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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Saturn Moon Could Be Hospitable to Life, Images Show

The Cassini spacecraft sees evidence for liquid water beneath the surface of Enceladus.

by Ron Cowen, Science News

New close-ups of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus taken by the Cassini spacecraft during a November flyby and released by NASA Feb. 23 provide fresh evidence that the moon's interior may be hospitable to life.

Cassini observed some 30 small jets of water vapor and water ice spewing from the southern hemisphere of Enceladus, about 20 more than previously seen. In addition, the most detailed infrared map of one of the south pole's fissures, where jets emanate, indicates that the surface temperature there might be as high as 200 kelvins (-73ยบ Celsius), or about 20 kelvins warmer than previously estimated.

Although the temperature estimate is not yet definitive, the hotter the surface temperature, the hotter the moon's interior, notes Cassini imaging team leader Carolyn Porco of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. That "strengthens the evidence for liquid water as the source of the jets," she says, upping the chances that life could be present in at least part of the moon’s interior.

The craft, which has toured Saturn and its moons since 2004, came within 1,600 kilometers of Enceladus' surface during the flyby. Cassini has swooped closer to the moon in the past, but this pass provided one of the most detailed infrared portraits of the fissures, dubbed tiger stripes. The temperature of one stripe, known as Baghdad Sulcus, exceeds 180 kelvins and may be as high as 200 kelvins, says John Spencer, a member of Cassini’s composite infrared spectrometer team at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo.

By overlaying the infrared map with visible-light images of the moon's southern hemisphere, researchers have seen more clearly than ever before that the fissures are the source of the jets, says Cassini project scientist Bob Pappalardo of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. In revealing that there are many more jets than previously known coming together to form vast plumes of ice and water vapor, the new images may provide additional clues about how and why the moon generates such spouts in the first place, Pappalardo says.

The Nov. 21 flyby, Cassini's eighth targeted flyby of Enceladus, was the last look with the craft's visible-light camera. The region now plunges into 15 years of darkness.

Source: Discovery News.
Link: http://news.discovery.com/space/enceladus-saturn-moon-life.html.

Malaysian airport police detain Iranian with cocaine

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian airport police arrested an Iranian man caught with 4 kilograms of cocaine, a news report said Wednesday. The 35-year-old suspect arrived from Dubai and was waiting for his baggage at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Sunday when police conducted a check on his baggage.

"On inspection, a clear plastic bag containing 4 kilograms of substance, believed to be cocaine, was found under a thin board in his bag," Selangor state anti-narcotics chief Nordin Kadir said.

The cocaine was believed to be worth some 800,000 ringgit (228,571 dollars), he said.

"We are looking at the possibility that the Iranian drug syndicate is trying to monopolize the local market, as the market price of cocaine in Malaysia is 250,000 ringgit per kilogram, compared to 160,000 ringgit in Iran," Nordin was quoted as saying by The New Straits Times daily.

If found guilty, the suspect stands to face the mandatory death sentence by hanging.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/310949,malaysian-airport-police-detain-iranian-with-cocaine.html.

Egypt opposition forms coalition around ElBaradei

Cairo (Earth Times) - Roughly 30 Egyptian secular opposition leaders agreed to form a "Coalition for Change" with former UN nuclear agency head Mohammed ElBaradei, media reports said Wednesday. The politicians, who met at ElBaradei's house late on Tuesday to discuss the political process in Egypt, agreed to form a coalition to campaign for political reforms and changes to the constitution.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) late last year said he could run in the 2011 presidential elections only if Egypt amended its constitution to allow independents to run for president and to allow for greater judicial oversight of the polls.

Police say thousands of supporters greeted him at the airport when he returned to Cairo on Friday.

The coalition agreed to form a legal committee to collect signatures from citizens to petition the government to change the constitution, the independent daily al-Masry al-Youm reported.

"The meeting was not to discuss whether ElBaradei would run in the coming presidential elections, nor to talk about him being the 'savior' or 'the redeemer'," said George Ishaq, the leader of Kifaya ("Enough") opposition movement.

"It was to discuss ... working in the street for political reform," Ishaq told the daily.

As an independent, ElBaradei is constitutionally prohibited from running for the presidential elections.

Amendments to Article 76 of the Egyptian Constitution, passed in 2007, require presidential candidates to have been a member of a legal party's senior leadership for at least a year. ElBaradei has held no such post.

"The goal of the meeting was for the national and political powers to listen to Elbaradei's propositions and his ideas on reform," said Hassan Nafaa, a professor and the coordinator of the Egyptian Campaign Against Presidential Succession, an organization opposed to the presidency being handed down along hereditary lines.

President Hosny Mubarak has ruled Egypt for nearly 30 years. There is much speculation that he is grooming his son Gamal, the head of the ruling party's policymaking committee, for the job.

Egypt's Mubarak meets Iraqi vice-president in Cairo

Cairo (Earth Times) - Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak met with Iraqi Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss developments in Iraq. In a joint press briefing with Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif after that meeting, al-Hashemi lauded Egypt's decision to appoint a new ambassador in Baghdad last summer, after the previous ambassador was kidnapped and executed in 2005.

The Egyptian embassy was reopened last June. Veteran Egyptian diplomat Sharif Kamal Shahine was appointed as the new ambassador.

Nazif said Egypt's decision to keep its embassy open signaled its commitment to Iraq and to close political ties with the country, in remarks carried by Egyptian state television.

