At least 3 killed in southern Thailand prison riot

PATTANI, THAILAND (BNO NEWS) — At least three people were killed on Monday morning when a prison riot broke out in the southern region of Thailand, officials were quoted as saying by local media.

The incident in the Pattani Central Prison began when a group of more than 40 inmates launched an attack against five other prisoners, causing them to flee to the roof. Three of the targeted prisoners later slipped and fell, after which they were beaten to death by the rioters, according to the Bangkok Post.

According to the reports, the incident initially began as a minor scuffle between a large group of Muslim inmates and another group of Buddhist prisoners who had been appointed as warders’ assistants. The Muslim group reportedly complained that they had been treated unfairly by the appointed warders’ assistants, particularly in food distribution and in the kitchen management, leading to conflicts.

During the riot, prison staff were forced to release prisoners from the Narathiwat and Yala blocks, reportedly increasing the number of rioters to 200. There are around 1,200 inmates at the Pattani Central Prison, and a total of 800 prisoners are believed to have participated in the rioting.

As the rioting continued, a letter was written to prison and provincial officials by representatives of the Muslim inmates, promising to end the rioting if a list of demands that was presented on behalf of the rioters was fulfilled.

In addition to modification of the prison’s regulations, the group demanded the replacement of wardens’ assistants and prison kitchen management with Muslim inmates. In addition, the rioters requested that those previously assigned as warders’ assistants and other Buddhist prisoners who helped create the conditions would be relocated to other prisons.

According to the Bangkok Post, Pattani deputy governor Lertkiat Wongpopan called for an emergency meeting with senior provincial administrators and prison officials after receiving the letter. The riot ended on Monday afternoon after the demands of the inmates were accepted.

Southern Thailand is majority Muslim, despite the country being mostly Buddhist. Separatist groups in the southern regions have brought constant and violent uprisings in the region for the past 6 years, leaving more than 4,300 people killed and more than 7,000 others injured.

Monday, September 5th, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/wires/19895/at-least-3-killed-in-southern-thailand-prison-riot/.

Death toll reaches 38 after Typhoon Talas hits Japan

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) — The death toll after powerful Typhoon Talas slammed western Japan during the weekend has increased to at least 38, officials said on Monday evening. Dozens more remain missing in what is now one of the worst typhoons to hit the country in recent years.

Typhoon Talas emerged as an area of low pressure west of Guam on August 22 before strengthening into a typhoon as it accelerated towards Japan. It made landfall over Kochi Prefecture on early Saturday and then tore a path of destruction through western Japan as it moved toward the northeast.

As of Monday evening, officials confirmed at least 38 people had been killed in western Japan as a result of Talas, while more than 50 people are still missing and feared to have been killed. The death toll is the highest from a typhoon in Japan since Typhoon Tokage killed at least 94 people in October 2004.

Police forces, firefighters, and Japanese Self-Defense forces (SDF) continued to carry out search and rescue operations on Monday as blackouts continue to affect tens of thousands. As of 3 p.m. local time on Monday, electricity and phone lines were out in Mie, Nara and Wakayama prefectures, with roughly 194,000 households in the Kansai Electric Power Co.’s service area experiencing blackouts

SDF helicopters have been deployed to the region and are trying to reach residents in the municipalities of Nachikatsuura, Tanabe, Shingu and Hidakagawa, as around 4,700 people have been trapped in the area by landslides and floods.

However, with flooding rivers, damaged roads, and mudslides, officials fear to eventual death toll could be much higher. An unknown number of people have also been injured.

Talas was the 12th named storm, the 7th severe tropical storm and the 5th typhoon of the 2011 Pacific typhoon season. The season runs throughout 2011, with most tropical cyclones forming between May and November.

In July, the City University of Hong Kong predicted a total number of 31 tropical cyclones to form in the western North Pacific, of which 27 would become tropical storms and 17 which would further grow into a typhoon.

Monday, September 5th, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/wires/19897/death-toll-reaches-38-after-typhoon-talas-hits-japan/.

Muslim rebels in Philippines reject peace plan

Camp Darapanan, Philippines (AFP)
Sept 5, 2011

Muslim rebels waging a decades-long insurgency in the Philippines said Monday they would refuse to hold further direct talks with the government until it modified its peace plan.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front leader Murad Ebrahim said his negotiators would not meet their government counterparts next week as planned because the two sides' positions were too far apart.

