Brussels—The European
Union’s 27 leaders were facing an all-nighter
Thursday as a bruising battle loomed over who to
name as the bloc’s first full-time president and
new foreign policy chief. Sweden’s Prime
Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, chair of the EU
summit, said despite his best efforts at
mediation the EU leaders were deadlocked ahead
of the dinner that will decide the issue
Thursday night.
Tokyo—The foreign
ministers of Japan and China meet in Tokyo,
officials said, just as US President Barack
Obama was wrapping up his four-nation Asia tour
in South Korea. Japan’s Katsuya Okada and his
Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi were to discuss
how to deal with the isolated and nuclear-armed
communist state of North Korea, as well as other
issues, officials said.
Brussels—Six world powers
will meet in Brussels to discuss what measures
could be applied against Tehran for its refusal
to halt its nuclear enrichment pro-gram, an EU
official said Thursday. Friday’s meeting will
include the U.N. Security Council’s permanent
members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the
U.S. - plus Germany, the official said on
condition of anonymity because she was not
authorized to disclose details of the gathering.
Ottawa—Senior
Canadian military and government officials
ignored evidence that Afghan authorities were
torturing detainees handed over by Canada’s
troops and then tried to silence those who
raised the alarm, a senior diplomat said on
Wednesday. Richard Colvin said many Afghans
arrested by the Canadian military were innocent
and the practice of handing over prisoners
knowing they could be abused was a war crime.
THERE is growing frustration, inside and outside
the United States, with the Obama administration
primarily because of its failure to bring about
any measur-able change in US policy, especially
in the Middle East. Hopes are continuously
raised, but have yet to be fulfilled. The
spirited American leader has moved crowds with
his ideas, both at home and abroad, most
recently during his current East Asia tour, but
none of his ideas have materialised.
