BAGHDAD, May 31 — The search for five British civilians kidnapped from an Iraqi government building intensified Thursday with American troops conducting raids in Sadr City and the Iraqi government pledging its support for an investigation.
Several residents in Sadr City, the sprawling Shiite stronghold, said American airstrikes killed two brothers in the neighborhood overnight, an assertion the American military denied.
Iraq’s Shiite-led government, in an effort to distance itself from the abduction, said Thursday that it was working closely with the British authorities to find the kidnapped civilians and their captors.
“The Iraqi government has undertaken urgent measures to determine the facts and locate the kidnappers,” said a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It added that “the government condemns this crime and is doing all it can to ensure the immediate release of the kidnapped Britons.”
The gunmen who abducted the Britons — a business consultant and his four bodyguards — were seen speeding toward Sadr City after the attack. The gunmen, wearing police commando uniforms and driving official sport utility vehicles, are believed to be members of the Mahdi Army, a militia loyal to the populist Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr.
The fact that the kidnappers completed the abduction without firing a shot has led some Iraqi and Western officials to suspect that they were militants who had infiltrated the national police and received assistance from employees at the Finance Ministry complex, where the abductions occurred.
The finance minister, Bayan Jabr, is a Shiite and a former interior minister who oversaw the rapid growth of Iraq’s security forces at a time when Sunni and American officials accused the ministry of allowing its ranks to be infiltrated by militiamen. Mr. Jabr has made no public comment on the attack.
Also on Thursday, the United States military announced that two American soldiers were killed and two wounded by a roadside bomb in southwestern Baghdad on Wednesday and that a third died Tuesday as a result of a roadside bomb on Monday in northwestern Baghdad.
The announcements bring the American military death toll for May to 123, according to icasualties.org, a Web site that tracks military and civilian casualties. The figure could rise. The military said eight American soldiers were wounded Thursday in a suicide car bomb attack at a checkpoint in a Sunni area of eastern Baghdad.
According to data on the Web site, May has become the third-deadliest month of the war for American troops. In November 2004, 137 American service members died in Iraq. In April 2004, 135 died.
The troops nonetheless continued with their mission. In Kadhimiya, a center of power for Shiite politicians and militias, Iraqi and American troops detained a commander from the Mahdi Army suspected of murdering and intimidating Iraqis and ordering attacks on American troops.
And violence here continued. In Anbar Province, a suicide truck bomb exploded in Ramadi, killing five people, including three policemen, said Tariq Yousif, an Iraqi security official.
A suicide bomber who exploded at a police recruitment center in Falluja killed one policeman and wounded eight people, according to American military officials. News agencies reported that 20 people were killed.
The authorities found 29 bodies throughout Baghdad.
The police in Diyala Province said they found a grave with five bodies in Baquba.
An Associated Press Television News cameraman was shot and killed in Baghdad on Thursday while walking to a mosque near his home, according to the news agency.
American officials also said that an Iraqi husband and wife who work for the United States Embassy in Baghdad appear to have been kidnapped, news agencies reported. In Amiriya, a Sunni area of western Baghdad, fighting erupted for at least four hours between two Sunni militant groups, Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and a group known as the Islamic Army, witnesses said.
Yassir, a 26-year-old witness who would give only his first name, said that he saw at least four bodies in the main commercial street.
Witnesses and an Interior Ministry official said the battle reflected a fight for control that began three weeks ago after the two groups met and could not agree on a strategy for resistance to American troops.
The fighting started at 3:30 p.m., they said; four hours later, Americans soldiers intervened, but gunfire could still be heard after 11 p.m.
“We heard a lot of booms,” Yassir said. He added that some rocket-propelled grenades had been fired, “and even some houses have been destroyed.”
Gates Weighs U.S. Presence in Iraq
HONOLULU May 31 — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates did not rule out that the Bush administration might need time beyond September to make a full assessment of the troop buildup in Iraq. But he said that no firm decision had been made to delay such an assessment until the end of the year or early next year.
“I don’t think the goalposts have changed really at all,” Mr. Gates said to reporters in Hawaii after he received briefings at the United States Pacific Command.
Mr. Gates said that political dynamics in Washington would no doubt increase pressure in the coming months for the Bush administration to publicly measure the success or failure of the so-called surge, but that he did not want commanders in Iraq to be influenced by that.
“Our military commanders should not have to worry about the Washington clock,” he said. “That’s for us to worry about.”
