NEWS,22.05.2012.

Deal on probe reached with Iran: UN

Despite some remaining differences, a deal has been reached with Iran that will allow the UN nuclear agency to restart a long-stalled probe into suspicions that Tehran has secretly worked on developing nuclear arms, the UN nuclear chief said on Tuesday.

 

The news from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano, who returned from Tehran on Tuesday, comes just a day before Iran and six world powers meet in Baghdad for negotiations and could present a significant turning point in the heated dispute over Iran's nuclear intentions. The six nations hope the talks will result in an agreement by the Islamic Republic to stop enriching uranium to a higher level that could be turned quickly into the fissile core of nuclear arms.Iran denies it seeks nuclear arms and says its reactors are only for power and medical applications.By compromising on the IAEA probe, Iranian negotiators in Baghdad could argue that the onus was now on the other side to show some flexibility and temper its demands. Although Amano's trip and the talks in Baghdad are formally separate, Iran hopes progress with the IAEA can boost its chances on Wednesday in pressing the US and Europe to roll back sanctions that have hit Iran's critical oil exports and blacklisted the country from international banking networks.Differences no obstacleIt was unclear, though, how far the results achieved by Amano would serve that purpose, with him returning without the two sides signing the deal, despite his upbeat comments.After talks in Tehran between Amano and chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, "the decision was made... to reach agreement" on the mechanics of giving the IAEA access to sites, scientists and documents it seeks to restart its probe", Amano told reporters at Vienna airport after his one-day trip to Tehran.Amano said differences existed on "some details", without elaborating but added that Jalili had assured him that these "will not be an obstacle to reach agreement". He spoke of "an almost clean text" that will be signed soon, although he could not say when.Western diplomats are sceptical of Iran's willingness to open past and present activities to full perusal, believing it would only reveal what they suspect and Tehran denies - that the Islamic Republic has researched and developed components of a nuclear weapons programme. They say that Tehran's readiness to honour any agreement it has signed is the true test of its willingness to co-operateThe United States is among those sceptics. In a statement released soon after Amano's announcement, Robert A Wood, America's chief delegate to the nuclear agency, said Washington appreciated Amano's efforts but remained "concerned by the urgent obligation for Iran to take concrete steps to co-operate fully with the verification efforts of the IAEA, based on IAEA verification practices".Good intentions"We urge Iran to take this opportunity to resolve all outstanding concerns about the nature of its nuclear programme," said the statement. "Full and transparent co-operation with the IAEA is the first logical step."German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also urged Iran to put professed good intentions into action."Enduring and substantial co-operation by Iran with the International Atomic Energy Agency to clear up the open questions surrounding the Iranian nuclear programme would be an important and at the same time overdue step in the right direction," he said in a statement.
On the Baghdad talks, "the aim is to make progress not just atmospherically but also on substance," he said, reflecting Western views that the feel-good effect achieved at a previous round in Istanbul last month must now be built upon with concrete steps aimed at reducing international concerns over Tehran's nuclear agenda.For the six powers - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany - a main concern is Iran's production of uranium enriched to 20%, which is far higher than needed for regular energy-producing reactors but used for one Iran says it needs for medical research.The US and its allies fear the higher-enriched uranium could be quickly boosted to warhead-grade material.Israel against concessionsUS officials have said Washington will not backpedal from its stance that Iran must fully halt uranium enrichment. But speculation is increasing that the priorities have shifted to block the 20% enrichment and perhaps allow Iran to maintain lower-level nuclear fuel production - at least for now.Iranian officials could package such a scenario as a victory for their domestic audience. In Israel, it would likely be greeted with dismay and widen rifts between President Barack Obama's US administration and Israeli officials who keep open the threat of military action against Iran's nuclear sites.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned against concessions, saying world powers should make "clear and unequivocal demands" that Iran stop all of its nuclear enrichment activity.
"Iran wants to destroy Israel and it is developing nuclear weapons to fulfil that goal," Netanyahu said at a conference in Jerusalem. "Against this malicious intention, leading world powers need to display determination and not weakness. They should not make any concessions to Iran."Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator who met with Amano and will also be the lead envoy at the Baghdad talks, said his country hopes for a new beginning when the talks start on Wednesday."We hope that the talks in Baghdad will be a kind of dialogue that will give shape to ... co-operation," Jalili said after arriving in Baghdad late on Monday.More inspections As part of any agreement, Amano and his agency are focused on getting Iran to let agency experts to probe various high-profile Iranian sites, including the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran, where the agency believes Iran in 2003 ran explosive tests needed to set off a nuclear charge. The suspected blasts took place inside a pressure chamber.
Iran has never said whether the chamber existed, but describes Parchin as a conventional military site. Iran, however, has blocked IAEA requests for access to sites, scientists and documents needed for its investigation for more than four years.Amano's talks included Jalili as well as Iran's foreign minister and other officials including the head of Iran's nuclear agency, Fereidoun Abbasi.Iranian lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahtpisheh saids on Monday that Tehran will likely accept more inspections of Parchin "if it feels there is good will within the [IAEA]".But Falahtpisheh warned that this new openness will likely come with expectations that the West would in return ease international sanctions on Iran.Flexibility"In opening up to more inspections, Iran aims at lowering the crisis over its nuclear case," he said. "But if the sanctions continue, Iran would stop this."A political analyst in Tehran, Hamid Reza Shokouhi, said Iran is carefully watching to see if the West shows more "flexibility and pays attention to Iranian demands" during Amano's trip."Then Iran will show flexibility, too," Shokouhi said.
But some Iranian media was critical of Amano and the IAEA, possibly reflecting internal divisions on how far to go compromise on nuclear issues.In a sign of ebbing market worries, oil prices have steadily fallen since Iran and world powers resumed talks in April in Istanbul. Fears of supply disruptions because of military conflict or Iranian shipping blockades helped drive prices above $106 a barrel earlier this year. Oil rose to slightly above $92 per barrel on Monday in New York.

NEWS, 12.05.2012.

