Humanitarian Aid Sails on Final Leg of its Journey to Gaza, Palestine

It is interesting that the role of India which is appreciated by leaders of especially the third world countries is from the days of Gandhi and Nehru. People like to avoid mentioning the changing foreign policy of India under the recent regimes, abandoning the cause of non-alignment and trying to jump on the bandwagon of developed nations and military powers.

Dr Sandeep Pandey, The Milli Gazette Online
Jan 01, 2011

Latakia (Syria, 1 January 2011): The Asia to Gaza caravan arrived to a grand welcome by the Governor of Latakia, Dr. Khalyl Mashhaddya, a cardio-thoracic surgeon, on 25th December, 2010, in the port city of Syria, with school children playing their band and raising pro-Palestine and pro-Syria placards on the street. Next day at a meeting the Baath Party office bearer and former Ambassador to India, Dr. Mohsen Alkhyyr, spoke fondly of the vision of Gandhi and role of Nehru in giving shape to the Non-Aligned Movement along with Nasser, Tito and Sukarno. It is interesting that the role of India which is appreciated by leaders of especially the third world countries is from the days of Gandhi and Nehru. People like to avoid mentioning the changing foreign policy of India under the recent regimes, abandoning the cause of non-alignment and trying to jump on the bandwagon of developed nations and military powers.

While awaiting the clearance from Egyptian authorities for entering Gaza, the caravan members were invited by a host of organizations - of students, farmers, workers and engineers. The caravan members also visited the Al-aa-Deen camp of Palestinian refugees, some of whom came as far back as in 1948. This camp is also host to Syrian refugees from Golan Heights and some Palestinian refugees from Iraq. Except for the citizenship right the earlier refugees enjoy all the benefits entitled to Syrian citizens. But the Palestinian refugees admit quite unambiguously that they are the guests of Syrian government. The day the situation will become normal they'll return to their homeland after handing over their property to the Syrian government. The Syrian government also considers the Palestinian people as their own. The banner to welcome to caravan on behalf of Governor of Latakia read: 'The masses of the Governorate of Latakia Salute the Free Men of Convoy Asia (1) to Break the Siege of Our People in Gaza.' The caravan members have been received warmly in the Arab world as they are seen as supporting an Arab cause.

The Egyptian government gave permission to 120 people to enter Gaza as opposed to the promise of an earlier figure of 100 but was quite clear that they would not allow any Iranian citizens, including 7 members of parliament - Mahmoud Ahmadi Biqash, Avaz Heidarpour, Parvi Sarvari, Ali Motahhari, Ali Asqar Zarei, Hassan Qafourifard and Shabib Jooyjari. They also denied permission to 6 Jordanian activists, who have taken strong positions earlier not palatable to the Egypt, Israel or US. This was not totally unexpected. Egypt and Iran have strained ties for the last 30 years. Since the days when Egypt gave asylum to Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Camp David Accord after the Egyptian recognition to Israel, support to Iraq in Iran-Iraq war and in response Iran deciding to name a street after Khaled Islambouli, the assassin of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, there have been no diplomatic relations between Egypt and Iran. Lately, Iran's support to Hizbullah and Hamas is also a source of concern for Egypt. The First Asia to Gaza Solidarity Caravan faced a dilemma. How could some friends be left behind because of the whims of Egyptian government? But in the end the Iranian members prevailed over the group and convinced everybody that even they would be most happy only if the caravan reaches Gaza. Nothing is more serious that the pain and suffering of people of Gaza, who were looking forward to the arrival of First Asia to Gaza Solidarity caravan. They could not be disappointed. Hence a decision was taken by consensus for the caravan to move ahead.

On 30th December the caravan members cheered the staff of Latakia Port as they loaded humanitarian aid - food, medicines, stationery for children and four ambulances - on the ship appropriately named 'Salam' or peace by raising pro-Palestine slogans. Eight members of the caravan, Brigadier Sudhir Sawant, former MP, Ajit Sahi, senior journalist, Sheheen Kattiparambil, young activist of Jamat-e-Islami, Aslam Khan, student leader of AISA, all from India, Koichi Sakaguchi from Japan, Hakim Alizade from Azerbaijan, Muhammad Husein from Indonesia and Norazli Bin Musa from Malaysia were given the responsibility to accompany the ship to Al Arish port in Egypt.

On the new year's day of 2011 the ship sailed from the Latakia port amidst cheering by the remaining members of the caravan and Latakian citizens. The Governor of Latakia accompanied by the Baath Party chief was there on both occasions, when the loading was taking place as well as when it sailed. The send off became quite emotional as there was a realization that Israelis may intercept the ship in mid water. Ajit Sahi speaking before the ship's departure said that in case of any mishappening, this caravan to Gaza must not stop and there should be more such caravans. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi he said bravery is not in killing people but in sacrificing one's life fighting against injustice. It is amazing how Gandhi has become relevant for the Asia to Gaza caravan. Historically, he had disapproved of the creation of Israel and said Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English and France to the French. The flags of India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Azerbaijan and Palestine were waved by caravan members on board as the ship left the shores of Latakia.

Source: The Milli Gazette.
Link: http://www.milligazette.com/news/292-humanitarian-aid-sails-on-final-leg-of-its-journey-to-gaza-palestine.

Brazil bids farewell to Lula as Rousseff steps in

By Raymond Colitt

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilians spilled on to the streets of the capital on Saturday to witness the swearing in of the first woman to become Brazil's president and bid farewell to the most popular leader in the country's modern history, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Dilma Rousseff, a 63-year-old a former Marxist guerrilla turned technocrat who had never run for elected office before sweeping October's election, will take the reins of an emerging giant with a booming economy, vast new oil reserves and growing diplomatic clout on the global stage.

But she will also inherit a country with a long list of daunting challenges that Lula failed to tackle, including an overvalued currency that is hurting industry, rampant public spending that is fueling inflation, and notorious bureaucracy that stifles investment and discourages innovation.

When Rousseff's motorcade passes Brasilia's modernist government buildings in a convertible 1953 Rolls Royce flanked by an all-female security detail, many Brazilians will be there to salute their outgoing, not their incoming president.

"I'm here to thank Lula for all he's done. If Dilma can do half of that I'll be happy," said Izabel Rosales Figuereido, who traveled from the western state of Mato Grosso do Sul to attend Rousseff's inauguration.

Lula is a tough act to follow. In his eight years in office, Brazil won a long-sought investment grade credit rating, more than 20 million Brazilians were lifted out of poverty, and unemployment fell to an all-time low of 5.7 percent. And while glaring inequalities persist, the middle class now accounts for more than half the population in this vast country of 190 million people.

The folksy former metalworker, who groomed Rousseff to be his successor, leaves office with a sky-high personal approval rating of 87 percent and legendary status among the poor.

