The New Nation - Internet Edition

Obama inching closer to Democratic presidential nomination

AP, Washington

On the rebound, Barack Obama left Hillary Rodham Clinton with fast-dwindling chances to deny him the Democratic presidential nomination after beating her in North Carolina and falling just short in an Indiana cliffhanger.

Obama was on track to climb within 200 delegates of attaining the prize, his campaign finally steadying after missteps fiercely exploited by the never-say-die Clinton. His campaign dropped broad hints it was time for the 270 remaining unaligned party figures known as superdelegates to get off the fence and settle the nomination. It was in that arena - even more than in the scattered primaries left - that the Democratic hyperdrama was bound to play out.

"You know, there are those who were saying that North Carolina would be a game-changer in this election," Obama told a roaring crowd in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday night, referring to Clinton's hope that an upset there would recast the race in her favor.

"But today what North Carolina decided is that the only game that needs changing is the one in Washington, D.C."

Clinton vowed to compete tenaciously for West Virginia next week and Kentucky and Oregon after that, and to press "full speed on to the White House."

But she risked running on fumes without an infusion of cash, and made a direct fundraising pitch from the stage in Indianapolis. "I need your help to continue our journey," she said.

And she pledged anew that she would support the Democratic nominee "no matter what happens," a vow also made by her competitor.

Polarizing, protracted and often bitter, the contest is hardening divisions in the party, according to exit polls from the two states.

A solid majority of each candidate's supporters said they would not be satisfied if the other candidate wins the nomination.

Fully one-third of Clinton's supporters in Indiana and North Carolina went beyond mere dissatisfaction to say they would vote for Republican John McCain instead of Obama if that's the choice in the fall.

Obama scored a convincing victory of about 14 points in North Carolina, where he'd been favored. Clinton squeezed out a narrow margin in Indiana after a long night of counting.

Racial divisions were stark.

In both states, Clinton won six in 10 white votes while Obama got nine in 10 black votes, exit polls indicated.

It was a slightly better performance than usual by Clinton among whites, while Obama's backing from blacks was one of his highest winning percentages yet with that group.

Against the backdrop of disunity, pressure is certain to intensify on the superdelegates to declare themselves and lasso Democrats together for the fall campaign against McCain. They are not bound by results in primaries or caucuses.

Transport, visa hurdles slowing aid to Myanmar storm victims

AP, Geneva

Travel and visa obstacles on Tuesday hampered aid deliveries to the estimated 1 million people in Myanmar believed to be homeless after the devastating cyclone, officials said.

Assistance had started to reach people in and around Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, said Chris Kaye, the U.N. World Food Program's director for Myanmar. But many coastal areas remained cut off from food supplies because of flooding and road damage. Additional truckloads of food would be dispatched Wednesday to Labutta township, the area hardest hit by the cyclone that struck over the weekend, Kaye said.

The food agency said its assessment teams were reporting tremendous storm damage to homes and shelter in villages in the rice-growing areas on Myanmar's coast. It said the death toll was still increasing.

However, U.N. relief spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said that some U.N. workers planning to assess needs were still awaiting their visas to enter the country.

The death toll in the country, which is also known as Burma, was in the tens of thousands with many more still missing, state radio reported. As many as 1 million people may have been left homeless.

The United States said it was giving $3 million to U.N. agencies to help with their efforts, up from an initial emergency contribution of $250,000.

Cyclone could cause long-term food shortages in Myanmar

AP, Bangkok

Cyclone Nargis has devastated Myanmar's agriculture heartland, known as its rice bowl, experts said Wednesday, and could result in long-term food shortages for the impoverished country.

The Rome-based U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that five states hit hardest by Saturday's cyclone produce 65 percent of the country's rice. The region is also home to 80 percent of its aquaculture, 50 percent of its poultry and 40 percent of its pig production, the FAO said. Of most concern is the rice production. Since the impoverished country has produced enough to feed itself until now, it has been able avert potentially dangerous shortages as well as recent rice price increases, which have tripled recently on the global market.

