The United Nations Security Council has rejected a statement condemning the ongoing violence in Syria that has resulted in hundreds of deaths. Russia and China have blocked the statement proposed by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal.
Syria's ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja'afari told reporters the statement failed because of what he called the wisdom, fairness and objectivity of several Security Council members. Ja'afari's statement coincided with references by the Russian and Chinese representatives to reforms announced by the Syrian government in response to demands by protesters.
"My government has a keen interest in continuing the process of reforms according to the wish of our own people. This process of reforms emanates from domestic national necessities. It is not, and will not be dictated on us from outside," Ja'afari said.
The Russian delegate said reforms are to include measures for reigning in corruption, encouraging free media and developing rural areas. The Chinese representative called for dialogue to address the Syrian violence.
The position of the United States and other Western nations stood in stark contrast. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the Syrian government is engaged in gratuitous violence against its own people.
"The Syrian government must stop the arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of civilians, especially journalists and activists. We call on the Syrian government to allow the media, including foreign journalists, as well as human rights monitors to verify events independently on the ground," Rice said.
U.N. Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe quoted Syrian demonstrators as saying government reform measures have been too little and too late. He noted that "siege-like conditions" make it difficult to confirm information from that country. But Pascoe said sources considered by the U.N. to be reliable indicate artillery fire against unarmed civilians, door-to-door arrests, and the shooting of medical personnel who aid the wounded. The U.N. official said the humanitarian situation also appears to be deteriorating.
"There is growing concern over the overall well-being of the population, including their access to medical care and services, and access to food and water and in some cities," Pascoe said.
Pascoe said as many as 400 people have been killed in the violence sweeping Syria. The Russian, Chinese and Syrian representatives said the dead include government security forces killed by extremists.
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said brutal actions in Syria are not those of a responsible government or a credible member of the international community. She added that words must be backed by actions to ensure real reform in Syria.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Officials say Thai and Cambodian forces have agreed to a cease-fire, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has raged for a week in a disputed border area near two ancient Hindu temples.
Cambodian officials said the cease-fire was negotiated Thursday during a meeting of field commanders after some of the fiercest fighting since the skirmishes began on April 22. They said the sides had agreed to open a single border point to allow displaced villagers to return to their homes, and to meet regularly to avoid future misunderstandings.
Thai officials said earlier that one soldier was killed as fighting intensified and spread overnight, bringing the death toll in seven days of fighting to 15.
The cease-fire, which leaves the border dispute to be settled by a civilian commission, came amid renewed diplomatic moves.
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, in Jakarta Thursday for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations cultural meeting, was expected to discuss the crisis with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa. Natalegawa, as this year's chairman of ASEAN, has been seeking to mediate between the two countries.
The U.S. ambassador to Thailand, Kristie Anne Kenney, met earlier Thursday with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. She called for both countries to return to the negotiating table, and suggested the dispute be handled through ASEAN mechanisms.
Proposed peace talks collapsed Wednesday when Thai Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwon canceled a trip to the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, speaking during a border visit Wednesday, said Thailand wants to hold talks, but that Cambodia must stop attacking before that can happen.
In Phnom Penh, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appealed for a cease-fire, and said he is ready to hold peace talks with Mr. Abhisit at a regional security summit in Jakarta May 4 through May 6.
The poorly demarcated border between the two countries has long been a source of friction, but there is no obvious reason for the latest fighting.
Each side accuses the other of starting it, while analysts suggest that hardline nationalist groups and military elements in the two countries may have political motives.
Thailand is facing contentious national elections later this year, and some analysts say elements within the powerful Thai military may be attempting to exert influence ahead of the polls, which are expected by July.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
At least 228 members of Syria's ruling Baath Party have resigned in protest of President Bashar al-Assad's deadly crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.
A group of more than 200 party members from Deraa province resigned Wednesday, signaling their anger at a bloody ongoing attack by security forces against the flashpoint regional capital.
Earlier, at least 28 party members from the troubled coastal city of Banias resigned, accusing troops and pro-government gunmen of opening fire against "honorable citizens" as well as "homes, mosques and churches."
Resigning from the Baath Party, which has ruled Syria since a 1963 coup, would have been unthinkable even a month ago.
The government's troop deployment continued Wednesday in the Damascus suburb of Douma and in Banias. Soldiers also bolstered their positions in Daraa, which remains without electricity, water or telecommunications.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are under way on several fronts to stop the violence.
Five European Union nations, France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, Wednesday summoned Syrian ambassadors in a coordinated demand that Mr. Assad's government stop the violent crackdown. EU officials also are considering imposing economic sanctions on Syria.
The United Nations Human Rights Council announced it will hold a special session on Syria Friday.
