It is twenty-three hours thirty Universal Time and here is the news in Special English. ▼ Israel says it will immediately expel nearly seven hundred foreign activists detained during an operation to seize aid ships traveling to the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says those released include twenty-four activists Israel had threatened with trial. Israel has already sent home some of those on the aid ships. Most were Turkish citizens. On Monday, Israeli forces seized a group of aid ships in international waters. At least nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed, including four Turks. The ships were carrying supplies to the Gaza Strip to break Israel's three-year blockade of the Palestinian territory. The Obama administration is refusing to blame Israel or any other group for that deadly incident in the Mediterranean Sea. Israeli forces seized a group of ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip on Monday. An administration spokesman noted a United Nations Security Council statement on the incident. It condemned the acts that resulted in the loss of life. He also supported a call for an independent investigation.
Turkey has led international protests against the Israeli action. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that Israel should be punished. At least four Turks were killed in the raid.
United States officials have begun criminal and civil investigations into the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Attorney General Eric Holder says, “If laws were broken, officials will punish those responsible.” He promised a full investigation. Mr. Holder spoke after meeting with federal and New Orleans officials from the Gulf area. President Obama met in Washington with the leaders of a commission created to investigate the leak. He said, “The group will look at the causes of the leak.” He also said, “Changes will be made to laws and rules that govern the oil industry.” The United States has welcomed the killing of an al-Qaida in Pakistan. The Obama administration said the killing of al-Qaida's third highest leader, Mustafa al-Yazid, was probably killed by a missile from a pilotless airplane in North Waziristan last month. Members of his family were also killed in the attack. The terror group announced Mr. Yazid's death on the Internet Tuesday. The Pakistani army says it has successfully ended military operations against Taliban fighters in the northwest part of the country. The army announced Tuesday that its offensive in the Orakzai tribal area is finished. It said thousands of people who fled their homes can now return. More than two hundred thousand people reportedly left during the fighting. Pakistani officials have said at least six hundred militants had been killed in Orakzai since the offensive began in March. They said twenty soldiers also were killed. But, the numbers cannot be independently confirmed.
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai is making final preparations for a three-day peace conference in Kabul. The President is hoping the conference will agree on a plan to end the country's nearly nine year war. About one thousand six hundred delegates have been invited to the meeting. Some delegates may express support for the Taliban. But, members of the group were not invited. The militant group Hizb-i-Islami says the talks are useless. It says the government invited only those delegates it wanted to attend.
Afghan forces, supported by NATO, have secured an area near the border with Pakistan that had been seized by the Taliban last week. A statement from the alliance said international forces regained control of the area in Nuristan province without firing a shot. Afghan government forces withdrew from the area a week ago after hundreds of Taliban forces entered Nuristan from Pakistan.
The Supreme Court in Iraq has approved the official results of the nation's parliamentary election in March. The court declared that the coalition led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi won the most votes. None of the political groups were able to win the one hundred sixty-three seats needed to form a majority. Mr. Allawi's coalition had the most seats with ninety-one. That was two more than the mainly Shiite group led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
China says it plans to pay money to buyers of electric and hybrid cars in five cities to support the growth of its clean technology car industry. On Tuesday, China's Finance Ministry said buyers of hybrid cars will receive about seven thousand dollars. Buyers of electric cars will receive nearly nine thousand dollars. The Finance Ministry says the program will have a test period in cities including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. It is not clear when the government payments will begin or how long they will last. Some Chinese have criticized the program. They say the government should not give money to rich people while others must use bicycles and public transportation.
Officials in Central America say flooding and landslides caused by Tropical Storm Agatha have killed nearly one hundred eighty people. Guatemala has been hit hardest by the storm, with over one hundred fifty dead and at least one hundred missing. Thousands of people remain in emergency shelters. Guatemalan officials are also dealing with a huge hole that opened up in the capital. Rescue efforts have been slowed by the eruption last week of the Pacaya volcano. Ash from the eruption forced the closing of the international airport in Guatemala City. ▲ Briefly, here again is the major news.
Israel says it will immediately expel nearly seven hundred foreign activists detained during an operation to seize aid ships traveling to the Gaza Strip. The Obama administration is refusing to blame Israel or any other group for a deadly incident in the Mediterranean Sea. And, American officials have begun criminal and civil investigations into the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
That's the news in Special English coming to you from Washington. Source: VOA Special English June 1, 2010 2330UTC
