No we can't? UK think tank says US power is fading

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer

LONDON – A weakened United States could start retreating from the world stage without help from its allies abroad, an international strategic affairs think tank said Tuesday.

The respected London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said President Barack Obama will increasingly have to turn to others for help dealing with the world's problems — in part because he has no alternative.

"Domestically Obama may have campaigned on the theme 'yes we can'; internationally he may increasingly have to argue 'no we can't'," the institute said in its annual review of world affairs.

The report said the U.S. struggles against insurgent groups in Iraq and Afghanistan had exposed the limits of the country's military muscle, while the near-collapse of the world financial markets sapped the economic base on which that muscle relied.

The report also claimed that the U.S. had lost traction in its efforts to contain Iran's nuclear program and bring peace to the Middle East.

"Clearly the U.S. share of 'global power,' however measured, is in decline," the report said.

The head of another respected London think tank, Robin Niblett of Chatham House, said the rise in the relative power of China, India, Russia and the European Union has made it harder for the U.S. to exercise its influence.

"America should apply changes in leadership style, but I wouldn't overplay the decline because decline is relative," said Niblett — who was not involved in drawing up Tuesday's report. "One should not doubt that the U.S. remains the most powerful nation in the world, but it's difficult to use the power and to use it to influence others."

In addition to a rise in regional powers, Niblett said the U.S. has long been viewed as being part of the problem rather than the solution on many issues — including climate change, the financial crisis, and the failure of the Middle East peace process.

"It's also carrying the baggage of failed policies and of a failed financial approach," Niblett said, referring to the Bush administration. "There's a lot of catching up to be done."

The IISS report praised Obama, saying that he recognized there was only so much America could do "to impose its views on others."

After years of often thorny relationships between the U.S. and its allies during Bush's administration, Obama has talked of the need to work with other nations on such issues as the financial meltdown, climate change and nuclear proliferation.

"These are challenges that no single nation, no matter how powerful, can confront alone," Obama said in April after attending the G-20 summit in London.

"The United States must lead the way," he said. "But our best chance to solve these unprecedented problems comes from acting in concert with other nations."

The think tank's report said Obama could help restore the United States' standing by working with other nations to contain emerging threats to its position as the world's pre-eminent power. Controlling the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea would require help from regional allies, the report said. The same was true of Afghanistan, where the U.S. has had difficulty persuading its NATO partners to follow its lead in boosting the number of troops sent to fight a resurgent Taliban.

"In the next year or two, the greatest demand on U.S. talents and power will be to persuade more to become like minded and adopt greater burdens," the report said.

Niblett said Obama was moving in the right direction.

"This administration is far more frank about the U.S. interdependence with rest of the world, and that's a good thing," Niblett said.

107-year-old Malaysian woman seeks 23rd hubby

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – A 107-year-old Malaysian woman says she is ready to marry for the 23rd time because she fears her current drug addict husband might leave her for a younger woman, a report said Monday.

Wook Kundor made headlines four years ago when she married Muhammad Noor Che Musa, a man 70 years her junior in northern Terengganu state, with pictures of the couple's wedding splashed across regional newspapers.

But Wook is now looking for new love as she fears that Muhammad, 37, who is undergoing voluntary drug rehabilitation treatment in the capital Kuala Lumpur, will leave her once the program ends, she told the Star newspaper.

"Lately, there is this kind of insecurity in me," the paper quoted her as saying, showing a photograph of the smiling, wrinkled-faced centenarian wearing a Muslim headscarf.

"I realize that I am an aged woman. I don't have the body nor am I a young woman who can attract anyone."

"My intention to remarry is to fill my forlornness and nothing more than that," she said, adding that she felt lonely without her husband by her side to celebrate the coming Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr next week.

Wook said she planned to visit Muhammad on the second day of Eid if her neighbors were willing to drive her to the capital.

Muhammad, who was a lodger in Wook's house, had previously said it was "God's will" that the couple fell in love.

Medvedev not ruling out run in 2012 elections

By DAVID NOWAK, Associated Press Writer

MOSCOW – President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday he hasn't ruled out running for a second term, Russian news agencies reported — adding new intrigue to the question of who will assume the presidency in 2012.

Medvedev's comments, made to a group of Western experts on Russia, came just days after his mentor and current prime minister, Vladimir Putin, indicated he was also interested in returning to the post, an announcement that sparked speculation about the possibility of behind-the-scenes Kremlin jockeying.

Medvedev is striving to carve out his own leadership style and step out of Putin's formidable shadow.

Medvedev, who some say is merely a mild-mannered placeholder for Putin, was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti and Interfax: "A while ago, I had no intention of running for the presidency, but fate decreed it. So I am not ruling anything out."

