Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to dismiss his choice to serve as vice-president, state TV says.
Appointing Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie was "against your interest and the interests of the government", the ayatollah wrote to Mr Ahmadinejad.
His remarks came after another leading cleric also demanded the dismissal.
Mr Mashaie had caused controversy in 2008 when he said Iranians were friends with the Israelis.
According to Iranian state TV, Ayatollah Khamenei sent Mr Ahmadinejad a clear message.
"It is necessary to announce the cancellation of this appointment," he told the president.
Mr Ahmadinejad, who is known for his own outspoken views against Israel, has previously defended Mr Mashaie, calling him modest and loyal to Iran's Islamic system.
Hardline students
Hundreds of hardline students took to the streets of the capital, Tehran, in support of the demand for Mr Mashaie to stand down.
They warned they would withdraw support from Mr Ahmadinejad unless he dismisses Mr Mashaie.
During their demonstrations they chanted that defiance of Ayatollah Khamenei's views would not be tolerated, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Ayatollah Khamenei has the final say in matters of state, and analysts say he has rarely faced defiance in the past - though that changed in recent weeks with reformists challenging his ruling that last month's disputed presidential election was fair.
Correspondents say the deepening rift between the supreme leader and Mr Ahmadinejad comes at a precarious time for the president.
They say he needs hardline support against the reformist opposition who continue to maintain that his re-election was fraudulent.
The row over Israel broke out last year when Mr Mashaie, then minister in charge of tourism, was quoted as saying that Iranians were friends with the Israeli people, despite the conflict between their governments.
"Today, Iran is friends with the American and Israeli people," he said, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. "No nation in the world is our enemy."
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
North Korea 'Names Kim's Successor'
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il has designated his youngest son to be the country's next leader, according to reports in South Korean media.
Two newspapers and an opposition lawmaker said South Korea's spy agency had briefed legislators on the move.North Korean officials were reportedly told to support Kim Jong-un after the North's 25 May nuclear test.
There has been much speculation over who would follow Mr Kim, who is thought to have suffered a stroke last year.Analysts have said the North's recent military actions, including last week's nuclear test, may have been aimed at helping Mr Kim solidify power so that he could name a successor.
See Kim Jong-il's family tree
The reports in the Hankook Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo newspapers quoted unnamed members of South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee briefed by the National Intelligence Service, although the spy agency refused to confirm the reports.
The Associated Press news agency reported that opposition legislator Park Jie-won, a member of the parliament's intelligence committee, told local radio he had been briefed by the government on the North's move.
Mr Park said the regime is "pledging allegiance to Kim Jong-un", it reported.
Little is known about Kim Jong-il's youngest son, who is thought to have been born in 1983 or early 1984.
The Dong-a Ilbo added that the North is teaching its people a song lauding Kim Jong-un - who reportedly enjoys skiing and studied English, German and French at a Swiss school.
Nuclear concern
There is no confirmed photograph of him as an adult.
Questions have also been raised over whether his late mother, a Japanese-born professional dancer called Ko Yong-hui, was Kim Jong-il's official wife or mistress.
The youngest Kim has been reported as being the son who most resembles his father.
The BBC's Seoul correspondent, Chris Hogg, says it is not the first time there has been speculation that the youngest son was being groomed to succeed his father.
There were reports he had been named as his successor in January. In April the South Korean news agency, Yonhap, said he had joined the North's powerful National Defence Commission.
Our correspondent notes that in a society that values seniority his youth could be a problem.
Some analysts have urged caution, noting that in the absence of much verifiable information coming out of North Korea, there is a wealth of speculation and rumour.
"We had rumours in September, October that it will be Chang Song-taek, Kim Jong-il's brother-in-law, then briefly there were rumours about his second son, then stories about his third son," Andrei Lankov of the Australian National University in Seoul told our correspondent.
"Every few months we have a new wave of rumours."
Who will eventually rule the nuclear-armed North has been the focus of intense media speculation since leader Mr Kim, 67, reportedly suffered a stroke last August.
The last succession was settled 20 years before the death of the Great Leader Kim Il-sung in 1994, and publicly announced at a party congress in 1980.
The reports of the naming of the next leader come amid growing international concern over the North's nuclear programme and its recent missile tests.
South Korea has deployed a high-speed patrol boat armed with missiles to its disputed western maritime border with the North.
It follows reports that the North has moved a long-range missile to a launch site on the west coast.
Meanwhile, at the end of a two-day summit, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and leaders from the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) condemned North Korea's recent nuclear test and missile launches.
Two newspapers and an opposition lawmaker said South Korea's spy agency had briefed legislators on the move.North Korean officials were reportedly told to support Kim Jong-un after the North's 25 May nuclear test.
There has been much speculation over who would follow Mr Kim, who is thought to have suffered a stroke last year.Analysts have said the North's recent military actions, including last week's nuclear test, may have been aimed at helping Mr Kim solidify power so that he could name a successor.
See Kim Jong-il's family tree
The reports in the Hankook Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo newspapers quoted unnamed members of South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee briefed by the National Intelligence Service, although the spy agency refused to confirm the reports.