Al-Hashemi likewise hailed 25 recently signed economic and investment cooperation protocols.

"Egyptian companies have great desire in investing in Iraq," Nazif said. "We will work on creating the suitable environment through the Egyptian investment authority and its Iraqi counterpart."

Chevron adds solar power to area mine

SANTA FE, N.M., Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The installation of a solar power facility is part of a five-year goal of emerging as a regional leader in green energy, said local officials in New Mexico.

Malaquias Rael, the mayor of Questa, N.M., joined New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to announce plans for a 1-megawatt concentrating photovoltaic solar facility at a molybdenum mine.

"Five years ago, the village of Questa developed a vision that it could become a leader in solar generation and production," the mayor said. "This is the first step and we hope others will come to work together to fulfill the full dimension of that vision."

Chevron Technology Ventures and Chevron Mining Inc. will build the photovoltaic solar facility on the tailing site of a molybdenum mine in Questa. Electricity from the project will be sold to regional utility companies.

The site includes roughly 175 solar panels situated on a 20-acre site at the molybdenum mine. Chevron said it would install solar panel technology that uses lenses to focus sunlight onto photovoltaic cells.

"We are pleased to move forward with this project that will make use of Questa's outstanding solar resource and help provide renewable energy to the community," said CMI President Fred Nelson.

The project will completed by the end of the year.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Resource-Wars/2010/02/24/Chevron-adds-solar-power-to-area-mine/UPI-34411267019597/.

Landslide at tea plantation kills dozens

JAKARTA, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A landslide at a tea plantation in Indonesia's West Java province killed at least 72 people, disaster officials said.

Sofyan Nataprawira, head of Bandung district's disaster management and refugee coordinating agency, said five victims have been extracted from Tuesday's landslide, but 67 others remained buried, the Antara news agency reported.

Nataprawira said rescuers had difficulty reaching the Dewata tea plantation in Tenjolaya because the slide occurred between the plantation and forests, making deployment of heavy machinery complicated.

The landslide overran nearly all parts of the plantation, including the offices, the report said.

"We have difficulty contacting the authorities due to the absence of cellular phone signals," Nataprawira said.

Bandung district and other parts of West Java have been belted by heavy rains during the past two months, officials said. Landslides had occurred in Bandung district, and in the cities of Bogor and Garut.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2010/02/24/Landslide-at-tea-plantation-kills-dozens/UPI-46201267026955/.

Iran, Qatar ink defensive agreement

Iran and Qatar have signed a defensive agreement, which would see the two sides jointly taking on "elements behind regional insecurity."

The agreement was inked by visiting Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi and Chief of the General Staff of Qatar's Armed Forces Hamad Bin Ali Al-Attiya in Doha on Wednesday.

General Vahidi and Al-Attiya stressed the necessity for the expansion of defense cooperation between the two countries referring to the cultural, religious and age-old relations between Iran and Qatar.

Articles of the agreement include "the exchange of technical and expert delegations, the expansion of cooperation in personnel training and joint campaigns against terrorism and elements behind regional insecurity," Fars News Agency reported.

According to General Vahidi, Iran and Qatar have considerable potentials for bilateral cooperation.

The Iranian defense minister, heading a high-ranking delegation, paid a two-day visit to Qatar on Wednesday.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119398§ionid=351020101.

Iranian MP: Missile program not IAEA's business

A senior Iranian lawmaker insists that Iran's missile program is not within the jurisdiction of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“Iran's missile capability is none of the agency's business,” said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Chairman of the parliamentary (Majlis) Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy on Wednesday.

“Where were the agency and other international organizations when, during the eight-year (Iraqi-imposed) war, Iranian cities were attacked by Iraqi missiles,” he added.

The lawmaker, from the western City of Borujerd, was referring to the IAEA's latest report that accuses Iran of trying to develop “nuclear payload for a missile.”

“These alleged activities consist of a number of projects and sub-projects, covering nuclear- and missile-related aspects, run by the military-related organizations,” AIEA Director General Yukiya Amano's report alleged on Thursday.

Amano, who has reportedly claimed that at his new position he wants to focus on "the facts" and pursue a more technical approach than his predecessor, Mohamed ElBaradei, also complained about the level of Iran's cooperation with the agency.

This is while the UN nuclear watchdog has carried out the highest number of inspections in Iran compared to any other country throughout its history and has found nothing to indicate that the program has diverted toward weaponization.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119399§ionid=351020104.

Dubai names 15 more suspects in Mabhouh hit

Security forces in the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai have released the names and photos of 15 more people, whom they believe were involved in the assassination of a senior Hamas official at a luxury hotel.

Six of those believed to be responsible for the death of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh had UK passports, while the rest had Irish, Australian and French documents. Dubai police say the newly named suspects provided "logistical support."

"The new list of suspects includes people who offered prior logistical support and preparations to facilitate the crime, and others who played a central role," said a statement released on Wednesday.

The new suspects raise the number of suspects involved in the killing of a senior Hamas commander to 26 people, all Western passport holders.

Dubai Police Chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim had earlier said investigations revealed that Mossad, Israel's spy agency, was behind the assassination of al-Mabhouh.

The top Hamas official was killed in his hotel room on January 19, hours after he arrived in Dubai from Syria.

The Dubai police had previously identified 11 people, 10 men and a woman, suspected of murdering Mabhouh. According to the police, the suspects had arrived in Dubai the day before the killing.

