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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Soldier killed in Thailand standoffT

Clashes between Thai security forces and anti-government protesters in Bangkok have left at least one soldier dead and 18 people wounded.

Thai troops fired live rounds in the air and shot rubber bullets at anti-government protesters on a highway in Bangkok's suburbs.

The soldiers were trying to stop a convoy of up to 2,000 protesters who had left their rally base in central Bangkok and were heading for a business district in the north of the capital. The area is under a state of emergency.

They have occupied Bangkok's business center since April 3, demanding the government hold snap elections.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's loyalists have called on the government to crack down on the red-shirt opposition supporters.

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 at least 27 people dead and hundreds of others injured over the past month.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124745§ionid=351020406.

PJAK terrorists killed in northwest Iran

Three members of the terrorist group, Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), have been killed in clashes with Iranian security forces in northwestern parts of Iran.

"Three members of the PJAK anti-Revolution separatist group died last night in skirmishes in the city of Orumiyeh," an Iranian military source told IRNA on condition of anonymity.

"Our forces confiscated weapons and ammunition during the clashes which took place in Orumiyeh's Anzal district," he added.

The source also said that none of the government forces had sustained any injuries during the incident.

Members of the PJAK group -- an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) -- regularly engage in armed clashes with Iranian security forces along the country's western borders with Iraq.

Recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, Iran, Iraq, the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations, the PKK is responsible for many deadly operations in northern Iraq and southern Turkey.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124739§ionid=351020101.

'Iran breaking new grounds in science'

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution has applauded Iranian scientists for breaking new grounds in the global scene of science and technology.

In a Wednesday address to thousands of Iranian workers, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei termed as "remarkable" the country's recent achievements in space science, nuclear technology, and genetic research.

"Despite 30 years of sanctions, the children of this country have managed to build advanced rockets and satellite carriers," the Leader said.

Iranian nuclear scientists have pushed the boundaries in producing the second and third generations of centrifuges with higher enrichment capabilities, he said.

Ayatollah Khamenei added that Iran's advancements in nuclear research have left world powers deeply impressed.

Referring to Iran's breakthrough in bio-genetics and stem cell research, he said the country has become the first in the Middle East, and one of the few in the world, to clone animals using stem cells.

He noted that prior to the 1979 victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, "scientific development and self-sufficiency had been blatantly ignored and overlooked, transforming the Iranian nation into a virtually backward one."

To compensate for years of underdevelopment, Ayatollah Khamenei said that "more efforts needed to be focused on science and production."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124738§ionid=351020101.

Serial thieves steal 6 busts in Tehran

Six bronze busts of social celebrities have been stolen by serial thieves across the Iranian capital of Tehran since the New Year holidays.

The bronze sculpture of the Iranian contemporary poet, Mohammad Hossein Shahriar, was the first bust to be stolen from the courtyard of Tehran's City Theater.

Busts of Sattar Khan and Baqer Khan were also among the stolen statues that were taken off their pedestals on the streets of Tehran. The two figures are Iranian freedom fighters and key figures in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.

Three other statues were stolen from the courtyard of Iran Art Organization that was open to public view since the start of Nowruz holidays on March 21.

Tehran municipality officials believe that the thieves are not professionals and do not steal the statues for their artistic value.

"They mostly smash the statues into smaller pieces or melt them for easy sale," Tehran Municipality's Statue Office Director Mojtaba Mousavi told Fars news agency on Tuesday.

"Such thieves are mostly looking for the bronze metal's value regardless of the role such statues play in representing the identity of the country," he added.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124716§ionid=351020105.

Hezbollah slams US over arms claims

Hezbollah has sharply rejected US allegations about the Lebanese movement's missiles, vowing to continue armed resistance against Israeli aggression.

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah in an article published on Wednesday scoffed at recent comments by US Defense Minister Robert Gates that Hezbollah's arms exceeded those held by many states in the world, saying Hezbollah's arms did not compare to the "armament" and "crimes" of the United States and its ally Israel.

The Lebanese official recalled "the level of armament of the United States, which it used in its crimes against peoples around the world, from Hiroshima to the more than 100,000 killed in Iraq and the tens of thousands killed in Palestine, Lebanon and Afghanistan," the Arabic-language newspaper As-Safir quoted him on Wednesday.

"There is a difference between arms which only serve invasions, occupations and aggressions, such as those of the United States and its ally Israel ... and the arms of a resistance which defends, protects, and liberates," he said.

"Our choice was and remains to secure all the arms of resistance that we can," he added.

