Fourth session of COMEST in Bangkok (March 23 - 25)

16-03-2005 4:00 pm The World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) will hold its fourth session in Bangkok, Thailand, from March 23 to 25. Jointly organized by UNESCO and the Government of Thailand, the session will enable UNESCO to promote ethics of science and technology within the Asia-Pacific region and to take stock of regional views on related issues. The COMEST session will be opened by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra; the Minister of Science and Technology of Thailand, Korn Thapparansi; the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura; and the Chairperson of COMEST, Jens Erik Fenstad (Norway). Keynote addresses will be given by Mr Matsuura and Yongyuth Yuthavong, former President of the Thai Academy of Science and Technology.

The following issues will be addressed during the session: ethics education; and environmental ethics (both on the afternoon of March 23); good governance of science and technology; benefit sharing and international cooperation in research; animals and ethics; and human rights and ethics (March 24). Every session will be co-chaired by a member of COMEST and a Thai expert.

March 25 will be dedicated to a youth forum on the ethics of science, to a round table debate one the ethical use of Genetically Modified Organisms, and to a second round table on ethics and technological innovation.

Also on that day, the Director-General of UNESCO will award the 2004 UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education to Vitit Muntarbhorn, Professor of Law at Chulalongkorn University (Thailand).

In another event held on the margins of the COMEST meeting, science and technology ministers from the region will hold a private meeting (March 25). The ministers are expected to adopt a declaration on ethics of science, the Bangkok Declaration, which will be presented by the Minister of Science and Technology of Thailand during the closing session of the COMEST meeting.

The closing session will also feature presentations of reports on the debates and youth forum. Closing addresses will be delivered by the Minister of Science and Technology of Thailand, Assistant UNESCO Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, Pierre Sané, and the President of COMEST, Prof. Fenstad, who is concluding his mandate. At this occasion the new president of COMEST will be announced. Link

Japan Appeals For Help to Free Sailors Abducted by Pirates

By Steve Herman


Tokyo is asking Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore for help in freeing two Japanese and a Filipino captured in an attack on a Japanese-registered tugboat by armed pirates in the Malacca Strait.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi urged his cabinet Tuesday to work to rescue the three. Japan's coast guard was standing by to dispatch vessels to the Malacca Strait if the Malaysian government requests help.

Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura on Tuesday established a crisis task force to oversee efforts to rescue the boat's Japanese captain and chief engineer, and a Filipino engineer. Pirates attacked their tugboat on Monday, taking the three and letting the boat, with 11 other sailors aboard, sail on.

He says that Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are "doing their utmost" to free the abductees.

The foreign minister says it is not known where the pirates took the three.

Mak Junam is a piracy expert at the Institute of Southeast Asian Security in Singapore.

"They have probably fled into Indonesian waters, somewhere in Sumatra and they are well ensconced in some hideaway," said Mak Junam.

Mr. Mak says such attacks for ransom occur several times a year - some ending with the hostages being killed by their captors - but the incidents get little publicity. He says Japan's appeal for help from Southeast Asian nations is a good strategy to try to free the hostages.

"I do believe the Malaysian marine police have a good intelligence unit and they keep track of all these people, but ultimately it is up to the Indonesians to act because it is within their national sovereign territory," he said.

The narrow Malacca Strait in Southeast Asia is one of the world's busiest waterways - and most of Japan's vital oil imports travel through it. Japanese politicians are calling for Tokyo to work more closely with nations in the region to prevent piracy.

Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia last year began coordinated patrols in the Strait after Japan and Western countries expressed concern that terrorists could hijack a tanker to use as a floating bomb or to block the Strait.

Mr. Mak says most of the pirates are part of a sophisticated criminal network, with middlemen arranging for ransoms to be paid into bank accounts. He says the only way to eliminate the attacks is to go after the pirates' bases and infrastructure on land. Link

Brazil launches alcohol powered plane

A Brazilian firm has delivered the world's first ethanol-burning production aircraft to a crop-spraying company and it sees a booming market for alcohol powered planes.

The single-seat EMB 202 Ipanema is the first production-series model approved by aviation authorities to run on ethanol produced from sugar cane.

Its makers, Neiva Aeronautic Industry, said it had orders for 70 of the single-engine planes this year.

The Ipanema is a new step forward for Brazil's pioneering national ethanol fuel program, launched in response to the 1970's oil crisis.

Drawing on its world-leading sugar cane production to produce the alternative to petroleum-based gasoline, by the 1980's ethanol was the dominant fuel for automobiles.

Today, under a flexibility program, roughly a third of all cars sold are adapted to use both ethanol and regular gasoline.

"Ethanol fuel is less polluting than gasoline, is renewable, and is about five times less expensive than gasoline," Neiva director Acir Padilha Junior said.

Already 300 to 400 small aircraft in Brazil fly on ethanol, but most are adapted from using aviation gasoline and are not certified for commercial production. Link

Driving on sugar cane juice

By PHOOLO DANNY-MAHARAJ

Wednesday, March 16th 2005

WHEN Sugar Manufacturing Company Limited chief executive officer Andre Guyadeen returns form Brazil later this week, he will be armed with information about the feasibility and other technical knowledge of ethanol production from sugar cane.

Guyadeen is attending a conference organised by sugar and ethanol producers in Brazil. Brazil is the world's leading country in both sugar and ethanol production.

Guyadeen said: "If we lose the price differential that we have with the European Union, we will have to sell sugar at market prices, but that would not be economical for us. That means we will have to find some options."

One such option is ethanol as a choice for fuel.

This option has been taken up years ago by several countries worldwide, among them, the USA, Brazil and India, Guyadeen noted.

That has not been lost on the SMCL. Guyadeen's attendance at the Brazil conference provided him with an opportunity to visit plants, look at their facilities and also the technical aspects for Trinidad and Tobago to produce ethanol. This does not mean that Trinidad must diversify, but if it does not meet the EU quota which is 45,000 tonnes of sugar a year, then the SMCL will have to look for alternative use of sugar cane or close down the industry, it was pointed out.

The announcement of SMCL's involvement in the production of ethanol was made by Trade and Industry Minister Kenneth Valley last week at the formal opening of the Trade and Investment Convention at Hilton Trinidad.

Guyadeen said the SMCL still "has to work out the economics of ethanol production. If it is viable, we will get into it, if it is not, we will not get involved."

"We have to look at the plants and machinery to convert sugar cane to ethanol, and the cost to produce one tonne of sugar cane," he said: "The world is going this way, we too have to go this way to survive."

Guyadeen described ethanol as a clean-burning renewable fuel made form corn and sugar cane. But the move has caused some concern among cane farmers.

Seukeran Tambie, secretary general of the Cane Producers Association of Trinidad and Tobago , asked: "what's in ethanol production for the farmers?"

He said: "If ethanol is going to fetch an enhanced price on the market, then it will mean that new systems of payment will have to be worked out with the farmers and the various organisations." He added that CPATT had not been approached by anyone from Government or SMCL to talk about plants to produce ethanol form sugar cane.

