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Friday, April 30, 2010

Zambian opp. leader under house arrest

Fri Apr 30, 2010
Police have placed the President of Zambia's United Party for National Development (UPND) Hakainde Hichilema under house arrest in Mufumbwe district in Northwestern province.

Zambian security forces put the opposition leader under house arrest on Thursday after his UPND members allegedly assaulted a man who they claimed had impersonated a policeman. Hichilema was campaigning for his party candidate Elliot Kamondo in Mufumbwe, Daily Nation newspaper reported.

UPND chairman for elections Ackson Sejani confirmed Hichilema's arrest. "He [Mr Hichilema] is held hostage under the supervision of inspector general of police Francis Kabonde. He was taken hostage around 5 a.m. Central African Time," Sejani said.

He added, "The entire UPND campaign team has been barricaded by the police; we can't go out. Even UPND camps are surrounded by police officers and there is heavy presence of police officers at polling stations."

Residents of Mufumbwe and Milanzi constituencies in Northwestern and Eastern provinces went to the polls on Thursday to vote for new parliament members after the death of Misheck Bonshe and Rueben Chisanga. Voting started at about 6 a.m. local time and ended at around 6 p.m.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/124949.html.

US concerned over Israel security

In an effort to woo Israel after nearly a month of tense relations, Washington warns Iran and Syria against “making threats” to Tel Aviv's security.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an attempt to make amends with Tel Aviv officials after relations hit an unprecedented low last month over an Israeli settlement project on occupied Palestinian lands in East Jerusalem (Al-Quds).

Clinton, who was addressing the annual meeting of the American Jewish Committee, struck a conciliatory tone when she stressed that the US commitment to Israeli security is “unshakable” in the face of threats posed by Iran and Syria.

During her speech, she accused Syria of providing Hezbollah with Scud missiles, a charge that has been wholly dismissed by Damascus, and warned that "Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is making decisions that could mean war or peace for the region."

The former first lady then turned to Tehran, saying that the Obama administration is still open to engaging in dialogue with Iran. Iran would have to first meet international demands over its low-level enrichment activities.

If Tehran falls short of that, Clinton warned, the US will have no choice but to push for a stronger round of economic sanctions at the UN Security Council.

The salvo of warnings comes as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is preparing to visit the US to attend the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference in New York from May 3 to 28.

US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley confirmed on Wednesday that visa applications for Ahmadinejad and his delegation, which had been earlier submitted in Bern, Switzerland, were likely to be approved.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124948§ionid=3510203.

Belgium ban on veil criticized

Amnesty International has criticized the Belgian parliament for passing a bill that will ban the wearing of full Muslim veils in public places.

The international human rights watchdog said on Thursday that it would violate the rights to freedom of expression and religion.

The organization's expert on discrimination in Europe, John Dalhuisen, said the action sets a dangerous precedent.

"The obligation to combat discrimination cannot be fulfilled by imposing a measure that is itself discriminatory," Dalhuisen said.

The Belgian lower house of parliament earlier on Thursday voted 136 in favor of the ban and none against, with two abstentions.

The bill could become law in the coming months as the upper house, or Senate, is not expected to block it.

However, the prospect of an imminent election, brought on by the collapse of Belgium's coalition government, could cause a delay because parliament would have to be dissolved.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124940§ionid=351020606.

Israelis nab 9 Palestinians in WB

The Israeli army has arrested nine Palestinians during an operation that took place in various parts of the West Bank according to various Israeli and Palestinian sources.

The operation was carried out on Thursday morning during the dawn hours, the sources said.

The military announced that the detained men were arrested during home raids in the cities of Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Jenin. The army claims that the nine individuals belong to its wanted list, International Middle East Media Center reported.

On Wednesday, the Israeli troops abducted thirteen Palestinian civilians during predawn military incursions targeting the southern West Bank villages.

The nine men were detained as troops searched and ransacked residents' homes at the town of Sa'eer near al-Khalil (Hebron). The army gave no reason for the attack on Sa'eer.

Five more Palestinian civilians were also detained by Israelis on Monday at dawn and Sunday night during military incursions targeting West Bank communities.

Carrying out intrusive and terrorizing operations overnight, to arrest and kidnap Palestinians, has become a norm in the Israeli army, defying a security agreement with the Palestinian Authority.

More than 11,500 Palestinians, including many women and children are imprisoned by Israel, suffering under harsh conditions in detention centers.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124934§ionid=351020202.

Ten killed as Somalia rivals clash

Fri Apr 30, 2010

At least 10 people have been killed and over 20 others injured in heavy clashes between al-Shabab fighters and pro-government Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama militiamen in central Somali regions of Galgadud and Hiran.

The fighting broke out on Thursday in the central Somali village of El Bahay, 80 km north of Guriel, in Galgadud region. Six militants were killed in the ensuing heavy gun battle.

“We attacked and captured the area from our foes. It is part of our plans to expand our grip on territories in central regions," said an al-Shabab official. Ahlu Sunnah's Grand Chairman Ma'alin Mohammud Sheikh Hassan confirmed the fighting but refuted claims of losing the area to al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab also carried out attacks on a military base used by government troops and Ahlu Sunnah fighters near Beledweyne, the administrative capital of Hiran region. Local residents said four died during the fight.

“Today we attacked a training base used by government troops and their Ahlu Sunnah collaborators. We captured the base and some weapons," said Yussuf Ali Ugas, al-Shabab commander in Hiran region.

A Somali government official said that al-Shabab fighters attacked the base but stated that they were repelled.

Somalia has been overwhelmed by unrest since the 1991 ouster of the dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Over 20,000 people have died since early 2007 after Ethiopia invaded Somalia. Militants now control large swaths of land in the country over which the weak, Western-backed central government has limited authority.

According to the UN figures, more than 1.4 million Somalis are displaced inside the country and some 570,000 live as refugees in neighboring countries.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/124933.html.

Israel hints at one-state solution

Israeli Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin has expressed reluctance to share occupied territories with Palestinians.

He said he doubted Tel Aviv would ever sign a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority, adding that he did not believe acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas could deliver any "good."

Tel Aviv would rather accept Palestinians into Israel than dividing the occupied lands in a future two-state solution, Rivlin said during a Thursday meeting with Greece's ambassador to Israel, Kyriakos Loukakis, when asked about a possible peace agreement with the Palestinians.

Meanwhile he admitted that many Arabs have been encountering racism and arrogance from Israelis.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124929§ionid=351020202.

S Africa solar power program launched

Fri Apr 30, 2010
South Africa has officially inaugurated a solar water heating plan to save both money and the environment in Africa's worst pollution emitting country.

So far about 270 solar water heating panels have been set up in Pretoria - the country's executive capital -- for household water heating purposes.

South African President Jacob Zuma says the country produces the highest level of emissions throughout the continent and should reduce its enormous reliance on coal.

The country supplies 96 percent of its electricity from coal and that has made it Africa's worst emitter.

Based on the solar water heating plan, by 2014, South Africa will install one million solar heaters.

According to Zuma, the government has started converting water heating for hospitals, prisons, barracks and other government buildings.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/124922.html.

Belgium MPs vote to ban burqa

The majority of Belgian lawmakers have voted to ban the wearing of the burqa in public, making it possible for the first clampdown of its kind in Europe.

In the lower house of federal parliament, 136 deputies voted to ban nationwide clothes or veils that do not allow the wearer to be fully identified, including the full-face niqab and burqa.

The law would ban any clothing that obscures the identity of the wearer in places like parks and on the street. There were two abstentions and no votes against the restriction.

Exceptions could be allowed for certain festivities like carnivals if municipal authorities decide to grant them.

People who ignore the new law could face a fine of 15-25 euros ($20-$34) and/or a jail sentence of up to seven days.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124916§ionid=351020606.

Italy frees arrested Iranian reporter

Hamid Masouminejad, an accredited Iranian journalist held in Italy on charges of arms smuggling, has been released, says a top Iranian official.

Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh, head of the High Council of Iranian Expatriates, said Masouminejad was released on Thursday through the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Presidential Office's "diplomatic efforts." He did not give more details about his release.

A senior correspondent for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) in Rome, Masouminejad, another Iranian national, Ali Damirchiloo, were arrested on March 3, 2010 on charges of illegal arms trafficking.

The IRIB reporter, however, has dismissed the accusation in a meeting with the Italian prosecutor.

On Wednesday, Majid Jafarzadeh, a senior aide to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said that Italian officials had agreed to release Masouminejad on bail and place him under house arrest pending his trial.

The Italian police claimed the arrested individuals transported weapons to third countries such as Britain, Switzerland and Romania before shipping them to Iran.

The Iranian government has rejected the accusations and described his arrest as a "Mafia-style tactic" to pressure Iran over its nuclear program.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124887§ionid=351020101.

Abbas not fit for prisoner swap: Hamas

Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal says the acting Palestinian Authority (PA) chief lacks credibility to be involved in a prisoner exchange deal between Palestinians and Israelis.

