Jumat, 26 September 2008

Roadside bomb kills American soldier south of Baghdad, US military says

BAGHDAD _ The U.S. military says a roadside bomb has killed an American soldier south of Baghdad.

A statement says the blast that killed the soldier struck a vehicle that was part of a combat patrol near Iskandariyah.

The military says Thursday's incident is under investigation.

The statement says the soldier was assigned to Multi-National Division — Center.
At least 4,173 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003. That's according to an Associated Press count.

Analysis: In Somalia's violent crisis, Ethiopians seen as stalemated

NAIROBI, Kenya _ After nearly 20 years of violent chaos, Islamic extremism and failed peace talks, impoverished Somalia might seem to have hit rock-bottom. But things are getting worse. The crisis is exceeding even the direst scenarios laid out nearly two years ago, when troops from neighboring Ethiopia arrived to oust a radical Islamic militia and support the Western-backed government.

The troops, whom many Somalis consider an occupying force, are seen by some as a catalyst for the violence rather than a cure.

"The nature of the crisis is much more dangerous now," Ken Menkhaus, a Somalia expert at Davidson College in North Carolina, told The Associated Press. "The level of indiscriminate violence is worse than at any time."

The Ethiopian regime says that it wants to withdraw, but its opponents say it has calculated that an open-ended occupation of Somalia is better than having an Islamist regime next door.

"The Ethiopians will make it impossible for the Islamists," said Daud Aweys, a Nairobi-based Somalia analyst. "The Ethiopians are more powerful, and they have more weapons."

Meanwhile, the result is a stalemate, seemingly impervious to U.N.-brokered peace talks, international pressure and even the daily carnage in Mogadishu, the capital. The Somali government would likely crumble without Ethiopia's muscle, but al-Shabab, a radical group at the heart of the insurgency, refuses to negotiate as long as the Ethiopians remain.

The United States worries that Somalia could be a terrorist breeding ground, particularly since Osama bin Laden declared his support for the Islamists. It accuses al-Shabab of harboring the al-Qaida-linked terrorists who allegedly blew up the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

The U.S. sent a small number of special operations troops with the Ethiopian forces in 2006 and in early 2007 conducted several airstrikes in an attempt to kill suspected al-Qaida members. But the fact that Ethiopia is a key U.S. ally, and most Somalis loathe America, doesn't help matters.

Ethiopia itself is a traditional rival of overwhelmingly Muslim Somalia. It has large Christian and Muslim populations as well as one of Africa's largest armies, which many Somalis see as abusive and heavy-handed. Al-Shabab, which means "the Youth," mounts almost daily mortar attacks, suicide bombings and ambushes.

The result is civilians streaming out of Mogadishu, the capital, many of them gravely wounded, and sheltering on roadsides or fleeing the country. A local human rights group says the insurgency has killed more than 9,000 civilians to date.

The streets of Mogadishu, once a beautiful seaside city, are now bullet-scarred and stained with blood. On Monday 30 people were killed in fighting in the capital and at least 11 civilians died during an overnight attack on an African Union peacekeepers' base in Mogadishu.

Al-Shabab has taken over the port town of Kismayo, Somalia's third-largest city, and effectively closed Mogadishu's airport by threatening to attack any plane using it.

Al-Shabab's attacks look likely continue indefinitely, with the goal of simply crippling and humiliating the government. Reprisals by government and Ethiopian forces are swift and heavy-handed, but have not eradicated the insurgency.

"If your principal interest is quelling the political violence, then an Ethiopian withdrawal will help," Menkhaus said. "That will take away the principal grievance."

The African Union has sent about 2,600 peacekeepers to Somalia. But their mandate is limited to protecting key sites such as the airport and seaport, and they generally are confined to the airport for their safety.

The U.N. has tried to push peace talks between the government and the opposition, but a recent deal with a more moderate faction of the Islamic group seems only to have worsened the violence.

"We have started building up our military strength because some of our fellow insurgents seem to have been corrupted by the enemy, like those who signed the so-called deal with the puppet government," said Sheik Muhumed, an al-Shabab commander.

China's tainted milk scandal hits Japanese firm; link sought to sick Taiwanese children

BEIJING — China's tainted milk scandal continues to expand beyond its borders as three Taiwanese children and a mother are sick with kidney stones, a Japanese confectioner's cookies are found to be contaminated and the European Union joins other countries in banning imports of baby food containing Chinese milk.

Liu Yi-lien, health chief of the Ilan County government in eastern Taiwan, says the two 3-year-old girls and a one-year-old boy all have been traveling frequently between Taiwan and China with their parents. One of the children's mothers also has kidney stones.

If a link is established between these kidney problems and melamine-tainted milk, they would be the first such cases diagnosed outside of China or its territories of Hong Kong and Macau since the contaminated milk scandal erupted this month.

However, the infants may have been consuming formula purchased in China, not Taiwan.
Liu said they all consumed Chinese milk, but that more tests were need to establish a link to their kidney stones.

Four children in China have died from consuming the products contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine and more than 50,000 have been sickened.

Five other children have become ill as a result of using melamine-tainted products in the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau.

Meanwhile, Koala's March cookies made by Lotte China Foods Co., a Tokyo conglomerate, were found to be contaminated with the toxic chemical melamine. The Japanese confectioner exports cookies to the Chinese territory of Macau

Macau's government said late Thursday that they had found levels of melamine 24 times the safety limit in the cookies.

An official at Lotte (China) Investment Co. Ltd. in Shanghai said Friday that previous inspections had not shown any problems.

"The range of the inspections covered all the products sold domestically, including the Bear chocolate-filled cookies mentioned in the report. The outcome was all fine," said Guo Hongming, a legal assistant in the Lotte Shanghai's corporate planning department.

"But now that it tested positive in Macau, we find it necessary to do the inspections all over again." she said.

Hong Kong supermarkets also removed the popular Japanese brand of chocolate-filled cookies from shelves Friday.

Hundreds of international food companies have set up operations in China in recent years, exposing them to the country's notorious product safety problems.

The food safety crisis in China started with melamine-tainted infant formula. It has since spread to other milk products and has triggered recalls and bans on Chinese food goods around the world.

The European Union banned imports of baby food containing Chinese milk Thursday as a toxic chemical that was illegally added to China's dairy supplies turned up in candy and other Chinese-made goods that were quickly pulled from stores worldwide.

The 27-nation EU adds to the growing list of countries that have banned or recalled Chinese dairy products because of the contamination. In addition to the ban, the European Commission called for more checks on other Chinese food imports.

All European Union imports of products containing more than 15 percent of milk powder will have to be tested under the new rules due to come into force Friday.

Food safety experts in the EU, which imports about 21,500 tons of Chinese confectionary products, said there is only a limited risk in Europe from the food imports. But the European Commission says it is acting as a precaution in the face of the growing health scare.

The maker of one of China's most popular candies said Friday it had halted production because of suspected melamine contamination. White Rabbit brand creamy candies have already been pulled from shelves around Asia and in Britain.

"It's a tragedy for the Chinese food industry and a big lesson for us as it ruined the time-honored brand," Ge Junjie, a vice president Bright Foods (Group) Co. Ltd., was quoted as saying by the Shanghai Daily.

Bright Foods' subsidiary Guangshengyuan produces White Rabbit.

Ge was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency that the company was waiting for test results from the Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.

"We decided to halt all sales of White Rabbit candy, although the test results have not yet come out," Ge said.

Concern about White Rabbit candies has also spread to South America, where Surinamese health authorities ordered food markets to stop selling it as a precautionary measure.

