China jails lawyer accused of advising mafia defendant to lie

Beijing - A Chinese court sentenced a prominent lawyer to two and a half years in prison for giving false evidence on Friday, after a defendant in a major organized crime case accused the lawyer of having advised him to lie. The Jiangbei district court in Chongqing city found Li Zhuang guilty of "giving false evidence and inciting others to bear false witness," the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The sentence is the latest twist in the long-running saga of the trials of scores of people accused of organized crime in Chongqing.

Defendant Gong Gangmo, who is accused of leading one of the city's biggest gangs, initially claimed that he was tortured into confessing his crimes, but he later said Li had advised him to make that claim and to retract his confession.

Prosecutors reportedly said that during three visits to Gong at the Jiangbei detention center in November and December, Li urged him to "reverse his former confession and to fabricate an accusation of torture."

Beijing-based Li also incited local lawyer Wu Jiayou to bribe a police officer "in order to make the policeman to give false evidence of the fabricated allegation of torture against Gong," the agency quoted the prosecutors as saying.

Li's lawyer, Chen Youxi, said before the trial that Li would appeal if he was found guilty.

Chen said a guilty verdict against Li would "deal a heavy blow" to China's judicial system.

"Even fewer lawyers will want to represent alleged criminals. If they do, they won't work too hard," he was quoted as saying by the China Daily newspaper.

A group of lawyers had also petitioned judicial authorities to move Li's trial away from Jiangbei to a more neutral court, the newspaper said.

Gong's own trial began earlier this week on charges of leading a 34-member gang involved in murder, illegal firearms trafficking, racketeering and drug trafficking.

He could face the death penalty if convicted, although Chinese courts are often lenient if a defendant confesses and cooperates with police investigators.

In another unusual move, state broadcaster China Central Television was allowed to air an interview with Gong in which he accused Li of enticing him to lie.

"Li asked whether I had been tortured or beaten into confessing. He talked to me in a way that was full of intriguing words, winking to give me signals," Gong told the broadcaster.

Chongqing police have questioned more than 2,000 suspects during an eight-month crackdown on organized crime, including 67 alleged gang leaders and 50 government officials.

Police formally arrested more than 600 suspects, and local courts have already tried dozens of suspects, sentencing several of them to death.

Before the crackdown, Chongqing was reportedly one of China's biggest centers for weapons trafficking, while the gangs also controlled prostitution, gambling, drugs, entertainment and many local businesses, including one city bus company.

Much of the organized crime was committed under the "protective umbrellas" of corrupt local police and officials.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302656,china-jails-lawyer-accused-of-advising-mafia-defendant-to-lie.html.

Chinese factory managers hush up death of 14 people in gas blast

Beijing - The death toll in a gas explosion at an iron and steel plant in northern China has risen to 21, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. The plant management admitted that it had hushed up the deaths of 14 of the victims.

On Tuesday, seven were reported dead and nine injured.

The accident at Hebei Puyang Iron and Steel in Wu'an in Heibei province happened when gas escaped from a pipe as work was being carried out on a furnace.

Five employees were killed in another explosion caused by a gas leak at a chemicals firm in Lanzhou in Gansu province in north-west China on Thursday. One other person was missing, Xinhua reported citing the police.

Some 300 firefighters were called in to tackle the blaze. Houses just 500 meters away were not damaged but the smoke was highly toxic.

The chemical factory in Lanzhou belongs to the China National Petroleum Corporation.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302657,chinese-factory-managers-hush-up-death-of-14-people-in.html.

Malaysian churches bombed as Muslims protest Allah ruling - Summary

(NOTE): Allah is NOT the Arabic word for God, but it is the NAME of God! The Arabic word for God is different!

* * * * *

Kuala Lumpur - Three Malaysian churches were attacked Friday with firebombs, while at least two others received threats by phone, ahead of a Muslim protest against a court ruling allowing Christians to use the word Allah, church leaders said.

Several Muslim groups gathered at three major mosques around the capital to protest a High-Court ruling last week that allowed the Herald, Malaysia's main Roman Catholic newsletter, to use Allah, which is the Arabic word for God. The government had ruled last year that the word could not be used in non-Muslim publications. The three-storey Metro Tabernacle, an Assemblies of God church in suburban Kuala Lumpur, was set ablaze around midnight Thursday when two suspects smashed the windows on the ground floor and tossed in flammable materials.

Church leader Peter Yeow was quoted as saying witnesses could not stop the suspects because they sped off on a motorcycle, the Star newspaper said.

Hours later, the Protestant Life Chapel Church and Catholic Church of Assumption in Petaling Jaya, a city outside Kuala Lumpur, were attacked when homemade bombs were thrown into the church grounds.

"Our guards saw the suspects flee in a car but could not recognize them," Church of Assumption priest Philip Muthu said.

He said Friday's incident was the second such attack on the church in two months.

Nobody was hurt in the attacks although the Metro Tabernacle church suffered damage.

The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, which represents the majority of Malaysia's Protestant churches, said police had also confirmed that at least two other churches received threats by unidentified people over the phone.

"We are shocked that these attacks have taken place at these places of worship," the fellowship's secretary general, Sam Ang, said.

He said the police received reports that other churches were victims of threats on Friday, but declined to give details. Police could not be reached for comment on the phone threats.

Hundreds of Muslims held banners in Friday's protest, some reading "Do not challenge the Muslims," and chanted slogans for about half an hour before dispersing.

"We told the police," Assumption Church's Philip said. "We don't want to connect this to the Allah issue."

"We are not reading anything extra into these attacks, but of course, we needed to make a police report in light of the recent security issues," he said.

Prime Minister Najib Razak condemned the attacks, saying they would "destroy the country's harmony" and urged police to hasten investigations into finding the culprits.

Social activist Marina Mahathir urged all Muslims to condemn the attacks.

"This is not what Islam is about," said Marina, a daughter of former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad.

"The leadership must play its role and come out and tell the people not to condemn houses of worship," she was quoted as saying in the Star.

Police have said they would step up patrols around churches nationwide.

This week, the government filed an appeal against the High Court ruling, and a stay of execution has been approved until the appeal can be heard.

Non-Muslim groups have come out in opposition to the ban, saying the word Allah predates Islam and has been used by Malay-speaking Christians for decades. Critics said the ban restricts non-Muslims' freedom to practice their religion.

Multiracial Malaysia has always struggled with balancing religious and racial sensitivities. While Muslims make up the majority of its 27 million people, Malaysia is also home to large groups of Buddhists, Hindus and Christians.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302660,malaysian-churches-bombed-as-muslims-protest-allah-ruling--summary.html.

Myanmar court sentences two officials to death over leak

Yangon - A court in Insein Prison sentenced two officials to death and a businessman to 15 years in jail for revealing state secrets, officials said Friday.

Army Major Win Naing Kyaw and Foreign Ministry official Thura Kyaw were sentenced to death by the prison court on Thursday for leaking information last year about a trip to Pyongyang by a senior general, said the source who asked to remain anonymous.

Myanmar businessman Pyan Sein was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for his involvement in the case.

The three men were arrested shortly after the Thailand-based Irrawaddy Magazine published a story about a visit by General Shwe Mann, then Myanmar's third most powerful general, to Pyongyang allegedly to purchase arms and discuss tunnel-building.

The article, published last June, raised fears that Myanmar was collaborating with North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302672,myanmar-court-sentences-two-officials-to-death-over-leak.html.

Aid group calls for transparency in Sudan oil profits to avoid war

(Earth Times / dpa) Nairobi/Khartoum - The non-governmental organization Global Witness on Friday said transparency in reporting oil revenues between northern and southern Sudan was needed to prevent a new conflict between the sides. Some 2,500 people were killed in southern Sudan over the course of 2009, and that another 350,000 were left homeless.

In a report published on the fifth anniversary of the peace accord between North and South Sudan, Global Witness researcher Rosie Sharpe said a fair distribution of oil income was needed to prevent a new conflict.

Sharpe, who had written a report several months ago on irregularities in the distribution of oil revenue, said that "transparency - of which a first step is conducting an audit - will be needed for both sides to trust the agreement."

According to the peace agreement, the autonomous government of South Sudan is to receive 50 per cent of the income from the oil produced in southern facilities from the central government in Khartoum. These funds make up 98 per cent of the South Sudan's budget.

In 2009, Global Witness produced a study citing discrepancies in oil production and income figures between those given by Khartoum and those of the Chinese oil firms doing the drilling.

"Any peace agreement that specifies how revenues from natural resources should be shared must enable both sides to verify that the sharing is carried out fairly. Currently this is not the case in Sudan and this lack of transparency is fueling mistrust between the two sides," Sharpe said.

In the coming year, the population of South Sudan will vote on full independence. Should the south secede from Sudan, it will take with it 80 per cent of the country's oil.

