WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, in an interview with the New York Times, set out conditions for moving the West Asia peace process along, including a less prominent role for Washington. ``I don't think the CIA should be involved in counting the number of policemen in the Gaza strip to check up on the Palestinians,'' Barak told the daily on Tuesday, on the eve of his week-long visit to the United States. He described the US role in the region as ``overly involved'', suggesting the Americans should stop acting as ``arbitrator, policeman and judge,'' and return to their ``special roles as facilitators.'' He said he wanted to persuade Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to abandon his demand for full and immediate implementation of the Wye River memorandum. Barak also told the daily he did not want to impose an Israeli blueprint for peace, because ``coming from me, that blueprint will have a virus.''

Taiwan seeks to defuse China row

TAIPEI:Taiwan assured Beijing on Wednesday that it wants an eventual reunification, despite remarks by President Lee Teng-hui declaring it a separate state, which have sparked fury in China. ``The ongoing mainland policy has not changed,'' Taiwan's mainland affairs policy architect Su Chi said in the ruling Kuomintang's decision-making central standing committee. ``Our eventual goal is that through democratic and social reforms in the mainland, the two sides would reunite in democracy,'' said Su, chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council. Lee on Tuesday restated his claim to national sovereignty, ignoring fierce warnings from China.

Fidel Castro was CIA's `obsession'

HAVANA: America's Central Intelligence Agency watched Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro for years with every means possible, self-proclaimed former Cuban double agent Orlando Argudin has said. ``Fidel Castro was an obsession for the CIA,'' Argudin said on Tuesday, who was appearing as a witness in Havana in a court case broughtagainst the US government in Washington. Argudin said he was smuggled in by the CIA and worked for them in Cuba for 13 years. The court case was brought by various Cuban state organisations, and demands $181.1 billion from Washington for damages it charges the country caused during Castro's revolution. ``Anything that had something to do with Fidel was always top priority how he lived, possible problems with subordinates, helpers or followers, travel plans,'' Argudin said.

Semi-official Indonesian result planned

JAKARTA: Indonesia's election committee on Wednesday said it may complete a semi-official tally of the June 7 parliamentary election, a week before the official result is due to be declared. Senior official Sugita said the government committee had tallied the results from 24 provinces and expected details from the remaining three on Wednesday. The official count by the general election commission (KPU) has tallied less than 60 percent. It is due to declare the final result next Wednesday.Populist opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle holds a commanding lead in the official tally, with almost 36 percent of the vote.