US disappointed; fan says Qatar too small

Thu, 02 Dec 2010

Washington - The United States football organization said Thursday it was let down by FIFA's decision to reject US Soccer's bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

Instead, the ruling body chose the small Persian Gulf country of Qatar.

"There's no way around it: I am disappointed," wrote Sunil Gulati, president of US Soccer, on the group's website.

"Millions of US soccer fans worked hard to bring the World Cup to our country. To come up short is very difficult to take," he said.

A fan interviewed by CNN expressed astonishment at the choice, saying that the financially most successful World Cup ever was the 1994 edition held in the United States.

"I can't believe they chose a country the size of Connecticut ... with only one city," he said of Qatar.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356315,fan-qatar-too-small.html.

Morocco to review Spanish ties after Sahara condemnation - Summary

Thu, 02 Dec 2010

Madrid/Rabat - Morocco reacted testily Thursday to a Spanish legislative condemnation of violence in Western Sahara, saying it would review relations with Spain "from the ground up" in light of the Spanish action.

The Spanish parliament had earlier Thursday voted to condemn recent violence in Western Sahara and urged the Madrid government to express its concern to Moroccan authorities over alleged human rights violations in the region.

All main Spanish parties backed the motion.

But Morocco's Information Minister, Khalid Naciri, said the resolution contained language that Rabat could not accept, reported the state news agency MAP.

He did not say what possible consequences there might be from the threatened review of relations.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialists had agreed to support the motion on the condition that it would not directly blame Morocco for the violence that erupted when Moroccan security forces dismantled a protest camp near the Western Saharan capital Laayoune on November 8.

The camp dwellers were demanding social improvements, but Rabat said the camp had been infiltrated by members of the Western Saharan independence movement Polisario. The clashes were followed by rioting in Laayoune itself.

Rabat said only 10 policemen died in the violence, while Polisario spoke of dozens of victims.

The Spanish parliament called on MINURSO, the United Nations force in Western Sahara, to investigate how many people had really been killed or injured. The motion also called upon the Spanish government to intensify its relations with Polisario.

Opposition representatives criticized Zapatero, saying the government had ducked an opportunity to take a firm stance on human rights violations by Morocco.

A group of protesters calling for Western Saharan independence was expelled from the assembly room.

The European Parliament has also condemned the November 8 incidents and voiced concern over the "deterioration" of the situation in Western Sahara.

Morocco occupied Western Sahara after the colonial power Spain pulled out in 1975. It has refused to carry out a UN-proposed referendum on the independence of the desert territory. Polisario rejects its offer of autonomy instead of independence.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356323,sahara-condemnation-summary.html.

UN Security Council to hold high-level meeting in Iraq

Thu, 02 Dec 2010

New York - US Vice President Joe Biden will preside over a UN Security Council meeting on Iraq on December 15, convened to discuss progress made in Iraq, a US official said Thursday.

Biden will lead the debate because the US holds the rotating presidency of the 15-nation council in December. Other government officials are expected to attend.

The US envoy to the United Nations, Ambassador Susan Rice, said, "It's an important opportunity for the international community to recognize the very real progress that Iraq has made, both in term of the government formation and significant steps taken to terminate its Chapter 7 obligations."

Chapter 7 of the UN Charter is imposed, including use of force, to try to eliminate threats to international peace and security emanating from a situation or a country. The Baghdad government has embarked on bringing democratic changes to its post-conflict situation. The US-led coalition forces have ended its intervention and Baghdad has begun assuming security responsibilities.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356330,hold-high-level-meeting-iraq.html.

Sri Lankan minister protests against Tamil rally in London

Fri, 03 Dec 2010

Colombo - A Sri Lanakan minister and his supporters demonstrated Friday outside the British High Commission in Colombo against a London protest rally which led to the cancellation of a public appearance by President Mahinda Rajapaska.

Minister of Construction Wimal Weerawasna, who leads the National Freedom Front party, said the British government had failed to prevent demonstrations against Rajapaksa in London, bringing disrepute to the president and to the country.

Rajapaksa was due to address the Oxford Union on Thursday, but the organizers canceled the event due to protests by Tamil minority groups.

