BAi 1

US Economy Adds Jobs for Third Month in Row

Meredith Buel

Washington

07 Nov 2003, 19:20 UTC

The U.S. economy has gained jobs for a third month in a row.

New figures released by the U.S. Labor Department show businesses hired 126,000 people in October. That is twice the number expected by economists.

The jobless rate fell by .1 percent to six percent, indicating economic growth in the United States has translated into more jobs.

The economy grew at a sizzling 7.2 percent in the third quarter. But partly due to large gains in productivity, the job market has been lagging behind other indications of the economic recovery.

A major portion of the increase in payrolls came from the service sector. Jobs were also created in the retail industry, education and health care.

Manufacturing continued to lose jobs in October, but at a slower pace than in previous months.

Economist Ken Mayland says business owners and managers are now feeling more confident about the economy, and have started to hire new workers.

"I think we are finally breaking through to the point where there is some increasing belief that, hey, maybe this economy is on a sustainable path to decent economic growth, and now it is time to put some bodies to work in the form of permanent new hires," he said.

Unemployment is an important political issue ahead of next year's presidential election, because the U.S. economy has lost at least 2.6 million jobs since President Bush took office in January 2001.

Mr. Mayland says he expects, with the improving economy, two million new jobs will be created between now and when voters go to the polls next November.

"With this economy now producing meaningful job gain, I think we are going to see some significant decline of the unemployment rate, maybe as much as a half a percentage point," he said. "If that in fact happens, that is going to figure prominently in President Bush's re-election chances. That is an economic call, that is not a political call on my part."

Mr. Mayland says the increase in hiring puts to rest what some economists have been calling the "jobless recovery."

He expects consumer confidence to rise as unemployment rates fall.

Mr. Mayland says the good economic news comes at the best possible time for businesses, just as the holiday shopping season is about to get under way.

 Bai 2 Ivorian Rebels Open Economic Summit

Nico Colombant

Abidjan

08 Nov 2003, 15:22 UTC

Rebels based in the northern part of Ivory Coast have opened an economic summit aimed at helping civilians in areas under their control.

The four-day forum opened Saturday in the rebel stronghold of Bouake.

It is bringing together rebel leaders, businessmen from Ivory Coast and neighboring countries and representatives from non-governmental organizations.

Rebel spokesman Antoine Beugre says the aim is to help landlocked northern Ivorians who have been cut off from southern Ivory Coast since the start of the civil war last year.

Mr. Beugre says rebels who call themselves New Forces want to fight poverty in the north, reopen hospitals, which have been shut down and start up a new school year.

Participants will also discuss problems linked to the circulation of goods and tax collection.

The forum comes several days before a political summit in Ghana to revive the faltering Ivorian peace process. Rebels, President Laurent Gbagbo and West African leaders have been invited to attend the summit scheduled to begin Tuesday in Accra.

In September, rebels pulled out of a power-sharing government, accusing Laurent Gbagbo of refusing to share power with his ministers and prime minister Seydou Diarra of the reconciliation government.

Rebel spokesman Beugre says the summit in Ghana is the last chance for peace. He says he hopes it will open the doors for what he calls real reconciliation.

The rebels want President Gbagbo to implement a French-brokered peace plan that includes giving voting rights to many northern Ivorians now considered foreigners.

President Gbagbo has called on the rebels to disarm immediately and to open up the north to his administration. Members of his ruling party have also warned they will not tolerate what they call secessionist initiatives by rebels.

Ivory Coast has been effectively cut in two since French peacekeepers deployed late last year along front lines separating rebels and the Ivorian army.

 Bai 3

Japanese Automaker Toyota Reports Record Earnings

Amy Bickers

Tokyo

07 Nov 2003, 14:31 UTC

Japan's largest automaker reports record earnings while the country's top cosmetic maker sees its profit slide.

Toyota Motor is powering ahead, becoming Japan's largest company by market value and reporting record sales and profit for the first six months of the year.

Toyota's market capitalization, the value of its shares, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange now totals about $112 billion, surpassing mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo, the previous market leader.

Toyota said this week that its net profit rose 23 percent to $4.8 billion for the first half of the year compared with the same period last year. Revenue rose eight percent to $75 billion. Toyota credits cost cutting and global marketing efforts for its strong results.

Managing Director Takeshi Suzuki tells reporters that he is pleased with the company's performance. He adds that the automaker is increasing local production around the world to minimize the effects of volatile currency exchange rates.

Toyota says it aims to control 15 percent of the world auto market by 2010, up from the current level of just over 10 percent.

Japan's second biggest automaker, Honda, is recalling almost 700,000 vehicles in the United States and Canada because of a defect.

Honda says it will recall five models including the popular Accord sedan because of a faulty mechanism that causes parked cars to roll. The recall will cost the company $32 million.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says there have been four injuries linked to the defect and more than 100 complaints have been made about it.

Japan's biggest cosmetics maker posted weak earnings. Shiseido say its net profit declined 34 percent in the first half of the fiscal year to $60 million, from the same period a year earlier.

Overseas sales, which account for a quarter of the company's revenue, were down sharply. Many Japanese women buy cosmetics overseas at duty-free shops where they are less expensive. But many would-be travelers stayed home this year because of the U.S.-led war in Iraq and the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

 Bai 4

EU Warns of Multi-Billion Dollar Sanctions Against US

Scott Stearns

White House

05 Nov 2003, 20:14 UTC

The European Union says the United States is facing billions of dollars of trade sanctions if the US Congress does not eliminate overseas tax shelters for American exporters. The Bush administration says it is working with lawmakers to avoid those sanctions.

The trade dispute centers on a ruling three years ago that found the United States violating World Trade Organization rules by allowing overseas tax shelters.

European leaders say they have waited long enough for American legislators to change the law, and they are now threatening a series of sanctions if Congress does not act quickly.

Sanctions that could ultimately total $4 billion may gradually be imposed on American exports beginning next March.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan says President Bush is working with Congress to repeal those provisions and avoid what could be crippling trade sanctions at the start of an election year.

"We are continuing to work with Congress to address that issue and to avoid triggering sanctions and to insure that we are in compliance with the WTO decision," he said.

Mr. McClellan says the president is strongly urging both the House and Senate to pass legislation this year complying with the WTO decision.

But it is not just Congress that must act to avoid penalties. More than $2 billion worth of European-trade sanctions could begin in December if President Bush does not lift U.S. steel tariffs.

He imposed those tariffs to win support from steel-producing states that were losing jobs to cheaper imports, but those tariffs have also resulted in higher costs for American manufacturers that use steel.

Bai 5

Another Judge Blocks US Law Banning Late-Term Abortion Method

Barbara Schoetzau

New York

07 Nov 2003, 00:34 UTC

A Federal Court judge in New York has blocked enforcement of the government's new ban on certain late-term abortions, signed by President Bush Wednesday.

Judge Michael Casey is the second federal judge to temporarily block legal enforcement of a ban on a procedure known as partial birth abortion. Wednesday, an hour after President signed a measure making the procedure illegal, a federal judge in the midwestern state of Nebraska barred the government from enforcing the law in response to a lawsuit brought by four doctors who challenged its constitutionality.

Now Judge Casey has issued a similar restraining order at the request of seven doctors and the National Abortion Federation (NAF), which represents abortion clinics.

The ruling only applies to the plaintiffs, but NAF represents clinics, women's health centers and physicians in 47 states. Vicki Saporta, the head of the National Abortion Federation, says its members perform half of the abortions done in the United States.

"So the ban on the legislation is in effect throughout the country where our members are practicing. It does not necessarily cover other providers in those same states," she said.

Anti-abortion activists say the procedure, performed in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, preserves the rights of unborn children. Pro-choice advocates say the new prohibition is too broad and fails to protect women's health. Judge Casey's injunction is for 10 days. The U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement opposing the injunction and said it would use "every resource necessary" to defend legislation banning partial birth abortion.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled against a similar measure because it did not make an exception to protect a woman's health.

In his court injunction, Judge Casey said during a hearing Thursday that even the government made it clear that the medical community is uncertain about whether or not the procedure banned by the new legislation put a woman's health at risk.

The abortion issue has been a source of major controversy and confrontation in the United States since the Supreme Court first upheld the right to abortion in its landmark Roe versus Wade decision in 1973.

