EUROPE
Gaddafi: 'Libya funded Sarkozy's French poll campaign' The son of Libyan lea...
Gaddafi: 'Libya funded Sarkozy's French poll campaign'
The son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has alleged that his country helped finance Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 presidential election campaign.
"We funded it and we have all the details and are ready to reveal everything," Saif al-Islam said.
His remarks to the Euronews TV channel came days after Libyan state TV reported a "grave secret" that would bring about Mr Sarkozy's downfall.
The Elysee Palace has denied Mr Sarkozy benefited from any funding from Libya.
"We deny it, quite evidently," a spokesman told Le Monde's website.
Libya had threatened to reveal more about the "grave secret" if France went ahead with its decision to recognise the rebel Transitional National Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12760367
Putin claims victory in Russian election
With tears rolling down his cheeks at victory rally, he thanked supporters for helping to foil plots against country.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has claimed victory in Russia's presidential election.
With tears rolling down his cheeks at a victory rally on Sunday, Putin said the Russian people had clearly rejected the attempts of unidentified enemies to "destroy Russia's statehood and usurp power".
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/03/201234174822513879.html
Russia Profile Weekly Experts Panel: Medvedev’s Stance on Missile Defense
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a tough televised speech last Wednesday, warning that Russia will quit the new START nuclear arms reduction pact with the United States if America continues with plans to deploy a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe.
Medvedev, standing next to the Russian flag, appeared on television to make a special address, in which he stated that Russia had failed to reach an agreement with NATO and the United States on the missile defense system. He said that Russia would not tolerate the weakening of its deterrent capability and must resort to special measures. Medvedev accused the United States and NATO of intending to undermine Russia's security. He reproached them for unwillingness to provide legal guarantees that the missile defenses would not be directed against the Russian Federation.
http://russiaprofile.org/experts_panel/50357.html
As in Iraq, Russia’s Neutral Stance on the War in Libya is Ruining Its Econom...
As in Iraq, Russia’s Neutral Stance on the War in Libya is Ruining Its Economic Interests in the North African Nation
Russia has started to count its economic and political loses in Libya even before the deafening sounds of Kalashnikovs, rocket and grenade launchers began to subside. As Muammar Colonel Gaddafi's 41-year-old iron rule crawls toward an inglorious end, there are ominous signs that things will not be quite the same for Russian businesses in the new Libya
http://russiaprofile.org/politics/43777.html
President Medvedev says 'our duty is to safeguard peace' Our duty is to safe...
President Medvedev says 'our duty is to safeguard peace'
Our duty is to safeguard peace achieved by the victory in the 1941-45 war against Nazi Germany, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at a military parade in Moscow on Monday.
"The duty of our generation is to safeguard peace achieved by the Victory," Medvedev said, adding that the modernization and development of the Armed Forces remains a key priority for the Russian leadership.http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110509/163932174.html
Are Medvedev and Putin Forming a Two Party System in Russia? Last month, thr...
Are Medvedev and Putin Forming a Two Party System in Russia?
Last month, three Russian think tanks that claim to advise President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the two presumed presidential candidates in 2012, issued separate reports warning that Russia's highly-centralized and uncompetitive political system has become a major obstacle to further economic progress, and that without sweeping political reform, the country faces possible breakdown or even popular revolt on a par with the early 1990s.
http://russiaprofile.org/experts_panel/34697.html
Strategic Retreat Russia is Opening the Door Wider to Private Investment in...
Strategic Retreat
Russia is Opening the Door Wider to Private Investment in Natural Resources, Banking and Health Care in an Effort to Lure Foreign Investors
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday put his weight behind a move to amend the country's tough Strategic Sectors Law, which restricts the level of foreign investment in 42 sectors of the Russian economy. After almost four years of resisting such a move, the prime minister finally endorsed a groundbreaking proposal that would allow foreigners to buy up to 25 percent of strategic companies without obtaining mandatory approval from the government.
http://russiaprofile.org/business/34137.html
Moscow Moves on Selling Assets The Russian government is close to approving...
Moscow Moves on Selling Assets
The Russian government is close to approving a $59 billion privatization program as it seeks to cut the state's role in the economy and business and raise money to balance the budget.