One day after Mahmoud Abbas expressed willingness to conclude a prisoner swap deal with Israeli officials, Meshal told the Saudi al-Watan newspaper that the acting PA chief was not qualified to resolve the sensitive issue.

In his Wednesday interview, Meshal blamed Israeli leaders for Gilad Shalit's continued imprisonment, saying that officials in Tel Aviv were responsible for failing to reach an agreement with Palestinians on the matter to date.

The Hamas leader said nearly 8,000 Palestinian prisoners were currently held in Israeli jails, warning that more Israeli soldiers will be arrested for future exchange with detained Palestinians.

"Israelis have left us with no option but to seize more troops," Meshal said.

"Gilad Shalit has not been and will never be the last Israeli soldier captured to be used as a bargaining chip for the release of Palestinian prisoners," he added.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124756§ionid=351020202.

UN mission in Sudan gets new one-year mandate

New York - The United Nations Security Council Thursday extended for another year its mission in Sudan and tasked it with additional responsibilities, including support for the self- determination vote next year between north and south Sudan.

The new mandate will expire April 30, 2011 with the possibility for further renewal "as may be required," the 15-nation council said in voting unanimously for the extension.

The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) has deployed close to 10,000 troops, including 470 military observers, to monitor the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement between the government in Khartoum in the north and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in the south. The agreement, which ended decades of civil war, called for referenda in early 2011 to decide the future of the agreement.

The council asked UNMIS to submit a detailed plan about UN support for the referenda, including lessons learned from the 2010 national elections and its actions in the post-referendum period.

The UN had criticized national elections organized in mid-April in which Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who first took power in late 1980s, was re-elected. It has focused on irregularities and the lack of preparations and education of voters.

It called on UNMIS to make full use of its authority and capabilities to protect civilians, the relief and development workers and refugees.

Sudan's UN Ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamed told reporters that the renewal resolution adopted by the council contained "positive elements" and Khartoum will work to implement them.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321272,un-mission-in-sudan-gets-new-one-year-mandate.html.

Hungary's prime minister-elect starts naming new cabinet

Budapest - Viktor Orban, whose center-right party Fidesz won a landslide victory in Hungary's general elections this month, named some key members of his future cabinet while speaking to reporters on Thursday.

In a joint press conference with his new appointees, Orban promised a completely new government structure for Hungary.

Tibor Navracsics, 44, formerly leader of Fidesz's parliamentary caucus, has been appointed to head a new Ministry of Public Administration and Justice and will also act as deputy prime minister, Orban said.

Navracsics's new role will combine the functions of the old Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Local Government.

Mihaly Varga, 45, who served as finance minister from 2001 to 2002 in the last Fidesz government and remains one of the party's key economy experts, will head a new prime ministerial secretariat.

"The relationship between the prime minister and the people, and the media, too, must be set on a new footing," Orban said.

Fidesz had signaled earlier that it intends to reduce the number of ministries when it forms a government, with several functions being combined in single "super ministries."

The 46-year-old prime minister-elect said he expects "more comprehensive, faster and more effective work" from the incoming government.

The full cabinet will be unveiled during its inaugural meeting on Monday, Orban said.

Only one minister had already been named before the election: the multi-lingual veteran politician Janos Martonyi, 66, will be Minister of Foreign Affairs, a post he held in the last Fidesz government.

Orban noted that his deputy prime minister will be given new leadership powers, for which modifications to Hungary's constitution will be required.

Fidesz has the mandate to alter the constitution unilaterally thanks to the unprecedented two-thirds majority it secured in the elections on April 11 and 25, which saw the outgoing Socialists punished amid economic uncertainty, record unemployment and numerous high-profile corruption scandals.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321274,hungarys-prime-minister-elect-starts-naming-new-cabinet.html.

Hezbollah and officials criticize US tour near Lebanese border

Beirut - The Lebanese Foreign Ministry was joined by other officials and the militant Hezbollah group in criticizing on Thursday a visit by a US security team to the Lebanese-Syrian border.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah called on the government to explain "why a US security delegation from the Counterterrorism Office visited the Masnaa border with Syria."

He described the visit on Lebanese territory "as a major security violation."

It comes days after Israel accused Syria of providing Hezbollah with Scud missiles, an allegation that Syria and Lebanon have dismissed as "lies."

Fadlallah warned that Israel has access to all information obtained by the US and wondered "who will be held responsible if the Masnaa area is targeted (by Israel) in the future."

"If the visit occurred in coordination with Lebanese officials, then it is a disaster," Shiite member of parliament Kassem Hashem, who has close links with Hezbollah, said.

"If the state was unaware of such a trip, then it is a bigger disaster," he added.

The American Embassy said Wednesday's visit was planned months ago and took place in coordination with authorities in Lebanon.

But the Foreign Ministry denied Thursday that it was informed in advance about the visit by the US team to the border crossing.

The ministry added that such acts violate Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which stipulates that all diplomatic missions should respect the laws and regulations of the receiving state and should not interfere in its internal affairs.

Unconfirmed reports said the US officials are part of an assessment team from the American Counterterrorism Office.

Okab Sakr, a member of parliament loyal to prime minister Saad Hariri, said he will submit a complaint to the US Embassy in Lebanon asking about the delegation's visit to the Masnaa border area if it turned out that the Lebanese government was unaware of the trip.

Sakr told local television that "even Internal Security Forces (ISF) Director General Ashraf Rifi did not know the visit took place."

Sakr urged all parties to help uncover the matter.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321275,hezbollah-and-officials-criticize-us-tour-near-lebanese-border.html.

Mauritanian wins UNESCO prize for Maghreb journalism

2010-04-29
Mauritanian journalist Mohamed Fall Ould Oumère won the best Maghreb opinion article prize in a regional competition organized by the UNESCO office in Rabat, PANA reported on Wednesday (April 28th). Ould Oumère, the editor of weekly newspaper La Tribune and a pioneer of the Mauritanian private press, was recognized for an editorial promoting a "plural Maghreb". The award will be presented in Nouakchott on May 3rd to mark Mauritania's celebration of World Press Freedom Day.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/29/newsbrief-04.

UK orders Khalifa extradition to Algeria

2010-04-29

The UK Home Office on Wednesday (April 28th) agreed to extradite billionaire swindler Abdelmoumen Rafik Khalifa to his native Algeria. The decision comes nearly one year after a British court approved Khalifa's deportation.

In 2007, four years after Khalifa fled to London, a Blida court sentenced him to life imprisonment on fraud charges surrounding Algeria's largest-ever financial scandal. The corrupt tycoon is also wanted in France on embezzlement charges and for alleged involvement in the collapse of Khalifa Airways, Antinéa Airlines and Khalifa Rent-a-Car.

Khalifa is expected to appeal his extradition.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/29/newsbrief-02.

University deadlines add to worries of Moroccan bac students

Registration at universities will have already begun by the start of end-of-term exams.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 29/04/10

Moroccan students studying for the bac exams have another worry to add to their plate: major colleges are beginning their enrollment process before the start of exams.

"I must pass with good or very good merits to be admitted," Miriam said. "You have to pay 65,000 dirhams for five years. It's too much for my family, but besides my parents' savings, my father will get a loan."

Miriam hopes to gain admission into the new School of Economics and Governance founded in Rabat in 2008, she said. Financial concerns and application deadlines loom even as she studies for her final exams.

"She has always been brilliant," said her mother, Amina Berrada. "The big day is approaching. We have to meet the deadlines," she said with a tone of optimism and worry.

Berrada is rushing to contact public and private colleges for her daughter.

"Even with our limited income, I have been saving for her higher education tuition for years," she said. "It's even better if she is accepted into a prestigious public school."

Not all high school students are lucky enough to have parents who saved money for years for their children's university education. Hajer, a baccalaureate candidate in Mathematical Science, said that she is trying hard to score high enough to secure a place in a public school.

"The selection frightens me," she said. "If my family had enough financial resources to pay for my education, I would have worried less, because there are a large number of private schools [from which to choose]. I have to excel [on the bac] to be among the elite who are trained in public schools."

Less academically gifted students are also concerned about their future, but are realistic about their chances.

Hicham Bekkali, a baccalaureate candidate in literature, said that he does not intend to apply to a private college with his mediocre grades and his family's limited finances. His only real choice, he said, is to decide to which university department he will apply.

"My future looks unclear sometimes, and that is affecting how I prepare for the exams," Bekkali said. "But I was told that the prospects of the university are becoming increasingly promising."

Young baccalaureate candidates are becoming more strategic in the fields they choose to enter as they see the high unemployment rates faced by recent university graduates, sociologist Samira Kassimi said.

"The Moroccan society is on the rise. Middle class families, at least, are thinking in advance of their children's higher education to guarantee them a place in the labor market," she added.

Starting this year, Moroccan final-year students will receive an information packet explaining what choices are available to them and how to prepare for the bac, Higher Education Minister Ahmed Akhchichine said. The new procedure implements Morocco's emergency plan for education.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/04/29/feature-03.

