US-Muslim world distrust must end: Obama

CAIRO (Egypt), June 04: President Barack Obama has said the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the United States and the Muslim world must end, reports BBC.
In a keynote speech in Cairo, Obama called for a "new beginning" in ties.
He admitted there had been "years of distrust" and said both sides needed to make a "sustained effort... to respect one another and seek common ground".
Obama said the US bond with Israel was unbreakable but described the Palestinians'' plight as "intolerable". The president made a number of references to the Koran and called on all faiths to live together in peace.
He received a standing ovation at the end of his speech at Cairo University. White House officials had said the speech was intended to start a process to "re-energise the dialogue with the Muslim world".
Obama said: "I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect."
Tim Franks, BBC Middle East correspondent President Obama''s language towards Israel is strong but also, maybe deliberately, imprecise.
Take these two sentences: "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements" and "It is time for these settlements to stop". It is the same language that Hillary Clinton has recently used. But what does it actually mean?
Does it mean that settlement expansion should stop? Or, in fact, for existing settlements to be disbanded? Could the first sentence even mean that the US is beginning to revisit its studied ambiguity, for the past 30 years, over whether it views all Israeli settlements on occupied territory as illegal?
Given the amount of time and effort that goes into working and re-working the text of a presidential speech, the apparent veiling of these two sentences is fascinating.
He said "violent extremists" had bred fear and that this "cycle of suspicion and discord must end".
Obama accepted that "no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust" but urged both sides to "say openly the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors". He cited the Koran as saying: "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth."
Obama said Islam had "always been a part of America''s story".
He added that much had been made of the fact an African-American named Barack Hussein Obama had become US president, but he insisted his personal story was "not so unique".
"The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores - that includes nearly seven million American Muslims."
The president also said Muslim perceptions of the US must change.
"Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire."
Obama said America was not at war with Islam, but would confront violent extremists who threatened its security.
" No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other "
On the key issues of Iraq and Afghanistan, the president said the US sought no permanent bases in either country.
He said: "We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case."
On the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Obama said the bond with Israel was "unbreakable".
He said: "Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong."
But he also said the "situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable".
"Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel''s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine''s," Obama said.
On the key issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Obama said "there can be no progress towards peace without a halt to such construction".
Israel is resisting calls to freeze building activity but Palestinian leaders have said there can be no progress towards peace without a halt.
After the speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned ministers to a special meeting and ordered aides and officials not to comment until a government statement was released.
The statement said the Israeli government hoped the speech "will indeed lead to a new era of reconciliation between the Arab and Muslim world and Israel".
BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins says Obama was tough on both sides - perhaps tougher on Israel than we are used to hearing from an American president.
Our correspondent says Obama made it clear there was no justification for Holocaust denial but he seemed to associate the state of the Palestinians with that of slaves in America.
A spokesman for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said the speech was a "good start and an important step towards a new American policy".
The AFP news agency quoted Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, as saying the speech showed "tangible change" but also contained contradictions.
" What is interesting is the absence of any threat against Iran. This is in line with the president''s policy of avoiding threats against Iran - at least for the moment " Paul Reynolds, BBC world affairs correspondent
On the Iranian nuclear issue, Obama said: "No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons" and said Iran had the right to peaceful nuclear power.
But he said there should be no nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
Before Obama spoke, Iran''s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had
saying the US was still "deeply hated" in the Middle East.
On democracy, Obama said that "America does not presume to know what is best for everyone".
"No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other."
The president also touched on women''s rights, saying: "Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons."
Obama arrived in Egypt from a visit to Saudi Arabia.
Later on Thursday he will visit the pyramids before heading to Germany and France.


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Kaka switch to Chelsea ruled out

Silvio Berlusconi (left) is asked on Italian TV whether Kaka is to join Real Madrid
AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has insisted playmaker Kaka will not be joining Chelsea.

It is believed Kaka is close to a £56m move to Real Madrid but reports claimed the Blues, coached by ex-Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti, made a late £73m bid.

Chelsea said reports of such a move for the Brazilian were "totally untrue".

"An agreement with Chelsea could not exist. Kaka goes to Real or he remains at Milan," Galliani told Italian newspaper Gazetta dello Sport.

"Negotiations with Real do exist but an agreement is not done."

A statement from Chelsea read: "We've never made an offer to AC Milan for Kaka.

"As a consequence we have not discussed a salary with the player either. Any reports to the contrary are totally untrue."

