Merkel hosts Bush on likely final visit to German; Iran expected to feature in talks

: U.S. President Saint George W. Shrub was enjoying Chancellor Angela Merkel's cordial reception at a manor house house in the German countryside ahead of negotiation Wednesday likely to touch anew on prospects of raising pressure level on Islamic Republic Of Iran over its atomic program.

Merkel and her husband, Joachim Sauer, welcomed Shrub and first lady Laura Shrub on Tuesday eventide to the German government's invitee house in Meseberg, a little small town about 70 kilometres (40 miles) North of Berlin.

The restored 18th-century manor in what was once communistic East Federal Republic Of Germany offers a relaxed setting for the meeting between Shrub and Merkel, whom the president invited to his Crawford, Texas, spread in November.

"I have got great outlooks for the meeting," Merkel told newsmen ahead of Bush's arrival. "We will have got a whole batch of things still to discuss."

She did not elaborate, but Iran, the Center East peace process, Islamic State Of Afghanistan and the extroverted Group of Eight acme were among issues expected to be on the agenda. Today in Europe

In Republic Of Slovenia on Tuesday, the Shrub sought to beat up European Union leadership behind tougher countenances against Iran, in an effort to squash its finances and derail its possible chase of a atomic weapon.

Iran's leadership "can either confront isolation, or they can have got better dealings with all of us," Shrub said following a acme with top functionaries from the europium and Slovenia, which throws the 27-nation bloc's rotating presidency.

Germany have been working along with the U.S., Russia, China, United Kingdom and French Republic to develop a bundle of fresh punishments and inducements aimed at getting Teheran to hold U enrichment.

Enrichment can bring forth both atomic combustible and the fissile stuff for the core of atomic warheads. Islamic Republic Of Islamic Republic Of Iran take a firm stands that it have only civilian usages in head for its atomic program, but Shrub said Iran "can't be trusted with enrichment."

Another likely issue for the two leadership on Wednesday is planetary warming. Shrub have long been at likelihood with Europe on the issue, particularly over whether any clime scheme should include compulsory decreases of emanations of nursery gases.

In Slovenia, Shrub said: "I believe we can actually acquire an understanding on planetary clime alteration during my presidency," which stops on Jan. 20, 2009.

Bush's visit is his 5th to Federal Republic Of Germany since he took business office in 2001 — a time period during which dealings chilled over former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's blatant resistance to the U.S.-led warfare in Iraq, then warmed considerably after Merkel came to powerfulness in 2005.

Merkel, a conservative who grew up in East Germany, worked difficult to better neckties with Bush, but also won regard at place by publicly criticizing the Guantanamo Bay hold center.

In 2006, she welcomed Shrub to her parliamentary constituency on the Baltic Sea coast, sharing a joint wild wild boar with the president and first lady. Shrub returned last twelvemonth for the German-hosted G-8 summit.

The German government's coordinator for U.S. relations, Karsten Voigt, cautioned against playing down Bush's visit as human race attending focuses on who will win him adjacent year.

"The American president have such as great powerfulness in foreign and security policy that, up until his concluding twenty-four hours in office, he stays capable of decision-making," Voigt told public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk.

Still, even Merkel nodded toward the prospect of alteration after Bush's replacement is elected.

"This is (his) last European tour," she said on Tuesday. "A new clip will get then."

Following his halt in Germany, Shrub will go on to Italy, French Republic and Britain.

Bush eyes economy on Europe trip - BBC News

US President Saint George Tungsten Shrub have landed in Republic Of Slovenia at the start of what is expected to be his last European tour, with economical concerns a cardinal issue.

He will go to the yearly US-European Union summit, where he is expected to force for a strong United States dollar and action on high combustible prices.

He is also expected to seek support for tougher fiscal countenances on Iran.

Mr Bush's week-long trip also takes him to Germany, Italy, France, the Vatican Palace and the UK.

The BBC's Oana Lungescu, at the acme locale outside the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, states President Shrub landed in the state amid tight security measurements but small populace celebration.

As europium leadership set up to offer goodbye, they desire to concentrate on what unifies Europe and America, our letter writer says.

But on some cardinal challenges like planetary warming, no-one is expecting a breakthrough, she says, and the United States envoy extraordinary to the europium have got warned Europeans not to have any semblances that the United States place will change "magically" with a new president.