But in a setback for Western efforts to pressure Mr. Assad, U.N. Security Council members failed Wednesday to agree on a statement condemning Syria's violence against protesters. There was resistance from Russia, China and Lebanon.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for an independent inquiry into the violence. On Tuesday, he condemned the use of tanks and live fire that have killed and wounded hundreds.
Syrian opposition figures have urged Mr. Assad to ensure a transition to democracy as demanded by protesters. In a statement Wednesday, activists said the president must lead a transition period or the country will go through a "massive grassroots revolution" that will bring down the government.
President Assad last week ended the country's 48-year-old emergency law - a key demand of protesters - and abolished a state security court. But the government then unleased its brutal military crackdown to crush the demonstrations.
More than 400 people have been killed since pro-democracy protests erupted last month. The Syrian rights organization Sawasiah says at least 500 people have been arrested.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
The rival Palestinian Fatah and Hamas factions have reached a reconciliation deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded by asking Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to choose between peace with Israel, or peace with Hamas.
It was a surprise announcement that came after secret talks in Cairo. The rival Fatah group that runs the West Bank and the militant Islamist Hamas faction that controls Gaza said they have reached an understanding to set up an interim government and hold elections.
Israel responded immediately, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making a statement on Israeli television.
Netanyahu said the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas has to choose between peace with Israel or peace with Hamas, which he said seeks to destroy Israel. The Israeli leader said the very idea of reconciliation shows the weakness of the Palestinian Authority that could lead to a Hamas takeover of the West Bank.
The deal could be signed in the coming days. Recent demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza have been calling for an end to the division between the two factions. Many Palestinians believe a divided leadership is preventing them from facing up to Israel, ending its occupation of the West Bank, and setting up a Palestinian state.
Hussam Khader, a Fatah leader in the West Bank city of Nablus, said, "I believe it will help the Palestinian people and maybe it will be a great step toward our national goals."
However, there is skepticism on whether the deal could bring reconciliation.
Fatah is moderate and has engaged in negotiations with Israel. Hamas' charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.
Khader recalls how previous reconciliation attempts have failed, and sometimes resulted in violence. "The problem is very, very deep and there is a distance between Fatah and Hamas in the political level, in the struggle view."
The deal was brokered by Egypt's interim government, which some Palestinians perceive as being more supportive of their cause than that of recently ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
Hillel Frisch is a senior researcher at the Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies near Tel Aviv. He questions whether Egypt's support will be significant.
"This is no longer Mubarak's Egypt. This is a much weakened Egypt. No one is quite sure where Egypt is going. It's true that Egypt, the new foreign minister, is talking a different tune, a much more assertive pro-Palestinian tune, but backing him is a much weaker state," said Frisch.
Hamas won a majority of seats in Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. The following year, Hamas militants drove Fatah out of the Gaza Strip after a week of violent clashes.
Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
President Barack Obama is making sweeping changes in his national security team. The president Thursday will name a new defense secretary, a CIA director, an ambassador to Afghanistan and a commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
A senior administration official says President Obama will announce four appointments on Thursday.
He is naming Leon Panetta, the current CIA director, to replace Robert Gates, who is retiring after four years as defense secretary. General David Petraeus, who commands NATO forces in Afghanistan, will retire from the military and succeed Panetta as leader of the intelligence agency.
Marine Corps Lieutenant General John Allen, deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command, will take Petraeus' place in charge of the military operations in Afghanistan. And longtime diplomat Ryan Crocker will be the new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, taking over for Karl Eikenberry, whose term is expiring.
All four positions will require confirmation from the U.S. Senate.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the Armed Services Committee, immediately expressed support for the appointments.
If confirmed, the new appointees will all likely deal with the beginning of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. A White House official says the shakeup will not delay the pullout, which is still set to begin in July, as President Obama said earlier this year.
"Afghanistan is a tougher situation. But what I have said is that, starting in July of this year, we are going to begin to phase down our troop levels, and we have agreed with our allies that by 2014, this is going to be an Afghan effort," he said.
The senior official said the administration hopes Panetta can be confirmed and in his new office in the Pentagon by July first, with Petraeus leading the CIA by early September.
The senior official said departing the CIA was a difficult decision for Panetta. He said the former congressman and White House chief of staff is credited with reinvigorating the spy agency and improving morale there.
General Petraeus had led the U.S. and international forces in the Iraq war. He took his current position last year, replacing General Stanley McChrystal, whom Mr. Obama fired for making negative comments about several administration officials.
Crocker is a 37-year veteran of the U.S. foreign service, who has served as ambassador to Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait, Syria and Lebanon. He replaces Karl Eikenberry, who is said to have a contentious relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
The head of the U.S. Central Bank flung the doors of the normally secretive Federal Reserve wide open Wednesday to hold the first of three planned news conferences. Fed chief Ben Bernanke fielded questions on a number of economic issues, including record low interest rates and the nation's high unemployment. Mil Arcega has more.
In his first ever news conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economy is recovering at a moderate pace. He also announced that the Fed's controversial $600-billion bond-buying program would end in June as planned.
"Of course, going forward the committee will regularly review the size and composition of its securities holdings in light of incoming information and is prepared to adjust those holdings as needed to meet the Federal Reserve's mandate," said Bernanke.
The bond purchases were intended to bolster the U.S. economy by lowering loan rates and encouraging banks to lend more money. But critics worried the purchases would feed inflation and lower the value of the dollar. Bernanke downplayed inflation risks but acknowledged that the recent spike in gasoline prices is hurting consumers.
"Our view is that gas prices will not continue to rise at the recent pace and as they stabilize or even come down if the situation stabilizes in the Middle East, that that will provide some relief on the inflation front. But we'll have to watch it carefully," he said.
The Fed also kept a pledge to hold its key interest rates at record lows for an extended period. Higher rates would reduce borrowing and dampen consumer spending, but it would also make companies less inclined to boost prices. Economists say as long as unemployment remains high, the recovery is likely to stay muted. But Bernanke says he's optimistic.
"While the recovery process looks likely to continue to be a relatively moderate one compared to the depth of the recession, I do think that the pace will pick up over time and I am very confident in the long run that the U.S. will return to being the most productive, one of the fastest growing and dynamic economies in the world," said Bernanke.
In the past, policy decisions made by the Federal Reserve's board members were often shrouded in secrecy or announced weeks later. Some analysts see the Fed decision to answer reporter questions directly as a bold move that will allow the nation's top economist to steer discussion on the U.S. economy.
President Barack Obama sought to put to rest a political issue Wednesday that has dogged him since before he was elected to the White House in 2008. Mr. Obama released his original birth certificate from the state of Hawaii in hope of quieting critics and those who doubt he was really born in the United States.
President Barack Obama took the unusual step of making a statement in the White House press briefing room to announce the release of the original birth certificate from Hawaii, where he was born on August 4th, 1961.
The U.S. Constitution requires the president to be, "a natural-born Citizen of the United States." But for more than two years, a small group of Obama critics has tried to raise doubts that he is qualified, claiming he was born in Kenya, the home country of his father.
Mr. Obama said he hoped the release of the official long-form birth certificate would put any questions about his place of birth to rest and would allow the country to focus on more pressing national issues like the economy and reducing the budget deficit. "We are not going to be able to do it if we just make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts. We are not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers," he said.
The president mentioned no one by name, but that last reference was taken by many analysts as a jab at New York real-estate developer Donald Trump, who is considering a run for the Republican Party's presidential nomination next year.
Trump has seized on the so-called 'birther' issue in recent weeks and that has helped him climb to the top of the polls among likely Republican presidential contenders.
Trump was in New Hampshire when the White House released the president's birth certificate and he quickly tried to turn the news to his advantage when he met with reporters. "Today I am very proud of myself because I have accomplished something that nobody else has been able to accomplish. I would want to look at it, but I hope it is true so that we can get on to much more important matters," he said.
In addition to New Hampshire, Trump is planning to visit other states that hold early presidential contests including Nevada and Iowa.
Some Republicans have criticized Trump's focus on the birth certificate issue in recent weeks and it is unclear how the latest revelations from the White House will affect Trump's decision on whether or not to run, which he says he will make by June.
Analysts say it is possible that Republican voters were somewhat interested in Trump because no other compelling potential candidates have emerged in the slow-to-develop Republican presidential field.
Washington-based political analyst Rhodes Cook says unlike previous election cycles, this year's Republican race lacks a clear frontrunner who is a favorite to capture the party's nomination. "You had these people who were positioned as frontrunners, you know, at the beginning of the Republican race and who kind of defined the Republican race. This time you do not have that," he said.
Former Republican Congressman Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma says Republicans are also looking for candidates who can appeal to conservative Tea Party activists who were instrumental in Republican victories in last year's congressional elections. "Nobody is really emerging. Nobody quite knows what the Tea Party effect is going to be on the primaries, what position you have to take in order to be a player. I do not think Donald Trump should be taken seriously, but he does," he said.
Trump got more potentially bad news in a Washington Post story Wednesday that reported he has given more money to Democratic candidates over the years than to Republicans, something that may not sit well with Republican voters in next year's primary and caucus contests.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
The global community of Tibetan exiles has elected a Harvard-educated legal scholar as its next prime minister. One of his first priorities will be to reshape the Tibetan exile governing structures so that they derive their legitimacy less from the Dalai Lama and more from democratically-elected institutions.
