INL_January09_News
Carlos Tevez

Man Utd v Derby - live!

Get live text commentary from tonight's Carling Cup semi-final second leg at Old Trafford, Manchester. » Live Matchcast

Barack Obama

'The time has come...'

Barack Obama has made his historic speech as the first black president of the USA in front of huge crowds. » More

Barack Hussein Obama II (allegedly born in Honolulu,[1][2][3] August 4, 1961) is the 44th President of the United States, taking office on Jan. 20, 2009. Previously he served as a first-term Democratic Senator from Illinois (2004-2008) and then, along with his running mate Senator Joseph Biden, won the presidential election[4] after twenty-three months of campaigning, raising an unprecedented $750 million and spending over $700 million of it,[5] most of which came from anonymous donors. Post-election, Obama's aides surprised some by indicating that he would make an unprecedented speech within his first 100 days from a Muslim capital.[6] Obama will use his Muslim middle name when sworn into office.[7][8] Elected by claiming he's a Christian, Obama avoided attending church on Christmas and Sundays since Election Day.[9]

Obama has espoused the socialist idea of "spreading the wealth,"[10] in other words raising the tax rates on business and the wealthy to a burdensome level in order to redistribute their income to low income individuals, many of whom don't currently pay income taxes.[11] His health care plan forces employers to purchase health care or pay a fine and will force many into a poorly run single payer system.[12] To announce his trip to Berlin in July 2008, Obama used posters which show a marked similarity to posters of Lenin.[13] During Obama's youth in Hawaii, he developed a strong, almost Father/Son relationship with Frank Marshall Davis, a known Communist.[14]


Chicago, 5 November 2008

International Relations in the Age of Empire
 

Yes, We Can
Speech by Barack Obama -

President Elect of United States

Chicago, 5 November 2008

"..And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments

and palaces to those who are huddled

around radiosin the forgotten corners of our world –

our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared,

and a new dawn

of American leadership is at hand. ...

And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright

– tonight we proved once

more thatthe true strength of our nation

comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth,

but from the enduring power of our ideals:

democracy, liberty,opportunity, and unyielding hope.."

Reflections: "I see Obama less as a black man than as a successful negotiator

of identity margins.

His ability to inhabit so many categories mirrors the African experience.

For America to choose as its citizen in chief such

a skillful straddler of global identities could not help

but transform the nation's image,

making it once again the screen upon

which the hopes and ambitions of the world are projected." -

Francis Nyamnjoh,

Cameroonian novelist and social scientist, 5 November 2008

"(Obama's) election rivaled the day in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln issued

the Emancipation Proclamation and

the day 101 years later when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his

"I Have a Dream" speech.

There's never been a moment like this in our lifetime, ever...

Obama is the postmodern race man.

He can wear it, he can take it off,

he can put it back on. It's just an aspect of his identity. ..

People don't see him primarily as black.

I think people see him primarily as an agent of change."

Henry Louis Gates Jr.,

Harvard scholar of African-American history


 

Duffy

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2009's Brit Awards nominations have been announced with popstrel Duffy tying for top with a megastar band. » Who?

Laura Stainforth and Robert Williams

Missing teen spotted

A schoolgirl who police fear has run away with a man she met on the Internet has been spotted on a ferry travelling to France, police have said. » More

Yoko Ono to receive Lifetime Achievement Golden Lion at Venice Biennale 2009

24 February 2009

Message from Yoko Ono: Dear Friends,

When I heard that I was selected for the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award of 2009,

I felt like i was in a fog, listening to a foghorn far away! The fog slowly cleared.

The foghorn changed into the speech the director of the Biennale was giving on this

occasion. So what should I say…thank you? John would have been so proud of me.

“I told you, didn’t I?” he would say. I am glad, too.

I feel like I was suddenly given a huge birthday card. I see myself struggling to hold

it in my heart. Thank you for being there for me all these years. I am a lucky girl. yoko

Yoko Ono 1 March 2009 NYC Yoko Ono to receive Lifetime Achievement Golden Lion

at Venice Biennale 2009 As part of the 53rd... [More here ?]


