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From: , 5 December 2008

Jakarta, (ANTARA News) - It was still possible that the 14th ASEAN summit will be held earlier than planned in March 2009, a senior official said.

Teuku Faizasyah, spokesman for the foreign ministry said here on Friday the Thai government had announced to cancel its plan to hold the 14th ASEAN Summit in March 2009 because of the political crisis in the country.

"Therefore, it is an opportunity to hold the summit earlier than planned," he said.

According to him, hosting the summit should take into account a number of other international programs.

"There are many cases that should be approved by the heads of state/government in the summit before bringing it to an international forum," he said.

Faiza took the Chiang Mai Initiative as example under which a regional agreement on overcoming the global financial crisis should be approved by the heads of state/government after discussing it at a financial ministrial level meeting of ASEAN + 3 and before bringing it to G-20 forum.

By studying all the political developments in Thailand and to maintain the momentum of ASEAN cooperation, the president proposed two urgent matters.

Firstly, to host the ASEAN ministrial meeting at the ASEAN secretariat building in Jakarta was to legitimate the introduction of the ASEAN charter, and secondly, the financial ministrial meeting plus ASEAN + 3 in Bali will discuss efforts to overcome the global financial crisis. (*)

From: , 2 December 2008

Teheran, (ANTARA News/Reuters) - Iran said on Monday U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's comments about its nuclear programme were an indication Washington's stance towards Tehran had not changed.

The remarks by Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi, quoted by the ISNA news agency, were the latest by an Iranian official playing down the prospect of improved ties between the two old foes when Obama takes office in January.

Obama has said he would harden sanctions on Iran but also held out the possibility of direct talks. After his election win last month, he called for an international effort to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb, saying it was "unacceptable".

Qashqavi said future relations between Iran and the United States, which severed ties with the Islamic Republic shortly after its 1979 revolution that ousted the U.S.-backed shah, would depend on Washington.

"One of Obama's conditions for the establishment of ties with Iran has been the cessation of Iran's uranium enrichment which in itself is indicative of lack of change in Washington's perspective towards Iran," he said according to ISNA.

Echoing that line, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Sheikhuleslam, also quoted by ISNA on Monday, said "nothing has changed with the coming of Obama."

The United States is spearheading a drive to isolate the Islamic Republic, the world's fourth-largest crude producer, over nuclear work the West suspects is aimed at making bombs.

Iran, which has repeatedly ruled out suspending its enrichment activities, says it wants to produce fuel for nuclear power plants so that it can sell more of its oil.

Iranian officials have said Obama's victory showed Americans wanted a fundamental change from the policies of President George W. Bush, who branded Iran part of an "axis of evil", but that it remained to be seen whether that would happen.

Obama's choice as new secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, vowed when they were vying to be the Democratic presidential candidate to "obliterate" Iran if it attacked Israel.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last month congratulated Obama and called for "fundamental and fair" changes to U.S. policies in the region, but some lawmakers criticised his letter for going too far in making an overture.

Ahmadinejad, who has adopted an uncompromising position on the nuclear issue, said in March that he would have no problem meeting Obama if he was elected.(*)

From: , 6 December 2008

Washington, (ANTARA News/Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Friday that Iran's nuclear program remained a threat to peace and the United States would not allow Tehran to develop an atomic weapon.

In a speech to the Saban Forum, Bush struck a hopeful tone about prospects for social, economic and diplomatic progress in the Middle East, but criticized Iran and Syria.

The United States under Bush's presidency, which ends Jan. 20, has pressed the United Nations for more sanctions to convince Iran to halt its nuclear program which the West suspects is to build weapons, a charge that Tehran denies.

President-elect Barack Obama has also said that it is unacceptable for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.

The West has offered Iran diplomatic and economic incentives to suspend uranium enrichment and would support a civilian nuclear power program, Bush said.

"While Iran has not accepted these offers, we have made our bottom line clear: For the safety of our people and the peace of the world, America will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon," Bush said.

Amid signs of political, economic and social reforms in the Middle East, serious challenges remain, he said.

