Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Crowds have gathered in Boston to pay their respects to Edward Kennedy on the first of three days of ceremonies to commemorate the US senator.
Mourning began on Thursday with a private family Mass at the family compound in Massachusetts.
Mr Kennedy's body was then driven to Boston, where his coffin was put on public view.
Mr Kennedy's death on Tuesday prompted a flood of tributes from across the US and around the world.
He will be buried on Saturday evening at the Arlington National Cemetery.
A large group of family members attended Thursday's private Mass at the family compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
Later, thousands of people lined the route as a hearse carrying Mr Kennedy's coffin left in a motorcade on the 70-mile (113km) trip to Boston.
'Extraordinary good'
There, the hearse wound through the streets of the city past some of Senator Kennedy's favourite landmarks, before delivering his coffin to the John F Kennedy presidential library and museum.
Death leaves no clear heir
In pictures: Kennedy ceremonies
As the motorcade passed through Boston, people applauded solemnly as helicopters buzzed overhead.
Mourners were allowed into the JFK building, about 35-40 at a time, to file past the closed coffin placed before a large window overlooking the ocean.
Senator Kennedy's widow Vicki and other members of the family shook hands with the mourners.
Earlier, in Hyannis Port, the mood was sombre.
"It was very moving when the hearse came by - it was observed in total silence," said John Celentano, a 62-year-old business consultant.
"You felt you were part of history."
After the public have paid their respects in Boston, there will be an invitation-only memorial service at the JFK library on Friday evening.
On Saturday, President Barack Obama is expected to address a funeral Mass for Mr Kennedy at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston.
Mr Kennedy will be buried on Saturday next to his brothers, John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy, at the Arlington national cemetery in northern Virginia.
Succession talks
In the US, Mr Kennedy's death has been seen as the end of an era.
The coffin was draped in the US flag
The charismatic senator had long been the leader of one of America's great political dynasties, following the assassinations of his brothers in 1963 and 1968.
In a televised tribute on Wednesday, Mr Obama said Mr Kennedy had achieved "extraordinary good" and was "one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve our democracy".
Meanwhile, discussions have begun over how to replace Mr Kennedy in the Senate.
Under current Massachusetts law, his seat could remain vacant for several months until a special election to choose his successor.
Senate Democrats fear that if the seat remains empty for too long, the party will struggle to pass a crucial healthcare reform that President Obama is hoping to push through.
There have been calls for a change in the law that would allow the Massachusetts governor to install an interim senator to fill the seat until the special election takes place.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has said he supports the plan.
Mr Kennedy's body was then driven to Boston, where his coffin was put on public view.
Mr Kennedy's death on Tuesday prompted a flood of tributes from across the US and around the world.
He will be buried on Saturday evening at the Arlington National Cemetery.
A large group of family members attended Thursday's private Mass at the family compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
Later, thousands of people lined the route as a hearse carrying Mr Kennedy's coffin left in a motorcade on the 70-mile (113km) trip to Boston.
'Extraordinary good'
There, the hearse wound through the streets of the city past some of Senator Kennedy's favourite landmarks, before delivering his coffin to the John F Kennedy presidential library and museum.
Death leaves no clear heir
In pictures: Kennedy ceremonies
As the motorcade passed through Boston, people applauded solemnly as helicopters buzzed overhead.
Mourners were allowed into the JFK building, about 35-40 at a time, to file past the closed coffin placed before a large window overlooking the ocean.
Senator Kennedy's widow Vicki and other members of the family shook hands with the mourners.
Earlier, in Hyannis Port, the mood was sombre.
"It was very moving when the hearse came by - it was observed in total silence," said John Celentano, a 62-year-old business consultant.
"You felt you were part of history."
After the public have paid their respects in Boston, there will be an invitation-only memorial service at the JFK library on Friday evening.
On Saturday, President Barack Obama is expected to address a funeral Mass for Mr Kennedy at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston.
Mr Kennedy will be buried on Saturday next to his brothers, John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy, at the Arlington national cemetery in northern Virginia.
Succession talks
In the US, Mr Kennedy's death has been seen as the end of an era.
The coffin was draped in the US flag
The charismatic senator had long been the leader of one of America's great political dynasties, following the assassinations of his brothers in 1963 and 1968.
In a televised tribute on Wednesday, Mr Obama said Mr Kennedy had achieved "extraordinary good" and was "one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve our democracy".
Meanwhile, discussions have begun over how to replace Mr Kennedy in the Senate.
