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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Probe urged into Hashemi's corruption charges

Iran's prosecutor general has called for an investigation into corruption charges against the son of a high-ranking Iranian official.

Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, the son of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of Iran's Expediency Council, has been accused of money laundering and fact fabrication.

“If there are any charges against Mehdi Hashemi, he should be summoned and his case investigated,” Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i said in a Tuesday press conference.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a TV debate during his presidential campaign, accused the Rafsanjani family of corruption.

During the fourth round of the trial of the post-election detainees in August, one of the defendants accused Mehdi Hashemi of embezzling $2 million of the assets of the Iranian Fuel Conservation Organization — which was previously headed by him.

Hashemi, who is now in Britain, has categorically denied the accusations.

“If he [Hashemi] is found guilty, he should be punished without any mercy,” Eje'i said.

Meanwhile, Iran's prosecutor general dismissed as “fake” defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi's alleged “evidence” about the rape and murder of a young man and a teenage girl during the post-election unrest.

Contrary to the claims Saeideh Pouraqaei had been killed and buried in a Tehran cemetery, our investigations showed that she was alive, Eje'i said.

He said that a team of experts at Iran's judiciary investigated video footage provided by Karroubi in which a young man claimed he had been raped while in custody.

The experts and I had serious doubts about the man's remarks, but once we tried to have direct talks with him, Karroubi's website said the man had disappeared, he added.

“We later found somebody who had connections with the man and it was found out that he had neither taken part in protests nor had he been arrested,” Eje'i said.

Muslim council reports rights abuses in US

The Council on American Islamic Relations says it has received a total of 2,728 civil rights complaints in 2008, marking an eleven percent rise since 2006.

The annual US Muslim Civil Rights report, titled 'Seeking Full Inclusion', is a chronicle of complaints the organization has received in 2008 from Muslims across the US about discrimination, anti-Muslim violence and harassment.

Altogether 80 percent of the incidents were reported in the states of California, Illinois, New York, Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Texas, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

The council, a Muslim civil rights organization, said the complaints increased by 3 percent compared to 2007 and by 11 percent compared to 2006.

A film titled 'Obsession, Radical Islam's War Against the West' was made in the US in 2008. More than 28 million DVDs of this film have been distributed in 14 US states.

Iran to produce swine flu vaccine in 6 months

While the first stock of swine flu vaccine is to be distributed in Iran in the coming days, officials say the homemade version of the vaccine will become available in the near future.

Deputy Health Minister Hassan Emami-Razavi told ISNA that the country had already ordered two million doses of the vaccine, a portion of which has already been imported to the country. He added that the vaccines, imported from France, have been approved by the European Union.

He said that authorities intend to buy three million more doses by January, adding that the high-risk population includes five million Iranians.

Emami-Razavi stressed that the swine flu vaccine suitable for pregnant women will soon be purchased in order to protect this high-risk group against the fatal virus.

He said the first stock of the swine flu vaccine would be free of charge for high-risk patients. He added that children younger than 5 have not been included in the high-risk population.

The deputy health minister added that individuals suffering from thalassemia, kidney disorders, cancer and other difficult to treat diseases are among the priorities to receive the vaccine.

Emami-Razavi stressed that healthcare providers in close contact with infected patients would soon receive the vaccine.

“Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute and Pasteur Institute of Iran have launched a series of studies and research to produce a vaccine to fight against A-H1N1 virus,” said Emami-Razavi, adding that some two million dollars have been allocated for research in this field.

Emami-Razavi announced that scientists hope to make the Iranian vaccine within the next 5-6 months.

Majlis approves support for Tehran subway

The Iranian parliament (Majlis) has approved a bill which will require the government to allocate $1 billion from the country's foreign exchange reserves for the completion of Tehran's subway system.

The bill was passed by a sweeping 163-24 votes on Tuesday.

Divisions between the government and Tehran's City Council increased when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced in a TV interview last month that the government plans to take over the management of the subway system from the City Council.

Tehran's Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf said in July that the City Council has not received since 2005 the annual $4 billion the government had to pay for the expansion of Tehran's public transportation system, including the subway system.

The new approved bill means the government must allocate $1 billion by the end of the year from the foreign exchange reserves for the modernization and completion of Tehran's subway system while another $1 billion should be spent on transportation projects in other major cities.

The head of Tehran's Railway Company Mohsen Hashemi said in July that the completion of the city's subway system was four years behind schedule due to the government's lack of financial support.

An estimated 1.5 million people in Tehran use the subway for their daily commute. The completion of the subway has been one of Qalibaf's key plans to reduce the Iranian capital's traffic jams.

Iran calls for release of detained Iranian in US

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has called on the US to release a detained Iranian who has been allegedly found guilty of arms trafficking.

Amir Hossein Ardebili was detained by undercover US agents in Georgia in 2007 and secretly transferred to the United States. Following his detention, he pled guilty in a US court to 14 counts related to arms trafficking in the May of 2008.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in a Delaware court on December 14.

Mottaki said the remarks made by Ardebili in the US court were reflective of his "unsuitable psychological situation," condemning what he described in his case as "the violation of international law."

The Iranian minister called on the US to secure the immediate and "unconditional release" of the detainee, arguing that "We do not see any reliable evidence for the allegations made against Ardebili."

Sarkozy rises in defense of Swiss minaret ban

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday warned believers to be thankful for the religious freedom they enjoy in France, amid national debates over faith following a Swiss ban on minarets.

In an opinion piece published in the French daily Le Monde, the president defended the Swiss referendum against widespread international condemnation of the ban.

"Instead of condemning the Swiss out of hand, we should try to understand what they meant to express and what so many people in Europe feel, including people in France," he wrote.

Sarkozy linked the ban to the Alpine country's concerns over a potential loss of identity that should not be overlooked, and showed the importance of holding extended debates on national identity.

The government's recently launched "grand débat,” calling nationalists to describe what it is that makes them feel French, has been criticized as a ploy to appeal to the right-wing section of the population ahead of regional elections next March.

France, home to Europe's largest Muslim minority, passed a law in 2004, banning headscarves or any other "conspicuous" religious symbols in state schools in defense of secularism.

"Christian, Jew or Muslim... each one must guard against all ostentation and all provocation and, aware of the good fortune to be able to live in a free land, practice his religion with humble discretion," the president added.

Sarkozy went on to directly reassure French Muslims that he would dedicate himself to the battle against discrimination, maintaining that no one in Europe was seeking to deny Muslims their basic right to freedom of religion.

A poll published last week, however, exposed French hostility towards the building of not only the minaret — distinct architectural features built on top of mosques — but the Islamic prayer houses over all.

Nearly half the population (46 percent) were against building of mosques, while 41 percent favored a ban on the minarets.

"The peoples of Europe are welcoming and tolerant…But they do not want their surroundings, their way of thinking and their social relationships to be distorted," he argued.

France, with six million Muslims, has fewer than 2,500 prayers houses and mosques, many of which are housed in modest halls, according to AFP.

Lebanon Parliament opens vote of confidence

The Lebanese Parliament has kicked off debate on vote of confidence for the new government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The lawmakers started a three-day meeting on Tuesday, during which 65 lawmakers in the 128-member Parliament will get a chance to speak about the cabinet line-up.

The lawmakers will also discuss the government's ministerial statement in the meeting.

"Cabinet faces a test of people's trust," said Prime Minister Saad Hariri prior to reading the cabinet policy statement. "Unity and authority of the state as well as the sole authority on all issues related to the country's general policy."

The vote is expected at the end of the debate on Thursday.

Students, militia clash in 2nd day of Iran protest

By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran – Pro-government militiamen assaulted university students demonstrating for a second straight day and hard-liners on motorcycles harassed the top opposition leader at his office Tuesday, signs of a possible intensified crackdown after the biggest anti-government demonstrations in months.

The new unrest came as Iran's top prosecutor warned of even tougher action against protesters following marches the day before by tens of thousands at universities around the country. Demonstrations on Monday turned into fierce clashes between youths and riot police and militiamen, and more than 200 protesters were arrested.

Authorities appear concerned that the protest movement launched after disputed presidential elections in June could pick up new steam.

In Monday's unrest, students showed an increased fervor and boldness, openly breaking the biggest taboo in Iran, burning pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and chanting slogans against him.

At Tehran University, several thousand students gathered for a new protest Tuesday at the Engineering College, and hard-line Basij militiamen attacked them, throwing stones and firing tear gas, witnesses said. At least one student was dragged away, the witnesses said, speaking on condition of anonymity fearing retribution. Foreign journalists, including The Associated Press, have been barred from covering protests.

Footage posted on the Internet, said to be from Tuesday, showed a large crowd of students in front of the college waving Iranian flags, then jostling to get away from the militiamen. Some cry out in warning, "Basiji, Basiji." Inside the college building, students lit papers into a bonfire in an attempt to ward off the tear gas.

Meanwhile, plainclothes men on motorcycles — likely Basijis — confronted the top opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi at his Tehran office.

Up to 30 men on motorcycles, some in masks, blocked Mousavi as he tried to drive out of his office garage and chanted slogans against him, two opposition Web sites said, citing witnesses.