Challenges ahead

Ahead of the trip, Slovenian Foreign Curate Dimitrij Rupel made mention to the possible tensions, telling reporters: "As in all relationships, the europium and United States sometimes have got different views."

Please bend on JavaScript. Media necessitates JavaScript to play.

Mr Shrub spoke of the work to be done in Afghanistan, ahead of his trip to Europe

Speaking before his departure, Mister Shrub said he would be talking about the demand to develop new engineerings to assist cut down the world's trust on dodo fuels.

The cost of oil hit a record high on Friday, coinciding with a dollar slump, plummeting share terms on Wall Street and United States unemployment agony its greatest rise in 20 years.

However, Mister Shrub expressed long-term confidence in the United States economy, saying it had continued to turn "in the human face of unprecedented challenges".

Harder line

The issue of Iran's atomic programme is also likely to be high on Mister Bush's agenda.

He will seek self-assurances from europium leadership that they will rigorously implement countenances approved by the United Nations in April, a United States functionary told Reuters news agency.

The BBC's Rodney Ian Smith states Mister Shrub will also seek to use pressure level on individual European concerns to take a harder line on Persian Banks and energy interests.

Barclays Bank, based in the UK, have already responded to United States pressure, and ended all traffic with Iran's Saderat Depository Financial Institution and Depository Financial Institution Melli.

Mr Bush's negotiation with leadership are also expected to concentrate on assistance attempts in Islamic State Of Afghanistan and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

First Lady Laura Shrub paid a visit to Islamic State Of Afghanistan at the weekend, ahead of a donors' conference in City Of Light this week.

The Record's 10 top political stories of the coming campaign season

June 08, 2008 6:00 AM

1. Barack Obama V. Toilet McCain

This is history. The nation's first achromatic to attain this degree of political prominence, a adult male who's personal narrative is compelling on many levels, versus an American hero, a former Socialist Republic Of Vietnam prisoner of war who passed up a opportunity for an admiral's star when he became a politician.

Not since Toilet Jack Jack Kennedy faced Richard Richard Richard Nixon have there been such as a clear pick between the new and the old (Nixon was a modern-day of Kennedy, of course, but he was closely identified with Dwight Eisenhower).

Obama will stress his young person and vision, and usage the Bush's 3rd term subject advertisement nauseam. McCain will stress his experience and maturity, and claim his challenger doesn't have got the heart for the job.

Hillary Rodham Clinton political chronology - San Francisco Chronicle

sfgate_get_fprefs();

(06-03) 21:48 PDT --
Hillary Rodham Bill Clinton political chronology

Oct. 26, 1947: Max Born in Windy City to Dorothy and Hugh Rodham.

1965: Enrolls in Wellesley College. Graduates in 1969 with a grade in political science.

1969: Attends Yale University Law School, where she rans into Bill Clinton. Graduates in 1973.

1974: Moves to Bill Clinton's place state of Land Of Opportunity as he prosecutes his political career.

Oct. 10, 1975: The Clintons marry.

1979: Bill Bill Clinton elected governor of Arkansas. He functions a two-year term, failing to win re-election. Over adjacent twelve years, Edmund Hillary Bill Clinton patterns law and sit downs on numerous boards, both corporate and nonprofit.

1982: Bill Bill Clinton recovers governorship.

1992: Bill Bill Clinton elected president.

1994: Edmund Hillary Bill Clinton takes national undertaking military unit to reform wellness care, an attempt that ultimately fails.

August 1994: Cognizance Ringo Starr is appointed particular advocate to look into the Clintons' traffic in the Whitewater existent estate development undertaking in Arkansas.

1998: Whitewater probe takes to the uncovering of a sexual human relationship between Bill Bill Clinton and former White Person House interne Monica Lewinsky.

Sept. 9, 1998: Ringo Starr presents to United States Congress a study of what he called "substantial and believable information" that Bill Bill Clinton had committed impeachable offenses.

Feb. 13, 1999: Bill Bill Clinton acquitted by Senate in his trial on two articles of impeachment - bearing false witness and obstructor of justice.

2000: Edmund Hillary Bill Clinton runs successfully for the U.S. Senate place in New House Of York held by retiring Daniel Saint Patrick Moynihan.

