France ‘banned Yemen crash plane’…

BBC NEWS

30/06/09

A Yemeni airline which crashed into the Indian Ocean was banned from France because

of “irregularities”, France’s transport minister has said.

Dominique Bussereau told parliament of ongoing concerns about the safety record of the Yemenia Airbus 310.

One young person is said to have been rescued from the ocean, the only known survivor of the 153 people on board.

The plane was heading from Yemen to the Comoros islands, but many on board began their journey in France.

Most had flown on a different Yemenia aircraft from Paris or Marseille before boarding flight IY626 in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.

The crash was the second involving an Airbus aircraft in recent weeks. On 1 June an Air France Airbus 330 travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris plunged into the Atlantic, killing all 228 people on board.

That tragedy also involved large numbers of French citizens.

‘Never again’

In Paris, Mr Bussereau told legislators that the Yemenia Airbus 310 which crashed was not permitted to fly into France, and raised concerns about the transfer of passengers from a plane classed as safe to one which crashed into the ocean.

See a map of the plane’s route

“A few years ago, we banned this plane from national territory because we believed it presented a certain number of irregularities in its technical equipment,” Mr Bussereau told parliament.

FLIGHT IY626 Airbus A310-300 aircraft, built in 1990 153 people on board, including 66 French nationals Flight originated in Paris, using modern Airbus A330-200 Stopped in Marseille before flying to Sanaa Passengers moved to A310-300 Stopover in Djibouti Comorans ‘warned of flight safety’ ‘We are praying for a miracle’ In pictures: Yemeni plane crash Timeline of Flight IY626

“The question we are asking… is whether you can collect people in a normal way on French territory and then put them in a plane that does not ensure their security. We do not want this to happen again.”

However, a spokesman for the airline said poor weather was more likely to have been a factor in the crash than the condition of the plane.

Yemeni Transport Minister Khaled Ibrahim al-Wazeer also told Reuters that the plane had recently undergone a thorough inspection overseen by Airbus and conformed to international standards.

The crash prompted the European Union to highlight its own concerns about Yemenia’s safety record, proposing a world blacklist of those carriers deemed unsafe.

The EU already has its own list, and its transport commissioner, Antonio Tajani, said such a list would be a “safety guarantee for all”.

Another EU official told Reuters news agency there were concerns about the airline’s “incomplete reporting procedure and incomplete follow-up” following 2007 tests on the aircraft that crashed, but that its record was improving.

Anger and grief

Reports say the plane was due in the Comoros capital Moroni at about 0230 (2230GMT on Monday). Most of the passengers had travelled to Sanaa from Paris or Marseille on a different aircraft.

The flight on to Moroni, on the island of Njazidja (Grande Comore), was also thought to have made a stop in Djibouti.

There were more than 150 people on board, including three babies and 11 crew. Some 66 of the passengers were French, although many are thought to have dual French-Comoran citizenship.

Background Briefing on U.S. Assistance to the Somalia…

Background Briefing on U.S. Assistance to the Somalia Transitional Federal Government

Background Briefing by a Senior Department Official

Washington, DC

Department of state ( web )

June 26, 2009

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Thank you all very much for coming this afternoon. I know that many of you are very interested in what is happening in Somalia today, and most particularly interested in the U.S. position with respect to Somalia and why we have, in fact, taken that position.

The U.S. is deeply concerned about developments in Somalia for several different reasons. All of you know that Somalia has been without an effective central government for the past 20 years, but in the recent months and recent years, the situation there has become increasingly unstable. The instability in Somalia today has generated a cancer inside of the country. We see enormous humanitarian problems around all of southern Somalia, where some 60 or 70 percent of the country’s population in the south are in need of some kind of humanitarian and food assistance.

We see widespread unemployment and we see large movements of people out of Mogadishu, which has probably lost over half of its population in the last couple of years – enormous numbers of people displaced.

We have also seen this cancer of instability metastasize to the region. We see enormous refugee flows out of Somalia into Kenya. Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya, built over a decade ago to handle 90,000 people, now has a refugee population in excess of 270,000. Some 6- to 7,000 Somalis leave Somalia every month and cross into Kenya.

QUESTION: What was the – I’m sorry, what was the original – what was it set up for?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Set up for 90,000 people.

QUESTION: Okay, sorry.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Today, a suburb of Nairobi, Eastleigh, probably is if not the largest, certainly one of the largest Somali cities in East Africa, reflecting the movement of large population groups out of Somalia into the safety of Kenya, taxing the services of the Kenyan Government in providing jobs, in providing schooling, in providing infrastructure to handle these large refugee flows. Refugees have also flown and moved into other parts of East Africa.

Another regional manifestation of the problem there is the contribution that it makes in continuing tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea. In some ways, the fighting in the south of Somalia amounts to a bit of a proxy conflict between those two countries who have had longstanding border problems and disagreements.

And we’ve also seen the problem metastasize to the international level as well in the form of piracy. Because Somalia has no central government, has no police force, no court system, and because the economy, both the formal and the informal economy, have completely broken down, we have seen Somalis take to the sea to hijack an increasing number of international ships, including the Alabama Maersk¸ which was hijacked some two months ago, being an American vessel.

