DDMA Headline Animator

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Rabbi allows stealing Palestinian crops and water

December 7, 2009

GAZA, (PIC)-- The PA agriculture ministry has strongly condemned Sunday a new religious edict issued by a rabbi allowing Israeli settlers to steal Palestinian olive crops and to poison Palestinian water.

Mohsen Abu Eita, the ministry’s under-secretary for natural resources, asserted in a statement that Israeli rabbis permit the settlers to steal the Palestinian olive trees and crops alleging that the land that the Palestinians were cultivating belongs to the Jews.

Earlier, the fanatic rabbi Dov Lior, the chairman of the settlements’ council in the West Bank, allowed the settlers to poison the Palestinian livestock and water near their settlements.

According to Abu Eita, the Israeli settlers carry out the teachings of their rabbis in this regard perfectly as they usurp Palestinian crops and cattle, and poison Palestinian pastures on daily basis leading to the expiration of many farm animals.

Palestinian records, according to Abu Eita, show that the Israeli occupation troops destroyed more than 14,000 olive trees in the West Bank throughout the year in order to expand Israeli settlements.

In Gaza Strip, Abu Eita explained that nearly 173,000 olive trees were destroyed in addition to uprooting more than 20,000 dunums (1 dunum = 1000 sq. meter) during the war on Gaza gravely affecting at least 9,000 Palestinian farmers, and leading to 587 million dollars losses in agriculture and fisheries sectors in addition to water wells.

"These kinds of edicts, including edicts allowing the killing of Palestinian infants, reflect the Zionist racist mentality that allows stealing property of others without paying any attention to heavenly and earthly laws that oppose such edicts," he added.

In this regard, Abu Eita urged the Vatican, the UN, the UNICEF, and human rights organizations among other influential groups to immediately intervene to protect Palestinian farmers, especially in the West Bank.

Algiers to host International Festival of Animated Film

Algiers will host the 6th edition of the International Festival of Animated Film on December 13th, organizers announced on Tuesday (December 8th). In addition to screening African animated films, the event will pay tribute to African film director Mustapha Alassane.

Algeria, EU delegation discuss Sahel-Sahara security

Algerian and European Union officials met in Algiers for counter-terrorism policy talks, APS reported on Wednesday (December 9th). The mission of the EU delegation is to "define a joint strategy and approach on Sahel and Sahara security and development", Swedish Ambassador Carin Wall said after meeting with Minister of State for African and Maghreb Affairs Abdelkader Messahel. Wall, whose country currently chairs the rotating EU presidency, stressed Algeria's "key" role in the process.

Morocco unveils programs to support SMEs

Small businesses in Morocco are due to receive a boost from the government, as new agreements provide greater access to capital and credit.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 09/12/09

The Moroccan government is taking fresh steps to support beleaguered local businesses, which are a key part of the national economy. Two new programs by the National Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (ANPME) are intended to boost competitiveness in the struggling sector.

The first, called Imtiaz, is designed for companies with development plans who wish to take advantage of assistance worth up to 20% of their investment in tangible and intangible assets. The subsidy can be up to five million dirhams.

The second program, called Moussanada, is designed to help SMEs in the process of modernizing and improving their competitiveness by setting up operational support programs which are accessible to all businesses.

To facilitate financing for these projects, the government signed two agreements with banks on December 1st.

ANPME director Latifa Achihabi told Magharebia that the central aim is to promote the financing of projects for SMEs which have reached their maximum borrowing level and have plans for further development. She said it marks the first time that a part of the national budget has been earmarked to support and help SMEs with development plans.

Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Reda Chami stressed that these two programs are aimed at providing the necessary support for SMEs, which make up 90% of the national economy, to enhance their competitiveness. Chami said that to this end, 1.2 billion dirhams had been set aside to support the initiatives through 2015.

Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi said at the signing ceremony for the two agreements that they would make it possible to give businesses the support they need and to realize the aspirations of the national economy, which is trying to find its place within international markets.

Managers of the participating banks also expressed their determination to support the Moroccan economy. Mohamed Kettani, managing director of the Attijariwafa Bank Group, said that the Imtiaz and Moussanada programs would provide valuable help in restructuring small businesses and improving competitiveness.

Economist Mohamed Chandili told Magharebia that it was time to offer support to this sector, which has suffered from difficulties including the lack of competitiveness, difficulty in accessing financing, and a shortage of staff training.

"In these crisis-ridden times, it is essential to help small and medium enterprises follow through on their vision," he said.

Business leaders have waited a long time for this initiative to be introduced. Ahmed Bouchtioui, who manages a textiles business in Salé, said that a lack of financial resources had led many businesses to fail.

"SMEs need credit if they are to develop," he said. "Otherwise they'll shut their doors. If the banks and the government can give the sector their support, many problems will be solved." Economist Mohamed Chandili told Magharebia that it was time to offer support to this sector, which has suffered from difficulties including the lack of competitiveness, difficulty in accessing financing, and a shortage of staff training.

"In these crisis-ridden times, it is essential to help small and medium enterprises follow through on their vision," he said.

Business leaders have waited a long time for this initiative to be introduced. Ahmed Bouchtioui, who manages a textiles business in Salé, said that a lack of financial resources had led many businesses to fail.

"SMEs need credit if they are to develop," he said. "Otherwise they'll shut their doors. If the banks and the government can give the sector their support, many problems will be solved."

Missing Iranian forcing Saudis to 'shirk' duties

After Saudi Arabia rejected claims of involvement in the abduction of an Iranian scientist during a pilgrimage to Mecca, Iran said Wednesday the Saudi approach is in violation of its diplomatic responsibilities.

A diplomat at the Iranian Foreign Ministry talked of numerous correspondence and meetings between the Islamic Republic and Saudi officials aimed at resolving the case of the missing Iranian national Shahram Amiri.

Amiri, a researcher at Iran's University of Malek Ashtar, went missing during a religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in June.

The diplomat said "unfortunately, the Saudi officials have made every effort to address the issue as vague as possible."

"This approach is in violation of official duties of this country," added the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Tuesday, Tehran accused Riyadh of handing Amiri over to American officials.

The Iranian government had previously called on Saudi authorities to resolve the missing scientist's case with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki saying the kingdom is "responsible" for Amiri's situation.

Reacting to Iran's stance, a spokesperson for the Saudi Foreign Ministry told local media on Wednesday that he was "stunned" by the claim.

The US State Department, for its part, said it had "no information" about the whereabouts of Amiri.

Meanwhile, the diplomat asserted that Iran had concrete evidence that Amiri had been kidnapped by American agents, saying that according to international conventions, the US and Saudi governments are responsible for the fate of the missing Iranian scientist.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=113314§ionid=351020101.

Iran pinpoints five sites for new nuclear plants

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that Iran has finalized sites for five of the 10 new nuclear enrichment plants it seeks to build to expand its nuclear program.

The president, quoted by the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA), said on Wednesday that five other sites are being studied for the remaining plants.

Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is running a nuclear program which it says is aimed at the civilian applications of the technology.

The country's first nuclear power plant in Bushehr is going through its final preparations. Tehran plans to expand its nuclear program to meet the growing electricity demand in the country.

The West, however, accuses the country of seeking to develop nuclear weapons. The IAEA, which is continuously monitoring Iran's activities, says there are no evidence to prove West's allegations. It, however, has asked the country to increase its cooperation to remove remaining ambiguities.

Last month, twenty five members of the 35-member Board of Governors of the IAEA condemned Iran for starting the construction of its second enrichment plant in Fordo. Ahmadinejad says the decision to build 10 new plants is not a reaction to the move.

"We had tasked Iran's atomic agency to locate several sites for the new plants months ago," the president said.

The clarification came after Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (AEO) Ali Akbar Salehi had earlier linked plans for the construction of ten new nuclear sites to the resolution adopted by the IAEA Board of Governors on November 27.

"The West adopted an attitude toward Iran which made the Iranian government to pass the ratification on construction of ten sites similar to the Natanz enrichment facility," Salehi had earlier said.

Ahmadinejad stressed that Iran does not “welcome arguments and harsh words” and will not tolerate “illogical interactions” regarding its nuclear program.

Iran seeks nuclear fuel for a research reactor in Tehran that produces isotopes for medical use. The IAEA, however, has failed to provide the country with a deal that would guarantee Tehran receives the supply.

Turkey warns Israel against violating its airspace

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Israel of strong reaction should the regime violate his country's airspace in an attempt to spy on Iran.

In an interview with Egyptian journalist Fahmi Huwaidi, Erdogan said Turkey's response to any Israeli violation would cause an "earthquake" in Israel, the Turkish media reported.

His remarks were made after some reports claimed that Israel had violated Turkish airspace in order to spy on Iran.

Endogen, however, rejected the reports.

