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Deployment of US warship off Lebanon threatens regional stability

Reuters, Beirut

The pro-Iranian Hezbollah group accused the United States on Friday of endangering regional stability by deploying a warship off Lebanon and vowed to defy what it called an act of military intimidation.

The United States said on Thursday it sent the destroyer USS Cole to the eastern Mediterranean because the Bush administration was concerned about Lebanon's political deadlock. "The American move threatens the stability of Lebanon and the region and it is an attempt to spark tension," Hezbollah member of parliament Hassan Fadlallah told Reuters by telephone.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, leads a Lebanese opposition locked in a 15-month-old power struggle with the Western-backed governing coalition.

The standoff, which Washington blames on Syrian meddling, has left Lebanon without a president since November.

"The American administration has used the policy of sending warships to support its allies in Lebanon before, and that experiment failed and backfired," Fadlallah said.

"We don't succumb to threats and military intimidation practiced by the United States to implement its hegemony over Lebanon."

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said his government had not requested any such move by Washington.

"Regarding reports that U.S. warships have arrived to the east of the Mediterranean, it is important that I make clear that there are no foreign warships in Lebanese territorial waters," Siniora said, addressing Arab ambassadors.

"We did not call any warships from any side." State Department spokesman Tom Casey said that for U.S. adversaries, the move was "just a reminder, that we are there."

"We have a long-term commitment to peace and stability there (in the region), and we're not going anywhere t we intend to maintain a very robust, defensive presence there," he said. "America repeats the adventure of '82," the headline of the pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper said, referring to a big U.S. military deployment in Lebanon after the 1982 Israeli invasion.

At that time the United States deployed Marines in Beirut and warships off the coast to support a Lebanese government trying to reach a peace deal with Israel.

U.S. forces had to pull out after a series of suicide bombings by pro-Iranian militants, one of which killed 241 Marines. The Lebanese government was forced to scrap its peace agreement with Israel under pressure from Syria and its local allies.

A U.S. defense official said the Cole left Malta on Tuesday heading toward Lebanon. It would not be visible from the Lebanese coast but would stay "well over the horizon." Lebanon's presidential election was postponed again this week to March 11 from February 26, the 15th such delay, after rival leaders failed to reach a deal.

The deadlock has threatened to degenerate into sectarian violence and continues to poison inter-Arab relations in the run-up to an Arab League summit in Syria on March 29-30.

The deployment of the USS Cole was announced two weeks after the assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyah, who was on the United States' most wanted list of terrorists.

Obama, Clinton heading into potentially decisive presidential showdowns in Texas, Ohio

Internet

Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are deadlocked in Texas and Ohio heading into potentially decisive presidential showdowns, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle poll released today.

Mrs Clinton is fighting to save her White House candidacy in the two primaries on Tuesday.

Mr Obama, an Illinois senator, has beaten her in 11 consecutive contests to take control of the race for the Democratic nomination in November's presidential election.

In Texas, Mr Obama leads 45 per cent to 43 per cent, down from a 6-point advantage on Friday and well within the poll's margin of error of 4 percentage points.

In Ohio, they are dead even at 45 per cent. Mrs Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, had led by 2 points on Friday in the rolling poll conducted by Zogby International.

Republican front-runner John McCain had huge leads in both states over his last major rival, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, as he moves closer to clinching the Republican nomination.

Mr McCain, an Arizona senator, can come close to winning the 1191 delegates needed to clinch the nomination with big wins on Tuesday. The delegates select the nominee at September's Republican Party convention.

In the Democratic race, Mrs Clinton made overnight gains in Texas in some of her strongest voting blocs, including older and women voters. She pulled almost even with Mr Obama among voters who made their decision in the last few days.

"Hillary Clinton may be making a connection with Democratic voters in Texas, especially among those in key demographic groups that have supported her all year," pollster John Zogby said.

Mrs Clinton also kept her big lead among Hispanic voters in Texas, who could account for one-third or more of the total turnout. She had huge advantages in the heavily Hispanic southern and western parts of the state.

