W O R L D

Tough days ahead, Bush to Americans
Washington, May 25
President George W. Bush on Monday night warned Americans of “difficult days ahead” and said the USA would stay in Iraq until it was free and democratic. “There are difficult days ahead and the way forward may sometimes appear chaotic,” he said.

Bush fails to win over Iraqis
Baghdad, May 25
US President George W. Bush’s speech outlining his plan to hand over power to Iraqis and ease their troubles won few people over here. Iraqis expressed little faith in American promises after months of occupation. “He lies. We don’t believe anything Bush says.

Imam Ali shrine damaged
Najaf (Iraq), May 25
The Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the holiest Shia site, was damaged today by rockets or mortars, witnesses said, a development that has sparked outrage among Iraq’s Shia majority.

Madonna performs at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles on Monday. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Chelsea Clinton and Ian Klaus arrive for the New York premiere of The Day After Tomorrow, in New York on Monday. — AP/PTI

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Prison abuse: General suspended
Washington, May 25
The Army General who was in charge of the US prison guards accused of abusing Iraqis has been suspended, officials said.

Pak team in India to discuss water disputes
Islamabad, May 25
A high-level Pakistani delegation will leave for New Delhi tomorrow to discuss various water related disputes with their Indian counterparts, media reports said.

Contaminated water leaves 9 dead
Karachi, May 25
Nine persons have died and 1,600 have been sickened in the southern Pakistan after consuming contaminated water from a state-operated reservoir, triggering angry protests, the officials and witnesses said today.

Singapore to lift ban on chewing gum
Singapore, May 25 (AP)
Ultra-tidy Singapore is lifting its notorious ban on chewing gum after 12 long years, but only for registered users. Gum dealers face jail if they break the rules.

Tough days ahead, Bush to Americans
Ashish Kumar Sen

Washington, May 25
President George W. Bush on Monday night warned Americans of “difficult days ahead” and said the USA would stay in Iraq until it was free and democratic.

“There are difficult days ahead and the way forward may sometimes appear chaotic,” he said. “The terrorists and Saddam loyalists would rather see many Iraqis die than have any live in freedom. But terrorists will not determine the future of Iraq.”

The address, delivered at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania, is the first in a series by Mr Bush to outline his policy on Iraq and dispel growing concerns among Americans that his administration is losing its way in the war.

A CNN-USA Today gallup poll released before Mr Bush’s prime time address showed the President’s approval rating virtually unchanged from the record low of his presidency two weeks ago. Fortyseven per cent of people polled said they approved of how Mr Bush was handling the presidency, while fortynine per cent thought otherwise. A CBS poll found that 61 per cent disapproved of the way he was handling the situation in Iraq.

Mr Bush pledged that the USA would pay to demolish the notorious Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad and build a new one. The prison has been at the centre of controversy involving horrific abuse of prisoners by US army. The prison, Mr Bush said, “became a symbol of disgraceful conduct by a few American troops who dishonoured our country and disregarded our values.”

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said: “What’s most important now is to turn these words into action by offering presidential leadership to the nation and to the world. That’s going to require the President to genuinely reach out to our allies so the USA doesn’t have to continue to go it alone and to create the stability necessary to allow the people of Iraq to move forward.”

Mr Bush outlined five steps that he said would help Iraq achieve democracy and freedom: transferring authority to a sovereign new Iraqi government on June 30, helping establish security in areas still gripped by chaos, urging broader international support, reconstructing the country and holding national elections.

“Completing the five steps to Iraqi-elected self-government will not be easy,” Mr Bush admitted. “There is likely to be violence before the transfer of sovereignty and after the transfer of sovereignty.”

The US-led coalition has set a June 30 deadline to hand over sovereignty back to the Iraqis. Mr Bush said the interim Iraqi government would consist of a president, two vice-presidents, a prime minister and 26 ministers.

He added, however, that the USA would keep its troops in the country at the current level as long as necessary, because of the continuing unrest. The originally planned level for this period of 1,15,000 troops would now be kept at an increased 1,38,000.