The Associated Press news agency reported that opposition legislator Park Jie-won, a member of the parliament's intelligence committee, told local radio he had been briefed by the government on the North's move.
Mr Park said the regime is "pledging allegiance to Kim Jong-un", it reported.
Little is known about Kim Jong-il's youngest son, who is thought to have been born in 1983 or early 1984.
The Dong-a Ilbo added that the North is teaching its people a song lauding Kim Jong-un - who reportedly enjoys skiing and studied English, German and French at a Swiss school.
Nuclear concern
There is no confirmed photograph of him as an adult.
Questions have also been raised over whether his late mother, a Japanese-born professional dancer called Ko Yong-hui, was Kim Jong-il's official wife or mistress.
The youngest Kim has been reported as being the son who most resembles his father.
The BBC's Seoul correspondent, Chris Hogg, says it is not the first time there has been speculation that the youngest son was being groomed to succeed his father.
There were reports he had been named as his successor in January. In April the South Korean news agency, Yonhap, said he had joined the North's powerful National Defence Commission.
Our correspondent notes that in a society that values seniority his youth could be a problem.
Some analysts have urged caution, noting that in the absence of much verifiable information coming out of North Korea, there is a wealth of speculation and rumour.
"We had rumours in September, October that it will be Chang Song-taek, Kim Jong-il's brother-in-law, then briefly there were rumours about his second son, then stories about his third son," Andrei Lankov of the Australian National University in Seoul told our correspondent.
"Every few months we have a new wave of rumours."
Who will eventually rule the nuclear-armed North has been the focus of intense media speculation since leader Mr Kim, 67, reportedly suffered a stroke last August.
The last succession was settled 20 years before the death of the Great Leader Kim Il-sung in 1994, and publicly announced at a party congress in 1980.
The reports of the naming of the next leader come amid growing international concern over the North's nuclear programme and its recent missile tests.
South Korea has deployed a high-speed patrol boat armed with missiles to its disputed western maritime border with the North.
It follows reports that the North has moved a long-range missile to a launch site on the west coast.
Meanwhile, at the end of a two-day summit, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and leaders from the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) condemned North Korea's recent nuclear test and missile launches.
Plane searchers spot ocean debris
Brazilian aircraft searching for an Air France jet which went missing with 228 people aboard in an Atlantic storm have spotted debris on the ocean.
A plane seat and other items were sighted 650km (400 miles) north-east of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha island, the Brazilian air force said.
It could not be immediately confirmed that the debris came from the Airbus.
The jet was heading from Brazil to Paris when it vanished about four hours into its flight, early on Monday.
See a map of the plane's route
Air force spokesman Col Jorge Amaral said the seat had been spotted by search planes early on Tuesday.
There were also small white pieces of debris, material that may be metallic and signs of oil and kerosene, which is used as jet fuel.
"The search is continuing because it's very little material in relation to the size [of the Airbus A330],"Col Amaral added.
Officials, he said, needed "a piece that might have a serial number, some sort of identification" to be sure it came from the missing jet.
French Defence Minister Herve Morin has stressed there is still "no evidence whatsoever" as to the cause of the plane's loss
"We cannot, by definition, exclude a terrorist attack, because terrorism is the main threat for all Western democracies," he added.
'Life jacket'
Plane crews from Brazil, France and other countries had narrowed their search to a zone half-way between Brazil and west Africa, hoping to pick up signals from the Airbus's beacons.
Indications that debris had been spotted first came in the early hours of the morning when it was detected by a plane flying over the area where the Air France flight went missing, the BBC's Gary Duffy reports from Brazil.
Then, after first light, another aircraft was able to identify a variety of material at two separate points more than 60km apart.
Col Amaral was quoted by the Associated Press as saying a life jacket had been spotted amid the debris.
"The locations where the objects were found are towards the right of the point where the last signal of the plane was emitted," he told reporters in Rio.
"That suggests that it might have tried to make a turn, maybe to return to Fernando de Noronha, but that is just a hypothesis."
Searchers now planned to focus their efforts on collecting the debris and trying to identify it, he said.
Electrical failures
In his last radio message, at about 0200 GMT on Monday, the captain of Flight AF 447 reported entering turbulence, French media say.
Up to a dozen reports of electrical failures were sent automatically from the plane before it vanished over the ocean just after.
Most of the missing people are Brazilian or French but they include a total of 32 nationalities. Five Britons and three Irish citizens are among them.
Crisis centres have been set up at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and Rio's Tom Jobim international airport.
One of the Brazilians on board was Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca, a direct descendent of the last Brazilian emperior, Dom Pedro II, a spokesman for the family said.
Three young Irish doctors were also aboard, returning from two-week holiday in Brazil. Aisling Butler's father John paid tribute to his 26-year-old daughter, from Roscrea, County Tipperary.
"She was a truly wonderful, exciting girl," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
"She never flunked an exam in her life - nailed every one of them - and took it all in her stride."
Flight path of AF 447
1. 2200 GMT, 31 May: AF 447 leaves Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, bound for Paris
2. 0133 GMT, 1 June: Last radio contact with AF 447
3. 0148 GMT: Plane leaves radar surveillance zone off islands of Fernando de Noronha and enters band of stormy weather
4. 0214 GMT: Series of automated messages sent from AF 447 indicating electrical fault
5. 0220 GMT: AF 477 due to arrive in Senegal airspace but no contact received
A plane seat and other items were sighted 650km (400 miles) north-east of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha island, the Brazilian air force said.
