Turkish foreign minister meets Syria's Assad

09 Aug 2011

Ahmet Davutoglu visits Damascus days after Turkey said its patience with Syria's crackdown on protests was running out.

Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, has met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, as Syrian security forces continued their military assault against protesters across the country.

Assad told Turkey's foreign minister on Tuesday that Damascus will "not relent in pursuing terrorist groups", Syrian state news agency said.

Davutoglu was to deliver a "strong message" to the president during his visit to the Syrian capital, Turkey said ahead of the visit.

Turkey, formerly Syria's close ally and trade partner, has grown increasingly alarmed by the security forces' use of force in the country's anti-government protests, which activists say has claimed about 2,000 lives.

As Davutoglu met Assad and the Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Muallem, the army intensified its assault on several towns in the east of the country and in the northern Idlib province, which borders Turkey.

A rights group said 17 civilians were killed in the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor, and two others in Idlib province.

"At least 15 people were killed in different parts of Deir ez-Zor which has been raided by tanks and vehicles mounted with machine guns," the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SCHR) said in a statement. quoting activists at the scene.

"A woman and a young man shot [earlier in the day] died of their wounds."

A resident said armored vehicles had been shelling the al-Hawiqa district heavily.

"Private hospitals are closed and people are afraid to send the wounded to state facilities because they are infested with secret police," the resident told Reuters news agency.

He said at least 65 people had been killed since tanks and armored vehicles entered the provincial capital on Sunday.

The SCHR said around a dozen tanks and other armored vehicles had attacked the Binnish and Sirmeen areas of Idlib.

Asked why Binnish was stormed, a resident who had fled the town told Reuters: "The whole town has been joining in night rallies after Ramadan prayers."

The Local Co-ordination Committees said the town of Sirmeen was attacked from three sides, with troops carrying out house raids and arbitrary arrests.

Tanks were also deployed in and around the city of Idlib, following big demonstrations there, the activists said.

Hama deaths reported

Up to five civilians were later also during raids on villages around the besieged city of Hama on Tuesday, local activists said.

The Syrian Revolution Co-ordinating Union said five bodies had been taken to the Jwash hospital in the town of Tibet al-Imam north of Hama, including two girls from the same family, six-year old Afra Mahmoud al-Kannas and 11-year old Sana Ahmad al-Kannas.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the reports since most foreign journalists have been barred from entering Syria.

The Syrian Observatory says more than 2,050 people, including almost 400 members of the security forces, have been killed since the uprising began.

Diplomatic action

Envoys from India, Brazil and South Africa are going to Damascus to press Assad to end the violent crackdown on a five-month old uprising.

India's UN ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri told reporters the three countries would be "calling for restraint, abjuring violence, [and] promoting reform, taking into account the democratic aspirations of the people.''

Officials said country's representatives were to meet "high-level'' Syrians on Wednesday.

Assad's government disputes the toll and blames a foreign conspiracy for the unrest. But those claims have been dismissed by most of the international community, with world leaders ramping up its condemnation of the security forces' actions in recent days.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain on Monday recalled their ambassadors from Damascus amid mounting pressure from the Arab world.

Qatar withdrew its ambassador from Damascus and closed its embassy in July after Assad loyalists attacked the embassy compound amid protests against Doha-based Al Jazeera's coverage of the uprising.

Meanwhile, Assad replaced his defense minister, Ali Habib, on Monday with illness cited as the official reason.

State television reported that the Christian chief of staff, General Daoud Rajha, was to take up the post.

Source: al-Jazeera.
Link: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/08/201189105938279417.html.

Somalia offers al-Shabab amnesty

09 Aug 2011

Move follows withdrawal of opposition fighters from capital, which fighters said was a "strategic step".

Somalia's government has offered an open amnesty to al-Shabab fighters after the rebels made a surprise withdrawal from the capital, Mogadishu, over the weekend.

"We offer an amnesty - put down your weapons and your guns, and come and join the people and your society," Abdirahman Osman, a government spokesman, was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency on Tuesday.

"For those who have been misled by the senior commanders, now is the time to end the war," he said.

Al-Shabab, who still govern over much of southern Somalia, have waged a bloody war since 2007 to topple the Western-backed transitional government.

The fighters, who had controlled around half of Mogadishu, abandoned their positions on Saturday but some units remained active within the capital.

Government officials celebrated the pullout by the rebels but the fighters said it was merely "a change of military tactics."

Troops thinly stretched

This vacuum has left the city largely to be taken over by the African Union [AU] troops.

Al Jazeera's Peter Greste, reporting from Mogadishu, said the AU troops appear to be thinly stretched across the region.

"They are now not just controlling a frontline that cuts through the city, they have control of the entire city. So that means the physical area they have to man has doubled," he said.

