The New Nation - Internet Edition

Hillary leads Barack Obama in Ohio, Texas: Obama wins Democrats abroad primary

AP, Texas

New York Senator Hillary Clinton is still leading over Illinois Senator Barack Obama in the most recent polls from Ohio and Texas. With only a little over a week to go until the March 4 Democratic primaries in both states, however, Clinton's lead appears to be shrinking. John McCain, meanwhile, appears to be the preferred candidate over either Democrat in Texas.

A poll conducted by the Associated Press Feb. 16-20 gave Clinton a 50 percent to 43 percent lead over Barack Obama in Ohio. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. A large turnout of union voters in Ohio could be Clinton's ace in the hole, as she currently maintains a 15 percent margin over Obama among Democrats from union households. Interestingly, though Clinton holds the overall lead in the state, Obama held an 11 percent lead over Clinton when voters were asked who is more electable in November.

In Texas, an ABC News/Washington Post poll of Democratic votes conducted during the same time period gave Clinton only a 1 percent lead over Obama at 48 percent to 47 percent. Texas Democratic voters also believed Obama had more chance of beating a Republican nominee in November, by 47 percent to 36 percent over Clinton. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. Clinton previously held a much larger lead over Obama in Texas and Ohio.

Since some of the results from both polls came after Obama's win in the Feb. 19 Wisconsin Democratic primary, they likely do not show any 'bounce' from his defeat of Clinton in that contest. A large number of undecided voters in both states could sway the race to either side depending on who manages to capture their votes before the primaries on March 4.

Among both Republican and Democratic voters, a CNN/Opinion Research Poll gave Republican candidate John McCain a lead over both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the November presidential elections. If McCain is chosen as the Republican presidential nominee, 52 percent of those polled in Texas said they would vote for him over Barack Obama. Fifty-five percent of Texas respondents said they would rather vote for McCain than Hillary Clinton. The poll, conducted Feb. 14-17, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama won the Democrats Abroad global primary in results announced Thursday, giving him 11 straight victories in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The Illinois senator won the primary in which Democrats living in other countries voted by Internet, mail and in person, according to results released by the Democrats Abroad, an organization sanctioned by the national party.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has not won a nominating contest since Super Tuesday, more than two weeks ago.

More than 20,000 U.S. citizens living abroad voted in the primary, which ran from Feb. 5 to Feb. 12. Obama won about 65 percent of the vote, according to the results released Thursday.

Voters living in 164 countries cast votes online, while expatriates voted in person in more than 30 countries, at hotels in Australia and Costa Rica, at a pub in Ireland and at a Starbucks in Thailand. The results took about a week to tabulate as local committees around the globe gathered ballots.

"This really gives Americans an opportunity to participate," said Christine Schon Marques, the international chair of Democrats Abroad.

Italian Sports Minister Giovanna Melandri, who has dual citizenship, cast a vote for Obama in Rome.

"It wasn't an easy choice for me. I would still love seeing a ticket with Obama and Hillary," Melandri told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "A drive for change is what is needed in the U.S. and I think that Obama has that drive." There is no comparable primary among Republicans, though the GOP has several contests this weekend in U.S. territories, including party caucuses in Puerto Rico Sunday.

The Democrats Abroad controls seven pledged delegates at the party's national convention this summer. However, the group's system of dividing the delegates is unique, and could create an anomaly in which Obama and Clinton end up with fractions of delegates.

EU Parliament call to end Gaza blockade

AFP, Gaza City

Hamas on Friday welcomed a European Parliament resolution calling for an end to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Palestinian Islamist group.

However, spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri was more circumspect with regard to the resolution's call for an end to rocket fire on Israel by Palestinian militants in Gaza.

"Hamas welcomes the appeal launched by the European Union for an end to the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip," Abu Zuhri said in a statement.

"Regarding the call for an end to rocket fire, we maintain that the problem lies in the (Israeli) occupation, aggression and siege of our people. Hamas is ready to examine any initiative that can put an end to Israeli aggression."

The European Union, in a bid to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the already impoverished coastal strip, has begun increasing pressure on Israel to end its nine-month old blockade.

Bombs in Baghdad and Tikrit kill 4

AP, Baghdad

A bomb hidden under a cart exploded in downtown Baghdad on Friday, killing two civilians, while two policemen died when a booby-trapped car exploded north of the capital, police said.