Algerian handicraft sector endures tourism drop, reduced resources

Artisans say the handicraft industry needs raw material and tourists to succeed.

By Mouna Sadek for Magharebia in Algiers – 29/04/10

Algerian artisans are calling on the government and fellow craftsmen to work together to help the industry recover from years of depressed business.

Something as simple as easier access to clay could help the Algerian handicrafts sector see economic gains, artisans said.

"Although clay is available in Algeria, there is no specialist plant to process it in a way that meets the needs of craftsmen," said Samir, who sells crafts in Adekar, near Bejaia. "Generally, clay is imported from Spain and Italy, which pushes up the prices of craft products."

Only one tonne of clay per year is consumed by the Algerian sector, whereas Moroccan artisans use one tonne of clay per month, Samir said. This statistic alone shows the stagnation of the industry, he said.

The National Society for Traditional Craft Industries (SNAT) once took responsibility for securing raw materials for craftsmen, but the group was disbanded in 1987.

Attracting more tourists would also improve handicraft sales, artisans said. Handicrafts vendors depend on purchases by foreign visitors to remain financially viable. The bulk of Samir's sales come from Algerians living abroad who return to pick up traditional products, he said.

"In the summer, we get a lot of expatriates here, keen to have a souvenir of Algeria they can keep or give away to foreign friends," Samir said.

But tourism revenues have fallen due to spates of terrorist activity and have not recovered from pre-conflict levels.

The Algerian government is doing its best to bolster the handicrafts workers' trade, Handicrafts and SME Minister Mustapha Benbda told Algerian daily El Watan in January.

"The craft sector is going through a progressive consolidation and building phase," Benbada said.

"The first measure we introduced was to provide workers with the premises they needed: craft centers, galleries, display and sales areas, access to working premises for 23,000 craftsmen," he said.

A national fund for traditional arts and crafts, supported by the treasury, has been in existence since 2003, Benbada said.

7,000 new artisans registered with the ministry in 2009, while the number of handicraft-themed SMEs rose 8.36% from 2008. Of the 17,000 newly registered SMEs, 28% of these are in the traditional crafts industry. The minister credited the new trend of privatization with the increase in SMEs.

Some traditional crafts artisans, however, have been forced to look beyond their industry for economic sustenance.

Sabrina Bouchenafa runs Terre d'Orient, a cottage industry specializing in the production of ceramics and pottery, but had to take on odd jobs for many years to make ends meet.

The unwillingness of fellow artisans to band together and tackle the problems of raw materials and stagnated tourism is a major problem, Bouchenafa said, adding that her industry faces "collapse" unless a solution is found.

But artisans will always find ways to survive in a challenging economy, she said.

"The only alternative we could find, given the absence of tourists, was to go directly to the foreign embassies in Algeria, which have become the only source of demand for craft products," she said.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/04/29/feature-02.

Pakistan's tribal region to have special force: official

Pakistan will put in place a special force from the local tribesmen to establish government's writ in the militancy-hit South Waziristan tribal region, the local administrative officer said Thursday.

Youth in the age of 18-25 from two major tribes, Mehsud and Waziris, will be recruited in phases and the process will start from May 3rd, Shahab Ali Shah, the Political Agent of South Waziristan told a news conference in Tank, a city at the edge of South Waziristan.

The recruits will be part of the "FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Regions) Levis Force" and South Waziristan will have some 4000 men. A total of 1,500 men will be recruited in the first phase to be completed on May 7th.

Youth from Mehsud Tribe will appear for recruitment at Manzai Fort and those who belong to Wazir Tribe will gather at Wana Camp, the official said. There will be no fixed education criteria for the recruitment but the candidates must have some literacy, Shah said.

"They will work like Waziristan police," Shah said, adding every tribe will have their quota but merit will get priority in the recruitment process.

Shah said that the whole phased recruitment will be completed in three years and the men will be imparted up to six months training.They will also get Special Risk Allowance. They will have a regular scale and promotion opportunities.

Special residential barracks will be established for them. The expenses are estimated to be around three billion rupees (about 0. 36 billion U.S. dollars), the official said.

He said that the phased return of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as the result of military operation against the militants in South Waziristan will begin in a month. A road-map is being prepared for the repatriation process which will be announced in the media, he said.

Pakistani security forces started military offensive against Taliban militants in Oct. 2009 in South Waziristan. The troops controlled main bases of the militants after several months' attack and are still conducting search and clearance operation in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6968120.html.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Hypersonic missile test fails

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

WASHINGTON, April 29 (UPI) -- U.S. military scientists lost contact with a supersonic glider 9 minutes into its maiden test flight last week, dealing a set back a Pentagon plan intended to hit terrorist targets halfway around the planet.

Designed to punch through the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere and travel at a speed of more than 25,000 miles an hour, the unmanned Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 was being tested as a platform for striking at great distances with conventional weapons. The HTV-2 was launched April 22 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The test called for a 30-minute mission during which the HTV-2 would fly at high speeds before re-entering the atmosphere and splashing into the Pacific Ocean near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

But as the glider rocketed off and separated from the booster its signal disappeared.

"Preliminary review of technical data indicates the Minotaur Lite launch system successfully delivered the Falcon HTV-2 glide vehicle to the desired separation conditions," a news release from the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency states.

"The launch vehicle executed first of its kind energy management maneuvers, clamshell payload fairing release and HTV-2 deployment. Approximately 9 minutes into the mission, telemetry assets experienced a loss of signal from the HTV-2."

Experts are trying to figure out what went wrong but the statement said the mission wasn't a total loss.

"This flight represents many historic firsts for both the launch system and the HTV-2 vehicle. ... Technical data collected during the flight will provide insight into the hypersonic flight characteristics of the HTV-2," DARPA said.

The glider, thin and wedge-shaped for better lift, includes "carbon-carbon aeroshell technology" to withstand the stresses of hypersonic flight. It is built U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin. The U.S. military has billed the vehicle, which can fly 4,700 miles from the launch point, as "revolutionary."

The vehicle could feature in U.S. plans to develop a way of hitting distant targets with the use of conventional weapons.

A Pentagon fact sheet for the HTV-2 states, "The U.S. military seeks the capability to respond, with little or no advanced warning, to threats to our national security anywhere around the globe."

The craft's shape and size provides additional benefits.

"There's always a concern that a conventional warhead on an (intercontinental ballistic missile) might be confused with a nuclear device -- what can you do to prove otherwise?" Mark Lewis, the former chief scientist of the Air Force, told the Danger Room Web site. "With a high-lift vehicle, your trajectory would be so different that no one would likely confuse it with something more sinister."

The U.S. Air Force is said to also be considering such hypersonic vehicles for intelligence-gathering if spy satellites in low orbit come under attack.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2010/04/29/Hypersonic-missile-test-fails/UPI-93111272552227/.

Al-Shabaab responds to AQI killings

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

MOGADISHU, Somalia, April 29 (UPI) -- Somali al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabaab said it carried out a suicide attack on peacekeepers in Mogadishu in retaliation for the deaths of Iraqi al-Qaida leaders.

Al-Shabaab said it targeted the base for peacekeepers with the African Union in Mogadishu in response to the killing of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq. The two were killed last week in Tikrit during a joint raid by Iraqi and U.S. forces.

Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for al-Shabaab, said the attack killed 20 peacekeepers with the African Union Mission to Somalia. Maj. Barigye Ba-Hoku, a spokesman for AMISOM, told Voice of America, however, that AU soldiers thwarted the attack.

Al-Shabaab was blamed with killing nearly 40 AMISOM peacekeepers since troops from the Ugandan military arrived in Mogadishu in 2007. Somali and international human rights groups have protested AMISOM soldiers and al-Shabaab fighters for fighting in populated areas of the capital.

Al-Shabaab during the first week of April ordered national radio stations to stop carrying VOA and BBC broadcasts, saying their reports were insulting to Muslims. VOA is the official external broadcasting service of the U.S. federal government.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/04/29/Al-Shabaab-responds-to-AQI-killings/UPI-30981272553011/.

Tigress gives birth to quadruplets at Thai nature reserve

Bangkok - A 7-year-old tigress has given birth to four cubs at a nature reserve in west-central Thailand in the country's largest tiger delivery to date, media reports said Thursday.

Khao Chi delivered the cubs last month in the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, which is home to South-East Asia's largest population of wild tigers, the Bangkok Post reported.

"It is unbelievable to experience the astonishing delivery of four tigers at one time," National Parks Department officer Sakit Simcharoen said.

"Usually, a tiger delivers one or two cubs at a time," he said.

The birth has given hope to park officials at Huay Kha Khaeng, 175 kilometers north-west of Bangkok, that they might achieve their ambitious goal of doubling the sanctuary's tiger population by 2022.

The park's wild tiger population of 100 is under constant threat from poachers, who killed three of the animals last month alone.