Tibetan exile officials made it official Wednesday: 42-year-old Lobsang Sangay will be the community's new leader.
Sangay, a senior fellow at the Harvard Law School, won 55 percent of the votes cast in March by more than 50,000 exiled Tibetans living in dozens of countries. He is still in the United States, but is expected to relocate within months to Dharamsala, the de facto capital of Tibetan exiles in northern India.
India has played host to the Tibetan exile community since 1959, when tens of thousands of Tibetans followed their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, across the Himalayan border to northern India, to escape Chinese military occupation.
In the decades since, the Dalai Lama has played what many Tibetans see as an irreplaceable role as spiritual arbiter, head of state, and celebrity activist. However, in March, the Dalai Lama announced he would relinquish his political role, delegating administrative decisions to elected officials.
Tenzin Tsundue, a Tibetan writer and activist, says the Dalai Lama's decision to leave politics is why the Lobsang Sangay's election is so important.
"He's not just a new prime minister," said Tenzin Tsundue. "This is the new era in Tibetan politics - to step out from the larger, overwhelming image of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, and say that this is the elected representative who is going to lead the Tibetan people."
At 42, Sangay is 34 years younger, and more secular, than the Buddhist monk he will be replacing. He was born in a Tibetan refugee camp in India, but has never set foot in what Chinese maps commonly label as Tibet.
Tsundue says Tibetan voters have taken a chance that Sangay's youth and Western legal training will help him lead the Tibetan administration through a transition.
"From a very passive, Buddhist, self-effacing government to a more articulated, demonstrated government - I think that is what Lobsang Sangay will lead," he said. "A modern leader."
Sangay is scheduled to be inaugurated as prime minister - a post that Tibetans call Kalon Tripa - in August.
Choekyong Wangchuk, a member of the Tibetan parliament and executive director of the Tibetan Parliament and Policy Research Center, says Sangay will be a energetic spokesman and diplomat for Tibetan exiles.
"Unlike [the] previous Kalon Tripa, this Kalon Tripa might be having a little more responsibility in projecting the Tibetan issue at the international level," said Wangchuk.
The Dalai Lama has called for Tibet's autonomy from China, although some Tibetan activists would prefer full independence.
Here in New Delhi, three officers from the activist group, the Tibetan Youth Congress, are on a hunger strike to protest a Chinese crackdown on a Tibetan monastery. They warn that if the situation is not resolved soon, there could be a repeat of mass demonstrations like the ones that occurred in Tibet in 2008.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Forces supporting new Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara have again attacked a militia that helped drive his rival Laurent Gbagbo from power.
Witnesses say the pro-Ouattara Republican Forces attacked fighters of militia leader Ibrahim Coulibaly on Wednesday in Abobo, a neighborhood in the main city of Abidjan. Residents of the area reported hearing gunfire and heavy weapons fire.
A spokesman for Coulibaly, Felix Anoble, expressed surprise at the attack, saying it came as the militia prepared to heed President Ouattara's call to disarm.
Ouattara's and Coulibaly's forces both battled troops loyal to former president Gbagbo, but the two groups were rivals in the past. The sides clashed in Abidjan last week.
Earlier, Ouattara's government said it launched a criminal investigation of Gbagbo, who was taken into custody earlier this month.
A government spokesman, Patrick Achi, said the probe also targets Gbagbo's wife and his associates. He did not say what specific charges they are facing.
Gbagbo lost the November vote to Ouattara, but refused to hand over power, creating a violent political crisis. He and his wife are currently being held in separate locations in northern Ivory Coast.
The United Nations says hundreds of people were killed in clashes following the election, while more than a million were displaced.
Both pro-Gbagbo and Pro-Ouattara forces have been accused of killing and raping civilians during the crisis.
Ouattara has vowed previously to hold accountable all of those who committed crimes during the unrest.
The International Criminal Court at The Hague has said it is also conducting a preliminary investigation into crimes committed by both sides.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
At least 13 people were killed Wednesday in clashes between security forces and protesters in Yemen where anti-government activists rallied against a political transition agreement.
Yemeni medical sources say 10 of the deaths were in the capital, Sana'a. In the country's south, in Aden, two Yemeni soldiers and a protester were killed in a gunfight as security forces tried to break up a demonstration.
Protesters were demanding the immediate removal of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
They also took to the streets in other cities in spite of a deal brokered by neighboring Gulf Arab states that calls for Mr. Saleh to step down from power.
Some protesters say they oppose the initiative because it gives the Yemeni president a month-long window to resign and because it grants Mr. Saleh and his family immunity for prosecution.
However, Yemen's main opposition coalition agreed to the plan, which would have the president hand over power to a deputy and resign within 30 days of signing the agreement. It would establish a unity government that would include opposition members.