Rousseff, who appointed an experienced and respected economic team, will maintain the mostly market-friendly policies that helped cement Brazil's place among the elite BRIC group of fast-growing emerging economies that also includes Russia, India, China and now South Africa.

She has also pledged to build on the social welfare programs championed by Lula with hopes of eradicating extreme poverty in Brazil by the time it hosts the World Cup in 2014. Two years later, Brazil will also host the Olympic Games.

But Rousseff lacks Lula's remarkable charisma, which was key for the former union leader to push his legislative agenda through an often unruly Congress.

POLITICAL SKILLS TO BE TESTED

A bookish technocrat who served as Lula's energy minister and chief of staff, Rousseff's political skills will be put to the test early on as she tries to marshal support for spending cuts and wage caps intended to shore up public finances.

"The question is whether she has the courage and support to stand up to vested interest," said Pedro Simon, senator for the PMDB, the largest party in Rousseff's coalition. "There's already an army of scoundrels wanting the victory spoiled."

One of the first challenges of her 10-party coalition will be a politically sensitive tax overhaul she plans to send to Congress early in her tenure, something Lula avoided.

Rousseff is expected to wield a heavy government hand in several sectors of the economy, particularly the oil industry. Developing vast, new offshore oil reserves spells huge opportunities for more wealth and jobs but risks sidelining private capital and technology.

Given the many pressing demands at home, she is likely to take a lower international profile and avoid courting controversy, like Lula did when he angered Washington with mediation efforts over Iran's nuclear program.

Rousseff has signaled she wants to warm ties with the United States and has distanced herself from Iran, harshly criticizing Tehran's human rights record.

Washington will be one of her first foreign destinations, a close aide said this week, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is among 30-plus foreign dignitaries attending the inauguration ceremony.

(Additional reporting by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Leonardo Goy; Editing by Todd Benson and Jackie Frank)

Estonia joins crisis-hit euro club

By David Mardiste – Sat Jan 1

TALLINN (Reuters) – Estonia switched smoothly to the euro on Saturday, brushing off worries about a crisis in the currency club which is likely to put off bigger eastern European nations from joining for up to a decade.

The Baltic state of 1.3 million became the 17th euro zone country at midnight and was the first former Soviet state to adopt the euro, capping 20 years of integration with the West.

Estonia sees the change as marking the end of its struggles since a 2009 recession lopped 14 percent off its output. It hopes to entice investors by removing fears of devaluation and make borrowing more secure for its people, many of whose mortgages are already in euros from top Nordic banks.

"It is a small step for the euro zone and a big step for Estonia," said Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, who was the first to take euros out of a specially installed cash machine.

"We are proud to be a euro zone member state."

The central bank, whose governor will now help decide euro zone interest rates, said the changeover was smooth.

"The money reached ATMs and retail stores in time at the end of the year," said deputy central bank head Rein Minka.

Estonia will be the currency club's poorest member but its debt and deficit levels -- the cause of the crisis for some euro zone members -- are among the lowest in the bloc.

In economic terms, the single currency bloc will barely notice the addition -- Estonia's GDP is 0.2 percent of the euro zone's 8.9 trillion euros.

EASTERN SKEPTICS

Poland, Hungary and other eastern European EU states are skeptical about joining the euro. They have all promised to join one day but want to see how the debt problems of Ireland, Greece, Spain and Portugal are solved.

They also fear that losing flexible exchange rates will make them less competitive and less able to fight financial crisis.

Polish central bank governor Marek Belka told newspaper Super Express Poland would join when there was "order" in the euro zone. "In the euro zone there are dramatic things happening, so why rush?" he said.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas has said the euro would not be to the country's advantage for a long time. Economists say the larger eastern EU nations may now not join before 2019-2020.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy used New Year addresses to show support for the euro.

"The euro is the foundation of our prosperity," said Merkel. "Germany needs Europe and our common currency ... We Germans assume our responsibility, even when it is sometimes very hard."

With a similar history of Nazi and Soviet occupation, all three Baltic states made joining Western structures their goals and joined NATO and the European Union in 2004.

Latvia and Lithuania hope to adopt the euro in 2014 and have had their currencies pegged to the euro for years.

The kroon will be converted at the rate of 15.6466 at which the currency was pegged to the euro. They will circulate together as legal tender for two weeks.

(Additional reporting by Patrick Lannin in Stockholm; Editing by Patrick Graham, Lin Noueihed and Padraic Cassidy)

نهر بردى.. رمز يصارع للبقاء

1/1/2011 م

نغم ناصر-دمشق

"سلام من صبا بردى أرّق"، مطلع قصيدة لأمير الشعراء أحمد شوقي تغنى فيه بجمال نهر بردى الذي عاشت دمشق على إيقاع نبضه، لكنه اليوم تحول لرمز مفقود للمدينة.. جفت مياهه وتلوث ما بقي منها، فأمسى بردى الحاضر في حكايات عشق الأدباء والشعراء والمستشرقين لدمشق شاهدا يخفت صوته تدريجيا.

يستذكر الشاعر المصري أحمد فؤاد نجم جمال بردى وهو يردد قصيدة شوقي لدمشق، ويروي كيف طلبت المطربة أم كلثوم بإصرار رؤية النهر الذي يلهم الشعراء عند زيارتها لدمشق، ويضيف "الألم يعتصر قلبي وأنا أراه جافا اليوم بعدما شهدت عظمته بالأمس، لقد بكيت مطولا وأنا أتأمل ما بقي منه"، لكن الشاعر السوري سليمان العيسى -الذي ألف لبردى قصائد عديدة يتغنى في إحداها بخلوده- لا يزال يجد فيه "رمز دمشق الخالد"، لذلك يرفض "الشفقة أو الحزن عليه".

ويضيف العيسى -بصوته المتعب- أن "بردى هو الجندي المجهول وسيبقى بأي حال له، فكل حصاة فيه تقاتل لأجل إحياء البلدان الأخرى".

نهر الجنة

ينبع بردى -الذي أطلق عليه قديما "باردايس" (الجنة)- من بحيرة نبع بردى في جنوب الزبداني على سلسلة الجبال السورية شمال غرب دمشق، ويصب في بحيرة العتيبة جنوب شرق مدينة دمشق.

وللتغير المناخي دور رئيسي في جفاف النهر، ولازدياد سكان العاصمة دور في ذلك أيضا، لكن الطبيعة بريئة من تلوثه، حيث بات بردى مصبا لمياه الصرف الصحي والزراعي ومخلفات المنشآت الصناعية والمطاعم والمقاهي التي نشأت على أطرافه.

وتقول الدكتورة ابتسام حمد -رئيسة قسم العلوم البيئية في كلية العلوم بدمشق، والتي أشرفت على العديد من الدراسات التي تتناول تلوث بردى- إنه في تسعينيات القرن الماضي بدأ النهر يفقد تدريجيا ملامحه، حيث حول مجراه إلى منطقة عدرا لتنقية مياه الصرف الصحي بالنهر، وتم تبليط مجراه في منطقة المعرض الدولي مما ساهم في الحد من تدفقه.

