Prominent Pals leader charged with murder in Israel

By: Ahmad Hammadi

JERUSALEM: Tel Aviv court on Wednesday has formally charged a prominent leader of the Palestinian uprising, Marwan Barghouti, with murder and orchestrating violence against Israelis.

Barghouti - the West Bank chief of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement - was charged during a brief appearance in the court. He denies the charges against him. The trial is to begin on September 5.

Before proceedings, Barghouti called out in Hebrew that in the end intifada would be victorious. He said he is fighting for peace, which could only be achieved by ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.

He is the first Palestinian leader to face trial in an Israeli civilian court since the uprising began in September 2000.

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Pak forces standing guard on country's borders, Mush

By: Salman Alvi

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf asserted on Wednesday that October elections would be fair and free.

In a speech at a ceremony to mark the 55th anniversary of Pakistan's formation in Islamabad, Musharraf said: “On this solemn occasion, let me give the whole nation a personal guarantee. I will take all possible measures to ensure a free, fair and transparent election.”

“The public demands a change of faces in the future elections in the hope that their new leaders will strive to develop the nation...instead of siphoning the country's wealth to distant lands to serve their personal interests,” Musharraf said.

Dismissing planned elections in Indian held Kashmir due in next month as a farce, Musharraf said: “The announcement by India to hold elections in Indian-occupied Kashmir is yet another effort to give a mask of legitimacy to India's illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.”

“The government of India has organized such farcical elections in the past as well,” he said. “These so called elections have invariably been rigged and have always been boycotted by the Kashmiri people.”

The president warned: “No one dare think of any adventurism across our borders. My dear countrymen, your armed forces are standing guard on the country's borders.”

“Let life and business continue as usual with the confidence that your valiant forces have the spirit of faith not only to defend every inch of the motherland but to carry the fight across the border, Inshaallah (God willing),” he said.

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Iraq asks to pay UN dues from oil-for-food program

By: Ismail Zabeeh

BAGHDAD, Iraq: Baghdad asked to be permitted to pay its $12.4 million of back dues to the UN with revenues from the global body’s humanitarian oil-for-food program, the state INA news agency said on Wednesday.

In a letter to UN Secretary General, Iraqi ambassador to the UN Muhammad al-Duri said: “Annan should intervene at the UN Security Council to allow Iraq to be acquitted of its contributions to the UN budget through revenues from the oil-for-food program or its frozen overseas accounts.”

Duri also accused the United States and Britain of preventing Iraq from settling its arrears with the United Nations.

In February, Iraq was barred from voting in the UN General Assembly because it owed $12.4 million in arrears.

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Two Koreas reach agreement at Seoul talks

By: Khadija Chinese

SEOUL, South Korea: The Seventh Inter-Korean three-day Ministerial Talks ended on Wednesday in Seoul, South Korea, with the both sides agreed to hold reunions of families separated by the Korean war and resume contacts on a range of issues, signaling the resumption of their reconciliation process after months of tension.

In a joint statement, North and South Korea said they would hold crucial military talks as soon as possible, as well as another round of high-level talks in Pyongyang in October.

The military discussions are said to be vital in order to restart a project to construct a cross-border railway line through the heavily fortified demilitarized zone that divides the Korean peninsula.

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Pope's envoy calls on Iran’s judiciary chief

By: Sheikh Muhammad Khurasani

TEHRAN, Iran: The Pope's envoy in Iran, Bishop Karaqhian called on the chief of Iran’s judiciary Ayatullah Hashemi Shahroudi to discuss international and regional issues.

Ayatullah Shahroudi said: “The only way to rescue the human beings is following the Islam and Christianity instructions, strengthening spirituality and purification and righteousness in socio-political fields.”

“War and oppression are major problems of today's world and it shows the need for morality and spirituality in socio-political aspects of humans lives,” Ayatullah Shahroudi said.

Bishop Karaqhian said, “Today's wars are the results of materialism and the Christian bishops confess that what Israelis are doing today with US support is an apparent symbol of terrorism.”

The judiciary chief said that the holy Jesus (AS) and other divine prophets (AS) had mission to fight against oppression and cruelty and asked the Christian leaders for more attention toward the existing problems.

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HRW urges govts to resist Bush's blackmail on ICC

By: Special Reporter

BRUSSELS: Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday International opposition to Bush administration's latest attempt to immune Americans from the Dutch-based International Criminal Court (ICC) is increasing.

HRW dispatched a letter to all governments that have sealed the ICC treaty, urging them to stand up to Washington's threat to stop military assistance unless they agree never to surrender US nationals to the ICC.

Executive Director of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth said in a statement: “Governments should resist the Bush administration's latest blackmail.”

“It's an empty threat. Washington doesn't hand out military aid that it doesn't believe is in the national interest,” the director said.

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