"Iran and Syria continue to sponsor terror. Iran's uranium enrichment remains a major threat to peace. Many in the region still live under oppression," he said.

Bush defended his decision to go to war against Iraq in March 2003 and topple Saddam Hussein, saying that after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks the United States could not risk the threat Baghdad posed.

"It is true, as I've said many times, that Saddam Hussein was not connected to the 9/11 attacks," Bush said.

But the United States had to decide whether it could tolerate an enemy that supported terrorism and was believed to have weapons of mass destruction, and found "that was a risk we could not afford to take."

Weapons of mass destruction were never found in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion and that is considered a major intelligence failure. In a recent television interview Bush said the faulty intelligence on Iraq was the biggest regret of his presidency.

"Iraq has gone from an enemy of America to a friend of America, from sponsoring terror to fighting terror, and from a brutal dictatorship to a multi-religious, multi-ethnic constitutional democracy," Bush said.

He acknowledged that efforts sometimes fell short, saying "the fight in Iraq has been longer and more costly than expected. The reluctance of entrenched regimes to open their political systems has been disappointing."

Bush said that despite setbacks to Middle East peace such as the Hamas election victory and takeover of the Gaza Strip, the process had moved forward.

"And while the Israelis and Palestinians have not yet produced an agreement, they have made important progress," said Bush, who had hoped for a Mideast pact before he left office.

"They have laid a new foundation of trust for the future."(*)

From: , 7 December 2008

Bandung, W java, (ANTARA News) - Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank, has revised its credit growth projection for 2009 from 22-24 percent to 19-22 percent, a BI official said.

"The revision of the projection for 2009 was done following the reduction in the assumed economic growth rate figure in the State Budget and other data," Halim Alamsyah, BI`s director of banking research and regulation, said here Saturday.

Another factor taken into consideration was the prospect of a slowdown in the national economy in the first semester of 2009. "As the finance minister has said, the downturn will happen in 2009," he said.

Meanwhile, the head of BI`s monetary policies bureau, Hendar, said how the situation would develop exactly in 2009 was hard to predict because the world economy was still fraught with many uncertainties.

But the most probable impact of the global crisis would be a decline in economic growth as demand would drop. This condition would also lead to a cut in credit distribution.

"In conjunction with investment growth, the slowing down of consumption will cause banking credit to drop," he said.

Wiwik Sisto Widayate, a researcher at BI`s monetary policies bureau, said the recent uncertainties in the economic environment had made banks very careful in distributing credits. Banks had become wary of stagnant credits.

He said for 2008, credit growth was predicted to remain above 30 percent. In October 2008, credit growth was recorded at 34 percent.(*)

From: , 5 December 2008

By Morgan Neill
CNN Bureau Chief

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) - Former Cuban President Fidel Castro says he is open to the idea of meeting with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama.

"With Obama, one can talk whenever he wants, because we're not preachers of violence or war," the communist leader wrote in an essay published Thursday on a state-run Web site. "He must be reminded that the carrot-and-stick theory cannot be applied in our country."

Friday's missive marked the second time in recent weeks that a Cuban leader has said he is open to meeting with Obama.

In the latest issue of The Nation, actor Sean Penn writes of his recent conversation in Havana with Raúl Castro, who took over as president this year from his ailing brother.

According to Penn, Raúl Castro told him, "Perhaps we could meet at Guantanamo. We must meet and begin to solve our problems, and at the end of the meeting, we could give the president a gift. ... We could send him home with the American flag that waves over Guantanamo Bay."

Obama has called for the U.S. detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay naval base on the island of Cuba to be closed.

Despite the indications that the Cuban leadership is open to warmer relations with its neighbor to the north after 47 years of a U.S.-imposed trade embargo, some in Havana expressed skepticism that the impending change in leadership in the United States will translate in to a changed Cuban policy.

"Obama is a product of the American empire," Carlos Pose said.

But Elisany, a high school student, said she's hopeful. "We've got to wait and see. I hope things change."

From: , 6 December 2008

(CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday revealed five parts of his plan to save or create 2.5 million jobs by 2011, and said he will push for immediate action by Congress when he takes office in January.

