Chelsea Clinton Wedding Picture One of the nation’s favorite former First Daughters is now a missus. Chelsea Clinton’s longtime beau officially “Put a Ring on It” in a Saturday afternoon ceremony at the Astor Courts in Upstate New York. And pictures of the wedding are slowly making their way onto the Net.Chelsea — the daughter [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Mrs Clinton’
US and Pakistan seek to reverse mistrust
March 24th, 2010 |
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WASHINGTON (Agencies) – The United States and Pakistan have agreed to fast-track pending Pakistani requests for military equipment as the two step up security cooperation, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Wednesday.
“We’ve agreed to fast-track our requests, that have been pending for months and years, on the transfer of military equipment to Pakistan,” FM Qureshi told a news conference following a day of talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
He said US suspicions of his country have evaporated, with officials no longer questioning IslamabadÂ’s commitment to fight extremism.
Qureshi, who was holding a first-of-a-kind “strategic dialogue” with the US, said “the mood was completely different” from previous visits to Washington.
“I was at the Senate; I was at the House. It’s a 180-degree difference,” he said.
“There were no more question marks, there was no suspicion, there was no ‘do more,’” he said. “There was appreciation for what we had already done.”
WednesdayÂ’s dialogue is part of efforts by the United States to show it has a long-term interest in relations with Pakistan beyond cooperation to fight in Afghanistan.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, appearing with Qureshi, announced support for PakistanÂ’s energy and transport sectors as part of a high-level dialogue aimed at showing greater US interest. She said Washington will give $125m financial aid to Islamabad for boosting the energy sector and will extend cooperation for setting up three thermal power projects in Pakistan.
She said the US would sign a letter for “significant road infrastructure” in Pakistan’s troubled northwest without offering a figure.
She further said the US has also agreed to let Pakistan International Airlines fly to Chicago via Barcelona. It will be the flag carrierÂ’s second destination in the United States after New York.
The PIA will be allowed to operate in five American cities, the chief US diplomat stated.
USAID, the government agency, will also sign a deal for three thermal rehabilitation plans to help ease PakistanÂ’s chronic energy shortages, she said.
The US government will also give financial assistance to Pakistan for Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).
The United States has already committed to $7.5b in aid over five years in a law approved last year.
Pakistani products will be given access to US markets, she said.
“Pakistan is on the frontline of confronting the violent extremism that threatens us all and Pakistan’s civilian and security forces continue to bear the brunt of that fight,” she said.
Hillary said the US supported dialogue between India and Pakistan, after Islamabad appealed for a larger US role on Kashmir.
Qureshi, taking part in high-level talks that the US hopes will show goodwill, called for a “constructive engagement” by the United States on Kashmir.
Asked about his remarks later at the joint news conference, Hillary said the US supported reconciliation efforts between India and Pakistan.
“The issues that are part of that dialogue need to be addressed and resolution of them between the two countries would certainly be in everyone’s best interest,” she said, without explicitly mentioning Kashmir.
She said the US wanted to be a partner of Pakistan on “a full range of matters.”
“We can’t dictate Pakistani foreign policy or Indian foreign policy. But we can encourage, as we do, the in-depth discussion between both countries that we think would benefit each of them with respect to security and development,” she said.
Qureshi hoped that India will review its policy.
Earlier in the day, Hillary Clinton said the United States had started a “new day” with Pakistan in hearing its concerns, but some of Islamabad’s requests were set for a cool reception.
Mrs Clinton opened a first-of-a-kind “strategic dialogue” with Pakistan, hoping to show the country’s widely anti-American public that the United States wants a relationship that goes beyond short-term battles against militants.
In an early-morning ceremony timed for broadcast in Pakistan, Mrs Clinton said she wanted to speak directly to its people, acknowledging that the two nations “have had our misunderstandings and disagreements in the past.”
Pointing to Pakistan’s growing action against extremism, Mrs Clinton pledged full support, saying, “Its struggles are our struggles.” “There are sure to be more disagreements in the future, as there are between any friends or, frankly, any family members,” she said. “But this is a new day. For the past year, the Obama administration has shown in our words and deeds a different approach and attitude towards Pakistan.”
“The dialogue we seek is not only with the government of Pakistan, but you the people of Pakistan,” she said, vowing that both she and President Barack Obama had a “personal commitment” to building ties with Islamabad.
The United States invited General Ashfaq Kayani, the army chief, to take part in the dialogue, along with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Qureshi looked for improved ties with Washington, a close ally in fighting against militants as the United States battles the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan.
