Hezbollah says Obama gave a sermon
10:24 PM Posted by ●๋•N@sĘem'Ś•๋●™
Al Manar television's main news anchor started the night news bulletin by saying "Obama appeared like he was a giving a sermon or acting like a preacher during his speech which was addressed to the Islamic world."
"It is a historic speech with no doubt, but it requires careful reading between its words and lines," the Al Manar anchor said.
He added that the US president and his aides "exerted heavy efforts in choosing the right words...to address the people in this part of the world.
"But despite all the efforts, Obama stayed on the political line which the US has been following, especially on the issue of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict...which he alone does not have the keys to," the Hezbollah-run television said.
The station said that Obama did not offer anything new regarding the Iranian nuclear issue.
The militant group's TV station broadcast Obama's speech as he was speaking in Cairo University earlier in the day.
The group has not yet itself issued an official reaction to the speech.
Obama speech stirs controversy at home
10:22 PM Posted by ●๋•N@sĘem'Ś•๋●™
The New York Times said Obama "delivered a sweeping message that was forceful and, at times, scolding". And tweeting from Cairo, Washington Post's staff writer Howard Schneider wrote: "Halftime analysis from the crowd: let's see how he implements it."
Speaking to Egyptians, the Times said "all the polish and all the excitement will fade shortly after Air Force One lifts off, most people here say, if nothing changes in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."
The Wall Street Journal said Obama was "shrewd" to include a passage on women's rights, "noteworthy coming from the father of two girls".
CNN's Christiane Amanpour called the speech "a continuation of President Obama's detente" with the Muslim world.
But Obama's citing of his own background invited mockery from some quarters with the Politico's Mike Allen calling the comments "by far the most extensive he has made about his Muslim roots."
Michael Rubin of conservative weblog The Corner also found fault with Obama's studious avoidance of the word "terrorism".
Questioning Obama's "balanced tone" on the the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Republican Jewish Coalition's Matthew Brooks said: "American policy should not be balanced - it should side with those who fight terror, not those who either engage in it or are too weak to prevent it."
The Times' Helene Cooper said Muslims will judge Obama by actions more than words. It is too soon to tell whether Obama's speech "will be the balm to America's broken relationship with Islam that White House officials hope," she said.
But one thing is already clear, Cooper said, while "Obama's strong words may resonate today, on the Arab street and in the madrassas and the tea shops and dining tables where the world's 1.5 billion Muslims congregate, the future actions of Obama will be far more important."
Third minister steps down from Brown's govt
10:21 PM Posted by ●๋•N@sĘem'Ś•๋●™
London, June 5: A third British minister resigned from Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government late Thursday and called on the leader to step down.Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell announced his resignation in a letter to Brown sent to several newspapers after polls had closed in European and local elections.
Purnell wrote that Brown should quit his position for the good of the Labour Party and that his leadership made a victory by the opposition Conservatives likely in the next election.
"I owe it to our Party to say what I believe no matter how hard that may be," Purnell wrote. "I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely."
He said Brown should "stand aside to give our Party a fighting chance of winning."
Brown was Thursday reported to be working on a fundamental re-shaping of his government which he hopes will ensure his own political survival and draw a line under the damaging scandal over parliamentary expenses.
As Britons were voting in European and local elections expected to be crucial to his political future, Brown was locked in discussions with advisers on how to move forward from the expenses scandal that has spiralled into a leadership crisis.
Two other ministers, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, had already resigned from the cabinet, with at least two more high-profile ministers expected to go.
Alistair Darling, the powerful Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Geoff Hoon, Transport Secretary, have admitted making "mistakes" in their expenses claims on property, and have paid back sums owed to the taxpayer.
Reports said Thursday that Darling had resisted attempts to move him to the Home Office portfolio, insisting that he wanted to stay in his job or not be part of the government at all.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband had also resisted moves to shift him to the Home Office.
The possible loss of Darling would be a body blow to Brown, commentators said Thursday. The two men have worked closely together for many years, and especially over the banking crisis and the anti-recession measures agreed in recent months.
Obama in France for D-Day commemorations
10:20 PM Posted by ●๋•N@sĘem'Ś•๋●™
Paris, June 6: US President Barack Obama arrived in Paris late Friday for a visit of at least one day to take part in ceremonies commemorating the 65th anniversary of D-Day.Obama flew to Orly Airport directly from Germany, where he had toured the historic city of Dresden and met Chancellor Angela Merkel, before proceeding to the former Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald.
Obama is scheduled to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy Saturday for talks on a broad range of topics, including Afghanistan, global warming and Iran's nuclear programme.
Also on Saturday, Obama and Sarkozy will join British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Britain's Prince Charles and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as well as thousands of World War II veterans for ceremonies at the cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer.
The event is to honour the American soldiers who died in the June 6, 1944, Allied invasion of Normandy, which marked the beginning of the end of the war.
Sarkozy and Obama are scheduled to have lunch in the city of Caen Saturday. However, the two leaders may have to settle for cold cuts and eat them in the dark because of power cuts threatened by angry utility workers, the daily Ouest France reported Friday.
Trade unions representing workers for the energy providers EDF and GDF, who are in the ninth week of a campaign for higher wages, said they would cut power to the city centre to press their demands.