In a joint news conference with Israeli Defense Minster Ehud Barak in Washington, Gates on Tuesday accused Syria and Iran of arming Hezbollah with increasingly sophisticated rockets and missiles.

Gates' claims came amid tensions in the Middle East intensified by Israel's earlier accusations against Syria of providing Scud ballistic missiles for Hezbollah.

Israel views Hezbollah a major enemy, especially after the summer conflict of 2006 where the resistance forces repelled a 33-day Israeli offensive on southern Lebanon.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124714§ionid=351020203.

Iran urges common regional front in PG

While the West seeks to portray Iran as a regional threat, a top official with Iran's Armed Forces calls for the establishment of a common front in the region.

Speaking on the National Day of the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, Brigadier General Seyyed Massoud Jazayeri said should littoral states form a security alliance they will successfully expel foreign forces from the region.

The deputy head of Iran's Armed Forces Headquarters condemned a US and Israeli plot to portray Iran as a threat to the region, further explaining that the presence and interference of foreign forces in the region — and in the Persian Gulf in particular — were the main causes of regional insecurity.

"Major powers resort to every possible means to dominate the region," Jazayeri warned.

He, however, went on to say that world powers were facing "serious challenges and various obstacles" in the region as they had "no proper understanding of the geo-economics and geo-strategic features of the region."

Jazayeri said in order to preserve the security of the Persian Gulf, all regional states should come together and "take matters into their own hands."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124713§ionid=351020101.

Time running out for ME peace: UN

A senior UN diplomat says neither Palestinians nor Israel has 'the luxury of time', warning it could get too late to establish a Palestinian state.

"I'm afraid the two-state solution is fading if the parties still think they have the luxury of time," Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry said at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (al-Quds) on Tuesday.

The UN official said that 70 percent of Israelis and 55 percent of Palestinians support the two-state solution, denoting an increasing air of pessimism on the Palestinian side.

Meanwhile, Serry warned Israel of flaring tensions with Arab states who "see the land for a Palestinian state being eaten away by facts on the ground.

"Israel would be well advised to understand the consequences of the two-state solution fading: either lose demographically or become an apartheid state," he said.

Serry also explained that the Palestinians have to "address the issue of refugees because the very essence of two states means two homelands for two peoples."

The Middle East Quartet — which is made up of the UN, the European Union, Russia and the US — held a summit in the Russian capital Moscow in March where they announced a 24-month deadline for Palestinians and Israel to reach a negotiated settlement based on a two-state solution.

"I sincerely hope that the birthright of a Palestinian state will be agreed upon within the next 24 months. Otherwise it may be too late," Serry warned.

According to Serry, the UN fully supports US efforts to resume negotiations. But on the contrary, results of a recent opinion poll indicate that support for US President Barack Obama's mediation efforts is plummeting among the Palestinians.

Nearly 78 percent of those surveyed were skeptic of a purported US-Israeli dispute over the latter's settlement expansions in the West Bank, seen as the main obstacle on the way to lasting peace in the Middle East, saying the division is "not serious."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124712§ionid=351020202.

Iran, Kuwait ink consular agreement

Iran and Kuwait have signed a consular cooperation agreement which encompasses a wide range of issues, including trade, maritime and criminal matters.

Iranian and Kuwaiti delegations reached the deal during three-days of talks, which ended in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday.

In the agreement, the two sides pledged to assist each other in judicial matters such as prisoner transfers and consular access for detainees of the other nationality.

They also agreed to make it easier for Iranian and Kuwaiti nationals in general and businesspeople in particular to obtain visas from the neighboring state.

The possibility of lifting visa requirements for diplomats and government personnel of the other side was also discussed.

In addition to the above, the deal included measures for regulating shipping, fishing and sailing norms.

Iran and Kuwait enjoy cordial diplomatic relations. As Iran has come under increasing pressure from the West in recent years over its nuclear program, Kuwait has stated that the US should respect Iranian sovereignty and seek a diplomat solution to the matter.

"There are provocative Western statements, and Iran responds in the same way…I believe that a matter this sensitive needs dialogue not escalation," Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Jassem al-Kharafi said in July 2008.

Although it has agreed to go along with Security Council sanctions against Tehran, the Arab emirate has also said that it will not allow its territory to be used for any attacks against the Islamic Republic.

On the economic scene, Iran and Kuwait have cooperated for many years in the energy sector, as they are both members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Iran and Kuwait held their first Economic Commission in January 2008 which led to more financial connections between the two countries and opened greater prospects for future cooperation.

The two countries are scheduled to hold their third Economic Commission in December 2010-January 2011.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124700§ionid=351020101.

