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New Archbishop faces criticism on police ties

By TIMES WIRES
Published January 6, 2007

Amid calls for him to step aside, Warsaw's incoming archbishop admitted Friday he had cooperated with the Communist-era secret police and said he was leaving his fate in the hands of Pope Benedict XVI. Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus, who is to have his installation ceremony Sunday, expressed regret for an act that he acknowledged "harmed the church." He also said he has informed Benedict of his role, which he said included a promise to collaborate but never resulted in informing on anyone. The Vatican named Wielgus to replace Cardinal Jozef Glemp, who stepped down after more than 25 years as archbishop.

Rice says N. Korea likely to hold out

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday played down expectations for the next round of multinational talks with North Korea on disarmament. Rice said the last round of six-party talks that ended Dec. 22 in Beijing were "productive," and added: "I don't mean we're going to resolve the North Korean nuclear program in the next round." Rice's assessment came after she conferred at the State Department with South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min Soon. Rice and Song said they saw no indication North Korea was preparing another nuclear test, contrary to an ABC News report on Thursday that cited unidentified U.S. defense officials.

Tanzanian official is named as No. 2

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon made good on his pledge to appoint a woman from the developing world as deputy Friday, choosing Tanzanian Foreign Minister Asha-Rose Migiro. Ban said he planned to delegate much of the management and administrative work to her. She also will oversee socio-economic affairs and development issues. The deputy position is a relatively new U.N. post, created by Kofi Annan in 1998.

New rail service launched in Taipei

Taiwan's long-delayed high-speed rail system debuted Friday, a 12-car caravan gliding out of a suburban Taipei station right on time at 7 a.m. Twenty years in the making, the $15-billion system seeks to provide an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly transport option for Taiwan's 23-million people.

Elsewhere

Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez's decision not to renew the license of his nation's largest and oldest television network, a frequent critic of his policies, drew criticism Friday by the Organization of American States. The license of RCTV is set to expire in May.

Germany: The country's population fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2006, the government said Friday, days after launching financial incentives designed to stall falling birth rates. At the end of 2006, the population was an estimated 82.3-million, 130,000 below the total at the end of 2005.

[Last modified January 6, 2007, 00:43:15]