Posted 7-5-08

NewsRoom Shorts

NewsRoom Agency
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Rice: 'Proud' Of U.S. Decision to Invade Iraq

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she was "proud" of the U.S.
decision to invade Iraq, adding the world is not more dangerous now than when George W. Bush took office as president.

"We're now beginning to see that perhaps it's not so popular to be a suicide bomber. We're beginning to see that perhaps people are questioning whether Osama Bin Laden ought to really be the face of Islam," Rice, 53, said in an interview with Bloomberg News television that will be broadcast over the weekend.

"And I am proud of the decision of this administration to overthrow Saddam Hussein," Rice - who was Bush's national security advisor at the time of the March 2003 invasion - said.

She did acknowledge, however, that the Iraq war has been "tougher than any of us really dreamed."

Oil Chiefs Unsure What to Do About Record Oil Prices

Political and private industry oil chiefs attending the World Oil Congress in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia wrapped up meetings Thursday without arriving at a consensus over what to do about record prices.

Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil producer, expressed concern over prices, which neared $146 a barrel the same day the meetings ended, saying it welcomed dialogue between producer and consumer countries.

"We are concerned about high prices," Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi said on the sidelines of the meeting here, which closes on Thursday, adding that Saudi "King Abdullah is leading the effort" for dialogue.

Since nearly 3,000 delegates began meetings June 22 oil prices have hit near-daily records.

Obama: Mental Distress Should Not Justify Late-Term Abortions

Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting Sen. Barack Obama says "mental distress" should not be a medical qualification for justifying late-term abortions, a position at odds with many abortion rights supporters.

In an interview with "Relevant," a Christian-themed magazine, Obama said any prohibitions on late-term abortions must contain "a strict, well defined exception for the health of the mother."

But, he added, "Now, I don't think that 'mental distress' qualifies as the health of the mother. I think it has to be a serious physical issue that arises in pregnancy, where there are real, significant problems to the mother carrying that child to term."

When the U.S. Supreme Court last year upheld a federal ban on late-term abortions, Obama said then he "strongly disagreed" with the ruling because he said it "dramatically departs form previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women."

The medical condition qualifier is important to abortion rights supporters but it is seen as a loophole by opponents.

European Sharemarkets End Day, Week Down

European sharemarkets finished lower on Friday, with 17 of the 18 indexes in Western Europe declining as financial shares fell over further write down concerns and near record airlines dampening airline stocks.

Shares in Spain's biggest bank, Banco Santander, lost 4.3 percent to 11.34 euros, after it was downgraded by Goldman Sachs, while Swedbank, the largest bank in the Baltic states, fell 5.7 percent to 111.75 kronor.

Shares in Europe's third-largest airline, British Airways, fell dropped 57 percent to 197 pence, while the region's biggest, Air France-KLM dropped 1.7 percent to 14.15 euros as oil traded above US$144 a barrel.

At the close of trading on Friday, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips lost 14.390 points, or 1.267 percent, to close at 1,163.11, while the UK's FTSE 100 index lost 63.80 points, or 1.16 percent, to close at 5412.80.

France's CAC index shed ?77.99 points, or 1.80 percent, to close at 4266.00, while, Germany's DAX lost 81.53 points, or 1.28 percent, to close at 6272.21.

On the commodity markets, Brent Crude oil gained 15 US cents, or 0.1 percent, to be worth US$145.16 a barrel, while on the Forex Gold Index, gold lost US$2.75, or 0.3 percent, to close at US$931.25 an ounce.

Oil Drops Slightly, Still Near Record Highs

The price of oil dropped slightly on Friday, halting a near daily advance of fresh records, over positive signs in nuclear negotiations with Iran.

International concern over Iran's uranium enrichment program and tension with Israel has been cited as a factor, along with commodity speculators and increasing demand from China, in the upward spiral in the price of a barrel of oil, which has increased by 50 percent in 2008.

On Friday the price of a barrel of oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped US$1.44 to US$143.85, below the record $145.85 a barrel set on Thursday, while London's Brent crude slipped US$1.66 to US$144.42.

On Friday, negotiators from the United States, Britain, China, Russia, Germany, and France offered Iran trade and other incentives if it suspends its uranium enrichment program.

While no details have been released of Iran's response, with the OPEC member simply stating that it has given its answer to the European Union, the negotiations have raised hopes that the dispute over the nuclear development program can be resolved.