"Furthermore, the Israeli's cannot use the relationship they have with us as a card to wage aggression on a third party and expect us to stand neutral or with folded hands," the premier concluded.

Turkish amb. resigns over Erdogan-Obama meeting

Turkey's ambassador to the US Nabi Sensoy has resigned following a meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Barack Obama at the White House.

Sensoy's decision to step down was a result of the Monday meeting between Erdogan and Obama, CNN-Turk television network reported on Wednesday.

During the meeting President Obama sought Turkey's help in Afghanistan. Before leaving for Washington, Erdogan said Turkey has already contributed the 'necessary number' of troops, and that Turkish military and police will train their Afghan counterparts and press ahead with health, education and infrastructure projects there.

On Tuesday the Turkish government approved Sensoy's request to be transferred back to Ankara.

"Sensoy's tenure in Washington D.C. was to end in the first half of 2010 due to age limit. Sensoy's request to return to Ankara was approved and a new appointment will be made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Washington D.C. in the next several days," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said on Wednesday.

Sensoy had been serving in the United States since 2006.

Pakistan withdrawing troops from Balochistan

Pakistan is withdrawing its troops from parts of the country's southwestern Balochistan province that has been rocked by ethnic unrest in recent years.

The withdrawal, which was ordered by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani, started on Wednesday morning.

Islamabad says the move is part of a Balochistan Rights Initiative package.

However, the head of a Pakistani opposition political party says Baloch leaders have rejected the package altogether.

The Chairman of the Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party (STP) accuses Islamabad of being hypocritical.

Qadir Magsi says the Pakistani government is supporting terrorists while at the same time it is launching operations against militants.

In 2004, the Baloch rebels took up arms against the federal government, demanding autonomy for the province and greater shares from the region's natural resources.

Karzai: Afghan Army Will Need Help Until At Least 2024

Karzai: Afghan Army Will Need Help Until At Least 2024
Afghan Pres. Eyes Long Term NATO Commitment
Jason Ditz

December 8, 2009

Throwing further doubt into President Obama’s claims that he intends to begin transferring control over Afghan security to the Afghan military in July 2011, Afghan President Hamid Karzai says that the force will not be self-sufficient until at least 2024.

The nation has struggled to muster any sort of competent security forces of its own since the 2001 US invasion, despite billions of dollars in aid from NATO and massive training missions from the international forces.

Karzai suggested that new timetable at a press conference given with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who said he hoped that "we will be able to beat those timelines."

In addition to President Obama’s largely illusory July 2011 claim, the White House has also said it intends to be out of Afghanistan by 2017. Karzai’s comments suggest even that is a relatively ambitious timetable, and that decades of war remain a very real possibility, assuming the conflict doesn’t continue to deteriorate to the point that it forces NATO to withdraw.

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=60860&s2=10.

Iraq buys Israeli equipment to observe border with Syria

Syria News Station

December 8, 2009

Iraq's Interior Ministry has bought from the US modern Israeli-made equipment worth $ 49million for observing part of borders with Syria and Iran.

According to the US army's statement issued yesterday, the equipment include towers with cameras and system for transmitting information.

In this context, the Israeli Yedioth Ahranoth reported the transaction between Iraq and the US provides for buying equipment made in Israel

It added that the equipment are of high quality in technical field as Israel planted several equipment on the Lebanese borders and Gaza borders.

"The US-Iraqi transaction is part of the US-Israeli military cooperation which is of benefit to Israel as its weapons are exported abroad", the paper added.

Under the US-Israeli military cooperation, the US has to help Israel promote its products in the countries with which Israel has no relations, especially the Arab countries.

Yedioth Ahranoth alleged that Kuwaiti, Bahraini and Omani armies are using Israeli "Gore" guns on which US flag is printed.

The US army claims that Iran backs gunmen who are attacking its forces, while the Iraqi government accuses Syria of providing shelter for leaders behinds Baghdad- bombs.

Damascus has asked the US to provide it with sophisticated systems to control borders with Iraq, but Washington rejected the demand because it fears that the systems would reach the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance.

Basma Qaddour
SNS-al-Watan

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=60872&s2=10.

Obama, following Bush Steps

Afghan Resistance Statement
Obama, following Bush Steps
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Tuesday, 08 December 2009

This year, the Nobel Prize Committee in Sweden awarded Peace Prize to Obama while his being in the White House less than ten days before the nomination deadline.

Ironically, the committee chose him among 205 candidates to win the prize- still less not for any concrete accomplishments but for his inspirational words. It is pity that he will now receive the prize after announcement of troops surge for Afghanistan.

This year, USA launched vast military operations in Helmand in South Afghanistan. Ten thousand American troops and almost the same number of British troops participated in the operations named Sword and Panther’s claws. They killed hundreds of innocent Afghans during the most trumpeted operations, the largest ever after the Vietnam war.

As for the Afghans, they did not expect Obama, a Nobel peace prize winner, to flare up the war in the country. Nor the Alfred Nobel would ever have agreed to give peace prize to a person who is fanning flames of war rather than spreading fraternity and peace. But despite his warmongering approach, Obama did not achieve his declared goal of wiping out the Mujahideen in Helmand or realizing the take, hold and build strategy. Contrarily, the American troops fatalities were the highest in June, July and August this year comparing to the same period last year-- the months when the operations were in full swing in Helmand.

According to a recent report from Mujahideen in Helmand province and posted at this site, the enemy has only been able to keep the districts which were earlier in their hands in north Helmand. In the south, the writ of Mujahideen was restored in Khanshin, Marji and Garam Sir districts while the enemy could build only a single military base in a desert there—the only spectacular achievement of the operations. But they are not able to procure their logistics through lands routes. They have to provide logistics by air transportations. In Nad Ali, the invading troops were forced to evacuate the base, which they had formed at the start of the offensive. In Garam Sir, they are trying to beef up their former bases. No new base has been added there.

The British soldiers occupied some areas in Babaji, Pashak and the White Mosque but they were not able to retain them for a longer period in face of the constant attacks by the Mujahideen.

When their tanks and logistical vehicles come out of their military bases for patrol and logistical supplies, they become soft targets for Mujahideen. On the other hand, the roadside bombs take a high toll of the enemy, turning them into a graveyard for the invaders. Therefore, they use transportation planes for the supply of logistics instead of using the land routes. Thus they are almost besieged in their military garrisons.

According to a recent statistics, one gallon oil costs the invading troops $ 400 and annual expenditure of one soldier is almost one million US dollar. They have to pay $ 30 billion more per year for the troops surge recently announced by Obama.

But far from receiving a lesson from the failure of their military operations in June this year, the Americans launched another operation this week. It seems, the peace prize winner Obama is trying to implement the expansionist policy left to him as a legacy by W. Bush.

The aim of the Mujahideen is to have a free and independent country and Islamic government which represents the aspirations of the Afghan people. These are natural rights of people which has nothing to do with terrorism. But the so-called advocates of democracy and human rights are not ready to give these natural rights to the Afghans and to the Mujahideen. They are bent on maintaining their bases in Afghanistan like they have been maintaining them in Japan, South Korea, Germany etc. There are now hundreds of military bases in Afghanistan built under the notorious name of so-called war on terror. Every one knows that these bases are built in Afghanistan for the achievement of colonialist goals in the region.

Washington turns down the constructive proposal of the leadership of Mujahideen who say that the Mujahideen, as a part of their policy, will ensure that the next government of the Mujaheddin will not meddle in the internal affairs of other countries including the neighbors if the foreign troops pull out of Afghanistan. But still America and its Allies want to achieve their imperialistic goals under the pretext of fighting terrorism.

However, the word of terrorism is still not exactly defined. Who are the terrorists? Those who defend their country, faith, values and natural rights or those who throw deci-cutter bombs and fire Hellfire missile at wedding, funeral ceremonies and rallies.

Thousands of innocent Afghans have been killed in Nangarhar, Urozgan, Hirat, Fara, Kunduz and Paktya provinces as a result of American and NATO blind bombardment. Had they any role whatsoever in the 9/11 event? No. Of course, no.

The criminal aspect of this war is that, that the invading Americans have focused on Pashtun areas and their conduct of the war seem more like a Pashtun cleansing campaign. Still more, the word terrorism has not been defined as yet.

Or the Mujahideen who want freedom of their country terrorists or those who raid people’s house in the stillness of the night and detain innocent people, put them behind the bars and deprive them of their rights to have access to advocates and legal advisers? There are thousands of innocent Afghan prisoners who have, for years , been suffering in jails run by the Americans without knowing their fate.

On the one hand, the White House National Security Adviser James Jones admits that majority of non-Afghan Mujahideen have departed Afghanistan but simultaneously, they send more troops to Afghanistan. Against whom these troops are being deployed? Are not they deployed against the Afghans who want freedom of their country and a government based on their aspirations and religious values? Is this terrorism or natural rights of the Afghans? There are hundreds of questions in this notorious so-call war on terrorism!

Those with free conscience living any where in the world should come forward and defend their shared values of humanity which are being violated by an imperialist power insatiably extending its tentacles over countries of the world particularly over Asia.

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=60868&s2=10.

Philippines, Muslim rebels expand international ceasefire team

Manila - The Philippines and Muslim secessionist rebels have agreed to reconstitute and expand an international team monitoring a ceasefire agreement in the country's troubled south, a joint statement said Thursday. Peace panels of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said the reconstituted International Monitoring Team (IMT) would include non-governmental organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Mindanao People's Caucus.

Prior to its reconstitution, the IMT, which monitors the existing ceasefire agreement between the MILF and the government, was composed of representatives from Malaysia, Japan, Brunei and Libya.

"The parties also renewed their commitment to continue efforts in coordinating interdiction and isolation of criminal and lawless elements," the joint statement said.

Formal peace talks between the government and the MILF resumed Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur after more than a year of suspension due to the non-signing of a key territory deal, which triggered clashes that killed more than 300 people and displaced more than 500,000.

The negotiations resumed after the two sides agreed to form an International Contact Group (ICG) that would monitor the progress in the talks and the implementation of other agreements. The ICG is composed of representatives from Britain, Japan, Turkey and various non-governmental organizations.

Taiwan presents human-rights award to Free North Korea Radio founder

Taipei - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou on Thursday presented the 2009 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award to the founder of Free North Korea Radio, which beams news from South Korea to the North. Ma expressed admiration for Kim Seong-Min's "moral courage in challenging the North Korean dictatorship."

Kim is the fourth recipient of the annual award which includes a sculpture and a cash grant of 100,000 US dollars.

The award was established by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy in 2006 to promote democracy and freedom in Asia. It is presented on December 10, International Human Rights Day, every year.

Kim, a former propaganda officer in the North Korean army, crossed the border from North Korea to China in 1996, hoping to defect to South Korea, but was arrested and taken back to North Korea. He was tortured in prison and sentenced to death, according to the foundation's news release.

On his way to his execution site, Kim jumped off a moving train and defected to South Korea in 1999. He founded Free North Korea Radio in 2004.

The station, whose staff includes both North Korean defectors and South Koreans, broadcasts five hours of news every day, an important source of information for North Koreans as Pyongyang tries to bar its citizens from listening to foreign radio broadcasts.

India to create new southern state after protests

New Delhi - The Indian government has announced that it is to begin the process of carving a new state out of Andhra Pradesh state, officials said Thursday. India's federal Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram made the announcement late Wednesday after violent protests by separatists and an 11-day hunger strike by regional politician, K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is leading the movement.

"Last night, the government announced that it will initiate the process to form the state of Telangana," Chidambaram said in New Delhi.

The minister said a resolution on the issue would be moved in the state assembly and Andhra Pradesh authorities were requested to withdraw all the cases against leaders and students associated with the protests.

Telangana is a region surrounding Hyderabad, one of India's key IT hubs and the state capital of Andhra Pradesh, comprising largely people who speak the Telugu language.

The movement for a separate Telangana state dates back over 50 years and Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) party has been spearheading the cause since 2001.

The TRS along with other supporters of the Telangana state feel assurances made in the past have not been kept and the region remains neglected compared to other parts of Andhra Pradesh.

Violent protests gripped the region after Rao went on hunger strike on November 29. More than 20 people committed suicide in support of a separate state, local media reported.

Rao broke his fast after Chidabambaram's statement.

"After nearly five decades of struggle, the federal government has announced the process of forming Telangana," Rao told reporters. "A lot of sacrifices have been made. I salute all the people, the youth and party workers," he said.

Supporters of the new state burned crackers, distributed sweets, beat drums and danced in the streets following the announcement. The protest rallies planned for Thursday would now be "victory rallies," TRS leaders said.

The new state is expected to consist of 10 out of the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh but the TRS' demand to include technology hub Hyderabad in the new state is likely to be met with stiff resistance.

Indonesia's Bali customs arrest seven Iranians with drugs

Bali Island, Indonesia - Customs authorities on Indonesia's resort island of Bali have arrested seven Iranian nationals on suspicion of smuggling methamphetamine into the country, police said Thursday. The drugs were packed in capsules and then swallowed, said Bali police spokesman Gde Sugianyar.

The seven male suspects arrived at Ngurah Rai airport on Wednesday afternoon from Istanbul, Turkey. They planned to sell the drugs in Bali and the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, Sugianyar said.

A total of 371 capsules weighing 5 grams each were discovered in the suspects' stomachs, with a total worth estimated up to 4 billion rupiah (427,800 dollars), said Kokot Indarto, director of drugs at Bali police.

"We are believe that all of them were members of transnational drug syndicates," Indarto said.

Brunei plans to allow private universities

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei's government plans to approve the establishment of the country's first private university by September next year, The Brunei Times reported Thursday. The sultanate is to set up an international university of technology and management "to support the government's objective to make Brunei an education hub in the region and in the world," the report said.

The president of the teachers' association said Brunei would provide the infrastructure and hoped to attract international investors.

There are plans to initially employ teachers from other member states of the Association of South-East Asian Nations until the university was fully up and running, also hoping that this would help to attract students from all around the world, the report said.

Currently, Brunei has only two universities, both under government control, to cater for a population of around 398,000 people.

New tensions testing Turkey's Kurdish reform plan - Feature

Istanbul - The past months had created increased hope that Turkey was on its way to finally implementing a civilian - rather than a military - solution to its decades-long Kurdish problem. But now there are growing concerns that renewed tensions in Turkey's predominately Kurdish south-east could undermine the government's efforts.

Over the summer, Turkey's Interior Minister, Besir Atalay, said in a nationally televised news conference that the government is actively working on a comprehensive plan, one based on democratization and expanded rights.

"We have the intention to take determined, patient and courageous steps," he said.

"This can be seen as a new stage."

On November 13, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government unveiled in a historic debate in parliament parts of this "democratization initiative," which include the easing of restrictions on private Kurdish-language television stations and Kurdish language faculties in universities, as well allowing towns and villages to once again use their original Kurdish names.

"Today is the beginning of a new timeline and a fresh start," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told parliament. "We took a courageous step to resolve chronic issues that constitute an obstacle along Turkey's development, progression and empowerment, and we are very sincere."

Then events arose to put the government's initiative plans to the test.

This past weekend in several cities in the Kurdish region protests were held including one where a 23-year-old university student was killed by a bullet to the back.

The unrest was triggered by reports that conditions had worsened for jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan since he was moved into a new facility on the island prison that his been his home since 1999.

Tensions have been raised further by the Monday ambush of a military vehicle in Turkey's Tokat region in which seven soldiers were killed. Although there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, Turkish press reports have suggested it was the PKK's work.

Meanwhile, Turkey's highest court on Tuesday started hearing a case that could lead to the closure of the Democratic Society Party (DTP), the only pro-Kurdish party in parliament. According to prosecutors, the party has violated Turkey's constitution and has acted as a front for the outlawed PKK. An indictment seeks not only the party's closure, but also the banning of some 220 of its members from political life.

The DTP is the latest incarnation of a string of pro-Kurdish parties that were previously closed by court order and observers worry that closing it could further stoke tensions among Turkey's Kurds.

But there is also concern that the party itself is standing in the way of the government's Kurdish reform program.

Although party leaders initially gave the government's initiative their support, they have now distanced themselves from the move, with DTP chairman Ahmet Turk recently calling it "insufficient."

"For us, the 'democratic initiative' is over," Emine Ayna, a top DTP official recently told the Radikal newspaper.

Columnist Yavuz Baydar recently wrote in the English-language daily, Today's Zaman: "Instead of keeping the masses and youth out of the streets, instead of supporting the moves to make life better for its voters, the DTP has lately been in the lead in the escalation of violence."

"It now appears as a party with one single mission: Amnesty for and release of Ocalan. It seems, too, that the diverse rhetoric from the top echelons of the DTP has disappeared, silencing even moderate and venerable figures such as the leader Ahmet Turk."

Despite the new tensions and the possibility of the DTP being shut down, the government has insisted that it will continue with its Kurdish reform programme. But the recent violence in the south-east could make it tougher for the government to push some of these reforms through parliament.

For example, following the recent protests, the government put off a scheduled parliamentary debate over an amendment that would make it harder for prosecutors to jail children who participate in violent demonstrations.

Still, despite the recent hardening of the DTP's rhetoric, observers say that shutting the party down would be a mistake.

"I totally disapprove of their behavior but I oppose the party's closure," says Sahin Alpay, a professor of political science at Istanbul's Bahcesehir University.

