Germany's Foreign Minister called on Hamas to free captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, during a visit to the Gaza Strip

Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (L) stands next to Noam Shalit, father of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, at the start of their meeting in Jerusalem November 7, 2010. Shalit was captured by Palestinian militants who tunnelled from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel in June 2006. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun )

November 08, 2010 (KATAKAMI / Jpost) --- Westerwelle says his country sees speedy return of soldier to his family as humane step; comments come a day after meetings with Noam Schalit, Lieberman, Shimon Peres in J'lem.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Monday called on Hamas to free captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, during a visit to the Gaza Strip.

He urged the terror group to "finally free this young man, after so many years in captivity."

He urged the terror group to "finally free this young man, after so many years in captivity." 

Westerwelle stressed that Germany views the speedy return of Schalit to his family as the humane step.

His comments came a day after a meeting with the soldier's father, Noam Schalit, as well as President Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, and Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat in Jerusalem.

During a press conference after their Sunday meeting, Lieberman said that the biggest threat to the Middle East is Iran.

"Not only Iran with its nuclear problem, but Iran through its proxies in its terrorist activity in all our regions. We see Iranian activities through proxies in Lebanon through Hizbullah, in the Palestinian Authority through Hamas, their deep involvement in Iraq, in Yemen, in Somalia and, of course, this threat may be the biggest threat that we are facing as a Western society, as a free society in the modern world," Lieberman told his German counterpart.

He also said that while Israel has a "political dispute" with the Palestinians, it also has "very good cooperation with the Palestinians on the security level and on economy."

Westerwelle referred to Schalit, saying that Germany has an "abolultely clear position" that the soldier be "released very soon."

"We think that our Israeli friends know that they can count on us. And I do not want to comment any further because it is very important that we help the family, that we help this poor young man and that we see him as soon as possible, safe and healthy, back in the arms of his family," the German foreign minister said.  (*)

Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano causes more flight chaos

Indonesia's Mount Merapi spews massive hot clouds of volcanic ash and rocks as seen from Sleman district in central Java on November 6. Airlines cancelled dozens of flights to and from Jakarta, affecting international carriers from Europe to Asia, because of the volcanic ash. (AFP/SONNY TUMBELAKA)

Flights to Jakarta Canceled Over Volcano

November 08, 2010. JAKARTA (KATAKAMI / Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's twice-postponed visit to Indonesia looked on track on Monday after flights to the capital returned to normal following a weekend of disruptions caused by a deadly volcano.

Mount Merapi in central Java began spewing lava, superheated gas and deadly clouds of ash two weeks ago, and has so far killed over 130 people and forced the evacuation of nearly 300,000.

Dozens of flights to and from the capital Jakarta, around 600 km (375 miles) from the volcano, were cancelled over the weekend after the volcano belched fresh clouds of volcanic ash 6,000 metres (19,000 ft) into the atmosphere.

Indonesian authorities saying conditions were safe, but international airlines scrapped scores of flights.
By Monday afternoon normal service had mostly resumed, though Filipino budget airline Cebu Air Inc said it had cancelled its 9.30 p.m. (1330 GMT) flight to Jakarta.

"All have returned to normal," said Andang Santoso, a spokesman for the operator of Jakarta's Sukarno-Hatta airport. "They trust us that there is no impact of Merapi here, so they can fly here."

Authorities did, however, order the closure of the airport at Yogyakarta, the historic cultural city closest to the volcano.

"Since the weather is impossible ... we decided to close Yogyakarta for both commercial and civil aircrafts," said Harjoso Tjandra, operational and technical director at the airport.

On Sunday, U.S. officials said they were closely monitoring the situation ahead of Obama's scheduled Tuesday arrival.

Obama has twice postponed visits to Indonesia -- where he lived for several years as a child with his mother -- the first time in March as he struggled to push through a healthcare reform bill in the U.S. and the second in June after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

A British Airways flight came close to crashing nearly three decades ago after its engines sucked in ash from another Indonesian volcano, Mount Galunggung, about 180 km southeast of Jakarta.

Indonesia's disaster agency said clouds of hot toxic gases continued to roll down the slopes of Merapi on Monday, hampering efforts to create a 20 km (12 miles) exclusion zone around the summit.

The country is also struggling with the aftermath of a tsunami in the remote Mentawai islands off Sumatra last week that killed at least 445 people.

