Iran: Uranium deal close

A final deal on sending some Iranian uranium abroad for enrichment is close, Iran's foreign minister has said.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday, Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran sees good prospects for clinching such a deal.

"With regard to discussions with the different parties, I personally believe that we have created conducive ground for such an exchange in the not very distant future," Mottaki said.

"Under the present conditions that we have reached, I think that we are approaching a final agreement that can be accepted by all parties."

Mottaki said it should be up to Tehran to set the amounts to be exchanged, based on its needs.

A deal could represent a major breakthrough in the long-running dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, but it was not clear whether Iran's conditions would be acceptable to the United States and others.

Nuclear bomb fears

The uranium swap deal was first discussed last year between Iran and six world powers, which saw it as a way to ensure Tehran did not further enrich its uranium to a level that would be potentially usable in a nuclear bomb.

But Tehran, which insists its nuclear programme has only peaceful intentions, had
failed to respond positively to the proposal from the group - the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany - until this week.

Mottaki said he would discuss the exchange on Saturday with Yukiya Amano, the new head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, on the fringes of the Munich conference.

"We think all parties have shown their political will to fulfil this exchange," he said, without naming specific countries.

He added that the "Islamic republic of Iran has shown it is serious about doing this, and we have shown it at the highest level," referring to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president.

Ahmadinejad said in a television interview on Tuesday that Tehran would have "no problem" sending abroad its stocks of low-enriched uranium to be further purified into fuel.

Iran needs nuclear fuel to power a UN-monitored research reactor in Tehran, but Western powers fear its uranium enrichment programme masks efforts to produce atomic weapons.

To curb such fears, the International Atomic Energy Agency has proposed that Tehran ship uranium to Russia and France to be further purified into reactor fuel.

Tehran agreed in principle to the offer during talks with world powers in October, but later appeared to reject the deal and said it preferred a gradual swap for fuel, preferably on Iranian soil.
Source: Agencies

Campaigns end ahead of Ukraine poll

The two candidates in Ukraine's presidential race have finished campaigning, with the two rivals addressing their supporters at rallies in the capital, Kiev.

The last-minute push for votes took place on Friday, the final day of legally permitted campaigning, as authorities stepped up security amid fears of election-related violence.

In his rally ahead of Sunday's poll, Viktor Yanukovich, the opposition leader, predicted victory over Yulia Tymoshenko, the prime minister, who came to power in the 2004 "Orange Revolution".

"The hour of our victory is near. February 7 will be the last day of the Orange era. For the past five years we have seen how they ruined our country," he told a crowd of more than 1,000 supporters.

Yanukovich is seen as the front runner in the poll, after beating Tymoshenko by 10 per cent in first-round polls last month.

Tymoshenko prayer

Thumping rock music from the Yanukovich rally could be heard at Tymoshenko's somber "prayer for Ukraine", which was held outside Kiev's 11th-century Saint Sophia's Cathedral and drew hundreds of her backers.

"I ask God to give us wisdom, and I ask him to forgive all the unjust and dishonest acts committed by the authorities, which I represent too," Tymoshenko said, as she shared a stage with Orthodox priests.

Viktor Yushchenko, the outgoing president, ordered security measures to be taken to prevent post-poll violence.

Yushchenko ordered security forces to "cut short any manifestation of terrorism" and to improve security at the building of the Central Elections Commission in Kiev, where votes will be counted.

Mutual accusations

Tensions mounted this week as Tymoshenko accused Yanukovich of plotting to rig the vote and warned that she would mobilise her supporters for mass street protests in the event of vote fraud.

Supporters of Yanukovich, whose popularity has been boosted by a wave of discontent with the government's handling of the global economic crisis, dismissed her threat.

"What Ukraine needs now is bread, not revolution," Anna German, a prominent ally of Yanukovich and member of parliament from his Regions Party, said in a statement posted on the party's website.

Yanukovich's camp has in turn accused Tymoshenko and her supporters of planning to steal the election.

Earlier on Friday Yanukovich met with Mikhail Zurabov, Russia's ambassador to Ukraine, and pledged to improve ties with Moscow that deteriorated after the pro-Western Orange Revolution.

"I think our first task is simple: to turn the page on the past five years, leave them in the past and to continue the good, old traditions," Yanukovich told the envoy, according to a statement on his party's website.

Tymoshenko has cast herself as a pro-European champion of democracy, but she also has friendly ties with Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister.
Source: Agencies

Years-long Security Clampdown For Xinjiang

BEIJING – China has vowed a years-long security clampdown on the Muslim-majority western region of Xinjiang to prevent a repeat of last year's ethnic unrest.

