decided that their entry into Europe's rich club will be the last for several years.

Turkey's candidacy was slowed down this week, with a freeze put on further discussion on around a quarter of the policy chapters it must negotiate to realise its 40-year quest for European integration.

The stand on newcomers will also have major repercussions for Croatia, the most advanced of the current EU hopefuls, and Macedonia, which has made tremendous reform strides just five years after narrowly averting a civil war.

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, whose country holds the bloc's presidency until the end of the month, said that the leaders had agreed that EU hopefuls should be obliged to more strictly respect the rules.

"It was strongly underlined that the pace of accession depends on the acceeding countries ability to comply with the rules," he said, late Thursday after a summit dinner focused on future expansions.

"The criteria must be strictly applied to," he said.

A key to the problem has been the failure of the European constitution, endorsed by EU leaders but which was rejected by French and Dutch voters last year, sparking the bloc's worst-ever crisis.

The constitution was meant to streamline the EU's institutions as the bloc grows, but while there have been tentative moves to discuss alternatives, no real solution to the blueprint for Europe's future is expected before 2009.

Vanhanen said that the leaders, in confidential talks, had agreed that there was no point in throwing away the painstakingly assembled text.

"We cannot throw out the entire text and start again from scratch," he said. "Most member states would like to retain, if not the treaty as such, at least as much of the substance as possible."

European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said the leaders were moving toward a "new consensus" on enlargement that will make it tougher for prospective members to join, particularly until the institutions are reinforced.

"I see after this very deep discussion, a new consensus emerging on enlargement," he said after the heads of state and government had laid out their visions of where Europe's final frontiers should lie.

"We understand the need to combine the strategic vision of enlargement -- why enlargement is so important for Europe -- with the capacity of integration of the European Union."

Germany, which takes over the EU presidency from Finland on January 1, is expected to revive talks on the constitution, though probably not using that term, and plot a roadmap for its acceptance.

However no substantive decisions are expected before France takes over Europe's helm in the second half of 2008.

Looking well down the enlargement road, the leaders also prepared to renew a commitment to bring Serbia into their fold, amid a tense election campaign there dominated by Kosovo's hopes for independence.

The EU froze talks on closer ties with Belgrade in May over its failure to cooperate fully with the UN war crimes tribunal, but Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said Serbia could expect an outstretched EU hand on Friday.

"Everyone does agree that the Serbian case is a very important regional and continental case," he said. "We'll express ourselves tomorrow in a Serbia-friendly way."

The leaders will endorse the conclusions of their summit after 10:00 am (0900 GMT) with the Finnish presidency holding a closing press conference at around 1:00 pm (1200 GMT).

meet

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conference


AFP_ENG_19970415.0471

NEW DELHI, April 15 , 1997 (AFP)

Hindu nationalists to romp home in fresh Indian elections : poll

A nationwide poll has indicated that India's main opposition party of Hindu nationalists would be elected to power if fresh elections were held now, the United News of India said Tuesday.

The poll, conducted between April 2 and 8 across 16 of India's 25 states, predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People's Party, BJP) and its allies would get between 237 and 253 seats in the 545-seat parliament.

More than half of the 13,000 registered voters interviewed said they preferred mid-term polls instead of a new coalition government.

India's United Front alliance, ousted in a parliamentary vote of confidence last week after its estranged ally, the Congress (I) party suddenly withdrew support after 10 months, would suffer in fresh elections, the poll indicated.

India's 545-seat lower house is almost evenly split between the BJP, the single largest party with 162 seats, the Congress and the United Front, an alliance of 13 leftist, centrist and regional parties.

The BJP and its allies need about 70 additional members to form a government on their own.

The poll said the Front would get between 150 and 164 seats, a "1.1 percent negative swing," while the Congress would only win between 112 and 126 seats against its current position of 139.

India's political crisis, however, ended Tuesday with the Congress pledging to support a new Front-led alliance under a new leadership.

The party withdrew support from the Front on March 30, accusing Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda of pandering to Hindu nationalists and accusing him of incompetence.

Deve Gowda has offered to step down to regain Congress backing for the Front and prevent mid-term elections but the BJP favours polls, saying any fresh coalition government would not last more than six months.

indicated

elected

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preferred

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favours

saying

last


XIN_ENG_20051126.0127

NAIROBI, Nov. 26 , 2005 (Xinhua)

China informs UN about environmental disaster caused by toxic spill

The Chinese government on Saturday informed the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) about the environmental disaster in northeast China caused by a toxic spill, pledging to provide update on the incident to the international community on a daily basis.

Zhang Shigang, China's deputy permanent representative to UNEP, met with the UN agency's Deputy Executive Director Shafqat Kakakhel on Saturday afternoon and gave him a thorough briefing on the disaster.

"Today's briefing is just the first step by the Chinese government in its efforts to keep the international community informed about the environmental disaster. In the coming days, the Chinese government, through its permanent representative office at the UNEP, will provide updated information about the development of the issue on a daily basis," Zhang said.

The disaster was caused by a chemical plant explosion in Jilin province, northeast China, on Nov. 13, which heavily polluted a regional river called the Songhua River, Zhang said, adding that the major pollutants from the accident had been identified as benzene, aniline and nitrobenzene.

"The Chinese government has been taking the incident very seriously. The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) , together with other central competent departments, has sent a team of experts and high officials to the site to coordinate the relief efforts and ensure the damages reduced to the minimum," Zhang said.

According to the latest information released by SEPA on Saturday, the belt of toxic pollutants flowing downstream in the Songhua river is off the city of Harbin about 80 km. A total of 13 monitoring sites have been established along the river and three monitoring vehicles have been doing real time examination.

informed

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said

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examination


AFP_ENG_20061214.0516

MOSCOW, Dec 14 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - ADDS background, explanation of contract ///

Russia has given the go-ahead to increased spending for the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project led by US oil giant ExxonMobil to a total of to 19.3 billion dollars (14.7 billion euros), the Russian energy ministry said on Thursday.

