Iranian actor Reza Karam-Rezaei dies at 73

Veteran actor of Iranian cinema, stage and television Reza Karam-Rezaei has passed away at the age of 73 at a Tehran hospital.

Karam-Rezaei, who was hospitalized for lung infection about a month ago, died of a cardiac arrest at Tehran's Mehr hospital on Saturday.

The award-winning actor studied at a theater and film college in Germany and started his cinematic career in 1954 in Tehran.

He had parts in over 20 television series and films such as The Suitor, Narges, The Big Jungle and the Beehive for which he received the Best Supporting Actor award from the Tehran International Film Festival — an international event held before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122366§ionid=351020105.

Iran's Shams ensemble to perform in Turkey

Iran's Shams ensemble is preparing to hold a traditional Persian music concert in the historical city of Istanbul, Turkey.

Led by renowned Tanbour player Keikhosrow Pournazeri, the group will perform traditional and Sufi music pieces at Istanbul's Cemal Resit Rey (CRR) Concert Hall.

Sahar Afshar (Setar), Shahab Paranj (Tonbak), Kaveh Graiely (Setar, Tanbour), Neda Khaki (Tanbour), Hamid-Reza Taqavi (Santour) and Tahmoures Pornazeri (lute) will be the other members of the Shams ensemble who will accompany vocalist Sohrab Pournazeri.

The concert, to be held on April 4, 2010, will also include pieces composed based on poems by the Persian Sufi poet Mowlavi.

Founded in 1977 by Keikhosrow Pournazeri, the Shams ensemble is one of the first groups to perform mystic dervish music featuring Tanbour.

The Music of Shams has accompanied the voices of many renowned Iranian vocalists such as Shahram Nazeri and Bijan Kamkar.

The ensemble has performed in countries such as France, Spain, India, the US, Canada, China, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122362§ionid=351020105.

Iran plans to build new nuclear facilities

Amid stepped up efforts by the US and its allies to rally international support for imposing tougher sanctions against Iran, a top official in Tehran declares plans to construct new nuclear facilities.

"We have presented plans to build new nuclear facilities to President [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]. We will begin the construction process within the next six months, should the president agree," head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi told the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) on Saturday.

"The organization will finalize the construction of one or two nuclear facilities," he added.

"The facilities are located in different locations across the country but will be constructed in places recommended by President Ahmadinejad," the top Iranian nuclear official was quoted by ILNA as saying.

Iran says its nuclear program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology. The West, however, accuses the country of using its activities, which are under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as a cover for pursuing military objectives.

Based on the allegation, Washington has been pushing to impose a fourth round of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against Iran.

As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran says it will not yield to international pressure to abandon its right to enrich uranium for civilian use. The sanctions, which Iran says are illegal, have failed to force Tehran into stopping its enrichment work.

The White House campaign, however, has been opposed by China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, which says dialogue is the only solution to the issue. Russia, another veto-wielding member, says sanctions are not "optimal" in dealing with Iran over its nuclear program.

Salehi highlighted plans by the Iranian government to develop an indigenous nuclear energy program and said, "Plans for construction of more nuclear facilities will be announced in the near future."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122361§ionid=351020104.

In Iraq, Sadrists conclude two-day referendum

The followers of senior Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr have remarkably attended a referendum on who qualifies as Iraq's future prime minister.

The two-day vote, seen as an attempt to relieve post-election unease in Iraq, concluded on Saturday evening.

"The referendum has concluded and the participation rate was very high," said Saleh al-Obeidi, the Najaf-based spokesman for the movement, AFP reported. "The counting process has already started in the provinces, and in the next few days we will release the results."

The referendum came after disputed results of the March 7 parliamentary polls pointed to a narrow victory by the coalition led by former Premier Iyad Allawi over his main rival and incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Neither party has won enough seats to form a coalition government.

Sadr has withdrawn support for both contenders and asked his followers to vote in the plebiscite for their prime minister of choice.

Sadr's bloc has denied the vote was a re-run of the elections and the referendum has reportedly no official role in deciding the ultimate winner.

Prior to last month's elections, Sadr urged the Iraqi electorate to help end the US-led occupation of the country by going to polling stations.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122356§ionid=351020201.

Yemen court upholds Israel spy's death sentence

A death sentence for a Yemeni man, Bassam Abdullah al-Haidari, convicted of spying for Israel has been upheld by an appeals court.

In March 2009, a state security court sentenced the 27-year-old to death after convicting him of establishing contacts with the office of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Prosecutors have told the court that al-Haidari had sent e-mails to the Israeli premier, offering to work for Mossad.

They said the defendant received a positive response from Israeli officials, who allegedly welcomed the offer.

A three-year prison term for another convict in the case, Emad Ali al-Raimi, 24, was also confirmed by the appeals court. The court also lowered the sentence for a third convict Ali Abdullah al-Mahfal, 25, from five to three years.

The three men were part of a group of six suspects arrested in October 2009 over alleged links to Mossad. The three remaining suspects were released before trial, due to lack of evidence.

Arrests were made one month after a bombing outside the US embassy in Sana'a, the responsibility for which was later claimed by al-Qaeda.

Officials have said the group sentenced Monday operated under a fake name, the "Islamic Jihad of Yemen," and issued false statements claiming responsibility for the US embassy attack, in which 18 people were killed, including six attackers.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122355§ionid=351020206.

