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| A memorial for the cast and crew will take place later this week |
Glee creator Ryan Murphy has said he is planning to make a special tribute episode to honour cast member Cory Monteith who died last weekend.
Speaking in a number of US interviews, Murphy said the tribute would feature as the third episode of the fifth series, which begins in September.
It has yet to be decided exactly how Monteith's death will be addressed on screen.
But Murphy confirmed Monteith's character would not be re-cast.
He said the "right thing to do" would be to "have that character pass".
Murphy added that after the tribute, the show would take an "extended hiatus" to evaluate its future.
Monteith was found dead in a hotel in Vancouver last Saturday. A post-mortem said he died from a heroin and alcohol overdose.
Murphy said Monteith's girlfriend, Lea Michele, wanted to go back to work
"When you're faced with something so sad and so shocking, what do you do? Do we cancel the show? Do we start shooting in January? What do we do?" Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter.
"Ultimately, we decided the best thing for everyone is to get back to work and be around people who knew him and loved him so that everyone can grieve together."
The first two episodes of the next series - a planned Beatles tribute which has already been written - will be filmed next month ahead of the tribute.
US network Fox announced last week the fifth series would begin on 26 September - a week later than originally planned.
Murphy said the decision to return to work was made by Monteith's girlfriend and fellow cast member, Lea Michele.
"If Lea had said to me, 'I could never do this again and I don't want to do this again,' - you know, she is sort of the show... I would've, out of respect to her as a person, said OK," he told E! News.
"But that's not how Lea operates; that's not how she feels. That was never on the table for her. Nothing has been done and will be done in terms of any of the material without Lea blessing it and making sure it's OK with her."
"When we do the tribute episode to that character, we'll have to do it in a way where the cast members will not have to re-create feelings of grief that they've had this week - but do it in an upbeat way," he said.
"If we can do this responsibly and help young people through these feelings, that's the best that we can hope for."
A memorial for cast and crew is planned for later this week at Paramount's studios.
Morrissey has suffered from double pneumonia, food poisoning and a bleeding ulcer in recent months
Morrissey has apologised to fans after cancelling the remainder of his South American tour due to a "lack of funding".
The former Smiths frontman had postponed 14 dates earlier this month after suffering from food poisoning.
Poor health has forced the singer to axe almost all of his tour dates this year, including his North American leg.
Writing on the fan site True To You, Morrissey said it had been a year of "too many disappointments".
"I am informed today that the projected tour of South America is snuffed out, thus euthanised - due, I'm reliably advised, to lack of funding," he wrote.
"It's quite easy to sell tickets, yet impossible to transport band and crew from F to G. This really is the last of many final straws and I am not alone in feeling this."
The singer went on to say his apologies for cancelling his tour dates were now so frequent, it was "somewhat ridiculous".
"It is agonising to be responsible for imparting such news - especially when it springs upon me unexpectedly and inexplicably. But the collapse of South America rings the curtain down with a colossal thud.
"Cancellations and illness have sucked the life out of all of us, and the only sensible solution seems to be the art of doing nothing."
In March, Morrissey cancelled his US tour following a series of what he called "medical mishaps".
The 53-year-old has suffered from a number of illnesses in recent months including a bleeding ulcer, Barrett's oesophagus and double pneumonia.
The South American tour had been due to end in Rio de Janeiro on 4 August.
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| Mr Leob played a key role in the appointment of Marrisa Mayer as Yahoo's chief executive |
Third Point LLC, the hedge fund headed by activist investor Daniel Leob, has agreed to reduce its stake in Yahoo.
Yahoo will buy back 40 million shares from Third Point, reducing its stake in the internet giant to less than 2%.
Mr Leob was a key driver of the recent management shake up at Yahoo that saw the departure of former chief executive Scott Thompson and the appointment of Marissa Mayer in the role.
As a result of his reduced holding, Mr Leob has resigned from Yahoo's board.
Two other directors, Harry Wilson and Michael Wolf, who were nominated to Yahoo's board by Third Point, have also submitted their resignations.
"I'm confident that with Marissa at the helm and her team's focus on innovation and engaging users, Yahoo has a bright future." Mr Leob said in a statement.
Windfall
The move by Third Point comes amid a surge in Yahoo's stock. Its shares have risen more than 70% since Ms Mayer took charge an year ago.
According to a statement by Yahoo, the internet giant has agreed to pay $29.11 per share to Third Point. valuing the deal at $1.16bn (£750m).
That is almost double the average price paid by Third Point while accumulating its stake in Yahoo - resulting in gains of almost $600m for Mr Leob's fund.
Some analysts said the decision by Third Point to sell its shares could prompt other investors to think that the surge in Yahoo stock may have hit its peak for now, prompting them to follow suit.
"Probably a lot of investors are saying, we had a pretty good run here, it makes sense to take some off the table," said Ronald Josey an analyst with JMP Securities.
"Much like a lot of investors followed Third Point in, a lot will follow Third Point out."
Yahoo shares fell more than 4% in New York on Monday to close at $27.86.
The woman was taken to hospital but suffered no serious injuries
Dozens of Japanese commuters worked together to help a woman who fell between the platform and the train during rush hour in Tokyo.
The unidentified woman, in her 30s, slipped into the gap at Minami-Urawa station, north of Tokyo, on Monday morning, as she got off the train.
Station officials asked commuters to help tilt the carriage so that the trapped woman could be freed.