Yoho Ono has launched Peace Web Site callled www.imaginepeace.com


http://imaginepeace.com/news/

Yoko Ono to receive Lifetime Achievement Golden Lion at Venice Biennale 2009

24 February 2009

Message from Yoko Ono: Dear Friends, When I heard that I was selected for the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award of 2009, I felt like i was in a fog, listening to a foghorn far away! The fog slowly cleared. The foghorn changed into the speech the director of the Biennale was giving on this occasion. So what should I say…thank you? John would have been so proud of me. “I told you, didn’t I?” he would say. I am glad, too. I feel like I was suddenly given a huge birthday card. I see myself struggling to hold it in my heart. Thank you for being there for me all these years. I am a lucky girl. yoko Yoko Ono 1 March 2009 NYC Yoko Ono to receive Lifetime Achievement Golden Lion at Venice Biennale 2009 As part of the 53rd... [More here ?]

IMAGINE PEACE


HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOKO!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOKO!

Happy Birthday YOKO! 18TH FEBRUARY 2009 IMAGINE PEACE TOWER - Viðey Island, Reykjavik, Iceland. In celebration of Yoko Ono’s 76th birthday, and by special arrangement with Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik Energy & The City of Reykjavik, IMAGINE PEACE TOWER was illuminated from sunset till... [More here ?]

BED PEACE 2009: 40th Anniversary 1969-2009

BED PEACE 2009: 40th Anniversary 1969-2009

The John & Yoko Amsterdam Bed-In took place from 25-31 March 1969 at The Hilton Hotel, Amsterdam, Holland. The John & Yoko Montreal Bed-In took place from 26 May to 2 June 1969 at The Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal, Canada, culminating in the recording of the anthem “Give Peace A Chance”... [More here ?]



John Lennon’s Imagine to ring out on Liverpool Cathedral’s bells

John Lennon’s Imagine to ring out on Liverpool Cathedral’s bells

By Catherine Jones, Liverpool Daily Post HE FAMOUSLY described it as “anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional and anti-capitalistic’. But now John Lennon’s magnum opus Imagine – dubbed one of the greatest songs of all time – is to be performed on Liverpool Cathedral’s bells. The... [More 

here ?]



$4m+ of INSTANT KARMA to Darfur

$4m+ of INSTANT KARMA to Darfur

Gift of Lennon’s Songbook Supports Amnesty International’s Global Campaign on Darfur February 18, 2009 Yoko Ono’s generous gift to Amnesty International — the right to have leading international musical artists record new versions of John Lennon’s solo compositions – provided... [Morehere ?]


Yoko Ono Baltic exhibition adds colour to the art world

Yoko Ono Baltic exhibition adds colour to the art world

by Dave Black, The Journal FAMILIES are being encouraged to add their creative touches to a work by Yoko Ono. The-six day event is part of an exhibition of the Japanese artist at the Baltic, on the Gateshead side of the Tyne. Parents and children will use Yoko Ono’s 1966 Add Colour Painting as inspiration... [More here ?]



HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOKO!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOKO!

Happy Birthday YOKO! 18TH FEBRUARY 2009 IMAGINE PEACE TOWER - Viðey Island, Reykjavik, Iceland. In celebration of Yoko Ono’s 76th birthday, and by special arrangement with Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik Energy & The City of Reykjavik, IMAGINE PEACE TOWER was illuminated from sunset till... [More here ?]





Yoko Ono LIVE: Passages for Light -  in conversation with Alexandra Munroe [Guggenheim, NY, USA]

Yoko Ono LIVE: Passages for Light - in conversation with Alexandra Munroe [Guggenheim, NY, USA]

  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: 1071 5th Ave, New York, NY 10128 01173, USA Thursday, April 2, 6:30pm; tickets $30    Third Mind Live Performances, Education, and Public Programs  In conjunction with the exhibition, the Guggenheim Museum presents Third Mind Live, a performance and lecture series... [More here ?]

IMAGINE: The Peace Ballad of John and Yoko

IMAGINE: The Peace Ballad of John and Yoko

  Montreal museum celebrates Bed-In anniversary April 2 to June 21, 2009 Following Warhol Live, this spring the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts will continue in a musical vein by celebrating the fortieth anniversary of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famous 1969 Bed-in in Montreal with an exhibition designed... [More here ?]

Group Show: The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989 [New York, USA]

Group Show: The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989 [New York, USA]

The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989 30 January 2009 – 19 April 2009 EXHIBITION EXPLORES IMPACT OF ASIAN ART AND THOUGHT ON AMERICAN ARTISTS FROM THE LATE 19TH THROUGH 20TH CENTURIES Approximately 250 Works by 100 Artists and Literary Figures from James McNeill Whistler to... [More here ?]

Yoko Ono at Stanford

Yoko Ono at Stanford

Yoko Ono reflects on her life, work and public perception History Professor Gordon Chang and Yoko Ono answered questions from the audience after Ono’s  presentation Wednesday in Dinkelspiel Auditorium. by Cynthia Haven, Stanford Report, January 15, 2009 Tickets vanished within a few hours. Clearly,... [More here ?]

Imagine Peace Tower Stamp - Bronze award

Imagine Peace Tower Stamp - Bronze award

The 2008 stamp of the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER has been awarded a Bronze by Stamp News. From StampNews.com Top 10 extraordinary stamps of the year 2008 We at StampNews.com want to strike the balance of the passing year. Plenty of new stamps have seen the light all over the world. No question all of them... [More here ?]




The Fringe Shows Have Talent Team anounce a new movie

                        
Give Peace A Chance


Click on the above photos to find out more about "Give Peace a Chance - The Movie"


Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
This interview  by Jonathan Ross with Yoko Ono-Lennon are a must watch

Click here to view Jonathan Ross Interviewing Yoko Ono-Lennon-Part1

Click here to view Jonathan Ross Interviewing Yoko One-Lennon- Part2




  • Airs Next:BBC-1 at Friday 10:35 PM (60 min.)
  • Status:Returning Series
  • Premiered:November 2, 2001
  • Show Categories:Talk Shows
With a cheeky gag never too far away and a wit sharper than his own suits, don't expect the guests to get an easy ride on the way to plugging their latest film, book, session in rehab or range of underpants. Funny, likeable and unlike any other chat show host, if you get to sit with Jonathan you're doing something right. Either that, or you're just Ricky Gervais.


Click here to view John Lennon & Yoko Ono stage a 'bed-in'


Click here to view Yoko One-Lennon discussing

forgiving Mark Chapman for shooting John Lennon


Click here to view Yoko Ono-Lennon interview with Jay Leno

Click here to view Yoko Ono-Lennon interview with Barbara Waters

Click here to view interview with Sean Ono-Lennon on his album Friendly Fire Part 1

Click here to view interview with Sean Ono-Lennon on his album Friendly Fire Part 2

Click here to view interview with Sean Ono-Lennon on his album Friendly Fire Part 3

Click here to view interview with Sean Ono-Lennon on his album Friendly Fire Part 4

Click here to view interview with Sea Ono-Lennon on his album Friendly Fire Part 5


Click here to view interview with Sean Ono-Lennon on his album Friendly Fire Part 6

Click For more info of Sean Ono-Lennon and his album Friendly Fire

Click here to view early interview with the Beatles Part 1

Click here to view early interview with the Beatles Part 2

Click here to view early interview with the Beatles Part 3


Click here to view a Promo for Attempt 3.4- The Movie produced by the Fringe Shows Have Talent Team at the 2007 the Edinburgh Fringe Festival soon to be at your local cinema as the beginning of many alternative cinema filmed live from Fringe Performances around the world

Click here to view John Lennon Singing Give Peace a Chance


Click here to view  John Lennon Singing Imagine Live

Click here to read more about the life of John Lennon who lost his life just trying to Give Peace a Chance and trying to get everyone in the world to image a world were everyone loved each other and so there was no more need for wars

Click here to read more about Yoko Ono-Lennon who is carrying on John Lennon's work to Give Peace a Chance with her special expression where everyone says to everyone else they first meet  "I LOVE YOU" as Yoko Ono-Lennon said during the Love In For Peace days where John and Yoko stayed in Bed For Peace...
"....if everyone can be happy and love each other...no one will want to kill anyone else...as only sad people want to kill others... happy people do not want to kill anyone..."

