foreign briefs:

US House declares genocide in Sudan

WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives passed a resolution on Thursday declaring that genocide is occurring in Sudan, which backers hope will pressure the United Nations to take action to protect Africans in the Darfur region from marauding Arab militias. The House passed the measure in a unanimous vote. Sudan’s government said the United States and Britain should not interfere with the country’s internal affairs. With Congress breaking for a six-week summer recess, the Senate has not acted on the resolution. The House resolution states “that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide.” It urges President George W Bush to seek a UN resolution to impose sanctions against those responsible for the atrocities, authorise a multinational force to protect displaced people and humanitarian workers, create a commission to investigate crimes and set up a process to resolve grievances between Darfurians and the Sudan government. Meanwhile on the same day, the US put forward a draft UN Security Council resolution authorizing sanctions on Sudan if it does not prosecute Arab militia leaders behind atrocities in Darfur. US Secretary of State Colin Powell met UN Secretary General Kofi Annan here to discuss the crisis in an effort to tighten the screws on the Sudanese government and get Khartoum to stop the so-called Janjaweed armed groups. “They have been supporting and sustaining some of these Janjaweed elements. reuters/afp

UK names Mandelson as EU commissioner

LONDON: Prime Minister Tony Blair named his old ally and European enthusiast Peter Mandelson on Friday as Britain’s new EU Commissioner. Blair telephoned new European Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso earlier on Friday and received a “positive response”, a government spokesman said. For Mandelson, it is a remarkable comeback for a politician who helped mastermind the Labour Party’s 1997 election win but was later twice forced out of ministerial posts amid scandals. He is sure to be a key figure in a referendum Blair has promised, probably in 2006, on the EU constitution. Long a supporter of UK membership of the euro, Mandelson’s appointment will please Europe but may bring a domestic backlash due to his controversial career. “The job of European commissioner is a vitally important position for this country,” Blair said in a statement. “Europe is Britain’s best economic market. How Europe develops, especially a Europe of 25, will be crucial for the future of Britain. “This is why we need the very best person representing Britain in Europe.” Mandelson’s appointment had been expected as part of a reshuffle by Blair of his ministerial pack. But that appears to have been postponed, probably until the autumn. Government sources said EU move was originally going to be announced earlier this week. reuters

UK Muslims’ demonstration will go ahead despite ban

LONDON: The radical Muslim group Al-Muhajiroun will not back down from plans to hold a demonstration on Sunday in central London despite a ban imposed by the city authorities and their threat to sue the organisers. “Al-Muhajiroun do not have permission to hold a rally on Trafalgar Square and they have not applied for permission,” a spokesperson for the city authorities said. The city had sent a letter to the head of the group’s British branch but had received no reply. Up to 700 sympathisers are expected to attend the event, aimed at converting non-Muslims to the faith. There are fears that Britain’s extreme right-wing right party, the BNP, might organise a rival demonstration in Trafalgar Square, a favourite haunt of tourists in London. The Muslim Parliament, an umbrella for a number of mainstream Muslim organisations in Britain, condemned the proposed march. “To allow Al-Muhajiroun to use a public place like Trafalgar Square is simply unacceptable,” said parliament leader Ghayasuddin Siddiqui. afp

Group may attack media at Democrats convention: FBI

BOSTON: The FBI said on Friday it was investigating “unconfirmed information” of a possible attack on media vehicles during the Democratic National Convention, which begins on Monday in Boston. “The FBI has received unconfirmed information that a domestic group is planning to disrupt the Democratic National Convention by attacking media vehicles with explosives or incendiary devices,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston field office said in a statement. The FBI said members of the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force were investigating, and that it would provide more details if there is “any credible information.” reuters

Stalin’s name back on Russian war monument

MOSCOW: A reference to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin is to appear on a Russian monument for the first time in more than 40 years, on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin made public on Friday. Putin ordered the word “Stalingrad” engraved on a memorial complex by the Kremlin wall in Moscow, replacing Volgograd, the current name of the city where one of the bloodiest battles of World War Two was fought. Less than two years ago Putin said reviving the name of Stalingrad “would do us no good”. But his latest order, posted on the presidential Web site www.kremlin.ru on Friday, said restoring Stalin’s name on the monument was to “pay tribute to the heroism of the defenders of Stalingrad and to preserve the history of the Russian state”. reuters

JI fails to regroup in Southeast Asia

KUALA LUMPUR: The Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) tried in the last year to carry out terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia, but failed due to a lack of funds, support from other militant groups and the absence of “thinkers and planners among its ranks”, officials said on Friday. Al Qaeda linked organisation’s ability to mount attacks was severely dented by the arrest of scores of militants after Sept 11, 2001 including Hambali, the group’s operations chief, said a Malaysian government official. Remnants of the Jemaah Islamiyah have made several unsuccessful attempts to regroup in Indonesia so they could launch more strikes, he said on condition of anonymity. One of their biggest problems: They “could not agree on a leader to take over from Hambali”. The high-ranking Al Qaeda leader and the brains behind the Jemaah Islamiyah was Southeast Asia’s most-wanted fugitive before his August 2003 arrest by Thai police, who turned him over to US custody. A Malaysian security official acknowledged that the network had been severely crippled by arrests in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia in the last two years, but said this was not the time to be complacent. ap

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