Asia convoy waiting for Egypt visa to reach Gaza

Salma Shukrallah, Saturday 25 Dec 2010

"Asia to Gaza" convoy activists say Egypt is not cooperating and has yet to issue permits. Egyptian officials say the paper work is incomplete

The Asia to Gaza aid convoy is waiting for Egyptian officials to permit their entry into the country.

Activists who joined the convoy said today on their online twitter account that Egypt is so far refusing to collaborate with the group.

The organizers wrote online that Egypt has so far not issued them visas to the convoy, which reached Lebanon yesterday.

An Egyptian official says that the papers submitted by Asia to Gaza were incomplete. However, no final decision has been announced and there is still room for paper completion, added the official under condition of anonymity.

The Asian aid convoy comprising politicians and activists from 18 countries, including Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates is on its way to Gaza in an attempt to break Israel's four year siege on the Strip.

The convoy started off in New Delhi, passed through Iran, Turkey, and Syria and arrived in Lebanon on Friday.

It is planning to reach Gaza by end of December, in time for the second anniversary of Israel's 22-day war on the Strip that started on 28 December 2008.

Approximately 1,400 Palestinians were killed and 5,000 injured or maimed in the three-week attack. Half of Gaza's infrastructure was destroyed and remains unrepaired as a result of Israel's siege, which bans the entry of building materials.

Source: Ahram Online.
Link: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/2602/Egypt/Politics-/Asia-convoy-waiting-for-Egypt-visa-to-reach-Gaza--.aspx.

Haniyeh files complaint with UN

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Hamas spokesman Taher An-Nunu said Thursday that Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh filed a complaint to the United Nations via a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon against Israeli army activity.

Haniyeh called on the UN to take the necessary procedures to curb Israeli offenses against Gaza and to seriously work to end the siege and to "punish Israel for its crimes against the Palestinians."

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344914.

'Post riots, China's Xinjiang region still remains unstable'

2010-12-25

China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which was shaken by a deadly riot last year, still faces many factors that may affect stability, according to one of the top officials in the region.

"We should be aware that the stability of Xinjiang remains fragile. There are still many factors from home and abroad that may affect stability, and the task of maintaining stability remains tough," Xinhua quoted Zhang Chunxian, secretary of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Committee of the Communist Party of China, as saying in a key stability meeting.

Xinjiang, with 41.5 percent of its population from the Uygur ethnic group, is the Chinese front line in the battle against terrorism. The region borders eight central and west Asian countries, many of which have been troubled by terrorists and extremists, the report said.

The meeting, attended by Xinjiang's high-level officials and leaders of the regional army and police forces, concluded that authorities are determined to prevent major cases involving violence and terror, and large "mass incidents".

In July 2009, 197 people were killed and 1,700 injured in China's worst riot in Urumqi in decades. Authorities blamed separatists and extremists for inciting the violence.

In the wake of the riot, the central government initiated development drives in the remote, and one of the most underdeveloped regions with the aim of eliminating unscrupulous elements in the region.

Source: Sify.
Link: http://www.sify.com/news/post-riots-china-s-xinjiang-region-still-remains-unstable-news-international-kmzn4dajfhb.html.

Hong Kong protest marks first anniversary of Liu Xiaobo jailing

Sat, 25 Dec 2010

Hong Kong - Dozens of protesters on Sunday demonstrated outside China's de facto embassy in Hong Kong to mark the first anniversary of the jailing of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

The group staged a protest outside the Beijing Liaison Office in Hong Kong early Sunday demanding the release of Nobel Peace laureate Liu, who was jailed for 11 years for subversion on December 25, 2009.

The protesters carried banners and shouted slogans outside the building calling on China to release Liu, who was awarded the the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month over Beijing's strong objections.

Protesters complained that barriers erected by police prevented them from entering the building and handing in a petition, according to government-run radio station RTHK.

On Christmas Day 2009, six Hong Kong activists demonstrating over Liu's jailing were arrested for unlawful assembly, on the grounds that Beijing Liaison Office was private property.

Those charges were thrown out last week by a magistrate who said the area outside the building was a public space and that people had the right to demonstrate.

Hong Kong, a former British colony which reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, has a mini-constitution guaranteeing political freedoms and is the only place on Chinese soil where anti-Beijing protests are tolerated.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359661,anniversary-liu-xiaobo-jailing.html.

Oil spill dissipates off Spain's Mediterranean coast

Sat, 25 Dec 2010

Tarragona, Spain - An oil spill from an offshore platform has apparently dissipated on the open sea, authorities in the Spanish port city of Tarragona reported Saturday.

The officials in the northeastern Mediterranean coastal city said they were declaring the danger of oil pollution to the area after winds from the mainland helped to disperse the oil.

But as a precautionary measure two special ships would continue to patrol the waters off the island of Mallorca to keep an eye out for any oil that might appear.

The crude oil spill originated from an offshore platform of the Spanish company Repsol, creating a 19-square-kilometer oil slick. The incident was put down to human error, after a valve on the oil platform was accidentally opened.

Tarragona harbor officials say 120 to 180 tons of oil escaped, while Repsol put the figure at 30 to 60 tons.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359669,dissipates-spains-mediterranean-coast.html.