Obama wants to make public buildings more energy-efficient; repair roads and bridges; modernize schools; increase broadband access; and ensure health care uses the latest technology.

"Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world," he said in the weekly Democratic Radio Address.

"We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs. That won't just save you, the American taxpayer, billions of dollars each year. It will put people back to work."

In addition, he said, "It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online."

"In addition to connecting our libraries and schools to the Internet, we must also ensure that our hospitals are connected to each other through the Internet."

"These are a few parts of the economic recovery plan that I will be rolling out in the coming weeks. When Congress reconvenes in January, I look forward to working with them to pass a plan immediately.

"We won't do it the old Washington way. We won't just throw money at the problem.

"We'll measure progress by the reforms we make and the results we achieve -- by the jobs we create, by the energy we save, by whether America is more competitive in the world," Obama added.

On Friday, the Department of Labor released a report showing the economy shed 533,000 jobs in November -- the largest monthly job loss since December 1974. For the year, job losses now stand at 1.9 million.

The unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent in November, up from 6.5 percent in October. It is the highest unemployment rate since October 1993.

The report came out as Congress and the White House wrestled with financial bailout requests from the Big Three automakers -- Ford Motor Company (F, Fortune 500), General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler -- whose top executives testified this week on Capitol Hill.

Obama asked Americans to "rise to the moment" to put his plans in place, and said his economic recovery team is working on his proposals.

"We need action -- and action now," he said.

From: 6 December 2008

Progress has been made on a multi-million dollar bail-out deal for the three big US carmakers, officials say.

Congress and the White House are holding weekend talks on the plan after two days of Congressional hearings.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said talks with members of both parties had been "constructive".

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants a vote on the plan next week, and is said to have accepted White House conditions on the source of the bail-out funding.

Bosses from the three big car companies - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - have appeared before two Congressional committees pleading for $34bn (£23bn) to prevent collapse.

They warn the collapse of any one of them would have disastrous effects on the whole US economy.

The talks follow an announcement on Friday that more than half a million jobs were lost across the US in November, pushing the unemployment rate to a 15-year high in a dramatic indication of the country's worsening economic situation.

Hope of progress

There has been considerable opposition to a carmaker bail-out plan. Critics say the manufacturers need to first show they can be more efficient.

A key stumbling block in the rescue talks had been over a White House stipulation that the aid be drawn from a $25bn fund set aside for the production of environmentally friendlier cars, which President George W Bush wants Congress to modify.

Ms Perino said on Saturday the use of this fund for the bail-out was central to any agreement, along with requirements that taxpayers are protected and that carmakers take tough business decisions.

"Taxpayers should not be asked to finance assistance for automakers without a strong likelihood that they will be paid back," she said.

Congressional Democrats had previously insisted the money should come from a bank rescue fund - known as the Troubled Asset Relief Programme (TARP) - rather than the fund for the production of environmentally friendlier cars.

But according to Congressional sources, Ms Pelosi, a Democrat, was prepared to yield on that condition, and she has suggested that the $25bn fund could be used under certain conditions.

"We will not permit any funds to be borrowed from the advanced technology programme unless there is a guarantee that those funds will be replenished in a matter of weeks so as not to delay that crucial initiative," she said.

"Regardless of the source, all funding needs will be tightly targeted with vigorous supervision and guaranteed taxpayer protection."

The automaker-bail-out plan is a stop-gap measure intended to help the three firms survive until the administration of President-elect Barack Obama takes over in January and can craft a longer-term solution, correspondents say.

Responding to Friday's announcement that 533,000 US jobs were lost in November, Mr Obama called for urgent measures to stimulate the US economy and get people back to work.

"There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis... and it's likely to get worse before it gets better," he said.

From : 15 October 2008

A multi-billion-euro rescue scheme for Europe's ailing banks is set to dominate an EU summit in Brussels.

The 27-member bloc is expected to rally behind plans agreed on Sunday by officials from the 15-nation eurozone.

Stocks markets have recovered some ground since then, but remain nervous because of worries over a recession in the US and Germany.

Environmental groups are fearful that the economic crisis will derail EU plans to tackle climate change.

Regulatory rethink?

Markets across Europe rallied after eurozone governments last Sunday pledged around $3 trillion (£1.7 trillion) to restore confidence in the banking system.

However, EU leaders have warned that it is too early to declare this crisis over.

"This is and remains work in progress. We see light at the end of the tunnel but we are not yet there," Mr Barroso said.

On Tuesday, recession fears pushed US share prices lower despite a $250bn (£143bn) government bank rescue plan.

Asian and European stock markets also lost ground following two days of dramatic rises, and a report suggested Germany, the EU's biggest economy, was on the verge of recession.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday ahead of the meeting, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be "rebuilt" to help regulate the world's financial systems.

He also called for the creation of an early warning system for the international economy and for more cross-border supervision of multinational financial companies.

Mr Barroso said earlier that there was a need to rethink regulatory and supervision rules for the financial markets, as well as limits on executive pay.

Eurozone leaders, meeting under the chair of the French, who hold the current presidency, are expected to brief their EU colleagues on their rescue plans.

France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Austria are planning to guarantee bank lending, provide short-term liquidity and partly nationalise some banks, in schemes modelled on the UK's £500bn (640bn-euro) bail-out package.

However, the commission must scrutinising each country's plan to ensure they do not disadvantage other EU member states or violate EU competition laws.

The packed agenda for the two-day talks also includes:

• Leaders are expected to sign an immigration pact, committing their countries to common principles for handling immigrants.

• A decision to revive the failed Lisbon treaty, meant to give the EU more stable institutions in difficult times, is expected to be put on the back-burner until December.

• Talks on a new EU-Russia partnership treaty have been postponed, amid continuing concern about Russia's military presence in Georgia. There are divisions in the EU about when to resume them.

Climate shift

The EU meeting was originally due to focus on climate change.

Italy, Germany and Poland have argued that existing targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions would impose extra burdens on electricity generators and carmakers, as an economic slowdown looms.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told the BBC's environment analyst Roger Harrabin that member states should be able to trade away more than half of their responsibilities for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by getting developing countries to install clean technologies on their behalf.

The European Commission originally proposed that member states should be able to trade no more than a third of their responsibilities.

The new proposal is highly controversial and will be resisted by the European Parliament because it has emerged that some of these clean technology projects would have been built anyway - in those cases, there is no carbon saving.

Some member states will also resist any trading over 50% for fear that it will undermine Europe's credibility on climate change, our correspondent says.

And the head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, warned that the EU's ambitious plans should not be hijacked by concerns about economic costs.

"Climate change does not disappear because of the financial crisis. Tackling climate change is central to Europe's future prosperity," he said.

From : 15 Oktober 2008

PHNOM PENH, RABU - Kontak senjata antara tentara Thailand dan tentara Kamboja meletus di perbatasan kedua negara di dekat Kuil Preah Vihear, Rabu (15/10) siang waktu setempat. Demikian dikatakan seorang pejabat Kamboja, Hang Soth.

"Tentara Kamboja dan Thailand saling menembak sekarang. Pasukan kami mencegah pasukan Thailand memasuki wilayah kami, tetapi mereka mulai menembak ke arah tentara kami," kata Brigadir Bun Thean dari lokasi perbatasan.

Kedua negara sama-sama mengklaim kepemilikan atas tanah di sekitar kuil Hindu, Preah Vihear, seluas 4,6 kilometer persegi. Pengadilan Internasional telah memutuskan kuil tersebut menjadi milik Kamboja, tetapi status tanah di sekitarnya belum jelas.

Perdana Menteri Thailand Somchai Wongsawat memerintahkan warga negara Thailand di Kamboja untuk meninggalkan negara itu secepatnya. Thailand juga telah menyiagakan pesawat tempurnya yang bisa segera dikerahkan jika sewaktu-waktu pecah pertempuran.

