Trial in 26/11 to continue; Kasab's plea a part of evidence

A special court in Mumbai has said that the trial in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case will continue, and terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab's guilty plea will become a part of the evidence.

The verdict was slated to be out on Thursday on the guilty plea of Kasab.

Meanwhile, Kasab's lawyer Abbas Kazmi has said that he wants to be excused from the 26/11 case since Kasab has no confidence in him. The judge asked Kasab to sort out the matter with his lawyer.

Over the past three days, Kasab has confessed to his involvement in the 26/11 attacks and has stuck to his stand that his statement was given voluntarily and "under no pressure''.

On Wednesday, he went so far as to say that he is ready to be hanged.

Several legal experts has said that if the judge accepted Kasab's guilty plea, it could be the end of what could otherwise have been a lengthy trial.

However, some other experts said there were two other co-accused - Fahim Ansari and Sahabuddin Ahmed - in the same trial and their cases would also have to be considered by the judge when he takes any decision on Kasab's statement.

But the prosecution said it could not entirely accept or reject Kasab's guilty plea.

The prosecution's argument was that there were several contradictions in Kasab's earlier confession and his present statement.

The defence, however, argued that the prosecution had to accept or reject Kasab's statement in its entirety.

Anti-drugs agents raid clinic of Jackson's doctor

Federal drug agents searched the Houston clinic of Michael Jackson's doctor on Wednesday, even as investigators in California

Murray was Michael Jackson's personal physician, and was with Jackson when he died. Murray, who is based in Las Vegas and is licensed in California, Nevada and Texas, has been interviewed by police but he has not been considered a suspect in the singer's death. Meanwhile, investigators in California are also seeking more information from Murray, according to his attorney, Edward Chernoff.

The attorney posted a statement on his law firm's website late on Tuesday saying investigators from the Los Angeles County coroner's office have asked for medical records in addition to those already provided by Murray.
"The coroner wants to clear up the cause of death; we share that goal", Chernoff said in his statement.
"Based on Dr Murray's minute-by-minute and item-by-item description of Michael Jackson's last days, he should not be a target of criminal charges."

Murray has emerged as a central figure in the investigation into Jackson's death.
The doctor, who had been recently hired by Jackson, was with him in his mansion and tried to revive him.Although Chernoff has said the doctor didn't give the pop star any drugs that contributed to his death, Murray has nonetheless received attention from those angry over the singer's death.

Investigators found the powerful anesthetic propofol in Jackson's home, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation. The person is not authorised to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
The officials are working with the Drug Enforcement Administration and California attorney general's office to determine how the medications got there.

Police detectives have already spoken to Murray twice - once immediately after the singer's death and again two days later. Police investigators say Murray is cooperating in their investigation sought more information from the man.

Shanghai group leaders open talks

Chinese President Hu Jintao and leaders from Central Asia have joined Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for a summit on economic and security issues.

Opening the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation's ninth summit in Yekaterinburg, Mr Medvedev said the group had made good progress.
Some of the leaders will also attend a summit of the four emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The global economic crisis is expected to dominate both meetings.
But regional political issues are also expected to be on the agenda, with leaders of a number of neighbours attending the summit as observers.
The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) brings together Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
India, Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia later joined as observer members.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari were expected to hold their first meeting since last November's attacks on Mumbai, which India has blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
Also, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was no longer expected to attend after unrest in his country over his disputed re-election.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8099918.stm

Italy to take Guantanamo inmates

Italy has agreed to take three detainees from the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, US President Barack Obama has said.
He announced the agreement after talks on Monday with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at the White House.
The US seeks to transfer detainees to other countries or US communities after Mr Obama's pledge to close the camp.
The European Union earlier endorsed a deal with Washington to transfer some inmates to Europe.
"I... thanked the prime minister for his support of our policy of closing Guantanamo," Mr Obama said after meeting Mr Berlusconi.
"This is not just talk. Italy has agreed to accept three specific detainees."
The identities of the prisoners have not been not disclosed.
Guantanamo Bay officials have been attempting to fulfil President Obama's order to close the detention facility by early next year.
Last week, the US relocated nine detainees from the camp, transferring three to Saudi Arabia, four to Bermuda, one to Iraq and another to Chad.
Correspondents say officials are having difficulty finding governments willing to accept the remaining detainees, while at home they face stiff resistance to the idea of Guantanamo detainees being transferred to US soil.
Some 220 detainees are still being held at the US camp in Cuba, many without charge.