The original budget was for 12.8 billion dollars but extra costs amounted to 6.5 billion dollars because of work on the Chayvo reserves in the northeastern part of the island of Sakhalin in far eastern Russia, the ministry said.

The private consortium operating the project in far eastern Russia must consult with the Russian government about project budgets under terms of a production sharing agreement (PSA) that governs the project.

The Russian state only receives a share of profits from the project once the participating companies, which include Russian, Chinese and Indian energy firms, have recouped their investment.

"The work programme and the estimate of the expenses for extraction and management of December 2006 has been approved," the ministry said in a statement.

Sakhalin-2, another project on the island that is operated by Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell, ran into trouble with the Russian government when it increased budget costs from 10 to 20 billion dollars in 2005.

Sakhalin-2 also operates under a PSA with the Russian state.

given

increased

spending

led

said

amounted

work

said

consult

governs

receives

recouped

investment

estimate

approved

said

operated

ran

increased

operates


XIN_ENG_20051126.0004

KATHMANDU, Nov. 26 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Cases of violence against women increasing in Nepal: report

The number of cases related to violence against women is increasing by the year in Nepal, a report submitted to the on-going campaign of "Ensure zero tolerance for violence against women" disclosed here on Saturday.

According to the report released by the Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD), a non-governmental organization, crime against women in Nepal, especially domestic violence, increased to 922 in 2003-2004 from a total of 569 reported cases of domestic violence in the year of 2002-2003.

Similarly, trafficking and child marriage has increased from the previous year, the report stated.

The toll on women and children is invariable heavy due to the conflict situation as also the fact that higher percentages of the displaced are also women, the report said.

Thousands of women are unable to report to police or are deprived of litigation either due to absence of courts in the countryside due to conflict or because they fear further atrocities from the perpetrators, the report added.

Meanwhile, several United Nations institutions here pointed out that Nepal should strive to ensure that every woman has equal citizenship right, the right to equal property, and equal access to migration and labor.

Jointly organized by United Nations Population Fund and FWLD, the campaign from Friday will last 16 days in marking the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women.

violence

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disclosed

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released

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campaign

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marking


AFP_ENG_19970430.0156

NEW DELHI, April 30 , 1997 (AFP)

Lightning kills six in India

Six people were struck dead by bolts of lightning across India following heavy rains, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Wednesday.

Two shepherds and a farmer who had taken shelter under a tree during a storm Tuesday night were hit by lightning and died instantly in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Several sheep near the tree were also charred to death.

Three women were killed after lightning struck late Tuesday in the western state of Maharashtra, PTI said. It was followed by heavy rains which inundated several low-lying areas and damaged crops.

struck

bolts

rains

reported

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hit

died

charred

killed

struck

said

followed

rains

inundated


AFP_ENG_20061223.0297

ASHGABAT, Dec 24 , 2006, 2006

=(PICTURE)=

Turkmenistan was due Sunday to bury its president-for-life, Saparmurat Niyazov, who died suddenly after two decades of ruling this gas-rich Central Asian nation, leaving no obvious heir.

Niyazov, who died Thursday at 66 from a heart attack, according to officials, was to be buried at the family mausoleum in his home village of Kipchak.

Police barred the road between the capital Ashgabat and Kipchak on Saturday and workers could be seen tidying the route where the funeral cortege for the self-declared Turkmenbashi, or Leader of all Turkmen, will pass from 0700 GMT.

Among the foreign presence will be Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend the funeral, Turkmen state television said Saturday, and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan will also be present.

The United States will be represented by Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of state for south and central Asian affairs.

Although few major foreign leaders will attend the ceremonies, Washington, Moscow and other major world capitals are watching closely as the succession process unfolds in the desert state, which contains huge natural gas supplies and occupies a strategic corner of energy-rich Central Asia.

The caretaker president, deputy prime minister Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, appeared on television late Friday promising the ex-Soviet republic would remain "stable." He also reassured foreign customers of Turkmen gas that deliveries would not be interrupted.

However, analysts predict a power struggle.

In one early sign, Berdymukhammedov on Friday sacked the parliamentary speaker, Ovezgeldy Atayev, who under the constitution was eligible to become interim leader. He has been charged with driving his son's fiancee to attempt suicide by forbidding their marriage because they were of different clans.

In a 21-year reign, Niyazov ruthlessly crushed dissent, declared himself president-for-life, and instituted an intense personality cult, naming months after himself and his mother, erecting gold statues of himself, and having his image adorn everything from banknotes to vodka bottles.

However, many ordinary Turkmens appeared to be in genuine shock at his death, saying they were lost without his guidance and fearful for the generous social policies he instituted.

The state funeral was to begin with the lying in state of Niyazov's body at Ashgabat's presidential palace at 0400 GMT.

The corpse would then be taken to the Kipchak mausoleum, a building constructed by French contractors and already containing the remains of Niyazov's father, who was killed in World War II, and his mother, who died in a huge earthquake in 1948, orphaning the future Turkmen leader in his childhood.

Alongside the mausoleum is Central Asia's biggest mosque, also French-built at a cost estimated at 100 million dollars (76 million euros).

The national mourning period will last until December 30.

due

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last


XIN_ENG_20051125.0145

BEIJING, Nov 25 , 2005 (Xinhua)

examinees

Some 365,000 people around China have applied to attend the national civil servant qualification exam for 10,282 posts available next year in central government departments, the Ministry of Personnel said Friday.

This means roughly 35 candidates will compete for one post in 97 departments of the central government, said a ministry official.

According to the official, the exam this year, scheduled for Saturday in 347 exam spots across the country, for the first time calls off limitations, such as household registration, gender, appearance and marriage status, so as to offer equal opportunities for examinees.

The exam fee is exempted for examinees from impoverished families.

Inspection teams sent by the central authorities will be touring the exam spot for supervision, the official said.