The woman was pulled from the gap and had no major injuries.
A photographer from Japan's Yomiuri newspaper captured the image of the passengers in action, who applauded when the woman was freed.
The train carriage was able to tilt because of its suspension system, the paper reported.
The train was sent on its way after a delay of just eight minutes, the paper said.
Nineteen people have been killed in a collision between a bus and a lorry in central Thailand, reports say.
At least 20 more people were injured in the incident, which took place in Saraburi province early on Tuesday.
The double-decker tour bus - which was travelling from Bangkok to Roi Et in the north-east - burst into flames after the collision.
It was not immediately known how many people were on board the bus. A police investigation is now under way.
All of those who died were on the bus, Thai newspaper the Nation said.
The accident happened around 05:00 local time (22:00 GMT) when the lorry veered across the road and hit the bus, the Bangkok Post said.
"The truck crossed from the opposite lane of traffic and hit the bus," said local police officer Lieutenant Colonel Assavathep Janthanari, according to AFP news agency.
Police have arrested the lorry driver, reports say.
A pick-up truck behind the bus was also reportedly involved in the collision.
Australia fast bowler James Pattinson will miss the rest of the Ashes series against England after suffering a stress fracture of the lower back.
The 23-year-old complained of soreness in his hip and back at the end of the second Test at Lord's.
Cricket Australia confirmed Pattinson would miss the rest of the tour after a scan revealed the extent of the injury.
Pattinson at 2013 Ashes in England
- First Test, Trent Bridge: 3/69, 2; 2/101, 25 not out
- Second Test, Lord's: 1/95, 10 not out; 1/42, 35
"Unfortunately he will not take any further part in this Test series," said Australia team doctor Peter Brukner.
"Scans have identified an early stage low back stress fracture.
"He will commence a rehabilitation programme with the aim to have him back for the Australian summer."
The tourists say they have no immediate plans to call up a replacement for Pattinson, which could mean a recall for Mitchell Starc.
Starc was left out of the side which was thrashed by 347 runs by England at Lord's on Sunday.
James Faulkner and Jackson Bird are also available as back-up to frontline seamers Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris.
Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Chadd Sayers are among those who could potentially be called up from the Australia A squad currently playing in South Africa.
Ashes results/schedule
1st Test: England won by 14 runs, Trent Bridge
2nd Test: England won by 347 runs, Lord's
3rd Test: 1-5 August, Old Trafford
4th Test: 9-13 August Chester-le-Street
5th Test: 21-25 August, The Oval
Cricket Australia general manager Pat Howard said: "While we are obviously disappointed for James, the selectors have five bowlers fit and ready to perform in England, providing them with many options.
"It is also important to note that several players have been performing for Australia A and are available to be called up at any stage if the national selection panel [requires] them."
Pattinson took seven wickets in the two Tests at a cost of 307 runs, and almost helped Australia pull off an unlikely Trent Bridge victory with a gritty 25 not out in a thrilling climax to the first Test.
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| The Senate is currently considering re-appointing Gen Dempsey for a second term in his job |
The top US military officer has outlined the costs, risks and benefits of possible American military involvement in the Syrian conflict.
Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen Martin Dempsey offered five military options, including limited strikes and establishing a no-fly zone.
But he said using force in Syria would be "no less than an act of war" and could cost the US billions of dollars.
Washington has so far ruled out military intervention in Syria.
Its role in the conflict is currently limited to delivering humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries and providing non-lethal help to the Syrian opposition.
'Act of war'
In an open letter to senators, Gen Dempsey analysed five military options the US military could potentially undertake in Syria:
- training, advising and assisting the opposition
- conducting limited strikes
- establishing a no-fly zone
- creating buffer zones inside Syria
- controlling Damascus' chemical arms
Gen Dempsey estimated that the first option would cost about $500m (£325m) a year, while each of the other four actions would require roughly $1bn a month.
"The decision to use force is not one that any of us takes lightly. It is no less than an act of war," he wrote in the letter.
Gen Dempsey acknowledged that the outlined actions would strengthen the opposition and put more pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, but he warned the US should learn from its previous interventions, as in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"We have learned from the past 10 years, however, that it is not enough to simply alter the balance of military power without careful consideration of what is necessary in order to preserve a functioning state," he said.
Gen Dempsey's letter was in response to questions by two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee which is considering re-appointing him for a second two-year term as chairman of the joint chiefs.
More than 90,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising again President Assad began in 2011, according to the UN.
A further 1.7 million have been forced to seek shelter in neighbouring countries.
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| LaGuardia general manager Thomas Bosco says there was no warning that the landing gear was faulty |
Ten people were left with minor injuries after a plane's nose wheel collapsed when it landed at New York's LaGuardia Airport, officials say.
Six of the casualties were taken to hospital after Southwest Airlines Flight 345 skidded off the runway, said airport general manager Tom Bosco.
Emergency vehicles surrounded the Boeing 737 from Nashville, which had 143 passengers and six crew on board.
The airport was shut temporarily, but later opened.
In an evening news conference, Mr Bosco said the plane's front wheel collapsed when it landed on runway four at 17:40 (21:40 GMT) on Monday.
'Bang and bounce'
He said the aircraft skidded on its nose before coming to rest in a grassy patch about half way down the runway. Emergency crews were seen spraying foam on the nose of the plane.
