Poet Heaney's Last Words Revealed At Funeral

Nobel laureate and poet Seamus Heaney's last words to his wife were "don't be afraid", one of his son's has revealed at his funeral.

Family and friends of the world renowed writer joined hundreds of mourners at a church in south Dublin to pay last respects to one of Ireland's literary greats.

The internationally acclaimed 74-year-old writer died unexpectedly in hospital on Friday after a short illness.

Mourners at his funeral at the Sacred Heart Church in Donnybrook - near where the Northern Ireland-born poet made his home - were led by his widow Marie and children Michael, Christopher and Catherine Ann.

Michael spoke briefly at the end of the service to thank those who cared for his father and those who have offered support and praise since his death.

Former US president Bill Clinton paid tribute to Heaney

"His last few words in a text message he wrote to my mother minutes before he passed away were in his beloved Latin and they read - 'nolle timere' ['don't be afraid']," he said.

Irish president Michael Higgins, himself a published poet, attended along with Taoiseach Enda Kenny and former president Mary McAleese and her husband Martin.

Heaney's body will travel the 125 miles north to be buried this evening in his native Bellaghy in Co Derry - a village that inspired so much of his work.

Paul Muldoon, a teacher, poet and friend of Heaney, gave the eulogy following the service.

"We remember the beauty of Seamus Heaney as a bard and today in particular in his being," he said.

Heaney is widely regarded as a literary great

His lifelong friend and poetry contemporary Michael Longley were among the mourners, along with musician Paul Brady and U2 stars Bono - with his wife Ali Hewson - Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton.

Heaney has been hailed as the greatest poet Ireland produced since William Butler Yeats.

Former US president Bill Clinton paid tribute to Heaney, describing him as "our finest poet of the rhythms of ordinary lives" and a "powerful voice for peace".

Mr Kenny has said it would take Heaney himself to describe the depth of loss Ireland felt over his death.

Related story:

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria Crisis: Obama Seeks Support From McCain

Syria: Where Do Arab States Stand?

Updated: 9:35am UK, Monday 02 September 2013

By Zein Ja'far, Sky News Producer

As US president Barack Obama takes to Congress the question of whether or not to strike against Syria, where do Arab powers in the Middle East stand on the issue?

:: For

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The Gulf states are actively encouraging regime change in Syria and anything that can expedite that process, including potential military strikes, will be welcomed.

Saudi foreign minister Saud al Faisal has called on the international community to do all it can to stop the Syrian Government's "aggression against its own people" and blamed the regime for an alleged chemical attack in Damascus last month.

Saudi Arabia has replaced Qatar as the principle supporter of Syrian opposition forces, providing arms and funding to various groups.

The Kingdom's former ambassador to Washington, Prince Bandar al Sultan, is the man believed to have been tasked with gathering international support to topple President Bashar al Assad.

Qatar was, for the first two years of the Syrian conflict, the most vocal and vociferous opponent of the Syrian Government in the region.

The former Emir and foreign minister called for Arab troops to intervene to end the violence and even opened the Syrian opposition's first embassy in the capital Doha.

But both have since stepped down and the country's overt support for the Muslim Brotherhood, a group viewed with deep suspicion by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, has led to a wane in its influence.

The UAE also provides support to the Syrian opposition but is unlikely to involve itself militarily as it did during the Libyan war in 2011.

:: Against

Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.

Three of the four countries that share a border with Syria are all reluctant to back military intervention.

Lebanon's political parties are inextricably linked to its larger neighbour and the violent fall-out from the crisis in Syria has already claimed dozens of lives this year.

Armed groups in the north of the country, backed by Saudi Arabia, have been fighting alongside the Free Syrian Army while Hizbollah, supporting Syrian government troops, remains Bashar al assad's most active military ally.

More than 700,000 Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon and the possibility of a military strike is likely see those numbers swell.

Iraq's government is also staunchly against any intervention. Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is close to Iran and the fear is that a US strike could embolden al Qaeda and affiliated groups based in the country who are crossing into Syria to fight against government forces.

Publicly, Jordan has stated it is against military intervention and ruled out any launch of attacks from its own soil. Jordan's Government prefers a diplomatic solution but, as one of President Obama's closest regional allies, will not stand in the way of any strike.

It, too, faces a refugee crisis with more than half a million displaced Syrians living in the country, often in desperate conditions.

The Zaatari refugee camp, now one of the biggest in the world, is riddled with crime and violence and conditions for children, in particular, are bleak.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria: Russia Warns US Against Military Strike

Russia has warned that a peace conference to end the conflict in Syria could be put off "forever" if the US goes ahead with military action against the regime.

Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned that the planned discussions in Geneva would be disrupted by a US strike.

