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Monday, April 5, 2010

Iran warned against cheetah transfer

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has warned that the transfer of the Persian cheetah from Iran to India could endanger the already threatened species.

According to Iran's Mehr News Agency, IUCN has opposed an Indian proposal to bring a few Persian cheetahs from Iran in return for giving a number of Asiatic lions to Iran.

Once a native of Iran, the Asiatic lion, or the Persian lion, survives today only in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India.

The Asiatic lions once ranged from the Mediterranean to the north-eastern parts of the Indian subcontinent, but excessive hunting, water pollution and decline in natural prey reduced their habitat.

Persian cheetahs are distributed over Iran's central deserts and are not capable of expanding their territory; therefore, their transfer could endanger the species, Mehr quoted an IUCN official as saying.

The Asiatic lions, on the other hand, are confined to the Gir Forest and their transfer to Iran could be useful, he added.

The IUCN official warned, however, that no decision could be made without a detailed study of whether the Asiatic lion could adapt to its new habitat.

Today, the Persian cheetah, the Eurasian lynx and the Persian leopard are the only remaining species of large cats in Iran with the once common Caspian Tiger and the Persian lion having already been driven to extinction.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122532§ionid=3510212.

Pakistan army accused of unlawful killings

The Pakistani army has been accused of carrying out extra-judicial killings and torture in the country's northwestern Swat Valley.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch says it has mounting evidence of more than 200 unlawful executions in the past eight months.

The rights group says it believes the victims were supporters of militants in the area. Pakistan's army has rejected the allegations.

"Swat is open to journalists and you can conduct investigative reporting there," Pakistani Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told Reuters on Monday.

The US says it has relayed its serious concerns over the allegations to the Pakistani government. Washington says it will monitor the situation closely.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122530§ionid=351020401.

US filmfest awards Iranian 'Solitude'

Iran's Solitude directed by Mehrdad Sheikhan has been awarded at the 2010 Tiburon International Film Festival in the US.

The 10-minute animation shared the event's Best Short Animation Award with American filmmaker Michael Z. Huber's Offering.

Solitude recounts the story of a stone monster, living a lonely life on his barren stone planet.

Sheikhan's production has won numerous international awards, including the Best Animation Award of Italy's Malescorto International Short Film Festival for its balance between cinematographic style and technology and for the strong philosophical and existential message it conveys.

It has also been awarded at Italy's 2008 Matita Film Festival and screened at Spain's Marbella International Film Festival and Greece's Animasyros International Animation Festival.

The 9th annual Tiburon International Film Festival was held from March 18 to 26, 2010 in Tiburon, north of San Francisco.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122527§ionid=351020105.

Separatist, son shot dead in southern Yemen

A Yemeni separatist, Naji bin Naji and his son Saleh were shot dead on their farm in the southern province of Dalea on Sunday, witnesses and media say.

In a separate incident also on Sunday, gunmen shot dead a Yemeni soldier who was standing guard at a police post in Shabwa Province, local media and witnesses said.

Tension between Yemeni security forces and southern secessionists protesting against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government has been on the rise in recent weeks, accompanied by widespread arrests and casualties on both sides.

In 1990, North and South Yemen formally united. However, many in the south, where most of impoverished Yemen's oil facilities are located, complain northerners have used unification to seize resources and discriminate against them.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122526§ionid=351020206.

Mottaki meets with freed Iran diplomat

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Monday met with an Iranian diplomat who was recently freed in Pakistan by Iranian intelligence forces.

During the meeting at the Foreign Ministry, Mottaki praised Heshmatollah Attarzadeh's courage during his captivity.

Attarzadeh, Iran's commercial attaché in Peshawar, was abducted on November 13, 2008 on his way to the consulate. He was rescued last week by Iranian intelligence forces outside the Islamic Republic.

In an interview with Press TV, Attarzadeh said Mossad and the CIA, under orders from the United States, were behind his abduction.

On Monday, Mottaki also met the families of Iranian correspondent Hamid Masouminejad and Ali Damirchilou, an Iranian living in Italy, who are being held by Italian authorities on allegations of arms trafficking.

Italy is yet to present the two's lawyers with evidence to back the allegations.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122525§ionid=351020101.

Leader wants 'unity, harmony' among Iran officials

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Monday the three branches of the government should remain united in making key decision about Iran's future.

In a meeting with high-ranking members of the Islamic system, the Leader said all elements of the government should work together in order to assist the Ahmadinejad administration in providing people with service.

"In the current situation, faced the fifth development plan, the officials are dealing with many obligations, which requires coordination and harmony," Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The remarks came as the Parliament (Majlis) and the government are moving to iron out the details of the subsidy reform plan approved by the lawmakers.

Ayatollah Khamenei said "harmony" and "unity" can be achieved even at a time, when there are different views on a subject.

"The meaning of harmony amongst officials is not overlooking different tastes; [as they] along with scientific and expertly discussions pave the way for progress," the Leader said. "But these different views should not result in impeding the progress or sidetracking from its path."

On the subsidy bill, Ayatollah Khamenei asked the Parliament and the government to remove obstacles in the way of implementing the plan.

The officials of the Islamic establishment should realize their important responsibility, the Leader said. "We should act in a way that we can answer before God for our actions."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122524§ionid=351020101.

Thai protesters vow to oust government

Thailand's Red Shirt protesters, who support former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, say they will step up their rallies to oust the government.

Hundreds of protesters ignored police orders on Monday and forced their way into the election commission building in Bangkok.

The Red Shirts accuse the commission of stalling a probe into whether the ruling party has violated laws on financial donations.

While, the Thai constitution bars donations of more than 10 million baht (USD 300,000) per individual or company, the ruling Democrat Party received a 258 million baht donation from a Thai conglomerate.

If convicted, the party will have to be disbanded.

The Thaksin supporters have also occupied an up-town shopping district in Bangkok.

The government requested a court order to try and evict them. However, the court rejected the request saying the government already has such powers under an emergency security law.

The demonstrators say they will continue their protests until fresh elections are held.

Thailand's political landscape has witnessed a military coup and three government changes over the past four years.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122522§ionid=351020406.

Shuttle Discovery launches in journey to ISS

The US space shuttle Discovery has blasted off to join the International Space Station in the Earth's orbit to haul equipments and resources.

The lift-off occurred as scheduled on Monday before sunrise at the Kennedy space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 6:21 am (1021 GMT).

The shuttle Discovery, on its final mission before retirement at the end of 2010, set a record for carrying the most women in space as it took three women to join the ISS crew.

Another woman is already at the space station.

The astronauts are expected to conduct three spacewalks, to make repairs on the station and retrieve an experiment.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122529§ionid=3510208.

Hurriyet leaders subjected to torture in jails

Indian policeman martyrs innocent civilian in IHK

Srinagar, April 05 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, the forum patronized by veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani has expressed serious concern over the continued illegal detention of Hurriyet leaders and activists.A spokesman of the forum in a statement issued in Srinagar pointed out that the jail authorities were not only depriving the detainees from basic human facilities but also subjecting them to physical and mental torture. He demanded immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners.

On the other hand, an Indian policeman resorting to indiscriminate firing martyred a civilian in Pulwama district. The incident occurred in Rumhoo area after unknown gunmen attacked the District President of Congress. An Indian trooper was critically injured when he fired on himself with his service rifle in Tulsibagh area of Srinagar.