Raffique Shah, president general of the Trinidad Islandwide Cane Farmers Association, said the critical question to be considered if Government decides on ethanol production will be: "Is ethanol going to be profitable? What will be the returns to the farmers per acre of sugarcane production?"

He said ethanol was being used as fuel in many parts of the world and there was a growing market for it, partly because the product was more environmental friendly than gasoline. "If we go into ethanol that's fine, but as a farmer I would want to know what am I getting a tonne for my sugar cane? Will it be more than the $180 I am getting now? If not, then it would not be worth it."

Shah, however, admitted that there could by multiple uses for the sugar cane plant. "If we can use the entire cane plant, that will be ideal." Guyadeen on the other hand is optimistic about the shift from sugar to ethanol. "The world is going this way with ethanol for fuel. We have to go this way, if necessary, until somebody finds something wrong with ethanol. "

The World Wide Web says there are currently 83 ethanol plants in the US with another 16 under construction. The US produced 3.4 billion gallons of ethanol in 2004, and it is blended in about 30 per cent of the nation's gasoline.

In South Dakota, on March 3, the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) announced its intention in 2006 to have the Indy Racing League's series fuelled by a blend of 90 per cent methanol and ten per cent fuel, while the 2007 series will be powered by 100 per cent ethanol. Link

Banks 'allowed Pinochet to hide $16m'

Citigroup, Bank of America and seven other banks enabled former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and members of his family build a sprawling secret network of accounts to conceal his wealth, Senate investigators charge in a new report.

One of the institutions, Washington-based Riggs Bank, had a relationship with Pinochet that was far more extensive and long-standing than previously believed, the report finds.

The banks allowed Pinochet to use phoney account names, offshore accounts and other deceptions to hide an estimated $US13 million ($16.46 million) or more from US examiners and international prosecutors seeking to seize his assets, according to the report by the staff of the Senate Governmental Affairs investigative subcommittee.

Some banks, including Riggs and Citigroup, had a relationship with Pinochet and his family going back 24 or 25 years, the investigators found.

The accounts have since been closed. The investigators said all the banks cooperated with their inquiry.

Their findings raise questions about the oversight of the banks by federal regulators, who already have been faulted for failed supervision of Riggs's operations in the face of repeated lapses.

The findings illuminate "another chapter in a very tawdry episode in American banking", Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the subcommittee's senior Democrat, said on Tuesday.

Riggs pleaded guilty in January to a criminal felony charge of failing to report suspicious transactions to authorities, including those in Pinochet's accounts, and has agreed to pay the US government $US41 million in civil and criminal fines.

The handling of Pinochet's accounts by Riggs managers came to light last July after an earlier, year-long investigation by the Senate investigative panel. It found that managers at the Washington institution, working with Pinochet from 1994 to 2002, set up phoney offshore companies to hide his assets.

The new report, based on an additional five-month investigation, says Riggs' relationship with Pinochet and his family stretched from 1979 to 2004 and included 28 Pinochet-related accounts and certificates of deposit at the bank - rather than the nine previously reported.

Riggs spokesman Mark Hendrix said the new report "underscores that many of the problems depicted as unique to Riggs unfortunately appear to be systemic in the banking system today".

When the first report was published, he said, Riggs investigators "took the initiative to pursue unresolved issues that the report raised ... [and] found significant information not previously known to exist, all of which it provided" to the subcommittee staff.

Riggs has agreed to be acquired by Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group for $US643 million in cash and stock. The deal is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month.

Citigroup, the largest US financial institution, opened 63 accounts and CDs for Pinochet and 19 for family members, arranged international wire transfers, set up offshore companies and made large loans for Pinochet and his relatives, according to the report.

In addition, it said, New York-based Citigroup provided some Pinochet family members with accounts, CDs and lines of credit in other countries, including Argentina, the Bahamas, Britain, Chile and Switzerland.

In a statement, Citigroup said its accounts for Pinochet, "which he opened with false documentation using pseudonyms, were shut down nearly a decade ago".

The bank said it began closing remaining accounts for the Chilean's children in 1998.

Bank of America maintained three accounts and as many as six CDs for one of Pinochet's daughters, Ines Lucia Pinochet, according to the 83-page report.

"Bank of America cooperated fully with the subcommittee in its investigation, conducted a thorough internal investigation and submitted documents as requested," the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said in a statement. It said the accounts in question were closed last year.

The others named in the report are Banco de Chile in the United States; Espirito Santo Bank, Ocean Bank and PineBank in Florida; Banco Atlantico, now part of Spain's Banco de Sabadell; and Coutts & Co (USA) International, now part of Spain's Banco Santander.

Officials at the Miami offices of Ocean Bank and PineBank didn't immediately return calls seeking comment.

Spokesmen for Espirito Santo in Miami, Banco de Chile, Banco de Sabadell and Banco Santander couldn't be reached after business hours on Tuesday. Link

KMT LAWMAKERS REGRET PASSAGE OF ANTI-SECESSION LAW

Taipei, March 15 (CNA) Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers expressed Tuesday their regret and worry that China has "willfully" enacted the Anti-Secession Law against Taiwan despite objections by Taiwan politicians across party lines.

A statement released under the name of the KMT legislative caucus said that cross-Taiwan Strait peace and prosperity is the expectation of people in the Asia-Pacific region and on both sides of the strait and that the caucus firmly opposes any military threat against Taiwan, a cross-strait arms race and the use of force.

The caucus pointed out that cross-strait confrontation and conflict could intensify tension between the two sides, which it said is in violation of the interests of the people on both sides.

Taiwan and China should instead interact based on goodwill, resume dialogue, promote economic, sports and agricultural exchanges and work to open direct cross-strait transportation links, the caucus proposed.

Saying that Taiwan people are not equal to pro-independence activists and that the Taiwanese consciousness does not equal independence consciousness, the caucus urged the Democratic Progressive Party government to pay attention to what it claimed is a mainstream "anti-independence" public opinion in Taiwan.

It asked the government to stop any provocative move such as promoting a referendum on a new constitution and a campaign to change the official name of the country from Republic of China to "Republic of Taiwan" so as not to create any excuse for China to invade.

It said the government should abide by the Constitution and uphold the sovereignty of the ROC to safeguard the well-being of the country and its people. Link

DPP ORDERS PARTY MEMBERS TO ATTEND ANTI-BEIJING PROTEST

2005-03-15, Taipei (CNA) The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ordered all of its party members Tuesday to attend a party- initiated March 26 protest to show Taiwan's resentment of Beijing's Anti-Secession Law.

As a part of its all-out efforts to ensure a good turnout at the protest, the party's Central Standing Committee brought out a most urgent party decree to make sure that all its members show up and stand alongside the rest of the public in the protest.

In order to meet the party's goal of mobilizing at least 200,000 of its people March 26, the decree assigns party lawmakers a quota of demonstrators they are supposed to bring to the protest.

The quota varies according to the distances of the lawmakers' constituencies from Taipei where the protest will be held. For each lawmaker elected from Taipei County and Taipei City, the quota is 2,025 people, for lawmakers from northern Taiwan, it is 1,350 people, and for lawmakers from Hualien and Taitung in eastern Taiwan, it is 900 people.