"Up to this point, we have no indication that these candies are tainted but we did not want to take any chances," said Lesley Resida, director of public health, describing Suriname's decision as a precautionary measure.

White Rabbit candies are widely available in Suriname, where people of Chinese heritage make up roughly 8 percent of the population.

In Taiwan, where there have been huge concerns about the safety of milk and related products imported from China, Pizza Hut said Friday it had suspended supplying cheese powder found to be contaminated by melamine.

Wu Yu-ping, an official of Pizza Hut's Taiwan branch, said the tainted cheese was supplied by Taiwan's Kaiyuan Company, but its source is not known.

On Thursday, the European Union banned imports of baby food containing Chinese milk. The move by the 27-nation EU adds to the growing list of countries that have banned or recalled Chinese dairy products because of the contamination.

Health experts say ingesting a small amount of melamine poses no danger, but in larger doses, the chemical — used to make plastics and fertilizer — can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure. Infants are particularly vulnerable.

Outside Shanghai, three zoo babies were found to have developed kidney stones after being nursed with tainted milk powder for more than a year. A lion cub and two baby orangutans were sickened after drinking infant formula made by the Sanlu Group Co., said Zhang Xu, a veterinarian with the Hangzhou Zhangxu Animal Hospital.

Annie Huang in Hong Kong also contributed to this report.

Calif. government to highlight problems with flushing pharmaceuticals with awareness campaign

LOS ANGELES _ The state of California has a warning for its 36 million residents: Do not flush pharmaceuticals down the toilet or drain, or they may end up in a river near you.

Or, it turns out, even in the drinking water.

State and local officials are teaming with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a "No Drugs Down the Drain Week," starting with events Oct. 2. The program recommends that drugs be dropped at special collection sites or tossed in the trash.

The event comes less than two weeks after The Associated Press published an investigative report about the dangers of flushing millions of pounds of unused pharmaceuticals annually by the American health care industry and consumers. The ongoing AP investigation has revealed that tests show the drinking water supplies of at least 46 million Americans contain minute concentrations of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, anti-convulsants and mood stabilizers.

Researchers have found evidence that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species in the wild. Related research reports that human cells fail to grow normally in the lab when exposed to trace concentrations of certain drugs.

The AP first reported on the pharmaceutical contamination issue in March.

The awareness week is part of a bill sponsored by Sen. Joe Simitian that funds pilot projects allowing consumers to drop off old prescriptions at retailers and public facilities.

"I think the public will step up, if they're told how to dispose of drugs the right way," Simitian said. "If you want people to do the right thing, make it easy for them to do it."

Mideast peace takes center stage as Quartet meets at UN General Assembly on Friday

UNITED NATIONS _ The key international players trying to promote peace in the Middle East meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Friday as the U.N. Security Council opens a high-level debate on Israeli settlements.

The so-called Quartet — the U.N., the U.S., the European Union and Russia — is meeting at a difficult period in the region.

Israel is awaiting a new government, the Palestinians are seriously divided, and President Bush is looking for an agreement by the end of the year, although both Palestinians and Israelis have expressed doubt about achieving that goal.

Quartet members are also scheduled to attend an Iftar — the meal that breaks the day's fast during Ramadan — with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Arab partners on Friday night.

Ban also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday evening.

Ban is hoping to push Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah, which controls the West Bank, and the militant Hamas, which controls Gaza.

Also Thursday, top EU officials met with Ryad Al Malki, the Palestinian minister of foreign affairs, in an attempt to take a greater role moving the peace talks forward.

"This meeting, which took place at crucial time in the peace process, and on the eve of the meeting of the Quartet, provided an opportunity to discuss the European Union's enhanced role in the peace process deepening relations between the European Union and the Palestinian Authority," the EU said in a statement.

But a group of leading aid agencies, including CARE, Save the Children and Christian Aid, issued a report Thursday warning the Quartet process was failing and called for more action and less words.

"The Quartet has fundamentally failed to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground. Unless the Quartet's words are matched by more sustained pressure and decisive action the situation will deteriorate still further. Time is fast running out," David Mepham, director of policy for Save the Children UK, said in a statement.

On Friday, the U.N. Security Council will hold an open debate at the ministerial level on the ongoing Israeli settlement building in disputed territory. Saudi Arabia requested the debate to coincide with the General Assembly, which has brought a host of world leaders to New York.

Public speeches are expected from Saudi Arabia and the Arab League, and probably Israel speaking in response, but no council resolution on the matter is expected.

Continued Israeli settlement construction and Israeli security concerns have clouded Middle East peace negotiations. Both Palestinians and Israelis have expressed doubt about achieving an accord before Bush leaves office.

As late as last month Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held out hope of talks succeeding.

"God willing, with the goodwill of the parties, and the tireless work of the parties, we have a good chance of succeeding," Rice said after seeing Israeli and Palestinian leaders and summoning top negotiators for a joint status report.

Israeli President Shimon Peres told the General Assembly in his address Wednesday that despite "stagnation and regression and failure" in the peace process, "Israelis and Arabs are marching toward peace."

Mideast peace takes center stage as Quartet meets at UN General Assembly on Friday

UNITED NATIONS _ The key international players trying to promote peace in the Middle East meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Friday as the U.N. Security Council opens a high-level debate on Israeli settlements.

The so-called Quartet — the U.N., the U.S., the European Union and Russia — is meeting at a difficult period in the region.

Israel is awaiting a new government, the Palestinians are seriously divided, and President Bush is looking for an agreement by the end of the year, although both Palestinians and Israelis have expressed doubt about achieving that goal.

Quartet members are also scheduled to attend an Iftar — the meal that breaks the day's fast during Ramadan — with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Arab partners on Friday night.

Ban also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday evening.

Ban is hoping to push Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah, which controls the West Bank, and the militant Hamas, which controls Gaza.

Also Thursday, top EU officials met with Ryad Al Malki, the Palestinian minister of foreign affairs, in an attempt to take a greater role moving the peace talks forward.

"This meeting, which took place at crucial time in the peace process, and on the eve of the meeting of the Quartet, provided an opportunity to discuss the European Union's enhanced role in the peace process deepening relations between the European Union and the Palestinian Authority," the EU said in a statement.

But a group of leading aid agencies, including CARE, Save the Children and Christian Aid, issued a report Thursday warning the Quartet process was failing and called for more action and less words.

"The Quartet has fundamentally failed to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground. Unless the Quartet's words are matched by more sustained pressure and decisive action the situation will deteriorate still further. Time is fast running out," David Mepham, director of policy for Save the Children UK, said in a statement.

On Friday, the U.N. Security Council will hold an open debate at the ministerial level on the ongoing Israeli settlement building in disputed territory. Saudi Arabia requested the debate to coincide with the General Assembly, which has brought a host of world leaders to New York.

Public speeches are expected from Saudi Arabia and the Arab League, and probably Israel speaking in response, but no council resolution on the matter is expected.

Continued Israeli settlement construction and Israeli security concerns have clouded Middle East peace negotiations. Both Palestinians and Israelis have expressed doubt about achieving an accord before Bush leaves office.

As late as last month Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held out hope of talks succeeding.

"God willing, with the goodwill of the parties, and the tireless work of the parties, we have a good chance of succeeding," Rice said after seeing Israeli and Palestinian leaders and summoning top negotiators for a joint status report.

Israeli President Shimon Peres told the General Assembly in his address Wednesday that despite "stagnation and regression and failure" in the peace process, "Israelis and Arabs are marching toward peace."

