| Afghan ministers on 'graft' list | |||
A list of government ministers deemed corrupt by the country's attorney general has been presented to Afghanistan's parliament. The list, released on the final day of a three-day anti-corruption conference, includes five senior members within the government of Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, said Hashem Ahelbarra, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kabul. "Overall the list includes 15 former ministers, five ministers currently holding positions and six governors in Afghanistan," Ahelbarra said on Thursday. "They include Rangin Spanta, the foreign minister, Hanif Atmar, the interior minister, as well as Nematullah Shahrani, the top advisor to the president, and the minister of the economy, Jalil Shams." International pressure The three-day meeting, Karzai's first official act since he was sworn in as president for a second term, is a response to calls from his Western backers to make the country's government more transparent, particularly in the wake of the fraud-tainted presidential poll that took place in August. Karzai was declared the winner by default when Abdullah Abdullah, his main challenger, pulled out, citing irregularities. "This is going to have an impact on the future of Afghanistan," Ahelbarra said. "We will have to wait for another 48 hours for Karzai to announce the final make-up of his government, to see whether he is hearing calls from the international community and the Afghan people to sanction those involved in bribery and kick-back schemes. "However, his rivals are saying he will use this list to sanction those who endorsed doctor Abdullah, his election rival." Daoud Sultanzoy, an Afghan member of parliament, told Al Jazeera, the list leaves a lot of room for political influencing and agendas. "There is a lot of international and domestic pressure for Karzai to stamp out the endemic corruption in this country," Sultanzoy said. "However, this pressure can create a very zealous approach, we have to make sure we don't malign those who are being hunted for political reasons." | |||
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Thursday, 17 December 2009
Afghan ministers on 'graft' list
Opposition calls on Zardari to quit
| Opposition calls on Zardari to quit | |||||||||||||||||
Pakistan's main opposition party has called for Asif Ali Zardari, the country's president, to resign after the supreme court declared void an amnesty deal protecting him from corruption charges. Following the ruling, officials from the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) said Zardari should be obliged to step down. "On the moral ground, he should realise that in this situation he is no longer able to effectively run the government, run the country, [or] represent Pakistan within Pakistan or outside," Raja Zafarul-Haq, the chairman of the PML-N, told Al Jazeera. He said that his party was "not in a hurry" to call for Zardari's impeachment, but warned: "Maybe there will be a public reaction if he decides not to step down." Earlier, Khawaja Asif, a senior leader PML-N leader, said: "It will be in his own interest, it will be in the interest of his party and it will be good for the system." Resignations demanded Siddiqul Farooq, a spokesman for the party, also called for Zardari to step down, saying the president should "resign on moral grounds" and "not depend upon the crutches of the constitution".
Pakistan's constitution guarantees Zardari immunity while in office. But the constitution also states that presidential candidates must be pious, honest and truthful and not have been convicted in a criminal case. The supreme court's decision on Wednesday declaring the amnesty agreement as being unconstitutional paves the way for corruption cases against Zardari and thousands of other officials covered by the amnesty to be revived. "All the cabinet members must immediately tender their resignations," Farooq said. Beneficiaries of the amnesty include Pakistan's interior and defence ministers. A number of cases were pending against Zardari when it was announced by Pervez Musharraf, then Pakistan's president, that he and others would be immune from prosecution under the 2007 National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). Amnesty deal Musharraf declared the NRO while under pressure to hold elections and end eight years of military rule. Although Zardari has spent years in jail over corruption charges, he alleges the charges were politically-motivated and questions hang over whether he was ever actually convicted. Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) won elections in 2008, restoring civilian rule, but the NRO expired at the end of last month and the PPP did not have enough support to renew the ordinance in parliament. Senior figures in the PML-N, led by Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister, have already called on Zardari to give up powers inherited from Musharraf such as those to sack the prime minister and dissolve parliament. Zardari already faces low public approval ratings and any political trouble in Pakistan is likely to be watched very closely by the West which wants Islamabad to focus on combating Islamist fighters. | |||||||||||||||||
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Mexican drug lord shot dead
| Mexican drug lord shot dead | |||
One of Mexico's most wanted drug lords has been killed in a shootout with government forces in the country's navy south of Mexico City. Arturo Beltran Leyva, dubbed "The Boss of Bosses," was killed on Wednesday during the fight with about 200 naval sailors in a luxury residential complex in the southern city of Cuernavaca. "We confirm the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva. He was killed in a navy operation in Cuernavaca," said a Mexican navy captain. Six of Beltran Leyva's bodyguards died in the fighting. Drug violence The death of Beltran Leyva is a boost for Felipe Calderon, the Mexican president, who launched a war against drug cartels after coming into office in 2006. "This is a victory for Calderon in the short term, but his [Beltran Leyva's] position will be filled very quickly," said Alberto Islas, a security analyst. The shootout came after suspected drug gangs dumped the severed heads of five police officers and a prosecutor outside a church in the northern state of Durango on Wednesday. The heads were left in plastic bags discovered by rubbish collectors as blood ran out of the bags onto the street. Islas said more violence was likely in the wake of Beltran Leyva's death, as rival drug gangs attempt to