A bomb has exploded at a police station in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, as the military continues to battle Taliban fighters in the northwest of the country. "The building is adjacent to a hospital and we are being told by witnesses here on the ground that a suicide bomber went inside ... and detonated his deadly cargo," Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from the scene, said. Waquar Shah, an officer on duty at the emergency call centre at the time of the attack, told The Associated Press news agency that the attackers was spotted as he climbed over a wall. "He jumped in from the rear wall, then ran toward the offices," he said. "One of our guys opened fire on him and he fell and blew up." 'Soft target' "We have seen several of this kind of attack since the operation started against the Pakistani Taliban in the Swat valley," he said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. On Friday, a suicide bombing at a mosque in Upper Dir, which borders the Swat valley region where the fighting is taking place, killed at least 30 people. At the end of May, the Tehrik-i-Punjab, a group with links to the Taliban claimed responsibility for a bombing in Lahore that killed at least 30 people and wounded another 200. The attack targeted a police station and the offices of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's spy agency. About 15,000 soldiers have been battling an estimated 2,000 Taliban fighters in the Swat valley for more than a month. Major-General Athar Abbas, a military spokesman, conceded on Saturday that the offensive will not be over until the Taliban leaders have been killed. "They are the centre of the gravity of this movement, and unless and until they are killed, we cannot declare victory in this whole operation,'' he said. Abbas said that Maulana Fazlullah, who is believed to lead many of the fighters in Swat, had been "targeted'" three times, but he was unable to confirm reports that he had been wounded. |
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Blast hits Islamabad police station The building targeted by the suicide bomber housed an emergency response unit [AFP] A bomb has exploded at a pol
Lebanon readies for tight poll race
Lebanon's political parties have wrapped up their campaigns ahead of a high-stakes general election that will pit Western-backed factions against a Hezbollah-led alliance. Campaigning was officially over on Saturday, a day before Lebanese voters go to the polls. More than 50,000 soldiers and police have been deployed country-wide to deal with any outbreaks of violence and European monitors will observe the vote. The election will largely by fought between the Hezbollah-dominated "March 8" alliance and the ruling Western-backed "March 14" coalition. Although the election race is expected to be tight, with no single party securing a comfortable victory, analysts believe Hezbollah has a good chance of gaining a parliamentary majority for the first time. 'Fate in Lebanon' A win for Hezbollah, which the US has listed as a so-called "terrorist" organisation, and its Maronite Christian allies from the Free Patriotic Movement, could precipitate a tilt towards Syria. But most analysts predict the outcome is likely to be a national unity government - albeit one in which Hezbollah has a strong hand - with little change likely in government policy. The Christian vote - divided between the two camps - looks set to tip the scale, with a handful of key battleground constituencies likely to be crucial in determining the elections outcome. Speaking to supporters ahead of the midnight deadline to end campaigning, Saad al-Hariri, the leader of the March 14 coalition, said the vote would decide the future of Lebanon. "All what we wish for is that that our opponents would recognise the result of the election," he said at a rally of his Future movement in Beirut on Friday. "The decision [following the vote] ... is the decision that will determine the fate in Lebanon." Lebanon has witnessed a period of calm in the run-up to the election, but sectarian tension brought Lebanon to the brink of civil war last year. More than 100 people were killed in violence before an agreement led to the election of Michel Sleiman, then the army chief, as president and the formation of a national unity government. Power-sharing Lebanon's complex power-sharing system divides the 128 seats in parliament equally between Christians and Muslims. The country's president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim. The current Sunni-led majority in parliament swept to power in 2005, amid a wave of popular discontent following the murder of Rafiq al-Hariri, a former prime minister, in a massive car bombing in Beirut. Reaction to the bombing prompted the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon after a 29-year presence amid accusations - strongly denied by Damascus - of Syrian involvement. It also marked the beginning of a turbulent period during which Hezbollah was thrust to the political forefront by its 34-day war with Israel in which 1,200 people died in Lebanon, most of them civilians. Political unrest last year also saw a six-month vacancy in the presidency and sectarian clashes that killed more than 100 people after Hezbollah staged a spectacular takeover of mainly Sunni parts of Beirut. |
Leaders' tribute to D-Day heroes
Obama tells story of D-Day landing
Allied leaders have been paying tribute to veterans of D-Day, as they mark the 65th anniversary of the landings at a series of events in Normandy.
