Jordan, German state discuss energy cooperation

Amman- Prime Minister of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt Wolfgang Boehmer on Monday met Jordan's King Abdullah II and Prime Minister Nader Dahabi to discuss bilateral cooperation in the areas of energy, agriculture and education. Boehmer held separate meetings with King Abdullah and Dahabi to discuss assistance that Saxony-Anhalt could extend to Jordan particularly in the fields of renewable energy and agriculture.

"The two sides agreed to make proposals concerning the areas of bilateral cooperation," a statement from the premier's office said.

Boehmer's discussions during the two meetings also focused on the role of the German-Jordanian University in boosting bilateral ties.

Calif. budget stalemate sets up fiscal calamity

By JUDY LIN, Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – After a frustrating holiday weekend that failed to yield the one vote needed to end California's budget stalemate, the state is poised to begin layoff proceedings Tuesday for 20,000 government workers.

In addition to the layoffs, the state also plans to halt all remaining public works projects, potentially putting thousands of construction workers out of jobs.

"We are dealing with a catastrophe of unbelievable proportions," said state Sen. Alan Lowenthal, a Democrat from Long Beach and chairman of the Senate transportation committee.

Senate leader Darrell Steinberg announced late Monday that lawmakers had failed to find the final vote in his chamber as Republicans refused to support tax increases. He called a session for Tuesday and said he would put the tax provisions of the budget proposal up for a vote, even if they would not pass.

Steinberg warned lawmakers to bring their toothbrushes, saying they would not leave until that vote was secured.

"One member," Steinberg said. "One more member to put the interest of the state ahead of ideology and ahead of any parochial concern."

Like other states, California faces plunging tax revenue that has imperiled state services. The proposal put before lawmakers this weekend was negotiated by Schwarzenegger and the four legislative leaders and appeared to have support of the required two-thirds majority in the state Assembly.

However, it was falling one Republican vote short in the Senate, a situation that had not changed throughout a weekend marked by long hours and uncertainty over the state's future.

The plan includes $15.1 billion in program cuts, $14.4 billion in temporary tax increases and $11.4 billion in borrowing. The package also would send five ballot measures to voters in a special election to be held May 19.

The stalled effort prompted Schwarzenegger to make good on an earlier promise to begin the layoff process for thousands of state workers.

The governor had delayed releasing the notices on Friday when it appeared lawmakers would pass a compromise plan to close the state's $42 billion shortfall. But with marathon weekend sessions failing to produce the necessary votes, Schwarzenegger's spokesman said the administration had no choice.

"In the absence of a budget, the governor must do everything he can to cut back on state spending," spokesman Aaron McLear said.

The notices will start going out Tuesday to 20,000 workers in corrections, health and human services and other agencies that receive money from the general fund. Administration officials are seeking to eliminate up to 10,000 jobs as part of the governor's order to cut 10 percent from the government payroll.

Despite the warnings of impending fiscal calamity, most rank-and-file Republicans have refused to agree to higher taxes. Republican lawmakers blamed Democrats for years of overspending.

"You're not going to go back to the people's pocketbooks to fuel that spending," said state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Temecula.

During a lively floor session Monday night, state Sen. George Runner, R-Lancaster, defended his colleagues' stance against tax hikes and said his constituents were pleading with him to vote no on the budget proposal.

He accused Democrats, who hold majorities in both houses, of using the recession to drive an agenda of tax increases.

"You want this emergency," Runner said, drawing jeers from Democrats in the chamber. "Listen, you may not like to hear what we have to say, but it's what we believe."

Steinberg, the Senate president pro tem, acknowledged that tax increases were difficult for all lawmakers to swallow but said the Legislature had no choice.

"Nobody likes that idea, but remember the reason we are in this crisis is because we are in a national and international crisis," he said.

Lawmakers broke the record for longest legislative session in state history over the weekend before disbanding Sunday night. The Assembly was at one point in session for 30 hours.

UN: Afghan civilian deaths rose 40 percent in 2008

By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press Writer

KABUL – The number of Afghan civilians killed in armed conflict rose 40 percent last year to a record 2,118 people as the Afghan war turned increasingly bloody, the U.N. said in a new report Tuesday.

The report said insurgents were responsible for 55 percent of the deaths, but that U.S., NATO and Afghan forces killed 829 civilians, or 39 percent. Of those, 552 deaths were blamed on airstrikes.

Civilian deaths have been a huge source of friction between the U.S. and President Hamid Karzai, who has increased demands that U.S. troops avoid killing civilians.

Close to 3,000 American forces who recently arrived in Afghanistan to secure two violent provinces near Kabul have begun operations, and their commander admitted that civilian casualties could increase because of their presence.

The Pentagon is contemplating sending up to an additional 30,000 U.S. troops this year, a development that could also increase civilian casualties.

The U.S. and Afghan militaries this month announced plans to increase the number of Afghans who will take part in U.S. operations, a step aimed at reducing deaths of ordinary Afghans.

The U.N.'s annual report on the protection of civilians noted that despite new battlefield rules meant to reduce civilian casualties, U.S., NATO and Afghan troops killed 31 percent more civilians in 2008 than in 2007, when the U.N. said those forces killed 629 civilians.

