FUTURE FLIGHT

Kaine Defends Va. Tech Settlement Efforts

RICHMOND, March 25 -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) today defended efforts to reach a settlement with families of the victims of last year's Virginia Tech massacre, saying the state and families need "to move forward together."

Speaking on his monthly call in show on WTOP radio, Kaine said he and Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell (R) are seeking a settlement that is "creative, fair and justifiable."

"We are going to continue to have a dialogue to see if we can move forward together, rather than being pitted against each other," Kaine said.

After weeks of closed door talks between attorneys for the state and the families, state officials are offering $100,000 to the 32 families of those killed providing they give up their right to sue. Those injured could also receive up to $100,000, depending on the severity of their injuries.

Under the proposed offer, the state would not admit liability but would justify the payments as a way to avoid a series of lawsuits.

As part of the deal, the state would create a fund to help pay for the medical expenses of some of the more than two dozen students and faculty members injured in the shooting, state officials familiar with the offer said.

The families would also be eligible to receive money from a separate multimillion dollar fund that would offer aid to victims or family members suffering from hardship or post-traumatic stress, an official familiar with the settlement said today.

The state would make contributions to charitable organizations or colleges on behalf of the victims.

Virginia also would cover the families' legal expenses, which could approach $1 million, the officials and family members said. More than two dozen of the family members are being represented by the Washington law firm of Bode & Grenier, which declined to comment.

Several family members cautioned today that negotiations are ongoing and the offer could change. In interviews last night with the Associated Press and the Virginian Pilot, some family members said the state's offer did not go far enough.

The families were initially told they had until March 31 to accept the offer. But some family members said today the state is extending that deadline to give them more time to consider their options.

Kaine declined to talk about the specifics of the offer, but described the recent discussions as "productive."

"I give everyone credit for sitting down and being willing to have an honest dialogue," Kaine said.

Zimbabwe police to crush premature election celebrations

HARARE  ( 2008-03-25 19:57:47 ) : 

Zimbabwe's police vowed on Tuesday to crush any premature victory celebrations ahead of the official release of results from this weekend's general elections.
"Let me at the onset indicate that we will not brook any situations of chaos or conduct likely to cause a breach of peace, pandemonium, commotion, tumult or disturbance of peace," assistant police commissioner Faustino Mazango told a news conference in the capital Harare.
"We will not countenance any mischievous claims by anyone winning an election just because they have led in one part of the constituency whether it is council, parliamentary, senatorial and presidential election.
"We urge politicians not to excite members of the public when they have a lead at one time or the other in any part of the constituency."
Mazango urged people to rejoice only after announcement of official results but warned against provocative celebrations.
"We are more than prepared to deal a deadly blow to any such repugnant forces," Mazango said.
"These are not mere threats, but words of advice to our brothers and sisters and indeed everyone, lest people fail to understand and appreciate our actions to situations of anarchy."
Last month, police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri warned that his force was prepared to use firearms to stamp out violence during or after joint presidential and legislative elections this month.
The police have also banned the carrying of weapons such as knives, catapults, axes and clubs in the run-up to the polls, and for two weeks afterwards.

Afghan army dismisses new Taliban 'operation'

KABUL  ( 2008-03-25 20:07:27 ) : 

The Afghan defence ministry said on Tuesday its security forces were stronger than ever this year and dismissed a Taliban threat to expand its operations countrywide starting this spring.
The US-funded Afghan army in particular was in a "very, very good position" compared with a year ago, it said, describing the Taliban as fragile.
A Taliban representative called media with a statement said to be from one of the insurgent movement's most senior members, Mullah Bradar, to announce Operation Ebrat, which means "lesson" in Pashtu.
"This will be a new type of operation to expand operations countrywide and surround the enemy wherever they are and encounter them," according to the statement read to an AFP reporter over the telephone.
It said the Taliban's war would continue until international troops left Afghanistan and President Hamid Karzai's administration collapsed.
The defence ministry said the announcement was part "of a psychological campaign and not a reality which could implemented on the ground."
"The national army has significantly improved in terms of capability, capacity and skills compared to the beginning of last year," it said, referring to the start of the Afghan year on March 20.
"New and modern equipment has been given to the national army. The air force has been revived and activated."
Afghan National Army (ANA) Commando battalions have been formed and engineering battalions are working across the country, it said, adding that international forces are providing security.
The Taliban had meanwhile lost its leading figures, it said, claiming there were also disputes in the group's ranks.