At a meeting in Hua Hin, Thailand, in January, ministers from 13 countries where Asian tigers are still found in the wild committed themselves to doubling the wild tiger population to about 7,000 by 2022 and protecting their fast-diminishing habitats.

The countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam - are scheduled to meet again for a tiger summit planned for September in Vladivostok, Russia, to map out their plans for saving the species.

There were an estimated 100,000 wild tigers in Asia 100 years ago, but now about 3,500 are left.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321123,tigress-gives-birth-to-quadruplets-at-thai-nature-reserve.html.

EU police raid Kosovo ministry, official's home

Pristina, Kosovo - The European Union's law-enforcing mission in Kosovo raided the Transport Ministry in what it said was an investigation ordered by a special prosecutor.

Several dozen officers from the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, or Eulex, carried out boxes apparently filled with documents Wednesday from the ministry as Italian carabinieri armed with machine guns guarded the premises.

Local media reports said the investigation might be targeting corrupt officials.

Transport Minister Fatmir Limaj said he was not aware of the reason behind the searches.

"It seems that some investigations are ongoing as in any other place," said Limaj, a former rebel fighter against Serb security forces who was cleared of war crime accusations by a United Nations tribunal in 2005.

Limaj said he and other officials were extending cooperation to Eulex investigators but insisted that he had not been "summoned or notified" about the raid.

Police also raided the house of the ministry's chief procurement officer, Nexhat Krasniqi, local reports said late Wednesday. His lawyer confirmed that the raid occurred and that "some things" were removed from Krasniqi's home.

Kosovo, with a large Albanian majority, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after NATO ousted Belgrade's forces from the Serb province to end ethnic repression and bloodshed. A UN administration governed Kosovo in the meantime.

The United States and most EU nations have been among the 67 countries to recognize Kosovo's independence.

The EU deployed Eulex with around 2,000 police as well as judicial, customs and other law-enforcement experts to Kosovo in 2008 to help it begin establishing the rule of law.

Kosovo remains plagued by organized crime and corruption despite international efforts and the end of its conflict more than a decade ago.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321130,eu-police-raid-kosovo-ministry-officials-home.html.

Latvian parliament approves new foreign minister

Riga - Parliamentarians in Latvia approved the appointment of a new foreign minister Thursday - ending more than a month of uncertainty surrounding one of the most important jobs in government.

The new foreign minister is Aivis Ronis, a non-partisan career diplomat who has previously served as Latvia's ambassador to the United Nations and NATO. Ronis has said previously he would take the job only until a general election in October as he has no desire to enter politics.

Incumbent foreign minister Maris Riekstins had carried on in the job in a caretaker capacity after submitting his resignation along with three other ministers on March 22 when his political party decided to withdraw from the coalition government of Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis.

Speaking to MPs ahead of the vote on Ronis' appointment, Dombrovskis said Latvia needed to resolve the issue to maintain its international standing.

Ronis won the backing of parliament with 90 votes in favor, no votes against and one abstention.

However, two other top positions at the health and justice ministries remain vacant while the resignation of Edgars Zalans at the regional development ministry led to the liquidation of the ministry.

The approval of Ronis as foreign minister will provide some cheer to Dombrovskis' increasingly embattled minority government.

A parliamentary vote on April 15 on the re-appointment of prosecutor general Janis Maizitis produced a shock result when his candidacy was rejected in a secret ballot.

Yet both before and after the vote, a majority of MPs claimed they had supported him, making it clear that many of them had simply lied, a situation Dombrovskis described as "shameful."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321147,latvian-parliament-approves-new-foreign-minister.html.

Indonesian president unlikely to attend G-15 Summit in Tehran: spokesperson

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has stated on Thursday that he may not come to the G-15 Summit in Tehran in May after receiving the official invitation letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a presidential palace spokesperson said here.

Indonesia is part of the G-15 group, whose members have expanded to 18 developing countries including Iran, Mexico, Venezuela, Egypt, India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

Iran accepted G-15's presidency Non-Aligned Summit Meeting in Havana in 2006.

"The invitation letter has been received well, and the President has immediately read it. He said he would consider Indonesia's attendance in the summit, but would take into account his already-planned schedules," Indonesia presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal was quoted by the JakartaPost.com as saying.

The invitation was delivered personally by Iranian Communication and Information Technology Minister Reza Taghipour Anvari during his meeting with Indonesian president earlier on Thursday.

"The President has planned for some foreign visits this May," Dino said.

The Indonesian president is reportedly planning to visit Singapore and Malaysia in mid May, around the same time with the 14th G-15 Summit scheduled for May 17.

Dino added that during the meeting with the Iranian minister, President Yudhoyono was pleased with two-way trade between Indonesia and Iran, which has reached 900 million U.S. dollars in term of value.

"And we expect to boost the figure to exceed 1 billion U.S. dollars in the near future," Dino added.

President Yudhoyono, according to Dino, also hoped that Indonesia can further boost its economic cooperation especially in the field of investment.

Indonesia's state-owned telecommunication firm PT Telkom is presently seeking the way to invest in Iran's telecommunication sector, and this is welcomed by the Iranian government, as expressed by Anvari, Dino said.

"And then there are the refinery project in Banten, and fertilizer manufacturer project in Iran that are expected to be continued and realized," Dino said, referring to projects operated by Indonesian and Iranian businesses in the two respective countries.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6968067.html.

'Iran, Turkey stand together'

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran and Turkey have common interests and stand together in the international arena to carry out “constructive missions.”

“Safeguarding the security of the region and making joint efforts to affect the world order in a positive way are the main responsibilities of the two countries,” Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday during a meeting with the new Turkish ambassador to Iran, Umit Yardim.

Ahmadinejad stated that Iran and Turkey have common interests and have adopted “very similar” stances toward international issues, IRNA reported.

Iran and Turkey are the most reliable countries for all the world's Muslims and they are helping to realize the goals of Islam, he added.

Ambassador Yardim, who presented his credentials to the Iranian president at the meeting, said that Turkey is determined to boost its ties with Iran.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124787§ionid=351020101.

Thieves steal 2 more busts in Tehran

Serial thieves stealing bronze statues across the Iranian capital of Tehran carry on with their raid on the city's cultural identity by stealing two more busts.

Thieves stole the bronze bust of Ali Shariati, an Iranian intellectual, and the artistic statue of Mother and Child located in Shahrak-e Gharb neighborhood.

The recent thefts come as officials confirmed earlier that six bronze busts of social celebrities had been stolen since the start of New Year holidays in Tehran.

The bronze sculpture of the Iranian contemporary poet, Mohammad Hossein Shahriar, was the first bust to be stolen from the courtyard of Tehran's City Theater.

Busts of Sattar Khan and Baqer Khan were the next targets which were taken off their pedestals on the streets of Tehran. The two figures are Iranian freedom fighters and key figures in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.

"They mostly smash the statues into smaller pieces or melt them for easy sale," Tehran Municipality's Statue Office Director Mojtaba Mousavi told Fars news agency on Tuesday.

"Such thieves are mostly looking for the bronze metal's value regardless of the role such statues play in representing the identity of the country," he added.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124823§ionid=351020105.

Palestine youth urge Israeli boycott

Palestinian students and youth groups across West Bank and Gaza have signed a petition calling for a massive boycott of Israeli products and programs.

The document, endorsed by more than 40 Palestinian university councils and youth groups, demanded a ban on any "economic, political, cultural and institutional" activities that could normalize relations between Palestine and Israel.

Such activities would "legitimize Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people by giving the appearance of normalcy to the relationship between oppressor and oppressed," a statement from the student groups said.

The declaration further condemned Israel for stealing Palestinian lands and preventing Palestinian refugees from returning to their homeland, describing the measure as being "in contravention of international law and numerous UN resolutions."

They also vowed to reject "any Israeli-Palestinian meetings that do not recognize our inalienable rights, and explicitly aim to resist Israel's occupation, colonization and apartheid."

The communique further described a series of measures the students intended to take before May 15th, when Palestinians mark the Day of Nakba.

The occasion commemorates the displacement of some 750,000 Palestinians during the occupation of Palestine in 1948, which led to the formation of Israel.

Israeli aggression has forced millions of Palestinians into exile, of whom a UN-estimated 4.7 million currently live in camps in the occupied West Bank and neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124831§ionid=351020202.

Iran's 1st VP visits Syria

Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi arrives in Damascus to attend the 12th Joint Commission of the two countries.

Before his departure, Rahimi told reporters at the Mehrabad International Airport on Thursday that the two-day visit comes at the invitation of Syrian Prime Minister Naji Otri.

Rahimi and Otri co-chair the meeting of the Joint Commission. The commission is aimed at developing economic, political and cultural relations between the two countries.

It is also tasked with following up on the implementation of the agreements previously reached between the two sides.

Rahimi said that several cooperation pacts were to be signed on the sidelines of the meeting.