Under current Massachusetts law, his seat could remain vacant for several months until a special election to choose his successor.
Senate Democrats fear that if the seat remains empty for too long, the party will struggle to pass a crucial healthcare reform that President Obama is hoping to push through.
There have been calls for a change in the law that would allow the Massachusetts governor to install an interim senator to fill the seat until the special election takes place.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has said he supports the plan.
Koreas to resume family reunions
North and South Korea have agreed to resume family reunions that were called off by the North two years ago, the two sides have announced in a statement.
The reunions, begun in 2000, were shelved amid worsening relations, but talks on the issue resumed this week.
Several hundred families split by the 1950-53 Korean War will be able to meet for several days from late September, the joint North-South statement said.
The agreement is the latest sign of tensions easing between the Koreas.
Time running out
Red Cross officials from both countries reached agreement after three days of talks at the Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea - where the family reunions are to be held from 26 September to 1 October.
The families will be allowed to stay for a few days, spending time and sharing meals together, before returning to their homes.
Tens of thousands of families were separated by the war and the number who will be briefly reunited is a tiny fraction of those on the waiting list, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul. For the rest, time is running out, our correspondent adds.
Family reunions were regularly held earlier in the decade
The North and South are still technically at war, as a peace treaty was never concluded at the end of the war.
There are still no exchanges by post, telephone or e-mail between people living across the heavily fortified border.
The South Korean officials used the talks to raise other issues, including the status of 500 people, mostly fishermen, believed to have been seized by the North in recent decades and never returned.
The South also believes hundreds of its prisoners of war remain alive in the North. Pyongyang has refused to discuss the issue, claiming they have all voluntarily defected to the North, says our correspondent.
UN sanctions
In the early part of the decade, the two countries regularly held Red Cross talks to discuss family reunions and other humanitarian issues. About 16,000 families were briefly reunited.
However the reunions were stopped after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February 2008, amid North Korean anger at his policy of ending unconditional aid handouts.
He has tied a resumption of aid to progress on North Korean nuclear disarmament.
Earlier this year, relations between North Korea and the rest of the world were extremely strained. It was heavily criticised in May for conducting its second nuclear test and a series of ballistic missile launches and the UN Security Council agreed to tighten sanctions against North Korea.
But the agreement to hold the Red Cross talks is just one of a series of conciliatory gestures by North Korea in recent weeks.
Last week, Northern officials attended the funeral of South Korea's former President Kim Dae-jung.
Former US President Bill Clinton also visited the North recently, and secured the release of two American journalists detained there.
North Korea also announced this month that it would ease restrictions on cross-border traffic imposed last year amid the rising tension.
Some analysts have said the moves may be an attempt by Pyongyang to gain increased aid or foreign currency as sanctions begin to bite the isolated country.
The reunions, begun in 2000, were shelved amid worsening relations, but talks on the issue resumed this week.
Several hundred families split by the 1950-53 Korean War will be able to meet for several days from late September, the joint North-South statement said.
The agreement is the latest sign of tensions easing between the Koreas.
Time running out
Red Cross officials from both countries reached agreement after three days of talks at the Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea - where the family reunions are to be held from 26 September to 1 October.
The families will be allowed to stay for a few days, spending time and sharing meals together, before returning to their homes.
Tens of thousands of families were separated by the war and the number who will be briefly reunited is a tiny fraction of those on the waiting list, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul. For the rest, time is running out, our correspondent adds.
Family reunions were regularly held earlier in the decade
The North and South are still technically at war, as a peace treaty was never concluded at the end of the war.
There are still no exchanges by post, telephone or e-mail between people living across the heavily fortified border.
The South Korean officials used the talks to raise other issues, including the status of 500 people, mostly fishermen, believed to have been seized by the North in recent decades and never returned.
The South also believes hundreds of its prisoners of war remain alive in the North. Pyongyang has refused to discuss the issue, claiming they have all voluntarily defected to the North, says our correspondent.
UN sanctions
In the early part of the decade, the two countries regularly held Red Cross talks to discuss family reunions and other humanitarian issues. About 16,000 families were briefly reunited.
However the reunions were stopped after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February 2008, amid North Korean anger at his policy of ending unconditional aid handouts.
He has tied a resumption of aid to progress on North Korean nuclear disarmament.
Earlier this year, relations between North Korea and the rest of the world were extremely strained. It was heavily criticised in May for conducting its second nuclear test and a series of ballistic missile launches and the UN Security Council agreed to tighten sanctions against North Korea.
