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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Israeli MPs pass referendum bill

The Israeli parliament has passed the first reading of a bill requiring a referendum to approve a pullout from annexed east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

At least 31 members of parliament were absent from the voting on Wednesday, 68 were in favor of the bill, 22 were against and one abstained.

The bill requires that any peace agreement reached between the Israeli government which entails an Israeli withdrawal from annexed territories must first be approved by a 61-MP majority in the 120-member parliament.

The passing of the first reading of the bill is seen as a boost to those opposing Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights under a future peace deal with Syria.

The bill concerns the strategic Golan plateau and east Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed, in moves not recognized by the international community.

Syria has repeatedly demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan in exchange for peace and the Palestinians want to make east Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state.

Yariv Levin, a supporter of bill and a member of the Likud party, rejected criticism that the bill sought to impede peace.

"It is only appropriate that fateful and significant questions such as the country's borders should be voted by the widest possible majority and not only in Knesset," he told AFP.

The government-backed bill needs to pass two additional readings before becoming a law.

If approved in parliament, the agreement will have to be put to a national referendum within 80 days.

Jordan's King appoints new PM

Jordan's King Abdullah has named a new prime minister after the monarch dissolved the country's parliament last month.

Samir Rifai, a former royal cabinet minister, will form a new cabinet to push forward economic reforms before parliamentary elections next year, officials said.

Wednesday's appointment comes after Abdullah accepted the resignation of Nader Dahabi, who has held the post of prime minister since November 2007.

Last month the king made an abrupt move to dissolve parliament, prompted by the government's failure to implement investor friendly laws and maintain fiscal restraint to spur growth.

Jordan faces a contracting economy after several years of robust growth.

The boom was supported by strong foreign direct investments, including remittances from a large skilled workforce in the Gulf Arab region.

Economic reforms

The new cabinet line-up is likely to continue Jordan's free market reforms that critics accuse of deepening the divide between rich and poor, officials told the Reuters news agency.

They said Abdullah will count on Rifai to win support for his economic and social reforms among the conservative establishment, the backbone of the king's power base.

His father, Zeid Rifai, the current speaker of the upper house of parliament, was prime minister several times in the 1970s and 1980s.

In the designation letter, King Abdullah instructed the new prime minister to form a government that would have the primary aim of arranging new general elections, saying the ballots should not be held later than the fourth quarter of 2010.

"The elections should represent a qualitative transition in Jordan's democratic march and presents the kingdom as a model in transparency, fairness and impartiality," the monarch said.

He also directed Rifai to amend the controversial election law and to take all necessary steps that ensure the participation of all citizens in the polling process.

Vietnam to sell 400,000 tons of rice to Philippines

Hanoi - Vietnam has won a contract to export 400,000 tons of rice to the Philippines, authorities said Wednesday. Officials at the Vietnam Food Association confirmed Vietnam had won four out of six 100,000-ton lots to export to the Philippines at an auction held Tuesday. The other two lots went to South Korea and Germany.

The rice will be delivered between February and May at an average price of about 650 dollars for Vietnam 25-per-cent broken white rice, the state-run newspaper Thanh Nien reported.

Domestic rice prices in Vietnam have risen sharply in recent days on rumors of shortages. Unhusked rice has risen to 5,000 dong (0.28 dollar) per kilogram, from 4,000 dong two weeks ago.

Nguyen Ngoc Nam, head of the Tien Giang Food Company, said some companies had failed to stockpile enough rice to meet their export contracts and were rushing to buy, driving up prices. Other food executives blamed speculative hoarding by farmers.

But Nguyen Thanh Bien, the deputy minister of industry and trade, said the domestic price was simply following rising world rice prices, the official Vietnam News reported. Bien noted erratic weather and the shift of India and the Philippines from exporters to importers.

Bien said Vietnam would still have 1 million tons of rice in stock after this year's exports are complete, and expects an additional 700,000 to 1 million tons from its winter-spring crop.

Vietnam exported 5.7 million tons of rice in the first 11 months of this year, with revenues of 2.3 billion dollars.

In 2008, Vietnam exported 4.6 million tons of rice, earning 2.9 billion dollars. That was double the previous year's earnings, due to high global prices that hit 900 dollars per ton in May.

Ireland braces for toughest budget in history of the state

Dublin - Ireland was Wednesday bracing itself for what is expected to be the toughest budget in the history of the state, aimed at making savings of around 4 billion euros (5.9 billion dollars). Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan is expected to announce cuts in public sector pay, capital spending and social welfare including children's allowance.

Few changes are expected to the tax system apart from the introduction of a carbon tax.

The 2010 budget comes amid threats of industrial action by public sector workers over pay cuts, with even the police force taking the unprecedented and illegal step of threatening to hold a ballot on industrial action.

Up to 250,000 public sector workers could have their salaries cut by between 5 per cent and 6 per cent, with higher earners possibly facing higher cuts.

The public sector unions have warned that they will engage in a "long and sustained" campaign of industrial action if pay cuts are introduced.

There was no indication of what form that industrial action would take or when it would begin.

Public sector workers, including teachers and nurses, already held a one-day strike on November 26.

Talks aimed at reaching agreement on reducing the public sector pay bill by 1.3 billion euros next year collapsed last Friday.

Doubts had been raised about the ability of the coalition government of Fianna Fail and Green to get the budget through parliament.

Several independent members and backbenchers had threatened to withdraw their support for the deeply unpopular government. However, some last-minute deals are said to have been enough to avert a government defeat.

Ireland has gone from economic boom to bust in less than two years due to the bursting of its housing bubble, the global recession and alleged mismanagement of public finances by successive Fianna Fail governments.

India's Hyderabad city simmers as protests mount for separate state

New Delhi - Tension mounted in India's southern city of Hyderabad Wednesday as students clashed with police over demands for a separate state, news reports said. The police arrested at least 100 students and teachers of Osmania University, which has become the epicenter of the campaign for a separate Telangana state carved out of the state of Andhra Pradesh, NDTV news channel reported.

The students, who were trying to hold a rally on the campus, were charged with violating orders banning gatherings and rallies the Telangana region.

The region covers 10 districts of Andhra Pradesh is largely populated by people speaking the Telugu language.

The movement for a separate Telangana state dates back over 50 years. Supporters say the region has been neglected compared to other parts of Andhra Pradesh and this can be remedied only through the formation of a separate state.

Students prevented from holding a rally at the Osmania University campus threw stones at the police. More than 20 vehicles were damaged in the ensuing clash, NDTV reported.

The government has deployed more than 12,000 policemen to the university campus.

The Andhra Pradesh state legislative assembly adjourned amid angry scenes a second day as members of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) demanded a resolution supporting a separate state.

Police was deployed across the city amid concerns that a deterioration in the health of TRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao, who has been on a hunger strike since November 29, may lead to violent protests.

A bulletin issued by the medical institute in Hyderabad were the 55-year-old was being treated said Rao was conscious but weak and should resume eating as his health condition was deteriorating.

Rao has said he would stop fasting only if the government gave a categorical assurance on formation of a Telengana state.

Most political parties have come round to supporting the cause of a separate Telangana state but their are divisions within the ruling Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh.

A key issue of contention is Andhra Pradesh capital Hyderabad, a growing center for information technology businesses, which the Telangana activists claim should be part of the new state.

Congress Party leader and federal Minister for Law and JustiCe Veerappa Moily told reporters in New Delhi: "It is a sensitive issue and no decision can be taken in haste."

Guinea accuses French government of coup d'etat attempt

Paris - The junta in Guinea has accused French secret services of complicity in the attempt on the life of its chief, Captain Moussa 'Dadis' Camara, and of trying to overthrow the government, RFI radio reported Wednesday. "This was not an assassination attempt, it was a coup d'etat," junta spokesman Idrissa Cherif told RFI. He said some people detained after the December 3 shooting of Camara said they were encouraged to take action by French intelligence agents.

Cherif also accused French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner of helping to prepare the alleged coup through a meeting with Guinean opposition figure Alpha Conde.

A French Foreign Ministry spokesman "energetically denied" what he referred to as "absurd rumors" about French involvement in the assassination attempt.

Camara was shot on December 3 by presidential aide Aboubakar Toumba Diakite, who is currently on the run.

The wounded junta chief is being treated in Morocco, where little information has been made available about his condition. However, Cherif said that he was expected to return to Guinea "soon."

Nationwide rallies mark anti-corruption day in Indonesia - Summary

Jakarta - Thousands of people rallied across Indonesia Wednesday to mark international anti-corruption day, demanding the government take swift measures to end rampant graft in the country. Hundreds of anti-riot police were stationed at strategic locations across the capital, including outside the presidential palace, backed up by water cannon.

In South Sulawesi's capital of Makassar, a brief clash broke out when anti-riot police blocked the protesters' attempts to force their way into the governor's office, leaving one student injured. Tear gas was fired to disperse the protest, MetroTV reported.

The protesters also vandalized shops, pelted fast-food outlet with rocks and damaged a police post, but there were no reports of casualties or arrests.

In the city of Bima in West Nusatenggara, at least two protesters were injured after clashing with police, while a similar scuffle broke out in Pamekasan on the island of Madura off East Java province, leaving four students with bruises.

Anti-corruption rallies also took place in other cities, such as Bandung, Semarang and Solo in central Java, Palembang in West Sumatra and Jayapura in the province of Papua.

Anti-corruption activist Andi Faralay collapsed and died while speaking at rally in Jakarta, witnesses said.

The government's effort to fight corruption has been damaged by a conflict between the country's anti-graft agency and senior police and prosecutors.

The public was outraged last month when two anti-corruption officials were detained by the police.

Many believe the Corruption Eradication Commission had become a target of the police and the attorney general's office because of its reputation for putting corrupt officials behind bars.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressed the nation in a televised speech in an attempt to placate the public, saying the case of the two officials should be settled out of court.

The two men were finally reinstated to their original positions but the public was not satisfied.

