WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has huddled with his war cabinet for what officials indicated could be the final time before he decides whether to dispatch tens of thousands more US troops to Afghanistan.

Top officials at the two-hour meeting on Monday night, the ninth gathering of Obama’s national security team to review Afghan strategy since August, included Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The meeting began just before 8:15 pm (0115 GMT Tuesday) and lasted around two hours.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that a decision on troops could be announced as early as next week.

‘It’s not going to happen this week,’ he said. ‘Obviously the first possible time would be some time next week.’ National Public Radio, citing unnamed sources, said that the president plans to make the announcement in an address to the nation on December 1.

An administration official said Monday could ‘possibly’ be the last time Obama will consult his team before making an announcement, though he cautioned ‘that’s not something we can say definitively.’ Attending the war meeting via videoconference were two men very much at odds over the decision: General Stanley McChrystal, commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, and Karl Eikenberry, US ambassador in Kabul.

McChrystal has asked for around 40,000 more US troops, cautioning that the intensifying Taliban insurgency could win out if he does not get the reinforcements within a year.

Currently, there are 68,000 US troops in Afghanistan.

In diplomatic cables leaked earlier this month, Eikenberry — a retired army general who commanded US forces in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2007 — warned against sending more troops until Afghan President Hamid Karzai gets a grip on the rampant corruption in his administration.

While Karzai has earned the opprobrium of the international community since a fraud-tainted election in August highlighted the massive levels of official graft in Afghanistan, his inauguration speech Thursday generally won praise.

He pledged to clean up corruption, eradicate drug production and trafficking, work towards ending a Taliban-led insurgency, and see that Afghan security forces can take over from international forces in five years.

Clinton, attending the inauguration, sought to turn the page and hailed the speech as a ‘new starting point’ for the war-torn country.

But some of America’s allies in the war, now in its ninth year, are no longer willing to wait for the tide to turn: Canada and the Netherlands have announced plans to pull their troops out in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Gates in a speech in Canada Friday said US forces could provide a ‘sustainable’ replacement in the south for the departing Dutch and Canadian troops.

But he called on other allies to step forward, saying the Afghan effort will ‘require more commitment, more sacrifice, and more patience from the community of free nations.’ Those tensions now look set to dominate a December 3-4 meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

But Obama also faces opposition to the dispatch of more troops from members of his own Democratic Party who question the wisdom of deploying additional soldiers.

Polls show the American public is becoming increasingly disillusioned with the war, and some fear a deepening military commitment could dominate his presidency, as Vietnam did Lyndon Johnson’s in the 1960s.

But the military strongly favors a so-called surge, and Obama risks being denounced by Republican critics as weak on national security if he refuses McChrystal’s request.

More than 800 US soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan and the number of casualties is rising. October was the deadliest month for US forces there since 2001 and another four US fatalities were reported Monday. –

Riyadh Al Ashqar, head of the media department at the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees in Gaza, stated that Zionist regime is currently holding captive more than 370 child detainees under the age of 18.

The Al Aqsa TV reported that child detainees are sent to courts that prosecute cases of adult detainees an issue which directly violates the International Law.

Dozens of child detainees received harsh sentences by the courts while military judges never dealt with them as minors.

Similar to the case with adult detainees, children in Zionist regime’s detention camps are also fined and subjected to torture and abuse.

Al Ashqar demanded the International Red Cross and human rights groups to intervene and stop the Zionist regime’s violations against underage detainees.

He also called for ensuring that Zionist regime complies with the International Law by stopping the violations against the detainees, especially children and women.

BEIRUT: Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah hailed on Monday Hizbullah’s “military exploits” against Israel during the summer 2006 war.

He added that the party’s performance achieved great victories not only at the Lebanese level but across the Muslim world. Speaking to a delegation of clerics, Fadlallah urged Sunni-Shiite unity, and cautioned the leaders of the two Muslim sects not to succumb to foreign plots to sow discord among them.

Houthi Shias in northern Yemen announced that Saudi forces have launched a major cross-border ground and air attack against them on Monday.

Though Millions of Muslims are performing Hajj rituals, Saudi Wahhabi forces severely attack Yemeni Shias and other innocent civilians in the border of Yemen. The war is going on in spite we are in the month of Zel Hajjah. Zel Hajjah is one of the Harram month, it means any war or violence is forbidden and called Haram during Islamic order.

Houthi Shias in northern Yemen announced that Saudi forces have launched a major cross-border ground and air attack against them on Monday.

“The Saudis began an attack along many fronts on the Yemeni border,” Huthis said in a statement.

The Saudis are using “all types of ground and air weapons,” including tanks, artillery, rocket launchers, Apache helicopters and jet fighters, they said.

Saudi jets bombed villages within the border on Sunday and through the night, following a failed Saudi incursion into the border.

“The (Saudi) air force began bomb and missile attacks on various villages in the Malahidh, Shedah, Hidan and Razah areas” of northwest Yemen, they said in a separate statement.

Saudi aircraft also bombed Saqin near the city of Saada, they said, as well as Saada suburbs and a central security building inside the city. Dahyan had likewise been targeted.

Sunday’s attack was led by “around 50 Hummers” supported by helicopters and fighter jets, before the Saudis were repelled and “the aggressors suffered heavy losses,” the Shiite fighters said.

Yemeni government launched a major attack dubbed “Operation Scorched Earth,” on Houthis on August 11.

Saudi forces joined the Yemeni government on November 4.

Saudi fighter jets regularly bomb Houthi villages using phosphorus bombs.

UPDATE

The Shia Houthi fighters say that Saudi Arabian forces along with Yemeni military have carried out a fresh ground incursion into Yemeni territory using tanks, artillery and aircraft.

The attacks on Tuesday were taking place in the border districts of Malahiz and Shada provinces. In the incursion, the Saudi army had been using all kind of weapons; land, air, tanks, and artillery, they added.

The Houthis have already said they inflicted heavy damage on Saudi troops.

Witnesses from the northern border town of Razah also said that the Saudis had begun an offensive on Monday.

“The Saudi army launched a vast offensive against Houthi positions in the border region,” one witness, who asked not to be identified, said.

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The Houthi Shais have reportedly seized control of three mountains in a move that could give them notable strategic upper hand.

The fighters conquered Mounts Al-Dukhan, Al-Ramih and Al-Doud on Saturday, the Yemeni news outlet Shamar Press reported.

The Shias’ new positions will allow them to take the Saudi and Yemeni movements under scrutiny and afford visibility over several kilometers farther.

Sana’a has launched a military offensive codenamed Operation Scorched Earth against the Houthi fighters, accusing them of violating the terms of a ceasefire by taking foreign tourists hostage.

The Houthis, however, reject the allegations saying they only seek to put an end to the Yemeni government’s discriminatory policies against Shias.

The Saudi Wahhabis  have recently joined Yemen’s armed campaign against the country’s Shia minority. Saudi Arabia’s army has been pounding Houthi positions for over two weeks, charging that the fighters had attacked one of its border checkpoints.

The Houthis, however, have firmly rejected the allegations, saying that they are fighting other battlefields and are not interested in opening another front.

According to the fighters, Riyadh has stepped up the offensive shelling northern villages using illegal phosphorous bombs, which are capable of inflicting severe burns.

The Yemeni agency said the anti-Shia fight is recently joined by auxiliary forces outfitted with advanced equipment.

Israeli aggression has resulted in the death of more Palestinians this year than in any other year over the past two decades, says an Israeli rights group.

The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem, published a report notifying that Israeli aggression had killed 1,387 Palestinians including more than 300 children so far this year.

Most of the deaths occurred after Tel Aviv ordered three weeks of unabated aerial and artillery bombardment of the Gaza Strip at the turn of the year.

Medical sources put the number of deaths from the attacks at more than 1,400.

Overall Palestinian deaths due to aggression over the past 20 years added up to nearly 7,400 the report said, adding that hundreds of Palestinians are currently illegally incarcerated in Israeli jails.

The group issued the report on its 20th anniversary, which it announced through an obituary-like advertisement in the mass-circulation Israeli daily Haaretz.

“We are fed up and people are fed up of us, but four million people [who] live in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are to this day deprived of their most basic human rights,” it said.

Israeli regime’s President Shimon Peres was heading to Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Peres spokeswoman said.

“Mr Peres is due to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak one on one during the late morning in Cairo,” Peres spokeswoman Ayelet Frish said. She said that he will return to the occupied lands in the afternoon.

She added that the two will discuss “the latest developments in the Middle East as well as” settlement talks between Israeli regime and the Palestinians.

They are due to make a statement to the press after their meeting, she said.

