U.N. preparing Iraq-Kuwait reconciliation plan

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations is outlining a plan to help Iraq end its dispute with neighboring Kuwait over war reparations, 19 years after Baghdad invaded the oil-producing Gulf state, a U.N. official said on Monday.
Baghdad wants the U.N. Security Council to reduce its reparation payments to Kuwait, which it ordered Iraq to pay after the 1991 Gulf war ended Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's 1990-1991 occupation of Kuwait.
Iraq says the reparations -- more than $20 billion -- are unfair and wants the amount reduced so it has more money for reconstruction and development. It has called for annulling Security Council decisions requiring the payments under Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter.
U.N. special envoy to Iraq Ad Melkert told a meeting of the 15-nation council on Iraq that a top priority was the "normalization of (Iraq's) regional relations, not least with Kuwait, and the related exit from Chapter 7 provisions."
Melkert said the U.N. mission in Iraq would outline a plan for achieving this.
"We will seek consent of both parties to define a mutually agreed agenda, the completion of which should resolve any remaining issues and should normalize Iraq's position within the U.N.," he said.
Kuwait opposes ending Iraq's Chapter 7 status. But council diplomats say they might vote to lift the restrictions in the coming months, paving the way for Iraq to renegotiate the amount of reparations it pays to Kuwait.
OTHER ISSUES
Melkert told reporters that the proposal would cover an array of disputes between Kuwait and Iraq.
In addition to reparations, there is the issue of agreeing on the precise land and sea borders between Iraq and Kuwait, he said. Kuwait also demands information related to its missing citizens and the return of property the Kuwaiti government says was stolen during the occupation.
At the end of July Iraq owed some $25.5 billion in reparations, $24 billion to Kuwait alone.
Melkert did not comment on a visit to Iraq this month by U.N. assistant secretary-general Oscar Fernandez-Taranco in response to Baghdad's request for a U.N. inquiry into support given by foreign countries to insurgents.
Iraq's U.N. ambassador, Hamid al-Bayati, said his government considered Fernandez-Taranco's visit as a "first step to be followed by subsequent steps ... to uncover those behind the deadly bombings in Baghdad in August and October."
Twin suicide blasts against government buildings in Baghdad last month killed more than 150 people, and bombings in August devastated the Foreign and Finance ministries.
Iraq blames both attacks on al Qaeda and supporters of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party.
Baghdad has accused neighboring Syria of providing a safe haven for Baathists plotting attacks. The United States has previously accused Iran of interfering in Iraq and providing support to insurgents. Both governments deny the allegations.

Gadhafi hosts Italian women, tries to convert them

ROME – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi hosted a soiree in Rome for some 200 young Italian women, but instead of the party they expected the women were given a lecture on Islam and copies of the Quran, a news report said Monday.
At least they got paid.
A reporter for Italy's ANSA news agency went undercover with the women, who were hired for euro50 ($75) by a modeling agency for the event Sunday evening. Journalist Paola Lo Mele said the women assembled at a hotel, where some where left behind because they were not tall enough or dressed modestly enough.
Those accepted were taken to a villa, where Gadhafi lectured them on women's rights and religion, and urged them to convert to Islam.
"All the girls expected a party with a gala dinner," Lo Mele told her agency. Instead, "he made a 45-minute speech on Islam and women's role in Islam. It was a bit of an indoctrination session."
Lo Mele took pictures before and after the event, showing the women carrying Qurans they received as gifts. A second soiree was planned for Monday evening, ANSA said.
Gadhafi was in Rome to attend a U.N. summit on world hunger.
After his speech, Gadhafi made an impromptu visit to one of downtown Rome's swankiest piazzas, stopping traffic as he sat down at an outdoor cafe for something to drink.

