Extracts.
Arab League Warns Against Attacking Iraq. The head of the 22-member Arab League said on Tuesday that Arabs would not stand for any attack on Iraq as an extension of the U.S. "war. The head of the 22-member Arab League said on Tuesday that Arabs would not stand for any attack on Iraq as an extension of the U.S. "war on terrorism" and said such a move would destroy the present global coalition. Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the inter-government body and a former Egyptian foreign minister, was speaking a day after President Bush demanded Baghdad let international arms inspections resume or face unspecified consequences. "We do not accept striking Iraq or any other Arab country," Moussa said in remarks carried on the Web site of Egypt's official MENA news agency and monitored by the BBC. "Launching military action against any Arab state would spell the end of consensus in the international alliance against terrorism." He said that this Arab position would not be changed by Bush's comments. The U.S. president did not specify what consequences Iraq might face but said President Saddam Hussein, long an avowed enemy of Washington, would "find out." Arab leaders have repeatedly said they oppose expanding the U.S. campaign, which has focused on removing the Taliban Islamic militia from power in Afghanistan, to include any Arab state. There have been concerns in the region that Washington might launch strikes against Arab countries such as Sudan, Libya, Iraq and Syria, which Washington includes on an official list of states it believes sponsor terrorism. League Of Arab States The establishment of the League of Arab States in March 22nd ,1945 came in response to the common attitude of public opinion in all Arab countries. This explains why the Charter of the League of Arab States, though signed by the seven independent Arab states of that time, has explicitly asserted that the setting up of the League was meant to carry out the following: Serve the common good of all Arab countries, Ensure better conditions for all Arab countries, guarantee the future of all Arab countries and fulfill the hopes and expectations of all Arab countries. The League is a national and regional organization that seeks to promote closer ties among member-states and co-ordinate their policies and their economic, cultural, and security plans with a view to developing collective co-operation, protecting national security and maintaining the independence and sovereignty of member-states; thereby enhancing the potential for joint Arab action in all fields **** Omar Safe, Bin Laden's Whereabouts Unknown. Former Taliban chief representative Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef said here Wednesday that their supreme leader Mullah Omar was safe and sound after US bombing on the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, according to the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP). Former Taliban chief representative Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef said here Wednesday that their supreme leader Mullah Omar was safe and sound after US bombing on the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, according to the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP). Zaeef denied an early report that US warplanes bombed a compound housing senior leaders of the Taliban militia and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, saying "the building was just residence of a local citizen, but not a center of Taliban or al-Qaeda." He said Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, the prime target of the US military action, was not in the areas controlled by the Taliban militia and he had no clue to his whereabouts. **** 16 U.S. Marines Killed in Kandahar: Pakistani Paper. Sixteen U.S. Marines were killed by Taliban fighters when they landed Monday at an airfield near Kandahar, the militia's last stronghold in southern Afghanistan, a Pakistani daily reported Wednesday. Sixteen U.S. Marines were killed by Taliban fighters when they landed Monday at an airfield near Kandahar, the militia's last stronghold in southern Afghanistan, a Pakistani daily reported Wednesday. A contingent of Taliban attacked the airfield ''before the newly arrived Marines had time to settle down,'' the Peshawar-based Frontier Post said, quoting unnamed sources. ''The ensuing battle left no less than 16 Marines dead.'' The English-language daily also reported that Islamic militant Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S., left Afghanistan more than 20 days ago. ''He (bin Laden) is not in Afghanistan and has left many days ago and we are not aware of his destination,'' a senior Taliban official told the daily. The Frontier Post quoted another senior Taliban official as saying that the U.S. knows his whereabouts but is ''deliberately avoiding targeting him because its main aim was to dismantle the Islamic system established by the Taliban in Afghanistan.'' According to the daily, more than 6,000 Taliban soldiers have been killed since the launch of the U.S.-led air strikes against the war-torn country on Oct. 7. The report said, quoting ''sources close to the Taliban,'' that the fundamentalist Islamic militia is ''waiting anxiously to confront the U.S. troops and to embrace martyrdom in the fight. **** Castro Leads Protest Over U.S. Immigration Policy Cuban President Fidel Castro, wearing a black arm band, led Cubans in a rally in front of the U.S. diplomatic mission on Tuesday to protest the deaths at sea of 30 Cuban migrants, which Havana blames on Washington's immigration policy. Cuban President Fidel Castro, wearing a black arm band, led Cubans in a rally in front of the U.S. diplomatic mission on Tuesday to protest the deaths at sea of 30 Cuban migrants, which Havana blames on Washington's immigration policy. In the latest and one of the worst tragedies involving Cubans being smuggled into the United States, the migrants, including 13 children, perished when their boat capsized in heavy seas after setting out from Cuba on Nov. 17. The boat and some debris, but no bodies, were found by the U.S. Coast Guard on Nov. 20, some 47 miles (87 kms) off Key West, Florida. While