Electricity was cut earlier Friday in the first town liberated by the Allied troops 65 years ago, Sainte-M?-Eglise, the online edition of Ouest France reported. Other power cuts have been threatened for the town Saturday.
India calls for major role of UNGA
10:18 PM Posted by ●๋•N@sĘem'Ś•๋●™
United Nations: Calling for a major role of the General Assembly in the election of the Secretary-General, India has questioned the current system in which the Security Council decides on a name for the top UN post and the 192-member Assembly rubber stamps the decision. "Obviously, visibility and outreach of the General Assembly are important too," India's UN Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri told the Ad-hoc Working Group on the Revitalisation of the UN General Assembly."While concrete proposals in this regard should be considered, we believe that real visibility of the General Assembly can only be generated if the Assembly takes important decisions or contributes meaningfully to important decisions," he said.
India's considered view, he said, is that role of the General Assembly as the chief deliberative, legislative, policy-making and representative body of the international community needs to be strengthened.
In this context a critical issue is the appointment of the Secretary-General, Puri said.
Stating that the mandate for the appointment of the UN Secretary-General flows from Article 97 of the UN Charter, he said this inter alia states that the Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. "Clearly, this article envisages a role for both the General Assembly as well as the Security Council," Puri added.
The modalities of the appointment process have, however, come to be governed by Resolution 11(1) of 24 January 1946. This, the ambassador said, states that it would be desirable for the Security Council to proffer one candidate only for the consideration of the General Assembly, and for debate on the nomination in the General Assembly to be avoided.
"Both nomination and appointment should be discussed at private meetings, and a vote in either the Security Council or the General Assembly, if taken, should be by secret ballot." He said it is important to emphasise that these restrictions arise from a General Assembly resolution, rather than a Security Council resolution, and certainly not from Charter provisions.
Besides, the tone of the para is recommendatory, rather than mandatory, he told the panel. "It would appear strange that while we all promote the principles of transparency and an inclusive selection process, the General Assembly willingly agreed to impose such restrictions on its own Charter mandate," he said.
The reason for Resolution 11(1), he pointed out, was the context of the post-1945 world, where it was preferable that the cold-war adversaries agree on a common candidate before putting forward the name.
"However, more than sixty years since the adoption of Resolution 11(1), we live in a different world. While the Security Council itself must change to reflect contemporary realities and expand its membership in both permanent and non-permanent categories, the General Assembly cannot remain bound by self-imposed restrictions reflecting an era gone by," he added.
A more inclusive and interactive selection process, he said, would also enhance the authority and effectiveness of the Secretary-General, as well as increase the confidence of all Member States in the Secretary-General.
"Only with real changes can we ensure that the General Assembly exercises its judgement in the matter of the appointment of the Secretary-General, rather than merely rubber stamping proposals by the Security Council while ensuring that the appointment process does not become a divisive issue between the General Assembly and the Security Council," he added.
But as envisaged in the Charter, this is a process that involves both these organs and needs to be carried out in a collaborative exercise respecting each others' mandate. The issue of timing of these changes, he said, is important.
"Some argue that since the appointment of a new Secretary-General is not on the horizon, this issue does not need to be addressed with urgency. On the contrary, such a situation provides the right opportunity to address this issue impartially and objectively," he told the panel.
Heal wounds: Ban tells Sri Lanka
10:16 PM Posted by ●๋•N@sĘem'Ś•๋●™
New York, June 6: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged Sri Lanka to "unite and heal the wounds" after two decades of war rather than celebrate its victory over the Tamil Tigers.Ban, who Friday met the 15 members of the UN Security Council to discuss the controversial end to the conflict in Sri Lanka, also called for a "proper investigation" into allegations of massive civilian deaths in the final days of the ethnic conflict at the end of May.
Human rights advocates and media reports have said up to 20,000 civilians were killed in the last phase of battle against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Ban warned the Sri Lankan government against engaging in celebrations, as Colombo revelled in the defeat of the Tamil Tigers.
"I take this opportunity to warn against the risk of triumphalism, which will really hinder the ongoing efforts by the Sri Lankan government, the people and the international community in helping to heal the wounds," Ban told reporters after the meeting.
"This is very important at this time to unite and heal the wounds rather than enjoy in celebrations in the wake of the end of the conflict," he said.
Ban said he had asked the Sri Lankan government to provide relief groups and the United Nations free access to the tens of thousands of Sri Lankans who are in need of assistance.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva and advocacy groups like Amnesty International have called for an investigation based on allegations of high numbers of civilian deaths.
The closed-door meeting between Ban and the council members in a basement conference room at UN headquarters in New York was billed as an "informal interactive discussion on Sri Lanka". Neither side has said it will draw any conclusion from the debate.
Ban said in early June, after the Sri Lankan government declared victory over the LTTE, that he considered the civilian casualties "unacceptably high." He cited media reports alleging that the civilian deaths stood at 20,000.
Ban rejected criticism that the UN had played down the facts of the final onslaught as two decades of fighting between the government and LTTE was drawing to an end in May.
The UN has been involved in providing relief assistance to the hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans trapped or displaced by the fighting.