Israeli occupying regime’s media said that the discussions were due to touch on German-mediated talks for a prisoner exchange between Israeli occupying regime and the Hamas movement in Gaza Strip.

The deal would see Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by Hamas in June 2006, released in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli regime’s jails.

Israeli media also said that Peres could bring up the possibility of creating a Palestinian state with provisional borders while the two sides carry out their negotiations.

Such a proposal has in the past been rejected by the Palestinians.

GUWAHATI: At least six people were killed and 40 wounded in two bomb blasts in northeast India’s troubled Assam state on Sunday, police said.Bombs hidden in bicycles exploded in front of a police station and a shopping complex in Nalbari town, about 70 km (43 miles) west of state capital Dispur, Jitmol Doley, a senior police officer told Reuters by telephone.

Police said the separatist United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) was behind the blasts, but a senior rebel leader telephoned local newspaper offices and television stations to deny its involvement.

The blasts came soon after New Delhi announced the government will provide safe passage to top rebel leaders willing to talk and find a lasting solution to the decades old insurgency in the state.

Security forces have placed the entire tea-and oil-rich Assam state on high alert.

deploring the current situation of uncertainty in the lives of Nigerian to the advantage of ruling class is dangerous especially when the Shia Movement is seen by the Public as the only way out of the multifaceted problems.

The Kaduna state Police Commissioner Tambari Yabo  wrote  the Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police what he called Intelligence Report on the activities of Shias and Islamic Sect in Zaria Local Government of Kaduna´ in February 2009’. In the report the Commissioner alleges that members of the Islamic Movement (Shia movement)were stockpiling arms/ammunitions  in the Movement’s Film village at Dembo village and that the village also serves as training ground for Islamic Militants.

In the item 3 of the report the commissioner writes “ Intelligence Report further reveals that Fadiyya Islamic Center, which serves as the headquarters of the Islamic group in Zaria, not only accommodates some Shiite members; but also serves as a center where films are produced. These films are shot at the centre for onward delivery to Iran and other Shiites countries. These Films portray Nigeria’s image in bad light. This attracts sympathy for monetary form of donations from those countries…”

Despite all the unnecessary allegations cited by uninformed commissioner, investigations showed that the report was unintelligent and baseless. Immediately after the report,  series of  reporters from some National Dailies and interest groups visited the Film village and the Center  and gave various reports of what they saw. None of them reported any sign of militant activities or arms as alleged by the commissioner.

And of course, it is ridiculous to consider the report as intelligent, but a mere spurious speculation with insidious intent.

The Commissioner still  continues in the item 3 “ The center also serves as a printing center of two(2) newspapers namely Al-Mizan and Pointer Express. The papers are claimed to be published at Babban Dodo area of Zaria city. The Residence of Alhaji Hamidu Danlami, which was burnt during the crises at Babban Dodo was actually claimed to be the Publishing center. It was discovered to be false, because there was no sign of any printing machine or some past prints. The burnt house was purely residential. “

After the burning of the house of Alhaji Hamidu  it was revealed  that the house was purely residential as acknowledged by the Commissioner and this of course  goes to show that the house was burnt under the order of the Commissioner for allegedly serving as publishing center.  More so, there is no doubt that the thugs were sponsored by commissioner in collaboration with his masters in both the state and Federal levels. His statement reveals more” It was discovered to be false, because there was no sign of any printing machine or some past prints. The burnt house was purely residential´. The commissioner was not able to get any sign of printing materials though he ordered the burning of the house for allegedly printing Al-mizan and Pointer Express.

During the Ashura 1430 programme in Zaria this year government sponsored thugs  backed by heavily armed police, attacked the peaceful procession and later moved to the residence of Alhaji Hamidu and set it ablaze.  Four members were killed along streets in Zaria by the Thugs.

It would be recalled that, at the heat of the crisis in Zaria during Ashura, the Kaduna state Police Commissioner Tambari Yabo Muhammad led trucks full of armed policemen to the house of Sheikh Zakzaky with an obvious intent of invasion. Also, miscreant who carried out the mayhem in Zaria operated unhindered before the eyes of the police, and none was arrested for any crime. This indicated the CP’s complicity in the heinous crime.

Now, about two weeks ago some of the sponsored thugs in Babban Dodo paid visit to the leader of the Islamic Movement Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky in his residence expressing their remorse and begging for pardon from leader of their action during Ashura programme.

