Barack Obama eases offshore oil drilling ban
Posted on Wednesday, March 31, 2010
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Barack Obama eases offshore oil drilling ban
Barack Obama: "There will be those who strongly disagree with this decision"
Oil firms could be given the chance to explore for reserves off the US coast for the first time in decades, under plans outlined by President Obama.
The White House says drilling will be allowed off Virginia and considered off much of the rest of the Atlantic coast.
The plans would overturn moratoriums on exploration put in place in the 1980s.
Analysts say the move, designed to cut dependency on foreign oil, is aimed at appeasing Republicans to help pass Mr Obama's climate-change proposals.
The Democrat-backed climate change bill, which calls for binding emissions' limits, has been languishing in Congress for months amid Republican opposition.
 | ANALYSIS  Steve Kingstone, BBC News, Washington President Obama will draw criticism from environmental groups and influential politicians in coastal states but his eyes are on a bigger prize: a climate change bill, compatible with any post-Kyoto international agreement. Together with earlier concessions on coal and nuclear power, Wednesday's announcement is an attempt to secure opposition Republican votes in the Senate, which will be needed if the bill is to become law. Critics will say Mr Obama has given Republicans what they wanted. The administration counters that responsible exploration on the home front will lessen America's dependency on oil from unpredictable foreign suppliers. The president also placed drilling in the context of a broader commitment to renewable energy, which he says will create or save 700,000 jobs. As so often in presidential politics, achievements hinge on successfully balancing competing forces. Mr Obama just walked out on to the high-wire. |
But Republicans have opposed much of Mr Obama's domestic agenda, and were quick to dismiss his oil drilling plans.
John Boehner, Republican leader in the House of Representatives, welcomed the end of the moratorium in the east, but said keeping the ban on other areas "makes no sense".
Environmental campaigners also denounced the plans, with Greenpeace saying it added to the US "addiction to oil".
"Expanding offshore drilling in areas that have been protected for decades threatens our oceans and the coastal communities that depend on them with devastating oil spills, more pollution and climate change," said the group's Phil Radford.
Moratoriums on drilling were put in place amid fears that an oil spill would cause an ecological disaster.
Many Democrats oppose any expansion of oil drilling, but Mr Obama has spoken in favour of such a move in the past.
Announcing the proposals, he stressed that drilling alone would not meet the nation's energy needs.
"Today we're announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration - but in ways that balance the need to harness domestic energy resources and the need to protect America's natural resources," Mr Obama said at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.
"My administration will consider potential new areas for development in the mid and south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico."
The White House also announced a mixed package for Alaska - cancelling outright oil and gas drilling leases in the Bristol Bay area.
Four leases in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off Alaska's north coast were also cancelled - although the area will be left open for "future scientific research to assess their suitability for leasing".
A previously announced lease sale in Alaska's Cook Inlet would be allowed to go ahead, the government said.
2: Lease for Bristol Bay area cancelled to protect "sensitive area"
3: Drilling could be allowed in Eastern Gulf if moratorium expires
4: First new offshore sale in the Atlantic in more than two decades
Suspect confesses over US mission attack in Mexico
A man held over a fatal attack on US consular staff in Mexico earlier this month has confessed to participating in the murders, Mexican officials say.
They say Ricardo Valles, an alleged member of the notorious Los Aztecas gang, told them he was a lookout for the drug trafficking gang.
He said the target of the attack in Ciudad Juarez was a US jail guard.
The guard and his wife, an employee of the US consulate were gunned down. A Mexican national was also killed.
Arthur Redelfs and his wife Lesley Enriquez, both US nationals, and Jorge Alberto Salcido, the Mexican husband of another consular employee, were shot dead in two separate incidents as they were leaving a birthday party in the border city on 13 March.
Simultaneous attacks
Mr Valles told investigators that a gang leader had ordered him to locate "the white sport utility vehicle" used by Mr Redelfs.
He said that had followed the car carrying the couple until gang members told him back off, after which the Americans were gunned down.
In a simultaneous killing, Mr Salcido, the Mexican husband of another US consular worker, was also shot. He was driving a similar white vehicle.
The motive of the killings remain unclear.
However, investigators believe that the shootings may be an act of revenge against Mr Redelfs, who worked in a prison across the border where many Los Aztecas gang members are held.
More than 2,500 people died last year in Ciudad Juarez, one of the focal points of Mexico's illegal drugs trade.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was in Mexico as part of a high-level US delegation last week, pledged increased support for Mexico in the fight against drug gangs.
She said more would be done to cut US demand for drugs and the flow of profits and guns into Mexico.
Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa visits Tamil city Jaffna
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is due to make a rare visit to the cultural capital of the country's Tamil minority, the northern city of Jaffna.
It comes a week before parliamentary elections which the president's ruling coalition is widely expected to win.
But the signs are that in Jaffna the president, who belongs to the Sinhalese majority, is not popular.
This is a follow-up to his historic visit in January - his first since defeating the Tamil Tiger insurgency.
Reunification
For five years in the early 90s, the Tigers had made Jaffna the capital of a breakaway Tamil-ruled statelet.
With the rebels vanquished, Mr Rajapaksa's visits symbolise the reunification of the island.
