“The case of Liu Xiaobo is an unfortunate one,” said Holder. Given his status and his recognition by the Nobel committee, I think it’s incumbent upon the Chinese government to react in an appropriate way and consistent with its international treaty obligations and release him.”

Liu, the first Chinese resident to win the Nobel Peace Prize, is serving an 11-year sentence after advocating political reform in China. Liu’s wife has been placed under house arrest since the prize was announced on October 8th.

But Holder says Liu’s situation is unlikely to be part of his talks with Chinese officials this week. Instead, he said he expects to hold “frank” discussions on piracy and counterfeiting issues.

China is the number one source of counterfeit products arriving in the United States – from movies to medicines. But Holder stopped short of blaming Chinese piracy activities.

“No one country is responsible for all the problems that we face in the world,” he added. “No one country can solve the problems that we face in this area… That means working with our Chinese counterparts, having frank conversations and building on the progress that we can make. “

Holder was in Hong Kong to attend an international conference on combating intellectual property rights abuse. Chinese officials have said the government continues to strengthen intellectual property rights protection.

Illegally copied goods cost companies hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Some, such as pirated medicines or car parts, can be life-threatening because they do not work as well as genuine goods.

Earlier this month, negotiators from 37 countries including the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Singapore and members of the European Union agreed on the key features of an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, which would increase global enforcement of intellectual property rights.

British Prime Minister David Cameron says national defense is the first duty of any government, and that restructuring Britain’s armed forces is necessary.  

“We will look at the real threats we face today in our world, whether it is from cyber terrorism, whether it is from international terrorism or terrorism that comes from dissident republicans in Northern Ireland,” said Cameron.  “We will look at the modern threats we face in a modern world and make sure our armed forces are fit to face them.”

Mr. Cameron says Britain will spend about $800,000 during the next four years on a national cyber security program.

“This will significantly enhance our ability to detect and defend against cyber attacks, and it will fix shortfalls in the critical cyber infrastructure on which the whole country now depends,” Cameron added.

Under the plan, Britain will scrap several plane systems, decommission several ships early, eliminate some 25,000 military-related civilian jobs and reduce its number of troops by about 7,000.  There will be no cuts for troops or equipment in Afghanistan.  

Malcolm Chalmers is an analyst at London’s Royal United Services Institute.

“I think for a number of years now, Britain’s policy has been based centrally on NATO – on operating militarily along with allies, particularly the United States.  The United States, perhaps, will find that perhaps we can make a smaller contribution.  But I think it will still be the most important military power in NATO Europe,” noted Chalmers.

While in Europe last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States is concerned about the cutbacks.  Britain has been America’s strongest ally in Iraq and Afghanistan.  

Mr. Cameron says the cuts will not hurt Britain’s “special relationship” with the United States.

“I talked to President Obama last night about some of the decisions that we are taking, and the Americans and he absolutely believe that it will allow us to maintain that very strong partnership with the United States and with NATO,” said Prime Minister Cameron.

Chalmers says Britain is the third largest military spender in the world, behind the United States and China, and that despite an eight percent cut in its defense budget, Britain will remain strong.

“The United Kingdom after this defense review will remain the most powerful European NATO partner in terms of military force,” added Chalmers.  “It will continue to spend more than other Europeans.  And not least, the UK’s willingness to get in there and to get engaged in operations with the United States, when we believe it is in our interests to do so, will continue to be very strong.  And I think that is evidenced in Afghanistan.”

Prime Minister Cameron says Britain will keep its independent nuclear deterrent, although it will delay building new nuclear submarines and extend the life of existing ones.  He says the goal is to build a military force that is more mobile, more flexible and better equipped to meet future challenges.

Mr. Ahmadinejad welcomed the Venezuelan leader to the presidential palace Tuesday for his ninth visit.  Iranian state-run media said the two leaders hope to “boost bilateral cooperation in the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors.”  The visit is the latest stop on a 10-day international tour by the Venezuelan leader.

Mr. Chavez has been a strong supporter of Iran in its dispute with Western nations over its nuclear program.  The U.S. and other countries accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear technology to produce weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

Both Iran and Venezuela also have been proponents of a so-called Southern Hemisphere alliance, to counterbalance northern nations, such as the United States and Britain.

Mr. Chavez already has visited Russia as part of his trip.  Russia on Friday agreed to help Venezuela build its first nuclear power plant.  Russia recently helped Iran complete construction on Tehran’s first nuclear power plant.

Chavez’s tour of the Middle East also includes a stop in Syria.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

The official says the alliance has helped secure passage of Taliban commanders to Kabul for high-level contacts with the government.  The official said it would be very difficult for Taliban leaders to travel safely to Kabul without NATO’s consent.

The NATO official,  who spoke in Brussels on the condition of anonymity, said the contacts mark a preliminary step toward reconciliation talks.

Meanwhile, the Taliban on Wednesday denied reports that its leaders were talking to the Afghan government about ending the insurgency.

Earlier this week, President Hamid Karzai said his government had been holding unofficial talks with the Taliban.

U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, said the United States is not involved in the talks, but supports reconciliation efforts on condition that insurgents respect the Afghan constitution, renounce al-Qaida and lay down their weapons.

Six NATO service members were killed in Afghanistan Wednesday, in what already has been the deadliest year for coalition forces since the war began nine years ago.

The alliance says five troops were killed by roadside bombings in the south, and the sixth was killed by insurgents in eastern Afghanistan.

NATO commanders have warned of an increase in violence as Afghan and coalition forces go on the offensive against insurgents.  More than 30 NATO service members have been killed this month.

In Brussels Wednesday, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, spoke with NATO ministers about a plan to transfer security responsibilities to Afghan forces starting next year.

After the briefing, NATO’s civilian representative in Afghanistan, Mark Sedwill, told reporters that while the plan calls for completing the transition by 2014, it ultimately will depend on conditions on the ground.  Sedwill added that some allied troops likely will still remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014.

Separately, the U.N. Security Council renewed the mandate for NATO forces in Afghanistan for one more year, until October 13, 2011.  

The council also expressed concern about Taliban and al-Qaida violence and the increased number of civilian casualties.

In other violence Wednesday, Afghan and coalition forces say they killed a Haqqani network leader, Ansari Khan, in Khost province.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

Supporters cheered and waved flags as Mr. Ahmadinejad spoke in the stronghold area for the Iranian-backed group.   

Mr. Ahmadinejad criticized Israel, accusing the Jewish state of violating Palestinian rights by carrying out indiscriminate killings and attacking aid convoys in international waters. He also called Lebanon a “school” of resistance against, in his words, the world’s “tyrants.”

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah addressed the crowd via video link. The French News Agency (AFP) says he voiced support for the Iranian leader’s assertion that Israel is “illegitimate” and should cease to exist.

Earlier Wednesday, thousands of Lebanese lined the street to welcome Mr. Ahmadinejad’s arrival, his first visit to Lebanon since taking office in 2005.

The United States criticized the controversial visit that widened a political divide in Lebanon. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the trip shows the Iranian leader is continuing his “provocative ways” as he leads his country into more economic distress as a result of international sanctions.

The Iranian president has called frequently for Israel’s destruction. Israel accuses the Iranian government of trying to develop nuclear weapons and views a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Ahmadinejad  praised Lebanon for what he called its “resistance” to Israel. During a news conference with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, he also called for an end to what he characterized as Israel’s “occupation” of Lebanese and Palestinian lands.

Mr. Suleiman called for strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries. Iran is a major donor country to Lebanon and is expected to invest $450 million into Lebanon’s energy and water sectors.

Some members of Lebanon’s pro-Western parliamentary majority have criticized Mr. Ahmadinejad’s support of Hezbollah and accused him of portraying Lebanon as “an Iranian base on the Mediterranean.”

On Thursday, Mr. Ahmadinejad tours southern Lebanon, where he will inspect villages damaged in Hezbollah’s 2006 war with Israel. He is expected to visit a border area where Hezbollah supporters throw stones toward the Israeli side.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.

Clinton will hold talks with Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and other top Kosovar officials in Pristina. But she will also make a visit to an ethnic Serb town to underscore American support for minority rights in the new country.