During the visit, Rahimi will also meet top Syrian officials and will convey the message of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.

A number of Iranian lawmakers and deputy ministers, as well as several businessmen, accompany Rahimi on his trip to Syria.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124824§ionid=351020101.

Al-Quds mayor denies settlement halt

Israeli authorities dismiss recent media reports announcing a settlement freeze had been ordered in East Jerusalem (al-Quds).

The Israeli media reported earlier in the week a direct order from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against new construction in East al-Quds under US pressure for a settlement freeze on occupied Palestinian lands.

However, the Israeli mayor of al-Quds, Nir Barkat, issued an uncompromising message on the issue in a Washington visit, dashing hopes of any halt to the settlement expansion plans.

"There's no freeze," he said during his tour of the US Congress on Wednesday. "There's a demand from Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem to build, and we're not going to stop it. It's illegal to stop it."

He acknowledged a "slowdown" in construction works amid widespread condemnation from the international community which came as a result of Israel's approval of plans for 1,600 new settlement units in East al-Quds in March.

Washington had a major share of the criticism as the Israeli Interior Ministry's announcement came during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden, who was in the region to help promote indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Republican congressmen, Barkat said East al-Quds construction has been paused out of respect for the US, adding that workers were now "back to business."

Meanwhile, the Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee plans to convene a meeting next week, its first since the start of the settlement row in March.

Israel has so far ignored calls by Palestinians and the US for a halt to settlement activities in the West Bank and, in particular, al-Quds, which it claims as its "eternal, indivisible" capital.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124820§ionid=351020202.

Baloch rebels kill Pakistani professor

A female professor at Pakistan's Balochistan University in Quetta has been killed in a drive-by shooting while traveling in a rickshaw.

Local police said gunmen shot assistant professor of mass communication Nazima Talib, 50, in Pakistan's troubled province of Balochistan on Tuesday.

Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the murder, declaring that the attack was in retaliation for the killing of two Baloch women in Quetta and Pasni as well as the torture of female political workers in Mand and Tump.

Balochistan is Pakistan's poorest and most neglected province, where armed Baloch rebels carry out acts of terrorism with the aim of achieving greater autonomy inside the country.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124816§ionid=351020401.

Iran FM highlights SAARC ties

Iran says the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) offers a good opportunity for regional cooperation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki made the remark at the 16th SAARC Summit in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu.

Mottaki said that the organization had the potential to provide a suitable chance for cooperation in a spirit of mutual understanding.

He said that Iran's bonds with SAARC member states went beyond political and economic issues and were rooted in history.

Founded in 1985, SAARC is an economic and political organization of eight countries in Southern Asia, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

Iran joined SAARC as an observer in 2008 and has expressed its desire to become a member of the organization.

According to Mottaki, Iran's trade transactions with members of the organization surpass $15 billion.

He said that Iran was keen to develop its ties with the member states. He added that Iran was seeking welfare, economic development, as well as justice and security for regional countries.

In his address, Mottaki also touched on the issue of terrorism. He said that the fight against terrorism must be neither discriminatory nor politically motivated.

He said that Tehran was planning to host an international conference on terrorism in September.

Iran, China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Mauritius, Australia, Myanmar and the European Union have attended the SAARC Summit as observers.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124834§ionid=351020101.

UN's Ban shows bias on nuclear issue

UN Secretary General urges Tehran to convince "international community" on its nuclear drive, while ignoring US declared nuclear threat against Iran.

Ban Ki-moon accused Tehran of not satisfying international concerns over the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, as he welcomed the planned participation of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the upcoming UN meeting to review the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) next Monday in New York, according to a Wednesday report in the major US daily The New York Times.

While expressing optimism for President Ahmadinejad to offer constructive proposals in resolving Iran's nuclear issue at the meeting, Ban commended recent US-Russia agreement to reduce a small part of their vast nuclear arsenals describing it as a model for the rest of the world.

The Obama administration recently crafted the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), under which the US commits to not using nuclear weapons against any NPT member states that do not possess nuclear warheads, with the exception of Iran and North Korea.

The NPR was met with instant condemnation in Iran, which has been a signatory of the NPT since 1968 and has repeatedly insisted on the need for global elimination of all nuclear weapons.

Nevertheless, the US nuclear threat against two UN members, on the backdrop of using the mass-destructive weapon against two Japanese cities, did not grab the attention of the UN Secretary General.

Non-nuclear states believe nuclear capable world powers use the treaty to keep their club exclusive, while the peaceful use of nuclear technology is the right of all nations.

Iran says its nuclear program is totally peaceful and subjected to unlimited extraordinary inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has found no deviation in Iran's civilian nuclear program.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124836§ionid=351020104.

Rain in the Arctic worries explorers

Amid major concerns about global warming, a three-minute rain shower hits the North Pole, proving that the Arctic is heating up.

British explorers in Canada's Far North reported that the rain shower hit the team's ice base off Ellef Rignes Island last weekend.

"It's definitely a shocker. The general feeling within the polar community is that rainfall in the high Canadian Arctic in April is a freak event," said Pen Hadow, the team's expedition director.

"Scientists would tell us that we can expect increasingly to experience these sorts of outcomes as the climate warms," he told Reuters in a telephone interview from London.

Global warming has increased the number of weather-related disasters over the past two decades.

Floods in South Asia and across the breadth of Africa and Mexico have affected lives of more than 250 million people. Melting sea ice would cause sea levels to rise, which endangers the lives of many species.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124837§ionid=3510208.

2 Turkish soldiers killed in PKK clash

Two soldiers have been killed in fresh military operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in southeastern Turkey.

The clashes took place on Wednesday when the members of the military patrolling Semdinli district of Hakkari province came across a group of PKK members. The militants opened fire when demanded to surrender.

No casualty figures have been reported on the PKK terrorists.

Military forces then engaged in a fierce firefight with the terrorists, leading to the killing of two Turkish soldiers and wounding of three others. Turkish army helicopters later provided aerial cover for its forces to carry out an operation in the area, CNN Turk reported.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community, including Turkey, Iran, the US, and European Union member states.

More than 40,000 people have lost their lives since the PKK launched its armed campaign against Ankara in 1984 as part of a quest to establish a separate socialist Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey.

Turkish fighter jets frequently shell PKK strongholds in the jagged mountains of northern Iraq.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124812§ionid=351020204.

California county bans toys at fast food outlets

San Francisco - The California county of Santa Clara has become the first in the US to ban toys and other promotions designed to entice children to consume high-calorie meals at fast food outlets.

The Board of Supervisors voted to ban the long-standing giveaways with children's meals that exceed set levels of calories, fat, sugar and salt. Violations can be punished at up to 1,000 dollars per meal.

"This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes," the law's author, Supervisor Ken Yeager said at the vote Tuesday night. "Obviously, toys in and of themselves do not make children obese. But it is unfair to parents and children to use toys to capture the tastes of children when they are young and get them hooked on eating high-sugar, high-fat foods early in life."

Implementation of the ban will be delayed for 90 days to allow restaurants to comply with the new law, which applied to all children's meals that contain more than 485 calories, derive more than 35 percent of their calories from fat or 10 per cent from added sweeteners, or have more than 600 milligrams of sodium. The totals are based on children's health standards set by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The California Restaurant Association, whose members include chains such as McDonalds and Burger King, said the ban represented unwanted government intrusion into people's lives.

"Ultimately, parents decide what their children eat and whether a meal includes a toy or not - that is the role of a parent," said Jot Condie, president of the California Restaurant Association. "The county government does not need to serve as the parent of the parents."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321058,california-county-bans-toys-at-fast-food-outlets.html.

First US wind farm approved off Massachusetts coastline

Washington - President Barack Obama's administration on Wednesday approved construction of the first offshore US wind farm near the Massachusetts coastline, backing a project fiercely opposed by locals, including the state's late senator Ted Kennedy.

The Cape Wind project is to be built in federal waters near the state's upscale island of Cape Cod. The wind turbines would be visible from many of the exclusive villas on the island, including that of the Kennedy family.

Locals have spent nearly 10 years trying to thwart the 1-billion- dollar wind farm, which could produce up to 468 megawatts of electricity. The Interior Department, which approved the project, said it constituted one of the largest greenhouse-gas reducing efforts in the United States.

"After almost a decade of exhaustive study and analyzes, I believe that this undertaking can be developed responsibly and with consideration to the historic and cultural resources in the project area," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry said he could "accept and support" the decision, but the project still faces legal challenges in state courts.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321070,first-us-wind-farm-approved-off-massachusetts-coastline.html.

Search for life to shape future space exploration

Washington - The search for life will be a key part of future space exploration, a scientist involved in reviewing scientific endeavors in space said Wednesday.

Steve Squyres, a scientist at Cornell University who has been a key researcher on the Mars rover project, said an ongoing once-a- decade review of solar system science to recommend projects to NASA has developed a long-list of potential projects focused on the search for life in space.

"Astrobiology is really central to what we should be doing next in exploration," he told reporters.

