LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Spanghero knew. One thing that should have attracted Spanghero’s attention? The price.”
Benoit Hamon, the French government’s consumer affairs minister, as a meat wholesaler received the bulk of the blame in Europe’s horse-meat scandal Article, 10A
Pakistan politicians urge peace talks
PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Politicians called for peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban on Thursday, the same day the group killed 18 people in a pair of bombings in the country’s northwest targeting a police post and a vehicle carrying anti-Taliban militiamen.
The call for peace negotiations followed a meeting by many of the country’s main political parties in the capital, Islamabad, to discuss the issue. Momentum for peace talks has grown in recent weeks as the Taliban and the government have said they are interested.
“We agreed that bringing peace through talks should be the first priority,” Asfandyar Wali Khan, head of the Awami National Party, said at a news conference after the meeting.
The Awami National Party, which is the strongest party in the northwest and has been repeatedly attacked by the Taliban, has taken the lead in calling for talks with the group. The party convened Thursday’s meeting, which was also attended by the ruling Pakistan People’s Party and the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N.
Tunisia premier: If bid fails, he’ll quit
TUNIS, Tunisia - Tunisia’s prime minister will continue to oppose his own political party and seek to form a government of technocrats by Saturday to solve the country’s political crisis or resign, he announced Thursday.
Hamadi Jebali said he will hold talks with representatives of all political parties today to see whether there is sufficient support for his solution to end the crisis exacerbated by a political assassination last week. He will announce the results of the meeting the next day.
Jebali’s initiative, while supported by the opposition, puts him on a collision course with the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party, which dominates the government and insists on sticking with a Cabinet of political figures.
Nuke watchdog says Iran talks run dry
PARIS - A senior official of the U.N. nuclear supervisory body said Thursday that talks a day earlier in Iran had ended inconclusively and international inspectors had not been given access to a site that they suspect may have been used for testing bomb triggers.
Herman Nackaerts, the deputy director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the discussions “could not finalize” a document that “once agreed, should facilitate the resolution of outstanding issues regarding possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program.”
He declined to say whether any progress had been made.
The talks have been going on for months, veering from apparent optimism last May when Yukiya Amano, the agency’s director general, said there had been a decision “to conclude and sign” an agreement, to far more muted recent assessments. Before Wednesday’s talks, Amano said, “The outlook is not bright.”
Nackaerts was speaking as he returned from Tehran to Vienna, where the agency has its headquarters. He said no date had been set for further talks.
“We will work hard now to try and resolve the remaining differences, but time is needed to reflect on the way forward,” he said.
While Western powers suspect Iran is seeking nuclear weapons technology, Tehran says its program is for civilian purposes.
Malaysia police, Filipinos in standoff
MANILA, Philippines - Police in Malaysia were in a standoff late Thursday with at least 80 militiamen from the Philippines who were seeking to stay by right of historic claims on the island of Borneo, police said.
The men, who arrived by boat Tuesday in Sabah State, on the Malaysian side of Borneo, said they were descendants of the leaders of the Sultanate of Sulu, an area ruled from the southern Philippines that in the 18th century included stretches of the island.
Lahad Datu, the small village in eastern Malaysia where the men are, is less than two hours by speedboat from the southern Philippines, where several violent rebel groups operate. But Tan Sri Ismail Omar, the head of the Malaysian Royal Police, told reporters Thursday that the men denied links to any militant organization in the Philippines.
The police chief said the situation remained peaceful and negotiations to get the men to return to the Philippines were continuing.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 02/15/2013