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Quartet tells Israel to halt settlement activity
03/19 | 19:33 GMT
©AFP / Yuri Kadobnov
L-R: The representatives of the Middle East Quartet former British premier Tony Blair, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton pose for a photograph after talks in Moscow. The Middle East Quartet urged Israel to stop building settlements.
©AFP / Yuri Kadobnov
The Mideast Quartet expressed deep concern about the situation in the Gaza Strip
MOSCOW (AFP) - The Middle East Quartet on Friday urged Israel to stop building settlements and set a bold target for a final deal with the Palestinians by 2012 as it tried to kickstart the stalled peace process.
But Israel's foreign minister -- whose country angered the international community by announcing last week the construction of 1,600 new settler homes -- swiftly condemned the statement as harming the chances of a peace accord.
"The Quartet urges the government of Israel to freeze all settlement activity," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said after the meeting of the Quartet of the United States, the United Nations, European Union and Russia.
He said at the meeting hosted by Russia that Israel should also halt natural settlement growth, dismantle outposts erected since March 2001 and refrain from demolitions and evictions in east Jerusalem.
©AFPTV
Reactions to settlement building from local residents. Originally filed on 110310. Duration: 01:36
The Israeli plan to build more homes in annexed east Jerusalem led the Palestinians to call for a halt to peace talks and precipitated the worst crisis in US-Israeli relations in years.
Key facts on the Israeli settlements
East Jerusalem is the mainly Arab half of the Holy City which was captured and then annexed by Israel after the 1967 Six Day War.
Condemning the new settlement plan, the Quartet noted that Israel's annexation of east Jerusalem was not recognised by the international community and the city's status had to be resolved through negotiations.
With the peace process stagnant, the Quartet also urged Israel and the Palestinians to resume talks on final status issues with the aim of finding a settlement "within 24 months", Ban said, reading from the Quartet's statement.
He said such a settlement would end "the occupation which began in 1967 and result in the emergence of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel".
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman gave the statement a frosty reception and appeared particularly irked by its explicit target of a peace deal in two years time.
animationSet
©AFP iactiv
Riots in Jersualem amid calls for a new "intifada" in the Middle East. FLASH GRAPHIC
"Peace cannot be imposed artificially and with an unrealistic calendar," Lieberman was quoted as saying in an address to the Jewish community in Brussels. "This type of statement only harms the possibilities of reaching an accord."
He said the timetable gives the Palestinians the wrong impression "that by failing to negotiate directly they will achieve their goals by using all sorts of pretexts."
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat welcomed the Quartet's call, but asked also for a mechanism to "make sure that Israel does effectively halt completely all settlement activity in the West Bank and east Jerusalem."
The timing of Israel's settlement announcement had infuriated Washington -- Israel's chief ally -- coming as US Vice President Joe Biden visited the region.
Majority of Israelis see Obama as fair: poll
©AFP / Marco Longari
Tensions over Jerusalem have sparked the worst riots in recent years
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Clinton late Thursday following a tense call last week when she had asked him to order a halt to the settler plans.
Clinton said Friday that the strong US reaction to Israeli settlement plans is "paying off".
"What I heard from the prime minister in response for the request we made was useful and productive, and we're continuing our discussions with him and his government," Clinton told AFP and other reporters in Moscow.
"It's one of the reasons Senator (George) Mitchell will be going back to the region and meeting with him in just a few days," Clinton said.
US ties with Israel are 'strong and enduring': Clinton
On Friday, Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli security forces in the West Bank and east Jerusalem during anti-settlement protests after the Muslim Friday prayers.
As well as Clinton and Ban, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton attended Friday's meeting, along with former British prime minister Tony Blair, who is the Quartet's representative.
©AFP / Ahmad Gharabli
A Palestinian youth throws a stone at Israeli border guards
Ashton's visit to Moscow came a day after she made a rare trip by a top foreign official to the Gaza Strip that was overshadowed by fresh violence when rocket fired from the Gaza Strip killed a Thai agricultural worker in Israel.
EU-Israeli ministerial meeting next week scrapped
Ban said the quartet was "deeply concerned" about the situation in Gaza, "including the humanitarian and human rights situation of the civilian population."
Amid an intense flurry of diplomatic activity, Ban is to visit the Middle East, including Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, this weekend while US special Middle East envoy George Mitchell was expected in the region on Sunday.
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Gunners to face Barca, United get Bayern in Champions League
03/19 | 16:53 GMT
©AFP/File / Glyn Kirk
Arsenal's French manager Arsene Wenger(C), seen here talking to his players at training in 2009, will take his squad against Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals in a repeat of the 2006 final won by the Spanish giants.