Oct. 11, 2002: Bill Clinton ballots to authorise President Shrub to utilize military unit against Iraq.

2006: Re-elected to the Senate, earning 67 percentage of the vote.

Jan. 20, 2007: Announces presidential candidacy.

Jan. 8, 2008: Wins the New Hampshire primary, a surprise triumph amid polls that showed her trailing Sen. Barack Obama after his triumph in the Ioway caucuses years earlier.

Feb. 5, 2008: Wins 9 of 22 states in Superintendent Tuesday balloting, including California.

March 4, 2008: Wins Lone-Star State and Buckeye State primaries, ending a twine of defeats.

April 22, 2008: Wins Keystone State primary, giving her somes principle for continuing her candidacy.

May 6, 2008: Loses in North Carolina and narrowly wins Indiana.

May 31, 2008: Democratic National Committee ballots to place the deputations from Wolverine State and Sunshine State - states that had been punished for violating political party regulations - but with lone one-half a ballot for each delegate, a blow to Clinton's hopes of shutting the spread with Obama.

June 3, 2008: Sen. Barack Obama of Prairie State put claim to the Democratic presidential nomination. In a speech, Bill Clinton praises Obama without formally conceding her defeat.

Sources: New House Of York Times, Associated Press

Nigeria: Atiku - S/Court Set to Review Appeal Court's Verdict On Iwu - AllAfrica.com

Ise-Oluwa IgeLagos

BARELY three and a one-half calendar months after the Court of Entreaty sitting as Presidential Election Request Court held that the contiguous past times Frailty President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, drop in mistake for suing the President of INEC, Prof Maurice Iwu, in person, over the behavior of the April 21, 2007 presidential poll, the Supreme Court yesterday re-opened the issue at the case of both President Umaru Yar'Adua and Atiku Abubakar.

But the vertex tribunal yesterday said it would not be able to do a rich and informed dictum on the issue until when political parties in difference have got entered all their written statements on the matter.

The tribunal consequently directed political parties to register their written computer addresses on the issue. Justice Niki Tobi presided over the Supreme Court panel that sat on the legal issue yesterday. He gave September 22, this twelvemonth as tax return day of the month on the legal issue for mention.

Yar'adua together with INEC, had at the pre-hearing phase of the request filed by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to invalidate the April.21, 2007 presidential opinion poll held countrywide asked the Court of Entreaty to disregard Atiku's petition.

Both Yar'Adua and INEC had maintained that Atiku's request was not competent in law and ought to be struck out because the alleviations allegedly claimed therein were contradictory, inconsistent, mutually sole and mutually divergent..

They also asked the tribunal to hit out Prof Iwu's name from the Atiku's request on the land that Iwu is not a juristic person.

But the Court of Entreaty sitting as Presidential Election request Court refused the twin invitation by both Yar'Adua and INEC, saying Iwu having entered a conditional visual aspect in the lawsuit and having joined issues with Atiku who sued him could not have got his name sruck out at the clip because he cried out too late.

The five-member tribunal headed by Justice Ogebe also held "the issue of joinder of Prof Iwu and the claim by Yar'Adua that Atiku have made a contradictory, inconsistent and mutually differing claims in word form of alleviations cannot be entertained without touching on the virtue of the substantial lawsuit before this court.

"I therefore throw that this tribunal have full legal power to entertain this request to enable political parties ventillate their grievances. I disregard both applications," .

The application lost by both Yar'Adua and INEC was painful to them as Yar'Adua came on entreaty to Supreme Court to change by reversal the verdict.

But while the interlocutory entreaty was pending at the Supreme Court, the panel of the Court of Entreaty which sat as presidential election request tribunal and headed by Justice Jesse James Ogenyi Ogebe determined the two issues raised in the interlocutory appeal.

First, the Court of Appeal, in its judgement on the Atiku's request held that Atiku's alleviations were contradictory, inconsistent and mutually divergent.

The tribunal said that ordinarily, based on its determinations that Atiku's alleviations were contradictory, it said it ought not to see the request on its virtuousness but that out of abundanti cautelia, it would.

The tribunal also struck out the name of Prof Maurice Iwu from the request maintained by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to dispute the electoral triumph of President Umaru Genus Musa Yar'Adua.

