Gbagbo moves to eject peacekeepers

Incumbent Cote d'Ivoire President tells UN peacekeepers to leave the country after 'interference' in internal affairs.

18 Dec 2010

The government of Cote d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo has told the United Nations and French peacekeeping missions to leave the country, escalating tensions after last month's disputed presidential polls.

"The government demands the departure of the UNOCI [United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire] and LICORNE [The French military's 'Operation Unicorn'] forces in Ivory Coast and is opposed to any renewal of their mandate," said spokesperson Jacqueline Oble, reading a statement on state television on Saturday.

"UNOCI has interfered seriously in the internal affairs of Ivory Coast," she added.

Earlier on Saturday, masked men in military uniforms opened fire on a UN base, after following guards back from a patrol, according to a UN statement. There were no casualties after the attack, in which six armed men in a civilian vehicle shot at the patrol as it entered the UN compound.

The men continued firing along the wall of the compound, and UN guards returned fire, according to the statement.

The UN has 10,000 soldiers and police in the country following the 2002-03 civil war, and former colonial power France's LICORNE force supports the UN mission in the country.

International pressure mounts

The move to eject UN and French peacekeepers comes just a day after Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga called on African nations to oust Gbagbo by force if necessary.

"Mr Gbagbo must be forced even if it means using military means to get rid of him because now he is just relying on military power, not the people's power, to intimidate the people," Odinga told a news conference in Nairobi on Friday.

"The African Union should develop teeth."

Cote d'Ivoire was thrown into crisis after its November 28 presidential runoff, with both candidates claiming victory. Alassane Ouattara has been recognized by the international community as the winner and has formed a parallel government holed up in an Abidjan hotel.

France has issued a weekend deadline for Gbagbo to surrender his presidential post or face international sanctions and Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has called on the incumbent to step aside for Ouattara.

The United States has said it is ready to impose travel sanctions on Gbagbo, his inner circle and their families within days, while at least one African nation is said to have offered him exile.

"There is at least one African offer of a soft landing, but it is up to him to take it," William Fitzgerald, the state department official in charge of West African affairs, told the Reuters news agency in an interview.

'Little effect'

But Al Jazeera's Ama Boateng, reporting from Abidjan, said that Gbagbo has "heard these threats before".

"We've heard them from the African Union, we've heard them from the United Nations, we've heard them from pretty much every international voice," Boateng said. "And so far, that has had very, very little effect."

A spokesman for Gbagbo told the Reuters news agency that the presidential claimant would not step down after being handed the runoff victory after the constitutional council annulled hundreds of thousands of votes in pro-Ouattara areas.

"President Gbagbo is going nowhere. He was elected for five years and he will only leave power in 2015," Alain Toussaint said in London.

"France, the United States, the EU want to carry out a plot, a constitutional coup d'etat, and we say 'No' ... we can't allow foreign governments to interfere in our affairs."

The election has been followed by violent protests in Abidjan and other cities. Ouattara's camp said 30 people died in clashes on Thursday while Gbagbo's spokeswoman said 20 died, including 10 police officers killed by protesters.

Source: al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/12/20101218143415519240.html.

Kashmir University to set up advanced IT center

2010-12-18

The University of Kashmir has decided to establish an advanced IT center to promote information technology in Jammu and Kashmir.

The university is all set to establish an advanced center for IT in the campus, a fundamental step for ensuring development of the software industry and bringing a boom in employment for students.

Students have appreciated the steps taken by the authorities, and hope that the course generates employment.

"If a student passes out from here, they are simply an IT graduate but because of these courses, we have a specialization in a particular field because of which we have different qualities from a simple graduate," said Nadia, an IT student.

"We get jobs in different fields and various companies. This course generates employment and we get to work as a specialized person," she added.

The university authorities plan to develop infrastructure for this course.

"For IT industry, there should be separate infrastructure. We have identified five areas in which we are building infrastructure in a period of two-three years so that the IT professionals, who come out of the college, their employment is ensured," said Merajud Din Dar, Director of Information Technology and Supports System at Kashmir University.

The Center would impart training to IT professionals to ensure that the software industry in the region develops at a rapid pace.

Source: Sify.
Link: http://www.sify.com/news/kashmir-university-to-set-up-advanced-it-centre-news-national-kmsuacfijcb.html.

Memorial for victims of Mavi Marmara erected in Spain

The monument, designed by sculptors Roxanne Robinson and Arevalo Beteta, was erected at the Palestine Park in Leganes near Madrid

Saturday, 18 December 2010

A monument was unveiled in the Spanish capital Madrid to commemorate nine Turkish activists killed by Israeli commandos in the May 31 raid on Gaza-Bound aid ship Mavi Marmara.

The monument, designed by sculptors Roxanne Robinson and Arevalo Beteta, was erected at the Palestine Park in Leganes near Madrid at the initiatives of three Spanish activists supported by several non-governmental organizations.

Spanish activists plan to send two aid ships to Gaza this spring.

Turkish Ambassador to Spain Ender Arat, Palestinian Ambassador to Spain Moussa Odeh, Mayor of Leganes Rafael Gomez Montaya and representatives from Turkish humanitarian aid organization IHH attended a ceremony held to unveil the monument on Friday.

The monument features a child launching the Mavi Marmara ship loaded with humanitarian aid materials in front of a tumbledown wall which depicts Palestine.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=67550.

Education key to Jordan nuclear future - experts

By Taylor Luck

AMMAN - Despite the talk of technology, uranium and finances, the Kingdom’s nuclear power program hinges on one area, according to experts: education.

With the average nuclear reactor requiring a staff of 700, man- and woman power will be crucial to the country’s quest to harness atomic energy and end its reliance on energy imports, nuclear engineering education is needed officials said.

If the country is to proceed with its eventual goal of three reactors to transform the Kingdom into an electricity exporter, 2,100 specialized and experienced staff are required, according to officials.

“The greatest challenge we will face in our efforts to introduce nuclear power will be having a strong cadre of nuclear engineers and experts,” Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Commissioner for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Ned Xoubi said during a nuclear power public information seminar on Wednesday.

The Kingdom is just part of a wider regional lack of nuclear engineers, with the Arab Atomic Energy Agency estimating that hundreds of nuclear engineers in the region left to work as civil and electrical engineers following the decline in demand for nuclear power in the 1980s and 1990s.

In order to address the shortfall in nuclear engineers, the JAEC assisted in the establishment of a nuclear engineering department at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in 2007.

According to Salaheddin Malkawi, director of the JUST nuclear engineering department, university administration has set the bar high; students must attain a minimum Tawjihi (General Secondary Certificate Examination) score of 95 to be considered for admission.

Even with the strict standards, the faculty has ballooned from an initial class of 18 to 145, he said.

A key to the university’s department is a 5-megawatt nuclear research reactor, currently being constructed by a South Korean consortium, which will be the focal point of a nuclear center at JUST.

The center is also to include a sub critical assembly, radioisotope production facility, education and training, and a fuel fabrication plant, according to Xoubi, who also serves as research reactor project manager.