Yudhoyono also said he would play a leading role in the fight against corruption.

Yudhoyono faces questions over last year's 6.7-trillion-rupiah (716-million-dollar) government bailout of a minor bank, which critics alleged was full of irregularities.

Outside the presidential palace, demonstrators torched images of Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who both face criticism over the bank bailout.

Indonesia remains one of the world's most corrupt countries.

Taiwan sends delegation to China to prepare for new summit

Taipei - Taiwan Wednesday sent a delegation to Fuzhou in southern China for preparatory talks to pave the way for a cross-strait summit planned later this month, officials said. Maa Shaw-chang, deputy secretary general of the Straits Exchange Foundation, said the Taiwan delegation would negotiate with its Chinese counterparts from the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait to set the stage for the signing of four economic agreements later this month.

Taiwan and China - which only resumed formal talks last year - are scheduled to hold their fourth round of talks in Taiwan's Taichung city on December 21-22.

The delegation leaders, who represent their respective governments in the absence of formal relations, are to sign agreements on certification of industrial standards, inspection of agricultural products, avoidance of double taxation and fishery cooperation.

Taiwan and China, rivals since they split at the end of a civil war in 1949, began to mend fences last year after Beijing-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou took office.

The two sides held a historic first-round summit in Beijing in June, followed by two other rounds of talks.

Iceberg drifts towards Australia

Sydney - An iceberg twice the size of Sydney Harbour is heading towards Western Australia, news reports said Wednesday. The iceberg, known as B17B and measuring 19 kilometres by 8 kilometres, is drifting with the currents 1,700 kilometres from Australia's west coast.

It was three times its current size when it broke off Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf in 2000 and Australian Antarctic Division glaciologist Neal Young said it was one of the largest to be spotted so far north.

He told Australian news agency AAP that "it's one of the biggest sighted at those latitudes."

German cabinet agrees extension to piracy, Bosnia missions

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved Wednesday the extension by one year of military deployments off the coast of Somalia and in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The military currently has some 240 personnel engaged in the European Union's anti-piracy mission, Atalanta, off the coast of Somalia.

In Bosnia Herzegovina Germany has deployed 120 soldiers as part of the EU's EUFOR mission, for stabilization duties.

Both extensions must now be voted on by the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament.

On Thursday parliament approved the more controversial military involvement in the Afghanistan conflict, by 455 to 105 votes.

EU to donate Tk 136 cr for Rohingya refugees

The European Union (EU) will donate Tk 136 crore to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for improving living standard of Rohingya refugees located at two camps in Cox's Bazar.

The fund would ensure better health, nutrition and life skills to 28,000 refugees in the camps.

Saber Azam, country representative of UNHCR and Stefan Frowein, head of the EU in Bangladesh signed an agreement on behalf of their respective sides yesterday in the capital.

The money will be used to improve safety and security in the camps and help prevent sexual violence through the installation of solar lighting that would allow women to move around safely at night.

Besides, improvements will be made to water and sanitation facilities in the two camps at Kutupalong and Nayapara in Cox's Bazar.

"The money will help continue improve living conditions of refugees at the two camps," said Saber Azam.

The Afghanistan War Through a Marine Mother's Eyes

By MIKE BARNICLE

Nearly everything is a sad reminder for Melida Arredondo: the news on TV, stories in the paper, speeches of Barack Obama and others who talk about a war that seems to have lasted so long and affected so many lives, those lost as well as those left behind.

"Did your son like the Marine Corps?" I ask her.

"Yes," she replies. "He loved it."

"And why did he join?"

"Too poor to go to college," Melida Arredondo says.

Alexander Arredondo enlisted at 17 and was killed at 20 in Najaf during his second deployment in Iraq. He died on his father's birthday, Aug. 25, 2004, when Carlos Arredondo turned 44.

"My husband almost killed himself in grief," his wife says. "The day [the Marines] came to tell us Alex was dead, he poured gasoline all over himself and all over the inside of [their] car and lit it on fire. He survived ... physically."

Last week, she and her husband went to the Kennedy Library in Boston to hear Ted Kennedy's widow talk about her husband's book, True Compass. She and Carlos, born in Costa Rica, stood patiently while Vicki Kennedy signed books and shook hands. They reminded her that their son Alex and her husband the Senator died on the same day, Carlos' birthday, five years apart, and they thanked her for the help Senator Kennedy provided after the young Marine's death when his father sought citizenship.

"I remember," Vicki Kennedy told them.

The library event took place hours after Obama announced he would throw 30,000 additional troops into an ungovernable country called Afghanistan. Carlos and Melida Arredondo listened and thought of their lost son and a nephew now at Fort Hood, one tour of Afghanistan behind him, a second on the horizon because the Army is fractured by years of battle.

"People have no idea what it does to families," she says. "When he got killed, I didn't sleep for days. I still don't sleep. I lost 30 pounds. My husband withdrew from everyone.

"My son Brian, he is 22, and he can't seem to do anything without thinking about Alex. We are very worried about him."

The families of the fallen are nearly alone in a nation served by an all-volunteer military now nearing a decade on the front line against an enemy that wears no uniform and cannot be brought to any negotiating table. The pain of loss is forever. Their shared grief scatters across the land like ashes blown by the wind, invisible to the majority preoccupied with joblessness and a gnawing anxiety that America might be broken.

"I was disappointed in Obama," Melida Arredondo says. "I thought, 'I've heard this before, from Bush.' He wasn't as passionate as he usually is. He sounded like a professor. I want to hear him talk about the cost of these wars. I want a discourse about a war tax. I want people to have some skin in the game."

"Did you believe him?" I ask.

"Wrong question," she suggests. "Did he believe his own speech? I don't think so."

She speaks from another battleground too, the health care wars that threaten to swallow Washington. For nine years, Melida Arredondo has worked at a neighborhood health center in the Dorchester section of Boston, the Upham's Corner Health Center. She has a master's in public health and does the work of three people because of staff layoffs and funding cutbacks.

"We take care of the poor," she points out. "We had 250,000 patient visits last year in this one clinic. We'll have even more this year. We have staff people who speak Vietnamese, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese and English. Many of the people we see are uninsured. The costs are enormous. That's why I'm a fiscal conservative. Working here, I have to be."

She is behind a desk on the second floor of a three-story brick building located on a busy boulevard filled with those who measure the future by a wristwatch. She is surrounded by the heartache of those who show up grappling with the oldest of maladies: no money. The work helps push her own sadness, etched permanently in her eyes, off the screen for a few hours each day.

Two days ago, returning home in darkness, she discovered a letter from the President. She and her husband had written twice to the White House, upset about the prospect of increased casualties.

"Thank you for writing me," Barack Obama wrote. "Every day, we are humbled by the legacy of our men and women in uniform who sacrificed their lives for our country."

Melida Arredondo paused after that first paragraph. She thought of Alex and her husband Carlos and her nephew at Fort Hood. She thought about the long parade of the poor who arrive each day at her work seeking care, and she thought about the fact that she was a member of a Gold Star family.

"Wars cost a lot," she says.

Heavy snowfall, wind pounding Midwest, New England

By LUKE MEREDITH, Associated Press Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa – A fierce winter storm was leaving dangerous ice, heavy snow and vicious winds in its wake as it slogged eastward Wednesday, snarling traffic and closing hundreds of schools from the Upper Midwest through New England.

More than a foot of snow was expected in parts of Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, where the National Weather Service warned of "extremely dangerous blizzard conditions" and near whiteout driving conditions. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph could build snow drifts between 8 and 15 feet tall.

Parts of New England also girded themselves for bone-chilling wind gusts and snow accumulations of up to a foot by the end of the day.

"It's horrible out there," said Todd Lane, an assistant manager of a Quik Trip convenience store in Des Moines, where several inches of new snow was reported overnight.

Although business was fairly normal overnight, it nearly all came from snow plow drivers — most looking for coffee and energy drinks, he said.

"Outside of the city there's 15-foot drifts and people are stuck in them," Lane said the drivers told him. "It sucks and it just keeps on coming."

In Wisconsin, as many as a dozen tractor-trailers were stuck on interstate ramps made impassible by heavy snow where I-39, I-90 and I-94 intersect near Madison, the State Patrol reported.

Blizzard warnings covered eastern Nebraska, where overnight snowfall reports of 12 inches were common, and parts of Kansas and Minnesota. Snow also fell in western and central Michigan. Schools and colleges across the region were closed.

"For the most part, we're telling people to stay home," said Roger Vachalek, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Des Moines. He said if motorists get stranded, "you might end up being out there for quite a while."

In the West, pounded by the storm's rain and snow earlier this week, bitter wind chills as low as 40 below were sweeping across portions of southern Montana. The biting winds also were moving across Wyoming and South Dakota, according to the National Weather Service.

By the time the storm moves off the Maine coast Thursday night, it may have affected as much as two-thirds of the country, said Jim Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines.

"It's a monster of a storm," Lee said.

Maine and New Hampshire could see snow accumulations of 6 to 10 inches capped off by rain and sleet in the evening.

In northern New York, as much as a foot of snow was expected to accumulate Wednesday and more than 3 feet was expected by the week's end near the Great Lakes.

Hundreds of schools across New York's eastern half were closed or delayed the start of classes Wednesday. Schools also were closed in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Hundreds of flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Tuesday; all departures were canceled out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and only a few were scheduled at Des Moines International Airport.

The storm drenched California with rain, blanketed the mountain West with snow and brought 100 mph winds to New Mexico earlier this week. More than 20 inches of snow fell over Flagstaff, Ariz. — more than four times the record of 5 inches set in 1956.

At least five deaths were blamed on the weather, including an Arizona hunter who was killed Monday night when a large pine tree snapped and crushed him as he slept in a tent. The driver of a sport utility vehicle that plunged 90 feet off an icy road into the Texas Panhandle's Palo Duro Canyon also died.

Heavy rain hit some parts of the South with more than 4 inches reported in spots in New Orleans on Tuesday.