"With this situation we feel that there is no point of discussion between the two panels," Murad told reporters at Camp Darapanan, the MILF's rural headquarters on the outskirts of Cotabato city, in the southern Philippines.

Murad said the MILF would instead ask the Malaysian facilitator of the talks to meet separately with both sides in an effort to have the government alter its peace plan, which he described as an "exercise in futility".

"It is necessity (to have) facilitation in order to help the two positions of the panels get nearer each other, and create an atmosphere conducive to discussions," he said.

Murad said the government's offer, made last month during the last round of talks in Kuala Lumpur, focused too heavily on socio-economic reforms, while ignoring the MILF's quest for an autonomous substate for Muslims in the south.

"We need them to understand that the problem is a political problem and the solution must be a political solution," he said.

He said the determination of the Philippines' Muslim minority population to have an autonomous homeland in the south was the "root cause" of the problem and the government must agree to discuss this for peace talks to continue.

The government has not released full details of its roadmap for peace, but said the broad principles focus on achieving socio-economic reforms in the impoverished south of the country and other "doables" in an initial phase.

The government has also offered what it has described as a form of autonomy for Muslims in the south.

But Murad said Muslims would have no real autonomy under the government's plan and that a "substate" allowing much more freedom from the central powers in Manila must be created.

About 150,000 people have died since the MILF and other armed Muslim groups began their struggle in the 1970s, according to military estimates.

A ceasefire between the MILF and government troops has been in place since 2003, however this has been regularly broken.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Muslim_rebels_in_Philippines_reject_peace_plan_999.html.

Iran criticizes NATO's Turkey radar plan

Tehran (AFP)
Sept 5, 2011

A senior Iranian diplomat criticized neighboring Turkey on Monday for agreeing to host an early warning radar as part of NATO's missile defense system for Europe.

"We believe that any kind of presence around our borders by countries from outside the region will not improve security in the region but will actually do the opposite," the official IRNA news agency quoted deputy foreign minister for consular affairs Hassan Ghashghavi as saying.

"Iran and Turkey are two friendly neighboring nations... and have the ability to fully preserve their own security without any foreign intervention," he added.

The Turkish foreign ministry announced on Friday that technical negotiations on the deployment of the radar had "reached a final stage," in a move swiftly welcomed by Washington.

"The hope is to have it deployed by the end of this year," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan told reporters.

Leaders of the 28-member NATO alliance gave their backing last year for the Europe-wide ballistic missile shield, which US officials say is aimed at thwarting missile threats from Iran.

Iranian criticism of Turkey is rare. Tehran has made good relations with Ankara a priority as it has boosted trade ties in the face of EU and US embargoes and looked to its NATO neighbor to mediate in its standoff with the West over its controversial nuclear program.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_criticises_NATOs_Turkey_radar_plan_999.html.

Iran offers 'full' nuclear supervision if sanctions lifted

Tehran (AFP)
Sept 5, 2011

Iran offered on Monday to grant the UN nuclear watchdog "full supervision" of its atomic program for five years if sanctions are lifted, as the EU insisted Tehran first meet its international obligations.

"We have proposed that the agency keep Iran's activities and nuclear program under full supervision for five years, providing the sanctions are lifted," Iranian nuclear chief Fereydoun Abbasi Davani told ISNA news agency.

He neither said when the offer was made to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nor what he meant by "full supervision."

Iran is targeted by four sets of UN Security Council sanctions over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment amid fears in the West that it seeks to build a nuclear bomb -- a charge it vehemently denies.

Much of Iran's nuclear activities are already under the control of the IAEA, including uranium enrichment -- a process which can produce the fuel for a nuclear reactor and also the fissile material for an atomic warhead.

The IAEA said in a confidential report, a copy of which was obtained by AFP on Friday, it is "increasingly concerned about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed nuclear related activities involving military related organizations."

These included "activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile", according to the report, which is due to be discussed by the IAEA's 35-member board of governors at a September 12-16 meeting.

But Abbasi Davani insisted such allegations were "baseless and fabricated," and advised IAEA chief Yukiya Amano against "mentioning the alleged studies (in his reports) until he has discussed them with Iran."

