Thai protesters block train service

In Thailand, anti-government protesters have temporarily shut down Bangkok's Skytrain service, amid fears of a crackdown by security forces.

The Red Shirt protesters piled tires on a station platform to stop a possible surprise break-out by troops.

The train services were resumed several hours later. The protesters have also set up road blocks to stop army and police reinforcements.

On Tuesday all were confused. Some Thai officials were threatening the opposition with tough action as the Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was talking about a political solution to the crisis.

Meanwhile, the protest leaders say they will sue the government for accusing them of attempting to overthrow the monarchy.

Some analysts see the charges as an attempt to build public support for a harsh crackdown.

The Red Shirts are mainly supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and was later sentenced to two years in jail for alleged corruption.

Thaksin now lives in exile to avoid prison. Nevertheless, the former prime minister remains popular among the rural poor.

Ongoing violence has left 26 people dead and hundreds of others injured over the past month. But the Red Shirt opposition refuses to end its campaign against the government.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124607§ionid=351020406.

French farmers protest in Paris

Thousands of grain farmers from across France have marched in the capital city of Paris to protest against major price falls in their products.

The protesters, backed up by more than 1,000 tractors, also said on Tuesday that they were discontent with sharp falls in income.

They called for state and EU help after their income more than halved last year due to falling prices.

The angry farmers demanded emergency aid measures. They also warned that France will fall behind Germany and Belgium, which have taken steps to revive the sector's competitiveness.

Last year, average wheat prices fell 25 percent and income for grain, oilseed and protein crop farmers slumped 51 percent, the Farm Ministry reported.

The tractor rally was another sign for low approval ratings of President Nicolas Sarkozy. The latest opinion poll showed that only 31 percent of respondents are satisfied with the president's job.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124606§ionid=351020603.

Lebanon ready to repel Israeli raid

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman says his country is fully prepared to repel any Israeli invasion against the territory amid mounting threats from the regime.

During an official visit to Brazil, Suleiman said that Lebanon is not interested in war with Israel but the regime's mounting threats made the country to prepare for any invasion, Lebanese media reported Tuesday.

He rejected Israel's allegations that Hezbollah had obtained Scud missiles from Syria, saying the regime raised the issue to undermine the issue of stalled peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Lebanon's army commander Jean Kahwaji also denied the allegations earlier this week, saying it's not possible to carry scud missiles across the Lebanese without being detected.

Hezbollah had rebuffed the allegations and insisted that the movement's weaponry is none of Tel Aviv's business.

After a unity government that included Hezbollah was formed in the country, Lebanon's cabinet adopted a policy statement granting the movement the right to keep its arms.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124603§ionid=351020203.

Nuclear power plant in southern China begins construction

The Hainan Changjiang Nuclear Power Plant in the southern end of China began construction April 25. It is an eco-friendly energy construction project with the largest investment and most advanced technology in the history of Hainan province.

The Changjiang Nuclear Power Plant is located in the Tangxing Village of Haiwei Township, Changjiang County in Hainan province and can accommodate four large-scale nuclear power units. The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and China Huaneng Group (CHG) will jointly invest nearly 19 billion yuan for its construction. The project will construct two nuclear power units with the first one estimated to begin operations at the end of 2014.

According to Sun Qin, general manager of CNNC, the project will adopt reliable and safe second-generation nuclear power technology. The single unit capacity is 650,000 kilowatts and is quite suitable for the demand of the electricity grid in Hainan.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6964894.html.

Giant pandas get new home in east China

Three giant pandas will make their debut at their new home in east China's Anhui Province Wednesday, the local research center said Tuesday.

The "Eco-Eden," the pandas' new home in Wannan National Wild Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Xiuning County will open to the public on April 28.

Hualong, Jinxin and Xidou are from Bifengxia giant panda base in Ya'an City, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

They need to get familiar with Mandarin as they only understand the Sichuan dialect at the moment, said Luo Yan, the breeder of the three pandas.

"They are a little shy right now but will become more lively when they get used to the climate, surroundings and the bamboo here," Luo said.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6965256.html.

A flotilla to break Israel's illegal blockade on Gaza

Arafat Shoukri: “Conditions are ripe to make this flotilla the ‘tipping point’“
Silvia Cattori

April 26, 2010

A coalition bringing together a number of organizations is preparing to send in May 2010 a relief flotilla of more than ten ships and cargo-boats to Gaza. Dr. Arafat Shoukri, president of the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza (ECESG) will participate in this spectacular convoy with his Campaign, which is an NGO. He has spared no effort for three years to lead delegations of European parliamentarians to allow them to see on the ground the untenable situation in Gaza and to encourage them to call on the Member States of the European Union to exert pressure on Israel with a view to ending its suffocation of the people of Gaza. Dr. Arafat Shoukri responds here to the questions of Silvia Cattori.

Silvia Cattori: When was the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza created and what is its mission?

Arafat Shoukri: The European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza was launched in late 2007 to mobilize the greater European community in opposition to the siege on Gaza. Even then, more than three years ago, the siege was strangling the productivity and culture of the people, and it has only gotten worse since then with the 2008/2009 Israeli attack. It is our mission to work through the 30 NGOs that make up our coalition, as well as individual supporters, to break the siege by lobbying European lawmakers, educating the media and delivering humanitarian aid.

Silvia Cattori: On April 4, 2010, people around the world who are concerned about the siege which asphyxiates Gaza learned with relief that after months of preparation your NGO, the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza, will sail soon as part of a new campaign to try to force the passage. Why did you make your statement from Istanbul?

Arafat Shoukri: We chose Istanbul as the venue for the announcement of our latest – and largest – break-the-siege flotilla, both because it is the home of one of our major partners, IHH (Insani Yardim Vakfi) – which brought one of the last convoys into Gaza (December 2009), and because Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayeb Erdogan, has so courageously spoken out against the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Despite Turkey’s close relationship with Israel – even conducting joint military exercises in the past – it has bravely and without apology called the attack on Gaza the war crime that it was. The West could learn from Turkey’s example.

Silvia Cattori: This is not the first ECESG participation. Didn’t you already support the boats sent by Free Gaza in 2008? What’s new that this convoy will bring to Gaza?

Arafat Shoukri: Yes, the campaign participated in two previous flotillas. However, this will be the largest yet, and one of the co-sponsors, as we just discussed, is an influential organization from an Israeli ally. We also hope to have on board a number of notables, including MPs and MEPs. In light of that, and the recent criticism of Israel for its aggressive behavior – both in Gaza and in the West Bank, where it is rapidly expanding its settlements – I believe this flotilla is poised to be a real battering ram against the wall of Israel’s blockade.

Silvia Cattori: War crimes committed by Israel during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza have been a shock to many people. It seems to me that, since then, there has been a growing synergy in Western countries between two circles that had previously not worked much together: on the one hand, European citizens who support the Palestinian cause; and on the other, Arab and Muslim immigrants having European citizenship. Can you confirm this analysis? If yes, do you not think that this is a milestone in the movement to support the Palestinians’ struggle for their rights?

Arafat Shoukri: Yes, absolutely. Attacking Gaza at all, but particularly as viciously as it did, was a big mistake, in more ways than one. Groups and individuals who did not see Israel for the oppressor it is, and who were thus not engaged in the anti-apartheid movement, are now fully on board. It also has brought together disparate groups that had not united before. It could very well prove to be Israel’s ultimate undoing.

Silvia Cattori: Can you give us the names of some personalities who will participate in this bold odyssey in May?

Arafat Shoukri: Regarding the personalities who will be joining us we prefer to wait for the time being and will announce their names later.

Silvia Cattori: Everyone knows that Israel is at war against Gaza and that its plan is to liquidate Hamas and then to bury the Palestinian cause. Your project can be something very disturbing for this regime that strangles Gaza and tolerates no opposition. Mossad agents have probably already infiltrated this project to try to destabilize it, and propaganda agencies of the Israeli army are probably preparing to counter you. Since the announcement of this project, have you already noticed acts of sabotage?

Arafat Shoukri: We have not seen acts of sabotage yet, but our partners have certainly been subjected to threats and accusations from various individuals within the Israeli government and affiliated right-wing movements. And I am sure it will only get worse. But we will not change our plans.

Silvia Cattori: So far nothing, neither the firm condemnations of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, nor the requests of Barak Obama, have succeeded in forcing Israel to lift the siege. Do you really think that this flotilla, as imposing as it is, will have a chance to succeed where the great powers have failed? And will it finally succeed in putting in focus the intolerable reality imposed by Israel on Palestinians?

Arafat Shoukri: As I said before, one action or event will likely not be enough to force Israel to realize that the siege is unsustainable. But conditions are ripe to make this flotilla the "tipping point." With each flotilla we sponsor, it becomes more and more impossible for Israel to pretend it is legitimate in its oppression of the Palestinians in Gaza.

Silvia Cattori: During his recent visit to France, Mr. Recep Tayeb Erdogan gave a great lesson in humanity to the alleged "humanitarian" French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in denouncing the crimes of the Israeli State. He helped break the shameful silence of Western democracies by saying that Israel - not Iran - is the biggest threat in the Middle East. This new attitude of Turkey is without doubt a major shift in the geopolitical balance in the region. Does it have an impact on the organization of your project? Do you think it can help to place other States in front of their responsibilities?

Arafat Shoukri: Turkey, which straddles both the Middle East and Europe, has been Israel’s only Muslim ally – which means the relationship gave Israel a modicum of seeming credibility. However, as Recep Tayeb Erdogan is increasingly critical of Israeli policy and practice, that relationship is crumbling. And yes, it is very significant. The Turkish government’s refusal to back down or retract, along with the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (Insani Yardim Vakfi - IHH) participation in the flotilla, could very well give "cover" for some other states in the region to follow suit.

Silvia Cattori: How do you judge the benevolent attitude of Egypt, and also Jordan with regard to Israel? Is it not intolerable that they participate, through their support to the occupier, in crushing the Palestinian people?

Arafat Shoukri: These countries are both major recipients of Western, particularly U.S., aid. Yes, we would like to see more tangible support for Palestinians from the Arab world, but we also have to acknowledge the power of the U.S. and Europe. Until we stop requiring the privileging of Israel, their "satellite" countries will feel constrained from acting as they should.

Silvia Cattori: Your NGO has made sustained efforts to get parliamentarians to react and to break the silence surrounding the situation in Gaza. Did these parliamentarians encounter difficulties in entering Gaza via Egypt or through Israel?

Arafat Shoukri: Entering through Israel has not been allowed due to the ECESG’s strong, outspoken stance against Israel’s apartheid policies and practices. As for Egypt, we have encountered some difficulties, but ultimately we have always been allowed into Gaza, and have been granted meetings with top governmental officials as well.

Silvia Cattori: Did the delegations which have visited Gaza agree to meet with Hamas authorities?

Arafat Shoukri: Yes, ECESG delegations have met with Hamas representatives during our visits to Gaza. Regardless of how much we agree or disagree with them, Hamas is the elected government, and that must be recognized and respected. The other thing is that Hamas is a power on the ground and whether we like it or not, no peace is possible for the region until they are at the negotiating table as well. However, we also meet with civil society representatives.

Silvia Cattori: Baroness Jenny Tonge - we met last year after her visit to Gaza - never got tired of denouncing the complicity of our Western States, and reminding that there is a generation of children who are undergoing irreparable damage. Yet despite her efforts nothing happens; the diplomacy of the European Union does virtually nothing to end the siege of Gaza. Is it not incredible?

Arafat Shoukri: Yes, it is very hard to try to explain to Palestinians, especially those living in Gaza, why it is taking so long to end the siege and why the international community has allowed Israel to so consistently break international law. The power of the blindly pro-Israel lobby is very strong in both the United States and Europe, and especially in countries like Germany, where the guilt over the crimes committed against Jews during World War II still lingers and makes them afraid to speak out against Israel. But our movement is growing stronger as Israel spins more out of control, and we will prevail in the end, I have no doubt.

Silvia Cattori: It must be admitted that the Palestinians were unfortunately badly served by the very people who in the solidarity movement in the West claimed to support them. Is it not your mission to restore some truths? Should we not stop to protect the gains achieved by the Israeli theft of Palestinian land since 1948? Should we not stop arguing about the fundamental rights of Palestinians? Should we not cease to associate with those Palestinians who, since their compromise in the Oslo Accords in 1993, are helping Israel to liquidate the resistance movements against the occupier?

Arafat Shoukri: Yes, it is high time to stop arguing, as if we don’t know what a true, just peace requires. We’ve known the necessary parameters for a long time, and there have been some Palestinian leaders who have not acted in the best interests of their people. But at the same time, we will always be willing to talk to organizations, especially influential ones, who say they are interested in dialogue. Although it is often fruitless, we must stay open to the possibility of change.

Silvia Cattori: The Palestinian civil society, that launched, since 2005, the boycott campaign against Israel (Palestinian campaign for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel - PACBI) requests not to accept in solidarity projects individuals and organizations that have positions contrary to human rights of Palestinians, which seems to be the least of things to do. Any action or solidarity project which does not affirm its adherence to these principles is not credible. Do you require any person or association involved in your projects to be in favour of the fundamental rights of Palestinians? Has your NGO taken a clear position on these questions?

Arafat Shoukri: The ECESG is very much in favor of BDS and anyone who works with or for us must share in that support for this form of non-violent resistance.

Silvia Cattori: In Jerusalem, Israel is engaged in new "faits" accomplish. What are Muslims worldwide doing to protest against Netanyahu’s statements that Jerusalem is not a colony, but the eternal capital of the State of Israel?

Arafat Shoukri: Muslims must continually improve their ability to unite with each other, despite their other differences, and forcefully – but non-violently – protest against the further colonization of Jerusalem by Jewish settlers. But even more important is the need to reach out to other races and faiths and encourage them to join us. Our movement must be a "big tent."

Silvia Cattori: Israel has applied to be admitted into the club of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations. The Palestinian Boycott National Committee (BDS) has called on OECD to freeze this application, arguing that Israel is ineligible for membership as long as it behaves as a rogue state. If Israel is accepted that will be another defeat for justice and a new proof that our democracies act like lawless States. Have you expressed your opposition to this Israeli application?

Arafat Shoukri: The ECESG is lobbying very hard against the acceptance of Israel by the OECD [10], and has both issued a news release and distributed a "dear colleague" letter to affiliated MPs and MEPs, encouraging them to contact their country representatives, urging them to vote "no."

Silvia Cattori: Thank you very much.

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://uruknet.info/index.php?p=65425.

Will cheetahs roam in in Indian jungles again?

M.G. Srinath

New Delhi – After a gap of 60 years, cheetahs may make a comeback in Indian jungles with three potential African nations giving a nod to the idea of trans-locating the animal in this country.

After a week-end visit to Cape Town to take part in a climate change meeting, India's Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh says the African cheetah could be brought to India within the next three years.

“We have zeroed in on South Africa, Namibia and Kenya and we are talking to all of them…So I took this opportunity to visit the Cheetah Outreach near Cape Town,” says Ramesh said.

“The South Africans have the best technical expertise,” he added.

“South Africa is willing to give cheetahs to India,” Ramesh said. “Now, we have the option of getting the animals from South Africa, Kenya and Namibia,” he added.

The cheetah is the only large mammal to become extinct in India in the last millennium, according to Ramesh, who is on a mission to reintroduce the animal in central India — even though the tiger lobby in India is skeptical about the idea.

“They say 'if you can't look after the tiger, how will you protect the cheetah?',” Ramesh said. “I believe that just as the tiger is a symbol of the forest habitat, the cheetah symbolizes our vanishing grasslands…It's a valuable icon.”

The Wildlife Institute of India is spearheading the project, and will unveil a road map and destination for the African cheetahs — possible options are in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

The minister said that by May this year the ministry will have a detailed survey on feasibility of re-introduction of cheetahs in the country.

The survey, that will form the basis for the roadmap, is being carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), located in Dehra Dun city, in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the state governments concerned, reports in the Indian media said.

"The survey is being conducted in six locations - three in Madhya Pradesh, two in Rajasthan and one in Gujarat," Ramesh has been quoted as saying.

The environment ministry last year gave the go-ahead to draft a detailed roadmap for the Cheetah Re-introduction Project, proposed by the WTI, and endorsed by wildlife experts.

On the sidelines of the just-concluded climate change meet in Cape Town, India and South Africa — the two countries on Monday released a joint statement, pledging support to tackle climate change as part of the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) group — also discussed re-introduction of cheetahs in this country.

After a meeting between Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and his South African counterpart Buyelwa Sonjica, the latter has consented to part with cheetahs, extinct in Indian forests, for the re-introduction program, reports in the Indian media said.

The western Indian state of Gujarat, the home to the Asiatic lions, has also says it is keen on reintroducing Asiatic-type cheetahs from Iran in its jungles..

S.K. Nanda, Principal Secretary, Forests and Environment of the Gujarat state government, has been quoted by the Hindu newspaper last week as saying that that Iran was the only country where the Asiatic cheetahs were still found.

But the problem is that the numbers in Iran too had dwindled to less than a hundred.

It was highly unlikely that Iran would agree to part with the animals, but “we are still making efforts to save the animals from becoming extinct,” according to Nanda.

Pradeep Khanna, Gujarat state Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, said the state had managed to get two pairs of African cheetahs and kept them in the Sakkarbagh zoo in Junagadh district for breeding in captivity. But “it is a very shy species, so far showing no signs of breeding.”

He did not indicate when the local government got the animals and from which nation in Africa.

The last cheetah in the wild was said to have been shot in the Reva area of Madhya Pradesh state in the 1940s.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320737,will-cheetahs-roam-in-in-indian-jungles-again.html.

Medvedev: Russia prepared to consider joining missile shield

Copenhagen - Russia is prepared to consider to take part in an international missile defense shield, President Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with Danish television ahead of a state visit Tuesday to the Scandinavian country.

"If it is a serious proposal, we can," Medvedev said in the interview aired Monday evening on Danish public broadcaster DR. The Russian leader is expected in Denmark later Tuesday after a two-day state visit to Norway.

"We have long advocated that a system of global security or missile defense should protect not only one country or group of countries, but rather be in the interests of all responsible members of the international community," he added.

Last week, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen suggested that the defense alliance and Russia should cooperate on creating a missile defense shield that would cover Europe and Russia.

Medvedev said that a missile defense shield could disturb "the existing balance between the major nuclear powers, especially between Russia and the United States."

"But if this system has a global dimension, if it is designed to mitigate threats from countries ... who violate international law in some way, who are independently developing, for example, nuclear weapons programs, or otherwise not complying with principles required for amicable international interaction, those which are currently accepted worldwide, then in this case, of course such a system of protection could be established," he said.

Rasmussen told DR that Medvedev's remarks "could open a new era in the defense cooperation between NATO, the US Russia."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320746,medvedev-russia-prepared-to-consider-joining-missile-shield.html.

Malaysia scraps plan to introduce sex education in schools

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia said Tuesday it has scrapped plans to introduce comprehensive sex education classes in schools as part of efforts to reduce a increasing numbers of unwanted teenage pregnancies.

The government had mooted the proposal last year following police records showing that at least 100 babies are abandoned each year in Malaysia. Other statistics show that every 10 days, an abandoned baby is found in the capital Kuala Lumpur alone.

The sex education proposal won praise from some parents, but most teachers were reportedly uncomfortable with the idea, saying they were already overworked and not qualified to teach the subject.

Deputy Education Minister Puad Zarkashi told Parliament on Tuesday that the government had decided not to teach sex education as a separate class, but said it would be included in existing subjects like language classes, biology, science and religious education.

He said the government would hold training sessions for teachers to conduct lessons involving sexual reproduction, adding that parents needed to play a bigger role in teaching their children.

"Parents' openness in discussing matters related to sex with their children and support from other parties could indirectly enhance the effectiveness of the curriculum in schools," Puad was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320765,malaysia-scraps-plan-to-introduce-sex-education-in-schools.html.

Protests in Ukraine as parliament approves Russia treaty - Update

Kiev - Thousands of Ukrainians demonstrated in the capital Kiev on Tuesday as parliament approved a controversial treaty extending a naval port lease to the Kremlin.

Ukraine's parliament ratified the treaty with 236 deputies out of the 450-seat house voting in favor.

Parliament speaker Volodymyr Litvyn sat beneath an umbrella pelted by hurled eggs and smoke bombs, as he called for a ratification vote on a recent agreement between Kiev and Moscow allowing the continued basing of Russian warships and land forces in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.

The treaty extends Moscow's lease on a military wharf and shore installations in the Crimean port of Sevastopol until 2042. Russia has rented the facilities from Kiev since Ukraine's 1991 independence.

Chaos followed the vote in the parliament chamber, with pro-treaty parliamentarians using jackets and handkerchiefs to breathe through thick smoke, and physically preventing firemen from entering the chamber. At least five smoke bombs were set off in the room, Channel 5 television reported.

A brawl involving more than a dozen pro- and anti-treaty parliamentarians broke out on live television, as some attempted to remove a giant Ukrainian flag preventing them from reaching their seats, while others resisted.

A clash between police and anti-treaty demonstrators also erupted outside on a street adjacent to the parliament building, after a group of anti-riot officers attempted to arrest a protester on a public disturbance charge.

A crowd of some 50 to 60 marchers confronted the law enforcers in a shoving match during which a few punches were thrown. The demonstrators eventually secured the detainee's release after police retreated.

Bystanders chanted "Down with the government!" and "It's us against the police!" during the incident.

Police cordons later blocked an attempt by anti-treaty demonstrators to force their way into the parliament building.

More than 10,000 demonstrators had gathered in the vicinity of the parliament building by midday, both for and against the agreement.

Banners carried by anti-treaty marchers read, in part, "We will not allow war to be brought to Crimea," and "Down with traitor parliamentarians!"

Pro-treaty banners, meanwhile, proclaimed, in part, "Russia and Ukraine are strategic partners!" and "We support President Yanukovych!"

Police presence in the Kiev city center was heavy and increasing by midday. There were no reports of violence between the two competing demonstrations.

Dozens of parliamentarians loyal to President Viktor Yanukovych spent the night inside the legislature, according to organizers, so as to prevent anti-treaty parliamentarians from sabotaging electronic voting equipment in the chamber.

Destruction of electronic voting equipment, and sabotage of roll- call votes by use of sirens or physically prevention of the parliament speaker's call for a vote, are tactics used by both sides in Ukraine's often-raucous legislature.

Yanukovych, a pro-Russia politician, last week signed the treaty allowing Russia's Black Sea Fleet to remain based in Sevastpol with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in the east Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, in remarks to reporters shortly after his arrival in Kiev late Monday evening, said he was "surprised" by some Ukrainians' outspoken opposition to the naval treaty.

Moscow will cut the price of natural gas sold to Ukraine by some 3 billion dollars a year and bring major investment into Ukrainian industry if the Black Sea Fleet treaty is approved, Putin said. He was in Ukraine on a two-day working visit devoted to security and energy issues.

"Russia is ready for major cooperation with Ukraine," he said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320768,protests-in-ukraine-as-parliament-approves-russia-treaty--update.html.

Somali pirates flee with British hostages

Tuesday 27 April 2010
Paul and Rachel Chandler's seven-month ordeal continues as captors take them on the run after Islamic militants close in

Matthew Weaver and agencies

The Somali pirate gang who have been holding a British couple hostage since October fled with their captives yesterday after militants linked to al-Qaida took over their territory.

Paul and Rachel Chandler, who are both in their 50s, were bundled into a car yesterday when al-Shabaab insurgents moved into the pirate stronghold of Harardhere in the coastal region of north Somalia.

The Islamic group usually operates in southern and central Somalia but has shifted north in a possible attempt to crack down on piracy. If al-Shabaab militants take control of the pirate strongholds, the 300-plus foreign hostages could be in even greater danger.

Maslah Yare, who leads the pirate gang that is holding the Chandlers, said the group fled into a forest to escape the militants after they moved into the town.

"Al-Shabaab militants are chasing us," Yare told The Associated Press.

The Chandlers were kidnapped in October while on a yachting holiday. The pirates seized their 38ft yacht in the Indian Ocean as they sailed toward Tanzania.

Yare claimed that al-Shabaab has offered to pay £1.2m for the Chandlers but that his group is demanding £1.6m.

He said that pirates would abandon the Chandlers if the militants close in on them "because our lives are more important to us than holding on to them".

Ahmed Salad, a local businessman, said an advance team of al-Shabaab militants entered the pirates' territory in two vehicles on Sunday night after they forced out moderate Islamists from nearby villages. He said the militants later withdrew.

Another resident of Harardhere said the pirates had started to withdraw from the town to another pirate enclave called Hobyo.

"The town is nearly empty after the pirates have left it," said businessman Yusuf Arush. "It is calm but tense."

Drugs, alcohol and prostitution have thrived in Harardhere since it became a pirate stronghold. Such activities are opposed by al-Shabaab, an ultra-conservative Islamist militia that carries out lashings, stonings and amputations as punishment.

At present Somali pirates hold 15 vessels and more than 300 hostages.

Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security, said she will visit Africa next month to press for more help in prosecuting pirates arrested by European warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden.

Source: Guardian.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/27/somali-pirates-flee-british-hostages.

Kenya seeks end to visa row after Dubai royals expelled

Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Kenya's foreign minister has gone to Dubai to defuse a row after members of the Gulf state's royal family were deported as terror suspects.

The four royals were on holiday in the Kenyan resort of Mombasa over Easter, when immigration officers interrogated them for hours and expelled them.

The United Arab Emirates responded by tightening visa requirements - and only accepts Kenyan university graduates.

The ban has hit many traders, who usually buy their goods from Dubai.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula is leading a delegation of officials in the UAE, seeking to get the ban overturned.

Last week, deputy foreign minister Richard Onyonka apologised on the BBC's Swahili service for the "stupid mistake" of the officials.

Kenya's Standard newspaper reports that some 37,000 Kenyans live in the UAE, mostly Dubai.

Source: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8646155.stm.

India arrests diplomat for 'spying for Pakistan'

India has arrested a diplomat working in its Islamabad embassy on charges of spying for Pakistan.

Madhuri Gupta, 53, is a second secretary in the embassy and works in the press and information section. She was arrested on a work trip to Delhi.

Officials say she is suspected of handing over classified documents to Pakistan's ISI intelligence service.

An investigation has begun and Ms Gupta is co-operating, a spokesman for the ministry of external affairs said.

Source: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8646695.stm.

Israel 'cuts Arms Sales To Turkey'

Israel will impose a temporary freeze on the sale of advanced weapons systems to Turkey, once a key ally, because of blistering criticism of the Jewish state by Turkey's Islamist Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Jane's Defense Weekly reports.

The latest outburst from Erdogan, who has been moving closer to Iran, came April 7 in Paris when he branded the Jewish state "the principal threat to regional peace" in the Middle East.

Meantime, the Israeli air force, blocked from Turkish air space and bracing for possible long-range attacks on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, is scouting for new training skies in Europe and Asia.

India has close military ties with Israel and that is being mooted as one option for the Israeli air force.

Jane's reported that the arms exporting arm of the Israeli Defense Ministry has ruled it will evaluate Turkish requests for Israeli-made weapons and equipment on a case-by-case basis.

One issue under review by the ministry's Foreign Defense Assistance and Export Organization, known by its Hebrew acronym, SIBAT, is a Turkish request for Israeli electronic warfare systems, the London magazine reported.

Turkey's military has also shown interest in the Spike anti-tank missile manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the Barak-8 naval air-defense missile produced by state-run Israel Aerospace Industry.

Relations between Israel and Turkey have been steadily deteriorating since the Israeli military invaded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Dec. 27, 2008, ostensibly to stifle rocket attacks, and fought a 22-day war before withdrawing Jan. 18, 2009, in the face of international condemnation.

Some 1,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed in the all-arms onslaught. Israeli casualties were 13 killed, nine of them soldiers.

That effectively ended a landmark 1996 military cooperation agreement, which covered a wide range of intelligence-sharing, between Israel and Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim nation and NATO's only Muslim member.

Israel's defense industry benefited from big-ticket sales to Turkey over the years.

Relations soured even further over delays by Israel in delivering six Heron unmanned aerial vehicles ordered by Turkey under a 2005 contract for 10 of the surveillance drones. IAI, Israeli defense manufacturer Elbit and Turkish Aerospace Industries were partners in the $183 million deal.

Jane's Defense Weekly reported that despite the nosedive in diplomatic relations, Israel and Turkey have maintained "a cautious business relationship" and discussed the joint sale of upgraded U.S.-built M-60 main battle tanks to Colombia.

Israel Military Industries and Arselan of Turkey delivered the last of 170 upgraded General Dynamics M-60A1 tanks to Turkey's army on April 7. Jane's Defense Weekly said a senior Colombian general attended the handover ceremony.

Erdogan's government excluded Israel from routine NATO air exercises last October in Turkey in reprisal for the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip the previous winter. It later banned Israeli aircraft from deploying in Turkey, where the Israeli air force, constrained by the Jewish state's small size, regularly conducted exercises in Turkey's extensive air space and varied terrain.

This lack of air space apparently has hampered air force training for possible long-range airstrikes against Iran, whose alleged nuclear arms program is viewed by Israel as an existential threat.

In recent years, the air force has intensified its long-range training schedule, presumably because of the growing threat from Iran.

The most prominent of these operations was a May 2008 exercise in which some 100 Israeli warplanes, including aerial tankers and command aircraft, flew the length of the Mediterranean from Greece to Gibraltar in what was widely seen as a dress rehearsal for an assault on Iran.

"We're looking for new places where we can fly," a senior air force officer told The Jerusalem Post.

"As a result," the newspaper reported, "the Defense Ministry is looking to continue an agreement it signed in 2006 that allows fighter jets to deploy in Romania.

"The (Israeli air force) sent jets to Romania for training in 2007 and plans to deploy aircraft there again later this year."

Two Israeli air force Gulfstream G-500 Shavit electronic intelligence aircraft were spotted over Hungary in March in what may have been an Israeli air exercise in Europe. The appearance of the aircraft caused a political controversy and the head of the air traffic department at Hungary's Transportation Ministry was subsequently dismissed.

Source: OfficialWire.
Link: http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=135477&catid=855.

MPs Say Ready for 'Broad Discussions on Circassian Genocide'

A group of Georgian lawmakers announced on April 26 about the readiness to launch "broad discussions on cases of the massacres and deportations of Circassians" by the Tsarist Russia in the North Caucasus in second half of 19th century.

The announcement by the Georgian parliamentary group of friendship with the peoples of North Caucasus comes a month after Tbilisi hosted a conference, Hidden Nations, Enduring Crimes: The Circassians & the Peoples of the North Caucasus Between Past and Future. The conference was organized by Washington-based Jamestown Foundation and Tbilisi-based Ilia State University’s International School for Caucasus Studies with the participants including, among others, representatives of Circassian diaspora.

At the end of the conference, on March 21, participants made an appeal to the Georgian Parliament requesting to recognize deportations and massacre of Circassians more than a century ago as a genocide.

"You know that the international conference was held in Tbilisi in March with consequent appeal to the Georgian Parliament... We think that the first stage of these discussions should be an active consultation with our and foreign academic circles, political experts," a ruling party lawmaker, Nugzar Tsiklauri, who is a member of the parliamentary group of friendship with the North Caucasian people, said on April 26.

"We deem it necessary to further broaden scope of discussions on the matter both within and outside Georgia," he added.

The appeal also request the Georgian Parliament to declare May 21, "which marks the Russian celebration of the occupation of the North West Caucasus in 1864, as a memorial day of the victims of the Circassian genocide, and to recognize Sochi as the location and symbol of Circassian genocide and ethnic cleansing."

In mid-April, an anonymous YouTube user posted on its account, launched just a day earlier, several audio files of what is claimed to be recorded phone conversations between senior Georgian officials and diplomats, suggesting that Tbilisi is building contacts with representatives of North Caucasian communities living outside Russia. Recordings are allegedly made in mid-December, 2009.

In one of the audio files (several of them are of poor quality and inaudible), which is described as "a conversation between Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili and Georgia's ambassador to the United States Batu Kutelia", the man's voice which is very much similar to the one of Merabishvili tells interlocutor that there was a misunderstanding and no meeting of the Georgian President with an Ingush man, identified with a first name - Ibragim, was planned.

"Yes we meet with North Caucasians time after time, but not the President... We are summoning them separately and talking with them... Givi [apparently referring to a senior ruling party lawmaker Givi Targamadze] and [Gia] Tortladze [a lawmaker from parliamentary minority] usually meet them and I also meet them sometimes."

In another audio file, a man, porportadly MP Givi Targamadze, alledgeldy speaks with Georgia's ambassador to Egypt and Syria, Gocha Japaridze and tells him "to find as many as possible North Caucasian organizations - Circassian, Ingush, Chechen etc." in Egypt and Syria.

"To put it directly, in our Parliament we are intending to recognize their genocide... So now we are intensively engaged in searching for these people everywhere, including in Turkey, Jordan; I have already spoken with ambassadors there... Now I'm with Vano, together discussing this matter," the man with voice very much similar to the one of MP Givi Targamadze tells the interlocutor.

On April 23, a day before the 95th anniversary of the start of the massacre of Armenians in Ottoman Empire was marked, a group of Armenian community in Tbilisi made a formal appeal to the Georgian Parliament - one of many other similar appeals made in previous years - requesting to recognize mass killings of Armenians century ago as a genocide. There has been no formal response by the Georgian Parliament to those appeals.

Source: Civil Georgia.
Link: http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=22231.

'Iran to mass produce naval missiles'

All missiles tested in Iran's recent naval drill have been built domestically and will be soon mass-produced, the country's defense minister says.

Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said Monday that the main objective of the military exercise by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz was to test coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea cruise missiles, drones and electronic warfare systems.

Speaking on the sidelines of the last round of the 'Great Prophet V' maneuvers, the minister told Fars News Agency that smart weapons fired in the drills simultaneously and successfully hit their targets by using laser technology.

General Vahidi said the missiles — Nasr, Nour, Saeqeh, Fajr III and Fajr V missiles — have high precision and a range of 45 km (28 miles) to 300 km (186 miles).

"The arrogant powers should come to realize that the Persian Gulf littoral states do not need the presence of foreign forces in the region," he said.

Last Thursday, the IRGC launched a massive military exercise to highlight the country's defense capabilities and its determination to safeguard regional security.

The drills coincided with the 31st anniversary of the establishment of the IRGC.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124514§ionid=351020101.

Election row deepens in Palestine

Rival groups strongly oppose the Palestinian Authority's decision to hold local council elections in the West Bank without the Gaza Strip's participation.

The Palestinian cabinet in the West Bank announced that the municipal vote will be held on July 17 as it decided to postpone the elections in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

The decision to defer the elections in the Gaza Strip was made on recommendation by Fatah's central committee.

The move drew angry reactions from Palestinian groups in the besieged coastal enclave, especially the Islamic Hamas movement, which gained a sweeping victory in the 2006 council and parliamentary elections.

"These elections are unconstitutional because the Ramallah government is not constitutional," Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri said in an interview with Press TV.

"Everyone knows that the outcome will be in favor of Fatah who controls the West bank with an iron fist," he added, warning that the decision would "bolster the division because Fatah is stealing the elections in the West Bank."

The Islamic Jihad movement, also based in Gaza, criticized the decision for hampering reconciliation efforts.

"We oppose these elections as they will only widen the gap between the Palestinians," said the movement's spokesman, Abbas Modallal.

Highlighting the significance of a national reconciliation accord, Modallal noted that such a deal would "guarantee the right of resisting the Israeli occupation by all means."

Analysts point out that the election row is yet another proof of deepening divisions between Palestinian factions, particularly Hamas and Western-backed Fatah.

Hamas secured a majority in the 2006 general elections but had to limit its rule to the Gaza Strip in June 2007 upon a coup attempt by rival Fatah, which set up its own government in Ramallah.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124586§ionid=351020202.

US hopes to sell C-17s to India‎

In a display of strengthened ties, which will also serve as a message regarding Washington's treatment of its allies, the US offers to sell India its C-17 aircraft.

US ambassador to India, Timothy Roemer, said in a statement on Monday that the potential sale would demonstrate America's "enduring commitment to sharing the world's best technology with India."

He further added that the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircrafts would help the subcontinent's armed forces increase and modernize their ability to move cargo.

These types of planes are currently being used by the US to transport both troops and heavy equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A C-17 can take off from a 7,000-foot airfield, fly 2,400 nautical miles, and land on a small, unpaved runway, measuring 3,000 feet or less in length.

Washington is also working on a deal aimed at training Indian air crew in all aspects of repair and maintenance.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124561§ionid=3510203.

Israel jails slain fighter's kin

Israeli forces have arrested four relatives of a Palestinian fighter killed in a raid on his house in the southern West Bank city of Hebron (al-Khalil).

Al-Khalil's Detainees Center chief Amjad an-Najjar on Monday identified the four individuals detained as Maison Sweiti and her brothers Ahmed, Abed, and Othman.

An Israeli military spokesman also confirmed that four people had been arrested during the operation, but provided no more details on the identity of the detainees.

The arrests came after Israeli security forces bulldozed the house of al-Qassam Brigades commander Ali Sweiti, 42, in the southern village of Beit Awa.

Sweiti sustained fatal injuries in a fire exchange following his refusal to surrender to Israeli forces. The incident sparked furor in al-Khalil, where dozens of Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops in the area.

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri accused the Palestinian Authority of cooperating in Sweiti's death.

"The assassination of this al-Qassam commander is a dangerous crime, which comes in the context of the occupation's determination to eliminate the forces of the resistance, and especially the al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank," he warned.

Sweiti's killing coincided with a raid by Palestinian security forces who arrested more than 20 Hamas-affiliated people in Nablus, charging them with planning major attacks against Israel.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124555§ionid=351020202.

AIPAC fundraiser held amid protest

The most influential Israeli lobby group in the US has held a fundraising event in an Oregon city as nearby protesters held a mockery-ridden condemnation of the Israeli occupation.

The annual meeting, which rallies the contributors to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), was held in Portland on Sunday, the International Middle East Media Center reported.

Protesters gathered near the venue, putting up maquettes of the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, a checkpoint, and the apartheid wall.

AIPAC is currently under attack by the non-profit anti-lobby organization Common Cause and similar groups in the US that campaign against political contributions by powerful corporate and lobby groups. They allege that an overwhelming majority of US senators and House Representatives members receive financial contributions and important lobbying support from AIPAC.

One protester had dressed up as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wearing a helmet marked with the Caterpillar trademark.

The US-based construction company's military bulldozers are used to destroy Palestinian homes.

The meeting was attended by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, other politicians, and local rabbis and leaders of Jewish organizations, who used the occasion to renew their pledge of allegiance to Israel.

The outrages highlighted by the protesters, however, remained off the meeting's agenda.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124549§ionid=351020202.

PA bans trade in settler-made goods

The Palestinian Authority has prohibited buying and selling commodities produced by Israelis living in the occupied territories.

Acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas on Monday “issued a law banning trade in goods made in settlements,” Abbas' legal adviser Hassan al-Awri said in comments quoted by Reuters on Monday.

Tel Aviv continues to defy the international community's call for a halt to the illegal settlement construction in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967 and later annexed.

The Palestinians have made the enforcement of a permanent and complete freeze on settlement expansion in the entire occupied territories a condition for the resumption of talks with Israel.

The stalemate resulting from the Israeli intransigence was compounded by Israel's December 2008-January 2009 offensive against the Gaza Strip, which claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Palestinians.

“There is an international consensus that the settlements are illegal and therefore it is unacceptable to support them,” Abbas' aide added.

The trade ban is meant to rid Palestinian markets of goods made by settlers. It is also hoped to encourage the 27-member European Union to likewise prohibit trade with enterprises based in the settlements.

Al-Awri said violators of the restrictions would face jail terms and fines.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124548§ionid=351020202.

Belgian government resigns

The king of Belgium has accepted the government's resignation following the ruling coalition's failure to agree on a bilingual voting district around the capital.

King Albert II accepted Prime Minister Yves Leterme's resignation letter on Monday, a week after negotiations between the country's French and Dutch speaking politicians broke down over a bilingual voting district in and around Brussels.

"I regret that the necessary dialogue to achieve a negotiated settlement did not produce the result we hoped for," Leterme said in a statement.

The resignation of the Belgium government might lead to snap elections in June just ahead of the country's assumption of the European Union's rotating presidency, analysts say.

However, Leterme is expected to stay in power as the head of an interim government.

The linguistic gap between 6.5 million Dutch-speakers in the north and four million Francophones in the south has long overshadowed the country's politics, leading to differences between the northern Flemish majority and the southern Walloon minority.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124543§ionid=351020606.

Kuwait opposes use of force against Iran

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah says that Kuwait has always opposed the calls to use force against Iran over its nuclear program.

All countries are entitled to access peaceful nuclear technology if they fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other relevant bodies, the Kuwaiti emir told the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine in an exclusive interview.

"Iran, like other countries, has the right to acquire nuclear power for peaceful purposes and use. This right should be done, as in other countries, even within the constraints and limitations of the IAEA," he added.

"Kuwait urges Iran to show more flexibility towards the West and to continue its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Kuwait has always rejected the use of force against Iran," Sheikh Sabah said.

The Kuwaiti emir also called on all international organizations to join the drive to make the Middle East a nuclear weapons-free zone.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124537§ionid=351020104.

Temperatures reach record highs in central Myanmar

Yangon - Temperatures in central Myanmar have reached 46-year record highs this hot season, peaking at 45.6 degrees in some places, news reports said Monday.

"The annual March and April heat wave has pushed maximum temperatures in some areas of upper Myanmar to almost 50-year highs," the Myanmar Times reported, citing data from the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.

According to the department's figures, the heat wave peaked at 45.6 degrees in Minbu, Magway division, on April 6, slightly above the past record of 45.2 degrees reached on April 17, 1973.

On March 26, the mercury hit 43.5 degrees in Monywa, 135 kilometers north-east of Mandalay, and on April 7, a temperature of 43.5 degrees was recorded at Naypyitaw, the military government's new capital, situated 320 kilometers north of Yangon, the old capital.

The exception was Kachin State in northern Myanmar, where temperatures were around the April average of 26 degrees, and rain and thundershowers were recorded.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320526,temperatures-reach-record-highs-in-central-myanmar.html.

Survey: Weak support among Serbs for Srebrenica declaration

Belgrade- Only one out of three Serbs supports a recent legislative declaration condemning a wartime massacre in Srebrenica in which Bosnian Serb forces massacred the Muslim population, the daily Press reported Monday.

Quoting a survey by the Politikum agency, it said that 32.7 per cent of the population in Serbia supports the Srebrenica declaration, while 37.5 opposes it. Around 30 per cent were undecided.

The Serbian parliament in March narrowly passed the condemnation of the atrocity - in which 8,000 Muslim boys and men were rounded up and executed.

The declaration condemned the killings in July and August 1995 and apologized to the victims' relatives because Serbia did not do enough to stop them. However, it stopped short of condemning the deaths.

Bosnian Serb forces were backed by Belgrade and under the command of Ratko Mladic, who is believed to be hiding in Serbia despite being wanted for a genocide trial at the United Nations tribunal for former Yugoslavia.

In the West, the resolution was described as a sign that Serbia wants to part with its past. But Bosnian Muslims scoffed at it because it did not fully condemn the Srebrenica killings or take full responsibility.

An apparent side effect of the controversial declaration is a rise in support for Mladic, for whom an international arrest warrant is outstanding. In January, 30 per cent of Serbs supported his arrest; in April it was only 25.7 per cent, the Press reported.

Many Serbs believe Mladic is a hero who protected the nation in the bloody 1992-95 Bosnian war, despite his genocide indictment for Srebrenica and a deadly siege of Sarajevo.

He remains at large. His arrest is presently the largest single obstacle to Serbia's progress toward European Union membership.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320531,survey-weak-support-among-serbs-for-srebrenica-declaration.html.

Japan provides post-cyclone, 110-million-dollar loan to Philippines

Manila - Japan is providing a 109.8-million-dollar loan to the Philippines to rebuild infrastructure damaged by two devastating cyclones last year, the government in Manila said Monday.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said he signed the loan agreement with Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura.

Romulo welcomed the aid, extended in response to the Philippines' request for help after the storms.

"This Japanese assistance package will provide much-needed funds for rehabilitating our physical structures and assets and improving their carrying and load capacity," he said.

"More importantly, this vital package helps us lay the foundations for our climate-proofing efforts," he said. "This is a vital task, given that typhoons and extreme weather events can only be expected to increase in intensity and frequency as a result of climate change."

Nearly 1,000 people were killed by floods, landslides and other accidents caused by Tropical Storms Ketsana and Parma in September and October.

Ketsana dumped one month's worth of rain in less than one day and caused the worst flooding in metropolitan Manila and nearby provinces in more than 40 years.

Many roads, bridges, power lines, homes and schools were damaged or destroyed by the two cyclones. Some communities in the northern Philippines are still difficult to reach because of the devastation.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320554,japan-provides-post-cyclone-110-million-dollar-loan-to-philippines.html.

Transport strike disrupts rail traffic in Portugal

Lisbon - A transport strike Monday disrupted rail traffic in Portugal, with only one quarter of local trains running during the morning, trade union sources said.

Some regional and all international trains would also run while nearly all intercity links would be canceled, engine drivers' union representative Antonio Medeiros said.

About 160 buses were providing transport in the Lisbon and Porto regions to make up for the lack of trains.

However, bus traffic elsewhere was expected to suffer interruptions because of the strike, as well as ferries on the river Tagus.

The strike was called by several transport trade unions in protest at wage freezes in the public and private sectors.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320563,transport-strike-disrupts-rail-traffic-in-portugal.html.

Catalan independence movement loses momentum in Spain

Barcelona - The separatist movement in the north-eastern Spanish region of Catalonia has suffered a new blow as few people bothered to vote in unofficial independence referendums organized in more than 200 localities, according to voter turnout figures given by organizers on Monday.

About 20 per cent of eligible voters went to polls in the localities, which included several large cities such as Gerona and Llerida, on Sunday.

However, 92.5 per cent of those who did vote backed the independence of the economically powerful region of about 7 million residents.

Similar large-scale votes have previously been staged - in December and again in February - in a total of 240 localities. Support for independence was massive, but voter turnout went down from 27 per cent in December to 21 per cent in February.

The referendums were organized by separatist associations, without being recognized by the Spanish government.

The other Spanish region to have a major independence movement is the Basque region. The Catalan movement does not have a violent component, while the Basque movement includes the militant separatist group ETA.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320571,catalan-independence-movement-loses-momentum-in-spain.html.

South Sudan sees Kiir win as a step to independence

AFP/Beitiu, Sudan

Southern Sudanese yesterday hailed the election of secessionist former rebel leader Salva Kiir as their regional president as a step forward on the road to independence from Khartoum.

“For us south Sudanese, we congratulate Salva Kiir for being president of south Sudan for the second time so he can take us to the referendum and to independence,” said a man in his 20s in the small southern oil town of Bentiu, who gave his name only as William.

Kiir, the leader of the former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, won a second term as president of the autonomous regional government for south Sudan established by a landmark 2005 peace deal with the Khartoum regime, according to official results released yesterday.

That deal, which brought an end to Africa’s longest-running civil war, also provides for a referendum in January next year on full independence for the south, an election in which Kiir has vowed to campaign for a yes vote.

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, whose victory in simultaneous national elections earlier this month was also announced yesterday, campaigned for unity but pledged that the vote on independence for the south would go ahead as planned.

William said he was unconcerned about the win for Bashir, who led the Khartoum government for 16 of the 22 years of its devastating civil war with the rebel SPLM.
“We don’t mind if Bashir is elected or not. We don’t care,” he said in Bentiu’s Grand Hotel bar as he sipped beer while watching a soap opera.

On the other side of town in the Green Village bar, news of Kiir’s victory was greeted with restrained clapping.

“Salva Kiir wants to implement the CPA,” SPLM member Zacariah Manyang said, referring to the so-called Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. “That’s why people in the south have again selected him.”

Manyang was less apathetic about the election as national president of Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in the Khartoum government’s six-year-old conflict with ethnic minority rebels in the western region of Darfur.

“Nobody in the south is happy for Bashir to come back again,” he said.

“Bashir and his party don’t want to promote peace in southern Sudan. He has reneged on many political agreements but, due to the weak nature of political parties in the north, he won.”

Manyang said Kiir’s election had been widely anticipated, hence the lack of immediate celebrations. But he added that he expected the SPLM leader’s supporters to take to the streets later in the day when the sun was less intense.

Stephen Keah Luony, a student from the southern town of Wau passing through Bentiu, was adamant that independence from Khartoum was the only solution for the underdeveloped and still war-ravaged south.

“We are tired of those in the north taking everything,” he said.

Source: Gulf Times.
Link: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=357776&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17.

Ban: On Chernobyl anniversary, need for better nuclear security

New York - The explosion of the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, Ukraine, 24 years ago on Monday showed graphically the need to strengthen the safety and security of nuclear material and power plants, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.

Ukraine, Belarus and Russia are organizing a conference in April 2011, the 25th anniversary of the accident, to review progress in restoring normal life in regions affected by the nuclear disaster.

Those three countries have been calling for international health and decontamination assistance since the Chernobyl meltdown, when radioactive fallout drifted over vast regions in then Soviet Union and some of its satellite republics, Western and Eastern Europe.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and World Health Organization (WHO), participants in the Chernobyl Forum, reported in 2005 "fewer than 50" direct deaths and estimated there would be thousands of cancer deaths among the hundreds of thousands of people exposed to the radioactive plume.

But others believe the numbers are greater. A report by Alexey Yablokov, Vassily Nesterenko and Alexey Nesterenko which appeared in the Annals of the New York Academy of Science showed that by 2004, there were 985,000 additional deaths worldwide caused by the nuclear disaster, including 212,000 of them within Western Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

The Chernobyl forum is intended as a platform to debate the consequences of the nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986.

"One of the most important global lessons of the Chernobyl disaster is the importance of strengthening the safety and security of nuclear material and facilities," Ban said in a message.

"The UN stands ready to do everything in its power to further the region's revival," Ban said, He called on the international community to support the full recovery of regions contaminated by radio-active material.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320682,ban-on-chernobyl-anniversary-need-for-better-nuclear-security.html.

Kidnappers release four UN South African peacekeepers in Darfur

New York - Four United Nations peacekeepers from South Africa were released Monday after 16 days in captivity in Sudan's Darfur region, the UN said.

The four police advisers, two women and two men, in the UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) were abducted in Nyala on April 11. They underwent medical examinations and were flown back to their home country, the UN said.

Ibrahim Gambari, the UNAMID special representative, was in Nyala to greet the four peacekeepers.

"We are grateful to have our colleagues back with us," Gambari said in a statement published at UN headquarters in New York. He said the release was made possible thanks to the intervention of the Khartoum government with the "local authorities" in southern Darfur. The UN did not say who the kidnappers were.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320655,kidnappers-release-four-un-south-african-peacekeepers-in-darfur.html.

EU to lift visas for Bosnia and Albania by end of year, Italy says

Luxembourg - Bosnia-Hercegovina and Albania are set to enjoy visa-free travel to the European Union's Schengen area by the end of the year, the Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said Monday.

Frattini said "a positive announcement," set to encourage the two countries to complete reforms "on two or three" outstanding parameters would be given in time for the planned EU-Balkan summit in Sarajevo, on June 2.

The "final decision," the Italian minister added, would come "by October."

Frattini spoke after EU foreign ministers met in Luxembourg with the enlargement commissioner Stefan Fule, who is preparing a report on Bosnia and Albania's fitness to join the Schengen area.

"We were told by European commissioner Fule ... that Italy's wish to have a positive announcement at the June conference in Sarajevo on the visa liberalization for Bosnia and Albania will happen," Frattini said.

If the timetable were to be respected, the visa restrictions would likely be lifted in mid-December, exactly a year after a similar decision was applied to Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia.

The move would see all of the Western Balkans included in the Schengen area except Kosovo, which is not recognized by five out of the 27 EU member states.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320658,eu-to-lift-visas-for-bosnia-and-albania-by-end.html.

Muslim nations join Obama for entrepreneur conference

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

Washington - The United States began hosting a summit with business leaders and others from the Muslim nations on Monday as part of President Barack Obama's plan to mend ties and promote economic growth.

The two-day summit in downtown Washington includes up to 250 participants from nearly 60 countries gathering to discuss ways to strengthen business and entrepreneurship to build the economies of Muslim nations.

Obama announced his plan to host the summit during his June 2009 speech in Cairo that was designed to repair the US image in the Islamic world following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the poor views Muslims hold of the United States. Obama was to address the gathering Monday evening.

US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke opened the conference by saying that boosting business in Muslim countries is in the best interest of the United States and those nations, pointing out that the potential of the talent is not being adequately tapped.

"The stronger the economies of the world and the more middle class in all of our nations, the more international markets there will be for each of our nations," Locke said.

The participants include entrepreneurs, investors, academics, non-profits organizations, and businesses already involved in promoting business in Muslim communities around the world.

"When innovators and entrepreneurs can easily turn their ideas into business, jobs and economic opportunity follow closely behind," Locke said. "Entrepreneurs are a powerful force for change."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320676,muslim-nations-join-obama-for-entrepreneur-conference.html.

NATO chief tells members to forget egos, pool resources - Summary

Brussels- NATO nations must forget their national egos and pool their resources if the alliance as a whole is to remain capable of dealing with all the modern world's security threats, the alliance's secretary general said in a major policy speech Monday.

NATO is currently revising its strategy to deal with the new threats of the 21st century, scaling down its heavy weaponry in Europe to concentrate on more distant missions. But defense spending is coming under heavy pressure as the economic crisis bites.

"I understand that there are strong national interests at work here, and in the current economic climate, there is a real danger of protectionism," NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the Belgian High Institute for Defense in Brussels.

"But we must resist these temptations - purely national thinking is no longer affordable," he added.

Allies should therefore give up on expensive national arms programs if it would make more economic sense to set up shared ones, Rasmussen said.

"We must overhaul our defense industrial markets - particularly here in Europe - to reduce the fragmentation and make them stronger," he said bluntly.

That is a controversial proposal, since NATO members are fiercely protective of their national defense industries and the many jobs and billions of euros in orders which they can generate.

"It makes no sense for Europe to have 16 naval shipyards and 12 separate manufacturers of armored vehicles," the NATO boss said.

NATO members therefore should "pursue collaborative and multinational projects wherever possible, and seek out opportunities for consolidations and mergers," he said.

Together, NATO's 28 allies make the most powerful alliance in the world. But they range from behemoths like the United States to minnows such as Iceland, Estonia and Luxembourg, whose total population is smaller than that of most major world cities.

Of the alliance's 28 members, 11 - Albania, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Iceland, Norway, Slovakia and Slovenia - have populations of below 6 million.

That means that it would be all but impossible for them to buy all the complex weapons systems which make a modern army.

"We cannot expect all nations, even the bigger ones, to cover the full spectrum of high-end capabilities, such as strategic air transport, combat helicopters, fighter aircraft or main battle tanks," Rasmussen said.

The Dane therefore called on NATO nations to make cooperation on defense spending and procurement a key part of the strategy.

They should, for example, regularly purge their militaries of staff or capabilities which are no longer needed, team up to develop and share new equipment, and set up a joint financial pool to pay for future missions. At present, each nation pays for its own involvement in NATO missions, and those which do not participate pay nothing.

"When I look at the extensive allied inventories of tanks and fighter jets and compare them with the analysis of what conflict is likely to look like in the future, I am convinced that we do not need them all," Rasmussen said bluntly.

Smaller nations should also specialize in certain agreed forms of warfare, while all should help reform the NATO bureacracy, he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320678,nato-chief-tells-members-to-forget-egos-pool-resources--summary.html.

Belgian government falls as language groups feud - Summary

Brussels - Belgium's government fell on Monday as all attempts to end a feud over majority and minority language rights ended in acrimony, throwing the country and, potentially, the European Union into confusion.

The collapse comes as Dutch- and French-speakers wrangle over the division of the Brussels electoral district, and two months before Belgium takes over the EU's rotating presidency for six months.

Belgium's head of state, King Albert II, "received in audience this afternoon Prime Minister Yves Leterme. The king accepted the resignation of the government which the prime minister offered on Thursday," a brief statement from the palace said.

The king tasked the fallen government with continuing caretaker duties, the statement said.

"I regret that the dialogue needed to reach a negotiated settlement did not lead to the hoped-for result...The government will continue to ensure the efficient conduct of current business in the interest of the country and its citizens," Leterme said in a bilingual declaration posted on his website.

The political collapse came after talks hit deadlock between the Flemish (Dutch-speaking) majority and francophone minority over the division of the Brussels-Hal-Vilvoorde electoral district, the only bilingual constituency in the country.

The constitutional court ruled in 2003 that the so-called BHV district would have to be divided.

Since then, however, politicians have repeatedly gridlocked as they tried to answer the Flemish demand to make parts of the district monolingual while responding to the French-speaking demand to allow voters throughout the region to support French-speaking parties.

The row has brought Belgium to the brink of political chaos on several occasions, hamstringing the government for much of the time since the last national elections in June 2007.

Last week, former premier Jean-Luc Dehaene, known as the "minesweeper" for his ability to broker deals, presented a complex series of proposals designed to solve the BHV problem.

But the five parties of Belgium's ruling coalition - two Flemish, three French-speaking - failed to agree on the proposals. On Thursday, Leterme, a Dutch-speaker, offered to quit.

Instead, the king on Saturday tasked Finance Minister Didier Reynders, a French-speaker, with brokering a deal. But Reynders quit on Monday afternoon after barely more than 48 hours in the job, leaving the king little option but to accept the government's fall.

"Is it possible to look for a negotiated solution with the same partners? I don't think so," said Reynders, according to the Belga news agency.

Leterme was equally glum, commenting, "At the end of the work carried out by mediator Didier Reynders, it became clear that it was impossible to reach a deal on the basis of (Dehaene's) work."

It is not yet clear whether the king will task another politician with trying to form a government, or call for fresh elections.

French-speaking politicians were quick to speak out against the latter option, with the head of the francophone conservatives, Joelle Milquet, and the socialists, Elio Di Rupo, both opposing such a move.

But Flemish liberal leader Alexander De Croo, whose party triggered the collapse by quitting the government on Thursday, said that it was time to "let the citizens have their say," Belga wrote.

Either way, the fall comes at a highly embarrassing time for Belgium. The country is set to take over the EU presidency on July 1.

"From now on, we have to do all we can to stop making ourselves look ridiculous in the eyes of Belgium, Europe and the world," the French-speaking Green opposition party, Ecolo, said bitterly.

Since January, the EU has had a permanent president - himself a Belgian, Herman Van Rompuy - and a foreign-policy director, but the presidency nation is expected to take the lead on other major dossiers such as home affairs, agriculture and fisheries.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320681,belgian-government-falls-as-language-groups-feud--summary.html.

Arab climatologists discuss joint crisis response plan

2010-04-26
The 26th annual meeting of the Permanent Arab Committee for Meteorology opened in Tripoli on Sunday (April 25th). PANA reported. The five-day event aims to create a unified Arab strategy to face natural disasters resulting from climate change. Discussions will focus on early warning systems and the proposed "Arab Center for Prevention".

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/26/newsbrief-04.

Algerian municipal workers plan new national strike

2010-04-26
Municipal council offices across Algeria will be completely shut down for most of this week, after half a million commune employees begin another national strike on Tuesday (April 27th), Liberte reported. Last month, the National Autonomous Union of Public Administration Personnel (SNAPAP) organized the first such strike to demand a new allowances scheme and the retention of the workers' retirement plan.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/26/newsbrief-02.

Winds of Sufism blow through Fes

Workshops, music and poetry preserved local history at the 4th Fes Festival of Sufi Culture April 17th-24th.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 26/04/2010

Sufism's unique perspective on the modern world reverberated in music and poetry during the 4th Fes Festival of Sufi Culture, which concluded on Saturday (April 24th).

"The idea is to show how spirituality can recreate, or regenerate, contemporary thinking, which can help us see the world in a different way, and to come up with solutions," festival director Faouzi Skelli said.

Musicians from four continents performed and others read poetry during the eight-day festival, but the event also focused on direct social development efforts. The week's goals were primarily educational, according to the organizers, concentrating on fundamental Sufi values such as morality in modern life, tolerance and acceptance.

The festival aimed "to develop thought into concrete action," Skelli said. "This led, for example, to a workshop devoted to the environment, looking at the need for individuals to transform their relationships with themselves and the world, leading them to consider changes in their behavior concerning nature."

Other workshops promoted a positive image of Islam.

The sessions stressed "that Muslim civilization brings love, knowledge and solidarity, and is open to dialogue between cultures and religions from all over the world", Islamic education teacher Moussa Badrani said.

"The idea is to promote the role which spirituality can play in the modern world," he said. "In this way, people can draw on Islam's civilizing aims, its calling to come up with responses to present-day challenges, both globally and locally."

The sumptuous Batha Museum hosted evening shows by various groups of Sufi musicians, each well-known in their field. Mohamed Badaoui Ali Cheikh, who came from the Comoros Islands, said that through song and poetry it was possible to promote messages of peace and openness.

Poetry played a central role at this year's festival. Organizers staged readings "to broaden the field of our awareness and thinking, and to present a different view of a society where political aims, allied with the quest for beauty, may lead to a new type of poetry in civilization," according to the Association of the Fes Festival of Sufi Culture.

"The festivities help Fes fulfill its calling as a spiritual city and allows residents to discover the culture and arts of other Sufis," said Othmane Berrada, a young student.

Vice-mayor Allal Amraoui said that the city's culture must be preserved even as Fes opens itself up to other civilizations.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/04/26/feature-02.

Palestinians ban settlement goods

Palestinian officials have passed a new law outlawing the sale of goods made in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The law, under which offenders could face up to five years in jail or a fine of up to $14,000, was signed by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, on Monday.

The move is part of a campaign launched earlier this year to clear Palestinian markets of settlement goods and encourage other countries to ban trade with companies in the settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.

"There's an international consensus that the settlements are illegal and therefore it is unacceptable to support them," Hassan al-Awri, Abbas's legal adviser, told the Reuters news agency.

The campaign does not include products from Israel proper, which Palestinians rely on.

Palestinian government officials estimate the annual sale of goods from Israeli-run companies in the settlements totals up to $500 million per year.

Palestinian boycott

Monday's ban came nearly six months after the Palestinian Authority called on the public to boycott several large supermarket chains in the West Bank for carrying Israeli products.

The decision targeted upscale markets in the West Bank city of Ramallah, in an attempt to pressure the stores to discontinue the sale of fruits and vegetables grown and processed in Israeli settlements.

Palestinians consider these settlements the most serious threat to their aspirations for statehood.

In December of last year, Britain called on UK supermarkets selling goods from the West Bank to state explicitly on labels whether the content had come from Israeli settlements or Palestinian-owned farms.

The recommendation, issued by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), is not a legal requirement.

But Israeli officials and settler leaders reacted angrily to the decision, saying it would lead to a boycott of their goods.

Until now, food has been labeled "Produce of the West Bank", but Defra's voluntary guidance said labels should give more precise information, like "Palestinian produce" or "Israeli settlement produce".

Products from the Israeli settlements include cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, fruit and textiles.

European Union law already requires a distinction to be made between goods originating in Israel and those from the occupied territories, though pro-Palestinian campaigners say this is not always observed.

Source: Al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/04/2010426173723356743.html.