CAIRO  ( 2008-03-27 18:29:12 ) : 

US President George W. Bush telephoned Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday to express 'deep regret' over the killing of an Egyptian by a US-navy chartered vessel near the Suez Canal.
Bush told Mubarak he hoped that the tragic incident would not affect the friendly relations between the two countries and that he had asked the Pentagon to probe Monday's shooting, Egypt's official Mena news agency reported.
Mohammed Moqtar Afifi died and two Egyptians were wounded when the Global Patriot fired warning shots at a small boat trying to sell merchandise in the Gulf of Suez as the US ship waited to cross the canal to the Mediterranean.
US officials initially said there were no casualties from the incident, insisting that all warning shots were accounted for as having hit the water.
On Wednesday, they admitted that one man had been killed and agreed to pay compensation.
The commander of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, the US State Department and the US ambassador to Cairo have expressed regret over the incident.

WINDSOR  ( 2008-03-26 19:58:51 ) : 

A beaming French President Nicolas Sarkozy, flanked by his model wife Carla Bruni, was greeted with pomp by Queen Elizabeth on Wednesday for the first French state visit in more than a decade.
Thousands of people gathered on the streets of Windsor to welcome France's glamorous first couple, whose visit comes weeks after they married following a high-profile, whirlwind romance.
Many well-wishers said they had come to see not only the Queen but also Bruni, a former fashion model born in Italy who has also enjoyed a successful career as a singer and songwriter. Dressed in a demure grey coat and wearing a small, stylish hat, Bruni smiled politely and curtsied as she shook hands with the Queen and then chatted animatedly with the monarch's 86-year-old husband, Prince Philip.
As a band played and flags were waved, the French couple and the Queen and Prince Philip were taken into the grounds of Windsor Castle in horse-drawn carriages, where they inspected a parade of marching royal guardsmen.
The couple will spend the night at the castle, just outside of London.
The visit comes at a crucial time for Sarkozy, who is battling accusations at home that he is a "bling bling" president more concerned with a flashy lifestyle than getting a grip on the French economy and other weighty issues.
Before his arrival, 53-year-old Sarkozy told British media he hoped the visit would emphasise what the two countries have in common while also tightening business and other ties.
The Queen, who speaks fluent French, and Sarkozy, who speaks little English, chatted politely as they walked in the courtyard of Windsor Castle, while multi-lingual Bruni and Prince Philip were more animated in their discussions.

ISLAMABAD  ( 2008-03-25 19:44:23 ) : 

The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has congratulated Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani on assuming the charge of Prime Minister of Pakistan.
In a statement on Tuesday, the British Prime Minister also assured his government full support to Yousaf Raza Gilani.
Gordon Brown expressed the hope that both Britain and Pakistan would work on a jointly.
He said there are problems ahead of new government and the British Government will work in support of democracy in Pakistan.
He said restoration of democracy in Pakistan was the result of February 18th election.

VIENNA: Russia and China on Tuesday scuttled a Western attempt to introduce a resolution on Iran's nuclear defiance at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, diplomats said.

The decision appeared to be the result of lingering unhappiness by the two world powers about not being informed earlier of plans for such a resolution.

It came a day after the U.N. Security Council imposed another round of sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. Iran defiantly vowed to continue its nuclear program, which it insists is aimed only at generating power.

Moscow on Monday had threatened not to back the new U.N. sanctions against Iran unless the West gave up its IAEA resolution plans.

Then on Tuesday it signaled that it was ready to back such a document if it was given substantial input in drafting it before deciding later in the day that it was against it after all, said the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was confidential.

Asked why Russia and China were opposed, one of diplomats said Moscow decided to withdraw its support "on principle" and Beijing, which often takes a cue from Russia on the Iran nuclear dispute, followed suit.

A senior Western diplomat said the decision to scrap plans for a resolution was jointly taken by the six powers taking the lead on engaging Iran on its nuclear program — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

He said the six felt that new U.N. Security Council sanctions passed Monday to punish Iran had sent enough of a message.