Interpol has issued Red Notices for the 11 suspects.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119396§ionid=351020205.

Report: Ahmadinejad, Nasrallah and Meshaal to meet in Damascus

Lebanese sources were quoted as saying on Tuesday by the Saudi Okaz daily that a meeting between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and head of Hamas political bureau, Khaled Meshaal will be held in Damascus this weekend during the Iranian leader's visit to Syria. The same sources added that senior leaders of the Lebanese opposition forces will also travel to Damascus to meet with Ahmadinejad.

The report said that the meetings with Ahmadinejad in the Syrian capital with the leaders of prominent Lebanese and Palestinian resistance groups is a clear message Iran's support to them in the event of any Israeli aggression. It is worth mentioning that the Iranian president's recent comments on Hizbullah's readiness to face an expected Israeli war were criticized by officials from Lebanon's majority.

© 2010 Al Bawaba

Source: Al-Bawaba.
Link: http://albawaba.com/en/news/261659.

Japan offers to enrich uranium for Iran

Japan has offered to enrich uranium for Iran allowing access to nuclear power by the Islamic Republic, the Nikkei business daily reports.

The Japanese proposal is aimed to allay international fears that Iran might be seeking an atomic weapon, according to Wednesday's edition of the report.

The uranium would be used at Tehran's research reactor to produce medical isotopes, the report added.

According to the publication, the Iranian government has not yet responded to the proposal, but the issue was expected to be discussed Wednesday when the visiting Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani and Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada meet in Tokyo.

"Japan strongly hopes Iran's nuclear issue will be resolved peacefully and diplomatically ... and that Iran considers a related UN Security Council resolution seriously", a foreign ministry spokesman quoted Katsuya as saying in the meeting.

Iran says that it is a signatory of the NPT and, unlike Israel, neither believes in atomic weapons nor, as a matter of religious principle, does it intend to access such weapons of mass-destruction. Furthermore, Tehran has repeatedly called for the elimination of all nuclear weapon development, production and arsenals throughout the globe.

Iran's nuclear facilities and enriched uranium remain under the supervision of IAEA inspectors, as outlined in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement.

The UN nuclear watchdog has carried out the highest number of inspections in Iran, compared to any other country throughout its history and has found nothing to indicate any diversion toward weaponization.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119384§ionid=351020104.

Iran border guards detain terrorist group members

Iranian security forces have arrested three members of a terrorist group in the northwestern city of Sardasht as they tried to cross over into the country.

Sardasht border guards detained the three members of the terrorist Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), in southern parts of the West Azarbaijan Province.

"These individuals were trying to enter the country through the border near Sardasht and Piranshahr when they were caught by the border guards," the Public Security Deputy of the West Azarbaijan Border Guard Department announced on Wednesday.

"The three detained members of the Democrat rebel group, who were trained outside the country, planned to carry out an attack in Iran," Colonel Kheibar Tiba added.

The official, however, pointed out that the border guards were able to detain the three terrorists as they had been monitoring the activities of rebel groups over the past months.

Iran's West Azarbaijan Province shares borders with Iraq, Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119383§ionid=351020101.

British Muslim woman killed in Pakistan

A British woman who converted to Islam has been killed in a car bomb attack after she joined her husband in Pakistan.

Belinda Khan died when the explosion ripped through a busy market in Mingora, the main city in the troubled Swat Valley in the North Western Frontier Province.

Her first Pakistani husband, Yahya Khan, was also killed by the Taliban in 2008.

Her new husband told British newspaper The Guardian: "She came to have a second life with me. My family and I are missing her very much."

She was apparently shopping in Mingora's market when the car bomb went off on Monday, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens more.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119371§ionid=351020401.

Family of killed US activist to sue Israel

The family of an American activist who was killed after an Israeli army bulldozer ran over her in 2003 in the Gaza Strip is intended to sue Israel.

Rachel Corrie was run over by an Israeli bulldozer during a demonstration in Rafah, which borders Egypt.

Hussein Abu Hussein, the family's lawyer, told AFP on Wednesday that Israel "should take responsibility for the death of Rachel Corrie."

"We believe her killing was done intentionally or at least out of negligence and wrongdoing," he added.

Cindy and Craig Corrie of Olympia, Washington, say they have four key witnesses, three Britons and an American, who saw Rachel crushed underneath a Caterpillar bulldozer in Rafah in 2003.

Israel has allowed the four activists who witnessed the incident to enter Israel and testify in the court due to be held on the 10th of March.

A Palestinian doctor who treated Corrie before her death has not been given permission to leave the Gaza Strip and attend the hearing.

Corrie wrote about her experiences in the Palestinian territories while she was alive. Her diaries have been published as a play.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119387§ionid=351020202.

Snowstorm cuts road traffic in Xinjiang

URUMQI: An overnight snowstorm has completely cut road traffic to a city and county in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the local meteorological authorities said on Tuesday.

The meteorological department of Wusu city said the accumulated snow reached 55 cm in urban area as of 11 am Tuesday, the heaviest daily fall in 57 years.

The Wusu city government has mobilized grassroots cadres to visit door to door in the rural area to investigate casualties.

The meteorological authority in Shawan county said snow started to hit the county at around 8 pm Monday, and as of 8 am Tuesday, the county recorded precipitation of 19 cm and snowfall of 21.5 cm, with the accumulated snow being 50 cm. The meteorological staff said the storm will continue on Tuesday.

