Ancient graves found in Iran Burnt City

More ancient graves have been discovered at Iran's Burnt City as archeologists were conducting the 13th phase of excavation works at the prehistoric site.

The unearthed tombs at the Burnt City site located in southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province date back to about 3,000 BC, Rouhollah Shirazi, an official with Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization told IRNA on Thursday.

Shirazi also added that the archeologists made the discoveries during last winter's excavations around the eastern wing of the city, where its residential buildings, monuments and cemetery were located.

According to the Iranian official who directs the Burnt City excavation works, a number of buried relics were also unearthed along with the graves.

Archeologists have also found a well-preserved building in the residential area, covering around 80 square hectares of the total 151 square hectares of the ancient city.

The 5000-year-old Burnt City is located near the city of Zabol where four civilizations used to live. It was burnt down three times and not rebuilt after the last fire.

The world's oldest animated picture, dice and backgammon set, the earliest known caraway seed and an artificial eyeball have been found in the Burnt City.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124259§ionid=351020105.

Sans-Souci in the Caribbean: Haiti wants tourists back - Feature

Franz Smets

Cap Haitien, Haiti - The site is symbolically charged: The Cap Haitien citadel is visible from far away, with hundreds of cannons aimed at the sea.

In the mid-20th century, Haiti was a popular tourist destination. The country that shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic had beautiful beaches, a vibrant culture and delectable food.

At the time, Haiti also offered something unique, a sort of "Africa in the Caribbean."

Today, as the country seeks to rebuild after the devastating January 12 earthquake, tourism is likely to take on a key role. Cap Haitien, in the north, and Jacmel, in the south, are to be billed as major attractions.

And yet the necessary infrastructure is currently missing.

In 1804, Haiti became the first independent country in the Americas.

Cannons at the Cap Haitien citadel, with its meter-thick walls atop the 910-metre-high Bonnet-a-L'Eveque hill, were intended to prevent French forces from returning to take back their former colony in the 19th century. The French never returned, and not one of these decorated pieces of artillery was ever fired.

Over weekends, hundreds of descendants of slaves brought in from Africa visit the site, and the ruins of the Sans-Souci palace on their way up the mountain. Over a picnic, many enjoy the great views, and particularly a green scenery of mango fields and banana and sugarcane plantations that is rare in Haiti.

The large fort and the impressive palace were both built under the self-proclaimed King Henri Christophe I (1811-20). Since 1982 they have been a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.

Former US president Bill Clinton - now a UN special envoy to Haiti - visited the area in December last year, with a view to promoting tourism there with US businesses.

"Tourism must provide the initial spark for northern Haiti's development," said Broder Schuett, a businessman who is also the sixth-generation German general consul in Cap Haitien.

There, far from the earthquake-ravaged capital Port-au-Prince, an increasing number of business people show up with an interest in developing the area's potential for tourism.

But almost everything is missing. The road to Cap Haitien from Port-au-Prince is in a sorry state along most stretches. In several places it has been washed away by flooding. Travelers have to take detours over the hills or across pools of water.

In Cap Haitien there are a few small hotels, which date back to better days. And there is a boardwalk with restaurants. To talk of port facilities would be an exaggeration, in the light of the slums and the crumbling buildings they hold.

Nearby, cruise ships regularly stop in the walled beach resort of Labadee.

"We want to do more to bring passengers up to the fort," said Schuett, the local representative of the cruise company Royal Caribbean.

There is an easier way to reach northern Haiti, other than from the Haitian capital. The Dominican border is only 40 minutes away, because the European Union built a modern road to Cap Haitien. It is one of only a few roads in Haiti that have road signs that alert drivers when the road is about to get narrower and tell them to respect certain speed limits.

Jacmel, in Haiti's southern coast, can be reached from Port-au- Prince on a paved road. Currently, however, mudslides caused by the January earthquake and its many aftershocks are an obstacle to the trip.

Jacmel, with its French colonial-style houses overlooking the sea, was seriously affected by the earthquake. But it too wants to become a success story.

"Jacmel can become a picturesque, small French town in the Caribbean," said Haitian Central Bank governor Charles Castel. "We will promote tourism's return here."

In Jacmel, people are busy trying to free themselves from a history of disaster. School lessons have started again, sometimes in makeshift wooden buildings in the outskirts of the town. And small hotels and seafood restaurants are opening on the beautiful beaches east and west of the center.

Thomas Oriental's mask shop on the heavily damaged beach walk was also devastated by the earthquake, as a side wall and portions of the roof collapsed. Now, young artists are painting more pictures and fixing the damaged masks.

This Haitian store owner, for one, is not very hopeful that tourists from around the world will soon start pouring into Haiti. The task at hand is massive.

"I need a loan in order to be able to survive with my shop," Oriental noted.

And he expects no help from the authorities: "They were themselves victims of the earthquake."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320325,sans-souci-in-the-caribbeanhaiti-wants-tourists-back--feature.html.

Happy birthday Hubble: Space telescope turns 20 with new image

Washington - The Hubble Space Telescope celebrates its 20th anniversary Saturday and NASA has released a new photograph from the orbiting observatory of a cosmic pillar of gas and dust piled high in the Carina Nebula galaxy.

Three light-year-tall towers of cool hydrogen laced with dust rise from the wall of the nebula, the US space agency said, in a scene that is reminiscent of Hubble's classic "Pillars of Creation" photograph from 1995.

Hubble, named after the astronomer Edwin P Hubble (1889-1953), was launched into low-Earth orbit on April 24, 1990.

Since then, it has been sending back some of the most spectacular images of galaxies - helping scientists to place the age of the universe at 13.7 billion years, learn that black holes are at the center of most galaxies, monitor planetary formation and discover that the universe is expanding at an ever-faster pace.

To date, Hubble has looked at over 30,000 celestial objects and amassed over a half million pictures in its archive.

In May, a revamped Hubble provided colorful images and crisper pictures of distant stars and galaxies after a servicing mission that installed new instruments and repaired broken ones that had hampered the world's most famous telescope.

Despite its storied past, Hubble had looked set for the junk heap until the space shuttle Atlantis' repair mission that sought to extend the telescope's life until at least 2014, and possibly beyond.

NASA had originally decided against the maintenance mission because of the risks involved and pressures to complete International Space Station construction by the end of 2010, when the shuttle is to be retired.

But US politicians and world astronomers fought to keep alive the instrument that has expanded knowledge of space.

"Most of us humans ... will never travel physically to some of the exotic places that we see in Hubble," said Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator, earlier this year. "What Hubble has done is enabled our hearts, our minds, our spirits to travel throughout the solar system even billions of light years to the very beginning of time."

Hubble fans worldwide are being invited to share the ways the telescope has affected them - they can visit the "Messages to Hubble" page on http://hubblesite.org. The messages will be stored in the Hubble data archive along with the telescope's many terabytes of science data.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320328,happy-birthday-hubble-space-telescope-turns-20-with-new-image.html.

South Korea raises remaining half of sunken warship

Seoul - South Korea on Saturday raised the bow of a warship which sunk last month, hoping to gain more information on the cause of the disaster amid growing suspicion of North Korean involvement.

Navy salvage workers were preparing to search the bow of the 1,200-ton Cheonan for the remains of seven still missing sailors, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

The rear of the ship had been salvaged last week. Investigators concluded after an initial examination that an exterior explosion caused the sinking, strengthening suspicions that a North Korean sea mine or torpedo may have been responsible.

South Korea's military suspected immediately after the Cheonan sunk last month that a North Korean torpedo had been responsible, the Yonhap said Thursday, quoting military sources.

The assessment was bolstered by intelligence information that the Stalinist state's armed forces have intensified "guerrilla warfare" training since February 2009. The training was aimed at provoking opponents rather than a direct confrontation, according to the intelligence information.