Gulf Cooperation Council officials say the agreement may be finalized during a Sunday meeting in Saudi Arabia.
In another development, two Yemeni soldiers were shot dead in the southern province of Abyan Wednesday, in an attack blamed on al-Qaida militants. Officials say at least three other soldiers were wounded when gunmen opened fire on them in the city of Zinjibar.
Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
China's latest census shows that the country's more than one-point-three billion people are rapidly aging and rapidly urbanizing.
Ma Jiantang, the head of China's National Bureau of Statistics, told reporters in Beijing that the number of people in China under 14 years old dropped more than six percentage points in 2010, compared to the last census in 2000. At the same time, he says the number of people aged 60 or older increased nearly three percentage points.
Ma says the change is a reflection of improved living standards and health conditions that have come with China's rapid economic growth.
Ma put China's overall population at 1.34 billion people. He says the population growth rate has nearly halved from the 2000 census, to less than one percent last year.
Ma says the figures demonstrate what he called the continuous and good implementation of China's national family planning policy. He adds that it has been effective in controlling an otherwise excessively and rapidly growing population.
Since 1980, the Chinese government has maintained a strict family planning policy that limits most urban couples to one child. Ma says this policy has given China what he called a "triple low model" of population growth -- low birth rate, low death rate and low net population increase. He saidthis differs from other developing countries, many of which have higher birth rates.
He noted that it took many developed countries as long as 100 years to reach the so-called triple low point, while China did so in just a few decades.
The census results also show that nearly half of China's population live in urban areas, compared with about 36-percent in 2000.
That represents more than 180 million people who have moved from the countryside to the cities in just 10 years. Most have been drawn by the prospect of finding factory jobs as the nation transforms itself from a mainly agrarian society into an industrial powerhouse.
An international aid ship has docked in Libya's rebel-held port of Misrata after NATO airstrikes helped stop a bombardment of the area by pro-government forces.
The International Organization for Migration says relief workers began rescuing refugees from the besieged western port and unloading humanitarian aid after the ship pulled into Misrata on Wednesday.
Intense shelling by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi delayed the ship's docking on Tuesday. At least three migrant workers were reported killed and up to 20 wounded in the assault.
Warplanes of the allied NATO mission continued their targeted strikes on Wednesday. NATO reported the pilot of an F-16 fighter ejected safely on landing at an air base in Italy after a Libya mission. NATO says the incident was routine and the plane was not damaged as a result of a combat.
Libyan state television reported on Wednesday that Libya is considering legal action in international courts against NATO after a strike earlier this week targeted a government compound. Libyan leaders claims NATO was trying to assassinate Gadhafi.
In Tripoli, United Nations investigators interviewed Libyan officials about allegations Gadhafi's forces have committed human rights violations. The three-member commission is seeking access to prisons and hospitals to interview possible victims.
Meanwhile, the French News Agency (AFP) says chiefs or representatives from 61 Libyan tribes have called for an end to Gadhafi's rule as fighting continued around the country.
The agency said on Wednesday that French writer Bernard-Henri Levi released a joint statement from the leaders who say the "Libya of tomorrow, once the dictator has gone" will be united.
Diplomatic efforts to end the crisis also took place in Ethiopia on Tuesday.
Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi urged the African Union (AU) to hold an emergency summit to discuss how to deal with western airstrikes.
Obeidi and rebel representatives have been meeting separately with AU officials in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to discuss an end to the unrest.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Israel's prime minister says he has instructed his security forces to continue to enforce a naval blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, as activists prepare to send another flotilla to the region.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that he is also pursuing diplomatic efforts to prevent the flotilla from setting sail from Turkey as early as May.
Activists are hoping to deliver supplies directly to Palestinians in Gaza, in defiance of an Israeli blockade. Netanyahu has expressed concern that the ships could deliver weapons to militants.
News reports say the flotilla originally was set to leave Turkey in May, but organizers are considering delaying the departure until after Turkish elections in mid-June.
Relations between Israel and Turkey have been strained since Israel stopped another flotilla last year and Israeli commandos clashed with activists on one of the vessels. Nine Turkish activists were killed and seven Israeli commandos were wounded.
On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Israel not to attempt to stop the upcoming supply flotilla.
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, he said Israel should not repeat "the same mistake" it made last May. Davutoglu said no one nation owns the Mediterranean. Turkey said it had received a request from Israel to help stop a flotilla to Gaza, but the government said it could not stop it.
Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Officials say an Afghan military pilot has opened fire on NATO troops in Kabul, killing eight coalition soldiers and an American contractor, in the deadliest such incident since the war began in 2001.
The Afghan Defense Ministry said the veteran pilot shot and killed coalition troops during an argument Wednesday inside an Afghan air force meeting room at the Kabul airport. The pilot was killed in subsequent gunfire.
