Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden has claimed responsibility for the botched Christmas Day bombing of a US airliner and said strikes on US targets will continue, in an audio statement broadcast on Al-Jazeera satellite television.(Xinhua/AFP File Photo)
WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) — Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, said Wednesday the military still aims to catch al-Qaeda terror network leader Osama bin Laden alive.
McChrystal, briefing reporters in Washington via teleconference from Afghanistan, said if bin Laden enters Afghanistan, the military would certainly try to \”capture him alive.\”
The comment contradicts Attorney General Eric Holder\’s Tuesday comment that bin Laden will never appear in a U.S. courtroom because he won\’t be brought in alive.
\”The reality is that we will be reading Miranda rights to the corpse of Osama bin Laden. He will never appear in an American courtroom,\” Holder said during a House appropriations subcommittee hearing.
\”He will be killed by us or he will be killed by his own people, so he\’s not captured by us,\” said Holder.
McChrystal also said Wednesday that efforts to retake Taliban strong-hold Kandahar is already underway.
NATO and Afghan armies have recently launched a major operation in Afghanistan\’s Helmand province, adjacent to Kandahar. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, said Tuesday the offensive is the beginning of a larger campaign which will \”unfold over the next 18 months.\”
Related:
Osama bin Laden won\’t appear in U.S. court alive: attorney general
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Xinhua) — U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday that al-Qaida world network leader Osama bin Laden will never appear in a U.S. courtroom because he won\’t be brought in alive.
\”The reality is that we will be reading Miranda rights to the corpse of Osama bin Laden. He will never appear in an American courtroom,\” Holder said during a House appropriations subcommittee hearing, when he was defending his decision to try 9/11 suspects in criminal courts instead of military tribunal.? Full story
Bin Laden claims responsibility for Christmas plane bombing attempt
CAIRO, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) — Al-Qaida leader claimed responsibility for a foiled attempt of bombing a U.S.-bound airplane on Dec. 25, and vowed further attacks against the United States, in an audio recording aired Sunday by pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV.
\”From Osama to Obama … If our messages would possibly be carried to you by words, we would not have carried them to you by planes,\” Osama bin Laden said in the tape.? Full story
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WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) — The United States and India signed an agreement Wednesday to strengthen trade and investment ties, concluding a deal that leaders of the two sides announced last year.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma signed a \”Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment\” in Washington.
This agreement will encourage small businesses in both countries and boost cooperation on clean energy technologies.
\”There is almost limitless potential for growth in trade between our two countries,\” Kirk said, \”and that can contribute to economic recovery and job creation in the United States and continued economic growth in India.\”
\”We also intend to use this framework to encourage the development and deployment of clean energy and environmental technologies as well as to support India\’s infrastructure growth,\” Sharma said.
Trade between the two economic powers has more than doubled in the last five years to more than 37.6 billion dollars in 2009. Sharma said the possibilities for trade between the United States and India \”have not been tapped fully as yet.\”
U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to double U.S. exports within the next five years, and the administration hopes to use India\’s fast growing economy to help meet that goal.
Kirk and Sharma announced their intent to finalize the \” Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment\” when they co- chaired the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum meeting in New Delhi in October 2009.
The United States-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF), established in July 2005, is the principal bilateral forum for the two governments to discuss the entire spectrum of trade and investment issues.
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SANTIAGO, March 12 (Xinhua) — After being sworn in as president of Chile on Thursday, Sebastian Pinera worked into night discussing measures with cabinet members for recovery from the 8.8-magnitude quake that hit the South American nation on Feb. 27.
The first Council of Ministers began late Thursday night with the Emergency Committee, governors, military chiefs giving detailed reports on the situation of devastated areas.
Chile\’s government spokeswoman Ena von Baer said that Education Minister Joaquin Lavin had been instructed to work for swift reopening of schools.
The discussion of the key task force in recovery efforts — the Reconstruction Committee — began at 1:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) on Friday.
The committee, comprising ministers of interior, presidency, public works, housing, transportation, education, health, treasury and economy, is expected to launch an all-round campaign to restore normality to affected regions.
The hardest-hit regions by the earthquake and the following tsunami accounted for 13 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and about 25 percent of the industrial production of the country, according to the Central Bank.
Economists have predicted a 4.5 percent growth of GDP for 2010, 1.5 points lower than the 6 percent average annual expansion proposed by Pinera\’s economic program.
However, the new government has foreseen an upturn of the country\’s economy in the second half of the year.
Loss caused by the quake, which killed more than 500 people, is estimate
d at between 20 billion and 30 billion U.S. dollars.
Considering the magnitude of the damage, Pinera\’s government estimates that reconstruction efforts will span at least three years.
SURVEY ON MAJOR DAMAGE
A preliminary inspection on infrastructure reports damage on 1,200 spots of roads, ports and airports, most of which are reparable in six months.
Around 5 percent of the damage is serious, and several collapsed bridges have to be reconstructed. Their repairing work will take between 1 billion and 2 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, around 20 hospitals were damaged and one fifth of schools in the cities of Santiago and Concepcion were affected, which, in combination, calls for an investment of 5.1 billion dollars.
Grain and wine storages and cargo services were interrupted, causing losses of up to 550 million dollars. Insurance companies are expecting at least 100,000 complaints.
Related:?
Aftershocks symbolize challenges facing Chile\’s new government
VALPARAISO, Chile, March 11 (Xinhua) — The strong aftershocks that delayed by 25 minutes the swearing-in ceremony for Sebastian Pinera, Chile\’s new president since noon Thursday, could be an indicator of the challenges that face Pinera and his team as they assumed power 12 days after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit the country and killed at least 497 people.? Full story
FLASH: FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE KISSINGER FALLS ILL IN SEOUL
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WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) — For the first time since U.S. President Barack Obama took office more than one year ago, more Americans disapprove of his job performance than approve, according to the latest Gallup survey released on Wednesday.
The survey shows 47 percent of Americans disapproved of his job performance, one percentage point higher than those who approve.
Obama\’s approval rating has experienced a sharp decline since he took office at Jan. 21, 2009, when 68 percent of Americans approved of his job performance.
In recent months, Obama\’s approval rating has been hovering around 50 percent. His weekly approval rating for March 8-14 tied the lowest weekly average of his administration so far, standing at 48 percent.
Another Gallup\’s survey found that Obama has largely missed public expectations with respect to his environment and energy policy as well as making America prosperous.
Among these three issues, Americans\’ ratings for his energy policy saw the sharpest decline, from 72 percent one year ago to the current 43 percent.
The declines are understandable, given the high expectations for Obama when he took office and the erosion in his overall job approval rating over the past year, said Gallup.
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WASHINGTON, March 13 (Xinhua) — The White House on Saturday confirmed that U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev have agreed to sign a nuclear arms control treaty soon.
\”The results of their talks are encouraging, and both leaders are committed to concluding an agreement soon,\” said White House spokesman Mike Hammer, referring to an earlier telephone conversation between Obama and Medvedev.
The Kremlin said earlier that the two presidents have agreed to \”talk about specific dates for signing a new arms reduction treaty, \” which is expected to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expired on Dec. 5, 2009.
Related:
Russia, U.S. look to date for signing new arms treaty
MOSCOW, March 13 (Xinhua) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday that it was now possible to talk about specific dates for signing a new arms reduction treaty, the Kremlin said.
Medvedev spoke over phone on Saturday with Obama about the preparation for a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) that expired on Dec. 5, 2009.Full story
New nuclear arms treaty could be ready within weeks: Russian FM
MOSCOW, March 9 (Xinhua) — A new Russia-U.S. treaty on nuclear arms reduction could be signed within two or three weeks, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
\”We would like everything to be finished in two or three weeks. The chances are there,\” Lavrov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
\”If everyone strictly abides by the central principle – the principle of parity underlying this document – all issues will be resolved soon,\” he said.?? Full story
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WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) — A senior al-Qaida member suspected to be behind a recent suicide bombing attack on a CIA outpost in Afghanistan was believed to be killed last weeks, local media quoted counter-terrorism sources as saying on Wednesday.
The al-Qaida operative, Hussein al-Yemeni, was believed to be killed in Pakistan\’s North Waziristan region. The CIA is believed to be using unmanned drones to hunt and kill al-Qaida militants in that region, although the agency has never officially acknowledged doing so.
An important al-Qaida attack planner and facilitator, al-Yemeni was believed to be behind the Dec. 30 CIA base attack in Afghan province of Khost, in which a suicide bomber killed seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer, the deadliest attack against the CIA since 1983.
Al-Yemeni was an expert in explosives and specialized in organizing suicide attacks. He was killed in North Waziristan\’s main city of Miram Shah, said the unnamed counter-terrorism official.
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RIO DE JANEIRO, March 17 (Xinhua) — Brazil\’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reaffirmed on Wednesday his support to a Palestinian state and said he is willing to do whatever he can to help the Palestinian people.
Government news agency Agencia Brasil quoted the President as saying that he supports an independent Palestinian state, and believes that Palestinian and Israeli will find a way to share \” their predecessors\’ land.\”
In a visit to Ramallah, President Lula christened the Brazil Street, located in front of the Palestinian Authority headquarters. He said he was happy to christen the street, which according to him represents the love between the Palestinian and Brazilian people.
Lula also put flowers on the grave of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, died in 2004.
The Brazilian President criticized the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier, saying that it is the cause of great human suffering.
\”It divides families, drives friends apart, disarticulates the production and as a consequence scares away the investments,\” he said.
Lula also said that the Palestinian people need union and called on the Hamas and the Fatah to join forces. He said he would be willing to meet Hamas leaders.
\”Brazil is willing to talk to everyone, with whoever is at the negotiation table, and there is not a political force, of left of right, with which Brazil cannot talk. All forces should participate in the peace process,\” he said.
After visiting Ramallah, the Brazilian President headed to Jordan, where he met with Kind Abdullah II and Queen Rania. Jordan is the last leg of Lula\’s trip to the Mid-East.
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