Cairo calm as voters await results

Tahrir Square was peaceful Wednesday as Egyptians awaited initial results of parliamentary elections, a break from the clashes that have gripped Cairo for much of the past two weeks.

The Muslim Brotherhood and the Al Noor Salafi Muslim Party claimed a lead in ballot counting, but no official results were expected until Thursday at the earliest.

Voting took place Monday and Tuesday, the first elections since President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in February.

It is the first time some Egyptians -- young and old -- have ever cast ballots. Citizens are picking members of the lower house of parliament, which will be tasked with drafting a new constitution after three decades of Mubarak's rule.

Some voters and human rights activists expressed hope that their votes will actually count, though some boycotted the elections saying they don't trust the voting will be free and fair.

There were reports of some illegal campaigning taking place.

Ali Al Dali, an official monitor for the Egyptian Association of Human Rights, said eight cases of vote-buying had been documented in Alexandria, and police had been notified. About 45% of eligible voters in the city had cast ballots, he said.

By nightfall Tuesday night, new clashes erupted in Tahrir Square. The unrest stretched into early Wednesday.

At least 88 people were hurt, 28 of them seriously enough to go to a hospital, a Health Ministry official, Dr. Adel Adawi, told the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram. The rest were treated at makeshift clinics in the square, Adawi said, but hospitals expected more people to be brought in.

The victims were hit by rocks, glass bottles, birdshot and Molotov cocktails, Dr. Hisham Shiha, another Health Ministry official, told CNN. At least a dozen gunshots rang out across the plaza, and ambulances darted in and out of the square as the fighting continued.

Tahrir Square was the epicenter of the protests that drove Mubarak from power and the demonstrations in recent days against the military council that succeeded him.

Witnesses said Tuesday's melee began with fights between vendors and protesters who threw rocks and attacked their kiosks with sticks. The protesters complained some vendors were giving demonstrations a bad image by selling marijuana, said Mina Hagras, one of the demonstrators who has been camped in the square.

"This is not the spirit of the revolutionaries or the square," Hagras said. "They warned them. They did not stop. So they took matters in their own hands and beat them up. Now, state TV is saying all the protesters in (the) square are thugs and drug users. This is not fair."

But Mohamed Shafei, whose sandwich stand was destroyed in the brawl, said the protesters turned on the vendors indiscriminately and confiscating their goods.

"Yes, there were several vendors selling hashish and pills, but not all of us are the same," Shafei said as he carried the remains of his kiosk. He added that the vendors were "retaliating."

Elections for Egypt's lower house of parliament are scheduled to take place in three stages, based on geography. The last of the three stages is set to take place in January.

Upper house elections will run between January and March.

Presidential elections will be held by June, according to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Egypt's acting ruling body. Military leaders have said they will hand over power to a new government when one is elected, but many Egyptians say they don't trust the council and fear the military will cling to power.

Over the past two weeks, at least 42 people have been killed in clashes as protesters called for an immediate end to military rule. An additional 3,250 have been wounded, according to the Health Ministry.

Isolated Syria edges toward civil war

Editor’s Note: This is an edited version of an article from the ‘Oxford Analytica Daily Brief’. Oxford Analytica is a global analysis and advisory firm that draws on a worldwide network of experts to advise its clients on their strategy and performance.

With no negotiated solution in sight and international powers ruling out any military intervention, Syria’s eight-month uprising looks to be heading towards civil war. Today, Turkey said that it does not wish to consider military intervention but is “ready for any scenario.”
Despite growing pressure from the region and across the world, the Syrian government is pursuing its military campaign against protesters. Their uprising has become an armed one, as military defections rise and opposition attitudes harden.
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) is a band of defectors led by Colonel Riyad al-Assad. It first declared its existence in late July and has been receiving increasing attention in recent weeks. It is mostly active in the provinces of Idlib and Homs, north of Damascus and Dera’a, to the south. It has established enclaves outside of government control, and is reported to have bases in Hatay province in Turkey, and in north Lebanon.
The FSA proclaims that it has over 15,000 soldiers, although it is unclear how well coordinated they are, and some defectors remain largely independent. However, a number of things suggest that the militants’ strength is rising.
First is the proliferation of weapons, supplied via Lebanon: the price of Kalashnikov assault rifles there has soared, and the Syrian army has been laying minefields to deter cross-border weapons smuggling. Then there is the changing locality of violence - nearer the capital. The FSA claimed it carried out the November 16 attack on an intelligence base, bringing the battle to the outskirts of Damascus for the first time.
Finally, popular support for the militants appears to be rising. Civil opposition groups, previously ambivalent about an armed uprising, called their November 25 protest the Friday of ‘May the Free Syrian Army Protect Us’. However, opposition groups outside Syria have maintained a careful distance from the FSA; but it is one of the few organizations with a real presence on the ground, and may be an important political player in the months to come.
Militias loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are raising the risk of the uprising becoming a civil war. In some areas, these informal gangs known as ‘shabbiha’ (‘ghosts’) - initially deployed to supplement the regular army - appear to be starting to act independently of their regime paymasters. Thus gang leaders in Homs have begun behaving as warlords, using their power to extract economic gain, for example by kidnapping for ransom. If this trend develops, any civil war (and aftermath) would be complicated by these emergent criminal networks.
Another threat to the government’s stability has emerged in the past two weeks. People in Damascus are now openly expressing anger over the lack of heating oil and cooking gas and are unhappy at the prospect of a long, cold winter with fuel shortages. Long hours queuing to purchase oil at twice the normal price has provided Syrians with a new public space in which to grumble about the government. In coming months, these grievances and the frustrations of the business community will lead to revival of protests and anti-regime feeling in Damascus and Aleppo.
The steady stream of pro-regime rallies in Damascus is at the very least disruptive and may be starting to irritate the silent majority. If opposition gathers pace in Damascus, protests are likely to spread to areas so far showing minimal signs of dissent. Such a development would signal a serious threat to Assad rule. The president has announced elections and constitutional reforms for early next year. However, the presence of tanks on the streets has made talk of reform sound absurd to many Syrians.
As the regime and opposition become increasingly entrenched, hopes of a peaceful transition are fading. The Assad regime’s intransigence appears to be leading to civil war - and one in which the cohesion to date of both pro-regime and opposition armed forces is likely to dissolve.