Ahmadinejad warns Israel against second Gaza war

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned against a reported Israeli plan to launch a second military offensive against Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli deputy prime minister Silvan Shalom said Friday that a military operation will soon be launched in response to rocket attacks from Gaza, which involve home-made rockets that usually carry little or no explosive warhead.

On Thursday, a single Qassam rocket landed near the Israeli town of Ashkelon on Thursday and caused some minor damages but no casualties.

Although the Palestinian Resistance movement of Hamas did not claim responsibility for the attack, Israel nevertheless responded to the incident by carrying out six waves of air raids overnight.

"If this rocket fire against Israel does not stop … it will force us to launch another military operation," Shalom told public radio.

Hamas has emphasized that it is looking to calm the situation. In an April 1 phone conversation with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the Chairman of Hamas Political Bureau Khaled Mashaal said: "Hamas is not interested in the escalation of tensions and is taking corresponding measures to prevent missile strikes from the Gaza," reported ITAR-Tass News Agency.

President Ahmadinejad, in a formal speech at the inauguration of the Middle East's biggest iron ore pellet factory in the southern city of Sirjan, warned Israel against making plans for a new offensive against Gazans, who are still reeling from the devastating attack by Tel Aviv two years ago.

Ahmadinejad condemned Israel's continued crimes in Palestine and Lebanon, stressing that the Tel Aviv regime is the sole obstacle to the establishment of peace and security in the region.

Referring to Israel's use of foreign passports to assassinate senior Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, Ahmadinejad said Israel has “clearly been given carte blanche by Western powers “to commit whatever crime it pleases and violate whatever law it deems necessary.”

On a different note, Ahmadinejad said the rising tide of terrorism in the Middle East is a direct result of US military presence in the region over the past decade.

“The ever-increasing presence of US coalition forces in region has contributed to the growing rate of terrorism and violence,” he noted.

The Iranian President said he found the US campaign to isolate Tehran in the region and in the world “most amusing” because he seriously believes that Washington, due to decades of hegemony and political missteps, has grown to become one of the most isolated countries to date.

"We think that those are isolated that cannot talk to nations directly, those who are afraid of nations."

President Ahmadinejad said it was the US not Iran which was isolated, reasoning that American officials only paid unannounced visits to the regional countries.

"They want to visit their military base in a country where they have deployed 160,000 military troops and they go there without announcing in advance. Who is isolated?"

He dismissed US accusations regarding an “Iranian intention to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels,” adding such claims are highly ironic coming from countries which possess and continue to develop vast nuclear arsenals that have been tested and even used in military confrontations.

Under international law, Ahmadinejad said, Western countries are obliged to provide Iran — without out preconditions — with the specified amount of fuel it requires for the Tehran research reactor, which plays the vital role of producing medical isotopes.

Due to their refusal, Ahmadinejad continued, Iran reserves the right to domestically-enrich uranium up to 20 percent in order to meet the demands of thousands of Iranian patients, who desperately need post-surgery drug treatment with nuclear medicine.

With regards to US efforts to rally worldwide support for gasoline embargoes against Iran, Ahmadinejad said such a move would fail to bring Washington's desired results because the country will soon reach the refining capacity to produce its own gasoline.

Iran is the world's fourth-largest oil exporter but, according to US estimates, the country relies on gasoline imports to meet 40 percent of its domestic demand.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122339§ionid=351020101.

Seaborne aid convoy to be sent to Gaza

A new aid convoy is scheduled to be sent to the besieged Gaza strip by sea under the slogan of "Freedom is the Last Port."

The decision was made in meeting held by Turks, Arab and international activists in Istanbul on Friday.

According to the head of the Turkish Relief Foundation (IHH) Bulent Yildrim, a convoy consisting of 20 vessels will leave Turkey next month.

Yildrim further pointed out that the vessels will not stop till they reach Gaza.

The main goal of the convoy is to break the Gaza siege by sea after it was broken by land and to shed light on the importance of putting an end to the Israeli and Egyptian-imposed blockade which has devastated the lives and businesses of Gazans, he went on to say.

The beleaguered territory that is home to 1.5 million people has been under siege by Israel and Egypt for more than 1,000 days.

As Israel and Egypt have all but blocked the flow of people and normal goods across their land borders with Gaza, and Israel has additionally imposed air and sea blockades against the residents.

In an effort to tighten the blockade even further, Egypt is to block the seaborne Gaza-bound supplies by stepping up security measures at its maritime border with Gaza.

In a recent interview with Press TV, Andrew Whitley, director of the New York Representative Office of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) said: "[Gazan businesses] have virtually all collapsed, because there is no money in circulation…. today we probably have 80 percent of the population living below the poverty line."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122331§ionid=351020202.

US shuttle Discovery launch on Monday, one of four final missions

Washington - NASA's Discovery was preparing to launch on Monday one of the remaining four flights of the aging shuttles before year's end.

Discovery is to launch at 1021 GMT Monday from the Cape Canaveral lift-off pad, carrying seven astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

After Monday, the breath-taking, chest-rumbling spectacle of a huge shuttle hurtling into the Florida sky will happen only three more times. The goal is to retire the shuttle program by September, but there have been reports that normal delays due to weather and technical problems could put the final flight into early 2011.

