Ahmadinejad: The big powers are going down

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's president on Tuesday blamed the U.S. and other "big powers" for nuclear proliferation, AIDS and other global ills, and accused them of exploiting the U.N. and other organizations for their own gain and the developing world's loss.

But, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, time was on the poor countries' side.

"The big powers are going down," Ahmadinejad told foreign ministers of the Nonaligned Movement meeting in Tehran. "They have come to the end of their power, and the world is on the verge of entering a new, promising era."

The more than 100-member NAM is made up of such diverse members as communist Cuba, Jamaica and India and depicts itself as bloc-free. But most members share a critical view of the U.S and the developed world in general.

And with Iran assuming the chairmanship of the conference Tuesday, Ahmadinejad's keynote speech was tailored to reflect the struggle that some NAM members see themselves in against the world's rich and powerful countries.

A draft of the final document that ministers will be asked to approve, made available to The Associated Press as the conference opened Tuesday, reflected that struggle.

"The rich and powerful countries continue to exercise an inordinate influence in determining the nature and direction of international relations, including economic and trade relations, as well as rules governing these relations, many of which are at the expense of developing countries," it said.

NAM countries oppose "unilaterally imposed measures by certain states ... the use and threat of use of force, and pressure and coercive measures as a means to achieving their national policy objectives," said the draft.

Starbucks cuts back Australian outlets

• Story Highlights
• More than 60 Starbucks cafes to close by August 3
  
• Closures follow news of more than 600 outlets to shut in U.S.
  
• Move by Seattle company will end 685 jobs in Australia, reports say

Tongan king to give up absolute rule

(CNN) -- Tonga's king is giving up most of the near-absolute power that his family has held for centuries in the South Pacific nation, the country's news agency reported Monday.

King George Tupou V will let the prime minister guide the day-to-day governmental affairs, Tonga Now reported. He will continue to hold on to judicial powers, including the ability to appoint judges and commute prison sentences.

George V, 60, announced his plans as the country prepares a days-long coronation ceremony that begins Friday.The decision, he said, is meant to prepare the country for parliamentary elections in 2010.

Tonga, with a population of 119,000, is the only monarchy that remains in the Pacific.

Currently, the king appoints the prime minister and 12 to 14 Cabinet ministers. Noble families choose nine others. Voters elect just nine.

"(He) is voluntarily surrendering his powers to meet the democratic aspirations of many of his people," the news agency said. "They see Tonga's royal heritage as integral to the country's culture and identity, but favour a more representative, elected Parliament. The king agrees with them."

Tonga has for years promised to pave the way toward a democratically elected parliament, but reforms have been slow in coming. George V ascended to the throne after the death of his father in September 2006, and promised to speed up the changes.

Two months later, a pro-democracy rally in the capital city of Nuku'alofa led to riots that left eight people dead and the central business district in ruins.

Closing a session of Parliament a week later, the king said, "Let us rebuild a new capital and a new Tonga."

The announcement, the news agency said, is part of that promise.

Already this year, two other countries saw the end of monarchy.

In March, Bhutan held elections that ended more than 100 years of royal rule in the South Asian nation and transformed it into a democracy. Two months later, neighboring Nepal declared itself a republic following the elections for a new Constituent Assembly that abolished a 239-year monarchy.

Tonga is an archipelago of 171 islands directly south of Western Samoa. Less than a third of the islands are inhabited.

The present dynasty was founded in 1845 after the Tongan islands were first united.

Syed Hamid wants cops to act fast as new claims flood cyberspace

KUALA LUMPUR: Police should wrap up investigations into the latest allegations of sodomy against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as soon as possible, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar.

He said in an interview with Reuters that in any criminal case, the faster a case was completed, the better it would be.

Meanwhile, a copy of a medical report purportedly that of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who accused Anwar of sodomy, has been posted on several websites.

The report claimed that there was no indication that Mohd Saiful had been sodomised.

It also alleged that the doctor who checked Mohd Saiful had been arrested, a claim which police have denied.

Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai has instructed Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican to look into the case and ensure that professionalism was maintained.

BEIJING OLYMPIC with protest area...

BEIJING, China (AP) -- Beijing will set up specially designated zones for protesters during next month's Olympics, a security official said Wednesday, in a sign China's authoritarian government may allow some demonstrations during the games.
Worries about terrorist attacks, both from international groups and Muslim separatists from western China, and about protests of any kind have prompted one of China's broadest security clampdowns in years. The overall effect is that while Beijing looks cheerful, with colorful Olympic banners and new signs, the city feels tense.

Vehicle checkpoints ring Beijing. Visa rules have been tightened to keep out foreign activists. Police have swept Beijing neighborhoods to remove Chinese who have come to the capital to complain about local government misdeeds, and known political critics and underground Christians have been told to leave.

Police fire water canons to disperse Anwar's supporters

KUALA LUMPUR, Wed: 17/07/2008

Police had to use water cannons to disperse some 700 supporters of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who had gathered along Jalan Hang Tuah and had refused to budge.

The crowd had started gathering minutes after Anwar was arrested and brought to the city police head quarters yesterday afternoon.

They were kept at bay by police and Federal Reserve Unit for much of the day. At about 11.30pm, police ordered the crowd to disperse and when they refuse to move, several warning shots were fired from the water cannons.

The crowd were pushed back to the Berjaya Times Square at Jalan Imbi.

Several of the supporters then got into their cars and drove through the police roadblock at Jalan Hang Tuah.
They were obstructed by some 50 police personnel who forced them to turn around.

Several Parti Keadilan Rakyat members then advised the supporters to go home and rest and to be back at the city police headquarters at 7am today.

No other incidents were reported.