Arnold Schwarzenegger as next Austrian president?

Hollywood's action legend Arnold Schwarzenegger could become the President of his home country Austria after his term as the Governor of California ends next year, a British newspaper has claimed.

Even Schwarzenegger has told his home country: "I'll be back... as President."

As he is prevented from running for American President because he wasn't born in the US, senior Austrian politicians have asked him to stand in the 2010 presidential elections if incumbent Heinz Fischer stands down,the Daily Star reported. Nikolaus Berlakovich of Austrian People's Party (VP) confirmed: "Yes, we are backing a Schwarzenegger candidacy. He is an excellent and extremely successful politician."

Officials have been tripping over themselves to voice their support for the 61-year-old, who has both American and Austrian citizenship.

"I raise my hat to Schwarzenegger. It is unbelievable what the man has made of himself," Franz Voves, the Governor of his home province in central Austria, was quoted by the British newspaper as saying.

And locals in Thal village, where Arnie grew up, are so keen to show their support they are demanding his old house be turned into a museum.

Some US political pundits say Schwarzenegger might stand for the US Senate -- but a pal said: "Being one of many has never appealed to him. Arnold liked to be at the top of the tree."

Iran votes between Ahmadinejad and moderates

TEHRAN:

Iranians began voting on Friday in a closely-fought election which pits hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against a former prime minister who sharply criticizes his economic record and wants detente with the West.
Four candidates are standing in the poll but Ahmadinejad's strongest challenger appears to be the moderate Mirhossein Mousavi, whose supporters have paraded through the capital Tehran in their thousands to demonstrate their backing.
The election outcome could help set the tone for Iran's relations with the West, which is concerned about Tehran's nuclear ambitions. A victory for Mousavi could increase the prospects for Western investment in the country, analysts say.
But for Iranians it is a chance to pass judgment on Ahmadinejad's four years in office, particularly his management of the Islamic Republic's oil exporting economy, which is suffering from high inflation and unemployment.
Voting started at 8 a.m. (11:30 p.m. EDT) and officials expect a high turnout from Iran's 46 million eligible voters. Preliminary results are expected early on Saturday. If no clear winner emerges from Friday's vote, a run-off will be held on June 19 between the two front-runners.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's top authority, urged people to turn out for the election as he cast his ballot.
"Everybody go and everybody vote and act based on their judgment," Khamenei said in comments broadcast live on state television, urging people to do so early in the day.
Khamenei also warned of people who might seek to stir tension at polling stations. "If some wanted to create such tension people should not let them," he said.
State television, showing live footage of people queuing at a Tehran polling station, said a record turnout was expected.

WHO declares first 21st century flu pandemic

The World Health Organization declared an influenza pandemic on Thursday and advised governments to prepare for a long-term battle against an unstoppable new flu virus.

The United Nations agency raised its pandemic flu alert to phase 6 on a six-point scale, indicating the first influenza pandemic since 1968 is under way.People aged 30-50, pregnant women or people suffering from chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes or obesity are at highest risk.

The virus has killed 109 people in Mexico, where it was first detected in April before spreading to the rest of the world, prompting the Mexican government to temporarily shut schools and businesses in an effort to slow its spread.Countries from Australia to Chile to the United States are reporting that the new swine flu virus is "crowding out" seasonal flu, becoming the predominant influenza strain.

There is also a risk the swine flu could mix with its seasonal H1N1 cousin, which has developed resistance to the main antiviral flu drug Tamiflu, made by Roche AG and Gilead Sciences Inc, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told a briefing.The United States has been operating on pandemic status for weeks, with hundreds of thousands of cases and at least 1,000 hospitalizations.

The virus disproportionately makes younger people sick. Some 57 percent of U.S. cases were among people aged 5 to 24, and 41 percent of those hospitalized were in this younger age group.