Possible missions include a Mars trace gas orbiter to study methane in the Martian atmosphere, which could be a byproduct of life; a three-step mission to bring rock and dirt samples from Mars back to Earth; an orbiter with radar to look for signs of a possible liquid ocean under the ice of Jupiter's Europa moon; and an orbiter to visit Saturn's Titan moon.

The review of possible projects should be completed later this year after scientists narrow down their wish list of possible expeditions.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321082,search-for-life-to-shape-future-space-exploration.html.

Venezuelan President Chavez in Brazil to meet Lula

Brasilia - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived in Brasilia Wednesday to meet his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Chavez and Lula were to discuss various energy-related joint projects and seek common ground ahead of the summit of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) that is set to take place next Tuesday in Buenos Aires.

This is the first meeting between the two since the Brazilian Senate in December ratified Venezuela's admission to the Mercosur South American trade bloc, which had long been delayed and had caused tensions between the two countries.

Trade between Brazil and Venezuela amounts to 4.2 billion dollars per year, with a surplus of 3 billion dollars in Brazil's favor.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321084,venezuelan-president-chavez-in-brazil-to-meet-lula.html.

Ahmadinejad applies for US visa for UN nuclear meeting - Summary

New York - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has applied for a visa to attend a nuclear nonproliferation conference at the United Nations in New York next month, US officials confirmed Wednesday.

Leaders and diplomats from dozens of countries are expected in New York beginning Monday to attend the review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty held every five years.

Iran is likely to be a major focus of the discussions as the United States and its allies are pushing for UN Security Council sanctions to punish the Islamic republic over its nuclear activities.

US Ambassador Susan Rice confirmed that the application has been filed, but did not say whether the US Department of State would grant the visa. US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said Ahmadinejad would likely be allowed to attend.

"I don't think that we are going to stand in the way," he told reporters in Washington.

The visas application for Ahmadinejad and his delegation were presented to the US embassy in Bern, Crowley said.

The three-week review conference at UN headquarters in New York will open on Monday. About 30 foreign ministers, including US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, are already set to address the conference.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321086,ahmadinejad-applies-for-us-visa-for-un-nuclear-meeting--summary.html.

Settler Sewage Ruins Palestinian Crops, Drinking Water

By Mel Frykberg

BEIT UMMAR, West Bank, Apr 28, 2010 (IPS) - Residents of this Palestinian village refuse to buy the idea that the flood of raw sewage from the adjacent Israeli settlement of Kfar Etzion, that destroyed vineyards and contaminated their drinking water, was an accident.

The Israeli Civil Administration, which administers the occupied West Bank, claims the spillage was the result of an accidental power malfunction which caused excess settlement sewage to overflow onto Palestinian land.

"This was no mistake," says a British activist who has been documenting life in the village for several months. "The pipe was deliberately unscrewed by hand so that the sewage would spill over into Beit Ummar. That has nothing to do with an electricity cut," he told IPS.

Villagers standing near a completely destroyed 70,000 sq m vineyard belonging to the Sabarneh family said they believe it was a deliberate act of sabotage and part of a concerted campaign by the settlers to harass their Palestinian neighbors and vandalize their property.

Beit Ummar has been the target of a number of Israeli military raids at night last month. Activists who have been organizing non-violent protests against the expropriation of their land for the settlements have been arrested and the village blockaded.

In a similar incident last week the Palestinian village of Bruqin, in the northern West Bank, was flooded with sewage from the nearby Ariel settlement, causing contamination of underground water and springs and damaging crops.

These incidents are part of a larger problem of scarce water resources where a Palestinian population of 2.5 million survives on 17 percent of the West Bank’s main underground aquifer.

The remaining water is channeled towards the West Bank’s (including East Jerusalem) 500,000 Israeli settlers, and into Israel proper.

The water shortage is compounded by the lack of wastewater treatment plants and inefficient treatment of waste and sewage in the Palestinian territory which fouls its water sources.

Israeli rights group B’tselem released a study last year called ‘Foul Play: Neglect of wastewater treatment in the West Bank’.

According to the organization, more than 90 percent of Palestinian wastewater is not treated while only 20 percent of Palestinian homes, primarily in towns and cities, are connected to sewerage systems.

Furthermore, only 81 of 121 illegal Israeli settlements are connected to wastewater treatment facilities. Over half of the settlements’ treatment plants are too small to treat waste effectively and are ill-equipped to handle the burgeoning settler population.

The result is continual technical breakdowns and sewage overflow. Most of the settlements are situated on ridges and hilltops so sewage flows down towards the Palestinian villages and towns in the valleys below, contaminating their drinking water supplies and destroying their crops.

The Israeli settlers are not affected by this as they are connected to Israel’s water supply.

The planning and building authorities in the settlements and Israeli industrial areas also ignore Jordanian building and planning laws which govern how wastewater is to be treated in the West Bank.

The B’tselem report further outlines the neglect of the territory’s water treatment plants by the Israeli Civil Administration during the decades of occupation and the current difficulties faced by Palestinian Authority (PA) water officials in trying to build new wastewater treatment plants or repair the old ones.

There is currently only one wastewater treatment plant operating in the West Bank in Ramallah. Three others have ceased to function and the PA has been unable to repair them or build new ones.

The West Bank is divided into Area A, which is under Palestinian control, Area B under joint Palestinian and Israeli control, and Area C which is under full Israeli control.

Area C comprises 60 percent of the West Bank. Areas A and B are mostly built up with little free land available.

However, in order to move around or build new wastewater treatment plants in Area C Palestinian officials from the PA Environment Authority require building permits from the Israeli Civil Administration.

B’tselem and PA officials complain of the delays these officials face in getting building approval if they get them at all.

"There is an enormous amount of red tape and bureaucracy that Palestinian officials have to overcome before they get the permits," says Eyal Hareuveni, the author of the B’tselem report.

"The Israeli Civil Administration says that the Palestinians don’t provide the necessary detailed building plans as they have been instructed but I think the administration is being deliberately difficult," Hareuveni told IPS.

Issa Moussa from the PA’s Environmental Authority denied that the PA provided insufficient details.

"We have the case of wanting to build a new wastewater treatment plant in Tulkarem in the northern West Bank. We provided absolutely everything requested but we were still waiting for a permit," Moussa told IPS.

Other difficulties facing the more efficient handling of wastewater are the restrictions placed on Palestinian movement in the West Bank by the Israeli military. This has led to increased costs for donors who support wastewater projects and who in turn have cut down on their expenditure.

A Joint Water Committee between Israel and the PA was established following the Oslo Peace Accord of 1993, to address water issues.

One of the disputes between the sides is the Israeli insistence that settlement sewage be connected to future Palestinian wastewater treatment plants.

The Palestinians reject this as this implies that the settlements are permanent and say their refusal to approve this condition is one of the reasons for approval being withheld on the construction of wastewater plants.

With no higher authority to settle the disagreement the situation will only worsen in the future.

"Neither side seems to be making the urgent issue of water and waste treatment a priority," Hareuveni told IPS.

Source: IPS.
Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51228.

New Head of Al-Azhar Quits Party Politics

By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani

CAIRO, Apr 28, 2010 (IPS) - When Ahmed al-Tayeb, the newly-appointed grand sheikh of Egypt's prestigious Al-Azhar religious institution, relinquished his membership in President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), it carried significance.

"The government thought it better if the new grand sheikh distanced himself from the ruling party so it could not be accused of mixing religion with politics - which is exactly what it accuses the Muslim Brotherhood [opposition group] of doing," Abdel Menaam Mounib, Islamic affairs expert at the independent daily Al-Dustour, told IPS.

The resignation came despite earlier statements by al-Tayeb in which he insisted that there was "no contradiction whatsoever" between his new position and membership in the NDP. "It is not expected that the grand sheikh, or any other government official, oppose the regime," he was quoted as saying on Mar. 21.

Nevertheless, on Apr. 11, Mubarak accepted his resignation from the party. Notably, al-Tayeb had also been a member of the NDP's extremely influential Political Office, which is largely responsible for drawing up party policy.

Mubarak officially appointed the Sorbonne-educated al-Tayeb as grand sheikh on Mar. 19 following the death of the previous head of Al-Azhar, Mohamed Sayyid Tantawi, nine days earlier. Al-Tayeb quickly declared his intention to "focus on reinforcing national unity and inter-civilisational dialogue" and to "work on maintaining Al-Azhar's status as the main point of reference for Muslims worldwide."

Al-Tayeb is hardly a stranger to Al-Azhar: since 2003, he had served as president of Al-Azhar University, and had briefly served as Egypt's mufti - the nation's premiere authority on Islamic Law - prior to that.

Although its influence has waned in recent decades, Al-Azhar has traditionally been seen as the most authoritative seat of Islamic learning and jurisprudence in the Sunni Muslim world. Along with a world-renowned university, the institute includes a famous mosque and a far-flung network of schools.

