German Islamist vows to renounce terrorism as trial ends

Dusseldorf - A German man who admits training in terrorism and buying nearly a ton of explosives to attack his homeland declared in a speech from the dock Tuesday that he would never rejoin a group affiliated to al-Qaeda. Fritz Gelowicz, 30, said as his trial in Dusseldorf concluded that he was "shocked and surprised" at the arrest three days earlier of his wife, 28, for raising funds for the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU).

The court is now recessed and set to hand down a verdict on March 4.

"I want to say I will not participate in terrorist activities in future in any way whatever, and will not be rejoining any terrorist organization," Gelowicz told the court. "That's my firm decision."

Germany has never suffered a successful attack by homegrown Islamist terrorists, but the trial heard evidence of how this nearly happened in 2007.

A defence lawyer, Dirk Uden, said Gelowicz had repeatedly urged his wife during her visits to him in prison to stay away from Islamist forums on the internet. Gelowicz and three other alleged plotters were arrested in 2007, just months after he married.

Police picked up his wife, who is a German national of Turkish extraction, on Saturday in the southern German city of Ulm. She and Gelowicz, who converted to Islam, married in early 2007.

She is accused of remitting thousands of euros to the IJU, a group based in the lawless Pakistan region of Waziristan.

Two other accused, Daniel Schneider, 24, and Atilla Selek, 24, also asked for mercy in their speeches from the dock, saying they had done wrong. A fourth accused, Adem Yilmaz, 31, remained silent.

They have together provided 1,200 pages of evidence about buying 700 kilograms of chemicals to make bombs and about the workings of the IJU. They hope to receive jail terms reduced to about a decade each. The maximum term would otherwise be 15 years.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/310852,german-islamist-vows-to-renounce-terrorism-as-trial-ends.html.

Sudan and rebel group sign Darfur ceasefire in Qatar - Summary

Doha (Earth Times) - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Tuesday night signed a ceasefire deal in Doha with a key rebel group, in what could be a key step toward ending the conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region, broadcast reports said. Al-Bashir, who arrived in the Qatari capital on Monday night, said earlier that the deal between his government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) marked "the beginning of the end of the war in Darfur."

"God willing, by the next elections, Darfur will be in a state of total peace," al-Bashir said

Chadian President Idriss Deby, who shares ethnic ties with the JEM and who many accuse of being a patron of the group, and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hammad bin Khalifa, were present at the signing ceremony.

A framework agreement covering the deal was signed Saturday.

Al-Bashir said he hoped the ceasefire with JEM would pave the way for a "comprehensive" peace to end the seven-year conflict. Other rebel groups, such as the Sudan Liberation Army, have not signed up to the deal.

The government in Khartoum has signed several previous ceasefire agreements that have quickly fallen apart, but many analysts see more hope this time around.

Fighting has died off in Darfur, leaving only isolated clashes and general insecurity.

Sudan and its neighbor Chad, which supported rebel groups in Darfur, also recently signed an agreement that should see relations improve - something analysts say is key to long-term stability in the restive province.

Presidential and legislative elections, due in April, are forcing Khartoum to worry about relations with the autonomous Southern Sudan, with which it fought a long civil war.

International pressure is also being applied, particularly through the International Criminal Court's March 2009 arrest warrant for al-Bashir on charges he oversaw crimes against humanity in Darfur.

These factors are believed to working in favor of peace in Darfur by forcing Khartoum to talk more seriously with the rebels.

The United Nations estimates that fighting in Darfur has left 300,000 dead and 2.7 million displaced. The Sudanese government says only 10,000 people have died in the conflict.

A memorandum submitted by the mediating parties proposes a timetable for negotiations after the framework agreement is signed, and a complete ceasefire.

It also affirms the continuation of the federal system of government in Sudan while stressing the government's need to protect people in Darfur from intimidation and violence, and to raise their standard of living.

The memorandum calls for proportional representation in democratic institutions, courts, the civil service, and security forces for Darfur.

Leaders agree to create Latam bloc

Latin American and Caribbean leaders have agreed to create a new regional bloc that excludes the US and Canada.

The announcement came at the close of a two-day summit of 32 leaders in Cancun, Mexico on Tuesday.

The new bloc "must as a priority push for regional integration ... and promote the regional agenda in global meetings," Felipe Calderon, the Mexican president, said on Tuesday.