Putin is still widely popular even after serving the constitutional maximum of two consecutive four-year terms as president and then tapping his protege, Medvedev, to succeed him. Last week Putin said he and Medvedev would "come to an agreement" and "decide between us" who would run in the 2012 election.

One thing's for sure, Putin said — they won't run head-to-head.

On the same day he spoke, Russian newspapers published an article written by Medvedev that lambasted the country's outdated economy, a lack of competitive politics and excessive state influence in everyday life.

Medvedev reaffirmed those sentiments on Tuesday and said that "every leader should have his own plan" for Russia's development.

Some analysts said the article showed Medvedev was trying to steer Russia in a different direction than Putin. Others said the apparent divergence from Putin's line is purely for show.

"There is no way for differences to be cast between the two," political analyst Yulia Latynina said. Medvedev's task, she argued, is to continue implementing Putin's policies until Putin is constitutionally allowed to return.

After assuming the presidency last year, Medvedev was portrayed as a more liberal-leaning politician than Putin, who reversed many of the democratic achievements of his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin.

But his liberalizing touch has been hardly visible — and limited to words rather than actions, analysts said.

Few of Medvedev's inauguration promises of the greater rule of law and increased media freedoms have been realized. Critics also point to a series of murders of Kremlin critics and journalists — Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna Politkovskaya and Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov, among others — and the fact that the murders' masterminds have not been found or prosecuted.

The recent killings of Chechen rights activist Natalya Estemirova and human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov has also added to an air of impunity for those targeting government critics.

Medvedev has also made several moves that echoed Putin's authoritarian tendencies, for example taking credit for the decision to go to war in Georgia last year. Last December Medvedev signed an amendment to the constitution extending the presidential term from four to six years — a legal change that will come into force for Medvedev's successor.

Moscow Carnegie Center analyst Lilia Shevtsova said discussions over future presidents were encouraged at the meetings with the Western experts — called the Valdai Discussion Group — so less time would be devoted to holding either leader accountable for the country's problems, such as the rampant violence in the North Caucasus.

"Why are all the media discussing this issue? It distracts the nation. The participants could have asked him, 'Where are your economic reforms? Why is there still no peace in the Caucasus?'" Shevtsova said.

Insurgents vow to avenge US raid in Somalia

By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN, Associated Press Writer

MOGADISHU, Somalia – U.S. special forces aboard helicopters penetrated into Somalia and, guns blazing, attacked a convoy said to contain a top al-Qaida fugitive. A local official, citing intelligence reports, confirmed on Tuesday the target was killed and Islamist insurgents vowed to seek revenge.

Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a Kenyan citizen, was wanted for questioning in connection with the car bombing of a beach resort in Kenya and the near simultaneous attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner in 2002. Ten Kenyans and three Israelis were killed in the blast at the hotel. The missiles missed the airliner.

Monday's commando-style action took place amid growing concerns that al-Qaida is gaining a foothold in this lawless nation.

Many experts fear Somalia is becoming a haven for al-Qaida, a place for terrorists to train and gather strength much like Afghanistan in the 1990s. Last year, U.S. missiles killed reputed al-Qaida commander Aden Hashi Ayro — marking the first major success after a string of U.S. military attacks in 2008.

Two U.S. military officials said that forces from the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command were involved in Monday's raid in southern Somalia. The officials gave no details about the target, and they spoke on condition of anonymity because the operation was secret.

But the deputy mayor for security affairs in Somalia's capital, citing intelligence reports, confirmed that 30-year-old Nabhan was killed. Abdi Fitah Shawey did not elaborate.

Somali witnesses to Monday's raid say six helicopters buzzed an insurgent-held village near Barawe, some 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of Mogadishu, before two of the aircraft opened fire on a vehicle, killing two and wounding two.

Two senior members of al-Shabab, who asked that their names not be used because they are not authorized to speak publicly, said their fighters will retaliate for the raid.

"They will taste the bitterness of our response," one of the commanders told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Ernst Jan Hogendoorn, Horn of Africa Project Director of the International Crisis Group, said the "surgical" precision of Monday's raid shows that U.S. has specific intelligence in Somalia.

"I think it will certainly make al-Shabab leaders much more cautious when they are operating because obviously the United States has very precise intelligence about their movements," he said.

Like much of Somalia, Barawe and its surrounding villages are controlled by the militant group al-Shabab, which the U.S. accuses of having ties to al-Qaida. Al-Shabab, which has foreign fighters in its ranks, seeks to overthrow the government and impose a strict form of Islam in Somalia.

The U.N.-backed government, with support from African Union peacekeepers, holds only a few blocks of Mogadishu, the war-ravaged capital.

Mullen says more forces needed for Afghan war

By ANNE GEARAN, AP National Security Writer

WASHINGTON – The top U.S. military officer says that winning in Afghanistan will probably mean sending more troops.

Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he does not know how many more troops the commanding general will request. Mullen also told Congress Tuesday that a debate over the right mix of forces and other resources will be held in the coming weeks.