“Now is the time to look forward,” said Qureshi in his opening remarks. “Such a partnership, we are convinced, is good for Pakistan, good for America and good for international peace, security and prosperity,” he added.
Qureshi expressed gratitude for US assistance and pledged that Pakistan would keep up the fight against extremism. But he made clear that Pakistan wanted benefits in return.
Qureshi said that Pakistan was seeking “non-discriminatory” access to energy resources as well as a “constructive” role by the United States on its dispute with India over Kashmir.
“Pakistan is committed to doing its part to facilitate the world community’s effort for peace and stability in Afghanistan,” Qureshi said. “We hope the world community will be equally responsive to our legitimate concerns and help advance common interests,” he said. Pakistan has long sought international intervention on Kashmir, which has been the focal point of two of the nations’ three full-fledged wars with India.
The United States has declined mediation on Kashmir, which India considers a domestic issue. India has said it is willing to engage in dialogue on all issues related to Kashmir except redrawing borders.
Pakistan has said it wants a civilian nuclear deal with the United States similar to a landmark agreement reached by India in 2008. The rival nations stunned the world with nuclear tests in 1998.
US special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, and Mrs Clinton both played down any talks on nuclear cooperation, indicating this could be a source of tensions in two days of talks.
“Let’s just see how it develops,” said Holbrooke. “We’re ready to listen to anything.”
Asked by a Pakistani TV if nuclear cooperation could assuage the country’s chronic energy shortages, Mrs Clinton said there were “more immediate steps that can be taken” including upgrading power plants.
“India and Pakistan, we have been in this together in South Asia, so what is good for India should be good for Pakistan,” Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir told reporters.
“We have a relationship that goes back 60 years, but I’m here to build a partnership,” Qureshi said Tuesday at the Pakistani embassy. “And when you build a partnership, it has to be built on trust.”
Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is also a key player in the Washington meetings and Holbrooke said the military was crucial to any future relationship with Pakistan.
Pakistan is also seeking greater cooperation on water and education and wants unmanned attack drones. The United States has so far only given Pakistan surveillance drones.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell downplayed expectations for major announcements, saying it was a mistake to see the dialogue as “a discussion of requests and replies.”
Qureshi and Kayani met Tuesday with Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar, who authored last yearÂ’s bill that promised 7.5 billion dollars in aid over five years to build PakistanÂ’s infrastructure and democratic institutions.
Many Pakistanis are distrustful of the United States, remembering how it distanced itself in the 1990s after teaming up with Islamabad to arm Jihadists who ousted Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
Holbrooke said that the dialogue – which will include working groups on Thursday and further rounds in Islamabad – was part of a “strategic vision” by the United States.
“That is that Pakistan is important in its own right. We don’t view it simply as a function of its giant neighbour to the east or its war-torn neighbour to the west,” Holbrooke said.
Bashir said many Pakistanis had grown irritated by US calls for the country to do more against extremists.
“Pakistan has done much more. We are doing it for our own sake,” he said. “So I think it’s perhaps best not to get into that argument.”
Building tensions
March 17th, 2010 |
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Relations between America and Israel reach a low point
After a raucous public slanging match, America and Israel are attempting to heal the worst rift between the countries in years. The row erupted during Joe Biden’s visit to Jerusalem last week after the Israeli government approved plans to build 1,600 new homes in a Jewish suburb located in East Jerusalem. America’s vice-president, sent to shore up relations and reassure Israel over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, took this as a gross and gratuitous insult both personally and to his boss, Barack Obama.
Hillary Clinton, America’s secretary of state, berated Mr Netanyahu on the phone and went on television to inform the world what she had done. The next day tensions rose higher after Israel’s ambassador to Washington was reported to have said that the crisis was the worst between the two countries in 35 years. He later claimed that he was misquoted. On March 16th Mrs Clinton, now trying to fight the flames, said that America had “an absolute commitment to Israel’s security. We have a close, unshakeable bond.” …
Witherspoon jokes about Michelle Obama stealing stylish woman crown
March 11th, 2010 |
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Reese Witherspoon recently commented on how her “Legally Blonde†character Elle Woods has been ousted as the most stylish woman of the US by First Lady Michelle Obama.
Witherspoon, 33, spoke at the annual International Women of Courage awards ceremony on March 10 where Mrs Obama and Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, were present.
The [...]