US President Barack Obama said the bravery and selflessness of a few changed the course of a whole century.
He was speaking alongside French, Canadian and UK leaders at the American cemetery near Omaha Beach, scene of fierce fighting on 6 June 1944.
The Allies suffered 215,000 casualties on D-Day and in the Normandy campaign.
Germany suffered similar losses as the Allies fought desperately up the beaches and into the French countryside to form a bridgehead.
'Symbol of America'
Speaking at the US war cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach, Mr Obama said it was the sheer improbability of the D-Day victory that had made it so memorable.
The leaders recalled the sacrifices of the Allied troops at the landings
"Friends and veterans, what we cannot forget - what we must not forget - is that D-Day was a time and a place where the bravery and selflessness of a few was able to change the course of an entire century," he said.
"At an hour of maximum danger, amid the bleakest of circumstances, men who thought themselves ordinary found it within themselves to do the extraordinary."
Speaking before Mr Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy thanked the Allies for their efforts in liberating France and Western Europe, and the Americans in particular for their bravery at Omaha.
"I want to say thank you to the survivors of this tragedy who are here today with us... We owe you our freedom," he said.
"Because of the blood in your veins you are a symbol of the America we love."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Canada's Stephen Harper also recalled the Allies' sacrifices in their speeches.
Britain's Prince Charles was in attendance after the US intervened in a cross-channel row over the lack of an invitation for Queen Elizabeth.
Veterans of the landings were among the invited audience. Mr Sarkozy awarded the French Legion d'Honneur, the country's highest military honour, to one American, one Briton, one Canadian and one Frenchman.
Mr Obama's great-uncle, Charles Payne, 84, who helped to liberate a concentration camp near Buchenwald, has also travelled to Normandy.
Obama and Sarkozy remember D-Day
"It's a great feeling ... to come here," said Austin Cox, 90, of Maryland, who landed on Omaha Beach as a sergeant with the 29th Division of the US 115th Infantry Regiment.
"My comrades though are buried over at Omaha," he said.
Rock-star's welcome
Saturday's events began in Bayeux with a service of remembrance and commemoration organised by the Royal British Legion.
Mr Brown and his French counterpart, Francois Fillon, both laid wreaths inside Bayeux cathedral.
Mr Obama flew into Paris late on Friday after a brief trip to Germany in which he and Chancellor Angela Merkel toured the Buchenwald concentration camp.
Accompanied by Mr Sarkozy, he arrived in Caen with his wife, Michelle on Saturday at midday (1000 GMT).
Thronging crowds gave the US leader a rock star-style welcome and cheered as he went on an impromptu walkabout before a formal welcoming ceremony from a French military guard.
US First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, arrived in France shortly before the president.
After the D-Day ceremonies, President Obama and his family will return to Paris where they plan to visit Notre Dame Cathedral. They are due to fly back to the US on Sunday.
Obama tells story of D-Day landing
Allied leaders have been paying tribute to veterans of D-Day, as they mark the 65th anniversary of the landings at a series of events in Normandy.
US President Barack Obama said the bravery and selflessness of a few changed the course of a whole century.
He was speaking alongside French, Canadian and UK leaders at the American cemetery near Omaha Beach, scene of fierce fighting on 6 June 1944.
The Allies suffered 215,000 casualties on D-Day and in the Normandy campaign.
Germany suffered similar losses as the Allies fought desperately up the beaches and into the French countryside to form a bridgehead.
'Symbol of America'
Speaking at the US war cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach, Mr Obama said it was the sheer improbability of the D-Day victory that had made it so memorable.
The leaders recalled the sacrifices of the Allied troops at the landings |
"Friends and veterans, what we cannot forget - what we must not forget - is that D-Day was a time and a place where the bravery and selflessness of a few was able to change the course of an entire century," he said.
