• House takes up impeachment issue in 2 weeks

Chelsea stays shielded from storm IN SOME countries the Chelsea Clinton equivalent would be permanently staked out by Paparazzi and her every movement and overheard comment would be publicly combed for clues to the all-consuming story. Not in the USA where the President’s only child is a no-go area for the nation’s media.

Clinton applauds South African President Nelson Mandela during a meeting with African-American religious leaders at the White House on Tuesday. Mandela said the reception Clinton received at the United Nations had made it clear the USA was isolated on the question of the President's character. — AP/PTI

White House protests on Starr omissions
Clinton’s job rating up

NEW YORK, Sept 23 (DPA, AFP, Reuters) — The White House has protested what it called “exculpatory evidence” that was omitted from independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s 445-page report to Congress on impeachable offences by US President Bill Clinton.

At a press briefing yesterday in New York, where Mr Clinton was meeting with international leaders in town for the UN General Assembly, press secretary Michael McCurry said the White House legal team would send a formal protest to the House of Representatives about Mr Starr’s “one-sided account” of his investigation into Mr Clinton’s affair with former intern Monica Lewinsky.

The counter-attack stems from quotes by Ms Lewinsky last month in her grand jury testimony that were released on Monday along with more than 3,000 pages of documents and the videotape of Mr Clinton’s August 17 testimony.

“I would just like to say that no one ever asked me to lie and I was never promised a job for my silence,” Ms Lewinsky said at the end of her grand jury testimony.

That statement was not included in Mr Starr’s original report sent to Congress two weeks ago in which he spelled out 11 counts of perjury and obstruction of justice against Mr Clinton. The obstruction of justice charges included efforts to get Ms Lewinsky a job in New York.

Mr McCurry said Monday’s new evidence made “abundantly clear ... how grossly unfair the Starr report was in presenting a very one-sided account of the evidence.’’

“In a 445-page referral, the office of independent counsel ... found room for hundreds and hundreds of salacious details that ... titillated this country and embarrassed this country in the world,” he said, “but it didn’t find room for one sentence from the testimony of Monica Lewinsky ... exculpatory evidence that was not mentioned by the office of independent counsel.”

Mr McCurry called the omission “a grievous wrong to the President” and said the White House legal team would protest in a letter to the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which released the evidence and will initiate any impeachment hearings against Mr Clinton.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s publicly demure stance on the White House sex scandal belies his impact on behind-the-scenes strategy, a senior Congressional aide said here.

Mr Gingrich, a political bomb-thrower turned field marshal when his party won control of the Congress in 1994, has publicly been restrained in his criticism of Mr Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

But asked how much input the fiery leader had in the Republican Party’s handling of the flap, the official, who spoke on condition he not be identified, said yesterday the Speaker had “plenty”.

“It’s obvious that on an issue of this magnitude, both Gingrich and (House minority leader Richard) Gephardt would be involved” in their respective parties’ strategies, the aide added.

Meanwhile, Mr Clinton’s job performance rating went up six percentage points, according to one poll, confounding critics who felt his televised testimony would hurt his public standing.

A Gallup poll conducted for CNN and USA yesterday showed that 66 per cent of respondents still approved of the job Mr Clinton is doing. Six points higher than the figure on Sunday, the day before the broadcast, the approval figure on the previous Sunday was 64 per cent.

The same percentage rejected impeachment, but 39 per cent thought Mr Clinton should resign, the poll showed. The USA said 81 per cent of respondents believed Mr Clinton definitely or probably lied under oath to the grand jury.

In an NBC news poll, only 28 per cent of the respondents believed the President as telling the truth but 57 per cent did not believe the President should resign.

An ABC news poll showed 70 per cent believed Mr Clinton was right to refuse to talk about the sexual details of his relationship with Ms Lewinsky and 59 per cent thought prosecutors were wrong to ask detailed, probing, explicit questions.

The ABC poll showed Mr Clinton’s job approval holding steady at around 60 per cent. But a CBS poll showed the President’s approval rating jumped to 68 per cent up from 59 per cent after the videotape aired.

Chelsea stays shielded from storm
By Martin Kettle in Washington

IN SOME countries the Chelsea Clinton equivalent would be permanently staked out by Paparazzi and her every movement and overheard comment would be publicly combed for clues to the all-consuming story.

Not in the USA where the President’s only child is a no-go area for the nation’s media. As the 18-year-old begins her second year as an undergraduate at Stanford University in California, she is allowed to live a normal snoop-free life. Or as normal as a 24-hour secret service guard will allow.