Castro, who was to address the crowd at the end of the rally, was dressed in his traditional olive-green military uniform, many of the 300,000 protesters officials said participated wore black as a sign of mourning as they rallied in front of the eight-story building hugging Havana's sea-side Malecon boulevard. The United States and Cuba have no formal diplomatic relations but maintain Interests Sections in each others' capitals. The 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act offers preferential treatment to Cubans seeking U.S. residence once they reach American soil. Cuba's official media and television commentators have repeatedly blamed the United States in recent days for the tragedy, charging the Cuban Adjustment Act entices people to make the dangerous voyage across the Florida Strait -- a notorious, shark-infested 90-mile (140-km) stretch of ocean -- separating the two countries. The issue was expected to be a main bone of contention when the United States and Cuba sit down for their semi-annual immigration discussion next month in Havana. **** Chinese, French Experts Call for Int'l Ban on Human Cloning A group of Chinese and Frenchexperts attending a symposium on human cloning Tuesday in Shanghai called on the international community to promulgate an international convention to ban human cloning as soon as possible. A group of Chinese and Frenchexperts attending a symposium on human cloning Tuesday in Shanghai called on the international community to promulgate an international convention to ban human cloning as soon as possible. "The situation of the human being is critical, as human cloningis doomed to happen due to the development of science and technology," said Prof. Xu Zongliang, an expert from the southern research center of China's national team on the study of human genome, at the symposium "Human Cloning: Law and Society." Without a powerful international restriction, it is too difficult to prevent some business people or scientists from carrying out human cloning, the Chinese expert noted. Other speakers, including a professor from France, supported Xu's view, calling for an international code of ethics in the field. Shanghai-based Fudan University and the First University of Paris in France have launched a three-year joint study on law and society concerning human cloning. Over 30 Chinese and French experts attended the symposium. Why ban human cloning? Most mainstream scientists are set against attempts at reproductive human cloning, including Ian Wilmut, the British embryologist who led the team which cloned Dolly the sheep, and Richard Gardner, who chaired a Royal Society working group on human cloning. The most persuasive argument is that the risks are far too great at present. It is feared that human cloning would be cruel, because the process may result in a large number of miscarriages and deformities before a human could be successfully cloned. For instance, it took 272 attempts to create Dolly. Even then, the child could not be guaranteed ongoing good health. As Prof Gardner put it: "Our experience with animals suggests that there would be a very real danger of creating seriously handicapped individuals if anybody tries to implant cloned human embryos into the womb." Many religious groups, including some Roman Catholic and Muslim organisations, also object to cloning. There are many ethical arguments for a ban, including fears that cloning humans will lead to "designer babies" with genetic traits selected by their parents, or a black market for embryos, and the creation of a "genetic underclass". ***** Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 28, 2001 Water Resources Become Urgent Issue for China Chinese Minister of Water Resources Wang Shucheng said Monday that China's water supply shortage may hinder economic development and the problem must be tackled as soon as possible. A spirit of cooperation and solidarity are necessary to solve the problem. Water supply shortage is serious Chinese Minister of Water Resources Wang Shucheng said Monday in Nanning that China's water supply shortage may hinder economic development and the problem must be tackled as soon as possible. Two pressing issues now facing China are the need for water resource conservation, and finding means for prevention and treatment of water pollution, Wang said at a conference held in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Three means to solve the problem The purpose of water management is to find the best ways to distribute and sustain use of water resources, meet market demand and support China's social development, Wang said. Therefore, a nationwide survey of water resources is necessary and programs on water use and management should be worked out in adown-to-earth manner, he said. A spirit of cooperation and solidarity must be followed in managing water resources, Wang said, because water problems often involve interests of different groups, departments and economic spheres. China's Water Shortage Could Shake World Food Security An unexpectedly abrupt decline in the supply of water for China's farmers poses a rising threat to world food security. China depends on irrigated land to produce 70 percent of the grain for its huge population of 1.2 billion people, but it is drawing more and more of that water to supply the needs of its fast-growing cities and industries. As rivers run dry and aquifers are depleted, the emerging water shortages could sharply raise the country's demand for grain imports, pushing the world's total import needs beyond exportable supplies. Any major threat to China's food self-sufficiency, if not addressed by strong new measures, would likely push up world grain prices, creating social and political instabilities in Third World cities-as previous WORLD WATCH articles have pointed out (see commentary). New information on the deteriorating water situation has confirmed the imminence of this possibility. The challenge now facing the Chinese government is how to meet the soaring water needs of its swelling urban and industrial sectors without undermining both its own agriculture and the world's food security. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