US ups pressure on Pakistan
November 16th, 2009 |
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NEW YORK – The United States has warned Pakistan that failing to expand its fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda would undercut the new American strategy and troop increase for Afghanistan that President Barack Obama is preparing, a leading US newspaper reported Monday.
Citing American officials, the New York Times said President ObamaÂ’s national security adviser, Gen James Jones, was sent to Islamabad, with the message that the new American strategy would work only if Pakistan broadened its fight beyond the militants attacking its cities and security forces and went after the groups that use havens in Pakistan for plotting and carrying out attacks against American troops in Afghanistan, as well as support networks for Al-Qaeda.
General Jones praised the current Pakistani operation in South Waziristan but urged Pakistani officials to combat extremists who have fled into North Waziristan, the newspaper said.
General Jones also delivered a letter from Obama to President Asif Ali Zardari, in which the US leader said he expected Zardari to rally the nationÂ’s political and national security institutions in a united campaign against extremists threatening Pakistan and Afghanistan, it said, citing an official briefed on the conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were confidential.
For their part, according to the paper, Pakistani officials have told the Americans that they harbour two deep fears about ObamaÂ’s new strategy: that the United States will add too many troops on the Afghan side of the border, and that the American effort will end too soon. Their first concern, described by officials on both sides of the recent discussions, is that if Obama commits an additional 30,000 or more troops, it will inevitably push more Taliban fighters across the border into Pakistani territory and complicate the South Waziristan offensive.
Every time Obama declares that the United States will not have an “open-ended” military commitment in Afghanistan, he fuels a second concern of the powerful Pakistani military and intelligence establishment, which believes the United States commitment is fleeting, The Times said. It is a concern that some of them say justifies Pakistan’s continuing ties to the militants who fight American troops in Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared to fuel this concern on Sunday in her comments on the ABC programme “This Week,” saying: “We’re not interested in staying in Afghanistan. We have no long-term stake there. We want that to be made very clear.”
White House officials have said comparatively little about the Pakistan side of the administrationÂ’s evolving war strategy, in part because they have so few options, The Times pointed out. They cannot place forces inside Pakistan, and they cannot talk publicly about the Central Intelligence AgencyÂ’s Predator drone strikes in the country, though they are so much of an open secret that Mrs Clinton was asked about them repeatedly in meetings she held late last month with Pakistani students and citizens. (She refused to acknowledge the programmeÂ’s existence.)
In his letter to President Zardari, it said Obama offered a range of new incentives to the Pakistanis for their cooperation, including enhanced intelligence sharing and military cooperation, according to the official who had been briefed on the letterÂ’s contents.
During Obama’s Situation Room briefings on his alternatives, those advocating a minimal commitment of new troops in Afghanistan have argued that the United States needs only enough forces to keep Al-Qaeda “bottled up” in the mountainous tribal areas of Pakistan, it said. That is the position taken by Vice President Joseph Biden; the White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel; and most recently, the American ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, administration officials say.
“You could argue that even under the status quo, we don’t see Al-Qaeda coming into Afghanistan,” said one official sympathetic to this view. “And so an additional commitment of forces isn’t going to apply more pressure on our main target.”
Those arguing for a more forceful presence – including Mrs Clinton, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen – have contended that while Afghanistan is not now a haven for Al-Qaeda, it could easily become one if the Taliban make further inroads.
Mrs Clinton argued that NATO had actually increased troop levels along that border but had decided to consolidate about a half-dozen remote outposts into fewer, larger installations, because they were easier to defend. According to American military officials, the Pakistani military got no warning of the change.
So great was the Pakistani concern over the outpost closures that Gen Stanley A McChrystal, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, made a special point during an unannounced trip to Islamabad after Mrs ClintonÂ’s visit to reassure Pakistani officials of American resolve.
“We’re stuck between not wanting to suggest we’re going to be there forever, but on the other hand, if we don’t show some kind of commitment, everyone continues to play the same game,” a senior administration official said Sunday. “That’s the challenge.”
If Pakistanis voice concerns about a lack of American commitment, they express equal concern that sending tens of thousands more American troops to Afghanistan could force Taliban militants into Pakistan. The Times argued.
“Whatever we do – put in more troops or put in fewer troops – theyÂ’ll freak out,” said an American intelligence officer who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid jeopardising his relations with Pakistani officials. But the intelligence officer acknowledged that the long-term security picture and the American commitment in Afghanistan were still unclear. “Look, if I were in Pakistan, IÂ’d be hedging my bets, too,” the officer was quoted as saying. “We need to be much more convincing that we have a better game plan.”
