Kuwaiti premier, ministers to visit Tehran

The Kuwaiti prime minister is expected to make a two-day visit to Tehran to discuss issues of mutual interest.

Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah is to begin his official visit on Saturday at the invitation of Iran's First Vice President Mohammed-Reza Rahimi.

Kuwaiti foreign, oil, finance and commerce ministers will accompany al-Sabah during the official trip.

The visit comes as the Iranian ambassador to Kuwait Ali Jannati said last Sunday that Iran is prepared to settle the dispute with its Persian Gulf neighbor over the continental shelf.

In an interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas, Ali Jannati said that Tehran has always been prepared to hold dialogue with the Kuwaitis on the continental shelf issue.

The ambassador also stated that there have been certain cases of unauthorized vessels crossing into the territorial waters in the Persian Gulf because the maritime borders have not been demarcated in the same way as land borders.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=111705§ionid=351020205.

Fadlallah: Iraqi occupation 'a heinous crime'

Senior Lebanese cleric Seyyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah says the prolonged US occupation in war-scarred Iraq is the fundamental cause of human rights abuses that contribute to widespread corruption and crime in the country.

During a Wednesday meeting in Beirut with a group of Iraqi rights activists, the distinguished Shia cleric translated the US policy of long-term, indefinite occupation of Iraq as the most hideous form of human rights violation, adding that Washington attempts to establish a reputation for Iraq as a hotbed of crime and violence.

"This will not only facilitate easier and better plunder of Iraqi national wealth, but it will also deprive Iraqi officials of the authority to fully implement their sovereign decisions," Fadlallah underlined.

He also emphasized the inevitability of a proper ground for human rights in Iraq on the basis of Islamic and international principles.

Extremist groups, characterized by notions of murder and execution, he said, are planning acts of sabotage to destabilize the country. Iraqis therefore are urged to devise new cultural, political and social structures to place Iraq on a path of progress and “drive occupiers out of their homeland.”

Seyyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, meanwhile, laid special emphasis on the respectful treatment for the Christian minority in Iraq, calling on authorities to keep attempts, bent on sectarian and religious strife, at bay.

'Arctic Sea' finally reaches destination in Algeria

Moscow (Earth Times - dpa) - The "Arctic Sea", the Finnish-owned, Maltese- registered ship believed to have been captured by pirates in early August has reached its destination in Algeria, Interfax news agency reported Thursday. The ship was due to deliver its load of wood worth millions of dollars in early August, but went missing and was only recovered in mid-August off Cape Verde by the Russian navy, which said it had freed it from pirates.

Governments and spy agencies of around 20 countries were involved in investigating the incident. Reports said the "Arctic Sea" might have been carrying radioactive material or weapons, possibly smuggling them to Iran.

Both Russia and the ship owners denied the reports, saying it was only carrying timber.

The freighter was returned to its owners in Malta in late October. The Malta Maritime Authority said then that inspectors had not found dangerous cargo on board the ship after checking it for several hours.

The eight men charged as pirates, most Estonian, are awaiting trial in Moscow. The 15 Russian crew members, who claimed they were tied up and tortured, have returned to their families.

ACLU pushes for release of US torture photos

The American Civil Liberties Union is pressing the US justice system to release the torture photos that demonstrate vicious prisoner abuses by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a recent measure, purportedly to safeguard US national security, the US Department of Defense (DoD) banned the photos, also claiming that they may endanger the lives of American soldiers.

ACLU has stated that it will continue its fight with the government over the release of some 44 additional photos depicting prisoner abuse at the US detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The advocacy organizations have rejected US government reports claiming that the abuses represent a few isolated cases.

"The number of the abuses and the location of the abuses would tend to show that the abuse was systemic and that it was carried out from a policy issued by the officials at the highest level," Jenny Brooke Condon, an ACLU lawyer, told a Press TV correspondent in Washington.

The banned photos, ACLU says, depict prisoner abuses in seven different US detention camps in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The notion that we should withhold evidence of governmental misconduct, precisely because that evidence powerfully documents governmental misconduct, is our attempt to represent a democracy," said Alex Abdo, another ACLU lawyer.

Government documents suggest that some photos show soldiers pointing pistols or rifles at the heads of hooded and handcuffed detainees. Others, described by military reports, show detainees in restraint and humiliating positions.

Referring to the classified documents, Condon reiterated that these are "Photos that essentially would allow the American public to have a fuller picture of the abuses that were committed in the name of the United States."

New IBM biochip can diagnose diseases

Scientists at IBM have demonstrated their latest innovation, a tiny chip based on silicon that could test for diseases with a small sample of a patient's blood.

The silicon chip requires a tiny drop of blood to test for various diseases, including cardiovascular disease.

A tiny drop of serum or blood is drawn through the fast, portable chip and analyzed for the presence of disease markers.

Sets of micron wide channels let the test sample flow through the chip in approximately 15 seconds, several times faster than traditional tests.

The diagnostic device uses capillary force and the tendency of a liquid to travel in narrow tubes under its own force, instead of using pumps.

The micro-fluidic chip, made of a silicon compound that measures 1 x 5cm, catches disease markers which show up under specific types of light.

"We are giving back precious minutes to doctors so they can make informed and accurate decisions right at the time they need them most to save lives," Emmanuel Delamarche, a research scientist at IBM Research in Zurich said.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=111687§ionid=3510210.

Houthis destroy Saudi tanks, Humvees

The Houthi fighters say they have destroyed several Saudi Arabian military vehicles as Riyadh continues targeting Houthis north of Yemen.

The Shia fighters say they have destroyed six Humvees (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) and three tanks in the northern provinces of Omran and Harf Sufyan.

On Wednesday, the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of relentless missile attacks and artillery fire against civilians on the Yemeni soil.

The Saudis reportedly fired over 150 missiles and carried out 18 airstrikes.

Yemeni and Saudi forces have been jointly pounding the Houthis who have taken arms in protest to the Sunni-dominated Sana'a government's repression and discrimination against the country's Shia minority.

Saudi Arabia claims its forces have been striking Yemeni fighters who have taken refuge in its border territory, but the Houthis accuse the Saudi army of bombarding villages deep into the Yemeni soil.

The massive offensive has claimed the lives of large numbers of people, including women and children.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=111670§ionid=351020206.

Lieberman tops Israel corruption index

Opinion polls shows Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman at the top of notorious Tel Aviv officials perceived by the Israeli public as the most corrupt representatives.

The opening session of the Israel-Sderot Conference on Social Issues heard on Tuesday the annual corruption index for 2008, which also showed left-wing Knesset members as the most corrupt, Ynet news website reported.

The report comes months after the police recommended indicting Lieberman on charges of fraud, bribery, money laundering and breach of trust.

Interior Minister Eli Yishai and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz are seen as the second and the third most corrupt respectively, said the corruption index.

Hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat were also among the most corrupt Israeli officials.

Netanyahu's predecessor Ehud Olmert, ranked as one of the most corrupt politicians for years, was not included in this year's survey as he no longer holds an official position.

The index is based on a telephone survey by the Maagar Mochot research institute among 555 respondents.

Ahmadinejad orders search for 'legendary army'

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has tasked Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization (ICHO) to review new findings about an ancient Iranian army which is believed to have been lost in Egypt.

Ahmadinejad's decree came in response to a letter from Hamid Baqayi, the Head of the ICHO, in which he had briefed the President on the latest reports about the issue.

"Over the past days, two Italian archeologists have found some relics, which reportedly belong to the [King] Cambyses' legendary ancient army in Egypt," Fars news agency quoted Baqayi as saying in his letter on Wednesday.

Baqayi had called for contacting Egypt's Interest Section in Tehran to discuss the issue and to form a "panel of experts" to probe the reports.

"All aspects of the recent findings should be reviewed and appropriate information should be provided to the Iranian nation and those people interested in the world," Ahmadinejad said in response to the letter.

"It is expected that the capacities of the national knowledge about the cultural heritage and internationally renowned experts and also the diplomatic capacities would be used," the Iranian President stated.

The 50,000-strong army of the Achaemenian King Cambyses II disappeared in a desert in Egypt in 525 BC. The soldiers are believed to have been buried under a strong sandstorm.

The lack of clues about the lost army had left archeologists confused about the army.

Hamas: Only resistance can free Palestine

Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal has declared 'unity and resistance' as the only ways to reach the goal of a free Palestine.

During an address at a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, Meshaal said on Friday that years of negotiations with the Zionist enemy has proved that the decades-long conflict cannot be settled through talks and that "it is time to fight for our rights".

