Afghanistan rebuild army

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during the international conference on Afghanistan on Tuesday in Kabul. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki is at left in the second row and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is at right.

U.S. says,Oil leak OK But BP must monitor for leaks for 24 hours

The cap was used to bottle up the oil last week, engineers have been watching underwater cameras and monitoring pressure and seismic readings to see whether the well would hold or spring a new leak.Oil and gas started leaking late Sunday, but "we do not believe it is consequential at this time," said retired Coast Guard Adm.At an afternoon briefing in Washington, Allen said BP could keep the cap closed at least another 24 hours so long as the company remains alert for leaks.

Obama Blasts GOP For Holding Unemployed

President Obama urged Republican senators to set aside partisanship and vote for a package that would provide relief to 2.5-million out-of-work Americans.

Scientists battle, people die

BP Says Oil Has Stopped Leaking

BP has started testing the new cap on the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico. Also, in Washington, the EPA is discussing the use of chemicals to break up the spilling oil.In latest update, BP said the well cap continues to hold more than 15 hours after being sealed. But the ruptured well isn't dead yet, prompting a cautious tone from President Barack Obama in his remarks on the spill.

Shahram Amiri's return to Iran

An Iranian scientist who defected to the U.S. returned home amid an escalating propaganda war between Tehran and Washington but without $5 million that a U.S. official says he had been paid for "significant" information about his country's nuclear programs.

Apple to address iPhone

Since its release June 24, Apple's iPhone 4 has been dogged by reports of reception problems, yet demand for the smartphone has outstripped Apple's ability to keep it in stores.The Cupertino, Calif., company has called a news conference at its headquarters to discuss the issue Friday. Apple doesn't plan to recall the phone, a person familiar with the matter said.

Oil Spill Capped for a Second Day

The Gulf of Mexico remained capped for a second day Friday, providing some hope of a long-term solution to the environmental disaster.Kent Wells, a senior vice president for BP, had said that the longer the test continued the better, because it would indicate that the pressure inside the well was holding.The oil stopped flowing around 2:25 p.m. Thursday when the last of several valves was closed on a cap at the top of the well, Mr. Wells said.

Obama visit 'helps put Holland on map'

CProfit Rises 76% on cut in Bad-Loan Reserve-JPMorgan

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second- biggest U.S. bank by assets, said profit rose 76 percent, more than analysts estimated, as a reduction in provisions for soured mortgages and credit-card loans buoyed results.

Lockerbie bomber release

Thursday BP confirmed that it had lobbied the British government over a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya in late 2007. Before the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi.BP signed a $900 million exploration agreement with Libya in May 2007, the same month that Britain and Libya inked a memorandum of understanding that paved the way for al-Megrahi's release from a Scottish prison.BP insisted Thursday that it was not involved in the decision to free the bomber. Al-Megrahi's release outraged many relatives of the victims and led to calls in the U.S. for a boycott of Scottish goods.

Developments in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill

BP starts a crucial test on its ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico that it hopes will lead to halting the flow of crude that has polluted the sea and shoreline since April.

Iranian Nuclear Scientist Leaves U.S. for Home

America- Speaks to BP

BP Delaying Test of New Well Cap in Gulf of Mexico - Shares Down

Storm could upset oil clean up

DC to explain Rolling Stone

source by- you tube

Coast Guard Says BP Oil Pipe Cut Successful

Coast Guard National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen reports that BP has successfully cut the oil pipe.


source by-you tube

Fire Kills Over 100 at Dhaka, Bagladesh

A devastating fire raced through several apartment complexes in the capital, Dhaka, on Thursday night, killing more than 100 people and injuring dozens, officials and local media reported. A fire official, Nazrul Islam, said the blaze started when an electric transformer exploded, igniting a three-story apartment building in the Najirabazar area of old Dhaka. He said “many bodies” had been recovered. The television station ATN Bangla reported Friday that at least 104 people had died, and that more than 100 people were injured.


source by-nytimes.com, you tube

Obama meet to discuss immigration enforcement

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) said Thursday that President Obama assured her that he would send White House staff members to her state to talk with officials about efforts to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. The governor said her meeting with Obama in the Oval Office was cordial, despite their disagreement over the widely criticized state law she signed in April, which gave police greater powers to enforce federal immigration laws. The White House said in a statement that the meeting went well but that Obama reiterated his concerns about the law, including that a patchwork of state immigration regulations would complicate the federal government's role in setting and enforcing immigration policy.White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that, in particular, the president hoped Brewer would help persuade Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to support broad immigration legislation, as he did several times earlier this decade. "I doubt we are going to get comprehensive immigration reform if we don't have John McCain doing what he did during those years," Gibbs said. But as she was leaving the White House, Brewer said that she thinks the border must "be secured" first.


source by-washingtonpost.com

Weighs Easing Gaza Blockade

Israel's leadership is considering changing its Gaza policy amid mounting international pressure, as it emerged Thursday that an American citizen was among the dead and another was injured in a deadly raid on an aid mission this week.The review comes as condemnations grow on the blockade—including a new push for a change in Gaza policy by the U.S.—after nine activists died in the confrontation Monday. The policy may be changed in an effort to allow aid to reach the territory's citizens more easily, according to Israeli officials."The relations between Israel and Turkey will never be the same again," President Abdullah Gul said. "Protecting the welfare of American citizens is a fundamental responsibility of our government and one that we take very seriously,'' she told reporters. "We are in constant contact with the Israeli government attempting to obtain more information about our citizens."State Department officials visited the morgue where Mr. Dogan's body was being held, said spokesman P.J. Crowley, and confirmed that he had been killed by multiple gunshot wounds."We have the option to conduct our own investigation," Mr. Crowley said.Mrs. Clinton said, "As we have stated continuously, we expect the Israeli government to conduct a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation that conforms to international standards and gets to all the facts surrounding this tragic event. We are open to different ways of assuring that it is a credible investigation, including urging appropriate international participation."On Monday, Israeli naval boats intercepted the six-ship flotilla and commandoes boarded the crafts, dozens of miles from Gaza's shores. On one ship, a deadly melee ensued, leaving nine activists dead.Israel's review of its Gaza policy could result in little or no real change to the blockade. But with Israeli officials scrambling to counter growing international outrage over the flotilla incident, its review of Gaza policy represents the first, tentative concessions aimed at defusing the matter."We are currently exploring additional ways to implement these principles," the official said, without giving details. He didn't say whether the easing of a naval blockade of Gaza was specifically being considered.Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to explore "creative solutions" to facilitate the flow of goods into Gaza. But this official said Israel hasn't agreed to lift the blockade.Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman proposed attaching international observers to an internal Israeli probe. He told the Ynet news website that he has proposed setting up a commission of inquiry, headed by a respected former Israeli Supreme Court judge. "If they'll ask to include foreign observers, we'll include them," Mr. Lieberman said.Senior U.S. officials said the Obama administration would "redouble" its efforts to get Israel to ease the blockade. But these officials indicated the White House wasn't going to ask Mr. Netanyahu to formally end the blockade."We don't think it's in Israel's interest to maintain the status quo," said the State Department's Mr. Crowley. But he added: "Given the history and reality, Israel has a very legitimate interest to inspect and control the flow of materials into Gaza."Free Gaza spokeswoman Greta Berlin said the group wants to send a large number of vessels on the next voyage as a deterrent to any aggressive military response from the Israeli army."Our boats are small and we don't want them sunk," she said.

