Word: rice
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...charm in his country of exile. On Aug. 4, Thailand's longest-serving elected Prime Minister (O.K., it was only five years) threw a street party in Manchester that drew thousands of revelers. City fans were treated to Thai delicacies such as red curry and stir-fried rice noodles, while karaoke-loving Thaksin lent his voice to a rousing rendition of the team's anthem, Blue Moon...
...Israeli officials are intrigued by the Saudis' overture, but they offered no promises in return - and have made no secret of their reluctance to discuss the most contentious issues at this stage. That doesn't bode well for Bush's summit. Privately, one minister's aide described Rice's trip as "about as useful as grinding dust," but he said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government had to go through the motions of complying with Washington. Politically, Olmert is too weak to be starting closing down the West Bank settlements that house around 250,000 Israelis. Also, Israelis doubt...
...Abbas's team also expressed frustration at what they described as Rice's failure to nail down Israeli promises to lift roadblocks inside the Palestinian territories (so far, the Israeli military has refused) and halt illegal Jewish settlements. "Rice doesn't get into specifics," complained one Palestinian negotiator. "She's like a priest in church telling us what God likes or doesn't like...
...Abbas did get one boost from Rice: the promise of $80 million in non-lethal aid to improve the training and capability of his feckless security forces. Sources close to the negotiations said this aid would be used for "law and order on the streets" and not for an eventual showdown between Abbas' forces and Hamas. But throwing money and bullet-proof vests at Abbas' security forces may not help Abbas overcome his most dangerous weakness - the loyalty of his men is doubtful. Abbas has yet to get rid of his officers who fled Gaza, leaving their troops behind. Efforts...
...While everybody on Rice's itinerary is welcoming the White House initiative to revive peace talks, unless she is able to bridge the vast gulf between their positions on what needs to be negotiated right now, the planned peace conference in the fall may amount to little more than a photo opportunity. -With reporting by Jamil Hamad/Bethlehem and Aaron J. Klein/Tel Aviv