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India, US sign civil nuclear cooperation agreement

Reuters, Washington

The United States and India signed a potentially lucrative agreement on Friday that would allow India to buy U.S. civil nuclear technology for the first time in three decades.

Overturning a U.S. ban on nuclear trade instituted after India first tested an atomic device in 1974, the pact will provide India with access to U.S. nuclear fuel, reactors and technology to generate power for its population of more than 1.1 billion people.

The deal could produce some $27 billion in investment in 18 to 20 nuclear plants in India over the next 15 years, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry. U.S., French, Russian and other companies are expected to compete for the business. The accord, reached after years of tortuous negotiations and harshly criticized by nonproliferation advocates, was signed by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The Bush administration believes the agreement will secure a strategic partnership with the world's largest democracy, help India meet its rising energy demand in an environmentally sound way and open up a civil nuclear market worth billions. At a State Department ceremony, Rice said the agreement "demonstrates the vast potential partnership between India and the United States-potential that, frankly, has gone unfulfilled for too many decades of mistrust."

She also noted the efforts that were needed to secure approval for the deal in both countries, referring to the fact that the government of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh nearly collapsed over the issue.

The communists withdrew their support from the Singh government in July over the pact, condemning it as India's "surrender" to Washington.

"Prime Minister Singh literally risked his political future for this agreement and then remade his government to gain the support that he needed," Rice said.

Before signing the pact, Mukherjee alluded to the business opportunities that may await U.S. firms.

"We look forward to working with the U.S. companies on the commercial steps that will follow to implement this landmark agreement," he said. Mukherjee later said India would not extend "preferential treatment" to U.S. nuclear suppliers in deciding commercial deals that would also involve France and Russia.

"But we are aware of our expanding relationship with (the) U.S.," he told a news conference.

Critics argue the deal undermines efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and sets a precedent allowing other nations to seek to buy such technology without submitting to the full range of global nonproliferation safeguards.

In particular, the United States and other powers have been seeking to stop Iran and North Korea from developing their nuclear programs.

The agreement has drawn criticism because India is not a party to the Nonproliferation Treaty meant to stop the production and spread of nuclear weapons and a companion international agreement banning nuclear tests.

India conducted a nuclear weapons test in 1998, triggering a tit-for-tat test by its longtime rival Pakistan.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association and a leading opponent of the deal, disputed the Bush administration's claim that it would improve the global nonproliferation regime because a majority of India's nuclear reactors would now come under international inspection.

"The deal does not bring India into the nonproliferation mainstream," Kimball said.

"The arrangement will indirectly assist India's bomb-making effort and it's going to make it more difficult to reduce nuclear dangers in South Asia," he said.

"This is a nonproliferation disaster that is going to have negative effects for years to come because India is being granted the benefits of civil nuclear trade without fulfilling the obligations expected of virtually all the world's other countries."

Mukherjee, however, said "India's commitment to nonproliferation is second to none" and insisted that his country would implement the agreement "in good faith and in accordance with the principles of international law."

Bush to meet G7 ministers to tackle crisis

AFP, Washington

US President George W. Bush will hold talks with G7 finance ministers Saturday in search of coordinated ways to tackle the financial crisis that has shaken markets from Asia to the United States.

The early morning meeting at the White House comes after the Group of Seven finance chiefs agreed Friday to use "all available tools" to support major banks and prevent their failure as they sought to dampen a financial firestorm threatening more mayhem.

The plan followed another day of massive falls on the markets as investors rushed to the exits, putting G7 officials under intense pressure to come up with a convincing accord.

Analysts said, however, there was a lack of substance and nothing that would calm the markets and so allow a more measured approach to the problems thrown up rather than the crisis mode of the past few weeks.

"The G7 agrees today that the current situation calls for urgent and exceptional action," a statement released by the US Treasury said.

"We commit to continue working together to stabilize financial markets and restore the flow of credit, to support global economic growth."

The G7 major advanced economies agreed to "take decisive action and use all available tools to support systemically important financial institutions and prevent their failure."

Finance ministers and central bankers from the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Italy and Canada met in Washington ahead of weekend gatherings of the Group of 20, International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

The G7 statement was "a set of noble goals, the sort of thing one should expect," said Peter Morici, business professor at the University of Maryland.

"There is nothing there to calm the markets, no substance (in the statement) to do that," Morici said, while adding that it did at least contain the things that needed to be done, if not the action to bring them about.

The G7 said they would take "all necessary steps to unfreeze credit and money markets and ensure that banks and ensure that banks and other financial institutions have broad access to liquidity and funding."

The credit markets are crucial because they are used to provide the short-term funding essential for banks and companies to manage their affairs.

