The State Department has secretly financed Syrian political opposition groups and related projects, including a satellite TV channel that beams anti-government programming into the country, according to previously undisclosed diplomatic cables.

The London-based satellite channel, Barada TV, began broadcasting in April 2009 but has ramped up operations to cover the mass protests in Syria as part of a long-standing campaign to overthrow the country’s autocratic leader, Bashar al-Assad. Human rights groups say scores of people have been killed by Assad’s security forces since the demonstrations began March 18; Syria has blamed the violence on “armed gangs.”

Barada TV is closely affiliated with the Movement for Justice and Development, a London-based network of Syrian exiles. Classified U.S. diplomatic cables show that the State Department has funneled as much as $6 million to the group since 2006 to operate the satellite channel and finance other activities inside Syria. The channel is named after the Barada River, which courses through the heart of Damascus, the Syrian capital.

The U.S. money for Syrian opposition figures began flowing under President George W. Bush after he effectively froze political ties with Damascus in 2005. The financial backing has continued under President Obama, even as his administration sought to rebuild relations with Assad. In January, the White House posted an ambassador to Damascus for the first time in six years.

The cables, provided by the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks, show that U.S. Embassy officials in Damascus became worried in 2009 when they learned that Syrian intelligence agents were raising questions about U.S. programs. Some embassy officials suggested that the State Department reconsider its involvement, arguing that it could put the Obama administration’s rapprochement with Damascus at risk.

Syrian authorities “would undoubtedly view any U.S. funds going to illegal political groups as tantamount to supporting regime change,” read an April 2009 cable signed by the top-ranking U.S. diplomat in Damascus at the time. “A reassessment of current U.S.-sponsored programming that supports anti-[government] factions, both inside and outside Syria, may prove productive,” the cable said.

It is unclear whether the State Department is still funding Syrian opposition groups, but the cables indicate money was set aside at least through September 2010. While some of that money has also supported programs and dissidents inside Syria, The Washington Post is withholding certain names and program details at the request of the State Department, which said disclosure could endanger the recipients’ personal safety.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-secretly-backed-syrian-opposition-groups-cables-released-by-wikileaks-show/2011/04/14/AF1p9hwD_print.html

Former US President Jimmy Carter has arrived in the North Korean capital Pyongyang as part of a push to resolve the stand-off over the country's nuclear programme.

Mr Carter is taking part in a three-day visit by former world leaders from a group known as the Elders.

They hope to meet North Korea's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il.

The group includes former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari and former Irish President Mary Robinson.

As he left for Pyongyang, Mr Carter said that the group also hoped to meet Kim Jong-il's son and heir-apparent Kim Jong-un, according to AP.

But he said he was unsure whether that would happen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13190999

A small village in south-west Ireland is hanging banners and painting houses in preparation for US president Barack Obama's arrival.

Mr Obama's multi-nation European tour will start in Ireland where he will travel to the small town of Moneygall, the birthplace of his great-great-great grandfather shoemaker Falmouth Kearney.

Town residents lined up for up to six hours last week to get a ticket to see the president, who has been affectionately renamed "O'Bama" for his Irish sojourn.

An exclusion zone will be in place around the town and only people with tickets will be let in.

Mr Obama is the son of a Kenyan father and an Irish-American mother.

Church of Ireland rector Stephen Neill discovered Mr Obama's roots and he says Moneygall is thrilled by its connection to the president.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/23/3224404.htm?section=justin

Meanwhile at the birthplace of christ and many religious conflicts:

President Obama sought to reassure Israel and its supporters of “ironclad” U.S. support Sunday in a speech to a Jewish lobbying group that also warned that time could be running out for a peace accord with Palestinians.

Obama, wading afresh into a topic that evoked anger from Israeli leaders last week, insisted again that 1967 boundary lines should be the starting point for talks on a new Palestinian state. But he allowed that the dividing line would be negotiated to accommodate Israeli settlements and security needs.

“Israelis and Palestinians will negotiate a border that is different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967,” Obama told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) at its annual conference in Washington.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/obama-seeks-to-reassure-israel-on-mideast-policy-in-speech-at-aipac-conference/2011/05/22/AFDYQH9G_story.html?hpid=z3