Bill Clinton, Bush answer Obama call to help Haiti

WASHINGTON — Former US presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on Thursday accepted a request from President Barack Obama to raise funds for earthquake victims and relief efforts in Haiti, they said in a statement.

"We are pleased to accept President Obama's request to lead private sector fundraising efforts," the former presidents said in a joint statement.

"In the days and weeks ahead, we will draw attention to the many ways American citizens and businesses can help meet the urgent needs of the Haitian people."

The United States has launched a massive aid operation, including specialists, Coast Guard cutters, helicopters, transport planes and the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, along with 2,000 Marines deployed.

The USNS Comfort, a floating military hospital and a team of doctors and medical supplies, was also readying to sail from the US East Coast to Haiti.

"Americans have a long history of showing compassion and generosity in the wake of tragedy," the two former presidents said.

"We thank the American people for rallying to help our neighbors in the Caribbean in their hour of suffering - and throughout the journey of rebuilding their nation."

Also Thursday, Clinton and his wife, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, spearheaded a drive to raise money to help earthquake-ravaged Haiti, already drumming up three million dollars for Red Cross relief efforts.

Hillary Clinton, who canceled a trip to Asia to address the humanitarian crisis, made the rounds of six morning television news shows where she urged Americans to make 10-dollar donations by cellular telephone.

Bill Clinton, writing in The Washington Post, said the aid should go to build a better future for the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation including better buildings, schools and health care.

The Clintons have a long-running involvement with Haiti, where they spent their honeymoon.

Kazakhstan, Iran deny uranium deal

ASTANA — Kazakhstan angrily denied on Wednesday that it planned to sell purified uranium ore to Iran, calling media reports to this effect "groundless insinuations."

The story was also denied by Tehran, which called it "utterly fabricated and baseless."

Kazakhstan "categorically repudiates certain news media reports alleging Kazakhstan's connection to a possible deal to supply uranium to the Islamic Republic of Iran," the country's foreign ministry said.

The government "considers them groundless insinuations damaging the reputation of our country."

In Tehran, the foreign ministry said "the news circulating in some media that Iran is on the threshold of inking a covert deal to import 1,350 tonnes of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan is utterly fabricated and baseless."

"This propaganda is one of the links in the chain that serves the political intentions of the oppressive powers," a statement added.

The denials by both countries came a day after the United States, reacting to media reports that a deal was close to being sealed, warned that such a transfer was prohibited under UN sanctions on Iran.

"The transfer of uranium to Iran is prohibited, unless the uranium in question is low enriched and the uranium is incorporated in assembled nuclear fuel elements for use in light water reactors (LWRs)," US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in Washington.

Concern over Iran's nuclear plans is again rising. On Tuesday, Washington warned Tehran that December was "a very real deadline" to accept a UN-drafted deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel or face further sanctions.

The United States and some other Western countries suspect Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear power programme.

Tehran adamantly denies this, saying its nuclear programme is strictly for the production of energy.

Kazakhstan, which on January 1 becomes the first ex-Soviet republic to take the helm of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), stressed that it is committed to international nuclear non-proliferation rules.

"Kazakhstan is firmly committed to the principles of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and tough control over the turnover of dual-use materials," the foreign ministry statement said.

It noted that Kazakhstan had renounced the world's fourth-largest nuclear and missile arsenal -- a stockpile it inherited from the days it was part of the Soviet Union -- and had shut down its Soviet-era nuclear test site.

The Central Asian state also called on the Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to weigh in publicly on the reports saying Kazakhstan was to ship uranium to Iran.

"Kazakhstan expects the IAEA to give an appropriate assessment of the information being disseminated by the news media," the statement said.

It said all operations involving nuclear materials, "including our cooperation regarding peaceful use of atomic energy with foreign countries, are subject to IAEA comprehensive safeguards."

Separately, Kazakhstan said it had become the world's largest producer of uranium, overtaking Canada, after it increased production by 63 percent in 2009.

Kazatomprom said it had mined 13,500 tonnes of the radioactive metal as of December 21 and will have mined at least another 400 tonnes by year's end.

Citing the Ux Consulting Company, a US nuclear consulting firm, the statement said Canada was expected to produce 9,934 tonnes of uranium and Australia 8,022 tonnes this year.

Kazakhstan plans to increase production to 18,000 tonnes in 2010, Nurlan Ryspanov, Kazatomprom vice-president said in a statement.

"The republic will gain the leading position in uranium mining at the time of maximum demand for it," Ryspanov said.

Two French journalists kidnapped in Afghanistan

KABUL — Suspected Taliban militants kidnapped two French journalists working for France's public television broadcaster and three Afghan companions in the east of the war-torn country, a colleague said Thursday.

Gunmen snatched the group as they were travelling around 60 kilometres (38 miles) from the Afghan capital on Wednesday, a French journalist working with them told AFP.

Criminal groups and Taliban insurgents have kidnapped several dozen foreigners, many of them journalists, since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted the Taliban regime in Kabul, sparking a nine-year insurgency.

Many of the foreigners have been released after a few days or weeks in captivity, but some of them have had to wait months or longer for freedom.

"The two journalists, accompanied by their Afghan translator, and the translator's brother and cousin, were kidnapped on the road between Surobi and Tagab," their French colleague said.

She blamed the kidnapping on the Taliban, saying they had laid an ambush on the road for the group in Kapisa province.

French Defence Minister Herve Morin, who was Thursday visiting French troops in Afghanistan to mark the New Year, confirmed only that the journalists had been missing since Wednesday.

"We have no news of the two French journalists, who said yesterday they were leaving on reportage in Kapisa," he said, adding there had been no claim for their disappearance from any group.

"We can't rule out any hypothesis and are doing everything to make contact with them," he added.

The journalists' employer, public broadcaster France Televisions, did not formally confirm their abduction.

"We have had no news of them for 48 hours," said Paul Nahon, director of documentaries. The journalist and cameraman had been working on a documentary for around two weeks, he said.

On assignment for channel France 3, the team arrived Wednesday morning in the village of Surobi to meet a contact who agreed for them to continue on the road to Tagab.

"The contact tipped off the Taliban, who ambushed our journalists," said the French journalist.

French troops deployed in Kapisa have launched a manhunt for the five.

The latest media abduction in Afghanistan comes just weeks after two Afghan and an Iraqi journalist working for a British newspaper were kidnapped and freed following a six-day ordeal in a remote region of Afghanistan.

All three of the men were unharmed, although they spent much of their captivity on the move in cold and snowy conditions and with little to eat, the Guardian reported.

In November, Taliban fighters held a Norwegian journalist and his interpreter for five days in the eastern province of Kunar.

Last month, a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reporter was released after being kidnapped in Kabul on October 12 and held captive in a hole in the ground for 28 days, sometimes chained and blindfolded.

Madagascar leader names another new prime minister

ANTANANARIVO — Madagascar's military-backed leader Andry Rajoelina Sunday named a new prime minister for the second time in 48 hours, a decree said.

As well as naming Colonel Albert Camille Vital as prime minister with immediate effect, the decree said that other ministers and secretaries of state "remain in place pending the appointment of the government".

As recently as Friday evening Rajoelina had released a decree appointing Cecile Manorohanta, the deputy prime minister in charge of interior affairs, as prime minister and head of a new transitional government.

A separate decree the same day cancelled the nomination of Eugene Mangalaza as premier, which had been agreed by Madagascar's political groupings in an October power-sharing agreement.

Vital presided over his first cabinet meeting immediately after his appointment.

Addressing the population, the new prime minister said: "We are in a very difficult, even frightening situation. But faced with this situation I have accepted this appointment in order to contribute what I can and I ask the population to be indulgent."