source by-online.wsj.com

How Far Could Gulf Oil Spread?

source by- you tube

Japan finance minister tipped to take PM post

source by- you tube

Oil Spill Could Hit East Coast

Gary Coleman 911 Call

source by-you tube

Roman Catholic death by stabbed in Turkey

A Roman Catholic bishop was stabbed to death in southern Turkey on Thursday.Luigi Padovese, 63, the apostolic vicar in Anatolia, was attacked outside his home in the Mediterranean port of Iskenderun. The killing was not believed to be politically motivated.Dogan news agency video footage of the scene showed the bishop lying dead in front of a building.He was scheduled to leave for Cyprus to meet with the pope, officials and reports said."The initial investigation shows that the incident is not politically motivated," Lekesiz said. "We have learned that the suspect had psychological problems and was receiving treatment."In 2007, a Roman Catholic priest in the western city of Izmir, Adriano Franchini, was stabbed and slightly wounded in the stomach by a 19-year-old man after Sunday Mass. The man was arrested."I have been deeply affected by the death of a colleague with whom I had been working together on projects for the region, Turkey and world peace,"Mustafa Sinanoglu said."These kinds of incidents are damaging our country's image," he added.Turkey's Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay paid tribute to Padovese saying he had "made important contributions to the culture of tolerance through his services in Hatay."The Foreign Ministry said the death of Padovese was an "important loss from a religious and scholarly point of view," adding that the Bishop had written extensively on Turkey
In a 2006 telephone interview with the AP, following another knife attack that injured another priest, Padovese expressed concern over the safety of Catholics priests in Turkey.
"The climate has changed," he said. "It is the Catholic priests that are being targeted."

japan leadership: Candidate profiles

Two candidates from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan are vying to become the country's next prime minister, following the abrupt resignation of Yukio Hatoyama. The BBC profiles the two rivals.Mr Kan became deputy prime minister when Yukio Hatoyama swept to power in September.He was also appointed to head the National Strategy Bureau, a new body charged with wresting control of policy-making from the powerful bureaucracy. In a news conference where he announced his candidacy, he emphasised his ordinary background.
"I grew up in a typical Japanese salaryman's family. I've had no special connections," he said.
"If I can take on a major role starting from such an ordinary background, that would be a very positive thing for Japanese politics."
Mr Tarutoko, 50, is something of an unknown quantity to Japanese voters - and certainly the underdog in this race.An economics graduate from Osaka university, he represents the city's 12th district in parliament.He currently heads the DPJ's environment committee in the lower house.Not much is known about his policies. He has called for a rise in consumption tax to be delayed until after the general election in 2013.

Activists Return to Turkey

Hundreds of activists deported from Israel after a failed attempt to breach the blockade on the Gaza strip have returned to Turkey. The activists received a warm reception on their pre-dawn arrival."Twelve or 13 boats attacked us, along with four or five helicopters," one man said. " They just opened up fire on us. I heard the captain saying on the VHF radio we are unarmed."
Israel says its troops only used their pistols after they were attacked, and released a video showing soldiers in riot gear descending from a helicopter into a crowd of men with sticks and clubs. Three or four activists overpowered each soldier as he landed, beating each one to the deck.Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has held back from major diplomatic sanctions, other than recalling Turkey's ambassador. But Mr. Erdogan is facing increasing pressure to do more.
The Turkish Parliament passed a motion calling for a complete review of all political, economic and military ties with Israel. The country's powerful Islamic media, which traditionally supports the government, has called for severing ties.

source by-voanews.com

Turkish Ship Activists Funeral, Israel Defiant

source by-you tube

Japan's ruling Democrats manoeuvre before picking PM

Japanese ruling Democratic Party lawmakers manoeuvred on Thursday to pick a new leader, and hence premier, after fiscally conservative Finance Minister Naoto Kan threw his hat in the ring to replace unpopular Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who quit a day earlier ahead of an election.The Democrats will vote on Friday to pick a new leader, but the political turmoil could delay efforts to thrash out plans set to be announced this month to cut Japan's bulging public debt and craft a strategy to engineer economic growth in an ageing society. Ozawa, widely seen as pulling the strings behind Hatoyama's government, quit on Wednesday as party secretary-general.
But as the de facto chief of the Democrats' biggest bloc of lawmakers, his backing could prove key. The Democrats, who swept to power last year in a landslide election victory but whose support has since plummeted, are trying to boost the party's fortunes in the upper house election that they need to win to pass bills smoothly.
It was unclear whether a change at the top would improve the Democrats' chances in the upcoming election.Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, who was seen as a potential candidate, told reporters that he would back Kan, who doubles as deputy prime minister, as long as Kan seeks to lessen the influence of Ozawa in a new government.Japan's new leader will face a tough task keeping ties with Washington on track, since Hatoyama's deal with Washington to shift a U.S. airbase to northern Okinawa is staunchly opposed by local residents and will be hard to implement.A new cabinet is expected to be formed on Friday.