But the piracy, like the refugees, are an indication of how the instability, the continued instability in Somalia, has caused a great deal of concern.

The U.S. also is concerned that Somalia has become a safe haven for a small number of individuals who were involved with the destruction of the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salam in 1998, August of 1998, and also for the destruction of the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel in Mombasa in November of 2002, and the attempted destruction of an Israeli charter aircraft going into Mombasa.

For all of these reasons, but primarily for the first three, we think that we should do as much as we possibly can to support the African and regional efforts that are underway to help deal with this issue. The U.S. strongly supports the Djibouti process, a process organized and run by IGAD and hosted by Djibouti, which led to reconciliation and the creation of the Transitional Federal Government. We support that Djibouti process. We support the Transitional Federal Government that has come out of it, and we support the current president of that Transitional Federal Government, President Sheikh Sharif, just as we supported the efforts of the previous Transitional Federal Government president, President Yusef.

This is something that the African states in the region, all except one, have endorsed. It is something that the AU has endorsed. The only state in the area that has not supported the Djibouti process, has not supported the efforts of the TFG, is the state of Eritrea. Eritrea has played a spoilers role. They have allowed the – allowed ammunition and supporters of the al-Shabaab, the extremist organization, a terrorist organization, to move supporters and equipment across the border into – the Eritreans have allowed supporters of al-Shabaab to move back and forth across the borders to be resupplied. And we think that is of some concern.

Maybe I should stop right there.

MR. KELLY: Okay.

QUESTION: So what can you tell us about the decision to provide military assistance to Somalis, both materiel and training?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: As I said, we have supported the TFG, the TFG’s leadership, and we have provided the support of arms and munitions and training to the TFG military consistent with the efforts of the regional states. The governments of Uganda and Burundi have troops on the ground in Mogadishu in support of the TFG, and we have provided material assistance to the TFG government in order to help them stabilize the situation in the country and to deal – and to help deal with those regional issues that I described, as well as the international issues that have come out as a result thereof. We thought this was also in our interest because providing support to a more stable Somalia would give it an opportunity to deal with individuals who might also be seeking safe haven there, individuals who’ve been involved in terrorists and terrorist activities.

QUESTION: How recent was this decision, and how recently have they been supplied arms, ammunition, and has the training already started?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, we have been supporting the efforts of the Ugandan and Burundian forces since they went into Somalia nearly two years ago. And we have been providing support to the TFG more recently as their situation has become more –

QUESTION: How recently?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: – become much more —

QUESTION: How recently?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Within the last year.

QUESTION: But it’s the last couple months, the arms, right? The arms –

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yes. Yes, the arms are –

QUESTION: – for the last couple of weeks?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: The arms are very new, but we’ve been providing support for some time.

QUESTION: Is this –

QUESTION: What kind of weapons are they, just to be simple? What kind of weaponry is it? What kind of ammunitions?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We’re talking about – we’re talking about small arms. And we’re –

QUESTION: And are these –

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: – small arms and limited munitions. This is not artillery pieces or armored vehicles or tanks. These are small arms.

QUESTION: And these are –

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: These are weapons that would be used in an urban environment, fighting a counter-guerilla insurgency.

QUESTION: Is this –

QUESTION: I’m sorry; can I just finish up with this? Are they American weapons, or are you essentially providing the funds and then they’re purchased elsewhere?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We’re essentially doing two things: We have provided funds for the purchase of weapons; and we have also asked the two units that are there, particularly the Ugandans, to provide weapons to the TFG, and we have backfilled the Ugandans for what they have provided to the TFG government.

QUESTION: And then, last one for me on this, if I may. You’ve talked about how Somalia can be seen as a sort of —

QUESTION: (Inaudible)?

QUESTION: Yeah – as, you know, as a proxy conflict or a proxy war between the Eritreans and the Ethiopians. Can you shed any light on your efforts to persuade the Eritreans to cease their support for the insurgents? And I know you’ve said publicly that you have interest in perhaps going to Eritrea. Is there any – have they displayed any interest in seeing you there or anywhere else to talk about this?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I have indeed sought to engage the Eritreans so that we could talk about the issue of Somalia. I have said to them that it would be extremely useful for us to try to improve our relationship and bring it back to normal, but the basis on which that would be possible is for them to act in a responsible manner in the Horn of Africa, and to cease and desist their support for al-Shabaab. I have reached out to the Eritreans, and their responses have been slow in coming back.

QUESTION: Can I clarify something about the arms? You said you’re providing the funds for purchase of weapons. That’s going directly to the TFG? Is that what you’re saying when you say you’re backfilling the Ugandans?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: That’s right.

QUESTION: Is that with money or is that with American arms?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: What we have sought to do is to do – as I said, to provide the TFG with resources to buy munitions and arms. And we have – and to pay for some of their training needs. And we have gone to the Ugandans when the TFG has run short of weapons and ammunition and have told the Ugandans to provide what the TFG needs. When the Ugandans provide those weapons, they give us a bill and an accounting for what they have turned over, and we then give them the money to replace the stores and the arms that they have –that they’ve (inaudible).

QUESTION: Can you quantify that at all?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: No, I do not want to quantify at this point.

