11 militant Sunnis hanged in south-eastern Iran

Mon, 20 Dec 2010

Tehran - Eleven members of the Sunni Muslim militant group Jundollah were hanged Monday in Iran's south-eastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, the Khabar news network reported.

The inmates were executed at a prison in the provincial capital, Zahedan, for crimes committed in the province over recent years, Khabar said.

Sistan-Baluchistan province, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, has been a target of terrorist attacks in the past, mainly by Jundollah, which claims to be fighting for the rights of Iran's Sunni minority.

The group claimed responsibility for last week's suicide bombing at a mosque in Chabahar, a coastal city in the province. It killed 39 people and injured dozens.

The government also accused Jundollah of involvement in drug-trafficking, kidnapping and other bombings in Sistan-Baluchistan and charged Pakistani and Western intelligence services of supporting the group.

Tehran accused the organization of sowing discord between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.

Jundollah leader Abdolmalek Rigi was hanged in June in Evin prison in Tehran. Since then, Jundollah has carried out what it described as revenge acts and killed several military officials and civilians.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358965,sunnis-hanged-south-eastern-iran.html.

Wintry weather continues to hold Europe in its grasp

Mon, 20 Dec 2010

Berlin - An ongoing pre-Christmas blast of winter weather continued to grind transportation to a halt across much of Europe Monday, with travelers stranded from London to Prague.

Airports - some of which have seen passengers camping out for several nights - saw some of the biggest disruptions.

A limited schedule of arrivals and departures resumed at London's Heathrow airport early Monday. Nonetheless, hundreds of passengers spent a second night stranded at Heathrow airport, the busiest in the world, which has been virtually shut to traffic since Saturday.

Heathrow is running a "limited schedule of arrivals and departures" from 0600 GMT, a spokeswoman said, adding that disruption was expected for days to come.

Singer Lily Allen was among those caught up in the delays at Heathrow, writing on Twitter: "Terminal 3 carnage. Apparently our flight is going today. Lots of tinfoil blankets all over the place. Departures is a ghost town."

Gatwick airport was open Monday with operations "returning to normal," a spokesman said. However, passengers were warned to contact their airline before traveling as delays and cancellations were set to continue.

Snow and ice also led to further cancellations at Germany's Frankfurt Airport, with 300 flights canceled Monday. A spokeswoman said the situation would not return to normal if it continued to snow throughout the day.

At Hamburg airport, in the north of the country, Lufthansa canceled all flights to Frankfurt. Some flights to London and Paris were also forced to cancel due to weather at those airports.

Paris' Orly airport was set to remain partially closed throughout the morning as it, too, was snowed under.

However, Brussels' Charleroi airport reported resumption of normal operations after being shut down on Sunday.

Eurostar, the railway link between London, Paris and Brussels, was also affected, with delays of up to 90 minutes in departures from London's St Pancras station, a spokesman said.

Eurostar said it would run an emergency timetable this week. A spokesman urged passengers not to travel unless it was absolutely necessary, with refunds or rescheduled tickets available to those who could postpone their journey.

Speed restrictions on Eurostar services are also adding up to two hours to journey times.

The weather also disrupted road and rail traffic across the continent. French lorries were banned from the roads, as were those in Belgium's south. Sweden and Finland reported difficult road conditions.

Train service was disrupted in southern Sweden, with 100 out of 350 scheduled commuter trains canceled to allow crews time to clear train switches.

Ten regional lines in the Czech Republic, mostly near mountain or border regions, were also closed, as were several roads.

And in Finland, Helsinki's snow cover reached a level of 67 centimeters, coming up on the 1915 record of 71 centimeters.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358971,continues-hold-europe-grasp.html.

Chinese leaders hail success of moon mission

Mon, 20 Dec 2010

Beijing - Chinese leaders on Monday celebrated the success of the Chang'e-2 lunar satellite mission, saying it would boost the nation's economic and technological development.

The second probe in China's lunar exploration program had "made breakthroughs in a series of core and key technologies", state media quoted President Hu Jintao as saying at a ceremony in Beijing.

