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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Zaviews worldwide News (Greek, Iran, Musharraf, Haiti, India & Ivory Coast)

Greek       Municipal workers have been occupying Athens City Hall demanding that their contracts be extended. Police used teargas and flash bombs to disperse a demonstration by hundreds of Athens municipal workers in the centre of the Greek capital. A few hundred municipal workers who face job losses as their short term, rolling temporary work contracts have not been renewed by the local municipality, were joined by other protesters in a march from Athens City Hall to the Ministry of Interior. Police stopped the demonstration from reaching the Interior Ministry and diverted protesters down a different street, where a physical confrontation erupted which saw police officers using batons and teargas. One protester was wounded. Temporary work contracts are not being renewed due to budget cuts imposed on local municipalities aimed at lessening state costs. Among those affected are many rubbish collectors who have said that the annulment of their contracts will cause a shortage of workers to collect garbage. The local municipality says many workers hired as rubbish collectors have been wrongly transferred to desk jobs and because they are still paid as garbage collectors are causing an imbalance in the budget.

IRAN         Speaking in a Tehran press conference on Monday, Ahmadinejad claimed the latest conflicts in the Arab world would eventually lead to the collapse of Israel, saying: "The latest conflicts will leave no chance for the Zionist regime [Israel] to survive as all the involved countries are against the occupation of Palestine."He added that the Arab states should be careful not to rely on the United States and its allies, "as their ultimate aim is to save" Israel. Later Monday, Ahmadinejad was quoted by the Iranian Mehr news agency as saying that a Western plot was in motion to divide Jordan, geared at saving "the Zionist regime from annihilation and tell the world that an independent state of Palestine has been formed" However, the Iranian president added, these "attempts will not save Israel from extinction." Ahmadinejad also referred to the Western military intervention in Libya, quoted by IRNA as saying that "NATO and the United States made a big stupidity by invading Libya because by doing so they have carried insecurity to their own borders."

Musharraf       said that politics of revenge was still present in Pakistan. In an interview with a foreign news channel, Musharraf said that both Pakistan and India should resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, to establish peace in the region. He said that innocent people were being killed in Pakistan by terrorists and war against extremism was vital to eliminate Taliban. He said that financial situation of Pakistan should be improved to put the country on right direction. He said that stern steps would have to be taken to eradicate extremism from Pakistan. Commenting on Libya, Musharraf said that Gaddafi’s army could only be defeated through conventional land forces.

HAITI           Michel Martelly, a singer with no political background, won Haiti's presidential elections. Preliminary results announced by the Provisional Electoral Council gave the 50-year-old entertainer a clear win with nearly 68 percent of the vote, compared with less than 32 percent for his rival, former first lady Mirlande Manigat. Martelly, an iconoclastic entertainer known for his sometimes provocative stage acts, had campaigned on a forceful promise to change the status quo, pledging to break with decades of past corruption and misrule and bring a better life to Haitians struggling to recover from a devastating 2010 earthquake.

INDIA        The Indian government on Tuesday slapped a three-month ban on imports of food from Japan, amid fears of radioactive contamination from the country’s nuclear disaster. A government statement said the ban could be extended until radiation fears subside. It was not immediately clear if the order was a blanket ban or applied only to shipments of produce from certain Japanese prefectures. “Since the radiation is spreading/expanding horizontally in other parts of Japan, it may result in further radioactive contamination in the supply chain of food exports from Japan,” the Indian statement said. Several countries, including China, Taiwan, Singapore and the United States, have banned some food imports from Japan over fears of radioactive contamination. India imports small amounts of processed food, fruits and vegetables from Japan. The decision was taken after “detailed discussions”, the government statement said. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India will review potential radiation hazards on food articles coming from Japan on a weekly basis, the statement added. More than three weeks after Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, the crisis at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant northeast of Tokyo remains unresolved. The plant’s reactor cooling systems were knocked out, triggering explosions and fires. The plant has sent radioactive material into the air, contaminating farm produce and drinking water. Radioactive water has seeped into the Pacific Ocean but officials stress there is no imminent health threat.


