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Monday, November 2, 2009

Iran thwarts hit on 'top official'

Iranian security forces say they have twice foiled a plot, masterminded by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to assassinate a top Iranian official.

"Based on the confiscated evidence and documents, mercenary terrorists had planned to, with the support of the CIA and its scheme, assassinate a political official within the establishment," read a statement by the Intelligence Ministry on Monday.

The plan, aimed at creating chaos in line with the unrest and riots that sparked following the presidential election in June, was thwarted through following up on intelligence, the statement added.

Although the details of the terror plan was not revealed, the ministry said the terrorists had failed to eliminate the unnamed official when the Parliament (Majlis) was approving President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's ministers for his new term.

The official, then was to be targeted for the second time as Iran prepared for the anniversary of the US Embassy takeover in Tehran on November 4, dubbed the national day of fighting global arrogance, the ministry said.

Pakistan offers cash for data on pro-Taliban leaders

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

Mon Nov 2, 2009

Pakistan has offered rewards worth five million dollars for information leading to the capture of a number of militant commanders.

"Anyone who captures these people dead or alive or provides concrete information, the government will award them a cash reward," said an Urdu language advertisement on Pakistani TV channels.

The largest rewards were offered for the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, and senior leaders Wali ur-Rehman Mehsud and Qari Hussain Mehsud, once described as a master trainer of suicide bombers.

A reward of 50-million Pakistani rupees (about 0.6 million US dollars) was offered for the capture of the three TTP leaders.

Pakistan says the militants are involved in daily attacks which have so far resulted in the death of around 2,400 people in the country.

The rewards were announced less than a week after at least 118 people were killed last Wednesday when a massive car bomb flattened a market street in the northwest city of Peshawar.

In the meantime, Pakistan has called for regional cooperation to eliminate terrorists, as it is unable to take on the task on its own.

The Pakistani Foreign Affairs Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi has said that the terrorists had been obtaining money through various illegal activities, such as drug smuggling, to finance their campaign of terror which could not be curbed by Pakistan alone.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/110263.html.

Iranian movie tops Spanish filmfest

Iranian filmmaker Ramtin Lavvafipour has been awarded at the 2009 edition of Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain.

Lavvafipour's Calm Down and Count to Seven, received the festival's best feature film award, Fars News Agency reported.

The young director's first feature-length production, which participated in the event's Meeting Point section, was announced the best by an international jury board consisting of Chus Gutierrez, Lluis Bonet and Margaret von Schiller.

Made in the style of documentary realism and with dynamic camera work, the 90-minute film is a sensitive reflection of the changes in a small fishing village as it moves from its traditional lifestyle toward consumerism.

Calm Down and Count to Seven has won numerous international awards including the VPRO Tiger Award of the Netherlands' International Film Festival for its level of craft and cinematic intelligence.

The 54th Valladolid International Film Festival was held from Oct. 23 to 31, 2009, screening films in the Official Section, Time of History and Meeting Point sections.

Iran army official warns unrest instigators ahead of Nov. 4

Amid foreign media hype about the 30th anniversary of the US Embassy takeover in Tehran, a top official with Iran's armed forces warns the instigators of unrest not to fall for enemy-backed “psychological warfare”.

Deputy Head of Iran's armed forces headquarters Brigadier-General Seyyed Massoud Jazayeri called on the nation to exercise caution with regards to the likelihood of enemy mischief and plots on November 4.

"One of the methods of psychological warfare by establishments supported by the UK and the US in Iran is to encourage certain people to get involved in activities which is certain to end in failure,” Jazayeri said Monday.

The army official added that the Islamic Republic could not overlook attempts by elements seeking to overthrow the system, saying that "if compelled it can even mount a serious challenge against coup d'etat elements based in foreign countries."

The warning comes as earlier Iran's deputy police chief Ahmadreza Radan said security forces would confront any illegal gatherings on Nov 4.

"Those who intend to hold illegal gatherings as well as those who encourage people ... to stage gatherings will have to answer for their actions," Radan warned.

4.8-magnitude quake rocks west Algeria

ALGIERS (AFP) - An earthquake measuring 4.8 on the open-ended Richter scale hit the Ain Defla region, about 150 kilometers west of Algiers, Monday, seismologists said.

The epicenter was located about 11 kilometers (seven miles) northeast of the town of El Abadia in the region, the Algerian geological service CRAAG said.

There were no immediate reports of causalities or property damage.

Prosecutor blames Karadzic for Srebrenica massacre

By MIKE CORDER, Associated Press Writer

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Radovan Karadzic orchestrated the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys and his only regret was "that some Muslim men got away," a U.N. prosecutor said Monday at the former Bosnian Serb leader's war crimes trial.

Karadzic again boycotted his own trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, but pledged in a letter to judges that he would attend a procedural hearing Tuesday on his defense.

Prosecutor Alan Tieger focused on Europe's worst atrocity since World War II as he wound up his opening statement Monday for the tribunal's judges. Tieger called the July 1995 slaying in Srebrenica "one of humanity's dark chapters" and laid the blame squarely at Karadzic's feet.

"The murder of these men and the expulsion of the women, children and elderly did not arise from nowhere," Tieger said. "These crimes were the culmination of the accused's determination to cleanse eastern Bosnia to ensure the Serb state he envisioned."

Karadzic is charged with two counts of genocide and nine other crimes against humanity and war crimes linked to atrocities throughout Bosnia's 1992-95 war.

Karadzic has refused to enter pleas, but insists he is innocent. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Tieger showed judges photos of men's bodies exhumed from mass graves near Srebrenica — one wearing a blindfold, another with his hands bound behind his back — and video of bodies piled up along the white, bullet-pocked wall of a warehouse.

He showed video of a captured Muslim man calling to his son to come and join him. Both father and son, Tieger said, were found dead in mass graves.

"These terrible crimes have been proved time and again in other trials before this tribunal," Tieger said. "When (Karadzic) denies what happened, it is because he knows that the truth condemns him."

Tieger repeatedly referred to Karadzic as the "supreme commander" of Bosnian Serb forces and told judges the chain of command was functioning perfectly during the Srebrenica massacre. That was an apparent attempt to address a possible Karadzic line of defense — that any crimes in Bosnia happened without his knowledge or consent.

Karadzic's boycott of the trial last week frustrated dozens of war survivors — many of them widows from Srebrenica — who had traveled hundreds of miles (kilometers) by bus to see him face justice after 13 years on the run.

The 64-year-old wrote to judges that he would attend Tuesday's hearing to help find "a solution which will lead to not only an expeditious trial, but a fair one."

Karadzic claims that he did not have enough time to prepare his defense, despite having been first indicted in 1995 and arrested 14 months ago on a Belgrade bus, disguised as a New Age healer. Since then, he has been working on his defense in his cell at the tribunal's detention center.

Karadzic insists he needs up to eight more months to be ready for his trial, and wants to defend himself.

Presiding judge O-Gon Kwon warned Karadzic on Monday that his "attempts to obstruct the progress of the trial will not be tolerated" and that judges are considering imposing a defense attorney on him. That could further delay the trial as a new lawyer would need to familiarize himself with the sprawling case.

Tieger on Monday also underscored the pivotal role allegedly played by Europe's most-wanted war crimes suspect, Gen. Ratko Mladic, in the Srebrenica takeover.

He said Mladic, Karadzic's wartime military chief, met with Dutch U.N. peacekeepers and Bosnian Muslim men in a hotel shortly after Serb forces overran Srebrenica on July 11, 1995, and told them he wanted to discuss with Muslim representatives whether they wanted to "survive, stay or vanish."

Mladic also is charged with genocide for his alleged role in the Srebrenica massacre, but he remains on the run.

Tieger showed judges video footage of Mladic strutting through Srebrenica's deserted streets on July 11 and saying to a camera that "the time has come to take revenge."

Battle over face veil brewing in Egypt

By Mariam Karouny

CAIRO (Reuters) – Rokaya Mohamed, an elementary school teacher, would rather die than take off her face veil, or niqab, thrusting her to the forefront of a battle by government-backed clerics to limit Islamism in Egypt.

Egypt's state-run religious establishment wants teachers like Mohamed to remove their veils in front of female students, sparking a backlash by Islamists who say women should be able to choose to cover their faces in line with their Islamic faith.

"I have put on the niqab because it is a Sunna (a tradition of the Muslim prophet Muhammad). It is something that brings me closer to religion and closer to the wives of the Prophet who used to wear it," she said.

"I know what makes God and his prophet love me, and no sheikh is going to convince me otherwise. I would rather die than take it off, even inside class," she added.

Egypt, the birthplace of al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri, fought a low-level Islamist insurgency in the 1990s, has faced sporadic militant attacks targeting tourists since then, and is keen to quell Islamist opposition ahead of parliamentary elections next year and a 2011 presidential vote.

The spread of the niqab, associated with the strictest interpretations of Islam, is a potent reminder to the government of the political threat posed by any Islamist resurgence emanating from the Gulf, where many young Egyptians go to work.

Controversy over the niqab flared last month after the state-appointed head of Egypt's al-Azhar mosque asked a young student to remove her face veil during a visit to her school.

Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar Mohamed Sayed Tantawi later issued a religious edict or fatwa barring women and girls from wearing the niqab in all-girl Azhari schools, saying there was no reason for girls to cover their faces amongst themselves.

