Haniyeh blames Arab League for new Israeli settlement bid

The democratically-elected Palestinian Prime Minister says that the Arab League decision to back the US-sponsored talks with Israel accelerated Tel Aviv's settlement drive in Jerusalem (Al-Quds).

"The decision encouraged Zionists to push ahead their settlement expansion in the West Bank. Israeli plan to build hundreds of homes whilst the US Vice President Joe Biden is on a visit to the region truly shows American cover to such a settlement plan," Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday.

The senior Hamas official also called on Arab nations and the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority not to move forward with the proposed peace talks. He said they should instead attempt to bring Palestinians together and support Palestinian resistance against "the Zionist occupation."

However, the Arab League withdrew its support for indirect talks between the two sides on Wednesday due to the recent Israeli declaration on new settlement activities in al-Quds. A final decision is expected from the Arab foreign ministers amid concerns that they are heavily influenced by the US, the chief sponsor of Israel and the so-called Middle East peace talks.

Israel's Interior Ministry on Tuesday said it had approved the construction of 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo neighborhood in the mainly Arab eastern section of al-Quds.

The announcement sparked swift condemnation from Britain, China, Lebanon, Russia, Turkey, the United States and a number of other countries.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120608§ionid=351020202.

Hariri to visit Syria to revise bilateral accords

Lebanese PM wants Beirut to have 'privileged, sincere and honest relations' with Damascus.

BEIRUT - Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri will travel to Damascus next month to discuss revising bilateral accords, his press office said.

"The prime minister announced to the cabinet his intention to visit Damascus at the beginning of next month," it said in a statement late Wednesday.

"He noted the need to examine bilateral accords currently in place and to propose new agreements if need be."

Hariri, who took office last November, made a landmark fence-mending visit to Damascus in December, five years after the assassination of his father, ex-prime minister Rafiq Hariri, which had been originally blamed on Syria, without evidence, and Damascus has denied any involvement.

The 39-year-old premier said at the end of the two-day visit, during which he held three rounds of private talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, that he wanted to see "privileged, sincere and honest relations" between the two countries.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=37787.

Saudi awards Turkey's Erdogan for 'service to Islam'

Erdogan awarded for his calls for rapport between civilizations, constructive dialogue, openness.

RIYADH - Saudi King Abdullah presented Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan with one of the country's most prestigious prizes on Tuesday for his 'service to Islam'.

Erdogan earned the King Faisal International Prize for having "rendered outstanding service to Islam by defending the causes of the Islamic nation, particularly the Palestinian cause and the just rights of the Palestinian people," said Abd Allah al-Uthaimin of the prize-awarding group.

"At the international level, he was a leading Muslim founder of the call for rapport between civilizations and a passionate advocate of constructive dialogue, openness, and principles of international understanding and cooperation."

Seven academic researchers were also awarded King Faisal Prizes.

Algerian Abdurrahman Elhaj-Saleh and Lebanese Ramzi Baalbaki jointly earned the King Faisal Language and Literature prize for Arabic linguistic and grammatical research.

German Reinhold Ganz and Canadians Jean-Pierre Pelletier and Johanne Martel Pelletier shared the King Faisal Prize for Medicine for work on osteoarthritis.

US-based mathematicians Enrico Bombieri and Terence Chi-Shen Tao split the King Faisal Science prize for their work in theoretical mathematics.

Winners receive a 200-gram gold medal and 200,000 dollars and co-winners split that sum.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=37743.

Dutch politician, Muslim critic plans new film, but after elections

Amsterdam - A leading Dutch politician and critic of Islam said Wednesday he plans to release a second movie about the spread of Islam, but not until after Dutch elections in June, local media reported. Fitna, released in March 2008 by Geert Wilders, was the source of much controversy, focusing as it did on the politician's concerns about the spread of radical Islam and the alleged "Islamization" of the Netherlands.

Now he plans to do the same again.

"Fitna 2 will be spectacular, but we do not manage to release it as planned before the elections," the leader of the Freedom Party PVV said.