The upcoming 13-day shuttle mission offers one more chance for the orbiter to prove its worth as the work-horse of the ISS. Discovery will carry more than 12 tonnes of equipment.

Because much of the load is destined for research, NASA decided to dub the mission "Experiment Express." NASA will load up its Italian- built Leonardo container with a small fitness studio for the station crew, an observation module with cameras and sensors and a ream of scientific instruments for experiments.

Upon arrival at the space station on Wednesday, Leonardo will be removed from Discovery and parked outside for methodical unloading during the nine days Discovery is to spend at the station.

Three spacewalks are planned, each for about 6.5 hours. The tasks include detaching a Japanese experimental apparatus now mounted on the outside frame of the ISS and bringing it inside.

Discovery is to return to earth on April 18.

After the shuttle program ends, the only transport for astronauts to the space station will be Russia's Soyuz capsules. Russia also operates cargo shipments separately from the human transport, but they can carry only a fraction of what the shuttle can.

On Friday, Soyuz launched from the Russian Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with one US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts destined to spend the next six months on the space station. They will dock Sunday with the ISS.

Meanwhile, the shuttle missions are carrying as many heavy replacement parts and instruments as possible to the space station.

The decades-old shuttle spacecraft have been considered a risky proposition for years. Chronic problems with fuel tanks and sensors have often delayed takeoff of the three remaining craft - Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavor. Two shuttles, Colombia and Challenger, exploded during re-entry and takeoff, respectively, killing all astronauts on board.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/316933,us-shuttle-discovery-launch-on-monday-one-of-four-final-missions.html.

Serbia to boast heritage as birthplace of 18 Roman emperors - Feature

Ksenija Prodanovic

Belgrade - The mention of Serbia usually brings to mind the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, but rarely ever the Roman Empire - despite the fact that 18 Roman rulers, one fifth of all emperors, were born on its territory.

With that in mind, archaeologist Miomir Korac has launched The Road of Roman Emperors in Serbia (Itinerarium Romanum Serbiae) - a project meant to combine dozens of antique places across the country into a 600-kilometer-long tourist itinerary.

"This is perhaps the most important project in Serbia because it is a chance to show the country's pretty face and earn money," Korac, the head of the Viminacium archaeological site, told the German Press Agency dpa.

Emperors originating from Serbia represented the largest number of Roman monarchs born outside of Italy. Among them were Constantine the Great and Justinian I.

Remnants of imperial cities, residences, villas and forts also remain part of Serbia's Roman legacy.

Viminacium, which used to be the capital of the Roman province of Upper Moesia, is set on thousands of acres of land, some 60 kilometers east of Belgrade.

It is the best preserved and managed antique site in the country, a model for other Roman locations and two Serbian prehistoric spots - Vinca and Lepenski Vir. Both will also be included on the tourist route, because they "are important for the world heritage," Korac said.

The circuit will go from the north-western city of Sremska Mitrovica (Sirmium) along the Danube to Belgrade (Singidunum), Vinca and Kostolac (Viminacium), before heading to the southern city of Nis (Naissus), the birth place of emperor Constantine.

"These sites represent enormous heritage from antiquity, not only for Serbia but for the world as well," Korac said.

The idea of the project is to combine science and culture with tourism, also generating new bicycle roads, inns and infrastructure, bringing money to the impoverished provinces, Korac said.

"We will build some 100 boarding houses - replicas of Roman villas - every 5 to 10 kilometers, so that the route can be traveled either by foot or on bike or by car or all of the above," Korac said. "That would initially cost around 39 million euros (52.6 million dollars), but would generate 300 million euros and 300,000 visitors each year."

The inns, set in authentic surroundings - forests, fields and river banks - are to be family run, with elderly relatives managing the business, women cooking and youngsters helping out with modern aspects such as the internet.

"Serbia has nothing to show. A street in Florence has more beautiful houses than entire Belgrade. Our spas may have a 100-year- long tradition, but are old, outdated and devastated," Korac said. "We can not offer them that, but we can sell the energy of the local surroundings."

Several Serbian ministries have recognized the potential of the project and contributed money for investments in Viminacium, Sirmium and Gamzigrad.

The construction of some inns has already begun, but the process is painfully slow, as the country struggles with the recession and the fact that many ordinary citizens do not know of Serbia's rich heritage.

"I know that Constantine was born in Nis, but I had no idea that there were so many of them," pensioner Milka Petrovic told dpa.

The project might get a further boost next year when Nis will host a celebration to mark the anniversary of the Edict of Milan, which was signed by Constantine in 313 and proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/316937,serbia-to-boast-heritage-as-birthplace-of-18-roman-emperors.html.

Taiwan to join effort to save Pacific islands from rising seas

Taipei - Taiwan vowed Saturday to join the international community in helping Pacific island states cope with rising sea levels caused by climate change.

President Ma Ying-jeou made the announcement in his weekly newsletter, one week after he visited six South Pacific island nations that are among the 23 countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan as opposed to China.

"How would we feel if this beautiful scenery (of the Pacific islands) vanishes in 10 years' time?" Ma asked.

He said that among Taiwan's South Pacific allies, Kiribati and Tuvalu are now only 2 to 4 meters above sea level.

"Some experts predicted that by the end of this century, the sea level will rise 40 centimeters ... and force them to move their people to some other place," he said.