Tacheng prefecture, which administers Wusu city and Shawan county, has been frequently hit by snow storms in winter. The prefecture also faces possible flooding from thawing snow as temperature rises in spring.

Peng Jiarui, secretary of the prefectural committee of the Communist Party of China, has urged local government departments to mobilize people to help farmers and herdsmen to clear accumulated snow near their residences and ordered evacuation of people living in areas vulnerable to possible flooding at an early date.

Authorities in Altay prefecture in north of Xinjiang, also affected by heavy snow in winter, have prepared flood-relief goods and are monitoring reservoirs around-the-clock to prevent flooding.

Source: China Daily.
Link: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-02/23/content_9491550.htm.

Saudi, Yemeni leaders discuss Houthi rebels, al-Qaeda, pirates

Riyadh - The president of Yemen and the Saudi King on Tuesday met near Riyadh to discuss terrorism, internal conflict and piracy. The meeting, at King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz's royal campsite east of Riyadh, was King Abdullah's first with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh since Houthi rebels near the Saudi-Yemeni border accepted a ceasefire earlier this month.

It also preceded a conference of donors to Yemen, led by the oil-rich countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), scheduled to be held in Riyadh on February 27.

The leaders' discussions focused on joint efforts to prevent Saudi-born al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden from establishing a base in Yemen, and broader joint efforts to combat extremism and piracy, a Saudi diplomat told the German Press Agency dpa.

The Saudi delegation stressed the importance of the Yemeni government's "taking concrete and active steps to crush the rebels, eliminate their financing and foreign support, and reveal their links and those who support them," the diplomat said.

Saudi Arabia, which entered Yemen's conflict with the Shiite rebels along the Saudi-Yemeni border in November, has repeatedly accused Iran of supporting the rebels.

Both countries have for years fought a campaign against al-Qaeda militants who have claimed hundreds of lives in attacks in both countries.

Yemeni officials hope that increased attention to the country, the Arab world's poorest, following a failed attack on a US airplane over Detroit in December, and the intensified fighting with the rebels last autumn and winter, will produce an increase in international aid.

GCC Secretary General Abdel-Rahman al-Atiya said that a team had been assigned to study Yemen's development needs for the 2011-2015 period.

They would be based on a study of the problems faced in carrying out development projects in the four years since a February 2006 donors conference in London granted Yemen 5.7 billion dollars.

GCC countries contributed 3.7 billion of the total pledged in 2006.

Al-Atiya said the recommendations of the team will be submitted to Yemeni authorities and donor countries at a meeting attended by the Islamic Development Bank, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, and the OPEC Fund for Development.

Representatives of donors from the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom will also attend, he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/310850,saudi-yemeni-leaders-discuss-houthi-rebels-al-qaeda-pirates.html.

German Islamist vows to renounce terrorism as trial ends

Dusseldorf - A German man who admits training in terrorism and buying nearly a ton of explosives to attack his homeland declared in a speech from the dock Tuesday that he would never rejoin a group affiliated to al-Qaeda. Fritz Gelowicz, 30, said as his trial in Dusseldorf concluded that he was "shocked and surprised" at the arrest three days earlier of his wife, 28, for raising funds for the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU).

The court is now recessed and set to hand down a verdict on March 4.

"I want to say I will not participate in terrorist activities in future in any way whatever, and will not be rejoining any terrorist organization," Gelowicz told the court. "That's my firm decision."

Germany has never suffered a successful attack by homegrown Islamist terrorists, but the trial heard evidence of how this nearly happened in 2007.

A defence lawyer, Dirk Uden, said Gelowicz had repeatedly urged his wife during her visits to him in prison to stay away from Islamist forums on the internet. Gelowicz and three other alleged plotters were arrested in 2007, just months after he married.

Police picked up his wife, who is a German national of Turkish extraction, on Saturday in the southern German city of Ulm. She and Gelowicz, who converted to Islam, married in early 2007.

She is accused of remitting thousands of euros to the IJU, a group based in the lawless Pakistan region of Waziristan.

Two other accused, Daniel Schneider, 24, and Atilla Selek, 24, also asked for mercy in their speeches from the dock, saying they had done wrong. A fourth accused, Adem Yilmaz, 31, remained silent.

They have together provided 1,200 pages of evidence about buying 700 kilograms of chemicals to make bombs and about the workings of the IJU. They hope to receive jail terms reduced to about a decade each. The maximum term would otherwise be 15 years.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/310852,german-islamist-vows-to-renounce-terrorism-as-trial-ends.html.

Sudan and rebel group sign Darfur ceasefire in Qatar - Summary

Doha (Earth Times) - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Tuesday night signed a ceasefire deal in Doha with a key rebel group, in what could be a key step toward ending the conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region, broadcast reports said. Al-Bashir, who arrived in the Qatari capital on Monday night, said earlier that the deal between his government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) marked "the beginning of the end of the war in Darfur."

"God willing, by the next elections, Darfur will be in a state of total peace," al-Bashir said

Chadian President Idriss Deby, who shares ethnic ties with the JEM and who many accuse of being a patron of the group, and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hammad bin Khalifa, were present at the signing ceremony.

A framework agreement covering the deal was signed Saturday.