Meanwhile, thousands of government employees of the occupied territory continued their strike for the third consecutive day against the anti-people policies of the puppet administration. Indian police subjected the government employees to baton charge when they tried to march towards the Civil Secretariat in Jammu.

Source: Kashmir Media Service.
Link: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/hurriyet-leaders-subjected-torture-jails.

Indian police subjects govt employees to baton charge in IHK

Jammu, April 05 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, Indian policemen subjected the government employees to baton charge when they tried to march towards Civil Secretariat in Jammu in support of their demands.

About 5,000 government employees assembled at City Chowk and marched towards the Civil Secretariat raising slogans against the authorities.

Complete strike was observed for the third consecutive day, today, in government offices including civil secretariat, schools and colleges. Call for the strike was given by Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) and Civil Secretariat Employees Union (CSEU).

Source: Kashmir Media Service.
Link: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/indian-police-subjects-govt-employees-baton-charge-ihk.

Civilian martyred in Pulwama

Srinagar, April 05 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, an Indian policeman resorting to indiscriminate firing martyred a civilian in Pulwama district. The incident occurred after unknown gunmen attacked the District President of Congress, Abdul Ghani Dar, in Rumhoo area of the district.

An Indian trooper of Central Reserve Police Force’s 25-battalion was critically injured when he fired on himself with his service rifle in Tulsibagh area of Srinagar.

Indian troops of 15 Punjab Regiment arrested a civilian, Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh (55) of Hygam Sopore near Telwari in Uri area of Baramulla.

Source: Kashmir Media Service.
Link: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/civilian-martyred-pulwama.

Kashmir needs solution as per Kashmiris' aspirations: Gilani

New Delhi, April 05 (KMS): Veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani has said that Kashmir is a disputed territory and the dispute needs to be resolved as per the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

Syed Ali Gilani in a media interview in New Delhi said, “Our stand on Kashmir remains unchanged and will remain so in future.” He said that during his meeting with Indian diplomats, he conveyed the facts regarding Kashmir to them, which put them at defensive.

Source: Kashmir Media Service.
Link: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/kashmir-needs-solution-kashmiris%E2%80%99-aspirations-gilani.

Iran to unveil nuclear achievements

Iran is to unveil a series of scientific achievements on the country's National Nuclear Technology Day — to be held later this week.

"President [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] will have good news for the nation on Friday," the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, said on Monday.

Ahmadinejad has named April 9 as the National Nuclear Technology Day in which Iran celebrates its latest scientific achievements.

Salehi added that Iran's nuclear experts are working hard to counter the Western pressure which to prevent the Islamic Republic's progress.

His comments came two days after he said Iran would begin constructing new nuclear facilities within the next six months.

Iran's plans come amid stepped-up efforts by the United States and it allies to rally international support for imposing tougher sanctions against Tehran, which is accused by the West of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program.

Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has denied the accusations, stressing that its nuclear program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology.

Russia has been reluctant to agree with new sanctions on Iran while China has reiterated that dialog is the only solution to Iran's nuclear issue.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122514§ionid=351020104.

A Year of Trumphs in Logar

the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan:
A Year of Trumphs in Logar

Saturday April 03, 2010

Report from Abdul Raoof Hikmet

Logar Province is located south of the capital Kabul and what happens there has a direct impact on the capital. It is one the most important provinces due to its high population density and its fertile agricultural land.

The province is considered to be the southern gateway to the capital Kabul and these characteristics have given the province great strategic importance. During the time the Russians were occupying Afghanistan, they also exerted a maximum effort to impose their control over this province, in view of its great strategic importance, and they conducted huge military operations to clear Mohammad Agha and its adjacent districts of the Mujahideen, who had established bases from which to launch operations against Kabul. But the Russians failed to achieve their goals, because the dense population and fertile agricultural land provided appropriate cover to allow the Mujahideen to conduct hit and run operations.

After the crusader attack on Afghanistan, the central districts of the province, including the Mohammad Agha directorate first fell under the control of the Shura Nizar militias (the group of the deceased Ahmad Shah Masood), then later American and Czech forces opened military bases there.

The heroic opposition against the crusaders in Logar commenced with the beginning of the crusader assault, just like it began in the rest of the Afghan provinces. However, the province was the scene of great events and important triumphs for the Mujahideen in the past calendar year 2009. We shall mention in this report an aspect of the important changes that have occurred in the Jihadist situation in this province.

At the beginning of the past year, Obama sent an additional 18,000 American troops to implement his new war strategy. Most of those new soldiers were deployed in the proximity of Logar province to reinforce the Czech forces station there with the aim of destroying the armed resistance of the Mujahideen. At the time, the Americans announced that the goal of increasing troop strength in Logar was to protect Kabul from the Mujahideen threat directed towards it from the south. However, this increase did not yield the result that the Americans had expected and in fact it escalated the Mujahideen’s operations from their previous level. Indeed the Mujahideen presence emerged from hiding out into the open, and their sphere of influence expanded to the central areas which were outside their control.

The Mujahideen in Logar say: their military presence was weak before the recent increase in American troops, and the enemy was able to easily move between the province center and the districts. The Mujahideen, however, have through the grace of Allah Almighty been able to impose control over many districts and to confine the presence of the crusader forces to their military bases in the province center and the districts of Kharwar, Charkh, and Baraki Barak.

The new crusader forces have tried much to extend their influence to the Mujahideen areas through large sweep operations. But they have encountered stiff resistance from the Mujahideen and sustained heavy losses in all their military operations. Heavy American bombing on the villages and rural areas and raids conducted by American soldiers night and day on people’s houses have had a great effect in the people’s intifada against the occupiers and in people joining the Mujahideen in response to American massacres.

Enemy infantry patrols and tanks moving through the fields and orchards have become easy targets for Mujahideen ambushes and remote-controlled explosive devices. The areas of Dabru, Banduka in the Charkh district, Shamzar in Baraki Barak, and the areas of Kulnakar, Burak, Kaji and Chadkhawab belonging to the province center have become the scenes of vicious clashes between the Mujahideen and the crusaders in Logar province.

The importance of Logar province is heightened by the transit through the province of the main road which connects the southern provinces such as Paktia, Paktika and Khost with the capital, Kabul. Last year, the convoys of the enemy were subjected to Mujahideen ambushes and raids, and the region of Chal Qandahari near Kabul was the scene of clashes and many explosions targeting the crusader forces.

Likewise, the areas of Zarghun Shahr, Mughil Kheil, Daud Kheil, Kulinkar and Chadkhawad along the road between Kabul and Kardiz witnessed heavy fighting during which the Mujahideen inflicted great losses on the crusader forces transiting along this road. The situation in the districts is likewise to the advantage of the Mujahideen, with the Mujahideen enjoying complete influence in four of the six provincial districts: Kharwar, Charkh, Baraki Barak and Mohammad Agha.

The enemy in the Kharwar district center is living in a state of complete siege by the Mujahideen and receives supplies through the air only. Likewise the enemy is not able to bring supplies to his bases in the Charkh and Baraki Barak district centers except under the protection of air forces and accompanied by very large ground forces. As for the wide Sajawnad regions and the villages situated between these districts, they are under the complete control of the Mujahideen. The Khoshi district alone is largely controlled by the enemy and the capabilities of the Mujahideen there are small. Azra is another district in which the enemy presence is confined to the center, while the Mujahideen control the rest of its territory.

