UPI NewsTrack TopNews July 18, 2008

Bush, Maliki agree on 'aspirational goals'

TUCSON, July 18 (UPI) -- U.S. President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki agreed to a "time horizon" for a change in the U.S. mission in Iraq, the White House said Friday.

The announcement came as Bush traveled to Arizona for a Republican fundraiser, The Washington Post reported. Officials said that Maliki and Bush talked Thursday in a video conference.

Iraq and the United States have been negotiating a new status of forces agreement. While the Bush administration had resisted any notion of timetables for the withdrawal of troops, Maliki had begun saying that a schedule must be part of a new agreement.

"In the area of security cooperation, the president and the prime minister agreed that improving conditions should allow for the agreements now under negotiation to include a general time horizon for meeting aspirational goals," officials said in Friday's statement.

Scott Stanzel, a Bush spokesman, said that the agreement with Maliki is different from Democratic proposals on troop withdrawal.

"These are aspirational goals, not arbitrary timetables based on political expediency," Stanzel said.

Blair talks Mideast with Norwegian leaders

OSLO, Norway, July 18 (UPI) -- Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair pitched his two-state solution to end the Middle East conflict to Norwegian leaders outside Oslo Friday.

Blair met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Aftenposten reported. No official agreements were announced but Blair sounded optimistic in his role as official envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East -- made up of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

"I think agreement is possible, and also that an agreement is fundamental to solving the conflict," said Blair.

"We've shared information gathered from our travels in the Middle East and we've made preparations for a meeting of donor countries, which will take place in September. We talked about how to make the agenda to fit with and give support to the political process," said Støre, who leads a group of Palestinian donor nations.

Report: EU funds for Bulgaria to be halted

SOFIA, Bulgaria, July 18 (UPI) -- Bulgarian television is predicting the European Commission may soon suspend payments for two government agencies handling EU projects because of corruption.

The European Observer said Friday that the commission was scheduled to release a report next week highly critical of Bulgaria's management of EU funds.

Bulgaria's national television network Thursday said the situation would result in the withholding of funding from Bulgaria's pre-accession program.

The Observer said the report itself describes flaws and possible fraud in the financial management of the PHARE program, one of three EU programs designed to prepare Bulgaria for the receipt of future funding once it becomes a full-fledged member of the European Union. PHARE stands for "Poland and Hungary: Assistance for Restructuring their Economies."

"Beyond that, there have been serious allegations of irregularities as well as suspicions of fraud and conflicts of interest in the award of contracts," the report said.

Bulgaria joined the EU in January 2007.

African leaders to discuss Zimbabwe

PRETORIA, South Africa, July 18 (UPI) -- African Union Commission and South African leaders met Friday to discuss mediation strategies dealing with violence in Zimbabwe.

Jean Ping, the AU Commission chairman, met behind closed doors in Pretoria with President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, who has been the sole mediator in negotiations with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF and opposition parties. Some have called for an additional mediator, saying that Mbeki has favored ZANU PF, SW Radio Africa reported on its Web site Thursday.

Violence has been continuing in different parts of Zimbabwe while negotiations lag, with opponents claiming that Mugabe's government is sponsoring attacks on opponents.

Scotland plans mixed sex prisons

GLASGOW, England, July 18 (UPI) -- Male and female prisoners would be mixed together in facilities nearer their homes under a plan being considered by Scotland's prison authorities.

"Community-facing" prisons designed to better maintain inmates' links with family and social services could help recidivism upon release, officials argue, the Glasgow Herald reported Friday.

Ian Gunn, governor of Scotland's female prison at Cornton Vale, said he would back the changes with the assumption that appropriate services would be provided for women.

"Ideally we would shake up the whole population and move them to the nearest place to where they will live when they leave prison," he said.

A recent prison commission study found that Scotland's prison population has reached a record high of 8,105 and called for a reduction of 3,000 to 4,000 inmates along with an end to sentences of six months or less that provide no opportunities for rehabilitation.

Gang attacks London police over litterbug

LONDON, July 18 (UPI) -- Contact between London police and an alleged litterbug degenerated into a fight that left two officers injured and three people arrested, police said.

Police told The Times of London Friday that the incident began when two patrolmen allegedly saw a teenage girl toss a food wrapper on the sidewalk Wednesday and told her to pick it up.

The situation quickly turned when a friend of the girl allegedly became belligerent and a group of some 30 teenagers and adults joined in.

The brawl left the two officers with bruises and bite marks. Two men and a 15-year-old girl were arrested.

A number of the alleged troublemakers were described as members of a South London gang.

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