Palestinians seek EU support for independence

RAMALLAH, West Bank – The Palestinians asked the European Union on Monday to back their plan to have the U.N. Security Council recognize an independent Palestinian state without Israeli consent.
The idea of seeking U.N. intervention has been gaining steam in the Arab world as the impasse in peacemaking drags on. The Palestinians seek a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in 1967.
"We will seek the support of all members of the international community," Saeb Erekat, a top adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told reporters in Ramallah. Besides the EU, they also plan to seek U.S. approval, Erekat said.
The plan appears to be largely symbolic, given that the U.S., Israel's chief ally, would likely veto such an initiative at the United Nations. It also would not remove the 500,000 Israelis living in West Bank settlements and east Jerusalem neighborhoods.
The move, however, reflects growing Palestinian frustration with the deadlock in peace efforts. Palestinian officials say they hope international endorsement would force Israel to recognize a future Palestine's borders based on the pre-1967 lines.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to nullify past accords with the Palestinians if they take any unilateral action. Several Cabinet allies threatened Monday that Israel would annex West Bank settlement blocs if the Palestinians take any one-side action.
"Any unilateral movement will be countered by a unilateral move on our part," Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday. "We cannot conduct policy or negotiations unilaterally; it runs counter to all previous agreements and that's how we will treat it."
In Washington, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly withheld support for the Palestinian initiative. "We support the creation of a Palestinian state that is contiguous and viable," he said. Washington recognizes Palestinian frustration, "but we think that the best way to achieve that is through negotiations by the two parties," he said.
Environment Minister Gilad Erdan, a member of Netanyahu's Likud Party, said Israel should consider annexing West Bank settlements if the Palestinians push forward.
Israel pulled its soldiers and settlers out of Gaza in 2005, but has annexed east Jerusalem and maintains a military occupation in the West Bank. Islamic Hamas militants violently wrested control of Gaza from Abbas loyalists in a 2007, complicating his ability to negotiate.
The U.S., which champions a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has not reacted to the latest Palestinian initiative. But as a key mediator, it would likely veto any such resolution if it reached the Security Council.
The proposal, which has Arab League backing, appears to be an indirect appeal to the international community to shore up Abbas as he tries to win more favorable terms for renewing long-stalled negotiations.
EU foreign ministers will discuss the Arab-backed proposal at their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, said Petra Dachtler, an adviser to the EU's special Middle East envoy, Marc Otte. Because the idea has only been floated recently, the EU has yet to formulate an opinion, she said.
The EU is not on the Security Council, but EU members France and Britain are permanent council members that wield veto power.
The Palestinians have given no timeline for presenting a formal proposal to the Security Council. But with the backing of the Arab League, they have been lobbying U.N. member states to support such a proposal when it is submitted.
Peace talks faltered nearly a year ago after Israel launched its devastating war against Gaza militants, who had bombarded southern Israel with thousands of rockets for years.
The Palestinians say they won't go back to the negotiating table until Israel agrees to halt all construction in settlements built on lands the Palestinians claim for their hoped-for state. Israel promised to do just that under a 2003 peace blueprint, but has never carried out that promise.
Netanyahu, who refuses to halt settlement construction, has repeatedly urged the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table without conditions. The Palestinians are disappointed that the U.S. has failed to coerce Israel to halt the construction, which the Palestinians say threatens their dream of independence by gobbling up the land they claim.
Earlier this month, a frustrated Abbas threatened to quit politics after January presidential elections. But last week, election officials postponed the vote indefinitely, allowing Abbas to remain in office.
Abbas is finding it increasingly difficult to justify negotiations to his people, who have seen talks break down repeatedly over the past 18 years. Hamas is sticking by its conviction that only armed struggle will win the Palestinians a state.
In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Abbas' decision to reach out to the Security Council was a sign of desperation. "It's clear that this was a reaction by the Palestinian Authority after running out of options after two decades of negotiations," he said.

Zardari threatens: I will deal with Lawyers

President Zardari has categorically said “You will see how I deal with the lawyers,” in a way threatening the lawyers long march due to hit Islamabad on March 9th. This comes from a democratically elected president who dishonored several written agreements regarding the restoration of entire deposed judiciary and even used the lawyers movement to uproot Musharraf is now ready to deal with the lawyers on a different playing field.
On the other hand the Prime Minister has said that the Long March is the right of Lawyers and he will try to facilitate their Long March in Islamabad. It does go to show a high level of miscommunication within the ruling elite, a constitutionally ceremonious President giving orders to a democratically elected Prime Minister, who should have been a shoo over when initially appointed in 2008
The month of March is critical for this government as a show down is definitely on the cards, the upcoming senate elections holds the key combined with the Lawyers upsurge to push for their broken promises, all these and more events can really twist the fate of a certain widowed husband and his cronies, the question is, will he fall into the elaborate trap that is being carefully planned from the drawing rooms of Raiwand all the way to London. PML-N with PML-Q is lobbying to get control of the Upper House, which might set into motion some floor crossing within the Lower House, I must agree there is a lot of speculations, but for now lets assume the first check has been served to Mr. Zardari, more are likely to come