The status of Kosovo dominated Clinton’s talks in Serbia, where President Boris Tadic again said his government will never recognize its former province as an independent state.

Nonetheless, the Serbian leader says his government is ready to open talks with Pristina officials aimed at easing problems in relations, in line with an appeal for dialogue in September by the United Nations General Assembly.

At a media event with Mr. Tadic, Clinton said the United Nations measure provides a basis for a “meaningful forward-looking dialogue” between Belgrade and Pristina.

“That dialogue can and will benefit people in Kosovo and Serbia, by addressing practical, day to day issues and the long-term relationship between you,” she said. “It will also have a positive impact on the relationship between Serbia, your neighbors, Europe and the United States.”

<!–IMAGE–>

Clinton praised the Tadic government for its commitment to human rights and its pledge – renewed by the Serbian President at Tuesday’s media appearance – to bring to justice remaining Balkans war crimes fugitives including former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic.

In her outreach to minority Serbs in Kosovo, Clinton will visit the town of Gracanica, in an ethnic-Serb enclave about ten kilometers outside of Pristina.

She will meet municipal leaders of several mainly-Serb towns and visit and tour the Gracanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery, one of the holiest Serb religious shrines and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The United States and most European Union member states are among the more than 70 countries that have recognized Kosovo’s 2008 independence declaration.

The Kosovo stop is the last on Clinton’s brief Balkans tour, which took her to Serbia and also Bosnia-Herzegovina. Late Wednesday, she flies to Brussels for NATO defense and foreign ministers meetings.

Israeli troops raided a house in the West Bank town of Hebron and killed two commanders from the Islamic militant group Hamas.

Soldiers surrounded the house before dawn and then pummeled it with a hail of bullets.

Israeli and Palestinian officials said the Hamas gunmen were responsible for the killing of four Jewish settlers, including a pregnant woman, on the eve of new peace talks five weeks ago.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued a statement saying that the raid was “a quick response to the murder of the four Israelis.” He said Israel would “continue to act with determination, in any place, against terrorist organizations.”

Hamas described the Israeli raid as an execution. Hamas Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri accused the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank of collaborating with the Israeli occupation.

He said the incident shows that Israel does not want peace, and he called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to stop negotiations.

The raid occurred as Mr. Abbas was in Libya to discuss a crisis in the peace process with the Arab League. The Palestinians are threatening to quit the peace talks after Israel ended a 10-month moratorium on settlement construction two weeks ago. Israel is considering an American proposal to extend the moratorium for two more months, in exchange for security guarantees from the United States.

A drummer called on tens of thousands of protesters to converge onto the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial.

Speeches took place around the National Mall, including one against war by a group called the United National Antiwar Committee.

A group called Code Pink chanted “I like justice with my tea, but funding war is not for me”, in reference to the anti-big government but mostly pro-military movement called the Tea Party.

The conservative grassroots movement held their own march called ‘Restoring Honor’ at the same location several weeks ago. So-called Tea Party candidates have won several important primary opposition Republican elections, worrying both their Democratic Party competition in November as well as some members of the Republican Party establishment.

Saturday’s march for liberal principles was called ‘One Nation’. Participant Lance Pyburn explained, saying “We have all these different people from all these different organizations coming out for this rally, and I think that it is really important for us to realize that we are one nation, we have one voice, and we just want really similar things to come about.”

Protesters said they wanted an end to U.S. military action in Iraq and Afghanistan, more government spending on job creation programs, renewable energy initiatives and public education, a new immigration law and more extensive health care reform than what the Democrats have been able to pass.

Many wore tee-shirts of the unions they represented.

A retired automobile industry worker from Detroit, Al Glaeyck, said he has been trying to help Democratic candidates in the state of Michigan. “They are afraid.  They think they are twenty points down. It will be an interesting thing to see but I think whoever wins, we fight on,” he said.

Another protester, Kimberly Greene, had some advice for President Obama. “He is trying to be a centrist and make sure the Democrats and Republicans get along,” she said. “But I mean when we have the Republicans opposing you on everything you do, and the Democrats are not really proving that people can depend on them, that is why people are running to the Tea Party and back to the Republicans. Basically, in a nutshell he needs to stand up to them and let people know, ‘hey, I can run this country, you do not need the Tea Party.’”