"Any leader who wants Al-Quds, the right of return for all Palestinians and our land back as well as ending Israeli settlement expansion should know that the path towards these objectives is not through negotiations but through resistance and national unity", Meshaal told Palestinian refugees at Yarmouk Camp on the 22nd anniversary of the founding of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement.

He also called on Arab nations to accept the fact that Israel is seeking the interests of arrogant powers and is not pursuing peace and stability in the region.

The senior Hamas official also criticized the so-called US peace efforts in the region, saying that hopes of obtaining "our rights, which include regaining the land that Israel has occupied since 1967, through the mediation of the White House is an illusion" since Washington has never adopted an unbiased and fair stance towards the Palestinians.

Israeli air force works to prepare for future conflicts: report

Facing a growing anti-aircraft and ballistic missile threat against Israel, the Israel Air Force (IAF) plans to conduct special seminars to prepare pilots and ground crews for future conflicts, local daily The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday.

The seminar will first be held for pilots who, in a future conflict with Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria or Iran, are expected to have to deal with an unprecedented number of surface-to-air missiles, most of them Russian-made, said the report.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, is believed to have a number of shoulder-to-air missiles. Hezbollah is also known to have such missiles and Israel is concerned that Syria may transfer advanced missile systems to the Lebanese group.

The IAF's greatest challenge, though, is in Iran, which is working to obtain the S-300, one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world, said the newspaper.

The S-300 has a reported ability to track up to 100 targets simultaneously while engaging up to 12 at the same time. It has a range of about 200 km and can hit targets at altitudes of 90,000 feet.

The mental preparation will not be limited to pilots, said the report, adding that the seminar will also be held for ground crews stationed at IAF bases, which all currently fall within the range of Hezbollah and Hamas missiles.

"We need to strengthen the human factor in the air force so they are prepared for all these different possibilities," a senior IAF officer was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

In addition, the IAF has recently started using a virtual reality system for its pilots to practice evading heat-seeking missiles, according to the newspaper.

Till now, the IAF has trained its pilots to deal with the anti-aircraft threat by activating its own air defense system and having it lock on to the training fighter jets. This, however, was considered costly and ineffective.

Babies, toddlers may get vaccine shots after trials

China hopes to be among the first countries ready with an A/H1N1 vaccination program for babies and children aged 6 months to 3 years.

The vaccine, which has already been administered voluntarily to around 17 million people in China, is currently unavailable to the under-3s on safety grounds.

But Beijing says it is now ready to start testing its home-grown vaccination on the under-3s in a bid to protect as many people as possible at a time when the pandemic is picking up steam and sickening more and more people nationwide.

Last week alone, the virus killed 28 people across the country.

Trials on babies and children could begin within the week, said Liang Xiaofeng, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s immunization center.

"Experts are scheduled to meet on Thursday (today) to discuss details, such as the dosage and frequency of jabs that would provide children with full immunity against the virus," he told China Daily yesterday.

About 13,000 volunteers took part in the initial trial of the vaccine several months ago but Liang said trials before rolling out the vaccine to the under-3s would likely be on a smaller scale.

The H1N1 vaccination program began in late September. Out of the millions vaccinated so far, two people reportedly died after receiving shots. The government said the deaths were coincidental and not linked to the vaccine.

"The vaccine has proven to be safe and effective," said Zhao Kai, leader of the team of experts responsible for the H1N1 flu vaccine and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

"Most of the 1,000 strong adverse reactions were, in fact, no stronger than a sore arm or a low fever," Zhao said.

Unlike the seasonal flu, which is more likely to strike the elderly, the H1N1 virus has been hitting younger adults and children particularly hard, international studies indicate.

Feng Zijian, director of the emergency response department affiliated to the CDC, told China Daily there have been H1N1 deaths among children under 3 but he declined to give a number.

According to clinical trials in the US, babies and small children would need two doses of the vaccine, instead of the single dose given to adults, because the immune systems of children are less developed.

The Ministry of Health said last week it will soon consider making the vaccine available to pregnant women because they are understood to be particularly vulnerable to the potentially lethal disease.

If they are infected, pregnant women are also at a much higher risk of developing a severe illness and dying, researchers said.

However, Liang said a trial of the vaccine among pregnant women has been ruled out for the moment.

As of Monday, China had reported 69,160 H1N1 cases on the mainland, including 53 deaths.

More than half of the deaths happened between Nov 9 and Nov 15.

China calls for integrated solution to Somali piracy

China on Wednesday called on the international community to work toward an integrated solution to the piracy menace in Somalia.

"An effective fight against Somali piracy still awaits an integrated solution," China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, Liu Zhenmin, told a Security Council meeting.

He noted that China had provided an escort flotilla and other contributions and would continue to cooperate with international efforts.

It was essential, however, that all efforts in that area comply with international law applicable to the sea and maritime commerce, and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of littoral States, particularly Somalia, he said.

In that context, it was crucial to support the return of stability in Somalia, even though political reconciliation had been stagnant, he said.

Liu said that regional states should be supported to help the piracy fight, and regional initiatives should be encouraged.

"We believe that to put an effective end to pirate attacks, the international community should further expand the maritime escort operations and relevant participating countries should also improve their coordination in maritime escort operations," he said.

In this regard, China has proposed that the various naval forces deployed in the waters "define areas of responsibility in order to improve the efficiency of escort operations and to lower the possibility of pirates' succeeding attempts," he added.

Mexico considering space agency to develop astronomy: president

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said on Wednesday that the nation is considering creating a space agency to boost the development of astronomy and space science.

"Right now, the Congress is considering the creation of an aerospace agency, which already has a budget of 122 million pesos (9.38 million U.S. dollars) committed," Calderon said at a ceremony honoring Jose Hernandez Moreno, a Mexican citizen and a doctor in engineering who traveled to the international space station in August as part of a team sent by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Calderon said the money is currently being spent on space-related projects via existing ministries and state-run bodies. In Latin America, Brazil and Costa Rica have well-known space programs. Costa Rica's program is led by a Costa Rican citizen who has traveled into space with NASA.

"During the last two years we have pushed forward scientific investment and aerospace trade in a very determined way," Calderon said, adding that this has helped attract a multi-million-dollar investment by Canadian aerospace firm Bombadier in two Mexican states.

During his speech, Hernandez called on Mexicans to question, be curious and seek out education, citing Brazil's success in aerospace as a possible model.

"If we can develop curiosity, interest in observation, reasoning, the elaboration of important questions and the generation of hypotheses, our children can develop their logical and mathematical abilities," he said.

France advance to World Cup finals

France qualified for the World Cup finals after a controversial 1-1 draw in a playoff second-leg match with Ireland on Wednesday.

In the European zone match, France qualified for their fourth straight World Cup finals after collecting a 2-1 aggregate playoff win.

Captain Thierry Henry appeared to handle the ball twice before feeding Wiliam Gallas, who scored from close range on 103 minutes to give France a 1-1 draw in the return leg at Stade de France.

Ireland captain Robbie Keane had put the visitors in the 32nd minute and leveled the tie at 1-1 on aggregate.

France won the first leg 1-0 at Croke Park on Saturday.

Nigerian wins Miss ECOWAS peace pageant

November 19, 2009

Nigeria's Joy Obasi has emerged the winner of the 2009 Miss Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Peace Pageant, a statement reaching here said on Thursday.

Ngozika beat 22 other contestants to emerge winner of the pageant held on Saturday in southeast Nigeria's Rivers State, the statement said.

The 20-year old beat contestants from 13 other ECOWAS member-states in a keenly-contested pageant to clinch the coveted crown.

She went home with a star prize of a 2009 model of Toyota Corolla car, 5,000 U. S. dollars in cash, an ECOWAS Mantle and other gifts, including a laptop.

The new queen, who is the second of five children and a fourth-year student of Biology at the University of Port Harcourt, said she believed in change.

The first runner-up was Sherilyn Partey of Ghana, who received a cash prize of 3,000 dollars, while Marceline Diop of Senegal got a cash prize of 2,000 dollars for emerging as the second runner-up.

Joy was crowned by the winner of the 2008 Miss ECOWAS Peace Pageant, Miss Fatoumata Diallo, of Senegal.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas, president of the ECOWAS commission, said the role of such pageants as a mechanism for transmitting culture and cementing relations among the people of the region could not be underestimated.

"Culture is undeniably a unifying factor among peoples like us in West Africa with identical cultural values and traits," the statement quoted Chambas as saying.

According to him, culture created bonds, affinity and unity that enabled the people to overcome obstacles that could ordinarily frustrate integration efforts.

