The New Nation - Internet Edition

UN Security Council tightens Iran sanctions

AFP, United Nations

The Security Council tightened UN sanctions on Iran Monday for refusing to halt nuclear fuel work as six major powers offered to resume talks with the Islamic Republic to end the standoff.

Fourteen of the council's 15 members voted in favor of Resolution 1803, sponsored by Britain, France and Germany, which slapped a third set of economic and trade sanctions on Iran in 15 months.

Indonesia abstained during the vote which was presided over by Russia, the council chair for March.

But Libya, South Africa and Vietnam, which joined Indonesia in expressing reservations about the need for fresh sanctions at a time when Iran is cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), voted in favor in the end.

After the vote, the six powers trying to scale back Iran's nuclear ambitions issued a statement calling for new talks between EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's nuclear negotiator.

"We have asked Javier Solana to meet with Dr. Saeed Jalili, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council," British ambassador John Sawers said on behalf of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

The six reconfirmed and pledged to expand a 2006 offer of economic and trade incentives to Iran in exchange for a freeze of its uranium enrichment activities which the West fears is aimed at developing nuclear weapons.

US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said his government was "pleased to see the Security Council has recognized the continuing threat posed by Iran's nuclear program through this vote on additional sanctions."

Speaking ahead of the vote, Iran's UN Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee blasted what he called an "unjust and irrational decision" which he said "undermines the integrity and credibility" of the council.

Accusing the resolution's Western sponsors of pursuing "a politically motivated agenda," he said his country would not comply with demands it views as not "legitimate."

"Any irrational and unlawful act will not help resolve Iran's nuclear issue. It will complicate the dealings around this issue and it will become more difficult," said Iran's Atomic Energy Organization deputy head Mohammad Saeedi.

The Security Council vote came as IAEA chief Mohammed ElBaradei pressed Iran to clear up allegations that it was involved in covert nuclear weapons work.

"I urge Iran to be as active and as cooperative as possible in working with the agency to clarify this matter of serious concern," ElBaradei told the IAEA's 35-member board of governors in Vienna.

The resolution gives Iran three months to comply with UN and IAEA demands to suspend uranium enrichment and reprocessing to help restore international confidence in the peaceful nature of its nuclear program or face new sanctions.

It includes an outright ban on travel by officials involved in Tehran's nuclear and missile programs, and broadens a list of individuals and entities subject to an assets freeze.

China declares sharp rise in military spending

AFP, Beijing

China announced Tuesday its defence spending would rise 17.6 percent this year but insisted the increase was moderate, after the United States expressed concerns about Beijing's expanding military power.

Military spending in 2008 will reach 417.8 billion yuan (57.2 billion dollars at the end-2007 exchange rate), a spokesman for China's parliament told reporters ahead of the legislature's annual session beginning Wednesday.

As Jiang Enzhu announced the figures, he also renewed a warning to rival Taiwan that its plans for a March 22 referendum on United Nations membership was putting an already uneasy peace between the two sides at further risk. Nevertheless, Jiang said the budget rise, following a similar jump in 2007, was moderate, with the spending coming off a low base and helping to boost soldiers' incomes as well as beef up the military's high-tech capabilities.

"In recent years the Chinese government has moderately increased its spending on national defence on the basis of sustained, steady and fast economic growth and rapid build-up of government revenues," Jiang said.

"These increases were of a compensatory nature to make up for the weak defence foundation."

Jiang said China's military spending was just 1.4 percent of its gross domestic product last year, compared with 4.6 percent in the United States and three percent in Britain.

And although Jiang did not highlight it, China's official budget for 2008 remained about 10 times less than the nearly 600 billion dollars US President George W. Bush proposed for US defence and military spending this year.

Still, on Monday the Pentagon expressed concern about China's growing military might, saying a lack of transparency posed risks to regional and international stability. The Pentagon said in an annual report that China's military spending in 2007 was between 97 and 139 billion dollars, well in excess of Beijing's official budgeted figure of 45 billion dollars.

In an immediate reaction to the announcement in Beijing, Japan also said the international community remained concerned about a lack of transparency in China's military. The Pentagon further raised concerns over China's development of cruise and ballistic missiles, its testing of an anti-satellite weapon last year and an apparent rise in cyber-espionage emanating from the Asian nation.

"China's expanding and improving military capabilities are changing East Asian military balances; improvements in China's strategic capabilities have implications beyond the Asia-Pacific region," the Pentagon report said.

