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Saturday, March 13, 2010

Magnitude-6 quake strikes Indonesia's Papua

Jakarta - A magnitude-6 earthquake struck the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua before midday Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage, geophysicists said. The quake took place at a depth of 30 kilometers and was centered about 342 kilometers north-west of the Manokwari district, the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said. It occurred at 11:53 am (0253 GMT).

It was the latest in a series of jolts to hit Indonesia in recent weeks, the agency said.

A magnitude-7.6 quake struck off the western coast of Sumatra in late September, killing more than 1,100 people and injuring hundreds of others.

A magnitude-9 earthquake off northern Sumatra and a subsequent tsunami that rolled across the Indian Ocean struck five years ago, killing 230,000 people, more than 170,000 of whom died in Indonesia's Aceh province alone.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313859,magnitude-6-quake-strikes-indonesias-papua.html.

US concerned about Iran's religious detentions

Washington - The United States on Friday raised concerns about Iran's alleged persecution of religious minorities, including people of the Baha'i religion. PJ Crowley, assistant spokesman for the US State Department, said Iran had detained at least 25 Baha'is in recent weeks and that up to 60 Baha'is were imprisoned "solely on the basis of their religious beliefs."

The detained also included more than a dozen Christians, Crowley said.

"We remain concerned that seven Baha'i leaders on trial for espionage have been denied access to their attorneys," Crowley said in a statement.

Referring to Iran's recent pledge to abide by international law, Crowley said the US was "deeply disappointed" that the Iranian government had rejected international urging that it stop discriminating against its Baha'i religious minority.

"We join the international community in urging Iran to uphold its obligations to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all its people," Crowley said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313860,us-concerned-about-irans-religious-detentions.html.

Australia dreams up another tourism promotion stunt

Sydney - Entries were flowing in Saturday for the free long-distance taxi rides the state government in Western Australia is offering 22 winners in the nation's latest off-beat tourism promotion campaign. The western one-third of the continent, keen to match Queensland's successful "best job in the world" competition, is asking would-be travelers from Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Singapore, Malaysia and Germany to send in applications to be passengers on 11 lengthy rides from Perth, the state capital.

"Even though the campaign was only launched last month, it's already received global media coverage and significant interest from people around the world," state Tourism Minister Liz Constable said of the promotion, called The Extraordinary Taxi Ride.

Even the contest for the taxi driver had 460 entries, with the winner in line for a big tip at the end of a 6,500-kilometer drive around the state.

Competition winners would get to travel in the back of the taxi beginning next month.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313877,australia-dreams-up-another-tourism-promotion-stunt.html.

Goa tells foreign tourists: 'No to topless riding on two-wheelers'

New Delhi – First came the ban on bikini ads. Now an advisory has been issued asking foreign tourists visiting the Indian resort state of Goa to dress appropriately and especially not “to ride a two-wheeler without clothes on the upper part of the body” in a bid not to upset the local sensibilities.

In what seems to be a fall out of recent statements by local politicians condemning skimpy dressing by foreigners, the tourism department has come out with a list of 'Dos' and 'Dont's' for the visitors.

The booklet is printed in English and Russian. Of the 400,000 foreigners visiting Goa annually, the British and Russians top the chart followed by Germans. The area gets over 2.4 million visitors each year with increasingly well-paid Indians flocking to the state.

Recommending a dress code, the department has said that while the Goan attitude to informal European styles of dress is generally tolerant, local religious or other sensibilities should be borne in mind.

“If in doubt take local advice especially with regard to topless bathing. Nudity on beaches and public places is strictly forbidden,” the guidelines, which are made available through tourist counters and hotels, read.

Goa Member of Parliament Shantaram Naik recently had alleged that scantily-clad Russians were corrupting the locals.

State Tourism Director Swapnil Naik said that the pocket booklet aims at educating the tourists.

"In America, even if you apply for visa they give you such booklets," he said. The booklet, distributed free of cost, also mentions that riding without helmet is an offense.

The former Portuguese colony is a major tourist spot for overseas -and increasingly Indians-- attracted by its long, sandy beaches, dusk-till-dawn parties and laid-back lifestyle.

Goa came into prominence during the hippie-trail days of the 1950s and 1960s. Now it is the haunt of the back-backers and middle-class foreigners.

October to February each year is the peak tourist months in Goa, with foreigners flocking to the area to beat the cold months in their countries to just lazy around Goa's warm sunny beaches.

But it lacks the spectacle or aura of French Riveria or Monte Carlo, the playground of the rich and famous of the world.

The just-released guide also warns against offers of land sales and modeling contracts, and details strict punishments for drug possession or dealing.

Goa state Hindu rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Laxmikant Parsenkar last week said Russian tourists should “stay for two months, sunbathe, have fun, spend money and go back”.

“The 'susegado' (relaxed) attitude which Goans have is working against us. Goans themselves let out tourism business establishments to foreigners so that they can earn money without doing much,” Parsenkar told reporters.

He suggested that foreign tourists in Goa must have a "minimum dress code" as the clothes they wear "tend to tease".

"At least a minimum dress code is necessary. With the kind of clothes they wear? It tends to tease. Then if something happens, it is splashed in the media," said Parsenkar, a Senator from the coastal constituency of Mandrem in the state legislature.

Parsenkar said he had also received many complaints about nudism in popular beaches like Morjim in his constituency.

"They cannot come here and behave in a culturally insensitive way. These people who roam around here naked and half naked, do not do the same thing in their own country," he said, adding that Goa was the only place on the tourist circuit in India, where foreigners dared to roam around in the nude

Last December, state Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had said that foreign tourists in Goa needed to observe a dress code of some sort.

Last season saw approximately 40,000 Russian tourists flock to Goa, most of whom heading for the beaches of Morjim, Arambol and Ashwem.

The state government in January banned bikini-clad women from their tourism promotions in order to uphold the tourist hotspot as a “family holiday destination”.

