Kyrgyzstan opposition 'in charge'

Opposition leaders in Kyrgyzstan say they have formed a new acting government in the country, after a day of deadly clashes between police and anti-government protesters.

Opposition party members made the announcement on a state television channel on Wednesday, shortly after protesters stormed and seized the channel in the capital, Bishkek.

RIA, a Russian news agency, cited the opposition as saying that the government had resigned and Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the president, had left the capital.

An airport official later said Bakiyev had flown out of Bishkek, the AFP news agency reported.

It was not immediately possible to verify the claims.

Al Jazeera's Robin Forestier-Walker, reporting from Bishkek, said opposition members had commandeered one of the main government television stations earlier in the day.

"They came on air and talked about the situation, appealing for calm and appealing for people to protect small businesses and shops from looters.

"But most significantly, they described having formed a people's assembly and that they've appointed someone to take charge of Bishkek, which more or less means that they're saying, 'We're in charge. We're in control. We're now the government'."

Violent clashes

The announcement came after hours of violent clashes in Bishkek, in which at least 40 people were killed and more than 400 others wounded, Kyrgyzstan's health ministry said.

But the opposition said at least 100 people had died.

Thousands of protesters angry over corruption and rising utility bills had earlier seized government buildings and clashed with riot police who fired tear gas, rubber bullets and flash grenades at the crowd.

Our correspondent said the protesters' grievances are a mixture of political and economic frustrations.

"When it comes to real frustration, it's the economic problems that really motivate people. The key turning point may have been the imposition of new utility bill tariffs.

"People's energy bills doubled overnight in January and that caused serious consternation among a significant part of the population who are largely poor by international standards.

State of emergency

Authorities declared a nationwide state of emergency following the violence.

Wednesday's unrest came a day after thousands of people in the northwest town of Talas stormed regional government offices.

The protesters broke into a government building where they briefly took hostage Bolotbek Beishenbekov, the local administrator.

Hundreds of demonstrators then gathered around a local police station and threw Molotov cocktails at portraits of Bakiyev.

Omurbek Tekebayev, the leader of opposition party Ata-Meken, said the protest in Talas was part of a wave of rallies planned by the opposition to put pressure on Bakiyev to meet their demands.

Tekebayev demanded that Bakiyev urgently tackle corruption and fire his relatives from senior government positions.

Media crackdown

The unrest comes amid rising tensions between the opposition and Bakiyev's government, which they accuse of cracking down on independent media and fostering corruption.

Bruce Pannier, a journalist and Kyrgyzstan expert with Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty in Prague, said the president promised to reform the country when he came into office five years ago.

"[But] his fight against corruption hasn't really gone very far in the government," he told Al Jazeera.

"As far as him combating nepotism, the people in Kyrgyzstan know that he appointed several of his brothers to state positions and that his son is actually running the Kyrgyz economy.

"As far as an independent media, Kyrgyzstan always had a fairly vibrant independent media ... but since the start of 2009, the situation has taken a definite turn for the worst."

Earlier this month, a Kyrgyz court shut an opposition newspaper and banned two newspapers close to the opposition, fining them $111,000 for allegedly insulting Bakiyev.

Bakiyev - who came to power five years ago after street protests led to the country's so-called Tulip Revolution which ousted his predecessor - has grown increasingly unpopular on account of the country's dire economic situation.

Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished ex-Soviet country in Central Asia, has long been considered one of the region's most politically unstable countries.

Source: Al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/201047164717764440.html.

'No trace of Israel will remain if Iran attacked'

Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has lashed out at the United States for its dual-based nuclear policies.

"The US is working on a new generation of nuclear bombs. It also defends Israel that has tens of nuclear warheads but it opposes Iran's peaceful use of nuclear energy. This shows a double-standard in their nuclear policies," ISNA quoted Vahidi as saying on Wednesday.

The Iranian minister also rejected the possibility of a military strike against Iran's nuclear sites by Israel or the United States.

"The Zionist regime of Israel is too weak to attack Iran," he added.

"No trace of Israel will remain if the Zionist regime declares a war on Iran," he warned.

Tehran has repeatedly dismissed Israeli threats of military strikes against Iran as psychological warfare aimed at pressuring the Islamic Republic to abandon its peaceful nuclear work.

Israel and its Western backers have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapon capability under the guise of a civilian nuclear program.

The Iranian government, however, has fiercely dismissed such claims as mere attempts by Western nuclear powers to prevent Iran's rapid advances in the field of nuclear technology.

Aggressive Israeli efforts against Iran's nuclear program come despite widespread reports of its possession of over 200 nuclear warheads that was acquired with blessings from Tel Aviv's Western sponsors. Israel has refused to sign or commit to any international atomic regulatory treaties.

Meanwhile, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has opened its nuclear facilities to intrusive inspections and round-the-clock supervision by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Moreover, Iran has also called for an international abandonment of all nuclear weapon arsenals and development efforts, which has been ignored by all countries possessing nuclear weapons.

IAEA has repeatedly reported that it has found no evidence of any diversion of nuclear materials from civilian to military applications in Iran.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122737§ionid=351020101.

Russia to ship 2nd batch of nuclear fuel for Bushehr

Russian nuclear fuel producer confirms that the next batch of uranium required for the Bushehr power plant is ready for shipment to Iran.

Speaking in Bratislava, Slovakia, today, the President of TVER company, Yury Olenin, told journalists that the next fuel delivery will be needed a year after the launch of the reactor. “If the launch takes place this year, the fuel will be shipped in 2011," he added, quoted by RIA Novosti News Agency.

The much delayed nuclear power plant on the southern Iranian coast by the Persian Gulf is scheduled to come on line this summer and the first batch of two fuel canisters for the plant was delivered in 2007 in preparation for its launch.

Olenin has confirmed that the second consignment has been readied by his Novosibirsk, Siberia-based company and is to be installed one year after its start-up.

Regarding the prices for the fuel, Olenin said, "We are always in contact with our Iranian colleagues and agree on prices which change in line with world uranium prices and the cost of its enrichment,"

Russia's Ambassador to Tehran Alexander Sadovnikov was reported by the same news agency today as saying that "about 3,000 Russian personnel are currently working at Bushehr nuclear power plant."

When asked about the effects of possible new sanctions on this project, the ambassador said, "The Bushehr power plant is entirely peaceful. There is no mention at all of this plant in the decisions regarding Iran's nuclear program."

"We have complete understanding with the international community and the IAEA in this regard. IAEA has complete supervision over the process of construction, commissioning and utilization of this plant. Therefore, no new sanctions will touch the Bushehr power plant," stated Moscow's top diplomat in Iran.

The construction of the Bushehr electricity generating plant started in 1975. However, following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the deposing of the pro-US dictator, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the US government cajoled Germany to renege on its contractual obligations and abandon the project.

After years of inactivity, Iran signed a contract with Russia in 1998 for the completion of the plant, yet its completion has been postponed repeatedly since then.