Persian peace carpet flies to Sweden

An Iranian artist is weaving the Carpet of Peace and Love to present it to the Nobel Foundation in a bid to spread the country's message of friendship.

"I will present the hand-woven carpet to the Nobel Foundation that takes steps in promoting peace and amity. I mean to spread Iranians' message of friendship across the world," the Iranian carpet weaver Mohammad Da'va Saraei told CHTN.

"The hand-woven carpet measures 110 by 110 centimeters. It is reversible and has exquisite designs on both sides," Saraei said.

"A carpet in this size will contain around 3 million knots of various colors," he added.

Tahmineh Daniali, head of Iran's Handicrafts and Traditional Arts Department, a subdivision of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism (ICHHTO) tied the first knot of the carpet symbolically .

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124695§ionid=351020105.

Musharraf to launch political party

Days after a UN report blamed Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf for Benazir Bhutto's assassination, the politician says he will form a political party.

The retired general has applied to register a new political party with the electoral authorities in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, an aide and election official confirmed on Wednesday, AFP reported.

Musharraf's legal adviser and unofficial spokesman Mohammad Ali Saif said the country's authorities would hear the application on May 10.

The former president has applied for the party under the name of "All Pakistan Muslim League."

Saif added that the former president would return from Britain to Pakistan and will fight a criminal case lodged against him.

Musharraf, who has been away from politics for two years, will face trial if he returns to the country for his alleged role in the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Bhutto.

The Pakistani police brought charges ageist the former military ruler and two of his associates after a UN report held his government accountable for the assassination of Bhutto along with 16 other controversial activities during his final days in office.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124734§ionid=351020401.

'Israel must sign the NPT'

Wed Apr 28, 2010

Egypt has declared that turning the Middle East into a nuclear weapons-free zone is the key to solving the dispute over Iran's nuclear program and said Israel must sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"Success in dealing with Iran will depend to a large extent on how successfully we deal with the establishment of a nuclear-free zone" in the Middle East, Egypt's Ambassador to the UN, Maged Abdel Aziz, told a luncheon briefing with reporters in New York on Tuesday.

"We refuse the existence of any nuclear weapons in (the Middle East) whether it is in Iran or whether it is in Israel," AFP quoted Abdel Aziz as saying.

Egypt is to present a working paper at the NPT review conference, which opens at the UN headquarters in New York next week, urging implementation of a 1995 resolution calling for the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free Middle East.

The paper calls on NPT members to "renew their resolve to undertake, individually and collectively, all necessary measures aimed at the prompt implementation of the resolution, including the accession by Israel to the treaty as soon as possible as a non-nuclear weapon state.”

Israel should also place all its nuclear facilities under the full scope of International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, it adds.

Although there is no linkage between the Iranian and Israeli nuclear issues, both should be dealt with simultaneously, the Egyptian envoy said.

He also expressed hope that Israel would take part in the NPT review conference.

Israel has never publicly acknowledged that it possesses nuclear weapons, but it is believed to have an arsenal of at least 250 nuclear warheads.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/124679.html.

India to launch tiny student satellite

A group of Indian undergraduate students have manufactured an 850-gram satellite, which will be launched on May 9 along with the indigenous satellite, Alsat.

The satellite, StudSat, has been designed and developed by 40 undergraduate students from seven engineering colleges across Bangalore and Hyderabad.

The satellite will leave the Isro Satellite Center in Bangalore and move to Sriharikota for integration with the four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle for launch on May 9, The Times of India reported on Wednesday.

StudSat, classified as a pico-satellite, will be launched along with the indigenous Cartosat-2b satellite, Alsat, from Algeria and two other satellites from the University of Toronto, Canada.

The launch coincides with a conference on small satellites on April 28. StudSat, an acronym for student satellite, will send Indian education into higher orbit.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124670§ionid=351020402.

'Expulsion of Muslim girl 'racist act'

An association for Moroccan immigrants in Spain says Camilo Jose Cela School's decision to expel a Muslim student was an "act of racism."

The head of the Association of Moroccan Workers and Immigrants in Spain, Kamal Ramoini, said the group had made known its "deep disagreement with this decision."

The Camilo Jose Cela board's "decision to deny Najwa Malha the right to freedom of religion and belief was an act of oppression and racism, which runs counter to Spain's constitution," the association said in a statement, calling on the country's prosecutor to take necessary measures.

The state-run school in Madrid has expelled 16-year-old girl Najwa for refusing to remove her Islamic hijab.

"For the past several weeks Najwa Malha cannot go to class in her school, which is contrary to her right to a basic education guaranteed by the constitution," Ramoini said.