Mousavi got out of his car and shouted at them, "You're agents. Do whatever you've been ordered to do, kill me, beat me, threaten me," before his aides hustled him back inside, the Gooya News Web site reported. The men left several hours later and Mousavi was able to leave.

During Monday's demonstrations, hard-line students mobbed Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard at Tehran University, spraying her with pepper spray before her supporters took her away, opposition Web sites reported.

Hard-line clerics and commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guard have called for the arrest of Mousavi, accusing him of sparking protests and conspiring against Iran's clerical leadership. Arresting Mousavi or other top opposition leaders would be a major escalation, likely to spark greater turmoil — and so far the government has balked at taking the step.

But Iran's top prosecutor, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, did not rule out action against Mousavi.

When asked at a press conference if the judiciary will pursue Mousavi, he said, "We will not tolerate anyone who commits actions against security, and we will confront them," according to the Fars news agency.

Ejehi warned the judiciary will take a new no-tolerance policy toward protesters.

"So far, we have shown restraint. From today no leniency will be applied," he said, according to the official IRNA news agency.

He demanded Tehran prosecutors take stronger action against those "who violate public order and damage public properties."

Tehran's police chief, Gen. Azizullah Rajabzadeh, announced that 204 protesters, including 39 women, were arrested in the capital during Monday's demonstrations. They were detained for "violating public order," including setting fire to vehicles and chanting slogans, he said, according to IRNA.

Those arrested will be handed over to the judiciary for prosecution, he said. There was no immediate word on the number of arrests outside Tehran.

The turnout in Monday's protests — fueled by students marching by the thousands on more than a dozen campuses around the country — showed that months of arrests and government intimidation had failed to stamp out the movement.

A wave of arrests since July succeeded in crushing the massive protests by hundreds of thousands that erupted after the election, which the opposition says Mousavi won but President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole by fraud.

More than 100 politicians, activists and protesters have been put on a mass trial before the Revolutionary Court, accused of being part of a foreign-backed plot to overthrow the Islamic Republic. Five have been sentenced to death and 80 others to prison terms up to 15 years. In recent weeks, more than 100 student leaders were arrested ahead of Monday's demonstration, and several have been given heavy prison sentences.

Since the summer, the opposition has held major protests only about once a month — timed to coincide with the many occasions on Iran's political and religious calendar that traditionally bring street demonstrations. The strategy aims to drum up as many people as possible and draw more attention.

Authorities may be concerned because the coming months could heat up, with several key occasions that give the opposition a pretext for bringing supporters into the street.

In mid-December, the Islamic holy month of Moharram begins — and throughout the month Iranians traditionally hold mass mourning ceremonies. Next comes the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which is marked by 10 days of celebrations in early February.

Middle East Gates Open to Turkey: Gul's Visit to Jordan

Monday, 7 December 2009

Following Syria, Albania, Qatar and Libya, the visas with Jordan have now been abolished as well.

There are new countries in line, both from the Middle East and other regions; however, the visit to Jordan by President Abdullah Gul witnessed more important agreements other than the removal of visas.

The limitations on trade between the two countries were substantially removed through the “Mutual Administrative Aid Agreement Concerning Customs Issues” and “Partnership Agreement Establishing Free Trade Zone”. Success is still limited to paper, because many documents can be signed in the Middle East, but the implementation of what is written takes much longer.

President Gul arrived in Jordan on 2 December 2009 with Minister of State Aliye Kavaf, Minister of Industry and Trade Nihat Ergün, parliamentarians, high ranked bureaucrats, diplomats, a crowded business committee and representatives from universities and think tanks including USAK.

The three day visit was like another attempt to expand Turkey’s role in the region. President Gul gave importance to the Turkish businessmen’s bilateral relations as much as he cared about the signed agreements. As a matter of fact, the agreements were the easier part of the visit. The texts had already been prepared prior to the visit and were signed upon arrival. Issues of trust have problem has been resolved on the Jordanian side; signing the agreements can be likened lo serving a cooked meal. However, the problems of businessmen needed urgent care. As the state draws closer to businessmen, they want to be supported by the state more and more. Although they receive more attention than they have in the past, they are not satisfied and they have a right to feel like that. They turn the state attention towards investment, employment and the improvement of Turkey’s image. In other words, as the state pats businessmen on the back, and shares in their grievances, businessmen even perform the tasks that the state has to do. President Gul is aware of it, because he is from Kayseri, which is known for its business dealings. His academic background is in the field of economy which also helps him to acknowledge that a significant part of foreign politics includes economy. A great number of businessmen who participated to in the trips have known him since his time in the Foreign Ministry. Consequently, President Gul and his committee discuss the problems of businessmen in almost every meeting in view of the other side; he has done his best to provide access to Turkish companies in the Jordanian markets. It can be seen that the new Middle Eastern politics of Turkey are based on economic relations; Turkey wishes to develop its political relations on the basis of economy. Prior to launching the arrangements facilitating free trade with Turkey, Jordan side was frightened. It was saying ‘If the gates are opened, the developed Turkish economy will swallow us.” The 'excessive eagerness’ of Turks to develop relations did not help to decrease their fears, it probably raised them. Due to this, they first asked to Syria and Egypt since both of these countries expressed how they had benefited to great extent thanks to trade liberalization with Turkey. Their praise changed the attitude of Jordan. For instance, Egypt explained that the Turks created more than 60.000 new employments in the country in just last two years. Similarly, Syria appreciated its relations with Turkey. Thus, the concerns of Jordan decreased substantially and it became possible to sign three agreements.

The trade volume between Turkey and Jordan exceeded $450 million in 2008. However, there is a severe imbalance in trade relations in favor of Turkey. While the export of Turkey exceeds $400 million, the export of Jordan to Turkey is not even one tenth of that. A one sided relation is not possible. The relations can only be sustained in an order where both sides gain. Turkey is aware of this fact and is exploring what can be done on the basis of win-win principle. * The Economy of Jordan and Turkish Entrepreneurship Jordan is a relatively small country. Its population is around 6.5 million, and at least 60% of this population has Palestinian origin. There are 1.5 million Palestinian refugees within the country and they are living in refugee camps. After the Iraq War, more than 700.000 Iraqis came to Jordan. However, because most of these Iraqis were well-off, this migration had a positive impact on the economy. The country’s economy grew more than 7 % during the two years following the Iraq War and the capital, Amman, continues to be like a building site. Formal bids coming into existence with this revenue increase attract Turkish companies. Turkish businessmen in Jordan say the difficulties in private trade are not generally experienced in contracts which are signed by the state. Jordan does not have a significant industry. Tourism is not unimportant for the country’s economy, but it is still a sector under its potential. The country does not have an important natural resource either. Moreover, it has hardly any potable water. Despite this ‘distressful’ scene, the economy in Jordan succeeds in withstanding difficulties, it has strategic importance. Both the US and EU attach great importance to Jordan. Even Israel wants Jordan to stand up and develop in certain ways. Similarly, other Arab countries, especially oil rich Arabs, support Jordan. In this way, Jordan proves its success in turning its political importance to money. In addition, earnings, sent to the country by Jordanians who work in other countries, count also as incomes. The unemployment rate is around 12 % in the country. When immigrants are considered as part of the country’s population, unemployment becomes high enough to upset the balance. In spite of this, one of the most important problems of companies, which plan to invest in the country, is to find workers. Many companies bring their own workers when they invest there or try to find workers from a third country. For example, more than 70 % of approximately 1.500 workers employed by Sahinler company, a textile firm, are from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other various countries. The reasons for employment of foreign workers include the efforts to decrease the costs and difficulties in finding skilled workers. In fact, Jordanians, when compared to the other Arab countries, are more sophisticated. The literacy rate is more than 90 % unlike the low rates of other Arab countries, and a large part of the population can speak English. However, the business culture is still weak: Lower classes still prefer jobs, and the entrepreneurship remains very weak in higher classes; it is not comparable to the Turkish case. The biggest contribution to the presence of Turkish companies in these countries is the establishment of a culture of entrepreneurship. For instance, many Arabs in Egypt admired Turkish way of business. The facilities that Turkish companies provide such as regular lunch and transportation, fascinated the Arabs and a new business understanding started to flourish there. The most important contribution of Turkey to Jordan will probably take place in this field. Their relatively liberal Jordan economy will attain a permanent, institutionalized and localized advancement with developmental dynamics...

Budget cuts will affect nutrition program

08 December 2009

AMMAN - A JD50 million cut in the Ministry of Education's budget for the year 2010 will affect the School Nutrition Program (SNP), Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Walid Maani said.

In an interview with The Jordan Times, Maani noted that because of the financial constraints implied in the new budget, "we have to cut down the number of students who are covered under the program".

The ministry's budget for the coming year is expected to decrease from a total of JD547 million (JD482 million in current expenditure and JD65 million in capital expenditure) in 2009 to JD497 million in the 2010 state budget (capital expenditure will see a cut by JD30 million and current expenses will be reduced by JD20 million from the present year's figures), according to top officials at the ministry.

"We think it is a very important program. It had some problems in the past... but we stopped giving materials that are subject to bacteria contamination; we give only biscuits which are fortified with vitamins and fruits," the minister explained.