Spanish police search for Dutch couple after son's body found

Sat, 25 Dec 2010

Gerona, Spain - Spanish police were searching Saturday for a Dutch couple after finding the body of their 25-year-old son in an apparent family drama with fears that the couple were also dead, media reports said Saturday.

The reports said police found the body of the Dutchman in a country house in Serinya in north-eastern Spain. The reports did not specify how the 25-year-old had died.

But next to the body was a farewell suicide note from the man's parents in which they said they planned to take their own lives in the nearby Fluvia river. Police regarded the note as authentic, el Periodico de Catalunya newspaper reported.

A search was launched along the river for the couple. Police provided no further details.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359671,couple-sons-body-found.html.

Egypt's ruling party holds annual conference after parliament win

Sat, 25 Dec 2010

Cairo - The annual conference of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) kicked off Saturday as opposition groups were to hold a parallel gathering to discuss accusations of fraud in the country's recent parliamentary elections.

Held under the slogan "To Secure the Future of Your Children," thousands of NDP leaders and members gathered in Cairo to discuss party policies.

Opposition groups secured only a handful of seats in the poll for the lower house last month, while the NDP strengthened considerably its hold on power in the 518-seat People's Assembly.

President Hosny Mubarak, the 82-year-old who has ruled for nearly 30 years, is scheduled to address the conference in the evening.

"The conference will try to deliver the message that the majority of Parliament will seek to work for the best interests of the people of Egypt," Ali Eddin Helal, head of the party's media committee, said on the NDP's website.

Opposition group April 6 has scheduled a gathering of its own, to coincide with the NDP conference. The grouping was to discuss a proposal to establish a "shadow parliament," in light of the fraud allegations.

Leading opposition figures are expected to attend the meeting, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which failed to secure seats in the People's Assembly, though it was the second largest bloc in the lower house going into the elections.

Human rights groups said the election was rife with violence and rigging that favored the NDP, which won over 80 per cent of the vote.

The elections were seen as an indicator ahead of next year's presidential poll, when Mubarak is expected to run again for the office, if his ailing health does not stand in the way.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359672,annual-conference-parliament-win.html.

Somalia signs training deal with private security firm

MOGADISHU — Somalia's fragile government said Friday that it had signed a deal with a private security company, Saracen International, a firm that has been criticized by the US government.

"The agreement the government engaged with Saracen International covers training security guards ... and some humanitarian tasks including renovating places like hospitals and other buildings," said information minister Abdikarin Hasan Jama.

Hasan Jama said the arrangement had no connection with company's activities in the neighboring breakaway region of Puntland.

The funding for the deal would come from other Muslim countries, Jama said without specifying.

Puntland contracted Saracen International to assist in its crackdown on pirates, many of whom operate from the territory's lawless coastal regions and target shipping in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

The US State Department earlier this month criticized the arrangement, saying it lacked transparency and could potentially violate a 1992 UN Security Council arms embargo on Somalia.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

Ecuador formally recognizes Palestinian state

25/12/2010

QUITO (AFP) -- Ecuador formally recognized Palestine as an independent state on Friday, following the lead of its neighbors Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay earlier this month.

President Rafael Correa signed "the Ecuadoran government's official recognition of Palestine as a free and independent state with 1967 borders," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The border mention refers to the territorial limits of the Palestinian territory before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Ecuador's decision, the ministry statement said, "vindicates the valid and legitimate desire of the Palestinian people for a free and independent state" and will be a key contribution to a negotiated peaceful coexistence in the Middle East.

The Ecuadoran resolution was being provided to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and the Palestinian representative to the United Nations, the ministry said.

Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay earlier this month recognized Palestine as an independent state, drawing a harsh rebuke from Israel.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=345111.

Gaza-bound Asia 1 arrives in Lebanon

Thu Dec 23, 2010

The first Asian humanitarian convoy to break Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip by taking relief supplies to the coastal sliver has reached Lebanon.

Currently joined by activists of 15 different nationalities, the Asian People's Solidarity with Palestine convoy, also known as Asia 1, began its journey from India and traveled through Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Syria before arriving in Lebanon.

The activists say they want to display solidarity with the Palestinian people in their resistance against Israel.

Tel Aviv has been enforcing an all-out land, aerial and naval blockade on the 1.5 million Palestinians in the enclave since mid-June 2007.

The mission has been welcomed by Khaled Mashaal, the political leader of the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas, as well as Ramadan Abdullah, the leader of the Palestinian group of Islamic Jihad.

"We really appreciate your effort to keep this momentum and to follow up your work," Abdullah said.

A seven-member delegation of Iranian lawmakers joined the mission while it was in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

The convoy plans to enter Gaza later in the month on the anniversary of the launch of the 22-day-long Israeli war on the enclave, which killed more than 1,400 Palestinians.

There are fears that the mission might be fiercely confronted by Israel's military, which killed nine Turkish activists aboard Freedom Flotilla, an Ankara-backed humanitarian convoy, on May 31.

However, an Indian activist with the mission told Press TV, “We are completely non-violent. We do not have weapons.”

In case of an attack, “We will face it with non-violence. We'll face it with a prayer in our hearts,” he added.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156852.html.