A report earlier this week from 10 NGOs warned that Sudan's first multi-party elections in 24 years and a referendum in which southern Sudanese citizens would vote on whether to secede from the north could "inflame violence if not properly prepared for."

Less than half of southern Sudanese had access to clean water, illiteracy rates top 80 per cent, and the entire region, which is roughly the size of France, had fewer than 50 kilometers of paved roads, the groups said.

Some 2 million people died over the course of Sudan's decades-long civil war and roughly 4 million were left homeless.

1st LEAD: Turkey 'key country' in problem region, says Westerwelle - Update

Istanbul -- German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle Friday declared Turkey was a "key country" in finding solutions for the problems in the surrounding region. "Turkey is surrounded by the most problematic region of the world," Westerwelle said at an Istanbul reception hosted by Egemen Bagis, Turkey's top European Union negotiator, according to the semi-official Anatolian news agency.

Westerwelle heads the Free Democrat Party (FDP), the new junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition. This is his first extended trip abroad since taking office in October.

"As Germany, we have a great interest in Turkey," Westerwelle said. "The visit to Turkey is not a coincidence. It is a symbol."

Germany and Turkey have a strained relationship, not least over Ankara's ambition to join the European Union, and the situation of the large Turkish immigrant population in Germany.

During a Thursday press conference in Ankara with Ahmet Davutoglu, his Turkish counterpart, Westerwelle affirmed Germany's commitment to any agreements made between Turkey and the EU and urged Ankara to maintain its reform process.

Asked at a press conference on Thursday about his coalition partners' critical position regarding Turkey's EU membership, Westerwelle answered: "I am speaking here not as a tourist in shorts but as a member of the coalition government."

Westerwelle is due to have a planned meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew I, leader of the Orthodox Church in Istanbul later Friday.

Westerwelle arrived in Istanbul, one of 2010's European capitals of culture, after a day of political meetings in the capital, Ankara.

From Istanbul, he will head to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302675,1st-lead-turkey-key-country-in-problem-region-says-westerwelle.html.

Algeria Introduces New Military Strategy to Combat Terrorism in the Sahara

By: Andrew McGregor

As al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) terrorists grow more active in the Saharan region, Algeria has introduced a new military strategy designed to restrict movement through the volatile border regions that Algeria shares with Niger, Mali and Mauritania. Algeria has deployed an additional 3,000 troops to the force of 15,000 men along the southern borders. Algerian military forces in this region fall under the command of the 6th military region, headquartered at Tamanrasset.

Together with border guards and the gendarmerie, the army will restrict movement in a number of regions of southern Algeria to those with a security permit. Eight border gates have been created along Algeria’s southern borders, intended to reduce the free movement of smugglers in the region. Individuals making unauthorized crossings through the border region will be given a single warning before being shot at by Algerian security forces. Vehicles moving at night through restricted zones will also be fired on by patrols equipped with night vision equipment. Wells and other water sources in the region will continue to be tightly controlled (El-Khabar [Algiers], December 22, 2009).

Algeria and Mali have also formed a joint military technical committee to address common security concerns. The committee held a three day meeting last month to discuss military coordination and cooperation with Western security services in dealing with the growing number of kidnappings of Westerners in Saharan Africa (El-Khabar, December 21).

Three Malians alleged to be associates of al-Qaeda were recently arrested in Ghana in a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) sting operation. The suspects told undercover DEA agents that they were working with Colombia’s Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - FARC) to ship cocaine through Algeria, Libya and Morocco to Spain under the protection of al-Qaeda operatives (Bikya Masr [Cairo], December 20, 2009; Los Angeles Times, December 19, 2009; AFP, December 18, 2009).

The discovery of a burnt out Boeing 727 airliner in the Malian desert in the region of Sinkrebaka, 125 miles north of the town of Gao, has reinforced the belief that South American drug smugglers are now actively involved in shipping drugs through West Africa into Europe (Air Cargo News, November 17, 2009; AFP, December 11, 2009).

Source: The Jamestown Foundation.
Link: http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=35885&tx_ttnews[backPid]=7&cHash=444a81f944.

Striking Algerian workers in stand-off with police

ROUIBA, Algeria (Reuters) - About 500 striking Algerian workers blocked a main road near the capital on Thursday and confronted lines of riot police equipped with water cannon and armored vehicles.

The incident is the latest in a series of outbreaks of unrest over price inflation and living conditions which some analysts say could undermine Algeria's fragile stability as it emerges from years of conflict with Islamist insurgents.

The stand-off with police in the industrial town of Rouiba began after the 5,000 employees of the state-owned National Company of Industrial Vehicles (SNVI) began indefinite strike action to demand higher wages and better terms.

Workers at several other factories in Rouiba, an area where about 20,000 people are employed, joined the strike on Thursday and took part in a protest rally near the vehicle plant.

There were some minor scuffles when riot police moved in to block the protesters from marching toward Algiers.

"We can't stop now. We will go forward. Our demands are fair, and the government must listen to us," the leader of the SNVI's union, Benmouloud Ameziane, told Reuters.

For many Algerians, the strike in Rouiba carries echoes of the "Black October" events in 1988 when a protest movement that started in the factories there led to rioting across Algiers in which about 500 people were killed.

Those clashes are widely viewed as the start of an armed rebellion by Islamist insurgents that lasted over a decade.

Algeria's government has tried to head off popular discontent by spending billions of dollars in revenue from oil and gas exports on schemes to improve housing conditions, build infra-structure and create jobs.

However, it has been unable to restrain inflation, which workers say has wiped out pay increases.

Consumer price inflation averaged 5.7 percent in the first 11 months of last year, official figures showed, but prices for fresh agriculture produce have soared by up to 21 percent.

"I am a poor worker in a rich country. My salary is not enough to feed (and) educate my four kids," said Ali Mansouri, one of the strikers who was wearing an oil-stained work apron.

Signs of social unrest have been on the increase. In October, about a hundred protesters angry at housing conditions threw stones and petrol bombs at police in a shantytown in the capital, seriously injuring one policeman.

A teachers' union staged a three-week strike at the end of last year, one of the biggest in Algeria for years. Senior doctors have now launched their own industrial action.

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6063OA20100107.

Japan's snow country battles aging, depopulation - Feature

Tokyo - A winter storm dumped 75 centimeters of snow Thursday night in Tsunan, the area known as Japan's snow country. Tons of snow are piled up on the roof of an old farmhouse. Two old men tirelessly shovel the snow off, clearing the roof bit by bit. It's back-breaking work, but the old folks do not have much choice. There are not too many young people left to give them a hand.

The fresh snowfall pushed the snow accumulation to 230 centimeters in some parts of the town in Japan's northern province of Yamagata, which is also famous for quality rice and hot springs.

The snows have blanketed the region for the past week.

Such heavy snowfalls, however, are no big surprise for residents. Instead, the town is trying to draw more tourists with its beautiful wintry landscape and winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding. Tsunan, 180 kilometers north of Tokyo, is located in the middle of snow country, one of the regions with the heaviest snowfall worldwide.

Life in the region, however, does not come to a standstill, even if there is heavy snow, residents said.

"We are used to this kind of snow. This happens every year," Katsunori Ishibashi, a town official, said.

Almost every winter morning, armies of citizens clear the snow around their houses with plough-like shovels. Some 1.5 to 2 meters of snow are normal at this time of the year.

However, Tsunan is more troubled by turning grey than by the white blanket covering it every winter.

Like most rural areas in Japan, Tsunan faces serious threats from depopulation and aging as people aged 65 or older account for 35.4 per cent of its population of 11,400. In 1955, the town's population was 21,909, and that age group made up only 6.6 per cent of the total.

Although some residents in their 70s or even in their 80s brave climbing the ladders on to the roofs of their houses to clear them of snow, many others need help.

"In that case, people in each community try to help older people," Ishibashi said. "Some neighbors visit their houses to clear the snow. Social workers and doctors regularly stop by elderly people's houses."

The town also helps elderly people pay for snow removal when necessary, Ishibashi said.

All over Tsunan, snowploughs run 24/7 to keep the roads clear, supported by employees of construction companies and forestry cooperatives who have little work during winter.

The town spends about 100 million yen (1 million dollars) on snow removal from its annual budget of 5 billion yen.

Unlike in big cities such as Tokyo, where 20 centimeters of snow can bring life to a halt and cause traffic chaos, people in the snow country have learnt to cope with 2 meters of snow.

"There have been three reported injuries in this winter season," Tsuyoshi Ishida, another town official, said. "People in this town are well prepared for such heavy snowfall."

Despite the depopulation and aging, the snow country is hard at work to showcase inventive approaches to keep their lives going.

The town in some areas redirects the relatively warm groundwater to melt the snow on roads and roofs.

Town officials said about 50 per cent of the town's houses can keep their roofs warm with hot water or electrical heat to prevent the snow from piling up. Such installations are subsidized by local government.

"The snow does not make our life hard," Ishibashi said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302677,japans-snow-country-battles-ageing-depopulation--feature.html.