LaGuardia airport was temporarily shut down after the landing
"We are assessing physical damage to the runway caused by the incident and we hope to have everything open by [Tuesday] morning," Mr Bosco said.
The Port Authority, which oversees the area airports, said the passengers had exited the plane by using emergency chutes.
Port Authority spokeswoman Lisa MacSpadden said those who were injured during the landing suffered back and neck injuries.
The crew was also taken to hospital for observation.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.
Passengers said it had been a rough touchdown.
"It was just a bang and a bounce and then just a slam on the brakes and then it was a skidding feeling," Kathy Boles told CNN.
"You could tell they were trying to stop the plane. It was very clear as soon as we went down that something was really wrong."
Four people reportedly suffered anxiety attacks, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines said in a statement: "All customers have been deplaned and transferred to the terminal. Southwest is cooperating with local authorities."
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| Gezi Park was re-opened to public on July 8, 2013 after violent clashes between protesters and police. (Photo: Today's Zaman, |
The İstanbul Regional Administrative Court has recently lifted an injunction issued by a lower administrative court on a government decision to build a replica of the Topçu Barracks as part of the Taksim rejuvenation project, a plan which has led to violent clashes between protestors and police over the past weeks.
The İstanbul 6th Administrative Court on May 31 unanimously issued an injunction on the government's decision to rebuild the Topçu Barracks on Gezi Park, after police used tear gas and water cannon to oust a sit-in by environmentalists in the park. The Culture and Tourism Ministry later appealed this ruling with the İstanbul Regional Administrative Court. The regional court decided to lift the injunction, the Hürriyet daily reported on Monday, paving the way for the government to start construction work in the famous park.
The Taksim pedestrianization project was approved by the government in February 2012 and includes the construction of replicas of previously demolished buildings in the famous square. The historic Topçu Barracks was a 35,000-square-meter building that was demolished by İstanbul authorities in 1940. It is to be constructed in what is now Gezi Park, the site of the original Ottoman barracks. The ministry had previously announced that part of the garden in Gezi Park will be protected by the construction of the barracks because the structure will limit public access to it.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in April that new barracks to be rebuilt will house a shopping mall and a residential area.
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| A group of people from te Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) gathered outside Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan on Monday, protesting sacking of journalists. |
The Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) has announced that at least 22 journalists have been fired in connection with the Gezi Park protests, while 37 others have had to resign from their posts.
Speaking at the conference, TGS İstanbul branch head Gökhan Durmuş said 22 journalists have been fired and 37 others forced to resign since May 27, when a small group of environmentalists began a sit-in protest in Gezi Park in the heart of İstanbul, attempting to block the government's plan to build an Ottoman-style barracks on the park. Following a heavy-handed police crackdown on the peaceful protesters, thousands took to the streets and rallies spread across Turkey. Five people, including a policeman, died and more than 7,000 were injured in the clashes, according to a Turkish rights group.
“These dismissals and resignations are mostly related to censorship policies followed by some media outlets in dealing with the Gezi Park resistance,” Durmuş said, adding that media workers are trying their best to resist the pressure exerted by media bosses and the government.
“Our colleagues worked hard for the public's right to be informed, and they paid for it with their jobs. Some have been censored, some had their TV programs shut down. There are even journalists who have been sacked due to their tweets. A colleague has been dismissed from his job just for saying hi to a [Gezi] protester,” Durmuş further stated, calling on all media workers to cooperate with the union to fight against pressure.
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| Militants of the al-Nusra Front are seen on the Syrian side of the border in this July 22 photo taken in the Turkish town of Akçakale. Clashes between the al-Nusra Front and Kurds continue along the border. |
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has signaled that Turkey could take action as clashes between Kurds and al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front fighters rage just over Turkey's border with Syria, saying his government remains patient regarding developments on its borders but that he couldn't say how long that patience would last.
Meanwhile, the Turkish army has said it is retaliating against attacks from the Syrian side of the border as clashes between Kurdish militants and al-Qaeda affiliates intensify in northern Syria.
The army said in a statement on Monday that it has taken necessary security measures against threats from across the Syrian border. The army said its units are returning fire across the Syrian border according to its rules of engagement.
Turkey has continued to reinforce areas of the Syrian border where clashes are taking place. Turkish forces frequently exchange fire with Syrian gunmen, most likely militants from the Democratic Union Party (PYD), an offshoot of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
On Monday, Cabinet members were expected to discuss the crisis in Syria.
Frustrated by the tension along Turkish-Syrian border, Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), argued on Sunday that the capture of the Syrian border town of Ras al-Ayn by the military wing of the PYD presents a clear risk of fomenting separatism in Turkey and urged the government to announce a military intervention if the PYD declares autonomy.
Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Faruk Loğoğlu said on Monday that Turkey should protect its borders and citizens, adding that the Turkish-Syrian border was out of control. "Turkey's aim should be to end the clashes in Syria and put an end to the violence. The wider aim should be the protection of the territorial integrity of regional countries. Turkey's Syria policy should also be based on this aim. In the event of a military intervention in Syria, what would the next step be? Is Turkey going to occupy Syria and stay in the country?"
Referring to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's call on the United Nations Security Council to act, Loğoğlu said that a decision to intervene was unlikely to come from the Security Council.
"Davutoğlu's statements are the reflection of desperation and the dead end that foreign policy has come to. Waiting for a step like intervention from the Security Council is being a daydreamer," Loğoğlu added.