Bush fails to win over Iraqis

Baghdad, May 25
US President George W. Bush’s speech outlining his plan to hand over power to Iraqis and ease their troubles won few people over here.

Iraqis expressed little faith in American promises after months of occupation. “He lies. We don’t believe anything Bush says. The Americans have not done a thing for Iraqis. And now he promises to hand over power to Iraqis in a democracy after handpicking the people in the Governing Council,” Haidar Majeed, a trader, said today.

“I wasn’t interested in Bush’s speech. America has been all talk and no action. I will regain an interest in politics when I see developments on the ground taking place,” said Jabbar Luay, 25, a former soldier.

Iraqis were concerned with more practical problems, which they also blame on the Americans, as Baghdad enters another scorching summer under the US-led occupation. “Americans can move a tank to Iraq in two days yet they can’t even give us more than two hours of electricity a day for the air-conditioning,” said Fallah Hassan.

“Bush is a scorpion. He is a liar. He is sneaky, making all kinds of promises when he just wants to control Iraq,” said policeman Ayman Haidar.

“I was tortured and they dislocated my shoulder under Saddam. Now the Americans say they want to help the police take over security. I don’t believe them. They will never leave.”

While many Iraqis are furious with the US occupation, some fear a quick departure of American troops could unleash more security problems. — Reuters

Imam Ali shrine damaged

An Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim cleric walks past the damaged doorway of the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf on Tuesday. — Reuters photo

Najaf (Iraq), May 25
The Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the holiest Shia site, was damaged today by rockets or mortars, witnesses said, a development that has sparked outrage among Iraq’s Shia majority.

One of the entrances to the shrine was damaged in the attack. It was not clear who fired the missiles. The US forces have been fighting the Shia militiamen loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Najaf and other Shia areas.

In a similar incident, a suspected car bomb exploded outside a Baghdad hotel, close to the Australian embassy, injuring at least two persons, sources said today.

Meanwhile, at least nine Iraqis were killed and 19 injured, mostly civilians, in fighting between the US forces and Sadr loyalists in Najaf and neighbouring Kufa, hospital officials said. According to sources, seven persons were killed and five injured in Najaf, while two others died and 14 injured in overnight fighting in Kufa, sources said.

In another incident, a US soldiers was killed and four others injured in a rocket attack on a coalition base, northwest of Baghdad, the US military said today. — Agencies

Prison abuse: General suspended

Washington, May 25
The Army General who was in charge of the US prison guards accused of abusing Iraqis has been suspended, officials said.

Brig Gen Janis Karpinski and other officers in her brigade were faulted by the army investigators for paying too little attention to the prison’s day-to-day operations and not acting strongly enough to discipline the soldiers under her command for violating the standard procedures.

Brig. General Karpinski’s suspension was the latest in a series of actions against officers and enlisted soldiers implicated in the abuse scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

“Karpinski has not been charged with an offense. Being suspended from her command does not mean she has been relieved of command, so technically she could be reinstated, although the intensity of the international furor over the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse makes that highly unlikely,” said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. Brig. General Karpinski had said she was being treated unfairly for the acts of others over which she had no control. — AP

Pak team in India to discuss water disputes

Islamabad, May 25
A high-level Pakistani delegation will leave for New Delhi tomorrow to discuss various water related disputes with their Indian counterparts, media reports said.

The eight-member delegation will raise Pakistan’s concern over the 300 MW Kishanganga hydropower project being constructed by India in Jammu and Kashmir and the illegal construction of a 15-km-long embankment on the Ravi by India in Narowal sector, leading Pakistan daily, The Daily Times reported today quoting a Water and Power Ministry source.

The delegation headed by the Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Jamaat Ali Shah would also include the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) General Manager Mushtaq Chaudhry, Law, Justice and Human Rights Minister Baqir Ali, WAPDAs Bashir Ahmad Qureshi, Adviser to the Punjab Irrigation and Power Department MH Siddiqui, Lahore Met Offices Shaukat Ali and Balochistan Irrigation and Power Department Secretary Abdul Salam.