The result of the exam will be released at the website of the Ministry of Personnel in late December.

With severe employment pressure, civil service has become one of most popular professions in the country over recent years for its stable incomes, lofty social status and perfect welfare insurance.

applied

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said

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said

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sent

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said

released

become


AFP_ENG_20051214.0321

GAZA CITY, Dec 14 , 2005

URGENT  Several wounded as car explodes in Gaza

Several people were wounded Wednesday when a car exploded in the Gaza Strip during an apparent Israeli air strike, Palestinian witnesses said.

wounded

exploded

strike

said


XIN_ENG_20051120.0032

WELLINGTON, Nov. 20 , 2005 (Xinhua)

NZ's greenhouse gas emissions increase

New Zealand is among the countries bucking an international trend of declining greenhouse gas levels.

Local media said Sunday that a report from the United Nations Climate Centre shows New Zealand's emissions have increased 22.5 percent since 1990.

Worldwide there has been a 5.9 percent drop over the same period.

New Zealand has the eighth highest percentage greenhouse gas increase among the nations listed in the report.

Nearly half its emissions come from the agriculture sector.

However there has been a huge increase in the level of discharges from transport since 1990.

The figures appear in a report from the United Nations body, ahead of the international climate change conference in Montreal later this month.

New Zealand is among the worst offenders, behind Spain, Monaco, Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Canada and Australia, said the report.

bucking

said

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said


PRI19980205.2000.1890
 NEWS STORY

 The US is bolstering its military presence in the gulf,
 as President Clinton discussed the Iraq crisis with the one
 ally who has backed his threat of force, British prime
 minister Tony Blair.
 The World's Nancy Marshall reports on Mr. Blair's current
 visit to Washington and the special relationship between the
 two leaders.

 President Clinton rolled out the red carpet for prime
 minister Blair, welcoming him not only as a close ally, but a
 close friend.
 Posing for photographers with Clinton, Blair pledged to stand
 united with the president against Iraq, warning Saddam Hussein
 that the threat of force is real.
 The British aircraft carrier invincible is now patrolling the
 Persian Gulf alongside three US vessels.
 Washington and London are virtually alone in warning Iraq of
 military strikes if it does n't back down on the weapons
 inspection issue.
 President Clinton says he and Blair will stand together not just on Iraq but also on arresting the terrorists suspected of
 blowing up Pan Am flight one oh three over Scotland.
 For The World I'm Nancy Marshall in Washington.

bolstering

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alone

warning

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back

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arresting

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blowing


XIN_ENG_20061130.0297

DOHA, Nov. 30 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Starting line-up of Thailand women' soccer against China at Doha Asiad

Following is the starting line-up of Thailand against China in the preliminary round of the women's soccer tournament at the Doha Asian Games here on Thursday:

Forwards: Sukunya Peangthem, Pitsamai Sornsai

Midfielders: Junpen Seesraum, Wajee Kertsombun, Siriporn Mungkhala, Sunisa Srangthaisong

Defenders: Darut Changplook, Ngoendi Phumphuang, Suphaphon Kaeobaen, Anootsara Maijarern

Goalkeeper: Waraporn Boonsing

starting


XIN_ENG_20061123.0061

BEIJING, Nov. 23 , 2006 (Xinhua)

years

The Chinese government plans to build 10,000 resources-efficient villages in 500 counties during the 11th Five Year Plan period (2006-2010), a senior agricultural official said on Thursday.

Wei Chao'an, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, said the initiative would provide clean energy produced with methane gas to 80 percent of households.

At least 80 percent of the crop waste would be used to produce the methane, Wei told a national meeting in central China's Henan Province on helping farmers raise living standards through efficient use of resources.

He said animal waste would also be used to make the gas.

Other recommended clean energies included solar power, small hydro-electric stations, biological resources, and wind power.

Wei said the ministry aimed to raise the efficiency of pesticide use five to 10 percentage points and encourage villages build facilities to dispose of domestic garbage.

The central government would offer funding support to those projects as "seed money", but he gave no further details.

The government has vowed to build a Socialist countryside characterized by sound environment where people enjoy better lives and harmony with nature.

plans

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provide

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characterized


AFP_ENG_19970402.0123

HANOI, April 2 , 1997 (AFP)

Vietnam president warns against dangers of individualism (picture) by Frederik Balfour

President Le Duc Anh opened Vietnam's National Assembly Wednesday with an attack on individualism, calling it a danger which strikes at the heart of communism and threatens development and national security.

"We must not allow selfish individualism to run counter to the interests of the state," the 76-year-old president said in a speech at the opening day of the National Assembly, appearing for the first time in public since suffering a stroke in November.

"Individualism is tending to develop in various forms in state enterprises and offices, causing huge damage to solidarity, state property and is a hurdle to national development," he said.

"Individualism reduces people's confidence in the Party and state, discourages some foreign investors," said Anh, a conservative who observers expect will be replaced in September.

He quoted Ho Chi Minh, the founder of modern Vietnam who remains the symbol of ideological purity, as saying, "Individualism is a wicked enemy to socialism. Revolutionary people must annihilate it."

The remarks were echoed by Le Kha Phieu, who as head of the Interior Ministry is responsible for internal security. He linked individualism to corruption, drugs and even weaknesses in the banking system, which has been rocked by scandal and mishap this year.

"Banks lend people money but they use the money on gambling and on spending on parties, that is individualism," he told reporters.

Although two key pieces of banking legislation have been postponed until the next National Assembly session in the fall, observers said the performance of the central bank, and especially its governor Cao Si Kiem, will come under heavy criticism.

"Kiem is going to take a lot of heat for the problems in the banking system, and it looks quite likely that he will go," said one Hanoi- based businessman.

The session will also make amendments in the penal code, introducing stiffer penalties for corruption and drug trafficking, production and abuse.

"We are sick of talking about corruption, now is the time to take action," Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet told reporters.