Ma said Taiwan is helping each of its six Pacific allies on environmental protection, solar power, health care and agriculture.

The recognition of Taiwan by the six countries - the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, the Solomon Islands and Palau - and their petitioning of the United Nations to allow Taipei to join UN organizations are vital to Taiwan, which suffers diplomatic isolation because more than 170 countries recognize China, essentially regarding Taiwan as China's breakaway province.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/316949,taiwan-to-join-effort-to-save-pacific-islands-from-rising-seas.html.

Sanctions would just increase Iran's motivation, Ahmadinejad says

Tehran - Sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programs would just increase the country's motivation for more technological progress, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday.

"You cannot intimidate our nation by such threats and cannot hinder our progress," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in Sirjan in south-eastern Iran, where he inaugurated an industrial project.

"The more you [the world powers] try to hinder us by force, the more such threats will increase the people's motivation," he said in the speech carried live by the news network Khabar.

The United States and its allies suspect Iran is using a civilian nuclear program as a guise toward acquiring nuclear weapons and, therefore, have called for renewed sanctions against the Islamic state through the United Nations Security Council.

Council members China and Russia have so far resisted the Western call for sanctions.

"We are accused of something which we have not even once considered in nuclear projects," Ahmadinejad said.

"So do not start a new adventure," he warned the world powers while reiterating Iran's readiness to cooperate with them on global nuclear disarmament.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/316955,sanctions-would-just-increase-irans-motivation-ahmadinejad-says.html.

After China, US presses UAE to limit Iran trade

While continuing to pressure Russia and China to follow its lead in imposing a new round of sanctions against Iran, the US tries to cajole Dubai into limiting its trade relations with Tehran.

Over the past few months, the Obama Administration has made systematic efforts to woo Dubai to toe Washington's anti-Iran line and persuade the business-savvy Muslim Emiratis into restricting their centuries-old trade with Iran.

To that end, high-ranking US officials have regularly flown over to Dubai in recent months and have held private meetings with high-ranking officials of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Stuart Levey, the US Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, told The Times on Friday that he has so far flown to Dubai about 12 times in a bid to warn UAE officials of the consequences of their strong economic relations with Iranians.

"The UAE is really grappling with the issue," Levy claimed. "The Emirates are aware of the reputational risks with dealing with Iran, and they take those risks seriously."

"To the extent that normal consumer goods are getting into Iran, that does not undermine the overall policy," Levy explained.

In an effort to harm Iran's economy since a popular revolution deposed the pro-US dictatorship of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the US has not only imposed unilateral sanctions against Iran, but it has sought to browbeat other states to follow suit, mostly to no avail. In the case of UAE, despite US pressure, the volume of trade between Iran and UAE has risen greatly over the past few years.

Dubai, which is reportedly home to around 500,000 Iranians, is widely considered to be one of Iran's largest trading partners in the region.

Embassy officials in Abu Dhabi estimate that trade between Iran and Dubai topped $15 billion (55.09 billion UAE dirhams) in 2009.

While Levy made his latest comments, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, the head of Iran's Presidential Office, was visiting the UAE, according to the official Iranian IRNA news agency.

Rahim-Mashaei called for the further expansion of Iran-UAE trade ties, stressing that “both countries have a lot to offer as key players in the region's economy.”

UAE Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, for his part, said both Iran and the Emirates have mutual interest in trade and should thus work closer to promote cooperation in different levels.

Rahim-Mashaei made the remarks while offering the Iranian people's deep condolences to UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the death of his brother Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The late Sheikh Ahmed who headed the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority - the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world - was killed in an apparent aviation incident on March 26. The full circumstances of his death have yet to be established.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122324§ionid=351020104.

North Korean special train arrives in China

A special train, possibly carrying the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, has entered the border city of Dandong in Liaoning Province in northeastern China.

The train that arrived in Dandong at about 2:50 a.m. local time (18:50 GMT Friday) on Saturday appeared to be carrying Kim but could also be an advance train preceding his trip, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The North Korean leader rarely travels abroad and only under tight security. He last visited China in January 2006.

Kim's possible trip to North Korea's most important ally and biggest aid provider, China, comes as the United States and regional powers are trying to win Pyongyang's willingness to return to six-party talks and resume the stalled multilateral negotiations aimed at dismantling its nuclear weapons program.

The six-party talks, involving the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), the United States, the Republic of Korea, China, Japan and Russia, have been frozen since April last year.

Pyongyang has set two conditions for its return to the talks: Lifting UN sanctions against it and holding peace talks aimed at formally ending the 1950-1953 Korean War.

But Washington, Seoul and Tokyo say Pyongyang must first return to the talks and show notable progress before its conditions can be considered.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122329§ionid=351020405.

Ahmadinejad inaugurates giant iron ore plant

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has inaugurated the biggest iron ore pelletizing plant in the Middle East near the southern city of Sirjan.

Gol-e-Gohar pelletizing plant has a capacity to produce five million tonnes of iron ore per year; enough for production of 2.5 million tonnes of steel.

Around 445 million euros ($600 million) has been invested in setting up the factory.

The plant, located 60 km (37 miles) from the city of Sirjan in the southern province of Kerman, has created 5500 direct and indirect jobs.

