Close race seen to select next Japanese leader

A close race emerged Saturday among the men seeking to replace Prime Minister Naoto Kan and lead Japan as it emerges from its worst disaster since World War II, with five declaring their candidacy for the ruling party's top spot.

Kan announced Friday he would resign after serving nearly 15 months that have been plagued by ruling party infighting, gridlock in parliament and clamorous criticism of his administration's tepid initial reponse to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis.

A new leader is to be chosen Monday. Public opinion polls show that the favorite to replace Kan is former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, but Trade Minister Banri Kaieda has emerged as a strong contender said he was backed by veteran party power broker Ichiro Ozawa.

The Japanese public, yearning for political unity and resolve in the wake of the disasters, has grown disgusted with the squabbles and blame-trading that have dominated parliamentary sessions.

The five members of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan who declared their candidacies after Kan's announcement planned to hold news conferences and debates Saturday and Sunday. Then, the party's 398 members of parliament were to vote Monday to choose the new party chief, who will almost certainly become prime minister because of the party's majority in the more powerful lower house.

Kan's successor will become Japan's sixth prime minister in five years, perpetuating the high turnover in political leadership even as the country grapples with a sluggish economy, an aging population and the enormous reconstruction effort after the country's triple disaster.

So far, candidates running for party chief have spelled out little about their vision for post-tsunami reconstruction or other serious issues, such as tackling the bulging national debt. Most of them also have not taken a clear stance on the future of atomic power despite growing public worries about meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.

In the murky world of faction-dominated Japanese politics, they seem more concerned about getting votes from fellow party members and shoring up their base of support, experts say.

The party leadership race could end up as a duel between the relatively young and telegenic Maehara, the former foreign minister, and Kaieda, the economy minister, who reportedly has the backing of party stalwart Ozawa.

A China hawk, Maehara, 49, gained prominence by taking a firm stand toward Beijing during a territorial spat last year over some disputed islands in the East China Sea. He is strongly pro-Washington and supports a close security alliance with the U.S.

Other candidates in the party leadership race include Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who has spent recent weeks contending with the yen's record appreciation that is hurting Japan's exporters, former Transport Minister Sumio Mabuchi and Farm Minister Michihiko Kano.

After Monday's party vote, the new Cabinet could be installed as early as Tuesday.

U.S. could call for Al-Assad for violence in Syria

The international cries for Syria's government to end a bloody crackdown on civilians could intensify Wednesday as activist groups reported fresh onslaughts in several cities.

The United Nations Security Council is expected today to follow up on a statement last week that condemned the Syrian regime for attacks on peaceful protesters and called for both sides to end the violence.

U.S. government sources told, The United States is moving toward issuing an explicit call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

The move is expected to be announced in coming days after U.S. officials consult with the United Nations Security Council, they said the question of whether to call for al-Assad to step down has been under discussion over the past few weeks.

While international leaders mull their next steps, heavy gunfire, explosions and tanks permeated the eastern city of Deir Ezzor on today.

The observatory said in morning, "There are also large scale arrests in those areas as mobile service and landline communications have been completely cut out in the areas since the start of the military operation."

The conflict in Syria was fueled five months ago when Syrian forces swiftly suppressed protests in the southern city of Daraa.

On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and al-Assad engaged in more than six hours of talks in Damascus.

Davutoglu told, "Our primary target is the bloodshed to stop,". "We shared what needs to be done for the bloodshed to stop, for the civilian losses to end and for the political reform process, in line with the people's demands, to take place."

Al-Assad told Davutoglu that his country won't relent in chasing down the "armed terrorist groups" it blames for the violence that has engulfed the nation.

Al-Assad briefed Davutoglu on the killing and terrorizing in some Syrian cities by the purported groups. At the same time, he indicated that Syria is committed to reform and is open to help from other countries.

Russia called on the Syrian government Tuesday "to stop the violence and to introduce deep political changes," the Russian Foreign Ministry.

A Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has condemned violence in Syria in a rare rebuke directed at a fellow Arab leader, who leads a majority Sunni Muslim nation with a government dominated by minority Alawites, whose faith is a spinoff of Shiite Islam. Abdullah demanded an end "to the killing machine and the bloodshed."

"A mere diplomatic appeal to the Syrian authorities to end the ongoing violence against civilians will fall far short of what the situation demands."

Pakistan Foreign Minister: visited Ajmer

The 34-year-old Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar had visited India twice before she was appointed the foreign minister over a week ago.

 She arrived at the Jaipur International Airport from Delhi today and after a brief halt due to bad weather proceeded to Ajmer, where she will visit the revered Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.

Airport officials told that Khar arrived here at around 12.30 p.m. by a Pakistan Air Force plane and was received by state government officials.

She was waiting at the VVIP lounge of the airport when it started raining.

An airport official told, "She was to leave for Ajmer by a chopper immediately after arrival, but due to rain, the air traffic control did not give the clearance. So the authorities decided not to take a chance,"
Sources said that she stayed in the VVIP lounge and had breakfast. She also discussed with authorities the possibility of going for sightseeing in Jaipur.

However, as the weather improved, she proceeded to Ajmer.The shrine, dedicated to the Sufi saint who came to Ajmer from Persia in 1192, attracts thousands of pilgrims throughout the year.

After offering prayers at the famous shrine, Khar plans to return to Jaipur and fly back home, ending her three-day visit.

Earlier, Khar, who is in India on her maiden visit as Pakistan foreign minister, had expressed her desire to offer prayers at the Jama Masjid in New Delhi, but this did not work out due to security reasons.

Khar held wide-ranging talks with India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Wednesday. Krishna invited her to visit south India, specially Bangalore, India's IT hub.

  

India Pak relations on right track

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday and expressed the hope that both countries can and would "move forward" as good neighbours with a stake in each other's future. "

Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan will be meeting in New Delhi on toay, a day after the foreign secretaries of the two countries met to decide on the agenda that will be taken up.

A number of issues are likely to figure in the talks, including counter-terrorism measures, the Kashmir issue, new confidence building measures to help bilateral relations move forward and bringing the perpetrators of the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai to justice.

Hina Rabbani Khar also expressed the hope that Pakistan and India "have learnt lessons from history, but are not burdened by history and we can move forward as good, friendly neighbours who have stake in each other's future and both the countries understand their responsibilities to the region and within the region."

Prior to her talks with Indian External Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna, Khar stirred controversy in Indian government circles by meeting Kashmiri separatist leaders at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi last evening.

She is said to have met Democratic Freedom Party (DPF) chairman Shabir Ahmad Shah, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) chief (hardline faction) Syed Ali Shah Geelani, All Party Hurriyat Conference chairman (moderate faction) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik.

Geelani said after the meeting,He had raised the Kashmir issue with Khar.

While the delegation led by hardliner Geelani did not appear enthused about the talks, the moderate Hurriyat faction led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq welcomed the exercise saying the talks were necessary for resolving all issues.

On Tuesday, Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir had very cordial and positive discussions, during which they reviewed the progress in talks between different ministries and organizations of the two countries in the preceding months.

Building on the official-level talks, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Kher will discuss all aspects of the bilateral relations, with a particular focus on issues like terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, trade and promotion of bilateral exchanges. joint statement is expected after today's meeting.