But the agreement to hold the Red Cross talks is just one of a series of conciliatory gestures by North Korea in recent weeks.
Last week, Northern officials attended the funeral of South Korea's former President Kim Dae-jung.
Former US President Bill Clinton also visited the North recently, and secured the release of two American journalists detained there.
North Korea also announced this month that it would ease restrictions on cross-border traffic imposed last year amid the rising tension.
Some analysts have said the moves may be an attempt by Pyongyang to gain increased aid or foreign currency as sanctions begin to bite the isolated country.
Fake Dutch 'moon rock' revealed
A treasured piece at the Dutch national museum, a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing, is nothing more than petrified wood, curators say.
It was given to former Prime Minister Willem Drees during a goodwill tour by the three Apollo-11 astronauts shortly after their moon mission in 1969.
When Mr Drees died, the rock went on display at the Amsterdam museum.
At one point it was insured for around $500,000 (£308,000), but tests have proved it was not the genuine article.
The Rijksmuseum, which is perhaps better known for paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, says it will keep the piece as a curiosity.
"It's a good story, with some questions that are still unanswered," Xandra van Gelder, who oversaw the investigation that proved the piece was a fake, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
"We can laugh about it."
The "rock" had originally been been vetted through a phone call to Nasa, she added.
The US agency gave moon rocks to more than 100 countries following lunar missions in the 1970s.
US officials said they had no explanation for the Dutch discovery.
It was given to former Prime Minister Willem Drees during a goodwill tour by the three Apollo-11 astronauts shortly after their moon mission in 1969.
When Mr Drees died, the rock went on display at the Amsterdam museum.
At one point it was insured for around $500,000 (£308,000), but tests have proved it was not the genuine article.
The Rijksmuseum, which is perhaps better known for paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, says it will keep the piece as a curiosity.
"It's a good story, with some questions that are still unanswered," Xandra van Gelder, who oversaw the investigation that proved the piece was a fake, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
"We can laugh about it."
The "rock" had originally been been vetted through a phone call to Nasa, she added.
The US agency gave moon rocks to more than 100 countries following lunar missions in the 1970s.
US officials said they had no explanation for the Dutch discovery.
The body of the powerful Shia Muslim political leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, who died on in Iran on Wednesday, has arrived in Iraq for burial.
President Nouri Maliki and hundreds of officials met the coffin of Hakim, the leader of one of Iraq's most powerful Shia parties, at Baghdad airport
The body is to be taken to the Shia shrine city of Karbala, before being buried in Najaf on Saturday.
Hakim was an important power broker and held strong ties with the US and Iran.
He died on Wednesday in Tehran, where he was being treated for lung cancer.
Hundreds gathered in the Iranian capital on Thursday for a mourning ceremony where a tribute message from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was read.
ABDUL AZIZ AL-HAKIM
Born circa 1950, died 26 August 2009
Leader of Islamist Shia party Sciri, later SIIC, since 2003
Backed by Tehran, but maintaining close ties to its arch-rival Washington
Lost six of his seven brothers and 50 extended family members in resistance to Saddam Hussein
Obituary: Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
Security has been reinforced along the route of the funeral cortege in Baghdad, with many Shia followers expected to turn out to mourn him.
The BBC's Andrew North in Baghdad says that such gatherings are often targeted by bombers.
After failing to prevent recent attacks killing at least 100 people in the Iraqi capital, security forces are under pressure to show they can protect the city, our correspondent says.
Hakim opposed Saddam Hussein from exile in Iran for more than two decades, before returning to Iraq in 2003 after the US-led invasion.
He took control of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri - which later became SIIC) after his brother was assassinated in Najaf in 2003.
The party has several senior cabinet members, and its militia - the Badr Brigade - has at times wielded considerable influence in Iraq's security establishment.
Revered family
Since falling ill, Hakim had cut back his political involvement and his son Ammar gained prominence. He is expected to take over leadership of the party.
Hakim was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007 and had chemotherapy
As heir to the leadership of one of the main anti-Saddam Hussein factions in Iraq, Abdul Aziz Hakim managed to keep good ties with both the American authorities and Iran, which strongly backed his group.
His brother and predecessor as party leader was the charismatic Ayatollah Muhammad Baqr al-Hakim, who was killed along with about 100 supporters in a massive car bombing in the city of Najaf in August 2003.
The family is revered among Iraq's largest religious community, the Shia, for its tradition of scholarship and its bouts of resistance against Saddam Hussein in its southern Iraqi stronghold.