Militer Thailand dan Kamboja telah berhadap-hadapan selama beberapa pekan menyusul meningkatnya ketegangan setelah UNESCO menyetujui usulan Kamboja untuk memasukkan Preah Vihear ke dalam daftar Warisan Dunia , Juli lalu. Tentara kedua pihak telah ditarik pada pertengahan Agustus. Namun, ketegangan kembali timbul setelah kedua negara saling tuding tentara pihak lain melanggar perbatasan.

From : 15 October 2008

A North Korean woman has been sentenced to five years in a South Korean prison for spying, say reports.

Won Jeong-hwa, 34, admitted seducing military officers in exchange for classified information on the location of important military installations.

Investigators have also accused her of scheming to murder intelligence agents using poison-tipped needles, though the plot did not go ahead.

North Korea has denied she is an agent, calling her "human scum".

It has accused the South of fabricating the case for propaganda purposes.

'Defector'

Won - unsmiling but calm, dressed in green prison uniform with her hair in a ponytail - was sentenced on Wednesday in a court in Suweon, south of Seoul.

According to AFP news agency, she had come to South Korea in 2001, in the guise of a defector from the North, and was tasked by its National Intelligence Service with touring military units to give anti-communist lectures.

She used the occasions to contact army officers, AFP quoted investigators as saying, some of whom she slept with in exchange for secret information.

The agency reported that she was also found guilty of involvement in the kidnapping of a South Korean businessman from China to her authoritarian homeland in 1999, and of trying to trace the whereabouts of a top defector, Hwang Jang-yop, living in the South.

Won could have faced life behind bars. But the judge passing sentence cited her confession, co-operation with investigators, and expressions of remorse.

Her stepfather, 63, is also being prosecuted on spying charges.

Won's work as a spy has not been admitted by the North, which accuses the South of creating a charade for propaganda purposes.

Despite apparent advances in six-party negotiations over North Korea's nuclear programme, North-South bilateral relations have chilled since South Korea's conservative president came to office. He has adopted a harder line towards the North.

From: 14 Oktober 2008

Oleh : Iwan Santosa

Kehidupan dan kemajuan Pulau Jawa akhir tahun 1800-an dan awal 1900 ternyata menjadi inspirasi bagi modernisasi Kerajaan Siam (Thailand) yang kini menjadi salah satu pelaku industri otomotif, pertanian, perkebunan, serta produk pangan olahan kelas dunia.

Semua itu berawal dari kunjungan Raja Rama V atau Raja Chulalangkorn yang dikenal sebagai pembaru Siam ke seantero Pulau Jawa pada tahun 1871, 1896, dan 1901. Raja Chulalangkorn adalah putra sulung Raja Mongkut atau Raja Rama IV yang dikenal dalam film legendaris Anna and the King.

Kunjungan Raja Chulalangkorn diabadikan di utara Kota Bandung di kaki air terjun Dago. Raja Chulalangkorn yang menghadiahkan patung gajah di Museum Nasional, Jakarta, menorehkan nama dalam prasasti di batu besar di kaki air terjun. Putra Raja Chulalangkorn, Raja Rama VII atau Raja Prajadiphok, juga singgah di air terjun Dago pada 12 Agustus 1929 dan meninggalkan prasasti serupa.

Dua buah gazebo kayu berarsitektur Thailand warna merah, hijau, dan kuning emas sudah berdiri menaungi dua prasasti peninggalan Raja Chulalangkorn dan Raja Prajadiphok. Gazebo tersebut menambah indah pemandangan air terjun Dago yang mengalir deras.

Atase Kebudayaan Kedutaan Besar Thailand untuk RI Sombat Khattapan mengatakan, prasasti itu merupakan tanda persahabatan kerajaan Siam dengan masyarakat Jawa dan Indonesia.

”Raja Chulalangkorn belajar banyak dari keberadaan infrastruktur dan industri modern di Jawa zaman itu, seperti kereta api, jalan raya, hingga perkebunan yang menjadi tulang punggung ekonomi Thailand sekarang. Setelah beliau kembali ke Siam, pelbagai perintah untuk membangun jaringan kereta api, perintisan perkebunan karet, hingga pelebaran jalan ukuran dikerjakan serius setelah membuat catatan secara detail segala segi kehidupan di Pulau Jawa,” kata Sombat.