The Kremlin aims to sell minority stakes of state-controlled companies ranging from banks and railroads to oil producers, reversing a trend during the oil boom through 2008 and subsequent financial crisis, when Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev saw the government's share of economic output top 50%.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304023804575566012120370100.html
Russia acts against 'false' history What is worrying Russia? Why is th...
Russia acts against 'false' history
What is worrying Russia? Why is the country convinced that it is the victim of a campaign to make it look bad?
President Dmitry Medvedev recently announced the setting up of a commission to counter the falsification of history. He said this was becoming increasingly "severe, evil, and aggressive".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8166020.stm
EU Backs Up Medvedev’s Plan to Modernize Russia (Update1) The European Union...
EU Backs Up Medvedev’s Plan to Modernize Russia (Update1)
The European Union threw its weight behind President Dmitry Medvedev’s drive to modernize Russia as the 27-nation bloc seeks to support western-style changes promoted by the 44-year-old Russian leader.
“We want to be Russia’s partner in modernization,” EU President Herman Van Rompuy told reporters after a two-day summit with Medvedev in the southern Russian town of Rostov-on- Don. “With Russia we don’t need a reset. We want a fast- forward.”
Medvedev first floated a “partnership for modernization” in November at the last EU-Russia summit in Stockholm. The idea dovetails with his domestic program of abandoning Russia’s “primitive” oil-based economy and embracing innovation to make the country competitive globally.
Russia envisages technology transfers and visa-free travel as part of better relations with Europe. The EU insists on the inclusion of democratization and human rights in the agenda.
Russia Profile Weekly Experts Panel: Does Medvedev Deserve a Nobel Prize? Is...
Russia Profile Weekly Experts Panel: Does Medvedev Deserve a Nobel Prize?
Is he perceived outside of Russia as a transformational world leader?
http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=Experts%27+Panel&articleid=a1255715242
Gorbachev: Russia needs freedom to succeed Soviet-era leader authored bold...
Gorbachev: Russia needs freedom to succeed
Soviet-era leader authored bold reforms that brought down communism
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has appealed to the Kremlin to make Russia more democratic, saying President Dmitry Medvedev's push to modernize the country would not succeed otherwise.
Gorbachev, the author of the bold reforms which triggered the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, told Reuters in an interview that Russia now needed a fresh wave of "glasnost" (openness) and "perestroika" (restructuring).
"Modernization can be carried out but only if the people, the entire population, are included in the whole process," Gorbachev told Reuters in a 90-minute conversation in the offices of his foundation in Moscow.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37666768/ns/world_news-europe/
Medvedev hopes his visit to Silicon Valley will boost Russian business Rus...
Medvedev hopes his visit to Silicon Valley will boost Russian business
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed hope on Thursday that his "symbolic" visit to the Silicon Valley will contribute to the development of innovative companies in Russia.
Medvedev, who seeks to diversify the Russian economy by reducing its dependence on oil and gas exports, has made developing hi-tech sectors and encouraging research the focal point of his economic agenda. He is now pressing ahead with the creation of a national hi-tech research hub in Moscow suburb Skolkovo, dubbed by the media as the Russian Silicon valley.
He said that he expected to send a signal to major Russian businesses that they should engage in high-tech research projects on the Russian territory, particularly in Skolkovo.
http://en.rian.ru/news/20100624/159551159.html
Russia opens WMD disposal plant Russia has opened a facility in the Ural Mou...
Russia opens WMD disposal plant
Russia has opened a facility in the Ural Mountains that will decommission vast stocks of its chemical weapons.
It has been part-funded by the US as part of a programme to dismantle what was the world's biggest arsenal of chemical and biological weapons.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8074083.stm
Petraeus: Koran burning plan will endanger US troops The top US commander ...
Petraeus: Koran burning plan will endanger US troops
The top US commander in Afghanistan has warned that troops' lives will be in danger if an American church sticks to its plan to burn copies of the Koran.
Gen David Petraeus said the action could cause problems "not just in Kabul, but everywhere in the world".