Since the collapse of the US subprime or higher-risk home loan market last year, the banks have been saddled with mountains of bad debt, undercutting their finances and making them unwilling to provide any but the safest loan.

As lending has dried up, business has been increasingly affected, in turn hitting employment and consumer spending to leave the US economy prey to a vicious circle of declining demand and activity.

No end to Afghanistan fight: Top UK military chief

AFP, London

The international military mission in Afghanistan has "no end point", the head of Britain's armed forces told a newspaper on Saturday.

Sir Jock Stirrup's comments come a week after Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, the nation's top military commander in Afghanistan, said the public should not expect a "decisive military victory" in the war-torn country.

Stirrup, chief of the defence staff, told The Times that in both Iraq and Afghanistan, British troops were on a "journey that never finishes". The 58-year-old air chief marshal said the mission in Afghanistan, where Britain has 7,800 troops fighting Taliban insurgents, was not a win or lose battle.

Britain's 4,100 troops in Iraq are likely to leave within a year, Stirrup said, with Iraqi forces "very close" to being able to handle the security situation alone. However, Afghanistan would be a longer operation, he warned.

"Afghanistan is a very backward countryt (militarily) it's going to be some years before we finish that project," he said.

Stirrup believes people should change their expectations of what can be achieved in Afghanistan. "We should avoid the use of words like 'win' and 'lose' in the context of Afghanistan. It's not that sort of enterprise," he said.

"It's about helping the Afghans make progress in bringing their country towards the modern world. That's a very, very long journey where success is measured in each year looking a bit better than the one before."

Stirrup does not believe a military victory could be declared in Iraq either.

He said: "These things are more complicatedt In both cases it's a journey. If you're talking about the development of a country, it's a journey that never finishes.

There's no end point." The aim of the mission in Afghanistan, as in Iraq, is to "help the government there extend governance to their people and to improve their lot.

"This is a very complex issue. It has to do with administrative capacity. It has to do with executive capacity, it has to do with the criminal justice system, with police and infrastructure.

"The armed forces are only there to create space within which political and other solutions can be delivered. They are a means to an end."

Asked if the war in Iraq has been successful, he replied: "We need to leave those judgements to historians."

Stirrup repeated his call for greater funding for the armed forces, despite the credit crunch.

"The pre-requisite of a sound defence is a sound economy," he said.

"But you have to continue protecting your interests. You can't take a holiday from doing that."

He also said Princes William and Harry-both army officers-should be allowed to fight on the front line where possible.

Sri Lankan troops kill 20 rebels

AFP, Colombo

Heavy fighting continued between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka's war-ravaged north, with the military killing 20 guerrillas, the defence ministry said Saturday.

Friday's fighting, which took place across several northern fronts, also killed five soldiers and wounded 18, the ministry said. The latest fighting raised the number of rebels killed by troops since January to 7,386, while 732 soldiers have died in the same period. Casualty figures cannot be verified as the ministry blocks journalists from travelling to the frontlines. There was no immediate comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have been fighting for a separate state for minority Tamils since 1972.

Having wrested the east from the Tigers in July 2007, troops are now moving to dismantle the LTTE's mini-state in the north. Sri Lanka's army chief said last week that troops are just outside the northern town of Kilinochchi, which has been the LTTE's administrative centre for the past decade.

Sri Lanka pulled out of a six-year Norwegian-brokered truce in January and has poured in a record 1.5 billion dollars into this year's war effort.

Buffett boosts wealth to top Gates on Forbes list

Reuters, New York

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is again the richest American, deposing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, after Forbes magazine recalculated the fortunes of some of the 400 wealthiest Americans.

The magazine took another look at the fortunes of some of the billionaires on its Forbes 400 list to assess the effect of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Depression and released a select list naming some of those hit hard.

But while 17 billionaires on Forbes list lost more than $1 billion in the past month, Buffett managed to boost his wealth by $8 billion to $58 billion, pushing him ahead of Gates, whose fortune fell to $55.5 billion from $57 billion.

Gates had been ranked No. 1 on the Forbes 400 list for the past 15 years with his Microsoft fortune.

Buffett made his money by building his company Berkshire Hathaway Inc into a $199 billion conglomerate that invests in undervalued companies with strong management. Late last month his company said it would invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

"We chose to focus on some of the more high-profile billionaires on The Forbes 400, and print a sampling of those who lost over $1 billion during the month of September," said Forbes senior editor Matthew Miller.

The initial list, released on Sept. 17, was calculated using publicly traded stock prices on Aug. 29, while the revised fortunes of some billionaires uses Oct. 1 prices.

Third place Oracle Corp founder Lawrence Ellison, saw his estimated $27 billion fortune drop to $25.4 billion, but he did not appear to lose his position.

