Nuclear safety on Erdoğan's agenda during Russia visit

16 March 2011, Wednesday

Turkey reiterated that it will stick to its plans to build nuclear power plants despite growing fears about atomic safety in the aftermath of a crisis in tsunami-hit Japan, but it now plans to ask Russia to increase safety precautions at a power plant Russia will build on the Mediterranean coast.

“The safety of the nuclear power plant will be discussed during Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Russia,” Energy Minister Taner Yıldız told the Anatolia news agency on Tuesday. In another interview, Yıldız said, “The increasing of the design criteria against earthquakes is something we will discuss with the Russians.”

Erdoğan, accompanied by Yıldız, departed for Russia on Tuesday for a visit that is expected to focus on energy ties. Russia's Rosatom Corp. and Atomstroyexport ZAO have been picked by the Turkish government to build Turkey's first nuclear power plant in the Mediterranean town of Akkuyu. Turkish energy officials have also been in talks with Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) and Toshiba, which built several of Fukushima's reactors, on building a nuclear power plant on the Black Sea coast. The talks were intended to be completed by the end of March.

Following damage from Friday's earthquake and tsunami, two reactors exploded on Tuesday at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, 240 kilometers north of Tokyo, after days of frantic efforts to cool them. The crisis in Japan led to calls in Turkey to revise nuclear plans, under which two or three nuclear power plants will be operational in the coming decades. Turkey is crisscrossed by geological fault lines, and small earthquakes are a near daily occurrence. In 1999, two tremors killed more than 20,000 people.

Yıldız said the plant to be built by the Russians is meant to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake and that could be increased if necessary. “We can't ignore what is happening at the Japanese nuclear plant,” Yıldız said in the interview with the Bloomberg news agency.

But although Yıldız said there were lessons to be learned from the earthquake in Japan, he insisted that no revision in plans to build nuclear plants is being considered. “Why can’t we have a nuclear power plant in Turkey?” Yıldız asked in the interview with Anatolia. He emphasized that the Fukushima plant was built decades ago by using the older, first-generation technology, while Turkey plans to use third-generation reactors -- which are much safer -- in both planned power plants.

Speaking before departing for Russia, Prime Minister Erdoğan dismissed prospects for a revision in Turkey’s nuclear plants in even stronger terms. “Suspending plans to build nuclear plants is out of the question,” Erdoğan told reporters, emphasizing that the nuclear project will be implemented as planned. “There is no investment that is completely risk-free,” he said.

Turkey wants to launch an atomic power industry to diversify its energy mix and boost supply to keep up with soaring demand for electricity amid rapid economic growth. It targets 20 percent of electricity from nuclear power by 2030.

“I see comments in the press asking the government if our determination on nuclear plants still continues. Of course it does,” he said. Earlier, he had said: “The earthquake in Japan will not affect our plans to build nuclear power plants. There are certainly lessons to be learned from this, and our work and discussions on that continue.”

Yıldız also said the government would certainly avoid any measure that would put the safety of its nationals at risk and criticized those who press the government to revise its nuclear plans saying the risk of tsunami is much different in the Mediterranean than it is in the Pacific Ocean. “The circumstances are very different,” he said.

The energy minister’s remarks came as hydrogen explosions at a tsunami-stricken Japanese facility spread jitters about atomic energy safety in Europe. The German government on Monday temporarily halted plans to extend the life of its nuclear power plants, while neighboring Switzerland suspended its plans to build and replace nuclear plants.

Source: Today's Zaman.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-238331-nuclear-safety-on-erdogans-agenda-during-russia-visit.html.

Revolution Youth Coalition refuses to meet Clinton

Coalition calls on US administration to revise its foreign policies towards Egypt after decades of propping up the ousted dictatorship of Mubarak.

Ahram Online, Tuesday 15 Mar 2011

The January 25 Revolution Youth Coalition has announced it refuses to meet Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, during her visit to Egypt. The Coalition stated that the US administration was a vital supporter and ally of the ousted Mubarak regime.

The coalition, made up of six youth groups, said it did not welcome Clinton’s visit to Egypt and demanded that the US administration make a formal apology to Egypt’s people for its foreign policy towards the country in the past decades. They added that “the Egyptian people are the masters of their own land and destiny and will only accept equal relations of friendship and respect between the people of Egypt and the people of America.”

The coalition's declaration added that “the US administration took Egypt’s revolution lightly and supported the old regime while Egyptian blood was being spilled.” It also condemned past American policies towards Egypt and demanded that they be reformulated to achieve a balance between the interests of the Egyptian and American people.

Clinton's tour of the Middle East, which starts today in Egypt before taking her to Tunis, is the first cabinet-level visit to the region by the Obama administration since the revolutions in both countries.

Source: Ahram.
Link: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/7720.aspx.

Burundi sends more troops for AU Somalia force

Mar 14, 2011

BUJUMBURA, Burundi — Burundi has deployed an additional 1,000 soldiers for the African Union force protecting the Somali government, the military chief said Monday.

General Godefroid Niyombare told AFP the soldiers were sent a week ago to join the 8,000 Burundian and Ugandan troops in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

"Burundi and Uganda... agreed to each send 1,000 troops as part of the additional 4,000 soldiers required. Burundi has fulfilled its promise," Niyombare said.

The AU last year requested the force be boosted to 12,000 from its authorized strength of 8,000.

Somalia's civil war has taken a heavy toll on the troops and in a recent offensive against Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels, at least 43 Burundian soldiers were killed.

"The morale of the troops in Somalia is very high despite the losses we suffered," the army chief said.

"Not only was the operation successful, but the arrival of their comrades will see them consolidate the new positions" seized from the insurgents.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Opposition leaves Algerian parliament

The opposition walk-out from the Algerian parliament undercuts the legitimacy of the institution, according to experts.

By Fidet Mansour for Magharebia in Algiers – 14/03/11

In a major blow to the Algerian government, two opposition parties suspended their activities from the People's National Assembly. The Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) and the Algerian National Front (FNA) on Sunday (March 13th) boycotted a plenary session devoted to the ordinance repealing Algeria's state of emergency.

The two parties, who announced their withdrawal last Wednesday, account for nearly forty MPs. With the assembly comprising 388 seats, their absence may seem irrelevant to some, but a number of Algerian political observers say that the symbolism of their walk-out could have serious repercussions across the country's political landscape.