Greek president to urge unity government

Greece's president was set on Saturday to call last-ditch talks in a bid to forge an emergency unity government and avoid fresh elections, after the main parties failed to form a working coalition.Highly-indebted Greece is deeply torn over the tough austerity measures imposed as conditions for its IMF-EU bailouts, and the crisis has raised the threat it could default and leave the 17-member eurozone.Legislative elections last Sunday saw voters punish the mainstream parties and left a fractured political landscape that has raised the spectre of new elections within weeks, amid intense EU pressure over Greek finances.Socialist Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos said Friday he had failed in the latest bid to form a government, after radical leftist party Syriza refused to join a pro-austerity coalition with the socialists and conservatives.The latest twist in the tortuous political drama came as EU paymaster Germany threatened to cut off the country's loan lifeline and hinted that the crisis-ridden eurozone could get along without Greece.Venizelos was the third party leader who tried and failed to cobble together a government after the inconclusive elections."I am going to inform the president of the republic (Saturday) and I hope that during the meeting with Carolos Papoulias, each party will assume its responsibilities," Venizelos told reporters in Athens.The head of state is then expected to urge party leaders to form a government of national salvation. If the parties cannot agree a compromise by next Thursday, new elections will have to be called.Venizelos had been hoping to win the support of Syriza, a party deeply opposed to the terms of the $311bn EU-IMF bailout and which surged to second place in Sunday's vote.Earlier, another possible ally, the small Democratic Left party, said it would not join a government made up of only Pasok and the conservative New Democracy party that did not include Syriza.Earlier this week both Syriza and the New Democracy party failed in their own attempts to assemble a coalition government.German leaders warned Friday that Athens could expect no more money without reforms and also suggested that the eurozone would cope if the cash-strapped country left the 17-member currency union.

Syria refuses to submit torture report

Syria's authorities have refused to submit a report on torture in the country to a United Nations committee scheduled to discuss the situation there next week, its secretary said on Friday.The Committee Against Torture monitors the implementation of the UN's anti-torture convention by state parties and is currently meeting in Geneva."There is no assurance that a delegation [from Syria] will come but we have been informed that no report would be submitted," committee secretary Joao Nataf told AFP in an email.He added that the meeting would take place on Wednesday as scheduled.The Committee Against Torture is holding its 48th session from 7 May to 1 June when it will focus on a number of countries including Canada, Cuba and Syria.All states party to the convention are required to submit regular reports to the panel of 10 independent experts which then makes recommendations.In November last year chairperson Claudio Grossman wrote to the Syrian authorities highlighting the committee's concern over reports of the spread of torture in the country where a bloody crackdown on protesters was unleashed in March 2011.Grossman asked Damascus to provide a special report stating the measures being taken to ensure its obligations under the Convention Against Torture were being fulfilled.Since the crackdown observers estimate more than 12 000 people have died, including more than 900 since an 12 April truce went into effect.On Tuesday UN-Arab League envoy and broker of the peace plan Kofi Annan told the UN Security Council of his fears that torture, mass arrests and other human rights violations were intensifying in Syria.

NEWS,28.04.2012.

Dutch judge upholds foreigner pot ban

Long famous for "coffee shops" where joints and cappuccinos share the menu, the Netherlands' famed tolerance for drugs could be going up in smoke.A judge on Friday upheld a government plan to ban non-Dutch residents from buying marijuana by introducing a "weed pass" available only to residents.The new regulation reins in one of the country's most cherished symbols of tolerance - its laissez-faire attitude to soft drugs - and reflects the drift away from a long-held view of the Netherlands as a free-wheeling utopia.For many tourists visiting Amsterdam the image endures - and smoking a joint in a canal-side coffee shop ranks high on their to-do lists along with visiting cultural highlights like the Van Gogh Museum.The city's left-leaning Mayor Eberhard van der Laan is hoping to hammer out a compromise with the national government.Coffee shops also have not given up the fight. A week ago they mustered a few hundred patrons for a "smoke-in" in downtown Amsterdam to protest the new restrictions.A lawyer for owners, Maurice Veldman, said he would file an appeal against the ruling by a judge at The Hague District court, which clears the way for the weed pass to be introduced in southern provinces on May 1.The pass will roll out in the rest of the country - including Amsterdam - next year. It will turn coffee shops into private clubs with membership open only to Dutch residents and limited to 2 000 per shop.The most recent figures from the government's statistics bureau says the country has more than 650 coffee shops, 214 of them in Amsterdam. The number has been steadily declining as municipalities have imposed tougher regulations, such as shuttering ones close to schools.But the new membership rules are the most significant rollback in years to the traditional Dutch tolerance of marijuana use.The government argues that the move is justified as a way of cracking down on so-called "drug tourists", effectively couriers who drive over the border from neighboring Belgium and Germany to buy large amounts of marijuana and take it home to resell. They cause traffic and public order problems in towns along the Dutch border.Such issues do not exist in Amsterdam, where most tourists walk or ride bikes and buy pot purely for their own consumption.The weed pass "doesn't solve any problems we have here and it could create new problems", said city spokesperson Tahira Limon.It is not just hardcore potheads taking a toke in the city. Limon said four to five million tourists visit Amsterdam each year and around 23% say they visit a coffee shop during their stay.Amsterdam argues that the reasons coffee shops were first tolerated decades ago are still relevant today - they are well-regulated havens where people can buy soft drugs without coming into contact with dealers of hard drugs like heroin and cocaine.Coffee shops also are banned from serving alcohol and from selling drugs to people under 18.The government in The Hague said on Friday there would be no exceptions to the new rules."Amsterdam will also have to enforce this policy," said Job van de Sande, a spokespersonfor the ministry of security and justice.The conservative Dutch government introduced the new measures saying it wants to return the shops back to what they were originally intended to be: small local stores selling to local people.However the Dutch government collapsed this week and new elections are scheduled for September. It is unclear whether the new administration will keep the new measures in place.Coffee shop lawyer Veldman called Friday's court ruling a political judgment."The judge completely fails to answer the principal question: Can you discriminate against foreigners when there is no public order issue at stake?" he asked.Coffee shop owners in the southern city of Maastricht have said they plan to disregard the new measures, forcing the government to prosecute one of them in a test case.