Army says morale is down in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON – Morale has fallen among soldiers in Afghanistan, where troops are seeing record violence in the 8-year-old war, while those in Iraq show much improved mental health amid much lower violence, the Army said Friday.
It was the first time since 2004 that soldier suicides in Iraq did not increase. Self-inflicted deaths in Afghanistan were on track to go up this year.
Though findings of two new battlefield surveys are similar in several ways to the last ones taken in 2007, they come at a time of intense scrutiny on Afghanistan as President Barack Obama struggles to craft a new war strategy and planned troop buildup. There is also new focus on the mental health of the force since a shooting rampage at Fort Hood last week in which an Army psychiatrist is charged.
Both surveys showed that soldiers on their third or fourth tours of duty had lower morale and more mental health problems than those with fewer deployments. And an increasing number of troops are having problems with their marriages.
The new survey on Afghanistan found instances of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress at about the same as they were in 2007 but double 2005's cases. That was 21.4 percent in 2009, 23.4 percent in 2007 and 10.4 percent in 2005.
That compares to a lower 13.3 percent in Iraq, down from 18.8 percent in 2007 and 22 percent in 2006. (Surveys have been done every year in Iraq, but were only done during three years in Afghanistan.)
The Afghan report also found a shortage of mental health workers to help soldiers who needed it, partly because of the buildup Obama started this year with the dispatch of more than 20,000 extra troops.
Efforts to get more health workers to Afghanistan were made a little harder by last week's shooting. The psychiatrist charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder was slated to go to Afghanistan. Some of the dead and wounded also were to have deployed there to bolster psychological services for soldiers.
Still, officials told a Pentagon press conference that they expect to meet their goal next month of having one mental health worker for every 700 troops — workers that include psychiatrists, social workers, psychiatric nurses and so on. There were 43 in Afghanistan at the time of the survey, while 103 were deemed needed; and since the survey, there has been what Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker on Friday called an aggressive push to send the rest.
The new Afghanistan survey found that individual soldier morale was about the same as previous studies, but that unit morale rates were significantly lower.
For instance, when asked about their own morale, 17.6 percent rated it high or very high, down from 23 percent in 2005. When asked about their unit, only 5.7 percent gave the two highest ratings, a decrease from 10.2 percent in 2007 and 10.5 percent in 2005.
The findings come from surveys and interviews with troops and mental health workers at the wars.
In Iraq, some 2,400 soldiers in randomly selected platoons filled out surveys from December 2008 through March 2009, and a mental health assessment team went to the warfront for a month starting in late February to analyze the results and hold interviews and focus groups. In Afghanistan, more than 1,500 troops in more than 50 platoons filled out the surveys from April to June, and the assessment team went through the same process from May through June.
It's the sixth such survey, a program that was groundbreaking when started in 2003 in that it was the biggest effort ever made to measure the health of troops — and the services they receive — right at the warfront in the middle of a military campaign.
The survey was different from previous ones in that it sampled two types of platoons. Some were maneuver units that war-fighting groups engaged in combat-related tasks and others were support units such as aviation, engineering and medical elements less likely to have as much direct exposure to violence.
Other findings of the Afghanistan survey included:
_Junior enlisted soldiers reported significantly more marital problems than noncommissioned officers, stating they intended to get a divorce or that they suspected their spouses back home of infidelity.
_Exposure to combat, long recognized as a strong factor in mental health problems, was significantly higher this year than rates in 2005 and similar to rates in 2007 for the combat units.
_Combat units reported significantly lower unit morale in the last six months of their tours of duty, more evidence of the wearing affect of long deployments.
_Troops in their third or fourth deployment reported significantly more acute stress and other psychological problems, and among those married, reported significantly more marital problems compared to soldiers on their first or second deployment.
_Troops who spent up to four hours daily playing video games or surfing the Internet as a way to cope helped lower their psychological problems, but spending time beyond that had the opposite effect. Those who exercised or did other physical training decreased their mental problems, regardless of the time spent.
_Troops reported more and better training in suicide prevention and other mental health programs that the Army has been increasing over recent years in an unprecedented effort to focus on the force's mental health.
"Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to face stress from multiple deployments into combat but report being more prepared for the stresses of deployments," Schoomaker said.