It could not be immediately confirmed that the debris came from the Airbus.
The jet was heading from Brazil to Paris when it vanished about four hours into its flight, early on Monday.
See a map of the plane's route
Air force spokesman Col Jorge Amaral said the seat had been spotted by search planes early on Tuesday.
There were also small white pieces of debris, material that may be metallic and signs of oil and kerosene, which is used as jet fuel.
"The search is continuing because it's very little material in relation to the size [of the Airbus A330],"Col Amaral added.
Officials, he said, needed "a piece that might have a serial number, some sort of identification" to be sure it came from the missing jet.
French Defence Minister Herve Morin has stressed there is still "no evidence whatsoever" as to the cause of the plane's loss
"We cannot, by definition, exclude a terrorist attack, because terrorism is the main threat for all Western democracies," he added.
'Life jacket'
Plane crews from Brazil, France and other countries had narrowed their search to a zone half-way between Brazil and west Africa, hoping to pick up signals from the Airbus's beacons.
Indications that debris had been spotted first came in the early hours of the morning when it was detected by a plane flying over the area where the Air France flight went missing, the BBC's Gary Duffy reports from Brazil.
Then, after first light, another aircraft was able to identify a variety of material at two separate points more than 60km apart.
Col Amaral was quoted by the Associated Press as saying a life jacket had been spotted amid the debris.
"The locations where the objects were found are towards the right of the point where the last signal of the plane was emitted," he told reporters in Rio.
"That suggests that it might have tried to make a turn, maybe to return to Fernando de Noronha, but that is just a hypothesis."
Searchers now planned to focus their efforts on collecting the debris and trying to identify it, he said.
Electrical failures
In his last radio message, at about 0200 GMT on Monday, the captain of Flight AF 447 reported entering turbulence, French media say.
Up to a dozen reports of electrical failures were sent automatically from the plane before it vanished over the ocean just after.
Most of the missing people are Brazilian or French but they include a total of 32 nationalities. Five Britons and three Irish citizens are among them.
Crisis centres have been set up at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and Rio's Tom Jobim international airport.
One of the Brazilians on board was Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca, a direct descendent of the last Brazilian emperior, Dom Pedro II, a spokesman for the family said.
Three young Irish doctors were also aboard, returning from two-week holiday in Brazil. Aisling Butler's father John paid tribute to his 26-year-old daughter, from Roscrea, County Tipperary.
"She was a truly wonderful, exciting girl," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
"She never flunked an exam in her life - nailed every one of them - and took it all in her stride."
Flight path of AF 447
1. 2200 GMT, 31 May: AF 447 leaves Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, bound for Paris
2. 0133 GMT, 1 June: Last radio contact with AF 447
3. 0148 GMT: Plane leaves radar surveillance zone off islands of Fernando de Noronha and enters band of stormy weather
4. 0214 GMT: Series of automated messages sent from AF 447 indicating electrical fault
5. 0220 GMT: AF 477 due to arrive in Senegal airspace but no contact received
Monday, June 1, 2009
Killings provoke Kashmir protests
By Altaf Hussain
Violent protests are continuing across Indian-administered Kashmir, following the deaths of two women who many believe were raped by Indian troops.
The bodies of the two women were recovered on Saturday morning after they went missing on Friday.
A general strike called by separatist groups in response to the deaths of the women brought life in the Kashmir Valley to a standstill.
The government has ordered a judicial probe into the killings.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said an inquiry had become necessary because of the people's lack of faith in police investigations.
"Initial findings do not suggest either rape or murder. But there is a need to establish beyond doubt so that people are satisfied as far as possible.
"Most of the Valley is shut down. People want truth and they want it from a credible source," he said.
A retired high court judge, Justice Muzaffar Jan, has been given one month to complete the inquiry.
Action demanded
The incident has sent shockwaves throughout the Kashmir Valley in recent days. The separatist call for a strike was met with an overwhelming response as shops closed and traffic was suspended.
Daily demonstrations have paralysed the town of Shopian, where the women were from, as local residents demanded action from security forces.
The authorities have also imposed an undeclared curfew in the southern district of Shopian and police and paramilitaries have been deployed across the area.
The two women, who were sisters-in-law, went missing on the way home from their orchard on Friday. Their bodies were found the next morning, one in a canal and one on open ground about 1km (0.6 mile) away.
The results of the post-mortem report have not yet been made public.
On Saturday thousands of people marched in procession to the main square in Shopian town where they ransacked the local hospital in which the post-mortem had been performed.
The demonstrators allege that the women were gang-raped and subsequently killed by Indian security forces.
Local police reject the allegations saying that the women appeared to have drowned in a stream, the Associated Press news agency says.
Violent protests are continuing across Indian-administered Kashmir, following the deaths of two women who many believe were raped by Indian troops.
The bodies of the two women were recovered on Saturday morning after they went missing on Friday.
