Obama touts importance of fatherhood.

President Barack Obama says kids need quality time, structure and unconditional love from their parents, calling being a dad sometimes his hardest job — but also the most rewarding.Just ahead of Father's Day, the president devoted his regular Saturday radio and Internet address to fatherhood, talking about growing up without a dad, his own failings as a father and the values he hopes to teach his daughters Malia, 12, and Sasha, 10. He described the responsibilities that all fathers have to their children and said his administration is trying to help during tough economic times and long deployments for U.S. troops.

Obama, who was raised largely by his grandparents in Hawaii after his father left when he was very young, also talked about what he wishes he'd done differently."I felt his absence. And I wonder what my life would have been like had he been a greater presence," the president said.

Libya's rebels have traded heavy artillery fire with Muammar Gaddafi's forces near the western city of Zlitan as they tried to take government-held territory east of the capital Tripoli.

The city, 160 km (100 miles) from Tripoli, is the next major town on the Mediterranean coastal road to the capital from the rebel stronghold of Misrata. Capturing it would greatly advance the rebels' strategy of cutting off the capital from all sides.A Reuters team in Dafniya, on the outskirts of Misrata, said rebels fired artillery and rocket launchers. Rebels said they aimed to hit Libyan tanks and munitions in Naimah, near Zlitan, but inexperience and indiscipline has plagued their campaign.

"We had a strategy to finish everything today, but some of the fighters think it's a game. They shot when they weren't supposed to shoot," a rebel unit commander called Mohammed Ali told Reuters, after taking cover from a mortar barrage.NATO planes resumed bombardments of Tripoli on Friday with six explosions sending columns of black smoke into the sky.Rebel advances toward Tripoli have been slow, and weeks of NATO strikes pounding Gaddafi's compound and other targets have failed to bring an end to his 41-year-old rule.Rebels are fighting on two other fronts: in the east around the oil town of Brega and in the Western Mountains southwest of Tripoli. They have made important gains in the past few weeks, but remain far from seizing their ultimate prize.

Syrian army attacks village near Turkish border

Syrian troops backed by tanks and firing heavy machine guns swept into a village near the Turkish border Saturday as the army intensified operations in the northwest where their have been heavy clashes between loyalist troops and defectors.The Local Coordination Committees, a group that documents anti-government protests, said troops backed by six tanks and several armored personnel carriers, entered Bdama in the morning. The village is about 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the Turkish border.On Friday, Syrian forces swept into Maaret al-Numan, a town on the highway linking Damascus, the capital, with Syria's largest city, Aleppo. Saturday's assault on Bdama was about 25 miles (40 kilometers) to the west.Also Saturday, the committees raised the death toll in Friday's anti-govnerment protests to 19.The three-month uprising has proved stunningly resilient despite a relentless crackdown by the military, pervasive security forces and pro-regime gunmen. Human rights activists say more than 1,400 Syrians have been killed and 10,000 detained as President Bashar Assad tries to maintain his grip on power.Bdama is adjacent to Jisr al-Shughour, a town that was spinning out of government control before the military recaptured it last Sunday. Activists had reported fighting in Jisr al-Shughour between loyalist troops and defectors who refused to take part in a continuing carckdown on protesters seeking Assad's ouster.

The fighting in the area, that started nearly two weeks ago, displaced thousands of people including some 9,600 who are sheltered in Turkish refugee camps. On Friday, U.N. envoy Angelina Jolie traveled to Turkey's border with Syria to meet some of the thousands of Syrian refugees.The uprising has proven to be the boldest challenge to the Assad family's 40-year dynasty in Syria. Assad, now 45, inherited power in 2000, raising hopes that the lanky, soft-spoken young leader might transform his late father's stagnant and brutal dictatorship into a modern state.But over the past 11 years, hopes dimmed that Assad was a reformist, but rather a hardliner determined to keep power at all costs.

Cox's Bazar - World Longest Natural Sea Beach.

Having the world's longest (120 kilometers.) beach sloping gently down to the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal, Cox's Bazar is one of the most attractive tourist sport in the country.Miles of golden sands, towering cliffs, surfing waves, rare conch shells, colorful pagodas, Buddhist temples and tribes, delightful sea-food--this is Cox's Bazar, the tourist capital of Bangladesh.  Cox'x Bazar located at a distance of 152 km south of Chittagong, the leading seaport of Bangladesh, Cox's Bazar is connected both by air and road from Dhaka and Chittagong.A drive to Teknaf is a memorable journey. A day trip to either Moheshkhali or Sonadia, the deltaic islands nestled among the gentle waves of the Bay of Bengal, will also be really interesting.Other attractions for visitors are conch shell market, tribal handicraft, salt and prawn cultivation.