India had reportedly built the initial structure according to which the Ganges water had been diverted for generating power. The Ganges flowed into Pakistan where it is called “Neelum River.’’

Pakistan allege that India is violating the Indus Basin Water Treaty 1961 by diverting the Ganges water.

Pakistan will also ask India to remove the embankment built on the Ravi in Narowal sector in 2002 in front of Kot Naina village in Shakkargarh district near the India-Pakistan border.

The construction of the embankment will adversely affect areas in Central Punjab and Lahore during floods which Pakistan says violated the Indus Basin Water Treaty of 1961, the report added.

“India-Pakistan relations were strained in 2002. Now as relations have improved, Pakistan will take up the issues with India,’’ the source added. — UNI

Contaminated water leaves 9 dead

Karachi, May 25
Nine persons have died and 1,600 have been sickened in the southern Pakistan after consuming contaminated water from a state-operated reservoir, triggering angry protests, the officials and witnesses said today.

The water was supplied by a state-run water agency from the Manchar Lake, outside Hyderabad in Sindh province. Angry crowds, who gathered outside the government offices demanding punishment for the officials responsible for the water supply.

Government officials have announced US $ 3,500 in compensation for families of each victim who died. — AP

Singapore to lift ban on chewing gum

Singapore, May 25 (AP)
Ultra-tidy Singapore is lifting its notorious ban on chewing gum after 12 long years, but only for registered users. Gum dealers face jail if they break the rules.

Before Singaporeans think about unwrapping a pack of the Wrigley’s Orbit gum that’s just started selling here - and only in pharmacies - they have to submit their names and ID card numbers. If they don’t, pharmacists who sell them gum could be jailed up to two years and fined 5,000 Singapore dollars (USD 2,940).

Gum became a sticking point months ago in Singapore’s free trade talks with Washington, when Representative Philip Crane of the US state of Illinois — home of chewing gum giant Wrigley — pressed the issue. — AP

BRIEFLY

A South Korean protester with a miniature of military tank adorned with flowers take part in an anti-US rally in Seoul on Tuesday. Dozens of demonstrators rallied to demand the withdrawal of US troops from South Korea and that the government halt its plan to send additional troops to Iraq. — Reuters

180-yr jail term for embezzlement
DHAKA: A former Bangladeshi telephone official believed to be living in the USA has been sentenced to a record 180 years in prison for corruption, reports said on Tuesday. Maksud Ali Khan was found guilty in his absence on Monday of embezzling state funds worth $ 1.72 million when he was head of the state-owned Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board in the 1980s, the Daily Star newspaper said. The judge Dhaka’s Special Court also fined him about $ 2.24 million and ordered that he serve an extra 30 years in prison if he failed to pay the fine. — AFP

100 killed in floods
Jimani (Dominican Republic): Floods unleashed by torrential rains swept away a neighbourhood in a small farming town and killed about 100 people. More than 200 were missing, officials said on Tuesday. — AP

Illegal immigrants found dead
Algeciras (Spain): The bodies of three north African-looking men were discovered on a roadside near Cadiz in southern Spain on Tuesday. The men were believed to be Moroccan illegal immigrants who had been stowed away to Spain in a lorry. They appeared to have suffocated to death. A fourth man was discovered near the bodies in a serious condition. — DPA

Record flight around Everest
London: A British adventurer laid claim on Tuesday to being the first to fly around the Mount Everest, at 8,848 metres the world’s highest peak, in a microlight aircraft. Richard Meredith-Hardy (46) took off from a base camp 25 km and then braved dangerous downdrafts to reach the summit where he waved to climbers and took photos. — AFP

Vengeful businessman
Hong Kong: A businessman from eastern China has killed 8 million flies during the past 10 years in a vendetta against the insects for ruining a business deal, a news report said on Tuesday. Hu Xilin began his campaign after finding a fly in his food while dining with a client a decade ago, an incident which blew a business deal worth $ 24,000. — DPA