Together with members of other private organizations that have signed up to join the protest, the organizers predicted a record 1 million people will be brought together for the protest.

The DPP Central Standing Committee also unveiled TV and radio commercials that will be played on local TV and radio stations in the lead-up to March 26 to encourage people to join the protest.

The commercials are compilations of films of Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing's bitter criticism of Taiwan, Hong Kong's march for democracy July 1, 2004, and a human chain formed in Taiwan as a symbol of its defense Feb. 28, 2004.

The theme of the protest is defined as "peace and democracy, " which are universal values. Other political calls, such as renaming the country, are not included, according to DPP Secretary-General Lee Yi-yang.

The protesters will be led through downtown Taipei along 10 different routes and will converge in the square in front of the Presidential Office, according to the DPP.

A DPP official said his party will meet with other sponsors of the protest, all private groups, on Wednesday to work out further details. Link

Head of top Chinese bank sacked over probe

March 15, 2005

Beijing - The chairman of the China Construction Bank (CCB) has been sacked and is being investigated for graft in the latest scandal to hit China's corruption-ridden major lenders, a report said Tuesday.

Exact reasons for Zhang Enzhao's removal remain unclear but sources said he was implicated in a scheme to solicit huge kickbacks in return for approving bank loans on favourable terms, the South China Morning Post said.

The bank is one of China's top four state-owned commercial banks which are being restructured and groomed for eventual stockmarket listings, with CCB expected to debut in Shanghai and Hong Kong later this year.

The central government was set to announce Zhang's sacking later this week, the report said, citing sources close to the bank.

Wu Xiaoling and Su Ning, both deputy governors of the People's Bank of China, are strong candidates to replace Zhang, the report in the Hong Kong-based newspaper said.

Officials at CCB could not immediately be reached for comment. Other employees refused to say whether Zhang was still working.

An official from the China Banking Regulatory Commission also declined to comment.

Zhang, 59, ironically became CCB president in 2002, replacing Wang Xuebing, who was sacked and later jailed for corruption. Zhang became CCB chairman last year.

The dismissal of Zhang could deal a major blow to the bank's efforts to sell a strategic stake to international banking giants before its initial public offering aimed at raising up to $5 billion, the SCMP said.

The CCB is also investigating the disappearance of at least $8 million from a branch in northeast Jilin province, reports said last month.

The scandals are likely to spark more debate over the rush to list state banks, which the government hopes will make the banking system more competitive ahead of liberalisation of the sector in early 2007.

However, some mainland officials are concerned the rush to list could be counter-productive and risks damaging investor confidence.

The scandals underline the weak supervision plaguing China's banking system, which allowed 4 000 officials to flee with $50 billion in cash as of this year, state media said Friday.

The Bank of China, another listing candidate for this year with CCB, is also investigating the disappearance of around $120 million from a branch in Harbin, northeastern Heilongjiang province. Link

US warns China over latest challenge towards Taiwan

By Rupert Cornwell in Washington

15 March 2005

China's new "anti-secession" law authorising the use of force against Taiwan has sent ripples of alarm throughout the region and beyond, drawing a stern reaction from the US, and casting new uncertainty on European plans to resume arms sales to Beijing.

The measure, passed unanimously yesterday by the rubber-stamp Chinese parliament, says that the mainland should use force against Taiwan if the island secedes or "if possibilities for peaceful reunification are completely exhausted".

Even though the text does not specify exactly what China would consider as "secession", the law drew an angry response in Taipei, where President Chen Shui-bian said it would create a backlash, and "only end up driving both sides of the straits further apart".

Already it has prompted a rare show of unity between the Taiwanese government and the feuding opposition parties. The law, said Joseph Wu, chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council and Taiwan's top China policymaker, "violates our fundamental rights" and had caused "utter resentment".

Taiwan separated from China when the Communists took power on the mainland in 1949, but Beijing insists that the island, with a population of 23 million, is part of its territory. Although the US recognises only the government in Beijing, it sells arms to Taiwan, and is committed to defending it against outside attack.

In Washington, the Bush administration issued a sharp warning that the move threatened to undo recent improvements in relations between Beijing and Taipei, and reiterated its opposition to the use of force to resolve the issue.

Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, described the adoption of the law - which states that mainland China will use "non-peaceful means and other necessary measures" to protect national sovereignty - as "unfortunate". The US opposed any attempt to change the status quo unilaterally, he added.

The worry in Washington is that Taiwan will retaliate, perhaps by edging closer to formalising a de facto independence that already includes separate elections, its own constitution and diplomatic relations with some countries. This in turn could be the trigger for a Chinese military move, leading to a showdown between the US and Beijing.

"We don't hope for foreign intervention, but we are not afraid of it," Wen Jiabao, China's Prime Minister, said after the law was passed, by a majority of 2,896 to nil, with two abstentions.

Such a prospect horrifies a region already on edge over North Korea's nuclear programme. In Tokyo, the Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, urged both sides to work for a peaceful solution of their disagreement, to avoid "negative impact".

A showdown between the US and China would oblige Japan and other countries, such as Australia, to choose between the US, their traditional ally and military guarantor, and the local economic superpower with whom they have ever more important trading ties.

If China attacked Taiwan, and the US replied with military force, Australia would consult with the US, as stipulated by the 1951 Anzus treaty. "But that's a very different thing from saying we would make a decision to go to war," Alexander Downer, the Foreign Minister, said in Canberra.

The "anti-secession" law may also prompt the European Union to reconsider its controversial plan to lift the arms embargo against China imposed after the Tiananmen Square bloodbath in 1989. Even before the law was passed yesterday, the US was pressing the EU to drop the plan. Link

Citigroup wins injunction to stop Brazil unit sale

SAO PAULO, Brazil, March 15 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc. (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday said it had won an injunction barring the dismissed administrator of one of its Brazilian venture capital funds from putting up for sale the fund's stakes in two mobile phone companies.

The injunction, issued by a federal court in New York on Friday, blocks CVC/Opportunity Equity Partners Ltd and its ousted manager, Daniel Valente Dantas, from putting Telemig Celular (TMCP4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Amazonia Celular (TNCP4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) up for sale until a hearing on March 17, Citigroup said in a statement to the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange.

CVC/Opportunity Equity Partners Ltd was the administrator of Citigroup's 2 billion real ($724 million) private equity fund CVC/Opportunity Equity Partners LP until last week, when Citigroup dismissed Dantas and his company Opportunity as the fund's managers.

Previously, Opportunity had said it would place CVC/Opportunity's controlling stakes in Telemig and Amazonia, which is also known as Tele Norte Celular, on the auction block.

Local media has reported Dantas is fighting the dismissal.

Citigroup had no comment on whether Dantas is fighting his and Opportunity's ouster. Opportunity officials were not immediately available for comment.

Analysts believe Citigroup is likely to eventually sell its stakes in Telemig and Amazonia despite the current suspension. ($1 = 2.762 reais) Link

Trade initiative in Chile

Kentucky has been selected as one of eight states to participate in a trade initiative with Chile. The U-S Chamber of Commerce and the U-S Commerce Department will conduct seminars and arrange contacts, especially for smaller companies and those owned by minorities, with Chilean importers and companies interested in foreign trade.

