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Sunday,
March 23, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Russia vows to stop move to legitimise war
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War may last longer than planned: Bush
Surge in Bush’s popularity |
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Germany warns Turkey on war
Saddam: I’ll respect POWs’ rights Missiles from US jets hit Iran Indonesia not to expel Iraqi envoys Pak PM’s US visit cancelled $5m Pak
aid for Indo-Pak firing victims
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Russia vows to stop move to legitimise war Moscow, March 22 Russia has veto rights on the council which allow it to block resolutions it opposes. Meanwhile, as Moscow struck a tough posture on the American demand to expel Iraqi diplomats from world capitals, asking Washington to provide a clarification, US Secretary of State Colin Powell called up his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov to seek diplomatic cooperation in the war on Iraq. “Powell called up ...and the main topic of discussion was how Moscow and Washington could act together in resolving the Iraq crisis,” Mr Ivanov said here today. Speaking at the meeting of the non-government think-tank on foreign and defence policies, Ivanov said Moscow has asked the US State Department to clarify its request for expelling Iraqi diplomats from the world capitals.
Reuters, PTI |
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Russian among Basra casualties Moscow, March 22 |
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War may last longer than planned: Bush
Washington, March 22 “A campaign on harsh terrain in a vast country could be longer and more difficult than some have predicted. And helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable, and free country will require our sustained commitment. Yet, whatever is required of us, we will carry out all the duties we have accepted,” Mr Bush said in his weekly radio address to the nation. Stating that the American cause was just — its chief aim to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and end Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism — Mr Bush said, “The future of peace and the hopes of the Iraqi people now depend on our fighting forces in the Middle East. “.. At every stage of this conflict the world will see both the power of our military, and the honourable and decent spirit of the men and women who serve,” Mr Bush
said. PTI |
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Surge in Bush’s popularity New York, March 22 A nationwide telephone survey conducted on Thursday revealed that Bush’s support has jumped 19 points in 10 days and percentage of people who disapprove the policy has dropped 15 points to 27 during the same period. The poll conducted a day after allied forces made their first attack on Baghdad was completed before yesterday’s prolonged and televised aerial bombardment of Baghdad. The increase in support for Bush’s war policies, the Times notes, is in keeping with the tradition of rallying around the White House that typically occurs at the onset of a national crisis. But in this case, the sentiment is tempered by a striking difference in opinion between Democrats and Republicans about both the President and the war he began on Wednesday night. While 93 per cent of the Republicans said they approved of Mr Bush’s handling of Iraq, just 50 per cent of Democrats thought the same.
PTI |
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Germany warns Turkey on war Berlin, March 22 The threat was announced by Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and Defence Minister Peter Struck following a meeting of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s Security Cabinet. It came as the Turkish military denied reports that some 1,000 Turkish commandos had crossed into northern Iraq. Germany has staunchly opposed military action in Iraq, and has said that it will not participate in a war. Mr Schroeder has said the AWACS flights over Turkey are covered by Germany’s obligations to defend a NATO ally and would not be used to support a war. Mr Fischer said Turkish participation in a war would produce an “entirely new situation,” given Germany’s refusal to take part in the war.
AP |
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Saddam: I’ll respect POWs’ rights Baghdad, March 22 “Iraq, out of respect for itself and its humanity...will respect the prisoners of war we capture,’’ Iraqi television quoted Saddam as saying. “We will respect their rights according to the Geneva Convention.’’ The Iraqi News Agency said today that Saddam had offered to reward any Iraqi who shot down a US or British aircraft, or killed or captured an enemy pilot or soldier.
Reuters |
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Missiles from US jets hit Iran Tehran, March 22 Citing an unnamed military commander, IRNA also said the US and British military jets had violated the Islamic Republic's airspace several times yesterday and today during operations against targets in southern Iraq. “In two cases, rockets from the US planes hit the area of Maniuhi, close to the border with Iraq,” the commander said. He gave no reports of any casualty or damage. Another rocket had hit an oil-refinery depot late on Friday in Abadan, about 50 km east of Basra, government officials and witnesses told Reuters. Two guards at the depot were injured in the blast. Tehran has not publicly accused the US-led forces of deliberately targeting Iran, suggesting that it believes that the missiles were strays. Torn by its enmity for both Iraq and the United States, Iran has condemned the US-led military attack on its neighbour, but vowed to remain neutral in the conflict. ''Our border guards are on full alert,'' the military commander in the border town of Shalamcheh, northwest of Abadan, told IRNA. A British diplomat in Tehran told Reuters the British embassy was in contact with Iran to determine the origin of the rockets. There was no comment from the US or British military. Iranian officials had previously said it was not clear from where the rocket that hit the Abadan depot had come. However, IRNA, quoting Abadan Governor Jamal Alami, also blamed the US forces.
Reuters |
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Indonesia not to expel Iraqi envoys Singapore, March 22 Indonesia’s foreign policy, which maintains the principle of neutrality, would not be swayed by pressure from outside parties, he said in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. Hours after launching an attack on Iraq, Washington called on all countries that recognise the current Iraqi government to shut down the diplomatic missions and freeze Iraq’s bank accounts so the money could be used by a postwar government. An Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said no third country had the right to interfere in his country’s bilateral relations with other nations.
UNI |
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Pak PM’s US visit cancelled Islamabad, March 22 “In view of the sad and tragic developments in Iraq and the deep anguish caused to the people of Pakistan, the government of Pakistan has decided to cancel the Pakistan Day parade on March 23,” it
said. PTI |
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$5m
Pak aid for Indo-Pak firing victims Islamabad
March 22 Mr Shaukat Aziz, Finance Adviser to the Pakistani Prime Minister, disclosed the plans in a telephone call to Sardar Sikandar Hayyat, Prime Minister of the Pakistan-controlled portion of Kashmir, Associated Press of Pakistan said. Mr
Aziz also said the Pakistan government was withdrawing a decision to
cut about $7 million from its contribution to the region’s budget. AP |
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Youth
wins $39m on slot machine Las
Vegas, March 22 The
25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles, who requested
anonymity, came up big at the Excalibur Hotel-Casino on the Las Vegas
Strip, according to International Game Technology, which made the
Megabucks slot machine. Reuters
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