"Urumqi faces an arduous fight against separatism now and for years to come, after last year's riots," mayor Jerla Isamudinhe said in a government report to a municipal People's Congress session, reported Xinhua news agency Friday, February 5.

Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, was plunged into turmoil in July after thousands of Uighurs protested prevailing discrimination and religious and cultural controls.

Nearly 200 people were killed and 1,600 wounded in ethnic clashes and a massive crackdown launched by the security forces.

China has sentenced at least 22 Uighurs over the riots in mock trials condemned by international rights groups.

Earlier this week, the government announced a plan to recruit 5,000 special police officers in Xinjiang "to help prevent unrest."

Xinjiang and its Uighur Muslims, a Turkish-speaking minority of more than eight million, continue to be the subject of massive security crackdowns.

They accuse the government of settling millions of ethnic Han in their territory with the ultimate goal of obliterating its identity and culture.

Beijing views the vast region as an invaluable asset because of its crucial strategic location near Central Asia and its large oil and gas reserves.

Grim

The mayor argued that the clampdown is also meant to prevent separatist drives in the far western region.

"We should be vigilant and high-handed in our fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism," he said.

"We should stop all sabotage activities and attempts beforehand."

Beijing blamed the riots, as it does with most violence or protests in Xinjiang, on separatist groups seeking an independent East Turkistan.

Beijing claims some of these groups have links to Al-Qaeda, something disputed by many exiles and rights activists.

Isamudinhe said the government would keep a closer eye on sensitive areas to help maintain social stability.

"We'll continue to promote unity among different ethnic groups across the city, and help build up trust and respect among different walks of life," he said.

"In particular, we'll step up with ethnic unity education at schools."

China's Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu on Wednesday warned of a "grim" outlook in Xinjiang, calling on security forces to face the situation with "a more tenacious style".

Faith Promotes Civility: Obama

CAIRO — While maintaining Bush-era policies on religious charities to woo Conservatives, US President Barack Obama eyes to use faith to heal political differences and promote civility, the Washington Times reported Friday, February 5.

"Through faith, but not through faith alone, we can unite people to serve the common good," Obama told lawmakers gathered at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington Thursday.

"It is this spirit of civility that we are called to take up when we leave here today. That's what I'm praying for."

The American President lamented deep divisions between Democrats and Republicans, urging a "serious and civil debate" to iron out differences.

"This erosion of civility in the public square sows division and distrust among our citizens," Obama said.

"It poisons the well of public opinion," he warned.

"It makes politics an all-or-nothing sport, where one side is either always right or always wrong when, in reality, neither side has a monopoly on truth."

Democrats and Republicans have been embroiled in a months-long debate and procedural battles over Obama's much-touted healthcare bill.

The US President sharply warned lawmakers of both parties Thursday that they must answer to voters if they balk at passing his long-delayed health reforms.

Though Democrats have large majorities in Congress, the loss of liberal icon Edward Kennedy's former Senate seat in Massachusetts last month stripped away their 60-seat Senate supermajority.

This means Senate Republicans can frustrate or thwart Democratic efforts to pass bills through filibuster delaying and obstruction tactics.

Democrats have several options to merge rival bills that have passed the House and Senate, but each one poses substantial political risks, on legislation which polls show is now largely unpopular with the public.

Obama, the son of a Muslim-turned-atheist Kenyan father and a white American mother that did not practice religion, describes himself as a proud follower of the Trinity United Church of Christ.

He admitted last month that faith keeps him calm in pressing times.

Wooing Cons

Obama’s call comes as the Democratic president is seen wooing Conservatives by maintaining Bush-era policies on religious charities.

"(It was) certainly clear that there is a political agenda to win support in these conservative religious communities as a part of the design of this office," Barry Lynn, executive director of the advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told the Wall Street Journal.

Seeking to lure Conservative voters, Obama has left in place a Bush-era policy allowing charities that receive federal aid to hire employees based on their religious beliefs.

This policy was severely criticized by Obama and the Democrats as discriminatory before his election.

Obama is also mulling to allow government-backed Christian charities to display crucifixes, "Jesus saves" posters and other symbols in the rooms where people receive aid.

But this has specifically drawn fire as amounting to taxpayer-funded proselytizing.

"The deck was stacked against us, and stacked against coming out with recommendations that would be consistent with the president's campaign promises," said American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lobbyist Christopher Anders.

Last year, Obama signed an executive order creating a White House office for religion-based initiatives, highlighting the role of religion in promoting tolerance and unity.

The office was an overhaul of the White House office established by Bush in 2001 to promote his campaign promise of "compassionate conservatism."

Bush's office originally sought to strengthen faith-based and community organizations and expand their capacity to provide federally-funded social services.

But critics complained Bush improperly entwined the federal government with his own deeply held religious faith.