The decision was announced after a section of the media criticized the state as a “destination for sex-tourism”, in the wake of several cases of rape of foreign tourists.

State Tourism Minister Fransisco Pacheco said agencies had been notified to desist putting bikini-clad women in their advertisements.

The recent incidents of rape and other sexual crimes have tarnished the image of Goa, which has for years been one of the most favored tourist destinations for both Indian and foreign tourists, and now the state government is trying hard to re-establish the state's image as a tourist hotspot.

According to Indian media reports, Britain has begun advising its nationals to "observe and respect local dress and customs" while visiting Goa.

In a travel advisory uploaded on the foreign Commonwealth office website in late February, female British citizens visiting Goa have been advised to: "Observe and respect local dress and customs and to take particular care," in view of a "series of high-profile incidents in Goa of alleged rape against foreign nationals, including Britons."

With nearly 40,000 British tourists hitting Goa's sunny shores annually, the nation virtually tops the list of countries sending its tourists here.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313887,goa-tells-foreign-tourists-no-to-topless-riding-on-two-wheelers.html.

Poachers have a free-run as Kaziranga reserve forest is short staffed

New Delhi – Shortage of frontline staff was responsible for not adequately protecting the one-horned rhinos and other animals, including tigers, at the Kaziranga National Park in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam where incidents of poaching have been reported, Indian media reports said.

Assam state Forest and Environment Minister Rockybul Hussain told Senators in the local legislature that the strength of the frontline staff in 152 camps inside the park was 386 and this remained unchanged for the past 20 years though the area had doubled and the rhino population grown from 1,069 to over 2,000.

According to the 2009 census, the park has 2,201 rhinos. Of these 2,048 are one-horned rhinos, making it the largest population of the animal anywhere in the world.

The present area of the park is 940 sq.km.

The state government early this month signed a pact with the country's para-military organization for providing manpower and intelligence assistance in protecting the animals in the park.

With staff shortage and increased poaching, the state government has turned to the Border Security Force (BSF) for help.

Kaziranga lost two rhinos to poachers this year, while a third rhino was killed by villagers on the fringes of the national park last month. It is also home to at least 86 tigers. Poachers killed six rhinos last year.

The Indian border guard troop not only will provide manpower for patrolling both inside and outside the 860 sq km national park, but also provide its dog squad to help track down poachers.

“Our primary objective is to bring poaching incidents to the zero level and create an environment where poachers and other criminals do not dare to stare at Kaziranga,” reports in Indian media said quoting officials..

The park is home to nearly one-third of the world's one-horned rhinoceroses. It is criss-crossed by four major rivers, including the Brahmaputra and also includes numerous small water bodies.

The history of Kaziranga as a protected area begins in 1904, when Mary Victoria Leiter Curzon, wife of then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, visited the area but failed to see a single rhinoceros, for which the area was renowned.

She reportedly asked her husband to take measures to protect the dwindling species. In June 1905, the Kaziranga Proposed Reserve Forest was created with an area of 232 km (90 sq mi).

Over the next three years, the park area was extended by 152 km (59 sq mi), to the banks of the River Brahmaputra. In 1908, Kaziranga was designated as a reserve forest.

Eight year later in 1916, it was renamed as the Kaziranga Game Sanctuary until gaming was banned in the area in 1938.

The Kaziranga Game Sanctuary was renamed the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary in 1950 in a bid to get rid of the hunting connotations.

In 1954, the Assam government passed the Assam (Rhinoceros) Bill, which imposed heavy penalties for rhinoceros poaching.. In 1985, Kaziranga was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO or its unique natural environment.

Kaziranga has witnessed several natural and human-made calamities in recent decades. Floods caused by overflowing of River Brahmaputra have led to significant losses of animal life. Encroachment by humans along the periphery also has led to a diminished forest cover and a loss of habitat.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313891,poachers-have-a-free-run-as-kaziranga-reserve-forest-is-short-staffed.html.

Iran 'seeks unity among Palestinians'

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says Tehran seeks to establish and fortify unity among Palestinians against Israel.

Mehmanparast on Saturday dismissed remarks by acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas who claimed that Iran was impeding reconciliation talks between his Fatah group and the Hamas resistance movement.

"Iran doesn't want Hamas to sign the Cairo reconciliation document," Abbas said during a meeting in the Tunisian capital on Friday.

In response, Mehmanparast said that Iran sought unity and solidarity among Palestinians.

"In the first place, the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is to create unity among Palestinians and in the second to seriously pursue the rights of the Palestinians to regain their land and return to their territory under a Palestinian government."

Iran believes that the only solution to the Palestinian issue is to hold a free referendum, in which the Palestinians can determine their own fate.

Fatah and Hamas are yet to reach an Egyptian-mediated unity deal to end divisions.

The proposal put forward by Cairo, which acts as a mediator in the reconciliation talks, aims to lay the groundwork for new presidential and legislative elections.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120721§ionid=351020101.

Ireland release Muslims accused of plot against cartoonist

Irish police have freed three of the seven Muslim suspects who were arrested in the Irish Republic over an alleged plot to murder a Swedish cartoonist.

Two women and one man, who were among those arrested in Waterford and Cork, were released on Friday night. The group included nationals from Algeria, Libya, Palestine, Croatia and the US.

The suspects were freed without charge after three-and-a-half days of questioning. They were held on suspicion of plotting to kill the Swedish sacrilegious caricaturist Lars Vilks over an insulting cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The arrests last Tuesday were part of an international investigation into alleged death threats against Vilks.

Some observers describe such measures by European governments as arbitrary and inhumane, intended to harass Muslims and openly display an attitude of mistrust and double standard. They insist that such ill-treatment of Muslims is contrary to what the West claims to protect as 'democratic values.'

In 2007, a group linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq offered a $100,000 (£66,000) reward for killing Vilks, and a '50% bonus' if he was "slaughtered like a lamb" by having his throat cut.

The Vilks cartoon was published about a year-and-a-half after a series of depictions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten paper caused protests by Muslims around the world.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120720§ionid=351020605.