Governor Ernie Fletcher and Andres Bianchi, the Chilean ambassador to the United States, along with chamber and federal officials made the announcement today at the Capitol. Seminars will be conducted in Ashland, Paducah, Henderson, Somerset, Louisville and Fort Mitchell through April first. Officials said Kentucky exports could range from professional services to ice cream. Link

ROC VP ARRIVES IN EL SALVADOR FOR OFFICIAL VISIT

San Salvador, March 14 (CNA) Republic of China Vice President Annette Lu arrived in San Salvador Monday after a three-day transit stop in Houston, Texas.

Lu received a red-carpet welcome complete with full military honors upon her arrival in the capital city of El Salvador for an official visit aimed at cementing diplomatic relations with the Central American ally and boosting bilateral trade and economic exchanges.

ROC Ambassador Hou Ching-shan, Salvadoran Vice Foreign Affairs Minister Eduardo Calix and many other officials greeted Lu and her 152-member entourage at the airport.

During a dinner with Taiwan expatriates in El Salvador, Lu said she is hopeful that Taiwan businessmen at home and in El Salvador can join forces to build an industrial park in El Salvador to accommodate Taiwan-funded firms, facilitating bilateral trade and economic cooperation. "The planned park should meet what she called the 'Three P' goals, namely, the park should be productive, environmentally protective and have perspective, " Lu said, adding that the park is expected to begin operation before the end of President Chen Shui-bian's presidential term in May 2008.

Lu will attend a meeting Tuesday to discuss details regarding the planned park with Salvadoran officials and business representatives, as well as inspect the planned site of the park.

On the last day of her transit stop in Houston, Lu paid a visit to NASA headquarters, where she received courteous treatment befitting a visitor of her status. She was granted the privilege of entering the Mission Control Center -- NASA's nerve center.

NASA sent a Taiwanese-American astronaut, Edward Tsang Lu, to guide Lu on a tour of Mission Control. Lu was also welcomed onto the flight deck of a space shuttle to get a rare glimpse into the interior of the spacecraft. The vice president also invited Edward Tsang Lu to visit Taiwan to help inspire local youths' interest in space technology.

Aboard the charter flight from Houston to San Salvador, Lu was interviewed by the Central News Agency, in which she said she had yet to decide on whether to take part in a large street parade to be organized by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party March 26 to protest China's newly enacted Anti-Secession Law targeting Taiwan. "It depends on the development of the situation across the Taiwan Strait. At the moment, the most important thing is to calm down and consolidate domestic unity. We should refrain from excessively emotion-charged reaction and instead pool our wisdom to work out appropriate response measures," Lu said.

China's rubber-stamp National People's Congress (NPC) on Monday passed the Anti-Secession Law that authorizes the use of "non-peaceful means" to stop Taiwan from seeking formal independence.

Noting that the law is in stark violation of the United Nations charter, the United Nations declaration on world peace and human rights and the United States' Taiwan Relations Act, Lu said the international community should now come to understand that China is a real troublemaker.

Major countries around the world, including the United States, Japan and the European Union, have voiced opposition to China's new law, Lu said, adding that she believes Beijing will have to pay a heavy price for its "ill-intentioned" legislation.

El Salvador is the first leg of Lu's current Central America diplomatic tour that will also take her to Guatemala.

According to Lu's itinerary, Lu will attend a regional meeting of the Democratic Pacific Union (DPU) in America in Guatemala. Representatives from six Central American allies and five non-allied countries in North, Central and South America will attend the meeting, which will be a warm-up to a DPU regional organization to be established in Taipei Aug. 14.

During her diplomatic tour, Lu will meet with Salvadoran President Elias Antonio Saca and Vice President Ana Vilma De Escobar, as well as Guatemalan President Oscar Berger. She will also deliver speeches at the two countries' parliaments. Link

Next of kin hold service in Argentine Memorial

A delegation of Argentine next of kin and close friends held this Tuesday, under persistent rain, the first service ever at the recently built Argentine Memorial in the Falkland Islands Argentine Darwin Cemetery.

The service was held shortly before noon in front of the cross that overlooks the cenotaph built in Argentina, assembled in the Falklands but still to be officially inaugurated.

The delegation of twenty two next of kin includes a Catholic priest, an interpreter and the architect of the monument to the Argentine dead in the South Atlantic conflict of 1982.

One of the younger members of the group and Treasurer of the Families Commission, Leandro Martin de la Colina whose father was among the crew of a Lear Jet shot down on Pebble Island explained that the main purpose of the visit was to check that the cenotaph commissioned had been constructed to specification.

Among the next of kin arrive yesterday a pilot Roberto Curilovic who was involved in the bombing and sinking of the Atlantic Conveyor with his Super Etandard and the mother of one of the first Argentine soldiers to die during the shooting at Government House.

The Argentine Memorial estimated cost of a million US dollars was financed by businessman Eduardo Eunerkian, besides the delegation a small group also arrived Tuesday morning at Mount Pleasant airport on a private Gulfstream Jet having flown directly from Buenos Aires in three hours together with members of his staff and invited media.

Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian is involved in the air terminal business and his company Aeropuerto 2000 manages most of Argentina’s main airports, Carrasco airport in Montevideo and Milan’s Malpensa, with Italian partners.

Tuesday’s simple but highly emotive ceremony is the option found to the controversy surrounding the Memorial inauguration date and program which has been bogged down by disputes over air links with Argentina.

Flying in to the Falklands the relatives of all the Argentine servicemen buried in Darwin would demand charter flights which Islanders will not accept until President Nestor Kirchner administration lifts the ban on summer charter flights from Chile, which are hindering the local tourism industry.

A further problem is that Argentine officials refuse to have their diplomatic passports stamped in the Falklands and Mr. Kirchner insists on a direct air link between the Islands and Argentina with an Argentine flag carrier.

The next of kin delegation which arrived last Saturday in the weekly Lan Chile is scheduled to return this coming Saturday. Link

Kuwaiti Government against publishing baseless charges -- ambassador

23 Feb 2005

BEIRUT, Feb 22 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's Ambassador to Lebanon Sulaiman Al-Saeed affirmed on Tuesday that not all reports published by Kuwaiti newspapers represent the stand or view of the government and emphasized that the state is against publishing baseless charges that may strain the Kuwaiti-Lebanese ties.

Al-Saeed, speaking after a meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hamoud, said he met the minister in response to an invitation by the latter for sake of informing Kuwait about repercussions of the recent tragic death of the former prime minister, Rafic Al-Hariri.

Asked about reports recently published by a Kuwaiti newspaper, charging some ranking Syrian and Lebanese security figures with masterminding the dealy bombing that took the life of Al-Hariri and several other people, the ambassador plainly affirmed that reports published by Kuwaiti newspapers do not reflect the opinion of the Kuwaiti government.

"This issue should be clear and the Kuwaiti Government disapproves addressing charges randomly against personalities and officials of sisterly states and such accusations may strain the good ties with these sisterly and dear nations," the diplomat pointed out.