Addressing the spillover effects of the Syrian crisis, Davutoğlu said last Thursday that Turkey would maintain its firm stance against any kind of terrorist dominance near its borders.
"This paints a striking picture of how much the crisis in Syria can affect us and our citizens. Once again, we call upon the international community to act. … If the UN Security Council is to do the job it is required to do, then the moment is now," Davutoğlu said.
Opposition army chief pledges to resist ‘planned' Kurdish state in Syria
Brig. Gen. Salim Idris, head of the Syrian opposition's Supreme Military Council, has said that the opposition will never recognize a Kurdish state in northern Syria -- which some, he added, are planning -- and stressed that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) would battle any group that wants to divide Syria.Speaking on Turkish TV on Monday, Idris said, “The main goal of the PYD is to found their own state, ‘Western Kurdistan.'”
“They are receiving support from the Syrian regime and Kurdish militants based in Iraq and Iran, and the PKK.”
“But this is so clear that we won't ever accept or recognize such a state. We will fight anyone who is making efforts to divide Syria,” he said, adding that the opposition's struggle with the PYD would continue.
“We've already begun to shift some of our troops to Rasulayn [which is now under PYD control.] We won't wait until the PYD gets stronger. We also told them [the PYD] that we won't recognize a Kurdish state,” Idris said.
Heavy clashes between the PYD and FSA continue in Rasulayn (Serekaniye in Kurdish). Rasulayn is an area of Syria's al-Hasakah province a few hundred meters from the Turkish town of Ceylanpınar, Şanlıurfa province.
Idris is currently in Ankara to talk with Turkish officials as concerns over the possibility of a PYD-controlled autonomous Kurdish region in Syria have risen in Turkey. Many are worried that the emergence of Kurdish autonomy in Syria could embolden PKK terrorists fighting for autonomy in Turkey.
'PYD filled void FSA left in Rasulayn'
Idris said the PYD won ground in Rasulayn by filling the void the FSA left in the region after it shifted troops to the al-Malikiyah and Qamishli regions, also in al-Hasakah.“We have now a very heavy fight in al-Malikiyah. We are trying to take control of a military airport at Qamishli. We have directed our troops and focused on these regions. The PYD took a chance and got control of Rasulayn,” Idris said.
Idris also said that the FSA is losing ground in their battle with the Syrian regime, while they are also struggling armed groups like al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda affiliate, in addition to the PYD.
Al-Nusra, Idris said, is fighting for control over Syria's oil, natural gas and grain stocks.
Meanwhile, al-Nusra leader Abu Mussab, who was recently kidnapped by PYD fighters, was freed on Sunday, according to Reuters. However, pro-opposition activists gave conflicting reports of how the Islamist brigade commander in the Syrian town of Tel Abyad near the Turkish border came to be free.
Kurdish activist says Syria developments could hinder settlement process
Meanwhile, Seydi Fırat, a member of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) affiliated with the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), has said that the PYD is preparing to declare autonomy.“The [PKK terrorism settlement] process has the potential to get blocked. The KCK [an umbrella group of the PKK] is concerned about speculations on Turkish support for attacks [on Kurdish regions.] The developments in Syria also have the potential to block the [PKK terrorism settlement] process,” Fırat told Turkey's Bugün daily.
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| Imprisoned PKK leader Öcalan stands in a glass enclosure as the judge pronounces his death sentence on İmralı Island in this June 29, 1999 file photo. |
Opposition parties find it unbelievable and not in line with the principles of democracy for the jailed leader of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to have asked for permission from the government to meet with the press to more effectively contribute to the settlement process.
The ruling party has been in talks with Öcalan since the end of last year to resolve the country's decades-old Kurdish issue and terrorism problem. Two deputies from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), traveled on Sunday to İmralı, an island in the Sea of Marmara where Öcalan is kept in prison, to accelerate the settlement process amid signs of setbacks as the PKK is seemingly slowing down the withdrawal of its forces from the country.
In a written statement the BDP made after BDP Co-chairperson Selahattin Demirtaş and Parliamentary Group Deputy Chairwoman Pervin Buldan met with Öcalan, it said that the leader of the terrorist PKK wanted to meet with the press to be able to make a stronger contribution to the settlement process. “If I could get a chance to directly inform the public by getting together with the press on İmralı, I might offer a substantial contribution for the process to move ahead in a healthy way,” Öcalan said in the statement.
But Öcalan's call got a strong negative reaction from representatives of both the CHP and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). He wondered if the government would also allow thousands of other people who are in prison, some of them without having been convicted, such as CHP deputies Mustafa Balbay and Mehmet Haberal, to meet with the press. “[Öcalan] already has the possibility of indirectly speaking to the press,” Koç told Today's Zaman, in reference to visits BDP deputies have made to İmralı to meet with Öcalan.
During the eight visits, the BDP deputies get instructions from Öcalan on how to proceed in the settlement process, while at the same time, communicating to Öcalan the opinions of other leading people in the PKK who are based in the headquarters of the terrorist organization in the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq.
For Oktay Vural, the parliamentary group deputy chairman of the MHP, Öcalan's request is scandalous and tragicomic. Referring to the fact that Öcalan had been described by the Turkish state as a killer of babies for many years, “How dare a baby killer think of shaping, directing politics in Turkey?” Vural demanded to know.