Diminati wisatawan

Imtip Suharto, warga Bandung yang secara teratur datang ke air terjun Dago, menyayangkan banyaknya sampah di air terjun Dago yang hanyut dari hunian warga di daerah hulu. Padahal, air terjun tersebut dapat menjadi magnet bagi wisatawan mancanegara, seperti Belanda hingga Thailand. Khususnya bagi bangsa Thai, situs peninggalan para raja dari dinasti Chakri selalu dihormati dan dikunjungi secara berkala. ”Sayang kalau situs ini rusak. Bahkan, papan penanda situs dari besi juga rusak digergaji,” kata Imtip.

Imtip yang juga menulis Journeys to Java by a Siamese King mencatat betapa Raja Chulalangkorn menjalin hubungan baik dengan penguasa Jawa dari semua keraton yang ada di Yogyakarta dan Surakarta. Beliau juga bersahabat dengan keraton- keraton di Cirebon, Jawa Barat.

Berdasarkan data yang diolah Imtip dari pelbagai sumber, sungguh layak jika Raja Chulalangkorn belajar dari Pulau Jawa. Kala itu, galangan kapal terbesar di dunia terdapat di Surabaya. Pelbagai industri dari usaha kecil menengah pembuatan topi hingga permesinan dikunjungi lalu dicatat secara detail untuk dikembangkan di kerajaan Siam (nama kerajaan Thailand baru resmi digunakan tahun 1940-an).

Kini bangsa Thailand menikmati buah dari proses studi banding ke mancanegara hingga Eropa-Amerika yang diawali di Pulau Jawa. Peresmian situs air terjun Dago seharusnya menjadi cambuk bagi bangsa Indonesia untuk bangkit kembali di semua bidang dan kembali menjadi panutan bagi bangsa lain.

From: 13 October 2008

By Jonathan Marcus
BBC diplomatic correspondent, Denver

With the US presidential election campaign moving into the final furlong, Ken Summers, a Republican representative in the Colorado State House, was out canvassing support.

He was working not just for his own re-election but for the man he is backing for the White House, Senator John McCain.

It was a bright and balmy autumn evening in South Lakewood, a genteel suburb of Denver, and Ken Summers showed no sign of swimming against the political tide.

Quite apart from his easy manner, he has something that is a great plus for a politician: the deep reassuring voice of a pastor - his previous occupation.

"Yes," he acknowledged, "the influx of new voters has changed the political landscape in Colorado."

But, he insisted: "John McCain is himself a Westerner; he understands Western issues like water, land and illegal immigration."

There was no sign that Mr Summers was expecting anything other than a McCain victory.

But all the signs are that the presidential race here in Colorado is going to be close. And that, in itself, is a reflection of a profound process of political change that is affecting not just Colorado, but many other Western States as well.

'Perfectly balanced'

So forget the images of open prairies and lonely cattle ranches. The typical Western voter now lives in a suburb, commuting to work often in high-tech or post-modern industries.

All those who see the US as simply a land of "gas-guzzlers" will be surprised to hear that in Colorado, the renewable energy sector is the fastest growing industry.

Veteran Colorado pollster and analyst Floyd Ciruli is the man to go to for an explanation of Colorado's changing political dynamics.

"This is extraordinary," he told me. "Colorado has never had this much attention in a presidential election in my life-time."

That is in large part because of the closeness of the national race; and, if things are very close, then Colorado's nine electoral college votes could be crucial.

"Colorado's electorate, because of an upsurge in Democratic Party support is almost perfectly balanced," Mr Ciruli went on.

"Power is held by a group of unaffiliated voters - they are a little less attentive to politics, a little less loyal to a party and more likely to be affected by the headlines."

Collapsing brand

Mr Ciruli's polling has shown this vital swing group moving back and forth and, consequently, the lead has changed several times.

"At the moment, Senator Barack Obama is ahead but that could still change," he said.

The changing political dynamic in the West is due, according to Mr Ciruli, to two main factors.

"The Democrats have positioned themselves well in the Western states, choosing more moderate candidates in tune with key Western issues," he said.