The Kuwaiti Government, in line with the democractic system in the country, does not censor the reports of the press, "but if some newspapers publish materials that harm the relations with the sisterly states, the government certainly interfers and takes the necessary measures in line with the publishing law," he said. (end) sm-aim. Link

Indonesia to increase oil price by 29%

2005-02-23, JAKARTA, Feb.23 (Xinhuanet) -- The Indonesian government will increase oil price by 29 percent on average this year.

Chairman of Commission Nine on economic affairs of the Indonesian House of representatives (DPR) Paskah Suzetta made the statement on Wednesday, just after a hearing between the DPR and the government Tuesday evening.

"The rise of oil price reported by the government in the hearing yesterday was 29 percent on average," Suzetta who was quoted by the Kompas Cyber Media as saying.

The chairman said that the rise includes 22 percent for kerosene and 47.44 percent for fuel oil.

He said that the rise would allow the government to allocate some 4.4 billion US dollar funds from state budget to education and health sectors.

Suzetta said that the lawmakers suggested the rise to take affect in March as the inflation rate now begins to decrease.

He cited that the increase of 1 percent in oil price could trigger the rise of 0.03 percent inflation rate, meaning the increase of 29 percent would result in the 1 percent rise in inflation.

With the assumption of 35 US dollar per barrel oil price in the world market, the Indonesian government has to subsidy 39.8 trillion rupiah (some 4.4 billion US dollar) in the oil sector under the current oil price. Link

Canadian dollar gains

By TAVIA GRANT
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
The Canadian dollar rose along with other major currencies after South Korea's central bank said it plans to diversify its reserves away from the U.S. dollar.

The U.S. dollar had its biggest one-day drop in more than four months against the yen. South Korea's $200-billion (U.S.) in reserves are the world's fourth-biggest, behind Japan, China and Taiwan, Bloomberg News said.

The Canadian dollar rose to a four-week high, although the reaction was muted by a consumer price report showing inflation remains tame. The Canadian dollar closed at 81.64 cents (U.S.), up 0.59 of a cent from Monday's Bank of Canada closing price of 81.05 cents. Slow inflation indicates the Bank of Canada won't be in any hurry to raise interest rates, thus making the Canadian currency less attractive.

The South Korea central bank announced its plans in a Feb. 18 report to a parliamentary committee. However, the report has not yet been published. Analysts and traders said it remains unclear whether South Korea will try to reduce the size of its U.S. currency holdings, or perhaps add other, higher-yielding papers to its existing holdings.

The Korean central bank said it's considering moving into other more flexible currencies, thus giving a lift to the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars.

Speculation is mounting that other central banks will begin to offload the U.S. currency in favour of euros, Canadian dollars and other currencies. The U.S. dollar weakened to $1.3249 per euro from $1.3068.

“It's almost like a pyramid scheme to some extent,'' said Andrew Busch, foreign exchange strategist at BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. in Chicago. “Once someone decides to pull out, it impacts everyone else who's in the game. It's a huge signalling effect for the rest of the market.”

Canada's abundance in raw materials, the “superiority” of its court system along with its role in international trade will continue to make Canadian securities attractive to Asian buyers, said economist Dennis Gartman in The Gartman Letter.

Gold futures for April delivery rose $7.40, or 1.7 per cent, to $435.80. Link

China reports January saw lowest consumer price increase in 12 months

Tuesday, Feb 22, 2005

SHANGHAI (AP) - China's main measure of consumer prices rose 1.9 per cent in January over the same month a year earlier, the smallest increase in more than a year, the government said Tuesday.

The report by the National Statistics Bureau suggests China's economic planners have made progress in curbing inflation, which hit a seven-year peak of 5.3 per cent in July but has since subsided.

The 1.9 per cent January increase in the consumer price index, China's main barometer for inflation, compared with a 2.4 per cent year-on-year increase in December and a 3.2 per cent on-year rise in January 2004.

It was the smallest increase since a 1.8 per cent increase in October 2003 versus a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the head of China's central bank said the government would closely monitor price changes to determine its monetary policies.

The People's Bank of China boosted interest rates for the first time in nine years in October, seeking to curb investment that authorities say was fueling inflation. But it has been wary of further increases that might crimp consumer demand.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, also said Beijing would keep the value of the Chinese currency, the yuan, steady.

The comments, posted on the central bank's Web site, suggest no imminent changes in the country's foreign exchange policy despite international pressure on China to revalue its currency. The United States and other countries say the yuan is being held at an artificially low level, resulting in a flood of inexpensive Chinese products in overseas markets.


The consumer price data for January was somewhat distorted by the fact that the Lunar New Year fell in January in 2004 and in February this year. Consumer prices tend to surge due to strong demand before and during the holiday.

Though the moderation in price rises was good news, higher producer costs and strong investment demand could still push inflation higher later in the year, economists warned.

China's consumer price index rose 3.9 per cent on-year in 2004. Price hikes partly reflected a shortfall in grain output and also surging international crude oil and commodity prices.

The government has said it hopes to limit inflation to no more than 4 per cent in 2005.

Overall, food prices rose 4.0 per cent on-year in January, while prices for grain jumped 14.2 per cent on-year and meat prices rose 9.3 per cent, the report said.

Prices for clothing, household appliances, medical care, transportation and telecommunications fell, it said.

Rate hikes for water and power pushed utilities prices up 10 per cent on-year, while housing costs rose 5.5 per cent, the report said.

The producer price index, a leading indicator for inflation, rose 5.8 per cent on year in January after reaching a near nine-year peak of 8.4 per cent in October, as oil prices slipped, the government reported Monday. Link

6 Iraqis Killed in Multiple Attacks

February 23, 2005

A car bomb has exploded in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, killing two and wounding 14 others.
"Insurgents continue to disregard the safety of their fellow citizens during their attacks," the US military said in a statement.
"Insurgents have killed two and injured 20 Iraqi citizens during attacks in the last three days."
"A police officer was killed and another wounded this morning at 6:00am (local time) when an unknown person opened fire on them in a restaurant in the centre of Kirkuk," police Colonel Adel Zin al Abidin said.
Two suspects have been arrested.
Two Iraqi civilians have also been killed and another has been seriously wounded when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the car they were travelling in near Kirkuk, a key oil city. Link

Man charged in alleged plot to kill President

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A Virginian who had been detained in Saudi Arabia as a suspected terrorist was charged Tuesday with conspiring to assassinate President Bush and with supporting the al-Qaida terrorist network.
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, a U.S. citizen, made an initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court but did not enter a plea. He contended he was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia since June 2003 and offered through his lawyer to show the judge his scars.

The federal indictment said that in 2002 and 2003 Abu Ali and an unidentified co-conspirator discussed plans for Abu Ali to assassinate Bush. They discussed two scenarios, the indictment said, one in which Abu Ali "would get close enough to the president to shoot him on the street" and, alternatively, "an operation in which Abu Ali would detonate a car bomb." Link

The White House had no comment on the indictment.

Abu Ali was born in Houston and moved to Falls Church, Va., a Washington suburb. He was valedictorian of the Islamic Saudi Academy in Alexandria, Va.

Federal prosecutors say Abu Ali joined an al-Qaida cell in Saudi Arabia in 2001. The alleged Bush plot occurred while he was studying in that country.