WHO reiterated its advice to its 193 member countries not to close borders or impose travel restrictions to halt the movement of people, goods and services, a call echoed by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Power of women in Irans Election

"I like to wear colours," declares 26-year-old Golnaz as we sit in a splendid tea room in a 17th century caravanserai. Her elegant orange head scarf falls from the crown of her head and sweeps across her shoulders.

"President Ahmadinejad isn't bothering us about our headscarves during the elections. But if he returns to power, it would be terrible," she moans, her voice rising with emphasis on the last word.

She complains of police raids on gatherings in private homes and hassles over women's dress during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's four years as president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Her main theme this week, like many young Iranians yearning for an atmosphere of greater liberalism, has been green - the colour of the reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Golnaz's tunic is moss green.

Her cousin Sara, a year older, sits next to her wearing a soft shade of lime.

But in Isfahan's magnificent Imam Square, I met a small group of young women, all wearing black, proudly waving their posters of a smiling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "We're voting for him," they shout in unison.

Iran's rich history collides with an unprecedented sense of election fever in this, the country's cultural capital.

Iranians bearing election banners, headbands and flags mingle in the grand square adorned with the brilliant Islamic domes and exquisite blue tiles of some of the most stunning religious architecture in the world.

Iran's presidential election is turning into a tight, exciting race between the 52-year-old conservative incumbent and Mr Mousavi, a 67-year-old former Prime Minister who is also an accomplished painter.

Daring move

Black is not the official colour of Mr Ahmedinejad's campaign, but in Iran, women's clothes make a statement.

A long black chador, which means "tent", is the garment preferred by conservative women in a country where women's head scarves and modest clothing are mandatory.

President Ahmadinejad often speaks of women as the heart of this society. He talks of empowering them and makes much of his plan to provide insurance for housewives and share Iran's oil wealth with poorer families.

But Mr Mousavi has - for Iran - an unusual political asset; his wife, Zhara Rahnavard.

She is Iran's first top-ranking female university professor and like her husband is a respected painter. Their most daring move as a couple has caused a stir - they hold hands as they campaign together.

In a BBC interview in Tehran, she described politics as art, and her choice of veil - a black chador with a flowery scarf peaking from beneath it - as a "beautiful composition."

Politicians' wives haven't campaigned like this since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. But this is 2009 and women's issues are on the agenda as they've never been before.

"Equality between men and women," is Ms Rahnavard's firm answer when I ask what women's activists are fighting for.

An umbrella organisation of women's organisations is not supporting any candidate. But it is lobbying for change including amendments to the constitution that would affect women, including rights within the family.

For women backing Mr Mousavi, or the other reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi, they know equality has limits. It is an issue of rights: the right to study what they choose; to have a say if their husband wants to take a second wife; to do jobs they are qualified for.

"I'm a graduate from one of our country's best universities," Sara tells me in Isfahan in a quiet voice tinged with palpable frustration. "But I still can't do everything I want. I can't say everything I want."

Many young Iranians attend University and 65% of them are women.

Trained as an architect, Sara has found she is allowed to design buildings, but supervising her projects on site can be difficult, and sometimes its forbidden.

Lowering expectations

All four candidates are making promises to women. It makes political sense. Women make up about half the electorate.

They were a key part of a groundswell that brought the reformist President Mohammad Khatami to power in 1997 and saw him re-elected in 2001.

But he found much of his programme thwarted by conservatives who still held many levers of power in a system where the spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is in charge.

"Our expectations should not be too high," admits Golnaz."Not too much can change."

Ms Rahnavard says head scarves are not on her agenda. "In Islam, women have always worn the veil; it tells them women must cover themselves," she explains, in an interpretation of the Muslim holy book not all Muslims would agree with.

For many years, the dress code was not a priority for Iranian women as they battled on other fronts. But 70% of Iran's population is less than 30 years old.

Young women, particularly in parts of Tehran, are defiantly pushing against the limits with shorter, tighter overcoats and looser head gear.

Shahla Lahiji, Iran's first woman publisher, has been fighting for women's rights for 50 years, even longer than the Islamic Republic.

Asked whether politicians would forget their promises once the campaign ends, she insists: "It's up to us."

And she eyes the generation that follows her. "It's not just that girls are changing, boys are changing too."

