The New Nation - Internet Edition

All options must be ready to counter Iran: Israeli army chief

AFP, Jerusalem

The Israeli army chief of staff has said in Washington that all options must be prepared to counter Iran's controversial nuclear programme, in remarks relayed on Thursday.

"We are all united over the understanding that Iran must not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon and that there is no doubt that diplomacy must be given priority," Major General Gabi Ashkenazi said on Israeli public radio. "But we all realise, both the Americans and us, that all options must be prepared," said the chief of staff, who is on his first visit to Washington since taking office last year. Ashkenazi has held talks with military top brass as well as Vice President Dick Cheney, and was due to hold talks on Thursday with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen.

Israel and the United States suspect that Iran's nuclear drive is aimed at developing an atomic bomb, a claim vehemently denied by Tehran, which says its programme is designed solely for civilian use. Although the two close allies continue to say diplomatic and economic sanctions could still dissuade Iran from continuing its programme, Israel and the United States have refused to rule out military action.

Meanwhile, despite President Bush's insistence that the military option remains "on the table" for dealing with Iran's nuclear program, Israeli officials have recognized that a U.S. air strike on Iranian nuclear sites is increasingly unlikely in the waning days of the Bush Administration. The Israelis, along with everyone else, are now counting on European-led diplomatic efforts to persuade the Iranians to halt their uranium-enrichment program. But they know diplomacy may fail, which is why a debate now rages in the highest circles of Israel's government and military: If the Europeans fail and the Americans remain reluctant to launch another war in the Middle East, should Israel strike alone against Iran?

When President Bush visited Israel in mid-May, senior Israeli leaders came away from talks confident that the U.S. would attack Iran if it refused to stop enriching uranium. Says one top Israeli military planner privy to Israel's discussions with the U.S. on Iran, "We were under the illusion during Bush's last visit that he was much more determined to order a military action." No longer.

Last week's U-turn, in which the Bush Administration sent a high-ranking State Department official to join the European delegation meeting Iran's top nuclear negotiator, and the proposal to open a U.S. Interests Section to handle consular matters in Tehran - which would be the first U.S. diplomatic presence in Iran since its embassy was stormed in 1979 - has stunned Israeli officials. So dismayed were the Israelis by the latest U.S. moves, one military source told TIME, that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wrote to Bush complaining that Israel should have been forewarned about the White House's abrupt change of course towards Iran.

Just last month, Israel conducted a complex military exercise involving over 150 aircraft flying 900 miles over the Mediterranean Sea, that was widely interpreted as a rehearsal for an air strike against Iran's dozens of nuclear facilities.

A top former officer from Mossad, the Israeli equivalent of the CIA, told TIME that Israel is mindful that an air strike on Iran would jolt the U.S. presidential election - probably rebounding badly on Republican contender Senator John McCain.

Obama urges Europeans, Americans to defeat terror

AP, Berlin

Cheered by an enormous international crowd, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Thursday summoned Europeans and Americans together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it" as surely as they conquered communism a generation ago.

Obama said he was speaking as a citizen, not as a president, but the evening was awash in politics as the first-term U.S. senator sought to burnish his international credentials for the fall campaign at home. His remarks before a crowd estimated at more than 200,000 inevitably invited comparison to historic speeches in the same city by Presidents Kennedy and Reagan.

Now a presidential candidate himself, Obama borrowed rhetoric from his own appeals to campaign audiences this year in the likes of Berlin, N.H., as he spoke in one of the great cities of Europe.

"People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment. This is our time," he declared.

"The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand," Obama said, speaking not far from where the Berlin Wall once divided the city. "The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christians and Muslims and Jews cannot stand," he said. Obama's speech was the centerpiece of a fast-paced tour through Europe designed to reassure skeptical voters in the U.S. about his ability to lead the country and take a frayed cross-Atlantic alliance in a new direction after eight years of the Bush administration. Republicans chafed at the media attention Obama's campaign-season trip has drawn. Presidential rival John McCain went to a German restaurant in swing-state Ohio, and said he'd like to deliver a speech in Germany, but as president not candidate.

Two soldiers among 61 killed in heavy Sri Lankan fighting

AFP, Colombo

Heavy ground battles across Sri Lanka's north claimed the lives of 59 Tamil Tiger rebels and two soldiers, the defence ministry said Friday.

Fresh fighting broke out on Thursday and Friday in the northeastern district of Mullaittivu as troops moved deeper into rebel-held areas, the ministry said. There was no immediate comment on the claims from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), although the rebels accused army commandos of setting off a roadside mine deep inside their territory on Friday, killing a local official. The latest government figures bring to 5,235 the number of Tamil Tigers the defence ministry has said it has killed since the start of the year while 456 soldiers have died during the same period.

Independent verification of casualty figures is not possible as the ministry blocks media access to the frontlines.

Tens of thousands have died since the Tamil Tigers began their campaign in 1972 for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in the island's north and east.

Earlier report adds: Sri Lankan forces battled rebel gunmen deep inside the nation's northern jungles Thursday, killing 25 guerrilla fighters and seizing new territory, the military said. Other battles killed 25 rebels and four soldiers, the military said. The fighting in the northern Mullaitivu district, a key part of the rebels' de facto state, began early Thursday morning and erupted into hours of gunbattles, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.

Troops eventually captured a section of rebel-held territory about two miles south of the village of Mallavi, which lies along a key road the rebels use for moving troops and supplies, he said. Troops killed 25 rebels and recovered seven of their bodies, he said. The fighting has escalated in recent months as top Sri Lankan officials vowed to crush the rebel group by the end of the year. Though military gains against the Tamil Tigers had been relatively modest, troops in recent weeks seized a string of key towns and rebel bases, consistently chipping away at the guerrillas' power base.

US to help upgrade Pakistan fighter fleet

AFP, Washington

The White House confirmed Thursday that it wants to shift 230 million dollars in aid to Pakistan from counter-terrorism programs to upgrading Islamabad's ageing F-16 fighter jets.

The news came as US President George W. Bush prepared to host Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday for talks set to focus on cooperation to fight Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists and Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said a New York Times article detailing the shift was "accurate," but rejected criticism that Pakistan chiefly views the jets through the lens of its nuclear rivalry with neighbor India.

"The F-16s that they have are used in counter-terrorism operations.

We made them available to the Pakistanis and they need to be maintained," Perino told reporters.

Pakistan's new government "is facing a lot of pressure from a severe fiscal situation" stemming partly from soaring food and energy costs, and "they need assistance from the United States," the spokeswoman said.

But the Times reported that some US lawmakers have greeted the proposed shift with anger and may seek to block it, saying that Pakistan does not use its F-16s in support of the campaign against fighters in its remote tribal areas out of a fear that civilian casualties could fuel support for extremists.

Sudan’s president vows to work for Darfur peace

AP, El Geneina

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, charged with genocide and war crimes in Darfur, vowed Thursday to work for peace in the war-wracked desert region and the return of hundreds of thousands of people forced by attacks to flee their homes.

Al-Bashir was speaking at an outdoor rally attended by several thousand supporters in the town of El Geneina in the far western part of Darfur.

The longtime Sudanese leader has been casting himself as a peacemaker since arriving in Darfur, nine days after an international prosecutor filed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity charges against him.

Damaged Qantas jet makes emergency stop in Manila

AP, Manila

A Qantas flight en route to Australia from London made an emergency stop in Manila on Friday after a loud bang punched a hole in the Boeing 747-400's fuselage, officials and passengers said.

There were no injuries, but some of the 350 passengers vomited after disembarking, said Manila International Airport Authority deputy manager for operations Octavio Lina.

In a statement from Sydney, Qantas confirmed the hole in its fuselage and said it was being inspected by engineers.

Lina said the cabin's floor gave way, exposing some of the cargo beneath and part of the ceiling collapsed.

8 die in China mosque collapse

AP, Beijing

A mosque under construction collapsed in northwest China, killing eight people and injuring 23 others, state media reported Friday.

Investigators were looking into whether Thursday's accident in Xiajiuzhuang village in Qinghai province may have been caused by failed support beams, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Among the victims was an 8-year-old boy who was playing in the construction site.

Suicide bomber kills 8 Sunnis in Iraq

AP, Baghdad

A female suicide bomber blew herself up near U.S.-allied Sunni Arab fighters walking in a crowded area of Baqouba, killing at least eight of the guards and wounding 24 other people Thursday evening, police said.

The attack comes as the U.S.-backed Iraqi military is promising to launch a major offensive in Diyala province aimed at taming the last major insurgent belt north of Baghdad. Baqouba is the province's capital. The woman, who was shrouded in a traditional black Islamic robe, detonated her explosives belt at about 8:30 p.m. as she approached a group of Awakening Council guards in the central New Baqouba area, a police officer said.

The officer, who read the police bombing report but spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information, and witnesses said the local Awakening Council chief, Naaim al-Duliami, was killed along with seven of his bodyguards.

The U.S. military in northern Iraq said troops were investigating the bombing and it could not immediately confirm that the attacker was a woman.

The Sunni turn against al-Qaida has been credited by the U.S. military as a key factor in driving down Iraq's violence to its lowest point in more than four years. Also cited are the U.S. troop buildup and a cease-fire declared by anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr for his Shiite militia.

UN help if border talks fail, says Cambodia

AP, Phnom Penh

Cambodia will pursue U.N. intervention to avoid a military confrontation with Thailand if talks between the two countries fail to produce a breakthrough, the Cambodian foreign minister said Friday.