Mr. Gates spoke of an “enduring” American military commitment to Iraq, unlike the American troop withdrawal from Vietnam, where he said the United States “left lock, stock and barrel.” He said that the American presence in Iraq could be modeled after the long American commitment to South Korea and Japan.
Friday, June 1, 2007
China Blames Panama for Tainted Products
BEIJING -- China acknowledged it was misleading for Chinese companies to label an industrial solvent as glycerin but blamed businesses in Panama for the poison turning up in cold medicine there, killing at least 51 people.
Wei Chuanzhong, a senior official in China's product-inspection agency, also dismissed concerns about Chinese toothpaste made with the same substance _ diethylene glycol.
There is "no sound evidence" to indicate that the chemical is dangerous in very low concentrations, Wei said, suggesting that the seized Chinese brands had safe amounts of the chemical.
Panama and at least three other Latin American countries have seized tens of thousands of tubes of Chinese-made toothpaste sold under the brands "Excel" and "Mr. Cool."
The United States halted all imports of Chinese toothpaste last week to test for diethylene glycol _ a chemical commonly used in antifreeze and brake fluid.
Wei's remarks were China's highest-level public comment on the cold medicine case, the most disturbing in a series of scandals concerning tainted or unsafe food, medicines and other Chinese exports.
The growing international outcry has Beijing worried that its goods could be banned from overseas markets. China's dismal drug safety record was underscored this week by a Chinese court's decision to sentence to death the country's former top drug regulator.
China admits it was the source of the deadly chemical that ended up in cough syrup and other treatments but insists the chemical was originally labeled as for industrial use only.
Wei acknowledged that the Chinese manufacturer, Taixing Glycerin Factory, and the Chinese distributor, CNSC Fortune Way, "engaged in some misconduct," because they used the name "TD glycerin" for a mix of 15 percent diethylene glycol and "other substances."
Diethylene glycol, or DEG, is a thickening agent used as a low-cost _ but frequently deadly _ substitute for glycerin, a sweetener commonly used in drugs.
"They used the very confusing name of TD glycerin, which will mislead people to think it's glycerin," Wei said. "The markings on the package also used the name glycerin instead of TD glycerin."
But he said the Panama traders bore most of the responsibility for the deadly substance ending up in medicine.
Wei Chuanzhong, a senior official in China's product-inspection agency, also dismissed concerns about Chinese toothpaste made with the same substance _ diethylene glycol.
There is "no sound evidence" to indicate that the chemical is dangerous in very low concentrations, Wei said, suggesting that the seized Chinese brands had safe amounts of the chemical.
Panama and at least three other Latin American countries have seized tens of thousands of tubes of Chinese-made toothpaste sold under the brands "Excel" and "Mr. Cool."
The United States halted all imports of Chinese toothpaste last week to test for diethylene glycol _ a chemical commonly used in antifreeze and brake fluid.
Wei's remarks were China's highest-level public comment on the cold medicine case, the most disturbing in a series of scandals concerning tainted or unsafe food, medicines and other Chinese exports.
The growing international outcry has Beijing worried that its goods could be banned from overseas markets. China's dismal drug safety record was underscored this week by a Chinese court's decision to sentence to death the country's former top drug regulator.
China admits it was the source of the deadly chemical that ended up in cough syrup and other treatments but insists the chemical was originally labeled as for industrial use only.
Wei acknowledged that the Chinese manufacturer, Taixing Glycerin Factory, and the Chinese distributor, CNSC Fortune Way, "engaged in some misconduct," because they used the name "TD glycerin" for a mix of 15 percent diethylene glycol and "other substances."
Diethylene glycol, or DEG, is a thickening agent used as a low-cost _ but frequently deadly _ substitute for glycerin, a sweetener commonly used in drugs.
"They used the very confusing name of TD glycerin, which will mislead people to think it's glycerin," Wei said. "The markings on the package also used the name glycerin instead of TD glycerin."
But he said the Panama traders bore most of the responsibility for the deadly substance ending up in medicine.
Turkey moves forces to Iraq border
A Turkish military build-up on the northern Iraq border is fuelling fears of a confrontation between Ankara and Kurdistan's semi-independent government that could further destabilise the region as US forces begin to pull back.
Turkey's armed forces chief said today the army was prepared at any time to start cross-border action to halt attacks inside Turkey by the separatist Kurdistan Workers' party, which has bases in Iraq.