A general strike called by separatist groups in response to the deaths of the women brought life in the Kashmir Valley to a standstill.
The government has ordered a judicial probe into the killings.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said an inquiry had become necessary because of the people's lack of faith in police investigations.
"Initial findings do not suggest either rape or murder. But there is a need to establish beyond doubt so that people are satisfied as far as possible.
"Most of the Valley is shut down. People want truth and they want it from a credible source," he said.
A retired high court judge, Justice Muzaffar Jan, has been given one month to complete the inquiry.
Action demanded
The incident has sent shockwaves throughout the Kashmir Valley in recent days. The separatist call for a strike was met with an overwhelming response as shops closed and traffic was suspended.
Daily demonstrations have paralysed the town of Shopian, where the women were from, as local residents demanded action from security forces.
The authorities have also imposed an undeclared curfew in the southern district of Shopian and police and paramilitaries have been deployed across the area.
The two women, who were sisters-in-law, went missing on the way home from their orchard on Friday. Their bodies were found the next morning, one in a canal and one on open ground about 1km (0.6 mile) away.
The results of the post-mortem report have not yet been made public.
On Saturday thousands of people marched in procession to the main square in Shopian town where they ransacked the local hospital in which the post-mortem had been performed.
The demonstrators allege that the women were gang-raped and subsequently killed by Indian security forces.
Local police reject the allegations saying that the women appeared to have drowned in a stream, the Associated Press news agency says.
French Plane Lost in Ocean Storm
An Air France plane carrying 228 people from Brazil to France has vanished over the Atlantic after a possible lightning strike, airline officials say.
The Airbus sent an automatic message at 0214 GMT, four hours after leaving Rio de Janeiro, reporting a short circuit as it flew through strong turbulence.
It was well over the ocean when it was lost, making Brazilian and French search planes' task more difficult.
Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris has set up a crisis centre.
"We are without a doubt faced with an air disaster," Air France chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told reporters.
"The entire company is thinking of the families and shares their pain."
Flight AF 447 left Rio at 1900 local time (2200 GMT) on Sunday. It had 216 passengers and 12 crew on board, including three pilots. The passengers included one infant, seven children, 82 women and 126 men.
Most of those aboard were Brazilians while the others included 40 French people and at least 20 Germans, the French government said.
A number of Italians and Britons are also believed to have been aboard.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport to visit the crisis centre, AFP news agency reports.
'Long search'
The Airbus 330-200 had been expected to arrive in Paris at 1110 local time (0910 GMT).
It made its last radio contact at 0133 GMT (2233 Brazilian time) when it was 565km (360m) off Brazil's north-eastern coast, Brazil's air force said.
The crew said they were planning to enter Senegalese airspace at 0220 GMT and that the plane was flying normally at an altitude of 10,670m (35,000ft) and a speed of 840km/h (520mph).
At 0220, when Brazilian air traffic controllers saw the plane had not made its required radio call saying it was crossing into Senegalese airspace, air traffic control in the Senegalese capital was contacted.
At 0530 GMT, Brazil's air force launched a search-and-rescue mission, sending out a coast guard patrol plane and a specialised air force rescue aircraft.
"The plane might have been struck by lightning - it's a possibility," Francois Brousse, head of communications at Air France, told reporters in Paris.
Douglas Ferreira Machado, head of investigation and accident prevention for Brazil's Civil Aeronautics Agency, said the search would take "a long time".
"It could be a long, sad story," he told Brazil's Globo news. "The black box will be at the bottom of the sea."
France's minister responsible for transportation, Jean-Louis Borloo, ruled out hijacking as a cause of the plane's loss.
'No information'
An Air France official told AFP that people awaiting the flight would be received in a special area at Charles de Gaulle airport's second terminal.
Tearful relatives and friends were led away by airport staff after they arrived expecting to greet passengers.
About 20 relatives of passengers on board the flight arrived at Rio's international airport on Monday morning seeking information.
Bernardo Souza, who said his brother and sister-in-law were on the flight, complained he had received no details from Air France.
"I had to come to the airport but when I arrived I just found an empty counter," he was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
"With a lack of information, it is even more worrying."
Air France has opened a telephone hotline for friends and relatives of people on the plane - 00 33 157021055 for callers outside France and 0800 800812 for inside France.
This is the first major incident in Brazilian air space since a Tam flight crashed in Sao Paulo in July 2007 killing 199 people.
The Airbus sent an automatic message at 0214 GMT, four hours after leaving Rio de Janeiro, reporting a short circuit as it flew through strong turbulence.
It was well over the ocean when it was lost, making Brazilian and French search planes' task more difficult.
Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris has set up a crisis centre.
"We are without a doubt faced with an air disaster," Air France chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told reporters.
"The entire company is thinking of the families and shares their pain."
Flight AF 447 left Rio at 1900 local time (2200 GMT) on Sunday. It had 216 passengers and 12 crew on board, including three pilots. The passengers included one infant, seven children, 82 women and 126 men.
Most of those aboard were Brazilians while the others included 40 French people and at least 20 Germans, the French government said.
A number of Italians and Britons are also believed to have been aboard.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport to visit the crisis centre, AFP news agency reports.
'Long search'
The Airbus 330-200 had been expected to arrive in Paris at 1110 local time (0910 GMT).
It made its last radio contact at 0133 GMT (2233 Brazilian time) when it was 565km (360m) off Brazil's north-eastern coast, Brazil's air force said.
The crew said they were planning to enter Senegalese airspace at 0220 GMT and that the plane was flying normally at an altitude of 10,670m (35,000ft) and a speed of 840km/h (520mph).
At 0220, when Brazilian air traffic controllers saw the plane had not made its required radio call saying it was crossing into Senegalese airspace, air traffic control in the Senegalese capital was contacted.
At 0530 GMT, Brazil's air force launched a search-and-rescue mission, sending out a coast guard patrol plane and a specialised air force rescue aircraft.
"The plane might have been struck by lightning - it's a possibility," Francois Brousse, head of communications at Air France, told reporters in Paris.
Douglas Ferreira Machado, head of investigation and accident prevention for Brazil's Civil Aeronautics Agency, said the search would take "a long time".
"It could be a long, sad story," he told Brazil's Globo news. "The black box will be at the bottom of the sea."
France's minister responsible for transportation, Jean-Louis Borloo, ruled out hijacking as a cause of the plane's loss.
'No information'
An Air France official told AFP that people awaiting the flight would be received in a special area at Charles de Gaulle airport's second terminal.
Tearful relatives and friends were led away by airport staff after they arrived expecting to greet passengers.
About 20 relatives of passengers on board the flight arrived at Rio's international airport on Monday morning seeking information.
Bernardo Souza, who said his brother and sister-in-law were on the flight, complained he had received no details from Air France.
"I had to come to the airport but when I arrived I just found an empty counter," he was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
"With a lack of information, it is even more worrying."
Air France has opened a telephone hotline for friends and relatives of people on the plane - 00 33 157021055 for callers outside France and 0800 800812 for inside France.
This is the first major incident in Brazilian air space since a Tam flight crashed in Sao Paulo in July 2007 killing 199 people.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Obama Presses Israel, Palestinians on West Bank
By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer Ben Feller, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – Gingerly trying to advance Mideast peace, President Barack Obama on Thursday challenged Israel to stop settlement construction in the West Bank on the same day the Israelis rejected that demand. Obama pushed Palestinians for progress, too, deepening his personal involvement.
"I am confident that we can move this process forward," Obama said after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House. The president said that means both sides must "meet the obligations that they've already committed to" — an element of the peace effort that has proved elusive for years.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told The Associated Press after the session with Obama that no meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are on the horizon. He said there are no preconditions for such a meeting but "obligations" on Israel through the so-called road map for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Abbas said he is meeting his commitments under the road map and that Israel should do the same. He cited continued settlement construction as a commitment Israel is not meeting. Earlier in the day, Israel rejected blunt U.S. requests to freeze Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank, a territory that would make up the Palestinian state, along with the Gaza Strip, as part of a broader peace deal.
In strong language, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had said Wednesday that Obama wants a halt to all settlement construction, including "natural growth." Israel uses that term for new housing and other construction that it says will accommodate the growth of families living in existing settlements.
Israeli spokesman Mark Regev responded Thursday by saying some construction would go on."Normal life in those communities must be allowed to continue," he said, noting Israel has already agreed not to build new settlements and to remove some tiny, unauthorized settler outposts. Regev said the fate of the settlements would be determined in peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
With that as a backdrop, Obama said part of Israel's obligations include "stopping settlements." But he also struck a hopeful tone.
He said he had pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the settlement matter just last week at the White House, and that the Israeli leader needs to work through the issue with his own government."I think it's important not to assume the worst, but to assume the best," Obama said.
The president also pushed Palestinians to hold up their end, including increased security in the West Bank to give Israelis confidence in their safety.
Obama said he told Abbas the Palestinians must find a way to halt the incitement of anti-Israeli sentiments that are sometimes expressed in schools, mosques and public arenas. "All those things are impediments to peace," Obama said.
The Palestinian leader said "we are fully committed to all of our obligations" under the road map. Doing so, Abbas said, is "the only way to achieve the durable, comprehensive and just peace that we need and desire in the Middle East." Obama, like predecessor George W. Bush, embraces a multifaceted Mideast peace plan that calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The president refused to set a timetable for such a nation but also noted he has not been slow to get involved in meeting with both sides and pushing the international community for help.
"We can't continue with the drift, with the increased fear and resentment on both sides, the sense of hopelessness around the situation that we've seen for many years now," Obama said. "We need to get this thing back on track."
Abbas is working to repackage a 2002 Saudi Arabian plan that called for Israel to give up land it has occupied since the 1967 war in exchange for normalized relations with Arab countries. Abbas gave Obama a document that would keep intact that requirement and also offer a way to monitor a required Israeli freeze on all settlement activity, a timetable for Israeli withdrawal and a realization of a two-state solution.
"The main purpose of presenting this document to President Obama is to help him in finding a mechanism to implement the Arab peace initiative," Abbas told the AP.
Asked about his impression of the meeting with Obama, Abbas said: "It was a serious and open meeting and President Obama seems determined on what he has said to us and to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu about the necessity of implementing the road map, and we have agreed to continue our communications."
