UK tightens rules to keep MPs from taking bribes

Following a review over the embarrassing 'cash for influence' charges, Peers in the House of Lords are set to be banned from taking payments to advise companies on how to lobby the Parliament.

Peers, who do not get salaries, are permitted to accept outside employment, but claims that four Labour lords offered to seek amendments to certain laws in return for cash gave rise to concerns over the thin line between payments for advice and 'bribes.'

Lords leader, Baroness Royall, has said the House of Lords now faces getting their own standards watchdog under the proposals published on Thursday.

Reports also said that Crossbench peer, Lord Eames, the former Archbishop of Armagh, is now 'convinced' that peers must leave no room for doubt in their code of conduct, which should, at all times, be in the public interest.

"There is no place in the House of Lords for 'peers for hire.' People should look on it as a privilege when given an opportunity to serve in the House of Lords," he emphasized.

The accused peers have denied the allegations but two were suspended for misconduct.

UK's upper house of parliament may also see expense cuts after the Senior Salaries Review Board makes its final decisions on November 4.

Under the cuts, the amount of money Lords can claim for staying overnight in London will be reduced, with the added discomfiture of providing receipts, for the first time ever, to verify the figures.

According to the Daily Telegraph lords can now claim up to £174 for staying overnight if their main home is outside London, but the new rules would set the maximum at around £140.

The precautionary move comes in the wake of the lawmakers' expenses scandal that tainted the reputation of all of the country's three main parties after revelations that MPs used legal loopholes to claim tens of thousands of pounds.

The expenses scandal, ahead of Britain's next general election, has ignited a public mistrust against the two dominant political parties. Combined with growing anger at the country's presence in the war-torn Afghanistan in the face of mounting casualties, it could attract disillusioned voters to far-right parties.

Israel marks 14 years since Rabin assassination

JERUSALEM – Israel marked the 14th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on Thursday with ceremonies at his graveside, in parliament and at schools and community centers across the country.

Rabin was shot dead by a Jewish extremist who opposed his peace policies on Nov. 4, 1995. Israel officially marks the date according to the Hebrew calendar.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and other dignitaries joined Rabin's family at a ceremony at his grave in Jerusalem.

"The greatness of Yitzhak was in the sincerity of his leadership — in war as in peace," said Peres, who served as Rabin's foreign minister and succeeded him as prime minister after the shooting. "I am proud in what we achieved under Yitzhak's leadership, in our joint journey, even though the work is not done."

Netanyahu said Rabin was a "a symbol of the integrity of Israel's fighters."

A memorial rally will be held on Saturday at the Tel Aviv square where Rabin was gunned down after a peace rally. It was renamed Rabin Square in his honor. Thousands are expected to attend.

Israeli media say President Barack Obama will deliver a recorded message calling on Israelis to remember Rabin's legacy of peace.

Iraq arrests security officials over Baghdad blast

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD – Iraq announced the arrests of dozens of military and security personnel on Thursday over Baghdad suicide bombings that killed 155 people, trying to calm public outrage at the government's apparent inability to protect its people ahead of January elections and the pending U.S. troop withdrawal.

Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, a military spokesman for the Iraqi capital, told The Associated Press that 11 army officers and 50 security officials have been taken into custody over Sunday's bombings — the worst attacks in Iraq in over two years.

The massive blasts at the Justice Ministry and the Baghdad Provincial Administration angered many Iraqis, who questioned how the suicide bombers could have gotten their explosives-laden vehicles through a downtown dotted with checkpoints and security personnel.

While other suspects have been detained, al-Moussawi said these were the first arrests of security officials in relation to the Sunday bombings. The military commander and the police chief of Baghdad's Salhiya district, where the powerful blast occurred on Sunday, were among those arrested, al-Moussawi said.

Al-Moussawi said the suspects were arrested because they were responsible for protecting the area where the bombings occurred. He said the investigation will determine whether they were negligent or actually helping the insurgents.

"If the investigation results show that other security officials were also negligent or helped the insurgents, we will arrest them," he said.

News of the arrests comes as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he is sending a senior U.N. official to Baghdad in response to a request from Iraq's prime minister for an investigation into an earlier, similar suicide bombing of two government ministries. Those attacks, in August, killed more than 100 people.

Ban said that Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco will go to Baghdad "for preliminary consultations related to Iraq's security and sovereignty" and discussions on how the United Nations can help. The U.N. leader said he decided to send the envoy to Baghdad before Sunday's bombings.

Iraq has blamed an alliance between al-Qaida in Iraq and Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party for the pair of truck bombings on Aug. 19 outside the Foreign and Finance ministries in Baghdad.

Al-Qaida's umbrella group in Iraq claimed responsibility for the August attack and for Sunday's bombings, raising fears Iraq will return to violence that raged across the country in 2006 and 2007.

Fear of more turmoil has been fueled by the continued inability of Iraq's lawmakers to agree on an election law, throwing into doubt the country's ability to pull off the upcoming parliamentary elections on time.

On Thursday, Kurdish lawmakers pushing for control of the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk boycotted a parliament session that was to tackle the crucial law needed for January's nationwide balloting.

The election law has been held up over whether to use voter lists that favor the Kurds or the Arabs in the city of Kirkuk, which is claimed by Kurds, Arabs and Turkomen.

The city's Arab and Turkmen ethnic groups resent what they perceive as Kurdish efforts to take over Kirkuk, which Kurds see as historically theirs and describe as their "Jerusalem."

Next to Sunni-Shiite tensions in Iraq, the issue of Kirkuk and Kurdish-Arab disputes has become a key flashpoint in this fragile nation. A political deadlock now could delay the elections and open the way for new violence and instability.

Iran's electricity output increases by %30

A senior Iranian official says Iran's electricity output has increased by 30 percent to 17,000 megawatts during the past four years.

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi said that the country is producing 80 percent of the instruments used in Iran's electricity industry.

The comments came as Iran is determined to expand its electricity exports to its neighboring countries.

Rahimi says Iran and Turkey have reached a deal during Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent visit to Tehran that allows the Islamic Republic to export 6,000 megawatts of electricity to its western neighbor.

Speaking on the sidelines of an electricity exhibition in Tehran, he noted that Iran's power industry stood at 18th position in the world.

Rahimi also said that Iran has achieved the technical expertise to set up hydroelectric, gas and combined cycle power plants.

Algeria to offer loans to aspiring home-owners

28 October 2009

In the wake of last week's housing protests in the capital, the Algerian government has announced it will extend large low-interest loans to less-affluent people.

Hefty financial assistance and slashed interest rates on loans will be made available to low-income people to ease the nation's housing woes, the Algerian government announced on Thursday (October 22nd).

"All Algerian employees, in both the public and private sectors, are targeted by the new measures to receive loans in order to buy housing, at an interest rate as low as 1%," Finance Minister Karim Djoudi told Parliament while making the announcement.

The measures were announced after protests devolved into violence in an Algiers district on October 19th.

Algerians whose income is less than 12,000 dinars a month will be eligible for substantial bank loans, beginning in January 2010. Loans from 4 to 7 million dinars will be available to use for co-op housing, and interest rates on bank loans, currently at 5%, will be proffered on a sliding scale of 1-3%. In addition, state-sponsored real estate companies will offer plots of land at reduced prices.

Funds will also be made available for Algerians who wish to build their own homes in the country. Loans of 7 million dinars will be made available for these ventures, with interest rates ranging from 1 to 3%, depending on income levels.

The cost of these new loans will be covered by the national treasury, said the president of the Association of Banks and Financial Institutes in a statement released on October 11th.

The government is matching its funding measures with furiously-paced construction of new homes. Housing and Urban Development Minister Nour al-Din Musa announced on October 17th that 953,000 residential units had been completed on schedule, while another 580,000 are under construction. Of these, 90,000 units are nearly finished.

"By the end of this year, the one-million-house goal will have been exceeded by around 50,000 units," he said.

Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni urged Algerians to have patience, however, as "the process will require a few weeks or even a few months" to have an effect.

The government was moved to act after protests in the Algiers district of Diyar al-Shams descended into violence on October 19th, after local residents learned that only 1,500 apartments had been allocated for a community of 25,000 residents. Police arrested 15 protesters after security personnel were injured in the unrest, which lasted three days.

Critics of the plan to make housing more readily available and affordable are concerned that it ignores critical parts of the problem.

"The measures ….will be of a limited impact," said the head of the National Union of Real Estate Developers, Larbi Chamane. "The biggest obstacle is the period of time needed by banks to study the [applications for bank loans], which often take a long time."

Public policy expert Kamal Hadef said the local authorities who manage the subsidised housing lists are partly to blame. "[They] generate a sense of frustration and rage among citizens who do not see their names on those lists, and so naturally they take to the streets," he said.

Zubair Othmani, 36, blames the housing crisis for his personal woes. "The housing problem prevented me from realising my dream of getting married," he said, explaining that there was no room in his family house to accommodate a bride.

"Even under the new measures, it is not going to be easy to get a house since I do not have enough money to apply for a bank loan, and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to pay up," he added.

Yet Yazid Bahmad, a 40-year-old doctor, felt optimistic about the changes. "The new government-introduced measures could be the long-awaited answer to my housing problem. I may celebrate the New Year in a new apartment that spares me the trouble of renting, which I've suffered from for the past seven years."

By Walid Ramzi for Magharebia in Algiers © Magharebia.com 2009

Somali pirates seize Thai boat and 25 crew

Thu Oct 29, 2009

Somali pirates have again evaded the international naval presence off Somalia, capturing a Thai-flagged north of the Seychelles.