While Hillary Clinton continues to live her married life in the full glare of publicity, her every public appearance attracting a large posse of press hanging on every word and gesture, her daughter’s life seems remarkably private and unaffected thanks to an unwritten agreement between the media and the White House.

The only glimpse into her possible role in the current crisis came the day after the President taped the grand jury testimony that is about to be viewed around the world. The next morning, August 18, Chelsea Clinton conspicuously held her parents together as they walked out of the White House to the helicopter waiting to take the family to the seclusion of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.

When they arrived on the island, Chelsea lingered longer than usual in front of the cameras, shaking hands with party loyalists and providing a rare instance of the White House playing the normally forbidden, “Chelsea card”. Opinion polls show that Chelsea Clinton is popular with the American public in a way her father cannot rival. People feel sorry for her, admire her for her apparent optimism and her young adult dignity.

Although Chelsea never makes public speeches, there are signs that she plays an important role in reconciling her parents. “I love my dad. I understand. I can cope,” she was reported to have said as the President began in August to confess privately, then publicly, to a more truthful version of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

According to the Rev Jesse Jackson, who gave that quote to Newsweek magazine a few days later, Chelsea rang him from the White House late in the evening on August 15 when Mr Clinton is said to have imparted more of the details to his wife. Chelsea urged Mr Jackson to come to give spiritual guidance to the family.

All three Clintons were together in the private rooms of the White House, where they prayed and hugged one another under Mr Jackson’s guidance.

Nobody knows whether Chelsea Clinton will watch her father’s torment on video. But it will take more than the Chelsea card to get Mr Clinton off the hook. —The Guardian, London

House takes up impeachment issue in 2 weeks

WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (PTI) — The impeachment inquiry issue against President Bill Clinton will be brought to the floor of the House of Representatives by the Republican majority in two weeks.

The house is expected then to authorise proceedings by the Judiciary Committee, headed by Congressman Henry J. Hyde.

Mr Hyde told reporters yesterday that he plans in future to follow the 1974 Watergate model of impeachment proceedings, regardless of whether President Clinton asks to appear before the panel as part of a deal for a less severe punishment.

House officials noted that if Mr Clinton comes before the committee, it will be unprecedented and raise constitutional questions.

Mr Hyde said, "we intend to follow the precedents set in the Nixon hearings, where the President’s counsel and other witnesses that they wanted were admitted and permitted to participate."

Asked about reports that Mr Clinton is now prepared to cut a deal under which he will be censured and fined but spared impeachment or resignation, Mr Hyde said: "The decision about cutting a deal is very, very premature."

‘India can make 455 A-bombs, Pak 105’

NEW YORK, Sept 22 (AP) — New information on nuclear reactor performance indicates that India is now capable of producing 455 atomic bombs and Pakistan can build 105 nuclear weapons, Jane’s Intelligence Review reported in its October issue.

The estimates are higher than the current widely accepted view that India can now produce a maximum of 65 bombs while Pakistan can make at most 25 bombs, the respected monthly security magazine said.

The London-based magazine said new information provided by the Canadian Nuclear Association on the performance of Canadian nuclear reactors in India and Pakistan led to the revised projections on the amount of nuclear material produced in both countries.

India has eight Canadian Candu nuclear power reactors and one Canadian research reactor while Pakistan’s one nuclear power reactor is a Candu.

Toronto-based author Ian Steer, who specialises in defence and science issues, said in a telephone interview that the new estimates raised fears that India could produce at least 800 atomic bombs over the next 10 years and Pakistan could make more than 200 bombs.

As of July 1, India’s 10 nuclear power reactors and three of its six nuclear research reactors have produced 3,299 kg of plutonium, the key ingredient of its nuclear weapons, the Jane’s report said. As many as 17 per cent of this plutonium, or 567 kg, is weapons-grade .The weapons-grade and reactor-grade plutonium can potentially be used to make 455 atomic bombs, the magazine said.

Colin Hunt of the Canadian Nuclear Association was quoted as saying that as is known, India’s power reactors had not been used to produce weapons-grade plutonium, and none of the reactor-grade plutonium they had produced had been diverted for weapons purposes.’’

India plans to get LWRs

VIENNA, Sept 23 (PTI) – India plans to procure light water reactors (LWR) from “friendly” countries as part of a strategy to achieve the targeted nuclear power generation of 20,000 MW by 2020 A.D.

“India has opened options of reaching the target through accelerating the indigenous construction of pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) and fast breeder reactors (FBR) with procurement of LWRs from friendly countries, followed by the development of the LWR from technology,” according to Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission R. Chidambaram here.

Speaking at the general debate of the ongoing 42nd general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, he said detailed internal reviews and consultations between professionals had recommended an installed capacity of 20,000 MW for nuclear power by 2020 AD.