Pastor Terry Jones, of the Dove World Outreach Center, plans to put copies of the holy book in a bonfire to mark this week's anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
There have already been protests in Afghanistan and Indonesia.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11209738
US criticises Quran burning plan
White House follows lead of US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, saying church group plan could put troops at risk.
The Obama administration has said that it is concerned about the proposed burning of the Quran by a US church group.
Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state called on Tuesday a Florida church's threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book to mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks a "disrespectful, disgraceful act."
Earlier on Tuesday, the White House said that it supported recent comments from General David Patraeus, the chief commander of US and Nato troops in Afghanistan, that the torching could put US troops in that country at risk.
"It puts our troops in harm's way, any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration," Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/09/201097164418445973.html
US church defiant despite condemnation of Koran burning
A small US church says it will defy international condemnation and go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Koran on the 9/11 anniversary.
The top US commander in Afghanistan warned troops' lives would be in danger if the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida went ahead.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the church's plan was "disrespectful and disgraceful".
Muslim countries and Nato have also hit out at the move.
And the US Attorney General, Eric Holder, called the idea "idiotic and dangerous".
But organiser, Pastor Terry Jones said: "We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11223457
Biden: Russia's 'Withering' Economy Will Force Change The country's eco...
Biden: Russia's 'Withering' Economy Will Force Change
The country's economic problems could force it to open up to the West on a range of issues, the vice president said in pointed remarks to the Wall Street Journal following his trip to the region.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/24/biden-russias-withering-economy-force-change/
Obama's Low-Key Push in Russia President Endorses Medvedev's Agenda but Ca...
Obama's Low-Key Push in Russia
President Endorses Medvedev's Agenda but Calls for More Democratic Reforms
MOSCOW, July 6 -- President Obama told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday thatRussia needs more "consistent" protection of property rights to attract investment and a free press, independent courts and political opposition to fight corruption.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/06/AR2009070603623.html
US medical tests in Guatemala 'crime against humanity' US testing that infe...
US medical tests in Guatemala 'crime against humanity'
US testing that infected hundreds of Guatemalans with gonorrhoea and syphilis more than 60 years ago was a "crime against humanity", Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom has said.
President Barack Obama has apologised for the medical tests, in which mentally ill patients and prisoners were infected without their consent.
Mr Obama told Mr Colom the 1940s-era experiments ran contrary to American values, Guatemala said.
The US has promised an investigation.
'Shocking, tragic, reprehensible'
Syphilis can cause heart problems, blindness, mental illness and even death, and although the patients were treated it is not known how many recovered.
Evidence of the programme was unearthed by Prof Susan Reverby at Wellesley College. She says the Guatemalan government gave permission for the tests.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11457552
The President's Mission to Moscow Obama doesn't need to engage Russia's le...
The President's Mission to Moscow
Obama doesn't need to engage Russia's leaders. He needs to deter them.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124683525998697831.html
Get tough with Russia, MPs urge The UK and other Nato members should...
Get tough with Russia, MPs urge
The UK and other Nato members should take a tougher approach to Russia, the Commons Defence Committee has urged.
The MPs said that while co-operation was needed on many issues, it should not mean "accepting the legitimacy of a Russian sphere of influence."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8143487.stm
Please Do Something We Live in a Strange Epoch, At the Same Time Remarkably...
Please Do Something
We Live in a Strange Epoch, At the Same Time Remarkably Similar to the Late Stagnation Period and Drastically Different to It, and This Is both Good and Bad
Today’s Russia is not the late Brezhnev-era Soviet Union. But the suspicion with which Russians regard social institutions, the passivity with which they greet the lack of development, and the short-term thinking that characterizes both political and private life, all recall the era of stagnation. And the most confusing question in this situation is, where to direct one’s children?
http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=Politics&articleid=a1256758086
Russia Profile Weekly Experts Panel: Will “Modernization” Meet the Fate of “Perestroika”?
President Dmitry Medvedev has decided to make “modernization” his platform for re-election in 2012. Medvedev is investing a tremendous amount of political capital in promoting a vision of Russia as an innovation-driven economy, where knowledge, intellect and desire for experimentation create more wealth for ordinary Russians than the hydrocarbon and metal exports that enrich a handful of oligarchs today. Will Medvedev’s “modernization” succeed? Are there parallels with the way Gorbachev launched his “perestroika” in the mid-1980s?
http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=Experts%27+Panel&articleid=a1256928794
U.S. welcomes Russia's ban on S-300 missile sales to Iran The U.S. welcomes...