Bangladesh, Myanmar 'worst-hit' by extreme weather

COPENHAGEN (AFP) – Bangladesh, Myanmar and Honduras were the countries most severely affected by extreme weather events from 1990 to 2008, according to a climate change risk study published on Tuesday.

When only 2008 is considered, the top three worst-hit countries were Myanmar, Yemen and Vietnam, said the paper which was published on the sidelines of the ongoing UN talks in the Danish capital.

The so-called Global Climate Risk Index aims at giving a pointer of a country's vulnerability to violent weather events stoked by global warming.

It is derived from a basket of factors, namely the total number of deaths from storms, floods and other weather extremes; deaths per 100,000; losses in absolute dollar terms; and the loss in terms of a percentage of a country's gross domestic product (GDP).

"Weather extremes are an increasing threat for lives and economic values across the world, and their impacts will likely grow larger in the future due to climate change," said the report, authored by an NGO called Germanwatch.

"Our analyses show that in particular poor countries are severely affected."

The report, which uses data provided by the insurance giant Munich Re, was issued on the sidelines of the December 7-18 talks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The conference aims at crafting a post-2012 pact on reducing carbon emissions and providing funds for poor countries exposed to the impacts of climate change.

The "top 10" for 1990-2008 were:

1 Bangladesh

2 Myanmar

3 Honduras

4 Vietnam

5 Nicaragua

6 Haiti

7 India

8 Dominican Republic

8 Philippines

10 China

Jeddah- Man leaves his wife in floodwater

(MENAFN - Arab News) The floods shocked many, especially a Saudi wife whose husband fled for his life and left her to drown in a car filling up with water. Pakistani truck driver Shahzad (not his real name) witnessed the cowardly act.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when this man left his wife to die. I couldn't bear the sight of the drowning woman shouting for help," he said.

"I got down from the truck and half swam and half waded to her and carried her on my back and brought her to safety.

We were petrified from what we saw happening around us. The woman was crying a lot. We waited till the Civil Defense helicopter came to rescue us."

Idrees Abdullah Kaheel was caught in the flood when the river of water roared into the Ghulail district. "I'm a good swimmer and I knew it was very dangerous to stay in the car. So I got out and tied my car to a nearby truck. The only thing I wanted to do was to just get home alive to my family. But me and some other boys in a truck saw people being swept away and we couldn't just run to save ourselves."

Being good swimmers, all of them worked together to pull people out from the water, rescuing five people and a goat. "We saw something that didn't look human drowning and pulled it out," added Kaheel.

By Arjuwan Lakkdawala

Source: Middle East North Africa Financial News (MENAFN).
Link: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093287175&src=NLEN.

Saudi Arabia- Thief caught digging tunnel to enter shop

(MENAFN - Arab News) A man has been arrested by police while attempting to dig a tunnel into a jewelry store in Yanbu. Police officers said the man began digging the tunnel at 1 a.m. in order to avoid anyone noticing.

The man was caught after a police patrol unit heard noises at the rear of the store. The man was charged with attempted robbery.

He had covered the entrance to the tunnel with planks of wood, branches and metal sheets to hide what he was doing.

The store's owner said the shop contained over SR2 million worth of gold.

By Muhammad Al-Sheikh

Source: Middle East North Africa Financial News (MENAFN).
Link: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093287166&src=NLEN.

Sarah Palin should succeed Oprah on TV

Commentary: But can she outgrow Tina Fey's punchlines?

By Jon Friedman, MarketWatch

Last Update: 12:01 AM ET Dec 9, 2009

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The hottest parlor game in the television industry in 2010 will center on this question: Who will succeed Oprah Winfrey when she exits her show in 2011?

It will have to be someone who has enough fame of her own -- and yes, I think Oprah's successor should be a woman for the sake of continuity. Could there possibly be any bigger shoes to fill on the tube? It will also have to be a person who won't be overwhelmed by the long shadow that the Big O will inevitably cast.

There hasn't been a more daunting challenge on TV since Jay Leno succeeded Johnny Carson or Dan Rather took the place of Walter Cronkite.

When you pause to think about it, Oprah is a combination of Carson and Cronkite. She is entertaining and reliable, just like Carson, and TV's Most Trusted individual, as was Cronkite.

Plenty of established TV stars are probably under consideration as well, such as Tyra Banks, Ellen DeGeneres, Rachael Ray and Kelly Ripa

Still, I nominate Sarah Palin to follow Oprah.

Sarah-cuda unfiltered

Palin would be shrewd to accept the challenge.

The former vice presidential candidate and governor of Alaska no doubt still has hopes of running for the presidency in 2012, and her unexpectedly disarming performance at the Gridiron Dinner in Washington can only encourage her many supporters.

At the annual dinner, a big deal in the Beltway, Palin cracked self-deprecating jokes, took a light touch with the audience, and generally tried to show that she can be one of the boys in that political jungle.

Taking over Oprah's show would give Palin what every politician craves: constant TV exposure and an opportunity to connect with voters by talking directly to them.

Palin would be unfiltered. She burst on to the American scene in late August 2008, when John McCain chose her to be his running mate. Palin has since griped that she had to operate under the thumb of the Republican machine.

Forget momentarily about all of the money she's bound to make on her best-selling memoir, "Going Rogue." It can be interpreted as an expression of independence as anything else.

With the book, she didn't have to look worriedly over her shoulder. Palin's supporters have contended that she had to labor in fear that one of her trademark off-the-cuff comments was going to be twisted out of context to make her look like the nation's No. 1 buffoon.

I don't support Palin's politics but I concede that she received a raw deal by much of the media. The latest example of this is Newsweek's WPO recent cover, which makes her look more like a high school cheerleader than a serious politician.

Still, Palin hasn't helped herself by repeatedly shooting from the hip and blaming journalists for her public image. She'd be smart to focus on the issues and leave the media-bashing alone.

The next Oprah

Would Palin succeed as the next Oprah?

It seems like a slam-dunk she would attract a sizable viewing audience on a regular basis. At first, of course, she will appear as a curiosity and everyone will watch to see what she says. But the thrill of a novelty wears off -- just ask the likes of CBS' Katie Couric CBS, primetime Jay Leno GE or 11:35 p.m. Conan O'Brien.

Remember, all three of those TV stars started out fast in their current positions before losing momentum dramatically.

I think Palin would be a ratings dynamo. The sales success of "Going Rogue" proves that her audience is willing to shell out money to learn more about her, even though she is a constant presence on network news shows which are available at no charge.

I'm convinced that Palin has a commercial appeal that advertisers will appreciate -- and the viewers will acknowledge. But it may be a different kind of show -- with the content leaning more toward political issues than social concerns.

Palin can never replace Oprah as a trusted voice for women. Oprah has had an uncanny ability to take on uncomfortable subjects. On other shows these issues might be disturbing. But on Oprah, she has a way of soothing the viewers.

This has not been lost on Hollywood. Oprah has been a magnet for the biggest names in the entertainment industry. Celebrities often flocked to Oprah's couch -- hello, Tom Cruise -- for the exposure she offered to female moviegoers. Is there much doubt that Tiger Woods will eventually emerge on Oprah's show to try to rehabilitate his image?

Outgrowing Tina Fey

It would be the height of irony if television provides Palin with a boost.

Palin has been a punch line, if not a punching bag, of people like me -- the so-called Eastern Media Elite. She has made it easy for us, mind you, because America has seldom come across anyone who is so intriguing and compelling for any number of reasons -- her family, her Alaska roots, her outspokenness, her looks and, above all, her public image.

Writer/actress Tina Fey cemented Palin's image during the 2008 presidential campaign with her brilliant, unerring characterizations of Palin week after week on "Saturday Night Live" (with a shout-out, too, to Amy Poehler, who deftly lampooned Hillary Clinton).

In Washington Post reporter Anne Kornblut's interesting new book "Notes from the Cracked Ceiling," former White House press secretary Dana Perino said: "If a major television network bumps their prime-time programming to run a special 'Saturday Night Live' whose sole purpose is to make fun of you, you have a serious problem."

If Palin hoped to run for president in, say, 2016, she'd have to erase -- no, bury -- Fey's image of her.

The best way that Palin could re-invent herself, one day at a time, would be for her to host the show in Oprah's time slot -- and show America that there is a new Sarah Palin for everyone to ponder now.

MEDIA WEB QUESTION OF THE DAY: Would you tune in to watch Sarah Palin if she succeeded Oprah Winfrey on TV?

Link: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId={2EC6E659-06D0-4117-B8AB-470E4B0E1815}&src=NLEN.

Pakistan received first AWACS delivery from Sweden

Pakistan has received the first delivery of Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft from Sweden months after India obtained a similarly system from Israel.

The first of four Saab-2000 AWACS planes was handed over to the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) on Tuesday, said a spokesman for the force.

"The aircraft landed at one of the PAF's main operating bases, marking the achievement of a major milestone in the overall modernization plan of the PAF," the spokesman said in a statement.

It's not clear how much Islamabad has paid for the planes.

The AWACS can detect high- and medium-altitude aircraft. It can also pick up surface targets over the sea.

Pakistan's main rival India received it's first AWACS from Israel in May. The nuclear-armed nations have fought three wars since their independence — more than 60 years ago.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=113292§ionid=351020401.

Israel using 'threats' to achieve financial ends

Iran says Israel is using threats to launch an attack on Iran's nuclear installations as a pretext to increase its military budget.

Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi, who is in Damascus on an official visit, said Israeli officials are well aware that they do not possess the power to cause any major threat for Iran.

However, they, Vahidi said, are using threats as a means to appease "the Zionist society" and push for their military goals in the budget.

"They are both worried about carrying out a pre-emptive, aggressive first strike and terrified about enduring the repercussions and retaliations of their act," Vahidi added.

Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), says its nuclear program is aimed at the civilian applications of the technology and has called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction across the globe.