Noting that the PKK leader is serving an aggravated life sentence, “In democratic countries, it would be taken as an insult to the rule of law even to think that such a thing could take place,” he told Today's Zaman. Oktay sarcastically added: “My call is that [Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan and Öcalan should jointly conduct a press meeting to inform the public about the settlement process.”
CHP Deputy Chairman Faruk Loğoğlu joined Vural in suggesting, in a sarcastic way, that a government representative and Öcalan may in the near future hold a joint press meeting. In a press meeting in Parliament on Monday, Loğoğlu implied that Öcalan might have put in his demand for a press conference after consulting with the government.
In the BDP statement, Öcalan also said the government should take concrete steps to accelerate the process at a time when the situation beyond Turkey's borders worsens. Although there has recently been disagreement with representatives of the pro-Kurdish BDP and the ruling party as to the number of PKK terrorists who have so far withdrawn from Turkey, with Interior Minister Muammer Güler maintaining about a month ago that less than 20 percent of the terrorists had left Turkey, Öcalan urged both the Turkish state and the terrorist organization to avoid any mistakes that could harm the fragile settlement process. The government insists that all PKK terrorists should withdraw before the government takes steps that are part of the second phase of the settlement process.
For the PKK leader, the process is still on track, but still, he made a point of warning the government, saying, “I desire to be able to pass, at the beginning of September, on to negotiations of the third stage, which is ‘normalization,' in the process after making headway in the second stage.” Öcalan also made it clear he thought the government should act fast in view of the developments in the region, so that the process proceeds in a healthy way. “The government is expected, some time before Parliament reconvenes, to take some concrete, practical steps,” he said.
Mehmet Özcan, chairman of the Ankara Strategy Institute, also doesn't think Öcalan should be allowed to meet with the press. “No country in the world allows a convict to meet with the press,” he told Today's Zaman. Such a get-together with the media would create the impression that Öcalan is no longer a prisoner serving a life sentence, he commented.
According to Özcan, the PKK doesn't seem to act totally in line with the instructions of Öcalan as regards withdrawal from Turkey. “Öcalan should instruct the terrorists to leave Turkey instead of trying to meet the press,” Özcan said. He believes the messages Öcalan would give in a press conference would just for Kurdish people and the international public.
According to a news agency close to the terrorist organization, 21 representatives of various political parties and non-governmental organizations from Turkey have arrived in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, to attend the preliminary meeting of the Kurdish National Conference on Monday. In the national conference, expected to take place in September, representatives of Kurds in various countries in the Middle East will come together to jointly determine a line of action for Kurds who, although usually not openly expressed, strive to establish an independent Kurdistan in the region.
The delegation from Turkey, which is to attend the conference, includes Ahmet Türk, co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), and the BDP's Demirtaş. Massoud Barzani, president of the KRG is to host the conference.
Recently, there has also been speculation about Öcalan's health, but Öcalan affirmed in the BDP statement that his health condition is stable and that he has no serious illness. However, the PKK chief said he wants an improvement in his conditions in the prison, enabling him to directly communicate with the outside world, namely with the media and the public.
The Turkish government has been holding talks with Öcalan since October to find a peaceful and political solution to the decades-old Kurdish dispute and to the armed conflict. Öcalan called on PKK militants to withdraw from Turkish soil to northern Iraq in a message on March 21, on the day of Nevruz, the spring festival of Kurds. The PKK announced on May 8 that it had begun to withdraw its forces from Turkey.
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| Free Syrian Army fighters help a wounded fellow fighter in Aleppo in this July 9, 2013 photo. |
Syrian rebels seized a strategic village on the edge of the northern city of Aleppo on Monday, activists said, just hours after other opposition fighters sustained some of their heaviest losses in months in battles to the south near the capital, Damascus.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says opposition fighters took full control of Khan al-Assal on the western outskirts of Aleppo on Monday.
Clashes were ongoing near the village, including inside Aleppo, and several rebel-held districts were hit by airstrikes, according to the Observatory, an anti-regime activists group that relies on reports from activists on the ground.
Aleppo, Syria's largest city, has been a major front in the nation's two-year-old conflict. Rebels seized control of much of the city, and swaths of the surrounding territory, during an offensive one year ago.
Khan al-Assal has been a major front in the fight for the city. In March, chemical weapons were allegedly used in the village, killing more 31 people. The Syrian government and the rebels blame each other for the attack, and both have demanded an international investigation.
Meanwhile, in and around Damascus, government troops killed at least 75 rebels over 24 hours, the Observatory said. It was one of the deadliest single-day tolls for opposition fighters in recent months.
The death toll included 49 rebels killed in an ambush in Damascus' northeastern suburb of Adra early Sunday. An elite Republican Guard unit attacked the rebels as they were trying to push into the capital, and that the government commander leading the operation also died in the ensuing gunbattle, the Observatory said.
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| The first child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Catherine, is on the way. Speculation is rife as to what name they will choose for the new arrival. |
London(big-breaking) -- As a nation and the world awaited news of a child who could one day sit on the British throne, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, was experiencing a normal labor on Monday, Kensington Palace said.
The duchess and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, traveled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital, his office at Clarence House announced at 7:37 a.m. (2:37 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.) Kensington Palace issued a progress report about 90 minutes later.
The hospital, next to Paddington Station in London, is where William and his brother Prince Harry were born.
The duchess' mother, Carole Middleton, was expected to be on hand at the hospital.