Portugal expected to legalize gay marriage

Lisbon - The parliament of strongly-Catholic Portugal was expected to approve homosexual marriage in an initial debate on Friday, press reports said Thursday. The law, which does not allow homosexual couples to adopt children, was also expected to obtain definitive approval after passing through a parliamentary commission.

The law would be approved with the votes of leftist parties, obtaining at least a narrow majority, the daily Diario de Noticias reported.

Prime Minister Jose Socrates' government tabled the law proposal in late 2009, honoring a pledge made by his Socialist Party ahead of the September legislative elections, in which Socrates won a second consecutive term as prime minister.

During his previous term, the government had still rejected proposals from far-left parties to legalize homosexual marriage in the socially-conservative country.

The draft law came under criticism from several quarters. The opposition conservatives are proposing "civil unions" for homosexuals instead of marriages. Gay activists, on the other hand, see the law as discriminatory, because it does not include the right of adoption.

Activists close to the Catholic church collected 91,000 signatures requesting a referendum on the subject, which was not expected to be approved by parliament.

On the whole, however, Portugal's Catholic Church has been moderate in its criticism in comparison with neighboring Spain.

In Spain, church-sponsored rallies brought hundreds of thousands of people to the streets to protest a reform which finally gave gays full marriage rights, including adoption, in 2005.

The Portuguese law was expected to be approved by May, when Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to visit Portugal.

Attitudes towards homosexuality had become increasingly "normalized especially since the 1990s," sociologist Pedro Vasconcelos said, predicting that "homophobia" would become "a hidden prejudice."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302524,portugal-expected-to-legalize-gay-marriage.html.

Israeli to deploy system to shoot down rockets fired from Gaza

Tel Aviv - Israel plans this summer to put into use a new missile defense system that can shoot down short-range rockets fired from Gaza, officials said Thursday. A year of testing of the "Iron Dome," which took two years to develop, was capped by another round of shoot-down exercises in the southern Israeli Negev desert over the past two days, they said.

The Iron Dome system can shoot down rockets with a range of 3-70 kilometers, including Qassam rockets produced by Hamas, the radical Islamist movement ruling the Gaza Strip.

"Completion of the development of 'Iron Dome' and turning it operational will change the political and security reality in Israel," Pinhas Bukhris, the director-general of Israel's Defense Ministry, said in a statement sent to the German Press Agency...

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302530,israeli-to-deploy-system-to-shoot-down-rockets-fired-from-gaza.html.

Nepal begins discharging thousands of Maoist child soldiers

Kathmandu - Over 200 child soldiers were discharged in southern Nepal Thursday, beginning the process of removing all minors from Maoist camps. The 204 children were formally discharged from Dudhauli camp in Sindhuli district, about 200 kilometers south-east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, the United Nations Mission in Nepal said.

They were given a set of civilian clothes and 10,000 rupees (136 dollars) as a travel allowance to get back home.

The children had been living in Maoist camps since the end of the communist insurgency just over three years ago.

They are among 4,008 Maoist combatants, including nearly 3,000 minors, which the UN mission found were recruited in violation of international agreements.

The UN said that the Maoists would by mid-February release all combatants recruited either when they were underage or after the signing of the peace agreement.

The rehabilitation process is due to give them the opportunity to gain new skills, including vocational training or formal education, to pursue civilian life.

The UN said once it can verify that the Maoists have complied with the discharges, they can be considered for removal from the list of parties that recruit children to participate in armed conflict.

"The release of these young people sends out a symbolic message," said UNICEF Nepal representative Gillian Mellsop. "Not only can these young people now finally get on with their lives, but this also marks a new beginning for Nepal, so that it can move forward to a more stable, peaceful future."

Nearly 14,000 people died during Nepal's communist insurgency which formally ended with the signing of the peace accord in November 2006.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302538,nepal-begins-discharging-thousands-of-maoist-child-soldiers.html.

Clashes erupt after shooting at church in Egypt - Summary

(Earth Times - dpa) Cairo - Huge crowds of Christians clashed with police in the southern Egyptian town of Nagaa Hamadi on Thursday after a shooting outside a Coptic Christian church that left six teenagers and one policeman dead. Footage aired on Qatar's al-Jazeera satellite television network showed police using batons to beat back angry crowds of Christians protesting the delay of the victims' burial outside the hospital morgue where the bodies were being kept.

The crowds dispersed after the corpses were released, local parishioners told the German Press Agency dpa, adding that the bodies had been buried.

The clashes followed Wednesday night's drive-by shooting that killed six Coptic Christian teenagers leaving a Christmas Eve mass and one Muslim policeman guarding the church. Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7.

Police in the town, some 650 kilometers south of Cairo, said they were searching for three suspects identified in their initial investigations.

Bishop Kirollos of the Nagaa Hamadi Diocese blamed the police for the incident, saying that he had asked security officers to take special precautions during Christmas celebrations.

Kirollos said he had received a text message on his mobile saying, "It is your turn," al-Jazeera reported on its website.

He said townspeople had also threatened his parishioners in the streets, and that some had shouted "We will not let you have festivities," the station reported.

Sectarian relations in the town have been tense since Muslim residents rioted in response to the rape of a 12-year-old girl, allegedly by a Christian man.

According to government figures, Christians make up approximately 10 per cent of Egypt's population, though many Christians say they believe the real figure is higher.

Iran, Syria 'to create new world order,' says Ahmadinejad

Tehran - Iran and Syria plan to create a new world order, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday. "Iran and Syria have a joint mission to create a new world order on the basis of justice, humanity and belief in God," Ahmadinejad told visiting Syrian Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Abrash.

Syria is Iran's main ally in the Middle East and both countries consider Israel to be their political arch-foe.

"At the current juncture, the role of Iran and Syria is historic and therefore bilateral cooperation should be increased," Mehr news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

The Iranian president said that the Tehran-Damascus front has neutralized the world powers' policies in the Middle East and pushed them into a dead end.

He said the United States would eventually be forced by the two states to stop interference in the region and withdraw its military personnel.

Mehr quoted the Syrian speaker as saying that Iran and Syria would side by side move towards continued resistance and fight against world imperialism.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302545,iran-syria-to-create-new-world-order-says-ahmadinejad.html.

Spanish groups announce protests against 'neo-liberal' EU

Madrid - Dozens of organizations are planning protests against the European Union during the Spanish EU presidency, speakers for the movements said Thursday in Madrid. Spokeswoman Berta Iglesias said the "anti-democratic" EU needed to be countered by civil society.

The movements comprise dozens of Spanish environmental and social groups, trade unions or political parties which see the "neo-liberal" EU as serving the interests of elite groups and multi-national companies.

The organizations have links with others in Europe and Latin America, their representatives explained.

Protest actions are set to include an "alternative summit of the people" to coincide with a summit between the EU and Latin America in Madrid in May.

Spain holds the rotating EU presidency until June 30.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302546,spanish-groups-announce-protests-against-neo-liberal-eu.html.

EU's Galileo satellite moves ahead; first contracts awarded - Summary

Brussels- The European Union's satellite navigation system, Galileo, moved a step closer to reality on Thursday as the bloc's executive awarded the first contracts for its hardware. The move means that the first European-operated satellite navigation services should come online in 2014, taking its place alongside the US Global Positioning System (GPS), EU Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani said.

"We can now focus on the actual roll-out and demonstrate to European citizens that Europe's own satellite navigation system is firmly under way," Tajani said.

Galileo is the EU's answer to the American GPS and the equivalent Russian system, GLONASS. It is meant to provide business and private users and rescue services with navigation information accurate to within four centimeters anywhere on Earth.

Unlike GPS, which was designed for the US military, Galileo is a civilian system, meaning that its signals will not be distorted when the army asks, as has been the case with GPS, Tajani said.

Galileo "will ensure Europe's political independence" in the crucial area of navigation, he said.

While European in origin, the system has been designed to work with Russian and US models, and negotiations are ongoing to make sure that it is compatible with a planned Chinese system.

"We want to make Galileo into a global system," Tajani stressed.

Galileo's set-up should ensure that users can receive a strong signal even in city centers and in the far north of Europe, two areas where the current GPS system is often weak, Tajani said. The biggest contract awarded was a 566-million-euro (813-million-dollar) order for Galileo's first 14 satellites, placed with German firm OHB, based in the northern city of Bremen.

The first satellite should be delivered in June 2012, with one more to be finished every six weeks until March 2014.

Ultimately, the Galileo system is meant to have 32 satellites. OHB is currently bidding against German rival EADS-Astrium for the right to provide the remaining units.

Simultaneously, the commission placed an 85-million-euro order with Italy's ThalesAleniaSpace for system support and engineering, and tasked French space company Arianespace with launching 10 satellites into space for a total cost of 397 million euros.

The first launch is scheduled for October 2012, the commission statement said.

