Gbagbo moves to eject peacekeepers

Incumbent Cote d'Ivoire President tells UN peacekeepers to leave the country after 'interference' in internal affairs.

18 Dec 2010

The government of Cote d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo has told the United Nations and French peacekeeping missions to leave the country, escalating tensions after last month's disputed presidential polls.

"The government demands the departure of the UNOCI [United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire] and LICORNE [The French military's 'Operation Unicorn'] forces in Ivory Coast and is opposed to any renewal of their mandate," said spokesperson Jacqueline Oble, reading a statement on state television on Saturday.

"UNOCI has interfered seriously in the internal affairs of Ivory Coast," she added.

Earlier on Saturday, masked men in military uniforms opened fire on a UN base, after following guards back from a patrol, according to a UN statement. There were no casualties after the attack, in which six armed men in a civilian vehicle shot at the patrol as it entered the UN compound.

The men continued firing along the wall of the compound, and UN guards returned fire, according to the statement.

The UN has 10,000 soldiers and police in the country following the 2002-03 civil war, and former colonial power France's LICORNE force supports the UN mission in the country.

International pressure mounts

The move to eject UN and French peacekeepers comes just a day after Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga called on African nations to oust Gbagbo by force if necessary.

"Mr Gbagbo must be forced even if it means using military means to get rid of him because now he is just relying on military power, not the people's power, to intimidate the people," Odinga told a news conference in Nairobi on Friday.

"The African Union should develop teeth."

Cote d'Ivoire was thrown into crisis after its November 28 presidential runoff, with both candidates claiming victory. Alassane Ouattara has been recognized by the international community as the winner and has formed a parallel government holed up in an Abidjan hotel.

France has issued a weekend deadline for Gbagbo to surrender his presidential post or face international sanctions and Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has called on the incumbent to step aside for Ouattara.

The United States has said it is ready to impose travel sanctions on Gbagbo, his inner circle and their families within days, while at least one African nation is said to have offered him exile.

"There is at least one African offer of a soft landing, but it is up to him to take it," William Fitzgerald, the state department official in charge of West African affairs, told the Reuters news agency in an interview.

'Little effect'

But Al Jazeera's Ama Boateng, reporting from Abidjan, said that Gbagbo has "heard these threats before".

"We've heard them from the African Union, we've heard them from the United Nations, we've heard them from pretty much every international voice," Boateng said. "And so far, that has had very, very little effect."

A spokesman for Gbagbo told the Reuters news agency that the presidential claimant would not step down after being handed the runoff victory after the constitutional council annulled hundreds of thousands of votes in pro-Ouattara areas.

"President Gbagbo is going nowhere. He was elected for five years and he will only leave power in 2015," Alain Toussaint said in London.

"France, the United States, the EU want to carry out a plot, a constitutional coup d'etat, and we say 'No' ... we can't allow foreign governments to interfere in our affairs."

The election has been followed by violent protests in Abidjan and other cities. Ouattara's camp said 30 people died in clashes on Thursday while Gbagbo's spokeswoman said 20 died, including 10 police officers killed by protesters.

Source: al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/12/20101218143415519240.html.

Kashmir University to set up advanced IT center

2010-12-18

The University of Kashmir has decided to establish an advanced IT center to promote information technology in Jammu and Kashmir.

The university is all set to establish an advanced center for IT in the campus, a fundamental step for ensuring development of the software industry and bringing a boom in employment for students.

Students have appreciated the steps taken by the authorities, and hope that the course generates employment.

"If a student passes out from here, they are simply an IT graduate but because of these courses, we have a specialization in a particular field because of which we have different qualities from a simple graduate," said Nadia, an IT student.

"We get jobs in different fields and various companies. This course generates employment and we get to work as a specialized person," she added.

The university authorities plan to develop infrastructure for this course.

"For IT industry, there should be separate infrastructure. We have identified five areas in which we are building infrastructure in a period of two-three years so that the IT professionals, who come out of the college, their employment is ensured," said Merajud Din Dar, Director of Information Technology and Supports System at Kashmir University.

