Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize - Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela - my accomplishments are slight - President Barack Obama


President Obama says he accepts the peace prize with humility, well aware of the controversy that surrounded the choice of the Nobel Committee.
"In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize - Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela - my accomplishments are slight," he said.
But he says the most profound issue surrounding the award is the fact that he is the leader of a nation in the midst of two wars.
"We are at war, and I am responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill. Some will be killed," he said. "And so I come here with an acute sense of the cost of armed conflict - filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other."
He says there is nothing weak in the path of non-violence championed by the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Martin Luther King, Jr. Yet Mr. Obama says it cannot be the only path. He says he cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people.
"A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaida's leaders to lay down their arms," he said. "To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism - it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason."
His speech to a crowd of dignitaries in Oslo's city hall came just nine days after he ordered another 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan. Well aware of the juxtaposition of events, the president focused on the notion of "just war", and the concept of sustainable peace.
"We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes," said Mr. Obama. "There will be times when nations - acting individually or in concert - will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified."
He echoed the words of former U.S. President John Kennedy, who five decades ago spoke of a realistic, more attainable peace.
President Obama said rules and institutions are needed to keep military action in check. He made specific mention of the need to adhere to strict codes of conduct, and to see that countries live up to their international obligations.
"Those who claim to respect international law cannot avert their eyes when those laws are flouted. Those who care for their own security cannot ignore the danger of an arms race in the Middle East or East Asia," he said. "Those who seek peace cannot stand idly by as nations arm themselves for nuclear war."
President Obama went on to speak about nations that abuse their own people. He said peace must be more than the absence of military conflict.
"So even as we respect the unique culture and traditions of different countries, America will always be a voice for those aspirations that are universal," added Mr. Obama. "We will bear witness to the quiet dignity of reformers like Aung Sang Suu Kyi; to the bravery of Zimbabweans who cast their ballots in the face of beatings; to the hundreds of thousands who have marched silently through the streets of Iran."
He said the search for peace must entail support for strong institutions, human rights and freedom from want. But he said there is one other key ingredient for a more peaceful world.
" I do not believe that we will have the will, or the staying power, to complete this work without something more - and that is the continued expansion of our moral imagination; an insistence that there is something irreducible that we all share," he said.
In announcing its choice for the 2009 Peace Prize, the Nobel Committee cited the president's efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation. It said he has captured the imagination of the world with his message of hope.
All the same, the award has been criticized as premature by some, and public opinion polls in the United States indicate many Americans believe the honor is coming far too early.
As the president began his Oslo visit, a group of Norwegians made the same point. They gathered outside the Nobel Institute while the president was inside signing the guest book. They chanted and cheered and held up a yellow banner that said "Obama you won it, now earn it!"

Palestinian leaders say they are pushing efforts to have the UN Security Council endorse the creation of a Palestinian state out of frustration over the stalled peace process. Israel has threatened to take its own unilateral steps if the Palestinians move ahead with plans for statehood on their own.  

It was a swift and angry reaction from Israel when the Palestinians said this week they would push unilaterally for the UN Security Council to endorse an independent state for them. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Palestinians not to do anything on their own. 

Mr. Netanyahu said there is no replacement for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He said any one-sided step will unravel the framework of agreements that exist and cause unilateral steps from the Israeli side.

Mr. Netanyahu's warnings drew an angry response from the Palestinians under the leadership of PresidentMahmoud Abbas and his moderate Fatah faction. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused the Israeli leader of undermining the peace process.  

"He threatens with unilateral steps," said Saeb Erekat. "Do you think that settlement activity is bilateral?   Excuse me, we are the moderate camp.  We are the ones who want to achieve the two-state solution.  This Israeli government is doing nothing.  Look on the ground: we have recognized theState of Israel's right to live in peace and security, next to the state of Palestine.  Now, what Mr. Netanyahu is doing is really eating up the land that is supposed to be the Palestinian state with more settlements, with more malls, with more confiscation of land." 

Read more at Color Daily Middle East

15 November 2009 – United Nations efforts to strengthen agriculture and enhance food security received a boost today, ahead of a major summit set to begin on Monday, thanks to new initiatives with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and a leading Brazilian university.

The $1 billion agreement signed in Rome by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and IDB will fund agricultural development in 26 least developed countries that are members of both the Bank and FAO.
The agreement aims to help leverage additional resources and bring total investment in the IDB-FAO programme to $5 billion by 2012.
“This agreement comes at a critical moment, when the international community recognizes it has neglected agriculture for many years,” FAO stated in a news release. “Today, sustained investment in agriculture – especially smallholder agriculture – is acknowledged as the key to food security.”
The agency added that both FAO and IDB share the same vision and strategy, and will continue working together in improving rural infrastructure, promoting local economic development and enhancing food security while strengthening and revitalizing their cooperation.
Meanwhile, scientists from the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), one of Brazil's leading academic institutions specialized in food and agriculture, are set to provide their expertise to FAO for its agricultural development programmes in Latin America and Africa under another agreement signed today.
The university will also facilitate access by students from developing countries supported by FAO to its capacity-building and human resources development programmes.
More than 60 heads of State and government are scheduled to meet at the World Summit on Food Security to focus on boosting agricultural production and eradicating hunger, a scourge affecting 1 billion people worldwide.
Ahead of the gathering, the three Rome-based UN agencies dealing with the issue today launched strategy to enhance collaboration between them.
According to a joint statement issued by the FAO, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the decision culminates a two-year effort to advance joint action to help developing nations address food insecurity by investing in agriculture and safety nets, and to address hunger exacerbated by the food and financial crises and climate change.