"We discovered that a lot of students go to school because they want to have the meal, which indicates that they want to have it because they feel it is necessary," Maani said, adding that meals distributed in schools have become an incentive for students in some impoverished areas.

Despite the expected cuts, he noted that the meal will be still distributed in schools in underprivileged areas including the Jordan Valley and Northern Badia.

The SNP initially started in 1999 after national surveys revealed serious health deficiencies among needy schoolchildren - particularly vitamins A and D, and iron, which affect learning abilities. The SNP first took off with 10,000 students at a cost of JD773,000.

Last year, it covered an estimated 460,000 students in public schools at a cost of some JD20 million.

Ministry to discuss new Tawjihi with stakeholders

08 December 2009

AMMAN - Some 200 educational experts, journalists, educators, parents and students from across the Kingdom will convene on December 26 to decide on proposed drastic changes to the Tawjihi system, a top official said.

Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Walid Maani said the national conference will gather all concerned parties to study a plan proposed by the ministry to hold the Tawjihi (General Secondary School Certificate Examination) over four semesters in two years rather than in two semesters.

In an interview with The Jordan Times this week, Maani explained that under the proposed plan, the Tawjihi will be used as an admission test for universities.

"The Tawjihi should not be really used for employment, it should be used for purposes of acceptance in universities... It should not be used as an indicator of finishing high school, because there is a certificate issued by the ministry that indicates finishing high school... so it is just an acceptance test," he said.

According to Maani, the Tawjihi will be carried out through two sets of subjects: the national bundle and the university bundle.

The first bundle, whose subjects have yet to be decided, will be obligatory for all students, while the second bundle will include specific tests that will be required for students wishing to study certain subjects at college.

"The medical and biological bundle for example, contains subjects that are required for anybody who wants to study medicine or biology. The engineering and computing bundle contains subjects for anybody who wants to study engineering, IT or MIS," Maani explained, adding that students will choose which subjects to study at the end of the 10th grade.

He added that a student will have two years (four semesters) to sit for the exams, with three subjects in each semester for a total of 12 subjects, but this number may change.

According to Maani, studying only three subjects each semester will give students more time to study each subject thoroughly, as well as to participate in extracurricular activities.

During the conference, the minister will present the proposed plan for recommendations from the participants, while comments submitted by the public on the proposal's website, www.newtawjihi.jo, will be presented as well.

"After finishing the conference, the recommendations will be referred to the Education Council to ratify them, and implementation will start in June 2012," Maani noted.

The minister stressed, however, that some issues related to the plan must still be resolved, including the question of what to do with students who choose a certain course of study but whose grades do not qualify them for university-level work in their chosen field, but expressed confidence that such issues will be resolved during the conference.

Reforming the Tawjihi system, he explained, will require overhauling other components of the education system, including changes to the curriculum to match the new system, teacher training and improving the environment in schools.

"If you do not have the right teachers to teach the right curriculum, then the outcome will be hopeless," the minister stated.

Maani also revealed that the ministry is currently in the process of creating an educational training center to coordinate and unify its ongoing training projects and said the ministry is also planning to look into the issue of teachers' salaries.

"After the training, one has to look into their [teachers'] situation, whether they are happy or not... of course they are not happy because the payment is little and the morale is low... we have to work on this," he said.

The minister also stressed that improving the education environment is not only a matter of upgrading facilities, but also involves improving the relationship between students and teachers, citing recent incidents of school violence as a reason to make this issue a priority.

"We want to reform the school so that students wake up in the morning and want to go to school because it is an enjoyable environment, not only because it looks good, it must feel good," he said.

Over 400 students to run in University of Jordan council elections

07 December 2009

AMMAN - Over 400 students have registered to run for this month's University of Jordan (UJ) student council elections, a UJ official said on Sunday.

Abdel Karim Qudah, UJ vice president and head of the election organizing committee, said a total of 444 students declared their candidacy, 93 of whom are female students.

He added that on Tuesday, the committee will announce the accepted and rejected applications for the elections, scheduled for December 17.

According to election regulations, only those who have successfully finished 12 accredited academic hours in a bachelor's degree program and six hours in a master's program can run for elections.

In addition, undergraduate candidates must have a minimum accumulative grade point average of 2.0 on a four-point scale, 2.5 for those enrolled in postgraduate studies.

University regulations also prevent those with disciplinary records from running for elections.

According to Qudah, this year the UJ administration increased the number of council seats from 83 to 95.

"We allocated 12 seats for the university's branch in Aqaba and allocated another seat for the women's studies department," Qudah noted.

According to committee regulations, students can start campaigning on December 12 and are not allowed to hang posters and banners in the classrooms, labs, doors, windows and at the UJ's administration.

Islamist students announced on Saturday that they will participate in this year's student council elections.

Last year, 406 candidates competed in the elections, forming the first "fully elected" student council in nearly a decade.

Previously, half of the council members were appointed by the university president, with the reminder be elected by UJ students.

Qudah noted that a media center equipped with computers and Internet access will be available all day for the use of journalists covering the elections.

Jordan hails EU plan to recognize Jerusalem as Palestinian capital

Sun, 06 Dec 2009

Amman - Jordan's King Abdullah II on Sunday praised the European Union's endeavor to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state. The monarch's remark was made during his meeting with ambassadors of the EU countries accredited to Jordan, according to a royal court statement.

"The king hailed efforts being exerted by Sweden, the current EU chairman, to work out a unified European attitude that recognizes East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state in accordance with the two-state vision which enjoys universal consensus," a royal court statement said.

EU foreign ministers are reportedly expected to discuss the Swedish draft when they meet in Brussels on Monday. The Swedish proposal is also said to provide for EU endorsement of a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood.

During Sunday's meeting, King Abdullah urged EU countries "to put adequate pressure on Israel to force it to stop all unilateral measures it is carrying out in occupied Jerusalem that may threaten Islamic and Christian shrines there and seek to change its (Arab) stamp through emptying the holy city of its Muslim and Christian inhabitants."

Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war before annexing it, which is still considered by the United Nations as occupied territory.

King Abdullah also underlined the importance of the EU's role in removing obstacles that hinder the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the royal court statement said.

Iran Develops Submarine Fleet

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Iran has been developing its naval submarine fleet.

The U.S. Navy has asserted that Iran was procuring and developing a range of submarines for operations in the Gulf. The naval intelligence office said Iran's conventional navy as well as that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were directing programs to achieve an underwater stealth capability.

Spirit remains trapped in Martian sand

PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- NASA engineers attempting to free the Mars rover Spirit from loose Martian sand since April say the results of their attempts so far are not encouraging.

A series of diagnostic tests conducted on Spirit's right-rear wheel last week were designed to investigate stalls that occurred Nov. 28 and earlier. Those diagnostics, the space agency said, included rotor-resistance tests at three temperatures and a one-radian (about 57 degrees) forward motion test.

"The plan ahead is to explore a set of hypotheses: possible motor failure, possible internal gearbox jam, possible external jam (e.g., a rock in the wheel)," NASA said in a statement. "Commands being developed for Spirit's activities (Tuesday and Wednesday) will include more diagnostics to explore these hypotheses."

Four New Species of King Crabs Discovered

02 December 2009

Kings crabs are among the ocean's largest crustaceans, so you'd think scientists might know quite a bit about them.

As with much in the sea, however, there is much to learn.

In fact today researchers announced they'd found four new species of king crabs, brining the total known to 113.

Importantly, one of the new species lives around the Galapagos Islands, in warm water. King crabs had once been thought to be confined to chilly climes.

"We are only now beginning to understand the incredible diversity of animals living in the deep sea," said Sally Hall, a doctoral student at the University of Southampton and the discoverer of the new species.

"King crabs include some of the largest crustaceans currently inhabiting Earth," Hall said.

The new species are Paralomis nivosa from the Philippines, P. makarovi from the Bering Sea, P. alcockiana from South Carolina, and Lithodes galapagensis from the Galapagos archipelago.

It is now clear that species of deep-sea king crab live in most areas of the world's oceans, but many more species remain to be discovered.

"The oceans off eastern Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean are all particularly poorly sampled," said Hall: "We need to know which king crab species live where before we can fully understand their ecology and evolutionary success."

Siberian Tiger Population Declines

30 November 2009

The last remaining population of Siberian tigers has likely declined significantly due to increased poaching and habitat loss, according to a report released yesterday by the Siberian Tiger Monitoring Program, a collaboration between the U.S. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and several Russian organizations.

The results will help inform Russian officials figure out how to protect remaining populations of the world’s biggest cat, WCS officials say.

The report was based on a recent annual tiger survey conducted over a representative part of the tiger's range. Only 56 tigers were counted in the monitoring area, a 40 percent decline from the 12-year average.

Such annual tiger surveys, which are conducted at 16 monitoring sites scattered across the tiger's range, act as early warning systems to detect changes in the tiger population. The monitoring area, which covers 9,000 square miles ((23,555 square kilometers), represents 15percent to 18 percent of the existing tiger habitat in Russia.

While deep snows this past winter may have forced tigers to reduce the amount they traveled, making them less detectable, the report notes a four-year trend of decreasing numbers of tigers.