An Azhari research center later backed the ruling, saying the face veil should be removed when a girl is in an all-female class with women teachers, in all-female exam rooms, and in all-female dormitories.

Egyptian state-run media have also called for women to show their faces, citing the "damaging" effects of niqab on society.

GULF INFLUENCE

While a majority of Egyptian women and girls consider it an Islamic religious obligation to cover their hair and neck with a scarf, few Muslim scholars say the full face veil is mandatory.

Yet growing numbers of Egyptian women are abandoning the simple headscarf in favor of the niqab, analysts say, reflecting the growing sway of strict Saudi-based Wahhabi ideology on an already conservative and Islamized society.

"It increased mainly because of the major influence from the Gulf. This habit is not from the heart of Egyptian society. It is imported from the Gulf," political analyst Hala Mustafa said.

"(Extremism) has been increasing in Egyptian society for the past 30 years and therefore Egyptians are accepting more extremism and becoming more closed off," she said.

Egypt, unlike other Muslim states Saudi Arabia and Iran, does not require women to cover their heads with a scarf. But the millions of Egyptians who have lived or worked in Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia are believed to be a source for the spread of Wahhabi ideology.

Just 30 years ago, women attended Egypt's flagship Cairo University wearing miniskirts and sleeveless tops. They strolled along the beaches of Alexandria in skimpy swimsuits at a time when society was seemingly more liberal and tolerant.

Analysts say the headscarf, or hijab, was seen as a status indicator and was prevalent among lower-income classes. Women from upper and middle classes rarely veiled at a young age and those who did usually followed fashionable interpretations of hijab. The niqab was uncommon at that time.

NIQAB MORE PREVALENT

But the niqab has become more prevalent. Women in flowing black robes are a common sight strolling through Egypt's fanciest shopping malls and five-star hotels, as well as in shanties.

Analysts say challenging the stricter interpretations of Islam could be a long journey that requires, in particular, introducing reforms on an educational system that has allowed women in niqab to teach small children.

"These decisions have to be accompanied with ideological procedures and requires challenging the ideology so there will be moderate ideology," Mustafa said.

Egyptian courts have a history of ruling in favor of women wearing niqab inside universities. In 2007, a court ruled that the American University in Cairo, seen as a bastion of Western liberal education in Egypt, was wrong to bar a female scholar who wears niqab from using its facilities. The court cited personal and religious freedom as grounds for its ruling.

Ordinary Egyptians on the streets of Cairo have conflicting feelings regarding the niqab. Some say it should be banned on security grounds because it can be used by criminals to disguise themselves and escape police searches.

Others hail it as the right way to fulfill religious duties or as the best way to protect women from sexual harassment, although a recent study showed veiling had little effect on harassment rates in Egypt.

"When a man cannot see a woman, then what is he going to harass her for? Nothing," said Abu Donya, a taxi driver, whose views are shared by many Egyptians. "So imagine if all women wear niqab, things would be better," he said.

Colombia arrests US-wanted FARC rebel

The Colombian intelligence service, DAS, has captured a suspected member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who is on Washington's 'terrorist list'.

Maribel Gallego Rubio, nicknamed "Maritza," was arrested in Bogota in a joint operation by DAS and the Interpol, EFE reported on Monday.

DAS said that its investigations show that Maritza had contact with “the FARC secretariat” and acted as the “logistics coordinator” for “acquisition of cutting-edge technical equipment, such as satellite telephones, scanners and computers.” It did not provide any details on the date of her arrest.

Maritza, who is allegedly affiliated with the FARC's top brass, used to play the role of a broker between US equipment suppliers and the Colombian rebels, DAS claims.

A Washington-based federal court has been seeking Maritza's extradition on charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization.

Established in 1964, the FARC is the largest leftist insurgent group in Colombia.

The rebel organization has an estimated 8,000 to 17,000 fighters operating across a large swath of the Andean nation.

The Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has placed the destruction of FARC at the top of his administration's agenda. It has obtained billions in US funds for counterinsurgency operations.

Houthis vow retaliation against 'Saudi Arabia'

Houthi fighters in Yemen have vowed to retaliate against Saudi Arabia, should Riyadh continue to allow Sa'ana to use its soil for attacks on the fighters' strongholds.

In a statement received by AFP on Monday, the fighters said that Saudi Arabia has "allowed Yemeni army to use a Saudi base in Jabal al-Dukhan from which it launched attacks."

They also called on Riyadh not to allow "the Yemeni army to use its territories to attack us, because we would be otherwise forced to retaliate."

The fighters had earlier accused the Saudi Arabia of planning to form a militia to fight them on both sides of the Saudi-Yemeni border.

Yemen, however, dismissed the allegations as "mere fabrications that have always been repeated by the rebels."

"They are trying to bring Saudi Arabia into the problem ... Jabal al-Dukhan is a Yemeni area," said a Yemeni official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.

The fighters, led by Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, have been engaged in fierce fighting with the government since August 11, when the army launched 'Operation Scorched Earth' on the northern provinces.

The government accuses fighters of seeking to restore a religious leadership in the northern areas that was overthrown in 1962.

The Houthis, however, say they only seek more autonomy, a halt in the alleged Saudi-backed efforts to cause regional insecurity and to impose Wahabism in the region as well as an end to discrimination against their people.

The fighting has so far displaced thousands of civilians, while tens of thousands of others remain at risk as winter approaches.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=110256§ionid=351020206.

MEDIA CENSORSHIP ISRAEL’S LATEST PLAN

November 1, 2009

The plot begins first in London England and will continue throughout the world, in each country, if it is successful in England:

"If the Jewish people have one reservoir that will never run out, it’s lawyers. Every Western capital boasts at least five successful Jewish law firms, and most of them will be glad to represent the State of Israel."

Israel’s ambassador in London, Ron Prosor colludes with Jewish Lawyers to sue any and all news outlets that refer to Israelis as "War Criminals" or anything else deemed offensive by Zionists. In a recent meeting at his London home, the plot was discussed and agreed upon.

"Just like they threaten to sue IDF officers, we need to sue them. Every journalist who refers to us as "war criminals" or "child killers" needs to know that the next day his newspaper will be slapped with a million pound lawsuit on behalf of the State of Israel"

In each and every country they will use a team of Jewish Lawyers to file numerous nuisance lawsuits in an attempt make the newspapers and media grow weary of having to testify in so many suits. Also, they will use one newspaper against the other in their plot, appealing to the cut throat business of selling papers. I would hope that ALL newspapers would forgo greed and band together to protect "Freedom of the Press" or else they ALL Fail. Read the plot below:

We sat in the small and well-kept backyard at the home of Israel’s ambassador in London, Ron Prosor. The conversation focused on the British media’s takeover by anti-Israel elements.

He spoke of the way he is being welcomed by pro-Palestinian protesters every time he arrives for a lecture at a British university. (it's called freedom of speech!)

You need to read some of the things they write about us here, he sighed. I don’t even know how to start responding to them. (It's called Freedom for the Press!)

Don’t respond, I said. Sue them.

Just like they threaten to sue IDF officers, we need to sue them. Every journalist who refers to us as "war criminals" or "child killers" needs to know that the next day his newspaper will be slapped with a million pound lawsuit on behalf of the State of Israel.

Newspapers don’t like lawsuits, I said. It takes time, it costs money, the paper’s insurance company raises their premium, stockholders are wondering why they got into this mess to begin with, and the editor in chief is infuriated after he discovers that he needs to waste two days on testifying in respect to an article that he didn’t even read.

The press won’t come out against us? Prosor asked.

There is no such thing as "the press," I said. This is the most competitive profession in the world, and everyone is just waiting to see the others fall. Do you really think that The Independent cares whether we sue The Guardian? They’ll be happy about it.

And who will represent us? Asked someone else.

Him, I gestured at the lawyer sitting with us, and a hundred others like him. If the Jewish people have one reservoir that will never run out, it’s lawyers. Every Western capital boasts at least five successful Jewish law firms, and most of them will be glad to represent the State of Israel against the new anti-Semitism. The lawyer in the group suddenly looked up. It will work, he said. I’m willing to take London upon myself.

Defending the Muslim Student Union

By Hadeer Soliman on Nov. 2, 2009

I was surprised to read in the last issue of the New University a headline that read, “UC Irvine Muslim Student Union Under Investigation.” The article claimed that the MSU was to be investigated – by the FBI no less – for fundraising for Hamas. Call me forgetful, but I don’t recall ever getting that memo. The ludicrousness of this accusation was explained when my eyes fell on a single name – the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA).

The ZOA, an external organization with no official affiliation to UCI, has a long history of attacking organizations that it deems a threat because they do not fall in line with its extreme right-wing stances on the issue of Palestine. Not only has it gone after pro-Palestinian organizations, but it has also attacked pro-Israeli groups that it deems too soft. Recently, ZOA, in a letter to the chief campus counsel at UCI, attacked and defamed the MSU by claiming that it broke university policy as well as fundraised for Hamas. The truth of the matter is that ZOA has been attempting to defame, censor and essentially eradicate the MSU for years now. This is only the most recent attempt to silence the MSU and restrict its constitutional right to freedom of speech, religion and association.

Although this is not the first time the organization has made such claims against the MSU, the complaints continue to receive attention. This is surprising, considering all previous claims the organization made against MSU have been proven to be groundless. In 2004, ZOA claimed that the green stoles MSU members wear during graduation were a symbol of support for Hamas. After a national uproar, independent experts were brought in to mediate the issue and quickly discovered that this was blatantly false. In fact, the stoles had the Shahada – the central creed of Islam, which states that we believe in one God, and that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the final messenger of God – written on them.