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The foreign ministers of India, China and Russia say they are forging a common approach to global issues such as the financial crisis, climate change and security following talks in India. India and China have also held separate discussions in an effort to narrow recent differences that have emerged between the Asian giants.

In a joint statement, India, China and Russia said Tuesday that the pace of development in all three countries has improved despite the recent financial crisis.
The statement was issued following a meeting between the foreign ministers of the three countries in Bangalore on Tuesday.
The ministers said they will work together to ensure global peace and stability. S.M. Krishna is India's foreign minister.
"We have also agreed that trilateral action against terrorism and transnational crime will provide stability and all round development," Krishna said.
The statement said the three countries took the threat of "global warming" seriously, and will work for a successful outcome to the U.N. emissions conference in Copenhagen later this year. All three countries are among the top polluters in the world.
The three countries say they have found common ground on global issues.
Chinese foreign minister Yang Jeichi said that new threats such as terrorism, climate change and energy security have becoming increasingly pressing.
Yang says China, India and Russia are all major emerging countries, and have the same or similar positions on major international and regional issues.
The Chinese and Indian foreign ministers also held a separate bilateral meeting in a bid to resolve recent irritants that have emerged between the Asian giants.
Indian foreign minister said he was "satisfied" with the talks, which were part of a process of building "trust and understanding" between the two countries.
The meeting came three days after the prime ministers of India and China met in Thailand on the sidelines of a regional summit and said they will work to create more trust at the political level.
Beijing is unhappy with an upcoming visit by the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh of which China claims large parts. China recently also expressed its annoyance at a visit by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the state. The state lies at the heart of a festering border dispute between the two countries.
Reports of border incursions by China also dominated the Indian media in recent weeks, although both countries have downplayed those reports. 
An Indian official said Tuesday's meeting between the foreign ministers was to narrow their differences on political and regional issues.

	Meetings of Southeast Asian leaders and their dialogue partners have ended with a pledge to build a more flexible economic community that is less dependent on the United States. There were also some hopeful signs of political change in military-run Burma.

Representatives form 16 countries wrapped up three days of meetings on regional cooperation in which they agreed East Asia needs a new economic structure that is less dependent on exports to the United States.
The Association of Southeast Nations has 10 members - Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam - which met with dialogue partners Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea for an East Asia Summit.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the 16 nations discussed establishing an East Asia free-trade agreement.  He said they also heard proposals by Japan and Australia for building a wider asian bloc.
Japan has indicated it wants the United States to play a strong role in the region, perhaps as a member of the pan-Asian bloc.
But, Mr. Abhisit said Japan was merely stressing the need for a continuing evolution in East Asian ties. "What important for us is that we move in the right direction, that we keep our minds open to suggestions and that we will move in a practical and pragmatic way to most effectively address whatever challenges are posed to the region as a whole," he said.
One of ASEAN's ongoing challenges has been dealing with the embarrassment of member Burma's human-rights abuses.
Burma's military government does not tolerate dissent and has kept democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi locked up for most of the pst two decades.
But Mr. Abhisit said Burma's Prime Minister Thein Sein indicated Aung San Suu Kyi may be allowed to play a role in Burma's politics. "He briefed us on some of the dialogue that is taking place and he feels optimistic that she can also contribute to the process of reconciliation," he said.
Aung San Suu Kyi recently offered to help Burma's military government get sanctions against it lifted.
The United States has changed its Burma policy to include not just sanctions, but also dialogue and is sending diplomats to Burma in the coming weeks.
Japanese officials earlier quoted Thein Sein as telling ASEAN leaders some of the restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi could be lifted if she behaved.  It was not clear what Burma's military government wants from the Nobel prize winner.
The annual meetings of Southeast Asian leaders and their dialogue partners inaugurated the region's first human-rights body, which could take up the Burma issue.
But the ASEAN intergovernmental commission on human rights does not have the power to punish rights violators, a weakness that rights groups heavily criticized.  They also criticized ASEAN's unwillingness to take a firmer stand on Burma.
Also on Sunday, ASEAN signed a series of agreements with China on standards, regulations, and protection of intellectual property rights.
ASEAN signed more than 40 agreements throughout the weekend, including some on expanding trade, fighting climate change, improving food security and emergency response to natural disasters.
Thailand will officially turn over the hosting of ASEAN meetings to Vietnam at the end of this year.

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Yemeni and Comoran officials say an airplane belonging to Yemen's national carrier, Yemenia Air, has crashed in the Indian Ocean archipelago with 150 people on board.
Officials say the accident occurred early Tuesday. The location of the crash is not known, and it is also not clear if there are any survivors.
The Associated Press repots a Yemeni airport official saying that most of the passengers onboard the airplane, reported to be an Airbus 310, were Comoros residents returning from Paris.
Reuters News reports a Comoran police source saying the island chain has no sea rescue capabilities.
The Comoros is made up of three islands about 300 kilometers northwest of Madagascar, in the Mozambique channel.