Metro TV footage showed an aerial view of Borobudur, site of one of the world's largest Buddhist temples and a UNESCO heritage site about 50 km northwest of the volcano coated with ash.

(*)

Photostream : Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano still spews volcanic ash on Monday, death toll reaches165

A villager watches from Jambon village in the Sleman district of Indonesia's central Java province, as Mount Merapi spews smoke and ash, November 8, 2010. The death toll from the eruption of Mount Merapi, reaching 165 people. A total of 148 victims came from Yogyakarta, and 17 people from Central Java. The data was presented the Special Staff of the Presidential Disaster Area, Andi Arif, Monday (8 / 11), Metro TV reported on Monday. Data obtained from Dr. Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta. To reach the 453 people injured. The average victims died of burns suffered from hot clouds. It happened the first time since the Merapi eruption on October 26, 2010 ( Photo by REUTERS/Sigit Pamungkas )

Mount Merapi spews volcanic ash into the air as seen from Cangkringan, Indonesia, Monday, Nov. 8, 2010. The death toll from the eruption of Mount Merapi, reaching 165 people. A total of 148 victims came from Yogyakarta, and 17 people from Central Java. The data was presented the Special Staff of the Presidential Disaster Area, Andi Arif, Monday (8 / 11), Metro TV reported on Monday. Data obtained from Dr. Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta. To reach the 453 people injured. The average victims died of burns suffered from hot clouds. It happened the first time since the Merapi eruption on October 26, 2010 ( Photo by AP Photo/Trisnadi)

Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano spews smoke and ash, as seen from Jambon village in the Sleman district of Indonesia's central Java province November 8, 2010. Mount Merapi, on the outskirts of Yogyakarta, began spewing lava, superheated gas and deadly clouds of ash two week ago and has so far killed over 130 people and forced the evacuation of nearly 300,000. REUTERS/Sigit Pamungkas

Mount Merapi spews ash to the sky as seen from Cangkringan in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on November 8, 2010. International airlines were forced to reschedule dozens of flights to Indonesia yesterday as deadly Mount Merapi spewed ash into the sky, ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama. The toll from a series of eruptions since late October rose to 132 as bodies were pulled from the volcanic sludge that thundered down on central Java on November 5, Merapi's biggest eruption since the 1870s. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesian army special forces wearing masks prepare to evacuate the victims of Mount Merapi eruption at Pejambon in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on November 8, 2010. International airlines were forced to reschedule dozens of flights to Indonesia yesterday as deadly Mount Merapi spewed ash into the sky, ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama. The toll from a series of eruptions since late October rose to 132 as bodies were pulled from the volcanic sludge that thundered down on central Java on November 5, Merapi's biggest eruption since the 1870s. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

Ashes from the eruption of Mount Merapi cover Muntilan city, central Java, on November 8, 2010. Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano killed 85 people in its latest eruption, with scores more suffering severe burns, an official said on November 6, bringing the overall toll to 128. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

Merapi Ground Heat Forces Indonesia to Halt Search for Bodies

Mount Merapi erupting again on Monday. (AFP Photo/Bay Ismoyo)

November 08, 2010. Indonesia (KATAKAMI - THE JAKARTA GLOBE) ---  Indonesian rescue workers were forced to abandon efforts to retrieve bodies of victims from the Nov. 5 eruption of Mount Merapi in central Java, as increasing ground temperature and volcanic instability made it unsafe to continue.

Rescuers had been using wooden boards to walk on in areas where the soil reached temperatures higher than 70 degrees Celsius, Oka Hamid, a spokesman at Red Cross Indonesia’s Yogyakarta branch, said today.

“We found five bodies at Glagaharjo village, but only one was removed,” Hamid said by phone. “We are coming down now because the ground there is too hot and Merapi is unstable.”

Non-flammable boots and special gloves are needed to protect rescuers from hot burning soil, Hamid said.

“We need at least 30 pair of gloves and boots,” he said. “Non-flammable boots are important in case we need to flee if anything bad happened.”

The death toll since the volcano began erupting Oct. 26 rose to 141 from 135 yesterday, with about 280,000 people seeking shelter in evacuation centers outside the 20-kilometer safety zone from Mount Merapi, the National Disaster Management Agency said in a statement on its Web site today.