"It was such a mistake to close down these Kurdish parties in the past. Had they not been closed down, they would have become much stronger than the armed wing of the Kurdish movement. But what we have here now is the opposite."

Malaysian airport police seize drugs, arrest Indian trio

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian airport customs police have arrested three Indian nationals and seized 66.4 kilograms of the drug ketamine worth some 1.2 million ringgit (350,000 dollars), a news report said Thursday. The drugs were seized Tuesday while the suspects were in transit at the Kuala Lumpur International Aiport. They were bound for Bali island in Indonesia, said customs Assistant Director General Mohamad Hassim Pardi.

The three suspects, aged 25 to 35, had arrived from Bangladesh, he said.

"My men had received a tip-off that they were carrying illicit drugs in their luggage. The three were arrested while waiting for their connecting flight," the official was quoted as saying by the Star online news portal.

"This is the second time that we have seized drugs in transit," Mohamad Hassim said.

He said 36 foreign nationals, 27 of them Indian nationals, have been detained for attempting to smuggle drugs since January.

He said the total value of the drugs seized since January was 45 million ringgit (12.85 million dollars), a 155-per-cent increase from the drugs worth 17.6 million ringgit seized in the entire year of 2008.

He said the suspects would be charged with drug trafficking which carries a mandatory death sentence by hanging.

NASA's new WISE 'eye' to search heavens for undiscovered objects

Washington - NASA's newest "eye" to be launched Friday is a satellite equipped with unprecedented infrared sensitivity to scope out cosmic objects unseen by other cameras. The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, is to launch between 1409 and 1423 GMT from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Over the next nine months in orbit around the north and south poles, the satellite is to scan the entire sky one and a half times seeking out the "coolest stars, dark asteroids and the most luminous galaxies," NASA said.

What sets this "eye" apart from other space cameras such as the Hubble telescope and deep-space probes is its ability to read four infrared wavelengths "with sensitivity hundreds to hundreds of thousands of times greater than its predecessors," NASA's Pasadena- based Jet Propulsion Laboratory said.

The resulting pictures will serve as navigation charts for the big space cameras like the Hubble, NASA's Spitzer space telescope, the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory and NASA's upcoming Sofia and James Webb Space Telescope.

"With infrared, we can find the dark asteroids other surveys have missed and learn about the whole population. Are they mostly big, small, fluffy or hard?" asked Peter Eisenhardt, the WISE project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Lab.

Brown dwarfs, as failed stars are known, or cool stars, could possibly be lurking "right under our noses," NASA said, perhaps nearer than Proxima Centauri, the nearest known star to Earth's own solar system.

To keep WISE sensitive to infrared light, it cannot give out any infrared rays of its own, so its detectors are to be chilled to ultra-cold temperatures - below 8 degrees Kelvin, or minus 445 degrees Fahrenheit.

"Wise is chilled out," project manager William Irace said.

NATO to reduce presence in Kosovo by one-third in January

Pristina - NATO is set to further reduce the peacekeeping mission it leads in Kosovo at the start of next year, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's military chief in Europe said . US Admiral James Stavridis, on a visit to troops in Kosovo, said the peacekeeping mission, KFOR, is to be reduced in late January to 10,000 troops from the present contingent of 15,000.

"We have developed a plan that will reduce the forces from NATO here to a level of about 10,000 by the end of January," he told reporters.

KFOR deployed to Kosovo in June 1999, after NATO bombed Serbia to oust Belgrade's security forces from the territory and end the repression of the majority Albanian population.

The force initially had around 50,000 troops from 39 nations but was downsized as the threat of renewed violence faded.

In February 2008, Kosovo declared secession from Serbia, which leading Western nations endorsed. Serbia, backed by Russia, continued to fight Kosovo independence by diplomatic means.

While saying it will never recognize Kosovo, which it considers as its own heartland province, Serbia insists that it will not attempt to impose its rule over it by military means.

Bones found in Death Valley could be of missing German tourists

San Francisco - More bones found in California's Death Valley could be the remains of a family of four German tourists who vanished without a trace 13 years ago, police said Wednesday. Everything indicated that this was related to the missing tourists, Carma Roper, the police spokesperson of Inyo County, told the German Press Agency dpa.

Last month, hikers found skeletal remains and a German passport in a remote part of Death Valley National Park. More bones recovered over the weekend were handed over to the authorities, but identification could take weeks or months, Roper said, adding that investigations in the area would continue.

After the family failed to return home to Dresden, Germany, in 1996, relatives initiated a search.

Three months later, a minivan rented by the family was found abandoned in the valley's Anvil Spring Canyon with three flat tires, but there was no sign of the occupants. Tracks suggested the van had been driven four kilometers on the flat tires.

In the lonely desert valley, daytime temperatures can hit 50 degrees Celsius. Signs in the valley warn visitors to carry water, food and survival equipment.

Reports said the last sign of life from an architect, 34, his girlfriend, 28, and their sons aged 10 and 4 was a note dated July 23, 1996, in a guestbook at an abandoned mining village.

Thousands protest in Israel against settlement suspension - Summary

Jerusalem - Thousands of right-wing Israelis protested in Jerusalem Wednesday evening against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to partially suspend construction in West Bank settlements. Dozens of buses transported settlers from all over the occupied territory as well as supporters from elsewhere in Israel to the rally in a wet and rainy central Jerusalem.

The protesters held up signs reading "God's Bible gave us this land" and "We will keep building in Judea and Samaria," and wore T-shirts declaring, "Freeze the freeze."

Judea and Samaria are the Hebrew Biblical names that Israel uses for the southern and northern West Bank respectively.

In bid to appease his right-wing constituents, Netanyahu meanwhile decided to allocate additional funding to a number of isolated West Bank settlements, home to a total of more than 100,000 settlers.

The funding would, among others, go to education.

The isolated settlements - not part of Israel's main settlement blocks - were included in a periodically revised "Map of National Priorities," the new version of which was handed out by Netanyahu to his ministers Wednesday.

The inclusion of the isolated settlements in the new map is likely to spark international criticism. Netanyahu's office said in response it also included dozens of Arab villages inside Israel in the new map.

The Netanyahu government's two-year budget allocates some 4 billion Israeli shekels (just over 1 billion US dollars) to all communities - both in Israel and the West Bank-defined by the map as a "national priority."

Netanyahu, of the hardline but mainstream Likud party, enraged his right-wing voters when he announced the partial construction moratorium last week.

The premier, who since taking office in March has been under pressure from the US and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to stop Israeli construction in the occupied West Bank, said he hoped the 10-month suspension would prompt Abbas to revive peace talks with him.

But the Palestinians have rejected the move because the suspension does not include East Jerusalem, nor a few thousand housing units in West Bank settlements whose construction has already begun. Public buildings including schools and kindergartens are also exempt.

Abbas has made a full settlement freeze a precondition for reviving negotiations, broken off since late last year as Israel headed into new elections.

Washington has said the moratorium falls "far short" of its and the Palestinian demand for a full freeze, but nonetheless praised it as "unprecedented" and urged Abbas to drop his preconditions for talks.

Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu accused Abbas of having made a "strategic" choice not to enter into peace negotiations with him.

"It seems that the Palestinians have adopted a strategy of rejecting negotiations with Israel," he told his security cabinet, according to a statement from his office.

Netanyahu accused Abbas' of rejecting peace talks with him "to avoid the demands of Israel and the international community which require compromises on their part."

Calling Abbas' policy a "mistake," Netanyahu told the 15-member forum of senior ministers that "there can be no genuine solution without direct negotiations with Israel."

"The history of Israel cannot be frozen," said a settler leader addressing the crowd protesting near the premier's residence later in the evening, in what he said was a message to Netanyahu and the White House.

"We are afraid that the freeze won't last only 10 months. Netanyahu isa weak leader and he will follow the pressures of the United States and the European Union," David, a supporters of the settlements from Jerusalem, told the German Press-Agency dpa.

"To give back Judea and Samaria will be the end of Israel," warned the 50-year-old.

Five American Muslims arrested in Pakistan

Washington - Five American Muslims from the Washington area who went missing have been detained in Pakistan as US authorities were investigating their motive for leaving the country, US officials and a Muslim group said Wednesday. The five men in their 20s from northern Virginia are believed to have traveled to Pakistan as a group. One of them left behind a videotape that appeared to be a "farewell" statement accompanied by references to the conflict between the West and Muslim world, Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told reporters.

There was also hints of extremism in the language and the "potential misuse" of Koranic verses, Awad said, refusing to go into further details. The tape was handed over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The college students went missing last week. Their families contacted CAIR, who informed the FBI, Awad said. At least three of them are believed to be of Pakistani descent.