Israel, which is the supposed owner of Middle East's sole nuclear arsenal, accuses the country of seeking atomic bombs. Under such a pretext, it has threatened Iran with a military option.

Vahidi said Iran's response to an aggression from Tel Aviv would be targeting the regime's production sites of "chemical, microbiological, dirty and banned nuclear weapons."

'IAEA aims to spy on Iran from Turkmenistan'

An Iranian Analyst has warned the UN nuclear watchdog against a decision to set up a nuclear test detection station in Turkmenistan near the border with Iran.

"The Comprehensive (Nuclear) Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a security and spy treaty. It is even more dangerous than the Additional Protocol [to the Non-Proliferation Treaty]," Iran's former ambassador to Italy Abolfazl Zohrehvand told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Wednesday.

"Under the CTBT any form of nuclear activity can be controlled and stopped. It means that the treaty can be used to block peaceful nuclear activities or even to counter missile tests of countries," he added.

The senior diplomat noted that the CTBT is in serious contradiction with the principle of the countries' sovereignty.

"The facilities are installed in various countries as seismograph station… Currently a station is planned to be set up in Turkmenistan, which has the shortest distance with Iran," he said.

He expressed confidence that other stations have been planned in certain neighboring countries to "complete a control belt over Iran in an attempt to keep a close watch on the nuclear activities of countries like Iran."

Zohrehvand said that information the stations gather will be " will be directly sent to a seismograph center in Vienna," adding that the host country has no access to the information.

Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s Board of Governors passed a new resolution against Iran over the construction of its Fordo enrichment plant, located outside Tehran.

While resolutions passed by the Board of Governors generally focus on technical issues — as opposed to political ones — and are usually either passed or rejected unanimously, the November 27 resolution failed to win the support of ten member states.

Tehran has maintained that it will continue cooperation with the IAEA, but has also warned that attempts aimed at denying Iran its nuclear rights could reduce the country's cooperation to "a legally mandated minimum," which means it would not venture beyond its legal obligations.

Tehran has, however, asserted that despite mounting Western pressure it will not pull out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Iran: UN observatory near border is spy station

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran claimed Wednesday that a newly built U.N. station to detect nuclear explosions was built near its border to give the West a post to spy on the country.

The construction of the seismic monitoring station was completed last week in neighboring Turkmenistan, a few miles from the Iranian border. It's one of roughly 275 such stations that are operational worldwide and that can detect seismic activity set off by weak nuclear blasts and even shock waves from nuclear experiments.

Abolfazl Zohrehvand, an adviser to Iran's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, said the international treaty that allows for setting up such observatories is an "espionage treaty."

"With the disclosure of the identity of such stations, it is clear the activity of one of them (in Turkmenistan) is to monitor Iran," Zohrehvand told state IRNA news agency.

Zohrehvand said the U.N. planned to set up more than one such station around Iran.

The U.S. and some of its allies suspect Iran's nuclear program is a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has denied the charges, saying the program is geared toward generating electricity.

A U.N. commission that seeks to ban all nuclear tests announced last week on its Web site that the new nuclear warning station has been set up between Turkmenistan's Karakum Desert and the Kopet mountain range.

The Vienna-based Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, or CTBTO, said the station has now been fully constructed and is currently undergoing testing.

Zohrehvand said the CTBTO is a "security and espionage treaty, even more dangerous" than the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty's additional protocol, which allows intrusive inspections of nuclear facilities in member states. Iran is a member of both the CTBTO and the NPT.

In Vienna, a spokeswoman for the CTBTO said the network of sensors was established to monitor nuclear explosions worldwide — not in specific countries. She said three monitoring stations already exist inside Iran, with two more planned inside the country.

The CTBTO Web site said the three stations in Iran are located in Tehran and the southern towns of Shushtar and Kerman.

The decision to build the seismic station in Turkmenistan was made between 1994 and 1996, with Iranian involvement, said Annika Thunborg, the CTBTO spokeswoman. At that time, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a relative pragmatist, was president of Iran.

"The building of the station has nothing to do with recent reports about Iran," Thunborg said.

"Iran is a member state of the CTBTO, together with 181 other countries, and is party to the decisions made by the CTBTO," Thunborg said. The organization plans a total of 337 stations world over.

The United Nations has demanded Iran freeze uranium enrichment. Tehran insists it has a right to enrich uranium to produce fuel for nuclear reactors to generate electricity. Uranium enriched to low levels can be used as nuclear fuel but enriched to higher levels, can be used at material for a nuclear bomb.

Iran and the West are deadlocked over a U.N. proposal for Iran to send much of its enriched uranium abroad. The plan is aimed at drastically reducing Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium in hopes of thwarting the country's ability to potentially make a nuclear weapon. So far, Iran has balked at the offer.

Recently, Tehran announced it intends to build the 10 new sites — a statement that followed a strong rebuke from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency.

Is the Qur'an hostile to Jews and Christians?

by Leena El-Ali
08 December 2009

Washington, DC - When violence is committed in the name of Islam, the perpetrators often say that Muslims were never meant to enjoy good relations with followers of other religions, specifically Jews and Christians. They invariably quote verses from the Qur’an which they argue prove that Jews and Christians are inherently hostile to Muslims. Not surprisingly, some non-Muslims often point to these quotes as evidence that Muslims are a threat to their way of life, justifying their own hostility toward Islam.

But is that what these verses really mean?

It’s often forgotten that the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over the 23-year period of his spiritual and political leadership, beginning when he was 40 and ending with his death in 632 AD. As its verses were transmitted, according to Islamic belief, by the archangel Gabriel to Muhammad, they necessarily addressed challenges facing the nascent Muslim community in addition to the theological and spiritual matters any religion seeks to expound.

Thus while nearly two-thirds of the Qur’an recounts the lives of the Hebrew prophets and of Jesus and Mary as expressions of the spiritual ideal, the remaining third sets out specific rules of conduct for the followers of the then-new Islamic religion.

Broadly speaking, these rules cover two major themes: good conduct in one’s personal, social and familial life, and specific commentary on a past or present event—including political and communal problems.

The verses deemed hostile to Jews and Christians fall into the last category. For example, while both communities are respectfully referred to as “People of the Book”—people who have been sent their own scripture by the same God who gave the Qur'an to the people of the Arabian peninsula—most such verses (about three dozen out of over 6,000) speak of Christian and Jewish tensions with the early Muslims. Muhammad’s preaching was new and therefore viewed with suspicion and considered illegitimate by most of the Jews and Christians of the time.

This is hardly surprising when one considers that it has historically been impossible for the vast majority of the followers of any religion to embrace the founder of another religion who appears in their midst.

Moreover, verses considered hostile to Jews and Christians must be read in context: at the time that some of them were recorded, for example, a Jewish tribe allied to the Muslims had betrayed them. Naturally, Muslims were warned against seeking protectors or allies among other communities.

But should instructions in the Qur’an relating to such specific incidents be generalized to apply to the relationship between Muslims, Christians and Jews today?

The Torah and Gospel are mentioned around a dozen times each in the Qur’an—always favorably--and are described as “a guidance and light” to mankind. Those among their followers who are righteous—alongside righteous Muslims, “no fear shall come upon them neither shall they grieve” (Qur'an 2:38).

Moses is mentioned in the Qur’an by name—Mussa in Arabic—no less than 136 times, through the retelling of familiar stories for the reader of the Bible: his confrontation with Pharaoh over the bondage of the children of Israel in Egypt in particular is repeated many times.

Jesus meanwhile is mentioned by name – Issa in Arabic—25 times, as well as by titles such as the Messiah, son of Mary, the Word of God, and the Spirit of God over the span of 15 chapters. Biblical stories of his life are retold in the Qur’an, including his virgin birth, healing of the blind and the leper, and raising of the dead; chapter five is in fact named after the Last Supper. Mary is mentioned 34 times by name, has a chapter named after her and is described as the highest-ranking woman in all of creation.

Muslims are even told that intermarriage with Jews and Christians is permitted under Islam, though, both because of patriarchal custom and because the relevant verse appears to be addressed to men, it has usually been difficult for a Muslim woman to enter into marriage with a Jewish or Christian man (who would be considered the head of the household).

Not a single reference in the Qur’an to either Jesus or the Gospel, to Moses or the Torah, is anything but affirming and respectful. This is overwhelmingly reassuring to those who believe that God would not send mankind one religion and allow it to take hold of millions of souls for centuries only to then send another to “perfect” or “complete” it—as some Muslims today believe of the intended role of Islam vis-à-vis Judaism and Christianity. There is a theological difference with Christian belief: Jesus is a highly regarded prophet, rather than God’s son. Still, the overall message is of coexistence, not division.

It’s such a tragedy that some of us grasp at whatever we can to nurture a feeling of fear or hatred of what we don’t understand, projecting this fear onto our, or others’, holy books—in this case the Qur’an. If we listen to its words with an open mind, we might be reassured—if not left in awe—by its resonant and familiar message.

Jordanian Water Pipeline Construction Starts

Written by Adam Gonn
Tuesday, December 08, 2009

The building of a pipeline that will supply Jordan’s capital with much needed water gets under way.

The construction of a pipeline that will carry 3.5 billion cubic feet of water to the Jordanian capital Amman has commenced after years of water shortage.

Following a deal between Jordan and Turkey, the Disi Water Conveyance Project will tap water from the Disi aquifer, an underground reserve, located on the border between Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

“The country is in deficit in terms of water availability,” Munqeth Mehyar, chairperson and Jordan director of the environmental group Friends of the Earth-Middle East, told The Media Line. “Since we don’t have too many options in Jordan, they found out that water from the Disi would be a logical [source].”

“It will take a really long time to work on a water reform [program] between agriculture and the infrastructure in Amman and other major cities,” Mehyar said. “Between now and then the population will continue to grow so it’s only logical for the government to look for other resources.”

Planners of the pipeline are estimating that even after water from the Disi aquifer has been depleted, the channel will still serve to carry desalinated water from the Gulf of Aqaba in southern Jordan to the rest of the country.