If Amano can demonstrate that the IAEA is "not influenced or pressured by hostile countries, we can have more cooperation with the agency," he said.

On Monday, the European Union reacted to Abbasi Davani's latest remarks, saying that the Islamic republic must first re-establish confidence for any sanctions to be lifted.

"Iran still has to comply with its international obligations, despite today's announcement," Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, told AFP.

Ashton has made a "concrete proposal" to Iran aimed at building confidence over the aims of its atomic program, Mann said. "Unfortunately, so far, Iran has not taken up this offer to enter into meaningful talks."

"Existing UNSC (UN Security Council) resolutions foresee the lifting of sanctions once confidence has been re-established," he said.

The UN watchdog has for years criticized Tehran for refusing to answer a number of controversial questions about its nuclear program, and for denying access to certain sites, including the heavy water reactor Iran is building in the central city of Arak.

Iran says the Arak facility -- whose commission has been delayed several times -- is being constructed by domestic contractors using indigenous expertise, and will house a 40-megatt research reactor.

Progress at the site allegedly been slowed down by sabotage from abroad.

Abbasi Davani, who survived a November 29 assassination attempt which Iran blamed on arch-foes the United States and Israel, also said there had been a rise in Western attempts to sabotage the nuclear program.

"We have witnessed a rise in acts of sabotage against Iran's nuclear facilities," he said. "They continuously seek to harm our nuclear facilities through viruses or sales of faulty equipment."

Tehran has blamed Israel and the United States for the unexplained disappearances of several of its military officials and nuclear scientists, and for a computer virus attack by the Stuxnet malware in the summer of 2010 against its centrifuges, the uranium enriching device.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_offers_full_nuclear_supervision_if_sanctions_lifted_999.html.

Two killed as Texas wildfires destroy nearly 400 homes

AUSTIN (BNO NEWS) — Two people were killed on Sunday as dozens of new wildfires broke out across Texas, destroying nearly 400 homes and forcing thousands to evacuate, officials said on Monday morning.

The largest of the new wildfires on Sunday broke out in Bastrop County where a huge fire burned more than 25,000 acres (10,100 hectares). It started in the Lost Pines area, northeast of Bastrop, and moved unchecked for at least 16 miles (25 kilometers) to the south and jumped the Colorado River twice.

“Reports indicate possibly 300 homes have been destroyed,” a spokesperson for the Texas Forest Service said on Monday. The Circle D, K.C. Estates, Pine Forest, Colovista and Tahitian Village subdivision have been evacuated as heavy airtankers and single-engine airtankers are battling the fire.

In Smith County, near Gladewater, a 20-year-old woman and her 18-month-old daughter were killed on Sunday when a fast-moving fire covering some 1,000 acres (405 hectares) destroyed their trailer and at least five other homes. Ten homes were evacuated.

The second-largest fire which broke out on Sunday was located in Travis County, southeast of Spicewood, where more than 7,000 acres (2,832 hectares) have burned. A total of 20 homes were destroyed while 30 homes have been damaged.

Other large fires which broke out on Sunday are burning in Henderson County (5,000 acres / 2,023 hectares, three homes saved), Limestone County (3,000 acres / 1,214 hectares, one home destroyed and six saved), Fayette County (2,000 acres / 809 hectares, seven homes destroyed, Ruttersville evacuated), east of Lockhart, Caldwell County (1,000 acres / 404 hectares, six homes lost and 20 others saved), Colorado County (1,000 acres / 404 hectares, 40 homes threatened).

Other fires which broke out on Sunday, a total of 63, were all smaller than 1,000 acres (404 hectares) as of early Monday morning. But several of them have already destroyed dozens of homes, although there were no casualties.

In Travis County, a fire started just north of the Steiner Ranch subdivision, resulting in mandatory evacuations for more than 1,000 homes in the area. A Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System strike team responded, but at least 25 homes were reported to have been destroyed as of Monday.

Fifteen homes were also destroyed in Leon County as a result of a wildfire, while another fire in Hunt County also destroyed two homes. Hundreds of people have been evacuated in those areas as numerous homes are being threatened.

“The wildfire situation in Texas is severe and all necessary state resources are being made available to protect lives and property,” Governor Rick Perry said. “I urge Texans to take extreme caution as we continue to see the devastating effects of sweeping wildfires impacting both rural and urban areas of the state. Our thoughts and prayers are with the first responders who are working around the clock to keep Texans out of harm’s way, and with the families across our state who are threatened by these wildfires.”