Brazil to make $10bn loan to IMF

Brazil says it is to offer $10bn in financing to the IMF to help improve the availability of credit in developing countries.
It is the first time that South America's biggest economy has ever made a loan of this kind. Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega said it was part of a united approach by Brazil, Russia, India and China to help boost global financial stability.
He said China had plans to invest $50bn and Russia $10bn.
Developing strength
The Brazilian government currently has around $200bn in international reserves and it is to use money from there to invest in IMF bonds, in order to help make credit available in other developing nations.
Mr Mantega said the move was part of a joint approach by the so-called Bric countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The term has been used to group these four nations together, because of their developing economic strength.
There are signs that the four countries are now starting to consider the wider potential of acting in unison, with Brazil in particular encouraging this strategy.
The Bric countries will hold their first major summit in Russia next week, and an ambitious agenda will include discussion of the need to revamp the international financial system.

European Union

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993, upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community. With a population of almost 500 million, the EU generates an estimated 30% share (US$18.4 trillion in 2008) of the nominal gross world product.

The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all member states, ensuring the freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital. It maintains common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development. A common currency, the euro, has been adopted by sixteen member states constituting the Eurozone. The EU has developed a limited role in foreign policy, having representation at the WTO, G8 summits, and at the UN.

Important institutions and bodies of the EU are the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the European Court of Justice and the European Central Bank. The European Parliament is elected every five years by member states' citizens, to whom the citizenship of the European Union is guaranteed.

The EU traces its origins to the European Coal and Steel Community formed among six countries in 1951 and the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Since then the union has grown in size through the accession of new countries, and new policy areas have been added to the remit of the EU's institutions.

Member Status

The European Union is composed of 27 independent sovereign states which are known as member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

There are three official candidate countries, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Turkey. To join the EU, a country must meet the Copenhagen criteria, defined at the 1993 Copenhagen European Council. These require a stable democracy which respects human rights and the rule of law; a functioning market economy capable of competition within the EU; and the acceptance of the obligations of membership, including EU law. Evaluation of a country's fulfilment of the criteria is the responsibility of the European Council. The current framework does not specify how a country could exit the Union (although Greenland, a Territory of Denmark, withdrew in 1985), but the proposed Treaty of Lisbon contains a formal procedure for withdrawing.

Four Western European countries that have chosen not to join the EU have partly committed to the EU's economy and regulations: Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway are a part of the single market through the European Economic Area, and Switzerland has similar ties through bilateral treaties. The relationships of the European microstates: Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican include the use of the euro and other areas of co-operation

Rezaei, Karroubi policy factbox

With only two days left to Iran's presidential election, the candidates continue to elaborate on their domestic and foreign policies.

The following are some of the issues addressed by candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mohsen Rezaei:

Economy

Karroubi has vowed to offer shares in Iran's state oil and gas industry to the public. He says each Iranian individual above 18 years of age will receive 700,000 rials ($70) a month in cash from the country's oil revenues.

Rezaei believes it would be more practical to establish a national development fund using Iran's oil revenues rather than directly distributing the money among people.

Both Karroubi and Rezaei plan to re-establish the Budget Planning and Management Organization, which they believe is the center of Iran's economic policies. 

Rezaei says he would create nine federal economic zones to revive the economy.

Domestic and Foreign Policy

On domestic policy, Karroubi has stressed the importance of respecting the civil rights of Iranians and has vowed greater freedom for women.

Rezaei says if elected, he would also establish a supervision mechanism through a shadow government, which would be comprised of a board of elites in various fields tasked with monitoring the activities of the government and providing consultations on the country's crucial issues.

Rezaei has also floated the idea of forming a coalition government, which excludes partisanship and favors politicians from many political inclinations. 

On foreign policy, both candidates have been open to resuming relations with the United States, but have demanded 'fundamental' changes in US policy toward Iran.

Nuclear Energy

Both candidates have hinted that Iran will continue its nuclear program for peaceful purposes while calling for open negotiations with the West over the issue. 

Rezaei says Iran's nuclear issue could be resolved through the formation of an international consortium led by Iran. Every member of the proposed consortium would have its own rights and the governing board could be comprised of all its international members.