"This is a highly significant gesture politically, and it will further undermine the scant credibility of the weakest parliament ever seen in independent Algeria," journalist Kamel Amarni wrote March 10th in Le Soir d'Algérie.

What are the reasons behind the move? Both parties challenged the political activities of the Algerian government, although for different reasons.

For the RCD, the chief complaint was the ban on Algiers marches and attacks on MPs by police and security forces.

"Since January 2011, the country has seen riots resulting in deaths and many injuries," reads the party statement. "Desperate people have set fire to themselves, and peaceful demonstrations have regularly been stamped out and banned."

According to party chief Said Sadi, who was attacked on March 5th by government supporters, the political struggle is now being played out on the street.

Meanwhile, the FNA halted their parliamentary activities to protest the improper use of presidential orders to pass major laws. "What is the use of having a parliament, when the most important laws, such as the supplementary finance bill, are proclaimed through presidential decrees?" the party wondered.

"MPs have seen their roles shrink to such an extent that they now simply get paid to raise their hands and vote through third degree laws," party chairman Moussa Touati said.

"This is the first stage in our fight to get the people's wishes acted upon," he said.

The speaker of the lower house preferred to avoid the subject, making no comment during the Sunday plenary session.

In their turn, the ruling coalition parties, the National Liberation Front (FLN), the National Democratic Rally (RND) and the Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP), commented that "each party is free to express its opinion in whatever way it deems most effective". Still, they pointed out that the opposition had rushed into "radicalizing their movement".

Public opinion is divided over the issue. While some applauded the opposition move, others had reservations about the timing.

"The president has been legislating by decree for nearly ten years," Slimane Ourida, an expert on national politics, told Magharebia. "The ban on marches is nothing new. Political repression has been going on for some time. What's prevented the two parties from taking action up until now? Why have they chosen to be a part of an assembly which they say has no power?"

The suspension of activities comes in the last term of the current parliament, he said, which is "a preliminary campaign for the 2011 elections".

According to Karim Bachiri, the withdrawal is a significant gesture. But many people, like politics student Imene Souileh, underscored that the walk-out from a parliament "which is not legitimate and is completely out of touch with the needs of the people makes no sense".

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/03/14/feature-01.

Turkey Opposes NATO Military Intervention In Libya

3/14/2011

(RTTNews) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that his country was opposed to any sort of NATO military intervention in Libya, warning that such a move could lead to dangerous consequences.

"We see that outside intervention, particularly military intervention, doesn't solve the problem. To the contrary, it deepens it," Erdogan was quoted as saying while addressing a two-day Leaders of Change Summit in Istanbul.

"A NATO intervention to Libya or any other country will be ineffective. Beyond ineffective, it might be dangerous," the Turkish Prime Minister added.

Turkey, a member of the NATO alliance, had earlier objected to any kind of military intervention in Libya, stressing that the 28-member military alliance can intervene militarily only when a member nation is attacked.

The developments come as Britain and France are pressing the international community, especially the UN Security Council, the European Union and the NATO, to enforce a no-fly-zone over Libya to prevent the deaths of civilians in government air raids.

A UN resolution drafted by the two nations is expected to be debated upon by the UN Security Council later in the day. The issue is being debated upon during the G8 foreign ministers meeting progressing in Paris.

The French-British resolution was debated by NATO defense ministers last Thursday. But the NATO ministers also failed to take a final decision on the issue after Germany and the United States rejected the proposal on grounds that the western alliance does not have UN authorization or the regional support required for such direct military action.

However, the proposal has since gained some regional support since then, with the Arab League, a grouping of Arab states considered to a major player in the Middle-East region, backing the enforcement of the no-fly-zone over the weekend.

The developments came amidst an ongoing revolt against the more than four-decade-long autocratic rule of Col. Qadhafi in Libya. He has been ruling oil-rich north African country since a coup in 1969, making him Africa's longest serving leader.

Opposition fighters are believed to be in control of most of the country's eastern region, including the cities of Benghazi and Ajdabiya. Nevertheless, Qadhafi loyalists are still holding on to their stronghold of capital Tripoli and several nearby towns, and are making steady advances towards the east while consolidating their hold on western Libya.

The rebels, who are reportedly struggling to counter the superior fire-power of pro-Qadhafi forces, have been repeatedly requesting the international community to enforce a no-fly-zone over Libya to prevent the Qadhafi regime from using military aircraft against them. They, however, oppose the presence of foreign troops on Libyan soil.

Source: RTT News.
Link: http://www.rttnews.com/Content/GeneralNews.aspx?Id=1575304&SM=1.

Egypt may delay referendum vote

CAIRO, March 14 (UPI) -- Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces may delay a vote on constitutional amendments until presidential elections are held, a source told Ahram Online.

The government source told the Egyptian Web site a decision on the amendment referendum, scheduled to take place Saturday, may be postponed because a number of politicians said they would vote against the planned amendments.

"Our eyes are on the opinion of the street and the existing political forces in the interest of the country and if this is the trend among the people then there is no problem in delaying the referendum," the source told the Web site.

The council is leaning toward holding presidential elections before conducting a national vote on constitutional amendments, the government source said.

Magdi Radi, a spokesman for the Cabinet told, the Middle East News Agency the proposed amendments will reduce the length of a presidential term to four from six years and restrict the number of terms any leader can serve in the post to two.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has been governing Egypt since Feb.11 after massive anti-government protests that shook the country led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/03/14/Egypt-may-delay-referendum-vote/UPI-99121300099413/.

Iran to Connect Qeshm Island to Mainland

2011-03-14

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran on Monday started operations for the construction of a large bridge to connect its Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf to the mainland.

The construction phase of the "Persian Gulf Bridge" was launched in a special ceremony attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this morning.

The bridge will connect the Persian Gulf's largest island to the port of Bohal in Iran's Southern Hormozgan province via the port of Laft.

The construction of the 2.2km bridge will take two years and cost €650 million.

Qeshm Island is located a few kilometers off the Southern coasts of Iran, opposite the port cities of Bandar Abbas and Bandar Khamir. The island, which hosts a 300 square kilometer free zone jurisdiction, is 135 km long, and lies strategically in the Strait of Hormuz.

Similarly, at it narrowest point, the island spans 9.4 kilometers. The island has a surface area of 1491 square kilometers and is 2.5 times the size of Bahrain. Qeshm city, located at the easternmost point of the island, is 22 kilometers from Bandar Abbas while the closest point of the island is just two kilometers away from the mainland.