In the meantime, JUST has sent students abroad to Russia and China thanks to scholarships extended by the host countries and have utilized a virtual reactor linking Jordanian students with North Carolina State University’s 1MW PULSTAR research reactor.

“The virtual experience has become very important; the students feel that they are in the reactor room,” Malkawi told The Jordan Times.

‘On track to a Jordanian program’

Kenneth Peddicord, director of the Nuclear Power Institute and professor at the Texas A&M Department of Nuclear Engineering, said the country is “on the right timeline” to have Jordanian staff in place ahead of the reactor.

“To launch a nuclear engineering program and have 140 students in three years, this is an incredible accomplishment,” he stressed, highlighting the importance of experienced engineers to man various managerial aspects of the program.

As nuclear engineers account for some 5 per cent of the average reactor staff, Peddicord stressed that the next task for the country is preparing future cadres of mechanical, environmental and electrical engineers.

“You have to ensure you have staff with diverse backgrounds in order to fully run a plant,” he said.

In order to meet the challenge, JUST is to introduce an MA program in project management in 2011, Malkawi said, adding that plans are in place for an MA in nuclear safety and regulation.

Another center of excellence, a joint venture comprising JAEC, the University of Jordan, Balqaa Applied University, German-Jordanian University, and the ministries of labor, public sector reform and higher education, will be established.

The center is to develop programs to prepare staff for nuclear and mega-projects not provided by existing educational institutions, Malkawi said, adding that the center will likely utilize community colleges and focus on virtual learning, such as JUST’s reactor link with the North Carolina State University.

The push for nuclear education could transform the country into a destination for countries such as the UAE, which are relying heavily on international staff to man its nuclear power program.

Even established nuclear states such as the US may send students to Jordan to learn about the field and a new culture, according Peddicord.

“Nuclear energy is increasingly international and our students need to learn about work in other areas. We would be very interested to enable students to spend time in Jordan,” Peddicord said.

With the focus on localizing the Jordanian nuclear program, energy officials are cautious when projecting a completely nationalized staff. Reaching a point where Jordanians are involved in every aspect of a nuclear power plant from top to bottom will likely take an entire generation, according to Xoubi.

Hans-Holger Rogner, section head of the IAEA planning and economic studies, said a generation is a fair assessment, pointing out that China relied on international operators before developing its own nuclear industry.

“When you decide to go for nuclear power, it’s not a passing fancy, it is a 100-year commitment,” he said.

The country’s nuclear power program entails the establishment of a 1,000-megawatt Generation III reactor within the next decade, with tentative plans for a second reactor devoted to water desalination some two years later.

17 December 2010

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://jordantimes.com/?news=32723.

Jordan denounces Brotherhood's fatwa against Afghan role

Suha Philip Ma'ayeh
Dec 18, 2010

AMMAN // Jordan's government body for issuing religious edicts has moved to reaffirm its authority and denounced a fatwa from the Muslim Brotherhood which criticized the kingdom's role in assisting US and Nato troops in Afghanistan.

The department of Ifta issued a statement saying it was the only body in the country authorized to issue fatwas after the Brotherhood's offshoot and the country's main opposition, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), on Sunday banned Muslims from joining non-Muslims in their military presence in Afghanistan. The Jordanian government described the fatwa as "offensive".

"We are the only party to issue edicts on public matters. Nobody asked us to issue a fatwa," the Ifta department said on Thursday.

Jordan, a US ally, has for years maintained silence over its role in Afghanistan. But last year the extent of its involvement was revealed when one of its security agents was killed in a suicide bombing that also killed seven CIA operatives in a military base in Afghanistan.

The Ifta department highlighted the Jordanian army's role in providing help and medical aid in disaster and war-torn areas. It said "no party has the right to question that role".

The government has acknowledged that Jordan operates a field hospital in Afghanistan, but it remains unclear how many Jordanian troops are stationed there.

The fatwa, posted on the IAF's website, said: "Joining the allied forces in Afghanistan and other countries is considered assisting non-Muslims in their aggression against Muslims. This is haram and a [form of] oppression."

The fatwa considered "those who support the Americans and the allied forces in fighting the Muslims, non-Muslims".

The edict seemed to have struck a nerve because it came from IAF religious scholars, said Fouad Hussein, an independent analyst specializing in Islamic movements, and "therefore, it gives it a religious flavor rather than a political one".

It is also came amid growing tensions between the Islamists and the government after the IAF boycotted last month's parliamentary elections to protest against a new electoral law they said was designed to deprive them of votes. They also complained about a gradual loss of democratic gains and civil rights.

"It seems the IAF's fatwa was intended to provoke the government," Mr Hussein said.

Last week, Ayman Safadi, the deputy prime minister and the government's spokesman, defended the army's role in Afghanistan.

"Jordan is proud of the role played by the armed forces and all other security agencies to help our brothers and stand by them, whether in Gaza or Afghanistan or anywhere else in the Arab and Muslim worlds," the state-run Petra News agency quoted him as saying last week.

"Jordan will continue to help and stand by all brothers, including the Afghan people, to surmount challenges, and will do [the] utmost to protect Jordan's security and stability from anyone and anywhere."

Source: The National.
Link: http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/jordan-denounces-brotherhoods-fatwa-against-afghan-role.

Spain adds to its high-speed rail network

Sat, 18 Dec 2010

Madrid - Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia on Saturday inaugurated a new line in the country's high-speed rail network, which is being billed as the most advanced in Europe.

The royal couple took the high-speed AVE train from Madrid to Valencia on the eastern Mediterranean coast. Other passengers on board included Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Infrastructure Minister Jose Blanco.

On Wednesday, Crown Prince Felipe had inaugurated another stretch of the same line, which branches off to Albacete in the south-east.

Traveling at up to 330 kilometers an hour, the AVE will cover the 391-kilometer route between Madrid and Valencia in just 95 minutes, more than twice as fast as earlier trains.

More than 3.5 million people are expected to travel annually on the new line, according to the rail company Renfe.

Running 15 times daily between Madrid and Valencia in both directions, the AVE is expected to reduce flight traffic on the route by 55 per cent, car traffic by 25 per cent and bus traffic by 5 per cent.

The construction of the new high-speed rail line cost 6.6 billion euros (8.6 billion dollars).

Spain began developing its high-speed rail network in 1992 with the inauguration of a line linking Madrid with Seville. The AVE now travels also other cities such as Malaga, Toledo or Valladolid.

The line linking Madrid with Barcelona, which was opened in 2008, is due to be extended to the French side of the border by 2012. The AVE network currently covers 2,200 kilometers.

The network features three types of trains: a new version of the French TGV, another of the German ICE-3 as well as a Spanish-Canadian train known as El Pato (The Duck).

"Spain has surpassed even former pioneers such as France and Japan," Blanco says. The government says Spain is now the world leader in high-speed trains, preceded only by China.

The AVE network is seen as reviving poorer regions, boosting technological exports and improving Spain's transport connections with the rest of Europe.

Critics, however, say not all the AVE lines are profitable, and that Spain is neglecting the potential offered by traditional trains.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358767,adds-high-speed-rail-network.html.