Rajoelina, a 35-year-old former disc jockey who toppled Marc Ravalomanana with the army's backing on March 17, announced this week that he was planning to stage parliamentary elections in March 2010.

Vital, born in 1952, is married and the father of five children. He underwent military and engineering training and rose to the rank of colonel.

For the past 11 years he has had his own security company and is the current chairman of the chamber of commerce and industry.

ArcelorMittal says job cuts coming in 2010

WEIRTON, W.Va. — Steel giant ArcelorMittal SA said Tuesday it will cut an unspecified number of jobs next year and stick with plans to use 70 percent of its capacity in the current quarter.

The company plans to cut jobs through attrition and "optimization of production," spokesman Bill Steers said in an e-mail.

The Luxembourg-based steelmaker hasn't decided about production beyond this year, he said.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified sources, reported this week that ArcelorMittal would use 70 percent of capacity for four more years and planned about 10,000 job cuts worldwide, with most likely to occur in Europe and the U.S.

But Dave McCall, District 1 director for the Pittsburgh-based United Steelworkers and chairman of the bargaining committee with ArcelorMittal, said the union has received no layoff notices from the company. Nor does it expect "any kind of mass layoff" with the strong U.S. market, he said.

"Ours is the strongest steel market in the world. Even at the height of the recession, we were consuming 70 million tons of steel per year," McCall said. "In 2010, we expect demand to be 90-100 million tons. That's 100 percent of what it was in 2007."

ArcelorMittal is also restarting its bar mill in Indiana Harbor, McCall said, "and they're going to need to either recall or hire 150-200 employees for that."

The USW represents about 14,000 U.S. employees of ArcelorMittal, which has major steelmaking operations in East Chicago and Burns Harbor, Ind.; Weirton, W.Va.; Cleveland, Ohio; Sparrows Point, Md.; Steelton, Pa.; Georgetown, S.C.; and Riverdale, Ill. It also owns finishing plants, and iron ore and coal mines.

Local 2911 President Mark Glyptis said that while the company has cut a dozen management jobs in West Virginia, it hasn't discussed laying off rank-and-file employees.

ArcelorMittal is the world's largest steel maker, with operations in more than 60 countries and about 115,000 employees in Europe. At the end of 2008, it had 315,867 employees worldwide and 36,686 employees in North America.

ArcelorMittal posted a third-quarter profit of $903 million after three consecutive quarterly losses, but said in October that the market was slowly improving.

The company also said it expected higher shipments and steel prices in the fourth quarter and would focus on growth in developing markets, mainly South America and Asia, by restarting key expansion projects in Brazil and India.

Drug-import backers worry Obama may scuttle plan

WASHINGTON — A long-running effort to allow the import of lower-cost prescription drugs faces a new twist — President Barack Obama's administration is raising safety concerns that could effectively scuttle it, even though Obama backed the plan as a senator.

Some import supporters question whether the administration is acting to keep the powerful pharmaceutical industry's support for Obama's effort to overhaul the nation's health care system. An administration official denied that.

The Senate debated the import proposal by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., on Wednesday as an amendment to Obama's health overhaul legislation. Even before Dorgan introduced it Tuesday evening, the Food and Drug administration sent senators a letter saying the plan would be "logistically challenging" to implement and raises "significant safety concerns."

Dorgan said he was surprised by the letter because Obama co-sponsored Dorgan's proposal in 2007 as a freshman Democratic senator from Illinois. In addition, Dorgan noted, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel sponsored his own version of the bill that same year as a Democratic House member from Illinois.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a co-sponsor, accused Obama of reversing his position on the issue and said the administration letter would "certainly impede the ability of Americans to import drugs from Canada."

During his 2008 presidential campaign, Obama said he supported letting Americans buy imported drugs if they were safe and cheaper than in the U.S. The FDA letter restated that support.