He will again be addressing the public in a big gathering and hoping the government attracts their votes in the legislative election.
But in the presidential election, he himself was soundly defeated in Jaffna and other Tamil-dominated areas in the north and east, despite winning in the rest of the country.
Those districts voted for his main rival, Gen Sarath Fonseka, although turnout was low, apparently because of both intimidation and a sense of disillusionment with both candidates.
Gen Fonseka is now imprisoned and on trial for plotting against the government.
But he is standing for parliament, as are candidates from a range of groupings, including one very close to the defeated rebels.
President Rajapaksa dismisses the notion of a federal solution which many Tamils would like, and seems unlikely to find a ready audience for his message on Thursday.
Peru's Machu Picchu set to reopen to tourists
Peru's most treasured archaeological site, Machu Picchu, is due to be formally re-opened after it was closed for two months.
Heavy rains and landslides at the end of January destroyed rail access to the 15th Century Inca ruin - the most visited site in Latin America.
Every day the monument was closed, Peru lost $1m (£660,000) in tourism revenue.
The damaged railway line linking the citadel to the rest of Peru was mended with an urgency rarely seen before.
For all its other tourist attractions, Peru has had a tough lesson in just how central Machu Picchu is to its tourist industry.
"This incident with the train to Machu Picchu has definitely had an impact on us… I would say our sales have been reduced by 50%," said Bernard Schleien, director of the Latin America For Less travel agency.
Ninety percent of Peru's tourist revenue comes from the Cuzco region, where Machu Picchu's two-month closure meant the loss of around 60,000 tourists.
The local chamber of commerce says more than half the population of the regional capital Cuzco works directly or indirectly in tourism.
The re-opening of Machu Picchu is hugely important, not just for Peru's economy, but also its image abroad.
'Sorcerer' faces imminent death in Saudi Arabia
The lawyer for a Lebanese man sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for witchcraft has appealed for international help to save him.
Ali Sabat was the host of a popular Lebanese TV show in which he predicted the future and gave advice.
He was arrested by religious police on sorcery charges while on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in 2008.
His lawyer, May el-Khansa, says she has been told Mr Sabat is due to be executed this week.
Ms Khansa has contacted the Lebanese president and prime minister to appeal on his behalf.
There has been no official confirmation from Saudi Arabia, but executions there are often carried out with little warning.
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Mr Sabat did make a confession, but Ms Khansa says he only did so because he had been told he could go back to Lebanon if he did.
Human rights groups have accused the Saudis of "sanctioning a literal witch hunt by the religious police".
An Egyptian working as a pharmacist in Saudi Arabia was executed in 2007 after having been found guilty of using sorcery to try to separate a married couple.
There is no legal definition of witchcraft in Saudi Arabia, but horoscopes and fortune telling are condemned as un-Islamic.
Nevertheless, there is still a big thirst for such services in the country where widespread superstition survives under the surface of strict religious orthodoxy.
US and France vow to push for new sanctions on Iran
US and France vow to push for new sanctions on Iran
US President Barack Obama: "We said there was going to be a time limit"
The US and France have vowed to work together to push for new UN sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme.
After talks in Washington with French leader Nicolas Sarkozy, US President Barack Obama said he hoped to have the sanctions in place "within weeks".
Mr Sarkozy promised "all necessary efforts to make sure Europe as a whole engaged in the sanctions regime".
Western powers suspect Iran is seeking to develop a nuclear arms capability. Tehran denies this.
It says its atomic programme is entirely peaceful.
'Mad race'
In a joint news conference with Mr Sarkozy at the White House, Mr Obama said he was not interested in waiting months for new sanctions.
"My hope is that we are going to get this done this spring," he said. "I am interested in seeing that regime in place within weeks."
For his part, President Sarkozy said Iran could not continue its "mad race" to try to complete its suspect nuclear programme.
"The time has come to take decisions. Iran cannot continue its mad race," Mr Sarkozy said at the joint press conference.
He said that he would work with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to get European backing for the sanctions regime.
Mrs Merkel has suggested that if the UN Security Council cannot agree on the matter, Germany and other like-minded countries might pursue their own sanctions.
Chinese reluctance
There have been three rounds of UN sanctions against Iran, blocking trade of "sensitive nuclear material", freezing the financial assets of those involved in Iran's nuclear activities, banning all of Iran's arms exports, and encouraging scrutiny of the dealings of Iranian banks.
The US and its allies on the UN Security Council have been pushing for a fourth round of sanctions, which would target Iran's oil trade.
While Russia is thought to be more inclined than before to endorse the new sanctions, efforts to persuade China to go along have yet to bear fruit, the BBC's Paul Adams reports from Washington.
China insists fresh sanctions would "complicate the situation" and could derail diplomatic efforts.
US general 'sorry' for Dutch gay soldier remark
A retired US general has apologised for suggesting that Dutch troops failed to stop the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia in 1995 because some of them were gay.
Gen John Sheehan acknowledged that his views had been wrong, after the Dutch general he cited as his source denied having said anything of the kind.
He made the claim at a Senate hearing on whether openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the US military.
The comments caused a storm of controversy in the Netherlands.