QUESTION: Can you give us a sense of the magnitude of it, the scope of this?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We’ve shipped probably in the neighborhood of 40 tons worth of arms and munitions into Somalia in support of the TFG.

QUESTION: And is it ongoing? I mean, is this – this is going to continue, I mean, right? But so far –

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yes. Yes.

QUESTION: And that’s since when?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: This has been within the last two months.

QUESTION: I have a couple.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: And let me just say, I will say within the last six weeks – certainly within – to be more precise, because the al-Shabaab started a major assault on the TFG around the 7^th of May, and our assistance has substantially increased as a result of the (inaudible.)

QUESTION: And it was a direct result of that that prompted your decision to —

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We felt that it was important to respond to the TFG request and the calls for support that were coming from the region and the concerns that the region had.

QUESTION: Can I just – on the arms, just as a ballpark figure, are we talking about a couple of million dollars or are we talking about under a million dollars? Are we talking about upwards of –

QUESTION: Are we talking about tens of millions of dollars?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: No, we’re talking in the terms of the low millions. We’re not talking –

QUESTION: Single digits?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We’re going to get – start parsing this. We’re not talking about $100 million, we’re not talking about $75 million, we’re not talking about $50 million, and we’re not talking about $25 million. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: No, I just don’t understand what the reluctance is if you’re talking about – you know, if you’re acknowledging sending in arms, you know, whether it’s –

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I mean, at this point, it’s certainly under $10 million.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: A couple of things. I mean, the fact that you –

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It’s under $10 million.

QUESTION: The fact that you sent it in the last few weeks seems like you’re worried that al-Shabaab was on the verge of taking over the government. And I mean, can you relate that to your fears that – about al Qaida becoming a safe haven in the region?

Also, can you talk about the training piece, what the U.S. is doing in terms of training?

And then thirdly, I understand the head of the Puntland Government is here. What are your discussions with them? Do you see them as having any role whatsoever?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Go backwards. Third question: I believe that the president of Puntland is here. He is here at the request of Congressman Payne to participate in a set of congressional meetings – I don’t know if they would be called hearings – that occurred, I think, several days ago.

I have not met with the president of Puntland, and we have not been involved in any of his activities since his arrival.

QUESTION: So it doesn’t sound like you think – I mean, the Bush Administration used to talk to them quite often, so it doesn’t seem like you think they’re real players.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, that’s – I didn’t say that.

QUESTION: Well —

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I just said that we had not spoken to them. They have come here at the request of Congressman Payne. And it may be that while they’re here we may see them, but we have not – we have not seen them. Puntland has exhibited a degree of stability that is to be encouraged and supported. And so it is not a – that we have a low opinion of them, but we haven’t seen them.

The second question —

QUESTION: Training.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Training. We have set aside money to help train the TFG. The Ugandans have done some training. The Burundians have done some training of TFG elements. And the Kenyans are also prepared to provide training. And we have and will assist in the payment for that training when it can be done in places that are close by or when they can be done inside of the country.

QUESTION: Are you providing logistical support?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We are not providing any logistical support to the TFG, but we have, in fact, provided logistical support to move the Burundians and the Ugandans in and outside of Mogadishu. And we have assisted them from the very beginning in their efforts to provide support to the TFG.

QUESTION: And then just lastly on the issue of the kind of timing, I mean, how concerned were you – are you or were you that al-Shabaab was on the verge of completely taking over Mogadishu and about fears that – I mean, I think Panetta made some comments this week that about fears that al-Qaida could be the next safe haven, that it could be the next safe haven for al-Qaida.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I haven’t seen Director Panetta’s statement, but let me say that we remain concerned about the prospects of an al-Shabaab victory, and we want to do as much as we can to help the TFG, the AMISOM forces, and the countries in the region to deal with a threat that impacts Somalia, the region, and the international community. We think that it’s important that the TFG be given an opportunity to establish stability and peace in the south and be able to deliver services to the people there.

A government run by al-Shabaab would be a government that would likely generate greater instability in the country, carrying out more of the atrocities and human rights violations, and would probably contribute to the continued instability and concerns that we have about providing a safe haven for global terrorists like Fazul Harun and Ali Nabhan, who were responsible for the 2002 bombings.

I draw your attention to what a Shabaab government would mean for Somalia by noting that the press carries today the draconian judicial – if one can call it judicial – procedures that they’re prepared to employ. For robbers, they will cut off the hand and the foot of those who violate their strict Sharia law. Somalia has always been a Muslim country, but it has practiced a moderate form of Sufi Islam. The kind of Sharia, the kind of Islam that al-Shabaab would practice is generally anathema to most Somalis.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) if I could.

QUESTION: I’m sorry, go ahead.

QUESTION: The first is who decided to provide the arms and training? Was that Secretary Clinton or the President?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It was a national decision.

QUESTION: We had in our story it was made at the highest level, so I would assume that means the President.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah, the – it was a national decision.

QUESTION: Why can’t you say —

QUESTION: It was not the President?

QUESTION: Why can’t you say who that is, it’s expenditure of American taxpayer funds? It’s not a covert act.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah, no, the – no, no, it’s not. And it’s – and the Secretary and the NSC agreed to this, yes.