The association, meanwhile, criticized the Madrid provincial government for showing indifference towards Najwa's expulsion.

Malha, born to Moroccan immigrant parents in Spain, began wearing hijab two months ago to express her religious beliefs. She says she has been deeply discriminated against under the pretext of so-called violation of dress code.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124733§ionid=351020606.

Israel wants action on Iran soon

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says the world cannot afford to wait too long to see if Iran halts its nuclear program.

At a press conference with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Washington on Tuesday, Barak said Israel supports the United States' efforts to impose tougher economic sanctions on Tehran.

But only time will tell if sanctions have an impact on Iran's nuclear stance, he added.

Barak said that if the international community waits too long, Iran could acquire a nuclear weapon, which he says would "change the landscape," and not just of the Middle East, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

Israel, which is the only entity in the Middle East that possesses nuclear weapons, accuses Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program.

However, unlike Israel, Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has repeatedly declared that its nuclear program is peaceful and is being pursued within the framework of international regulations.

In addition, the International Atomic Energy Agency has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124668§ionid=351020104.

Electric future sparks race among Chinese car firms - Feature

Bill Smith

Beijing - The biggest buzz at this year's Auto China show surrounds the rapidly advancing plans of Chinese car firms to mass-produce affordable electric models for domestic and international markets.

All of China's leading compact car producers are showing futuristic electric models alongside hybrids and fuel-efficient conventional vehicles.

Geely Auto, one of China's fastest growing compact car makers, has unveiled two electric models at Auto China and promoted one of the most eye-catching concept vehicles, the Intelligent Geely, or IG.

Electric cars will write "a whole new chapter in the history of Geely's development," said Zhao Fuquan, the company's vice-president.

Geely's IG transmission systems allow a choice of electric, hybrid or petrol engines in an identical model. Solar panels on the roof and bonnet of the IG can also power the vehicle for up to six hours, Zhao said.

At least a dozen Chinese companies are developing electric vehicles for mass production, several of them in cooperation with multinational auto firms.

Another emerging compact car maker, Lifan Group, based in the south-western city of Chongqing, has created several hybrid and electric models under a slogan that could be aimed at its biggest potential rival: "electric cars are not a dream."

That rival is BYD Group, short for Build Your Dreams, a recent player which previously specialized in batteries for mobile phones and electric vehicles.

"This is not an opportunity, but a necessity," BYD spokesman Paul Lin said of China's development of electric vehicles.

"We think the electric vehicle market in China will be very big and the most developed in the world," Lin said.

BYD is promoting its E6 electric car, which it says uses a battery with a range of about 300-kilometers that can fully charge in two hours.

BYD, seen as a global market leader in battery technology, also plans to cooperate with DaimlerChrysler to make Mercedes-Benz-branded electric cars.

"They (BYD) developed from batteries to cars. We came from cars to batteries," Ulrich Walker, the chairman of Daimler North-east Asia, told reporters.

German auto giant Volkswagen AG has launched a "China electric vehicle strategy" to produce electric cars in China by 2013 or 2014.

"As China becomes Volkswagen's most important market around the world, achievement in the electric vehicle segment in China is key to the success of our global electric vehicle strategic vision," said Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen's chief executive officer.

Japan's Nissan Motor Corp plans to start selling its 160-kilometer-range Leaf electric compact car in China next year and is to produce the cars in the central city of Wuhan, with Renault SA and Chinese partners.

But the price of electric and hybrid vehicles, especially the battery packs, remains a barrier to mass consumption in China, as in other countries.

"The biggest problem is that the batteries are so expensive, that the technology is so expensive," Walker said.

Geely's popular Panda compact car retails for around 45,000 yuan (6,600 dollars), Zhao said, a price that currently looks impossible for producers of electric cars to match.

Chinese producer Chang'an Motors, based in Chongqing, expects to market a Benni-I mid-market model in late 2011, but company president Xu Liuping warned that it could cost at least 100,000 yuan more than the equivalent petrol-driven model.

According to state media, BYD's E6 model could cost around 250,000 yuan while an S18 compact electric car made by Chinese budget car maker Chery Automobile could sell for as little as 70,000 yuan.

Transmission technology and the building of battery-charging stations or exchange stations are other problems.

The Chinese government plans trials of charging stations in at least four cities this year, but the current cost of each station is about 3 million yuan (440,000 dollars), according to the China Car Times.

Beijing also plans to introduce a fleet of 500 electric taxis later this year, with a network of dedicated battery-charging stations.

Local governments in at least 10 major cities are supporting plans to develop electric vehicles by regional car makers, many of which are state-controlled or have state enterprises as major shareholders.