وترى ابتسام أن النهر الآن يحتاج إلى دعم بمجارٍ خاصة تنجيه من الصرف الصحي، فالطبيعة -التي تمنح الأنهار عادة أنواعا مختلفة من النباتات تقوم بتنقيتها تلقائيا من التلوث عبر امتصاص العناصر الثقيلة- باتت عاجزة في حالة بردى "لأن التلوث فاق طاقته، فلم يعد النهر قادرا على تنقية نفسه".

كما تشير إلى أنه يصعب على من يرى بردى بوضعه الحالي أن يتخيل أن ذلك النهر الجاف كان يغرق مدينة دمشق، كما تشير إليه دراسات تؤرخ فيضاناته في القرن السادس عشر والسابع عشر.

لكن ذاكرة ابتسام تستحضر فيضانه السنوي في أواخر الخمسينيات من القرن الماضي، وتقول "شهدت ذلك مرارا وأنا في طريقي إلى المدرسة، حيث كان فيضانه يغلق الطرقات مما يضطرنا للعودة إلى منازلنا".

مقترحات للحل

خضع بردى خلال السنوات السابقة لحملات تنظيف لمجراه بدعم من جمعيات أهلية ومؤسسات دولية، لكن ابتسام تجد أن العمل البيئي لا يكفيه هذا مثل هذه الجهود، بل يحتاج إلى تكاتف وتنسيق بين الجهات الخاصة والعامة، "فالنهر يحتاج لمحطات تنقية عديدة، وهذا ما تلجأ إليه الدول التي تحرص على الحفاظ على جمالية أنهارها".

ورغم الحملات المتعددة فإن النهر لا يزال على حاله، ولا تزال رائحة مجاري الصرف الصحي طاغية على أماكن تحيط به تبعد المارة عنه، فمنظره لا يجذب الناس لتأمله، بل يسارع البعض لتخطيه عند المرور قربه تفاديا للرائحة الكريهة المنبعثة منه.

وتدعو ابتسام لتوعية العامة، "فحملات النظافة التي يقتصر دورها على تنظيف محدد أمام كاميرات التلفزيون ليست كافية، بل يتوجب أن تقام حملات من وزارة البيئة والسياحة".

كما تطالب بعقوبات رادعة للحد من تلوث بردى لمنع انتشار الأمراض المختلفة نتيجة ري المزروعات بمياه الصرف الصحي، وتجنب ما حصل في عاميْ 1997 و1998، "عندما كاد مرض الكوليرا ينتشر في دمشق ونجحنا في تطويقه باكرا، واستطعنا أيضا منع انتشار مصانع الدباغة التي لوثت النهر بمادة الكروم المسرطنة".

ابتسام -بعيدا عن تخصصها في مجال البيئة- تنظر الآن إلى بردى بشوق وحزن، حالها حال من عاصره فترة تألقه، وحال عشاق دمشق الذين لم تتيسر لهم رؤيته سابقا، لكنه بات محفورا في مخيلتهم من خلال قصائد الشعراء، أو ربما لأنهم يحسنون الاستماع لأنين نهر اغتسل بدموعه... دموع باتت وحدها النقية التي تجري فيه وتروي قصة مجد لنهر يصارع للبقاء.

المصدر: الجزيرة.
الرابط: http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/EXERES/CA198735-142C-454A-8828-561E96133E90.htm.

Abbas lays first stone of Brazil embassy

BRASILIA (AFP) - President Mahmoud Abbas laid the first stone Friday of what will become a Palestinian embassy in Brazil, the most important Latin American country to recognize a sovereign Palestinian state.

The symbolic act underlined a general movement in South America to recognize Palestine as a country, despite sharp criticism from Israel and US lawmakers.

Argentine, Bolivia and Ecuador have followed Brazil's decision, made early December, to formally acknowledge a Palestinian state based on the borders which existed before the 1967 Six-Day War when Israel seized the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Uruguay has said it will do likewise early in 2011.

Other Latin American countries, including Cuba, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Venezuela, recognized Palestinian statehood several years ago.

Abbas carried out the ceremony in Brazil's capital under a light rain, posing the stone in ground donated by the Brazilian government in the same district as other diplomatic missions.

Doves were released during the act to represent peace, though one of the birds provoked laughter when it perched on Abbas's head.

Following the ceremony, Abbas was to meet outgoing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to thank him for the recognition of Palestinian statehood.

On Saturday, the Palestinian leader was to attend the inauguration of Lula's elected successor, Dilma Rousseff.

The move by most of South America to recognize a Palestinian state has angered both Israel and the United States, which have said a Palestinian state can only be achieved through a negotiated peace deal.

The Palestinians have reached out asking for bilateral recognition of their statehood after peace talks with Israel reached an impasse.

Abbas has refused to return to talks while Israel builds settlements on land the Palestinians want for a future state, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to put a new freeze in place.

The United States has proposed the two sides resume indirect talks.

The Palestinians have refused and said they will turn instead to alternative options, including bilateral recognition of statehood and going to the United Nations to seek recognition.

Brazil has a Palestinian immigrant community of at least 50,000, officials say.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=347144.

Report: Cairo approves Asia 1 convoy entry to Gaza

01/01/2011

CAIRO (Ma'an) -- Egypt's Al-Ahram newspaper reported Friday that officials gave clearance to the latest aid convoy to Gaza, the Asia 1, set to dock in the Egyptian port town of El-Arish and enter Gaza from Rafah.

The newspaper said Palestinian MP Khaled Abdel Mejid was informed by the Egyptian embassy in Damascus that the convoy was issued a permit for 120 of its activists, with another 46 from Iran and Jordan denied entry.

Some of the cargo was also said to have been barred, including 10 generators donated by the Iranians, decreasing the size of the humanitarian aid convoy to below 300 tons, the report said.

The remaining cargo includes food and medical aid in addition to toys, the official said.

The Asia to Gaza Caravan consists of approximately 160 people from more than 15 countries, including Iran, India, Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Kuwait. It was scheduled to reach Gaza by 27 December, in time for the second anniversary of Israel's 22-day war on the Strip that started on 28 December 2008.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=346985.

Bouteflika signs 2011 Finance Act

2010-12-30

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Wednesday (December 29th) signed the 2011 Finance Act, APS reported. The new budget is based on a $37 per barrel crude oil price and 3.5% inflation rate. It provides for an economic growth rate of 4%. The 2011 budget introduces new tax incentives aimed at encouraging investment. Certain tax breaks benefit particular sectors, such as Algeria's milk industry.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/12/30/newsbrief-04.

Touareg festivals, scenery draw tourists to Algerian desert

From ochre ksours to breathtaking mountain vistas, the hidden treasures of the vast Algerian desert offer visitors a unique winter holiday.

