Category Archives: World News

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ECOWAS Calls on Ivorian President To Resign

Gbagbo(L) Ouatarra (R): both claimed the presidency in polls after civil war

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) appealed to Ivory Coast’s President Laurent Gbagbo to resign, and avoid ‘unnecessary bloodshed’ in the country. There were violent clashes in Ivory Coast following Gbagbo’s denial from stepping down on Thursday and many protesters were killed.

Sonny Ugoh, ECOWAS communications director stated that there was an international consensus to pressurize Ivorian president to resign from the post and give power to the former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara.

The ECOWAS official justified the demonstration by the supporters of former Prime Minister Ouattara unless they were violent. He said that the government of Ivory coast should not suppress people’s right to demonstrate. A senior official of the US State department revealed that the United States would impose sanctions against Mr.  Gbagbo if he continued to deny from resigning. France and the African Union have also issued similar warning against the Ivory Coast president for his undemocratic behavior.

More violent protest followed the warnings by different countries. There were clashes between the pro-Gbago troops and Ouattara supporters in the city of Abidjan and also in the central Ivorian city of Tiebissou, leading to death of 30 people reportedly.

Mr. Ouattara appealed to his supporters to take hold of administrative buildings which were still under control of Mr. Gbagbo.

President Laurent Gbagbo and former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara  both declared themselves as winners in the previous polls after the 2002 civil war. The voting was done in order to reestablish peace in Ivory Coast after the civil war.  The ECOWAS official feared that the current crisis might hamper the economic development in the entire West African region.

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South Korea Steps To Enhance Diplomatic Relations With China

South Korea to enhance ties with China

Following attack by North Korea on its island and gunfire clash, South Korea has declared that it would boost relations with china.

Korean peninsula has become vibrant again following N Korea’s aggression against the South. The United States and its allies have been patting South Korea and even backed it by military exercises in the Korean peninsula. The US also warned China for overlooking N Korea’s steps.

The initiative toward boosting funds related to improving relations with China expresses that South Korea is following a defense mechanism against North.

South Korean foreign ministry has declared that it would raise the annual budget on issues related with China from $390 million to $3 billion. The country expects to show its willingness to smoothen relations with China and initiate diplomatic talks.

The raised budget would include expenses on task forces which will resolve problems related to anti-Korean attitude of Chinese and build up academic and cultural relations with China. The South Korean government also plans to begin diplomatic talks for bilateral cooperation.

Seoul’s foreign minister, Kim Sung-hwan stated that relations with China are gradually becoming vital for the stability of peace and security in the Korean peninsula and their economic well being.

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Intelligence reports refute US claims of success in Afghan war

US soldiers in Afghanistan

Washington: Just before the release of a review of US strategy in Afghanistan by President Obama, two new intelligence reports have revealed an assessment that completely refutes the US claims of progress in the 8-year old battle in the war-torn country.

The reports have further assessed that there is a bleak chance of success on Afghan land and the role of Pakistan will be critical in the entire episode since it is to be seen whether Islamabad is able to wipe out terror havens operating within its territory.

The reports, however, say that there is some sort of developments in Afghanistan situation, which is a sign of limited success for US and allied forces, but the reluctance of Pakistani government to take action against terrorists in its tribal areas remains a serious issue. US officials have been saying for too long that terror outfits freely operate within Pakistan and cross into Afghanistan at their will to launch war against American troops.

Meanwhile, senior Pentagon officials have termed the reports on Pakistan and Afghanistan as baseless and out of date and said that the reports have been compiled by Washington-based analysts who have not spent time analyzing the ground reality during the war in Afghanistan, and have no feel of the situations in these parts of the world.

The debate, however, between the military and intelligence officials shows the seriousness over the Afghan policies which is basically moving around the fact that whether the United States can succeed without Pakistan’s help in the war on terror.