The blasts also wounded 10 people.

The cart was left near a building, and the explosives apparently were detonated by remote-control at about 7:30 a.m., police said. Three cars parked nearby were damaged. Along with the two civilians killed, six people were hurt.

The booby-trapped car was being towed by police when it blew up in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad. Police said they were removing the car after it was found parked near a market pockmarked with bullet holes and with bloodstained seats.

Pakistan polls raise hopes for peace with India

AFP, Wagah

Every evening as dusk falls on the India-Pakistan border post near Lahore, crowds gather on either side of the frontier and scream slogans at each other in a choreographed show of bravado.

"Long Live Pakistan!" some shout from the stands as patriotic music blasts through a stadium. Similar cries ring out from India, while men on both sides frantically wave flags, trying to outdo each other in nationalistic fervour.

Immaculately dressed soldiers then lower both national flags, marking the closure of the border between two countries who have been at odds since independence from Britain and partition in 1947.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

The countries came to the brink of war again in the aftermath of a deadly attack on India's parliament in December 2001, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

95 killed as Lankan army steps up attack against Tamil Tigers

AFP, Colombo

Sri Lankan war planes stepped up bombing raids inside Tamil Tiger-controlled territory Friday, a day after intense ground battles left at least 95 people dead, the defence ministry said.

Jet fighters hit a key base of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the morning after air strikes against two rebel artillery positions in the same region, the ministry said.

No details were given of losses, but pilots were quoted as saying they had successfully destroyed the artillery positions and a "Sea Tiger base" near Kilinochchi, the LTTE political capital.

However, the Tigers said that the planes had bombed a village. "Five civilians were killed and seven more were injured, two of them critically, when Sri Lanka bombed a coastal civilian settlement today," the LTTE said.

The Tigers are fighting for independence for Sri Lanka's minority ethnic Tamils concentrated in the north and east of the island.

The latest raids came after the ministry said 92 Tamil rebels and three government soldiers were killed in battles for a bunker line in the north on Wednesday.

Storming of embassy in Serbia sparks global outrage

Reuters, Belgrade

Serb rioters enraged by Kosovo's secession stormed the U.S. embassy in Belgrade and set it on fire, leaving one person dead and drawing swift condemnation from Washington and the U.N. Security Council. The U.S. State Department said the lack of protection for its mission -- police were absent when the attack began -- was intolerable and demanded a response from the Security Council. "The members of the Security Council condemn in the strongest terms the mob attacks against embassies in Belgrade, which have resulted in damage to embassy premises and have endangered diplomatic personnel," the 15-member body said in a unanimous statement late on Thursday.

Embarrassed, Serbia said it regretted what it called acts of isolated vandals who did not represent a nation which, while bitter at Kosovo's declaration of independence on Sunday, did not want further violence.

"The acts that were committed are absolutely unacceptable, absolutely regrettable," Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told Reuters in an interview. "They hurt Serbia's image abroad."

Germany, Croatia and Britain also said their missions were vandalized. Local media added Bosnia's and Turkey's to the list.

Some 200,000 people attended the state-backed rally. Jeremic said police were overwhelmed by what was Serbia's biggest march since protesters stormed the old Yugoslav parliament building in 2000 to oust nationalist leader Slobodan Milosevic.

But police were nowhere to be seen when just a few score of rioters -- many wearing balaclavas -- attacked the U.S. embassy for the second time in a week.

US missile shoots down toxic spy satellite

AFP, Honolulu

A US missile shot down a rogue US spy satellite in space carrying dangerous toxic fuel, defense officials said, as China raised suspicions about the operation. A network of radars and satellites designed for the US missile defense system confirmed that the successful interception occurred some 250 kilometers (150 miles) over the Pacific Ocean, US officials said Wednesday. The missile that struck the satellite reduced it to football-sized chunks, and the Pentagon said it had a "high degree of confidence" its fuel tank was destroyed. General James Cartwright told reporters at the Pentagon it would be 24-48 hours before a full confirmation would be available on the fuel tank. The Defense Department has a "high degree of confidence we hit the tank" but "we can't say for sure," at this time, he said. A senior Pentagon official earlier had said the missile appeared to have struck the fuel tank containing hydrazine, which could have leaked toxic gas over a wide area if it had survived re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.