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World
News
Vol 25 Issue 23 March 13, 2003 |
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Content is Provided by:
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Iraq Crisis to Be Thrashed out at Special Summit |
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Running out of patience -- U.S. President Bush with Secretary
of State, Colin Powell.
With the Security Council still torn over a resolution authorizing
war in Iraq, the U.S., Britain and Spain will hold a crisis
summit on Sunday. President Bush has also unveiled a new peace
plan for the Middle East.
In the face of strong rifts at the U.N. Security Council
over the Iraq crisis, the U.S. government has announced a surprise
emergency summit on Sunday in Portugal’s Azores islands.
U.S. President Bush will meet there with British Prime Minister
Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, his
two staunchest allies in the present crisis, to thrash out plans
to get U.N. backing for a military invasion against Iraq.
Last chance for diplomacy?
White House spokesman Aril Fleischer described the meeting as
a last push for diplomacy. "In an effort to pursue every
last bit of diplomacy the president will depart Sunday morning
for the Azores to meet Prime Minister Blair and with Prime Minister
Aznar to discuss prospects for resolving the situation peacefully
with diplomacy in final pursuit of a United Nations resolution,"
he said.
Fleischer added that the U.S. would try to seek a U.N. vote
on the crucial resolution in the coming week.
America, Britian and Spain are pushing for a new resolution
that foresees issuing Saddam Hussein an ultimatum of only a
few days to comply with U.N. disarmament conditions.
The U.S. earlier reiterated that in the face of strong divisions
within the Security Council, there was a possibility that it
could lead a military offensive against Iraq without the support
of the Council and on the basis of the already existing resolution
1441 alone.
Chirac tones down rhetoric
French President Jacques Chirac, a vocal opponent of any military
strike against Iraq and who has angered the U.S. and Britain
for pledging to veto a new U.N. resolution against Iraq in the
Security Council, was much more conciliatory in tone when he
spoke to British Prime Minister Blair by telephone on Friday.
Chirac signaled his cooperation with respect to imposing a time
limit on Iraqi disarmament, but made clear that he still rejected
the ultimatum for war which London and Washington want the U.N.
to approve.
"We cannot accept an ultimatum or
automaticity of a recourse to force," he said.
Washington shoots down Chilean proposal
The U.S. government is believed to seek the necessary votes
required to win a majority in the Security Council over the
weekend.
With none of six undecided nations on the 15-member Security
Council saying they were ready to support the U.S. stance, Washington’s
earlier confidence that it was close to getting the minimum
nine votes in favor of the crucial resolution, has now faded.
However the U.S. was quick in dismissing a new proposal by Security
Council member Chile on Friday.
Chilean President Ricardo Lagos said the proposal, to be put
forward with other Council members, would give Baghdad a maximum
of three weeks to comply with five specific disarmament tasks
or face the consequences, including war.
However Ari Fleischer said, "No, that’s a non-starter."
It remains unclear which countries are backing the Chilean proposal.
New peace blueprint for Middle East
Meanwhile President Bush announced a new peace initiative for
the Middle East in Washington on Friday. Bush said the new Middle
East "roadmap" would be placed on the negotiating
table as soon as the new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud
Abbas took office.
"We expect that such a Palestinian
prime minister will be confirmed soon. Immediately upon confirmation,
the roadmap for peace will be given to the Palestinians and
the Israelis," Bush said.
Bush urged the Palestinians to renounce terrorism. At the same
time he appealed to Israel to halt further settlement building
in the occupied territories. "The settlement building activities
must stop," he said. "The time has come, to give up
deeply rooted attitudes and work for peace," he said.
Blair welcomes new push for peace
Bush’s new Middle East initiative was welcomed by Prime
Minister Blair in London. He described it as a big step forward.
"The most important thing now is to show equal treatment
for the Middle East," he said.
Blair said that on the one hand the preoccupation with Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction
took center stage at present.
At the same time, he said, one must also highlight the issue
of Israelis killed by terrorist attacks and the suffering of
the Palestinians. "I will use my full influence to make
sure that the peace talks begin without delay," he said.
Schröder says peaceful disarmament possible
Meanwhile German Chancellor Schröder, who together with
France and Russia, is vehemently against war in Iraq, said on
Friday that the majority of the Security Council still believed
that Iraq could be disarmed peacefully and that weapons inspections
should go on.
"It is still possible to solve this
conflict peacefully," Schröder told the German parliament
in a state of the nation address. "The inspections and
the inspectors are an important instrument that must not be
allowed to end now."
