TOKYO (AFP) –
NASA is ready to cooperate with China in space exploration, the head of the US agency said Tuesday, as Beijing aims to send a manned mission to the moon by around 2020.

"I am perfectly willing, if that's the direction that comes to me, to engage the Chinese in trying to make them a partner in any space endeavour. I think they're a very capable nation," NASA chief Charles Bolden said.

"They have demonstrated their capability to do something that only two other nations that have done -- that is, to put humans in space. And I think that is an achievement you cannot ignore," he told reporters on a visit to Tokyo.

"They are a nation that is trying to really lead. If we could cooperate we would probably be better off than if we would not," the former astronaut said.

China has been pouring billions of dollars into its space activities in an effort to close the gap with Western nations. It has carried out three manned space missions, including a spacewalk, and put a lunar orbiter in space.

NASA also has ambitious plans to put US astronauts back on the moon by 2020 to establish manned lunar bases for further exploration to Mars.

But a review panel appointed by President Barack Obama said last month existing budgets were not large enough to fund a return mission before 2020. The existing US space shuttle fleet is due to be retired next year.

KABUL (AFP) –
Afghan President Hamid Karzai vowed Tuesday that his new government would eradicate corruption and offered an olive branch to Taliban insurgents, launching his programme for another five years in office.

Under pressure from US President Barack Obama to wipe out corruption and world leaders to unify the war-torn nation, Karzai used his first appearance since electoral authorities declared him president to pledge a cleaner rule.

"Afghanistan's image has been tainted by corruption. Our government's image has been tainted by corruption," Karzai told a press conference flanked by his controversial vice president Mohammad Qasim Fahim, who is widely accused of rights abuses.

"We will strive, by any means possible, to eradicate this stain."

Karzai was declared president for another five years after the cancellation of a run-off ballot by the country's election commission, which followed the withdrawal at the weekend of his only challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. Related article: US urges Kharzai on corruption

The president said it would have been better for Afghanistan, which is rife with ethnic rivalry, to have voted in a second round following a fraud-tainted first election on August 20, and bemoaned Abdullah's withdrawal.

Karzai has been urged by a number of world leaders to ensure his next government can command the support of all the Afghan people.

"The future government will be a government that reflects all the people of Afghanistan ... We hope that no-one feels themselves isolated from this future government," he said.

The 51-year-old president, whose warm relations with the West have cooled over corruption and spiralling insecurity, also urged his Taliban "brothers" "to come home and embrace their land".

The Taliban insurgency is now at its deadliest, contributing to record US fatalities eight years since the militia was driven out of Kabul by a US-led invasion, paving the way for Karzai to take power.

The Islamists ridiculed Karzai as a "puppet" president, however, and said his re-election without a second round showed the West was dictating events.

"What is astonishing is two weeks ago they were arguing that the puppet president Hamid Karzai was involved in electoral fraud... but now he is elected as president based on those same fraudulent votes, Washington and London immediately send their congratulations," said a Taliban statement.

Obama and UN chief Ban Ki-moon led world powers in congratulating Karzai, but the US president called for "a much more serious effort to eradicate corruption" and a "new chapter" in cooperation between the two countries. Reactions: World powers stick by Karzai, US says fight corruption

"This has to be (the) point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter based on improved governance," Obama said he had told Karzai in a phone call.

Karzai "assured me that he understood the importance of this moment but... the truth is not going to be in words, it's going to be in deeds", added Obama who is to decide whether to deploy thousands more troops in the coming weeks.

The New York Times reported the Obama administration was pressing Karzai to set up an anti-corruption commission, which would establish "strict accountability" for national and provincial government officials.

US and European officials are also seeking the arrests of what one US envoy termed "the more blatantly corrupt" people in government, the paper added.

Abdullah quit the contest on Sunday, saying there were no safeguards against a repeat of widespread fraud that resulted in the rejection of nearly a quarter of votes cast in August.

Karzai's anointment by the Independent Election Commission sought to draw a line under two months of political chaos in the conflict-ridden nation where 100,000 NATO and US troops are battling the Taliban. Related article: Cash-strapped US media struggles to cover war

Ban met Karzai and Abdullah amid a concerted diplomatic push to bring a quick end to the paralysis, which has undermined Western efforts to cultivate democracy in Afghanistan.