Hezbollah slams Israeli Judaization bid in WB

Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement has condemned the new Israeli plan to build 1,600 new Jewish homes in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.

The movement warned that the project seeks demographic changes in the occupied territories.

"The scheme is yet another part of a Judaization campaign that targets the holy city of al-Quds and a provocation of Muslim feeling," the Shia political party said in a statement released on Friday.

Hezbollah also accused the US of supporting Israel's expansionist policies on Palestinian lands.

"The Zionist plan to construct hundreds of homes in al-Quds truly shows American cover to it."

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 sector of al-Quds.

The announcement sparked swift condemnation from the International community including Turkey, Lebanon, Brazil, China, Russia, and even the US and UK.

There are currently 121 Israeli settlements and 102 Israeli outposts built on Palestinian land occupied by Israel in 1967.

These settlements and outposts are inhabited by a population of approximately 462,000 Israeli settlers. Some 191,000 Israelis are living in settlements around al-Quds and an additional 271,400 are spread throughout the West Bank.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120714§ionid=351020203.

Brazil stresses Iran's role in ME, rejects sanctions

Brazil has highlighted Iran's role in the region, reiterating that Tehran must be part of a solution to any conflict in the Middle East.

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva said in an interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz that "new ideas" from all key players in the Middle East are needed to resolve issues in the sensitive region including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"The time has come to bring into the arena players who will be able to put forward new ideas. Those players must have access to all levels of the conflict: in Israel, Palestine, Iran, Syria, Jordan and in many other countries that are associated with this conflict."

"After all, the Middle East conflict is not bilateral and does not pertain only to Israel and Palestine. There are other interests in the Middle East, interests which must be represented so we can find a solution. Iran is part of all this, and therefore someone must talk to them," he added.

Lula's remarks come as Israel is under pressure to stop settlement activities, which are considered the key obstacle to a long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized Israel on Friday, saying that its plan to erect new housing units in East Jerusalem Al-Quds has undermined trust and confidence in the so-called peace process.

Israel's settlement activities are in direct violation of international law.

On the Iranian nuclear issue, the Brazilian president, who is scheduled to travel to Iran in May, said he did not favor further sanctions against Tehran.

"Before sanctions of any kind are imposed, we must make every effort to rebuild peace in the Middle East."

Brazil has repeatedly warned that fresh sanctions against Iran would be counterproductive reiterating that diplomacy can still work on the issue.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120712§ionid=351020101.

Pakistan navy test fires missiles, torpedoes

Pakistan's navy says it has test-fired missiles and torpedoes from ships, submarines and aircraft in the Arabian Sea in a move it has called 'a message of deterrence'.

"Pakistan's navy today tested its fire power in the north Arabian Sea to assess the lethality, precision and efficacy of its weapons system," it said in a statement released Friday.

The naval maneuver included anti-surface and air-to-surface missiles, as well as missiles fired from a submarine.

The navy did not announce any technical details about the missiles, only saying that "this included the successful firing of a variety of missiles and torpedoes from the ships."

Pakistan says the launches are a show of force to the country's enemies in the Arabian Sea, sending a message to "anyone harboring nefarious designs" against it.

"While reassuring the Pakistani navy's commitment of defending the motherland, this strike capability would also send a message of deterrence to anyone harboring nefarious designs against Pakistan," the statement said.

South Asian rivals India and Pakistan have been routinely carrying out missile tests since 1998, when the two neighbors demonstrated nuclear weapons capabilities.

Pakistan's arsenal includes short-range, medium and long-range nuclear capable missiles.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120709§ionid=351020401.

Palestinian worshipers, Israeli police clash in East Jerusalem

Clashes between dozens of Palestinian worshipers and Israeli police forces erupted on Friday afternoon in the old city of East Jerusalem, witnesses and local sources said.

Clashes between the two sides flamed right after the Israeli police prevented dozens of Palestinian young men from reaching al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday's weekly prayer, according to the witnesses as well as local sources.

"The worshipers prayed in the narrow streets of the old city after they failed to reach al-Aqsa Mosque," said the sources, adding "clashes with the police erupted at the end of the prayer."

The sources said only 2,000 worshipers were able to pray at the mosque following strict security measures carried out by the Israeli police in the old city. The Israeli measures were made to prevent more violence similar to the conflicts in the city last Friday.

Witnesses said young Palestinian worshipers throw stones at the Israeli police forces while the latter fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets, where several Palestinians were lightly wounded, according to medical sources in the city.

The Israeli security forces on Friday imposed a closure on the West Bank for 48 hours to prevent more violence and clashes between the Israeli security forces and the Palestinians.

Tension between Israel and the Palestinians had recently flared after the Israeli government decided to build 1,600 new housing units in Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem.

The decision outraged a large number of Palestinians and Arabs and threatened the efforts to launch the proximity talks between Palestinians and Israelis.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6918087.html.

Indonesia to resume $600mn fertilizer project in Iran

The Indonesian government says it plans to resume setting up a joint 600-million-dollar fertilizer factory project in Iran.

“We're currently reestablishing the feasibility study in Iran to continue the plan. It will be a joint-venture with an Iranian company,” said Mustafa Abubakar, the minister for state-owned enterprises, quoted by the Jakarta Globe on Friday.

Abubakar said the state-owned PT Pupuk Sriwijaya, Indonesia's largest fertilizer producer, will resume the previously planned project due to better political conditions in the Islamic Republic.

“It's pretty interesting as that country's political risk is not too worrying anymore,” Abubakar remarked, referring to the continued political stability of the Islamic Republic.

Last year, Dadang Heru Kodri, president of the company, said that the project had been put on hold because of "the global economic crisis.”

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120708§ionid=351020102.

Allawi's bloc may break up after elections

A member of the Iraqiya List, a secular alliance of former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, says the bloc may break up after the release of legislative election results.

