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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: A key rights coalition
expressed concern at a reported row over the rules to be followed by
Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge tribunal, which could further delay
much-anticipated genocide trials. The Cambodia Human Rights Actions
Committee, a grouping of some two-dozen organizations, said the
dispute could jeopardize the future of the tribunal, as the rules
must be approved before the trials can proceed. --AFP
TOKYO: Japan and South
Korea agreed to work together to press North Korea to give up
nuclear weapons when six-way talks on Pyongyang’s atomic program
resume, the Japanese foreign ministry said. Foreign Minister Taro
Aso and his South Korean counterpart Song Min Soon spoke by
telephone amid growing expectations that the six-party negotiations
could resume in early February.--AFP
TOKYO: Nearly two-thirds
of Japanese people believe the nation should be more patriotic
although an overwhelming majority attach importance to remembering
the country’s past aggression, a poll said Thursday. The survey by
Asahi Shimbun newspaper also showed that feelings of patriotism were
the weakest among young people. Japan has shunned most overt
displays of patriotism since World War II, when the country invaded
other Asian countries in the name of Emperor Hirohito, who was seen
as divine.--AFP
SEOUL: South Korean
President Roh Moo-Hyun urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to
refrain from visiting a shrine honoring Japanese war criminals.
Abe’s predecessor Junichiro Koizumi infuriated Japan’s neighbors
by repeatedly visiting the Yasukuni war shrine. South Korea and
China, which were both occupied by Japan in the past century, see
the shrine as a symbol of its refusal to atone for its militarist
past. Koizumi’s repeated visits to Yasukuni “aggravated
relations between Seoul and Tokyo.--AFP
WASHINGTON: Iranians
overwhelmingly support their government’s drive to enrich uranium
to produce electrical power, but they don’t favor developing
nuclear weapons, according to a poll released Wednesday. The survey,
which also sampled US attitudes toward Iran, found that nearly half
the people in both countries thought that American military action
against Iran is likely in the next year or two. But only 48 percent
of Iranians said they favored direct talks between the governments
to lessen tensions, while 79 percent of Americans surveyed thought
that direct talks were a good idea. The poll was conducted for
WorldPublicOpinion.org, a US-based international polling
organization, in cooperation with Search for Common Ground, an
advocacy group that favors a peaceful resolution of the differences
between the two countries.--MCT
WASHINGTON: Setting the
stage for a wartime conflict between the US Congress and President
Bush over the deployment of additional troops to Iraq, the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday approved a resolution
declaring that the president’s new war strategy is “not in the
national interest.” The resolution was approved largely along
party lines by the Democrat-controlled committee. Republican
opponents called it a toothless protest, yet warned it would send
the wrong message about the American commitment to Iraq, endangering
US troops and emboldening their enemies.--MCT
WASHINGTON: US Vice
President Dick Cheney, often considered the hidden power behind the
White House throne, is increasingly out in the open and on the
defensive. He’s scheduled to testify at the perjury trial of his
former top aide; congressional Democrats want to probe his role in
the White House; and his unprecedented clout may be waning. Once
widely considered a source of wisdom and experience in the White
House, the vice president has become a frequent target of criticism.--MCT
WASHINGTON: Sen. John
Kerry, the Democratic nominee for president in 2004, announced that
he will shelve his presidential ambitions and spend his time working
to force the White House to set a date for withdrawing US troops
from Iraq. His decision spares him from a grueling 2008 primary
contest against at least two of the biggest stars in presidential
politics, senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, not to mention
his former running mate, former senator John Edwards of North
Carolina. --MCT
QUITO, Ecuador: Two
Ecuadorian military helicopters collided killing Defense Minister
Guadalupe Larriva, her daughter and five army officials near an air
base on the Pacific coast. According to the official report, the
crash came as the two helicopters, one of them carrying Larriva, 50,
and her 17-year-old daughter, were conducting a night military
exercise near the Manta air base late Wednesday.--AFP
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan: The
parliament here rejected President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s choice for
prime minister for a second time, deepening a political crisis in
the Central Asian state. Just 25 deputies backed former Prime
Minister Felix Kulov’s bid for reappointment, well less than the
38 required.--AFP
LONDON: Sick of being
alone in the countryside with only their cows for company, a group
of lonely Welsh dairy farmers have begun advertising on milk bottles
to find a date. Five single farmers—three men and two women—are
advertising their lonely hearts on bottles of Calon Wen organic
milk. Their pictures are accompanied by the slogan in “Fancy a
Farmer?” and “Ffansi Ffarmwr?” in Welsh plus a website address
for potential love interests to find out more. The project is
jointly run with bilingual online dating agency www.pishynwales.com
and coincides with Saint Dwynwen’s Day, which celebrates the Welsh
patron saint of lovers, on Thursday.--AFP
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