Erdogan slams Israel on start of Arab tour

Erdogan slams Israel on start of Arab tour

Recep Tayyip Erdogan,cheap nfl jerseys from china Turkey's prime minister, has told Arab foreign ministers that Israel has isolated itself and must "pay the price" after refusing to apologize for its raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last year.

In his opening address to a meeting of Arab League in Cairo on Tuesday, Erdogan also condemned Israeli policies and said that the recognition of a Palestinian state was "not an option but an obligation".

Erdogan spoke as part of a three-day visit to Egypt aimed at boosting his government's standing in the Arab world after the uprisings of the "Arab Spring".

Many in the Arab world have cheered Erdogan's tough stance on Israel. Turkey suspended military ties with Israel, expelled top Israeli diplomats,cheap wedding dress pledged to support the Palestinians' statehood bid and vowed to send the Turkish navy to escort Gaza-bound aid ships in the future.

Erdogan told the ministers, Israel "must pay the price for the crimes it committed".

Al Jazeera's Sharine Tadros, reporting from Cairo, said: "We saw a huge reception for him when he arrived on Monday night at the airport. About a thousand people,china nfl jerseys wholesalechristian louboutin wedding some of them throwing flowers at Prime Minister Erdogan."

The prime minister is due to meet Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling council that took over when Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February, on Tuesday and will address the Cairo-based Arab League.

Egypt has long viewed itself as a leading voice in the Arab world, but Turkey's influence has risen steadily with its growing economic might and its assertive policy in the region, notably towards Israel, which has drawn praise from many Arabs.

Scotland 1-0 Lithuania

Scotland 1-0 Lithuania

Darren Fletcher was the spot-kick culprit, his effort saved at the end of a first half dominated by the Scots.

But Steven Naismith connected with a Barry Bannan delivery to shoot Craig Levein's side in front on 50 minutes.

Despite a nervous finale, Scotland held on to move two points behind second-placed Czech Republic in Group I.

Scotland's remaining matches are away from home against Liechtenstein and section winners Spain next month, while the Czechs are at home to the world champions and end the campaign with a trip to Lithuania, who are now out of the running.

Bannan, making his first competitive start, was prominent throughout and Scotland almost scored from the Aston Villa midfielder's corner kick,Mocler Boots with Phil Bardsley's miscued header falling to the feet of Christophe Berra at the back post.christian louboutin wedding

However, the Wolves defender had to react quickly and could only slash the ball wide from close range.cheap nfl jerseys from china

Soon after, David Goodwillie managed to prod the ball in the direction of Don Cowie but the Cardiff man smashed his first-time effort over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area.

Bannan shot over from distance before a great delivery from Cowie was acrobatically cut out by defender Marius Zaliukas before it could reach Goodwillie in front of goal.

Naismith made a mess of an attempted volley from a promising position and the Rangers forward later got himself between two defenders but could not steer his header beyond keeper Zydrunas Karcemarskas.

With Lithuania continuing to sit deep, Fletcher did well to cut inside an opponent but could not beat the goalkeeper with a rising shot at the near post.

Naismith headed over a great chance from six yards when he connected with a Bannan corner, while Bardsley saw a shot skid wide and James Morrison had an effort from distance pushed away by Karcemarskas.

There was a huge let-off for Scotland when Darvydas Sernas wasted a three-on-one attack for the visitors and that was soon followed by the gift of a penalty.

Tadas Labukas inexplicably punched away Bannan's free-kick but the Tartan Army were left groaning as Fletcher's tame spot-kick was easily saved a minute before the interval.

Lithuania were more adventurous at the start of the second half and Scotland profited from the reduced number of yellow shirts in defence to score.

Goodwillie slipped the ball to Bannan on the right edge of the penalty box and the diminutive midfielder lofted a pass in for the stretching Naismith to steer home.

There was an awkward moment for Allan McGregor when a shot from Arvydas Novikovas took a deflection, forcing the Scotland goalkeeper to turn the ball out.

With bigger gaps appearing in the Lithuania defence, Naismith was presented with two chances in quick succession. His first header was blocked quite blatantly by the arm of a defender, while he sent a second effort wide from inside the six-yard box.