South Africa: ANC youth wing revels in power _ boasting it can make or break a presidency

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa _ Viewed as troublemakers by some and kingmakers by others, the ruling African National Congress' Youth League has been taking much of the credit as its hero, Jacob Zuma, closes in on the nation's presidency.

Julius Malema, the youth wing's 27-year-old leader, gloated this week that his group played a key role in the downfall of President Thabo Mbeki, who was forced to resign last weekend after a judge threw out a corruption case against Zuma.

Parliament elected ANC stalwart Kgalema Motlanthe Thursday to replace Mbeki, but Motlanthe is seen mainly as a placeholder. Zuma, the frontrunner to win the presidency in elections early next year, is not a legislator and was not eligible to be considered in parliamentary vote.

The youth league is part of a coalition that includes the main labor federation and the South African Communist Party that helped oust Mbeki and supports Zuma, leading to fears that the country — Africa's economic and diplomatic powerhouse —will be steered to the left.

"The ANC Youth League celebrates the fact that the decision to recall President Mbeki was influenced by our organization," Malema told reporters following the resignation. "The ANC Youth League is not ashamed of its capacity to influence decisions in the ANC."

But while the organization obviously wields some power, political observers question how effective it is alone and whether it's time for the ANC to clamp down on the group.

The league, with about 370,000 members between 14 and 35, claims to represent millions of young black South Africans who face poor standards of education and little chance of finding a job. It has been among Zuma's staunchest supporters with Malema as chief cheerleader.

Brash and bombastic, Malema has grabbed headlines with statements, including one threatening "to take up arms and kill for Zuma." He has vowed to "eliminate" anything blocking Zuma's path to the presidency.

The youth league rallied around Zuma after Mbeki fired him as deputy president in 2005 over a bribery scandal, and has kept up an aggressive campaign playing on dissatisfaction with Mbeki's aloofness and pro-market policies.

At a key party conference in December youth leaguers engineered Zuma's takeover of the ANC presidency from Mbeki by running roughshod over anti-apartheid veterans. They jeered leaders seen as pro-Mbeki, interrupted proceedings and disregarded rules on lobbying at the conference.

When Motlanthe accused Malema of making reckless comments, the youth league president called him a "paragon of political correctness."

Then, two weeks ago, when a judge found that Mbeki may have interfered in Zuma's prosecution, the league saw a gap to finish what it started in December. On the steps of the court, Malema called for Mbeki to be ousted and started the vigorous lobbying that would make it happen.

Never short of hubris, Malema — a former student movement leader — sees himself as following in the footsteps of former President Nelson Mandela.

Mandela was one of the founders of the Youth League in 1944 which brought a new militancy to the ANC and its fight against white minority rule. Mandela and another anti-apartheid icon, Walter Sisulu, were behind the ouster of ANC president Alfred Xuma in 1949.

"Part of our work is to keep the ANC in line and to inject new life into it," Malema said.

But critics say its leaders are more interested in advancing their own political careers and may be overstating their impact.

"They are definitely loud and there is definitely a coincidence between their desires and how events have turned out," said Aubrey Matshiqi, a political analyst. "But it is mere coincidence," he said.

Matshiqi acknowledges that the league does carry some clout, but says it is the pro-Zuma coalition as a whole — of which the Youth League is a part — that holds the key to power.

"It is because of that coalition that Zuma is ANC president and so close to the gates of the Union Buildings," he said, referring to the government headquarters in the capital, Pretoria.

For many ANC old-timers, the youth league has become an embarrassment. The organization's own national conference in April where Malema was elected in a disputed poll had to be abandoned after drunken brawls broke out amid internal wrangling that mirrored divisions within the ANC.

The group is accused of having no clear agenda, instead devoting its time and energy to campaigning for Zuma.

"These chaps are not in touch with the youth of South Africa," said Prince Mashele, independent analyst at the Pretoria-based Institute for Strategic Studies. "They have succeeded in inflating their own power."

Mashele attributes the youth league's rise to the "chaos" that the leadership battle between Zuma and Mbeki created in the ANC.

"It created the space for them to consider themselves as kingmakers. It has created a dangerous culture where the louder you are the more you get rewarded," he said.

On Thursday, Zola Skweyiya, Minister for Social Development, expressed regret at how the ANC leadership failed to rein its youth wing in. Speaking to SABC radio, he said the leaders had kept "quiet" when the league had behaved disrespectfully and that the way the league had treated the judiciary "leaves much to be desired."

Malema dismissed claims on Tuesday that the party was trying to rein him in amid alarm over recent inflammatory statements.

"There is no one in the ANC that can tell us what to do," Malema said.

Matshiqi acknowledged that trying to muzzle the youth leaders could be politically disastrous for Zuma.

"Keeping the coalition intact is critical until he has the key to the Union Buildings," Matshiqi said, adding that he doubted whether Zuma would fracture that coalition by publicly criticizing Malema and his organization.

But analyst William Gumede said he expected that to change in the future.

"They are going now to want to show that they can govern and will gravitate toward more moderation and try to rein in more militant groups," said Gumede.

Thai court issues fresh warrant for deposed prime minister; Thaksin will not return

BANGKOK, Thailand _ A Thai court issued a fourth arrest warrant for toppled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Friday, but his spokesman insisted that the former leader would not return to Thailand to stand trial.

Thaksin, who was ousted from power in a 2006 coup, recently fled Thailand to escape a string of corruption charges.

Thaksin's personal spokesman, Phongthep Thepkanchana, told reporters at the Supreme Court on Friday that Thaksin and his family would not return to Thailand to stand trial.

"Thaksin and his family are now living in London and he will not return to face any trial in the near future," Phongthep said.

The Supreme Court issued a fresh warrant Friday because Thaksin failed to report to court in an abuse of power case tied to an irregular lottery allegedly run by Thaksin, his former Cabinet and other officials.

Phongthep is one of the dozens of former Thaksin officials charged in the case. Phongthep, along with the other defendants who attended court Friday, were released on bail. The court set the next hearing for late December.

Thaksin's three other arrest warrants are related to separate corruption cases.

The penalties in each case carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.


Poll: New Japanese PM's government starts with lowest public support in 8 years

TOKYO _ Public support for Japan's new Prime Minister Taro Aso is the lowest of any newly appointed prime minister in eight years, according to several newspaper polls published Friday.

The polls mainly show support for Aso below 50 percent, indicating he has failed to garner the warm public reception awarded to recent prime ministers in the early days of their administration.

They also indicate Aso's ruling Liberal Democratic Party may face a tight race if he calls for parliamentary elections under the political climate. Speculation is rife that elections will be held in late October or early November, and his tepid popularity could mean the LDP loses its grip on power for the first time in decades. The elections must be held by next September.

Aso, who was in New York for the United Nations general assembly, told reporters it was too soon to judge him.

"I should be evaluated after my work gets in full swing ... I'm not very interested in the support rate" right now, he said.

Japan's largest newspaper, the Yomiuri, published a poll showing 49.5 percent of respondents support Aso's administration. Three other major newspapers and Kyodo News Agency all had support at less than 50 percent, while the Nikkei business daily had support at 53 percent.

Support for the administration is at its lowest level for a new government since 2001, when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi stormed into office with many polls showing 80 percent of voters backed him. He used his popularity to revitalize the LDP and launch a wave of government reforms that injected life into the domestic economy.

As his legacy and the popularity of his party fades, the silver-maned politician is widely reported to be stepping away from politics at the end of his term in parliament.

Aso, a former foreign minister, was elected Wednesday in parliament as Japan's third prime minister in the two years since Koizumi left.