In March 2010, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the plant will be launched this year.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122738§ionid=351020104.

Snow blankets city in SW Saudi Arabia

Parts of the city of Tanomah in southwestern Saudi Arabia have been blanketed in thick snow while other parts of the oil-rich kingdom baked under the scorching sun.

According to Saudi Gazette newspaper, a thick blanket of snow fell Tuesday on Tanomah located north of Abha in the Asir province.

Meanwhile, the suburban areas of Namas, Souda, Shaaf, Turaib, Oqbat Dalae, Khaibar Al-Janoub, Madda, Tihama Balasmar and Balahmar received heavy rainfalls accompanied by hailstorms.

Tanomah is known for its milder climate compared to the rest of Saudi Arabia.

Abha, situated 2,200 meters above sea level, is in a mountainous region close to the border with Yemen.

Temperatures in Abha at this time of the year range between 12 degrees Celsius and 23 degrees, but have fallen as low as 4.5 degrees.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122735&sectionid=351020205.

Tehran to exhibit Saber paintings

The Aran Art Gallery is to mount an exhibition of modern paintings by Iranian artist Mehran Saber in the capital city of Tehran.

Sleep Walking, to kick off on April 9th, 2010, will display Saber's dream-like paintings with distorted depictions of twisted creatures.

According to the gallery's website, the paintings appear to be reflections of a meaningless world threatened by an invisible outside force.

Saber's works look like bits and pieces of a nightmare, presented in a distorted form with wild and exuberant colors.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122733§ionid=351020105.

Iran wants restoration of peace in Kyrgyzstan

Iran says it supports the restoration of peace in Kyrgyzstan after anti-government protests left 40 people killed in the country.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Wednesday that Iran "wants the immediate restoration of domestic stability" in Kyrgyzstan and the prevention of the spread of insecurity to this sensitive region of Central Asia.

At least 40 people have been killed and 400 others injured in anti-government unrest in Kyrgyzstan.

The opposition says the unrest is in protest to the government's policy resulting in corruption, nepotism, and high prices.

Angry protesters, numbering in the thousands, have called for the resignation of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

They have reportedly killed the interior minister and took the deputy prime minister hostage.

The Kyrgyz government has declared a state of emergency.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122734§ionid=351020101.

Iran offers condolences to Brazil over flooding

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has offered Iran's condolences to Brazil over Monday's mudslides and flooding.

"I would like to express my condolences to the people and government of Brazil on behalf of the Iranian nation and government," Mehmanparast said on Wednesday.

"We hope and pray that those injured in the incident will recover as soon as possible.”

Mudslides and flooding have so far claimed the lives of at least 95 people in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro.

The precipitation which began late Monday is recorded as the worst for the city of Rio in the past 30 years.

According to Rio's mayor Eduardo da Costa Paes, the situation in Brazil's second-largest city is chaotic.

At least 39 people were killed by a landslide in a plush beach resort halfway between Rio de Janeiro and the port city of Santos in January.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122730§ionid=351020101.

China, Iran discuss energy projects in Tehran

The latest round of talks over energy collaboration between Iran and China got under way in Tehran on Tuesday.

The talks, between Iranian officials and a high-ranking Chinese delegation were focused on the development of four oil fields, Mehr News Agency reported.

The discussions were held at the offices of the Iranian Central Oil Fields Company and ICOFC Managing Director Ali Reza Zaighami led the Iranian side.

On the agenda were investment by Chinese companies and joint ventures between the two sides for the development of oil and gas reserves in central Iran.

Speaking of the start of a series of meetings with Chinese companies, Zaighami said, "The information about Iranian oil and gas fields has been delivered to Chinese investors and is being considered by them."

"Important projects such as the 'NGL1100' and the one at South Gesho, as well as the development of oil fields and the upstream and downstream projects at the Dey-Sefid Zakhor are among the projects that we presented their technical details to Chinese investors," Zaighami elaborated.

Noting that these fields are currently being developed by making use of domestic resources, the head of ICOFC said, "If the investors demand it, the transfers of these projects are possible."

"Investors can collaborate in these projects either independently or as consortia," concluded Zaighami.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122723§ionid=351020103.

Iran Air flights to Europe set to expand

Following new restrictions imposed on certain types of Iran Air aircrafts by the European Union (EU), the major Iranian air liner says its European flights remain unaffected and set to expand.

The European Commission put an outright ban on airlines based in the Philippines and Sudan last week and also announced a minor restriction on European flights by Iran Air.

Ramp checks on Iran Air have reportedly turned up evidence of "insufficient oversight" over the past year, the Commission claims, according to a March 30 report by FlightGlobal.com.

The Commission also announced that experts would be dispatched to Iran over he next few months to study the situation.

Meanwhile, Iran Air flights to Europe will be limited only to its fleet of 18 Airbus A300/310s, nine Boeing 747s, six Airbus A320s and one Boeing 737 aircrafts.

In response, Iran Air's head of public relations, Shahrokh Noushabadi said, "All Iran Air aircrafts that fly to the EU are of Airbus and Boeing types, which are already flying to EU Member States," reported Fars News Agency today.

Since the ban restricts flights by Iran Air's fleet of Fokkers only, it makes no difference to the existing schedule of flights to Europe, explained Noushabadi.

"Iran Air's Fokker aircrafts, which have been placed on EU's banned list, are short-range carriers for flights of no more than two hours," he elaborated. "In fact, no Fokker is used for long-range flights."

Pointing to the inauguration of direct flights from the southern Iranian city of Shiraz to London, Noushabadi added, "If Iran Air flights to EU were banned, then this new route would have been meaningless."

He noted that the number of active Iran Air fleet of aircrafts stands at 67 with no planned additions in the immediate future.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122718§ionid=351020108.

2 Israeli Arab authors banned from Beirut festival

BEIRUT — Organizers of a Beirut cultural festival say two Israeli Arab authors will not be able to collect their literary awards in Lebanon later this month because of laws in the two countries.

Lebanon prevents holders of Israeli citizenship from entering the country and Israel bans it citizens from visiting "enemy" states.

Instead of traveling to Beirut, writers Ala Hlehel and Adania Shibli will be going to London to receive their prizes there. The two are among 39 Arab authors to be honored at the Beirut39 Festival.

The four-day cultural event celebrates fiction and poetry writers under the age of 40. Organized by the Britain-based Hay Festival and the Beirut UNESCO World Capital of the Book 2009, it starts April 15 in Beirut.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Canadian university to host Iran's Saket

Iranian musician Keyvan Saket is to hold a traditional Persian music concert and workshop at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

The workshop will be held on April 7th, with a focus on the techniques and characteristics of Saket's music.

The renowned tar-player will hold his concert on April 10th, accompanied by Saeed Kamjou (Kamancheh), Kazem Davoudian (Santour), Pezhham Akhavas (Tonbak) and vocalist Mansour Pirouzbakhsh.

Keyvan Saket is a composer, researcher and master player of Tar and Setar, who has held numerous national and international concerts.