"There is likely going to be incredible shortages in the next 18 to 24 months," said Sean Turnell, an economist specializing in Myanmar at Australia's Macquarie University. "Things will be tough." The FAO said the storm may even have affects on future harvests because it likely destroyed seeds kept in inadequate facilities.

"There is risk that stored rice seeds kept by farmers - usually under poor storage facilities - might be affected by the cyclone," it said in a statement. Once the world's top rice producers, Myanmar has in the past four decades seen its rice exports drop from nearly 4 million tons to only about 600,000 tons this year. Its exports are so small these days that few expect the cyclone will have any impact on world rice prices, which have skyrocketed recently in the face of higher fuel costs and greater demand from India and China.

Mostly due to the mismanagement of the country's ruling generals, the country's road networks and rice storage facilities have also fallen into disrepair and such things as fertilizer and credit for farmers is almost nonexistent.

Roadside bomb kills 2 Afghan police officers

AP, Kabul

A roadside bomb hit a police vehicle in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing two officers, an official said.

The blast happened just outside the capital of Khost province as the officers traveled from their homes to work, said Wazir Pacha, a spokesman for the provincial police chief.

The explosion was powerful and the car was destroyed in the blast, Pacha said.

Insurgents often target the police force, which is more vulnerable and exposed than the better trained and equipped Afghan national army. Over 920 police officers were killed by militants in 2007.

Sri Lanka’s Tamil rebels claim nine soldiers killed

AFP, Colombo

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels Wednesday claimed they had killed nine soldiers and repulsed an army advance in areas controlled by the guerrillas to the north of the island.

The pro-rebel, Tamilnet.com website reported that the army faced stiff resistance when it launched twin attacks to break through guerrilla-held areas in Mannar on Tuesday.

"An armoured personnel carrier was destroyed by an LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) mine, killing at least nine soldiers and wounding many," the website said, quoting rebel officials.

Anti-government protesters paralyze Beirut

Reuters, Beirut

Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah blocked main roads in Beirut with burning barricades on Wednesday, paralyzing the city and deepening the pro-Iranian group's conflict with the U.S.-backed government.

They set ablaze old cars and tires to block the main road to Beirut's international airport, where air traffic was suspended because of a strike by staff taking part in a labor union protest to demand higher wages.

The Hezbollah-led opposition has backed the strike. Activists loyal to Hezbollah, a political group with a guerrilla army and backing from Iran and Syria, also blocked routes to Beirut's main commercial district and the usually busy sea port.

India tests ballistic missile capable of reaching China

AFP, Bhubaneswar

India successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile Wednesday that can hit targets deep inside China, joining the ranks of nations possessing intermediate-range missile capacity, the defence ministry said.

It marked the third test of the Agni-III missile -- India's longest-range ballistic missile -- and was staged "to establish the repeatability of the missile's performance," defence ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar told AFP.

The missile was fired from a mobile launcher Wednesday morning at a testing site on Wheeler Island off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa.

Kar said the launch "propelled India into a select group of countries with intermediate-range ballistic missile capabilities and added yet another dimension to national deterrence." The missile, which has a 3,000-kilometre (1,860-mile) range, can carry conventional or nuclear payloads of 1.5 tonnes, and puts China's major cities such as Shanghai within striking distance, defence analysts say.

Dmitry Medvedev takes Russian presidential oath

AFP, Moscow

Dmitry Medvedev was sworn in Wednesday as Russia's third president since the fall of the Soviet Union at a glittering Kremlin ceremony overshadowed by his powerful mentor Vladimir Putin.

After taking the oath in the Kremlin's gold-leafed Great Palace, Medvedev, 42, said his most important task would be to ensure "civil and economic freedom" and to strengthen Russia's role on the international stage.

Goose-stepping guards in Tsarist-style uniforms brought the Russian flag, the presidential flag with the double-headed eagle symbol, a red-bound copy of the Russian constitution, and the golden chain of the presidential office.