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Prayer Time (Tehran)
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Dawn: 5:17
Sunrise: 6:45
Noon: 11:49
Evening: 17:15
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Weather Guide
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SAT |
SUN |
Tehran: |
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High: |
16 oC |
17 oC |
Low: |
8 oC |
8 oC |
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Athens |
6 |
5 |
Ankara |
-8 |
-13 |
Paris |
1 |
1 |
New Delhi |
12 |
12 |
Rome |
1 |
1 |
Riyadh |
20 |
17 |
Frankfurt |
-5 |
-2 |
Cairo |
15 |
15 |
Kuwait City |
16 |
15 |
Karachi |
18 |
17 |
Copenhagen |
-3 |
-2 |
London |
0 |
0 |
Moscow |
-6 |
-10 |
Madrid |
1 |
1 |
Vienna |
-3 |
-3 |
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Identification
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Published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
Address:
Iran Cultural & Press Institute, #212 Khorramshahr Avenue Tehran/Iran
Managing Director: Mohammad T. Roghaniha
Executive Editor: Amin Sabooni
Editorial Dept. Tel: 8755761-2
Editorial Dept. Fax: 8761869
Advertising Dept. Tel: 8753119, 8757702, 8733764
Internet Address:
www.iran-daily.com
E-mail Address:
iran-daily@iran-daily.com
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Chirac at Oxford University
War Is Always A Poor Solution
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French President Jacques Chirac
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OXFORD, Britain, Nov. 19--French President Jacques Chirac, continuing his official visit to Britain, hailed Friday "a very strong historical link" between London and Paris, while arguing his case for a "multipolar and interdependent world".
In a question and answer session with students at Oxford University, Chirac called on the world to respect the laws of the international community as laid down by the United Nations, AFP reported.
When peace or human rights are threatened, the right to intervention or to launch preemptive military action must be applied, but only if strictly supervised by the UN, he said.
"It is not for this or that country to decide" to apply the right of intervention, because that would "open the door for war to be made for any reason," added Chirac, an outspoken critic of the decision by the United States, Britain and a handful of others to invade Iraq in March 2003 without UN approval.
"War is always a poor solution," said Chirac, in London on a two-day official visit to mark the centenary of the Entente Cordiale, a diplomatic agreement that ended centuries of warfare between England and France.
Reiterating what he said Thursday during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Tony Blair following their annual Franco-British summit, Chirac played down talk of a rift between the two European powers.
He told the students not to believe everything they heard.
"The link between the United Kingdom and France is a very strong historical link" and even if there is "difference of interests...the foundations are strong," he said.
Chirac recognized "differences of view on Iraq" with Blair, but preferred to spotlight issues where the two nations worked together such as on European defense.
He also pointed out joint military engagements in Afghanistan, the Balkans, in Africa, and Britain and France's cooperation with Germany to avert a crisis with Iran over what Washington alleges is a covert nuclear weapons program.
Chirac also called for modernization of the United Nations which he said was outdated and in need of serious reform.
He suggested that Germany, Japan, India, Brazil and a "large African country", like Nigeria or South Africa, should become permanent members of the UN Security Council.
At present there are five permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.
"All human organizations age a little," and "several reforms" were needed to 'adapt' the UN, said Chirac, accusing it of being "no longer really representative of the world today".
Chirac faced at times scathing criticism from British newspapers on Friday for repeating his opinion on the opening day of his visit that the world had become a more dangerous place since the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Chirac's talk of multipolarism talk was fine, The Times said, but "it would be useful if he had clarified whether this meant anything more than giving France a bigger megaphone".
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Leader:
Muslims Should Not Ignore Fallujah
TEHRAN, Nov. 19--Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Thursday urged all Muslim and Arab nations, governments and elites to fulfill their duties toward the critical situation in the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
In a message to all Muslims worldwide, the leader said the current critical situation in Iraq makes any Muslim or any human being concerned, IRNA reported.
He stressed that the massacre of thousands of children, women and civilians, execution of wounded people, arrest of innocent civilians, destruction of houses and mosques, and violation of families' sanctity in Fallujah takes sleep away from eyes and comfort from hearts.
"After Fallujah, there is the fear of repetition of the catastrophe in Mosul, Samarra, Baquba and other Iraqi cities," Ayatollah Khamenei said, stressing that these crimes are being committed by the occupiers under the pretext of fighting a group of terrorists among the Iraqi people.
"Does the presence of terrorists among people, even if such a doubtful claim were to be true, authorize the killing of innocent people, denying medicine to the wounded people and abandoning children without food and water?" he asked.
"How can those who consider nullification of execution verdicts for criminals a matter of glory watch, in cold blood, the mass execution of innocent people? How can Muslim and Arab governments remain indifferent observers?"