However, the quietly-spoken Hakim was distrusted by many Sunnis who saw him as too Iranian-orientated and sectarian in his political philosophy.
In 2007, the party changed its name from Sciri - the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq - to the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.
SIIC has been part of Iraq's ruling Shia alliance, the United Iraqi Alliance, led by the Islamic Dawa party of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.
However, ahead of national elections in January, the SIIC announced last week that it would campaign from within a new Shia Muslim bloc.
The body is to be taken to the Shia shrine city of Karbala, before being buried in Najaf on Saturday.
Hakim was an important power broker and held strong ties with the US and Iran.
He died on Wednesday in Tehran, where he was being treated for lung cancer.
Hundreds gathered in the Iranian capital on Thursday for a mourning ceremony where a tribute message from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was read.
ABDUL AZIZ AL-HAKIM
Born circa 1950, died 26 August 2009
Leader of Islamist Shia party Sciri, later SIIC, since 2003
Backed by Tehran, but maintaining close ties to its arch-rival Washington
Lost six of his seven brothers and 50 extended family members in resistance to Saddam Hussein
Obituary: Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
Security has been reinforced along the route of the funeral cortege in Baghdad, with many Shia followers expected to turn out to mourn him.
The BBC's Andrew North in Baghdad says that such gatherings are often targeted by bombers.
After failing to prevent recent attacks killing at least 100 people in the Iraqi capital, security forces are under pressure to show they can protect the city, our correspondent says.
Hakim opposed Saddam Hussein from exile in Iran for more than two decades, before returning to Iraq in 2003 after the US-led invasion.
He took control of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri - which later became SIIC) after his brother was assassinated in Najaf in 2003.
The party has several senior cabinet members, and its militia - the Badr Brigade - has at times wielded considerable influence in Iraq's security establishment.
Revered family
Since falling ill, Hakim had cut back his political involvement and his son Ammar gained prominence. He is expected to take over leadership of the party.
Hakim was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007 and had chemotherapy
As heir to the leadership of one of the main anti-Saddam Hussein factions in Iraq, Abdul Aziz Hakim managed to keep good ties with both the American authorities and Iran, which strongly backed his group.
His brother and predecessor as party leader was the charismatic Ayatollah Muhammad Baqr al-Hakim, who was killed along with about 100 supporters in a massive car bombing in the city of Najaf in August 2003.
The family is revered among Iraq's largest religious community, the Shia, for its tradition of scholarship and its bouts of resistance against Saddam Hussein in its southern Iraqi stronghold.
However, the quietly-spoken Hakim was distrusted by many Sunnis who saw him as too Iranian-orientated and sectarian in his political philosophy.
In 2007, the party changed its name from Sciri - the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq - to the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.
SIIC has been part of Iraq's ruling Shia alliance, the United Iraqi Alliance, led by the Islamic Dawa party of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.
However, ahead of national elections in January, the SIIC announced last week that it would campaign from within a new Shia Muslim bloc.
Call for action on Iran oppostion
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for leaders of the protests that followed his disputed re-election in June to be dealt with decisively.
A number of senior opposition figures are currently on trial in Tehran accused of conspiring with foreign powers to organise the unrest.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday there was no proof to this accusation.
Iran's opposition claims widespread vote fraud during the election.
"The leaders and the main elements involved in the [post-election protests] should be dealt with most seriously," Mr Ahmadinejad said in a speech before thousands of people before Friday prayers at Tehran University.
"Those who have organised [the protests], provoked and implemented the desires of the enemy should be dealt with decisively," he said in the speech, also broadcast live on state radio.
There were mass protests in Tehran after Mr Ahmadinejad was declared winner with 63% of the vote.
Opposition leaders say dozens of people were killed and hundreds arrested during the unrest.
Trials are taking place of some of those allegedly involved in the unrest, but they have been dismissed by critics as show trials.
Ayatollah Khamenei's remarks seem intended to reduce tensions over the disputed election and its aftermath, correspondents say.
"I do not accuse the leaders of the recent incidents to be subordinate to the foreigners, like the United States and Britain, since this issue has not been proven for me," said Ayatollah Khamenei in a statement read out on Iranian television.
A number of senior opposition figures are currently on trial in Tehran accused of conspiring with foreign powers to organise the unrest.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday there was no proof to this accusation.
Iran's opposition claims widespread vote fraud during the election.