But Mullen says that if the general, Stanley McChrystal, is going to do his job of countering the Taliban insurgency correctly, more forces are probably required. Mullen has been sounding increasingly glum about the prospects for the war, which will enter its ninth year this fall and on Tuesday he asked the Senate Armed Services Committee for time and patience to turn the war around.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee says the United States shouldn't add more forces to the Afghanistan war for now.

Sen. Carl Levin used a nomination hearing for the nation's top military officer to repeat his call for a focus on the training of Afghan forces. The Michigan Democrat said Tuesday that his approach is a better policy than building up a U.S. force that outnumbers the Afghans in important parts of the country. Levin's Republican counterpart, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, disagreed with him. McCain said that capping U.S. forces in Afghanistan runs the risk of repeating early mistakes in Iraq.

Adm. Mike Mullen is expected to win easy reconfirmation ass the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Media: Singapore's native species in danger due to acid rain

Acid rain may be wiping Singapore's native species to extinction, local media reported on Monday.

A National University Of Singapore (NUS) study showed that the 20 species of animals plentiful in the Singapore's Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in the 1980s, including frogs, crabs and fish, are slowly being wiped out, local newspaper the Straits Times reported.

The NUS findings showed that that it may be due to the acidity of a stream in the 80 hectare nature reserve, which offers great biodiversity in plant and animal life.

The four-year study found that the stream, which covers 5 hectare of land, is more acidic after torrential rain. The researchers have found that the water in the stream on the nature reserve have a pH value of 4.4 to 4.7, which is said to be more acidic now than 20 years ago.

Leading researcher of the study David Higgitt suggested that one way to protect the biodiversity in the stream would be to add limestone, a naturally occurring alkali, to slow down acidification.

However, Singapore's National Environment Agency said that the acidity of rain water here, at pH 5, is no different from that of urban cities around the world. It also said that rain water is no more acidic now than in the 1990s.

Journey across northern Spain on foot along the Camino de Santiago

By Vic Parsons, THE CANADIAN PRESS

The Camino de Santiago has a way of humbling the proud. My feet had been trouble-free until the halfway point of the 800-kilometre trail, that runs from the French border across the mountains, valleys and plains of northern Spain.

Most fellow travelers had experienced foot problems, some serious enough to make them quit the journey to the city of Santiago de Compostela. Well, I mused, am I genetically superior to these, my hobbling comrades?

Now came my comeuppance. Outside Sahagun, on the broad plain called the Meseta, pain surged up my right foot from the big toe to the ankle. I was forced to the nearest clinic to deal with an infection.

The next day, thanks to a quick and free fix from a Spanish doctor, I was able to carry on to the trail's end, a humbler and wiser person.

Foot pain and other trials aside, few, if any, who complete one of the world's great treks regret the experience.

The Camino is not for everyone. But if you want to see Spain close up, crave a physical challenge and enjoy meeting people from all over the world, this could be for you. Not everyone will have time to do the whole trail in one go, but you can walk sections of it, as many Europeans do.

Christian pilgrims have endured the journey for over a thousand years but, before that, the Romans used the road to extend and maintain their empire and the Celts walked this way toward the setting sun and the supposed end of the world. With this history, it's not surprising that the Camino itself is a World Heritage site.

Today about 100,000 people a year, more on holy years, complete the walk. They come mainly from Europe but also from places as far apart as Nigeria and Korea. Many Canadians make the trek. When my wife and I walked, Canadians ranked only behind the Germans, French and Spanish in numbers.

In the tiny mountain village of Foncebadon, not only were we served supper by a volunteer waitress from Toronto, but the local bar owner proudly displayed a Canadian flag and Montreal Canadiens plaque on his wall.

The trail, marked by yellow arrows and scallop shells, is supposedly the route taken by disciples of St. James, Santiago in Spanish, when they carried his remains to the far reaches of the known world to protect them from discovery by hostile Roman authorities. His bones are said to be buried in the city that bears his name.

Today, people make the journey for many reasons - religious, spiritual, cultural, to meet people from other countries, or simply to see if they can do it.

"Everyone walks their own Camino," said Peter Schmitt of Sidney, B.C., whom we met on the third day of our walk.

Most pilgrims - peregrinos in Spanish - carry everything they need, except food, on their backs, which means travelers need to pack light.

Along the trail, there is a network of shelters called albergues or refugios, where you can stay the night, sharing accommodation with scores of others. Most are pretty basic, but if you prefer and are willing to go upscale, there are also private hostels and hotels along the way. The annual influx of Camino walkers is a great boon to the Spanish economy, so the locals are generally friendly, generous and helpful.