source by-reuters.com

He’ll Push for Clean Energy Bill commented by Obama

President Obama said Wednesday that it was time for the United States “to aggressively accelerate” its transition from oil to alternative sources of energy and vowed to push for quick action on climate change legislation despite almost unanimous opposition from Republicans and continued skepticism from some Democrats. Mr. Obama promised to find the lagging votes in the Senate to get the climate change and energy bill passed this year. Last year, the House passed a version of the bill, which tries to address global warming by putting a price on greenhouse gas pollution and provides incentives for alternative clean energy sources. “If we refuse to take into account the full cost of our fossil fuel addiction — if we don’t factor in the environmental costs and national security costs and true economic costs — we will have missed our best chance to seize a clean energy future,” Mr. Obama said. “The votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months.”
“From our efforts to rescue the economy to health insurance reform to financial reform, most have sat on the sidelines and shouted from the bleachers,” the president said. “They said no to tax cuts for small businesses, no to tax credits for college tuition, no to investments in clean energy. They said no to protecting patients from insurance companies and consumers from big banks.”“Out-of-control Washington spending,” Mr. Cantor said, “has created a massive debt, private-sector businesspeople — small and large — are preparing for additional tax increases, and the government keeps on growing.”A day after disclosing that the federal government is conducting criminal and civil investigations of BP and other companies in connection with the spill, Mr. Obama did not directly criticize BP or the oil industry generally. A day after disclosing that the federal government is conducting criminal and civil investigations of BP and other companies in connection with the spill, Mr. Obama did not directly criticize BP or the oil industry generally.

Taleban send message

The scene was set for something dramatic as President Karzai approached the lectern yesterday. Mr Karzai’s opening address, however, he was interrupted by the whistle and thud of an incoming rocket. The Taleban conspicuous by their absence had, nonetheless, managed to get their point across. t least five rockets were fired during the morning, police said, with two suicide bombers killed and a third arrested after they were found hiding in the shell of a house under construction barely 500 metres from the Loya Jirga, or Grand Assembly tent. Undeterred by either the risk to his life he has survived at least three assassination attempts or to the credibility of his conference, Mr Karzai urged his audience not to panic. “Sit down, nothing will happen,” he said. “I have become used to this.” In a direct appeal to his “dear Taleban brothers”, he said: “May God bring you to your homeland. Don’t destroy your homeland, don’t destroy yourself.” Mr Karzai’s message was clearly designed to fit in with the White House’s rhetoric about possible amnesties for senior Taleban but strictly no talks with al-Qaeda. “I can’t forgive al-Qaeda or those who kill students, teachers, scholars there is no room for them in the jirga,” Mr Karzai said. However, he admitted that his Government, and the international troops which secure it, were partly to blame for some people supporting the insurgency. “Those Taleban compelled to flee are welcome to come and join us,” he said. “This attack was the Taleban’s answer,” said the Herat MP Ahmad Behzad. “It shows they are not ready for peace.” The UN special representative to Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, who was among about 200 diplomats invited, predicted a tough road ahead. “Every difficult negotiation starts with an attempt of strength by either side,” he said.

source by-timesonline

End dependence on fossil fuels :Obama

President Barack Obama on Wednesday called on Congress to roll back billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil and pass a clean-energy bill that he says would help the nation end its dependence on fossil fuels."The votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months," Obama told an audience at Carnegie Mellon University. "I will continue to make the case for a clean energy future wherever and whenever I can, and I will work with anyone to get this done. And we will get it done."
Obama said the country's continuing dependence on fossil fuels "will jeopardize our national security, it will smother our planet and will continue to put our economy and our environment at risk.""The time has come, once and for all, for this nation to fully embrace a clean energy future," the president said.Obama said that the Gulf spill "may prove to be a result of human error — or corporations taking dangerous shortcuts that compromised safety" — but that deepwater drilling is inherently risky and the U.S. cannot rely solely on fossil fuels.
Obama also used the speech to lash out at Republicans with partisan rhetoric, saying they have mostly "sat on the sidelines and shouted from the bleachers" as he's tried to restore the economy.
The GOP, Obama said, has fought him on tax cuts for small businesses, tax credits for college tuition, new spending on clean energy and more.The president said that as the election approaches, he expects Republicans to make the same economic argument they have for decades."To be fair, a good deal of the other party's opposition to our agenda has also been rooted in their sincere and fundamental belief about government," Obama said. "It's a belief that government has little or no role to play in helping this nation meet its collective challenges."



source by-google.com, you tube

daily Amar Desh shuts down

The Bangladesh government has cancelled the declaration of Bengali daily Amar Desh, shutting its publication, citing that it has no authorised publisher.Mahmudur Rahman, owner and acting-editor of the anti-government daily, was arrested on a cheating charge.


source by-thehindu.com

Flotilla Activists Return to Turkey

Dhaka building collapse 14 killed, many injured

At least 14 people have died and dozens more are reported trapped in debris after a five-storey building collapsed in Dhaka on Wednesday.Police and witnesses said at least 50 people were hurt.
Police blamed bad construction for the collapse of the building.




source by- bangladeshnews.net

Search for New Japan Leader

The sudden resignation of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Wednesday, the ruling Democratic Party of Japan immediately launched the process of selecting its new leader, in a race against the time to prepare for an uphill battle in a national election next month.Naoto Kan, finance minister, was the first to announce his intention to run for the top job.
"During the short time under Prime Minister Hatoyama, we were unable to fulfill the expectations presented to us from the voters last fall," Mr. Kan told reporters. "I would like to take over the job and make sure it gets done."
"We have had four prime ministers stepping down one after another with less than a year in job," said Hideo Kumano, an economist for Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute. "The government can talk great policies but if they don't even last for a year, Japan's weakened economy will never get a chance for getting rebuilt."Some question whether Mr. Kan is the right man to usher in such changes and whether he can sever the vicious cycle in which the country's prime ministers have changed nearly every year. The Liberal Democratic Party, a long-serving conservative party ousted by the DPJ, named three prime ministers in its last three years in power in its desperate attempt to appeal to voters.
"Hatoyama and Kan could both be just transitional characters," said Norihiko Narita, a political scientist and president of Surugadai University. "In the post-Kan and Hatoyama era, we will see a completely different culture in the DPJ and new ways of conducting politics."These two are popular with voters. An informal online survey conducted by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) daily Wednesday showed 1,442 respondents naming Mr. Maehara as their favorite candidate for next prime minister. Mr. Kan followed with 1,096 votes and Mr. Okada with 878. Mr. Maehara said nothing has been decided on this candidacy and Mr. Okada hasn't made any remarks.Hatoyama is his receptiveness toward a rise in consumption tax. After becoming finance minister, he soon mentioned the need to begin studying a consumption tax hike, which by then was a taboo because of Hatoyama's election pledge not to raise the tax for four years. If he becomes the prime minister, the timing of a consumption tax hike could come earlier.

source by-online.wsj.com

"wants credible flotilla probe" :Obama

US President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he supports an 'independent' probe that would examine the events leading to Israel's Monday raid on the Gaza-bound protest flotilla, Army Radio reported.Obama spoke with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, where he expressed his condolences and was "working in close consultation with Israel to help achieve the release of the passengers, including those deceased and wounded, and the ships themselves."

