Top G15 officials confirm Tehran trip

Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna and Indonesian Premier Abdullah Bin Ahmad Badawi have accepted Iran's invitation to attend a G15 Summit in Tehran.

Krishna will also hold meetings with top Iranian officials on the sidelines of the Group of 15 Summit on May 17, Mehr New Agency reported.

The summit brings together high-ranking officials 18 developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

During his recent tour of Africa, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki invited Senegal President Abdoulaye wade and Algerian head of state Abdelaziz Bouteflika to attend the summit.

Mottaki also noted at a joint press conference with his visiting Brazilian counterpart last week that President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva would also attend this month's summit.

The office of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has also confirmed the leader's attendance at the meeting.

The membership of the G15 has expanded to 18 countries, but the name has remained unchanged.

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Jamaica, Mexico, Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zimbabwe, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Iran are members of the group.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125312§ionid=351020101.

'Green' exercise improves mental health

Researchers have found that within the first five minutes of exercise in a "green space," like a park, mental health is improved.

Researchers in the UK have studied 1,250 people and reported fast improvement in mood and self-esteem, specially amongst young people, after a short "green" exercise.

The research focused on many different outdoor activities -- such as walking, cycling, horse-riding, gardening, farming and fishing -- and found positive physical and mental effects in the first five minutes of the exercise, the BBC reported.

Jules Pretty, a researcher at the University of Essex, believes those who are generally inactive or often stressed out or mentally ill benefit the most from "green space."

"Employers, for example, could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health," Pretty said.

A bigger effect was also seen when the exercise was at an area with water, like a pond, river or lake.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125310§ionid=3510210.

Iran to increase petrochemical products

Iran accounts for 25.8 percent of the Middle East's petrochemicals production, managing director of the National Iranian Petrochemical Company (NIPC) says.

“A 5.2-billion-dollar investment in the petrochemical sector this year will see a 10.5-million-ton increase in the production capacity of agricultural products,” Abdolhossein Bayat said.

He predicted that the volume of petrochemical exports would hit 17.9 million tons this year.

Bayat went on to say that Iran is in a better position compared to other regional countries in terms of investment in its petrochemical sector.

He said that Iran had produced a total of 34 million tons of petrochemical products and that investments stood at USD2.49 billion.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125315§ionid=351020102.

Father of Iran's nomadic schools dies

Veteran Iranian writer, researcher and a pioneer of providing education for nomadic communities, Mohammad Bahmanbeigi has passed away at the age of 90.

Bahmanbeigi died of pneumonia on May 1, 2010, after dedicating his life to educating nomads, especially the nomadic tribes of Fars Province.

Born in 1920 in the Qashqai tribe, Bahmanbeigi moved to Tehran after his father and leader of the tribe was exiled following the riots of the southern tribes.

Bahmanbeigi studied law at Tehran University, where he also learned English, German, and French.

Upon completing his studies, he decided to create a mobile educational system to help nomad children, especially girls, to continue their education despite seasonal migrations.

Iran's first nomadic school was founded in Fars Province in 1951, educating the Qashqai tribesmen, ISNA reported.

Bahmanbeigi wrote his first book The Mores of Fars Nomads when he was 23, sharing his educational experiences and memories with his readers.

He was honored by the Iranian Society of Cultural Works and Luminaries in November and Iranian filmmaker Kamran Heidari made a biopic of his life and works in 2003, titled The White Tents.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125316§ionid=351020105.

Ahmadinejad for 'Disarmament NPT'

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran has accepted a nuclear fuel swap deal which would provide the country with fuel for a nuclear research reactor in Tehran.

Addressing the 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday, President Ahmadinejad said nuclear arms are "the most disgusting and shameful kind of weapons in the world."

He also noted that "possessing nuclear weapons is nothing to be proud of," criticizing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for adopting a double standard toward nuclear-armed countries and those seeking nuclear energy.

"Those who used nuclear weapons for the first time in history are the most detested and disgraceful people in the world," he said.

He criticized the United Nations for its inability to establish sustainable security for the world against nuclear weapons.

President Ahmadinejad, who is the only head of state present at the summit, described as "hazardous" the production and stockpiling of nuclear weapons by world powers.

He stressed that nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation have not materialized, saying the US should be blamed for proliferation of nuclear weapons.

World powers, he said, should live up to their obligations under the NPT.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125314§ionid=351020104.

UN chief opens NPT review conference

Opening the nuclear non-proliferation review conference in New York, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the world expected nuclear-armed states to “act” on disarmament.

“This day is of immense importance to human kind. Hopes and expectations are high. The world's people look to you for action. Action to protect them from the destructive power of nuclear weapon,” Ban told delegates at the UN headquarters on the first day of the 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The UN secretary general went on to insist that “disarmament and non-proliferation were among his priorities."

Ban went on to insist that "disarmament and non-proliferation were among his priorities," an agenda which he regretted had been ignored for too long.

"That is why I have been sounding the alarm about many sub-nuclear weapons. I have put forward a concrete action plan-convinced that our moment is now."

Evoking the aftermaths of tests in Kazakhstan's former Semipalatinsk Test Site, Ban warned that 65 years after the devastations that resulted from the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, "the world still lives under the nuclear shadow."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose visit to the world body's headquarters in New York caused a controversy, is expected to deliver a speech later on Monday.

Last month, 14 US senators penned a letter of protest, calling on Washington to refrain from issuing Ahmadinejad a visa.

The president is also expected to highlight the obligation of nuclear-armed powers to comply with the NPT pillars -- especially disarmament and the right to peaceful nuclear energy.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125313§ionid=3510203.

Taliban leader vows revenge on US

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud has vowed in a new video to attack the United States within a month in revenge for the death of other militant leaders.

"The time is very near when our fedayeen (devotees) will attack the American states in the major cities," SITE quoted Mehsud as saying.

He said Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) would attack the United States "for having martyred many of our great Muslim leaders, including Baitullah Mehsud and many respected brothers from Al-Qaeda".

Mehsud was believed to have been killed in a US drone strike in northwestern Pakistan in January, but very recently Pakistani intelligence officials announced that he had survived the attack.