The Gol-e-Gohar pellet plant has been built over four years and will use iron ore concentrates from the Gol-e-Gohar mine in the province.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122311§ionid=351020102.

Japan Kagoshima governor rejects US Marines base

The governor of Japan's Kagoshima Prefecture has expressed his strong opposition against the proposed relocation of US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa to Tokunoshima Island.

Yuichiro Ito told reporters on Friday that he will oppose the relocation along with the residents of the island and the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly.

He added that the government has not contacted the prefecture about the relocation. He also stressed that Tokunoshima residents do not want to accept a US military base.

The reaction comes as thousands of residents on Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture held a protest rally on Sunday after the island was reported to be a candidate site for hosting the contentious Futenma base in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture.

"The government has never consulted with any of the three mayors about the issue, even though it advocates the decentralization of authority," said Tokunoshima Mayor Hideki Takaoka, as he criticized Tokyo's disrespect for municipal governments.

The protest was organized by the municipalities and an organizing committee consisting of over 60 groups from Kagoshima's Amami Islands.

"We cannot expose our children to noise and crime. We don't need a base here on this island of children, longevity and mutual cooperation," said a 39-year-old housewife.

Farmer Tokuhiro Motoda, 80, saw the matter as a threat to his way of life. "Tokunoshima is an island with rich nature and farming. Our living would be destroyed by the base," he said.

A new survey conducted by the Sankei newspaper showed that more than 73 percent of respondents were unhappy with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's management of the issue.

Nearly half of the voters believe Hatoyama should resign if he fails to resolve the problem by the end of May as he himself announced the May deadline.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122310§ionid=351020406.

Brazilian economic delegation plans Iran visit

The Brazilian minister of development, industry and foreign trade is scheduled to visit Tehran to pave the way for expansion of economic ties with Iran.

Brazilian Ambassador in Iran Antonio Luis Espinola Salgado says a delegation of 80 businesspersons and industrialists will accompany Miguel Jorge during his trip to the Iranian capital. He did not specify the date of the visit.

"Brazil is determined to expand its ties with Iran in different areas," IRNA quoted Salgado as saying on Friday.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is also planning to pay an official visit to Tehran in May.

Last month, Mir-Qassem Momeni, the head of Iran-Brazil Friendship Association, said economy will top President Lula's agenda during his visit to Iran, slated for May 15.

An established nuclear state itself, Brazil has been a vocal supporter of Iran's right to enrich uranium for civilian applications. The country has also expressed willingness to facilitate Tehran in acquiring fuel for its medical research reactor.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Brazil in earlier March to win support for fresh anti-Iran sanctions over its nuclear program. However, she failed to bring President Lula onboard the US-led campaign.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122301§ionid=351020102.

Hamas urges int'l intervention over Israel threats

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has called for international intervention in a bid to prevent another Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip.

The plea comes after the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom warned on Friday that Tel Aviv would launch another large-scale military operation against the Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip in the near future.

Shalom made the remarks after Israel carried out a series of air strikes, injuring three Palestinian children, aged two, four and 11.

According to Shalom, a forthcoming military attack will be in response to rocket fire from Gaza.

Earlier on Friday, a Qassam rocket was launched at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip and landed in an open area outside the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon region, causing no injuries. Hamas did not claim responsibility for the attack. However, Israel responded by carrying out six waves of air raids overnight against the beleaguered Gazans.

Some Palestinian groups say the attacks — with the home-made and ineffective Qassam rockets — are in retaliation to Israel's three-year-long blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has deprived the resident from their basic necessities.

Hamas has emphasized that it is looking to calm the situation. In an April 1 phone conversation with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the Chairman of Hamas Political Bureau Khaled Mashaal said: "Hamas is not interested in the escalation of tensions and is taking corresponding measures to prevent missile strikes from the Gaza," reported ITAR-Tass News Agency.

Israel launched a large offensive against the coastal strip in 2008 that killed some 1,400 Palestinians — most of them non-combatants — and a number of Israeli officials face war-crimes charges as a result of the indiscriminate onslaught.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122298§ionid=351020202.

Erdoğan reacts to CHP's signature claims

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has responded sharply to allegations from the Republican People's Party (CHP) that Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin's signature is among the 110 signatures on a constitutional amendment package sponsored by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

Speaking to journalists after an opening ceremony at the Cer Modern Art Center, the prime minister said that Şahin had not signed the package. “Even if his signature was there, the number of signatures we have is enough [to complete the submission of the proposal],” he said.

Hakkı Süha Okay, deputy chairman of the CHP's parliamentary group, claimed on Wednesday that Şahin's signature, as the AK Party's Antalya deputy, appears on the proposal that was submitted to Parliament on Monday. Okay called a press conference to voice his claims.

Parliament Speaker Şahin also denied the CHP's allegations. Speaking to journalists yesterday as he received a delegation of police officers led by National Police Chief Oğuz Kağan Köksal as part of Police Week activities, Şahin said: “My signature is not there.

Nor have I been asked to put my signature on it. Even if I was, I would not sign such a document as parliament speaker. I would like to say that I find the claims laughable.” He said before he was elected parliament speaker, he used to sign lists used in the party’s headquarters or other places to track attendance. “It is possible to find those lists that also have my signature everywhere. I find it extremely insincere to claim that I signed the package basing this accusation on those lists.”