take back territory lost to the drug lord in recent years in southern Mexico and Mexico City. Territorial war The Beltran Leyva brothers, who were considered responsible for the importation and distribution of tonnes of cocaine into the US, had been involved in a bloody fight over smuggling routes into the US with former ally Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman. A $2.4 million bounty had been placed on Beltran Leyva's head by Mexican authorities seeking his arrest for organised crime activities and kidnapping. In August, Eric Holder, the US Attorney General, announced an indictment against the drug lord and other Mexican smugglers for moving billions of dollars of cocaine across the US border. Navy forces have increasingly joined army troops and federal police in the fight against drug barons The US Treasury Department said last week the US had frozen the US assets of 22 individuals and 10 companies linked to the Beltran Leyva. More than 16,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence between rival gangs and security forces in the last three years. | |||
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Climate talks at 'crucial' phase
| Climate talks at 'crucial' phase | |||||||
The climate summit in Copenhagen has reached a crucial phase with key rounds of talks on Thursday set to determine the success or failure of the meeting, the United Nations climate chief has said. Amid mounting signs of deadlock, Yvo de Boer urged delegates from 193 countries to overcome their differences and produce a deal. "I still believe it's possible to reach a real success," he said on Wednesday. "The next 24 hours are absolutely crucial and need to be used productively.'' On Thursday environment ministers are set to meet for final rounds of negotiations, aiming to salvage a climate pact from half-finished draft texts and overcome long-running rifts between rich and poor nations over how to split the costs of fighting climate change. The meetings come as dozens of heads of state descend on Copenhagen, hoping to add their weight in the final days of the talks.
On Wednesday police in riot gear clashed with protesters angry at the lack of progress at the climate change talks. Police fired pepper spray and beat protesters with batons, making more than 200 arrests, officials said. Impromptu protests also took place inside the conference hall. 'Breakthrough' opportunity Among the world leaders set to address the talks on Thursday are the presidents of Iran, France and Brazil.
Speaking at the White House, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said the appearance of leaders from around the globe creates the opportunity for a "breakthrough to happen." But delegates who have attended several days of gruelling and often tense negotiations, said the slow pace of the talks signalled the summit could be headed for failure. "We may not get there on the substance, it is quite possible we'll fail on the substance, but at least let's give it a try," said Ed Miliband, Britain's energy and climate minister. "At the moment the problem is we're not giving it a try." Sticking points Denmark, whose prime minister is now chairing the summit, said it was trying to simplify several complex draft negotiating texts to help the leaders attending a final high-level summit on Thursday and Friday agree on a deal. However delegates from developing nations have rejected Danish proposals to select small negotiating groups to storm through the draft texts, saying the process had to be fully inclusive. Among the key sticking points is a long-running rift between developed and developing nations over who should cut emissions, how deep the cuts should be, and how much assistance the rich world should provide to poor countries. The US and China, the world's top carbon emitters, have also been stuck in a dispute over how they will prove they are sticking to emission-curbing plans. | |||||||
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Lava build-up on Philippine volcano
| Lava build-up on Philippine volcano | ||||||
Scientists monitoring the Mount Mayon volcano in the Philippines say pressure appears to be building in at least two new lava domes in the volcano's crater, indicating a major eruption is imminent. The volcano, the most-active in the Philippines, has been spewing torrents of molten lava and clouds of ash for several days, triggering an evacuation of tens of thousands of residents living in the area.
"We saw the formation of two lava domes at the crater of Mayon during an aerial survey yesterday," government volcanologist July Sabit told the AFP news agency on Thursday. "This indicates pressure is building up from the inside and the rising magma had accumulated at the mouth to form the domes," he said. "If this continues, it is likely that part of the domes will collapse, causing pyroclastic flows or a major eruption." Pyroclastic flows are fast-moving torrents of rock and superheated gases ejected during a volcanic eruption. Travelling at speeds of up to 700kmh, such flows are invariably deadly for anyone caught in their path. As a precautionary measure, the military and police have evacuated an estimated 50,000 residents, mostly from farming villages in Mayon's fertile foothills. The provincial governor has declared a "state of imminent disaster" in order for special disaster funds to be released to pay for the evacuation and help those who have been moved. 'Ring of fire'
The last time the volcano erupted was in 2006. Mayon's most destructive eruption came in 1841 when lava flows buried the town of Cagsawa and killed more than 1,200 people. The country lies on the volatile "Ring of Fire", a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean that is also prone to earthquakes. In June 1991 the Philippines was the scene of the world's most violent eruption of the last century when 800 people were killed around Mount Pinatubo north of Manila. The eruption spewed out ash that spread around the globe and caused volcanic mudflows that buried whole towns. | ||||||
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Swiss bank fined over Iran ties
| Swiss bank fined over Iran ties | |||