Clinton to meet Nigerian leaders
August 12th, 2009 |
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Nigeria on the fifth leg of her seven-nation tour of Africa.
During her 36-hour visit, Mrs Clinton will meet her Nigerian counterpart, Ojo Maduekwe, and later hold talks with President Umaru Yar’Adua.
Analysts say she will take a tough line on corruption and electoral reform.
Last month, US President Barack Obama skipped Nigeria on his first official Africa trip, in what was seen as a snub for its record on governance.
"Nigeria is undoubtedly the most important country in sub-Saharan Africa," Assistant US Secretary of State for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency, en route to the Nigerian capital Abuja.
But Mr Carson said it had also been described as "the most corrupt state in Africa".
CLINTON’S AFRICAN TOUR- Kenya
- South Africa
- Nigeria
- Angola
- Liberia
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Cape Verde
President Yar’Adua came to power in a widely criticised election in April 2007.
On Wednesday, Mrs Clinton is scheduled to hold a private meeting with representatives of the country’s political elite, with democracy and corruption said to be on the agenda.
And she is expected to seek an update on the status of a 60-day amnesty period in the Niger Delta, declared in an effort to end years of militant attacks that have hobbled the oil industry.
Mrs Clinton’s visit comes in the wake of clashes between a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram and security forces in Bauchi and three other north-eastern Nigerian states.
On Tuesday, Mrs Clinton demanded an end to widespread sexual abuse in war-ravaged eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, during a visit to the country.
She spoke out during a tour of a crowded refugee camp in the city of Goma.
She leaves Nigeria on Thursday for Liberia and will round off her trip in Cape Verde.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Clinton appeal on Congo conflict
August 11th, 2009 |
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is heading to the Democratic Republic Of Congo, where she will speak out on the country’s deadly civil conflict.
Mrs Clinton is expected to call for an end to rights abuses, including mass rapes reportedly carried out by rebels and government troops.
Violence flared in the country’s mineral-rich east last year, raising fears of a return to civil war.
Mrs Clinton, on a seven-nation tour of Africa, was in Angola earlier.
She urged the oil-rich nation to hold credible elections and also promised US oil firms would give greater help to Angola’s other sectors, such as agriculture.
Basketball philanthropy
On her arrival in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, Mrs Clinton is set to visit a newly-built hospital.
The BBC’s East Africa correspondent Will Ross says the modern facility is in stark contrast to the rest of the country’s dilapidated health system.
But the hospital was not built by the government – its construction was paid for by Dikembe Mutombo, a Congolese basketball star who made his name in the US.
On Tuesday Mrs Clinton will meet President Joseph Kabila in the eastern town of Goma, where the focus will be on ending human rights atrocities including mass rape.
CLINTON’S AFRICAN TOUR- Kenya
- South Africa
- Nigeria
- Angola
- Liberia
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Cape Verde
Our correspondent says the US and the rest of the international community realise that if stability can be brought to DR Congo it could have a positive impact on a vast swathe of Africa.
The country borders eight other nations, and its conflicts have frequently spilled over its borders.
The US is a major aid donor and has helped the country in some of its recent successes like the elections of 2006 and the thawing of relations with Rwanda.
Mrs Clinton has already visited South Africa and Kenya as part of the trip – her longest foreign tour since taking office.
She is also due to visit Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Clinton urges fair Angola polls
August 9th, 2009 |
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in oil-rich Angola on her seven-nation tour of Africa.
During a one-day visit she is expected to seek a greater share in Angola’s oil market for the US and counter China’s growing influence.
Mrs Clinton is due to meet President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and oil industry executives on Sunday in the capital Luanda.
Last year, Angola overtook Saudi Arabia as China’s leading source of crude oil.
The US gets about 7% of its oil from the southern African country.
Although Angola vies with Nigeria as Africa’s biggest oil producer, two-thirds of its population survives on less than two dollars a day.
Mrs Clinton’s top Africa aide, Johnnie Carson, said the secretary of state was going to Angola "to strengthen that relationship with one of Southern Africa’s emerging countries, a country which has enormous economic potential".
He dismissed talk of US rivalry with China, describing it as a "Cold War paradigm".
Mrs Clinton travelled to Angola from South Africa where she held talks with President Jacob Zuma in Durban.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Mandela meeting inspires Clinton
August 7th, 2009 |
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said she felt inspired by her meeting with former South African President Nelson Mandela.
The meeting at his home in Johannesburg came on the second leg of her tour of Africa.
Mrs Clinton hailed Mr Mandela for the personal discipline he showed when he fought South Africa’s apartheid system.
She was shown handwritten copies of Mr Mandela’s letters from his time as a political prisoner.
Mrs Clinton was also shown his membership card of the Methodist Church, a denomination to which she also belongs.
Referring to these documents, she said: "It of course inspires in me an even greater admiration for his public work but an even greater affection for the man.
"The discipline that he brought to a life filled with so many great achievements, not only for him personally but for South Africa and the world."
Relations between the US and South Africa were warm during the 1990s under President Mandela and Mrs Clinton’s husband Bill Clinton, the then US president, says the BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg.
A commission was established to prioritise areas of cooperation, but when Mr Clinton left the White House this was quietly forgotten, our correspondent says.
South African officials hope that the visit by Mrs Clinton will signal a new period of cooperation to support the already strong business links between the two countries, he adds.
‘Working together’
Earlier, Mrs Clinton met South African International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and said the US and South Africa were "working together" to bring about reform in Zimbabwe.
CLINTON’S AFRICAN TOUR- Kenya
- South Africa
- Nigeria
- Angola
- Liberia
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Cape Verde
"We’re working together to realise the vision of a free, democratic and prosperous Zimbabwe," Mrs Clinton said in a joint news conference with Ms Nkoana-Mashabane.
"We’re going to be closely consulting as to how best to deal with what is a very difficult situation for South Africa and for the United States, but mostly for the people of Zimbabwe."
In the coming days, Mrs Clinton will meet South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, when she is likely again to address the situation in Zimbabwe, as well as discussing business and health.
Zimbabwe’s economy has improved in recent months but the US is concerned that many of the political and social reforms promised by President Robert Mugabe following the power-sharing agreement with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have not yet been implemented.
In their meeting on Saturday, Mrs Clinton is expected to ask Mr Zuma to use his influence to combat what she has called the "negative effects" of Mr Mugabe’s presidency.
Earlier, Ms Nkoana-Mashabane said she believed the Obama administration would work alongside the African Union in helping to bring peace to parts of Africa.
"We see this administration and the government of the USA as a strategic partner on the political front, as we work with them to look at the mechanisms to resolve areas of conflict working together with the African Union," she said.
Mrs Clinton is also due to meet Deputy-President Kgalema Motlanthe.
She will also attend a conference with Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi before attending National Women’s Day events in the capital, Pretoria.
African potential
Mrs Clinton began her seven-nation African tour in Kenya on Wednesday, where she held talks in Nairobi with Kenya’s president and prime minister.
Addressing African leaders at an economic summit, Mrs Clinton said the continent had "enormous potential for progress".
But she stressed that harnessing that potential would require democracy and good governance.
Before Mrs Clinton arrived in Kenya, the US embassy in Nairobi had issued a statement scolding Kenya for its decision not to set up a local court to seek justice for the victims of the deadly clashes which followed the 2007 election.
On Thursday, Mrs Clinton met the Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in the Kenyan capital.
She offered to increase US support for his unity government and to "take action" against neighbouring Eritrea if it did not stop supporting militants in Somalia.
Eritrea denies supporting Somalia’s al-Shabab militants, who are trying to overthrow Somalia’s government.
The Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu told the BBC Mrs Clinton’s comments were "very disappointing" and that the White House had "failed to learn mistakes of the previous US administration".
Mrs Clinton’s 11-day trip will take her to Angola on Sunday before she heads to Nigeria, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cape Verde.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Kenyan suitor renews Chelsea Clinton goat offer
August 7th, 2009 |
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A Kenyan man has told the BBC how happy he is that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has agreed to renew his marriage offer to her daughter.
In 2000, Godwin Kipkemoi Chepkurgor wrote to her husband Bill Clinton, the then-US president, offering 40 goats and 20 cows for Chelsea Clinton’s hand.
In Kenya on the first leg of her African tour, Mrs Clinton was informed by a journalist of the proposal.
"My daughter is her own person. I will convey this very kind offer," she said.
If Ms Clinton, 29, accepted she would become Mr Chepkurgor’s second wife, as he has married since his initial proposal.
Mr Chepkurgor, 40, a councillor in Nakuru in Kenya’s Rift Valley, said his first wife knew about the renewal of his affections and "did not object".
The BBC’s Muliro Telewa in Nakuru says the offer of 40 goats and 20 cows for the bride price is very generous in Kenyan terms.
"I feel very good for her [Mrs Clinton] to have answered – almost in the affirmative," Mr Chepkurgor told the BBC’s Network Africa programme.
"She promised that she will take the proposal to the daughter and I am now waiting," he said.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Clinton tour reaches South Africa
August 7th, 2009 |
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in South Africa on the second leg of her 11-day tour of the continent.
Mrs Clinton will hold meetings with her South African counterpart and with former President Nelson Mandela on the first of three days in the country.
Talks will focus on business and on HIV/Aids, which affects nearly 6 million South Africans.
In the coming days she will meet President Jacob Zuma, for talks likely to include the situation in Zimbabwe.
Correspondents say Mrs Clinton will ask Mr Zuma to use his influence to combat what she has called "negative effects of the continuing presidency of President [Robert] Mugabe" in Zimbabwe.
Relations between the US and South Africa were warm during the 1990s under Presidents Mandela and Bill Clinton, says the BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg.
A commission was established to prioritise areas of co-operation but when Mr Clinton left the White House this was quietly forgotten.
South African officials hope that the visit by Mrs Clinton, the former US president’s wife, will signal a new period of cooperation, says our correspondent.
On Friday morning, Mrs Clinton is holding talks with South African Foreign Minister Nkoana-Mashabane and Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Later, she will meet Mr Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, and attend a conference with Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi before travelling to the South African capital Pretoria for National Women’s Day events.
African potential
Mrs Clinton began her seven-nation African tour in Kenya on Wednesday where she held talks in Nairobi with Kenya’s president and prime minister.
CLINTON’S AFRICAN TOUR- Kenya
- South Africa
- Nigeria
- Angola
- Liberia
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Cape Verde
Addressing African leaders at an economic summit, Mrs Clinton said the continent had "enormous potential for progress".
But she stressed that harnessing that potential would require democracy and good governance.
Before Mrs Clinton arrived in Kenya, the US embassy in Nairobi had issued a statement scolding Kenya for its decision not to set up a local court to seek justice for the victims of the deadly clashes which followed the 2007 election.
On Thursday, Mrs Clinton met the Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in the Kenyan capital.
She offered to increase US support for his unity government and to "take action" against neighbouring Eritrea if it does not stop supporting militants in Somalia.
Eritrea denies supporting Somalia’s al-Shabab militants, who are trying to overthrow Somalia’s government.
During her 11-day trip Mrs Clinton will also visited South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cape Verde.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Hillary Clinton arrives in Africa
August 4th, 2009 |
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on her way Kenya, to begin an 11-day tour of the African continent.
Her trip will include South Africa, Nigeria, Liberia and Angola and she will meet Somali leaders in Kenya.
The visit, her longest overseas journey in her post to date, is part of an attempt by the US to show that Africa remains a key foreign policy priority.
Development issues – including food security, health and gender concerns – are expected to be high on the agenda.
Mrs Clinton’s trip comes less than a month after US President Barack Obama travelled to Ghana.
Somali hopes
Ahead of her arrival on Tuesday, the US embassy in Nairobi issued a statement scolding Kenya for its decision not to set up a local court to seek justice for the victims of the country’s post-election violence.
AFRICAN TOUR- Kenya
- South Africa
- Nigeria
- Angola
- Liberia
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Somalia
At least 1,300 people died during clashes following the disputed December 2007 poll.
Meanwhile Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed said the meeting with Mrs Clinton in Kenya would be "a golden chance for the Somali people and government".
"It signals how the American government, the Obama administration and the international community are willing to support Somalia this time," he said, referring to earlier failed peacekeeping missions to the country.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Castro says Cuban system to stay
August 2nd, 2009 |
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Cuban President Raul Castro says he is willing to enter into dialogue with the US but the island’s communist system remains non-negotiable.
Mr Castro said he wanted to respond to recent overtures by Washington.
But in a speech that was given a standing ovation in parliament, he also emphasised that he had not been elected to return Cuba to capitalism.
US President Barack Obama has said he wants to "recast" relations with Cuba but the US has also called for reforms.
In his speech, Mr Castro acknowledged that there had been less aggression and anti-Cuban rhetoric under the Obama administration.
"I was elected to defend, maintain and continue perfecting socialism – not to destroy it"
Cuban President Raul Castro
He repeated Cuba’s willingness "to sustain a respectful dialogue with the United States, between equals".
But he also noted that a decades-old US embargo remained in place and said he wished to respond to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comments linking dialogue with reform.