George Galloway MP will be joining the protest at the BBC in Edinburgh this afternoon
 
Wed January 28th Demonstrate  at the BBC 
 PROTEST at the BBC's decision not to air the DEC Appeal for Gaza
 Edinburgh - BBC East Scotland, The Tun, Holyrood Rd  5.30pm (called by Scottish PSC and supported by Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition)
SPSC will project the DEC's Appeal for Gaza onto the wall of the BBC building in Edinburgh. Speakers include Pauline Goldsmith (one of the four signatories of the actors' boycott letter) and George Galloway 
Mounting Protests at BBC

 Wed January 28th
Glasgow - BBC Scottish HQ, Pacific Quay  4.30pm
(called by Stop the War)
Edinburgh - BBC East Scotland, The Tun, Holyrood Rd   5.30pm (called by Scottish PSC)

SPSC will project the DEC's Appeal for Gaza onto the wall of the BBC building.
Speakers include Pauline Goldsmith, one of the four signatories of the actors' boycott letter BBC.

Protesters will today gather outside the BBC in Glasgow and Edinburgh against the controversial decision by the BBC not to air a Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) crisis appeal for the people of Gaza .

  Mick Napier, chair of the SPSC, said, “The BBC’s decision to impede the humanitarian appeal on behalf of the people of Gaza comes on top of this well-substantiated record of pro-Israeli bias.  It also comes to a population who see yet another invasion in the Middle East where the British government is on the wrong side and believe that the BBC is even more so. The Sun newspaper never recovered on Merseyside from its appalling misreporting of the Hillsborough disaster and the BBC may never recover from this similar violation of deeply held convictions.  The great majority of British people clearly feel that Palestinians have been savaged and that denying aid to the victims is sadistic.”

Samena Dean, from the Islamic community said: “This has nothing to do with impartiality, but everything to do with Mark Thompson’s views on the conflict.  He clearly wants to help Israeli punish the Palestinians for resisting the Occupation and the Siege.  Mark Thompson visited Israel in 2005 and held talk with Ariel Sharon, the man responsible for the massacres at Sabra and Shatila.  By the very fact that Mark Thompson would meet Sharon shows that he would rather ‘Aunty Beeb’ peddle Israeli propaganda then help to relive a humanitarian crisis in Gaza .”

 Solidarity Campaign started in autumn 2000 in response to the Palestinian second uprising against Israeli occupation (intifada). The SPSC has branches and groups of supporters in several Scottish cities and universities, as well as individual members across Scotland .
For further information, contact:
Email: info@scottishpsc.org.uk

Website: www.scottishpsc.org.uk  

 2. BBC defends Gaza appeal decision:

The BBC has defended a decision not to air a TV fund-raising appeal for Gaza , saying it wanted to avoid compromising public confidence in its impartiality.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7846150.stm

 3. BBC under pressure over Gaza emergency appeal

The BBC came under mounting pressure today to screen an emergency appeal for Gaza , after ITV, Channel 4 and Five all announced they will show it.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bbc-under-pressure-over-gaza-emergency-appeal-1515149.html

 4. DEC would normally raise about £10 million:

A national appeal from the DEC would normally raise about £10 million, but without the broadcasts the total is certain to be lower.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5568735.ece

 5. DEC Access and Impartiality
The DEC members are committed to humanitarian principles including independence and have confirmed they are able to work without hindrance from the Hamas controlled authorities both to identify who are the most needy and to channel assistance to them directly, either through their own staff or well established local non governmental partners. The DEC members have submitted lists of partners and their banking arrangements, to insure proper systems are in place
.

http://www.dec.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?ap=1&id=320

 6. General Background

The State of Israel was founded through the systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948. This event, known as the 'Nakbah', or catastrophe, to Palestinians, saw the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of them from their homes. Those expelled are still refused their rights under international law to return to return home. The crimes committed against the Palestinian people did not end in 1948 however, and daily theft of land and resources continues as Israel pushes forward its policy of replacing the Palestinian people with Jewish immigrants from around the world.