Again, about three years ago, the ZOA convinced the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to carry out an investigation of claims on anti-Semitism at UCI. This was yet another tactic to try and smear the name of MSU and label its political stances against the injustices perpetuated by the government of Israel as hate speech. In its report, the investigation by the Office of Civil Rights cleared all counts of anti-Semitism.

Now, it seems the ZOA has gotten even more desperate. In its most recent string of absurd allegations, ZOA refers to an MSU-sponsored event last May featuring British member of Parliament George Galloway. This was part of the MSU’s two-week long series of events aimed at raising awareness about the Palestinian-Israeli issue and empowering students on campus with knowledge about the conflict. ZOA claims that donations made to Viva Palestina, collected through impromptu donation boxes that were passed around at the end of the speech to support Galloway’s humanitarian convoy to legally provide medical aid to Gazans, “may have” monetarily supported Hamas.

This is a clear falsehood and yet another attempt to censor and defame the MSU while stifling any discussion or critique of the nation-state of Israel. Viva Palestina made it explicit, in both speeches given by its representatives and on its Web site, that all donations would be given to humanitarian non-governmental organizations in accordance with US law. The Viva Palestina Web site reads: “Viva Palestina USA intends to remain in full compliance with applicable domestic laws and particularly with the statutes prohibiting the provision of material support and resources to designated terrorist organizations, 18 U.S.C. 2339A-B.”

Viva Palestina also recently issued a statement, which can be viewed on the Web site, confirming that the promises made to donors “were upheld to the highest degree. Every transfer of funds for medical supplies and the purchase of vehicles to be used for humanitarian purposes was well-documented … and the donations were given to a non-governmental consortium in Gaza”.

Despite the MSU’s lawful intent and Viva Palestina’s assurances that it complied with the law, ZOA is directly attacking the MSU, a student group, with yet more false and malicious accusations. It is ironic that of the thousands of individuals and groups who donated money to Viva Palestina, ZOA remains obsessively set on singling out the MSU and smearing its name. As the saying goes, history repeats itself and ZOA is repeating its historical attacks and false allegations in its effort to mute and censor us. If anyone is acting illegally, it is the ZOA, by seeking to discard the very principles of the First Amendment in trying to shut us up and shut us down.

Source: New University.
Link: http://www.newuniversity.org/2009/11/opinion/defending-the-muslim-student-union/.

Israel releases six Hamas MPs

Tel Aviv releases 31 of 60 Hamas elected officials from Israeli prison in recent months.

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Israel on Monday released six Palestinian MPs from the democratically elected Hamas movement who were detained in 2006, officials said.

A seventh MP was freed late Sunday, bringing to 31 the total number of Hamas lawmakers released in recent months, including parliamentary speaker Aziz al-Dweik, who was freed in June.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli Prisons Authority said the six lawmakers were released on Monday because the period of their administrative detention had expired. None of the MPs was charged with anything.

The MPs were among the more than 60 Hamas elected officials, including ministers, deputies and mayors, who were arrested by Israel following the June 2006 capture of Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit by Gaza resistance.

Fifteen of the elected officials remain in custody, according to Palestinian officials.

One of the Hamas MPs freed on Monday said the arrests were part of an Israeli attempt to prevent parliament from functioning and had nothing to do with the capture of Shalit.

"This confirms what we have said, that the campaign of arrests was basically intended to strike the Legislative Council and not for security as Israel had said," freed Hamas MP Mahmud al-Ramahi said.

Hamas won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in January 2006, the first it contested, securing 74 seats in the 132-legislature and routing long-dominant Fatah that got only 45.

Israel frees Hamas ministers

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Israel has released six Hamas Cabinet ministers jailed after Palestinian militants captured an Israeli soldier in Gaza in 2006.

Israeli defense officials say the ministers had just completed their prison terms and their release was not connected to a swap of the captured Sgt. Gilad Schalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The officials spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak with the media.

Israel arrested 45 Hamas lawmakers in the West Bank following Schalit’s capture and convicted them of belonging to an illegal organization. Hamas says 15 remain in prison.

Hamas won control of the Palestinian parliament in 2006 elections, then seized the Gaza Strip in 2007, leading to rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza.

ESA to transfer Tranquility node to NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency says it will transfer ownership of the International Space Station's Tranquility node to the U.S. space agency.

The ceremony marking the ownership transfer is to take place at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. EST.

"Tranquility is a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the station's life support systems," NASA said in a statement. "Attached to the node is a cupola -- a work station with windows on its six sides and top. The module will be delivered to the station during space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission, targeted for launch Feb. 4, 2010."

Officials said Tranquility is the last element of an ESA-NASA barter agreement for station hardware. ESA contributed the node in exchange for NASA's delivery of ESA's Columbus laboratory to the station. Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, built the module.

Israel Releases Hamas Member of Palestinian Legislature

Israel has released one of 15 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council that it is holding in its jails. Hatem Qafisha, 49, and a member of Hamas, was allowed to return to his Hebron home. Qafisha and 14 other law makers were detained by Israeli security forces following the cross-border raid in June 2006 that resulted in the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, ostensibly as bargaining chips to secure Shalit’s release. More than three years later, Shalit remains in captivity and Israel has released a couple of those who were arrested, including the speaker of the legislative council.

Iranian business daily Sarmayeh banned

Iran's leading business daily Sarmayeh has been shut down by the country's press supervisory body.

Sarmayeh's license was revoked on Monday due to 'repeated violations' of Iran's press laws, according to a statement by the media section of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

The paper, owned by former Tehran Stock Exchange director-general Mohammad Hossein Abdo-Tabrizi, was closed after printing 1,151 issues.

Sarmayeh was critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's economic and monetary policies.

The daily's editor Saeed Laylaz was arrested in the aftermath of Iran's June 12 presidential election, on charges of instigating post-vote unrest.

Rival Somali groups fight over British couple

By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN, Associated Press Writer

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Rival pirates and militia groups have fought for control over a British couple held hostage for more than a week, an Islamic militia commander and a local elder said Monday. The couple were not injured in the fighting.

Meanwhile, an American-flagged cargo vessel came under gunfire from suspected Somali pirates but managed to escape, a U.S. Navy spokesman said.

Elders sent local fighters to thwart an attempt by some of the pirates holding the couple to take them to an extremist Islamic group, said a commander of a rival moderate Islamic militia who gave his name only as Ilka'ase.

"We did not want the pirates to use our territory to hold hostages or hand them over to another group. We took up arms with the help of (the moderate Islamic group) Ahlu Sunna Waljama and opposed" the other group, said Hussein Mohamed Kahiye, a clan elder in the central Somali village of Bahdo.

It was not possible to independently verify the reported fight over the British couple. The couple had been held on a ship at sea, but Kahiye said the couple were now in the coastal areas and traveling in two minibuses and an all-terrain vehicle.

A pirate claiming to speak on behalf of the group holding the British couple had said on Saturday that they want a $7 million ransom to release Paul and Rachel Chandler. The British government has said it would not pay a ransom.

The Chandlers were headed to Tanzania in their yacht, the Lynn Rival, when a distress signal was sent Oct. 23. The British navy found their empty yacht last Thursday, and the Chandlers have been in sporadic contact with the British media since.

Also Monday, the MV Harriette was targeted by pirates aboard two skiffs about 360 nautical miles off Mombasa, Kenya, Lt. Nate Christensen said. The pirates — about six in each craft — came within 3 feet (a meter) of the cargo vessel but were unable to board, Christensen said from U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.

No one on the U.S. ship was injured, he said, and o other details of the incident were available from the U.S. Navy, which is part of anti-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa.

The attack came a day after a Norwegian warship clashed with suspected Somali pirates, the European Union's anti-piracy force said.

A statement from the force said a team from Norwegian warship HNOMS Fridjof Nansen on Sunday went to talk to the crew of four fishing boats near Alula, a northeastern Somali coastal village known for piracy.

The crew on the first three boats cooperated but when the Norwegian team approached the fourth boat, shots were fired at them. The team fired in self-defense and retreated to avoid further violence, the statement said.

Alula village head Hareed Issa Omar claimed the Norwegian team fired first, killing a Somali and a Yemeni man — whom he said were fishermen and not pirates.

Norwegian military spokesman John Espen Lien said Monday that Norway was "not able to confirm or deny" allegations by local authorities that two men were killed.

Lien added that the Norwegian navy was escorting a cargo ship transporting U.N. World Food Program food aid to Somalia.

The Horn of Africa nation does not have a navy or coast guard because it has not had an effective central government for 18 years. Warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. They then turned on each other, plunging Somalia into chaos and anarchy and creating the lawlessness that has allowed piracy to flourish off the country's coast.

Pirates attacks in 2009 already have exceeded last year's total off the Horn of Africa, an international maritime watchdog group reported last month.

A total of 306 attacks were reported between January and September, surpassing the 293 incidents recorded throughout 2008, according to a statement released by the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Baghdad International Fair opens its doors

Iraq says its 10-day trade show seeks to establish economic, commercial relations with states.

BAGHDAD - The Baghdad International Fair opened its doors on Sunday for the first time since 2002.

The 10-day trade show follows investment conferences in Washington last month and London in May, with another such meeting due in Berlin this month.

