Bahrain transfers cases to civilian courts

MANAMA, Bahrain, June 27 (UPI) -- A decision by Bahrain to refer cases tied to a Shiite uprising to the civilian courts is a sign of a recognition of international rights, an official said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the prison sentences handed down last week to 21 opposition figures in Bahrain. He called on Manama to "allow all defendants" to receive a fair trial and "do everything possible" to create a climate for concrete national dialogue.

Bahrain's Minister of Social Development and Acting Health Minister Fatima al-Beloushi told Gulf Daily News that life was returning to normal and therefore the civilian courts could handle any cases yet to be tried before tribunals.

"Such a step is a strong indication of Bahrain's keenness on applying the highest rights and legal standards," she added.

Meanwhile, the official Bahrain News Agency reported Monday that one unnamed defendant pleaded not guilty though military prosecutors found there was enough evidence from his confessions to indict him. A second trial involving 28 figures accused of spreading "malicious information" was adjourned while the defense reviewed case documents, BNA added.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay complained in early June that her comments in BNA about the conflict were "blatantly" misrepresented.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/06/27/Bahrain-transfers-cases-to-civilian-courts/UPI-52381309195522/.

Japan PM adds Cabinet jobs on tsunami, nuke crisis

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's prime minister on Monday created two Cabinet posts to oversee the nuclear crisis and tsunami reconstruction efforts as he hopes to shore up his administration against criticism of its handling of the crises.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan named Ryu Matsumoto as reconstruction minister and made Goshi Hosono his minister in charge of handling the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.

He also gave special advisory positions to two other senior politicians.

The moves are seen as an attempt by Kan to strengthen his hand against a growing number of critics who perceive a lack of leadership following the March 11 disaster.

He has said he would be willing to step down, but only after significant steps are made toward putting Japan's recovery on a solid footing. He has also set several preconditions, including the passage of budget bills and a renewable energy measure.

"I'm aiming at (stepping down) after achieving those bills," Kan told a news conference late Monday.

Hosono, who has been director of the government's nuclear crisis task force, will also be in charge of power conservation. An electricity shortage is expected in Tokyo because of the nuclear crisis, and the government has taken several steps to prevent problems.

Matsumoto, previously Kan's environment minister, will be replaced by Justice Minister Satsuki Eda, who will hold a double portfolio. Popular Cabinet member Renho will become an adviser, along with Shizuka Kamei, the leader of a smaller party in parliament.

"The main purpose of the new appointment is to push for reconstruction from the disaster and take steps to prevent another nuclear accident," Kan said. "Three months have passed since the disaster. It's time to start thoroughly discussing how we can be better prepared."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano earlier Monday announced the new lineup, in which he also serves administrative reform minister, taking over Renho's former post. Renho uses one name.

The earthquake and tsunami disaster left about 23,000 people dead or missing on the northeast coast, and touched off the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.

The disaster brought out deep rifts within Kan's party and has strengthened the largest opposition bloc, which has slammed his response as dithering and poorly coordinated.

Kan's support with the voters is also slipping.

A major newspaper reported Monday that support for his Cabinet has fallen to 26 percent, with 42 percent of the respondents saying he should be replaced as soon as possible. The telephone poll of 893 voters was conducted over the weekend by The Nikkei, a conservative business daily, and the TV Tokyo Corp. A poll of that size would normally have about a 3 percent margin of error.

The result marked a two-percentage-point drop for the Cabinet. Sixty-five percent of the respondents said they did not support the Cabinet.

Kan took office just over a year ago. He is Japan's fifth leader in four years.

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.

Morocco film festival pays tribute to 'Arab Spring'

Not only did Arab uprisings bring about changes in politics, but they triggered a cinema revolution, which was the focus of a recent Casablanca event.

By Naoufel Cherkaoui for Magharebia in Casablanca – 26/06/11

For five days, Moroccan and foreign cinema fans enjoyed an inspiring showcase of movies devoted to the 'Arab Spring'.

