Extracts. President Jiang's DPRK Visit Expected in Early September: Report Chinese President Jiang Zemin plans to visit North Korea next month, reciprocating two recent unofficial trips to China by DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, according to a report by chinadaily.com.cn. Jiang would possibly fly to Pyongyang to meet the Kim in early September but it was not clear how long he would stay, the report said. The visit was designed to strengthen cooperation between the two countries ahead of a summit between Jiang and US President George W. Bush in October, analysts said. China's Foreign Ministry said Jiang had accepted an invitation to visit North Korea but details were still being worked out. Kim's Russian tour and Jiang's trip to Pyongyang are seen in South Korea as signs that the DPRK leader is shoring up relations with Moscow and Beijing to prepare for a promised visit to Seoul. Kim's landmark visit to China in May 2000 paved the way for his historic summit with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in Pyongyang the next month. **** China Reiterates Call for Restraint by Israel China reiterated its call Wednesday for "restraint of the ultimate limit from both Israel and Palestine, and especially Israel," and an immediate halt to the armed violence against civilians. As these efforts are imperative for preventing further deterioration of the Middle East situation, the two sides should take effective measures for the resumption of negotiations, said Zhu Bangzao, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman. Zhu made the remarks when responding to a question on the United Nations Security Council meeting discussing the Middle East conflicts on August 20 and 21. China regrets the failure of the meeting to make any positive progress so far, Zhu said. China has been consistent in supporting the UN Security Council 's active role in helping appeasing the armed conflicts between Israel and Palestine and maintaining regional peace and security in the Middle East, he said. China supports the dispatching of international peace observers to the areas of Israel-Palestine conflicts and urges both sides to cooperate with the mediation efforts of the international community for a cease-fire as soon as possible, Zhu said. The cease-fire "is not only the wish of the UN members, but also the common interest of both related sides," he said. Peace negotiation is the only correct available option to achieve a solution for the dispute, and a de facto cease-fire is the precondition for easing the tension in the Middle East. **** US Debt to UN Reaches Record High The debt owed by the United States to the United Nations has reached a record high of 2.33 billion U.S. dollars as of July 31, a UN spokesman said Tuesday. Spokesman Fred Eckhard told a briefing that "the United States, the biggest debtor, now owes more than 2.33 billion dollars, including more than 462 million for the regular budget and more than 1.8 billion for peacekeeping debt." Member states owe the United Nations a total of 4.295 billion dollars in unpaid contributions, four-fifths of it to the peacekeeping account, according to the spokesman. Last week, the U.N. said its cash flow was "extremely precarious," and it would be forced to cross-borrow from the peacekeeping account to pay staff salaries this month. Leaders of the Republican Party in the U.S. congress have threatened to hold up payment of 582 million dollars in arrears, which they agreed in last December to deliver to the U.N. by the end of this year, seeking to attach the funds to a bill that bars American cooperation with a new International Criminal Court. The 189-member U.N. General Assembly agreed last December to cut the U.S. share of the annual U.N. administrative budget to 22 percent from 25 percent and its share of the peacekeeping budget to 25 percent from 31 percent in several years. In return, Washington, under a deal arranged by former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Richard Holbrooke, was to keep up its payments and release the 582 million dollars in arrears. **** Grand Gala, Hope of World Future -- Congratulations on the Opening of 2001 Beijing Universiade August Beijing is steeped in a jolly atmosphere of world youths and singing of the gala song of friendship. Cheers over the success of Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games are still echoing in the hearts of hundreds of millions of Chinese people. The 2001 Beijing Universiade, long awaited as it is to be staged, is going to add a new beautiful exhilarating sight to Beijing amidst the ardent expectations of the world people. To crown the 40 years' history of the World University Games will be a new step of advance marking the ongoing 2001 Beijing Universiade as is expected. This is the first time Beijing hosts the 21st University Games, now as a world metropolis with a history of more than 3,000 years. World Youths descending on this old city, taking part in the world gala staged first time in the new century, the 2001 Beijing Universiade is bound to be of outstanding significance shining over the history of Beijing as well as that of world University Games. The World University Games has been known for its fame next to world Olympic Games. When contrasting world Olympics, though known for its participants as young university students and their differences in number and event scores not matching up those of world Olympians, yet it enjoys all the same worldwide attendance. Following the spirit of "achieving new heights and new records", it has the same competitive events launched and the same goals of "unity, friendship and progress" aspired to. As youths, full of vitality and vigor, they by themselves are the hope and world future. Over the past 40 years, numerous top brass sports stars have made themselves known worldwide with flying colors won through Universiade contests. Under the bright sunrays of early autumn of Beijing, student athletes from various parts of the world, including those seasoned and unknown as they are seen now in Beijing, have all fully pulled themselves together and are ready to chalk up the best records of theirs. We extend our happy greetings to the 2001 Beijing Universiade and hope that it is to be staged as a colorful gala and to have great successes won in the coming days of contests in Beijing. By now, Beijing is by itself a grand stage and arena for the 21st University Games on which it is to be staged. Back in July, Beijing had just taken over the relay baton with all its might and committed itself to holding a new perfect Olympic Games as the best in world Olympic Games history. This month, August will see Beijing going to turn in its own test paper by its top-class sports facilities, first-rate environment and first-rate service focusing the attention of the world people. Since founding of the Universiade Organization Committee April 1999, fully backed by the whole Chinese people, Beijing has had all possible preparations made. Following a well-thought plan and a mass mobilization drive launched in support, Beijing has seen to it that a garden-like universiade village has been built and opened to over 7000 guests from abroad. Available already are 52 new and renovated venues along with its news center and substations having been put into operation. Things have all been in an orderly fashion for all events to be staged without doubt. Volunteers with their voluntary and enthusiastic service going to build up a "rainbow" of friendship to serve friends from the five continents of the world have formed a force of over 50,000 in anticipation of the moment to unveil the 2001 Beijing Universiade! Beijing has got everything ready and all preparations have been made! People have made their mind to put into practice with the fullest enthusiasm Beijing's commitments and Universide officials' hopes. 