Biden urges Iraqi leaders to resolve political differences

US Vice President Joe Biden urged Iraqi leaders to resolve their differences ahead of a possible national conference involving the nation's political parties, the White House said on Saturday.
Biden called Iyad Allawi, leader of the Iraqiya political block, on Friday and Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi on Saturday, and discussed "the importance of resolving outstanding issues through the political process."
The two Iraqi leaders meanwhile described to Biden the deliberations underway "among all Iraqi political factions and parties in the run-up to a proposed national conference led by President Jalal Talabani," according to the White House statement.
A political row has been festering in Iraq since shortly after US forces completed their withdrawal from Iraq in December and has pitted the Shiite-led government against the main Sunni-backed bloc, stoking sectarian tensions.
The United Nations has joined the United States in urging calm but their calls for talks involving all of Iraq's political leaders have so far gone unheeded.
Last month, the Iraqiya bloc began a boycott of parliament and cabinet to protest what it charged was Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's centralization of power, and has since called for Maliki to respect a power-sharing deal or quit.
Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni. Meanwhile Maliki, a Shiite, has said his Sunni deputy Saleh al-Mutlak should be sacked after the latter said the premier was "worse than Saddam Hussein."
The Sunni-backed Iraqiya, which holds 82 seats in the 325-member parliament, has so far held back from pulling out its nine ministers from the national unity government.
It won the most seats in March 2010 elections but was out-maneuvered by Maliki's alliance, which eventually formed the government after a prolonged impasse was finally broken in November of that year.

3 dead in Sacramento SUV-light rail crash

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Three people are dead and more than 20 people injured after a crash between a light rail train and a sport utility vehicle in Sacramento, Calif.

KCRA-TV reports six people have been taken to a local hospital, while 17 others suffered minor injuries.
Investigators were on scene trying to determine the cause of Saturday's accident.

Newly discovered color photos from inside Hitler’s private home

Several never-before-seen photographs have emerged from Adolf Hitler's personal photographer, giving a first time look at Hitler's Berlin apartment and Bavarian estate.

Private investors near deal on Greek debt

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A disorderly and potentially devastating Greek debt default is looking much less likely.

Greece and investors who own its bonds have reached a tentative deal to significantly reduce the country's debt and pave the way for it to receive a much-needed €130 billion bailout.
Negotiators for the investors announced the agreement Saturday and said it could become final next week. If the agreement works as planned, it will help Greece remain solvent and help Europe avoid a blow to its already weak financial system, even though banks and other bond investors will have to accept multibillion-dollar losses.
Still, it doesn't resolve the weakening economic conditions in Greece and other European nations as they rein in spending to get their debts under control.
Under the agreement, investors holding €206 billion in Greek bonds would exchange them for new bonds worth 60 percent less.
The new bonds' face value is half of the existing bonds. They would have a longer maturity and pay an average interest rate of slightly less than 4 percent. The existing bonds pay an average interest rate of 5 percent, according to the think tank Re-Define.
The deal would reduce Greece's annual interest expense on the bonds from about $10 billion to about $4 billion. And when the bonds mature, instead of paying bondholders €206 billion, Greece will have to pay only €103 billion.
Without the deal, which would reduce Greece's debt load by at least €120 billion, the bonds held by banks, insurance companies and hedge funds would likely become worthless. Many of these investors also hold debt from other countries that use the euro, which could also lose value in the event of a full-fledged Greek default. This is the scenario analysts fear most and why they hope investors will voluntarily accept a partial loss on their Greek bonds.
The agreement taking shape is a key step before Greece can get a second, €130 billion bailout from its European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund. Besides restructuring its debt with private investors, Greece must also take other steps before getting aid. It must cut its deficit and boost the competitiveness of its economy through layoffs of government employees and the sale of several state companies, among other moves.
Greece faces a €14.5 billion bond repayment on March 20, which it cannot afford without additional help.
The country got its first bailout in May 2010 when the EU and the IMF signed off on a €110 billion aid package, most of which has already been disbursed.
Private investors hold roughly two-thirds of Greece's debt, which has reached an unsustainable level — nearly 160 percent of the country's annual economic output. By restructuring the debt held by private investors, Greece and its EU partners are hoping to bring that ratio closer to 120 percent by the end of this decade. Without a deal, analysts forecast that ratio ballooning to 200 percent by the end of this year as the Greek economy falters.
Meanwhile, Greece's public creditors — — the IMF, the EU and the European Central Bank — are baffled by the government's repeated failure to meet deficit targets. They want more government wage cuts. That is meeting resistance by Greek politicians afraid of losing an election tentatively scheduled for the spring. But those same politicians also worry that the nation will be denied a second bailout if
doesn't reduce its deficit.
Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Saturday night asked those who oppose structural changes to reconsider their stance.
"The coming days will be decisive for the next decade ... We must answer to tough dilemmas and we must do so with foresight and a sense of responsibility and not hide behind each other," he told reporters after meeting with the public creditors.
In return for the first bailout, Greece's public creditors have unprecedented powers over Greek spending. However, Greece's problems will not be fixed simply by cutting government spending. In order to bring its debts to a more manageable level, the country must also find ways boost economic output, which would enable it to collect more taxes.
If no debt-exchange deal is reached with private creditors and Greece is forced to default, it would very likely spook Europe's — and possibly the world's — financial markets. It could even lead Greece to withdraw from the euro.
Sarah Ketterer, co-manager of Causeway International Value Fund, a $1.4 billion mutual fund that invests in European stocks, said the region's markets have rebounded this month largely on expectations that negotiators would reach a deal along the lines of the one being finalized now.
Any last-minute breakdown in the talks could trigger a sharp decline in European markets, she said. But a rally is unlikely if negotiations succeed.