Syria accuses UN chief of encouraging militants

 

 A Syrian government newspaper says UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon is encouraging militant attacks by focusing his criticism on the government.Saturday's editorial in the state-run Tishrin daily comes a day after Ban said Syrian President Bashar Assad's continued crackdown on protests has reached an "intolerable stage".Tishrin says Ban has avoided talks about rebel violence in favour of "outrageous" attacks on the Syrian government.The Syrian capital was hit by four explosions on Friday that left at least 11 people dead and dozens wounded.Assad's government blamed the blasts on "terrorists", the term the government uses to describe opposition forces that it says are carrying out a foreign conspiracy.

Israelis being fooled on Iran: ex-security chief

Israel's former security chief Yuval Diskin on Saturday accused top ministers of misleading the public about the chances any pre-emptive military action against Iran's nuclear facilities succeeding.Diskin singled out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak for criticism over their increasingly bellicose comments in the standoff with Iran over its nuclear programme."My major problem is that I have no faith in the current leadership, which must lead us in an event on the scale of war with Iran or a regional war," Diskin said in comments carried by army radio and the Haaretz newspaper."I don't believe in either the prime minister or the defence minister. I don't believe in a leadership that makes decisions based on messianic feelings," he said."Believe me, I have observed them from up close ... They are not people who I, on a personal level, trust to lead Israel to an event on that scale and carry it off. These are not people who I would want to have holding the wheel in such an event."They are misleading the public on the Iran issue. They tell the public that if Israel acts, Iran won't have a nuclear bomb. This is misleading. Actually, many experts say that an Israeli attack would accelerate the Iranian nuclear race."Diskin, who stepped down as head of Israel's Shin Bet domestic security service last year after six years in the post, was addressing a public meeting in Kfar Saba in the Tel Aviv suburbs.In March, former Mossad chief Meir Dagan also spoke out publicly against a military option on Iran. He told US network CBS an Israeli attack would have "devastating" consequences for Israel and would, in any case, be unlikely to put an end to the Iranian nuclear programme.On relations between Israeli Jews and other groups, Diskin said: "Over the past 10-15 years, Israel has become more and more racist. All of the studies point to this. This is racism toward Arabs and toward foreigners, and we are also becoming a more belligerent society."Diskin also said he believed another political assassination, like that of then prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 by a Jewish extremist, could occur in the future."Today there are extremist Jews, not just in the territories but also inside the Green Line - dozens of them - who, in a situation in which settlements are evacuated, would be willing to take up arms against their Jewish brothers," he said.

NEWS,27.04.2012.

EU rebukes UK over freedom of movement laws

 

 

The European Commission gave Britain an ultimatum on Thursday to respect the freedom of movement of EU citizens, threatening court action should it fail to abide by EU laws within two months."As one of the EU's larger member states, the UK is home to around two million citizens from other EU countries. It is therefore important that UK laws respect their rights," the European Union's executive arm said in a statement.Under the rules, foreign family members of an EU citizen can travel to any country in the 27-nation bloc without an entry visa when they are accompanied by the citizen and hold a residence card issued by an EU state."The UK laws do not grant this important right which lies at the heart of free movement," the commission said.Another issue raised by the commission was the treatment of Bulgarian and Romanian workers.Britain is not issuing workers from Romania and Bulgaria the same residence documents given to those from the 25 other EU states during the first 12 months of living there, the EU executive said.London has yet to apply EU rules in two other areas, including on health insurance for EU citizens and residency applications for extended family members of EU nationals.EU states can face big fines if they lose cases before the European Court of Justice.

 

 

UN chief troubled by Syria's failing ceasefire

 UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the Syrian government has not complied with its commitment to a UN-backed peace plan because it has not withdrawn heavy weapons and troops from Syrian cities and towns."The Secretary-General remains deeply troubled by the continued presence of heavy weapons, military equipment and army personnel in population centers, as reported by United Nations Military Observers," Ban's press office said in a statement.It said Ban considered this a "contravention of the Syrian Government's commitments to withdraw its troops and heavy weapons from these areas" and demanded that Damascus comply with its pledge without delay.The Syrian government and rebels traded blame for a huge explosion which killed 16 people in the city of Hama, as the two-week-old UNceasefire looks increasingly fragile.Syria blamed "terrorist" bomb-makers for Wednesday's blast.Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud also accused rebel militiamen of repeated violations of the ceasefire and said Damascus was "reserving the right to respond to any violation or attack", state news agency SANA reported.The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the cause of the explosion was unclear, but also gave a death toll of 16.The Local Coordination Committees, a grassroots opposition group, said more than 50 people had been killed by what it said was a military rocket.The blast in Hama, a centre of unrest against President Bashar-al-Assad, has added to doubts about a ceasefire brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who has said Assad failed to order his troops and tanks back to barracks as promised.But outside powers are deeply divided on how to shore up the ceasefire, which has led to only a small reduction in violence in the 13-month uprising, during which the United Nations estimates Syrian forces have killed 9000 people.

NEWS,25.04.2012.

Annan alarmed at Syria military action

 

