Obama urges end to U.S.-Russia strains

NOVO OGARYOVO, Russia (Reuters) - Visiting U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday praised Russia's most powerful politician, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as the two leaders met for the first time, saying there was an excellent opportunity to improve U.S.-Russia relations.

Visibly awkward, the two men exchanged pleasantries at the start of a meeting at Putin's forest residence outside Moscow overshadowed by Obama's criticism of Putin last week in a pre-trip interview as a man with one foot stuck in the past.

"I am aware of not only the extraordinary work that you've done on behalf of the Russian people in your previous role as prime minis-, uh, as president, but in your current role as prime minister," Obama said.

Putin, looking down and mostly avoiding eye contact with Obama, said there had been periods of greyish mood and confrontation in U.S.-Russia relations but added:

"We link hopes for development of our relationship with your name."

Obama's meeting with Putin, a former KGB spy who served as president from 2000-2008 before handing over the top Kremlin job to his hand-picked successor Dmitry Medvedev, follows talks on Monday with Medvedev.

Read more...

Jackson fans flock to L.A. for memorial

They poured in to Los Angeles from far-flung places, an army of Michael Jackson fans hoping to collectively mourn their idol in a massive ceremony at the Staples Center downtown Tuesday. Police put up concrete barriers around the center, allowing only fans with tickets to the star-studded event to enter. full story

Read more...

1.6 million register for 8,750 Jackson memorial tickets

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Some 1.6 million fans registered for a chance at fewer than 9,000 tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service next week, organizers said.

Registration ended at 6 p.m. (9 p.m. ET) Saturday.

The overwhelming response prompted organizers to open the lottery to non-U.S. residents as well, a Jackson family spokesman said.

Those who registered are hoping to be among the 8,750 people randomly selected by computer to receive a pair of tickets to attend the service at the Staples Center on Tuesday.

Winners are to get an e-mail Sunday telling them to contact Ticketmaster for information on how to claim their tickets, said Tim Leiweke, president of AEG Live, which is putting on the event.

Tickets will be handed out Monday at locations away from the Staples Center, he said. Ticketholders will also have wristbands to match their tickets, a precaution against people "trying to take advantage" of the system, he said.

Jackson's family has still not announced the singer's burial arrangements, saying only that it will hold a private ceremony ahead of the massive public memorial service Tuesday.

Journalists staked out several possible burial locations. A long line of television satellite trucks remained parked outside the Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn Cemetery in case it was chosen by the family, but there has been no word from cemetery officials.

Police set up metal barricades around the front lawn, creating spaces for media and fans. Two state trooper cruisers idled at the Hall of Liberty inside the grounds, which contains a 1,200-seat auditorium.

Read more...

North Korea test-fires seven missiles

SEOUL, July 4 - North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles on Saturday, South Korea’s defence ministry said, in an act of defiance towards the United States that further stoked regional tensions already high due to its nuclear test in May.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the missiles test-fired were ”Scud-type”, marking an escalation of recent sabre-rattling by the reclusive North, which has fired several non-ballistic, short-range missile since the May 25 nuclear test.

North Korea is barred by United Nations resolutions from firing ballistic missile such as the Scud. A South Korean Defence Ministry official said more launches could come soon.

It was the biggest barrage of ballistic missiles the North has fired since it launched seven missiles in 2006 around the US July 4 Independence Day holiday, including its longest-range Taepodong-2.

The launches came as the United States has cracked down on firms suspected of helping the North in its trade in arms and missiles, which were subject to UN sanctions imposed after the nuclear test and are a vital source of foreign currency for the cash-short state.

Read more...

First swine flu death in U.S. confirmed

A 22-month-old Mexican child flown to Texas for treatment has become the first fatality from swine flu in the United States. The child is the first person to die of swine flu outside Mexico where it is blamed for more than 159 deaths and roughly 2,500 illnesses. full story

Read more...

Apple issues apology for allowing Baby Shaker application onto App Store

Apple issued a statement Thursday apologizing for allowing the Baby Shaker application onto the App Store.

Baby Shaker was "deeply offensive and should not have been approved for distribution," Apple statement says.

Just hours before the App Store offers up its 1 billionth download, Apple was forced to acknowledge that perhaps the most notorious iPhone application ever constructed was "deeply offensive" and a "mistake."

Baby Shaker appeared on the App Store Monday, and was pulled Wednesday after a media frenzy grew following the discovery of the application by the founder of a shaken baby syndrome foundation.

Apple's statement follows in its entirety:

"This application was deeply offensive and should not have been approved for distribution on the App Store. When we learned of this mistake, the app was removed immediately. We sincerely apologize for this mistake and thank our customers for bringing this to our attention."

The company refused to comment on the process that led to the approval of Baby Shaker as an iPhone application. The day it revealed the software development kit for the iPhone last year, Apple said it planned to review every single iPhone application submitted for inclusion on the App Store, and reject applications that violated certain guidelines for porn, spam, or other offensive content.

Read more...

Suicide bombers killed 60

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Suicide bombers killed 60 people near a holy Shiite shrine in Baghdad on Friday and a car bomber left seven people dead in Diyala, according to security and medical officials.

Along with the 60 dead, many of whom were Iranian pilgrims, at least 125 others were wounded when two female suicide bombers struck on roads leading to the Imam Musa al-Kadhim shrine, one of the holiest in Shiite Islam, the Interior Ministry said.

The Iranians who were killed and wounded were on a pilgrimage to holy sites in Iraq, an Interior Ministry official said.

The bombers hit the Kadhimiya neighborhood of Baghdad, where the shrine is located, on the Muslim day of prayer. Iraqi State TV reported that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has ordered an investigation.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, told CNN's "American Morning" on Friday he believes Iraqis won't be "intimidated by the attack" and "they will not let this stand in their way of moving forward." Watch the scene at the hospital as victims of the shrine attacks arrive »

Read more...

Iraq Officials Say Suspected Al-Qaeda-Linked Chief Nabbed

BAGHDAD — Iraqi security officials said they captured one of the most wanted leaders of the Al Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgency Thursday, an arrest that could deliver a significant blow to an intensified campaign of attacks. Two separate homicide bombings killed at least 54 people.

The officials identified the arrested man as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi who leads the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group of Sunni militant factions that is believed dominated by Al Qaeda in Iraq. However in the past, Iraqi officials have reported al-Baghdadi's arrest or killing, only to later say they were wrong. The U.S. military has even said al-Baghdadi could be a fictitious character used to give an Iraqi face to an organization dominated by foreign Al Qaeda fighters.

U.S. officials could not immediately confirm the arrest.

Read more...

Somali PM: Anti-pirate patrols not working

Somalia's prime minister tells CNN the international naval patrols in the Gulf of Aden are not solving the problem of piracy in the region. Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke called for the U.N. arms embargo on his country to be lifted so the government can fight back against pirates and local militant Islamist groups. full story

Read more...

IMF sees 1.3% drop in global output

The global economy will contract sharply this year and recover only sluggishly in 2010, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday as it called on governments to sustain or even increase fiscal stimulus next year.

The IMF said that world output would contract by 1.3 per cent this year and grow by just 1.9 per cent the year after in what it described as a “substantial downward revision” of its January forecasts, when it said the global economy would grow by 0.5 per cent this year and spring back to 3 per cent growth in 2010.

Read more...