The Yomiuri survey was a nationwide random telephone poll of 1,080 eligible voters. The newspaper provided no margin of error, but a survey of that number of random respondents would generally have a margin of plus or minus three percentage points.

The Nikkei poll was a similar survey of 788 voters and also provided no margin of error, but would generally have a margin of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Mexico storms kill woman and 4 children, flood thousands of homes

VERACRUZ, Mexico _ Storms flooded hundreds of people out of their homes in southeastern Mexico and caused the death of a woman and four children whose car plunged into a swollen irrigation ditch.

More than two dozen rivers have overflowed in the coastal states of Veracruz and Tabasco, flooding thousands of homes, damaging bridges and cutting off some villages, according to Civil Protection officials.

Maria de Jesus Riandez was driving home with her three children and their 13-year-old friend when her car skidded and fell into the irrigation ditch in the Veracruz town of Nanchital, said district attorney Juan Castro. The three siblings were 1- to 9-years-old.

More than 1,100 people were in shelters in Veracruz, where the floods also forced state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos to close five wells.

In Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco, some neighborhoods were under three feet of water. Furniture and other personal belongings floated in the streets.

Civil Protection officials were trying to evacuate 3,000 people to shelters, but many were refusing to leave.

Flooding in Tabasco last year killed at least 33 people and inundated more than 1 million homes.

Two months ago, the federal government gave homes to 50 families in Villahermosa who lost their houses in last year's flooding. Their new homes were under water again Thursday.

"They promised us that we would not be flooded again here, that it was a safe zone. And we have lost everything again," Elodia Perez said.

Kamis, 25 September 2008

Analysing Bin Laden's jihadi poetry

To many people Osama Bin Laden is the ultimate barbarian, to others an elusive Muslim warrior. Most know him simply as the world's most wanted man.

Few would imagine him as a published poet or wedding raconteur.

But now a host of previously unpublished speeches made by the man accused of planning the 9/11 attacks on the US are to be made public.

They include sermons and readings delivered at a wide range of events from weddings to jihadi recruitment sessions.

Undated file image of Osama Bin Laden
The tapes show Osama Bin Laden to be 'an entertainer with an agenda'

The material was discovered on a dozen of 1,500 cassettes found in al-Qaeda's headquarters in Kandahar, Afghanistan, which was evacuated during the US-led invasion in 2001.

Encompassing recordings from the late 1960s until the year 2000, the collection includes hundreds of sermons by Islamic scholars, political speeches by al-Qaeda's top strategists and even footage of live battles - as well as recordings of the group's reclusive leader.

According to one US linguistics expert, Flagg Miller, who has spent five years analysing the material, the tapes provide an audio library of Bin Laden's development as an orator.

The assistant professor of religious studies at the University of California, Davis said the recordings also offer "unprecedented insight" into debates within Bin Laden's circle in the years leading up to the attacks on the US on 11 September 2001.

Jihad and weddings

Prof Miller's analysis of the tapes shows Saudi-born Bin Laden to be a skilled poet who weaves mystical references as well as jihadist imagery into his verse, reciting 1,400-year-old poetry alongside more current mujahideen-era work.

"[The readings] were sometimes given to large audiences when he was recruiting for jihad in Afghanistan... and other times they were delivered at weddings, or to smaller audiences, possibly in private homes," Prof Miller, a linguistic anthropologist specialising in the Middle East, told the BBC.

Poetry is important to Bin Laden's core audiences of radical Islamists and disaffected youth, and his verses have been picked up by his followers around the world and used in their own work, said Prof Miller.

"The violence and barbarism of war can sicken anybody and poetry is a way to frame that violence in higher ethics," he said.

However, some scholars have objected to the publication of Bin Laden's poetry, saying the work has only sparked interest because of the notoriety of its author, and that publishing the verse gives a forum to a reviled figure.

In one of his own poems, Bin Laden, whose whereabouts remain unknown, refers to a youth "who plunges into the smoke of war, smiling".

"He hunches forth, staining the blades of lances red. May God not let my eye stray from the most eminent humans, should they fall," continues the recital.

The words are believed to have been recorded in the mountainous Afghan cave complex of Tora Bora in 1996, as the al-Qaeda chief made his first declaration of war against the US.

Performer with an agenda

Often identifiable by his distinctive monotone, Bin Laden's recitals show him to be "the performer, the entertainer with an agenda", said Prof Miller, who is researching a book analysing the poetry and its role in jihad.

Flagg Miller
Bin Laden uses poetry to tap into the cultural orientation, the history and the ethics of Islam
Prof Flagg Miller
University of California, Davis

"They also show his evolution from a relatively unpolished Muslim reformer, orator and jihad recruiter to his current persona, in which he attempts to position himself as an important intellectual and political voice on international affairs."

Earlier material is littered with references to tribal poetry, Koranic verses and mystical allusions - mountains, for example, are used as metaphors to help his followers avoid the temptations of the secular world.

In one instance the man accused of orchestrating bombings in East Africa, Indonesia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as well as the US, describes himself as a "warrior poet", whose words will lead his followers to an idyllic refuge in the Hindu Kush mountains.

More recent recordings are both more professionally produced and more overtly political - the anti-Western rhetoric with which the world has become familiar since the 9/11 attacks.

Prof Miller said that if alive, Bin Laden would still be writing poetry, which is central to the oral traditions of his tribal culture.

"Poetry is part of the oral tradition in the Arab world, which Bin Laden uses to tap into the cultural orientation, the history and the ethics of Islam," he said.

The tapes are currently being cleaned and digitised at Yale University in the US and public access is expected to be granted in 2010.

Prof Miller's findings are published in the October issue of the journal, Language and Communication.

Iranian row on Zionism breaks out

To an outside observer, a row on Zionism and Israel in Iran has the arcane feel of a medieval theological dispute.

Indeed, if the topic was not so serious, it could almost be the subject for one of the more bizarre Monty Python comedy sketches.

Senior figures across Iran have been lining up as if for a contest - to prove quite how strongly opposed they are to Israel and Zionism.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. File photo
Ahmadinejad is due to visit New York for the UN General Assembly meeting

In official circles in the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is, of course, accepted beyond dispute that Zionism is evil, possibly even the source of all evil in the world.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been particularly outspoken in his comments on the matter.

His remark that Israel should be "wiped off the face of the map" was one of the first signs that his was going to be a most controversial presidency - even if the precise translation of those comments is still disputed.

So the most bizarre element in this episode is that it is a close ally of the president who has been accused of being too friendly to the Jewish state, or at least to its citizens.

In an interview in July, the vice president in charge of tourism, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, was quoted as saying that Iranians were friends with the Israeli people, despite the conflict between their governments.

"Today, Iran is friends with the American and Israeli people," he said, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. "No nation in the world is our enemy."

Ahmadinejad's backing

It sounded just like the standard cliche from the US state department: "We are not enemies with the people of country x, just their leaders."

Iran's Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. File photo
Ayatollah Khamenei made it clear he had no sympathy for the Israelis

But in Iran, in the present climate, even the slightest hint that everything about Israel is not pure evil unleashed a storm of protest, with sermons, newspaper editorials, complaints in parliament and demonstrations.

Yet the vice president refused to back down.

The controversy dominated a news conference given last Thursday by President Ahmadinejad - provoking numerous questions, and taking up more than half-an-hour of the proceedings.

The president supported his deputy's comments, while making one of his strongest tirades to date against the 'leaders of Zionism'.

Mr Ahmadinejad said that a handful - only around 2000 Zionists - dominated the centres of power in the West. They were atheists, he said, who wanted to dominate the world and plunder the wealth of nations.