The 1,200-ton Cheonan went down March 26 in 45 meters of water near the disputed border with North Korea in the Yellow Sea after witnesses heard an explosion and the ship broke apart.

North Korea rejected any responsibility for the sinking.

Of the 104 crew members aboard, 58 were rescued when the vessel sank, two bodies were found before the salvage operation and 37 bodies were recovered from the wreckage.

The incident occurred in an area where the North and South Korean navies clashed in 1999, 2002 and 2009.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320329,south-korea-raises-remaining-half-of-sunken-warship.html.

Voting begins in Bangladesh parliamentary by-elections

Dhaka - Voting began Saturday in Bangladesh in a parliamentary by-election amid tight security measures following earlier clashes between supporters of the ruling Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The Election Commission has deployed as many as 3,500 security personnel to the southern district, where a parliamentary seat fell vacant after the commission declared the incumbent's candidacy in the December 2008 general elections invalid. Polls opened at 8 am (0200 GMT) and are to close at 4 pm.

Voters have started queuing outside the polling stations from early morning, said Al Imran Garjon, an election observer posted in the southern Lalmohon sub-district.

"There have been no reports of violence so far," he added.

Election officials said they have taken all necessary preparations to hold a free and fair election.

The opposition BNP alleged that Awami-League supporters were trying to rig the election and threatened protests.

Media reports said at least 30 people were injured in pre-election violence between supporters of the Awami League and BNP Friday.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320330,voting-begins-in-bangladesh-parliamentary-by-elections.html.

China replaces party boss in restive Xinjiang region

Beijing - China's Communist Party on Saturday replaced the unpopular political leader in the troubled western region of Xinjiang, the scene of deadly ethnic riots last July.

Wang Lequan, who held the post for 15 years, was replaced by Zhang Chunxian, 57, former party boss of the southern province of Hunan, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Wang was appointed to a new post as deputy secretary of a political affairs committee in the party's central committee, the report said.

No reason for the change was given, and it is not clear whether Wang will retain his position in the party's powerful politburo.

After ethnic riots in the Xinjiang capital Urumqi in July left at least 197 people dead, many had called for Wang to step down.

Wang's restrictive policies and frequent strike-hard campaigns against Xinjiang's ethnic Uighurs had already built up resentment within the Uighur community.

After the unrest, some in the region's Han Chinese community felt that Wang had failed in his duty to provide security and stability.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320340,china-replaces-party-boss-in-restive-xinjiang-region.html.

6.4-magnitude earthquake strikes eastern Indonesia

Jakarta - An earthquake measuring 6.4 struck islands in north-eastern Indonesia Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries and damage, officials said.

The quake occurred at 4:41 pm (0741 GMT), the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said. Its epicenter was 155 kilometers south-east of the city Labuha in North Maluku province, or about 2,400 kilometers north-east of Jakarta at a depth of 30 kilometers.

The BMG said the quake did not trigger a tsunami.

It was the latest of a series of earthquakes to jolt Indonesia in recent months.

A powerful 7.6-magnitude quake struck off the western coast of Sumatra in September, killing thousands and injuring hundreds of others.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320342,64-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-eastern-indonesia.html.

Indian state to raise special force to protect tigers

M G Srinath

New Delhi – The north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh plans to enact a law to constitute a special tiger protection force with powers to its officials to prosecute and seize contraband body parts and act against those smuggling animal parts.

The force will be set up at the Dudwa National Park in Lakhimour Kheri district. It will follow the guidelines issued by the federal environment and forest ministry.

The federal government plans to create 11 Special Forces to be stationed in states like Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Uttarakhand.

The move by the Uttar Pradesh government has come as a big boon to the local forest officials as the state shares a 960-km long border with Nepal.

According to the 2007 census, the state's tiger population was 109. The state witnessed death of four tigers in 2007, five in 2008 and three in 2009. In 2010, one tiger died in Kishanpur sanctuary.

Meanwhile, Indian Forests and Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told Parliament this week that government has advised various states to regulate tourist visits in tiger reserves since unchecked inflow had become a source of threat to the wildlife.

“Advisories have been issued to tiger range States for regulating tourist visitation in tiger reserves.” Guidelines have also been issued to phase out tourism activities from the core or critical tiger habitats, while creating buffer in its peripheral areas.

In an innovative move to save tigers and also provide employment to villagers around the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan state, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has started a scheme giving out cloth bags instead of plastic ones to pilgrims who come to visit the centuries-old Hindu Ganesha temple that is located inside the protected zone.

The WWF is training local women to produce cloth and paper bags, ropes etc which will replace plastic bags used by devotees for carrying offerings to the temple. These women were basically tree cutters working in the reserve area, and thus adding to the menace of dwindling tiger habitat, the Pioneer newspaper reported.

According to the data furnished by the WWF- India, while there were 159,000 visitors to the park in 2007-08. The figure in 2008-09 was 178,000.

“The offerings made in the temple are often carried in plastic bags, which were thrown in the habitat area after use. We began by collecting tons and tons of plastic bags from the area,” the newspaper quoted Rima Rosalind, Senior Consultant, WWF, leading the project in Rajasthan.

The plastic bags, she said, prevented the growth of vegetation beneath them, besides choking the herbivores such as deer, cheetah etc in the area.

As the villagers, particularly women, began to get involved in the process, they became more aware of the need for tiger conservation. “Today, we have nearly 15 self-help groups involving both men and women, who are stitching cloth bags, ropes and sustaining themselves. Even the local banks are willing to finance them today”, Lima has been quoted as saying by the newspaper.

According to the WWF official, each bag costs Indian Rupees 10. Some groups had made as much as Rupees 18,000 (USD $ 450) annually. This income has helped families even purchase ploughs and other household requirements.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320348,indian-state-to-raise-special-force-to-protect-tigers.html.

China says its dam on River Tsangpo will not affect India

New Delhi – Indian Foreign Minister S.M.Krishna told parliament Thursday that China had assured New Delhi that the giant hydroelectric dam it is constructing on River Tsangpo in Tibet will not impact the downstream water flow in to River Brahmaputra in India.

"It is a fact that when we met in Beijing, the question of the power station did come up. The Chinese foreign minister assured me that there would be no water storage at the dam and it would not in any way impact on downstream areas," Krishna told lawmakers in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of parliament) in New Delhi..

Krishna was responding to a supplementary question from Ravi Shankar Prasad of the Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the impact of the Chinese dam, since there was no water sharing treaty between the two countries.

"He has admitted the Chinese are constructing a dam. We should have a discussion (in parliament)," Prasad said..

"We have to continue our engagement. We have an expert level mechanism in place. It is meeting soon. All issues relating to trans-border rivers will be discussed," Krishna said.

Krishna was in Beijing early April when he met Chinese foreign minister, Yang Jiechi followed by call on meeting with Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao.

He also kicked off celebrations to mark the 60th year of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The size of the Tsangpo dam would exceed that of the Three Gorges Dam across the River Yangtze in China, the world's largest electricity-generating plant, according to local media reports.

Reports say that the Tsangpo dam would generate 40,000 MW of power, more than twice that of Three Gorges.

Satellite pictures had picked up the construction of a dam in Zangmu, in the Lhokha prefecture of Tibet, but even as late as 2009, China denied that such a project was underway.

But there are fears in India's north-east region that the Chinese move will have a impact on the flows of River Brahmaputra in the region.

However, the qualitative improvement of ties between Beijing and Delhi as a result of some unprecedented cooperation during the Copenhagen climate summit last year appears to have cleared the air across the Himalayas, the Times of India newspaper reported Thursday..

This time, China said it was constructing a hydropower project in Zangmu -- there will be four more -- on the Brahmaputra. But this would not involve storage of water and was a run-of-the-river project, all inside Chinese territory.

China also made it clear that they didn't really have to share their plans with India, but they were doing it out of a sense of "trust". The 510 mw project is being built by Gezhouba, one of China's biggest dam-building companies.