Jamal al-Battikh told US-funded Radio Sawa that a number of the bloc members may leave the alliance after they win seats on the council of representatives.

He said the bloc lacked coherence, adding that certain members were trying to quit the bloc as they held different views.

Headed by former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, the Iraqiya List is comprised of 20 political parties among which are Salah al-Mutlak's National Dialogue Front and Ajeel Yawar's party Reform and Justice Movement.

Five days after the elections, the initial results for five provinces have been released so far, with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition holding the lead.

The results for 13 other provinces are yet to be announced.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120704§ionid=351020201.

Egyptian police break-up anti-Israeli rallies, arrest 50

Sat Mar 13, 2010

Egyptian police have arrested several members of the country's main opposition group, al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper website reports.

About 50 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, returning from Friday Prayers, staged rallies in five major Egyptian cities to protest the decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex Muslim holy sites to the Jewish heritage.

Protesters, carrying placards, gathered in front of mosques in Ismailia (near Suez Canal), Sharqiya, Menoufia, Dakahlia in Niger Delta, and Giza in southern Cairo.

They chanted slogans against the Tel Aviv regime and condemned the silence of Arabs towards “the Zionist aggression.”

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/120706.html.

Tehran sets foreign policy priorities for new year

Tehran lays out its foreign policy objectives for the new Iranian year, citing the nuclear issue, atomic disarmament and broader diplomatic ties as major priorities.

"Global disarmament will definitely be on the agenda for the country's diplomatic body this coming year [which begins on March 21]," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told ILNA on Friday.

"We will try to lead the international disarmament campaign with the hope of intensifying the efforts and encouraging other countries to join in," he added.

Mehmanparast also reiterated that Iran would move forward with its peaceful nuclear work, determined not to allow "greedy" powers to advance their hostile and unreasonable demands regarding Iran's legitimate nuclear pursuits.

The spokesman added that Tehran would also try to expand ties with regional states, with the greater goal of establishing an Asia Union in mind.

Commenting on the prospective of stronger relations with the European Union, Mehmanparast emphasized that any sort of cooperation between the sides could only be possible if EU governments reduce Washington's influence on their policy-making.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120705§ionid=351020101.

US troops kill Iraqi reporter, her husband

American forces occupying Iraq have opened fire on a car in Baghdad, killing an Iraqi reporter and her husband, a police official announces.

Aseel al-Obeidi, the reporter of Dijla television, an independent Baghdad station, was killed by the US troops on Wednesday as she was traveling with her husband in the Tobchi neighborhood in western Baghdad, AP reported on Thursday.

Morgue officials said the bodies of the couple were riddled with bullets.

The US military said it was investigating the killing of two Iraqis during a patrol in western Baghdad.

The Iraqi journalists' union condemned the killings, urging Iraqi police to investigate the circumstances of the shooting.

According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, more than 140 journalists have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120702§ionid=351020201.

Iran announces electricity distribution to villages

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Friday that electricity has been provided to almost all villages across the country.

According to Ahmadinejad, all villages with populations of more than 20 families are now provided with electricity, IRIB News reported.

The president, who was making the remarks at a ceremony marking comprehensive national electricity distribution, hailed the development as a big achievement for the Islamic Revolution.

Iran is building nuclear power plants throughout the country to produce electricity for its growing nation and industries.

The Bushehr plant, which is being built with the help of Russia, is scheduled to go operational in the next few months.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120666§ionid=351020103.

NATO waging undeclared war on Russia: Moscow

Moscow says the United States and NATO's inaction in fighting drug trafficking in Afghanistan, translates into an "undeclared war" against Russia.

Russia's ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin slammed the alliance for its loose surveillance on drug trafficking out of Afghanistan, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

Afghanistan produces some 90 percent of the world's opium. The Afghan drugs enter Russia and Central Asia before reaching Western Europe.

Rogozin said the drugs imported from Afghanistan kill 30,000 people in Russia annually, adding that this amounted to "an undeclared war against our country."

Moscow as well argues that the drug production within the Afghan borders has increased ten times since the 2001 US-led invasion of the country.

There are currently more than 100,000 US-led troopers staged in Afghanistan. The war-weary nation is as well hit with unprecedented levels of violence which is seen as a militant reaction to the sprawling military presence.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120665§ionid=351020602.

UK threatens China with isolation over Iran

The UK's ambassador to Beijing has warned that China could face isolation internationally, should it fail to give its consent to fresh sanctions against Iran.

“It's not in China's interests to find itself isolated from permanent members of the Security Council or the E3+3. It would damage China internationally,” Sebastian Wood said on Friday.

Wood said that China favored a different approach to the Iranian nuclear issue but he hoped that “fluid” talks would persuade Beijing to accompany others in imposing more sanctions against Iran.

“China has emphasized a need for engagement and diplomacy and wants to see the situation resolved soon. We have seen tactical differences in recent weeks but it's a fluid discussion,” he added.

The US has been lobbying for fresh punitive measures against Iran, which is already under three rounds of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions over its enrichment program.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Thursday that the UNSC was drafting new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program and he expressed hope that world powers would agree on fresh sanctions against Iran soon.

US-led calls for more sanctions against Iran have mainly received a chilly response from China, a veto-wielding member of the UNSC, which insists that diplomacy should be exercised regarding the nuclear standoff.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband will travel to China on Sunday to hold talks with Chinese officials on different issues including Iran's nuclear program.

Iran says any punitive measures against the country are legally baseless as Tehran's nuclear work is being fully monitored by the UN nuclear watchdog.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120677§ionid=351020404.

Chinese vice PM to visit five countries

Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu will pay an official visit to five countries including Cambodia, Laos, Palestine, Israel and India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang announced Friday.

Hui's visit is from March 17 to 28, at the invitation of Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Office of the Council of Ministers Sok An, Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad, Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Strategic Affairs Moshe Yaalon, and the Indian government, according to Qin.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6917785.html.

Maghreb youth join 'virtual community'

The spread of the internet and the surge in social networking offer new opportunities for wider dialogue.