Iraq death toll surges 33 pc in February

AFP, Baghdad

The number of Iraqis killed in February rose by 33 percent over January, reversing a six-month trend of reduced violence, in a setback to the US military plan to curb the bloodshed ravaging the country.

The combined figures obtained by AFP from the interior, defence and health ministries showed that the total number of Iraqis killed in February was 721, including 636 civilians, compared with 541 dead in January.

It reverses the six-month trend of a steady fall in casualties across the country on the back of a massive US and Iraqi military assault, mainly targeting Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

The February death toll is up after a steady fall in the preceding six months. The monthly tolls were 541 in January, 568 in December, 606 in November, 887 in October, 917 in September and 1,856 in August. The number of people wounded in February was 847.

January's death toll reached a 23-month low, with US commanders saying that all types of attacks were down to levels not seen before the February 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine in the town of Samarra that triggered a wave of violence.

The bloodshed that erupted after the shrine attack peaked in January 2007 with 1,992 deaths reported by the three ministries.

The jump in February's toll seems to have been caused by two major attacks during the month.

On February 1, at least 98 people were slaughtered when a female suicide bomber blew herself up amid a crowd of pet lovers in Baghdad's popular al-Ghazl animal market.

Lankan secutity forces kill 45 Tigers in fresh fighting

AFP, Colombo

A police officer wounded in a suicide bombing died in hospital Saturday, a hospital spokesman said as Sri Lanka's defence ministry claimed security forces had killed 45 rebels in fresh fighting.

The policeman died of his injuries a day after being caught in a huge blast detonated by a suspected Tamil Tiger rebel during a search operation in the city. "One of the three police officers wounded in Friday's bombing died today," a hospital spokesman said, adding that six others wounded in the explosion were still undergoing treatment.

The blast, which went off when police approached a house in Colombo's commercial district of Kotahena, was heard across the city of 650,000 people. Police said the bomber was believed to be a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Meanwhile, the defence ministry said 45 guerrillas were killed in renewed fighting in the island's embattled north where 11 government soldiers were also wounded.

49 Palestinians killed Israeli attacks in Gaza so far

AFP, Gaza City

Israel pressed its assault against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip with a series of strikes on Saturday, killing at least 22 Palestinians, including three children, medical officials said.

The fighting was concentrated in and around the crowded Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, where Israeli special forces crept in just after midnight followed by a wider incursion involving tanks and helicopters. Doctor Muawiya Hassanein, head of Gaza emergency medical services, told AFP at least 20 people were, most of them by a "great number of rockets fired by Israeli planes" in and around the camp and the adjacent town of Jabaliya. Witnesses also reported clashes in the nearby Tufah neighbourhood in northern Gaza City. The dead included at least seven civilians, medics said, including a 12-year-old girl and her 11-year-old brother, who relatives said were killed by shrapnel as they slept inside their home.

Five militants from the Islamist Hamas movement and another two from Islamic Jihad were killed in the operation, as warplanes and tanks pounded the camp with missiles and fighters exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers. At least five Israeli soldiers were wounded in the operation, the army said.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops had killed at least 15 Palestinian militants, "all of them planting explosive devices or shooting."

Japan govt vows crackdown on crimes by US military

AFP, Tokyo

Japan vowed to crackdown on crimes involving American troops based in the country after a surprise decision by prosecutors not to pursue rape charges against a US Marine, reports said Saturday.

Staff Sergeant Tyrone Luther Hadnott, who had been accused of raping a 14-year-old, was freed from custody late Friday after the girl's family decided not to pursue the case.

The initial case against Hadnott -- who was released 18 days after his arrest on the southern island of Okinawa -- triggered outrage in Japan and reignited controversy surrounding the presence of thousands of US troops.

Hadnott, 38, was immediately taken into custody by the US military, which said it would conduct its own inquiry.

Prosecutors said the girl's family had decided not to pursue the allegations against Hadnott as the girl did not want to be part of a high-profile case.

2 ex-presidents demand Arroyo's resignation

AP, Manila

Two former Philippine presidents, once bitter foes, joined tens of thousands of protesters at a rally Friday to press for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's resignation over a raging corruption scandal.

It was the largest crowd yet since Arroyo's latest crisis erupted weeks ago when the Philippine Senate heard testimony, broadcast on live television, that linked her husband to multimillion-dollar kickbacks in a government telecommunications deal. The crowd included former opponents ex-President Corazon Aquino, who ushered in democracy when the country's first "people power" revolt ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, and former President Joseph Estrada, who was forced out over massive corruption by a second "people power" uprising in 2001.

"I thought my work was done because I am already old," said Aquino, 75. "But this is what the times ask for, for us to unite so that the deceit will end and we will find out the truth. Thankfully there are still many of us shouting, 'Gloria, enough, resign already.'"

Turkish troops pull out of Iraq

AP, Cukurca

Turkey's military said Friday it has ended a ground offensive against Kurdish rebels in Iraq, but said that foreign influence did not play a role in its decision. At least 200 trucks carrying Turkish troops were seen leaving the Iraqi border area and heading into Turkey's interior. The move came a day after Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Turkish leaders during a visit in Ankara that they should end the offensive as soon as possible. In Washington, President Bush made a similar point Thursday, saying Turkey needed to move quickly and get out. "Both the start and end dates of the operation were decided by us solely based on military reasoning and necessities," the military said in a statement. "Any influence, either foreign on domestic, on this decision by the Turkish Armed Forces is out of question." Turkey launched the incursion into northern Iraq more than a week ago against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, a group fighting for the autonomy of predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey. The rebels have carried out attacks in Turkey from bases in Kurdish Iraq. It was the first major, confirmed incursion in Iraq by Turkey in almost a decade.

No plot to kill Diana, British agent testifies

AP, London

A lawyer for the businessman who claims British agents arranged the death of Princess Diana suggested Friday that the agents were trying to scare her, not kill her. The remark was made by Michael Mansfield, a lawyer for Mohamed Al Fayed, at the inquest into the deaths of Diana and Al Fayed's son Dodi Fayed in a Paris car crash on Aug. 31, 1997. MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service, denies any involvement in the deaths. Mansfield made his suggestion while questioning an MI6 witness, identified only as "E," who directed central and eastern European operations from 1992 to 1994. The public was not allowed in court this week for the testimony of agents whose identities were kept secret. "If an officer perceives a threat, t in other words identifies a potential threat in his area of work and then conceives of a way of nullifying the threat, which may stretch from the ultimate, in other words, annihilation, to nullification; in other words, you nullify not by killing, but by frightening, shocking or doing something else?" Mansfield asked.

Fidel Castro says Raul fully in charge

AP, Havana

Fidel Castro said Friday he helped choose candidates for Cuba's new government, but he asserted that his brother Raul is fully in charge as the new president. In his first comments since his brother assumed the presidency last weekend, the elder Castro appeared to be trying to quash speculation that he would continue directing his brother - and the nation's affairs - from his sickbed. In an essay published in the Communist Party newspaper Granma, Fidel Castro described his role in selecting the governing body his brother now heads as president. But he did not mention involvement in any decision-making since Raul assumed permanent power. Raul Castro has "all legal and constitutional faculties and prerogatives" to lead Cuba, Fidel Castro wrote. The elder Castro said both he and his brother were consulted when the parliament's nominating committee came up with the candidates for the Council of State, Cuba's supreme governing authority, elected by the new parliament on Sunday.

Armenian police disperse protesters

AP, Yerevan

Armenian police on Saturday dispersed a protest by a few hundred opposition supporters who had been camping out in the capital for more than a week. The opposition has protested the results of the Feb. 19 presidential election and tried to force a new vote. The police moved in before 7 a.m. and began forcing protesters onto buses. A few clashes broke out on the central Yerevan square. Officials said Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian - the favored successor of outgoing President Robert Kocharian - won the vote outright. But supporters of opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian have rejected the results, alleging fraud. Daily protests on a large square in central Yerevan have drawn tens of thousands of people. Several hundred have remained overnight, warming themselves over campfires and sleeping in tents. The standoff has raised concerns of instability in the poor Caucasus nation at the junction of the energy-rich Caspian Sea region and southern Europe, with Russia and Iran nearby.