Pakistan General Rules Out North Waziristan Offensive

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 1:15 pm (UTC-5)
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A top Pakistani army commander says the military has no plans to launch an offensive against Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants in the North Waziristan tribal region.

Lieutenant General Asif Yasin Malik refuted media reports earlier this week that said the military was planning such an operation at the request of the United States.

Malik told reporters Wednesday that said the military will undertake such an operation when it is in the country's national interest.

Army officials have said that Pakistani troops are stretched thin undertaking military operations in other areas.

Militants have launched a number of attacks against Pakistani security forces following the May 2 killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

On Wednesday, police say about 200 militants crossed the border from Afghanistan and attacked a security checkpoint in the country's northwest killing at least five police officers.

The attack occurred in the town of Shaltalo, in the Dir tribal area along the border with Afghanistan's Kunar province.

Also Wednesday, military officials said a helicopter carrying the head of a paramilitary force crashed into the Indus River in eastern Pakistan, with all five people onboard feared dead.

The helicopter was transporting Major General Mohammed Nawaz, who commands the force known as the Punjab Rangers, and four other people when it went down in Punjab province.

Officials said at least one body has been recovered, adding that there are no reports of survivors. Police say the cause of the crash is not clear, but that bad weather may be to blame.

Report: US Should Delay Aid to Pakistan

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 1:10 pm (UTC-5)
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A new report by a U.S. research center says the United States should hold back much of its $7.5 billion Pakistan aid package until Pakistan adopts reforms.

The report by the Washington-based Center for Global Development says the caution is most advisable in sectors where the U.S. has committed to disbursing its aid funding primarily through government channels.

The study acknowledged that setting conditions for assistance is an “extremely sensitive subject,” but said delaying disbursement in certain sectors will benefit both the Pakistani reform process and the aid's ultimate effectiveness.

The Center for Global Development said spending the money now would provide only temporary fixes that make it easier for Pakistani officials to put off tough decisions.

The report also calls for a greater focus on trade, urging the U.S. government to offer duty-free access to U.S. markets for all Pakistani exports for at least the next five years.

U.S. lawmakers have been reviewing ties with Pakistan since Osama bin Laden was found in a garrison Pakistani city, raising questions about the country's commitment to combating terrorism.

The center's president and lead author of the report, Nancy Birdsall, said the United States is “way off course” in Pakistan. She said the U.S. is heavily focused on security, while neglecting what she described as “low-cost, low-risk investments” in jobs, growth and democracy building.

The study also recommends the U.S. separate the Pakistan development program from the Afghanistan program and the Pakistan security program. It says the Obama administration's integrated Afghanistan-Pakistan approach has undermined the development mission in Pakistan.

The $7.5 billion aid package to Pakistan was authorized in 2009.

US Senator in Burma for Talks

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 1:05 pm (UTC-5)
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U.S. Senator John McCain is in Burma to confer with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and to assess the new government's commitment to democratic reforms.

The senator launched his three-day visit Wednesday, meet with Burmese Vice President Aung Myint Oo in Naypyitaw, the Burmese administrative capital, and plans to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi Thursday in Rangoon. An opposition spokesman tells VOA's Burmese service the senator is also slated to meet Thursday with representatives of five small ethnic parties.

McCain told reporters Tuesday in Bangkok that he would urge leaders of the new Burmese government to release an estimated 2,200 political prisoners. He also said he would urge the government not to interfere with a planned tour of Burma's provinces announced this week by Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Nobel Peace laureate said she will leave within weeks on the tour, her first since a similar trip in 2003 that ended with her arrest.

In advance of his trip, Senator McCain visited the biggest refugee camp for Burmese in Thailand, at Mae Sot. Tens of thousands of refugees there are waiting either to return home or to be resettled elsewhere.

McCain is a former U.S. Navy pilot who spent six years in a prisoner of war camp during the Vietnam War. He later became a leading advocate of reconciliation between the former enemies.

Israelis Mark Anniversary of Capture of Jerusalem

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 12:55 pm (UTC-5)
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Thousands of Israelis have turned out for a “Flag March” celebration, commemorating the day when Israel seized control of East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War.

Participants marched through the city waving blue and white Israeli flags on Wednesday in a procession that ended at the Western Wall, a Jewish holy site. Israeli media estimated crowds totaling at least 25,000.

Israeli officials had heightened security for the procession to avoid confrontations as the marchers passed through Palestinian neighborhoods, but police reported only minor confrontations.

Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, but Israel wants to keep control of the entire city. In a speech late Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that the Jewish people will preserve the unity of the city.

US Stresses Commitment to Afghanistan, Central Asia

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 12:50 pm (UTC-5)
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A senior U.S. official has underscored the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan and to a long-term relationship with Central Asia during a three-day trip to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

In Tashkent Tuesday, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough met with Uzbek President Islam Karimov, who said relations with the United States are developing stably and consistently in all directions.

The men discussed a wide range of issues of mutual concern, including regional security and stability and the situation in Afghanistan. McDonough thanked President Karimov on behalf of the United States for Uzbekistan's ongoing support, including reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.

Earlier in the week, McDonough met in the Afghan capital, Kabul, with U.S. and international civilian and military officials, as well as with key Afghan counterparts. He also traveled outside the capital to exchange views about how the U.S. and its partners can best support the security transition in Afghanistan from NATO-led to Afghan-led forces, and the country's economic future.