قبرص وإسرائيل ترسمان الحدود البحرية

18/12/2010 م

لاستغلال الاحتياطيات الغازية والنفطية
قبرص وإسرائيل ترسمان الحدود البحرية

وقعت إسرائيل وقبرص أمس الجمعة على اتفاق يرسم الحدود البحرية في شرق البحر المتوسط حيث تم اكتشاف احتياطيات ضخمة من النفط والغاز الطبيعي.

وتحدد الاتفاقية -التي وقعها في نيقوسيا كل من وزير الخارجية القبرصي ماركوس كبريانو ووزير البنى التحتية الإسرائيلي عوزي لانداو- مناطق الاستغلال الاقتصادي للبلدين.

وتتمتع شركة نوبل إنرجي، ومقرها تكساس، بحقوق استغلال النفط والغاز في حقل بحري قبرصي وفي حقل قريب على الجانب الإسرائيلي من الحدود البحرية.

ووفق مصدر دبلوماسي فإن هذه "الاتفاقية توفر بصورة أساسية لها شبكة أمان قانوني بأن حقوقها محفوظة من الناحية القانونية".

ووقعت قبرص اتفاقين مماثلين لترسيم حدودها البحرية مع كل من لبنان ومصر، لكن البرلمان اللبناني لم يصادق بعد على الاتفاق.

المصدر: الجزيرة.
الرابط: http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/EXERES/FBADD596-6F1C-4F4A-9461-3CEB40936573.htm.

Hamas castigates UNRWA for its "suspicious" trips

18-12-2010

Al Qassam website- Gaza -Hamas's refugees department strongly denounced the UN's Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for staging trips for Palestinian students to the US, Europe, and South Africa to sightsee Jewish holocaust museums, calling the trips “suspicious”.

The department said UNRWA selected ninth grade honor students for a tour of holocaust centers in the West.

“We cringed when reading an article in the British Guardian newspaper and watching a film it prepared about a trip for 16 ninth-grade students to New York during which they were briefed about what happened on September 11 and then taken to the Museum of the Jewish Holocaust.”

UNRWA teaching staff taught the students how the Jews suffered at the hands of the German Nazis, and expressed sympathy for them.

UNRWA does not have the freedom to teach as it sees fit, Hamas said. But the agency said it was committed to teaching along the programs adopted in its five areas of operations, and should abide by that program in Gaza, one of those five areas.

“When an international organization specializing in Palestinian refugees takes on teaching human rights, that requires focusing on the rights of Palestinian refugees, with no need to address the rights of the oppressed from other regions in the world. The children cannot comprehend the oppression of all of the world's peoples. The oppression and suffering of the Palestinians by the hands of the Jewish occupiers is a good enough example.”

“The point of the trip is strange. What is America's connection to human rights when it is not bound by them? It violates them day and night in all corners of the world, and inside America itself.”

If students must go on a trip, then why not to Vietnam to learn about the three million who died in the US war in the region; or to Africa, where people were stolen and taken as slaves in Europe and America in previous centuries?

“We denounce this suspicious act in hopes that UNRWA education officials in the Gaza Strip will not repeat it; and we hope the Palestinian Authority will take a national stand to put a stop to ideological corruption on Palestine's youth.”

Source: Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades - Information Office.
Link: http://www.qassam.ps/news-3931-Hamas_castigates_UNRWA_for_its_suspicious_trips.html.

Hamas gets stronger despite the Israeli siege

18-12-2010

Al Qassam website - Gaza -Member of Hamas's political bureau Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar stated that his Movement is getting stronger despite the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip and embarking on building civil institutions and resisting the occupation at the same time.

"We are holding out and the Movement's popularity is on the rise, and this is what has been seen clearly by everyone at the massive popular festival which Hamas held last week in Gaza on its 23rd inception anniversary," Dr. Zahhar said in a statement to the French news agency (AFP).

The Hamas official affirmed that if elections were held, his Movement would definitely win in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, noting that the state of social security and stability prevailing in Gaza is attributed to the rule of Hamas.

"We are here to build what was destroyed by the occupation, homes, schools, hospitals and ministries, we did not stop construction," he stressed, adding that the Movement is also working on building itself and its elements to confront any possible Israeli war.

The official pointed out that the Israeli occupation violated the ceasefire with the Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza many times and the resistance fighters have the right to retaliate if there is any military incursion or attack.

Source: Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades - Information Office.
Link: http://www.qassam.ps/news-3930-Zahhar_Hamas_gets_stronger_despite_the_Israeli_siege.html.

Hundreds of political detainees in Abbas jails

18-12-2010

Al Qassam website - MP Dr. Aziz Dwaik, the speaker of the Palestinian parliament, has urged Friday the militia of Mahmoud Abbas, the de-facto PA chief, to release all political detainees in the PA jails in the West Bank, considering such step necessary for achieving national reconciliation.

In an interview with the Quds Press on Friday, Dwaik criticized the Fatah-controlled media in the West Bank for attempting to twist facts by blaming Hamas for using the file of political detainees to evade national reconciliation.

"Neither our customs nor our law allows for the Palestinian to detain his fellow Palestinian for his political affiliation. A faction cannot be blamed for defending its innocent cadres as their detention is wrong in the first place,” said Dwaik in reaction to the allegations of Fatah media.

He underlined that hundreds of political detainees, the great majority from Hamas, are still incarcerated in Abbas's jails in the West Bank, and subjected to harsh physical and moral torture.

He further said that the PA jails are full of Hamas supporters, some of them are elderly and sick whose detention is very inhumane, some of them are cancer patients, calling for the release of all political prisoners to create a suitable atmosphere for national reconciliation.

Source: Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades - Information Office.
Link: http://www.qassam.ps/news-3923-Hundreds_of_political_detainees_in_Abbas_jails.html.

She returned to Gaza after 62 years of exile

18-12-2010

Al Qassam website- Gaza -Egyptian authorities allowed an elderly Palestinian woman to return to the Gaza Strip after she spent 62 years in exile in Jordan apart from her husband and children.

Ne’mah Mattar Khamees, in her eighties, was exiled in 1948 by the Israeli occupation to Jordan. She lived in Amman by herself as her husband Ezzat Abu Kwaik and six children remained in the Gaza Strip.

One of her daughters and one of her sons died without her having a chance of seeing them and she lived alone in Amman where she survived on charity and neighbors’ help. She suffered various illnesses and had a spinal fracture.

Her neighbors alerted the Red Cross which contacted the Egyptian authorities and asked for her to be allowed into the Gaza Strip.

The Red Cross met Mrs. Khamees at Cairo airport on Wednesday morning, and the Egyptian Red Crescent provided an ambulance and a doctor to accompany Mrs. Khamees to Al-Areesh, from where she was taken to the Rafah crossing on Thursday morning where she was met by her son Abdel Rahim who was denied her love since he a was a child.

Source: Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades - Information Office.
Link: http://www.qassam.ps/news-3924-She_returned_to_Gaza_after_62_years_of_exile.html.

