Lebanese Government Resigns Amid Protests

Monday, February 28, 2005

BEIRUT, Lebanon — With shouts of "Syria out!," more than 25,000 flag-waving protesters massed outside Parliament on Monday in a dramatic display of defiance that swept out Lebanon's pro-Syrian government two weeks after the assassination of a former prime minister.

Cheering broke out among the demonstrators in Martyrs' Square when they heard Prime Minister Omar Karami's announcement on loudspeakers that the government was stepping down. Throughout the day, protesters handed out red roses to soldiers and police.

Many in Lebanon accuse Syria and Karami's government of being behind former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's Feb. 14 slaying and the death of 16 others in a huge bombing, pressing hard in the two weeks since his death for the government to resign and for Syria to withdraw its roughly 15,000 troops positioned in Lebanon.

"We want no other army in Lebanon except the Lebanese army!" protesters chanted, climbing the martyrs' statue and praying before candles at Hariri's flower-covered grave, which lies at the piazza's edge.

Karami's Cabinet will continue as a caretaker government. The next step is for the president to appoint a prime minister after consulting with parliament members. The new prime minister consults parliamentary blocs to form a Cabinet that must withstand a parliamentary vote of confidence.

Karami replaced the billionaire Hariri, credited with playing a key role in rebuilding Lebanon after its devastating 1975-1990 civil war.

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Russia, Iran sign nuclear fuel deal

By Ali Akbar Dareini
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published February 28, 2005

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BUSHEHR, Iran -- Iran and Russia, ignoring U.S. objections, signed a nuclear fuel agreement yesterday that is key to bringing Tehran's first reactor online by the middle of next year.

The long-delayed deal, signed at the heavily guarded Bushehr nuclear facility in southern Iran, dramatized President Bush's failure to persuade the Russians to curtail support for the Iranian nuclear program during his summit with Vladimir Putin last week in Slovakia.

Under the deal, Russia will provide nuclear fuel to Iran, then take back the spent fuel, a step meant to ensure it cannot be diverted into a weapons program. Iran also has agreed to allow the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to monitor Bushehr and the fuel deliveries.

Iranian Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh and Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency chief Alexander Rumyantsev signed the agreement after touring the $800 million complex.

"Today, a very important development occurred, and that was the protocol on returning nuclear fuel, which we signed together. In the next few weeks, many Russian technicians will arrive in Bushehr" to finish the plant, Mr. Rumyantsev said.

The officials refused to discuss the details of shipping the nuclear fuel to Iran and the spent fuel back to Russia, but insisted the agreement conforms to international nuclear regulations.

"Iran observes all the regulations on the prohibition of the spread of nuclear weapons," Mr. Rumyantsev said.

The White House declined comment, as did the State Department.

Washington accuses Tehran of covertly trying to build a nuclear bomb, which Iran denies. Last week's summit between Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin in Bratislava, Slovakia, had touched on American concerns over Russian support for Iran's nuclear program.

Mr. Putin has said he is sure Iran's intentions are merely to generate energy, not create weapons, and that Russian cooperation with Tehran would continue.

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Lebanon protesters vow to defy ban

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Lebanon's interior ministry on Sunday ordered troops to "use all necessary means" to prevent demonstrations Monday against Syria's military deployment, but protesters vowed to hold them anyway.

The demonstrations are to center on whether Syria played a role in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in the capital on February 14.

Since then, thousands of demonstrators have peacefully protested Syria's military presence in Lebanon.

Monday's demonstrations were expected to be massive: Lebanon's pro-Syria government faces a possible vote of no confidence Monday. In advance of that parliamentary action, tens of thousands of Lebanese were hoping to take to the streets.

Syrian Cabinet Minister Bouthaina Shaaban denied Sunday that Syria was involved in the blast that killed Hariri, despite the U.S. State Department's contention that Syria is a state sponsor of terrorism and that Islamic fundamentalist groups Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Hezbollah operate with Syrian support.

"Syria has never carried out a terrorist attack against anyone," Shaaban told CNN's "Late Edition."

Asked whether Syria is prepared to withdraw its forces from Lebanon, Shaaban said, "Syria has been redeploying its forces from Lebanon long before anybody in the international community asked Syria to do that."

Asked when that "redeployment" might be finalized, she said only that the two countries have "a schedule for the forces to withdraw," but did not say what that schedule stipulated.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, said he was not impressed by the Syrian minister's comments.

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Sharon Threatens to Freeze Peace Push

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday that peace efforts with the Palestinians would be frozen if they do not crack down on militant groups in the wake of a weekend suicide bombing that killed four Israelis outside a Tel Aviv nightclub.

Friday's attack and its aftermath broke two weeks of relative calm and strained recently warming relations between the Israelis and Palestinians following the election of moderate Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas last month. Dozens of people were wounded in the bombing.

