NATO Ousts Israel from Upcoming Chicago Summit Global Agenda

There are demands from us from us Global Agendafor the removal of our veto, but this is out of the question, the official said. Those countries who wish to see normalization in ties between Turkey and Israel should advise Israel to apologize and compensate the killing of Turks in international waters.

NATO has a system of partnerships wNATO Ousts Israel from Upcoming Chicago Summit Global Agendaith dozens of nations across the world such as the Mediterranean Dialogue, a NATO outreach program with seven nations, including Israel.

While the alliance has repeatedly said it is prepared to enhance practical cooperation with all partner nations in the region, including Israel, a number of members states are reluctant to do, maintaining that further ties with the Jewish state could hurt the alliance&39;s relations with other Muslim countries, including Afghanistan, which remains NATO&39;s top operational priority sto gold, theAPreported.

Relations between the two countries became increasingly hostile following the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident in 2010, when Israeli commandos bordered the vessel in an attempt to prevent IHH terror activists from breaching Israel’s borders and endangering the country’s national security. The incident resulted in the death of nine Turks, including one American citizen after the commandos acted in self-defense when the terrorists knifed, shot and kidnapped several Israeli soldiers.

Israel will not be invited to the upcoming NATO summit that is scheduled to take place May 20-21 in Chicago, the alliance&39;s top official said Friday.

According to reports, however, Turkey has blocked Israel&39;s participation in the summit and has maintained that NATO–Israel relations cannot be restored until Turkey-Israel relations are normalized.

Representatives of about 60 nations and international organizations will attend the Chicago conference. Partner nations include include Sweden, Switzerland, Qatar, Georgia, Australia and New Zealand.

The official denied that Turkey had blocked Israel&39;s participation and claimed that NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the reason is because Israel does not participate in NATO&39;s military missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo, theAssociated Pressreported.

Israel will not be invited to the upcoming NATO summit that is scheduled to take place May 20-21 in Chicago, said alliances top official.

“Israel has not been invited to attend the summit because Israel is neither a participant in ISAF nor in KFOR … no one has blocked an invitation because it&39;s not been an issue,” he said. ISAF and KFOR are acronyms for coalition forces in Afghanistan and Kosovo.

Earlier this year, Turkey foiled a plan to include an Israeli warship in a NATO-run flotilla patrolling the Mediterranean.In the past, Israeli warships and air force jets have joined in some NATO exercises, but Israel&39;s participation in the naval operation would have been the first time its armed forces would have taken part in one of the alliance&39;s military operations.

“At the Lisbon summit (in 2010), we made clear that we would enhance dialogue and cooperation with partner nations … because in today&39;s world security challenges know no borders, and no country or alliance can deal with most of them on their own,” Rasmussen told journalists.

There will be no Israeli presence at the NATO meeting unless they issue a formal apology and pay compensation for the Turkish citizens their commandos killed in international waters, a senior Turkish official told theDaily News.

Global Agenda Road Traffic 'Single Biggest Source of Fatalit

Top image:LiteChoices/Shutterstock.com

When you think of how to achieve public-health progress in the developing world, you might think of engineering clean water sources and sanitation to prevent water-borne diseases. You might think of implementing measures to stop the spread of malaria, like mosquito nets. You might think of distributing vaccines, or designing education programs about HIV/AIDS.

Developing countries may have r fewer cars, but those cars are r more likely to kill or maim. With less than 10 per cent of the world’s motorised vehicles, they account for 42 per cent of deaths…. India alone accounts for 12 per cent of total talities. But global aggregates such as these can obscure the impact in countries with smaller populations and fewer vehicles. Measured in terms of death rates for every 100,000 people, road traffic injury deaths in Tanzania or Ethiopia are twice as high as in India — and seven times higher than in the United Kingdom.

42 percent of Americans could be obese by 2030. Smart development can help fight this.READ THE POST.

The Atlantic Cities explores the most innovative ideas and pressing issues cing today’s global cities and neighborhoods. By bringing together news, analysis, data, and trends, the site is an engaging destination for an increasingly urbanized world.