The program is a sequel to Saket's US concert tour, which started on Dec. 13, 2009 at the University of Virginia.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122698§ionid=351020105.

Israel plans to maintain Nuke ambiguity with US help

Israeli foreign ministry says Tel Aviv plans to maintain its policy of ambiguity over its nuclear program with the help of its veto-wielding ally, the United States.

"This policy of ambiguity constitutes one of the pillars of Israeli national security and the Americans consider it very important," AFP quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon as saying.

"There is no reason for the Americans to change their approach or for Israel to change its position," he said.

For the past four decades, the Israeli regime has refused to admit possessing nuclear weapons while it does not deny that it has nuclear arms, either.

In May 2009, Israel rejected a US call to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which would require Tel Aviv to declare and relinquish its nuclear arsenal.

This is while a secret US-Israel accord signed by President Richard Nixon some 40 years ago instructs the White House into helping Tel Aviv hide information about its nuclear program.

In 1986, Israeli nuclear scientist Mordecai Vanunu disclosed in The Sunday Times of London photos and the first insider account of Israel's primary nuclear facility in Dimona.

The revelation cost Vanunu 18 years in jail over treason charges and a travel ban that bars him from leaving Israel.

Israel is believed to be the Middle East region's sole wielder of nuclear weapons, as foreign military experts estimate Tel Aviv has an arsenal of at least 200 nuclear bombs.

Ayalon's remakes come ahead of next week's nuclear security summit in Washington which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planned to attend.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122697§ionid=351020202.

Kyrgyz interior minister killed in deadly protests

Anti-government protesters reportedly killed Kyrgyzstan's interior minister and took the deputy prime minister hostage on Wednesday.

The violent protesters, numbering in the thousands, also took over the country's sate television, AFP reported.

According to the Kyrgyz state news agency, Interior Minister Moldomus Kongantiyev was killed in Talas, where the demonstrations had erupted first.

Several protesters have also been killed or injured during the deadly demonstrations. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse some 5,000 opposition supporters marching towards the presidential offices.

Some reports say that security forces fired live rounds at the protesters after failing to disperse them with stun grenades and tear gas. A police source said at least 12 people were killed.

At least three opposition leaders have been arrested and charged with serious crimes.

In the central city of Naryn, protesters stormed the regional government headquarters.

Kyrgyzstan's government has declared a state of emergency. The demonstrations are part of nationwide rallies organized by the opposition.

The protesters say they are fed up with rising fuel prices and want President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to resign.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122701&sectionid=351020406.

General says Israel too weak to launch Iran war

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi says Israel is too weak to launch a war against Iran.

"They (Israelis) themselves have stressed on the fact that they could not enter into a war with Iran," Vahidi told reporters in northeastern city of Orumieh on Wednesday.

He added "the Zionist regime is too weak to launch a war against Iran."

Vahidi warned that Tel Aviv will face immediate retaliation, if it dares to launch an attack on Iran.

"If the move is carried out (by Israel), Iran's reaction may be so that there remain nothing of the regime," ISNA news agency quoted the official as saying.

Israel has not rejected the possibility of a war to halt the Iranian civilian nuclear program.

On Monday, Mojtaba Zolnour, the acting representative of the Leader in the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps (IRGC), also made similar remarks.

"They know that, if they try their luck and lob a single missile towards Iran, before the dust clears here, the dust of our missiles will rise from the heart of Tel Aviv," Zolnour emphasized.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122696§ionid=351020101.

Giant lizard species discovered in Philippines

A 180 centimeter monitor lizard, a fruit-eating reptile, has been found for the first time in the forests in northern Philippines.

The newly discovered lizard can grow to more than 180 centimeters in length, but weighs only about 10 kilograms, said Rafe Brown of the University of Kansas, whose team confirmed the find.

The main body length of the reptile can approach 100 centimeters in length, and its long tail may extend that by up to a further 100 centimeters. The lizard has dark skin covered by golden yellow spots and flecks.

The dragon-sized brightly colored species, which is called Varanus bitatawa, has been discovered in the trees of the northern Philippine island of Luzon.

Such discoveries of new large vertebrate species are very rare, especially ones that are so brightly colored.

The lizard, a new species of the genus Varanus, is skittish and able to hide from humans, said Brown in the journal Biology Letters.

"It lives up in trees, so it can not grow to a massive size," Brown said. "This thing is a fruit-eater and it is only the third fruit-eating lizard to be discovered in the world."

The researchers suggested it was a highly secretive species that never left its forests. Researchers are concerned about the future of the species.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122694&sectionid=3510212.

Work begins to free stranded Barrier Reef coal carrier - Summary

Sydney - Salvage crews began work Wednesday to free the coal carrier that ran aground at the weekend on the Great Barrier Reef and prompted a full-scale environmental crisis.

But as booms were put in place to prevent further leakage when fuel oil is pumped from the Shen Neng 1, Captain Wang Jichang caused outrage by belittling the danger to the world's largest reef system and Australia's foremost tourist attraction prompted by his poor seamanship.

Ren Gongping, the Chinese consul in Brisbane, told reporters that Wang had complained to him that salvors aboard the 230-meter vessel were using up its food and drinking water supplies.

"The leakage is not very serious so far," Ren told Brisbane's Courier Mail newspaper. "So far, he cannot see the oil on the sea."

Aerial shots clearly showed oil spewing from the vessel, which ploughed into the reef at full speed just hours after loading 65,000 tons of coal at Gladstone.

The Shen Neng 1 was illegally inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, prompting some to suggest Wang was trying to shave a few kilometers off the 6,400-kilometer trip back to China.

"If the Chinese crew are under any illusion that this is a minor incident, I'm sure that when they get off the boat and see what the world has to say, they'll understand a bit more clearly just how serious this is," Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh said.

She has promised to "throw the book" at Chinese shipping giant Cosco Group and bill the government-owned entity for the clean-up.

Pumping out the 950 tons of fuel oil would lighten the ship as well as preclude a nasty spill in the eventuality the battered ship would break apart during a salvage operation that might stretch into weeks.

"We have to prepare for the possibility that more oil may well escape," Bligh said.

Cosco, China's largest shipping company, has engaged Danish company Svitzer A/S to run the salvage operation.

Bligh warned Cosco of a 1-million-Australian-dollar (900,000-US-dollar) fine if it is found to be negligent. The ship's captain could be fined a further 220,000 Australian dollars if proved to be at fault.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who flew over the ship for a firsthand view of the accident, promised resolute action against those found to have put the world-famous reef at risk.

"This is absolutely outrageous how this could have happened," Rudd said. "Here you have this massive boat, this massive ship, ... off course, broad daylight, in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. So we'll be demanding answers on this one."

Rudd promised to change the rules governing shipping around the more than 2,000-kilometer-long Great Barrier Reef because of the increased traffic from massive coal carriers like the Shen Neng 1.

"We are going to do this in a very considered way, given the fact that the Great Barrier Reef is too important for all of us to put at risk," he said, "so let's get the facts straight first and then act."

