*National Affaires
Economic Headlines:
1. Egypt to tax treasury bills interest. (The Egyptian Gazette)
The Egyptian Government will charge a 20 per cent tax on interest on treasury bills, applicable to non-residents too, Tax Commissioner and Deputy Finance Minister Ashraf el-Arabi said yesterday.
The abolition of the tax-exempt status of interest on T-bills was part of the package which the Parliament approved on Monday to cover the cost of a 30 per cent increase in public sector salaries, he told Reuters. “There is the general tax, which is 20 per cent, which will apply (to T-bill interest)," he said. Despite relatively high domestic inflation, running at 14.4 per cent a year in the year to March, Egyptian T-bills have attracted foreign investors with returns of 6.7 per cent for six-month bills and 7.4 per cent for one-year bills. The Egyptian pound has been appreciating against the globally weak US dollar for most of this year. Bankers estimated last year that foreign holdings of Egyptian T-bills were worth about $5 billion.
http://www.egyptiangazette.net.eg/
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Local Headlines
1. Islam rejects terror and violence - top cleric. (The Egyptian Gazette)
Islam rejects all forms of violence and terror and welcomes cooperation with the Other, Egypt's Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Mohamed Sayyed Tantawi told a US diplomat in Cairo yesterday.
"Abusing others and violating their personal freedoms is a disaster that all divine religions reject," Tantawi added in a meeting with the newly appointed US Ambassador in Egypt Margaret Scobey.Tantawi stressed that Muslims and Christians in Egypt have equal rights and duties. Coptic Christians are believed to make up 10 million of Egypt's 76 million.Scobey lauded the Al-Azhar, the most prominent Sunni seat all over the world, stressing that it plays a vital role on spreading verified information about Islam, the official Middle East News Agency reported yesterday."The Al-Azhar looks like a united nations with students from different nationalities attending lessons in," Scobey was quoted as saying.Scobey's remarks in her confirmation hearing in the US Senate last February angered many Egyptians and have given rise to a flurry of criticism even from official sources.
http://www.egyptiangazette.net.eg/
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*Regional and International Affairs
Political Headlines:
1. For some Palestinians, one state with Israel is better than none. (The Los Angels Times)
Frustrated by years of on-and-off peace talks with Israel, Palestinians are losing hope for an independent homeland, and some are proposing a radically different cause: a shared state with equal rights for Palestinians and Jews.
A "two-state solution" has been the basis for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations for nearly 15 years and remains the declared aim of both groups' highest elected leaders and the Bush administration. But its advocates are increasingly on the defensive, and not just against militant Islamists and Jewish settlers who have long opposed partitioning the land.
Majorities on both sides dismiss the current U.S.-backed peace talks as futile. And a small but growing number of moderate Palestinians contend that Israel's terms for independence offer less than they could gain in a single democratic state combining Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
As a result, the 60th anniversary this month of Israel's birth is a time of insecurity and flux. Conventional wisdom about the long-standing formula for peace is being turned on its head.
No Israeli leader accepts the idea of sharing power with Palestinians; nor has such a plan been offered to the Israeli government. But a collapse of the two-state effort would leave Israel in de facto control of a region where by the next generation, Jews probably will be a minority.
That scenario inspires Hazem Kawasmi, who recently gave up on the two-state ideal and runs brainstorming workshops in the West Bank on single-state proposals.
Sooner or later, the former Palestinian Authority official predicts, the growing burden of occupation and threat of Islamic extremism will make Israelis receptive to the idea of a bi-national system that protects the rights of Jews.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-onestate8-2008may08,0,3112598.story
2. Clashes erupt in Beirut as Hezbollah enforces strike. (The International Herld Tribune)
Members of the opposition group Hezbollah, trying to enforce a general strike called by labor unions, fought Wednesday with government supporters and blocked roads in this capital, escalating the country's worst political crisis since the 1975 to 1990 civil war.
Hezbollah supporters blocked roads with burning tires and garbage cans, and set cars on fire to back a strike called to protest the government's economic policies and to demand higher minimum wages. They and their political opponents also engaged in occasional gun battles.