Merapi, which means mountain of fire, has been spewing hot ash clouds for two weeks, stretching rescue efforts as villagers defy safety orders to tend to their cattle stranded on the mountain’s slopes. The volcano may release hot ash for about two months, Subandriyo, an official at the Energy Ministry’s Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Center, said on Nov. 3.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono returned to Jakarta today, ahead of United States President Barrack Obama visit on Nov. 9-10, after spending two days in Yogyakarta to directly overseeing Merapi relief efforts.

Obama is scheduled to fly to Jakarta from India tomorrow, for a brief trip to the world’s largest majority-Muslim country, where he spent part of his childhood.

“The Embassy fully expects President Obama to arrive on Nov. 9 as scheduled,” Paul T. Belmont, press attaché at the United States Embassy in Jakarta, said in an e-mailed statement today. “The Merapi eruptions have not altered his plan to visit Indonesia.”

At least nine airlines including Singapore Airlines Ltd., Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Japan Airlines Corp. resumed services yesterday after suspending them for one day for safety reasons due to volcanic ash from Merapi, Frans Yosef, an officer at Angkasa Pura II, the operator of Soekarno-Hatta international airport, said on Sunday.

Philippine Airlines Inc., Emirates, Eva Airways Corp. and Valuair Ltd. resumed services to Jakarta today, the operator said on its Web site today.


Bloomberg

Photostream : Indonesian Elite Forces (Kopassus) and rescue team evacuated the victims of Mount Merapi eruption

Indonesian army special forces wears masks as they prepare to evacuate the victims of Mount Merapi eruption at Pejambon in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on November 8, 2010. International airlines were forced to reschedule dozens of flights to Indonesia yesterday as deadly Mount Merapi spewed ash into the sky, ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama. The toll from a series of eruptions since late October rose to 132 as bodies were pulled from the volcanic sludge that thundered down on central Java on Friday, Merapi's biggest eruption since the 1870s.  (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesian army special forces wear masks as they search for victims of Mount Merapi eruption at Pejambon in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on November 8, 2010. International airlines were forced to reschedule dozens of flights to Indonesia yesterday as deadly Mount Merapi spewed ash into the sky, ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama. The toll from a series of eruptions since late October rose to 132 as bodies were pulled from the volcanic sludge that thundered down on central Java on Friday, Merapi's biggest eruption since the 1870s. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesian army special forces and rescue team evacuate a victim of Mount Merapi eruption at Pejambon in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on November 8, 2010. International airlines were forced to reschedule dozens of flights to Indonesia yesterday as deadly Mount Merapi spewed ash into the sky, ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama. The toll from a series of eruptions since late October rose to 132 as bodies were pulled from the volcanic sludge that thundered down on central Java on November 5, Merapi's biggest eruption since the 1870s.  (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesian army special forces and rescue team evacuate a victim of Mount Merapi eruption at Pejambon in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on November 8, 2010. International airlines were forced to reschedule dozens of flights to Indonesia yesterday as deadly Mount Merapi spewed ash into the sky, ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama. The toll from a series of eruptions since late October rose to 132 as bodies were pulled from the volcanic sludge that thundered down on central Java on Friday, Merapi's biggest eruption since the 1870. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesian army special forces search for victims of Mount Merapi eruption at Pejambon in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on November 8, 2010. International airlines were forced to reschedule dozens of flights to Indonesia yesterday as deadly Mount Merapi spewed ash into the sky, ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama. The toll from a series of eruptions since late October rose to 132 as bodies were pulled from the volcanic sludge that thundered down on central Java on Friday, Merapi's biggest eruption since the 1870 (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesian army special forces search for victims of Mount Merapi eruption at Pejambon in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on November 8, 2010. International airlines were forced to reschedule dozens of flights to Indonesia yesterday as deadly Mount Merapi spewed ash into the sky, ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama. The toll from a series of eruptions since late October rose to 132 as bodies were pulled from the volcanic sludge that thundered down on central Java on November 5, Merapi's biggest eruption since the 1870 (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

Netanyahu - Biden meeting ends, discussed Iran, Palestinians

Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyau (R) meets U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on November 7, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Netanyahu is on a five day visit to the U.S. to discuss the ongoing Mideast peace process. (Photo Avi Ohayon/GPO via Getty Images)

November 8, 2010 (KATAKAMI/ YNET) --- A meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Vice President Joe Biden ended late Sunday night in New Orleans. The two discussed Israel's desire to provide a credible threat against Iran.