Officials said at the time that he was killed in a US missile attack along with at least 10 suspected militants. He was seriously wounded when missiles fired by a US drone struck his vehicle in the Shktai area on the border between South and North Waziristan.

Mehsud is the leader of the terrorist group, Tehreek-e-Taliban, which has been involved in attacks across Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has also been blamed for bombing of a Central Intelligence Agency base in eastern Afghanistan in December that killed seven Americans.

Meanwhile, another video allegedly from TTP group also claims that it was behind an attempted car bombing in New York's Times Square at the weekend, but the authorities in New York rejected the claim.

"There is no evidence that this is tied in with Al-Qaeda or any other big terrorist organization," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared.

The Pakistani government has announced cash rewards (about 590,000 dollars) for the arrest or information leading to Mehsud's capture, dead or alive.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125257§ionid=351020401.

Syrian, Qatari leaders discuss Israel

Syria and Qatar have called for Arab unity in the face of 'Israeli aggression,' condemning Tel Aviv's policies as a threat to the region.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani in the Syrian capital on Sunday.

The two singled out Israel's 'aggressive' policies as a threat to regional security and stability, the International Security Research and Intelligence Agency (ISRIA) reported.

They also stressed the need for a joint action to diffuse the Arab world's challenges.

On Saturday, al-Thani met with Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.

Israel is under criticism from the Arab states for alleging that Syria is supplying Hezbollah with Russian-made Scud missiles.

Beirut and Damascus have both denied the allegations. Nasrallah said on Friday that no evidence had been presented -- by Israel or the US -- to support the claims.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125214§ionid=351020206.

China to build refinery in Egypt

Mon May 3, 2010

Cairo and Beijing have inked an agreement under which two Chinese companies will construct a 2-billion-dollar refinery, says Egypt's Oil Ministry.

The refinery would have an initial capacity of 15 million tons per year, to be expanded by another 15 million tons in the second phase of the project, the Associated Press reported.

According to the report, no date has been set for the beginning of the project.

Chinese firms, Rongsheng Holding Group and National Chemical Engineering Co. Ltd., would retain ownership of the plant for 25 years.

The new plant will produce refined products for the domestic market as well as export to China.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/125297.html.

EU Jews take stand against Israel

Thousands of European Jews, including a number of EU parliament members, have signed a petition warning against systematic support for Israeli policies.

The petition, which was slated to be delivered to the European Parliament on Sunday, is signed by more the 3,000 European Jews, including renown French philosophers Bernard-Henri Levy and Alain Finkielkraut.

Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a Greens leader in the European Parliament, was also among the more than 3,000 signatories of the petition, the Associated Press reported.

Supporters of the group, dubbed Jcall, take issue with Israel's domestic and foreign policies, most notably the regime's settlement project on occupied Palestinian land in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

"These policies are morally and politically wrong and feed the unacceptable delegitimization process that Israel currently faces abroad," reads the petition.

It adds that Israel faces a threat in the "occupation and the continuing pursuit of settlements in the West Bank and in the Arab districts of East al-Quds."

Drawing much of their inspiration from J Street, a liberal Jewish lobbying group in the Unite States, Jcall concludes that "systematic support of Israeli government policy is dangerous and does not serve the true interests of the state of Israel."

Jcall plans to hold a press conference at the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125301§ionid=351020202.

New wear for Iran girl athletes

FIFA says it will allow the Iranian girls' football team to take part in the Youth Olympics if players wear caps for covering hair instead of headscarves.

The world football governing body said in a Monday statement that the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) had agreed to the decision. The FFIRI has not yet commented on the report.

"This decision was taken after both the Iran Football Federation as well as the Iran National Olympic Committee confirmed in writing that they will accept a solution whereby the players will not wear their Islamic hijab during the matches of the competition," FIFA said.

"Instead, the players can wear a cap that covers their heads to the hairline, but does not extend below the ears to cover the neck."

In line with a 2007 ban on wearing headscarves, FIFA barred the Iranian team from taking part in the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

The decision drew much criticism from Iranian officials, who have stressed that wearing headscarves does not pose any difficulty for Iranian women athletes.

Around 3,600 athletes aged 14-18 will compete in 26 sports at the First Summer Youth Olympic Games, which will be held August 12-25 in Singapore.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125298§ionid=3510211.

Iran offers to help contain US oil spill

The National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) has offered to assist the US in efforts to prevent an ecological disaster caused by the spreading oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Following an explosion on a BP-operated oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico last month, at least 210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels) of crude oil are thought to be spilling into the water every day.

NIDC managing director Heidar Bahmani announced the firm's readiness to use its decades-long expertise to fight the oil slick, the company's public relations office told Press TV.

"Our oil industry experts in the field of drilling can contain the rig leakage in the Gulf of Mexico and prevent an ecological disaster in that part of the world," Bahmani said.

Overlooking the new US drive for slapping more UN sanctions on Iran over its civilian nuclear program, the company said that there is an urgent need for action to protect the nearby coasts from the advancing oil spill.

The governors of Alabama, Louisiana and Florida have reportedly called a state of emergency for fear of the oil slick's environmental and economic damages.

The disaster has also prompted the White House to ban oil drillings in new areas of the US coast until the British company explains the cause of the explosion that killed 11 employees and resulted in the oil spill.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125303§ionid=3510203.

Iran inflation rate drops to 10.4%

Iran's inflation rate has dropped to 10.4 percent in the twelve months ending April 22, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced in its monthly report.

The inflation rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 10.4 percent, the CBI said on Monday.

The fall comes despite a 1-point growth in prices, the report added.

The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made reducing the inflation rate a priority in his economic reform plan, which includes cuts in costly energy and food subsidies.

However, economists believe the subsidy reform plan will stoke up inflation by causing a dramatic rise in prices.

In March 2010, Iranian lawmakers passed a budget bill, permitting the government to eliminate $20 billion worth of subsidies, which was only half of the amount requested by president Ahmadinejad.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125305§ionid=351020102.

Belarus opposition aims for presidency

The leader of the most influential opposition party in Belarus says he is going to challenge President Alexander Lukashenko in next year's presidential election.

"I will stand as a candidate in the next presidential election," Alexander Milinkevich said in a news conference in Minsk on Monday, AFP reported.