"As soldiers, we are ready," General Yasar Buyukanit said.
But the general said Turkey's parliament must first agree the aims of any intervention. "The political authorities need to decide this. We can't know whether we will go there and fight only the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' party] or deal with [Iraqi Kurdish president Massoud] Barzani as well."
The Turkish army has deployed additional tanks and troops to the border area this week for "spring manoeuvres". But the military moves, although apparently limited so far, have been accompanied by a rising crescendo of public and political demands for action to curb PKK attacks. The government of the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is under pressure, following a suicide bombing, blamed on the PKK, which killed six people in an Ankara shopping mall last week. Officials said the bombing marked an escalation in the separatists' campaign. Mr Erdogan's comment, after the Ankara blast, that he saw "eye to eye" with the army over future military action has raised expectations that an operation is imminent.
Mr Barzani, head of the Kurdistan regional government (KRG), which enjoys considerable autonomy from the Shia Arab-led Baghdad government, has warned that any Turkish intervention could meet with resistance, both in northern Iraq and in south-east Turkey.
Mr Barzani's fighting talk has been condemned by US officials who are urging Ankara to hold fire, too. They worry that the region could be destabilised if the two sides collide.
But Turkey's inclination to take matters into its own hands may have been strengthened by this week's formal handover of the three northern Kurdish provinces of Iraq - Arbil, Dahuk, and Sulaymaniyah - to KRG security forces. Only a few US forces will now remain in the northern region.
Speaking on Turkey's Kanal D television channel this week, the US ambassador, Ross Wilson, said Washington was pursuing "a number of avenues" with Ankara to curb PKK attacks. "I am hopeful that they will produce results," he said. In the interview he had to explain why two US F-16 fighter jets had crossed the Iraq border and violated Turkish airspace this month. Turkey issued an official protest after the incident, which Mr Wilson termed accidental. But Turkish media suggested Washington was sending a none-too-subtle message to its Nato ally to keep out of Iraq.
Turkish officials say their government's patience is exhausted with the -rising level of PKK attacks and US prevarication. "The military build-up has been going on for the past month," a Turkish diplomat said. "We are trying to get Iraq, the US, and the Kurdish regional government to act more responsibly. But unfortunately so far we have not had enough cooperation. We are trying to act with restraint. But public opinion is really boiling after the suicide bombing last week."
The diplomat said Mr Barzani's "irredentist rhetoric", appearing to assert a political and territorial claim to ethnic Kurdish areas of south-east Turkey, was exacerbating the situation. Media allegations that Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq were aiding the PKK and, like US forces, turning a "blind eye" to its activities, were widely believed, he said.
"We know for sure that most of the explosives used by the PKK come from northern Iraqi territory," he added. "The US could help us a lot more. They could have captured leading figures in the PKK but instead they have given them safe haven. This is very harmful to public opinion and Turkey's relationship with the US."
Kurds in north Iraq and south-east Turkey say Ankara is to blame for a conflict that has claimed an estimated 37,000 lives since 1984. They point to systemic civil and human rights abuses and institutionalised discrimination against Turkey's ethnic Kurd minority. Despite reforms designed to ease Turkey's entry into the EU, many grievances remain unaddressed.
Several internal factors are stoking the pressure on Mr Erdogan, who may see limited military action as a way of distracting attention from home: these include the general election in July, an impasse over the next president, controversial constitutional reforms, and intense debate on preserving Turkey's secular character. The last big cross-border operation was 10 years ago, in Saddam Hussein's regime, when 40,000 Turkish troops entered Iraq. But some Turkish observers that action was not a success and predict that any new incursion would also be of limited utility.
Turkey's armed forces chief said today the army was prepared at any time to start cross-border action to halt attacks inside Turkey by the separatist Kurdistan Workers' party, which has bases in Iraq.
"As soldiers, we are ready," General Yasar Buyukanit said.
But the general said Turkey's parliament must first agree the aims of any intervention. "The political authorities need to decide this. We can't know whether we will go there and fight only the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' party] or deal with [Iraqi Kurdish president Massoud] Barzani as well."
The Turkish army has deployed additional tanks and troops to the border area this week for "spring manoeuvres". But the military moves, although apparently limited so far, have been accompanied by a rising crescendo of public and political demands for action to curb PKK attacks. The government of the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is under pressure, following a suicide bombing, blamed on the PKK, which killed six people in an Ankara shopping mall last week. Officials said the bombing marked an escalation in the separatists' campaign. Mr Erdogan's comment, after the Ankara blast, that he saw "eye to eye" with the army over future military action has raised expectations that an operation is imminent.
Mr Barzani, head of the Kurdistan regional government (KRG), which enjoys considerable autonomy from the Shia Arab-led Baghdad government, has warned that any Turkish intervention could meet with resistance, both in northern Iraq and in south-east Turkey.
Mr Barzani's fighting talk has been condemned by US officials who are urging Ankara to hold fire, too. They worry that the region could be destabilised if the two sides collide.
But Turkey's inclination to take matters into its own hands may have been strengthened by this week's formal handover of the three northern Kurdish provinces of Iraq - Arbil, Dahuk, and Sulaymaniyah - to KRG security forces. Only a few US forces will now remain in the northern region.
Speaking on Turkey's Kanal D television channel this week, the US ambassador, Ross Wilson, said Washington was pursuing "a number of avenues" with Ankara to curb PKK attacks. "I am hopeful that they will produce results," he said. In the interview he had to explain why two US F-16 fighter jets had crossed the Iraq border and violated Turkish airspace this month. Turkey issued an official protest after the incident, which Mr Wilson termed accidental. But Turkish media suggested Washington was sending a none-too-subtle message to its Nato ally to keep out of Iraq.
Turkish officials say their government's patience is exhausted with the -rising level of PKK attacks and US prevarication. "The military build-up has been going on for the past month," a Turkish diplomat said. "We are trying to get Iraq, the US, and the Kurdish regional government to act more responsibly. But unfortunately so far we have not had enough cooperation. We are trying to act with restraint. But public opinion is really boiling after the suicide bombing last week."
The diplomat said Mr Barzani's "irredentist rhetoric", appearing to assert a political and territorial claim to ethnic Kurdish areas of south-east Turkey, was exacerbating the situation. Media allegations that Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq were aiding the PKK and, like US forces, turning a "blind eye" to its activities, were widely believed, he said.
"We know for sure that most of the explosives used by the PKK come from northern Iraqi territory," he added. "The US could help us a lot more. They could have captured leading figures in the PKK but instead they have given them safe haven. This is very harmful to public opinion and Turkey's relationship with the US."
Kurds in north Iraq and south-east Turkey say Ankara is to blame for a conflict that has claimed an estimated 37,000 lives since 1984. They point to systemic civil and human rights abuses and institutionalised discrimination against Turkey's ethnic Kurd minority. Despite reforms designed to ease Turkey's entry into the EU, many grievances remain unaddressed.
Several internal factors are stoking the pressure on Mr Erdogan, who may see limited military action as a way of distracting attention from home: these include the general election in July, an impasse over the next president, controversial constitutional reforms, and intense debate on preserving Turkey's secular character. The last big cross-border operation was 10 years ago, in Saddam Hussein's regime, when 40,000 Turkish troops entered Iraq. But some Turkish observers that action was not a success and predict that any new incursion would also be of limited utility.
Violence in Thailand Leaves 18 Dead
PATTANI, Thailand -- Suspected insurgents sprayed gunfire into a mosque, killing seven worshippers, and a roadside bomb killed 11 paramilitary troops almost simultaneously in some of the worst recent violence in southern Thailand, the army said Friday.
The bomb exploded Thursday on a road in Bannang Sata district in Yala province as government-hired paramilitary rangers drove by, killing 10 of them instantly, said Thai Army spokesman Col. Akara Thiprote. Another ranger died later at the hospital.
One ranger was slightly wounded and the truck was damaged, Akara said.
The rangers had earlier been negotiating with Muslim protesters in a nearby district, he said. The whole area has been under a military curfew since a deadly bombing at a mosque and a grenade attack on a tea shop that left 10 people dead and wounded more than 20 on March 14.
Almost immediately after the bombing, an unknown number of assailants opened fire on a group of Muslim villagers leaving a mosque after evening prayers in nearby Sabayoi district of Songkhla province, killing five villagers at the scene, Akara said. Two others died later at the hospital.
It was not immediately clear why the worshippers were attacked but officials blamed Muslim rebels.
"The insurgents opened fire on the Muslim villagers and put the blame on the authorities ... They want to create an impression that authorities cannot take care of the Muslim people in the area," Akara said. "Worse still, they want people to think the authorities did it to poison the relationship between the government and the local population."