Text and photos by Nazim Fethi for Magharebia in Algiers – 30/12/10

With many Algerian hotels filled to capacity for the winter holiday season, adventurous tourists are seizing the opportunity to go further afield and spend their vacations in one of the world's largest deserts.

The desert plains of Hoggar and Tassili, each as large as France and offering visitors dramatic lunar landscapes, cave engravings and vast open spaces, are wildly popular destinations for the end-of-year holidays.

Djanet, a small oasis town in the Tassili plateau some 1,800 kilometers from Algiers, is swarming with people preparing for Sbiba. The celebration of reconciliation between Touareg tribes attracts both Algerians and tourists, who appear overwhelmed by the beauty of the spectacle and the rich history of the region.

Despite being a top attraction for holiday-makers, the town has little to offer in the way of accommodation: just a hotel with around thirty rooms and a touristic village at the town entrance, with bungalows built in the local architectural style.

"It's a problem," admits Moussa Ag Moulay, manager of a travel agency in Djanet. Then again, most tourists don't stay in the town.

"They go off to explore the big open spaces and see the cave engravings, and mostly stay at temporary campsites," he tells Magharebia. "They love it."

This year, bad news spoiled the holiday season. For security reasons – namely, the kidnappings and other threats posed by terrorists along the main desert roads – the government closed the Hoggar and Tassili nature parks to tourists.

The decision resulted in booking cancellations from 50,000 foreign tourists who were due to spend their end-of-year holidays here, says Cherif Menacer, vice-president of the National Union of Travel Agencies (SNAV).

But many other visitors were already here when the decision came down. They express frustration over not being unable to "lose themselves in the desert and switch off from reality for a few days". Joala, an Italian architect, visits Djanet regularly. She's making the best of it, despite the travel restrictions.

"I'll visit authorized places nearby, such as the Ambassadors' Grotto or the village of Ihrir, and then I'll attend the Sbiba Festival," she says. '"That alone makes it worth the trip. It is a fabulous journey through time and space."

Venturing deeper into the desert, we head some 400 kilometers south of Djanet to Tamanrasset, where yet another festival is under way.

Performers from across Algeria have gathered for an Amazigh song festival. Beautiful shows entrance locals and tourists, making the end-of-year holidays all the more joyful and lively.

Here, too, the decision to close the parks in the Hoggar region has had a dramatic impact. Travel agencies are still trying to prevent the situation from becoming a total disaster.

"Normally, we used to organize tours over two weeks or more, but now we are confined to short ones around the suburb," says Habib Ben Messaoud, the owner of a Tamanrasset travel agency.

"No tourists have ever had problems using travel agency services, even at the height of the Azaoued conflict in northern Mali," he tells Magharebia. "Many tourists, especially the Germans, prefer using their trucks and motorbikes. They don't even pass through town, and go mountain climbing and explore the desert. They go as far as the Tenere Desert. It's a real adventure."

Assekrem, less than 100 kilometers away, has been invaded by visitors unable to find lodging in Tamanrasset during the popular Amazigh festival. At an altitude of up to 3,000 meters, the majestic mountains offer a lunar-like view of the Hoggar plateau.

Sunset is breathtaking; sunrise completes the awe-inspiring experience.

The small shelter that serves as an inn cannot accommodate all visitors. Tents have been put up at the bottom of the mountain, but because of the freezing temperatures at night, many people prefer to stay up until daybreak by singing, dancing or playing cards and dominoes.

Li Wang, a Chinese construction worker who lives in Algiers, was exploring the Algerian desert for the first time. "It's really fabulous. Algiers was covered in snow when I left it, and here it's like the middle of summer," he says with a smile.

"The scenery is stunning and people are different from city-dwellers. I plan to tell my countrymen to come here when they get time off," he adds.

We continue our desert tour in Ghardaïa, the capital of the Rustamid dynasty. Its five legendary ksours (fortified villages), unique architecture and history attract tourists. They love to walk the alleys of Beni Yezguen or visit the Lalla Achi auction market.

The city is festive all year round; the end-of-year holidays are no exception. The town boasts hotels and restaurants for every budget. Flights come here directly for those wanting to avoid a long drive.

Further west is Timimoun, the "red oasis". The red ochre-colored ksours, the music and the life style lure a growing number of domestic and foreign tourists to the region every year. There are no restrictions on their movements here.

Although there are a dozen or so small hotels, the town cannot accommodate all its visitors. Local residents often rent out their flats or campsites to tourists.

On the outskirts of Timimoun, dozens of ksours – some still inhabited, others in ruins – tell the story of the region. The area, known for being a staging post for caravans along the famous "Salt Route" between the north of the continent and the south, retains traces of its history as a "crossroad of civilizations". Its neo-Sudanese architecture is also found in towns like Timbuktu or Gao.

Bachir Fennoughil, a teacher from Timimoun who also works as a guide at the ksours, tries to explain the meaning of their Touareg names to a group of French tourists. Stéphanie, an anthropologist from Montpellier, was eager to sleep in the room where Princess Grace of Monaco once stayed, but Bachir told her that the Oasis Rouge hotel had since been turned into a museum.

We continue our journey to the north, passing by what is known as the "knot of oases", along the Grand Occidental Erg, a huge mountain of sand stretching over 2,500 kilometers. Oases appearing from nowhere still resist sand and isolation.

The oases of Beni Abbes and Kerzaz in particular invite one to stop for meditation and relaxation, but their isolation makes them ill-equipped to receive tourists. Further north is Taghit, a place that inspires dreams in all who visit it.

Wedged between a dune overlooking the entire town and the surrounding oasis, Taghit is a gem that harbors archaeological treasures, including cave engravings. But accommodations in Taghit are also scarce, which is why traditional houses are attracting more and more tourists.

These dwellings, most of which have been renovated and refurbished by local people to provide lodging for visitors, are helping to boost "home-stay tourism", explains Salah Boungab, the owner of one such property and the founder of the Maison des artistes in Taghit.

Several students traveled here from Algiers for their winter holidays. They had to spend their first night in their car.

"The only hotel is fully booked all year round, the inn has been booked for months, and we even had to book in advance to rent private accommodation", medical student Amar tells Magharebia. The group eventually found a house to rent, right in the middle of the oasis.

"I thought we would end up finding some old house in the center just so we could drop off our luggage and sleep for the night," his friend Samir says. "Instead, we get a little heaven on earth."

The young students from Algiers join the festive crowds. The oasis is swamped with tourists from all over, which gives it an atmosphere that will only grow as the end of the year draws nigh.

This week, in the last few days before 2011, it will host the 11th Marathon des Dunes and a cultural event dubbed "On the Trail of the Desert Caravans". These two events alone are expected to attract some 7,000 Algerian and foreign tourists.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/reportage/2010/12/30/reportage-01.