"At an hour of maximum danger, amid the bleakest of circumstances, men who thought themselves ordinary found it within themselves to do the extraordinary."
Speaking before Mr Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy thanked the Allies for their efforts in liberating France and Western Europe, and the Americans in particular for their bravery at Omaha.
|
"I want to say thank you to the survivors of this tragedy who are here today with us... We owe you our freedom," he said.
"Because of the blood in your veins you are a symbol of the America we love."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Canada's Stephen Harper also recalled the Allies' sacrifices in their speeches.
Britain's Prince Charles was in attendance after the US intervened in a cross-channel row over the lack of an invitation for Queen Elizabeth.
Veterans of the landings were among the invited audience. Mr Sarkozy awarded the French Legion d'Honneur, the country's highest military honour, to one American, one Briton, one Canadian and one Frenchman.
Mr Obama's great-uncle, Charles Payne, 84, who helped to liberate a concentration camp near Buchenwald, has also travelled to Normandy.
Obama and Sarkozy remember D-Day
"It's a great feeling ... to come here," said Austin Cox, 90, of Maryland, who landed on Omaha Beach as a sergeant with the 29th Division of the US 115th Infantry Regiment.
"My comrades though are buried over at Omaha," he said.
Rock-star's welcome
Saturday's events began in Bayeux with a service of remembrance and commemoration organised by the Royal British Legion.
Mr Brown and his French counterpart, Francois Fillon, both laid wreaths inside Bayeux cathedral.
Mr Obama flew into Paris late on Friday after a brief trip to Germany in which he and Chancellor Angela Merkel toured the Buchenwald concentration camp.
Accompanied by Mr Sarkozy, he arrived in Caen with his wife, Michelle on Saturday at midday (1000 GMT).
Thronging crowds gave the US leader a rock star-style welcome and cheered as he went on an impromptu walkabout before a formal welcoming ceremony from a French military guard.
US First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, arrived in France shortly before the president.
After the D-Day ceremonies, President Obama and his family will return to Paris where they plan to visit Notre Dame Cathedral. They are due to fly back to the US on Sunday.
Mexican nursery fire kills many
Distraught parents arrive at the nursery after learning of the fire
At least 31 children have been killed in a fire that swept through a state-run day-care centre in north-western Mexico, officials say.
The fire broke out at the ABC centre in the city of Hermosillo in Sonora state.
Dozens of children were taken to hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. Officials warn that the final death toll may rise.
The fire appears to have started in a tyre depot with flammable materials next to the day-care centre.
"We're still investigating what caused the fire," said Jose Larrinaga, a spokesman for the Sonora prosecutor's office.
Local media say the blaze spread so rapidly that some children could not be taken out of the centre.
President Felipe Calderon expressed his "profound pain" over the tragedy in the centre, which was run by Mexico's social services.
Fire fighters had to knock holes in the walls of the building to rescue children.
Officials said the fire was later put out, but that it may take hours for rescuers to sift through the gutted building.
Dozens of ambulances are surrounding the area with thick smoke in the air, the BBC's Steve Gibbs in Mexico says.
Terrified parents rushed to city hospitals - desperate for news about their children, many of whom remained unaccounted for.
At least 176 children are reported to have been at the centre when the fire began.
The children's age reportedly ranged from six months to five years.
Mexican commentators are already asking why the day-care centre was situated next to the depot, our correspondent says.
Distraught parents arrive at the nursery after learning of the fire
At least 31 children have been killed in a fire that swept through a state-run day-care centre in north-western Mexico, officials say.
The fire broke out at the ABC centre in the city of Hermosillo in Sonora state.
Dozens of children were taken to hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. Officials warn that the final death toll may rise.
The fire appears to have started in a tyre depot with flammable materials next to the day-care centre.
"We're still investigating what caused the fire," said Jose Larrinaga, a spokesman for the Sonora prosecutor's office.
| |
Local media say the blaze spread so rapidly that some children could not be taken out of the centre.
President Felipe Calderon expressed his "profound pain" over the tragedy in the centre, which was run by Mexico's social services.
Fire fighters had to knock holes in the walls of the building to rescue children.