U.S. welcomes Russia's ban on S-300 missile sales to Iran
The U.S. welcomes the Russian president's decree to prohibit the delivery of S-300 air defense missile systems and other weapons to Iran, a White House official said.
National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer welcomed the move as a "faithful and robust implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1929" of June 9, 2010, which imposes an additional set of sanctions on the Islamic Republic over its controversial nuclear program.
The presidential decree, which includes a ban on sales of battle tanks, armored vehicles, large-caliber artillery systems, warplanes, military helicopters, ships and missiles, is part of measures Russia is taking to comply with the resolution.
The U.S. official added that the Russian president has demonstrated leadership "on holding Iran accountable to its international obligations from start to finish."
"This continues to demonstrate how Russia and the United States are cooperating closely on behalf of our mutual interests, and global security," he said.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20100923/160690041.html
When the Time Comes The popular image of the Russian Interior Ministry has b...
When the Time Comes
The popular image of the Russian Interior Ministry has been so tarnished by scandal and outrage that a policeman’s uniform now symbolizes not order, but the main threat to public order. The Russian public is passing a verdict on the law enforcement agencies as dire and irreversible as that passed on the Communist Party of the Russia Federation in 1989. The police are now outcasts, and even selfless acts of bravery on the part of individual officers will not change that.
http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=Politics&articleid=a1268849545
Russia's Medvedev vows to root out 'terrorists' Russ...
Russia's Medvedev vows to root out 'terrorists'
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday ordered senior officials to fight terrorism "without hesitation, to the end," after female suicide bombers killed at least 37 people at two Moscow metro stations.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3869625,00.html
Why $60 billion in US arms to Saudi Arabia isn't causing an outcry ...
Why $60 billion in US arms to Saudi Arabia isn't causing an outcry
Israel doesn't oppose a US arms deal that would send advanced aircraft to Saudi Arabia, which is increasingly seen as essential to containing Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Nine years after 9/11 sent US-Saudi relations crashing to a low point, bilateral ties have made a complete 180-degree turnaround with the Obama administration's plan to sell up to $60 billion worth of advanced aircraft to Saudi Arabia.
The package, which would be the US's largest-ever overseas arms sale and has been in negotiations since 2007, underscores how Israel no longer feels threatened by Saudi Arabia and how the US increasingly sees the Gulf state as essential toward containing Iran, says Thomas Lippman at the Council on Foreign Relations.
"It’s a reminder to the Iranians," says Mr. Lippman, that if Tehran continues down a nuclear path "the response will be to so beef up regional rivals and enemies that their overall position will be diminished."
US Plans $60B Saudi Arms Sale to Counter Iran
The Obama administration is seeking a go-ahead from Congress to sell up to $60 billion worth of sophisticated warplanes to Saudi Arabia and could add another $30 billion worth of naval arms in a deal designed to counter the rise of Iran as a regional power.
The deal would apparently represent the largest single U.S. arms sale ever approved. It would allow Saudi Arabia, the most militarily advanced of the Arab Gulf states and one of the richest countries in the world, to buy top-line U.S.-made helicopters and fighter jets with ranges that would span the Middle East and beyond.
Unlike some previous sales to Saudi Arabia, this one is not expected to be derailed by opposition in Congress or from U.S. backers of Israel, who have worried in the past about blunting Israel's military edge over its Arab neighbors.
Iran is now seen by Israel, the Gulf Arab states and the West as a significant and unpredictable threat that has changed the old calculus of the region's balance of power.
http://www.military.com/news/article/us-plans-60b-saudi-arms-sale-to-counter-iran.html?ESRC=eb.nl
Pentagon to notify Congress of $60bn Saudi arms deal
The Pentagon is set to notify the US Congress of a $60bn (£39bn) weapons sale to Saudi Arabia, reports quoting US officials say.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11288683
History, with rose-tinted hindsight Why rewrite history books - to acc...