"With all due respect, in response to Mrs Clinton, but also to the European Union… I was not chosen as president to restore capitalism to Cuba or to renounce the revolution," Mr Castro said.
"I was elected to defend, maintain and continue perfecting socialism. Not to destroy it."
Mr Castro, 78, stepped up to the Cuban leadership three years ago when his older brother, Fidel, underwent gastric surgery.
He formally assumed the presidency last year.
In his speech, he scoffed at those who say Cuba’s political system will crumble after the "the death of Fidel and all of us".
"If that’s how they think, they are doomed to failure," he said.
On the economic front, the Cuban president announced that the government had cut its budget for a second time this year amid a growing financial crisis.
The government has recently pushed through a series of austerity measures and cut its projected economic growth estimate for this year to 1.7%</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
US urges Iran to free prisoners
July 29th, 2009 |
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The US secretary of state has called on Iran to free political detainees following reports that many are being abused by the authorities.
Dozens were arrested during post-poll protests and 20 are due to face trial next week.
Hillary Clinton said she deplored reports that political prisoners were being mistreated.
She urged the government to release prisoners held for political reasons and to treat detainees properly.
"We believe that it is imperative for the Iranian authorities to release political prisoners, to treat them appropriately and humanely," Mrs Clinton said during a news conference in Washington.
Grave visits
She said reports of the continuing detention and abuse of political prisoners suggested that Iran’s political situation had yet to be resolved.
Her comments come as the country announced that it would release some of the prisoners accused of minor offences on Friday, amid growing outrage in Iran over their treatment.
Those who will stand trial face charges including bombings and attacking security forces.
Opposition leaders said they planned to visit the graves of slain protesters on Thursday, after permission was refused for a public memorial ceremony.
Correspondents say the visit could become the next flashpoint between the security forces and opposition protesters.
Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, both reformist candidates who say the June poll was rigged, are planning to mark the end of the 40-day mourning period for several protesters.
Among the graves they intend to visit is the burial site of Neda Agha-Soltan, a young women who became an icon of the opposition movement after video of her death was posted on the internet.
Allegations
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was re-elected in the election, has reportedly ordered that all prisoners not accused of serious offences be freed by 7 August.
On Tuesday, officials said about 140 people detained during the protests were released from Evin prison.
But about 200 others, accused of more serious crimes, remained in the prison.
Accounts have been emerging of mistreatment of people detained during the protests.
Hanif Mazroei, a reformist journalist and blogger, told BBC Persian that he had interviewed family members of people held at the facility.
Groups of 10-20 prisoners had been held in goods containers with no sanitation and little ventilation, and detainees were beaten daily, some until they were unconscious, the prisoners relatives told him.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Clinton to go on tour of Africa
July 28th, 2009 |
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to tour seven African countries, starting on 5 August.
The visit is to highlight President Barack Obama’s commitment to making Africa a US foreign policy priority.
While in Africa, Mrs Clinton is set to speak at the Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (AGOA) in Kenya.
Her office in Washington says this is the earliest in any US administration that both the US president and secretary of state have visited Africa.
Global hunger and agricultural issues will also feature highly in her discussions with African leaders.
Kenya is her first stop, where she is set to address the AGOA forum on new approaches to development, investment and broad-based economic growth.
Kenya is also the birthplace of the US president’s father.
Mr Obama visited Ghana earlier this month – his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since being elected president.
Mrs Clinton will also visit South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Liberia, and Cape Verde.
She will also meet Somalia’s President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, president of Somalia, whose forces are battling Islamist insurgents.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
N Korea hints at ‘specific’ talks
July 27th, 2009 |
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North Korea has again insisted it would not return to six-party talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear weapons programmes.
But it has hinted it was still open to some form of dialogue.
"There is a specific and reserved form of dialogue that can address the current situation," state media quoted a foreign ministry statement.
The note follows an exchange of insults between the North and the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week.
The ministry statement quoted by North Korean media did not elaborate on what form any new dialogue could take.
Some analysts saw the statement as a sign that after a series of provocations to the international community, North Korea may now be ready to find a way to ease tension.
But it was clear that the North believes that past patterns of persuasion or pressure for Pyongyang to rejoin talks with China, Russia, South Korea, Japan and the United States were over.
"Any attempt to side with those who claim the resumption of the six-party talks without grasping the essence of the matter will not help ease tension," the foreign ministry spokesman said in the statement.