"This is a very different job from the one they were fighting - a front line offensive is a relatively straight forward military operation particularly compared to the counter-insurgency one that they are trying to run.

"Keeping control and keeping security is a very, very difficult job indeed. They are requesting 3,000 more troops. These are not additional numbers, but rather part of the 12,000 that was initially mandated and promised to them but have simply not arrived."

An AU official told Al Jazeera that "these additional troops were absolutely essential, especially if the international community wanted to maintain stability and get aid out".

Fighting continues

Meanwhile, fighting was reported as rebel remnants clashed with AU-backed government troops following the pullout.

Sporadic gunfire was heard in the city on Tuesday morning, according to AFP.

The 9,000-strong AU force (AMISOM) and government troops have meanwhile reinforced their hold over former al-Shabab positions in an effort to allow more aid into the famine-struck capital.

"The extremists have been preventing the provision of food to hungry Somalis and this has opened up the opportunity to help many more people," Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, the AU special representative to Somalia, said in a statement released late on Monday.

AMISOM however warned people against returning to former al-Shabab-controlled areas of the "high possibility" of "roadside bombs and pockets of remaining extremist fighters," Diarra said.

Humanitarian crisis

The UN Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it was assessing how the group's withdrawal would open aid group access to the war-torn city, which about 100,000 people have fled from in the past two months to escape extreme drought.

"Although it is too early to know what the impact on the overall situation is, humanitarian actors are assessing the ability to operate and/or scale up activities," it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The United Nations has officially declared famine in Somalia for the first time this century, including in Mogadishu and four southern Somali regions.

"Famine... is expected to spread across all regions of the south in the coming four to six weeks," OCHA warned. "Cases of acute watery diarrhea are increasing across Somalia," it added.

The UN's food monitoring unit has described Somalia as facing the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world and Africa's worst food security crisis since the country's 1991-1992 famine.

Parts of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda have also been hit by the Horn of Africa's worst drought in decades.

Source: al-Jazeera.
Link: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/08/20118994159408821.html.

Rescuers save baby whale in Australia

Mon Aug 8, 2011

A joint team of rescue workers have finally saved a massive baby humpback whale which took a wrong turn at an Australian beach losing his mother.

The 1.5-ton whale, said to be a week old, was discovered in the early hours of this morning, mailonline reported.

Rescuers from Sea World, National Parks and Wildlife and the Gold Coast City Council lifeguards pulled the whale back into the water, but it got trapped in a shark net just off shore.

The youngster was freed after the team cut the net and the calf swam off unharmed. It will, however, be tracked until he can reunite with his mother.

Saying that the whale had to find his mother, Sea World's director of marine sciences said it would not survive for long alone without his mother's milk.

“It's not over yet,” Trevor Long told the Australian Associated Press. “He's very sore and not moving it much at all.”

According to Long, the baby whale was alert and in good condition, but rescuers were concerned the mother, who had not been spotted despite a search, was no longer nearby.

“You can't keep pushing it out, the animal's going to suffer and suffer, so the only decision then is that we probably have to euthanize it,” Long said.

“These animals need to be with their mother, they're almost velcroed to their mother side-by-side, and it's a wonderful, wonderful bonding relationship.”

Scientists are screening blood samples from the calf for diseases to find out the reason why his mother abandoned him.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/192975.html.

Canada holds Qur'an Festival in Ottawa

Sun Aug 7, 2011

The Canadian capital of Ottawa has held its second edition of the Qur'an Festival in an attempt to introduce the Islamic culture and holy book.

The event which kicked off on Saturday, displays a wide range of Qur'anic artworks such as paintings and calligraphies as well as historical editions of the Muslim holy book.

The annual festival aims to make the Canadian public more familiar with the holy Qur'an and its message.

“Unfortunately a lot of people try to change the message or to make a bad thing out of it,” a visitor told Press TV. “But it's just beautiful, just a beautiful message for everyone and if everybody followed the Qur'an we just had peace on earth…that would be so amazing.”

The festival has also organized live recitations of the Qur'an, and a special program for kids including Qur'anic contests.

“Qur'an is a mercy for the mankind and the message of Qur'an is peace,” said Islamic scholar Mumtaz Ali.

“If anyone reads the Qur'an, recites the Qur'an and understands it he will [find] peace for each and every individual.”

Ottawa's 2011 Qur'an Festival will run until August 7, 2011.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/192836.html.

Libyan rebels claim strategic cities

2011-08-08

Fighting continued Sunday (August 7th) around Zlitan (east of Tripoli), AFP reported. Libyan rebels have adopted a "defensive position" to contain an attack by pro-Kadhafi forces east of town, according to a rebel spokesman from Misrata. Abdul Wahab Melitan said the Zlitan rebels lack sufficient ammunition to advance. "We do not want to risk losing ground," Melitan said. Rebel fighters who came from Misrata have been trying for over a week to claim the strategic town of 200,000.

