An agreement has been reached for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to meet in Washington with US President George W. Bush next month, the White House announced Friday.
Bush and Sharon will discuss "the war on terror and the search for Israeli-Palestinian peace" when they meet April 14 at the White House, said Bush spokesman Scott McClellan.
The long-expected meeting comes two days after Bush is to welcome Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at his Texas ranch. Though McClellan did not provide a date, Bush also will meet with Jordan's King Abdullah next month as part of a series of consultations with key Middle East leaders.
Next week, a trio of US emissaries is expected to make its third trip to the region to talk with Israeli and Palestinian officials on Israel's plan to disengage from the Gaza Strip. Sharon has proposed dismantling nearly all Israeli settlements in Gaza and some in the West Bank.
After some initial hesitation, the administration has warmed to the idea of Israel relinquishing control of Gaza and moving the 7,500 Israeli Jews who live in the predominantly Palestinian area.
But questions remain, including administration concerns about whether such a unilateral move by Israel is consistent with the US-backed "road map" peace plan and whether it enhances -- or disrupts -- the prospects for a negotiated settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. As well, the land Israel may be ready to relinquish in Gaza and on the West Bank is unlikely to meet Arab expectations, which include part of Jerusalem as well as all the territory they lost in war with Israel in 1967.
A team of Bush administration officials, made up of Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, National Security Council Deputy Director Stephen Hadley and the council's Mideast specialist, Elliot Abrams, have traveled to the region twice in recent months.
VAGUE: The criteria of the amnesty remain unclear, but it would cover political violence from 1999 to today, and those convicted of murder or drug trafficking would not qualify Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons. The measure had long been sought by the US-backed opposition. It is the latest concession Rodriguez has made since taking the reins of the country on Jan. 3 after the brazen seizure of then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Rodriguez told a gathering of justices, magistrates, ministers, military brass and other government leaders that the ruling party-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly would take up the bill with urgency. Rodriguez also announced the shutdown
Civil society leaders and members of a left-wing coalition yesterday filed impeachment complaints against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, restarting a process sidelined by the Supreme Court last year. Both cases accuse Duterte of misusing public funds during her term as education secretary, while one revives allegations that she threatened to assassinate former ally Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The filings come on the same day that a committee in the House of Representatives was to begin hearings into impeachment complaints against Marcos, accused of corruption tied to a spiraling scandal over bogus flood control projects. Under the constitution, an impeachment by the
China executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” of telecom scam operations, state media reported yesterday, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry. Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world. Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work. In the past few years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation
Exiled Tibetans began a unique global election yesterday for a government representing a homeland many have never seen, as part of a democratic exercise voters say carries great weight. From red-robed Buddhist monks in the snowy Himalayas, to political exiles in megacities across South Asia, to refugees in Australia, Europe and North America, voting takes place in 27 countries — but not China. “Elections ... show that the struggle for Tibet’s freedom and independence continues from generation to generation,” said candidate Gyaltsen Chokye, 33, who is based in the Indian hill-town of Dharamsala, headquarters of the government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). It
RSS