The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Ahmadinejad denounces "uncivilised Zionists," urges new order
- Chinese court upholds fine against dissident Ai Weiwei
- WikiLeaks' Assange mocks Obama via video at U.N. event
| Ahmadinejad denounces "uncivilised Zionists," urges new order Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:32 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran's president said on Wednesday his country was under constant threat of military action from "uncivilised Zionists" and called for a new world order not dominated by Western powers in the service of "the devil."
In his eighth and likely final address to the U.N. General Assembly's annual gathering of world leaders, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad painted a gloomy picture of a world driven by greed rather than morality. "The current abysmal situation of the world and the bitter incidents of history are due mainly to the wrong management of the world and the self-proclaimed centres of power who have entrusted themselves to the devil," Ahmadinejad said. Iran's president did not reiterate his comments to journalists in New York on Monday that Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be "eliminated. However, he complained that nations were being forced to accept a new era of hegemony and added, in a clear reference to Israel: "Continued threat by the uncivilized Zionists to resort to military action against our great nation is a clear example of this bitter reality." On Tuesday, in his address to the General Assembly, U.S. President Barack Obama said he would do whatever it takes to prevent Iran from getting nuclear arms, adding that there is not an unlimited amount of time to solve the matter via diplomacy. Israel and the United States have both refused to rule out the possibility of an armed strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, which the West suspects aim to produce atomic bombs but which Tehran says are for solely peaceful purposes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to speak at the United Nations on Thursday, has criticised Obama's position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He has called for Obama to spell out "red lines" that, if crossed by Iran, would trigger an attack, something the White House has so far rejected. U.N. diplomats and nuclear experts say Iran appears to be making headway in building a research reactor that could yield potential nuclear weapons material, adding to growing Western concerns about Tehran's atomic aims. On Wednesday, Netanyahu promised a tough response at the United Nations to Ahmadinejad's verbal attacks, which coincided with Yom Kippur, one of the most important holidays in the Jewish calendar. "We are all united in the goal of preventing Iran from achieving nuclear weaponry," he said in open letter to Israelis before boarding a flight to New York. "On Yom Kippur eve, sacred to the Jewish people, the Iranian tyrant chose to call publicly before all of the world for us to vanish. This is a black day for those who chose to remain in the auditorium and hear these hateful words," Netanyahu added. Representatives of the United States, Canada and Israel chose not to be present in the U.N. auditorium for Ahmadinejad's speech on Wednesday. SYRIA CRISIS Iran has been criticized at the 193-nation General Assembly for allegedly supplying arms to help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad crush rebels in an 18-month conflict that began with peaceful anti-government protests and evolved into a civil war. Ahmadinejad has denied providing Syria with arms. In the latest violence, a rebel bomb attack reduced the army headquarters in Damascus to a smouldering wreck, the biggest attack in the Syrian capital since July 18 when a bomb killed Assad's brother-in-law, the defence minister and a general. While dozens of leaders have decried Syria's civil war at the General Assembly, none have offered concrete proposals on ending it. Illustrating disagreements within the Arab world, Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi said his nation opposed foreign military intervention in Syria a day after Qatar's leader urged Arab nations to intervene directly to stop the bloodshed in Syria. At a news conference later on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad said Iran is "capable of avoiding and neutralizing" efforts to sabotage its nuclear facilities, while repeating that his country is open to talks with the United States. "We are ready for a dialogue and a resolution of problems. ... We have never had any problems with the people of the United States," he said. In his U.N. address, without mentioning the United States by name, the Iranian president took aim at Washington's global dominance, asking: "Are we to believe that those who spend hundreds of millions of dollars on election campaigns have the interest of the people of the world at their hearts?" Ahmadinejad, whose own second and final term in office ends next year, said authority should be used as a sacred gift, "not a chance to amass power and wealth." Iran is under sanctions imposed by the United Nations and Western powers for its refusal to comply with U.N. Security Council demands to halt its nuclear enrichment program. Ahmadinejad said the 15-nation council, on which the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China all have vetoes, was dominated by "a limited number of governments," preventing the United Nations from acting in a just and equitable way. Declaring that he represented "a great and proud nation that was a founder of human civilization," Ahmadinejad said: "There is no doubt that the world is in need of a new order and a fresh way of thinking." His speech touched on issues he has raised in previous U.N. appearances, such as suggesting there should be an "independent fact-finding team" established to discover the "truth" behind the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and complaining about the "hegemonic policies and actions of world Zionism." About a hundred opponents of the Iranian government protested across the street from the United Nations as Ahmadinejad spoke, bearing signs reading "Secular Democracy for Iran" and "Khamenei Dictator of Iran Must Go," referring to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Additional reporting by Randall Palmer in Ottawa; Writing by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Will Dunham)
Ahmadinejad's aide in prison as Iran president addresses U.N Ahmadinejad hopes for better ties with Argentina after talks Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| Chinese court upholds fine against dissident Ai Weiwei Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:15 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese court upheld a $2.4 million (1.4 million pounds) tax evasion fine against China's most famous dissident Ai Weiwei on Thursday, in a case that has badly tarnished the country's already poor human rights reputation. "It's an extremely shameless court," Ai, whose 81-day detention last year sparked an international outcry, told reporters.