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Obama affirmed to Abbas that Israel has an obligation to freeze settlement expansions, including natural growth.
The U.S. and much of the world consider the settlements an obstacle to peace because they are built on captured land the Palestinians claim for a future state. But successive U.S. administrations have done little to halt settlement activity.
Now more than 120 settlements dot the West Bank, and Palestinian officials say their growth makes it increasingly impossible to realize their dream of independence. More than 280,000 Israelis live in the settlements, in addition to more than 2 million Palestinians in the West Bank. An additional 180,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem, where the Palestinians hope to establish their capital.
Israelis will be anxiously watching Obama's June 4 speech in Cairo, where he will deliver a message to the Muslim world to try to repair relations that frayed badly under the Bush administration. Obama will also visit Saudi Arabia before he goes to Egypt.
"I want to use the occasion to deliver a broader message about how the United States can change for the better its relationship with the Muslim world," Obama said of his Egypt speech. "That will require, I think, a recognition on both the part of the United States as well as many majority Muslim countries about each other, a better sense of understanding, and I think possibilities to achieve common ground."
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Obama 'Confident' on Two-State Solution
US President Barack Obama says he is confident that Israel will recognise that a two-state solution is in the best interests of its security.
Speaking after White House talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Mr Obama again urged Israel to freeze settlement expansion.Israel has insisted it will allow existing settlements to expand, despite pressure from Washington.
President Obama also said Palestinians must rein in anti-Israeli violence.For his part, Mr Abbas said he was committed to all obligations under the Mid-East peace plan "roadmap".
However, without a halt to Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinians have said there can be no progress towards peace.
'Israel's interests'
Mr Obama said he was a "strong believer in a two-state solution" and believed Israel would recognise that it was in the best interests of its long-term security.
He said it was important for all countries, but particularly Arab states, to be supportive of the two-state solution.
"I am confident that we can move this forward if all parties are ready to meet their obligations," he said.
Mr Abbas said the need for progress in the stalled process was urgent.
He added that "time is of the essence" - a phrase also used by Mr Obama.
He said that he had shared ideas with Mr Obama based on the 2003 peace plan and the 2002 Saudi peace plan supported by the Arab league.
Under the US-backed 2003 roadmap to peace, Israel is obliged to end all settlement activity, specifically including natural growth.
The plan also requires the Palestinian Authority to crack down on militants who seek to attack Israelis.
President Obama said he had been "very clear" in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week on the need to "stop settlements".
Mr Netanyahu later said no new settlements would be built but natural growth in existing settlements should be allowed.
The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says Mr Obama's public reiteration of his view - a day after his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had laid it out only to have it shot down by the Israeli government - has raised eyebrows in Washington.
Ahead of his visit to the Middle East next week, Mr Obama has put Mr Netanyahu on notice that this White House has a firm agenda of its own, our correspondent adds.
Stalled talks
The White House meeting between the two leaders is part of an effort by the Obama administration to restart stalled peace talks.
Mr Obama has already met King Abdullah of Jordan and Mr Netanyahu. He plans to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on 4 June.
Earlier on Thursday, Mrs Clinton said Washington was pushing for a two-state solution in the Middle East as it was in the "best interests" of both the Palestinians and Israelis.
Speaking after a dinner with Mr Abbas, she said: "We believe strongly in a two-state solution."
However, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said on Thursday that Israel would continue to allow some construction in West Bank settlements despite US calls for a freeze on its work.He said the fate of the settlements should be decided in peace talks with the Palestinians.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Mike Tyson's Daughter Dies After Accident
Mike Tyson's four-year-old daughter died May 26 of injuries sustained in a freak home accident. The champion boxer immediately flew to Arizona.
Exodus Tyson was found Monday morning hanged from a cord that was connected to a treadmill in the family’s activity room in their Phoenix, Arizona home. She was discovered when her mother, who was cleaning in another room, sent the girl’s seven-year-old brother in to check on her.
Police are treating the case as an accident, saying it appears the child was playing on or near the treadmill and became tangled in the cord. The girl’s mother was administering CPR when paramedics arrived on the scene. Exodus died a day later of her injuries.
Tyson was in Las Vegas at the time of the incident but rushed to his daughter’s side upon being notified of the tragedy.
“Mike was very dedicated to that baby,'' said Sig Rogish, a longtime friend of Tyson and his former agent. “I think every parent's greatest fear is that they live beyond their children. I know Mike has had his troubles in his life, but he's always been a good father.”
The troubles Rogish refers to are numerous. Tyson’s father left the family when Mike was two; his mother died when he was 16. By the age of 13 he had been arrested 38 times, but was saved from a life on the streets after juvenile hall when a counselor discovered his boxing talent.
His short-lived marriage to actress Robin Givens ended amidst allegations of physical and emotional abuse and mental illness. He was convicted of raping a beauty queen and spent three years in prison for the crime. He was stripped of his boxing license for a year after biting off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a match, went to prison again on new assault charges, filed for bankruptcy in 2003 after squandering nearly $300 million -- around the same time his second marriage ended due to his reported infidelities -- and was arrested again in 2006 on charges of DUI and felony drug possession.
