Clinton says Israel is making concessions

Clinton says Israel is making concessions

JERUSALEM — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday that Israel is making “unprecedented” concessions on West Bank settlement construction.

The Palestinians have said they will not return to peace talks with Israel unless it halts all settlement building.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, Clinton said Israel is putting significant limits on settlement activity.

“What the [Israeli] prime minister has offered in specifics on restraints on a policy of settlements ... is unprecedented,” she said.

Palestinians have contended that Netanyahu is giving little ground on settlements.

Pirates demanding $7M for British couple

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali pirates who are demanding $7 million in ransom for a British sailing couple said Saturday that boats from other countries are plundering Somalia’s fish-rich waters.

Ahmed Gadaf, who described himself as a spokesman for the pirates, said Western fishing vessels “harass” local fishermen and destroy their nets. Gadaf spoke to The Associated Press by satellite phone.

Gadaf says the British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, are safe and will not be harmed.

The British government on Saturday reiterated its refusal to ransom the pair, saying in a statement that officials would not make any “substantive concessions to hostage-takers, and that includes the payment of ransom.”

Obama: We’re not out of the woods yet

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Saturday tempered excitement about a growing economy with a sober outlook that more people will lose their jobs. He called that a heartbreaking reality and cautioned that even a burst of upbeat news “does not mean there won’t be difficult days ahead.”

Obama’s straddle served to set expectations for a nation emerging from recession but anxious for an economic security that has not nearly returned.

The good news of the week: The economy is on the rise for the first time in more than a year. From July through September the economy grew by 3.5 percent, the strongest uptick in two years. Obama called the development no cause for celebration but a welcome sign after so many months of distressing news.

“While we have a long way to go before we return to prosperity, and there will undoubtedly be ups and downs along the road,” Obama said.

2,000 trick-or-treaters expected at White House

WASHINGTON — It’s the ultimate trick-or-treating treasure, that one house on the block that offers the coolest candy and surprises galore.

This year it’s the big gated place on Pennsylvania Avenue, No. 1600. Welcome to the White House, boys and girls.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama awaited more than 2,000 children Saturday night from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. The Obamas themselves were to spend time handing out goodies to the trick-or-treaters on the most famous front porch in America, the North Portico.

What do you get for Halloween at the White House?

Not bad, kids: A box of White House M&Ms with the president’s signature imprinted on it, a sweet-dough butter cookie made by White House pastry chef Bill Yosses, a National Park Foundation Ranger activity book, and a serving of dried fruit mix made up of cherries, apricots, pears, apples and papayas.

Workers organizer, 14 others killed

MEXICO CITY — A flamboyant farm-workers organizer who called himself a modern-day Emiliano Zapata has been slain in a brazen ambush that also killed 14 members of his family and staff, officials said Saturday.

Prosecutors in the border state of Sonora, where the slayings occurred, said they were investigating a range of motives. Sonora, like much of Mexico, has been hit by a wave of killings tied to drug-trafficking gangs.

Combined Dispatches