If we take a quick look at the situation in recent months in Logar province, we see that wide swaths have slipped from the control of the Americans and the puppet government. American forces and their Afghan lackeys have not been able to re-impose their control despite using the largest military force they have.

The enemy force has lapsed from the initiative and offense into self-defense in fortified centers. They have therefore begun building strong, military fortifications around their bases in the area. One of these large bases is the al-Sahara base (Khadr) in which the crusaders have opened a military airport and gathered there a large number of soldiers from the military installations which spread out over the desert from Chadkhawab to Dubnadi east to the Terra pass in the south. They have spent vast sums of money building these fortifications but they encountered a swift defeat in attempting to hinder the Mujahideen movement, and perhaps this strategic defeat will be transformed into a model followed in the failure of the new Obama strategy in the remaining regions of Afghanistan.

The tragedy in this province during this past year has been the increase in the number of victims among defenseless civilians as a result of barbaric bombing of the villages and countryside conducted night and day by American forces. These painful incidents have stirred up the civilian residents in all the regions of the province and made them stand in the ranks of the Mujahideen to clear their regions of the crusaders and their Afghan lackeys in the security and armed forces.

The areas of Mohammad Agha and Baraki Barak have been greatly damaged by American attacks against unarmed civilians. As for the area of Kharwar directorate, because the Americans have no access there, it has been turned into a target for American missiles launched from Khadr base and Sid Abad base in the adjacent Maidan Wardak province. These blind missiles have inflicted enormous damage on civilian lives and property but the so-called global media does not speak of these great injustices because it is prejudiced in favor of the international crusader alliance against Islam and its alleged neutrality in publishing facts is a lie.

The Muslim Afghan people in Logar province stand in a unified rank against the crusaders, just like they stand against them in the remaining provinces, and they continue their Jihad against the occupiers.

The facts of crusader defeats have proven in Afghanistan that the crusaders are not able to impose their occupation on our Muslim people permanently even if they have been able to achieve temporary control in some areas. We are certain of victory for the Believers, and the central areas in Logar will be cleansed of the filth of the crusaders, just as the villages and countryside of the province have been cleansed.

Source: Al-Somood Magazine, Issue 44, January 2010

May Allah reward brother Abu Saleh who helped with this translation

Translated and submitted by a Mujahid

Source: Theunjustmedia.
Link: http://theunjustmedia.com/Afghanistan/Statements/March10/A%20Year%20of%20Trumphs%20in%20Logar.htm.

Algeria Says 24 Companies Bid to Build Algiers' Grand Mosque

By Ahmed Rouaba

April 4 (Bloomberg) -- Some 24 companies have submitted bids to construct the Grand Mosque of Algiers, a “multi- billion-dollar” project, according to Ghoulamallah Bouabdallah, Algeria’s minister of religious affairs.

Three Algerian firms were among the bidders, he said. The project will take between 36 and 42 months to complete and be the developing world’s largest mosque, the minister said to reporters in the nation’s capital.

The mosque, whose construction is being managed by Canadian firm Dessau-Soprin, will boast a 300-meter-high (984- foot) minaret overlooking the Bay of Algiers. In addition to a two-hectare prayer room, the facility includes a cultural center, a library, a museum and a Quran school with enough capacity for 300 post-graduate students.

Saudi poetess receives death threats

A Saudi poetess, whose poem gained acclaim for being critical of extremist Wahabi muftis, has received death threats from hardliners.

Hosseh Helal had condemned the extremist Wahabi muftis for promoting violence in her one of poems that was presented in a contest in Abu Dhabi.

In the poem she says that Wahabi muftis easily issue fatwas to kill their opponents.

Websites affiliated with Wahabis have attacked the poetess, threatening to kill her.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122507§ionid=351020205.

Iran sets annual record in narcotics seizure

Iranian police have seized more than 557 tonnes of illicit drugs throughout the country in the past calendar year (ending on March 20), a senior commander says.

"Iranian narcotics agents have managed to confiscate 557.622 tonnes of different kinds of narcotics from smugglers across the country," said General Hamid Reza Hossein-Abadi, the commander of the narcotics squad.

He added that 214 smugglers have been killed and 34 police agents martyred during 1,717 heavy clashes.

The police official noted that 2,264 infamous drug bands were arrested during the same period and added that 214,684 smugglers were handed over to judicial authorities.

He warned that the Iranian police would severely and strongly confront any individual who seeks to damage the security of the Islamic Republic through the smuggling of narcotics.

Hossein-Abadi accused the US and Britain of playing a major role in Afghanistan's lucrative drug trade and said, "We would not face such a critical situation in Afghanistan should the occupying forces play even the least role in the crackdown on drugs."

Iranian officials have always criticized Western countries over their policies towards Afghanistan, where poppy cultivation has drastically increased since the US-led military occupation of the country in 2001.

Some 13,000 tonnes of drug catalysts are brought into Afghanistan every year as the war-torn country is the producer of 90 percent of the world's opium.

Iranian police officials maintain that drug production in Afghanistan has had a 40-fold increase since the 2001 US-led invasion.

Russia has also blasted the United States for conspiring with Afghanistan's drug producers by refusing to eradicate opium plantations in the country.

US marines, stationed in the opium-growing Helmand province since February, told the villagers that they do not intend to cut the production, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

"We believe such statements are contrary to the decisions taken on Afghan narco-problems within the UN and other international forums," the ministry added in a statement released by the Russian Embassy in Kabul.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122501§ionid=3510212.

Iran to privatize over 500 state-owned firms

The deputy head of Iran's Privatization Organization has announced that the country aims to raise some $12.5 billion by privatizing more than 500 state-owned firms.

Mehdi Oqadayi said that 524 state firms will be privatized during the current Iranian year, which began on March 21.

He noted that the firms will be privatized through different methods such as being put out to tender or listed on the stock exchange, Fars news reported.

Oqadayi stated that Bandar Abbas and Abadan refineries would be among the first companies offered for sale on the Tehran Stock Exchange.

The money raised through privatization of the firms will be spent on paying the state's debts.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122499§ionid=351020102.

President Morales claims victory in regional Bolivian elections

La Paz - Left-leaning Bolivian President Evo Morales claimed victory in regional and municipal elections as exit polls showed gains for his party, the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS).

On the strength of partial results from Sunday's voting, Morales claimed MAS candidates had been elected mayors in 200 Bolivian towns and cities and governors in six of the country's nine departments. The first official results were expected Monday.

Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous elected leader, admitted Sunday that his party's victory was bittersweet after it failed to secure the position of mayor of the capital La Paz.

Exit polls also indicated that the important departments of Santa Cruz, Beni and Tarija remained in the hands of the opposition.

Morales, who was re-elected in December, called on the opposition to work constructively on his government's reform efforts for the sake of the Bolivian people.

Sunday's elections appeared to have been carried out in an orderly manner, according to international observers.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317127,president-morales-claims-victory-in-regional-bolivian-elections.html.

Malaysian police shoot dead three Indonesian suspected burglars

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian police on Monday shot dead three Indonesian men armed with machetes who were believed to have broken into a house, a news report said.

The suspects, aged 20 to 30, had allegedly broken into a house in the central state of Pahang when neighbors alerted the police, state criminal investigations chief T Narenasagaran was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

Narenasagaran said police spotted a grey car in the area and tailed the vehicle for a short distance before ordering it to stop.