Thailand is overwhelmingly Buddhist, but Muslims are a majority in the deep south, where they have long complained of discrimination.
Buddhists living and working in southern Thailand have been the targets of Muslim insurgents. However, Muslims _ mostly working for the government _ have increasingly fallen victim to the violence in recent months.
Thai military authorities have blamed such attacks on Muslims bent on intensifying hatred against the government and to radicalize Muslims and push them into joining the insurgency.
Some Muslims believe the security forces, or even Buddhist vigilantes, might have a hand in the attacks.
Since a Muslim rebellion flared in the three southernmost provinces in early 2004, near-daily bombings, drive-by shootings and other attacks have killed more than 2,200 people.
The bomb exploded Thursday on a road in Bannang Sata district in Yala province as government-hired paramilitary rangers drove by, killing 10 of them instantly, said Thai Army spokesman Col. Akara Thiprote. Another ranger died later at the hospital.
One ranger was slightly wounded and the truck was damaged, Akara said.
The rangers had earlier been negotiating with Muslim protesters in a nearby district, he said. The whole area has been under a military curfew since a deadly bombing at a mosque and a grenade attack on a tea shop that left 10 people dead and wounded more than 20 on March 14.
Almost immediately after the bombing, an unknown number of assailants opened fire on a group of Muslim villagers leaving a mosque after evening prayers in nearby Sabayoi district of Songkhla province, killing five villagers at the scene, Akara said. Two others died later at the hospital.
It was not immediately clear why the worshippers were attacked but officials blamed Muslim rebels.
"The insurgents opened fire on the Muslim villagers and put the blame on the authorities ... They want to create an impression that authorities cannot take care of the Muslim people in the area," Akara said. "Worse still, they want people to think the authorities did it to poison the relationship between the government and the local population."
Thailand is overwhelmingly Buddhist, but Muslims are a majority in the deep south, where they have long complained of discrimination.
Buddhists living and working in southern Thailand have been the targets of Muslim insurgents. However, Muslims _ mostly working for the government _ have increasingly fallen victim to the violence in recent months.
Thai military authorities have blamed such attacks on Muslims bent on intensifying hatred against the government and to radicalize Muslims and push them into joining the insurgency.
Some Muslims believe the security forces, or even Buddhist vigilantes, might have a hand in the attacks.
Since a Muslim rebellion flared in the three southernmost provinces in early 2004, near-daily bombings, drive-by shootings and other attacks have killed more than 2,200 people.
Act now on climate change: report
As anticipated, the report released this morning by the The Prime Ministerial Task Group on Emissions Trading - made up of senior public servants and business leaders - recommends Australia should begin work on a national emissions trading scheme.
In the report, the group argues it can not wait for an alternative international approach to the Kyoto Protocol.
The report dismisses the Kyoto Protocol as a failed effort but noted progress on an alternative global response had been "disappointingly slow," and waiting for one would increase business uncertainty and risk delaying or losing investment.
"Already there is evidence that investment in key emissions-intensive industries and energy infrastructure is being deferred," the report says.
"After careful consideration, the Task Group has concluded that Australia should not wait until a genuinely global agreement has been negotiated.
"It believes that there are benefits, which outweigh the costs, in early adoption by Australia of an appropriate emissions constraint.
"Such action would enhance investment certainty and provide a long-term platform for responding to carbon constraints.
"Combined with Australia's existing domestic and international work on technology development and co-operation, including the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate, it would position us to contribute further to the development of a truly comprehensive international framework."
The report recommends the scheme start trading in 2012, warning premature introduction would undermine the stability of the scheme.
Receiving the document yesterday, Prime Minister John Howard said it would shape debate on the issue of climate change.
"This report will make a massive contribution to the debate on climate change in Australia," Mr Howard said at a formal handover of the inch-thick document in Canberra yesterday.
"It will become, in my opinion, the benchmark document for climate change issues in many ways into the future."
In the report, the group argues it can not wait for an alternative international approach to the Kyoto Protocol.
The report dismisses the Kyoto Protocol as a failed effort but noted progress on an alternative global response had been "disappointingly slow," and waiting for one would increase business uncertainty and risk delaying or losing investment.
"Already there is evidence that investment in key emissions-intensive industries and energy infrastructure is being deferred," the report says.
"After careful consideration, the Task Group has concluded that Australia should not wait until a genuinely global agreement has been negotiated.