Chambas said the choice of River State as the venue for the competition for the second consecutive edition was predicated on the need to showcase the peace in Rivers.

The Miss ECOWAS Peace Pageant is an initiative of 702 Productions Ltd, an Accra-based events management company, as a platform for promoting peace and the youth agenda of the ECOWAS Commission to the global community.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/6818426.html.

Most Americans do not want A/H1N1 vaccine shot: poll

A majority of Americans said that they do not want to take A/H1N1 vaccine shot despite the U.S. government's encouragement, according to a poll released on Wednesday.

The survey by CNN and Opinion Research indicated that 55 percent of Americans polled said they don't want to get the new flu vaccine, while 20 percent said they want to, but have not taken any steps to do so.

Another 14 percent said that they want a shot and also have tried to get it but did not succeed, and only 7 percent have taken the shots.

The major reason why most Americans refuse the flu vaccine, as CNN polling director Keating Holland said, is "the perception that the vaccine has dangerous side effects."

On the reason why some people did not successfully get shots, Holland said that 5 percent of all polled adults were turned down since they are not in a high-risk group who have priority to take the vaccine, such as pregnant women. Another three percent said they found a facility that ran out of vaccine before they got there.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu had killed nearly 4,000 Americans including 540 children, and infected about 22 million Americans since April.

The White House has released a report, 2009-H1N1 National Preparedness and Response Overview, saying that the United States should make steady progress on developing a safe and effective H1N1 flu vaccine, and adopt a voluntary H1N1 flu shot program available to all Americans.

It also encourages Americans to "act on a shared responsibility to reduce the impact of H1N1 flu."

Obama leaves Seoul, wrapping up four-nation Asia trip

U.S. President Barack Obama left Seoul, where he met with his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak on Thursday, wrapping up his four-nation Asia trip.

Before he flew home from the U.S. air base at around 4 p.m.(0700 GMT), he met with 1,500 U.S. military service members dispatched here, giving an address to them.

"America's commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) will never waver and our alliance has never been stronger," Obama said, lauding his armed forces' services in the nation.

Earlier in the day, Obama met with his counterpart Lee on ways to strengthen their alliance, to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, and to move forward on the bilateral free trade pact.

At the joint conference held with Lee, Obama also announced that Stephen Bosworth, special U.S. representative for the DPRK policy, will visit Pyongyang on Dec. 8 in a bid to prod the nation back to the six-party talks.

The Lee-Obama meeting is the third of its kind since Obama's inauguration in February.

Astronauts begin STS-129 first spacewalk

HOUSTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Space shuttle Atlantis astronauts Thursday began the first of three scheduled spacewalks at the International Space Station.

The spacewalk officially started at 9:24 a.m. EST and was to last 6 1/2 hours. During that time, astronauts Mike Foreman and Robert Satcher were to install a spare S-band antenna structural assembly brought to the space station in Atlantis' cargo bay.

NASA said the equipment will be stored on a segment of the station's truss system, and to get it there Satcher will ride the station's robotic arm, driven by astronaut Leland Melvin, Commander Charles Hobaugh and Pilot Barry Wilmore.

Thursday's spacewalk was the 228th in the history of the U.S. space program, NASA said.

Inside the station, work was to continue to prepare for the arrival of the Tranquility node. Station Commander Frank De Winne and astronaut Jeff Williams will be working at the port hatch of the Harmony node to rewire data, power and cooling and air flow lines that will be connected to Tranquility. Their task is also scheduled to take about 6 1/2 hours.

Hassan Nasrallah re-elected as Hezbollah leader

BEIRUT (AP) — The militant Hezbollah group says that Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has been re-elected as the group's leader for a sixth term.

A Hezbollah statement Thursday did not say when top Hezbollah officials voted to re-elect Nasrallah as the guerrilla group's secretary-general.

The statement said Naim Kassim also has been re-elected to as the group's deputy leader.

Hezbollah's leadership elections are usually held every three years but they were last held in 2004. A Hezbollah official said the two-year delay was caused by internal Lebanese difference and the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Nasrallah has led Hezbollah since his predecessor was killed by Israel in 1992.

Turkey's Premier Says Mass Production Of Atak Helicopters In 2013

ROME - The Turkish prime minister said on Wednesday that the mass production of ATAK helicopters in Turkey would begin in 2013.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the first test flight of ATAK helicopters was held in Milan, Italy.

"The mass production in Turkey will begin in 2013," he told a press conference in the Italian capital of Rome.

Erdogan also said that an agreement was signed with Agusta Westland regarding the ATAK project, and defined it a significant deal for Turkey and Italy.

Turkey's first national attack helicopter, T129 ATAK successfully completed its first test flight, at Augusta Westland's facilities near Milan on September 28, 2009.

Senior Turkish and Italian officials attended the ceremony on the occasion of the test flight for combat and reconnaissance helicopter T129 ATAK
--an enhanced version of the Italian Agusta Westland's A-129s-- which will be jointly produced by Turkey and Italy.

Turkey's Tusas Aerospace Industries (TAI) -- the prime contractor -- and Italy's Agusta Westland -- a subcontractor -- will jointly produce the aircraft under an 2007 agreement signed for the purchase of 51 (plus 40 optional) helicopters for the Turkish Land Forces.

The helicopter will be equipped with avionic and weapon systems designed and produced indigenously, and the mission computer and targeting, navigation, communication and electronic warfare systems will be developed and produced by ASELSAN, a leading defense company in Turkey.

TAI will have the right to use and administer the intellectual property of the T129 ATAK Helicopter, and it will be the sole source for its work share under the ATAK program for all potential future world wide sales of the T129 ATAK Helicopter.

The program agreement also provides TAI with the right to sell and market the T129 ATAK Helicopter worldwide.

Established on 15 May 1984, TAI, is a supplier for Aermacchi, AgustaWestland, Airbus, Boeing, EADS CASA, Eurocopter, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, MDHI, Sikorsky and co-produced so far; F-16 fighters, CN-235 light transport/maritime patrol/surveillance aircraft, SF-260 trainers, Cougar AS-532 general purpose helicopters.

EU Leaders Will Try to Decide on President Over Dinner

By Jasper Fakkert

Heads of state from across Europe will gather in Brussels on Nov. 19, to have a meal together and try to choose the first ever EU president and other top EU positions.

With the Lisbon treaty having been ratified by all EU member states earlier this month, time is now of the essence to make key appointments for the new EU positions before Dec. 1.

The function of EU president, formally called President of the European Council, is to promote unity across the 27 member states, and to represent EU views on the international stage for two and a half years.

Other top EU posts to be filled are High Representative for Foreign Affairs, and Secretary-General of the Council.

Until now candidate nominations have been kept under wraps. After weeks of behind-the-scenes talks, Sweden, which currently holds the half-year rotating presidency of the EU, will propose candidates.

“I think it’s the first time it will be possible for me to present candidates for the top jobs that will come into force with the Lisbon treaty,” said Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfelt, referring to the working dinner in a web cast on an EU Web site.

In good European style most countries are likely to first push, or maybe just nudge their own agendas, but then do their best to reach a consensus on the candidature.

“It’s foreseen in the treaty that discussions on the names should be taken with a qualified majority. You always try to see if you can get a broader support then that,” said Reinfelt.

Speculation on candidates for the EU President role have been circulating for weeks. The staid Belgium Prime Minister Herman Rompuy is considered a frontrunner.

Rompuy has proven to be bridge builder after managing to keep the politically divided Belgium together as prime minister. It took the King of Belgium two requests before Rompuy agreed to take up the top post, a position he had never pursued. The previous four Belgium governments had fallen apart.

Among the other key candidates are former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

Britain is promoting Blair as candidate for the position, while Rompuy has received support from Germany and France.

In another indication of its uniquely European character, the Lisbon treaty does not clearly define what the scope of the top EU position will be. The first to be appointed President will probably set the tone.

Resisting through education

Marryam Haleem writing from Beit Hanoun, occupied Gaza Strip

November 16, 2009

"That was the happiest day of my life," Ahmad explained, "I was freed that day."

"Come on," I laughed as we walked down the dusty Gaza street, the Mediterranean sun beating down hard on our faces. "It couldn't have been that bad. I mean, we all dislike school to some degree, but it has its nice things too."

His grave eyes looked wholly unconvinced. "The day I graduated from university was the best day of my life," he firmly repeated. And then he added, more to himself than to me, "I wish I could erase all my memories of my time in school."