"The leaders and the main elements involved in the [post-election protests] should be dealt with most seriously," Mr Ahmadinejad said in a speech before thousands of people before Friday prayers at Tehran University.
"Those who have organised [the protests], provoked and implemented the desires of the enemy should be dealt with decisively," he said in the speech, also broadcast live on state radio.
There were mass protests in Tehran after Mr Ahmadinejad was declared winner with 63% of the vote.
Opposition leaders say dozens of people were killed and hundreds arrested during the unrest.
Trials are taking place of some of those allegedly involved in the unrest, but they have been dismissed by critics as show trials.
Ayatollah Khamenei's remarks seem intended to reduce tensions over the disputed election and its aftermath, correspondents say.
"I do not accuse the leaders of the recent incidents to be subordinate to the foreigners, like the United States and Britain, since this issue has not been proven for me," said Ayatollah Khamenei in a statement read out on Iranian television.
Oxfam warning over Nepal climate
International aid agency Oxfam has warned that millions of rural poor in Nepal could face hunger as a result of climate change.
A report says that poor harvests, water shortages and extreme temperatures will put pressure on millions of Nepalis already living below the poverty line.
Nepal is only just emerging from a decade-long civil conflict.
The report comes ahead of a summit in the capital, Kathmandu, on the threat of climate change to the Himalayas.
Millions of people are dependent on the water which flows from the mountains.
It is also just 100 days until world leaders come together to discuss a new global climate change treaty in Copenhagen in December.
Nepal has experienced its driest winter in 40 years, followed by late and unpredictable monsoon rains, and this has meant the land is more susceptible to erosion.
But the prolonged drought has had a bigger impact.
Grim situation
Several million villagers living in Nepal's hills are facing water shortages which have, in turn, led to falling crop yields.
A lack of ground water has also contributed to the spread of diseases such as diarrhoea, as villagers use dirty streams and rivers for drinking water.
Prabin Man Singh from the international aid agency Oxfam said the change in weather patterns was putting more pressure on the rural poor.
"The people living in the rural areas were already having lots of problems in their livelihoods. But with the climate change, the whole scenario, the whole struggle of their survival has been exaggerated," he said.
Residents in the affected area have expressed their concerns about the nature of the problem.
In the remote village of Bhattegaun in western Nepal, the stream that provides water has dried up to a thin trickle.
Residents here have complained about water shortages in the area.
"We do not get a good production from agriculture at all. We cannot depend on farming and irrigation to make a living or educate our children," 35-year-old Naina Shahi told the BBC.
The changes seen in Nepal's climate over the past few years - drier winters, unreliable monsoon rains - are in line with what climate scientists are predicting will happen as the Earth gets warmer.
Oxfam has called on leaders from the world's richest countries to help Nepal better adapt to the affects of climate change when they meet to discuss the issue in Copenhagen this December.
Nepal is only just emerging from a decade-long civil conflict.
The report comes ahead of a summit in the capital, Kathmandu, on the threat of climate change to the Himalayas.
Millions of people are dependent on the water which flows from the mountains.
It is also just 100 days until world leaders come together to discuss a new global climate change treaty in Copenhagen in December.
Nepal has experienced its driest winter in 40 years, followed by late and unpredictable monsoon rains, and this has meant the land is more susceptible to erosion.
But the prolonged drought has had a bigger impact.
Grim situation
Several million villagers living in Nepal's hills are facing water shortages which have, in turn, led to falling crop yields.
A lack of ground water has also contributed to the spread of diseases such as diarrhoea, as villagers use dirty streams and rivers for drinking water.
Prabin Man Singh from the international aid agency Oxfam said the change in weather patterns was putting more pressure on the rural poor.
"The people living in the rural areas were already having lots of problems in their livelihoods. But with the climate change, the whole scenario, the whole struggle of their survival has been exaggerated," he said.
Residents in the affected area have expressed their concerns about the nature of the problem.
In the remote village of Bhattegaun in western Nepal, the stream that provides water has dried up to a thin trickle.
Residents here have complained about water shortages in the area.
"We do not get a good production from agriculture at all. We cannot depend on farming and irrigation to make a living or educate our children," 35-year-old Naina Shahi told the BBC.
The changes seen in Nepal's climate over the past few years - drier winters, unreliable monsoon rains - are in line with what climate scientists are predicting will happen as the Earth gets warmer.
Oxfam has called on leaders from the world's richest countries to help Nepal better adapt to the affects of climate change when they meet to discuss the issue in Copenhagen this December.
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