Texas is currently battling one of the worst fire seasons in state history. The dangerous conditions are caused by the ongoing drought and an overabundance of dead vegetation which burns easily. But the fires also intensified during the weekend due to windy conditions as a result of Tropical Storm Lee, which has since dissipated.

Since the beginning of wildfire season, local and state firefighters have responded to more than 20,900 fires that have destroyed more than 1,000 homes and burned more than 3.6 million acres (1.4 million hectares). Governor Rick Perry issued a disaster proclamation on December 21, 2010 and has reissued it nine times.

Monday, September 5th, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/wires/19900/two-killed-as-texas-wildfires-destroy-nearly-400-homes/.

UN: Somalia famine worsens as 750,000 face starvation in next 4 months

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) — The United Nations (UN) on Monday warned that the food crisis in the Horn of Africa is worsening and called for greater international efforts to minimize its effects.

The UN noted that in Somalia alone, around 750,000 people are in risk of starvation over the next four months. According to the latest data released by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit for Somalia (FSNAU), which is managed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) famine has spread to a sixth area of the country, Bay region, which is one of Somalia’s most productive areas.

The Bay region produces 80 percent of Somalia’s sorghum harvest and is considered the country’s breadbasket. However, record levels of acute malnutrition have been registered there, with 58 percent of children under the age of five acutely malnourished, with a crude mortality rate of more than two deaths in every 10,000 per day.

Previously, famine was declared in five areas in southern and central Somalia. During the past eight months, the number of Somalis in need of humanitarian assistance has increased from 2.4 million to 4 million, the FAO said, adding that 3 million of them are in the country’s south.

The five other areas hit by famine include the Bakool agropastoral communities in Lower Shabelle region, the agropastoral areas of Balad and Cadale districts of Middle Shabelle, the Afgoye corridor which has the highest concentration of internally displaced persons (IDP) settlements, and the Mogadishu IDP community.

“Though these figures paint a bleak picture for Somalia, there is a window of opportunity for the humanitarian community to stop and reverse this undesirable trend by supporting farmers and herders in addition to other emergency interventions,” Luca Alinovi, the FAO Officer in Charge of Somalia, said during a press conference in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Humanitarian aid has been ongoing throughout the region, but despite the efforts, the crisis is projected to continue, indicating that famine will become widespread throughout southern Somalia by the end of this year.

Grainne Moloney, the FSNAU Chief Technical Adviser, said famine is likely to spread to agropastoral populations in Gedo, Hiran, Middle Shabelle and Juba regions, and the riverine populations of Juba and Gedo in the coming four months.

Furthermore, a post-harvest assessment showed this year’s cereal crop was the lowest in 17 years. Declining stocks of local cereals have sent cereal prices soaring by 300 percent over the past year, and nearly half a million acutely malnourished children across Somalia require urgent nutritional treatment.

With increasing access to many parts of southern Somalia, the FAO is currently carrying out emergency interventions and will open two new offices in Mogadishu and Dolo and several sub-offices in each region. In addition, it has already appealed for $70 million to fund agricultural emergency assistance for one million farmers and herders in Somalia.

A state of famine is declared on the basis of at least three criteria – severe lack access to food for 20 percent of a population; acute malnutrition exceeding 30 percent; and a crude death rate that exceeds two deaths in every 10,000 people per day.

The current drought-related food crisis has affected other countries in the Horn of Africa, including northern Kenya, southern Ethiopia and Djibouti – where large areas are classified as being in a state of humanitarian emergency.

Monday, September 5th, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/wires/19901/un-somalia-famine-worsens-as-750000-face-starvation-in-next-4-months/.

Sudan: Rebels Call for Non-Fly Zone in Blue Nile, Darfur and S. Kordofan

4 September 2011

Khartoum — Darfur rebels today urged international community to impose a no-fly zone and to establish safe corridors to provide civilians, in the Blue Nile, Darfur and Southern Kordofan, with humanitarian assistance.

They also urged democratic forces to join them in their efforts to change Bashir's regime.

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) who are fighting against the Sudanese government in Darfur since 2003 agreed recently with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) to establish an alliance to overthrow the regime but they are still discussing the place of the religion in the post-Bashir state.

