Clinton Knocks Obama tactics

US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has made her fiercest denunciation so far of Barack Obama, her rival for the Democratic Party nomination.

Mrs Clinton accused the Illinois senator of producing a misleading leaflet on her health care policy.

"Shame on you, Barack Obama!" the New York senator said at a rally in Ohio, which holds its primary in 10 days.

But Mr Obama said he stood by the leaflet, saying he was puzzled by what he called his rival's change in tone.

"Enough with the speeches and the big rallies and then using tactics that are right out of Karl Rove's playbook," said the former first lady ahead of Ohio's crucial primary early next month.
Both the Ohio and the Texas primaries, both being held on 4 March, are being seen as must-wins for Mrs Clinton.

'Sharper elbows'

Mr Obama, who has won 11 consecutive primaries and caucuses in recent weeks, is now seen as the Democratic front-runner.

But Mrs Clinton's campaign has struggled to find an effective way to cope with her rival's extraordinary momentum and has decided to "go negative", says the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Washington.

She and her advisers have clearly calculated that the state of the race now calls for sharper elbows and a sharper tone, our correspondent adds.

Mr Obama now has at least 1,353 of the 2,025 delegates he needs to secure the Democratic nomination at the party's convention in August, according to an Associated Press projection.

Mrs Clinton has 1,264 delegates. Texas and Ohio have a combined total of 334 delegates up for grabs.

Correspondents say the blue-collar vote will be crucial in both contests, and the Clinton campaign has already begun targeting lower-income workers in its ads.

But in his drive to become the first black US president, Mr Obama has recently gained support from some powerful unions, including the Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union.

Pacific delegates

Meanwhile, John McCain was given a further boost by the Pacific islands of Northern Marianas which chose its nine Republican delegates on Saturday.

The islands are among three US Pacific territories each sending nine delegates to the Republican convention in Minnesota this September, and delegates have praised the former Vietnam prisoner for his knowledge of their islands.

Republicans in American Samoa also announced that all nine of their delegates would support Mr McCain.

Guam Republicans take their decision on 8 March.

The latest results give the Arizona senator a total of 976 delegates, according to the Associated Press, and he needs 1,191 delegates to secure the Republican nomination.

His rival, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, trails far behind with 254 delegates.

US missile hits 'toxic satellite'

The US has successfully struck a disabled spy satellite with a missile fired from a warship in waters west of Hawaii, military officials say.
Operatives had only a 10-second window to hit the satellite - USA 193 - which went out of control shortly after it was launched in December 2006.

Officials were worried its hydrazine fuel could do harm, but it is not yet known if the fuel tank was destroyed.

The controversial operation has been criticised by China and Russia.

On Thursday, China called on the US to provide more information about the mission.

Russia suspects the operation was a cover to test anti-satellite technology under the US missile defence programme.

The US denies the operation was a response to an anti-satellite test carried out by China last year, which prompted fears of a space arms race.

Precision needed

The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says this operation was hugely ambitious.

The operation went ahead hours after the space shuttle Atlantis landed, removing it as a safety issue for the military.

The satellite - believed by some commentators to be a radar imaging reconnaissance satellite - was passing about 130 miles (210km) over the Pacific.

Earlier the military said it would use an SM-3 missile fired from the cruiser USS Lake Erie, which is posted on the western side of Hawaii along with the destroyers USS Decatur and USS Russell.

But it is not yet known how successful the operation was - the missile needed to pierce the bus-sized satellite's fuel tank, containing more than 450kg (1,000lbs) of toxic hydrazine, which would otherwise be expected to survive re-entry.

The Pentagon said confirmation that the fuel tank has been hit should be available within 24 hours.

US officials said without an attempt to destroy the fuel tank, and with the satellite's thermal control system gone, the fuel would now be frozen solid, allowing the tank to resist the heat of re-entry.

If the tank were to land intact, it could leak toxic gas over a wide area - harming or kill humans if inhaled, officials had warned.

Debris

Officials expect that over 50% of the debris will fall to Earth within the first 15 hours after the strike - or within its first two revolutions of Earth.


Left to its own devices, about half of the spacecraft would have been expected to survive the blazing descent through the atmosphere, scattering debris in a defined "corridor" which runs across the Earth's surface.

Professor Richard Crowther, a space debris expert with the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), said that if struck with the missile, about 25% of USA 193 is likely to survive the fall to Earth.