"However, it sped off and skidded and landed at a hillside," he was quoted as saying. "Three men armed with machetes got off the car and tried to attack the policemen."

"The police fired at them in self-defense," Narenasagaran said.

Police found the men were in possession of four machetes, a necklace, four rings, a mobile phone, a metal cutter and a knuckle duster.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317152,malaysian-police-shoot-dead-three-indonesian-suspected-burglars.html.

Dubai arrests man for impersonating 'plastic surgeon to the stars'

Dubai - Dubai police have arrested a man for posing as a plastic surgeon renowned for his work on Hollywood celebrities, the daily al-Emirate al-Youm reported Monday.

The man had used fake business cards identifying him as a well- known plastic surgeon to lure clients to his Dubai villa, where he would operate on them in the kitchen, police told al-Emirate al-Youm.

Police charged that the US citizen performed surgical procedures on his victims though he was not a licensed doctor. Some victims were "badly mutilated," the daily said.

Dubai police arrested the US citizen at his villa after sending in women posing as clients. They referred him to US authorities.

Earlier this month, a Tunisian engineer was arrested on similar charges, after he posed as a plastic surgeon on satellite television stations, the daily said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317158,dubai-arrests-man-for-impersonating-plastic-surgeon-to-the-stars.html.

Australia rushes to contain Barrier Reef oil spill

By ROB GRIFFITH, Associated Press Writer

ROCKHAMPTON, Australia – Workers rushed to contain an oil spill Monday from a coal-carrying ship grounded on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, sending two tugboats to stabilize the vessel so that it would not break apart and further damage the fragile coral beneath.

Traveling at full speed of 10 mph (12 knots, 16 kph), the Chinese-registered Shen Neng 1 rammed into Douglas Shoals late Saturday, an area that has shipping restrictions in order to protect what is the world's largest coral reef and one that is listed as a World Heritage site because of its gleaming waters and environmental value as home to thousands of marine species.

About 2 tons (metric tons) of oil have already spilled from the 1,000 tons (950 metric tons) of fuel on board, creating a 100-yard (meter) slick that stretches 2 miles (3 kilometers), Marine Safety Queensland said in a statement.

Queensland State Premier Anna Bligh said a boom will be put around the ship by Tuesday to contain oil leaking from the hull. Aircraft sprayed chemical dispersants in an effort to break up the slick Sunday.

"Our No. 1 priority is keeping this oil off the Barrier Reef and keeping it contained," she told reporters in Brisbane.

Bligh said a salvage team had reached the ship Monday and were attempting to stabilize it.

"It's in such a delicate part of the reef and the ship is in such a badly damaged state, managing this process will require all the specialist expertise we can bring to bear," she told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. She said it could take weeks to dislodge the ship.

The ship's owner, Shenzhen Energy, a subsidiary of the Cosco Group that is China's largest shipping operator, could be fined up to 1 million Australian dollars ($920,000) for straying from a shipping lane used by 6,000 cargo vessels each year, Bligh said.

"This is a very delicate part of one of the most precious marine environments on earth and there are safe authorized shipping channels — and that's where this ship should have been," Bligh said.

Authorities fear the ship will break apart during the salvage operation and wreck more coral, or spill more of its heavy fuel oil into the sun-soaked sea. However, Bligh said the risk of the ship breaking apart appeared to have lessened since the first of two tug boats arrived and reduced its movement.

Two tugs arrived Monday to stabilize the ship, Marine Safety Queensland said.

"One of the most worrying aspects is that the ship is still moving on the reef to the action of the seas, which is doing further damage" to the coral and hull, according to the agency's general manager, Patrick Quirk. Initial damage reports showed flooding in the main engine room and damage to the main engine and the rudder.

A police boat was standing by to evacuate the 23 crew members if the ship breaks apart.

The bulk carrier was taking about 72,000 tons (65,000 metric tons) of coal to China from the Queensland port of Gladstone when it slammed into the shoals off Queensland's coast in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Numerous conservation groups have expressed outrage that bulk carriers can travel through the reef without a specialized marine pilot. Shipping lanes in Australian waters typically require a seasoned captain to go aboard an incoming ship to help navigate around hazards. Until now, the government has said there is no need for a marine pilots around the protected area because large ships are banned there.

Maritime law specialist Michael White of the University of Queensland said oil is the major environmental threat posed by the grounding. While coal could do "considerable localized damage," it would be quick to dissipate.

Marine geologist Greg Webb from the Queensland University of Technology said the effects of an oil and coal spill could have unknown consequences.

"In the past we always just thought a reef could put up with anything," he told ABC radio. "And I guess over the last decade or so, we're beginning to understand that maybe they can't."

Space shuttle Discovery, 7 astronauts blast off

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Discovery and seven astronauts rocketed into orbit Monday on one of NASA's final stockpiling missions to the International Space Station, its takeoff flames bringing an early dawn to the coast with this last scheduled shuttle launch in darkness.

The liftoff, less than an hour before sunrise, helped clinch a record for the most women in space at the same time.

Three women are aboard Discovery, and another already is at the space station, making for an unprecedented foursome. The shuttle should arrive at the orbiting outpost Wednesday.

In a rare treat, the space station passed over the launch site 15 minutes before Discovery blasted off and was easily visible, resembling a big, brilliant star in the clear morning sky with the moon as a dramatic backdrop. Spectators were mightily impressed, and there was a chorus of "Oooooh." By launch time, the outpost had traveled almost all the way across the Atlantic.

"It's time for you to rise to orbit. Good luck and Godspeed," launch director Pete Nickolenko told the astronauts right before liftoff.

"Let's do it!" replied commander Alan Poindexter.

Discovery could be seen with the naked eye for seven minutes as it shot upward, adding to the show. And almost as an encore, the exhaust plumes fanned out in spirals across the sky, turning pale shades of rose, peach and gold in the glinting sunlight.

Japan celebrated its own space feat with Discovery's liftoff. Two of its astronauts were circling Earth at the same time, one on the shuttle and the other on the station. More than 300 Japanese journalists and space program officials crowded the launch site; the roads leading to the Kennedy Space Center also were jammed with Easter vacationers and spring breakers eager to see one of the few remaining shuttle flights.

Only three shuttle missions remain after this one. NASA intends to retire its fleet by the end of September, but is unsure what will follow for human spaceflight. President Barack Obama will visit the area April 15, while Discovery is still in orbit, to fill in some of the blanks.

NASA's moon exploration program, Constellation, already has been canceled by Obama.

Poindexter and his crew will spend nine days at the space station, replenishing supplies. The astronauts will install a fresh ammonia tank for the cooling system — a cumbersome job requiring three spacewalks. They also will drop off science experiments as well as an extra sleeping compartment, a darkroom for the lab's high-quality window, and other equipment totaling thousands of pounds.

All these supplies are needed to keep the space station running long after NASA's three remaining shuttles stop flying. NASA will rely on other countries' vessels to deliver crews and supplies, but none are as big and roomy as the shuttle.

The space station will continue operating until 2020 under the Obama plan. The idea is for commercial rocket companies to eventually provide ferry service for astronauts. Right now, NASA is paying for seats on Russian Soyuz rockets. That's how U.S. astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson got to the space station Sunday, two days after being launched from Kazakhstan.