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said the Shen Neng 1 had not taken a shortcut when it ran aground. It said the route Wang had lodged for his trip and received approval for was outside the normal route but still within a designated Great Barrier Reef shipping lane.

His ship, however, was off course when it ran aground, and the authority had no explanation for why the ship had veered off course and struck the reef.

"It's outrageous that any vessel could find itself 12 kilometers off course in the Great Barrier Reef," the prime minister said.

Marine Safety Queensland general manager Patrick Quirk said the danger of the ship breaking up had receded but its engine room was flooded and its rudder damaged.

He told reporters the salvors had not decided whether taking off the coal would be needed to refloat the ship.

"They are going through the ship from the bow to the stern seeing what's damaged, seeing what's leaking," Quirk said. "They'll run through their calculations. That'll give them the structural strength of the vessel."

Low tides for the next two weeks could prevent the ship from being refloated, meaning it might be weeks before the ship gets off the reef.

Investigators piecing together what went wrong said human error rather than an attempt to take a short-cut might explain why the Shen Neng 1 ran aground.

Wang and his 23 crew are still aboard and have been interviewed. The captain has been asked why he was off course and why it took two hours to alert authorities to the grounding.

"Navigating a ship through this channel should not be rocket science," Quirk said. "Any competent crew should be able to do it."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317442,work-begins-to-free-stranded-barrier-reef-coal-carrier--summary.html.

North Korea sentences US citizen to 8 years of hard labor - Summary

Seoul - A US citizen accused of crossing into North Korea from China has been convicted and sentenced to eight years of hard labor, North Korean state media reported Wednesday.

Aijalon Mahli Gomes, arrested on January 25 and charged with "hostility" to North Korea and illegal entry, was tried Tuesday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said.

Gomes, a former English teacher in South Korea, "admitted to all the charges," Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said.

"His guilt was confirmed according to the relevant articles of the criminal code of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) at the trial," KCNA said. "On this basis, the court sentenced him to eight years of hard labor and a fine of 70 million won."

The fine amounts to about 700,000 dollars, according to the official exchange rate of the North's Foreign Trade Bank, Yonhap said.

Analysts said that Pyongyang was likely to use Gomes' release as a bargaining chip in future negotiations.

The trial was attended by Swedish embassy officials in Pyongyang, according to the report. The US has no diplomatic relations with North Korea.

In February, Pyongyang released a US missionary who illegally entered North Korea to protest human rights abuses. Former US president Bill Clinton met the North's leader Kim Jong Il in August to secure the release of two US journalists.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317444,north-korea-sentences-us-citizen-to-8-years-of-hard.html.

For Pakistan India is real threat, Taliban just an irritant - Feature

Sajjad Malik

Islamabad - Pakistan's security establishment, unmoved by the threat from homegrown Islamic insurgents, is to launch a training exercise this week focused on the scenario of a possible showdown with traditional rival India.

The country's powerful military is to launch exercise Azm-e-Nau (New Resolve) III to test the capacities of its men against a hypothetical Indian attack, and validate its security strategy.

The war game is the culmination of the new strategies discussed over a period of one and half years at various academic and operational levels, and will be the largest military exercise since 1989.

Director General Military Training (DGMT) Major General Muzzamil Hussain said the forthcoming exercise in the garrison city of Rawalpindi will "focus on India."

The exercise coincides with renewed efforts against Islamic militants, who last year moved to within 160 kilometers of the capital Islamabad.

They have been since pushed back to mountainous hideouts along the Afghan border, from where they continue to launch attacks against the national armed forces.

Pakistan's army, over half a billion strong, has been reluctant to move against the rebels, who have previously been groomed by the forces to fight as their proxies, first in Afghanistan and later in India.

Since 2001, the Pakistani army has lost over 2,000 soldiers in skirmishes against the Taliban in the inhospitable terrain along the border, where once Islamabad's security officials would guide the militants into Afghanistan to fight the Russian occupiers.

The bad blood between army and militants has given hope to local security analysts and US defense policy makers that Pakistan's army might re-write its security doctrine, replacing India with the Taliban as chief security threat.

The US needs Pakistan's commitment to fight a focused war against the Taliban to succeed in Afghanistan and it has been trying to increase Pakistan's comfort level vis-a-vis India.

But the upcoming war games could put paid to such hopes, as Pakistan puts its military strategy against India through its paces from April 10 to May 13 close to the Indian border.

"The exercise is a concept validation stage of the operational thought process manifested in the form of tactical, operational and organizational aspects which would be validated and refined through the lessons learnt," military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said.

The two countries have a history of enmity and have fought three major wars since gaining independence from Britain in August 1947. Two of the clashes were over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is considered a flash point between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

General Muzzamil justified the maneuvers, saying India had carried out at least 12 exercises in the recent past to test its cold start doctrine, and that another Indian exercise is scheduled to coincide with Pakistan's.

India's new strategy of launching quick strikes across the border will be at the heart of its month-long exercise, known as Yodha Shakti, which is to begin mid-April on the Indian side of the border.

The rival maneuvers will put soldiers from the two armies - which number a combined total nearly 2 million troops - virtually within shouting distance of each other, in a move likely to give the United States something of a headache.

Washington has worked hard in recent years to soothe tensions between nuclear powers India and Pakistan, in the hope that Islamabad might then divert more of its attention and resources to fighting the Taliban militants.

But Pakistan's military high command does not appear to be convinced of India's proclaimed good intentions, and seems to be more concerned by Indian military capabilities and apparent posturing.

"We make our preparation to counter any move by India," said Abbas. "The intentions are immaterial as they can change over time, but not the potential which matters a lot for us."

The Pakistani military's unwavering focus on India indicates that the defense establishment does not consider its operations against the Taliban to be anything more than a momentary diversion in the wider defense scenario.

Monday's coordinated attacks on a US consulate in Peshawar and a political party, which left 53 dead, were simply "security problems", said Abbas, and did not warrant a wholesale rethinking of Pakistan's long-term security strategy.

"We are aware of double jeopardy including trouble on western and eastern fronts but the current exercise is to deal with dangers from east, we have separate plans to counter problems at the west," Muzzamil added.

Like his boss, army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani who authorized it, Muzzamil believes that the field exercise, involving 20,000 to 40,000 troops, will help to draw up a Pakistani response plan for incidents on the eastern border with India.

Muzzamil also said that internal problems made any nation more vulnerable to external aggressions. "We are training to counter any foreign move from the east at the time of our domestic security problems," he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317447,for-pakistan-india-is-real-threat-taliban-just-an-irritant.html.

Iran calls for constructive approach towards Tehran conference

Tehran - Iran called on the West Wednesday to have a constructive approach towards a two-day international conference on nuclear disarmament in Tehran next week.

"We call on the West to have a realistic and constructive approach towards the Tehran conference and refrain from having a narrow-minded and discriminatory pre-judgement," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said.