India and China have no water-sharing agreements, so it will be a first, when next week, Indian and Chinese water experts ink an "implementation plan" to share hydrological data on the Sutlej and Brahmaputra rivers.

These agreements were signed in 2005 and 2008, but China had refused to share anything because there was no "plan". The first lot of data will flow from China to India later this year, the report said.

There have been reports that these projects are the beginning of a much bigger plan by China to divert the waters of the Brahmaputra to feed its parched northeast, an ambitious and technically challenging plan, called the Western Canal, that many Chinese reports say will be completed by 2050.

However, China has officially clarified that such reports aren't "consistent with facts". Answering questions on this in Parliament on Wednesday, Krishna said, "In November 2009, the foreign ministry of China clarified that China is a responsible country and would never do anything to undermine any other country's interests."

India and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2008 under which Beijing provides New Delhi with flood season hydrological data of River Brahmaputra which causes immense damage to life and property each year in India's eastern region during the monsoon season between June and October. ..

The Brahmaputra, also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia.

From its origin in southwestern Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo River, it flows across southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges and into India's Arunachal Pradesh state.

Deforestation in the Brahmaputra watershed has resulted in increased siltation levels, flash floods, and soil erosion in critical downstream habitat, such as the Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

The signing of the MoU follows China's assurance to India in 2008 that it would ensure the “protection and rational use” of water resources in the trans-Himalayan rivers that flow into this country from the upper reaches of the Himalayas on the Chinese side.

This assurance is significant in the light of fears in eastern India that plans for dam construction on the Chinese side of the border might pose serious dangers on the lower reaches of the rivers, including the Brahmaputra.

According to media reports, China is planning to dam or redirect the southward flow of water from the Tibetan plateau, the starting point of many rivers, such as the Indus, the Mekong, the Yangtze, the Yellow, the Salween, the Brahmaputra, the Karnali and the Sutlej.

Amongst the mighty Asian rivers only the Ganges begins from the Indian side of the Himalayas.

China's intensive farming needs water, and therefore it is increasingly turning its attention to the water reserves of the Tibetan plateau. China is presently toying with massive inter-basin and inter-river water transfer projects.

Furthermore, several Chinese projects in west-central Tibet have a bearing on river-water flow into India.

Reports say that two Chinese projects that might affect India adversely. One is the proposed Great South-North Water Transfer project for diverting Tibetan water, and the first phase calls for building 300-kilometers of tunnels and channels to draw water from the Jingsha, the Yalong and the Dadu rivers on the eastern rim of the Tibetan plateau.

The second phase of the project is more damaging, because it proposes to re-route the Brahmaputra river northward.

Several Chinese projects in west-central Tibet have a bearing on river-water flows into India.

Following flash floods in India's northern Himachal Pradesh state in 2005, China agreed to supply New Delhi data on any abnormal rise or fall in the upstream level of the Sutlej River, on which it has built a barrage.

The 10 major watersheds formed by the Himalayas and Tibetan highlands spread out river waters far and wide in Asia. Control over the 2.5 million-square-km Tibetan plateau gives China tremendous leverage, besides access to vast natural resources.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320347,china-says-its-dam-on-river-tsangpo-will-not-affect-india.html.

Bin Hammam: Asian Cup draw 'unique'

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Mohammed Bin Hammam has called the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ draw “unique”.

“It is a very interesting and unique draw. All the groups are very well and finely balanced," Bin Hammam said after Friday's draw ceremony at the Aspire Dome.

The AFC president further pointed out that none of the Asian teams is guaranteed a spot in the knockout stage.

“In fact it looks like none of the teams is guaranteed a spot in the knockout stage. They will all have to work hard for it,” he added.

“I am absolutely convinced that the competition will be intense and of a very high quality because AFC's Member Associations are doing a lot of developmental work for their national teams,” he further explained.

According to Bin Hammam, Iraq's win in 2007 has reshaped Asian football.

“No longer can the traditional powers of the East or West take their places for granted," he noted. “The new teams are ambitious and hungry for success. And all this means well for the fans.”

Draw for 2011 Asian Cup:

Group A: Qatar, Kuwait, China, Uzbekistan

Group B: Saudi Arabia, Japan, Jordan, Syria

Group C: South Korea, India, Australia, Bahrain

Group D: Iraq, North Korea, UAE, Iran

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124238§ionid=3510211.

IRGC stops Italian, French ships in PG

The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps' naval patrol units have stopped an Italian and a French vessel in the Strait of Hormuz and inspected them.

The two vessels were inspected by the IRGC forces during a military maneuver on Friday for verification that they complied with environmental regulations.

The vessels were allowed to continue sailing after confirmation that they had not breached any regulations, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

The IRGC has been holding the third day of a major military exercise dubbed 'Great Prophet 5' in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

The IRGC's naval, air and ground forces have been taking part in the drill, seeking to display Iran's constructive role and the country's military power in securing the strategic region.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, connects the Persian Gulf with the Sea of Oman. Nearly 40 percent of the world's crude oil passes through this waterway.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124251§ionid=351020101.

Iran grants Jundallah defectors immunity

Iran has granted immunity from prosecution to more than one hundred members of the Jundallah terrorist group, a provincial official says.

Speaking on Friday, Governor General of Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan Province Ali Mohammad Azad said Iranian authorities had received three hundred requests from members of the terrorist group calling for immunity after their notorious leader, Abdolmalek Rigi, was arrested in February.

"The immunity has been granted to 110 of those [who lodged an appeal]," the official said.

He, however, explained that only those defectors who did not have a private plaintiff were given immunity, while others had to stand trial in a court of law.

The Jundallah group has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist attacks in Iran, targeting both civilians as well as government and military officials.

In their latest attack, which took place in October 2009, more than 40 Iranians — among them 15 members of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), including top commanders along with several tribal elders — lost their lives when Jundallah terrorists carried out an operation in the border region of Pishin, located in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

Later in February, Iran arrested Rigi, the leader of the group, aboard a passenger jet flying from the UAE to Kyrgyzstan, where he said he was to meet US intelligence and military officials at the major American Menas military base.

In his confessions, Rigi also said that he had ties with intelligence agencies such as the CIA and said that he had closely cooperated with the security services of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Following Rigi's arrest, Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi said that the he also had contacts with the Mossad and certain European countries.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124240§ionid=351020101.

Houthis urge Yemen to free prisoners

A spokesman for Yemen's Houthi fighters has called on the country's government to release around 1,000 members of the Shia group.

"There are around 1,000 men still being detained by authorities," Muhammed Abdul-Salam said on Friday.

"We urge the government to respect the ceasefire agreement and free all the detainees," he added.

The spokesman explained that the dozens of people already freed had nothing to do with the group.

The conflict between Sana'a and Houthis began in 2004. It intensified in August 2009 when the Yemeni army launched Operation Scorched Earth in an attempt to crush the fighters in the northern province of Sa'ada.

However, the armed encounter ended after the government and the fighters agreed to a ceasefire in February.

According to the agreement, the Houthis released 178 prisoners last month.

The group freed the prisoners after they received assurances from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh that their prisoners would be released.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124220§ionid=351020206.

'Gaza infrastructure in state of collapse'

The top United Nations official in the Gaza Strip says the humanitarian situation of the people in the impoverished sliver is extremely difficult.

"The infrastructure of water and sanitation is in a state of collapse," said John Ging, Director of Operations in Gaza for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

"There is no legitimate economy anymore. The physical and psychological suffering continues on a daily basis," he said at a press conference at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The UN agency noted the three-year long Israeli blockade has also prevented the importation of construction material to Gaza.

"We have not been allowed to build a school in Gaza for three years," said Ging.

Last month, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also expressed his concern over the Gaza Strip and stressed that the closure of the enclave must end.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124215§ionid=351020202.

Authorities ban telecast of 11 Pak channels in Jammu

Jammu, April 24 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, the authorities have directed to the cable operators of Jammu district to stop telecast of 12 channels, 11 being run from Pakistan and one from Dubai, within two days.

The notice to stop telecast of 12 channels has already been issued to the multi-system cable operators of the district.

The channels, on which the ban has been imposed by the occupation authorities include PTV Home, PTV World, QTV, ARY, Geo TV, Dawn, Express, Waqat, Noor TV, Hadi TV and Aaj, all being run from Pakistan and Peace TV, Dubai.

Source: Kashmir Media Service.
Link: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/authorities-ban-telecast-11-pak-channels-jammu.

Indian troops martyr five innocent Kashmiris

Srinagar, April 24 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops, in their fresh acts of state terrorism, martyred five more innocent Kashmiri youth at different places. The troops during siege and search operations killed two youth, Tanvir Ahmad and Zubair Ahmad at Gandoh in Doda. Two civilians identified as Gulla Gujar and Ahmed Lone were killed and three others injured in army firings at Keller in Shopian.

The locals told media men that the troopers during patrolling fired at two civilians who had ventured out of their homes, killing both of them on the spot. Hundreds of people raising anti-India slogans held protest demonstrations against the killings in the area.

Meanwhile, Indian army agents killed a proprietor of JK Cable, Ashiq Hussain Khan, 45, when he was coming out of the local mosque after offering Isha prayers at Batapora in Sopore.

Source: Kashmir Media Service.
Link: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/indian-troops-martyr-five-innocent-kashmiris.

Algerian-born pilot wins compensation battle over 2001 attacks

London (Earth Times) - An Algerian-born pilot who was wrongly accused of having links with terrorists behind the 2001 attacks in the US will receive compensation from the British government, the Justice Ministry said Friday.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw confirmed that Lotfi Raissi, a British resident, is eligible for a payout following a lengthy legal battle. The exact amount would be specified by an independent assessor.

Raissi, 36, was arrested at his home near London's Heathrow airport 10 days after the attacks on September 11, 2001, following an extradition request from the US which claimed that had attended flight training with one of the hijackers.

He spent five months in prison before being granted bail and was cleared in the spring of 2002 of any involvement in the plot.

Raissi started his compensation battle in 2004 and, in 2008, the Appeal Court ruled that he had been the "victim of a heightened emotional atmosphere" in 2001 and ordered compensation.

"It was hell for me and for the last nine years," Raissi told reporters after the announcement Friday. "My life was destroyed, my career was destroyed. I can't even find the words. I'm completely exonerated now by the Minister of Justice and I'm delighted."

He told the BBC that his battle to clear his name was "not a question about the compensation. I was fighting for justice and what I want at the end of it is an apology."

Iranian Foreign Minister to meet IAEA chief Sunday

Vienna - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was set to meet International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano over the weekend, the IAEA said Friday, amid Iran's efforts to lobby against new UN sanctions.

Austria is currently a member of the UN Security Council in New York, where new punitive measures are being discussed to pressure Iran into halting its controversial nuclear program.

Mottaki will meet Amano on Sunday, IAEA spokeswoman Gill Tudor confirmed.

Diplomats in Vienna said the Iranian minister secured the encounter with the nuclear agency chief on short notice, after having asked for a meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday was traveling to Uganda, another current Security Council member.

The United States and other Western countries on the council are pushing for additional sanctions, as Iran has not fully cooperated with the IAEA in recent months and has started to enrich uranium to higher levels than before.

The IAEA has been asking Iran for years to answer questions about possible nuclear weapons research, but Tehran's leaders have refused to do so and argue that the nuclear program is geared only towards energy and science.

Last autumn, the Vienna-based nuclear agency tried to broker a deal with Iran, the US, Russia and France to process Iran's enriched uranium into reactor fuel abroad, rather than in the country. So far, Tehran has not accepted the deal.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320296,iranian-foreign-minister-to-meet-iaeachief-sunday.html.

Germany advises travelers to avoid Bangkok

Berlin- Germany on Friday advised travelers to avoid visits to the Thai capital, Bangkok, unless they were absolutely necessary.

The advisory on the Foreign Ministry website for travelers said further violence in the capital was possible, but added that the tourist areas of Phuket and the south of Thailand remained safe and that transit via Bangkok international airport posed no risks.

"Considering the continuing political protests and the resultant confused security situation, the advice at the moment is to not visit Bangkok unless it is absolutely necessary," the website said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320297,germany-advises-travellers-to-avoid-bangkok.html.

Yemen rebel group asks government to free 1,000 detained members

Sana'a, Yemen - A Shiite rebel group that fought the national army in northern Yemen for more than five years called upon the government Friday to free around 1,000 members of the group captured during the conflict that ended in February.

Yemen's government and the rebels, called Houthis after the family of their leaders, reached a peace agreement on February 11, ending fighting that has raged on and off since mid-2004.

"There are around 1,000 men still being detained by authorities," the rebel group's spokesman Muhammed Abdul-Salam said in a telephone interview.

"We urge the government to respect the ceasefire agreement and free all the detainees," Abdul-Salam said.

He said the group has released "all the military men" captured by its members during the last wave of fighting, which began last August in Saada province, along the border with Saudi Arabia.

On March 16, the group released 178 captured government soldiers.

Houthis claim discrimination by the majority Sunni population in Yemen, while Yemeni authorities accuse them of trying to reinstall Shiite religious rule, which was overthrown in 1962.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320300,yemen-rebel-group-asks-government-to-free-1000-detained-members.html.

Kosovo cuts off Serbian mobile phone providers, Belgrade protests

Pristina, Kosovo/Belgrade - Kosovan authorities said Friday that they have shut down unlicensed Serbian mobile phone installations in their country.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in a statement that it "has taken action preventing unauthorized illegal activity of non-licensed operators, who have extended their network within the territory of Kosovo."

Serbian mobile phone operators had continued extending their services in northern and central Kosovo via installations set up before the 1999 war, which ended with NATO ousting Serbian security forces from the country to stop ethnic bloodshed.

The mainly Albanian Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

The shutdown affected users of Serbian mobile providers in central Kosovo, Belgrade media reported.

The Serbian government condemned the measure as a "new attempt at isolating Serbs" who remain in Kosovo.

Though the United States and the majority of European Union nations recognize Kosovo, Belgrade continues refusing to even acknowledge it. Serbia insists that Kosovo is its territory and has made it a policy not to communicate with Pristina over any issue.

Serbia also encourages Serbs in their enclaves, especially in the northern part of Kosovo, to resist the central Pristina authorities.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320303,kosovo-cuts-off-serbian-mobile-phone-providers-belgrade-protests.html.

Iran's president in Uganda to discuss oil, nuclear program

Kampala (Earth Times) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Uganda Friday night with plans to discuss his country's nuclear program with the Ugandan government.

Other talking points for the visit include energy development following recent discoveries of vast oil reserves in the East African country, officials told the German Press Agency dpa.

Ahmadinejad, who flew from Zimbabwe, where he held talks with President Robert Mugabe, is believed to be seeking support against UN sanctions for his country's nuclear program and an easing of international isolation.

Uganda, which holds a rotating seat on the UN Security Council, has not announced its stance on any possible additional sanctions, said James Mugume, the permanent secretary of the Ugandan Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will host Ahmadinejad at a state banquet and hold bilateral talks with Ahmadinejad during the two-day visit. Trade and development talks focusing on agriculture, gas and the education sector will also be on the agenda, Mugume told dpa.

Uganda is short of energy supplies and Iran's involvement in that area is crucial, he said.

Vast oil reserves have been discovered in recent years in the western and north-western regions of Uganda. Viable wells so far discovered are believed to hold about 2 billion barrels. Iran has already discussed plans with Kampala to build a large oil refinery in the country.