The US deputy assistant defence secretary for East Asian affairs, David Sedney, said US officials did not know what China's true aims were in the military sphere. "I think the biggest thing for people to be concerned about, really, is the fact that we don't have that kind of strategic understanding of the Chinese intentions," Sedney said.

"And that leads to uncertainty."

The Pentagon report warned that although the situation in the Taiwan Strait remained stable, the balance of military power was continuing to shift in China's favour. Jiang did not respond directly to questions about how much of China's military budget was focused on Taiwan, but he warned the island it would pay a "heavy price" if its referendum on joining the UN was endorsed by the public.

US power crippling in Iraq, says Ahmadinejad

AP, Baghdad

Iran's firebrand president wrapped up his landmark visit to Iraq with a bit of added swagger Monday_ insisting that U.S. power is crippling the region and portraying himself as the enduring partner of Baghdad's Shiite-led government.

The parting words and posturing - like nearly every moment of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's two-day trip - was powerful political theater seeking to emphasize Iran's growing bonds with its former enemy. U.S. officials had a front row seat. Ahmadinejad, the first Iranian leader to visit Iraq since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, had no direct dealings with American envoys or the military. But Washington and its Sunni Arab allies were high on his agenda - taking every opportunity to send messages about Shiite Iran's rising influence in the region and its special ties to Iraq's Shiite majority.

Japan urges China to address military concerns

AFP, Tokyo

Japan's defence ministry called Tuesday on China to "address the concerns of the international community" after Beijing announced a 17.6 percent rise in its military budget. "The defence ministry will keep working for China to enhance transparency about the strength of its military so as to address the concerns of the international community," it said in a statement. While Japan has been working to repair often tense ties with China, it has also repeatedly voiced unease over its neighbour's rising military spending. Tokyo has been officially pacifist since World War II and it relies on a security treaty with the United States, which stations more than 40,000 troops in its key Asian ally. Japan's statement echoed the view of the Pentagon, which expressed concern in a report released on Monday about China's expanding military power and the lack of transparency. This year's rise in military spending "will mark the 20th consecutive year that the Chinese military budget has increased by double digits," the Japanese statement said. "We believe that China's military modernisation will be further accelerated," it said.

Rice in Egypt at start of Middle East tour

AFP, Cairo

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Egypt on Tuesday at the start of a regional tour with hopes for an Israeli Palestinian peace deal hit hard by an escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip. Rice was due to meet Egyptian officials including President Hosni Mubarak, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit and intelligence supremo Omar Suleiman, who on Monday cancelled a trip to Israel in protest at Israel's Gaza offensive. Rice stressed her confidence in the chances of success for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process launched in November at Annapolis, blaming Hamas for the recent burst of violence in the Middle East. "I continue to believe that they can get to a deal by the end of the year," Rice said in the plane taking her to Cairo. "The Annapolis process is hardly underway. We are three months in." The secretary of state refrained for criticizing Israel over its Operation Hot Winter which claimed dozens of Palestinian lives in the space of two days in the Gaza Strip, including women and children, noting that the onslaught was in self defence.

Five killed in shooting near Suu Kyi's house

AFP, Yangon

Five people were killed in execution-style shootings in the wealthy Yangon neighbourhood where Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest, police said Tuesday. A couple, their two daughters and a maid were shot inside their home on Monday afternoon, police told AFP. "About 1,000 lakhs (1,000 dollars) was taken from their home," a police official said on condition of anonymity. Family friends said all five had been shot in the head. The shooting happened near the State Guesthouse, a military facility that has been the venue for recent talks between Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and a liaison officer for the military government. The guesthouse is also where the democracy leader has been allowed to meet with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari on his previous visits to Myanmar. He is set to return on Thursday.

Australian PM to visit US, Europe, China

AFP, Sydney

Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced Tuesday that he would soon visit the United States, Europe and China on his first official trip abroad. The initial stop for the centre-left leader who ousted the former conservative government in November elections will be at the White House for talks with US President George W. Bush on March 28. Rudd has pledged to pull Australia's 550 combat troops out of Iraq but has stressed that he aims to maintain good relations with Washington and noted that he had spoken to Bush by telephone earlier in the day. "We are both looking forward to a friendly and constructive meeting covering the range of our common security and economic interests," the former diplomat said in a statement. Rudd will also hold talks at the United Nations in New York before visiting Brussels from April 2-3 for meetings with the president and senior members of the European Commission.