"The Muslim community has taken the lead in bringing this case to the attention of law enforcement authorities and will offer ongoing cooperation with the FBI as the investigation moves forward," Awad said.

The FBI issued a statement saying it was working with Pakistani authorities to determine the identities of the five men and "the nature of their business there."

"The FBI is working with families and local law enforcement to investigate the missing students and is aware of the individuals arrested in Pakistan," the FBI said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton refused to comment on the arrests first reported by the Pakistani media.

A spokesman for CAIR, Ibrahim Hooper, said the organization was launching an educational program within the US Muslim community to ensure youth are politically engaged in the United States and do not fall vulnerable to extremist views.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/298628,five-american-muslims-arrested-in-pakistan.html.

Baghdad security chief demoted after attacks

Baghdad - The chief security officer of the Iraqi government was late Wednesday demoted to deputy chief after a series of bomb attacks in the capital killed more than 120 people. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who had earlier in the day signaled his intention to draw consequences from the attacks, removed Lieutenant General Abbud Kanbar Haschem Khayun as head of the organization, the Iraqi news agency Aswat al-Irak reported, citing government sources.

The death toll after Tuesday morning's attacks has been updated to 127 killed. At least 400 people were injured, according to the Arabic language broadcaster Al-Jazeera.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/298632,baghdad-security-chief-demoted-after-attacks.html.

Cougars spotted in Twins Cities suburbs

CHAMPLIN, Minn., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Reports of cougars roaming the suburban Twin Cities in Minnesota have officials trying to determine if they are wild or had been released by owners.

Department of Natural Resources officials said they were not looking to capture a cougar spotted in the Minneapolis suburb of Champlin on the western edge of the Twin Cities, but they have the authority to kill it if they determine it presents a danger to humans, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Tuesday.

Tape from a dashboard camera in a police squad car showed the cougar moving among houses and crossing a road, the newspaper said.

A DNR official found a several-inch chunk of feces in a homeowner's back yard.

"It's the right diameter for a large cat, it's segmented and it contains hair, though I can't tell what kind of hair it is," Dan Stark, the DNR's wolf biologist and a predator expert, said.

Another cougar was seen in the St. Paul suburb of Vadnais Heights on the eastern edge of the Twin Cities by a resident Monday. Authorities deemed it a reliable sighting.

The Twins Cities metropolitan area has 3.5 million people.

Philippines Files Rebellion Charges Over Massacre

Philippine prosecutors filed charges of rebellion on Wednesday against five members of a powerful local clan over the massacre of 57 people in the south of the country.

Nineteen others were also charged with rebellion, which carries a sentence of life imprisonment, in connection with the killings. The massacre prompted the authorities to impose martial law in Maguindanao province at the weekend.

Police took the Ampatuan clan members, including the patriarch who is a close ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, into custody on Saturday.

Prosecutors said that after the killings, those charged had directed each other “to rise publicly and take arms against the Republic of the Philippines”.

“There were massive formations of numerous armed civilians supported by armored vehicles and under the command of the Ampatuans who have formed a private army to resist government troops...,” said the charge sheet, signed by acting Maguindanao provincial prosecutor Leo Dacera.

President Arroyo on Saturday suspended civil rights in Maguindanao, for the first time in nearly three decades, after the government received reports armed groups loyal to local mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr., were massing in the area to challenge his arrest last month.

Ampatuan Jr. is the main suspect in the Nov. 23 killings, in which members of a rival political clan were attacked while they were on their way to file the candidacy of one of their leaders for elections in 2010.

Japan To Give U.S. A Proposal On Air Base

Japan’s prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, said Wednesday that he wants to present concrete proposals to President Obama next week in hopes of ending a growing rift between his new government and Washington over an American military air base in Okinawa.

Hatoyama did not disclose the content of the proposals, which he and members of his cabinet appeared to be still working out at the prime minister’s residence. Hatoyama said he may seek a meeting with President Obama during the climate change conference in Copenhagen to relay the proposals directly to him.

In particular, it remained unclear if the proposals would seek to significantly alter a 2006 deal to relocate the Marine Corps air station at Futenma, which sits in the center of a city, to a less populated part of Okinawa. Hatoyama, who took office three months ago, is under political pressure in Japan to fulfill campaign pledges to move the base off Okinawa or out of Japan altogether. But Washington has adamantly opposed changing the current deal, which is part of a broader, laboriously negotiated agreement to move some 8,000 Marines to Guam.

The discord over the base’s relocation has emerged as the most contentious topic in the countries’ increasingly tense relationship. However, recent comments by some Japanese cabinet members seem to reflect a growing sense of urgency to prevent the Futenma issue from causing a serious rupture in the relationship with the United States, Japan’s longtime protector.

Political analysts have said the dispute highlights the lack of communication between Tokyo and Washington after an election victory in August by Hatoyama’s Democratic Party ended a half-century of leadership by Japan’s pro-American Liberal Democrats.

Fears of a rupture seemed to increase this week, after Japan’s foreign minister, Katsuya Okada, announced Tuesday that talks over the Futenma issue had been suspended. A Japanese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to speak with the press, said American negotiators had become irritated by Hatoyama’s delays in making a decision on the Futenma issue.

When asked by reporters on Wednesday if the Futenma issue was hurting the alliance, Hatoyama replied that that was not the message he was getting from the Obama administration. Some in the United States “may state such an opinion, but that is not a remark made in formal negotiations,” he told reporters.

Earlier, a government spokesman said that Tokyo may ask Washington to ease the burden on Okinawa, where many of the 50,000 American military personnel in Japan are based. The spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, also said there may be delays in implementing the broader plan to relocate the 8,000 Marines to Guam, now set to take place by 2014.

Reports in major Japanese newspapers have said that Tokyo may propose an immediate relocation of the Marine helicopters at Futenma to another base, as well as steps to clean up environmental damage on many of the American bases. The noise and danger from Futenma’s low-flying helicopters have become a symbol here of the burden placed on Okinawans, who have held large protests in recent weeks calling for removal of the base from the island.

Pakistan reviews Indian ties to terrorism

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Foreign Ministry officials in Islamabad reviewed evidence that India was involved in terrorist attacks in the country, the Pakistani interior minister said.

Ties between New Delhi and Islamabad are complicated by a series of territorial disputes and other disagreements between the two nuclear-armed foes.

New Delhi has expressed concern about the rise in Pakistani militants operating in its territory, a concern exasperated by a series of coordinated attacks on high-profile buildings in Mumbai in November 2008.

Islamabad, meanwhile, blamed New Delhi for a variety of skirmishes inside its borders.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Wednesday that foreign officials in Islamabad were reviewing evidence that New Delhi was behind militant activity in his country, the Pakistani newspaper The Nation reports.

"Pakistan has solid evidence about India's involvement in fomenting unrest in Pakistan and the evidences have been provided to foreign office to take it up with New Delhi," he said.

He added Pakistani military forces had confiscated weapons in the volatile tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan that he said were manufactured in India.

Pakistani forces launched a military operation in the tribal regions in October to take on the Taliban and other extremists holed up in the area.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2009/12/09/Pakistan-reviews-Indian-ties-to-terrorism/UPI-64091260377672/.

Israel eyes pullout from border village

JERUSALEM, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The Israeli military is considering a withdrawal from a village on the Lebanese border before the end of January, the Israeli prime minister said.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee he was discussing a withdrawal from the northern half of the village of Ghajar with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, Israel's Haaretz reports.

Israeli forces took control over Ghajar during a 2006 war with Hezbollah. Israel has since refused to leave without security arrangements that would prevent Hezbollah from launching another attack.

Netanyahu, however, said he would pull Israeli troops out of the northern half of the border village before the end of January.

Lebanese forces would cede control over the village to UNIFIL peacekeepers and Israel would maintain its social services in the area.

Meanwhile, the Israeli premier said negotiations through French mediators encouraged him to talk directly with the Syrians over lingering issues regarding the occupied Golan Heights.

"I replied to (French President Nicolas) Sarkozy, 'I prefer direct negotiations, but if the Syrians want mediation, you mediate,'" he said.

Zelaya negotiating deal to leave Honduras

By FREDDY CUEVAS, Associated Press Writer

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Mexico is working to get ousted President Manuel Zelaya out of the Brazilian Embassy, a refuge where he has spent nearly three months in a failed effort to get his office back and prevent the election of his successor.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said late Wednesday that it asked the interim administration installed after the coup that removed Zelaya to guarantee his safe passage out of the country without being arrested on treason and abuse of power charges.

Honduran officials said the interim government agreed to let Zelaya go if he was willing to accept political asylum, but Zelaya said he would not accept a departure under those terms.

"I want to leave as a distinguished guest, not as political refugee like the interim government wants," Zelaya told Radio Globo late Wednesday.