Besides, the longest sea-beach, Cox's Bazar and its adjoin areas have a lot of things to see and places deserve visit by the tourists.

Himchari: It is about 32 km. South of Cox's Bazar along the beach, a nice place for picnic and shooting. The famous "Broken Hills" and waterfalls here are rare sights.

Inani: It is about 32 km. South of Cox's Bazar and just on the beach, with the sea to the west and a background of steep hills to the east. Inani casts a magic spell on those who step into that dreamland. It is only half an hour's drive from Cox's Bazar and an ideal place for Sea-bathing and picnic.

Maheskhali: An island off the coast of Cox's Bazar. It has an area of 268 square kilometers. Through the centre of the island and along the eastern coast line rises a range of low hills, 300 feet high; but the coast to the west and north is a lowlying treat, fringed by mangrove jungle. In the hills on the coast is built the shrine of Adinath, dedicated to siva. By its side on the same hill is Buddhist Pagoda.

Ramu: This is a typical Buddhist village, about 16 km. from Cox's Bazar, on the main road to Chittagong. There are monasteries, khyangs and pagodas containing images of Buddha in gold, bronze and other metals inilaid with precious stones.There are also a few very old wooden Buddhist temples at Ramu, well worth visiting.One of the most interesting of these temples is on the bank of the Baghkhali river. It houses not only interesting relics and Burmes handicrafts but also a large bronze statue of Buddha measuring thirteen feet high and rests on a six feet high pedestal. The wood carving of this khyang is very delicate and refined.The village has a charm of its own. Weavers ply there trade in open workshops and craftsmen make handmade cigars in their pagoda like houses.

Sonadia Island: It is about seven kilometer of Cox's Bazar and about nine square kilometer in area. The western side of the island is sandy and different kinds of shells are found on the beach. Off the northern part of the island, there are beds of window pane oysters. During winter, fisherman set up temporary camps on the island and dry their catches of sea fish.

St. Martins Island: This small coral island about 10km (6mi) south-west of the southern tip of the mainland is a tropical cliché, with beaches fringed with coconut palms and bountiful marine life. There''s nothing more strenuous to do here than soak up the rays, but it''s a clean and peaceful place without even a mosquito to disrupt your serenity. It''s possible to walk around the island in a day because it measures only 8 sq km (3 sq mi), shrinking to about 5 sq km (2 sq mi) during high tide. Most of island''s 5500 inhabitants live primarily from fishing, and between October and April fisher people from neighbouring areas bring their catch to the island''s temporary wholesale market. A ferry leaves Teknaf for St Martin every day and takes around 3 hours.

Teknaf: Southernmost tip of Bangladesh, Teknaf situated on the Naaf river and just at the end of the hilly regions of the district. Mayanmar is on the opposite bank of Naaf river. Wild animals and birds are available but the most interesting thing is a journey on the river. Wide sandy beach in the backdrop of high hills with green forests is an enchanting scene never to be forgotten.

The Cox's Bazar Holiday Complex of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, the National Tourism Organization is an ideal tourist resort having a number of facilities for the visitors.

Portugal gets new PM.

Pedro Passos Coelho was handed the task Wednesday of implementing a drastic austerity package for Portugal when the president named him as the new prime minister after his recent election win.Passos Coelho, leader of the centre-right Social Democrat party (PSD), pledged he would quickly form a coalition government with the right-wing CDS-PP "to take stock of the urgent situation in the country."There was no time to waste in tackling the country's economic woes, he said.

In the June 5 election, 46-year-old Passos Coelho dealt the Socialists, in power since 2005, their worst election defeat since 1987.Since then, President Anibal Cavaco Silva has held talks with party leaders although there was never any real likelihood that anyone but the PSD would take charge.Passos Coelho's main challenge will be to implement a programme of spending cuts and economic reforms Lisbon agreed last month in exchange for a 78-billion-euro ($110-billion) bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

The official coalition agreement was scheduled tol be signed at a public ceremony thursday, Passos Coelho told journalists shortly before the president's announcement.