As evidence of Obama's continued backing, Linda Douglass, spokeswoman for the White House Office of Health Reform, cited $5 million he proposed in his 2010 budget for the FDA to develop import policies. She said the agency will continue working on ways "to create a pathway to importing safe and effective drugs."

Dorgan's proposal would let U.S. pharmacies and drug wholesalers import FDA-approved drugs from Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Though the amendment has some bipartisan support, it is opposed by lawmakers of both parties from states such as New Jersey that have a heavy drug industry presence. Some participants on both sides concede it will be difficult for Dorgan to win the 60 votes he needs.

Should the plan pass, it could threaten the pharmaceutical industry's support for Obama's health overhaul. Drug companies have been a valuable ally for the overhaul, spending tens of millions of dollars on TV ads backing the legislation. They oppose the drug import proposal.

In the past, opponents of Dorgan's plan have effectively killed it by adding language requiring U.S. officials to certify that imported drugs would be safe and effective, an assurance Democratic and Republican administrations have refused to make.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said he might offer such an amendment this year, but said he doubted Dorgan would get the votes he'll need.

In a deal last June, the White House and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., agreed to limit drug companies' contribution to the 10-year, nearly $1 trillion health overhaul to $80 billion. Other Democrats have said the pharmaceutical industry should pay more.

Drugmakers have lobbied hard against the import proposal. Such imports could cost the industry billions of dollars, but its lobbyists have emphasized the worry that unsafe or ineffective drugs could find their way to American consumers.

"There is tremendous pushback by the pharmaceutical industry," Dorgan said. "If I had the sweetheart deal they have, I'd fight to the finish to try to keep it."

Asked if the administration's concerns were part of an effort to retain drugmakers' support, Douglass said, "The answer to this question about PhRMA is no."

PhRMA is the acronym for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the trade group for drugmakers. Ken Johnson, PhRMA senior vice president, said its pact with the White House did not address imports.

The FDA letter said that while Dorgan's plan seeks to address safety risks, concerns remain about copycat versions of high-technology biological drugs and about confusion surrounding the distribution of foreign products.

GM CEO shuffles managers, seeks culture change

DETROIT — When auto industry veteran Bob Lutz returned to General Motors in 2001 after 30 years with other companies, he quickly grew tired of GM's numbers-oriented bureaucracy, printing up post-it notes that asked, "Says Who?"

Lutz stuck his credo on walls and bulletin boards as he publicly challenged the lumbering corporate culture.

In announcing another sudden management overhaul on Friday, GM chairman and acting CEO Ed Whitacre Jr. was speaking Lutz's words when he told employees that the bureaucracy needs to end and they can take reasonable risks without fear of being fired.

"We want you to step up. We don't want any bureaucracy," Whitacre said in his folksy Texas drawl to about 800 GM workers. "We're not going to make it if you won't take a risk," he said in the address, which was broadcast to employees worldwide on the Internet.

Whitacre, 68, who has been frustrated with the pace of change, appointed the 77-year-old Lutz as a top adviser, creating an alliance of hard-charging veteran executives to lead the troubled company.

The former CEO of AT&T Inc., Whitacre heads a board that just pushed out CEO Fritz Henderson after only eight months in office.

In his 45-minute speech, Whitacre, reversed several changes that Henderson made, restoring the position of North American president and rejoining sales and marketing, which had been split in two.

Whitacre, wearing a charcoal pinstriped suit, paced across a stage, encouraging workers to make changes and get things done quickly. Several times he was self-deprecating, acknowledging that he knows little about cars and would need help from workers.

Whitacre made clear he would rely on Lutz, the company's legendary car guy, to craft GM's future and teach him the business. "Bob, with me as a pupil, you've got a tough job," Whitacre said.

Lutz, a 40-year industry veteran who has worked for major automakers across the globe, is known best for leading Chrysler's wild success in the late 1990s with the introduction of a new 300 luxury sedan and an aggressively designed Ram pickup truck.