'Turkey probes US nukes at airbase'

Fri Dec 24, 2010

Turkish parliamentarians are discussing a report revealing that the United States has deployed 90 nuclear bombs at Turkey's Incirlik Air Force base, a report says.

The report, called the "US nuclear weapons in Europe," indicates that Washington currently has 90 nuclear bombs of the "B 61" variety in Turkey, all on the Incirlik Air Force base, Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper reported on its website on Friday.

The account has been prepared by the US National Resources Defense Council and is based on figures provided last February by the US Air Force.

It says 50 of the B-61 bombs are ready to be loaded onto American bomber planes while the remaining 40 will be loaded onto Turkish planes.

According to the daily, Turkish MP Shukru Elekdag has questioned reasons behind keeping the bombs on Turkish soil even decades after the end of the Cold War.

Elekdag has also noted that Turkey's consent to the deployment of the US nuclear bombs at Incirlik is an act which 'could not be easily explained to its Muslim and Arab neighbors.'

Press reports have established that US currently has more than 100 nuclear bombs positioned in bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156924.html.

UN prepares for Sudan referendum

Fri Dec 24, 2010

Sudan is expected to hold its landmark referendum on south Sudan secession on time, as final preparations were carried out successfully for the vote.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has delivered ballots for more than three and a half million registered voters in ten southern states to the Southern Sudan Referendum Bureau.

"We are very pleased that UNDP has been able to deliver such a major component of the Referendum on schedule, especially given the compressed timeframe for delivery and logistical challenges," said George Conway, Deputy Head of UNDP's office in Southern Sudan.

There are two pictures on each ballot: the image of 'one hand' represents independence and the one with 'two hands' signals unity.

The polling stations will be open for registered voters to cast their ballots from 9 to 15 January 9, 2011.

With the assistance of UNDP, two independent domestic observers will be placed at each polling station to monitor all electoral procedures, including voting and counting.

Some 20,000 police officers have been trained by the UN to boost security during the referendum, which was one of the main conditions of a peace package in 2005 that ended two decades of civil strife in Africa's largest country.

South Sudan is just three weeks away from the referendum, which is to determine the fate of the oil-rich south.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156910.html.

Gbagbo loses access to state funds

Fri Dec 24, 2010

The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) has blocked incumbent Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo's access to state funds a pressure mounts for him to step down.

The bank made the decision in an emergency session on Friday. The bank says it recognizes challenger Alassane Ouattara as the legitimate leader of Ivory Cost who can have access to the deposits.

This follows a World Bank decision to freeze all loans to Ivory Coast as well as the assets of Gbagbo himself.

The move is expected to make it harder for Gbagbo to pay the wages of soldiers loyal to him.

Ivory Coast was plunged into crisis after last month's presidential election.

Both Gbagbo and Ouattara have claimed victory. The UN recognizes the opposition leader as the rightful winner of the election.

The General Assembly also announced on Friday that it only accepts Ouattara's representatives as Ivory Coast's envoys to the UN.

The world body says post-election violence has claimed over 170 lives in the country.

This is while West African leaders held emergency talks Friday in Abuja, on the crisis in Ivory Coast.

"The question of compromise is not on the table," AFP quoted Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs Odein Ajumogobia as saying

"Something like a unity government or the sort of thing we have in Kenya and Zimbabwe are not on the table. We are resolute that Gbagbo has to step down," he added.

The disputed presidential election has raised the risk of a long power struggle in the country.

The world's top cocoa-producing nation is still reeling from the 2002-2003 civil war that split the West African country in two, with a rebel-held north and a government-held south.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156949.html.

Tunisian police kill youth at demo

Sat Dec 25, 2010

Tunisian security forces have shot and killed a teenager and injured many others during a demonstration over the country's high rate of joblessness.

The demonstration turned violent and clashes broke out between protesters and police on Friday when protesters attacked a national guard post and set fire to three police cars, a train locomotive, and the local headquarters of the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally party.

Mohamed Ammari, who was 18, died when he was shot in the chest during a confrontation with security forces in the district of Menzel Bouzaiene, in the central town of Sidi Bouzid (240 kilometers south of the capital Tunis), AFP quoted student representative Mohamed Fadhel as saying.

Several thousand people took part in the demonstration to protest the high unemployment rate among the youth, which quickly turned violent.

Tensions have been running high in the Sidi Bouzid region since 26-year-old university graduate Mohammed Bouazizi attempted to commit suicide in a protest over unemployment on December 17.

Reports say he doused himself in petrol and set himself alight after police confiscated fruits and vegetables he was selling at a street stand because he did not have the necessary permit, the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights said.

The North African country has become a regional focus for international financial institutions since announcing a plan to complete current account convertibility of its dinar currency over the 2010-2012 period.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156994.html.

Al-Shabab urges militants to join group

Fri Dec 24, 2010

Al-Shabab has called on militants across the globe to support the group and to help it bring more areas under its control in Somalia.

At a ceremony commemorating the merger of al-Shabab and former rivals Hizbul Islam in Mogadishu on Thursday, al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Rage called on militants from all over the world to come to Somalia and join al-Shabab's war on the government and its allies, AllAfrica.com reported on Friday.

The al-Shabab spokesman said the union of Hizbul Islam and al-Shabab will inspire the fighters to redouble their attacks on what he described as Somalia's “apostate” government and the “invading” African Union troops.