Rachid Jankari in Casablanca, Siham Ali in Rabat, Hayam El Hadi in Algiers, Jamel Arfaoui in Tunis and Mohamed Yahya Ould Abdel Wedoud in Nouakchott contributed to this report – 12/03/10

Social media is taking over the Maghreb.

"Facebook has become the only way that we can know what's going on around us," said Tunisian student Thamir al-Ayyadi.

Al-Ayyadi is one of a growing number of people worldwide who have come to rely on social media to find information and connect with others. Millions in the Maghreb are now using sites like Facebook and YouTube. Facebook, for instance, has 1.3 million users in Morocco alone.

These networking sites have brought new opportunities for wider dialogue. Citizen journalists are using blogs, photoblogs and online video sites to spread information unencumbered by the restrictions placed on official media. Others have used the anonymity of the internet to criticize the government, as did the online voices who protested internet censorship in Tunisia.

Social media has also introduced new problems like isolation and internet addiction to the Maghreb. Nevertheless, as internet access continues to expand, social media has a bright future in the region.

Maghreb residents are pleased with this new connectivity.

"Before, I used to feel lonely," Moroccan IT worker Hamid Bekkali said. "Now I'm surrounded by acquaintances all the time."

Some users note that long distances no longer separate residents of the internet's many virtual communities.

"I am fond of the virtual community on the world wide web," said Chrief Ould Moulay. Moulay, 25, works in a Mauritanian management company. "I now have friends in all Maghreb states, Europe and the US, though I have never been abroad."

Tarik ben Younis of Tunis relies on Facebook to talk to like-minded people.

"Through this website, I was able to connect with people around me and throughout the world, with male and female friends who share my values. If it hadn't been for this website, I wouldn't have been able to meet them or enjoy the benefit of their company."

However, social media may not have changed relationships for the better, notes Tunisian University professor Amel Grami, who conducted an in-depth study of Tunisian internet users.

"It actually leads to the emergence of social diseases," she said. "This is in addition to the changes that we see in the behavior of a large number of users."

Anonymity allows users to assume different identities, Grami said.

"One [user] would open accounts under a girl's name and use her identity instead of his own," she said. "There are some who pretend to have problems, but they are just using that to become stars in the virtual world. In the end, isolationism and individualism turn into core values, and social hypocrisy turns into a motto."

Internet addiction is also a growing problem.

"I am addicted to Facebook, and so are all of my friends," Moulay said. "Not a day passes without me checking what has been posted."

"I spend more than three hours a day using it," Chahda Snoussi added. "To me, it's an indispensable tool to remain connected to events, whether ones related to my friends or university life, or to the latest trends in the world of art and politics."

Social media is particularly appealing to youth, added Mauritanian social analyst Mouchtaba Ould Ahmed.

"The virtual community, because it is so open, welcomes Mauritanian youth with open arms when their own society seems to give them the cold shoulder," he said. "Virtual spaces have become places to exchange feelings, biographies, dreams and aspirations, away from the conventional authority of society."

Not everyone has found social media so welcoming.

"To be honest, I'm kind of afraid," Samira Badili said.

Badili, 25, works in the public sector in Morocco. She receives about a dozen friend requests on Facebook every day, she said, but never replies to any of them. She only uses the internet for email and to look up information.

"I can't personalize my experience online," she said. "My friends tell me I'm missing out on a lot of opportunities. Maybe I am."

Social media provides young people with unprecedented opportunities to express themselves, Moroccan psychologist Mohamed Mrani said. But problems may develop when social media becomes a substitute for face-to-face relationships.

"The use of virtual social networks is a positive social practice," he said. "It's the abuse of them that is worrying, given that the phenomenon is new in Morocco."

As social media creates new relationships, it also creates the opportunity to more freely express political beliefs.

"It's a democratic tool without equal," Algerian campaign worker Fairouz said.

"My party's activities are not covered by state television," she said. "Thanks to YouTube, Facebook and Dailymotion, our sympathizers can find out about them. We post everything relating to human rights events and street gatherings."

Similar trends have emerged elsewhere in the Maghreb.

Facebook and Twitter represent "a shift for many Tunisians to a space where they can express what's going on in their minds," Raoudha Rezgui said, "especially their opinions on politics and politicians."

Social media also provides unprecedented access to information, Ahmed said.

"There is a revolution of information that is invading each Mauritanian household," he said. "Girls used to be bound to their homes, but now they are part of a virtual community that is with them where they live."

These virtual communities are often more egalitarian than their real-world counterparts.

Facebook has become "a veritable test-tube where all social classes mix on an equal footing", said Algerian IT worker Mohamed. "It gives you an idea of the trends the country is witnessing."

Government authorities have occasionally tried to censor online social media, with limited success.

Journalist Ziad El Heni filed a legal action in a Tunisian court against the National Internet Agency in 2008, accusing the agency of blocking Facebook. Authorities intervened after six weeks and un-blocked the site.

Adel Khammassi of Tunisia expressed appreciation for the emergence of social media.

"Thanks to these social networking websites, we no longer ask anyone for permission to express our own opinions," he said.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/03/12/feature-02.

Algeria, Turkey ink new trade deals

2010-03-12

The 9th Turkey-Algeria Joint Economic Commission session ended Thursday (March 11th) in Algiers with the signing of several bilateral trade accords, ANSA reported. Under the agreements concluded by Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil and Turkish State Minister Cevdet Yilmaz, the countries will boost reciprocal trade in the energy, mining, agriculture, industry, transport and health sectors.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/03/12/newsbrief-03.

Activists call for qualified Amazigh language instruction

Amazigh language classes must also be offered in all Moroccan schools, language-rights groups insist.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 12/03/10

Moroccan schools are falling short in teaching Amazigh to students despite an agreement with language groups to incorporate Amazigh classes in all Moroccan schools, several Amazigh language-rights groups claim.