Artist Gio Andollo sang peace songs under a tree as protesters filed by. He said he was neither a Republican, a Tea Party activist, nor a Democrat.

Andollo said he was looking forward to another rally at the end of October, this one called the ‘Rally to Restore Sanity’.  It is being organized by U.S. television comedian Jon Stewart, who says not just the loudest voices should be the ones being heard as the United States faces lingering war abroad and high unemployment and deficits at home.

A bulldozer digs at the Revava Jewish settlement Monday in the northern West Bank.  It is a scene that stokes anger among Palestinians and raises questions about whether the talks that started less than a month ago will continue.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to quit negotiations if Israel did not extend the freeze.  Now, his spokesman said the Palestinian leader will announce a decision on whether to remain in talks in early October after consulting with Arab leaders in Cairo.

Israel said it wants the negotiations to continue, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the Palestinians to stay in talks.

It was here at the Revava settlement that hundreds of Israelis gathered Sunday to count down the end of the 10-month freeze that Israel imposed on the building of new-Jewish homes – a gesture meant as a confidence-building measure to bring the Palestinians back to talks.

Nazmi Salman is mayor of the neighboring Palestinian town of Deir Istiya, whose residents say they have lost many hectares of land to the settlers.  Standing on a hillside, watching at a distance as a bulldozer works inside Revava, he said it is difficult to have confidence in the peace process as long as this and other settlements are expanding.  

“Whether this settlement at Revava or other settlements surrounding Deir Istiya and all the Palestinian occupied territories, they are destroying our hope toward a Palestinian independent state,” said Salman.  “After 43 years of occupation, you can see that settlements are working day and night [building] on Palestinian land, so nowadays it is very difficult for a Palestinian state to be established here.”  

The United States continues diplomatic efforts to get both sides to reach a deal on settlement construction and keep the talks going.  The Israeli’s and Palestinian’s top negotiators remain in the United States, keeping hope alive that a compromise may still be reached.

A bulldozer digs at the Revava Jewish settlement Monday in the northern West Bank.  It is a scene that stokes anger among Palestinians and raises questions about whether the talks that started less than a month ago will continue.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to quit negotiations if Israel did not extend the freeze.  Now, his spokesman said the Palestinian leader will announce a decision on whether to remain in talks in early October after consulting with Arab leaders in Cairo.

Israel said it wants the negotiations to continue, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the Palestinians to stay in talks.

It was here at the Revava settlement that hundreds of Israelis gathered Sunday to count down the end of the 10-month freeze that Israel imposed on the building of new-Jewish homes – a gesture meant as a confidence-building measure to bring the Palestinians back to talks.

Nazmi Salman is mayor of the neighboring Palestinian town of Deir Istiya, whose residents say they have lost many hectares of land to the settlers.  Standing on a hillside, watching at a distance as a bulldozer works inside Revava, he said it is difficult to have confidence in the peace process as long as this and other settlements are expanding.  

“Whether this settlement at Revava or other settlements surrounding Deir Istiya and all the Palestinian occupied territories, they are destroying our hope toward a Palestinian independent state,” said Salman.  “After 43 years of occupation, you can see that settlements are working day and night [building] on Palestinian land, so nowadays it is very difficult for a Palestinian state to be established here.”  

The United States continues diplomatic efforts to get both sides to reach a deal on settlement construction and keep the talks going.  The Israeli’s and Palestinian’s top negotiators remain in the United States, keeping hope alive that a compromise may still be reached.

A bulldozer digs at the Revava Jewish settlement Monday in the northern West Bank.  It is a scene that stokes anger among Palestinians and raises questions about whether the talks that started less than a month ago will continue.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to quit negotiations if Israel did not extend the freeze.  Now, his spokesman said the Palestinian leader will announce a decision on whether to remain in talks in early October after consulting with Arab leaders in Cairo.

Israel said it wants the negotiations to continue, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the Palestinians to stay in talks.

