According to The New York Times, the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, acknowledged that differences still existed in the Israeli and American timetables for contending with the Iranian nuclear program. In taped interviews to be broadcast this weekend on the three main Israeli television channels, Mr. Netanyahu told Israelis that he hoped that international pressure and economic sanctions would succeed in persuadingIran to abandon its nuclear program, which Israel and the West suspect is a cover for Iranian efforts to achieve the capability to make nuclear weapons. But in excerpts of the interviews shown late Thursday, Mr. Netanyahu reiterated the point he had sought to make forcefully in Washington: that if Iran did not change course, Israel, which considers a nuclear Iran a threat to its existence, would not allow itself to be in a position where its fate was left in others’ hands.
The Guardian informs its readers that human rights activists ready to target the ‘Eurovision- -2012’ contest after reports from Amnesty and Human Rights Watch damn repressive regime of Ilham Aliyev. According to the agency, calls are growing for an international boycott of this year's Eurovisionsong contest in Azerbaijan over concerns about the country's poorhuman rights record and its clampdown on dissidents. Khadija Ismayil, one of the country's few remaining investigative journalists, revealed last week that she had been the target of a blackmail attempt. Ismayil, who has been working on stories exposing dubious business deals in the oil-rich republic with connections to the ruling elite, has been called an "enemy of the state" by Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev. There have been calls in the European parliament and from human rights activists and Azerbaijani bloggers for a boycott of the contest. Neighbouring Armenia has already withdrawn from Eurovision because of its worsening relations with Baku, Iceland's broadcasters are considering pulling out, and there have been boycott calls from campaigners in Holland, France and Ireland.
The Washington Post reports that The Obama administration and its allies and international partners have begun serious discussions about potential military involvement in Syria, even as they continue to press for nonviolent solutions to the carnage there. With little progress made in the two weeks since 70 countries and international institutions pledged in Tunis to concentrate their efforts on humanitarian and diplomatic fronts, there is a growing willingness to consider additional options. Possibilities include directly arming opposition forces, sending troops to guard a humanitarian corridor or “safe zone” for the rebels, or an air assault on Syrian air defenses, according to officials from the United States and other nations opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The same news agency reported that The United States and five other world powers pressed Iran on Thursday to grant U.N. inspectors access to alleged nuclear research sites inside the country, amid reports that Iranian officials are moving to clean up a key military installation outside Tehran. The request came as Western officials confirmed that satellite photos in recent weeks have shown earth-moving equipment and other construction gear arriving at the Parchin military base, a facility about 20 miles southeast of the capital that has become the focus of a U.N. investigation into alleged Iranian research on nuclear warheads.