And Mr Ahmadinejad argued that that many of those now living in Israel had been duped into moving to the country by that handful of Zionists. It was time to open the gates to let them return home.

He had sympathy for them, he explained, just as he had compassion even for US President George W Bush, who could have been a better person, despite his countless crimes.

Ayatollah's attack

But despite the tough rhetoric against Israel, there was a quick rebuke from the Supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

Speaking at last Friday's prayers, the ayatollah made it clear he had no sympathy for the Israeli people.

"Who are the Israelis," he said. "They are responsible for usurping houses, territory, farmlands and businesses. They are fighters at the disposal of Zionist operatives.

"A Muslim nation cannot remain indifferent to such people who are stooges at the service of the arch-enemies of the Muslim world," the ayatollah said.

Mr Mashaei immediately declared his loyalty to the supreme leader, but still did not retract his comments.

And there is plenty of evidence that the vice president spoke with the approval, perhaps even the encouragement, of President Ahmadinejad.

The two men have been close friends since they served together in the Revolutionary Guards. They are even related - Mr Mashaei's daughter is married to Mr Ahmadinejad's son - one of many dynastic marriages in Iran.

Peace overture?

Journalist Ali Pahlavan says it is quite possible that Mr Mashaei is being used as a mouthpiece for the president, enabling Mr Ahmadinejad to qualify his controversial comments about wiping Israel off the map.

Iranian nuclear facility at Isfahan. File photo
Iran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes

"He is trying to enhance and enlighten and broaden the idea of a world without Israel," Mr Pahlavan explained.

To show, in other words, that Iran's intention is not to wipe out the Israeli people in some new act of genocide, but just to see the end of the state of Israel, just as the Soviet Union disintegrated.

There has even been speculation that this might be the prelude to a peace overture from President Ahmadinejad to the United States.

It is an intriguing idea, just as Mr Ahmadinejad arrives in New York for his annual visit to the UN General Assembly. What better opportunity for some ground-breaking diplomacy?

Certainly, Mr Ahmadinejad is a believer that Iran's best policy lies in negotiating directly with the "great Satan" - by contrast with others in the country, who believe their best hope is in using Europe as an intermediary.

But if this is a peace initiative, it is deeply misguided - even by the strange standards of Mr Ahmadinejad's government.

To accuse your negotiating partner of being in the hands of a few evil atheist Zionists is hardly the best way to encourage constructive talks.

And there is absolutely also no sign that Tehran is willing to compromise on the more substantive issue on their agenda - Iran's nuclear programme.

More likely, this seems to be an internal argument within Iranian ruling circles, a sort of theological refinement of exactly where the limits lie to the anti-Zionism that the country uses to help define its very raison d'etre.

Egypt hostages 'moved to Libya'

A group of 11 European tourists and eight Egyptian guides kidnapped in Egypt's desert have been moved to Libya, a Sudanese official has said.

The group had previously been taken from Egypt to Sudan. Sudanese foreign ministry official Ali Yusuf Ahmed said the hostages were safe.

The group were on a desert safari in south Egypt, near the borders of Sudan and Libya, and were seized last Friday.

Gilf al-Kebir excursion
The group were seized from the remote Gilf al-Kebir area last Friday

The captives include five Germans, five Italians, and one Romanian.

Egyptian officials say the kidnappers are gangsters who are demanding several million dollars in ransom money.

They are not thought to have made any political demands as yet.

Darfur roads closed

Mr Ahmed said the hostages were being held some 13 km (eight miles) inside Libyan territory.

"The Libyan authorities have been informed," he said. "They are now following the progress of the group."

map

Mr Ahmed said the language of the kidnappers and the direction they were originally taking indicated that they could be part of a rebel faction from the Sudanese region of Darfur.

Roads into Darfur have been shut as a precautionary measure, he said.

Earlier this week, the group were spirited into Sudan from the remote Egyptian region of Gilf al-Kebir where they were seized.

The area, which is close to chronic conflict areas in western Sudan and eastern Chad, is sparsely populated and has virtually no police presence.

Gilf al-Kebir is a giant plateau famous for its prehistoric cave paintings, which featured in the 1996 film The English Patient.

Bush still 'hopeful' on Mid-East

The US will continue to seek a Middle East peace deal during George W Bush's final months in office, the president has told the Palestinian leader.

Meeting Mahmoud Abbas at the White House, Mr Bush said he was "hopeful" of a deal and said he remained committed to establishing a Palestinian state.

The meeting came as aid agencies said the international Quartet had "lost its grip" on the peace process.

Mr Abbas is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Friday.

Speaking at the Oval Office, Mr Bush told Mr Abbas: "I appreciate your determination and your desire to have a Palestinian state. I share that desire with you. It's not easy."

Mahmoud Abbas (l) with President George W Bush
The two leaders have met often during Mr Bush's time in office

"As you know, I've got four more months left in office and I'm hopeful that the vision that you and I have worked on can come to pass," he added.

Damning report

Mr Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president whose Fatah party controls the West Bank but not the Gaza Strip, which is run by Hamas, echoed Mr Bush's sentiments.

"Hope remains," Mr Abbas said. "We cannot live without hope."

"We will continue to work with you, and we will continue to keep the hope alive in order to reach a political solution for our issue and for the Middle East."

The pair met after a group of 21 aid agencies issued a damning report accusing the Quartet - Russia, the US, the EU and the UN - of failing in its mission to move towards a permanent peace deal in between Israel and the Palestinians.

Conditions for Palestinians, which it was meant to improve, have worsened since peace talks recommenced under US sponsorship in 2007, the agencies said.

UK flights hit by computer glitch

Flights to and from some UK airports have been cancelled or delayed because of a computer problem at the main air traffic control centre at Swanwick.

Airports across the UK have been affected by delays of flights using airspace in the south-east of England.

The problem has now been fixed and although services are said to be returning to normal, some delays are still occurring.

Aircraft at Heathrow airport
British airports were forced to delay and cancel flights

British Airways cancelled 35 domestic and European flights from Heathrow.

The computer problem occurred at 1600 BST and it is not certain how much of a backlog has built up and what knock-on effects the incident will have.

Huge queues

Simon Calder, travel editor at the Independent newspaper, told the BBC there would be repercussions for travellers tomorrow.

"There will be an impact because crews and aircraft are going to be out of position," he said.

"So many cancellations today, passengers will be wanting to re-book, and it's always the short-haul cancellations, Paris and Brussels and Scotland that get hit."

Passengers at airports across the UK, including Heathrow, Cardiff, Belfast and Glasgow, faced delays.

British Airways said most short-haul flights were now operating "almost normally" at Heathrow.

At Heathrow's Terminal 5, Richard Minnis, 26, an IT consultant from London, missed his 1910 flight to Cape Town after getting stuck in queues caused by the Swanwick incident.

"It has been a bit of a shambles really," he said.

"I missed my flight because the queue was so long to check in. Now I am stuck trying to find another one and the queues are huge."

At Gatwick, Eamon McGee, a 36-year-old construction consultant from Northern Ireland, had planned to catch an Easyjet flight to Ibiza for a stag party.

"There's a queue of about 100 people waiting to speak to someone," he said.

"There hasn't been any information, I've only heard things from what's on the television in the restaurant."

Reduced capacity

National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said engineers were called in to investigate the cause of the computer fault at the London Area Control Centre, which deals with planes flying over south-east England.

The London Terminal Control Centre, also based in Swanwick which is responsible for landing and departing aircraft, continued to operate fully but it had been restricting departures due to the additional workload.