Schools are having trouble teaching Amazigh to students for the required three instruction hours per week, as stipulated by an agreement reached between the Ministry of Education and the Moroccan Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (IRCAM), said IRCAM member Ahmed Assid.

"It's been noticed that some school principals are replacing the three hours of teaching Amazigh by tutoring," Assid said. "The struggle is about changing attitudes since the state has long advocated Arabisation."

There are 110 other organizations calling for the immediate adoption of Amazigh-language classes throughout all of Morocco's schools, he said. They fear that the language is falling out of favor with teachers and school administrators.

AFRAK, another language-rights group, called for a more "standardized and unified teaching" of the Amazigh language.

IRCAM rector Ahmed Boukous is confident, however, that Amazigh will regain its position in the Moroccan curriculum once several obstacles are cleared.

The biggest problem facing the implementation of Amazigh classes in schools is the lack of qualified teachers in the subject, he said.

To address this problem, IRCAM has begun developing an educational program for the preparation of Amazigh textbooks, and regional educational centers will begin to offer training sessions for teachers, trainers and inspectors to master the language, Boukous said.

There has already been much progress in teacher training, said IRCAM General-Secretary Houcine Mujahid. So far, some 12,000 teachers, 300 inspectors and 558 school principals have received Amazigh training through the institute.

The government is making substantial efforts to bring Amazigh instruction to all Moroccan schools, a Ministry of Education spokesman said. About 500,000 students in 3400 schools will study the language this year, according to ministry statistics. Amazigh language instruction was only offered at 317 schools nationwide in 2003, when Morocco first included Amazigh in the national curriculum.

Training teachers to lead Amazigh classes does not address the root problem, one Amazigh teacher said.

The current fractured state of the language itself may be to blame for its scattershot inclusion in Moroccan schools, Baâlla Jamal said. The language now includes three distinct dialects in Morocco alone.

"The Amazigh language must be standardized using a scientific rigor to make its learning easier. It is one thing that hasn't been established yet," Jamal said.

Other Moroccans are critical of the new focus being placed on acquiring Amazigh language skills, especially in an age of globalization when the mastery of other languages may be essential.

More importance should be attached in Moroccan schools to learning English and Chinese, MP Fatima Moustaghfir said. She dismissed Amazigh claims that the language must be taught to ensure its survival.

"The Amazighs have managed to preserve their language without schools," she noted. "In several regions, they only speak the Amazigh language. We shouldn't focus on [Amazigh-language] education because there are other priorities related to globalization."

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/03/12/feature-03.

South Sudanese army, nomads clash, three killed

* Nomads attack south army base, three dead

* Border tensions escalate ahead of secession referendum

JUBA, Sudan, March 12 (Reuters) - Northern nomads attacked a south Sudan army base, killing three people, the southern army said, escalating tensions in the oil-rich border region less than a month before the first multi-party elections in 24 years.

South Sudanese will also vote next January on independence from the north after decades of civil war, and the latest attack highlights an urgent need to demarcate the north-south border and determine the rights of those whose livelihoods traverse the frontier.

"The Misseriya (nomads) have yesterday attacked our forces again," southern army spokesman Kuol Deim Kuol told Reuters on Friday. "They killed two SPLA (southern army) soldiers ... (and) a body from the Misseriya was found."

Four other southern soldiers were also wounded, he said. A similar attack happened in early February on the same army base in oil-producing Unity state close to the north-south border where northern nomads seasonally graze cattle.

In the February gun battle at least 18 people were killed.

East African nations met this week and urged Sudan's north-south former foes to reach agreement on the post-referendum situation within two months as the vote fast approaches.

Citizenship, sharing of Sudan's 500,000 barrels per day of crude oil and a disputed census are some of the post-referendum arrangements yet to be solved.

Southern officials have said that about 70 percent of the border has been agreed upon but that there are still at least four areas of contention including oil-producing areas.

Analysts worry a widely expected vote for independence could cause conflict if the border, which could cut off southern pastures vital to northern pastoralists, is still unclear.

"The south seceding is a threat to their livelihoods and, as the referendum approaches, rising tensions could result in a further loss of life," said Maggie Fick, an analyst from the U.S.-based Enough Project.

The south's semi-autonomous government says the nomads are welcome but must leave weapons in the north, but herders say this leaves them vulnerable to wild animals and cattle raiders.

An agreement signed earlier this month between the herders and southern officials, including from Unity State, says that the nomads may now bring in five small guns to accompany large herds and three guns if they are moving with smaller groups.

"But they (the nomads) are coming with too many guns, they are not implementing this," Kuol said. The agreement also states that the herders are to pay a 5 Sudanese pound ($2.24) levy for each cow grazing in the south, Kuol said.

The attack was probably a result of southern officials trying to stop nomads with large numbers of guns from entering the south and also partly in revenge for those killed in last month's fighting, Kuol said.

Northern nomadic groups were used by Khartoum in the war as proxy fighters against the southern rebels. But in some areas they also formed close trading links with southern communities.

Source: Alertnet.
Link: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MCD265105.htm.

SA school trains Sudanese

A South African university is training South Sudan government leaders in international law, security and other affairs of state as the region prepares for a 2011 independence referendum, university officials said.

The first 16 South Sudanese arrive on Sunday to begin a two-month course specially designed for South Sudan, JP Roodt, a spokesman for the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

After decades of war, a 2005 peace agreement ended Sudan's north-south conflict.

The referendum for the south's independence is part of the peace agreement.

Next month, presidential and general elections across Sudan - the first multi-party vote in more than two decades - will be closely watched for signs of how free and fair the independence referendum will be.

Leon Mouton, deputy director of the university's Business School Leadership Academy, said the South African program will help high-ranking senior South Sudanese government officials contribute to reconstruction, development and security in their troubled homeland.

"Extensive capacity building, along with economic and infrastructure development, delivery of basic services, and security, is key if South Sudan is to become prosperous, either as part of Sudan or as an independent country," Mouton said.

Britain's Africa Educational Trust linked the South Sudanese with the South African school and is funding the training, Roodt said.

"We also had several excursions where we met with the South Sudanese government to identify their exact needs and to tailor-make the training program," Roodt said.

The program is planned to run until 2015.

Source: Independent.
Link: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Africa&set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20100312102655446C640553.

Name of China's president scares off scammer

Taipei - The mention of China's President Hu Jintao was enough to stop a Chinese would-be phone scammer from swindling money out of a Taiwanese university student, local media reported Friday. The unidentified Chinese man told the Taiwanese student in a phone call from China that he had failed to make proper payment for merchandise he bought online and must wire money to a bank account to pay for the difference, the cable news channel TVBS said.

Suspecting it could be a scam, the student, who lived near a police station in the central city of Taichung, sought help from officers and handed his cell phone to station director, Chen Tso-hao, TVBS said.

After determining that it was a scam, Chen told the man on the phone what he did would only make China's President Hu Jintao ashamed.

"Upon hearing that, the man admitted his attempt, saying because he lived in poverty he had no choice but to do it, and then he hung up the phone," Chen was quoted as saying by TVBS.

Chen said there has been a growing number of phone scams from China recently and urged the public to be cautious.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313781,name-of-chinas-president-scares-off-scammer.html.

Ministers need to listen to students on European university reforms

Vienna - European education ministers admitted Friday that they need to listen more to university students and teachers, as their Vienna conference on higher education reform was accompanied by demonstrations. The ministers' meeting marked the 10th year of the so-called Bologna process which aimed to streamline various European university degrees and curricula, making it easier to study and work abroad.

"We commit ourselves to working towards a more effective inclusion of higher education staff and students in the implementation and further development of the European higher education area," the 47 ministers said in their statement.

Student organizations have criticized the Bologna process for increasing pressure on students, tying science too closely to business interests and for leading to higher education fees.

Some 2,000 students and researchers protested at the conference on Thursday and held a parallel meeting in Vienna on Friday, continuing the demonstrations they have staged across Europe in past months.

The ministers gave a positive review of progress made in the past decade and said cross-border cooperation between institutions had improved and that European higher education had become more visible internationally.

"Anybody who is saying that this process is perfect is not saying the truth," Hungarian Education Minister Istvan Hiller said, referring to the fact that reforms have not been fully implemented in all countries.

According to a new study by the European University Association, the new unified system of bachelor and master degrees have created problems in some countries where businesses do not recognize bachelors as fully-fledged academic qualifications.

In addition, the study found a lack of national funding for the Bologna reforms, and said there was little data on how the process had improved student mobility.

The Bologna process is named after the Italian city where its founding member countries signed a declaration in 1999.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313785,ministers-need-to-listen-to-students-on-european-university-reforms.html.

Mogadishu mayor urges people to leave amid heavy fighting

Mogadishu/Geneva (Earth Times) - The mayor of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Friday urged civilians to flee as heavy fighting continued between government forces and Islamist insurgents. The fighting began Wednesday afternoon when insurgents pushing to topple the weak Western-backed government attacked government- controlled areas in north Mogadishu.

Dozens of people, mainly civilians, have died in the crossfire.

"I suggest to all Somali civilians that they flee battle zones whenever they feel fighting could begin," Mayor Abdirisaq Mohamed Nur told journalists.

The government has been shelling positions of al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group al-Shabaab since Wednesday, but Nur said this was not the beginning of a government offensive that has been in offing for weeks.

The insurgents have penned the government, backed by African Union peacekeepers, into small areas of Mogadishu. The push is aimed at trying to regain some semblance of control of the capital.

"The ongoing fighting is not the intended crackdown against the rebels, but that will come soon," he said.

Civilians streamed out of Mogadishu when rumors of the attack begin circulating in early February, adding to hundreds of thousands sheltering in Afgoye, west of Mogadishu.

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said that 33,000 civilians have fled Mogadishu since the start of February while some 100,000 people have fled their homes nationwide since the start of the year.

"UNCHR is extremely worried about the worsening situation for civilians in Somalia," UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva, adding that access to fleeing civilians was limited by the poor security situation.

The Horn of Africa nation has been embroiled in chaos since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

More than 20,000 people have died in the current insurgency, which kicked off in early 2007 after Ethiopian forces invaded to oust an Islamist regime that ruled for six months in 2006.

According to UNHCR, almost 2 million Somalis have been displaced by the conflict, either sheltering in makeshift camps within Somalia or trekking to refugee camps in Kenya and other neighboring countries.

Yemen seizes transmission units from 2 networks over south coverage

Sana'a, Yemen - Yemen confiscated two satellite transmission units from the offices of pan-Arab al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya TV channels in Sana'a in a bid to control their coverage of the violence in the south of the Arab country, the two channels said Friday. Murad Hashim, head of al-Jazeera's office in Sana'a office, told the German Press Agency dpa that 12 security agents and Information Ministry representatives "stormed the channel's offices and forcibly confiscated the transmission unit.

"It is a regretful measure," Hashim said, adding that the ministry claimed that al-Jazeera was "exaggerating" in the coverage of the protests staged by the Southern Movement in southern cities.

Violence has been on the rise in southern cities in recent months where disgruntled local residents have been taking to the streets to support calls by the separatists to split the once independent south from a united Yemen.

North and South Yemen were united in 1990, but separatist groups in the south claim that the central government in Sana'a neglect the people in the south and discriminate against them.

Hashim said al-Jazeera had received warnings from the Information Ministry on Wednesday over its coverage of the protests staged by the Southern Movement or opposition parties supporting the secessionist movement.

The ministry also seized transmission equipment from the office of al-Arabiya, whose correspondent in Sana'a Hamoud Munassar said the seizure would "curtail" the channel's work in Yemen...

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313805,yemen-seizes-transmission-units-from-2-networks-over-south-coverage.html.