When the list was released last month, four members of the Walton family, descendants of Wal-Mart Stores Inc founder Sam Walton, held positions 4 through 7, each with fortunes of about $23 billion.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was at No. 8 with a fortune estimated at $20 billion from his news and financial data empire, while brothers Charles and David Koch rounded out the top 10 with fortunes of $19 billion each from their manufacturing and energy company Koch Industries.

Forbes did not say whether any of those positions had changed.

Of the billionaires whose fortunes were revised by Forbes, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson was hit hardest by the economic turmoil with his fortune dropping $4 billion to $11 billion, and Charles Ergen, chairman of satellite broadcaster EchoStar, lost $2.2 billion and is now said to be worth $5.9 billion.

Suu Kyi appeals to Myanmar junta against her detention

AFP, Yangon

Myanmar's detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has appealed to the ruling junta against her detention, her party's spokesman said Saturday.

The appeal was sent by the opposition National League for Democracy party to military leaders in the administrative capital Naypyidaw in an attempt to secure her release from house arrest at her lakeside home in Yangon.

"One of her lawyers U Hla Myo Myint sent her appeal to the cabinet in Naypyidaw on Thursday. They accepted it and signed the receipt," Nyan Win, an NLD spokesman told AFP. "We can say that the way is open for her appeal for her release. It's still too early to say how things will develop," he said, adding that he believed an appeal hearing date may soon be set.

Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi approved the final draft of her legal appeal during a meeting with her lawyer Kyi Win in September.

The NLD leader has been confined to her home for most of the past 19 years.

63-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi rarely meets with anyone except her lawyer and doctor and in August refused a visit from United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari, apparently in protest at the lack of progress he was making on reform in Myanmar.

On September 14 she was given an intravenous drip for malnourishment by her doctor Tin Myo Win after refusing food deliveries for a month.

The junta, which has ruled Myanmar since 1962, released 9,000 prisoners, including ten political prisoners, last month, in an amnesty ahead of elections planned for 2010 -- in which Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from standing.

Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory in 1990 elections but the junta never allowed it to take office.

Austrian rightist leader Joerg Haider dies in car crash

AP, Vienna

Austrian politician Joerg Haider, whose far-right rhetoric at times sounded sympathetic to the Nazis and contemptuous of Jews - and at one point led to months of international isolation for the Alpine republic - died early Saturday in a car accident. He was 58.

Haider was pronounced dead in a hospital shortly after his car veered off the road on the outskirts of Klagenfurt in southern Austria and overturned several times after he successfully passed another car, police said. Authorities said an initial investigation showed no signs of foul play. At the time of his death, Haider was governor of the province of Carinthia and leader of the Alliance for the Future of Austria - a party he formed after breaking away from the far right Freedom Party in 2005. "For us, it's like the end of the world," said Haider's spokesman and the alliance's secretary-general, Stefan Petzner.

In 1999, Haider received 27 percent of the vote in national elections as leader of the Freedom Party, which ran an anti-immigrant campaign critical of European Union goals of opening membership to Eastern European countries.

Though Haider denied accusations he was pro-Nazi, the party's inclusion in the coalition government led to months of EU sanctions over his statements, which were seen as anti-Semitic or sympathetic to Adolf Hitler's labor policies.

Austria's relations with Israel also deteriorated when the party joined the federal government and Israel pulled its ambassador from Vienna.

Despite his reputation as a firebrand, Haider had significantly toned down his rhetoric in recent years. Over the summer, he staged a comeback in national politics and helped his Alliance for the Future of Austria significantly improve their standing in Sept. 28 national elections.

He and his supporters had left the Freedom Party in 2005 to form the relatively moderate Alliance for the Future of Austria. The Freedom Party's fall in popularity had been accompanied by growing infighting among party pragmatists and the rightist fringe that extended to people with links to neo-Nazi publications.

Haider had sought to distance himself from his rightist past, which included a comment in 1991 that the Third Reich had an "orderly employment policy" and a 1995 reference to concentration camps as "the punishment camps of National Socialism."

Haider, who was born Jan. 26, 1950 in Upper Austria, enjoyed tremendous popularity in the province of Carinthia. He was known by opponents and supporters alike as intelligent and politically savvy.

Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer described the longtime politician as someone who had shaped Austria's domestic political landscape over decades.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer described Haider's death as a "human tragedy."

The impact of Haider's death on Austrian domestic politics was not immediately clear. Just last week, he and Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the Freedom Party, met for what appeared to be a successful attempt to put aside their personal differences in light of their combined success at the polls. Taken together, the results of their two parties came to 28.2 percent of the ballot - putting them on nearly equal footing with the winning Social Democrats.

Haider is survived by his wife, two daughters and his mother, whose 90th birthday he and his family had planned to celebrate over the weekend.