"As the conflict has intensified, it is taking an increasingly heavy toll on civilians," the U.N. said.

Militants increasingly rely on roadside bombs, car bombs and suicide bombers, attacks that are "frequently undertaken regardless of the impact on civilians," the report said.

Two attacks highlighted that trend — a February suicide bombing at a dog fight in Kandahar that the U.N. said left 67 civilians dead, and a July car bomb attack on the Indian Embassy that killed 55 civilians. Military leaders have long sought to emphasize how militant attacks kill far more civilians than the soldiers or officials usually targeted.

The U.N. also said 38 aid workers were killed last year — double the number slain in 2007 — and 147 were abducted.

U.S., NATO and Afghan operations also have resulted in an increase in civilian casualties, "notwithstanding efforts to implement policies and procedures to minimize the impact of their operations on civilians," the report said. It noted a U.S. mission in August in Azizabad that the U.N. says killed 92 civilians, including 62 children. A U.S. investigation says 33 civilians were killed.

NATO spokesman Maj. Martin O'Donnell said civilian casualty numbers compiled by the NATO-led force and the separate U.S. coalition show their forces killed 237 civilians last year. He said the U.N. numbers could be higher because they include deaths caused by Afghan forces and private security firms.

O'Donnell said a directive by top commander Gen. David McKiernan issued in September to cut down on civilian deaths was probably made too late in the year to lower the numbers.

"I think the fruits of those initiatives are yet to be seen," he said.

The U.N. report said militants were responsible for 55 percent of civilian deaths last year, or 1,160. About 130 deaths couldn't be accounted for because of issues like crossfire.

A U.S.-based group that advocates for civilians in conflict said in a new report released Tuesday that "the lack of a clear, coordinated strategy to address civilian losses has been a leading source of anger and resentment toward military forces" in Afghanistan.

"The international coalition in Afghanistan is losing public support, one fallen civilian at a time," CIVIC, or The Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, said.

The United States military and other members of the NATO-led force in Afghanistan make some condolence payments to the families of civilians accidentally killed in battle. But CIVIC said that a "significant number" of families receive no help from international forces and that anger is especially strong when no help is provided.

"Every family with losses not recognized and addressed is another obstacle to Afghanistan's stabilization and development," the report said.

The CIVIC report urged the Pentagon to create a position to address civilian casualties, and it said the NATO-led force in Afghanistan should have a coordinated response to provide compensation payments to the families of victims.

In an example of militant activity killing civilians, the U.S. military said its forces responded to a roadside bomb explosion in Kandahar province on Monday that killed five Afghan civilians. The IED likely had been intended for Afghan police or international troops but instead hit innocent Afghans.

U.S. taking fresh look at Myanmar policy: Clinton

TOKYO (Reuters) – The United States is taking a fresh look at its policy toward Myanmar to seek ways to sway the country's military junta, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday.

Washington has gradually tightened sanctions on the generals who have ruled the former Burma for more than four decades to try to force them into political rapprochement with Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.

The opposition won a 1990 election landslide only to be denied power and its leader, Suu Kyi, has been in prison or under house arrest for more than half of the last two decades.

Speaking at a town hall meeting at Japan's elite Tokyo University, Clinton responded to a question from a Burmese student about whether there were alternatives to the U.S. sanctions policy and its effects on ordinary people in Myanmar.

"Because we are concerned about the Burmese people, we are conducting a review of our policy," Clinton replied.

"We are looking at what steps we could take that might influence the current Burmese government and we are also looking for ways that we could more effectively help the Burmese people," she added.

"So we are taking seriously your challenge -- what is it that we can do that might work better?" she told the student. "So we are doing that and I am hoping we will be able to arrive at a policy that can be more effective."

US, Japan sign pact to move Marines to Guam

By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer

TOKYO – Hoping to give new momentum to a plan to rework the deployment of U.S. troops in the Pacific, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton signed an agreement Tuesday with Japan that will move 8,000 Marines off the southern Japanese island of Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam.

The framework of the transfer had already been agreed on in 2006, but several major points remain to be worked out, including the location of a base to replace Okinawa's Futenma air station, a major hub for the Marines there.

Officials on both sides have agreed to relocate the operations of the base to another, less crowded part of Okinawa, but local opposition has stalled progress.

"This agreement reflects the commitment we have to modernize our military posture in the Pacific," Clinton said. "It reinforces the core of our alliance — the mission to defend Japan against attack and to deter any attack by all necessary means."

Japan's Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone also hailed the agreement.

"We believe this Guam agreement shows the strength of our alliance," he said. "We agreed to work toward the implementation of the 2006 pact in a manner that does not compromise readiness or capability."

There are currently about 13,000 Marines stationed on Okinawa, and 23,000 U.S. troops there overall. They are part of about 50,000 U.S. troops deployed in Japan under a post-World War II mutual security pact.

The cost of the realignment plan has generated intense debate in Japan.

