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Israelis, Palestinians see deal in a year
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Obama to challenge court order against stem cell research
Don’t push us too far on Kashmir, it’s ours, Pakistan told US
Munter is new US envoy to Pak
Musharraf to launch party on
October 1
Israel honours Indian nanny
French Parliament adopts ban on
full-face veil
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Israelis, Palestinians see deal in a year
Sharm el-Sheikh, September 14 No news emerged of any compromise on the settlement issue after one-hour and forty minutes of negotiations attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. But with a 10-month Israeli moratorium on housing starts in settlements in the occupied West Bank due to end on September 30, US envoy George Mitchell seemed optimistic in the face of Palestinian threats to quit the new talks if building resumes. "President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu continue to agree that these negotiations, whose goal is to resolve all core issues, can be completed in one year," Mitchell told reporters in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. He said negotiations would continue on Wednesday in Jerusalem with Clinton's participation and Israeli and Palestinians teams would meet again "in the coming days" ahead of further talks at the leadership level. "Today the parties have begun a serious discussion on core issues," Mitchell said. "President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu also reiterated their intent to approach these negotiations in good faith and with a seriousness of purpose.." Neither leader made any immediate public comments at the summit, hosted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. It was their first meeting since direct peace talks were relaunched in Washington on Sept. 2 after a 20-month hiatus, with a declared goal of achieving a framework accord in a year. The six-decade dispute's core issues include settlements, security, borders and the fate of Palestinian refugees. Netanyahu, whose coalition government is dominated by pro-settler parties, said on Sunday he would not extend the construction moratorium but could limit the scope of further building in some settlements. Echoing US President Barack Obama's position, Mitchell said: "We think it makes sense to extend the moratorium especially given that the talks are moving in a constructive direction." Mitchell said Washington was aware "this is a politically sensitive issue in Israel" and the United States also had called on Abbas to "take steps that help, encourage and facilitate this (peace) process."
— Reuters Netanyahu tweets for peace
Jerusalem: It's still not clear whether Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu has transformed himself from a hawk to a dove, but he is tweeting. To coincide with a fresh round of peace talks with the Palestinians, Israel's hardline prime minister has jumped into the world of social media, setting up his own account on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. His Flickr page showcases official shots of Netanyahu shaking hands with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Clinton, while his tweets are limited to mundane events like flight arrival or departure times, or the start of meetings.
— AFP
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Obama to challenge court order against stem cell research
Washington, September 14 The federal district judge in its order late last month said Obama's 2009 executive order violated a ban on federal money being used to destroy embryos. “We are appealing that. We're challenging it,” Obama said. “What we're going to keep on doing on a whole range of these decisions is to make sure that I'm talking to scientists and ethicists and others, and try to build a common-sense consensus that allows us to make progress over the long term,” he said. Obama said the district court judge said essentially his executive order he felt went too far beyond what the guidelines that the Congress had provided before he came into office. “Although, the way he had written the order, it made it seem like even Bush's orders were out of line and that you have to stop stem cell research altogether,” he argued. — PTI
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Don’t push us too far on Kashmir, it’s ours, Pakistan told US
Washington, September 14 This communication forms part of a meeting Richard Haass, the then Director of Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department, had with an unnamed Pakistani military official on October 31, 2002 to discuss US-Pak cooperation a year after the deadly 9/11 attacks in the US. “On Kashmir, Hass stressed the importance of ending infiltration, but the Pak official warned the US not to push Pakistan too far on Kashmir,” classified documents released yesterday said. According to the document, Hass told the top official that he was pleased about the Indian announcement of troop pullback from the border, as de-escalation would free resources to be devoted to sealing the Afghan border and counterterrorism. “It appeared that India wanted to renew contacts but continued infiltration was a barrier to progress,” Hass said. “The US believed that infiltration was continuing. Stopping it would help Pakistan's cause with the US and India. Infiltration hurts Pakistan's friendly efforts to help it,” he said, according to the documents. The Pakistan official agreed that Kashmir was the issue “bedevilling our relations”. But Pakistan’s Kashmir position was “based on justice”, he argued. “Kashmir should have been ours. The Pakistani people would not agree to make the LOC the international border. Kashmir had cost Musharraf a lot, as had his decision to help the CT coalition. “Musharraf's detractors had hit him on both Kashmir and Afghanistan. India had tried to exploit the political atmosphere after 9/11,” the Pakistan official said. “Hass relied that he perceived an opportunity to improve the situation in and surrounding Kashmir. Haas said both improved governance and diplomacy were key to move forward on Kashmir,” the documents said. — PTI
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Washington, September 14 If approved by the Senate, Munter would replace incumbent Anne W Peterson, who would be demitting office in October. Munter, a career foreign service officer, is currently an advisor for political and military issues to US Ambassador in Iraq Christopher R Hill. Munter is also considered close to Richard Holbrooke, the US President's Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Munter was the ambassador to Serbia in 2008 when ultra-nationalist protesters stormed the embassy, leading him to issue a strong warning that "it had better not happen again." Munter also led the first of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Iraq, a concept that the US brought over from Afghanistan. — PTI
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Musharraf to launch party on
October 1
Islamabad, September 14 Musharraf, 67, is also planning to hold a show of power in Birmingham on October 3, less than two months after a man hurled his shoes at President Asif Ali Zardari during a rally in the same British city with a large population of Pakistani origin. The former military ruler's spokesman Mohammad Saif told the Dawn newspaper that Musharraf would start his political journey at a press conference in London on October 1. Musharraf will address a public rally at the Oval Banqueting Suite in Birmingham's Sparkhill area two days later, media reports said. The meet is being described by Musharraf's aides as a demonstration of the support enjoyed by his new party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, among Pakistanis abroad.
— PTI
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Israel honours Indian nanny
Jerusalem, September 14 At an emotional ceremony at the Interior Ministry here yesterday, a visibly moved Samuel, who arrived in Israel after the Mumbai attacks to take care of the two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg whose parents had died in the attack, said, “I hope I will honour the citizenship and love Israel. I would give my life, heart and soul for Israel.” “I've been given love by all of Israel and I hope I will learn to love the country as much as I love Gabi and Rivki,” Samuel said. Samuel, 45, was working for Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, since their arrival here in 2003 and took care of Moshe since his birth. On November 26, 2008, two terrorists entered the narrow lane where the Jewish centre - Chabad House, also known as Nariman House, is situated in Colaba in south Mumbai, and the building turned in into a war-zone for the next three days. Hearing the cries of baby Moshe, Sandra wrapped him in her arms and rescued him in a dramatic fashion along with handyman-cum-cook Qazi Zakir Hussain.
— PTI
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French Parliament adopts ban on full-face veil Paris, September 14 The Senate passed the bill by 246 votes to one and, having already cleared the lower house in July, the bill will now be reviewed by the Constitutional Council, which has a month to confirm its legality. The text makes no mention of Islam, but Nicolas Sarkozy's government promoted the law as a means to protect women from being forced to wear Muslim full-face veils such as the burqa or the niqab. Once in force, the law provides for a six-month period of "education" to explain to women already wearing a face veil that they face arrest and a fine if they continue to do so in any public space. A woman who chooses to defy the ban will receive a fine of 150 euros or a course of citizenship lessons. A man who forces a woman to go veiled will be fined 30,000 euros and serve a jail term.
— AP
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