The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Sierra Leone opposition plans to review mining code, contracts
- U.S. says willing to meet with Iran on nukes but no talks set
- With Romney closing in, Obama to launch swing state blitz
| Sierra Leone opposition plans to review mining code, contracts Posted: 20 Oct 2012 06:26 PM PDT FREETOWN (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's main opposition party plans to introduce a raft of reforms to the mining and oil sectors if it wins elections next month, according to its election programme released on Saturday.
The Sierra Leone People's Party's (SLPP) presidential candidate, former junta leader Julius Maada Bio, hopes to dislodge incumbent Ernest Bai Koroma's All People's Congress government in the November 17 poll. The SLPP's manifesto proposes a review of all existing mining and oil deals as well as the law that governs the mining sector, according to a copy obtained by Reuters. "It is now glaringly obvious that the APC government is raping the Sierra Leone mining industry," the manifesto said, referring to President Koroma's ruling All People's Congress Party, which came to power in 2007. "Such rape is wide-ranging but primarily borders on signing fiscal agreements that are not in line with best practices and undermine our national taxation laws," it said. Sierra Leone has abundant natural resources including iron ore, diamonds, gold, bauxite and the titanium ore rutile. Oil was found offshore in 2009 but it remains unclear if commercial quantities are present. Ten years though after the end of its bloody civil war, which left some 50,000 dead, Sierra Leone remains one of the world's poorest countries. The mining law the SLPP proposes to review was drawn up in 2009 with donor support. "We are saying for the first time we will review everything about mining in Sierra Leone to make sure it accords with international best practice," the party's national secretary general Banja Tejan-Sie told Reuters. The SLPP manifesto launch comes two days after the ruling party presented its own document, which promised to increase revenue from mining. The government has scored points for infrastructure projects but attracted condemnation for signing mining deals that did not conform to the law. In particular an agreement with British iron ore firm London Mining specified a tax rate of 6 percent rather than the 37.5 percent stipulated by statute, though that deal has since been renegotiated. The opposition's manifesto also proposes to make all mining contracts public. President Koroma's spokesman Unisa Sesay was dismissive of the opposition's plans on Saturday. "When you are not in government there is a lot of talk you talk," he told Reuters. "When you are in government you have to contend with where to get the resources." Sesay said the APC government had renegotiated some deals and was "exploring new ways for getting even more resources from mining activities". The opposition SLPP said in its manifesto it would allocate 10 percent of the country's budget to agriculture to help the west African state become self-sufficient in rice and cassava. Though it has the potential to be a major agricultural exporter Sierra Leone is currently dependent on imported foodstuffs, in particular staple rice. (Editing by Bate Felix and Andrew Roche) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| U.S. says willing to meet with Iran on nukes but no talks set Posted: 20 Oct 2012 06:25 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The New York Times reported on Saturday that the United States and Iran have agreed in principle to hold one-on-one negotiations on Iran's nuclear program but the White House quickly denied that any talks had been set. The Times, quoting unnamed Obama administration officials, said earlier on Saturday the two sides had agreed to bilateral negotiations after secret exchanges between U.S. and Iranian officials. The newspaper later said the agreement was "in principle." The White House quickly denied the report, which came two days before President Barack Obama is due to face Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in a debate focused on foreign policy. "It's not true that the United States and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any meeting after the American elections," National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement. "We continue to work with the P5+1 on a diplomatic solution and have said from the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally." The P5+1 group is composed of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia - plus Germany. Iran had insisted the talks with Washington not begin until after the November 6 U.S. election determines whether Obama will serve a second term or whether Romney will succeed him, the Times said. The New York Times report looked likely to fan campaign debate over foreign policy, where Romney has been hitting Obama with charges that he has been an ineffective leader who has left the country vulnerable. The Obama administration counters that it has pressed hard on all major security challenges while at the same time winding down unpopular and expensive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But tensions with Iran continue to simmer, leading many analysts to say it is the largest security issue facing the United States and a potential flashpoint for broader conflict in the Middle East. TWO TRACKS, FEW RESULTS The United States has been working with the P5+1 to pressure Iran on its nuclear program but with few results. The United States and other Western powers have charged that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, but Tehran insists the program is for peaceful purposes. Israel has said it would use military force to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power but has in the past had differences with Washington over when Tehran would actually cross the "red line" to nuclear capability. The Times story quoted an unnamed senior administration official as saying the United States had reached the agreement for bilateral talks with senior Iranian officials who report to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But the White House said the Obama administration was intent on its current "two-track" course, which involves both diplomatic engagement and a tightening network of international sanctions to pressure Iran. "The president has made clear that he will prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and