The sixth round of the International Short and Documentary Film Festival in Casablanca, which ended on Sunday (June 19th), featured twenty films from Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon and Europe.

"We did not want the current edition of the festival, which coincides with Arab popular upheavals, to pass without dedicating seminars to the topic, at a time when there are movies that inspire a revolution, such as 'Heya Fawda' (Chaos)," event director Mohamed El Mouchtary told Magharebia.

"There is no doubt that the seventh art was influenced by the revolutions, especially real-life cinema that portrays the true image of our societies," he added.

Said Belli, a participating Moroccan director, told Magharebia: "The impact of revolutions on cinema is inevitable, as the latter portrays aspects of the reality we live in. I believe cinema will take a different route in Arab countries, whereby it will portray people's suffering more accurately. It is normal for the cinema to be influenced by what is taking place in Arab countries."

For his part, Egyptian film-maker Samir Seif said that Arab uprisings would "serve to expand the extent of the freedom of expression in cinema, as those revolutions set people free, launch numerous trends and promote the freedom of expression".

"Naturally, it will reflect on the future films," he added. "Additionally, the values upheld by the revolutions, such as justice, citizenship and progress, will impact the new movies yet to be released."

Cinema is not only influenced by the current developments, Seif said; it can also shape the course of events. "It indirectly raises people's awareness and their sense of injustice. It is the job of art to contribute to people's awareness of what is going on around them."

"There must be a drama revolution alongside the people's revolution, with minimum censorship and maximum freedom of expression," Lebanese director Seba Rifai told Magharebia. "Naturally, newly-released movies are bound to be better than the previous ones. Censorship used to pressure film-makers. There was not much scope for creativity. Makers of the seventh art could not express everything they wished for in their movies."

Najib Kettani, who heads Organization Maroc Afrique, underlined that spotlighting the relationship between cinema and uprisings "reflects the interest of citizens of the Arab region in general, and the Maghreb, in particular, who want to live and enjoy stability and development in a democratic climate".

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/06/26/feature-01.

Taliban downplay Obama's decision on troops drawdown, call for complete withdrawal

KABUL, June 23 (Xinhua)-- Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led troops in Afghanistan on Thursday downplayed U.S. President Barack Obama's troops withdraw announcement as a trick to deceive public opinion and called for the complete pull out of foreign forces, a Taliban statement said.

"Obama and his war mongers want to deceive their nation and with this announcement, while in reality, they have no respect for their nation's demands of waiting to bring this war and occupation to an end nor do they want to fulfill their promise," the statement sent to media added.

In the statement written in Pashtu language, spoken largely among the Taliban fighters, and English, the Taliban outfit vowed to continue armed struggle till the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama announced in Washington Wednesday night that 10,000 U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan by the end of this year and another 23,000 will come back home by September 2012.

"Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the name of Taliban ousted regime) once again wants to make it clear that the solution for the Afghan crisis lies in the full withdrawal of all foreign troops immediately and until this does not happen, our armed struggle will increase from day to day," the statement emphasized.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-06/23/c_13946127.htm.

Qatar launches campaign to keep Ramadan food prices from rising

Qatar's Consumer Protection Department adds 100 commodities to list of items at reduced prices during Ramadan.

By Habib Toumi
June 22, 2011

Manama: Qatar's Consumer Protection Department (CPD) said that it had added 100 commodities to the list of food and non-food items available at reduced prices during Ramadan.

The inclusion boosts the number of commodities under a price freeze to 267, up from 156 in 2010.

The reduced prices will come into force on July 15, two weeks ahead of Ramadan, expected to start on August 1, and will continue until the end of the fasting month, expected on August 29, Qatari daily The Peninsula reported on Wednesday.

Ramadan, the sacred month for Muslims during which they abstain from eating, drinking and sensual pleasures from sunrise until sunset, is based on the lunar calendar.

The full price list is expected to be issued next week and retailers are not permitted to sell the commodities at prices higher than those fixed by the CPD.

Major food items included in the list are edible oil, floor, fish and poultry products, milk, frozen vegetables, pastries and juices. Non-food items include foil paper, tissue paper and several hygiene products.

However, the daily said that it was not clear whether the reduced prices would apply to wheat and sugar, two items that were included in last year's price freeze. Prices of both the commodities, especially sugar had shot up manifold over the past year.

Fruits and vegetables are also not likely to be included in the freeze, despite repeated calls from the public to control their prices during Ramadan.

Wholesalers have been asked to release sufficient stocks of the commodities to the market for the benefit of customers.

Last year, there had been complaints about some traders trying to cut supply to avoid losses arising from the price freeze.

Shaikh Jassim Bin Jabor Al Thani, CPD director, said the department would launch intensive inspections before and during Ramadan to ensure that all traders abide by the price list.

Consumers have been urged to report any violations of the rule to the Department. He said there was a plan, in collaboration with all the municipalities to distribute the price list to the public, ahead of Ramadan.

Shaikh Jassim said the CPD had tied up with 14 major retail outlets to make the Ramadan campaign a success.

The department has also entered into an agreement with Qatar Meat and Livestock Company- Mawashi- to import 20,000 Jordanian sheep ahead of Ramadan, apparently to address the continuing shortage of Syrian sheep in the country.

Source: Gulf News.
Link: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/qatar-launches-campaign-to-keep-ramadan-food-prices-from-rising-1.825112.

Hamas: Rafah opening will not clear Israel of responsibility

Sunday 19/06/2011

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The opening of the Rafah crossing should "improve relations with our brothers in Egypt," Hamas politburo Osama Hamdan told Ma'an on Thursday.

Speaking with Ma'an radio, the official said that regardless of the improvements made to life in the coastal enclave via the Rafah terminal, "we do not want to clear the occupation of its responsibility towards Gaza."

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=397991.

New Rafah travel mechanisms from next week

Friday 24/06/2011

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- New travel mechanisms will be implemented at the Rafah crossing at the start of the week, Gaza Cabinet head Mohammad A'zqul said Thursday.

The Ministerial Council secretary did not elaborate on the new procedures approved by the government in Gaza, but said that they would give priority to patients seeking treatment abroad, students enrolled at universities abroad, residents with passports of residency status in foreign countries and emergency travelers.

The official announced the establishment of an internal monitoring committee to regulate the operations of the terminal on Gaza's southern border, the sole source of passage abroad for Gaza's 1.6 million inhabitants.

While the terminal was opened by Egyptian authorities on May 28 for visa-free passage of travelers, bar males between 18 and 40 and up to 5,000 individuals specified on a blacklist, Egypt has set a cap of around 300 to 400 travelers per day. A registration process to the Gaza Ministry of Interior has been overwhelmed by applicants and had been closed temporarily.

A'zqul visited the terminal on Thursday and noted "the state of overcrowding, waiting and suffering of Palestinians at the crossing amidst limited numbers of travelers who can pass through while the number of travelers is increasing."

He listened to complaints and demand of the travelers, A'zqul said, and promised to work with the crossing administration to resolve these issues.

A'zqul said the Egyptian authorities have a responsibility to Palestinians in Gaza, and he hoped they would continue to work to end the closure on the coastal strip by helping the crossing to function.

Shortly after the terminal was opened, Egyptian and Gaza authorities clashed over coordination and travel mechanisms, causing a temporary re-closure, before the sides agreed to limit travelers and other mechanisms.

The border had remained largely shut since June 2006 when Israel imposed a tight blockade on Gaza after militants snatched Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still being held.

The opening of the terminal, more than three months after former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned following 18 days of massive street protests against his rule, was warmly welcomed in the coastal strip and the Egyptian street, though Israel strongly criticized the move.

Rafah is Gaza's only border crossing not controlled by Israel.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=399319.