"The sobering results are a wake-up call that current conservation efforts are not going far enough to protect Siberian tigers," Dale Miquelle, of the WCS’s Russian Far East Program, said in a statement. "The good news is that we believe this trend can be reversed if immediate action is taken."

The authors of the report say the decline is due primarily to increased poaching of both tigers and their prey species in the region, coupled with a series of reforms in Russia, which reduced the number of enforcement personnel in key tiger areas.

Russian scientists and officials at non-governmental organizations are recommending changes in law enforcement regulations, improvements in habitat protection, and a strengthening of the protected areas network to reverse the downward trend.

"While the results are indeed bad news in the short term, we believe the overall picture for Siberian tigers remains positive," Colin Poole, WCS director of Asia Programs, said in a statement. "There is an enormous amount of good will for saving Siberian tigers. We just need to translate this into action."

Indeed, the last half-century has brought some good news for this large cat. The total number of Siberian tigers across their entire range was estimated at approximately 500 individuals in 2005, having recovered from less than 30 animals in the late 1940s.

The Wildlife Conservation Society's work in this region was supported by 21st Century Tiger, E. Lisk Wyckoff, Jr. and the Homeland Foundation, and the Save the Tiger Fund, among others.

Anti-wall protester shot in Nil'in

December 4, 2009

Ni'lin - Ma'an - Israeli forces shot a Palestinian teenager with live fire during a weekly anti-wall protest in the village of Ni'lin on Friday.

Two medics said the 19-year-old, identified as Hasan Khaled Nafa, was shot in the right groin by a "tutu" bullet. A third medic said the ammunition was a ".22 sniper bullet."

Ma'an's correspondent, reporting from the scene, said the teenager lost large amounts of blood and was treated with a transfusion on-site. He was transferred to the Ramallah Government Hospital following the transfusion, the reporter added.

An Israeli court outlawed the "tutu" ammunition in 2001, but soldiers began using it again last month. Israeli rights organizations insist the bullet is a deadly weapon, as it has killed Palestinians in the past.

An Israeli military spokesman confirmed that soldiers fired the bullet, a type he said was reserved for "exceptionally violent rioters" and only those posing a threat to security forces.

The official added that several people hurled rocks with the intent to hurt soldiers, who responded with riot-dispersal means, before shooting a Palestinian male in the lower body.

About 150 Palestinian, Israeli and international protesters participated in the demonstration. Israeli forces met the demonstrators with fire when they approached a wall being constructed through the middle of Nil'in.

Two weeks earlier, Israeli forces injured two Palestinians in the same village. One of them was hospitalized and underwent surgery in Ramallah after he was similarly shot in the groin.

Gaza Freedom March less than one month away

Press Release, Gaza Freedom March

December 4, 2009

The Gaza Freedom March that will take place in Gaza on 31 December is an historic initiative to break the siege that has imprisoned the 1.5 million people who live there. Conceived in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and nonviolent resistance to injustice worldwide, the march will gather people from all over the world to march -- hand in hand -- with the people of Gaza to demand that the Israelis open the borders.

Marking the one-year anniversary of the December 2008 Israeli invasion that left more than 1,400 dead, this is a grassroots global response to the inaction on the part of world leaders and institutions. More than 1,000 international delegates from 42 countries have already signed up and more are signing on every day.

Participants include Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker, leading Syrian comedian Duraid Lahham, French Senator Alima Boumediene-Thiery, autthor and Filipino Parliament member Walden Bello, former European Parliamentarians Luisa Morgantini from Italy and Eva Quistorp from Germany, President of the US Center for Constitutional Rights Attorney Michael Ratner, Japanese former Ambassador to Lebanon Naoto Amaki, French hip-hop artists Ministere des Affaires Populaires, and 85-year-old Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein.

We also have families of three generations, doctors, lawyers, diplomats, 70 students, an interfaith group that includes rabbis, priests and imams, a women's delegation, a Jewish contingent, a veterans group and Palestinians born overseas who have never seen their families in Gaza.

The international delegates will enter Gaza via Egypt during the last week of December. In the morning 31 December, they will join Palestinians in a nonviolent march from northern Gaza to the Erez/Israeli border. On the Israeli side of the Erez border will be a gathering of Palestinians and Jews who are also calling on the Israeli government to open the border.

Inside Gaza, excitement is growing. Representatives of all aspects of civil society, including students, professors, refugee groups, unions, women's organizations, nongovernmental organizations, have been busy organizing and estimate that at least 50,000 Palestinians will participate. People from the different sectors will march in their uniforms -- fishermen, doctors, students, farmers, etc. Local Palestinian rappers, hip-hop bands and dabke dancers will perform on mobile stages.

Will Congress Criminalize Anti-Semitism and Israeli Criticism?

Stephen Lendman

December 4, 2009

In the current climate, perhaps given:

-- America's police state laws;

-- no due process or judicial fairness for any state target;

-- mass illegal surveillance;

-- targeting dissent; and

-- the power of the Israeli Lobby over Congress, the media, academia, the clergy, and most anyone confronting them.

During Israel's war on Gaza, only 5 of 535 congressional members dissented on pro-Israeli resolutions.

On January 8, 2009, the Senate unanimously passed S 10: "A resolution recognizing the right of Israel to defend itself against attacks from Gaza and reaffirming the United States' strong support for Israel in its battle with Hamas, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian (no peace) peace process."

On January 9, the House, by a 390 - 5 vote, passed HR 34 "Recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States' strong support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian (no peace) peace process." More on this below.

Then on October 28, Obama signed the expanded 2009 Hate Crimes Prevention Act, some call a stealth war on free expression and civil liberties. More on this as well.

Also consider events in Canada, initiated by a body called the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA), a voluntary association of 22 MPs investigating anti-semitism because, it says:

Its "extent and severity is widely regarded as at its worst level since the end of the Second World War," despite contrary evidence and much to show how Israel twists opposition to Zionism and its international law violations to be an attack on Jews.

On October 29, in fact, Reuters reported that:

"Anti-Semitic attitudes in the United States are at a historic low, with 12 percent of Americans prejudiced toward Jews, an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) survey found" based on polling done from September 26 - October 4 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8%.

ADL said the level of anti-Semitism matched 1998's as the lowest in the poll's 45-year history. Yet in his 2003 book, "Never Again? The Threat Of The New Anti-Semitism," national director, Abraham Foxman, said he's:

"convinced we currently face as great a threat to the safety of the Jewish people as the one we faced in the 1930s - if not a greater one," contradicted by Cato Institute research fellow Leon Hadar (writing in the January 2004 Chronicles) that public opinion polls "indicate anti-Semitism (both its racial and religious versions) has been in steep decline in most of Western Europe...."

Yet various Canadian Jewish organizations, including Hillel, B'nai Brith, and the Canadian Jewish Congress cite rising anti-Semitic incidents. On March 31, 2009, for example, B'Nai Brith Canada claimed Canadian anti-Semitic incidents rose 8.9% in 2008 over 2007, with "more than (a) four-fold increase in incidents over the past decade."

The result gets bodies like CPCCA to exploit it, with disturbing implications of where this may lead, including calling opposition to Zionism and Israeli crimes anti-Semitism, and criminalizing them at a time the global BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement is gaining traction in the wake of Operation Cast Lead and 42 years of military occupation.

CPCCA's web site (cpcca.ca) says:

"In February 2009, parliamentarians from around the world gathered in London for the inaugural conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee for Combatting Antisemitism." Over 125 legislators attended from nearly 40 countries, after which "The London Declaration for Combating Antisemitism call(ed) on all governments to face the problem...."

CPCCA is a Canadian body, formed in March 2009 by 22 parliamentarians from all parties in the House of Commons. An inquiry was begun on June 2 calling for written submissions followed by public hearings (excluding anti-Israeli groups) running from November 2 - December 8. When concluded, the Steering Committee will produce a report for the government, anticipating a response "no later than the fall of 2010."

Its web site asks: "What is the new anti-semitism," saying:

"Anti-semitism is an age-old phenomenon, yet it is always re-invented and manifested in different ways.
For example, while accusations of blood libel are still being made against the Jewish people, instead they are being directed against the State of Israel, such that anti-Zionism is being used as a cover for anti-semitism."

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)

Founded in 2002, CJPME (cjpme.org) promotes "justice, peace, prosperity and security for all peoples of the Middle East," and believes "all positions should respect international law....violence is not a solution, (and) all parties in a conflict must be held to the same standard."

On August 31, 2009, it issued a "Written Submission to (CPCCA) Concerning Anti-Semitism in Canada," saying:

-- it opposes anti-Semitism;

-- Israeli criticism must not be linked to it; and

-- because of how it's vilified, CJPME fears it will result in:

-- "a terrifying attack on civil liberties (and free expression) in Canada, and

-- a total silencing of debate on Israel out of fear of legal action."

Yet both outcomes would violate "fundamental protections enumerated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms," so efforts must be made to prevent them.

Israel is a secular state, not a proxy for Judaism or Jews. Many Jews globally, including Israelis, are extremely critical of government policies with regard to Occupied Palestine and its own Arab citizens. According to Ryerson University's Social Justice and Democracy Professor Judy Rebick:

-- equating Israeli criticism with anti-Semitism "is based on a claim that the State of Israel is the single outcome of the history of the Jewish people, the final end of generations of diasporic existence. It attempts to make the Zionist project of a Jewish nation the only legitimate project for all Jews," when, in fact, many Jews publicly oppose Zionism and Israeli policies. Doing so isn't anti-Judaic, anti-Israeli, or anti-Semitic because they, like Martin Luther King, believe that:

"True peace is not the absence of violence, but the presence of justice," an element entirely absent in how Israelis treat Palestinians and their own Arab citizens.

Asking why Israel is heavily criticized, CJPME cites the following:

-- its continued defiling of "the international consensus for respect for human and humanitarian rights - as reflected in international law....;"

-- its maintenance of "one of the longest military occupations in modern history" over Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan, and Shebba Farms area of Lebanon;

-- its repeated violations of international law and UN resolutions; and

-- its imposition of "elements resembling those of South African Apartheid."

As a result, it's unsurprising that anti-Semitism accusations are made to stifle Israeli criticism as a way to diffuse and perhaps criminalize them. The possibility worries CJPME enough to say they can't be used "to infringe on fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms comprising Part I of the March 29, 1982 Constitution Act. CJPME formally petitioned to participate in CPCCA's inquiry that so far excludes Israeli critics.

"America's Last Taboo"

It was distinguished Palestinian American activist/scholar Edward Said's title for his New Left Review November-December 2000 article citing the "near-total triumph for Zionism in the United States." Then and now, Israel is cast as victim in a dangerous neighborhood acting only in self-defense against "rock-throwing barbarians (comprising) what is essentially an invasive force. (It's the) Palestinians who are encroaching on Israeli territory, not the other way around."

The message is so ingrained that the media repeat it ad nauseam, and Said more than once said that the entire US Senate can be marshaled in a matter of hours to support Israel on virtually anything - even a wanton attack as malicious as Operation Cast Lead and numerous previous ones for many decades.

Exhibits A and B: S 10 and HR 34 with near-identical language saying:

-- "Hamas was founded with the stated goal of destroying the State of Israel."

Fact Check

Hamas was founded in 1987 during the first Intifada to resist repression and occupation through negotiation and international consensus, not war or terrorism as falsely portrayed. Yet as international law allows, it strongly defends itself when attacked.

-- "Hamas has been designated by the Secretary of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization."

Fact Check

True because any organization or group opposing imperial aggression and dominance is so designated.

-- "Hamas has refused to comply with the requirements of the Quartet (the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations) that Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence, and agree to accept previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians."

Fact Check

Hamas repeatedly called for peace and an end of violence and expressed willingness to negotiate on the basis of "hudnah" or temporary truce. Its founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, said Hamas would end its liberating struggle "if the Zionists ended (their) occupation of Palestinian territories and stopped killing Palestinian women, children and innocent civilians." More recently, Hamas offered peace and Israeli recognition in return for a Palestinian state inside pre-1967 borders, its Occupied Territories.

-- "in June 2006, Hamas crossed into Israel, attacked Israeli forces and kidnapped Corporal Gilad Shalit, whom they continue to hold today."

Fact Check

On June 25, Palestinians, including Hamas, responded to repeated Israeli attacks by striking an Israeli military post near Kerem Shalom crossing, southeast of Rafah, killing two IDF soldiers, injuring several others, and capturing (not kidnapping) a third, corporal Shalit. Israel's long-planned Operation Summer Rain followed resulting in mass killings and destruction ahead of its horrendous July war on Lebanon, causing over 1,000 deaths and destruction comparable to Operation Cast Lead.

-- "Hamas has launched thousands of rockets and mortars since Israel dismantled settlements and withdrew from Gaza in 2005."

Fact Check

Many dozens, not thousands, of crude homemade rockets and mortars were used only in self-defense in response to repeated Israeli attacks with the most technologically advanced weapons, mostly from Washington, including F-16s, helicopter gunships, and powerful munitions, some clearly illegal.

House and Senate resolutions also cite, but don't substantiate, Iranian help; Hamas locating "elements of its terrorist infrastructure in civilian population centers, thus using innocent civilians as human shields," a practice Israel has used for decades; the threat "hundreds of thousands of Israelis" face from rocket attacks, giving them no alternative but to respond.

Dismissive about Gaza's two and a half year siege, the resolutions stress how "Israel has facilitated humanitarian aid to Gaza with over 500 trucks and numerous ambulances entering the Gaza Strip since December 26, 2008."

It also says "the ultimate goal of the United States is a sustainable resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will allow for a viable and independent Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel...."

Fact Check

After Hamas' democratic January 2006 election, Israel, with Western support, collectively punished Gazans maliciously. It denied all outside aid, imposed an embargo and sanctions, and stepped up repression, repeated attacks, killings, targeted assassinations, and property destruction, followed by a medieval siege since June 2007 causing grave humanitarian harm by restricting essential to life foods, medicines, and medical equipment as well as electricity, fuel, construction materials, and virtually everything needed to function normally.

Israel facilitates misery, not humanitarian aid, peace or Palestinian self-determination it's spent decades to deny through violence, intimidation, naked aggression, confrontation over diplomacy and peaceful coexistence, and what scholar Joel Kovel calls "a machine for the manufacture of human rights abuses," facilitated by Washington's financial, military, and political support.

Ending "America's last taboo" is the way forward toward a viable, sustainable Middle East peace, possible only when 42 years of occupation end and Palestinians are again free - so far, what Israel and Washington won't allow or even consider.

The 2009 Hate Crimes Prevention Act

The Department of Justice FBI web site (fbi.gov) defines them as follows:

"A hate crime, also known as a bias crime, is a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin."

On April 29, the House passed HR 1913: Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 "To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes."

On April 28, S 909: Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act was introduced "to provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes."

On July 15, 2009, the measure was adopted as an amendment to S 1390, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. On July 23, the full measure passed.

On October 8, the House passed HR 2647: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 containing hate crimes prevention provisions.

On October 22, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed, then on October 28, it became law after president Obama signed it. A same day New York Times Jeff Zeleny article titled, "Obama Signs Hate Crimes Bill" said it:

"expands the definition of violent federal hate crimes to those committed because of a victim's (actual or perceived) sexual orientation (or identity). Under existing federal law, hate crimes are defined as those motivated by the victim's race, color, religion or national origin," even though, short of reading an offender's mind, there's no way to know if a crime was committed for other reasons besides "hate."

Further, the bill doesn't repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, banning gays from the military if they admit their sexual orientation, or the Defense of Marriage Act, defining legal marriage to be between a man and a woman.

In addition, it doesn't address universal civil and human rights; patients' rights to effective health care; students' rights to a good education to the highest level; and everybody's right to the essentials of life, including safe food, water, and clean air; adequate shelter; full protection under the law; and democracy for everyone, not just the elite few.

Nonetheless, the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy group praised the bill as the "nation's first major piece of civil rights legislation" for LGBT. Others called it advancing civil rights, but critics expressed concerns.

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a conservative legal alliance partnered with over 300 ministries and organizations, fears that pastors calling homosexuality a sin may be linked to a hate crime if a parishioner harms someone for their sexual orientation. ADF says it's seen:

"evidence of where 'hate crimes' legislation leads when it has been tried around the world: It paves the way for the criminalization of speech that is not deemed 'politically correct.' (These laws) fly in the face of the underlying purpose of the First Amendment, which was designed specifically to protect unpopular speech."

Others fear an attack on dissent against anyone expressing politically unpopular views at a time of disdain for human rights and eroding civil liberties putting everyone at risk.

The new law, however, prosecutes "crimes of violence," defined by section 16, title 18, US code as:

(a) "an offense that has an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, or

(b) any other offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense."

Whether new measures will follow bears watching given a severe economic crisis and the fragility of American democracy at a time it's transitioning toward a full-blown police state with noted trends watchers like Gerald Celente predicting the "greatest depression" unleashing violence, street crime, and mass civil unrest because "when people lose everything, and they have nothing else to lose, they lose it."

If so, government repression will follow with harsh police state measures because when powerful people fear losing what's taken them decades to achieve, they'll do anything to defend it, including criminalizing protected speech, dissent, and whatever threatens their privilege or important allies, none more valued than Israel.

Israel approves plan to construct extra buildings in Buraq plaza

Palestinian Information Center

December 6, 2009

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Quds Press reported that the Israeli committee for planning and building in occupied Jerusalem approved last week a plan to build extra buildings in Al-Buraq plaza.

Quds press quoted the Israeli Yerushalayim newspaper as saying that the new plan is aimed to establish a police station, educational center, offices for Al-Buraq wall heritage fund and a building for public service.

The news agency added that four parties objected to this plan including Jerusalemite citizens living in the vicinity and a group for the protection of nature, which confirmed that the building in the open area in Al-Buraq plaza would shrink the area and affect the principle of maintaining the plaza.

For its part, the civic coalition for defending the Palestinians’ rights in Jerusalem said that Israel broke the pledge it made in 1994 on the protection of Palestinian institutions and interests in east Jerusalem as well as the international covenant on civil and political rights issued by the UN General Assembly in 1966.