It was here at the Revava settlement that hundreds of Israelis gathered Sunday to count down the end of the 10-month freeze that Israel imposed on the building of new-Jewish homes – a gesture meant as a confidence-building measure to bring the Palestinians back to talks.

Nazmi Salman is mayor of the neighboring Palestinian town of Deir Istiya, whose residents say they have lost many hectares of land to the settlers.  Standing on a hillside, watching at a distance as a bulldozer works inside Revava, he said it is difficult to have confidence in the peace process as long as this and other settlements are expanding.  

“Whether this settlement at Revava or other settlements surrounding Deir Istiya and all the Palestinian occupied territories, they are destroying our hope toward a Palestinian independent state,” said Salman.  “After 43 years of occupation, you can see that settlements are working day and night [building] on Palestinian land, so nowadays it is very difficult for a Palestinian state to be established here.”  

The United States continues diplomatic efforts to get both sides to reach a deal on settlement construction and keep the talks going.  The Israeli’s and Palestinian’s top negotiators remain in the United States, keeping hope alive that a compromise may still be reached.

A bulldozer digs at the Revava Jewish settlement Monday in the northern West Bank.  It is a scene that stokes anger among Palestinians and raises questions about whether the talks that started less than a month ago will continue.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to quit negotiations if Israel did not extend the freeze.  Now, his spokesman said the Palestinian leader will announce a decision on whether to remain in talks in early October after consulting with Arab leaders in Cairo.

Israel said it wants the negotiations to continue, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the Palestinians to stay in talks.

It was here at the Revava settlement that hundreds of Israelis gathered Sunday to count down the end of the 10-month freeze that Israel imposed on the building of new-Jewish homes – a gesture meant as a confidence-building measure to bring the Palestinians back to talks.

Nazmi Salman is mayor of the neighboring Palestinian town of Deir Istiya, whose residents say they have lost many hectares of land to the settlers.  Standing on a hillside, watching at a distance as a bulldozer works inside Revava, he said it is difficult to have confidence in the peace process as long as this and other settlements are expanding.  

“Whether this settlement at Revava or other settlements surrounding Deir Istiya and all the Palestinian occupied territories, they are destroying our hope toward a Palestinian independent state,” said Salman.  “After 43 years of occupation, you can see that settlements are working day and night [building] on Palestinian land, so nowadays it is very difficult for a Palestinian state to be established here.”  

The United States continues diplomatic efforts to get both sides to reach a deal on settlement construction and keep the talks going.  The Israeli’s and Palestinian’s top negotiators remain in the United States, keeping hope alive that a compromise may still be reached.

A bulldozer digs at the Revava Jewish settlement Monday in the northern West Bank.  It is a scene that stokes anger among Palestinians and raises questions about whether the talks that started less than a month ago will continue.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to quit negotiations if Israel did not extend the freeze.  Now, his spokesman said the Palestinian leader will announce a decision on whether to remain in talks in early October after consulting with Arab leaders in Cairo.

Israel said it wants the negotiations to continue, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the Palestinians to stay in talks.

It was here at the Revava settlement that hundreds of Israelis gathered Sunday to count down the end of the 10-month freeze that Israel imposed on the building of new-Jewish homes – a gesture meant as a confidence-building measure to bring the Palestinians back to talks.

Nazmi Salman is mayor of the neighboring Palestinian town of Deir Istiya, whose residents say they have lost many hectares of land to the settlers.  Standing on a hillside, watching at a distance as a bulldozer works inside Revava, he said it is difficult to have confidence in the peace process as long as this and other settlements are expanding.  

“Whether this settlement at Revava or other settlements surrounding Deir Istiya and all the Palestinian occupied territories, they are destroying our hope toward a Palestinian independent state,” said Salman.  “After 43 years of occupation, you can see that settlements are working day and night [building] on Palestinian land, so nowadays it is very difficult for a Palestinian state to be established here.”  

The United States continues diplomatic efforts to get both sides to reach a deal on settlement construction and keep the talks going.  The Israeli’s and Palestinian’s top negotiators remain in the United States, keeping hope alive that a compromise may still be reached.