 New York - International envoy Kofi Annan told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the situation in Syria is "bleak" and expressed alarm at reports that government troops are still carrying out military operations in towns where the UN observers are not present.He expressed particular concern at media reports that government troops entered the central city of Hama on Monday after the UN observers departed, firing automatic weapons and killing a significant number of people. Activists said more than 30 people were killed."If confirmed, this is totally unacceptable and reprehensible," he said.Annan echoed the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who called the current situation "unacceptable", and urged President al-Bashar Assad's government to immediately implement his six-point peace-plan, which would culminate with Syrian-led talks between the government and opposition aimed at reaching a peace settlement.The joint UN-Arab League envoy said the speedy deployment of the 300-strong UN observer force authorised by the council on Saturday is "crucial" to verify what is happening on the ground and potentially "change the political dynamics". The observer force also would provide the international community with "incontrovertible" information to increase pressure for a cease-fire by the government and opposition, he said.Annan briefed the Security Council by videoconference hours after his spokesperson, Ahmad Fawzi, told the UN Television in Geneva that satellite imagery and other credible reports show that, despite its claims, Syria has failed to withdraw all of its heavy weapons from populated areas as required by the cease-fire deal it accepted. Fawzi also cited credible reports that "people who approach the observers may be approached by security forces or Syrian army and harassed or arrested or even worse, perhaps killed".Annan did not mention either the satellite photos or the harassment and possible killing of people who talked to the observers in the text of his closed briefing, which was obtained by The Associated Press, but he stressed that "the government cannot cease action in one area to resume it in another".He told the council the Syrian foreign minister had informed him in a letter on 21 April of the withdrawal of troops and heavy equipment from populated areas and the handover of responsibility to police for maintaining law and order. He said he replied that this means troops should be back in barracks and weapons placed in storage "rather than operationally deployed," and that civilians should not be endangered by police actions.Annan said the minister's letter is "encouraging" and would make "a real difference ... if it is scrupulously applied". But he added pointedly, "It should be understood that the only promises that count are the promises that are kept."US Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters after the briefing that "several council members expressed their skepticism on the Syrian government's intentions and the veracity of statements contained in the Syrian foreign minister's letter".Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, whose country is Syria's most important ally, noted that some council members said "they have information" that Syria has not withdrawn its troops and heavy weapons."If this is the case, if the promise in the letter has not really been carried out, that would mean it is a breach of the promise they have made on Saturday," Churkin told reporters. "I'm certainly going to bring it to the attention of Moscow that there is an issue that needs to be looked at."US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters in Washington that "the responsibility rests with Assad and with his supporters and his military to demonstrate a commitment to the Annan plan by silencing the guns"."Unfortunately, the Assad regime has broken its commitments time and again," she said. "So even as we work to help deploy the monitors, we are preparing additional steps in case the violence continues or the monitors are prevented from doing their work."Annan said that in addition to the reported military attacks, Syria's implementation of the other points in his peace plan — including unrestricted access for journalists and humanitarian workers and allowing peaceful demonstrations — "remains partial".Annan welcomed the council's initial authorisation of a 30-member advance team of the UN observers, and its approval of a 300-strong UN observer team, stressing the importance of getting "eyes and ears on the ground" with the ability to move freely and swiftly.Rice said the UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the council that 11 observers are currently in Syria including two in Homs and two in Hama. He predicted 30 observers will be on the ground by April 30 and 100 observers within a month, she said.Ladsous reported that the Syrian government refused at least one observer based on his nationality and stated that it will not accept any observers or civilians for the mission from countries that are members of the Friends of Democratic Syria, Rice said. The group includes more than 70 countries including the US, many European countries and a number of Mideast nations."He underscored that from the UN's point of view, this is entirely unacceptable," Rice said.Annan said available reports suggest the level of violence has decreased since 12 April  with the exception of the spike on Monday.He said the reported events in Hama on Monday "are a reminder of the risks that Syrians face if our effort to create a sustained cessation of violence does not succeed"."But we have also seen events change — at least temporarily — in Homs, where violence has dropped significantly in response to the presence of a very small number of observers," Annan said.

NEWS,24.04.2012.

North Korea's nuclear test ready 'soon'

North Korea has almost completed preparations for a third nuclear test, a senior source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said, which will draw further international condemnation following a failed rocket launch if it goes ahead.The isolated and impoverished state sacrificed the chance of closer ties with the United States when it launched the long-range rocket on 13 April and was censured by the UN Security Council, including the North's sole major ally, China.Critics say the rocket launch was aimed at honing the North's ability to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States, a move that would dramatically increase its military and diplomatic heft.
Now the North appears to be about to carry out a third nuclear test after two in 2006 and 2009."Soon. Preparations are almost complete," the source said when asked whether North Korea was planning to conduct a nuclear test.This is the first time a senior official has confirmed the planned test and the source has correctly predicted events in the past, telling Reuters about the 2006 test days before it happened.
The rocket launch and nuclear test come as Kim Jong-Un, the third of his line to rule North Korea, seeks to cement his grip on power.Kim took office in December and has lauded the country's military might, reaffirming his father's "military first" policies that have stunted economic development and appearing to dash slim hopes of an opening to the outside world.Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, which have most to fear from any North Korean nuclear threat, are watching events anxiously and many observers say that Pyongyang may have the capacity to conduct a test using highly enriched uranium for the first time.Defence experts say that by successfully enriching uranium, to make bombs of the type dropped on Hiroshima nearly 70 years ago, the North would be able to significantly build up stocks of weapons-grade nuclear material.It would also allow it more easily to manufacture a nuclear warhead to mount on a long-range missile.The source did not specify whether the test would be a third test using plutonium, of which it has limited stocks, or whether Pyongyang would use uranium.
South Korean defence sources have been quoted in domestic media as saying a launch could come within two weeks and one North Korea analyst has suggested that it could come as early as the North's "Army Day" on Wednesday.Other observers say that any date is pure speculation.The rocket launch and the planned nuclear test have exposed the limits of China's hold over Pyongyang. Beijing is the North's sole major ally and props up the state with investment and fuel."China is like a chameleon toward North Korea," said Kim Young-Soo, professor of political science at Sogang University in Seoul. "It says it objects to North Korea's provocative acts, but it does not participate in punishing the North."Reports have suggested that a Chinese company may have supplied a rocket launcher shown off at a military parade to mark this month's centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the state's founder, something that may be in breach of UN sanctions.China has denied breaching sanctions.
The source said there was debate in North Korea's top leadership over whether to go ahead with the launch in the face of US warnings and the possibility of further UN sanctions, but that hawks in the Korean People's Army had won the debate.The source dismissed speculation that the failed launch had dealt a blow to Kim Jong-Un, believed to be in his late 20s, who came to power after his father Kim Jong-Il died following a 17-year rule that saw Nort.Korea experience a famine in the 1990s."Kim Jong-Un was named first secretary of the [ruling] Workers' Party and head of the National Defence Commission," the source said, adding that the titles further consolidated his grip on power.North Korean media has recently upped its criticism of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who cut off aid to Pyongyang when he took power in 2008, calling him a "rat" and a "bastard" and threatening to turn the South Korean capital to ashes.Pyongyang desperately wants recognition from the United States, the guarantor of the South's security. It claims sovereignty over the entire Korean peninsula, as does South Korea."North Korea may consider abandoning [the test] if the United States agrees to a peace treaty," the source said, reiterating a long-standing demand by Pyongyang for recognition by Washington and a treaty to end the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended in a truce.

NEWS,19.04.2012.