Officials said the fire was later put out, but that it may take hours for rescuers to sift through the gutted building.
Dozens of ambulances are surrounding the area with thick smoke in the air, the BBC's Steve Gibbs in Mexico says.
Terrified parents rushed to city hospitals - desperate for news about their children, many of whom remained unaccounted for.
At least 176 children are reported to have been at the centre when the fire began.
The children's age reportedly ranged from six months to five years.
Mexican commentators are already asking why the day-care centre was situated next to the depot, our correspondent says.
Bodies 'found' from missing plane
Two bodies and debris have been found from the Air France plane which went missing over the Atlantic last Monday, the Brazilian air force has said. The remains were taken from the water early on Saturday morning, said spokesman Jorge Amaral. Experts on human remains are on their way to examine the find. All 228 passengers and crew on board AF 447 are believed to have been killed when the plane disappeared during its flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. "We confirm the recovery from the water debris and bodies from the Air France plane," Col Amaral said at a news conference in the northern city of Recife. He later added that two male bodies had been found, as well as objects linked to passengers known to be on the flight, including a suitcase with a plane ticket. A seat was also found, but there has been no confirmation that it was from the flight. The remains were picked up some 640 km (400 miles) northeast of the islands of Fernando de Noronha, off Brazil's northern coast. Correspondents say that much of the search effort so far has been focused on finding flight data recorders, which have sonar beacons - or "pingers" - attached to them. | |
No 'reward' for N Korea, US vows
North Korea's recent actions were "extraordinarily provocative" and the US does not mean to "reward" them, President Barack Obama has said. Mr Obama was referring to North Korea's latest nuclear and missile tests. "We are going to take a very hard look at how we move forward on these issues," he said. The UN Security Council is discussing tightening sanctions against Pyongyang, which is believed to be planning a long-range missile test this month. It is believed that the Council, which includes the North's closest allies China and Russia, is discussing a draft resolution calling on UN members to immediately comply with sanctions imposed in 2006 after North Korea's first nuclear test. Those include an arms embargo on heavy weapons, ship searches for illegal weapons and a ban on luxury goods. 'Unimaginable punishment' Speaking in France, where he was attending events marking the anniversary of the D-Day, Mr Obama said the US preferred to take the diplomatic approach in dealings with Pyongyang but the North Koreans must respond in what he called "a serious way".  South Korea's president visited his air force HQ on Saturday "I don't think that there should be an assumption that we will simply continue down a path in which North Korea is constantly destabilising the region and we just react in the same ways," he told reporters after meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the city of Caen. "We are not intending to continue a policy of rewarding provocation." North Korea raised regional tension last month by conducting the nuclear test, firing short-range missiles and issuing threats to its neighbour, South Korea. On Saturday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said his country's defences were strong and there was "no reason to fear". "There should be no doubt that there will be no compromise against things that threaten our people and security," he declared in an address to mark the South's Memorial Day. North Korea's state news agency issued a new warning of "strong action" against the South, blaming it for increasing military tension. It said South Korea "should not make any reckless move" as "anyone making provocation will be met with strong action and unimaginable punishment". |
Friday, June 5, 2009
Pakistan mosque bomb kills dozens
A bomb has exploded at a mosque in north-western Pakistan during Friday prayers, killing at least 38 people and wounding dozens more. Police said a suicide bomber detonated explosives at the mosque in Upper Dir district, although some witnesses said the bomb was already in the building. Nearby Swat Valley has been the scene of heavy fighting between the Pakistani military and Taliban militants. Upper Dir has also been the scene of sporadic clashes between the two. The bomb exploded at the mosque in the village of Hayagai Sharki, about 15km from the town of Upper Dir. The building was severely damaged and many worshippers were reported to have been trapped under the rubble. A resident of the village described the carnage at the scene of the blast. "A large number of body parts are scattered in the mosque. We don't know whether these are parts of the dead who have been identified or of others," Umer Rehman told the Reuters news agency. There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but the north-west region as a whole has witnessed a number of suicide attacks linked to the Taliban insurgency, as well as the Shia-Sunni sectarian divide. Condemnation In March, about 50 people died in a suicide bomb attack at a mosque near Jamrud, on the Khyber Pass route to Afghanistan. There are fears of a militant backlash in response to the army's military campaign in Swat, analysts say. The bombing has been condemned by both the Pakistani president and the prime minister who have reiterated Pakistan's determination to establish full government control. Pakistan's army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, said in a statement last night that the army had "turned the tide" against the Taliban and reiterated that the army aimed to completely eradicate them from the neighbouring Swat valley. In recent days the army has captured a number of militant strongholds as it continues its offensive. More than two million people have been displaced by the fighting. | |
Obama and Merkel vow peace push
'The US cannot force peace upon the parties,' Mr Obama said
US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have vowed to "redouble" efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East, at talks in Dresden.