Source: FARS News Agency.
Link: http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8912230541.

Algeria to invest $1.4 billion to modernize sea infrastructures

Gamal Ragay
Sunday, 13 March 2011

ALGIERS – Public Works Ministry is planning to allocate nearly 100 billion (bn) AD $1.4 billion for finance sixty projects of construction and development of maritime infrastructure during 2010-2014, Global Arab Network reports according to Stat-run News Agency.

The development program foresees the construction and expansion of harbors and fishing shelters, as well as comfort and underpinning of several ports, said Abdelkader Kheta, Director of Infrastructure Marine Department to the APS.

Algeria Infrastructure Marine Department expects to create about 18,000 jobs, 3,000 among them are direct. Kheta noted, moreover, that these projects had been granted priority to national companies including the National Marine Contractors Company (MEDITRAM) and the National Society of the Maritime Work of the East (SOTRAMEST).

Control and monitoring of this work will also be provided by the National Laboratory for Marine Studies (LEM). Besides the construction of 4 fishing ports and marinas to Sidna Youcha (Tlemcen), Beni K'sila (Bejaia), Oued Z'Hor (Skikda) and Madagh (Ain Temouchent), this program includes the dredging of ports and the protection against silting of river and harbor shores, he detailed. (APS)

Source: Global Arab Network.
Link: http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/2011031310196/Economics/algeria-to-invest-14-billion-to-modernize-sea-infrastructures.html.

Algerians use regional unrest to press pay demands

Sun Mar 13, 2011

By Lamine Chikhi

ALGIERS (Reuters) - When thousands of young Algerians rioted earlier this year over price rises and living conditions, the government asked state-employed Muslim clerics to preach sermons in the mosques appealing for calm.

Now, two months later, the clerics themselves are protesting.

"We are very angry, and our daily living conditions are bad," said Hajaj El Hadj, an imam at a mosque near the capital for over 20 years. "We demand a significant pay rise."

Algeria's 100,000 imams have joined municipal police, students, doctors, legal clerks, chauffeurs and oil workers who are demanding better pay and conditions and are threatening strikes or protests if they do not get what they want.

This phenomenon has come about, in part, because many Algerians realize there has never been a better time to have their grievances resolved.

The government, anxious to stop a wave of popular revolts in the Arab world spreading to Algeria, has been paying out huge sums in subsidies, wage increases and interest-free loans to placate discontent.

But it is not without risks. The protests and strikes -- which have so far been small, orderly and localized -- could develop into something more unpredictable.

"There is a risk different sectors demanding a pay rise may unify their position and behave as one sector. If that happens it will add more pressure on the government," said Mohamed Lagab, teacher of political sciences at Algiers university.

DOMINO EFFECT?

Many analysts have predicted Algeria could be the next North African country, after Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, to witness a revolt. If it does, it could have far-reaching consequences because Algeria supplies a large share of Europe's natural gas.

So far, most protests have not voiced any political demands, and those that did quickly ran out of steam. But the uprising that toppled Tunisia's ruler also began as a small local protest about living conditions.

As one of four imams at a mosque in the town of Staoueli, 50 km (30 miles) west of Algiers, it is El Hadj's duty to lead prayers five times a day, give a sermon at the mosque every Friday and carry out pastoral care in the community.

He, like all Algeria's officially-registered imams, is employed by the state. He and his colleagues decided to act after seeing the pay rises other public employees were receiving.

"The police got a 50 percent pay rise but the government forgot to include us in the list," El Hadj said. "After 20 years serving as imam, my salary is 23,500 Algerian dinars per month ($317). This is unacceptable."

He recalled the riots in January, when the government asked Muslim clerics to help restore calm. "We did the maximum to convince the young people to stop the riots, but the government has done nothing to reward us. This is not fair," El Hadj said.

WILDFIRE

The demands for better pay and conditions appear to be spreading like wildfire from one sector to another, fueled by a government which in many cases has bowed to protesters demands.

Last week, 2,000 officers with the municipal guards, a sort of auxiliary police force which helped fight an Islamist insurgency in the 1990s, staged a protest in front of parliament to demand better pensions.

"They have used us to combat terrorism, and now that it has been defeated they have decided to abandon us," one of the protesters said.

A day later, about 50 blind people protested outside the capital's main post office seeking improved welfare payments.

In the same week, the head of the state energy company, Sonatrach, flew down to a gas field in the Sahara desert to address workers' demands for more pay.

Newspapers reported that legal clerks were given a 120 percent pay rise after going on strike. Even chauffeurs from the presidential car pool are on strike, according to a government official.

Political scientist Lagab said that, faced with these kind of demands, the authorities have little room for maneuver. "The government has no choice but to say yes. If it says no, the citizens may make politically-oriented demands," he said.

Algeria's authorities can afford the payouts. The state has about $150 billion (93 billion pounds) in foreign currency reserves - one of the largest reserves in the world and roughly equivalent to the country's gross domestic product.

Still, some economists worry about the long term impact of loosening fiscal policy.

"This is a dangerous strategy for the mid- and long-term. We all know that Algeria produces no wealth and relies on oil revenues," Abdelwahab Boukrouh, a senior economic journalist, told Reuters.

"I understand that politicians are under pressure and will do everything to prevent an Egypt scenario from happening here, but raising salaries without raising production is a nonsense," said Boukrouh, who works for the Echorouk newspaper.

With violence in Libya pushing oil prices over $100 per barrel, Algeria's revenues from energy exports are rising, giving the government even more scope to spend its way out of trouble.

Yet even some of the citizens who stand to benefit see that as short-sighted. "Oil money is available now, but for how long?" asked Farid Ferrahi, an Algiers resident.

(Editing by Ralph Boulton)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE72C3J620110313?sp=true.

Rights group says Syrian military court sentenced activist to 3 years in jail

Mar 13, 2011

DAMASCUS, Syria — A Syrian group says a military court has sentenced a human rights activist who made critical comments against Iran to a prison term.

The Syrian Human Rights League says Ali Abdullah of the Damascus Declaration group was sentenced Sunday for harming Syria's relations with a foreign country.

The statement added that Abdullah's sentence was commuted to 18 months in jail for legal reasons. It did not elaborate.

Abdullah completed a 30-month prison term in June for earlier criticism of the government. Instead of releasing him, authorities referred him to a military court for trial on charges of broadcasting false news that harms Syria's relations with another country.

Copyright © 2011 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Government Wants To Bring Back Malaysian In Yemen - Anifah

KOTA KINABALU, March 13 (Bernama) -- The government wants to bring back 443 Malaysians who are in Sanaa and Eden in Yemen following the turmoil in the country worsening, said Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman.

He said the government was following closely developments in Yemen and that his ministry had submitted a report to the government on what needed to be done.

"We will bring Malaysians in Sanaa and Eden home directly because the situation in the two cities has become worrying, However, the security situation in other areas in Yemen are still under control," he told reporters here Sunday.

Meanwhile, Anifah said as of 1.30pm today (Malaysian time), Malaysia's embassy in Tokyo had been able to contact 544 Malaysians living in the worst hit areas of Japan's twin earthquake and tsunami disaster and that all of them were safe.

He said they were reported to have been moved to safety shelters by the Japanese authorities.

He said 298 Malaysian students living in the same areas were also reported to be safe and that the government had no plans to bring them home for now.

He added that a total of 5,009 Malaysians were registered with the embassy of whom 2,100 were students.

-- BERNAMA

Source: Bernama.
Link: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=570696.

Hamas: No connection between Gaza groups and West Bank murdering

March 14, 2011

Hamas on Sunday denied any connection between the Gaza-based militant groups and the murdering of five Israelis in a West Bank settlement.

Taher Al-Nounou, spokesman for Hamas' government that controls Gaza, said that Israel tries to implicate Gaza in the attack that happened in Itamar settlement "to justify an aggressive act against the Gaza Strip."

Al-Nounou said that the killing might be a result of a criminal act, while some Israeli officials said there was a connection between Hamas and the attackers.

Hamas, which took over Gaza by force, did not condemn the murder, which left parents and three of their children dead. The West Bank-based Palestinian National Authority has condemned the incident strongly.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7318333.html.

Umrah airfare: Mujahideen and assigns denied 60% discount

13 March, 2011

Algiers- Mujahideen and assigns will be deprived this year of 60% discount on international flights Algiers - Jeddah because of financial difficulties according to the Ministry of the mujahideen.

The Department of mujahideen is currently facing financial difficulties that prevented it from undertaking these measures enjoyed by the revolutionary family under an Executive Order.

The Secretary General of the Ministry of the mujahideen, in a correspondence sent to all directions throughout the national territory, expressed the department's decision, which has raised the ire of the mujahideen, on the suspension of state support on ticket prices for flights from Algiers to Jeddah for Umrah for the mujahedeen, and this for financial reasons.

This decision was not at the taste of the mujahideen and assigns who have begun to claim from the Minister Mohamed Cherif Abbas to act to reverse this decision, especially since many of them prepare to perform the minor pilgrimage (Umrah) this year.

Ennahar / Mohamed Bousri

Source: Ennahar.
Link: http://www.ennaharonline.com/en/news/6008.html.

Muslim Brotherhood supports Egypt constitutional amendments

The Muslim Brotherhood has come out in favor of the proposed constitutional amendments, to be put to a referendum this month.

Ahram Online, Saturday 12 Mar 2011

According to Ikhwan Online, the Muslim Brotherhood’s official website, the Muslim Brotherhood are supporting the proposed constitutional amendments and are calling on everyone to participate in the referendum.

In an interview with Reuters, the Muslim Brotherhood said Egypt needs to prevent army rule from dragging on too long and called for the swift implementation of the constitutional amendments, to restart political life.

"The constitutional amendments are the most suitable, not the most ideal, solution for this transitional period that cannot drag on for too long," Brotherhood deputy Khairat Shater told Reuters in an interview late Thursday.

The Ikhwan Online website also stated that the Muslim Brotherhood is proposing the creation of a unified electoral list to include all political figures before the coming parliamentary elections.

“The Brotherhood is emphasizing that it does not seek the majority of seats in parliament,” the website statement read. The Islamist group aims to run for 35-40 per cent of the seats in the new parliament, Shater told Reuters. The Brotherhood also said it would not seek the presidency.

The internet statement also said that the Muslim Brotherhood believed that nominating a president before parliamentary elections will only create a new dictator.

Conversely, several intellectuals and political figures have called for delaying parliamentary elections, arguing that more time is needed for more diversity in political life in Egypt to emerge. They argued that if staged as early as June, as the constitutional amendments propose, the next parliamentary elections would be dominated by the Brotherhood and a reconstituted National Democratic Party (NDP).

The army has dissolved parliament, suspended the constitution and mapped a path to parliamentary and presidential elections within six months. Proposed constitutional amendments would include a clause that once elected, a new president would call on parliament to draft a new constitution.

Consequently, those opposing proposed constitutional amendments argue that the Brotherhood and the NDP, expected to dominate parliament if elections are staged as early as June, would be the only political trends drafting the new constitution.

Source: Ahram.
Link: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/7544.aspx.

Muslim Brotherhood to launch satellite TV channel in April

Sat, 12/03/2011

The Muslim Brotherhood intends to launch a satellite television channel on NileSat, said Abdel Rahman el-Barr, a member of the Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau and the group’s Mufti. It will be the group's first legitimate TV channel.

The channel will be tested in April and officially launched on 1 May. It will broadcast political, social and religious programs as well as talk shows. The channel will benefit from the expertise of Qatar-based Al Jazeera news channel and use some of the staff of ikhwanonline.com, the Brotherhood’s official website. The Guidance Bureau has contacted the group’s administrative offices around Egypt to ask them to recommend reporters.

Applicants will be trained before sitting for a screen test. The door will be open for media professionals from across the spectrum to join the channel's crew, so that a variety of ideas can be presented, El-Barr added.

El-Barr said the initiative is in line with the Brotherhood's desire to communicate with the people and declare its political orientations. He said the channel will play an enlightening role.

He revealed that former president Hosni Mubarak's regime prevented the Brotherhood from creating a TV channel in the past by arresting dozens of its members.

The name of the new channel remains contentious. Some members want to name it Tahrir to honor the revolution, and others say it should carry the name of the group, sources said.

Source: al-Masry al-Youm.
Link: http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/349787.

Algeria protest blocked by police

Mar 12, 2011

ALGIERS — Police in Algeria on Saturday launched a massive security operation to head off marchers calling for an immediate end to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's regime.

Anti-riot police in central Algiers blocked around 40 demonstrators who attempted to stage a rally, an AFP reporter witnessed.

The movement against Bouteflika, 73, is being led by the National Coordination for Change and Democracy (CNCD) which was set up on January 21 after riots at the start of the year that left five dead and 800 injured.

It has said it wants Bouteflika to step down, citing the same problems of high unemployment, housing and soaring costs that inspired the uprisings in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt.

The protesters shouted anti-regime slogans but were surrounded by around 400 police with anti-riot shields and wearing helmets.

The CNCD has split between supporters of street protests and civil society groups and independent trade unions who prefer to pursue other measures.

Bouteflika on February 24 promised to place "anti-corruption" at the heart of government action, along with reforms to help the economy, employment and housing to regain Algerians' support.

On Monday, at least 10,000 auxiliary police demanding pay rises broke through heavy security in Algiers to reach parliament, in a rare mass show of dissent in the tightly controlled country.

Emboldened by popular uprisings sweeping the Arab world, Algeria's opposition has attempted to stage several anti-Bouteflika protests in the capital, in defiance of the ban on demonstrating in the city, but have been thwarted.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

More than 4,000 Algerians in Libya should go to Egypt, advises Algiers

12 March, 2011

ALGIERS - More than 4,000 Algerians still in Libyan cities should try to reach Egypt if they want to be evacuated to their home countries, said a senior Algerian Halim Benatallah.

"We've advised our citizens to reach the Egyptian border beyond which we can repatriate them," said Benatallah, Secretary of State at the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of the national community abroad, quoted by the press Saturday.

In total, the Algerian community in Libya is estimated at 8,200 people, said the minister during a press briefing Friday in Bejaia, 260 km east of Algiers. "No one in Benghazi", the main town of the east in the hands of anti-Gaddafi. "Some of those who remain in Libya are in isolated areas," he said.

Since the outbreak of violence in this border country of Algeria, some 4,000 citizens were evacuated. The last came by boat from Benghazi and Tripoli, alongside over 500 other nationalities March 3 aboard Tassili II, dispatched by the authorities to Libya.

Others came voluntarily from southern border between the two countries.

Source: Ennahar.
Link: http://www.ennaharonline.com/en/news/6006.html.

Malaysia Sends Rescue Workers To Quake-Hit Japan

PEKAN, March 12 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is rushing disaster assistance personnel, sniffer dogs and doctors to help with search and rescue efforts in Japan where an earthquake and tsunami yesterday left more than 1,000 people dead and several more missing.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who announced this on Saturday, said 15 members of the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART), several doctors and medical assistants and six sniffer dogs would leave for Japan in two C-130 aircraft at 6pm Saturday.

"This (assistance) demonstrates our sympathy and support for the government and people of Japan," he told reporters after a visit to the Universiti Malaysia Pahang campus here.

Najib said all Malaysians in Japan were reported to be safe.

Asked whether the government would evacuate Malaysians from Japan in view of a possible radiation leak from nuclear power plants following the earthquake, the prime minister said the Japanese government would have to determine whether there was any danger from the plants.

An 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck Japan yesterday afternoon and triggered a 10-meter high tsunami which lashed onto the northeastern part of the country, resulting in up to 1,000 people killed in the twin disasters.

Najib said the government would monitor the effects of the disasters on the country's economy and prices of goods.

He also said that efforts were being made to increase the supply of essential goods through the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry and Felda besides encouraging competition among industries with a view to reducing prices.

The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry had been instructed to monitor traders who raised the prices of goods too high, he said.

"We do not want inflation to go up too much. It will be manageable at two per cent to 2-1/2 per cent," he added.

-- BERNAMA

Source: Bernama.
Link: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=570539.

Azerbaijan Protesters Fail to Gain Clout

MARCH 11, 2011

By AIDA SULTANOVA
By MARC CHAMPION

Baku

Police in the oil rich Caucasus nation Azerbaijan detained more than 40 people on Friday who attempted to repeat Egypt's antigovernment uprising, even as the European Union expressed "concern" over the government's heavy handed tactics.

A call on Facebook to young Azeris to go out into the streets and take part in a "March 11—Great People's Day" protest against country's authoritarian government drew minimal support. Those few who did turn out to protest were quickly rounded up or dispersed.

Ex-Soviet Azerbaijan is a key producer of oil and natural gas from the Caspian basin, as well as a transit route for the area's growing fossil fuel production to the West. The country of nine million has been tightly ruled by President Ilham Aliyev and his father Heidar Aliyev since 1993.

President Aliyev's government has been widely criticized for failing to create meaningful democratic institutions and for restricting press freedoms. Yet many Azeris seemed unwilling to back an would-be Facebook movement whose organizers, with one exception, live abroad.

"They are a group of students who now live in European countries, where they have a nice life," said 26-year-old Ramin H., who declined to give his surname. "I live here and I don't want to make problems for myself here."

Analysts said the pro-democracy uprisings now roiling the Middle East and North African were unlikely to catch fire in the Caucasus, because the economic and other social circumstances of Azerbiajan, Armenia and Georgia are different from those in countries such as Egypt.

Five young political activists were arrested in the lead-up to Friday's demonstrations on allegations that included drug use, hooliganism, breaching public order and skipping military service. On Friday the European Union issued a statement expressing concern over the "increasing number of reports of arrests of youth activists in the country."

The newly arrived U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, Matthew J. Bryza, said in a statement that the U.S. would "continue to monitor closely" the cases of the arrested activists.

A police statement said up to 100 people attempted to gather in central Baku Friday, of whom 43 were detained and 20 charged with forming an illegal gathering.

In the brief time protesters were free in the street, they shouted slogans such as "Freedom!" and "Resign!" The Azeri Facebook page organizers set the protest date for the one month anniversary of the ouster of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, on Feb. 11.

Separately. Azerbaijan's opposition parties are planning their own protest Saturday. These would call for democratic reforms, respect for human rights and the right to free assembly, said Arif Hajili, who heads the central executive board of Musavat, Azerbaijan's main opposition party.

"I just don't see the critical mass [in Azerbaijan]," said Lawrence Sheets, Caucasus Project Director for the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank. "What we are seeing is that the authorities, surprisingly, are nervous. They have shown they are willing to go to great lengths to suppress this kind of thing."

To explain why the protests won't gain steam, Mr. Sheets cited rising living standards in Azerbaijan in recent years due to new oil revenue. He also pointed to wide differences in social and political cultures between the mainly Muslim, but secular ex-Soviet nation, and the Arab nations of the Middle East and North Africa.