Schröder said that recent reports by U.N. inspectors showed
that Baghdad was cooperating more actively.
"With
an extended inspection regime, we can achieve a lasting and
verifiable disarmament and that is why it was and remains right
that we have insisted on the logic of peace rather than entering
into a logic of war," he said.
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Troubled popstar Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson must pay damages to German company, Bundesrat
rejects tax plans, peace demonstration at U.S. airbase to
continue and more.
Michael Jackson to pay German company damages
Popstar Michael Jackson has to pay €4,9 million ($5,3
million) in damages to Munich Concert Manager Marcel Avram,
after cancelling two "Millenium-Concerts" in Sydney
and Honolulu in 1999. Avram, a former close friend of Jackson,
sued the singer for a total sum of $21,2. Avram's spokeswomen
said it was "a great victory" after a Los Angeles
Court announced the verdict on Thursday. Michael Jackson
has come under heavy media criticism in recent months
after a controversial documentary on his private life was
shown on television around the world.
Bundesrat rejects government's tax plans
The Upper House of the German parliament, the Bundesrat, has
rejected a new law to slash tax privileges on Friday. The
new law, presented by the government coalition of the Social
Democrats and Greens, is being widely criticized by the
opposition. It plans to increase the reduced sales tax
from 7 percent to 16 percent, impose extra taxes for
sales profits and private use of company cars as well as reduce government
assistance for home buyers. Oppostition conservative politicians
claim that the new law would lead to more unemployment and
thus the opposition-dominated Bundesrat voted against
the proposal.
Go-ahead for peace demonstration
A planned peace demonstration in front of the U.S. Airbase
in Frankfurt can go ahead as planned on Saturday, the city's
administrative court ruled on Friday. In response, city officials
filed an appeal with a higher level court. A ruling was expected
to be issued on Friday evening. The municipal authorities
initially forbade the demonstration organized by the "Resist"-Initiative.
The protesters plan to walk from the main station to the U.S.
Airbase and then block its entrances for 24 hours. During
another "Resist" demonstration in February, around
3,000 protesters blocked the main gate for several hours.
15 accused of spreading child pornography
Police in the German city of Nuremberg have begun a judicial
inquiry against 15 men suspected of spreading child pornography.
The suspects saved half a million pornographic pictures on
30 computers and 4,000 disks, CDs and videos. Police found
20,000 items of child porn among them, a speaker said on
Friday. The apartments of the men, aged 35-45 were searched
in a nationwide raid in September 2002. The raids were
triggered after a tip-off by American police
authorities in Texas, where the suspects are believed to have
bought pornographic pictures in 1997.
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International Breaking
News
U.S.,
Britain, Spain to hold Azores summit
U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony
Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar are to travel
to Portugal's Azores islands on Sunday. >>>
Schröder
says UN majority against war to disarm Iraq
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said on Friday that Germany,
along with majority of the members of the U.N. Security Council
still believed Iraq could be disarmed peacefully.
>>>
Bush
ties Middle East plan to new Palestinian PM
U.S. President George W. Bush said on Friday the United States
would unveil a long-delayed Middle East peace plan when the
Palestinians confirm a new prime minister. >>>
U.S.
Billionare Set to take over Bankrupt German Media Group
One of America's most successful media entrepreneurs, Haim
Saban, has seen off the competition in the battle to take
over the bankrupt German KirchMedia group. His main rival,
Bauer, threw in the towel on Wednesday. >>>
Killing
of Serbian Prime Minister Fuels Fears About Country's Stability
Zoran Djindjic, the man who made many enemies as he tried
to transform the Serbia of Slobodan Milosevic, was assassinated
on Wednesday. Germany pledges to continue to support the young
democracy. >>>
Serbia's
Choice: Nationalism or the Path to Brussels?
Serbia will elect a new president this Sunday. Rival candidates
Vojislav Kostunica and Miroljub Labus are expected to run
head-to-head in second-round voting in two weeks time. >>>
World
War Crimes Court Opens
The International Criminal Court officially opened on Tuesday.
But along with Iraq and China, the United States isn't a party
to the tribunal which intends to prosecute crimes against
humanity throughout the world. >>>
When
the Internet Gives You a High
As the world's largest computer fair kicks off in Hanover,
experts are highlighting the problem of Internet addiction.
It afflicts an estimated 1 million Germans and has disastrous
social consequences. >>>
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