The baby's name will not be announced when its sex and birth weight are posted on a notice board at Buckingham Palace, a Kensington Palace spokesman said.
It may be announced when the family leaves the hospital, CNN royal correspondent Max Foster reported. Prince William's name was announced a few days after birth, his brother Harry's on departure from hospital.
Some British parents have delayed naming their newborns in recent days in hopes of either copying or avoiding the royal name, he said.
British bookmakers favor the names Alexandra, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Victoria, Grace, James and George. The field is open for both boys' and girls' names because royal sources said the parents did not want to know their child's sex in advance.
The child's title will be His or Her Royal Highness Prince or Princess (the baby's name) of Cambridge, St. James's Palace said this month.
Protocol dictates that the first to know about the arrival of the baby will be Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister David Cameron and the governors general of each of the Commonwealth nations -- along with the rest of the royal and Middleton families.
The queen returned to Buckingham Palace Monday from Windsor Castle, another of her official residences. Crowds have been gathering outside the palace gates as news of the birth is awaited.
Meanwhile Monday, on a visit to the city of York, in northern England, Prince Charles was given a gift to pass on to his grandchild by a child among the crowd of well-wishers.
"I'll see what I can do," said Charles, adding that the baby "hasn't quite appeared yet."
British Prime Minister David Cameron sent his "best wishes," to the Duchess of Cambridge during her labor.
"The whole country is excited with them, so everyone is hoping for the best," he said.
Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England, tweeted: "My thoughts and prayers are with Kate and the whole family on this enormously special day."
The baby will be third in line for the throne now occupied by the queen. Her son, Charles, will succeed her, followed by his son, William.
Thanks to a change agreed by the leaders of the Commonwealth countries in 2011 and passed into law this year, the baby's place in the order of succession will be the same regardless of sex.
Previously, boys automatically trumped female siblings. So a first-born daughter could be pushed out of line by a younger brother.
The British monarch is also head of state in 15 Commonwealth countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Belize and Jamaica -- so many people there will also be waiting for news of the birth of their future sovereign.
The royal birth is expected to be good for business. The UK-based Centre for Retail Research estimates retailers will sell $121 million worth of royal-related baby toys and souvenirs. Merchandise ranges from diaper covers and clothing to a "prince potty chair," which of course is in the shape of a throne.
On Twitter, at least seven topics related to the royal baby jumped to the top of the trending list in the United Kingdom Monday morning. And "Kate Middleton" was trending in the United States.
Many tweets were along the lines of the comment of Holly Thrift, who wrote, "The royal baby is coming! I am freaking out!"
The baby was the only topic on the radio talk show hosted by Vanessa Feltz on BBC London 94.9 on Monday morning.
But not everyone was thrilled. Feltz read on air a message from "Gary" asking, "Please, please please, I implore you not to devote too much of the morning's show to the royal baby."
Feltz replied, "C'mon, Gary, give an inch. .... It's huge, we can't ignore it."
She reported Gary sent another message: "OK, point taken. I'm a beaten man."
Coordinated day and nighttime attacks Sunday by emboldened militants in Egypt's northern Sinai Peninsula targeted different areas in the main city of el-Arish and a border town, killing one civilian and four security officers, according to officials.
Sunday's assault was significant in that it struck in the heart of el-Arish and killed a 32-year-old man driving his car in the most populated city in northern Sinai, which is also its provincial capital. The city is home to about 150,000 people.
For militants in Sinai, however, restoring Morsi is not the priority - they have said their goal is to drive out the military and the authority of the central government in order to create an "Islamic Emirate." Morsi's ouster by the military, though, took away a leader seen as reining in security crackdowns.
The attacks Sunday highlighted the security crisis Egypt's military-backed interim leaders face in restoring stability after more than two years of turmoil since the popular uprising that toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
The northern part of Sinai has been the most lawless corner of the country since then. Police stations have been torched and security forces kicked out of tribal areas, where they were notorious for abuses against the powerful tribes of the region.
In the nighttime attacks Sunday, security officials said militants fired automatic weapons at a police club, a police station and a security post outside a bank in the center of el-Arish.
A 25-year-old woman walking in the street near the bank was struck by a bullet and seriously wounded. A soldier outside the bank was killed in the clash, officials said. The bank is on a main square in el-Arish.
Officials said a gun battle raged for several minutes between militants and security forces at the police station. A male driver was killed outside the station when a bullet hit him.
Also at night, a police camp in the city of Rafah on the Egypt-Gaza border came under attack by militants, who fired rocket-propelled grenades at the building, wounding four civilians and six soldiers protecting the site.
Earlier in the day, three policemen were killed by sniper fire in another coordinated attack while guarding an administrative building, a TV station and the police station in el-Arish, according to a security official. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
Sunday's deaths push to 14 the number of policemen and soldiers killed in Sinai since Morsi's ouster. At least four civilians have been killed, including one woman and two Christians.
In Cairo, military-backed civilian leaders forged ahead with a fast-track transition plan aimed at bringing the country back to democratic rule.
A panel tasked with amending Egypt's constitution began its work Sunday in the face of opposition from Morsi's supporters who denounce the military coup that overthrew the Islamist leader and reject the new political order that has replaced him.
The new 10-member-panel of legal experts and senior judges met for the first time to begin drawing up proposed amendments to the constitution. The panel has 30 days to do so. A second 50-member committee then will have 60 days to review those amendments before citizens vote on the new constitution in a referendum.