Turkey and two European investment agencies have provided an estimated $1 billion of funding for the 210 mile pipeline. Construction will be undertaken by the Turkish firm GAMA and the British Halcrow.

“Worth approximately £5 million to the company, the scheme will involve project management, design review and site auditing for Jordan-based concessionaire Disi Water Company,” a Halcrow statement read.

Jordan is considered one of the ten most water-scarce countries in the world and domestic water usage is often restricted. Completion of the Disi pipeline is scheduled for 2013 and is due to cover about 30% of Amman’s water needs.

Construction of the pumping stations for the pipeline started in June 2009 and is nearing completion.

Mehyar stressed that the Disi project is not competing with the so called Red-Dead Canal, between the Red Sea and Dead Sea and designed to tackle the drying up of the Dead Sea.

“Its two different projects, the Disi project is Jordanian,” Mehyar said. “Jordan has been thinking about securing this project since 1989.”

“The Red-Dead canal is a totally different idea with totally different objectives,” he said referring both to saving the Dead Sea and plans to generate electricity from the canal’s water flow.

The natural source of the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, is depleting as both Israel and Jordan are diverting its water.

New Discoveries in Jerusalem

Written by Arieh O’Sullivan & Felice Friedson
Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Descending deep into the underground excavations in Jerusalem’s Old City the air gets thick. It’s humid. And it’s dark.

Besides heavy breathing, the only sounds are the buzzing of a sole 500-watt bulb and sticky footsteps on shadowy wooden stairs as we descend dozens of meters beneath the approaches to the ancient Jewish Temple.

Here, archaeologists have cleared away centuries of debris to reveal an enormous arch, called the “giant causeway,” that once carried Jewish pilgrims to the Second Temple over two millennia ago. They also found ritual baths. The Romans destroyed that temple but spared the arch. Underneath it, sometime in the third or fourth century, they built smaller arches. Someone, perhaps a merchant or a potter, stored clay inside the arch for some future date.

“Go ahead, feel it,” says Miri Sak, of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. “It’s as soft, wet and pliable as when they first put it here all those years ago.”

It has remained undisturbed for 16 centuries. It is amazingly unsullied and ready to be thrown on a potter’s wheel or shaped into a cup or bowl as much now as it was 1,600 years ago.

Working quietly for the past three years, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have excavated this site near the Western Wall, the only major remnant of the ancient Jewish Temple and Judaism’s most sacred site.

“When Jerusalem was destroyed as a Jewish city in the year 70 and became a Roman colony the use of the ritual baths became irrelevant because temple worship was no longer an aspect of people’s lives. Those spaces were used for other things,” says Jon Seligman, Jerusalem Regional Archaeologist for the IAA.

“The clay has been levigated, or prepared for the production of ceramics. It is an ancient store of clay from 1,600 years ago and just placed there as a building store and waiting to be used, and it has been waiting from then till now to be used,” Seligman tells The Media Line. “So far, this is the only ancient clay hoard ever found in Israel.”

Any time you dig in the Old City of Jerusalem you never know what you will discover. The Media Line was offered one of the first visits to the clay room as well as to another dig nearby that revealed the main Roman-era roadway. The area sits next to the Western Wall that draws over eight million visitors a year. The digging was required before a new visitors’ center could be built.

Rabbi Shmuel Rabbinovich, Rabbi of the Western Wall, is glad to have the visitors. He would want to welcome more, but he bemoans the lack of basic facilities to handle the traffic of worshipers, pilgrims and tourists.

“There are 8 million visitors a year and this is the most visited site in Israel. They don’t have any facilities. They have no toilets,” Rabbinovich says. “There are many things that have to be given to them.”

Together with the Western Wall Foundation, a plan was drawn up for a new visitors’ center. The only problem was that even before the corner stone could be laid, an archaeological excavation had to take place.

“All the excavations that have been done in the past few years have completely revolutionized our understanding of that period inside Jerusalem,” says Seligman.

Rabbinovich recalled that when they demolished a small building to begin the digs a bulldozer hit it and revealed it was teetering on top of an ancient arch.

“It was hanging in mid air,” Rabbinovich says. “Underneath there’s a treasure, a Cardo, a street from the time of the Second Temple, and maybe even things from the First Temple period. There were wonderful things.”

After the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD they tried to wipe out the memory of the Jewish nation. They even changed the name of the city to Alia Capotalina and rebuilt it, laying wide stone roads over the rubble of the city.

In a large pit on the western side of the plaza before the Western Wall, one can see these very same paving stones along with large pillars. Digging underneath parts of the road, archaeologists also discovered remnants of homes from the First Temple period some 3,000 years ago, including some rare ancient Hebrew stamps used by officials in the court of King Solomon.

“We found a bronze seal of an archer with fine details. It’s no bigger than a shekel, or a penny. The name on it is Hagav. We find in our book of prophets b’nei Hagav written once – the sons of Hagav. Is this the same Hagav who was mentioned? He might have actually stood here. Lived here some 2,800 years ago,” says Miri Sak.

Archaeologists uncovered a total of some 6,000 ancient coins as well as tens of thousands of pottery shards spanning the city’s history, from the First Temple, Roman and Byzantine, to the Persians, Umayyad, Crusaders, Mukluks and Ottomans.

Now that digging is complete engineers are planning where to build the large visitors’ center. American businessman Mort Zuckerman is the financier of this project and building is scheduled to begin once permits are issued.

The plans have drawn criticism, particularly from other archaeologists.

“The cement and the concrete will go down, the iron poles will go down to the street into the excavation and I don’t see any advantage in doing this,” says Yoram Tzafrir, professor emeritus from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “This is a kind of cultural pearl that we are not permitted to cover with buildings.”

Officials believe the new building will actually preserve it better.

“How will you be able to see it? It will fill up with water when it rains and no one will be able to reach it. In one moment you’ve ruined it all and nothing will remain. You need some kind of construction,” says Rabbi Rabbinovich.

Archaeologist Seligman believes a compromise can be found.

“The central aspect of the work of the Israel Antiquities Authority in a sight like this is finding the balance,” he says. “It is a matter of finding the balance between on the one hand living in the city of Jerusalem, developing the city of Jerusalem and letting people live their lives here, and on the other hand preserving what is important to us, preserving the most important aspects of the ancient past.”

Nature Does Indeed Know Borders

Written by Arieh O’Sullivan
Thursday, December 03, 2009

How man-made phenomena along the borderline have made Israeli rodents more cautious than their Jordanian neighbors.

The old adage is that nature knows no borders, that species don’t recognize any map demarcations and that they will develop equally on both sides if climatic conditions are shared.

But new research from the University of Haifa in Israel argues this isn’t always the case.

According to the study, Israeli rodents are more cautious, the ant lion more ambitious and reptiles less diverse than their Jordanian counterparts.

The Israeli-Jordanian border is demarcated by the Jordan River, Dead Sea and then a straight line southward to the Red Sea. The climate is virtually identical on both sides. But it turns out various man-made steps have caused the fauna to develop and behave differently.

“The boundary is indeed a virtual marking that appears on the map and is not capable of keeping these species from crossing the border between Israel and Jordan,” said Dr. Uri Shanas, head of the Israeli team that carried out the research at the University of Haifa. “But the line does stop humans from crossing it and thereby contains their different impact on nature.”

The study began as an anthropogenic study of various Western-style agricultural practices on Israel’s wildlife, mainly rodents, reptiles and insects. The Jordanian side was to serve as a sort of control since the land had been less cultivated and primarily based on nomadic shepherding and traditional farming.

“After a few sampling events we started to see something strange and note differences the border itself caused,” Shanas told The Media Line.

He said they were working in conjunction with a Jordanian team made up of Jordanian researchers and students, often within shouting distance of each other as they examined identical landscapes.

“The funny thing was for example, with rodents,” Shanas said. “We were catching mostly gerbils. Many times we came to our sites and the traps were empty. We didn’t catch anything. I would call to my Jordanian colleagues on their mobile phones, sometimes just over the fence, and ask them how many they caught. They were happy to say they caught lots of gerbils. So we started to think that there was something else going on here.”

The researchers at the Department of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology determined that the Israeli gerbils were more suspicious, cautious and vigilant since they developed leeriness to the red fox who hunt them.

It turned out the red fox was much more abundant on the Israeli side since there were more food sources from the agricultural fields and garbage dumps. By contrast the Jordanian side was mainly an untouched wilderness.

“The foxes put pressure on the gerbils and that made them more vigilant on the Israeli side,” Shanas said, adding that on the Jordanian side the gerbils allowed themselves to be more carefree.

Another study found a greater presence of the funnel-digging ant lions on the Israeli side.

“The reason we find lots of ant lions on the Israeli side is because there are gazelles,” Shanas said. “The gazelles are well protected on the Israeli side while they are not protected by law or practice on the Jordanian side. The gazelles break the soil crust and that enables the ant lions to build their funnels on the Israeli side.”

“We call the gazelles ‘ecological engineers’,” he said. “So this is another way in which the cultural differences across the border affect several species and their distribution across the border.”

The study also found that the number of reptiles is similar on both sides, but that in Jordan the variety of species was greater. This was mainly due to fewer farming fields and greater wilderness continuity in Jordan.

It was clear that the impact on nature was directly or indirectly man made. Researchers expected culture would impact on diversity, but were surprised it also impacted on behavioral differences.

“This study might be able to show the Jordanians which way they are going in terms of changes in biodiversity on their side,” Shanas said.

The results of the study could serve as a potential window for Jordan as a demonstration of how their fauna might change on the border region.

“We both have to learn from each other and maybe this is the bottom line,” Shanas said. “They can learn from our experience but we can also learn from their experience.”

Animal Aliyah: Jewish Immigration to the Holy Land Goes Mammal

Written by Benjamin Joffe-Walt
Tuesday, December 01, 2009

An Israeli company is helping 'Jewish' hippos, crocodiles and ferrets immigrate to Israel.