Milinkevich warned that in case of any fraud in the polls, his For Freedom party will stage street protests.

"Some people have reconciled themselves with dictatorship but the majority does not want to live under it," he said.

President Lukashenko, who has led Belarus since 1994, is widely expected to once again come out of the election as the winner and secure another five-year mandate in the office.

Following his defeat in 2006 vote, Milinkevich, who gained only six percent of the ballot, called for street protests.

"We do not need election where the votes are not counted. If the authorities do this there is one option -- to take to the street."

He said if elected he would push for creating a market economy in Belarus, accelerating its admission to the European Union, and developing a neutral foreign policy structure.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125308§ionid=351020606.

China promises trucks for Cambodian military after US rap

Phnom Penh - China is to donate more than 250 trucks to Cambodia just weeks after the United States withheld a shipment of military vehicles in response to Phnom Penh's recent expulsion of 20 Uighur refugees, local media reported Monday.

The donation was announced by Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on his return from Shanghai, the Phnom Penh Post newspaper reported.

Hor Namhong said China would donate 257 military trucks and 50,000 military uniforms.

He said the gesture was made by Beijing of its own accord during a meeting in Shanghai between China's President Hu Jintao and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen.

"[Hun Sen] did not ask them, but they know our requirements, and [Hu Jintao] promised to provide further military assistance in the future," he said.

The US embassy in Phnom Penh declined to comment Monday.

China has growing business and strategic interests in Cambodia, and is Phnom Penh's most important investor.

In the past four years Cambodia has approved more than 6 billion dollars of Chinese investment. Much of that is in infrastructure, particularly hydropower dams.

The investment figure excludes 880 million dollars in Chinese grant and aid during that period.

It also excludes 1.2 billion dollars in economic assistance awarded by China immediately after Cambodia expelled the 20 Uighur asylum-seekers in December at Beijing's request.

Both countries denied any link between the two events, though that denial was not widely believed.

The expulsion of the Uighurs drew strong criticism from Washington, which promised penalties for Cambodia's failure to meet its international obligations. Canceling the shipment of US trucks was the first of those punishments.

Human rights workers have expressed rising concern at growing ties between private business and the military in Cambodia after Hun Sen encouraged business leaders to "adopt" military units.

Cambodian military regularly guard huge private land concessions across the country, and have been used in the past to evict the rural poor.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321692,china-promises-trucks-for-cambodian-military-after-us-rap.html.

Tamil journalist pardoned in Sri Lanka

Colombo - A Sri Lankan journalist sentenced for 20 years for "inciting communal disharmony" is to receive a presidential pardon, External Affairs Minister GL Peiris said Monday.

JS Tissainayagam, a member of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority, was sentenced in August under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

He was charged for printing a monthly magazine in which he had allegedly published material inciting communal disharmony. He was also found guilty of collecting funds through the magazine and thereby promoting terrorism.

Tissainayagam denied the allegations. His conviction triggered protests by media rights activists and international media organizations.

Tissainayagam has filed an appeal against his conviction and was earlier released on bail.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321704,tamil-journalist-pardoned-in-sri-lanka.html.

Elephant census in three Indian states in mid-May

M.G. Srinath

New Delhi – A elephant census in three southern Indian states—where the pachyderm is found in large numbers—is to be held on May 15-16, according to local media reports.

The two-day census will be held in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It will be held in the national parks and sanctuaries in the area.

The Karnataka state alone accounted for 5,000 elephants in the last census held in the state in 2007. State's Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) B.K Singh says the number would be on the higher side this time as . “We have been seeing several elephant calves within the herds and that is a promising sign.”

This would indeed be a heartening trend given the growing human-elephant conflict and a sharp increase in the number of elephants killed, primarily by electrocution, over the past five years.

In 2009-10 alone, of the 132 elephants that died, 34 of them were killed, said Singh. This translates into one elephant killed for every three natural deaths.

The 12,00 sq.km area, spanning the three southern states may be home to 6,300 elephants.

India has the largest population of Asian elephants with population estimates ranging from 26,000 to 31,000.

However, India doesn't have an inkling of the present strength of captive elephants. For, the last survey was done way back in 2000, and which put their numbers at 3,567.

The census, funded by Project Elephant, will cover Bannerghatta National Park, Nagarahole National Park, Bandipur National Park, BR Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary and Kudremukh National Park. Around 50 to 100 people will take part in each division. Volunteers will be enlisted, too, said Mr. Singh.

The methodology will involve block count and line transect, including direct sighting and dung count, according to the official..

Meanwhile, the federal government has set up a panel to draft policy for elephant conservation.

Home to 60 per cent of the global wild Asian elephants, India has now woken up to the cause of its pachyderms. It has decided to set up an institutional framework” on par with its flagship Project Tiger scheme.

Although India launched the Project Elephant in 1992, its impact has been limited. Now the government has launched a new “effective and practical” policy for better conservation and management of the mammals.

The new 11-member Task Force also has the brief to examine issues related to human-elephant conflicts and suggest short- and long-term solutions. It will also identify, catalog and define elephant reserves and ranges at the landscape level, on the lines of Project Tiger.

“The institutional framework could be on the lines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and those at the tiger reserves,” sources said.

A study on the health of captive elephants with the focus on tuberculosis conducted by the Bangalore-based NGO Asian Nature and Conservation Foundation in 2008 found that over 15 per cent of them suffered from the diseases in southern India.

In all, the health of 387 captive elephants in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was studied. It was found 59 of them had TB. Incidentally, the elephants at the temples were the most affected.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321713,elephant-census-in-three-indian-states-in-mid-may.html.

Al-Maliki's coalition calls for halt to vote recount - Update

Baghdad - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of law Coalition Monday called for halting the recount of votes cast in Baghdad, saying "it does not comply with the court's decision".

Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission started earlier on Monday recounting votes of the March parliamentary elections in the capital, as ordered by a court last month.

The coalition said it filed a new complaint to the court to say that the "commission insists that the results would not reflect the true will of the voters."

"The process is appealed and it cannot be relied on," Minister of Oil Hussein al-Shahristani told reporters.

