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World in brief

2 tsunami-hit nations edge toward peace

By wire services
Published January 28, 2005

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - Indonesia's president Thursday offered rebels in tsunami-hit Aceh province autonomy and an amnesty in exchange for a cease-fire, the brightest hope in years of ending a three-decade separatist conflict that more recently has threatened to disrupt relief efforts.

Moves were also under way in Sri Lanka to ease tension between Tamil Tiger rebels and the government. The two sides agreed to meet to resolve disagreements over the distribution of aid to rebuild tsunami-damaged areas under guerrilla control.

Japan, meanwhile, kicked off its largest ever relief effort as two of its military's hovercraft arrived in Aceh, bringing a water purification unit and medical supplies. The Japanese troops will try to fill the gap left when U.S. forces scale back their relief operations. Indonesia was hardest hit by the tsunami with close to 100,000 killed, followed by Sri Lanka, where more than 30,000 died.

UNITED NATIONS - The Bush administration on Thursday proposed establishing an African war crimes tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania, to prosecute perpetrators of atrocities in Darfur, Sudan, U.S. and European diplomats said.

Pierre-Richard Prosper, the U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes, outlined the plan in closed-door meetings with key U.N. members, including Britain and Tanzania. He proposed that the new court, which would be at the headquarters of the U.N.-run Rwandan war crimes tribunal, be administered by the African Union and the United Nations.

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil - Jeered by activists upset with the pace of social reform, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva insisted Thursday that he hasn't betrayed his pledge to eradicate poverty in Brazil.

The first leftist elected to the presidency in Brazil drew a smattering of boos as he waited on stage to deliver the keynote address at the World Social Forum, the annual protest to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

GENEROSITY URGED: Former President Bill Clinton on Thursday questioned the Bush administration's $80-billion request to finance the war in Iraq when "a pittance" of that amount would allow the United States to double its aid and help end poverty in Africa.

Others at the World Economic Forum including Microsoft chief Bill Gates and British Prime Minister Tony Blair joined Clinton in urging rich countries to reach deeper into their pockets.

[Last modified January 28, 2005, 00:22:07]