Women captives suffer harsh violations in Israeli jails

18-12-2010

Al Qassam website- Gaza - Riyadh Al-Ashqar, the spokesman of the PA ministry of prisoners and ex-prisoners in Gaza city, has asserted Thursday that Palestinian women captives in Israeli jails suffer harsh and systematic violation at the hands of the Israeli jailers.

Ashqar's remarks came in an open forum organized by the independent bureau for human rights in Gaza city on Thursday, where he also revealed that 36 Palestinian women captives incarcerated in the Israeli Hasharon and Damoun prisons.

According to Ashqar, the Israeli measures against the Palestinian women captives, including denying them family visits, detaining them in solitary confinement, malnutrition, and deliberate medical neglect among other inhumane measures, aim at breaking steadfastness and resoluteness of those captives.

Fatima Al-Zaq, a former prisoner in Israeli jails, who was invited to the forum, narrated her experience in the Israeli jail, saying that the IPA officials ordered to put her in a dirty solitary confinement room after they knew she was pregnant.

He added that the Israeli doctors in the jail tried many times to abort her pregnancy by prescribing her wrong and unknown medicine.

Another former captive Fayrooz Arafa explained the volume of her suffering while in Israeli jails, asserting that the IPA officials exercise the worst king of psychological and physical torture against Palestinian women captives in a bid to kill their will.

For his part, Jamil Sarhan, the director of the bureau, condemned the Israeli torture methods against Palestinian captives, including women and children, in Israeli jails, underlining that international laws and conventions prohibit such measures.

He also expressed anxiety for the health of Palestinian woman captive Linan Abu Ghalamh, holding the IPA fully responsible for her well being. Abu Ghalama has been on hunger strike for 16 days now because the IPA officials refused to reunite her with her younger sister Taghreed detained in a different prison.

Source: Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades - Information Office.
Link: http://www.qassam.ps/news-3922-Women_captives_suffer_harsh_violations_in_Israeli_jails.html.

Heading to Gaza, Asia convoy arrives in Turkey

18-12-2010

Agencies - The Asia solidarity convoy heading to the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian supplies arrived in in Turkey on Friday after it left Iran on its way to deliver humanitarian supplies to the besieged coastal region. Thousands greeted the activists and chanted in support of Palestine.

Representative of the Turkish Relief Society (IHH), Salah Ed Deen Auzer, stated in a press release issued by convoy that the convoy, organized by Asian countries, will be heading to Gaza to break the illegal Israeli siege to deliver humanitarian supplies.

He thanked the participants and all individuals and groups that donated to the campaign.

“We want an end to injustice practices by the Zionists”, he stated, “All illegal practices must end, solidarity ships will not stop until the siege in lifted”.

The IHH will be sending, on Saturday morning, a solidarity convoy carrying more than 150 members from 22 countries around the world.

The Asian Convoy left Delhi on December 2nd passing through Pakistan and Iran, and is expected to pass through Syria on its way to Al Arish Egyptian Port before heading to Gaza on December 27 as convoy members plan to enter Gaza on the eve of second anniversary of the war on Gaza.

1419 Palestinians, most of them civilians, including children and elderly, were killed during the war and approximately 4000 were wounded. The army bombarded homes, medical facilities, education facilities, UNRWA facilities and schools.

Source: Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades - Information Office.
Link: http://www.qassam.ps/news-3929-Heading_to_Gaza_Asia_convoy_arrives_in_Turkey.html.

Rebels kill seven political activists in eastern India

Fri, 17 Dec 2010

New Delhi - Suspected Maoist rebels on Friday killed six members and a leader of a ruling party in India's West Bengal state, police said.

The bodies of the members of the Forward Bloc, a communist party that is part of the left-wing government in the state, were found in a forest in the western district of Purulia.

"One of the victims was a woman, who was also a village council chief, while the others were men," district police chief Sunil Chowdhury said over the phone.

Police found posters left by the Maoists which claimed that the villagers had been spying for the security forces.

"We suspect that the Maoist rebels are behind the crime. We have initiated an investigation into the killings," he added.

According to Forward Bloc party members, a group of about 40 armed Maoists had attacked the victims' houses late Thursday and dragged them out.

"They gunned down seven of them in a nearby forested area early Friday," Forward Bloc lawmaker Narahari Mahato told the IANS news agency.

The district has been the scene of unrest since November 2008 after Maoists accusing the state government of ordering police atrocities on locals started attacking Communist politicians.

Police had raided the homes of people allegedly backing the Maoists shortly after West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya escaped a landmine blast blamed on them.

The Maoists claim they are leading an armed rebellion to secure the rights of the poor and marginalized.

They operate in some of India's poorest districts, especially forested land populated by tribal people that has seen little development.

Maoist rebels are active in 200 of India's 626 districts and virtually control 34, according to the Home Ministry.

At least 1,130 rebels, troops and civilians have been killed in violence linked to the insurgency since January 2010, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358634,political-activists-eastern-india.html.

Cambodia's rampaging elephant sent to zoo

Fri, 17 Dec 2010

Phnom Penh - An elephant that was captured in southern Cambodia after terrorizing a village has been sent to a zoo for "re-education" and may be mated with a female, local media reported Friday.

The bull elephant, known as Sambo, was tranquilized on Wednesday after stomping its owner to death and running amok in the village last week, trampling crops and harassing residents.

Locals responded by attacking the beast with sticks, knives and fireworks before the Cambodian Forestry Administration subdued it.

Cheng Kimsun, director of the Forestry Administration, told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper that the government had decided not to euthanize the pugnacious pachyderm.

"Sambo is not crazy, but he has lived a very stressful life because he had been mistreated for so many years," Cheng Kimsun said. "He was chained down, he could not go anywhere and he also had no wife - he needs his freedom."

Nhek Ratanapich, the director of Cambodia's Phnom Tamao zoo, told the Post that zoo officials hope to pair Sambo with a similarly aggressive female elephant called Srey Pao.

"I hope that after Sambo stays with Srey Pao he will be happy, his stress will be released and his mental condition will improve in the future, and finally, he can be a nice elephant again," Nhek Ratanapich said.

Other experts cautioned that Sambo may not yet be ready to rejoin fellow elephants after his rampage.

"Integrating him with other elephants is very important, but from what I have observed from this elephant, putting him in contact with other elephants is not advised at the moment," said Jack Highwood, the head of an elephant sanctuary in Cambodia's Mondulkiri province.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358640,rampaging-elephant-sent-zoo.html.

WikiLeaks: Cuba proposed secret backchannel link to White House

Fri, 17 Dec 2010

Madrid - Cuban leader Raul Castro proposed a secret communications backchannel to the White House, according to WikiLeaks documents published Friday.

Castro expressed the idea in 2009 to Spain's then foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, who passed it on to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The confidential US diplomatic cables obtained by the whistleblower website were published by the Spanish daily El Pais.

Moratinos suggested that US President Barack Obama and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero discuss details of such a channel.

The affair had already been discussed by Spanish and US diplomats in Havana. The channel would allow Cuba to "make major moves towards meeting US concerns," the Spanish ambassador told a US diplomat.

But Washington replied that Havana should "engage seriously through the existing channels" to communicate with the US government.