History, with rose-tinted hindsight
Why rewrite history books - to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative for the good of the nation, asks David Cannadine in his Point of View column.
According to a newspaper report last week, the Russian authorities have recently gathered together a group of academics to draw up a school textbook that would present an approved version of the complex and controversial events that make up Russian history.
The aim is to play down the deplorable excesses of the Communist regime: the show trials, the purges, the gulags, the abuses of human rights and the denial of individual freedom.
Instead, the intention is to stress the positive contribution and the heroic achievements of the Russian people in defeating Hitler, and to build a new national identity on the basis of this selective and sanitised national narrative.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8762969.stm
Bolivian Indians in historic step Bolivia has become the first country in th...
Bolivian Indians in historic step
Bolivia has become the first country in the history of South America to declare the right of indigenous people to govern themselves.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8180790.stm
Russia alarmed over new EU pact Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has w...
Russia alarmed over new EU pact
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned the European Union not to turn a proposed partnership with former Soviet countries against Moscow.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8061042.stm
Mapping the fall of communism http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/euro...
Mapping the fall of communism
Home Secretary Theresa May wants Human Rights Act axed The home secretary ...
Home Secretary Theresa May wants Human Rights Act axed
The home secretary has called for the Human Rights Act to be scrapped, less than a fortnight after Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said it was "here to stay".
The act enshrines the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law.
But Theresa May told the Sunday Telegraph she "personally" would like to see it go because of the problems it caused for the Home Office.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15140742
Blair 'misled British over Iraq' ...
Blair 'misled British over Iraq'
Tony Blair, Britain's former prime minister, has been accused by a retired senior official of "sycophancy" towards the US administration and of using "alarming subterfuge" to lead the UK into the war with Iraq.
Ken Macdonald, Britain's former senior prosecutor, made the comments after Blair admitted that the country would have backed the Iraq war even if he knew it did not have weapons of mass destruction.
Blair, who backed George Bush, the former US president, in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, said he would "still have thought it right to remove" Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi president, because of the threat he posed to the region.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/12/20091214101149746196.html
ICJ says Kosovo statehood 'legal' ...
ICJ says Kosovo statehood 'legal'
The International Court of Justice has said that Kosovo's declaration of independence did not violate international law, in a case that could have significant implications for separatist movements around the world.
Hisashi Owada, the presiding judge of the UN's highest court in the Hague, the Netherlands, read out the statement, which is not legally binding, on Thursday afternoon.
The decision, which comes two years after the United Nations General Assembly requested the opinion, is likely to lead to more countries recognising Kosovo's independence.
Kosovo's foreign minister said he expected Serbia to deal with the former province as a sovereign state, following the ruling.
Serbia: nothing changed
Serbia's President Boris Tadic was quick to respond, saying that the court ruling will not change the position of Serbia regarding Kosovo.
His comments were echoed by Serbia's foreign minister Vuk Jeremic. "Serbia will never, under any circumstances, recognise the unilateral declaration of independence of the so-called Republic of Kosovo," Jeremic told reporters outside the International Court of Justice.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/07/201072213840362357.html
Lebanon defiant over US aid freeze ...
The Lebanese defence minister has said that the country will refuse military assistance from the US should any aid come with conditions that weapons not be used against Israel.
The comments from Elias Murr were made on Wednesday, after it was revealed that $100 million in US military assistance to Lebanon had been suspended last week.
Aid was halted due to fears that Hezbollah, the Shia group backed by Iran, would manage to get hold of any arsenal provided. Concern was raised that Hezbollah holds influence over the Lebanese military and that the weapons could be used against Israel.
"If someone would like to help the army without restrictions or conditions, he is welcome," Murr said.
"But those who want to help the army on condition that it doesn't protect its territory, people and border from Israel, should keep their money - or give it to Israel instead," Murr said.
"We will confront [Israel] with the capabilities that we have."
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/201081255738315663.html
Shimon Peres denies calling British 'anti-Semites' President Sh...
Shimon Peres denies calling British 'anti-Semites'
President Shimon Peres has been forced to deny he had branded the British people “anti-Semites” during an interview in which he attacked Britain for being consistently pro-Arab and against Israel.