There were conflicting accounts as to who was responsible for the attack. Islamic Jihad , a Palestinian militant group with leadership in Lebanon and Syria , claimed responsibility Saturday after first denying any connection to the bombing.

Abbas blamed the attack on a "third party," which other Palestinian officials said was the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran. Hezbollah denied the accusation.

A senior Israeli military official said Hezbollah had nothing to do with the attack but was vigorously working to carry out other attacks on Israel. Police remained on heightened alert throughout the country Sunday.

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Saddam's Half Brother Caught

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi officials said Sunday that Syrian authorities captured Saddam Hussein's half brother in Syria and handed him over to Iraq in an apparent goodwill gesture, dealing a blow to an insurgency that some Iraqi officials claim the former fugitive was helping organize and fund. The U.S. military also said two American soldiers were killed Sunday in an ambush in the capital.

Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, who was also a former adviser suspected of financing insurgents after U.S. troops ousted the former dictator, was captured in Hasakah in northeastern Syria near the Iraqi border, two senior Iraqi officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Al-Hassan was No. 36 on the list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis released by U.S. authorities after American troops invaded Iraq in March 2003, and he also was named one of the 29 most-wanted supporters of insurgents in Iraq. The United States had a $1 million bounty on his head.

Officials in interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's office, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed al-Hassan's capture.

In a statement, Allawi's office said the arrest "shows the determination of the Iraqi government to chase and detain all criminals who carried out massacres and whose hands are stained with the blood of the Iraqi people, then bring them to justice to face the right punishment."

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Russia, Iran Sign Nuclear Deal

BUSHEHR, Iran — Russia and Iran signed a deal Sunday that would deliver nuclear fuel to the Middle East country for the startup of its first reactor — a project the United States had for years pushed Moscow to drop, claiming Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb.

Iranian Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh (search) and Russian Atomic Energy Agency (search) chief Alexander Rumyantsev signed the agreement at the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The signing, which was delayed by a day, came after the two senior officials toured the $800 million complex.

"Today, a very important development occurred, and that was the protocol on returning nuclear fuel, which we signed together. In the next few weeks many Russian technicians will arrive in Bushehr" to finish the plant, Rumyantsev said after the signing.

Both officials refused to discuss the details of shipping the nuclear fuel to Iran and the spent fuel back to Russia, but insisted that the agreement conforms to international nuclear regulations.

"Iran observes all the regulations on the prohibition of the spread of nuclear weapons," Rumyantsev said.

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Egypt eyes reform for fall election

By Tanalee Smith
ASSOCIATED PRESS

CAIRO — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in a surprise reversal, yesterday took a significant step toward democratic reform in the world's most populous Arab country by ordering that presidential challengers be allowed on the ballot this fall.

The opposition long had demanded an open election, but Egypt's ruling party repeatedly had rejected it.

The Egyptian president, who has held power since 1981 without facing an election opponent, only last month dismissed calls for reform as "futile."

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Judge Orders Florida Woman's Feeding Tube Removed

CLEARWATER, Fla. (Reuters) - A Florida judge on Friday cleared the way for the husband of a severely brain-damaged woman to remove her feeding tube next month over the objections of her parents.

Fifteen years to the day since a heart attack put Theresa "Terri" Schiavo into what some doctors call a persistent vegetative state, Circuit Judge George Greer ordered that the feeding tube that keeps her alive should be removed on March 18. The date was set to give her parents time to appeal the ruling.

Missing Florida girl's mother located

(CNN) -- Locating "one big piece of the puzzle" in the case of a missing Florida girl, the FBI on Friday located the estranged mother of 9-year-old Jessica Marie Lunsford, Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy said.

Jessica -- who is 4 feet, 11 inches tall, weighs 70 pounds and has light brown hair -- was wearing a pink nightgown. She disappeared from her Homosassa home, where she lives with her father and grandparents, and was last seen Wednesday night when she went to bed.

The mother was found in Ohio, her last known place of residence, and is being interviewed by the federal investigators, Dawsy said.

The mother has had very little contact with Jessica over the past eight years, the girl's father Mark Lunsford said at a news conference on Friday, and added he was "convinced that no family member has anything to do with this." He identified Jessica's mother as Angela Wright.

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Attorney: State seeking Schiavo delay

TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- An attorney for the parents of Terri Schiavo say Florida's social services agency is seeking a 60-day delay in the removal of the woman's feeding tube while it investigates new allegations of her abuse and neglect.

Matt Davis, with the law firm representing Bob and Mary Schindler, said Thursday the 11-page confidential document was shared with attorneys in the life-or-death legal battle between the Schindlers and their daughter's husband, Michael Schiavo. A spokesman for the Department of Children & Families declined to comment.

Circuit Court Judge George Greer already is expected to rule Friday on whether to grant a longer stay in connection with other filings in the case involving the severely brain-damaged woman.