"The smaller the debris is the more likely you are to get burn-through. So if you fragment something before re-entry, less mass will survive to hit the Earth," he told BBC News.

Russian suspicion

But Russia's defence ministry has effectively branded the US operation a cover for testing an anti-satellite weapon.

The Russian defence ministry argued that various countries' spacecraft had crashed to Earth in the past, with many using toxic fuel on board, but that this had never before merited "extraordinary measures".

Last year, China carried out a test using a ground-based ballistic missile to destroy a satellite in space, prompting international alarm and fears of a space arms race.

On Tuesday, a US State Department spokesman stressed that the action was meant to protect people from the hazardous fuel and was not a weapons test.

The US government has also denied claims that the main aim of the operation was to destroy secret components on USA 193.

Officials say classified parts would be burned up in the atmosphere and, in any case, that would not be a reason for shooting down the satellite.

Dems battle for Wisconsin, Hawaii; McCain wants knockout

Wisconsin and Hawaii become the latest battlegrounds in the struggle for the Democratic presidential nominee Tuesday, while Republican Sen. John McCain is looking for victories to finally knock his last remaining major rival out of the race.

In the Democratic presidential race, Sen. Barack Obama is looking to increase his lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton in the race for delegates with wins in the Wisconsin primary, one of the nation's oldest, and the Hawaii Democratic caucuses, the state were the Illinois senator was born and where he still has family.

Obama was able to stake a claim on the front-runner position after winning eight contests in a row, including the Potomac primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia last week.

Obama leads Clinton, a senator from New York, in the overall delegate count -- 1,262 to 1,213, according to CNN estimates. The estimate includes the support of superdelegates, the party officials and elected officials who are free to vote for any candidate at the party's national convention.

Both candidates are short of the 2,025 delegates needed to win the nomination, and it is very likely the roughly 800 superdelegates will ultimately decide who will be crowned the Democrat's presidential nominee.

Recent polls show Clinton has a chance in Wisconsin at ending Obama's winning streak. According to an American Research Group poll conducted February 15 and 16, the two candidates are in a statistical tie, with Clinton at 49 percent and Obama at 43 percent. The poll's margin of error is plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.

Another poll of Wisconsin Democratic primary voters conducted by Research 2000 for Madison television station WISC also indicates the race is too close to call. The WISC poll had Obama at 47 percent and Clinton at 42 percent. The poll's margin of error is plus-or-minus 5 percentage points.

In Wisconsin, Clinton is expected to do well in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and the the industrialized Fox River valley, which includes Appleton and Green Bay, in the northeastern portion of the state. Both areas have a high percentage of blue collar voters, a group Clinton has done well with in previous primaries.

In a campaign stop in the Green Bay-area town of De Pere, Wisconsin, Clinton continued to hit on economic issues.

"The economy is not working, " she said. "What we really need in America is an economy that's producing good jobs with rising wages for everybody willing to work hard. I've been focused on the economy throughout the campaign."

Obama is expected to do well in the state's capital, Madison, which is known for its progressive politics. Obama, who has outperformed Clinton among younger voters, should also do well in the Madison area because of the large student body at the University of Wisconsin.

In the week leading up to Tuesday's primaries, Obama spent much of his time campaigning in Wisconsin, while Clinton split her time between Wisconsin, Texas and Ohio. Texas and Ohio hold primaries March 4, and even Clinton's own supporters suggest she must do well in those two delegate-rich states to keep Obama from winning the nomination.

While on the campaign trail last week, Clinton questioned whether Obama could deliver on his rhetoric, saying "I am in the solutions business. My opponent is in the promises business."
While campaigning in Youngstown, Ohio, Monday, Obama responded to Clinton's criticism.

"Speeches don't put food on the table, but the only way that we're going to bring about change is if all of you get excited about change, because that's the only way that we're going to take on the special interests," he said.

No polling is available for the Hawaii Democratic caucus. The Clinton campaign dispatched Chelsea Clinton, the candidate's daughter, to rally support. Obama's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, has stumped for her brother.

Washington State Democrats are also heading to the polls Tuesday to vote in that state's primary, but the results will have no impact on how the Washington state delegates will be distributed. The delegate allocation was determined February 9 when Washington state Democrats held caucuses. Obama won those handily over Clinton, 68 percent to 31 percent.

McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is looking for big wins in the Wisconsin and Washington state primaries to demonstrate he is starting to unify the Republican party behind his nomination, including conservatives upset by his positions on immigration, campaign finance and other issues.

In a further sign the GOP establishment was starting to rally around him, former President Bush endorsed McCain Monday during an event in Houston, Texas.

Washington State Democrats are also heading to the polls Tuesday to vote in that state's primary, but the results will have no impact on how the Washington state delegates will be distributed. The delegate allocation was determined February 9 when Washington state Democrats held caucuses. Obama won those handily over Clinton, 68 percent to 31 percent.

McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is looking for big wins in the Wisconsin and Washington state primaries to demonstrate he is starting to unify the Republican party behind his nomination, including conservatives upset by his positions on immigration, campaign finance and other issues.

In a further sign the GOP establishment was starting to rally around him, former President Bush endorsed McCain Monday during an event in Houston, Texas.

"I'd like to think we've got enough support in Wisconsin, that we can actually win here, and it would be a very big thing for us," Huckabee said during a campaign stop in Hudson, Wisconsin, Monday. "But it would also be a good thing for Wisconsin for me to win, because it would show that the party was wrong to say this is over, and it would also be wrong to end the game before people in places like Wisconsin had a chance to vote."

Recent polls suggest the Republican race in Wisconsin is closer than McCain would like. The American Research Group poll conducted February 15-16 has McCain and Huckabee in a statistical tie, with McCain with 46 percent and Huckabee at 42 percent. The poll's margin of error was plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.

The WISC poll conducted February 13-14, however, gave McCain a clear lead over Huckabee, 48 percent to 32 percent. The poll's margin of error was plus-or-minus 5 percentage points.

No recent poling is available for the Washington Republican primary, which the state party uses to allocate nearly half of the state's delegates. The other half of the state's delegates were allocated according to the results of caucuses held February 9.

McCain won a plurality of the caucus vote with 26 percent. Huckabee came in second with 24 percent and Texas Rep. Ron Paul came in third with 22 percent.

US Orders Massive Recall Of Beef

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has ordered the recall of 143m lb (64.9m kg) of beef - the largest meat recall in the country's history.

The recalled products come from a California meat plant, which officials say broke rules on cattle inspections.

However, the department says the health hazard is minimal. Much of the meat was purchased for school lunch and other federal nutrition programmes.

The plant is also being investigated over alleged animal cruelty.

Caution

The USDA recalled frozen beef products from the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co, dating back to 1 February 2006.

The move surpasses a 1999 recall of 35m lbs of ready-to-eat meats, officials said.

Some of the beef was destined for federal welfare assistance programmes, as well as some major fast-food chains.

But officials said most of the recalled meat has probably already been eaten.

The USDA described the recall as Class 2 - meaning there is a remote probability that the product could harm health if consumed.

"We don't know how much product is out there right now. We don't think there is a health hazard, but we do have to take this action," Dick Raymond, USDA undersecretary for food safety, told AP news agency.

Downer

The recall was ordered after department officials said the plant did not consistently order inspections of cattle which lost the ability to walk prior to slaughter.

Such "downer" cattle are at greater risk of contamination by E. coli, salmonella or contracting mad cow disease, as they have weaker immune systems and greater contact with faeces than walking cattle.

They should either be removed from the food supply, or receive a more thorough inspection following slaughter, officials say.

Operations at the plant had already been suspended after an undercover video shot by the Humane Society of America came to light.

The video appeared to show crippled and ill animals being prodded with the blades of a forklift truck, kicked, given electric shocks and sprayed with high-pressure water hoses by staff.

Two former employees were charged with animal cruelty on Friday, and the investigation continues.

The company says it has now taken action to ensure all employees handle animals humanely.

Fight For Superdelegates Heats Up

With the Democratic presidential race tied to a complex delegate system, the Clinton and Obama camps went after each other Sunday over "superdelegates."

Superdelegates -- delegates to the National Democratic Convention --are not selected based on the party primaries and caucuses in each U.S. state, but rather based solely on their status as current or former elected officeholders and party officials. They are free to choose the candidate they like.

"'Superdelegates' doesn't mean that they should leap over the will of the people in a single bound," joked Sen. Barack Obama's chief political strategist David Axelrod on CBS' "Face the Nation."

But Sen. Hillary Clinton's communications director Howard Wolfson told CBS that those approximately 800 delegates "are supposed to vote their conscience."