In a press release, the coalition added that Israel trampled on all its pledges and violated the Palestinians’ freedom of worship and their right to have access to holy places, adding that Israel went too far in changing the landmarks of Jerusalem above and below the ground.

It called for providing immediate protection for Jerusalemite civilians against Israel’s ongoing aggression and curbing it from carrying out excavations especially under and near the Aqsa Mosque and demolishing buildings and Arab and Islamic historical places in the holy city.

The coalition also called on Israel to stop the policy of Judaization, displacement and ethnic cleansing it pursues in Jerusalem as well as all its arbitrary and illegal measures.

In the same context, the Islamic-Christian committee for the defense of holy places in Jerusalem said Saturday that Israel stepped up its attacks on the holy city in an unprecedented way and waged an all-out war on everything non-Jewish with the aim of imposing a fait accompli in the city.

The committee added that Israel, for the first time, revealed its true intentions towards Jerusalem when it rejected any European attempt to declare the eastern part of Jerusalem the capital city of Palestinians and warned the European Union of taking such a step.

The committee condemned this Israeli position as blatant and impudent, adding that it killed the peace process.

'US pressure on Iran is a futile effort'

The experiences of the past 30 years have shown that the US pressure on Iran has been futile, an Iranian political analyst says.

Sadeq Zibakalam, a political science professor at Tehran University, told BBC Radio's Persian Service on Sunday that it is unlikely that the US administration will pursue the strategy of exerting pressure on the Iranian government.

However, US President Barack Obama's policies during the beginning of his first year in office were more effective than his policies over the past three months, he observed.

And pressure can only take us back to the situation of the George W. Bush era, he noted.

Zibakalam stated that Iran will not bow to the West's sanctions no matter how difficult things might get.

“The US government might believe that due to the post-election situation in Iran, this country will bow to the West's pressure, which is not true,” he added.

UN climate change confab kicks off today

Mon, 07 Dec 2009

Security has been beefed-up for the marathon UN conference on climate change that will begin shortly in Copenhagen.

Despite the global economic downturn, 61 percent of the world supports government investment to address the issue, even if it means that it harms their national economies, a poll conducted in 23 countries said.

The landmark Copenhagen summit, which commences on December 7, gathers 192 nations under the flag of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the offshoot of the famous 1992 Rio summit.

On the eve of the conference, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued an upbeat note, predicting mankind would strike a blow against the 21st century's great peril.

The climax on December 18 — to be attended by more than 100 heads of state and government — should deliver a framework for a historic pact, he said.

The United States and China are the world's two largest emitters of carbon dioxide — invisible gases that trap solar heat and warm the atmosphere, interfering with Earth's delicate climate system.

“I am convinced that the conference in Copenhagen will give us a strong and important political accord which will then be the basis for an accord that is legally binding,” Ban told French television.

The Danish police on Sunday tightened security around the conference venue, the Bella Center, closing off access for about an hour to investigate a bomb alert.

Six thousand police — more than half of all the police in Denmark — are being deployed in the capital. They could be reinforced to 9,300 if need be, according to Mogens Lauridsen, head of operations at the Copenhagen police.

Meanwhile, the EU plans to offer “one to three billion euros” in aid to developing countries over the next three years so they can fight the effects of climate change, the Financial Times Deutschland reported on Sunday.

The funding is to be agreed at a European Union summit in Brussels set for Thursday and Friday, coinciding with the conference in Copenhagen.

Terrorist cell busted in Bekaa Valley, police say

Lebanese anti-terrorism police say they have dismantled a terrorist cell accused of plotting to carry out bomb attacks in the Bekaa Valley.

The four people accused of being members of the terrorist group were apprehended in the town of Majdal Anjar in the fertile valley, located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Beirut.

According to a security source, a 'complicated operation' that lasted all Friday led to the arrest of the four individuals.

Investigations of the four suspects are under way, and army troops have confiscated weapons and explosives from their houses, the source added.

Turkish police clash with Kurdish demonstrators, 1 dead

Sun, 06 Dec 2009

One man was shot dead on Sunday in southeastern Turkey in clashes between Turkish police and demonstrators denouncing the prison conditions of jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Thousands of Kurdish protestors poured into the streets of the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir and hurled stones and fireworks at police and at the local headquarters of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK party.

Police responded with pepper gas to disperse the crowds. Fifteen people were also arrested in the protest, the Press TV correspondent reported.

A 23-year-old university student, identified as Aydin Erdem, was shot dead at the Dicle University campus. It was not clear who shot the student. At least one police officer was injured in the clashes.

Demonstrations also took place in the neighboring cities of Siirt, Mardin, Batman, and Hakkari.

Tensions have risen over the past few days in southeastern Turkey as the Democratic Society Party (DTP) prepares for a hearing on December 8 in a Constitutional Court case that could deliver a verdict banning the party.

The case could reignite ethnic tension in the region where 40,000 people have died in violence since 1984, when the PKK took up arms to carve out a Kurdish ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey.

Afghans protest after civilian deaths in US-led raid

Tue Dec 8, 2009

Hundreds of Afghans have held anti-US and anti-government demonstrations against a recent US-led attack which reportedly claimed the lives of 15 non-combatants.

The civilians were killed on Monday after US soldiers stormed a house on the outskirts of the provincial capital Mehtar Lam of the eastern province of Laghman, witnesses told a Press TV correspondent.

Speaking to our reporter in the aftermath of the attack on Mehtar Lam's Armal neighborhood, the locals confirmed the number of the casualties which, they said, included women, children and an Afghan reporter.

The protesters stormed the streets the next morning, holding the bodies overhead. In scuffles with Afghan security forces, four protesters died, Reuters reported.

The US-led International Security Assistance Force said the victims of the Monday raid were all Taliban militants. Afghan leader Hamid Karzai, meanwhile, condemned the attack which, his office said, killed six civilians.

US forces comprise the majority of the foreign soldiers operating in the eastern province.

The forces have also launched land and air assaults on the southern Afghan province of Helmand. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says civilian casualties in southern Afghanistan have risen by 20 percent this year. The rise, the committee said, was consonant with the increase in the number of foreign forces there.

The ICRC has warned of more casualties as the US plans to commit 30,000 more forces to the mission in Afghanistan while the NATO plans to reinforce the surge by 7,000 additional troops.

The war-stricken country is currently struggling with unprecedented violence despite the presence of around 110,000, mostly American, foreign soldiers.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/113185.html.

UN rights chief urges Libya to free Swiss nationals

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Tuesday urged Libya to release two Swiss nationals entangled in a diplomatic row, a week after Tripoli sentenced the pair to 16 months in jail.

Pillay said Tuesday that Libya had violated the basic rights of the Swiss men by preventing them to return to their countries without any explanation.

The two businessmen have been barred from leaving the country since July 2008, when Geneva police arrested Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's son following complaints of mistreatment from his servants.

Pillay regretted that the two were unfairly made victims of the 16-months-long political dispute between the two countries.

Last week, Libyan authorities handed the two a 16-month jail sentence for visa offences but currently remain in the Swiss Embassy in Tripoli.

Following a controversial public apology from Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz, the two were lured out of the embassy in mid-September with a government promise to allow their departure, but were seized and taken to an undisclosed location.

A day after the court ruling, Merz hinted that the Libyan sentencing would ease arriving at resolution through legal channels.

An internationally condemned Swiss vote banning the building of minarets in the country reignited Qaddafi eccentric temper over the weekend. He said the ban has played into the hands of terrorists such as al-Qaeda, who would be able to 'justify' an attack on Europe.

Qaddafi cut oil supplies to the country and withdrew billions of dollars from Swiss banks following his son's arrest.

Iraq sets March 6 for parliament elections

Iraq's three-member presidential council has set March 6 as the date for the country's parliamentary elections next year.

The head of Iraq's election commission, Faraj al-Haidari, said Tuesday the council approved postponing the elections from January 16 to give officials enough time to organize the vote, the Associated Press reported.

The vote was delayed after lawmakers spent months wrangling over a stalled electoral law that was finally adopted Sunday.

The new law sidesteps a second veto that Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi had threatened, and comes just hours before a midnight deadline for Hashemi to torpedo the law.

He had vetoed a previous version of the law last month.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=113179§ionid=351020201.

Iran warns of tough action against law-breakers

Iranian Prosecutor General Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei has warned of tough action against those who violate law and order in the country.

"If any individual acts in violation of security of people and the country, he will not be overlooked. Tough action will be taken against him," he said on Tuesday.

His comments came after Iranian authorities on Monday arrested a number of people who damaged public property as opposition protesters and students staged rallies on Student Day in Iran (December 7), marking the 1953 killings of three university students by the regime of Iran's last monarch during a protest against the visit of then US vice president Richard Nixon.

The commemoration, meanwhile, provided opposition protesters with an opportunity to stage anti-government demonstrations. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported sporadic clashes between the protesters and security forces near the main campus of Tehran University.

"The (real) face of the enemy and law-breakers has been revealed to us," Mohseni Ejei said.

He added that security and judiciary authorities have been ordered to confront those who violate the law and destroy public properties and cause disorder in the country.

Israel to build wall on border with Egypt

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to build a wall on the border with Egypt to prevent African migrants from changing Israel's racial balance.