Srebrenica was a UN safe haven under the protection of Dutch peacekeepers when, in 1995, Bosnian Serb forces overran the town, killing some 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
|  To be clear, the failure on the ground in Srebrenica was in no way the fault of the individual soldiers  Retired Gen John Sheehan |
Earlier this month, Gen Sheehan - a former Nato commander - cited retired Gen Henk van den Breemen as one of the Dutch army chiefs who had allegedly said that gays were "part of the problem" in the fall of Srebrenica.
He told a US congressional hearing that European armies had been weakened by efforts to "socialise" them, including allowing gay soldiers to serve.
But in an e-mail to Gen Breemen released by the Dutch defence ministry, Gen Sheehan said: "I am sorry that my recent public recollection of those discussions of 15 years ago inaccurately reflected your thinking on some specific social issues in the military."
He added: "To be clear, the failure on the ground in Srebrenica was in no way the fault of the individual soldiers."
A spokesman for the Dutch defence minister welcomed the apology, saying he was "satisfied" and "very pleased that the case is closed".
Pakistan Supreme Court issues corruption case threat
Pakistan's Supreme Court has threatened to jail the head of the country's anti-corruption agency unless he reopens hundreds of corruption cases.
The court said the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau, Naveed Ahsan, would be in contempt of court if he did not act within 24 hours.
An amnesty in 2007 invalidated charges against a number of top politicians.
But the court threw the order out in December, and has been demanding the revival of corruption cases ever since.
Several of the pending cases involve President Asif Zardari.
Before taking office, he spent years in jail after being convicted on corruption charges he says were politically motivated.
Power-sharing
The amnesty, which protected officials and politicians from charges dating back to the 1990s, was introduced by former military leader Gen Pervez Musharraf.
It was seen as the basis for a power-sharing deal between Mr Musharraf and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in December 2007.
Meanwhile, the director general of Pakistan's top police investigation agency, Ahmed Riaz Sheikh, has reportedly been detained on orders of the Supreme Court.
His lawyer, Rashid Rizvi, told Reuters news agency he had been sent into police custody after he "withdrew his challenge to his conviction".
Nine killed by twin bombings in Russia's Dagestan
At least nine people, including a top regional police official, have been killed by two bombs in Russia's restive North Caucasus republic of Dagestan.
A car bomb was detonated at about 0830 (0430 GMT) outside the offices of the local interior ministry and the FSB security agency in the town of Kizlyar.
The second bomb went off about 35 minutes later on the same street.
Russia is on alert after double suicide bombings on the Moscow Metro on Monday morning, which killed 39 people.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called on security forces to "scrape from the sewers" those responsible. Investigators say they believe the bombers were linked to militants operating in the North Caucasus.
Last month, Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov threatened that "the zone of military operations will be extended to the territory of Russia... the war is coming to their cities".
Violence in Dagestan has escalated following a crackdown on militants in Chechnya. In June, its interior minister was shot dead.
Officials said the chief of police in Kizlyar, Col Vitaly Vedernikov, was killed in the second of Wednesday's blasts.
He was in a crowd gathered at the site of the car bomb, which a suicide bomber infiltrated before blowing himself up, they added.
Kizlyar is situated close to Dagestan's border with Chechnya.
Colombia Farc rebels release hostage Pablo Moncayo
Colombia Farc rebels release hostage Pablo Moncayo
BBC Correspondent Jeremy McDermott: "It was a very emotional moment"
A Colombian soldier held hostage in the jungle by left-wing rebels for 12 years has been freed.
Sgt Pablo Emilio Moncayo, who was 19 when he was seized by Farc guerrillas, was handed over to a humanitarian mission deep in the southern jungle.
He was later reunited with family members the town of Florencia.
The soldier's plight came to national attention in 2007, when his father, Gustavo, walked in chains across the country to campaign for his release.
As Sgt Moncayo stepped off a helicopter in uniform to greet family on the tarmac, he said: "I thank God and my father. You have no idea how staggering it is to return to civilisation."
Presidential welcome
The rescue mission included delegates from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Senator Piedad Cordoba and Bishop Leonardo Gomez Serna.
| ANALYSIS  Jeremy McDermott, BBC News, Colombia Gustavo Moncayo was the first to embrace his son on the tarmac at Florencia airport in the south of Colombia. Gustavo had walked the length and breadth of Colombia during Sgt Moncayo's long captivity, wearing chains to highlight his son's predicament, seeking unsuccessfully to prompt the government into negotiating with the Farc. So it was only fitting that Sgt Moncayo unlocked the padlock on the chains and threw them to the ground, ending the tragedy that has gripped this family for more than a decade. However there are still more than 20 families of other hostages still held by the Farc who continue to suffer their own tragedies, wondering if after all these years, they will ever see their loved ones alive again. |
They had been flown to a location agreed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
Reacting to the release, President Alvaro Uribe said: "We welcome back Sgt Moncayo... Colombia receives with open arms all those who return from captivity and strongly condemns their kidnappers."
The Farc have been fighting the Colombian state for more than four decades and currently hold some 20 police officers and soldiers.
They released another soldier, Pte Josue Daniel Calvo, on Sunday after nearly a year of captivity.