The leaders also spoke of the direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the Israeli claim being that as long as the Palestinians have recourse to an indirect route, such as the UN, they will not behave seriously in talks. (*)

PM Netanyahu tells Biden: Peace agreement must not be forced on us from above

 

Vice President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the annual General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America in New Orleans, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. (Getty Images)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. VP Joe Biden on sidelines of Jewish General Assembly in New Orleans; says that Palestinians must be stopped from taking unilateral action to establish a state.

November 08, 2010. NEW ORLEANS (KATAKAMI / HAARETZ) --- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday night to discuss Iran and the peace process with the Palestinians, beyond the immediate question of the settlement construction freeze, sources said Sunday.
They said the two leaders addressed what must be done so that the peace process will move forward, including security arrangements needed. 

Netanyahu said there must be an agreement that is not forced on the parties from above and that the Palestinians must not attempt to circumvent negotiations by declaring statehood through the United Nations, the sources said. 

Netanyahu and Biden were speaking on the sidelines of the Jewish Federations of North America's annual General Assembly convention, held in New Orleans this year. 

The sources said Netanyahu spoke about the need to get Arab countries involved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, because that will give Israel a security buffer and political backing.
Netanyahu denies that there is a rift between Israel and the United States, or between Israelis and American Jews, according to the sources. 

He reportedly said that the U.S. Congress was positive toward Israel before the November 2 midterm elections and will be positive toward Israel afterward as well. He said there is also fundamental support for Israel within the United States, saying, "We may have lost Thomas Friedman, but I don't think we lost America," according to the sources. 

As in the past, Netanyahu said that Israel has done enough to prove that it is serious, while the Palestinians have not taken any steps to demonstrate their seriousness about peace, the sources said. 


Unfriendly welcome 


Participants in the GA who listened to local radio in New Orleans on Sunday could have heard Scott Sekulow, a Messianic Christian who was born Jewish and calls himself a rabbi, who praised Netanyahu, enthused over Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman for standing up to the Europeans, and declared that the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state shows that they don't have peaceful intentions. Sekulow is raising money to plant 1,000 trees in the Golan Heights to replace trees that he said were destroyed by Katyusha rockets during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. 

Amidst the conference hotels straddling Canal Street where GA sessions are being held, the 4,000 Jewish leaders and activists have also confronted a less-than-friendly welcome from a group of demonstrators holding placards accusing Jews of killing Jesus and anti-Semitic chants referring to the theft of private investor money by convicted Ponzi scheme operator Bernard Madoff. One demonstrator wore an apron made of a blood-stained Israeli flag. The GA participants didn't seem overly upset by the spectacle and mounted police were on hand to maintain order. 

The results of this month's American midterm elections were the grist for hallway conversation at the GA, and there were also a number of people who asserted that Jewish life in the United States could not be reduced to the tenor of relations between the Prime Minister's Office and the White House.



(*)

Photostream : Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu meets U.S. Vice President Joe Biden

Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu (R) meets U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on November 7, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Netanyahu is on a five day visit to the U.S. to discuss the ongoing Mideast peace process. (Photo Avi Ohayon/GPO via Getty Images)

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) speaks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting on Middle East security in New Orleans, Louisiana November 7, 2010. Netanyahu will tell Biden on Sunday that only a credible military threat can deter Iran from building a nuclear weapon, Israeli political sources said. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Lee Celano )

Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyau (R) meets U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on November 7, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Netanyahu is on a five day visit to the U.S. to discuss the ongoing Mideast peace process. (Photo Avi Ohayon/GPO via Getty Images)

Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyau (R) meets U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on November 7, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Netanyahu is on a five day visit to the U.S. to discuss the ongoing Mideast peace process. (Photo Avi Ohayon/GPO via Getty Images)

Turkish ministry confirms Iran's plans to resume talks with West

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

November 07, 2010 (KATAKAMI / RIA NOVOSTI) --- Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed Teheran's plans to resume talks with the group of six international mediators over its controversial nuclear program on the territory of Turkey.

The talks are expected to be held in Istanbul on November 10 or 15, Turkish Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said.

"In the last two or three days, we informed our Turkish friends that we agree to hold negotiations in Turkey," Mottaki said.

"I hope we will reach an agreement soon over the date and the contents," he said. "We are very optimistic the discussions will start as soon as possible, as the overall approach of Iran is positive and constructive."
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, said in October that Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, had agreed to resume the talks "in a place and on a date convenient to both sides." She added that the talks would take place after November 10.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in October Tehran was ready for a new round of talks but only on a number of conditions, including a comment by the Iran Six (the United States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany) on Israel's nuclear capability.