IEC chief Azizullah Ludin, a Karzai appointee who oversaw the fraud-riddled first round, said the decision had been made in line with the provisions of Afghan law and was "consistent with the high interest of the Afghan people".

There had been widespread unease about staging the November 7 run-off poll.

First-round turnout was as low as five percent in areas and Taliban had threatened fresh attacks.

KABUL (AFP) –
President Hamid Karzai prepared for a second term of office on Tuesday with US President Barack Obama telling him to wipe out corruption and world leaders urging him to unify Afghanistan.

Karzai was declared president for another five years after the cancellation of a run-off by the country's election commission, which followed the withdrawal at the weekend of his only challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.

Obama and UN chief Ban Ki-moon led world powers in congratulating Karzai, who is due to give a press conference around 10:00 am (0500 GMT) Tuesday.

But the US president said he had told his opposite number to make "a much more serious effort to eradicate corruption" while calling for a "new chapter" in cooperation between the two countries. Related article: US vows to get tough on Karzai

"This has to be point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter based on improved governance," Obama said he had told Karzai in a telephone call.

Karzai "assured me that he understood the importance of this moment but... the truth is not going to be in words, it's going to be in deeds," Obama added. Related article: Cash-strapped US media struggles to cover war

Earlier the White House declared Karzai the "legitimate leader of the country" but said it would begin "hard conversations" with the new president, with Obama expected to make a decision on whether to deploy thousands more troops "in the coming weeks".

Former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah quit the contest on Sunday, saying there were no safeguards against a repeat of widespread fraud that resulted in the throwing out of nearly a quarter of votes cast in August.

Karzai's anointment by the Independent Election Commission followed intense diplomatic pressure and sought to draw a line under two months of political chaos in a war-torn nation where 100,000 NATO and US troops are battling an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency.

UN chief Ban met Karzai and Abdullah amid a concerted diplomatic push to bring a quick end to chaos that has undermined Western efforts to cultivate democracy in Afghanistan eight years after a US-led invasion.

IEC chief Azizullah Ludin, a Karzai appointee who oversaw a fraud-riddled first round, said the decision had been made in line with the provisions of Afghan electoral law and constitution and was "consistent with the high interest of the Afghan people".

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose country is the second biggest contributor of foreign troops in Afghanistan, telephoned Karzai to urge him to plot a course of national unity.

"They discussed the importance of the president moving quickly to set out a unifying programme for the future of Afghanistan," said a spokesman for Brown.

NATO powers France and Germany urged Karzai to work with his defeated rival to end the political strife.

Congratulations also came from Pakistan and Russia, which said the election had "opened the way for the formation of the new national government, whose great task is the key problem of stabilising conditions in the country."

There had been great unease about staging the November 7 poll at a time when a Taliban insurgency is gathering pace.

The IEC's deputy chief electoral officer Zakria Barakzai said the commission would have been in breach of article 61 of the constitution -- which states two candidates must contest a run-off -- had they allowed the contest to go ahead without Abdullah.

First-round turnout was as low as five percent on August 20 in areas worst hit by the Taliban insurgency and with the militia threatening fresh attacks, the numbers voting this time were likely to have been even lower.

Analysts said Karzai, already tainted by the first round fraud, would struggle to proclaim his legitimacy in such circumstances.

After Karzai snubbed a series of demands promoted by his rival as a chance to avoid a repeat of massive first-round fraud, Abdullah said Sunday that he saw no point in standing, but had stopped short of calling for a boycott.

LOS ANGELES – The first interview with Rihanna about Chris Brown's assault on her is airing this week on ABC.
The network says the pop star's one-on-one with Diane Sawyer will air Thursday and Friday on "Good Morning America" and Friday evening on the news magazine "20/20."
Brown's attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna occurred in February. He was sentenced in August to five years' probation, six months of community labor and a year of domestic violence counseling after he pleaded guilty to felony assault.
Rihanna's ABC interview coincides with the debut of her new single, "Russian Roulette," from her upcoming album, "Rated R." It's her first CD since 2007's multiplatinum "Good Girl Gone Bad."