Scandal-hit NY governor 'sorry'

Eliot Spitzer said he had violated his obligations to his family Eliot Spitzer's apology

New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer has apologised amid allegations of involvement in a prostitution ring.

The married father-of-three said he had acted in a way that violated his obligations to his family.

Gov Spitzer, a Democrat, apologised to his family and the public, whom he said he should have served better.

He made no reference to allegations published by The New York Times, which said he had been involved with a high-priced prostitution service.

"I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself," the first-term governor told a packed press conference at his Manhattan office.

"I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family," he added, as his wife of two decades, Silda, stood by his side.

He declined to answer questions as to whether he would resign but said he would report back "in short order".

Exclusive operation

Last week, four people were arrested in connection with the alleged prostitution ring, the New York Times reported.

As part of the investigation, a federal wire-tap on a Washington hotel last month had recorded Mr Spitzer allegedly arranging to meet a prostitute, the newspaper added.

Mr Spitzer, 48, had abruptly cancelled Monday afternoon appointments to meet senior advisors about the allegations, the Times reported.

According to court papers, the investigation involves an exclusive prostitution ring called the Emperor's Club VIP, which operated in cities across the US, as well as in London and Paris.

More than 50 prostitutes were employed by the ring, charging fees ranging from $1,000 to more than $5,500 an hour, prosecutors said last week.

The BBC's Matthew Price in New York says things do not look good for Mr Spitzer at the moment.

Although he has not confirmed that the allegations are true, Mr Spitzer looked deeply uncomfortable as he spoke to the media and appeared to agree with the tenor of much of the reporting, our correspondent says.

He will need the help of his many influential connections within the Democratic Party if he is to hope to survive the scandal and make a comeback, our correspondent adds.

Political fallout

The Republican minority leader of the New York state assembly, James Tedisco, called for Mr Spitzer to resign "immediately".

"Today's news that Eliot Spitzer was likely involved with a prostitution ring and his refusal to deny it leads to an inescapable conclusion: he has disgraced his office and the entire state of New York," Mr Tedisco said.

The Republican Governors' Association also reacted quickly to the allegations, calling for Mr Spitzer to step down.

"Eliot Spitzer campaigned on ethics reform; unfortunately the governor of New York has egregiously failed his constituents," said the group's executive director Nick Ayers.

"The governor of New York should immediately resign from office and allow the people of New York to pursue honest leadership."

Clinton ally

The scandal could prove embarrassing for New York Senator Hillary Clinton, who is competing with rival Barack Obama to be the Democratic Party's choice to run for president.

Mr Spitzer has promised to support Mrs Clinton's presidential bid

A close ally of Mrs Clinton, Mr Spitzer has pledged to support her campaign.

He is one of the 796 super-delegates - party leaders and elected officials - who will vote on which candidate to back at the Democrats' national convention in August.

Mr Spitzer was elected governor in November 2006, promising ethical reform in New York.

As New York's attorney general, he had become known as the Sheriff of Wall Street for his relentless pursuit of financial wrong-doing.

His successes in that battle led Time Magazine to name him "Crusader of the Year" in 2002.

Mr Spitzer had also taken a firm line against prostitution in New York.

source:bbc.co.uk

Pakistani parties to share power

Nawaz Sharif (l) and Asif Ali Zardari were winners in February's elections

The leaders of the two parties that won Pakistan's elections have signed an agreement on a coalition government.

Asif Ali Zardari, widower of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, and ex-PM Nawaz Sharif called on President Pervez Musharraf to convene parliament immediately.

February's parliamentary elections delivered a crushing defeat to parties loyal to President Pervez Musharraf.

Mr Musharraf has urged the incoming government to leave politics aside and concentrate on good governance.

The coalition deal will bring together the Pakistan People's Party, which was led by Benazir Bhutto until her assassination, and the PML(N) party of Mr Sharif.

'Blow to Musharraf'

Mr Sharif has consistently called for the president to step down in the wake of the elections, which were regarded as a key step in Pakistan's transition from military to civilian rule.

The BBC's Barbara Plett, in Islamabad, says the deal will be seen as a further blow to Mr Musharraf who will face a parliament dominated by his adversaries.

Two issues had dominated the talks: The PML(N) party's insistence that judges sacked by Mr Musharraf in November be reinstated, and the PPP's desire for Mr Sharif's party to formally sign up to the cabinet.

Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif told a news conference that both matters had been settled.

All the sacked judges will be reinstated via a parliamentary resolution passed within 30 days of forming a new government.

That appears to mean that the chief justice will get back his job, in defiance of Mr Musharraf's strong objections, our correspondent says.

In return Nawaz Sharif has agreed that his party will join the cabinet - even though he does not recognise the president's right to rule.

The PPP said it would proceed cautiously when it came to dealing with the president.

But most analysts see this as a step either to the reduction of his powers - or a confrontation between the new parliament and the presidency.