Mousavi, Ahmadinejad policy factbox

The following are some of the issues addressed by candidates Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir-Hossein Mousavi:

Inflation

Mousavi has vowed to reduce the inflation rate to a single digit figure through monetary policies and by boosting production.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Iran's average inflation rate was 26 percent in 2008, up more than 10 percent from 15 percent in 2004.

Ahmadinejad has blamed 'heavy global inflation' for Iran's current inflation rate, saying Iran now has a 'stable economic situation'.

Economic growth

Mousavi has stressed the need for boosting the private sector in all economic sectors.

Ahmadinejad's government has recently sped up the privatization of state companies under Article 44 of Iran's Constitution. Iran has so far sold a fraction of three state banks - Bank Mellat, Bank Tejarat and Bank Saderat.

Ahmadinejad plans to pursue his economic reform plan, the key element of which was rejected by Iran's parliament in March. His plan aims to remove energy subsidies, compensating it with direct cash payments. 

Mousavi has proposed targeting subsidies gradually, saying an abrupt change could cause an economic shock.

Iran's nuclear program 

Mousavi believes Iran's 'general policy' regarding its nuclear program is the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. However, he has stressed that Tehran is ready for talks on what some countries consider as 'diversions' in the country's nuclear program.

The UN Security Council has imposed three rounds of sanctions against Iran since late 2006. The United States has also imposed unilateral measures and pressured banks and companies from other countries to halt dealings with Iran.

Ahmadinejad has shrugged of the impact of UN and US sanctions against the country, saying Iran has managed to develop its energy sector by investing oil revenues in oil and gas projects. He said in May that Iran had an economic growth of 5-6 percent.

Relations with the United States 

Mousavi believes the beginning of relations with the US is not a 'taboo', considering Washington's 'change of tone' since President Barack Obama took office.

Both Mousavi and Ahmadinejad have called for 'practical change' in the US stance toward Iran.

These could include removing Iran from the US list of terrorism sponsors and unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets seized in the United States after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Ahmadinejad says he will invite his US counterpart Barack Obama to a debate if elected for a second term.

Rise of right wing politics in EU elections

One of the most alarming elements of the recently held elections to the European parliament is the rise of right wing parties across Europe.

In the UK, the British National Party BNP, a far right whites-only party that has so far been a fringe group, has won its first seats in these EU elections. 

BNP's top agenda is to stop immigration. If possible reverse it and send immigrants back home. Their campaign slogan has been British jobs for British workers. 

While most mainstream parties have condemned the party as racist, its success will have dangerous repercussions for immigrants.

A combative Nick Griffin, the leader of BNP is high on the success of their performance in European parliament. They have won two seats there for the first time but have never won a seat in British parliament.

Barely had they started speaking outside parliament, when they were attacked with eggs and chased by a group calling itself anti-fascist forcing them to abandon the press conference.

The BNP has been anti-Jew, anti-black, anti-Muslim and most recently they have campaigned on an anti immigrant plank.

But, will demonstrations like these be enough to stop the rise of right wing anti immigration parties like the BNP? What's made their winning their first seats in EU elections even more alarming is that they have won from areas traditionally considered Labour strongholds.
 
Some see votes for BNP a direct result of the collapse of the ruling Labour party that's been seen as inept at handling recession and unemployment.

"You cant blame Labour for their win but yes many vote BNP as a protest vote against mainstream parties," said Geraldine Smith, Labour MP.

"Its a dreadful moment embarrassing moment in British politics. People would never vote BNP to a serious assembly like this one, that is the hope but today that hope has been tested," said Gary Ginbbons, Political Editor, Channel 4 news.

Most mainstream parties are against the BNP's divisive agenda but with general elections not too far away, even their policies may well be influenced by the anti-immigrant sentiment that seems to be on the rise.