Opposition parties in neighboring Armenia and Georgia also looking to the Middle-East uprisings to re-ignite longstanding calls for those governments to resign. The opposition Armenian National Congress has called a protest for March 17, after delivering the government what it called an ultimatum earlier this month.

"Opposition leaders use the examples of Egypt and Tunisia, but I would say it is a little bit artificial," said Aleksandr Iskandaryan, director of the Caucasus Institute in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

Unlike Egypt, he said, Caucasus countries don't have a vast majority of the population living on a small portion of the countries' land, nor are there "big disparities between rich and poor, and the level of education is very different. It is primitive to compare with these countries with the Caucasus."

He predicted sporadic protests in Armenia, but no real change until elections next year.

Source: The Wall Street Journal.
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703327404576194611772513434.html.

NGOs in Kashmir provide education facilities to militancy-affected girls

2011-03-10

Non-government organizations in Srinagar, Kashmir state are providing educational facilities to help militancy-affected orphan girls in the region.

The Jammu and Kashmir Yateem Trust (JKYT) and Austrian Kashmir Social Project (AKSP) have come forward with the initiative.

The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Yateem Trust, Zahoor Ahmad Tak, said: "Their problems cannot be solved till they don't receive education. The only solution is to nurture them in a good and peaceful environment and provide them education facilities," said Tak.

Tak added that more than 109 girls have been given clothes, uniforms and educational expenses and other basic material costing Rs 16,000 per child.

Rukaiya, an orphan said: "NGOs help us in getting education and they also provide us material required in the day-to-day living"

The State has been affected by militancy for the last two decades and has seen over 47,000 people dead so far. (ANI)

Source: Sify.
Link: http://www.sify.com/news/ngos-in-kashmir-provide-education-facilities-to-militancy-affected-girls-news-national-ldko4fihdff.html.

Hamas urges Egypt to ease movement of Gazans through Rafah

March 11, 2011

Gaza's Hamas on Thursday urged Egypt to ease the movement of Palestinians to Egypt through the Rafah crossing point.

In a letter to Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Prime Minister Ismail Haneya of the deposed Hamas government said that Egyptian authorities at Rafah prevent some Gazans from leaving the Gaza Strip.

Earlier this week, Egypt's ambassador to the Palestinian territories Yasser Othman said that Egyptian officials are considering a package of steps to facilitate the situation in the Gaza Strip.

However, Othman added that the new changes will become applicable as soon as the security situation in northern Sinai stabilizes and Egypt agrees on new arrangements with the Islamic Hamas movement, which controls Gaza since 2007.

When Hamas routed the security forces of President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement, Rafah crossing has been closed most of the time, only opened for two to four days a month for humanitarian cases.

In June 2010, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak decided to keep the crossing open, allowing more categories of travelers to cross in two directions.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7315850.html.

Egypt frees two Sadat murder convicts: state TV

Mar 11, 2011

CAIRO — Egypt's new military rulers have ordered the release of two Islamist prisoners jailed over the 1981 assassination of president Anwar Sadat, state television reported on Friday.

Cousins Tareq and Abbud al-Zomor, members of Egypt's Islamic Jihad, were convicted for their involvement in Sadat's murder but were never discharged from jail after their sentences expired.

Abbud, at the time a senior military intelligence officer, was due to be released in 2006 but was kept in prison, while Tareq was first ordered released in 2003 but was also kept behind bars.

Former interior minister Habib al-Adly had used discretionary powers granted by the emergency law to overrule several judicial release orders.

The two were among 69 political prisoners freed on the orders of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took power in Egypt after veteran president Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down by a popular uprising.

The military rulers said those released would be subject to surveillance for five years.

Sadat was shot dead by Islamic militants at a military parade in Cairo on October 6, 1981, three years after he signed the 1978 Camp David Accords that led to a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, the first by an Arab country.

Abbud is one of the members of the group who carried out the attack, while Tareq was said to be involved in the planning.

The main convict in the case, Khaled al-Islamboulli, was executed in 1982.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Libya's Opposition Declares Algeria is Backing Gaddafi

03/11/11

Libyan Opposition official, Mohamed El Allagui, declared in an interview with AlJazeera TV that witnesses have observed Algerian Planes transporting Subsaharan mercenaries have landed in Libya's Okba airport which is under Gaddafi's control.

He said that many eye witnesses have confirmed this fact and that the Libyan opposition will, in time, submit these facts to "world Justice", as he put it.

He also spoke about several African Presidents that are helping Libya 's dictator Gaddafi and noted that the African Union has come out against any foreign intervention in Libya.

Source: Morocco Board.
Link: http://moroccoboard.com/news/34-news-release/5141-libyas-opposition-declares-algeria-is-backing-gaddafi.

Libya: Algiers hopes there will be no intervention

11 March, 2011

PARIS-Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mourad Medelci said Friday that Algeria was "against foreign intervention" in Libya, which would feed terrorism, but that a "mediation" between the regime of Colonel Gaddafi and the armed opposition would be better.

"We are concerned because there is an armed opposition between a portion of the population and another, and because the use of weapons has become uncontrollable," the minister said in an interview with French daily Le Monde.

"We are against foreign intervention, but we are not alone and I can understand that the messages of the international community are becoming firmer. If the situation continues, we know very well that sooner or later, the Security Council (UN) would take decisions. Let them assess the situation, but hopefully there will be no intervention," said Mourad Medelci.

"We have two camps, as in Côte d'Ivoire. The climate may be favorable to try to mediate. I do not know if it is possible but it is desirable. You know the results of previous foreign interventions, don’t you? We can not feed terrorism," he said.

The Algerian minister also believed that the situation in his country was very different from that in Tunisia or Egypt, where popular uprisings overthrew authoritarian regimes in recent weeks.

"Algeria is a plural country; no party is able to pass a law alone. It's still a big difference. Then, Algeria has already made its mutation in 1988 but this revolution has been masked by the fact that we experienced ten years of national tragedy," he said.

Asked about the announcement by the King of Morocco for constitutional reform, Mourad Medelci was cautious. "The Speech of His Majesty Mohammed VI, seemed to provide extremely important elements in the Moroccan political field," he said.

Source: Ennahar.
Link: http://www.ennaharonline.com/en/news/5992.html.

Jailed Kurds on Syria hunger strike: rights group

Mar 10, 2011

DAMASCUS — Dozens of jailed Kurds in Syria started a hunger strike on Thursday in solidarity with rights activists who have mounted the same action in a prison near Damascus, a rights group said.