One of Switzerland's biggest banks has agreed to pay a record fine of $536m after admitting it violated US sanctions by hiding decades of booming business with Iranian banks. According to US prosecutors, Credit Suisse Group carried out thousands of illegal transactions with clients in Iran as well as other countries subject to sanctions including Libya, Sudan and Myanmar. The fine represents the largest penalty in the history of the office that monitors violations of US sanctions, officials said. "The criminal misconduct perpetrated by Credit Suisse in this case is simply astounding," said Eric Holder, the US attorney general. "This case offers a stark and disturbing example of the lengths to which some corporate wrongdoers are willing to go in seeking ill-gotten financial gains." Investigators at the US treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), said Credit Suisse used elaborate procedures for altering payments to hide their true destination, including stripping out the names of sanctioned parties from payment instructions. 'Egregious case' According to the treasury and other US agencies involved in the investigation the bank helped facilitate "hundreds of millions of dollars" funnelled in and out of Iran and other countries subject to US sanctions by disguising the transactions. "The great majority of the transactions involved Iran, although there were also transactions that appear to have violated US sanctions on Sudan, Libya, Burma, Cuba, and the former Liberian regime of Charles Taylor," a treasury statement said. "This matter represents an egregious case under OFAC's enforcement guidelines due to a number of aggravating factors, including the substantial economic benefit to sanctioned parties, the scope and severity of the apparent violations, and the awareness of the conduct within the bank." Officials said Credit Suisse had cooperated with US investigators and could have faced an even stiffer penalty if it had refused. The settlement agreed on Wednesday includes a deferred prosecution agreement that allows the bank to avoid further penalties as long as it steers clear of new violations and cooperates with authorities. | |||
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Bernanke named 'Person of the Year'
| Bernanke named 'Person of the Year' | |||||||||||||
Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, has been named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" for 2009. Last year's winner was then US President-elect Barack Obama and the 2007 winner was Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The saviour?
that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. "Bernanke didn't just learn from history; he wrote it himself and was damned if he was going to repeat it," he said. The magazine also considered the first woman Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and Nato's Commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McCrystal, for the award. Other previous title-holders have included U2 frontman Bono, former US President George Bush, and Amazon.com CEO and founder, Jeff Bezos. | |||||||||||||
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Aide admits shooting Guinea leader
| Aide admits shooting Guinea leader | ||||||
A former aide to Moussa Dadis Camara, Guinea's military leader, has confessed to shooting the West African president out of fear that he would be blamed for a bloody crack down on a pro-democracy rally. Lieutenant Aboubacar "Toumba" Diakite told Radio France International (RFI) on Wednesday: "I shot him because at a certain point, there was a complete betrayal in my view, a total betrayal of democracy." "He tried to blame me for everything that happened on September 28," Toumba said, referring to a military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators which witnesses say left more than 150 people dead. Human rights groups have named Diakite as one of the commanders most responsible for the massacre. Hunted Diakite was speaking from an undisclosed location and remains in hiding.
The failed December 3 assassination attempt, which left Camara in hospital in Morocco with gunshot wounds to his head, has left Guinea close to political crisis. His continued stay at the hospital has led some to speculate that he has been incapacitated. General Sekouba Konate, Guinea's defence minister and Camara's second in command, has taken charge in Camara's absence and has led the search for Diakite. Massacre investigated It is unclear how many of the roughly 150 men formerly under Diakite's command remain loyal to him. Camara seized power in December 2008 following the death of Lansana Conte, Guinea's long-time ruler, promising he would hand over to a civilian government in a vote in which he would not participate. He later hinted that he would stand for election, triggering the September protests. Last month's assassination attempt took place as UN officials in Guinea were investigating the massacre. The world body is due to issue a report later this month on who was responsible for the killings. | ||||||
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Obama writes to N Korea's Kim
| Obama writes to N Korea's Kim | |||||||
Barack Obama has written a personal letter to Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader, the US state department has said. The US president's letter, which was hand carried to Pyongyang last week by a US envoy, is part of an effort by the US administration to draw North Korea back to six-party nuclear disarmament talks. US officials have refused to reveal the details of the letter, but it reportedly outlined the benefits of returning to talks, while explaining the risks of continued isolation. The letter was delivered to North Korean officials last week by Obama's special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, during a visit to Pyongyang.
Speaking to the Associated Press, an unnamed state department official said the contents of the letter followed the general message that Bosworth had taken to Pyongyang. "The North Koreans have a choice: continued and further isolation or benefits for returning to the six-party talks and dismantling their nuclear weapons program," the official said. Bosworth's talks were the Obama administration's first high-level contact with North Korea. Speaking after the visit he said the two sides had reached a "common understanding" on the need to restart the nuclear negotiations. The six party talks, aimed at denuclearising the Korean peninsular, involve the two Koreas, China, Japan, the US and Russia.
Bush wrote to Kim in December 2007, offering normalised relations if the North The letter was seen as a turnabout for a president who had labelled the secretive regime part of an "axis of evil", along with Iran and pre-war Iraq. According to the Washington Post, efforts early in Bush's term to send a letter were stymied by an intense debate over whether to use an honorific such as "his excellency" to address Kim. | |||||||
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