Discovery's flight was the 35th in the shuttle program to begin in darkness and, barring unforeseen problems, the last. The mission was delayed more than two weeks because of this winter's unusually cold weather. So instead of an afternoon launch, the shuttle took off before sunrise, pushing all the action into the graveyard shift.

The mission will last nearly two weeks and coincide with the 29th anniversary of the first shuttle flight on April 12.

Once combined, the shuttle and station crews will number 13: eight Americans, three Russians and two Japanese.

Most everything went smoothly in Monday morning's countdown. A half-hour before liftoff, a failure was noted in the Air Force system for sending self-destruct signals to the shuttle in case it strays off course. A backup line was working fine, though, and the launch occurred at 6:21 a.m., right on time.

Mujahideen derail train in Dagestan Province of the Caucasus Emirate

An explosion has derailed a cargo train in Dagestan province of the Caucasus Emirate, causing damage to the freight train.

Eight wagons of the train have been derailed near the village of Pervomaiskoye at 4:05 am (0005 GMT) on Sunday, due to the blast that came about due to the detonation of an explosive device planted on a railway line in rural areas of Dagestan.

The early Sunday incident occurred around the Inchkhe station in Dagestan's Karabudakhkentsky district. There were no injured or dead. Sunday's blast left a 3.5-meter-wide crater on the railbed and damaged some 300 meters of track.

Numerous trains were stranded on the track by the damage.

Source: Agencies

Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/04/04/11774.shtml.

'Miracle' in China: 115 trapped miners rescued

By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer

XIANGNING, China – More than 100 Chinese miners were pulled out alive Monday after being trapped for over a week in a flooded coal mine, where some ate sawdust and strapped themselves to the shafts' walls with their belts to avoid drowning while they slept.

Miners wrapped in blankets, some with their light-sensitive eyes covered but their feet bare, were hurried to waiting ambulances that sped wailing to nearby hospitals. One clapped on his stretcher and reached out his blackened hands to grasp those of rescuers on either side.

Rescuers in tears hugged each other at the scene, which was broadcast live on national television. The sudden surge in rescues was a rare piece of good news for China's mining industry, the deadliest in the world. A rescue spokesman said 115 survivors had been pulled out as of 4:30 p.m. local time (0830 GMT; 4:30 a.m. EDT).

"A miracle has finally happened," Liu Dezheng told reporters Monday morning, after the first nine miners were taken out shortly after midnight. "We believe that more miracles will happen."

Rescuers have been pumping water out of the flooded mine since last Sunday, when workers digging a tunnel broke into an old shaft filled with water. The first signs of life from underground came Friday, when tapping could be heard coming up the pipes. Divers first headed into the tunnels over the weekend but found high, murky water and emerged empty-handed.

As the water level continued to drop, rescuers with rubber rafts entered late Sunday and pulled out the first nine survivors just after midnight. Eleven hours later, the large wave of rescues began.

The miners had spent eight days underground and were soaked through. Some had hung from shaft walls by their belts for days to avoid falling into the water when asleep. Later, they climbed into a mining cart that floated by.

Liu Qiang, a medical officer involved in the rescue, said the survivors had hypothermia, severe dehydration and skin infections from being in the water so long. Some also were in shock and had low blood pressure.

"This is probably one of the most amazing rescues in the history of mining anywhere," said David Feickert, a coal mine safety adviser to the Chinese government.

A total of 153 workers had been trapped, and there was no word Monday afternoon on the status of the 39 miners still underground. Conditions remained complicated by high murky water.

Families of the survivors were thrilled. "He called and managed to say my sister's nickname, 'Xiaomi,' so we know it's really him and that he's alive," said Long Liming, who said he received a call around midday from his rescued brother-in-law Fu Ziyang.

A doctor then took the phone and said Fu had to rest, Long said. "He was trapped underground for so long, so he's very weak. But we are very relieved to know that he made it out safely."

Officials said most of the rescued miners were in stable condition, but state television said seven were in serious condition.

In a sign of government concerns over possible social unrest, family members of the trapped miners said they have been kept under close watch in hotels and are not allowed to leave unless accompanied by minders.

The first rescue early Monday morning had seemed beyond hope for days before crews finally heard tapping from deep underground Friday.

Rescuers then scrambled to understand the complicated situation underground and send down packages of glucose, milk and letters of encouragement. One read: "Dear fellow workers, the Party Central Committee, the State Council and the whole nation have been concerned for your safety all the time.... You must have confidence and hold on to the last!"

Some workers appeared to be trapped on upper platforms of the mine; their access to the entrance of the V-shaped shaft was blocked by an area swamped with water.

"The situation underground was a bit more complicated than we predicted," Luo Lin, the director of the State Administration for Work Safety, told state television.

It was unclear Monday how deep into the mine the rescued workers had been found.

"The miners in the lowest levels will be in the most extreme danger," Feickert said. "Just think of a tall building, with people on different floors, if that suddenly filled up with water."

China Central Television said one of the newly rescued workers still was holding his mining lamp.

A preliminary investigation last week found that the mine's managers ignored water leaks before the accident, the State Administration of Work Safety said.

China's coal mines are the world's deadliest. Accidents killed 2,631 coal miners in China last year, down from 6,995 deaths in 2002, the most dangerous year on record, according to the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety.

NASA gives OK to Discovery takeoff

WASHINGTON (AFP) – NASA gave the go-ahead to begin fueling the space shuttle Discovery in preparation for a Monday morning launch to rendezvous with the International Space Station.

The Mission Management Team gave a "go" to begin loading Discovery's external fuel tank, NASA said.

The operation was scheduled to begin at 8:56 pm (0056 GMT) "but will be delayed slightly while the launch team investigates an anomaly with a fuel cell pump motor voltage spike," a statement from the space agency said.

The delay was not expected to alter the planned blastoff for 6:21 am (1021 GMT) at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

"There is a 80 percent chance of favorable weather for launch," NASA said.

"The primary concern is a slight chance for ceiling and visibility constraints."

Discovery was to carry a crew of seven.

2nd Moscow bomber identified as teacher

The second female bomber who attacked Moscow's subway last Monday has been identified as a young teacher from Russia's Dagestan region.

The family of the bomber recognized their 28-year-old daughter, Mariam Magomedov, from photographs released by the police, Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported Sunday.

Her father has told authorities that Mariam, who taught computer science at a local school, had gone missing the day before the attacks.

She had allegedly told her mother that she was going to visit a friend. The couple had not heard from her since.

Mariam who lived with her parents in the village of Balakhani in Dagestan, was never known to show extremist views or unusual behavior, her father said.

The March 29 twin attacks on central Moscow stations, Lubyanka and Park Kultury, left 40 people dead and at least 90 others wounded.

Russian prosecutors have already identified the other woman behind the attacks as the 17-year-old widow of a slain rebel from the troubled Dagestan region in the North Caucasus.

Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova was married to Umalat Magomedov, an alleged militant leader killed by Russian government forces in December.

Only two days after the massive Moscow bombings, twin blasts in the Dagestani town of Kizylar killed 12 people including nine policemen.

On the fourth of April, another explosion derailed a freight train in Dagestan without causing casualties.

Russian officials have linked the blasts to the Moscow bombings.

In a video message posted on a Chechen rebel website last Wednesday, rebel leader Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for that attack.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122473§ionid=351020602.