IVORY COAST    Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo said he was willing to surrender and has asked for United Nations protection, according to a U.N. official.The U.N. official, whom Reuters did not name,  said Tuesday that Gbagbo was not physically in United Nations' custody but was still negotiating and had expressed a willingness to surrender. "...President Gbagbo has also surrendered and has asked UNOCI's protection," according to a document to U.N staff, Reuters reported. French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said two Ivory Coast generals were involved in the negotiations about an exit from power for Gbagbo, who had clung to office since refusing to concede he lost last November's presidential election to Alassane Ouattara. "As we speak we are speaking to two generals to negotiate President Gbagbo's surrender," Fillon told members of parliament in Paris. Forces loyal to Ouattara on Tuesday seized the presidential residence, said a senior diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Ouattara has urged his supporters to take Gbagbo alive.

Kashmir issue is British legacy David Cameron’s Pakistan visit

Action against Libya being taken in consultation with UN and Arab League, it is not attack on Islam. The British prime minister admitted on Tuesday that Kashmir issue was a British legacy. Addressing to the COMSATS University students, David Cameron said that UK wanted a fresh start in bilateral ties helping Pakistan to become secure, prosperous, open and flourishing. He maintained that Pakistan and India had equal importance for Britain. He also appreciated the Yousaf Raza Gilani and Manmohan Singh for watching the semi-final together and termed it a good omen for both the countries. He said that attacks on Libya were not attack on Islam but the action was taken in consultation with the UN and Arab League. Repeatedly brushing aside questions relating to his controversial “Pakistan-is-exporting-terror” statement in India last year, British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday said London wanted a strong relationship with both New Delhi and Islamabad. On his maiden visit to Pakistan as Premier, Mr. Cameron came with the hope of making a new start after his controversial statements in India introduced a discordant note in bilateral ties. So, “let's clear up the misunderstandings of the past, work through the tensions of the present and look together to the opportunities of the future,'' was his refrain during the day-long visit. Describing the practice of playing one country against another as a Cold War hang-up, Mr. Cameron said both India and Pakistan are very important to the United Kingdom. “We don't have to choose between a strong relationship with either Pakistan or India — we want a strong relationship with both.'' Referring to last week's Indo-Pak Premier-level engagement at Mohali, he remarked that the sight of the two Prime Ministers sitting together at the cricket world cup, and the spirit in which the game was played and watched by fans of both countries “is a tremendous sign of hope for the future''. Stating that the time is ripe for the two countries to look “even further beyond what divides you'' and embrace what unites, he asserted that the “opportunities for mutual progress are simply enormous''. As the British Premier side-stepped repeated questions about his controversial remarks in India regarding Pakistan's stance on terrorism, his Pakistani counterpart Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani reciprocated by ignoring similar queries at the joint press conference they addressed after signing the U.K.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue. Mr. Cameron also announced an agreement to increase bilateral trade with Pakistan to £2.5 billion annually by 2015 and promised to continue pushing for greater trade access to Pakistan in the European Union. Announcing a £650-million assistance to get over four million Pakistani children into school — billed as the largest overseas education programme ever funded by the U.K. — he asked Pakistan's elite to pay more taxes and called for cuts on government expenditure to be able to convince people back home to support this largesse. Mr. Cameron also used an interaction with students to explain Britain's pro-active role in the air operations in Libya; maintaining that this was not a war against Islam as is being made out but an attempt to stop the slaughter of people - predominantly Muslim. Afghanistan also came up for discussion in the meetings and summing up the British position on the Afghan issue, he said: ``As the Afghan government takes steps towards a political settlement in their country, I want to work with them, with you and with others in the region to ensure that the outcome is also stabilising for Pakistan.''