Tyson knows his life has been one big tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. In 2005 he told USA Today:
"My whole life has been a waste -- I've been a failure. I just want to escape. I'm really embarrassed with myself and my life. I want to be a missionary. I think I could do that while keeping my dignity without letting people know they chased me out of the country. I want to get this part of my life over as soon as possible. In this country nothing good is going to come of me. People put me so high; I wanted to tear that image down."
Huge Blast Rocks Pakistani City
Rescuers are searching the rubble of a police building in the Pakistani city of Lahore after a bomb attack killed at least 23 people and injured 200.
Gunmen reportedly opened fire on guards before detonating a car bomb which flattened the emergency response building at police HQ.
Nearby offices of the ISI intelligence service were also damaged.
The interior ministry chief linked the attack to Taliban insurgents whom troops are battling in the Swat valley.
"Enemies of Pakistan who want to destabilise the country are coming here after their defeat in Swat," Rehman Malik said."There is a war and this is a war for our survival," he added.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack but the authorities have been worried about possible retaliation for their offensive in Swat, the BBC's Barbara Plett reports.
Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna condemned the attack and sent condolences to the bereaved."We hope that Pakistan and India would join hands together to fight this terror," he said in Delhi.
UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband condemned the "atrocity" in Lahore and said Britain was "committed to standing shoulder by shoulder with Pakistan in days of need".
'They started firing'
Up to 30 people were killed when the bomb went off mid-morning local time, reports say.
Twelve policemen and a child are among those killed, Pakistani satellite TV channel Geo News reports.
Sajjad Bhutta, a senior government official in Lahore, told reporters that a car carrying several gunmen had pulled up in a street between the emergency response building and the ISI offices.
"As some people came out from that vehicle and started firing at the ISI office, the guards from inside that building returned fire," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
"As the firing continued, the car suddenly exploded."
Issam Ahmed, a journalist with the Dawn newspaper in Lahore who arrived at the scene about 20 minutes after the blast, told the BBC he could still hear shooting in the area.
A least two arrests were made.
Rescue workers were seen clambering over a pile of concrete which was all that remained of the emergency response headquarters.
They were able to drag out several of the injured. Semi-conscious policemen could be seen being carried out in blood-stained uniforms.
Debris was scattered on the road outside. Officials were seen rushing towards the buildings to cordon off the area.
The blast also destroyed several cars parked or standing on the main Mall Road opposite the police building.
Bulldozers and other heavy lifting equipment were brought in as many people were feared trapped under the debris.
Distraught women could be seen looking for news of missing relatives.
'Surreal scene'
Zubair Bukhari, a BBC News website reader in Lahore, described hearing the explosion: "I was sitting in my office on Lawrence Road [about 500m from the site] when a huge explosion rocked our entire building.
ATTACKS ON LAHORE THIS YEAR
3 March: Gunmen kill six police guards in an ambush on the Sri Lanka cricket team
30 March: Gunmen attack a police academy, killing eight people
27 May: A car bomb attack on police buildings kills at least 23
Hunt for Lahore cricket attackers
Siege at Pakistan police academy
"Glass windows shattered to pieces and the ceiling came down on the floor. I ran outside the building to nearby Jinnah Garden. I could hear gunfire which lasted for about 10 minutes and then I saw ambulance and police rushed to the scene."
Matthias Gattermeier, an Austrian reader also in Lahore, said his office building had been shaken so hard he thought it would collapse.
"We first thought the explosion happened far closer by, but the blast was just so massive," he said."I ran out of the building and saw a surreal huge ring of white smoke rise into [the] air. Within minutes police and military blocked the streets. Disaster units and emergency are going in and out every minute. The streets are full of people."
In previous attacks, a Lahore police college was attacked on 30 March with eight people killed, and weeks before that militants attacked the Sri Lanka cricket team in the city, killing six police guards.
Gunmen reportedly opened fire on guards before detonating a car bomb which flattened the emergency response building at police HQ.
Nearby offices of the ISI intelligence service were also damaged.
The interior ministry chief linked the attack to Taliban insurgents whom troops are battling in the Swat valley.
"Enemies of Pakistan who want to destabilise the country are coming here after their defeat in Swat," Rehman Malik said."There is a war and this is a war for our survival," he added.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack but the authorities have been worried about possible retaliation for their offensive in Swat, the BBC's Barbara Plett reports.
Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna condemned the attack and sent condolences to the bereaved."We hope that Pakistan and India would join hands together to fight this terror," he said in Delhi.
UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband condemned the "atrocity" in Lahore and said Britain was "committed to standing shoulder by shoulder with Pakistan in days of need".
'They started firing'
Up to 30 people were killed when the bomb went off mid-morning local time, reports say.
Twelve policemen and a child are among those killed, Pakistani satellite TV channel Geo News reports.
Sajjad Bhutta, a senior government official in Lahore, told reporters that a car carrying several gunmen had pulled up in a street between the emergency response building and the ISI offices.
"As some people came out from that vehicle and started firing at the ISI office, the guards from inside that building returned fire," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
"As the firing continued, the car suddenly exploded."