The Thai 'Union 3' came under attack early on Thursday by pirates from two skiffs and was hijacked off the coast of Somalia, the European Union Naval Force (NAVFOR) said.

A NAVFOR statement said that a helicopter patrol had spotted the pirates' skiffs onboard the vessel some 230 miles (370 kilometers) north of the Seychelles.

The fishing vessel appears to be heading for the Somali coast, it added.

Thai Union Frozen Products, Asia's biggest canned tuna exporter, confirmed the attack, saying it had 25 crew members on board, none of them Thais. The company did not elaborate on the crew's nationalities.

According to NAVFOR figures, the pirates are holding seven other ships along Somalia's coastline, in defiance of a naval fleet from 16 nations patrolling the dangerous pirate-infested Gulf of Aden waters.

The pirates are also growing fiercer in their attitude towards the hostages. While the sea bandits would usually leave the crew unharmed in exchange for ransoms, they are now issuing more serious threats.

Last Friday, the pirates threatened to kill dozens of Ukrainian crew onboard a hijacked Greek freighter should their ransom demands be ignored. On Wednesday, another group of pirates, holding a fishing boat with 36 crew, warned that unless their arrested comrades were freed, they would hand over some of the hostages to the families of the detainees.

Despite efforts to bring back safety to the waters, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the global piracy attacks has not only exceeded the 2008 milestone so far this year, but it has tripled in number compared to the same period, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/109948.html.

Storm dumps snow on Rockies, plains, more forecast

By IVAN MORENO, Associated Press Writer

DENVER – A slow-moving autumn storm showed no signs of letting up in Colorado and the western Plains on Thursday, blanketing areas already buried with as much as 3 feet, closing schools and businesses and delaying flights.

Roads across Colorado and Wyoming were snow-packed and icy from the first big winter storm of the season in the West, and the snow's not likely to let up anytime soon. The storm spread a blanket of white from northern Utah's Wasatch Front to western Nebraska's northern border with South Dakota.

"There's definitely some adverse driving conditions right now, and it's expected to continue throughout a good portion of the day," said Bob Wilson, a Colorado Department of Transportation spokesman. Wilson said although some cars are sliding off roads, not many accidents had been reported.

In Colorado, U.S. Highway 6 is closed to Loveland Pass, while a 35-mile span of Interstate I-25 is closed from Wellington to Cheyenne. Wilson said the closure is to prevent traffic congestion going into Wyoming, where driving conditions are worse than in northern Colorado. A 40-mile stretch of Interstate 80 is closed from Cheyenne to Laramie.

Wyoming officials said they'd had reports of about 70 crashes, most of them on I-80, before deciding to close the road.

Laramie County District 1 schools have closed and some state offices are opening later in the day. High winds were causing drifting snow and reduced visibility, and two or three inches of snow were expected to fall Thursday, said meteorologist John Griffith with the National Weather Service in Cheyenne.

The storm that began Tuesday already added enough snow to break records for total snowfall in October for Wyoming. It was the biggest October snowmaker in the Denver area since 1997, said Byron Louis, a National Weather Service hydrologist in Boulder, Colo.

At Denver International Airport, all four runways were expected to open after snow crews worked through the night, said spokesman Chuck Cannon. The airport warned of more delays, saying it would see a foot of snow by Thursday afternoon.

United Airlines, the dominant carrier at the Denver airport with about 400 flights per day, canceled about half its flights, which is standard during such weather conditions, said spokesman Charlie Hobart. He said the move keeps delays and cancelations from spilling over into the next day.

"We're doing everything we can to accommodate the travelers and we're also asking them to check online for their flights," for cancelations, he said.

Denver-based Frontier Airlines canceled about 10 flights Thursday morning, said spokeswoman Lindsey Purves, and some flights have been delayed up to three hours.

The Denver metro area will be under a winter storm warning until 6 p.m. Thursday, with snow through the afternoon, blowing snow throughout the day and temperatures in the upper 20s, the National Weather Service said. As much as 7 inches could fall around parts of Denver before the storm ends.

"The plows are out, but the roads are kind of icy and snowpacked," said Ryan Drake, traffic operations specialist for the Colorado Department of Transportation. "Be patient and take your time."

Many schools in metro Denver remained closed Thursday, but the University of Colorado in Boulder and Colorado State University in Fort Collins, where 17.5 inches fell, decided to reopen, a day after sending students home early. At least three high school football playoff games set for Thursday in Nebraska were postponed.

Whiteout conditions were predicted Thursday for the plains areas of eastern Colorado and Wyoming and western Nebraska.

Winds were a concern farther west, too.

Winds gusting through Southern California forced a commuter train line to shut down and knocked a tree onto a car, but no serious injuries have been reported.

The National Weather Service warned of the possibility of further gusts up to 50 mph through Thursday morning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Fire danger warnings were up in some areas.

UK couple asleep as Somali pirates hijacked yacht

By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN, Associated Press Writer

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A British man kidnapped by Somali pirates while vacationing on a yacht with his wife said in an interview released Thursday that the sea bandits had crept aboard with guns while he was asleep and demanded money.

Paul Chandler told Britain's ITV News that he and his wife were being held aboard a container ship anchored about a mile from the Somali coast. A fisherman told The Associated Press he saw two boats carrying eight pirates and a white couple that had arrived in the village of Ceel Huur.

"They kept asking for money and took everything of value on the boat," Chandler said in the interview, but the satellite phone connection was lost before he could answer how the couple were being treated.

Dahir Dabadhahan said a convoy of around 30 other pirates in six luxury vehicles met the group in front of fishermen preparing their boats of the day, he said.

"The pirates opened fire into the air, waving us to move away," he said.

Ceel Huur is just north of a notorious pirate stronghold in the town of Haradhere.

Earlier Thursday, the British navy had found the couple's empty yacht in international waters. Warships have been searching for Paul and Rachel Chandler since their yacht, the Lynn Rival, sent out a distress signal last Friday.

Relatives of the British couple pleaded for their release and said the pirates had targeted the wrong people.

"They are not a wealthy couple. They just wanted to take early retirement, to take a boat and to see more of the world," said Paul Chandler's sister, Jill Marshment, 69, of Bredon.

The couple, who have been married for 28 years, took early retirement about three years ago and have spent several six-month spells at sea. Their voyages — which have taken them to the Greek islands, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Oman, Yemen, India, the Maldives and the Seychelles — have been chronicled on a blog.

According to a blog entry on Oct. 21, the couple planned to set sail the next day and be at sea for eight to 12 days, heading south toward Tanzania.

"We probably won't have satellite phone coverage until we're fairly close to the African coast, so we may be out of touch for some time," they wrote.

Somalia has not had a functioning government for 18 years. The multimillion dollar ransoms the pirates collect are a strong lure for young gunmen in a country where nearly half the population is dependent on aid.

The high-seas hijackings have persisted despite an international armada of warships deployed by the United States, the European Union, NATO, Japan, South Korea and China to patrol the region.

Also Thursday, pirates hijacked a Thai fishing vessel north of the Seychelles islands, the European Union Naval Force said.

The Thai Union 3 reported it was under attack by pirates in two skiffs 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of the Seychelles and 650 miles (1050 kilometers) off the Somali coast, according to a press release issued by the headquarters for the EU's Operation Atalanta.

A naval aircraft sent to the scene saw pirates aboard the vessel and two skiffs tied up behind it. The EU force said the ship is now heading toward Somalia.

The latest seizure means pirates are now holding a total of eight ships, four of which were seized in the past two weeks.

What Happens to Your Facebook Profile When You Die?

By DAN FLETCHER

The company decided to publicize the policy because of a backlash caused by a new version of the site's homepage that was rolled out on Oct. 23, which includes automatically generated "suggestions" of people to "reconnect" with. Within days of the launch, Twitter users and bloggers from across the Web complained that some of these suggestions were for friends who had died. "Would that I could," complained a user on Twitter before ending her tweet with the hash tag #MassiveFacebookFail.

"We understand how difficult it can be for people to be reminded of those who are no longer with them, which is why it's important when someone passes away that their friends or family contact Facebook to request that a profile be memorialized," Kelly said in the post. To discourage pranksters, Facebook does require proof before sending a profile down the digital river Styx. Family or friends must fill out a form, providing a link to an obituary or other information confirming a user's death, before the profile is officially memorialized. Once that is completed, the user will cease showing up in Facebook's suggestions, and information like status updates won't show up in Facebook's news feed, the stream of real-time user updates that is the site's centerpiece. If relatives prefer not to have the profile stand as an online memorial, Facebook says it will remove the account altogether.

Better publicizing memorialized profiles is an attempt by Facebook to answer lingering privacy concerns. Canadian privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart investigated the company in July and issued a report that asked Facebook to explain certain areas of its privacy policy, including policies regarding the profiles of deceased users. In response, the company promised to issue a new privacy policy that better articulates how user information is treated postmortem and offered the commissioner an outline of its memorializing policy, nearly three months before the blog post explained it to users. Spokeswoman Anne-Marie Hayden says the privacy commissioner was "quite pleased" with Facebook's response to the office's concerns and says the commissioner will review the detailed version of the site's new policy, expected in late October.

Facebook's attempt to clearly state its policy is prudent, as other social-networking sites have struggled with the question of users' deaths. MySpace in particular has had a difficult time with digital rubbernecking - during the site's heyday, a handful of well-trafficked blogs specialized in matching MySpace profiles directly to obituaries and posting the pairings online for all to see. By sealing profiles to family and friends and removing profiles from search results, Facebook assuages users' fears that they'll be fodder for online voyeurs in the event of their untimely demise - hopefully putting the issue to rest.

Jordan restates Jerusalem stand in Rabat, Brussels

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Jordan on Wednesday called for firm and effective Arab and international efforts to stop Israel's unilateral measures in Jerusalem, which seek to alter the historical and cultural identity of the holy city.

Addressing the Jerusalem Forum, held yesterday in Rabat, Morocco, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh underlined that world peace is at stake, urging the international community to step forward and stop the Israeli illegal actions in the city, particularly against Islamic and Christian holy sites, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Judeh added that while international and regional efforts are being exerted to relaunch serious and effective Palestinian-Israeli negotiations to bring about peace and stability in the Middle East, Israel continues to carry out illegitimate settlement activities in occupied Arab territories, especially in East Jerusalem.

Highlighting the ramifications of the continued Israeli violations against the holy city, the minister underlined that the "Judaisation" policy being carried out by the right-wing extremist Israeli government challenges the international community in a way that opens the door for dangerous possibilities.

Judeh noted that Jerusalem today acts like a safety valve for the entire region, stressing that the escalating Israeli "provocations" will inflame the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims and Christians worldwide and will have catastrophic consequences for the entire world.

Judeh on Wednesday participated in the meeting of the Quartet on the Middle East, which convened in Morocco with the participation of Egypt, the Palestinian National Authority, Turkey and Senegal, which currently chairs the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Also Wednesday, Jordan's Ambassador to the EU Ahmad Masaadeh stressed that Jordan considers Jerusalem a red line, and expressed the Kingdom's strong condemnation of continued Israeli violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in the city, Petra reported.

Addressing senior officials of the Union for the Mediterranean at the EU Council in Brussels, the ambassador explained that Jordan categorically rejects these violations, including the entrance of Jewish extremists and Israeli police into Al Aqsa Mosque compound, the closure of Al Haram Al Sharif and continued excavations around and under the site.

He stressed that Israel's transgressions against the holy sites are in violation of international law, including resolutions of the UN General Assembly and Security Council, the Fourth Geneva Convention and rulings of the International Court of Justice.

Masaadeh called on the EU to take an immediate and firm stance against Israel's unilateral measures in Jerusalem and violations of international laws and conventions.

Judeh and Masaadeh's statements came after an incursion by Israeli police into Al Aqsa Mosque compound sparked confrontations with protesters on Sunday, drawing strong condemnation from the government.

Judeh on Sunday made contact with several foreign ministers of Arab, Muslim and neighboring countries to intensify efforts to adopt a firm, clear and immediate international position to stop Israel's dangerous and provocative actions in the holy city of Jerusalem.

Morocco- Agreement ends bus transport strike

(MENAFN - Morocco Business News) The strike of bus workers, which has seriously disrupted Rabat's urban transport system for an entire week, has come to an end after the agreement between the trade unions and the new company which will monopolize this kind of transport.

In fact, as off November 1, the capital's bus transport management will be assigned to one company called "Stareo", constituted by Veolia Group and two of the old bus operators.

And since the companies which were operating before will no longer exist, thousands of workers and their families will find themselves overnight without income.

Although the new company said that it would hire some of them, most of these workers refused ton sign the contract, complaining about its terms. So they decided to go on strike, leaving the capital crippled.

"The contracts proposed by the new operator are much below our expectations and what we really deserve," one of the bus drivers told Morocco Business News.

Thus, with the intervention of the interior ministry, an agreement has been reached after hard negotiations between the new company and the unions representing these workers.

"Through this agreement, our company will hire about 3,200 of old companies' workers, who will maintain their welfare entitlements, including their seniority," said the director general of Veolia Transport Maroc.

It is worth noting that most of Casablanca and Rabat's commonly seen buses will disappear in few days. Each of the two cities' bus transport system will be monopolized by one single company: M'dina Bus in the former and Veolia Transport in the latter.

Hence, the companies which have been in charge of bus transport in the two cities for about two decades had received a letter from the authorities telling them to stop their activities by the end of October, a date which actually marks the end of their contracts.

The letter also told these companies to take the necessary measures in order to make this transition a smooth one and allow the new transport managing companies to exploit their respective regions in good conditions.

Moroccan King calls for putting pressure on Israel

(MENAFN - Morocco Business News) HM King Mohammed VI, chairman of Al-Quds Committee, has called for pressurizing Israel into halting its oppressive practices against the Palestinians.

"I call on the international community, especially the International Quartet and the European Union to exert pressure on Israel to make it cease its oppressive practices directed against the helpless Palestinian people," the King said on Wednesday in a message to the participants in the Al-Quds International Forum, which kicked off in Rabat.

He also called for compelling it "to return forthwith to the negotiating table, comply with UN resolutions, respect the agreements signed between the parties concerned and seek earnestly to find a just, final and lasting solution to this conflict."

The sovereign also recalled that he had "condemned all Israeli acts of aggression, settlement policies and expansionist schemes because they seriously undermine the demographic balance and architectural character of the usurped city of Al-Quds."

He added he had also denounced "Israel's policies of demolition, annexation, land expropriation, property confiscation, deportation, segregation and denial of the right of access to places of worship, which are in blatant violation of divine prescriptions and international covenants."

Organized on October 28-29 in Rabat, the Al-Quds International Forum is attended by Moroccan Foreign Minister Taib Fassi Fihri, Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi and other Cabinet members.

It has also seen the participation of the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, the General-Secretary of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, and the Director General of Bayt Mal Al-Quds, Abdelkebir Alaoui M'daghri.

Dahabi: Jordan ready to provide Bahrain with medical staff

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Prime Minister Nader Dahabi on Wednesday met with Bahraini Health Minister Feisal Ben Yaqoub Al Hammer and discussed means to enhance bilateral cooperation, particularly in the medical sector.

The premier stressed Jordan's readiness to place all its capabilities at the disposal of Bahrain, adding that the Kingdom is ready to provide the Gulf country with its needs for physicians and nurses.

The Bahraini minister said an agreement will be reached at a later stage whereby select Bahraini patients will be sent for treatment at the King Hussein Cancer Center.

Source: Middle East North Africa Financial News (MENAFN).
Link: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093279751.

Scientists make cells that form eggs and sperm in lab

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have found a way to coax human embryonic stem cells to turn into the types of cells that make eggs and sperm, shedding light on a stage of early human development that has not been fully understood.

The findings could lead to new understanding of inherited diseases and transform treatments for infertility, they said.

"We are really trying to look at the origins of normal and abnormal human development by going to the source," said Dr. Renee Riejo Pera of Stanford University in California, whose study appears in the journal Nature.

"For years and years, we haven't had the ability to look at how germ cells -- the cells that give rise to eggs and sperm -- how they are made -- what genes are required, what pathways are active," Pera said in a telephone interview.

This part of the human reproductive cycle cannot be studied in animals because the genes involved are unique to humans.

"Germ cells in humans normally develop between day 12 after fertilization through the first trimester. That is a place we can't look. We can't see because obviously it is in utero," Pera said.

She said the findings will finally allow researchers to begin to study the earliest stages of human development, and gather new clues about inherited diseases and infertility.

"The potential is enormous," Darren Griffin, a professor of Genetics at the Britain's University of Kent, said in a statement.

He said the work could make it possible to study a range of genetic and environmental effects on fertility, including pollution.

GREEN LIGHT

Dr. Kehkooi Kee, a researcher in Pera's lab, devised a way to isolate the germ cells from embryonic stem cells by adding a gene that makes green glowing proteins when germ cells are active.

"A green light comes on when a germ cell has been formed. It raises its hand," Pera said.

Once they were convinced they had germ cells, they began turning on and off several genes -- called DAZ, DAZL and BOULE -- they believed were important in converting stem cells to immature germ cells.

One of these genes, DAZL, was key to transforming embryonic stem cells into germ cells. When turned off, half as many germ cells formed.

The other two genes, DAZ and BOULE, played a role in getting cells to cut the number of chromosomes in half, a process called meiosis that must take place before fertilization.

Some of the sperm cells went all the way through meiosis. "It means we really did hit the nail on the head. We got where we wanted to go if we see meiosis in the dish," Pera said.

She said these cells formed a round spermatid, an immature sperm cell that contains just one copy of the chromosomes that would be suitable for use in an in vitro fertilization clinic.

Producing too few germ cells or poor quality germ cells is a major cause of infertility in humans.

"We think if there's immature germ cells that are available in a person, we might be able to use this system to mature them and push them forward into development," she said.

Pera hopes to try the same approach with so-called induced pluripotent stem cells, which are adult cells that have been reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells.

The idea is to take cells from people with infertility problems, produce germ cells and study them to see what caused the infertility.

The study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE59R4V520091028?feedType=nl&feedName=ushealth1100&sp=true.

UN to discuss Goldstone's Gaza report in November

The United Nations General Assembly is scheduled to meet next week in a bid to consider a UN report which accuses Israel of war crimes as well as crimes against humanity during the onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

The debate on the report, written by South African war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone and three other international experts, will take place on November 4 as the General Assembly convenes a plenary meeting, according to a General Assembly spokesman, Jean Victor Nkolo.