There were more jittery moments for the home fans when Tomas Danilevicius glanced a header wide and a dipping shot from Novikovas flew too close for comfort before Naismith scooped over from close range, following a poor clearance.

Having squandered a number of opportunities,Christian Louboutin Sandals the men in dark blue were relieved to hear the final whistle, leaving Levein to plan for next month's double-header and keep his fingers crossed for results elsewhere.

As the world is experiencing globalization and integration

"As the world is experiencing globalization and integration, why can't China provide the same safety to its people?" it wrote.

But it also warned people not to jump to hasty conclusions.

"Criticism and punishment will certainly accelerate the process of becoming safer, yet blind and hasty finger-pointing should be avoided. China's development at this stage cannot be perfect."

The ministry is still investigating the cause of the accident. State media has said a bullet train hit another express that lost power following a lightning strike, adding that the power failure knocked out an electronic safety system designed to alert conductors about stalled locomotives on the line.

The accident has raised concerns about the safety of the country's high-profile and fast-growing rail network and threatens to undermine its plans to export high-speed train technology.

Separately, on Monday more than 20 trains were delayed for up to three hours due to a power outage on the flagship high-speed rail line between Beijing and Shanghai, the latest malfunction to plague the line since its grand opening in late June, local media reported on Tuesday.

The power cut happened after a storm in the central province of Anhui blew down an iron sheet, cutting off the power supply on Monday evening, the state-run Beijing News reported, citing an official from the Shanghai railway bureau.

Argentina in drive for more Chinese capital

Argentina in drive for more Chinese capital

BEIJING - More Chinese investments are expected to flow to Argentina this year as the two governments signed several economic cooperation agreements this week, Luis Kreckler,,NFL jerseys wholesale from China, Argentine secretary of trade and international economic relations, said on Wednesday.

The agreements cover sectors including agriculture,,Authentic Baseball Jerseys, energy, transportation and mining, Kreckler told China Daily, without disclosing details.

The trade secretary headed a delegation of 50 high-level Argentine government officials in a visit to Beijing this week. The delegation included agriculture, mining, transportation and international trade officials.

This was the latest of many visits by state heads and delegations between the two countries since 2010.

"Chinese investments are becoming more and more important (to Argentina). We care about the partnership with China and are very optimistic about future cooperation," he said.

The economic relationship has expanded swiftly in recent years. In 2010, bilateral trade jumped by 65.6 percent year-on-year to $12.9 billion, data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce showed.

Harmonious Times for Good Old War

Harmonious Times for Good Old War

Last week Dan Schwartz and Tim Arnold, two-thirds of the emerging folk-rock trio Good Old War, were seated on the patio of an East Village bar here when a sudden storm struck the region. So strong was the wind that the third member, Keith Goodwin, who was driving home to visit his pregnant wife in Langhorne, Pa., thought to call his band mates and warn them to stay inside. At the bar, as fallen leaves and branches blew by, a brick loosened, tumbled and landed hard on Mr. Schwartz's left hand. He spent the night in the hospital. And though he tried to perform the following night when the band was booked to open for the British indie band Gomez, he couldn't. And then Gomez canceled the tour when its vocalist, Ben Ottewell, came down with laryngitis.

And thus ended Good Old War's dream season. Earlier in the year the band played at the massive Coachella Music & Arts Festival and served as the opening act for both the alt-rock band Guster and Alison Krauss & Union Station, which introduced it to country and bluegrass audiences. During performances, members of Ms. Krauss's all-star band often joined in. "I look across the stage and there's Jerry Douglas playing Dobro on a song we wrote," Mr. Goodwin said recently at a doughnut shop in Hell's Kitchen. His injured hand wrapped in bandages, Mr. Schwartz also noted that "Ron Block played banjo with us almost every night." After the shows with Ms. Krauss and the band, Good Old War sold up to 200 CDs a night at the venue's merchandise table.

The members of the trio play multiple instruments, often at the same time: Mr. Arnold stands at the drums so he can reach a keyboard or an accordion with a free hand; Mr. Goodwin plays bass parts on keys or adds percussion while also strumming a guitar; and Mr. Schwartz shifts among several guitars, some of which are braced high on stands for easy access.