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Drugs gangs, flu dominate North American summit
Guadalajara, Mexico (AFP) Aug 10, 2009 US President Barack Obama joined the leaders of Canada and Mexico Monday to fine tune the fight against swine flu, murderous drugs gangs and economic recession at the North American summit. At the quick summit in the western city of Guadalajara Obama, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper targeted incremental change rather than breakthroughs. But as the leaders enjoyed a dancing show Sunday night, divisions were evident on issues like trade protectionism in the US Congress, a US-Mexico trucking row and the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In a final communique, the three leaders will stress how they can better tackle threats to their region of nearly 450 million people from drugs trafficking and (A)H1N1 flu, a senior US official said. "There are challenges that face each country in North America that are relevant to every country in North America, be that economic recovery and competitiveness, citizen safety and security, H1N1, combating transnational criminal networks... and climate change and clean energy initiatives." The three leaders, each facing political pressure over their crisis-mired economies, also have one eye on the new measures to kick-start the global financial system ahead of the G20 economic summit in Pittsburgh next month. Late Sunday, Obama held 45 minutes of talks with Calderon -- their third private encounter this year -- before the two men joined Harper for a closed dinner ahead of the tightly guarded summit. He expressed "strong support" for Calderon's crackdown against drugs gangs but also stressed the importance of human rights, following concern among US lawmakers at reports of widespread abuses by Mexican armed forces. But the two leaders failed to make a breakthrough on a trucking dispute which has seen Mexico hit back at the US cancellation of a program allowing some Mexican trucks on its territory -- in violation of NAFTA -- by slapping some 2.4 billion dollars in tariffs on 89 US products in March. Monday's three-way summit, also likely to feature pressure by Canada and Mexico for vigilance by Obama against "Buy America" protectionist measures popular in Congress, will be followed by a closing press conference. A dominant theme of the talks will be the rampaging violence, killings and drugs crime which has killed thousands of people in Mexico since 2008 and is infiltrating the criminal underworld in Canada and the United States. The United States -- the world's top cocaine consumer -- has agreed to send Mexico 1.4 billion dollars worth of aid and equipment for the drugs wars, under the three-year Merida Initiative, which awaits full approval from Congress. More drugs violence Sunday formed a bloody backdrop to the summit. Drug cartels are believed responsible for 12 other murders since Saturday night in the dangerous US-Mexico border region -- including in Ciudad Juarez, where authorities discovered a male victim with his head and genitals severed. Canada said Sunday that it would boost training by its Mounted Police for Mexican officers as part of a new, 15-million-dollar security program for the Americas. Calderon, Obama and Harper were also set to discuss how to safeguard vital transport, border and commerce links against an expected spike in swine flu cases in the flu season in coming months. "We want to make sure that we do everything possible to ensure the continuation of commerce, transportation, and trade between and among the three countries," said John Brennan, Obama's deputy national security advisor for counter-terrorism and homeland security. US trade with Canada is worth 1.5 billion dollars a day in goods and around 300,000 people cross the shared border every day. The United States is crucial to Mexico's economy, having bought 82 percent of its neighbor's exports in 2007, according to US government figures. Like the United States, Mexico is plumbing a deep recession, with much of its industry tied to the struggling US sectors, including cars and construction -- and migrant workers north of the border sending less money home. Other key issues on the Guadalajara agenda include the fight against global warming ahead of a key climate summit in December, the political crisis in Honduras following a military-backed coup, and US immigration policies. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Taiwan, China to start regular flights at end of AugustTaipei (AFP) Aug 10, 2009 Taiwan's aviation authorities said Monday that scheduled regular flights between the island and China would begin later than expected as the mainland still had some technical issues to resolve. Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said the first of the historic trips would take off on August 31, a few weeks later than planned. An official said: "We've finished the preparatory ... read more |
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