A typical day might start at 6:30 a.m., when you rise, pack and head out on the trail. We would take a break for coffee and breakfast after an hour, then carry on hoping to reach our daily target before the mid-day heat became too oppressive. We actually surprised ourselves with this routine, averaging more than 20 kilometres a day, and we were far from the fastest on the trail.

Despite the occasional grumble, you adapt to the pace. "Six kilometres to the next village?" said Helen Collins, a feisty young Irish lawyer we walked with for several days. "We scoff at six kilometres!"

After stopping sometime between noon and 2 p.m., we would rest, shower, wash clothes, and repair to a local bar for refreshment. A daily highlight was the opportunity to chat with fellow walkers. Or you see the local sights, before preparing for dinner. Most travellers were abed by 9 to 10 p.m.

OK. . . blisters, loud snoring by fellow travelers in dorms, up early, toting all your belongings on your back, sharing showers. Doesn't sound like a dream holiday. Are the pain and the trials worth it? Emphatically Yes!

Here's why: The Camino takes you across the Pyrenees, the range dividing France from Spain, either using a valley route traveled by Charlemagne where his friend Roland met his doom, or the spectacular road over the top taken by Napoleon, who'd learned from history. Then it is through the forested hills of the Basque country, and by mile after mile of vineyards and olive groves.

We stayed in a pensione in the tidy village of Burguete with its Napoleonic-era houses and a piano Hemingway played when he wasn't trout-fishing in local streams. We passed through the sparkling hilltop town of Cirauqui, surrounded by prosperous vineyards and complete with cobbled Roman road.

Then it was on to the golden plains of the Meseta (which resemble parts of Saskatchewan), and to the green hills of Galicia, called by some the "Ireland of Spain."

Along the way, we passed through Pamplona, where the running of the bulls occurs near the end of July each year; and the city of Burgos with its massive gothic cathedral - another World Heritage site - and the burial place of the Spanish hero, El Cid.

We ventured to the city of Santo Domingo, where chickens are kept in the church, a reminder of an old medieval legend. It's good luck if the rooster crows while you are in the church. (He obliged for us.)

Our favorite city was Leon, where we were fortunate to be when harvest celebrations began, and the townsfolk turned out in medieval or traditional costumes, often dancing to roving bands of clarinet, castanets, drum and bagpipes.

But the greatest gifts were the people met en route. Most were Camino friends - people you meet on the trail and walked with a few days. Others became fast friends and will be in touch again.

The Camino, after all, is a great equalizer. Whether you are a Dutch engineer, a Canadian restaurant owner, a retired Korean teacher or a young German aspiring actress, social status, age and wealth are not obstacles to sharing the common experience of the trail.

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If You Go . . .

Getting there: From Paris, take the fast train to Bayonne. Then a one-hour slower train through the foothills of the Pyrenees to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

From Madrid, take a train to Pamplona, a bus to Roncesvalles, then a taxi to St-Jean.

Money: Spain uses the Euro, trading at about $1.55 Cdn for a Euro. Along the Camino there are many ATMs in the towns, most of which accept Canadian bank cards.

Where to stay: Many albergues are situated along the trail. These offer bunk beds, showers and washing facilities and many have kitchens. You share these with many other pilgrims. Nightly charges per person range from a simple donation to nine Euros (about $14).

If you want more privacy, there are pensiones and modestly priced hotels in the towns. It's heaven to be able to stretch out in a hot bath from time to time.

Meals: Many restaurants offer pilgrim menus from 7 to 9 p.m. These are cheaper than regular restaurant meals and range from seven to 10 Euros ($11-16). A typical pilgrim meal starts with soup or salad, then a meat-fish course with fries, and dessert. Good Spanish wine, is usually included. Spaniards have not yet caught on to the vegetarian agenda, but people we met often would ask for two first courses.

In Spain the main evening meal generally starts about 9 p.m. For Camino walkers who want to hit the trail early this is not convenient.

We stopped at bars for breakfast and carried food (bread, cheese, ham and olives) for lunch.

Walking light: Remember you are carrying everything with you. A good knapsack is essential: We were able to find sleeping bags weighing half a kilo, which helped keep our total pack weights down to about seven-nine kilos. You will also want to carry food and water with you during the day.

Foot care: This is vital. We carried duct tape to cover blisters and hot spots, and rubbed our feet every morning with Vaseline cream. Some scoff at the idea that duct tape is good for this purpose but many swear by it. One day we gave a young Brazilian with terrible blisters some tape. Two days later he passed us running, stopped and came back to thank us. Wool or other socks that wick away moisture and sturdy boots are a must.

Information: Check the Canadian Company of Pilgrims website (www.santiago.ca) for information. The company also issues credentials that you have stamped along the route if you want a certificate saying you completed the Camino.

Books: Many books have been written about the Camino. One guidebook carried by many English speakers is Walking the Camino de Santiago by Canadian-based authors Bethan Davies and Ben Cole, published by Pili Pala Press.