"We hope this fair will help us establish economic and commercial relations with different countries around the world, and we also want to allow our private companies to build links with their foreign counterparts," interim Trade Minister Safaldin al-Safi said at the opening.

Despite an international embargo following Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, some 1,200 companies from 49 countries attended in 2002.

It was inaugurated by then vice-president Taher Yassin Ramadan, who has since been executed.

The fair's buildings were destroyed by aerial bombardment during the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

This year, the 36th time the fair has been held, 396 companies from 32 countries are attending, according to Hashim Mohammed Hatem, head of the government agency that organized the event.

Neighboring Iran has the most companies represented with 60, followed by Turkey with 36. France and Brazil also have a major presence with 35 and 20 firms respectively.

Hatem said that only five companies -- all of them Arab -- attended the first Baghdad International Fair in 1964.

Baghdad Governor Salah Abdul Razzaq said he hoped that each year would see increasing numbers of participants.

Iraq dropped a requirement for participants to pledge to boycott Israel, according to a foreign ministry memo.

The ministry distributed the document dated October 7 to foreign embassies and the Baghdad offices of international organizations, diplomats from two countries confirmed.

"The ministry of foreign affairs... has the honor to inform that Paragraph (45) of the Conditions & Instructions of participating in the 36th Session of Baghdad International Fair, implying that the companies willing to participate in the said Fair are bind to present an 'Israel-boycott document', has been called off," the English-language version of the memo said.

Previously, firms wishing to participate had to sign a document binding them to boycott Israel before their registration was confirmed.

Germany will also host a two-day investment conference for Iraq in Berlin on November 5 and 6, the country's embassy in Baghdad said last month.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=35430.

Yemen rebels advise Saudi to remain impartial

Zaidi rebels accuse oil-rich kingdom of allowing Yemeni army to use its base in Jabal al-Dukhan.

SANAA - Shiite Zaidi rebels in northern Yemen on Monday accused Saudi Arabia of allowing Yemeni forces to use its territory to attack rebel strongholds near the border.

Saudi authorities have "allowed Yemeni army to use a Saudi base in Jabal al-Dukhan from which it launched attacks," the rebels said in an emailed statement.

"We advise the Saudi regime to remain impartial and not allow the Yemeni army to use its territories to attack us, because we would be otherwise forced to retaliate," it added.

The rebels said the alleged Saudi green light amounted to a "flagrant aggression and dangerous intervention."

A Yemeni official swiftly dismissed the charge as "mere fabrications that have always been repeated by the rebels."

"They are trying to bring Saudi Arabia into the problem ... Jabal al-Dukhan is a Yemeni area," he said, asking not to be named.

It is not the first time that Zaidi rebels, also known as Huthis, accuse neighboring Saudi Arabia of aiding the Yemeni army, which launched an all-out offensive on the rebels' stronghold in the Saada region on August 11.

Last month they accused the Saudi forces of firing across the border.

Riyadh has in the past denied the charges.

The Sanaa government, for its part, accuses Shiite Iran of backing the rebels. It announced last week the seizure of five Iranians on a boat loaded with arms in the Red Sea that it said was destined to the rebels.

Hundreds of people have been killed or wounded in the ongoing clashes, and tens of thousands forced to flee their homes, resulting in a humanitarian crisis complicated by a dire shortage of food and other basic necessities.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=35445.

Sudan 'regrets' south leader's independence call

2009-11-02

Khartoum says call for regional independence contradicts peace deal between north, south.

KHARTOUM - The ruling Sudanese National Congress Party said on Sunday it "regrets" a southern leader's call for regional independence in an upcoming referendum, saying it contradicts a peace deal that ended a two-decade civil war.

"My understanding is that these remarks contradict the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, according to which priority must be given to unity," NCP official Mandour al-Mahdi said in a statement reported by official SUNA news agency.

On Saturday, southern leader Silva Kiir said south Sudanese will be "second class" citizens in a united Sudan if they do not vote for independence in the referendum set for 2011.

South north Sudan fought a two-decade civil war that ended in 2005 with a power sharing peace deal that included provisions for a general election in 2010 and a referendum on southern independence a year later.

Meanwhile, Sudanese people began on Sunday to register for the general election, the country's first in 24 years.

Due to be held in April, the ballot comes at a crucial time for Sudan.

"Voter registration has started across Sudan," the head of the elections commission, Al-Hadi Mohammed Ahmed, said.

Sudanese voters have a month to register for the polls and the authorities have set up both fixed and mobile registration centers across Africa's largest country.

"We have set up a calendar (to reach remote areas) and village (tribal) chiefs are aware" of the registration, said Ahmed.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=35432.

Egypt's Gamal Mubarak seeks to succeed father

2009-11-02

Younger son of Egyptian President casts himself as 'man of the people' at party convention.

CAIRO - Gamal Mubarak, younger son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, cast himself as a defender of the poor on Sunday in a speech seen by many as an attempt to hone his prospects of succeeding his father.

The 45-year-old former investment banker heads the powerful policy committee in the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and is widely tipped as the next president, although he has never admitted having presidential aspirations.

Addressing the party convention a day after his father pledged a "clean and free" presidential election in 2011, Mubarak held forth for more than an hour on the NDP's aims in what resembled a stump speech and attacked the opposition as contrarians without any programs.

He detailed the party's social and economic programs and said it will step up efforts to explain its policies to Egyptians.

The NDP "will especially pay attention to the poor, orphans and widows and women," he said.

Despite rampant speculation about his candidacy, Gamal Mubarak left out any mention of whether he would contest the elections, in keeping with his customary silence on the matter.

At a news conference later, he seemed irritated when several journalists asked him whether he would run for president and ducked the questions before saying the elections were still far off.

His father, who is 81, has been Egypt's leader for 28 years but has yet to say whether he will stand again or whether he would support Gamal as a candidate.

Two ministers, including Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, have said recently that Gamal Mubarak is a possible candidate, the closest senior officials have come to suggesting that he would run.

Speculation on the succession and the chattering class's preoccupation with the subject have increased in the wake of such comments and of reports, denied by the NDP, that it was conducting a poll on Mubarak junior's popularity.

Unlike his increasingly reclusive father, who seldom gives news conferences or talks to the media, Gamal Mubarak has been busy touring the provinces, even holding an online conference.

He also has a support group on the social networking site Facebook, although there is no evidence that he is linked to the group, and the NDP has not responded to reports that it financed the effort.

His supporters say he is perfect for the job, and the fact that he is the president's son works against him, they say, because otherwise his credentials would be not be disputed.

The topic raises the hackles of Egypt's opposition groups, which earlier this month launched a campaign against his succession to the presidency.

They have floated alternative candidates, including the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohammed ElBaradei and Arab League chief Amr Mussa, who has not ruled out contesting the election.

Egyptian historian and analyst Muhammed Haykal has suggested including some of these potential candidates in a committee to oversee a peaceful transition of power when Hosni Mubarak steps down at the end of his term in office.

The banned Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's biggest and most popular opposition movement, is not likely to be allowed more freedom to campaign for elections even after Mubarak steps down.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=35428.

The Rise and Rise of Turkey

One way and another, a resurgent Turkey is rewriting the rules of the power game in the Middle East, in a positive and non-confrontational manner. This is one of the few bright spots in a turbulent and highly-inflammable Middle East, says Patrick Seale.

It is generally accepted that America’s destruction of Iraq overturned the balance of power in the Gulf, opening the way for the Islamic Republic of Iran to emerge as a major regional power, able to challenge the dominance of Sunni Arab states and pose as a rival to both Israel and the United States.

Its influence has spread to Iraq itself -- now under Shi ‘a leadership -- and beyond to Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and even perhaps to Zaidi rebels in northern Yemen fighting the central government in Sana‘a, a development which has aroused understandable anxiety in Saudi Arabia.

However, the Iraq War has had another important consequence which is also attracting serious notice. America’s failure in Iraq -- and its equal failure to tame Israel’s excesses -- has encouraged Turkey to emerge from its pro-American strait-jacket, and assert itself as a powerful independent actor at the heart of a vast region which extends from the Middle East to the Balkans, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The Turks like to say that whereas Iran and Israel are revisionist powers, arousing anxiety and even fear by their expansionism and their challenge to existing power structures, Turkey is a stabilizing power, intent on spreading peace and security far and wide.

Turkey is extending its influence by peaceful diplomacy rather than by military force. It is also forging economic ties with its neighbors, and has offered to mediate in several persistent regional conflicts. It has, however, not hesitated to use force to quell the guerrilla fighters of the PKK, a radical movement fighting for Kurdish independence.

But even here, Turkey is now using a softer approach. PKK rebels have been offered an amnesty and Turkey’s influential Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has this past week paid a historic visit -- the first of its kind -- to the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. There is even talk of Turkey opening a consulate in Erbil.

In recent years, Turkey’s diplomacy has scored many successes, winning great popularity in the Arab world and strengthening Turkey’s hand in its bid to join the European Union. Some people would go so far as to argue that there is no future for Turkey without the EU, and no future for the EU without Turkey.

Turkey’s dynamic multi-directional foreign policy started to take shape when the AKP came to power in 2002, under its leaders Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Abdullah Gül, now President of the Turkish Republic. These men are rightly considered to be conservative and moderately Islamic -- their wives wear headscarves -- but they are careful to stress that they have no ambition to create an Islamic state. Turkey’s population may be largely Muslim, but the state itself is secular, democratic, capitalist and close to both the West and the Arab and Muslim world. Indeed, Turkey sees itself as a bridge between them, vital to both.