One day after making a keynote speech in Cairo, Mr Obama said his government would seek a resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
"The moment is now, to act on what both sides know to be truth," he said.
Mr Obama is visiting the Nazi concentration camp in Buchenwald and afterwards a US Army hospital.
His visit to Buchenwald has a personal significance. His maternal great-uncle, Charles Payne, had been one of the US servicemen present at the liberation of Ohrdruf, a satellite camp of Buchenwald.
Mr Obama suggested Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - who this week repeated his claims that the Holocaust was a "great deception" - should make his own visit to Buchenwald.
"I have no patience for people who would deny history," he said in an interview in Germany with NBC News," and the history of the Holocaust is not something speculative."
At the US military hospital, Mr Obama will meet troops injured on active duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The US president flew to Germany from Egypt, where he said the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the United States and the Muslim world must end.
'Extraordinary activity'
During private talks, the two leaders discussed a broad range of major international challenges, they said at a news conference in Dresden:
• On Iran, Germany pledged to work with its contacts and use its "expert knowledge" as one of the key European negotiators with Tehran. Mr Obama said the US viewed the Iran issue in the "broader context" of preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East
• Mr Obama praised Germany as a "strong Nato partner" and spoke of the challenges ahead in Afghanistan, but stopped short of explicitly calling for more European troops
• The German chancellor gave no firm commitments on German assistance with terror suspects currently held at Guantanamo Bay, Mr Obama said, but said Europe would work with him as he seeks to close the prison camp
• Both leaders pledged to continue along the path of financial regulation set out at April's G20 summit
• On climate change, Mrs Merkel said the world faced an "uphill challenge", adding that both the US and Germany would seek a workable deal at a major climate conference in Copenhagen later this year
OBAMA'S TOUR
3 June: Saudi Arabia - talks with King Abdullah on Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations
4 June: Egypt - talks with President Hosni Mubarak, keynote speech at Cairo university
5 June: Germany - meets Chancellor Angela Merkel, visits to Dresden and to Buchenwald concentration camp6 June: France - meets President Nicolas Sarkozy, attends D-Day events in Normandy
Profile: Obama's great-uncle
On the Middle East, the German chancellor said she and Mr Obama had discussed a timeframe for diplomatic action in the Middle East and pledged to offer whatever help Germany could provide.
Mr Obama remained vague about the exact steps his administration would take, but said he would send his special envoy George Mitchell back to the region to meet leaders and discuss the issues raised by his Cairo speech.
In Cairo the US president called for an end to Israeli settlement construction, something the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to agree to.
"What is different now is that you're seeing an American president engage that issue [the Middle East] almost on the very first day I took office," Mr Obama said.
He said there had already been "extraordinary activity" on the issue which would send a sign to the region that the US means business, the president said.
However, other elements of the visit to Germany are more nuanced.
Mr Obama needs to convince an increasingly sceptical American public that the war in Afghanistan is worth fighting, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Berlin says.
So he will use his trip to Germany - and then the D-Day commemorations in France - to send a strong message back home that the fight against tyranny demands sacrifice, our correspondent says.
He says the US president has also for months been encouraging European governments to shoulder more of the burden in Afghanistan and to send more combat troops to take on the Taliban.
Washington also would like to see European countries take in dozens of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, but so far there has been little enthusiasm across Europe, our correspondent adds.