"The President affirmed the importance of finding better ways to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza without undermining Israel's security," the White House statement said.
Obama also made clear the US support for a credible investigation.

source by-jpost.com

Israel's Deadly Blockade

source by- you tube

freeing aid activists Israel

Israeli government has deported to Jordan more than 100 activists seized from the Gaza aid flotilla, and has promised to release the rest of the detainees within 48 hours.Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said earlier on Tuesday that all of the activists - a total of 682 people from 35 countries – "would be deported immediately".Nine activists were believed to have been killed when Israeli troops, using helicopters and fast dinghies, stormed the Mavi Marmara, the lead vessel of the six-ship convoy dubbed the Freedom Flotilla, on Monday.
The military said it opened fire in self defence when it encountered resistance from activists wielding metal rods and chairs, and released pictures which appeared to show a handful of soldiers being beaten and clubbed by dozens of activists.

source by-english.aljazeera.net

Bangladesh joins Pakistan in blocking Facebook

Bangladesh has blocked the Facebook social networking site because of “objectionable” materials it contained about the Prophet Mohammad and the country’s political leaders, a telecoms regulatory official said on Sunday. Facebook was barred last week by a court in Pakistan, also overwhelmingly Muslim, because of an online competition to draw the Prophet Mohammad.Hundreds of protesters marched through Dhaka on Friday demanding action against Facebook and those accused of defaming the Prophet.The elite security force Rapid Action Battalion on Saturday arrested a man in Dhaka for posting “obnoxious” images of the country’s political leaders, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia.Facebook, popular among Bangladeshis, especially young people, triggered protests by users.
“This was a wrong decision and should be withdrawn immediately,” Mohammad Zafar Iqbal, professor of Computer Science at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, told a television interviewer.

source by- nationalpost.com

Building collapses Dhaka

A four-storey building collapsed late on Tuesday and fell on several tin-roofed shanties in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.At least 15 people were rescued alive with some suffering bruises and cuts, police inspector Abul Kalam told reporters, but more people were trapped under the shanties and in the toppled building.
" Our rescue work has been slowed due to fragile conditions. We are carrying out work carefully so that the building does not cave in completely," Dhaka fire brigade chief Abdur Rashid said.

source by-www.iol.co.za

Resource-rich Africa needs a stronger voice: Sarkozy

source by-you tube

Resource-rich Africa needs a stronger voice: Sarkozy

source by-you tube

President Sarkozy urges revamped trade ties at Africa-France Summit

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday brought a number of new proposals to boost business ties with Africa during the 25th Africa-France Summit in Nice, France.

“Africa is our future … the African continent is asserting itself more and more as a major player in international life," said Sarkozy. "We cannot govern a 21-century world with a 20-century institution.”oday, Sarkozy says it is in France’s interests to change that relationship into one of equal partners.
"I am deeply convinced that it is no longer possible to discuss major world issues without the presence of Africa," Sarkozy said in an opening speech at the summit.

source by-csmonitor.com

Drama off the Gaza Coast

source by-you tube

Israel's convoy raid account

Eyewitness accounts from ships raided by Israeli commandos have cast doubt on Israel's version of events that led to the deaths of at least 10 people. Israel says its soldiers were attacked with "knives, clubs and other weapons" and opened fire in self defence.
The six ships, carrying aid and campaigners, had sailed from Cyprus in a bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
"This was not an act of self-defence," said Mr Paech, a politician, as he arrived back in Berlin wrapped in a blue blanket.
"Personally I saw two and a half wooden batons that were used... There was really nothing else. We never saw any knives.
"This was an attack in international waters on a peaceful mission... This was a clear act of piracy," he added. Hoeger said they had been on the ships "for peaceful purposes".
"We wanted to transport aid to Gaza," she said. "No-one had a weapon." "The captain... told us 'They are firing randomly, they are breaking the windows and entering inside.Diplomatic sources in Ankara have said at least four of those killed were Turkish. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the assault was a "bloody massacre" and must be punished. He said Israel should not test Turkey's patience.

source by-news.bbc.co.uk

Al-Qaeda third-in-command 'killed'

Israelis are upset

Israelis haven't expressed much sympathy for Gaza freedom flotilla activists attacked in an Israeli raid Monday. But they're upset that their government walked into what they say was a trap, and botched the mission.Israel gets an international scolding for the deaths in a botched Israeli raid on the Gaza freedom flotilla that challenged Israel's three-year blockade on the coastal strip, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under a storm of criticism from Israelis themselves."It’s the military failure combined with the international damage. Most people could live with that if it had been done successfully,'' says Tom Segev, a leading Israeli historian. "It's not that people are angry that people in Gaza are hungry. It was an operation that was ill-conceived and didn't go well enough. They hate when things go wrong.''Meanwhile Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, arguably Netanyahu's strongest ally in the Arab world, lifted Egypt's blockade on the Gaza Strip and allowed aid to be delivered through the Rafah crossing.
Israelis said they were disturbed by black-and-white video footage, which the army says shows activists beating commandos with clubs and even casting one soldier over the side of a ship deck.

"It's not the nicest feeling in the world'' to watch the video, says Tomer, a software engineer. "Soldiers were coming down and [activists] were waiting to attack them. It was bizarre that they went one after the other into the situation.''"This is the Palestinian Exodus," wrote Ari Shavit, a centrist political commentator, in Haaretz. "In one threat of folly, the government of Israel succeeded in positioning [Hamas] as the victims and the Israeli Navy as an Navy of Evil."
Israelis haven't expressed much sympathy for Gaza freedom flotilla activists attacked in an Israeli raid Monday. But they're upset that their government walked into what they say was a trap, and botched the mission.Israel gets an international scolding for the deaths in a botched Israeli raid on the Gaza freedom flotilla that challenged Israel's three-year blockade on the coastal strip, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under a storm of criticism from Israelis themselves."It’s the military failure combined with the international damage. Most people could live with that if it had been done successfully,'' says Tom Segev, a leading Israeli historian. "It's not that people are angry that people in Gaza are hungry. It was an operation that was ill-conceived and didn't go well enough. They hate when things go wrong.''Meanwhile Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, arguably Netanyahu's strongest ally in the Arab world, lifted Egypt's blockade on the Gaza Strip and allowed aid to be delivered through the Rafah crossing.
Israelis said they were disturbed by black-and-white video footage, which the army says shows activists beating commandos with clubs and even casting one soldier over the side of a ship deck.