Netanyahu believes building a wall along the southern borders with Egypt is an "unavoidable and strategic" measure, which Tel Aviv must take to ensure that thousands of migrants do not cross over from Africa, Israel's Maariv daily reported Tuesday.

According to Maariv, the prime minister sees the migration of Africans as a problem that may escalate in the coming years and disrupt the demographic balance of southern Israel.

The paper writes that from Netanyahu's point of view migration from Africa has already changed the faces of the two cities of Arad and Eilat in southern Israel.

Maariv adds that Netanyahu has held several meetings with Israel's top officials to discuss plans for the new separation wall.

During the meetings, it has been decided that the barrier will either be a costly wall, a cheaper electronic fence or an integration of both.

The Israeli military has proposed that barrier be in the form of the separation fence with an estimated cost of up to 5 billion shekels (approximately 1.5 billion dollars).

The Israeli Minister of Finance, Yuval Steinitz believes, however, that it would be much simpler to build a fence, at a cost of about 450 million shekels (approximately 120 million dollars).

Ministry of Public Security has also suggested an alternative that integrates the two.

Iran congratulates Morales on landslide victory

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has congratulated Bolivian President Evo Morales for his landslide reelection victory as the two countries enjoy amicable relations.

"I believe that your victory will strengthen friendly bonds between justice-seeking nations and promote equality, independence, freedom and kindness," said President Ahmadinejad in a message to his Bolivian counterpart on Tuesday.

"It will also remind arrogant systems about the fact that wise nations follow justice-based spirituality and that the future belongs to nations like ours," he added.

The Iranian president expressed hope that his Bolivian counterpart would take steps towards his country's progress and improvement of cordial relations between Tehran and La Paz.

Iran's relations with Bolivia have greatly improved during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government. Ahmadinejad and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales have exchanged state visits.

Iran pledged in August, 2007 to invest 1.1 billion euros in Bolivian agriculture, industry, energy and humanitarian affairs. Iran has sold Bolivia tractors made in Venezuela, built dairy factories and offered to help finance a cement plant.

The growing ties between Iran and Latin American countries, including, Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia, have raised concerns in Washington, which has been trying to isolate Tehran over its nuclear activities.

Swiss intellectuals seek to reverse minaret ban

Amid mounting controversy over Switzerland's ban on building minarets, the country's liberals are planning to push for a new referendum aimed at overturning the ban.

Club Helvetique, a group of over 20 Swiss intellectuals, are in the process of drawing up an action plan to overturn the ban, which the United Nations slammed as "deeply divisive" and "clearly discriminatory."

"A new initiative is the most democratic way of achieving this," the Sunday newspaper, Sonntag, quoted constitutional lawyer Joerg Mueller as saying.

According to the paper, two complaints questioning the legality of ban have already been handed to Switzerland's Federal Court.

A simple majority, 57 percent of the voters, said "yes" to a late November referendum declaring the construction of new minarets illegal. The approval was in defiance of the government's warning that initiative violated the Swiss constitution, freedom of religion.

The far right parties pushing for the vote had denounced the minaret, a distinct architectural feature built on top of Islamic mosques from which the faithful are called to prayer.

However, hundreds of protesters took to the street this weekend in Zurich, Basel and the capital, Bern, to show their opposition to the ban.

Muslim and European leaders, as well as the Vatican, quickly reacted to the ban. The UN has also question the legality of the ban, saying it was at odds with the country's obligations under international law.

Iran condemned the move with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki saying that "the ban will undoubtedly change Switzerland's image as a leading advocate of human rights."

The most astonishing condemnation, however, came from Libya's eccentric leader Moammar Gadhafi, who argued that the ban would provide al-Qaeda militants with a pretext to launch attacks in Europe and particularly in Switzerland.

'Turkey is opposed to new sanctions on Iran'

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to support calls for new sanctions against Iran, saying they would be ineffective.

After a meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington on Monday, Erdogan said Turkey will not support any proposal to impose new sanctions on Iran at the United Nations Security Council.

The comments showed that Obama failed to persuade the Turkish prime minister of the need for sanctions against Iran.

Erdogan said Turkey wants to see a diplomatic solution to Tehran's nuclear standoff with the West.

Erdogan also offered to mediate in negotiations between Tehran and the West.

These developments come ten days after the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors approved a resolution against Iran.

Erdogan criticized the resolution against Iran, calling it very rushed.

“I believe that was a very rushed process because certain steps could be taken in a more consultative fashion,” Erdogan said.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and is necessary to generate energy for its growing population.

Chavez prepares Venezuela for 'US-provoked war'

President Hugo Chavez says Venezuela must be ready to defend itself against what he called the US and Colombia's gearing up for initiating a military conflict.

Chavez who accused Washington and Bogota of planning to stage war against his country announced that thousands of Russian missiles and rocket launchers were being received by Venezuela as the country is preparing for a possible military conflict.

"They are preparing a war against us," Chavez was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "Preparing is one of the best ways to neutralize it."

"Thousands of missiles are arriving," Chavez said, adding Caracas's growing arsenal includes Russian-made Igla-1S surface-to-air missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Chavez added that Russian tanks, including T-72s, will be arriving to strengthen the country's armored divisions.

The Venezuelan leftist leader's charges came after a deal between the United States and Colombia that would let Washington increase its presence at seven Colombian military bases.

The Colombian government, however, says the agreement is to help it fight the war on drugs and militants inside its territory.

Since 2005, Venezuela has bought more than $4 billion worth of Russian arms, including 24 Sukhoi fighter jets, dozens of attack helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.

In September, Russia opened a $2.2 billion line of credit for Venezuela to purchase more weapons.

Ancient site found in southern Iran

A villager has stumbled upon an ancient site near Iran's Parishan Lake located southeast of Kazeroun in the southern province of Fars.

A local farmer found huge ancient jars and columns of a fortress while expanding his agricultural lands near the lake.

Primary studies showed that the fortress was built during the Sassanid era and the jar was part of the Zoroastrian burials once containing the remains of the dead.

The jar was spotted in the walls of the fortress and no skeletons were found in it, Mehr News Agency reported.

The Parishan Lake, which is one of the most beautiful sites in southern Iran, does not receive enough attention from the country's cultural heritage officials.

The lake is surrounded by the Zagros Range and its distance from the mountains varies from 500 meters to 5 kilometers. There are also a number of small caves facing the lake on the summit of mount Famour.

Several remains of ancient human habitation have been found around the lake, including an inscription which was recently found to the northwest of the lake.

Egypt to hold intl. meeting to retrieve relics

Egypt has invited international antiquities officials to a conference discussing the return of ancient relics from foreign museums.

Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass broke the news to AFP on Sunday, saying, "We are preparing for this conference but we don't know the date yet."

Greece, which seeks to retrieve the ancient collection of sculptures known as the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum, and Italy are among the invited countries.

Hawass began to recover Egyptian antiquities since he took the helm of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities in 2002.

The Rosetta Stone (British Museum), Queen nefertiti bust (Berlin's Neues Museum), Dendera Zodiac (Louvre), bust of pyramid builder Ankhaf (Boston Museum of Fine Art) and statue of architect Hemiunu (Pelizaeus Museum of Hildesheim) are only a few of the Egyptian relics dispersed in museums around the world.

Egypt suspended its cooperation with the Louvre in early October, after the museum refused to return what the country believed to be stolen artifacts.

The country restored the Louvre excavations in Egypt only after the French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand agreed to return the fragments.

Hawass also cut ties with the St. Louis Art Museum over a 3,200-year-old golden burial mask that the museum refused to return.

Fierce snowstorm gains strength after hitting West

By FELICIA FONSECA, Associated Press Writer

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – A howling winter storm barreled through the West, hitting the mountain states with snow and fierce winds as it headed toward the country's midsection on Tuesday.

The far-reaching storm system stretched from California to Indiana, gathering strength as it raced eastward.

Parts of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin were bracing for blizzard conditions and up to 10 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.

"The storm system is really strengthening as it goes, and that's usually a recipe for some heavy snowfall and a lot of wind, and that's what we're watching for," said Mike Welvaert of the National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wis.

The storm hit nearly all of the western mountain states on Monday, leaving places like Flagstaff and Reno, Nev., under a thick blanket of snow. Heavy rain raised fears of mudslides in wildfire-devastated Southern California, but no damage was reported. The weather system also snarled traffic and closed schools in Indiana, and crashes caused one death.

In the Phoenix area, fierce wind brought down power lines, left four hospitals temporarily without power and created wide outages. At one point, some 250,000 customers were without power; by early Tuesday, that number was down to about 58,000, a spokesman for Arizona Public Service Co. said.

The storm system lingered over the West on Tuesday.

On Monday, virtually the entire Western region was hit by wintry weather — from subzero wind chills in Washington state to heavy snow that closed schools and government offices in Reno, Nev. Big rigs were left jackknifed across highways in several states.

In New Mexico, two people were killed in traffic accidents blamed on slick conditions, and officials there told snow-clearing crews to prepare for 12-hour shifts as the storm swept south and east.

The National Weather Service said the upper elevations of the Sierra mountains could get up to 3 feet of snow, with up to 4 feet forecast for the mountains of southern Utah.