Guam's transformation is expected to cost at least $15 billion and put some of the U.S. military's highest-profile assets within the fences of a vastly improved network of bases. In the pact signed Tuesday, Japan agreed to give Washington $2.8 billion for the transfer costs, though its contribution is expected to go higher.

On Monday, The Asahi, a major newspaper, reported that some of the budget will be used to improve Naval and Air Force facilities on Guam. The daily said that would go against the pact, which has been interpreted to limiting Japanese spending to Marine-related projects.

Spain: Couple held for promoting jihad

MADRID: Police say they have arrested a Spanish soldier and his girlfriend for making and distributing videos promoting Islamic jihad, or holy war, and calling for attacks in Spain.

A police statement says the couple detained Tuesday in the southern city of Granada have placed at least 11 videos on the Internet. The clips have been viewed some 2,000 times.

The statement identifies the man as Christian Peso Ruiz Coello and his Russian girlfriend as Maria Choubina. Both are 24.

The statement says both are Muslims. Police say the videos praise mujaheddin fighters and call for the recovery of Andalusia, the southern region around Granada that was a treasured part of 800 years of Moorish rule in Spain up to the 15th century.

Clinton warns N. Korea against launching missile

By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer

TOKYO – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday warned North Korea against following through on a threatened missile launch, saying it would damage its prospects for improved relations with the United States and the world.

In Tokyo on her first trip abroad as America's top diplomat, Clinton also stressed U.S. commitment to Japan's security, signed a military deal to advance that and underscored the importance of the alliance by inviting Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso to Washington next week.

Aso, deeply unpopular at home, will be the first foreign leader to visit President Barack Obama at the White House, and the Feb. 24 summit is a sign the world's two largest economies know they have a special responsibility to deal with the global financial crisis, Clinton said.

She had hoped to broaden U.S.-Asian relations to include climate change, clean energy and the world's economic woes on her maiden overseas voyage, but North Korea and its increasingly belligerent rhetoric toward its neighbors were clearly at the top of her agenda.

Just before she arrived in Japan on Monday, North Korea used the 67th birthday of its leader Kim Jong II to claim it has the right to "space development" — a term it has used in the past to disguise a long-range missile test as a satellite launch.

A day later, Clinton, without prompting, told reporters at a news conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone that such a move would jeopardize the Obama administration's willingness to work for better ties with Pyongyang.

"The possible missile launch that North Korea is talking about would be very unhelpful in moving our relationship forward," she said, adding that if Pyongyang wants to end its isolation it also has to fulfill unmet denuclearization pledges made during the Bush administration.

"The decision as to whether North Korea will cooperate in the six-party talks, end provocative language and actions is up to them and we are watching very closely," Clinton said, referring to the six-nation talks aimed at getting North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons.

"If North Korea abides by the obligations it has already entered into and verifiably and completely eliminates its nuclear program, then there will be a reciprocal response certainly from the United States," she said. "It is truly up to the North Koreans."

The U.S. response would include a chance to normalize relations with the United States, formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War with a peace treaty to replace the current armistice, as well as energy, financial and humanitarian assistance for the North Korean people.

Later Tuesday, North Korea repeated accusations that Washington intends to attack it and warned the U.S. of "destruction" if it does so. Successive U.S. administrations have said they have no intention of attacking.

North Korea "has not made a concession despite threat and blackmail from the U.S. nor will make one in the future," the country's official Korean Central News Agency said in an English-language dispatch. It was not clear if the dispatch was a response to Clinton's warnings.

Clinton also vowed to keep up pressure on the North to resolve Japan's concerns about the status of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and '80s. She met with relatives of some abductees in a private session at the U.S. Embassy to promise such steps.

Many abductee families were angered by the Bush administration's decision last year to remove North Korea from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism as an incentive in the nuclear talks without addressing their concerns.

At the meeting, representatives of the families presented Clinton with a letter repeating their disappointment with the step and asked that the Obama administration put North Korea back on the list pending a resolution to the abductee issue. There was no immediate response to the letter from U.S. officials.

Clinton said the United States remained firmly committed to the defense of its allies in the region, particularly Japan and South Korea. She will visit South Korea, as well as China and Indonesia, during this trip.

Clinton and Nakasone signed an agreement to reduce tensions caused by the presence of U.S. troops on Japanese soil. Under the deal, which has been in the works for years, 8,000 Marines now stationed on the Japanese island of Okinawa will be moved to the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam. There are 50,000 American troops in Japan, about 20,000 of them on Okinawa.

On the financial crisis, Clinton said the United States and Japan had to work together to formulate an adequate response. "It is a great responsibility that both Japan and the United States assume," she said.

Nakasone agreed. "This is a global financial and economic crisis and therefore all economic powers will need to cooperate with each other and try to resolve the issue in a concerted manner," he said, calling the U.S. stimulus bill "most meaningful."

Figures released Monday showed the Japanese economy shrank in the fourth quarter at its fastest rate in 35 years. Aso's already battered government was dealt another blow when Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa announced he would resign due to health problems after facing allegations he was drunk at a recent economic meeting in Rome.

Clinton told students at Tokyo University later Tuesday that she understood Japan's precarious situation and told them they should be innovative in trying to find solutions.