He said under Parliament bylaws, he received about 10 new bills or proposals that he relayed to the Laws and Decisions Directorate of Parliament, where they are examined for compatibility with the bylaws. “The drafts come to me, and then I relay them to the relevant commissions,” he told journalists.

He also said that it was possible to look up the signatures on the amendment package. “What is more, the governing party does not need my signature to make a proposal.”

Okay had also implied that Şahin’s signature, which was initially included along with the signatures of other deputies before its submission to Parliament, had later been removed. Şahin said, “The proposal that came to me was referred to the relevant directorate, which completed its examination and ruled that the draft doesn’t lack anything. I have been informed about the directorate’s affirmative report. It is out of the question that I might have put my signature to such a constitutional amendment package.”

Meanwhile, Constitutional Commission head Burhan Kuzu has announced that he will file a criminal complaint against the CHP.

Source: Today's Zaman.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-206141-103-erdogan-reacts-to-chps-signature-claims.html.

Erdoğan to announce today final call on attending nuclear summit

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday said that he is likely to announce his final decision on whether to accept an invitation from the White House today, noting that he would return the Turkish ambassador, who was recalled last month, back to Washington if he decides to attend the nuclear energy summit.
“At the moment, I’m making the assessment with my advisers,” Erdoğan said when asked whether he would participate at the summit on nuclear security on April 13.

Following the adoption of a nonbinding resolution by the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs on March 4 recognizing the World War I-era killings of Ottoman Armenians as genocide, Turkey recalled its ambassador in Washington, Namık Tan, to Ankara for consultations while Erdoğan put his visit to the United States April 13-14, during which he is to attend the nuclear energy summit in the US capital at the invitation of US President Barack Obama, on hold.

“I think that I will announce my decision on this issue tomorrow [today]. In the case that I decide to go, then I will soon send our ambassador back,” Erdoğan added.

During a telephone conversation between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Sunday, which was initiated by the US side, the former reiterated that the Obama administration stands opposed to the resolution on Armenian genocide and is also against a full House vote on the measure.

During the same conversation, Clinton told Davutoğlu that US officials hope Erdoğan will attend the nuclear summit in Washington, D.C., Foreign Ministry spokesperson Burak Özügergin said in a statement released on Monday. In response, Davutoğlu said Erdoğan would decide in the coming days whether to attend the meeting or not. More than 40 world leaders are expected at the summit.

Speaking with reporters earlier on Thursday before Erdoğan’s brief remarks on his Washington visit, Özügergin highlighted that Ankara considers the telephone conversation between Clinton and Davutoğlu as “useful” in regards to its ongoing assessment on the timing of Tan’s return to Washington. He also noted that there was no exact decision yet on Tan’s return or Erdoğan’s participation in the nuclear summit, unlike what Turkish newspapers claimed in their Thursday editions.

Later on Thursday afternoon, Davutoğlu was scheduled to host a US delegation at the ministry led by Republican Congressman Edward Whitfield (Kentucky), the co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on US-Turkish Relations, who is among the critics of the resolution.

Özügergin, speaking with reporters during an online press conference held by the ministry, was also reminded of recent Turkish news reports quoting a senior Armenian official as suggesting that Yerevan was planning to propose putting the normalization protocols signed by the two capitals on hold and asked whether Turkey has received such a proposal.

“No official request by Armenia for the annulment or suspension of the signed protocols has arrived. Beyond this, even putting forward such a discourse is not appropriate,” Özügergin said.

“On the other hand, claiming that Turkey is not interested in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue would not be true. Instead of discussing whether this element was within the protocols or not, it is necessary to get used to seeing the Nagorno-Karabakh issue as part of the integrated whole in regards to peace and stability in the Caucasus. In other words, it will not be possible to resolve problems in the region without having the Nagorno-Karabakh issue resolved,” he added, referring to a territorial dispute between Baku and Yerevan.

Recent Turkish news reports also quoted the same senior Armenian official as voicing disappointment over the fact that Turkey has turned the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue into a precondition, although this was not the case when the protocols were negotiated and eventually signed.

Source: Today's Zaman.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-206146-100-erdogan-to-announce-today-final-call-on-attending-nuclear-summit.html.

US cuts off military vehicle shipments to Cambodia

Thu, 01 Apr 2010

Washington - The United States has suspended shipments of military vehicles to Cambodia in response to the government's decision to deport Uighurs to China, the State Department said Thursday.

The State Department informed Cambodia on March 19 that it will not be receiving the shipments of trucks and trailers.

"As we said, there would be consequences for their failure to live up to their international obligations," State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said.

Cambodia in December expelled the 20 Uighurs, or Chinese Muslims, who fled seeking asylum. Washington strongly objected to the move, saying Phnom Penh did not follow international asylum norms.

The United States fears that the Uighurs would be subjected to abuse if returned to China, and has refused to repatriate Uighurs who were captured in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and held at the Guantanamo Bay prison facility.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/316817,us-cuts-off-military-vehicle-shipments-to-cambodia.html.

Russia delivers S-300 missile system to China

Russia has completed the sale of a package of S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to China in a deal which is said to be worth over two billion dollars.

Igor Ashurbeili, the general director of the Almaz-Antei joint, which manufactures the S-300 system has confirmed the delivery of 15 batteries of the long range surface-to-air missile system to Beijing, reported RIA Novosti.