Further details of the new bloc, including its name, are to be decided on at a meeting in Caracas, Venezuela, next year.

The grouping is expected to serve as an alternative to the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes Washington and Ottawa, and has been the main forum for regional affairs over the past 50 years.

Arturo Valenzuela, the US assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, said the US did not see the new grouping as a problem, but added that it "should not be an effort that would replace the OAS".

The Latin American and Caribbean leaders also called for fresh talks on the sovereignty of the Falklands-Malvinas Islands.

Support for Argentina

Expressing "support for the legitimate rights" of Buenos Aires in the dispute, they said it was in the region's interest that Argentina and the UK resume talks "in order to find a just, peaceful and definitive solution".

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, called for the UN to reopen the debate over the islands' sovereignty, which has re-ignited in recent days after oil drilling began off the remote, British-controlled southern Atlantic archipelago claimed by Argentina.

London recently rejected Argentina's latest claim to the islands, which Britain has held since 1833.

Argentina lost a short but bloody war to Britain over the south Atlantic archipelago in 1982, which cost around 1,000 lives.

Tensions

Meanwhile, regional tensions were also highlighted at the summit as Evo Morales, the Bolivian president, accused his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe of being a US agent looking to stall the creation of the new regional bloc.

Morales said Uribe provoked a heated discussion with Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, during a private meeting on Monday.

The dispute highlights the left-right divides in the region and drew calls for unity by leaders such as Michelle Bachelet, the Chilean president.

"We must protect our people, be more inclusive … construct the paths and networks necessary so we don't live with our backs turned toward each other," she said.

Colombia, a close ally of the US, and Venezuela, whose president is one of the fiercest critics of the US in the region, are locked in a growing political and trade dispute.

Chavez has repeatedly accused the US of planning to invade Venezuela with the help of Colombia, a charge Washington and Bogota deny.

Source: Al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net//news/americas/2010/02/201022323322860428.html.

Iran to issue $1 billion of energy bonds in coming days

The managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) says Iran will issue $1 billion of bonds to develop the South Pars field.

Seifollah Jashnsaz said on Tuesday that the bonds are expected to be issued in the “coming days” since Iran's Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of Iran finally reached an agreement on the proposal.

He noted that Iran had taken a set of measures to issue the bonds earlier this year, but the efforts failed.

Jashnsaz stated that the limits in the funding allocated for Oil Ministry projects over the past two years made it necessary to issue the bonds, ISNA reported.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119355§ionid=351020103.

'Rigi case will go to court soon'

A senior Iranian Judiciary official says Jundallah terrorist group leader Abdolmalek Rigi will be prosecuted soon.

“Undoubtedly, Rigi's case will be considered soon,” Ebrahim Hamidi, the highest-ranking Judiciary official in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, told the Fars news agency on Tuesday.

Hamidi stressed that the case is of “great importance” and could be used to obtain more intelligence about the terrorist group.

Iran's security forces arrested Rigi on Tuesday when he was on a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Kyrgyzstan.

Rigi's terrorist group carried out most of its attacks in Sistan-Baluchistan province.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119353§ionid=351020101.

China set to impose punitive sanctions on US companies

The Chinese government says that it will impose punitive sanctions on US companies because of US arms sales to Taiwan.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Tuesday that the US arms sales to Taiwan and President Barack Obama's recent meeting with the Dalai Lama had seriously harmed ties between Washington and Beijing.

Chinese authorities say Tibet and Taiwan are inseparable parts of China's territory.

Qin refused to say when sanctions would come into effect.

China has already reduced its military cooperation with the Pentagon over the United States' $6.4 billion worth of arms sales to Taiwan.

China says the US arms sales to Taiwan harm its national security.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Qin called on Washington to work for the improvement of bilateral relations.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119348§ionid=351020404.

Niger junta apppoints civilian prime minister

Wed Feb 24, 2010

Niger's military junta has named civilian Mahamadou Danda as the new prime minister, days after it toppled the government of President Mamadou Tandja.

A military order issued on Tuesday said Danda will help oversee the political transition.

The decree was signed by the junta chief, Major Salou Djibo, who took over as the interim president on Monday.

Danda had served as communications minister during a transitional government that followed Niger's last coup in 1999.

The junta is expected to name a cabinet to work with the prime minister in the next few days.

They have promised to bring democracy back to the country with a new constitution and new elections, although they have not yet announced a timetable for the process.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/119346.html.