"It believes that there are benefits, which outweigh the costs, in early adoption by Australia of an appropriate emissions constraint.
"Such action would enhance investment certainty and provide a long-term platform for responding to carbon constraints.
"Combined with Australia's existing domestic and international work on technology development and co-operation, including the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate, it would position us to contribute further to the development of a truly comprehensive international framework."
The report recommends the scheme start trading in 2012, warning premature introduction would undermine the stability of the scheme.
Receiving the document yesterday, Prime Minister John Howard said it would shape debate on the issue of climate change.
"This report will make a massive contribution to the debate on climate change in Australia," Mr Howard said at a formal handover of the inch-thick document in Canberra yesterday.
"It will become, in my opinion, the benchmark document for climate change issues in many ways into the future."
Video of Kidnapped UK Reporter Surfaces
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Kidnapped British reporter Alan Johnston appeared Friday in a videotape posted on an Islamic militant Web site, saying his captors had treated him well, denouncing Israel and blasting Britain's Mideast policy. It was the first sign of life from him since he was abducted almost three months ago.
There was no way to tell when the video was recorded, and it was not clear why his captors chose this time to post it. The British Broadcasting Corp. journalist, who has been covering the Palestinian territories for three years, has a reputation for objectivity, and it seemed likely he was reciting what he was told to say.
The videotape appeared on the Al-Ekhlaas Web site, frequently used by Islamic militants. It bore the logo of the Army of Islam, the shadowy Palestinian group that had been believed to be holding the 45-year-old reporter.
Johnston looked fit and calm during the three minutes he spoke.
"My captors have treated me very well, they've fed me well, there has been no violence towards me at all and I am in good health," he said in his opening remarks _ then launched into a diatribe against Israel and British Mideast policy.
"In three years here in the Palestinian territories I witnessed the huge suffering of the Palestinian people, and my message is that the suffering is continuing and it is unacceptable," he said, blaming Israel.
He blamed Britain and the U.S. for causing suffering in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories, and for "occupying Muslim lands against the will of the people in those places."
Johnston skewered Britain for its role in Israel's creation on land the British once administered, calling Israel "the cause of all the suffering of the Palestinian people."
"We the British are completely to blame, along with the Americans, for the situation in Iraq," he added, while "the British are the main force in Aghanistan, causing all the trouble to all the simple Afghans who simply want to live."
He started giving a message to his family, but was cut off. Subtitles then appeared on the videotape, saying, "The BBC refused to take this message to his family."
Johnston was shown seated from the waist up, wearing what looked like a red sweatshirt, and speaking against a black backdrop.
Britain's Foreign Office said it was aware of media reports and investigating the claims. "We are urgently investigating these reports," said a spokesman, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.
There was no way to tell when the video was recorded, and it was not clear why his captors chose this time to post it. The British Broadcasting Corp. journalist, who has been covering the Palestinian territories for three years, has a reputation for objectivity, and it seemed likely he was reciting what he was told to say.
The videotape appeared on the Al-Ekhlaas Web site, frequently used by Islamic militants. It bore the logo of the Army of Islam, the shadowy Palestinian group that had been believed to be holding the 45-year-old reporter.
Johnston looked fit and calm during the three minutes he spoke.
"My captors have treated me very well, they've fed me well, there has been no violence towards me at all and I am in good health," he said in his opening remarks _ then launched into a diatribe against Israel and British Mideast policy.
"In three years here in the Palestinian territories I witnessed the huge suffering of the Palestinian people, and my message is that the suffering is continuing and it is unacceptable," he said, blaming Israel.
He blamed Britain and the U.S. for causing suffering in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories, and for "occupying Muslim lands against the will of the people in those places."
Johnston skewered Britain for its role in Israel's creation on land the British once administered, calling Israel "the cause of all the suffering of the Palestinian people."
"We the British are completely to blame, along with the Americans, for the situation in Iraq," he added, while "the British are the main force in Aghanistan, causing all the trouble to all the simple Afghans who simply want to live."
He started giving a message to his family, but was cut off. Subtitles then appeared on the videotape, saying, "The BBC refused to take this message to his family."
Johnston was shown seated from the waist up, wearing what looked like a red sweatshirt, and speaking against a black backdrop.
Britain's Foreign Office said it was aware of media reports and investigating the claims. "We are urgently investigating these reports," said a spokesman, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.