Russia to build more nuclear reactors in India - Summary

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

New Delhi - India and Russia signed a host of agreements on defense and nuclear energy cooperation Friday, including a pact setting out a road map for serial construction of Russian-built nuclear reactors in India. The agreements were signed during the day-long visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The road map for nuclear cooperation provided for the construction of up to 16 nuclear reactors at three sites in the future, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov told reporters on the sidelines of talks between Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Russia is already constructing two nuclear reactors at the Kudankulam plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Another deal worth 1.5 billion dollars under which Russia would provide 29 MiG-29K fighter aircraft for India's Navy was sealed during the visit, the director general of the MiG group, Mikhail Pogossyan, was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

An agreement had been reached on the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov which had been bought by India and was being refurbished by Russia, state-run television Doordarshan reported.

The Gorshkov, named the Vikramaditya in India, would be delivered by 2012. India's federal cabinet recently approved a new price of 2.35 billion dollars for the carrier.

The Gorshkov has been a thorn in the side of relations between the two countries with disputes over pricing and delays of the delivery date. The original contract to acquire the carrier was signed in 2004 and delivery scheduled for 2008.

Besides the nuclear pacts, agreements were signed for Indian civilian use of the Russian satellite navigation system and in the fertilizer sector.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said his talks with Putin were comprehensive and covered bilateral, regional and global issues.

He said India and Russia had agreed to intensify cooperation on Afghanistan and terrorism.

Putin said Russia placed great importance on its strategic partnership with India.

Earlier, during a video conference interaction with Indian business leaders, Putin said Russia understood India's concerns regarding banned terror outfits operating against it from Pakistan's territory.

But, he added, Pakistan had in the recent months initiated action against those groups.

"As far as terror groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan are concerned, it is a matter of worry for the entire region and in fact, the whole world," Putin said.

He said India and Russia were located close to Afghanistan and the situation there impacted the security of both countries.

Putin, who is on a day-long visit to India, called on President Pratibha Patil and also met Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313807,russia-to-build-more-nuclear-reactors-in-india--summary.html.

Spain seeks to defuse tension with Venezuela over ETA link - Summary

Madrid - Portuguese police have detained a suspected member of the militant Basque separatist group ETA who was trying to fly to Venezuela from Lisbon, police and immigration sources said Friday. The arrest came less than two weeks after a Spanish judge accused President Hugo Chavez's government of cooperating with ETA and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Andoni Zengotitabengoa, 30, was detained in the Portuguese capital on Thursday while attempting to board a flight to Caracas using a fake Mexican passport.

Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said Friday that Madrid continued to trust Venezuela's will to cooperate in the fight against ETA.

"We cooperate with all countries - with Portugal, as has been shown, but also with Venezuela," she said.

Vega said Venezuelan authorities had condemned ETA terrorism and expressed a will to cooperate with the ongoing investigation into the alleged links between FARC and ETA.

Judge Eloy Velasco earlier claimed that ETA and FARC trained together, planned killings of Colombians in Spain and that some ETA members had held government posts in Venezuela.

Velasco charged a total of 13 ETA and FARC suspects, some of whom lived in Venezuela.

Spain then requested "information" from Caracas, but Chavez dismissed Velasco's allegations as part of a US-led campaign to discredit his country.

Madrid is trying to prevent the case from damaging relations with Venezuela, an important commercial partner, commentators said.

Zengotitabengoa's detention showed that ETA retained some infrastructure in Portugal, a Spanish police source said.

ETA is believed to be seeking new hideouts in Portugal and northern France after coming under increasing police pressure in Spain and in southern France.

Zengotitabengoa is one of two ETA suspects identified as occupants of an ETA base in Obidos north of Lisbon where 1.5 tons of explosives were found by police in February raid.

Zengotitabengoa has already been sentenced in absentia to 13 years in prison for street violence.

Spanish police meanwhile said they and their French counterparts had discovered the body of ETA suspect Jon Anza, 47, whose disappearance in May 2009 prompted ETA to accuse police of having tortured and killed him.

Police sources said Anza had suffered a heart attack in a Toulouse park and died at hospital. Because he carried no identity documents, his body was left at the local morgue until now, when it was finally identified.

About 30 ETA suspects have been detained in Spain, France and Portugal so far this year.

ETA, which has killed more than 820 people since 1968, is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313806,spain-seeks-to-defuse-tension-with-venezuela-over-eta-link.html.

German Islamic leaders may quit integration conference

Cologne - Islamic leaders in Germany debated on Friday whether to suspend their involvement in a government-sponsored forum on German-Islamic integration, after a fundamentalist Islamic group had been excluded. Four leading Islamic organizations, representing religious groups and secular Muslims, threatened to leave the German-Islam Conference after the Interior Ministry excluded the Council of Islam, dominated by the international Milli Gorus movement.

The ministry had ruled that legal investigations into the activities of Milli Gorus, viewed by officials as the largest Islamist organization on German soil, could overshadow the conference, set up to address Muslim integration issues.

In addition, the remaining four groups had complained that a reorganization of the conference, initially established in 2006, failed to address some of their key concerns.

"We are interested in constructive cooperation," said Bekir Alboga, spokesman for an umbrella group representing the four Islamic organizations, ahead of Friday's meeting in Cologne.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said he was happy to take the groups' concerns on board.

"Subjects such as racism and Islamophobia can certainly find a place," Maiziere told German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung in reference to the reorganized German-Islam Conference.

Alongside the four Islamic groups, the 30-member German-Islam Conference also includes 10 individuals who stand for different spectrums of Germany's diverse Muslim community. The remaining 15 members are German communal, state and federal representatives.

Germany's Muslim population dates back to post-war "guest worker" schemes which invited people from mostly poor, rural backgrounds in countries such as Turkey to come to Germany as laborers during the boom years, until 1973.

The German-Islamic Conference was welcomed as an important milestone to address integration issues, although many German Muslims - the majority of whom belong to no organized group - have not felt sufficiently represented by the forum.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313812,german-islamic-leaders-may-quit-integration-conference.html.