US urges Egypt against business deals with Iran 

Washington - The United States urged Egypt to not advance new business deals with Iran after the two countries agreed to allow direct flights for the first time in three decades.

"We continue to urge all countries - including Egypt - not to pursue any new business deals until Iran complies with its international obligations," said Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman.

Egypt and Iran reached a preliminary agreement on Sunday to resume direct flights between Cairo and Tehran, with 28 weekly flights. No timeframe was established for beginning the flights.

The United States and its Western allies have been trying to isolate Iran over its nuclear activities. The UN Security Council enacted sanctions in June, followed by similar moves from the US, European Union, and other countries.

Iran rejects accusations it is seeking atomic weapons, saying its nuclear work was purely peaceful.

Iran and Egypt have not had formal diplomatic relations since 1979.  

 For sale: Lincoln's emancipation document that freed US slaves 

 
New York - One of the most important documents in US history - a proclamation that freed slaves in the secessionist South - will go under the hammer with a targeted sales range of 1 million-1.5 dollars, Sotheby's of New York said Wednesday.

The copy of the Emancipation Proclamation being sold on December 10 was signed by president Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, in the midst of the Civil War - part of a series of actions that eventually freed all US slaves.

The document, one of 19 known surviving copies, is being sold by the family of the late Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his presidential bid in 1968. Kennedy, whose brother president John F Kennedy was also assassinated, helped push through civil-rights legislation in the 1960s as a US senator from New York.

At least 14 of the copies are held by institutions. On its way to the auction block, the Kennedy copy will be exhibited in Boston, Philadelphia and New York.

Lincoln took office in 1861, just as the Civil War began. He was determined to prevent the spread of slavery beyond the US South and to force the rebellious Confederate states back into the union.

In 1863, Lincoln issued what is known as the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves in the 10 Confederate states that were still in rebellion. Six other states practicing slavery that had remained in the union or been recaptured were omitted from the proclamation.

Slavery was not permanently abolished throughout the United States until the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution was adopted in December 1865. Lincoln had already been assassinated by a Confederate sympathizer in April 1865, days before the end of the war.

It would take another 100 years, including the civil rights movement and another set of legislative reforms to dismantle the apartheid system that was re-established in the South in the late 1800s. The 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act helped guarantee African-Americans equal protection under the law and full rights in US society. 
 

Deportation record: Nearly 400,000 removed from US in 2009-10 

Washington - The United States deported more than 392,000 people during the 12 months ending in September, a record for a federal fiscal year, authorities said Wednesday.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency that enforces immigration law, said that more than 195,00 of those removals were of convicted criminals.

"This administration has focused on enforcing our immigration laws in a smart, effective manner that prioritizes public safety and national security and holds employers accountable who knowingly and repeatedly break the law," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.

"Our approach has yielded historic results, removing more convicted criminal aliens than ever before and issuing more financial sanctions on employers who knowingly and repeatedly violate immigration laws than during the entire previous administration," she said.