Referring to Iran's arch-enemy Israel, he said that the Jewish state was the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons and called on the United States and Europe to revise their ignorance of Israel's nuclear arsenal.

"Nuclear disarmament is a major global concern and the Tehran conference is a start to effectively tackle this concern and move towards clean (civil) nuclear programs," Iran's chief diplomat said.

Mottaki said that officials and scholars from 70 countries are scheduled to attend the conference starting April 17, whose main slogan is to be "Peaceful nuclear technology for everyone, atomic bomb for no one."

"Another aim of the conference is to remind that the main aims of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) should not be forgotten," the minister said.

Tehran says that every signatory of the NPT should have the internationally acknowledged right to pursue peaceful nuclear technology.

While repeatedly rejecting Western charges of pursuing a secret military program, Iran has called on world powers to confront Israel's nuclear arsenal rather than Iran's peaceful nuclear projects.

Mottaki said the dispute over Iran's nuclear programs could still be settled and a uranium exchange deal realized.

In October, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) brokered a deal under which Iran could swap low-enriched uranium with Russia and France for nuclear fuel to power its medical reactor in Tehran.

Tehran insists that the handover take place on Iranian territory to ensure a proper implementation of the deal. The IAEA and the world powers have so far rejected that condition.

Although the deal would not have entirely settled the dispute, it has been seen as a first step towards unlocking further talks on Iran's nuclear program.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317452,iran-calls-for-constructive-approach-towards-tehran-conference.html.

Discovery shuttle docks with ISS space station - Summary

Washington- The US space shuttle Discovery completed docking operations with the International Space Station Wednesday morning, starting nine days where the two will be conjoined in orbit.

The docking occurred at 0744 GMT, completed successfully despite the Discovery's loss of an antenna normally used in docking procedures. However, the vessel carries redundant systems, which prevented any major problems.

The Discovery took off Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with seven astronauts on board for a planned 13-day flight, which is to be followed by only three more shuttle missions before the aging fleet of spacecraft is retired.

The US space agency NASA's goal is to retire the shuttles by September, but routine delays caused by weather and technical problems could put the final flight into early 2011.

Discovery is carrying more than 12 tons of equipment. Much of the load is destined for research, and NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has nicknamed the mission "Experiment Express."

Discovery is carrying the Italian-built Leonardo container, which has been loaded with a small fitness studio for the space station crew, an observation module with cameras and sensors, and numerous scientific instruments for experiments.

On arrival at the space station, Leonardo is to be removed from the shuttle and parked outside for unloading during the nine days before Discovery is to decouple from the space station for its return flight.

Three spacewalks are planned, each for more than six hours. Tasks include detaching a Japanese experimental apparatus now mounted on the outside frame of the station and bringing it inside.

Discovery is scheduled 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 operates unmanned cargo spacecraft separately from human transports, but those vessels can carry only a fraction of the shuttle's payload.

On Friday, a Soyuz launched from the Russian Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with one US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts on board. The crew of three docked Sunday with the space station to begin six months there.

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

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.

The shuttles have been flying for three decades.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317451,discovery-shuttle-docks-with-iss-space-station--summary.html.

Malaysia sets up interfaith committee to ease religious tensions

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia has set up an interfaith committee of religious leaders to promote better understanding between the country's Muslim majority and other faiths, news reports said Wednesday.

The committee would make recommendations on specific cases and general interfaith issues, but would not have legal powers, the Star newspaper reported.

Its members were to include leaders from all the major religious groups of the mainly Muslim nation, including representatives of the Islamic councils.

"It is the first step in the right direction but there is miles to go yet," said Reverend Thomas Philips, a member of the new committee and president of the Malaysian Consultative Council on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.

"The most important thing is for us to come together and talk and move forward," Philips was quoted as saying.

Non-Muslims make up just over a third of Malaysia's 28-million population.

Minority religious groups have increasingly complained that their rights to practice freely have been threatened under the Muslim-dominated government.

Religious tensions reached their highest point in January, when a leading Catholic church was torched and other houses of worship were attacked after a high court allowed Christians to use the word "Allah" to refer to God in the Malay language.

The ruling had upset some Muslims, who argued the word is exclusive to Islam, the country's official religion.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317462,malaysia-sets-up-interfaith-committee-to-ease-religious-tensions.html.

Archaeologists Ask UNSC To Protect Al-Aqsa Mosque

Arab archaeologists called the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to immediately intervene to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem (Al-Quds) from the Israeli attempts to Judaize them.

The call came at the conclusion of the meetings of the archaeologists committee of the Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), responsible for preparing legal reports on the Israeli violations.

Following the two-day meetings, the committee condemned Israel's decision to list Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi and Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque as Jewish heritage sites.

It stressed that the Israeli actions in Jerusalem, especially the digging under and around Al-Aqsa Mosque, were illegal, violated international laws, and threatened the mosque's structure.

The archaeologists demanded the Israeli authorities immediately stop the digging and to stop the construction of a synagogue and a Jewish museum in Maamin Allah Islamic graveyard.

The projects violate international law, particularly the 1954 Hague Convention 1954 and the Fourth Geneva Convention, they pointed out.

They also called UNSC and the Quartet Committee to immediately intervene and take urgent measures to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque and to force Israel to comply with international resolutions on Jerusalem and Resolution 22351 of the UN General Assembly.

In addition, they urged international organizations, and international, Islamic, and Arab media to expose Israeli acts and to produce media materials and documentaries that spread awareness on the reality of Israeli violations that aim to deface the Arab identity if Islamic and Christian holy sites.

They also called for holding an international conference to study historical documents on Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi in Al-Khalil and Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque in Bethlehem and ways to protect the sites in coordination with the Palestinians.

Syria's Culture Minister Riyadh Na'san Agha emphasized during the meeting that Jerusalem was not the responsibility of Arabs and Muslims alone, but the responsibility of humanity.

He called all people of the world to pressure Israel to stop its violations, warning that continuing excavation works under Al-Aqsa Mosque would lead to the mosque's collapse.

Media and intellectuals have an important role in enlightening the public opinion, he noted.

On his part, Secretary General of the Palestinian Culture Ministry Ismail Talawi said that Arabs and Muslims have a responsibility to exert effort to stop the Israeli attempts to Judaize Jerusalem.

A school neighboring Al-Aqsa Mosque collapsed due to the Israeli digging, he said, adding that the mosque was under threat of collapse at any moment as well.

Source: Eurasia Review.
Link: http://www.eurasiareview.com/2010/04/33115-archaeologists-ask-unsc-to.html.

Human Rights Said To Decline In PA

CAIRO [MENL] -- An Arab study, citing increased U.S. support, has determined a significant decline in human rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Arab Reform Initiative issued a report that placed the Palestinian Authority seventh out of Arab League members regarding human rights. The report, titled "The State of Reform in the Arab World," cited the drop in such indicators as respect for law, democracy and accountability between 2008 and 2009.