Ahmad's first day of school was in 1991 during the first Palestinian intifada. Then six years old and living in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, Ahmad was a good student who enjoyed school. He worked hard and was always the first in his year. After the Oslo accords were signed in 1993 and the Palestinian Authority was created, one could say that life in Gaza was approaching a degree of normalcy. And upon finishing middle school in 2000, as a reward for his scholastic achievement, Ahmad received the gift of a lifetime. He, along with 19 other students from Gaza, was selected by the Ministry of Education to join a Seeds of Peace summer camp in the US.

He had a wonderful time in America. What an adventure for the 14-year-old boy! He improved his English. He made new friends. He experienced a new and different world in the beautiful state of Maine -- one that was open, free and full of opportunity. He returned to Gaza after this month-long excursion full of hope.

But the second intifada irrupted only two months after he returned home from the US, at the start of his first year of high school. Israel's brutal attempt to crush the intifada was felt throughout the occupied West Bank and Gaza. "There was no space," Ahmad explained, describing how the Israeli offensive affected every aspect of personal life for the Palestinian individual. Student life was only one such casualty.

It became dangerous to go to school. It became impossible to have a normal education. In his three years of high school, Ahmad's school was shelled by Israeli tanks six times, twice while students were inside.

"Each day we would have demonstrations against the attacks in Gaza and the West Bank because we had so many martyrs ... No school. Just demonstrations ... You had to go and demonstrate against the horrible attacks against these children and kids everywhere."

Still, despite all the madness, the students clung as much as they could to their vocation. They would loyally go to school, as much as circumstance allowed. But even this effort was frequently quashed. Too often the students would trek to school only to find it closed. They would ask the reasons for the closures. The answers became the soul-grating refrain of their lives.

Why?

Because Israeli tanks are getting close to the school and there is no school today.

Why?

Because people in our city have been martyred and there are demonstrations so there will be no school today.

Why?

Because the tanks have closed off Beit Hanoun and the teachers cannot come from outside. So we'll have no school today.

It was in this environment that Ahmad and his classmates (the ones who were not killed) came to their third and final year of high school in 2003. It is during this final year that students take their tawjihi exam which determines their entire future studies and career.

"Tawjihi," Ahmad aptly described, "is like a stage between life."

Tawjihi year began normal enough -- for a Palestinian in Gaza, that is. Normal attacks. Normal shootings. Normal curfews. But the last two months before the exams began the Israeli army laid siege on Beit Hanoun. No one could enter. No one could leave. Everyday there were attacks and explosions. Everyday there were injuries and martyrs.

"We didn't study, actually," said Ahmad, "Nothing. You cannot study [when] people are dying," he explained.

Yet their exams were approaching. The first day of examination was 9 June 2003 -- and the Israeli army was still in Beit Hanoun.

"What do we do?" said Ahmad. "We need to take our exams. So we decided to go to school even though the Israeli tanks were at the doors outside the school."

So they went. Despite the fact that they hadn't prepared at all due to the siege and the killings. Examinations went on for a month. Every day the students went. And every day the Israeli tanks were at the doors of the school.

It was the worst month, Ahmad said. All your time in high school you wait to prepare and do well on these final examinations, only, in the last moments, to be prevented from studying because your city is under attack.

The soldiers left after 67 days of siege. And then their exam results came in.

"I passed," said Ahmad, "my average was 83.5. So very good."

Yet, at the same time, he added, "You don't know what is going on. You just go and study for a life you've been dreaming about. But then you find you can't have it because of obstacles put up by enemies. And these are horrible obstacles. They're not just any kind of obstacles that anyone could pass.

"It's war everywhere. And people are dying everywhere. And you just don't know. Maybe it's your turn. I mean, we believe in God, and we know everyone is going to die. But when it goes on so continuously, every day there is attacks, you just keep worrying about it. So the feeling was, what should I be doing? Should I go fight and resist? Should I go study as a way to resist, as a better way of resistance? Should I just stay afraid, doing nothing, with my family?"

"I started to believe that maybe the power from my education in the future will be greater than the power of a stone against a tank. I asked myself a million times, if I should do the same [and take up throwing stones at the Israeli tanks like some of the Palestinian youth]. Even if it was a little thing.

"Some people say it's stupid, a stone against a tank. But it's their will and determination [that counts]. It comes from deep inside. That you are not afraid from anything, whatever it may be. You just want to fight, resist, for your rights. Even if it takes your life, takes everything; I believe that it's my right and I have to do it."

That is one way to resist. But Ahmad decided to resist through his education.

"I had to take care of my family. Reach what my parents wanted of me. They wanted us to be educated, get a good life, good jobs, have a good place in the community. They wanted us to help them and help people. So that was the final, or not the final, but a decision that I made.

"You are feeling many things, but you have to go on, to keep going. The only way is to just keep fighting, through your education, and your dreams, and your beliefs. That was the feeling.

"But I never felt like I have to give up. I didn't find a way that told me, you just need to give up now. And every time a bad thing happened, or a disaster happened, it gave me more power to continue.

"Because this life became normal for us -- an abnormal life for other people became the normal for us. So we had to figure out another way of life for us. It's our reality. We had to face reality, however it was. So it helped us to figure out that life, in spite of all this.

"And all the challenges that we are facing, and all the power that is fighting and destroying everything here in Gaza, we still need to keep going. It's not going to stop us. Because if we stop, it wont help us. [The Israelis] will keep going. Whether or not we stop, they will try to get what they want. So why give them more opportunities to get what they want? We need also to continue."

He paused at the end of this grand soliloquy. "How difficult it was," he said softly.

But the difficulty continued as he moved on to get his bachelor of arts in information technology at a university in Gaza.

"I faced troubles when I was in high school because of the intifada but they increased at university," Ahmad explained. "Beit Hanoun is the most violent area in Gaza Strip because it is very close to the [Israeli] border so there were usually attacks. Every day we had events. People killed. People injured. Homes destroyed. Lands demolished. My father's farm was bulldozed four or five times. Most of my relatives' homes were targeted.

"Most of the semesters I couldn't attend many lectures because of the usual attacks on my city. There were weekly attacks, sometimes daily attacks so I could not leave home; it was not safe to leave. And I'd also have to stay home when there were other attacks around the city, or around the university."

Many times he wasn't even able to attend final exams.

"I'd just keep studying throughout the semester and when it was exam time, attacks would happen in Beit Hanoun and friends and relatives were killed, [so I'd miss the exams]. I was supposed to graduate in 2008, but I graduated in 2009, one year late because of these attacks. Attacks which have never stopped. Even now. Especially in my city."

Ahmad was finally set to graduate in December 2008, but once again larger events intervened.

"The end of December turned out to be the beginning of a war, not the beginning of final exams. It was a big, I don't know how to describe it," he said. "It was like, 'here is a gift for graduation: You won't graduate. Just keep waiting for death.'"

His month of exams was exchanged for a month of terror.

"It was 23 days," he said, "but you can say 23 weeks. Twenty-three months. Twenty-three years. Twenty-three centuries. It never ends. You keep waiting, moment by moment. And you know nothing. You can only feel the darkness. There is no light, for any kind of hope, or safety, or human rights, or whatever. Just 23 days full of darkness. Full of horror. Full of victims. Massacres. Everything bad. I cannot find words to describe it."

But those days did pass. And he found enough strength to pick himself up out of the rubble and finish the mission he began. He graduated, at last, this past spring. But not without sacrifice and loss that no one should ever have to endure.

"These five years in university, I said and will keep saying forever," Ahmad concluded, "these five years were the most horrible years of my life. Even though they're supposed to be the best years, the nice years. The time to go out and discover life. But it wasn't discovering life. It was discovering disasters, actually, here in Gaza."

NASA: With Atlantis docked, work begins today

Shuttle astronauts using robotic arms to pull equipment carrier out of shuttle payload bay

By Sharon Gaudin

With the NASA space shuttle Atlantis successfully docked at the International Space Station this afternoon, hatches have been opened and work has begun 210 miles above the Earth.

The shuttle, which lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on Monday afternoon, arrived and docked at the space station at 11:51 a.m. EST this morning. Atlantis is carrying some 27,250 pounds of spare parts. The load is more than any other current space vehicle could handle.

The Atlantis crew is now ready to work with the robotic arms onboard both the shuttle and the station to begin unloading some of that gear, according to NASA.

The robotic arm on the shuttle will reach into its own payload bay and lift out one of the equipment carriers and hand it off to the robotic arm on the space station. The shuttle brought up two equipment-carrying platforms. Both will be attached on either side of the station's truss or backbone during the 11-day mission.