The Center would impart training to IT professionals to ensure that the software industry in the region develops at a rapid pace.

Source: Sify.
Link: http://www.sify.com/news/kashmir-university-to-set-up-advanced-it-centre-news-national-kmsuacfijcb.html.

Memorial for victims of Mavi Marmara erected in Spain

The monument, designed by sculptors Roxanne Robinson and Arevalo Beteta, was erected at the Palestine Park in Leganes near Madrid

Saturday, 18 December 2010

A monument was unveiled in the Spanish capital Madrid to commemorate nine Turkish activists killed by Israeli commandos in the May 31 raid on Gaza-Bound aid ship Mavi Marmara.

The monument, designed by sculptors Roxanne Robinson and Arevalo Beteta, was erected at the Palestine Park in Leganes near Madrid at the initiatives of three Spanish activists supported by several non-governmental organizations.

Spanish activists plan to send two aid ships to Gaza this spring.

Turkish Ambassador to Spain Ender Arat, Palestinian Ambassador to Spain Moussa Odeh, Mayor of Leganes Rafael Gomez Montaya and representatives from Turkish humanitarian aid organization IHH attended a ceremony held to unveil the monument on Friday.

The monument features a child launching the Mavi Marmara ship loaded with humanitarian aid materials in front of a tumbledown wall which depicts Palestine.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=67550.

Education key to Jordan nuclear future - experts

By Taylor Luck

AMMAN - Despite the talk of technology, uranium and finances, the Kingdom’s nuclear power program hinges on one area, according to experts: education.

With the average nuclear reactor requiring a staff of 700, man- and woman power will be crucial to the country’s quest to harness atomic energy and end its reliance on energy imports, nuclear engineering education is needed officials said.

If the country is to proceed with its eventual goal of three reactors to transform the Kingdom into an electricity exporter, 2,100 specialized and experienced staff are required, according to officials.

“The greatest challenge we will face in our efforts to introduce nuclear power will be having a strong cadre of nuclear engineers and experts,” Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Commissioner for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Ned Xoubi said during a nuclear power public information seminar on Wednesday.

The Kingdom is just part of a wider regional lack of nuclear engineers, with the Arab Atomic Energy Agency estimating that hundreds of nuclear engineers in the region left to work as civil and electrical engineers following the decline in demand for nuclear power in the 1980s and 1990s.

In order to address the shortfall in nuclear engineers, the JAEC assisted in the establishment of a nuclear engineering department at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in 2007.

According to Salaheddin Malkawi, director of the JUST nuclear engineering department, university administration has set the bar high; students must attain a minimum Tawjihi (General Secondary Certificate Examination) score of 95 to be considered for admission.

Even with the strict standards, the faculty has ballooned from an initial class of 18 to 145, he said.

A key to the university’s department is a 5-megawatt nuclear research reactor, currently being constructed by a South Korean consortium, which will be the focal point of a nuclear center at JUST.

The center is also to include a sub critical assembly, radioisotope production facility, education and training, and a fuel fabrication plant, according to Xoubi, who also serves as research reactor project manager.

In the meantime, JUST has sent students abroad to Russia and China thanks to scholarships extended by the host countries and have utilized a virtual reactor linking Jordanian students with North Carolina State University’s 1MW PULSTAR research reactor.

“The virtual experience has become very important; the students feel that they are in the reactor room,” Malkawi told The Jordan Times.

‘On track to a Jordanian program’

Kenneth Peddicord, director of the Nuclear Power Institute and professor at the Texas A&M Department of Nuclear Engineering, said the country is “on the right timeline” to have Jordanian staff in place ahead of the reactor.

“To launch a nuclear engineering program and have 140 students in three years, this is an incredible accomplishment,” he stressed, highlighting the importance of experienced engineers to man various managerial aspects of the program.