Benazir Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on 27 December, causing the elections to be delayed

Musharraf opponents get MPs boost

The PPP of late former PM Benazir Bhutto fared well in the polls

Eleven Pakistani MPs have reportedly joined the main parties opposed to President Pervez Musharraf that could form a coalition government.

Seven independent MPs joined the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) while four MPs joined its ally, the PML-N, the election commission said.

Final figures for last month's polls show the coalition lacks the majority needed to impeach Mr Musharraf.

Pakistan's army chief has urged the president and coalition to co-operate.

Gen Ashfaq Kayani also said the army would "stay out of the political process".

He told a meeting of top commanders on Thursday that the powerful military "fully stands behind the democratic process and is committed to... support the elected government".

International pressure forced President Musharraf to give up his dual role as army chief to Gen Kayani last year.

February's parliamentary elections - regarded as a key step in Pakistan's transition from military to civilian rule - delivered a crushing defeat to parties loyal to President Musharraf.

Threat to Musharraf

The election commission on Thursday night finalised its tally from the election, announcing the results for 331 of the 342 seats in the national assembly.

Militants have been attacking the military with suicide bombs

The commission also completed its proportional allocation of seats to women and minorities.

The 11 seats that have yet to be declared are subject to legal challenges and other delays.

Final figures released by the commission show the PPP of assassinated former PM Benazir Bhutto has 120 seats, making it the largest party in parliament.

The PML-N, or Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, led by another former PM, Nawaz Sharif, is second with 90 seats.

The proposed coalition of the two parties and their smaller allies would still lack the two-thirds majority required should they wish to impeach President Musharraf.

However, they command enough support to undermine his authority in parliament.

Coalition leaders have threatened to curtail the president's powers, though it is unclear how far they will go.

Presidential promise

Mr Musharraf was re-elected as president last year in a parliamentary vote boycotted by the opposition as unconstitutional.

Speaking on Friday, the president said he would back any future government, as long as it did not provoke unrest.

"Durable, stable governments should be formed in the centre and provinces for five years, and if peace is maintained, I assure that I will fully support the coalition that is being formed," Mr Musharraf told Reuters news agency.

The PPP has yet to name its candidate for prime minister, though the post is expected to go to Makhdoom Amin Fahim, a party stalwart.

Ms Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, is ineligible to run for PM but he retains great influence as party leader.

Ms Bhutto was assassinated in a gun and bomb attack in the city of Rawalpindi in December.

The new government's most pressing concern is likely to be an Islamist insurgency that has claimed scores of lives in bomb attacks in the last week alone.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan has been a key US ally in the "war on terror" and Washington hopes the new government will continue to work with it.

Source:bbc.co.uk

Eight killed at Jerusalem school

The gunman entered the school's dining room and opened fire

Eight people have been killed and nine wounded by a Palestinian gunman who infiltrated a Jewish seminary in West Jerusalem, Israeli officials say.

Witnesses said the gunman went into the library at the Mercaz Harav seminary in the city's Kiryat Moshe quarter and opened fire.

The assailant, who Israeli police said was a resident of East Jerusalem, was shot dead by an Israeli army officer.

The attack is the worst of its kind in Israel for a number of years.

The White House has led international condemnation but the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas called the attack "heroic" while not claiming responsibility.

When we got in... we saw young, 15-, 16-year-old guys lying on the floor with their Bibles in their hands - all dead on the floor

However, the 15-strong UN Security Council failed to agree on a resolution condemning the attack because of reservations from temporary member Libya, which sought to link it to Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip.

A previously unknown group called the "Jalil Freedom Battalions - the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh and Gaza" claims to have carried it out, according to Lebanese Hezbollah media.

The fact that the school is at the heart of the settler movement in the occupied West Bank may have been the reason why it was targeted, BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reports.

Many of its students are on special courses that combine religious study with service in combat units in the Israeli army, he notes.

There will be an Israeli response to this attack, our Middle East editor adds - the question is how severe it will be.

'Horrific'

The gunman entered the library at the Mercaz Harav seminary on Thursday evening, where about 80 students were gathered, and fired an AK-47 rifle for several minutes, witnesses say.

MERCAZ HARAV SEMINARY Founded in 1924 by influential Rabbi Avraham Hacohen Kook

One of the students, Yitzhak Dadon, reportedly shot the gunman twice before he was finally killed by an off-duty Israeli army officer, who had gone to the school after hearing gunfire.

"I shot him twice in the head," he told the Reuters news agency.

"He started to sway and then someone else with a rifle fired at him, and he died."

Another man told the BBC that there had been "terrible scenes" inside the building afterwards.

"When we got in... we saw young, 15-, 16-year-old guys lying on the floor with their Bibles in their hands - all dead..." he said.

Jerusalem police commander Aharon Franco confirmed there had been only one gunman and said he had hidden his weapon in a cardboard box.

Imad Mughniyeh, a senior Hezbollah leader and military commander, was killed in a car bomb in Damascus on 12 February.

'Aimed at the heart'

An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said that "terrorists [were] trying to destroy the chances of peace" but peace talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would continue.