"Dozens of Kurds jailed in Syria -- members of Yakiti party and the Democratic Union -- have started a hunger strike in solidarity with the prisoners of conscience in Adra," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Thirteen activists held in Adra said in a statement that their protest was launched on Monday to demand "an end to political detention and injustice, as well as the recovery of stolen civil and political rights" in Syria.

One of those detained, leading human rights lawyer Haythem al-Maleh, was freed on Tuesday under a presidential pardon.

Human rights advocates have repeatedly criticized the tight controls imposed on civil society through arbitrary detention, restrictions on freedom of expression and other forms of repression.

On Tuesday, 12 Syrian rights groups called for the "amendment of all laws that prevent human rights organizations from working openly and freely, and civil society from playing its role effectively."

They also asked the authorities to "urgently take all necessary steps to cancel all forms of discrimination against the Kurdish people" who form nine percent of the Syrian population.

"The Kurds are entitled to enjoy their culture and use their language in accordance with their civil, political, cultural, social and economic rights," they said in a joint statement.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Syria against external interference in Libyan affairs

March 11, 2011

An official source in the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Syria was against all forms of external intervention in Libya's affairs, Syrian official SANA news agency reported.

The source said Syria was monitoring with high concern the developments in Libya and stressed respect for the country's sovereignty, independence and unity.

"Syria calls for securing the lives of civilians, stopping violence against the Libyan people and resorting to wisdom and dialogue," the source was quoted by SANA as saying.

The international community, led by the United States and its Western allies, debated on forcing a no-fly zone over Libya, along with a military action against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

On Thursday, France became the first country to recognize Libya 's rebel National Libyan Council as the "legitimate representative " of the Libyan people. Britain and Germany said governments of the EU states should "not work or cooperate" with Gaddafi as EU ministers prepared for talks on the north African nation.

Troops loyal to Gaddafi and rebels seeking the downfall of his 41-year regime were battling each other Thursday in Zawiyah, a prosperous dormitory town 40 km west of Tripoli.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/7315311.html.

Algeria rejects Libyan request to help lift sanctions

ALGIERS, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Algeria has rejected the demand from the Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa to ask Algiers to lead an individual initiative at the United Nations Council of Security to help lift international sanctions on Libya.

Algeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mourad Medelci said in an interview with El Khabar newspaper published on Thursday that "My Libyan counterpart (Musa Kusa) delivered a message to me... He asked Algeria to lead an initiative to the Security Council to retract some of its sanctions recently imposed" on the government of Muamar Gaddafi.

"Our vision is that we prefer that the issue should be dealt by the Council of Security through an Arab initiative, rather than through a lone country (Algeria)," Medelci added.

In this respect, the head of the Algerian diplomacy said: "the urgent meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers next Saturday in Cairo will permit us to draw up measures and steps that would be shaped in a sort of plan of action."

Concerning whether Algeria would support any of the disputing parties in Libya, Medelci stressed that "our priority in Libya right now is to restore security and stability before talking about bilateral cooperation," pointing out that "politically speaking, Algeria holds relationships with the states rather than with regimes."

He further specified that "We do respect the choice of people, and we don't intervene in that," adding: "We would be ready to cooperate with governments chosen by Tunisians, Egyptians and Libyans, once stability returns there."

The United Nations and European Union have slapped sanctions on Libya, imposing an arms embargo, travel bans and asset freezes on Gaddafi and his family.

It referred Libya's crackdown on anti-government demonstrators to the International Criminal Court, while reports said the U.N. Security Council had discussed a no-fly zone proposal pushed by European heavyweights Britain and France.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-03/11/c_13771570.htm.

Arab League fails to wake up to ME crisis

By ABDULATEEF AL-MULHIM

Mar 8, 2011

THE Arab League was formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945 with seven members — Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. The number of Arab states that have joined the Arab League over time has increased to 22 nations.

Its headquarters are in Egypt and its secretary-generals have all been Egyptians except between 1979 and 1990 when Chedli Klibi from Tunisia became secretary-general after moving the organization’s headquarters to Tunisia in retaliation to the Camp David Peace Accord that was signed between Egypt and Israel. Why does the Arab League’s secretary-general have to be an Egyptian?

When looking at the time when the Arab League was formed in 1945, the whole world was in disarray. Japan was totally destroyed, China was a backward country, Europe was in ruins, the USSR was drowning in internal turmoil, South America was politically very unstable and the US was the new superpower looking for any friend with raw materials and a market for their products regardless of that country’s religion or skin color. American business is business itself.

The lands possessed by Arab nations have the oldest known civilizations. The Arab nations have the best fertile land and these include the Fertile Crescent, the lands adjoining Sudan’s rivers, Egypt’s Nile and Iraq’s rivers, Yemen and the Atlas Mountains. The Arab world has a strategic depth that no foreign enemy would dare to conquer. In 1945 Israel did not exist, so there is no political or military conflict between the Arabs and Israel that is keeping the Arab League countries distracted from developing their land and people.

Raw materials and oil were in abundance in the Arab world and oil is becoming the main drive behind any development. So, the Arab League nations had everything that the rest of the world didn’t have.

The Arab League had committees for political alliance, agriculture, education, defense and intelligence, etc. When you read about the doctrines of the Arab League, you would imagine that they talk as one voice. It is said that the British, out of good will, wanted the Arabs to rise and be one nation, and help them develop their way of life. It was the British who suggested the forming of the Arab League.

The Arabs should have started building infrastructure, developing their education systems and establishing transparent democratic systems. In 1945, the Arab world had about a 70-year head start ahead of the rest of the world.

What was the role of the Arab League? The Arab League is the least effective organization in the world. It was in hibernation when Egypt was violently attacking and toppling the government in Yemen in the 1960s. Egypt helped Iraqi and Libyan military dictators to overthrow stable prosperous monarchs in 1958 and 1969 respectively.

The Arab League was not aware of the constant threat of Egypt toward what they call the backward Arab Gulf States in the 1960s and the call by Gamal Abdul Nasser to overthrow the Arabian Gulf States. This is what the Arab League’s host country, Egypt, did to the Arabs.

What did the Arab League do in regard to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait? Where is the Arab League when Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are in total chaos? Is there a real need for such an organization?