Issam Ahmed, a journalist with the Dawn newspaper in Lahore who arrived at the scene about 20 minutes after the blast, told the BBC he could still hear shooting in the area.
A least two arrests were made.
Rescue workers were seen clambering over a pile of concrete which was all that remained of the emergency response headquarters.
They were able to drag out several of the injured. Semi-conscious policemen could be seen being carried out in blood-stained uniforms.
Debris was scattered on the road outside. Officials were seen rushing towards the buildings to cordon off the area.
The blast also destroyed several cars parked or standing on the main Mall Road opposite the police building.
Bulldozers and other heavy lifting equipment were brought in as many people were feared trapped under the debris.
Distraught women could be seen looking for news of missing relatives.
'Surreal scene'
Zubair Bukhari, a BBC News website reader in Lahore, described hearing the explosion: "I was sitting in my office on Lawrence Road [about 500m from the site] when a huge explosion rocked our entire building.
ATTACKS ON LAHORE THIS YEAR
3 March: Gunmen kill six police guards in an ambush on the Sri Lanka cricket team
30 March: Gunmen attack a police academy, killing eight people
27 May: A car bomb attack on police buildings kills at least 23
Hunt for Lahore cricket attackers
Siege at Pakistan police academy
"Glass windows shattered to pieces and the ceiling came down on the floor. I ran outside the building to nearby Jinnah Garden. I could hear gunfire which lasted for about 10 minutes and then I saw ambulance and police rushed to the scene."
Matthias Gattermeier, an Austrian reader also in Lahore, said his office building had been shaken so hard he thought it would collapse.
"We first thought the explosion happened far closer by, but the blast was just so massive," he said."I ran out of the building and saw a surreal huge ring of white smoke rise into [the] air. Within minutes police and military blocked the streets. Disaster units and emergency are going in and out every minute. The streets are full of people."
In previous attacks, a Lahore police college was attacked on 30 March with eight people killed, and weeks before that militants attacked the Sri Lanka cricket team in the city, killing six police guards.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Resveratrol Supplements: The Best Way To Get Resveratrol?
Submitted by Matt Anderson
Do you know why resveratrol supplements are the best way to get resveratrol for anti aging? Be sure to read this article to find out. If you're looking to improve your health and maintain your youth, you most likely have heard of resveratrol. But do you have to drink 1000 bottles of red wine a day? Luckily there's another way.
Resveratrol, a potent antioxidant thought to help prevent age related diseases, assist in increasing energy and quality of life is receiving a lot of attention. Resveratrol is found naturally in a number of plants and food sources. However, it is quickly being shown that the most effective way to get enough resveratrol is through supplement form. Let’s examine why this is.
Sources of Resveratrol
First, let’s take a look at the sources of resveratrol. Resveratrol is most widely known for being a component in red wine. This is because this polyphenol is found in the skins and seeds of grapes. Red wine has a much higher concentration than white because red wine is fermented with the skins of the grapes. You can also get some resveratrol from grapes through drinking its juice or just plain and simply eating the grapes with the skin on.
Resveratrol is also found in some berries that you just may already be eating. Fruits such as blueberries, cranberries and mulberries all contain resveratrol. You will also find resveratrol in peanuts and peanut butter. Before you start consuming red wine, drinking grape juice, eating tons of berries and peanut butter for your lunch every day, you should know that all of these sources contain small and varying amounts of resveratrol.
Dosage of Resveratrol
While red wine has the highest concentration, it carries with it other health risks like alcoholism and liver disease. In order to get enough resveratrol to make a difference you would have to consumer the above mentioned berries as pretty much your only food source and the same with peanut butter. You won't get enough resveratrol this way.
Don’t panic, it is actually pretty easy to get your daily intake of resveratrol, as it now comes as resveratrol supplements with much higher concentrations of resveratrol than any of the food sources. Most resveratrol supplements are composed of Japanese knotweed, the most potent form of resveratrol currently known. Consuming it in supplement form is the most popular way to get resveratrol.
Resveratrol Supplements
There are a variety of knotweed resveratrol supplements on the market as well as red wine supplements. The supplements made from red wine do tend to be a bit more costly, because they are more expensive to make. You will want to make sure you search out for a reputable brand for your resveratrol supplement and find one that is right for you.
As with all supplements you should speak with your doctor to help you determine what the best supplement form is for you. Resveratrol supplements are a way to get a potent form of resveratrol that is effective, and convenient in capsule form. Find one that has quality ingredients, good testimonials, is effective, has been tested by labs, has good price and a company guarantee.
So there youy have it.
As you can see, resveratrol supplements are becoming a very popular anti aging supplement. Because of its many benefits both reported and from research studies, it's known everywhere as the top anti aging breakthrough in recnet years. If you're interested in healthy aging and anti aging, then find out more about the top resveratrol supplement products and see the benefits for yourself.
Want to reverse the effects of aging? Then see this review of the latest anti aging treatments and supplements that have been featured on Oprah, 60 Minutes and the New York Times and see what the benefits are of these top anti aging supplements including the resveratrol red wine or red grape pill as it is so called. Want anti aging with the top resveratrol supplements or vitamin pills? Then get your trial offer of trans resveratrol supplements here in this recent review by Matt Anderson.
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