A bulldozer digs at the Revava Jewish settlement Monday in the northern West Bank.  It is a scene that stokes anger among Palestinians and raises questions about whether the talks that started less than a month ago will continue.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to quit negotiations if Israel did not extend the freeze.  Now, his spokesman said the Palestinian leader will announce a decision on whether to remain in talks in early October after consulting with Arab leaders in Cairo.

Israel said it wants the negotiations to continue, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the Palestinians to stay in talks.

It was here at the Revava settlement that hundreds of Israelis gathered Sunday to count down the end of the 10-month freeze that Israel imposed on the building of new-Jewish homes – a gesture meant as a confidence-building measure to bring the Palestinians back to talks.

Nazmi Salman is mayor of the neighboring Palestinian town of Deir Istiya, whose residents say they have lost many hectares of land to the settlers.  Standing on a hillside, watching at a distance as a bulldozer works inside Revava, he said it is difficult to have confidence in the peace process as long as this and other settlements are expanding.  

“Whether this settlement at Revava or other settlements surrounding Deir Istiya and all the Palestinian occupied territories, they are destroying our hope toward a Palestinian independent state,” said Salman.  “After 43 years of occupation, you can see that settlements are working day and night [building] on Palestinian land, so nowadays it is very difficult for a Palestinian state to be established here.”  

The United States continues diplomatic efforts to get both sides to reach a deal on settlement construction and keep the talks going.  The Israeli’s and Palestinian’s top negotiators remain in the United States, keeping hope alive that a compromise may still be reached.

A bulldozer digs at the Revava Jewish settlement Monday in the northern West Bank.  It is a scene that stokes anger among Palestinians and raises questions about whether the talks that started less than a month ago will continue.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to quit negotiations if Israel did not extend the freeze.  Now, his spokesman said the Palestinian leader will announce a decision on whether to remain in talks in early October after consulting with Arab leaders in Cairo.

Israel said it wants the negotiations to continue, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the Palestinians to stay in talks.

It was here at the Revava settlement that hundreds of Israelis gathered Sunday to count down the end of the 10-month freeze that Israel imposed on the building of new-Jewish homes – a gesture meant as a confidence-building measure to bring the Palestinians back to talks.

Nazmi Salman is mayor of the neighboring Palestinian town of Deir Istiya, whose residents say they have lost many hectares of land to the settlers.  Standing on a hillside, watching at a distance as a bulldozer works inside Revava, he said it is difficult to have confidence in the peace process as long as this and other settlements are expanding.  

“Whether this settlement at Revava or other settlements surrounding Deir Istiya and all the Palestinian occupied territories, they are destroying our hope toward a Palestinian independent state,” said Salman.  “After 43 years of occupation, you can see that settlements are working day and night [building] on Palestinian land, so nowadays it is very difficult for a Palestinian state to be established here.”  

The United States continues diplomatic efforts to get both sides to reach a deal on settlement construction and keep the talks going.  The Israeli’s and Palestinian’s top negotiators remain in the United States, keeping hope alive that a compromise may still be reached.

A bulldozer digs at the Revava Jewish settlement Monday in the northern West Bank.  It is a scene that stokes anger among Palestinians and raises questions about whether the talks that started less than a month ago will continue.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to quit negotiations if Israel did not extend the freeze.  Now, his spokesman said the Palestinian leader will announce a decision on whether to remain in talks in early October after consulting with Arab leaders in Cairo.

Israel said it wants the negotiations to continue, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the Palestinians to stay in talks.

It was here at the Revava settlement that hundreds of Israelis gathered Sunday to count down the end of the 10-month freeze that Israel imposed on the building of new-Jewish homes – a gesture meant as a confidence-building measure to bring the Palestinians back to talks.

Nazmi Salman is mayor of the neighboring Palestinian town of Deir Istiya, whose residents say they have lost many hectares of land to the settlers.  Standing on a hillside, watching at a distance as a bulldozer works inside Revava, he said it is difficult to have confidence in the peace process as long as this and other settlements are expanding.  

“Whether this settlement at Revava or other settlements surrounding Deir Istiya and all the Palestinian occupied territories, they are destroying our hope toward a Palestinian independent state,” said Salman.  “After 43 years of occupation, you can see that settlements are working day and night [building] on Palestinian land, so nowadays it is very difficult for a Palestinian state to be established here.”  

