The New Nation - Internet Edition

Ahmadinejad stresses ties to Iraq

AP, Baghdad

Iran's president visited a Shiite Muslim shrine early Monday, the final day of an unprecedented visit to Iraq during which he has tried to build ties with a once-hated neighbor while accusing the United States of spreading terrorism.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a Shiite himself, visited the shrine of Imam Mousa al-Kadim around midnight. He traveled in a motorcade under tight security through Baghdad's streets to the shrine in the northern Kazimiyah district.

Ahmadinejad became the first Iranian president to visit Iraq, and his two-day trip illustrated one of the unintended consequences of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion: the replacement of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni who once led an eight-year war against Iran, with Shiite forces closely allied to the cleric-led Islamic republic next door.

Ahmadinejad said talks Sunday with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd who told the Iranian leader to call him "Uncle Jalal," were "brotherly." Then Ahmadinejad cut through the U.S.-controlled Green Zone to visit Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a fellow Shiite, at his Cabinet offices.

The sprawling Green Zone contains the core of the U.S. diplomatic mission to Iraq - including a massive new embassy - and is heavily protected against occasional rocket attacks. American officials have accused Iran of backing Shiite extremists behind the rocket attacks.

Ahmadinejad denied the charges during news conferences Sunday.

"Six years ago, there were no terrorists in our region. As soon as the others landed in this country and the region, we witnessed their arrival and presence," he said Sunday night after meeting Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of Iraq's largest Shiite political bloc.

Earlier, Ahmadinejad said that "such accusations increase the problems of the Americans in the region. The Iraqi people do not like the Americans."

Ahmadinejad was meeting with Talabani again on Monday, and was scheduled to depart later in the day.

Though both Iraq and Iran have Shiite majorities, they were hostile to each other throughout Saddam's long reign. About 1 million people died in the fighting that ensued after Saddam invaded Iran in 1980. But when Saddam's Sunni-dominated regime fell to the U.S.-led invasion and Iraq's Shiite majority took power, long-standing ties between the Shiites of both countries flourished.

Ahmadinejad said Sunday he was "very pleased with his visit to an Iraq not ruled by a dictator." Still, the Iraqis are precariously balanced between U.S. and Iran, with government officials saying in recent weeks that they don't want the country torn apart in a power struggle between the two sides.

The Iranian delegation seemed to enjoy the contrast between Ahmadinejad's visit and trips to Iraq by President Bush.

Ahmadinejad announced the dates of his visit in advance, landed at Baghdad International Airport in daylight and drove through the capital, albeit in a heavily guarded convoy, on a relatively quiet day. Iraqi forces provided security.

In contrast, Bush's visits are typically a surprise and involve trips mostly to U.S. military bases, like his journey to an air base in Anbar province last September.

20 killed in Iraq bombings

AFP, Baghdad

At least 20 people were killed in Iraq bombings.

A car bomb killed at least 15 people and wounded 45 in central Baghdad on Monday, an Iraqi security official said.

The bomb detonated near a labour ministry building in a commercial area of the Bab al-Muazam neighbourhood.

The wounded included ministry employees and students from the nearby Baghdad University, the official said.

The attack came as combined figures obtained from the interior, defence and health ministries showed that the total number of Iraqis killed in February rose by 33 percent over the previous month, reversing six months of falling death tolls.

The drop in violence during the six months to January was attributed to a surge in US troop numbers, the formation among Sunni tribes of anti-Qaeda fronts and Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr's freezing of the activities of his Mahdi Army militia.

Earlier five people were killed and four wounded when a roadside bomb ripped into a passing minibus in Iraq's troubled Diyala province, police said Sunday.

Police Major Mohammed Al-Karkhi said the attack took place in the village of Al-Kheraiz, east of Baquba, the capital of Diyala some 60 kilometers (35 miles) north of Baghdad.

Separately, a police officer was killed in a roadside bomb attack while on patrol in Buhruz region, just south of Baquba, Karkhi said.

The number of Iraqis killed in February rose by 33 percent over January, reversing a six-month trend of reduced violence, according to official Iraqi figures compiled by AFP.

The US military said that by their count there was only a five percent increase.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said on Monday it had found a grave in northern Iraq containing the bodies of 14 executed people, believed to be either Iraqi police or members of a U.S.-backed neighborhood security unit.