Wilders said the sequel to his 2008 film focuses on the consequences of mass migration from Muslim countries, freedom of expression and the Sharia or Muslim law.

The lawmaker previously indicated he received help from professionals in the US to make his film.

Remarks Wilders made about Islam in Fitna are used in the trial currently brought against the lawmaker for alleged discrimination and incitement to hatred.

An Amsterdam court is deciding whether Wilders violated Dutch law by calling the Koran a "fascist book" and Islam a "backward culture," expressions he did among others in his film.

Wilders' Freedom Party, first established in 2006, entered parliament with 9 seats following general elections that year.

Opinion polls indicate the PVV would receive at least 24 seats in parliament if a general election were held today.

On February 20, the ruling Dutch coalition of Christian Democrats, Labor and Christian Union collapsed over the extension of the country's mission to Afghanistan, resulting in early elections on June 9.

Last week, the PVV achieved a breakthrough in two local elections. In The Hague, the party became the second largest party, while in Almere, a city east of Amsterdam, the PVV became the biggest party.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313353,dutch-politician-muslim-critic-plans-new-film-but-after-elections.html.

Drought-hit Malaysian state to hold prayers for rain

Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian state has announced it would hold prayers to beg for rain as it struggles to cope with a prolonged dry spell, a news report said Wednesday. The north-eastern state of Kelantan, which is ruled by the Islamic hardline Parti Islam SeMalaysia, said the prayers would take place Friday night.

Chief Minister Nik Aziz Nik Mat said water levels at the state's dams were at a "serious" level because of the lack of rainfall in the past few months, the official Bernama news agency said.

The state's agriculture department chief had earlier expressed concerns that the dry spell could result in losses of up to 52 million ringgit (15.75 million dollars) due to parched rice fields in the state, which is one of the country's main rice producers.

The national Meteorological Department said dry weather affecting most parts of the country could last until mid-April, and advised the public to refrain from open burning.

The central state of Negeri Sembilan has already imposed water rationing in response to low water levels.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313356,drought-hit-malaysian-state-to-hold-prayers-for-rain.html.

29 elephants killed in rail accidents in India since 2007

New Delhi - Twenty-nine elephants have been killed after being knocked down by trains across India since 2007, Parliament was informed Wednesday. .

Minister of Forests and Environment Jairam Ramesh told lawmakers in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, said "In affected states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam, Railways and Forests departments are meeting periodically to evolve and implement more mitigatory measures."

Giving year-wise details, Ramesh said that six jumbos died in 2009 while 8 and 15 respectively died in 2008 and 2007 in the country.

The official statement comes nearly 11 days after a female elephant was killed and another pregnant pachyderm injured when a speeding freight train knocked them down while they were crossing a rail track after having a bath and drinking water in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam.

While one died on the spot, the pregnant injured gave birth to a calf after it too was hit by a Guwahti-bound train. The injured female later crossed the tracks and disappeared in to the jungle.

Northeast Frontier Railway spokesman S S Hajong, quoting local witnesses, said the elephant that got killed apparently put its trunk forward while the goods train was passing that area.

Local villagers have told officials that a herd of wild elephants, which had come to the Deepor Beel (Wildlife sanctuary) for bathing and drinking water, was trying to cross the tracks, one of the elephants somehow moved its trunk towards the tracks as the train was passing by."

Herds of elephants come down to the Deepor Beel almost every day, prompting the railways to run trains in the area at just 10 km per hour.

The February 28 incident was the sixth such case in Assam state in an train accident during the last three months, Indian newspapers have reported.

Four elephants including two calves were mowed down by a speeding train between Diphu and Doldoli stations in Karbi Anglong district in central Assam on January 2, one male elephant was killed by a train near Hojai in Nagaon district on December 22.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313365,29-elephants-killed-in-rail-accidents-in-india-since-2007.html.

Dalai Lama risks Chinese ire to back Uighurs

By Abhishek Madhukar

DHARAMSALA (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, voiced his support on Wednesday for an ethnic minority in China's troubled Xinjiang province, risking further worsening his fraught relations with Beijing.