Meanwhile, rebels reportedly took control of Bir Ghanam, located about 80km southwest of the capital.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/08/08/newsbrief-01.

Media and political changes in Tunisia

Tunisians enjoy an expanded freedom of expression, but question how it will apply to state-run media in the future.

By Monia Yahia for Magharebia in Tunis – 08/08/11

The media landscape in Tunisia is changing along with public attitudes after the fall of the Ben Ali regime. At a recent workshop in Tunis, experts from Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, France and Germany discussed how government media is making a transition to public news organizations in service of citizens.

At the event, hosted July 29th by the Commission for the Reform of Media and Communication in collaboration with the Article 19 organization and the British Broadcasting Corporation, participants discussed how public media had served as the mouthpiece of a single party and authoritarian political system.

"Most media before January 14th was in the flock, and few were engaged in struggle," said Kif Radio FM owner Bassam Khalaf. "This did not change and those who were working are still present – this is an obstacle."

According to the participants, this process will not be easy and will require time and reforms.

Tunisian television journalist Khaled Njah called for purging public institutions of the remnants of the former regime, asking how it was possible to talk about reform in their presence.

"It is not necessary to accept officials who are not from the field of supervising public media institutions," said Amal Chakchouk from Youth Radio. "New and good qualified [personnel] must be provided, since before the revolution the appointments were made from above. Moreover, we in the public media need a code of conduct."

Public media in Tunisia consists of radio, television, a news agency and two newspapers, while there are two private television channels and four private radio stations. The media landscape is expected to grow rapidly with an increase in license granting after January 14th.

Despite the freedom seen in the media sector since January 14th, many voices inside and outside the government began referring to a "media breakdown", which Tunisian journalists consider a return to a policy of censorship.

Moktar Rassa, Director General of Tunisian Television, said: "We decided to become a public utility because it is the only case that takes us from being an instrument of the authority to an instrument in the service of citizens."

This prompted Tunisian journalist Maher Abdel Rahman to respond that the decision to transform national television from a government facility into a public facility would require not just words, but sound procedural, legal and regulatory efforts.

Some question the impact a state salary might have on a public media journalist's independence.

"We receive our salaries from the state and not from the government; if there isn't a new culture in management and its relationship with political affairs, then there cannot be a public media," said Hichem Snoussi, a member of the Higher Commission of Media Reform.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/08/08/feature-02.

Algerian Islamists launch new party

New Algerian political party FJD is raising questions about a possible schism in the Islamist movement.

By Ademe Amine for Magharebia in Algiers – 08/08/11

Long-time Algerian Islamist Abdellah Djaballah recently created a new political party, shaking up the conservative political landscape.

Djaballah announced the formation of the Justice and Development Front (FJD) before of a crowd of nearly 1,500 people who had come to attend his party's inaugural congress July 30th in Algiers. The founder and one-time leader of the Ennahda and El Islah parties appealed to his former colleagues and those in the Islamist movement as a whole to join his new faction.

The announcement did not go unnoticed those by the Islamist movement, which some claim is losing ground in Algeria.

"We have no issues with Mr Djaballah," said Fatah Rebii, Ennahda secretary-general. "We will contact this new party and engage with him in dialogue as we do with other political parties." Rebii also did not rule out the idea of an alliance for the 2012 legislative and local elections "if Mr Djaballah wants one".

Addressing an enthusiastic crowd at the first FJD congress, Djaballah said his group would "campaign for a democratic and social Algeria", adding that the party was "interested in all national affairs in all sectors".

"In addition, we want to serve our religion, our country and our nation. A holy trinity. A country and a nation without Islam has no value in the eyes of God. Striving for life and the afterlife is a duty. Victory in life, heaven in the afterlife," Djaballah said.

The leaders of the Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP), a moderate Islamist party in the ruling coalition, have said nothing about the new party.

Djamal Ben Abdeslam, a leader of the Islamist El Islah party, described the announcement of a new party as "a non-event".

"El Islah campaigners know this man well," he added. "They were with him from the time when he led our party just as he wished and they won't respond to his appeal today."

El Islah Secretary-General Hamlaoui Akouchi said, "I don't think our campaigners will join Djaballah's party and anyone who wants to leave is free to do so."

The political arena is open and "free for anyone who wants to create his own party", Akouchi added. "It's up to citizens to choose the party they like."

"We accept plurality within the Islamist movement, just as we accept plurality within other movements such as secular ones", Akouchi said. "We are not worried about any parties on the political stage as long as they use democratic practices that are far from violence."