Al-Bashir said he hoped the ceasefire with JEM would pave the way for a "comprehensive" peace to end the seven-year conflict. Other rebel groups, such as the Sudan Liberation Army, have not signed up to the deal.

The government in Khartoum has signed several previous ceasefire agreements that have quickly fallen apart, but many analysts see more hope this time around.

Fighting has died off in Darfur, leaving only isolated clashes and general insecurity.

Sudan and its neighbor Chad, which supported rebel groups in Darfur, also recently signed an agreement that should see relations improve - something analysts say is key to long-term stability in the restive province.

Presidential and legislative elections, due in April, are forcing Khartoum to worry about relations with the autonomous Southern Sudan, with which it fought a long civil war.

International pressure is also being applied, particularly through the International Criminal Court's March 2009 arrest warrant for al-Bashir on charges he oversaw crimes against humanity in Darfur.

These factors are believed to working in favor of peace in Darfur by forcing Khartoum to talk more seriously with the rebels.

The United Nations estimates that fighting in Darfur has left 300,000 dead and 2.7 million displaced. The Sudanese government says only 10,000 people have died in the conflict.

A memorandum submitted by the mediating parties proposes a timetable for negotiations after the framework agreement is signed, and a complete ceasefire.

It also affirms the continuation of the federal system of government in Sudan while stressing the government's need to protect people in Darfur from intimidation and violence, and to raise their standard of living.

The memorandum calls for proportional representation in democratic institutions, courts, the civil service, and security forces for Darfur.

Leaders agree to create Latam bloc

Latin American and Caribbean leaders have agreed to create a new regional bloc that excludes the US and Canada.

The announcement came at the close of a two-day summit of 32 leaders in Cancun, Mexico on Tuesday.

The new bloc "must as a priority push for regional integration ... and promote the regional agenda in global meetings," Felipe Calderon, the Mexican president, said on Tuesday.

Further details of the new bloc, including its name, are to be decided on at a meeting in Caracas, Venezuela, next year.

The grouping is expected to serve as an alternative to the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes Washington and Ottawa, and has been the main forum for regional affairs over the past 50 years.

Arturo Valenzuela, the US assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, said the US did not see the new grouping as a problem, but added that it "should not be an effort that would replace the OAS".

The Latin American and Caribbean leaders also called for fresh talks on the sovereignty of the Falklands-Malvinas Islands.

Support for Argentina

Expressing "support for the legitimate rights" of Buenos Aires in the dispute, they said it was in the region's interest that Argentina and the UK resume talks "in order to find a just, peaceful and definitive solution".

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, called for the UN to reopen the debate over the islands' sovereignty, which has re-ignited in recent days after oil drilling began off the remote, British-controlled southern Atlantic archipelago claimed by Argentina.

London recently rejected Argentina's latest claim to the islands, which Britain has held since 1833.

Argentina lost a short but bloody war to Britain over the south Atlantic archipelago in 1982, which cost around 1,000 lives.

Tensions

Meanwhile, regional tensions were also highlighted at the summit as Evo Morales, the Bolivian president, accused his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe of being a US agent looking to stall the creation of the new regional bloc.

Morales said Uribe provoked a heated discussion with Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, during a private meeting on Monday.

The dispute highlights the left-right divides in the region and drew calls for unity by leaders such as Michelle Bachelet, the Chilean president.

"We must protect our people, be more inclusive … construct the paths and networks necessary so we don't live with our backs turned toward each other," she said.

Colombia, a close ally of the US, and Venezuela, whose president is one of the fiercest critics of the US in the region, are locked in a growing political and trade dispute.

Chavez has repeatedly accused the US of planning to invade Venezuela with the help of Colombia, a charge Washington and Bogota deny.

Source: Al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net//news/americas/2010/02/201022323322860428.html.

Iran to issue $1 billion of energy bonds in coming days

The managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) says Iran will issue $1 billion of bonds to develop the South Pars field.

Seifollah Jashnsaz said on Tuesday that the bonds are expected to be issued in the “coming days” since Iran's Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of Iran finally reached an agreement on the proposal.

He noted that Iran had taken a set of measures to issue the bonds earlier this year, but the efforts failed.

Jashnsaz stated that the limits in the funding allocated for Oil Ministry projects over the past two years made it necessary to issue the bonds, ISNA reported.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119355§ionid=351020103.

'Rigi case will go to court soon'

A senior Iranian Judiciary official says Jundallah terrorist group leader Abdolmalek Rigi will be prosecuted soon.

“Undoubtedly, Rigi's case will be considered soon,” Ebrahim Hamidi, the highest-ranking Judiciary official in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, told the Fars news agency on Tuesday.

Hamidi stressed that the case is of “great importance” and could be used to obtain more intelligence about the terrorist group.

Iran's security forces arrested Rigi on Tuesday when he was on a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Kyrgyzstan.

Rigi's terrorist group carried out most of its attacks in Sistan-Baluchistan province.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119353§ionid=351020101.

China set to impose punitive sanctions on US companies

The Chinese government says that it will impose punitive sanctions on US companies because of US arms sales to Taiwan.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Tuesday that the US arms sales to Taiwan and President Barack Obama's recent meeting with the Dalai Lama had seriously harmed ties between Washington and Beijing.

Chinese authorities say Tibet and Taiwan are inseparable parts of China's territory.

Qin refused to say when sanctions would come into effect.

China has already reduced its military cooperation with the Pentagon over the United States' $6.4 billion worth of arms sales to Taiwan.