The Geneva-based Human Rights Council endorsed the report on October 16 and recommended that the General Assembly take it up during the first week of the November session.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has meanwhile demanded the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to drop its support for the Goldstone Gaza report and has spared no efforts to convince his European counterparts to oppose its adoption. His attempts have, however, proved futile.

Tel Aviv is worried that charges could be lodged against the regime's politicians and army officers for war crimes committed during Israel's 22-day offensive against the blockaded Gaza Strip. Top officials who would be in the judicial cross-hairs may include former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, as well as current Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

The UN-ordered Goldstone report on Israel's offensive in Gaza details what investigators call Israeli actions "amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity." The 575-page report asserts seven incidents in which Palestinian civilians were shot while leaving their homes, trying to run for safety or waving white flags.

The report says that Israel targeted a mosque at prayer time, killing 15 people, and shelled a Gaza City house where Palestinian civilians were forced to assemble into by Israeli soldiers. These attacks constituted war crimes, the report says.

The probe also found that Israel violated international humanitarian law in several respects. Dozens of Palestinian policemen were killed at the start of the Gaza onslaught when Israel bombed their stations. The security agents were not involved in hostilities and should have been treated as civilians. Additionally, the Palestinians were forced to walk in front of the Israeli soldiers as they searched civilian neighborhoods.

More than 1,500 Palestinians were killed during Israel's land, sea and air assault, code named Operation Cast Lead, in the impoverished coastal sliver. The offensive also inflicted $ 1.6 billion damage to Gaza's economy. Since the end of the Israeli atrocities in the tightly populated strip, Gaza remains blockaded by the occupying regime.

Kurds snub parliament vote on Iraqi election law

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD – Kurdish lawmakers pushing for control of a northern oil-rich city boycotted a parliament session on Thursday that was to tackle a crucial election law needed for January's nationwide balloting, throwing into doubt the country's ability to pull off the upcoming elections on time.

The election law has been held up over one key issue — whether to use voter lists that favor the Kurds or the Arabs in the city of Kirkuk.

The city's Arab and Turkmen ethnic groups resent what they perceive as Kurdish efforts to take over Kirkuk, which Kurds see as historically theirs and even describe it as their "Jerusalem."

Next to Sunni-Shiite tensions in Iraq, the issue of Kirkuk and Kurdish-Arab disputes has become a key flashpoint in this fragile nation. A political deadlock now could delay the elections and open the way for new violence and instability.

"Some Arab lawmakers are insisting on making obstacles to reaching a solution, and we hold them responsible," said Kurdish lawmaker, Khalid Shawani. "We refuse any solution if it is not according to the constitution."

The dispute in Kirkuk, which is claimed by Kurds, Arabs and Turkomen, is about whether all the people now living there should be allowed to vote in the elections in January.

During the Saddam era, tens of thousands of Kurds were displaced under a forced plan to make Kirkuk predominantly Arab. Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, many of these Kurds have returned. Now other groups claim there are more Kurds than before — which could sway the vote in their favor and bring Kirkuk and its oil fully under Kurdish control.

Arabs favor a plan that would use the 2004 voter registry for Kirkuk, likely meaning Arab voters would be much more represented than Kurds. The Kurds favor a proposal by the United Nations that would use voter records from 2009, but only for a four-year period till the Kirkuk issue can be further clarified.

The Kurds, angry that the 2004 suggestion was even on the table on Thursday in parliament, boycotted the session, leaving the house without enough lawmakers for a quorum. The parliament is to convene again Saturday.

"Time is running out," warned the head of the Independent High Electoral Commission, Faraj al-Haidari. "We are almost paralyzed because there is no law approved yet."

Observers worry that if the election law is not passed in a reasonable amount of time, it would be impossible for election officials to prepare the ballots and carry out other technical issues needed to have the vote, which in turn would have to be delayed.

"Sticking to the election date is very important and for that (to happen) time is getting critical," said Said Arikat, a spokesman for the U.N. mission in Iraq.

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill and General Ray Odierno, the senior U.S. military commander in Iraq, jointly urged Iraqi politicians to deal with the election matter quickly.

"The future of Iraq depends on the Iraqi leadership and people," their statement said. "We urge Iraq's political leaders to work out their differences and take swift action to do what is in the best interest of the Iraqi people so they may exercise their democratic rights on January 16, 2010."

Clinton, Pakistani students in intense exchange

AP National Security Writer

LAHORE, Pakistan – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that Pakistan had little choice but to take a more aggressive approach to combating the Pakistani Taliban and other insurgents that threaten to destabilize the country.

With the country reeling from Wednesday's devastating bombing that killed at least 105 people in Peshawar, Clinton engaged in an intense give-and-take with students at the Government College of Lahore, insisting that inaction by the government would have ceded ground to terrorists.

"If you want to see your territory shrink, that's your choice," she said, adding that she believed it would be a bad choice.

Dozens of students rushed to line up for the microphone when the session began. Their questions were not hostile, but showed a strong sense of doubt that the U.S. can be a reliable and trusted partner for Pakistan.

Clinton met with the students on the second day of a three-day visit to Pakistan, her first as secretary of state. The Peshawar bombing, set off in a market crowded with women and children, appeared timed to overshadow her arrival. It was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since 2007.

Clinton likened Pakistan's situation — with Taliban forces taking over substantial swaths of land in the Swat valley and in areas along the Afghan border — to a theoretical advance of terrorists into the United States from across the Canadian border.

It would be unthinkable, she said, for the U.S. government to decide, "Let them have Washington (state)" first, then Montana, then the sparsely populated Dakotas, because those states are far from the major centers of population and power on the East Coast.

Clinton was responding to a student who suggested that Washington was forcing Pakistan to use military force on its own territory. It was one of several questions from the students that raised doubts about the relationship between the United States and Pakistan.

During her hour-long appearance at the college, Clinton stressed that a key purpose of her three-day visit to Pakistan, which began Wednesday, was to reach out to ordinary Pakistanis and urge a better effort to bridge differences and improve mutual understanding.

"We are now at a point where we can chart a different course," she said, referring to past differences over an absence of democracy in Pakistan and Pakistani association with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

As a way of repudiating past U.S. policies toward Pakistan, Clinton told the students "there is a huge difference" between the Obama administration's approach and that of former President George W. Bush.

"I spent my entire eight years in the Senate opposing him," she said to a burst of applause from the audience of several hundred students. "So, to me, it's like daylight and dark."

Although Clinton said she was making a priority of engaging frankly and openly on her visit, she declined to talk about a subject that has stirred some of the strongest feelings of anti-Americanism here — U.S. drone aircraft attacks against extremist targets on the Pakistan side of the Afghan border.

The Obama administration routinely refuses to acknowledge publicly that the attacks are taking place.

"There is a war going on," she said, and the U.S. wants to help Pakistan be successful.

The drone attacks have killed a number of Pakistani civilians, while also reportedly succeeding in eliminating some high-level Taliban and other extremist group leaders.

At the same time, though, the U.S. has been providing Pakistani commanders with video images and target information from its military drones as Pakistan's army pushes its ground offensive in Waziristan, U.S. officials said earlier this week.

Also sensitive is the way the U.S. has handled millions of dollars in aid to the Pakistani military. The U.S. in recent months has rushed helicopters and other military equipment to the country as Islamabad has launched its counterinsurgency offensives in Swat Valley and South Waziristan.

The administration sped the delivery of 10 Mi-17 troop transport helicopters starting in June, and in July sent 200 night vision goggles, nearly more than 9,000 sets of body armor, several hundred radios and other equipment.

"We've put military assistance to Pakistan on a wartime footing," Lt. Col. Mark Wright, a Pentagon spokesman, said Thursday. "We are doing everything within our power to assist Pakistan in improving its counterinsurgency capability."

This year the Pentagon plans to spend more than $500 million on arms and equipment for Islamabad as well as training Pakistan's military in counterinsurgency tactics. Still, Pakistani officials last month complained that Congress attached too many conditions to the surge in aid.

Before flying to Lahore from Islamabad, Clinton visited the Bari Imam shrine, named after Shah Abdul Latif Kazmi, a 17th century Sufi saint who died in 1705 and later came to be known as the patron saint of Islamabad. A suicide bomber struck the shrine in May 2005, killing a number of people.

30 injured as bus falls into gorge

Srinagar, Oct 29 (PTI) At least 30 persons were injured when a bus skidded off the road and fell into a 20-feet gorge in Kupwara district of North Kashmir today, official sources said.

Nine of the injured were admitted to a hospital in critical condition.

The accident took place at Pahldaj-Ramhal, 90 kms from here, when the driver of the Handwara-bound private bus lost control over the vehicle.

Rescue parties immediately swung into action and shifted the injured to hospital, the sources said.

Separatists find nothing new in PM's offer of talks

Srinagar, Oct 29 (PTI) Separatists in Jammu and Kashmir today said there is nothing new in the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's latest offer of talks.

"There is no need to react to the latest statement of the Indian Prime Minister. There is nothing new in the offer of talks," Ayaz Akbar, spokesman of the hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani told PTI.

"Our stand is crystal clear. We want India to accept the disputed nature of Kashmir, withdraw its troops, release political prisoners and then initiate talks aimed at implementing the UN resolutions guaranteeing right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir," he said.

Moderate faction of Hurriyat headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq is also divided on the issue of talks with New Delhi.

Indian PM extends olive branch to Pakistan ahead of Mumbai attacks anniversary

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday for the second day in a row reached out to Pakistan, offering its hand for friendship and reiterating its willingness to restart the composite dialogue, provided Islamabad contain terrorism.

Singh Thursday said in India-controlled Kashmir that New Delhi is not setting any pre-conditions for talks with Pakistan, but there can be no real progress, unless Islamabad brought terrorism under control.

The prime minister also made it clear that he was not satisfied with the action taken so far by Pakistan against those responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks last November, which claimed the lives of over 170 people.

"We are not satisfied. That goes without saying. We hope Pakistan will take effective measures to bring to justice all the perpetrators of Nov. 26," Singh told the media in the northern Indian state capital Srinagar at the end of a two-day visit to the region.

On Wednesday, the Indian Prime Minister offered olive branch to Pakistan but asserted that Islamabad should curb the activities of the elements engaged in terrorism against India.

"If they are non-state actors, it is the solemn duty of the government of Pakistan to bring them to book, to destroy their camps and to eliminate their infrastructure. The perpetrators of the acts of terror must pay the heaviest penalty for their barbaric crimes against humanity," he said.

Political analysts say the Prime Minister's recent overtures to Pakistan assume significance because India is just weeks away from the first anniversary of the Mumbai attacks.

"India has publicly expressed its frustration with what Pakistan's lack of cooperation in investigating those attacks, masterminded by Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, who has been roaming free in that country. So, an offer of is hand of friendship only strengthens New Delhi's position," political scientist Professor Ajay Singh said.

In fact, the Prime Minister Wednesday also said that India was willing to talk to anyone, including militants provided they abjured violence, in a bid to promote peace in Kashmir.

Summed up expert Professor S.K. Gupta: "India's olive branch clearly showed the readiness of New Delhi to look for solutions and a desire to talk to Pakistan to solve the Kashmir dispute. Solving the dispute will resolve a major part of the problem of cross-border terrorism.

"Moreover, Pakistan is itself a victim of terrorism. The offer of friendship at this juncture may be well taken by Islamabad, although it's too early to reach any conclusion given the past record," he added.

JK Govt serious to resettle Kashmiri migrant pandits

Srinagar, Oct 29(PTI) Jammu and Kashmir government today said that a serious effort has been initiated to resettle Kashmiri migrant pandits back in the valley.

"The state government has initiated serious efforts to resettle Kashmiri pandits back in the valley," minister for revenue, relief and rehabilitation Raman Bhalla told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a meeting here.

In this connection, he said an apex committee has already been constituted to expeditiously implement the Prime Minister's scheme under which Rs 1,618 crore have been earmarked.

The minister said all those Kashmiri pandits, who are willing to rebuild and reconstruct their dilapidated houses shall be given Rs 7.50 lakh.

"Similarly, under the scheme any group of Kashmiri pandits, who will form cooperative society, shall be given financial assistance for purchase of the land," Bhalla said.

San Francisco drivers face day 2 of tough commute

By JASON DEAREN and SUDHIN THANAWALA, Associated Press Writers

SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco Bay area commuters were bracing for another day of wearisome commutes as crews worked on repairs to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

A day after 5,000 pounds of metal fell and hit the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge during an evening rush hour, state transportation officials said the bridge would not open in time for the Thursday morning commute.

There is no estimate for when the bridge will open again as crews were scheduled to work through the night and morning.

The pieces that failed Tuesday were parts of major repairs done last month after state inspectors discovered a crack in an "eyebar," an important structural beam. The rods that broke were holding a saddle-like cap that had been installed to strengthen the cracked eyebar. Only motorist was left with minor injuries after the incident Tuesday.

Officials with the California Department of Transportation attributed the incident to vibrations and grinding on a metal tie rod, causing it to snap.

During a briefing Wednesday, state transportation spokesman Bart Ney said crews were "making several enhancements to address that issue."

He also said strong winds likely played a role in the failure, which heightened concerns by some experts about the integrity of the repair and the bridge's safety in an earthquake. Scientists in 2008 said there is a 63 percent probability of a quake similar to the 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta temblor in the Bay area over the next 30 years.

The 1989 earthquake caused a 50-foot section of the bridge's upper deck to collapse onto the deck below, causing another section to give way.

It took state officials until 1997 to decide it would be cheaper over the long run to build a new span than retrofit the existing one.

Transit officials said Wednesday that many of the estimated 280,000 commuters that use the bridge every day jammed alternate routes and crowded into buses and trains as they tried to get into San Francisco.

Officials with the Bay Area Rapid Transit District said it saw an increase in ridership of nearly 56,000 passengers, or about 49 percent, Wednesday between the East Bay and San Francisco. BART added extra cars to its trains in anticipation of the increase in riders.

Drivers using the other bridges across San Francisco Bay are expected to face delays again as they jam bridges for a second day Thursday.

The westbound drive across the San Mateo Bridge, which typically takes about 15 minutes, was a 50-minute drive Wednesday morning. Traffic on the bridge was about 40 percent heavier than usual, according to a bridge supervisor.

Traffic is also expected to be heavier on the Golden Gate Bridge for a second day in a row.

Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl, a civil engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley who studied the effects of the 1989 earthquake on the bridge, called the repair last month a "Band-Aid" that jeopardized public safety to get the bridge open quickly.

"When this eyebar fractured, this is very serious element of this part of the bridge. So the safety issue is very serious here," he said. "The repair done, in my opinion, is very unusual to put it mildly."

The main contractor on the repairs, C.C. Meyers, Inc., stood by the work, but deferred to Caltrans to determine why the pieces failed, spokeswoman Beth Ruyak said.

Meanwhile, the Federal Highway Administration sent engineers on Wednesday to help Caltrans investigate. The federal agency said it had not inspected the Labor Day weekend repairs made to the heavily used span, instead relying on state inspection reports to ensure safety guidelines were met.

Iraq arrests 60 security forces over blasts

Iraq has arrested some 60 security forces over the weekend twin bombings which targeted government buildings in Baghdad, killing up to 153 people.

Army spokesman General Qasim Atta said the suspects were arrested on Thursday, saying that those arrested were deployed in the Salhiya section of the capital at the time of the blasts.

"The commission of inquiry into the double attack on Sunday ordered the arrest of 11 officers of various ranks and 50 members of the security forces responsible for the protection of Salhiya," the spokesman for Baghdad military command added.

Health Ministry spokesman Sabah Abdullah on Thursday announced the final toll was 153 people dead, adding that of the more than 500 people wounded six or seven remained hospitalized.

This is while Iraqi authorities have not yet managed to identify the extremely disfigured victims of the Sunday's vehicle bombings at the justice ministry and the Baghdad provincial governor's office.

The US-based SITE monitoring body said the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq organization has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which the government blames on members of the outlawed Baath party.

Baghdad's governor Salah Abdul Razzaq said on Monday that the incident took place because of a human failure, which could be either negligence or conspiracy on the part of the security forces.

Footage showed a white Renault truck with the logo of the Department of Water in Fallujah driving up to the justice ministry building.

The vehicle loaded with two tons of explosives exploded later in the heart of the Iraqi capital while trucks were barred from entering Baghdad during daylight hours.

Among those arrested were the chief of police of Salhiya and the commanders of 15 security checkpoints in the district, said Atta.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=109936§ionid=351020201.

Happy 40th birthday, dear Internet

The first message sent across Arpanet, forty years to the day, gave meaning to a virtual environment — the Internet.

The exact date of the birth of the Internet is not certain but the first message to be sent and received in the virtual world on 29 October 1969 gave literal meaning to the Internet's birth.

In 1969, the US Department of Defense commissioned the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, known as Arpanet, initiated a program to research a communication and command network that could withstand a nuclear attack.

Some historians believe Arpanet, the defense computer network, was the inception of a life changing, economy altering, easy to access, fast and unlimited database called the Internet.

The global system of interconnected computer networks started life with the connection of two computers at the University of California to form the world's first successful packet-switched wide area computer network.

The system initiated a new flexibly formed network structure for computer resource sharing and in a matter of 40 years changed lives.

People do everything via the Internet, from buying and selling stocks to marriage and divorce. Politics and media cannot evade transparency and people's concentration. Now, after four decades, the Internet has worked its way into every aspect of our lives.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=109934§ionid=3510212.

House panel OKs fresh Iran sanctions

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has passed legislation that would toughen sanctions on Iran over its nuclear work.

The bill known as the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act gives President Obama more power to ban companies providing Iran with gasoline, diesel and other refined petroleum fuels. It would also target firms that help the country import gasoline.

The new legislation would expand the criteria under which companies could face US economic sanctions under a 1996 law targeting investments over more than $20 million in Iran's oil and gas infrastructure, AFP reported.

The Senate Banking Committee is also scheduled to vote on a nearly identical bill on Thursday, which targets Iran's gasoline suppliers or those companies helping the country with its oil refinery industry.

The sanctions would affect the companies that build oil and gas pipelines in the country and provide tankers to move its petroleum.

Under the bill, the US government would also be banned from purchasing goods from foreign companies that are active in Iran's energy sector.

To force Tehran to bow to US demands on its nuclear activities, Washington has been seeking to toughen sanctions on Iran.

Iran only produces 60 percent of its domestic gasoline demand and imports the remaining 40 percent.

By cutting off Iran's import of gasoline and other oil products, the US seeks to pile up pressure on Iran over its nuclear work.

The bill to go to vote on Thursday has other provisions among which is imposing a broad ban on direct imports from Iran to the US and exports from the US to Iran except for food and medicines.