[Jerusalem, Israel] It was an emotional moment.

Excited by a move to work as a journalist in Israel, my wife and I were taking the little one to the Middle East for the first time.

Bringing our baby to the holy land was hardly painless. Over many months we had to get her a passport, vaccinations, a kennel and an abundance of paperwork.

But watching as she wolfed down the kosher kebab they gave her on the flight to Tel Aviv, happy as a clam, we figured everything would be ok.

Then she started to bark.

Our ‘baby’, at the time a five-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, became increasingly uneasy about the claustrophobia of spending four hours in a large steel tube being propelled by roaring jet engines to speeds unbefitting of a spoiled canine.

The barking led to howling, the howling to jumping, the jumping to diarrhea, and you can imagine the rest.

This is the kind of conundrum that Terminal4Pets, an Israeli pet transport service, specializes in.

A "pioneer in pet travel in Israel," the company launched an 'Aliyah for Pets' project on Tuesday, encouraging Jewish families making the symbolic Zionist immigration to Israel to bring their pets with them.

"Sometimes the question of whether or not to come to Israel comes down to the pets," Eytan Kreiner, the founder and CEO of Terminal4Pets told The Media Line. "We are Jewish people, our place is here and every Jewish person should join us. We don't want a Jew overseas to be faced with the pain of bringing their pet and decide not to move to Israel."

"I'm a veterinarian so the way I can contribute is by giving them special deals and helping them bring their pets here," he said. "We tell them 'Guys, we need you here, you should be here. Call us and we'll get your pet here simply, safely and make your dream come true.'"

A quick call from the U.S. to 1-866-PET-2-FLY and a Jewish immigrant will be offered a number of pet travel solutions from the dedicated team of vets, pet handlers and "veteran pet travel agents", from high-class custom-made kennels, flight kits and customs clearance assistance to a VIP ("Very Important Pet") service to meet and greet your pet upon arrival in Israel and a 'Pet shuttle' to take your pet to their new home. The company even gives new arrivals a handy Hebrew-English 'Pet' dictionary.

"It's a need that nobody else takes care of," Eran Kolran, Director of Marketing at Terminal4Pets told The Media Line. "Most people that have pets see their pets as family members and they want to know that they are safe. But we found that a lot of people are confused about how to send their animals and there are lots of disaster stories. You need to check with the airlines, the country you are leaving and the country you are going to, whether the kennel can fit into the plane, what kind of kennels you need, what kinds of vaccinations you need, even the weather."

Terminal4Pets has been in operation since 2004, and its parent veterinary service was founded in 1991. With Jewish immigration to Israel on the rise in 2009, Terminal4Pets decided to capitalize on the trend, offering their customers a free day of kenneling on arrival and free veterinary vaccination and consultation services for the pet's first year in Israel.

"We fly thousands of animals each year," Kolran said. "We provide customers with a one stop shop: ticketing, buying and preparing the kennel, making sure that the air conditioner is on and that the pet is tied properly, cleaning and pampering the pet, giving them a veterinary checkup after the flight and taking care of all the veterinary work on arrival."

But it's not only puppies and kittens making the symbolic Jewish immigration to Israel, Terminal4Pets has helped giraffes, crocodiles, chinchillas, snakes and exotic birds make 'Aliyah' to the Jewish State.

"Our core business is domesticated animals such as dogs, cats and ferrets," Kolran said. "We don't usually do these things but we have experience transporting more exotic animals such as crocodiles, birds, lab mice and horses and we are always open."

"Once we even brought a hippo from Eastern Europe," he remembered. "A Jewish philanthropist from Kiev wanted to contribute a Hippo to Israel. The challenge was that the hippo had to be wet throughout the entire flight so we explored wet towels and all sorts of kennel-based sprinkler systems. We built a custom kennel, dealt with all the regulations, met the hippo at the airport and got it to Israel safely. It was an interesting experience."

"We also have a lot of interesting bird stories," Kolran added. "Birds are very complicated because they have a very high heart rate and they have to be very calm during the flight."

Kolran said that many customers come to them after trying experiences.

"People often think they can do it themselves," he said. "The problem with that is if you are not experienced you usually only know part of the story. You need to know the different flight regulations, the ramifications of picking the wrong kennel, etc. So people often arrive at the airport and the pet might not make it on the plane or have to endure a lot of pain."

"It's not a nice situation to be in," Kolran continued. "We use our experience to avoid this and make sure the pet arrives safe and simple."

"We have to make sure that we treat pets as if they were our own," Kreiner added. "We have a person bringing 27 pets to Israel in a few months. For her they are her babies and all of them are precious. So it's not like you are sending a UPS parcel. There are no second chances."

Terminal4Pets' flight management services costs around $275 and the airport companion VIP service is around $200.

Israel shunned at Copenhagen Climate Conference

Official representatives of Israel have found themselves shunned at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, reports from Denmark say. Israeli officials were rejected in their attempts to band with countries with common interests at a number of discussion groups at the various sessions. European Union countries have clustered together, as well as non-aligned countries, and though Israel pulled all its diplomatic strings to join a group in which Mexico, South Korea and Switzerland were members, it was refused reportedly due to Israel’s poor international image. About 40 representatives attending the conference are finding themselves isolated and having difficulty voicing their opinions and positions. It is expected that Israel will be criticized for its lackluster efforts to cut down greenhouse gas emissions.

Iran's defense minister arrives in Damascus

Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has arrived in the Syrian capital Damascus at the head of a high-ranking delegation.

The Iranian official was formally invited by the Syrian Defense Minister Lt. General Ali Mohammad Habib Mahmoud.

"We will discuss ways to develop bilateral defense cooperation between the two countries," Vahidi said after arriving in Damascus on Tuesday night.

"It is a necessity for peace-seeking Islamic countries to make efforts to provide peace and security," he added.

"That is why Iran is ready to improve its relations with all regional countries within a defense policy framework," he further said.

Taliban warns Seoul against troop deployment

The Taliban has warned Seoul against sending troops to Afghanistan, claiming that the South Korean government had promised not to deploy soldiers to the country.

South Korea had around 200 soldiers in Afghanistan until late 2007. The Southeast Asian country pulled out its troops after Taliban kidnapped 21 Korean missionaries in 2007.

In a statement sent to the media on Wednesday, Taliban said the South Korean government had promised to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan and had said that it "would never try to send forces again in the future," in return for the release of 19 hostages.

"If they send their forces to Afghanistan and break their promise, then they should also be prepared for bad consequences," the statement said, adding that the Taliban "will never resort to a soft approach anymore."

South Korea announced Tuesday it will send 350 troops to Afghanistan to protect South Korean civilian engineers working in the war-battered country.

The South Korean contingent will be based in the Parwan province just north of Kabul for 30 months from 1 of July next year, the South Korean Defense Ministry said.

A cabinet meeting Tuesday approved the deployment and the defense ministry plans to send a motion this week to parliament for likely approval.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=113276§ionid=351020405.

US to punish anti-American TV in ME

The US House of Representatives has adopted a bill asking the country's president to report agitation resulting to anti-American violence on media outlets.

The measure was passed in a decisive 395-3 vote on Tuesday.

US Lawmakers claim some Middle Eastern television networks repeatedly publish or broadcast violence against the United States and Americans.

The bill reads that such incitement poses danger to American soldiers and civilians in the region and at home, adding that they must be stopped.

It also calls for punitive measures for networks deemed to be fueling terror.

Hamas' al-Aqsa and Hezbollah's al-Manar television stations are among the networks that US lawmakers have described as terror-fueling.

President Obama now has six months to report "on anti-American incitement to violence in the Middle East," to the congress.

The US Senate has yet to weigh in on the issue.

Hubble takes never-seen-before space pics

NASA's Hubble space telescope has observed some of the oldest galaxies in the universe and has captured infrared images of them.

Hubble's newly installed wide field camera spotted several thousand never-before-seen galaxies. The newly observed galaxies were formed 600 million years after the Big Bang.

Big Bang is the name of the massive cosmic explosion that is hypothesized to have led to the creation of the universe.

The highly sensitive Wide Field Camera 3 monitored galaxies about 13 billion light years away. Each light year is more than 9 trillion kilometers.

"Hubble has now revisited the Ultra Deep Field which we first studied five years ago, taking infrared images which are more sensitive than anything obtained before," said Daniel Stark, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge who was involved in the work.

The camera is sensitive to infrared light, which has wavelengths about twice as long as visible light and cannot be detected by the human eye.

Israel votes on bill to return annexed lands

Israeli lawmakers are set to discuss a controversial bill on withdrawing from the Arab territories that Tel Aviv has illegally annexed in the past.

The proposed draft says any future peace deals demanding Israel's withdrawal from East Jerusalem Al-Quds and the Syrian Golan Heights must first be approved by a 61-vote majority in the 120-seat parliament (Knesset).

Once the agreement has won parliamentary approval, it must be put to a "referendum" within 80 days.

This is while the Palestinians consider Jerusalem Al-Quds as the capital of their future independent state, urging a complete freeze on Israel's settlement construction activity in there.

Syria has also repeatedly called for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights as a precondition to any peace talks.

The international community has never recognized Israel's annexation of the two Arab territories, both occupied by Israel during the six-day war in 1967.

Israel's parliament is widely expected to welcome the government bill which favors opposition to the regime's withdrawal from the occupied regions, and could smother international efforts aimed at reviving peace in the region.

Israel Refuses Irish FM Permission to Visit Gaza

Israeli authorities deny Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin permission to visit the impoverished coastal sliver of Gaza which has long been under an Israeli siege.

Speaking at the Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs on Friday, Martin said no substantive reason had been given for the refusal.

"I just wanted to go in myself and see Gaza," he said according to the Irish Times newspaper.

Similar requests from other European countries had also been turned down.

The Irish Foreign Minister meanwhile described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as 'completely unacceptable.'

"If progress is not realized quickly, then the international community as a whole may need to reconsider what further pressure it can bring in favor of achieving a negotiated, two-state settlement," Martin told the committee.