But they say no more hostages will be freed until the government agrees to negotiate.
Mr Uribe, who has pursued a hard-line security policy, has indicated he will consider exchanging hundreds of jailed rebels for the hostages, but only if freed guerrillas do not rejoin rebel ranks.
As well as the high-profile hostages from the security forces, hundreds of Colombians have been kidnapped over the years by armed groups and drug-trafficking gangs, sometimes for political reasons but often for ransom
Breast cancer screening does 'more good than harm'
Breast cancer screening does more good than harm, with any over-treatment justified by the number of lives saved, a study of 80,000 women has concluded.
Mammograms can spot dangerous tumours, but might also detect lumps that are essentially harmless, exposing some women to undue anxiety and surgery.
This has led to a debate among experts about the benefits of breast screening.
But this study suggests screening saves the lives of two women for every one who may have unnecessary treatment.
Screening extension
More than 45,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK, and more than 12,000 die from the disease.
Women aged 50 to 70 are invited for NHS breast screening every three years across the UK.
In England from 2012 screening will be extended to women aged from 47 to 73.
| Women need to know that there's a good chance they could be diagnosed with a cancer which is not harmful Jayant Vaidya Breast cancer surgeon |
The study by experts from the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry appears in the Journal of Medical Screening.
It focused on data from 80,000 women from the age of 50, and looked at data from Sweden and England before and after the introduction of screening.
The research estimated that 5.7 breast cancer deaths were prevented for every 1,000 women screened over a 20-year period in England.
At the same time, 2.3 women per 1,000 were told they had a lump but it was not clear if it was an aggressive form of cancer that needed to be treated.
Put another way, for every 28 cases diagnosed, 2.5 lives were saved and one case was over-diagnosed.
'Significant reduction'
The authors of this latest study say the benefits of breast screening are clear.
"The benefits in terms of numbers of deaths prevented are around double the harm in terms of over-diagnosis.
"Analysis shows a substantial and significant reduction in breast cancer deaths in association with mammographic screening," they said.
England's NHS screening programme has been rewriting its leaflet for patients after concerns it did not provide enough explanation for women about their choices.
A new version of the leaflet will be published by this summer.
Richard Winder, deputy director of NHS cancer screening programmes, said: "There is a risk of over-diagnosis, and possible subsequent over-treatment, associated with any screening programme.
"But this latest, independent study shows that the risk of over-diagnosis is very much lower than some other recent estimates have claimed, and that the benefits far outweigh the risks."
Calculations 'opaque'
Dr Alexis Willett, head of policy at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said the new research provided a compelling argument in favour of breast screening.
"Screening saves lives because it picks up cancer before any symptoms can be seen or felt.
"The earlier cancer is diagnosed, the better a woman's chance of a successful outcome," she said.
Emma Pennery, clinical director at Breast Cancer Care, said it was aware the ongoing debate over the effectiveness of screening could cause "confusion and anxiety for women".
"This robust study clearly reinforces that screening remains an effective option for detecting breast cancers," she said.
However, Jayant Vaidya, a breast cancer surgeon at University College London and the Whittington Hospital, said the study was based on calculations that were opaque.
"Women who go for breast cancer screening need to know that there's a good chance they could be diagnosed with a cancer which is not harmful and may never have bothered them," he said.
US and Russia announce deal to cut nuclear weapons
Posted on Friday, March 26, 2010
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US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have agreed a new nuclear arms reduction treaty after months of negotiations.
The treaty limits both sides to 1,550 warheads, about 30% less than currently allowed, the White House said.
The deal replaces the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The leaders will sign the pact in Prague on 8 April.
President Obama hailed the treaty as the most comprehensive weapons control agreement in nearly two decades.
"With this agreement, the United States and Russia - the two largest nuclear powers in the world - also send a clear signal that we intend to lead," he said at the White House.
"By upholding our own commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we strengthen our global efforts to stop the spread of these weapons, and to ensure that other nations meet their own responsibilities," he said.
In Russia, President Medvedev's spokeswoman told the Interfax news agency: "This treaty reflects the balance of interests of both nations."
The treaty must be ratified by the US Senate and the Russian Duma.
New limits
In a speech in Prague last April, Mr Obama set out his vision of moving towards a world without nuclear weapons.
Both sides agreed to cut their arsenals last year, but disagreements on verification have held up a deal.
| TREATY LIMITS Warheads: 1,550 (74% lower than the 1991 Start Treaty and 30% lower than the 2002 Moscow Treaty) Launchers: 800 deployed and non-deployed launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments Missiles: 700 deployed intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments  |
The US is said to have more than 2,000 deployed strategic nuclear weapons, while Russia is believed to have more than 2,500.
The new agreement - which came in a phone call between the two leaders - limits the US and Russia to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads each.
The cuts are substantial - well over 30% for the Russians and around 25% for the Americans, whose current arsenal is smaller, says BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins.
Both sides would have seven years after the treaty's ratification to carry out the reduction in long-range nuclear warheads.
The agreement also calls for cutting by about half the missiles and bombers that carry the weapons to their targets.