Terri Schiavo collapsed 15 years ago Friday, when a chemical imbalance caused her heart to stop beating and cut off oxygen to her brain. She is now 41.

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Anglican Church Asks U.S., Canada to Leave

Thursday, February 24, 2005

LONDON — Leaders of the global Anglican Communion declared Thursday that they want the U.S. Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada to withdraw from the communion's councils temporarily, and to explain their attitudes toward gays which have split the church.

The statement was issued by primates a day earlier than planned, following their meetings this week at a Roman Catholic retreat in Northern Ireland.

The U.S. church precipitated the most serious rift in the communion's history when it affirmed the election of V. Gene Robinson, who openly lives with a male partner, as bishop of New Hampshire. Both churches have been criticized by conservatives for sanctioning blessings of gay unions.

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Bush, Putin Agree on Nuke Safeguards

Thursday, February 24, 2005

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin are engaging in much-anticipated and closely watched talks on Thursday as the two leaders embrace new measures to combat nuclear terrorism and better safeguard nuclear arsenals.

Bush administration officials said Thursday that the joint agreement will be a positive note in a meeting where Bush will raise his concerns over Putin's rollback of some democratic advances.

Meanwhile, the two countries announced an agreement designed to restrict the availability of shoulder-fired missiles that could be used to bring down aircraft.

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Wead Regrets Going Public With Bush Tapes

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

WASHINGTON — An old friend of President Bush who secretly recorded their private conversations and released them to the media said he has regrets and is turning the tapes over to Bush.

Doug Wead allowed journalists to hear and broadcast the tapes in the past week as he promoted his new book on presidential parents. But he said he canceled plans to be on "Hardball" on MSNBC Tuesday night to talk about his regrets because "it would only add to the distraction I have caused to the president's important and historic work."

"Contrary to a statement that I made to the New York Times, I have come to realize that personal relationships are more important than history," Wead wrote in a letter to the show's host, Chris Matthews, that MSNBC released to the public on Wednesday. "I am asking my attorney to direct any future proceeds from the book to charity and to find the best way to vet these tapes and get them back to the president to whom they belong. History can wait."

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Syria Committed to Withdraw From Lebanon

By ALBERT AJI
Associated Press Writer

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- Syria will abide by a 1989 agreement in withdrawing its troops from Lebanon, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday in the first government statement since an international uproar arose against Damascus from the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Lebanese officials confirmed the withdrawl of troops from the coast and mountain areas to the eastern Bekaa Valley on the Syrian border, but gave no timeframe.

"The decision to withdraw has been taken," said Defense Minister Abdul-Rahim Murad in television interviews. "What remains is the exact timing."

Lebanese and Syrian military officers have begun meetings to define "the dates and the way" the withdrawal will take place, Murad said.

Syria also offered to help Lebanon with the investigation into Hariri's slaying.

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California storm cleanup begins

Deadly rain leave mudslides and car-sized potholes

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The sun began poking through the clouds Wednesday as California emergency crews shifted into cleanup mode after a six-day drenching that killed at least nine people, destroyed dozens of houses and flooded roads and airports.

The Transportation Department hurried to clear at least 20 major roads closed by mudslides and flooding, and in Malibu, crews prepared to destroy a boulder the size of a house that dangled precariously above the Pacific Coast Highway, held back by only a retaining wall. Crews also worked to fill thousands of potholes -- some the size of cars.

Engineers fanned out across Los Angeles to assess whether houses on slipping soil were still habitable. More than 100 homes were temporarily uninhabitable or safe only for limited entry.

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Stay in Schiavo Case Extended 48 Hours

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

CLEARWATER, Fla. — A judge Wednesday extended a stay keeping brain-damaged Terri Schiavo's feeding tube in place, saying he needed time to decide whether her husband, who wants to let her die, is fit to be her guardian.

Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer extended until Friday an emergency stay that was to expire Wednesday afternoon. He said he also needs more time to determine whether Terri Schiavo needs more medical tests to determine if she has greater mental capabilities than previously thought.

"We are really elated," said Robert Schindler, Terri Schiavo's father. "Forty-eight hours to us right now seems like six years."

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Bush Warns of China Arms Sales

By Bill Sammon and Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published February 23, 2005

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President Bush yesterday expressed "deep concern" that the European Union is planning to lift its arms embargo against China, suggesting that Beijing might use new weaponry against Taiwan, a move that could pose a threat to U.S. forces and other countries in the region.

"There is deep concern in our country that a transfer of weapons would be a transfer of technology to China, which would change the balance of relations between China and Taiwan, and that's of concern," Mr. Bush said in a joint press conference in Brussels with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

It was the first time that the president publicly addressed Europe's desire to lift its arms embargo, which it imposed after Beijing's 1989 crackdown on unarmed pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.

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