Semi-nude bike riders protest oil

Semi-nude bike riders protest oil

June 14, 2009

NEW YORK, June 14 (UPI) -- Nearly naked cyclists in Toronto, Washington, New York and other cities said their annual World Naked Bike Ride was a protest against oil dependency.



Bicycle riders get naked to promote cause

By Peter Hirschfeld VERMONT PRESS BUREAU
June 15, 2009

MONTPELIER – Naked cyclists brought smiles to the faces of hundreds of sidewalk spectators Saturday as free-spirited riders spread a message of bike and body love. No fewer than 42 men and women (and two appropriately clothed children) spun a well-watched path down Main Street early Saturday afternoon en route to the Statehouse. Aside from some body paint preaching the ills of oil dependency and the beauty of the bicycle, the crew for the most part bared all.



Nearly Naked Riders Protest Oil Dependency

By Lori Aratani
Sunday, June 14, 2009

Tour de France?

More like Tour sans Pants.

Under semi-sunny skies, the District's run of the fourth annual World Naked Bike Ride kicked off yesterday from Franklin Square downtown.



No oil and no clothes: Cyclists ride in the (near) buff

BY Clare Trapasso and Jotham Sederstrom
Sunday, June 14th 2009



It was a protest in the raw. Well, almost. About 40 scantily clad men and women braved the rain for a nearly nude bike ride on the streets of Manhattan Saturday - until cops forced the joy riders to button up.



Boulder Naked Bike Ride is naughty-bits free

By Michael Roberts
Monday, Jun. 15 2009

The Boulder Police Department's threat of potentially registering genital-displaying Naked Bike Ride peddlers as sex offenders seems to have done the trick. This weekend's Ride went off without a hitch, but with plenty of stitches over groins -- and pasties on male and female nipples alike, as can be seen in the Boulder Daily Camera video above. Shortly after the last chants of "Less gas! More ass!"



Cyclists bare all in naked ride through Portland

Jun 14, 2009

PORTLAND, Ore. - More than a thousand nude cyclists took to the streets overnight in downtown Portland for the Naked Bike Ride. It started at the stroke of midnight on Northwest Nicolai Street. The cyclists then rolled through downtown with plenty of onlookers cheering them on. Not every cyclist bared it all but many did. Police controlled traffic at intersections and kept an eye out on the event. It is not illegal in the city to ride a bike in the nude.



Video: Naked cyclists take to the streets in London

Amanda Knox's Jailhouse Letters to Ex-Beau Reveal Prison Life

Amanda Knox's Jailhouse Letters to Ex-Beau Reveal Prison Life

Monday, June 15, 2009

PERUGIA, Italy — Amanda Knox has opened her heart in a series of letters to her co-accused and former boyfriend about prison life and their ongoing murder trial.



Student on Trial in Italy Claims Police Pressure



By RACHEL DONADIO
June 13, 2009

PERUGIA, Italy — An American student on trial here in the murder of her housemate held to her version of events under cross-examination on Saturday, saying that “confusion” and a “crescendo” of police pressure led her to wrongly accuse a man of the crime.



Amanda Knox took 'full advantage' of chance to testify, her father says

By Jonathan Martin

Curt Knox prepared to leave Italy on Sunday as any tourist might, hunting for a gas station to fill up the rental car. Then, a quick stop at Italy's version of "60 Minutes," and Knox was on a plane back to Seattle.



Amanda Knox tells of Meredith Kercher’s ‘yucky’ death

June 14, 2009

AMANDA KNOX yesterday startled the Italian court trying her for the murder of Meredith Kercher by saying the English student's death was “yucky, disgusting” and comparing it to crimes in CSI, the popular US television series.



Knox hits at police 'crescendo' of pressure

Sunday 14 June 2009

Amanda Knox, the American student charged with murdering her British roommate in November 2007, told a court in Perugia, Italy, yesterday that a "crescendo" of police pressure led her to finger an innocent man in the case.



Video: Amanda Knox Says Italian Police Pressured Her

Hezbollah still holds sway in Lebanon

Hezbollah still holds sway in Lebanon

While Lebanon's democratic election should be celebrated, it will not affect the power currents running beneath the surface

U.S. Continues Charm Offensive With Syria

By CHIP CUMMINS
JUNE 13, 2009

President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy, former Sen. George Mitchell, touched down Friday in Damascus, in the latest outreach by the U.S. to Syrian President Bashar Assad. Just a little more than a year ago, Syria was viewed as a pariah state, even among some of its Arab neighbors. But in recent months, Mr. Assad has emerged as a potentially important partner for Washington in the Middle East's suddenly shifting political and diplomatic landscape.



Mitchell: Syria has 'crucial' role in peace

Sunday, 14 June 2009

Washington's Mid-East envoy George Mitchell has said Syria has a "crucial role" in finding a comprehensive peace settlement, during a visit to Damascus. The comments came as he held talks with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian capital.



Obama envoy says Syria integral to Mideast peace

By Talal El-Atrache

DAMASCUS (AFP) — US envoy George Mitchell said on Saturday Damascus had an integral role to play in Washington's efforts to secure Middle East peace, after meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Lebanon's PM hopeful Hariri seeks compromise

By SAM F. GHATTAS

BEIRUT (AP) — The pro-Western politician favored to become Lebanon's next prime minister is setting aside the explosive issue of disarming the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, saying Friday he hopes for unity with his political foes in the sharply divided country.



Iran election scrutinized for 'Obama effect'

Matthew B. Stannard
Saturday, June 13, 2009



No matter who wins Iran's presidential race, the contest will be scrutinized for signs that voters were wooed or put off by America's recent charm offensive - the so-called Obama effect.



Video: MIR: Saudi Arabia - A Player in Middle East Elections

Protesters Gird for Long Fight Over Opening Peru’s Amazon

Protesters Gird for Long Fight Over Opening Peru’s Amazon

By SIMON ROMERO
June 11, 2009

Tomas Munita for The New York Times
Members of an indigenous group opposed to Peru’s plans to open large parts of the Amazon to drilling and logging demonstrated Thursday in Iquitos, Peru.

IQUITOS, Peru — Faced with a simmering crisis over dozens of deaths in the quelling of indigenous protests last week, Peru’s Congress this week suspended the decrees that had set off the protests over plans to open large parts of the Peruvian Amazon to investment. Senior officials said they hoped this would calm nerves and ease the way for oil drillers and loggers to pursue their projects.



Peru tribes vow to continue protest

June 12, 2009



Peruvian tribes have vowed to continue their protests against land laws six days after at least 60 people were killed in clashes between protesters and police.



Police fire tear gas in Peru protests

By CARLA SALAZAR

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Riot police used tear gas to turn student protesters away from Peru's Congress on Thursday as thousands marched to back Amazon Indians resisting oil and natural gas exploration on their land. At least 20,000 students, labor union members and indigenous Peruvians from the country's Andean highlands to its jungle lowlands joined the mostly peaceful nationwide protests.

To quell protests, Peru suspends Amazon investment laws

By Lucien Chauvin and Sara Miller Llana
June 11, 2009

Indigenous groups say government is just trying to stop efforts to protect jungle from oil and logging development. More protests are planned today.



Peru’s Congress suspends land laws, but is it enough to calm Amazon conflict?

By Kevin Gray

Peru’s Congress hopes to calm protests over President Alan Garcia’s plans to open up the country’s Amazon region to oil and logging by multinational companies but the conflict is far from being resolved.

Peru protest leader takes refuge

A Peruvian indigenous leader linked to protests in the Amazon region has sought refuge in the Nicaraguan embassy in Lima, Peru's prime minister says. Alberto Pizango is accused of sedition, conspiracy and rebellion, after clashes in the north of the country with the army that left more than 30 dead.

Video: Police clash with Indians in Peru - 9 Jun 09

Urging Freedoms, Obama Chides Zimbabwe Leader

Urging Freedoms, Obama Chides Zimbabwe Leader

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
June 12, 2009

WASHINGTON — President Obama publicly scolded President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe on Friday, using a White House meeting with the country’s prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, to praise Mr. Tsvangirai and to accuse Mr. Mugabe of opposing democratic freedoms and steering the country into political and economic ruin.



President Obama Praises Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai, Pledges $73 Million Aid

By Blessing Zulu
12 June 2009

Culminating a five-day visit to the United States, Zimbabwean President Morgan Tsvangirai met on Friday with U.S. President Barack Obama who praised the former opposition leader's leadership and courage and pledged $73 million to help the Zimbabwean people.



Obama pledges aid for Zimbabwe

President Barack Obama has announced $73m (£44m) in aid for Zimbabwe. The US president was speaking at the White House in Washington, where he met the visiting Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.



Obama offers Zimbabwe aid package
Barack Obama, the US president, has offered $73 million in aid to Zimbabwe but said it would be given "directly to the people" amid concerns over human rights.



U.S. offers $73 mln aid to Zimbabwe

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, June 12, 2009.



Obama Pledges $73 Million to Zimbabwe

By Michael A. Fletcher

President Obama announced today that the United States will provide $73 million in aid to Zimbabwe, saying the economically-wracked nation has made progress since Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai entered a power-sharing arrangement with longtime President Robert Mugabe four months ago.



Video: Frost over the World - Morgan Tsvangirai - 12 Jun 09

Gains in Pakistan Fuel Pentagon Optimism for Pursuing Al-Qaeda

Gains in Pakistan Fuel Pentagon Optimism for Pursuing Al-Qaeda

By Joby Warrick and R. Jeffrey Smith
Saturday, June 13, 2009

Progress in Pakistan's two-month-old military campaign against insurgents in the Swat Valley has provoked Pentagon optimism that government forces will soon move decisively into the more rugged frontier region where al-Qaeda's leaders are based, perhaps curtailing a wave of suicide bombings in Pakistan and Afghanistan, defense officials said yesterday.



U.S. sees new Pakistan combat drive in Waziristan

By Paul Eckert
Fri Jun 12, 2009

WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) - Pakistan's military looks set to mount a significant combat drive in the Taliban stronghold of Waziristan, U.S. officials said on Friday and praised Islamabad's resolve against Islamic militants.



Pakistan planning offensive against terror havens

By PAULINE JELINEK and LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. defense officials said Friday that Pakistan is planning a new assault into South Waziristan aimed at key al-Qaida strongholds, a move tied to the Obama administration's broader strategy for the Afghanistan war.



At least 39 militants killed in Pakistan's Swat

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — At least 39 Taliban militants and 10 soldiers were killed in fierce fighting in northwest Pakistan's Swat valley, the military said Friday.
"During last 24 hours, 39 terrorists were killed in various areas of Malakand. At the same time, 10 soldiers embraced shahadat (martyrdom) and 24 were injured," it said in a statement.



'39 militants, 10 soldiers killed in Pak. military operations'

Islamabad (PTI) As troops stepped up attacks on the Taliban, the Pakistani Army said 39 militants and 10 soldiers were killed in raging battle in the troubled northwestern Malakand division, where the insurgents attacked the house of a regional commander in Peshawar on Friday.



2 Dead in Gunbattle Near General's Home in Pakistan

By VOA News
12 June 2009

Suspected militants have opened fire near the home of an army general in Pakistan's northwest, sparking a gunbattle that killed two of the attackers.



Video: Beating Video May Turn Tide Against Taliban

3 killed in NW Pakistan blasts

3 killed in NW Pakistan blasts


A blast victim arrives to the Lady Reading hospital in Peshawar, shortly after an attack at a police check post on June 11, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

ISLAMABAD, June 11 (Xinhua) -- At least three people including a policeman were killed Thursday night in two blasts near a police check post in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, according to local TV reports.



U.N. vows to stay in NW Pakistan despite deadly attack

Thu Jun 11, 2009

By Nita Bhalla

NEW DELHI - The United Nations has no plans to suspend or reduce its activities in Pakistan despite Tuesday's bomb attack that killed nine people, including two foreign U.N. staff, in the northern city of Peshawar, U.N. agencies say.



Pakistan faces a growing insurgency

Thursday 11 June 2009

The Peshawar blast that hit humanitarian aid workers proves how the Taliban's reach is extending beyond the Swat valley



Bombing Challenges Aid to Pakistan Refugees

By SABRINA TAVERNISE and SALMAN MASOOD
June 10, 2009

Adrees Latif/Reuters

Rescue workers carried the body of a man found in the wreckage of the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar on Wednesday, the morning after a truck bombing killed at least 16 people.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — One casualty of the bombing that killed as many as 18 people at a luxury hotel here Tuesday night may be the effort to aid Pakistan’s surging population of refugees, who have been displaced by the military campaign against the Taliban.



Pakistan's Peshawar transformed by Taliban threat

By Sajjad Tarakzai

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — A deadly hotel bomb in Pakistan's Peshawar underscores its shift from safe metropolis to besieged city where shop keepers are afraid to stock Western films and few foreigners dare to visit.



Pearl Continental hotel bombing

The Pearl Continental hotel bombing occurred on 9 June 2009 in Peshawar, Pakistan, in which at least 11 people have been killed and at least 46 people injured. The blast occurred at the five-star Pearl Continental hotel in the city. The force of the explosion caused the hotel to partially collapse. The United States had planned to purchase this hotel to convert it to a consulate.



Video: Hotel bomb blast shakes Peshawar - 10 Jun 09

Libyan leader plays to the gallery

Libyan leader plays to the gallery

Saturday, 13 June 2009

A chic audience of top women met the colonel

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been paying his first visit to Italy, his country's former colonial ruler and now its biggest trading partner. As the BBC's David Willey reports, the image he leaves behind in Rome may not be quite what he would have wished.



Gaddafi invites back Italians expelled from Libya

Saturday, June 13, 2009

ROME (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi ended a first visit to former colonial power Italy on Saturday by inviting Italians expelled in the wake of his 1969 revolution to return to the North African country.



Colonel Gaddafi is turning into a mellow megolamaniac

By Colonel Gaddafi
13 Jun 2009

Photo: John Springs

Suddenly the Libyan dictator loves the Italians, a nation he has long reviled – so what's the big idea? It's to try and scrape together some sorely needed cash for his skint country, says William Langley.



Eni's Scaroni discussed gas ventures with Gaddafi

Jun 13, 2009

ROME, June 13 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Italian oil and gas company Eni SpA (ENI.MI) discussed joint ventures in gas with Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) at a meeting with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Saturday, an ENI spokesman said.



Qaddafi Pays a Business Call on Berlusconi

By RACHEL DONADIO
June 10, 2009

Riccardo De Luca/Associated Press
Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, right, in Rome on Wednesday.

ROME — Italy came to terms with its colonial past on Wednesday in a somewhat surreal news conference with two of the world’s most colorful politicians, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.



Libya's Gadhafi Lashes Out at US

By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
11 June 2009

Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi has lashed out at the United States by likening the 1986 U.S. Strikes on Libya to Osama bin Laden's terror attacks on the United States in 2001. He was speaking Thursday in Rome, where he is on a three-day official visit.



Video: Raw Video: Gadhafi Visits Italy for 1st Time

Pakistan: Suspected US missile, bomb kill 13

Pakistan: Suspected US missile, bomb kill 13

By ISHTIAQ MAHSUD

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — A suspected U.S. missile strike killed at least five people Sunday in a tribal region where Pakistan's top Taliban commander is based, intelligence officials said, breaking a lull in such attacks and posing a test for growing anti-Taliban sentiment in the country.

31 militants killed in NW Pakistan operation

2009-06-14

ISLAMABAD, June 14 (Xinhua) -- A total of 31 terrorists, including foreigners, were killed and 50 injured in northwestern and tribal areas in the last 24 hours, said the Pakistani militaryin a press release on Sunday.

Pakistan blast kills eight

By Hasbanullah Khan

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) — The latest in a string of bombs in northwest Pakistan killed eight people on Sunday as a US missile strike hit a tribal belt where troops are expected to launch a fresh anti-Taliban onslaught.

FACTBOX: U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan

By Augustine Anthony
Sun Jun 14, 2009

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A suspected U.S. drone aircraft fired a missile at a vehicle carrying Taliban in Pakistan's South Waziristan region on Sunday, killing three militants, a tribal leader and an intelligence official said.



Pakistan's Taliban leader faces threat from fellow tribesman

By SAEED SHAH
McClatchy Newspapers


DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan -- A new Islamic militia leader has emerged in Pakistan to openly challenge al-Qaida-affiliated warlord Baitullah Mehsud for the first time from within his own tribe, marking the start of a bloody confrontation in the wild Waziristan region that could have profound consequences for both Pakistan and the West.



Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi

Mufti Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi, (16 February, 1948 - 12 June, 2009) was a leading anti-Taliban Sunni Islamic cleric from Pakistan who was well known for his moderate views. He was killed in a suicide bombing in Lahore, Pakistan on June 12, 2009.



Video: Double suicide bombing in Pakistan

Plenty reasons to be gloomy at Paris Air Show

Plenty reasons to be gloomy at Paris Air Show

By EMMA VANDORE

LE BOURGET, France (AP) — The Paris Air Show opens Monday under a morose, uneasy cloud.
Already reeling from the global recession, the aviation industry gathering in the city where Air France Flight 447 should have landed only two weeks ago has been shaken by the still unexplained crash.



Air France jet sent message on rudder problem

June 14 2009

Associated Press Writers= RIO DE JANEIRO (AP). A burst of last-minute automatic messages sent by Air France Flight 447 includes one about a problem with a rudder safety device but that does not explain what sent the jet plunging into the Atlantic Ocean, an aviation expert says.



Air France Plane Part Is Recovered by Merchant Ship

By Helder Marinho and Diana Kinch

June 14 (Bloomberg) -- A merchant ship traveling between Uruguay and the United Kingdom found a “medium size” piece of debris from the Air France plane crash site in the Atlantic Ocean, the Brazilian military said yesterday.



Crash jet ‘split in two at high altitude’

June 14, 2009

THE Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic with 228 people on board broke apart before it hit the water, throwing out some passengers at high altitude, investigators believe.



Error Messages From Air France Jet Offer Details but Little Insight

By MATTHEW L. WALD
Published: June 12, 2009

Marcelo Sayao/European Pressphoto Agency

Debris recovered from Air France Flight 447 was displayed Friday for the press in Recife, Brazil. Searchers have also found 44 bodies, including three on Friday.

Flight 447 mystery likely to cast shadow over Paris Air Show

June 12, 2009


The loss of the Air France Airbus A-330 will be one of the main talking points in Paris.

(CNN) -- The world's premier air show takes place in Paris next week, with the recent loss of Air France flight 447 over the Atlantic Ocean likely to cast a shadow over the event.



Video: Le Bourget 2009 - Paris Air Show on FRANCE 24

North Korea claims US could provoke nuclear war

North Korea claims US could provoke nuclear war

By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
14 Jun 2009

North Korea has accused the United States of targeting it with nuclear missiles and warned that nuclear war could break out on the Korean peninsula.



US denounces North Korean threat

The US secretary of state has condemned North Korea over its defiant threat to increase its nuclear activities, describing Pyongyang's continued provocations as "deeply regrettable."



North Korea Vows to Produce Nuclear Weapons

By MARTIN FACKLER
Published: June 13, 2009

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea responded Saturday to new United Nations sanctions on Friday by defiantly vowing to press forward with the production of nuclear weapons and take “resolute military actions” against international efforts to isolate it.



U.N. approves sanctions targeting North Korean ships

By Paul Richter
June 13, 2009

The sanctions, unanimously endorsed by the Security Council, seek to rein in Pyongyang's lucrative arms trade. The U.S. says it is ready to confront suspect vessels at sea.



