Israel dismissed a UN resolution demanding it retract threats to remove Yasser Arafat while Palestinians hailed the vote as another sign of support for their leader. \nThe overwhelming support in the UN General Assembly on Friday -- 133 nations voted in favor of the measure -- comes a day after the incoming Palestinian prime minister stridently defended Arafat, saying he is key to peace efforts and the US should treat him as a real partner. \nPrime Minister-designate Ahmed Qureia's criticism of US policy on Friday was the strongest sign yet he does not plan to challenge Arafat, who Israel and the US, which opposed the UN resolution, tried to circumvent by pressing for the creation of the post of prime minister. \nInstead, Arafat appears to have maintained a central role, handpicking Qureia after the resignation of the first prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, and moving to shape a Cabinet of loyalists from his Fatah party. \nRegardless, Bush said Thursday that Arafat "had a failed as leader" and accused him of forcing out Abbas, who resigned Sept. 6 after wrangling with Arafat for months. \nQureia called Bush's statement "regrettable" and said it "does not serve the peace process." \nArafat also responded Friday. "You have to know we are the authority of the Palestinians that has been recognized by all the Palestinians," he told ABC News. Bush "has to remember that President Clinton was dealing with me, his father was dealing with me. And he was in the beginning with me." \nArafat's popularity soared after Israel's decision on Sept. 11 to "remove" him at an unspecified time. Israeli officials have suggested he may be exiled, killed or simply isolated at his shattered compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah. \nA first attempt at the UN to condemn the Israeli decision was thwarted by the US, which vetoed a Security Council resolution because it did not censure the Palestinians for suicide bombings that have killed more than 400 Israelis in nearly three years of fighting. \nBut Friday in the General Assembly, Palestinian diplomats won the support of the EU and many African states by adding a condemnation of suicide bombings to match language in the resolution deploring Israel's "extrajudicial killings and their recent escalation." \nOnly two other countries -- Micronesia and the Marshall Islands -- joined Israel and the United States in opposing the resolution, though 15 nations did abstain. \nGeneral Assembly resolutions -- unlike those of the powerful UN Security Council -- aren't legally binding. But they do carry symbolic weight. \nThe vote was "a real slap to Israel and to its supporters," said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a senior aide to Arafat \nIsrael said the Palestinians should focus on fighting terrorism, not diplomatic maneuvering. \n"Once again the Palestinians have decided to focus their energies on rhetoric instead of fighting terrorism," the foreign ministry said in a statement. \nUS Ambassador John Negroponte called the resolution unbalanced for not condemning specific Palestinian militant groups. \nIsrael and the US say the Palestinians must take action against the militants, as required under the US-backed "road map" peace plan. \nAlso See Story: \n \nNew Palestinian leader speaks out
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China would attack Taiwan if there is no other way of stopping it from becoming independent, Chinese General Li Zuocheng (李作成) said yesterday. Speaking at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on the 15th anniversary of China’s “Anti-Secession” Law, Li, who is chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Central Military Commission, left the door open to using force. The 2005 law is China’s legislative basis for military action against Taiwan. “If the possibility for peaceful reunification is lost, the people’s armed forces will, with the whole nation, including the people of Taiwan, take all necessary steps to
Americans awoke yesterday to charred and glass-strewn streets in dozens of cities after another night of unrest fueled by rage over the mistreatment of African Americans at the hands of police, who responded to the violence with tear gas and rubber bullets. Tens of thousands marched peacefully through streets to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who died on Monday last week after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck until he stopped breathing. However, many demonstrations sank into chaos as night fell: Vehicles and businesses were torched. The words “I can’t breathe” were
EXTRA INVITATIONS: Russia, Australia, South Korea and India would be asked to a later summit dedicated to countering China, Donald Trump said US President Donald Trump has been forced to cancel a planned face-to-face summit of G7 leaders this month and now wants to host an expanded meeting in September dedicated to countering China to which Russian President Vladimir Putin would be invited. Trump on Saturday announced that he had canceled the June meeting, which he had billed as a symbol of the US “transitioning back to greatness,” after German Chancellor Angela Merkel told him in a telephone call that she saw the summit in Washington as a health risk. Hundreds of security staff, journalists and officials also attend the two-day summits. Reports suggest
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