©AFP/File / Glyn Kirk
Arsena's Arsene Wenger(C) with his players
NYON, Switzerland (AFP) - Arsenal will face Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals in a repeat of the 2006 final won by the Spanish giants.
Manchester United, beaten by Barcelona in last year's final, face Bayern Munich, Inter Milan are up against CSKA Moscow and Lyon were pitted against fellow French side Bordeaux in the draw made here Friday.
The first legs are scheduled for March 30/31 with the second legs on April 6/7.
The semi-final draw was also held, with the winner of the United and Bayern tie meeting Lyon or Bordeaux, and Inter or CSKA playing Arsenal or Barca.
For Arsenal the draw offers up a chance to gain revenge on missing out to Barcelona 2-1 at the Stade de France in Paris four years ago.
It will also mean a return to the Emirates Stadium for Arsenal old boy Thierry Henry.
©AFP/File / Lluis Gene
Lionel Messi
The Gunners motored into the last eight this time around with a 5-0 thrashing of 2004 winners Porto on Tuesday for a 6-2 aggregate victory.
Manager Arsene Wenger said: "I believe we will not be favourites but for me it will be a 50-50 game. That's how we have to take it.
"When you get to the quarter-finals of the Champions League you play good teams and Barcelona are a good team.
"Of course they are a good side and so are we. It will be an interesting, exciting game. We have to make sure we have the belief and focus right."
Club secretary David Miles added: "This draw gives us what it gives us - we can only play and hopefully beat what's in front of us.
"Actually we owe Barcelona one - if that's the word. We'll be up for it - and we are looking to get a couple of decent results."
For three-time winners Manchester United Friday's draw meant they cross swords again with Bayern, the team they beat with two injury-time goals at the Camp Nou for the 1999 title.
But two years later Bayern beat United in the quarter-finals to go on to lift the trophy themselves.
©AFP/File / Giuseppe Cacace
Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson feels United have a "good chance" even though his side's overall record against the Germans makes for sobering reading - United's 1999 final win their only triumph in seven meetings.
"The history of playing Bayern in past European ties tells you it’s going to be a very difficult tie for us," Ferguson told the club's website.
"It’ll be a fantastic atmosphere in both games. They have a great stadium and a good pitch and we’re up against a good, experienced team."
His Bayern counterpart, Louis van Gaal ranked United alongside Barcelona as the competition's favourites.
"It's a difficult draw. Manchester United are enjoying a very good phase at the moment and ut will be hard to beat them.
"English teams like to play and that will help us because normally our rivals like to only defend agaisnt us.
"For the fans it'll be a superb match."
©AFP/File / Aris Messinis
The semi-final draw was also held, with the winner of the United and Bayern tie meeting Lyon or Bordeaux
Bayern captain Mark van Bommel added: "Manchester United are one of the great clubs of Europe, excatly like Bayern. The only negative point for us is that we have to play the second leg at Old Trafford."
This season's final is being staged at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium on May 22, the first time the final is being held on a Saturday.
Real's dream of lifting a tenth trophy on home turf were dashed by Lyon this week, with the former French champions' reward a date with Laurent Blanc's Bordeaux.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas commented: "It's very special. At least it means there will be a French club in the semi-finals. It will also be a clash between the reigning (French) champions and the champions of the season before."
Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan, who ended Chelsea's European hopes, face a trip to first time quarter-finalists CSKA Moscow before the return leg at the San Siro.
Champions League quarter-finals
Lyon (FRA) v Bordeaux (FRA)
Bayern Munich (GER) v Manchester United (ENG)
Arsenal (ENG) v Barcelona (ESP)
Inter Milan (ITA) v CSKA Moscow (RUS)
1st leg - March 30/31
2nd leg - April 6/7
Sports
Gunners to face Barca, United get Bayern in Champions ...Last training session for France before rugby game vs England
03/19 | 20:24 GMT
©AFPTV
Six Nations: France will face England Saturday to try and win the first Grand Slam since 2004. Players have made their last training session on Friday at Stade de France near Paris where the game will take place. Duration: 00:48
©AFPTV
Six Nations: France will face England Saturday to try and win the first Grand Slam since 2004. Players have made their last training session on Friday at Stade de France near Paris where the game will take place.
Video Gallery
Last training session for France before rugby game vs ...Playmate Anna Nicole Smith's heirs, left penniless
03/19 | 22:29 GMT
©AFP/Getty Images/File / Peter Kramer
Model Anna Nicole Smith pictured in New York in 2005. A US federal appeals court ruled Friday that Smith's heirs will not receive a penny of the more than 300 million dollars she claimed to her billionaire husband's inheritance.
©AFP/Getty Images/File / Peter Kramer
Model Anna Nicole Smith
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A US federal appeals court ruled Friday that Anna Nicole Smith's heirs will not receive a penny of the more than 300 million dollars she claimed to her billionaire husband's inheritance.