The United States continues diplomatic efforts to get both sides to reach a deal on settlement construction and keep the talks going.  The Israeli’s and Palestinian’s top negotiators remain in the United States, keeping hope alive that a compromise may still be reached.

A bulldozer digs at the Revava Jewish settlement Monday in the northern West Bank.  It is a scene that stokes anger among Palestinians and raises questions about whether the talks that started less than a month ago will continue.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to quit negotiations if Israel did not extend the freeze.  Now, his spokesman said the Palestinian leader will announce a decision on whether to remain in talks in early October after consulting with Arab leaders in Cairo.

Israel said it wants the negotiations to continue, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the Palestinians to stay in talks.

It was here at the Revava settlement that hundreds of Israelis gathered Sunday to count down the end of the 10-month freeze that Israel imposed on the building of new-Jewish homes – a gesture meant as a confidence-building measure to bring the Palestinians back to talks.

Nazmi Salman is mayor of the neighboring Palestinian town of Deir Istiya, whose residents say they have lost many hectares of land to the settlers.  Standing on a hillside, watching at a distance as a bulldozer works inside Revava, he said it is difficult to have confidence in the peace process as long as this and other settlements are expanding.  

“Whether this settlement at Revava or other settlements surrounding Deir Istiya and all the Palestinian occupied territories, they are destroying our hope toward a Palestinian independent state,” said Salman.  “After 43 years of occupation, you can see that settlements are working day and night [building] on Palestinian land, so nowadays it is very difficult for a Palestinian state to be established here.”  

The United States continues diplomatic efforts to get both sides to reach a deal on settlement construction and keep the talks going.  The Israeli’s and Palestinian’s top negotiators remain in the United States, keeping hope alive that a compromise may still be reached.

People living in poverty in the United States in 2009 was 14.3 percent, according to the Census Bureau, nearly a full percentage point higher than the previous year.

In terms of overall numbers, the bureau says 43.6 million people last year were living in poverty, which is defined as a yearly income of less than $22,000 for a family of four.

Avis Jones-DeWeever of the National Council of Negro Women examined the data closely and says that more than one in four African Americans and Hispanics in the United States live in poverty as well as one in five children.

“Frankly, these statistics need to serve as a wake-up call for America,” said Avis Jones-DeWeever. “The time is now to once again mount a serious attack on poverty.  In fact, this imperative might be more critical now than ever, given what I would characterize as the tattered state of our safety net.”

But at a panel of poverty analysts meeting in Washington this week, the director of Deloitte Consulting, Wade Horn, warned that the U.S. political environment is not conducive to more government spending.

“I am not sure that we are in a political context at the moment in which it is an easy sell to dramatically increase government spending,” said Wade Horn. “In fact, given the focus on the debt and the deficit, I think we may be at the beginning of a retrenchment in government spending, not an expansion of government spending.”

Horn called for aggressive government economic policies to create job growth in the private sector, while pursuing anti-poverty strategies.

The high poverty rate comes amid high unemployment, particularly in male-dominated sectors of the economy, such as construction and manufacturing.

Avis Jones-DeWeever of the National Council of Negro Women says this makes equal rights issues regarding women even more pressing.

“I do think it is important that people look at how well women do because for many two-parent families, they are now the only ones working,” said Jones-DeWeever. “And so it is that much more important that women receive pay equity and get fair pay because it not only benefits them, it benefits their entire family.”

LaDonna Pavetti from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said several U.S. states have initiated programs to subsidize jobs in the private sector, with great success.

“What we have seen with these programs is that they have been a huge benefit, particularly to small businesses,” said LaDonna Pavetti. “And what has happened in those small businesses is that it has allowed them to be able to keep their businesses moving during times of low demand.  And it has allowed some businesses to expand so that they are actually creating new jobs by that.”

Pavetti said that many of these programs are running out of money, and that hundreds of thousands of people who have been employed might lose their jobs.

But Nicholas Eberstadt with the American Enterprise Institute warned against making government subsidized employment a permanent part of the U.S. economy.