Kaka, who joined Milan from Sao Paolo in September 2003, is reportedly poised for a five-year deal with Real for a salary worth £7m a year.

But Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has still not sanctioned any move and plans to talk to Kaka on Monday before announcing a decision on the player's future.

However, Galliani insisted the deal makes financial sense for Milan.

"The reasons for the departure of Kaka are solely economic, Milan cannot go on losing 70m euros a year," he said.

Former Milan coach Ancelotti, 49, who officially takes over as Chelsea manager on 1 July, previously stated: "There is one player I would like to sign but I cannot take him with me."

Reports have also linked the Stamford Bridge outfit with two other Milan players - 19-year-old Brazilian Alexandre Pato and Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo - but Galliani was adamant no more stars would be leaving the San Siro.

"We're not falling apart. The other big players are not for sale. Now a great attacker will arrive," he added.

"There is a negotiation for Kaka but none of our other key men are for sale. That includes Alexandre Pato, Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf."

AC Milan sold Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea for about £30m in 2006 before the Ukraine striker returned to Italy two seasons later on loan and Berlusconi believes the current situation over Kaka is very similar.

"It is always our lads who decide where they want to play. Now we will see," he stated. "I can only say that we were very attached to Sheva.

"When an offer arrived that we could not equal, because I had a great friendship with him, I did all I could to convince him but in the end I left it up to him."

It had been claimed that Kaka's father and agent Bosco Leite had already sealed the transfer in Madrid, with Berlusconi conceding the player may move because "they have offered him so much money".

The proposed £56m fee would be a world record in pounds sterling but not euros because the exchange rate is different to when Zinedine Zidane moved to Real for £45.6m in 2001.

As well as the player's father, Galliani was also in Madrid, although the Italian club insisted that was because he had been invited to a dinner for the election of Perez as Real's new president.

"AC Milan and Real reckon they have the basis for a deal," Spanish football expert Sid Lowe told BBC Radio 5 Live. "But there are things in the way, like the commission to be paid to Kaka's father and with the European elections coming up on Thursday, Berlusconi will not want to lose him just now."

Earlier this year, Kaka rejected a £100m transfer and a reported wage offer of £500,000-a-week to go to Manchester City and in an interview on Tuesday he told Gazzetta dello Sport he wanted to stay at the Serie A club.

In January, Berlusconi admitted the scale of City's offer made it difficult for Milan to keep hold of the Brazilian.

Returning Real president Perez was previously in charge of the Spanish club from 2000 to 2006 - during the famous Galacticos era that resulted in the spending of large fees to bring the likes of Ronaldo, David Beckham, Luis Figo and Zidane to the club.

Perez's comeback is on the back of a pledge to relaunch another Galacticos era, with Kaka known to be one of his chief targets.

Kaka is currently with the Brazil squad ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in Montevideo on Saturday.

Kaka scores against Croatia


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Obama to begin key Germany visit

US President Barack Obama in Dresden, eastern Germany
US President Barack Obama is beginning a visit to Germany, where he will hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The two leaders will meet in the eastern city of Dresden.

Mr Obama also plans to visit the Nazi concentration camp in Buchenwald and then go to a hospital to meet US troops injured in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mr Obama flew to Germany from Egypt, where he said the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the United States and the Muslim world must end.

Guantanamo issue

Mr Obama needs to convince an increasingly sceptical American public that the war in Afghanistan is worth fighting, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Berlin says.

So he will use his trip to Germany - and then the D-Day commemorations in France - to send a strong message back home that the fight against tyranny demands sacrifice, our correspondent says.

He says the US president has also for months been encouraging European government to shoulder more of the burden in Afghanistan and to send more combat troops to take on the Taleban.

Washington also would like to see European countries take in dozens of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, but so far there has been little enthusiasm across Europe, our correspondent adds.

Ovation in Cairo

In a keynote speech in Cairo on Thursday, Mr Obama called for a "new beginning" in US relations with the Muslim world.

He admitted there had been "years of distrust" and said both sides needed to make a "sustained effort... to respect one another and seek common ground".

Mr Obama said the US bond with Israel was unbreakable but described the Palestinians' plight as "intolerable".

The president made a number of references to the Koran and called on all faiths to live together in peace.

He received a standing ovation at the end of his speech at Cairo University.

White House officials had said the speech was intended to start a process to "re-energise the dialogue with the Muslim world".

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