North Korea Vows to Make More Nuclear Weapons

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
13 June 2009

North Korea has wasted no time in responding angrily to the passage of a new United Nations Security Council resolution. Pyongyang says it will use both plutonium and uranium technologies to create more nuclear weapons.



China urges North Korea to scrap nuclear weapons

Fri Jun 12, 2009

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - China's U.N. ambassador, Zhang Yesui, said a U.N. resolution on North Korea passed on Friday demonstrated the "firm opposition" of the world to Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions and urged North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program.



Video: UN Imposes Stiff Sanctions Against North Korea

Difficult moment for Iran - and world

Difficult moment for Iran - and world

By John Simpson
Sunday, 14 June 2009

This was not, of course, the result the West was hoping for. But political chaos and public disorder in Iran is not what any outside government wants either.



Israel: Iran results intensify threat



(CNN) -- Israel warned Sunday that the apparent re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad represented "an intensification of the Iranian threat," and called for redoubled international efforts to halt its nuclear program.



Iran Cracks Down on Protests After Ahmadinejad Election Success

By Ladane Nasseri and Ali Sheikholeslami

June 14 (Bloomberg) -- Iran cracked down on protests sparked by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidential victory, arresting more than 100 people who clashed with police in Tehran and political party leaders after his opponents charged fraud.



WITNESS-Dreams turn to ashes on Tehran boulevard after vote

By Fredrik Dahl
Jun 14, 2009

TEHRAN, June 14 (Reuters) - A few days ago Tehran's most famous boulevard was alive with joy and celebration as supporters of moderate presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi vented their desire for social and political change in Iran.



Ahmadinejad defends vote as 'real and free'

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his re-election was "real and free" and cannot be questioned.



Iranian presidential election, 2009

The 2009 Iranian presidential election was held on 12 June 2009 in Iran, the tenth presidential election to be held in the country. The President of Iran is the highest official elected by direct popularly vote, but does not control foreign policy or the armed forces. Candidates have to be vetted by the Guardian Council, a twelve member body consisting of six clerics (selected by Iran's Supreme Leader), and six lawyers (proposed by the head of Iran's judicial system and voted in by the Parliament).



Video: Ahmadinejad wins landslide victory

U.S. envoy speaks highly of China's measures to contain green house gases

U.S. envoy speaks highly of China's measures to contain green house gases

WASHINGTON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern Friday spoke highly of what the Chinese government has done to curb green house gases emission, saying those measures "very favorably impressed" him.



China and U.S. Seek a Truce on Greenhouse Gases

By JOHN M. BRODER and JONATHAN ANSFIELD
Published: June 7, 2009

WASHINGTON — For months the United States and China, by far the world’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, have been warily circling each other in hopes of breaking a long impasse on global warming policy.



US eases demands on PRC emissions

Sunday, Jun 14, 2009

The US said on Friday it would not demand that China commits to binding cuts in its greenhouse gas emissions, marking an important step toward agreement on a global treaty to fight climate change.



ANALYSIS-Dispute on CO2 cuts forms roadblock to Copenhagen

Fri Jun 12, 2009
By Alister Doyle and Gerard Wynn

BONN, Germany, June 12 (Reuters) - A small reference on page 776 of a mammoth U.N. scientific report to cuts in greenhouse gases far deeper than those on offer by rich nations has become a main roadblock towards a new U.N. climate treaty.



At Odds on Emissions, U.S., China Open Talks

By Ariana Eunjung Cha
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, June 9, 2009

BEIJING, June 8 -- Senior U.S. and Chinese officials began three days of talks here Monday in hopes of making a breakthrough on climate change, but they remain far apart on the basic issue of who is to blame for carbon emissions and should shoulder the biggest burden for reducing them.



US Climate Envoy Talks with China on Emissions Cuts

By Alison Klayman
Beijing
09 June 2009

China and the United States have agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas like clean energy, as the international community gets ready to discuss a new climate treaty in Copenhagen, this December. U.S. special envoy for climate change Todd Stern has wrapped two days of talks with officials in Beijing.