The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled in favor of E. Pierce Marshall, the son of Texas oil tycoon Howard Marshall, whom the late Playboy centerfold married in 1994 after meeting him while working at a strip club. She was 26 at the time and he was 89.
Marshall died in 1995 after a 14-month marriage, sparking a prolonged legal battle over his 1.6-billion-dollar estate.
At the time of her death from an accidental drug overdose in a Florida hotel room in February 2007, Smith's will -- which had not been updated -- left all her wealth to her son Daniel, who had died six months earlier, with attorney Howard Stern assigned as the estate executor.
The person who had stood to gain from her estate was Smith's daughter Dannielynn Hope, born in September 2006, who was at the center of a court battle over a fortune in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
When Smith died, the identity of the girl's father was unknown.
Stern, actress Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband Frederic van Anhalt and celebrity photographer Larry Birkhead all filed paternity suits claiming they were the father.
Birkhead was determined to be the girl's father. It remains unclear whether he will pursue further litigation.
London's Royal Opera House announced Wednesday that it would stage the world premiere of an opera about Smith's life in February 2011.
The work is by Mark-Anthony Turnage and writer Richard Thomas, who co-created the controversial production "Jerry Springer: The Opera."
A 2007 autopsy found that Smith's death -- a worldwide media sensation at the time -- was due to a lethal cocktail of anti-anxiety medication, methadone, antibiotics and other prescription drugs.
It came just months after her son, 20-year-old Daniel, died from an overdose in the Bahamas in September 2006.
People
Playmate Anna Nicole Smith's heirs, left ...Nigerian armed group claims attack on oil pipeline
03/19 | 16:36 GMT
©AFP/File / Pius Utomi Ekpei
A Nigerian armed rebel group has claimed to have blown up an oil facility in the restive oil-producing Niger Delta region and threatened to step up attacks in coming days.
©AFP/File / Pius Utomi Ekpei
The Niger Delta militants launched their armed insurgency in 2006
LAGOS, Nigeria (AFP) - Nigerian rebels claimed Friday to have blown up an oil plant in the restive Niger Delta region and threatened further raids, adding to the mounting crises facing Acting President Goodluck Jonathan.
A previously unknown militant group, the Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC), which in recent weeks claims to have struck several oil installations, warned it wanted to reduce oil exports from the world's eight largest exporter to "zero".
The Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC) said the latest attack followed one it staged at the weekend. It has claimed several other raids this year.
"At about 12:08 am (2308 GMT), March 19, 2010, units of the Joint Revolutionary Council of Niger Delta attacked and exploded the Abbiama Manifold in Buguma," the group said in an email statement to the media.
"We are going to extend the intensity of attacks in the coming days, believing that the oil companies and diplomatic missions in Nigeria have evacuated their foreign national(s)," said the JRC.
Buguma is in Rivers State, whose capital Port Harcourt is Nigeria's oil hub and the base for many expatriates working in the Niger Delta.
The resumption of hostilities and threats to step up the offensive piles up pressure on Jonathan, who took over a virtually paralysed government last month following President Umaru Yar'Adua's protracted illness.
Since Yar'Adua was stricken by a serious heart condition and flown to a Saudi hospital November, Nigeria has had to deal with mass ethno-religious violence, renewed hostilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta and an attempt by one of its citizens to bring down an American airliner.
The military, which is deployed to police the volatile Niger Delta, took note of the overnight attack and said the Buguma installation was operated by the Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell.
"It is true that there was a reported sabotage on the Abbiama Manifold in Buguma," Colonel Timothy Antigha, spokesman for the Joint Task Force.
"We have reported the sabotage to the concerned authorities ... but it was not carried out by the so-called JRC. It was the handiwork of oil bunkerers (thieves)," Antigha told AFP.
Shell spokesman Precious Okolobo said, "We are checking reports of an attack on our pipeline and do not have details."
©AFP/File / Pius Otomi Ekpei
Oil accounts for 95% of Nigeria's export earnings
It could not be immediately established how much crude oil supplies would be affected by the attack on the joint in the pipeline.
The JRC claims to be distinct from the region's most prominent armed group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which early this year called off a three-month-old truce with the government.
MEND on Monday set off two bombs in succession in front of a government office in the key oil city of Warri in Delta State on Monday, aborting peace talks that were to be addressed by top state and federal officials.
At least one person died and several were injured in Warri.
Niger Delta militants' main demand is that local communities benefit from the region's oil wealth.
At the peak of the unrest in the restive region, Nigeria's daily oil output dropped by a third to 1.5 million barrels from 2.6 million barrels.
Oil is Nigeria's economic mainstay, raking in some 95 percent of export earnings and accounting for about 85 percent of budget needs for the OPEC member country.