LONDON AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
The London air traffic control centre at Swanwick, Hampshire, has two parts with different responsibilities:
The London Area Control Centre (LACC) is responsible for aircraft flying over England and Wales
The London Terminal Control Centre (LTCC) handles aircraft approaching and departing south-east England airports
Both centres are run by National Air Traffic Services (Nats), which is part-owned by the government and a consortium of airlines


Nats said restrictions on take-offs and landings had been introduced to ensure passenger safety while controllers operated manual systems at reduced capacity.

BBC transport correspondent Tom Symonds said the problems stemmed from a glitch with computers which deal with information about flights when they are at higher altitude.

Air traffic controllers could still see where planes were, but were finding it difficult to identify them, he said.

This had resulted in a reduced flow of aircraft from airports, with planes at Heathrow leaving every two minutes rather than every 90 seconds.

Flight cancellations

Luton Airport cancelled nine European flights but its website said while delays remain on some departures, check in for the majority of flights had resumed and services are returning to normal.

Flights from Cardiff International Airport were also temporarily halted by the fault, but had started moving again a spokesman said.

A spokesman for Manchester Airport said some European and international flights had been affected as they were routed to fly over south-east of England.

A spokesman for airport operator BAA, which runs Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton airports, said "many UK airports" had been affected by the problem.

"Aircraft continue to land and depart, however the process is slower than normal, which means that inevitably, some flights will be delayed and some will be cancelled," he said.

"We are working hard with the airlines to minimise disruption."

About a dozen flights were cancelled from BAA's three Scottish airports, including flights to Heathrow, Gatwick, Madrid and Alicante.

A spokeswoman also said several flights from Scotland had delays ranging from 15 minutes to two hours, a spokeswoman said.

Airport authorities have advised passengers to contact their airlines before travelling.

Shots fired in US-Pakistan clash

The United States military says US and Afghan forces have exchanged gunfire with Pakistani troops across the border with Afghanistan.

A senior US military official says a five-minute skirmish broke out after Pakistani soldiers fired warning shots near two US helicopters.

No-one was hurt in the incidents and the US maintains its troops did not cross the border from Afghanistan.

Pakistani soldier in Bajur
US action along the Pakistan border has raised tensions

Cross-border action by US-led forces has angered Pakistan in recent weeks.

The latest incident took place along the border of the eastern Afghan region of Khost, which is a hotbed of militant groups.

Escorting troops

A US Central Command spokesman, Rear Admiral Greg Smith, said the helicopters had been escorting US troops and Afghan border police when they were fired on by Pakistani troops.

He said that coalition ground forces then fired rounds - not to hit the Pakistani troops, he added, but simply "to make certain that they realised they should stop shooting".

The patrol had been moving about one mile (1.6km) inside Afghanistan, he added.

Map locator

However, the Pakistani military gave a different account.

In a statement, commanders said troops fired warning shots at the helicopters when they strayed over the Pakistan border.

"When the helicopters passed over our border post and were well within Pakistani territory, our own security forces fired anticipatory warning shots," a statement said.

"On this, the helicopters returned fire and flew back."

In New York, Pakistan's new prime minister gave another version of events when he said that Pakistan forces had fired "flares" to warn the helicopters they were near the border.

Tension between Washington and Islamabad has risen since 3 September, when the US conducted a ground assault in Pakistani territory, its first, targeting what it said was a militant target in the tribal region of South Waziristan.

US 'agrees Wall Street bail-out'

A leading US senator says both parties in Congress are in agreement on the outline of a $700bn (£380bn) bail-out plan to revive the finance sector.

Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee said they had reached "fundamental agreement" on the principles of a deal.

Republicans and Democrats have been worried about who will fund the plan.

US President George W Bush is meeting presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama to discuss the bail-out.

Mr Bush has said he hoped there would be agreement on a rescue deal "very shortly".

However US Senate Majority leader Harry Reid told journalists discussions were "ongoing".

Mr Dodd said Congress could act in the next few days to pass a bill on the subject.

"We look forward to reviewing the proposal. Our focus remains the same - ensuring that the final package is effective," said Treasury spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli.

After Mr Dodd's comments Tony Fratto, the White House deputy press secretary, said it was a "a good sign that progress is being made".

The plan, as it was first proposed last week, would broadly help finance firms offload bad debt, which has triggered a global credit crisis.

"We now expect that we will have a plan that can pass the House, pass the Senate and be signed by the president," Republican Senator Robert Bennett of Utah said after meetings with lawmakers on Thursday.

Details of the package were not immediately available but it is tipped to include restrictions on executives' pay as well as oversight requirements.

The benchmark Dow Jones index rose after Senator Dodd's comments, to close 198.09 points, or 1.83%, up at 11,023.26.

Concerns

The bail-out has been under scrutiny with politicians on both sides nervous about the deal being rushed through too quickly.

Of particular concern has been the issue of pay for the bosses of the firms in question, as well as concerns over the cost of the plan to the US taxpayer.

But both US Federal Reserve head Ben Bernanke and Mr Bush have warned that without a deal, it would cause a significant set-back to the economy as a whole.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is due to meet Mr Bush in Washington to talk about the financial turmoil on Friday, said he supported the US initiative to help bolster markets.

Those in favour of the deal have argued that:

  • The deal would boost global financial stability
  • Increase investor confidence
  • Prevent a global slowdown
  • Encourage banks to lend to each other, and beat the credit crunch.

Those with reservations have said the bail-out would:

  • Cost the taxpayer too much money
  • Benefit bosses of firms who have taken huge risks
  • Increase state debt
  • Give too much power to the US Treasury.

One of the main uncertainties of the bail-out is what the true cost will be, and how the Treasury will price the bad debt that it is planning to acquire.

Under the preliminary plan, the government would acquire the bad, mortgage-backed assets of finance firms in a move to ensure they do not fold, to prevent further problems.

The fear is that if more finance firms go under this will have a knock-on effect on other sectors of the economy, further worsening the credit crisis.

Turmoil

The package was proposed after a period in which markets saw almost unprecedented global turmoil and upheaval.

Key investment firm Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank in the US, filed for bankruptcy protection and the government had to intervene to rescue insurance giant AIG.

Meanwhile Bank of America stepped in to buy Merrill Lynch.

And investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley changed their status, enabling them to tap into commercial banking, effectively marking the end of an era on Wall Street.

The bail-out is being promoted as a way to help boost the outlook for banks, and improve the availability of credit which has been harder to obtain for banks and businesses as well as individuals.

But not everyone sees the bail-out as the right solution.

Senator Bernie Sanders organised a petition which attacked what it said was the Treasury's attempt to enable bosses to "continue to make exorbitant salaries and bonuses," reported Agence-France Presse.

"The wealthiest people, those ... in the best position to pay, are being asked for no sacrifice at all," read a petition to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Senin, 22 September 2008

Why Mbeki had to go

The African National Congress's decision to sack President Thabo Mbeki has been described by some South African commentators as "regicide".

Certainly it is unprecedented in South African history that a head of state is dismissed in this way. Nor is the ANC the kind of organisation that goes in for this humiliation of its leaders.

So why did it happen?

Thabo Mbeki (file photo)
Thabo Mbeki has been left with few friends in the upper ranks of the ANC

The immediate cause was Mr Mbeki's ongoing feud with his former deputy, the ANC party leader Jacob Zuma.

But this was not just a personal vendetta between two men. Behind these events lie two major factors: one political, one personal.

Fight with the left

Thabo Mbeki, although a former member of the South African Communist Party, has used conventional economic policies to drive the country's development agenda.