The WikiLeaks cables also reveal US views on the Cuban opposition. US diplomats described opposition groups as often being dominated by individuals with "strong egos," divided and therefore easily manipulated by the Cuban security services.

Younger dissidents such as bloggers, musicians and other artists "are much better at taking are bellious' stands with greater popular appeal," they observed.

However, the most likely immediate successors to the Castro regime will probably come from within the middle ranks of the government itself, the diplomats concluded.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358647,backchannel-link-white-house.html.

Vatican lights St Peter's Square Christmas tree

Fri, 17 Dec 2010

Vatican City - The Vatican on Friday lit its traditional Christmas tree which, Pope Benedict XVI said, had been felled "without damaging the forest environment".

On a cold and wet evening hundreds of bulbs shone amongst the gold and silver mirror-glass baubles and strands of tinsel that adorn the tree.

The 34-meter high Norwegian spruce is 93 years old and comes from Luson in Italy's northeastern Alpine region of Alto Adige.

Earlier, greeting a delegation from Alto Adige, Benedict explained that the spruce had "stood at an altitude of 1,500 meters and was cut down without damaging the forest environment."

It will stand next to the nativity scene at the center of St Peter's Square until the end of the Christmas festivities, the pope said.

"The Christmas tree enriches the symbolic value of the nativity scene, which is a message of fraternity and friendship, an invitation to unity and peace, an invitation to make space for God in our life and society," Benedict added.

Apart from the main tree, authorities in Luson have also donated 50 smaller Christmas trees, which will be used to decorate various sites in the Vatican.

Benedict's predecessor the late Polish-born Pope John Paul II, in 1982 introduced the northern and eastern European custom of Christmas trees to the Vatican.

On Christmas Eve the Vatican, also in St Peter's Square, unveils its creche, or nativity scene, a greater-than-lifesize model depicting the birth of the baby Jesus, traditionally in a manger or cave.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358704,peters-square-christmas-tree.html.

Tusk: Russian report on Polish plane crash 'unacceptable' - Summary

Fri, 17 Dec 2010

Warsaw/Moscow- A Russian report on the April plane crash that killed the Polish president and much of the country's political and military elite is "unacceptable," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday.

The plane carrying Lech Kaczynski and 95 other top officials to a ceremony commemorating the Soviet massacre of Polish officer in Katyn crashed into woods on April 10 in Smolensk, Russia.

"The draft report, from the Polish point of view, in the form it has been sent, is undoubtedly unacceptable," Tusk told reporters on the sidelines of a European Union summit in Brussels.

"The negligence, or mistakes, or the lack of a positive reaction to Poland's suggestions, all this allows us to say that some conclusions in this report are unfounded," he added.

According to Polish media reports, Russian flight experts have primarily blamed the pilot of the plane for the accident, given his decision to approach the landing strip despite heavy fog and warnings by air traffic controllers. In Poland, however, there has reportedly also been talk of alleged mistakes by the Russian airport personnel.

A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry warned against "politicizing" the situation. Russia is willing to cooperate, he told the Ekho Moskvy broadcaster.

"We will of course answer all questions from the Polish side," he said.

Tusk's statements came amid renewed efforts by Warsaw and Moscow to improve tense relations.

Poland and Russia have been cooperating on two separate probes into the crash. Russia recently sent Poland a draft report of their investigation into the crash. Poland on Thursday sent back its suggestions and comments on the report.

The two sides were aiming to prepare a final report into what caused the crash in Smolensk.

Although bad weather and poor visibility appear to be the most likely causes, pilot error and more sinister conspiracy theories have also circulated.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358696,crash-unacceptable-summary.html.

New governing coalition finally emerges in Kyrgyzstan

Fri, 17 Dec 2010

Bishkek/Moscow - Three Kyrgyz political parties have agreed on a new government coalition, local media reported Friday - two months after parliamentary elections were held in the conflict- plagued country.

The Social Democrats, who were involved in the overthrow of authoritarian president Kurmanbek Bakiyev in April, will supply the new prime minister - the pro-Russian politician Almasbek Atambayev.

The Respublika party founded by oil businessman Omurbek Babanov and the Ata Zhurt party are also to be part of the coalition.

What remains unclear is whether the alliance will hold, given past tensions between its members. Ata Zhurt had won the most national assembly seats in October, but had initially been shunned during the coalition talks because many of its members were Bakiyev supporters.

A prior coalition-forming attempt by the Social Democratic Party - at the request of President Rosa Otunbayeva - had recently failed. Babanov, of Respublika, then led the next effort.

The three-way coalition would control 77 seats in the 120-member national assembly.

Ata Zhurt's involvement is considered important because the party is based in southern Kyrgyzstan, which had been the scene of bloody ethnic clashes in June that killed an estimated 2,000 people.

Ata Zhurt had promised voters peace and economic progress.

Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic that neighbors China, is the first country in otherwise authoritatively governed Central Asia to have become a parliamentary democracy.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358695,coalition-finally-emerges-kyrgyzstan.html.

Pakistan, China ink 13 agreements to cement ties - Summary

Fri, 17 Dec 2010

Islamabad - Pakistan and China on Friday signed 13 agreements on topics ranging from trade and defense to cultural exchanges for increasing multilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The agreements were signed after meetings between Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and their delegations.

"Today we signed 13 agreements and memorandum of understandings to enhance cooperation in defense, trade, banking, agriculture, security, culture, communication, investment and broadcasting," Pakistan's information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told media.

Kaira said that the two sides had also agreed on an energy cooperation mechanism under which China will fund various energy projects in Pakistan.

"China also announced the provision of 639-million-dollars for the rehabilitation of flood-affected areas," the minister said.

The two sides are also to meet at a business summit on Saturday where it is expected that agreements worth billion of dollars will be reached between over 250 delegates of the Chinese business community and their Pakistani counterparts.

Earlier, Pakistan gave a red-carpet welcome to Wen, who arrived for a three-day visit, the first by a Chinese premier in five years.

Wen arrived from India where the two fast-growing economies put diplomatic differences aside and agreed to aim to nearly double their bilateral trade to 100 billion dollars annually by 2015.

As Wen's plane entered Pakistani airspace, two JF-17 fighter planes, which Pakistan and China produce jointly, welcomed him and escorted him to Islamabad.

A 21-gun salute boomed out as Wen stepped out of the plane before being welcomed by Gilani, several members of his cabinet, and the chiefs of the armed forces.

China is a close ally and significant trade partner of Pakistan. Gilani said on Wednesday that Pakistan hoped its trade with China would double in the next five years to 15 billion dollars.

Officials and businessmen from the two countries were Saturday due to sign various deals worth more than 20 billion dollars, Abdul Basit, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, was quoted as saying by Samaa television.

The Pakistani premier said his country would also request Chinese assistance in making the new deep-sea port of Gawadar operational. The port, in the southern province of Baluchistan, was built by Chinese companies.

The leaders were also expected to discuss the construction of two new nuclear power plants by China. Agreement on one plant is scheduled to be signed during the visit, state television PTV reported.

China has already helped Pakistan to build two nuclear power plants at Chashma in the central province of Punjab. One of these is in operation while the second is near completion.