The FJD is the third Islamist political party created by Abdellah Djaballah, who is regarded as one of the most outspoken Islamist leaders and the most critical of government policy. He launched the Ennahda party after democratic reforms in the 1990s before setting up El Islah.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/08/08/feature-01.

Opportunity On Final Rove To Endeavor Crater

Pasadena CA (JPL)
Aug 09, 2011

The NASA Mars rover Opportunity has gained a view of Endeavor crater from barely more than a football-field's distance away from the rim. The rim of Endeavor has been the mission's long-term goal since mid-2008.

Endeavor offers the setting for plenty of productive work by Opportunity.

The crater is 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter - more than 25 times wider than Victoria crater, an earlier stop that Opportunity examined for two years.

Observations by orbiting spacecraft indicate that the ridges along Endeavor's western rim expose rock outcrops older than any Opportunity has seen so far.

The selected location for arrival at the rim, "Spirit Point," is at the southern tip of one of those ridges, "Cape York," on the western side of Endeavor.

Opportunity and Spirit completed their three-month prime missions on Mars in April 2004. Both rovers continued for years of bonus, extended missions.

Both have made important discoveries about wet environments on ancient Mars that may have been favorable for supporting microbial life.

The mission of the Spirit rover, for which Spirit Point was named, was concluded in May, 2011, after the rover did not re-establish communications following the Martian winter.

Source: Mars Daily.
Link: http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Opportunity_On_Final_Rove_To_Endeavour_Crater_999.html.

Scotland offshore wind farm ready to go

ABERDEEN, Scotland, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Developers of the long-planned, $246 million European Offshore Wind Deployment Center say they're ready to begin construction in Scotland.

A joint venture between Swedish electricity company Vattenfall, the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group and French subsea engineering firm Technip, began planning for the offshore wind center, or EOWDC, off Aberdeen Bay began eight years ago.

But it became official with Friday's announcement that the partners had formally submitted a consent application to Marine Scotland, the government agency responsible for managing Scotland's seas.

The application seeks permission for work to start on the construction and operation of the EOWDC.

"We believe we have made a good case for the development, which places Aberdeen at the heart of the development of new technologies to serve the growing European offshore wind sector," said David Hodkinson, manager of Vattenfall's British operations.

Its backers say the EOWDC will test and demonstrate up to 11 next-generation offshore wind turbines, support infrastructure and other related technology. It has taken so long because of the "extensive consultation with stakeholders and studies which have seen the project significantly evolve."

The wind farm, which is envisioned to stretch from Aberdeen to an area near the outskirts of Balmedie, Scotland, was reduced from 33 to 11 turbines after safety concerns were raised by shipping agencies and the Aberdeen heliport, The Guardian reported.

It is seen as a way to accelerate the development of offshore wind power by serving as a proving ground for cutting-edge wind power technology concepts in a "real time offshore environment."

New ideas tried out there will receive "independent validation and accreditation before commercial deployment," thus reducing development risks and capital costs. Vattenfall says the wind farm will provide electricity to the national grid and will "disseminate lessons learned to the EU industry at large."

Scottish government backers say they are counting on the EOWDC to attract scientists, researchers, engineers and offshore wind supply chain companies to Aberdeen, hopefully diversifying the local economy beyond its current status as a North Sea oil and natural gas hub.

It also has the backing of local business leaders.

"This is a real opportunity for Aberdeen and the Northeast to place itself at the forefront of this aspect of the renewables industry," said Bob Collier, chief executive of the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce.

"There is fierce competition not just in Scotland but across the rest of Europe to gain recognition as a leader in the field and this project will provide an extremely valuable testing site for manufacturers to demonstrate their products and to gather vital data on performance," he said.

A key moment in the development of the wind project came in December when it landed up to $57 million from the European Commission.

One powerful interest, however, is fiercely opposed to the EOWDC: American real estate tycoon Donald Trump, who is building a championship golf course and resort at Balmedie. Trump's company said last week it would "use any legal means" to scuttle the effort, which it claims ruins the views from the seaside course.

"We are here to stay and I don't think it's a good idea to interfere with our investment," George Sorial, managing director of the Trump Organization, told the newspaper. "We are not going to support a project that compromises what we have done. We will use any legal means in our jurisdiction."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/08/08/Scotland-offshore-wind-farm-ready-to-go/UPI-28481312797780/.

Muslim Brotherhood Holds First Public Elections

Daniel Finnan
7 August 2011

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has told RFI that its internal election on Saturday was an exercise in democracy.

The previously banned group appointed three new senior figures for the organization's newly formed Freedom and Justice party. The Brotherhood says a new political "era" in Egypt should be inclusive and take account of more conservative Islamic movements.

"Islam is compatible with democracy," says spokesman Essam El-Eriam. "The Muslim Brotherhood applies democracy and chooses its leaders according to democratic rule through elections".

