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Afghanistan's Karzai Offers Peace to 'Friendly Taliban'
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Mr. Karzai urged the international community at a security conference in
Munich, Germany, to support his government's 'reconciliation' efforts
President Hamid Karzai speaks during the International Conference on Security
Policy, Sicherheitskonferenz, at a hotel in Munich, 08 Feb 2009Afghan President
Hamid Karzai is urging all Taliban members not linked to al-Qaida or other
terrorist networks to return to Afghanistan.Mr. Karzai Sunday called on the
international community at a security conference in Munich, Germany, to support
what he calls his government's "reconciliation" efforts.A United Nations
Security Council delegation that visited Afghanistan in December found growing
national support for Mr. Karzai's position, which is that talks with the
Taliban be based on their renunciation of violence and acceptance of the Afghan
constitution.President Karzai faces waning popularity due to allegations of
government corruption and an ongoing Taliban-led insurgency. He is up for
re-election later this year.Taliban militants and other insurgents have
regrouped and increased the scale of their attacks in Afghanistan, despite the
presence of nearly 70,000 NATO and U.S. troops.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Russia Welcomes US Proposal to Ease Bilateral Tension
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Russian Deputy PM Sergei Ivanov's comments come one day after US Vice President
Joe Biden said it is time to repair US-Russian ties
Russia is welcoming signals from Washington that the United States wants to
ease strained relations with Moscow.US Vice President Joe Biden, left, meets
with the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Sergei Ivanov in Munich, 08 Feb
2009Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov spoke to reporters today at a
security conference in Munich. His comments came one day after U.S. Vice
President Joe Biden said it is time to repair what he called "a dangerous
drift" in U.S.-Russian ties.Ivanov Sunday applauded the Biden message,
describing the vice president's call to hit the restart button in bilateral
ties "very positive." Russian-U.S. ties have grown increasingly strained in
recent years, with Moscow angered over U.S. plans for a missile defense shield
in Europe. Russia also voiced strong objections to the Bush administration's
support for an independent Kosovo.For their part, the United States and the
European Union condemned the Russian military invasion of Georgia, and Moscow's
subsequent recognition of two Georgian breakaway territories as independent
countries.In his Saturday speech, Vice President Biden said the Obama
administration will emphasize diplomacy, democracy and development over the use
of military force. But he said Washington will not hesitate to defend its
interests with force when necessary.Biden also said the United States will
continue to develop missile defenses to, in his words, counter a growing
Iranian capability. But he said Washington will do so in consultation with its
NATO allies and Russia.Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP
and Reuters.
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Israel Considers Egyptian Truce Proposal for Gaza
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Plan includes 18-month cease-fire, prisoner swap for a captive Israeli soldier
and opening of at least two border crossings into Gaza, easing a crippling
blockade
Three weeks after the end of the war in the Gaza Strip, there are reports of
progress on a long-term cease-fire. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (R) shakes
hands with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak (file)Israel's Cabinet discussed
a three-stage Gaza truce proposal mediated by Egypt. It includes an 18-month
cease-fire and a prisoner swap for a captive Israeli soldier held for more than
two years by the Islamic militant group Hamas that rules Gaza. Israel and Egypt
would open at least two border crossings into Gaza, easing a crippling
blockade.Israel has signaled that is now prepared to pay a higher price for the
captive soldier, Gilad Shalit. "The effort to free Gilad Shalit is a supreme
effort," said Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Israeli and Arab media reports say
Israel is willing to trade Shalit for a thousand Palestinian prisoners,
including top militants responsible for deadly suicide bombings. But Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert denied it. These reports are "exaggerated and harmful,"
Mr. Olmert said, adding that when there is a deal he will reveal it to the
public.Senior Hamas leader Mahmud Zahar (l) and top Hamas official Said Siam
(r) return from Egypt at the border at Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 02 Feb 2009A
Hamas delegation, led by a top Gaza official, is in Egypt for talks on a
long-term cease-fire with Israel.Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar was
asked by reporters if there has been progress on a prisoner exchange. He
responded that all the reports on the possible release of Shalit were part of
what he called "Israeli election propaganda." National elections take place on
Tuesday, and movement on a prisoner swap could boost the chances of two
candidates for prime minister, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense
Minister Ehud Barak.Final polls show both of them trailing hawkish former Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Livni running a close second and Barak a
distant third. Livni and Barak support the creation of a Palestinian state;
Netanyahu does not.