In an address marking 51 years since he fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, the Dalai Lama referred to Xinjiang as "East Turkestan", the name given to it by pro-independence exiles. The region is populated by the ethnic minority Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking largely Muslim people.

"Let us also remember the people of East Turkestan who have experienced great difficulties and increased oppression," he told about 3,000 Tibetans in Dharamsala, the northern hill town where the Nobel Peace prize winner has lived for five decades.

"I would like to express my solidarity and stand firmly with them".

Chinese authorities in Xinjiang have waged a heavy-handed campaign against what China calls violent separatist activity by Uighurs. Ethnic violence there last year between Uighurs and majority Han Chinese led to at least 200 deaths.

The Dalai Lama's comments riled Beijing, which reviles the him as a separatist and says he foments violence. The Dalai Lama denies both charges, saying he merely seeks genuine autonomy for the remote region of Tibet.

A commentary in the official Xinhua news agency called the speech "resentful, yet unsurprising", saying it was full of "angry rhetoric".

"Regardless of his allegations of not separating China, the Dalai Lama's request for 'genuine autonomy' on one quarter of the Chinese territory is anything but acceptable for the central government," the Xinhua commentary said, referring to Tibet.

In Dharamsala, thousands of exiled Tibetans, including maroon-robed monks, nuns and many Westerners, marked the day with a march carrying blue-yellow-red Tibetan flags and banners with anti-China messages.

In neighbouring Nepal, police detained about a dozen Tibetan protestors when they tried to storm a Chinese consulate office in the capital Kathmandu. The protestors, who shouted "Free Tibet", were dragged away by riot police to waiting vans.

APPEAL TO OFFICIALS

Reaching out to Tibetans working for the Chinese government, the Dalai Lama said: "I invite Tibetan officials serving in various Tibetan autonomous areas to visit Tibetan communities living in the free world, either officially or in a private capacity, to observe the situation for themselves."

China bans Tibetans who work for the government from visiting exile communities, but many ordinary Tibetans make the hazardous and illegal crossing to study Buddhism in Dharamsala.

The Dalai Lama also vowed he and members of his self-proclaimed government-in-exile would not take any political positions if and when the Tibet issue was resolved.

Protests led by Buddhist monks against Chinese rule in March 2008 gave way to torrid violence, with rioters torching shops and turning on residents, including Han Chinese and Hui Muslims. Tibetans see Hans as intruders threatening their culture.

At least 19 people died in the 2008 unrest, which sparked waves of protest across Tibetan areas ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Pro-Tibet groups abroad say more than 200 Tibetans have died in a subsequent crackdown across the region. Beijing has denied that and said it used minimal force.

The Dalai Lama said Beijing had put monks and nuns "in prison-like conditions", making "monasteries function more like museums ... to deliberately annihilate Buddhism".

But he offered to keep talking to the Chinese, despite what he sees as "little hope" of results.

China and the Dalai Lama's envoys have held several rounds of talks since 2002 but made little progress.

Source: The Star.
Link: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/11/worldupdates/2010-03-10T183737Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-467953-2&sec=Worldupdates.

Second Algerian teachers' union ends strike

2010-03-10

Algeria's Autonomous Union of Secondary and Technical Teachers (CNAPEST) on Tuesday (March 9th) ended their strike and called for classes to resume on Thursday, Tout sur l'Algerie reported. The National Union of Education and Training Personnel (UNPEF), which joined CNAPEST for the national teachers' strike on February 24th, ended their labor action last week-end.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/03/10/newsbrief-05.

Algeria, Turkey launch joint committee session in Algiers

2010-03-10

Algeria plans to keep exporting gas to Turkey after the agreement between Sonatrach and Turkey BOTAS ends in 2014, Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil said Wednesday (March 10th) in Algiers at the launch of the 9th Algeria-Turkey Joint Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technical Co-operation.

Trade volume between Algiers and Istanbul exceeded $3.8 billion last year. Turkey also became the country's sixth-largest customer and seventh-largest supplier in 2009.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/03/10/newsbrief-07.

Al-Qaeda free Spanish female hostage

2010-03-10

A Spanish woman held by Al-Qaeda in northern Mali is "safe and healthy" and on her way home to Barcelona, ANI quoted Spanish Vice-President Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega as saying on Wednesday (March 10th). Humanitarian aid worker Alicia Gamez and two male colleagues were kidnapped in Mauritania last November. The men are still held by al-Qaeda.

The status of the second female hostage remains unclear. Initial reports Wednesday said Philomene Kabore had been freed by al-Qaeda and would soon arrive in Burkina Faso. The Burkinabe-Italian dual national had initially refused to be released and leave her Italian husband, Sergio Cicala. According to a diplomatic source in Bamako quoted by AFP, Kabore remains in the al-Qaeda camp in northern Mali.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/03/10/newsbrief-01.

Algeria targets shady importers

Fake goods and suspicious wire transfers are spurring the Algerian government to regulate importers.

By Nazim Fethi for Magharebia in Algiers — 10/03/10

Algeria is cracking down on importers who illegally wire huge sums of money abroad and deal in counterfeit and banned goods.

Criminal import companies, which sprang up after the state monopoly on foreign trade formally ended in 1991, have been profiting on merchandise like fake spare auto parts.

"We've referred to the courts files regarding 66,000 fraud-perpetrating importers that are already banned from pursuing all forms of foreign trade," Trade Minister El Hachemi Djaaboub said March 4th at an Algiers meeting between customs officials and businesspeople.

Target importers will be prosecuted for violating customs regulations, he said. On top of court-imposed fines, offenders would also be barred from foreign trade, Djaaboub said. The minister also said that the importers would no longer have access to public markets.

The ministries of trade and finance and customs authorities now have access to a computerized database of the violators. To be removed from the database, Djaaboub said, such importers must comply with laws governing foreign trade by paying fines and damages.

Used clothing importers are among those already feeling the effects of the crackdown.

"My colleagues and I have run into a lot of difficulties since last October," used clothing importer Amar Larbi told Magharebia. Larbi, who claimed that his field of imports provides direct or indirect employment for 25,000 people, said the problem involves dealing with bank debits for transactions.

Importers know that if they have to work with bank debits, "they'll have to justify all of their expenses [and] the taxes aren't going to let up," fruit wholesaler Mustapha Djabou said.

"We are ruthlessly pursuing those who perpetrate fraud, and at the same time, we're also helping honest and transparent economic operators," Minister Djaaboub said.

Djaaboub noted a new provision of the 2010 Finance Act regarding the creation of "economic operator" status. The provision awards the status based on a list of criteria that sets standards for reliability and transparency. By meeting the list of criteria, importers will become entitled to certain advantages and customs breaks detailed in the provision on economic operators.

The new arrangement would create "a partnership between the customs authorities and these approved companies," head of customs Mohamed Abdou Bouderbala said.

"It's a question of making the transition from impersonal checks to personalized checks, so that we know who importers are," he said.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/03/10/feature-01.

Muslim Brotherhood pressured politically

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

CAIRO, March 10 (UPI) -- The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has moved away from political ambitions because of the difficulty of forming opposition parties, officials said.

The Muslim Brotherhood scored modest victories in 2005 parliamentary elections in Egypt by running candidates as independents. The group was prohibited from competing openly.

Officials in the banned movement said they have put their political ambitions on hold and will instead focus on the Muslim Brotherhood's social agenda, Egypt's Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reports.

The Muslim Brotherhood added it would not put forth a list of candidates or electoral constituencies they may seek for the consultative chamber of Parliament.

Gamal Heshmant, a leader in the Muslim Brotherhood, told the newspaper the situation in Egypt wasn't right for an independent political party.

"The general atmosphere doesn't allow the formation of new political parties, which is why we put our proposed platform on hold," he said.

Leaders are also said to be keeping their activities spread out to keep investigators at bay.