QUESTION: And she has the authority; it doesn’t have to be presidential authority; the authority has been delegated to her to —

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yes, and we have been – as I said, we have been supporting the Djibouti process. We have supported for the last nearly two years the Ugandans and the Burundians as they have been on the ground defending the TFG leadership, defending the parliament, defending the presidential palace, defending the main port, and defending of the main airport. And the extension of funding directly to the TFG is consistent with our efforts and support to help the TFG as much as possible to gain stability in the region.

QUESTION: And if I could just clarify – it’s a simple question. The training is not being done by U.S. —

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: No, there’s – let me just —

QUESTION: – police or contractors or military or anything?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Let me be clear. There are no U.S. active duty or reserve military forces in Somalia, operating in Somalia, or acting on behalf of this.

QUESTION: Are they doing it in neighboring – are they doing it in neighboring countries?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: No, no.

QUESTION: And does Djibouti have a role in training?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yes, they have assisted from time to time, but we —

QUESTION: In what respect?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: But I can’t – I don’t know the details, precisely what they’ve been doing, but no – this is not been regular U.S. military forces engaged and involved in this.

QUESTION: How much money has been set aside? You’ve said some money has been set aside to train the TFG.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: That’s right.

QUESTION: Again, I’ll be the money guy and ask.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah, we’re looking at a – at figures including arms and ammunition and training of less than $10 million.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) the training and the ammunition (inaudible).

QUESTION: Oh, it’s all included, the training and the munitions –

MR. KELLY: Libby, you have the last question.

QUESTION: Yeah, just to follow up on Elise’s question about al-Qaida, what can you tell us about – you mentioned there’s a, you know, a small number of individuals that have safe haven in Somalia. But how concerned are you about al-Qaida having a footprint there and their setting their sights on Somalia, especially if the U.S. forces in Afghanistan do have more success driving them out?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah, don’t question it. It remains an important concern of the U.S. Government. The most important concern, however, is to be able to capture the individuals who were involved in terrorist acts in 2002 and in 1998. We do not want to see Somalia become a safe haven for foreign terrorists, and we believe that one of the best ways to prevent that is to help the TFG establish itself as a strong, legitimate government capable of enforcing its laws, protecting its borders, and arresting individuals who are working against them as well as against us and others in the international community.

The best way to do that is to help create a more viable Somali state which is not a threat to its people and not a threat to its neighbors, not a threat to international shipping, and not a threat to us in terms of harboring terrorists.

QUESTION: Would you say that —

QUESTION: Are they really moving over from Afghanistan and Pakistan?

MR. KELLY: I think that Mr. Senior Administration Official is just about –

QUESTION: But are they already (inaudible) over?

QUESTION: Well, this actually – I mean, this is an important point. I mean, do you – there

was some – during the Bush Administration, there was talk about –an effort to kind of engage the Islamicists. I mean, is that over? Have you completely given up on talking to al-Shabaab and trying to form some kind of accommodation? I mean, even though you’re giving these guys ammo and you’ve been doing – you’ve been supporting them for two years, they don’t seem to be able to kind of consolidate their power. So I mean, is there any kind of accommodation to be made?

QUESTION: Is there any hope for a reconciliation there?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, we continue to encourage the government of Sheikh Sharif to reach out to all moderate Islamic and Muslim forces in the area to establish an inclusive government that involves the clans and various regional leaders; all of those who are not intent upon carrying out extremist acts or terrorist attacks –

QUESTION: But not al-Shabaab?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We have – if there are individuals in Shabaab who are not committed to extremism and are prepared to accept an inclusive and moderate government, then we would say – speak to them. But to those Shabaab elements who are extremists, the answer would be no.

MR. KELLY: Okay. Thank you.

QUESTION: It sounds a plan to talk to Hamas.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: No, no, no.

MR. KELLY: Thank you very much.

Watch Videos Michael Jackson when he was a young boy…

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washing machine, and so his Mother Katherine knew he was a gifted dancer”

young Michael Jackson acting VERY OLD

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Singer Michael Jackson dies at 50..

26/06/09

BBC NEWS

Pop star Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles, aged 50.

Paramedics were called to the singer’s Beverly Hills home at about midday on Thursday after he stopped breathing.

He was pronounced dead two hours later at the UCLA medical centre. Jackson’s brother, Jermaine, said he was believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest.

Jackson, who had a history of health problems, had been due to stage a series of comeback concerts in the UK on 13 July.

Speaking on behalf of the Jackson family, Jermaine said doctors had tried to resuscitate the star for more than an hour without success.

He added: “The family request that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time.”

“And Allah be with you Michael always. I love you.”

HAVE YOUR SAY

Can’t believe it. I’m gutted. RIP Michael, thanks for everything you gave us.

Tommy, Cardiff

Send us your comments

TV footage showed the star’s body flown from UCLA to the LA County Coroner’s office where a post-mortem is expected to take place on Friday.

Concerns were raised last month when four of Jackson’s planned comeback concerts were postponed, but organisers insisted the dates had been moved due to the complexity of staging the show.

A spokeswoman for The Outside Organisation, which was organising the publicity for the shows, said she had no comment at this time.

Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said: “I always doubted that he would have been able to go through that schedule, those concerts. It seemed to be too much of a demand on the unhealthy body of a 50 year old.