Contracts for further work on the project are expected to be awarded in the next six months.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302550,eus-galileo-satellite-moves-ahead-first-contracts-awarded--summary.html.

German foreign minister pledges support for Turkey's EU bid - Update

Istanbul -- German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle Thursday said that Germany supports Turkey's efforts to join the European Union and stands behind any agreements made between Ankara and Brussels. "Some have asked whether the new German government wants to close the door to [EU] membership for Turkey," Westerwelle told a conference of Turkish ambassadors in Ankara.

"I will tell you quite clearly: What the EU and Turkey have agreed stands. And that applies to this German government, too. I am committed to that."

Turkey is the first stop on a trip that will also take Westerwelle to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Westerwelle heads the Free Democrat Party (FDP), the new junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition. This is his first extended trip abroad since taking office in October.

Another member of Germany's governing coalition, the Christian Social Union (CSU), is hostile to Turkey joining the EU. But an accord made between the parties when they formed their coalition says the Turkey-EU accession negotiations should be open to any outcome.

Westerwelle has several times praised Turkey's efforts at modernizing reforms, while saying more progress is needed, something he repeated on Thursday.

"I would like to express my respect and my deep respect to the Turkish government, Parliament and the active Turkish civil society for making progress on EU reforms," Westerwelle said.

"I encourage you to press on."

During a press conference with Westerwelle, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu thanked Westerwelle for expressing support for Ankara's EU bid.

"Germany is one of the founders and a leading country in the EU," he said.

"Undoubtedly, Germany has a strategic perspective about Turkey-EU relations. This perspective will have positive future impacts on the future international positions of Turkey, Germany and the EU," Davutoglu said.

Westerwelle is also scheduled to meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday. On Friday he will meet Egemen Bagis, Turkey's top EU negotiator, in Istanbul.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302556,german-foreign-minister-pledges-support-for-turkeys-eu-bid--update.html.

Kenya deports suspected terrorist via Gambia - Summary

(Earth Times - dpa) Nairobi- Kenya on Thursday deported a radical Islamist preacher listed as a suspected terrorist via Gambia, from where he is to return to his home country Jamaica, the Kenyan immigration minister said. "We could not find an airline to ferry him straight to his home country," Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang told journalists in Nairobi.

"We therefore had no option but to take him to Banjul on his request. The Gambian government has accepted to take him, so we had to send him there."

The United States, Britain and South Africa had all refused to grant him a transit visa.

Al-Faisal, who is on an international list of suspected terrorists, was deported from Britain several years ago after preaching hatred against Jews, Hindus, and the West.

He had been held in Kenya after entering the country from Tanzania, which also refused to take him back.

He was arrested by anti-terrorist officers in late December, according to a Kenyan media report.

Israeli Peer wins amid another round of NZ protest - Summary

Auckland - Israel's Shahar Peer ignored noisy jeers at the ASB Classic from pro-Palestinian protesters Thursday, reaching the semi-finals over Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-0, 3-6, 6-1. Five people were arrested in addition to one person taken into custody on Wednesday for in similar protests.

About 20 members of the local Global Peace and Justice group who object to Israel's treatment of Palestinians refused police requests to stop using megaphones to protest at Peer's participation.

Peer, ranked 30th, needed 23 minutes to win the first set but found herself in a battle as Kirilenko took the second before the Israeli regained control in the third.

Peer is to play Friday for the final against Belgian third seed Yanina Wickmayer, who ended the run of 39-year-old Japanese Kimiko Date Krumm 6-2, 6-2.

Top seed Flavia Pennetta, who has lost just 13 games in three matches, put out Slovak Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 6-2.

She will face doubles partner Francesca Schiavone, who defeated Alize Cornet of France 6-2, 6-3.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302491,israeli-peer-wins-amid-another-round-of-nz-protest--summary.html.

Iranian foreign minister in Iraq amid border tensions

Baghdad - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki arrived in Iraq Thursday amid tensions over the border between the two countries, a source in Iraq's foreign ministry said. Mottaki's visit comes less than a month after tensions broke out over an oil well along the southern Iraqi-Iranian border.

In December, Iranian soldiers reportedly seized the al-Fakkah oil field along the two countries' disputed border. Iraqis in several cities have held demonstrations demanding their government take action.

Later, the Iraqi company responsible for developing the wells, Naft Maysan Company, said that all wells on the al-Fakkah oil field were under Iraqi control. Some 15 Iranian soldiers could be seen about 50 meters from the well.

Mottaki and his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari are expected to hold a joint press conference after their meeting.

Al-Sabah daily newspaper reported on Thursday that "the conflict over the al-Fakkah oil field will be the main topic discussed, as well as bilateral ties and security and economic cooperation."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302497,iranian-foreign-minister-in-iraq-amid-border-tensions.html.

Freezing China frets over coal stocks, energy supplies

Beijing - Chinese cities hit by record snowfall and freezing temperatures have been forced to extend gas and electricity rationing, reports said on Thursday. Seven regions have rationed electricity for industrial use while the capital Beijing has introduced emergency measures to cope with a shortage of natural gas, used to heat most of the city's homes.

The measures come amid concerns over dwindling coal supplies and rising food prices.

The severe cold, in many areas the worst for some 40 years, prompted a surge in energy demand at a time when coal supplies were affected by heavy snow in key coal-mining provinces, according to the Global Times newspaper.

At the end of 2009, coal stockpiles for the Central China grid were sufficient for only 10 days, less than the recommended 15 days, said another report in the China Daily.

An earlier report by the Guangdong Daily newspaper said some power stations in central China were down to just three days' supply of coal, while northern coal producers had raised prices by about 25 per cent.

Officials reassured the public that households were not at risk, and that the cold spell would end in about one week.

"Even under extreme circumstances, we will ensure residential electricity supply, which is always the top priority," said Wang Changxing, a spokesman for the Shanghai grid, quoted by the China Daily.

A belt of heavy snow moved across northern, eastern and central China this week, bringing temperatures of minus 16.7 degrees Celsius to Beijing on Wednesday, the lowest the capital has seen for 38 years.

Northern areas of the country have government-run district heating schemes, but residents of normally warmer southern areas such as Shanghai rely on air conditioners and electric heaters in the winter.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302503,freezing-china-frets-over-coal-stocks-energy-supplies.html.

Kenya unable to deport suspected terrorist for lack of transit visa

(Earth Times - dpa) Nairobi - A radical Islamist preacher listed as a suspected terrorist cannot be deported from Kenya to his home country Jamaica, as Britain and South Africa have refused the required transit visa, the Kenyan newspaper The Standard reported Thursday. Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal, deported from Britain several years ago after preaching hatred against Jews, Hindus, and the West, continued to be held in Kenya as no direct flights to Jamaica were available and travel via third countries required a transit visa.

"He is still in Kenya, but we are thinking of other options. he will have to go because he is a threat to security," a security official was quoted as saying.

Al-Faisal, who is named on an international list of suspected terrorists, had traveled to Kenya from Tanzania, but Tanzania has also refused to take him back.

Kenya was now negotiating with possible other countries for a transit visa to deport the preacher who had been arrested by anti- terrorist officers in late December, the report said.

Albania orders mass evacuation as melting snow worsens flooding

Tirana - Hundreds of families have been evacuated as melting snow exacerbated flooding in northern Albania, local media reported Thursday. After days of heavy rains and melting snow, nearly 5,000 hectares of land and seven villages have been flooded, while 527 families were evacuated from Shkoder region.

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha on Wednesday called the situation "a potential catastrophe" and ordered an evacuation.

Many families refused to evacuate, fearing they would lose their cattle - the main source of income in rural areas.

The Albanian Power Company has opened the gates of three major dams on the Drin River in Shkoder area, raising the water level in the Fierza lake two metres above critical point.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302508,albania-orders-mass-evacuation-as-melting-snow-worsens-flooding.html.

Security forces kill two rebels, end Kashmir siege - Summary

Srinagar, Kashmir - Security forces on Thursday stormed a hotel in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing two Muslim militants and ending a 22-hour standoff, officials said. The two militants, suspected to be a suicide squad from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group, had taken refuge in the Pubjab hotel the region's capital Srinagar on Wednesday, after a grenade and gunfire attack which left a policeman and a civilian dead.

"The operation has been concluded," Jammu and Kashmir police chief Kuldeep Khoda told reporters. "Two LeT militants have been eliminated in this operation."

The militants threw grenades and opened fire Wednesday in Lal Chowk, a busy commercial area in the center of Srinagar, before holing up in the hotel. A policeman was killed at the scene, and a civilian died of his injuries in hospital on Thursday.

Shortly before noon, security forces stormed the four-storey hotel where the militants were hurling grenades and firing at the troopers from the top floor. Nearly 600 people were evacuated from nearby buildings.

"According to our information, two LeT militants were behind the attack, but we are carrying out search operations to determine if there were more militants involved," Khoda said.