And Lanny Davis, a former White House special counsel supporting Clinton, told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" that Obama "very ironically wants to change the rules of the game in the middle of the game."

Obama leads in the overall delegate count and among pledged delegates, who are assigned based on primaries and caucuses. Clinton has more superdelegates supporting her, and the overall count is close. Neither is expected to have enough pledged delegates to win the nomination before the party's convention in August.

Making things even more complicated, the pledged delegate count does not directly reflect the popular vote. For example, in the Nevada caucuses, Clinton won by six points, but Obama ended up with one more delegate because of the way that state awards its delegates.

Upcoming contests this week in Wisconsin, Washington state and Hawaii are expected to favor Obama, but the campaigns are looking to March 4, when delegate-rich Texas and Ohio hold their contests.

Clinton is aiming for those critical victories that could help her recover in both the delegate count and the fight for political momentum.

Clinton is also hoping for a win in Pennsylvania in April.

The Clinton camp is also working to shore up its support among superdelegates. News reports in recent days have indicated that some African-American superdelegates are rethinking their support for her, given the strong support for Obama among their constituents.

But Wolfson wrote off those concerns Sunday, telling reporters, "I think that all Democrats have a difficult choice in this election. We have two strong candidates with broad appeal. We feel very good about our support in the African-American community and we are quite confident that our superdelegate support is holding firm."

While divided over which candidate to support, Democrats are largely agreed that the battle over delegates needs to be resolved without a sense that superdelegates -- which include Democratic lawmakers, governors, and other VIPs -- are making a decision that opposes what voters want.

"There has to be some agreement between the Clinton and Obama campaigns as to how to handle it," New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, a prominent supporter of her campaign, said Sunday. "We need to win in November and if one side tries to shove down the throats of the other side any rule, so that that camp today or all of her or his supporters walk away upset, we will lose."

And that's not the only potential looming battle. There's also the matter of seating delegates from Michigan and Florida. The Democratic Party penalized those two states for moving their primaries early, and determined their delegates would not be seated at the convention, where the nominee is decided.

Both states voted overwhelmingly for Clinton -- though in Michigan, her name was the only one on the ballot. In Florida, voters turned out in record numbers despite the party's decision.

If the party sticks to its plan, Democratic voters in those two key swing states may be turned off and be less likely to turn out in November.

Pakistanis Vote In Tense Election

People in Pakistan are voting in a crucial election overshadowed by political violence and fears of fraud.

The parliamentary poll was delayed after the killing of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, and is intended to complete a transition to civilian rule.

The two major opposition parties say President Pervez Musharraf's allies are planning massive fraud. They have vowed to protest if they suspect foul play.

One of the worst acts of violence saw 47 killed at a rally on Saturday.

Voting was slow in major cities on Monday morning.

The BBC's Chris Morris, in Islamabad, says 80 million people are eligible to vote, but many are expected to stay at home, largely because of fears about security.

He adds the slow start may also be due to people taking advantage of the public holiday and enjoying a lie-in.

He says that while voters are mindful of the broader significance of the election, concerns about the price of food and fuel are also affecting their choices.

Polls close at 1700 (1200 GMT).

Another correspondent said apprehensive voters might be waiting in front of their televisions to see if there were any attacks on polling stations. Since there were no reports of major incidents by midday, that might encourage them to get out and vote.

'Nation at stake'

Both Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which is leading in opinion polls, and the party of her former rival Nawaz Sharif reiterated concerns that the vote would be rigged on Sunday.

President Musharraf says the vote will be free and fair

Ms Bhutto's widower and successor as party leader, Asif Ali Zardari, has threatened street protests in the event of vote-rigging.

"I think we have reached the breaking point where if we don't band together, we will lose this great nation which we call Pakistan," he said on Sunday.

There are many local election observers on the ground. But apart from a contingent from the EU, not many international observers are present - some have not been invited, while others have stayed away due to concerns about gaining access to the vote.

Security tight

The authorities have stressed repeatedly that the vote will be free and fair.

However, one polling station in Lahore was shut down on Monday due to suspected irregularities, while an election officer in another constituency was arrested over hundreds of missing ballot papers.

President Musharraf has warned against street protests.

Close to half a million security personnel, including about 80,000 soldiers, have been deployed for the voting.

The BBC's Barbara Plett, outside a polling station in Lahore, described a barrier designed to prevent car bombs and a heavy police presence.