The interim government had been insistent Zelaya would be arrested on the charges that led to his June 28 ouster for ignoring a Supreme Court order against holding a referendum on changing the constitution, but recently it began hinting Zelaya could leave for exile or political asylum in another country.

Zelaya said his reason for leaving is to seek out a neutral site for a meeting with Honduran President-elect Porfirio Lobo to "find a peaceful solution to the situation in the country."

Zelaya said he wanted a negotiated solution for his departure — one "that respected the law, and respected my office" as president.

He suggested he wanted a status that would "allow me to continue my (political) actions abroad." He operated a sort of government-in-exile from other Latin American nations after being ousted.

"I will not accept any political asylum," Zelaya said. That status might hinder his campaign to drum up opposition to the forces that removed him from the presidency

Oscar Raul Matute, the interim interior minister, said Mexico had filed paperwork asking for safe passage for Zelaya but had failed to include whether Zelaya would be recognized by Mexico as Honduras' president or as just a citizen being given refuge.

"If the government of Mexico wishes to give him asylum, we will consider that petition as long as it fulfills all the requirements," Matute told CNN en Espanol.

Honduras' Congress, which is dominated by Zelaya's own political party, voted 111-14 last week month against restoring him to office to serve out his term, which ends Jan. 27.

Zelaya said he had talked with both Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Dominican President Leonel Fernandez about leaving Honduras.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said it was looking "to contribute to the easing of tensions in Hondurans ... through dialogue and negotiation."

The interim government's foreign minister, Carlos Lopez, told Channel 5 television that a Mexican plane had approached Honduras late Wednesday to fly Zelaya out of the country but that had it diverted to El Salvador.

"Honduras will only offer a safe-conduct pass to Zelaya to travel to another country as a political refugee, and not in any other way," Lopez said.

A Mexican government official, who agreed to discuss the issue if not quoted by name, said a plane had apparently been sent or would be sent to Honduras as a result of the talks. The official also said the negotiations were focused on exactly what title Zelaya would be given.

On Tuesday, Porfirio Lobo, the man who won the Nov. 29 election to replace Zelaya, said he supported amnesty for Zelaya and for all of those involved in the coup that deposed him.

Although Zelaya has refused to recognize the election, Lobo has said he hopes to open dialogue with the deposed leader and start a national reconciliation process after he takes office.

Lobo's options, however, are limited. Even once he takes office, he cannot grant Zelaya amnesty from prosecution. That power belongs to the same Congress that overwhelmingly rejected reinstating Zelaya.

Western Hemisphere countries united to condemn Zelaya's ouster but are divided on whether to recognize Lobo's election.

The United States, which cut off some aid over the coup, and a few countries in Latin America have said Hondurans had the right to choose a new leader in regular elections that had been scheduled before Zelaya's overthrow.

Other nations, however, including Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, have rejected the election, saying that would legitimize Central America's first coup in two decades.

Somalia: Islamists Ban Selling Kat in Af-Madow Town

Kismayu — The Islamic administration of Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen has banned selling Kat in Af-madow district near the border between Somalia and Kenya in Lower Jubba region, witnesses said on Tuesday.

Harakat Al-shabab Mujhideen had issued a declaration forbidding to sell the drug leaves (kat) in Af-madow and also Dobley districts in Lowere Jubba region.

Officials said that the people in the regions took the orders earlier asserting that they could not see any place in the region selling it pointing out that the aim of their declarations was to assure the polite of the people to respect them and have their responsibilities.

The administration also refused to make the people for especial centres to buy chewers from the drug leaves (kat) which the Somali people use more.

There are more towns under the control of Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen like the port town of Kismayu who allowed for the people to sell it out of the town in Lower Jubba region southern Somalia.

World Cup Team History: Algeria

By: Daryl | December 8th, 2009

As part of our World Cup 2010 build up, we’re getting a little more familiar with each of the 32 teams that qualified for South Africa by looking back at their World Cup history. First up, it’s the Desert Foxes of Algeria.

South Africa 2010 will be Algeria’s third World Cup. The team has qualified twice before, in 1982 and 1986. On one of those occasions, they were very possibly robbed. Read on to find out what happened.

1982 World Cup

For their World Cup debut as Espana ‘82, Algeria we drawn into Group 2 with West Germany, Austria and Chile. In the opening game they faced Euro ‘80 champions West Germany. Nice easy introduction then.

Algeria shocked the world, not to mention West Germany, by winning that game 2-1. Rabah Madjer gave the Desert Foxes a 54th minute lead, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge equalized at close range for W. Germany in the 67th, but Lakhdar Belloumi did exactly the same at the other end just one minute later.

Algeria lost their next game to Austria 2-0, but won their final group game vs Chile 3-2 with two goals from Salah Assad and one from Tedj Bensaoula.

Now comes the controversy. The final group game was West Germany vs Austria. Due to the mathematical situation in Group 2, both sides were very much aware that a 1-0 win for West Germany would see both Austria and West Germany qualify for the second round at Algeria’s expense. Which is exactly what happened.

After Germany took a 1-0 lead, both teams apparently sat back and waited for full time.

Algeria complained, FIFA (predictably) ignored and said the result stood. But the Schande von Gijón (the shame of Gijon) is the reason why the final round of all group games are now played simultaneously rather than separately.
1986 World Cup

Algeria were straight back in for their second World Cup when they qualified for Mexico ‘86. They could have no conspiracy complaints this time, although they were drawn in a tough Group D alongside Brazil, Spain and Northern Ireland.

The opening game against Northern Ireland started badly when Norman Whiteside put Northern Ireland ahead with a 6th minute free kick. However, Algeria fought back and equalized in the 59th minute when Djamel Zidane fired home with his left foot after a free kick routine.

I know what you’re thinking. Djamel Zidane. Algeria. Maybe he’s related to Zinedine Zidane? Well, someone at Wikipedia seems to think Djanmel is Zinedine’s uncle. FIFA begs to differ. However, even if Djamel and Zinedine aren’t related, Algeria’s first Zidane was apparently “an inspiration to Zizou in his formative years.” For what it’s worth.

Unfortunately, Algeria narrowly lost 1-0 to Brazil in their second group game at Mexico ‘86 and were then hammered 3-0 by Spain in the game, leaving them bottom of Group D and on the way home from Mexico.

Algeria narrowly missed out on World Cup Italia ‘90, losing a famously violent play-off game 1-0 to Egypt over two legs. That failure to make it to Italia ‘90 was followed by four more failures to qualify in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006. This period is apparently known as “The walk though the desert”. But the famous playoff win over Egypt this year (twenty years after the defeat in 1989) sees Algeria back in the World Cup finals for the first time since 1986.

Incredibly, Algeria’s coach at Mexico ‘86 was none other than Rabah Saadane, the same Rabah Saadane who – now in his fifth spell in charge of the Desert Foxes – will lead Algeria out at World Cup 2010.

Troops destroy landmines in Algeria

Algiers - Algerian troops destroyed more than 5 700 colonial-era landmines in November, almost half a century after the country gained independence from France, the state news agency APS said on Tuesday.

The mines, mainly antipersonnel ones buried by the French army, were recovered and destroyed in a campaign that is still under way, 47 years after Algeria's independence which came after a fiercely fought independence war.

The total number of mines destroyed up to November 30 was 426 599, of which 358 515 were antipersonnel mines.

The announcement of the latest mine clearance came after scores of nations signed a five-year plan Friday to assist victims of anti-personnel landmines and discourage use of the weapons.

Landmines claimed more than 5 000 victims last year alone, but casualties are rarely reported in Algeria, where France has given the government maps of the minefields to help in clearance.

Representatives of more than 100 nations gathered in Cartagena on Colombia's northern coast and formally adopted the document last week, with a focus on providing specialist care for victims, with improved access and lower costs.

The Cartagena conference reviewed the 1997 Ottawa Treaty that came into force in March 1999 after pressure from victims.

Iran, Syria call for expansion of defense ties

TEHRAN - Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi and his Syrian counterpart Ali Mohammad Habib have called for the expansion of defense ties between the two counties.

Vahidi met with Habib during the first session of the Iran-Syria joint defense commission, which was held in Damascus on Wednesday.

The two defense ministers said Iran and Syria are strategic allies that play an important role in maintaining regional security and stability.

Vahidi said the enhancement of Iran-Syria ties in the area of defense would help counter Israel’s threats, which undermine the security of regional nations.

He went on to say that any threat to Syria’s national security is a threat to Iran’s national security.

“We believe that Tehran-Damascus ties are a positive and constructive model for expanding cooperation between all regional countries,” Vahidi stated.

The Syrian defense minister said Wednesday’s talks show that Tehran-Damascus relations have improved significantly over the past few years.