Cambodia is only postponing - not canceling - its request for the U.N. Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the dispute over contested land near a historic temple, Hor Namhong told reporters.

Foreign ministers from both countries are scheduled to meet Monday in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap.

"This is a new step in our goodwill to try to find a solution to the problem through peaceful negotiations," Hor Namhong said after meeting with ambassadors to Cambodia from the Security Council's five permanent members.

The session was called to inform diplomats about the Monday talks.

He said he was "quite hopeful" that the Monday meeting could resolve the standoff near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple. However, if the talks fail, "resorting to the United Nations is still more preferable than waging a war."

The comments came a day after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a statement saying he had advised the Security Council to "temporarily postpone its meeting while awaiting results of the negotiations between Cambodia and Thailand."

Philippines rules out truce with communist rebels

AFP, Manila

The Philippines government Friday ruled out a ceasefire with communist rebels waging a 39-year Maoist campaign, and pledged a robust response to escalating guerrilla attacks on businesses.

"There is no change in the president's policy," President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman Jesus Dureza told reporters.

He said there were no talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines or its 5,000-strong armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA).

The military this week deployed hundreds of extra troops to the southern island of Mindanao, where the NPA has stepped up its activities to about one attack every other day, targetting mostly businesses. Manila cancelled peace talks with the Maoists soon after Arroyo won a fresh term in 2004, and she has ruled out any such talks unless the rebels agreed to a ceasefire.

Iran to increase cooperation with IAEA

AP, Vienna

A senior envoy said Friday that Iran wants to expand its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, but said the IAEA should not be cast as a "U.N. watchdog" looking for signs of secret nuclear weapons programs.

The comments, from Iran's chief delegate to the IAEA, were apparently meant to dispel concerns that Tehran was reducing contacts with the Vienna-based agency tasked with probing the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities.

Instead of cutting back on cooperation, Tehran wants to increase it, chief delegate Ali Ashgar Soltanieh told The Associated Press. To that end, a meeting between Iranian Vice President Gholam Reza Aghazadeh and IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei on Thursday focused on "the promotion of cooperation with the IAEA," he said.

New Zealand students offer reward for Rice arrest

AP, Wellington

New Zealand students protesting the Iraq war offered a reward to anyone who carries out a citizen's arrest of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her visit to the country Friday.

The Auckland University Students' Association is seeking Rice's arrest for her role in "overseeing the illegal invasion and continued occupation" of Iraq, Association President David Do said. The group is offering a $3,700 reward.

Rice is making her first trip to New Zealand after attending a Southeast Asian security forum in Singapore. She is scheduled to arrive from Australia late Friday and fly out early Sunday. Rice, asked about the protest at a news conference Friday with the Australian foreign minister in Perth, Australia, said: "Protests are a part of the Democratic society and student protests are particularly a long honored tradition in democratic society.

Bush, Singh agree to forge ahead on nuclear pact

AFP, Washington

US President George W. Bush telephoned Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday to discuss joint efforts to forge ahead on their countries' controversial nuclear deal, the White House said.

"Both leaders expressed their desire to see the US-India civil nuclear issue move forward as expeditiously as possible," US National Security Council spokes-man Gordon Johndroe said in a statement.

The allies have ramped up a diplomatic campaign to secure the international clearances needed for their civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, inked in 2005, which both sides say is key to broadening US-India relations.

Bush told Singh "he looks forward to continuing to work with his government to strengthen the United States India strategic relationship," Johndroe said, adding that they had also discussed stalled World Trade Organizations talks.

Brown dealt new blow in by-election defeat

AFP, London

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suffered another serious blow to his leadership Friday after his governing Labour Party lost one of its safest seats in a by-election in his native Scotland.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) reversed a majority of 13,500 in Glasgow East to snatch Labour's 25th safest seat in Britain, prompting more questions about how long Brown can remain in Downing Street.

Although he has only been in the job for a year, Brown has already suffered a string of terrible results in by-elections, local elections and London's mayoral election, when Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone was beaten by Boris Johnson of the main opposition Conservatives.

The latest hammer blow prompted David Cameron, the Conservative leader, to call for a snap general election.

Pakistan FM rules out foreign 'invasion’ against extremists

AFP, London

Pakistan will not allow foreign troops in to its tribal areas to root out extremists threatening coalition troops in neighbouring Afghanistan, its foreign minister said here Thursday.

"Invading the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) is not an option," Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a question and answer session after a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies think-tank in central London.

"It will not solve any issue. First of all, we are a sovereign country andt we feel that we have capable troops in Pakistan that can look after peace and security within our territory."

Qureshi's comments came as Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani prepared to leave for the United States to discuss stepping up efforts against Islamist extremists launching attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan.

The visit comes amid mounting fears in Pakistan that the United States is prepared to launch military "hot pursuit" raids into the troubled Pakistani tribal belt as attacks soar in Afghanistan.