Extracts. Syria Pulls out Troops from Most Positions in Beirut Syrian troops have withdrawn from most of their positions in Beirut, the Oriental radio quoted security sources as saying on Sunday. The radio said Syrian troops on Sunday moved out from positions in mainly Muslim-populated southern neighborhoods of Beirut. Only a few Syrian positions remain along the seaside areas of the capital, the radio added. Lebanon on Thursday abruptly announced the redeployment of Syrian troops, which was said to be a result of coordination between Lebanese leadership and Syrian authority. Syrian troops entered Lebanon in 1976 as an Arab peacekeeping force, one year after the outbreak of Lebanon's civil war. Although the war ended in 1990, Syria maintains some 35,000 troops in Lebanon. According to the 1989 Taif Accord, which ended Lebanon's 1975- 1990 civil war, Syrian troops should have withdrawn from Beirut to the mountain areas in central Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley as early as 1992. Lebanon's Christians have been accusing Syria of interfering Lebanon's internal affairs and some blame 350,000 Syrian workers in Lebanon of "grabbing their jobs and wealth." However, the Lebanese leadership insists on the necessity of Syrian troops presence in the country in view of the potential danger of Israeli invasion. Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in May last year, but it has never stopped shelling and violations of Lebanese airspace in the face of military operations carried out by the resistance guerrilla group Hezbollah, or Party of God. **** Palestinians Propose Setting Up International Panel to Follow up Mitchell Report Ahmed Qurei, speaker of the Palestine Legislative Council, proposed on June 16 that an international committee be set up to follow up the implementation of the Mitchell report. The committee could comprise representatives from the parties of last October's Sharm el Sheikh summit and members of the Mitchell commission, he said. Qurei, also known as Abu Ala, make the statement to reports after his meeting with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan Saturday afternoon in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Qurei clarified that the proposed committee could comprise 12 ministers or political officials, adding that this proposal will be discussed with George Tenet, director of the US Central Intelligence Agency. The issue is basically political and has security dimension, Qurei said, adding therefore all the recommendations of the Mitchell report should be implemented simultaneously. The Sharm el Sheikh summit was attended by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Annan, then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, then US President Bill Clinton, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordanian King Abdullah II, and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana to discuss ways of containing violence between Israel and the Palestinians. The Mitchell report, released last month by an international panel led by former US senator George Mitchell, urges Israel and the Palestinians to end violence immediately, adopt confidence- building measures and resume peace talks. Qurei called on Israel to carry out its commitments to the Mitchell report and Tenet's truce plan, and to put an end to the sufferings of the Palestinian people due to Israeli closure, so as to push the peace process forward. He also emphasized the Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian mainstream Fatah movement's acceptance of the US-brokered ceasefire plan and the Palestinians' commitment to carrying out the Mitchell report. Both the Palestinians and Israel announced on June 12 their acceptance of the US ceasefire plan for ceasefire and began to implement it officially on June 13. But sporadic firing and confrontations between the two sides have never stopped, leading to the killing of three Palestinians and one Israeli and injuring of scores of others during the past three days. **** China's Scientists Win World Meteorology Award Two Chinese scientists won a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) award for their joint paper entitled "Multiple Linear Interdependent Models (MLIM) applied to typhoon data in China," WMO announced in Geneva Friday. The Nobert Gerbier-Mumm international award 2001, named after the late Norbert Gerbier, former president of WMO's Commission for Agricultural Meteorology, was given to Lu Chunlian and Chen Shunhua, two scientists from the Nanjing Institute of Meteorology in East China. The study of Chinese scientists demonstrates that MLIM provide better results in diagnosing the losses in typhoon disaster and forecasting the main parameters of typhoons, namely their tracks, intensities and wind speeds. This is a significant development in disaster mitigation for the typhoon-prone region of southeast China, according to a WMO press release. WMO official said that the purpose of the Nobert Gerbier-Mumm international award is to encourage and reward an original scientific paper on the influence of meteorology in particular field of the physical, natural or human sciences or on the influence of one these sciences on meteorology. Five French scientists won this award last year. **** EU Stresses Need to Maintain Multilateral Deal on Missile Defense The 15-nation European Union (EU) said June 16 that it is necessary to maintain strict enforcement of the bloc's national export controls and reinforce the multilateral non-proliferation and export control regimes. This was seen as the EU's clear response to missile defense, including US plans for a global missile defense shield. At a summit meeting in Goteborg, Sweden's major port city, the EU leaders said strengthening international norms and political instruments to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery is of prime importance to the EU. "We are committed to contributing to the achievement of this goal," they said in the Declaration on Prevention of Proliferation of Ballistic Missiles. As for the particular challenge posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles, the leaders said the commitment should be complemented by a global and multilateral approach. Analysts here hold that the EU stance explicitly rejects the US missile defense plans proposed by the new administration of President George W. Bush. "We are of the view that the European Union, which is committed to the reinforcement of disarmament and non-proliferation multilateral instruments, should play a leading role in contributing to these efforts," the EU declaration said. **** Vice Premier Inspects Droughts in Northeast China Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao went on a study tour of northeast China's Jilin and Liaoning provinces, from June 15-17, to inspect the severe drought situation that has been attacking most parts of northern China. Wen, who is a member of both the Political Bureau and the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visited local villages and talked with local officials on dealing with the situation. In his talks, the vice premier urged local CPC committees and governments at different levels to earnestly implement the essence of the recently-held State Council conference on the issues and make greater efforts to fight against the droughts and reduce losses to a minimum through every means. He called for tax holidays for local farmers who have suffered big losses due to the droughts and a stop to all government charges. Jilin and Liaoning have experienced lingering droughts over the past few years, resulting in enormous difficulties for local production and life. Some urban and rural residents are suffering from a shortage of drinking water and large areas of farmland have witnessed bad harvests due to the shortage of irrigation water. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
