The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Washington

US President George W. Bush said Friday that US-led forces "could easily" stay in Iraq ten years or more and that he was "not really" surprised that Osama bin Laden was still at large.

But Bush, in an interview with NBC television, took issue with Republican presidential hopeful John McCain's suggestion that US troops might stay in Iraq 100 years, saying: "100 years isn't the right number. That's a long time."

But the president said "it could very well be" that it would be a long-term presence and, when asked wether it might last ten years, replied: "It could easily be that, absolutely."

Any US military presence would have to be "on the invitation of the Iraqi government," Bush added during the interview, which was broadcast as he was on a week-long trip to the Middle East.

Asked whether he was surprised that bin Laden, the al-Qaeda terrorist chief behind the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, still

Kuwait report adds: President Bush said Saturday that his build-up of U.S. troops in Iraq one year ago has turned the country into a place where "hope is returning," and he predicted a long-term engagement that would outlast his presidency. "We must do all we can to ensure that 2008 will bring even greater progress," Bush said. He said long-term success in Iraq in vital to stability in the Mideast, and warned that the United States should not turn its back on its friends.

Bush said no decision has been made on bringing more U.S. troops home from Iraq. He maintained his long-held stance that a reduction in force levels will depend on conditions in Iraq, and that he would defer to the top U.S. commander there, Gen. David Petraeus, who is scheduled to make a recommendation in March. "My attitude is if he didn't want to continue the drawdown, that's fine with me," Bush said.

AFP, Riyadh

A leading Saudi newspaper on Saturday ruled out any attempt by the United States to use the oil-rich Gulf kingdom as a launchpad for a possible war on Iran over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.

Two days before a visit to Saudi Arabia by US President George W. Bush, the pro-government daily Al-Riyadh said: "We refuse to be used to launch wars or tensions with Iran. "This issue can be solved through diplomatic means and through dialogue," said the paper which reflects the views of the Saudi authorities. Bush on Friday began a four-nation Gulf tour as part of a Middle East trip to push for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians and rally the support of his allies in the Sunni Muslim oil monarchies against the "threat" he says is posed by Shiite Muslim Iran. In Israel on Wednesday Bush warned that Iran posed "a threat to world peace" and should not be allowed to develop the know-how to build a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking to acquire nuclear arms.

"If the president wants to obtain the solidarity of all the Arabst he must focus, rationally, on the most important issue which is the question of peace," Al-Riyadh said. The daily urged Bush "not to preoccupy himself with a danger which US intelligence has qualified as non-existent in the short term." A recent US intelligence report said that Iran -- which has repeatedly said that its nuclear progamme is civilian -- halted a nuclear weapons programme in 2003.

"Iran's supposed danger does not minimise the real danger of Israel, which is among 10 countries in the world to have nuclear weapons," the Saudi paper said.

AFP, Baghdad

Light snow fell in Baghdad early on Friday in what weather officials said was the first time in about a 100 years.

Rare snowfalls were also recorded in the west and centre of Iraq, plunging temperatures to zero degrees Centigrade (32 degrees Fahrenheit) and even colder, an official said.

The snow in Baghdad, which melted as it hit the ground, began falling before dawn and continued until after 9 am, residents said. "Snow has fallen in Baghdad for the first time in about a century as a result of two air flows meeting," said a statement by the meteorology department.

AFP, Colombo

Intense fighting across Sri Lanka's embattled northern district have left at least 67 rebels and soldiers dead, the military said, ahead of a planned visit by a Japanese peace envoy.

Japan, the island's biggest aid donor, has voiced deep concern about the Colombo government's decision last week to end its 2002 truce with Tamil Tiger rebels, saying it fears the move "would not only further stall the peace process but also worsen the conflict."

The Japanese special peace envoy Yasushi Akashi was due to arrive in Sri Lanka on Sunday for three days of talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse and other government officials.

"He will discuss with the government the current situation of the peace process and its future," the Japanese embassy here said in a statement.

His visit comes ahead of an escalation by security forces of attacks along rebel-held areas of Mannar and Muhamalai in Jaffna.

Some 67 guerrillas died and one soldier was killed in the region in 24 hours of fighting that ended early Saturday, the military said.