"It's not the nicest feeling in the world'' to watch the video, says Tomer, a software engineer. "Soldiers were coming down and [activists] were waiting to attack them. It was bizarre that they went one after the other into the situation.''"This is the Palestinian Exodus," wrote Ari Shavit, a centrist political commentator, in Haaretz. "In one threat of folly, the government of Israel succeeded in positioning [Hamas] as the victims and the Israeli Navy as an Navy of Evil."
Israelis haven't expressed much sympathy for Gaza freedom flotilla activists attacked in an Israeli raid Monday. But they're upset that their government walked into what they say was a trap, and botched the mission.Israel gets an international scolding for the deaths in a botched Israeli raid on the Gaza freedom flotilla that challenged Israel's three-year blockade on the coastal strip, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under a storm of criticism from Israelis themselves."It’s the military failure combined with the international damage. Most people could live with that if it had been done successfully,'' says Tom Segev, a leading Israeli historian. "It's not that people are angry that people in Gaza are hungry. It was an operation that was ill-conceived and didn't go well enough. They hate when things go wrong.''Meanwhile Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, arguably Netanyahu's strongest ally in the Arab world, lifted Egypt's blockade on the Gaza Strip and allowed aid to be delivered through the Rafah crossing.
Israelis said they were disturbed by black-and-white video footage, which the army says shows activists beating commandos with clubs and even casting one soldier over the side of a ship deck.

"It's not the nicest feeling in the world'' to watch the video, says Tomer, a software engineer. "Soldiers were coming down and [activists] were waiting to attack them. It was bizarre that they went one after the other into the situation.''"This is the Palestinian Exodus," wrote Ari Shavit, a centrist political commentator, in Haaretz. "In one threat of folly, the government of Israel succeeded in positioning [Hamas] as the victims and the Israeli Navy as an Navy of Evil."


source by-csmonitor.com

Guatemala City storm which killed at least 150

The death toll from Tropical Storm Agatha is growing, with 123 reported killed in Guatemala, 14 in Honduras and nine in El Salvador.At least 90 people are missing in Guatemala and another 69 are injured, the nation's emergency agency reported late Monday.The previously reported toll for Guatemala was 92 deaths, 54 people missing and 59 injured.Pacaya is located about 18 miles (30 kilometers) south of Guatemala City.Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared a 15-day state of calamity after the volcano eruption. Damage from Tropical Storm Agatha added to the devastation. At least nine rivers had dramatically higher levels and 13 bridges collapsed, the emergency services agency said.Nearly 3,500 people have been evacuated from their homes and nearly 3,300 are living in shelters, the Honduran emergency agency said Monday. More than 140 homes have been destroyed and another 700 have been damaged, the Permanent Commission for Emergencies reported.It was the first named storm for the Pacific hurricane season. The Atlantic hurricane season started Tuesday.

Guatemala City storm which killed at least 150

The death toll from Tropical Storm Agatha is growing, with 123 reported killed in Guatemala, 14 in Honduras and nine in El Salvador.At least 90 people are missing in Guatemala and another 69 are injured, the nation's emergency agency reported late Monday.The previously reported toll for Guatemala was 92 deaths, 54 people missing and 59 injured.Pacaya is located about 18 miles (30 kilometers) south of Guatemala City.Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared a 15-day state of calamity after the volcano eruption. Damage from Tropical Storm Agatha added to the devastation. At least nine rivers had dramatically higher levels and 13 bridges collapsed, the emergency services agency said.Nearly 3,500 people have been evacuated from their homes and nearly 3,300 are living in shelters, the Honduran emergency agency said Monday. More than 140 homes have been destroyed and another 700 have been damaged, the Permanent Commission for Emergencies reported.It was the first named storm for the Pacific hurricane season. The Atlantic hurricane season started Tuesday.

Obama Coalition Style

Artur Davis wins the Democratic primary here on Tuesday, placing him within one step of becoming the first black governor of Alabama, he will have reached this milestone in the most improbable of ways bypassing the hierarchy of the state’s oldest civil rights organizations.President Obama’s policies are fueling a fierce debate in midterm races across the country, there is a different test under way in Alabama. Can Mr. Obama’s coalition style of victory — winning over white voters before gaining support from black leaders — be replicated in the Deep South?“Some people have said during the course of this race that this is a good idea, but Alabama’s not ready for it,” Mr. Davis said, rallying supporters at his campaign headquarters on Monday afternoon.
Mr. Davis announced his plan to run for governor early last year, the president’s popularity was at its peak. Mr. Obama had won the state’s primary, and even though he suffered a 20-point defeat in the general election, the enthusiasm surrounding the arrival of the first black president added to the notion that voters in Alabama, too, might be ready for change.Mr. Davis said he opposed the health care bill because it was too expensive and he preferred a targeted approach. But his rival, Mr. Sparks, and other critics said that Mr. Davis’s vote was merely an attempt to build his appeal to white voters for the fall election.
Glen Browder, a former Democratic congressman from Alabama who last year wrote “The South’s New Racial Politics,” said a victory by Mr. Davis would “change the dynamics of Alabama politics” and loosen the establishment’s “grip on the black vote.”

