Obama: Government shutdown over budget 'inexcusable'

 

US President Barack Obama has said it would be "inexcusable" for lawmakers to fail to fund the government to the end of September to avoid a shutdown.

"There is no reason why we should not get an agreement," the president said.

Congressional leaders and Mr Obama failed to reach a federal budget deal in talks in Washington on Tuesday.

Mr Obama said he was concerned politics could get in the way of preventing a government shutdown

Following his visit to the White House, House Speaker John Boehner said Republicans would not accept options they did not wish to endorse.

Negotiations have stalled over legislation to fund the day-to-day operations of US federal agencies to the end of the fiscal year, with the Republicans demanding greater spending cuts.

Democrats have accused Republicans of linking social policy agendas to the bill.

New York police resume search for bodies near beach

Investigators have returned to an overgrown stretch of a New York barrier island to hunt for victims of a possible serial killer, a day after more human remains were found there.

Three sets of remains were found near Ocean Parkway, a road leading to a number of Long Island beaches.

Monday's discovery in brush near Gilgo Beach brought to eight the number of corpses found in the area since 2010.

Police in Suffolk County, New York, suspect a serial killer.

Mexico: Thousands missing in drugs war says CNDH

A Mexican human rights organisation says thousands of people have disappeared in Mexico since 2006.

Relatives of the disappeared hold vigils to draw attention to their plight

Mexico's human rights commission, CNDH, said 5,397 people had been reported missing since President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels.

A United Nations study has suggested the security forces may have played a part in the disappearance of some of those missing.

Mr Calderon has deployed 50,000 troops as part of his war on the cartels.

The CNDH collated data provided by relatives and by state authorities and included all of those "reported missing or absent".

The commission said 3,457 of those disappeared were men and 1,885 women, while there was no data on the remaining 55 cases.

Afghanistan: Obama condemns killings of UN staff

The head of the UN mission said the violence would not drive it out of Afghanistan

 

President Barack Obama has described as "outrageous" the killings in Afghanistan triggered by the burning of a Koran in the US last month.

Mr Obama said the desecration of any holy text was "an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry", but it did not justify killing innocent people.

An attack on a UN base on Friday in the city of Mazar-e Sharif killed 14 people, seven of them UN staff.

A top UN official has blamed the pastor who burnt the Koran for the violence.

At least 10 people were killed and many more were injured in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Saturday in a second day of protests.

Ivory Coast: Abidjan in grip of fierce fighting

Gunfire has been reported around the presidential palace

 

Heavy fighting has taken place in Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan, for a third day as rival forces battle for power.

Internationally-recognised President Alassane Ouattara's fighters fought for control of key areas held by troops loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.

Mr Gbagbo's forces made a call to arms after apparently retaking state TV.

Meanwhile the UN, quoted by AFP, says many of the hundreds of deaths in the western town of Duekoue this week were at the hands of Mr Ouattara's forces.

But Sidiki Konate, an aide to Mr Ouattara's prime minister, said that while some people were killed in the fighting between the two sides, there had been no deliberate killings of Gbagbo supporters.

The UN said more than 330 people had died in inter-communal violence in the town but aid agencies estimated between 800 and more than 1,000 deaths.

The battle for Abidjan remains fierce, with heavy fighting reported on Saturday around the Agban military base and the presidential palace.

But the situation inside the city is unclear, with some reports that soldiers defending the base were fighting amongst themselves.

State television station RTI appears to be back under the control of Gbagbo supporters after being briefly seized by their rivals.

One soldier, accompanied by a dozen members of Mr Gbagbo's Defence and Security Forces (FDS), read a statement on the channel calling for the mobilisation of troops to protect state institutions.

"The FDS, wishing to reaffirm their determination, to ensure their sovereign duty to protect people, property and institutions of the Republic of Ivory Coast" calls for "all the staff of the armed forces" to join five units located in Abidjan.

But UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the BBC: "At this time, I strongly urge Mr Gbagbo to step down and transfer power to the legitimately elected president... Mr Ouattara."

Once Mr Gbagbo had gone, Mr Ban said he expected Mr Ouattara to begin the process of reconciliation and restore the rule of law.

Residents of Abidjan say they are too afraid to leave their homes as the fighting continues. Many report running out of food, with all shops closed and widespread looting.

Tens of thousands of women, men and children have fled fighting in Duekoue since Monday

An eyewitness named as Khodor, from Lebanon, told the BBC he could hear gunfire and there were looters on the streets.

"We have no food or water," he said. "I'm quite calm now, but there are people in tears, we have no idea what will happen or even what is going on."

She also says young Gbagbo supporters in several districts of Abidjan have been armed by Gbagbo loyalists, according to witnesses.

Israel urges UN to cancel Goldstone Report on Gaza war

Israel's 22-day Gaza offensive ended in January 2009, with 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead

 

Israel has called on the UN to cancel a report that said it possibly committed war crimes during its 2008-2009 military offensive in Gaza.

The report's author, South African judge Richard Goldstone, said on Friday that new accounts indicated Israel had not deliberately targeted civilians.

He said that if he had known what he knew now, "the Goldstone Report would have been a different document".

Israel's prime minister said the remark meant the report "should be buried".

Southwest Airlines grounds jets over mid-air hole scare

 

The US carrier Southwest Airlines has grounded for inspection about 80 of its planes after a hole opened up in mid-air in the roof of one of its aircraft.

Investigators have ruled out terrorism, but so far have not been able to establish the cause of the rupture.

The hole caused a sudden drop in cabin pressure, and Flight 812 from Phoenix to Sacramento was forced to make a steep descent and emergency landing.

Guatemala first couple's divorce on hold

A court in Guatemala has ordered a halt to the divorce proceedings of the country's first couple.

Sandra Torres said she would divorce her husband for the love of her country

 

First Lady Sandra Torres said last week she was seeking to divorce President Alvaro Colom, so she could stand for election to succeed him.

Guatemala's constitution bans close relatives of the president from running for the top office.

A group of students had petitioned the court to stop the divorce, which they said would bypass the constitution.

The students called the move by the first couple a farce.

Afghanistan: UN defiant after Mazar-e Sharif killings

Guards at the UN compound in Mazar-e Sharif were overwhelmed by demonstrators

 

A UN official has said the recent violence in Afghanistan will not drive its mission out of the country.

Mission head Staffan de Mistura said staff in Mazar-e Sharif, where seven UN workers were killed on Friday, would be redeployed to Kabul temporarily.

The attack, after a protest against the burning of a Koran in the US last month, was the worse on the mission since the US-led invasion in 2001.

Ten people died in Kandahar on Saturday during a protest over the same issue.

Emirates ship MV Arrilah-I freed from pirates

The bulk carrier was returning from Australia when it was seized

 

Special forces from the United Arab Emirates have freed a ship hijacked by pirates in the Arabian Sea, according to state media reports.

The WAM news agency said the hijackers surrendered after the troops stormed the bulk carrier MV Arrilah-I, backed by air force units.

It had been seized on Friday while sailing from Australia to the UAE.

It is not know who hijacked the vessel, but Somali pirates have seized dozens of ships south-west of the Arabian Sea.

The bulk carrier's owner, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, said all the crew were safe and well.