Mahmoud Ezzat, the deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, and two senior officials in the organization were detained Feb. 7. Authorities accused the leaders of participating in banned political activity.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928, becoming one of the founding organizations of militant Islam. It renounced violence in the 1970s, though a splinter group later joined al-Qaida.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/03/10/Muslim-Brotherhood-pressured-politically/UPI-46621268245094/.

Egypt's top cleric dies

Thu 11 Mar 2010

Egypt's top Muslim cleric, Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, has died after suffering a heart attack while on a visit to Saudi Arabia.

As head of the al-Azhar University, the 81-year-old was one of the highest spiritual authorities in Sunni Islam, and angered many hardline Muslims with his moderate views.

Last year, Sheikh Tantawi barred female students at the university from wearing the full-face covering niqab veil.

He was also vocal in his criticism of female circumcision, calling it "un-Islamic".

Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/11/2842422.htm.

U.S. offers Macedonia name dispute idea

WASHINGTON, March 11 (UPI) -- The United States has proposed a solution to the name dispute between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has been in Washington since Tuesday discussing his country's battle with a record deficit and other regional issues. Part of the talks involved a U.S. proposal for the breakaway country to rename itself Northern Macedonia, Kathimerini reported Thursday.

Since declaring independence in 1991, Greece has challenged the country's name, saying Greece historically owns the name for a northern province.

Sources told the newspaper if leaders in both Athens and Skopje will agree, the U.S. would officially recognize the new name and encourage the United Nations to follow suit.

U.N. mediator Matthew Nimetz visited both capitals late last month and while he made no mention of the proposal, is said in diplomatic circles to favor the new name, the report said.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/03/11/US-offers-Macedonia-name-dispute-idea/UPI-67221268322313/.

UNICEF promotes Regional Media Award 2010 in the Middle East and North Africa

AMMAN, Jordan, 10 March 2010 – UNICEF’s Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) launched a media campaign last month to promote its Regional Media Award, an annual prize that encourages greater representation of children in the media.

The campaign included television and radio spots on this year’s theme, child rights, as well as print and online advertisements. These promotions, which call for award submissions from media professionals, allow children to speak out directly and advocate for their own rights.

Friends of UNICEF

The media award, which was launched in 2008 and has a different theme each year, celebrates the efforts of media professionals who take a special interest in children’s issues and relay them to the public.

“Their efforts make them friends and partners, who work with UNICEF on raising awareness on the reality of children,” said UNICEF Regional Chief of Communication Abdel-Rahman Ghandour.

This year’s theme was chosen to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The 2010 awards will also include a new photography category in addition to the television, radio, print and electronic media categories.

Interactions with young people

Syrian TV director Manal Salhya – winner of the television category in 2008 for her documentary, ‘The Turning Point’ – said interaction with children and adolescents enables parents, caregivers and the community to better understand their reality.

“This prize helps me put [forward] problems facing female adolescents in our society,” she said.

Thuraya Bouataba, a radio producer with the Algerian Broadcasting Service, said that winning the 2009 prize for her radio show ‘Children First’ has re-doubled her interest in covering the lives of children – and increased her audience.

“I did not expect to win and was delighted at the good news,” she said. “I consider helping children and conveying their needs and suffering to be a national and humanitarian duty for all citizens, especially media professionals.”

High level of participation

According to UNICEF Regional Program Officer Reem Najjar, the award coordinator, participation rates are very high this year. “Since the launch of the media campaign, we have been receiving an endless stream of applications,” she said.

All interested individuals should contact UNICEF’s local offices before 20 August 2010, which is the deadline for receiving applications. Entries are accepted in English, French and Arabic.

Winners will be announced during UNICEF’s Sixth Regional Conference on the Rights of the Child, which will be held in Egypt this fall.

Source: UNICEF.
Link: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/jordan_52961.html.

China joins calls on Israel to halt new settlement plan

China has joined international condemnation of an Israeli plan to build 1,600 homes on occupied Palestinian land in an East Jerusalem (al-Quds) settlement calling for a halt to the expansion scheme.

"We request the Israeli side to stop the establishment of new Jewish settlements and make concerted efforts and concrete actions to contribute to the resumption of peace talks," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang said on Thursday.

