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THE OFFICIAL WEB SITE OF THE MADISON TIMES WEEKLY NEWSPAPER |
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NEWS AT A GLANCE Compiled By Heidi M. Pascual |
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
PARIS (IPS/GIN) — The diplomatic tension that arose between France and the United States over the invasion of Iraq has been formally put aside, but it is far from over. Differences have arisen between the two countries over several other issues recently. And somewhere in these differences, many analysts smell Iraq. The United States blocked selection of a French installation last week for a major new nuclear experiment. The French in turn opened dormant investigations into dealings of the U.S. firm Halliburton, which was headed until recently by Vice President Dick Cheney. The French nuclear institute Cadarache was one of two sites under consideration for the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER), a project developing technology for nuclear fusion at extremely high temperatures to release high energy levels, the so-called energy of stars. The alternative site is Rokkasho, in Japan. The ITER project is being financed jointly by the European Union (EU), Russia, Canada, China, South Korea, Japan, and the United States and is expected to cost $10 billion. The United States opted out of the project in 1999 but returned in February 2003 as an influential player. Recently it secured the support of South Korea in blocking the selection of Cadarache at the site. Many scientists see Cada- rache as the best site for the project. The institute, which employs 4,300 scientists, is at the cutting edge of nuclear technology and energy analysis. "I know for certain that the U.S. government wants to punish France for its diplomatic position on the Iraq crisis," French deputy Pierre Lellouche, who is close to President Jacques Chirac, has said. Lellouche had counseled Chirac not to oppose the United States over Iraq. "George Bush Punishes France" ran a headline in the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche. "During the ITER negotiations, the U.S. government led the opposition to Cadarache," its chief editor, Jean-Claude Maurice, wrote. "In the eyes of Washington, it is not good to be French right now." The French are hitting back in their own way. Prosecutors have reopened an inquiry into Halliburton over its oil interests in Nigeria. The inquiry, which has been sleeping in the drawers for two years, has suddenly gained momentum over the last few weeks. Nigerian officials and former executives from Technip, a French company allied with Halliburton's subsidiary Kellog Brown & Root in gas fields on Bonny Island in Nigeria, have been called in for questioning. Prosecutor Renaud Van Ruymbeke, who has been investigating corruption in French oil affairs in Africa for several years, has established that $180 million was paid between 1994 and 2001 to Jeffrey Tesler, a London-based lawyer associated with Halliburton and Cheney for more than 20 years. The $180 million was officially described as a fee for commercial counseling paid to Tri Star, a Shell company registered in Gibraltar. French prosecutors say Tri Star was a front for Tesler. They say the commercial counseling did not take place and that enrollment of the London lawyer was imposed by Halliburton upon its associates. — Julio Godoy
NEW YORK (IPS/GIN) — A group of women in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu have decided to build the first all-female mosque in the country, to counteract what they say are male-dominated rulings by jamaats, groups that meet in mosques and settle disputes. Chaaya, an organization of village women, obtained the land and the permission to build the mosque, which will have its own jamaat, the Hindustan Times reported. Under Islamic law, women are normally banned from entering a mosque. The group of women took action after finding that the male-dominated jamaats often handed down verdicts favoring men in family disputes, particularly in divorce cases. "When a man seeks divorce, only his case is heard by the jamaat. The wife is never called for a hearing, saying that women are not permitted inside mosques, where jamaats usually sit," said Sherifa, who convenes Chaaya. Members of Chaaya believe building their own mosque is crucial to obtaining fair decisions in marital and divorce matters. "A survey conducted by us showed that in one out of every five Muslim households, there is at least one case of desertion by the husband or instant talaq (divorce) or second marriage by the man, citing some mental or physical disability of the first wife," said Rasheeda, a Chaaya member. "And when these matters were taken to the police station, they asked us to settle them with the jamaat, which are controlled by men." — Carline Bennett (WomensEnews, a service of news that matters to women, is distributed by Global Information Network and is available at www.womensEnews.org)
WASHINGTON/ROME — Many of Liberia's seed stocks have been destroyed after 14 years of civil war and urgently need to be replenished, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Recent assessments indicate that three out of four farmers do not have access to rice seeds for the 2004 season. The U.N. agency launched an appeal for $2 million to provide 70,000 farm families with 700 tons of rice seeds. "Two million dollars is a relatively low price to pay to ensure that half a million Liberians will not go hungry, or at best will not be dependent on food aid next year," said Subraman Thirugnanasambanthar, an FAO representative in Liberia. "Stimulating agricultural production is far more cost-effective and sustainable in the long term than providing food aid to the same number of people. A potentially disastrous situation can be avoided if farmers in stable areas receive rice seeds in time to ensure their own food security and to increase rice production." After 14 years of civil conflict, Liberia's agricultural system and infrastructure has been seriously damaged, and malnutrition is widespread, particularly among children. With much of the country's seed stocks decimated due to the protracted war which ended in August, FAO is planning to supplement local rice-seed procurement with suitable varieties found in the region. The rice-planting season begins in April and goes through June, although land clearing and preparation often starts as early as December. Seeds have to be procured and distributed between January and April in time for planting. Two main staple crops feed Liberians: rice and cassava. Rice is the preferred crop, but cassava is also widely consumed, especially when rice is in short supply, as just before the harvest, when stocks of rice have been depleted. — UN-FAO
END OF INTERNATIONAL NEWS |
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