The appellant tribunal had held that by virtue of the commissariat of the Electoral Act 2006, it said Iwu was not a juristic individual that could be sued as a political party in the case.

The tribunal had said that what Atiku could make at best was to litigate him in his functionary capacity and not in his private capacity.

The tribunal had also struck out all paragraphs in Atiku's request alleging one thing or the other against Iwu.

Even though the Court of Entreaty had decided the twin legal issues, both political parties in the interlocutory entreaty would not retreat from it.

They both said that the dictum of the vertex court would enrich the nation's law and would steer future election suppliants on whether or not to fall in main electoral military officers in their request while ambitious the consequences of the election.

Relevant Links

According to Head Emeka Ngige (SAN) who led a squad of lawyers that represented Atiku Abubakar in the lawsuit yesterday, he said the vertex tribunal would no doubt remark on the mental attitude of the tribunal of entreaty pronouncing on issues already submitted to a higher court.

But Yusuf Muhammad Ali (SAN) said whatever the dictum of the vertex tribunal would not change anything except that it would enrich the nation's jurisprudence.

He defended the tribunal of appeal's action.He said it would have got been a different ball game if the supreme tribunal had earlier made a dictum on the twin legal issue before the tribunal of entreaty made a reverse findings of fact on them.

B.C. Supreme Court says Canadian government can't shut down safe drug site

: A British Columbia River Supreme Court justice ruled Tuesday that the Canadian authorities cannot stopping point the lone legal safe-injection drug land site in North United States for at least another year.

The Insite airplane pilot undertaking in Vancouver's seedy Business District Eastside vicinity have operated for nearly five old age as a topographic point where people can shoot illegal drugs with clean acerate leaves under a nurse's supervision.

It received a impermanent freedom under Canada's drug laws which have been extended twice, but that runs out June 30.

Justice Ian Pittfield said society cannot excuse dependence but cannot deny nuts wellness attention services that volition ameliorate the personal effects of their addiction.

Pitfield have given Ottawa until June 30, 2009 to repair the law and convey it in line with the constitutional rule of cardinal justice. Today in Americas

A grouping of nuts and the Portland Hotel Society, which runs the site, asked the tribunal to intervene.

Federal Health Curate Tony Clement said last calendar month that no determination have been made on whether Insite will be allowed to stay unfastened indefinitely.

Monique Gongracic-Speier, A lawyer for the Portland Hotel Society, testified last calendar month that Insite have had about 220,000 visitors, 300 overdoses and no deaths.

Similar installations run in respective European states and in Australia.

Obama pledges Cuba policy change - BBC News

Democrat Barack Obama have said he will seek direct diplomatic negotiations with the Communist authorities in Republic Of Cuba if he is elected United States president.

The frontrunner for his party's nomination for the presidential term was speaking to Cuban expatriates in Florida.

Mr Obama said he would keep the Cuban trade embargo but lift limitations on traveling and sending money to Cuba.

He also said his Republican challenger Toilet McCain's hardline stance on Republic Of Cuba would not progress freedom on the island.

Mr McCain - who have already won the Republican nomination for the White Person House - earlier criticised Mister Obama of being too soft on Cuba.

'Clear agenda'

Mr Obama told more than than 800 Cuban expatriates in Miami that President Saint George Tungsten Bush's policies towards Capital Of Cuba had been disastrous.

"It is clip to prosecute direct diplomacy, with friend and enemy alike, without preconditions. There will be careful preparation. We will put a clear agenda," the Prairie State senator said.

"I would be willing to take that diplomatic negotiations at a clip and topographic point of my choosing, but only when we have got an chance to progress the involvements of the United States," added Mister Obama, who once said he would ran into Cuban President Raul Fidel Castro without preconditions.

In Miami, Mister Obama also said he would turn over the limitations which Mister Shrub imposed on the right of Cuban Americans to go to Republic Of Cuba as well as their right to direct money to their relations living on the island.

But Mister Obama said he would keep the decades-old us trade embargo on Cuba. Changing that policy could severely restrict his opportunities of winning over Cuban votes, the BBC's Emilio San Pedro says.

Mr Obama made his remarks during his first drawn-out trip through Sunshine State - a swing-state that could be important to triumph in November's presidential elections.