 |
Recent
Event
Table
of contents :
Back
to Recent Event
No clash has taken place with US vessel in Persian Gulf, Iran Navy
April 26, 2008
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy
official has said that no clash has taken place between Iranian boat and
a US vessel in the Persian Gulf waters terming it as totally baseless.
Speaking to IRNA, the official said unlike what has been reported, no US
vessel has opened fire at any Iranian boat in the Persian Gulf waters.
Western media reported on Friday that a cargo ship hired by the US
military opened fire at a boat that may be Iranian.
"Foreign forces are completely aware of our policy in the Persian Gulf
region and know very well that any confrontation would face crushing
response from Iranian courageous forces," he said.
"If there such a confrontation takes place in the Persian Gulf waters,
then no shooting vessel could survive to report what happened," he
added.
He reiterated the strength and complete readiness of Iranian Navy to
control any movement of foreign ships in the Persian Gulf waters and the
Straight of Hormuz.
The official said that releasing such "suspicious reports would only be a
source of concern for the vessels currently moving through the waterway
in full peace of mind and this is completely against Iran's strategy to
preserve security in the region." Reiterating Tehran's policy to
maintain stability in the Persian Gulf region, he said, "Iran believes
that any disorder in the region would have undesired consequences."
He added that releasing those baseless reports were "the result of the
US officials' irresponsible and unprofessional policies in the region
which could create an unsafe atmosphere for non-military vessels moving
through the waterway."
He said that Iranian armed forces are well-prepared to confront any
threat in the region and the military experts were investigating the
report.
IRNA
Top
=======================================
Afghan leader
criticizes US on conduct of war
April 26, 2008
President Hamid Karzai strongly criticized the
British and American conduct of the war, insisting that his government
be given the lead in policy decisions.
President Hamid Karzai says the American-led coalition in Afghanistan
needs to do more to respect Afghans' independence.
Karzai said that he wanted American forces to stop arresting suspected
Taliban and their sympathizers, and that the continued threat of arrest
and past mistreatment were discouraging Taliban from coming forward to
lay down their arms.
He criticized the American-led coalition as prosecuting the war on
terrorism in Afghan villages, saying the real terrorist threat lay in
sanctuaries of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Pakistan.
The president said that civilian casualties, which have dropped
substantially since last year, needed to cease completely.
For nearly two years the American-led coalition has refused to recognize
the need to create a trained police force, he said, leading to a
critical lack of law and order.
He called instead for greater respect of Afghanistan's fierce
independence, and for more attention to be paid to building up the
country, than doing things for it.
He admitted that "lots of things" in the last six years could have been
handled better and singled out policies led by the United States, namely
tackling terrorism and handling the Taliban, both as prisoners and on
the battlefield.
On terrorism, he repeated a call he has made for several years, that
sanctuaries across the border in Pakistan be closed off.
"There is no way but to close the sanctuaries," he said.
"Pakistan will have no peace, Pakistan's progress will suffer, so will
Afghanistan's peace and progress, so will the world's. If you want to
live, and live in peace, and work for prosperity, that has to happen.
The sanctuaries must go, period."
The deaths of civilians in the fighting have also been a big problem, he
said.
"It seriously undermines our efforts to have an effective campaign against
terrorism," he said.
"I am not happy with civilian casualties coming down; I want an end to
civilian casualties," he said.
"As much as one may argue it's difficult, I don't accept that argument."
He added, "Because the war against terrorism is not in Afghan villages,
the war against terrorism is elsewhere, and that's where the war should
go," referring to the Taliban and Qaeda sanctuaries in Pakistan.
IRNA
Top
=======================================
UN
urges stepped up efforts to keep WMD from terrorists
April 26, 2008
The UN Security Council unanimously approved a
resolution Friday urging stepped up efforts to keep weapons of mass
destruction out of the hands of terrorists and black marketeers.
It calls on all states to fully implement a council resolution adopted in
April 2004 requiring all 192 UN member states to adopt laws to prevent
non-state actors from acquiring nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.
It notes that some countries - which were not named - haven't filed a
report on their efforts that was due in October 2004.
The new resolution stresses the need to enhance coordination of national,
regional and international efforts to strengthen a global response to
this serious challenge and threat to international security.
The April 2004 resolution was adopted to close a loophole in global
efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
While international treaties targeted weapons proliferation by
governments, until Resolution 1540 was adopted in 2004 there was no
legal instrument to prevent terrorists, crooked scientists, black
marketeers and other non-state actors from obtaining such weapons.
Resolution 1540 requires all countries to adopt laws to prevent non-state
actors from manufacturing, acquiring or trafficking in nuclear,
biological or chemical weapons, the materials to make them, and the
missiles and other systems to deliver them.
It requires all countries to take measures to account for, and secure
these weapons as well as missiles and weapons material. It also demands
that countries develop border controls and step up law enforcement
efforts to detect, deter, prevent and combat the illicit trafficking and
brokering in such items.
All countries were required to submit a report within six months to a
Security Council committee monitoring implementation of the resolution.
The resolution adopted Friday extends the committee's mandate until April
25, 2011 and again calls upon all states that have not yet presented a
first report on steps they have taken or intent to take to implement
Resolution 1540 to submit such a report to the 1540 committee without
delay.
It emphasizes the importance for all states to implement fully that
resolution.
It also calls on the committee to continue to intensify its efforts to
promote the full implementation by all states> by reaching out to
countries, facilitating technical assistance, and promoting the sharing
of experience and lessons learned.
The council noted that not all states have presented to the 1540 committee
their national reports on implementation and that the full
implementation of Resolution 1540 by all states, including the adoption
of national laws and measures to ensure implementation of these laws, is
a long-term task that will require continuous efforts at national,
regional and international levels.