Defense officials rejected a Taliban claim that the gunman was a militant wearing a military uniform.
NATO did not give the nationalities of those killed, but the Associated Press news agency quoted an unnamed U.S. defense official who said all of the victims were American. Five members of the Afghan security forces also were wounded.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack and ordered an investigation.
Wednesday's incident was the latest in a series of attacks by members of Afghan security forces or someone wearing one of their uniforms.
Earlier this month, an Afghan border guard shot and killed two U.S. soldiers in northern Faryab province. In February, a person wearing an Afghan army uniform killed three German soldiers and wounded six others in Baghlan province.
And last November, an Afghan border policeman killed six U.S. troops during a training mission in eastern Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Afghan officials say troops have recaptured 71 of the 488 inmates who used a 300-meter-long tunnel to escape from a prison in southern Kandahar province on Sunday.
Security has been tightened along Kandahar's border with Pakistan, and officials say biometric data on each prisoner will help identify and capture the remaining inmates, most of them Taliban militants.
But Interpol said Wednesday Afghan authorities have not been trained to take photographs and DNA of prisoners, or to share the information with international law enforcement. The group said a lack of training is "an unacceptable gap in global security."
Afghanistan's Justice Minister Abibullah Ghalab said the jailbreak must have involved inside collaborators, but he added that Afghan and international forces should have detected the plot.
The Taliban claimed responsibility. It said the prison break was five months in the making, with diggers starting the tunnel from under a nearby house.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
The United States and China have begun two days of talks on human rights in Beijing amid differing opinions about China's ongoing crackdown on dissent.
Human rights is one area in which the U.S. and Chinese governments tend to disagree more than they agree. The U.S. State Department's annual human-rights report, issued earlier this month, singles out China for criticism. It says Beijing has stepped up restrictions on critics, tightened control on civil society and disrupted free speech and Internet access.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei has responded by urging Washington to stop being, in his words, a preacher of human rights.
Hong urges the United States to examine its own human-rights record and to stop using its human-rights report to interfere in other countries' internal affairs.
China criticized the United States for things like homelessness, violent crime and the high number of people in jail.
Beijing also accused Western countries of engaging in an anti-China conspiracy when jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace prize last year. Shortly afterwards, Chinese authorities began rounding up dozens of lawyers and activists around the country, apparently unnerved by calls for Chinese demonstrations like those that are rocking the Middle East.
The highest-profile detainee is well-known artist Ai Weiwei, who disappeared into police custody earlier this month. Western governments have called for his release.
It is under this kind of atmosphere that officials from both countries sat down in Beijing to talk about human rights.
Some human-rights activists have questioned the effectiveness of the talks, and say they could marginalize the issue.
But Mao Yushi, a liberal economist in Beijing who advocates democratic reform, says attention to China's human-rights record from outside of the country is essential.
Mao says that in China's current political environment, the government suppresses forces within the country calling for human rights. He says foreign criticism is extremely important for the progress of human rights in China.
The annual Sino-American human rights dialogue has suffered, in the past, from disagreements between Washington and Beijing. The talks were suspended between 2004 and 2008 because Beijing was angry at Washington for sponsoring a resolution criticizing China at the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
The current round of talks is to end Thursday.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan says he will be forced to impose a state of emergency in two northern states, if they are not able to complete elections this week.
President Jonathan says declaring a state of emergency in Kaduna and Bauchi is an option of last resort, if there is not sufficient security to hold statewide elections there.
Voters in most states chose their governors Tuesday. But polls in Kaduna and Bauchi were delayed until Thursday because of violence that followed the president's election, last week.
Opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari says that vote was rigged. Some of his supporters in the north attacked churches, homes and police stations, sparking reprisal attacks by Christians. The human rights group the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria says at least 500 people were killed in that violence.
With President Jonathan to be sworn-in on May 29, he says he will be forced to declare a state of emergency in Kaduna and Bauchi, if they have not voted by Friday.
"If by 29th of April we are unable to conduct an election in any state then, by law, we can not conduct elections again until after inauguration because you need 30 days. In that case we have no choice than to declare state of emergency, even if there is peace," Jonathan said.
The president says a state of emergency is not the best option because, even if it lasts for only three months. He says those will be three months of stagnation. Mr. Jonathan says he hopes the deployment of more security personnel to Kaduna and Bauchi will allow those elections to continue.
Witnesses say Tuesday's voting for Nigeria's powerful state governors was marred by bomb attacks, a shortage of election workers in some areas and gunmen stealing ballot boxes.
Three bomb blasts hit the northeastern city, Maiduguri, two days after explosions in the same city killed three people and wounded 14 others. Hundreds of election workers, most of them members of the national youth service corps, refused to show up for work in the north, where most of the recent unrest has occurred.