we will do what we must to achieve that," Vietor's statement said. "It has always been our goal for sanctions to pressure Iran to come in line with its obligations. The onus is on the Iranians to do so, otherwise they will continue to face crippling sanctions and increased pressure." "NON-STARTERS" THUS FAR The P5+1 has held a series of inconclusive meetings with Iranian officials in the past year. In July, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tehran's proposals to date had been "non-starters." While Western officials say there is still time to negotiate, they also have been ratcheting up sanctions, which are contributing to mounting economic problems in Iran. The United States has expressed a willingness for talks narrowly focused on specific issues, preferably on the sidelines of multilateral negotiations. But Iran has been pressing for broader direct negotiations that include other regional issues including Syria and Bahrain - something the United States opposes. "We've always seen the nuclear issue as independent," the administration official told the Times, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the matter. "We're not going to allow them to draw a linkage." The Times included the White House denial in a subsequent version of its story and said reports of the agreement had circulated among a small group of diplomats involved with Iran. Even if the two sides sit down, American officials worry Iran could prolong the negotiations to try to forestall military action and enable it to complete key elements of its nuclear program, particularly at underground sites, the Times said. Any talks would open a diplomatic window for the United States and Israel that could provide strategic cover should they see the need for military action down the road. "It would be unconscionable to go to war if we haven't had such discussions," R. Nicholas Burns, who led negotiations with Tehran as undersecretary of state in the George W. Bush administration, told the Times. (Additional reporting by Todd Eastham; Editing By Paul Simao and Bill Trott) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| With Romney closing in, Obama to launch swing state blitz Posted: 20 Oct 2012 05:19 PM PDT WASHINGTON/DEL RAY BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Facing a cliff-hanger re-election attempt, President Barack Obama will launch a round-the-clock, two-day campaign blitz through six battleground states next week to try to fend off the challenge from Republican Mitt Romney.
Polls show Obama's strong debate performance this week gained him little or no ground against the former Massachusetts governor with just over two weeks until the November 6 election. The pair are essentially tied in most surveys as Americans remain split between giving Obama more time to fix the economy or choosing a former business executive who argues he knows best how to create jobs. Obama will campaign in Iowa on Wednesday, then hit Colorado, Nevada, Florida and Virginia, cast his ballot early in his home town of Chicago, then stop in Ohio to end the tour. "As the President criss-crosses the nation, he will spend time on Air Force One calling undecided voters, rallying National Team Leaders and volunteers and continuously engaging with Americans," his campaign said in a statement. Obama usually comes back to Washington after one-day campaign trips, or stays in hotels on longer visits, but on this tour he will overnight on the presidential jet between Las Vegas and Tampa to save time for campaign appearances. A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Saturday showed him with a razor-thin lead, 46 percent to 45 percent. The margin has narrowed from Friday when he had a three-point lead, which showed the limits of any bounce the Democrat might have received from the second debate in Hempstead, New York, last Tuesday. "It's very much neck and neck. I anticipate actually that we're going to see these numbers neck and neck all the way to Election Day," said Ipsos pollster Julia Clark. More closely watched than the national polls, however, are surveys in individual swing states where the election will be decided. Romney has erased Obama leads in many of them or is challenging him for the lead. The key to the election may be in Ohio, the Midwestern state where Obama has been clinging to a narrow lead. A RealClearPolitics average of polls on Saturday showed Obama ahead in Ohio by 2.5 percentage points and Romney ahead in Florida - another of the large swing states - by 2.1 percentage points. THIRD AND FINAL DEBATE Romney hunkered down at a Florida seaside hotel on Saturday for intensive preparation for his third and final debate with Obama on Monday night. It will focus solely on foreign policy. Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman, who plays the role of Obama in mock sessions, helped put Romney through his paces. Most of the Romney brain trust was there, including top advisers Stuart Stevens, Bob White, Beth Myers, Lanhee Chen and Eric Fehrnstrom. Obama picked the leafy, cloistered confines of the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland for his own debate preparation on Saturday. Both Romney and Obama were judged the winner of one debate apiece in their two previous sessions, so they are under pressure to perform well when they meet again in Boca Raton. Helped by the killing last year of Osama bin Laden, Obama has a strong foreign policy record. But he has been under mounting pressure over the death of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in an attack in Libya last month. Top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee are questioning why U.S. spy agencies and government spokesmen initially played down suspected al Qaeda links to the September 11 attack. But Romney stumbled while trying to criticize Obama over the Libya incident at a debate on Tuesday. More comfortable on domestic economic issues, former businessman Romney's campaign put out a new television ad painting a future with a slow economy with rising gasoline prices and debt if Obama stays in office for four more years. A pro-Obama group, Priorities USA, attempted to raise doubts about Romney with a new ad targeting his tenure at private equity company Bain Capital. Romney attended the last fund-raising event of his campaign, at a donor's home in Palm Beach, Florida. (Editing by Alistair Bell and Todd Eastham)
Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
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