“I’m wondering that, as we find out details of his death, if perhaps the stress of preparing for those dates was a factor in his collapse.

“It was wishful thinking that at this stage of his life he could be Michael Jackson again.”

Uri Gellar, a close friend of the star, told BBC News it was “very, very sad”.

Jackson’s contribution to music

Speaking outside New York’s historic Apollo theatre, civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton paid tribute to his friend.

“I knew him 35 years. When he had problems he would call me,” he said.

“I feel like he was not treated fairly. I hope history will be more kind to him than some of the contemporary media.”

Melanie Bromley, west coast bureau chief of Us Weekly magazine, told the BBC the scene in Los Angeles was one of “pandemonium”.

“At the moment there is a period of disbelief. He was buying a home in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles and the scene outside the house is one of fans, reporters and TV cameras – it’s absolute craziness.

“I feel this is the biggest celebrity story in a long time and has the potential to be the Princess Diana of popular culture.”

Musical icon

MICHAEL JACKSON 1958-2009 Full name: Michael Joseph Jackson Born: August 29, 1958, Gary, Indiana, US Also known as: The King of Pop, Wacko Jacko Biggest hits: I Want You Back, Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough, Billie Jean, Bad, Black or White, Earth Song Obituary: Remarkable talent Life in pictures Tributes paid to Michael Jackson

Tributes from the world of music and film have already flooded in from celebrities including Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegger and ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley.

Large numbers of fans have also gathered outside Jackson’s home and at the UCLA medical centre with lit candles to mourn the star.

Paramedics were called to the singer’s house in Bel Air at 1221 (1921GMT) following an emergency phone call.

They performed CPR on Jackson and rushed him to the UCLA medical centre.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said the robbery and homicide team was investigating Jackson’s death because of its “high profile”, but there was no suggestion of foul play.

Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5.

He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as Billie Jean and Bad.

Thriller, released in 1982, is the biggest-selling album of all time, shifting 65m copies, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

He scored seven UK number ones as a solo artist and won a total of 13 Grammy awards.

“For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words,” said Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller, Bad and Off The Wall.

Jackson’s body was flown from hospital to the LA coroner’s office

“He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”

The singer had been dogged by controversy and money trouble in recent years, becoming a virtual recluse.

He was arrested in 2003 on charges of molesting a 14-year-old boy, but was found not guilty following a five-month trial.

The star had three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.

He is survived by his mother, Katherine, father, Joseph and eight siblings – including Janet, Randy, Jermaine and La Toya Jackson.

‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson is dead…

CNN NEWS

26/06/09

Entertainer Michael Jackson died after being taken to a hospital on Thursday having suffered cardiac arrest, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.

Paramedics took Jackson, 50, from his west Los Angeles home Thursday afternoon to UCLA Medical Center, where a team of physicians attempted to resuscitate him for more than an hour, said brother Jermaine Jackson. He said the famed singer was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. PT.

An autopsy is scheduled Friday, he said. Results are expected Friday afternoon, according to Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles coroner’s office, who also said Jackson was unresponsive when he arrived at the hospital.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda told CNN paramedics were sent to a west Los Angeles, California, residence after a 911 call came in at 12:21 p.m.

Law enforcement officials said the Los Angeles Police Department Robbery-Homicide Division opened an investigation into Jackson’s death. They stressed there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing but that they would conduct interviews with family members and friends.

CNN Analyst Roland S. Martin spoke on Thursday with Marlon Jackson, brother of Michael Jackson.

“I talked to Frank Dileo, Michael’s manager. Frank told me that Michael last night was complaining about not feeling well. He called to tell him he wasn’t feeling well.

“Michael’s doctor went over to see him, and Frank said, ‘Marlon, from last night to this morning, I don’t know what happened.’ When they got to him this morning, he wasn’t breathing. They rushed him to the hospital and couldn’t bring him around.”

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• Michael Jackson, pop music legend, dead at 50

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• Gallery: Jackson’s life in pictures

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• A star the world could not ignore

• Videos: A look at his life

Michael Jackson, the music icon from Gary, Indiana, was known as the “King of Pop.” Jackson had many No. 1 hits, and his “Thriller” is the best-selling album of all time. Watch why Jackson is “as big as it gets” »

Jackson was the seventh of nine children from a well-known musical family. He is survived by three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II. Watch Jesse Jackson share memories »

Jackson’s former wife, Lisa Marie Presley, said she was “shocked and saddened” by Jackson’s death. “My heart goes out to his children and his family,” she said.

At the medical center, every entrance to the emergency room was blocked by security guards. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying. iReport.com: Your Michael Jackson tributes

Video footage shows a large crowd gathering outside the hospital.

Some of Jackson’s music was being played outside. The sounds of “Thriller” and “Beat It” bounced off the walls. Kingston: Jackson “a legend” »

Outside Jackson’s Bel Air home, police arrived on motorcycles. The road in front of the home was closed in an attempt to hold traffic back, but several people were gathered outside the home. Sharpton: Jackson “was a trailblazer” »

Along with his success Jackson had some legal troubles later in his career.

He was acquitted of child molestation charges after a well-publicized trial in Santa Maria, California, in March 2006.

