Bush to head to Mideast

Bush to head to Mideast

WASHINGTON — President Bush, trying to defy a history of failure in Middle East peacemaking, is about to embark on his first major trip to the long-troubled region, facing doubts about the seriousness of his commitment and his chances for success.

In the seven years of his presidency, Bush has avoided becoming directly involved in the negotiating process. Disdainful of the process-driven, incremental diplomacy of previous administrations, Bush set sweeping goals — establishment of a Palestinian state and the spread of democracy in the Mideast — while leading the U.S. into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He delegated details to others and rarely stepped foot in the Middle East.

Bush will arrive in Israel on Wednesday. It is his first trip as president to a nation that is one of America’s dearest allies. He also will stop in the Palestinian-governed West Bank, which he toured in 1998, and make his first visits to Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Spears loses custody

LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears was apparently spending a second day in a hospital Saturday, the result of a bizarre standoff that brought police to her house and led a judge to award ex-husband Kevin Federline custody of their two sons.

A court commissioner on Friday gave Federline sole physical and legal custody of 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James, and suspended Spears’ visitation rights.

Commissioner Scott Gordon’s ruling came a day after Spears was hauled away from her home by paramedics after police had to intervene when she refused to return the children to Federline after a court-monitored visit.

Gordon ordered another hearing to be Jan. 14.

Kibaki: I’ll share power

NAIROBI, Kenya — President Mwai Kibaki told the top U.S. diplomat for Africa that he was willing to share power and the opposition backed off demands for his resignation on Saturday, offering hope for an end to Kenya’s deadly electoral crisis.

As Kibaki and Raila Odinga faced growing pressure to compromise, the violence that has killed more than 300 people across the country appeared to ease in the capital for the first time since the disputed vote that gave the president a second term and awakened dormant ethnic rivalries.

The crisis following the Dec. 27 election with a deeply flawed vote count has pitted Kibaki’s Kikuyu people against Kenya’s other tribes, and brought chaos to a country that had been one of east Africa’s most stable democracies.

Disney eatery bans kids

ORLANDO, Fla. — The home of Mickey Mouse, Tigger and Tinkerbell has banned kids from its fanciest restaurant.

Beginning this week, children under 10 are no longer welcome at Victoria & Albert’s in the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Victoria & Albert’s is Walt Disney World’s only restaurant with an AAA five-diamond rating.

“We want to be the restaurant available for that adult experience,” said general manager Israel Perez.

Only about three families a month ever brought young children to Victoria & Albert’s, said Rosemary Rose, Disney’s vice president for food, beverage and merchandise operations.

Men are required to wear jackets, and women must wear dresses or pantsuits. The hushed atmosphere features live harp music, and the menu, which changes daily, offers seven-course dinners that can last as long as three hours. Prices start at $125 a person.

Rose noted that there are plenty of dining options for families at Disney World, which has 97 other full-service restaurants.

Bhutto probe urged

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Benazir Bhutto’s widowed husband accused members of Pakistan’s ruling regime of involvement in his wife’s killing and called Saturday for a U.N. investigation, as British officers aiding Pakistan’s own probe pored over the crime scene.

“An investigation conducted by the government of Pakistan will have no credibility, in my country or anywhere else,” Asif Ali Zardari, the effective leader of Bhutto’s opposition party, said in a commentary published in The Washington Post.

Calls for an independent, international investigation have intensified since the former prime minister was killed Dec. 27 in a shooting and bombing attack after a campaign rally. Opposition activists denounced the government’s initial assessment that an Islamic militant was behind the attack and that Bhutto died, not from gunshot wounds, but from the force of the blast.

Associated Press