Month: August 2009

Copenhagen, August 01: The new head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) spoke out in favour of negotiations with the radical Islamist Taliban in Afghanistan, Danish media reported Saturday.

In an interview published in the Danish newspaper Politiken, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that there were groups within the Taliban with whom it was possible to speak and create reconciliation in Afghanistan.

He added however that it was also clear that there was a hard core within Taliban that only respected military force and with whom there was no possibility of agreement.

Washington, July 01: The US military says it has carried out a missile defense test successfully off the coast of Hawaii, amid continued tensions with North Korea.

The test was carried out late Thursday, in which an interceptor missile from a naval destroyer, the USS Hopper, shot down a short-range ballistic missile on the island of Kauai, a statement from the Missile Defense Agency said.

The destroyer’s Aegis weapon system “successfully guided the SM-3 (interceptor) to a direct body-to-body hit, approximately two minutes after leaving the ship,” the agency said.

Washington, August 01: The US Secretary of State says her country will not ease some of the incumbent sanctions against Sudan a day after a top US official said easing the sanctions might help the peace process.

On July 30, the US special envoy for Sudan, General Scott Gration, had told US lawmakers that he did not know of any intelligence to justify Sudan remaining on a list of “state sponsors of terrorism,” a designation accompanied by sanctions and restrictions on aid.

Washington, August 01: US President Barack Obama predicts more job losses, as unemployment rates in some parts of the United States reached record levels.

In June, the jobless rate hit a 26-year high of 9.5 percent amid more cutbacks by employers.

Now, in some parts of the United States, double-digit unemployment is a reality, as reports showed that 41 markets across the country have job-less rates higher than 10 percent, Press TV correspondent in Washington said.

The rates are in sharp contrast from last year, when all 100 markets showed figures in the single digits.

Washington, August 01: The US and Saudi Arabia are working together to deny terrorists “safe haven and access to funding,” particularly in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.

Clinton, who met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal here yesterday, said the two countries, which are close allies, were cooperating in dealing with the menace.

“We are working together to deny terrorists safe haven and access to funding, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” she said at a joint press conference with Prince Saud.

Sydney, August 01: Australia’s centre-left ruling party on Saturday voted for national recognition of same-sex unions but stopped short of lifting a ban on gay marriage.

The national Labor conference voted to develop a system for the registration and recognition of same-sex relationships, after gay rights advocates failed to gather enough numbers for a resolution to legalise gay marriage.

But frontbencher Anthony Albanese told delegates while it was not his “ideal position”, the watered-down resolution was an important reflection of shifting public attitudes.