"It didn't respect the facts or give us a chance to defend ourselves; it has no regard for taxpayers' rights," he said, adding he did not know whether now he had to pay to entire fine though he suspected he did. Ai, 55, had asked the Chaoyang District Court to overturn the city tax office's rejection of his appeal against the 15 million yuan tax evasion penalty imposed on the company he works for, Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd, which produces his art and designs. "From the Fake tax case (we) can see that there's no fair justice in China," Ai added. The case is widely seen by activists as an attempt to muzzle the outspoken artist, who has repeatedly criticised the Chinese government for flouting the rule of law and the rights of citizens. Courts, controlled by the ruling Communist Party, rarely accept lawsuits filed by dissidents and appeals against official decisions are routinely dismissed. The case comes on the heels of a score of other high-profile cases, including the fleeing to the U.S. embassy of blind, self-taught legal activist Chen Guangcheng. Government efforts to silence Ai have frequently backfired, as demonstrated by an outpouring of public sympathy - and cash - in response to the tax penalty. About 30,000 people donated money to help Ai cover an 8.45 million yuan bond required to contest the tax charges. Many of Ai's supporters folded money into paper planes that were flown over the walls of his home. (Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| WikiLeaks' Assange mocks Obama via video at U.N. event Posted: 26 Sep 2012 07:59 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, speaking via a choppy video feed from his virtual house arrest in London, lashed out at U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday for supporting freedom of speech in the Middle East while simultaneously "persecuting" his organisation for leaking diplomatic cables.
Assange, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy since June to avoid extradition, made the comments at a packed event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Assange mocked Obama for defending free speech in the Arab world in an address to the United Nations on Tuesday, pointing to his own experience as evidence that Obama has "done more to criminalize free speech than any other U.S. president." "It must have come as a surprise to the Egyptian teenagers who washed American teargas out of their eyes (during the Arab Spring) to hear that the U.S. supported change in the Middle East," Assange said. "It's time for President Obama to keep his word ... and for the U.S. to cease its persecution of WikiLeaks," he said. Assange's combative comments, plus statements made by Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino and his other allies at the event, suggested no solution is in sight to the diplomatic standoff surrounding the 41-year-old Australian. British authorities have surrounded the Ecuadorean Embassy and said if Assange sets foot outside, they will arrest him and extradite him to Sweden to face rape and sexual assault allegations. Assange's lawyers and Ecuador's government fear that could lead in turn to extradition to the United States, where they say he would face "inhumane" prison conditions and even the death penalty. Assange, who looked to be in good health as he sat at a desk in front of a bookshelf and addressed the 150 or so people at the event, said Britain and Sweden have so far refused to provide guarantees he would not be extradited to the United States. U.S. and European government sources have countered that the United States has issued no criminal charges or launched any attempts to extradite Assange. IN BRITAIN'S COURT Patino is scheduled to meet with British Foreign Secretary William Hague in New York on Thursday to discuss Assange, and he said there are "multiple paths" that could lead out of the standoff. Yet, in an interview with Reuters following the U.N. event, Patino made clear that Ecuador is not willing to cede much ground. "The ball's in their court right now," Patino said. Patino held in his hands a mimeographed copy of an 1880 agreement signed between Britain and Ecuador, which he said prohibits extradition in cases such as Assange's. He said he would show the document to Hague on Thursday. Patino rigorously defended Ecuador's decision to grant political asylum to Assange, expressing disbelief that Britain is "determined" to arrest the former computer hacker even though he said there are no criminal charges against him. "This means you have reason to suspect he's being persecuted," Patino said. He said Assange is in relatively good spirits but expressed concern his physical and psychological condition could deteriorate. "I think of myself, how I'd react in that situation, not being able to go outside, being isolated," Patino said. "It's practically like being jailed." (Editing by Eric Beech) Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: World Updates To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan