Kerry in apartheid row as Mideast peace deadline arrives

JERUSALEM: Washington´s deadline for reaching a Mideast peace deal arrived Tuesday with no breakthrough and US Secretary of State John Kerry mired in a row over allegations that he said Israel risks becoming an "apartheid state".

After more than a year of intensive shuttle diplomacy by Kerry, with the initial aim of brokering a deal by April 29, Washington´s patience appeared to be growing thin as both Israel and the Palestinians moved to distance themselves from the crisis-hit talks. Kerry on Monday vehemently denied calling Israel an apartheid state, as a furore grew in the Jewish state over comments the top US diplomat reportedly made during a private meeting.

"I do not believe, not have I ever stated, publicly or privately that Israel is an apartheid state or that it intends to become one," Kerry said in a strong statement after calls for him to resign or at least apologise for the alleged comments, which appeared on US online news site The Daily Beast.

But Kerry, who has seen his dogged efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians collapse, did suggest that he had used a poor choice of words during his speech Friday to international political experts at the Trilateral Commission.

Kerry insisted that although the peace process was at a point of "confrontation and hiatus", it was not dead -- yet. But both the Palestinians and the Israelis appear to have drawn their own conclusions about the life expectancy of the US-led negotiations, which have made no visible progress since they began nine months ago.

Last week, Palestinian leaders in the West Bank and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip announced a surprise unity deal aimed at ending years of occasionally violent rivalry. Israel denounced the deal as a death blow to peace hopes and said it would not negotiate with any government backed by Hamas, the Islamist movement whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel. Washington called the deal "unhelpful".

Under the agreement, the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Hamas will work to establish a new unity government of political independents headed by president Mahmud Abbas, whose Fatah party dominates the PLO.

Abbas has said the new government will recognise Israel, as well as renouncing violence and abiding by existing agreements, in line with key principles set out by the Mideast peacemaking Quartet.

But Netanyahu has ruled out any negotiation with the new government unless Hamas gives up its vision of destroying Israel.

Mosquito-borne virus arrives in Dominican Republic

SANTO DOMINGO: Health authorities in the Dominican Republic have reported the first outbreak of a mosquito-borne virus that has spread quickly in the Caribbean in the weeks since it was first detected in the region.

Health Minister Freddy Hidalgo says blood samples analyzed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control confirmed the first cases in the country of the virus known as chikungunya.

Health officials said Friday that 150-200 cases have been treated for symptoms since the first incidence was detected March 22. Most were in and around the town of Nigua, west of the capital.

Chikungunya is found mainly in Africa and Asia. It is rarely fatal but can cause fever, rash, fatigue and intense muscle and joint pain. The first Caribbean cases were detected in December in French St. Martin.

EU chief diplomat Ashton arrives in Iran

TEHRAN: EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who coordinates nuclear talks between Iran and world powers, arrived Saturday in Tehran, media reported, amid a thaw in ties between Iran and the European bloc.
"Ashton and her political and economic delegation arrived in Tehran and were officially welcomed by Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi," official IRNA news agency said.
Ashton's visit is the first to Iran by an EU policy chief since 2008.