Talks between Tehran and the Iran Six came to a halt in 2009, after an IAEA resolution condemned the Islamic Republic over the construction of a second uranium enrichment facility.

The United Nations Security Council imposed a fourth set of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program in June.


ANKARA, November 7 (RIA Novosti)

Incentives for settlement freeze likely on agenda as Netanyahu heads for U.S.

File photo : US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton looks on as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks before a meeting in Washington, DC, on August 31, 2010. The Obama administration geared up for a bold bid to relaunch direct Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and clinch a peace deal within a year as Middle East leaders arrived in Washington. (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

Netanyahu envoy arrived in Washington earlier this week to meet chief Palestinian negotiator on ways to renew negotiations.

November 07, 2010 (KATAKAMI/ HAARETZ) --- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to leave for the United States Saturday night to address the Jewish Federations' General Assembly in New Orleans.


Netanyahu will not be meeting President Barack Obama, who is in India, but he will meet with Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 

The Americans are expected to tell Netanyahu that their package of diplomatic and security incentives is still on the table if he agrees to renew the freeze on construction in the settlements. 

Netanyahu's flight to the U.S. reportedly cost the state more than $1 million, because it is a direct flight from Ben-Gurion International Airport to New Orleans. El Al was selected to fly the prime minister without a tender. 

The administration's involvement in the Middle East peace process has been almost nil in recent weeks as they attempted to shore up support at home ahead of last week's midterm elections. 

However,Netanyahu's envoy Isaac Molho arrived in Washington three days ago for a meeting with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on ways to renew negotiations and possibility of refreezing construction in the settlements. 

Molho made no progress, but Erekat and the Americans agreed that the Palestinians would wait until the end of November before making another move, such as approaching the UN Security Council with a demand to recognize a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman Nabil Abu-Rudeina, told Agence France Presse that the Palestinians had given the Americans another three weeks to reach understandings with Israel. If no agreement was forthcoming by that time, they would approach the Security Council. 

Senior American officials, who asked to remain anonymous because of the issue's sensitivity, told Haaretz at the end of the week that during Netanyahu's visit another attempt would be made to address the construction freeze gambit. 

"Talks with Molho were serious although no solution was found, and we are still trying," an official said. 

The incentive package the Americans offered Israel two months ago includes advanced fighter planes and other security aid, as well as guarantees of a U.S. veto of any attempt at a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood in the Security Council in the coming year. 

Although the Americans are reportedly angry at Netanyahu's refusal to restart the freeze, they apparently do not want to clash with him at this time. 

Both Biden and Clinton are expected to press Netanyahu into renewing the freeze and show willingness to move ahead on the issue of borders, but will not accuse him of responsibility for the impasse. 

Israeli sources familiar with the U.S. position said American enthusiasm for offering incentives has cooled and that "the formulation of the letter with the guarantees has changed and Netanyahu will not be able to make do with a new two-month freeze." 

Netanyahu did not convene the forum of seven senior ministers before he left, but spoke with some of them individually. 

He will be meeting this evening at 8 P.M. Israel time with Biden, who will also be addressing the general assembly. 

Netanyahu will leave for New York immediately after his address to the GA tomorrow, to meet with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. 

On Wednesday and Thursday, Netanyahu will meet with senior American economists, industrialists, Jewish leaders and with U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell. He will also give a number of television interviews. 

On Thursday, Netanyahu is to meet with Clinton. 

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Minority Affairs Minister Avishay Braverman and opposition leader MK Tzipi Livni (Kadima ) will also be attending the GA. 

On Tuesday, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit will come to Washington, following separate visits to Ramallah and Tel Aviv over the past 10 days. 

The Egyptians, who are working to help Washington restart direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians, are pressuring both sides. 

The Egyptian leaders will meet with Clinton a day before she meets with Netanyahu. 

Washington think tanks have been discussing the best way for Obama to reach a breakthrough. David Makovsky, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said in a speech last week that if Israel wants to avoid a U.S. accusation of responsibility for an impasse with the Palestinians, Netanyahu should change his coalition and include Kadima.