 Bai 6

UN Committee Split Over Treaty to Ban Human Cloning

Peter Heinlein

United Nations

06 Nov 2003, 21:25 UTC

The U.S. drive to enact a broad global ban on human cloning has suffered a severe setback at the United Nations. The cloning issue has deeply divided the world body.

By a 80-79 vote, the General Assembly's legal committee passed a motion to delay consideration of a treaty banning human cloning until 2005. The motion was sponsored by Iran on behalf of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Conference.

The vote effectively derails a U.S.-led campaign to draft a treaty that would prohibit all forms of human cloning, including medical research on stem cells.

It also reveals a deep split within the world body on the cloning issue.

The U.S. and Costa Rican proposal calling for drafting an anti-cloning treaty had nearly 50 co-sponsors, and was expected to pass easily. But it is fiercely opposed by many in the scientific community, who argue there is a need for therapeutic cloning for research and medical purposes.

A rival resolution sponsored by Belgium and supported by Britain, France, and Germany, among others, would have banned only the cloning of babies.

After the vote, Deputy U.S. Representative James Cunningham said he was disappointed that countries opposing a total ban had used a technicality to derail the will of a majority of the international community.

"It is particularly regrettable that it was by only one vote that we will be prevented from formally registering that more than 100 members of the Untied Nations favor the pursuit of the goal, of a total ban on human cloning," he said.

The vote effectively puts off for two years any work on drafting an international treaty banning human cloning.

Several European diplomats regretted that the vote leaves the issue of cloning in limbo. But as one Belgian diplomat told reporters afterward, it may be better not to push forward on drafting a comprehensive treaty at a time when the world, and even the scientific community, is so deeply divided on the question.

 Bai 7

India Tests Cruise Missile Developed with Russian Help

Anjana Pasricha

New Delhi

29 Oct 2003, 12:58 UTC

India has successfully tested a supersonic cruise missile developed in cooperation with Russia. Defense officials say the Brahmos anti-ship missile was fired from the Chandipur testing range in the eastern Orissa state.

The missile has a range of about 300 kilometers and can carry a 200 kilogram conventional warhead. It travels at twice the speed of sound and can be launched from ships, submarines, aircraft and land-based platforms.

Officials say both India and Russia plan to induct the missiles into their armed forces after sufficient tests. This is the fourth time the missile has been tested.

India and Russia jointly developed the Brahmos through a company their state defense organizations formed in 1998. The close military cooperation between the two countries goes back nearly five decades, and a substantial part of Indian defense hardware is of Russian origin.

India has already developed a range of nuclear-capable missiles, which can hit targets in Pakistan and China.

Western nations often criticize missile tests by nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, who have fought three wars and came close to a fourth one last year.

But the deputy director of New Delhi's Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis, Uday Bhaskar, says both countries have the ability to handle their nuclear capabilities.

"It is true that there is a certain anxiety which is often generated when India or Pakistan carry out missile tests," he said. "But I think both countries are aware of the potential of strategic capabilities, weapons of mass destruction as they are referred to. Once India and Pakistan are able to have their confidence-building measures in place, my sense is that they should not generate that degree of anxiety."

Defense officials also say the latest nuclear-capable missile being developed by India, known as Agni III, will be tested early next year. The Agni III has a range of 3,000 kilometers. The shorter range versions of the Agni have completed the testing phase and are being added to the arsenals of the Armed Forces.

Pakistan carried out a series of missile tests earlier this month.

 Bai 8

Indian Deputy Prime Minister to Hold Talks with Kashmiri Separatists

Patricia Nunan

New Delhi

22 Oct 2003, 12:48 UTC

India has made a dramatic step in its policy for the disputed region of Kashmir, saying its deputy prime minister would hold talks with Kashmiri separatists.

The announcement that Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani would meet with separatist leaders followed a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, the Indian body that handles Kashmir-related issues.

Separatists welcomed the announcement, but did not commit to talks. And, so far, no date has been set.

Home Secretary N. Gopalaswamy says the decision stems from an overture made in August by Moulvi Abbas Ansari, the chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of separatist parties.

"The CCS [Cabinet Committee on Security] has decided that the DPM [Deputy Prime Minister] will meet in response to a statement on the 25th of August by Mr. Abbas Ansari [about], their interest in talking to the central government," he said.