Nuclear cooperation between the two countries has increased despite US reservations. The United States regards Pakistan's nuclear program as a proliferation risk.

The Chinese premier is also to meet President Asif Ali Zardari, address the national parliament and inaugurate a Pak-China Friendship Centre.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358713,cement-ties-summary.html.

WikiLeaks founder fears 'illegal' investigation by US - Summary

Fri, 17 Dec 2010

London - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Friday gave a broad hint that he expects an indictment in the US against him for which he was in the process of building a strong defense.

"I would say that there is a very aggressive investigation, that a lot of face has been lost by some people, and some people have careers to make by pursuing famous cases, but that is actually something that needs monitoring," Assange said in Britain.

He described the investigations as secret and illegal, and repeated his claim that the US was preparing to indict him on espionage charges.

The 39-year-old Australian was speaking to the media at Ellingham Hall, the English country mansion where he is staying after being granted bail by a High Court judge in London Thursday.

"We can see that by how certain people who are allegedly affiliated with us were contained at the US border and had their computers seized, and so on," Assange said about his claim.

Although he had lawyers in the US, and received support from organizations such as the Center of Constitutional Rights, he urged his supporters to be "more proactive" in building a strong defense.

Assange also revealed that he had pledged 50,000 dollars to assist the defense of Bradley Manning, the US soldier and military analyst arrested in connection with the recent release of up to 250,000 US state department cables by WikiLeaks.

After himself spending time in a "black hole" in solitary confinement in prison it came as "no surprise" to him that Private Manning was reportedly suffering deteriorating health, said Assange.

He again accused the Swedish prosecuting authorities of not having provided a "single shred of evidence" with regard to the sex offense allegations made against him by two women.

He expected more leaked information relating to the allegations to be made public, said Assange, standing in the snow-covered garden of the country estate in Suffolk, south-east England.

However, he said that the majority of attacks made on his organization - technical, political and legal - had not come from the US but from banks about which WikiLeaks had released sensitive information.

He named banks in Dubai, Switzerland and Britain, but added that WikiLeaks would continue to release material about the activities of banks.

Assange maintained that over 85 per cent of WikiLeaks' economic resources were swallowed up by dealing with what he termed decapitation attacks.

However, WikiLeaks was "resilient" and "much bigger" than him and his immediate entourage.

Assange was freed Thursday after nine days in custody in a London jail, pending his extradition proceedings to Sweden which are due to start in the new year.

Meanwhile, police in Australia said Friday that the WikiLeaks founder had not broken any laws in his native country.

The government asked police two weeks ago whether Assange, an Australian citizen, had committed any criminal offense in releasing thousands of confidential US government cables through the WikiLeaks website.

"The Australian Federal Police has completed its evaluation of the material available and has not established the existence of any criminal offenses where Australia would have jurisdiction," the police force said in a statement released Friday.

The Defense Department also said Friday that the leaks had not damaged national security.

The referral to police came after Prime Minister Julia Gillard condemned Assange's actions as "illegal."

After the police announcement Friday, she clarified her position, saying the person who had leaked the US cables had committed the illegal act.

She said she was "no fan" of WikiLeaks and Assange's role was "grossly irresponsible."

But she said Assange was entitled to assistance from consular officials as was any citizen who faced legal problems overseas.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358716,investigation-us-summary.html.

Ivory Coast tense as pressure mounts on Gbagbo - Summary

Fri, 17 Dec 2010

Nairobi/Abidjan, Ivory Coast - Ivory Coast was tense Friday as an African Union mediator arrived in the wake of deadly clashes and international pressure grew on incumbent Laurent Gbagbo to give up his claim to the presidency.

Gbagbo is clinging onto power despite wide recognition of Alassane Ouattara as the rightful winner of last month's polls, which were aimed at ending a decade of political and civil crisis and setting the world's largest cocoa grower on the road to economic recovery.

Instead, the election has threatened to plunge the West African nation back into civil war.

Soldiers on Thursday opened fire as protesters in the economic capital, Abidjan, tried to take control of the state television, which has remained under Gbagbo's control and has been broadcasting news favorable to the incumbent.

A spokeswoman for Gbagbo said 20 people died, 10 of them military, while Ouattara's party said at least 30 protesters had been killed. Gunbattles also broke out around the Golf Hotel, from which Ouattara is trying to run his alternative government with security from United Nations peacekeepers and the former northern rebel group New Forces.

Despite calls for more protests, the streets of Abidjan were relatively quiet Friday as Jean Ping, the chairman of the African Union Commission, arrived. A tight-lipped Ping met YJ Choi, the head of the UN mission in Ivory Coast, but made no statement.

There was a heavy military presence in Abidjan, and some reports said Gbagbo troops were firing into the air as they patrolled areas favoring Ouattara.

Pressure is growing on Gbagbo as normally more circumspect African bodies such as the AU and Economic Community of West African States added their voices to the international chorus calling for him to stand down.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also once again urged Gbagbo to step aside.

"I call on him to step down and allow his elected successor to assume office without further hindrance," Ban said. "The international community must send this message - loud and clear. Any other outcome would make a mockery of democracy and the rule of law."

The European Union is considering asset freezes and visa bans on 11 key Gbagbo allies, including Paul Yao N'Dre, the head of the constitutional council, which overturned electoral commission results handing Ouattara victory.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking in Brussels, said the EU is united in demanding Gbagbo quit power in the former French colony.

"Mr Gbagbo has no choice but to leave the power he has usurped as quickly as possible," he said at the end of a summit in Brussels. "If he has not stepped down within a week, he will be on the list of sanctions."

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, speaking in Nairobi, said that Gbagbo should be removed by force if necessary, calling on the AU to "develop teeth."

The fears of civil war have led to thousands fleeing to neighboring Liberia. According to the UN refugee agency, more than 4,200 people have headed for safer ground and preparations are being put in place for an exodus.

Ivory Coast was plunged into war between the mainly Muslim north and Christian south in 2002 when Gbagbo, who came to power in the wake of violent demonstrations at the 2000 presidential elections, survived a coup attempt.

A 2007 peace deal brought the northern rebels into government, but the north-south divisions have never gone away.

New crew members arrive at space station

Fri, 17 Dec 2010

Moscow - Three new crew members arrived at the International Space Station Friday.

US astronaut Catherine "Cady" Coleman, Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev and Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli arrived aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft at the station for a five-month stay in space. The craft blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Thursday.

They join fellow expedition members Scott Kelly of the US and Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka of Russia, who have been living on the ISS since October.

Nespoli is the third long-term occupant of the ISS from the European Space Agency. He is to oversee an increase of research in the agency's Columbus module.

The Russians plan two spacewalks to install a communications antenna and do other maintenance work during the mission.

Three supply vehicles are also due to arrive at the station in January and February, including a Japanese cargo vehicle, a European Space Agency vehicle and a Russian module.

The space shuttle Discovery is due to pay a visit in February after its launch was delayed. The shuttle fleet is to go into retirement next year, leaving the Soyuz as the only craft available to take astronauts into space until US plans to develop commercial crew transport can be enacted.