Al-Shabab recently gained control of several towns in southern Somalia following weeks of bloody clashes with Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a fighters and Somali government forces.

In a recent report, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated that hundreds of civilians have been injured in fighting in Somalia in recent months.

The Geneva-based humanitarian institution said that a total of 5,000 patients with war injuries, including 1,900 women and children, were admitted to Mogadishu's Keysaney and Medina hospitals from January through September.

Compared to 2009, it is an increase of 25 percent in the total number of war casualties and 72 percent in the number of war-wounded women and children admitted to the hospitals.

Some 4,000 patients with war injuries, among them 1,100 women and children, were taken to Mogadishu's two referral hospitals in 2009.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Over the past two decades, up to one million people have lost their lives in fighting between rival factions and due to famine and disease.

There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia. Over 300,000 of the IDPs are sheltered in Mogadishu.

Most of the displaced live in poor and degrading conditions on makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156989.html.

Turkey ties frayed, Israel turns to the Balkans

By Charly Wegman

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel is boosting its ties with Balkan nations after a deep freeze in relations with Turkey, formerly its closest and strongest regional ally.

For over a decade, Ankara and the Jewish state shared warm relations, bolstered by important agreements on defense and the high-tech industry.

Ties were so strong that Ankara even acted as an intermediary for indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria.

The relationship faltered in December 2008, when Israel launched a devastating military operation in the Gaza Strip, prompting Turkey to abandon its mediation efforts.

But the final blow to the once-solid partnership was a May 2010 Israeli raid on a convoy of ships trying to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza. The navy operation killed nine Turks and caused a major crisis in bilateral ties.

Israel is in low-key talks with Ankara to restore relations, but in the meantime has been noticeably upgrading ties with other nearby countries including Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria.

In August, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli premier to visit Greece, traditionally a pro-Arab country, after signing a series of military and economic cooperation deals.

Israel hopes to one day export some of the natural gas recently discovered in marine gas fields off its northern shore to Europe via Greece.

As part of its development of the fields, Israel also signed a deal delineating an economic free zone with Cyprus, prompting an outcry from Turkey, which occupies the northern part of the island and does not acknowledge the internationally-recognized Cypriot government that signed the deal.

But Israel brushed off the criticism, and has forged ahead with other agreements that fill gaps created when relations with Ankara became soured.

In particular, the troubled ties mean Israel can no longer train its air force in Turkish skies, a blow to a small country with little space of its own.

In recent months, it has begun carrying out joint air force exercises with Greece, Romania and Bulgaria.

Despite the slew of new initiatives aimed at Balkan nations, Israel officially denies that the improved ties are intended to supplant Turkey's role.

"There is an amazing and constant improvement in our relations with Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania and other countries, with whom our cooperation is increasing at all levels," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told AFP.

"This warming of ties is a natural development which we welcome and is not a substitution measure directed against a third country," he said.

Despite the still-frosty ties between Israel and Ankara, commerce has actually grown, with bilateral trade up 30 percent over the past 11 months from the same period in 2009.

Israeli imports from Turkey were valued at 1.6 billion dollars this year, up from 1.2 billion in 2009, and exports stood at 1.2 billion dollars, up from 974 million dollars.

Still, the strained atmosphere seriously affected tourism, with the 300,000 Israelis who had visited Turkey each year shunning the country of late.

"Our relations with Turkey are at their lowest level, and so we have looked for new friends in the Balkans," said Alon Liel, a former Israeli ambassador to Turkey.

"It's very interesting, but it's a stopgap measure, because Israel is in the Middle East," he told AFP, noting that Ankara recently made a "very important" deal on economic and cultural cooperation with Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

"If the peace process continues to lag," he warned, Israel faces "regional isolation."

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344992.

Haniyeh to reshuffle cabinet

24/12/2010

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh has decided to reshuffle his cabinet, a Hamas official said Friday.

Hamas spokesman Taher An-Nunu said Haniyeh formed a special committee to meet with factions and national figures to offer them positions in the new government.

"Hanieyah designated Kahlil Al-Haya to head the committee with Ismail Al-Ashqar and Yousef Rezqa, Haniyeh's political advisor, as members," An-Nunu said.

The committee will start meeting with national and Islamic factions this week, he added.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=345027.

Hamas suspends reconciliation talks with Fatah

DAMASCUS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Damascus-based senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouq declared Thursday that Hamas has decided to suspend reconciliation talks with its Palestinian secular rival Fatah, Hamas official website reported.

"There will not be any meeting with Fatah as long as it continues ignoring Hamas' prisoners who are in hunger strike," Abu Marzouq said.

Hamas calls the Palestinian National Authority to "immediately release all political prisoners" including six Hamas members detained in Jericho for nearly two years.

Earlier this week media reported that a new round of talks between the two factions will be held in Damascus by the end of December.

Hamas and Fatah have failed to reach an agreement on sharing Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The two major Palestinian factions have repeatedly accused each other of undermining inter-Palestinian reconciliation.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-12/23/c_13662125.htm.

Freshwater fisheries project set for Tabarka

2010-12-23

Tunisia will launch a pilot freshwater fishing project early next year, Ansa reported on Thursday (December 23rd), The 600,000 dinar farming initiative in the Tabarka region is part of a 3-year deal between the Tunisian fishing industry and an Italian NGO.

In other development news, Tunisia received a $41.6m million loan from the World Bank. The funds support natural resources, infrastructure and agriculture in the mountains and forests of north-western Tunisia.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/12/23/newsbrief-04.

Ice skating, bowling come to Algiers

With the opening of a new recreation center, Algerians are finding joy in an unfamiliar sport: ice skating.

Text and photos by Hayam El Hadi for Magharebia in Algiers – 23/12/10

The parking lot at the new Bab Ezzouar shopping center in Algiers is packed. Groups of friends, couples and families with children are everywhere. But they aren't here to shop. They've come to try out ice skating and bowling.

"This is the first time in my life that I go bowling. I'm telling you, it's been a riot. My wife and children had a fabulous time. It was great. We are total beginners, but that is the fun part," Mohamed Badji tells Magharebia.

"My wife fell over using a ball which was too heavy for her, while my son went virtually all the way down the lane before letting go of the ball," he laughs."It did us a world of good to let ourselves go like that. It was certainly worth the money for the chance to get away from it all."

Ever since the shopping center opened last August in the rapidly-growing district of Bab Ezzouar, Algiers residents have been eager try out some popular American hobbies at the mall's ice rink and bowling lanes.

Bowling on Thursday or Friday requires a lot of patience. The alley is swamped. Many Algerians put aside their domino evenings to enjoy the pleasures of tenpins.

Visitors have to part with 500 dinars (5 euros) per person for 15 minutes of fun, but the cost has done nothing to put people off. Bowlers pack the lanes.

"Bowling is certainly not a traditional leisure activity in Algeria, but I'm sure it will soon establish itself as such. You can see how the Algerian people, young and old alike, can't get enough of it. Anyway, I'm a fan, and I'm going to be coming back time after time," Badji's wife Salima agrees.

Inside, there’s a party atmosphere. Music is playing non-stop. The red and blue décor is definitely modern. As soon as they walk through the door, players are welcomed by hostesses, who never forget to smile. They are immediately given a pair of shoes in their size, and off they go to their bowling lane, where the fun begins.

The room is filled with constant laughter, and occasional outbursts of cheering. The pros give advice, the rookies do silly things and others laugh uproariously.

Newlyweds Amel and Racym Louli have become regulars at the bowling alley.

"As soon as I discovered this place, I fell in love with it. We spend our weekend evenings here, as a couple or with friends. We have a good time. It's a chance to relax and switch off from reality," Racym tells Magharebia.

"Bowling is like a dream," Amel chimes in. "You see in movies, but I never thought I'd be able to experience it firsthand. I'm sure that with a bit of practice, I'll be just as good as any American woman," she says with a twinkle in her eye.

According to shopping mall developer SCCA's Alain Rolland, the project is a "response to the huge expectations of the people of Algiers and Algeria".

"Leisure is unquestionably one of the special features of this center and it is bound to have an effect on all future projects in the country. This whole world devoted to entertainment has the largest bowling alley in the country (18 lanes), and is open 365 days a year," Rolland tells Magharebia.

long with bowling, Algerians are exploring the joys of ice-skating at the mall's brand-new indoor rink.

"I saw one at Hammamet in Tunisia, and at the time I thought it would be wonderful to have one at home. Now my wish has come true. I was amazed to find out about this ice rink," says student Wassila Medjahed.

Algerians are not used to ice skating. That much is clear to anyone watching them. But even as they stumble, slide and fall, there is in an atmosphere of unabated joy.

"Skating is tougher than bowling," says Salah Djelloul as he emerges out-of-breath from the ice rink.

"Bowling is ok. I got the hang of it after a few tries, but skating seems a lot more complicated. I've fallen over a lot. I hurt myself, but that's really funny," he says.

People crowd the edges of the rink. It makes for a good show.

"I haven't dared go out there yet," Safia Belkouk tells Magharebia "I'm just fine sitting at this table, sipping my coffee and watching others. It looks great fun," Safia Belkouk tells Magharebia.

"I'm a fan of figure skating. I watch all the international competitions, and I love it. I don't pretend I could achieve that level, but I'd like to have that feeling of flying when you skate," Safia Belkouk tells Magharebia.

"Next time, I'll definitely give it a try," she says.

Children seem eager to get on the ice. A future Algerian figure-skating champ might well be among the little ones now circling the rink.

Nihad, a four-year-old girl, ventures out onto the ice with obvious joy.

A quarter of an hour later, she tells Magharebia, "It was great. I had a crazy time. I fell over, but if I keep coming, I'll be really good."

The pastime costs 250 dinars (2.5 euros). Visitors put on a helmet and knee pads, and off they go. For Nihad's father, Nabil Maache, this is a reasonable price.

"I never thought I'd be giving my daughter a chance to experience skating. I'm delighted I can do it," Maache says.

"She's happy, and you can't put a price on that."

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/reportage/2010/12/23/reportage-01.

Morocco honors Edmond Amran El Maleh

The Moroccan National Library paid homage to late Moroccan writer Edmond Amran El Maleh by reviewing his last book Lettres à moi-même.