Senior police officials told the PTI news agency that one of the militants was a Pakistani national identified by the single name Qari while the other was a local man from Sopore town near Srinagar.

Seven people including some security personnel injured in the attack remained hospitalized.

The strike was the first suicide attack in Srinagar in three years. Militants mounted a similar attack in Lal Chowk in October 2006.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack.

The LeT is among the biggest militant groups operating in India-administered Kashmir and has been behind a number of attacks in India, including the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, which left 166 people dead.

Kashmir, a region claimed by both India and neighboring Pakistan, has witnessed the deaths of more than 45,000 people - civilians, militants and security forces - since a secessionist militant movement began in the late 1980s.

New Delhi has accused Islamabad of aiding and abetting Kashmiri militants, a charge that Pakistan denies. Islamabad said it supports the Kashmiris' legitimate aspirations for freedom.

"There has been a ... serious effort by Pakistani elements to target not only Jammu and Kashmir but other parts of India and Srinagar has been one of the prime targets," police chief Khoda said.

The police chief added that there had been a sharp drop of 30 per cent in militant violence in the state in 2009.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302512,security-forces-kill-two-rebels-end-kashmir-siege--summary.html.

Father of late Tamil rebel leader dies in military custody

Colombo - The father of late Tamil rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, who led a failed 26-year military campaign for a separate state for Sri Lanka's Tamil ethnic minority, died Thursday while in military custody, an army spokesman said. Thiruvendran Velupillai, 82, and his wife had been in military custody since they surrendered to the government after their son was killed May 18 in a battle with the army in northern Sri Lanka.

Army spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the father had been ailing for some time before he passed away but said he did not know the cause of death.

He said Prabhakaran's parents, who initially had been living in a camp for displaced people in the north, had been transferred to a military base on the outskirts of Colombo where the couple had been in "protective custody."

Prabhakaran's wife and three children also were killed by the military in the final phase of the military operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebel group.

The government declared victory May 19 over the rebels after the deaths of Prabhakaran and the other top rebel leaders.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302514,father-of-late-tamil-rebel-leader-dies-in-military-custody.html.

Israel okays another Jewish apartment complex in East Jerusalem

Wed, 06 Jan 2010

Tel Aviv - Israel Wednesday authorized the construction of Jewish apartment complex in East Jerusalem, Israel Radio reported. The complex involves three five-storey buildings to contain a total of some 50 apartments, said the radio. It was authorized by the Interior Ministry's Jerusalem District Committee, it said...

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302390,israel-okays-another-jewish-apartment-complex-in-east-jerusalem.html.

Israel rejects deadline to talks with Palestinians

Wed, 06 Jan 2010

Jerusalem - Israel said Wednesday it would not accept a deadline to peace negotiations with the Palestinians. "Nobody can take seriously any demands by the Palestinians or by others that a deadline should be set," Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon told a gathering in Jerusalem.

Deadlines to peace negotiations had in the past proved "counterproductive," he argued.

The Palestinians would have no incentive to make concessions and reach a compromise if a deadline was put in place to the establishment of a Palestinian state, he warned.

He said he expected no progress in the attempts to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at least until February. The talks were broken off last year as Israel held new elections.

Israeli media reported earlier this week about a new US plan, which set a two-year deadline to the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

The negotiations were broken off last year as Israel held new elections. Abbas has raised preconditions for holding the talks with the new Israeli premier, the hardline Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking guarantees such talks would be meaningful and not open-ended.

But Ayalon argued that Netanyahu had already done "more than" his share by expressing support for a demilitarized Palestinian state in a speech in June, and by declaring a partial, 10-month suspension of Israeli construction in the occupied West Bank.

"We are waiting for a Palestinian step," he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302410,israel-rejects-deadline-to-talks-with-palestinians.html.

Response of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to Ban Ki-moon Assertions About Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in his recent assertions, has said that almost twenty per cent of civilian casualties in Afghanistan are caused by American and her Allies firing and eighty percent are caused by the Armed Opposition. His assertions come to the open amidst reports of people’s demonstrations and protests in Afghanistan against civilian casualties perpetrated by Americans.

Ironically, the Head of an August World Body like UNO, who claims being neutral, brazenly tramples down on UNO principles of neutrality through his remarks in order to please the White House rulers.

We ask Ban ki-Moon, who martyred schools students, the adolescents in Narang district of Kunar province, nearly one week ago?

Memory of gruesome events of civilian casualties (at the hand of the invaders) in Farah, Shin Dand, Kunduz, Dehrawood where hundreds of miserable Afghans were killed, are still fresh among our people.

Ban ki-Moon should once sneak a look at the Pentagon to see that two departments under the name of Psychological Warfare and Lies Fabrication Department are now part and parcel of the official organizational set-up of the ministry. The Psychological Warfare Department teaches troops to kill civilians in order to create shock and awe in their hearts so they submit to the troops without demur. Whereas the Department of Lies Fabrication instructs the soldiers to spread lies against the enemy in media and among the people so that they distance themselves from the enemy and nurture hatred against them. There is the secret of victory in doing so, it maintains.

It is a matter of pondering whether Mr. Ban ki-Moon is acting intentionally or unintentionally in favor of the above-mentioned departments. This is because he, sometimes, gives expression to words which does not suit his position and neutral status.

We want to remind Mr. Secretary General, UNO, that according to a recent analysis of war analysts in Pentagon, America has lost initiatives against Taliban because Taliban leadership have instructed their followers in Afghanistan to deal gently with the common people. “That is why, we were not able to tip them against Taliban,” the report adds. “However, henceforth, America should put the blame of civilian casualties on Taliban in order to make people distance themselves from Taliban and that they may nurture hatred in their hearts against them.” So Ban ki-Moon should have a look at his surrounding before making such remarks – to see what is surreptitiously going on (in his back yard). Similarly, Ban ki-Moon and his employers should know that the Afghan people and the Mujahideen have vast work experience of three decades war. They know all games and ploys of colonialism. None can deceive them through politically-motivated and demagogue statements. You should also know that partial judgment and blind support of one side and condemnation of the other only irreparably harms your credibility which will surely result into playing havoc with your standing in the world, particularly, in Afghanistan.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Source: Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Link: http://www.alemarah.info/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=948:response-of-the-islamic-emirate-of-afghanistan-to-banki-moon-assertions-about-civilian-casualties-i&catid=5:statement-&Itemid=22.

Bagram airbase comes under attack

KABUL, Jan 08 - Bagram airbase, one of the largest base of the U.S forces in the country, came under missile attacks from the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate early Friday morning. According to the report, 2 missiles struck the terminal of the base, causing the enemy irreparable damages and fatalities.

Accordion to the locals of the area, the surrounding areas were showered by the tens of the shells, in response from the enemy but caused no losses to anyone.

Source: Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Link: http://www.alemarah.info/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=958:bagram-airbase-comes-under-attack&catid=1:afghanistan&Itemid=2.

Israel: Nuclear Iran would spark unprecedented arms race

Wed, 06 Jan 2010

Jerusalem - A nuclear Iran would set off an unprecedented arms race in the Middle East, Israel warned Wednesday. "A nuclear Iran would destroy the world order," Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon told a gathering in Jerusalem.

"We would see a nuclear arms race which we have never seen before."

He urged the international community to form a "united front" against Iranian nuclear aspirations.

Iran was an especially dangerous state to possess an atom bomb because of its "radical, fundamentalist" regime, its "extremist policy" and its support of Islamic militant factions, he charged.

Tehran was "banking on driving a wedge between the different members of the security council and the international community.

"Suffice to say that I take the American president and secretary of state at their word and they are right to say and to state that all options are on the table," Ayalon warned, alluding to the possibility of a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities in case international sanctions failed.

Speculation has been rife as to whether Israel is planning such a military strike and whether it would carry out such a plan even without US support.

Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that they prefer tough international sanctions, but have equally often threatened that it would not rule out military action.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302413,israel-nuclear-iran-would-spark-unprecedented-arms-race.html.

German foreign minister arrives in Turkey to start tour - Summary

Wed, 06 Jan 2010

Ankara - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle arrived Wednesday in Ankara to begin a tour of Turkey and three Gulf nations, his first extended trip in the 10 weeks since he took office. Westerwelle was due to hold immediate talks later in the evening with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu.

On Thursday he is to meet with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He is also to address a meeting of Turkey's ambassadors to other nations.

Westerwelle has several times praised reforms in Turkey which bring it more firmly into the fold of western democracies, but has urged Turkey to take further steps. Turkey's application to enter the European Union (EU) is to be a key topic of his talks in Ankara.

The minister is also expected to discuss policies on Afghanistan, the dispute with Iran over its nuclear research and the Mideast peace process during the tour, which also takes in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In Istanbul, which is one of the European capitals of culture this year, he is to inspect on Friday a grand home used to date as the German ambassador's summer residence. Officials hope to convert it into a German-Turkish cultural center.

Westerwelle heads the Free Democrat Party (FDP), the new junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition.