Cuba Communist Party eyes term limits at gathering

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba's Communist Party closed the first day of its national conference Saturday with declarations of support for the burgeoning private-sector class, tough talk on corruption and vows to be attentive to islanders' complaints.

But there were no concrete resolutions on President Raul Castro's call for political term limits or word on leadership changes during the closed-door gathering, a two-day follow-up to last April's historic party summit where delegates opened up long-shut doors of economic opportunity by green-lighting fledgling reforms.

While the government has essentially followed through on its economic promises like liberalizing home and car sales, expanding private-sector activity and offering loans to support farmers, entrepreneurs and homeowners, expectations were low that this weekend would yield any blockbuster news beyond what officials

already hinted at.

"The expectations were high because this conference was perceived as an act of continuity with relation to the Sixth Congress, as a space to complete the economic adjustment with complementary political reforms," said Cuban-born economist Arturo Lopez-Levy, a lecturer at the University of Denver. "It became clear that that vision was unfoundedly optimistic."

Foreign journalists were not allowed access, and no major announcements were made through the island's official media.

State-run website Cubadebate showed photos of President Raul Castro presiding over the conference wearing a gray blazer and a dark, open-collar shirt, with what appeared to be a small bandage on the tip of his nose. There was no word of any appearance by Fidel Castro, who was greeted with a standing ovation and some tears at the April congress.

In a brief snippet of video posted on Cubadebate, Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura said in a keynote speech that the conference would focus on "the everyday work of the organization."

Raul Castro himself dampened expectations for any big announcements, saying two weeks ago that nobody should have "great illusions about the conference" and the topics of debate were more "an internal question for the party."
According to a draft agenda that circulated last fall, one matter up for discussion will be his call to limit officeholders including the president to two five-year terms, with the goal of achieving a "gradual renewal in leadership."
Over the years a number of rising young stars considered potential successors to Raul Castro, 80, and his brother Fidel, retired and largely out of sight at 85, have been unceremoniously fired. There are no obvious replacements waiting in the wings.

In April the younger Castro, who is also party chief, lamented the lack of politicians prepared to take over from the 70- and 80-somethings who occupy many top posts. Grooming new leaders would be a priority during his five-year term, he said.

Recently a Cuban official told The Associated Press that despite the lack of movement in visible roles like cabinet ministers, many midlevel government posts have quietly changed hands, with younger officials moving up. If true, that would bolster Raul Castro's claim that his government was laying the groundwork, albeit slowly, for generational change. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, and his assertions could not be independently confirmed.

Communist Party newspaper Granma said Saturday that delegates would consider how best to promote women, blacks and young people through the ranks of the party and government.
They also evaluated the party's role in "the direction and systematic control of the process of updating the economic model and the progress of the economy," Granma said.
The draft agenda for the conference was discussed at thousands of local party and committee meetings and many of its objectives modified. The purpose of the conference was to turn the agenda into policy in support of last year's reforms, Machado Ventura said.
"Let us make our best effort to cast off obsolete mindsets of inertia and old prejudices," he said in comments broadcast on the news. "Let us work with responsibility and an eye toward the future, with the goal of strengthening the foundation of the (party's) work."

The Communist Party, the only party allowed in Cuba, does not have lawmaking powers but issues guidelines that are later taken up by parliament.

The conference's opening day was timed to coincide with the 159th anniversary of the birth of poet and independence hero Jose Marti, in whose honor a noontime 21-cannon salute thundered from a historic fort overlooking the Havana harbor.

But some said that's about all the fireworks they expect this weekend.
"The only thing that might be interesting is if they have some kind of election, to see who they put in the political bureau, especially if they put someone there who's not 80 years old," said Javier Blanco, a 32-year-old Havana resident. "Other than that... I don't think anything will come out that we don't already know."
Many Cubans were disappointed last month when authorities scuttled a proposal to eliminate the exit visa required for travel off the island.
Lopez-Levy said recent signals from Cuban leadership suggest there's no prospect for major political change in the near future.
"The Cuban Communist Party is going to make an adjustment to its internal life ... but it's not going to subject its political model to open debate on structural reforms as it did with its economic and social project," he said. "It's a low-risk strategy for the short term, but it could complicate the future."

Herman Cain endorses Newt Gingrich for president

Businessman and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain endorsed Newt Gingrich for president Saturday at a dinner in West Palm Beach, Florida, calling it a "surprise occasion."

"I hereby officially and enthusiastically endorse Newt Gingrich for president of the United States!" Cain said. "One of the biggest reasons is the fact that I know that Speaker Gingrich is a patriot, Speaker Gingrich is not afraid of bold ideas and I also know that Speaker Gingrich is running for president and going through this sausage grinder. I know what this sausage grinder is all about."
Cain, who dropped his bid for the White House in December, had formerly said he would not make an endorsement. Instead, he opted to endorse "the people" instead.

Iran students meet Israel opposition head Livni

A delegation from an opposition Iranian student group met Israel's centrist opposition leader and former foreign minister Tzipi Livni in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
An AFP photographer said the Confederation of Iranian Students delegation was headed by its secretary general, Amir Abbas Fakhravar, who said he was "happy to be in Israel, the only democracy in the region."
The CIS, founded in the United States, says it has 8,000 members, mostly in Iran, America, Britain, France and Germany, although it has no branches in the Islamic republic.
Livni, in a statement issued by her Kadima party, said she hoped the visit would help show that "Israel only has a problem with the leaders of Iran and not with the Iranian people."
Israel accuses arch-foe Iran, whose President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly predicted the destruction of the Jewish state, of pursuing a nuclear weapons programme, a charge denied by Tehran.