As nuclear engineers account for some 5 per cent of the average reactor staff, Peddicord stressed that the next task for the country is preparing future cadres of mechanical, environmental and electrical engineers.

“You have to ensure you have staff with diverse backgrounds in order to fully run a plant,” he said.

In order to meet the challenge, JUST is to introduce an MA program in project management in 2011, Malkawi said, adding that plans are in place for an MA in nuclear safety and regulation.

Another center of excellence, a joint venture comprising JAEC, the University of Jordan, Balqaa Applied University, German-Jordanian University, and the ministries of labor, public sector reform and higher education, will be established.

The center is to develop programs to prepare staff for nuclear and mega-projects not provided by existing educational institutions, Malkawi said, adding that the center will likely utilize community colleges and focus on virtual learning, such as JUST’s reactor link with the North Carolina State University.

The push for nuclear education could transform the country into a destination for countries such as the UAE, which are relying heavily on international staff to man its nuclear power program.

Even established nuclear states such as the US may send students to Jordan to learn about the field and a new culture, according Peddicord.

“Nuclear energy is increasingly international and our students need to learn about work in other areas. We would be very interested to enable students to spend time in Jordan,” Peddicord said.

With the focus on localizing the Jordanian nuclear program, energy officials are cautious when projecting a completely nationalized staff. Reaching a point where Jordanians are involved in every aspect of a nuclear power plant from top to bottom will likely take an entire generation, according to Xoubi.

Hans-Holger Rogner, section head of the IAEA planning and economic studies, said a generation is a fair assessment, pointing out that China relied on international operators before developing its own nuclear industry.

“When you decide to go for nuclear power, it’s not a passing fancy, it is a 100-year commitment,” he said.

The country’s nuclear power program entails the establishment of a 1,000-megawatt Generation III reactor within the next decade, with tentative plans for a second reactor devoted to water desalination some two years later.

17 December 2010

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://jordantimes.com/?news=32723.

Jordan denounces Brotherhood's fatwa against Afghan role

Suha Philip Ma'ayeh
Dec 18, 2010

AMMAN // Jordan's government body for issuing religious edicts has moved to reaffirm its authority and denounced a fatwa from the Muslim Brotherhood which criticized the kingdom's role in assisting US and Nato troops in Afghanistan.

The department of Ifta issued a statement saying it was the only body in the country authorized to issue fatwas after the Brotherhood's offshoot and the country's main opposition, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), on Sunday banned Muslims from joining non-Muslims in their military presence in Afghanistan. The Jordanian government described the fatwa as "offensive".

"We are the only party to issue edicts on public matters. Nobody asked us to issue a fatwa," the Ifta department said on Thursday.

Jordan, a US ally, has for years maintained silence over its role in Afghanistan. But last year the extent of its involvement was revealed when one of its security agents was killed in a suicide bombing that also killed seven CIA operatives in a military base in Afghanistan.

The Ifta department highlighted the Jordanian army's role in providing help and medical aid in disaster and war-torn areas. It said "no party has the right to question that role".

The government has acknowledged that Jordan operates a field hospital in Afghanistan, but it remains unclear how many Jordanian troops are stationed there.

The fatwa, posted on the IAF's website, said: "Joining the allied forces in Afghanistan and other countries is considered assisting non-Muslims in their aggression against Muslims. This is haram and a [form of] oppression."

The fatwa considered "those who support the Americans and the allied forces in fighting the Muslims, non-Muslims".

The edict seemed to have struck a nerve because it came from IAF religious scholars, said Fouad Hussein, an independent analyst specializing in Islamic movements, and "therefore, it gives it a religious flavor rather than a political one".

It is also came amid growing tensions between the Islamists and the government after the IAF boycotted last month's parliamentary elections to protest against a new electoral law they said was designed to deprive them of votes. They also complained about a gradual loss of democratic gains and civil rights.

"It seems the IAF's fatwa was intended to provoke the government," Mr Hussein said.