“He’s taking a bold and risky gamble with an eye toward the general election, trying to establish himself as a new-style candidate, who is not the black candidate for the Alabama governorship,” Mr. Browder said. “The course he is taking is a roll of the dice.” “There’s no question that many of President Obama’s policies are unpopular in the state, but that’s not going to determine who the next governor is,” Mr. Davis said in his office, where a painting of the president was hanging on the wall. “National issues just simply aren’t relevant to the questions that are going to decide this race.”

source by-nytimes.com

Ahmadinejad calls for strong UNSC resolution over flotilla raid

Iranian president on Tuesday demanded a strong UN Security Council resolution against Israel over its raid on an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the Security Council to adopt a resolution that would "cut off" Israel's hands, thus preventing it from committing more "crimes."At least nine people were killed when Israeli navy commandos raided the Gaza-bound flotilla Monday.
"I ask the Security Council to keep the crimes of the Zionists on its agenda and to cut off their hands from committing crimes with a strong resolution," Ahmadinejad said.He said such a resolution by the Council would secure international confidence in the body and send a message that it doesn't issue "resolutions only against countries the US and its allies want."He said such a resolution by the Council would secure international confidence in the body and send a message that it doesn't issue "resolutions only against countries the US and its allies want."He said such a resolution by the Council would secure international confidence in the body and send a message that it doesn't issue "resolutions only against countries the US and its allies want."
He warned Israel against further raids on Gaza, saying that a "storm of anger from the nations of the region will uproot you." Four other permanent Security Council members — Russia, China, Britain and France — and Germany for a new set of UN sanctions against Iran over its refusal to stop enriching uranium.

Al-Qaeda leader 'killed'

Mr Yazid, also known as Sheikh Said al-Masri, died along with his wife and three children, Islamist websites said, quoting a statement from al-Qaeda.U.S officials say they believe he was killed recently in the tribal areas of Pakistan in an American drone attack.Al-Qaeda's operational commander in Afghanistan, he is believed to have had a hand in everything from finances to operational planning.A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was "strong reason" to believe that Mr Yazid was killed in Pakistan's tribal areas in the past two weeks.Mr Yazid's last public statement was released on 4 May, eulogising the two top al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq - Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayub al-Masri - who were killed in April.

source by-news.bbc

Germany in crisis after surprise

Germany in crisis after surprise resignation of President Horst Köhler.The President read a short televised statement announcing that he was going immediately because he had been so misunderstood over military operations abroad. On a trip last week to meet German troops in Afghanistan he had declared that a country such as Germany, dependent on exports and free trade, must be prepared to use military force.The country, he said, had to act “to protect our interests, for example, free-trade routes, or to prevent regional instability which might certainly have a negative effect on our trade, jobs and earnings”. “Köhler has said something openly that has been obvious from the beginning,” said Klaus Ernst, head of the Left party. “German soldiers are risking life and limb in Afghanistan to defend the [exports] of big economic interests.”

The President tried to correct his statements but it was clear that he had opened a debate about Afghanistan which could embarrass the Government.

“The criticism [of me] has gone so far that people are accusing me of supporting unconstitutional army operations,” Mr Köhler, 67, said. “There is absolutely no basis for such criticism.” Chancellor is under criticism across Europe for her hesitant leadership in the eurozone crisis. “Everything is falling apart,” said the former head of the Greens, Joschka Fischer. However, it is the Afghan war that is having the most troubling effect. The first Cabinet casualty of Ms Merkel’s centre-right coalition was Franz Joseph Jung, who had been slow to apologise for civilian casualties caused by a German-ordered attack in Kunduz province.On his visit President Köhler, a former head of the International Monetary Fund, asked soldiers what they thought would happen next in Afghanistan. The soldiers stared at their boots. Annoyed, the President turned to a US soldier who replied promptly: “I think we can win this one, Sir!” The President approved. “That’s the answer I wanted to hear.”
“It was an honour to serve Germany as President,” he said, and turned abruptly from the cameras.
source by-timesonline.

Gaza aid ship seized by Israeli

U.S. ambassador aboard a Gaza aid ship seized by Israeli commandos is on his way home, his wife said Monday evening.Md., a Washington suburb, was among activists in the flotilla trying to get humanitarian aid to Gaza, Ann Peck said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

She said she received a brief e-mail from Israel's foreign ministry on Monday informing her that her husband was fine and headed home. The e-mail said he would likely arrive Tuesday, didn't have a cell phone with him and would call from a New York airport when he landed, she said, adding that it didn't say which airport.

She seemed to take the situation, including numerous phone calls from news organizations, in stride."He gets himself into these messes, and the phone is going to ring," she joked.Ann Peck said that as of Monday evening she hadn't spoken with U.S. officials, nor was she able to talk to her husband, a former U.S. ambassador to Mauritania."Knowing him I doubt there are regrets," she said. "I think he was really hopeful of it making a difference."

Jean Meadors, wife of Joe Meadors, 63, of Corpus Christi, Texas, a Navy veteran also on board a seized ship, said Monday evening that she believed he was safe, "but I'd like to hear that from him."

She said his exact status, whether under arrest, detention or otherwise, was unclear.

Joe Meadors was serving aboard the U.S. Navy intelligence ship USS Liberty that was attacked by Israeli forces in 1967, killing 34 crew members.

"He hasn't had much luck with the Israelis," Jean Meadows said.

Israeli commandos on Monday rappelled down to the aid flotilla, which was trying to thwart a Gaza blockade.

source by-chron.com

Ship clash leaves Israel

Israel could pay a heavy price including damage to peace efforts with the Palestinians over the killing of 10 international activists on a Turkish ship trying to break a blockade of Gaza. Islamist Hamas's rival for Palestinian loyalties, secular president Mahmoud Abbas, was quick to condemn the naval attack as a "massacre" an ill omen for the U.S.-mediated negotiations with Israel on which he embarked three weeks ago.
Barack Obama will have to balance relations with Turkey and other Muslim allies of the United States against Washington's ties with Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a visit to Canada when the Israeli raid took place, canceled a planned White House meeting with Obama on Tuesday and would leave later on Monday for home, Israeli officials said.
Netanyahu's White House invitation was widely seen in Israel as an attempt by Obama to mend fences and shore up U.S. Jewish support for Democratic candidates in a November mid-term election after a frosty Oval office meeting in March.
Oussama Safa of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies predicted Obama might "ante up the pressure against the Israelis" to accommodate Palestinian demands though the Netanyahu government has said the Gaza blockade will remain.
Turkey, a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, said it would seek a resolution against Israel a poke in the eye for Israel and the United States, which would prefer to see the Council sanction Iran for its nuclear programme.
"I see all the looks that I'm getting," Ben-Eliezer told Israel's Army Radio by telephone.Hamas government head Ismail Haniyeh said of the activists: "You were heroes, whether you reached (Gaza) or not."
"The difference is that this time foreigners are involved, which means a much wider impact," Shai told Israel Radio.
source by-reuters.com