Prosecutors charged the singer with four counts of lewd conduct with a child younger than 14; one count of attempted lewd conduct; four counts of administering alcohol to facilitate child molestation; and one count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment or extortion.

U.S. Sends Weapons to Help Somali Government….

By Stephanie McCrummen

Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, June 25, 2009

The United States has sent a shipment of weapons and ammunition to the government of Somalia, according to a U.S. official who said the move signals the Obama administration’s desire to thwart a takeover of the Horn of Africa nation by Islamist rebels with alleged ties to al-Qaeda.

The shipment arrived in the capital, Mogadishu, this month, according to the official, who is helping craft a new U.S. policy on Somalia and spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

“A decision was made at the highest level to ensure the government does not fall and that everything is done to strengthen government security forces to counter the rebels,” the official said.

Still, the situation in the volatile nation continues to deteriorate. Somalia’s government issued an urgent plea last weekend for foreign troops as the heaviest fighting in months has engulfed the capital and other regions, killing more than 200 people, including the minister for internal security and the police chief. Fighting since early May has displaced more than 120,000 people, with scores of legislators also fleeing the country, paralyzing parliament.

“We ask for and welcome any troops that can save this country from international terrorists,” said Nur Ali Adan, the government’s minister of religious affairs, echoing an appeal from the parliament speaker for Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Yemen to send troops.

The government has also tried to rally other foreign support, especially from the United States, which has long worried that Somalia could become a base for al-Qaeda to launch terrorist attacks such as the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

U.S. and Somali officials say that possibly hundreds of fighters from Afghanistan, Pakistan and other nations are fighting alongside the Islamist rebel group known as al-Shabab, which the United States has designated a terrorist group. U.S. officials have accused Eritrea of sending weapons to the rebels, who have taken over much of Mogadishu and southern Somalia.

Besides sending weapons, the United States recently committed $10 million to help revive the Somali army and the police, who in the 1970s were one of the best-trained forces on the continent but collapsed when the last central government fell in 1991. The United States has been sharing intelligence with the government, according to the U.S. official, and a group of Somali political leaders from various regions of the country have been invited to Washington to develop a strategy for fighting the rebels.

“U.S. support is very, very firm,” said the Somali foreign minister, Mohamed Omaar, speaking by telephone during a recent visit to Washington. “They are very clear that they are in support of this government politically, financially, diplomatically.”

The Obama administration’s approach is different in many respects from that of the Bush administration, which focused almost exclusively on targeting several suspects in the embassy bombings and other rebel leaders with alleged al-Qaeda ties.

The Bush administration paid a group of notorious Somali warlords to hunt terrorism suspects. But the policy backfired, giving rise to a diverse Islamist movement, including al-Shabab, which gained popularity by defeating the hated warlords. The Bush administration then tried backing an Ethiopian invasion in 2006 to overthrow the Islamists and install a transitional government, a move that triggered the al-Shabab rebellion that continues today. The Bush administration conducted airstrikes targeting al-Qaeda suspects, but only one of those targeted was ever confirmed killed.

Meanwhile, the rebels continued to advance across southern Somalia and eventually helped force the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops this year.

To cut off the rebels’ weapons and supplies, the United States has stepped up pressure on Eritrea, and foreign warships patrolling Somali waters to combat piracy have begun blocking cargo ships heading to the rebel-held port of Kismaayo in southern Somalia.

African diplomats have also proposed a no-fly zone over Somalia to prevent weapons from being flown in from Eritrea to the rebels, but it is unclear whether that idea will gather necessary support at the United Nations.

A special correspondent in Mogadishu contributed to this report.

Egyptian police shot dead an African migrant…

CAIRO, June 24 – 2009 (Reuters)

Egyptian police shot dead an African migrant at the Israel border on Wednesday, as violence at the sensitive frontier resumes after a near 6-month lull, security sources said.

The migrant, who was unarmed, was shot around dawn as he tried to slip across barbed wire into the Jewish state from Egypt’s Sinai desert, the sources said. Police opened fire when the migrant ignored orders to stop and instead tried to flee. Egypt for years tolerated tens of thousands of African migrants on its territory, but its attitude hardened after it came under pressure over the past two years to halt rising numbers of Africans trying to cross the border into Israel.

Egyptian security forces shot dead at least 28 migrants at the border last year, and deported hundreds of Eritrean asylum seekers back to Asmara despite objections from the United Nations, which feared they could face torture at home.

In November, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch called on Egypt to stop the shootings. There were no killings between mid-December and mid-May, although the reason for the abrupt halt was not clear.

The migrant killed on Wednesday, thought to be in his 20s, was the third killed since mid-May at the border, a main transit route for migrants and refugees seeking work or asylum in Israel.

Security sources said the man carried no identity documents but was thought to be from an African country. Many of the migrants who have attempted to cross the border have been from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan.

Security sources said police also detained two Ethiopian women, aged 18 and 19, as they tried to cross into Israel. A third migrant from Burkina Faso was injured by barbed wire and detained in a separate attempt to cross the border. (Writing by Cynthia Johnston)

Viewpoints: What next for Iran?