Last week, Ayman Safadi, the deputy prime minister and the government's spokesman, defended the army's role in Afghanistan.

"Jordan is proud of the role played by the armed forces and all other security agencies to help our brothers and stand by them, whether in Gaza or Afghanistan or anywhere else in the Arab and Muslim worlds," the state-run Petra News agency quoted him as saying last week.

"Jordan will continue to help and stand by all brothers, including the Afghan people, to surmount challenges, and will do [the] utmost to protect Jordan's security and stability from anyone and anywhere."

Source: The National.
Link: http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/jordan-denounces-brotherhoods-fatwa-against-afghan-role.

Spain adds to its high-speed rail network

Sat, 18 Dec 2010

Madrid - Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia on Saturday inaugurated a new line in the country's high-speed rail network, which is being billed as the most advanced in Europe.

The royal couple took the high-speed AVE train from Madrid to Valencia on the eastern Mediterranean coast. Other passengers on board included Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Infrastructure Minister Jose Blanco.

On Wednesday, Crown Prince Felipe had inaugurated another stretch of the same line, which branches off to Albacete in the south-east.

Traveling at up to 330 kilometers an hour, the AVE will cover the 391-kilometer route between Madrid and Valencia in just 95 minutes, more than twice as fast as earlier trains.

More than 3.5 million people are expected to travel annually on the new line, according to the rail company Renfe.

Running 15 times daily between Madrid and Valencia in both directions, the AVE is expected to reduce flight traffic on the route by 55 per cent, car traffic by 25 per cent and bus traffic by 5 per cent.

The construction of the new high-speed rail line cost 6.6 billion euros (8.6 billion dollars).

Spain began developing its high-speed rail network in 1992 with the inauguration of a line linking Madrid with Seville. The AVE now travels also other cities such as Malaga, Toledo or Valladolid.

The line linking Madrid with Barcelona, which was opened in 2008, is due to be extended to the French side of the border by 2012. The AVE network currently covers 2,200 kilometers.

The network features three types of trains: a new version of the French TGV, another of the German ICE-3 as well as a Spanish-Canadian train known as El Pato (The Duck).

"Spain has surpassed even former pioneers such as France and Japan," Blanco says. The government says Spain is now the world leader in high-speed trains, preceded only by China.

The AVE network is seen as reviving poorer regions, boosting technological exports and improving Spain's transport connections with the rest of Europe.

Critics, however, say not all the AVE lines are profitable, and that Spain is neglecting the potential offered by traditional trains.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358767,adds-high-speed-rail-network.html.

قبرص وإسرائيل ترسمان الحدود البحرية

18/12/2010 م

لاستغلال الاحتياطيات الغازية والنفطية
قبرص وإسرائيل ترسمان الحدود البحرية

وقعت إسرائيل وقبرص أمس الجمعة على اتفاق يرسم الحدود البحرية في شرق البحر المتوسط حيث تم اكتشاف احتياطيات ضخمة من النفط والغاز الطبيعي.

وتحدد الاتفاقية -التي وقعها في نيقوسيا كل من وزير الخارجية القبرصي ماركوس كبريانو ووزير البنى التحتية الإسرائيلي عوزي لانداو- مناطق الاستغلال الاقتصادي للبلدين.

وتتمتع شركة نوبل إنرجي، ومقرها تكساس، بحقوق استغلال النفط والغاز في حقل بحري قبرصي وفي حقل قريب على الجانب الإسرائيلي من الحدود البحرية.

ووفق مصدر دبلوماسي فإن هذه "الاتفاقية توفر بصورة أساسية لها شبكة أمان قانوني بأن حقوقها محفوظة من الناحية القانونية".

ووقعت قبرص اتفاقين مماثلين لترسيم حدودها البحرية مع كل من لبنان ومصر، لكن البرلمان اللبناني لم يصادق بعد على الاتفاق.

المصدر: الجزيرة.
الرابط: http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/EXERES/FBADD596-6F1C-4F4A-9461-3CEB40936573.htm.