On Tuesday, the Atlantis crew spent about five hours using the shuttle's 50-foot-long robotic arm, along with its 50-foot-long orbiter boom sensor system, to take pictures of the shuttle craft's wings and nosecap, to inspect for damage that might have occurred during takeoff. The astronauts running the inspection used a suite of cameras and lasers designed to give them 3-D views of the shuttle's heat shield.

This morning, as the shuttle approached the space station, Atlantis Commander Charlie Hobaugh rotated the vehicle backwards so astronauts on the space station could take pictures of the shuttle heat shield with 800 millimeter and 400 millimeter lenses.

All of the images will be sent back to ground control, where engineers will inspect them for any problems with the shuttle's thermal protection system, which will be needed to protect the craft during the blazing temperatures it will encounter during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

The equipment being delivered during this mission is considered critical to the operation of the space station, according to NASA. At this point, there are only six flights left for the space shuttle fleet before it's scheduled to be retired. The equipment that needs to go up is being delivered in order of highest priority. Since this is the first mission to deliver what scientists hope will turn into a trove of spare parts, they're taking up the most important pieces.

The astronauts are expected to make three space walks to unload the parts from the shuttle and connect them to the sides of the station's truss.

Abu Dhabi turns spotlight on regional space race

NASA's successful experiment to find water on the Moon has come at a time when the Middle East is making important steps of its own in space, a fact which will be underlined in Abu Dhabi next month.

The position of the UAE capital as an emerging hub of the developing Arab space industry will be highlighted when a distinguished international line-up of experts and key decision makers gather for the Global Space Technology Forum, taking place from December 7-9.

The second edition of the event is being staged at a time when Abu Dhabi has moved to the forefront of increased regional space industry activity with major investment in an Earth Observation Space Center, a Virgin Galactic Space Port and the Yahsat telecommunications satellite program.

Saudi Arabia's HRH Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first Arab, the first Muslim and the first Royal to visit space, will deliver the opening keynote address on the role of space technology in regional economic development at the Global Space Technology Forum, to be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center.

HRH Prince Sultan, who is President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, flew as a payload specialist on the space shuttle Discovery in June 1985 as part of a seven-member international crew which also included American and French astronauts.

There are currently more than 20 emerging national space projects in the Middle East and Africa which is evolving as one of the key growth markets for the global space industry, and Abu Dhabi's pioneering role in this regional development is underlined by the presence of many major players at the Global Space Technology Forum.

A summer launch by the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology's (EIAST) of the UAE's first remote sensing satellite, DubaiSat-1, and Yahsat's planned telecommunication satellite launches, is evidence that the UAE is leading the way in the creation of a regional space program.

In recent months Abu Dhabi based 4C GEOC has announced plans for a US$1 billion dollar Earth Observation Space Center while Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments has taken a $280 million, 32 percent stake in Virgin Galactic. As part of the deal Aabar plans to build a spaceport in Abu Dhabi and will have rights to all Virgin Galactic traffic in the region. Aabar is also setting aside $100 million to build a small satellite launching facility.

Organized by Streamline Marketing Group, the Global Space Technology Forum combines a two-day conference on space projects, new technologies and commercial opportunities, a high-level Advanced Sat-Com Conference highlighting advances in satellite communications, a three-day exhibition of the latest space technology equipment and services and pre-scheduled meetings for exhibitors with key representatives from leading MENA space projects.

Following the keynote address by HRH Prince Sultan, Michael O'Brien, Assistant Administrator for External Relations at NASA, will highlight the need for international collaboration for the success of space initiatives emerging in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Dr. Jose Achache,Director of Group on Earth Observations (GEO) will deliver the third keynote address of the opening session, on Earth Observation Systems - Opportunities and Challenges.

Ahmed Al Mansoori, Director General of Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST), will present a case study on space programs in emerging space nations during a session on space policy, regulation and economics. Martin Gee, Chief Technical Officer at Al Yahsat Satellite Communications will be among four speakers to examine commercial opportunities related to space.

The second day of the conference begins with a presentation by Sir Martin Sweeting, CEO of Surrey Satellite Technologies Ltd, on innovation in design and technology for small satellites.

Space borne security and surveillance systems will feature in the afternoon. Tomaz Lovreneie, Deputy Director of the European Union Satellite Center, speaks on geospatial intelligence support to European security and defense policy operations while Declan Kirrane, Chairman at ISC Intelligence in Science, discusses the security and defence role of Galileo and GMES.

The final day Advanced Sat-Com Conference looks at the future of communication and role of satellites with keynote addresses by Gregory Francis, Managing Director of Access Partnership and Rachel Villain, Director Space and Communications at Euroconsult.

Baard Eilertsen, CEO at Orbital Satellite Services will speak on in-orbit servicing of telecommunication satellites during a session on the next generation of communication satellites. During the session on Sat-Com services and applications, Salah Hamzah, CTO at Nilesat will share his thoughts on key differentiators which set apart the satellite market in the Middle East from the rest of the world.

The Global Space Technology Forum is sponsored by LSE Space Middle East, Yahsat and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and has the support of the UAE Space Reconnaissance Center, EIAST, the International Space University, UAE University, the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, the National Space Society and the Society of Engineers, UAE.

Financial crisis reveals vulnerability of Spain's immigrants - Feature

Valencia/Madrid - For Patricio P, an unemployed Ecuadorian immigrant to Spain, a soft drink is an unaffordable luxury these days. "We buy food with coupons we get from a charity organization," says the 40-year-old father of three, who lost his job at a construction site in April, in the eastern city of Valencia, as Spain's recession deepened.

"The coupons can be used for milk or a piece of chicken, but not for extras such as soft drinks or pastries."

Patricio, who shares a three-room flat with his wife and children, sister-in-law and her child, gets 400 euros (590 dollars) in monthly unemployment benefits, while his wife earns 500 euros as a cleaning lady.

The family's mortgage payments alone amount to 1,200 euros per month.

"We live off our savings, but I don't see how we are going to manage like this for long," Patricio told the German Press Agency dpa.

Yet, he does not intend to follow the example of some of his countrymen and return to Ecuador.

"There is not much work there, and when there is, you get paid peanuts," he explains.

Patricio is one among hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have been hit hard by Spain's worst economic crisis in 60 years.

While there are signs of Europe emerging from the recession, the latest figures underscore the fragile state of recovery. November data showed that Spain's economy shrank by 0.3 per cent in the last quarter and 4 per cent on the year after it took a hammering from the global economic crisis.

Unemployment among immigrants stood at 28 per cent in May, double the rate among Spaniards.

The recession has exposed the vulnerability of Spain's immigrant community, which has soared within two decades from less than 2 per cent of the population to more than 10 per cent.

The largest groups include more than 500,000 Romanians, more than 500,000 Moroccans, more than 400,000 Ecuadorians and nearly 300,000 Colombians who reside legally in the country.

Spain has more than 200,000 migrants from West and Central Africa, according to Madrid's Pan-African Studies Centre.

Immigrants worked in large numbers in the construction sector, which was one of the main engines of the economy before the crisis. More than half of the jobs created in that sector since 2002 were filled by migrant workers, according to government figures.

The collapse of the housing sector left many immigrant men dependent on the incomes of their spouses, who may have then lost their jobs as housemaids or cleaning ladies as the crisis deepened.

The situation is creating so much stress within families that many marriages break up, said psychologist Juana Molano, who works with immigrants.

The crisis has played a role in driving an estimated 800,000 migrants to work in the informal economy, which contributes about 20 per cent of Spain's gross domestic product.

Undocumented immigrants are the worst off as they never held formal jobs entitling them to unemployment benefits even for a short period.

Hundreds of migrants live in shacks and scavenge for food in garbage bins near southern towns, which can no longer offer them employment as agricultural labourers, news reports said.

Spain's economic crisis is being felt in far-away countries such as Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia, where the money sent by emigrants constituted an important economic resource.

Money transfers from Spain's immigrants to their 12 main countries of origin in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia declined by 7 per cent in 2008.

Some migrants in Europe now survive with money sent by their relatives in Africa, said Antumi Toasije, director of the Pan-African Studies Centre.

The economic crisis has slowed the influx of migrants to Spain, with the numbers of Africans detained after crossing by sea dropping in the first six months of 2009 by half, to about 5,000.

Relatively few of the immigrants in Spain, however, have taken up a government offer of paying them unemployment entitlements in a lump sum if they return to their home countries.

Immigrants who are most tempted to return home include Equatorial Guineans, whose once deeply impoverished homeland has been swamped with oil money in recent years, Toasije told dpa.

Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang remains one of the most ruthless dictators in Africa, but his country now offers lucrative jobs in the administration and business sectors, Toasije says.

Many Guineans with connections or professional expertise are now thinking of returning. They face a "morally difficult choice" between poverty in Europe and comfortable lives in their country of origin, where they would have to refrain from criticizing human-rights abuses while allowing their presence to boost Obiang's image, Toasije says.

An estimated 2,000 Guineans have already chosen "money over democracy" and gone home in the last four years, he estimates.

Rabies spreads in Indonesia's Bali

Bali Island, Indonesia - An outbreak of rabies is spreading in Indonesia's resort island of Bali, officials said Wednesday. Fifteen people have died and nearly 15,000 have been treated after being bitten by dogs since the outbreak began in November last year, according to Bali's Health Office.

Many Balinese fear the outbreak could hurt tourism on which the island depends.

The disease has now spread to seven of the island's nine districts despite the elimination of more than 28,000 dogs, said Ida Bagus Alit, head of Bali's Animal Husbandry Office.

"The low rate of vaccination coverage among dogs is making it difficult to stem the spread of the disease," he said.

Rabies is a viral disease most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal, especially dogs.

Alit said 180,000 dosages of vaccine provided by the government only covered 40 per cent of the dog population of more than 400,000 in the resort island.

The head of the island's Health Office, Nyoman Sutedja, said of nearly 15,000 people bitten by dogs, more than 13,000 had been given anti-rabies vaccine.

"Most of the victims were treated in hospitals and community health clinics," he said.

A virologist from Bali's Udayana University, Ngurah Mahardika, said the government's target to stamp out the disease in 2012 was unlikely to be met.

"The government's attempt to stem the outbreak has been dismal," he said.

Animal protection activists have criticized the government's move to eliminate dogs, instead of conducting an effective vaccination drive.

"We are confident that if 70 per cent of the dog population are vaccinated, the disease won't spread further," said the director of Bali's Animal Welfare Association, Janice Girardi.

Rabies has been reported on the Indonesian islands of Java and Flores, but Bali was free of the disease for decades until last year.

The World Health Organization estimated that more than 40,000 people die from rabies every year. Most deaths occur in developing countries.

Myanmar mulls railway link with China

Yangon - Myanmar has opened discussions on building a railway link between its north-eastern Shan State and China's Yunnan province, media reports said Wednesday. "The Myanmar-China railway link will connect Lashio, capital of Shan state in the north, and Jiegao town of Yunnan province, China," The Yangon Times weekly reported.

Officials from China's Railways Ministry recently visited Myanmar to discuss the proposed link, the Burmese-language weekly said.

"Three possible routes for the railway link have already been chosen," the newspaper said. Construction costs for the new railway link were estimated at 500 million dollars.

Myanmar currently has a rail track between Yangon, Myanmar's former capital, and Lashio.

China raps Obama over exiled Tibetan, Uighur leaders

Beijing - Chinese President Hu Jintao has urged his US counterpart, Barack Obama, not to allow exiled Tibetan and Uighur leaders to conduct "anti-China separatist activities" in the United States, reports said on Wednesday. Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said Hu told Obama in their formal talks on Wednesday that he hoped the United States would "forbid 'Tibet independence' and 'East Turkestan' forces from using US territory to cover their anti-China separatist activities."

"Respecting each other's core interests is the key to China-US relations," He said in remarks carried by state media.

He's comments appeared to be directed mainly at the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist leader, and Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, both of whom regularly speak out against China's ruling Communist Party at public events in the United States.

US resident Kadeer heads the World Uighur Congress and lobbies on behalf of some 10 million Uighurs in China's far western region of Xinjiang, which is referred to as East Turkestan by many exiled Uighurs.

The Dalai Lama lives in India but often visits the United States, where he has many supporters, including celebrities and top politicians.

Both the Dalai Lama and Rebiya Kadeer have strongly criticized China's policies towards its Tibetan and Uighur minorities, accusing the government of failing to respect traditional cultures and encouraging migration of Han Chinese people into traditionally Tibetan and Uighur areas.

Obama said he urged Hu on Tuesday to hold talks with the Dalai Lama.

Tibetan exile groups criticized Obama for failing to meet the Dalai Lama when the Buddhist leader visited Washington last month, but the US president is expected to meet the Dalai Lama in December.

China blamed the Dalai Lama for encouraging violent anti-Chinese protests by Tibetans last year.

It accuses the Dalai Lama of continuing to seek independence for Tibet despite his regular statements that he only wants to maximize cultural and religious autonomy for Tibetans within China.

China also blamed Kadeer for violent ethnic unrest that led to the death of some 200 people in July in Urumqi, the Xinjiang capital, a charge that she rejected.

Rights groups have raised serious concerns about China's harsh treatment of Tibetan and Uighur independence and rights activists.

An officials confirmed on Tuesday that a court in China's Gansu province had sentenced the founder of a Tibetan-language website to 15 years in prison for "disclosing state secrets," while a rights group said a Tibetan blogger was also sentenced to five years in prison in a separate case.

Saudi preachers asked to keep sermons short amid swine flu fears

Riyadh - Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Islamic Affairs has instructed Muslim preachers to keep their sermons short over fears that the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, might spread in crowded mosques. Reducing the duration of typically long Friday sermons at crowded mosques would minimize the risk of the spread of the virus, the ministry said.

The ministry also instructed the imams to use sermons to dispel rumors about how swine flu is spread and to urge the faithful to observe good hygiene to prevent infection, according to Ministry of Health guidelines.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/295219,saudi-preachers-asked-to-keep-sermons-short-amid-swine-flu-fears.html.

Rohingya issue calls for international attention

Nurul Islam

Once Arakan was an independent and sovereign monarchy ruled by Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim kings. According to A. P Phayer and G.E. Harvey, the Arakanese kings established their capitals in eight different towns, transferring from one to another. Dinnyawadi was the capital for 25 kings (146-746 AD), Vesali for 12 kings (788-994 AD), First Pyinsa (Sanbawut) for 15 kings (1018-1103 AD), Parin for 8 kings (1103-1167 AD), Krit for 4 kings (1167-1180 AD), Second Pyinsa for 16 kings (1180-1237 AD); Launggyet for 17 kings (1237-1433 AD) and Mrauk-U for 48 for kings (1433-1784AD). The Burmese king seized Arakan in 1784. Subsequently, Arakan was under British colonial rule from 1826 to 1948.

Burma's independence hero Aung San was shot dead in 1947 in Rangoon, six months before it won its independence, by a dissident army group. Aung San was holding a meeting, on the issue of independence, with the ethnic minority representatives including U Abdul Razzak, representative of Muslims in Burma. All died on the spot. Burma attained independence, six months later, in 1948. Burma was a parliamentary democracy until 1962.

During the democratic period, Rohingyas were recognized for their identity. The north western side of Arakan, where the Rohingyas lived was declared a separate state in 1961 by the U Nu government. After the military coup in 1962, all the facilities of Rohingyas, even their citizenship was denied by the Ne Win military government. The regime started persecution of the Rohingya for being Muslims.

Rohang, the old name of Arakan, was very familiar to the Arab seafarers even during the pre-Islamic days. Tides of people like the Arabs, Moors, Turks, Pathans, Moghuls, Central Asians, Banglees came mostly as traders, warriors, preachers and captives overland or using the sea route. Many settled in Arakan. They mixed with the local people, now known as ethnic Rohingyas. The Rohingyas have been forced to leave their home country for 30 years. They are among the world's most persecuted refugees. They are also among the most forgotten. They have been forced to go to many different countries. The biggest number were forced to cross into Bangladesh.

The Rohingyas experienced even greater difficulties in Bangladesh. The Rohingyas are extremely poor and have little rights as refugees in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh never gave them formal refugee status, and forced many of them to leave the country. Around 230,000 of the refugees have been repatriated to Myanmar, and approximately 20,000 live in UNHCR-administered camps in Bangladesh. At least 100,000 Rohingyas are believed to be in Bangladesh outside the camps, with no official status as refugees, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). In the most southern part of Bangladesh, near the city of Teknaf, live 6,000 Rohingya refugees from neighboring Myanmar. They live in terrible conditions in a provisional camp. Classified by the Bangladesh government as illegal immigrants, the people have not received any support until very recently. Since the end of May, Medecins Sans Frontieres has been operating a small healthcare centre and improving the water supply and sanitary conditions in the camp.

The Rohingyas are a Muslim minority, deprived of citizenship rights in their native country of Myanmar and are subjected to various forms of repression by the government there. Many camp residents fled to Bangladesh years ago. Some were sent back to Myanmar.