"If the action announced by the US President - to the great regret of all of us - does in fact take place ... it will put off the chances of (holding) this conference for a long time, if not forever."

As tension mounts between Moscow and Washington over the situation, Russia has sent a spy ship to the eastern Mediterranean.

According to Russian news agency Interfax, the ship left a naval base in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol late on Sunday on a mission "to gather current information in the area of the escalating conflict".

Russia's parliament has also said it will seek to speak to the US Congress to ask for a "balanced" response to the Syria issue.

President Obama is asking Congress to back military action

Any military action hinges on whether President Bashar al Assad's regime was responsible for a chemical weapons attack in Syria last month in which 1,429 people - including at least 426 children - died.

France says it has new evidence that the Government was responsible, and will hand it over to lawmakers later.

Washington has already announced that hair and blood samples prove the regime has used sarin gas to attack civilians.

Secretary of State John Kerry has used interviews with several US news channels to suggest the case for military strikes is growing, adding that he is confident Congress will back military action when it is put to a vote next week.

The nuclear-powered USS Nimitz aircraft carrier is moving westward toward the Red Sea, although it has not yet received orders to support a potential strike.

In Britain there have been calls for David Cameron to consider a second parliamentary vote on military action in Syria.

The Arab League has called for "deterrent action"

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has become the latest senior politician to suggest a new bid for parliamentary support could be made.

Mr Johnson said the use of chemical weapons for mass murder in Syria could not go unpunished.

"If there is new and better evidence that inculpates Assad, I see no reason why the Government should not lay a new motion before Parliament, inviting British participation - and then it is Ed Miliband, not David Cameron, who will face embarrassment," Mr Johnson wrote in The Telegraph.

Mr Cameron ruled out the use of British force in Syria following a defeat in the Commons.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has also said he could not foresee any circumstances in which the Government would return to Parliament on the same issue.

The alleged gas attack took place in Damascus

"We're not going to keep asking the same question of Parliament again and again. We live in a democracy, the executive cannot act in a way which clearly is not welcome to Parliament or the British people, so we're not proposing to do so."

Arab League ministers have urged the United Nations and the international community to take "deterrent" action, while blaming the regime for the alleged chemical weapons assault.

However a defiant Mr Assad told state TV his country is capable of confronting any attack.

"The American threats of launching an attack against Syria will not discourage Syria away from its principles ... or its fight against terrorism supported by some regional and Western countries, first and foremost the United States of America," he said.

As the diplomatic wrangling continues, British MPs have called for answers from the Government over a chemicals trade deal with Syria signed months after the bloodshed started.

The Department for Business issued licences for the export of sodium fluoride and potassium fluoride to the war-torn country in January last year before revoking them several months later.

The chemicals are capable of being used to make nerve gas such as sarin as well as having a variety of industrial uses.

The Government said no chemicals were exported before the licence was revoked in June 2012 following EU sanctions but MPs said they intend to raise the issue at Westminster.

The UN has announced that seven million people have been displaced by the ongoing civil war.

Fears in Israel that the fallout from any attack on Syria could spill across their northern border and drag the Jewish state into the conflict, Israelis last week rushed to replace their old gas masks.

Queues were reportedly backed up at post offices on Monday as civilians attempted to collect their masks.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Afghanistan: Taliban Attack US Military Base

Militants have attacked a US base in Afghanistan, setting off bombs and torching vehicles.

At least three people, apparently Taliban insurgents, were killed in the attack near the border with Pakistan.

Several militants wearing suicide vests and carrying other weapons staged the attack, Afghan officials said. Afghan and US forces exchanged gunfire with the insurgents, and Nato helicopters joined the fight.

One car bomb was detonated in the attack, and Afghan security forces trying to clear the area were still in the process of defusing a bomb in a car, news reports said.

The attack shut down a key road used by Nato supply trucks.

Militants frequently target Nato's supply lines in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a brief statement, Nato confirmed an "unsuccessful coordinated attack by enemy forces" and said none of its personnel had been killed.

It was the latest in a surge of attacks in Afghanistan as US-led troops prepare to withdraw next year.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man Dies 'Balconing' At Majorca Hotel

A man in his 20s has died in a fall from his hotel room balcony in the resort of Magaluf, Majorca.

The young man fell through the cracks of a balcony in the early hours of Monday while allegedly practising what is known as "balconing" - which involves jumping from balcony to balcony, or into a pool from a balcony.

It is understood to be the second death in 24 hours from the activity on Majorca.

Another young victim died on Sunday after falling from a height of eight metres onto the courtyard below. 

Hotels and apartments in the area have increased security measures in recent months after learning of the practise, according to Spanish news organisation Telecinco.

It claims that at least seven people have died falling from balconies this year. 

:: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has confirmed a British national has died in Magaluf in the last 24 hours, but gave no other details.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More