"We want a manual, transparent recount process, but we were surprised that the electoral commission decided to open the ballot box, but does not match the votes with the voter register," he added.

Al-Maliki's coalition had asked a court to order a manual recount of ballots cast, saying it had proof of fraud, after results showed it narrowly lost the vote.

Officials will recount some 2.5 million votes in 11,000 polling station in the capital, in a process that will take two weeks.

Al-Shahristani said that the process should have started by comparing the number of voters with the number of votes, and if they match, then they would start the manual recount.

Results of the March 7 parliamentary elections showed former prime minister's Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya List winning 91 seats in the 325-member parliament, followed by al-Maliki's coalition with 89 seats.

Allawi's narrow lead is now threatened after a Baghdad court order to disqualify one winning candidate from his coalition because of formerly having had links to the Baath Party.

The court, whose rulings may be appealed, has yet to rule on whether nine other winning candidates should be disqualified retrospectively.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321721,al-malikis-coalition-calls-for-halt-to-vote-recount--update.html.

Netanyahu, Mubarak discuss 'proximity' talks in Egypt - Update

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak Monday to discuss Palestinian-Israeli indirect peace talks.

Netanyahu met with Mubarak in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el- Sheikh, Egypt's state TV website reported.

The meeting comes two days after the Arab League backed "proximity" talks, which Washington said will begin this week with the end goal of having direct negotiations between the sides.

However, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said that indirect talks would not immediately lead to direct negotiations.

Netanyahu's visit also comes ahead of US Middle East envoy George Mitchel's expected visit to the region this week.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were suspended in late 2008, as Israel headed for elections. They have not been renewed since, despite the efforts of the Obama administration to get them going again.

In March, Arab states said they would allow the US four months for so-called proximity talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. However, the decision was rescinded shortly afterward over an Israeli plan to build housing in contested East Jerusalem and then agreed upon again this past weekend.

The two leaders were also expected to touch on the situation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, weapons smuggling from the Sinai peninsula into the blockaded salient, and on Cairo's demands that Israel's nuclear facilities be opened to inspection, Israel Army Radio reported.

Hamas administration unable to pay salaries to its employees

Gaza - The Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip is unable to pay full salaries to its 32,000 employees, a senior official in Hamas-run finance ministry said Monday.

"The government will pay a full salary by the end of the week only to those whose monthly salary is less than 1,500 shekels (around 400 dollars)," Ismail Mahfouz, the ministry's director-general, said in a statement.

He added that employees whose salary is 4,000 shekels (around 1072 dollars) "will also get paid the minimum amount of the salary, which is 1,500 shekels."

"The government will also pay half of last month's salary to the employees who were not able to get their salaries fully paid due to some technical arrangements that government is carrying out," said Mahfouz.

The Islamist Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, after routing security forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party. Abbas dismissed the Hamas government in response, but it rejected his decree and continued administering the salient.

The Hamas takeover also led Israel to tighten its blockade, in place since Hamas-led militants snatched an Israeli soldier during a July 23 cross-border raid. As a result, tough restrictions have been imposed on the Gaza banking system, especially on money transfers.

Jamal Nasser, the head of the finance committee in the Hamas-dominated parliament, has denied that the Hamas administration suffered from a financial crisis, but did admit to a problem regarding allowing money into the Strip.

"Due to the unfair siege, which has been imposed on the Gaza Strip for more than three years, and due to the restrictions imposed on Gaza banks, the government was unable to get its money from abroad," he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321727,hamas-administration-unable-to-pay-salaries-to-its-employees.html.

Iran considers limiting UK ties

Amid calls for downgrading relations with Britain, the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran's Parliament says it is looking into its options.

Iran's Intelligence Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have expressed their views regarding the proposal to reduce diplomatic relations with London, commissioner Hossein Ebrahimi told Fars News Agency on Monday.

He added that the commission is currently debating the issue, having held negotiations with certain influential bodies.

The outcome will be reported to commission.

Earlier in February, interference by some British officials in events surrounding Iran's June 12 presidential election prompted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call for limiting ties with Britain.

After the presidential election, British officials made a series of interfering comments regarding the country's internal affairs that drew sharp criticism from the government in Tehran.

The ensuing developments prompted the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) to propose a resolution to reconsider ties with Britain. The bill has received widespread support both in the government and across the country.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125268§ionid=351020101.

UN calls for worldwide press freedom

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on governments and global bodies to stand up for freedom of information, as the world observes Press Freedom Day.

In the era of communication there are some governments "who find many ways to obstruct freedom of press," the UN chief said in a statement on Sunday.

He also slammed media censorship, high taxes imposed on newsprints, and journalist intimidations in various countries.

To put emphasis on his words, Ban named this year's theme "Freedom of Information: the right to know."

The UN Secretary General also touched on journalists' safety, saying "all governments have a duty to protect those who work in the media."

This is while less then a month ago a video footage released in the internet showed trigger-happy US pilots assaulting Iraqi civilians in Baghdad.

The raid left dozens of people, including two Reuters journalists, dead.

Ironically, the footage release was sought to be taken off the web by different bodies in the United Sates - a country widely believed to be the land of freedom of speech.

US news coverage of the Israeli war on Gaza also provides a second insight and more than enough evidence to the contrary.

May 3 was proclaimed World Press Freedom Day by the UN General Assembly in 1993.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental right enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125279§ionid=3510203.

Jundallah threatens UN office in Tehran

The Jundallah terror group threatens to bomb the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Tehran to protest the February arrest of their ringleader, Abdolmalek Rigi.

Iranian security forces captured Abdolmalek Rigi, the notorious ringleader of the Pakistan-based Jundallah terrorist organization, on February 23, while on a flight from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan.

Rigi and his terrorist clan have been behind numerous terrorist attacks, gangland-style murders, instances of armed robbery, kidnappings, acts of sabotage and bombings against Iranian security forces, officials and countless innocent civilians.

Four months following his arrest, members of the group have sent an email to the UNODC, warning that they would step up bomb attacks against its office in Tehran, the Tabnak news site reported on Sunday.

In the voluble email, the group accused the Iranian government of violating the ethnic rights of the Baluch minority, describing the operation in which Rigi was seized as an example of such violations.