Abdel Wahid al-Nur, leader of a SLM faction and Ahmed Hussein Adam external relations adviser for JEM leader denounced "the aggression" of the Sudanese army on the SPLM-N in the Blue Nile. Both said that the attack is part of a premeditated plan, prepared by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) aiming to spread "chaos and killing" over all the Sudan.

They further said the regime of President Omer Hassan al-Bashir is an obstacle for peace and security not only in Sudan but for the whole region. "This regime is too deformed to be reformed," said Ahmed Hussein Adam.

Abdel-Wahid who refuses to negotiate with the government since 2006, said "this regime used to dishonour any political agreement it signs and what is happening confirm what he have been saying."

Abdel-Wahid and Ahmed called upon the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly-zone on Blue Nile, Darfur, and Southern Kordofan "to stop the ongoing aggression against the civilians populations". They further urged to establish humanitarian corridors and protected zones to to populations caught in violence in the three regions.

The Sudanese government refuses to allow an action by international aid groups or open camps for the civilians displaced by the fight in Blue Nile or Southern Kordofan saying they do not want to repeat the situation of Darfur. Only the government controlled bodies distribute the humanitarian assistance.

On the internal front, Darfur rebels and the SPLM-N are discussing the formation of a political and military coalition to fight the Sudanese regime in Khartoum. The talks are stalled over the issue of religion. The SLM factions insisted particularly on the need for a total separation between the state and religion while JEM says the citizenship should be prioritized.

"The secular state is our vision and ambition" said Abdel Wahid who appealed on the other political forces to share with him this vision and to topple down the regime of the National Congress Party.

"The JEM is now working closely with SPLM and with other resistance movements and the democratic forces to counter the current wave of terror and go further to forge a new inclusive alliance to lead the efforts of the Sudanese for a democratic change," stressed Ahmed Hussein Adam.

Yasir Arman yesterday said that the SPLM-N would seek to solidify the strategic alliance it forged with Darfur rebel groups. Arman revealed that a meeting took place on Friday between him, the SLM leaders Abdel-Wahid al-Nur and Minni Minnawi and Mansour Abdel Gadir who represented JEM.

The SPLM and Darfur groups called on the other democratic forces in the North Sudan to join them in this alliance. But President al-Bashir who chairs the NCP also sought to mobilize the other political forces. He held a meeting on Sunday with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Mohamed Osman al-Mirghani, the Umma National Party (UNP) of Sadiq Al-Mahdi and other small forces to brief them on the latest development in the Blue Nile.

Both sides seek to convince the opposition parties to support his position. However, the main Democratic forces particularly, the DUP and UNP reject the military action against the regime but refuse to support Khartoum and demand democratic reforms and a negotiated settlement for Darfur, Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan conflicts.

Source: allAfrica.
Link: http://allafrica.com/stories/201109051774.html.

Cancer breakthrough: scientists discover harmless bacteria in soil kills cancer tumors

Monday, September 05, 2011
by: S. L. Baker

(NaturalNews) Cancer remains one of the most feared diseases on the planet -- and cancer patients being treated by mainstream medicine are usually bombarded with radiation and subjected to toxic chemotherapy that destroys healthy cells and weakens the body while trying to kill tumors.

Thankfully, as NaturalNews readers are aware, a growing body of research is revealing that many natural substances have cancer prevention and treatment potential, including Mediterranean type foods that fight prostate cancer and walnuts which contain breast cancer preventive phytochemicals.

Now there's evidence a cure for cancer may be all around us and is as common as dirt. In fact, it's something in dirt.

Researcher Aleksandra Kubiak just presented the startling discovery at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference currently underway at the University of York in the UK. She and other members of a research team from the University of Nottingham and the University of Maastricht have found that a strain of harmless bacteria that is widespread in soil is actually deadly -- not to people but to cancerous tumors.

The researchers have developed a therapy using Clostridium sporogenes, a bacterium common in dirt. They found that when spores of the bacteria are injected into cancer patients, they only grow in solid tumors. Inside the cancerous growth, the bacteria produce a specific enzyme that activates a cancer drug. The results? Unlike current chemotherapy, the natural bacteria treatment causes only the cancer cells to be destroyed while healthy cells are left unharmed.