By BBc news

24/06/09

There is an uneasy stand-off in Iran after a deadly weekend of clashes, and skirmishes on Monday between police and protestors. Four experts assess possible developments.

“My guess is that sporadic street violence will continue in big cities and at universities.”

Kasra Naji, special correspondent for the BBC Persian Service

“Without the re-run of the elections the regime can only continue by extreme oppression.”

Baroness Haleh Afshar, Professor of Politics & Women’s Studies at the University of York

“There are already signs that the opposition is entering a new phase of civil disobedience.”

Karim Sadjadpour, associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

“Unless the demonstrations spread to other cities, it is difficult to imagine them continuing indefinitely.”

Elahe Mohtasham, senior research associate at The Foreign Policy Centre in London

KASRA NAJI

What will happen next is anyone’s guess. The fact is that both sides are weighing their options.

On the government side, there are signs that Iranian leaders are divided as to how to proceed and how to crush this movement. Some are more hardline than others. Some want to give some concessions to the opposition in the hope that it will be enough to calm tempers.

But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s hardline speech on Friday in which he again put his approval and seal on the election results, makes it difficult for the government side to back down even slightly.

On the opposition side, obviously, the realisation that the hardliners are going to use all means at their disposal, including violence, has led to some soul-searching. There is a debate about whether a nationwide strike is an option.

My guess is that sporadic street violence will continue in big cities and at universities and people will continue to shout “Allahu Akhbar” (“God is Great”) from the rooftops every night.

There will also be more trouble on the streets on the third, seventh and the 40th day after the deaths of the demonstrators according to the Muslim Shi’ite tradition of remembering the dead – occasions for more demonstrations.

PROFESSOR HALEH AFSHAR

Will the protests continue? If they do, how will the authorities respond? It is impossible to predict, not least because of the volatility of the situation.

However, what is certain is that the deep fractures in Iranian society have finally ruptured and the leadership has shown itself to be out of touch and unable to gain public trust and support.

I cannot see that the attacks and bloodshed that has occurred would be easily forgotten or could in anyway be attributed to foreign intervention.

By resorting to brutal force the regime has lost what legitimacy it had.

Thus without the re-run of the elections it can only continue by extreme oppression, which I do not think would be acceptable to Iranians.

What this means in terms of outcome, I hate to think.

KARIM SADJADPOUR

The regime has not left itself much room to manoeuvre.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei strongly supported President Ahmadinejad’s bid for re-election and denounced allegations of fraud.

Despite popular outcry, Khamenei is unlikely to cede ground in the short-term, believing that compromise projects weakness and will encourage greater unrest.

However, the regime’s indiscriminate use of violence – graphic videos show how women, the elderly, and even children have been targeted – has only further eroded people’s lack of respect for the government.

But the demonstrations may decrease in scale, given the regime’s ability to limit people’s movements in Tehran (which as a city is large and spread out, like Los Angeles) and prevent large masses of people from gathering in the same place.

There are already signs that the opposition is entering a new phase.

Instead of mass rallies they are now focusing on civil disobedience, including strikes among merchants (bazaris), labourers, and key arteries of the Iranian economy (like the petroleum industry and oil ministry).

So while the crowds may not be as large as before, the conflict is certainly far from being resolved.

ELAHE MOHTASHAM

It is difficult to predict what is going to happen.

Neither the government nor the opposition are necessarily in a winning position and among parliamentarians and the Assembly of Experts there appear to be differences in opinion on how best to move forward.

President Ahmadinejad’s government will have to take into account the wishes of all the Iranian people and unless rapid and tangible reform is initiated, it would be quite difficult to imagine how the government could prevent demonstrations in the future, even if it succeeds in clamping down on the current demonstrators.

Last week’s demonstrations were centred in the centre of Tehran, mainly in the area around the University of Tehran and Azadi Square. Demonstrations also took place in a number of other towns, such as Shiraz, Esfahan, Tabriz and Yazd, but many other major towns, such as Mashhad, have been relatively quiet.

However, unless the opposition manages to spread the demonstrations to other parts of Tehran and other cities around the country, or nationwide strikes are organised, for example by oil workers and the Bazari (merchant class), it would be difficult to imagine that the demonstrators could continue their protests indefinitely.

Obama condemns ‘unjust’ violence….

23/06/09

BBC NEWS

US President Barack Obama has strongly condemned the “unjust actions” of Iran in clamping down on election protests.

He said he respected Iran’s sovereignty and it was “patently false” of Iran to say the West was fomenting the unrest.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon had called on Iran to respect the “will of its people” after the disputed presidential poll but Tehran accused him of “meddling”.

Earlier, the opposition was told by Iran’s Guardian Council the 12 June election would not be annulled.

But Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei later agreed to extend by five days the amount of time allowed to examine complaints of electoral fraud.

In the 10 days since the election result, which saw incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad returned with 63% of the vote, opposition supporters have clashed with police on the streets of the capital Tehran.

‘Innocent lives’

Mr Obama said: “The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days.

“I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost.”

Police outside the British Embassy in Tehran

He said: “The United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not at all interfering in Iran’s affairs. But we must also bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society.”

Mr Obama said of the allegations of meddling: “This tired strategy of using old tensions to scapegoat other countries won’t work anymore in Iran.