His family contends that U.S. officials were behind his detention by Saudi authorities and wanted him held in that country so he could be tortured for information. A lawsuit brought on their behalf in U.S. District Court in Washington seeks to compel the government to disclose what it knows about Abu Ali and his detention.

Abu Ali's appearance in federal court here was a surprise because the government never publicly disclosed that he had left Saudi Arabia.

According to the indictment, Abu Ali obtained a religious blessing from another unidentified co-conspirator to assassinate the president. One of the unidentified co-conspirators in the plot is among 19 people the Saudi government said in 2003 was seeking to launch terror attacks in that country, according to the indictment.

More than 100 supporters of Abu Ali crowded the courtroom Tuesday and laughed when the charge was read aloud alleging that he conspired to assassinate Bush.

When Abu Ali asked to speak, U.S. Magistrate Liam O'Grady suggested he consult with his attorney, Ashraf Nubani.

"He was tortured," Nubani told the court. "He has the evidence on his back. He was whipped. He was handcuffed for days at a time."

When Nubani offered to show the judge his back, O'Grady said that Abu Ali might be able to enter that as evidence on Thursday at a detention hearing.

"I can assure you you will not suffer any torture or humiliation while in the (U.S.) marshals' custody," O'Grady said.

Abu Ali is charged with six counts and would face a maximum of 80 years in prison if convicted. The charges include conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida, providing material support to al-Qaida, conspiracy to provide support to terrorists, providing material support to terrorists and contributing service to al-Qaida.

Majority back Syrian pullout; Doubt cast on blast origin

23rd Feb 2005

BEIRUT, Lebanon (Agencies): From traces of explosives allegedly found on airline passengers to recent Beirut road works in which a bomb may have planted, the mystery surrounding the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri continues — and so does the speculation — over the identity of the assassins and whether a suicide bomber or explosives hidden under the street destroyed Hariri’s motorcade. The Lebanese government and its Syrian supporters have been under intense domestic and international pressure to apprehend those responsible for attack.
“The bomb was placed underground, especially (since) the crater was so huge,” said Hisham Jaber, a retired brigadier general and former professor at the Lebanese Military and Staff Command College. “Even a car with 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of TNT wouldn’t create such a crater.” Jaber, who inspected the assassination site but is not part of the investigation, said a suicide attack was the least likely cause of the explosion. He noted the crater was near the middle of the road, indicating the bomb was likely placed under the street and not in a parked car. Suspicion that the bomb was under the street increased Friday when the chief military investigator demanded that police investigate recent road works in the area.
Jaber said that although Hariri’s motorcade had equipment to jam electronic transmissions, the device could have been circumvented by a wire-triggered bomb or a counter-device placed in a nearby vehicle. Besides foreign prodding, the government is pressured from many of its own citizens who have little confidence in authorities who were unable to solve a string of assassinations during its civil war. The government has promised a thorough investigation and has condemned the attack.
Pullout
More than three quarters of respondents in an opinion poll carried out and published Sunday by the website of Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news channel favor an immediate withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Over 77 per cent of 111,589 participants in the poll answered “yes” to the question: “Do you favor an immediate Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon?” The rest replied “no” to the question, posted since Thursday on www.aljazeera.net. The website did not identify the participants, either in terms of age range or nationality, but said the results did not express the opinion of Al-Jazeera. Website managing editor Mohammad Daoud told AFP that Aljazeera.net does not usually require identification in the regular opinion polls it conducts on different topics every three days. However, he said the website has a technical “protection system” to try to prevent multiple voting by the same individuals. The Lebanese opposition’s demand for the withdrawal of 14,000 Syrian troops has been echoed by hundreds of thousands of people who took part in the funeral of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed last week in Beirut.
Inquiry
Lebanon will cooperate with a UN commission of inquiry into the killing of former prime minister Rafik Hariri to find those responsible and try to ease tensions provoked by the murder, the pro-Syrian speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, said on Sunday. The decision, taken amid opposition accusations of Syrian involvement and open defiance of the Damascus-backed government, reversed an earlier statement by a minister that Beirut was set to snub the probe.
“President Emile Lahoud received a letter from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on this subject and replied on the basis of cooperation,” said Berri. “There are clarifications (that we will be seeking) but on that basis we’re going to cooperate, because it’s in the interests of the Lebanese state that the truth will out within the framework of respect for its sovereignty.” Opposition parties in Lebanon have been galvanised by last Monday’s killing, in a huge bomb blast, of the five-times former premier, into increasing demands that Syria pull out its 14,000 troops and lift its political grip off its tiny neighbour.Internationally, France and the United States, which co-sponsored a UN Security Council resolution last September demanding the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon, have been the most vocal in insisting on a UN inquiry. Damascus has refused to take the blame for Hariri’s killing.
“Syria is the main loser … and (Hariri) was the most pro-Syrian” among Lebanese leaders, the Syrian ambassador in London, Sami al-Khiami, told the BBC on Sunday. Syria’s government daily Tishrin accused Washington and Israel of leading a “campaign of intimidation” against Damascus and its backers in Beirut since Hariri’s murder. Berri told journalists: “Unmasking the circumstances of this crime is our number one priority, not only because it is a national duty but also to calm people’s spirits and put a stop to the false accusations being bandied about.” Opposition parties have accused the government and Syria of being behind the bomb blast on the Beirut seafront, which also killed 14 other people.
Lebanon’s Interior Minister Suleiman Frangieh, who earlier rejected the idea of an international inquiry commission, said on Sunday on television: “If people want to help us, all right, but this is a sovereign state. Lebanon is capable of leading an inquiry; there is no question of giving up our sovereignty.” A meeting of pro-Syrian Lebanese political leaders on Sunday rejected calls for the government to quit. In a statement read by Berri they said a committee had been formed “charged with making contact with all parties, without exception” to bring about dialogue. But Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, viewed as the main opposition leader in Lebanon, rejected calls for dialogue and said only talks directly with Damascus could help resolve the crisis caused by Hariri’s killing.
A large demonstration called by the opposition for Monday, in defiance of government warnings, is to coincide with a Brussels summit between the US and French presidents. The mounting war of words has prompted another call for calm from Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, spiritual leader of Lebanon’s Maronite Christians, the community from which much of the longstanding opposition to Syria’s influence is drawn. “This catastrophe … has stirred emotions. But national issues should not be handled with emotional reactions, but with moderation, planning and dialogue,” he said. Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern announced late Friday that police Deputy Commissioner Peter Fitzgerald had been made available to the United Nations to head the probe into Hariri’s killing.
Thousands of people continue to converge each evening on Martyrs’ Square where Hariri was buried, to shout “Syria Out” and “Down with the government,” despite warnings from the authorities that they will start enforcing a ban on illegal gatherings. Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Mrad has vowed that the authorities “will not allow any security breaches” after the mourning period which officially ended on Friday. He had also said that the government was poised to boycott the probe decided by the UN Security Council. The deteriorating situation in Lebanon has apparently convinced Arab League chief Amr Mussa to bring forward a visit to an increasingly isolated Syria which had been planned for Wednesday.
He was expected to travel to Damascus Sunday evening for talks the following day with President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara. Jordan’s King Abdallah believes the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri was too sophisticated to have been the work of terrorists, the monarch told Spanish newspaper El Pais. “We have to be careful with accusations. What I can say is that because of the sophistication of the attacks, as well as the means used, I don’t believe it was a terrorist group,” Abdullah said in an interview published on Sunday. He gave no further hints as to who he suspected in the Feb 14 attack. Link

Earthquake levels Iran villages

Death toll at 420; no final count yet from isolated villages.