"I was born in Myanmar, but the Burmese government says I don't belong there. I grew up in Bangladesh, but the Bangladeshi government says I cannot stay there. As a Rohingya, I feel I am caught between a crocodile and a snake", said a 19-year-old refugee in Bangladesh. "If I go to get wood, I'll get arrested. If I collect water I'll get beaten. We've got nowhere to go." A woman living in Kutupalang camp (MSF report) said, "Without a fundamental solution for the Rohingya not only in countries where they seek asylum but at their origin, there is no apparent end to this humanitarian crisis."

The Rohingya, an ethnic Burma group in the state of national Limbo, are one of the most severely affected communities living under the military regime in a country where human rights abuse and sufferings are the norms. The systematic human rights abuses towards the Rohingya are committed with the intent to destroy this particular minority community. The Rohingyas living in the north of Rakhine State of Myanmar are legally obliged to purchase expensive marriage permits, unlike the rest of the population. Children born out of marriage often have to pay high informal fines or face imprisonment and a two child only policy applies. Since 1948, about 1.5 million Rohingyas have either been expelled or have had to flee the country to escape persecution. Most of them were forced to flee to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Malaysia. They are vulnerable without any status in those countries. Neither civil society organizations nor the UN and other international organizations paid any proper attention to resolve the issue over the last two decades.

Prime minister U Nu declared, "Rohingya" as an indigenous ethnic group of Burma like the Shan, Kachin, Karen, Chin, Mon and Rakhine in a radio speech broadcast on September 24, 1954. But after the downfall of the U Nu government, the state peace and development council (SPDC) Burma's military government -- refused to accept the existence of an ethnic group called "Rohingya". They are not considered to be a national ethnic group under sec. 3 of a 1982 Law, which made the Rohingya population ineligible to full citizenship. The military regime has declared the Rohingyas as non-nationals in utter disregard of their history and glorious past. Planned Buddhist settlements caused serious demographic changes in northern Rakhine (Arakan). The Rohingyas have to provide slave labor to build military establishments, bridges, embankments and pagodas. Since the promulgation of the Burma Citizenship Law in 1982, Rohingya students have been denied the right to education.

Around 230,000 of the refugees have been repatriated to Burma. Some of these people were forced to return to Bangladesh. More and more new Rohingya refugees continue to arrive.

Approximately 20,000 remain in the UNHCR-administered camps in Bangladesh. At least 100,000 Rohingyas are believed to be in Bangladesh outside the camps and with no official status as refugees. The Rohingya issue affects Bangladesh most because of its border with Burma. The government of Bangladesh has failed to raise the issue at international level.

The bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and Burma is obsessed with its economic prospects. The government of Bangladesh plays down the problem as a repatriation matter that has overshadowed the Rohingya issue. A durable and dignified solution for the Rohingya must be found, not only in countries where they seek asylum, but in Myanmar, the country of their origin.

At the Kutupalong makeshift camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, recently local administration gave Rohingya refugees 48 hours to leave or their homes would be burned down. The camp is home to thousands of unregistered Rohingya refugees, according to MSF.

One frequently reads newspaper reports of Rohingyas being rounded up by Bangladesh police from different places.

Newspapers report almost everyday of Rohingyas from Arakan being pushed into Bangladesh and the BDR pushes them back to Myanmar.

The international community and the UN should come forward to find a solution to the Rohingya issue.

Jordan blasts Israeli plan to build 900 new settlement units

Amman - Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Tuesday condemned as 'a flagrant challenge' to the world community an Israeli plan to build 900 new settlement units in East Jerusalem, which the Jewish state captured from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war.

Judeh made the remark during a meeting with visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

'The minister expressed Jordan's strong condemnation and categorical rejection of the Israeli government's ratification of a plan to build new 900 settlement units in East Jerusalem,' the statement said.

Judeh labeled the Israeli step as 'a new flagrant challenge to the will of the world community, UN resolutions and international law besides harming peace and stability in the region.'

Israeli officials said that the new homes would be built in Gilo, which lies in territory seized and annexed by the Jewish state. The United Nations still consider East Jerusalem an occupied territory.

Judeh urged the world community 'to take a firm attitude that forces Israel to stop all its provocations in East Jerusalem as well as its encroachments on holy places and to respect its obligations under international law as an occupation force.'

Jordan concluded a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, under which it recognized Amman's right to look after the Islamic and Christian holy shrines in Jerusalem.

Algeria beats Egypt in World Cup qualifying playoff

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Algeria qualified for the 2010 World Cup with a 1-0 win over Egypt on Wednesday.

A stunning first-half strike by defender Antar Yahya gave Algeria victory in the playoff match.

Yahya's 39th-minute winner came against the run of play when he took advantage of a lapse in concentration by Egypt's defenders to hit a perfect volley in off the underside of the crossbar with his right foot from an acute angle.

The match was played in Khartoum, Sudan, after the two teams finished their group matches level on points and having scored and conceded the same number of goals.

The win means Algeria will make its first appearance at a World Cup since 1986 and once again highlighted Egypt's inability to carry its impressive form in Africa — it has won the African Cup a record six times — into World Cup qualification tournaments.

Egypt last appeared at a World Cup in 1990.

Failing once again to reach the game's biggest stage is likely to be hard to take for the football-mad nation.

Egypt dominated possession without creating many goalscoring opportunities, while Algeria always looked dangerous on the break.

Algeria become the fifth African nation to reach the finals through qualifying, alongside Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana.

South Africa qualified as the host nation.

Iraq to launch landmine-clearing campaign

Baghdad - Iraq is to launch a campaign to clear millions of landmines and pieces of unexploded ordnance in the country, the head of the country's landmine removal agency said in remarks published Wednesday. There are at least 25 million landmines in Iraq, 10 million of were planted in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north, the head of the organization tasked with removing the mines and munitions told the daily al-Sabah.

Zahem Jihad said the organization would coordinate with the Ministry of Environment to survey minefields near the capital Baghdad, Basra and Babil.

"Landmines pose a real danger to the country," he said. "We should coordinate efforts to clear them and revive the vital areas of agriculture and production that were damaged as a result."

Jihad said the estimated 3 million tons of unexploded ordnance and 4,446 minefields that remain from the 1991 Gulf War and the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran war were harming Iraq's economic development.

Ninety-four "danger zones" have been identified in the area around the massive Rumaila oil field in the south, including a 17-kilometer minefield and areas still threatened by unexploded cluster bombs.

Around Baghdad, removal efforts would focus on the area from the districts of Radwanaya to Jihad, as one of the most dangerous zones, he said. In Basra, sappers would focus on removing mines from agricultural areas and along Iraq's border with Iran.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/295253,iraq-to-launch-landmine-clearing-campaign.html.

EU critical of Israel's decision to expand Gilo settlement

Stockholm - The decision by Israel to expand a settlement in Gilo near Jerusalem on the West Bank will damage the peace process the Swedish presidency of the European Union said Wednesday. The move was counter to "repeated calls by the international community," the presidency statement said.

"If there is to be genuine peace, a way must be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states," the statement added.

Israel considers Gilo as part of its "eternal capital," and has opposed international demands to stop construction in areas of the city which are built within the municipal boundaries it has set for itself, but on occupied West Bank land.

Israel no longer trusts Turkey, Erdogan says

* Israel does not want Turkey to mediate with Syria, PM says

* Syria not likely to join French-mediated talks, he says

ISTANBUL, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Israel no longer trusts Turkey to mediate peace talks with Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, signaling how much relations have deteriorated between the regional allies in recent months.

Erdogan singled out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to trust Ankara, unlike his predecessor Ehud Olmert, and also said he did not think Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would accept a French role in mediating with Israel.

Turkey, NATO's only Muslim member, last year facilitated contacts that focused on Syrian demands for a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights -- which Israel captured in 1967 and annexed -- and Israel's accusations that Damascus arms militants in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

Those contacts failed to produce formal negotiations, and Turkey's repeated offers to re-open the peace track have not resulted in further talks. Under Netanyahu, Israel has ruled out resuming Turkish-mediated talks with Syria, insisting that any new contacts must be direct.

"On this issue (of mediation), Israel's stance is that it doesn't trust us," Erdogan told a news conference in Rome, where he was attending a U.N. food summit.

"Former Israeli Prime Minister Olmert trusted Turkey, but Netanyahu doesn't trust us. That's his choice," he said in remarks which were televised in Turkey.

Relations between Turkey and Israel have soured since the latter launched an incursion into the Gaza Strip in December.