In a keynote speech in Cairo on Thursday, Mr Obama called for a "new beginning" in US relations with the Muslim world.
He admitted there had been "years of distrust" and said both sides needed to make a "sustained effort... to respect one another and seek common ground".
Mr Obama said the US bond with Israel was unbreakable but described the Palestinians' plight as "intolerable".
'The US cannot force peace upon the parties,' Mr Obama said
US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have vowed to "redouble" efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East, at talks in Dresden.
One day after making a keynote speech in Cairo, Mr Obama said his government would seek a resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
"The moment is now, to act on what both sides know to be truth," he said.
Mr Obama is visiting the Nazi concentration camp in Buchenwald and afterwards a US Army hospital.
His visit to Buchenwald has a personal significance. His maternal great-uncle, Charles Payne, had been one of the US servicemen present at the liberation of Ohrdruf, a satellite camp of Buchenwald.
Mr Obama suggested Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - who this week repeated his claims that the Holocaust was a "great deception" - should make his own visit to Buchenwald.
"I have no patience for people who would deny history," he said in an interview in Germany with NBC News," and the history of the Holocaust is not something speculative."
At the US military hospital, Mr Obama will meet troops injured on active duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The US president flew to Germany from Egypt, where he said the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the United States and the Muslim world must end.
'Extraordinary activity'
During private talks, the two leaders discussed a broad range of major international challenges, they said at a news conference in Dresden:
• On Iran, Germany pledged to work with its contacts and use its "expert knowledge" as one of the key European negotiators with Tehran. Mr Obama said the US viewed the Iran issue in the "broader context" of preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East
• Mr Obama praised Germany as a "strong Nato partner" and spoke of the challenges ahead in Afghanistan, but stopped short of explicitly calling for more European troops
• The German chancellor gave no firm commitments on German assistance with terror suspects currently held at Guantanamo Bay, Mr Obama said, but said Europe would work with him as he seeks to close the prison camp
• Both leaders pledged to continue along the path of financial regulation set out at April's G20 summit
• On climate change, Mrs Merkel said the world faced an "uphill challenge", adding that both the US and Germany would seek a workable deal at a major climate conference in Copenhagen later this year
| OBAMA'S TOUR 3 June: Saudi Arabia - talks with King Abdullah on Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations 4 June: Egypt - talks with President Hosni Mubarak, keynote speech at Cairo university 5 June: Germany - meets Chancellor Angela Merkel, visits to Dresden and to Buchenwald concentration camp 6 June: France - meets President Nicolas Sarkozy, attends D-Day events in Normandy Profile: Obama's great-uncle |
On the Middle East, the German chancellor said she and Mr Obama had discussed a timeframe for diplomatic action in the Middle East and pledged to offer whatever help Germany could provide.
Mr Obama remained vague about the exact steps his administration would take, but said he would send his special envoy George Mitchell back to the region to meet leaders and discuss the issues raised by his Cairo speech.
In Cairo the US president called for an end to Israeli settlement construction, something the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to agree to.
"What is different now is that you're seeing an American president engage that issue [the Middle East] almost on the very first day I took office," Mr Obama said.
He said there had already been "extraordinary activity" on the issue which would send a sign to the region that the US means business, the president said.
However, other elements of the visit to Germany are more nuanced.
Mr Obama needs to convince an increasingly sceptical American public that the war in Afghanistan is worth fighting, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Berlin says.
So he will use his trip to Germany - and then the D-Day commemorations in France - to send a strong message back home that the fight against tyranny demands sacrifice, our correspondent says.
He says the US president has also for months been encouraging European governments to shoulder more of the burden in Afghanistan and to send more combat troops to take on the Taliban.
Washington also would like to see European countries take in dozens of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, but so far there has been little enthusiasm across Europe, our correspondent adds.
In a keynote speech in Cairo on Thursday, Mr Obama called for a "new beginning" in US relations with the Muslim world.
He admitted there had been "years of distrust" and said both sides needed to make a "sustained effort... to respect one another and seek common ground".
Mr Obama said the US bond with Israel was unbreakable but described the Palestinians' plight as "intolerable".