SARBAGH, Iran (AP) -- Under a cold, driving rain, survivors wailed over the bodies of the dead and dug through the ruins of mud-brick houses searching for their loved ones after a powerful earthquake flattened villages in central Iran on Tuesday, killing at least 420 people.

The toll was expected to rise, because rescue teams did not have a final count from the three most isolated villages in the mountainous region. About 30,000 people were affected, many left homeless when some villages were reduced to piles of dirt and stone by the magnitude-6.4 earthquake. The number of injured was estimated at 900.

Some 40 villages were damaged in the quake, which struck a region 150 miles from Bam, site of a devastating earthquake in December 2003 that killed 26,000 people and leveled the historic city.

At dusk, temperatures fell and rain turned to snow in parts of the mountains, and survivors huddled around fires to keep warm, covering themselves in blankets and sipping hot soup. Some 1,500 workers from the Iranian Red Crescent fanned out in teams, bringing tents and tarps.

Heavy rain and bad visibility hampered relief efforts. But Mohammad Javad Fadaei, deputy governor of Kerman province, said the search would continue through the night in Hotkan and two other villages, Sarbagh and Dahoueieh, which emergency crews had had the most difficulty reaching. Rescue efforts were finished in other villages, he told The Associated Press.

The quake was centered on the outskirts of Zarand, a town of 15,000 people in Kerman province about 600 miles southeast of Tehran, Iran's geological authority said.

Though comparable in strength to the 6.6-magnitude Bam quake, Tuesday's temblor hit a more sparsely populated area and was centered far deeper -- some 25 miles, compared with six miles for Bam -- limiting the damage.

Still, the tiny villages that dot the central mountains -- most of them made in fragile mud brick -- were hit hard. In Douheieh, every building except a mosque with a golden dome had collapsed. At least 80 percent of the buildings in Sarbagh were leveled.

Fadaei said the death toll stood at 420, with some 900 injured.

Residents of Khanook village carried bodies to the morgue for washing before burial. Others crowded around lists of the dead posted on the morgue's wall, breaking into cries if they found a relative's name.

Residents dug with bare hands and shovels in the hope of finding family members alive. Bulldozers moved in later, along with rescue teams and helicopters, but most of those uncovered were already dead.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and Red Crescent teams provided the survivors with bottled water, bread and canned food.

The Iranian Red Crescent told international relief officials it did not need outside aid, said Roy Probert, a spokesman for the Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Fadaei said Iran will not issue a plea for aid, but "if foreign countries volunteer their help, we'll take tents, blankets, cash and earth-moving machinery."

Iranian relief officials said they were benefiting from their experience in the Bam quake, which prompted one of the biggest international relief efforts ever.

"The earthquake in 2003 gave us a very good experience of how to deal with such a natural disaster. Despite the rain, relief operations are going smoothly. Relief teams have reached the villages and are helping the survivors," said Mostafa Soltani, a spokesman for the Kerman government. 23.02.2005 Link

At least 20 killed, 900 hurt in earthquake in Iran

Tehran, Feb 23,05, Kyodo/OANA/IRNA -- A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 shook southeastern Iran Tuesday morning, killing at least 420 people and injuring 900, state television reported.
Iran`s Islamic Republic News Agency, quoting lawmaker Hossein Amiri, said the death toll could rise to more than 500.
The death toll in the town of Zarand in Kerman province alone has risen to 300, said the lawmaker from Zarand. He said Zarand residents are in urgent need of tents, oil and gasoline, IRNA reported.
The news agency said the earthquake destroyed some 40 villages in the southeastern province.
More than 50 relief teams from the Red Crescent of Kerman province were sent to the quake-battered regions, IRNA quoted Mehdi Abna, managing director of Kerman`s Red Crescent Society, as saying.
The US Geological Survey said the epicenter of the 5:55 a.m. quake was about 60 kilometers from Kerman, the capital of Kerman province, and 740 km southeast of Tehran.
In the ancient city of Bam in the same province, more than 40,000 people were killed in a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in December 2003. Link

Bush Wins Token NATO Pledge of Iraq Aid

Tue Feb 22, 2005
By Mark John and John Chalmers

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - President Bush won a largely symbolic pledge from NATO allies, including Iraq war critics, to help train Iraqi security forces Tuesday at a summit staged to showcase resurrected transatlantic partnership.
But U.S.-European differences over China and Iran resurfaced with Bush voicing concern at European Union plans to end an arms embargo on Beijing, and France pressing Washington to offer Tehran incentives to curb its nuclear program.
And France and Germany renewed calls for a reform of transatlantic relations that would give greater weight to the emerging, enlarged EU as the key U.S. partner, challenging the primacy Washington accords to NATO.
Bush told reporters after a summit of the 26 NATO leaders that the Cold War defense alliance remained the central security organization binding Europe and the United States.
"I think it is the vital relationship for the United States when it comes to security," he told a news conference. "It is a relationship that ... has worked in the past and is adjusting so that it works in the future."
French President Jacques Chirac said he sensed in talks with Bush Monday night that the U.S. leader understood what he called the new European reality, in which the EU was taking on ever greater weight, including in defense.
"Europe and the United States are real partners. So we need to dialogue and listen to each other more," he told the summit.
"We must also, as the German chancellor has underlined, continue to take account of the changes that have occurred on the European continent," Chirac said.
IRAQ TRAINING
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer trumpeted the agreement of all 26 allies to make some contribution to the Iraq training mission as a sign of the alliance's rediscovered unity.
But that boast masked wide divergence in the level of help on offer. France, the most virulent European critic of the war, agreed for just one of its officers at NATO headquarters to help coordinate offers of equipment to the Iraqi military. Link

EVENT LISTING FOR FEB. 23 IN TAIWAN

2005-02-22


Taipei, Feb. 22 (CNA) The following are important events scheduled to take place Wednesday, Feb. 23:

09: 00, The weekly Cabinet meeting will be held at the Executive Yuan.

09:00, The Taiwan Solidarity Union's legislative caucus will hold a breakfast meeting with officials of the Mainland Affairs Council at the Legislative Yuan.

09: 30, An international seminar on eradicating poverty will be held at the National Taiwan Normal University main campus in Taipei.

09: 30, A group advocating the employment of middle-aged workers will present petitions to the Executive Yuan.

10:00, President Chen Shui-bian will receive the foreign minister of St. Tome and Principe at the Presidential Office.

10: 30, The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) will hold a news conference at the party's headquarters on its opposition to Beijing's proposed anti-secession law.

13: 20, National Cultural Association Secretary-General Tchen Yu-chiou will address a rally in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Rotary International at the Howard Hotel in Taipei.

