Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Africa
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
Search
Search:
Rice makes 11th-hour Mideast, Zimbabwe, Somalia foray at UN
AFP - 1 hour 9 minutes ago
WASHINGTON, (AFP) - - As the Bush administration enters its final weeks, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was due in New York Monday in a bid to keep Mideast peace talks on track and turn up the heat on Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.
During talks at the United Nations, Rice will also discuss how to tackle a surge in piracy off Somalia's coast, check Iran's nuclear ambitions, and deal with the fallout from the terrorist attacks in India, officials said.
Her two-day visit to the heart of world diplomacy highlights many of the daunting challenges President George W. Bush's administration will hand over to Barack Obama's when the White House switches occupants on January 20.
Palestinian-Israeli peace remains a priority for the Bush team, which hoped the parties could clinch a deal within a year when it revived the negotiations in Annapolis, Maryland in November last year, after a seven-year hiatus.
But it is now settling for just keeping the process going as Rice meets Monday with UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair was also due at the talks as the quartet's envoy.
The United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union make up the Middle East quartet, which has endorsed a roadmap for a Palestinian state to coexist peacefully alongside a secure Israel.
Speaking to reporters on his way to Afghanistan late Sunday, Bush said that he saw "a way forward now" to resolve the Arab-Israeli dispute.
"The big sea change in the Middle East on this issue is that by far the majority of people recognize that the only way to peace is two states," Bush said. "And in 2001, that was not the case."
He noted that in 2001, most of the Israeli political class believed that greater Israel was the only way to have security and the Palestinian Authority could not deliver peace.
"So now you've got a Palestinian President who recognizes Israel's right to exist, and a Israeli political class that says, if we want security, if we want peace, we've got to work for a Palestinian state," the president stressed. "So the framework is there."
A senior US official told reporters on condition of anonymity that the quartet meeting is an opportunity to "keep sustaining the momentum."
No tangible progress has been made on resolving the core issues of Jerusalem, the future borders of a Palestinian state and refugees since the Annapolis process was launched.
In closed-door consultations, Security Council envoys on Saturday weighed a US-Russian draft resolution to fully involve the Security Council at a crucial moment of transition in Middle East peacemaking.
And it welcomed the diplomatic quartet's consideration, in consultation with the parties, of an international meeting on the Middle East in Moscow next year.
The 15-member UN Security Council was also due to hold a closed-door meeting on Zimbabwe as Rice, Bush and other leaders step up the pressure for Mugabe to step aside.
The United States blames Mugabe for Zimbabwe's political deadlock, economic meltdown and humanitarian crisis, including a deadly cholera outbreak.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington has been talking to Zimbabwe's powerful neighbor South Africa and other Security Council members about how to "start a process that will bring an end to the tragedy that is unfolding in Zimbabwe."
Countries with leverage should use it to press for change in Zimbabwe, McCormack said.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, proposed Thursday that Zimbabwe's neighbors, particularly South Africa, close their borders with the country.
McCormack said piracy will also be a hot topic as Somali pirates hold at least 17 ships, including an arms-laden Ukrainian cargo vessel and a Saudi supertanker carrying two million barrels of crude oil.
The United States has circulated a draft resolution allowing to chase offenders even on Somali soil, diplomats said.
McCormack said Rice will also likely discuss continuing efforts to stop Iran from enriching uranium, which Washington fears will be used toward building an atomic bomb rather than peaceful nuclear energy, as Tehran claims.
Rice will probably discuss the deadly attacks last month in Mumbai when she meets British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, McCormack added. "I'm sure that she will touch on the issues related to India and Pakistan."
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: World
Rice makes 11th-hour Mideast, Zimbabwe, Somalia foray at UNAFP - 1 hour 7 minutes ago
Bush: Iraq war is not over, more work aheadAP - 1 hour 35 minutes ago
Racial gap in colon cancer deaths is wideningAP - 1 hour 57 minutes ago
Arrest made in Oregon bank bombingAP - 2 hours 22 minutes ago
Global woes pose risks, also openings for USAP - 2 hours 24 minutes ago
Enlarge Photo
As the Bush administration enters its final weeks, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, pictured last week, was due in New York Monday in a bid to keep Mideast peace talks on track and turn up the heat on Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.
Most Popular – World
Viewed
Actress Jennifer Aniston appears naked in GQ magazine
Queen Elizabeth II reins in extravagance as credit crunch grips
Fortis bank, saved from collapse, again on shaky ground
Russia crowned Miss World 2008 in African event
White House: no action on auto bailout while Bush in Iraq
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular