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Probe Israeli attacks on UN facilities, Ban insists briefs

NEW YORK: UN chief Ban Ki-
moon reiterated on Wednesday
his demand for a full explanation
of recent “outrageous” Israeli at-
tacks on UN facilities in the Gaza
Strip during a Security Council
briefing on his Middle East tour.
With the UN secretary-gen-
eral unable to speak due to a
sore throat, UN Under Secretary-
General for Political Affairs Lynn
Pascoe read out a statement on
his behalf, saying Ban wanted “a
thorough investigation by Israel
into every single one of these in-
cidents.” The attacks, which Ban
described as “outrageous,” in-
cluded strikes on a compound of
the UN agency providing aid for
Palestinian refugees (UNRWA),
and on a UN school last week
during the three-week Israeli war
on Gaza.
“I expect a full explanation
of each incident and that those
responsible will be held account-
able for their actions,” the state-
ment quoted Ban as saying.
The UN chief noted that Is-
raeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
promised to provide results of the
Israeli enquiry “on an urgent
basis” and said he would then
decide on “appropriate follow-up
action.”
At least four UN-run schools
were hit in Israeli strikes,
including one on Saturday in
the northern Gaza town of Beit
Lahiya where some 1,600 people
were sheltering. Saturday’s strike
occurred two days after Ban was
given Israeli assurances that such
attacks would not recur.
Ban, describing the scenes
during a visit to post-war Gaza
on Tuesday as “heartbreaking,”
became the first world leader to
travel to the enclave since Israel
halted its deadliest offensive on
the besieged Palestinian territory,
ruled by Hamas since June 2007.
Meanwhile, the Security
Council adopted a non-binding
statement stressing the need for
full implementation of its Reso-
lution 1860, adopted earlier this
month, including a call for a Gaza
ceasefire “to be durable and fully
respected by all parties.” – AFP
South Korea’s ‘prophet of
doom’ indicted
SEOUL: South Korean prosecutors indicted a
blogger yesterday who had warned of financial
doom for the country with critics saying he was
targeted because his gloomy forecasts upset the
government battling an economic downturn.
“The suspect in this case was indicted on
charges of false information on two occasions,”
an official at the prosecutors’ office said.
Prosecutors identified the blogger “Minerva”
as Park Dae-sung, a 30-year-old unemployed
man who faces up to five years in prison if he is
found guilty of violating communications laws.
Since Park’s detention, reports have flooded
local mainstream media saying he was a quiet

Obama gets cracking

man with a humble educational background.
Experts said this may be an attempt to discredit
Park in a society that places high value on an
elite education and employment at prestigious
firms such as brokerages. – Reuters