(MS)

President Ahmadinejad meets Sudanese Presidential Advisor : The claimants of human rights, freedom and democracy as the former colonizers

President Ahmadinejad in a meeting with Sudanese Presidential Advisor: The claimants of human rights, freedom and democracy as the former colonizers (Sunday, November 07, 2010)

November 07, 2010 (KATAKAMI / PRESIDEN.IR) --- President Ahmadinejad said: Iran and Sudan relations are brotherly and Iran with religious look will stand beside Sudan and an independent nations.

Dr.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a meeting with Sudanese presidential advisor stating that The enemies are worried and displeased with the advancement of the independent nations and do their best to halt their progress, arguing, “The hegemonic system resorting to various methods tries to block the path for the rising might and blossoming advancement of the Islamic countries.”

President pointing to the enemies plots to create division and discord between independent countries, made the remarks: “The hegemonic system while do not allow Palestine even in their countries form referendum, encourage this issue in the independent countries such as Sudan, and even design plots for that which should tactfully stand against it.

President said: “The claimants of human rights, freedom and democracy are as the former colonizers and slave owners which after defeat against nations struggle have struck the false mask of supporting the rights of nations.

The Sudanese official praised Iran's wise diplomacy on international issues and said all plots against the Islamic Republic have failed.

He expressed hope the Islamic Republic and Sudan would take steps towards promoting political, economic and cultural cooperation. (*)

Japan to return its recalled ambassador to Moscow Sunday

Japanese Ambassador to Russia Masaharu Kono

November 07, 2010 (KATAKAMI/ RIA NOVOSTI) --- Japan's ambassador to Russia Masaharu Kono, recalled amid the recent diplomatic spat over the disputed Kuril Islands, will return to Moscow by Sunday noon, the Kyodo news agency said.

On Monday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian president to visit one of the four disputed Kuril Islands, called the Northern Territories by Japan. The move triggered an angry response from Tokyo, which called the visit "regrettable" and temporarily recalled its ambassador to Russia for consultations.

The Japanese government has later taken a decision to refrain from further actions of protest.
Both Moscow and Tokyo have laid claim to the Kuril Islands since they were occupied by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The dispute over the islands has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a peace treaty to formally end World War II hostilities.

MOSCOW, November 7 (RIA Novosti)

Flights to Jakarta Canceled Over Volcano

Indonesia's Mount Merapi spews massive hot clouds of volcanic ash and rocks as seen from Sleman district in central Java on November 6. Airlines cancelled dozens of flights to and from Jakarta, affecting international carriers from Europe to Asia, because of the volcanic ash. (AFP/SONNY TUMBELAKA)

November 07, 2010. Jakarta (KATAKAMI / THE JAKARTA GLOBE) ---  Thousands of international air travelers are in limbo after airlines on Saturday canceled scores of weekend flights into and out of Jakarta over fears that ash clouds from Mount Merapi posed a danger, but then began reinstating or rescheduling many of the flights on Sunday.

The notoriously volatile Mount Merapi unleashed nearly 50 million cubic meters of gas, rocks and ash on Friday, its most powerful eruption in a century. Up to 138 people have now died on Merapi's slopes in the past ten days of eruptions and gas cloud ash emissions, and authorities were still struggling on Sunday to deal with those injured in the latest blast.

Airlines canceled 50 Sunday flights in addition to 36 on Saturday over concerns about volcanic ash being spewed into the sky 430  kilometers to the east.

Signs of the eruption of the Mount Merapi volcano (C) puncturing the cloud cover over Java are pictured in this NASA Terra satellite image taken November 5, 2010 and obtained November 6, 2010.

The airlines halting flights to the capital include Singapore Airlines, Air Asia, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Malaysia Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa and Japan Airlines.

However, some carriers resumed some flights on Sunday. Singapore Airlines reinstated two morning flights, and has added a supplementary flight from Singapore to Jakarta and back tonight. Malaysia Airlines said three flights from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta and three from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur would be operated as normal, but two flights in each direction remain canceled.