The bill will also demand that the US government freeze the assets of Iranians who are active in the country's nuclear program.

Iran rejects the allegation that its nuclear work has a military purpose and defends its nuclear program as solely peaceful and within the framework of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), to which it is a signatory.

Iran has been under US unilateral sanctions for nearly three decades.

Zimbabwe deports UN investigator to South Africa

By DONNA BRYSON, Associated Press Writer

JOHANNESBURG – Zimbabwean immigration officials barred the United Nations' torture investigator from entering their country and returned him to South Africa Thursday, an act he termed a "serious diplomatic incident" that reflects a split in the coalition government.

"There are certainly some parts of the government who do not want me to assess the current conditions of torture," Manfred Nowak angrily told reporters in Johannesburg upon arrival from Zimbabwe.

Nowak said he had a meeting scheduled with Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai Thursday at the start of his mission to investigate alleged attacks on Tsvangirai supporters by militants linked to President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.

Tsvangirai, a longtime opposition leader, joined the government with Mugabe in February, but withdrew temporarily from Cabinet earlier this month after accusing ZANU-PF of human rights violations.

Nowak called his treatment "alarming" evidence of the split in the southern African country's coalition government.

He had received word from other Zimbabwean officials that he should not come only after he had flown from Austria to South Africa en route to neighboring Zimbabwe. Still, Nowak flew to Zimbabwe Wednesday, citing his invitation from Tsvangirai. When he arrived, airport immigration officials told him the foreign ministry had not cleared his meeting with the prime minister, he said. He spent the night in the airport.

"I have never been treated as rudely by any government as the government of Zimbabwe," Nowak snapped.

Nowak said that he contacted Tsvangirai's office from the airport, which sent a high-level delegation to fetch him. The delegation was barred by airport security, and was even told Nowak was not at the airport, the U.N. envoy said.

Tsvangirai's spokesman, James Maridadi, said Thursday that Nowak's trip had been cleared and that he could not immediately say why he had been barred.

"We are surprised that he was detained last night at Harare International Airport," Maridadi said.

Joey Bimha, the top civil servant in the ZANU-PF-controlled foreign ministry, said Nowak had been told he could not come because officials were engaged with Tsvangirai's temporary withdrawal from the Cabinet. A trio of foreign ministers from neighboring countries was holding talks with the factions Thursday and Friday in an attempt to end the impasse.

"We had no option but to send (Nowak) back because we had informed him that his services were no longer needed here," Bimha said.

Nowak said he could have modified his trip if he was given the chance to discuss that during his planned meeting with Tsvangirai. He said unilaterally calling off a trip at the 11th hour that had taken weeks of consultation with Zimbabwean officials "is diplomatically not acceptable."

If Tsvangirai "is not in a position to clear my entrance to the country, that is a very, very alarming signal about the power structure of the government," Nowak said.

Under Zimbabwe's coalition agreement, the foreign ministry is controlled by Mugabe's party, in power for nearly three decades and accused of trampling on human rights and democracy. Home Affairs, which oversees immigration as well as police, is shared by ZANU-PF and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change after the longtime rivals were unable to agree on which would control the key ministry.

"This is not the way the United Nations should be dealt with by a member state of the United Nations," Nowak said, demanding an explanation from Zimbabwean authorities.

The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement Wednesday that Nowak was initially invited to Zimbabwe from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4.

Ahmadinejad says West now cooperating with Iran

By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Tehran will not give up its nuclear program although the West and Iran are now cooperating on the issue — remarks that appear to reinforce Iran's support for the general outline of a U.N.-drafted nuclear deal.

The speech by Iran's president came on the same day Iran has promised to deliver its decision on the U.N. pact, which seeks to ease Western worries about Tehran's ability to produce a nuclear warhead.

Ahmadinejad's speech suggested that Iran will stick by earlier comments that support the framework of the deal, but demand some changes. A key point is how quickly Iran is willing to send its stockpile of low-enriched uranium outside the country for further processing.

Ahmadinejad said the West has moved "from confrontation to interaction" with Iran over its uranium enrichment program, which he called an "inalienable right of the Iranian nation."

"Today we reached a very important point," Ahmadinejad said, speaking at a rally in the northeastern city of Mashhad. "Ground has been paved for nuclear cooperation" and Tehran is ready to now work on nuclear fuel supplies and technical know-how with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Ahmadinejad added.

But he insisted his government "will not retreat even an iota" over the nation's right to pursue a nuclear program — which the West fears masks a nuclear arms ambition.

Iran denies the charge and says the uranium enrichment program is exclusively for peaceful purposes, to make fuel.

Iran has promised to reveal on Thursday whether it accepts the U.N. plan, hammered out with world powers last week in Vienna, to ship out 70 percent of its enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment.

The Vienna-brokered plan requires Iran to send 2,420 pounds (1,100 kilograms) of low-enriched uranium — around 70 percent of its stockpile — to Russia in one batch by the end of the year. After further enrichment there, France would convert the uranium into fuel rods for return to Iran for use in a Tehran reactor that produces medical isotopes.

Western powers say it's critical for Iran to send out 70 percent of its uranium store in one load to eliminate — at least temporarily — its options to make a nuclear weapon.

A significantly lower amount or gradual shipments by Iran could jeopardize a key part of the proposal, which was reached after talks last week that included the United States. About 2,205 pounds (1,000 kilograms) is the commonly accepted amount of low-enriched uranium needed to produce weapons-grade uranium for a single nuclear warhead.

Tehran signaled this week it wants significant changes in the U.N. deal and to be allowed either to buy the fuel for the Tehran reactor from abroad or to ship the material in small batches. That would not reduce fears about further enrichment to weapons-grade uranium because Iran would be able to quickly replace small amounts it sent out of the country with newly enriched material.

Ahmadinejad said the West had pushed for halting Iran's nuclear program in the past but that now it is "ready for cooperation and participation on exchange of nuclear fuel and building power plants."

The U.N. Security Council has slapped three sets of sanctions against Iran after the country refused to halt the uranium enrichment.

But the world now recognizes Iran's nuclear right, Ahmadinejad claimed. "We welcome the West's change in behavior," he said, adding that Iran is ready to "shake any hand that is honestly extended toward us."

Also Thursday, a team of U.N. nuclear inspectors returned to the agency's headquarters in Vienna from a visit to a previously secret Iranian uranium enrichment site. It expressed satisfaction with the mission but details have not been revealed.

What the inspectors saw — and how freely they were allowed to work — will be key in deciding whether six world powers engaging Iran in efforts to reduce fears that it seeks to make nuclear weapons seek a new round of talks with Tehran.

The Fordo site is near the holy city of Qom. Iran revealed it was building it Sept. 21 in a confidential letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Just days later, the leaders of the U.S., Britain and France condemned Tehran for having kept it secret.

The West believes Iran revealed the site's existence only because it had learned that the U.S. and its allies were about to make it public. Iran denies that.

Jordan to host 6th International Water Association Conference

SYDNEY - Jordan is set to host the 6th International Water Association (IWA) Conference slated for 2011, organizers announced on Wednesday, while local officials expressed hope the event will highlight the Kingdom’s severe water shortage.

The IWA Conference, held every two years, is a global event that gathers hundreds of water experts from different countries.

Public, private and civic institutions will take part in the event and exchange scientific and professional experiences.

IWA approval for Jordan to host the international water event comes in recognition of its water conservation and efficiency programmes and projects, officials said Wednesday.

Jamal Hijazi, director of the water demand management unit at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, underscored the importance of hosting the global water conference in Jordan.

“The conference will give policy makers and Jordanian water experts the opportunity to cement cooperation with donor organizations and advanced countries to implement water-saving ventures,” said Hijazi, who is heading the Jordanian delegation at the 5th IWA Conference on Efficient Use and Management of Urban Water, which concluded yesterday.

He noted that the conference will present an opportunity for sharing expertise with countries advanced in water conservation and efficiency programmes, which will help improve water use in Jordan, currently facing a water shortage, blamed on climate change.

The Kingdom, which is categorised as the fourth poorest nation in the world in terms of water availability, suffers an annual water deficit of 500 million cubic metres.

An arid country, more than 70 per cent of the Kingdom’s area receives less than 100mm of rainfall annually. Consequently, water is the most critical natural resource, as virtually all aspects of sustainable economic, social and political development in the country depend on the availability of an adequate water supply.

Hijazi noted that the ministry will benefit from the experiences of different countries in conservation and efficient use of water by drawing up water-demand management programmes and formulating strategies for applying best practices in this field.

He added that the participation of representatives from several donor countries and agencies will increase financial support to water conservation projects.

Demand on water in Jordan, with a per capita share of 145 litres per day, is increasing due to population growth coupled with industrial and tourism sector growth.

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation has explored all available water sources, but is struggling to cope with the rising demand, given the limited resources.

Meanwhile, more than 200 experts in water demand management, who took part in the 2009 conference, called for supporting and improving water efficiency and conservation methods, describing them as the “quickest and cheapest” mechanisms, in light of climate change and the impact of the world economic crisis.

Mohamed Chebaane, chief of party of the USAID-funded IDARA project, reviewed Jordan’s experience in improving water-use efficiency and the country’s water situation.

In a paper he presented at the conference, prepared in cooperation with Ministry of Water and Irrigation Secretary General Maysoun Zu’bi, Chebaane showcased the national strategy on water-demand management.

The strategy includes specifications of water-efficiency devices and appliances, the water and wastewater code as well as water-demand management best practices.

He highlighted the need to expedite drafting a water law that supports efficiency and conservation projects.

By Hana Namrouqa

Israel's growing Al-Aqsa attacks 'alarming'

Head of the Manuscripts Department in Al-Aqsa Mosque warns of mounting Israeli violence against the holy site, amid growing protests in the Muslim world against the desecration of the mosque.

Israel has stepped up attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque to pave the way for dividing the Muslim world's third holy site, Najeh Bkeirat said on Wednesday.

Tel Aviv's assaults and measures against the mosque have reached more than 1250 cases since the occupation of Palestinian territories in the West Bank, including Jerusalem Al-Quds, in 1967.

Bkeirat warned of an alarming increase in the hostile Israeli measures, recalling twin attacks which targeted the mosque within the same day during the past week.

The Israeli army's drills in the Al-Aqsa Mosque vicinity and barring Palestinians from entering the site is a prelude to a long-planned destruction of the mosque and its change into a Jewish temple.

Meanwhile, large crowds of Egyptian students took to streets in capital Cairo in protest to Israel's violation of the Al-Aqsa mosque and the regime's atrocities against the Palestinians.

Thousands of demonstrators, chanting anti-Israeli slogans, gathered outside the University of Cairo on Wednesday and torched the Israeli flag, IRNA reported.

A similar rally was also held by students of Alexandria University in a show of protests to the Israeli army's intrusion of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The angry protesters condemned the Arab world's silence to the suffering of the Palestinian nation.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces razed six Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem Al-Quds, leaving their 26 residents, including 10 children, homeless.

Palestinians accuse Israel of efforts to remove the Palestinian-Islamic identity of East Jerusalem Al-Quds, which hosts the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

The Arab dominated neighborhood was occupied during the 1967 war by the Israeli regime, which annexed it later, despite opposition from the international community.

The Israeli municipality authorities have been evicting Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem Al-Quds ever since, demolishing their houses over 'illegal construction'.

Libyan Leader Mu’ammar Al-Qadhafi To Write Screenplay

Libyan leader Colonel Mu’ammar Al-Qadhafi has written the screenplay for a new Syrian television drama set to air next Ramadan. The series, which is said to provide a response to “media attacks on the Arab and Muslim worlds” was written by the ostentatious leader and adapted by a Syrian writer.

Syrian media sources say the series depicts a journey through the Mediterranean Sea, Europe, Iran and parts of Asia and addresses matters such as tyranny, dictatorship, the relationship between citizens and ruling institutions, and the strong ties between Muslims and Christians in the Arab world.

Dr. Aijaz Ilmi, a media analyst and owner of the Urdu daily Siyassat Jadid, said Qadhafi’s personal venture into show business was rare among regional leaders.

“A lot of key countries have invested in satellite channels, television and media news networks,” he told The Media Line. “But to be part of a system when you actually write something – this is the first of its kind.”

“Mu’ammar Al-Qadhafi is obviously preparing to hand over the reins of the system to his son and he needs to do something else,” Ilmi said. “This is something that people do post-retirement so this seems to be a signal that he’s getting out of the system.”

Al-Qadhafi has been in power since a 1969 coup, making him the longest standing leader in the Arab world.

Libya drew considerable international criticism in August when convicted terrorist Abd Al-Baset Megrahi, who was released from a Scottish prison on humanitarian grounds because of a terminal illness, received a huge welcome party in Libya.

Megrahi was convicted for involvement in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in which 270 people were killed.

Ilmi said he did not believe the timing of the television series was deliberate.

“I think [Qadhafi] got onto the media bandwagon much earlier, and Megrahi happened in the middle,” he noted. “This has been in the offing for more than 12-18 months, his pursuit of being a media persona or contributor to the media world.”

The new script is being adapted into a drama by Syrian writer Fadel Affash and will be produced by Syrian producer Ziyyad A-Rees.

There are plans to air it next Ramadan, around the summer of 2010. It has become customary to air new television shows during this month, when families set into their living rooms at the end of the day to break the traditional fast.

The media section at the Libyan embassy in London had no knowledge of the initiative.

Al-Qadhafi’s foray into television screenwriting is the first of its kind for an Arab leader but it is not the Libyan leader’s first attempt at writing.

He has written a compilation of stories, and his most well known treatise is the famous Green Book, first published in 1975, which outlines his political philosophy.

In the past he wrote a draft script entitled “Oppression: The Years of Torment” as the basis for a movie. The film is about a Libyan national hero, Omar Al-Mukhtar, and the suffering of the Libyan people during the Italian occupation.

Syrian producer Najdat Anzour began working on it in 2008 but it appears the project has been halted. There was speculation the movie might attract Hollywood stars such as Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Spacey, Ben Kingsley and Omar Sharif and would be filmed with a budget of more than $50 million, funded by the Libyan government.

PA Prepares Anti-Crime Campaign

RAMALLAH [MENL] -- The Palestinian Authority, battling a sharp drop in support, has drafted plans for an anti-crime campaign throughout the West Bank.

Officials said Prime Minister Salam Fayad has ordered a law and order campaign throughout the West Bank that would demonstrate the utility of the newly-trained and -equipped PA security forces. They said the campaign, launched as the PA set elections for Jan. 24, 2010, would include a crackdown on drug traffickers, car thieves, violent crime and the establishment of a tourist police.

Algeria, UK Advance Toward Major Arms Deal

CAIRO [MENL] -- Algeria and Britain have been moving toward the completion of a major weapons agreement.

Officials said the two countries have been holding a high-level defense dialogue meant to result in a major British arms sale to Algeria. They said the arms sale could also include training and joint exercises by the militaries of Algeria and Britain.

Turkey Could Invade Independent Kurdistan

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The United States expects Turkey to invade Iraq to stop the establishment of an independent Kurdish state.

A U.S. government report said Ankara could attack any nascent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. The Congressional Research Service said an independent Kurdistan would also threaten Turkish relations with the United States.

Source: Middle East Newsline.
Link: http://menewsline.com/article-1173,4954-Turkey-Could-Invade-Independent-K.aspx.

Lebanese Navy Trains With UNIFIL

NICOSIA [MENL] -- The Lebanese Navy has been exercising with the United Nations.

The Lebanese Navy has conducted a maritime security exercise with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. On Oct. 26, the two forces completed maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea off the Lebanese coast.

Russia Braces For Iranian Fines For S-300 Delay

MOSCOW [MENL] -- The Kremlin, facing huge penalties, intends to honor its $1 billion S-300 air defense contract with Iran.

Officials said the Kremlin has been examining the feasibility of implementing the delivery of the first S-300PMU-1 air defense system in 2010. They said the system had been scheduled to arrive in Iran in March 2009 but was delayed amid Tehran's refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment program.

Algeria Reports Sharp Drop In Energy Revenue

CAIRO [MENL] -- Algeria has reported a 50 percent drop in energy revenues during 2009.

Algeria's state-owned energy monopoly, Sonatrach, said the North African state earned $31 billion from crude oil and natural gas exports during the first nine months of 2009. The revenue was half of that during the same period last year.

Russians as a nation no longer exist

27 October 2009

The "political scientist", who makes appearances under the pseudonym of Mr Kalashnikov, and whom the current formal leader of the Kremlin Medvedev holds in 'favorites', was forced to admit in an optimistic (for non-imperials) material, laid out in the Moscow's edition of the "political news agency" about the inevitability of the dismantling of Russia, resulting in a so-called "Russian" restoration of its national identity and once again become those people who they were prior to their enslavement by Muscovites.

The analyst points out:

"Russians as a nation no longer exist. In the years 1991-2009, a full dismantling of Russians as a united people had taken place. Henceforth, their masses - a kind of stagnant, passive swamp, which has some "heap activity." But they are terribly divided ideologically.

The rest of society - a swamp, assemblage of autism. Some - with a beer in front of TV, others - in front of computers, but all are only able to feebly curs the government, and do nothing meanwhile.

There is no more passionarity nor solidarity. The remains of passionarity in Russia have been burned in 1993. Times of a kingdom of apathy, distrust, disunity have began. The vast majority of the electorates does not believe anymore in fiery words, does not want any super-efforts.

President Putin (Medvedev) is the Russian President indeed. The system reflects the state of the masses. That is why the failure of all attempts to create a twenty-year strong (imperial - KC) movement of the Russian majority happened. For there is no such a majority.

The present Russian, likes to decompose and remain fragmented. They cease to read, do not accept text-programs ("too many beech"), they become stupid and low before our very eyes.

This deeply divided cynical mass will continue to remain in the same condition, until Russia does not fully descend into chaos, in the economic and managerial defaults as result of disasters of worn technosphere.

Thousands of Palestinian families will be homeless

October 28, 2009

A study prepared by save the children organization revealed that tens of thousands of Palestinian families including children in the occupied Palestinian lands are threatened with displacement as a result of forced evictions, house demolitions, land confiscation and military operations.

The study added that the families sometimes find themselves forced to abandon their lands and homes as a result of the intolerable conditions, despite the fact that their living conditions often get worse after that.

The study, which covered the rural areas in the West Bank and Gaza border areas, noted that the Palestinian inhabitants of these areas endure deteriorating living conditions represented in the daily shortage of water and food, rising unemployment, broken homes and the failure of children to go to school.

"We always knew that the life was tough in these areas, but this new research has shown just how bad things are. Many families we spoke to were at breaking point," Salam Kanaan, the director of save the children in Palestine, said.