Turkish court orders re-arrest of 19 officers

A Turkish court has ordered the re-arrest of 19 serving and retired military officers charged with an alleged coup plot.

The reason behind the court's order is not clear. The 19, including eight retired military officers, were freed from detention on Thursday pending trial.

A retired four-star general and the former head of Turkey's First Army are among those who must be detained again.

The suspects were allegedly behind a coup plot to topple the government in 2003. The Turkish military has overthrown three governments in coups since 1960.

The latest arrests are said to have fueled the long-lasting dispute between the Turkish army and the government.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122485§ionid=351020204.

Turkey's 24-hour Arabic TV channel on air

Turkey has launched its first round-the-clock Arabic TV channel, El Turkiye, hoping that the move will further enhance its ties with its Arab neighbors.

El Turkiye was inaugurated in a ceremony held in Istanbul on Sunday, which was attended by the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Countries Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

Ibrahim Sahin, general manager of TRT (Turkey's Radio and Television Corporation) said that El Turkiye will broadcast programs for a potential viewership of 350 million Arabs in the Middle East.

The headquarters of the new TV channel is in Istanbul, unlike other TRT channels, and it will air live programs from Beirut, Cairo, Damascus and Ankara, Sahin said.

Erdogan, in a speech at the inauguration ceremony, said that the new channel aims at further boosting ties with Arab nations.

"Turks and Arabs are like fingers of one hand, like fingers and their nails. Even if our face is towards the West, we will never turn our back on the Arabs," Erdogan added.

He noted that Turks and Arabs share a common past and will face a common future.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122477&sectionid=3510212.

N Korea warns Washington over US soldiers

North Korea has warned that it will stop searching for the remains of US soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean war because Washington is not concerned about the issue.

The North's military said in a statement on Monday that if Washington refuses to do its part, Pyongyang will also halt its efforts.

"Though lots of US remains are being dug out and scattered here and there in our country, our side will no longer be concerned about it," according to the statement.

In January, the United States rejected Pyongyang's proposal to resume talks on finding the remains of American soldiers in North Korea.

Washington insisted that North Korea must first return to six-party talks on its nuclear program.

The US Department of Defense reported that about 8,000 Americans remain unaccounted after the Korean War.

The probable remains of 229 of them have been recovered in 33 missions from 1996-2005 by joint US-North Korean search teams.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122478§ionid=351020405.

Algerian medical workers hold silent protest

2010-04-04

Thousands of Algerian medical workers held a silent protest on Friday (April 2nd) at a hospital in Algiers, Echorouk reported. The action was a demonstration against officials' move to hold doctors responsible for surgery delays during their strike last December. The Union of Public Health Specialists, which represents some 30,000 doctors, pharmacists and other medical and dental professionals, is now reportedly discussing plans for a joint protest with education sector unions.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/04/newsbrief-02.

11 security men killed in Maoist attack in India

New Delhi - At least 11 security personnel were killed when Maoist rebels blew up a bus carrying them in India's eastern state of Orissa on Sunday, a news report said.

Ten personnel belonging to the state's anti-Maoist force, the Special Operation Group (SOG), were injured when the rebels detonated a landmine under the vehicle in the Koraput district, the NDTV network reported.

A brief exchange of fire took place between the security personnel and the rebels near a village in Koraput, about 500 kilometers south- west of state capital Bhubaneswar, according to the report quoting police sources.

The wounded were rushed to nearby hospitals while additional police and medical teams were dispatched to the scene.

The attack occurred a couple of hours after India's federal Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram concluded a tour of the Maoist-dominated areas in neighboring West Bengal state.

Chidabambaram who reviewed anti-Maoist operations in the region had expressed concern over the security situation in Orissa and Jharkhand states where Maoists still hold sway.

He called the Maoist militants "cowards" saying they hid in forests and added that the campaign against them will be long-drawn struggle.

The minister also urged the locals and tribals not to support the Maoist rebels.

"They (Maoists) are cowards," Chidamabaram told reporters in West Bengal.

"Why are they hiding in forests? If they really want development and discuss problems of the people, they can just come forward for talks ... but (they should) just give up violence," he said.

According to the Home Ministry, the rebels are active in 200 of India's 626 districts, and were virtually in control of 34.

The rebels claim they are fighting for the rights of the tribal people, the poor and the landless. They attack police and security officials and establishments at regular intervals.

More than 1,100 people were killed in 2009 in violence linked to the Maoist insurgency, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described as the gravest internal security threat facing India.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317055,11-security-men-killed-in-maoist-attack-in-india.html.

Christian pilgrims flock to Jerusalem for Easter services - Summary

Jerusalem - Hundreds of Christian pilgrims flocked to Jerusalem on Sunday to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament.

While Catholics, led by Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal prayed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City, Protestants marked the occasion with services on the nearby Mount of Olives.

In his Easter message, Twal, the highest-ranking Roman Catholic prelate in the Holy Land, spoke of the need for hope and "a special kind of strength in order to conquer the evil that is within us and around us."

"Today more than ever we need a lively hope in the midst of so much violence, in the midst of bloody clashes and ethnic and religious divisions," he said.

Twal also noted that in 2010 different Christian denominations celebrate Easter on the same day, saying that "this year, then, our joy is double."

"Perhaps someone might be disturbed by the overlapping of prayers and songs that are heard at the same time and in diverse rites," he mused. "Yet this seeming cacophony, lived in faith, becomes instead a symphony that expresses the unity of faith and of the joyful resurrection of the Lord's victory over evil and death."

The prayers concluded with pilgrims circling three times around the stone tomb set in the floor of the church, which is said to be built on the site where Jesus was crucified and resurrected.

"My spirit became more open while visiting the place where Jesus spent his last moments," said Wilma Ferial from Argentina.

"Jerusalem is magic," she added. "It is not only to come back in time, but to have a direct contact with Jesus."

"I am really happy. I never thought that I would be present at such a moment. Now I feel that Jesus is with us," said Rosi Castaneda, a pilgrim from Mexico.

Jews meanwhile, were continuing to celebrate Passover, the final day of which is marked in Israel on Monday.

During the eight-day-long Passover festival, Israel slapped a closure on the West Bank for security reasons, preventing many Palestinian Christians from journeying to Jerusalem for Holy Week.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317068,christian-pilgrims-flock-to-jerusalem-for-easter-services--summary.html.

BACKGROUND: Iraq's worst bomb attacks over past year

Berlin - The triple bomb blasts Sunday in Baghdad which killed at least 50 persons was the latest in major terror bombing attacks seeking to destabilized the situation in Iraq.

Following is a list of the most serious attacks over the past year, each of which claimed dozens of lives. The list does not include numerous other bombings with smaller numbers of casualties:

-- March 3, 2010: Four bombs rock the city of Baquba, killing at least 33 people and wounding 58 more.

-- February 5, 2010: At least 42 people were killed, 100 injured in two attacks targeting Shiites in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala.

-- February 3, 2010: At least 25 people were killed and more than 100 injured in deadly bombings targeting Shiite Muslim pilgrims flocking to Karbala.

-- February 1, 2010: At least 38 Iraqi Shiite Muslim pilgrims were killed and 89 others wounded in Baghdad when a woman detonated explosives strapped to her body.

-- January 26, 2010: At least 20 people were killed and 80 injured in in a bombing in central Baghdad. The bombing targeted the Interior Ministry's Criminal Evidence Department in the central neighborhood of al-Karradah.