India tests missile capable of reaching China

India test-fired a long range missile capable of reaching deep into China and Europe, thrusting the emerging Asian power into an elite club of nations with intercontinental nuclear weapons capabilities.A scientist at the launch site said the launch was successful, minutes after television images showed the rocket with a range of more than 5,000 km blasting through clouds from an island off India's east coast."It has met all the mission objectives," S.P.Dash, director of the test range. "It hit the target with very good accuracy."The Indian-made Agni V is the crowning achievement of a now-mothballed missile programme developed primarily with a possible threat from neighbouring China in mind.Only the UN Security Council permanent members - China, France, Russia the United States and Britain - along with Israel, are believed to have such long-range weapons.Fast emerging as a world economic power, India is keen to play a larger role on the global stage and has long angled for a permanent seat on the Security Council. In recent years it has emerged as the world's top arms importer as it rushes to upgrade equipment for a large but outdated military."It is one of the ways of signalling India's arrival on the global stage, that India deserves to be sitting at the high table," said Harsh Pant, a defence expert at King's College, London, describing the launch as a "confidence boost".The launch, which was flagged well in advance, has attracted none of the criticism from the West faced by hermit state North Korea for a failed bid to send up a similar rocket last week.But China noted the launch with disapproval."The West chooses to overlook India's disregard of nuclear and missile control treaties," China's Global Times newspaper said in an editorial published before the launch, which was delayed by a day because of bad weather."India should not overestimate its strength," said the paper, which is owned by the Chinese Communist Party's main mouthpiece the People's Daily.India has not signed the non-proliferation treaty for nuclear nations, but enjoys a de facto legitimacy for its arsenal, boosted by a landmark 2008 deal with the United States.On Wednesday, NATO said it did not consider India a threat. The US State Department said India's non-proliferation record was "solid," while urging restraint.India says its nuclear weapons programme is for deterrence only.It is close to completing a nuclear submarine that will increase its ability to launch a counter strike if it were attacked.India lost a brief Himalayan border war with its larger neighbour, China, in 1962 and has ever since strived to improve its defences. In recent years the government has fretted over China's enhanced military presence near the border.

Thursday's launch may prompt a renewed push from within India's defence establishment to build a fully fledged intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) programme capable of reaching the Americas, though some of India's allies may bridle at such an ambition."Policy-wise it becomes more complicated from now on, until Agni V, India really has been able to make a case about its strategic objectives, but as it moves into the ICBM frontier there'll be more questions asked," said Pant.The Agni V is the most advanced version of the indigenously built Agni, or Fire, series, part of a programme that started in the 1960s. Earlier versions could reach old rival Pakistan and Western China."India can now deter China, it can impose maximum possible punishment if China crosses the red line," Srikanth Kondapalli, professor in Chinese studies at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University told Reuters.The rocket is powered by easier-to-use solid rocket propellants and can be transported by road.

Too early to tell on Kim Jong-Un: Clinton

Washington - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered some hope on Wednesday that North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong-Un, may yet change course despite the reclusive Communist state's recent rocket launch and the threat of a new nuclear test.Clinton said it was too early to tell what to make of the surprise remarks to soldiers on Sunday by the youngest son of the late Kim Jong-Il, who saw North Korea fall into deep poverty and developed a nuclear weapons programme during his 17-year rule.Without elaborating, Clinton said Jong-Un's speech was analysed as "some of the old - same old stuff" and "some possible new approach"."We really are waiting and watching to see whether he can be the kind of leader that the North Korean people need."If he just follows in the footsteps of his father, we don't expect much other than the kind of provocative behaviour and the deep failure of the political and economic elite to take care of their own people," Clinton said."But he is someone who has lived outside of North Korea, apparently, from what we know. We believe that he may have some hope that the conditions in North Korea can change. But again we're going to watch and wait," she said. Jong-Un is in his late 20s.North Korea said on Wednesday it was ready to retaliate in the face of international condemnation of last week's failed rocket launch, increasing the likelihood it will push ahead with a third nuclear test.The United States and others said the launch was a test for a long range missile, while North Korea has insisted it was meant to put a satellite into orbit.

NEWS,16.04.2012.

UN tightens North Korea sanctions

The UN Security Council on Monday tightened sanctions against North Korea over its failed rocket launch and warned of new "action" if the isolated state stages a new nuclear test.The 15-member council - including permanent member China - unanimously agreed a statement strongly condemning the launch on Friday which it said had caused "grave security concerns" in Asia.The council ordered new "entities and items" to be added to the sanctions committee list created after North Korea staged nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.It also ordered the sanctions committee to revise the individuals and North Korean firms and entities subject to the international measures.The council said the launch of the rocket, which disintegrated over the Yellow Sea shortly after it was sent up, was a "serious violation" of UN resolutions 1718 and 1874.North Korea said its rocket launch was a weather satellite, but the United States and its allies said it was an attempt to test a missile launcher.The council demanded that North Korea hold back from any launches "using ballistic missile technology," suspend "all activities related to its ballistic missile programme" and keep to its promised "moratorium on missile launches"."The Security Council expresses its determination to take action accordingly in the event of a further DPRK launch or nuclear test."

Iran nuclear dispute 'can be solved'

A semi-official Iranian news agency is quoting the country's foreign minister as saying that Tehran is ready to resolve all of its nuclear disputes in talks with world powers scheduled for late May in Baghdad.Isna on Monday quoted Ali Akbar Salehi as saying that Tehran is "ready to solve all issues very quick and easily" if there is goodwill.Tehran appears to be signalling flexibility after Saturday talks in Istanbul with world powers that both sides hailed as positive. They agreed to a new round of negotiations in the Iraqi capital.Salehi urged the West to lift sanctions imposed on Tehran after it refused to stop controversial nuclear activities that the US and its allies say are aimed at developing weapons technology. Iran denies the charges.

