US, Cuban leaders to meet face-to-face
PANAMA CITY — President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro moved toward a groundbreaking meeting on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas Friday in what would be a remarkable display of reconciliation between two nations with the leadership of the Western Hemisphere gathered around them.
The powerful symbolism of a face-to-face exchange today between the two leaders could signal progress even though both sides are still working through nettlesome issues that would lead to the opening of embassies in Washington and Havana, the first stage in a new diplomatic relationship.
The White House was coy over the status of the State Department’s recommendation to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror. Removal is a top issue with Castro because it would not only eliminate Cuba’s status as a pariah, but also ease Cuba’s ability to conduct simple financial transactions.
Nevertheless, the pace of activity over the terror list suggested that even if Obama did not make an announcement Saturday, one would come soon.
Pakistan lawmakers vote against joining Saudi-led airstrikes
SANAA, Yemen — Pakistan’s parliament voted unanimously Friday to stay out of the Saudi-led air campaign targeting Shiite rebels in Yemen, offering instead to mediate a solution, in a blow to Saudi Arabia’s attempts to build a Sunni front in an increasingly sectarian conflict.
Pakistan’s decision is unlikely to greatly affect the Saudi-led coalition’s military capabilities. But it was an embarrassment to the kingdom from a traditionally close ally, now reluctant to get pulled into a conflict that is threatening to escalate into a new proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Saudi Arabia had been seeking to expand the coalition, made up of fellow Gulf nations as well as Egypt and Sudan, which has waged a nearly 3-week campaign of airstrikes against the rebels, known as Houthis, and is reportedly considering a ground incursion. At the same time, Shiite powerhouse Iran, which backs the Houthis, also lobbied Pakistan and other Sunni nations to back a cease-fire and a negotiated end to the conflict.
A senior official in the United Arab Emirates — a member of the coalition — lashed out angrily at Pakistan, accusing it of choosing Iran over the Gulf nations at a time when they face an “existential confrontation” in the Yemen conflict.
By wire sources