ORDERS CLOSURE OF GUANTANOMO, RE-TAKES OATH OF Brazilian model loses

OFFICE AND PLUNGES INTO AGENDA AT HOME AND ABROAD
WASHINGTON: US President
Barack Obama is to issue an or-
der to close Guantanamo prison
after a busy first full day in office
that saw him meet his economic
advisers and war council and
plunge into Israeli-Palestinian
peace diplomacy.
Obama’s packed agenda sig-
naled he was serious about meet-
ing his promise to break sharply
with his Republican predecessor
George W. Bush’s policies at home
and abroad.
He even managed to squeeze in
one small but pressing matter – re-
taking his oath of office. Chief Jus-
tice John Roberts had inadvertently
switched a word while administering
it on Tuesday.
A draft executive order on
Wednesday sets a one-year deadline
to close the controversial US military
prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
where foreign terrorism suspects have
been detained for years without trial.
Acting swiftly on day one after his
inauguration, Obama also ordered
a full review of the US strategy in
Afghanistan, where he has pledged to
boost troop numbers, and told generals
to take the first steps toward executing
his campaign pledge to with-
draw troops from Iraq.
Obama, who has vowed a
bolder pursuit of Israeli-Pal-
estinian peace than Bush, also
called Israeli and Arab leaders to
commit to “active engagement”
and to promise his help in con-
solidating the Gaza ceasefire.
“He pledged that the United
States would do its part to make
these efforts successful, working
closely with the international
community,” White House
spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
With his prompt attention
to the decades-old Middle East
conflict, he made clear it would
be a top foreign policy priority
among the litany of problems
he inherited from Bush.
And Obama’s immediate
focus on Guantanamo, where
the harsh treatment of terrorism
suspects under the Bush admin-
istration damaged America’s
moral standing in the world,
showed his determination to
clean up the US image abroad.
A White House official and a
Congressional aide said Obama
would issue the order closing
Guantanamo immediately. He
will also ban abusive interro-
gations and order a review of
detention policies for captured
militants, they said.
The White House said
Obama re-taking the oath of
office before Chief Justice
John Roberts at the White
House 0n Wednesday.
Obama would meet retired
military officers to discuss the
proposed executive orders.
Guantanamo, opened by
the Bush administration after
the Sept 11, attacks, has been
denounced by human rights
groups for interrogation meth-
ods like “waterboarding” – or
simulated drowning – they said
amounted to torture.
Meanwhile, new Secre-
tary of State Hillary Clinton
proclaimed a “new era for
America” at her first day of
work and said Obama would
visit her today to show a new
unity of purpose.
“I believe with all my
heart that this is a new era for
America,” she told hundreds of
diplomats upon arrival at the
State Department a day after
her confirmation by the Senate.
The Obama administration
is “committed to advancing
America’s national security,
furthering America’s interests
and respecting and exemplify-
ing America’s values around
the world”, she said.
Clinton welcomed “candor”
and a “good debate” in shaping
US foreign policy, but vowed
an end to the divisions that
occurred between the White
House and the State Depart-
ment under Bush. – Agencies
feet, hands to infection
SAO PAULO: A 20-year-old model who was a
finalist to represent Brazil in the Miss World
contest has had her hands and feet am-
putated after contracting a severe urinary
infection, media reported on Wednesday.
Mariana Bridi da Costa was sedated
in a hospital in Serra, in Brazil’s state of
Espirito Santo, and on artificial respiration
following the procedures, according to
several dailies. Bridi was diagnosed with
infection by the Pseudomonas aeroginosa
bacterium, which can often prove fatal.
Septicemia set in her limbs, cutting off cir-
culation and forcing doctors to amputate.
Bridi twice made it into the national finals
for the Miss World contest. – AFP
Wall St Journal evacuates
newsroom in powder scare
NEW YORK: The Wall Street Journal evacu-
ated its newsroom on Wednesday after the
delivery of about 13 envelopes containing an
unidentified powder, a spokeswoman said.
Police and a hazardous materials team from
the fire department were investigating at the
business daily’s New York headquarters, said
spokeswoman Ashley Huston. Two floors
housing the newsroom, the editorial offices,
and executive offices were evacuated, Hus-
ton said. Huston said that a couple of the
envelopes were opened before the alarm
was raised. They were all postmarked from
the southern state of Tennessee. – AFP
Ex-KGB agent buys 75%
stake in London newspaper
LONDON: Russian tycoon and former KGB
agent Alexander Lebedev took a majority
stake in London’s Evening Standard newspa-
per on Wednesday, and vowed to back “free
and independent” journalism in the struggling
daily. Lebedev agreed to pay a nominal sum
– reportedly £1 – to buy a 75.1% stake in the
paper, which like others is battling the explo-
sion of online news that has caused a radical
upheaval in the industry.
A statement issued by the newspaper’s
parent company, Daily Mail and General Trust
(DMGT). said Lebedev was delighted to invest
in the paper. The deal, under which the Associ-
ated Newspapers group, DMGT’s newspaper
division, will retain a 24.9% stake, is expected
to be completed by next month. – AFP
Caroline Kennedy
withdraws from Senate bid
NEW YORK: Caroline Kennedy has with-
drawn from consideration to occupy the
US Senate seat vacated by newly sworn-in
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, The New
York Times reported on Wednesday.
A person close to the decision indicated
that Kennedy, the daughter of assassinated
president John F. Kennedy, called New York
Governor David Paterson on Wednesday,
according to the newspaper.
The source said Kennedy was with-
drawing from consideration over concerns
about the health of her uncle, US Senator
Edward Kennedy, who collapsed on Tues-
day during an inauguration luncheon for
President Barack Obama. – AFP