Some in Palau are worried about Guantanamo detainees

Some in Palau are worried about Guantanamo detainees

Email Picture

Children play in Ngerkebesang, Palau. The tiny island republic, a former U.S. territory, has only 20,000 year-round residents and is heavily dependent on eco-tourism.

By John M. Glionna
June 14, 2009

The laid-back island republic is unaccustomed to geopolitics, and some question why the U.S. is sending them Chinese Muslims. But others say their culture is welcoming to foreigners.

AP Interview: Detainee move to Palau is tentative

By TOMOKO A. HOSAKA

KOROR, Palau (AP) — The president of Palau is flattered by all the publicity he's had since agreeing to take in more than a dozen Guantanamo detainees, but he said Saturday their transfer is not a done deal.

China Protests Moving of Detainees

Pool photograph by Brennan Linsley

Chinese Uighur detainees at the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, earlier this month.
By ANDREW JACOBS and SHARON OTTERMAN
Published: June 11, 2009

BEIJING — The Chinese government protested Thursday over the decision by the American government to resettle a group of Chinese Muslims to the isolated archipelago of Palau. The Uighur men, former detainees at Guantánamo Bay, have been in a state of limbo since they were cleared of wrongdoing last fall.



Obama Bows on Settling Detainees

By Peter Finn and Sandhya Somashekhar
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, June 12, 2009

The Obama administration has all but abandoned plans to allow Guantanamo Bay detainees who have been cleared for release to live in the United States, administration officials said yesterday, a decision that reflects bipartisan congressional opposition to admitting such prisoners but complicates efforts to persuade European allies to accept them.



U.S. sends four Uighur detainees to Bermuda

Jun 11, 2009
By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four Chinese detainees from Guantanamo Bay arrived in Bermuda on Thursday after being freed by U.S. authorities in the Obama administration's latest move to close the controversial prison camp for terror suspects.



Row erupts over Guantanamo deal

The UK expressed concern about the transfer of the Uighurs

A diplomatic spat has broken out over Bermuda's acceptance of four Chinese Muslim Uighurs released from the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay.

Video: Uighurs face new island home

Labour MPs threaten own manifesto

Labour MPs threaten own manifesto

John McDonnell says he wants candidates to stay within the Labour Party

12 June 2009

Left wing Labour MPs are threatening to stand under their own manifesto at the next election if Prime Minister Gordon Brown fails to adopt their policies.

Self-pity and a dread of things to come as MPs lick their wounds

Tom Baldwin

June 13, 2009

More than a month after the siege of Westminster began, bewildered MPs are emerging to take stock of the wreckage. Although there is a lull in the bombardment, MPs are still surrounded by the public rage over expenses that has already destroyed several careers and will probably end many more at the next election.

British PM Brown's ratings fall again, Labour gains

June 12, 2009

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's personal ratings have fallen again after he survived attempts to force him out of office, although his ruling Labour Party's standing has improved, an opinion poll said on Friday.

Why Brown is Too Big for Britain

Jun 12, 2009

By Stryker McGuire

In Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been all but consumed by a wildfire of parliamentary scandal, Labour Party infighting, domestic-policy missteps and profound national anxiety over an economy in turmoil. He stood down calls for his resignation last week, but if he's not forced out sooner, he's virtually certain to resign after the next election, which must be held within the next 12 months. Brown lacks the tools to stage a comeback at home. And yet around the world, his stature is still rising.

Steps to counter recession having effect-UK's Brown

Jun 10, 2009

By Adrian Croft

LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) - Recent economic data suggest government action to tackle the recession is starting to have some effect, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Thursday.


Why plot to oust Gordon Brown failed

10 June 2009

At 3pm on Monday 8 June, 15 people met in an MP's office in the House of Commons to agree that, for the time being at least, the Hotmail Plot had failed.


Gordon Brown's PR won't stop duck houses or 'flipping'

12 Jun 2009

By Simon Heffer

No amount of reform will abolish egregious expense claimsPhoto: PA

I may be obtuse, but I fail to see how altering the way we are governed - short of abolishing MPs altogether - would have made any difference to the MPs' expenses debacle, says Simon Heffer.