Ahmet Davutoglu is the man credited with providing the theoretical framework for Turkey’s new foreign policy. He was Erdogan’s principal adviser before being promoted Foreign Minister.

Two visits this past October may serve to illustrate Turkey’s activist foreign policy. Prime Minister Erdogan, accompanied by nine ministers and an Airbus full of businessmen, visited Baghdad, where he held a joint session with the Iraq government and signed no fewer than 48 memoranda in the fields of commerce, energy, water, security, forestry, the environment and so forth.

At much the same time, Foreign Minister Davutoglu was in Aleppo where he signed another 40 agreements with Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallim, of which perhaps the most important was the removal of visas, allowing for a free flow of people across their common border.

Turkey also broke new ground in October by signing two protocols with Armenia, providing for the restoration of diplomatic relations and the opening of the long-closed border between them. Not surprisingly, Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan has strongly objected to this development, since it is locked in conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-populated pocket of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenian forces.

Indeed, Turkey’s protocols with Armenia are unlikely to be fully implemented until Armenia withdraws from at least some of the districts surrounding Karabakh – but, at the very least, a historic start has been made towards Turkish-Armenian reconciliation.

From the Arab point of view, the most dramatic development has undoubtedly been the cooling of Turkey’s relations with Israel, which had been very close since 1996, especially in the field of defense industries and high-tech weapons. The relationship has been damaged by the outrage felt by many Turks at Israel’s cruel oppression of the Palestinians, which reached its peak with the Gaza War.

Even before the assault on Gaza, Prime Minister Erdogan -- a strong supporter of the Palestine cause -- did not hesitate to describe some of Israel’s brutal actions as “state terrorism.” A total breach between the two countries is unlikely, but relations are unlikely to recover their earlier warmth so long as Israel’s hard-line Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his racist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman remain in power.

Underpinning Turkey’s diplomacy is its central role as a unique energy hub linking oil and gas producers in Russia and Central Asia with energy-hungry markets in Europe.

One way and another, a resurgent Turkey is rewriting the rules of the power game in the Middle East, in a positive and non-confrontational manner. This is one of the few bright spots in a turbulent and highly-inflammable Middle East.

Palestinian PM: new strategy for statehood

Salam Fayyad seeks Palestinian independence without relying on US-backed negotiations.

RAMALLAH, West Bank - At a time when Middle East peace appears as distant as ever, Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad has a new strategy for statehood, one that does not rely on US-backed negotiations.

"It's a construction agenda, not a destruction agenda. It's an agenda that is all based on the notion of building positive facts on the ground," Fayyad told AFP in an interview.

His plan is unaffected by what he sees as the failure of the peace process after 16 years of on-off talks or by Palestinian objections to any resumption without a freeze on growth of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.

"We want to make peace, not only just talk about it, but 16 years into this, time and again, we hit this snag of things not moving forward because ultimately it's up to the occupying force to end the occupation," he said, referring to failed talks stretching back to the 1993 Oslo accords.

"It's time to have that basic, fundamental concept revisited."

He aims to build the institutions of a viable Palestinian state by 2011 regardless of whether any progress is made in talks with occupying Israel.

Fayyad insists his programme is not, as Israeli critics allege, a plan to unilaterally declare statehood, but to create "facts on the ground" that will force the international community to demand Palestinian independence.

"Contrast that with what Israel is doing," he adds, referring to the settlements.

On Saturday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on both sides to return to the negotiating table and said the Palestinians' insistence on a complete settlement freeze, initially backed by Washington, should not be a precondition for the relaunching of talks suspended during the Gaza war.

Few expect Israel's hardline Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give further ground on illegal settlements in the absence of US pressure, but Fayyad says the beauty of his programme is that it can proceed either way.

His government is determined to adhere to the Palestinians' own obligation to halt violence through an ambitious two-year-old West Bank security crackdown involving hundreds of US-trained troops that has won praise from the international community, including Israel.

The former World Bank economist has also reformed Palestinian finances, securing billions of dollars in pledged international aid and launching development projects across the occupied West Bank.

And he has a scheme for ensuring that vast areas of the West Bank that Israel hopes to keep, known as Area C, become part of a future Palestinian state, not by haggling over them at the negotiating table but by building on them, just as Jewish settlers have done for more than 40 years.

"Area C is not disputed territory, it is occupied territory, and the Israelis have to relinquish control," he says. "It's an integral part of where the Palestinian state is going to emerge."

Meanwhile, Fayyad hopes that the international community, not just the United States, will eventually compel Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Palestinian territories Israel illegally occupied during its 1967 war against its neighbors.

"International requirements are not recommendations, just as a red traffic light is not a recommendation to stop," he says.

That should begin with the Middle East Quartet -- the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia -- insisting on a settlement freeze, as they did earlier this year, Fayyad says.

"The entire community of nations was right in considering that there has to be a much higher standard of accountability," he said.

"There has to be fulfillment of these obligations in order for the political process to succeed where the previous rounds failed."

It is far from clear whether Fayyad, an independent technocrat with a tiny political following, can shepherd his plan across the widening rift between the main Palestinian political powerhouses Hamas and Fatah.

Democratically elected Hamas has never accepted Fayyad, who was appointed prime minister by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the wake of the resistance movement's June 2007 Gaza takeover.

And Abbas has called for presidential and parliamentary elections for January, which could widen the already bitter divide and spell the end of Fayyad's term as prime minister.

Fayyad insists, however, that his programme enjoys the support of the Palestinian people, with whom he has been meeting in recent months in near-daily visits to towns, villages and refugee camps across the West Bank.

Iran warns pilgrims not to carry narcotic medicine

Iranian officials report 190 Umrah pilgrims have been arrested in Saudi Arabia for carrying narcotics during their pilgrimage.

“Around 1,000 Iranian nationals had been arrested at the Iranian borders prior to their Umrah pilgrimage for holding narcotics medications,” Deputy Secretary General of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Drug Control Headquarters said.

“A total of 190 Umrah pilgrims remain imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for holding such medications,” Taha Taheri added.

“Hajj is about to start in a matter of a month. Pilgrims must obey rules and avoid holding narcotic medications such as Codeine, Methadone, and Tramadol,” he continued.

Iran has been trying to free the imprisoned pilgrims. Iranian officials have also criticized the Saudi government for failing to provide Iranian pilgrims with security during their travels in Saudi Arabia.

The fate of an Iranian national, Shahram Amiri, who went missing in Saudi Arabia nearly five months ago, still remains unclear.

Amiri, a researcher at Tehran's Malek Ashtar University, traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca in June. He contacted his family three days after his arrival in the kingdom but has been missing ever since.

Saudi officials have failed to provide Iran with a convincing explanation.

The Umrah Hajj is very much similar to the main Hajj, except that it can be undertaken at any time of the year. Around 100,000 Iranians are awaiting to make the main Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca this year.

New research from Japan: Green tea fights blood and liver cancer, as well as pneumonia

(NaturalNews) Three new studies by Japanese scientists add even more evidence to what already is an astounding mountain of data showing green tea protects and heals the human body. All of the research is based on findings from the huge Ohsaki National Health Insurance Cohort Study in Japan which involved 41,761 Japanese adults between 40 and 79 years of age. None of the research subjects had a history of cancer when the study started and their diets, along with other lifestyle factors and any health problems they developed, were followed for about ten years.

In a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, Dr. Toru Naganuma of Tohoku University School of Medicine in Senda and colleagues reported that drinking at least five daily cups of green tea was found to slash the risk of blood cancers by 42% and lymph system cancers by 48%. What's more, these enormous reductions in cancer were consistent in both men and women and in people with various body mass sizes.

While Dr. Naganuma was looking at blood and lymph cancer rates, another research team in the Division of Epidemiology in Tohoku University's Department of Public Health and Forensic Medicine was also searching the Ohsaki National Health Insurance Cohort Study and they discovered yet another link between green tea and cancer prevention. Their study, published in the September issue of the journal Cancer Causes and Control found that green tea consumption was inversely associated with the incidence of liver cancer. The study documented that the more green tea consumed, the more the risk plummeted -- five cups or more offered the most protection from liver malignancies.

Yet another study of the Ohsaki data by scientists at the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, published in the September edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found a strong link between drinking green tea and protection against pneumonia in women. The researchers noted in their paper that experimental and animal studies have previously shown that catechins, antioxidant phytochemicals found abundantly in green tea, are active against infectious agents -- so that could be a possible explanation for green tea's apparent pneumonia-fighting ability.

They excluded any research participants who were missing information on their green tea consumption or who had reported a history of cancer, heart attack or stroke. In all, the scientists followed the research subjects' health for over 12 years. The results showed, at least for women, a dramatic reduction in the risk of pneumonia for green tea drinkers. Once again, drinking five or more cups a day appeared to offer the most benefit.

Source: NaturalNews.
Link: http://www.naturalnews.com/027379_green_tea_cancer_blood.html.

Karzai declared Afghan president

Mon Nov 2, 2009

Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission has declared Hamid Karzai as the country's president after the cancellation of a presidential run-off.

The IEC announced in a Tuesday press conference that there will be no presidential run-off after the withdrawal of Abdullah Abdullah, the only challenger to the incumbent Hamid Karzai.

On Sunday, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah dropped out of the November vote, citing fears of widespread fraud, which discredited the first round, would be repeated.