Source: Middle East Newsline.
Link: http://www.menewsline.com/article-1173,19346-Human-Rights-Said-To-Decline-In-P.aspx.

PNA official says U.S. efforts to resume Palestinian-Israeli talks hit deadlock

A senior Palestinian National Authority (PNA) official Tuesday said the U.S. efforts to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians hit a deadlock, accusing Israel of thwarting these efforts.

Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian negotiator, said the U.S. offer to hold proximity talks between the Palestinians and Israelis, which the Arab League and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) approved earlier last month, "has hit a deadlock."

Erekat also told Voice of Palestine radio that "Israel continued to impose facts on the ground," referring to the Israeli decisions in March to expand settlements in disputed East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

The Arab League (AL) on March 3 gave a greenlight to a U.S. proposal to resume indirect peace talks between Israel and the PNA.

The Israeli approval in March of constructing 1,600 housing units in a Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem, however, foiled the U.S. attempt after more than 15 months of a standstill of peace talks between the two sides.

Erekat urged Washington to exert more pressure on Israel to freeze its settlement activities for the resumption of the negotiations between the two sides.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6942657.html.

EX-Turkish diplomat says US has nukes in Istanbul

A senior Turkish diplomat says the United States has stored tactical nuclear weapons in Istanbul.

Former Turkish defense ministry adviser and retired ambassador to Washington, Taner Baytok asserted that nearly 100 tactical nuclear weapons were stored, "not at the US Incirlik Base in Adana", but in Istanbul, the most populated city of the country, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

He said some of these weapons are in other cities near the Black Sea.

"Twelve million people are living on nuclear warheads in Istanbul... Those weapons must be taken out of Turkey," he added.

According to Baytok, tactical weapons, which are fired with a double-key system, were placed during the Cold War.

The weapons would be fired to the satellites of the former Soviet Union as they are attached to faster missiles with shorter ranges, said Baytok.

"One of the keys is in the US and the other in the host country, in this case Turkey," the former ambassador added.

Based on a former report published by The Times nearly 50% of US nuclear weapons in NATO member countries can be located in Turkey.

Based on the report, US President Barack Obama will remove all nuclear arsenals out of the NATO member states, including Turkey.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122623§ionid=351020204.

Israeli court evicts Palestinians based on forgeries

A Palestinian official in charge of Jerusalem (al-Quds) Affairs slams eviction orders handed to Sheikh Jarrah's Arab residents by Israeli courts as based on forged documents.

On Tuesday, eviction warrants were handed down by the settler organization Nahalat Shimon International to two Palestinian families in the disputed Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, where settlers have so far forced three Palestinian families out and seized their homes.

"The Israeli High Court of Justice previously accredited forged documents issued by this [Nahalat Shimon International] society and approved its ownership of the lands the homes are built on," Hatem Abdul Qader from Fatah faction told Ma'an news agency.

"The society's lawyer is sending out circular warrants to residents, ordering them to evacuate their homes," he added, saying all the land ownership documents previously used by the organizations to evict other families in the neighborhood are counterfeit.

The Fatah official noted the Israeli government's support for the Nahalat Shimon society in its attempt to create a settlement in the area, adding the Dajani and Daoudi families, recently faced with eviction orders, will file a petition at the High Court of Justice to overturn the warrants.

Israeli NGO Ir Amin said in a 2009 report that the settler-related real estate organization Nahalat Shimon plans to demolish the existing residential structures in Sheikh Jarrah and evict hundreds of Palestinian residents in order to clear the way for a new Israeli settlement.

There are 28 Palestinian homes in Sheikh Jarrah offered to Palestinians by UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and the Jordanian Ministry of Development in 1956, in exchange for their refugee baskets.

Under Jordan's Enemy Property Law, Amman was to transfer the deeds to the Palestinians provided that the owners did not reclaim the land within three years. But the deeds were never passed on to the current tenants.

Nahalat Shimon, along with a number of other organizations, began filing lawsuits in the 1970s to evict the Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah, based on land sale deeds allegedly acquired during the Ottoman rule and the British Mandate.

Ir Amin's report highlighted Tel Aviv's support for Israeli settlers in their attempt to "reclaim" plots of land in East al-Quds that were allegedly owned by Jews under British or Ottoman rule.

"These efforts continue throughout East al-Quds, despite Israeli courts' ongoing refusal to recognize similar claims by Palestinian owners in West al-Quds," Ir Amin wrote.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122670§ionid=351020202.

Sudan's SPLM declares partial vote boycott

Wed Apr 7, 2010

The main political party in south Sudan has said it will boycott Sunday's general elections in most northern states due to voting irregularities.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) said Tuesday that it will pull out its candidates from parliamentary and municipal elections in 13 of the 15 northern states of Sudan.

SPLM had already withdrawn its candidate from the presidential poll, alleging that the vote is rigged in favor of Sudan's President Umar al-Bashir and his ruling party.

"There is a constant violation of the election rules and the democratic traditions. The governing National Congress Party can choose the country's Election Commission. They use these resources and totally control it. That is why we boycott the elections at all levels," Pagan Amom SPLM Secretary General said.

He also cited security fears in war-torn Darfur as another reason for their withdrawal.

The party however said that it would still contest the elections in its stronghold in the south, as well as in the two northern states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

Many other opposition parties in Sudan have also decided to boycott the vote for the same reasons.

However in what is seen as a major retract of President Barack Obama's previous statements on Sudan, Scott Gration, the US ambassador to Khartoum, has backed the upcoming elections as "free and fair."

This new policy of appeasement by Washington is seen as a serious blow to the main opposition parties in Sudan.

The April 11 vote, which includes local as well as parliamentary and presidential polls, is Sudan's first national multi-party election in 24 years.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/122674.html.

Anti-Mubarak protesters, police clash in Cairo

Wed Apr 7, 2010

Egypt's riot police have clashed with protesters who are asking for an end to the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

"Down, down, Hosni Mubarak," more than 200 people chanted as they tried to gather in central Cairo's Tahrir Square.

A dozen of demonstrators shouting "freedom, freedom" near parliament were dragged away by the Egyptian police.

The Sixth of April Youth, a pro-reform group behind the protest, is seeking constitutional amendments and an end to an emergency law that sanctions indefinite detentions. The Sixth of April group was formed after April 2008 clashes in the Nile Delta between police and workers demanding more pay.

Rights group Amnesty International condemned what it called the state's violent response to Tuesday's protests.

Egypt is to hold a parliamentary election this year and a presidential vote in 2011.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/122676.html.

Kyrgyz demonstrators seize government office

Protesters have seized again a regional government building in north-western Kyrgyzstan after fighting off riot police amid spiraling tensions in the Central Asian nation.

Thousands of angered demonstrators assembled early Tuesday in the city of Talas to protest rising fuel prices, demanding that President Kurmanbek Bakiyev resign.

Another 500 surrounded the local police headquarters.

Kyrgyz Prime Minister Usenov vowed to crack down on the demonstrators.

"I urge the organizers of these actions to desist from what they are doing. For those that do not listen, measures will be severe," Usenov said.

Opposition parties, however, plan a mass rally Wednesday Wednesday in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek.

The country hosts a primarily US operated air base, Menas, near Bishkek. The base supports military operations in neighboring Afghanistan.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122677§ionid=351020406.

Kyrgyzstan cracks down on opposition

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan/Moscow - Police in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan have deployed tear gas against opposition supporters - three days after a visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, the Akipress news agency reported Tuesday.

Special forces dispersed some 1,000 people who were protesting in the town of Talas in the north-west of the country, Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov reportedly announced in the capital Bishkek.

Usenov warned the opposition against destabilizing the country.

"All destructive attempts will be harshly punished," he said.

Ban had urged the nation to respect human rights during a visit with President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in Bishkek on Saturday.

Around 50 journalists and civil rights activists had led a demonstration during Ban's stay to protest against the closure of an independent television station.

Two opposition newspapers were also shut down recently after being accused by the authorities of insulting Bakiyev.

Officials in the former Soviet republic have also blocked access to websites critical of the government.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317334,kyrgyzstan-cracks-down-on-opposition.html.

Young Algerian wins int'l film fest 'rising star' award

2010-04-06

Algerian actor and director Fethi Bendida won the "Rising Star Award" at the 2010 Canada International Film Festival in Vancouver, El Watan reported on Monday (April 5th). The 28-year-old Oran native wrote, directed and starred in short film "The Green Card", which tells the story of a young man whose US visa is about to expire. Bendida graduated last year from a film school in the United States: Boston University's Center for Digital Imaging Arts.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/06/newsbrief-06.

Tunisia considers importing petrol from Morocco

2010-04-06

Officials from Tunisia's Refining Industries Company (STIR) will visit Morocco next week to discuss the possibility of importing any surplus Moroccan diesel and petrol, African Manager reported on Monday (April 5th). Tunisia is reportedly looking to reduce freight costs from Europe.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/06/newsbrief-05.

Libya to sell stake in state mobile telephony firms

2010-04-06

Libya plans to float a 5% stake in state-owned mobile telephony providers Libyana and Al-Madar, Bloomberg reported on Monday (April 5th). According to Libya Stock Exchange Director Suliman Al Shahomy, the stake could eventually "reach 30 or 40%".

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/06/newsbrief-04.

Algeria, US judicial officials to meet in Algiers

2010-04-06

Algerian Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz will meet with US Attorney General Eric Holder in Algiers on Wednesday (April 7th) to discuss the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crimes, KUNA reported. A judicial co-operation accord will reportedly be signed during Holder's visit.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/06/newsbrief-02.

Don't declare state, Lieberman warns Palestinians

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says Tel Aviv would annul previous peace accords with Palestinians if they decide to go ahead with plans to unilaterally declare an independent state.

Speaking to Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Tuesday, Lieberman threatened Palestinians that such a move could prompt Israel to annex parts of the West Bank and revoke 1990s Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements.

"Any unilateral decision will release us from all of our commitments and will allow us also to make unilateral decisions," Lieberman said. "For example, imposing Israeli sovereignty on certain areas, cutting off all kinds of ties and transfers of money and a string of benefits and agreements put into place since the (peace) accords."

Lieberman's remarks came in reaction to an announcement made by acting Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad about plans to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state — possibly as early as 2011 and even without a peace deal.

The Palestinians claim all of the West Bank and east Jerusalem (al-Quds) as part of their future state. The areas were captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

The Palestinians have called on Israel to halt all settlement construction in the two areas before peace talks can resume.

However, addressing the thorny issue of settlements in Jerusalem al-Quds, Lieberman said Israel would never agree to halt construction in the region.

"I think we have to make clear to Obama that we are not only not freezing construction in Jerusalem, but after the 10-month freeze we will go back to building," he said.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122659§ionid=351020202.

Erdogan turning into Gaddafi, Chavez, Lieberman says

As the dispute between Israel and Turkey heats up, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has compared Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

"Erdogan is slowly turning into Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi or Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. It's his choice. The problem is not Turkey; the problem is Erdogan," Lieberman said in an interview with the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

Erdogan recently told the French newspaper Le Figaro that Israel is not serious about establishing peace and all evidence indicates that Israel is pushing the region toward war not peace. The Turkish prime minister also said that Israel is widely believed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli foreign minister's remarks.

"Lieberman's remarks are beyond the limits, inappropriate, and impertinent and bear no truth. Turkey calls on Israel to trade their meaningless and unacceptable attitude for common sense," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said on Tuesday.

The Turkish official explained Ankara's policy regarding Israel, saying it is shaped within the scope of a principle which supports the protection of regional peace and stability.

The Turkish government's criticism of Israel has been particularly vocal since the December 2008-January 2009 Gaza war.

In addition, a TV show in Turkey that portrayed Israeli intelligence agents holding a woman and her baby hostage has strained relations between Israel and Turkey.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122649§ionid=351020204.

700 children die of hunger every day in Congo

Wed Apr 7, 2010

Congolese officials say at least 700 children under the age of five are dying of hunger every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

On Tuesday, Congolese Health Minister Victor Makwenge told reporters that over a million women between 15 and 49 years old are also malnourished in five of the country's provinces, AFP reported.

"At least 700 children under five years old are dying every day in the five provinces, where only one child out of five has a varied diet," Makwenge said.

"Close to 530,000 children under five and more than a million women need urgent food aid."

The provinces of Equateur, Kasai, Kasai West, Katanga, and Maniema together account for 51 percent of the population of the vast Central African country.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says that malnutrition is a public health problem in the impoverished country.

Despite its rich potential for food production, the World Food Program says that every month it helps to feed about a million vulnerable children and pregnant women in Congo.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/122647.html.

Venezuela arrests 8 Colombians suspected of spying

Venezuelan authorities say eight Colombians suspected of carrying out espionage activities on the country's electricity system have been detained.

Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice Tarek El Aissami said on Tuesday that the detainees possessed documents in English and a camera containing photos of electricity substations, transmission systems, roads, and bridges.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has accused "counter-revolutionaries" opposed to his socialist government of cutting power cables to worsen the OPEC nation's electricity crisis, which has forced the government to ration power across much of the country.

"All these elements help corroborate the accusations made by President Chavez," Aissami said.

Venezuela froze diplomatic and commercial ties with Colombia in 2009 after Bogota signed a controversial pact with Washington granting US troops access to seven Colombian military bases.

Chavez says the pact is part of a US plot to undermine sovereignty in the region.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122648§ionid=351020704.

Iran sanctions would be ineffective: Brazilian FM

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim has warned against imposing new sanctions on Iran, saying that Brazil wants to maintain its ties with the Islamic Republic.

Amorim stated that imposing a new round of United Nations sanctions on Iran would only radicalize Tehran.