All the supplied S-300 systems will be used for the defense of the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai, according to a Russian official.

Each battery contains eight missiles in itself, making it an effective tool for warding off airstrikes.

The S-300 was first deployed in the former USSR in 1979, but it is still considered a potent defense against air attacks. The latest version of the system, S-300PMU1 (SA-20 Gargoyle) can shoot down cruise missiles and aircraft at a range of up to 150 km (93 miles).

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122289§ionid=351020404.

Nigeria's new cabinet to be inaugurated on Tuesday

Fri Apr 2, 2010

Two weeks after dissolving the country's cabinet, Nigeria's acting president Goodluck Jonathan says he will swear in 38 ministers to a new cabinet on Tuesday.

The announcement, which is expected to ease political uncertainty in Africa's most populous nation, comes as the country's Senate confirmed a list of 33 ministerial nominees for the new cabinet earlier on Wednesday.

"The acting president will on Tuesday, April 6 swear in the newly appointed ministers at the state house," spokesman Ima Niboro said, adding that Jonathan would assign them portfolios immediately afterward.

Only nine ministers from the former cabinet have been included in the recently-approved list.

Former oil minister Odein Ajumogobia, ex-justice minister Adetokunbo Kayode and former Niger Delta minister Godsday Orubebe are among those scheduled to be retained in the cabinet.

Former vice president Jonathan took over as Nigeria's acting leader a month ago, seeking to fill a power vacuum imposed on the country due to President Umaru Yar'Adua serious illness.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/122288.html.

23 suspects escape from Mosul prison

Twenty-three prisoners have escaped from a detention center in the restive northern Iraqi city of Mosul, police say.

The inmates, including some accused of terrorist acts, fled through a hole made in a wall at the Ghazlani Detention Center on Friday morning, but the prison guards only discovered it in the afternoon.

The prison lies in the southern area of the city, about 390 km (242 miles) north of Baghdad. It is run by Nineveh province security forces in south Mosul.

"All were arrested at different times, and none had yet been judged," a police official who declined to reveal his name said about the escapees and added that authorities have alerted military and police checkpoints in the city to be on the lookout for them.

Mosul has seen a number of big prison breaks. Three years ago, dozens of militants stormed Badoush prison and freed up to 140 prisoners.

In December 2006, the nephew of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein escaped the same prison after he was accused of financing insurgency against US forces.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122287§ionid=351020201.

Turkish singer breaks speed record for driving blind

A Turkish man smashes record for fastest speed for a car driven blindfolded or blind, earning a place in the Guinness World Records.

Blind Turkish pop-singer Metin Senturk became the world's fastest unaccompanied blind driver on Friday in a 600 horsepower Ferrari F430, at Urfa airport in eastern Turkey and said he felt he had danced with death.

Guinness World Records officials said that his average speed of 292.89 km/h (181.99 mph) broke the previous record of 284 km/h (176.47 mph), held by a British bank manager.

The 44-year-old Senturk has been blind since the age of three.

During the record attempt, Senturk was given verbal instructions through radio by Volkan Isik, a former rally driver, who followed him in another car.

Senturk said the attempt was a project of the World's Handicapped Association, which he had founded.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122286§ionid=3510212.

Turkish police detain 15 in tobacco workers' protest

Turkish tobacco workers vent their anger after police used water cannon and pepper spray to disperse thousands gathered in protest over layoffs from the state company Tekel.

Police also stopped the workers from staging a news conference in front of the headquarters of the Turkish Confederation of Labor ('Turk-Is') in the capital Ankara and arrested 15 of them.

Protesters then ran into other streets to escape police custody and threw stones at them.

Tekel workers later launched a sit-in in front of the company's head office.

About 10,000 tobacco workers have rejected government proposals for renewable contracts after Tekel was sold to British American Tobacco Investments for $1.7 billion in 2008. They said the government offer means a loss of rights for the workers.

On March 2, Tekel workers from across Turkey ended their 78-day protest in Ankara, in an effort to secure a transfer to other public institutions along with their employment rights, and removed their tents following a decision of the Council of State.

The Turkish government has promised to improve the conditions of the workers with the new offer.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122285§ionid=351020204.

Greenpeace stops whale meat shipment - Summary

Copenhagen- Greenpeace activists successfully blocked export of Icelandic whale meat to Japan on Friday by chaining themselves to a cargo ship in the Dutch port of Rotterdam.

The Nordic arm of the environmental group announced in Copenhagen on Friday that the target of the action, the freighter NYK Orion, was carrying 160 tons of meat harvested from 13 fin whales in Iceland for transport to the Far East.

The NYK Line shipping company in Japan eventually relented and unloaded the whale meat in Rotterdam, the harbor police said.

The meat containers were handed over to Dutch customs officials. Where they will go from there has to be clarified with their owners and the parties who had signed a contract for the consignment.

Police also took into custody seven Greenpeace members who participated in the protest. They were charged with disturbing the peace, but later released.

Greenpeace spokesman Martin Norman said his group was satisfied that an attempt to circumvent international whaling bans had failed, but also declared it "bizarre" that the Dutch government had not intervened - leaving Greenpeace with no option but to take action.

Iceland has allowed the hunting of fin whales, which can grow up to about 30 meters long, and the smaller minke whales in its waters for several years, despite the existence of a worldwide whaling ban since 1986.