2001 Beijing Universiade will be staged in a most successful way and as one representing the great enthusiasm and hospitality of the Chinese people and students to hail the holding of the world Olympics in 2008 in Beijing. 2001 Beijing Universiade is a grand international gala and sports meet. It offers not only a rare opportunity for Chinese youths to promote friendship and exchanges with their counterparts from all over the world but also a fine chance for foreign friends to deepen their understanding of China's reform and opening and its modernization drive launched. Beijing, China, has already has its door opened, on the way to strive for new advances and have vigorous efforts made to go in for world competition and exchanges. At the outset of the 21st century, several thousand foreign university athletes gathering in Beijing will surely add a new symphonic movement in singing praises of this old yet young metropolis, Beijing!. Youths are by themselves the future of the world. Youths form a young vital driving force of renovation and world development. Youths are a dynamic group of people teeming with life, gathering in a large gala conducting exchanges and competing on an equal footing in today's Beijing. Tomorrow, they are going to shoulder the hope of the world people, advance hand in hand and do their part in contributing to the advancement and wellbeing of the world people. **** CIS Collective Rapid Forces Hold Exercise in Kyrgyzstan The Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) began a command-post exercise in Kyrgyzstan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/kyrgyzstan.html> on Wednesday, according to reports reaching here from the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek. The main purpose of the Friendship 2001 exercise held under the CIS Collective Security Treaty is to train the collective forces to crush international terrorist groups in Central Asia, said Kyrgyz Defense Ministry spokesman Merbek Koilubayev. "Terrorism, extremism and separatism are creating an instability curve in the world," Kyrgyz Defense Minister Esen Topoyev said at the opening ceremony. The CIS leaders' efforts to create rapid-deployment forces in line with the Collective Security Treaty are of great significance to the security of the CIS and the world as a whole, he said. Topoyev stressed that the situation on the southern frontiers of the CIS is tranquil due to measures "taken by the Kyrgyz armed forces and the collective forces of the CIS." Commanding officers from Kazakhstan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/kazakhstan.html> , Kyrgyzstan, Russia <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/russia.html> and Tajikistan <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/tajikistan.html> are taking part in the drill, which will end Friday. Uzbekistan <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/uzbekistan.html> has been invited to send observers to the exercise. The CIS Collective Security Treaty involves Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/armenia.html> , Belarus <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/belarus.html> and Tajikistan. **** Russia Reaffirms Adherence to ABM Treaty Russia reaffirmed its adherence to the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty during the Russian-U.S. talks on global strategic stability held here Tuesday and Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a communique released Wednesday. "Russia laid the main emphasis on further cuts in strategic offensive weapons on the condition that the ABM treaty is preserved in its current form," the communique said. No specific decisions or proposals were made on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) or ABM issues at the talks between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov and U.S. Under Secretary of State John Bolton, the ministry said. The U.S. side, as expected, limited itself to the general description of its approaches to strategic stability issues, without anything specific, the ministry said, adding that the U.S. side repeated the gist of the information that had already been given to Russian representatives. Commenting on Bolton's statement that during the Moscow consultations the U.S. delegation gave Russian experts a lot of information, the ministry said: "There was a lot of information, but it was very general and was already known to Russia." Consultations will continue during the Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov's upcoming visit to the U.S., said the ministry. Ivanov is reportedly to meet Bolton on Friday. Bolton, who originally planned to leave Moscow for Brussels on Wednesday evening, has decided to extend his stay in Moscow for at least two days and have several additional meetings with Russian officials, the ministry said. **** Palestinians Repeat Call for International Protection A senior Palestinian official repeated a call on Wednesday for international protection of the Palestinians in the occupied territories amid continued Israeli aggressions. An emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers, to be held in Cairo later in the day, would "serve as a message to the world community to support a U.N. draft resolution calling for providing international protection to the Palestinians," Ahmed Abdel Rahman, secretary general of the Palestinian cabinet, told the Cairo-based Voice of Arabs radio by phone from the West Bank city of Ramallah. Abdel Rahman criticized Israel for claiming that deploying international observers would mean "internationalizing" the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He spoke highly of Egypt's stance at the international level on helping end escalating Israeli attacks on the Palestinians. He dismissed as an "attempt to damage the Mitchell report" an initiative put forward by Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on easing the current situation in phases. The Mitchell report, released in May by an international panel led by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, demands both sides to carry out confidence-building measures after a cooling-off period, and finally resume their peace talks. Mohamed Subeih, Palestinian permanent delegate to the Cairo- based Arab League, has said that Wednesday's ministerial meeting is aimed at "adopting a unified Arab stance in the face of Israeli brutalities at the Arab and international levels." Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who arrived here late Tuesday for the meeting, is expected to present a detailed report to the participants on the "tragic conditions" in the occupied territories, Subeih added. The Middle East has been rocked by deadly clashes between the Palestinians and Israelis since last September, in which over 700 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