We need raid 'facts' ASAP:Obama

President Barak Obama meeting with the prime minister, presses for IDF flotilla-raid details, expresses "deep regret at loss of life."Obama spoke by telephone with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Monday after the latter cancelled a planned Oval Office meeting scheduled for Tuesday. Their 15-minute conversation, Obama conveyed his understanding for Netanyahu’s decision to return immediately to Israel from Canada and not stop in Washington following the deadly clash between the IDF and activists trying to break the Gaza blockade earlier in the day.


source by jpost.com

Pakistan lifts Facebook ban

Pakistan banned Facebook on 19 May but said it would continue to block individual pages containing "blasphemous" content.online competition that invited people around the world to submit drawings of the prophet Muhammad. Muslims consider all depictions of Muhammad as heretical.Yesterday Bangladesh also banned Facebook, saying it would lift the restriction only when the offending material was removed.
Najibullah Malik, the Pakistani official orchestrating the censorship, said Facebook had removed all "sacrilegious material" from its website and promised that "nothing of this sort will happen in the future". Afternoon a Facebook page entitled "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!" was still online.Facebook critics say some drawings on the Muhammad page are so offensive to Muslims that they constitute hate material. They point out that the site has previously censored sensitive material in Pakistan, including blocking a lawyer who tried to set up a satirical page entitled Taliban Times.Pakistan already bans a wide variety of websites with political or human rights content including those run by Baloch or Sindh nationalists, and videos of Pakistani soldiers beating civilians. Pornography, however, is freely available.

E.C.B. Says, Europe’s Banks at Risk From Slower Growth.

European Central Bank said Monday in a report that catalogued in sometimes alarming detail the problems facing the region’s financial institutions. E.C.B. expressed particular concern about banks’ need to refinance some €800 billion, or $980 billion, in long-term debt by the end of 2012. Borrowing costs could rise as the banks compete with governments in the bond market “making it challenging to roll over a sizeable amount of maturing bonds by the end of 2012,” the report said.
“The financial markets remain fragile and especially the developments in recent weeks have shown the necessity of heightened alertness,” Axel Weber, president of the German Bundesbank and a member of the E.C.B.’s governing council, said Monday in a speech in Mainz, Germany.
“It is possible that the short-term impact will not be as severe as seems to be expected at the moment,” said Mr. Papademos, whose term ended Monday.
European banks will need to set aside an estimated €123 billion in 2010 for bad loans, the report said, in addition to the €238 billion they set aside from 2007 to 2009. However, the sum for 2010 was lower than earlier estimates. Banks also benefited from a rebound in securities markets, the report said.
While profitability of larger banks has improved, their shares are likely to fall in the near future, the E.C.B. report said, citing an analysis of options that investors use to bet on the direction of stock prices.“The continued reliance of some smaller or medium-sized euro area banks on central bank refinancing continues to be a cause for concern,” the report said.

“The tensions in the sovereign bond markets spilled over to other market segments, such as the foreign exchange market and equity markets,” the E.C.B. president, Jean-Claude Trichet, said Monday in a speech in Vienna. “Trading volumes and liquidity became erratic, and volatility spiked.”

“In view of these exceptional circumstances prevailing in the financial markets, we decided that exceptional intervention was necessary,” Mr. Trichet said. He said that the E.C.B. could only do so much to restore stability to the financial system. Euro governments must ultimately craft a system for disciplining countries that violate treaty limits on debt and deficits.

“I call on euro area governments in particular to work actively together to reach agreement on a quantum leap of the effectiveness of their collegial surveillance,” Mr. Trichet said.

source by nytimes.com

Cameroon bus accident

45 people were killed in a bus accident overnight in Cameroon, media reports said Monday.The accident occurred in Etoundou village.There were altogether 60 passengers in the bus.

Gaza aid flotilla

10 people were killed when the six-strong flotilla of boats was intercepted in international waters. At least three Scots are understood to have been on an aid ship which was stormed by Israeli commandos as it sailed towards Gaza.
Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Israel's actions had been "rightly condemned around the world".

The Israeli government has said its forces were shot at and attacked with weapons when they boarded the ship overnight.

Ms Sturgeon called on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza, and expressed her "deep sadness" at the loss of life on the flotilla. "My primary concern is for the safety of the Scots that are on board. The Israeli government must provide immediate reassurance of their current situation and well-being."This use of violence against a humanitarian convoy carrying medicine and other aid is being rightly condemned across the world and demonstrates the increasing need for Israel to lift the blockade."The blockade of Gaza is causing untold suffering to ordinary Palestinians who want to go about their everyday lives in peace and must be brought to an end."

Ms Sturgeon said she had heard reports that at least three Scots were involved.Scots believed to have been on the vessel when it was boarded was journalist and documentary maker Hassan Ghani, 24, a former Stirling University student from Glasgow.

Scottish Palestinian Forum secretary Alison Phillips said: "I know Theresa McDermott personally from my own involvement and met her in the Scottish Parliament only last month.

"This morning's attack on the flotilla took place in international waters and was thus a grave violation of both international maritime and humanitarian law.

"I ask that the Israeli ambassador be summoned to the Foreign Office to explain these actions."

Israel had repeatedly said the boats would not be allowed to reach Gaza.

source by bbc news, you tube

China's and Koreas to avoid clashes

China's Wen urges Koreas to avoid clashes.China's Premier Wen Jiabao said,"urgent" need to avoid clashes and ease tensions following the sinking of a South Korean warship.
Wen, speaking after a summit with the Japanese and South Korean leaders, gave no indication that China is ready to join them in blaming North Korea for the incident.

"The urgent task now is to defuse the impact of the Cheonan incident, change the tense situation and avoid clashes," he told a press conference.

"China will actively communicate with relevant parties and lead the situation to help promote peace and stability in the region, which fits our common and long-term interests best."

South Korea announced reprisals against the North after international investigators reported on May 20 that a North Korean submarine fired a torpedo to sink the Cheonan with the loss of 46 lives.

South Korea's President Lee Myung-Bak, at a joint press conference with Wen.

apanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, said he expects "wise cooperation" by the neighbouring countries in handling the disaster.whose country Friday announced new sanctions on the North over the incident, said the three leaders agreed "that this is a serious issue related to peace and stability in Northeast Asia".

source by google.com/hostednews.