She said men and women were in separate queues for voting.

There were reports that some people had struggled to find their names on the register and were going away angry, suspecting rigging - though it may just have been poor organisation.

In one tribal area near Peshawar, she said, elders had banned women from voting. The area is a PPP stronghold and the ban may affect the outcome, since the party is well supported by women.

On Sunday, four soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit an explosive device in Balochistan province, police said.

In two separate incidents in Lahore, gunmen opened fire on supporters of Mr Sharif's PML-N party, with at least three people killed, including a candidate in the provincial election.

Two bombs went off in a volatile north-western province, but no injuries were reported.

Prospects

Analysts say polls suggest a fair vote is likely to result in a hung parliament, with none of the three biggest parties winning a majority.

Barbara Plett says that if the PPP then joins forces with pro-Musharraf parties, there may be a backlash within its rank and file, which blames the president for Ms Bhutto's murder.

But, she says, if it forms an alliance with Mr Sharif's party there could be confrontation with the presidency.

Mr Sharif has refused to work with the president unless he reinstates judges sacked when he imposed emergency rule late last year, in what was widely seen as an attempt to head off a challenge to his re-election as president.

It the two opposition parties jointly gain two-thirds of the seats, they may try to impeach President Musharraf.


Mr Musharraf stepped down as army chief late last year. He has ruled the country since seizing power in a coup in 1999.

The nuclear-armed country is a key ally in the so-called US "war on terror", with President Musharraf's government facing a growing pro-Taleban insurgency.

Kosovo Gains Independence

Kosovo's parliament has unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia, in an historic session.

The declaration, read by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, said Kosovo would be a democratic country that respected the rights of all ethnic communities.

The US and a number of EU countries are expected to recognise Kosovo on Monday.

Serbia's PM denounced the US for helping create a "false state". Serbia's ally, Russia, called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting.

Correspondents say the potential for trouble between Kosovo's Serbs and ethnic Albanians is enormous.

Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica blamed the US which he said was "ready to violate the international order for its own military interests".

"Today, this policy of force thinks that it has triumphed by establishing a false state," Mr Kostunica said.

"Kosovo is Serbia," Mr Kostunica said, repeating a well-known nationalist Serb saying.

Search for equality

The declaration was approved with a show of hands. No-one opposed it.

"We have waited for this day for a very long time," Mr Thaci told parliament before reading the text, paying tribute to those who had died on the road to independence.

"The independence of Kosovo marks the end of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia," the prime minister said - Kosovo was a unique case that should not set a precedent.

He said it would be built in accordance with the UN plan drawn by former Finnish President, Martti Ahtisaari - at the end of negotiations which did not produce a deal.

The international military and civilian presence - also envisaged by the Ahtisaari plan - was welcome, he added.

There should be no fear of discrimination in new Kosovo, he said, vowing to eradicate any such practices - and conveying a similar message in Serbian. President Fatmir Sejdiu had a similar pledge - also addressed in Serbian.

The declaration was then signed by all the MPs present.

Kosovo's top leaders are due to go to a sports hall later where the Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra is expected to play Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

They are also due to sign their names on giant iron letters spelling out the word "newborn" which was to be displayed in Pristina.

Fireworks and street celebrations will follow. Thousands of people have poured onto the streets.

Some ethnic Albanians, who make up the majority of Kosovo's population, earlier laid flowers on the graves of family members killed by Serbian security forces during years of conflict and division.

The BBC's Nick Thorpe in the flashpoint town of Mitrovica says local and UN police, as well as the Nato troops, are maintaining a high profile to reassure all the citizens of Kosovo that they have nothing to fear.

Limitations

The declaration approved by Kosovo's parliament contains limitations on Kosovan independence as outlined in Mr Ahtisaari's plan.

Kosovo, or part of it, cannot join any other country. It will be supervised by an international presence. Its armed forces will be limited and it will make strong provisions for Serb minority protection.

Recognition by a number of EU states, including the UK and other major countries, will come on Monday after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, says the BBC's Paul Reynolds.

The US is also expected to announce its recognition on Monday.

Three EU states - Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia - have told other EU governments that they will not recognise Kosovo, says our correspondent.

Russia's foreign ministry has indicated that Western recognition of an independent Kosovo could have implications for the Georgian breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The UN has administered Kosovo since a Nato bombing campaign in 1999 drove out Serb forces.