The leader stressed that the call for help can be heard from across the Iraqi territories.
Ayatollah Khamenei urged governments and nations to at least raise their voice in protest at such acts of oppression being committed by arrogant world powers against a group of oppressed Muslims.
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UN Staff Rise Against Annan
UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 19--UN employees were readying on Friday a historic vote of no confidence in scandal-plagued Secretary-General Kofi Annan, sources told AFP.
The UN staff union, in what officials said was the first vote of its kind in the more than 50-year history of the United Nations, was set to approve a resolution withdrawing its support for the embattled Annan and UN management.
Annan has been in the line of fire over a high-profile series of scandals, including controversy about a UN aid program that investigators say allowed deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to embezzle billions of dollars.
But staffers said the trigger for the no-confidence measure was an announcement this week that Annan had pardoned the UN's top oversight official, who was facing allegations of favoritism and sexual harassment.
The union had requested a formal probe into the behavior of the official, Dileep Nair, after employees accused him of harassing members of his staff and violating UN rules on the hiring and promotion of workers.
Top UN Spokesman Fred Eckhard announced on Tuesday that Nair had been exonerated by Annan "after a thorough review" by the UN's senior official in charge of management, Catherine Bertini.
Annan underlined that he "had every confidence" in Nair, Eckhard said, but UN employees ridiculed the decision and claimed that investigators had not questioned the staff union, which first raised the complaints in April.
"This was a whitewash, pure and simple," Guy Candusso, a senior member of the staff union, told AFP.
Candusso noted that Eckhard's declaration to the press had said that "no further action was necessary in the matter".
But in a letter sent to the union, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, Annan's Chief of Staff Iqbal Riza said Nair had been "advised that he should exercise caution" in future to "minimize the risk of negative perception".
Staffers who spoke on condition of anonymity, afraid that speaking out could damage their future prospects in the United Nations, said the Nair decision was an example of corruption by Annan and his senior staff.
They noted that Riza, UN undersecretary general for information Shashi Tharoor and other top officials had served directly under Annan at least since 1994, when he was head of UN peacekeeping operations.
At the time, the United Nations was widely criticized for failing to stop the Rwanda genocide that left 800,000 people dead, even though UN peacekeepers were on the ground--a catastrophe for which Annan has publicly apologized.
Annan could not be reached for immediate comment. He is currently in Africa on a high-profile mission aimed at ending the long-running civil war in Sudan.
The latest crisis comes as Annan faces unprecedented calls to resign over the burgeoning scandal about "oil-for-food," a UN aid scheme that US investigators say allowed Saddam to siphon off billions of dollars.
The programme has tainted longtime UN officials like Benon Sevan, who oversaw the operation and is now accused of pocketing Saddam's money in exchange for turning a blind eye to the Iraqi dictator's abuses.
Annan stands accused of obstructing US investigators, especially since his hand-picked official Paul Volcker this week rejected calls from the US Senate to turn over documents from the program and waive UN staff immunity.
Eckhard, his spokesman, on Thursday said that Annan is expected to serve out his term, which ends in 2006.
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EU Drafting Nuclear Resolution on Iran
VIENNA, Austria,
Nov. 19--France, Britain and Germany are drafting a resolution on Iran for a key meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog next week and Washington is pushing the trio to include some tough language, diplomats said on Thursday.
Iran promised the European Union on Sunday to freeze its uranium enrichment program, sparing it a referral to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions and opening the door to political and economic incentives the EU Trio are offering.
"They are preparing a resolution that will deal with the suspension of the enrichment program and verification of the suspension by the IAEA," a Western diplomat close to the Iran-EU negotiations told Reuters.
The draft resolution will be submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) board when it meets on Nov. 25.
The IAEA said in a new report on its two-year investigation of Iran's nuclear program that Iran had not diverted any of its declared nuclear materials to a weapons program, but did not rule out the possibility secret atomic activities existed. Diplomats said Washington would like the Europeans to include a so-called "trigger mechanism" in the resolution that would set the stage for a referral to the Security Council if Iran resumed activities linked to uranium enrichment or was found to be hiding any more sites from the IAEA.
But they said the EU three would prefer to avoid any harsh US-backed language that could disrupt the delicate talks aimed at persuading Tehran to permanently abandon enrichment.
According to IRNA, the European Parliament in a resolution adopted late on Wednesday said it supports the efforts of the European Union and its member-states to negotiate an agreement with the Iranian government on its nuclear program on the basis of transparency and compliance with IAEA standards.