Reno schools closed, and many state government workers were told to stay home. Chains or snow tires were required across the region. Several flights into and out of Reno-Tahoe International Airport were delayed or canceled.

"Motorists are going to have to chain up," Trooper Chuck Allen with the Nevada Highway Patrol said. "Otherwise, we end up with a parking lot."

In northern Arizona, state officials closed parts of Interstate-17 and I-40, saying early Tuesday that some stretches of the highways were snow-packed and visibility levels were near zero.

The city school district let students out early Monday and canceled classes Tuesday. Northern Arizona University also released students and staff early Monday, in the midst of final exams.

Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman Rod Wigman vowed to keep northern Arizona roads plowed despite a $100 million budget deficit, but advised people to stay home if possible as the brunt of the storm sweeps through.

"When the sun goes down, people need to go home," Wigman said.

YEARENDER: Turkey tackles long-time taboos to achieve regional goals

Istanbul - This past year was one filled with historic milestones for Turkey. On October 10, Ankara signed a historic deal that paves the way for restoring diplomatic ties with Armenia and for the two countries to take a look at their mutually contested history.

Four days later, Turkey signed another important deal, abolishing visa requirements between it and Syria, a country which only a decade ago it almost went to war against after Ankara accused Damascus of supporting to the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

In November, meanwhile, Turkey's parliament engaged in an unprecedented debate over the Kurdish issue and reforms the government wants to make in order to resolve that decades-old problem.

These milestones are not unrelated. This past year saw Turkey's government, led by the liberal-Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP), take dramatic steps to recalibrate foreign policy, seeking a greater engagement with the surrounding region and to establish itself as a neighborhood soft power broker and mediator.

But observers say Ankara's foreign policy ambitions are tied up in first resolving the historic and, until recently, taboo issues - particularly the Armenian, Kurdish and Cyprus problems - that have cast a heavy shadow over domestic politics for the last few decades.

"Turkey wants to play internationally, and to play internationally it has to put its house in order," says Henri Barkey, an expert on Turkey at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.

"With their strong military and economy they have the hard power, but what they are trying to do now is build up their soft power. They have to do something. There is a discrepancy between domestic Turkey and the image it is trying to project abroad," he says.

Ankara has certainly been making moves on these issues.

Although the Cyprus problem remains stuck, Turkey has given its support to the reunification talks being held between the divided island's Greek and Turkish governments. Along with the deal made with Armenia, Turkish leaders have made clear their intention to introduce a broad democratization initiative to deal with the Kurdish issue.

"We have the intention to take determined, patient and courageous steps," Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay said in a nationally televised July news conference.

"This can be seen as a new stage."

The government's moves are being enabled, on the one hand, by a gradual change in Turkish society and political life that has made it easier to talk about these issues.

"Until very recently, the public had been conditioned to accept things from the perspective of statism, nationalism and chauvinism," says Dogu Ergil, a professor of political science at Ankara University.

"But the dominance of the state over issues and making them taboo and undebatable is fading."

But Ankara also appears to be driven by a realization that these taboos were ultimately hurting Turkey's ability to make an impact abroad.

"That position was limiting in the foreign policy arena. Until recently, Turkish foreign policy was mostly reactive, it didn't take any initiatives, and it didn't do things beyond its own borders," says Barkey.

But analysts say that moving ahead on restoring ties with Armenia makes strategic and political sense for Turkey, a European Union candidate country, and its regional ambitions.

"(The agreement with Armenia) will do a lot to counter prejudices in Europe about what kind of country Turkey is, that it's not just a strategic asset but also a country that can deal with its history and its own past. That will have a lot of impact in Europe," says Hugh Pope, Turkey analyst for the International Crisis Group, a policy and advocacy organization based in Brussels.

Still, making such an abrupt shift on what had been previously been untouchable issues is going to be difficult. After decades of being told that there is no such thing as Kurdish identity or that there was no room for discussion on the Armenian genocide issue, Turks are now being asked to think differently.

"We are going through exceedingly difficult times, because you are talking about a public that has been indoctrinated for decades on these issues. Now we are talking about preparing the public psychologically for dealing with these problems in a different way," said Lale Kemal, a political analyst based in Ankara and a columnist for the English-language newspaper Today's Zaman.

Some of Turkey's foreign policy moves are also not without their risks. Ankara's rapidly warming relations with Tehran and its deteriorating ties with Israel, which this year took a dramatic nose dive, have raised the eyebrows of some policymakers in Europe and the United States.

But if 2009 was any indication, Turkey is now ready to take bold steps - both domestically and abroad - as it plots a more independent and visible course on the world stage.

British detain four Spanish police officers in Gibraltar

Madrid - Spain's interior minister apologized to British authorities for an incident that led to the detention of four Spanish civil guards on Gibraltar, ministry officials said. British police arrested the coastguards after they landed without permission while pursuing a boat of suspected smugglers to the port of Gibraltar Monday.

The officers were released overnight after questioning. Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba apologized to the British territory's chief minister for the "incorrect procedure" of the guards, officials said.

Gibraltar, the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, has been a British possession since 1704, although Spain claims it. The strait separating it from Africa has long been used for smuggling contraband and illegal immigrants into Europe.

A series of incidents in recent weeks has heightened tensions between Gibraltar authorities and the Spanish coastguard.

The British ambassador to Spain apologized last month for a military exercise during which soldiers fired weapons at a buoy painted in the colors of the Spanish flag.

Philippines, Muslim rebels resume peace talks in Malaysia

Manila - Peace talks between the Philippine government and Muslim secessionist rebels resumed Tuesday in Malaysia, after more than a year of suspension, a government statement said. Rafael Seguis, chairman of the government peace panel, expressed optimism that the fresh rounds of negotiations would finally lead to a lasting solution to the decades-old Islamic insurgency in the strife-torn southern region of Mindanao.

Seguis also thanked the Malaysian government for its continuous support for the peace process.

Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) negotiating team, reiterated the rebel group's commitment to finding a political solution to the Mindanao conflict.

"There is no other way except the path of peace," he said.

The start of the two-day talks in Kuala Lumpur was also attended by representatives of an international contact group (ICG) organized to monitor the negotiations and implementation of agreements reached.

The ICG is composed of Japan, Britain, Turkey and several international peace and humanitarian organizations.

Peace talks between the government and MILF were suspended in August last year when guerrillas seized villages and attacked towns in protest against the non-signing of a key territory agreement.

More than 300 people were killed in the attacks and subsequent clashes between the two sides, while more than 500,000 fled their homes.

The MILF is the largest Muslim rebel group in the southern Philippines. It agreed to hold peace talks with the government in 1997.

EU struggles for balance on Middle East

Brussels - European Union foreign ministers on Tuesday struggled to balance their desire to push for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and their wish not to jeopardize peace talks as they met for discussions in Brussels. Draft EU proposals calling for East Jerusalem to be recognized as the capital of a future Palestinian state have provoked Israeli outrage, leading ministers to look for a less controversial stance.

"Assessing the reaction of the Israeli government, I think would be sensible not to do that at this stage, (but) consolidate efforts towards bringing the two sides to negotiating ... as soon as possible," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Vygaudas Usackas said.

Diplomats close to the talks said that ministers were trying to find a way of pushing the two sides back to talks without making any declarations which could jeopardize a future peace settlement.

The EU is keen to bring its influence to bear on the Israelis and Palestinians to help bring an end to the 60-year-old conflict.

But the bloc has grown increasingly frustrated in recent months with the deadlock in peace talks.

The EU "is seriously concerned about the lack of progress in the Middle East peace process. The EU calls for the urgent resumption of negotiations that will lead ... to a two-state solution," a draft statement prepared for Tuesday's meeting said.

That has led member states to call for a tougher line.

In November, Sweden, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, drafted a document calling for the recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

"We want two states, and the capital of those two states is Jerusalem," Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb stressed.

The draft provoked outrage in Israel, where it was seen as an attempt to partition the city. But that reaction in turn angered EU ministers, who saw the Israeli response as disproportionate.

"I really find it hard to understand why Israel does not accept that Palestine consists of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem ... This two-state solution is really the core of (Israel's) security," Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said.

A revised draft prepared for Tuesday's meeting called for "a way to be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the capital of two states" and warned that the EU "will not recognize any changes to the pre-1967 borders other than those agreed by the parties."

Turkish court to hear closure case against Kurdish party

Istanbul - Turkey's highest court Tuesday started hearings in a case that could lead to the closure of the country's largest pro-Kurdish political party. In an indictment filed with the court in 2007, a prosecutor accused the Democratic Society Party (DTP) - the only pro-Kurdish party in parliament - of violating Turkey's constitution and of working to undermine the country's unity.

The indictment seeks the party's permanent closure and for 219 of its members to be banned from politics. The party currently has 21 deputies in parliament and controls several municipalities in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish south-east.

The DTP is the latest incarnation of a long line of pro-Kurdish parties that have been shut down by court order. The European Union, which Turkey hopes to join, has criticized the court case.

There is also concern that the party's closing could lead to increased tension in Turkey's Kurdish areas and possibly limit the government's ability to carry out its recently announced "democratization initiative," a slew of reforms aimed at giving Kurds increased political and cultural rights.