The car makers anticipate a major fillip from a government stimulus package this year. Under the package, electric cars produced in China by both domestic and multinational firms will qualify for subsidies of up to 60,000 yuan per vehicle, the official China Daily reported in early April.

"If the government decision is made, things can go very fast," Lin said of the planned government support for electric cars.

The race to find the first mass-market best-seller can only add to the fierce competition in what is still regarded as the nation with the biggest untapped potential for car ownership.

US auto market analyst JD Power predicts "hyper-competition" in China over the next five years. In a report last week, it forecast production of 19.6 million passenger cars in China in 2015 but sales of only 13.5 million, compared with 8.7 million last year.

"Today, speed is everything," Zhao said. "It's not how big you are, it's how fast your are."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320925,electric-future-sparks-race-among-chinese-car-firms--feature.html.

Vietnam forest fires threaten rare crane

Hanoi - Forest fires in a national park are threatening the habitat of the endangered red-crowned crane, Vietnamese officials said Wednesday.

The fires have destroyed 200 hectares of Tram Chim National Park in the Mekong Delta, the latest in a record-setting year of forest fires caused by low rain and hot weather.

The official Vietnam News reported Wednesday that over 500 firefighters, soldiers and police were fighting the blazes using water pumps drawing from nearby canals, but had failed to control them.

"Forest fires are much worse this year than last year," said Nguyen Huy Loi, head of the Forest Management Department in the central province of Ha Tinh.

Loi said fires in the northern mountain district of Sapa and in southern Bu Gia Map National Park had already consumed thousands of hectares of forest. The fires near Sapa alone destroyed 1,700 hectares of forest before being extinguished in mid-February.

In the first two months of 2010, the Forest Protection Department said forest fires were running at over 10 times the rate for 2008 and 2009, when just 140 hectares were destroyed.

Loi blamed "climate change," resulting in lower rainfall and humidity.

The red-crowned crane is among the most endangered birds in the world, with some 1,500 believed to remain in the wild, mainly in China. The population in the Mekong Delta is believed to be about 200, according to a report by the local biosphere preserve.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320929,vietnam-forest-fires-threaten-rare-crane.html.

Cambodian government warns foreign embassies not to criticize it

Phnom Penh - A Cambodian government spokesman on Wednesday warned foreign embassies and institutions against criticizing the authorities or interfering in internal affairs.

The comments came one day after the Ministry of Foreign Affairssent a blunt letter to embassies complaining that some mission heads had behaved like proconsuls in giving lessons to the government.

"Such behaviors are not acceptable for Cambodia as a sovereign country," the letter stated. "Cambodia is not a BANANA REPUBLIC."

Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said the purpose was to remind diplomats to adhere to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which prohibits interference in the internal affairs of host nations.

"We cannot accept lessons like lectures from foreign envoys and diplomats," Koy Kuong said. "We cannot accept any negative criticism."

The letter followed a statement last month by the United Nations country head Douglas Broderick calling on the government to allow more time for civil society and donors to comment on a long-awaited draft anti-corruption law.

Cambodia is ranked by Transparency International as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

The law, 15 years in the making, was made public just days before being pushed through parliament, which is dominated by the ruling party.

Broderick's statement infuriated Phnom Penh, and the government threatened to expel him for meddling in legislative matters.

Koy Kuong refused to name the missions which had earned the government's wrath.

"We do not specify, and we do not focus on a specific case," he said. "I would rather not say a specific country or institution. We just remind them of the contents of the Vienna Convention."

Cambodia relies heavily on donors for funding. Foreign nations provided 951 million dollars in 2009, or roughly half of the government's budget.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320954,cambodian-government-warns-foreign-embassies-not-to-criticise-it.html.

Katyn secret files released for first time in Moscow

Moscow - Secret documents containing information about the Katyn massacre were released for the first time from Kremlin archives in Russia on Wednesday - 70 years after some 22,000 Polish officers were murdered by Soviet troops in the western Russian town.

Russia's federal archives bureau, Rosarchiv, published numerous files compiled by the former Soviet secret police organization NKVD on the internet, following a decree by President Dmitry Medvedev.

Although the release of the documents was a first in Russia, the files had already been made public a few years earlier by Poland, Rosarchiv leader Andrei Artisov was quoted as saying by the news agency Interfax.

Russia is ready to be completely open about the backdrop to the bloody incident, he added.

The documents show that Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ordered the execution of some 22,000 soldiers and civilians in Katyn and other places in the spring of 1940, Artisov said.

Signatures also prove that all of Stalin's successors in the Kremlin reviewed the documents.

"They took note of the crime, then the files were sealed again," Artisov said.