In the southern Niger Delta region, police say they found two unexploded bombs, one near an office of the electoral agency and another near a government office. Also in the Delta area, armed thieves stole ballots from polling sites.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
In Kenya, debate has been sparked about countrywide prayer meetings held before and after six high-profile suspects traveled to The Hague in connection with post-election violence charges. Organizers say the prayer meetings were attempts to sow peace among Kenyans, while critics contend they were thinly-disguised political rallies that will grow in frequency as the 2012 election date draws nearer.
There was a hero's welcome for Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto, two of six people accused of masterminding violence in late 2007 and early 2008 that killed more than 1,000 people.
At prayer meeting was held in downtown Nairobi's Uhuru Park on the day the suspects returned to Kenya, in mid-April, from their appearances at the International Criminal Court.
The event was organized by the Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya.
"We had thought about having a national prayer day because of the issues that are taking place in our country, owing to the fact that, after the post election violence, this country needs what we call peace, national healing and reconciliation," explained Bishop Joseph Methu, the group's National chairman.
He says his group allocated one hour to praying for the victims of post-election violence - including thousands who still live in camps after fleeing the violence - and that justice prevail in the ICC process. But speeches continued after the official prayers.
The event was one of a flurry of prayer meetings, conducted mostly before the six suspects headed to The Hague in early April. They face various charges related to planning, implementing, and funding the violence. One particularly high-profile session involved Uhuru Kenyatta's mother - former First Lady "Mama Ngina" - laying hands on her son and Ruto.
Public prayers have also been conducted for some of the other suspects, who include former minister of industrialization Henry Kosgey, Cabinet Secretary Francis Muthaura, former police chief Mohammed Hussein Ali and broadcaster Joshua Sang.
Critics charge that these meetings are actually political rallies to lay the groundwork for next year's elections. Widely believed to be high-profile presidential contenders participating have included Uhuru Kenyatta and Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga.
George Wainaina, chairman of the National Council of NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), says he thinks the prayer meetings are meant to stir up ethnic intolerance. He notes how some politicians, who are primarily from the Kikuyu and Kalenjin ethnic groups, made critical remarks against Odinga, who is from the Luo ethnic group.
"To the average Luo, Odinga is The Man," Wainaina said. "If you talk ill about him, it means that you are kind of talking ill against the Luo. And, the fact of the matter is the average Kenyan cannot differentiate between a person and a policy."
Moses Ikiara, executive director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, notes how Odinga's popularity dropped 10 points in a recent opinion poll and says political speeches made at prayer meetings are largely responsible for the drop.
He also thinks that the pre-Hague prayer meetings were meant to cover the unpredictability of the ICC process.
"It looked as if, if they go there, they may not come back," Ikiara said. "There was a segment of the media that portrayed that kind of issue. So my feeling is that the prayer meetings were meant for these people to say, 'We are going to be back, we'll be still interested in competing for the top leadership of the country, and really asking people to support [them].'"
Ikiara says Kenyans generally think it is too early to campaign for next year's elections, especially when lawmakers have to pass many bills in Parliament to implement the new constitution. He says couching political rallies in prayer meetings is not threatening for most Kenyans and gets the message across.
For the National Council of NGOs' Wainaina, using religion and the support of religious leaders is a powerful political tool.
"When you talk about, 'I'm representing God,' people kind of take it that, 'Yes, you are talking for God' and consequently you have a higher pedestal than another person talking about a political situation,'" he said.
But some clergy say it is not church leaders and prayer meetings that are promoting political agendas.
The Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya's Methu says his group has prayed for everyone involved in the post-election violence. He says prayers for the suspects do not mean endorsement.
"There should be no limitation as to which people you should pray for because justice massively failed," Methu said. "The matter of the Ocampo Six is before a court of law. You cannot even comment about it. I do believe justice will prevail."
He calls on the Kenyan government to re-settle displaced people still living in camps and that such post-election violence never be repeated.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
President Barack Obama has released copies of his original birth certificate, hoping to end a controversy over his place of birth and his qualification to be president. The president says the so-called "birther" controversy has distracted the country from serious issues.
White House officials are distributing copies of an original birth certificate which shows that President Obama was born in the United States.
The president spoke to reporters Wednesday and compared the controversy to a carnival, at what he called a serious time.
"We are not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers," Obama said.
He said the furor was distracting attention from the problems affecting Americans, such as lingering unemployment and high gasoline prices.
"We do not have time for this kind of silliness," Obama added. "We've got better stuff to do. I have got better stuff to do. We have got big problems to solve, and I am confident that we can solve them. But we have got to focus on them, not on this."
The U.S. Constitution requires that the president must have been a U.S. citizen at birth.