In first visit to China, Obama walks a tightrope

SHANGHAI – President Barack Obama is walking a tightrope on his first trip to China, seeking to enlist help in tackling urgent global problems while weighing when and how — or if — he should raise traditional human rights concerns.
Obama arrived in Shanghai late at night, in a driving rain, hustling through a phalanx of umbrella-holding dignitaries to reach his limousine. On Monday, the president is holding talks with local politicians and, in one of the marquee events of his weeklong Asian trip, conducting an American-style town hall discussion with Chinese university students.
Thirty years after the start of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the ties are growing — but remain mixed on virtually every front.
The two nations are partnering more than ever on battling global warming, but they still differ deeply over hard targets for reductions in the greenhouse-gas emissions that cause it. China has supported sterner sanctions to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons program, but it still balks at getting more aggressive about reining in Iran's uranium enrichment.
China is a huge and lucrative market for American goods and services, and yet it has a giant trade deficit with the U.S. that, like a raft of other economic issues, is a bone of contention between the two governments. The two militaries have increased their contacts, but clashes still happen and the U.S. remains worried about a dramatic buildup in what is already the largest standing army in the world.
Amid all that, Obama has adopted a pragmatic approach that stresses the positive, sometimes earning him criticism for being too soft on Beijing, particularly in the area of human rights abuses and what the U.S. regards as an undervalued Chinese currency that disadvantages U.S. products.
Obama recognizes that a rising China, as the world's third-largest economy on the way to becoming the second and the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, has shifted the dynamic more toward one of equals. For instance, Chinese questions about how Washington spending policies will affect the already soaring U.S. deficit and the safety of Chinese investments now must be answered by Washington.
Second, Obama wants not to anger Beijing, but to encourage it to pair its growing economic and political clout with greater leadership in solving some of the most urgent global problems, including a sagging economy, warming planet and the spread of dangerous weapons.
Obama has talked warmly toward China, particularly in the days leading up to his visit.
"The United States does not seek to contain China," Obama said in a speech from Tokyo on Saturday. "On the contrary, the rise of a strong, prosperous China can be a source of strength for the community of nations."
One test of the line Obama is walking on China will be human rights, including religious freedom in the officially atheist nation. Aides said in advance that Obama would raise several human rights issues privately with Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao.
But it was unlikely he would repeat those messages too stridently in public, out of concern for angering his hosts. Even before arriving in China, for example, he declined to get specific about human rights concerns with China in his Tokyo speech and eschewed the traditional presidential meeting with the Dalai Lama while he was in Washington in June.
Obama said he would see the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader later, a decision welcomed by Chinese officials who pressure foreign governments not to meet with the Dalai Lama and spurn Tibetans' desires for autonomy from Chinese rule.
The White House hoped Monday's town hall meeting with Chinese university students would allow Obama to telegraph U.S. values — through its successes and failures — to the widest Chinese audience possible.
But those hopes will have their limits in communist-ruled, tightly controlled China. The particulars of the town hall, including whether it could even be called one, were the subject of delicate negotiations between the White House and the Chinese up to the last minute. It remained unclear, for instance, whether — and how broadly — it would be broadcast on television and how much of a hand the central government had in choosing those allowed to question the U.S. president.
Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Obama would call at random on several of those in the audience, to be made up of hundreds of students hand-picked by the department heads of Shanghai-area universities, and would also answer questions solicited in advance by the White House from "various sources on the Internet."
Even if the event is only aired on China's main English-language TV channel, which has very few viewers, the White House will stream the conversation live on http://www.whitehouse.gov, an unblocked site in China.
From Shanghai, Obama was to be off to the capital of Beijing for the pomp and substance of a two-day state visit hosted for Obama by Hu.
Obama's China visit features the only sightseeing of his high-intensity Asian journey. He will visit the Forbidden City, home of former emperors in Beijing, and the centuries-old Great Wall outside of the city. Visiting a country's noted landmarks is considered a sign of respect in the world of diplomacy. But Obama aides also have learned that finding some tourist time serves to both calm and energize their boss amid the always grueling schedule of a foreign trip.

