Beijing: The Chinese government Friday said it has an open attitude towards holding discussion with the US over cooperation in Africa, Xinhua reported.

“China and the United States are important cooperative partners, and have their respective characteristics and advantages on cooperation with Africa,” said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin at a regular press briefing in reaction to the new Africa strategy released by the US.

The White House Thursday unveiled a new strategy towards sub-Saharan Africa, as President Barack Obama predicted Africa “to be the world’s next major economic success story”.

The new strategy seeks to promote trade, enhance peace, security and good governance and bolster democratic institutions.

Liu said that any cooperation should respect the will of the African side, be conducive to Africa’s development and be conducted on the basis of equality and reciprocity.

The spokesperson noted that Africa’s peace and stability, concerning world’s prosperity and stability, should be supported and assisted by the international community.

Africa faces new opportunities for peace, stability and development, as well as some difficulties and challenges, said Liu while calling on developed countries including the US to make positive contributions to Africa’s peace, stability and development,

“They should respect the will of Africa, take Africa’s concerns into consideration, and actively fulfil their commitment of assistance,” Liu said. (Agencies)

CLEVELAND: President Barack Obama cast his re-election battle with Mitt Romney as a clash between starkly different economic visions on Thursday and warned that his Republican rival would hollow out the middle class in a speech that could set the tone for months of intense campaigning.

Seeking to gain some footing after a string of bad economic news and a political stumble, Obama said the Nov. 6 election would put the United States on one of two paths: an economy built on education and scientific research that delivers a broadly shared prosperity, or a Republican approach that cuts taxes for the wealthy and undermines opportunity for many others.

“This November, you can remind the world how a strong economy is built – not from the top down, but from a growing, thriving middle class,” Obama told a crowd of 1,500 at a community college gymnasium in Ohio, a politically divided state that could be key in determining who wins the November election. Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was not ceding the battlefield to Obama. Campaigning at the other end of Ohio, he struck first in a speech that ended four minutes before Obama took the stage. With the economic recovery on the verge of stalling for the third summer in a row and Romney having pulled even with the president in voter surveys, Democratic allies have worried Obama could lose the election if he simply tried to convince voters they are better off than when he took office in 2009.

On Thursday, in a somber and deliberately paced presentation that recalled Obama’s days as a law school lecturer, the president described a 20-year history of U.S. economics that began with the prosperous years of Democrat Bill Clinton’s administration.

Obama then described the economic downturn during the administration of his predecessor, Republican President George W. Bush, and warned that Romney appeared ready to follow the same approach to the economy. “We were told that huge tax cuts, especially for the wealthiest Americans, would lead to faster job growth,” Obama said. “We were told that fewer regulations, especially for big financial institutions and corporations, would bring about widespread prosperity. “We were told that it was OK to put two wars on the nation’s credit card; that tax cuts would create enough growth to pay for themselves.” In essence, Obama – whose speech did not include any new economic ideas – appeared to be banking on the notion that voters will consider the U.S. economy’s past and its potential, not just the present, when they vote this fall. (Agencies)

Geneva: The UN refugee agency today urged Bangladesh to provide a safe haven for people fleeing unrest in Myanmar’s Rakhine state after authorities refused entry to boatloads of refugees.

“We have firsthand reports of the Bangladeshi security forces turning back arrivals by boat,” said spokesman Andrej Mahecic. “There are now a number of boats adrift in the mouth of the Naf river” with women, children and wounded onboard, he said. “It is vital that these people are allowed access to a safe haven and shelter.” Sectarian bloodshed has displaced tens of thousands of people, left dozens dead and many homes destroyed, in the western state. The Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya have accused each other of violent attacks which have caused more than 30,000 people to flee, according to government figures. “UNHCR recognises that, for years, Bangladesh has been bearing the brunt of the forced displacement caused by earlier crises in Myanmar,” said Mahecic. (AFP)

London: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama began his eight-day visit to Britain today amidst a controversy between China and the Leeds City Council, which will host China’s pre-Olympic training camp in the city.

China has allegedly threatened to pull out its athletes from the camp and cancel the 250,000 pounds contract it has signed with Leeds if the Dalai Lama were allowed to visit the city and deliver a keynote address on business ethics at the Yorkshire International Business Convention.

Relations between Britain and China have been frosty after Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg met the Dalai Lama during his visit to London to receive the Templeton Prize in May. The Dalai Lama, who arrived at the Manchester Airport today, was greeted on the steps of the Lowry hotel by Salford mayor Ian Stewart in a traditional Tibetan scarf ceremony.

The event is expected to go ahead after the council removed any association with the convention. Council chief executive Tom Riordan said in a brief statement that the convention was a private event not organised by the council. Mike Firth, the event’s founder, said Leeds city council told him officials from the Chinese embassy had suggested it put pressure on him to cancel the Dalai Lama’s visit.

Firth told The Guardian: “(The council) said their response was that it was a private event and they were not prepared to do that, and that was the end of it. “Here we have an unelected communist state coming and dictating to local politicians. What we pride ourselves on in this country is freedom of speech. Clearly, they don’t. “(The Dalai Lama) is not coming to give a political speech but to talk about business ethics”.

Leeds is due to host China’s pre-Olympic Games training centre, with about 220 athletes, coaches and support staff based in the city from early July. Last month, senior Chinese leader Wu Bangguo cancelled his visit to Britain after Cameron and Clegg met the Dalai Lama in London.

Besides the Leeds event, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to deliver public talks in Manchester and London. The Manchester event, compered by popular comedian Russell Brand, will include the spiritual leader’s talk titled ‘Century of Dialogue – Stand up and Be the Change’. The Manchester event on Saturday is free for those aged 25 and under, and has a fee of 25 pounds for others. (PTI)

Kathmandu: As many as 65,000 Bhutanese refugees, residing in Nepalese camps, have been resettled in the US and European nations under a resettlement programme by United Nations refugee agency. According to the UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNCHR). the US which received 54,731 Bhutanese refugees, is the largest resettlement country followed by Canada with 4,663 and Australia that has accommodated 3,476 refugees.

The third country resettlement programme was initiated for the Bhutanese refugees, most of them Lhotshampas ethnic group, who had fled the country in the early 1990s. Deputy High Commissioner of UNHCR, T Alexander Alienikoff told a press conference at the end of his brief visit here that only 48,640 refugees were left in two camps of eastern Nepal. The newly-appointed Deputy High Commissioner was here to assess the latest situation of the Bhutanese and other refugees residing in Nepal and to familiarise himself about the refugee activities being carried out by UNHCR Nepal. (Agencies)