Bush seeks climate change talks
U.S. President George W. Bush, seeking to blunt international criticism of the American record on climate change, yesterday urged Canada and 14 other major nations to agree by the end of next year on a global target for reducing greenhouse gases.
Bush called for a series of meetings to begin this fall, bringing together countries identified as major emitters of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
But critics in Ottawa and Washington called Bush's plan a sham, and said those on the invitation list should decline.
"This is a transparent effort to divert attention from (Bush's) refusal to accept any emissions reductions proposals at next week's G8 summit," said Philip Clapp, president of the Washington-based National Environmental Trust.
"After sitting out talks on global warming for years, the Bush administration doesn't have very much credibility with other governments on the issue."
Bush "is not being serious," said John Bennett, of Ottawa-based Climate for Change.
His call to set targets "is another case of double speak" and "an attempt to undermine 20 years of United Nations negotiations on climate change."
Canada should stay with the UN plan and encourage other nations to do the same, Bennett said.
Canada hasn't decided whether to attend, said Mike Van Soelen, a spokesperson for Environment Minister John Baird.
"I don't know that," Van Soelen replied when the Star's Catherine Porter asked whether Canada would participate.
"I don't think you're going to find that out today. That was just announced today. We'll get all the information and make a decision in due course."
Bush outlined his proposal in a speech ahead of next week's summit in Germany of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations, where global warming is to be a major topic.
"The United States will work with other nations to establish a new framework for greenhouse gas emissions for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012," the president said.
The list would include China, India, major European countries and Canada.
"So my proposal is this," Bush continued. "By the end of next year, America and other nations will set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases.
To develop this goal, the United States will convene a series of meetings of nations that produce the most greenhouse gases, including nations with rapidly growing economies like India and China."
After setting a goal, the nations would be free to develop their own strategies to meet the target.
The United States has refused to ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which requires industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gases to about 6 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.
Developing countries, including China and India, were exempted from that first round of cuts.
Bush has also rejected the latest German proposal for what happens after 2012. It calls for an emission cut to 50 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050.
Yesterday, the leaders of Britain and Germany, who have been critical of the U.S. approach, welcomed Bush's plan.
"I think it is positive, and the U.S. president's speech makes it clear that no one can avoid the question of global warming anymore," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair called the Bush proposal "a big step forward."
Bush called for a series of meetings to begin this fall, bringing together countries identified as major emitters of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
But critics in Ottawa and Washington called Bush's plan a sham, and said those on the invitation list should decline.
"This is a transparent effort to divert attention from (Bush's) refusal to accept any emissions reductions proposals at next week's G8 summit," said Philip Clapp, president of the Washington-based National Environmental Trust.
"After sitting out talks on global warming for years, the Bush administration doesn't have very much credibility with other governments on the issue."
Bush "is not being serious," said John Bennett, of Ottawa-based Climate for Change.
His call to set targets "is another case of double speak" and "an attempt to undermine 20 years of United Nations negotiations on climate change."
Canada should stay with the UN plan and encourage other nations to do the same, Bennett said.
Canada hasn't decided whether to attend, said Mike Van Soelen, a spokesperson for Environment Minister John Baird.
"I don't know that," Van Soelen replied when the Star's Catherine Porter asked whether Canada would participate.
"I don't think you're going to find that out today. That was just announced today. We'll get all the information and make a decision in due course."
Bush outlined his proposal in a speech ahead of next week's summit in Germany of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations, where global warming is to be a major topic.
"The United States will work with other nations to establish a new framework for greenhouse gas emissions for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012," the president said.
The list would include China, India, major European countries and Canada.
"So my proposal is this," Bush continued. "By the end of next year, America and other nations will set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases.
To develop this goal, the United States will convene a series of meetings of nations that produce the most greenhouse gases, including nations with rapidly growing economies like India and China."
After setting a goal, the nations would be free to develop their own strategies to meet the target.
The United States has refused to ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which requires industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gases to about 6 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.
Developing countries, including China and India, were exempted from that first round of cuts.
Bush has also rejected the latest German proposal for what happens after 2012. It calls for an emission cut to 50 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050.
Yesterday, the leaders of Britain and Germany, who have been critical of the U.S. approach, welcomed Bush's plan.
"I think it is positive, and the U.S. president's speech makes it clear that no one can avoid the question of global warming anymore," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair called the Bush proposal "a big step forward."
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