Israel has imposed a crippling siege on the Gaza Strip since.

The Israeli army also launched a massive military offensive, known as 'Operation Cast Lead' against the coastal sliver in December 2008 and January 2009. More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed during the three-week offensive, which inflicted $ 1.6 billion of damage to the Gazan economy.

“I am appalled by the indiscriminate attacks by Israeli forces which have resulted in so many civilian fatalities. The death and suffering, as well as the humanitarian deprivation, now being inflicted on the people of Gaza as a result of the continuation of the Israeli Operation Cast Lead cannot be justified in any way and must now be brought to an immediate end," Martin stated.

Martin also called on Tel Aviv to provide further clear evidence it was 'serious about engaging in peace negotiations' rather than being more preoccupied with 'simply managing what could well escalate into a situation of incipient conflict.'

Galloway Urges Muslims to Help Lift Gaza Blockade

A British lawmaker has called on Muslims and all freedom-seeking people across the world to make efforts to lift blockades on the Gaza Strip and help the oppressed Palestinians.

People in Gaza are in dire need of food, medicine and fuel, the British Member of Parliament George Galloway told state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Sunday.

He strongly criticized Western countries and the British government for providing all-out support for Israel and said in the absence of the West support for the Palestinian people, Muslims are duty-bound to help them.

The British government regards itself as the closest ally of Israel while most British people oppose Israel's crimes and have expressed their sympathy with the oppressed Palestinian people, the lawmaker said.

Britain has played a key role in the establishment of Israel and its continuous crimes against the Palestinians, he added.

Galloway's comment came as an international aid convoy the Viva Palestina is scheduled to take humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip from London, marking the first year anniversary of Israel's three-week war on the Gazans.

The Viva Palestina convoy of 250 vehicles will deliver medical, humanitarian and educational aid to Palestinians who are suffering a long-running Israeli blockade on their territory since Hamas took control of the region in June 2007.

The convoys will depart from London on Sunday to pass through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece and Turkey.

Galloway, who has founded the Viva Palestina, said the convoy aims to lift blockades on Gaza and to supply part of the needs of the Palestinians who are suffering serious problems.

However, this is a symbolic move to fight seizure of the Gaza Strip, he added.

He noted that Israel could not continue the blockade of Gaza should a long line of humanitarian aids rush to the region.

The humanitarian aid is scheduled to enter Gaza on Dec. 27 after heading through Syria, Jordan and north along the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt.

The trip marks the first-year anniversary of Israel's 22-day invasion of the Gaza Strip during which more than 1400 Palestinians were killed.

Galloway has already delivered two convoys of aid to the Gaza Strip this year.

(Press TV)

Algerian space agency to deploy second satellite

2009-12-08

Algeria will send its second satellite into orbit in early 2010, APS quoted Algerian Space Agency (ASA) Director Azzedine Oussedik as saying on Monday (December 7th). The ASA also signed agreements at the 3rd African Leadership Conference on Space Science and Technology in Sustainable Development (ALC 2009) in Algiers on Monday. In partnership with the UN, Algeria will host a North Africa regional office to use satellite images for natural disaster prevention and management. Another agreement with South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya calls for four satellites to cover the continent.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2009/12/08/newsbrief-07.

Algeria to boost airport security

Algeria will implement new security measures at international airports and seaports, El Khabar reported on Tuesday (December 8th). According to a government report presented last month by Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni, the measures will include security perimeters around Annaba, Oran and Constantine airports. Local wilayas will also implement any necessary changes to local utilities or business zones to protect the area around ports in Oran, Bettioua, Arzew, Mostaganem, Djendjen, Skikda, Béjaia and Annaba.

EU, Morocco plan first bilateral summit

Morocco and the European Union will hold their first bilateral summit in 2010, ANSA reported on Monday (December 7th). The announcement was made by the EU-Morocco Association Council, currently meeting in Brussels. European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner has urged the parties to finalize ongoing negotiations in the agriculture sector to help reduce rural poverty in Morocco and boost exports to Europe.

Algeria rejects Copenhagen summit call for new energy tax

Algeria will not support the new taxes on hydrocarbons proposed by the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tout sur l'Algerie quoted Algerian Environment Minister Cherif Rahmani as saying on Monday (December 7th). "It is inconceivable that the South agree to new taxes," Rahmani said on national radio Chaine 3. "Much has changed but we have not achieved our objectives. We will continue… for the voice of Africa to be heard," the minister added.

Tunis conference tackles Maghreb bank reform

Banking and financial institution officials last week met in Tunisia to discuss far-ranging reforms and ways to foster growth once the world's economy recovers.

By Mona Yahia for Magharebia in Tunis – 08/12/09

Banking officials at a Tunis conference urged the Maghreb's financial institutions to carry out radical reforms in order to make the most of prosperity they hope will follow the global economic crisis.

The conference, which wrapped up December 3rd, gathered 150 representatives from financial institutions, including the IMF and the World Bank, to discuss ways to recover from the international financial crisis.

"There are measures and arrangements that banks should undertake … in addition to monitoring execution and administrative hierarchies" to perform most effectively, the head of the Tunisian Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions, Mohamed Farid Ben Tenfous, told participants.

The International Exhibition of Banking, Financial and Monetary Services also hosted two seminars exploring ways in which Maghreb banks could expand their opportunities in the current period and find new ways to strengthen bank oversight.

Shoring up regional co-operation and promoting economic integration with the help of the IMF is also a solid financial plan, said Tunisian Central Bank Governor Taoufik Baccar.

Baccar called on the international community to carry out radical reforms, starting with creating new foundations for banking governance to guarantee international financial stability and sustained growth in the future.

The Tunisian bank official also stressed that several IMF policies should be reconsidered, especially how it handles global financial and monetary problems. He also said monetary monitoring institutions should adopt an international code of behavior to prevent future meltdowns.

Reforming bank governance must be a top priority for Maghreb banks, said Amor Tahiri, the IMF's deputy director general for the Middle East and Central Asia. He also urged regional banks to promote competitiveness, reinforce banking systems' foundations and establish security networks.

Shamshad Akhtar, vice president of the MENA region for the World Bank, said co-operation is essential to preventing another widespread economic crisis.

Akhtar said the Maghreb states should work together to reform their banking and financial services sectors, since Maghreb co-operation is essential to advancing development in the region.

Tahiri echoed this sentiment, highlighting the IMF's work in this area. "As you know, the IMF assisted Maghreb states in bolstering their co-operation in 2005," he said.

Also discussed at the Tunis conference were new financial tools for clients, including smart cards, ATMs and new banking software.

Algerian government, unions resolve public-sector wage dispute

Talks between the government and public-sector unions following a prolonged teachers' strike have culminated in a new minimum wage and other measures.

By Mouna Sadek for Magharebia in Algiers – 08/12/09

Civil servants will receive a long-awaited pay rise and back wages dating from January 2008, the Algerian government announced after talks with labor leaders.

"Regardless of when the decree to introduce the new allowances is promulgated, the new allowances will be backdated to 1 January 2008," Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said at a press conference on December 3rd.

Under the agreement, the nation's minimum wage will be increased from the current 12,000 dinars per month to 15,000.

Nearly 300,000 workers in the public sector, who account for 70% of the workforce, will benefit from the change. The pay raise will only apply to workers whose compensation falls below the new minimum wage.

The new pay scale will affect social security, retirement and unemployment benefits. Wages are a key component in calculating those benefits, which go to everyone from white-collar workers and the unemployed to former militants.

Several teachers' unions last month ended a three-week strike after agreeing to resume talks with the government over wage and benefits disputes. On strike since November 8th, the unions were protesting the government's decision to backdate pay raises not from January 2008, as was the unions' demand, but from the date the increases were published in the government's Official Journal.

According to the prime minister's office, the pay raise and the issuance of back wages will cost the treasury an additional 90 million dinars, on top of the 1.34 billion dinars paid in public-sector wages each year.

Some union members are dissatisfied with the new deal.

"The employers and the Algerian General Workers' Union (UGTA) were only there to rubber-stamp a decision which had already been taken," said the leader of an independent union of civil servants, Nassira Ghozlane. "How many [UGTA workers] are really being paid the minimum wage?"

Ghozlane contested the figures put forth by the prime minister.

"Currently, more than 600,000 employees in the sector receive pay of less than 12,000 dinars. If you compare minimum wages across the Maghreb, you'll see that Algeria is in last place, behind Mauritania," she said.

A 2007 study by labor researchers said Algerians being paid the minimum wage can only meet their family's needs for one week out of every month, while the families of workers making 15,000-25,000 dinars a month can survive for only 10 days.

Sabéha, a retired teacher, told Magharebia that she was "delighted" at the increase in her income, but added that it is still not enough to meet her needs.

"There are no concessions being made by shopkeepers; they have no conscience about bleeding customers dry. And no increase in pay could compensate for that," she said.

Sociologist Mohamed Saib Musette said a pay increase would not solve all the ills of the average Algerian worker.

"It's true that the minimum wage's main economic function is to adjust workers' purchasing power," said Musette, a researcher for the Center for Research in Applied Economics for Development. "But ... we shouldn't rule out the fact that a rise in the minimum wage could drive up prices" and stoke inflation.

Spain seeks 'reasonable solution' in Haidar hunger strike

Moroccan human rights activist Aminatou Haidar is continuing her hunger strike after being deported to Spain's Canary Islands.

By Naoufel Cherkaoui for Magharebia in Rabat – 08/12/09

The hunger strike of Moroccan human rights activist Aminatou Haidar is causing friction between her home country and Spain, while also spilling over into the Western Sahara issue.

Haidar has been holed up in the airport of Lanzarote, part of Spain's Canary Islands, ever since November 14th, when Moroccan authorities stripped her of her passport and deported her. The 42-year-old's ostensible offense was to write "Western Sahara" in the nationality box of the entry form at Laayoune airport in southern Morocco.