China says the US arms sales to Taiwan harm its national security.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Qin called on Washington to work for the improvement of bilateral relations.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119348§ionid=351020404.

Niger junta apppoints civilian prime minister

Wed Feb 24, 2010

Niger's military junta has named civilian Mahamadou Danda as the new prime minister, days after it toppled the government of President Mamadou Tandja.

A military order issued on Tuesday said Danda will help oversee the political transition.

The decree was signed by the junta chief, Major Salou Djibo, who took over as the interim president on Monday.

Danda had served as communications minister during a transitional government that followed Niger's last coup in 1999.

The junta is expected to name a cabinet to work with the prime minister in the next few days.

They have promised to bring democracy back to the country with a new constitution and new elections, although they have not yet announced a timetable for the process.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/119346.html.

17 killed in coal mine explosion in western Turkey

At least 17 miners have been killed after a methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in western Turkey, local media reported.

The explosion took place at the Odakoy mine near the town of Dursunbey in Balikesir province at around 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT).

Balikesir Governor Yilmaz Arslan said that the Tuesday evening blast caused a shaft to collapse at the mine, the CNN-Turk television network reported.

Arslan added that 12 miners lost their lives as a result of the explosion, while the other five succumbed to severe burns they had sustained in the incident.

There are no other miners inside and searches have been brought to a standstill, he added.

Rescuers could not enter the mine for several hours due to a high concentration of gas. Air was pumped into the mine to try to dissipate the gas as rescuers waited for experienced miners to arrive.

Turkish Labor Minister Omer Dincer has ordered a thorough investigation of the incident.

Accidents are frequent in Turkish mines due to safety violations, outdated equipment, and high concentrations of methane gas.

Seventeen miners were killed in a methane gas explosion at a coal mine in western Balikesir province three years ago. In Turkey's worst mining disaster, a gas explosion killed 270 workers near the Black Sea port of Zonguldak in 1992.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119343§ionid=351020204.

Iran to reveal evidence of Jundallah ties with US

Iran says it has irrefutable evidence confirming that terrorist ringleader Abdolmalek Rigi had been aided and abetted by the US government before his arrest.

The leader of the Jundallah terrorist group was on a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Kyrgyzstan when he was tracked down by Iranian security forces on Tuesday.

An informed source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Press TV that Rigi and one of his deputies were captured after Iranian security forces forced their plane to land at an airport in the Persian Gulf city of Bandar Abbas.

Iranian security forces said he was at a US base in Afghanistan 24 hours before his capture and had a forged Afghan passport issued by the US in his possession when he was detained.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters on Tuesday that there is strong evidence suggesting that Rigi was supported by the United States.

"Not only are we aware of the many crimes against humanity committed by [Rigi], but we also have more than enough evidence that this terrorist group was in fact acting on US orders," Mehmanparast said.

"This is a disgrace for a country which tries to portray itself as an avid supporter of human rights," he added.

The details of Rigi's arrest and his link to the US government will be made public by the Intelligence Ministry in the near future, Mehmanparast said.

On Tuesday, Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi said security officials had been tracking Rigi down for over five months.

In addition to Rigi's stay at a US base, he had also met with the NATO military chief in Afghanistan in April 2008 and also had links with some EU member states, Moslehi stated.

He noted that Iran received no assistance from regional intelligence services in the capture of Rigi.

Jundallah, which is based in Pakistan, has carried out a slew of bombings, assassination attempts, and terrorist attacks in Iran, one of which killed at least 40 people in the southeastern city of Pishin.

Members of the Iranian parliament have expressed their satisfaction over the arrest of the Jundallah leader.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, over 200 Iranian lawmakers congratulated Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on the successful arrest of Rigi.

"We are overjoyed by the arrest of the Jundallah leader, who was acting as a lackey and a spy on behalf of the intelligence agencies of Britain and the US," read part of the statement.

"This certainly is good news. We are proud of our military, police, and security forces for their hard efforts to find this man and bring him to justice," the statement added.

According to the parliamentarians, the arrest of Iran's most wanted man shows the strength and power of the Islamic Republic in security issues, which is something the entire Muslim world should be proud of.

The MPs also said Rigi's arrest would have never been possible without the support and positive encouragement of the Leader.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119341§ionid=351020101.

Gates: NATO, in crisis, must change its ways

By ROBERT BURNS, AP National Security Writer

WASHINGTON – With the war in Afghanistan as his guide, Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday called for sweeping changes in the way NATO prepares for and fights nontraditional conflicts.

Citing a "crisis" in the alliance, Gates said Afghanistan has exposed fundamental NATO weaknesses — shortcomings that he said can undermine the viability of NATO as it faces future security threats.

He cited a money shortage within NATO — a perennial problem that successive American administrations have tried and failed to fix. That, in turn, is a "symptom of deeper problems with the way NATO perceives threats," assesses its defense needs and sets spending priorities, Gates said.

Gates tempered his stern message with words of praise for NATO allies, saying they had demonstrated in just the last three months an "unparalleled level of commitment" to the war effort by increasing their troop contributions from 30,000 last summer to 50,000 this year.

"By any measure that is an extraordinary feat," he said. He did not mention, however, that even NATO members who have shared the combat burden in Afghanistan are finding it hard to sustain.