The level of Iran-Syria cooperation in the area of defense shows that the two countries are determined to respond to regional challenges and to make efforts to strengthen regional security, he added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Habib said Syria supports Iran’s right to make use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The enemy’s main objectives are to undermine regional security and to plunder the region’s resources, but Iran and Syria have always thwarted their efforts, he noted.

The Iranian defense minister also held a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday.

Atom smasher catches 1st high-energy collisions

By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, Associated Press Writer

GENEVA – The world's largest atom smasher has recorded its first high-energy collisions of protons, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Physicists hope those collisions will help them understand suspected phenomena such as dark matter, antimatter and ultimately the creation of the universe billions of years ago, which many theorize occurred as a massive explosion known as the Big Bang.

The collisions occurred Tuesday evening as the Large Haldron Collider underwent test runs in preparation for operations next year, said Christine Sutton of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN.

Two beams of circulating particles traveling in opposite directions at 1.18 trillion electron volts produced the collisions, she said. The Atlas "experiment," one of four major detectors in cathedral-sized rooms in the collider's underground tunnel at Geneva, had part of its equipment turned on and could register collisions.

"They recorded a handful of collisions, and one of them looks quite nice, so it's on their Web site," she said.

Sutton said the collisions occurred when the machine was ramped up briefly to 1.18 TeV. That same level set a world record for proton acceleration in November, when Geneva's particle beams traveled with 20 percent more power than Fermilab near Chicago, which previously held the record.

The operators plan many more collisions at lower energies so the experiments can calibrate their equipment and prepare for more advances ahead.

CERN then plans more collisions at 1.18 TeV to give all experiments the opportunity to record data at that level, but new scientific discoveries are not expected before next year when the beams are ramped up still higher, to 3.5 TeV.

That will be 3.5 times more energy that has been reached at Fermilab, previously the most powerful collider.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy Part-II: Injustice with victims, Indifference towards survivors while Congress leaders lobby for Dow Chemicals

Friday, December 04, 2009

What is worse that even relief and rehabilitation was denied to majority of the survivors. Today, not just the after-affects linger, the diseases are passed on to next generations. More over, the huge toxic waste that hasn't been cleaned up in and around factory, has poisoned the soil and water. The contamination level is a whopping 60 times more in these areas...

Horrors of Bhopal Gas Tragedy 1984: Biggest industrial disaster in the world--[Part 1]

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

The Bhopal gas tragedy that had caused 3,000 deaths instantly and nearly 25,000 deaths over the next couple years apart from incurable diseases, physical and mental disorders to over half-a-million people, is nearly a forgotten affair today.

It's India's shame not just because the main culprit, Warren Anderson, could never be arrested or extradited.

It's also our shame because the ministers and bureaucracy has done its best to absolve the culprits and suppress the voice of the victims. After a quarter century, none of the accused could be sentenced or jailed as cases drag on.

The apathy on part of Congress and BJP governments towards the fate of the survivors and whose children also suffer from disorders, is shocking. The pain and suffering is such that one might get insane just by a visit to any of these areas, and it's nearly impossible to write about it in a few pages.

But I must recount the events on the dark night of December 2 and 3, 1984:

Nearly 40 tonnes of lethal Methyl Isocyanate had escaped from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. The pesticide plant was shifted from America because it was 'too risky' for Americans. In third world country, it was 'welcome'. Nearly a 100 safety standards were cut down in Bhopal plant as per directives of the company from its US-based head office.

It was a strange night, which none of the citizens can forget. People woke up at night--coughing, vomiting and running--until they fell and died on the streets. Panic struck the entire city. The railway station was nearby and hundreds lay dead on the platforms as the killer gas spread across the capital city.

Railway officials steadfastly did their duty, doing their best to inform the officials from Mumbai to Jhansi, to stop train traffic and not let any train reach Bhopal.

There were no cell phones and no computerized signaling system. Most trains were stopped outside, except one [and most of the passengers onboard died]. But in the morning, 23 railway employees were found dead.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city hundreds died in sleep. Others lay dead on streets. Throughout the night doctors tried to find ways to treat but there was no medicine for such a deadly chemical. Union Carbide officials said there was no antidote to MIC gas.

Kids were dying in the arms of doctors. Those doctors who tried to resuscitate the children, themselves died as they came in contact with the gas. With the crack of dawn, the City was to come to terms with the gravity of the gas tragedy.

Funeral pyres kept burning for days, Fatwa for mass graves

In hospitals, there was nothing except bodies of men, women and children. The funeral pyres in shamshans kept on burning. Where were the qabristans for the thousands of dead? The special fatwa was issued for mass burials, so that dozens of Muslims could be buried in each qabr. Men and women were identified on the basis of their religions and last rites were performed as everybody volunteered to help.

The Chief Minister Arjun Singh had already left Bhopal. Panic was further aggravated with the news that there is still gas in the tanks. Later there were statements that the remaining gas would be released. This led to greater panic and for weeks and months people kept leaving the city.

Mass exodus, frenzy and fear
Nearly 1,000 big buses were arranged by government to ferry people out. Others left on whatever vehicle they could and most ran on foot. This was one of the biggest mass exodus from a City in modern times, all because of absolute failure of government and administration.

Trains passing through Bhopal wouldn't stop for long in those days. The train passengers would keep the compartments shut from within even though it was a common sight to see families and their children cry, begging them to open the gates. This was a tragedy of such magnitude that had no parallel in modern world.

Then the legal battle began. A compensation was agreed upon. Contrary to perception, it was not at all sufficient. Suddenly dalaals [brokers] appeared. Whatever was the compensation given by Union Carbide, was not properly distributed.

The real victims' money was distributed in parts of City where the gas had little effect, because of political considerations.

Survivors, Victims sans medical care

The super-specialty hospitals built with the money meant for gas victims, are flush with funds, but don't provide treatment and medicines to the survivors.

Instead private patients are entertained. The victims live in extremely polluted slums where toxicity is so high that young ones look middle-aged, thousands of women suffer from gynaecological complications and the poor have nobody to turn.

The women widowed by the tragedy, live in the locality ironically named Vidhwa Colony, many of them barely getting barely a pension of Rs 150. Water is so toxic that none of us can imagine. Life remains the same for lakhs living in clusters like JP Nagar, Qainchi Chhola, Oriya Basti, Qazi Camp and numerous other slums-localities in the area around Union Carbide.

The compensation had to be distributed among around 1.5 lakh people who were gas affected in 1984-85. Them and their children together numbered nearly 2-3 lakh by the next decade.

However, to gain political mileage--the compensation that was meant only for the victims, was distributed in New City also, ahead of elections. Not many got compensation over Rs 1 lakh.

As a result the real victims got much less of what they would have otherwise got. Compensation was distributed among 5 lakh people. Though it was a pittance--just Rs 25,000. Had the 25,000-each given to 4 lakh-odd non-victims, kept for the gas victims, the real victims could have benefited.

But even this colossal human tragedy was communalised. In the aftermath of Babri Masjid-Ram Temple dispute, a campaign to get compensation to New Bhopal residents was launched. The hidden message was that it was the Muslim-majority Old Bhopal that had got money. Ironically, this was also untrue.

Though Walled City in Bhopal has a clear Muslim majority, the areas that were affected had a predominant Hindu population. Among the gas victims, over 62% were Hindus, who were migrant labourers and poor workers. But this ploy did work.

The Union Carbide was bought by Dow Chemicals. There was a large quantity of poisonous waste in factory, which remains to this day. The factory had to be cleaned up, as the waste is polluting groundwater in the entire area, causing deadly diseases and producing generations that are frail and always ailing.

Bureaucrats made money, then lost interest

Bureaucrats including many senior IAS officers were interested in Gas Relief ministry and its projects as long as funding was there. When hospitals were being built, they were happy as contracts were awarded for everything from construction to buying of equipments, and they got 'cut'. There was money in everything: even in calling companies to remove toxic waste remaining in factory.

When the hospitals were established, they lost interest--so what if doctors were not appointed and machines remained unused, even patients turned away, emergency and OPD kept shut at night--after all, there was no money for them now.

A strategy was devised to hush up each and every issue. Everytime a high-flying minister from Delhi would come, he would say that there was no waste, no pollutant and nothing needed. After all, the victims were mostly--poor, unable to fight cases, not like us--and could be ignored.

It was long back that governments had stopped medical studies. Those who died due to after-effects of the gas tragedy, were not counted after 1990. The true figure of deaths could be anything from 50,000-1 lakh and even more.

The reports that indicated governments and highlighted the presence of extremely toxic substances, were not 'accepted'. Bribe was paid, Carbide was let off and leave the country. The ugly corporate-bureaucrat-minister nexus worked wonderfully for the killers.