It limits missile delivery vehicles to 800 deployed and non-deployed intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, submarine-launched ballistic missile launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear weapons.
The cap on deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine launched missiles is set at 700, the White House said.
The agreement includes a new verification mechanism that will ensure the "irreversibility, verifiability and transparency" of the reduction process, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said.
Moral high ground
The pact establishes a "legally-binding" linkage between offensive weapons and missile defence systems, the Kremlin said in a statement, and "will demand the deployment of all strategic offensive weapons exclusively on national territories".
| ANALYSIS  Jonathan Marcus, BBC diplomatic correspondent
The reductions in this new treaty sound significant, but they leave both sides still with many more weapons than they need to deter the other. But it marks the first step in the US president's ambitious arms control agenda. The US-Russia deal sends an important signal ahead of a crucial meeting in May to review the nuclear non-proliferation treaty - the cornerstone of efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. Both Washington and Moscow want to be seen to be reducing their nuclear arsenals - something non-nuclear nations demand if the whole non-proliferation regime is to work effectively. |
Moscow has strongly opposed US plans to set up missile defences in Europe, and has insisted on explicit recognition of the link between offensive and defensive systems in any new strategic arms reduction pact.
The timing and symbolism of the deal are crucial, enabling both countries to claim some moral high ground going into next month's Washington Summit on nuclear security, and the critical talks in May aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons around the world, our correspondent says.
Presidents Obama and Medvedev hope the new deal will increase pressure on Iran, in particular, to abandon any ambition to develop nuclear weapons, he adds.
The agreement - called the Measures to Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms - replaces the Cold War-era Start treaty signed in 1991 and the Moscow Treaty signed in 2002.
Both US and Russian officials expressed confidence that lawmakers would ratify the treaty.
Burma stages landmark army parade
Thousands of soldiers have taken part in Burma's annual Armed Forces Day parade in the capital Nay Pyi Taw.
The parade was the last before elections later this year which should replace Burma's military government.
Military ruler General Than Shwe inspected the troops and gave an address to the crowds at this rare public appearance.
However, critics say the military is aiming to keep power even after the elections.
No date for the poll has yet been set.
Future role
There has been speculation that Than Shwe will want to remain as army chief or may try to become president.
In his speech, Than Shwe referred to the elections, which he said would be free and fair.
He issued a warning to what he called external powers saying that during transition to an unfamiliar system, countries with greater experience usually interfere and take advantage for their own interests.
He warned of "inappropriate" campaigning by opposition groups and said the nation would be strong "only when the armed forces are strong".
The BBC's Alastair Leithead, who was among foreign journalists invited to the parade, said the event was a clear message of the strength the Burmese military has - and is not prepared to give up.
Burma recently revealed new laws under which the multi-party elections will take place.
Many key opposition figures - including detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi - are not allowed to take part.
Members of religious orders are also banned from taking part, a rule which covers the monks who led anti-government protests two years ago.
South Korea searches for sailors after sinking
The search is continuing for 46 South Korean sailors missing after their ship sank near the disputed maritime border with North Korea.
The naval patrol vessel sank after an unexplained explosion ripped through its hull, reports say.
Fifty-eight sailors have been rescued, a military official told AFP news agency.
A military spokesman said there was no indication so far that North Korea had been involved in the incident.
The boast sank off the west coast of the divided peninsula, in an area which has seen deadly exchanges of fire between the navies of the North and South in the past.
A spokesman for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said navy divers were preparing to investigate the cause of the sinking and possibly retrieve bodies.
'Crew jumped'
The 1,200-tonne Cheonan had been on a routine patrol near South Korea's Baeknyeong Island at 2130 local time (1230 GMT) on Friday when it began sinking, Rear Admiral Lee Ki-sik told reporters.
Military officials told South Korea's Yonhap news agency that an explosion tore a hole in the rear hull, shutting off the engine and quickly taking the ship down.
A number of the crew jumped into the water, Yonhap said.
Six naval ships and two coastguard vessels, as well as helicopters, rushed to save the crew, Yonhap and military officials said.
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There was no sign of the North's military in the area where the ship sank, Yonhap said, citing officials.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak convened an emergency meeting of security officials and said all possible causes for the sinking would be investigated.
He ordered the military to focus on rescuing the sailors.
There were reports that another South Korean ship had fired shots toward an unidentified vessel, but officials later speculated the target had been a flock of birds.
The incident comes at a time of tension between the two Koreas. International talks aimed at ending the communist North's nuclear ambitions have been stalled for months.
North and South Korea are still in a official state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended only in a truce.
Since then, they have fought three bloody skirmishes in the Yellow Sea.
In January, North Korea fired about 30 artillery shells not far from Baeknyeong. South Korea fired 100 warning shots in response, but no injuries were reported.
South Korea recognises the Northern Limit Line, drawn unilaterally by the US-led United Nations Command to demarcate the sea border at the end of the Korean War. The line has never been accepted by North Korea.
Israeli tanks 'enter Gaza' after deadly clashes
Israeli tanks are reported to have advanced into the Gaza Strip following clashes with Palestinians in which two Israeli soldiers died.
Witnesses in Gaza said tanks and bulldozers had moved towards the southern town of Khan Younis.
They also said there had been firing from the Israeli navy along the Gaza coastline.
It is the first time Israeli soldiers have died in Gaza since Israel's 22-day offensive there more than a year ago.
Reports say at least two Palestinians have also been killed.
Israel says the fighting started when its troops crossed into Gaza after spotting militants planting explosives along the border.
Reports from inside Gaza say the militants then tried to capture an Israeli soldier.
Retaliation
The BBC's Jon Donnison, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, says many inside Gaza will now expect retaliation from Israel to be stepped up following the deaths of the soldiers.
The army said an officer and a conscript died when gunmen fired on a military patrol inside the Gaza Stip. Two soldiers were injured and two Palestinian fighters killed in the clash, it said.
The two soldiers killed were named by Israel's Haaretz newspaper as Eliraz Peretz, 31, and 21-year-old Ilan Sebiatkovsky.
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Army spokeswoman Avital Leibovich described their deaths as "tragic" and "painful".
"I think it's true to say that this is one of the fiercest days we have had since operation Cast Lead happened," she said, referring to the Israeli offensive.
A ceasefire between Israel and Islamist militant group Hamas, which governs Gaza, has largely held since the Israeli offensive.
However, hundreds of rockets have been fired into southern Israel by militants in Gaza.
Hamas's armed wing - the al-Qassam Brigades - said in a statement sent to the BBC that it had killed the two soldiers.
Speaking to Reuters news agency, Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida is quoted as saying: "This was our work, but was carried out for defence."
Militants have been holding another Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, for more than three years.
US marine to face trial over Iraq killings
A US marine is to go on trial over the killing of 24 men, women and children in the Iraqi town of Haditha in 2005.
The trial of Staff Sgt Frank Wuterich will go ahead after a military judge in California refused to dismiss the charges.
Sgt Wuterich is one of eight marines originally charged with murder or failure to investigate the killings.
The charges against six of them were dropped or dismissed, and one was acquitted.
Lawyers for Sgt Wuterich had argued that his case should be dismissed.
They said that an investigator into the incident was involved in meetings with the general who brought the initial charges against the soldiers.
But the judge ruled that there was no unlawful influence and no record of any "meaningful comment" between the general and an aide who had investigated the case as a military lawyer.
It means Sgt Wuterich faces a trial on charges of voluntary manslaughter and other crimes connected to the attack in Haditha.
The deaths occurred after a marine was killed by a roadside bomb.
Sgt Wuterich and a squad member were accused of shooting five men by a car at the scene.
Investigators say he then ordered his men to clear several houses with grenades and gunfire.
At an earlier hearing, Sgt Wuterich said he regretted the loss of civilian lives but believed he was operating within military combat rules when he ordered his men to attack.
Uganda mourners at Buganda tombs in deadly crush
Crowds in crush at Uganda tomb
At least one person has been killed and 10 wounded in a crush at a Ugandan royal tomb that was destroyed by fire last week, police say.
The incident came at the end of a week of official mourning for the mausoleum of the Buganda kingdom, which has attracted thousands of people.
The fire at the tombs sparked protests in which at least two people died.
Government supporters and Buganda's King Ronald Mutebi have been at loggerheads since riots last year.
Acting spokesperson for the Buganda kingdom Medard Ssegona Lubega told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that the death occurred when a person fell down as the huge crowds were pushing against each other - with some trying to leave the site.
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"It was hot for many people who were in the royal tomb," he said.
The government has said it will help rebuild the site and Buganda ministers are discussing the plans.
It remains unclear what started the fire, although some suspect arson.
Buganda is the largest of Uganda's four ancient kingdoms, abolished in 1966 but reinstated by President Yoweri Museveni's government in 1993.
However, he restored them only as cultural institutions with no political power.
Supporters of King Ronald believe he should have more power and influence than Mr Museveni allows.
Times and Sunday Times websites to charge from June
The Times and Sunday Times newspapers will start charging to access their websites in June, owner News International (NI) has announced.
Users will pay £1 for a day's access and £2 for a week's subscription.
The move opens a new front in the battle for readership and will be watched closely by the industry.
NI chief executive Rebekah Brooks said it was "a crucial step towards making the business of news an economically exciting proposition".
Both titles will launch new websites in early May, separating their digital presence for the first time and replacing the existing, combined site, Times Online.
The two new sites will be available for a free trial period to registered customers. And payment will give customers access to both sites.
With newspaper sales in decline, companies have been searching for a business model that will make money from their websites.
But with so much news content available for free on the internet, NI's decision to charge is seen by many people as a high risk strategy.
James Harding, editor of The Times, agreed that there was a risk. "But it's less of a risk than just throwing away our journalism and giving it away from free," he told the BBC.
He likened the news industry to the music industry of four years ago. "People said the game is up for the music industry because everyone is downloading for free. But now people are buying from download sites."
Ms Brooks said the decision to charge came "at a defining moment for journalism... We are proud of our journalism and unashamed to say that we believe it has value.
"This is just the start. The Times and The Sunday Times are the first of our four titles in the UK to move to this new approach. We will continue to develop our digital products and to invest and innovate for our customers."
Deal reached over Greece debts at Brussels summit
All 16 eurozone countries have backed a financing plan to help debt-laden Greece, which will include IMF money.
The safety net would total up to 22bn euros (£20bn), but would only be used if market lending to Greece dried up.
Eurozone nations would grant co-ordinated bilateral loans, totalling some two-thirds of the funding, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
The plan was worked out at a summit in Brussels. Greek PM George Papandreou called it "a very satisfactory" move.
The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said the deal was significant "not just for Greece, but for the stability of the eurozone".
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he was "extremely happy that we've reached this deal", calling it "a right decision".
'Last resort'
The joint eurozone and International Monetary Fund bail-out programme envisages strict conditions and requires the unanimous agreement of the 16 eurozone nations to release loans.
| ANALYSIS  Jonny Dymond, BBC News, Brussels There is no bail-out but a bail-out mechanism is in place; the 16 eurozone countries have agreed to it. All it needs now is the nod from the rest of the 27-member EU. Late on Thursday night there was some alarm from Britain and others about a reference to "economic government" by the European Council. That's been watered down to economic governance, something more anodyne and thus acceptable. The involvement of the International Monetary Fund in any future bail-out is a rebuff to the French, but it was a condition of the Germans playing ball. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has got pretty much everything she wanted. |
The agreement included no numbers, but officials in Brussels - speaking on condition of anonymity - said the total package would be some 22bn euros.
A draft of the plan, seen by the BBC, says the Greek government "has not requested any financial support", so "no decision has been taken to activate" the mechanism yet.
"We hope that it [the bailout mechanism] will not have to be activated," Mr Van Rompuy said late on Thursday, after the deal was agreed.
He added that the deal should tell markets to "have confidence that the eurozone will never abandon Greece".
The eurozone had previously avoided seeking an IMF loan for Greece, preferring a European solution and anxious to maintain global confidence in the euro.
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has signalled reluctance to offer Greece anything resembling a bail-out, which is not allowed under the single currency rules.
Austerity drive
Greece has enacted unpopular measures to curb its deficit, including a freeze on public sector wages, pension reforms and increases in fuel taxes.
| DEAL TO HELP GREECE If Greece cannot borrow from markets the eurozone countries and IMF will provide loans totalling about 22bn euros (£20bn) IMF will provide one-third of the loans, eurozone the rest Mechanism is a "last resort" to bail out Greece Decision to give loans will be based on assessment by European Commission and European Central Bank |
It is also having to refinance its debt. Because of doubts over its ability to pay, it is having to pay interest at about 6% - around double what Germany has to pay.
Mrs Merkel said she would press for the EU to amend its treaties to strengthen its ability to prevent future budget crises.
Stressing the need to learn lessons from the crisis, she wants a treaty change to allow sanctions to come into force should a eurozone country ever default on its debts.
Mr Papandreou urged EU leaders to act to stabilise the euro. The single currency hit a 10-month low against the dollar on Wednesday after a credit downgrade for Portugal, which is also struggling with heavy debts.
Greece's woes have exposed fundamental disagreements about how the 11-year-old euro project should work, the BBC's Europe business reporter Nigel Cassidy says. The eurozone's governance will have to be re-examined, he adds.
| EURO V US DOLLAR Last updated: 26 Mar 2010, 09:40 UK
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The commitment to help Greece could prevent the crisis sapping market confidence in the euro and ease fears of contagion in the eurozone.
EU members Hungary, Latvia and Romania have received emergency loans from the IMF and EU as their budgets have been hit hard by the global economic downturn. But, unlike Greece, they are not in the eurozone.
The Greek crisis is not formally on the agenda of the summit, which is officially concerned with the EU's 10-year economic strategy, and reinvigorating international negotiations over global warming.
German taxpayers are fiercely opposed to bailing out Greece, which is burdened by debt of nearly 300bn euros (£267bn, $407bn) and a public deficit of 12.7% of GDP - more than four times the official eurozone limit.
'Osama Bin Laden threatens retaliation over 9/11 trial'
A message said to be from Osama Bin Laden threatens to kill Americans if the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks is executed by the US.
Al-Jazeera news channel broadcast an audiotape reportedly from the al-Qaeda leader talking about Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspects.
The tape said that if the US made the decision to execute, al-Qaeda would also "execute" anyone it captured.
The five suspects are due to be tried in New York for the 2001 attacks.
Trial criticism
The taped message said: "The White House has declared its wish to execute (Mr Mohammed and the other suspects). The day the United States takes such a decision, it would be also taking the decision that any of you falling into our hands will be executed."
The White House has been criticised for planning to put the five suspects on trial in New York. Critics say the trial near the Ground Zero will be expensive and disruptive.
White House officials have yet to decide if the trial will take place in a federal courtroom, or in a military commission.
Prosecutors are expected to seek the death penalty, while White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in January that Mr Mohammed was going to "meet his maker" if found guilty.
The Pentagon says Mr Mohammed has admitted to being responsible "from A to Z" for the attacks in New York and Washington.
Following his capture in Pakistan in 2003, Mr Mohammed was held at a CIA secret prison, where he was subjected to harsh interrogation techniques and a practice known as "waterboarding", which simulates drowning, until he was moved to Guantanamo Bay in 2006.