By Naoufel Cherkaoui for Magharebia in Rabat – 23/12/10

Renowned Moroccan writer Edmond Amram El Maleh planned to talk about his latest book, Lettres à moi-même (Letters to Myself) in Rabat on December 17th. His unexpected death turned the event at the National Library into an occasion to celebrate the Jewish and Amazighi novelist's work.

He died November 15th at the age of 93. El Maleh achieved fame despite a late start in writing, at age 63.

"Edmond was a man open to other cultures and was keen on acquiring new knowledge and new friends," said Karima Yatribi, a professor at the Faculty of Arts, King Hassan II University in Casablanca.

"He was also a Moroccan to the bone, and used to speak lovingly about his country on a continuous basis. The late writer has left behind an individual mark in the artistic, literary and philosophical arena, given that he was deeply-rooted in the cultural pluralism of Morocco, a country that encourages the right to different opinion, promotes a spirit of openness and rejects the logic of exclusion. We find a lot of these trends in the thought of the late writer, who was focusing on the Moroccan-Jewish heritage," Yatribi added.

He refused to immigrate to Israel, and considered himself to be a Jewish citizen of his country. He also struggled for the independence of Morocco when he was a member of the Communist Party. However, his opposition to some aspects of late King Hassan II's policies forced him to immigrate to France to teach philosophy.

"Through the late writer's books, especially Parcours immobile (Road to Nowhere), Aïlen ou la nuit du récit (Aïlen, or the Night of Storytelling), Mille ans, un jour (A Thousand Years in a Day), and Le Retour d'Abou El Haki (The Return of Abou El Haki), we see that all these texts reflect the Moroccan cultural memory," Yatribi added. "This is because, to Edmond Amram El Maleh, there is no writing without a memory. The late writer, who was writing and speaking in French on a permanent basis, was accurate in his use of words. He was also known to often use old words from the Moroccan darija in his speech."

As to the last book by the late writer, Yatribi said that it "largely summarizes the volume of literary, philosophical and artistic writings of the late writer who had a philosophical, academic nature and who lived for a long time away from his own country. This was why he had that feeling that made him write a book about his origins. He wrote his last book as a philosopher, with the aim of focusing on the enigmatic dimension of the existential experience which one lives in this world."

In his turn, Moroccan National Library Director Driss Khrouz said that "the last book of the late writer shouldn't be considered as a will just because it was released before his death. He always refused to talk about himself, out of a belief that the individual was not important, and that Morocco and its peculiarities were more important. He refused to be in the forefront, and used to say that all that he has ever done in his life was aimed at sowing love."

"The man remained to be a great figure in producing sublime human values, whether in thought or behavior," Moroccan journalist Lehcen Laasbi said. "This was because he was drawing on the huge well of the Moroccan Jewish behavioral education, which has no equal anywhere else in the entire world. His national political commitment, struggles in support of Palestinians' rights, anti-Zionism struggles, and his profound literary taste reflect that cultural wealth which he has learnt from his Moroccan cultural origins with their multiple wealth."

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/12/23/feature-02.

Morocco expands medical assistance

After completing a two-year trial run, Morocco's subsidized healthcare program will soon be available across the country.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 23/12/10

Two years after Morocco's medical support program for the poor began as a pilot project in Tadla Azilal, RAMED will finally go nationwide next month.

"To ensure the scheme is successfully rolled out, the health ministry has made a lot of changes, including increasing the drugs purchasing budget to 1.4 billion dirhams in 2010, compared with 50 million dirhams in 2008," Health Minister Yasmina Baddou said.

Despite some delays, she said the program has been a success.

RAMED will release many people from the obligation of presenting a certificate to prove poverty before receiving free treatment at state-run health centers.

The medical assistance is aimed at 8.5 million Moroccans, 4.5 million of whom are in relative poverty, with the remaining 4 million in absolute poverty. Among the beneficiaries are 100,000 prison inmates, orphans and homeless.

So far, 54,734 assistance cards have been issued, benefiting 185,600 people at a combined cost of 22 million dirhams (2 million euros) for patients. Three committees are about to complete their work looking into how the program will be targeted, managed and financed.

"This is a social project which will allow many members of the public on limited incomes to save on the cost of care and spend the money on other necessities of life," MP Mohamed Azzab Zeghay told Magharebia.

But the government has fallen well behind schedule for rolling out RAMED, he added.

El Hajja Fatma, 62, has been receiving assistance through RAMED in Azilal since 2008: "With my card I can get free care and some free prescriptions. Things have changed, but of course you always hope they could be better. Now I don't need to think twice about seeing the doctor if I feel under the weather."

"Without help from my family and friends, I wouldn't be able to pay for care or medicines, either for me or for members of my family," street vendor Zhora Mustapha said. "We only see a doctor if we're really ill. RAMED will allow people like me to look after their health and look after their families too."

Other people have doubts about the government being able to roll out the RAMED scheme in 2011.

"All the ministers do is make promises. The roll-out should have happened last year," exclaimed Karim Mediouni, a seasonal worker who hopes to be included in the plan.

But according to the health ministry, everything is ready and a training plan for RAMED staff has been formalized. The creation of eligibility committees across the provinces will make it possible to target assistance directly to those in need.

The program will cost 2.5 billion dirhams (225 million euros) a year, 75% of which will come from the state, 6% from local authorities, and 19% from beneficiaries. Recipients will pay a contribution of 120 dirhams per eligible person, with a ceiling of 600 dirhams per household. The government will pay 40 dirhams on behalf of those in absolute poverty.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/12/23/feature-01.

Duma gives first nod to New START; final reading in 2011

Fri, 24 Dec 2010

Moscow - Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, on Friday overwhelmingly approved the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with the United States in a first reading.

The vote in the assembly, dominated by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, was 350 in favor against 58 opposing votes.

The Duma's final approval will not come until a second and decisive third reading planned for mid-January, said the head of the body's foreign affairs committee, Konstantin Kossatchov.

In addition, the upper-house Federation Council still has to approve the treaty, which calls for cuts in overall nuclear arms by the US and Russia while restoring monitoring requirements. The council has postponed its decision until next year.

There had been brief hopes earlier this week that Russian legislators might approve the measure before the end of the year, but they said they needed time to review the resolution.

Senior Kremlin officials had said earlier Friday that they have no reservations about New START, which only cleared the US Senate Wednesday after a major political push by President Barack Obama.

The treaty had seemed in danger of foundering in Russia after some legislators there objected to language in a non-binding resolution US senators passed at the same time as the treaty was approved.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the treaty itself had not been changed, the Interfax news agency reported. He also confirmed that the resolution text was non-binding.

That means the United States has met all requirements and that the Russian legislature can also sign off on the treaty, he said.

But Lavrov did criticize the resolution for language that called for the continuation of a US missile defense program in Europe, which has long rankled with Russia. He said Duma lawmakers would be formulating their own resolution before the second reading.

Obama allowed the US resolution language in exchange for support for the treaty from the conservative US Republican party. Passage was seen as vital in order to maintain good relations with Russia.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised the treaty during a live television interview.

"This document is a cornerstone of security in the world and Europe for the coming decades," he said.

He noted that some US citizens think all of the world's evil is concentrated in Russia, but noted that many Americans are also interested in a "new start" with Russia.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359626,start-final-reading-2011.html.

King beseeches Belgian politicians to compromise on new government

Fri, 24 Dec 2010

Brussels - Belgium's King Albert II used his Christmas speech on Friday to call upon politicians to show willingness to compromise, as the country approaches seven months without an elected government.

Belgium achieved good compromises between the European Union's 27 members while holding the bloc's rotating presidency, he noted.

"And yet it looks to me like we have somewhat forgotten the art of compromise within our own country in the past few years," he said.

Since parliamentary elections were held in mid-June, the Dutch- speaking Flemings and French-speaking Walloons have been unable to agree on national reforms, the prerequisite for the formation of a new government.

An interim government led by Yves Leterme has been in place for the entirety of Belgium's EU presidency.

King Albert said he was addressing his "ceremonial plea" mostly to political leaders, but also to all other social groups.

A compromise had to be found that meets the legitimate demands of all those involved, he said.

"We have to find solutions that make everyone a winner," he added, ending the address in German, Belgium's third official language. "We all have to get up the nerve to be peacemakers, with our actions and our approaches."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359624,politicians-compromise-new-government.html.

West African bloc warns Gbagbo it could use force to oust him

Fri, 24 Dec 2010

Nairobi/Bissau - West African regional bloc ECOWAS on Friday warned it could use "legitimate force" to oust Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo should he continue to ignore calls to hand over power to his rival Alassane Ouattara.

Ivory Coast was plunged into violence after the incumbent Gbagbo refused to cede power to Ouattara - the man the world sees as the rightful winner of last month's presidential polls.

In an emergency meeting on Friday in Abuja, Nigeria, heads of state from the bloc said they would give Gbagbo the chance to stand aside peacefully before taking further action.

"In the event that Mr Gbagbo fails to heed this immutable demand of ECOWAS, the Community would be left with no alternative but to take other measures, including the use of legitimate force, to achieve the goals of the Ivorian people," a communique issued after the meeting read.

ECOWAS's warning is the latest attempt to pressure Gbagbo into handing over power. The central bank of West Africa' monetary union on Thursday agreed to cut off Gbagbo's access to public money.

"The Council of Ministers has noted the decisions of the UN, African Union and ECOWAS to recognize Alassane Ouattara as the legitimately elected president of Ivory Coast," the Central Bank for West African States (BCEAO) said in statement after ministers from West Africa's monetary union met in Guinea Bissau.

Ministers decided that only officials designated by the "legitimate" government could access deposits and told the central bank and regional banks to take measures to enforce this condition.

The bank's decision came as the UN General Assembly late Thursday in New York accepted the envoy sent by Ouattara, and the UN said that 173 people had died since December 16 as Gbagbo cracks down on dissent.

Coupled with aid freezes by international development banks and countries, Gbagbo could shortly find himself unable to pay wages to the public sector and military, with whose backing he is holding onto power.

Gbagbo has been attempting to portray the international pressure as a form of colonialism in the former French colony, but his West African neighbours have been particularly tough in their criticism.

Ouattara is widely recognized as the rightful winner of last month's presidential elections, which were aimed at healing the divisions left over from a 2002 civil war that split the country into the mainly Muslim north, which backs Ouattara, and Christian south, where Gbagbo holds sway.