Punjab’s governor says democracy being strengthened in Pakistan

LAHORE — Only a democratic government can improve the national economy and ensure the security of the country, said Punjab Governor Salman Taseer on Nov. 9.
“Uniting the nation on one platform against terrorism is the achievement of a democratic government,” he said. “Whether it is national security or solutions to economic problems, only a democratic system can cope with these issues effectively. It is a good sign that democracy is gradually being strengthened in Pakistan and all institutions are working freely.”
Taseer said the relationship between democracy and wealth may suggest that democracy naturally leads to prosperity. According to theoretical and empirical analyses, democracy affects long-term growth and promotes good governance in a country by allowing voters peacefully and regularly to oust inept, inefficient and corrupt administrations. More efficient, successful leaders improve the quality of governance in the long term. Experts feel that political stability generates business confidence, which leads to investment, job growth and increased productivity to meet demand, all of which generates economic growth.
The governor said the entire world supports democratic development in Pakistan, particularly the international 'Friends of Pakistan’ who are offering financial assistance to strengthen the democratic system in the country.
“Pakistan is passing through a very critical phase, and…the government will make every effort to improve the country’s economy,” Taseer said.
He also said the government is committed to providing all possible support to the trade community to increase Pakistan’s export earnings. “Various measures taken by the present government to support the country’s economy are fruitful. Foreign remittances have increased significantly and the nation’s foreign exchange reserves have risen to US$14 billion, up from just $6 billion several years ago.”

Nawaz seeks probe into subs kickbacks

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif has demanded of the government to probe the allegations of $49.5 million commission in the purchase of French submarines during the PPP government in 1994, and bring to light the names of those political, civil and military officials who misappropriated the hard-earned money of people. He also demanded strict action against the culprits.
He was addressing a gathering of PML-N leaders and workers from Faisalabad at his Raiwind residence here on Friday. The meeting was attended by Chaudhry Sher Ali and Rana Sana Ullah, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Rafiq Tarar and other PML-N parliamentarians.

Nawaz said it was very painful for him that people were suffering because of unemployment, price-hike, poverty, lack of health and education facilities while a handful of people had received kickbacks of Rs 4 billion in just one deal. He said the poor were craving for basic facilities, and the privileged class was plundering the national wealth. He said the national wealth had been plundered on the one hand while the people who committed heinous crimes like abrogating the Constitution and changing loyalties were given guard of honour instead of punishment.

He said the government should honourably complete its five-year tenure. He said the PML-N wanted transfer of power in accordance with the law and Constitution. He claimed the PML-N was showing complete patience just to protect the system and the government should also perform its responsibility of establishing good governance for solidarity of democracy and country.

He also appreciated the sacrifices of people of Faisalabad and stated that people should perform their duties to force the administrative machinery to continue treading on right path.

End.

Six Terrorists Killed, 12 Soldiers Martyred In SWA

RAWALPINDI: Six terrorists have been killed while 12 soldiers embraced shahadat and 2 soldiers injured during the ongoing operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan.

According to ISPR, security forces successfully secured important feature point 5376, 3 kms north of Ahmed Wam on Jandola – Sararogha Axis.

Exchange of fire took place between security forces and terrorists at Ahmed Wam, resultantly 2 soldiers embraced Shahadat and 2 were injured, while 6 terrorists were killed.

Clearance operation at Khawasai is underway.

Security forces conducted search operation in area around Torwam on Shakai – Kaniguram Axis, cleared compounds, and recovered cache of arms and ammunition.

10 wounded soldiers due to engagement with terrorists of Langar Khel yesterday succumbed to injuries and embraced shahadat. Total casualties are 15 soldiers shaheed.

Security forces have fully secured the area from Makeen to Marobi Raghzai and road block has been established at Shah Wali Algad on Razmak- Makeen Axis.

Security forces cleared built up area of Rogha and Mir Khoni.

Terrorists fired rockets at Razmak Camp and Laghr Manza, which was effectively responded by security forces.

Security forces apprehended wanted terrorist Qamar Ali at Shangla during operation Rah-e-Rast in Swat – Malakand.

Security forces conducted search operation at Shalpin, Amankot, Ghalagai and apprehended 3 terrorists.

FO rejects India statement on Gilgit-Baltistan elections

ISLAMABAD Pakistan has rejected India's statement that elections in Gilgit-Baltistan are a cosmetic exercise.

The Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said India has no locus standi on Gilgit-Baltistan elections.

Earlier, the Indian external ministry spokesperson alleges that elections in Gilgit-Baltistan are just another cosmetic exercise intended to camouflage the fact of Pakistan’s illegal occupation of areas of Jammu and Kashmir