(CNN) – The United States has suspended Bush-administration plans for a missile defense shield in Poland, the Polish Ministry of Defense said Thursday, a move likely to appease Russia, which had fiercely opposed the plans.

The U.S. has been testing the ability of ground-based interceptor missiles to hit long-range ballistic missiles.

“This is catastrophic for Poland,” said the Polish Ministry of Defense spokeswoman, who declined to be named in line with ministry policy.

A spokeswoman at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, however, said the decision had not been finalized.

“At this point, the review (of the decision) is still ongoing,” said Jeanne Brigante, the embassy’s press attache. “We don’t have an announcement of a decision yet.”

The Wall Street Journal reported overnight that the White House will shelve plans to build the system in Poland and the Czech Republic, according to people familiar with the matter.

The paper said the United States will base its decision on a determination that Iran’s long-range missile program has not progressed as rapidly as previously estimated, reducing the threat to the continental United States and major European capitals, according to current and former U.S. officials.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden declined to comment Thursday on whether a decision had been made to end plans for the missile defense shield.

Speaking to CNN’s Chris Lawrence in Baghdad, Iraq, where Biden is on a brief trip, the vice president said only that he doesn’t think there is an immediate threat to the United States and its allies from Iran.

Is the U.S. right to scrap plans for a missile defense shield in Europe? Sound Off below

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. James E. Cartwright, who is vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to hold a news conference on Thursday morning. The Defense Department has not announced what will be discussed, but Cartwright is the point man for the missile defense shield program. See how the system would work »

A U.S. delegation held a high-level official meeting with the Poles on Thursday morning, at which they discussed the missile defense system, a spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry told CNN. The talks lasted for about an hour, after which the delegation left Poland for the Czech Republic, where a similar meeting was planned, he said.

The spokesman said he would not confirm the outcome of the meeting until U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the issue.

The meeting in Prague was to include the Czech Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Defense and the U.S. delegation, at which an analysis of the defense shield would be presented, a spokesman for the Czech Ministry of Defense and U.S. Embassy spokesman John Vance told CNN.

The defense ministry spokesman did not say the program had been scrapped.

There was no comment Thursday morning from officials in Russia, which has opposed the U.S. plans to build the missile shield so close to its western border. The United States proposed the plan under then-President W. George Bush; the Obama administration has since been reviewing the plan.

The missile shield issue came up in July during a meeting between Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow. Obama maintained that Russia had nothing to fear from such a system, which would be designed to intercept a solitary missile from Iran or North Korea, as opposed to “a mighty Russian arsenal.”

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/09/17/united.states.missile.shield/index.html

CIANJUR, Indonesia (CNN) — Roads blocked by earthquake debris were cleared enough Friday to allow the addition of heavy machinery for the first time in the search for dozens of people trapped under rubble. 

Those trapped in Cianjur, on the island of Java, have showed no signs of life since the 7.0-magnitude quake shook the region Wednesday. A landslide buried at least 11 homes in Cianjur.

The quake killed at least 64 people and injured more than 400, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Agency.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has visited Cianjur and vowed to free up nearly $500,000 (5 billion rupiahs) for emergency response efforts, according to the state-run Antara news agency.

There was no immediate need for foreign assistance, he said.

“Until now, the Indonesian government is still able to handle it by itself using existing national resources,” he said, according to Antara.

The 7.0-magnitude earthquake jolted the island on Wednesday shortly before 3 p.m. local time (4 a.m. ET). More than 400 people were injured.

The temblor rocked high-rise buildings in Jakarta, prompting a mass evacuation in the capital’s central business district. iReport.com: Swimming pool shakes during quake

“I was on the 13th floor of our office building, and you know we could feel the building (shake) from left to right,” said CNN’s Andy Saputra. “We all ran to the fire escape and escaped from there.” Hear a report from the scene »

Indonesia is no stranger to major earthquakes. It is located on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

In 2004, an earthquake measuring at least 9.0 in magnitude struck off the coast of the northern tip of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, triggering a major tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed more than 200,000 people in 11 countries.

About three weeks ago, a series of earthquakes — ranging in magnitude from 4.7 to 6.7 — struck off the western coast of Sumatra. At least seven people were injured and one building collapsed.

Via :: CNN News

(CNN) — The Los Angeles coroner has concluded preliminarily that singer Michael Jackson died of an overdose of propofol, a powerful sedative he was given to help him sleep, according to court documents released Monday.

Los Angeles’ coroner Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran reached that preliminary conclusion after reviewing toxicology results carried out on Jackson’s blood, according to a search warrant and affidavit unsealed in Houston, Texas.

The affidavit outlines probable cause for search warrants of the offices of doctors who are believed to have treated Jackson.

The Associated Press is quoting a single law enforcement official, who says the L.A. County Coroner has ruled Michael Jackson’s death a homicide. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office told CNN they had “no comment” on the report. An LAPD spokesman says the story did not come from their department.

The 32-page warrant said Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal physician, told a detective that he had been treating Jackson for insomnia for six weeks. Murray said each night he gave Jackson 50 mg of propofol, also known as Diprivan, diluted with the anesthetic lidocaine via an intravenous drip.

Worried that Jackson may have been becoming addicted to the drug, the Houston cardiologist said he attempted to wean him from it, putting together combinations of other drugs that succeeded in helping Jackson sleep during the two nights prior to his death.

But on June 25, other drugs failed to do the job, as he recounted to detectives in an hour-by-hour account that was detailed by detective Orlando Martinez of the Los Angeles Police Department: Learn more about the events of the night Jackson died »

– At about 1:30 a.m., Murray gave Jackson 10 mg of Valium.

– At about 2 a.m., he injected Jackson with 2 mg of the anti-anxiety drug Ativan.

– At about 3 a.m., Murray then administered 2 mg of the sedative Versed.

– At about 5 a.m., he administered another 2 mg of Ativan.

– At about 7:30 a.m., Murray gave Jackson yet another 2 mg of Versed while monitoring him with a device that measured the oxygen saturation of a his blood.

– At about 10:40 a.m., “after repeated demands/requests from Jackson,” Murray administered 25 mg of propofol, the document said.

“Jackson finally went to sleep and Murray stated that he remained monitoring him. After approximately 10 minutes, Murray stated he left Jackson’s side to go to the restroom and relieve himself. Murray stated he was out of the room for about two minutes maximum. Upon his return, Murray noticed that Jackson was no longer breathing,” the affidavit said.

Efforts at CPR proved fruitless.

According to the warrant and affidavit, Murray said he was not the first doctor to give Jackson the powerful anesthetic, which the singer called his “milk.” The drug has a milky appearance.

The document also cited reports from staff at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center, where Jackson’s body was taken, who said Murray “admitted” to having given Jackson flumazenil to counteract the Ativan.

The document listed another five doctors and a nurse practitioner who were said to have treated Jackson.

“Detectives … believe that the miscellaneous prescriptions, from multiple doctors … could have contributed to his death,” the document said.

It added that “it cannot be determined whether the cause of death is due to the actions of a single night and/or a single doctor, or the grossly negligent treatment of several doctors over an extended period of time.”

Propofol is administered intravenously in operating rooms as a general anesthetic, the manufacturer AstraZeneca told CNN.

The drug works as a depressant on the central nervous system.

“It works on your brain,” said Dr. Zeev Kain, the chair of the anesthesiology department at the University of California, Irvine. “It basically puts the entire brain to sleep.”

However, once the infusion is stopped, the patient wakes up almost immediately.

“So if you’re going to do this, you’d have to have somebody right there giving you the medication and monitoring you continuously,” Kain said.

Dr. Hector Vila, chairman of the Ambulatory Surgery Committee for the American Society of Anesthesiologists, said he administers the drug during office procedures such as urology, dentistry and gynecology. It is also the most common anesthetic for colonoscopies, he said.

Source CNN News

(CNN) — Facebook, for better or worse, is like being at a big party with all your friends, family, acquaintances and co-workers. 

There are lots of fun, interesting people you’re happy to talk to when they stroll up. Then there are the other people, the ones who make you cringe when you see them coming. This article is about those people.

Sure, Facebook can be a great tool for keeping up with folks who are important to you. Take the status update, the 160-character message that users post in response to the question, “What’s on your mind?” An artful, witty or newsy status update is a pleasure — a real-time, tiny window into a friend’s life.

But far more posts read like navel-gazing diary entries, or worse, spam. A recent study categorized 40 percent of Twitter tweets as “pointless babble,” and it wouldn’t be surprising if updates on Facebook, still a fast-growing social network, break down in a similar way. Take a CNN quiz: What kind of Facebooker are you? »

Combine dull status updates with shameless self-promoters, “friend-padders” and that friend of a friend who sends you quizzes every day, and Facebook becomes a daily reminder of why some people can get on your nerves. Watch as Facebookers reveal bugbears »

Here are 12 of the most annoying types of Facebook users:

The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore. “I’m waking up.” “I had Wheaties for breakfast.” “I’m bored at work.” “I’m stuck in traffic.” You’re kidding! How fascinating! No moment is too mundane for some people to broadcast unsolicited to the world. Just because you have 432 Facebook friends doesn’t mean we all want to know when you’re waiting for the bus.

The Self-Promoter. OK, so we’ve probably all posted at least once about some achievement. And sure, maybe your friends really do want to read the fascinating article you wrote about beet farming. But when almost EVERY update is a link to your blog, your poetry reading, your 10k results or your art show, you sound like a bragger or a self-centered careerist.

The Friend-Padder. The average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site. Schmoozers and social butterflies — you know, the ones who make lifelong pals on the subway — might reasonably have 300 or 400. But 1,000 “friends?” Unless you’re George Clooney or just won the lottery, no one has that many. That’s just showing off.

The Town Crier. “Michael Jackson is dead!!!” You heard it from me first! Me, and the 213,000 other people who all saw it on TMZ. These Matt Drudge wannabes are the reason many of us learn of breaking news not from TV or news sites but from online social networks. In their rush to trumpet the news, these people also spread rumors, half-truths and innuendo. No, Jeff Goldblum did not plunge to his death from a New Zealand cliff.

The TMIer. “Brad is heading to Walgreens to buy something for these pesky hemorrhoids.” Boundaries of privacy and decorum don’t seem to exist for these too-much-information updaters, who unabashedly offer up details about their sex lives, marital troubles and bodily functions. Thanks for sharing.

The Bad Grammarian. “So sad about Fara Fauset but Im so gladd its friday yippe”. Yes, I know the punctuation rules are different in the digital world. And, no, no one likes a spelling-Nazi schoolmarm. But you sound like a moron.

The Sympathy-Baiter. “Barbara is feeling sad today.” “Man, am I glad that’s over.” “Jim could really use some good news about now.” Like anglers hunting for fish, these sad sacks cast out their hooks — baited with vague tales of woe — in the hopes of landing concerned responses. Genuine bad news is one thing, but these manipulative posts are just pleas for attention.

The Lurker. The Peeping Toms of Facebook, these voyeurs are too cautious, or maybe too lazy, to update their status or write on your wall. But once in a while, you’ll be talking to them and they’ll mention something you posted, so you know they’re on your page, hiding in the shadows. It’s just a little creepy.

The Crank. These curmudgeons, like the trolls who spew hate in blog comments, never met something they couldn’t complain about. “Carl isn’t really that impressed with idiots who don’t realize how idiotic they are.” [Actual status update.] Keep spreading the love.

The Paparazzo. Ever visit your Facebook page and discover that someone’s posted a photo of you from last weekend’s party — a photo you didn’t authorize and haven’t even seen? You’d really rather not have to explain to your mom why you were leering like a drunken hyena and French-kissing a bottle of Jagermeister.

The Maddening Obscurist. “If not now then when?” “You’ll see…” “Grist for the mill.” “John is, small world.” “Dave thought he was immune, but no. No, he is not.” [Actual status updates, all.] Sorry, but you’re not being mysterious — just nonsensical.

The Chronic Inviter. “Support my cause. Sign my petition. Play Mafia Wars with me. Which ‘Star Trek’ character are you? Here are the ‘Top 5 cars I have personally owned.’ Here are ‘25 Things About Me.’ Here’s a drink. What drink are you? We’re related! I took the ‘What President Are You?’ quiz and found out I’m Millard Fillmore! What president are you?”

You probably mean well, but stop. Just stop. I don’t care what president I am — can’t we simply be friends? Now excuse me while I go post the link to this story on my Facebook page.

Via Cnn

GREENOCK, Scotland (CNN) — The man convicted of murdering 270 people by blowing up Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, two decades ago received a boisterous welcome when his plane landed in his native Libya on Thursday.

Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, suffering from terminal prostate cancer, was freed from prison in Scotland, with Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill citing compassionate grounds for the release and saying al Megrahi was “going home to die.”

A large crowd, waving flags and honking horns, greeted al Megrahi at the military airport in Tripoli.

The 57-year-old has three months to live, according to Scottish authorities.

“Our justice system demands that judgment be imposed but compassion available,” MacAskill said. “Our beliefs dictate that justice be served but mercy be shown.”

Al Megrahi issued a statement that his attorney Tony Kelly read to reporters. In it, al Megrahi said the families of the Lockerbie victims “have my sincere sympathy for their unimaginable loss.”

“Many people … I know are upset that my appeal has come to the end, but nothing more can be done about the circumstances of the Lockerbie bombing,” al Megrahi said in the statement.

“I share their frustration. I had most to gain and nothing to lose about the whole truth coming out, until my diagnosis of cancer.”

Al Megrahi continued to maintain his innocence, complaining that he had to spend years in prison for something he did not do.

“The remaining days of my life will have to be spent under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction,” he said. Watch Lockerbie bomber maintain his innocence »

Al Megrahi said he never will return to Scotland, and he offered his gratitude and best wishes to the Scottish people.

“To those victims’ relatives who can bear to hear me say this, they continue to have my sincere sympathy for the unimaginable loss that they have suffered,” he said.

“To those who bear me ill will, the only thing I can say is that I do not return that to you.”

According to Kelly, his client “was in good spirits” this morning and was looking forward to seeing his mother, wife and children in Libya. iReport.com: My uncle never got to say goodbye

Kelly said, “His disease is not only terminal but is in its final stages.”

MacAskill said he agreed with the 2001 conviction of al Megrahi for the Lockerbie bombing — the worst terrorist atrocity ever committed on U.K. soil. He also said he supported a severe sentence. But he said al Megrahi’s lack of compassion for his 270 victims should not be a reason for Scotland to deny compassion to him. Watch MacAskill deliver his announcement »

Al Megrahi left prison Thursday, shortly after MacAskill’s announcement. He later boarded a plane to make his trip home. Watch al Megrahi board plane »

Pan Am flight 103 exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie four days before Christmas in 1988, killing all 259 of those aboard the plane and 11 Scots on the ground.

Of those on board, 189 were Americans. The U.S. government responded immediately to word of al Megrahi’s release, saying it “deeply regrets” the decision.

“As we have expressed repeatedly to officials of the government of the United Kingdom and to Scottish authorities, we continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland,” the White House said in a statement. Watch President Obama say release is “mistake” »

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a similarly worded statement.

“Today, we remember those whose lives were lost on December 21, 1988, and we extend our deepest sympathies to the families who live each day with the loss of their loved ones due to this heinous crime,” Clinton said.

And the FBI said in a statement it was “deeply disappointed” over the decision to release al Megrahi.

“In a case of mass murder over Lockerbie, Mr. Megrahi served less than 14 days per victim,” FBI director Robert Mueller said in the statement.

The justice secretary said he decided not to transfer al Megrahi to a Libyan prison, even though a prisoner transfer agreement exists between the United Kingdom and Libya, but instead chose to set him free on compassionate grounds.

Families of the Lockerbie victims have been sharply divided over whether al Megrahi should ever be released.

Susan Cohen, who lost her 20-year-old daughter, was adamant about her position, calling al Megrahi a “mass murderer” and his release “appalling.”

“Are we so devastatingly weak now, have we lost all our moral fiber that you can say that Megrahi can be released from prison for a compassionate release? Where was his compassion for my daughter? Where was his compassion for all those people,” Cohen told “American Morning.”  Watch Cohen condemn the release »

Bert Ammerman, whose brother died in the bombing, called al Megrahi’s release “ludicrous.”

“First of all, he got his compassionate release when he got life imprisonment and not capital punishment, which Scotland doesn’t have,” Ammerman told CNN. He should have remained in prison, then after his death, his body could have been returned to Libya, he said.

“Two, he’s going to be going back, even if he has terminal cancer, as a hero, and he’s going to be received as a hero in Libya,” Ammerman said.

“Three, let’s cut through all this information. He’s being released because big business in the United States, Great Britain want the oil in Libya, and that’s what’s driving this whole wagon,” he said.

Al Megrahi was convicted in 2001 after the prosecution argued he had placed the bomb, hidden in a suitcase, on a flight from Malta to Frankfurt, Germany. There, prosecutors said, the bomb was transferred onto the Pan Am plane that went first to London, England’s Heathrow Airport and then took off for New York.

Another man — Al-Amin Khalifa Fahima — was also tried in the bombing but was acquitted.

The prosecution maintained al Megrahi, who worked at Malta’s Luqa Airport, was an agent for the Libyan intelligence services and had been seen buying clothes that were in the suitcase that contained the bomb.

Libya has formally accepted responsibility for the bombing and has compensated the families, though Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi later denied any culpability.

Al Megrahi was diagnosed in September 2008 with terminal prostate cancer, and medical officials have said his condition is rapidly deteriorating, MacAskill said. He said he declined an option to free al Megrahi and allow him to live in Scotland after senior police officers cited the severe security implications.

“Scotland will forever remember the crime that has been perpetrated against our people and those from many other lands,” MacAskill said. “The pain and suffering will remain forever. Some hurt can never heal. Some scars can never fade.

“However, Mr. al Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power. It is one that no court, in any jurisdiction, in any land, could revoke or overrule. It is terminal, final and irrevocable. He is going to die.”

Via CNN

(CNN) — Lights went off across the world Saturday as millions of homes and businesses went dark for one hour in a symbolic gesture highlighting concerns over climate change.

Organizers expected more than 2,800 cities and towns worldwide to dim their lights at 8:30 p.m. local time for the third annual Earth Hour — a day-long energy-saving marathon spanning 83 countries and 24 time zones.

Major cities in Asia, the Middle East and Europe had already gone dark for the event by Saturday afternoon on the East Coast.

The Philippines topped this year’s participation for Asia, with more than 650 communities taking part in the event, according to Earth Hour’s Web site.

The light illuminating the face of the landmark Big Ben clock tower in London, England, went out at 8:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. ET).

In Dubai, iReporter Sharad Agarwal turned out the lights and sat down to a candlelit dinner with his family.

“I personally believe in going green and everything that goes with it,” Agarwal told CNN.

In Australia, floodlights of the Sydney Opera House were extinguished as the city’s iconic harbor kicked off events for Earth Hour. The event’s Web site reported that hundreds of people lined the harbor for a glimpse of the dimming skyline at 8:30 pm.

Sydney became the birthplace of the Earth Hour campaign in 2007 when 2.2 million turned off their lights, igniting a grass-roots movement that has become a global phenomenon.

In China, illuminations at major buildings including the “Bird’s Nest” Olympic Stadium and the Water Cube were extinguished as 20 cities joined in, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Other landmarks around the world expected to join the World Wildlife Fund-sponsored event were the Egyptian pyramids, Vatican, Niagara Falls, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, the Acropolis in Athens and the Las Vegas casino strip.

CNN iReporter Marie Sager of Los Angeles, California, said she planned to hike up to the Griffith Observatory to experience the massive lights-out event.

“A good portion of the city is participating. We’ll see the Capital Records sign go out. A lot of these places haven’t turned out their lights in awhile,” Sager said.

Event sponsors hoped participating U.S. cities would set an example for the rest of the world. Watch actor Edward Norton and Carter Roberts of the World Wildlife Fund discuss event »

“We think we are going to have 100 million people around the world sending a message that climate change is real, and we need to take action now,” World Wildlife Fund CEO Carter Roberts told CNN.

“The world is watching to see what America is going to do,” he said, “because if America acts on climate change, the world will follow.”

Earth Hour events got off to an unofficial start in the remote Chatham Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean where locals switched off their diesel generators, organizers said. Shortly afterward, 44 New Zealand cities and town joined in the event.

Organizers say they hope this year’s event will send a message to world leaders meeting Copenhagen, Denmark, in December for a major summit on climate change.

“We are asking one billion people to take part in what is essentially the first global vote for action on climate change by turning off their lights for one hour and casting a vote for earth,” said executive director Andy Ridley. hour and casting a vote for earth,” said executive director Andy Ridley.

CES 2009 HDTV Announcements

The most exciting time in the HDTV / home theater industry each year is the start of the year, at CES. Now just a few short days away, from Thursday 7th January 2009 to the 11th, CES 2009, also known as the Consumer Electronics Show will run.

During CES 2009 all the major electronics companies such as Sony, Samsung, Philips, Pioneer etc will announce all their new HDTVs for the 2009 year. I can’t wait to see all the new models, and see all of the new improvements they have made.

As usual all the companies will be trying to out do each other. I predict, much like last year, everyone will be fighting for the world’s slimmest HDTV. Also, I think we might see more 240Hz/ 480Hz HDTVs, maybe a larger (>11-inch) OLED HDTV, “Eco” HDTV, Internet connected HDTV, and 3D HDTV features.

I will keep this post updated with all the CES HDTV announcements as they come in.

Samsung LN32B360 | Samsung LN32B650  | Samsung LN37B650  | Samsung LN40B530 | Samsung LN40B550  | Samsung LN40B650 | Samsung LN46A650 | Samsung LN46B530 | Samsung LN46B550 | Samsung LN52B530 | Samsung LN52B550 | Samsung UN40B6000 | Samsung UN46B6000 | Samsung Un55B6000 | Sharp LC52E77U | Samsung LN26B360 | Samsung LN22B460 | Samsung PN42B450 | Samsung PN50B450

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) — Mexico has announced plans to raise tariffs on almost 90 U.S. exports, Mexican and U.S. officials confirmed Monday.

Mexico’s state-run news agency says tariffs are in retaliation for cancellation of a U.S. trucking project.

The new trade measures are in retaliation for the cancellation earlier this year of a U.S. commercial trucking project and will target U.S. industrial and agricultural products delivered to Mexico, Mexico’s state-run news agency said.

Mexico’s Economic Secretary Gerardo Ruiz Mateos called the cancellation of the program a breach of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the agency said.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the trucking project was killed in the 2009 omnibus appropriations bill, but President Barack Obama has asked his administration to create a new program.

“Congress has opposed the project in the past because of concerns about the process that led to the program’s establishment and its operation,” Gibbs said.

The project allowed a small number of Mexican trucks to enter the United States beyond the normal commercial zones, and allowed some U.S. trucks the same privilege in Mexico.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, warned that the Mexican action would harm American businesses.

“Unfortunately, this is a predictable reaction by the Mexican government to a policy that now puts the United States in clear violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and was inappropriately inserted into the omnibus appropriations bill,” McCain said after learning of the Mexican government’s plans.

McCain said Washington “must take steps to prevent escalation of further protectionist measures — actions that only serve to harm American business during these tough economic times when these businesses need a worldwide marketplace to prosper.”

“This is another reason why the president should have vetoed the omnibus spending bill,” McCain added.

Mexico’s intentions to raise tariffs on U.S. goods “is an absurd overreaction to the shutdown of the unsafe cross-border trucking pilot program,” Teamsters President Jim Hoffa said.

“The right response from Mexico would be to make sure its drivers and trucks are safe enough to use our highways without endangering our drivers,” Hoffa said in a statement issued by the union. “The border must stay closed until Mexico holds up its end of the bargain.”

(CNN) — Israeli airstrikes pounding Gaza are deepening the humanitarian crisis in an area that was already in deep distress, according to a United Nations aid official.

A man carries a wounded Palestinian boy into a hospital in Gaza City on Sunday.

1 of 3 more photos » “The situation is absolutely disastrous,” U.N. official Christopher Gunness told CNN on Sunday, as a second day of aerial attacks brought the death toll in Gaza close to 300. Hundreds more people have been injured.

Israel has said the airstrikes are a necessary self-defense measure after repeated rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel by Hamas militants. Israeli leaders say they are trying to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.

Gaza is headed for “a major humanitarian disaster” unless the fighting ends soon, said Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj, a psychiatrist who runs Gaza’s mental health program. See photos of Gaza in crisis »

He described people huddling in their basements for safety as bombs fell.

“The children are terrified,” he said. “Adults are unable to provide them with security or warmth. Hospitals are stretched out of the limits. We need blood and medicine and surgical equipment.”

“People are suffering and dying because of shortages of medical equipment,” said Dr. Mahmoud el-Khazndar, who works at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital. “The hospital is not accustomed to accept mass casualties like this.”

Gunness, a spokesman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), said the agency has been unable to get needed medical supplies into Gaza for more than a year, because of Israel’s blockade of border crossings.

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“Long, long lists of drugs and other medical supplies which in the U.S. would be considered standard in any hospital — they’re just not available in Gaza,” he said. “When people have been turning up for treatment following this massive attack, they are simply being turned away. If you’ve got things like shattered limbs, broken arms, broken legs, feet blown off, that kind of thing, you’re simply not being seen. If you’ve got very light injuries and you need bandages or aspirins, you’ll get seen.”

The United Nations Security Council held a four-hour emergency meeting early Sunday on the situation, ending with a call for an immediate halt to violence. The council also called for a reopening of border crossings to allow humanitarian supplies to reach those in Gaza. Watch Security Council statement on situation »

Israel did give in to requests from the Red Cross and others to allow 30 trucks loaded with fuel, food and medical supplies to pass into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing Sunday morning, along with five ambulances contributed by Egypt, an Israeli security source said.

However, a senior Israeli military official said that the air raids will continue, and that Israeli ground troops deployed around Gaza will “be activated if needed.”

The Red Cross and World Food Program trucks that moved across the border Sunday were the first deliveries allowed by Israel since 80 trucks moved through on Friday.

The Security Council also “called for all parties to address the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza and to take necessary measures including opening all border crossings to ensure the continuous provision of humanitarian supplies, including the supplies of food, fuel and provision of medical treatment.”

Gunness said Israel cooperates with his agency’s efforts to get humanitarian supplies into Gaza — but that’s not enough.

“We have a good working relationship with Israelis on the ground,” he said. “But at the political level, it seems that there is some kind of determination that there should be no development, there should be no prosperity inside Gaza.”

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told ministers at a weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday that the situation in southern Israel along the Gaza border “is liable to continue for some time, perhaps more than can be foreseen at the present time.”

Gunness urged both sides to stop the violence and talk, saying the bombardment of Gaza doesn’t serve Israel’s strategic interests.

“To have tens of thousands, indeed hundreds of thousands, of angry, hungry, desperate people on the borders of Israel is not in Israel’s interest,” he said. “It’s only the militants, it’s only the extremists who benefit from the situation in Gaza.”

(CNN) — International pressure is mounting on Israel and the Palestinians to halt violence in Gaza, with the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and other countries all calling for an immediate restoration of calm.

Protesters knock down barriers near the Israeli Embassy during a demonstration in central London.

1 of 3 more photos » Angry protests also took place in several cities around the world on Sunday against Israel after its air strikes in Gaza killed at least 270 people and wounded hundreds more. In London, hundreds of demonstrators battled riot police in an attempt to enter the Israeli Embassy, according to media reports.

But neither side indicated they were ready to heed the calls for calm. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the operation in Gaza “is liable to continue for some time, perhaps more than can be foreseen at the present time.”

Hamas, too, showed no signs of backing down, saying Israel had violated an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire intended to stem violence in the region. “We will stand up, we will defend our own people, we will defend our land and we will not give up,” senior spokesman Osama Hamdan said.

For a second day, black plumes of smoke rose above Gaza City as makeshift ambulances screamed down rubble-strewn streets, taking wounded Palestinians to hospitals already crowded with hundreds of patients wounded this weekend.

More than 110 Hamas rockets have been launched into Israel by Hamas militants since Saturday morning, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said. An Israeli man died when a rocket slammed into a home Saturday, IDF said.

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad, supported Israel’s contention that it was up to Hamas to stop the violence.

“Israel has the right to self defense and nothing in this press statement should be read as anything but that,” Khalilzad said.

The United States has warned Israel, however, to avoid civilian casualties. Israeli leaders maintain they are attempting to do so.

White House Spokesman Gordon Johndroe “Hamas’ continued rocket attacks into Israel must cease if the violence is to stop. Hamas must end its terrorist activities if it wishes to play a role in the future of the Palestinian people. The United States urges Israel to avoid civilian casualties as it targets Hamas in Gaza.”

Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Gabriela Shalev, responded that her country was only defending itself from Hamas rocket attacks.

“The last days were so bad that we had to say, and did say, ‘Enough is enough,’ ” Shalev said. “The only party to blame is the Hamas.”

Saeb Erakat, adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, urged Israeli and Hamas leaders to enact another cease-fire.

“I believe this is the only way out. I don’t think this problem can be solved through military means. Violence will breed more violence,” he said Saturday.

The power base for Abbas’ Fatah party is in the West Bank. The party is locked in a power struggle with Hamas, which won parliamentary elections in January 2006 and wrested Gaza from Fatah in violent clashes last year. Abbas, a U.S. ally, wields little influence in Gaza.

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U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s office issued a statement saying he was deeply alarmed by the violence and bloodshed in Gaza and in southern Israel.

“While recognizing Israel’s security concerns regarding the continued firing of rockets from Gaza, he firmly reiterates Israel’s obligation to uphold international humanitarian and human rights law and condemns excessive use of force leading to the killing and injuring of civilians. He condemns the ongoing rocket attacks by Palestinian militants and is deeply distressed that repeated calls on Hamas for these attacks to end have gone unheeded,” a spokesman said.

The U.N. Security Council ended a four-hour emergency meeting Sunday with a call for an immediate halt to hostilities and a re-opening of border crossings to allow humanitarian supplies to reach Gaza.

The Palestinians’ U.N. envoy said if Israel does not halt attacks within 48 hours, Arab delegations will demand stronger action from the Security Council.

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband called on Sunday for an urgent ceasefire and immediate halt to all violence. “The deteriorating humanitarian situation is deeply disturbing. Prime Minister (Gordon Brown) has spoken to Prime Minister Olmert of Israel. As we made clear yesterday, Israel must abide by its humanitarian obligations.

“The UK supports the prompt and sufficient delivery of food, fuel and medicine into the Gaza Strip. I have discussed this unfolding crisis with my counterparts in the region and beyond. iReport.com: Are you there?

“I have discussed with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit his plans to convene a meeting of Arab League Foreign Ministers. This is an important opportunity for Arab leaders to make clear that the interests of the Palestinian people can only be secured through a viable Palestinian state existing alongside a secure Israel. We must renew our collective effort to achieve this goal in 2009.”

Russia also urged both sides to refrain from violence. “Moscow believes it is necessary to immediately stop a large-scale military operation against Gaza Strip, which has already led to numerous casualties and sufferings of peaceful Palestinians,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.

“At the same time, we are urging the leadership of Hamas to stop missile strikes upon Israeli territory. We are sure that what needs to be done without delay now is stop military confrontation, restore a cease-fire, and rid peaceful civilians on both sides of terror and pain.”

Jordan’s King Abdullah II by contrast urged “Israeli aggression” that targets “innocent civilians including women and children” to end. “The establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian national soil is a prerequisite to achieve security and stability,” he said, adding that Israel will not get security and peace unless it ends what he called its “occupation.”

Iran’s supreme leader has declared Monday a “day of mourning” for Palestinians in Gaza, blaming the violence on “the bloodthirsty nature of the Zionists.”

The state-run news agency IRNA said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was urging all Muslim nations, as well as “freedom seekers,” intellectuals and media “to fulfill their heavy duty in confronting the crimes of the ‘Zionist vampires.’”

Iran has long openly supported Hamas, supplying it with weapons and training. Like Hamas, Iran’s government does not recognize the existence of Israel. Hamas, the party in control of Gaza, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted by IRNA as saying Saturday night, “Zionists are at the end of the road both in theory and practice in all economic, political, military and cultural terms.”

Some Iranian students and members of parliament held a demonstration in front of a United Nations building in Tehran, accusing U.N. member nations of being silent in the face of “crimes” against Palestinians.

Some demonstrators also condemned Egypt, which has tried to broker agreements between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, as well as between Palestinian leadership and Israel.

The European Union called for an immediate halt to violence. A statement issued by current EU president France said the bloc “condemns the disproportionate use of force” from both sides.

The statement urged the “reopening of all checkpoints and the immediate resumption of fuel and humanitarian aid deliveries.” The statement said “there is no military solution in Gaza” and urged a lasting truce.

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy, in a separate statement, expressed “great concern” about the escalating violence by Israelis and Palestinians.

In London, Palestinian families and supporters protested outside the Israeli Embassy and chanted in unison: “Five, six, seven, eight — Israel is a terror state,” according to the Press Association. Similar demonstrations were held in Paris, Istanbul and other cities.

Crush barriers were torn down and riot police were brought in to control the crowd of more than 500 people, PA reported. The crowds waved Palestinian flags and held placards, some of which read “holocaust in Gaza” and “no peace, no justice.”

One protester was Gamal Hamed, from Hammersmith, in west London, whose 23-year-old son lives in Gaza. The 68-year-old said: “Yesterday was the bloodiest day in my homeland’s history. We will do what we can to make the world take notice.”