After World War II, Soviet authorities blamed the massacre on the Nazis. Russia did not acknowledge responsibility for the mass killings until 1990.

Deliberately forged "evidence" of "German guilt" were found in the archives, Artisov said.

"But in the place where most of the Poles were shot, there were never any German troops," he noted.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320957,katyn-secret-files-released-for-first-time-in-moscow.html.

Lady-killer elephant being tracked in Indian park

New Delhi - Forest wardens are hunting for a 25-year-old bull elephant suspected of killing at least 12 female elephants in a wildlife reserve in southern India after they spurned his sexual advances, news reports said Wednesday.

Eight female elephants were found dead in the Periyar tiger reserve in Kerala state from February 2009 to June, the Times of India newspaper quoted the state's chief wildlife warden KK Srivastava as saying.

Srivastava said postmortem reports suggested the deaths were caused by the same tusker who has been named Alpha by forest officials.

"Two more females were found dead between March 12 and March 21 this year," Srivastava said. "The nature of the injuries point to the same culprit."

The rogue tusker is believed to have killed another two elephants over the past three years, forest officials said.

Alpha most likely gored these elephants because they resisted his sexual advances while he was in a "musth" state, the forest officials said.

Musth, which derives from Persian and means intoxicated, is a term used to describe a periodic condition in bull elephants when they show highly aggressive behavior because of increased testosterone levels.

Forensic tests on the dead elephants revealed they had puncture marks on their rears. The wounds matched the dimensions of Alpha's tusks, the Times of India said.

A 15-member expert panel has been set up to track the rogue elephant, the report said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320960,lady-killer-elephant-being-tracked-in-indian-park.html.

Egypt court convicts 26 Hezbollah men for plotting terror attacks

Cairo - Egypt's Emergency State Security Court on Thursday convicted 26 men of plotting attacks in Egypt on behalf of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, al-Jazeera television reported.

Judge Adil Abdel-Salam Gomaa sentenced members of the group - which includes Egyptians, Lebanese, Sudanese and Palestinians - to between six months and life in prison.

The court's sentences may not be appealed. Only the president can overturn its verdict.

The 26 detainees in the were arrested in late 2008 and early 2009 and charged with conspiring to carry out attacks against the Suez Canal and tourist sites within Egypt, spying for a foreign entity, and possession of explosives.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said the group sent at least one member to Egypt, but says his purpose was to provide assistance to the besieged Gaza Strip, and not to carry out attacks against Egypt.

He accused Egypt of complicity with Israel in maintaining the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Twenty-two of the detainees claimed in August that they had been tortured.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320963,egypt-court-convicts-26-hezbollah-men-for-plotting-terror-attacks.html.

Hezbollah vows to continue arming itself

Beirut - A Hezbollah member of parliament in Lebanon has vowed that the militant Shiite movement will continue to build its arsenal, media reports said Wednesday.

"Our choice was and remains to secure all the arms of resistance that we can," Hassan Fadlallah was quoted as saying by the Lebanese daily As-Safir.

Fadlallah was hitting back at a statement by US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Tuesday accusing Iran and Syria of arming Hezbollah with increasingly sophisticated rockets and missiles, which he said undermined stability in the region.

"There is a big difference between arms which only serve invasions, occupations and aggressions, such as those of the United States and its ally Israel ... and the arms of a resistance which defends, protects, and liberates," Fadlallah said.

Israel and the US have accused Syria of supplying Hezbollah with Scud missiles, which are capable of striking deep into Israel. Both Beirut and Damascus have denied this.

Speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, who has close links with Hezbollah, said Gates' statement aims to cover up the recent souring of US-Israeli relations, the An-Nahar newspaper reported Wednesday.

Relations between the US and Israel reportedly cooled after Israel announced it would build 1,600 new houses in settlements in East Jerusalem. Washington viewed the move as undermining its efforts to re-launch the Middle East peace process.

Hezbollah and Israel fought a 33-day conflict in the summer of 2006. More than 1,200 people, mostly Lebanese civilians, were killed and some 165 Israelis, most of them soldiers, also died.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320965,hezbollah-vows-to-continue-arming-itself.html.

Brussels proposes easing of EU visa regime for Georgia

Brussels - Georgia's citizens should enjoy easier access to the European Union's Schengen zone, the European Commission urged Tuesday, as it called upon EU member states and the European Parliament to endorse a visa facilitation deal.

The agreement, to be accompanied by a parallel agreement on repatriation of Georgians caught staying illegally on EU territory, would speed up procedures and drop visa prices from 60 to 35 euros (80 to 45 dollars).