Tight monetary and budgetary targets have been set and met. The result has been a period of unprecedented economic growth, reaching 5% a year in recent years.

In June 1996 Finance Minister Trevor Manuel introduced a neo-liberal economic strategy known as Growth, Employment and Redistribution (Gear).

This included commitments to open markets, privatisation and a favourable investment climate.

The ANC is in a formal alliance with two groups on the left, the Communists and the trade union movement, Cosatu. Both were fiercely critical of the strategy and argued that they had been excluded from its development and implementation.

In the report to the Communist Party Congress in July 1998 the Central Committee spelled out their objections to Gear in great detail.

This concluded: "We remain convinced that Gear is the wrong policy. It was wrong in the process that developed it, it is wrong in its overall strategic conception, and it is wrong in much of its detail.

"At the end of the day, we cannot allow our entire transformation struggle to be held hostage by conservative approaches to the budget deficit."

In May this year Blade Nzimande, General Secretary of the Communist Party wrote: "Despite the many modest gains that our own democracy has made since the 1994 democratic breakthrough, our own self-imposed structural adjustment programme, Gear, failed to make a dent in unemployment (unemployment actually increased dramatically between 1996 and 2006), and eroded the capacity to build a developmental state."

These criticisms are not just held by the Communist Party, they are a reflection of the unease on the left as a whole at the policies that Thabo Mbeki adopted.

Anger at the president's strategy to tackle the problems of unemployment, in particular, contributed to his downfall.

Victims unite

All politicians make enemies. That is the nature of the game. But President Mbeki has made more than most. One example should suffice to illustrate the problem.

In April 2001 the country's national daily, the Star, had a headline that read "Mbeki plot rocks ANC".

President Mbeki had sent his minister of safety and security to accuse three leading members of the party of plotting to oust him.

The accused - former ANC secretary-general, Cyril Ramaphosa and two former provincial premiers, Tokyo Sexwale and Mathews Phosa ­- were among the party's most respected figures.

All three were men who had driven to seek their fortunes in business after being marginalised by Mr Mbeki.

To this day there is no clear explanation of why these extraordinary charges were made. Nelson Mandela himself emerged from retirement to say that he held all three in "high esteem".

The Mail and Guardian newspaper commented at the time that it was a strategy worth of Joseph Stalin and said: "Many observers have dismissed the plot theories as a strategy to warn off potential competitors with ambitions to challenge Mbeki's leadership."

No evidence was ever led against them, no charges were laid and the matter was swept under the carpet. However, it was certainly not forgotten.

Today Mathew Phosa is the ANC Treasurer General, one of the top party posts. Cyril Ramaphosa and Tokyo Sexwale are members of the National Executive.

Their names, along with those of Zwelinzima Vavi, leader of the trade unions in Cosatu and Blade Nzimande of the Communist Party, have been cited in the South African press as among those who wielded the knife against Thabo Mbeki.

The political and the personal had come together.

Zuma ally 'to be S Africa leader'

South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) has chosen a caretaker president to replace Thabo Mbeki.

Sources within the party have named deputy leader Kgalema Motlanthe, an ally of party leader Jacob Zuma.

Kgalema Motlanthe
Kgalema Motlanthe is an ANC veteran but only became an MP in May

Mr Zuma said on Monday the decision would only be formally announced when parliament meets - on Thursday - to vote on the appointment.

Thabo Mbeki resigned on Sunday over claims of political interference in a corruption case against Mr Zuma.

He denies the allegations but said he was stepping down at the request of the ANC in the interests of party unity.

In his first comments on the case, Mr Zuma said it was one of the most difficult decisions in the ANC's history.

But Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he was "deeply disturbed" by Mr Mbeki's forced resignation, saying the interests of the ANC had been put before those of the nation.

"Our country deserves better. The way of retribution leads to a banana republic," he said.

Mr Zuma, however, promised a smooth transition.

"This is not a change of party but only leadership in government," he told reporters.

"Our economic policies will remain stable, progressive and unchanged."

Mr Mbeki has said he will remain in office until his successor is chosen.

The ANC chief whip on Monday moved a motion for Mr Mbeki's resignation to take effect on Thursday.

The new president will hold the post until elections are held in early 2009, which Mr Zuma is widely expected to win.

Mr Zuma said the candidate would be named in parliament "at an appropriate moment".

However, he said of Mr Motlanthe - the man heavily tipped for the post - "I am confident that if given that responsibility he will be equal to the task".

If confirmed, it would be a meteoric rise for Mr Motlanthe, who only became an MP in May.

However he has impeccable ANC credentials, the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg says.

Mr Motlanthe spent much of the 1980s jailed on Robben Island along with Nelson Mandela.

He was made ANC secretary general in 1997 and became the party's number two in December, at the same time as Jacob Zuma was elected party leader.

'Political solution'

ANC General Secretary Gwede Mantashe said the decision to ask for Mr Mbeki's resignation was taken to avoid divisions in the party.

Mr Zuma, he said, would not take over immediately but would wait for general elections when, if voted in, he would be "a people's president".

Mr Mantashe insisted the resignation call was not a punishment for Mr Mbeki and that the president would be given the chance to continue his role as mediator in Zimbabwe.

However, the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said Mr Zuma had "got what he wanted" from Mr Mbeki's resignation.

Party leader Helen Zille told the BBC's Network Africa programme that Mr Zuma wanted "a political solution to his legal problems".

Praising Mr Mbeki as a strategic thinker and peacemaker, she described Mr Zuma as "the leader of a rabble out to grab the spoils of state for their own interests".

Mr Mbeki's resignation came days after a high court judge suggested he might have interfered in a corruption case against Mr Zuma.

In his television address, Mr Mbeki made an impassioned defence of his position.

Neither he nor his cabinet had made any attempt to meddle with the judicial process, he said, and he dismissed any suggestion he had been trying to shape the judgement for his own political ends.

Mr Mbeki fired Mr Zuma as deputy president in 2005 after his financial adviser was found guilty of soliciting a bribe on his behalf.

But Mr Zuma returned to the political stage to topple his rival as ANC leader in bitterly contested elections last year.

Sabtu, 20 September 2008

Terror pledge after Pakistan bomb

Pakistan's president has pledged to fight the "cancer" of terrorism after a suicide bomb killed at least 40 people in the capital, Islamabad.

In a televised speech, Asif Ali Zardari appealed to "all democratic forces" to help to save Pakistan.

The bomb, at the Marriott Hotel, left a 20ft (6m) crater. The hotel owner said a lorry blew up as it was being checked by security at the entrance.

A crater outside the burning Marriott Hotel

US President George W Bush condemned the attack and pledged assistance.

He said it was "a reminder of the ongoing threat faced by Pakistan, the United States, and all those who stand against violent extremism".

He said the US would "assist Pakistan in confronting this threat and bringing the perpetrators to justice".

'Tonne of explosives'

The blast destroyed the entire front section of the hotel and brought down the ceiling of the banqueting hall.

Witnesses described a scene of horror as blood-covered bodies were pulled from the wreckage and guests and staff ran for cover from shattered glass.

The BBC's Barbara Plett, at the scene of the blast, says emergency services have not been able to reach the upper floors of the hotel, where more people are feared trapped.

Employees flee from the foyer of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad

The police say they suspect it was a suicide attack.

There has been no claim of responsibility so far, but the BBC's Shoaib Hasan, in Islamabad, says the key suspects are the Pakistan Taleban who operate in the north-west of the country.

In a televised address to the nation, President Zardari said he would not be deterred from fighting extremism.