The terrorists added that the UNODC would pay dearly for helping Tehran in the official campaign against Jundallah.

On a final note, the group issued death threats to the staff at UNODC, saying it has the personnel under close surveillance and, should it be deemed necessary, will not hesitate in putting them to death.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125273§ionid=351020101.

Bounty offered for ex-Kyrgyz leader

Kyrgyzstan's interim government has offered up to 100,000 dollar bounty for information leading to the arrest of the country's ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

The interim government, which came to power after fierce clashes and protests last month, called for the extradition of the deposed president from Belarus, accusing him of being behind the killing of 85 protesters.

"The provisional government of Kyrgyzstan has promised to pay from 20,000 dollars to 100,000 dollars for concrete assistance in locating and capturing these criminals," AFP quoted an interim government commission statement as saying on Monday.

The other key figures of the previous government being in the wanted list of the interim government are Bakiyev's son Maxim as well as Bakiyev's brother Zhanysh, who is also blamed for ordering the security forces to use weapons against protesters.

The neighboring state of Berlarus gave the deposed Kyrgyz president shelter following his ouster from power.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125274§ionid=351020406.

Gaza football World Cup kicks off

The Gaza Strip has kicked off its own version of 'World Cup Football' to highlight the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian coastal silver under a tight blockade.

The opening ceremony of the two-week Gaza World Cup was held in the Gaza stadium in Gaza City on Sunday with a match between the "Italy" and "Palestine" teams. The Italian side beat the Palestinian outfit 1-0 in the opener.

Most of the teams are named after international football powerhouses like Brazil, Spain and France to simulate the real FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

The competition is meant to highlight a three-year blockade that has prevented most of the tiny territory's 1.5 million residents, including athletes, from being able to travel abroad, the event's organizer Patrick McGrann said on Sunday.

Some 16 teams of local and foreign players have taken part in the contest to win a trophy made out of twisted metal and rubble from last year's war with Israel.

The squads have a small contingent of foreigners from these countries - mostly international aid workers who are based in Gaza.

The Gaza's World Cup is free and open to the public.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125275§ionid=3510211.

Iran set to limit ties with UAE

With Tehran still reeling from recent Emirati claims on three Persian Gulf islands, Iranian lawmakers move to reduce ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Last week, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan raised hackles in Tehran when he likened Iran's ownership of the three Persian Gulf islands to Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territory.

He outraged Iranian officials even further when he repeated the claims on Sunday and urged Tehran to, once and for all, end the "occupation" of the three islands of the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa.

In the wake of these controversial remarks, the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) has instituted measures to lower the level of relations between Iran and the tiny Arab sheikhdom.

Zohreh Elahian, a member of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said Monday that the country's “quick and severe” response to Sheikh Abdullah is probably not enough to teach UAE officials a lesson.

“Tehran's reaction to the outrageous claims was appropriate and well-suited, but it does not change the fact that some serious...rethinking needs to be done...to prevent such provocative behavior [recurring] in the future,” she continued.

Elahian said the Parliament will convene later this week to hand down a final decision on limiting ties with the UAE.

“Iran is the UAE's number one trade partner in the region and persistence on baseless claims by Emirati officials will come at their own expense,” she noted.

The three Persian Gulf islands in question have long been owned by Iran, proof of which can be found and corroborated independently of each other in countless historical, legal and geographical documents in Tehran and other parts of the world.

The islands temporarily fell under British control in the 1800s, but were nevertheless returned to Iran on November 30th 1971 through legal procedures long before the statehood of the United Arab Emirates was declared and the Al-Nahyan clan assumed leadership.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125264§ionid=351020101.

Jews make pilgrimage to Africa's oldest synagogue

2010-05-02

Nearly 6,000 Jews flock to synagogue on Tunisian island of Djerba for annual pilgrimage.

DJERBA, Tunisia - Thousands of Jews on Friday began an annual pilgrimage to Africa's oldest synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba.

"We have nearly 6,000 visitors this year," Perez Trabelsi, head of the Djerba Jewish community and president of the synagogue, said.

Most of the pilgrims -- around 4,500 came from France -- while around a thousand Israelis came via Egypt, Jordan or Turkey due to the absence of direct air links with Israel.

Trabelsi called for direct flights to be established between Israel and Tunisia, adding that it would triple the number of visitors coming from Israel.

France's chief Rabbi Gilles Bernheim would take part in the pilgrimage for the first time this year "in order to give a message of peace (and) of respect for others.

"I am very moved and very impressed by the Jews' way of life in Tunisia and their strict strict attachment to an ancient tradition," Bernheim said.

The Jewish community in Tunisia is still one of the largest in the Arab world but its numbers have dropped from 100,000 on independence from France in 1956 to around 1,500 today. Most emigrated to France or Israel.

Nearly half of those who remain live in Djerba.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=38741.

Lebanon embassy in Cairo asks for protection

Anonymous caller vows to avenge lynching of Egyptian near Beirut in phone call to Lebanon's embassy in Cairo.

BEIRUT - Lebanon's embassy in Cairo has asked Egypt for protection after receiving an anonymous pledge to avenge the lynching of an Egyptian by villagers near Beirut last week, a Lebanese official said Monday.

"The Lebanese ambassador, Khaled Ziade, has asked Egyptian authorities to provide the embassy with protection," after receiving the threatening phone call on Sunday, a government source said.

"He immediately hung up after making the threat," the source added.

The caller vowed to avenge the death of Mohammed Muslem, an Egyptian suspected of murdering an elderly couple and their two young granddaughters in Ketermaya, 25 kilometers (15 miles) southeast of Beirut, who was lynched by an angry mob on Thursday.

Muslem, 38, was being driven by a police escort to re-enact his crime when several hundred residents of Ketermaya dragged him out of the police car and beat and stabbed him to death before hanging his body on a pole with a butcher's hook.

Gruesome images of the lynching were broadcast by local television stations, prompting a wave of condemnation, including from Lebanon's President Michel Sleiman and Interior Minister Ziad Baroud who have called for an inquiry.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=38754.

'Unholy' Jordan River could die by 2011

Environmentalists warn once mighty Jordan River now little more than polluted stream.

