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World briefs |
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Iran lukewarm to EU’s new proposals: Iran has said it would decline a fresh offer of incentives by western countries if they seek suspension of uranium enrichment. The foreign policy chief for the EU, Javier Solana, is in Teheran with an offer contained in a three-page letter signed by the five members of the UN Security Council and Germany. Diplomatic sources said that specific proposals are made in the letter. The signatories are making a formal commitment of renouncing the use of force against Iran. Economic relations with Teheran would also be fully normalized. Besides, Iran will be promised cutting edge technology related to light water nuclear reactors. Iran for its part would have to suspend uranium enrichment to avail what has been billed by Solana, as “generous and comprehensive” offer.
President Bush is in the midst of a farewell” tour of Europe and the primary agenda he is pushing is the imposition of harsher sanctions against Iran. While in Slovania on June 10, he told the EU-US summit that the US and Europe must rally to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, including the threat which is an incredible danger to world peace.
Fukuda wins trust vote: Japan’s Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda won a decisive vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on June 12, warding off calls for his resignation and a snap election. The Democratic Party of Japan, the Social Democratic Party and the People’s New Party jointly had submitted and voted for a censure motion against Fukuda. To counter the censure motion, the ruling coalition parties submitted in the Lower House a confidence motion backing the Fukuda Government the same day on June 11. The three Opposition parties submitted the censure motion accusing the government and the ruling coalition of refusing to abolish the new medical insurance system aimed at those aged 73 or older as well as having revived the temporary tax levy for gasoline.
Zimbabwe - Opposition leader arrested and released again: Zimbabwe police arrested but released later the opposition MDC’s Secretary General Morgan Tsvangiral for the third time this month ahead of a June 27 Presidential run-off vote. The opposition and human rights groups have accused President Robert Mugabe of waging a campaign of arrests and violent intimidation ahead of the run-off against him.
EU in crisis after Irish ‘no’ to Lisbon Treaty: The European Union was plunged into crisis on June 12 after its controversial constitutional document known as the Lisbon Reforms Treaty was rejected by Ireland in a tense referendum. Finally, 53.4 per cent of the voters rejected the Treaty.
The “no” vote means that the Treaty aimed at streamlining the functioning of the expanded EU will go back to the drawing board as under the rules it must be ratified by all the 27 member-States or it is deemed dead.
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