Earlier this week, a Ho Chi Minh City appeals court upheld the death penalty for four people convicted of embezzling nearly 40 million dollars in state funds.

The assembly is expected to also pass laws introducing a value added tax to replace the existing turnover tax, a law on corporate income tax and a trade law.

It will pass a law on the election of representives that will enlarge the National Assembly from 395 to 450 members when elections for the next five-year term are held on July 20. It will also include provisions allowing candidates to conduct their campaigns in the media.

Communist party representation, which now makes up 92 percent of delegates, could fall to about 80 percent, said Vu Mao, the National Assembly office chairman. Up to seven of 10 present deputies will be replaced, he said last week.

opened

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held

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allowing

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makes

fall

said

replaced

said


XIN_ENG_20051105.0099

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 5 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Malaysian PM urges people to continue to help Pakistan quake victims

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Saturday urged Malaysians to continue donating for the victims of the October earthquake in Pakistan.

The fund-raising organizers, including the media, who had stopped their collections, should reopen their funds to the public donations, he told reporters at an "open house" activity in Kepala Batas, a town in the state of Penang.

Badawi made these remarks in response to news reports that Pakistan President Pervez Musharaff was disappointed with the level of international aid to his country, where a strong earthquake claimed lives of over 73,000 people.

Musharaff had said the aid his country received from the international community was far below that contributed to the victims of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina that devastated the gulf coast of the United States.

Badawi said Malaysia had offered significant aid to Pakistan, including medical goods, medical teams, and contributions of materials by Malaysian companies operating in Pakistan. He said that the current international aid to Pakistan was still not enough due to the extent of the earthquake destruction.

He urged the international community to continue giving assistance to Pakistani people to reduce their suffering.

urged

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destruction

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continue

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reduce


AFP_ENG_20051210.0156

DAMASCUS, Dec 10 , 2005

Syria says has completely cooperated with Hariri probe

Syria has fully cooperated with a UN probe into the murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, a high-ranking Syrian official said Saturday, three days before an enquiry into the killing is presented to the UN.

Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said that there is "no reason for the Security Council to take measures against Syria", despite an interim report implicating Syrian officials in Hariri's killing in a February bomb blast.

"Syria has fully cooperated with the international commission of enquiry ... to cut the road to those who would try to use this enquiry to political ends against Syria and the region," Muallem told journalists outside Damascus.

"Nothing could justify Security Council measures against Syria," he said, adding that "Syria is innocent of this crime."

The interim report criticised Damascus for failing to cooperate fully with the probe, leading to a unanimous Security Council resolution in October calling on Syria to completely cooperate or face further action.

Probe chief Detlev Mehlis, whose mandate expires on December 15, is due to present his report to the UN on Tuesday. Lebanon has asked for a six-month extension to the probe's mandate, which the UN is due to consider.

cooperated

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face

action

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due

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asked

consider


AFP_ENG_19970403.0431

JERUSALEM, April 3 , 1997 (AFP)

Israel mulls plan to protect Palestinian laborers from closures

An Israeli minister called Thursday for a review of the government's policy of imposing closures on the Palestinian territories following anti-Israeli violence, saying the measure may harm national security.

Labor Minister Eli Yishai told Israel radio that travel restrictions routinely slapped on Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip in response to attacks damage the Palestinian economy and fuel anti- Israeli militancy.

The closures, imposed to prevent militants from infiltrating to carry out attacks against the Jewish state, keep tens of thousands of day laborers from jobs inside Israel, notably in the farming and construction sectors.

"There has never been a Palestinian with a license to work in Israel who has carried out a terror attack," Yishai said. "We need to give them a living and not cause more and more unemployment,"

"As the closure endures, it doesn't contribute to security and maybe even harms it," he said.

According to Israeli press reports, Yishai's ministry began discussions Thursday on a plan to allow the continual flow of Palestinian laborers into Israel even during security clampdowns.

The plan would include deep security checks by Israeli and Palestinian intelligence agencies to pick those laborers eligible for Israeli work permits. The goal would be to grant at least 80,000 permits valid even during troubles, the Haaretz newspaper said.

Yishai's comments came as the United Nations issued a report saying that closures of the West Bank and Gaza Strip had cost the Palestinian economy more than six billion dollars since 1992.

The UN study found that the gross national product (GNP) for the West Bank and Gaza Strip fell 8.6 percent during 1996, when the territories were sealed almost continually following a spate of Islamic suicide bombings in Israel.

Israel started the practice of closing the territories in response to unrest in 1993 under the leftwing Labor party. The damages caused by the closures include lost wages for day laborers, lost trade revenues and uncollected taxes.

The number of Palestinians authorized to work in Israel hit a peak of 139,200 in 1992, falling to zero for much of 1996.

Since the latest closure imposed after a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv on March 21 which killed three Israelis, only three thousand Palestinians are currently authorized to work in Israeli-contolled industrial zones adjacent to the territories.

Discussion of ways to ensure a steady supply of Palestinian laborers coincides with efforts by Israel to wash its hands of foreign workers who cause the country more crime and social problems than Palestinian employees, who return home each night.

"The replacement of foreign workers with Palestinian workers is good for the peace process and the economy, and will prevent all the difficult social problems," labor ministry director general Yigal Ben- Shalom told Haaretz.

Currently, Israel employs about 100,000 foreign workers legally and about 70,000 illegally, in addition to the Palestinians.

called

review

imposing

saying

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imposed

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employs


XIN_ENG_20061126.0263

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 27 , 2006 (Xinhua)

S. African basketball coach dies during match

South African basketball suffered a tragic loss when leading coach and former Serbian national player Nikola Jokanovic died while coaching his team in a Premier Basketball League (PBL) match in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Jokanovic, who was the player coach of Tshwane Suns, collapsed in a dressing room shortly after leading his side off the court in the match against the Olympians, the Basketball South Africa (BSA) said in a statement.

Efforts by medics to revive him failed and he was declared dead by medical staff.