Tahrir Square battles wound dozens after Egypt votes

Egyptians reveled in their chance to vote in a post-Hosni Mubarak era during a second day of parliamentary elections, but nightfall brought new clashes in Cairo's Tahrir Square that stretched into Wednesday. At least 88 people had been hurt, 28 of them seriously enough to go to a hospital, a Health Ministry official, Dr. Adel Adawi, told the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram. The rest were treated at makeshift clinics in the square, Adawi said, but hospitals expected more people to be brought in.
The victims had been hit by rocks, glass bottles, birdshot and Molotov cocktails, Dr. Hisham Sheeha, another Health Ministry official, told CNN. At least a dozen gunshots rang out across the plaza, and ambulances darted in and out of the square as the fighting continued.
Tahrir Square was the epicenter of the protests that drove Mubarak from power in February and the ongoing demonstrations against the military council that succeeded him. The state-run Middle East News Agency, citing a military source, said there were no police or troops in the square at the time.
Witnesses said Tuesday's melee began with fights between vendors and protesters, who began throwing rocks and attacking their kiosks with sticks. The protesters complained some vendors were giving demonstrations a bad image by selling marijuana, said Mina Hagras, one of the demonstrators who has been camped in the square.
"This is not the spirit of the revolutionaries or the square," Hagras said. "They warned them. They did not stop. So they took matters in their own hands and beat them up. Now, state TV is saying all the protesters in (the) square are thugs and drug users. This is not fair."
But Mohamed Shafei, whose sandwich stand was destroyed in the brawl, said the protesters turned on the vendors indiscriminately and confiscating their goods.
"Yes, there were several vendors selling hashish and pills, but not all of us are the same," Shafei said as he carried the remains of his kiosk. "Now the vendors are pissed and retaliating."
The new clashes came after a second day of voting, the first time some Egyptians -- young and old -- have ever cast ballots. Citizens are picking members of the lower house of parliament, which will be tasked with drafting a new constitution after three decades of Mubarak's rule.
Despite logistical problems and illegal campaigning that marred the first day of balloting on Monday, Egypt's stock exchange opened considerably higher Tuesday and saw an unprecedented wave of buying amid the elections.
Voters decried the late opening of polling stations Monday and a delay in the arrival of ballots, leading the head of Egypt's election committee to promise a smoother voting process Tuesday.
Election officials said they have received 964 complaints, 579 of which have been addressed, according to Egypt TV. State TV reported that 25 people were injured in election-related violence.
Activist Hafez Abu Saeeda, of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, said on Twitter he was in Al-Khaleefa "working on an election tour, and an attack took place on our supporters before I arrived." The army was able to control the situation immediately, he said. One person was injured.
But many voters expressed jubilation at their chance to help build a new Egypt after the popular revolt that toppled Mubarak.
"Before, there was always cheating. Now -- I could be wrong -- but I think my vote will count," Mohamed Rida'a Mohamed Abdulla said as he left a Cairo polling station.
Some polling areas were segregated by gender. Lines at both men's and women's stations snaked around buildings for hours.
"It's an awakening," one woman said, beaming, at a Cairo polling station. "I'm very happy, and I feel that even when I see old ladies hardly walking, it makes me feel that really Egypt is reviving."
The stakes are high for Egyptian women, who worry that if Islamists gain a majority in the lower house of Parliament, their hopes for a more liberal life will be quashed.
In Alexandria, the Al Noor Salafi Muslim party and the Freedom and Justice Party accused one another of breaking an "honorable agreement" aimed at cooperation. The Freedom and Justice Party is part of the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood, one of the nation's largest organizations.
Yousri Hamad, a spokesman for the Al Noor Salafi party, said the Muslim Brotherhood spread false rumors and launched a "smear campaign" against the party.
"We were not as prepared for the elections as we should have been and did not spend enough money on the campaigning," Hamad said.
But Essam Erian, spokesman for the Freedom and Justice Party, said the Salafis had breached the agreement by making such accusations without evidence.
Ali Al Dali, an official monitor for the Egyptian Association of Human Rights, said eight cases of vote-buying had been documented in Alexandria, and police had been notified. About 45% of eligible voters in the city had cast ballots, he said.
Elections for the lower house are scheduled to take place in three stages, based on geography. The last of the three stages is set to take place in January.
Upper house elections will run between January and March.
Presidential elections will be held by June, according to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Egypt's acting ruling body. Military leaders have said they will hand over power to a new government when one is elected, but many Egyptians say they don't trust the council and fear the military will cling to power.
Over the past two weeks, at least 42 people have been killed in clashes as protesters called for an immediate end to military rule. An additional 3,250 have been wounded, according to the Health Ministry.
Some Egyptians expressed skepticism or even boycotted the voting on Monday.
"There is no inclination that the judiciary is independent, so there is no way to prove the election will be free and fair," said Amr Hamzawy, a 32-year-old shopkeeper.

3 U.S. students expect to be freed in Egypt; U.S. filmmaker also in custody

As questions continued to swirl about the fate of three American college students arrested in Egypt for their role in ongoing protests there, a U.S. official said that diplomats were also in contact with Egyptian authorities about an award-winning filmmaker behind bars.

The three college students -- Derrik Sweeney, Gregory Porter and Luke Gates -- were ordered to be released Thursday, said Adel Saeed, the spokesman of the general prosecutor.

But late in the day, they remained in custody.

There was less clarity, meanwhile, about documentarian Jehane Noujaim.

Film producer Karim Amer said Wednesday that the Egyptian-American woman -- whose works include "The Control Room," about Al-Jazeera and the United States during the early days of the Iraq War -- was arrested while filming close to the Interior Ministry building in Cairo.

On Thursday, David Lynfield -- a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Cairo -- said that U.S. diplomats are aware of "her place in detention" and have been "in touch with the Egyptian authorities regarding" her case.

Meanwhile, family and friends of the three detained U.S. college students continued to ride an emotional roller coaster, days after Egyptian authorities arrested them on suspicion of throwing Molotov cocktails during a protest in Cairo. All had been attending American University in Cairo on a semester-long, study-abroad program.

The prosecutor's office told CNN earlier Thursday that the trio had already been released. But late in the day, a friend of the students said they could remain in custody for a few more days.

Drew Harper, a 22-year-old film student from New York who has been in Cairo for three months, said the students said they were in good spirits and cited a bureaucratic slowdown for their continuing detention.

The erroneous news that they had already been freed was initially embraced by Joy Sweeney, whose son Derrik is among the three. "We are just so blessed and so grateful right now," she told CNN. "I can't wait to give him a big hug."

The students were to be taken to a physician for a medical examination, then back to the police station for paperwork to be processed, and finally to their dorm rooms, she said.

The Egyptian attorney general would not appeal the trio's release, she added.

The family is keen for Derrik to return home as soon as possible, for his own safety, Joy Sweeney added.

Roberto Powers, the U.S. consul general in Egypt, advised that as the three students' pictures had been plastered all over the media, "it wouldn't be safe or prudent for them to remain in the country," the mother said.

She said her son told her Wednesday in a telephone call that "they had done nothing wrong."

Sweeney, 19, is a Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Missouri; Porter, 19, from Glenside, Pennsylvania, attends Drexel University in Philadelphia; and Gates, 21, of Bloomington, Indiana, goes to Indiana University.

Their arrests came amid persistent protests against Egypt's ruling military council in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Security forces have clashed with the demonstrators repeatedly in recent days, though a relative calm fell over the square on Thursday. The same day, Egypt's military leaders apologized for the 38 deaths nationwide and vowed to prosecute offenders and pay the medical bills of those injured. Some 3,250 had been hurt by Thursday, said Hisham Shiha of Egypt's Health Ministry.

Harper told CNN some media reports had inaccurately portrayed the detained students as irresponsible.

Harper described the three as intelligent, well-informed and nonviolent. "I don't believe for one second that those Molotov cocktails belonged to the boys," he said.

He accused the Egyptian military of wanting to "pin the recent violence on foreigners" and said they had wrongly accused the three Americans.

Saeed, the prosecutor's spokesman, said Wednesday that a bag filled with empty bottles, a bottle of gasoline, a towel and a camera had been found with the three American students.

"They denied the bag belonged to them and said it belonged to two of their friends," Saeed said.

3 U.S. students expect to be freed in Egypt; U.S. filmmaker also in custody

As questions continued to swirl about the fate of three American college students arrested in Egypt for their role in ongoing protests there, a U.S. official said that diplomats were also in contact with Egyptian authorities about an award-winning filmmaker behind bars.

The three college students -- Derrik Sweeney, Gregory Porter and Luke Gates -- were ordered to be released Thursday, said Adel Saeed, the spokesman of the general prosecutor.

But late in the day, they remained in custody.

There was less clarity, meanwhile, about documentarian Jehane Noujaim.

Film producer Karim Amer said Wednesday that the Egyptian-American woman -- whose works include "The Control Room," about Al-Jazeera and the United States during the early days of the Iraq War -- was arrested while filming close to the Interior Ministry building in Cairo.

On Thursday, David Lynfield -- a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Cairo -- said that U.S. diplomats are aware of "her place in detention" and have been "in touch with the Egyptian authorities regarding" her case.

Meanwhile, family and friends of the three detained U.S. college students continued to ride an emotional roller coaster, days after Egyptian authorities arrested them on suspicion of throwing Molotov cocktails during a protest in Cairo. All had been attending American University in Cairo on a semester-long, study-abroad program.

The prosecutor's office told CNN earlier Thursday that the trio had already been released. But late in the day, a friend of the students said they could remain in custody for a few more days.

Drew Harper, a 22-year-old film student from New York who has been in Cairo for three months, said the students said they were in good spirits and cited a bureaucratic slowdown for their continuing detention.

The erroneous news that they had already been freed was initially embraced by Joy Sweeney, whose son Derrik is among the three. "We are just so blessed and so grateful right now," she told CNN. "I can't wait to give him a big hug."

The students were to be taken to a physician for a medical examination, then back to the police station for paperwork to be processed, and finally to their dorm rooms, she said.

The Egyptian attorney general would not appeal the trio's release, she added.
The family is keen for Derrik to return home as soon as possible, for his own safety, Joy Sweeney added.

Roberto Powers, the U.S. consul general in Egypt, advised that as the three students' pictures had been plastered all over the media, "it wouldn't be safe or prudent for them to remain in the country," the mother said.

She said her son told her Wednesday in a telephone call that "they had done nothing wrong."

Sweeney, 19, is a Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Missouri; Porter, 19, from Glenside, Pennsylvania, attends Drexel University in Philadelphia; and Gates, 21, of Bloomington, Indiana, goes to Indiana University.

Their arrests came amid persistent protests against Egypt's ruling military council in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Security forces have clashed with the demonstrators repeatedly in recent days, though a relative calm fell over the square on Thursday. The same day, Egypt's military leaders apologized for the 38 deaths nationwide and vowed to prosecute offenders and pay the medical bills of those injured. Some 3,250 had been hurt by Thursday, said Hisham Shiha of Egypt's Health Ministry.

Harper told CNN some media reports had inaccurately portrayed the detained students as irresponsible.

Harper described the three as intelligent, well-informed and nonviolent. "I don't believe for one second that those Molotov cocktails belonged to the boys," he said.

He accused the Egyptian military of wanting to "pin the recent violence on foreigners" and said they had wrongly accused the three Americans.

Saeed, the prosecutor's spokesman, said Wednesday that a bag filled with empty bottles, a bottle of gasoline, a towel and a camera had been found with the three American students.

"They denied the bag belonged to them and said it belonged to two of their friends," Saeed said.

Egypt apologizes for deaths of protesters

Egypt's military leaders apologized Thursday for the deaths of protesters during the recent clashes, vowed to prosecute offenders and pay the medical bills of those injured.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces posted the apology on its Facebook page.

"The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces presents its regrets and deep apologies for the deaths of martyrs among Egypt's loyal sons during the recent events in Tahrir Square," the message said. "The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces confirms that it is making every sincere effort to prevent such events from happening again."

The message comes as a relative calm fell over Tahrir Square after days of deadly clashes. Soldiers erected barbed wire barricades to separate protesters and police early Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Ahram Online website -- part of the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper group -- reported that the country's major political parties are considering asking the Supreme Council to postpone the first round of parliamentary elections for two weeks. Those elections are scheduled for Monday.

The website attributed the information to unnamed sources close to the discussions. On Tuesday, the liberal Wafd Party floated a similar suggestion in a public statement, the website said.

Since Saturday, protesters have clashed with police near Tahrir Square -- the epicenter of the movement that led to former President Hosni Mubarak's ouster in February. They are calling for the country's interim military rulers to step down immediately.

On Wednesday, the government said the two sides had declared a truce. But three hours later, protesters lobbed rocks at police, who retaliated with tear gas. The unrest continued late into the night.

Egypt's grand mufti, the country's highest religious official, has called on police to put down their weapons and "never aim" firearms at the Egyptian people. In an audio message aired by Egyptian state TV on Wednesday, he called for a "peaceful protest for Egypt's sake."

By Wednesday, the death toll from the clashes stood at 38, including 33 in Cairo, Egypt's Health Ministry said.

Another 3,250 have been wounded, said Hisham Sheeha of Egypt's Health Ministry. And police have arrested countless others.

Late Wednesday, prominent American-Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy tweed that she had been detained.

"Beaten arrested in interior ministry," her post read.

The U.S. State Department called the arrest "very concerning" and said embassy officials were trying to get information from Egyptian authorities.

Also arrested were three American college students accused of tossing Molotov cocktails during the protests.

China passes U.S. in smartphone sales

Hong Kong (CNN) – China has surpassed the U.S. last quarter to become the world’s largest market for smartphones, according to a report by Strategy Analytics.

In the third quarter of this year, smartphone shipments were just shy of 24 million units, up 58%, according to the report released Wednesday. In the same quarter, smartphone units shipped in the U.S. fell 7% to 23.3 million units.

Nokia leads the smartphone market with a 28% share in China, followed by Samsung with a 17.6% share. HTC is the top maker in the U.S. with 24% market share, followed by Apple with just over 20%, according to the report. The U.S. still leads the world in smartphone sales by revenue, the authors of the report note.

Smartphones are the latest industry in which China’s huge population base and growing economic fortunes are leading sales that outstrip the U.S., the world’s number one economy. Auto sales in China surpassed the U.S. in 2009 for the first time, with 13.5 million sold compared to 10.4 million the same year in the U.S.

Beer sales in China passed the U.S. in 2002, while China passed the U.S. as the world’s top buyer of energy-related commodities – such as oil and coal – in 2009, according to the International Energy Agency.

China now has half a billion people online, according to the State Council Information Office, or nearly two-thirds more people using the internet than the entire population of the U.S.

Economists widely predict the Chinese economy will eventually eclipse the U.S. economy sometime in the next 20 years. In 2010, China’s GDP was about $5.9 trillion compared to the U.S., whose total economic output was $14.5 trillion.

Why young Christians aren't waiting anymore

True love doesn’t wait after all.

That’s the implication in the upcoming October issue of an evangelical magazine that claims that young, unmarried Christians are having premarital sex almost as much as their non-Christian peers.

The article in Relevant magazine, entitled “(Almost) Everyone’s Doing It,” cited several studies examining the sexual activity of single Christians. One of the biggest surprises was a December 2009 study, conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, which included information on sexual activity.

While the study’s primary report did not explore religion, some additional analysis focusing on sexual activity and religious identification yielded this result: 80 percent of unmarried evangelical young adults (18 to 29) said that they have had sex - slightly less than 88 percent of unmarried adults, according to the teen pregnancy prevention organization.

The article highlights what challenges abstinence movements face. Movements such as “True Love Waits,” encourage teens to wear purity rings, sign virginity pledges and pledge chastity during public ceremonies.

Yet many of these Christian youths eventually abandon their purity pledges, Relevant’s Tyler Charles concludes in the article. Tyler talked to people like “Maria,” an evangelical woman who said she wanted to wait until marriage to have sex.

But she said she started having sex with her college boyfriend when she turned 20 because nearly everyone, even most of her Christian friends, were having sex.

Maria:

It seemed everyone in my life, older and younger, had “done it.” In fact, I waited longer than most people I knew and longer than both of my sisters, even though we were all Christians and came from a good home.

Relevant theorizes about why it’s so hard for so many young Christians to wait, including the saturation of sex in popular culture, the prevalence of pornography and a popular “do what feels good philosophy.”

Yet the article also asks a question that rarely comes up in discussions about abstinence movement. Relevant notes that in biblical times, people married earlier. The average age for marriage has been increasing in the U.S for the last 40 years.

Today, it’s not unusual to meet a Christian who is single at 30 - or 40 or 50, for that matter. So what do you tell them? Keep waiting?

Scot McKnight, author of “The Jesus Creed,” and "One.Faith: Jesus Calls, We Follow," acknowledges that young, single Christians face temptations that their counterparts in the biblical age didn’t face.

He tells Relevant:

Sociologically speaking, the one big difference – and it’s monstrous – between the biblical teaching and our culture is the arranged marriages of very young people. If you get married when you’re 13, you don’t have 15 years of temptation.

So what should a Christian parent or youth pastor do? How do they convince more young Christians to wait until marriage, or should they stop even trying?

Benetton pulls ad featuring doctored photo of pope kissing imam

United Colors of Benetton announced Wednesday it is pulling an ad featuring a doctored picture of the pope kissing a male Muslim cleric on the same day the ad was unveiled in response to criticism.

The ad featured a fake picture of Pope Benedict XVI kissing Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayeb, imam of the Al-Azhar mosque, a prominent Muslim house of worship in Cairo, Egypt.

"We reiterate that the meaning of this campaign is exclusively to combat the culture of hatred in all its forms," Benetton said in a statement on Wednesday.

"We are therefore sorry that the use of the image of the pope and the imam has so offended the sentiments of the faithful,” the statement by the fashion apparel company continued. “In corroboration of our intentions, we have decided, with immediate effect, to withdraw this image from every publication."

The ad was part of a campaign United Colors of Benetton unveiled Wednesday that features doctored photos of world leaders kissing each other and that aims to combat what the Italian-based company called a “culture of hatred.”

The series features fake photos of U.S. President Barack Obama kissing Chinese leader Hu Jintao and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kissing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, among other pairings.

The ads are appearing in print and online media around the world.

“The central theme is the kiss, the most universal symbol of love, between world political and religious leaders,” Benetton said in a Wednesday press release.

“These are symbolic images of reconciliation - with a touch of ironic hope and constructive provocation - to stimulate reflection on how politics, faith and ideas, even when they are divergent and mutually opposed, must still lead to dialogue and mediation.”

Benetton says the ad campaign accompanies the creation of a new organization called the UNHATE foundation. Dan Gilgoff - CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor

Filed under: Catholic Church • Isl

Facebook and the fight against spammers

The wave of pornographic and violent images that flooded Facebook over the past few days has drawn attention to a side of the social networking mega-site most of its users don't think about:

Facebook is a coveted prize for hackers.

"It's hard to put it into perspective as to how good a job they're doing (at preventing spam), because they have a giant target on their back," said Chester Wisniewski, a senior analyst with security firm Sophos. "They have a giant target on their back with the user base they have. Every spammer's got a dream of catching them."

In this week's attack, a hack that exploited security flaws in some Web browsers sent images of porn, Photoshopped pictures of celebrities in compromising positions and images of intense violence to millions of users, according to Facebook. Users apparently were duped into copying malicious code into their browser windows, helping the images spread.

Many Facebook users were outraged by the fact that porn made its way onto the social network. On one hand, the offensive images call into question Facebook's ability to rein in spam as it becomes more popular. On the other, it's a counterintuitive testament to Facebook's spam-fighting abilities that users were surprised to see these nasty images showing up on the social network.

If this happened on e-mail, after all, no one would blink.

Less than 4% of the content shared on the Facebook is spam, Facebook says. Compare that with e-mail, where a whopping 89% of content is spam, as CNN partner site Mashable reports.

Less than 5% of the site's members experience spam on any given day, Facebook said in October. Meanwhile, only 0.06% of its 1 billion log-ins per day are compromised, the site says. (Of course, that's still 600,000, so someone could shade that number to make it sound miniscule or huge, depending on intent.)

To Wisnieswski, the way Facebook responds to spam and other hacks is a mixed bag. Generally, he says, they're quick to jump on the big problems but slower on the day-to-day stuff.

"If it's malware-related ... scams and spam and things like that ... they're pretty good about it," he said. "They're very conscious about the fact that they don't want their users to be infected.

"But with the survey scams and things, they don't seem to be that effective."

Facebook, of course, is far more likely to agree with the former point than the latter.

Spokesman Andrew Noyes says that, on a site under virtually constant attack, the Facebook team is constantly working to protect its users.

"We believe the security fight requires a multipronged approach," he said. "In addition to our dedicated legal team, Facebook also has security experts and engineers focused on the integrity of the site. We're continuing to build systems to prevent and respond to spam attacks. Our User Operations team also works around the clock to identify problems and assist those affected."

Noyes said Facebook's security team has identified the hackers behind this week's attack and are "working with our legal team to ensure appropriate consequences follow."

In recent months, the site has launched several public tools and initiatives trying to stay ahead of the inevitable attacks.

Last month, Facebook announced two tools it's testing: Trusted Friends and App Passwords. Trusted Friends would help users get back into their account if their password is changed without their knowledge. App Passwords would add a layer of security when users approve third-party apps.

This summer, Facebook launched a "Bug Bounty" program that pays people for reporting security problems, and a suite of security tools rolled out in May includes "clickjacking" protection and remote log-ins. In January, users got the ability to surf Facebook with a secure browser setting.

"We work regularly with analysts, engineers, fraud experts, and security investigators to prevent abuse, defeat criminals, and help maintain Facebook as a trusted environment," Noyes said in an email.

In fact, there are some built-in advantages to the way Facebook works that help keep the level of spam lower than with e-mail, a relative Wild West for spammers and scammers.

As he pondered upcoming changes to Facebook messaging last year, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark noted in a blog post that the site's requirements for creating an account help.

"The deal is that a Facebook identity (profile) pretty much ensures that there's a real person behind it," Newmark wrote. "It's possible to fake a Facebook identity, but it's a fair amount of work, way more expensive than getting a new Gmail or Hotmail account."

While acknowledging those efforts, Wisnewski says there are still some holes in Facebook's security game.

A major one, he says, is the Facebook app development process.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has publicly celebrated the millions of third-party app developers registered with the site. But that means there are millions of people who get expanded access to Facebook data just for paying a nominal fee.

"Because Facebook doesn't verify anything about you or have any human review process at all ... we see these guys create hundreds of developer accounts for the same scam," he said.

Wisnewski also wishes Facebook would add additional layers of security every time users start up an app.

"If they really want to get a grip on this, there are a few things they could do -- but the things they could do, by Zuckerberg's worldview, would slow down innovation."

All that said, Facebook has a track record of aggressively going after scammers and spammers once they're caught.

In August, self-proclaimed "Spam King" Sanford Wallace was indicted in a California court. Two years ago, Facebook sued him and a federal court ordered him to pay $711 million.

Previously, Facebook won a $360 million judgment against spammer Philip Porembski and, in 2008, was awarded the largest award ever under federal anti-spam laws -- $873 million -- after suing Adam Guerbuez and Atlantis Blue Capital for sending objectionable images on the site, according to news reports.

Monti takes Italy's top job, aiming to end crisis

Mario Monti, the man tasked with hauling Italy out of the debt crisis that brought down Silvio Berlusconi, took office as prime minister Wednesday.

Monti announced he would also be finance minister, at least temporarily.

He replaces the flamboyant Berlusconi, who led the country on and off for 18 years.

Monti and his new ministers sat down for their first Cabinet meeting Wednesday evening, as they seek to find a way out of a crisis that has shaken the confidence of global investors.

The new prime minister will present his government's plans to the Italian Senate on Thursday.

Debate on the proposals will be followed by a vote of confidence, a measure to see if the new government has the support of a majority of lawmakers.

Monti took the oath of office Wednesday afternoon in the grand Baroque Ball Room of the Quirinale Palace, the official residence of President Giorgio Napolitano.

The government lineup the new prime minister unveiled will be composed entirely of technocrats, without career politicians.

That will make it easier to govern and will help calm political tensions in the country, Monti said.

It also emphasizes "that we are talking about an extraordinary moment, both because of the economic difficulties and because of the exasperated relations among the political forces," he said.

Napolitano said he believes the new government "has been born in a positive climate." Its creation has "been delicate and difficult ... but I think we've all managed to do it," he said.

Italy has already seen "many positive signals" from the European Union as a result, he added.

The 68-year-old former European Union commissioner won the backing of Berlusconi's political party and Italy's largest left-wing party on Tuesday.

Monti said it is "very interesting and very demanding" to try to form a government.

His government will include three women as ministers, including Anna Maria Cancellieri, the first woman to be Italy's interior minister, and Paola Severino, who will be the country's first female justice minister.

The foreign minister will be Giulio Terzi Sant'Agata, while Corrado Passera becomes minister of industry.

Monti said he will serve as finance minister until he nominates someone else for the post.

The new prime minister refused to answer journalists' questions about pension reform or taxes on wealth, saying he would present his plans to lawmakers Thursday.

Monti faces an arduous task, because Italy has one of the highest national debts in Europe at €1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion) -- about 120% of GDP -- and has seen low growth in recent years.

He suggested Monday that his government might not last much longer than a year, until scheduled elections in early 2013. And at any time, Parliament could dissolve his government "because of lack of trust," he said.

It is "obvious" that the task at hand is an emergency and that to achieve economic growth and social equity "should be the priorities," Monti said.

Berlusconi resigned Saturday night, prompting cheers, flag-waving and singing in celebrations outside his office and ending an era in Italian politics. He was brought down by difficulties in pushing through budget cuts after 18 years in and out of the prime minister's office.

Berlusconi is expected to give his first speech as a lawmaker in the lower house of Parliament on Friday, according to Italian media reports.

His People of Freedom party remains the strongest force in Parliament, and Berlusconi has said he plans to remain active in it.

Berlusconi is the second prime minister to resign this month over the debt crisis sweeping across Europe, following last week's replacement of Greece's George Papandreou. Papandreou was replaced by Lucas Papademos, a former European Central Bank official.

Obama insists US does not fear China

President Barack Obama insisted Wednesday that the United States does not fear China, even as he announced a new security agreement with Australia that is widely viewed as a response to Beijing's growing aggressiveness.

China responded swiftly, warning that an expanded U.S. military footprint in Australia may not be appropriate and deserved greater scrutiny.

The agreement, announced during a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, will expand the U.S. military presence in Australia, positioning more U.S. personnel and equipment there, and increasing American access to bases. About 250 U.S. Marines will begin a rotation in northern Australia starting next year, with a full force of 2,500 military personnel staffing up over the next several years.

Obama called the deployment "significant," and said it would build capacity and cooperation between the U.S. and Australia. U.S. officials were careful to emphasize that the pact was not an attempt to create a permanent American military presence in Australia.

"It also allows us to meet the demands of a lot of partners in the region that want to feel that they're getting the training, they're getting the exercises, and that we have the presence that's necessary to maintain the security architecture in the region," Obama said.

The president spoke shortly after arriving in the Australian capital, his second stop on a nine-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. After a 10-hour flight from Honolulu, where he hosted an economic summit, Obama headed straight into meetings with Gillard.

On Thursday, Obama will address the Australian Parliament, then fly to the northern city of Darwin, where some of the Marines deploying to Australia next year will be based.

During his news conference with Gillard, the president sidestepped questions about whether the security agreement was aimed at containing China. But he said the U.S. would keep sending a clear message that China needs to accept the responsibilities that come with being a world power.

"It's important for them to play by the rules of the road," he said.

And he insisted that the U.S is not fearful of China's rise.

"I think the notion that we fear China is mistaken. The notion that we're looking to exclude China is mistaken," he said.

China was immediately leery of the prospect of an expanded U.S. military presence in Australia. Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said Wednesday that it was worth discussing whether the plan was in line with the common interests of the international community.

Obama national security aide Ben Rhodes said the agreement was not only appropriate, but also a response to the demand from nations in the region that have signaled they want the U.S. to be present.

The U.S. and smaller Asian nations have grown increasingly concerned about China claiming dominion over vast areas of the Pacific that the U.S. considers international waters, and reigniting old territorial disputes, including confrontations over the South China Sea. China's defense spending has increased threefold since the 1990s to about $160 billion last year, and its military has recently tested a new stealth jet fighter and launched its first aircraft carrier.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said that the goal of the new security pact is to signal that the U.S. and Australia will stick together in face of any threats.

In addition to the expanded Marine presence in Australia, more U.S. aircraft will rotate through Australia as part of an agreement between each nation's air force. Obama and Gillard said the increased air presence would allow the U.S. and Australia to more effectively respond to respond to natural disasters and humanitarian crises in the region.

Rhodes said the U.S. military boost would amount to a "sustained U.S. presence." He distinguished that from a permanent presence in the sense that the U.S. forces will use Australian facilities, as opposed to the United States to building its own bases, as it has in such regional places as South Korea. The U.S. has not signaled any interest in that in Australia.

The only American base currently in Australia is the secretive joint Australia-U.S. intelligence and communications complex at Pine Gap in central Australia. But there are hundreds of U.S. service personnel in Australia on exchange.

Air combat units also use the expansive live bombing ranges in Australia's sparsely populated north in training rotations of a few months and occasionally naval units train off the coast. But training exercises involving ground forces are unusual.

During Wednesday's brief news conference, Obama and Gillard also fielded questions on a range of other issues, from U.S. efforts to address climate change to the debt crisis in Europe.

Obama reiterated his call for urgent action by European leaders to back the euro and develop a financial firewall to keep the threat of default facing Greece and Italy from spreading across the Eurozone.

"The problem right now is one of political will, it's not a technical problem," Obama said. "At this point, the larger European community has to stand behind the European project."

Asked whether the U.S. would be able to lower carbon emissions through a cap-and-trade system as Australia is undertaking, Obama conceded the U.S. has been unable to pass such a plan through Congress, but noted U.S. efforts to increase vehicle fuel efficiency and to explore clear energy options. He said emerging economies such as India and China must also assume responsibility for addressing climate change.

For Obama and Australia, the third time's the charm. He canceled two earlier visits, once to stay in Washington to lobby for passage of his health care bill, and again in the wake of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"I was determined to come for a simple reason: The United States of America has no stronger ally than Australia," he said.

Libyan official blasts Niger's amnesty offer to Gadhafi son as a 'provocation'

A top Libyan official on Monday slammed Niger's offer of amnesty to one of the late Moammar Gadhafi's sons, calling it a "challenge and provocation."

Last Friday, Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou reaffirmed his country's decision to grant asylum to Saadi Gadhafi, saying the son of Libya's longtime ruler should be allowed to stay and be treated just like other "Libyan refugees."

Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, deputy chairman of Libya's National Transitional Council, blasted that stance while addressing reporters Monday in Tripoli.

"It is unacceptable that Niger would turn into a country that harbors criminals wanted by international justice," he said. "We call on Niger to reconsider its unjustified position."

The rift is one of the new Libyan government's first with other nations. The deputy chairman described Niger's position as "hostile," adding, "Such statements do not help build relations based on mutual respect."

Saadi Gadhafi is in Niger, the landlocked West African nation bordering Libya.

Ghoga referred to him Monday as a "wanted criminal in Libya." Interpol has issued an arrest warrant -- known as a "red notice" -- for Saadi Gadhafi, requesting his provisional arrest ahead of his extradition or surrender to an international court.

The warrant accuses him of "misappropriating properties through force and armed intimidation when he headed the Libyan Football Federation."

His lawyer, Nick Kaufman, told CNN earlier this month that his client "strenuously denies the charges made against him."

Kaufman said he's asked the Interpol secretary general to revoke the warrant, claiming that it is politically motivated and was sought by a new Libyan leadership that lacks legitimacy.

Issoufou told reporters last week in South Africa that Niger's position is not new, saying, "The attitude of the Niger government regarding this has already been noted: We have already welcomed Libyan refugees for humanitarian reasons" -- of which Saadi is one such refugee.

One of Saadi's brothers, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, remains in hiding.

He is also wanted by Interpol, as well as by the International Criminal Court. As a party to that court, Niger would be obligated to turn Saif al-Islam over should he be detained within its borders.

While Issoufou didn't articulate a firm position on this son of Gadhafi, Ghoga said that Niger was "insinuating" that Saif al-Islam, like his brother, would also get asylum.

Three of the Gadhafi brothers were killed during the months-long conflict in their native Libya, along with their father. Their other siblings, meanwhile, escaped to Algeria.

Niger's leader stands by amnesty offer to Gadhafi's son

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou addresses reporters
He says Saadi Gadhafi is welcome in Niger "for humanitarian reasons"
Interpol has issued an arrest for Saadi Gadhafi, who is now in Niger
His lawyer has "strenuously" denied the charges against him

 -- Niger's president is standing by his country's decision to offer amnesty to one of the late Moammar Gadhafi's sons, saying he is entitled to stay in his nation like other "Libyan refugees."

President Mahamadou Issoufou addressed reporters Friday, reaffirming his stance on Saadi Gadhafi, whom Libya wants returned home to stand trial.

"The attitude of the Niger government regarding this has already been noted: We have already welcomed Libyan refugees for humanitarian reasons," Issoufou said. "Of these, one is a son of (Moammar) Gadhafi -- Saadi Gadhafi."

Interpol has issued arrest warrant -- known as a "red notice" -- for Saadi Gadhafi, requesting his provisional arrest ahead of his extradition or surrender to an international court.

The warrant accuses him of "misappropriating properties through force and armed intimidation when he headed the Libyan Football Federation."

His lawyer, Nick Kaufman, told CNN earlier this month that his client "strenuously denies the charges made against him."

Kaufman said he's asked the Interpol secretary general to revoke the warrant, claiming that it is politically motivated and was sought by a new Libyan leadership that lacks legitimacy.

Saadi Gadhafi is in Niger, the landlocked West African nation bordering Libya. His father and three brothers have been killed and one more brother, Saif al-Islam, remains in hiding. His other siblings, meanwhile, escaped to Algeria during the months-long conflict in their native Libya.

Saif al-Islam is also wanted by Interpol, as well as the International Criminal Court. As a party to that court, Niger would be obligated to turn Saif al-Islam over should he be detained within its borders.

World Press: Why more women in Beijing are delaying marriage

World Press: Why more women in Beijing are delaying marriage: There are more than 500,000 unmarried 20-something women in Beijing. They're part of a growing urban trend in which college educated, financ...

Why more women in Beijing are delaying marriage

There are more than 500,000 unmarried 20-something women in Beijing. They're part of a growing urban trend in which college educated, financially independent women are deliberately delaying marriage for personal reasons.

Beijing retiree Huang Guipu has spent the past two years setting up his 29-year old daughter, Huang Fei, on more than 30 blind dates. Much to Mr. Huang's chagrin, however, not a single suitor has turned out to be Mr. Right.

According to China's 2010 census, Ms. Huang is just one of more than half a million unmarried women 28 years and older in Beijing. Known collectively as shengnv (leftover women), Huang is part of a growing urban trend in which many college-educated, financially independent women are deliberately delaying marriage for both personal and professional reasons.

In a society that still places a high premium on young brides and mothers, however, parents are not taking their daughters' decision to marry later lying down.

MONITOR EXCLUSIVE: The rise of an economic superpower: What does China want?

"The whole family culture is still very strong in China,” says Xiao Suowei, a sociology professor at Beijing Normal University who studies Chinese marital and familial relationships. “Parents are thinking about their kids in 20 years” and worrying that if their daughters don’t get married before 30, they might be considered too old to bear children, no man will want to marry them, and they will miss out on the joys of family life entirely, she adds.

China's famed gender imbalance, for which rural areas are largely to blame, masks a much smaller difference in the overall sex ratio at birth in cities like Beijing, where numbers are only slightly more than worldwide averages and have been since the 1980s.

Beijing women born in the ‘80s, therefore, are not in desperately short supply the way their rural counterparts are, which means that white-collar Beijing bachelors like 32-year-old Li Xiaoming can afford to be a bit selective in choosing a wife.

"Why would I marry a woman who has been 'left behind’? If she's 33 and not yet married, maybe there is something wrong with her," Mr. Li says.

Indeed, like Li, many men say they want someone who will be a good mother and take care of their parents as they age, not someone whose sole focus is her career.

For the mothers and fathers of today’s shengnv, most of whom were married with children by their mid-20s, the notion that a successful career woman is equally or more a credit to her parents than a married daughter – especially one who has already given them a grandchild – challenges the very essence of what it means to be a good child by traditional Chinese standards.

"My daughter has her whole life to achieve professional success, but only a short time to find a husband and become a mother," worries Zhang Xiaofei, the mother of a single 29-year-old who works at an IT company. "I'm worried she'll get left behind if she does not meet someone soon."

In an effort to make sure that doesn't happen, Ms. Zhang, like Mr. Huang and thousands of other parents hoping to find spouses for their grown children, often gathers in typically tranquil corners of city parks for lively weekend matchmaking sessions. Most parents come with large posters clearly listing their daughters’ age, height, salary, and sometimes, positive personal attributes.

Yu Qian, a 28-year-old attorney, says she does not mind that her mother regularly attends matchmaking events, but refuses to marry a man simply because of parental pressure.

“I could get married today if I wanted to,” Ms. Yu says. Instead, however, she has chosen to pursue a master’s degree in international business law at the University of Amsterdam, something she insists would not be possible if she were already married.

“In China, marriage is not just a matter between two people,” she says, “it’s more about two families. If I were married, my decision to go abroad would have been a decision made by two families, and it would get too complicated.” So complicated, she says, that she probably wouldn’t have gone.

While Yu has chosen to pursue her dream in defiance of her mother's wishes, she acknowledges it isn’t easy.

One anguished friend of hers posted recently on China’s Twitter equivalent, Weibo: “My mom and dad are urging me to marry…I am bearing so much pressure! You guys really have no idea.”

Professor Xiao argues that because Chinese children are raised in philosophically Confucian households where respect for one’s parents is paramount, even grown children are vulnerable to criticism. “These women care about their parents – theirs are the opinions that really matter to them,” Xiao stresses. “It doesn’t matter what other people say, but when their parents tell them, ‘You should get married, otherwise you never will. If you don’t get married at 28, you are an undesirable woman,’ can you imagine how that makes them feel? It’s really terrible.”

Still, in a society where young women are often criticized for being overly materialistic when it comes to marriage, Xiao believes that many shengnv are sincerely looking for the right person. That they are holding onto their marriage ideals even as they get older says a lot about their determination.

World Press: Military issues top agenda in Obama trip to Austra...

World Press: Military issues top agenda in Obama trip to Austra...: U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Australia on Wednesday on a two-day trip where he is set to announce an expanded American military pr...

World Press: Military issues top agenda in Obama trip to Austra...

World Press: Military issues top agenda in Obama trip to Austra...: U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Australia on Wednesday on a two-day trip where he is set to announce an expanded American military pr...

Hackers loading Facebook with obscene content

THE ACCOUNTS of thousands of Facebook users all over the world have been targeted by unknown hackers, with pornographic images and depictions of acts of extreme violence appearing on users’ timelines and in direct messages sent across the social network. The problem began to be noticed last week but turned from a trickle into a flood over the weekend.

Facebook said yesterday evening it had seen an increase in reports of material that violated its terms of use and it was taking steps to investigate and address the issue. Some Irish users told The Irish Times that they had seen a dramatic increase in recent days in the level of pornographic content appearing on their news feeds when they log into the site.

One user from Dublin described the increased level of such material as “unbelievable”. She said it was “not so much on my page, but other eejits liking or commenting on it so it comes up on the news feed”. Another said he had noticed “lots of porn and dating ads disguised as normal products until you click on them and then find strange apps on your Facebook page”.

The increased level of spam appearing on Facebook has been linked to the online hacker group Anonymous, which had previously made threats to target the site over concerns about the manner in which the site distributes and holds personal information and its plans to make money from users.

However, industry sources have cast doubt on whether the group is behind the increased spam as it does not fit with its modus operandi. Spammers have apparently been taking advantage of the new photo-enhanced layout of the site – which means that when “friends” post comments on photographs, the picture is automatically posted on to the news feeds of friends.

The technology site ZDnet said the material was being spread via a “linkspam virus” which tempts members to click on a seemingly innocuous story link.

“It isn’t presently clear precisely how the offending content has been spread – whether users are falling for a clickjacking scheme, are being tagged in content without their knowledge, have poorly chosen privacy settings, have been tricked into installing malicious code, or have fallen victim to another vulnerability inside Facebook itself,” Sophos security expert Graham Cluley said on his blog.

“What’s clear, however, is that mischief-makers are upsetting many Facebook users and making the social networking site far from a family-friendly place.”

Facebook said, “Protecting the people who use Facebook from spam and malicious content is a top priority for us and we are always working to improve our systems to isolate and remove material that violates our terms.”

In Australia, a major cocaine bust

Law enforcement officials seized 300 kilograms of cocaine from a yacht in a coastal town off of Queensland, the Australian Federal Police said.

The cocaine, with a street value of up to $79 million, was found stashed in the hull of the yacht by police this past Friday. Police arrested four Spanish nationals in connection with the raid.

The bust is believed to be the fifth largest cocaine seizure in Australian history, police said on Monday in a news release.

The yacht, named Friday Freedom, was under close investigation by the Australian Federal Police for its links to an organized crime syndicate and was tracked as it headed from Vanuatu to Australia on October 14.

Two of the Spanish nationals arrested were living aboard the yacht and another two were arrested after they were discovered allegedly meeting the yacht in the northeastern coastal town of Bundaberg.

Police also seized an additional $3 million in cash in searches related to the seizure.

The four arrested appeared in a Bundaberg court on Monday to face charges related to importing cocaine. Australia Associated Press reports they remain in custody and another hearing is set for January 12. If convicted, they could face life in prison.

Authorities said this is the second significant cocaine seizure on a yacht in just over 12 months.

Military issues top agenda in Obama trip to Australia

U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Australia on Wednesday on a two-day trip where he is set to announce an expanded American military presence in the country.

It is Obama's first visit to the country as commander-in-chief.

Obama arrived aboard Air Force Once in the capital of Canberra from Hawaii.

During his visit, Obama will hold talks with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He will also discuss a range of regional economic and security issues during a speech to Australian legislators in Canberra.

He is expected to make the announcement about the expanded military presence during a stop at a military base in Darwin in northern Australia.

Among other things, U.S. Marines will begin using facilities in Darwin for training and war games, while American warships will increase their utilization of naval facilities in Western Australia near Perth.

"The U.S. presence and the reassurance that that presence provides is important to the continued peaceful development of the region, the continued free flow of commerce, and the continued ability to deal in a forward-leaning way with the types of challenges that emerge in this part of the world," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters traveling with the president.

The U.S. military will be able to respond quickly to natural disasters, like they did after the tsunami in Japan in March. It is also involved in countering piracy in Southeast Asia, Rhodes said.

Asked if an increased U.S. presence is borne in part by a desire to offset China's strong presence in the region, Rhodes said the United States is focused on increasing military cooperation with China to facilitate dialogue.

"At the same time, again, we want to make sure that the United States is positioned to play its critical role as really the anchor of security and stability in the region in general," he said.

The president's Australian visit -- postponed twice in 2009 and 2010 due to an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and other domestic political considerations -- highlights a changing balance of power in the Pacific as China expands its military reach and the United States works to reduce its military footprint in Japan.

"I don't want to get ahead of any agreement," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters last week. "I'll just say that we're discussing with the Australians, again, the future of our alliance in the context ... of our future force posture in the region."

Obama's Australian visit comes on the heels of last weekend's 19-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which highlighted the need for new measures supporting job growth. During the Hawaiian summit, Obama stressed the importance of the Pacific to global economic security, and he pushed China to do more to help strengthen the world economy.

After wrapping up his visit to Australia, Obama will conclude his Pacific trip with a stop in Indonesia -- a country he spent several years living in during his childhood.