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North Korea’s nuclear program more advanced than Iran: US

N Korea's nuclear program

Washington: The US intelligence department in an important revelation has said that North Korea has more advanced nuclear technology compared to Iran. North Korea’s new nuclear plant to enrich nuclear fuel technology is so much advanced that the countries working on this technology may take more than two decades to match the advancement.

According to intelligence officials. After assessing North Korea’s advancement on the nuclear front, US and South Korean officials have viewed that the new nuclear plant could not have been so enriched without sophisticated networking of certain factors and a full-fledged uranium enrichment plant, elsewhere in the country.

The nuclear capability of North Korea has come as a surprise to many since the country has been facing economic sanctions and a ban on sea and air shipments, executed in the Bush era and made stricter after the UN Security Council resolution passed last year in the aftermath of second nuclear test by North Korea.

The recent intelligence reports have been a cause of concern for the US administration especially when its officials are making an all-out effort to devise a common strategy with China and other Asian countries to contain North Korea’s nuclear advancements.

Gary Samore, chief nuclear adviser in the Obama administration, has conceded for the first time that North Korea’s nuclear program is much more ahead than Iran, which is currently struggling to make further advancement.

Amidst the talk of more sanctions on North Korea, Chinese officials have made a point in which they argued that further sanctions can be counterproductive as largely failed in the past.

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US Gives Another Try to Restart Middle East Peace Process

Middle East Peace Process

Jerusalem:  Despite the past failures of the US government to resolve the Middle East issue, President Obama has made one more attempt bringing Israel and Palestine to re-initiate peace talks. In this direction, the United States has sent its special envoy George J. Mitchelle to the region to create a congenial atmosphere in which a progress can be made over the core issues.

The US administration has given up on its efforts to convince Israel to move on settlement building in the West bank to put forth a signal to direct talks. The United States will not consider over the direct talk option for now. Instead, the US envoy will ask the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to come up with their negotiating points separately and then only the US administration will find a solution to the problem.

US special envoy Mitchell had a detail discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday over the latest development, and he would be meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West bank the very next day.  Mr. Mitchelle would then head toward Cairo to meet the Arab League foreign ministers on Wednesday.

Most of the Palestinians opined that the US envoy would be unable to come up with any new methods to resolve the prolonged issue between Israel and Palestine. In the past too, Palestinian people have had raised question over US leadership and dexterity to play a successful role. Meanwhile, the Fatah Central Committee members have said that they were not in favor of any talks with Israel direct or indirect, in the absence of a settlement freeze. They reiterated that the talks must be referred to 1967 announcement based on a two-state theory.

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Veteran US diplomat Holbrooke passes away

Richard Holbrooke

Richard Holbrooke, an accomplished statesman for the United States known for his sharp understanding of international relations and politics, died at the age of 69.

The US State Department announced his demise in a statement on Dec 13 in Washington.

During his stint as a diplomat, Holbrooke had some unprecedented success to his name that no statesman could achieve in the United States. It was him who gave a new dimension to the diplomatic ties with China and also managed critical situation in Afghanistan.

Holbrooke was admitted in the hospital on Dec 10 and undergone a heart surgery. .While remembering his contributions to the US policies for Afghanistan, President Obama said that he was grateful to have a diplomat of Holbrooke’s calibre in his administration.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that Holbrooke had helped in shaping American history, managing complex international relations and  securing  better future for the people. “He will be remembered as a skillful diplomat, who was able to challenge dictators and fight for US interests even during critical hours,” she concluded.

Holbrooke had a vast experience as a statesman, who worked under four Democratic presidents, starting from Lyndon Johnson to Obama. People will never forget his vital role on Vietnam issue in the Johnson government. However, his best acclaimed work was ending the Bosnia war while working as a special mediator in the Clinton government.

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Storm, snowfall disturb Life in Upper Midwest, Chicago

The stormy weather and heavy snowfall made it tough for Americans to do their daily works on Monday.