BSA President and PBL vice chairman Vusi Mgobhozi expressed his shock at the death of Jokanovic and conveyed his condolences to his family, friends and the Serbian community in South Africa.

Tshwane Suns' Dion Karagiannis said that his team lost more than a coach in Jokanovic.

"He was passionate about basketball and lived for the game. We want to express our heartfelt condolences to everyone who were associated with Nikola," Karagiannis said.

suffered

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was

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match

said

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declared

expressed

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said

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lived

want

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said


APW19980227.0489
 NEWS STORY
 02/27/1998 08:13:00

w2394 Cx1f wstm-
u i Cx13  Cx11  BC-OAU-Rwanda     02-27 0216

 BC-OAU-Rwanda

OAU to investigate Rwandan genocide

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) _ The Organization of African Unity
said Friday it would investigate the Hutu-organized genocide of
more than 500,000 minority Tutsis in Rwanda nearly four years ago.
Foreign ministers of member-states meeting in the Ethiopian
capital agreed to set up a seven-member panel to investigate who
shot down Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana's plane on April 6,
1994.
The assassination touched off a murderous rampage by Hutu
security forces and civilians, who slaughtered mainly Tutsis but
also Hutus who favored reconciliation with the minority. It also
reignited the civil war.
The panel also will look at the exodus of about 2 million Rwanda
Hutus to neighboring countries where they lived in U.N.-run refugee
camps for 2 1/2 years.
The investigation will consider the role of ``internal and
external forces prior to the genocide and subsequently, and the
role of the United Nations and its agencies and the OAU before,
during and after the genocide,'' the OAU said.
The panel will be based in Addis Ababa, and will finish its
investigation within a year, it said. It is to be funded by
voluntary contributions from within and outside the continent.
(aa-kjd)

(PROFILE
(WS SL:BC-OAU-Rwanda; CT:i;
(REG:EURO;)
(REG:BRIT;)
(REG:SCAN;)
(REG:ENGL;)
(REG:AFRI;)
(LANG:ENGLISH;))
)

AP-NY-02-27-98 0813EST

said

investigate

genocide

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agreed

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ABC19980304.1830.1636
 NEWS STORY

 Finally today, we learned that the space agency  has  finally taken a giant
 leap forward. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Collins  will  be named
commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia for a mission in December. Colonel
 Collins has been the co-pilot before, but this time she's the boss. Here's
 ABC's Ned Potter.

 Even two hundred miles up in space, there has been a glass ceiling. It wasn't
 until
 twenty years after the first astronauts  were chosen that NASA finally included
 six women, and they were all scientists, not pilots. No woman has actually
 been in charge of a mission until now.

 Just the fact that we 're doing the job that we 're doing makes us role
 models.

 That was Eileen Collins, after she flew as the first ever co-pilot. Being
 commander is different. It means supervising the rest of the crew in
 training and leading them in flight. It is, in short, the kind of
 management job many American women say they've had to fight for. In space,
 some say female pilots  were held up until now by the lack of piloting
 opportunities for them in the military.

 Once Colonel Collins  was picked as a NASA astronaut, she followed a
 normal progression within NASA. Nobody hurried her up. No one held her
 back.

 Many NASA watchers say female astronauts  have become part of the agency's
 routine. But they still have catching up to do two hundred and thirty four Americans  have flown in space, only twenty six of them women. Ned Potter, ABC News.

learned

taken

named

commander

mission

co-pilot

boss

chosen

included

in

doing

makes

models

That

flew

held

lack

picked

astronaut

followed

progression

hurried

held

say

become

part

catching

flown


AFP_ENG_19970405.0096

ANKARA, April 5 , 1997 (AFP)

Death of rightwinger to affect Turkish politics by Umit Enginsoy

The death of veteran ultranationalist opposition leader Alpaslan Turkes will shake up right-wing politics in Turkey, as his party is likely to disintegrate with his demise, political analysts said Saturday.

Turkes, leader of the Nationalist Action Party, a small but influential political group, died here on early Saturday after a heart attack. He was 80.

His party failed to win a single seat in parliament in Turkey's December 1995 general election, as it received only 8.5 percent of the vote, which was short of the required 10 percent national threshold.

Turkes was expected to be replaced by his son, Tugrul, as party chief, according to political analysts.

However, The Istanbul-based liberal daily Hurriyet said Nationalist Action was unlikely to survive without the veteran politician, who was seen by his followers as the "great leader of the Turkish world."

In the likely event of the party's disintegration, its potential votes could be shared by the pro-Islamic Welfare Party of Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, the conservative True Path Party of Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller, the conservative Motherland Party and the ultra-rightwing Grand Unity Party, it said.

"Turkes had a very important role in Turkey's political life, I deeply regret his demise," President Suleyman Demirel said in a statement.

"Turkes was one the great political leaders in Turkey's recent history, we had been involved in close cooperation," Ciller told reporters.

Turkes was born in Nicosia, Cyprus, in 1917 and graduated from the Military Academy in 1938, joining the army.

Involved in ultranationalist movements since the early 1940s, Turkes was one of the senior organisers of a military coup in 1960, which eventually led to the hanging of toppled conservative prime minister Adnan Menderes.

Turkes was twice deputy prime minister in right-wing coalition governments between 1975 and 1978.

He was imprisoned and barred from active politics after another military coup in 1980, but regained his political rights in a 1987 referendum.

His Nationalist Action supported a centrist coalition between True Path and the left-wing Republican People's Party between 1991 and 1995.

Following the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991, Turkes supported the creation of a union of Turkic countries with the participation of Turkey and the mainly Moslem former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Turkes was also the virtual leader of the ultranationalist Grey Wolves organisation, whose members were involved in bloody fighting with extreme leftist groups in the late 1970s, prompting the 1980 military coup.

Married with seven children, Turkes was the author of several books promoting Turkish nationalism.