The ballot resulted in the appointment of three senior figures: Abdel Azim Abou Seif, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim and Hossam Abou Bakr.

The Brotherhood has previously come under fire for what some people see as support for the country's Supreme Council of Armed Forces which took over from toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

However on Sunday the organization's political wing issued a statement criticizing the appointment of governors from the former regime. It expressed concern over the role of Osama El-Fouly and Abel Labib in the government.

"We think that this is a transitional period, it needs solidarity and unity of the whole population. But now we are waiting for the new democratic era in Egypt which must be free and fair," says Eriam.

The organization is seen by some as one of Egypt's most organized political forces following years of repression under the rule of Mubarak. In the 2005 election it won a fifth of the parliamentary seats when its candidates ran as independents.

Meanwhile, Egypt's Sufis said on Sunday that they would hold a mass rally on Friday to counter the advance of Islamists in Egyptian politics, according to the Ahram publication.

Sheikh Mohamed Abdel Khalek el-Shabrawy, a senior Sufi leader, said the demonstration would be held under the banner "For the Love of Egypt". It would advocate national unity, but also act as a counter to what Ahram calls a "rising tide of conservative Salafist forces".

In reaction Eriam says that this rally shows that "all Egyptians now are working for a real democracy" which means "no dictatorship - not for the majority and not for the minority".

Although he admits that ignoring Salafists - Islamic fundamentalists - may be more dangerous than their inclusion.

"Those are sectors of the society and must be included in political life. Without including them there may be of course some trouble. We need to include and have inclusive democracy open for all political societal groups," he added.

Salafists are suspected of attacking Sufi shrines in the aftermath of the country's uprising.

Islamists held a large protest on 29 July calling for the establishment of an Islamic state.

Source: allAfrica.
Link: http://allafrica.com/stories/201108080006.html.

Showa Shell, Saudi Electricity start Saudi solar plant

By REUTERS
Aug 8, 2011

ALKHOBAR: Japan's Showa Shell Sekiyu KK and Saudi Electricity Co (SEC) have started a 500-kilowatt (kW) solar power plant in Saudi Arabia, an executive at the utility said.

The pilot plant, located on Farasan island, southwest Saudi Arabia, is expected to reach full capacity later this month, Amer Al-Swaha, head of Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects at SEC, said.

"250 kW is operational and the other half will start this month," Al-Swaha said.

"The power load in the island is more than 25 megawatts (MW). This (project) is modest but it is only a start and we will evaluate it to see whether to expand."

Saudi Arabia hopes to reduce its use of fossil fuels that it would rather export by building nuclear and renewable power plants.

The Farasan project should reduce diesel burning for power generation on the island.

"These projects need (government support), with the support we can expand," Swaha added. "With the land we have we can expand the plant to 7 MW."

Under the agreement, Showa Shell will own the project for up to 15 years, after which the assets will be transferred to SEC. Royal Dutch Shell owns one-third of Showa Shell, while Saudi Aramco holds about 15 percent.

In 2009, Aramco And Showa Shell signed an agreement to build small-scale pilot solar-power facilities in the Kingdom.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/economy/article485390.ece.

Bangladesh braces for more protests as ex-PM charged with corruption

By REUTERS
Aug 8, 2011

DHAKA: Bangladesh is bracing for more protests after the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission on Monday filed a case against former premier Khaleda Zia, accusing her of buying land in a trust’s name by using undeclared funds.

Politics in impoverished Bangladesh has been dominated for two decades by a violent rivalry between Khaleda Zia and current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, often trading corruption charges and organizing massive protests when in opposition.

The commission charges, the first since Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League Party took power in 2009, come after a series of anti-government strikes last month that have crippled business over issues ranging from a constitutional amendment on election procedures ahead of 2013 polls to a recent natural gas exploration pact with ConocoPhillips.

The commission, responsible for investigating official corruption charges and used widely when an army-backed government under emergency rule took power between 2007 and 2009, alleges Khaleda Zia bought land in 2005 for 65.2 million taka ($881,000) for a charity named after her slain husband former president Ziaur Rahman.

“But the trust failed to show any valid source for part of the payment of the land purchase,” a commission official told reporters. Khaleda Zia’s two sons also face corruption charges, which her Bangladesh Nationalist Party said were politically motivated.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/world/article485448.ece.

Dahlan slams Fatah's accusation of poisoning Arafat

By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH | AP
Aug 8, 2011

RAMALLAH, West Bank: Loyalists of the Palestinian president have accused a rival of poisoning the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in an apparent effort to discredit him politically.

Top officials of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party issued a report Sunday contending that former Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan sent poison disguised as medicine to Arafat while he was in a Paris hospital.

They offered no evidence to back up their claim, other than to say Dahlan ordered Arafat guards to burn the vials in which the alleged poison was stored.