Did Life Fall from the Skies? Lessons from Titan

by Dauna Coulter
Science@NASA
Huntsville AL (SPX) Dec 31, 2010

In sci-fi movies, the first stirrings of life happen in a gooey pool of primordial ooze. But new research suggests the action started instead in the stormy skies above.

The idea sprang from research led by University of Arizona's Sarah Horst. Her team recreated, in the lab, chemical reactions transpiring above Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

"We're finding that the kind of chemistry an atmosphere can do has intriguing implications for life on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system," says Horst. "Titan's skies might do some interesting chemistry - manufacture the building blocks of life."

Horst and her colleagues mixed up a brew of molecules (carbon monoxide, molecular nitrogen and methane) found in Titan's atmosphere. Then they zapped the concoction with radio waves - a proxy for the sun's radiation.

What happened next didn't make the scientists shout "it's alive!" but it was intriguing. A rich array of complex molecules emerged, including amino acids and nucleotides.

"Our experiment is the first proof that you can make the precursors for life up in an atmosphere, without any liquid water. This means life's building blocks could form in the air and then rain down from the skies!"

Titan is unique in our solar system. Dotted with lakes and dunes and shrouded in a thick atmosphere of nitrogen and methane, it's a frozen time capsule of early Earth. While the liquid on Titan's surface is methane instead of water, it's the only body in the solar system other than Earth with liquid on its surface.

"We didn't start out to prove we could make 'life' in Titan's skies," explains Horst. "We were trying to solve a mystery. The Cassini spacecraft detected large molecules in Titan's atmosphere, and we wanted to find out what they could be."

In hopes of obtaining clues to the mystery molecules, Horst used computer codes to search the lab results for matches to known molecular formulas. She decided, on a whim, to look for nucleotides and amino acids.

"When I pressed the enter key, I expected a big 'nope, not there.'"

She left for a break, and got a big surprise upon returning.

"The computer was printing out such long lists I thought I must have made a mistake!"

But there was no mistake.

"We had about 5000 molecules containing the right stuff: carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen. We knew we had the elements for organic molecules, but we couldn't tell how they were arranged. It's kind of like legos - the more there are, the more possible structures can be made. And they can be put together in many different ways."

Among the structures identified in the lab experiment so far are five nucleotides found in DNA and RNA, and two amino acids. But she says there could be more amino acids in the mix.

How could Titan's atmosphere generate them?

The answer lies in another Cassini discovery: plumes of water blasting from Titan's sister moon Enceladus. The researchers have good proof that these geysers are the source of oxygen required to kick off the first chain reactions required for life.

"Water spewing across from the plumes gets broken up, releasing hydrogen and oxygen. And the amount of oxygen entering Titan's atmosphere from outside is precisely the quantity needed to make the amount of carbon monoxide detected in that atmosphere."

Then, other chemical reactions occur, producing the heavier molecules Cassini detected. If the lab results are correct, amino acids and nucleotides are in the mix.

"We still don't know for sure what the actual molecules are in Titan's atmosphere," says Horst, "but there's a distinct possibility that life's precursors are raining down on the surface of Titan."

Picture it: One moon spraying another moon with water to generate the building blocks of life, which fall to the surface in a storm of methane rain.

Real life may be stranger than science fiction, after all.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Did_Life_Fall_from_the_Skies_Lessons_from_Titan_999.html.

Australians flee floods of 'biblical proportions' - Summary

Sat, 01 Jan 2011

Sydney - Thousands of Australians saw in the New Year from evacuation centers after the worst floods in 50 years put half the east coast state of Queensland under water.

Around 200,000 have been forced to flee their homes as torrential rain since Christmas Day has inundated an area the size of France and Germany combined.

The people of Emerald, Condamine, Theodore and Rockhampton have been offered airlifts out as rising waters maroon whole towns, wrecking houses, isolating farms and shutting the nation's economically crucial coal mines.

In Rockhampton, where the airport is closed to commercial aircraft, the 100,000 residents were warned of a city that will be split in two when the Fitzroy River peaks later this week.

"This is a very serious situation," said Mayor Brad Carter, likening the inundation to the great flood of 1918. He said the airport could be closed for up to three weeks.

Roads and rail links serving Rockhampton, known as Australia's beef capital because it is in cattle country, are expected to be out for weeks.

"In many ways it's a disaster of biblical proportions," Queensland Deputy Premier Andrew Fraser said.

Last year was Australia's wettest in 36 years and the Bureau of Meteorology told locals to prepare for new flood records later in the week.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said 22 towns had been affected and the damage bill would run into billions of dollars.

"Queenslanders are going to need every bit of help they can get," she said. "In state infrastructure alone, such as roads, rail and schools, we are looking at a bill that could well run into the billions."

Fraser said there was an enormous personal cost, as householders contemplated the prospect of returning to homes rendered uninhabitable by floodwaters.

"That's a huge toll for them, a huge toll on them psychologically," he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360344,biblical-proportions-summary.html.

Taiwan president seeks peace with China

Sat, 01 Jan 2011

Taipei - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, in his New Year speech on Saturday, called for Taipei and Beijing to put aside their differences and seek peace.

"Cross-Strait peace and stability is the cornerstone for peace in East Asia and is the responsibility of both Taiwan and the mainland," Ma said at a ceremony at the Presidential Office.

"The two sides should replace confrontation with cooperation, and should put aside differences and seek long-term peace," he said.

He also stressed that Taiwan, formally called the Republic of China, is a sovereign state, and that Taiwan's success in achieving democracy can serve as an example for China.

Since Ma took office in 2008, he has been pushing for economic cooperation with China, and Taiwan has signed 15 trade pacts with Beijing.

The most important one, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, took effect Saturday.

Under the deal, which is similar to the free-trade agreement, the two sides agreed to cut tariffs on a total of 806 industrial items over a period of two years.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360341,president-seeks-peace-china.html.

North Korea says it wants to defuse tension with the South

Sat, 01 Jan 2011

Seoul - North Korea said Saturday in a New Year message that it wanted to reduce tension with the South but warned of a "nuclear holocaust" if there is another war on the peninsula, a media report said.

The call came against the background of a year in which tension between the two states reached a recent high with an artillery attack on the South's Yeonpyeong Island in November that killed four people, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

"Confrontation between North and South should be defused as early as possible," Pyongyang said in the joint editorial from the Rodong Sinmun, Joson Inmingun and Chongnyon Jonwi newspapers.

"If a war breaks out on this land, it will bring nothing but a nuclear holocaust."

North Korea staged nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

The editorial credited Pyongyang with avoiding war on the peninsula in 2010 and called on the South to halt a series of military exercises it has staged since the November 23 artillery attack.

The joint New Year's editorial called for "an atmosphere of dialogue and cooperation" in 2011 and also repeated a previous pledge for denuclearisation.

North Korea "is consistent in its stand and will to achieve peace in North-East Asia and denuclearization of the whole of the Korean peninsula," the editorial said.