Supporting modern Turkey's pro-secular tradition, Turkes in recent months had criticised efforts by Erbakan's ruling Welfare to introduce Islamic practices in social life.

death

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introduce


XIN_ENG_20061116.0329

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 16 , 2006 (Xinhua)

UN Security Council welcomes peace efforts in northern Uganda

The UN Security Council adopted a presidential statement Thursday that welcomed peace efforts between the Ugandan government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) with an aim to end the long-running conflict in northern Uganda.

The statement called for peace and security to be restored and the rule of law re-established in the areas affected by the fighting and that "those responsible for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are brought to justice."

It welcomed the ongoing peace talks between the Ugandan government and the LRA, which have fought a brutal civil war for 20 years, urging the rebel group to immediately release all women, children and other non-combatants that it holds.

In the statement read out by council President Jorge Voto- Bernales of Peru, the council also welcomed the renewal early this month of the cessation of hostilities agreement struck between the two sides in August and pledged to continue to monitor developments closely.

Council members praised the Ugandan government for setting up a committee to monitor efforts to relieve humanitarian problems in northern Uganda and also its work so far on a peace, recovery and development plan that aims to tackle longer-term issues.

The council "looks forward to further progress on improving the living conditions for civilians in northern Uganda, measurable against clear benchmarks, and urges member states to maintain their support to these efforts."

Talks are taking place in Juba, southern Sudan, between the government of Uganda and the LRA, in a bid to reach a comprehensive peace agreement to end a conflict that has caused the death, abduction or forced displacement of 2 million people across northern Uganda and southern Sudan - as well as the killings of eight UN peacekeepers in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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ABC19980114.1830.0611
 NEWS STORY

 In Washington today, the Federal Aviation Administration released air
 traffic control tapes from the night the TWA Flight eight hundred went down. There's
 nothing new on why the plane exploded, but you cannot miss the moment.
 ABC's Lisa Stark has more.

 There was no hint of trouble in the last conversation between controllers
 and TWA pilot Steven Snyder

 TWA
 eight hundred climb maintain one five thousand.

 TWA's eight hundred heavy climb and maintain one five thousand leavin- three thousand.

 But a minute and a half later, a pilot from a nearby flight calls in.

 Ah, we just saw an explosion up ahead of us here
 about sixteen thousand feet or
 something like that. It just went down.

 The controller at Boston center tries to raise TWA eight hundred.

 TWA eight hundred, if you hear center, ident.

 There is no response. Later, the controller asks the Eastwind pilot for
 more details.

 Ah yes, sir. It- It just blew up in the air, and then we saw two fireballs go
 down to the, to the water, and there was a big small, ah, smoke, from ah , coming up from that.

 At one point, when it became clear controllers could not contact   the plane,
 someone said a prayer.

 TWA eight hundred, center

 I think that was him.

 I think so.

 God bless him.

 Lisa Stark ABC news Washington

released

went

exploded

hint

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contact

said


AFP_ENG_20051202.0100

WASHINGTON, Dec 2 , 2005

Deadly bacteria spreading through US hospitals

A lethal bacteria which surfaces in people being treated with antibiotics is spreading in North America and has grown resistant to drugs, according to two studies published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

According to one of the studies, a new, virulent and resistant strain of the bacteria Clostridium difficile broke out in eight US hospital centers between 2000 and 2003.

Provoked by antibiotics inside the intestines of hospital patients, the bacteria showed an ability to mutate and increase its resistance to drugs, the report said.

Moreover, the bacteria, which infects the colon causing severe diarrhea and colitis, a severe inflammation of the intestine, has begun showing up in patients not taking antibiotics or visiting hospitals.

Symptoms include watery, malodorous diarrhea and cramps.

A second study of 1,703 patients in 12 hospitals in Quebec, Canada, demonstrated the lethality of the bacteria.

Over 13 years the incidence of the bacteria grew fourfold in Quebec, and in 2004 it caused the deaths of 117 people in the first month after they were diagnosed. All of the victims were elderly.

"Hospitals need to be conducting surveillance and implementing control measures. And all of us need to realize the risk of antibiotic use may be increasing," warned epidemiologist Clifford McDonald of the US Centers for Disiease Control.

Scientists were concerned that Clostridium difficile -- so-named because of the difficulty in detecting it -- had become very resistant to fluoroquinolone antibiotics usually used to treat such infections.

"If this epidemic strain continues to spread (...) it will be important either to reconsider the use of fluoroquinolones or to develop other innovative measures for controlling C. difficile-associated disease," said McDonald.

spreading

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used

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continues

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reconsider

use

develop

controlling

said


XIN_ENG_20061120.0302

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 20 , 2006 (Xinhua)

2010 World Cup attracts S. African players back home

The 2010 Soccer World Cup to be hosted by South Africa is set to attract South African players who are plying their trade abroad to come home.

Current players at South Africa's national team, Bafana Bafana, are to form basis of the 2010 team and most of the overseas-based players seem to think that they will be forgotten if they are far from home.

Michael Nkambule, just signing with the country's Premier League club SuperSport United, has said his return from French team RC Strasbourg was due to his ambition to play for the senior national team, the SAPA news agency reported on Monday.

While most of the South African-based players still believe that going abroad enhances the chances of a national team call-up, they might re-think that if those abroad are making a comeback, then it is wise to stay put, the SAPA said.

Nkambule is on a one-year loan deal and will join the players such as Mamelodi Sundowns trio of Bennet Mnguni, Mbulelo Mabizela and Josta Dladla as well as Golden Arrows' Japhet Zwane who came home with the hope of reviving their international careers.

Outgoing Bafana Bafana coach, Pitso Mosiamne, said South African players, especially those who do not see regular action, are desperately looking for local teams.

Bafana's German-based Sibusiso Zuma has also expressed his desire to return home, the SAPA said.