Tamil groups have been protesting over alleged human rights abuses during the final stages of the military operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels who were defeated in May 2009.

"The British government has given a free hand for pro-LTTE demonstrators, despite the organization being banned in the United Kingdom," Weerawasna said.

The minister and his supporters chanted anti-British slogans and displayed posters saying "Britain - Go to Hell," or "Do not support Terrorism," and "Hands off Sri Lanka."

Rajapaksa was to return to Sri Lanka later on Friday.

The government has accused an opposition United National Party parliamentarian of traveling to London to organize the protests.

Jayalath Jayawardena, who denied the allegations, narrowly escaped physical assault in parliament Thursday by ruling party ministers and lawmakers.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356381,protests-tamil-rally-london.html.

Iran calls for 'new chapter' over nuclear dispute

Fri, 03 Dec 2010

Tehran - Iran called on countries engaged in a dispute with it over its nuclear program to open "a new chapter" at next week's talks in Geneva, the official news agency IRNA reported Friday.

"Experiences of the last decade proved that ultimatums and sanctions against Iran have constantly failed," IRNA quoted Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as saying.

"Therefore, a new chapter should be opened by world powers with the aim to increase trust and cooperation through mutual respect and equality of rights," Soltanieh said.

Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful, but the international community is wary of possible military objectives and is seeking the suspension of Tehran's uranium enrichment.

Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany are to meet Monday with an Iranian delegation in Geneva to resume negotiations after a 13-month break.

The bloc on the other side of the negotiating table from Iran is to be led by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, and Iran is to be represented by Saaed Jalili, secretary of the National Security Council and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chief nuclear negotiator.

Soltanieh said Iran considers the return to the table to be a "good omen," but neither side is holding out much hope of a breakthrough as Ahmadinejad has ordered the Iranian delegation not to make any concessions over Iran's nuclear rights.

The Geneva meeting is being viewed as more of a testing ground to see whether such talks have the potential to be productive.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356385,new-chapter-nuclear-dispute.html.

Philippines declares longest holiday truce with communist rebels

Fri, 03 Dec 2010

Manila - The Philippine government on Friday declared an 18-day Yuletide ceasefire with communist rebels, the longest in 10 years, as part of efforts to resume stalled peace talks.

Alexander Padilla, head of the government negotiating panel, said the suspension of offensive military operations will start on December 16 and last until January 3.

Padilla said the communist National Democratic Front (NDF) was expected to issue a separate truce declaration covering the same dates, as agreed at a meeting in Hong Kong on December 1-2.

During the two-day meeting facilitated by Norway, Padilla said he and NDF chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni agreed to resume formal peace talks in February.

The negotiations have been suspended since August 2005.

"There is a lot of work to be done in the next three months," Padilla said. "The government shall aggressively pursue the path to peace towards a just and honorable settlement of conflicts."

Jalandoni said in a separate statement that a preliminary meeting between the government and rebel negotiating panels has been scheduled for January to prepare for the formal talks.

Communist rebels have been fighting the Philippine government since the late 1960s, making the movement the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356396,holiday-truce-communist-rebels.html.

Indonesia downgrades volcano alert level after weeks of eruptions

Fri, 03 Dec 2010

Jakarta - Indonesian authorities on Friday downgraded the alert level for Mount Merapi one notch below the highest as the volcano was winding down after a series of violent eruptions.

A series of eruptions at the volcano on the central Java island since October 26 killed at least 350 people and displaced more than 300,000 villagers. More than 200,000 of the displaced have returned home.

The first eruption came a day after the government put the volcano on the highest alert level.

Despite the downgrade of the alert level, the volcano could still emit clouds of searing gas and other debris, the National Disaster Management Agency said in a statement.

Agency chief Syamsul Muarif said the government would build temporary homes for some 550 families whose houses were destroyed in the eruptions.

The 2,968-meter volcano's deadliest eruption on record occurred in 1930 when 1,370 people were killed. At least 66 people died in a 1994 eruption, and two people were killed in 2006.

Indonesia has about 500 volcanoes, nearly 130 of them active and 68 classified as dangerous.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356394,volcano-alert-level-eruptions.html.