The dangerously cold weather and storm led to closure of many highways and cancellation of flights. The top of Minnesota Vikings’ stadium felt down. More than 1600 flights were cancelled in Chicago alone. Heavy snowfall was reported in Indiana and Michigan.

After Michigan, the storm moved towards Canada. Snowfall can occur now in Northern Indiana and Michigan and also in Pennsylvania and New York.

Weather department reported that more decrease in temperature can make it worse in the Midwest for commuters. Many areas were reported with temperature below zero degree.

However, the officials assured that the worst part of the storm was over and only cold temperature will affect people live till Tuesday. The rough weather has not caused any casualty though. However damage to Minnesota Vikings’ stadium has led to shifting of Vikings’ game against the New York Giants to Detroit’s Ford Field. According to sources such weather conditions were experienced in the United States in January usually.

There was less snowfall in Chicago in comparison to Midwest but high speed winds cause most of the damages. The wind speed during storm reached nearly 50 mph and waves from Lake Michigan stroke up to Lake Shore Drive.

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Bernard Madoff’s son found dead amid talk of criminal charges

Mark Madoff with father and brother

New York: Mark Madoff, son of Bernard Madoff – a famous fund manager at Wall Street, had been living a miserable life since the arrest of his father in one of the biggest financial scams of all time.

Mark, 46,  had seemed to have it all, a lavish lifestyle, fame, success and enormous wealth and all these were befitting his father’s sheer brilliance as a businessman. After college, Mark joined brokerage and rose to very senior positions in the family business, whose clients ranged from Hollywood personality Steven Spielberg, other billionaires to retirees investing their life-time savings.

On December 11, 2008, to the disbelief of everyone and shock of his clients, Bernard Madoff was arrested at his breakfast table on the charges of biggest financial irregularity. Since the arrest of his father, Mark had been living a very disturbed life with a depressed state of mind, according to his close friends.

But on December 11, 2010, the second anniversary of Bernard Madoff’s arrest, Mark was found dead in his apartment in Manhattan. Few days back, he was framed in a civil lawsuit amidst growing speculations that he might face criminal charges.

According to close friends, Mark had not spoken with his parents for the past two years and had been trying to get a trader job at Wall Street.

In the past, Mark had insisted several times that he had no knowledge about his father’s wrongdoings and it was only on December 10, 2008, when his father conceded running a $50 billion scam that was collapsing in the financial turmoil.

Mark’s role was still under investigation and he was utterly depressed over the media coverage speculating criminal charges against him.

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US says Cancun Summit a ‘significant step forward’

Cancun Climate Change Summit

The United States has termed the conference on climate change in Cancun as ‘significant’ and promised to work with international community to remain focused on the environmental challenges in the coming days.

US president Obama hailed Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon for showing exceptional leadership and chairing the Cancun conference to a successful outcome on the foundation laid down at Copenhagen last year. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the conference reached to a significant point under the United Nations framework and from here lot of meaningful results could be achieved. Ms Clinton further said that the United States along with its friend nations would make all efforts to tackle the climate change and other environment-related issues.

She expressed utter satisfaction over the progress made at Cancun conference and said that the outcome would take forward the core elements raised in the Copenhagen Accord, such as creating a new Green Climate Fund, Working on a culture of transparency, creating a framework to reduce deforestation, establishing a technology mechanism, seeking international cooperation and many others.

The United States has been working with its global partners to move forward and sort out all differences since the Copenhagen summit took place last year, she reiterated.

“The United States joined other countries at Cancun for a fresh round of discussions focused at mobilizing common efforts to meet the shared objective. So now that we have reached an important milestone, time has come to enlarge our vision and work together to meet the challenges that come our way,” Ms Clinton Said.

The Cancun Summit has been able to reach a ‘compromise’ to organize a $100 billion ‘Green Fund’ to fight global warming. There was, however, no agreement regarding the Kyoto Protocol on carbon emissions cuts beyond 2012. The development made at Cancun will be followed up in the next round of talks to be held next year.