"Terrorists have suffered a heavy beating as security forces continue their thrust into the LTTE- (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) dominated Wanni region (rebel-held areas)" the defence ministry said.

The soldier died when the rebels attacked an army post in Vavuniya, the military said.

There was no comment on the military's casualty claims by the rebels, who are fighting for an independent Tamil nation in the majority Sinhalese island.

Fighting in the area has been rising with government forces claiming they now have the upper hand in the decades-old war.

The latest death toll pushed rebel losses so far this month to 231, according to military figures. Nine troop have been reported killed in the same period, the military says.

Sharply differing casualty tolls reported by the military and rebels cannot be verified independently as access to the embattled regions is denied to human rights groups and journalists.

AP, Tehran

The UN nuclear watchdog chief pressed Iran on Friday to "accelerate" cooperation with his agency so he can shed more light on Tehran's controversial atomic program and its aims.

Mohamed ElBaradei, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he asked Iran's government for better transparency regarding the country's nuclear activities. "We discussed how we can work together to accelerate the pace of our cooperation to clarify all outstanding issues before my report in March," ElBaradei told reporters after meeting with Vice President Gholam Reza Aghazadeh. ElBaradei characterized the session as a "frank and open exchange of views." "I asked Mr. Aghazadeh to give us maximum transparency and provide assurances about all present nuclear activities about Iran. t My mission here is to overcome the difficulties between IAEA and Iran," ElBaradei said.

Reuters, New Delhi

India said on Friday it hoped to wrap up talks this month with the U.N. nuclear watchdog for a safeguards pact needed to advance a controversial civilian nuclear energy deal with the United States.

The deal has been virtually written off by analysts following opposition from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's communist allies, who have threatened to end their support and force early elections if the government pursued it.

Government ministers and bureaucrats, however, say they have not given up on it and are trying to convince the communists while going through the steps needed to clinch the deal, even as it is running out of time.

Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said Indian experts had held three rounds of talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for a pact to monitor civilian nuclear reactors that would be opened to scrutiny under the deal.

AFP, Washington

Protesters in prisoner-style orange boiler suits staged demonstrations around the world Friday to mark six years since the US prison camp opened at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. From London to Sydney, activists mobilized by human rights organization Amnesty International and others called for the camp to be shut, six years to the day since it received its first prisoners seized in the "war on terror." Around 200 people turned out in the drizzle in Washington for a march from the US Congress to the nearby Supreme Court, called by numerous rights groups.

"Shut down Guantanamo, counter terror with justice," they chanted.

The Supreme Court is to rule in the coming months on whether prisoners at Guantanamo Bay can challenge their detention in civilian courts. Currently they face special military tribunals at the base, outside US soil. In London, about 100 people assembled near the US embassy, wearing the orange suits similar to those worn by detainees. Protestors took turns overnight in steel cages before the heavily-fortified embassy.

"Guards" in military uniform, some with dogs, barked orders at the "detainees."

"This is really to show our rage against the fact that this black hole facility continues to exist, that there are still 275 people outside any rule of law, and to demand its immediate closure," Amnesty's international campaigns director, Sarah Burton, told AFP.

Reuters, Nairobi

Kenya's opposition on Friday called three days of nationwide protests next week after mediation failed and the country's post-election crisis worsened. Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) also called for international sanctions against President Mwai Kibaki, who was re-elected in a disputed December 27 poll, saying world leaders would be irresponsible to trust him with "a single cent." "We are asking our countrymen and women with whom we feel such great sadness and solidarity to join us in demonstrations countrywide on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of next week," ODM secretary general Anyang' Nyong'o told reporters.

Odinga's supporters say Kibaki stole the vote, and Nyong'o said Kenyans had every right to protest peacefully.

ODM said demonstrations would be held in nearly 30 places around Kenya, and that it had asked police to provide security for a mass rally on Wednesday in central Nairobi. Previous protests have triggered riots and vicious clashes between Odinga's supporters and the security forces, adding to a death toll of around 500 since the ballot. Police have banned all political rallies. As officers in riot gear patrolled parts of the capital on Friday, a government spokesman urged Kenyans to ignore ODM's appeal. "The leaders calling on you to take to the streets to burn shops and destroy property will not be with you or your family when you have no job anymore," spokesman Alfred Mutua said.