A security official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press said at least five people were hurt during the clashes, including a cameraman for Hezbollah's television station, Al Manar.
The group said the protest, including blocking roads, would be extended until the government annulled the decisions made this week that affected Hezbollah.
The government said Tuesday that it would move against a private telephone network operated by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut and accused the group of placing several spy cameras on a road outside the airport to monitor pro-government officials. The cabinet fired the airport's head of security, who was an ally of Hezbollah.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/07/mideast/beirut.php
3. U.S.-Iran security talks postponed indefinitely, Iraq reports. (The International Herld Tribune)
The Iraqi foreign minister said Wednesday that security talks between Iran and the United States had been indefinitely postponed because of an "exchange of accusations" between the sides.
As Washington escalated its accusation of Iranian backing for extremists, Tehran on Monday called off further Iraq security talks with the United States until American forces stopped their crackdown on Shiite militias. U.S.-led forces have been engaging in fierce street battles in Sadr City, a Shiite militia stronghold in Baghdad.
"It is impossible to hold a new round because of exchange of accusations between the two sides," Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told a news conference Wednesday in Baghdad. "The negotiations are postponed indefinitely because of tense atmosphere."
"We had three important rounds, but they yielded no fast results," said Zebari, adding that Iraq's efforts to hold the next round of talks had failed.
U.S.-led forces are fighting Shiite extremists as well as Sunni insurgents from Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, a largely Iraqi group with some foreign leaders. One U.S. soldier was killed in a clash on Tuesday in the former Sunni insurgent stronghold of Anbar Province, the military announced Wednesday.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/07/mideast/iraq.php
4. Iran offers nuclear deal but refuses to stop enrichment. (The Guardian Unlimited)
Iran said yesterday that it is to present the international community with a new package of proposals aimed at breaking the diplomatic deadlock over the country's nuclear programme.
Rasoul Movahedian, Iran's ambassador in London, told the Guardian: "My government has worked out a new package, a new initiative, which is going to be put forward in the near future to deal with all aspects of our relationship [with the international community]."
He said he was not permitted to give details before the initiative is presented "before the end of next week" to the five permanent members of the UN security council - the US, Britain, France, Russia and China - as well as Germany, who together constitute the "5+1" group leading nuclear negotiations with Tehran.
However, Movahedian said the initiative would cover the nuclear programme, the security of energy supplies in the Middle East, counter-terrorism and joint efforts to control the drugs trade.
The ambassador said Iran's proposal would address western concerns that the rapidly developing nuclear project could be used to make weapons, hinting that his government would agree to extensive safeguards required by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/08/iran.nuclear
5. Pakistan tests nuclear-capable cruise missile. (The Washington Post)
Pakistan successfully tested a nuclear-capable, air-launched cruise missile with a range of 350 km (220 miles) on Thursday, the military said, a day after India tested a long-range missile.
The Hatf-VIII (Ra'ad) missile had been developed exclusively for launch from aircraft, a military statement said.
"It has enabled Pakistan to achieve a greater strategic stand-off capability on land and at sea," it said.
The indigenously developed missile also had special stealth capabilities and could deliver all types of warheads with great accuracy, the military said.
On Wednesday, India tested a nuclear-capable missile with a range of more than 3,000 km (1,900 miles).
The South Asian neighbors, who have fought three wars since their independence in 1947, routinely test missiles in spite of a peace process launched in 2004 that has led to better relations.
Pakistan tested nuclear weapons in 1998, days after old rival India conducted similar tests.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/08/AR2008050800091.html
6. Medvedev sworn in as Russia president. (The Los Angels Times)
Dmitry Medvedev, a corporate lawyer tapped and groomed for the Kremlin by Vladimir V. Putin, was sworn in as president Wednesday under the watchful gaze of his mentor and predecessor.
As soon as the ceremony was over, just as they had planned months ago, Medvedev nominated Putin for prime minister.
With the two men apparently poised to rule in tandem, Russians were left waiting with a mix of anxiety and curiosity for hints of who's really in charge: 42-year-old Medvedev, who holds the highest job in the land, or Putin, the former KGB officer and wily politician who seems determined to keep a grip on power.
"Now it is extremely important that we together continue the course of the country, which has already justified itself," Putin told 2,000 dignitaries, referring to his years in office as a "breakthrough to new life" for Russia.
He also hinted that he regards his policies and plans as shaping Russia for decades to come, noting: "We are already formulating goals not for one or two months, but for 20 and 30 years ahead."
A sober-faced Medvedev, speaking after his longtime boss, talked of the need for rule of law and decried the corruption that has plagued Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union and continued to rage throughout Putin's eight-year presidency.
"We ought to achieve a genuine respect for law to overcome the legal nihilism which seriously hampers modern development," he said.
In recent months, Medvedev has been a steady presence at Putin's side, following his fellow St. Petersburg native during state visits and key meetings. In one public appearance after another, both men hammered the theme of continuity, indicating that Medvedev would pick up where Putin left off. That message continued Wednesday.
By midafternoon, Medvedev had sent a letter to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, nominating Putin as prime minister. Then he settled in to issue decrees on housing for World War II veterans and use of public lands.
The parliament is scheduled to debate Putin's nomination today, but the discussion is a pure formality. Putin has nearly finished choosing the members of the new government, Interfax reported.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-medvedev8-2008may08,0,4633710.story
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US:
1. Bush says he will veto housing-relief bill. (The International Herald Tribune)
As the House prepared to vote on a housing-relief bill offered by Democratic leaders, President George W. Bush on Wednesday told the lawmakers, in effect, not to bother.
"I will veto the bill that's moving through the House today if it makes it to my desk," the president said at the White House, after meeting with Republican House leaders. "I urge members on both sides of the aisle to focus on a good piece of legislation that is being sponsored by Republican members."
The president's remarks were not surprising, given that the administration issued a statement on Tuesday evening declaring its opposition and saying that White House advisers would urge the president to veto it.
But Bush's personal pledge to veto the measure championed by Representative Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who heads the Financial Services Committee, made it less likely that a bipartisan housing deal will be achieved soon, especially in this election year.
The House is expected to vote on the Frank bill, which would expand access to federally insured mortgages to help troubled homeowners refinance their loans, on Wednesday or Thursday. Under the bill, lenders would be required to reduce the principal balances for borrowers at risk of default. The troubled loans, typically with high, adjustable interest rates, would then be refinanced into more affordable 30-year fix-rate loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The new loans would be limited to 90 percent of a property's value, based on an updated appraisal, and the government would retain a stake in any future sale of the property.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/07/america/07bush.php
2. Clinton marches on amid growing pressure to drop out. (The Huston Chronicle)
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton struck a publicly defiant posture on Wednesday about continuing her presidential bid despite waning support from Democratic officials and donors. Some of her advisers acknowledged privately that they remained unsure about the future of her candidacy.
With the political world trained on Clinton's financial and electoral viability, Sen. Barack Obama moved closer to becoming the first black presidential nominee of a major party. Obama spent the day at home in Chicago, after increasing his delegate lead in Tuesday's primaries — a result that led David Plouffe, a top Obama aide, to say on Wednesday, "We can see the finish line here."
After a decisive loss in North Carolina and a disappointingly narrow victory in Indiana on Tuesday night, Clinton told advisers that she wanted to start campaigning for next Tuesday's primary in West Virginia, advisers said. At 3 a.m. on Wednesday, aides added a noon event there. She also was eager to get away from Beltway buzzards circling her candidacy and feeding off fresh tidbits such as the revelation that she had lent her campaign $6 million to keep it afloat, aides said.
In West Virginia on Wednesday afternoon, Clinton said that it was "still early" — even though 50 of 56 nominating contests have concluded — and that the "dynamic electoral environment" could still swing the nomination her way.
"I'm staying in this race until there is a nominee, and obviously I'm going to work as hard as I can to become that nominee," Clinton said after an event in Shepherdstown, W.Va.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5762999.html