The report also says, without providing evidence, that Dahlan stole $300 million the US sent the Palestinians to build a security force.

“There are false and baseless accusations of Abbas and his people, they are clearing Israel of Arafat’s blood,” Dahlan said Monday in a telephone call from Dubai. “If Abbas spent his time preparing for independence instead of fighting me, he would have won.” Arafat died in November 2004 under mysterious circumstances in France. Many Palestinians believe Israel poisoned him.

Dahlan was widely blamed by colleagues for the 2007 loss of Gaza to Fatah’s rivals, the militant Hamas group, when he was the security chief in the seaside strip. He and Abbas have been feuding for months.

Dahlan has accused the Palestinian president of being a weak leader and of allowing his sons to benefit financially from his rule.

Fatah expelled Dahlan from the party in June because of his repeated criticism of Abbas, and Palestinian police recently raided his West Bank home.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article485608.ece.

Egypt court demands details of Web, phone blackout

By REUTERS
Aug 8, 2011

CAIRO: An Egyptian judge on Monday asked to see minutes of a meeting when a decision was taken to cut mobile and Internet services during an uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, a move that could draw the ruling military into the controversy.

Mubarak and Egypt’s former prime minister and interior minister were fined a total of 540 million Egyptian pounds ($91 million) in May for cutting mobile services, in what was described as a bid to disrupt mass protests across the country.

The three are appealing against the fine, saying other officials, including the head of Egypt’s current ruling army council, were all present at a ministerial meeting that took the decision, and shared responsibility.

Judge Magdy Hussein El-Agaty, from the High Administrative Court that is hearing the appeal, adjourned the case until Oct. 3 saying he wanted to read the minutes of the ministerial meeting Mubarak held on Jan. 20, together with a list of the people who attended.

The lawyer for former Interior Minister Habib Al-Adli told the court the decision to fine his client was illegal because it ignored the role played by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Egypt’s defense minister at the time of the uprising, and other officials.

Tantawi now heads the army council that took over the running of the country after Mubarak’s ousting.

Adli’s lawyer Mohamed Abdel Aziz said Tantawi, as well as Mubarak’s intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and other ministers, were also present at the meeting and responsible for the decision.

Mubarak’s lawyer said mobile and web services were restored once officials saw the protests were peaceful, Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Monday.

The army has denied Tantawi was involved in the decision.

The military, which has said it had a neutral role in the uprising and only stepped in to protect national security, has faced increasing criticism over its handling of the transition of power after Mubarak’s ousting.

About 850 people were killed during 18 days of protests that toppled Mubarak, and more than 6,000 were wounded by live ammunition, rubber bullets, water cannon and batons.

Activists used text messages and websites including Facebook to organize the protests.

Telecoms operator Vodafone said in January it and other mobile operators had to comply with an order from the authorities to suspend services in parts of the country during the peak of the anti-government demonstrations.

Judge Magdy Hussein El-Agaty said he also wanted to adjourn the hearing to read a non-bonding report by a judicial panel.

The report said the fine should be overturned because the suit had not spelled out what damages were caused by the communications shutdown, the state news agency reported.

In May, the court ruled that Mubarak and the ministers were guilty of “causing damage to the national economy” and the fines would be paid to the country’s treasury.

Egypt’s communications and information ministry said it would have to compensate mobile operators for losses caused by the service disruption.

Mubarak went on trial last week charged with conspiring to kill protesters and other crimes. He was wheeled into court lying on a hospital bed, and was kept inside a cage during the hearing.

Lawyers for Mubarak, Adli and victims in that case called for Tantawi and Chief of Staff Sami Enan to give testimony, a move that analysts say could open the military up to further scrutiny.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article485609.ece.

Libya rebels dissolve cabinet after commander's death

Aug 8, 2011

RABAT, Morocco: Libyan rebels have dissolved their executive committee after “shortcomings” by some members in the handling of the shooting dead 12 days ago of their military chief, a rebel spokesman said on Monday.

A spokesman for the rebels’ governing National Transitional Council (NTC) told Al Jazeera television that rebel leader Mahmoud Jibril, who was head of the committee, had been asked to form a new executive body of ministers.

“Given the shortcomings in the performance of some members of the executive committee with regard to this crisis and this incident, the Council has decided to form a new committee,” rebel spokesman Abdel-Hafiz Ghoga told the channel.

Rebel army head Abdel-Fatah Younes was shot dead on July 28 after he was called back from the front to testify before a judicial committee investigating the military campaign against Muammar Qaddafi.

Rebels said Younes was killed by an allied militia. His death was a setback for the rebels and signaled divisions among their ranks.

Younes was part of the group involved in the 1969 coup that brought Qaddafi to power. He occupied senior positions at Qaddafi’s side, and was interior minister before he defected and took a top role in the rebellion in February.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article485656.ece.

