UN Security Council condemns sinking of S.Korea's Cheonan vessel

The UN Security Council condemned the sinking of a South Korean corvette Cheonan and stressed the need to prevent similar attacks in the region.

The 1,200-ton South Korean warship sank near the disputed Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea on March 26, causing the loss of 46 lives. South Korea says it has proof that North Korea fired a torpedo at the vessel from a submarine, although Pyongyang denies the attack.

"The Security Council condemns the attack which led to the sinking of the Cheonan," the 15-member Security Council said in a statement on Saturday.

An international investigation concluded that North Korea fired a torpedo at the vessel from a submarine, although Pyongyang has denied the allegations.

Pyongyang claims the incident was "orchestrated" by the United States in order to "hype the threat from North Korea" ahead of "Congress midterm elections slated for the coming November".

The UN Security Council also encouraged "the settlement of outstanding issues on the Korean peninsula by peaceful means to resume direct dialogue and negotiation through appropriate channels as early as possible, with a view to avoiding conflicts and averting escalation".

South Korea recently froze economic relations and maritime communications with its northern neighbor, further crippling the North's economy, which is already damaged by UN sanctions intended to force it to quit its nuclear program.

U.S. Obama, Palestine's Abbas hold telephone talks - White House

U.S. President Barack Obama held a telephone conversation with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas discussing Palestinian-Israeli settlement among other issues, the White House said in a statement.

"The President noted the positive momentum generated by the recent improvements on the ground in Gaza and in the West Bank, the restraint shown by both sides in recent months, and progress in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks," the statement said.

Israeli-Palestinian direct peace talks came to a halt in December 2008, when Israel launched an attack on the Gaza Strip in a bid to put an end to the firing of homemade rockets at southern Israel by Palestinian militants based in the enclave. The conflict left 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.

Palestinians have so far cited ongoing Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, both occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, as a main obstacle to the peace process.

"He [Obama] and President Abbas reviewed ways to advance to direct talks in the near term, in order to reach an agreement that ends the conflict, and establishes an independent and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel," the statement added.

Obama also told Abbas that U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell, who mediated the last four rounds of the proximity talks between Israel and Palestine, would travel to the region again in the near future and meet with the PNA leader.

Anti-drug campaign kicks off

JEDDAH: Governor of Jeddah Prince Mishaal bin Majed inaugurated on Saturday a seven-day local anti-drug campaign to coincide with the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking that takes place every July 26.

The campaign involves informational kiosks and exhibits in area malls.

“Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal praised our efforts in campaigning to combat drugs and narcotics in society. The governor also opened our awareness exhibitions, which included 13 exhibits from various government and private agencies,” said Capt. Nasser Al-Zahrani, director of Jeddah’s drug enforcement department.

“Theses exhibits and booths will be on display for seven days, and we want the maximum number of people to be aware of the dangers of drug and narcotics abuse. We urge people to come and visit these exhibits and become aware of the dangers of these poisons”.

Various government departments and nongovernmental organizations, including the Saudi Charitable Association for  Combating Smoking and Drugs and the Makkah Division of the Saudi Special Forces, are sponsoring the campaign.

Um Saher, a teacher in Jeddah, told Arab News: “I hope there will be more of these events in the future. I teach at a girl’s school in Gholail district and we have experienced cases of drug abuse. I wish if the directorate would make visits to girls schools from time to time to engage people in these areas”.

Traders hoarding stocks as Ramadan draws nearer

RIYADH: A number of traders have allegedly joined hands to hoard essential commodities to create an artificial price rise in the Saudi market in the coming weeks prior to Ramadan.

The weeks preceding the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk is one of the high shopping seasons in the Kingdom.

Two trading companies have managed to buy huge stocks of foodstuffs from one dealer, who is the sole agent of many imported foodstuffs, Al-Riyadh Arabic daily reported quoting well-informed sources.

The sources said cashing in on the current strong position of the Saudi riyal due to the depreciation of the euro and the dollar, these traders were able to buy at a cheaper price the bulk stock of commodities, especially those imported from Western countries.

The sources claim that there has been an increase of more than 25 percent in the prices of essential commodities in recent weeks and this could double over the coming weeks before Ramadan.

Khaled Al-Homaidan, an economic consultant, said this situation would lead to the rate of inflation soaring from the current level of 5.4 percent to 10.25 percent, a record set in 2008 following the global food crisis.

“Earlier, high inflation was talked about as an imported phenomenon in the Kingdom. But the present situation is the result of a few individuals monopolizing the local distribution networks,” he said.