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said


AFP_ENG_20061203.0178

DOHA, Dec 3 , 2006, 2006

URGENT  China's Chen Yanqing sets three world records

China's Chen Yanqing set new world records in the snatch, clean and jerk, and overall disciplines of the 58kg category in women's weightlifting at the Asian Games here Sunday.

set

snatch

clean

jerk

weightlifting


XIN_ENG_20051108.0120

JERUSALEM, Nov. 8 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Sharon aide says Likud split into two factions

Aides to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the Likud Party has split into two factions, one headed by Sharon and the other led by dissidents, local paper Ha' aretz reported on Tuesday.

"Today, it has been proven that the Likud is, de facto, two factions," the aide said, speaking after a Knesset (parliament) vote on a package nomination of three cabinet ministers late on Monday, when Sharon was defeated by the opposition "rebels" of his own party.

He hinted the possibility that Sharon will move for early elections, which was currently scheduled in November 2006.

In a stinging but not unexpected parliamentary defeat, the anti- disengagement Likud lawmakers, dubbed the "rebel" faction, first voted with 60-54 to reject Sharon's proposed appointment of Ehud Olmert as finance minister, Roni Bar-On as industry, trade and employment minister and Ze'ev Boim as immigrant absorption minister.

Sharon was then forced to go to a second vote to win the approval of Olmert and Matan Vilnai (Labor) as science and technology minister, which was passed by a comfortable 71-41 margin.

Analysts said the Knesset vote on Monday showed that the rebels, who can count on eight votes in the 40-strong Likud faction and have at times commanded as many as 16, now hold an effective veto power over Sharon's parliamentary moves.

There are speculations that Sharon would either move soon to dissolve the Knesset and lead the Likud into early elections, or work to found a new party with himself at the helm.

said

split

headed

reported

proven

said

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work

found


AFP_ENG_20061217.0330

GAZA CITY, Dec 17 , 2006, 2006

Fatah colonel 'kidnapped and killed in Gaza Strip'

A colonel in the Palestinian national security service belonging to president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party was kidnapped and killed Sunday in the Gaza Strip by Hamas militants, a Fatah spokesman said.

kidnapped

killed

said


AFP_ENG_20061211.0534

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 11 , 2006, 2006

by Gerard Aziakou

Six major powers resumed talks here Monday on how to coerce Iran into halting its nuclear fuel work as Moscow welcomed changes to a European resolution mandating sanctions against Tehran.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad meanwhile warned that his country would respond to any action against its nuclear activities amid growing signs that the Security Council's five permanent members were edging closer to a deal on a revised draft drawn up by France, Britain and Germany.

Ambassadors of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- the council's five veto-wielding members -- plus Germany huddled informally Monday to review the text which had been discussed in Paris last week by more senior officials of the six.

France's UN Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere told reporters that he would explain the amended draft to the council's 15 members at a formal meeting later Monday.

"I am going to present the text to the members of the council," he said. "I hope that we have good prospects. I have some signals but it is too early to say."

"We want a vote before the end of the year, (preferably) before Christmas," said a Western diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He added that the sponsors were pushing for unanimous support from the council but also cautioned that "unanimity has a price (which) we are ready to pay up to a point."

The text, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, would mandate a ban on trade with Iran on goods related to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and impose financial and travel restrictions on persons and entities involved.

Despite Russian objections, it includes a list of a dozen Iranian officials directly involved in their country's nuclear and ballistic programs who would be targeted for UN sanctions.

The list includes officials associated with the Natanz nuclear fuel processing facility and with the heavy-water reactor Iran is building in Arak as well as Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief General Yahya Rahim Safavi.

But at Moscow's insistence, the new draft drops all references to Iran's first nuclear power station, a one-billion-dollar facility which Russia is helping to build in Bushehr.

Earlier Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomed the latest European draft, noting that it "differs from the version worked out originally and contains changes based on Russia's proposals, which take into account the need to push Iran to sit at the negotiating table."

Lavrov stressed that the proposed resolution would have no effect on Russia's lucrative contract to build the Bushehr plant.

The changes were introduced by the European sponsors to win over Russia and China, which have close economic ties with Tehran and have consistently opposed what they describe as overly aggressive measures against Iran.

The United States has been pushing for tougher sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

But the European draft does not include a US demand for an explicit characterization of the Iranian nuclear program as "a threat to international peace and security".

It asks the head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to submit a report within 60 days on whether Iran has fully complied with the demands.

It says implementation of the sanctions would be suspended if Iran halts uranium enrichment but warns that failure to heed the UN demands would lead to "further appropriate measures", a reference to economic sanctions.

Tehran has consistently rejected UN demands that it halt uranium enrichment, a process which can provide fuel for nuclear reactors but, also in highly refined form, material for the core of a nuclear bomb.

The West claims Iran is running a secret nuclear military program parallel to its civilian one, an allegation strongly denied by Tehran which says its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful and aimed at producing electricity.

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XIN_ENG_20061117.0116

ANKARA, Nov. 17 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Turkish security forces seize 80 kg of heroin

Turkish security forces impounded 80 kg of heroin in an operation in eastern Turkey on Friday, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

Acting on a tip-off, security forces stopped and searched a lorry in Muradiye town of Van province, said the report.

With the help of a sniffer dog, police found 160 packages of heroin stashed in secret parts of the truck, the report said, adding that the driver of the lorry was taken into custody on charges of illicit drug trafficking.

Turkey is on a key transit route for gangs smuggling drugs from Asia and the Middle East to markets in western Europe.

In 2005, Turkish security forces seized 6,663 kg of heroin, 140 kg of morphine, 34 kg of opium, 6,002 kg of hashish, 40 kg of cocaine, some 1.23 million captagon pills and 5.76 million ecstasy pills, according to official figures.

impounded

operation

reported

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said

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taken

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according


XIN_ENG_20051130.0171

BEIJING, Nov. 30 , 2005 (Xinhua)

expert

China still faces challenges despite the fact that its development mode of education has provided a pioneering experience for the world education sector, said David Archer, head of the international education of the Action Aid, a well-known Britain-based non-government organization.