Six or two
North Korea’s UN envoy, Sin Son-ho, had said on Friday that Pyongyang was not opposed to negotiations with the US, but that it would not return to the six-party format.
In the past, the North has demanded talks only with the US, something Washington has previously been loath to do.
North Korea’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper also said Sunday that the country’s envoy told an Asian security conference in Thailand last week that the nuclear standoff was a matter only between Pyongyang and Washington.
The US says it is willing to hold direct talks with the North within the six-nation process if it returns to the negotiating table and takes irreversible steps for denuclearisation.
On Sunday, Mrs Clinton said on NBC television that the six-party talk framework was "the appropriate way to engage with North Korea."
The North quit the multilateral disarmament talks after the UN Security Council imposed tough sanctions after the North launched nuclear and missile tests.
These include an expanded arms embargo and beefed up inspections of air, sea and land shipments going to and from North Korea.
Speaking at an Asian regional forum in Thailand last week Mrs Clinton said North Korea had no friends to protect it from international efforts to end its nuclear programme.
Separately, a spokesman in Pyongyang described Mrs Clinton as a "funny lady" – responding to her comments that North Korea’s behaviour was that of an unruly child.
"Her words suggest that she is by no means intelligent," the spokesman said, quoted by state news agency KCNA.
"Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping. Anyone making misstatements has to pay for them."
</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Gotham Chopra: These (agonizing) Days
July 27th, 2009 |
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These days, even the good days are pretty bad. This past week, by all objective accounts, I had a great week. Two comic books that…
‘On hold’
July 23rd, 2009 |
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By Kim Ghattas
BBC News, Phuket
The political turmoil inside Iran has left Washington grappling for a way forward in its attempts to engage its long-time foe.
In a BBC interview, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tehran did not have the "capacity" to make decisions about its relations with the outside world at the moment.
"The internal debates going on inside Iran have made it difficult, if not impossible, for them to pursue any diplomatic engagement, not just with us but anyone, like the P5+1 (permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany), there is so much that is on hold."
She added that Washington was looking to engage Iran as an entity, and as a country that was on the path to acquiring nuclear weapons.
She refused to be drawn on whether the US would talk to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad if he accepted the offer of engagement, saying it was hypothetical.
Asian arms race
The secretary of state repeated her comments about a defence umbrella over the Gulf region, which have alarmed Israel.
She described it as a restatement of policy that is rooted in bilateral relationships with countries in the Gulf.
"You know we do a lot of military business and sell a lot of weapons systems in the Gulf, [it's part of our] commitment to making sure that Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon to undermine their confidence that this is the right path to take and continue doing what we’re doing which is to beef up the defensive capabilities of countries that are very worried about Iran."
"I’ve been quite amazed at the extent to which other countries are willing to go to enforce these sanctions [on North Korea]"
Hillary Clinton,
US Secretary of State
Engagement and nuclear proliferation were the themes of the day at the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) summit. At the top of Mrs Clinton’s agenda here was North Korea’s nuclear programme and Burma.
While Mrs Clinton told North Korea it had no friends left, and Pyongyang responded by calling her "not intelligent" and "a funny lady", the secretary of state said she had been "amazed" by the cooperation in efforts against North Korea.
A US official travelling with the delegation described it as a collective policy that was paying off.
Mrs Clinton said: "I’ve been quite amazed at the extent to which other countries are willing to go to enforce these sanctions which says to me that they are now equally concerned about the possible implications, not only of North Korea having deliverable nuclear weapons which we are determined to prevent, but also the arms race it would provoke in the region."
Such an arms race, she added, would destabilise North East Asia, "which is the principal reason why I think China is committed to do all that it can with us to try to remove that danger".
Brokering deals
A united front also appeared to emerge on Burma, at least according to the secretary of state.
She said Asean countries were "of one voice" and that Nobel peace prize winner Aung Sang Suu Kuii should be released, but she also indicated that engagement was being considered.
"There have also been volunteers from amongst neighbouring nations, the Indonesians are particularly keen to do that," she said.
"There’s a willingness on the part of many neighbours and those who do business with Burma to try to up the contact and the pressure to help them see a way forward."
"Part of the challenge [is that] the people currently running Burma are worried that if they give up power and move toward democracy, they could end up in an international criminal court," Mrs Clinton said, indicating that "two foreign ministers" in the region had mentioned the point to her.
"So a lot of the neighbours in the region are actually thinking of taking a more pro-active approach through Asean’s regional forum to try to think of deals that could be brokered."</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.