“Many of the Western European countries that have pursued some of these programs, over time, you see labor force rigidities and barriers to entry actually developing there,” said Nicholas Eberstadt. “So I think you have to be very cautious about this.”

President Barack Obama says his economic policies, such as stimulus spending, are keeping millions more Americans out of poverty.  The president has blamed the policies by his predecessor, George W. Bush, for creating the current economic hardships of many Americans.  But opposition Republicans say huge government spending has made the situation worse.

The new poverty figures come only weeks before November’s Congressional midterm elections.   

The biggest event in New York opened with the sound of bagpipes and drums commemorating the attack when two planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke about the impact of the attack nine years later.

“We meet to commemorate the day we have come to call 9-11. We have returned to this sacred site to join our hearts together, the names of those we loved and lost. No other public tragedy has cut our city so deeply. No other place is as filled with our compassion, our love and our solidarity,” he said.

<!–IMAGE–>

Relatives, joined by people working to build the Ground Zero memorial, read out loud the names of the victims of the terrorist attack. The reading of the list was punctuated by a moment of silence held at 8:46 am and again at 9:03 am, the times hijacked jetliners hit the North and South towers of the World Trade Center.

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden and his wife were among the dignitaries who attended the New York ceremony.

“We come not to mourn but to remember and rebuild. In the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem ‘The Builders’: ‘All our architects of fate working in these walls of time, some with massive deeds in great, some with ornaments of rhyme,’” he said.

Interspersed in the crowd of mourners were chants of thousands of sign-waving protesters both for and against the planned Islamic center near Ground Zero.

The debate over the Mosque pits advocates of religious freedom against critics who say putting an Islamic center so close to Ground Zero disrespects the dead.

This woman, who was holding a sign that read, “No Mosque on Ground Zero,” explains why she is opposed to the plans.

“The American children, they lost their parents,” she said. “The American people, they lost their family. So we should  understand the feelings of America. It’s not the political issue. It’s the feelings of America. So our people give a lot of blood. I know that I worked as a volunteer for the second day that that happened and I saw how it is terrible, so we American people doesn’t want the mosque at Ground Zero.”

Also adding to the tension was the plan by a Florida clergyman to burn copies of the Islamic holy book.  Reverend Terry Jones has since backed off from his plans and arrived in New York late Friday in an attempt to meet with a leading imam to discuss the proposal for the Islamic center in hopes of having it moved farther away from the Ground Zero site.

In his Saturday radio address, President Obama alluded to the contentious atmosphere marking this anniversary. “This is a time of difficulty for our country. And it is often in such moments that some try to stoke bitterness – to divide us based on our differences, to blind us to what we have in common,” he said.

<!–IMAGE–>

Mr. Obama also joined  the nation’s top defense officials in remembering victims of the September 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

The ceremony included family members of the 184 people who were killed in the 2001 attack on the sprawling Defense Department headquarters.

In western Pennsylvania, first lady Michelle Obama was joined by former first lady Laura Bush at a memorial service for the victims of Flight 93. The airliner was en route from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco on Sept. 11, when hijackers seized control. But passengers fought back and the hijackers responded by crashing the plane. The area is to become a national memorial, and Mrs. Obama told those gathered that she believes it will become a site of inspiration, reflection and remembrance for generations to come.

The Reverend Terry Jones flew to New York and appeared on NBC-TV’s Today Show Saturday. He said his 50-member church had succeeded in exposing what he called the “dangerous” and “very radical” element of Islam.

Jones’ church, called the Dove World Outreach Center, generated worldwide condemnation when it announced plans to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States.  The pastor flew to New York Friday and tried to meet with the imam in charge of the proposed construction of an Islamic center near where the World Trade Center stood before the attacks.  But that meeting did not take place.

U.S. President Barack Obama said the Quran-burning plan would endanger American troops overseas, tens of thousands of them in Muslim countries.  Mr. Obama appealed for religious tolerance, and said the United States is “not at war against Islam,” but “against terrorist organizations that have distorted Islam.”

Critics have said the proposal to locate a mosque near the World Trade Center site is disrespectful to those who died on September 11, 2001.  Supporters say it would help bridge differences between the West and the Islamic world.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.