Al-Ahram Weekly | International

		Al-Ahram Weekly Online 5 - 11 July 2001 Issue No.541
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Gladiator
HAVING taken the punches thrown by angry software-makers and a righteous district court judge, a beaming Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates emerged from the protracted fray of the anti-trust case against Microsoft with the upper hand last Thursday. A federal appeals court overturned a lower court ruling that the software giant be split into two companies and remanded the case to another judge.
Although the court upheld the ruling that Microsoft maintains its sweeping monopoly on computer operating systems through anti-competitive practices, there was much to smile about for Gates. The court aggressively reprimanded original trial judge Thomas Penfield Jackson for what it termed "deliberate, repeated, egregious and flagrant" violations of judicial ethics.
Judge Jackson, who gave "secret" interviews during the trial on the condition that they be published after the ruling, was admonished for exposing himself to outside influences and conducting himself in a wholly unprofessional manner. It is widely held that Jackson knowingly recommended an excessively harsh penalty to punish Gates for his cavalier attitude towards the case. It is considered likely that the successful appeal will revive efforts for a settlement out of court.

Shadow of doubt

THOUGH the arrival of new Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Washington on Saturday was overshadowed by a rape case possibly involving US servicemen in Okinawa, Japan, the first meeting between the progressive premier and US President George W Bush skirted the contentious issue of heavy US military presence in Japan. And though the affable Bush and self-styled eccentric Koizumi got off to a good start, talks at Camp David between them ultimately skirted too many topics to be considered significant.
As expected, Bush heartily endorsed Koizumi's radical plans for economic reform, but Koizumi was unable to nudge Bush on his refusal to accept the Kyoto treaty on climate change. The two also broached the topic of Bush's plans for the controversial national missile defence system, but again, it seems that tough issues were sidestepped in the name of establishing a strong connection.
Plot twist
AFTER eluding numerous intelligence agencies during more than eight months on the run, former Peruvian spy chief Vadimiro Montesinos was cool and collected on his return to Lima last Monday. Captured in Caracas, Venezuela, Montesinos has been Latin America's most wanted man since he almost single-handedly sparked the downfall of former President Alberto Fujimori and legions of Lima elite last September.
But the tides have turned for Montesinos -- currently on a dubious hunger strike in protest of being transferred to a maximum-security prison he himself designed. Dubbed "Rasputin" for his behind-the-scenes power with Fujimori, Montesinos is charged with a litany of offences covering everything from ordering death squad, to stealing from the state. Incriminating videos kept in the spymaster's home have been prime-time entertainment for Peruvians since Fujimori escaped to his ancestral Japan.
Still at the centre of scandal, Montesinos' capture even served to drive a wedge between the governments of Peru and Venezuela -- accused of interrupting a secret joint operation between US and Peruvian agents to snag Montesinos. Calling the covert operation an attack on Venezuela's sovereignty, President Hugo Chavez recalled his ambassador in Lima in a huff.
Fighting words
CALLING on the world to stop turning a blind eye to the ravages of AIDS, an estimated 3,000 government leaders, activists and health experts gathered in New York last week for the first ever United Nations special assembly on HIV/AIDS. More than 20 heads of state attended the event, which went from 25-27 June, with the bulk of top officials hailing from the African continent.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan opened the conference with a string of all-too-familiar statistics about the spread of AIDS, noting that more than 36 million are infected with HIV and that each day, some 15,000 more people acquire the virus. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo painted a far grimmer picture, warning that man in Africa was becoming an endangered species because of the virus.
Leaders from the most suffering nations stressed the need for increased aid, while countries quibbled over the language of the gathering's final statement. The absence of South African President Thabo Mbeki from the conference was both notable and perplexing.
Looking for questions
POLICE and locals alike are dumbfounded by the brutal murder of Fijian Red Cross director John Scott and his partner, Gregory Scrivener, in their home in the capital, Suva. Investigators say the scene in which the bodies were found indicated extreme violence, but it was profoundly unclear as to why the popular figure would be in danger. It appears that nothing was taken from the house.
Well-respected among local authorities and in the community, Scott was the human face of the 56-day hostage drama last year, when armed gunmen stormed Fiji's parliament and took former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudry and the country's top legislators. Scott played a key role in negotiations.
Compiled by Nyier Abdou

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