Malian soldiers held by Tuareg rebels in Niger: source

BAMAKO  ( 2008-03-25 18:10:57 ) : 

Malian soldiers taken hostage last week by local Tuareg rebels have been moved across the border to Niger where they are being kept by another Tuareg group, a western military source said Tuesday.
"The Malian soldiers, some of whom are wounded, have been sent to be guarded by the Nigerien MNJ rebels," the source said in Bamako, referring to the Movement of Niger People for Justice.
About 20 hostages have been taken to Niger where they are being held by Tuaregs loyal to rebel leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, she added.
They count among some 29 wounded Malian troops who were abducted in northern Mali on Friday, following clashes between the army and the rebels in the mountainous Tinzaouatene region.
Four other soldiers were taken prisoner the day before in the area which is considered Ag Bahanga's stronghold.
The Malian government has since reinforced troops in the restive region.
Ag Bahanga's group, "supported by other Tuareg bands from countries neighboring Mali, attacked military supply convoys and planted mines," Mali's Foreign Minister Moctar Ouane said.
A nomadic people who have roamed the southern Sahara for centuries, Tuaregs have staged uprisings over the years both in Mali and Niger claiming autonomy for their traditional homeland.
But Ag Bahanga has refused to go along with the peace deal agreed by the majority of former rebels from the Tuareg tribes, and the Malian government believes his group is cooperating with Niger-based militants to launch attacks.
In Niger, Tuareg rebels want a share in the country's revenue from uranium.

Russia, Egypt to seal nuclear power deal in Mubarak visit

 

NOVO-OGARYOVO  ( 2008-03-25 18:02:34 ) : 

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met Tuesday with Russian leaders to close a deal allowing Moscow to join a tender for Egypt's first civilian nuclear power station.
The agreement, which has taken years to draw up, opens the way for Russia to bid for a 1.5-1.8 billion dollars (970 - 1.16 billion euros) reactor project on Egypt's Mediterranean coast.
The nuclear cooperation accord was to be signed by Russia's Rosatom nuclear energy agency chief, Sergei Kiriyenko, and Egypt's energy minister, Hassan Younis.
Mubarak said that after "difficult" negotiations the deal was ready, Interfax news agency reported.
Meeting with Mubarak at Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow, President Vladimir Putin praised Egypt as "one of the leaders of the Islamic and the Arab world" and said Russian-Egyptian relations were of "strategic importance."
Putin's incoming successor Dmitry Medvedev, who takes over the Kremlin in May, told Mubarak that he expected a "productive partnership" in the nuclear sphere, ITAR-TASS news agency reported.
Russia -- which is close to completing Iran's controversial first nuclear facility in Bushehr, and also recently signed a contract for a reactor in Bulgaria -- is keen to reestablish a commercial and diplomatic presence in the Middle East.
The region was a stronghold of Soviet influence before the end of the Cold War and subsequent surge of US dominance.
Today, nuclear technology and conventional weapons sales are again giving Moscow a foot in the door, and Mubarak was expected also to discuss possible arms deals on Tuesday.
Even if ties are a long way from the days when Middle Eastern elites routinely studied and trained in the Soviet Union, throngs of sun-seeking Russians are making their own mark by flooding to Egypt's coastal resorts in growing numbers.
In an interview with state-owned Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily, Mubarak voiced "full satisfaction with the level of international political consultations between Cairo and Moscow."
"However, since friends must always be open with each other, I must say that I am not as happy with the volume of Russian investment into Egypt's economy," Mubarak added.
"The chief issue on the agenda is the signing of an accord on Russian-Egyptian cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy," the
Kommersant daily wrote. The paper added that its sources hinted that "Moscow gave some ground to Cairo and now expects an answer."
The daily added: "Moscow particularly hopes that Cairo will return to buying Russian arms."
The Nezavisimaya daily echoed that theme in its headline: "Cairo is interested in Russian nuclear technologies and (conventional) weapons."