“This is not about the United States and the West. This is about the people of Iran, and the future that they – and only they – will choose.”

Referring to the recent clampdown on the foreign media in Iran, Mr Obama said: “In 2009 no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to the peaceful pursuit of justice.

“Despite the Iranian government’s efforts to expel journalists and isolate itself, powerful images and poignant words have made their way to us through cell phones and computers, and so we have watched what the Iranian people are doing.”

Earlier Mr Ban had urged the authorities in Iran to respect fundamental civil rights, “especially the freedom of assembly and expression”, and end arrests.

Have Your Say

People are tired of being hopeless and have nothing to lose so they are very strong

IS, Tehran

However, Mr Ghashghavi said: “These stances are an evident contradiction of the UN secretary general’s duties, international law and are an apparent meddling in Iran’s internal affairs.

He said the UN secretary general had “damaged his credibility” in the eyes of “independent” countries by “ignorantly following some domineering powers which have a long record of uncalled-for interference in other countries’ internal affairs and colonisation”.

On Tuesday, the country’s legislative body, the Guardian Council, said there had been no major polling irregularities and the result would stand.

Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhoda’i said there had been “no major fraud or breach in the election”.

Mourning call

However, opposition supporters continued to call for the elections to be re-run, amid claims of vote tampering.

Among them was opposition candidate Mehdi Karoubi, who urged Iranians to mourn for dead protesters on Thursday.

We want a very good relationship with the Iranians, we also respect the fact that it’s for the Iranian people themselves to choose who their government is Gordon Brown British leader

His call echoed an earlier one from cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri for three days of national mourning for those killed in the street protests.

The protests in the last 24 hours are smaller than they have been over the past 10 days, amid the strong security presence on the streets.

BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen said the protesters were talking about finding other ways to show their opposition, including strikes or civil disobedience.

A spokesman for the US government said it “would not endorse” general strikes.

But he added: “We’ve seen the beginnings of change in Iran.”

In a fresh diplomatic move, Britain is expelling two Iranian diplomats in response to Tehran’s decision to order two UK diplomats to leave Iran following allegations UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown called “absolutely without foundation”.

Mr Brown told the BBC: “We want a very good relationship with the Iranians, we also respect the fact that it’s for the Iranian people themselves to choose who their government is.

“But when there is a sign of repression or where there is violence that’s affecting ordinary people in the streets, we have a duty to speak out and to say we want Iran to be part of the world, we don’t want Iran to be isolated from the world.”

On Friday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned protests, prompting street violence in which at least 10 people died.

Severe reporting restrictions placed on the BBC and other foreign media in Iran mean protest reports cannot be verified independently.

US : Court to consider delays in sex offenders’ freedom…

By Bill Mears

CNN Supreme Court Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Supreme Court will review a federal law allowing convicted sex offenders deemed “sexually dangerous” by the government to remain in prison even after they have completed their sentences.

At issue is the constitutionality of federal “civil commitment” for sex offenders who are nearing the end of their confinement or who are considered too mentally incompetent to stand trial.

The case will be heard in the high court term beginning in October. The prisoners will remain in jail until the court rules, expected next year.

The main plaintiff in the case, Graydon Comstock, was certified as dangerous just six days before his 37-month federal prison term for processing child pornography was to end. He and the others filing suit remain confined at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex near Raleigh, North Carolina.

Three other inmates served prison terms of three to eight years for offenses ranging from child pornography to sexual abuse of a minor. Another was charged with child sex abuse but declared mentally incompetent to face trial. All were set to be released more than two years ago, but government appeals have blocked their freedom.

Corrections officials and prosecutors determined that the men remained a risk for further sexually deviant behavior if freed.

The inmates’ attorneys maintain that their continued imprisonment violates their constitutional right of due process and argue that Congress overstepped its power by allowing inmates to be held for certain crimes that normally would fall under the jurisdiction of state courts.

The law in question is the 2006 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which includes a provision allowing indefinite confinement of sex offenders. A federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, ruled that lawmakers had overstepped their authority by passing it, prompting the emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

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• Court blocks release of sex offenders due out of jail

The appeals court found that the government was “civilly confining former federal prisoners without proof that they have committed any new offense” and giving the attorney general the improper unilateral authority to do this without presenting new evidence. It ruled that as many as 77 North Carolina inmates should be released, some almost immediately.

In April, the high court blocked the imminent release of dozens of sex offenders who have served their federal sentences, after the Obama administration claimed that many of them remain “sexually dangerous.” Chief Justice John Roberts ordered that the men be kept in custody while the case worked its way through the high court.

The Justice Department had urged against any early release, with new Solicitor General Elena Kagan writing that it “would pose a significant risk to the public and constitute a significant harm to the interest of the United States.”

Most violent sex offenses are handled at the state level, and at least 20 states run programs in which sexual predators are held indefinitely or until they’re no longer considered dangerous. The federal government’s civil commitment program is relatively new.

The Adam Walsh Act was named after the son of “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh. The boy was kidnapped and murdered by a suspected child molester in 1981.

The law also increased punishments for certain federal crimes against children and created a national registry for sex offenders. Those aspects of the bill are not being challenged in this case.

The case is U.S. v. Comstock (08-1224).