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Israel begins clearing West Bank settlements AGENCIES, SANUR SETTLEMENT, WEST BANK Aug 23: Israeli forces barged through barbed wire and burning barricades to clear defiant settlers and protestors from the northern West Bank Tuesday after completing the historic pullout of Jews from the Gaza Strip. An estimated 5,000 troops and police were bracing for a violent showdown in Sanur and Homesh during the first ever expulsion of Israelis from land known by Jews as northern Samaria, the heart of Biblical Israel. After sunrise, hundreds of soldiers wearing protective headgear cut through the perimeter fence of Sanur before a bulldozer smashed through the metal gate and troops doused fires. Women wailed hysterically as protestors barricaded themselves inside a half-built synagogue behind barbed wire and metal bars and strung rolls of razor wire around houses. Others holed up in a former British fortress blew several blasts on the shofar, a biblical ram's horn used as a call to battle. In Homesh, Israeli border police burst through burning barricades and cut through rolls of barbed wire into the enclave, where youths commandeered abandoned houses, blocked the front doors with rubble and stacked up broken tiles to use as ammunition. Police said they believed those inside the settlements had massed an arsenal of stones, sharp metal projectiles, knives, stun grenades and possibly pistols. The pullout from Gaza, which was completed two weeks ahead of schedule on Monday when the hardline community of Netzarim was evacuated, has raised international hopes of a revival of the moribund peace process. It is the first time Israel-under the right-wing government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon-has removed Jews from Palestinian land after 38 years of often bloody military occupation. Sharon's office said Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas had hailed the pullout as "historic and courageous" when he spoke with the Israeli premier by phone on Monday, their first contact since an abortive summit in June. Yossi Dagan, a spokesman for settlers in Sanur, warned of "bloodshed" during Tuesday's operation and accused Sharon of waging a hate campaign against the West Bank settlers. "It's difficult justifying the evacuation of these settlements so he tries to make us monsters. We are optimistic this evacuation can be stopped." But police spokesman Marc Kahlberg told AFP the protestors had refused all attempts at mediation. | Top of this page | Back to Index Page |
Sino-Russian war games simulate naval blockade AFP, BEIJING Aug 23: Chinese destroyers, submarines and fighter planes were coordinating Tuesday with a Russian missile destroyer and anti-submarine vessels in ongoing war games simulating a naval blockade, state media said. A Russian A-50 AWACS (Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems) aircraft circled to monitor "enemy" movements both in the air and on the sea as the joint blockade unrolled, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. Nearly 10,000 personnel and a wide range of modern weaponry are taking part in the eight-day "Peace Mission 2005" exercises, the first major land, sea and air war games jointly carried out by the two nations. The exercises are currently taking place on eastern China's Shandong peninsula and in the adjacent waters of the Yellow Sea. "The naval blockade military operation is made up of four parts, including striving for and maintaining air superiority over the water and joint air and sea anti-submarine operations," Xinhua news agency said. "The third part is the joint submarine, air and warship attack on 'enemy' warships and submarines, while the fourth task is the air defense of surface vessels and submarines." CCTV video of the exercises showed warships deployed in coastal waters as tracers and smoke from live-fire exercises exploded in the air. Joint amphibious landings were also expected to take place in the last two days of the exercises which end Thursday. Chinese media has said the exercises were taking place against the backdrop of "the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism"-usually cited by China within the context of its endeavors to control the northwestern region of Xinjiang, home to a Muslim separatist movement. But experts say the drills are more likely to be aimed at Taiwan. China considers the island part of its territory and threatens to invade if it formally declares independence. The war games would also offer a prime opportunity to study China's ongoing military modernization, analysts said. "This is a good time to watch China's military modernization effort, to see what progress (it has made) and to what extent China and Russia can form a so-called coalition force," Arthur Ding, an expert on the People's Liberation Army at the National Chengchi University in Taiwan, told AFP. "The area we should watch is China's joint operation capability (between army, air force and navy). This is the major area China is trying to make a breakthrough." Following the exercises Russian military experts would likely be making in-depth reports on how China was integrating Russian weapon systems into its military and operating such systems between its military forces, he said. | Top of this page | Back to Index Page |
Bush defends Iraq war policy despite protest AP, BOISE, IDAHO Aug 23: President Bush, defending his Iraq war policy in the face of anti-war opposition and slumping approval ratings, says pulling out before the mission is complete would dishonor the memory of all the Americans who fought and died in pursuit of freedom. "A policy of retreat and isolation will not bring us safety," Bush said Monday in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Salt Lake City. Repeatedly citing the Sept. 11 attacks, he said, "The only way to defend our citizens where we live is to go after the terrorists where they live." Bush noted the U.S. military death toll - more than 2,000 killed in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. "Each of these men and women left grieving families and loved ones back home. Each of these heroes left a legacy that will allow generations of their fellow Americans to enjoy the blessings of liberty. And each of these Americans have brought the hope of freedom to millions who have not known it," Bush said, as if speaking to Cindy Sheehan, the California anti-war activist whose son Casey was killed in Iraq. "We owe them something. We will finish the task that they gave their lives for ... by staying on the offensive against the terrorists, and building strong allies in Afghanistan and Iraq that will help us win and fight - fight and win the war on terror." Recent polls have shown growing public dissatisfaction with the president's handling of the war in Iraq in the face of a persistent insurgency and the mounting U.S. death toll. An AP-Ipsos poll taken earlier this month showed that the percentage of Americans who approve of Bush's handling of Iraq - a number that had been hovering in the low- to mid-40s most of the year - dipped to 38 percent. Some lawmakers from both parties are urging Bush to set a timetable for withdrawal, or at least lay out a strategy for leaving. Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record), D-Wis., who last week called for a Dec. 31, 2006, timetable for completing the mission, criticized Bush's speech as "more of the same sloganeering." "We need the president to be clear about the remaining U.S. military mission in Iraq, and we need a target date," Feingold said in a statement. Monday's speech was the first of two Bush will deliver this week in an effort to build support for the conflict by reaffirming his commitment to help Iraq transition from tyranny to democracy and urging the public's patience with his policy. The second speech comes Wednesday when he speaks to military families in Nampa, Idaho. After Monday's speech, Bush and his wife, Laura, flew to Donnelly, Idaho, where he was to spend Tuesday out of public view at the Tamarack Resort in the mountains 100 miles north of Boise. | Top of this page | Back to Index Page |Constitution vote in Iraq delayed AP, BAGHDAD Aug 23: The head of Iraq's constitutional committee said Tuesday he did not think the three additional days lawmakers said are needed to reach a compromise on the draft charter would be enough. The draft was submitted to parliament just minutes before a midnight deadline Monday by Kurds and Shiite Arabs on the committee drafting the charter. That last-minute scrambling came one week after the original Aug. 15 deadline. Lawmakers quickly deferred a vote on the draft Monday because of fierce resistance from Sunni Arabs, and parliamentary speaker Hajim al-Hassani said it would take an additional three days to iron out "pending differences." But Humam Hammoudi, head of the constitutional drafting committee, told reporters Tuesday he did not expect three days to be sufficient to solve all the outstanding issues. "We may find some formula to postpone some matters," he said. If no compromise can be reached on the Sunni demands, "We will turn it to the Iraqi people to say yes or no," he said. | Top of this page | Back to Index Page |Muslim village chief killed in Thai south AFP, NARATHIWAT, THAILAND Aug 23: A Muslim village chief was killed and another four men injured by unidentified gunmen Tuesday in the latest violence to erupt in Thailand's restive south, police said. Abdul Mama Aree, 42, a village headman in Rue-Sao district in Narathiwat province, was driving his pick-up truck with another four villagers when the attackers fired at them with shotguns and an M-16, police said. Abdul Mama died instantly while the other four were injured and taken to hospital. Parliament will on Wednesday debate an emergency decree declared over the troubled south, where more than 860 people have been killed in nearly 20 months of almost daily attacks. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has said parliament could tone down the measures, designed to contain the Muslim insurgency raging in the region, if it decides they are too heavy-handed. | Top of this page | Back to Index Page |Call to kill Venezuelan President AP, VIRGINIA BEACH Aug 23: Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on his religious television show, calling him a "terrific danger" to the United States. Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a former presidential candidate, said Monday on his TV show "The 700 Club" that it was the United States' duty to stop Chavez from making Venezuela a "launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism." Chavez has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of US President George W. Bush, accusing the United States of conspiring to topple his government and possibly backing plots to assassinate him. US officials have called the accusations ridiculous. "You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson said. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don't think any oil shipments will stop." Pages and a message to a Robertson spokeswoman were not returned. | Top of this page | Back to Index Page |
SHORT TAKES Afghan religious leader survives attack AFP, KABUL Aug 23: An Islamic cleric escaped unhurt after suspected Taliban militants bombed his house Tuesday in the latest attack on religious leaders who back Afghanistan's US-friendly administration, officials said. Mawlawi Rahmatullah, leader of the religious council of the southeastern province of Khost, was leaving his house when the blast happened, said interior ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal. The attack was the sixth on pro-government Muslim clerics in the past three months. Mashal blamed it on "enemies of peace and stability"-Afghan jargon for the Taliban and their allies. On Sunday Taliban insurgents shot dead Mullah Abdullah Malang, deputy head of the religious council of the Panjwaey district in restive Kandahar province, and his companion. | Top of this page | Back to Index Page |Applications for UK asylum fall AFP, LONDON Aug 23: Application for asylum to Britain between April and June fell 11 percent from the previous quarter thanks to a range of government measures, the Home Office said on Tuesday. Home Office figures showed the number of applications -- 6,220 excluding dependants-was down 21 percent compared to the same period in 2004. The removal of failed asylum seekers rose by three percent on the last quarter but was down two percent on the same April-to-June period a year ago. Officials stressed, however, the 2005 trend was for removals to increase. The number of applications for asylum have fallen 76 percent from a peak in October 2002 due to tougher government rules. | Top of this page | Back to Index Page |AP, BOMBAY Aug 23: A residential building collapsed in downtown Bombay on Tuesday, leaving 10 dead, 18 injured and more than a dozen still trapped under debris, a top city administrator said. The dilapidated four-storied structure, more than 100 years old, was home to 16 families, said Johny Joseph, Bombay's municipal commissioner. The building caved in as most residents were sleeping, he said. At least 47 people were rescued and 28 of them were taken to a nearby hospital. At least 10 of the injured died in, or on their way, to the hospital, Joseph said. At least 20 people were still trapped under the debris, he said. Rescue officials also evacuated residents of two buildings adjoining the collapsed structure. | Top of this page | Back to Index Page |AFP, BELFAST Aug 23: Rioting broke out in north Belfast early Tuesday as police stepped in to try to separate two rival groups of young Catholics and Protestants, Northern Ireland police said. Some 200 rioters threw Molotov cocktails, cobblestones and paint bombs at several dozen police officers at the intersection of the Catholic republican neighborhood of Ardoyne Road and the Protestant loyalist bastion of Twaddell Avenue. No one was seriously hurt in the clashes, though the disturbances caused damage breaking the windows of homes in the neighborhood, police said. | Top of this page | Back to Index Page | |