Kuwait, Bahrain follow Saudi lead as Syria crackdown continues

By AGENCIES
Aug 8, 2011

BEIRUT: Bahrain and Kuwait joined the international chorus of condemnation against President Bashar Assad’s regime Monday, pulling out their ambassadors as a besieged Syrian city came under fresh artillery fire. Jordan also described the escalation violence by the Assad regime as “disturbing.”

Assad, meanwhile, replaced his defense minister with the army chief of staff even as the crackdown on a five-month uprising continued.

Gen. Ali Habib, the country’s defense minister since 2009, was removed from his post because of health problems, the SANA report said, but some analysts said the general was unhappy with the crackdown.

He was replaced by Gen. Dawoud Rajha, a 64-year-old Christian, SANA said. The agency did not say who will succeed Rajha as chief of staff. His deputy is Maj. Gen. Assef Shawkat, who is married to Assad’s sister, Bushra.

The army has played a leading role in the bloody crackdown, shelling cities with heavy weapons and tanks.

On Monday, the military renewed its assault on Deir Al-Zour, unleashing artillery fire on the eastern town, a day after at least 42 people were killed there. And in the southern city of Deraa, security forces killed at least three people at a funeral, activists said.

The bloodshed has drawn sharp condemnation from the West and the Arab states. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah ordered the withdrawal of the Saudi ambassador from Damascus early Monday and told President Bashar Assad to “stop the killing machine and the bloodshed ... before it is too late.” The king also urged the Syrian government to introduce “comprehensive and quick reforms.”

Kuwait followed suit with Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al-Sabah announcing that the Gulf state was also recalling its envoy from Damascus. He also slammed the “bloodshed” in Syria.

Neighboring Bahrain also took the same action. Sheikh Mohammed said that foreign ministers of the six-nation GCC would meet soon to discuss the crisis in Syria.

The top Sunni Muslim authority called for an end to the “tragedy” in Syria, with the head of the Cairo-based institution saying the situation has gone too far.

“Al-Azhar was patient for a long time and avoided talking about the situation in Syria because of its sensitive nature ... but the situation has gone too far and there is no other solution but to put an end to this Arab and Islamic tragedy,” the grand mufti of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, said in a statement.

Al-Azhar “asks Syrian leaders to work immediately to end the bloodshed and to respond favorably to the legitimate demands of the Syrian masses,” said the statement carried by the official Egyptian news agency MENA.

The US State Department said it was “heartened” by Arab condemnation of Syria, calling the moves a further sign that the international community is repulsed by Assad’s actions.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh was quoted by the official Petra News Agency on Monday describing the escalation in violence by the Assad regime as “disturbing.” He urged Damascus to follow through on promised reforms.

The international community already has imposed sanctions on the regime — including on Habib and Rajha — and demanded an immediate end to the attacks. France, Italy and Germany renewed their condemnation Monday.

Despite the widening condemnations, Syrian troops on Monday continued their assault in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, about 280 miles (450 kilometers) east of the capital Damascus. Machine-gun fire and artillery blasts resumed early Monday, according to the Local Coordinating Committees, which help organize the protests and track the uprising.

“We heard very loud explosions, and now there’s intermittent gunfire,” an activist in the city said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said people were too terrified to take the wounded to government hospitals, instead treating them at home or in makeshift hospitals.

Deir el-Zour is in an oil-rich but largely impoverished region of Syria known for its well-armed clans and tribes whose ties extend across eastern Syrian and into Iraq. At least 42 people were killed Sunday in a pre-dawn raid, said Abdul-Karim Rihawi, the Damascus-based chief of the Syrian Human Rights League, and Ammar Qurabi, who heads the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria.

Syrian troops also stormed Maaret Al-Numan in the northern province of Idlib at dawn, activists said.

“Forces entered the city from its eastern side and they are preventing the residents from entering or leaving the city,” the LCC said in a statement.

More than 300 people have died in the past week, the bloodiest in the five-month uprising against Assad’s authoritarian rule.

The government crackdown on mostly peaceful, unarmed protesters demanding political reforms and an end to the Assad family’s 40-year rule has left more than 1,700 dead since March, according to activists and human rights groups. Assad’s regime disputes the toll and blames a foreign conspiracy for the unrest, which at times has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters into the streets.

The central city of Hama had been the focus of the crackdown for most of the week. Reporters were taken on a tour of the government-run Hama National Hospital on Sunday night and shown the remains of 16 people, some decomposing.

On Monday, Syria’s state-run news agency SANA, said the army began withdrawing from Hama as life began to return to normal in the city. It said the army’s operation in the city aimed to “protect civilians.”