But some of Mr. Obama's political opponents, nicknamed "birthers," have questioned whether he has adequately proven his native birth and his qualification to be president. Some have alleged that he was born in Kenya, his father's home country. They said their suspicions were based on the president's failure to supply his original birth certificate.
In 2008, the Obama campaign released an official state of Hawaii document, called a "certification of birth." That document, produced at a later date, provides information about Mr. Obama's parents and time and place of birth.
The U.S. government accepts the certification as proof of birth, and the president said that should have put the matter to rest.
"We have had every official in Hawaii, Democrat and Republican, every news outlet that has investigated this, confirm that, yes, in fact, I was born in Hawaii, August 4, 1961, in Kapiolani Hospital," added Obama.
But the controversy continued, with 45 percent of Republicans questioned in a recent CBS/New York Times poll saying they believe Mr. Obama was not born in the United States.
So the president asked the state of Hawaii to waive its usual policy and allow copies of the original birth certificate to be made public.
Real estate mogul and television personality Donald Trump, a possible Republican presidential contender in 2012, has repeatedly questioned the circumstances of the president's birth.
On Wednesday Trump took credit for forcing the release of the original birth certificate, and said he hopes it settles the matter.
"I would want to look at it, but I hope it is true, so that we can get on to much more important matters, so the press can stop asking me questions. He should have done it a long time ago," said Trump.
White House officials are hoping that this announcement will allow them to move on to more serious topics, such as Thursday's expected announcement that CIA Director Leon Panetta will replace Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense.
President Barack Obama has released copies of his original birth certificate, hoping to end a controversy over his place of birth and his qualification to be president. The president says the so-called "birther" controversy has distracted the country from serious issues.
White House officials are distributing copies of an original birth certificate which shows that President Obama was born in the United States.
The president spoke to reporters Wednesday and compared the controversy to a carnival, at what he called a serious time.
"We are not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers," Obama said.
He said the furor was distracting attention from the problems affecting Americans, such as lingering unemployment and high gasoline prices.
"We do not have time for this kind of silliness," Obama added. "We've got better stuff to do. I have got better stuff to do. We have got big problems to solve, and I am confident that we can solve them. But we have got to focus on them, not on this."
The U.S. Constitution requires that the president must have been a U.S. citizen at birth.
But some of Mr. Obama's political opponents, nicknamed "birthers," have questioned whether he has adequately proven his native birth and his qualification to be president. Some have alleged that he was born in Kenya, his father's home country. They said their suspicions were based on the president's failure to supply his original birth certificate.
In 2008, the Obama campaign released an official state of Hawaii document, called a "certification of birth." That document, produced at a later date, provides information about Mr. Obama's parents and time and place of birth.
The U.S. government accepts the certification as proof of birth, and the president said that should have put the matter to rest.
"We have had every official in Hawaii, Democrat and Republican, every news outlet that has investigated this, confirm that, yes, in fact, I was born in Hawaii, August 4, 1961, in Kapiolani Hospital," added Obama.
But the controversy continued, with 45 percent of Republicans questioned in a recent CBS/New York Times poll saying they believe Mr. Obama was not born in the United States.
So the president asked the state of Hawaii to waive its usual policy and allow copies of the original birth certificate to be made public.
Real estate mogul and television personality Donald Trump, a possible Republican presidential contender in 2012, has repeatedly questioned the circumstances of the president's birth.
On Wednesday Trump took credit for forcing the release of the original birth certificate, and said he hopes it settles the matter.
"I would want to look at it, but I hope it is true, so that we can get on to much more important matters, so the press can stop asking me questions. He should have done it a long time ago," said Trump.
White House officials are hoping that this announcement will allow them to move on to more serious topics, such as Thursday's expected announcement that CIA Director Leon Panetta will replace Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Vietnam has asked Laos to delay by 10 years the construction of a controversial multi-billion-dollar dam on the Mekong River to allow for more studies about its effects on the lives of millions of people who rely on the waterway for food and commerce.
Vietnam's natural resources minister, Pham Khoi Nguyen, made the announcement Wednesday in Hanoi, telling reporters that documents received so far from the Lao government were inadequate and lacked "realistic" statistical data.
Nguyen is the chairman of the four-nation Mekong River Commission, a grouping of experts from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. The commission failed last week to reach a consensus on whether to support further consultations on the Xayaburi dam project.
Laos expects huge economic gains from selling most of the 1,260-kilowatt dam's power to Thailand, and has argued that further studies would not be practical. But environmental groups and other Southeast Asian governments say the dam will disrupt fish migration patterns down river and otherwise have a negative impact on the region.
The Xayaburi project is the first of 11 proposed dams on the lower Mekong. Ministers from the four countries are expected to hold further talks on the project in Laos later this year.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
No comments:
Post a Comment