Weekly Round Up: Blair under pressure, Syria praised by the US and Saddam not a dictator!

It’s been another strange week in the world of politics. The 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was the main focal point for the week, so was Prime Minister Blair’s trip to the Middle East.

As pressure mounts on Tony Blair to provide a date for his departure, he decides to concentrate his efforts in resolving the Middle-East crisis – and despite the protests had done a terrific job in getting Hamas back into talks over the Palestinian issue.

Anyway, here is the rest of the news….

USA
Bush Cites 9/11 to Win Iraq War Support
President Bush is invoking the memory of Sept. 11 to defend the war in Iraq, drawing protests from Democrats who say he politicized a national day of mourning.

Bush began with a two-minute tribute to the "nearly 3,000" victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, but most of his 17-minute speech was devoted to justifying his foreign policy since that day. With his party's control of Congress at stake in elections less than two months away, Bush suggested that political opponents who are calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq would be giving victory to the terrorists.

"Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone," Bush said from the Oval Office, with a photo of his twin daughters and the American flag behind him. "They will not leave us alone. They will follow us. The safety of America depends on the outcome of the battle in the streets of Baghdad."

Black lawyer poised to be first Muslim member of US Congress
For the first time in US history, there is a chance of a Muslim making it into the US congress. A historic new bridge between America and its Muslims is about to be built. Barring a stunning upset, Keith Ellison will next year become the first ever-Muslim member of the US Congress.

First, of course, Mr Ellison, 43, has to win the election on 7 November to claim his seat. Having won the Democratic primary in Minnesota's 5th District, he is poised to win the seat, almost guaranteed. It is one of the party's safest seats in the House of Representatives.

Mr Ellison is a devoted Muslim. He converted to Islam as a 19-year-old student and he prays five times a day. Statistically, a Muslim member of Congress is long overdue. Though proportionately a smaller group than in Britain, which has four Muslim MPs, Muslims number between two and six million in the US, up to 2 per cent of the total population. Not one, however, has ever served in the 435-seat House of Representatives or 100-member Senate.

Bush to host Pakistani, Afghan leaders
President Bush plans to hold separate talks this month with the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan, amid the worst fighting in years against a resurgent Taliban.

Bush will host Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in Washington on September 22 and will then meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai on September 26, Bush administration chief spokesman Tony Snow said.

Afghanistan is going through its bloodiest phase since the 2001 American-led invasion.

The use of Pakistani border areas by the Taliban, its al Qaeda allies and other militants has soured relations between the two countries, prompting Musharraf to visit Kabul earlier this month in an effort to repair ties.

Europe
Brown says Blair 'is my friend'
Countless stories have been written about their relationship. Gordon Brown has insisted that Tony Blair is his friend, and always will be, despite Labour's recent squabbles.

The chancellor admits their friendship has had its "ups and downs". But he says it is still one of the strongest political relationships in history, despite reports they fell out.

The interview comes as the Cabinet met for the first time since turmoil erupted over Labour's leadership. Mr Brown denies plotting against the PM.

1st rabbis since '42 ordained in Germany
Germany on Thursday ordained its first rabbis since World War II in an event hailed as a milestone in the rebirth of Jewish life in the country responsible for the Holocaust. They are the first rabbis to be ordained in Germany since the Nazis destroyed the College of Jewish Studies in Berlin in 1942, midway through the war.

Germany had a thriving Jewish community of more than 500,000 when the Nazis were voted into power in 1933 and began to implement their anti-Semitic policies, causing many to emigrate. About 200,000 German Jews were among the 6 million European Jews killed by the Nazis, leaving only between 10,000 to 15,000 in Germany in the first years after the war.

After decades of little growth, the German Jewish community has more than tripled since reunification in 1990, thanks in a large part to a government program to take in Jews from the former Soviet Union. More than 100,000 Jews now live in some 102 established communities throughout the country.



Schumacher to retire
Motor racing fans have been saddened to learn that Michael Schumacher will be retiring at the end of the season. He has insisted that Ferrari bosses did not pressure him into announcing his retirement.

"I'm not getting any younger and I had to ask myself if I would be able to gear up the energy, strength and motivation that you must have in order to be able to compete at the top.

"Of course I'm still fit, still competitive, but would I be for a few more years?

"Just being a mediocre driver has never been my ambition. That's not my style."

Poland offers troops for Afghanistan
Poland said on Thursday it would send 1,000 troops to Afghanistan in the first offer since a NATO appeal for reinforcements, but it was unclear whether any would go to the dangerous south and none would go until February.

NATO's top commander of operations James Jones said last week he wanted reinforcements of up to 2,500 in the south by the onset of the Afghan winter in a matter of weeks. Nations had failed at talks on Wednesday to respond with firm offers.

Deputy Defense Minister Boguslaw Winid told Reuters that Poland had agreed with NATO that the bulk of the troops would go to the east of the country. Asked whether it could agree to send some to the south, he said that was a matter of discussion.

Poland has 100 troops in Afghanistan at present and NATO officials had for some time been expecting it to add more. Warsaw has still not decided when to withdraw the 900 soldiers it still has in Iraq.

NATO nations currently have around 18,500 troops in Afghanistan with other non-NATO countries contributing a further 1,500 to its International Security Assistance force (ISAF).

Middle East
Judge-to-Saddam: 'You were not a dictator'
The chief judge in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial said that he does not believe Saddam was a dictator.

Judge Abdullah al-Amiri made the remark in a friendly exchange with the deposed leader, a day after the prosecution said the judge should step down because he is biased toward the defense. Saddam and his co-defendants are being tried on charges of committing atrocities against Kurds in northern Iraq nearly two decades ago.

Questioning a Kurdish witness Thursday, Saddam said, "I wonder why this man wanted to meet with me, if I am a dictator?"

The judge interrupted: "You were not a dictator. People around you made you (look like) a dictator."

"Thank you," Saddam responded, bowing his head in respect.

Failed Attack on US Embassy in Syria
Four militants had died in the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Damascus. Three attackers were killed in Tuesday's brazen assault as Syrian guards exchanged gunfire outside the compound's walls with the assailants. A fourth militant was also shot (as he fled an explosives-laden truck without detonating) but died in a hospital.

A Syrian guard was killed in the shooting, and 10 civilians and a Chinese diplomat were injured. No Americans were hurt. Currently there is no ambassador in the embassy, the United States recalled its ambassador from Syria back in February 2005.

The rapid response by Syrian guards won rare praise from the United States, which accuses President Bashar Assad's regime of supporting terrorism in its backing of Hezbollah guerrillas and Palestinian militants. White House spokesman Tony Snow also thanked Syrian officials and called for Damascus to "become an ally and make the choice of fighting against terrorists."

But Syria responded with a sharp criticism of Washington, blaming its policies in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories for increasing Islamic militancy. "It is regrettable that U.S. policies in the Middle East have fueled extremism, terrorism and anti-U.S. sentiment," the Syrian Embassy in Washington said in a statement. "The U.S. should ... start looking at the root causes of terrorism and broker a comprehensive peace in the Middle East."

Hizbollah sees UN envoy visit next week
Hizbollah expects a United Nations "mediator" to visit Lebanon next week to try to secure a deal for the release of two Israeli soldiers it captured in July, the group's leader said in remarks aired on Tuesday.

"He was supposed to come late last week and he is expected to come next week, but negotiations have not yet started," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah told Al Jazeera television.

He said the envoy was European but gave no further details.

Nasrallah told Jazeera no deal would be possible without the release of Samir Qantar, the longest held Lebanese prisoner in Israel. "You ask me will there be a deal without Samir, I say no," he said. "Absolutely not."

Qantar was captured during an attack in 1979 on northern Israel by a Palestinian guerrilla group in which an Israeli policeman, another man and his four-year-old daughter were killed.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, visiting Beirut this week, pledged to help Lebanon build up its army so it could assume control across the whole of the country.

But Nasrallah condemned Blair, saying he shared blame for the deaths of Lebanese civilians by not doing enough to stop the war. "This Tony Blair is an associate in the murder," he said.

Cartoons mocking Holocaust prove a flop with Iranians
An exhibition of cartoons about the Holocaust, some suggesting it was fabricated or exaggerated, has been a flop in Tehran. It drew audiences of fewer than 300 a day in its first week and now, three weeks after sparking international furore when it opened, attracts just 50 people a day.

Thousands of foreigners have visited the exhibition's website at www.irancartoon.com, some of them engaging in angry debate. A conference on the Holocaust is planned in Tehran for October. It is also likely to garner more attention outside Iran than in the country.

The exhibition followed a Holocaust cartoon competition designed to show Western double standards in freedom of speech. The angry response of Westerners to President Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial this spring caught many Iranians off guard, while Danish cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohamed provoked outrage in the Muslim world.

Iran's Jewish community had a mixed reaction. "Iranian Jews didn't pay much attention," said Haroun Yashayaie, the former head of Tehran's Jewish community. "Iranians as a whole are not very sensitive to the issue of the Holocaust."

Asia
US military says it refrained from attack on Taliban at funeral
The US military had a formation of about 100 suspected Taliban fighters in its sights in July but decided not to attack because they were in a cemetery and likely burying their dead, a military official said.

An aerial photograph of the formation was first aired by NBC News which said military officers were frustrated at not being given permission to attack because of rules of engagement barring attacks in cemeteries.

The US military command released a statement. "Acting on credible intelligence that this group were Taliban insurgents, coalition forces considered attacking this tactically viable enemy target," the statement said. "During the observation of the group over a significant period of time, it was determined that the group was located on the grounds of a cemetery and were likely conducting a funeral for Taliban insurgents killed in a coalition operation nearby earlier in the day," it said. "A decision was made not to strike this group of insurgents at that specific location and time," it said.



India proposes 1,000 US dollar incentive for inter-caste marriage
An Indian federal minister proposed a 1,000 US dollar incentive to encourage people to break centuries-old taboos and marry across caste boundaries.

The idea put forward by Social Justice Minister Meira Kumar, a member of one of India's many lower castes, was aimed at ending discrimination.

Lower castes make up two-thirds of India's one-billion-plus population. They have faced discrimination in employment, housing and education for centuries from upper caste members, many of whom hold positions of authority in the government and business.

Marriages between castes, particularly in rural areas, have the potential to cause riots with frequent reports of parents or relatives killing young men and women for daring to attempt such unions. In July, India's Supreme Court expressed concern over the growing opposition to and intimidation of young couples choosing to marry members of other castes.

Australia
Don't get even with stingrays, minister urges 'Croc Hunter' fans
An Australian government minister has urged grief-stricken fans of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin not to hunt down stingrays in a misguided attempt to avenge his death.

Environment Minister Ian Campbell issued the impassioned call after as many as 10 dead and mutilated stingrays were found on beaches in Queensland state, where Irwin died last week when stabbed in the heart by a stringray's barb.

"Like most Australians I'm terribly saddened by Steve Irwin's untimely and accidental death," Campbell said in a statement which followed a similar appeal by Irwin's friends and colleagues.

"No matter how greatly he is missed, he would deplore such cruel attacks on the creatures and wildlife he dedicated his life's work and energy to protecting," Campbell said.

South America
Chavez-Castro friendship tricky for U.S.
One is a Cold War icon who has defied the United States for nearly a half-century. The other is a charismatic ex-military man who could be Washington's biggest Latin American nemesis for years to come.

The two are expected to take the spotlight again this week as Havana hosts dozens of leaders at a summit of the Nonaligned Movement.

On the economic front, Cuba's trade with Venezuela is booming. Venezuela has helped Cuba defy a U.S. trade embargo, partly supplanting Soviet subsidies that dried up in the early 1990s.

Venezuela predicts trade with Cuba will reach $1.8 billion this year, including shipments of some 98,000 barrels of oil a day sold under preferential terms including deferred payment. Meanwhile, thousands of Cuban doctors are treating poor Venezuelans for free.

"Chavez is a major factor in what's going to happen in Cuba from now on," said Larry Birns, of the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs. "He essentially has rendered Castro and Castroism immune to any kind of U.S. action unless the U.S. is prepared to threaten its oil supply and begin a diplomatic conflagration in the Caribbean."

Chavez says Venezuelan troops would help defend Cuba against any U.S. invasion.