14: 30, Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh will hold a news conference on activities of the 2005 World Year of Physics at the Science Education Center of National Taiwan Normal University.

15: 30, A seminar on the mission-oriented National Assembly will be held at No. 9, Fl. 8, Aikuo West Rd., Taipei.

18: 00, Premier Frank Hsieh will meet members of the TSU legislative caucus at his residence.

18:20, President Chen Shui-bian will attend the opening ceremony of the 2005 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Tainan City, southern Taiwan.

19: 00, Vice President Annette Lu will attend a rally in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Rotary International at Keelung City's cultural center.

21: 10, Opposition Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan will return to the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport from an overseas trip. Link

Brazil Steel Shares Slump On Japan Iron Price Hike News

Tuesday February 22, 2005, SAO PAULO -(Dow Jones)- Shares of leading Brazilian steel companies slumped early Tuesday after Japan's top steelmakers agreed to pay 71.5% more for iron ore supplied by Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (RIO), or CVRD, this year.

CVRD, the world's biggest iron ore producer, supplies virtually all iron ore consumed by local steelmakers like slab exporter Companhia Siderurgica de Tubarao (CSTB4.BR), long-steel maker Gerdau SA (GGB) and flat-steel maker Usiminas (USIM5.BR). The exception to the rule is local flat-steel maker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (SID), or CSN, which has its own iron ore mine in Southeastern Brazil.

The 71.5% price hike, announced earlier Tuesday by Nippon Steel (5401.TO) in Japan, was smaller than the 90% raise CVRD said it wanted a few weeks ago but still bigger than expected by markets. The rise will take effect April 1 and remain valid for one year. CVRD shares jumped 5.7% on the news to 73.70 reals ($ 1=BRL2.59) in early trade on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange.

In the steel sector, Usiminas tumbled 2.2% to BRL62.99 and Gerdau slipped 1.2% to BRL45.20. CST, which is majority controlled by European steel titan Arcelor ( 5786.FR), fell 2.5% to BRL155.04. Only CSN gained, rising 0.8% to BRL61.50.

All price quotes refer to preferred shares except CSN, which trades only ordinary stock. Link

A risky road

Tue, Feb 22, 2005

Last week the Kyoto Protocol went into effect. More than 140 nations agreed to reduce their emissions of pollutants that are causing global warming. I am grateful to those nations, especially considering the announcement that in 10 years we will pass the point of no return if we don't address global warming.

We know where the president stands on this issue. He stands squarely behind our being the largest emitter of global warming pollutants. Good thing for us, as we live in the state ranked 38th for polluting our country.

I ask our leadership in North Carolina to guide us away from this road we are on and and guide us to a way to be good stewards of our Earth. Please, before it's too late. Link

Schroeder confident EU will lift China arms ban despite US opposition

2005-02-22
BRUSSELS (AFX) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder reiterated his confidence that the European Union will lift an arms embargo on China despite US opposition, saying he hopes the US Congress can be swayed.

His comments came after US President George W Bush voiced "deep concern" at European plans to lift its 15-year arms embargo on China, slapped on Beijing after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

"We believe it is justified to trust in the new (Chinese) leadership and give them this possibility," he told reporters after a European Union (EU) summit with Bush in Brussels.

"The European position has been clarified. We will do it, I think," he said.

Bush, speaking before the EU talks, reiterated Washington's worry that lifting the EU ban will disturb the military balance of power between China and Taiwan.

"There is deep concern in our country that a transfer of weapons would be a transfer of technology to China which would change the balance of relations in between China and Taiwan," he said.

The European Union imposed a ban on exports of military hardware to China back in 1989, to protest a brutal crackdown on weeks of pro-democracy protests against the Communist leadership.

But now the EU wants to lift the embargo with an eye firmly on the booming Chinese economy, as China continues its moves to open up to the West, which have already seen it win a seat on the World Trade Organisation.

The US leader said that any EU agreement to end the ban would have to be politically acceptable to the US Congress.

Schroeder voiced hope that this could be done, pointing out that: "We hope that . it will be seen in the US Congress that the embargo was not imposed due to the security situation, but .. was imposed as a reaction to the massacre" on Tiananmen Square.

EU leaders have indicated that the arms embargo is likely to be lifted under the bloc's current Luxembourg president, which ends in June. Link

Syria Must End Occupation of Lebanon, Bush Says

Mon Feb 21, 2005

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Syria must end its occupation of Lebanon, President Bush said on Monday, branding Damascus an "oppressive neighbor" to a once-thriving nation.

"Just as the Syrian regime must take stronger action to stop those who support violence and subversion in Iraq and must end its support for terrorist groups seeking to destroy the hope of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Syria must also end its occupation of Lebanon," Bush said in a keynote speech in Europe.

Washington, which suspects Syria had a role in last week's killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, has piled pressure on Damascus and Bush said before his visit that he would press European leaders to follow suit.

"Our shared commitment to democratic progress is being tested in Lebanon, a once-thriving country that now suffers under the influence of an oppressive neighbor," Bush said on his first day in Brussels, where on Tuesday he will meet European Union and fellow NATO nation leaders.

Although the EU is also pressing for a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, it favors more of an "engagement" approach.

Despite U.S. objections, the EU initialled a trade and cooperation agreement last year intended to boost ties with Syria but it has yet to sign or implement the accord. Link

Videotape shows al-Qaeda deputy denouncing U.S. calls for reform in Middle East

By Salah Nasrawi

February 20, 2005

CAIRO, Egypt – Al-Jazeera television aired a videotape Sunday purporting to show al-Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri denouncing U.S. calls for reform in the region and urging the West to respect the Islamic world.

Al-Zawahri, who appeared sitting on the ground and in front of a brown background, said the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, "explains the truth about reforms and democracy that America is allegedly trying to impose in our countries."

"Reform is based on American detention camps like Bagram, Kandahar, Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, it will be based on cluster bombs and imposition of people like Karzai and Allawi," he said, referring to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

"Real security is based on mutual cooperation with the Islamic nation on the basis of mutual respect and the stopping of aggression."

Al-Jazeera reported that the excerpt was part of a longer videotape, but it did not indicate the length of the entire tape. The station did not say if it would air the rest of the video.

In Washington, the CIA said it was looking at the tape in an effort to determine its authenticity.

Al-Zawahri was wearing a clean and well-pressed white and brown robe and traditional headdress in the tape. A Kalashnikov assault rifle was leaning behind him against the backdrop.

"Real security is based on mutual cooperation with the Islamic nation on the basis of mutual respect and the stopping of aggression," al-Zawahri said in the tape.

He warned that "the new crusade is doomed to fail" and said it would result in "tens of thousands of fallen victims and the destruction of your economy."

"If you, the Western nations, think that these cardboard governments can protect you, you are wrong," he said in the tape about governments in the Middle East. "Your real security is through cooperation with the Islamic Nation."

Like al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the Egyptian al-Zawahri is believed to be on the run in the mountains along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

But Pakistani officials have said there is no evidence either man is in their territory, and both Pakistani and American generals agree the trail has gone cold more than three years after the Sept. 11 attacks. Link