The trade in whale meat is also prohibited by the international CITES treaty, which seeks to protect endangered species. Iceland has not ratified the treaty because of its stance on whales.

There are few other places outside Japan for Icelandic fishermen to sell whale meat. The Nordic nation admitted in March that smaller consignments had passed through to Latvia and Denmark despite a European Union trade ban.

Greenpeace officials argue that Iceland could earn much more money through whale-watching activities.

The Icelandic government is nevertheless preparing to allow another 150 fin and minke whales to be shot this summer, according to unofficial reports.

Whaling is likely to become a point of contention in forthcoming talks about the accession of Iceland to the European Union.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/316908,greenpeace-stops-whale-meat-shipment--summary.html.

Putin and Chavez discuss energy, defense

Caracas - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Venezuela on Friday to discuss energy and defense issues with President Hugo Chavez.

Putin was also to meet with Bolivian President Evo Morales, who like Chavez is a strong opponent of US policy in the region.

The highlight of the one-day visit, Putin's first to the country, will be a joint venture - between Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and a consortium of Russian firms including Gazprom and Rosneft - to pump oil from Venezuela's Orinoco belt.

Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez has said that the venture could being producing 50,000 barrels a day by the end of the year.

In recent years, Venezuela and Russia have steadily been strengthening their defense ties. Between 2005-07, Venezuela has bought 4 billion dollars worth of Sukhoi jet fighters, helicopters, armored cars and tanks and Kalashnikov assault rifles.

The thrust to renew military equipment intensified when tensions were high during the administration of former US president George W Bush, who Chavez insisted was planning an armed invasion to overthrow him.

Under Bush, Washington enforced an arms embargo on Venezuela, thus rendering inoperative a squad of F-16 combat planes the country had purchased in the early 1980s.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/316912,putin-and-chavez-discuss-energy-defence.html.

Egypt's ElBaradei says 'the people are my party' - Summary

Elijah Zarwan and Nehal el-Sherif
Earth Times

Mansoura, Egypt - Former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei told hundreds of Egyptians gathered at a rally Friday that "the people are my party," as he works to reform laws that only allow senior party leaders to run for Egypt's presidency.

"You are the owners of this country," he told the crowd gathered in the village of Minyat al-Samanoud, located some 120 kilometers northeast of Cairo within the confines of the city of Mansoura. "Whatever our belief or religion is, every one of us has a piece of this country and has the right to lead a decent life."

"Opposition in my opinion is every person who wants change," he added. "If we were serious about change, we have to join hands and be one voice."

Earlier in the day, hundreds had cheered ElBaradei after he finished Friday prayers in the al-Nour mosque, singing the national anthem, waving flags and chanting slogans.

No riot police were seen in Mansoura, but Mohamed Sahsah, a 55- year-old engineer, told the German Press Agency dpa that thugs had prevented ElBaradei from going to a bigger mosque. Sahsah said he believes "the regime is trying to silence" the call for change.

"It is natural that people come out and seek democratic changes in Egypt," ElBaradei later told dpa, after he visited a small kidney hospital in another Mansoura village, Aga. "People are hungry for change."

Mohamed al-Sayed, a 29-year-old guard at the hospital, said that ElBaradei's visit is "something good and new," adding that he "liked what (he) heard from ElBaradei in his TV interviews."

Omar Saleh, 23, traveled from Cairo to Mansoura on Friday to tell the government that "there is an alternative to Hosny Mubarak."

Mubarak, the Egyptian president, has been in power for nearly 30 years and has vowed to continue serving until his "last breath."

"I came to show the government that we are not moving a step backward," Omar Saleh, 23, told dpa.

But Hassan al-Fotouh, 30, said he would rather like to see the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition group, take power and does not support ElBaradei.

"If the Brotherhood got into power, that would be the best thing because ElBaradei is with the United States," he told dpa. "We need someone to speak strongly about Palestine and not be afraid like Mubarak and ElBaradei."

Last year, ElBaradei said he would consider running for Egypt's presidency if a fair vote is guaranteed. He is the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

His announcement was welcomed by opposition and youth activists, who started campaigning for him online, though the current constitution prohibits ElBaradei from running for presidency.

On Friday, ElBaradei called on the crowd to join his National Front for Change in order to "pass a strong clear message to the regime that the Egyptian people want change".

Organizers from the ElBaradei coalition said a petition for his candidacy has already been endorsed by some 25,000 people throughout Egypt, adding that more were still signing it.

ElBaradei also told the crowd that "Egypt, with all its resources, deserves better," and that people should be partners in change.

"It does not make sense that until now 40 per cent of the people are below poverty line and 30 per cent are illiterate. Social justice is almost non-existent in Egypt, and the gap between the rich and poor is widening in Egypt," he added.

While many were hoping for a chance to ask him a question, one woman grabbed the microphone and said: "We want an honest president. Egypt was waiting for you, reach out your hand to it."

Since his return to Egypt in March, ElBaradei has been meeting with politicians, activists, celebrities and religious leaders in hopes of pressuring the government to pass political reforms.

The opposition groups that have rallied around ElBaradei last month called for seven reforms to provide for more free elections, such as imposing a two-term limit on the presidency, instituting judicial oversight over elections and loosening restrictions on who may run for president.