Erdogan, whose ruling party traces its roots to a banned Islamist movement, has repeatedly criticized the incursion, even having a public shouting match with Israeli President Shimon Peres in January.

Netanyahu and Assad met French President Nicolas Sarkozy separately last week, and Israel said it is ready for talks.

"Now France is trying to take up the role we had," Erdogan said. "I'm not sure what kind of stance Bashar Assad will take, but from what I've heard from him, they're not going to accept something like this."

President of Algeria and NWO Plans

The president of Algeria seems to be playing into the NWO expansion plans.

From Rajab Vaughan currently in North Africa where the CIA office sits between the US Embassy and the house of the Algerian president.. and where the US have a little discussed military base in the Sahara Desert.

Algeria' president just subsidized thousands of tickets to Sudan, so that the Algerian people could go and "protect their soccer (football) team. At least ten thousand instant passports were issued for the people to go. I watched the standing in line practicing the moves they would use against the rival Egyptian fans as they stood in line for tickets at a police surrounded airline building.

Hillary Clinton had just announced her New World Order intentions of making order out of chaos in Sudan.

Now a carefully orchestrated drama between Egypt and Algeria will be played out in Sudan, where the two rival teams will be showing up in force with the specific aim of inflicting bodily harm to each other. Hillary should be thrilled with the violence and soundbites of Muslim against Muslim. She'll get all the justification she need to invade all north Africa and to show the world that Islam does not mean peace. The president of Algeria is known here in Algeria as a Freemason NWO puppet and the red satanic five pointed star is on the flag of Algeria.

He has performed his part flawlessly and of course Egypt being in the pocket of Israel has performed it's part too. Keep your eyes on the tube tomorrow for all the fiery murderous soundbites being played over and over and over just before the invasion of Sudan or possibly the bombing of Iran. Just remember when you view the melee.....there are many Muslims....but where are the believers!

You can know someone is a believer if they fit in the description of the first 20 or so lines of the second sura titled Al Baqara in the Holy Quran.

Salam

Rajab

Pakistan offensive displaces 268,000 people: UN

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – More than a quarter of a million people have fled Pakistan's latest military offensive against Taliban insurgents in the tribal South Waziristan region, the United Nations said Wednesday.

About 30,000 troops pushed into the area along the Afghan border in mid-October, under orders to eliminate the strongholds of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) movement deep in the hostile mountain terrain.

Tens of thousands of people have been gathering their families and fleeing the area and into neighboring districts for months, fearing that their homes may be razed and civilians caught in the crossfire.

"Records for internally displaced people from South Waziristan in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank have now been verified by the National Database and Registration Authority," the UN refugee agency said in a statement.

"About 268,000 people (36,787 families) were confirmed as eligible."

A total of 54,333 families had registered as displaced with authorities between August and November this year, but 17,546 families were scratched from the list because of multiple registration or invalid identity cards, it said.

The displaced are staying with relatives, friends, host families or in rented houses, and the UN is helping distribute tents and other aid.

About 1.9 million civilians fled their homes during a similar offensive against the Taliban in the Swat valley this spring, causing a humanitarian crisis for Pakistan. Most of those displaced have since returned home.

South Waziristan, which is closed to independent travel for reporters and to aid workers, is part of the lawless northwest tribal belt where US officials say Al-Qaeda and their allies are, plotting attacks on the West.

Pakistan launched the offensive on October 17 against an initially estimated 10,000 Taliban militants in the semi-autonomous region.

The army said Wednesday that they had killed six militants in the last 24 hours, with eight soldiers also injured in combat.

Overall, about 550 militants and 70 soldiers have been killed since the army launched the South Waziristan offensive, the military has said, although their figures cannot be independently verified.

Elsewhere in the troubled northwest, security forces killed five militants in an operation in the Shashu Ghund area in Kurram tribal region on Wednesday, the paramilitary Frontier Corps said.

Afghan president sworn in to second 5-year term

By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press Writers

KABUL – Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai promised Thursday to prosecute corrupt government officials and end a culture of impunity, speaking during an inauguration closely watched by the international community for signs that his administration is moving beyond the cronyism and graft of the past five years.

Karzai has come under intense international pressure to clean up his government, and has often bristled at the criticism of corruption leveled at him from Western powers.

After being sworn in to a second five-year term, Karzai said his government was doing whatever it could to implement reforms, and pledged that Afghan forces would be able to take control of the country's security in the next five years.

He also said he believed the "problem of international terrorism" in his country would be overcome.

"We are trying our best to implement social, judicial and administrative reforms in our country," Karzai said. "Being a president is a heavy task and we will try our best to honestly fulfill this task in the future."

The ceremony was attended by about 800 Afghan and foreign dignitaries from more than 40 countries. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and British Foreign Minister David Miliband were among them.

Traditionally rocky relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which share a 1,510-mile (2,430-kilometer) long border, have improved steadily since Pakistan's elected government led by Zardari replaced the military dictatorship of Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Karzai said Zardari's presence at his inauguration was a sign of "good relationship, good brotherhood."

The two leaders last met in Turkey in April. Islamist extremism and border security have topped previous discussions. Afghanistan routinely accuses Pakistan of harboring the Taliban's top leadership, while Pakistan complains bitterly about the increased influence wielded by its hostile neighbor India in Afghanistan.

Karzai said a conference would be held soon in Kabul to address ways to tackle corruption, and that his government would take its fight against drug trafficking seriously, prosecuting those who are linked to narcotics as well as those who are engaged in corruption.

"Those who spread corruption should be tried and prosecuted," he said. "Corruption is a very dangerous enemy of the state."

The president insisted he would select "expert ministers" capable of providing competent leadership.

Karzai won this year's fraud-marred presidential election by default, after his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out of a runoff, saying it was impossible for the vote to be fair.

During his speech, the president also welcomed Afghans representing all tribes and ethnicities who turned out for his inauguration and said it demonstrated national unity. He also thanked the other presidential candidates who ran in the election and invited them to contribute to the new government.

"People should know that only the votes of the people can legitimize the government," Karzai said.

Seeking to portray himself as a unifying force in the country, Karzai exclaimed, "I am the servant of all the people of Afghanistan, from every ethnicity, every tribe, from every place, from every province — from every age, whether they are small children whether they are old people, women — I invite all the presidential candidates to come and help in serving this nation."

The Taliban, however, said the inauguration ceremony was meaningless and said they would not accept his call for national unity.

"Today is not a historic day. This is a government based on nothing because of the continuing presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan," spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a telephone call.

"Karzai's call to the Taliban to come to the government has no meaning. He became president through fraud and lies," Mujahid said.

The head of Afghanistan's human rights commission said the speech struck the right tone of reform but that the Karzai government would not be able to succeed without the help of its international allies.

"The speech was good because he said we need action," said Sima Samar. "He can deliver if there is a political will — but not just on his part, also on the part of the international community."

Taliban declare guerrilla war against Pakistan army

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) – The Taliban have hit back at Pakistan claims of success in a major offensive, vowing on Wednesday that their guerrilla war would expel troops from their stronghold near the Afghan border.

"We have not been defeated. We have voluntarily withdrawn into the mountains under a strategy that will trap the Pakistan army in the area," Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq told journalists taken by blindfold to a mountain top.

Pakistan's main umbrella Taliban faction, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) arranged a news conference for journalists from the tribal belt a day after the military flew correspondents into South Waziristan to visit the battlefield.

The army told reporters that troops waging a major ground and air offensive for five weeks had captured most towns once under rebel control in South Waziristan, part of Pakistan's militant-infested tribal belt.

An AFP reporter, who was among those taken to the undefined mountain top, said Tariq sat on the open ground, without a rug or chairs.

Bearded Tariq, who is spokesman for TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud, was flanked by two armed bodyguards. This was his first direct interaction with journalists since the military mounted a major offensive on October 17.

Journalists from North Waziristan were driven to the border of neighbouring South Waziristan in broad daylight where they were blindfolded and transferred into waiting vehicles, said the AFP reporter.

They were then taken several kilometres into the rugged terrain where some 30,000 Pakistan troops backed by fighter aircraft and attack helicopters were engaged in their heaviest to date anti-Taliban offensive.

Gunfire could be heard from the mountains while one military helicopter was also seen flying in the area.

"Look -- the firing is in Nawazkot of Makin town. But this is a futile exercise, the army will never succeed in seizing control of the area," Tariq said pointing to the helicopter.

"The army claims they have captured most of the towns. This is wrong, in fact we have vacated old forts which we captured from them in previous clashes. The troops are trapped there and we will retake the area," he added.