Speaking on behalf of the repentant thugs, the youth leader  expressed  dismay on how they were fooled into attacking the peaceful members and determined not to commit such hideous act in future.

The youth leader explained that the purpose of their visit to express their remorse over the attack they have carried out and to seek for pardon from the leader over the Ashura incidence where they were incited by the  Government to attack the residence of Alhaji Hamidu Danlami  in Babban Dodo area.

The youths, who majority of them are below the age of 30, expressed remorsefulness on how they have been lured to carry out the unfortunate attacks.

After listening to them the leader of the Islamic Movement explained that the enemies always use divide-and-rule tactic to have control over people. He added that  part of the methods used by those in the position of power is to subject the masses to abject poverty in order to use them to achieve their devilish agenda.

The leader explained further that the enemies of Islam have, for a very long time, understand that Muslims cannot be controlled without removing  the teachings of the holy Quran from being practised to extent that Muslims read Quran but do not stand by its teaching.  The Enemies also try to disunite the Ummah through buildings of many Mosques so that Friday Prayer, which is a sign of strength and unity, is not performed collectively.

The leader cautioned that what the thugs did of destruction of properties and stealing in the name of booty is not the teaching of Islam.

He concluded by calling on the youths to be mindful of any act they do as they will be accountable on the day of Judgment. He added that repentance has three conditions- being remorseful over what one did, to avoid committing it in the future and to return the stolen items or seek forgiveness from the owners.

That is how it ended; the thugs who were hired with peanuts turn repentants and expressed their remorse. one cannot but to conclude that there is level in which the so called thugs can be fooled in spite of the abject poverty and unemployment that characterized the Nigerian society today. Those who sponsor others stand the risk of facing deep resistance from the thugs and the general public. This is because of the level of awareness which is fast spreading amongst public with regard to social injustice amongst the so called Nigerian leaders- situation that manifested itself in all aspect human and economic lives of the masses.

So, deploring the current situation of uncertainty in the lives of Nigerian to the advantage of ruling class is dangerous especially when the Movement is seen by the Public as the only way out of the multifaceted problems.

In recent years Wahhabis’ influence is much than ever. Shias and also non-Shias suffer from Wahhabis. Radical Wahhabis give false report to the government to sow discord between Shias and the government. Their aim is to eliminate Shias from the earth. Now Wahhabis spreaded in the world, Such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, South Pole, Europe, Asia and other countries. We, as a Muslims, can destroy them just by unity.

BEIJING: A gas explosion at a mine in northeast China early Saturday killed 15 workers and left 114 trapped, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.

The incident happened at about 2:30 am at a mine in Heilongjiang province, Xinhua news agency said, quoting the provincial coal mine safety watchdog.

The company said 528 miners were working in the mine, 10 kilometres from Hegang City, when the blast occurred, Xinhua reported. It earlier said 139 miners had been trapped.

CCTV said most of the miners had managed to escape.

Xinhua said vice premier Zhang Dejiang was going to the scene of the incident to direct rescue operations.

The safety watchdog said the mine is owned by the Heilongjiang Longmay Mining Holding Group, based in provincial capital Harbin.

China’s coal mines are among the most dangerous in the world, with safety standards often ignored in the quest for profits and the drive to meet surging demand for coal – the source of about 70 per cent of China’s energy.

Official figures show that more than 3,200 workers died in collieries last year, but independent labour groups say the actual figure could be much higher.

Lebanon’s Hizbullah group said that Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has been re-elected as its leader for a sixth term. According to the AP, the statement said Naim Kassim also has been re-elected as the group’s deputy leader.

The election came as Hizbullah concluded its congress after months of work and adopted a new political document, believed to be the second of its kind since the open letter of 1985. It also endorsed a series of organizational modifications.

Additionally, Hizbullah elected the Shura Council members as follows:
–         Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah: Hizbullah Secretary General;
–          Sheikh Naim Qassem: Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General;
–          Sheikh Mohamad Yazbek: the head of Hizbullah spiritual body;
–          Sayyed Ibrahim Amin Sayyed: the head of Hizbullah political bureau;
–          Sayyed Hashem Safieddine: the head of Hizbullah Executive Council;
–          Hajj Hussein Khalil: Hizbullah Secretary General political advisor;
–          MP Mohamad Raad: the head of the Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc.

Hizbullah’s leadership elections are usually held every three years but they were last held in 2004. A Hizbullah official said the two-year delay was caused by internal Lebanese differences and the 2006 Israel-Hizbullah war.