But while his new job gives him Whitacre's ear, he loses responsibility for marketing, which he was granted when Henderson persuaded him to postpone retirement earlier this year.

"It could be his exit package," said Gerald Meyers, a former chairman of American Motors Corp. who now teaches at the University of Michigan. "You think of it in business terms, he's moved to a position where he isn't going to run anything. That's not too exciting."

Whitacre, saying he's sick of ideas sitting on desks "while we wrangle," elevated many of the company's younger executives. Among them were, Mark Reuss, 46, who for a short time ran engineering and was named president of North America Friday; and Susan Docherty, 47, the former sales chief, who was picked to head sales and marketing. Whitacre also named Nick Reilly president of GM's European operations, which includes the Opel and Vauxhall brands.

The changes came so fast, though, that Whitacre didn't even know how to pronounce the name of Karl-Friedrich Stracke, the man he appointed to head global engineering.

"If I butchered your name, I'm from Texas, you'll understand," Whitacre said. He also appeared to be meeting Denise Johnson, the new vice president of labor relations, for the first time when she approached the stage.

"I have to make I sure I know you, too," he said, reaching down to shake her hand.

Stephen Girsky, the only one of GM's 12 board members with automotive experience, also was named a special adviser to Whitacre.

During the address, Whitacre said he is open to suggestions and encouraged employees to ask questions and communicate.

But that's in contrast to the way he managed in building regional phone company Southwestern Bell into a giant that eventually acquired AT&T, according to analysts.

Dave Burstein, editor of the DSL Prime broadband industry newsletter, said that at AT&T, Whitacre brooked no disagreement about who was in charge.

"If you don't take orders, Whitacre doesn't want you," he said.

As he led the Texas-based Baby Bell on a buying spree, Whitacre usually replaced management teams of the acquired companies, Burstein said.

Whitacre has said he wants to speed up changes so the company boosts sales and market share to make money and repay government loans.

GM, which emerged from bankruptcy protection last summer, owes the U.S. government $52 billion and hopes to repay much of it with a public stock offering.

Lutz, in an e-mail on Friday, said he's seen no sign of Whitacre being autocratic or unwilling to listen, but he knows Whitacre will hold people accountable.

"He expects people to execute. Otherwise, he will replace them," Lutz said. "He's firm on big things, like organization and people selection, but not interested at all in detail."

The management changes emerged from a 3-to-4 hour session on Tuesday with senior leaders, Whitacre told the employees Friday. That task might have taken months to put together under GM's previously bureaucratic culture.

"I said we need to move fast," Whitaker said, "and three days is not bad, is it?"

Ken Thomas reported from Washington. AP Auto Writer Dan Strumpf and AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson in New York contributed to this report.

Canada close to nuclear deal with India

TORONTO — Canada has concluded negotiations on a nuclear cooperation agreement with India to sell nuclear technology and materials to the energy-starved South Asian nation, Canada's prime minister said Saturday.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper said the agreement would allow Canadian firms to export and import controlled nuclear materials, equipment and technology to and from India.

"Increased collaboration with India's civilian nuclear energy market will allow Canadian companies to benefit from greater access to one of the world's largest and fastest expanding economies," Harper said during a meeting with India's Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, following the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.

In a statement issued Saturday, Harper said Canada and India will now take the necessary steps to finalize and implement the agreement, which will open up the lucrative Indian market to Canadian nuclear exports for the first time in more than three decades.

Trade Minister Stockwell Day announced earlier this year that government-owned Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. had signed a memorandum of understanding with India for next-generation nuclear reactors.

It was a turning point for Canada, which stopped nuclear co-operation with India in 1974 after its government used plutonium from a Canadian reactor to build an atomic bomb.

The international community lifted a three-decade ban on nuclear trade with India last September even though India still refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Some anti-nuclear activists worry India will stockpile domestic uranium for military weapons and use uranium imports for civilian purposes.