139 in race for Nobel Peace Prize

OSLO, Sept 23 (AP) — Ailing Czech President Vaclav Havel, the Colombian children’s peace movement and players in the northern Ireland peace process are seen as among the top contenders for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

That’s to the extent that anything at all can be seen about the secrecy-cloaked prize process.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee reveals next to nothing about the process, confirming only the number of nominees made by the February 1 deadline, a record 139 this year. Even that number isn’t definitive, because committee members themselves can make nominations later.

Some nominees become known because whoever nominated them will announce it but others remain as close-mouthed as the committee.

This year’s prize will be announced on October 16 and is worth $ 975,000.

Mr Havel is a confirmed nominee and may have a strong chance for reasons both pleasant and unpleasant.

Giving the prize to the noted human rights champion could be a way for the prize to mark this year’s 50th anniversary of the united nations human rights charter. Plus, Mr Havel has had serious health problems recently and the prize is not awarded posthumously.

Previous prize-winners are among those who can make nominations and 1996 laureate Jose Ramos Horta has proposed the approximately three million Colombian children in the movement trying to end the country’s three decade-long civil war.

Norway’s NTP news agency, an astute observer of the prizes, has suggested a top contender may be someone involved in the northern Ireland peace process. It is one of the few notable successes in peace efforts this year.

In recent years, the tendency has been toward not giving the prize to mediators, such as in 1994 when the prize went to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, his Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat for the West Asia peace accord. The Norwegian mediators who brokered the agreement were not included.

Giving the peace prize to Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, Ulster Unionist David Trimble and Social Democrat John Hume would certainly not be any less controversial.

Another way to honour the human rights charter could be to give the prize to the international war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, an award which could be interpreted as a boost to the work for a permanent international war crimes court.

Russia pledges to cut N-arms

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 23 (PTI) — Russia has pledged its commitment to the reduction of nuclear weapons and appealed to all states to accede to nuclear non-proliferation treaties.

Addressing the on-going UN General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Igor S. Ivanov expressed concern about the emergence of a "real threat in the form of nuclear weapon proliferation".

"We cannot but feel concerned about the emergence of a real threat in the form of nuclear weapon proliferation over the planet," he said.

Without naming any country, he said "it is a common task of the international community to encourage all countries to accede to the non-proliferation treaty and the comprehensive test-ban treaty."

Russia, he said, was committed to the idea of continued reduction of nuclear weapon arsenal and maintenance of strategic stability at lower armament levels.

"In this context, we attach great importance, particularly to the Russia-US interaction in the area of reducing strategic offensive weapons," he said.

Strongly condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, he said the scourge of terrorism was one of the most dangerous global challenges to international stability.

Decrying "militant separatism", he said "relying exclusively on extremist methods in the struggles for the national rights of those groups that constitute the minorities within multinational states, separatism often finds itself in league with terrorism and religious fanaticism."

More than 2,500 ethnic minorities lived in 150 countries. Were all of them to aspire for a state entity of their own, "the ensuing disastrous and catastrophic implications could be easily imagined."

Referring to the situation in Afghanistan, he called for a political solution with the United Nations playing a major role.

Meanwhile Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, whose country has been rocked by separatist violence for 14 years, is seeking collective international action to fight the "scourge of terrorism.’’

Ms Kumaratunga told reporters yesterday that she strongly favoured an international conference on terrorism — a proposal backed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Such ideas had been been kicked around for several years, but had remained bogged down at the United Nations because delegates had failed to reach a consensus on defining "terrorists’’ and "freedom-fighters.’’

Ms Kumaratunga warned the U.N. last year that effective international action against terrorism was being frustrated "through a sterile philosophical debate about the nature of terrorism.’’

"That philosophical debate is no longer necessary,’’ she says, particularly in view of the spread of terrorism to the far corners of the globe. "I am sure the international community is now capable of separating the terrorists from the freedom fighters.’’

She singled out the Palestinians as freedom-fighters and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as a legitimate political organisation.

In another development, the Pakistan Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, raised the Kashmir issue at his meeting with the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan here yesterday, urging deeper involvement in the bilateral issue by the United Nations as well as by the Secretary-General.

A statement issued by the office of the UN spokesman did not indicate how Mr Annan responded to the Pakistan Prime Minister’s plea, but diplomatic observers said the UN chief was aware of India’s position rejecting any outside intervention in what was purely a bilateral issue.

The Secretary-General and the Pakistan Prime Minister discussed the situation in the sub-continent in the wake of nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan, and according to the UN spokesman, Mr Annan encouraged "Pakistan to sign the comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT) unconditionally.