Abdullah had called for the dismissal of the head of the IEC head, Azizullah Lodin, accusing him of rigging the vote in favor of Karzai.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/110245.html.

Pirates lower ransom for captured British yacht couple

London/Nairobi (Earth Times - dpa) - Somali pirates holding an abducted British yachting couple have lowered their ransom demand for the pair's release, it was reported Sunday. Having originally told the BBC by telephone on Saturday that Paul and Rachel Chandler, aged 59 and 55, would only be released after 7 million dollars had been handed over, the group have now changed their demand.

Instead they have told the BBC they will accept 110,000 euros (163,000 dollars).

The pirates also warned military powers in the area of the Somali coast and in the Indian Ocean not to attack or try to rescue the couple.

"If they do nothing to us, we will do nothing to them," the group told the BBC.

The Chandlers were seized from their boat, the Lynn Rival, on October 23 by armed men, and the yacht was later found abandoned in international waters.

On Saturday, a spokesman for the British government rejected the demands, saying, "The government isn't going to make any substantive concessions to hostage-takers, and that includes the payment of ransom."

The pirate said the money was partly in compensation for the damage caused by NATO-led anti-piracy operations off the Somali coast.

"They have destroyed a lot of equipment belonging to the poor local fishermen," he said.

Somali Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke said in London that his government was attempting to make contact with the pirates, to explain to them that the couple did not have that amount of money.

Piracy is rife off the Horn of Africa nation, which has not had an effective central government since 1991.

Young men take to the seas in search of multimillion-dollar ransoms despite the presence of over a dozen international warships, which were dispatched to the Gulf of Aden last year to combat a rise in piracy.

The pirates have expanded their operations further out into the Indian Ocean to avoid the patrols.

In the last few weeks, pirates have seized a Chinese cargo ship with 25 crew members, a Spanish fishing boat with 36 crew onboard and a Panamian cargo vessel carrying 26 seamen.

Muslim Tatars Dream of Crimea Mosque

Fri. Oct. 30, 2009

CAIRO — Despite efforts by Muslim Tatars to have a mosque in the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula, the cherished dream is dying down on the rock of political differences in the eastern European country.

“Everyone realizes that their opposition doesn’t make sense, because they had already given us permission,” Muslim leader Refat Chubarov told The New York Times on Friday, October 30.

“Behind the scenes, they are saying: ‘Crimea is Russian Orthodox land. If they want to build a mosque, they should build it where no one can see it.’ "

The government gave permission to Muslim Tatars in 2004 to build the mosque in 22 Yaltinskaya Street in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea.

But the project stalled by the Simferopol local council on claims of opposition from locals.

“The mosque will be built, but only after taking into consideration the views of the public,” said Simferopol’s mayor, Gennady Babenko.

He said that the city council has suggested other sites for building the mosque.

The mosque plans are vehemently opposed by ethnic Russians, who make up the majority of the Simferopol residents.

They fear that the mosque would signal the revival of Muslim Tatars, who were brutally expelled from Crimean by former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

The Tatars, who have inhabited Crimea for centuries, were deported in May 1944 by Stalin, who accused them of collaborating with the Nazis.

The entire Tatar population, more than 200,000 people, was transported in brutal conditions thousands of miles away to Uzbekistan and other locations. Many died along the way or soon after arriving.

The Soviets confiscated their homes, destroying their mosques and turning them into warehouses. One was converted into a Museum of Atheism.

It was not until perestroika in the late 1980s that most of the Tatars were allowed back, a migration that continued after Ukraine became independent with the Soviet collapse in 1991.

More than 250,000 Tatars now live in Crimea, about 13 percent of its population of 2 million people.

The Tatars’ return has repeatedly touched off legal clashes over restitution of land and property, much of which is now owned by ethnic Russians.

Cherished Dream

Muslim leaders blame political forces for blocking their dream to have a mosque in the peninsula.

“There are many, many political forces that want the strains to remain,” Mustafa Dzhemilyov, chairman of the Tatar legislative council, said.

“I am referring to the Russian-speaking and Russian separatist organizations, which are supported by and fed by the government of Russia.”

Some groups in Crimea are demanding to secede from Ukraine to region Russia.

Crimea was transferred by Nikita S. Khrushchev, then the Soviet leader, to Ukraine in 1954, a move then thought to be a formality, since it remained in the Soviet Union and was populated mostly by ethnic Russians.

Tatars have better ties with the Ukrainian government, and are often seen by ethnic Russian nationalists in Crimea as Kiev’s proxies.

The three sides jockey for power on the peninsula, and the mosque has been one focal point.

Hoping to see their dream fulfilled, every Muslim Tatar in Crimea has brought a piece of brick to build the mosque.

“From each Muslim, one stone,” said Chubarov, the Muslim leader.

As the deadlock still remains, the mosque site has turned into a mountain of limestone pieces, with Muslims still waiting for a way-out.

Source: Islam Online.
Link: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1256909557221&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout.

Iraqi parties form new coalition

October 31, 2009

Two leading Iraqi secular political blocs have joined forces to run in January's general elections.

The mainly Shia National Accord Movement and the Sunni National Dialogue Front announced in a statement on Saturday that they will now form the new Iraqi National Movement.

The new group said that its aim is to create a political environment that attempts to end sectarianism, promote better state institutions and stop neighboring countries' influence in Iraq - especially that of Iran.

They also said that the objective of the new coalition is to build the armed forces as part of a framework to impose the law.

Iyad Allawi, the former Iraqi prime minister, is the secretary general of the National Accord Movement.

Challenging al-Maliki

Jasim Azawi, who presents Al Jazeera's 'Inside Iraq' program, said: "This is significant but it is not major news.

"Because initially the alliance that was supposed to have been launched several weeks back was supposed to have included a few other political parties.

"This is a question of a little bit too late, and I wonder whether they will be able to cut the momentum of the prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, who did very well in provincial elections earlier this year. This is meant to challenge him."

Awazi said that the coalition was appealing to Iraqi nationalism.

"They are trying to appeal to the liberals and the seculars, and more importantly the unrepresented Iraqi Ba'athists."

Iraq is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on January 16, but there is growing fear that the vote could be delayed due to legislators' inability to pass a revised election law.

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=59595&s2=01.

Iran students plan return to street protests

Saeed Kamali Dehghan

Huge demonstration will defy Ahmadinejad on 30th anniversary of US embassy takeover

November 1, 2009

Students across Iran are planning to lead a huge day of protest this week against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime, in a defiant commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the US embassy takeover by radical students in Tehran.

Thousands of green flyers and posters, drawn by anonymous artists, are circulating on the internet, inviting ordinary Iranians to join the student protests, planned for Wednesday.

Organizers have condemned the repressive measures taken by Ahmadinejad's government since the disputed election results of the summer, which gave the Iranian president a second term and led to unprecedented demonstrations on the streets of Tehran and elsewhere. Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi appeared to back the protests yesterday, posting a statement on a reformist website. Mousavi said he would press ahead with his efforts for political change.

Referring to the Iranian date of the seizing of the US embassy in 1979, Mousavi said: "The 13th of Aban is a... rendezvous so we would remember anew that among us it is the people who are the leaders."

Iran's police chief, Ismail Ahmadi-Moghadam, has warned demonstrators to stay off the streets, but activists predict one of the biggest days of protest since the height of the green marches.

A student of civil engineering at Amir Kabir University in Tehran, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "The officials are very afraid of the student movement, that's why they are preparing to crack down on 4 November. The protests in Iran have not cooled off, they're just beginning."

Iran's students were on vacation during the failed "Green Revolution" of June, when hundreds of thousands of protesters attempted to overturn the official election result, which gave Ahmadinejad a crushing victory over Mousavi.

But in recent months, despite the high-profile presence on campuses of security police, universities have become centres of underground protest and organization. Dissent has also been expressed in schools. One teacher in a Tehran school told the Observer that such gestures of rebellion were widespread.

"It is amazing," he said, asking not to be named. "In the school where I'm teaching, students show their opposition in any way that they can find, whether it's by wearing a green wristband, green shirt, doing homework in green pen or writing slogans in toilets, on their desk or on the blackboard."

In an interview published on the Amir Kabir University student news website, Morteza Simiari, a leader of Iran's Student Organization, Tahkim Vahdat, said: "The students who are protesting in universities today are the people who were out there in the streets in June and July and were mistreated. Universities are part of society and what is happening now shows that people do not believe the results in the election."

Authorities have closed 235 schools in Kashan, in the province of Isfahan, until Saturday, ostensibly as the result of a swine flu scare, although no cases of the virus have been reported.

Since the beginning of the academic year in Iran, students in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Karaj, Qazvin and other provincial cities have all held protests against the election results. Hundreds of students have as a result been summoned before disciplinary boards, some have been imprisoned and at least 20 expelled.

Government officials visiting universities have received stormy receptions. On 4 October, Mohammad Javad Larijani, a close ally of Ahmadinejad, visited Sharif University, where he was confronted by students shouting "Death to the dictator" and chanting in favor of Mousavi.

In Tehran, the private Azad University has been a hotbed of unrest, according to students. "Azad university protests were huge, so they [the authorities] used tear gas and wielded batons to calm down the situation," said one of the Azad protesters. "They bussed in militia from other universities. Recently 14 of us have been banned from class."