Suicide bomber kills 43 in Pakistan

AP, Peshawar

A bomber blew himself up Sunday among thousands of tribal members discussing resistance to al-Qaida and the Taliban, killing 43 people in the third suicide attack in as many days in northwestern Pakistan.

The rash of suicide bombings show President Pervez Musharraf's weakening control of the region despite the deployment of thousands of troops to crush Islamic militants. Five tribes were meeting to finalize a resolution that would punish anyone who shelters or helps Islamic militants, including al-Qaida and Taliban fighters, Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said. A young man walked up to a group of elders and detonated his explosives, said Alam Khan, a tribesman at the meeting in Darra Adam Khel, a town in North West Frontier Province about 25 miles south of the provincial capital, Peshawar.

"It was a huge explosion and left body parts and blood scattered on the ground," said Ramin Khan, another participant whose left leg and face were injured. He and others hurt in the attack were brought to a hospital in Peshawar.

Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador in tense standoff after raid

AFP, Bogota

Venezuela and Ecuador moved their troops to their border with Colombia and engaged in a war of words as they found themselves Monday in tense standoff over Colombia's anti-guerrilla raid into Ecuador.

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said late Sunday he had ordered the deployment of troops to the northern border and an "immediate expulsion" of Colombian Ambassador Carlos Holguin as a result of Saturday's raid, in which Raul Reyes, the second-ranking commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was killed. Ecuador earlier recalled its own ambassador to Bogota and warned that Colombia's actions might result in "ultimate consequences."

Correa also canceled a visit to Cuba to deal with the crisis at home. From Caracas, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he was sending 10 army battalions equipped with tanks and fighter aircraft to his country's border with Colombia. Correa's initial reaction to the raid was relatively calm. But he admitted he had become angry when he learned the FARC rebels "were not killed in hot pursuit, but were bombed and massacred in their sleep."

Powerful windstorms kill 13 in Europe

AFP, Berlin

Hurricane-strength winds howled across Europe over the weekend, killing 13 people and leaving a trail of destruction as cars were blown off the road, roofs were ripped off and trees fell like matchsticks.

The storm, dubbed "Emma" by forecasters, brought with it winds of up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour and heavy rains as it ripped its way across central Europe.

As the winds eased slightly on Sunday Germany reported five people dead, Austria four, the Czech Republic two and Poland two.

In Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany a driver was crushed when a tree fell on his car, while a 72-year-old man in Bavaria perished when a gust of wind pushed his car into the path of an oncoming lorry, police said.

In Baden-Wuerttemberg a 19-year-old man was killed in another head-on collision caused by the wind, while in Saxony a 48-year-old woman died and four people were injured in a car crash caused by snow and strong winds.

Israel pulls out of Gaza after deadly blitz

AFP, Gaza City

Israeli forces pulled out of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Monday after days of clashes that killed more than 110 Palestinians and dealt a major blow to nascent Middle East peace talks.

Residents in the north of the territory cautiously ventured out from their homes and picked through the rubble as Israeli tanks and ground troops withdrew following the deadliest Israeli military blitz on Gaza in years.

"The operation is winding down. Almost all our forces have already returned to Israel," a military spokesman told AFP.

The bloody assault earned Israel international condemnation for excessive use of force and caused moderate Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to cut contacts with the Jewish state shortly before US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in the region aiming to push revived peace talks.

Since the dramatic escalation in violence last Wednesday, 116 Palestinians, including 22 children and dozens of militants, have been killed, according to Gaza health ministry statistics. More than 350 were wounded.

Artillery duels kill 27 in Sri Lanka

AFP, Colombo

Artillery exchanges between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger separatists across the embattled tropical island's north left at least 25 rebels and two soldiers dead, the defence ministry said Monday. Heavy fighting in Vavuniya and Weli Oya left 21 rebels dead on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement, putting government casualties at two dead and 10 injured.

In the Mannar district, troops smashed through rebel bunkers on Sunday killing four guerrillas, the ministry said, adding that one soldier was injured during the clashes. There was no immediate comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which has been fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils since 1972.

However, the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website reported that the Sri Lankan military pulled back after suffering heavy casualties following six hours of artillery fire in Mannar on Sunday.

Pakistan tourist boat sinks; seven drown, one missing

Reuters, Karachi

Seven people drowned and another was missing after a boat carrying day-trippers sank in the Arabian Sea about two nautical miles off the Pakistani city of Karachi, officials said on Monday.

Air Commodore Khalid Farooq Chishti said 20 people were rescued after the boat sprang a leak and sank while returning to shore just before sunset on Sunday.

"Boats from a nearby Pakistan Air Force base were sent to the scene, and they recovered five bodies last night, and two more this morning," said Air Commodore Khalid Farooq Chishti.

Medvedev wins landslide victory in Russia's presidential election

AFP, Moscow

Dmitry Medvedev won a landslide victory in Russia's presidential election to replace Vladimir Putin, officials said Monday, but accusations of rigging overshadowed the result. Near complete results gave Medvedev 70.2 percent of Sunday's vote, crushing his nearest of three rivals, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, who won 17.8 percent, the central elections commission said. Allegations that the landslide was stage-managed by the Kremlin raised questions at home and internationally over the legitimacy of the election. Russia's "democratic potential" was unfulfilled in the presidential election won by Vladimir Putin's successor Dmitry Medvedev, the head of the sole Western observer mission said Monday. "The results of the presidential election are a reflection of the will of an electorate whose democratic potential was unfortunately not tapped," said Andreas Gross, from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

Prince Harry coverage criticised as 'propaganda'

AFP, London

There were increasing claims on Monday that media coverage of Prince Harry's 10-week tour in Afghanistan had been "propaganda" and overlooked a failed military strategy there. Meanwhile, newspapers reported that the 23-year-old was set to get a promotion following his time fighting the Taliban in the restive Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, cut short when a US website blew his cover Thursday, forcing the military to withdraw him. According to The Times and The Sun tabloid on Monday, Harry is guaranteed a promotion next month, having completed two years in the army, along with a 5,000-pound annual pay increase. The Daily Telegraph also reported, quoting an unnamed senior source, that he will be assigned to train young soldiers in his role of Forward Air Controller, which involves calling in air strikes and and carrying out surveillance. The prince returned to Britain on Saturday to a hero's welcome, and vowed to return to the frontline as soon as possible, though military chiefs have said that prospect is unlikely for 18 months or so.

Most Britons want a vote on EU treaty: Poll

AFP, London

Campaigners calling for Britain to hold a referendum on a new European Union treaty claimed massive public support Sunday, after publishing data from unofficial polls they had carried out. The I Want A Referendum Campaign said it was backed by 87 percent of people who took part in 10 unofficial referenda in 10 parliamentary constituencies, including those of senior government ministers. It said that of 152,520 people polled, 133,251 called for a referendum. In a separate question, 89 percent said Britain should not approve the treaty, and eight percent said it should. The results were published ahead of a parliamentary vote Wednesday on whether to call a referendum on the treaty, which deals with institutional reform of an enlarged EU. The governing Labour Party promised a referendum on the EU constitutional treaty in its 2005 general election manifesto, but now says this is no longer necessary after that text was rejected by Dutch and French voters.

Wounded East Timor president 'forgives' rebel leader

AFP, Dili

East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta has forgiven the rebel leader who led an attack on his home in which he was shot, the country's interim president said Monday. Ramos-Horta had called for calm and asked for a thorough investigation into the February 11 attacks on himself and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who escaped unharmed, said Fernando "Lasama" de Araujo. "The president also said that he forgives the deceased, Alfredo Reinado Alves, and asked the government to support Alfredo's family," de Araujo said in a statement after visiting the Nobel peace laureate in hospital in Australia. Reinado was killed in an exchange of fire during the attack in which Ramos-Horta was seriously wounded outside his Dili home.

Kenyan crisis talks to resume without deal-broker Annan

AFP, Nairobi

Kenya's rival camps were Monday to resume crisis talks in a bid to clinch solution to long-lasting problems after a power-sharing deal pulled the country from the brink of self-destruction. The talks are chaired by former Nigerian foreign minister Oluyemi Adeniji, replacing former UN chief Kofi Annan who left the country on Sunday after extracting a power-sharing deal between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga. The wide-ranging negotiations are focusing on long-term issues including land, constitutional and government reforms, and economic disparities among Kenyan communities. Annan, who arrived in Kenya on January 22, flew out and admonished Kenyans to stick to the path of reconciliation while grappling with the remaining tough issues. The feuding leaders last Thursday agreed to create a post of a prime minister and two deputies under the current constitution pending a comprehensive constitutional review in 12 months' time.