Clinton warns on Pakistan threat

The US secretary of state has said that a militant attack on Pakistan's army HQ is evidence of an increasing threat against the authority of the state.

Speaking in London, Hillary Clinton said that despite the attack, the US remained confident about Pakistan's control over its nuclear weapons.

The attack, which began on Saturday and turned into a siege, ended hours ago after hostages were released.

Correspondents say the attack is highly embarrassing for Pakistan's leaders.

"Yesterday was another reminder that extremists ... are increasingly threatening the authority of the state, but we see no evidence they are going to take over the state," Mrs Clinton said.

Security forces freed more than 40 hostages at the Rawalpindi base

"We have confidence in the Pakistani government and military's control over its nuclear weapons," she added.

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Pakistan faced a "mortal threat", but there was no risk of its nuclear weapons falling into terrorist hands.

The two officials also stressed other shared aspects of foreign policy:

• Mrs Clinton warned that the international community would not wait "indefinitely" for Tehran to meet its obligations on its nuclear programme, while Mr Miliband said Iran would never have a better opportunity to establish normal ties with the rest of the world
• The US secretary of state said Washington was committed to implementation of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland and a "lasting peace that brings the benefits of peace to the people". She said Republican dissidents were "out of step" with the peace process
• Mrs Clinton said that their joint resolve in the fight against the Taliban was "strong and clear", and that they were determined to work with the new Afghan government

Mrs Clinton also held talks with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, before flying to Dublin for the next stage of her tour.

Major operation

On Sunday morning Pakistani security forces freed more than 40 hostages held at the base, in the city of Rawalpindi.

Military officials said three hostages and two soldiers died in the operation along with at least four militants. Four militants and six soldiers died in the initial attack.

The sound of blasts and gunfire rang out as Pakistani special forces entered the compound for the pre-dawn raid.

Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said the forces had met resistance in what he described as a "very skilled" operation.

They found the hostages being held in a room "with a terrorist who was wearing a suicide jacket", he said.

Gen Abbas said the commandos had "acted promptly" and shot the suspected hostage taker "before he could pull the trigger".

The attack came as the army was preparing for a major operation against the Taliban, which officials say have claimed responsibility.

The Taliban had been threatening to carry out attacks unless operations against it were stopped.

President Hu Jintao meets ROK, Japanese leaders

BEIJING, Oct. 11 -- Chinese President Hu Jintao met with President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama here on Saturday, who are here to attend the second trilateral leaders' meeting.

Hailing the progress of China's relations with the two countries, Hu said China is ready to make joint efforts with Japan and the ROK to implement consensus, boost healthy development of China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership and China-Japan strategic mutually-beneficial ties.

The substantial cooperation between China and the two countries in various areas had been further expanded, he said.

Hu congratulated the success of the second trilateral leaders' meeting held in Beijing on Saturday, calling on the three nations to seize historical opportunities to further strengthen strategic trust, respect respective major interests and concerns, and make concerted efforts for mutual benefits and common development.

The Chinese president hopes the three countries to facilitate east Asian cooperation and jointly respond to regional hot issues and global challenges to unveil a new chapter for peace, cooperation and development of east Asia.

In response, Lee Myung-bak said the three countries had made great achievements in expanding cooperation in the past ten years. "China's economy is now stabilizing and turning for the better, which plays a positive role in promoting economic recovery of the ROK and Japan," he added.

Lee spoke highly of Hu's important speech on the UN climate change summit in New York last month, expressing appreciation over China's contribution to reopening the six-party talks and promoting a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

Hatoyama extended congratulations to Hu on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, adding he was glad to see China's great achievements.

He told Hu the Japanese government would like to cooperate closely with China to boost bilateral ties in a spirit of drawing lessons from history and facing up to the future.

Hatoyama also expressed satisfaction over the progress of trilateral cooperation, calling on the three sides to respect each other and share successful experience to promote greater achievement of trilateral cooperation.

apanese investors urge government to help resolve industrial project suspensions

BANGKOK, Oct 10 – Key Japanese investors in Thailand have been affected by the recent Central Administrative Court injunction putting 76 industrial projects in the country’s largest industrial estate on temporary hold, according to the Japanese Chamber of Commerce (JCC) in Bangkok.

JCC president Yo Jitsukata said some of the chamber’s members have been negatively affected by the order against their new investment projects and are concerned that the order will impact on other firms intending to invest in the Map Ta Phut industrial estate in the eastern seaboard province of Rayong.

Some of the firms may be forced, eventually, to close parts of their business ventures due to the shortage of components and processed raw materials they would otherwise receive from opening the new plants, Mr. Jitsukata said.

On September 29 the court ordered all 76 industrial ventures in the Map Ta Phut estate to temporarily halt operations amid local residents and NGO’s continuing concern about critical environmental and health impacts.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva earlier this week said the case is not over because the government has appealed the court’s order. He said the government wants development to proceed, to boost investor confidence, but the quality of life hardship and health concerns the people face from implementation of the projects with inadequate environmental protection must also be recognised.

Mr. Jitsukata said the JCC hoped that the problem could be resolved as soon as possible so that the halted projects could proceed.

Japanese investors, said Mr. Jitsukata, give importance to environmental protection concerns and have cooperated with the government in developing the Thai economy along with controlling environmental pollution by using their expertise and the same technologies used in Japan in this country.