Netanyahu savors victory after US drops demand

By Yana Dlugy

AFP, November 1, 2009

JERUSALEM — Israel's premier savored a victory on Sunday after Washington hailed his "unprecedented" position on settlements and backed his call for peace talks to resume without the construction freeze sought by the Palestinians.

"There is no question that the United States are our staunchest friends and that Israel's firm stance on its positions pays off," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon happily told public radio on Sunday.

Speaking before the weekly cabinet meeting, Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz proclaimed: "The US administration understands what we have always said -- that the real obstacle to negotiations are the Palestinians."

The Israelis had reason to be glib.

In a joint news conference held, unusually, before talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed for negotiations to be restarted as soon as possible, despite the Palestinian insistence -- which Washington backed only a few months ago -- that Israel must first put a stop to all settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.

"What the prime minister has offered in specifics of a restraint on the policy of settlements... is unprecedented," Clinton said at Saturday's press conference, adding that "there has never been a pre-condition, it's always been an issue within negotiations."

It marked a sharp easing of tone on the thorny issue. In May, following US President Barack Obama's first meeting with Netanyahu, Clinton had said that Obama "wants to see a stop to settlements. Not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions."

Israeli analysts said the change of tone came after Washington realized that its main ally would just not give in on settlements, supported by the vast majority of the electorate of Netanyahu's right-leaning government.

"The initial American position was totally unrealistic," said Ephraim Inbar, a political analyst with the right-leaning Bar-Ilan University. "They finally understood that this is what they can get and no more."

But the Palestinians warned the change in focus was bound to doom Washington's wider goal of getting a peace agreement to end their decades-old conflict.

"Israel should not be given any excuse to continue building settlements," said Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas' spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina. "This is the main obstacle in the way of peace."

Clinton's comments marked "a huge disappointment for the Palestinians with respect to the Obama administration," said Ziad Abu Zayyad, co-editor of the Palestine-Israel Journal and a former Palestinian minister and legislator.

"The Obama administration has proven once again that it is no different from previous administrations, because it will support whatever Israel accepts and will not support what Israel does not accept."

Clinton's visit came after months of shuttle diplomacy by US Middle East envoy George Mitchell failed to get Israelis and Palestinians to agree to resume peace negotiations that were suspended during the Gaza war at the turn of the year.

The Palestinians argue a settlement freeze is not their precondition but an obligation Israel undertook when it signed on to the 2003 international roadmap for peace plan.

Having watched the number of Israeli settlers more than double since the start of the Oslo peace process, the Palestinians argue negotiating without a freeze is pointless since during the talks Israel creates new facts on the ground that effectively eat away at the promised Palestinian state.

Abu Zayyad said the Palestinians cannot partake "in negotiations over land when Israel is changing the land and building on it and is deciding before the fact what the results of the negotiations will be."

"There is no point in continuing the negotiations while the settlements continue," he said. "If settlement activity is permitted then the negotiations will be absurd, without value, without justification and without results."

Lebanese Communist Party marks 82nd anniversary of its founding

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -PFLP

PFLP, November 1, 2009

The Lebanese Communist Party celebrated the 82nd anniversary of its founding with a popular festival in the city of Baalbek on October 29, 2009. Comrade Samir Lubani (Abu Jaber), a member of the Central Committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, joined the celebration along with a large PFLP delegation.

Dr. Khaled Hadadeh, General Secretary of the Lebanese Communist Party, spoke at the event, alongside Comrade Lubani and a number of speakers from civil and social institutions in Lebanon. Dr. Hadadeh addressed the party's founders and martyrs, describing their determination to struggle and their commitment to freedom in Palestine and Lebanon. He emphasized the importance of combating sectarianism in Lebanon, saying that a citizen has rights, not as a Sunni or Shi'a or Druze or Christian, but as a citizen of a homeland rather than a union of sects.

He addressed the Israeli threats on Lebanon, saying that these threats only confirm the continued danger to Lebanon posed by Israel, and that the sectarian system places Lebanon at great risk to the enemy. He called for a national democratic solution that can resolve the national crisis and support resistance to the occupation and to the enemy's threats.

Comrade Lubani saluted the LCP on its anniversary, saying that the Party has made its mark in various walks of life in Lebanon, through the culture of the party, its solidarity, its great intellectuals in the world of culture and thought, its giants of the workers' movement, its participation in addressing the Arab society with political and cultural magazines and newspapers, developing the level of thought and the level of society.

Comrade Lubani continued, discussing the LCP's constant role in defense of poor and oppressed peoples and its role in developing a class analysis of the enemy and in confronting capitalism, as well as in its analysis and confrontation of sectarianism. He recalled the experience of joint struggle between the PFLP and the LCP in the National Resistance Front, confronting the enemy, and the sacrifices of the LCP for Lebanon, Palestine and the Arab people.

He stated the pride of the Front in its relationship with the LCP, saying that they provided an environment of militancy and intellectual vitality and produced heroes and leaders, such as George Habash, George Hawi, Ghassan Kanafani, Hussein Marwa and Abu Ali Mustafa.

Comrade Lubani celebrated the courage of LCP members in the prisons of the enemy and drew attention to the case of Comrade Ahmad Sa'adat, the General Secretary of the PFLP, inside the occupation jails, sentenced to 30 years, who continues to refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the occupation or its counterfeit court, saying that as the Front celebrated the LCP's founding anniversary, it also renewed its solidarity with Comrade Sa'adat.

He concluded with a review of the Palestinian situation, stressing the importance of Palestinian national unity to confront the occupation, as well as the Palestinian situation in Lebanon, emphasizing the importance of rebuilding the destroyed Nahr el-Bared refugee camp and securing civil, social and human rights of Palestinians in Lebanon. He saluted the LCP's struggle to unite progressive forces in the fight for freedom, justice and progress.

Miliband begins Moscow visit to mend ties

David Miliband has begun his trip to Russia, the first by a British foreign secretary to the country in five years, which is described as a bid to reset ties.

Shortly after arriving in Moscow on Sunday, Miliband met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, for dinner and informal talks, ahead of a further meeting on Monday.

Discussions are expected to cover Iran, the Middle East and Afghanistan.

During his two-day visit, Miliband is seeking to mend ties damaged by the alleged poisoning in London of Kremlin critic, Alexander Litvinenko, in November 2006.

Relations between Britain and Russia took a turn for the worse after Moscow refused London's requests to extradite the chief suspect in the murder case, Andrei Lugovoi.

As the row rumbled on, Russia ordered the closure of British Council offices due to tax irregularities.

The situation worsened further when disputes over the ownership of Russian-British oil giant, TNK-BP, erupted, resulting in an unprecedented degradation in ties between the Kremlin and Whitehall.

Even though British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown has spoken frequently with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at international summits, it has been five years since the last British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, visited Russia.

Ahead of his arrival, Miliband said that the UK still does not always "see eye to eye" with Russia, but acknowledged it is a world power and an important trading partner.

US forces set up radar in Iraq to spy on Iran

The US military has finished erecting an advanced radar system in Iraq to monitor the border with Iran, Syria and Turkey, a report says.

The radar system will monitor aircraft and anti-air targets approaching from the borders, several Arabic language news websites reported on Monday, citing comments by unnamed Israeli sources.

The report posted on the Palestinian Maan news website said that the system would transmit information to the Iraqi air force and some of its radar would be connected to the control tower at the Baghdad International Airport.

According to the sources, the radar is a preparatory measure aimed at providing the United States and its allies advanced control capabilities in event of a US military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

The Israeli sources claimed that the system would allow US forces to monitor Iranian military activities that may be targeting Tel Aviv or Turkey.

The idea of Iran attacking its northerly neighbor, Turkey, seems absurd as the two countries enjoy close ties, especially as Ankara has recently been showing increasing aversion toward Tel Aviv.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Iran last week was described by analysts as the start of a new chapter of strong relations between the two states.

When it comes to Israel however, Iran has repeatedly clarified that it would not be the initiator of a new military venture in the region. It has, however, vowed to give crushing response to any form of foreign aggression.

Meanwhile, hawkish Israel politicians and their counterparts in Washington have kept up their war rhetoric against Iran with repeated threats to bomb the country's nuclear installations.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=110243§ionid=351020104.

Blast kills Somali military commander

Mon Nov 2, 2009

A roadside bomb blast in Somalia's semiautonomous northern region has killed four people, including an infantry division commander.

Two remote-controlled bombs were used in the attack that killed senior security officer, Osman Yusuf, in Somaliland, the region's defense minister, Saleban Warsame Guled, said on Sunday.

After the first blast shook the northern Somali town of Lascanood, Yusuf went to the attack site to investigate. A second explosion then occurred, killing the top commander.

Five others were injured in the blast that blanketed the site with shrapnel and smoke.

Lascanood is an area that both Somaliland and the neighboring autonomous state of Puntland, lay claim to.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, which came only days after the opposition group, al-Shabab, threatened to attack the northern region of Somaliland and other countries in the Horn of Africa, including Uganda and Kenya.

Following the threat, Somaliland's leader on Thursday called for war against the al-Qaeda-inspired group.

Unlike the rest of Somalia, Somaliland -- which broke away from Somalia in 1991 -- has been relatively peaceful.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/110219.html.

Iran's Parliament speaker to visit Iraq

As Iran and Iraq set to enhance relations in different fields, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani plans to make a visit to Iraq at the head of a parliamentary delegation.

Larijani's visit will take place on Wednesday at the invitation of Iraqi parliament speaker Iyad al-Samarrai.