18,000 Metric Tonnes of Waste Vs 360 tonnes: Even Commission in Clean-up

They shouted from the rooftop that there was just 360 tonnes of toxic waste left. For decades carbide had functioned in Bhopal. The reality is that the premises--67 acres has nearly 8,000 Metric Tonnes of the most poisonous chemicals' concoction in the world, buried in the ground, that is killing the poor in the adjoining areas.

And a further, 10,000 Metric Tonnes, is buried in the nearby open land where the effluent was dumped for years. And nobody would talk about it. After all, the poor can be allowed to drink this poison. Who cares? They don't get treatment. Who cares? They die. Who cares? Of course, a few do. Next part tomorrow.

Wartime US president picks up his peace prize

By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer

OSLO, Norway – A wartime president honored for peace, Barack Obama on Thursday praised past Nobel winners for giving "voice to the voiceless."

Obama's first stop in this chilly, damp Nordic capital where he formally becomes a Nobel laureate himself was the Norwegian Nobel Institute, where the Nobel committee meets to decide who gets the prestigious prize. The president will receive his Nobel Peace Prize medal and diploma at a ceremony later.

After signing the guest book at the Institute with a lengthy passage, Obama told reporters he had penned thanks to the committee members while noting the pictures of former winners filling the wall, singling out the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Obama said the prize, given to the civil rights leader in 1964, increased King's stature in the world and had a "galvanizing effect" for his cause at home.

First lady Michelle Obama teased her husband gently. "You writing a book there?" she said as he wrote. Asked by Nobel permanent secretary, Geir Lundestad, to add her own inscription, Mrs. Obama quipped that "mine won't be as long." The president bantered back: "She will resist writing something sarcastic."

The president is joining the list of winners under such odd circumstances — honored for working to rehape the way the United States deals with the world just days after ordering 30,000 more U.S. troops to the Afghanistan war — that he will make a point of it.

Obama's Nobel speech — a tradition that goes to the winner and is billed as a lecture for the world — will explore his thinking about war, security and the pursuit of peace. He is likely to spell out the role of American leadership and the responsibilities of all nations.

There will be plenty of splashy ceremony in Obama's honor, too.

In the evening, Obama is expected to wave to a torchlight procession from his hotel balcony and stroll with Norwegian royalty to a dinner banquet. He will offer comments a second time there and cap his brisk jaunt to Europe covering not even two days.

The president and his wife, Michelle, arrived to a chilly, damp Oslo morning after an overnight flight from Washington. He and the first lady came off Air Force One holding hands and smiling, greeted by a small clutch of dignitaries. Obama was due back in Washington by midday Friday.

He also was to meet with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg while in Oslo.

The Nobel committee announced Obama had won the peace prize when he wasn't even nine months on the job, recognizing his aspirations much more than his achievements.

The panel cited his call for a world free of nuclear weapons, for a more engaged U.S. role in combating global warming, for his support of the United Nations and multilateral diplomacy and for broadly capturing the attention of the world and giving its people "hope."

It was such a surprise, and derided so loudly by some critics as premature, that the Nobel committee took the unusual step of defending itself. Obama reacted with humility, saying he was undeserving.

Obama's quick trip reflects a White House that sees little value in trumpeting an honor for peace just nine days after Obama announced he was sending more troops off to war.

Asked if Obama was excited about the award, national security aide and speechwriter Ben Rhodes responded, "I think he feels as if it places a responsibility upon him."

"It's the company that you keep as a Nobel laureate that I think makes the deepest impression upon him," said Rhodes, who was helping craft the president's speech. "That kind of adds an extra obligation to essentially extend the legacy."

Obama was considering lots of ideas for the speech and had been expected to winnow them into a final draft aboard Air Force One.

The peace-award-in-wartime irony hasn't gone unnoticed here.

Peace activists plan a 5,000-person anti-war protest. Protesters have plastered posters around Oslo featuring the image of Obama from his iconic campaign poster, altered with skepticism to say, "Change?"

Demonstrators plan to gather in sight of Obama's hotel room balcony, and chant slogans playing on Obama's own slogans, foremost among them: "Change: Stop the War in Afghanistan."

A local convenience store chain, Narvesen, promoted its coffee with an "Obama in Oslo" sale, listing prices in dollars aimed at members of Obama's entourage.

The list of Nobel peace laureates over the last 100 years includes transformative figures and giants on the world stage. They include heroes of the president, such as Nelson Mandela and others he has long admired, like George Marshall, who launched a postwar recovery plan for Europe.

The Nobel honor comes with a $1.4 million prize. The White House says Obama will give that to charities but has not yet decided which ones.

Doctors Hospital killed my 3 Year Old Daughter

Doctors Hospital killed my 3 Year Old Daughter
(Johar Town Lahore,Punjab, Pakistan)

On November 29, 2009 at 3 am in the morning my 3 year old daughter, Imanae, spilt hot water on her wrist. My wife and I immediately took her to Doctors Hospital and Medical Center in Johar Town, Lahore. Although it was a very small burn, we chose to go to the hospital as our baby was in a lot of pain and we wanted her hurt to go away as quickly as possible.

At the hospital we were met by the emergency ward staff, who applied an ointment on her hand and gave her an injection to soothe the pain. When Imanae continued to cry because of the pain, the nurse called the doctor on duty. I noticed when he walked into the room that he had obviously been asleep and had just been woken up.

The doctor instructed the nurse to give Imanae another injection. Imanae however continued to cry. Fifteen minutes later, the sleepy doctor instructed the nurse to inject Imanae with the 3rd injection. All in all, 5mg of this anesthetic/pain killer was given. This was the moment when my little baby went silent and started losing consciousness. Just before she totally passed out, she started calling out my name and saying that everything was getting blurred and she couldn't see clearly. Little did I know that these were the last words my daughter would ever say.

I asked the doctor what was happening to my daughter, he assured me that she was FINE and was just SLEEPING, and left the room. I however wasn’t satisfied and checked Imanae myself to see if I could feel her breath or hear her heartbeat.

When I couldn't feel either of the two, I immediately informed the nurse. She called the doctor again who used a Heart Beat Monitor to examine Imanae. There was no reading on the monitor. I asked the doctor what that signified and he told me that since the monitor was intended for adult use, it could not detect my baby's hear beat. I WISH I HAD ASKED HIM THEN WHY HE WAS USING IT ON MY HELPLESS AND UNCONSCIOUS CHILD AND WASTING PRECIOUS TIME!!!

At this point, some other doctors present on duty at the hospital joined him as well. They connected Imanae to an ECG machine, but that too also only reported a straight line. My wife asked why the line was straight but the doctors did not reply. They kept on stating that she was fine and was just having some breathing problems. All the doctors present on the scene, started conferring between themselves as they continued to examine her. They continued to ignore our repeated pleas on what was happening to our daughter.

They then started giving her CPR and it was at this point I realised that my baby's life was in danger. The doctors however kept reassuring us that she was fine. They continued conferring between themselves and I was certain that something had gone horribly wrong. Another 20 or so minutes passed in this torture and confusion. They continued to reassure us that she was ok!! IF SHE WAS OK, WHY WAS THERE NO PULSE ON THE ECG...WHY WAS THERE NO HEARTBEAT...WHY WERE THEY GIVING HER CPR, IF SHE WAS OK.....WHY WHY!!!

Finally, one of the doctor told me that she was having difficulty breathing and because Doctors Hospital did NOT HAVE a baby Ventilator we should take her to some other hospital before her condition worsened. They suggested we take her either to Ittefaq hospital or to Fatima Memorial, or that we take her to Ward 23 of the Children's Hospital.

I asked them for an ambulance because she was connected to all kinds of machines, but they told me that the ambulance was not available. However, if we still wanted one...we would have to WAIT for half an hour!!! My baby was not breathing and they wanted me to wait for half an hour!!

I decided to take my dying Imanae in my own car and pleaded with them to give me a doctor to accompany us to Children's Hospital. I did not know what was wrong with her and wanted someone to come along and explain what exactly her condition was. I wanted a list of injections and other medicines given to her, to give to the doctors at Children's Hospital. I wanted a copy of her ECG report.....

Nothing was given......and a WARD boy asked to go along.

It took us 15 minutes to reach Children's Hospital.....where we were told that my 3 year old daughter...my only child...the light of my life...my reason for living...was DEAD!!

Apparently, I am not the only one who has had his life shattered by this hospital. There are several similar incidents where Doctors Hospital have dumped patients whose treatments they have botched, on to other hospitals.

One such incident that I came across was reported a few years ago in the Daily Times:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C02%5C12%5Cstory_12-2-2006_pg3_7

With your help, I have discovered several other cases that strongly indicate malpractice and gross negligence by this hospital.

If you are a victim of Doctors Hospital or know of someone who suffered at their hands, please let us know so that we can put it forward and bring the culprits to justice.