Russian space officials Friday were investigating the cause of how contact was lost with the Soyuz space capsule for hours a day earlier as it traveled to the ISS. But they insisted that there had been "no danger" to the crew.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358729,members-arrive-space-station.html.

Kadhafi Foundation to focus on humanitarian aid

2010-12-17

Seif al-Islam's charitable foundation will abandon political activity to focus exclusively on aid for sub-Saharan Africa, AFP reported on Thursday (December 16th). In a statement released Wednesday, the Kadhafi Foundation announced that it would "no longer include advocacy for political and human rights reform among its activities" but would instead "redouble efforts to fulfill its core charitable mission of delivering aid and relief to disadvantaged populations, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa".

"I am confident that this shift will allow us to direct our efforts in the most important areas in which we work, improving people's lives in some of the poorest areas on Earth," AFP quoted Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's son as saying.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/12/17/newsbrief-03.

Libyan bloggers scrutinize corruption, poverty

Bloggers are up in arms after Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi told elderly beggars that they "disgraced us before the world" on national television.

By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 17/12/10

Libyan bloggers this week discussed corruption, underdevelopment and the lack of a change in governments in Arab states.

Naji al-Faitouri disagreed with the resentment felt by a large number of Libyans for being denied the right to exercise the power of the people. He explained that they are wrong to believe there is such thing as 'power of the people'.

The blogger justified citizens' error, blaming it on "the mind-manipulation they have been subject to for over forty years. They were told there was a 'power of the people', and that the only mistake was not applying the theory. The excuse upheld by proponents of the theory was that people in Libya were largely mobs."

"As such, this nation has unconsciously started to blame itself and accuse itself of ignorance, oppression and vice, for being unable to take on power, and consequently wealth and weapons. To dodge blame, people started to take it out on the revolutionary committees which, they thought, were more or less responsible for their being denied their rights and the luxury they were to bask in. Only a few Libyans thought otherwise. They knew the truth right from the start. Unfortunately, they are only a small bunch, and had no influence on the course of events, as those who would dare to say the truth were always relentlessly persecuted."

Salim al-Ragihe spoke of the footage aired by the Libyan television on December 10th, where Libyan President Moamer Kadhafi asked some old female beggars about their nationalities while touring some of the mosques in Tripoli.

The blogger sarcastically commented, "It became clear to him [Kadhafi] – beyond a shred of doubt – that those beggars were not Libyans! It is a well-known fact that a few years ago, Kadhafi admitted that there were thousands of destitute Libyan families! Also, his son, Seif al-Islam acknowledged that fact repeatedly. Secretary of the General People's Committee, al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, the Libyan Prime Minister, declared in 2008 that there are 180,000 Libyan families that need aid from the state so as to improve their economic conditions."

"I really laughed when Kadhafi told those beggars, 'you disgraced us before the world.' The truth is he did Libyans more harm than anyone else, humiliated them and denied them the wealth of their homeland. Poverty-stricken Libyans are a flagrant fact on the Libyan land that is rich in oil. Some of them are the children and grandchildren of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for Libya. You can recognize them from their impoverished homes. Visit the popular districts in Tripoli, Sabha, Banghazi, Tobruk, etc. You cannot miss their old, run-down houses. The most impoverished of Libyans hang on to their pride, despite being in dire straits."

Another blogger, Mohamed Badala, picked up the topic of existing conflicts over power in a number of countries, including the Arab states.

"Individuals, groups, and nations all across the world vie over power, presidency and control of others, whether justifiably or otherwise. Power brings unimaginable joy. That is why everyone is out to reach power, even if the route to the top has proved incredibly difficult. The final destination at the top is an indescribable pleasure. That is why people, good and bad, contend to attain power and control one another."

The blogger further wonders, "Why do people insist on controlling others even though they hate them? Why does Mubarak insist on ruling Egypt though most Egyptians are against him? Why does Nouri al-Malki insist on ruling Iraq though most Iraqis do not support him, and though Alawi beat him in the elections? Why does the president, whose term in office came to an end in Cote d'Ivoire, insist on continuing to rule, though Hassan Ouattara won the people's elections? Why do most rulers and presidents insist on clinging to power and passing it to their children? Why are opposition parties denied power, even if they win?"

"This is all because they are worried that the scandals they created and the money they ripped off while in office would be disclosed, and that people will hold them accountable and depose of them, to have worthier rulers replace them. Listen, rulers, if power had lasted for your predecessors, you would never have attained it. Democracy is all about people ruling themselves by themselves," Badala added.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/12/17/feature-03.

Morocco considers disaster insurance

A few weeks after massive floods in Morocco, victims and parliamentarians raised the issues of compensation and prevention.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Casablanca – 17/12/10

Moroccan officials have yet to calculate the scope of the damage caused by last month's severe rains, which especially affected the country's commercial hub of Casablanca.

While some demanded that compensation be paid to the flood victims, others felt that the most adequate measure would be an effective strategy to prevent a tragedy of this kind from happening again.

The November floods claimed at least 32 lives in different parts of Morocco, disrupted transportation, cut off electricity in entire districts and submerged a number of houses and vehicles.

MP Fatima Moustaghfir was among those hit by the deluge.

"The basement of my house was completely wrecked by the sewage water. It reached a height of two meters. All of my electrical appliances, including two televisions, the fridge and the washing machine, were damaged," she said.

"I just hope we won't have to experience this kind of damage again in the future," the parliamentarian added.

According to Moustaghfir, there can be no talk of compensation yet, because the procedure is complex.

"An assessment of the damage needs to be made. When you're submerged in water, you don't think about that. In addition, an inquiry must be held as a matter of priority to identify those responsible for the flooding," she said.

Another flood victim, Ahmed Mouradi, disagreed by saying that "local officials and the company in charge of the clean-up operation must do what they ought to do and pay compensation to all the people affected".

A great number of families lost all of their household furniture and have no hope of replacing it in the near future. Many people lost their cars.

"My insurance company has refused to pay me for the cover for my car to be repaired. My losses run into thousands of dirhams. I think next time I ought to choose the flood option because bad weather is not predictable," Mouradi said.

Economist Mohamed Joudari said people must enroll in a special flooding insurance in order to be covered.

"The water option offered by companies only relates to burst pipes and leaks. Flooding is separate from that. The number of people who enrolled in an insurance against flooding is very limited, so companies won't be paying much money. Just three companies offer insurance against natural disasters in Morocco. It's mainly the big companies that provide this option," he explained.

According to Joudari, it's time to enact the bill that would make natural disaster insurance compulsory for everyone. The government presented the bill to the parliament in July 2010.

According to the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, the future law makes provision for compulsory enrollment in additional insurance through the payment of a premium on top of the blanket rate for people who already hold insurance. This insurance would cover buildings, commercial and industrial premises, including their contents.

The law also envisions the creation of a Disaster Solidarity Fund, aimed at paying compensation to victims of non-insured natural calamities and encouraging the development of disaster risk insurance and reinsurance.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/12/17/feature-02.

Russia urges S Korea to scrap drill

Call for Seoul to halt joint military exercises with the US on Saturday as North Korea threatens military retaliation.