And they have also been able to capitalise on their early adoption of environmental issues, not least renewable energy, which plays well in the West.

The second factor is what Mr Ciruli calls "the collapse of the Republican brand nationally".

The Republicans have traditionally done well in the West. George W Bush carried most of these states in 2000 and 2004.

Both he and Vice-President Dick Cheney are Westerners. But the Republican Party's Western magic seems to have evaporated.

'Phenomenal growth'

Of course, the trend has been developing for some time.

Pat Waak, chairwoman of the Colorado Democratic Party, was in an ebullient mood when I met her at a local party headquarters in another Denver suburb.

She told me: "The interior West, leaving out the West Coast, has been undergoing a phenomenal demographic growth in the last 10 years.

"It's coming from the East and West Coasts - predominantly people who are choosing a different lifestyle that is very much connected with the out-of-doors, the open spaces and the Western independent spirit."

In fact, she does not think the polls are giving an accurate picture, arguing that they underestimate Democratic support among the young and newly registered voters - and there are an awful lot of them.

"Young people, Hispanics and women will be the key to an Obama victory," she said.

Of course, the decision of the Democratic Party to hold its convention in Denver - the first time it had done so for 100 years - gave an added boost to the party's "Western strategy".

Changing party?

From his window, you could see new high-rises going up on the edge of the city and, away in the distance, the majestic peaks of the Rocky Mountains.

"We have made serious inroads in the last five or 10 years in governorships, state legislatures, and increasingly in congressional delegations, not just in the Pacific Western States but also in the Mountain States as well," he noted.

This Democratic shift, he hoped, would re-shape his party. It would become less obsessed with traditional social issues and the legacy of slavery in the South, he said.

"A new Democratic party - a Western-focused Democratic party - would be the information-age party; it would be the resources and environment party; the climate change party; an open and more libertarian party on social issues and so forth."

So the stakes out here in the West are great indeed.

From: 14 October 2008

Financial markets in Asia have risen sharply, with the Nikkei gaining 13% in morning trading, and Sydney up 5%.

The gains came after Wall Street shares rocketed 11% on Monday as investors welcomed fresh moves to deal with the worldwide financial crisis.

Investors were helped by news the US government wanted to put in place its $700bn bank bail-out quickly.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has now announced a A$10.4bn ($7.3bn) economic stimulus package.

It will allow for one-off payments to the country's low-wage earners and pensioners and follows earlier announcements of guarantees of bank deposits for three years.

According to Mr Rudd, the strategy "will strengthen the national economy and support Australian households".

By lunchtime, Sydney's S&P/ASX200 was up 219 points at 4399.7, and the Australian dollar had strengthened against the US dollar, trading four cents higher than on Monday.

In New Zealand, the stock market rose 6.7% by early afternoon.

In the US, President George W Bush is due to make a statement shortly before markets open there later on Tuesday.

He will speak after meeting his working group on financial markets.

Rescue plans

On Monday US Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank officials met the chief executives of some of America's biggest banks, to work out details of the US government's $700bn (£400bn) bail-out package.

The US has said it was also getting ready to follow in Europe's footsteps and purchase stakes in financial institutions.

On Monday the US Treasury announced it was set to buy stakes in a "broad array" of financial firms.

European governments have said they are putting up to 1.7 trillion euros ($2.3 trillion; £1.3 trillion) to protect the continent's banks through guarantees and other emergency measures.

The sums are a maximum, and might not all be spent if the financial crisis eases.

So far Germany has approved a bank rescue plan worth up to 500bn euros, France will spend about 350bn euros, the Netherlands has pledged 200bn euros, Spain 100bn euros, and Austria 85bn euros.

Italy said it would spend as much as was needed, without giving any exact figures.

The bulk of the European money will be used to guarantee lending between banks - part of a plan agreed this weekend by the 15 nations that use the euro.

The cash will also be used to take stakes in ailing banks, with the UK government saying it would inject up to £36bn of taxpayers cash into Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and HBOS.