Al-Azhar is funded largely by the government and its top positions are appointed directly by the President. The grand sheikh maintains the post until death.

Tantawi, who had run Al-Azhar since 1996, drew frequent criticism - both from the public and from fellow Muslim scholars - for his unabashed support of unpopular government policies.

In 2003, when the French government banned Islamic headscarves in public institutions, Tantawi simply told French Muslims to comply with the diktat. In 2008, Tantawi drew fire for shaking hands with Shimon Peres - he later claimed not to have recognized the Israeli leader - at a UN- sponsored interfaith meeting in New York.

Last year, Tantawi outraged much of the public when he attempted to ban female students at Al-Azhar University from wearing the niqab, the full Islamic face veil. And in January of this year, the late grand sheikh formally sanctioned construction of an underground steel wall on Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, which critics fear will seal the fate of the strip's besieged population.

Echoing a common perception, prominent Egyptian columnist Fahmy Howeidy was recently quoted in the state press as saying that Tantawi "used to fear the regime more than he feared God."

But according to Mounib, Tantawi's pro-government orientation was simply a reflection of the fact that, for almost 50 years, Al-Azhar's leadership has been firmly controlled by the state.

"The grand sheikh of Al-Azhar is hardly an independent position," said Mounib. "Since 1961, the grand sheikh - along with other top positions in Al-Azhar - has been appointed directly by the president, which has effectively turned it into a government organization."

Previously, the grand sheikh had been elected by a committee of senior clergymen, which had guaranteed him a measure of independence from the temporal ruler.

In light of these circumstances, says Mounib, the grand sheikh's relationship with the government - controlled for decades by Mubarak's NDP- is largely dependent on his personal strength of character.

"If he has a strong personality, he can use his standing to take positions at variance with those of the state," Mounib explained. He pointed to previous grand sheikhs, such as Abdel Halim Mahmoud in the 1970s and Gad al-Haq in the 1990s, "both of whom espoused positions opposed to those of the government."

"As for al-Tayeb, it's still too early to tell whether he will be like Mahmoud and al-Haq or like Tantawi," Mounib added.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition movement - currently bearing the brunt of a seasonal crackdown at the hands of the ruling regime - is likewise adopting a wait-and-see approach vis-à-vis Al-Azhar's new headman.

"We haven't taken a position on him yet. We're giving him a chance," official brotherhood spokesman Essam al-Arian told IPS. "But we hope that he manages to revive Al-Azhar's lost standing in the Muslim world."

"I suspect al-Tayeb will prove different from his predecessor," added al-Arian. "Since his appointment, he has overturned some of the more controversial decrees issued by Tantawi. He has already issued a decision to teach all four schools of Sunni Islam at Al-Azhar, overturning Tantawi's earlier insistence on limiting studies exclusively to the Shefai School."

In an Apr. 15 statement, Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie -- himself elected by the brotherhood's upper echelons only three months ago -- appeared no less conciliatory towards al-Tayeb.

"We reject anything that pushes us to confrontation with Al-Azhar or the grand sheikh. Our goals are the same: to spread a moderate interpretation of Islam in society and the world," Badie declared. "We might differ with the grand sheikh of Al-Azhar on certain issues, but there is no conflict."

Source: IPS.
Link: http://www.ipsnews.net/2010/04/egypt-new-head-of-al-azhar-quits-party-politics/.

Former CIA chief in Algeria arrested by US federal officers

2010-04-28
The former CIA station chief in Algiers accused of raping two Algerian women in 2008 was arrested by US law officers on Monday (April 26th). Andrew Warren, 42, was seized in the state of Virginia for failing to check in with court officers regarding his bond status.

The CIA official was recalled to the US in October of 2008 after the women accused him of drugging and raping them at his Algiers home. A federal grand jury in Washington indicted Warren last July. He could be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/28/newsbrief-01.

Morocco ruling coalition strategises ahead of 2012 elections loom

Morocco's five-party ruling coalition engaged in some soul-searching last week, as opposition leaders offered criticisms and elections inched closer.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat — 28/04/10

Morocco's five-party ruling coalition held a mid-term self-assessment and strategy meeting on Monday (April 26th) amid heated criticism from the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM).

Party leaders discussed "everyday politics," Communications Minister Khalid Naciri said, but the minister denied that they held the meeting in response to PAM criticism as the 2012 legislative elections approach.

The meetings are "part of the cut-and-thrust of events-driven everyday politics, while the government's activities are based on a wide-ranging approach that extends beyond the current circumstances", Naciri said.

PAM wants to push the Istiqlal Party (PI) aside by 2012, political analyst Rahma Mandouri said, so that it can join coalition members the National Rally of Independents (RNI), the Popular Movement (MP), and the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP).

"[PI] would thus find itself forced to work alongside the Justice and Development Party, with which it shares the same conservative ideology," Mandouri said.

PAM has criticized the coalition's ability to co-ordinate its work. The coalition's lack of consistency "raises questions about the government's ability to run major projects, to push through far-reaching political reform and to meet the challenges facing Morocco," PAM secretary general Cheikh Biadillah said April 22nd.

PAM's leader in the Chamber of Councilors has even revived the 2002 "al-Najat" affair, in which 60,000 job-seekers were swindled by a fictitious Emirati company. The scam took place while Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, a PI leader, was employment minister. El Fassi has denied responsibility for failing to stop the crime, saying that all the required legal guarantees were in place.

Participants in the coalition strategy session offered up some self-criticism, and some praise.

RNI head Salah Eddine Mezouar called for better co-ordination and more team-work, as opposed to individual efforts.

Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, meanwhile, expressed satisfaction with the government's achievements to date. Nevertheless, he called for better co-ordination between the government and law-makers, as well as more meetings to resolve misunderstandings and achieve unity.

Morocco's political parties will face a real challenge in 2012, political analyst Mandouri said: mobilizing masses of voters who have spurned the ballot box.

The political analyst told Magharebia that this would only happen if there were "clear and logical" alliances based on ideology, which would give voters an obvious choice.

"Unnatural alliances are one of the reasons for the public's disaffection with political life," she said.

Law student Amine Idrissi agreed.

"We're waiting to see clear distinctions emerging: left, right and center. We hope this will happen … between now and the 2012 legislative elections", he said. "The public needs to vote on a program, and not on a party that will then be unable to move its electoral program forward because of illogical prior allegiances."

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/04/28/feature-01.

Austrian MP: ''Kadyrov is one of biggest terrorists, Putin is his mentor, FSB terrorists have training camps in Austria''

The Austrian state news agency APA reported that a member of the Austrian Parliament and the Speaker of the Green Party, Peter Pilz, speaking to reporters in Vienna on Wednesday, said that "Kadyrov is one of the biggest terrorists, and Putin is his mentor".

The Austrian MP sharply criticized the current Austrian government of for collaboration with Russian terrorists in the country.

Mr Pilz said the Austrian Interior Minister Mrs Maria Fekter, who is responsible for the political police in Austria, protects Russian terrorists.

Things have gone so far that Russian terrorists from the FSB gang are now being trained in Austria in special camps by the Austrian secret police, testified the MP.

Agreements on the training of Russian FSB terrorists by the Austrians have been signed by the former Austrian Interior Minister Ernst Strasser.

Mrs Fekter refused to show these secret agreements to members of the Austrian Parliament.

Mr Peter Pilz demanded that Mrs Fekter tells why she protects the "killer president" Kadyrov. Mr Pilz also said that she's doing so because of Putin, for political reasons.

The MP noted that it is a scandal, when Kadyrov was not directly and openly accused of the murder of the Chechen refugee Israilov, but instead the police speaks only about some evidence against him. Thus 2 pictures of Kadyrov have been found in a cell phone of one of Israilov's murderers.

The murder of Mr Israilov could have been prevented, Mr Pilz says. A Chechen informer of the secret police told authorities that he had been ordered to kill Israilov.

The Austrian MP said that he spoke on the phone with this political asylum seeker after his expulsion from Austria in 2009. He was in Russia then and told Mr Peter Pilz that he feared for his life after he notified the Austrian secret police about plans to kill Mr Israilov.

However, instead of providing protection for him, the police began harassing him, so that he leaves Austria. According to information from Russia, the man is already dead now.

Another informant of the Austrian secret police, which is officially called the Federal Agency for Protection of Constitution and Counter Terrorism (BVT), was, according to Mr Pilz, killed in Azerbaijan in 2009.

It is to be mentioned that the Austrian state news agency APA, apparently in order to appease Putin and Russia, distorted the name of the international terrorist organization, operating in Austria. It gave the name of the Russian gang as the SFB instead of the FSB.

A typing error is out of question, since there are not other errors in the text. "Lack of knowledge" is also excluded, since the name of these bloody terrorists, vile murderers and rapists is well known to every journalist in the world, as previously the KGB.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/04/28/11963.shtml.