Six-party negotiations involving the Koreas, the US, China, Russia and Japan have been on hold since 2008.

The editorial also dealt with the economy and the military.

"We should further strengthen the militant might of the People's Army," the editorial said, referring to the country's 1.2 million-strong military forces.

North Korea also said it would improve standards of living before 2012 when the leadership says it will become a "a great, prosperous and powerful country."

That year will be the centenary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the country's founder and the father of the current leader, Kim Jong Il.It called for a "full-scale offensive" to revive the country's faltering economy.

The editorial is considered an indicator of Pyongyang's policy aims, Yonhap reported.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360342,wants-defuse-tension-south.html.

Indian rebel leader freed, calls for peace talks

Sat, 01 Jan 2011

New Delhi - A rebel leader released on bail in India's north-eastern state of Assam Saturday said he was ready for talks with the government to end his group's three-decade insurgency.

Arabinda Rajkhowa, chairman of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), was greeted by scores of supporters after his release from prison in state capital Guwahati where he was held for over a year on sedition charges.

Rajkhowa, 54, was granted bail by a special court after the government prosecutor said the state had no objection.

"We aim for the welfare of the people," Rajkhowa said. "Today, we declare that we are ready to take the talks forward,"

He added that the ULFA would now hold "internal discussions" to decide on how the talks were to proceed.

New Delhi, which aided Rajkhowa's release, hopes that he will call other rebel commanders in hiding to join peace talks with the government.

The government is ready to grant amnesty to insurgent leaders to enable them to take part in talks.

Many top ULFA commanders like Pradip Gogoi, Raju Baruah and Mithing Daimary have been released on bail in recent months with a view to launching the talks.

A major stumbling block is that the ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Barua - believed to be hiding in a South-East Asian country - has opposed the talks.

But government negotiator PC Haldar was optimistic. "Talks should begin in two-three weeks time. All hurdles have been eliminated and it's time for dialogue," Haldar told the CNN-IBN network.

The ULFA, Assam's biggest separatist movement, has been fighting for an independent homeland since 1979. More than 15,000 people have died in the insurgency in the past decade.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360355,freed-calls-peace-talks.html.

Greece planning border fence with Turkey

Sat, 01 Jan 2011

Athens - Greece is planning to build a fence along its border with Turkey in a bid to keep out illegal immigrants, Citizen Protection Minister Christos Papoutsis said in an interview on Saturday.

"Cooperation with the other EU states is going well. .., now we plan to construct a fence to deal with illegal migration," he told the semi-official Athens News Agency ANA.

In the six months up till the end of November, 33,000 illegal immigrants have been detected crossing the Greek-Turkish land border. Most are from Afghanistan, Algeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Iraq.

Papoutsis said the 206-kilometer-long fence would be like the one erected by the United States along its frontier with Mexico.

The minister did not say whether the European Union had been informed of the plan. Since November, European Union teams have been patrolling the border with Greek police.

It is the first time that a team of the EU's Rapid Border Intervention agency Frontex has been deployed to an EU member state since the teams were created in 2007.

Papoutsis said that in 2010 an average of "200 refugees each day" had crossed into Greece from Turkey.

Around 80 per of the illegal immigrants in the EU arrive via Greece. Large numbers then seek to reach Italy via ferry.

There are currently an estimated 300,000 people living illegally in Greece.

Illegal immigrants nabbed by border police are placed in detention camps, which are bursting at the seams. Human rights groups have criticized Greece's asylum policy and and conditions in the camps.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360359,planning-border-fence-turkey.html.

Rio unveils Olympics logo for 2016

Sat, 01 Jan 2011

Rio de Janeiro - The organizers of the 2016 Olympic Games unveiled the official logo for the event at a glittering celebration New Year's Eve.

The unveiling was staged at the legendary Copacabana beach, where 1.5 million people gathered to celebrate the arrival of the new year.

The logo shows three stylized human forms who are dancing in a circle, connected at hands and feet. The logo was described as an "inspiration for the present and a legacy for the future."

The logo was projected on a screen across from the luxury Copacabana Palace hotel, and was also printed on a huge flag that was rolled out across the human masses.

Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, was present for the ceremony.

The logo was chosen after a competition among 139 Brazilian agencies, which were narrowed down to a final group of eight.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360336,unveils-olympics-logo-2016.html.

Sydney greets 2011 with firework heaven - Summary

Fri, 31 Dec 2010

Sydney - The thousands who camped overnight on Sydney's foreshore to bag the best places to watch the world's biggest New Year's Eve fireworks display declared their vigil well worth it.

"This has got to be the best place in the world to be tonight," said Sydney resident Marc Wilson, one of an estimated 1.5 million who stayed up for what organizers said was the greatest firework show on earth.

Seven tons of pyrotechnics went up in blazes of colorful smoke on and around the Harbor Bridge.

The weather was warm and the skies clear for what firework fans said was the best show since the close of the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

More than 6,000 had queued for 24 hours to be at the water's edge when the clock ticked to a new day and a new year.

Taiwanese student Chen Wei Ting, who had waited since Thursday, was first through the gates of the Botanic Gardens to stake his claim to a prime position beside the Opera House.

"As a foreign student, we think the Australian New Year is very fascinating," Chen said.

People around the globe think so too, with a television audience of over 1 billion expected to tune in for the for the 5-million-US- dollar show.

"We are probably the envy of most fireworks people around the world," said Fortunato Foti, who is directing a display he said took eight months to prepare and which featured new tricks.

Rather than the customary curtain of golden fire streaming from the bridge, this year Foti managed a chessboard of red and white tumbling lights.

Police warned revelers of alcohol-free zones and that the drunk and disorderly would be in court on the first day of 2011.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360292,firework-heaven-summary.html.

Rights group criticizes Egypt's response to Sinai hostages - Summary

Fri, 31 Dec 2010

London/Cairo - A leading Egyptian human rights organization on Friday criticized the government's response to reports that hundreds of African migrants are being held hostage by Bedouin in the Sinai desert.

Authorities deny that hostages are being held in Sinai and have dismissed reports as mere slander against the government.

"The Egyptian position is embarrassing. If they take serious steps we will be able to rescue people and even Egyptians who may be held in Sinai," said Ramy Raouf, the online media officer for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).

Raouf was speaking in an interview with the German Press Agency dpa following the publication of a report by the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, who was given rare access to alleged smugglers close to the Israeli border.

Wingfield-Hayes describes how he was driven to a Bedouin tent with five men who were "all people smugglers."

Asked to comment on reports that Africans were being held for ransom and women had been raped and men killed, the Bedouins' answers were evasive, says the report.

"We hear of such tragedies," one man states. "There are people in this business who mistreat migrants."

"It is a very hard journey," he adds. "Some migrants die along the way from thirst or exhaustion."

Pressed to comment on reports that hostages were being held, the man says: "Often the Africans do not have any money, but we still have to feed and house them. Out of 30 maybe only 10 can pay. In this situation we lose money."

According to the report, the Bedouin produced two young African men, including Amar, who says in broken English that he is 15 and from Eritrea.

"As we talk, it rapidly becomes apparent that Amar is being held hostage," reports Wingfield-Hayes.

Asked how much money they were asking for, he said: "Tonight my brother called to say he can send 2,00 dollars. They are trying to make a deal."

Amar, according to the report, is among hundreds being held hostage in the Sinai desert for ransom payments before they attempt their perilous journey to Israel.

The EIPR, along with 12 other locally-based rights groups, signed a letter this week demanding that Egyptian authorities "live up to their obligations under national and international laws and take immediate action to secure the release of the hostages currently detained."

"What is happening there has been happening for a while, but when we spoke with the hostages on the phone, we were able to prove this," said Raouf. The letter, he said, was meant to pressure authorities to acknowledge the crisis.

The situation was brought to international attention when Pope Benedict XVI urged an end to the plight of the migrants who are believed to be held hostage.

A statement released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees earlier this month said that some 250 Eritrean migrants were being held in containers and were subject to abuses, and that some may have been held for months.

According to Friday's BBC report, the "full horror" of what can happen in the desert becomes clear once one crosses the border to Israel, where African migrants receive medical and legal assistance from Israeli non-governmental organizations.

At a Tel Aviv clinic run by the group Physicians for Human Rights, there are hundreds of Eritreans, Ethiopians and Sudanese crowded into the waiting room, the report says.

One young woman, who asks to be called Amira - not her real name - says: "We had been told to pay 2,000 dollars, but when we got to the Sinai they said the price was 3,000," she recalls.

Amira says the men were then forced to watch as their wives were raped.

"They would take me into the front of the pickup and do whatever they liked with me. The distress of this was too much for my husband," Amira says before she falls into uncontrollable weeping, reported Wingfield-Hayes.

Depressed and weakened by the beatings and dehydration, Amira's husband died in the desert, the report adds.

Raouf said that the smugglers will take a family member and abuse them in front of other family members to force a higher ransom payment before smuggling them over to Israel.

Every year thousands of people attempt to cross the border from Egypt into Israel, often from African countries.

In November, the number of migrants coming from Egypt increased to a record high of 700 per week, according to Israel's Population and Immigration Authority. More than 10,000 people have illegally entered Israel so far this year.

Israel began construction last month on a 240-kilometer barrier along its south-western border with Egypt, mostly aimed at preventing the influx of illegal migrants.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360296,sinai-hostages-summary.html.

Dozens arrested after protests across Russia - Summary

Fri, 31 Dec 2010

Moscow- Dozens of Kremlin critics protesting for political reform in Russia were arrested Friday when security forces broke up the non-government approved rallies, reported Interfax.

The agency reported that more than 120 protesters had been detained after gatherings in Moscow and St Petersburg, including former vice premier Boris Nemtsov, who was arrested on the sidelines of the Moscow protests. He had called for a protest march through the city.

The 31st day of months with that many days has become a time of protest marches in Russia, taking its relevance from Article 31 in the Russian Constitution, which guarantees the right of public gatherings.

The last such marches, on October 31, were broken up violently.

There were also scattered lingering protests against the recent guilty verdict handed down against oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsy for stealing oil from his now defunct company, Yukos.

Lyudmila Alexeyeva, 83, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, a human rights organization, for Russia's splintered opposition to make common cause.

In other locales across Europe, authorities allowed protests to continue, albeit under supervision.

Separately, authorities said numerous young people were arrested after staging a non-political event near the Kremlin in Moscow. Authorities said they confiscated knives, bludgeons and starting pistols and suspected the group had plans to engage in fighting with potentially rowdy football fans.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360316,protests-russia-summary.html.

Reports: Indians on death row in Emirates reject settlement

Fri, 31 Dec 2010

New Delhi - Indian nationals on death row in the United Arab Emirates have rejected a blood-money settlement that would see them freed, news reports said Friday.

Seventeen Indians were sentenced to death in March for killing a Pakistani man in 2009 after a dispute over an illegal liquor business.

Lawyers For Human Rights International, an Indian non-governmental organization pursuing the case, told the IANS news agency that family members of the victim had told the court that they were ready to accept compensation, including blood money, but the Indians refused, saying they were innocent.

"Blood money is given in those cases where conviction has been proved through evidence, but in this case, they are innocent and police have not found any evidence against them," Navkiran Singh, a representative for the group, based in the northern state of Punjab, told the IANS.

"We want to bring them back clean, but once we pay the blood money, it will prove them automatically guilty," Singh said. "Besides these 17 men, there are many other innocent Indian youths lodged in UAE jails, and we cannot pay blood money for all of them."

Bindu Chettur, a lawyer representing the defendants, told the PTI news agency that the prosecution had failed to bring evidence before the court. A key witness had retracted his statement of having seen the Indians commit the crime, the Times Now news channel reported.

A sharia court, which applies Islamic law, had earlier sentenced the 17 men for the murder, which took place in Sharjah, an emirate north of Dubai, in January 2009.

It was the highest number of death sentences handed down at one time in the Emirates, according to media reports at the time. The convicted men were aged 17 to 30.

The court said the violence was a result of a turf war between groups selling illegal alcohol in and around labor camps in Sharjah.

Sharjah has the toughest restrictions on the sale of alcohol of all the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360240,row-emirates-reject-settlement.html.

US homeland security secretary visits Afghanistan

Fri, 31 Dec 2010

Kabul - US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano arrived Friday in Afghanistan for a three-day trip to discuss with Afghan officials the efforts being made to secure the region, her department said.

Napolitano was to meet with senior US and Afghan officials as well as border security experts from the Department of Homeland Security, the statement said.

Napolitano was due to spend New Year's Eve with US troops. About 100,000 US troops are fighting the Taliban along with NATO-led International Security Assistance Force soldiers and Afghan personnel.

She said the department has sent officials to Afghanistan to help bolster its security and had expanded its efforts in the past 12 months in support of President Barack Obama's policy of civilian engagement.

"Today, I arrived in Kabul with six additional border security and customs officers who will join our ongoing efforts to advise and assist our Afghan counterparts on customs and border control," she said.

Napolitano is to head to the Middle East and Europe after her Afghan trip. She was scheduled to visit Qatar Sunday, Israel on Monday and Belgium on Wednesday to meet with her counterparts and discuss international efforts to ensure the security of global aviation and delivery systems and transnational crime.

In November, a spate of parcel bombs targeting embassies in Europe threatened global aviation security. Two printer cartridges loaded with explosives were discovered aboard US-bound cargo flights from Yemen that raised worries about new terrorist attacks via air-freight packages.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360243,security-secretary-visits-afghanistan.html.

Dengue deaths in Malaysia rise more than 50 per cent in 2010

Fri, 31 Dec 2010

Kuala Lumpur - Deaths from the mosquito-borne dengue virus rose 54 per cent in Malaysia this year, a newspaper reported Friday.

A total of 134 people died from the disease this year, compared with 87 in 2009, health department director general Ismail Merican was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.

The government also recorded a rise in the number of dengue cases with 45,901 reported in 2010 compared with 41,006 the year before, he said.

Ismail urged the public to conduct community cleanups to rid their homes and surrounding areas of mosquito breeding grounds, adding that the current rainy spell made it easier for the dengue-carrying Aedes mosquitoes to multiply.

"The public must seek early treatment if they discover any dengue symptoms," he was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.

The Aedes mosquito can breed in clear, stagnant water, and its larvae are often found in discarded water-filled tin cans, rubbish and even in water containers in homes.

The symptoms of dengue include high fever, rashes, headaches, and muscle and joint pain. The disease can be fatal if treatment is not sought in the early stages of infection.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360244,malaysia-rise-50-2010.html.

Diplomatic row leads to hefty fees, visa rules for Canadians in UAE

Fri, 31 Dec 2010

Dubai - Starting Sunday, Canadians traveling to the United Arab Emirates will be hit with new visa rules that include charges up to 1,000 US dollars and a requirement to apply for a visa 15 days prior to their trip.

According to the Emirates-based Gulf News, the move comes in reaction to souring relations between the UAE and Canada after the latter refused to give the Etihad and Emirates airlines more than their six flights per week into Canada.

Prior to the new regulations, Canadians did not have to apply for visas in advance and could enter the UAE free of charge.

A 30-day visa is now set to cost around 250 dollars, while a six- month, multiple-entry visa will come at a price of 1,000 dollars starting on January 2.

The new rules will, however, likely not apply to the roughly 25,000 Canadians living in the UAE, since most already possess residence permits, according to Gulf News.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360249,visa-rules-canadians-uae.html.

Malaysian marine police search for missing crew of capsized boat

Fri, 31 Dec 2010

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian maritime officers on Friday mounted a search for four Thai nationals and a local man who were on board a trawler that capsized in rough seas off the eastern coast of Pahang state.

The 52-ton Malaysian trawler had gone out to sea Wednesday, but authorities only received word that it had capsized late Thursday, said Abdul Aziz Idrus, district maritime enforcement chief.

Abdul Aziz said maritime officers located the boat late Thursday but had yet to find the four missing Thai crewmen and the Malaysian skipper.

Three rescue vessels and more than 30 officers have been deployed to the area, he said.

"The bad weather is a hindrance to the search and rescue effort," Abdul Aziz was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.

"They will continue to look for the missing persons until 7 pm [1100 GMT], but it will be stopped earlier if the weather worsens," he said.

Year-end monsoon rains have prompted Malaysia's meteorological department to issue a warning to fishermen to avoid going out into deep water because of strong winds and rough seas, which were expected to persist until the middle of January.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360237,missing-crew-capsized-boat.html.

South Korea confirms foot-and-mouth, bird-flu cases

Fri, 31 Dec 2010

Seoul - South Korea confirmed Friday three more outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease as well as its first case of bird flu in two years, news reports said.

Cattle on two farms in North Gyeongsang province in the country's south-east and on one in Gyeonggi province near Seoul tested positive for foot-and-mouth disease, the Yonhap News Agency said, citing the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The ministry said almost 300 head of cattle would be culled on the farms to try to prevent the spread of the highly contagious virus.

The latest outbreak, the largest in South Korea's history, began in late November with a confirmed case in Andong, 270 kilometers south-east of Seoul and has since spread to four provinces.

The outbreak has led the government to order the culling of more than 580,000 animals and the vaccination of another 313,000.

Total losses so far have been estimated at more than 520 billion won (460 million dollars).

Foot-and-mouth disease affects all cloven-hoofed animals but rarely affects humans.

The disease had hit South Korea twice this year already as well as in 2000 and 2002.

Cases of at two poultry farms were also confirmed Friday at Cheonan and Iksan, 90 and 230 kilometers south of Seoul. Birds had started to exhibit symptoms Wednesday

"Detailed tests conducted by the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service showed birds have been infected with the virulent H5N1 strain of avian influenza," said Lee Sang Soo from the agriculture ministry's animal quarantine division.

Lee said local authorities had ordered the cull of 10,000 ducks and 17,000 chickens at the two farms Thursday to deal with the outbreak.

Transporting birds within 10 kilometers of the farms was also banned. Another 92,000 chickens were due to be slaughtered as a precaution, Lee said.

Bird-flu cases involving migratory birds were reported earlier in December and led to extra precautions on poultry farms, including netting to keep wild birds out.

Avian influenza can be transmitted to humans, but South Korea has had no confirmed human infections to date.

South Korea suffered previous outbreaks of avian flu in 2003-4, 2006-7 and 2008. In 2008, almost 8.5 million birds were culled to combat the disease.

The latest outbreak will halt poultry exports.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360232,confirms-foot-and-mouth-bird-flu-cases.html.

Estonia ready to join the eurozone

Fri, 31 Dec 2010

Tallinn - Estonia made last minute preparations Friday for its entry into the eurozone, with officials insisting everything was going according to plan.

At the stroke of midnight, the small Baltic state with a population of 1.3 million will become the 17th member of the pan- European monetary bloc. It will also become the first former Soviet republic to do so.

Most cash machines in Estonia have been offline since Thursday as banks reprogram and refill them with fresh euro notes.

The country's largest bank, Swedbank, described the changeover process as "the biggest and most complicated project in Estonian banking history" and said that in keeping with other banks it would be extending branch opening hours over the weekend to help customers through the transition.

Riho Unt, chairman of the Estonian Banking Association said there was no need to worry about the currency switch. "People do not have any necessity to rush to the money exchanges," he said.

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip is due to make the first withdrawal of euro notes from a cash machine shortly after midnight in an act that will be broadcast live on Estonian television.

The currency which has served Estonia so well since 1992, the kroon, will continue to be accepted in shops until January 14, after which only the euro will be accepted as legal tender. However, the Estonian central bank has promised to exchange kroons for euros indefinitely.

The Estonian capital, Tallinn, will host a double celebration as the city will also become a European Capital of Culture for 2011. An unprecedented number of foreign journalists have descended on the city in what organizers describe as "the largest worldwide media interest ever seen in Estonia."

One means of marking both important events has been installed in the center of the city where a robotic cow built by Tallinn University of Technology's Center of Biorobotics and local artists is enabling members of the public to exchange kroons for euros in a novel manner.

A one-kroon coin has to be inserted into the cow's mouth. After a short delay a one-euro coin drops out of the cow's other end.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360250,estonia-ready-join-eurozone.html.