17 Dec 2010

Russia has asked South Korea to stop a scheduled joint military exercise with the United States, hours after North Korea warned it will strike back if the South proceeds with the drill.

The foreign ministry in Moscow on Friday summoned South Korean and US ambassadors to express its "deep concern" over South Korea's plans to carry out live-fire drills over the weekend.

The ministry in a statement called on Seoul to "refrain from holding the planned firing of artillery in order to prevent the further escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula".

Russia's intervention follows a warning by North Korea earlier on Friday that it will retaliate if the South holds the drills near the disputed border in the Yellow Sea on Yeonpyeong Island, which the North shelled last month.

The ministry said a similar drill on November 23 had "provoked an exchange of fire ... that caused casualties", echoing North Korea's assertion that its shelling of the island was a response to South Korean artillery fire.

The Russian ministry also said it was "extremely important" to ease tension between the two Koreas, restore dialogue and resolve all disputes without using force.

Russia, a member of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament, hosted the North Korean foreign minister last week in a bid to help the two Koreas negotiate their way out of the escalating dispute.

When Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, met with his North Korean counterpart on Monday, he said military exercises had added to tension but also that the North's shelling of the island deserved condemnation, according to the ministry.

North Korean threat

Russia, which shares a short border with North Korea, has put its forces in the country's far east on alert because of the Korean tension, the Interfax news agency cited the chief of the military general staff as saying on Tuesday.

Earlier on Friday, North Korea ramped up the tensions with a warning that it will retaliate with deadly force if the South goes ahead with the joint exercises.

In a statement carried by the North Korean official news agency the military said it "will deal the second and third unpredictable self-defensive blow" to protect its territorial waters and that it will be "deadlier than what was made on November 23 in terms of the powerfulness and sphere of the strike".

An earlier statement posted on Pyongyang's official website Uriminzokkiri warned that another war with South Korea would involve nuclear weapons.

Soaring tensions

The bombardment of Yeonpyeong island last month killed two marines and two civilians. It also injured 18 people and damaged dozens of homes, and came after a firing drill into the sea by South Korean marines based on the island.

The South, outraged at the first shelling of civilian areas since the 1950-53 war, has fortified the island with more troops and artillery and vowed to use air power against any future attack.

Its military has said artillery will be aimed away from the North as usual during the upcoming drill, but it will respond strongly if provoked.

Members of the US-led UN Command are scheduled to observe the drill and about 20 US soldiers will play a supporting role.

Meanwhile in Seoul a group of anti-war protesters staged a rally in front of the defense ministry, urging the military exercise be stopped.

Residents of Yeonpyeong island were also concerned about the live-fire drill, and some of them have gathered on the beach to pray for a peaceful outcome to the current crisis.

Source: al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/12/2010121715214998243.html.

FIFA 'backs' winter 2022 Qatar cup

Sepp Blatter says football governing body supports idea of winter World Cup and Gulf co-hosts, if Qatar is interested.

17 Dec 2010

The president of FIFA says he would be open to the idea of holding the 2022 World Cup during the winter to avoid the brutal summer heat of host nation Qatar.

Sepp Blatter made the comment on Friday, as part of an announcement aimed at reassuring the football world about FIFA's December 2 decision to hold the world's biggest sporting event in the Gulf Arab nation.

Blatter also used the occasion to apologize for previous remarks, in which he said gay fans should "refrain from sexual activity" while at the 2022 cup in Qatar.

Gay rights activists have been calling for the FIFA chief to resign or issue an apology since he made the comments earlier this week.

Football's world governing body has come under criticism for selecting Qatar to host the event, with concerns raised ranging from the acceptance of homosexual fans to the country's searing summer temperatures.

Searing summer heat

On the issue of climate, Blatter said he would be happy for the cup to be played during the colder winter and not in the humid summer heat, which can reach 50 degrees Celsius in Qatar.

"I definitely support to play in winter here [in the Middle East]," Blatter told a news conference at the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

"To play when the climate is appropriate, and I'm thinking about the footballers, not only the fans but the actors. Personally I think it would be better that it is played in the winter ... but it's not easy to realize."

Since Qatar was awarded the staging of the 2022 finals, there have been suggestions from leading figures like Franz Beckenbauer that the FIFA calendar should be altered for that year.

The change would have major implications for domestic competitions in Britain and the rest of Europe, where the league programs would be in full swing.

"The basic principle signed is about 64 matches in Qatar in the months of June and July, that's what we have at the moment," Blatter said, one day after attending a ceremony in Qatar marking the country's successful bid.

"It's a question of the international calendar, but ... it's in 11 and half years till this can be done," Blatter said.

Qatar's Gulf co-hosts

The FIFA president also announced that there are ongoing discussions about holding some matches in other Gulf states besides the host nation.

Blatter said that Qatar remains the final arbiter about whether the United Arab Emirates and others will play host to some of the games.

Although several Gulf countries are interested in hosting games during the 2022 World Cup, he said on Friday that the decision on expanding the tournament beyond Qatar must come from the desert nation - and then be considered by FIFA's 24-member executive committee.

Blatter, who met with football officials in Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait, as well as Qatar, during a tour of the region this week, said "the item was on the agenda" when he met with Qatari officials but refused to say whether they support it.

"I can say all these countries are very happy first of all the World Cup is going to the Middle East ... and they are interested, I would say a little bit more than interested, to be part of this competition."

Blatter did not elaborate on which countries would want to host the games nor how many games could be hosted by Qatar's neighbors.

Since winning the bid, Qatar has not commented on whether it would be open to having games hosted in neighboring countries.

In an interview with sports daily L'Equipe earlier this month, Blatter said Australia's 2022 World Cup bid proposed some matches could be held in New Zealand, and Qatar could likewise have neighboring countries host games.

In its bid proposal, Qatar played up the fact that it could host a "compact World Cup" where all the matches would be within an hour of one another.

It has never suggested that games could be held in other countries, rather that future transport links would make it easy for fans coming from Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates or even Saudi Arabia to reach matches in the country.

Even with Blatter's endorsement, a Gulf World Cup may face hurdles due to traditional rivalries that have stymied economic co-operation among the six Gulf Arab countries in the past.

Source: al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/sport/football/2010/12/20101217143610760148.html.

Bolivia recognizes Palestinian state

17/12/2010

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Bolivia announced Friday its recognition of a fully sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Israel.

President Evo Morales made the announcement in Brazil at a conference with regional leaders, Bolivia's Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

“Bolivia recognizes the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, like Brazil and Argentina,” Morales was quoted as saying.

In Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its efforts were ongoing to secure recognitions of statehood from countries throughout Latin America.

President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the move.

He thanked Bolivia for its support and praised bilateral relations. The Bolivian president phoned Abbas three days in advance of the announcement, officials said.

Norway announced Wednesday that it upgraded the Palestinian representative's office in Oslo to a diplomatic mission to support Palestinian efforts toward building a state.

The announcement came while Ramallah's premier Salam Fayyad was in Oslo, where officials announced the coming international donors conference would take place in the city in April 2011.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342977.