Karzai blames Nato for attacks

Afghan President Hamid Karzai Monday blamed intelligence failures, particularly on the part of Nato forces supporting his government, for the worst coordinated insurgent attacks in 10 years of war.Karzai's accusation came after an unprecedented 18-hour assault by squads of Taliban militants, some disguised as women in burqas, on government offices, embassies and foreign bases in Kabul and neighbouring provinces."The terrorists' infiltration in Kabul and other provinces is an intelligence failure for us and especially for Nato and should be seriously investigated," Karzai said in a statement.Explosions and gunfire rocked the Afghan capital on Sunday and overnight before Afghan forces regained control, heightening fears for the future of the vulnerable nation as Nato prepares to withdraw its 130 000 troops.The Western alliance, which is committed to pulling out by the end of 2014 whatever happens militarily, put a positive spin on the attacks, hailing the performance of Afghan security forces.Karzai also praised the rapid response by Afghan security forces, saying it "proved to the people that they can defend their country successfully".But his laying of the major share of the blame on troops whose home countries are already tired of the long war and its enormous cost, is unlikely to go down well with his allies.The attacks in Kabul and neighbouring provinces killed 11 members of the security forces and four civilians and wounded 32 civilians and around 42 security personnel, Karzai said.Thirty-six insurgents were also killed, the interior ministry said."That they did manage to pull off simultaneous complex attacks shows quite a level of sophistication in preventing detection... so that would be a failure in intelligence," said Martine van Bijlert of the Afghanistan Analysts' Network."But having said that, in a big bustling city like Kabul it is incredibly difficult to stop this type of attack."Afghan security forces took the lead in countering the insurgents, who were finally routed early on Monday, but a spokesperson for Nato forces said they had provided air support in response to requests from the Afghans."I am enormously proud of how quickly Afghan security forces responded to [the] attacks in Kabul," said General John Allen, commander of Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).US Ambassador Ryan Crocker said the ability of Afghan forces to respond to the attacks was a "clear sign of progress", while ISAF labelled the attacks "largely ineffective".However, the fact that so many militants managed to make it through Kabul's so-called "Ring of Steel" checkpoints and attack high-value targets was a propaganda coup for the Taliban.A Western diplomat with security expertise told AFP: "I don't share at all the optimism of Nato or the Americans."It's true that they did it better than in the past - there is progress but still, to build up so many attacks and being able to launch them simultaneously demonstrates clearly [the Taliban's] ability to strike where and when they want," he said on condition of anonymity.Nato insisted that the attacks would not influence its plans to withdraw."Clearly we still face security challenges," Nato spokesperson Oana Lungescu told a news briefing in Brussels. "But such attacks don't change the transition strategy, they don't change the goal and they don't change the time line that we all agreed to at the Lisbon summit in November 2010," she said.The US, British, German and Japanese embassy compounds came under fire as militants attacked the city's diplomatic enclave and tried to storm parliament, sparking a gun battle as lawmakers and bodyguards fired back from the rooftop.Outside the capital, militants attacked government buildings in Logar province, the airport in Jalalabad, and a police facility in the town of Gardez in Paktya province.The attacks marked the biggest assault on the capital in 10 years of war in terms of their spread and coordination, observers say.In September last year Taliban attacks targeting locations including the US embassy and headquarters of foreign troops in Kabul killed at least 14 during a 19-hour siege.And in August, nine people were killed when suicide bombers attacked the British Council cultural centre.

NEWS,15.04.2012.

Kim Jong Un's makes first public speech

 

Pyongyang - North Korea's new leader addressed his nation and the world for the first time on Sunday, vowing to place top priority on his impoverished nation's military, which promptly unveiled a new long-range missile.The speech was the culmination of two weeks of celebrations marking the centenary of the birth of his grandfather, national founder Kim Il Sung - festivities that were marred by a failed launch on Friday of a rocket that generated international condemnation and cost North Korea a food aid-for-nuclear-freeze deal with Washington.Kim Jong Un's speech took North Koreans gathered at Kim Il Sung Square and around televisions across the country by surprise. His father, late leader Kim Jong Il, addressed the public only once in his lifetime.Appearing calm and measured as he read the 20-minute speech, Kim Jong Un covered a wide range of topics, from foreign policy to the economy. His speech, and a military parade that followed, capped the carefully choreographed festivities commemorating Kim Il Sung's birthday.It was the best look yet the outside world has had of the young Kim, who is believed to be in his late 20s.Punctuating Kim's message that the North will continue to pour funds into its military, the parade culminated with the unveiling of a new long-range missile, though it's not clear how powerful or significant the addition to the North Korean arsenal it is. Some analysts suggested it might have been a dummy designed to dupe outside observers.Although the rocket launch on Friday was a huge, costly embarrassment for the new leadership, Kim's address was seen by analysts as an expression of confidence by the young leader and meant to show that he is firmly in control."Superiority in military technology is no longer monopolised by imperialists, and the era of enemies using atomic bombs to threaten and blackmail us is forever over," Kim said.His message suggested no significant changes in national policy - the "Military First" strategy has long been at the centre of North Korea's decision-making process.But there was strong symbolism in the images of the new leader addressing the country on state TV and then watching - and often laughing and gesturing in relaxed conversation with senior officials - as the cream of his nation's 1.2 million-strong military marched by.Outside analysts have raised worries about how Kim, who has been seen but not publicly heard since taking over after his father's December death, would govern a country that has a nuclear weapons programme and has previously threatened Seoul and Washington with war.At the celebration of Kim Il Sung, he appeared to clear his first hurdle.The speech was a good "first impression for his people and for the world," said Hajime Izumi, a North Korea expert at Japan's Shizuoka University. "He demonstrated that he can speak in public fairly well, and at this stage that in itself - more than what he actually said - is important. I think we might be seeing him speak in public more often, and show a different style than his father."Kim said he will strengthen North Korea's defences by placing the country's "first, second and third" priorities on military might. But he said he is open to working with foreign countries that do not have hostile policies toward his nation, and said he would strive to reunify Korea.He also stressed the importance of national unity, calling his country "Kim Il Sung's Korea" rather than North Korea."That suggests to me that they want to let the country, and the world, know that this is a 'new' country," said Han S Park, a University of Georgia professor who works frequently with top US and North Korean officials, after watching the events in Pyongyang.Despite his youth, Kim has been groomed since his teens to step into this role, Park said, citing conversations with North Koreans with knowledge of the leader's personal history.Cha Myong Hui, a journalist with the government-run Minju Joson newspaper, said she was struck by how much he resembles his father and grandfather."I can tell you every person in my country cried when they heard his voice," she said.The young leader said he will aggressively pursue economic growth to improve people's daily lives. North Korea has suffered decades of economic hardship following a famine in the mid-1990s and the loss of aid from the Soviet Union. Kim Jong Un's formal three-year succession has coincided with a push to improve the economy by employing modern technology.Kim made no direct mention of the rocket failure. But North Korea's state media made an extraordinary announcement hours after the launch, saying that the attempt to send a satellite into space had flopped. It still claims past launches succeeded, which international experts deny.Concerns remain high that North Korea may now feel itself under pressure to make up for the botched rocket launch with a nuclear test - as it did in 2006 and 2009.The finale in Sunday's military parade added to the worries over North Korea's military. But analysts in Japan and South Korea said further examination is needed to determine whether it's a new intercontinental ballistic missile that North Korea reportedly has been building.Narushige Michishita, a North Korea military expert at Japan's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, said the missile appeared to be new, but strongly resembled the rocket used on Friday and also the long-range Taepodong-2, which North Korea first launched, unsuccessfully, in 2006.He said it probably has three stages but did not appear to be big enough to have the 15 000km range needed to effectively attack the United States, which would be the goal of an ICBM for the North."I don't think this is a serious ICBM," Michishita said. "Putting it on display has a psychological impact, and that would have been greater if Friday's launch had worked. But North Korea has a very bad record with long-range missiles. It think this is more a propaganda ploy than a military advance."