"This action will damage the basis for the negotiations between the two sides and undermine international mediation efforts," Gang added.

Tel Aviv regime's green light to the construction of 1,600 homes in Ramat Shlomo neighborhood in al-Quds has drawn severe criticism internationally.

US optimism for kick-starting the Middle East 'peace' process has suffered a humiliating setback as President Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell is trying to revive an indirect dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis after a year of acrimony.

Previous efforts at direct talks have fallen short since Tel Aviv declines to meet the Palestinians' crucial demand — a comprehensive freeze on all settlement activities in the West Bank.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120594§ionid=351020202.

Syria conference slams US ban on ME TVs

A conference on freedom of the press in Syria has strongly condemned a resolution by the US Congress which calls for a ban on a number of Middle Eastern channels.

Participants in the Damascus conference urged international support for the Gaza-based al-Aqsa, Lebanon's al-Manar and the Iranian-based al-Alam TV networks, included in the resolution.

Some lecturers said the move was rooted in Zionism and described it as an effort to cover up Israeli crimes in the Palestinian territories.

The bill, endorsed by an overwhelming majority of US congressmen in December, calls for punitive measures against television networks in the Middle East.

In late January, the Saudi-run satellite operator Arabsat took off air the Arabic-language al-Alam television network without prior notice.

The network was also temporarily off the air in November, when Arabsat and Cairo-based Nilesat dropped it without prior notification.

The move was criticized by several regional and international media and political activists who condemned the move for violating freedom of expression.

Al-Alam officials also said the removal is in violation of the satellite's obligation to the network.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120576§ionid=351020206.

Ahmadinejad: Even war can not save Israel

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned Israel that initiating a new military conflict in the Middle East would not save it from downfall.

Speaking in the southern Iranian Province of Hormozagan on Thursday, Ahmadinejad said that Israel was a Western prodigy that had now "reached the end of its road."

"See what has become of Israel. They [the West] gathered the most criminal people in the world and stationed them in our region with lies and fabricated scenarios. They waged wars, committed massive aggression… and made millions of people homeless," he told a crowd of supporters in the provincial capital, Bandar-Abbas.

"Today, it is clear that Israel is the most hated regime in the world… It is not useful for its masters [the West] anymore. They are in doubt now. They wonder whether to continue spending money on this regime or not," said Ahmadinejad.

"But whether they want it or not, with god's grace, this regime will be annihilated and Palestinians and other regional nations will be rid of its bad omen," he added.

The top Iranian executive official pointed out that he did not believe that "even a new military conflict" could save the Israeli regime.

"They think in their underdeveloped minds that if they launch another war against Lebanon or Syria it might help them survive a little longer. I am telling them that you are in a situation now that more aggressions or wars will not save you."

Ahmadinejad also advised the US and its allies to pull their troops out of the Middle East and stop "making mischief."

"What are you doing in our region? Why are you deploying military forces here," he asked.

"If you think military deployment will help you seize the oil in Iraq and in the Persian Gulf, I must tell you that the young generation of the Middle East will cut your hands off from the oil reserves of the Persian Gulf," he added.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120579§ionid=351020101.

Iran starts production of surface-to-air missiles

Iran has announced starting the production run for new medium-range surface-to-air missiles with the aim of upgrading its air defense systems.

Iran's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the missiles have a range of more than 40 kilometers.

Ahmad Vahidi added that the smart missiles travel at supersonic speed before hitting their targeted enemy aircraft.

Vahidi said these technologically advanced missiles are apt in electronic warfare, adding that the missiles break into small pieces and act as shrapnel, upon impact.

"The mass production of air defense systems is successfully underway and these systems will [soon] be delivered [to the armed forces]," Vahidi informed.

He noted that the new missile system will play a decisive role in defending the country's airspace.

Over the past few years, Iran has acquired expertise in missile production at a rapid pace and conducts frequent drills to test-fire its latest prototypes.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120588§ionid=351020101.

Child Rape in Afghanistan?