The drafting of the constitution that will be amended was one of the most divisive issues of Morsi's one and only year in office.
His Muslim Brotherhood and their Islamist allies have vowed to stage daily rallies until he is reinstated, saying his ouster was unconstitutional. They rallied outside military buildings in Cairo and the southern cities of Luxor and Assiut on Sunday.
Protesters in Cairo took to the streets to also protest the deaths of three women killed by unidentified assailants at a Brotherhood rally in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura Friday. Egypt's prosecutor general opened an investigation and top figures of the new leadership have condemned the killings.
"What happened in Mansoura will happen again in the future," said 35-year-old housewife Nagah Thabit, who was among the protesters out on the streets in support of Morsi on Sunday. "Anybody who will take to the streets in the future, the army will unleash their thugs against them."
Members of all political factions in Egypt accuse the United States of meddling in the country's affairs, usually on behalf of their rivals.
Since overthrowing Morsi, security forces have launched a crackdown against the Brotherhood and some of their staunchest supporters. Prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for the group's leaders for allegedly instigating violence. Morsi himself has been held incommunicado since July 3.
The prosecutor general's office said he has not yet been charged, according to a state TV broadcast Sunday evening.
The Palestinians played down on Monday the significance of an imminent meeting in Washington of their top peace envoy with his Israeli counterpart, saying formal negotiation would not begin unless their opening terms were satisfied.
The Palestinian position seemed to run counter to U.S. hopes that bringing together Saeb Erekat and Israel's Tzipi Livni in the coming days would kick-start peacemaking stalled for almost three years over Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
In another setback to the negotiators' meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned first to seek cabinet-level approval for the prospective new talks, which were announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday.
At the time, Kerry, winding up months of intensive and discreet mediation, predicted Erekat and Livni would join him in Washington "to begin initial talks within the next week or so".
But that appeared unlikely as Netanyahu, facing scepticism within his rightist governing coalition at the diplomatic drive, wanted to await the next full sitting of his cabinet on July 28 or possibly an earlier session of the smaller security cabinet.
"It looks like negotiations will begin only next week, not this week," an Israeli official said late on Sunday, disclosing Netanyahu's plans to win over recalcitrant ministers.
Netanyahu says the new talks must be held without "preconditions", especially regarding the borders of the state Palestinians want to found in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Though it withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Israel deems all of Jerusalem its undivided capital - a status not accepted internationally - and wants to keep swathes of West Bank settlements under any eventual peace accord.
Yet the Palestinians insist no negotiations can be held until all sides agree the pre-1967 borders would be their basis.
Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdaineh said Erekat had yet to be invited to Washington. When he goes, Abu Rdaineh said, it would be first to determine the framework of any future negotiations.
"If they reach an agreement over the details, in accordance to the Palestinian demands, then the launch of negotiations will be announced," Abu Rdaineh told Reuters on Monday.
Even the latter was dogged with dispute, however.
Israel said that, starting in September, it would free 82 Palestinians jailed before 1993, when the sides signed interim peace accords. But Qadoura Fares of the Palestinian Prisoners Club said Abbas wanted 103 long-serving inmates released.
Interviewed by Jordan's Al-Rai newspaper, Abbas said Kerry had "taken our proposal regarding the resumption of the peace process with him" to Washington.
Abbas held out the possibility that, should diplomacy remain mired, Palestinians, defying pressure by Israel and the Obama administration - would again appeal to the United Nations at its annual assembly in September to support their borders claim.
Denouncing the West Bank settlements as illegal - a view shared by most world powers - Abbas told Al-Rai that Israel should "get out of Palestinian land completely" though he voiced willingness to find a formula addressing its security concerns.
A major focus of these is Gaza, which is now under the control of armed Hamas Islamists who spurn coexistence with the Jewish state, question Abbas's authority, and enjoy grassroots support among some Palestinians in the West Bank.
Alluding to the risk of Abbas' U.S.-backed administration one day falling to Hamas, Netanyahu has said revived peacemaking could prevent the emergence of a West Bank "terror state".
Opinion polls suggest narrow majorities among Palestinians and Israelis for the two-state solution, and both Abbas and Netanyahu plans to put any eventual peace accord to referendums.
Even in the absence of a deal, Netanyahu sees value in the effort as "a strategic process to tighten relations with the United States", the Israeli official on condition of anonymity.
According to the official, Netanyahu would, in convening Israeli ministers on the talks, emphasise the importance of sticking close to Washington to cope with the overarching threats posed by Iran's disputed nuclear programme and by spreading strife in Syria and Egypt.
In another setback to the negotiators' meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned first to seek cabinet-level approval for the prospective new talks, which were announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday.
At the time, Kerry, winding up months of intensive and discreet mediation, predicted Erekat and Livni would join him in Washington "to begin initial talks within the next week or so".
But that appeared unlikely as Netanyahu, facing scepticism within his rightist governing coalition at the diplomatic drive, wanted to await the next full sitting of his cabinet on July 28 or possibly an earlier session of the smaller security cabinet.
"It looks like negotiations will begin only next week, not this week," an Israeli official said late on Sunday, disclosing Netanyahu's plans to win over recalcitrant ministers.
Netanyahu says the new talks must be held without "preconditions", especially regarding the borders of the state Palestinians want to found in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Though it withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Israel deems all of Jerusalem its undivided capital - a status not accepted internationally - and wants to keep swathes of West Bank settlements under any eventual peace accord.