Deadly blast hits southern Iraq

A deadly car bomb has exploded in a crowded market in the southern Iraqi province of Dhiqa.
There are conflicting reports on the number of people killed. Officials told the BBC there were 16 dead but other sources gave a higher figure. Police say the bomb was in a parked car in the town of Bathaa, about 320km (200 miles) south-east of Baghdad. In the past the area has been the scene of fierce fighting between rival Shia militia factions. Hospital officials say about 40 people were wounded in the mid-morning attack. A statement posted on the Dhiqa province website said that "no fewer than 30 bodies were collected and around 70 others were wounded," AFP news agency reported. Bathas's mayor, Ali Fahad, said the casualties were being taken to a hospital in Nasiriya, about 30km away. "Children and women are among the dead," he said.
US withdrawal
Overall, attacks have fallen sharply in Iraq.
But a number of recent blasts in the south have raised fears that sustained violence could return to the area.
The BBC's Nicholas Witchell, in Baghdad, says that because Bathaa is in a Shia area, Sunni insurgent groups linked to al-Qaeda will inevitably be suspected of being behind the blast.
The US plans to withdraw its troops from Iraqi cities and major towns by 30 June, and is due to end combat operations across Iraq by September 2010, leaving Iraqi security forces to cope alone.
There are concerns that insurgents may try to take advantage of the withdrawal, says our correspondent.

In Lebanese Vote, Hopeful Signs for U.S.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — There were many domestic reasons voters handed an American-backed coalition a victory in Lebanese parliamentary elections on Sunday — but political analysts also attribute it in part to President Obama’s campaign of outreach to the Arab and Muslim world.

Most analysts had predicted that the Hezbollah-led coalition, already a crucial power broker in the Lebanese government because of its support from Shiites who make up a large part of Lebanon’s population, would win handily. In the end, though, the American-aligned coalition won 71 seats, while the Syria-Iranian aligned opposition, which includes Hezbollah, took only 57.
It is hard to draw firm conclusions from one election. But for the first time in a long time, being aligned with the United States did not lead to defeat in the Middle East. And since Lebanon has always been a critical testing ground, that could mark a possibly significant shift in regional dynamics with another major election, in Iran, on Friday.

Sources....http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/world/middleeast/09lebanon.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

U.S. envoy begins new Middle East peace push

U.S. President Barack Obama's special Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, began a new push to facilitate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks on Tuesday by opening a series of talks with leaders in the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is at odds with Obama over the president's demand to halt Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and has not endorsed the creation of a Palestinian state, a cornerstone of U.S. Middle East policy.
Obama spoke to Netanyahu by phone on Monday and the White House said the president "reiterated the principal elements of his Cairo speech, including his commitment to Israel's security."
In his address to the Muslim world in Cairo last week, Obama also called on Israel to freeze settlements.
Netanyahu is to make a major policy speech on Sunday in which a senior official said the Israeli leader would "articulate his vision on how to move forward in the peace process with the Palestinians and with the larger Arab world."
A statement issued by the Netanyahu's office said "President Obama said he was waiting to hear the speech with interest."
Mitchell opened his meetings in Tel Aviv with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and was later to travel to Jerusalem to meet Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and President Shimon Peres.

further info. on: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5560EX20090609

9 Hostage Officers Killed at Peruvian Oil Facility

Nine police officers were killed Saturday as security forces regained control of a petroleum facility from indigenous protesters in a remote jungle region, raising the death toll related to protests by indigenous activists since Friday above 30, Peruvian government officials here said.

Prime Minister Yehude Simon said the officers were killed in the events surrounding a push to retake a pumping station belonging to Petroperú, the national oil company, in the northern Bagua Province, where indigenous protesters had kidnapped 38 police officers. Twenty-two of the abducted officers were freed, but seven were still missing, officials said.

The killings came amid reports by indigenous groups that security forces killed as many as 25 protesters Friday in clashes at a different location in Bagua, where Indians had blocked a highway. Mr. Simon confirmed that at least 9 Indians had been killed and 155 wounded, and that a total of 22 police officers had been killed, intensifying the most acute crisis faced by President Alan García since he took office in 2006.

The bloodshed comes after two months of slow-burning protests, which spread from rain forests in Peru’s north to the country’s south, and have focused on interrupting petroleum production and transportation. In an increasingly well-coordinated movement, the lowland Indians are demanding that Mr. García withdraw decrees that ease the way for companies to carry out major energy and logging projects in the Peruvian Amazon.

After the operation at the Petroperú facility, officials said they were planning to re-establish the supply of oil to remote provinces that had been hit with fuel shortages and blackouts. Still, it was unclear how successful they would be when protesters were still blocking routes on important highways and rivers

Debris 'not from Air France jet'

Debris recovered from the Atlantic by Brazilian search teams is "sea trash" and not from a lost Air France jet, a Brazilian air force official has said.