"Clostridia are an ancient group of bacteria that evolved on the planet before it had an oxygen-rich atmosphere and so they thrive in low oxygen conditions. When Clostridia spores are injected into a cancer patient, they will only grow in oxygen-depleted environments, i.e. the center of solid tumors. This is a totally natural phenomenon, which requires no fundamental alterations and is exquisitely specific," head researcher Professor Nigel Minton said in a statement to the media. "We can exploit this specificity to kill tumor cells but leave healthy tissue unscathed."

He added that the new discovery could lead to a simple and safe procedure for curing a wide range of solid tumors. "This therapy will kill all types of tumor cell. The treatment is superior to a surgical procedure, especially for patients at high risk or with difficult tumor locations," Professor Minton said.

"We anticipate that the strain we have developed will be used in a clinical trial in 2013 led by Jan Theys and Philippe Lambin at the University of Maastricht in The Netherlands. A successful outcome could lead to its adoption as a frontline therapy for treating solid tumors."

Source: NaturalNews.
Link: http://www.naturalnews.com/033505_soil_bacteria_cancer_tumors.html.

Iraq's Sadr gives govt 'last chance' for reform

Najaf, Iraq (AFP)
Sept 5, 2011

Radical anti-US Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Monday he is giving the Iraqi government a "last chance" to implement reforms, or popular demonstrations would be called.

"This is the last chance before setting a date for open, peaceful, popular, demonstrations," Sadr said in a statement released by his office in the holy city of Najaf, without specifying how much time he was giving the government.

Sadr called on the government to give all Iraqis a share of the country's oil wealth, create jobs for 50,000 unemployed people nationwide, and provide free fuel for private generators, until Iraq's destitute electricity sector is improved.

"If these demands are achieved without delay... the open demonstration will be postponed indefinitely," Sadr said.

The cleric in February gave the government six months to improve services, threatening to call protests otherwise.

Sadr's bloc holds six cabinet posts and has 40 seats in parliament.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iraqs_Sadr_gives_govt_last_chance_for_reform_999.html.

Algeria closes Libya border

Ties between the neighbor states will improve with "the return of stability" to Libya, an Algerian official said.

By Fidet Mansour for Magharebia in Algiers – 05/09/11

Algeria on Sunday (September 4th) announced the temporary closure of all border crossing points with Libya as a security precaution.

"A new situation has been created by the Libyan crisis, notably through the arms flow and the massive exodus of people from this country," Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said.

The issue will be discussed at a September 7th-8th security meeting in Algiers, which will bring together officials from Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Algeria.

"Based on the nature of the relations between our two countries, we can only say that the relationship between us will improve with the return of stability to Libya," Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said Sunday on the sidelines of the opening of Parliament's autumn session.

The announcement came a couple of days after Algeria's chief diplomat vowed that his country would recognize the National Transitional Council (NTC) once the body "set up a government representative of all regions".

Relations between the NTC and Algeria soured after Algeria allowed entry to Moamer Kadhafi's family members last week. The government asserted that the gesture was "strictly humanitarian", while the NTC vowed to press for extradition.

"The Libyans asked us to welcome Kadhafi's family as we would our own children," Ouyahia said on Sunday.

Medelci, meanwhile, denied that his country would welcome Kadhafi himself. "The hypothesis that Kadhafi could come knocking on our door was never considered," he told radio station Europe 1.

The foreign minister also called on Western nations to "understand the concerns of Algeria, which is witnessing a war on its border". He met with NTC chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil last Thursday at the "Friends of Libya" conference.

The Algerian official said that the Paris meeting provided an opportunity to clear up all "ambiguities", a response to French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe's earlier remarks that Algeria's stance on the conflict was "ambiguous".

In his turn, Abdel Jalil expressed hope that the bilateral relations would improve in the future, underlining the "close and warm ties between the two neighboring countries".

"Algeria has implemented all UN resolutions on Libya since the beginning of the crisis," the NTC chairman told reporters after the Paris summit, which brought together representatives of 63 nations and world bodies.

Medelci praised the decisions taken at the international conference, including "the return of frozen funds, which will enable Libya to raise US $15 billion in the short term, and the consensus that was reached on the need to work on reconciliation between all Libyans, to prevent acts of vengeance and to rebuild Libya in terms of both its institutions and its capacity to address economic and social needs".

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/09/05/feature-01.