'Rage of the oppressed'
In the tape broadcast on Thursday, the speaker said to be Bin Laden also accused US President Barack Obama of "following the footsteps of his predecessor".
"The politicians in the White House were practising injustice against us and still they are - especially by supporting Israel in its continuous occupation of Palestine," he said.
"They used to think that America across the oceans is protected from the rage of the oppressed until our reaction was loudly heard at your home on the 9/11 with God's help."
In a previous recording said to be of Bin Laden, broadcast by al-Jazeera in late January, he blamed the US for global warming.
A day earlier he praised the attempted bombing of a US airliner on 25 December.
Japan's consumer prices continue to fall
Japan has been in deflation for 12 straight months, figures released by the government show.
Prices fell by 1.2% in February from a year earlier, threatening the country's recovery from recession.
Japan's economy has been periodically plagued by deflation since the "lost decade" of the 1990s, which led to years of stagnation.
The prospect that goods will become cheaper in the future makes consumers reluctant to buy today.
This leads to a vicious circle of falling company profits and wages.
Downward trend
The latest figures - where the core consumer price index fell by 1.2% - is not as bad as in previous months.
But the preliminary figures for Tokyo for March showed a steeper decline. The capital is seen as an indicator for nationwide trends.
Eyeing an election in the summer, the government is putting pressure on the Bank of Japan to further increase the money supply to tackle the problem.
"The pace of decline in prices is slowing somewhat, but prices are still falling," said Finance Minister Naoto Kan.
"More efforts will be needed to escape deflation."
Record budget
But the government has little room to spend more to counter deflation.
Its debt is already the largest in the industrialised world and rising.
For this reason, analysts said it could be a long time before prices start rising again in Japan.
"There is still long way to go before Japan pulls out of deflation," said Takeshi Minami at the Norinchukin Research Institute.
"The Bank of Japan has said it will patiently maintain very easy monetary policy. They really need to do so for a very long time for the country to escape deflation."
On Wednesday, parliament passed a record $1 trillion budget, much of it financed by borrowing.
The Japanese economy grew by 0.9% in the final three months of last year, or 3.8% on an annualised basis.
It is vying with China for the title of the world's second-largest economy, behind the US.
Israeli PM says Jerusalem policy will not change
The Israeli prime minister says his policy on Jerusalem will not change - a sign that a row with the US over settlement building remains unresolved.
Benjamin Netanyahu's statement came as he prepared to brief senior cabinet colleagues on the talks with President Barack Obama. The US has not commented.
The row centres on Israeli plans to build 1,600 homes in East Jerusalem.
Palestinians want East Jerusalem as their capital. They say they will not take part in US-mediated peace talks.
Israel insists the city will remain its undivided capital.
Nearly half a million Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
They are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
Trappings withheld
The row over Israel's plans for homes in East Jerusalem has caused one of the worst crises in US-Israeli ties for decades.
Israel unveiled the plans to build in the East Jerusalem settlement of Ramat Shlomo during a visit by US Vice-President Joe Biden - a move which Washington initially branded an insult.
| TIMELINE: ISRAEL-US ROW 9 Mar: Israel announces the building of 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem during visit by US Vice-President Joe Biden. Mr Biden condemns the move 11 Mar: Mr Biden says there must be no delay in resuming Mid-East peace talks, despite the row 12 Mar: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the Israeli move is "deeply negative" for relations 15 Mar: The US says it is waiting for a "formal response" from Israel to its proposals to show it is committed to Mid-East peace 16 Mar: The US envoy to the Mid-East postpones a visit to Israel 17 Mar: President Obama denies there is a crisis with Israel 22 Mar: Hillary Clinton tells pro-Israel lobby group Aipac Israel has to make "difficult but necessary choices" if it wants peace with Palestinians. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu tells Aipac Israel has a "right to build" in Jerusalem 23 Mar: Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu meet behind closed doors with no media access 23 Mar: Jerusalem municipal government approves building of 20 new homes in East Jerusalem 24 Mar: Mr Netanyahu ends Washington trip talking of a "golden" solution amid US silence |
Mr Netanyahu met President Barack Obama on Tuesday and held further talks on Wednesday with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell.
The White House has been trying to persuade Mr Netanyahu to commit to several trust-building measures to revive hopes for indirect "proximity talks" between Israel and the Palestinians.
Scant information on the content of Mr Netanyahu's talks with US officials has emerged and rarely has so little been said about such high-level meetings, lasting so long, between the US and one of its closest allies, says the BBC's Richard Lister in Washington.
Israeli sources quoted by Reuters news agency said Mr Netanyahu could not finalise any confidence-building measures until he presented them to his cabinet.
Minutes before Mr Netanyahu's visit to the White House on Tuesday, it emerged the Jerusalem municipal government had approved another development.
Twenty apartments are to be built by a Jewish-American property developer on the site of an old hotel in the predominantly Arab neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington said Mr Netanyahu did not get the reception usually reserved for America's allies.
There was no press conference and no lavish welcome.
It all signals that the US is playing tough, making clear it is upset with the Israeli government, says our correspondent.
