US admn divided over sending more troops to Afghanistan
Saturday, 5 September 2009
From Fazle Rashid
NEW YORK, Sept 04: India and China are busy building up their military presence on the border of a town known as Tawang perched 10,000 feet in the Himalayas; the US administration is sharply divided on the issue of dispatching additional troops to Afghanistan where Taleban insurgency is on the ascendancy; North Korea has announced it was close to enriching uranium; South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak has sacked his prime minister and defence minister who clashed with him over military spending; Japan's prime minister-designate who announced to move away from US promptly backtracked making a hurried phone call to President Obama assuring that US will be main pillar of Tokyo's foreign policy and, the battle between world's two biggest aircraft manufacturers Europe's Airbus and America's Boeing will come to an end today with WTO ruling that billions of dollars in European subsidies for Airbus aircraft were illegal and European Central Bank (ECB) upgraded its growth outlook for the euro but sought to temper optimism by warning that the nascent economic recovery will be patchy Detail report on each is difficult to compile.
So here is a brief resume of all the news stated above.
Though little known to the outside world, Tawang is the biggest tinderbox in relations between the world's two most populous nations. It is the focus of China's most delicate land-border dispute, a conflict rooted in China's claims of sovereignty over all of Tibet.
In the USA, Vice-President Joe biden is deadly opposed to the idea of an expanded presence in Afghanistan on the grounds that it may distract from what he considers the more urgent goal of stabilizing Pakistan, the New York Times (NYT) reported quoting senior officials.
Richard Holbooke, US special envoy to the region and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton share Vice-President's concern over Pakistan but also argue that more US troops are required to protect Afghan civilians and undermining the Talebans and al-Qaeda. Robert Gates, the defence secretary said sending more troops to Afghanistan would make America look like an occupation force.
Pakistan can jeopardise an IMF loan of $11.3 billion if it fails to reform its tax collection. The IMF loan will help Pakistan to ward off a likely default on foreign debt repayment. Concern is mounting among western economists over Pakistan's ability to cut its fiscal deficit by raising tax revenue. Pakistan budget deficit has risen to 5.2 per cent of its GDP which is higher than IMF limit of 4.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, North Korea announced yesterday that it was in the concluding stage of tests to enrich uranium. North Korea has informed the United Nations about its uranium enrichment programme. In neighbouring South Korea, President Lee Myung-bak has sacked both prime minister and the defence minister who clashed with him over military spending. Chung Un-chan, an American educated economist has been named as prime minister and General Kim Tae-young, chairman of the country's Joint Chiefs of Staff will take over as defence minister.
In Tokyo, Japan's prime minister designate Yukio Hatoyama called US president Obama to assure him that the Japan-US relationship is the foundation of Tokyo's foreign policy. The prime minister-designate quelled worries that his government would pull Japan away from the United States.
In a separate development on the global trade front, after five years of bitter and costly litigation between Europe and the US, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is expected to deliver its verdict today to set limits on government support or civil aircraft makers like Boeing and Airbus. The WTO is expected to rule today that billions of dollars in European government subsidies for Airbus aircraft is illegal. The two companies are making world's most lavish and fabulous aircraft, Airbus is making A350 and Boeing is making 787.
In the airline industry, there has been another development. Germany's Lufthansa took over ailing Austrian airliner the Austrian Airlines.
On the global economic front, the European Central Bank (ECB) sounded a note of caution on eurozone's economic rebound, forecasting only a very gradual recovery and hinting that the growth could be thrown into reverse again, a reputed paper reported.
NEW YORK, Sept 04: India and China are busy building up their military presence on the border of a town known as Tawang perched 10,000 feet in the Himalayas; the US administration is sharply divided on the issue of dispatching additional troops to Afghanistan where Taleban insurgency is on the ascendancy; North Korea has announced it was close to enriching uranium; South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak has sacked his prime minister and defence minister who clashed with him over military spending; Japan's prime minister-designate who announced to move away from US promptly backtracked making a hurried phone call to President Obama assuring that US will be main pillar of Tokyo's foreign policy and, the battle between world's two biggest aircraft manufacturers Europe's Airbus and America's Boeing will come to an end today with WTO ruling that billions of dollars in European subsidies for Airbus aircraft were illegal and European Central Bank (ECB) upgraded its growth outlook for the euro but sought to temper optimism by warning that the nascent economic recovery will be patchy Detail report on each is difficult to compile.
So here is a brief resume of all the news stated above.
Though little known to the outside world, Tawang is the biggest tinderbox in relations between the world's two most populous nations. It is the focus of China's most delicate land-border dispute, a conflict rooted in China's claims of sovereignty over all of Tibet.
In the USA, Vice-President Joe biden is deadly opposed to the idea of an expanded presence in Afghanistan on the grounds that it may distract from what he considers the more urgent goal of stabilizing Pakistan, the New York Times (NYT) reported quoting senior officials.
Richard Holbooke, US special envoy to the region and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton share Vice-President's concern over Pakistan but also argue that more US troops are required to protect Afghan civilians and undermining the Talebans and al-Qaeda. Robert Gates, the defence secretary said sending more troops to Afghanistan would make America look like an occupation force.
Pakistan can jeopardise an IMF loan of $11.3 billion if it fails to reform its tax collection. The IMF loan will help Pakistan to ward off a likely default on foreign debt repayment. Concern is mounting among western economists over Pakistan's ability to cut its fiscal deficit by raising tax revenue. Pakistan budget deficit has risen to 5.2 per cent of its GDP which is higher than IMF limit of 4.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, North Korea announced yesterday that it was in the concluding stage of tests to enrich uranium. North Korea has informed the United Nations about its uranium enrichment programme. In neighbouring South Korea, President Lee Myung-bak has sacked both prime minister and the defence minister who clashed with him over military spending. Chung Un-chan, an American educated economist has been named as prime minister and General Kim Tae-young, chairman of the country's Joint Chiefs of Staff will take over as defence minister.
In Tokyo, Japan's prime minister designate Yukio Hatoyama called US president Obama to assure him that the Japan-US relationship is the foundation of Tokyo's foreign policy. The prime minister-designate quelled worries that his government would pull Japan away from the United States.
In a separate development on the global trade front, after five years of bitter and costly litigation between Europe and the US, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is expected to deliver its verdict today to set limits on government support or civil aircraft makers like Boeing and Airbus. The WTO is expected to rule today that billions of dollars in European government subsidies for Airbus aircraft is illegal. The two companies are making world's most lavish and fabulous aircraft, Airbus is making A350 and Boeing is making 787.
In the airline industry, there has been another development. Germany's Lufthansa took over ailing Austrian airliner the Austrian Airlines.
On the global economic front, the European Central Bank (ECB) sounded a note of caution on eurozone's economic rebound, forecasting only a very gradual recovery and hinting that the growth could be thrown into reverse again, a reputed paper reported.