Resolution 1540 was introduced as the International Atomic Energy Agency
was investigating a vast underworld market in nuclear equipment and
know-how, spurred by Pakistan's admission in February 2004 that its
leading nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, passed technology to Iran,
Libya and North Korea.
The new resolution was approved on the day that IAEA chief Mohamed
ElBaradei angrily criticized Israel for bombing an alleged Syrian
nuclear facility, chastised the U.S. for withholding information on the
site, and said the agency will look into the allegations.
IRNA
Top
==================================
Russia
warns Georgia over Caucasus
April 26, 2008
Russia is ready to use "military means" to
protect its residents if war breaks out in the Georgian separatist
provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, a foreign ministry official
said.
Valery Kenyaikin was also critical of the US role in helping to resolve
the conflict, which threatens to destabilise the entire strategic South
Caucasus region.
Kenyaikin said: "If a military conflict develops, then we will have to
react, including with military means. We are ready to defend our
citizens."
Georgia accuses Russia of trying to annex the territory by supporting
separatist forces and encouraging residents to take up Russian
citizenship. Most people in Abkhazia and South Ossetia have Russian
passports.
Kenyaikin's comments were Moscow's sharpest warning so far to Georgia in
its standoff with the two breakaway regions.
He said: "We don't plan anything of a military character, but should
military conflicts break out on one side or another, then the initiator
of these conflicts should be assured that Russia will take all possible
measures to defend the interests of its countrymen and its citizens."
Kenyaikin also alleged that Georgia was massing military forces along the
administrative border that separates it from Abkhazia.
The build-up "can only mean preparations for military action ... possibly
in the near future. This can't be ruled out," he said.
'No confidence'
Kenyaikin is in charge of relations with former Soviet states, and said he
has "no confidence" that Washington is working in any way to resolve the
standoff.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, initiated closer ties with both
provinces, prompting international condemnation and outrage in Tbilisi.
According to Georgy Baramidze, Georgia's deputy prime minister, Russia has
"crossed the line" and committed "a dangerous and provocative act" which
could "destabilise the whole region".
Another flare-up occurred on April 20 when an unmanned Georgian spy plane
was shot down. Georgia blames Russia, which says that Abkhaz rebels were
responsible.
Georgia's pro-Western government is trying to join Nato, but the
unresolved conflicts in the two northern provinces are part of the
reason that the alliance has decided to delay putting the ex-Soviet
republic on the path to membership.
Georgia says Russia is artificially stirring up the conflicts to weaken
its independence, but Moscow accuses the Georgians of being the
aggressors.
Agencies
Top
========================================
Energy crisis forces India to join Iran gas pipeline project
April 26, 2008
ISLAMABAD, April 25: Differences between
Pakistan and India over the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline
project were resolved on Friday and the two countries agreed to start
work on laying pipelines next year for procuring gas from Iran by
December 2012.
Talks between the two countries to resolve the differences, mainly
relating to transit fee and transportation tariff, failed in June last
year, putting the $7.5 billion ?peace pipeline? project into cold
storage. But the current energy crisis and spiralling oil prices brought
them back to the table.
India showed urgency in resuming talks after the Chinese government
expressed interest in joining the project, virtually replacing India.
India did not take part in three rounds of talks held over the past nine
months and its oil minister cancelled at the last minute a scheduled
visit to Islamabad in February.
Petroleum Minister Khwaja Mohammad Asif, addressing a joint press
conference with his Indian counterpart Murli Deora, said that
contentious issues had been resolved, but an agreement would be signed
after a go-ahead from the two governments. The process would not take
more than ?a few days or a few weeks?. He said Pakistan?s share in the
cost of the project would be around $3 billion.
The two projects will enable Pakistan to meet about 75 per cent of its gas
requirement.
Work on the approximately 2,775km IPI pipeline will begin in 2009 and will
be completed by December 2012. It will carry 2.46 billion cubic feet of
gas a day from Iran?s South Pars field to be equally shared by Pakistan
and India.
We have reached an agreement on the principles on which we hope the
project can go ahead. India believes that close economic cooperation
with its neighbours is not only a necessity but it also builds the
stakes and trust that strengthen the overall relationship,? said the
Indian minister.
The two sides agreed to resolve all issues before the next round of talks
scheduled later this year.
Mr Deora said the issue of transit fee would be resolved in two weeks. He
said India considered the transit fee demanded by Pakistan to be high.
Earlier, India was demanding that Pakistan should waive the transit fee
because it would also be getting transportation charges.
Both the ministers dismissed reports about US reservations over the
project because it involved Iran.
Answering a question, he said that unrest in Balochistan was almost under
control. ?There will be no threat to this pipeline.?
The route of the pipeline has been altered at the insistence of India for
security reasons. It will enter Pakistan near Gwadar and move along the
highway to join the transmission system near Nawabshah.
Indian officials told the PTI news agency that the two sides had agreed on
a ?template? for finalising the transportation tariff, which was linked
to the cost of constructing the pipeline.
The fee would be worked out when Pakistan finalised a contract for
building its section of the pipeline, they said.
They said the two sides had narrowed their differences on the transit fee
and agreed on a broad formula for calculating it. There were indications
that the eventual figure would be a compromise between India?s earlier
offer of 15 cents for one million British thermal units of gas and
Pakistan?s demand of about 60 cents.
Petroleum Secretary Farukh Qayyum said the transit fee was a ?very minor
component? of the cost of the project and the two sides had ?agreed on a
range that is mutually acceptable? and based on international practices.
A joint statement issued after the meeting said the two sides had also
discussed the structure of the company that would execute and manage the
project.
Agencies add: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is visiting Pakistan
and India next week and the main issue expected to feature in his talks
in Islamabad and New Delhi is the pipeline.
dawn
Top
|