The Iranian speaker will hold talks with senior Iraqi authorities on ways to improve bilateral relations and leading regional and international developments.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=110241§ionid=351020101.

Iran, Turkey establish friendship society

The Iran-Turkey Friendship Society has been officially established in Ankara.

At the inaugural ceremony on Sunday, Iran's ambassador to Ankara said that the new institution will help Turkey and Iran enhance their ties in various areas.

Ambassador Bahman Hosseinpour stated that Iranian and Turkish officials have exchanged visits more frequently over the past year than in previous years.

"Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Iran last week was a turning point in the history of Iran-Turkey relations," he said.

The Iranian envoy noted that cultural relations are more important than political and economic relations, and added that when two nations establish cultural bonds, their governments are compelled to improve their political and economic ties.

A number of Iranian and Turkish academics and researchers attended the opening ceremony.

Lack of aircraft hindering Congo mission, UN says

Mon Nov 2, 2009

The UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) is having trouble protecting civilians across the Democratic Republic of Congo because it does not have enough aircraft, a UN official says.

"We are still lacking, I think, 16 military helicopters. And we are still lacking a C-130. We are requesting that from many member states," the Reuters news agency quoted the chief of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Alain Le Roy, as saying during a visit to the Central African nation on Sunday.

Thousands of UN peacekeepers are supporting the Congolese army's efforts to root out Rwandan rebels, who are seen as a root cause of a decade of conflict.

In the eastern Congo, the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and Hutu extremists of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have caused untold suffering for thousands of civilians.

Congo launched an offensive in January against the militias, which have been destabilizing the Great Lakes region for years. Some of the guerrillas even participated in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

The eastern Congo has experienced interminable cycles of violence since the war began in 1998.

The conflict has dragged on for over a decade and left over 5.4 million people dead.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/110211.html.

'Foreign militants on the run in S Waziristan'

Mon Nov 2, 2009

The Pakistani military says hundreds of foreign militants have fled the South Waziristan tribal area as its troops have taken the war to the militants' strongholds.

Pakistani commanders told reporters on a visit to the normally closed conflict area on Sunday that between 600 and 800 foreign militants had been based in and around Kanigurram, a strategic town in South Waziristan.

Kanigurram has been a major "operational center" for foreign militants and a base for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Military sources said the foreigners were mostly Uzbeks but there were also some Chechens, Arabs, and militants of other nationalities.

However, senior Pakistani army officials claim that the militants' back has been broken by the heavy onslaught from jet fighters, helicopters, and artillery over the past few weeks.

"They are on the run," Brigadier Mohammad Ihsan said.

Nearly 30,000 Pakistani army soldiers have been deployed to fight against the militants based in the northwestern tribal area that borders Afghanistan.

Nearly 300 militants and more than 31 Pakistani soldiers have been killed since the operation was launched in the mountainous terrain on October 17.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/110210.html.

Israeli settler confesses to a string of attacks

A West Bank settler has confessed to a string of fatal shootings and bombing attacks in occupied Palestine.

Yaakov Teitel, a 37-year-old immigrant from the US, was arrested by Israeli police in Jerusalem Al-Quds on October 7 and charged with a number of killings and murder plots, including the slaying of two Palestinians.

He began traveling to Israel and the West Bank in the 1990s before immigrating to Israel in 2000.

He confessed to killing two Palestinians - a shepherd in Hebron (al-Khalil) and a taxi driver in East Jerusalem Al-Quds - both in 1997, the Maan news agency reported on Sunday, quoting the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

Teitel also confessed that he carried out a series of bomb attacks, including one that seriously wounded a teenager in the illegal settlement of Ariel and another that lightly wounded liberal Hebrew University historian Zeev Sternhell, the Jerusalem Post reported.

He is also held responsible for an attack on a youth club in Tel Aviv in August in which two people were killed.

Police discovered rifles, handguns, and explosive materials in his home, but they did not find the gun that killed the Palestinians.

Israel derailing peace efforts, Jordan and Egypt say

Mon Nov 2, 2009

Israel is "derailing" peace efforts by building settlements and jeopardizing the identity of Jerusalem Al-Quds and holy places, the leaders of Jordan and Egyptian say.

Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in a joint communique in Cairo, warned on Sunday that Israel's unilateral actions in the occupied Palestinian territories are endangering peace efforts and would ultimately have a "catastrophic" effect on the region.

The two leaders discussed the "catastrophic consequences on the region's stability and security resulting from the failure to seize the current opportunity for making peace," the statement said.

Both leaders stated that Israel should immediately halt its unilateral actions, "particularly the building of settlements and jeopardizing the identity of Jerusalem Al-Quds and holy places," which could only derail the chances for peace.

They also urged the international community to strengthen their efforts to relaunch peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel so that a viable peace can be established in the region.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/110216.html.

Germany seeks Islamic finance

(MENAFN - Arab News) Germany wants to establish itself as a market for financial products that conform with Islamic law, the head of German financial regulator has said.

"We are seeing great interest from investors in Islamic countries, who want to invest their money in Germany according to shariah principles," Bafin president Jochen Sanio said at a conference on Islamic finance in Frankfurt recently.

"We hope to soon welcome the first interested party that wants to start offering these products," Sanio said.

Though no financial institution has made the move so far, Germany's 4.3 million Muslims, mainly from Turkey, represent a market with bigger potential than in any other European country.

Jordan- Al Hussein University facing financial crisis

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Al Hussein University President Ali Hrout on Sunday stressed that the university is going through a "financial crisis", which is hindering its ability to implement several programmes and projects listed in its 2010 budget.

At a press conference yesterday, he noted that despite financial difficulties, the university has succeeded in attracting more students and enhancing the quality of its education.

Hrout dismissed allegations claiming that there are financial and administrative violations at the university.

Jordan 9th best outsourcing destination

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Jordan has ranked 9th among the top 50 global outsourcing destinations in the 2009 A.T. Kearney Global Services Location Index.

The report, titled, "The Shifting Geography of Offshoring", called Jordan a "top performer", noting that "it has solid capabilities in IT and is home to numerous successful outsourcing companies that compete internationally".

A.T. Kearney also highlighted that the Kingdom has "one of the region's most favorable business environments", adding that the falling value of the US dollar has boosted Jordan's competitiveness as the dinar is pegged to the dollar.

According to the report, the ratings were reached by evaluating each country against 43 measurements across three major categories: financial attractiveness, people skills and availability, and business environment.

The report also pointed out that the Middle East and North Africa region is emerging as a major outsourcing destination, noting that: "Home to large, well-educated populations, with low costs and proximity to Europe, the area has the potential to redraw the offshoring map."

In 2004, only two Middle Eastern countries - Turkey and Israel - were included in the report, which now also includes Egypt (ranked 6th), Tunisia (17th), the UAE (29th) and Morocco (30th).

Minister of Information and Communications Technology Bassem Roussan said the A.T. Kearney report "is a testament to the considerable progress Jordan has made over the last few years" in becoming an investment destination, according to a statement from the USAID Jordan Economic Development Programme (SABEQ).

In the statement, Roussan emphasized that the government "will continue to focus on enabling the investment and regulatory environment, as well as building HR capacity as part of an effective partnership with the private sector".

The statement also quoted Laith Al Qasem, SABEQ's chief of party, as expressing the programme's support for the Kingdom's efforts to develop the outsourcing sector, saying: "Outsourcing can provide a large number of good-paying, high-value jobs for Jordanians in this particular sector of the knowledge economy."

Also, a separate study compiled by Global Services Media and strategic advisory firm Tholons noted that Amman is poised to become a major hub for outsourcing within the next few years.

The "Top 50 Global Outsourcing Cities" report, sponsored in part by the Information Technology Association of Jordan, named the capital among its "Top 10 Aspirants".

The list of aspirants includes emerging cities that did not make this year's list, but have the potential to rank among the top 50 in coming years due to "their interest and recent efforts to develop outsourcing industry", according to the Global Services-Tholons report.

By Jonah Shepp

Iraqi parliament: BP oil deal illegal

The Iraqi parliament has expressed concern over what it calls an 'illegal' multibillion-dollar agreement that British company BP is to sign Tuesday with the Iraqi government.

According to a member of the Iraq parliament's oil and gas committee, a number of Iraqi MPs object to the contract awarded to BP and China's CNPC to develop the Rumaila oilfield as they feel such agreements have to be approved by the parliament beforehand.

The Iraqi government rejects the idea, saying that cabinet authorization is enough.

Iraqi lawmakers argue that under this method, there would be no guarantee that upcoming Iraqi governments honor contracts signed by the current cabinet.

"We, in the oil and gas committee, are seeking to meet the British ambassador in Iraq and BP officials to discuss the illegality of the Rumaila oil deal and its detrimental effect on democracy in the country," Jabir Khalifa Jabir, secretary of the oil and gas committee, told Reuters on Sunday.

"BP's willingness to sign the Rumaila contract encourages the oil ministry to violate the constitution," Jabir said.

The Iraqi government announced earlier in October it has ratified a contract with a consortium of British BP and CNPC of China to develop a 17 billion barrel oilfield of Rumaila near Basra.

The deal is considered by some as a significant step for a country that struggles to attract foreign investments in its oil industries.

Iraq has the world's third largest oil reserves, but the current daily production of 2.4m barrels a day is much less than its potential due to a lack of investment because of the violence in the country.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=110233§ionid=351020201.