According to Al-Homaidan, the customer can play a decisive role in clipping the wings of greedy traders.

“Consumers should be more selective and should boycott products whose prices have increased exorbitantly,” he said, adding that they must increase their vigilance in order to protect their rights and be careful not to become victims of such exploitation.

Haiti tent cities pit landowners against homeless

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- Vladimir Saint-Louis is glad to be back in business months after January's devastating earthquake in Haiti shut down his large athletic complex in the heart of Port-au-Prince.

Although he was unharmed, his father nearly lost his life when cement blocks fell on his car, injuring and trapping him for hours.

On this particular afternoon six months after the quake, customers worked out at Saint-Louis' main gym, some hitting the weights, others at the Ping-Pong table, a welcome break from all that still plagues Haiti.

Still, just footsteps away, stands a tent city erected by 7,000 homeless Haitians on the complex.

"This is a 400-meter track, and this is my soccer field; it's my land; it's part of the same property," Saint-Louis told CNN.

He said that on the night after the quake, desperate Haitians climbed over collapsed walls and found refuge on his land. At first, it was understandable, he said. But six months later, it's clear he has become frustrated.

"All the government officials we sent letters to, all the letters went unanswered," Saint-Louis said.

Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive says the government is working on a resettlement plan, not only to solve land disputes, but also to provide housing for all displaced. But he says the government's hands are tied until billions of pledged funds for Haiti come through.

"Even if we don't have the money, we should have a calendar," says Bellerive, stressing the need for a disbursement calendar.

And there's also the matter of priority.

"We have to understand that right now, the priority of the government is to protect the population from the next hurricane season," Bellerive said. "Most of our force is going in that direction".

Meanwhile, tent camps, thought to be temporary living arrangements in the aftermath of the quake, have become permanent fixtures all over the capital. More than 1,300 have sprouted -- hot, muddy from the rains, lacking water and proper sanitation, and in some cases breeding grounds for turf wars.

An estimated 1.5 million people are homeless and living in such conditions in Haiti. Many are on private property and the crisis is pitting landowners against the desperate.

At another tent camp pitched on private property, Aline Masselin washes clothes by hand in a plastic basin that sits on a dirt floor. She has lived in this camp since the night of the quake. Her daughter, Alexandra, was born here just weeks later.

Recently, a judge showed up at the site, warning the homeless it was time to go and that the owner was fed up. They missed the deadline to leave, and still they are waiting without a place to go. At a nearby camp, another landowner successfully evicted a group of homeless.

"It was 52 families," said Emmanuel Auguste, showing a lot that once housed quake victims who have now resettled in other camps.

Asked whether there will be a change six months from now, United Nations humanitarian spokesman Imogen Wall was blunt.

"It will take time to get 1.5 million people back into the kind of long-term living arrangements that they want and need," she said.

For Vladimir Saint-Louis -- whose athletic complex once boasted tennis and basketball courts, a soccer field and other recreational areas that have now become squatting areas -- news that this will take even longer does not sit well.

"There's a barbershop. There's a cyber cafe. There's a hotel in one of the tents, where people pay to stay there for the night -- I swear to God," he said.

So far, Saint-Louis has found a way to make peace with the homeless on his land, waiting for a solution to come to salvage his business that's taken a 50 percent hit since it became the site of a tent city.

Asked whether he can keep his business afloat, he replied, "God give the strength. God give me the strength".

Michael Gove urged to help most run-down schools

Education Secretary Michael Gove faces pressure to devise 'plan B' for worst schools after furore over cancellation of renovation and building programme

The schools secretary, Michael Gove, faced demands last night to devise an emergency "plan B" for schools hit by controversial spending cuts as he prepared for a Commons inquisition from MPs furious at the cancellation of building projects.

Gove will face the wrath of MPs from all parties at education questions tomorrow, when he is questioned for the first time since announcing that 700 school rebuilding projects would be scrapped to help cut the deficit.

The coalition government's problems mounted further yesterday as Liberal Democrats and Tories demanded immediate reassurance that alternative arrangements would be drawn up to help those schools most desperately in need of renovation.

After a week in which Gove had to apologise over errors on his list of casualties, further mistakes came to light yesterday as it emerged that Wigan and Bolton councils had projects axed despite having met the criteria for them to go ahead.

And Nick Clegg was planning to call Warren Bradley, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Liverpool council, after Bradley warned that the party faced being "wiped out" as a result of the mistakes. He said 26 projects had been cancelled in the city. A growing number of businesses and local councils, including Liverpool, Brent in north London, and Newham in east London, are also considering legal action to recover costs.

Nick Harvey, a Lib Dem defence minister, said while he understood Gove's argument that the Building Schools for the Future scheme had been bureaucratic, it was not fair to leave communities uncertain what future their schools had. "People will accept a delay [in the rebuilding of their local schools] but they won't accept cancellation," Harvey said. "You can't just leave people dangling in the air".

Gove has argued the £55bn, 20-year rebuilding project was bureaucratic and did not offer a good return on taxpayers' money. He told the Commons it had been hit by "massive overspends, tragic delays, botched construction projects and needless bureaucracy".

Nevertheless, Gove can expect difficult questions from his own party tomorrow. Tory MP Philip Davies has tabled a question on why projects for Ilkley and Bingley grammar schools in his Shipley constituency have been axed.

A Commons motion signed by two dozen MPs condemns the "cavalier attitude towards pupils, parents and teaching staff in schools". The former education secretary Ed Balls said: "I urge Michael Gove to withdraw his lists and put a stop to these unfair and unnecessary cuts".

There was more bad news for Gove as research suggested plans to raise the number of schools with academy status will hit disadvantaged pupils. The Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) will tomorrow publish a report likely to trigger concerns about the government's intentions. The CEP looked at the 1,560 schools that have voiced interest in academy status and found less than 10% of their intake was drawn from the poorest pupils, compared with almost 30% in schools that became academies under Labour.

The Department for Education said schools that became academies would be expected to form partnerships with schools in more difficult circumstances.

South China flood death toll reaches 50

BEIJING - More than 50 people have been killed and 15 are missing following floods, landslides and mud flows that hit parts of central and southern China following days of torrential rains, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Saturday.

Nearly 17.2 million residents in nine provinces were affected by flood-related disasters and 597,000 people were relocated from July 1 to 12 a.m. of July 10, the ministry said in its latest disaster relief update.

About 946,500 hectares of farmland were damaged, including 133,900 hectares that were completely destroyed. Further, more than 42,000 houses collapsed and another 121,000 were damaged, the ministry said, estimating that direct economic losses could reach 8.9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion).

The ministry sent 6,000 tents to the hardest-hit Hubei Province in central China and Chongqing Municipality in southwest China on Saturday.

In June, torrential rains had resulted in 260 deaths and left 211 missing in 11 southern provinces.

The latest round of storms began to pound large swaths of central and southern China on July 8.

In Hubei, the local weather forecast bureau said storms or thunder storms could hit the province again from July 11 to 13. It warned that rainfall would exceed 300 millimeters in some worst-hit areas, which was likely to trigger another round of heavy floods.

The Three Gorges Dam, sitting in the middle reach of the Yangtze River in Hubei, on Saturday released water for the first time this year.

Engineers opened three sluice gates to discharge some 32,000 cubic meters of water per second and another sluice gate to release floating objects.

The flood from the upper stream reaching the dam was measured at 36,000 cubic meters of water per second and could increase to 39,000 cubic meters per second by Sunday, dam officials said.

Authorities said water levels in many branches of the 6,397-meter-long Yangtze River that runs from west to east, had gone above the warning lines. At Wulong monitoring station in Chongqing the water level was three meters above the warning line.

In southwest China's Guizhou Province, several counties and villages were submerged in more than one meter deep water. About 7,500 residents were evacuated from the flooded zones.

Also, four miners were killed in a gas explosion after heavy rain cut off electricity and stopped ventilation equipment at a coal mine in Xishui County of Guizhou's Zunyi City early Saturday morning. Seven of the 25 miners who were working underground managed to escape when the explosion occurred. Rescuers later saved 14 other miners.

Officers fatally shoot armed man at Summerlin Costco

A man walked into a busy Costco store in Summerlin armed with two guns Saturday afternoon, eventually pulling out a weapon and prompting Metro Police to fatally shoot the gunman.

Police Capt. Patrick Neville said Costco security personnel called police at 12:47 p.m. after the man began destroying merchandise in the store. After the call, store security noticed the man had a gun and began to evacuate the business, Neville said.

The store is at 801 S. Pavilion Center Drive, which is near the Charleston Boulevard and Las Vegas Beltway interchange. The business was mostly evacuated when officers arrived.

Police approached the man just outside Costco's front doors near a display of tires.

