Jerusalem (CNN) -- In a move likely to further strain relations between the United States and Israel, the municipality of Jerusalem has given final approval for a controversial Israeli housing project in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

Approval of the project paves the way for construction of 20 apartments being developed by American millionaire Irving Moskowitz on land that he purchased in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Moskowitz, an avid supporter of Jewish building in East Jerusalem, purchased the land in 1985.

To make way for the new housing units the historic Shepherd Hotel which was built in the 1930s by a prominent Palestinian family would be torn down.

The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem has become an area highly coveted by Jewish nationalists wishing to cement Jewish claims to the land, and it has become a fault line in the public debate about Israeli building in Arab areas of East Jerusalem. Every week hundreds of Palestinians, Israelis, and international activists stage protests in the neighborhood to protest Israeli government building policies.

East Jerusalem was captured from Jordan in the 1967 war between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Israel claims sovereignty over all of Jerusalem, though this it is a claim not recognized by the international community. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capitol of their future state.

In a terse statement Wednesday, the Jerusalem Municipality argued the East Jerusalem construction was actually approved in July 2009 and that the owners of the land merely paid a necessary fee last week which generated an automatic approval for the project to proceed.

"This is distorted media information in order to create a provocation during the Prime Minister's visit to the United States" read the statement.

The building plan, which was given municipal approval last summer, was met with great disapproval from the United States which demanded that it be stopped. It was a demand, then as now, that fell on deaf ears.

At the time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet, "Our sovereignty over [Jerusalem] cannot be challenged. This means that residents of Jerusalem may purchase apartments in all parts of the city. We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and purchase in all parts of Jerusalem."

Netanyahu echoed the same arguments in defense of the Israeli announcement two weeks ago to build 1,600 units of housing in a different East Jerusalem neighborhood.

That announcement, made while U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden was visiting Israel, set off a diplomatic rift between the United States and Israel that both sides are still attempting to iron out. U.S. President Barack Obama and Netanyahu met Wednesday evening in Washington to discuss Israel's plans for new housing units in East Jerusalem. The leaders did not appear before cameras, and there was no sign of an end to the dispute.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, called the approval "an intentional insult to the U.S. administration" and works against "any serious indirect or direct negotiations" between Israel and the Palestinians.

Rudeineh said the Obama administration "should put enough pressure on Israel to implement what has been written and issued by the Quartet in Moscow several days ago." On Friday, the Middle East Quartet, the United States, European Union, the United Nations, and Russia, called on both sides "to refrain from proactive actions" and for Israel to freeze all settlement activity in an effort to promote peace talks.

What controversial project was approved?

where is the controversial Israeli housing project approved for?

Answer: Israeli housing

Answer: East Jerusalem.

Answer: U.S. President Barack Obama and Netanyahu

Answer: President Barack Obama and Netanyahu

Summary:
Controversial Israeli housing project approved in Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem .
Move likely to further strain relations between United States and Israel .
Obama and Netanyahu met Wednesday in Washington to discuss Israel's housing plans .
U.S.-Israeli relations hit rough patch after row over future building in East Jerusalem .


Jerusalem (CNN) -- In a move that will further complicate international efforts to get Middle East peace negotiations restarted, the Israeli government Tuesday approved the construction of 1,100 homes in a southern Jerusalem neighborhood that was seized by Israel in 1967.

The Israeli Interior ministry announced that a district planning committee had approved the construction of the housing and that the decision would be open for public objections for the next 60 days.

The move brought quick condemnation from Palestinians who claim the land Israel occupied in East Jerusalem and the West Bank after the 1967 war as part of a future Palestinian state.

Palestinian officials said the action proved that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not serious about making peace.

"He said at the United Nations he was giving his hand in peace, but actually, he is digging in the land to build more settlements," said Palestinian negotiator Mohammed Shtayyeh.

The Israeli move also drew international criticism, with British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemning it while U.S. officials expressed disappointment.

"Settlement expansion is illegal under international law, corrodes trust and undermines the basic principle of land for peace," Hague said in a statement. "We call on the government of Israel to revoke this decision."

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the United States was disappointed by Israel's announcement, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it "counterproductive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties."

Last week, the Middle East Quartet -- made up of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia -- called on Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks within a month and set the end of 2012 as the deadline for their completion.

The Quartet also called on both sides to "to refrain from provocative actions," a veiled reference to Israeli settlement building in land Israel occupied after 1967.

Shtayyeh called Israel's move " a slap in the face of the Quartet and the whole international community, which is saying 'stop settlements.' "

In an interview with the daily Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu defended Israel's right to build in Jerusalem. "We plan in Jerusalem, we build in Jerusalem. Period. The same way Israeli governments have been doing for years."

As for possible U.S. government criticism of the move, Netanyahu declared that the Americans "know this -- they have followed this a long time. There is really nothing new."

In the interview, Netanyahu also said Israel would not initiate another settlement freeze to get talks started again.

"We already gave at the office," he said, referring to a 10-month freeze enacted by his government last year.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to convene a PLO leadership meeting Thursday to discuss the Quartet proposal for the resumption of talks, but Netanyahu's comments and the announcement of Israeli construction on land that Palestinians maintain should form part of their future state is bound to further widen the large gap between the two sides.

Abbas has said repeatedly that the Palestinians will not return to negotiations until Israel halted all settlement construction and accepted 1967 border lines as a basis for the return to talks.

Israel, for its part, has maintained that negotiations should begin with no pre-conditions.

What won't israel implement any more of?

What does Israel say it will not implement?

What country described the Israeli move as disappointing?

Answer: another settlement freeze

Answer: Palestinians

Answer: expressed disappointment.

Answer: the action proved that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not serious about making peace.

Answer: another settlement freeze to get talks started again.

Answer: United States

Summary:
NEW: The United States calls the Israeli move disappointing .
NEW: Britain's foreign secretary condemns the Israeli move .
Palestinians say the move proves Israel doesn't want peace .
Israel says it won't implement any more freezes on construction .


Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israel early Sunday released the names of the first group of Palestinian prisoners to be freed in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, setting in motion a process that will allow the public to file objections to specific releases.

The list features 477 names, including those of Ahlam Tamimi, serving life terms for being an accomplice in a suicide bombing at a Jerusalem restaurant, and Amneh Muna, who plotted the killing of a 16-year-old Israeli boy in 2001 and received a life sentence.

Israel approved the deal Tuesday night, agreeing to release in two stages 1,027 Palestinians prisoners, including hundreds serving life sentences for attacks on Israelis. The first swap is expected to take place early this week.

Twenty-seven of the prisoners are women. The second stage, which includes 550 prisoners, will occur later this year.

A spokesperson for Israeli President Shimon Peres said Saturday that the pardoning process formally commenced after a Justice Ministry official submitted the requisite paperwork.

Peres will allocate 48 hours to complete the procedure in order to allow public objections and petitions against the pardons.

Read the list (PDF)

The president is expected to voice his discomfort with the release of convicted murderers, but is unlikely to reject any of the pardon requests, spokeswoman Ayelet Frish told CNN. Any changes to the list negotiated with Hamas could potentially endanger the entire deal, she said.

The most notable name not in the list is jailed Palestinian lawmaker Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences. He was convicted in an Israeli court on murder and other charges related to his role in planning attacks on Israelis during the second Intifada.

Shalit has been a recurring topic in the country's national dialogue. Militants captured him in June 2006 after tunneling into the Jewish state and attacking an Israeli army outpost. Israel immediately launched a military incursion into Gaza to rescue Shalit, then 19, but failed to free him. Since then, he has been held incommunicado by Hamas, which controls Gaza.

Shalit's family has continuously petitioned Israeli government officials to broker a deal that would secure his release.

"Everyone wants to see Gilad Shalit safe and well and back home but I think there is a real failure to understand the price that is being paid, and the price is phenomenal," said Arnold Roth, who lost his daughter Malki in the Jerusalem suicide bombing in 2001. "We are releasing people who have dedicated their lives to killing Jews and Israelis."

Roth opposes the announced release of Tamimi, who was sentenced to multiple life sentences for her involvement in the August 2001 bombing of a Sbarro pizza restaurant in 2001, in which 16 people were killed.

Israeli radio reported Saturday that 182 files for pardons were submitted to the president for prisoners convicted in Israeli criminal courts. Remaining pardon requests will be handled by the Israeli Defense Forces officials.

On Friday, the terror victims association Almagor petitioned the Supreme Court to suspend the release until the deal is thoroughly examined.

More petitions against the deal are expected to be submitted Sunday by families of victims directly affected by the prisoners on the list.

The Ministry of Justice announced it will operate an information center "where information regarding prisoners on the list can be obtained."

Of the male prisoners on the list, 275 will return to their homes in Gaza. Most of the rest will be sent to the West Bank or East Jerusalem. Five prisoners who are Israeli citizens can return to their homes, and 39 are to be sent abroad.

who releases list of first group of prisoners proposed for exchange?

when the swap is expected to take place?

When is the swap expected to take place?

What did the father of the bombing victim say?

Answer: Israel

Answer: early this week.

Answer: early this week.

Answer: "Everyone wants to see Gilad Shalit safe and well and back home but I think there is a real failure to understand the price that is being paid, and the price is phenomenal,"

Answer: early this week.

Answer: the names of the first group of Palestinian prisoners

Answer: release in two stages 1,027 Palestinians prisoners,

Summary:
NEW: Israeli releases list of first group of prisoners proposed for exchange .
NEW: Those on list "have dedicated their lives to killing Jews," father of bombing victim says .
The swap is expected to take place early this week .
The deal includes an Israeli soldier held since 2006 and more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners .


Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israel's government rejected a Qatari offer to re-establish trade relations that would have allowed the Gulf state to provide aid to Gaza, two senior Israeli government officials said Thursday.

One official, who did not want to be named citing the sensitivity of the matter, said there had been "tentative discussions" within the Israeli government on the informal Qatari proposal, which would have linked the re-establishment of economic ties with Israel with Israel's granting permission for the Gulf state to send reconstruction supplies and other goods into Gaza.

The official said that the idea was rejected because it was seen "as a way of bolstering Hamas" and said American and Egyptian officials had expressed similar concerns. The same official said the proposal did not come as a "formal request or offer" from the Qatari government but could offer no details on who initially presented the idea.

News of Israel's rejection of the Qatari offer was first reported by Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Tuesday.

An official from the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem could not immediately comment. Qatari officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Another senior Israeli government official said "we were favorable" to the idea of renewed relations, but that the Qatari "precondition" of allowing "large amounts" of goods into the Gaza was a deal breaker.

The official said it was not clear who would have overseen the process. The proposal did not address Israel's concerns "about the unrestricted flow of material that can be used for defensive fortifications" by Hamas and "we had to say no," the official said.

The Palestinian territory of Gaza has been subjected to an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since 2007, when the Islamist group Hamas staged a violent coup ousting the Palestinian Authority government lead by Fatah, a rival political faction.

Qatar and Israel maintained trade relations from 1996 until last year. Relations fell apart after the start of Israel's military operation against Hamas in Gaza at the end of 2008. The three-week campaign, dubbed Operation Cast Lead, ended with approximately 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis killed. In protest, the Qatari government in Doha ordered the Israeli trade office closed. Qatar was the only Gulf country to maintain official relations with the Jewish state.

In a statement released earlier this month after a meeting of Arab leaders, the Qatari Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabor Al-Thani criticized Israel's Gaza policy, saying it contravened international legitimacy.

"We have to concentrate on confronting the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza which is oppressive and it is our duty to save the Palestinians who are part of us and we are part of them," he said.

Qatar has long sought to bolster its role in regional diplomacy. Bringing about a deal to send in construction supplies to Gaza would be regarded by many in the Arab world as a diplomatic coup, though it is unlikely that Egypt would be receptive to such an arrangement.

The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported Thursday that Egypt had expressed its opposition to Israel over the Qatari proposal, and that it was ultimately rejected so as not to upset the government of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki told CNN that "the Israeli newspaper report is a fairy tale and quite illogical."

"Since when do the Israelis need to consult with Egypt when they want to establish relations with any other party?" Zaki asked.

"It is clear that the Israelis do not want to offend the Qataris and therefore they (the Israelis) resorted to their usual game in striking a nerve in order to start trouble between Egypt and Qatar, just to make Israel look innocent," the spokesman added.

Who wanted to provide economic aid to Gaza?

Where did Qatar want to provide economic aid to ?

Who said Qatar offered to re-establish trade relations?

Who does Israel fear any aid would help?

Who did Qatar want to provide economic aid to?

Answer: Qatar

Answer: Gaza,

Answer: two senior Israeli government officials

Answer: defensive fortifications"

Answer: Gaza,

Answer: to re-establish trade relations

Summary:
Israeli officials say Qatar offered to re-establish trade relations .
Qatar wanted to provide economic aid to Gaza .
Israel fears any aid would bolster Hamas, officials say .


Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his government's decision Wednesday to speed up construction in East Jerusalem.

"We will continue to build in Jerusalem. This is our right and obligation," Netanyahu said at a Knesset memorial ceremony for former tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi, who was assassinated by Palestinian militants a decade ago.

"This is not a punishment -- it is our national right to build our capital. I guarantee that we will never return to the situation we had on the evening of the Six Day War," Netanyahu said.

His remarks came a day after his government announced it was expediting construction of 2,000 housing units in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank and suspending the transfer of Palestinian tax revenue in wake of the Palestinian Authority's successful membership bid at UNESCO, the U.N. cultural, science, and education agency.

British Foreign Minister William Hague released a statement Wednesday condemning the Israeli measures and calling them "a serious blow to the (Middle East) Quartet's efforts to restart peace negotiations."

"This settlement building program is illegal under international law and is the latest in a series of provocative and unhelpful settlement announcements," he said in the statement.

In Washington, White House press secretary Jay Carney said President Barack Obama's administration was "deeply disappointed" with Israel's announcement.

"Unilateral actions work against efforts for direct negotiations" necessary to achieve a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Carney told reporters Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a senior Israeli official said the planned construction involves 1,650 units in East Jerusalem and the rest in the West Bank settlements of Efrat and Maaleh Adumin.

The construction will take place in areas that are expected to be part of Israeli territory in any future peace agreement, the official said, and there is no contradiction between it and the various peace plans that have been on the table.

Palestinians claim the land Israel occupied in East Jerusalem and the West Bank after the 1967 war as part of a future Palestinian state.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said repeatedly that the Palestinians will not return to negotiations until Israel halts all settlement construction and accepts the borders in place before the 1967 Six Day War.

Israel, for its part, has maintained that negotiations should begin with no preconditions.

"You cannot expect Israel to continue to be restrained when the Palestinian Authority leadership repeatedly slams the door in our face," said the Israeli official, who was not authorized to speak to the media.

As an example of a door slamming, the official cited the UNESCO bid and the effort to win membership in the United Nations among other instances of Palestinian actions that damaged prospects for a peace deal.

The Israeli government has also put a temporary hold on the transfer of Palestinian tax revenue collected by the Israeli government, the official said. Palestinians rely on the revenue to fund government operations, including the payment of public sector salaries.

Hague, in his statement, expressed concern about that as well, saying it would have "direct implications for the Palestinian Authority's ability to maintain effective security in the West Bank."

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Abbas' spokesman, criticized the Israeli construction announcement Tuesday, calling the decision one "to accelerate the destruction of the peace process," according to WAFA, the Palestinian Authority's official news agency.

Senior Palestinian negotiator Mohamad Ishtayeh also condemned the move.

"Two days ago, they (the Israeli government) announced the building of 1 million settlement housing units over the span of 10 years. What Israel decided today was another episode in settlement construction. Using the UNESCO Palestinian membership is only looking for excuses and another way of building settlement housing units. This fits within the overall plan which was announced two days ago before the UNESCO vote," he told CNN.

Separately on Tuesday, the permanent observer of the Palestinian Authority to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, said he sent a letter to the U.N. secretary-general and the president of the Security Council about Israel.

"We write today to express our grave concern about the military escalation undertaken

To what did the Palestinians want full membership?

Answer: UNESCO, the U.N. cultural, science, and education agency.

Answer: "We will continue to build in Jerusalem. This is our right and obligation,"

Answer: "You cannot expect Israel to continue to be restrained when the Palestinian Authority leadership repeatedly slams the door in our face,"

Answer: President Barack Obama's administration

Answer: Jerusalem.

Answer: Palestinians will not return to negotiations until Israel halts all settlement construction and accepts the borders in place before the 1967 Six Day War.

Summary:
NEW: The White House expresses disappointment at Israel's move .
Netanyahu: "It is our national right to build our capital"
Abbas' spokesman said the decision is "to accelerate the destruction of the peace process"
The announcement follows UNESCO's approval of the Palestinians' bid for full membership .


Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israeli government ministers Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a temporary freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank in an effort to restart peace talks with the Palestinians. The Security Cabinet voted 11-2 in favor of the measure which calls for a 10-month freeze on new building permits and the construction of new residential buildings in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it "a very big step toward peace" and said he hoped the Palestinians would "take full advantage" of the opportunity to restart talks during the 10-month window. "I hope the Palestinians and the Arab world will work with us to forge a new beginning... for our children and for theirs," he said. In Washington, the top U.S. envoy for the region, George Mitchell, said he hoped to use the time to begin negotiations on permanent status issues, which include security for Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees and the status of Jerusalem. "My personal and fervent wish is that we will, during this process at some point, have a resolution of borders so there will no longer be any question about settlement construction," Mitchell told reporters. "It falls short of a full settlement freeze, but it is more than any Israeli government has done before, and can help move toward agreement between the parties," Mitchell told a briefing at the State Department. He said he plans to return soon to the region. Mitchell shrugged off a suggestion he might be discouraged after more than 10 months of failing to relaunch peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. "You can't take as final the first 'no,' the second 'no' or even the hundredth 'no,' " said Mitchell, who helped negotiate a peace agreement in Northern Ireland and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. "You can't get discouraged by setbacks and you can't be deterred by criticism. You have to be patient, persevering and determined." Mitchell also released a statement from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which said the announcement helps move the issue forward. "We believe that through good-faith negotiations the parties can mutually agree on an outcome which ends the conflict and reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps, and the Israeli goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders that reflect subsequent developments and meet Israeli security requirements," the Clinton statement said. "Let me say to all the people of the region and world: our commitment to achieving a solution with two states living side by side in peace and security is unwavering," the Clinton statement added. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a representative of the Middle East Diplomatic Quartet made up of the European Union, the United States, the Russian Federation and the United Nations, called the announcement "an important step towards creating the possibility for serious and credible negotiations for a two-state solution. "The key, as I have said consistently, is to combine a credible political negotiation with real change on the ground, in institution-building, security performance and economic development," Blair said. But Danny Danon, a member of the Knesset from Netanyahu's Likud Party and chairman of the Settlers Council, opposed the announcement. "If the prime minister will implement the ideology of the left, he will not get the support of his own party," he said. "All the things he wrote in his books, said in his speeches, he so eloquently preached for, he does exactly the opposite," said Danon, calling the move a "disappointment." Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the proposed temporary freeze would be inadequate: "The exclusion of Jerusalem is a very serious problem for us," he told reporters on Wednesday. Palestinian officials, including Fayyad, have called on Israel to freeze construction in Jerusalem as well. The Palestinians want Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state. In recent weeks, Netanyahu and other members of his cabinet have made clear that a construction freeze would not be implemented

What was the voting score measure for security cabinet?

What was the final total from the Security Cabinet vote?

What has the Security Cabinet voted in favor for?

Answer: Israeli government ministers

Answer: 11-2 in favor

Answer: 11-2

Answer: a 10-month freeze on new building permits and the construction of new residential buildings in the West Bank.

Summary:
Security Cabinet voted 11-2 in favor of the measure which calls for a 10-month freeze .
Israel under pressure -- particularly from United States -- to halt settlement construction .
Continued construction a key stumbling block in restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks .
Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad said proposed freeze would be inadequate .


Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israeli officials were working on repairs at a cemetery in an Arab section of the coastal city of Jaffa Sunday after vandals covered graves with graffiti.

"I am shocked. We should not permit it. It was done by a tiny minority, but the crime is terrible," Israeli President Shimon Peres told CNN Sunday. "To try and violate the holiness of a cemetery is against everything that we stand for, so both in public terms and religious terms, we shall take all the measures to get hold of these criminals and put an end to it."

More than 100 graves were vandalized in the Muslim cemetery of al-Kazakhana and at a nearby Christian cemetery in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa, according to residents and a CNN producer who visited the locations.

Words spray-painted in Hebrew on the gravestones included "death to all Arabs," "death to all Russians" and "price tag." Graffiti also included words associated with a local football fan club.

"Price tag" is a term frequently used by radical Israeli settlers to denote reprisal attacks against Palestinians in response to moves by the Israeli government to evacuate illegal West Bank outposts, or as retribution for attacks by Palestinians.

Mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa Ron Huldai decried the vandalism and met with leaders of the Arab community to discuss it Sunday.

"I expect the hands of those who do such crimes to be cut off," he said. "The public in Jaffa has always been the most mature above all the extremists. We will find the way to return to normal (relations) despite the provocations."

After authorities found the graffiti, Arab and Jewish residents of Jaffa held a small protest against racism and for coexistence Saturday night. During their demonstration, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a synagogue elsewhere in the city.

No one was injured and the building was not damaged in that incident, but police were investigating.

The vandalism in Jaffa took place less than a week after the arson of a mosque in northern Israel and the painting of swastikas on the walls of a Jewish holy site in the northern West Bank.

Residents say the vandalism took place Friday evening as the Yom Kippur holiday was beginning in Israel, but police suggested it might have taken place a day or two prior.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned the incident Sunday and pledged to prosecute those responsible.

"We are not prepared to tolerate any act of vandalism, especially that directed against religious sensitivities," Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.

Police were still following leads and investigating the case Sunday, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. No arrests had been made.

Contrary to previous reports, police said graves were spray painted but were not smashed.

Police officials said they had stepped up patrols in the area and were reaching out to community leaders.

But one lawmaker said Sunday that officials had not done enough to stop such attacks.

"The Israeli government is responsible, Many times something like this has happened and they did nothing, and so these people who do that are not deterred. They think they will not catch them and they will not be punished," said Dr. Jamal Zahalka, a member of the Israeli Knesset. "We call here now for everybody, Jewish and Arab to unite in a front against racism. The situation is deteriorating rapidly. After the mosque, the cemetery and tomorrow, actions against people. It will not stop "

According to Israeli police, reprisal attacks have increased in the past year, prompting them to create a special investigative unit.

In the past year, four West Bank mosques have been set ablaze. The United Nations has reported a measurable spike in violence against Palestinian property in 2011.

On Wednesday, a shrine holy to Jews was desecrated in the West Bank.

Jewish worshippers arrived at Joseph's Tomb in the city of Nablus to find swastikas and graffiti sprayed on the walls. It is unclear when the graffiti was left there. The site is under Palestinian Authority rule, and Jews visit every couple of months

What did the Israeli president say?
What did the mayor say?
Where was the Molotov cocktail thrown?
What was thrown at a synagogue?
What was the crime?
What was vandalised in the cemeteries?

Answer: "I am shocked. We should not permit it. It was done by a tiny minority, but the crime is terrible,"

Answer: "I expect the hands of those who do such crimes to be cut off,"

Answer: at a synagogue

Answer: a Molotov cocktail

Answer: graffiti.

Answer: graves

Summary:
Israeli president: "The crime is terrible (and) against everything that we stand for"
Mayor: "We will find a way to return to normal"
More than 100 graves are vandalized in two cemeteries -- one Christian, one Muslim .
A Molotov cocktail is thrown at a synagogue .


Jerusalem (CNN) -- Newly discovered artifacts beneath the huge stones of Jerusalem's Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites, indicate it took longer to build than previously believed.

Until now, the wall constructed as part of King Herod's enlargement of the Temple Mount area was thought to have been completed before he died in 4 B.C.

However, the discovery of three oil lamps from the first century and 17 bronze coins, four of which were dated A.D. 16, in a ritual bath beneath the Western Wall appears to confirm the writings of a first-century Jewish historian, who said the project was completed decades after Herod's death.

"This is important because now we would not speak any more of the Temple Mount being built by Herod" alone, said University of Haifa professor Ronny Reich, an archaeologist working on the site on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. "This is an archaeological finding that indeed the works of the Temple Mount took a long time, far after Herod's death."

A statement by the antiquities authority said the ancient historian, Flavius Josephus, wrote that Herod began constructing and enlarging the Temple Mount area in 22 B.C., which was the 18th year of his reign. Josephus wrote that it was "the largest project the world has ever heard of," according to the authority's statement.

Josephus also wrote that the completion of the building project, which included the Western Wall and Robinson's Arch as part of the Temple Mount complex, did not end until A.D. 50, the statement said.

"This bit of archaeological information illustrates the fact that the construction of the Temple Mount walls and Robinson's Arch was an enormous project that lasted decades and was not completed during Herod's lifetime," the authority's statement said. "This dramatic find confirms Josephus' descriptions which state that it was only during the reign of King Agrippa II (Herod's great-grandson) that the work was finished, and upon its completion there were 8,000-10,000 unemployed in Jerusalem."

CNN's Tom Cohen contributed to this report.

What is the evidence that Herod died before it was completed?

Answer: 22 B.C.,

Answer: thought to have been completed before he died in 4 B.C.

Answer: bronze

Answer: King Herod's

Answer: three oil lamps from the first century and 17 bronze coins,

Answer: Jerusalem's Western

Answer: Jerusalem's

Summary:
Coins found by archaeologists shed light on construction of one of Judaism's holiest sites .
King Herod started the wall, but the new evidence indicates he died before it was finished .
Until now, the wall was believed to have been completed during Herod's reign .


Jerusalem (CNN) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has fired his chief of staff despite an inquiry into a sex scandal that cleared the second-in-command of wrongdoing.

Rafiq Husseini was accused of using the power of his office to extract sex from a female job seeker.

The scandal erupted in February after a video was made public allegedly showing Husseini undressing in a bedroom and calling for a woman to join him in bed.

The president fired Husseini on Tuesday at the recommendation of a committee that Abbas created to look into the allegations.

The report clears Husseini of corruption and sexual misconduct charges. But because its content was not made public, it was not immediately clear why the committee recommended that the aide be let go.

"I was exonerated from the main accusations of abusing my power in office for personal gain and sexual favors," Husseini said Wednesday. "But at the same time, the committee found that I committed personal error outside the realm of my work."

The controversy began after Israel's Channel 10 aired the grainy surveillance footage of Husseini.

The footage shot in 2008 was provided to Channel 10 by Fahmi Shabaneh, a former agent in the Palestinian Authority's General Intelligence Department.

Shabaneh said he released the tape to the media to expose ethical and financial corruption within the Palestinian Authority.

Shabaneh said he had brought evidence of both sexual and financial wrongdoing to Abbas before going public, but that he was ignored.

He said received permission from his superior officer to make the clandestine recording of Husseini after a Palestinian woman approached him complaining that Husseini was trying to "sexually blackmail her."

The tape was made in cooperation with the woman who had brought the allegations, he said.

In a news conference in February, Husseini denied the allegations.

He told reporters that he had been framed by a gang "working for the interest of Israeli intelligence" and said the tape was "dubbed."

On Wednesday, Husseini said he accepted the committee's recommendation.

"I am satisfied, and know that I paid a price after all," he said. "I refuse to be blackmailed and I stood up to the black mailers even when that meant that I would lose my job over it."

CNN's Kareem Khadder contributed to this report.

Who is acussed of using power of his office?

Answer: using the power of his office to extract sex from a female job seeker.

Answer: 10

Answer: Rafiq Husseini

Answer: sex scandal

Answer: using the power of his office to extract sex from a female job seeker.

Answer: February

Answer: using the power of his office to extract sex from a female job seeker.

Answer: 10

Summary:
Rafiq Husseini accused of using power of his office to extract sex from female job seeker .
Report clears Husseini of corruption and sexual misconduct charges .
But Hussein fired at recommendation of committee created to look into allegations .
Controversy began after Israel's Channel 10 aired grainy surveillance footage of Husseini .


Jerusalem (CNN) -- Palestinian negotiators put forward proposals on security and borders during talks with Israeli representatives in Jordan, Palestinian media reported Tuesday.

Israel's special envoy, attorney Yitzhak Molcho, and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat met in Amman with representatives of the Middle East Quartet -- made up of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia -- in an effort to relaunch negotiations after more than a year of deadlock.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told reporters that "serious and constructive talks" had taken place, the official Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA said.

He said the talks focused on the two-state solution, according to the Jordanian state news agency Petra.

The Israelis said they would consider the Palestinian proposals, and the two sides agreed to meet again in Jordan, the agency cited Judeh as saying.

However, no significant breakthrough was made, Judeh acknowledged. "The gap is wide between the two sides on all issues," he is quoted as saying by WAFA. "The issues are complicated and we do not expect to resolve them in a day or two."

Petra quoted Judeh as saying, "We don't want to raise the expectations about this meeting and we don't want to underestimate its importance in the same time."

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians fell apart more than a year ago over disagreements on the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

In September, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made a bid for the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state, a move Israel called premature without direct talks to address its long-standing security concerns.

Filling the vacuum created by the removal of Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan's King Abdullah has taken a more active role in trying to bridge the gulf between Israelis and Palestinians.

In November, King Abdullah made a rare visit to the Palestinian political capital of Ramallah in the West Bank, followed by a meeting in Amman a week later with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

The United States has voiced its support for the new initiative.

"We are hopeful that this direct exchange can help move us forward on the pathway proposed by the Quartet," Hillary Clinton, the U.S. secretary of state, said Sunday night in a statement. "The status quo is not sustainable and the parties must act boldly to advance the cause of peace."

But while both sides thanked the Jordanian government for its role in bringing about the meeting, few expected any serious breakthroughs.

Speaking to Voice of Palestine radio beforehand, Erakat said the meeting would not constitute the resumption of negotiations, but rather would be one that could lead to the restarting of talks.

Former Quartet participant and American diplomat Robert Danin wrote Sunday for the Council on Foreign Relations that, while the resumption of contacts between the two sides would be a positive development, it "inadvertently makes the situation on the ground riskier."

"Abbas is returning to talks without attaining his long-standing demand that negotiations resume with an Israeli settlement freeze," Danin wrote. "Unless he can demonstrate quickly that talks produce tangible benefits for the Palestinians, he will feel compelled to break them off."

This, Danin said, could add impetus to Abbas concluding ongoing talks with Hamas about forming a Palestinian unity government -- an idea vehemently opposed by representatives of Israel and the United States, who consider the Islamist group a terrorist organization.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, said Monday he was surprised by the meetings. He said Hamas considered them a repetition of a failed initiative and called on the Palestinian Authority to cancel the meeting Tuesday with Israeli representatives.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told CNN that the meeting of the Palestinians with the Israeli occupying forces "is a mockery."

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told CNN last week that "if Mahmoud Abbas walks toward Hamas, he is walking away from peace."

CNN's Kevin Flower contributed to this report.

Who will meet with representatives from the middle east?

What did the spokesperson call the meeting?

What did the Hamas spokesman call the meeting?

what did hamas spokesman call the meeting

Answer: Saeb Erakat

Answer: a mockery."

Answer: Peace talks

Answer: disagreements on the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Answer: Israelis

Answer: "is a mockery."

Answer: a mockery."

Answer: fell apart

Answer: Jordan,

Summary:
NEW: Hamas spokesman calls the meeting "a mockery"
Negotiators from both sides meet with representatives from the Middle East Quartet .
The talks fell apart more than a year ago over Israeli settlements in the West Bank .
Jordan is hosting the meeting in an effort to relaunch stalled peace talks .


Jerusalem (CNN) -- Palestinians hurled rocks and burned tires in several neighborhoods in East Jerusalem Tuesday to protest the reopening of a landmark synagogue after more than 60 years.

Officers dispersed the crowd by firing stun grenades in one area, and village elders helped end the riots in another, said police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld.

At least seven people in the Mount of Olives neighborhood were wounded when police fired rubber bullets.

In all, 91 people were wounded in the clashes, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.

About 3,000 officers were deployed in the city after the militant group Hamas declared Tuesday a "Day of Rage."

The group was protesting the reopening of the Hurva synagogue on Monday. However, rumors swirled that right-wing groups were planning to ascend the Temple Mount, where al-Aqsa Mosque is located.

Senior Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, in a speech Monday in Syria, called on Palestinians to take to the street to protect Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian shrines. The Palestinian Authority suggested Israel was "preventing citizens from reaching the Old City ... to pray in al-Aqsa Mosque, as part of increasing provocative policies violating international law and human rights."

"Pay no attention to malicious slander," said Rabbi Yona Metzger, chief rabbi of Israel, told the Jewish news agency JTA on Monday. "All we are doing is resurrecting the Hurva that was destroyed 60 years ago. All the rumors that suggest we will later march on Temple Mount are just that -- rumors."

However, the incident is only the latest to ratchet up tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. The synagogue is located in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. The Old City also includes East Jerusalem, seen as Palestinians as the capital of their future state.

Israel claims sovereignty over all of Jerusalem since it took over East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967 in the Six-Day war. The rededication has underlined Palestinian concerns that Israel is attempting to bring more Jews into East Jerusalem and drive Palestinians out, particularly as it comes on the heels of an Israeli announcement last week that 1,600 more housing units would be built in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The synagogue rededication, however, had been planned for months in advance, according to organizers.

In a statement Tuesday, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said it "strongly condemns recent measures taken by Israel in East Jerusalem, the latest of which has been the inauguration of a synagogue in the old city. PCHR holds Israel responsible for the escalation of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory."

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, meeting in Madrid, Spain, with the Spanish minister of defense, said, "Israel will not allow extremists to dictate and force political arrangements.

"I have said this times before and I repeat: Israel is strong ... and must reach political arrangements out of this position," Barak said. "Lack of political negotiations will strengthen and encourage the extremists of both sides and the riots in Jerusalem today proves so. A political arrangement will only be achieved by direct negotiations."

Construction on the synagogue began in 1700, but halted, according to the Web site of Sacred Destinations, which describes itself as an educational and travel resource. It was restarted in 1836 and the synagogue was completed in 1856. The synagogue was destroyed by the Jordanian Arab Legion in 1948. Conservation and investigation of the ruins began in 1977.

Meshaal also warned the international community that Israel is "playing with fire" that could lead to a regional blowup.

Speaking to reporters Monday, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said there were American concerns "about the tensions regarding the rededication of a synagogue in the Jewish quarter of the Old City. And we are urging all parties to act responsibly and do whatever is necessary to remain calm."

At a memorial service Tuesday for late Israeli prime ministers and presidents, President Shimon Peres said: "We cannot afford to unravel the delicate fabric of friendship with the United States.

"Today, we are also at a decisive moment and we must decide without the determination of

How many people were wounded?
who protests in jerusalem
Palestinians protest what?
How many years had it been ?
What was used on the crowds ?
Where was the protest ?
Officers disperse crowd by doing what?
what do officers fire
how many were wounded

Answer: seven

Answer: Palestinians

Answer: the reopening of a landmark synagogue

Answer: 60

Answer: stun grenades

Answer: East Jerusalem

Answer: firing stun grenades

Answer: stun grenades

Answer: 91

Summary:
Palestinians protest reopening of landmark synagogue in Jerusalem after 60 years .
Officers disperse crowd by firing stun grenades; village elders help end riots elsewhere .
91 people wounded in clashes, Palestinian Red Crescent Society says .
Palestinians angered by Israeli settlement plans in largely Arab East Jerusalem .


Jerusalem (CNN) -- The Israeli government said Thursday it will stop a convoy of cargo and passenger ships filled with supplies and headed to Gaza to break a blockade imposed by Israel in 2007.

Government officials said Wednesday they have given the Israeli Defense Forces instructions to reroute the flotilla to Ashdod port in Israel, where the supplies will be unloaded and transferred to Gaza.

Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman, called the flotilla "a cheap political stunt."

"If they were really interested in the well being of the people of Gaza, they would have accepted the offers of Egypt or Israel to transfer humanitarian aid to the people  of Gaza, along with the other 15 thousand tons sent every week," he said.

The convoy, which left various European ports, is organized by two major groups: the Free Gaza movement, a pro-Palestinian human rights organization, and the IHH movement, a Turkish humanitarian relief foundation affiliated with the Islamic Brotherhood.

Organizers said the convoy is carrying 10,000 tons of construction material, medical equipment and school supplies, and about 750 activists of different nationalities.

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Yossi Gal, its director-general, has summoned the ambassadors of Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Sweden and Ireland -- the countries from which the flotilla set sail -- and "clarified the state of Israel's official position, which declares the flotilla an absolute provocation: There is no shortage of humanitarian aid to Gaza, as food products, fuel and supplies are constantly transferred into the Gaza Strip by the international organizations."

The flotilla is "invited to dock at Ashdod port, to unload their cargo and transfer it to Gaza, after a security check, either via the Israeli authorities or via the humanitarian organizations," the ministry said.

Hanin Zoabi, a member of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, and a passenger on the flotilla, called it a "humanitarian campaign for the 1.5 million Palestinian people who Israel put in jail for about the last four years without allowing building material, without educational material, without food into the Gaza strip.

"Israel destroyed 165 schools and more than 100 (factories) and destroyed tens of thousands of houses without enabling the Palestinians to rebuild their homes and their lives," Zoabi said. "This is a very strong political message towards Israel and towards the Arab world that stood silent regarding what is happening in Gaza."

Israel imposed the naval blockade on Gaza after the Hamas forcefully took control of  Gaza in 2007, ousting the Fatah movement headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Regev argued that the activists maintain a double standard when it comes to Hamas' actions.

"They call themselves human rights activists, but they remain silent when it comes to Hamas' deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians  and the brutalities of the Hamas regime in Gaza, which has crushed political opposition, suppressed independent media and has locked up hundreds of political opponents."

Sarah Weiss Maudi, an Israeli Foreign Ministry legal expert, said, "The naval blockade has been imposed by Israel because Israel is currently in a state of armed conflict with the Hamas regime that controls Gaza."

Under international maritime law, when a maritime blockade is in effect, no vessels can enter the blockaded area.

Maritime blockades are a legitimate measure under international law, and may be implemented as part of an armed conflict at sea, Israeli officials have said.

"The objective of the boats is to break Israel's siege on Gaza, to break Israel's blockade on Gaza. The material that we have on board are all of the materials that Israel denied to the people of Gaza like cement, building supplies, educational supplies etc," said Greta Berlin, co-founder of Free Gaza movement.

"We do not accept the siege on Gaza," said Zoabi. "... Israel does not want a siege. It wants a silent siege. Israel does not want occupation, it wants a silent occupation. It wants its policies to go without criticisms of the world. That's why it wants to stop the flotilla and also

What does the government say they will stop?

What is the the flotilla taking to Gaza?

Answer: ships filled with supplies and headed to Gaza to break a blockade imposed by Israel in 2007.

Answer: ships filled with supplies

Answer: supplies

Summary:
NEW: Israeli official calls convoy of ships 'cheap political stunt'
Government says it will stop flotilla taking aid to Gaza .
Knesset member among flotilla participants .
Convoy aims to break 2007 Israeli blockade .


Jerusalem (CNN) -- The Palestinian Liberation Organization's leadership reiterated its push for recognition as an independent state by the United Nations and condemning Israel's latest proposal for new settlements on disputed territory, state-run media reported.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas led the meeting in Ramallah on Thursday to discuss the official position, according to the official WAFA news agency.

The U.N. Security Council's admissions committee is set Friday to review the Palestinian application for statehood.

Last week, the Middle East Quartet -- made up of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia -- called on Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks within a month and set the end of 2012 as the deadline for their completion. But no such direct talks have taken place.

Abbas has said repeatedly that the Palestinians would not return to negotiations until Israel halted all settlement construction and accepted 1967 border lines as a basis for the return to talks.

Israel has maintained that negotiations should begin with no preconditions.

Besides calling for negotiation, the Quartet also called on both sides to "to refrain from provocative actions" -- in part a veiled reference to Israeli settlement-building in land Israel occupied as a result of the 1967 Mideast War.

This week, the Israeli Interior Ministry announced this week that a district planning committee had approved the construction of 1,100 homes in a southern Jerusalem neighborhood that was seized by Israel in 1967. That decision will be open for public comment for the next 60 days, the ministry added.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's executive committee, read a statement after the meeting Thursday criticizing the Israeli move. Palestinians, who want the land Israel now occupies in East Jerusalem and the West Bank to be part of a future Palestinian state.

A day earlier, Palestinian negotiator Mohammed Shtayyeh said the action suggests that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are not serious about making peace.

"He said at the United Nations he was giving his hand in peace, but actually, he is digging in the land to build more settlements," Shtayyeh said.

He further called Israel's move "a slap in the face of the Quartet and the whole international community, which is saying 'stop settlements.'"

In an interview with the daily Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu defended Israel's right to build in Jerusalem. "We plan in Jerusalem, we build in Jerusalem. Period. The same way Israeli governments have been doing for years."

The Israeli move drew international criticism, with British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemning it while U.S. officials expressed disappointment.

"Settlement expansion is illegal under international law, corrodes trust and undermines the basic principle of land for peace," Hague said in a statement. "We call on the government of Israel to revoke this decision."

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the United States was disappointed by Israel's announcement, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it "counterproductive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties."

As for possible U.S. government criticism of the move, Netanyahu declared that the Americans "know this -- they have followed this a long time. There is really nothing new."

In the interview, Netanyahu also said Israel would not initiate another settlement freeze to get talks started again.

"We already gave at the office," he said, referring to a 10-month freeze enacted by his government last year.

Who lead the meeting in Ramallah?
who is mahmoud abbas
What did Palestinian leaders say?
what did the prime minister lead
What did they condemn?
what israel plans
who is palestinian leader

Answer: Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas

Answer: Palestinian Authority Prime Minister

Answer: "to refrain from provocative actions"

Answer: the meeting in Ramallah

Answer: Israel's latest proposal for new settlements on disputed territory,

Answer: new settlements on disputed territory,

Answer: Mahmoud Abbas

Summary:
Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas leads the meeting in Ramallah .
In it, Palestinian leaders say they'll push for statehood at U.N.
They also condemn Israeli plans for settlements in a disputed area .


Johannesburg (CNN) -- Miffed by a visa delay that led the Dalai Lama to cancel a trip to South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu lashed out at his government Tuesday, saying it had acted worse than apartheid regimes and had forgotten all that the nation stood for.

"When we used to apply for passports under the apartheid government, we never knew until the last moment what their decision was," Tutu said at a news conference. "Our government is worse than the apartheid government because at least you were expecting it from the apartheid government.

"I have to say that I can't believe this. I really can't believe this," Tutu said. "You have to wake me up and tell me this is actually happening here."

The Dalai Lama scrapped his planned trip to South Africa this week after the nation failed to issue him a visa in time, his spokesman said.

Visa applications for him and his entourage were submitted to the South African High Commission in New Delhi, India, at the end of August, and original passports were submitted on September 20, more than two weeks ago, a statement on his website said.

However, South Africa's foreign affairs office said it did not refuse a visa.

"South Africa will not comment on the decision, because it is not our decision, it is his decision," according to spokesman Clayson Monyela, who said the visa application was still under consideration.

The Dalai Lama had been invited to the country to receive the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation and to speak at a number of events, including a lecture in honor of Tutu's 80th birthday. Tutu and the Dalai Lama are recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Tutu said he would pray for the defeat of South Africa's government, led by the African National Congress (ANC), which is rooted in the fight against the system of apartheid, or legal racial separation, that was present in South Africa until 1994.

"You are disgraceful," Tutu said about the government. "You are behaving in a way that is totally at variance with the things for which we stood."

The ANC plans to call on government officials to explain to South Africans why the visa process was delayed, spokesman Jackson Mtembu said. He said everyone was in the dark about this matter.

But he also suggested that Tutu calm down. A comparison to apartheid regimes, he said, was unfair.

This is not the first time the Dalai Lama has not been able to visit South Africa. In 2009, South Africa refused the Tibetan spiritual leader a visa to attend an international peace conference, saying it was not in the country's interest for him to attend.

In refusing the 2009 application, South Africa said that if the Dalai Lama attended the conference, the focus would shift away from the 2010 World Cup, the global soccer championship it was hosting.

"We cannot allow focus to shift to China and Tibet," presidential spokesman Thabo Masebe said, adding that South Africa had gained much from its trading relationship with China.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and China pressures governments around the world to deny him any legitimacy.

Speculation surfaced Tuesday that this year's visit was also affected by South Africa's relationship with China.

South African Vice President Kgalema Motlanthe visited Beijing last week and met with Chinese President Hu Jintao to discuss bolstering bilateral ties.

Motlanthe said South Africa was ready to boost the strategic partnership between the two countries to a new stage, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.

But Monyela said the application had nothing to do with China.

"We are a sovereign nation which takes decisions in our domestic interest," Monyela said.

The Dalai Lama posted a message on Twitter last week that said: "Even if the Chinese leave nothing but ashes, Tibet will rise from these ashes as a free country even if it takes a long time to do so."

Kim Norgaard, CNN's Johannesburg bureau chief, contributed to this

who did say South Africa did not issue a visa on time?

Who does the African National Congress say should calm down?

Who says the government is acting worse than apartheid regime?

Who was denied visa to South Africa in 2009?

Answer: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Answer: government.

Answer: Tutu

Answer: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Answer: Dalai Lama

Summary:
NEW: The African National Congress says Desmond Tutu should calm down .
Tutu says the government is acting worse than apartheid regime .
The Dalai Lama says South Africa did not issue a visa on time .
He was denied a visa to South Africa in 2009 .


Johannesburg (CNN) -- The trial of two men accused of killing white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche is expected to start in the South African town of Ventersdorp on Monday.

Terreblanche, the leader of the neo-Nazi Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement, or AWB), was killed in April following an apparent dispute over wages with workers on his farm.

Police have charged Chris Mahlangu, 29, and a 16-year-old in the death.

The trial was initially scheduled for December but was postponed several times as lawyers for the defendants changed.

Terreblanche, 69, was bludgeoned with clubs and stabbed with a machete during the attack at his farm near Ventersdorp in South Africa's North West province, police said.

The AWB is best known for trying to block South Africa's effort to end apartheid. The group used terrorist tactics in a bid to stall the country's first all-race vote in 1994, killing more than 20 people in a wave of bombings on the eve of the elections.

Terreblanche was convicted of a 1996 attempted murder of a black man who worked as a security guard on his farm. He served about two-thirds of a five-year sentence.

who was  was convicted of murder attempt in 1996

who was  bludgeoned and stabbed at his farm

What happened to Terreblanche at his farm?

who was believed to have died over wage dispute

Answer: Eugene Terreblanche

Answer: Eugene Terreblanche

Answer: wages with workers on his farm.

Answer: was killed

Answer: attempted murder

Answer: Terreblanche,

Answer: apparent dispute over wages

Answer: attempted murder

Summary:
White supremacist Eugene Terreblanche was bludgeoned and stabbed at his farm .
He is believed to have died over a wage dispute .
He was convicted of a 1996 attempted murder .


Join Roland Martin for his weekly sound-off segment on CNN.com Live at 11:10 a.m. Wednesday. If you're passionate about the topic, he wants to hear from you. Roland Martin says the three presidential candidates will never be "regular folks." (CNN) -- Can we all just stop the silly nonsense over who is an elitist and whether an "average American" will occupy the White House? Listening to the punditry today, you would think folks who revel in the comedy of Larry the Cable Guy or Katt Williams really would have a shot at the White House. It's totally absurd. So, Sen. Barack Obama is all of a sudden an elitist because he went to Columbia and Harvard? And Sen. Hillary Clinton is an elitist because she went to Yale? Do you actually think Sen. John McCain isn't an elitist? He went to an exclusive college -- the Naval Academy, and that is one of the hardest places to get into. (You can't even apply unless a member of Congress recommends you.) Karl Rove, who tries to portray himself as the common man but is just another rich Republican, has called both Democratic candidates elitists. Well, his former boss, President George W. Bush, went to Yale. So did Bush's dad, former president George H.W. Bush, and his granddaddy, former Sen. Prescott Bush. All three Bushes also were members of the super elite organization Skull and Bones. The younger Bush later went to Harvard. He walked into the governor's mansion and the presidency on the strength of his name and his dad's money and connections. Sounds like an elitist to me! But no, we're supposed to be fooled by the cowboy boots, folksy charm and him removing brush at his Crawford, Texas, ranch (don't forget the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, where all the "regular" folks hang out). Surely you recall when Bush nominated Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court? Those same conservative voices decrying the elitist Democrats were blasting her because she went to little old Southern Methodist University, that unremarkable -- their view -- university in Dallas, Texas. (By the way, that will be the home of the George W. Bush Library.) You can bet a pitcher of beer that had she graduated from Harvard, Yale or Princeton, she wouldn't have been derisively referred to as too plain and not educated enough by the elitists in the Republican Party. And let's stay with the Supreme Court for a moment. Where did its members go to school? Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. -- Undergrad and law school, Harvard. Justice John Paul Stevens -- Undergrad: University of Chicago. Law school: Northwestern. Justice Antonin Scalia -- Undergrad: Georgetown University and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Law school: Harvard. Justice Anthony Kennedy -- Undergrad: Stanford University and the London School of Economics. Law school: Harvard. Justice David Souter -- Undergrad: Harvard; Magdalen College, Oxford; Oxford University. Law school: Harvard. Justice Clarence Thomas -- Undergrad: Holy Cross. Law school: Yale. Justice Ruth Ginsburg -- Undergrad: Cornell. Law school: Harvard (attended); finished at Columbia. Justice Stephen Breyer -- Undergrad, Stanford; Magdalen College, Oxford. Law school: Harvard. Justice Samuel Alito -- Undegrad: Princeton. Law school: Yale. That's pretty much an elite list of schools. We have deluded ourselves into thinking the person elected to the White House is really and truly like the rest of us. All three candidates don't know what it's like to face the daunting health care challenges millions of Americans are confronted with daily. Each are members of the U.S. Senate, and they have the best health care money can buy for life -- we pay for it! While your pension plan is shot to hell, their plan will NEVER be underfunded. The members will see to that, courtesy of taxpayer dollars. Forget how many times Obama bowls gutter balls, Clinton tosses back shots of whiskey and McCain

Answer: three presidential candidates will never be "regular folks."

Summary:
Martin: All three candidates are well-educated, wealthy -- not "average"
Their efforts to show that they are "just like us" are pathetic, he says .
But that's OK, Martin says, if they advance good policies .


Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington (CNN) -- Army Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs has been sentenced to life in military prison with eligibility for parole in 10 years.

A military court-martial Thursday found Gibbs guilty of murdering three Afghan civilians, illegally cutting off pieces of their corpses to keep as "souvenirs" and planting weapons to make the men appear as if they were Taliban fighters killed in legitimate firefights.

He was reduced in rank to private and ordered to forfeit all pay and benefits. Whatever sentence Gibbs serves will be reduced by the 547 days he has already spent in prison.

"He said they were all dirty savages," prosecutor Maj. Andre Leblanc said at Gibbs' sentencing hearing.

"He is the savage, not the innocent Afghans he murdered. It is monstrous. What kind of savagery does it take to do this? To cut a finger off a victim and show it to people? This is a savage being"

Gibbs' attorney, Phillip Stackhouse, had asked the court for a sentence of life with parole so Gibbs would have the opportunity to be with his now-3-year-old son again.

"He has a long time to reflect on his life, what he has done and what he wants to do in the future," Stackhouse said.

Gibbs is the highest ranking of five soldiers charged with being part of a rogue "kill squad" that targeted civilians. Another seven soldiers also were charged with lesser crimes including abusing drugs, keeping "off the books" weapons and intimidating a fellow soldier not to speak out against the platoon's alleged killings.

Gibbs had pleaded not guilty.

A prosecutor described Gibbs as a "recruiting poster" soldier. But the tall, clean-cut Gibbs and the "kill squad" he was convicted of leading turned into a public-relations nightmare for the military.

"Sgt. Gibbs had a charisma, he had a 'follow me' personality," Maj. Robert Stelle, a prosecutor in the case, told the court in closing arguments Wednesday. "But it was all a bunch of crap, he had his own mission: murder and depravity."

The murders Gibbs is accused of committing took place over a period of five months last year, while Gibbs led the 3rd Platoon of the ArmyÂ¹s 5th Stryker Brigade in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

Gibbs' platoon was tasked with patrolling small villages in the area to build relationships with an Afghan population wary of the U.S. presence in their country. Instead, prosecutors said Gibbs and a small group of rogue soldiers allegedly plotted to murder civilians and then planted weapons on them so they appeared to be Taliban attackers.

"Selling a fake engagement as a real engagement, that's what they were doing," Stelle told the court.

In court testimony, Gibbs said he did not execute anyone. Prosecutors said Gibbs participated in the killings of three unarmed civilians: two farmers and a village cleric.

Gibbs said he killed one of the men, but he claimed it was in self-defense. However, the staff sergeant admitted to ripping and cutting off fingers of all three men he was charged with killing. He kept the body parts, he said, to give to soldiers he favored or to intimidate soldiers he disliked.

"I was numb to the situation," Gibbs told the court about why he had taken the body parts. "I wasn't thinking; it's sickening. I am embarrassed."

Gibbs also admitted to posing for photos with bodies against military regulations.

"People wanted to prove they were there," Gibbs replied when asked by his attorney why the soldiers took the photos. The Army later apologized after the photos were leaked to the press.

Gibbs appeared shocked after the verdict was read, and his wife, Army Spec. Chelsy Gibbs, began to cry. According to court records, she filed for divorce from Staff Sgt. Gibbs in August and asked for custody of their toddler son.

The panel of three officers and two enlisted soldiers started deliberating in a military courtroom near Tacoma shortly before 10 a.m.

Who is  sentenced to life in prison, with parole possible?

What does the prosecution acccuse gibbs of doing?

What excuse does the defence give for his actions?

Answer: life with parole

Answer: Army Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs

Answer: planting weapons to make the men appear as if they were Taliban fighters

Answer: murdering three Afghan civilians,

Answer: self-defense.

Answer: body parts.

Answer: Army Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs

Answer: "He is the savage, not the innocent Afghans he murdered. It is monstrous.

Summary:
Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs is sentenced to life in prison, with parole possible .
NEW: He remains under investigation for the 2004 shooting death of a family in Iraq .
Prosecutors: Gibbs' platoon staged killings of civilians as firefights with Taliban .
Defense says Gibbs' accusers were high on hashish at the time .


Jos, Nigeria (CNN) -- An Islamic militant group in northern Nigeria has claimed responsibility for attacks that killed at least 25 people in a rash of violence against the country's minority Christians, officials said, after it issued an earlier ultimatum that gave Christians three days to leave the area.

Gunmen opened fire on residents Friday, killing at least 15 people who were mourning the deaths of two slain businessmen, said Rev. Paul Alhamdu, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria.

At least eight people were also killed on Thursday in a church shooting in northeastern Nigeria, a pastor at the church said, as sectarian violence spirals and the country is shaken by angry protests over fuel subsidies.

Gunmen attacked the Deeper Life church in Gombe, the capital of Gombe state, Thursday evening as worshipers held a prayer meeting, according to the Venerable Joseph Ninyo, a pastor with the Anglican Diocese of Gombe.

He said at least 20 people were being treated at a hospital, one of whom is in intensive care.

"Many tried to run but were gunned down," eyewitness Konson Danladi said. "I was just outside the church when the men came and started shooting, and I ran."

Police said the militant group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for both attacks, but CNN could not immediately confirm the claims.

The church targeted in Gombe is attended predominantly by Ibo Christians from southern Nigeria.

Boko Haram has been blamed for months of widespread bloodshed in Nigeria, with churches and police stations among the targets.

The group also claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on churches on Christmas Day.

The rising tide of violence led Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to declare a partial state of emergency in four northern states, in a bid to contain Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is a sin."

The latest sectarian attack comes as Nigeria also faces a nationwide wave of popular protests over the removal of a gas subsidy that had kept prices artificially low.

What is behind Nigeria fuel protests?

Union leaders have called for a national strike beginning Monday if the government does not reverse the decision, which resulted in the cost of a liter of gasoline more than doubling virtually overnight.

Furious Nigerians have already taken to the streets this week, staging "Occupy Nigeria" protests and mass demonstrations across the country, and there have been calls from some quarters for the president to be impeached.

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Nigeria, an oil-rich nation of about 167 million people, is regularly voted among the most corrupt countries in the world, and citizens complain that the money saved by ending the fuel subsidy is highly likely to be siphoned off by a few and salted away into offshore accounts.

The government has said the money will be used to fund infrastructure projects, such as building refineries so Nigeria can produce its own gasoline rather than having to import it.

Tires burn, protesters flood Lagos

Elizabeth Donnelly, with the Africa Programme at London-based think tank Chatham House, told CNN the two issues together -- the sectarian violence and the fuel subsidy protests -- present the biggest challenge yet for Jonathan, who was elected president last year after taking the reins in 2010 when the former president died.

Although the government struck a blow against Boko Haram in 2009 with the capture of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, it has since become more of a "franchise," or umbrella organization, for the actions of individual groups, making it harder to manage the problem, Donnelly said.

Protesters make demands known

"We can trace these sorts of attacks to issues of underdevelopment, poverty, lack of resources and so on. The fact that it's framed in religious language is worrying," she said, particularly given the sectarian violence that has broken out in Nigeria in recent years.

The country's leadership needs to rise above politics and use the kind of language that will bridge the growing gap between different parts of Nigerian society, she said, rather than just treating the problem as a security issue.

But the challenge of restoring calm will be compounded by

Gunmen attacked what church as worshipers met for service?

Who has been blamed for other attacks on churches?

What did an eyewitness describe that they saw?

Answer: Boko Haram

Answer: An Islamic militant group in northern Nigeria

Answer: Deeper Life

Answer: Gunmen

Answer: Boko Haram

Answer: Gombe,

Answer: "Many tried to run but were gunned down,"

Answer: "Many tried to run but were gunned down,"

Answer: Boko Haram

Summary:
Sectarian violence and fuel policy protests are tests for the president, an analyst says .
Gunmen attacked the Deeper Life church in Gombe as worshipers met for a service .
An eyewitness describes how people were gunned down as they tried to flee .
An Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, has been blamed for other attacks on churches .


KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN)  -- Afghanistan's reputation as the world's leading narcotics supplier is well-known, but in a squalid ruin in Kabul, the country hides a darker secret -- a huge home grown drug addiction problem now on the brink of fueling an HIV/AIDS epidemic. Junkies smoking heroin can get high for $4. Here junkies lie in their own filth, wasted limbs poking out of blood-spattered clothing as they blank out the abject misery of their surroundings. In one room, a veritable narcotics bazaar offers pills and drug paraphernalia -- with hits retailing at less than $4. One user claims he has been an addict for 22 years, although it is difficult to talk to any of the dazed and ragged occupants of the drug rooms. The atmosphere is edgy and -- as thick clouds of burning opium fill the air -- dizzyingly toxic. The Kabul den is just the tip of the iceberg in a country awash with narcotics. The government estimates the number of addicts in Afghanistan could be as many as five percent of its 25 million people.  Watch Nic Robertson's report from the 'house of hopelessness' » And though nascent efforts are being made to tackle the problem, chronic funding shortfalls have prompted the United Nations to warn that drug use will escalate, potentially driving an HIV/AIDS crisis as junkies move from smoking to high risk needle-sharing. Afghanistan has always been a major narcotics supplier -- responsible for 95 percent of the world's heroin -- although this was scaled back under the rule of the Taliban, which outlawed poppy cultivation and imposed strict penalties for drug users. Since 2001, when the extremist regime was ousted by a U.S.-led invasion that installed President Hamid Karzai, production has doubled. And for many in the country still mired in poverty and conflict, these cheap drugs offer a tempting escape. The last United Nations survey of Afghanistan's drug problem four years ago estimated the country's addicts to number about 200,000. According to Afghan Counter Narcotics Minister Khodaidad, the figure is now far greater. "More than 1.2 million people in Afghanistan are addicts. It's a very huge number and every year it increases," he told CNN. Khodaidad says the Afghan government is largely powerless to control the production of opium while Taliban extremists, who now control and draw funding from drug crops, control cultivation areas despite major international military efforts to push them back. "We did very little due to weakness of governors, due to insurgents, due to pressure of terrorism in the area," he added. "We don't have sufficient law enforcement agencies -- the police, the border security force, and other special forces to control this area -- so it will take time." But, says Jean-Luc Lemahieu, head of the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Kabul, time is something Afghanistan does not have. As intravenous drug use takes hold, raising the prospect of needle sharing, he says HIV/AIDS will follow quickly. "The little data we have at the moment are very alarming," he told CNN. "They tell us that we should not wait longer and if not, this country will be saddled with another burden it just can not afford. "I think it is already happening today. We have seen, now, a few HIV/AIDS cases. Hopefully we can contain the problem, although it is unlikely given the problems with the health structures." The U.N. has begun a program to detox users willing to get off drugs in Afghanistan. A renovated warehouse in Kabul offers hope to 100 addicts in the biggest facility of its kind in the country.  Watch Robertson go inside the detox clinic » In the center's clean, bare rooms, shaven-headed junkies tremble under blankets as they go through the agonizing cold turkey of weaning their ravaged bodies off drug dependency. Therapy sessions also help motivate them to kick their deadly habit. "Here we deal with the problem from a humanitarian perspective, not from an addiction perspective, to save lives," says

How many Afghans are addicted to drugs according to government officials?

What are the efforts to combat drug use suffering from?

Answer: 1.2 million

Answer: funding

Answer: HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Answer: HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Answer: 1.2 million

Answer: chronic funding shortfalls

Answer: an HIV/AIDS crisis

Summary:
Government officials say 1.2 million Afghans are now addicted to drugs .
United Nations says growing drug use could lead to HIV/AIDS crisis .
Efforts to combat drug use suffering from chronic lack of funds .


KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN)  -- Babies lie side by side in warming beds or sprawled on blankets atop crude wooden tables. Many families at Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, seem resigned to the situation. Children with wounds and broken bones are carried in by their parents to wait on stiff plastic chairs. Outside, coughing youngsters squat on the pavement with their anxious families, waiting for care. And everywhere, parents clutch plastic bags containing bring-your-own medicines and supplies. For though they are all awaiting treatment at Afghanistan's only specialist pediatric hospital, the hospital cannot even afford bandages for its patients. The Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in central Kabul has to run on an operating budget of less than $1,200 a month, said Dr. Noorulhaq Yousufzai, the hospital director. The few supplies that he can buy have to be hoarded for emergencies, and he has to count on parents to buy what's needed to care for their children. "In some cases, there is shortage of the surgical materials, and sometimes we don't have antiseptic to use," Yousufzai said. The United Nations says that more than $15 billion in aid has been sent to Afghanistan since the U.S.-led coalition overthrew the Taliban in late 2001. But still, the hospital cannot afford to help the hundreds of children who stream in every day, desperate for care and cures. The government does pay for salaries and sometimes for fuel, but there is often a shortage of even basic supplies like syringes. Doctors say they have to double up premature babies in incubators. And some of those incubators are compromised. On a recent day, a plastic surgical mask taped onto one machine was the only shield from infection.  Watch scenes from inside the hospital » The parents waiting anxiously beside their sick children seem resigned to the situation in the hospital. One mother, who declined to give her name, said she spent the family's entire weekly income of $8 on an injection that did not help her baby. "This is something that the hospital should be giving us, because we can't afford it," she said. The U.S. Agency for International Development says infant mortality has dropped by 22 percent since the overthrow of the Taliban but acknowledges that the health status for Afghans is among the worst in the world. One in every five Afghan children will die before their 5th birthday, often of a preventable disease, according to the Save the Children aid agency. The toll on the children and parents is clear to any visitor, and the strain hits the hospital staff, too. "When you see a patient is very, very, sick and you cannot help, and they have to provide something for their children and they are not able to provide, it's also a stress for us," Yousufzai said. At the end of 2001, there were hopes that the hospital would be upgraded, but it is still waiting. It needs some acute care of its own, or it will continue to struggle to help the children who arrive at its door pleading for care.