EU and Iran at the weekend reached a deal to assure the world community of the peaceful nature of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
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Asian CEOs Warned Of Climate Change Threat
SINGAPORE, Nov. 19--More severe tropical cyclones, heatwaves and a dramatic shift in rainfall patterns could batter Asia by the end of the century as its factories boom, a leading climate expert told Asian chief executives on Friday.
The average temperature of major Asian cities could rise by 3 to 10 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, while longer droughts and flooding threaten rural areas, said David Griggs, director of the UK Met Office's Hadley Center for Climate Prediction and Research.
"We expect to see more heat waves, more warm nights, that land areas will warm quicker than the global average," he told Reuters after speaking to the Asia Business Council, whose members include executives of some of Asia's biggest companies.
The rare presentation on the risk of climate change to one of Asia's most powerful business groups represents the recognition that a severe deterioration in Asia's ecology and environment could accompany the region's rapid economic development.
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Afghanistan Degenerating Into Narco-State
BRUSSELS, Belgium, Nov. 19--Opium cultivation in Afghanistan this year has increased by 64 percent compared to 2003, according to the Afghanistan Opium Survey 2004, released Thursday by the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Presenting the survey to the press in Brussels, Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of UNODC, said the fear that Afghanistan might degenerate into a narco-state is slowly becoming a reality, IRNA reported.
He said opium cultivation has spread to all of Afghanistan's 32 provinces, making narcotics the main engine of economic growth.
Valued at $2.8 billion, the opium economy is now equivalent to over 60 percent of Afghanistan's 2003 GDP.
"With 131,000 hectares dedicated to opium farming, this year Afghanistan has established a double record--the highest drug cultivation in the country's history and the largest in the world," said the UNODC director.
This is while bad weather and disease lowered the 2004 opium yield per hectare by almost 30 percent, resulting in a total output of 4,200 tons that exceeds last year's by 17 percent.
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Moving Backwards
By Mohammad Taqavi
The US State Department on Thursday sought to distance itself from Colin Powell's "little bit of progress" characterization about this week's nuclear agreement between Iran and the EU big 3.
Two days after appointment of the hardline Condoleezza Rice as new secretary of state, a deputy spokesman for the department was quoted as saying that Washington had no reason to see the important Iran-EU understanding as a sign of "progress."
Adam Ereli claimed that Iran had pursued unauthorized nuclear activities for 18 years and reneged on an earlier deal to halt uranium enrichment, could not be trusted.
"We've been down this road before. The Iranians went off track. The EU is trying to get them back on track. But we are appropriately cautious given past experience," he said.
He also charged "Iran has a clandestine nuclear program and poses a threat to the region and the US."
Outgoing secretary of state, Collin Powell on Wednesday pointed out that the US would examine the two-way agreement with full vigilance.
After a lengthy break, Powell on Wednesday made poorly prepared remarks about Iran's nuclear activities.
He told reporters that he had "seen some information that would suggest" that Iran is trying to adapt its missiles to carry nuclear warheads" and has also "been actively working on delivery systems."
Sections of the US media close to the new-conservatives have done overtime to try and give the impression that the agreement between Iran and Europe lacks legitimacy. Some questions they recently asked Powell and others in way remind one of the baseless claims of the terrorist grouping Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO), which the Bush regime has described as "Iranian dissidents."
Powell's new nonsense about Iran is reminiscent of the pack of lies he and his boss in the White House made about Saddam's banned weapons before invading Iraq in March 2003.
Twenty months after the US-led illegal war and occupation of the Arab country, and despite lengthy inspections, no traces of WMDs have been found in the war-battered country. US officials have been forced to confess that they had been "misinformed" about Iraq's weapons program!
Once again we are witnessing how war criminals in Washington, without the slightest regret for the murder of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians, repeat their irresponsible accusations about Iran.
Interestingly they raise their baseless claims soon after the MKO, has been recognized as a terrorist group by the US and Europe, issued a statement on our nuclear activities.
After Iran reached an agreement with Germany, France and the UK over its nuclear program, the MKO again resorted to poison propaganda tactics and claimed that Iran is working to acquire nuclear weapons.
One should recall how the MKO, which was fully backed by the ousted Iraqi dictator, was protected and supported by the US military after the military attack on Iraq.
It seems that the White House is doing a terribly wonderful job of using whatever it can find, including Saddam's former minions, as tools for its anti-Iran propaganda blitz.
As for General Powell, it would be more appropriate that for the sake of history and posterity he think before he speaks.
The man who worked for George Bush Jr. for four years and was a "pillar" of his reckless foreign policy, should know that the Iraqis, other Arabs and the Muslim world will remember him not for his statesmanship or supporter of freedom and democracy. The name of Bush's top African-American diplomat will come up whenever Muslims and Arabs will recall how the superpower lied to the world and brought death and destruction to Iraq on a massive scale.
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