Blatter Re-Elected to FIFA Presidency

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 12:50 pm (UTC-5)
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FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been re-elected as head of football's world governing body after being the only candidate remaining in an election dogged by corruption allegations.

The 75-year-old Swiss earned his fourth term Wednesday after receiving 186 out of the 203 votes cast at the FIFA Congress in Zurich. Blatter's only rival, Asian football confederation president Mohamed bin Hammam, withdrew Sunday amid bribery allegations.

Earlier Wednesday, Blatter vowed to radically reform the way future World Cup host countries are selected. He pledged that all 208 of the group's members would be allowed to pick the sites for the quadrennial matches.

Currently, FIFA's 24-member executive committee selects the winning World Cup host countries, but it has been widely criticized for awarding the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 matches to Qatar.

The FIFA presidential vote took place despite attempts by the English Football Association to force a postponement to allow time to clear up corruption scandals. The English motion lost by an overwhelming margin.

Sudan Farmers Clash with Police

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 12:45 pm (UTC-5)
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Sudanese police clashed with farmers in the country's agricultural heartland on Wednesday.

Witnesses said police used batons to break up a group of about 400 farmers in Gezira state.

The protesters gathered at the headquarters of the Gezira Scheme, a vast state-run farming project south of Khartoum and between the Blue and White Nile rivers.

The farmers were demonstrating against what they said was an insufficient government offer for their land.

Sudan previously announced a plan to acquire some of the land and allow foreign investors to farm it. Khartoum hopes the move will boost agricultural output and increase revenue.

NATO Extends Its Libya Mission

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 12:45 pm (UTC-5)
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NATO says it is extending its military mission in Libya for 90 days, as Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi refuses to step down despite a popular uprising,

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made the announcement Wednesday. He said the move is meant to send a clear message to the Gadhafi government that the pressure to oust him will continue.

During a news conference in Brussels, Rasmussen said the question is not if Mr. Gadhafi will leave, but when. He added that the Libyan leader's departure could take some time — or it could happen “tomorrow.”

The current NATO mission, comprising airstrikes and enforcement of a no-fly zone, would have ended in late June. The extension carries it to September.

Meanwhile, another high-ranking Libyan official has announced that he has parted ways with the government. Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem said in Rome Wednesday that he has left his country and his job but had not yet decided if he would join the anti-Gadhafi rebels.

Last month, Libyan officials denied reports that Ghanem had defected in Tunisia, saying instead that he was abroad on business. His announcement in Rome comes two days after eight Libyan army officers held a news conference there to say that they were among about 120 soldiers who had left Libya's government forces.

U.S. State Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to the United Arab Emirates next week for a meeting of the 22-nation Libyan Contact Group. Earlier this month, the group agreed to set up a fund to help provide Libyan rebels with food, medicine and military supplies in the areas under their control.

South African President Jacob Zuma, in his capacity as head of the African Union, met with Mr. Gadhafi Monday and said later that Mr. Gadhafi is not ready to leave. Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim denied reports that Mr. Zuma discussed an exit strategy with the Libyan leader.

Economic Concerns Send US Stocks Sliding

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 12:45 pm (UTC-5)
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Concerns about job creation and a slowing U.S. economic recovery pushed the major stock indexes lower in Wednesday's midday trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid almost 1.5 percent. The S&P 500 index fell 1.4 percent. And the NASDAQ dropped almost 1.3 percent.

European stock prices also fell, closing lower.

London's Financial Times index dipped 1 percent to close at 5,929. The CAC-40 in Paris fell 1 percent to end at 3,965. The DAX index in Frankfurt also slid 1 percent to finish at 7,217.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained more than one-quarter of a percent to finish at 9,720. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost nearly one-quarter of a percent to finish the day's trading at 23,626.

The price of gold rose more than $10 to trade at $1,546.07 an ounce.

The dollar traded lower against the yen and the euro.

Toyota to Boost Production; Issues New Recalls

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 12:40 pm (UTC-5)
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The world's biggest automaker says it is boosting production in Japan as it recovers from the March earthquake and tsunami that devastated part of the country.

Japanese car maker Toyota announced Wednesday domestic production will return to 90 percent of pre-disaster levels this month. Company executives credited the quicker than anticipated recovery on the ability of its suppliers to restore their operations faster than they had expected.

Toyota's global operations were hit hard by the twin disasters on March 11, which caused a meltdown at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant that supplied power to Toyota's headquarters.

Toyota was temporarily forced to shut down its Japanese production facilities. The disasters also led to a parts shortage at the company's other factories.

Toyota officials estimate that production at the company's facilities in Europe and North America will return to at least 70 percent of pre-disaster capacity this month.

Meanwhile, Toyota Wednesday issued a global recall for about 106,000 hybrid vehicles due to concerns about possible problems with the steering mechanisms.

Toyota officials said the recall impacts about 52,000 early model Prius vehicles sold in the United States from 2001 through 2003.

Another 2,000 were sold in Britain and Germany.

Toyota said problems with the nuts that help secure the power steering shaft could cause difficultly in steering the vehicles.

Over the past two years, Toyota has announced safety recalls involving more than 14 million vehicles.

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