Picture from Africa ..[ 1642 ]

Africa's best safaris

Duba, Botswana

Duba is a 65,000-acre concession in the far north of the Okavango Delta, with no access by road for most of the year. What is so unusual about Duba is that its lions hunt by day – most prides throughout the continent hunt at night – and so visitors to Duba can watch marvellous set pieces as the lions and the buffalo take each other on in epic battles.
Picture: GRAHAM BOYNTON

Russia recognises U.S. help on wildfires..[ 1641 ]

Russia thanks U.S. for help in smothering wildfires - Foreign Ministry

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Extinguishing wildfires in Russia

19:51 14/08/2010

© Photo Mikhail Mironov

 MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti)

Russia is grateful to the United States over the assistance in tackling the wildfires raging across the country, Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

On Friday U.S. President Barack Obama made a phone call to his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to express his condolences about the disastrous environmental situation in Central Russia and the readiness to supply firefighting equipment.

"Obama reiterated the U.S. readiness to supply the necessary firefighting equipment and render expert assistance," kremlin.ru official website said.

Later that day the United States sent to Russia two planes with state-of-the-art nonflammable uniform for firefighters, special shoes, helmets and glasses onboard. Additional two aircraft with firefighting equipment are expected to arrive.

The Russian area on fire has decreased by 8,000 hectares and is now 56,200 hectares.

A scorching heat wave has gripped much of European Russia since mid-June, which coupled with the worst drought since the 1970s has made the countryside particularly susceptible to wildfires.

Thousands of emergency workers and military personnel have been working round the clock for almost three weeks to fight fires in 22 Russian regions. The immediate economic cost of the fires has been estimated at $15 billion.

The Palestinians direct talks ..[ 1640 [

Palestinians to decide on direct talks in two days, PA official says

Abbas had indicated he could go to direct talks, provided they were based on a March 19 statement by the Quartet, which demands the halt of Israeli settlement construction.

By Jack Khoury /  Haaretz Service -14-8-2010

Turkey did not sign a pact with Iran ensuring the continued transferal of weapons to Hezbollah, the Turkish daily Hürriyet quoted an official in the country's foreign ministry late Friday.

	Young Hezbollah supporters holding mock ups of Katyusha rockets in front of a portrait of group leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.
	Photo by: AP

The denial comes in the wake of a report by Italian daily Corriere della Sera earlier this week, which claimed that senior Iranian and Turkey security officials have recently met to sign a deal which would allegedly see Turkey aiding Iran in transferring its arms shipments to Hezbollah. 

“These claims are baseless and should not be taken seriously,” the senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official said. 

Earlier this month, Turkish authorities expressed their displeasure at comments made by Defense Minister Ehud Barak concerning Ankara's new head of intelligence and his alleged ties with Iran.

Barak made the comments at a closed-door briefing to party activists on July 25, reflecting the climate of mistrust between Israel and its once close ally.

The defense minister described Hakan Fidan, who was appointed head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) in May, as a "friend of Iran." 

In part of his speech broadcast by Israeli Army Radio, Barak expressed concern that secrets shared with Turkey "could become open to Iran over the next several months".

In response, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Israeli envoy Gaby Levy to protest over Barak's remarks. 

"We expressed our discomfort and dissatisfaction with Barak's statement," a Turkish foreign ministry official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

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The Londonderry march..[ 1639 ]

Plea for calm at Londonderry march

The London Evening Standrad., 14.08.10

There were appeals for calm as a major loyal order parade took place in Northern Ireland.

The first leg of the Apprentice Boys parade in Londonderry was held without major incident after a protest by dissident republicans was cancelled.

Protesters staged a silent demonstration at an earlier march on the Ardoyne Road

But in Lurgan, Co Armagh, police are investigating an explosion in which two 12-year-olds and a two-year-old were said to have suffered minor injuries from flying debris.

There was an explosion in a wheelie bin and police are now investigating reports of a second suspicious object.

Earlier on Saturday nationalists staged a silent protest at a parade linked to the Derry march in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, where there were riots after an Orange Order parade last month. But it too passed off without incident.

The relative calm raised hopes that violence can be avoided when the final leg of the main Derry parade takes place later.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams welcomed the fact that events had remained peaceful in north Belfast.

He added: "I hope that the peaceful scenes this morning continue for the rest of the day in Derry and I would appeal to people to take their example from the behaviour of the community in north Belfast this morning."

There were scuffles between police and nationalists at Ferryquay Street in Derry after a small crowd had exchanged taunts with supporters of the Apprentice Boys parade. Security barriers lined the Diamond area of the city centre, shielding marchers.

On either side of the street there were pockets of parade supporters and nationalists. The parade, involving an estimated 15,000 people and a large number of bands, is due to return through Derry later.

Japan, New Haneda international terminal..[ 1638 ]

New Haneda international terminal already slated for expansion, boost in flights

 New haneda International Terminal

(Mainichi Japan) August 14, 2010

The government has revealed plans to add onto the new international terminal building at Haneda Airport, with a view to expanding the airport's international services in fiscal 2013.

The recently completed terminal, set to open to traffic in October this year, is expected to have an annual capacity of 60,000 flights -- creating a significant international gateway next to the heart of Tokyo. However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is looking to expand that to more than 90,000 in fiscal 2013 with the addition, after Transport Minister Seiji Maehara commented the original capacity was not sufficient to transform Haneda Airport into an Asian hub.

To accommodate the expansion, the Transport Ministry will cooperate with Haneda terminal operator Tokyo International Air Terminal Corp. to use the 130,000-square-meter nighttime aircraft parking apron and a 54,000-square-meter open lot next to the new building.
Specifically, the plan will see the expansion of the international terminal toward the north and the building of an L-shaped annex on the east. Furthermore, the capacity of the parking apron for international flights will be 1.5 times greater than at present.

The 60,000 annual flights planned for the new terminal when it opens on Oct. 21 this year will be split into 30,000 day flights and 30,000 night flights. Once the expansion is finished, plans call for additions to the daytime portion, boosting annual flights to the 90,000 target -- or a maximum eight take-offs and landings per hour.

However, the new terminal in its present configuration can handle only six passenger flights per hour, and airlines have expressed worries that there will be confusion if the airport does not take appropriate measures to deal with the increased passenger numbers.

Click here for the original Japanese story