-- January 25, 2010: By official accounts, 15 people were killed and 58 injured in three car bombs targeting hotels in central Baghdad. But unofficial counts by medical workers say at least 38 were killed and 74 injured.

-- December 30, 2009: At least 37 people were killed and 70 injured in three bombings across Iraq.

-- December 8, 2009: Four devastating bombs shake central Baghdad in rapid succession, killing as many as 127 persons and wounding at least 400.

-- October 25, 2009: Twin suicide truck bombings wreak massive damage in central Baghdad, killing at least 155 people and wounding at least 500.

-- August 19, 2009: At least 100 people are killed and some 1,200 wounded in a stunning and coordinated wave of attacks in central Baghdad. Witnesses say some 10 explosions rocked the city.

-- August 10, 2009: A series of bomb attacks, chiefly targeting Shiites, claims at least 55 lives.

-- July 7, 2009: More than 70 civilians are killed in a wave of attacks within a period of a few hours around Iraq. The targets are residential areas chiefly inhabited by Shiites and the Shabak religious minority.

-- June 24, 2009: At least 74 people are killed, and 150 wounded, in by a bomb in Baghdad. The attack occurred in a busy market square in the chiefly Shiite district of Sadr City.

-- June 20, 2009: Over 70 people are killed by a truck bomb attack near a Shiite mosque in the town of Tasa, south of the northern city of Kirkuk. Over 200 people are injured.

-- April 29, 2009: A total of 50 people are killed by five car bombs in various parts of Baghdad and its suburbs. The biggest tally is 43 killed by three car bombs in the eastern suburb Sadr City.

-- April 24, 2009: Two suicide attackers killed 60 people making their way to a Shiite shrine in Baghdad.

-- April 23, 2009: At least 87 people are killed in a wave of attacks. In Diyala province north-west of Baghdad, at least 52 people, mainly Iranian pilgrims, are killed by a suicide bomber. In Baghdad, at least 34 people are killed by a suicide bomber.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317070,background-iraqs-worst-bomb-attacks-over-past-year.html.

Russians and American dock at International Space Station

Moscow- A US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts arrived punctually at the International Space Station (ISS) Sunday, Russia's mission control spokesman Valeri Lyndin said.

The Russian Soyuz spaceship carrying American Tracy Caldwell- Dyson, 40, and her Russian colleagues Mikhail Korniyenko, 49, and Alexander Skvortsov, 43, were launched in their Soyuz space capsule on Friday from the Baikonur cosmodrone in Kazakhstan.

The crew are set to stay for six months and perform a number of scientific experiments before returning to Earth on September 16.

The space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to take off on Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida with seven astronauts aboard. It is one of the last US missions to the ISS, as NASA plans to retire the shuttle fleet by the end of the year.

Russian space vehicles will take over the task of ferrying astronauts to and from the ISS.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317079,russians-and-american-dock-at-international-space-station.html.

ElBaradei finds supporters in Egypt's countryside - Feature

Elijah Zarwan
Earth Times

Cairo - This weekend each year, for as long as anyone can remember, the seasons have changed in Egypt. For 3,000 years at least, Egyptians have marked the change with the Sham al-Nassim holiday.

This Sham al-Nassim, many of those who came out to greet former UN nuclear agency head Mohammed ElBaradei on his first trip to the countryside to promote his campaign for political reform in Egypt said they felt the political climate was changing too.

"Today, I feel there is still hope," Ibrahim, a young student from the Nile Delta city of al-Mansoura, said after listening to ElBaradei address villagers in the nearby town of Minyat al-Samanoud on Friday.

ElBaradei shrewdly began his trip in al-Mansoura, with a visit to Mohammed al-Ghonim's kidney hospital. Al-Ghonim is a highly respected figure throughout the Delta for his work treating poor farmers.

Al-Ghonim and ElBaradei prayed at the al-Nour mosque just down the street from the hospital while a throng of supporters gathered outside. Some on the sidewalk outside prayed on the Egyptian flag. As prayers finished, hundreds sang the national anthem.

"Long live Egypt! Long live ElBaradei," they chanted. "Egyptians want democracy! Egypt wants change!"

As they chanted, a team of young volunteers wearing t-shirts bearing ElBaradei's likeness handed out petitions in support of his seven-step program for political reform. Many - organizers said hundreds - signed, providing their national identification numbers as proof of their identity.

The crush at the impromptu protest was such that ElBaradei was forced to curtail a short walk with supporters and curious onlookers from the mosque to a bookstore.

Strangely - in country where riot police have beaten and detained hundreds of activists at similar protests in recent years - only plainclothes police informers were present at the march in al-Mansoura and at subsequent events in the nearby villages of Aga and Minyat al-Samanoud.

In the last village, ElBaradei responded to residents' questions on an unpaved road, while uniformed officers glowered from the gate of the police station across the road and plainclothes informers passed notes on participants to men who appeared to be from Egypt's domestic intelligence service, State Security Investigations.

Asked about what he thought of what he had seen that day, one uniformed officer made a dismissive gesture and retreated inside the police station.

While uniformed police were absent from the weekend's events, an ElBaradei supporter from the oasis of al-Fayoum has been badly beaten, allegedly by State Security officers, and the publisher of a book about him has been arrested, Cairo's Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said Saturday.

Al-Mansoura and its environs are known as strongholds of the Muslim Brotherhood, which, though banned, is Egypt's largest opposition group.

Adil al-Ganaidi, a member of the group, told dpa he had come out to support ElBaradei. But a second member said he would rather see a Brotherhood member become president.

"ElBaradei and America are hand-in-glove," Hassan al-Fotouh, 30, said. "We need someone who will speak strongly about what is going on in Palestine, not someone who will cower and say, 'Peace, peace, peace'."

Taking questions from villagers in Minyat al-Samanoud, ElBaradei himself said he supported the right of the Muslim Brotherhood, and all Egyptians - "Islamists, secularists, Liberals, and Communists" - to form political parties and participate in public life.

"If we are serious about change, we must join hands and speak with one voice," he said.

ElBaradei has met with Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated lawmakers, but the group has so far held him at arm's length. Within hours of ElBaradei's arrival in al-Mansoura, the Brotherhood put out a statement saying it did not support his appearance there.

"I think it shows that people are hungry for change," ElBaradei told the German Press Agency dpa, commenting on the crowds who greeted him wherever he went in the Delta.

"We 80 million Egyptians have survived 7,000 years," he said. "We must move ... from a pharaonic regime to democracy."

"Egypt, with all its resources, deserves better. It does not make sense that 40 per cent of the people are still below the poverty line and 30 per cent are illiterate," he said.

As he spoke, one woman grabbed the microphone.

"We want an honest president," she said. "Egypt has been waiting for you. Reach out your hand to her."

Strike and counterstrike planned in Egypt - Feature

Nehal El-Sherif and Essam al-Fadl
Earth Times

Cairo - For the past two years, a group calling itself the April 6 Movement has tried to organize a national strike to protest against government policies and poor economic conditions, so far with mixed success.

On Tuesday, April 6, this year, protesters plan to march from central Cairo's Tahrir Square to the parliament to call for an end to emergency rule - in place since 1981, - constitutional reform, and a variety of other demands.