KATYN 2. FSB killer team needed 15 minutes to finish off the survived Poles

New information about the Russian massacre in the forest near Katyb on 10 April 2010 has been reported from Poland by Austrian journalist Jane Burgermeister:

* "A black box recovered from the wreckage of the plane that crashed in Smolensk killing the Polish President and key military and civilian officials stopped at 8:41 am, and not at 8:56 am, which is the time point given so far by officials.

An electric pylon in the crash zone also stopped transmitting power at 8:39 on April 10th, corroborating the notion that the Tupolev crashed about 15 minutes earlier than official accounts.

Russian investigators examining one of the black boxes called MARS BM found that it stopped at 8:41, Poland's onet.pl reports.

It has also emerged that there were 4 black boxes (now 5 - KC) in the Tupolev and not three as stated originally by officials.

The discrepancy between the official version of the time point when the crash occurred and the actual time of the crash 15 minutes earlier will fuel speculation that the crash was engineered and a cover up is in progress.

A video with four gunshots has surfaced apparently showing surviving members of the crew being shot as part of a clean up operation that could have been performed in the 15 minute time gap.

The Polish and Russian governments have postponed releasing details of the black boxes", journalist, who is conducting her own journalistic investigation of a new massacre near Smolensk, wrote.

Meanwhile, the Polish reader of KC, Sebastian, sent a letter reporting information that had previously been seen on the Polish forums. He writes:

* "Hello!

Firstly sorry for my bad English, but I think you will understand the meaning of my letter. I have something to say about your text "KATYN 2. Polish opposition party demands international investigation into plane crash".

Polish Journalist W. Bater who informed about Polish plane crash with words:

"I have phone called on 8:40 and the crash happened 4 min before it (10.04.10). When the new facts were found out on last Friday he "has found that his phone call was on 8:49".

That's not all! Yesterday (on Sunday) we had in two biggest news stations (Polsat and TVN) another wave of brutal propaganda about President Kachinsky ostensibly forcing pilot to land like in 2008 - even in the light of fact that there was only one landing attempt.

One last thing is Gazeta Wyborcza and their internet site:

I'll translate important things.

"Presidential plane crashed at Smolensk airport. No one survived, said gubernator of Smolensk". It's nothing special but time of posting this news is very interest 2010-04-10 08:38. (thanks for Google search by date on that website). How could they know that before firemen arrive there?

Gazeta Wyborcza is the biggest news paper in Poland and their manipulate methods are well know from years (probably friends of Russia by things which their doing especially now).

They were trying to create manifestation against funeral of president in Vavele and wave of attacks meant up was also their fault. This tabloid has big field to manipulate and they are showing it now because they start this another wave of attacks.

Why this time journalists were in different plane? I think they are know something and they can be implicated in the case. Like I said they're doing it from years and its not only the GW but also Polsat, TVN and others.

They ridicule anti-Russians and praise Russian friends like Donald Tusk and his party which really doesn't have any plan and doing nothing from years in Polish parliament. Thanks for read my few thoughts.

Sebastian from Poland.

On attempts of the mainstream press to shade the next bloody crime of Russians has also reported by our Estonian reader sending a letter to the editor of Kavkaz Center. He writes:

* "Greetings from Estonia!

I often read your site. Very good information. The main thing that you're writing the truth, almost no lies (we try as much as possible to use the information from Russian terrorists, so-called "Russian media", have not been confirmed by the independent sources - KC).

I feel that this is an international conspiracy. For example, here in Estonia, is too, bow before the Russians and Putin. That would not bring good to anyone....

Tiit

Meanwhile, the Poles have made another examination of the video file with the shooting of survived passengers of the plane. In zoomed version are clearly seen the KGB terrorists and survivors, who were then finished off.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/04/28/11964.shtml.

CENSORSHIP. Social network Facebook removes page of Taliban and al-Zawahiri

26 April 2010

According to democratic west media, the administration of social network Facebook has removed two pages of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and one page of al-Zawahiri as stabilization of democracy and unification; political views and ideology expressed there do not correspond to a prescribed and ordered people to think way in mature democracy.

Facebook administration did not report how to combine their ongoing censorship and repressions against dissenters with rights to freedom of speech recorded in so called "Democratic constitutions".

Videos of military operations of mujahedeen against the Western invaders in Afghanistan were posted on al-Zawahiri's page.

Western media reported that the page of al-Zawahiri could be opened through the site of IEA "The voice of Jihad", but it is turned off everywhere, apparently in order of further democratization of Western society.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/04/26/11957.shtml.

Hezbollah vows 'diplomatic' solution in Egypt row

2010-04-29
Nasrallah: Egypt's jail sentence shows hardships faced by members seeking to help Palestinians.

BEIRUT - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed to seek a "diplomatic and political way out" after an Egyptian court's conviction of 26 men for plotting attacks in Egypt on behalf of his Lebanese group, a charge which he denies and says was politically motivated.

The vow echoed similar comments made a day earlier by Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

"From day one, we have said -- and I personally have said -- that these men are honorable brothers, fighters of the resistance, and not outlaws, terrorists and criminals, as the court verdict says," Nasrallah said.

"We will continue to use all political and diplomatic means to deal with this issue, give our brothers what is fair and ensure they do not remain in prison," he added.

Nasrallah said Wednesday's jailings as a "badge of honor."

"The verdicts are a badge of honor for these noble brothers of the resistance," Nasrallah said in an interview to be broadcast on Thursday by Kuwaiti television channel Al-Rai.

Nasrallah said the men had aimed to help the Palestinians and had no issue against Egypt.

"It is a source of pride to us for all Arab and Islamic peoples to know that we are detained and jailed for... standing by our brothers in Palestine and Gaza," Nasrallah said, according to a transcript of the interview released by his office.

A Cairo court on Wednesday handed down jail sentences against 26 defendants it convicted of working for a Hezbollah cell and plotting attacks against ships in the Suez Canal, among other charges.

The defendants, most of whom were detained between late 2008 and January 2009, said in a hand-written letter that they never planned attacks in Egypt.

They said they had tried to help Hamas in Gaza during Israel's devastating December 2008-January 2009 offensive against the besieged Palestinian territory.

Nasrallah admitted after the arrests were publicized that he sent a senior commander, Mohammed Yusef Mansur, alias Sami Shihab, to Egypt to support Palestinians in Gaza.

But judge Adel Abdul Salam Gomaa rejected the defense case, sending the 22 defendants who were in the dock to jail.

Four of the defendants remain at large, including the alleged Lebanese head of the cell, Mohammed Qabalan. Life sentences were handed down against three of them.

The trial reignited a war of words between Egypt, Hezbollah and Iran.

Egypt, which has no formal diplomatic ties with Iran, accuses Tehran of backing the plot.

Iran and Hezbollah say Egypt contrived the case against the men.

Hezbollah is a vocal supporter of Hamas, which is very popular among many Egyptians.

It accused Cairo of complicity in the Israeli blockade on Gaza and such accusations add to the Egyptian President's unpopularity in his own country.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=38694.

Iraq's Allawi says new polls may be needed

Allawi mulls asking UN, EU, Arab League to intervene over stalled Iraq government formation.

BAGHDAD - Iraq's general election winner on Wednesday said new parliamentary polls run by international monitors may be needed to end dangerous "political manipulation" that is endangering the country's stability.

Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya coalition said it had considered asking the United Nations, the European Union, and the Arab League to intervene amid bitter recriminations that have blocked democratic progress since the March 7 vote.

No party won an outright majority in the election and subsequent coalition talks between the leading contenders appear to have stalled, leaving the country far from ready to seat a new government.

Iraqiya leaders met on Tuesday and released a detailed list of demands which they said amounted to their last word on a row that has seen dozens of their candidates -- including one winning MP -- disqualified since the vote.

They said they would send a letter to the head of Iraq's top court, the Supreme Judicial Council, "stressing the urgency of his intervention to protect the judiciary from political influence, as this may have serious ramifications on the stability of the country."

Iraqiya also hit out at a controversial Justice and Accountability committee (JAC) and other state institutions that have made "malicious disqualifications and arrests affecting the candidates and supporters of Iraqiya."

They also "examined the option of resorting to the international community," including the members of the (UN) Security Council, EU, and states of the Arab League "to exercise their moral and legal right over the protection of the political process from any injustices and to form a caretaker government and repeat the elections in an environment free of any political manipulation."

Iraqiya's statement said intervention would be feasible as Iraq remains under the reach of Chapter Seven of the UN charter which sets out the Security Council's powers to maintain peace. Iraq was put into Chapter Seven status in 1990.

Allawi, a Shiite, had strong backing in Sunni Arab areas which led him to defeat incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, also Shiite, 91 seats to 89, in last month's election according to unofficial results.

Both need 163 seats to form a majority government.

An election official late Tuesday said a ruling on whether a further nine election winning candidates would be disqualified had been postponed until next week, in another hold-up for the process. The candidates are variously accused of links to Saddam's outlawed Baath party and military units during his reign.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=38684.