They also exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan. Mr Sharif welcomed the Secretary-General’s initiatives and expressed support for the UN efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

SPD maintains lead in surveys

BONN, Sept 23 (AFP) — Germany’s Social Democrats are maintaining their lead in the opinion polls five days before elections despite a recent surge by Chancellor Helmut Kohl, according to a survey published in the daily Die Welt.

The opinion polls showed Mr Kohl’s ruling Christian Democratic Union coalition on 38.1 per cent, down 0.1 per cent from the last survey three days earlier. It credited the Social Democrats (SPD) and their candidate for Chancellorship, Mr Gerhard Schroeder, with a slight rise of 0.1 to 40.8 per cent.

Die Welt takes other opinion surveys and averages them out.

Surveys over the past week have shown Mr Kohl’s coalition catching up on the Opposition and closing the gap to two points from four points two weeks ago.

Die Welt’s poll indicates that the surge, possibly influenced by a big victory for his main coalition ally in a regional election, has now levelled out.

The smaller parties are losing support, the same poll showed. The Greens are on 6.3 per cent, down 0.3 per cent from the previous survey and the Free Democrats on 5.3 per cent, down by 0.2 p.c.

The only other party currently represented in Parliament —the Communist Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), fell by 0.2 to 4.2 per cent.

Cameroon fifth in ‘top 40’

NEW YORK, Sept 23 (DPA) — James Cameroon was long expected to sink without trace with his $ 200 million “Titanic” project, but the film has grossed $ two billion around the world. TV rights have been sold for $ 30 million, sales of the soundtrack have grossed $ 400 million, and the video is likely to earn the blockbuster a further $ 700 million.

Small wonder that the film’s scriptwriter, director and producer is suddenly swimming in money. This year alone he has earned $ 115 million, taking him into the elite among US Entertainers and to the fifth place in the Forbes magazine’s “top 40”. Last year he was not even listed.

“Titanic” star Leonardo Dicaprio has to make do with $ 37 million and 34th place. He was first paid $ 2.5 million for his star billing in “Titanic”, plus a $ 5 million as bonus when its box-office takings rocketed. He now has a $ 20-million contract for “The Beach”.

The Forbes list is headed by Jerry Seinfeld, star of a cult TV show that ended in May. He is the highest-paid US entertainer, with earnings of $225 million dollars, mainly from repeat royalties. His co-author Larry David was not far behind, in the no. 2 slot, with earnings of $200 million.

Diplomat recalled
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia withdrew its charge d’affaires from Afghanistan and asked his Afghan counterpart to leave Riyadh, a statement from the Saudi royal court has said. The statement gave no further details. Observers said on Tuesday the move came as a surprise. The Afghan charge d’affaires represents the ultra-orthodox Islamic Taliban militia. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates were the first countries to recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan. — DPA

Hurricane advances
SANTO DOMINGO: Hurricane Georges, the most powerful storm to strike the region in years, raked the crowded Caribbean island of Hispaniola on Tuesday, leaving more death and destruction in its wake. The storm, packing winds of up to 193 kph and downpours of up to two feet (60 cm) of rain, ravaged buildings and caused serious flooding in the Dominican Republic before setting its sights on Haiti. Dominican residents said it was the worst storm to strike the country since 1979’s deadly Hurricane David. Forecasters also warned Georges might strike Florida later in the week. — Reuters

Fergie buries mom
BUENOS AIRES: Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and her sister buried their mother Susan Barrantes at her Argentina ranch on Tuesday. After a simple, private funeral service, Barrantes was laid to rest beside her second husband, professional polo player Hector Barrantes, on their Ei Pucara ranch, about 480 km southwest of here. After the ceremony, Barrantes’ coffin was placed in a crypt next to the polo field on the property under a majestic Argentine ombu tree. — AFP

2 Tamils killed
COLOMBO: Irate troops hacked to death two Tamils in Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna peninsula on Tuesday following a shootout with a Tamil group, the leader of the group said on Wednesday. Mr Dharmalingam Sithadthan, MP and leader of the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOT), said the killings followed an altercation and exchange of fire between members of his group and a group of soldiers. — UNI

Drug pedlar shot
JAKARTA: An American of Nigerian descent, Marck Adam Comelik (35), was shot dead by the police following a heroin transaction in a hotel room in east Jakarta. The incident took place on Monday when Adam resisted arrest and tried to snatch back smuggled goods from the hands of the police officer who arrested him in his hotel room, according to police sources. The police shot him twice on his feet as he tried to reach for the confiscated goods held by a police officer. — Pool-Antara