DEADLY ATTACKS IN ISRAEL 4 Feb 2008: One dies, Dimona suicide bombing 29 Apr 2007: Three die, Eilat suicide bombing 17 Apr 2006: Nine die, 40 wounded, suicide bombing near old bus station in Tel Aviv 30 Mar 2006: Four die, Kedumim suicide bombing 29 Dec 2005: Thee die, suicide bombing near Tulkarm 5 Dec 2005: Five die, Netanya suicide bombing 26 Oct 2005: Six die, Hadera market suicide bombing 12 July 2005: Two die, Netanya suicide bombing 25 Feb 2005: Five die, 50 hurt, suicide bombing outside Tel Aviv nightclub 13 Jan 2005: Six die, suicide bombing at Karni crossing

Mr Abbas condemned the attack in a statement saying he "condemns all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli".

US President George W Bush condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms" and UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said news of the killings was "shocking".

"They are an arrow aimed at the heart of the peace process so recently revived," Mr Miliband added.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also criticised the "deliberate killing and injuring of civilians" in what he called a "savage attack".

Hamas praise

In the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, gunmen fired into the air after news broke about the attack.

This heroic attack in Jerusalem is a normal response to the crimes of the occupier and its murder of civilians Sami Abu Zuhri Hamas spokesman

A loudspeaker in Gaza City reportedly broadcast the message: "This is God's vengeance"

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the group "blesses the heroic operation in Jerusalem" calling it as a "natural reaction" to Israeli attacks.

Last week, Israeli forces launched a raid into northern Gaza in which more than 120 Palestinians - including many civilians - were killed.

Shortly after the Jerusalem shooting, the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said four of its fighters had been killed in an Israeli air strike in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.

Israel says the recent military offensive has been designed to stamp out frequent rocket fire by Palestinian militants.

Rocket attacks have hit deeper into southern Israel, reaching Ashkelon, the closest large city to the Gaza Strip.

Source:news.bbc.co.uk

Ship owner to sue over attacks by anti-whaling activists

Japanese whaling ship owner Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha is set to take legal steps with the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) over alleged trespassing and forcible obstruction of business by the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, company officials said.

The company is considering which of three attacks by activists this year to make the subject of its complaint.

In January, butyric acid, which produces a foul smell, was hurled at the No. 2 Yushinmaru whaling research vessel, and Australian and British activists boarded the ship. Then on Jan. 18, butyric acid was thrown at the No. 3 Yushinmaru. In a third attack on Monday, activists hurled over 100 bottles containing butyric acid at the Nisshinmaru scientific whaling ship, injuring three people including JCG officers.

The JCG has already begun an investigation into Monday's attack on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business and inflicting bodily injury.

Obama gets letter from Obama

FUKUI--The Obama municipal government in Fukui Prefecture has received a letter from U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, the municipal government announced Tuesday.

In the letter, Obama said he appreciated the support he received from the people of Obama and praised the city's rich culture, deep tradition and natural beauty.

"I am touched by your friendly gesture," he wrote.

"We share more than a common name; we share a common planet and common responsibilities," he wrote.

According to the municipal government, the letter, which was typed and dated from Washington D.C., Feb. 21, was sent by airmail to Mayor Toshio Murakami on Monday.

"The letter will help citizens of Obama feel much closer to [Barack] Obama," Murakami said.
(Mar. 5, 2008)

Four Marines to get court-martial in Japan rape case: US

Civic group members are seen during a protest in front of the headquarters of the US Marines at Kita Nakagusuku village

TOKYO (AFP) — Four US Marines will face court-martial in Japan over allegations they gang-raped a local woman, the US military said, even though Japanese prosecutors dropped the case.

The alleged gang-rape was one of a string of incidents linked to US troops this year that has triggered outrage in Japan, one of Washington's closest allies.

One of the Marines will face a court-martial in late April and another from early May, according to the public affairs office of the Iwakuni base near the western city of Hiroshima.

The dates were yet to be set for the two others, according to the office, saying the military would disclose more information later.

The court-martial decision was first reported late Wednesday by Japan's public broadcaster NHK.

The woman, who was 19 at the time of the incident in October, said that the four Marines raped her in a car and then stole her money.

But Japanese prosecutors decided not to press charges against the men. Japanese press reports said police found that the woman, now 20, changed her account and was believed to have consented to sex with one man.

The US military decided to court-martial the men amid resentment by the Japanese public over a string of criminal allegations against American soldiers.

Japanese prosecutors last week dropped the case of another US Marine accused of raping a 14-year-old girl on the southern island of Okinawa, home to more than half the US forces in the country.

The girl did not want to continue the case, which received intense media attention.

The US military said the 38-year-old Marine was taken into custody for potential disciplinary action.

The incidents overshadowed a visit last week by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who offered an apology over the alleged rape of the 14-year-old.

The US military also put all troops and their relatives in Okinawa and Iwakuni under a sweeping curfew for nearly two weeks.

More than 40,000 US troops are based in Japan under a security treaty with the close US ally, which has been officially pacifist since World War II.