The electoral commission pronounced Ouattara the winner, only for a Gbagbo ally heading up the constitutional council to annul results from Ouattara strongholds in the north and hand victory to the incumbent.

Ouattara is trying to run an alternative government from the UN- protected Golf Hotel in Abidjan, but pro-Gbagbo forces have erected barricades to prevent food and water getting through.

Pope leads midnight Christmas Mass amid tight security

Fri, 24 Dec 2010

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI led the Vatican's Christmas celebrations late Friday with the traditional midnight Mass, which began amid tightened security measures following last year's intrusion by a mentally disturbed woman.

Thousands of people flocked to St Peter's Basilica as Benedict began presiding over the ceremony. Many more followed the proceedings on giant video screens in St Peter's Square, on a mild but wet winter's night.

Benedict, wearing golden robes and his bishop's miter, walked into the Basilica in procession with other clerics. The pontiff stopped occasionally, briefly greeting well-wishers, many of them holding camera phones.

During the same event in 2009, a Swiss-born woman, Susanna Maiolo, jumped over a barrier and lunged at the pontiff, knocking him down. Benedict was unhurt in the resulting fracas, but an elderly cardinal suffered a broken leg.

Maiolo had already tried to accost the pontiff during the 2008 Christmas Mass but was blocked by security guards.

As in 2009, Friday's midnight mass began at 10 pm (2100 GMT) instead of midnight - an earlier slot aimed to give the 83-year-old pontiff a few extra hours of sleep before his Christmas Day duties, the Vatican said.

In his mass homily, the leader of the world's more than 1 billion Catholics was expected to stress that Jesus' coming - the event that Christians celebrate at Christmas - gives mankind the hope that lasting peace will be achieved on Earth.

Earlier, the Vatican unveiled in St Peter's Square its Nativity scene, recreating the scene of Jesus' birth - a custom revived in 1982.

The story narrates how Jesus' mother, Mary, and her husband, Joseph, unable to find lodging, seek shelter in a stable and using a manger, or livestock feeding trough, as a crib for the infant.

This year, the traditional Nativity figures are complemented by a set of nine statues created by Filipino sculptor Kublai Ponce-Millan. These include musicians playing indigenous instruments and a family in a boat pulling a net, heavy with fish.

The statues are a gift from the Philippines government to mark next year's 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the majority Catholic Asian nation and the Vatican.

The Nativity scene stands next to the Vatican's Christmas tree - this year a 34-meter-high Norwegian spruce from Italy's north-eastern Alpine region of Alto Adige.

Benedict has encouraged Catholics to display their own Nativity scenes and Christmas trees, both "spiritual" symbols representing Christ's appearance on Earth, according to the German-born pontiff.

On Saturday, Benedict was scheduled to deliver his Christmas Day blessings and traditional Urbi et Orbi message "to the city and to the world."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359642,christmas-mass-tight-security.html.

Thousands flock to Bethlehem for Christmas festivities

Fri, 24 Dec 2010

Bethlehem, West Bank - Thousands of Christian faithful from around the world converged Friday on Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas in the town where, according to the Biblical account, Jesus was born.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, arrived in the city in the afternoon, at the end of the traditional procession from Jerusalem.

The first part of the south-bound procession was by motorcade, but he entered Bethlehem's Manger Square on foot, accompanied by Boy Scouts from Christian schools and youth movements.

Wearing a purple robe, he waved to pilgrims as he made his way across the square to the Church of the Nativity.

The square had been packed since mid-morning with pilgrims, and local police even had to close some of its entrances because of the crush.

Palestinian Tourism Minister Khaloud Deibis told the Ma'an news agency that estimates showed that 90,000 pilgrims and tourists would arrive in the town by the end of the festive season, compared to 60,000 last year. Unlike in previous years, most of them are staying overnight in the city, and Bethlehem's 24 hotels are fully booked.

As the patriarch, the highest-ranking Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, entered the square, a local muezzin called Muslims to prayer.

In the evening, choirs sang carols in Manger Square, taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. The celebrations peak at midnight (2200 GMT), when Patriarch Twal will conduct mass in Saint Catherine Church, the Roman Catholic section of the Church of the Nativity, built according to tradition on the site of the stable where Jesus was born.

"I come here every Christmas," said 72-year-old Philip Salsa, from the nearby village of Beit Sahour. "I see more people every year, and the atmosphere is more festive."

Although a Muslim, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to arrive in Bethlehem from his Ramallah headquarters in the afternoon to attend the mass - a precedent set by his predecessor, Yasser Arafat.

Despite being surrounded by a high wall, which forms part of Israel's West Bank barrier, Bethlehem is packed this year.

Palestinian tourism officials estimate that by year's end up to 2 million people will have visited the southern West Bank town.

Israel issued permits for 7,000 Palestinian Christians from the West Bank to visit Bethlehem and allowed several hundred members of Gaza's tiny Christian community to attend the festivities in the Biblical city.

Some 200 Christians from Arab states with whom Israel does not have ties are also allowed to attend the celebrations.

Once a majority of more than 90 per cent in Bethlehem, Christians now make up little more than a third of the town's Palestinian population, and many of the local onlookers during the celebrations are Muslims.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359640,flock-bethlehem-christmas-festivities.html.