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On 14 November 2009 the General Investigation Directorate arrested the Shi’a citizens (Hussain Abdul Mohsen al-Hassan , 26 years and Mustafa Ma’took al-Rasheed , 25) from Rummeila of al-Ahsa due to participation religious activities  in occasion of  the annual celebration of Imam Mahi’s birthday during the Islamic month of Sha’ban , which is not permitted by Saudi authorities .

Hussain al-Hassan and Mustafa al-Rasheed were sentenced to one week imprisonment on orders of Al-Ahsa governor ( Badr bin Muhammad bin Jalawi).

The two mentioned detainees are detained for the second times on the same charge .

It is worth to mention that the Saudi authorities arrested more than eight young Shi’a citizens on charges of  participation in religious activities in their areas.

According to Rohama website, Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsin Al-Turki, Director General of the league said, “the conference has been organized in order to help solve problems faced by young Muslims in today’s world, make them aware of the threats they are facing and prevent them from going astray morally and intellectually.”

“In the globalization era, Muslim communities are socially and culturally influenced by the West and it is the duty of Muslim scholars, organizations and media to stand up against such negative influences,” he added.

“A number of scholars and intellectuals of the Islamic world and officials in charge of Islamic organizations as well as university lecturers have been invited to take part at the conference,” he stated.

He went on to say that intellectual problems of the Muslim youth and their economic, social and psychological difficulties will be the themes of discussion at the three-day conference.

RAMALLAH: Israeli authorities on Wednesday demolished a house belonging to a Palestinian in Arab East Jerusalem saying it was “illegally built.”

The demolition, which comes less than 24 hours after Israel announced the construction of 900 new Jewish homes in East Jerusalem, sparked clashes with stone-throwing youths.

Police said the house in east Jerusalem’s Al-Isawiyeh neighborhood was demolished after a court approved the action.

“Local residents blocked several roads leading to the building and threw stones at police,” said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. No casualties were reported.

The Palestinian Authority denounced the move. “Israel says that it is uniting Jerusalem. In reality, it is dividing Jerusalem through a series of discriminatory policies and laws,” said Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Palestinians in East Jerusalem often build or expand their houses without permits because the authorizations are nearly impossible to obtain from the Israeli authorities.

Jihad Abu Znaid, Jerusalem’s representative in the Palestinian Legislative Council, said the demolition came after the house’s owner Abdulhalim Dari “had exerted all efforts to get a license.”

Abu Znaid told Arab News that “the Israeli occupation is going ahead with its barbarian policy against the Palestinian people, especially these arbitrary decisions.”

The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights said the Jerusalem municipality handed new demolition orders to 14 citizens of Al-Isawiyeh, bringing the number of homes slated for demolition to 70.

The policy of house demolitions and settlement building is being used by Israel to increase the Jewish presence and manipulate the composition of the population in east Jerusalem prior to final status talks with the Palestinian Authority.

Tens of Wahhabi shaykhs in Saudi Arabia issued a statement demanding the murder of the Shias in Yemen.

After Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen and barbarically bombed villages located on the border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, in the Saada province where hundreds of Muslim women and children were killed, Saudi Arabian shaykhs demanded the murder of Shias.

These shaykhs claimed that the invasion of Yemen by the Saudi Arabian forces is religiously legal because it is a measure to prevent Iranian influence. They demanded the destruction of the men of the Al-Houthi Movement as well as the enslavement of their women.

Nasir bin Sulayman al-‘Umar and Sulayman bin Hamd al-‘Awdah, members of the intellectual board of the al-Qasim University, were amongst the signees of the document.

ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has verified information about 37,787 displaced families (about 275,000 people).

At least 17,564 families claiming to have been displaced from South Waziristan were declared ineligible for assistance because their records showed multiple registration, invalid ID cards or because they were not from that tribal agency.

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), families rejected on grounds of invalid cards or because they did not hail from that area could appeal against the decision.

According to a handout, 54,333 families were registered in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank between August and November.

Nadra has verified details of about 67 per cent of applications filed by the displaced people. About 20 per cent have been rejected because of registration issue, and about 11 per cent over concerns about authenticity of ID cards. About two per cent of the applicants were found to be not from South Waziristan.

‘With the conclusion of the verification process, the registration of displaced people from South Waziristan is now largely complete. No new application for registration has been lodged over the past week,’ said Mr Mengesha Kebede, UNHCR’s representative in Pakistan.