DAVE LINDORFF

t r u t h o u t, March 10, 2010

The stated goal of the US-led war in Afghanistan, according to the Obama administration, is to defeat the Taliban and establish a stable democratic government over the entire country. Critical to that goal is establishing a professional Afghan Army and police force that is not corrupt and that has the respect of the Afghan people.

But reports out of Canada suggest that, far from creating such a military and police force, the so-called International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) is turning a blind eye to the thuggish criminality of those organizations, both to avoid growing opposition in ISAF member countries and to avoid offending those organizations in Afghanistan.

The issue in question is routine rape of children by Afghan soldiers and police operating on Canadian-run bases in the Kandahar region.

As reported last fall in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, Canadian military chaplains and some soldiers have been complaining as far back as 2006 that Afghan security forces have been sexually assaulting young boys on their base. These military whistle-blowers charge that the military brass has been ignoring or burying their complaints, fearing the bad publicity they could generate.

The paper reported that Canadian military police have also complained, as reported by Brig. Gen. J.C. Collin, commander of Land Force Central Area, that they were being told "not to interfere in incidents in which Afghan forces were having sex with children."

According to the paper, the Canadian military command has argued that, even though sex with children is against the law in Afghanistan, the practice is culturally accepted and that the Canadian forces "should not get involved in what should be seen as a 'cultural' issue."

Makes you wonder what other "cultural" issues involving Afghan security forces that the Western occupiers might not want to get involved in. Perhaps the oppression of women? That's certainly part of the culture. How about bribery and extortion? Based on the evidence - that the police in Afghanistan are a wholly corrupt entity, and that the Army is not much better - arguing that corruption is "culturally acceptable" would be easy to do. How about drug dealing? Again, that appears to be quite the culture in Afghanistan.

Kudos to the Canadian grunts, MPs and chaplains who found the sexual abuse of children more than they could stomach, and who brought their concerns to public attention at home in Canada when their own commanders sought to cover it up.

It makes me wonder, though, why here in the hyper-moralizing US we haven't heard a peep from our troops about similar behavior by Afghan forces on US-run bases.

It's hard to believe that a practice so common on a Canadian base that it provoked such outrage among Canadian soldiers is not also occurring elsewhere.

This leaves us with two possibilities:

1. US soldiers and marines are just not as willing to go outside the chain of command and go public with their complaints, or

2. The US media are not interested in investigating this kind of story. It involves only Afghans, and who cares about Afghans? What American journalism covers is Americans. (Remember the big spate of stories about the sex escapades of guards at the US embassy in Kabul?)

I'd say it's probably a combination of the two.

At any rate, the picture painted of Afghanistan's Army and police in the Ottawa Citizen article does not bode well for any plan that hinges on their taking over from US and ISAF troops any time soon ... or for the fate of young children of Afghanistan, if and when they do.

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=64035&s2=11.

Sydney's miracle baby elephant doing well

Sydney - The baby elephant that fooled vets at Sydney's Taronga Zoo into thinking he had died in his mother's womb was showing all the vital signs of life Thursday. The 116-kilogram calf that science said could never be born alive was suckling from mother Porntip, putting on weight and standing on his own four legs.

"Despite no vital signs of life for several days, we now have obviously a healthy little calf on the ground," zoo director Cameron Kerr told reporters.

The textbooks said a live birth after a nine-day labor was impossible - especially since, with the fetus upside down, it would inevitably be a difficult breech birth.

"There is no record anywhere else in the world - of the 10,000 births, there is no recording - of a labor that has gone this long," Kerr said. "It's a bit unbelievable for everyone, to be honest."

Vets explained the inexplicable by saying the calf had lapsed into a coma during labor, so there was no heartbeat, no movement in the womb and no evidence of life.

"This little calf has been through an incredibly tough time," Kerr said.

It is Taronga's second birth in a captive breeding program that began four years ago when Asian elephants were brought in from Thailand.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313510,sydneys-miracle-baby-elephant-doing-well.html.