Merkel's Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union (CSU), is hostile to Turkey joining the EU, but Westerwelle is expected to tell Turkey that Berlin's policy is now set down in the accord made between the parties when they formed their coalition.

That says the Turkey-EU accession negotiations should be open to any outcome. Westerwelle has several times praised Turkey's efforts at modernizing reforms, while saying more progress is needed.

The CSU and some elements in Merkel's own Christian Democrats say Turkey should not be offered membership but only a "privileged partnership."

On Friday, Westerwelle will move on to Saudi Arabia with a large delegation of German business people who will be relying on the minister to open doors for them in the Gulf region.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302419,german-foreign-minister-arrives-in-turkey-to-start-tour--summary.html.

Costa Rican volcano spits 'white powder'

Wed, 06 Jan 2010

San Jose - The Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica has become active for the first time in 40 years. The authorities were on alert Wednesday, a day after the eruption of the 3,300-meter volcano located 80 kilometers northeast of San Jose.

According to the Seismological Institute of the Central American country (Ovicori), the volcano spit clouds of "white powder." According to vulcanologists, it is not ash but an as yet unidentified matter.

Two villages on the mountainside were preventively evacuated, local media reported Wednesday. Experts regarded it as likely that there would be a bigger eruption.

Five villages on the Turrialba valley were covered in the powder, which mixed with rain to take on a darker colour.

The most recent eruption on the Turrialba dates back to 1863, when ash from the volcano drifted as far as Nicaragua. Its activity stopped altogether 40 years ago, making it possible to climb up to the top for some time.

The four volcanoes in the central region of Costa Rica, which holds about half the country's 4.5 million people, include the Turrialba, the nearby Irazu, the Poas and the Barba.

Last year, the Poas - very close to San Jose - had a large eruption.

Further north lies the ever-active Arenal, whose eruption in 1969 killed about 90 people.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302430,costa-rican-volcano-spits-white-powder.html.

South Korea: North started uranium nuke weapons program in '90s

Wed, 06 Jan 2010

Seoul - North Korea used international negotiations to buy time for its nuclear weapons program, having started a uranium-based program shortly after a 1994 deal to abandon nuclear weapons, South Korea's foreign minister said Wednesday. Yu Myung Hwan told the official Yonhap News Agency that it was likely Pyongyang started uranium work soon after concluding the Agreed Framework with Washington in Geneva. In that agreement, it promised to freeze its nuclear activities in exchange for energy aid and the construction of two light-water reactors.

"What is certain is that North Korea began its [uranium] enrichment program for nuclear weapons from very early on," Yu told Yonhap. "It appears that North Korea began the enrichment program shortly after signing the Geneva agreement, or at least in 1996."

Enriching uranium would give Pyongyang a second route for making nuclear weapons. The country has already tested two plutonium-based nuclear devices.

However, little was known about the Stalinist state's nuclear weapons program, including its development stage, the amount of enriched uranium it has or the number of its nuclear weapons, Yu said.

Yu added that Pyongyang has been using international negotiations that are aimed at ending its nuclear weapons program to gain time for furthering its nuclear programs.

In April, Pyongyang admitted for the first time that it pursued a uranium-enrichment program. In September, it said its "experimental" enrichment program was nearing completion.

The 1994 deal collapsed in late 2002 when North Korea threw out nuclear inspectors after the United States accused the country of secretly pursuing uranium enrichment.

North Korea agreed in 2006 to dismantle its plutonium-producing facility at Yongbyon, but international talks broke down in 2008, again partly over Pyongyang's refusal to discuss uranium enrichment.

"I believe there is always a possibility [Pyongyang] may return to negotiations to evade its economic crisis," Yu said.

However, not only South Korea, the US and Japan, but also China and Russia, two North Korean allies, shared a firm understanding that they cannot reward the North for its return to the negotiations alone, the minister said.

Those five countries are involved in the six-nation nuclear talks with North Korea.

UN sanctions would continue to be enforced until North Korea takes "tangible" denuclearization measures, Yu insisted.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302330,south-korea-north-started-uranium-nuke-weapons-programme-in-90s.html.

Democracy protests make China leaders 'lose trust' in Hong Kong

Wed, 06 Jan 2010

Hong Kong - Chinese leaders have "lost trust in Hong Kong" after New Year's Day scuffles between police and activists at a pro-democracy demonstration, a pro-Beijing politician said Wednesday. Cheng Yiu-tong, a member of Chief Executive Donald Tsang's executive council, said the Beijing government was "shocked" at the scenes outside the Beijing Liaison Office on January 1.

An estimated 30,000 people took part in a pro-democracy march which ended with a handful of activists trying to force their way through a police blockade to the Chinese government's representative office.

Two police officers and one protester suffered slight injuries in the fracas. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Cheng suggested the incident had altered China's view on the former British colony.

Chen said Beijing now feared pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong had "changed their strategy" to target the Chinese government instead of the Hong Kong administration.

He said he believed the scuffles outside the Beijing Liaison Office undermined the administration's credibility and would prompt Beijing to reassess democratic development in Hong Kong.

Cheng added that the incident would "not be helpful to the discussion between Hong Kong and Beijing over giving the territory greater democracy."

The remarks by Cheng, who is viewed as having close contacts with the central government in Beijing, came as Hong Kong is embroiled in a debate over proposed constitutional reforms.

Pro-democracy legislators and activists are fighting proposals by the Beijing-appointed administration for reforms which they say do not go far enough towards universal suffrage.

Hong Kong, which reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, was technically entitled to full democracy from 2007 under the terms of its mini-constitution.

However, Beijing has already intervened to rule out universal suffrage until at least 2020, saying that the city of 7 million is still too politically immature.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302297,democracy-protests-make-china-leaders-lose-trust-in-hong-kong.html.

China Jails Tibetan Filmmaker

2010-01-06

The documentary 'Leaving Fear Behind' gets its producer a six-year prison term.

HONG KONG—Authorities in the northwestern Chinese province of Qinghai have handed a six-year jail sentence to a Tibetan filmmaker who returned from exile to make a documentary about his homeland, Tibetan sources say.

The Xining Intermediate People's Court handed the sentence to Dhondup Wangchen, the producer of the documentary “Leaving Fear Behind,” in a secret trial that found him guilty of “splitting the motherland,” the sources said.

“Dhondup Wangchen, the producer of ‘Leaving Fear Behind,’ was sentenced six years to prison,” a Tibetan from the Amdo region identified as Thardrub said.

“We were checking around about it...later, we were able to confirm that he was sentenced secretly by Xining Intermediate People's Court in Qinghai on Dec. 28, 2009.”

Dhondup Wangchen’s relatives were given no information about his trial or sentencing, he added.

“They were not informed about the sentencing,” Thardrub said. “The relatives argue that he is innocent and he did not commit any crime...They are planning to appeal his sentence in the higher courts.”

Jamyang Tsultrim, a relative of Dhondup Wangchen now living in Switzerland, said the sentencing of Dhondup Wangchen was a clear indication of how Tibetans were deprived of freedom of expression in China.

“His relatives made arrangements for a lawyer to represent him, but the lawyers were not allowed to represent him,” Jamyang Tsultrim said.

“He was also suffering from liver problems and was denied any kind of medical treatment,” he added.

Short documentary

Jamyang Tsultrim also said Dhondup Wangchen’s relatives weren’t informed about his detention, his health problems, or his sentencing.

The Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ran a petition campaign following Dhondup Wangchen’s detention on March 23, 2008, calling him “a courageous man who took the risk of returning to his country to interview other Tibetans.”

Dhondup Wangchen’s film, “Leaving Fear Behind” (www.leavingfearbehind.com), is a 25-minute documentary including interviews with Tibetans in the Amdo region expressing their views on Tibet’s exiled leader the Dalai Lama, the Beijing Olympics, and Chinese laws.

The authorities also detained Jigme Gyatso, a monk from the Kham region, at the same time, but released him on Oct. 15. He later said he was tortured in detention.

“Leaving Fear Behind” was produced outside China after Dhondup Wangchen managed to send footage out of Tibet before the authorities caught up with him.

It was shown to foreign journalists in Beijing during the Olympic Games.

Protest turned violent in 2008

Many Tibetans have chafed for years under Chinese rule.

Rioting rocked the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, in March 2008 and spread to Tibetan-populated regions of western China, causing official embarrassment ahead of the August 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Chinese officials say 21 people—including three Tibetan protesters—died in the violence.

The India-based Tibetan government-in-exile estimates that 220 Tibetans were killed and 7,000 were detained in a subsequent region-wide crackdown.

Original reporting by Dorjee Tso for RFA’s Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.

Copyright © 1998-2010 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.

Source: Radio Free Asia.
Link: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/filmmaker-01062010111100.html.

Dr. Kalam wants earth, moon and mars to be considered as single economic entity

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 6 : Former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has said scientists should start considering earth, moon and mars as an economic complex for future habitat expansion of human beings.