Dr. Mohammed Al-Omar said most of the bodies in the hospital were members of the Syrian security forces who were killed by armed groups. He didn’t elaborate on how he had gathered this information.

“There are gunshot wounds mostly on their necks, also on the chest. We now have 17 bodies in the hospital,” Al-Omar told reporters as an unidentified member of the security services stood closely behind him.

Condemnation of the Syrian government spread to the Internet, where the hacking group known as Anonymous claimed credit for vandalizing the Syrian military’s website. The site quickly became unavailable, but screenshots circulated online showed the group’s trademark headless suit and a message addressed to the Syrian people saying that “the world stands with you against the brutal regime.”

Assad has shrugged off months of criticism and sanctions, blaming armed gangs for the violence while offering reform measures that have failed to placate the protesters demanding sweeping changes.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article485374.ece.

Anonymous Hacks Syrian Defense Website

By Jack Phillips
August 8, 2011

The hacker group Anonymous defaced the Syrian Ministry of Defense website Monday, attacking the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and encouraging Syrian protesters.

Anonymous’ Twitter account gave an initial bulletin regarding the security breach. The Ministry of Defense website was later taken down but screenshots of it were uploaded to image sharing websites.

Syria has escalated its campaign against dissidents over the past week, killing hundreds in several cities. On Sunday in the city of Deir Ezzor, at least 50 civilians were killed by tanks and soldiers while they were attending a funeral.

Anonymous posted its logo in the center of the Ministry’s website and posted a message in Arabic as well as in English.

“To the Syrian people: The world stands with you against the brutal regime of Bashar Al-Assad. Know that time and history are on your side—tyrants use violence because they have nothing else,” said the message.

Before, Anonymous said that it would target the Syrian government in a Twitter posting.

“And the more violent they are, the more fragile they become. We salute your determination to be non-violent in the face of the regime’s brutality, and admire your willingness to pursue justice, not mere revenge. All tyrants will fall, and thanks to your bravery Bashar Al-Assad is next,” said the post.

The hacker organization, which has targeted a number of websites including those belonging to the U.S. government, called on the Syrian army to “rise up against the regime.”

“Anyone who orders you to kill women, children, and the elderly deserves to be tried for treason,” the post added.

The hack comes as a number of organizations and governments stepped up their rhetoric against al-Assad.

The Saudi King on Sunday released a statement to the media saying al-Assad’s use of violence in recent weeks is “not acceptable” and pulled out the ambassador from Damascus. The head of the Arab League, one a steadfast ally of al-Assad, also expressed “growing concern.”

Source: The Epoch Times.
Link: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/anonymous-hacks-syrian-defense-website-60117.html.

Tibetan Exiles Swear in New Prime Minister

By Helena Zhu
August 8, 2011

A 43-year-old, Harvard-trained legal scholar was sworn in on Monday as the new head of the Tibetan government-in-exile, taking over all political duties of the Dalai Lama.

Lobsang Sangay took the oath of office at a ceremony presided over by the Dalai Lama in India’s Tsuglagkhang Temple, where the exiled government is based.

The Dalai Lama, 76, has been slowly shedding his official duties since 2001 when the Tibetan prime minister, or Kalon Tripa, was directly elected for the first time, instead of being appointed by the Dala Lama. With the inauguration ceremony on Monday, his retirement is complete.

"The results of this election should send a clear message to the hard-liners in the Chinese regime, that Tibetan leadership is far from fizzling out—we are democracy that will only grow stronger in [the] years ahead. And we are here to stay," Sangay said in his inaugural speech.

The new leader promised the gathering of several thousands Tibetans that he will fight against Chinese "colonialism," citing the Chinese Communist Party’s control over Tibet for the last six decades. The struggle itself, however, is "not against the Chinese people or China as a country."

"Our struggle is against the hard-line policies of the Chinese regime in Tibet, … against those who would deny freedom, justice, dignity, and the very identity of the Tibetan people," he said.

Recently, many Chinese leaders have visited the Tibetan capital of Lhasa to mark 60 years since the "peaceful liberation" of Tibet. The anniversary celebrations were accompanied by an undeclared martial law in Tibet and a ban on foreign tourists.

"Beijing’s rule in Tibet is clearly unjust and untenable," the new leader said, adding that he is willing to negotiate with the Chinese regime "anytime, anywhere."

The Chinese Communist Party has rejected Sangay’s legitimacy and refuses any negotiations with him. Sangay, who was born in the eastern Indian town of Darjeeling, has never been to Tibet.

In the elections held last March, almost 50,000 Tibetans residing in more than 30 countries took part in the voting. There are an estimated 150,000 Tibetan refugees and exiles—the majority reside in India and Nepal.

Source: The Epoch Times.
Link: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/tibetan-exiles-swear-in-new-prime-minister-60121.html.