Yet the Palestinians insist no negotiations can be held until all sides agree the pre-1967 borders would be their basis.
Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdaineh said Erekat had yet to be invited to Washington. When he goes, Abu Rdaineh said, it would be first to determine the framework of any future negotiations.
"If they reach an agreement over the details, in accordance to the Palestinian demands, then the launch of negotiations will be announced," Abu Rdaineh told Reuters on Monday.
Prisoners, plesbiscites
He said that those demands, relayed by Abbas to Kerry, included Israel's recognition that the two-state solution was predicated on the 1967 borders, and clarifications about its planned release of Palestinian prisoners in a goodwill gesture.Even the latter was dogged with dispute, however.
Israel said that, starting in September, it would free 82 Palestinians jailed before 1993, when the sides signed interim peace accords. But Qadoura Fares of the Palestinian Prisoners Club said Abbas wanted 103 long-serving inmates released.
Interviewed by Jordan's Al-Rai newspaper, Abbas said Kerry had "taken our proposal regarding the resumption of the peace process with him" to Washington.
Abbas held out the possibility that, should diplomacy remain mired, Palestinians, defying pressure by Israel and the Obama administration - would again appeal to the United Nations at its annual assembly in September to support their borders claim.
Denouncing the West Bank settlements as illegal - a view shared by most world powers - Abbas told Al-Rai that Israel should "get out of Palestinian land completely" though he voiced willingness to find a formula addressing its security concerns.
A major focus of these is Gaza, which is now under the control of armed Hamas Islamists who spurn coexistence with the Jewish state, question Abbas's authority, and enjoy grassroots support among some Palestinians in the West Bank.
Alluding to the risk of Abbas' U.S.-backed administration one day falling to Hamas, Netanyahu has said revived peacemaking could prevent the emergence of a West Bank "terror state".
Opinion polls suggest narrow majorities among Palestinians and Israelis for the two-state solution, and both Abbas and Netanyahu plans to put any eventual peace accord to referendums.
Even in the absence of a deal, Netanyahu sees value in the effort as "a strategic process to tighten relations with the United States", the Israeli official on condition of anonymity.
According to the official, Netanyahu would, in convening Israeli ministers on the talks, emphasise the importance of sticking close to Washington to cope with the overarching threats posed by Iran's disputed nuclear programme and by spreading strife in Syria and Egypt.
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| Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will seek formal cabinet backing for reviving U.S.-sponsored peace talks with the Palestinians, an Israeli official said, after pro-settler ministers threatened to try and thwart the initiative.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said late on Sunday that no date had been set for sending negotiators to Washington, confounding Kerry’s expectations that talks there could begin “within the next week or so”.
Before negotiations resume, Netanyahu would first ask his cabinet “to empower him to renew the diplomatic process with the Palestinians”, the Israeli official said.
The official said it had yet to be determined whether the full cabinet would vote on Kerry’s proposals at its next session on July 28, or whether a smaller security cabinet would debate the matter later this week.
The Israeli leader would also seek cabinet authorisation to answer Palestinian demands for a release of dozens of prisoners as a goodwill gesture, with a plan to free them in a four-stage process lasting over nine months, the official said.
Palestinians have demanded that Israel free inmates held from before a 1993 interim peace accord. Right-wing Israelis oppose such a step because many of these prisoners were jailed for attacks in which Israelis were killed.
Netanyahu will seek to overcome the objections of far-right ministers to a prisoner release and to yielding land captured in a 1967 war to the Palestinians for a state, by presenting the talks proposed by Kerry “as a strategic process to tighten relations with the United States,” the official said.
He would hope to persuade ministers of the importance of sticking close to Washington to cope with the threats posed by Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and spreading civil strife in Syria and Egypt, the official said.
Referendum for peace
Netanyahu has pledges from the centre-left Labour party in the opposition to support any peace moves should any cabinet members rebel and bolt his coalition.The Israeli leader has already pledged to seek a popular vote for any agreement involving territorial concessions. The official said Netanyahu would seek to have legislation passed that would force such a popular vote to be held.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also not formally agreed to terms for relaunching talks with Israel and has pressed for more explicit guarantees that Israel would negotiate a withdrawal based on borders from before the 1967 war.
The on-again-off-again negotiations have spread across years and last broke down in 2010 in a dispute over Jewish settlement construction on land Palestinians want for a state.
At the end of his sixth peace shuttle to the Middle East in four months, Kerry announced on Friday that the sides had laid the groundwork for a breakthrough, although details of how talks may resume were still being “formalised.”
Netanyahu’s pro-settler governing partners have ridiculed the efforts and hinted that they may seek to scuttle the process.
Transport Minister Yisrael Katz of Likud mocked Abbas, whose U.S.-backed administration holds sway in the occupied West Bank while the Palestinian enclave of Gaza is controlled by Islamist Hamas rivals opposed to co-existence with Israel.
“Abu Mazen (Abbas) rules over Palestinians less than (President Bashar) Assad rules in Syria,” Katz told reporters, referring to the more than two-year-old Islamist-led insurgency wracking Damascus, another enemy of the Jewish state.
"Just as no one would consider ceding any territory to Assad in the current situation, so certainly no one is thinking seriously of ceding territory to Abu Mazen at time when he doesn’t completely rule over most of the Palestinian population.”