"To reduce visa barriers is a way of bringing people closer to one another and to enable citizens to travel, and connect all over Europe," the EU's Home Affairs commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, said in a statement.

"With these agreements in place, Georgia will be more closely connected to the European Union," she said.

Once approved by the EU's assembly and member states, the visa deal would end the de facto preferential treatment of people living in territories that have broken away from Georgia with Russian backing, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Their population currently enjoys easier access to the EU by using passports issued by Russia, which has already signed visa- facilitation deals with the EU.

That creates resentment in Tblisi, since Abkhazia and South Ossetia have no international recognition, except from Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru, a tiny island nation in Micronesia.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia have had de facto independence since the early 1990s, but their isolation from Georgia proper increased in the wake of the 2008 Russian-Georgian conflict, which led Moscow to set up military bases in the two territories.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320858,brussels-proposes-easing-of-eu-visa-regime-for-georgia.html.

Final US shuttle flight pushed to November

Washington - The final space shuttle flight is now set for November, after US space agency NASA decided to delay the launch of shuttle Endeavor from July.

Endeavor's mission was originally set to be the second from the last flight with the shuttle fleet retiring after the planned September launch of the shuttle Discovery.

But NASA changed its launch schedule Monday, swapping the shuttle flights to allow scientists to make upgrades to a piece of scientific equipment known as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer that is to be delivered by Endeavor.

The shuttle has been set for retirement for years and the remaining three flights are to complete construction work on the International Space Station.

NASA has said it will complete all scheduled flights even if they must be extended to 2011, and there's money in the budget for the next year to complete any remaining flights.

In February, the Obama administration announced it would scrap plans started under former president George W Bush for a next- generation spacecraft to replace the shuttle and return astronauts to the moon and eventually travel to Mars and beyond.

Instead, US President Barack Obama hopes to develop a commercial spaceflight industry to shuttle astronauts to nearby locations and allow NASA to focus on more distant manned missions.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320864,final-us-shuttle-flight-pushed-to-november.html.

EU delegation visits Lebanon and vows support for peace

Beirut- A delegation from the European People's Party (EPP), a grouping in the European Parliament, held talks Tuesday in Beirut and vowed support for the Mideast peace process.

The delegation, headed by the vice-president of the EPP Group, Vito Bonsignore, and the vice-president of the European Parliament, Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, met with Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Foreign Minister Ali Shami.

Following the meeting with Hariri, Bonsignore said: "I want to stress that Europe will increase the pressure to support the peace process in the Middle East."

"At this stage, I join my voice to that of Prime Minister Hariri, who underlined the need to move forward in the peace process," Bonsignore said.

"We wish to see all the parties present and working together for development and peace," he added.

Referring to the presence of the United Nations Interim Forces (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon, Bonsignore said: "We told Prime Minister Hariri that he can count on the backing of the EPP group, in particular regarding keeping the UNIFIL forces."

"Europe will vote in favor of the renewal of their mandate in the south and for the support of the peace process," the EU official said.

The UNIFIL force, which was first deployed in the southern part of the country following the first Israeli invasion to Lebanon in 1978, was enhanced in numbers following the July 2006 Israeli war against the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah. Its main task is to monitor the Lebanese-Israeli border and keep the area out of tension.

The mandate of the current UNIFIL force has been renewed by the UN Security Council until August 31, 2010.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320868,eu-delegation-visits-lebanon-and-vows-support-for-peace.html.

Egyptian, Lebanese leaders reject SCUD missile claims

Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt - Lebanese and Egyptian leaders on Tuesday presented a common front against Israeli allegations that Syria had supplied the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah with SCUD missiles.

The brief meeting between Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh came amid rising tensions between Lebanon and Israel over the allegations against Syria and Hezbollah, which forms a key component of the Lebanese government.

Israeli President Shimon Peres earlier this month accused Syria of smuggling the SCUDs into Lebanon. US officials summoned Syria's top diplomat in Washington to register their concern over the allegations, but noted they had no confirmation of any such transfer.

Israel fears that the missiles, which have a range that would allow them to hit Tel Aviv, could inflict far greater damage than the Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanese territory during the July 2006 Lebanese-Israeli war.

That conflict left hundreds of Lebanese civilians and 18 Israeli civilians dead.

"The 2006 war, and all the (Israeli) spies being caught (in Lebanon) indicate the amount of Israeli enmity toward Lebanon," Hariri told reporters after meeting Mubarak.

"All remarks by the enemy must be taken seriously, and therefore the necessary contacts must be made," Hariri said.

The premier said he briefed Mubarak on his efforts to secure international backing to avert an Israeli attack, and that Mubarak had briefed him on Egyptian efforts toward the same end.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said in a statement that Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit had sent a message to US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton conveying "the anxiety that many Lebanese feel about ... the increasingly warmongering tone in the media, which presages a looming threat."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit was in Lebanon earlier this week on a visit he said was meant to show Egypt's support for Lebanon and Syria in the face of the Israeli accusations.

During that visit he called the allegations "laughable," and "a big, meaningless lie."

Hariri said Mubarak had told him of "positive" signs from his communications with the Israelis, that Mubarak did not believe the Israelis were preparing a new war against Lebanon, but that Egypt would stand by Lebanon and Syria should they be attacked.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320871,egyptian-lebanese-leaders-reject-scud-missile-claims.html.

UN: Haiti faces period of 'high risk' in next 12-18 months

New York - Haiti is in a period of "high risk" following January's destructive earthquake because of the numerous tasks it will have to carry out simultaneously with the assistance of the international community, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in an updated report on Tuesday.

Ban listed political, security, protection and recovery objectives as high priorities for the Haitian government in the next 12 to 18 months.

"The role of the United Nations and its members in this period should be to support Haiti's government and institutions in delivering on their responsibilities, while respecting their authorities and prerogatives," Ban said in a report to the UN Security Council.

He asked the 15-nation council to maintain the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) of 8,306 military troops and 2,177 police. The mission will have a new set of tasks, focusing on fostering political stability and supporting the government as it struggles to pursue its own programs.

He said a UN "surge of efforts" is needed in the next two years to help Haiti preserve gains in stabilization programs carried out before the earthquake devastated the country on January 12.

Haiti is scheduled to hold presidential, legislative and municipal elections later this year for a smooth handover of power in early 2011. But electoral preparations are to take place under trying conditions created by the magnitude-7 earthquake. The country's electoral institutions will have to be reconstituted while voting centers will have to be rebuilt. Voter registration will also have to be updated, the report said.

The report said Haiti has put the death toll of the January 12 quake at 222,570 people killed and 1.5 million homeless. The UN and international partners launched in March a displacement tracking mechanism that identified 460 settlement centers housing 1.17 million Haitians.

The UN suffered a total of 101 dead among staffers working the impoverished country at the time of the quake, including the top leaders of MINUSTAH who were killed in the collapse of the Hotel Christopher, which housed their headquarters.

At a UN conference held on March 31 in New York, donors pledged 9 billion dollars for the long-term reconstruction of Haiti, of which 5 billion dollars were pledged for the 2010-11 period.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320876,un-haiti-faces-period-of-high-risk-in-next-12-18-months.html.

China seeks more military ties with Cuba

BEIJING, April 27 (UPI) -- Top military officials of China and Cuba, meeting in Beijing, pledged to develop further bilateral military ties.

"The years since China and Cuba forged diplomatic ties in 1960 have witnessed a stable development of bilateral relations and fruitful cooperation in various fields," Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie said Monday after meeting with Alvaro Lopez Miera, chief of the general staff of Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, Xinhua news agency reported.

The two countries' armed forces have maintained high-level visits and good communication, Liang said, citing cooperation in personnel training.

Lopez praised China's achievements in social and economic growth, adding his country is willing to learn from China's experience.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2010/04/27/China-seeks-more-military-ties-with-Cuba/UPI-85281272368230/.

Marrakech hosts International University Theater Festival

2010-04-27
The 4th Marrakech International Festival of University Theater opened on Monday (April 26th). Student acting troupes from North African, Arab and European universities are expected to stage more than a dozen theatrical performances during the four-day event. In early April, Fes hosted the 5th International Festival of University Theater (FITUF).

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/27/newsbrief-06.

UN helps protect Moroccan wetlands, forests

2010-04-27

Morocco's national forest program will get financial help from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), MAP reported on Monday (April 26th). The four-year plan signed Monday in Rabat includes funding for ecosystem recovery, wetlands protection, water management and the fight against desertification.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/27/newsbrief-05.

Tunisia frees journalist Ben Brik

2010-04-27
Journalist Taoufik Ben Brik, 50, was released Tuesday morning (April 27th) from Siliana prison in northwest Tunisia, ANSA reported. Ben Brik was freed "after serving the whole of his sentence, not a single day less", AFP quoted his wife Azza Zarad as saying. The dissident reporter received a six-month prison term last November for attacking a female driver after a Tunis road accident. Tunisian human rights advocacy groups, international press freedom organizations and Amnesty International decried the trial, arguing that the case against the journalist was politically motivated and legally flawed.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/27/newsbrief-03.