Neville said an officer tapped the man on the shoulder. The man turned around and the officer saw a gun in the man's waistband, police said.

The officer ordered the man to the ground, but the gunman refused, police said. Neville said the gunman then pulled out the gun in his waistband, prompting three officers to fire multiple shots.

The man was taken to University Medical Center, where he later died.

At the hospital, medical personnel discovered a second gun on the man. Both were semi-automatic handguns.

Neville estimated about 20 people were in the vicinity when the shooting occurred. No one else was injured during the incident.

The man was described as white, about 6-foot-1-inch tall and 190 pounds. He was in his 30s or 40s, police said. His name will be released by the Clark County Coroner's Office.

Neville credited Costco security officials with possibly helping to avoid a more serious incident from taking place.

"Through Costco taking some proactive measures here, that probably stemmed a lot of problems," he said.

Costco was closed Saturday while officers continued their investigation. Authorities interviewed several witnesses to the shooting.

The officers who fired will be placed on paid administrative leave during an investigation, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.

Photos of Fidel Castro published on pro-government blog

Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Images appearing to show former Cuban President Fidel Castro surfaced Saturday on a pro-government blog, which claims the photos were taken Wednesday.

The photos apparently show the ailing, 83-year-old Castro meeting with people during "a surprise visit" at the National Center of Scientific Investigations in Havana, according to a blog published by columnist Rosa C. Baez.

The Cuban government was not immediately available to comment on the authenticity of the photos, and CNN's attempts to reach the Havana-based blogger were unsuccessful.

It would be the first public appearance made by the former Cuban leader since he stepped down from power in 2006 to undergo intestinal surgery.

Raul Castro was formally elected president in 2008.

Eight men jailed in Tunisia for 'inciting terror'

Eight men have been sentenced to up to 12 years in prison in Tunisia after being found guilty of inciting terror, their lawyer said.

The men were convicted on charges of belonging to a militant Islamist cell and advocating terrorist acts, the lawyer, Samir Ben Amor, said.

All the men denied the charges. The lawyer did not name the terror group.

They were convicted on Saturday by the Court of First Instance in Tunis.

Staunch US ally

Mr Ben Amor said: "Three youths received 12-year sentences and five men were given terms of between two and five years.

"Two of them were convicted in absentia and fled to France and Sweden and demanded political asylum".

Others alleged they had been tortured to extract confessions, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Tunisia, a staunch US ally, has battled an Islamist militancy in recent years and jailed around 1,000 people suspected of planning to help fight US-led forces in Iraq.

Human Rights Watch says nearly all those convicted under the law were accused of planning to join jihadist groups abroad or encouraging others to do so, rather than having planned or committed attacks themselves.

Roadside bomb explodes in Northern Ireland

(CNN) -- Police in Northern Ireland said Saturday that they suspect a roadside bomb that exploded in a border county was a lure, designed to draw them into the area.

District Commander Chief Alaqsdair Robinson said in a statement that the explosion on a road leading to the village of Newtownhamilton caused significant damage to both the road and a nearby bridge.

There were no reports of injuries, but the surrounding area was closed and police were asking people to stay away.

Robinson said he believes that police officers were the target, and that the bomb was placed in the area in an attempt to injure or kill them.

Northern Ireland police said the explosion occurred before 5:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. ET) in County Armagh, near Newtownhamilton. The town saw some violence in the struggle between Catholics and Protestants during the years of conflict known as "The Troubles". And last April, three people were injured in an explosion outside a police station there.

Meanwhile, in the Republic of Ireland's County Louth (which borders County Armagh), shots were fired at officers, according to Northern Ireland Policing Board member Basil McCrey.

McCrey also told CNN that police in County Louth stopped a car on suspicion of transporting explosives across the border from the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland. Five people were detained.

McCrey said another car successfully made it over the border. He believes the incidents are related.

The five people detained by police are still being held for questioning in the Republic of Ireland. They can be held up to 72 hours without charges.

The incidents come ahead of "Orangeman's Day" on Monday. The holiday -- also called "The Twelfth" -- is celebrated by Protestants in Northern Ireland to commemorate the Battle of Boyne in 1690. Because of the sectarian nature of the holiday, celebrations have sometimes been marred by violence in the past.

Pull Aussie troops from Afghanistan, says Bob Brown after death of Pte Nathan Bewes

UPDATE 9:38am: GREENS leader Bob Brown says a growing number of Australians want our troops out of Afghanistan after the death of another Aussie digger.

Pte Nathan Bewes has become the 17th Aussie Digger killed in the conflict and the sixth lost in the past month.  

Senator Brown today offered his condolences to the family of Pte Bewes.

He said he shared a commitment to the brave defence forces in Afghanistan but said they should be brought home.

"It's a terrible war, these soldiers are there at the nation's behest and we think they should be brought safely back to Australia," Senator Brown told Channel 9.

"Because this war is not going the way it should, it was bungled from the outset by (former US) President (George W) Bush".

A growing majority of Australians thought troops should be brought home, Senator Brown said.

"We will go to the election fighting very strongly to have our troops brought safely home from Afghanistan," he said.

Three weeks ago Pte Bewes, from Brisbane, gave girlfriend of three years Alice Walsh a diamond ring while in Munich. 

On leave from his second deployment in Afghanistan, it was to be "the ring before an engagement ring", but Pte Bewes, 23, a member of the First Mentoring Task Force, will never marry his sweetheart.

He was killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol in the Chora Valley in Oruzgan Province just before midnight on Friday - the 17th Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

"It was 5.30am when they (army officials) knocked on the door," Ms Walsh, 23, said.

"I just thought, please God let him just be injured. I just hoped it wasn't what it was".

Ms Walsh met Pte Bewes - her best friend and soul mate - through a fellow soldier and friend Pte Robert Murphy.

Pte Murphy, who is in Afghanistan, introduced Ms Walsh to his best mate three years ago and the couple instantly clicked.

"He was kind, generous and always up for a laugh. He would always help anybody who needed it," Ms Walsh said.

"He was the guy that everyone wanted to hang around with, a boys' boy, but he always made sure I was included".

In June, Ms Walsh flew to Europe to meet Pte Bewes, who was on leave after deploying on his second tour of Afghanistan in January.

They spent three weeks touring Switzerland, Munich and Berlin (Germany) and Prague.

While in Berlin, Pte Bewes took care of Ms Walsh, who had to have an operation after developing appendicitis.

"He wouldn't leave me. I had to tell him to go out and see things," she said.

"We had a blast in Europe ... in Munich he drank seven steins because he was so keen to go to all of the pubs his dad had been to when he was younger.

"But like any of them (soldiers) he wanted to be there for the boys. He always said, 'You go over as a team, you come back as a team'.

"He believed they were making a real difference".

Ms Walsh spoke to her beloved partner on Friday night, just hours before he was killed and another soldier was seriously wounded by an improvised explosive device.

They compiled a list of items Pte Bewes needed sent over to Afghanistan, including simple things such as toothpaste.

Pte Bewes' parents, Gary and Kay Bewes, and his sister, Stephanie, 25, who live in Murwillumbah in northern NSW, were still coming to terms with their loss yesterday.

Mr Bewes said his son had always wanted to follow in the footsteps of his grandfathers, Cliff Gill, who served in New Guinea in World War II, and Jack Bewes, who served with the Royal Air Force in England.

"Nate went to school at Mt St Pats (in Murwillumbah) and joined the cadets when he was 13," Mr Bewes said.

"When he was 18, he joined the army in May 2005. He always wanted to follow in their footsteps".

Mr Bewes described his son as his "best mate".

"He was a great son, my only son and my best friend. He'd come home and we would have a beer together," he said.

Pte Reece "Red" Mellish, who served in Afghanistan with Pte Bewes, but was in Brisbane last week on leave, said the "all-round good bloke" would be greatly missed by everyone who knew him.

News of Pte Bewes' death - the sixth in just over a month - came as family, friends and dignitaries, including Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston and Prime Minister Julia Gillard, were in Darwin for the funeral of Pte Scott Palmer, one of three soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on June 21.

Prime Minister Gillard said the latest loss increased the determination of the soldiers serving in Afghanistan to get the job done.

"There will be Australians today who are asking themselves in the face of this loss why as a country do we continue to pursue our mission there," she said.

"We pursue that mission because Afghanistan is a safe haven for terrorists".

The injured soldier, who was in the same patrol as Pte Bewes, was taken to Tarin Kowt where he remains in a satisfactory condition.

In addition to the 17 deaths in Afghanistan, 143 Australian soldiers have been wounded, including 43 this year.

The Victorian families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan yesterday called for Australians to back the controversial mission despite the nation mourning the latest loss.

Melbourne mum Jennifer Ward, whose son Benjamin Ranaudo was killed on July 18 last year after stepping on an IED, called on Australians to boost their support for our soldiers.