In the Netherlands, for example, the coalition government collapsed this month over the issue of troop contributions; the 2,000-strong Dutch troop contingent is to begin withdrawing in August. Another stalwart, Canada, plans to remove 2,800 troops by next year, even as some other nations send more.

NATO's budget squeeze reflects a larger cultural and political trend within an alliance, Gates said. After decades of success in preventing a catastrophic eruption of conflict on the European continent, NATO member countries have failed to modernize their militaries — instead relying on superior U.S. firepower. Afghanistan, however, has shown that a superpower cannot succeed alone in a conflict that requires not just traditional military strength but also civilian expertise and the clout of international support.

"The demilitarization of Europe — where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it — has gone from a blessing in the 20th century to an impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the 21st," he told a National Defense University audience filled with uniformed military officers from many of NATO's 28 member countries.

The danger, he added, is that potential future adversaries may view NATO as a paper tiger.

"Not only can real or perceived weakness be a temptation to miscalculation and aggression, but, on a more basic level, the resulting funding and capability shortfalls make it difficult to operate and fight together to confront shared threats," Gates told a forum on rewriting the basic mission plan of the NATO alliance.

"All of this should be a wake-up call that NATO needs serious, far-reaching and immediate reforms to address a crisis that has been years in the making," Gates said.

If NATO simply rewrites its basic agenda — officially known as its "strategic concept" — without changing the practices and the mindset of alliance members, the result "will not be worth the paper it is printed on," he added.

A group of security experts led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is scheduled to produce by April recommendations for the new strategy document, which was last revised in 1999, before the 9/11 terrorist attacks that led to NATO's involvement in Afghanistan. The final product is expected to be formally adopted at a NATO summit in November.

In his speech, Gates time and again cited Afghanistan as an illustration of where NATO has failed to adapt.

"For many years, for example, we have been aware that NATO needs more cargo aircraft and more helicopters of all types, and yet we still don't have these capabilities," he said. "And their absence is directly impacting operations in Afghanistan." Similarly, he said NATO requires more aerial refueling and surveillance aircraft for immediate use in the war.

Alliance officials in Europe were largely accepting of Gates' assessment of the problem.

Norwegian Undersecretary of Defense Espen Barth Eide told The Associated Press that Gates' criticism was "understandable," but that increased funding from European NATO members was not a viable solution.

"I think Gates is right to say we've had such success demilitarizing Europe that many Europeans have forgotten that freedom and democracy aren't free and must be defended...sometimes by military force," Eide said. Member countries need to increase efficiencies by cooperating more closely, he added.

"It's not like defense budgets in Europe are going to go up. They've been going down almost across the board," Eide said.

In Prague, Michal Thim of the Association for International Affairs, an independent Czech think tank, said Gates' comments were not surprising.

"The United States have been concerned about the defense policies of European allies for a long time," Thim said. He interpreted Gates' remarks as indicating the Obama administration is losing patience with Europe.

Kees Homan, a former director of the Dutch military college and now with the Clingendael Institute, a think tank in The Hague, said Gates is only partly right about the popular aversion in Europe to war.

Europeans will fight when they see it to be in their self interest, he said. The problem in Afghanistan is that the war lacks consensus.

"There's no unified approach to Afghanistan," Holman said. "Everyone has his own view."

Chechnya announces national day of mourning over Soviet deportations

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has signed an order making February 23 a day of mourning for the North Caucasus republic over mass Stalin-era deportations, it was announced on Tuesday.

The move was announced at a memorial service in Grozny for the 66th anniversary of the deportations. February 23 is also Russia’s Defenders of the Fatherland national holiday, previously Soviet Army and Navy Day.

“We are obliged to know and remember everything – both the good and the bad – connected to the history of our people,” Kadyrov said at an event in a central Grozny concert hall.

“I am sure the tragic events in our history are over…I pray that the Almighty will help us live in peace and harmony with all,” he added.

The Chechen and Ingush peoples were exiled by Stalin to Siberia and the steppes of north Kazakhstan in 1944. They were ostensibly deported for having aided Hitler's troops during WWII, although as historians have pointed out, German forces did not reach the Caucasus.

Some 450,000 people were deported in just eight days, according to archives.

Some 20% are believed to have died on the long journey, and many more during their first months of exile.

The decision to allow them to return home was taken on January 9, 1957, almost four years after Stalin's death.

GROZNY, February 23 (RIA Novosti)

Source: RIA Novosti.
Link: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100223/157979116.html.

Algeria reports spike in Sahel trafficking activity

2010-02-23

Despite heightened border security, clashes between Algerian security forces and smugglers quadrupled last year, L'Expression reported on Tuesday (February 23rd), citing a National Gendarmerie official. According to Colonel Djamel Zeghida, there is a proven connection between drug and arms traffickers and terrorist networks active in the Sahel. "Some groups use drug trafficking to support themselves. Others extort money from the convoys of drug traffickers. But there is a third category that provides protection and security for drug traffickers in exchange for cash," Zeghida said.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/02/23/newsbrief-01.

Algerian teachers vow more strikes

The specter of a lost year looms over students as the protracted dispute between unions and the government goes unresolved.

By Mouna Sadek for Magharebia in Algiers – 23/02/10

Unions representing Algeria's teachers on Sunday (February 21st) rejected a proposed pay increase and called for a general strike, prompting student and parent fears that the school year will be lost entirely.

CNAPEST and UNPEF will begin a prolonged strike on February 24th to protest what they are calling an unsatisfactory offer.