Protest at BBC studios turns  into Occupation
About 200 protesters demonstrated outside the BBC studios in Glasgow against the
controversial decision by the BBC not to air a Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)
 crisis appeal for the people of Gaza. 
At around 5pm the protesters managed to  gain access to the building turning protest  into an occupation, around 70 protesters  remain in occupation of the building some  4 hours later with the remaining protesters taking up residence outside.
The protest was supported by a number of  organisations including the Scottish Palestine  Solidarity Campaign (SPSC).   The BBC's decision is even more controversial  now as the other networks have bowed to  requests by the public and also the government
Mick Napier, chair of the SPSC, said,  "Block Israeli propaganda not aid to Gaza. 
The BBC's decision not to air the DEC  appeal is absolutely disgusting.   Failure to raise the estimated 10 million  required is going to result in more deaths. 
These deaths are going to be as a direct  result of some BBC executive decision. 
These executive have literally  got the blood of Gaza on their hands".
Samena Dean, from the Islamic community  said: "This takes the BBC's Islama-phobia
to a new level with their discrimination  against the Palestinians. Depriving people
of desperately needed humanitarian aid  because they are Palestinians is shocking
discrimination that would never be  tolerated against anyone else. 
They suffered under a brutal 20 month  Israeli siege, followed by a savage
Israeli war, where they used illegal  weapons on the civilian population and
now this discrimination from the  BBC will result in more deaths,
 and the ones to die are once again going  to be children."

Click here at www.inlnews.com for a  complete historical round up of stories  and photos of what has been happening  with the Israel-Gaza Conflict.
http://www.inlnews.com/Gaza_Israel_Ceasefire.html
 

Open Letter to the BBC from  Tam Dean Burn

Mark Thompsonm rector general of the BBC
Broadcasting House nPortland Place London W1A 1AA.

Dear Mark Thompson

We, the undersigned actors and directors,  like millions of others, are absolutely
appalled at the decision by the BBC to  refuse to broadcast the DEC appeal for
Gaza. We therefore are taking what action  we can in protest at this decision
by stating, like our fellow actor,  Samantha Morton, we will never work for
the BBC again unless this disgraceful  decision is reversed. We will urge others
from our profession and beyond  to do likewise.
We will also not pay our TV license fee  in protest and encourage others to do likewise.
 It is time for the people of Britain to take  a stand on this issue by demanding the
BBC reverse this decision and by  supporting the call from Palestinian civil society for a complete economic,  academic and cultural boycott of Israel  until it ends its pitiless violence against  the long-suffering people of Gaza
and the whole
of Palestine .

Tam Dean Burn  Pauline GoldsmithPeter Mullan lison Peebles
Gazans' attempts at rescuing trapped bodies were hampered by continued attacks on Sunday [AFP]

Gazans tell of ordeal as war rages
[Gallo/Getty]

With more than 1,000 Palestinians dead amid Israel's war on Gaza - more than
 300 of them children - Al Jazeera spoketo citizens of the territory struggling
to surivive under the Israeli offensive.

 Moussa el-Haddad, a doctor at Shifa hospital in Gaza City "We hear screams over the radio from people injured in the streets asking for emergency
 help, but paramedics can't reach them and,  besides, the hospitals are overcrowded.
Even those killed can't be reached. 'm telling you, Gaza is on fire. Everyone on  this piece of land is under attack.  In this time and age, I can't believe the  world is watching and no one is doing anything.
don't understand Ban Ki-moon is making  trips from here to there.
Why doesn't he help stop this bloody war?"
A
 A mother who lost her only son

"They [Israeli soldiers] opened fire at us. My son Faris was killed in my arms. I couldn't have children for 21 years after marriage until God gave me this child.


Elaina Qleibo, the head of food and security for Oxfam
"There is this grave feeling of impotence and  I wish I was a doctor or a magician so I can
 save all of these people.
There is no safe place to say and there is  a lack of water, so it's become a very  overbearing situation.People here are sufferring deeply, so much  that they are numb, like when you have an  accident, you immediately enter a state  of numbness.You see an old man sitting by himself looking  like he's about to cry or you'll see a group
of people walking to pretend that nothing  is happening.
The shock is so big here, I don't know  if people realise what is happening to them."

A four-year-old girl attacked by an Israeli soldierb

"I saw him [the solider] hiding next to the shop. I looked around for my mum, then he shot me.

One bullet hit my hand and the other  penetrated my  stomach through my back."

Maysa al-Khitab, a resident of Gaza City

"Please help us. The Israelis are bombing us  with phosphorus bombs, so please help us.

The shelling has been continuous since last night. We are in an area where 500 other families are under bombardment.