Obama to gay group: 'Still laws to change, hearts to open'

WASHINGTON -- President Obama delivered a rousing speech Saturday night to the nation's largest gay rights group, praising the gay community for making strides in equal rights and pledging to deliver on major campaign promises that some say he's left on the back burner.

President Obama speaks Saturday night at the Human Rights Campaign dinner in Washington.

"For nearly 30 years, you've advocated for those without a voice," Obama said during his address at the dinner for the Human Rights Campaign. "Despite the progress we've made, there are still laws to change and hearts to open."

Obama's speech came as gay rights activists continued to lose patience over the lack of change to key issues for the gay community -- including the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. It comes on the eve of a major gays-rights rally in Washington.

"This fight continues now and I'm here with the simple message: I'm here with you in that fight," Obama told the applauding crowd.

The Human Rights Campaign issued a statement praising the speech, saying it was a "historic night when we felt the full embrace and commitment of the president of the United States. It's simply unprecedented."

Obama called for the repeal of the ban on gays in the military -- the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

"We should not be punishing patriotic Americans who have stepped forward to serve this country," he said. "I'm working with the Pentagon, its leadership and the members of the House and Senate on ending this policy, legislation that has been introduced in the House to make this happen, I will end 'don't ask, don't tell.' That's my commitment to you."

The president said he backed the rights of gay couples, saying they should have the "same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country." He said he has urged Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and to pass the Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act.

Obama also touched on protection against hate crimes, noting that legislation was passed in the House this week that expanded the definition of hate crimes to include attacks based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

"I can announce that after more than a decade, this bill is set to pass and I will sign it into law," he said.

Obama acknowledged the fact that many in the gay community don't believe government is moving fast enough to address their concerns.

"Many of you don't believe progress is happening. I want to be honest about that because it's important to be honest among friends," he said. "I said this before, I'll repeat it again, it's not important for me to tell you to be patient."

Obama said gay people, like other Americans, are affected by myriad concerns -- namely, the economy and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- and stressed that he's focusing on issues that affect the entire nation.

"While some may wish to define you solely by your sexual orientation or identity alone, you know and I know that none of us want to be defined by one part of what makes us whole," he said. "So I know you want me working on jobs and the economy and all of the other issues that we're dealing with."

Still, Obama said, it's imperative that the gay community continue to pursue the policies they support.

"It's so important that you continue to speak out and you continue to set an example and that you continue to press your leaders, including me, and to make the case all across America," he said.

The Human Rights Campaign in its statement praised Obama's pledge that "we will see a time in which we as a nation finally recognize the relationships between two men or two women."

The group said Obama "made it crystal clear that he is our strongest ally in this fight, that he understands and, in fact, encourages our activism and our voice even when we're impatient with the pace of change."

Henry: Is Obama's Nobel a blessing or curse?

WASHINGTON -- Yes he can win the Nobel Peace Prize. Even on the same day that President Obama met with his war council yet again to consider sending up to 40,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

President Obama speaks about his Nobel award at the White House on Friday.

The confluence of events -- some might even call it irony -- was a stark reminder that this award was more about the promise of change than actual change. Peace is not at hand in Iraq or Afghanistan, and while the president has articulated a new approach to the world it will be difficult to translate that vision into some actual victories.

"Even as we strive to seek a world in which conflicts are resolved peacefully and prosperity is widely shared, we have to confront the world as we know it today," Obama said in the White House Rose Garden. "I am the commander in chief of a country that's responsible for ending a war and working in another theater to confront a ruthless adversary that directly threatens the American people and our allies."

Let me be clear that I don't buy into any of this silliness from some pundits about how winning such a prestigious honor could backfire on Obama. Becoming only the fourth U.S. president to ever win the Nobel can hardly be spun into a negative.

But it's important to note that the award does not create one job in the U.S. economy. It does not provide one Republican vote on Capitol Hill for the president's health care push. And the challenges are clearly not just on the domestic front.

With the Norwegian Nobel committee citing the president's "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," one top Obama adviser told me this is an affirmation of the administration's aggressive efforts to reach out across the world. But this adviser quickly acknowledged the hard work of trying to turn that dialogue into actual progress on difficult problems like forging Israeli-Palestinian peace.

And I think this award puts new pressure on the president from the right and left. Conservatives like CNN contributor Ed Rollins was quick to charge the honor will only highlight the fact that the president has few achievements to point to yet. "I think certainly you have to give him an 'A' for trying," he said. "But at the end of the day, what has he accomplished?"

I think you can also see liberals like Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, who has been pushing Obama for a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan being emboldened. Why wouldn't Feingold now say something to the effect of, "Mr. Peacemaker, why are you potentially further escalating the war in Afghanistan?"

Nevertheless, this is a sweet moment for the president. What's striking to me is that exactly one week ago I was in Copenhagen, Denmark, where the president swooped in for a few hours to push Chicago's Olympic bid. Once he lost, the dramatic defeat led many -- including me -- to report that this was obviously a blow on the international stage.

That's why when the news about the Nobel Peace Prize landed like a lightning bolt in the wee hours of Friday morning, White House aides were ecstatic. As I rushed to get some reaction, I finally reached Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel by telephone and he was quick with a quip.

"It's clear Oslo beats Copenhagen any day of the week," Emanuel told me.

He stressed that he was joking. But there was also a measure of vindication in his voice.