Following the announcement of the government plan, however, secondary school teachers' union SNAPEST decided to postpone its strike action, while the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE) delayed its planned protest until March 18th.

Under the Education Ministry's proposed allowance scheme, teachers would receive a 29-32% pay increase as well as retroactive benefits.

Union representatives said that this offer falls short of their expectations, especially when compared to staggering inflation in Algeria as well as the salaries of their Moroccan and Tunisian counterparts.

CNAPEST labeled the ministry's offer a "misrepresentation of the goods".

"These salaries have been deliberately exaggerated", CNAPEST spokesperson Messaoud Boudiba said on February 21st. "The Professional Experience Allowance (IEP), for example, is being presented as a pay rise."

"Our strike will continue until we've received something concrete on our other demands," Boudiba added.

Teachers themselves were divided on the proposed salary increases. Some said the raise would allow them to live decently, while others dismissed the offer as politically motivated and designed to weaken their protests.

Education Minister Benbouker Benbouzid earlier this month called the strike "unjustified" and warned teachers that too many strikes would erode their public support.

"One strike too many…could have incalculable consequences both for teachers and their parents, and for the education community as a whole," he wrote in an open letter to teachers on February 10th.

Parents' associations are concerned that repeated strikes will disrupt their children's education. The National Union of Parent-Teachers' Associations asked the prime minister to step in quickly to resolve the ongoing labor dispute in Algerian schools.

"Nothing has come out of the marathon discussions that have been going on ever since the start of the year, and at this rate we're going to lose the whole year" of teaching, Khaled Ahmed, president of the group, said on February 16th.

One mother told Magharebia that her two sons in primary school "have not been taught" at all this year.

It may be "impossible" to make up lost teaching time this year, university lecturer Adel Abderazak told the daily El Watan on February 14th.

"With all the strikes held in the past and planned for the future, the cumulative effect is that teaching is about two months behind where it should be at this time of the year," he added.

Imane, a student who faces her baccalaureate examination this year, told Magharebia she has no choice but to pay for private lessons, saying: "At this rate, it's clear we're not going to get to the end of the syllabus."

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/02/23/feature-03.

Marjah Operations are an Exemplary Lesson for the Invaders

A Report From The Afghanistan Resistance
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Marjah Operations are an Exemplary Lesson for the Invaders

Rabi' al-awwal 09, 1431 A.H, Tuesday February 23, 2010

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate

For the last two weeks, a 15,000-strong army of NATO, British and American forces has been carrying out military operations in a small are i.e. Marjah which is located in Nad Ali district. A number of jet bombers of the enemy including unmanned drones and 60 gunship helicopters are taking part in the operations. In addition to this, the enemy have brought to the battle field their huge and most advanced tanks by the name of Abraham and Shifton, which approximately weigh 65 tons. But despite the preparations, boasts and propaganda stunts, the enemy have not been able to make any headway against a small group of Mujahideen who are not more than 1000 armed men and their weapons are no match with those of the enemy. But still the sacrificing and committed Mujahideen have bravely blocked the invaders’ way successfully.

Skilled snipers have put shock and awe into the ranks of the enemy. The Mujahideen have blown up 53 tanks; shot down two unmanned drones and one helicopter besides killing tens of soldiers. An Afghan honor-loving woman made history by shooting soldiers pointblank in the bazaar. She revived the memory of Malalai of the past and proved by her heroic act, that still there are many sisters-in-arms of Malalai in this land. If we count the crews in the tanks which have been destroyed, we can easily conclude that the enemy losses are more than one hundred soldiers.

Approximate, just two weeks ago, McChrystal, top commanders of American forces in Afghanistan, was boasting and claimed that he would soon take Marjah from Mujahideen. But today he admits that they are facing stiff resistance, which he did not imagine before. He said we thought if we make announcement about Marjah before the inception of the operations, Taliban would either fled or lay down their arms but now we are facing tough resistance contrary to our expectations.

Similarly, the enemy twice tried to airdrop soldiers behind the line of the fighting but soon Mujahideen besieged them and after Mujahideen’s inflicting on them losses, the enemy hastily left the area. Major General Nick Carter, NATO commander of forces in Helmand says we will be able in three months to say whether the operations were success or not.

These are the words uttered by the enemy and they are the ground realities, which are a good lesson for the moribund generals of Pentagon and the new rulers of the White House Administrations. There are thousands of towns in Afghanistan like Marjah in addition to about 385 districts in the country.

Seeing that they were not able to take a small area like Marjah in two weeks, so ironically, how much decades and how massive force they would need to take the whole Afghanistan. Still it is a matter of pondering that the Mujahideen learn new tactics with the passage of time and their knowledge in the field of politics, culture and military experience increase with every passing day.

It will be better for the rulers of the White House to put an end to the current unsuccessful adventure in Afghanistan. All invaders, beginning with Alexander, the Great up to the time of the former Soviet Union have tried this adventure in this Mujahid-bearing land but they all failed. By traversing the same path of failure and fiasco, Obama only prolongs days and nights of his failure and disgrace. Similarly, Obama should stop resorting to other stratagems and ploys because the resistance of Mujahideen has now evolved into a mature phase. This candle could not be extinguished by just blowing it away. The caravan of the holy martyrs and fighters will surely reach its destination soon or later. If Allah willing.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Source: Information Clearing House.
Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24844.htm.