BP's top kill

The most ambitious bid yet to stop the worst oil spill in U.S. history ended in failure. BP was unable to overwhelm the gusher of crude with heavy fluids and junk. President Obama called the setback "as enraging as it is heartbreaking."
The company determined the "top kill" had failed after it spent three days pumping heavy drilling mud into the crippled well 5,000 feet underwater.It's the latest in a series of failures to stop the crude that's fouling marshland and beaches, as estimates of how much oil is leaking grow more dire.
U.S. history — exceeding even the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster — and has dumped between 18 million and 40 million gallons into the Gulf, according to government estimates.
BP PLC Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said,"This scares everybody, the fact that we can't make this well stop flowing, the fact that we haven't succeeded so far,"
President Barack Obama .visited the Gulf Coast to see the damage firsthand. Obama said,"It is as enraging as it is heartbreaking, and we will not relent until this leak is contained, until the waters and shores are cleaned up, and until the people unjustly victimized by this manmade disaster are made whole."
In the latest try, BP engineers pumped more than 1.2 million gallons of heavy drilling mud into the well and also shot in assorted junk, including metal pieces and rubber balls.
The hope was that the mud force-fed into the well would overwhelm the upward flow of oil and natural gas. But Suttles said most of the mud escaped out of the damaged pipe that's leaking the oil, called a riser.

"If they can't get that valve on, things will get much worse," said Philip W. Johnson, an engineering professor at the University of Alabama.

Johnson said he thinks BP can succeed with the valve, but added: "It's a scary proposition."

"They are going to destroy south Louisiana. We are dying a slow death here," said Billy Nungesser, the parish president. "We don't have time to wait while they try solutions. Hurricane season starts on Tuesday."

source by news.yahoo.com

Military Option in Pakistan

The U.S. military is developing plans for a unilateral attack on the Pakistani Taliban in the event of a successful terrorist strike in the United States that can be traced to them, The Washington Post reports.
The military would focus on air and missile strikes but also could use small teams of U.S. Special Operations troops currently along the border with Afghanistan, the Post said.
A senior U.S. official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Pakistan already has been told that it has only weeks to show real progress in a crackdown against the Taliban.
At the same, the Obama administration is working to improve ties with Pakistani intelligence officials to head off attacks by militant groups, the Post reported.

Officials quoted by the Post and the AP requested anonymity because of the sensitivity surrounding U.S. military and intelligence activities in Pakistan.

source by Foxnews.com

Attackers Strike Sect Mosques in Pakistan

Turkey silent on nuclear stockpile

Nuclear treaty conference

The 189 member nations of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty on Friday adopted a detailed plan of small steps down a long road toward nuclear disarmament, including a sharply debated proposal to move toward banning doomsday arms from the Middle East-U.S.The 28-page final declaration was approved by consensus on the last day of the monthlong conference, convened every five years to review and advance the objectives of the 40-year-old NPT.The United States, Russia, Britain, France and China — commit to speed up arms reductions, take other steps to diminish the importance of atomic weapons, and report back on progress by 2014.
"on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction."The final document also calls for convening a conference in 2012.
James Jones said in a statement late Friday that the U.S. has "serious reservations" about the conference and "deplores" the decision to single out Israel in the Mideast section of the document.He said, the 2012 conference United States will ensure that it will only takes place "if and when all countries feel confident that they can attend." Jones said, "Because of (the) gratuitous way that Israel has been singled out, the prospect for a conference in 2012 that involves all key states in the region is now in doubt,"
Iran and Syria had dissented loudly on various points in the final hours, but no objections were raised in the concluding session.After the declaration's approval, Iran's chief delegate Ali Asghar joined with the others in hearty applause beneath the U.N. General Assembly hall's soaring dome.
"All eyes the world over are watching us," the conference president, Libran Cabactulan of the Philippines, said before gaveling the final document into the record.
"All eyes the world over are watching us," the conference president, Libran Cabactulan of the Philippines, said before gaveling the final document into the record.
The decision was "an important step forward towards the realization of the goals and objectives of the treaty," Egypt's Maged Abedelaziz said afterward, speaking for the 118-nation Nonaligned Movement of mainly developing countries."The final document this conference adopted today advances President Obama's vision" of a world without nuclear weapons, U.S. Undersecretary of State Ellen Tauscher told the assembled delegates.
The last NPT conference, in 2005, failed to adopt a consensus declaration, in part because U.S. President George W. Bush had withdrawn U.S. backing for such nonproliferation steps as ratifying the treaty banning all nuclear tests. President Barack Obama's support for an array of arms-control measures improved the cooperative atmosphere at the 2010 conference.But in the final draft the five weapons states committed to "accelerate concrete progress" toward reducing their atomic weaponry, and to report on progress in 2014 in preparation for the 2015 NPT review session.
Cubathe nuclear powers did not accept a firmer timetable, saying it had done "all we could to set a timetable with 2025 as the deadline for the total elimination of nuclear weapons."
It doesn't obligate four nations that are not members of the treaty — India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea, all of which have or are suspected of having nuclear arsenals.
On the Middle East, Arab states and Israel's allies had been at odds over wording in the plan to convene a conference in 2012 to begin a process to turn the region into a zone free of nuclear and other mass-destruction weapons.
Iran demanded that this NPT session insist Israel join the treaty before a 2012 conference. Egypt's Abdelaziz told reporters the Arab position was softer — that Israel's accession to the treaty would come as "part of the process" begun in 2012.

Although the Israelis apparently had acquiesced to U.S. urging that they take part in such a 2012 discussion, they objected to participating under terms in which they were the only nation mentioned in this way, diplomats said.

In the end, the singling out of Israel remained in the text, and Tauscher said that would "seriously jeopardize" U.S. efforts to persuade the Israelis to attend 2012 talks.
Besides Israel's attendance, other important details of a 2012 Mideast conference remain to be worked out, such as whether the talks are meant as the start of formal negotiations on a treaty.
The final document did not single Iran out by name as a member nation that has been found to be in noncompliance with U.N. nuclear safeguards agreements.
Iranians did not block final agreement, Tauscher complained, "We note that Iran has done nothing to enhance the international community's confidence in it by its performance in this review conference."
Iran's Soltanieh said the Americans should "think twice" before making such statements, that "this was not the right reaction to a positive response, positive measure by our delegation joining the consensus.""limited measures" of the final document were "a step forward" toward global disarmament, he said.