“A regime like Iran's, with sanctions, will tend to radicalize, dig in its heels, joining opposition and government in a position of intransigence,” Amorim told Brazil's Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“The result of growing sanctions is that the country will become more isolated. Sanctions always hit the poorest people,” Reuters quoted the Brazilian foreign minister as saying on Tuesday.

“It's not a question of Brazil being for or against Iran. Brazil is in favor of peace and negotiated solutions,” Amorim said.

“Brazil wants to have relations (with Iran) like it does with other big countries,” he stated.

Brazil has repeatedly called for a diplomatic solution to the standoff between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear program.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122646§ionid=351020101.

US says all options on table for Iran, N Korea

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Washington is keeping “all options” on the table for dealing with Iran and North Korea.

"If there is a message for Iran and North Korea here, it is that if you're going to play by the rules, if you're going to join the international community, then we will undertake certain obligations to you," AFP quoted Gates as saying on Tuesday.

"But if you're not going to play by the rules, if you're going to be a proliferator, then all options are on the table in terms of how we deal with you," he told reporters.

The US accuses Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, a charge that has been repeatedly dismissed by Tehran.

Iran, which is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, says it needs a civilian nuclear program to meet its growing demand for energy.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122643§ionid=351020101.

Turkish police arrest 24 for wiretapping

Turkish security forces have arrested twenty-four people, including former football player Ridvan Dilmen, in an operation targeting a criminal organization that has allegedly engaged in wiretapping across four provinces.

"The detentions were made as part of planned operations frequently conducted by police," CNN Turk quoted Istanbul Police Chief Huseyin Capkin as saying on Tuesday.

Capkin added, “We cannot get into details now. You will learn about them in the coming days." The police chief also said that more arrests may be made.

The operation, based on almost two years of technical and physical investigations carried out by the Istanbul Police Department's Organized Crime Unit, was carried out in four provinces simultaneously.

The suspects are accused of illegally tapping the phones of well-known businesspeople as well as retired police officers.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122644§ionid=351020204.

Malaysia soon to reveal key areas for new economic reform

Singapore - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Tuesday said his government would soon reveal details of its new economic reform program to make Malaysia a developed country by 2020.

"In a few months time you will get to know what are the key activities or areas we want to prioritize," Najib told the Singapore Foreign Correspondents Association.

Malaysia needed the New Economic Model "to get to the next stage of growth," said the prime minister, who took office just over a year ago, on April 3, 2009.

Najib said the program's goal to raise the average annual per capita income from currently 7,000 US dollars to 15,000 US dollars in 10 years was "ambitious, but attainable."

The government's plan for annual economic growth of 6.5 per cent over the next decade was not impossible, he said, but "it is going to be a lot of hard work."

Najib's ambitious reform, designed to change a "rent-seeking and patronage system," would revamp an affirmative action program, introduced in 1971, which accords special privileges to the majority ethnic Malay race.

But the program is likely to meet with strong objections from Najib's Malay supporters and fellow party leaders.

"Affirmative action doesn't mean only the Malays, ... it also means the Chinese and the Indians who are poor and vulnerable, they also need help," said the prime minister.

Najib said he had support for his plans and felt more comfortable today as when he started as prime minister a year ago.

"We have laid the foundations, the framework is there, the policies are shaping up," he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317368,malaysia-soon-to-reveal-key-areas-for-new-economic-reform.html.

Medvedev arrives in Slovakia to mark Bratislava liberation

Bratislava - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Bratislava on Tuesday for a two-day visit marking the 65th anniversary of the Slovak capital's liberation by the Soviet Red Army at the end of World War II.

Medvedev is visiting Slovakia before heading to Prague to sign a new arms control treaty with his US counterpart Barack Obama on Thursday.

In Bratislava, the Russian president is to meet his Slovak counterpart Ivan Gasparovic, Prime Minister Robert Fico and parliament speaker Pavol Paska.

On Wednesday, the presidents are to decorate Russian and Slovak wartime veterans, honor fallen Soviet troops and attend a signing of bilateral agreements. Medvedev and Slovak leaders are to discuss security, energy and trade.

Slovakia relies on Russian energy imports and its industries were hit hard by the Russian-Ukrainian gas crisis in early 2009.

Nevertheless, Slovakia, a NATO and EU member since 2004, maintains cordial relations with Russia, unlike some other ex-Soviet satellites.

Fico has for example slammed a Bush-era US plan to base missile defense bases in the neighboring Czech Republic and Poland, a project fiercely opposed by Russia.

Obama dropped the Bush-era project last year, but his overhauled missile shield plans, under which Romania could host a base, remain a sore point in US-Russian ties.

Medvedev is planned to depart Bratislava for Prague on Wednesday evening after attending a concert by the Alexandrov ensemble, Russia's legendary army choir. The Red Army liberated Bratislava on April 4, 1945.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317375,medvedev-arrives-in-slovakia-to-mark-bratislava-liberation.html.

EXTRA: Lula rules out rain-related problems in World Cup, Olympics

Rio de Janeiro - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ruled out Tuesday that rain-related problems may jeopardize the Brazil 2014 football World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Mudslides and severe flooding caused by heavy rain since late Monday claimed at least 77 lives in and around Rio de Janeiro, the authorities said Tuesday.

"It does not rain everyday. Neither are there quakes everyday in Chile and Haiti. Usually, the months of June and July (when the two major sporting events are set to take place) are calmer. Rio is ready to host the Olympic Games and the World Cup, the best the world has ever known," Lula said.

In an interview in Rio, where rain led him to cancel an event to launch public works to improve a favela (slum) Tuesday, Lula said it is necessary to wait until the rain stops to be able to plan the city's recovery.

"We can only ask God to make the rain stop, so we can get on with life in the city," he said.

Lula stressed, however, that his government's resources, including the Navy, are at the disposal of Rio authorities.

"All the material help that the mayor and the governor may need is ready and at their disposal," he stressed.

Lula said his government will help local authorities put in place a program to move poor residents away from areas that are vulnerable to mudslides, which they occupied illegally and which became favelas.

"There needs to be a a consciousness raising effort to prevent people from occupying risk areas. We will show complete solidarity in a joint search for solutions to this problem," Lula said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317388,extra-lula-rules-out-rain-related-problems-in-world-cup-olympics.html.

Yedioth Ahronoth: Israeli Reconnaissance Drone Explodes in Afghanistan

Sources in the Hebrew press have revealed that an Israeli reconnaissance drone has exploded in Afghanistan while attempting to land following a flight mission.

Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, reported in its electronic version that Israeli Military Industries Ltd had sold the drone to the German army, and that it had exploded on its inaugural flight under German command.

The Israeli daily quoted German sources as saying that following an experimental flight on March 17th; the air vehicle veered off course and struck a parked passenger aircraft.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the drone which has a 16 meter wingspan was completely destroyed. An Israel Aerospace Industries official said that investigations were ongoing. He added that IAI would compensate the German army by replacing the destroyed aircraft.

Source: Al-Quds Press

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/867-yedioth-ahronoth-israeli-reconnaissance-drone-explodes-in-afghanistan.