Brig Ramon Borges Cardoso contradicted earlier reports, saying "no material from the plane has been recovered".
Teams found buoys and a wooden pallet and spotted a fuel slick, and are now searching for an airline seat and a chunk of metal seen earlier this week.
Relatives have been told that there is no hope of survivors being found.
In Paris, Air France Chief Executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon and Chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta briefed passengers' relatives in a hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport where they have been waiting for news.
Mr Gourgeon said the Airbus A330 jet, which was carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, broke apart either in the air or when it hit the sea.

Obama Chides Israel, Arabs in His Overture to Muslims

CAIRO, Egypt -- President Barack Obama waded into the heart of the Middle East conflict Thursday by forcefully reiterating his support for a Palestinian state and admonishing the Arab world to pursue peace with Israel as he made his long-awaited appeal to mend the rift between America and the Muslim world.
In a wide-ranging speech before students at Cairo University that celebrated the common values of the two cultures, Mr. Obama called for a "new beginning" in the relationship.
"I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear," he said to repeated applause in the ornate-domed Great Hall. "But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. "
Most notable in the hourlong address was Mr. Obama's reiteration of his support of a state for Palestine, and his rejection of continued construction by Israel of new settlements on disputed land. The policy puts him in direct conflict with the new government in Israel, led by Benjamin Netanyahu. The president also demanded that Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, recognize Israel and renounce violence.
"Palestinians must abandon violence....At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's," said Mr. Obama.
The speech was short on new policy prescriptions to address entrenched disputes. Translated into several languages, it drew swift reaction and intense interest throughout the region. After the speech, Mr. Obama flew to Europe, where he will visit a concentration camp in Germany on Friday and attend D-Day festivities in France on Saturday.


.for further details look into to : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124409999530984503.html

Tata Motors hopes to sell Nano in United States

Tata Motors hopes to sell Nano in United States


Tata Motors hopes to offer the Nano, dubbed the world's cheapest car, in the United States within two years, its chairman said.
"It will need to meet all emission and crash standards and so we hope in the next two years we will be offering such a vehicle in the U.S," Ratan Tata told a panel at the Cornell Global Forum on Sustainable Global Enterprise late Wednesday. The company plans to offer a European version of the car, which costs about $2,300, in 2011. Tata got the idea to make a car that poor people could afford while thinking about the motorbike and scooter riders who maneuver through the streets of Indian cities with their children on board. The four-seater car gets up to 65 miles per gallon (28 km per liter). Cheap labor helps to keep the price down.

North Korea tries US journalists

North Korea is thought to have put two US journalists on trial, on charges of committing "hostile acts".
Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, were arrested on 17 March after allegedly crossing into North Korea from China.
The US has dismissed the charges as "baseless" and said the two women should be released immediately.
The trial comes amid growing tensions in the region following North Korea's recent nuclear and missile tests.
The women were working on a story about refugees fleeing the communist North for California-based internet broadcaster Current TV.
Some reports have suggested that they were arrested while on Chinese soil.
Amnesty International has said it is highly unlikely the two women will face a fair trial because of the judicial system's lack of independence or transparency.
North Korea's KCNA state news agency said the trial would begin at 0600 GMT, but there has been no confirmation as to whether proceedings have now started.

Ex-Prosecutor Wins G.O.P. Primary in New Jersey

Christopher J. Christie, a former prosecutor who sent a parade of corrupt New Jersey politicians to prison, handily won the Republican nomination for governor on Tuesday, earning the right to try to dislodge the state’s embattled Democratic incumbent, Jon S. Corzine.

His romp past Steven M. Lonegan, a feisty former mayor, sets the stage for what could be a fierce and expensive confrontation with the wealthy Mr. Corzine, who came to office vowing to rescue the state from financial crisis but has watched his popularity sink to record lows as the recession made matters worse.
“I think he’s a good man, and I think he’s well-intentioned,” Mr. Christie said of Mr. Corzine. “But he is simply wrong for this job.”
The fall campaign, one of only two for governor this year (the other is in Virginia), promises to be treated to varying degrees as a referendum on President Obama’s momentous first year or on Republicans’ continued viability — in New Jersey, if not nationally. The last Republican to win statewide was Christie Whitman in 1997.