But they face a number of hurdles. They will have to compete with students and administrators at Cairo's Ain Shams University, who plan a "counterstrike" to highlight the country's positive achievements.

And when organizers asked Cairo police for permission for the march, which would follow close on the heel's of Saturday's protests asking for a minimum wage of 1,200 Egyptian pounds (215 dollars) a month, they were denied.

"The current security status" does not allow staging protests that might "disturb public security in the capital," the head of Cairo security told organizers.

Activists will "bear full responsibility" for any protests they stage after receiving notice that permission for the protest had been denied.

"We insist on organizing this march because this is our legal and constitutional right," Ahmed Maher, the founder of the April 6 Movement, told the German Press Agency dpa.

"We followed the rules that require us to notify the security bodies of the date and place of the march, but they cannot refuse it," he said.

The competition, Ain Shams University's "counterstrikers," are marking the end of the university's year-long campaign "For a Better Egypt." Their demonstration will feature a concert by an Egyptian pop singer.

Atef al-Awam, vice-president of the university for student affairs, said the event aims to provide "positive example to the youth instead of the negative calls for strikes," in remarks quoted by al-Masry al-Youm newspaper Sunday.

The April 6 Movement began with an online campaign in 2008. After the activists found strong support on the social-networking website Facebook that year, the Egyptian Interior Ministry reacted with alarm.

The ministry warned Egyptians both to show up for work and to stay at home because of anticipated clashes between protesters and police, who turned out in force across the city. Many schools asked students to stay at home for fear of unrest.

On the day of the protest the streets of Cairo were unusually quiet, though it was unclear whether people were staying at home out of sympathy for the strike, fear of the police, or because of the sandstorm that blanketed the city that day in grit and heat.

Organizers called the strike a success, and planned another for the following April 6.

But that call went largely unheeded. On April 6, 2009, it was business as usual on the streets of Cairo.

Maher blamed last year's failure on police interference.

"Last year, so many activists from the movement were arrested a day or two before the protest, but this year we will try to make it happen," he told dpa.

Israel allows clothes, shoes into Gaza for first time in 3 years

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

Gaza - Israel allowed a consignment of clothes and footwear to enter the Gaza Strip Sunday, the first such consignments of these products to enter the impoverished salient since 2007, Raed Fatouch, Goods Coordinator for the Gaza Strip, said.

Israel slapped a blockade on the Gaza Strip in June 2006, after militants launched a cross-border raid and snatched an Israeli soldier, who is still being held somewhere in the enclave.

Although Israel does allow goods to enter the Strip, the amount and type is limited, with materials which can be used in the manufacture of improvised missiles forbidden.

Israel has come under increasing pressure to end its blockade, with critics saying it amounts to collective punishment of the Gaza Strip population.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317074,israel-allows-clothes-shoes-into-gaza-for-first-time-in.html.

Russian spacecraft docks at orbiting station

By Mansur Mirovalev

A US-Russian space team sent their Easter greetings down to Earth after their Soyuz spacecraft docked flawlessly at the International Space Station.

"Happy Easter to you all," Souyz captain Russian Alexander Skvortsov said in a broadcast from the station shortly after the ship hooked up with the orbiting station using an automatic docking system.

His teammates, California native Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Russian Mikhail Kornienko joined him in greeting the world's Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians who celebrate their belief in Jesus' resurrection on the same day this year because of a coincidence in the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

The docking finished at 9:26am Moscow time (0526 GMT). The Soyuz was launched Friday from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and the three joined the station's current inhabitants, US astronaut Timothy J. Creamer, Soichi Noguchi of Japan and Russia's Oleg Kotov.

Within three days, a seven-person crew aboard the Shuttle Discovery will dock at the station for a 13-day mission. During this period, four women will be in space at the same time, which is a first in history.

The expedition led by Skvortsov, a seasoned military pilot who is making his maiden flight to space, will end in September, just as the United States' last-ever shuttle flight launches from the Kennedy Space Center.

With the winding down of the shuttle, the Soyuz - which launched the world's first satellite into space in 1957 - is set to take on the burden of carrying astronauts to and from the space station.

Dependence on the Russian-made spacecraft will increase over the next few years with only four launches left for the space shuttle before it is retired. That will leave NASA without its own means to send astronauts into space for the first time in half a century. Five manned Soyuz launches are planned for next year.

The mammoth International Space Station is the biggest orbiting outpost ever built and can sometimes be seen from the Earth with the naked eye. It now consists of 13 modules built by the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency.

Source: 3news.
Link: http://www.3news.co.nz/Russian-spacecraft-docks-at-orbiting-station/tabid/1160/articleID/149531/Default.aspx?ArticleID=149531.

Hamas says Feyadh should stand trial

Hamas has called for Palestinian caretaker Prime Minister Salam Feyadh to be tried in a court of law, arguing that he has undermined the Palestinian cause.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Hamas accused Feyadh of working against the interests of the Palestinian nation with regard to the issues of the final status of Jerusalem al-Quds, the Palestinians' right of return to their homeland, and the exact demarcation of borders.

Arguing that the Palestinian Legislative Council has not endorsed Feyadh's administration, the statement went on to say that the cabinet of the caretaker Palestinian prime minister lacks legitimacy.

Earlier on Sunday, Feyadh made certain remarks that could be regarded as treasonous, the Hamas statement added.

Hamas also said that Feyadh had had a hand in the arrest of a host of Palestinian prisoners and the martyrdom of many others in the West Bank and therefore must stand trial for his actions.

In the statement, the Islamic Resistance Movement once again asserted its commitment to the liberation of the occupied Palestinian territories and the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland.

In addition, Hamas called on all Palestinian groups to stand united in the face of conspiracies.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122465§ionid=351020202.

Turkey names new ambassador to Tel Aviv

Turkey has named a new ambassador to Tel Aviv to substitute envoy Ahmet Oguz Celikkol, who was recalled after a humiliating public debacle in Israel earlier this year.

According to a report aired by private television network NTV on Sunday, Celikkol, who held the post for less than a year, will be replaced this summer by Kerim Uras, a diplomat who is an expert on Middle Eastern affairs.

Summoned to the Israeli Foreign Ministry on January 11, Celikkol was made to sit in a chair lower than the chair of Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Minister Danny Ayalon and confronted by Ayalon and three other Israeli officials in higher chairs. In a violation of diplomatic protocol, the Turkish flag was deliberately not on display during the meeting. Celikkol was also spoken to in Hebrew and was refused a handshake.

During the controversial meeting, Ayalon chastised Celikkol over a Turkish prime-time TV show in which Mossad agents were depicted as child-killers and kidnappers.

Ayalon later issued a formal apology after Turkish President Abdullah Gul threatened to withdraw Turkey's ambassador to Tel Aviv if the dispute between the two countries was not resolved.

Israel and Turkey have enjoyed close economic and military ties for the last decade but many Turks are dismayed at Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and the Turkish government has come under increasing pressure to take a stand on the issue.

Israel's war against the Gaza Strip, however, strained relations with its main regional ally, Turkey. Turkey's leaders condemned the Israeli offensive against Gaza and bilateral relations deteriorated.

Tensions flared between Ankara and Tel Aviv again in October 2009 after Turkey banned Israel from participating in a NATO air force drill. Ankara further strained relations earlier this year when it refused to stop broadcasting a television drama that depicted Israeli soldiers killing Palestinian children.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122462§ionid=351020204.