Palestinians: No indirect talks until Jerusalem housing shelved

Ramallah- Palestinians will not begin indirect talks with Israel unless the Israeli government annul a decision to build 1600 houses in East Jerusalem, a senior Palestinian official said Thursday. "We want to hear from (US envoy George) Mitchell that Israel has canceled decision to build housing units before we start the negotiations," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

His remarks follow on from comments by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who told visiting US Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday that it was not enough for the Israeli decision to be condemned, it also had to be canceled.

The Israelï announcement of the construction of the houses in East Jerusalem, announced Tuesday evening, came 24 hours after Mitchell announced that Israelis and Palestinians had agreed to begin indirect peace talks, after a 15-month hiatus in negotiations, and in the midst of a visit to the region by Biden.

The announcement severely embarrassed Biden, who issued his Israeli hosts with a sharp rebuke. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was not informed in advance of the decision, announced by the interior ministry.

The premier summoned Interior Minister Eli Yishai Wednesday morning and reprimanded him for the decision's "wretched, displaced, insensitive" timing.

The 1600 homes will be built in Ramat Shlomo, an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in northern Jerusalem, near the Palestinian village of Shuafat.

The neighborhood is built on occupied land, beyond the "green line" that separates Israel and the West Bank. But it lies within the municipal boundaries drawn up by Israel after it annexed East Jerusalem following its capture in the 1967 Middle East War.

Israel regards all Jewish neighborhoods built beyond the green line, on occupied West Bank land, as an "integral" part of its self-declared capital.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313520,palestinians-no-indirect-talks-until-jerusalem-housing-shelved.html.

Hindu woman wins custody battle with Muslim husband in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's High Court on Thursday granted a Hindu woman custody of her child after a bitter court battle with her estranged Muslim husband, who converted their children to Islam and then took possession of them. Kindergarten teacher Indira Gandhi, 35, was given custody of her 22-month-old toddler by the High Court in the northern state of Perak, which ruled that the child be handed back to her mother immediately.

Gandhi's husband embraced Islam in March 2009 without her knowledge and in April had allegedly taken their three children's birth certificates to convert them to become Muslims.

The estranged couple then began a bitter custody battle for the children.

Gandhi's two older children, 13 and 12, were earlier ordered to be returned to her, leaving only her youngest child in the custody of her husband.

"I hope he will return my baby to me as soon as possible," Gandhi was quoted by the Star newspaper as saying shortly after the court decision.

Gandhi, who is an ethnic Indian, is also appealing to quash the conversion of all three children.

Because of the case, mainly Muslim Malaysia announced last year that it would ban the forced conversion of children to Islam.

Islam is the official religion in Malaysia, but non-Muslims are allowed to practice their faiths.

There had been growing unease among Malaysia's mainly Chinese and Indian ethnic minorities who are mostly Buddhists, Christians and Hindus over numerous complaints of discrimination by the authorities when seeking legal redress after divorce and religious conversions.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313533,hindu-woman-wins-custody-battle-with-muslim-husband-in-malaysia.html.

Lithuania celebrates 20 years of independence

Vilnius - Leaders from neighboring countries and beyond arrived in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius Thursday to help Lithuanians celebrate 20 years since the Baltic state became the first Soviet republic to break free of the Soviet Union. Presidents Valdis Zatlers of Latvia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves of Estonia, Lech Kaczynski of Poland, Tarja Halonen of Finland and Danilo Turk of Slovenia were all due to address a special sitting of the Lithuanian parliament, or Seimas, where the declaration of independence was made on March 11, 1990.

Other invitees, including Belarus' President Aleksandr Lukashchenko and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, had turned down invitations to attend, while many other European states sent junior representatives.

Vilnius is staging a series of parades and performances throughout the day to mark the occasion.

In a letter to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Lithuania had injected "new dynamism" into the bloc when it joined in 2004.

"You showed your strong determination on your road to freedom, independence and respect for democratic values. This has inspired the entire world," Barroso said.

On Wednesday US President Barack Obama said the events of March 11 1990 were vital in restoring democratic values to Central and Eastern Europe.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313534,lithuania-celebrates-20-years-of-independence.html.