"Where are the Arabs? Where is the world?  None of them are doing anything.

"We are being killed. I just saw 300 peoplekilled in front of my own eyes when the tower
 collapsed. Please stop this war."

A father who lost two daughters

"My three daughters went out with my mother. All of a sudden, Israeli soldiers started  shouting at them from a very close distance. My eldest was hit by 17 bullets in the chest and my two-year-old was hit by 12. They both died, of course." Khaled Ezzidin, a resident of Deir al-Balah outside of Gaza "I used to live in a city called al-Zahra and,  one night, me and my family were hiding in  the basement of our house. We came under fire for about two hours and  by a miracle we survived the bombardment. The next day we left the city and moved to Deir al-Balah."

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/01/
20091155194386203.html

 

 

 

 


Though he danced the night away, President Barack Obama has already got down to business. » How? Obama's inaugural dance - videonatch the latest ITN news bulletin

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The government has bailed out the banks again but what impact will it have on borrowers and savers? » Find out

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Markets:

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Barack Obama is sworn in
 as President of USA

By Sara Nelson

The upcoming Presidential inauguration of Barack Obama is set to be a worldwide event – and is even being immortalized in LEGO.

The entire scene of the event, which will be held on the West Front of the US Capitol, has been constructed out of the colourful building blocks at Legoland California.

The massive project features more than a thousand mini-figures, including President-elect Barack Obama and his family, vice president-elect Joe Biden, his wife Jill, George and Laura Bush, Dick and Lynn Cheney, and George Bush Sr and Barbara Bush.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1119429/Barack-Obama-sworn-President--Legoland.html
 





A Palestinian woman shouts in front of her house destroyed during Israel's offensive in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip January 18, 2009.  Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip launched rockets into southern Israel on Sunday in defiance of the unilateral ceasefire that Israel declared hours earlier and which Hamas pledged to ignore. (Reuters)

Hamas, Israel separately announce ceasefire


http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/hamas-2446174

Hamas said it would cease fire immediately along with its Islamist allies in the Gaza Strip and give Israel, which already declared a unilateral truce, a week to pull its troops out of the territory.

A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in response: "We'll play this day by day. We'll see how this goes. We want to leave Gaza. We'll do so as soon as we can."

Troops and tanks had streamed back over the border since dawn and the army later confirmed it had begun withdrawing after a three-week war in which 10 Israeli soldiers and over 1,300 Palestinians were killed. Three Israeli civilians also died.

Click here for more on this of this story

Israel begins to withdraw from Gaza

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090118/twl-israel-begins-to-withdraw-from-gaza-41f21e0.html

Israel has begun to withdraw its armed forces from the Gaza Strip, a military source has said.

"I can confirm that a gradual withdrawal of our forces is under way," the source said, refusing to elaborate on when the pullback might be completed.

Palestinian militant group Hamas has announced a ceasefire with Israel, giving the Jewish state one week to pull troops out of the Gaza strip.

It comes hours after the Israeli leaders voted to halt the offensive in region that has killed nearly 1,200 people.

A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said earlier that if a ceasefire held in the Hamas-ruled enclave, Israel could start the process of withdrawing its forces.

A Hamas official in Cairo, Ayman Taha, said: "Hamas and the factions announce a ceasefire in Gaza starting immediately and give Israel a week to withdraw."

The Islamist group said previously it would not stop its attacks as long as Israeli soldiers remained in the Gaza Strip.

Mr Taha said Hamas was demanding the opening of all Gaza border crossings for the entry of "all materials, food, goods and basic needs".

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has touched down in the Middle East for an international summit on the crisis.

International leaders are holding a summit at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh which is to be co-chaired by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Also attending are United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and senior politicians from Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Jordan.

As he arrived in Egypt, Mr Brown announced an additional £20 million of British humanitarian aid and called for renewed efforts to find a lasting peace in the region.

In an apparent criticism of the scale of the Israeli response to Hamas rocket attacks, Mr Brown said "too many" innocent people had died in the 22-day assault on Gaza.

Mr Brown said the violence in Gaza must not halt the search for a path to peace, but should spur the international community on in its efforts to establish a sustainable two-state solution.

"This conflict has once again demonstrated the urgent need to forge a longer term settlement which gives security to both Israelis and Palestinians," he said.

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