In his public lecture on the topic 'It can be done', at the ongoing 97th Indian Science Congress here, he suggested that Indian scientists should look forward to celebrating the socio-economic development of India in 2020.

He then proposed his vision of transition of Indian Science from 2020 to 2050, saying that the vision for 2050 is one of dynamic growth.

"A global knowledge society backed by value system and spirit of compassion would be the backbone of the vision," he said.

"Proper water management, sustainable agriculture development using organic farming practices, energy consumption and sustainability, customized healthcare for promoting enhanced longevity, balancing the greenhouse gas budget and emergence of new global leaders focusing on multi-disciplinary action are some of the key elements of the vision," he added.

Dr. Kalam emphasized the need to develop and promote connectivity and collaboration among universities and organizations like ISRO, DAE, CSIR as well as industries.

"Improving science infrastructure in schools and colleges, bringing a fundamental change in Indian universities and institutions based on both academic and research performance and focusing on challenges of human needs are other issues that require urgent attention he said.

He wanted Indian scientists to help science evolve globally with a comprehensive approach by 2050.

He stressed the need to ignite the creativity of children from pre-school level and to inculcate interest in research from school to university level.

Source: New Karala.
Link: http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-25208.html.

George Galloway MP deported from Egypt

British MP George Galloway has been deported from Egypt.

The Bow and Bethnal Green MP has been in the Middle East with international activists trying to take 200 aid trucks into the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Egypt had refused some of the vehicles access and there have been protests and clashes on the Egypt-Gaza border.

A spokeswoman for the activists said Mr Galloway had been driven off by police after trying to return to Gaza to help colleagues who had been arrested.

The incident began when Respect MP Mr Galloway and colleague Ron McKay arrived at the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt.

Police convoy

The spokeswoman said: "As soon as they emerged on to Egyptian soil, both men were forcibly pushed into a van, refused exit and told that they were leaving the country. They were then driven off in a police convoy."

She said Mr Galloway had been put on a plane bound for London.

On Wednesday an Egyptian soldier was killed and several Palestinians hurt during clashes over the delayed aid convoy, which involves 550 people from 17 countries. Dozens of activists had been hurt on Tuesday.

Egypt and Israel impose a strict blockade on the Gaza Strip, which Israel says is aimed at weakening Hamas.

The Viva Palestina aid convoy, which is carrying items including heart monitors, clothing and dental equipment, aims to break the blockade.

Mr Galloway spent the night in a cell in Egypt in 2006 after attending an anti-war event.

Source: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8447847.stm.

NATO unit launches radio station for rural Afghans

By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Writer

TORA, Afghanistan – Working underground in an old Soviet bunker, a group of Afghan civilians and French Foreign Legion officers busy themselves with a couple of laptop computers and microphones until someone shouts for silence.

"We're on air!" a sergeant chief warns, as a sweet tune of flutes and chirping birds rises from a sound box.

"Welcome to Surowbi Radio, your radio, by and for the people of Surowbi," a voice says in Pashto, the language of the Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group.

Launched in December by a French NATO regiment, the station is the first-ever FM broadcast in Surowbi district, a poor region of steep valleys east of Kabul that is home to 130,000 people, most without electricity or television.

Surowbi Radio differs from the several other military-run stations in Afghanistan, including the nationwide ISAF Radio operated by NATO command in Kabul.

"The goal really is to give local people their own community radio," said Capt. Michel, a 32-year-old Foreign Legion paratrooper who manages the station. He gave only his first name per French army regulations.

Radio Surowbi doesn't specifically promote NATO troops, nor is it geared to attacking the Taliban, said Capt. Raphael, a French public radio journalist and a reserve officer who is helping to launch the station.

"We're just basic news, music, and community concerns," he said.

The makeshift studio, which is on a NATO base, is housed in the remains of a bunker where dozens of Soviet troops were slaughtered by Afghan fighters during a previous war in the 1980s. The antenna stands on a nearby peak that French troops have renamed Mont Saint-Michel after the famous tourist site in Normandy.

Music takes up most of the 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. air time, with an hour-long dedication program in the evenings.

"We're very, very busy, it's a big success," said Nassir Ahmad, one of two residents hired to host the shows, as some 30 people called in to dedicate songs.

He said the most requested tunes were by Ayman Udas, a female Pashtun singer from neighboring Pakistan who was murdered last spring after defying hardline Islamists who thought it was sinful for a woman to appear on television.

The broadcast also includes two daily news bulletins, a weather forecast lifted from the regiment's air operations command next door, and an hour of reading. The first story was a Pashto translation of "The Pearl," a short story by John Steinbeck.

Ahmad's colleague, Azziz Rahman, got a crash course in journalism from Raphael, the French radio journalist, who helped him prepare the nightly newscast.

Rahman, the headmaster of the girl's high school in Surowbi, suggested that the top story should be a visit by delegates from the Afghan Education Ministry.

"They promised to raise the teachers' salaries and fix the school's broken windows," he said.

Raphael politely suggested another story: the arrest of Kabul's deputy mayor for corruption.

"I think more people will be interested in that," he said.

Other news items included traffic problems on the main road between Kabul and Pakistan, which crosses Surowbi; insurgent attacks in the region; the release of prisoners in a nearby province and a visit by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to southern Afghanistan.

Ahmad slipped in the Education Ministry visit to his school near the bottom of the broadcast, just before closing with cricket results.

"The roots of the Afghan conflict are in large part a social crisis," said Col. Benoit Durieux, who launched the radio station to help bridge the gap between the country's urban minority and the impoverished masses in the countryside.

NATO units are distributing 4,000 solar- and battery-powered radios, he said, adding to the euro10,000 budget ($15,000) to start the station.

"It's great, people are even calling from Taliban-held villages," said Michel, the station manager. "It really shows that ordinary Afghans are tired of fighting. ... They just want music and a normal life, like everybody else."

EU president pays first official visit to Netherlands

Amsterdam - European Union (EU) president Herman Van Rompuy is to pay his first official visit to the Netherlands Wednesday. He is to meet with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, to discuss among others European economic developments. He would also meet the chairmen of the Netherlands' lower and upper houses of parliament.

Van Rompuy took office as the first president of the EU on December 1.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302318,eu-president-pays-first-official-visit-to-netherlands.html.

French embassy in Yemen closed to public

Wed, 06 Jan 2010

Paris - The French embassy in the Yemeni capital Sana'a remained closed to the public on Wednesday but the ambassador and staff reported for duty. The French Foreign Ministry announced the move Tuesday night, saying: "We decided on the closure as a security measure after threats made public by known terrorist groups."

The embassy was closed Monday, a day after the US and British embassies closed after threats from the local branch of al-Qaeda.

The US and British embassies have since resumed operations, with the British embassy providing limited services.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302320,french-embassy-in-yemen-closed-to-public.html.

Ex-Tamil rebel supporters back ex-army leader in presidential race

Wed, 06 Jan 2010

Colombo – A former pro-rebel Tamil political party on Wednesday officially announced its support of former army commander Sarath Fonseka in Sri Lanka's January 26 presidential election. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Sri Lanka's most prominent Tamil party with 22 members in the 225-seat Parliament, called on minority Tamils to support General Fonseka, the opposition candidate, who is running against incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa.

"We feel that he understands the problems of the minorities much better than his opponent," TNA leader R Sampanthan said in Colombo.

Fonseka was instrumental in spearheading the military campaign that defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group in May, but since then, he has fallen out with President Rajapaksa and decided to run against him.

The TNA was likely to attract votes from LTTE sympathizers who believed the rebels were fighting for the rights of the Tamil ethnic minority group.

Sampanthan said there were no conditions put on the TNA's support of Fonseka, but minority issues were raised during negotiations with him.

He said some of those issues were the immediate resettlement of an estimated 300,000 people displaced by the war with the rebels, the release of rebel suspects who have not been charged, a political solution to disputes with minorities and the relaxation of high security zones around army camps so villagers may return to their homes in the former war zone.

During the latest presidential elections in 2005, the rebels, who were fighting for a separate homeland for Tamils, called on voters to boycott the polls. The opposition claimed the move helped Rajapaksa to a narrow victory over former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Fonseka is being backed by Wickremesinghe's United National Party, which is the main opposition group, as well as the third-largest party, the Marxists JVP, and Sri Lanka's strongest Muslim party.

Although Fonseka spearheaded the military campaign against the LTTE, many Tamils believe it was on the orders of Rajapaksa that the war against the rebels was initiated and led to massive destruction in the Northern Province.

Campaigning for the election, in which 14 million voters are eligible to vote, is now in progress.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302327,ex-tamil-rebel-supporters-back-ex-army-leader-in-presidential-race.html.

