Syria Accepts Peace Plan, "ceasefire"

Annan says Syria accepts peace plan, fighting enters Lebanon

(Reuters) - Syria has accepted a ceasefire and peace plan drawn up by U.N. and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan, his spokesman said on Tuesday, even as Syrian troops thrust into Lebanon to battle rebels who had taken refuge there.

Annan conceded he faced a "long and difficult task" in ending the fighting, as rebel group leaders meeting in Turkey weighed how to unite their fractured movement and boost foreign backing for a year-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

On a visit to Beijing, Annan told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that global cooperation with China and other countries was the only way to defuse the conflict, whose sectarian dimensions have raised fear it could spread and destabilize the wider region.

"I indicated that I had received a response from the Syrian government and will be making it public today, which is positive, and we hope to work with them to translate it into action," Annan told reporters after meeting Wen. Read More

Obama calls for 'balanced approach' to U.S.-Pakistan relations

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama expressed hope Tuesday that the United States and Pakistan can arrive at a "balanced approach" to relations as he met with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for the first time since a string of damaging episodes last year.

The talks Tuesday between the two leaders on the sidelines of a large nuclear security summit meeting in Seoul are the highest profile meeting between the two countries since NATO airstrikes on November 26 killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the Pakistani-Afghan border.

The deaths drove relations between Washington and Islamabad to a new low, coming on top of anger over the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden at a compound in Pakistan last May, and continued American drone strikes on targets in the nation.

The Pakistani parliament is expected this week to start debating a committee's recommendation that the United States stop drone strikes inside its territory and apologize unconditionally for the November airstrikes. Read More

North Korea refuses to halt launch plan....despite Obama's warnings

(CNN) -- North Korea said Tuesday that it would not abandon its plan to carry out a satellite launch next month despite recent warnings from President Barack Obama over the move.

The North "will not give up the satellite launch for peaceful purposes, which is a legitimate right of a sovereign state and requirement essential for economic development," Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency reported, citing the country's foreign ministry.

During his visit to South Korea this week, Obama has said that if North Korea moves forward with the launch -- which Washington and Seoul say would breach U.N. Security Council resolutions through the use of a long-range missile -- it will further deepen its isolation, damage relations with its neighbors and face additional sanctions that have already strangled the country.

The North Korean report Tuesday said that Obama's stance "reflects his wrong conception" of the situation.

"The U.S. says that it has no hostility" toward North Korea, the news agency cited the ministry as saying. "But it has not yet departed from the inveterate conception of confrontation. That is why it regards the launch of a satellite for peaceful purposes as a launch of long-range missile." Read More

How nations risk nuclear terrorism

(CNN) -- World leaders are meeting in Seoul this week to discuss how to deal with the threat of nuclear terrorism.

The effort to prevent the misuse of nuclear materials and the spread of nuclear weapons has long-placed most emphasis on defensive measures. These are essentially on the "supply side" -- aiming to choke off the flow of nuclear weapon components and radiological materials to terrorists. While there is a place for such steps, there is another, and perhaps more successful way, to accomplish the goal.

One of the gravest threats to nuclear proliferation arises from the nations that use proxy groups -- seemingly independent organizations that are paid to further the interests of governments. Read More

Obama says threat of nuclear weapons remains

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- President Barack Obama said Tuesday the threat of nuclear weapons remains a potent challenge for the globe to confront, telling foreign leaders that "the security of the world depends on the actions that we take."

Obama, speaking at a nuclear security summit in South Korea, said the international community had made progress in removing nuclear materials and improving security at nuclear facilities around the globe. As a result, he said more of the world's nuclear materials won't fall into the hands of terrorists.

But the president warned "there are still too many bad actors in search of these dangerous materials and these dangerous materials are still vulnerable in too many places."

"It would not take much, just a handful or so of these materials, to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people and that's not an exaggeration, that's the reality that we face," Obama said. Read More

U.S., China, South Korea urge nations to lock down nuke

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- The leaders of South Korea, the United States and China issued stark warnings Tuesday about the threat of nuclear terrorism during the final day of a nuclear summit that has so far been upstaged by North Korea's long-range rocket launch plans.

Nearly 60 leaders have gathered for the two-day conference meant to find ways to keep terrorists from detonating an atomic weapon in a major city. The leaders were to release a communique Tuesday about their efforts to lock down the world's supply of nuclear material by 2014.

Much of the drama, however, has centered on North Korea's stated plans to launch a satellite on a long-range rocket around the April 15 celebration of the birthday of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung.

President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Monday pressured China, Pyongyang's main ally and economic supporter, to use its leverage to persuade the North to back away from the launch. Read More

Noda unveils stronger measures for Japan to curb nuclear terrorism

SEOUL (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Tuesday at a global nuclear summit in Seoul that Japan will boost its measures to fight against nuclear terrorism, drawing on lessons from the country's nuclear accident caused by natural disasters last year.

Noda outlined the measures in a speech at the morning session of the second Nuclear Security Summit, where world leaders and representatives from 53 nations and four international organizations gathered to discuss international cooperation in boosting nuclear security.

''We must make use of the knowledge and lessons gained from the accident (at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant) to prepare for 'human-induced harm' such as terrorist attacks on nuclear power plants,'' Noda said.

His remarks underline the need to be prepared for dealing with a potential terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant, which could have similarly grave consequences as a plant damaged by a natural disaster. Read More

Syria 'Accepts' Kofi Annan's Peace Plan

Syria has accepted Kofi Annan's plan to end the country's bloody conflict, a spokesman for the UN-Arab League envoy has said.

"The Syrian government has written to the joint special envoy Kofi Annan accepting his six-point plan, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council," Ahmad Fawzi said in a statement.

The move comes after Mr Annan's arrival in Beijing to seek China's backing for his proposals.

Mr Annan is scheduled to have talks with premier Wen Jiabao after meeting the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, at the weekend.

Speaking in Moscow, Mr Annan stressed that while there is no deadline for ending the crisis it must not be allowed to drag on indefinitely.

Above all, he insisted, the Syrian government and opposition must start a political process to resolve the conflict peacefully.

Robert Bales: Now they are Blaming Anti Malaria Drug Mefloqui for his Actions......Even though it was banned in 2009

A senior Pentagon official ordered an emergency review of the military's use of an anti-malaria drug known to have severe psychiatric side effects - nine days after the Afghan massacre in which a U.S. solider allegedly shot dead 17 civilians including nine children, it has been alleged.

The notorious drug Mefloquine, also known as Lariam, has been implicated in a number of suicides and homicides in the military spanning back more than ten years, with side effects including paranoia, hallucinations and psychotic behaviour.

It is now being suggested that Staff Sgt Robert Bales, who is accused of the shooting, may have taken the drug before the March 11 massacre.

The military has used the drug for years despite its known side effects and in 2009, they almost banned it due to its dangers. But a subsequent order suggested its use should be restricted and not given to soldiers who have suffered a traumatic brain injury.