More than 60,000 people have died in fighting in Kashmir since 1989, when a loose alliance of Islamic militant groups based in Kashmir and in Pakistani territory began an insurgency to break free of Indian control.

The decision could mark the end of a diplomatic deadlock between the two sides. Previously, separatists from the Hurriyat, as the group is known, refused offers of talks with low-ranking government officials. Meanwhile, the government said the Hurriyat did not reflect the will of the Kashmiri people.

Despite the apparent diplomatic breakthrough, unrest in Kashmir continues. Police arrested three separatist leaders in Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar. Authorities said the separatists had organized anti-government demonstrations, one of which led to clashes between security forces and protesters

 Bai 9

India Police Disperse Hindu Protesters at Ayodhya

Patricia Nunan

New Delhi

17 Oct 2003, 13:58 UTC

Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters in the Indian city of Ayodhya, on Friday. The protesters were Hindus marching to defy a ban on rallies in the city, which is the home of a holy site claimed by both Hindus and Muslims and a source of violent disputes.

Police say the trouble began early Friday when they arrested a group of Hindu activists who were marching on Ayodhya's holy site in violation of a ban on public rallies in the town. The crowd became angry and began throwing stones at police, who responded with tear-gas and rubber bullets.

The World Hindu Council, or VHP, called Friday's rally a part of their campaign to build a Hindu temple in Ayodhya at a holy site also claimed by Muslims.

Police arrested VHP leader Ashok Singhal, who called for more Hindus to take to the streets.

Mr. Singhal says people have come here to participate in a peaceful program, and if there are atrocities like the police action against them, then everyone should protest against those responsible.

State authorities banned rallies in Ayodhya because they feared violence between Hindus and Muslims over the holy site. They have good reason to worry. In 1992, riots between the two left 2,000 people dead. Those riots were sparked when Hindu mobs destroyed a centuries-old mosque in Ayodhya, which they say was built on the site of an earlier temple dedicated to the Hindu god, Rama.

More than 10 years later, the issue is still sensitive for India's majority Hindus and minority Muslims. The case is now before the courts, which will decide whether or not the VHP's campaign to build a Hindu temple is legal.

No one was injured in Friday's clash. Local media report that police have begun to release some of the 17,000 activists detained over the past six days for entering Ayodhya in defiance of the ban.

 Bai 10

India Increases Security in Ayodhya

Patricia Nunan

New Delhi

16 Oct 2003, 14:31 UTC

Indian police are increasing security in the northern city of Ayodhya, where controversy surrounding the site of a razed mosque repeatedly has led to violence between Muslims and Hindus. Tens of thousands of Hindu activists are expected to march Friday, in defiance of local authorities, who have forbidden any rallies.

Authorities say an estimated 10,000 security personnel have encircled Ayodhya, to prevent Hindu activists from entering the city.

Police are guarding some activists in camps outside the city's outskirts. They are also using schools to detain some of the 17,000 people arrested for trying to get into the city since Saturday.

Trains and buses to Ayodhya also have been canceled or diverted. But the World Hindu Council, or VHP, says 300,000 activists will attend a rally in Ayodhya, as part of their campaign to build a temple on a disputed holy site.

Authorities in the state of Uttar Pradesh have banned any rallies or religious services from taking place in Ayodhya. But VHP leaders have repeatedly warned of violence, if the group is not allowed to march.

VHP official Mohan Joshi spoke at a rally held in the capital Wednesday.

"We have no intention to do any disturbance of peace," he said. "But if the ruling party of Uttar Pradesh, if they plan any mischief [and] the crowd does anything, we are not responsible for that."

The decades-old controversy surrounding the holy site in Ayodhya is one of the most divisive between India's majority Hindus and minority Muslims.

In 1992, Hindu mobs tore down the 16th century Barbri Mosque in Ayodhya, which they say had been built on the site of an earlier temple dedicated to the Hindu god, Rama. Two thousand people died in ensuing riots.

A court case intended to settle the dispute between the two groups is currently underway. The controversy reaches into the highest levels of India's coalition government, as politicians juggle human rights issues with popular sentiment ahead of next year's parliamentary election.