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At Least 93 Killed in Australian Wildfires
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Giant walls of flame have destroyed hundreds of homes, forests and farmland in
the country's worst ever wildfire disaster
A fire erupts in a pine tree plantation northeast of Melbourne, Australia,
Sunday, 08 Feb. 2009Bushfires in southeastern Australia have killed at least 93
people and the authorities are warning that the number of victims could
increase as outbreaks continue to burn out of control. Giant walls of flame
have destroyed hundreds of homes, forests and farmland in the country's worst
ever wildfire disaster. Witnesses recount seeing trees explode and the sky
raining ash as temperatures reach 47 degrees Celsius. Up to 400 fires raged
around the southern city of Melbourne, where embers rode on furnace-like winds
pushing the front forward, devouring hundreds of homes and vast areas of forest
and farmland. There are concerns that entire towns may have been lost.Charred
bodies have been found in cars. It is thought many of the victims had tried to
escape the onslaught only to be overcome by its sheer speed and ferocity. Many
communities have seen whole streets reduced to smoking ruins, with piles of
blackened bricks and iron roofing sheets twisted in the heat, while burned-out
cars littered the roadside.The Victorian state Premier, John Brumby, says the
fires are the worst the region has ever endured. "They are unprecedented
conditions the likes of which we have never seen before in the history of the
state. We've also had some cases of arson as you know across the state," Mr.
Brumby said.Vehicles and a barn burn in bushfires close to Labertouche, some
125 kilometres west of Melbourne, Australia, 07 Feb 2009Residents who did
manage to escape have spoken of their close encounters with the bushfires. "I
just said to my wife pack all your stuff, let's go. Before we knew it there
were flames all around the house, behind us and we just sort of evacuated
straight away. We're unsure if the house is still standing but it didn't look
good when we left." Touring the devastated region, Australian Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd said he was "absolutely horrified" by the disaster.Thousands of
exhausted volunteer firefighters are still battling dozens of uncontrolled
outbreaks in Victoria, although conditions have eased considerably in the past
18 hours. Australian government officials said the army would be deployed to
help out, and officials have announced immediate emergency aid of seven million
dollars.Australia's deadliest fires were in 1983, when blazes killed 75 people
and destroyed more than 3,000 homes in Victoria and South Australia.The
continent's southeastern corner is one of the world's most fire-prone regions.
Criminologists have said that half of all bushfires are set deliberately by
arsonists. Others are started by lightning strikes, sparks from trains or
accidentally by discarded cigarettes.
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Baghdad Bomb Kills 2 Shi'ite Pilgrims
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Meanwhile, an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at then-US President George
W. Bush in Baghdad in December will go on trial in an Iraqi court February 19
Iraqi police say a roadside bomb has exploded in Baghdad near a group of
Shi'ite pilgrims, killing two of them and wounding 11 others.Officials say the
blast happened Sunday as the pilgrims were heading to the southern city of
Karbala for a religious festival. Millions of Shi'ites gather in Karbala each
year to mark the end of a 40-day mourning period for seventh century cleric
Imam Hussein.Iraqis burn images of U.S. President George W. Bush south of
Baghdad as they demand the release of Iraqi journalist Munthadar al-Zaidi, 26
Dec 2008Meanwhile, an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at then-U.S.
President George W. Bush in Baghdad in December will go on trial in an Iraqi
court February 19.An Iraqi judicial official says Muntazer al-Zaidi will face a
charge of assaulting a foreign leader, which carries a maximum prison sentence
of 15 years. An Iraqi court rejected an appeal by Al-Zaidi's lawyers to have
him tried on a lesser charge of insulting Mr. Bush. threw his shoes at Mr. Bush
as the former U.S. president was speaking at a Baghdad news conference
alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki December 14. Mr. Bush ducked
and avoided being hit.The act made the reporter for Cairo-based television
station al-Baghdadia a hero among many Arabs who resent the U.S.-led invasion
and occupation of Iraq.Al-Zaidi's relatives accuse Iraqi authorities of beating
and torturing him in custody. Iraqi officials say he was struck in the face
during a scuffle at the news conference, but there is no independent
confirmation that he was abused in prison.In another development, the U.S.
military says an American soldier's weapon fired accidentally Saturday while a
U.S. convoy was traveling south of Baghdad. Two Iraqis were reported
wounded.The U.S. military says it is investigating whether the Iraqis were hit
by gunfire from the U.S. weapon.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Sri Lanka Military: 10,000 Civilians Flee War Zone
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Defense ministry says most of the civilians have fled to Kilinochchi, while a
small group of 139 people escaped to Jaffna
Sri Lanka's military says more than 10-thousand civilians have fled from the
country's northern war zone since Wednesday. The defense ministry issued a
statement Sunday saying that most of those civilians fled to Kilinochchi, while
a group of 139 people fled to Jaffna.The ministry added that Sri Lankan
officials are providing medical care, food and water at the frontlines for the
fleeing civilians.There is no way to independently confirm the reports since
the war zone is sealed off to independent observers and media.United Nations
officials estimate as many as 250,000 people are trapped by the fighting. Sri
Lanka's military accuses the rebels of using the civilians as human shields,
but the rebels say the civilians are trapped by the ongoing military
operation.The Sri Lankan military says it destroyed two Tamil Tiger boats off
the northeastern coast Sunday, killing between two and six rebels. The Tigers
did not immediately comment on the claim.Sri Lanka's president on Saturday told
Tamil Tiger rebels to surrender their weapons, saying the military had
surrounded the separatists on a narrow strip of land.Aid agencies say civilian
casualties have been rising due to intense fighting during the past several
weeks. The agencies also say they have been unable to get essential relief
supplies to victims of the violence. U.S. and European leaders have asked both
sides to stop fighting long enough to let innocent civilians escape.Sri Lankan
officials promised U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon they would protect
civilians, but they have rejected international calls for talks with the rebels.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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UN: More Civilians Return to Rwanda From Congo
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Official says UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known as MONUC, is urging
ethnic Hutu combatants to hand in their weapons and repatriate
The UN refugee agency reports a growing number of Rwandan civilians are
emerging from remote areas of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo seeking
to repatriate.
Former Hutu militiaman sits with other former combatants and their families in
a UN truck in Goma, as they wait to cross the border to Rwanda (File) In
anticipation of many returns, the UN refugee agency says it is opening a new
transit center in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu Province. It says it is
increasing the number of trucks available to transport the refugees to their
homes in Rwanda. Fighting erupted in late August between the Congolese
national army and the mainly Tutsi militia in North Kivu province. UNHCR
Spokesman Ron Redmond says the agency thinks this is spurring people's desire
to return. "We believe they are going back because of this ongoing joint
military offensive between the Rwandan and the Congolese military against the
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda militia," he said. "And, that
operation is continuing." Around one-quarter of a million civilians have been
displaced by this fighting. This comes on top of some 800,000 people already
uprooted by violence in recent years.Redmond says the UN peacekeeping mission
in the DRC, known as MONUC, is urging ethnic Hutu combatants to hand in their
weapons and repatriate."If those fighters lay down their arms and want to
repatriate, they present themselves to the UN Peacekeeping mission, to MONUC,
and MONUC is responsible for their disarming them, for demobilization, for
repatriation and also their re-insertion, re-integration in Rwanda," he said.
He says most of the people UNHCR is dealing with are women, children and the
elderly. Congolese and Rwandan armies joined forces to topple the Tutsi militia
led by renegade leader Laurent Nkunda, who has since been arrested.UNHCR
Spokesman Redmond says some of these people were told by their leaders that it
was time for them to return home. He says they generally are in good health.
But, many are tired after walking long distances to Bukavu.So far this year,
UNHCR staff in South and North Kivu provinces have helped more than 1,400
Rwandan civilians to return home. Redmond says the agency expects to
repatriate thousands more.
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Brazil Recovers 24 Bodies from Plane Crash
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Four people survived the crash
Brazilian authorities say they have recovered the bodies of 24 people who were
aboard a small plane that crashed in the Amazon jungle.Divers recovered the
bodies from the Manacapuru river, where a twin-engine turbo-prop plane crashed
Saturday afternoon. Four people survived the crash.Brazilian officials said
the plane was on a flight from Coari to the city of Manaus in Amazonas state
when the pilots hit bad weather and requested permission to return to Coari.Air
traffic controllers said they lost radar contact with the plane lost shortly
after that radio transmission.The four survivors are reported to be in good
condition. Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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Britain to Get Tough Over Bank Bonuses at Taxpayer Supported Financial
Institutions
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British Treasury Secretary Alistair Darling says failures at financial
institutions that are now taxpayer-supported, should not be rewarded
Britain's Treasury Secretary has ordered an independent review into the bonus
structure of British banks that are being propped up by the British taxpayer.
Media reports here indicate that The Royal Bank of Scotland may be considering
bonus payments this year totaling around $1.5 billion.Britain's Chancellor of
the Exchequer Alistair Darling (File)British Treasury Secretary Alistair
Darling says he understands no figures have been agreed on, but he maintains
the bank's failure, and failures at other financial institutions that are also
now taxpayer-supported, should not be rewarded."No one that is associated with
these large losses should be allowed to walk away with large cash bonuses,"
said Darling. "Now, obviously, there are contractual problems with some staff,
and, indeed, if you look at, if your average teller across the counter, who you
meet -- they are not terribly well paid, and I do not think anyone would
quarrel with making sure they are properly rewarded."RBS received a $30 billion
lifeline from the British taxpayer in October and it expects record losses for
2008.With the public now holding a 68 percent stake in the institution, Darling
says big bonuses will no longer be viewed as business as usual."What is wrong
though is that, where[as], in the past, a bonus was something special you got
as a result for hard work, or you are putting in an extra effort, over the
years, a lot of bankers have come to expect, it is a right, very large bonuses,
and that just cannot go on."
The treasury spokesman for the main opposition Conservative party, George
Osborne, agrees that the way banks operated in the past will no longer be
tolerated. "The party is over for the banks. You cannot go on paying yourselves
20 times what a heart surgeon earns," said Osborne. "So, that whole culture has
to come to an end, and I think the bankers, and, indeed, the government have to
understand, you cannot just re-inflate the balloon that burst. You have to look
to a new banking settlement, a new economic model that is much more stable."
Alistair Darling says he will announce who will chair the review into bank
bonuses and risk-management on Monday.U.S. President Barack Obama has imposed a
$500,000 cap on the salaries of top American executives at some banks receiving
taxpayer money.
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Key South East Asian Countries Rank Low in Budget Transparency
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Washington-based International Budget Partnership says 80 percent of the
governments in 85 countries of the world are not transparent about their budget
processes
A new survey indicates several South East Asian countries rank poorly in
providing accessible and transparent information on their national budgets,
raising fears of corruption in spending programs. Survey by the
Washington-based International Budget Partnership says for many countries minor
steps could be taken to improve transparency and accountability.S. Korean
Deputy Trade Minister Ahn Ho-yuang shows a copy of newspaper featuring a
protest in S. Korea during the World Economic Forum on East Asia
(File)According to the Washington-based International Budget Partnership, most
countries fall short in providing readily available information on budgets and
spending programs.Malou Mangahas, executive director of the Philippine Center
for Investigative Journalism, says access to budget documents is a major
challenge. The IBP says in many countries the public is simply shut out from
the budget formation process."The report with you right now gives a very sad
story. About 80 per cent of the governments in 85 countries of the world are
not transparent about their budget and financial processes," said Mangahas.
"The battle that we have really as journalists and development advocates is
that that means misuse, abuse, and corruption of public funds continue in small
and large measures in many countries."The International Budget Partnership
works with civil organizations in developing countries to analyze, monitor and
influence the government budget process. The organization says the aim is to
ensure budgets respond to the needs of the poor as well as provide more
transparency and accountability.At the top of the Open Budget Index were the
United Kingdom, South Africa, France, New Zealand and United States in
providing extensive information in the budget process.Among the lowest ranking
were Angola, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of
Congo.In South East Asia, Vietnam and Cambodia received low rankings, placing
among the group of countries that provide little or no information on national
budgets.
"The Royal Government of Cambodia provides scant information to the public in
terms of central government budget and financial activity during the fiscal
year," said Kim Song Chea, of the non-government organization, Forum on
Cambodia.Song Chea says Cambodia faces a number of challenges. He says the
country lacks funds to boost the auditing process and has few means to press
the government to enact freedom of information laws.Song Chea says foreign
donors, key contributors to Cambodia's development budget, need to press the
government on issues of accountability.According to the report, the
Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand also fell short in transparency and
information on national budgets. Only Indonesia showed signs of progress
towards reform over recent years.Khairiah Makhtaruddin, a researcher with the
Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute in Kuala Lumpur, says the Malaysian
government offers little chance for public participation in the budget
process.She says the government should improve the parliamentary review
processes to raise levels of transparency. Only Indonesia ranked better than 50
per cent in providing "significant information" to the public in its budget
documents, with an improvement following reforms by the Ministry of Home
Affairs and the Ministry of Finance at the national level.The IBP called on
governments to take urgent action to improve budget transparency and
accountability, calling on international donors to add their weight along with
civil society to publicize and demand explanations from governments to provide
more information on spending programs.The Washington-based organization
recommended governments provide more timely information on the Internet and
improve public accessibility to pre-budget documents. It also called for more
debate and wider distribution of information through radio in countries where
literacy rates are low.
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