For further deatils look into :http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/nyregion/03elect.html

Brazil planes spot possible debris from missing jet

Brazilian military planes spotted debris in the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday that could be wreckage of a missing Air France flight carrying 228 people that apparently crashed in a storm the previous day.Air force pilots saw metallic objects, plane seats, an orange buoy and jet fuel stains in the water about 650 km north of the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha off Brazil's northeastern coast.Brazil's navy said a Dutch commercial ship was nearby and would arrive in the area shortly. Brazilian navy ships, one carrying a helicopter, were not expected to arrive in the area until Wednesday.The chances of finding survivors appeared close to nil and authorities were treating the passenger list as a death toll."The plan now is to focus our efforts to collect the debris and try to identify if they belong or not to the Air France plane," Brazilian Air Force Colonel Jorge Amaral told reporters in Brasilia, the capital.Three Brazilian air force Hercules planes took off from the islands of Fernando de Noronha, which sit about 370 km off the coast of South America, early on Tuesday to look for traces of the Airbus A330.The area is near where the last contact was made with the flight that took off for Paris from Rio de Janeiro on Sunday night and went missing in storms about four hours later without sending any distress signal.Brazil's air force last had contact with the plane at 0133 GMT on Monday when it was 565 km from Brazil's coast. The last automated signals were received at 0214 GMT.If no survivors are found, it would be the worst disaster in Air France's 75-year history and the deadliest since one of the company's supersonic Concorde planes crashed in 2000.Air France flight 447 sent an automatic message reporting electrical faults before it went missing. But aviation experts said they did not have enough information to understand how a modern plane with an excellent safety record and operated by three experienced pilots could have crashed.

Pakistan releases 'top militant'

A Pakistani court has ordered the release of the leader of an Islamic charity suspected of being a front for a group accused of the Mumbai attacks.

The court ruled the continued house arrest of Jamaat-ud-Dawa founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed was unconstitutional.

The charity is accused of being a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group India says was behind the attacks. Jamaat-ud-Dawa denies any links with militants.

India has expressed its disappointment, calling the release "regrettable".

More than 170 people died in the Mumbai (Bombay) attacks last November, including nine gunmen.

Mr Saeed, who denies the charges against him, was placed under house arrest in December after the UN added him to a list of people and groups linked to al-Qaeda or the Taliban.

N 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.
Little known
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.

GM enters bankruptcy protection

Car giant General Motors (GM) has filed for bankruptcy protection, marking the biggest failure of an industrial company in US history.
The widely expected move comes after GM had seen its losses widen following a steep fall in sales in recent years.
The move into bankruptcy protection has been backed by the US government, which is now expected to take a 60% stake in the company.
The White House is also going to put another $30bn (£18.5bn) into GM.
President Barack Obama described the move as "tough" but said it was "also fair" and added it would "give this iconic American company a chance to rise again".
He said that the US government, which will own 60% of the carmaker, would be a "reluctant shareholder" and that he had no interest in running it. As part of the plan, President Obama said that the share of GM cars sold in the US that had been made in the US would rise for the first time in 30 years.

Red-eyed relatives await news of missing Air France jet

Red-eyed with tears, relatives of passengers on an Air France jet which vanished over the Atlantic gathered in Paris's main airport to await news of their loved ones.

Many in a state of shock, they were ushered into a cordoned-off area of the main terminal, expecting the worse after officials said flight AF447 appeared to have had an electrical failure during a lightning storm.

Many who had intended to greet the passengers off the flight from Rio at Charles de Gaulle airport in mid-morning were instead informed that the plane had vanished off the radar screen several hours earlier.

The arrivals boards in the terminal building said AF447 had been "delayed" while messages on the public address system in French, Portuguese and English told anyone waiting for the flight to head to the arrivals desk in Terminal 2E.

Uniformed teams from Air France and the airport manning the desk refused to say how they had broken news to the relatives.

On his arrival at the airport, Transport Secretary Dominique Bussereau said he would not be sucked into "false speculation", urging caution until the facts about the incident became clear.

"Let's just take our time," he said before going to meet some of the families. Air France said that it appeared that it was most likely that the plane had been hit by lightning.