However, the registration desk at all centres in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank will remain open for the time being to assist people who have problems with their ID cards.

BEIJING — President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao emerged from hours of intense talks Tuesday determined to marshal their combined clout on crucial issues, but still showing divisions over economic, security and human rights issues that have long bedeviled the two powers.

“The relationship between our two nations goes far beyond any single issue,” Obama said in a joint appearance with Hu that followed about 2 1/2 hours of private conversations.

Both leaders spoke in bold terms of the growing relationship between the countries and emphasized cooperation on the economy, climate change, energy and the nuclear threats of Iran and North Korea.

But in those areas and others, there remained differences that underscored that tensions would hardly be erased in Obama’s first, high-profile visit to China. Obama spoke at length about the nations’ joint interests and said, “I do not believe that one country’s success must come at the expense of another.”

Obama and Hu said they agreed on restarting the collapsed six-nation effort to rid North Korea of its nuclear programs. The Chinese said the effort was essential to “peace and stability in northeast Asia.”

Beijing has supported sterner sanctions against Pyongyang for its continued nuclear weapons program. And, as North Korea’s last major ally and a key supplier of food and energy aid, China is a partner with major leverage in six-nation talks with the North over the issue.

On Iran, where the U.S. needs China’s clout to help pressure the nation to give up any of its own nuclear weapons positions, Obama spoke with sterner language than Hu.

“Iran has an opportunity to present and demonstrate its peaceful intentions, but if it fails to take this opportunity, there will be consequences,” the U.S. president said. Hu made no mention of consequences, saying the Iran conflict is important to resolve through negotiations.

China has significant economic ties with Iran, and Beijing has appeared less willing to endorse a tougher approach to restrict Tehran’s uranium enrichment and suspected pursuit of atomic bombs.

In a minor step forward, Obama announced that the governments will reconvene their on-again, off-again human rights dialogue early next year. Previous rounds have fallen casualty to disputes over arms sales to Taiwan and other issues.

Hu expressed disappointment with the Obama administration over its decision to impose punitive tariffs and duties on imports of Chinese tires and steel pipes. “Our two countries need to oppose and reject protectionism in all its manifestations in an even stronger stand,” Hu said.

The Chinese president also called on the U.S. to respect China’s “core interests” — code for ending support for Taiwan and for the Dalai Lama, in his Tibetan government-in-exile.

On climate, Obama said the United States and China are looking for a comprehensive deal during next month’s climate change summit that will “rally the world.”

Obama said the goal at the Copenhagen meeting should be an agreement that has “immediate operational effect,” not just a political declaration. As the world’s two largest consumers and producers of energy, Obama said the United States and China must play a key role in negotiating an agreement.

Obama said China has helped the United States pull out of the worst recession in a generation. He said a revised economic approach will help increase U.S. exports and create jobs while helping bring about higher living standards in China.

Obama came to China seeking help with an array of global troubles. He and Hu sought to strike a balance between trading partners and competitors during Obama’s trip to China during his Asia tour.

A day before, Obama prodded China about Internet controls and free speech during a forum with students in Shanghai. His message was not widely heard in the country; his words were drastically limited online and shown on just one regional television channel.

He also suggested that China, now a giant in economic impact as well as territory, must assume a larger role on the world stage — part of “burden of leadership” it shares with the United States.

Eager to achieve a successful summit, the two leaders avoided spats on economic issues. With America’s budget deficit soaring to a yearly record of $1.42 trillion, China is the No. 1 lender to Washington and has expressed concern that the falling price of the dollar threatens the value of its U.S. holdings.

In the U.S., American manufacturers blame China’s own low currency value for contributing to the loss of 5.6 million manufacturing jobs over the past decade. During that time, America’s trade gap with China has soared.

With sightseeing in Beijing’s Forbidden City sandwiched in between their talks, the two leaders’ day was to end at a lavish state dinner in Obama’s honor.

Topmost on Obama’s ambitious agenda with Hu is the so-far elusive search for global agreement on a new climate change pact, stymied by disagreement between rich nations like the U.S. and developing nations such as China. Wealthier countries want legally binding greenhouse-gas reduction targets for themselves as well as for energy-guzzling developing nations such as China, India and Brazil. Those poorer nations say they will set only nonbinding goals and they demand assistance to make the transition to harder targets.