Soekarno-Hatta Airport operator Angkasa Pura II issued an official list of flights affected as of 12.15pm on Sunday:

Cancelled flights:
Emirates Airlines: 4 flights; EK-356/357 (15.45/17.45) EK-358/359 (21.45/00.15)
Philippine Airlines: 2 flights; PR-503/504 (12.30/13.20)
ValuAir: 2 flights; VF-507/508 (11.35/12.15)
Cathay Pacific: 2 flights; X-777/776 (13.05/14.50)
JetStar: 2 flights; JQ-115 (20.05/20.35)
Japan Airlines: 2 flights; JL-725/726 (17.20/22.05)

Flights previously canceled but reinstated:
Singapore Airlines: 2 flights; SQ-952/953 (14.45/15.40)
Singapore Airlines: 2 supplementary flights added; SQ-954/955 (20.45/21.40)
KLM: 2 flights; KL-809/810 (18.10/19.25)
Lufthansa: 2 flights; LH-778/779 (18.50/20.05)
Brunei Airlines: 2 flights; BI-737/738 (13.25/14.50)

Domestic flights to/from Yogyakarta cancelled:
Garuda Indonesia: 15 flights (8 departure / 7 arrival)
Lion Airlines: 4 flights (3 departure / 1  arrival)
Batavia: 2 flights (1 departure / 1 arrival)

Lightning strikes as Mount Merapi volcano erupts spewing out towering clouds of hot gas and debris, as seen from Ketep village in Magelang, Indonesia's Central Java province November 6, 2010. REUTERS/Beawiharta

Airlines are advising passengers to check their online schedules and announcements as the situation is changing hourly due to weather conditions.

Australian airline Qantas said it had made a careful assessment of weather conditions and will go ahead with today's flight from Sydney to Jakarta.

A spokesman for Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport, which handles around 900 flights per day, confirmed that the airport remained fully open, and flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia and Lion Air are still running all international flights out of there.

“There has been no notice to airman so far from the aviation authorities which says the airport is affected by the volcanic ash. Therefore Garuda continues its activities,” Garuda Indonesia spokesman Pujobroto told news portal kompas.com.

Domestic flights from Jakarta are mostly unaffected so far, but flights to cities closer to Merapi on the main island of Java - including Yogyakarta, Solo and Bandung - have been affected, with the closure of smaller airports near the volcano delaying the arrival of burn cream and ventilators for those whose skin and lungs have been singed by searing gases.

US President Barack Obama is scheduled to touch down in Jakarta on Tuesday as part of a 10-day Asian tour. Since taking office, Obama has already twice postponed visits to Indonesia - the world's most populous Muslim nation, where he spent four years as a child.

Paul Belmont, a US Embassy spokesman, said there has been no talk yet of canceling. "But certainly, if the situation evolves into something like what we saw in Europe not long ago (when the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul forced closed airports for a week) it's something we'd have to take seriously," Belmont said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Three Malaysian air force planes arrived in Indonesia to pick up hundreds of citizens stranded by the eruption of Mount Merapi. The Royal Malaysian Air Force says the C-130 transport planes left early on Sunday.

They will pick up 664 Malaysians, many of them university students who had been in the city of Yogyakarta, 30 kilometers south of the volcano. The city is on its highest alert for the danger of ash and lava flows from Merapi.

JG, AP, AFP

Photostream : U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) and Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard (R) walk along the Yarra River on their way to lunch at Melbourne's Federation Square on November 7, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. Secretary Clinton travelled to Melbourne with U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates to participate in the annual Australia-U.S. ministerial meetings. The meetings were originally scheduled for January 2010 but were postponed so Secretary Clinton could help organise U.S. relief efforts following the Haiti earthquake. (Photo by William West - Pool/Getty Images)

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (centre L) and Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard (centre R) walk along the Yarra River on the way to lunch at Melbourne's Federation Square on November 7, 2010. Australia is the final country on an Asia Pacific tour that has taken Clinton to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Cambodia, China and Vietnam. AFP PHOTO/POOL/William WEST (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, walks to lunch with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010, in Melbourne, Australia. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gestures during an event on clean energy and green technology Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, speaks as Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard listens during a joint press conference at the Pixel Building in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. (Getty Images /AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill, Pool)

Photostream : Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman visits Israel

Israeli President Shimon Peres, left, shakes hands with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman during their meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010. Suleiman met with Israeli officials Thursday, among them Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to discuss ways to boost stalled Mideast peace talks with the Palestinians. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Debbie Hill, Pool)

Israeli President Shimon Peres, left, shakes speaks with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman during their meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010. Suleiman met with Israeli officials Thursday, among them Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to discuss ways to boost stalled Mideast peace talks with the Palestinians. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Debbie Hill, Pool)

Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyau (R) meets with Omar Suleiman, head of Egyptian Inteligence on November 04, 2010 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman visits Israel to meet with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to discuss the possibility of renewing negotiations with the Palestinians. (Photo by Moshe Milner /GPO/Getty IMages)