We, the people of the Arab countries have never heard of a single Arab League meeting since 1945 to see why the Arab world has such a bad record in regard to education, unemployment, corruption, dictatorships, human rights abuse and poverty. The latest surprise to the disrespect of the Arab League came from its secretary-general, Amr Moussa, who went to Tahrir Square to protest against the Arab League’s president, Hosni Mubarak.

The Arab League’s secretary-general himself does not know what his role is. Shouldn’t he resign from his post first before going to Tahrir Square? It is like seeing NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen protesting in Brussels against Danish Queen Margrethe II.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/opinion/columns/article308246.ece.

Palestine Helped By Army In White Robes

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

At the end of January 2009, Dardunah’s house which was located between Jabal Al-Kashif and Jabal Ar-Rais in Qaram Road, was visited by a troop of Jewish soldiers. As usual, all his family members were gathered in the middle of the house.

The son of the family was interrogated, what color was worn by the forces of Al-Qassam? He was interrogated for three days and asked about the same thing again and again, and that unlucky boy told them that the outfits of those forces was black in color.

“Hey, liar! The forces of Al-Qassam are in white,” the very angry Jewish soldier yelled. That boy was shocked because the forces of Al-Qassam had never worn white uniforms.

According to one of the Al-Qassam fighters, Multaqa Al-Qasami, there indeed were “other fighters” together with them fighting the Jews and this incident had happened to an ambulance driver who was stopped by the Israeli forces.

They asked whether he was from the camp of Hamas or Fatah? That driver replied that he was not from any camp, he was just an ambulance driver.

“The group in white uniform behind you just now, from which camp are they?” the Israeli soldiers asked again.

The ambulance driver was puzzled, he did not see anyone behind him. He said he had no clue what the soldiers were talking about.

A resident of Ta Al-Islam village who wanted to save himself from Israeli attacks found a number of fighters who cried at the stairs of a flat which was half destroyed.

“Why are you guys crying?” he asked perplexed.

“We are not scared of the Jews but we cry because there in the battlefield are a group of fighters in white uniform, fighting gallantly. We don’t know where they come from and who they are,” the fighters explained.

The mystery of the troops in white uniform was acknowledged by the Israelis themselves, the Channel 10 TV station, in their program showed a story about an Israeli soldier whose eyes were blinded because a fighter in white outfits threw sands at his eyes when they were launching an attack on the Palestine fighters.

The same TV station had also broadcasted a story about Israeli soldiers combating the forces in white uniform, who were bearded and did not die even when shot at frantically.

The Khatib of Masjid Izzudin Al-Qassam, in Nashirat Gaza territory, was presented on TV by Al-Quds TV station. According to the Khatib, a fighter had set up a booby trap and suddenly an Israeli helicopter dropped a huge number of their forces, accompanied by armored tanks. That fighter wanted to return to his hideout because he thought that booby trap would not give a maximum effect as the number of the kafir forces was so huge. He had barely left when suddenly a voice was heard saying: “Remain in your place, Allah will strengthen you.”

The voice could be heard repeatedly, making the fighter transfixed, not moving anywhere. He looked around, trying to find out the source of the voice, but he found no one around him.

As soon the tanks passed through the position where the booby trap was set, a very strong explosion went off, resulting in all Israeli tanks destroyed.

Meanwhile, a fighter, Abu Mujahid, who was on guard at a post when he heard a very loud voice of someone uttering tasbih (glorification of Allah), whereas there was nobody around.

Meanwhile, in Southern Gaza, i.e. in Maghraqah, some fighters were laying booby traps. All of a sudden the cable was cut off and the enemy tanks were already near. It was now impossible for them to go and reconnect the cable. Some of them cried, too sad that they could not blow up the Jewish tanks. There was nothing else that they could do. So some of them made a do’a:

“O Allah just as You are not giving us the opportunity to confront them, please also stop them from having the same opportunity”.

Truly the Power of Allah! At the break of dawn, a mega powerful explosion at the location where they had planted the booby traps went off. A lot of the Jewish forces were killed. When examined not even one of the booby traps that they had planted blew up, where did that explosion come from?

A Palestinian fighter told about a strange incident, while being on duty in Jabal Rais, a pigeon flew low and made a strange sound. Where it came from, nobody knows, all the Mujahideen went into hiding when hearing the sound of the pigeon just now.

At midnight, an Israeli sniffer dog detected the weapons storage site and hideout of the Palestinian fighters. The fighters began to panic but one of them said to the dog:

“We are the Mujahideen in the cause of Allah and we are ordered to remain in this place, please move away. Do not cause problems to us.”

Suddenly, the dog sat and extended its front paws while sticking out its tongue. The Mujahideen were surprised. One of them approached the trained dog and gave it some dates. The dog ate the dates and then left the bewildered Mujahideen.

A group of the Mujahid forces of Al-Qassam were surrounded in Tal Ajul, suddenly a very thick fog appeared obstructing the vision of the Israeli forces and thus the fighters managed to escape.

A leader of Al-Qassam, Abu Ubaidah had experienced the same fate. When he was about to launch an ambush on a number of enemy tanks, suddenly a thick fog appeared. But the attack still had to be done and as result five Israeli soldiers were killed.

This is not a mystery, it was actually a help from Allah, the All-Powerful.

Submitted by a Mujahid

Theunjustmedia.com

Source: lizard_valis LiveJournal.
Link: http://lizard-valis.livejournal.com/70653.html.

Muslim religion diluted by culture; Allah has solution

03/07/11

Editor,

Sometimes the deepest wounds are self-inflicted.

This is the case when we look at the Muslims. While we are quick to blame the Zionists, the CIA and others, we must first point the finger at ourselves. Are today’s Muslims still following the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad’s example?

If you look at different places around the world, what you will find is that Muslims have polluted Islam with culture. In parts of Africa, you see female circumcision. In Pakistan there are wife burnings, and in India you see Muslims worshiping saints’ graves.

Do any of these things have to do with Islam?

Until and unless Muslims ask Allah for forgiveness, things will only get worse. Allah’s help will not come until we return to the Quran and the example of the Prophet Muhammad. We cannot fool anyone except ourselves.

As one poem so succinctly puts it, “I am afraid, O wayfarer, that you will not reach the Ka’aba because the path that you are following goes (in the opposite direction) to Turkistan.”

Muhajir Romero
UNM student

Source: Daily Lobo.
Link: http://www.dailylobo.com/index.php/article/2011/03/muslim_religion_diluted_by_culture_allah_has_solution.