However, Haidar is dogged by the accusation that she is acting on behalf of the separatist Polisario Front, a charge repeated by Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi-Fihri on Monday (December 7th), as reported by the BBC.

Spanish Prime Minister Luis Zapatero told reporters on December 6th that his country was facing difficulties with Morocco in connection with Haidar's case, adding "We hope that we can reach a reasonable solution." Spain's foreign minister on December 3rd asked Morocco to give Haidar a passport so that she could travel.

Haidar, who has won awards for her peace activism, began consuming only sugared water on November 16th and says she simply wants to return home. On November 20th, she turned down an offer of asylum from Spanish authorities.

The mother of two plans to continue the hunger strike "until there is a solution", she told AFP on Monday. "If I die, the Spanish government will have to take the legal and moral consequences."

Haidar "has to bear the consequences of her actions; she has renounced and willingly signed away her Moroccan citizenship", Foreign Minister Fassi-Fihri said in a press statement released on December 2nd. "In no way can we allow the Moroccan passport to be a subject of insult or ridicule."

"Haidar, who has benefited from her national passport for years, has willingly decided to return her Moroccan passport and national identity card," he continued, adding that returning the activist to her point of embarkation, the Canary Islands, complied with international laws and standards.

Mohamed Khaddad, Polisario Front member and Sahrawi representative to the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, on December 5th told Spanish reporters that Aminatou's situation indicated "strictness" and "harshness" on the part of Morocco.

"Last Friday, Moroccan authorities refused to allow the landing of the Spanish plane carrying Haidar and an accompanying delegation in the city of Laayoune ... despite having first given their approval in coordination with the Spanish foreign minister," added Khaddad.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on November 24th expressed concern over what he called rising tension in the Sahara region caused by the arrest of some activists, as well as Haidar's situation.

In a speech delivered November 6th, Moroccan King Mohammed VI said "[T]here is no more room for ambiguity or deception; a citizen is either a Moroccan or a non-Moroccan".

"The time of two-faced attitudes and evasion of duty is over," added the monarch. "[A] person is either a patriot or a traitor, as there is no intermediate place between patriotism and treason. There is no room for enjoying the rights of citizenship, and at the same time denouncing it in conspiracy with the enemies of our country."

India, Israel Plan Military Cooperation

TEL AVIV [MENL] -- India and Israel have begun another defense summit.

Algeria, U.S. Seek To Enhance Security Ties

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Algeria and the United States have been working to bolster security cooperation.

Officials said Algeria and the United States plan to upgrade security cooperation, particularly in the area of counter-insurgency. They said the cooperation would include training, intelligence exchange and arms deals.

Iraq Buys Border Surveillance System

BAGHDAD [MENL] -- Iraq has purchased a border surveillance system from the United States.

Source: Middle East Newsline.
Link: http://www.menewsline.com/article-1173,18389-Iraq-Buys-Border-Surveillance-Sys.aspx.

Pentagon Decides What To Leave Behind In Iraq

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The Defense Department has been engaged in the huge task of deciding what military equipment to take or leave in Iraq.

Source: Middle East Newsline.
Link: http://www.menewsline.com/article-1173,18390-Pentagon-Decides-What-To-Leave-Be.aspx.

Human rights group charges Brazil police with illegal killings

Sao Paulo - Police in the Brazilian cities of Sao Paulo and Rai de Janeiro regularly use excessive violence and resort to extra- judicial executions, a human rights group said in a report released Tuesday. "Police officers in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo routinely resort to lethal force, often committing extra-judicial executions and exacerbating violence in both states," the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a 122-page report.

Every year, police in the two cities kill more than 1,000 people in such conditions, the report said, adding that there are several cases of legitimate self-defense by police officers but there are also many cases of excessive use of force.

"Extra-judicial killing of criminal suspects is not the answer to violent crime," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, HRW's director for the Americas. "The residents of Rio and Sao Paulo need more effective policing, not more violence from the police."

These unlawful killings obliterate legitimate efforts to curb violence, largely by armed gangs. In Rio, these gangs are responsible for one of the highest homicide rates in the hemisphere, HRW said.

The report cited official government statistics, according to which police in Rio and Sao Paulo have killed more than 11,000 people since 2003.

The number of police killings in the state of Rio de Janeiro in a single year peaked at 1,330 in 2007. In 2008, the number of deaths was 1,137.

"The high number of police killings is all the more dramatic when viewed alongside the comparatively low numbers of non-fatal injuries of civilians by police and of police fatalities," HRW said.

The low number of non-fatal injuries appears to indicate that police seek to kill suspects rather than just disarm them.

"Police officers are permitted to use lethal force as a last resort to protect themselves or others," Vivanco said. "But the notion that these police killings are committed in self-defense, or justified by high crime rates, does not hold up under scrutiny."

HRW also claimed that police officers responsible for unlawful killings in the two cities are "rarely brought to justice," mostly because police investigators remain in charge of investigating these cases.

German coalition party loses appeal against big penalty

Berlin - The junior party in Chancellor Angela Merkel's German coalition, the Free Democratic Party (FDP), lost a court appeal in Berlin Tuesday against a huge fine for accounting irregularities. The administrative tribunal for the state of Berlin rejected a complaint that the fine of 4.3 million euros (6.3 million dollars) was excessive. The fine was a blow, both financially and politically, to the party, which is led by Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

The FDP said it would appeal to a higher tribunal against the penalty imposed by the clerk of parliament for errors in the years up to 2002.

The late Juergen Moellemann, a former federal minister who headed the North Rhine Westphalia section of the FDP, was blamed for the failure to properly account for millions of Deutschmarks in contributions to the party between 1996 and 2002.

Moellemann, a controversial figure because of his criticism of Israel, was under investigation when he died in 2003. He jumped from a plane and did not open the parachute he was wearing.

The fine was imposed under German legislation that grants generous public financing to political parties but requires them to disclose all large donations. The penalty for hiding any income is a loss of some of the public financing distributed by parliament.

The FDP argued that the fine, which was finalized in July this year, was excessive because it had itself investigated and exposed Moellemann's practices. The accounts left out the cost of millions of copies of an anti-Israel leaflet written by Moellemann in 2002.

The FDP, which moved from opposition to the government benches after the German general election in September, has paid part of the federal fine, but contended that the remainder, 3.5 million euros, was too much.

China slams rich nations as leaked draft causes uproar - Summary

Copenhagen - Climate change talks in Copenhagen produced a deep rift between developed and developing nations Tuesday as China accused the world's richest of failing to live up to their commitments - and a Danish draft proposal caused uproar among negotiators. In a rare meeting with the international press, China's chief climate negotiator, Su Wei, said the European Union, the United States and Japan had all tabled far too modest emission cuts.

"Developed countries shoulder a historical responsibility" for climate change and "need to take the lead to reduce their emissions by a large margin," Su said.

Su described the EU's planned reduction of 20 per cent against 1990 levels by 2020 as "not enough", and US President Barack Obama's proposed cuts of around 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020 as "neither notable nor remarkable".

His comments came against the backdrop of a brewing row over a leaked "Copenhagen Agreement" text drafted by the Danish prime minister's office and circulated among a restricted group of delegations attending the UN talks.

The draft, which was published by the Guardian newspaper on its website, states that all parties should "support the goal of a reduction of global annual emissions in 2050 by at least 50 per cent versus 1990 annual emissions."

More controversially, the text envisages a deadline for peak emissions from developing nations.

Moreover, financial support for adaptation to the effects of climate change should prioritize "the poorest and most vulnerable countries", rather than cover big developing nations such as China, India or Brazil.

While not an official text, insiders confirmed its authenticity to the German Press Agency dpa.

According to the Guardian, the text weakens the role of the United Nations in handling climate finance and effectively allows rich nations to continue emitting much more than less developed countries.

Su, for his part, accused rich nations of allowing their emissions to grow and said it would be "unfair to set a peak target for developing countries which are still in the stage of industrialization."

The Danish text was also slammed by environmentalists present in Copenhagen.

"The Danish proposal falls far short of emissions cuts needed, and remains vague on the climate cash," Antonio Hill, Oxfam International Climate Adviser said.

Kim Carstensen of the WWF said the draft was "weak and reflects a too elitist, selective and non-transparent approach."

The UN's climate chief, Yvo de Boer, had earlier warned that greenhouse gas emission cuts pledged so far by the industrial world were "not good enough."

According to the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the cuts envisaged by rich nations would not be sufficient to meet scientists' calls for a global reduction of between 25 and 40 per cent - the range needed to avoid the worst impact of climate change.

While underlying the "very positive and encouraging" start to the conference, which began on Monday, de Boer also urged negotiators from 192 countries present in Copenhagen to work to the full ahead of the arrival next week of environment ministers and some 110 world leaders.

The negotiations remain mired by mutual recriminations and deep divisions over how much each party should do to prevent global average temperatures from rising above the potentially dangerous 2-degree limit.

"I have heard representatives of both Europe and the US say that the target that China has tabled can be improved upon; I have heard representatives from Europe and China say that the target tabled by the US can be improved upon ... and I have heard least developed states say that nobody's targets are good enough at the moment," de Boer said.

"So clearly we are going to have a very intense process of negotiations," he said.

Developed and developing countries are also split over how much money is needed to help poor nations adapt to climate change and mitigate its impact, and on whether existing or new organizations should handle the hundreds of billions of dollars that will be required.

Rich nations say they are prepared to provide poor nations with 10 billion dollars in immediate aid next year.

But "if you divide this sum by the population of the world, it's less than 2 dollars per person," Su said.

"That's not enough to buy a cup of coffee in Copenhagen," the Chinese official said.

Pressure on all parties to reach an ambitious deal was stepped up Tuesday by the publication of two new alarming reports.

One, by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said the current decade was set to become the warmest on record.

Another report from Germanwatch, a pressure group, blamed a rise in "extreme weather events" for the death of 600,000 deaths and massive economic damage over the past two decades.