If things keep going as they are, according to the report, the numbers of deaths will continue to rise exponentially, reaching perhaps 2 million per year by 2022. If that happens, it will be no accident.

There is, however, a fundamental inertia as well. Traffic talities, Watkins writes, don’t yet figure into the agenda of theRio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, convening next month in Rio de Janeiro. According to him, that is an act of omission that, in a very literal sense, puts millions of lives at risk.

What you probably wouldn’t think of is figuring out how to keep people safe from traffic.And yet it’s road traffic – itself a marker of progress and prosperity in emerging economies – that in 2004 killed more children around the world between the ages of 5 and 14 than malaria, HIV/AIDS, or diarrhea (that’s the most recent year for which we have full data). According to Safe and Sustainable Roads: An Agenda for Rio+20, a new report from theCampaign for Global Road Safety, road traffic is the leading cause of death globally for young people between the ages of 10 and 24.

It’s not just children who are being killed, of course. Some 1.3 million people die every year on roads around the world. That amounts to 3,500 people every day. Millions more – 50 million more annually – are injureGlobal Agenda Road Traffic ‘Single Biggest Source of Fatalitd. And those numbers are probably underreported.

Fatality rates among children are typically higher than for the general population. In Bangladesh and Thailand, road traffic talities account for 38 per cent and 40 per cent respectively of all child deaths among children aged 10-14 – the single largest cause of death for the age group. Taking developing countries as a group, children aged 5-9 in poor countries are four times more likely to die as a result of road traffic injuries than their counterparts in rich countries.

The sheer scale of the road traffic injury epidemic is not widely recognised. There is a widespread tendency to see that epidemic in terms of isolated and unpredictable events — as ‘accidents’ that bell unlucky individuals. In ct, there is nothing unpredictable about road traffic injuries. And the ‘road accident’ vocabulary deflects attention from the systemic nature of the risks that claim so many, many lives.

Soaring rates of air pollution also kill people – another 1.3 million annually, according to the report. And 70 to 90 percent of the lethal pollutants that cause those deaths come from vehicle traffic.

The report, written by Kevin Watkins, a non-resident senior research fellow at the Brookings Institute, is written in sober, measured language. But you can sense, too, the frustration at how invisible this problem remains, even as it stares us in the ce:

As Watkins points out, the traffic tality epidemic affects developing countries disproportionately:

Upwards of US $500bn annually is spent each year on road infrastructure. Multilateral development banks and bilateral donors have made the upgrading of road infrastructure a key element in their financial portfolios. Yet the combined level of donor aid for road safety is best described as a pittance. It is estimated at between US$10-25m a year.

Sarah Goodyear has written about cities for a variety of publications, includingGristandStreetsblog. She lives in Brooklyn.All posts

Denver will build 122 miles of new commuter rail and light rail and 18 miles of bus rapid transit, part of an effort to optimize their system.READ THE POST.

And yet there is no philanthropist stepping in with a huge check to fund prevention of traffic deaths, the wayBill Gates has with malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis.

There is hope,lotro gold. Watkins finds, in the United Nations’ designation in 2011 of a Decade of Action for Road Safety. There is also hope in the relative simplicity of the solutions, including the development of national road safety management institutions; the creation of safer roads with an emphasis on pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists; and the production of safer vehicles.

Instead, world financial institutions have pumped billions of dollars into road infrastructure, while dedicating only a tiny fraction of that to road safety:

Unlike some of the issues that will be discussed at the ‘Rio+20’ summit, there are few unknowns in road safety. Simple, affordable and available interventions can save lives. Urban planners and road engineers need to ensure that cars and pe- destrians are either kept at a safe distance from each other or vehicle speeds are kept very low. Rules on crash helmets, seat belts, speeding and drink-driving have to be enforced. The safety features of vehicles need strengthening. None of this is rocket science. Yet progress has been painfully slow.

The economic costs of all these traffic-related talities, in terms of lost income, lost educational opportunities, and health care expenditures, are massive.

Afghanistan tops alliance summit agenda Global Agenda

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The summit is meant to highlight the commitment of allies to field the defence capabilities that Nato needs for the 21st century, the White House said.

Washington – Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and US President Barack Obama, host of the alliances summit this month, agreed that the conflict in Afghanistan would be one of the topics addressed at the meeting.

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Nato is now a hub for a global network of security partners, which have served alongside Nato forces in Afghanistan, Libya and Kosovo, the White House said.

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Obama and Rasmussen said the annual summit would plan for the final stages of the security transition in Afghanistan, which is seeing Nato forces shift from a combat to a support role as Afghan forces take over security responsibilities, the White House said.

US President Barack Obamas Afghanistan tops alliance summit agenda Global Agendaendorsement of gay marriage has caught Republicans off guard, but they must now decide whether to make gay rights a crucial campaign issue.

The United States is targeting a 2014 withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, depending on conditions on the ground where the Kabul-based, Western-backed government under President Hamid Karzai is battling Taliban insurgents.

This username must be unique, cannot be edited and will be used in the URL to your profile page across the entire 24.com network.

The two leaders established during Wednesdays Oval Office meeting that defence capabilities and Nato partnerships with countries outside the alliance would also rank as the top issues for the 20-21 May summit in Chicago.

Obama and Rasmussen discussed the importance of Natos partnerships with non-Nato countries, with 13 partner nations invited to Chicago to discuss deepening their relationships with the alliance.

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CNNs Worlds Untold Stories is about the abduction and trafficking of babies in Spain, where thr RCC was up to its neck involved in !!!For ual abuse of children by RC priests in Europe, google; RC ual abuseJust in Holland, there are TENS OF THOUSANDS of cases.NONE of these CRIMINAL THUGS, has ever been charged !!!

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Obama and Rasmussen expected that allies would be in a position to announce progress on a number of key capabilities initiatives, including on missile defence, it said.

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location. If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a locatiGlobal Agendaon for each component and click Submit in order for the changes to take affect.

Global Agenda Fridays global agenda: Appealing to French solidar

Meanwhile, apiecein the journalForeign Afirswarns that womens rights will be the loser if the United States ilsGlobal Agenda to secure commitments from its Afghan partners after 2014.

Yemen: The United States launched new airstrikes against in Yemen that killed as many as seven militants, the second American missile attack in the country since the CIA and other spy agencies disrupted an al Qaeda airline bomb plot,The Washington PoGlobal Agenda Fridays global agenda: Appealing to French solidarstreports.

South China Sea: China escalated its quarrel with the Philippines over an island in the South China Sea on Thursday,The New York Timesreports.

Islam: A U.S. military course that was canceled last month recommended total war against Islam and the destruction of Mecca,Wiredreports.

Syria: Agreement on international action in the war-torn country appears more remote than ever after a massive suicide bombing destroyed Syrias intelligence agency building and killed more than 50 people,The Washington Postreports.

Hollande, however, will be under tremendous pressure back home to stick to his plan, especially since other promises for increased government spending could already be in jeopardy. The European Commission on Friday estimated a 1.3 percent growth rate for France in 2013 and a deficit-to-P ratio of 4.2 percent, r above the 3 percent targeted by Hollande.

The contents of this site are © 2012 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications Habbo credits, Inc.

Iran: Europe wants to renegotiate a provision of the oil embargo, set to start July 1, that bans Europe-based insurers from covering any ships that carry Iranian oil anywhere in the world,The New York Timesreports.

Your morning global afirs speed-read

The State Departments top official for European afirs is in Paris today for meetings with French President-elect Francois Hollandes transition team ahead of the NATO summit next weekend. Philip Gordonappealedto Hollandes sense of solidarity during a Senate hearing Thursday morning in urging him not to pull out French troops from Afghanistan this year two years ahead of schedule as he promised to do during the campaign.