'PM did not show Mubarak map' PMO denies reports Mubarak rejec...
'PM did not show Mubarak map'
PMO denies reports Mubarak rejected border map presented by Netanyahu.
The Prime Minister's Office Tuesday denied foreign media reports that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak rejected a map outlining proposed future borders for a future Palestinian state presented to him by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at their meeting in Cairo on Sunday.
The PMO released a statement calling the reports "baseless and without foundation."
"The statements regarding Prime Minister Netanyahu, in particular, and with regard to the substance of the meeting did not occur," the statement stressed.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=181992
Syria slammed on human rights While Assad has used the US invasion of Iraq a...
Syria slammed on human rights
While Assad has used the US invasion of Iraq and the "chaos" surrounding his country in the Middle East to justify his tight control over the limited freedom of expression allowed in Syria, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says that "a review of Syria's record shows a consistent policy of repressing dissent regardless of international or regional developments".
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/2010716124717853939.html
Aluf Benn / Turkey can take credit for ending Israel's blockade of Gaza ...
Aluf Benn / Turkey can take credit for ending Israel's blockade of Gaza
It is now clear, even to Israel's leaders, that the Turkish flotilla - despite activists' deaths and not having actually reached Gaza - accelerated policy change in Gaza.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan can claim a big check mark for himself, despite the Turkish flotilla not having reached Gaza and nine activists aboard the Mavi Marmara ship having been killed during the raid in May. Erdogan achieved his goal: He collapsed the Israeli siege on "Hamastan." The cabinet announcement on Sunday put an end to the three-year-old civilian blockade on Gaza, initiated when Hamas took power.
Erdogan 'is no Gamal Abdel Nasser'
A recent poll has revealed that 43 per cent of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip view Turkey as the regional country that is most supportive of their cause.
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/06/201062093027892694.html
Syria's Bashar al-Assad: A leader who cannot be ignored Syria's Preside...
Syria's Bashar al-Assad: A leader who cannot be ignored
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad says that Israel is not a "partner for peace" and that "when you don't have peace you have to expect war". But the country has other partners in the region, and further afield.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8747725.stm
Arab League chief Amr Moussa in first visit to Gaza The Head of the Arab L...
Arab League chief Amr Moussa in first visit to Gaza
The Head of the Arab League is visiting the Gaza Strip, the first senior Arab official to do so since the Islamist militant group Hamas took over in 2007.
Amr Moussa's visit is partly intended to add to pressure on Israel to end its Gaza blockade, correspondents say.
Nine people were killed when Israeli troops boarded an aid flotilla trying to break the blockade on 31 May.
Israel and Egypt have blockaded Gaza since Hamas seized control of the Palestinian territory.
Following the flotilla raid, Egypt opened its border with Gaza allowing people with valid passes to cross.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10303301.stm
A new Middle East triangle?
Recent events and diplomatic activity before and after the Israeli attack on the Gaza "freedom flotilla" have delineated a new powerful regional triangle at the expense of an old Arab one.
The rapprochement between Iran, Turkey and Syria is creating a new regional axis that, for all practical purposes, could replace the diminished Arab triangle of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria and transform the region in the process.
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/imperium/2010/06/08/new-middle-east-triangle
Erekat: Israel obstructs Arabs efforts to succeed Mideast peace http://news....
Erekat: Israel obstructs Arabs efforts to succeed Mideast peace
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/04/c_13333835.htm
Poland criticises Russia Kaczynski plane crash report Polish PM Donald Tus...
Poland criticises Russia Kaczynski plane crash report
Polish PM Donald Tusk has criticised an investigation by Russia into a deadly plane crash which killed the country's president in April.
He said it was "unacceptable" and some conclusions "without foundation".
Russia recently handed Poland a draft report of the incident after months of investigation, though it has not been made public.
'Without foundation'
Without revealing details of the report, Mr Tusk said it did not comply fully with the Chicago Convention which regulates international air travel.
"From the Polish point of view, the draft report from the Russian side as it has been sent is without question unacceptable," he said in televised comments to reporters in Brussels.