At the concluding 5th High Level Group Meeting on Education For All of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) here Wednesday, Archer told Xinhua that China gives priority to the educational sector in national development, and the government has made a commitment to education far exceeding many other countries in the world.

Statistics showed that in 2004, about 94 percent of Chinese have had access to free nine-year compulsory education. The adult illiteracy rate lowered to four percent. 98.9 percent of girls attended school courses.

Archer said that while China has adequate resources to ensure a nine-year compulsory education, it still needs to take more concrete measures to make compulsory education entirely free. Low-paid substitute teachers in many countries - including China - will bring great damage to the long-term development of the education cause.

According to Archer, few government or international agencies have invested in adult literacy, but focusing only in compulsory education. UNESCO statistics showed that nearly one billion people around the world do not know how to read and write, and the actual figure is estimated to double soon. Among them two thirds are women and almost one fifth are people aged from 15 to 24.

An investigation by Action Aid showed young adult literacy and compulsory education are closely linked to both the national economy.

"If a child's parents are illiterate, the child will struggle for schooling with his parents lack of respect for education, even if he is provided with free education," said Archer.

After making an investigation of literacy work in 35 countries, Archer found that most teachers in adult literacy work got low payment or just did it voluntarily. Illiterate young adult only receive training programs of six months to one year, which provides them with no practical skills to make a living.

Action Aid carried out programs in vast rural areas in different countries to help local illiterate young adults compile teaching materials by themselves with charts and pictures that can be easily understood. The teaching materials tell farmers how to grow crop and how to utilize local resources with languages and words familiar to farmers. Based on these teaching materials, Archer and his colleagues also complied a set of guidelines for literacy work, which scored a prize by the United Nations.

Archer said Action Aid hopes to join hands with the Chinese government and non-government organizations to promote the guidelines in China, and compile teaching material pinpointing China's domestic situation.

He pointed out that another challenge faced by China is issue of quality education. At present, most countries in the world still adopt a test-oriented educational mode, which does not comply with the economic developing trend.

The future society needs innovative talent adaptive to changes, capable of solving problems, and that knows how to learn efficiently. To cultivate such type of personnel, China should train a high-quality and professional teaching staff.

He stressed that 180 countries in the world promised to decrease the number of the illiterate by 50 percent in 2015.

Action Aid was founded in 1972 and now cooperates with more than 2,000 non-government organizations in over 40 countries. Since 1998, Action Aid has carried out rural education and anti-AIDS programs in four provinces and regions in China.

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nyt_20130321_china_pollution

2013-03-21

As Pollution Worsens in China, Solutions Succumb to Infighting

China's state leadership transition has taken place this month against an ominous backdrop. More than 16,000 dead pigs have been found floating in rivers that provide drinking water to Shanghai. A haze akin to volcanic fumes cloaked the capital, causing convulsive coughing and obscuring the portrait of Mao Zedong on the gate to the Forbidden City.

So severe are China's environmental woes, especially the noxious air, that top government officials have been forced to openly acknowledge them. Fu Ying, the spokeswoman for the National People's Congress, said she checked for smog every morning after opening her curtains and kept at home face masks for her daughter and herself. Li Keqiang, the new prime minister, said the air pollution had made him "quite upset" and vowed to "show even greater resolve and make more vigorous efforts" to clean it up.

Last month, after deadly air pollution hit record levels in northern China, officials led byWen Jiabao, then the prime minister, put forward strict new fuel standards that the oil companies had blocked for years. But there are doubts about whether the oil companies will comply, especially since oil officials resisted a similar government order for higher-grade fuel four years ago. State-owned power companies have been similarly resistant. The companies regularly ignore government orders to upgrade coal-burning electricity plants, according to ministry data. And as with the oil companies, the power companies exert an outsize influence over environmental policy debates.

In 2011, during a round of discussions over stricter emissions standards, the China Electricity Council, which represents the companies, pushed back hard against the proposals, saying that the costs of upgrading the plants would be too high.

On Feb. 28, Deutsche Bank released an analysts' note saying that China's current economic policies would result in an enormous surge in coal consumption and automobile sales over the next decade. "China's air pollution will become a lot worse from the already unbearable level," the analysts said, calling for drastic policy changes and "a strong government will to overcome the opposition from interest groups."

The report estimated that the number of passenger cars in China was on track to hit 400 million by 2030, up from 90 million now.

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400 million

90 million


XIN_ENG_20051102.0342

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina, Nov. 2 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Declaration of American summit to include development, employment

Economic growth and the creation of jobs are to be included in the final declaration of the 4th Summit of the Americas to be held in Argentina on Nov. 4 and 5.

Coordinators of the summit said the declaration, to be signed by heads of state and government at the end of the summit, is almost ready. Leaders of the Western Hemisphere or their representatives, except Cuba, are to take part, organizers said.

Preparatory meetings for the summit were held earlier this week. The president of the meetings, Argentine Vice Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana, said the creation of jobs and strengthening of democratic governance are major topics of the summit initiated by Argentina.

According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean based in Santiago, Chile, poverty affects nearly 40 percent of the 500 million people in the region.

Secretary General of the Organization of American States Jose Miguel Insulza, who will participate in the summit, said, "There are too many poor in Latin America in spite of economic growth in the region."

It is necessary for governments and business circles in Latin America to step up efforts to increase economic growth and improve the situation of the poor, he said.

Coordinators of the summit did not say whether there will be any mention of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in the final declaration.

US President George W. Bush claimed that continental free trade through the FTAA will reduce poverty in Latin America and drive growth and employment.

However, Brazil and Argentina, both major food exporters in Latin America, said they were reluctant to join the FTAA as long as the United States does not eliminate agricultural subsidies.

They complained that Washington's agricultural subsidies would eliminate the competitiveness of farm products from other American countries and increase poverty in Latin America.

Venezuela opposes the FTAA due to its political differences with Washington.

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