Most Recent Posts

i i

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council called Saturday for a cease-fire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict centered on the Gaza Strip.

A council statement approved by all 15 members calls for de-escalation of the violence, restoration of calm and a resumption of direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians aimed at achieving a comprehensive peace agreement based on a two-state solution.

The statement calls for "the reinstitution of the November 2012 cease-fire" brokered by Egypt, but gives no time frame for when it should take effect.

Palestinian U.N. envoy, Riyad Mansour, said the Palestinians' understanding is that the cease-fire should go into effect immediately.

He said the Palestinians will be watching closely to see if the Israelis respond to the council's call, stressing that if they don't "we have a lot of tools in our arsenal."

The press statement, which is not legally binding but reflects international opinion, is the first response by the U.N.'s most powerful body, which has been deeply divided on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The United States, Israel's most important ally, has defended the Israeli attacks in response to the barrage of rockets fired into Israel from Gaza, which is controlled by the militant group Hamas. But other council members have decried the Israeli attacks which Mansour said have killed or injured more than 1,000 Palestinians. There have been no fatalities in Israel from the continued rocket fire.

The council statement does not directly mention either the Hamas rocketing or the Israeli response.

Instead, it expresses "serious concern regarding the crisis related to Gaza and the protection and welfare of civilians on both sides" and calls for "respect for international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians."

SAO PAULO (AP) — The Netherlands and Argentina are level at 0-0 after the first half of the second World Cup semifinal.

In stark contrast to Tuesday's German goal spurt against Brazil, the closest either team came to breaking the deadlock Wednesday was Lionel Messi's free kick in the 20th minute that Jasper Cillessen dived to his right to comfortably save.

The Dutch got a pre-match boost with the return of midfield enforcer Nigel de Jong after he recovered from a groin injury he sustained in the second-round victory over Mexico. Captain Robin van Persie also shook off a stomach problem to start.

Argentina was missing Angel Di Maria after the Real Madrid winger injured his thigh in the quarterfinal against Belgium.

The winner plays Germany in Sunday's World Cup final.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City's crumbling casino market disintegrated even further Saturday as the owners of the Trump Plaza casino said they expect to shut down in mid-September.

Trump Entertainment Resorts told The Associated Press that no final decision has been made on the Boardwalk casino. But the company said it expects the casino to close its doors Sept. 16.

Notices warning employees of the expected closing will go out to the casino's 1,000-plus employees Monday.

If Trump Plaza closes, Atlantic City could lose a third of its casinos and a quarter of its casino workforce in less than nine months. The Atlantic Club closed in January, the Showboat is closing next month and Revel might do likewise if a buyer can't be found in bankruptcy court.

The head of Atlantic City's main casino workers' union demanded state lawmakers help head off what he called a "pending catastrophe" that will affect the state's tourism industry and tax collections.

Trump Entertainment Resorts told the AP that its managers and board of directors "have been reviewing alternatives for the property. Although this review has not been completed and no final decision has been made, the company expects that it will terminate the operations of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino on or shortly after September 16, 2014."

A source with direct knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak to the media told the AP that the company has hired a search firm to solicit buyers for Trump Plaza, an effort that remains ongoing. So far, no buyer has emerged.

The company did not indicate what might become of the building after it is closed.

Bob McDevitt, president of local 54 of the Unite-HERE union, said 7,000 casino workers — or about one in four — have been warned their jobs could disappear within 60 days.

"While this is a personal tragedy for every family involved, it is also a crisis for the state," he said. "We expect Trenton to react with more than just sympathetic sound bites; we demand action equal to the magnitude of this pending catastrophe."

Trump Plaza, which cost $210 million to build, opened in May 1984 as one of Donald Trump's pet projects. The real estate mogul has since limited his dealings in Atlantic City to a 10 percent stake in Trump Entertainment Resorts.

"I let them use my name, but I have nothing to do with it," Trump told the AP on Saturday. "Atlantic City has suffered for years. Many mistakes were made by government, tremendous mistakes, including no reinvestment in town; they would take casino revenue and put it in places that had nothing to do with Atlantic City. I got out seven years ago; my timing was tremendous."

New Jersey in recent years has required casino development taxes to be used only in Atlantic City.

The news is the latest in a cascade of setbacks for Atlantic City's gambling market, which until just a few years ago was the second-largest in the nation after Nevada; Pennsylvania has now taken over that spot. Analysts have long said that the casino market here, and in the Northeastern United States, has been oversaturated, and that some casinos need to close to ensure the survival of others.

On Jan. 1, Atlantic City had 12 casinos. By the end of September, it could have eight.

The Atlantic Club closure cost 1,600 workers their jobs. An additional 2,100 at Showboat will be unemployed as of Aug. 31, in addition to the 1,009 Trump Plaza workers on the payroll. Revel has 3,100 workers who could lose their jobs if the 2-year-old casino resort is not sold.

Trump Entertainment Resorts has tried for years to sell Trump Plaza, the poorest performing casino in Atlantic City. A deal to sell it last year for $20 million to a California firm fell through.

It won less than $73 million from gamblers in all of last year, ranking last out of the 12 casinos that operated then. So far this year it has taken in nearly $21 million, down almost 27 percent from the same period last year.

___

Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC