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It is twenty-three hours thirty Universal Time and here is the news in Special English. ▼ President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have reconfirmed their support of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians. They appeared together after meeting at the White House. Mr. Obama said he and Mr. Netanyahu had an extensive discussion about chances for Middle East peace. He said the Israeli leader showed a willingness to take part in serious negotiations with the Palestinians. Mr. Netanyahu told reporters it was time for direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians to begin. He said he plans to take steps soon toward that goal.
Iran's nuclear negotiator says the government is willing to start talks with six nations about its nuclear program. Saeed Jalili said the talks could begin September first if the other side meets several conditions. Iranian state media reported that Mr. Jalili made the offer in a letter to Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign policy chief. He was reacting to an offer she made in early June to restart talks on Iran's nuclear program. Mr. Jalili's letter says the six nations must make clear whether the goal of renewed talks is cooperation or hostility with Iran. The European Union says it has banned most airplanes belonging to the company Iran Air from flying in its airspace because of safety concerns. An E.U. spokeswoman says no other facts influenced the decision. The E.U. is banning three models of Iran Air's airplanes after its own investigation. The banned planes represent sixty-six percent of the company's planes. Iran Air has had trouble fixing its aging jets because of a thirty-year-old ban on selling airplane parts to Iran.
The American Justice Department is taking legal action against the state of Arizona because of its new immigration law. The Department argues that enforcing immigration is a federal responsibility and that the Arizona law interferes with that power. The Arizona law requires police to ask people if they are in the United States legally if there is a reason to suspect that a person is not. The law goes into effect later this month. It would make Arizona the first state to make illegal immigration a state crime.
NATO says a joint international and Afghan force has captured a Taliban commander in southern Afghanistan. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said Tuesday that an unofficial area government chief and two other resistance fighters were detained late Monday. The joint forces caught the men during a search near the city of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province. Also in the south, NATO said three of its service members died Tuesday in two bomb explosions in southern and eastern Afghanistan.
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Hundreds of protestors have surrounded a United Nations office in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They are demanding an end to a U.N. investigation of suspected human rights abuses during the country's civil war. The demonstrators, led by the housing minister, broke through police barriers Tuesday and blocked the building's outside doors. For a short time, police clashed with some of the demonstrators, as officials tried to permit U.N. workers to leave safely.
In Indian Kashmir, security forces have fired on rock-throwing protestors killing four people. The deaths bring to sixteen the number of civilians killed during several weeks of demonstrations by anti-India Muslim separatists. Crowds ignored a curfew Tuesday in Kashmir's main city, Srinagar, and protested in the streets to demand freedom from Indian control. The protests started when the body of a male demonstrator was found in a river. People who live in the area said a woman was among the four people killed in separate demonstrations Tuesday. The Indian army was deployed later to try to enforce the curfew in Srinagar and in other areas.
Iran's government has approved several men's haircuts aimed at supporting Islamic tradition and opposing Western haircuts. The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance showed pictures Monday of men with the new haircuts. None of the models had long hair. The haircuts will be advertised later this month at an Islamic vale and modesty gathering. An Iranian news agency reported that the director of the festival said the haircuts are influenced by Iranian and Islamic culture. Iranian police often check on the clothing and hair of men and women to make sure they are within Islamic rules.
In France, the parliament has begun a debate on a proposal to ban full Islamic face covering and similar clothing. The government says the covering disrespects women and does not fit with French values. Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said wearing face coverings cuts off women from society. Opponents of the ban say it violates their freedom of expression. Some officials say the ban could be unconstitutional. If approved by parliament, those who wear burqas, niqabs or similar coverings in public face a fine of one hundred ninety dollars. Men who force women to wear these coverings face a much larger fine and a year in jail.
Finally, sports news from the World Cup in South Africa. The Netherlands has defeated Uruguay three to two. The Netherlands will move on to that country's third World Cup final since nineteen seventy-four. The Dutch team will face the winner of the other semi-final game between Spain and Germany. That game takes place Wednesday in Durban. The final game will be held Sunday in Johannesburg. ▲ And now briefly, here again is the major news of the hour in VOA Special English.
President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have reconfirmed their support of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The European Union says it has banned most of Iran Air's planes from flying in E.U. airspace because of safety concerns. And, hundreds of protestors in Sri Lanka are demanding an end to U.N. investigations of suspected abuses during the country's civil war. That's the news in VOA Special English from Washington. Source: VOA Special English July 6, 2010 2330UTC