"Without a secure future, children’s lives are blighted. Constant fear of upheaval, combined with a daily struggle for basics, has left children depressed and traumatized," she added.

According to the study, almost half of Palestinians living in high-risk areas have been forced from their homes since the start of the second intifada in 2000.

Save the children demanded Israel in its report to halt actions that result in displacement, including the demolition of Palestinian homes, and to clearly define a policy for Gaza buffer zones that are in line with its international legal obligations to protect civilians under occupation.

Palestine: Elections Doomed to Fail Under Division

Palestine: Elections Doomed to Fail Under Division
Futility Much Anticipated With Israel's Occupation
By Khalid Amayreh

IOL, October 28, 2009

In a measure that has already vexed the internal Palestinian political arena, Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmud Abbas has called for "presidential and legislative elections" to be held in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank, East Al-Quds and the Gaza Strip on January 24, 2010.

The decision is expected to widen and deepen the state of contention between Fatah and Hamas, the two largest political groups in occupied Palestine.

Fatah, which have been in control of the PA security agencies connived with Western powers and also Israel against Hamas after the Muslim liberation group won the 2006 elections.

This prompted Hamas to oust Fatah militias from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007.

The cold-bloodedness between the two sides has evolved into a kind of unprecedented enmity as all Arab, especially since Egyptian efforts to reconcile the two groups have so far failed.

It is not exactly clear what prompted Abbas to embark on this feat now, especially with reconciliation efforts going nowhere and with the current Israeli government of Benyamin Netanyahu refusing to freeze Jewish settlement expansion despite constant American demands.

Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip, has castigated the decision to hold elections without consultation or coordination with Hamas, as a "grave blunder that would have serious repercussions on the Palestinian national cause."

For his part, Abbas sought to defend his decision, arguing that the elections were a "legal, national and constitutional imperative."

To this, Hamas retorted that it is futile to speak of constitutional imperatives when Israel controls every street and corner in the West Bank, and when Abbas himself, as the head of the Palestinian Authority, cannot even move from his office in Ramallah to the next street without getting Israel's consent beforehand.

Palestinians, Hamas argued, must not get themselves accustomed to the "normality" of living under the Israeli military occupation.

Objective Facts

In a certain sense, Hamas is correct. The West Bank, which will be the main theatre of the scheduled elections, is still tightly controlled by the Israeli occupation army.

Indeed, every Palestinian town where the PA enjoys nominal and symbolic "authority" is actually controlled and by the Israeli army, either directly or in collaboration with American-trained Palestinian security forces.

This means that Israel, not the PA, has the final say in all matters pertaining to elections. If Israel says "No", Abbas obviously cannot do much. He will probably succumb to the Israeli decision, and perhaps complain to Israel's guardian-ally, the United States.

Hence, it is probably safe to say that Israel will not allow the organization of real, fair, and transparent elections in the West Bank and East Al-Quds if the Jewish state does not receive an "appropriate price" from the weak and vulnerable PA government.

In 2006, when Israel felt that Hamas was poised to win Palestinian legislative elections, it unceremoniously rounded up hundreds of pro-Hamas candidates for PA parliament and local (municipal) councils.

In the West Bank, nearly all elected Muslim MPs were arrested and sentenced to lengthy periods of imprisonment ranging from 32 months to 48 months. Their only "crime" was their participation in elections under the umbrella of a "terrorist organization".

On October 26, 24 MPs, including formers ministers, such Sheikh Nayef Rajoub, are still languishing in Israeli dungeons on no ground other than the fact that they earned the trust of their people in a fair election that was okayed by Israel and the United States and meticulously observed by observers from around the world.

This means that there is no guarantee whatsoever that Israel will not resort to the same draconian measures again. If so, one would really wonder if it is wise to hold elections under such conditions.

Police State Without a State

To be sure, Israel is not the only obstacle impeding the organization of fair and truly democratic elections. The PA itself is very much a police state without a state.

A police state because there is a nearly total absence of the rule of law in the West Bank as human rights and civil liberties are routinely and constantly violated.

And "without a state" because the PA has no sovereignty of its own and is thoroughly subservient to Israel's whims.

Needless to say, an atmosphere of fear now prevailing throughout the West Bank inhibits organizing truly democratic elections.

People suspected of holding "non-conformist" views, such as sympathizing with Hamas, will be dragged to jails and interrogation dungeons where they are often beaten, humiliated, and even tortured.

At least 10 pro-Hamas sympathizers have been tortured to death at the hands of PA interrogators since 2007.

In addition, thousands of people have been detained and hundreds are still languishing in PA jails without charge or trial.

The police state atmosphere is so rampant in the West Bank today that a petty act like hoisting a green Islamic flag bearing Islam's article of faith (I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammed is His messenger) is enough to make one land in a PA interrogation center.

Hence, it is only logical to question the plausibility, let alone wisdom of holding elections under such circumstances.

This is not to say that "elections" cannot be organized at all. They can, but it is highly likely that they would be seriously rigged in daylight, although this would not prevent the PA's Western donors and bankrollers, such the United States and the United Kingdom, from haling the elections as "democratic and honest".

Hard Questions

The PA leadership claims that it will respect the outcome of the elections, regardless of which party wins the polls. However, any serious observer of the Palestinian arena can hardly take this claim for granted.

Let us suppose for the sake of argument that Hamas would win the elections, even by a narrow margin. Would Fatah then cede power to the victorious party? Would the United States and Britain and Israel's Western allies come to terms with the results? Would Israel recognize Hamas as the true representative of the Palestinian people? Would the American-trained PA security forces agree to be answerable to the new government?

Obviously, the answer for all these crucial questions is absolutely "No".
It is amply clear that Abbas is not intending to hold elections for the elections' sake.

His ultimate goal is to avenge Fatah's defeat in Gaza more than two years ago, as well as to outmaneuver Hamas into a serious political predicament.

Ultimately, Abbas wants to get rid of Hamas as a key political player at the Palestinian arena in order to be able to give Israel all or most of the concessions it is now demanding without facing any serious Palestinian opposition.

Abbas and his aides did try to achieve this ominous goal, namely to decapitate Hamas in 2007, in concert with US intelligence through such people as Elliot Abrams and Keith Dayton.

However, Hamas managed to outsmart them when its "Executive Force" defeated and ousted Fatah's militias from the entire Gaza Strip.

Moreover, Fatah and Hamas differ sharply on the entire rationale behind the elections. Hamas views the elections as part of an overall program for resistance that would eventually enable the Palestinian people to wrest freedom form the Israeli occupation.

On the other hand, Fatah views the election as an opportunity to "settle scores with Hamas" and to willy-nilly re-impose the group's erstwhile hegemony over Palestinian lives, using a variety of stick-and-carrot tactics.

Fatah is bent on remaining in "power", a term which in the Palestinian context is devoid of any real meaning since the PA has no real power and only functions as a submissive sub-contractor for the Israeli occupation.

In light, there is no doubt that holding elections in the West Bank under the present circumstances would seriously complicate and exacerbate the internal Palestinian crisis and might lead to an irreversible divorce between Gaza and the West Bank.

Certainly, this is not what most Palestinians want.

Marwan Barghouthi: Unity deal needed before elections

October 28, 2009

Bethlehem – Ma’an – Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi said on Tuesday that elections cannot be held without a national unity agreement in place.

"Elections can’t be held before rivalry comes to an end," said Barghouthi who is serving life sentence in an Israeli prison. The popular leader however blamed Hamas for the current impasse for their refusal to sign Egypt’s latest proposal for Palestinian unity.

Abbas decreed that elections be held in January, a step that Hamas said should be delayed until after a deal is signed.

According to the PA Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Qaraqe, Barghouthi told him during a visit to Israel’s Hadareim prison, "National unity, and protection of the Palestinian political system are our compass toward completing our national duties. This is far more important than all partisan and individual interests."

He added, according to Qaraqe, "As Palestinians, and as prisoners, our top priority is ending Israeli occupation of our lands, and to reach our dream of liberty and independence. This necessitates ending the political and geographic division which resulted from the military coup Hamas staged in the Gaza Strip."

Speaking about Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody, Barghouthi said, "The rivalry has negatively affected prisoners because it gave the Israeli government a golden opportunity to inflict more oppressive measures against prisoners. Rivalry also helped the Israelis with their settlement activities."

Barghouthi said the decree issued by President Abbas calling for elections on 24 January 2010, was constitutional and legal. "It was a democratic and multi-political procedure in which all the Palestinian people partake in building Palestinian political system," he added.

As for the peace process with Israel he said, "There is no peace partner in Israel, and the Israeli government is not mature enough to establish a real and just peace with the Palestinian people. Unless Israel ends its occupation of the Palestinian territories it occupied in 1967, enable the Palestinians to build their independent state, guarantee return of refugees, and release all Palestinian detainees, all talks about peace are pointless."

Barghouthi applauded Palestinians in Jerusalem for their steadfastness in the face of Israeli "racist attacks against the capital of Palestine." He called on the Arab and Islamic nations to support Jerusalem and stop "Israeli aggression" which targets the people, the history, and the religious nature of Jerusalem.

As for a hoped-for prisoner swap deal between Israel and the captors of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Barghouthi said he supported the captors’ demands of releasing a large number of detainees, especially long-term prisoners, prisoners from Jerusalem, prisoners from inside Israel, the ill, women, and bodies of killed-in-action "martyrs" that Israel holds.