Ex-dictator admits 'disappearances'

 

Buenos Aires - Former Argentine dictator Jorge Videla admitted for the first time in a new book that "7 000 or 8 000 people" disappeared under his regime between 1976 and 1981.Caferino Reato, author of the book called Final Disposition, says Videla admitted the disappearances during 20 hours of interviews in the federal military prison where he is held."Let's say there were 7 000 or 8 000 people who had to die to win the war against subversion," the book quotes Videla as saying.Sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity, the former dictator, 86, also admitted he decided on "the disappearance of the bodies to avoid provoking protests inside and outside the country," according to the book by Reato, who is a journalist and political scientist."Each disappearance must certainly be understood as a way to hide, to conceal a death," Videla is quoted as saying in excerpts published on the website of publisher Random House Mondadori.Videla was the first president of the last Argentine dictatorship, which ran from 1976 to 1983.He said insurgents compelled him to take action that ended in their disappearances and deaths."There was no other alternative," Videla said. Military leaders "were in agreement that it was the price that must be paid to win the war against subversion and we needed that it not be obvious so society would not realise it. It was necessary to eliminate a large group of people who could not be brought to justice nor shot either," he said.The author drew the name of the book, Final Disposition, from a comment made by Videla."Final Disposition" was the phrase used. They are two very military words and they mean to take something out of service that is useless. When, for example, you're talking about a piece of clothing that you no longer use or is no good because it's worn out, it goes to final disposition."The former general said that two months before the 24 March 24 1976 coup, military leaders began drawing up lists of people they thought should be arrested immediately after the overthrow of Isabel Peron, who was president from 1974 to 1976."There are no lists with the fate of the disappeared," Videla said. "There might be partial lists, but they're messy."He added that "from a strictly military point of view, we did not need the coup. It was a mistake."Humanitarian organisations estimate that about 30 000 people disappeared during the dictatorship, most of them in about 600 clandestine detention centres.The Argentine government continues to prosecute some of the accused human rights violators of the military dictatorship. There were 84 new convictions in 2011 and 843 more trials are pending.

NEWS,13.04.2012.

Russia rebukes North Korea for rocket launch

 

Russia has criticised North Korea for its rocket launch, saying that Pyongyang had defied the UN Security Council and that neighbouring powers all opposed it. Russia had urged Pyongyang not to conduct the launch, warning it would violate a UN Security Council resolution regardless of its purpose and complicate efforts to revive six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear programme."UN resolutions contain concrete calls not to conduct such launches, and this is the shared approach of ... Russia, China, the United States, South Korea and Japan," the Interfax news agency quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying."These five (nations) are united in their position," said Lavrov, who was meeting the Chinese and Indian foreign ministers in Moscow today.Lavrov, whose country is a Group of Eight member along with six Western states and Japan, joined G8 foreign ministers in a statement condemning the launch and saying they were ready to consider measures in response.China's initial reaction sounded less critical, calling for calm and restraint from all sides.North Korea admitted its much hyped long-range rocket failed to deliver a satellite into orbit today while US and South Korean officials said it crashed into the sea a few minutes after launch.Regional powers have said that what North Korea has described as the launch of a weather satellite, months after Kim Jong-un succeeded his father as the leader of the reclusive state, is a disguised test of a long-range ballistic missile."UN Security Council Resolution No. 1874 demands that the DPRK (North Korea) refrain from any launches using ballistic rockets. This applies to both military and civilian launches," Interfax quoted an unnamed Russian diplomat as saying.Russia, which shares a short border with North Korea - Moscow's client in the Soviet era - called on Pyongyang last month to refrain from the launch, expressing serious concern and calling for restraint from all sides.Russia has often balanced criticism of North Korea's nuclear activities and its missile launches with calls on other major powers to refrain from belligerent actions against Pyongyang, which it says can be counterproductive.A permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia is displeased when nations defy council resolutions, and North Korean missile tests have sparked concern among Russians living on the country's Pacific coast in the past.The UN Security Council was to meet today to discuss a possible condemnation of the launch, but Western diplomats said China was not expected to support new sanctions.Russia has been a participant in six-party talks with Pyongyang last held three years ago and hosted the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il last August in Siberia, but has less influence on Pyongyang than China.McCully said the launch had violated the UN Security Council Regulations and had undermined efforts to build peace and stability in the region."It is a major disappointment following their recent agreement with the United States to put a moratorium on long-range missile launches," he said.  "The New Zealand government strongly urges North Korea to abide by its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions, cease its provocations, and take steps to denuclearise." 

Cancer hasn't dimmed Hugo Chavez's electoral hopes

With less than six months left until Election Day, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has hardly hit the campaign trail. Instead, he has been consumed with his fight against cancer, repeatedly traveling to Cuba for treatment and publicly vowing to defeat his illness. While cancer would end the presidential ambitions of many politicians, Chavez's struggle against the disease has in fact become his main rallying cry. Cancer could serve as a political asset if his health holds through the October vote, and that's the big "if" hanging over Venezuelan politics. Last week, Chavez offered his starkest outlook yet as he wept while holding hands with his parents at a Mass and then pleaded to Jesus Christ to give him more life. "Give me your crown, Christ," Chavez said in live footage broadcast nationwide. "Give me your cross, 100 crosses. I'll carry it, but give me life because there are still things left for me to do for these people and for this homeland. Don't take me away yet." Chavez said later that he has faith in a "miracle" as he undergoes radiation therapy in Cuba following two surgeries that removed tumors from his pelvic area. So far, what appears to be a serious life-or-death crisis hasn't dented his political support. To the contrary, one recent poll showed Chavez with a lead of 14 percentage points over rival Gov. Henrique Capriles. The poll by the firm Datanalisis had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points. Chavez has managed to hold on to support even while his main image has been that of an ailing president climbing or descending airplane stairs on his frequent flights to and from Cuba for treatment. On top of that, many Venezuelans are supporting him despite 25-percent inflation and one of the worst homicide rates in the world. Information Minister Andres Izarra, one of Chavez's key aides, said on Monday that the president won't be out campaigning door-to-door like his rival because "he doesn't need to." Izarra also said Chavez's spirits are being lifted by his supporters. "That love of the people, it's arisen like a balsam, like part of his medicine, like part of his treatment to completely recover," Izarra said during a televised speech. On Friday, Chavez is expected to rally his supporters on the 10th anniversary of his return to power after a short-lived 2002 coup, and he has drawn a parallel between his cancer fight and his survival during that coup, when he was restored to the presidency amid large pro-Chavez street protests. "At that time, the love of the people rescued Chavez from the edge of death," Izarra said. "This time the love of the people is also rescuing Chavez from a particular health situation, in which if it weren't for that love, I'm sure his ailments would perhaps be greater." Eduardo Gamarra, a Latin American studies professor at Florida International University in Miami, said compassion elicited by Chavez's illness "has naturally played to his advantage in the electoral process." "Not only President Chavez but certainly his supporters and certainly the people handling his political campaign are taking full advantage of it. And I think it would be crazy for them not to do so," Gamarra said. Chavez's illness also presents a challenge for the opposition, Gamarra said, because it might appear "cold and callous" to attack a seriously ill leader. For both sides in Venezuela's divided political landscape, Chavez's illness has the potential to be a game-changer. The subject of what would happen if Chavez were to die is taboo among his political allies, as leaders of his United Socialist Party of Venezuela insist that Chavez will be their candidate and that there is no backup plan. In the meantime, Chavez is adeptly using the uncertainty to once again cast himself as the protagonist in a larger narrative, at times evoking his own tragic hero, 19th century independence leader Simon Bolivar, who survived an assassination attempt and then resigned the presidency amid failing health. Bolivar was 47 when he died, and historians have generally cited tuberculosis as the cause. At a televised meeting this week, Chavez, 57, said the independence leader had been "left without people, left without soldiers." "What a painful end," Chavez said. In speeches and rallies, Chavez has regularly shouted the slogan: "We will live and we will win!" It appears to be both his personal mantra and his political bet. The odds of that bet remain unclear. Since he announced his diagnosis last June, Chavez has kept secret specifics about his illness such as the type of cancer and the precise location of the tumors that have been removed. Some medical experts say based on Chavez's accounts, it's very possible his cancer could come back yet again. "The tumor is recurrent, and to us that indicates that his chances for a cure are minimal because in cancer care, the best treatment is the first treatment," said Dr. Julian Molina, an oncologist at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center in Rochester, Minnesota. He noted that Chavez underwent surgery for a second tumor in February, indicating that his chemotherapy was ineffective. Other medical experts say that depending on the type and grade of Chavez's cancer, the outlook might not be so grim. Given Chavez's treatment regimen, he could have a soft-tissue sarcoma, said Dr. Steve Hahn, professor of radiation oncology at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. "It's not necessarily pessimistic," Hahn said. "If he had a low-grade sarcoma, then he really has very little chance of it spreading elsewhere and the radiation, if it prevents it from coming back in the pelvis ... that should pretty much hopefully be the end of the story for him, end of the story meaning control of his disease." Chavez's face has at times appeared puffy during his cancer treatments, and in September he acknowledged taking steroids along with other medications. Doctors say steroids can be prescribed as an anti-nausea medication to cope with the effects of chemotherapy and can help increase appetite and energy levels. Molina noted that excessive steroids use can spur side effects such as fluid retention, mood swings and increased blood pressure. "It's always possible that they gave him a short course of steroids, he felt good, and then he requested that, you know, keep on this. It's very hard when you're a president and you have the powers to say 'this is what I want to do,'" Molina said. The dearth of hard information about Chavez's illness, as well as the fluctuations in his tone and appearance, have fueled speculation and rumors about Chavez's health in the Venezuelan media and on the street. Chavez, for one, has urged political allies not to waste time responding to the gossip. Chavez communicated with the nation on Wednesday through several messages on his Twitter account while finishing his latest round of radiation treatment in Cuba. "I'm putting on my combat boots!" one of the messages read. "Wait for me!!" That night, Chavez made yet another homecoming at Caracas' airport, smiling as he descended the airplane stairs next to one of his daughters and saying he was doing well. He appeared vigorous as he chatted with aides at the presidential palace and reminisced about the 2002 coup during a televised talk that ended nearly an hour after midnight. Chavez's legions of supporters have shown intense loyalty to their hero, regularly gathering at government-organized events to pray for his health. On a downtown Caracas avenue, lampposts have been festooned with banners showing a healthy Chavez smiling and wearing the red beret of his years as an army paratrooper, along with the slogan: "Onward Commandant!" At one recent pro-Chavez rally outside the presidential palace, Magalys Martinez said she's optimistic Chavez can overcome his illness. "He very much wants to live," said Martinez, herself a cancer patient. "For this illness, what he needs to have is ambition to live." Another supporter at the rally, 63-year-old Bernarda Mena de Palacios, said she's thankful to Chavez for a government-run education program that helped her earn her high school diploma. "We're praying for the president," she said. "I have faith he's going to come out victorious. We can't lose a president like him."