"Terrorism is a cancer in Pakistan, we are determined, God willing, we will rid the country of this cancer," he said.

"I promise you that such actions by these cowards will not lower our resolve."

The explosion is thought to have been caused by more than a tonne of explosives and police are warning that the hotel could collapse.

Analysts say the attack is the most serious in the Pakistani capital to date and will spark fears about the country's stability in the face of a growing Islamist insurgency.

Heavy security

A huge area of the 315-room hotel remained on fire hours after the explosion.

At least 100 people have been injured in the attack, among them four British citizens as well as Saudi, German, Moroccan, Afghan and US nationals.

Map

There are reports that at least 200 people were in the hotel's restaurants when the explosion hit at about 1900 (1500 GMT).

Many of the diners would have been breaking their daytime Ramadan fast.

The Marriott is the most prestigious hotel in the capital, and is popular with foreigners and the Pakistani elite.

The hotel is located near government buildings and diplomatic missions, so security is tight, with guests and vehicles subject to checks.

The Marriott has previously been the target of militants. Last year a suicide bomber killed himself and one other in an attack at the hotel.

Pakistan has been a key ally of the US in its "war on terror", but relations have become strained over tactics.

In recent months Pakistan has voiced growing disquiet over US raids targeting militants in its territory, launched from neighbouring Afghanistan.

The attack came just hours after newly-elected President Zardari gave his first speech to MPs, vowing not to allow Pakistan's territory to be violated by terrorists or foreign powers fighting them.

Al-Qaeda and Taleban militants based in Pakistan's north-west tribal region have repeatedly carried out attacks across the border in Afghanistan.

Bush defends US debt rescue plan

US President George W Bush has defended a rescue package to tackle the worst financial markets crisis for decades.

The cost to taxpayers from shoring up markets was better than the alternative of job losses and blighted retirement accounts, he said in a radio address.

The US Treasury is proposing a fund worth up to $800bn (£440bn) to buy back a large proportion of the bad debt in the US mortgage market.

The fund would hold the debts until they can be sold off in the future.

Mr Bush said the measures required the US "to put a significant amount of taxpayer dollars on the line".

"But I'm convinced that this bold approach will cost American families far less than the alternative," he said.

"Further stress on our financial markets would cause massive job losses, devastate retirement accounts, further erode housing values, and dry up new loans for homes, cars and college tuitions."

'Queasy' Congress

Congressional and Treasury officials will meet later to work on the plan.

Talks will continue throughout the weekend and the package is expected to be signed into law within days.

New York Stock Exchange trader (19/09/08)
Share prices rallied after days of turmoil

It is believed the intention is to find a way of bringing all the bad debts into one organisation whose task will be to hold them on behalf of the taxpayer until they can be sold off at some point in the distant future, says the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington.

There are some members of Congress who are queasy at the thought of the taxpayer taking on hundreds of billions of dollars of currently worthless debt, he says.

But the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, Steney Hoyer, said he expected quick action.

After a week of turmoil, stock markets around the world rallied on news of the rescue plan, with the UK's FTSE 100 closing on Friday with its biggest one-day gain.

'Maximum impact'

Earlier, Mr Bush said swift, politically bipartisan action was needed to keep the US economy from grinding to a halt as problems sparked by the credit crisis had begun to spread through the entire financial system - leaving jobs, pensions and companies under threat.

"These are risks the US cannot afford to take. We must act now to protect economic health from serious risk," he added.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said a "bold" move was needed to restore the financial system's health.

Giving few details, Mr Paulson said the Bush administration was stepping in with a plan to remove so-called "toxic debts" from US banks' balance sheets.

The programme, he said, must be "large enough to have maximum impact".

In the meantime, he said that the government would be stepping up action to increase the availability of capital for new home loans.

Once this difficult period was over, Mr Paulson said, the government's next task would be to overhaul bank regulations.

The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Christopher Dodd, said he and his colleagues would need to see the details of the plan first, but he accepted that quick action would be needed.

"We understand the gravity of the moment," said the Democratic senator.

Rescue moves

Earlier on Friday, the government announced plans to guarantee US money market funds - mutual funds that typically invest in low-risk credit such as government bonds and are often used by pension funds - up to a value of $50bn, in a move to further restore confidence.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission temporarily banned "short-selling" in the stocks of 799 companies. Short-selling is a form of trading which effectively bets that the value of a company's shares will fall.

"The Treasury and the Fed have finally realised the depth and systemic nature of the crisis," said John Ryding, an economist at RDQ Economics

"We believe that these actions will constitute the wider firebreak that will contain the crisis."

Mounting fears that the credit crisis is beginning to spread out through the financial system have rocked shares and companies recently.

Investment giant Lehman Brothers collapsed this week, rival Merrill Lynch was bought out by Bank of America, and the US government has bailed out insurer AIG with an $85bn rescue package and state-backed mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

SA's Mbeki says he will step down

South African President Thabo Mbeki will accept a call to resign by the governing African National Congress (ANC), his spokesman has said.

Mukoni Ratshitanga said Mr Mbeki would leave his post once "all constitutional requirements have been met".

Thabo Mbeki (file photo)
Mr Mbeki has denied interfering in the case against Jacob Zuma

It comes days after a High Court judge suggested that Mr Mbeki may have interfered in a corruption case against his rival, ANC leader Jacob Zuma.

Mr Zuma was expected to succeed Mr Mbeki in scheduled elections next year.

Mr Mbeki has called for his cabinet to meet on Sunday.

Parliament is expected to meet in the coming days to formalise the resignation, and is likely to appoint the parliamentary speaker as interim leader.

The decision to call for Mr Mbeki's early resignation was taken at a meeting of the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC).

The ANC's Secretary General Gwede Mantashe said the move had followed "a long and difficult discussion".

He said Mr Mbeki, who has ruled for more than a decade, "did not display shock" at the decision and had agreed to participate "in the process and the formalities".

The decision had been taken for "stability and for a peaceful and prosperous South Africa", Mr Mantashe told a news conference.

The ANC secretary general said this was not punishment for Thabo Mbeki, adding that the president would be given the chance to continue his role as mediator in Zimbabwe.

At the same time, ANC cabinet members are being urged to remain in government to ensure continued stability.

Political interference

The BBC's Peter Biles in Pretoria says this dramatic decision will fundamentally change South Africa's political landscape.

Jacob Zuma (file photo)

Mr Mbeki fired Jacob Zuma as deputy president in 2005 after his financial adviser was found guilty of soliciting a bribe on his behalf.

But Mr Zuma returned to the political stage to topple his rival as ANC leader in bitterly contested elections last year.

Earlier this month a High Court judge dismissed corruption and other charges against Mr Zuma, saying there was evidence of political interference in the investigation.

In his ruling the judge said it appeared that Mr Mbeki had colluded with prosecutors against Jacob Zuma as part of the "titanic power struggle" within the ANC.

The accusation was strongly denied by Mr Mbeki.

Weakened position

Mr Mbeki, who has devoted his life to the ANC, succeeded Nelson Mandela as the party's president in 1997.

He became leader of South Africa in 1999 and won a second term in 2004.

Perhaps his biggest policy success has been South Africa's rapid economic growth since the end of apartheid and the rise of a black middle class - but to the anger of many, wealth is more unevenly distributed than ever before.

He has failed to convince the trade unions and the poorest South Africans that the government has acted in their interest - providing space for Mr Zuma to mobilise a powerful constituency.

Domestically, his government's handling of the HIV/Aids crisis and failure to stem violent crime in the country has weakened his hand.