Heathrow airport to deploy full-body scanners, minister says

Tue, 05 Jan 2010

London - London's international Heathrow airport is to deploy full-body scanners within the next three weeks in order to boost security, Home Secretary Alan Johnson announced Tuesday evening. After Heathrow, all the country's airports are to be outfitted with equipment able to detect explosives by the end of 2010, Johnson also said.

Travelers will also be subjected to more frequent searches, he said, whereby London was looking at such controversial methods as "profiling" of passengers.

The measures announced by Johnson come in the wake of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's statement, following the thwarted bomb attempt on an airplane over Detroit on Christmas Day, to review the security measures in place at British airports.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302247,heathrow-airport-to-deploy-full-body-scanners-minister-says.html.

Ahmadinejad arrives in Turkmenistan on Central Asia tour

Tue, 05 Jan 2010

Ashgabat/Moscow - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived Tuesday in Turkmenistan on the second leg of his Central Asia tour aimed at boosting Iran's economic and diplomatic relations with its neighbors. Ahmadinejad arrived in Ashgabat from Tajikistan, and was set to sign several economic cooperation agreements with his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, the Interfax agency reported.

Among others, the two leaders were to open a second pipeline to deliver natural gas from Turkmenistan to Iran.

With proven reserves of about 8 trillion cubic meters, Turkmenistan has the world's fourth-largest natural gas resources.

Interfax, reporting from Ashgabat, said Ahmadenijad's talks would also concern the possible construction of a railway line from Iran to Kazakhstan, via Turkmenistan.

Bilateral ties between the two countries are considered to be good. Iran was the first country to recognized Turkmenistan after the breakup of the former Soviet Union in 1991. Iran is Turkmenistan's second-biggest trade partner after Russia.

The Iranian leader previously visited Tajikistan on his tour, where he met Tajik President Emomali Rahmon for talks on bilateral and regional issues and the signing of several economic cooperation agreements.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302219,ahmadinejad-arrives-in-turkmenistan-on-central-asia-tour.html.

Arab leaders seek end to peace process impasse - Summary

Tue, 05 Jan 2010

Sharm al-Sheikh/Damascus/Riyadh - The Saudi foreign minister barely touched ground on his lightning tour of the region Tuesday, meeting Egypt and Syria's leaders while the Saudi king hosted his Jordanian counterpart. At every stop, Prince Saud al-Faisal and his regional counterparts voiced a commitment to resolving some of the main problems that vex the Middle East: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the related rift between rival Palestinian factions, and the Yemeni civil war.

After meeting with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak in the Sinai resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh Tuesday morning, al-Faisal and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit repeated their calls for an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Egypt seeks "the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in all the territories within the 1967 borders, living in peace and security with Israel ... and East Jerusalem as the capital," Abul- Gheit said after that meeting.

Al-Faisal likewise called on "all parties" to adopt the Arab Peace Initiative, saying, "We believe this initiative has the potential to end the conflict between the two sides."

The initiative, first presented by Saudi Arabia at a 2002 Arab League summit in Beirut, offers Israel full diplomatic recognition from Arab states in exchange for its complete withdrawal from the West Bank and "a just resolution" to the issue of Palestinian refugees.

The Saudi foreign minister backed Egyptian efforts to reconcile Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction, which controls Palestinian-administered areas of the West Bank.

Without a unified Palestinian government, it is unclear who could credibly represent Palestinians in future peace negotiations.

Palestinian reconciliation talks "are in the hands of our Egyptian brothers," al-Faisal said Tuesday, squelching speculation that Saudi Arabia had been pursuing a separate track in recent meetings with leaders of both factions in Riyadh.

"We defend our land," al-Faisal said when asked about Saudi strikes against Houthi rebels along the Saudi-Yemeni border. "We are with Yemen heart and soul in this regard ... We will not relent."

Al-Faisal next left for Damascus, where he briefly met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in a further sign of thawing relations between the two countries.

"It is now time for serious Arab discussion and effort, especially toward the Palestinian peace process, which faces obstacles presented by Israel," he said after meeting al-Assad in Damascus.

Al-Faisal said the two hoped that Iraq's March parliamentary elections would help resolve troubles in that country. He confirmed that the two had discussed Lebanon, but did not elaborate.

Saudi Arabia and Syria back opposing Lebanese political parties. Relations between the two soured after the February 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who had close financial and political ties with the Saudis.

Detlev Mehlis, the German judge commissioned by the United Nations to investigate the bombing, implicated "senior Lebanese and Syrian officials" in that killing.

Al-Faisal left Syria directly after his meeting with al-Assad, as Jordan's King Abdullah bin Hussein flew to Riyadh to meet Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz.

Ahead of the visit, the Jordanian palace said the two would discuss "efforts underway to ensure the resumption of effective and serious talks that address all aspects of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

The two reiterated that message after their meeting, saying world powers should focus on starting negotiations aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in a clear time frame, putting an end to Israeli settlements in the West Bank and activities that "threaten Jerusalem and its holy sites."

Jordanian sources said discussions also included the situation in Yemen, the Iranian nuclear file, and developments in Iraq, but did not elaborate.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302228,arab-leaders-seek-end-to-peace-process-impasse--summary.html.

Egyptians appeal against Germany calling off murder inquiry

Tue, 05 Jan 2010

Dresden,Germany (Earth Times - dpa) - An Egyptian family is appealing against a decision by German prosecutors not to prosecute anyone else over a courtroom stabbing last year which cost the life of a pregnant mother, their lawyer said Tuesday. Marwa el-Shirbini, 31, was stabbed to death in Dresden court in July 2009 by a German man she had accused of criminal insult. Many in Egypt regard her as a martyr for the cause of wearing a headscarf. The self-confessed racist, Alex Wiens, was jailed in November for life...

China urges fresh nuclear talks with Iran, no sanctions

Tue, 05 Jan 2010

New York - China's UN Ambassador Zhang Yesui called Tuesday for more negotiations and diplomacy to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program. Zhang, speaking as president of the UN Security Council in January, said diplomatic efforts are underway to work out a settlement.

"This is not the right time for sanctions," Zhang said in reply to reporters' questions whether the 15-nation council under his presidency would consider additional sanctions on Iran for rejecting repeated UN demands to end its uranium enrichment programs.

Zhang said diplomats from six countries involved in the talks with Iran are scheduled to meet mid-January to discuss the "next steps" in dealing with Iran. The countries involved are the Security Council's five permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain - plus Germany.

He said the nuclear talks need "more time and patience."

"Trying to bridge differences and to find a settlement need space, and there is still space for such efforts," Zhang said.

The council has imposed in the past three years a series of sanctions to curb Iran's needs for nuclear technology and resources. But those measures have failed to slow down Iran's expansion of its uranium enrichment program, which Western governments say is the cover for manufacturing nuclear weapons.

In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday the government would welcome new talks.

"We would welcome a return to the course of understanding if we witness a pragmatic approach (by world powers) towards our legitimate (nuclear) rights," he told reporters in Tehran.

In Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday her government had not closed the door on negotiations with Iran in the nuclear dispute.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302239,china-urges-fresh-nuclear-talks-with-iran-no-sanctions.html.

Google unveils its first mobile phone

Tue, 05 Jan 2010

San Francisco - Internet search giant Google unveiled its first mobile phone on Tuesday as it increased the pressure on Apple's iPhone in a mobile market that many analysts predict will come to dominate the internet in the coming years. Google previously released its Android operating system for phones, which has been adopted by manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola and HTC.

But the Nexus One announced Tuesday is the first device to be branded by Google and sold directly to customers.

"Nexus One is where Web meets phone," said Google's Mario Queiroz. Google said the eagerly anticipated phone will run the newest version of its Android OS and feature a 9.4-centimeter touch screen.

Developed in conjunction with HTC, the phone featured a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 5-megapixel camera, is 11.5-millimeters thick and weighs 130 grams.

Google said it would sell the phone from its website for 530 dollars and will ship the phones to the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong. Customers can also buy a subsidized device together with two-year service plans for 180 dollars, from the top US carrier Verizon, as well as fourth-placed carrier T Mobile.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302244,google-unveils-its-first-mobile-phone.html.

UN offers air support after volcanic eruption in Congo

Tue, 05 Jan 2010

Nairobi (Earth Times - dpa) - The United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has offered air support to authorities after the eruption of a volcano in the east of the country, a UN spokesman said Tuesday. Reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters were being used to monitor the flow of lava from Mount Nyamulagira, according to the spokesman.

The volcano erupted at the weekend.

The provincial capital Goma and its surrounding areas, where tens of thousands of people displaced by the conflict in the restive North Kivu province live, was not at risk.

Conservationists are however concerned for the well-being of rare chimpanzees in an area affected by the lava in a part of the Virunga National Park. The reserve is also home to nearly 300 mountain gorillas.

Mount Nyamulagira, considered one of Africa's most active volcanoes, last erupted in 2006. In 2002, large areas of Goma were destroyed following an eruption. At the time, the lava reached the runway of the airport that played an important role in efforts to assist people displaced in the civil war.