Washington, D.C.

U.S. bans import of birds from eight countries

The government on Wednesday announced a ban on the import of birds from eight Southeast Asian countries after outbreaks of avian flu that have killed at least 15 people and millions of birds.

The temporary ban, announced by the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments, is effective immediately, and is aimed to protect people and poultry in the United States from the possible spread of bird flu.

There is no evidence any birds infected with bird flu have been imported to the country, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said.

The ban applies to birds and uncertified bird products from Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and China, including Hong Kong. Bird products are allowed in if they have been processed to render them noninfectious.

Washington, D.C.

U.S. prepares to launch Arab-language TV network

President Bush announced Wednesday that the U.S. government would next week begin broadcasting an Arabic-language satellite TV network designed as an alternative to Middle Eastern broadcasts often critical of the United States.

Bush said the network, Al Hurra, would join other U.S. government broadcasts that are aimed at cutting through the “hateful propaganda that fills the airwaves in the Muslim world” and telling people “the truth about the values and the policies of the United States.”

Al Hurra, Arabic for “the free one,” is the most expensive of a number of efforts that have been made since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks aimed at changing attitudes about the United States through government-supplied information.U.S. officials have acknowledged that they plan it as a rival to Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite network, and Al-Arabiyya, based in Dubai, which have often drawn complaints from senior Bush administration officials.

The broadcasts will be transmitted from a facility in Springfield, Va., and will cost the government $62 million for the first year of operation.

West Bank

Arafat adviser accuses U.S. of ‘blackmail’

A senior adviser to Yasser Arafat on Wednesday accused the United States of “blackmailing” the Palestinians by withholding aid — unusually harsh criticism reflecting exasperation with perceived U.S. disengagement from the Mideast conflict.

In Ramallah, Jibril Rajoub, a senior security adviser to Arafat, charged that the United States was cutting aid and scaling back involvement in Mideast diplomacy because the Palestinians have failed to find those responsible for an attack on a U.S. convoy in Gaza in October. Three U.S. security guards were killed in the roadside bombing.

“I think this is blackmail,” said Rajoub, who enjoyed close relations with U.S. agencies when he served as security chief in the West Bank.

U.S. officials have complained about lack of progress in the investigation of the attack. In December, U.S. envoy William Burns said the United States “cannot carry out our full range of assistance projects” without progress in the probe.