What is the operating budget for Kabul hospital?

Does the government pay salaries AND basic supplies?

What is Kabu hospital's operating budget per month?

One in five Afgan children will die before what birthday?

What is the operating budget of the hospital?

Answer: less than $1,200 a month,

Answer: sometimes for fuel,

Answer: less than $1,200 a

Answer: The government

Answer: Kabul, Afghanistan,

Answer: 5th

Answer: The government

Answer: less than $1,200 a month,

Summary:
Kabul hospital's operating budget is less than $1,200 a month .
Government pays salaries, but even basic supplies are often gone .
One in five Afghan children will die before their 5th birthday, group says .


KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN)  -- The number of people killed in a car bombing in Afghanistan's capital rose to 26, including six Italian soldiers, Afghan authorities said Saturday. The coffins of six Italian soldiers killed in a suicide attack in Kabul return to Rome. Sixteen people died in the blast Thursday, and at least 55 Afghan civilians were wounded. Ten have died from their injuries since the bombing. The explosion Thursday targeted a mostly residential area near the Supreme Court in Kabul, a witness said. The bodies of the Italian soldiers killed in the blast returned to Italy Sunday, their coffins draped in the red, green and white Italian flag. Dignitaries, relatives and row upon row of uniformed troops stood on the airport tarmac as the coffins were carried off the plane, television pictures from the scene showed.  Watch more about Italy in mourning » Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano gently touched the caskets perched on the shoulders of grim-faced soldiers at Rome's Ciampino military airport. Nearby, a woman shook uncontrollably as a baby sported a maroon beret -- the kind worn by the paratroopers killed in the Kabul attack. The six deaths marked largest number of Italians killed in a single day in Afghanistan.  Watch more about Italy's Afghan mission » Before the remains left for Rome, the Italian military, international troops and dignitaries held a service in the Afghan capital. "It's a tragedy for us," Lt. Col. Renato Vaira of the Italian military said at the Kabul service. "But this is a point to continue our mission." "We'll miss them. They're not the first. I hope it will be the last," said Maj. Gen. Tommaso Ferro of the Italian military. The arrival of the soldiers' remains was televised nationally in Italy. The bodies were taken for an autopsy. A day of mourning is scheduled in Italy on Monday, the same day as the burial service. After the attack, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said it would be "best" for the country's troops to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible. Berlusconi gave no timeline for a withdrawal, but said any pullout would have to be coordinated with allies. The 500 troops Italy sent to Afghanistan this summer will be home by Christmas, Ignazio La Russa, Italy's defense minister said. The troops were sent ahead of the Afghan presidential election August 20. The rest of Italy's 2,800 troops in Afghanistan will withdraw only when NATO calls for it, La Russa said.

What did the Italian Prime minister said?

Who said it would be best for the country's troops to leave Afghanistan?

The bodies of how many Italian soldiers were returned to Italy?

what did the italian prime minister say?

HOw many bodies of italian soldiers were there?

Answer: six

Answer: six

Answer: a mostly residential area near the Supreme Court in Kabul,

Answer: it would be "best" for the country's troops to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible.

Answer: it would be "best" for the country's troops to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible.

Answer: six

Answer: Thursday targeted a mostly residential area near the Supreme Court in Kabul, a witness said.

Answer: it would be "best" for the country's troops to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible.

Answer: mostly residential area near the Supreme Court in Kabul,

Answer: a mostly residential

Answer: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Answer: six Italian

Answer: a mostly residential area near the Supreme Court in Kabul,

Answer: six

Answer: Silvio Berlusconi said it would be "best" for the country's troops to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible.

Answer: Kabul

Answer: six

Summary:
Explosion targeted a mostly residential area near the Supreme Court in Kabul .
Bodies of six Italian soldiers who died returned to Italy Sunday .
Italian Prime Minister says it would be "best" for country's troops to leave Afghanistan .
Deaths were the highest single-day death toll for Italy in the Afghan mission .


KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN)  -- Two coalition U.S. soldiers were killed along with three Afghans, including a police official, while trying to disable a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan Sunday, the U.S. military said. Afghan police destroy poppy fields in Helmand province. The explosion was under investigation, the military said. The soldiers were part of a convoy of coalition troops accompanying Gulab Mangal, the governor of Helmand province, to a village where he intended to talk to residents about alternatives to opium farming. The convoy came upon two bombs stacked on top of each other, said local journalist Abdul Tawab Qureshi. When the soldiers tried to disable the bombs, the second one went off, added Qureshi, saying the blast killed the police chief of the province's Nad Ali district, Mohammed Nader; a police officer; and a translator. Over the years, opium and heroin -- both derivatives of the poppy -- have served as a major source of revenue for the insurgency, most notably the Taliban movement that once ruled Afghanistan. Though southern Afghanistan still provides about two-thirds of the world's opium and heroin, poppy cultivation has dropped by 20 percent -- to the lowest level since 2006. CNN's Atia Abawi contributed to this report.

Who were the soldiers accompanying in the convoy?

Where were the two soldiers from who were killing by the roadside bomb?

Answer: roadside bomb

Answer: Gulab Mangal,

Answer: disable the bombs,

Answer: Gulab Mangal,

Answer: tried to disable the bombs,

Answer: southern Afghanistan

Answer: Gulab Mangal,

Summary:
NEW: Five people, including 2 U.S. soldiers, killed by roadside bomb .
Soldiers tried to disable bombs when one exploded, journalist says .
Soldiers were part of a convoy accompanying governor of Helmand province .


KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN)  -- U.S. Marines on Friday kept up a major push against entrenched militants in southern Afghanistan in an attempt to rout the Taliban from their stronghold in Helmand province, Marine Capt. William Pelletier said. A U.S. Marine patrols Garmser district in Afghanistan's Helmand province on Friday. A Marine source described Thursday evening's fighting in the Helmand River Valley as "our most significant encounter." Sporadic fighting that began earlier Thursday stretched over several hours in the southeastern sector of Garmser district, said Pelletier, spokesman for the Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan. Helmand province, a poppy-growing region, is the focus of the U.S.-led Operation Khanjar. Afghanistan supplies 90 percent of the world's opium, which is used in the production of heroin. The forces are attempting to gain and hold ground in the perilous region ahead of Afghan national elections in August. Almost 4,000 Marines and sailors from the expeditionary brigade, along with more than 600 Afghan national security forces, are operating in key population centers along the valley, Pelletier said. Their targets are Garmser and Nawa districts in central Helmand, and stretch to Rig district in the south, Pelletier said. Marines and Afghan forces have taken over the key town of Khan Neshin, the capital of Rig district, which had been under Taliban control, the Marine source said. The goal is to protect residents from the threat of Taliban and other insurgent intimidation and violence, Pelletier said. "Our focus is now and will remain the Afghan people. We have worked closely with local Helmand government officials and many tribal and local leaders in the detailed planning of this major offensive," said Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, commander of Task Force Leatherneck. Once security is established, civil affairs personnel and other nongovernmental groups and agencies can come in and establish programs. However, Taliban control of the countryside is so extensive in provinces such as Helmand and Kandahar to the east that security forces face a tough job, according to a report this week in The New York Times. The government has no involvement in five of Helmand's 13 districts, the report said. In the fighting that began Thursday, Marines fired 20 mm cannons from their Cobra helicopter gunships -- but dropped no bombs -- to avoid the higher risk of civilian casualties, the Marine source said. The source called resistance "heavy" and "persistent" but intermittent. Militants responded using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. "Last night, Marines bedded down in compounds within cities ... with permission from the people" rather than sleep in a restricted area away from the local population, Pelletier said. He said military leaders also were holding talks with village leaders. In other developments CNN's Atia Abawi, Barbara Starr and Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.

the Marine source describes fighting as?

what town are marines and afghan forces in control of?

Who are in control of the key town of Khan Neshin?

on what place are the Marines trying to rout Taliban from stronghold?

Marines and afhan forces are in control of what?

Answer: "our most significant encounter."

Answer: Khan Neshin,

Answer: Marines and Afghan forces

Answer: the Taliban

Answer: Helmand province,

Answer: rout the Taliban from their stronghold in Helmand province,

Answer: "our most significant encounter."

Answer: Khan Neshin,

Summary:
Marine source describes fighting as "our most significant encounter"
Marines trying to rout Taliban from stronghold in Afghanistan's Helmand province .
Marines and Afghan forces in control of key town of Khan Neshin, source says .
Marine killed in the U.S.-led offensive in southern Afghanistan .