Day said Canadian negotiators insisted India allow nuclear inspectors into civilian facilities. Under the deal, Canadian nuclear exports cannot be used for military purposes, he said.

Now that the moratorium has ended, countries are lining up to sell nuclear technology to India, which wants to build 25 to 30 new reactors in the coming years.

"India's needs for nuclear energy are enormous, just as we need a lot more energy to make a success of our developing presence," Prime Minister Singh said Saturday.

Atomic Energy of Canada said earlier this year that it is eyeing foreign markets for its next-generation ACR 1000 reactors.

AECL has already signed a deal with a leading Indian engineering firm to start costing out the ACR 1000s — the prelude to a possible sale.

Saskatchewan's Cameco Corp., is also poised to sell uranium to India.

Canada's nuclear energy industry generates approximately 6.6 billion Canadian dollars ($6.2 billion) in annual revenue, $1.2 billion ($1.12 billion) in exports each year and employs approximately 31,000 people.

Baby can wait as expectant dad finishes spacewalk

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A spacewalking astronaut put aside the impending birth of his daughter and blazed through his first-ever venture outside the International Space Station on Saturday.

Expectant father Randolph Bresnik and Michael Foreman were so far ahead despite their late start and interrupted sleep the night before — false fire and decompression alarms jolted them awake — that their commander handed them extra work.

"Way to kick butt," said commander Charles Hobaugh, a Marine colonel.

The spacewalkers installed new antennas, relocated a monitor for electrical hazards, set up an attachment for a spectrometer due to arrive next year, and hooked up a wireless video system for spacewalkers' helmet cameras. Then they released another payload platform.

Baby Bresnik had yet to make an appearance by the time the six-hour spacewalk ended Saturday afternoon. Bresnik's wife, Rebecca, had been expected to give birth to their second child Friday, back home in Houston. They have a 3-year-old son, adopted from Ukraine.

"The Bresnik launch countdown clock has got some unpredictable and variable holds in it. So it's very hard to predict. But nothing new for you today," flight director Brian Smith told reporters eager for details.

The astronauts and Mission Control agreed before Saturday's spacewalk to hold off on any news if the birth occurred while the men were outside. Everyone wanted Bresnik, a 42-year-old Marine lieutenant colonel, focused on the spacewalk because of the extra risk posed by working outside.

"Absolutely, he was 100 percent focused and I don't think it was hard for Randy," Smith said. "Randy's a NASA astronaut. He knows how to compartmentalize. Before he was an astronaut, he was a Marine fighter pilot."

That didn't stop Bresnik from appreciating the view of Earth. He was mightily impressed as he started on his work outside.

"Other than seeing my wife for the first time, I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful face," Bresnik said, gazing down at the planet 220 miles below. "This is amazing."

As they soared over Houston, the spacewalkers took time for a little sightseeing. They joked that they could see their homes and hear their commander urging, "Get back to work."

Throughout the spacewalk, Foreman, a veteran spacewalker, had trouble hearing inside his helmet. Bresnik's voice was especially faint. "I can't understand you," Foreman called out. Bresnik spoke louder. "Still can't," Foreman said. An astronaut inside had to intercede.

Foreman also missed some of the praise coming his way after accomplishing all the major chores.

The spacewalk was delayed more than an hour by false decompression alarms that rang through the orbiting complex late Friday, for the second night in a row. The high-pitched beeps — emanating from a new Russian research chamber — triggered a series of smoke alarms. The racket woke up the astronauts and disrupted spacewalk preparations.

Right before the spacewalk, the combined crews attached a giant platform full of spare parts to the exterior of the space station, using robot arms. It was the second such shelf to be installed this week. Atlantis hauled up nearly 15 tons of equipment to keep the outpost running long after the shuttles' retirement next year.

One more spacewalk is planned on Monday. The shuttle will remain at the station until the day before Thanksgiving. Landing is planned the day after.

The pushcart war By Jean Merrill