Gaza flotilla attack: world unites in condemnation of Israel’s actions
Key strategic relationship with Turkey damaged and Netanyahu visit to White House cancelled
Ian Traynor and Dorian Jones in Istanbul
The Guardian, Tuesday 1 June 2010
Israel’s calculated gamble in sending commandos to raid the Mediterranean flotilla looked likely last night to exact a high price, leaving it increasingly isolated internationally and diplomatically and losing the vital public relations war in the Middle East.The first and biggest casualty of what appeared to many as a rash act of night time derring-do was Israel’s relationship with what used to be its key strategic, regional and Muslim ally, Turkey.
‘Hobbit’ movie in jeopardy as Del Toro quits
By Guy Adams in Los Angeles Tuesday, 1 June 2010
If you thought reading a JRR Tolkien novel was time-consuming, try turning one into a film. Two years and hundreds of painstakingly designed monster costumes after he started work on The Hobbit, the Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro has suddenly quit, complaining about endless delays in getting his eagerly-awaited film green-lit.In a move that sent a shockwave through the ranks of “Middle Earthers” and was greeted with dismay by his own fans, Del Toro said he reluctantly decided to step down after growing tired of the continued uncertainty about when The Hobbit will begin shooting, and the future of the studio that will release it.
USA
Obama administration moves to distance itself from BP on oil spill response
By Joel Achenbach and Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Struggling to convey command of the worsening Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Obama administration is taking steps to distance itself from BP and is dispatching Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to the Gulf Coast to meet with federal and state prosecutors. The Holder trip could signal that the environmental calamity might become the subject of a criminal investigation.
Holder has said Justice Department lawyers are examining whether there was any “malfeasance” related to the leaking oil well, and investigators, who have already been on the coast for a month, have sent letters to BP instructing the company to preserve internal records related to the spill.
Veterans Affairs wants to be an advocate, not an enemy
An agency overhaul aims to eliminate a huge backlog of disability claims by 2015 and move to an electronic data system.
By David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times
John Lamie survived six roadside bombings in Iraq, only to have the Department of Veterans Affairs refuse to accept three months’ worth of medical tests he underwent for jaw and shoulder wounds – tests performed by VA-approved doctors at VA facilities.Casey Elder, who says she suffers migraines and memory loss from a roadside bomb in Iraq, has been told by the VA that the bombing did not cause those problems – despite a VA doctor’s diagnosis that she suffered a traumatic brain injury.
After Clay Hunt was shot through the wrist by a sniper in Iraq, the VA misplaced his disability paperwork for four months. Then he was required to visit a series of doctors to verify the extent of his wounds.
Europe
President of Germany forced to quit after Afghan ‘gaffe’
Köhler accused of violating constitution after suggesting troops were protecting economic interests. Tony Paterson reports
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Germany’s conservative President Horst Köhler tendered his immediate resignation yesterday after he was criticised for remarks that seemed to suggest his country’s troops were in Afghanistan to protect German economic interests.The President, who is a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing Christian Democrats, said he was stepping down at once from the largely ceremonial office in what seemed to be a fit of pique.
Putin encourages peaceful protests – but beware the police beatings
From Times Online
June 1, 2010
Helen Womack
Despite seemingly encouraging words about freedom of speech from Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister, Russian opposition activists were again beaten and detained when they tried to hold peaceful protests across the country yesterday.In central Moscow more than 170 people were held. Police accused them of troublemaking but dissidents said that the brutality of the authorities had been unprecedented.
“People were thrown to the ground, beaten and shoved into police buses,” a correspondent of Echo of Moscow radio said.
Middle East
Turkey erupts in protest at Israeli commando raid on Gaza aid ship
From Times Online
June 1, 2010
Alexander Christie-Miller
Tens of thousands of Turkish demonstrators took to the streets yesterday after the raid by Israeli commandos against a Turkish aid ship that killed at least nine people.Riot police prevented enraged protesters from storming the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul before thousands gathered for an impromptu rally at the city’s main Taksim Square, which became a sea of Palestinian flags. Demonstrators chanted slogans including “Killer Israel will pay the price”, “God is Great” and “We are all Palestinians now” as Israeli flags were cut up and burnt. Angry scenes continued around the city into the evening.
Iran ‘pursuing’ further enrichment
TUESDAY, JUNE 01, 2010
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says Iran is pushing ahead with higher-level uranium enrichment and has failed to answer its questions about possible military dimensions to its nuclear programme.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also said Tehran refused to address concerns about possible undisclosed nuclear activities in a report the US said “clearly shows Iran’s continued failure to comply with its international obligations and its sustained lack of co-operation with the IAEA”.
Asia
Japan prime minister faces pressure to resign over Okinawa
Japan prime minister Yukio Hatoyama may resign before elections over Okinawa US air base U-turn
Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 1 June 2010 07.34 BST
Japan’s embattled prime minister faced growing pressure today from within his own party to resign ahead of July elections over his broken campaign promise to move a US Marine base off the southern island of Okinawa.The prime minister Yukio Hatoyama’s approval ratings have plummeted as he backtracked on the vow to move Marine Air Station Futenma off the southern island, reinforcing his public image as an indecisive leader after only eight months in office.
Many analysts say he may well step down ahead of upper house elections, likely to be held in mid-July – or perhaps after the elections if his party, the Democratic Party of Japan, does poorly. If he does resign soon, he would be the fourth Japanese prime minister to do so in four years.
South Korea dials back tough talk over Cheonan sinking
One day after China refused to take a stand against North Korea over the March 26 sinking of South Korea’s Cheonan naval ship, South Korea appears to be moderating its rhetoric against the North over the Cheonan sinking.
By Donald Kirk, Correspondent / May 31, 2010
Seoul
South Korea tempered its tough talk Monday with signs of a desire to cool down tensions with North Korea before they boil over into fresh outbreaks of violence with unpredictable consequences.
The relatively low-key response comes just one day after China refused to take a stand against North Korea over the March 26 sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean naval vessel.First, South Korea’s defense ministry said it was putting off a propaganda campaign of balloon drops and mega-loudspeaker broadcasts into North Korea that the North had said it would answer by firing into the speakers. Then South Korea’s unification ministry indicated the government was carefully modulating its responses to the Cheonan sinking in order to test the North Korean response.
Latin America
Rescuers dig after Central America storm kills 146
By Daniel LeClair – Tue Jun 1 (Reuters)
AMATITLAN, Guatemala – Stunned victims of Tropical Storm Agatha wept by destroyed homes and rescue crews dug bodies out of mud in Guatemala on Monday after torrential rain killed at least 146 people across Central America.
People caked in dirt searched for their loved ones as the stench of mud and sewage from flooded drains filled the air of towns outside Guatemala City and emergency workers urged survivors to leave ruined houses and go to shelters.
The first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season, Agatha slammed into Guatemala on Saturday, dumping more than 3 feet (1 meter) of rain in the mountainous west of the country and in neighboring El Salvador, and sparking worries about damage to the coffee crop in both countries.