From: 14 Oktober 2008

LONDON, SENIN - Seorang prajurit Inggris, Kopral Daniel James (45), menjadi mata-mata untuk Iran setelah ia kecewa karena promosinya diabaikan. Ia beralasan tindakan tersebut dilakukan karena merasa dipinggirkan dan menganggap perlakuan kepadanya sebagai diskriminasi rasial.

Alasan tersebut terungkap dalam sidang pengadilan, Senin (13/10). James mulai berhubungan dengan pejabat-pejabat Iran di Kabul ketika ia bekerja sebagai seorang penterjemah untuk Jendral David Richards, perwira tinggi Inggris yang menjadi panglima pasukan NATO di Afghanistan.

"Tuduhan dalam kasus ini adalah bahwa selama akhir 2006, loyalitas terdakwa pada negara ini memudar dan loyalitasnya beralih ke Iran, negara kelahirannya," kata jaksa Mark Dennis di pengadilan Old Bailey. Dennis mengatakan, James telah mengkhianati orang-orang yang bekerja bersamanya di Afghanistan dan berusaha menjadi seorang agen untuk kekuatan asing.

Tindakannya memberikan informasi mungkin menguntungkan pihak-pihak yang sedang terlibat dalam konflik aktif dengan pasukan penjaga perdamaian. James mengadakan kontak telepon dengan seorang kolonel yang bekerja sebagai atase militer Iran di Kedutaan Besar Iran di Kabul dan mengirimkan pesan bersandi dalam email.

"Ia ditangkap pada Desember 2006, beberapa bulan setelah kontak itu dilakukan, sehingga kegiatannya terhenti saat masih permulaan," kata Dennis. Jaksa itu mengatakan bahwa James, yang sebelumnya bekerja sebagai guru dansa salsa dan di klab malam di Brighton, adalah seorang yang suka melamun dan ini merupakan bagian dari motivasinya untuk melakukan tindakannya itu.

Terhadap tuduhan tersebut James membantahnya. Antara lain terhadap tiga tuduhan berdasarkan Undang-undang Rahasia Negara mengenai mengkomunikasikan dan mengumpulkan informasi yang mungkin berguna bagi musuh, dan kejahatan yang disengaja di sebuah kantor negara.

From: 13 October 2008

UN monitors have confirmed that North Korea has restored their access to the Yongbyon nuclear site, including the plutonium reprocessing plant.

The decision came a day after Pyongyang pledged to resume disabling the plant, and two days after the North was taken off a US list of terrorism sponsors.

Pyongyang had sought removal from the US blacklist since agreeing a nuclear disarmament-for-aid deal in 2007.

The secretive communist state tested an atomic weapon in 2006.

But six-nation talks between North and South Korea, the US, China, Japan and Russia later resulted in an agreement for Pyongyang to halt all its nuclear work.

The current dispute flared when the North barred nuclear inspectors after accusing the US of failing to honour its side of the deal by keeping the country on its terror blacklist.

In a statement, and IAEA spokeswoman said inspectors would start overseeing "core discharge activities" at the Yongbyon reactor on Tuesday.

She said the inspectors would also resume "containment and surveillance measures" at the site.

Reuters news agency quoted a diplomat as saying the first job of the inspectors would be to reassess the status of the nuclear facilities since recent steps taken to reactivate them.

Japan critical

Pyongyang began disabling its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in August, but recently made moves to reactivate the plant after the US initially stalled on removing North Korea from the terror blacklist.

On Saturday the US state department said North Korea had agreed to allow nuclear experts to take samples and conduct forensic tests at all its declared nuclear facilities and undeclared sites, prompting Washington to reverse its decision.

The North would also allow inspectors to verify its denials about transfers of nuclear technology and an alleged uranium programme, it said.

South Korea hailed the US decision to remove the North from its blacklist, saying it would help lead to its "eventual abandonment of its nuclear programmes".

But Japan criticised the move. Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Tokyo first wanted North Korea to provide more information about Japanese citizens it abducted in the 1970s and 1980s, in what he said amounted to terrorist acts.

North Korea has admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese civilians to train its spies. Japan believes the figures could be higher and is sceptical about North Korea's claim that all but five are now dead.