By Patrick Moser - ALUMOT

The once mighty Jordan River, where Christians believe Jesus was baptized, is now little more than a polluted stream that could die next year unless the decay is halted, environmentalists said on Monday.

The famed river "has been reduced to a trickle south of the Sea of Galilee, devastated by over exploitation, pollution and lack of regional management," Friends of the Earth, Middle East (FoEME) said in a report.

More than 98 percent of the river's flow has been diverted by Israel, Syria and Jordan over the years.

"The remaining flow consists primarily of sewage, fish pond water, agricultural run-off and saline water," the environmentalists from Israel, Jordan and the West Bank said in the report to be presented in Amman on Monday.

"Without concrete action, the LJR (lower Jordan River) is expected to run dry at the end of 2011."

The river -- which runs 217 kilometers (135 miles) from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea -- and its tributaries are shared by Israel, Jordan, Syria and the West Bank.

Today the Jordan is a brackish stream barely a few meters (yards) wide.

A couple of kilometers south of the Sea of Galilee -- which is actually a lake -- a dam cuts off the flow of the river. Just south of the dam, raw sewage gushes from a pipe.

"This is what is today the source of the lower Jordan River," FoEME director for Israel Gidon Bromberg says, pointing to the foul-smelling water.

"No one can say this is holy water. No one can say this is an acceptable state for a river this famous worldwide."

A few meters away, saline water -- diverted from salt springs to protect the nearby lake -- flows into the foaming brown mess.

About 100 kilometers downstream, a Russian clad in a white robe immerses himself in the river at a site in Jordan where many Christians believe Jesus was baptised.

Every year, thousands of pilgrims take the plunge in the biblical river despite alarmingly high pollution.

Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian communities along the lower Jordan river -- about 340,000 people in all -- dump raw sewage into the river.

Ironically, if the sewage stops flowing into the river -- which Israel plans to do on its stretch -- the damage could be even greater unless additional measures are taken to reduce the salinity of the water.

FoEME believes the solution lies in releasing huge amounts of fresh water into the river.

The Jordan once had a flow of 1.3 billion cubic meters (45.5 billion cubic feet) a year, but now discharges only an estimated 20 million to 30 million cubic meters into the Dead Sea.

"A new study we commissioned reveals that we have lost at least 50 percent of biodiversity in and around the river due to the near total diversion of fresh water, and that some 400 million cubic meters of water annually are urgently needed to be returned to the river to bring it back to life," said Munqeth Mehyar, FoEME's Jordanian director.

Israel, Syria, Jordan must all return water to the ailing river, the report says.

Israel, having diverted the largest share and being a developed nation, should return a proportionally higher percentage of water, it adds.

Better management could save Israel 517 million cubic meters of water a year and Jordan 305 million cubic meters, part of which could be allocated to the Jordan river, the environmental group says.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=38752.

Deaths in Mogadishu mosque blast

1 May 2010

At least 15 people have reportedly been killed in two explosions in the centre of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Al Jazeera has learned that two successive blasts were heard inside the Bakara market mosque on Saturday.

They were apparently targeting a leader of the Mujahideen group al-Shabab, who was delivering a sermon in the mosque.

An al-Shabab official told the news agency AFP that the target was Sheikh Fuad

Mohamed Khalaf, also known as Fuad Shongole, who is the group's head of mobilization.

It was unclear whether he was injured and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

"Sheikh Fuad used to teach religious lessons at the mosque every Saturday. He was there when the blasts went off," Farhan Alin, a local businessman, said.

"The whole area was cordoned of by scores of al-Shabab Mujahideen. Nobody could get inside."

The busy Bakara market area is controlled by the groups al-Shabab and Hizb-ul Islam.

Over the last three years the market has seen frequent shelling between Mujahideen and puppet troops loyal to the so-called government, with scores of people killed.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/05/01/11979.shtml.

KATYN 2. Slovenia press: What did Russians do to Polish pilots?

1 May 2010

A mass-circulation Slovenian magazine Mladina published an article about one more bloody crime of Russians with regard to the video in which the shooting of Polish pilots by Russian terrorists from the Putin's gang of NKVD-KGB-FSB, as in Katyn - 1, has been recorded.

According to the latest information from the Russians, which could be mistrusted, they managed to "identify" with DNA tests the mash, into which they turned the corpses of pilots after the shooting, in order to hide bullet holes in the bodies.

It is to be mentioned that the cockpit fell separately from the passengers pod. Perhaps that was the reason why the pilots survived. The Slovenian magazine in an article entitled "Second Katyn Massacre" writes:

"Former leader of "Solidarity" and former president of Poland Mr Lech Walesa was the first to mention a possibility of Russian involvement in the matter as "Russia repeated" the Katyn massacre, which was aimed to exterminate the Polish political elite"

Strangely, YouTube deleted the first video (dated 11th April - KC) on the issue, and the initial video was mysteriously shortened and cleansed.

There was information in Polish press that a journalist, Andrey Menderey, was stabbed many times to death, but later it was denied.

Anyway, the video recording is very interesting, as there is a man there running from the crash site of airplane, and they say that the record includes a man in white holding hands up.

Also there is the noise of sirens (may be to muffle the shooting - KC) and the sound of 4 shots. So far, no information is available about the pilots as no corpses have been found, however, they should have been in a cockpit, which was the least damaged part of the plane.

The words of the Georgian President Saakashvili in relation to matter are very interesting: he mentioned involvement of "some kind of incredible Evil" in the catastrophe.

Additional doubts are caused by the fact that the 25-year old Tupolev TU -154 has gone major repairs at the end of 2009 in southern Russia and recently returned back to Poland. It certainly strengthens doubts because time and place of the ceremony to take place in Katyn were known in advance.

A prestigious portal, Global Analysis, writes that "it's absolutely incredible that the fatal accident, which happened to the Polish airplane TU-154 near Smolensk- North just before 11a.m., was has been an accidental crash."

They claim that the airplane brushed tops of trees while trying to land on a 4th attempt in the mist, and crashed about a mile from the airport.

The list of the dead in the accident indicates that it may be considered that all sorts of problems, which were hard to handle by the Kremlin, were solved due to the Second Katyn Massacre...

Nevertheless, the majority of Russian media believe the official version. According to the English-language "Saint Petersburg Times", the Poles are to be blamed for the crash because of continuous bad relations between two countries for decades.

Russia acknowledged the responsibility for massacre of 20,000 Polish army officers in the Katyn forest, which was carried out by Stalin's NKVD in 1940. But Poland is yet strongly separated in opinions.

Polish prime minister Mr Donald Tusk held a joint ceremony with Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin. However, Polish President, who strongly mistrusted Russia, decided to commemorate the anniversary with a delegation of his own and even asked in public whether they would be able to obtain Russian visas for it.

The Global Analysis lists other strange facts. Observers on land heard an explosion in the air before the crash of the airplane. Contrary to official Russian news, that the airplane had to land in dense mist, observers testify that sky was blue and crystal clear.

Polish journalist Arkadius Mularchik was about 10 kilometers away from the crash site in the Katyn forest at the time of the accident as he was traveling by train. He confirmed to the newspaper Guardian that the sky was "clean and clear" and he asked "why they didn't let them land".

According to some news, the pilot had difficulties in determining speed and height, however, experts say that the airplane couldn't have hit the trees as it is claimed in the official report, because the trees are lower than the level of airport, writes the Slovenian magazine Mladina.

Analytical Department
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/05/01/11984.shtml.

Habib Bourguiba International Airport named best in Africa

Habib Bourguiba International Airport in Monastir was voted "best in Africa" at a new aviation industry event held in Dubai last week, TAP reported on Friday (April 30th). The first "Emerging Markets Airport Award" (EMAA) evaluated airports in Russia, the Baltic region, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The Tunisian airport is operated by TAV Holding of Turkey.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/05/02/newsbrief-05.

Algeria approves retroactive pay hike for 3m workers

Nearly three million Algerian workers will benefit from a wage hike agreement signed Saturday (May 1st) between labor union UGTA and representatives of public and private companies, Tout sur l'Algerie reported. The 20-23 percent wage increase is retroactive to January 1st, 2010, Labor Minister Tayeb Louh said.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/05/02/newsbrief-04.

Egypt's opposition demands arresting Netanyahu for 'war crimes'

Cairo - Egyptian opposition groups on Sunday called for arresting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on "war crimes" when he visits Egypt this week.

Representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Kifaya (Enough) coalition, along with a number of independent politicians filed a report to state prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud demanding the immediate arrest of Netanyahu when he arrives in Egypt Monday for talks with President Hosny Mubarak.

The Brotherhood and Kifaya are considered Egypt's largest opposition groups. In 2005 parliamentary elections, the Brotherhood won 20 per cent of the popular vote.

"Our demand is based on a number of international reports about the Israeli offensive on Gaza, including the Goldstone report," said opposition journalist Abdel-Halim Qandil, the current head of the Kifaya coalition.

The fact-finding mission of Justice Richard Goldstone last year charged that war crimes may have taken place during the 2008-2009 three-week-long Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, which left some 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.

At the time, Netanyahu was not prime minister.

"We also filed a separate legal memorandum reviewing evidence of Netanyahu's war crimes in Gaza based on international laws," Qandil added.

Meeting at the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, Netanyahu and Mubarak are expected to discuss Palestinian-Israeli "proximity" talks, which Washington said will resume next week.

On Saturday, the Arab League gave its blessing to the indirect talks. Egypt has been a key player in the negotiations, which were suspended in late 2008.

The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed al-Beltagi said that the report is a "a political message to emphasize that receiving Netanyahu in Sharm al-Sheikh is rejected by the people."

The independent-daily al-Masry al-Youm on Saturday quoted Egypt's ambassador to Israel, Yasser Reda, as saying that "the Egyptian opposition isn't opposed to the peace treaty or Israel."

"Those people don't want war. Most of the world wants peace," he said at a Tel Aviv University after expressing his hopes of seeing a football match played between the Egyptian and Israeli national teams in the near future.

Despite being the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, the question of normalizing relations remains a hot topic of debate in Egypt, where many reject the idea of direct relations with Israel.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321618,egypts-opposition-demands-arresting-netanyahu-for-war-crimes.html.

Egyptian police arrest four Brotherhood members

Cairo - Four members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group, were arrested early on Sunday, security sources said.

Police seized books and publications critical of the government, when they arrested the people as members of the group were holding a meeting in the coastal city of Alexandria, sources added.

Three of the detained are members of the group's legal committee for candidacy for the elections of the Shura Council, or the upper house of the Egyptian Parliament. The vote is scheduled for the beginning of June.

The Muslim Brotherhood is banned in Egypt, but members running as independents in 2005 won nearly a fifth of seats in the People's Assembly, making the group the largest opposition bloc in the legislature.

Egyptian security forces routinely arrest members of the group, most often on charges of belonging to a banned organization.

In March, lawyer Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsud said that the government's most recent crackdown has snared 350 members of the group, including potential candidates in the coming parliamentary elections. He did not specify how many were still in jail.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321630,egyptian-police-arrest-four-brotherhood-members.html.

Municipal polls kick off in Lebanon

The Lebanese have taken part in the first round of the municipal elections, as some 20,000 security personnel are mobilized to oversee the vote.

On Sunday, nearly 800,000 voters went to the polling stations in the Christian-dominated Mount Lebanon, AFP reported. The event is to be held on four Sundays up until the end of May, Reuters said.

The poll marks Lebanon's first local elections since 2004. More than three million voters are eligible to elect more than 7,500 candidates, including 466 women, to 3,507 seats.

"The aim of the municipality is developmental and not political. So, those who want to settle political scores or regain strength, I hope that they do that outside the municipal elections," candidate Ziad Hawwat told Reuters.

The country is said to be enjoying an atmosphere of relative political ease since December 2009, when the parliament overwhelmingly voted for the national unity government of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, which included three ministers backed by the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125194§ionid=351020203.

Iran says producing passenger plane

Iran's Defense Ministry says it will begin the production phase of a domestically-manufactured medium-size passenger plane.

Speaking at an avionics conference in Tehran on Sunday, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the aircraft is designed to carry up to 150 passengers.

Vahidi also said apart from outstanding progress in the making "stealth" drones, the ministry is also working with the private sector to develop larger passenger planes.

The remarks came a day after the ministry equipped its Air Force with 10 new Toufan (storm) helicopters.

The helicopter is equipped with “state-of-the-art weapons systems including anti-tank missiles, rocket-launchers and 20mm canons,” Vahidi said.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125193§ionid=351020101.

Iran: No need to gain West's trust

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says there is no need for Tehran to gain the trust of Western nations since Iran abides by international regulations.

Arriving in New York to take part in a conference reviewing the 40-year-old Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), President Ahmadinejad also insisted that Iran considers disarmament an influential factor in global security and will accordingly pursue the matter.

Iran has "practical, impartial and clear proposals for this conference" to help the "global security and disarmament," the president said on Sunday upon his arrival at JFK airport.

In response to a reporter's question on ways to gain the trust of Western nations on the nuclear question, Ahmadinejad emphasized, "we should not offer ways to obtain their trust as Iran abides by the international law and acts within its framework," IRNA reported.

"Disarmament and the peaceful use of nuclear energy are two most important global issues," he added.

Ahmadinejad, who is scheduled to address the 2010 NPT Review Conference at the United Nations headquarters, left for New York at the head of a high-ranking delegation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, senior Presidential Advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, and the Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi will accompany the Iranian president during the visit.

The conference, which will run from May 3 to May 28, aims to review the global progress in fulfilling disarmament obligations set out in the NPT.

Before leaving Tehran, Ahmadinejad told reporters that nuclear weapons have posed "the single greatest threat" to the world for more than sixty years.

Ahmadinejad said that the possession of an atomic bomb has become "an instrument to serve the hegemonic and expansionist interests of a select few."

"Under the pretext of nuclear non-proliferation, certain countries exert political pressure on those merely seeking to pursue peaceful enrichment activities," said the Iranian president.

He went on to say that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has failed to fulfill its main obligations over the past four decades. One of the obligations the IAEA has failed to meet, Ahmadinejad said, was the disarming of all nuclear-armed states.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125242§ionid=351020104.

Wanted Saudi fugitive surrenders

A Saudi fugitive with al-Qaeda-links surrenders to Saudi authorities under an amnesty memorandum, an Interior Ministry statement says.

Aqil Amish al-Mutairi was on a wanted list of 85 suspects, as Saudi government says, adhered to "deviant" ideologies — a common terminology for al-Qaeda.

The authorities said al-Mutairi turned himself in on Wednesday, April 28, after extensive negotiations with the relevant officials.

Since the list was made public in 2009, six suspects have been confirmed dead, two captured, and four, including al-Mutairi, surrendered.

"He will be treated in accordance with the procedures applicable in such cases, and his initiative will be taken into consideration," ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has begun a nationwide program under the name of "rehabilitating" former militants, if they renounce violence in exchange for freedom, reported German news agency dpa.

In March, Saudi security forces broke up three cells of al-Qaeda militants and arrested some 113 suspects, who were allegedly planning attacks on oil facilities.

Those arrested were 58 Saudis, 52 Yemenis, one Somali, one Bangladeshi and one Eritrean.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125238§ionid=351020205.

JEM to quit Sudan peace talks

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) warns it may abandon peace talks following a military crackdown on its stronghold by the Sudanese government.

Ahmad Hussein Adam, the spokesperson of JEM said on Friday that the Sudanese government used helicopters and gunships to attack the groups` positions in Jebel Jalik, located 25km South of Jebel Marra in Western Darfur state.

The government has put an end to the ceasefire with the never-ending aggressions on JEM positions, Adam said.

“The aggressions have put an end to the peace process and we will evaluate the situation at a time when an all-out war is launched against us,” he added.

JEM signed an accord with Khartoum in Doha on February 23, billed as an important step toward peace in the restive region of Darfur.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Tugud Lisan, JEM's main negotiator in peace talks with the Sudanese government, struck a milder tone with regard to the group's threat by saying that “we have not decided yet if we would pull out of the Doha process.”

The Sudanese army spokesman Sawami Khaled Saad shrugged off accusations that the government was engaged in attacking JEM positions in the Jebel Moon Region.

Darfur, a remote region of Western Sudan, roughly the size of France, has been mired in a civil war since 2003. According to the UN, some 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 millions have been displaced due to sectarian strife in the region.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125237&sectionid=351020504.

UK official critical of anti-Muslim laws

The UK government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation has expressed concerns about the use of stop and search operations on Muslim citizens by British police.

"Stop and search has a particular community impact and I have been concerned not only about the exercises of police in the past, whether foul or do not foul in the civil liberty agenda, but I have been concerned too about the fact that perhaps this proportion of Muslims have been stopped and searched, which should not have occurred," Lord Alex Carlile told Press TV's Face to Face program last Thursday.

The former Member of Parliament also made clear that "stop and search with the suspicion that someone is a terrorist is perfectly reasonable."

In another part of the interview, Carlile said that a possible ban on Muslim women from wearing burka (the full Islamic face veil) would be a wrong decision.

Last month, some European countries voted for a law that would ban women from wearing burka in public.

"I think banning for burka in Britain would be quite wrong. There are many women in many towns and cities in Britain who wear the burka and they are no less British for it. what I do think is important is that people of all creeds, all religion and non-secular people too, should be able operate in an atmosphere of tolerance with a balanced, not absolutist, human rights legal framework," Carlile added.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125244§ionid=351020601.

Tehran to exhibit Negini jewelry

Tehran's Niavaran Cultural and Historical Complex is to mount an exhibition of gemstone jewelry designed and made by veteran Iranian artist Mohammad Negini.

Gem and Art will kick off at Niavaran's Sahebqaranieh Palace on May 5, 2010, showcasing exquisite works crafted by the 57-year-old heuristic artist.

Mohammad Negini began working on gemstones in 1987 and is the only person who has been granted Iran's highest art certificate.

He has participated in numerous international festivals and topped Iran's first Precious Stones Festival in 1998.

His works were also displayed during an exhibition at Tehran's Sa'ad Abad Cultural Complex in 2008, which showcased pieces of jewelry and artworks, made of gemstones such as lapis lazuli, pearl and jasper.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125191§ionid=351020105.