Gordon will also visit Brussels. Here is hisschedule.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin is wrapping up a three-nation tour of West Africa today with meetings with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the ministers of finance and foreign afirs. Wolin previously visited Togo and Ivory Coast. Here are hisremarksabout the trip, delivered in Togo.

Ukraine: Ukraine canceled a summit for Central and Eastern European leaders planned for today after a string of heads of state refused to attend the event over the treatment in jail of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, LondonsTelegraphreports.

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defence.professionals Global Agenda

• Charting a clear path for completing the transition and reaffirming NATO’s commitment to Afghanistan’s long-term security;

Keeping NATO strong, both politically and militarily, is critical to ensure NATO is ready when it is needed, Townsend said. This has been true for the past 20 years, when the turbulence of the international system has demanded that NATO respond nearly continuously to crises throughout the globe.

On Afghanistan, Gordon said, the United States anticipates three results from the summit:

The summit will highlight NATO’s success is working with a growing number of partners around the world.

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In Chicago, he added, thdefence.professionals Global Agendae United States anticipates that NATO leaders will endorse a capabilities package that includes missile defense, the Alliance Ground Surveillance Program and Baltic air policing.

The alliance also serves as a hub and an integrator of a network of global security partners, Townsend said.

Today, he said, NATO forces are in Afghanistan and the Balkans Kal online Geons, are countering pirates in the waters off of Somalia, and recently concluded operations in Libya.

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• An agreement on an interim milestone in 2013 when the International Security Assistance Force’s mission will shift from combat to support for the Afghan national security forces;

The DDPR will identify the appropriate mix of nuclear conventional and missile defense capabilities that NATO needs to meet 21st century security challenges, Gordon said, and to reaffirm its commitment to consensus decisions of alliance postureGlobal Agenda issues.

—-

From a defense point of view, Townsend said, NATO heads of state and government come together at a summit every few years to discuss alliance business and to renew at the highest level the commitment allies have made to one another in the North Atlantic Treaty.

• Maintaining NATO’s core defense capabilities and building a force ready for future challenges; and

The May 20-21 summit will be the first NATO summit on American soil in 13 years and the first held outside Washington. It also will be the biggest NATO summit in history, with more than 60 countries and organizations represented.

This commitment to come to one another’s defense as expressed in Article 5 of the treaty is a solemn one that has only been invoked once, after the United States was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, he added.

The United States continues to strongly urge [European] allies to meet the 2 percent [of gross domestic product] benchmark for defense spending, and to contribute politically, financially and operationally to the strength of the alliance, Gordon said.

American Forces Press Service

Allies also are expected to endorse the Deterrence and Defense Posture Review.

• A roadmap for NATO’s post-2014 role in Afghanistan.

Regarding capabilities, the assistant secretary of state said, NATO’s ability to deploy an effective fighting force in the field makes the alliance unique, but its forces must remain able, effective, interoperable and modern, even in an era of fiscal austerity.

Effective partnerships allow the alliance to extend its reach, act with greater legitimacy, share burdens and benefit from the capabilities of others, Gordon added.

The deputy assistant secretary of defense said the United States has three summit objectives:

• Deepening the engagement of NATO’s partner nations and alliance operations and activities.

WASHINGTON Priority issues on the agenda at the 25th NATO summit in Chicago this month will include Afghanistan and NATO capabilities and partnerships, senior U.S. officials said here May 10.

Philip Gordon, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian afirs and James J. Townsend Jr., deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the upcoming meeting.

The Article 5 commitment is the core of the alliance, Townsend said. NATO serves as the organizing framework to ensure that we have allies willing and able to fight alongside us in conflict, and provides an integrated military structure that puts the military teeth behind alliance political decision to take action, he added.

• An agreement on the size, cost and sustainment of the Afghan forces beyond 2014; and

Our hosting of the summit in Chicago is a tangible symbol of the importance of NATO to the United States, Gordon said. It is also an opportunity to underscore to the American people the continued value of this alliance the security challenge that we ce today.