The lunar program reflected a "strategic decision based on China's goal of building an innovation-driven nation and achieving rapid economic development," Hu said.

Chang'e-2 was launched on October 1 to prepare for the country's first unmanned moon landing scheduled for 2013.

It entered its long-term lunar orbit on November 3 and had started recording images of the moon's Sinus Iridum, or Bay of Rainbows, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Hu, Premier Wen Jiabao and the other seven members of the Communist Party's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee attended Monday's ceremony, the agency said.

The main task of the probe's six-month mission is to test key technologies and collect data for future lunar landings, including high-resolution photos of the moon's surface.

Chang'e-1, China's first lunar probe, was launched in October 2007 and stayed in orbit for 16 months.

The satellites are named after a Chinese moon goddess.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358973,hail-success-moon-mission.html.

Cable says Egypt's Mubarak turned down nukes after Soviet collapse

Mon, 20 Dec 2010

Cairo - A US government cable released by WikiLeaks said an Egyptian ambassador claimed President Hosny Mubarak refused to buy black market nuclear weapons following the collapse of the Soviet Union, reports said Monday.

The information was revealed by Egypt's ambassador to the United Nations, Maged Abdelaziz, to the top US nuclear arms control negotiator, Rose Gottemoeller, in May 2009.

"In an apparent attempt to portray Egypt as a responsible member of the international community, Abdelaziz claimed that Egypt had been offered nuclear scientists, materials and even weapons following the collapse of the Soviet Union," the cable, attributed to associates of Gottemoeller, said.

"But Egypt had refused all such offers," the cable said.

It was unclear from the cable who had allegedly made the offer to Egypt. The cable said Gottemoeller asked Abdelaziz how he knew of it, to which he replied that "he was in Moscow at that time and had direct personal knowledge."

Egypt's official stance seeks a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East, with Cairo criticizing both Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal and Iran's nuclear program.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358977,turned-nukes-soviet-collapse.html.

Jordan welcomes lifting of UN sanctions on Iraq

Sun, 19 Dec 2010

Amman - The Jordanian government on Sunday welcomed the decision by the UN Security Council to lift a major part of the 19- year-old sanctions on neighboring Iraq, as a "constructive" step.

"This constructive and important measure on the part of the UN Security Council should represent an additional incentive for all political forces in Iraq to work out comprehensive national reconciliation and step up the formation of an Iraqi government that involves all main political blocs," Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said in a statement.

The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to lift its sanctions on Iraqi weaponry and civilian nuclear power. It also decided to return control of Iraq's oil and natural gas revenue to the government next summer and to settle all remaining claims relating to the controversial oil-for-food program.

"This decision reflects a clear recognition by the world community that Iraq has restored its important role in the regional and international security and stability," Judeh said.

He also expressed hope that the UN step would "prevent any meddling in internal affairs of Iraq and help safeguard its political independence and sovereignty over its national soil".

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358902,lifting-un-sanctions-iraq.html.

Mubarak calls for unity, hails economic reform in Egypt - Summary

Sun, 19 Dec 2010

Cairo - Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak warned Sunday against internal and foreign threats to national unity while called on the parliament to adhere to the country's reform agenda to ensure further economic growth.

Mubarak, addressing the newly-elected parliament, accused unnamed groups of attempting to instigate sectarian tension in Egypt.

"We still face threats of extremism and terrorism, endeavors to interfere in our affairs and attempts targeting Muslim-Coptic unity or, other times, schemes to drive a wedge between us and our brothers in the Nile Basin countries," Mubarak said.

Last month, violence erupted after authorities ceased construction on a church in Cairo, citing a lack of required permits, reports said. Earlier this year a shooting killed eight Christians and a Muslim policeman guarding a church in southern Egypt, on the eve of Coptic Christmas, celebrated on January 7.

Tensions exist between the country's Christian and Muslim populations, though such instances take place on rare occasions.

Egypt's relations with Nile basin countries soured as the African states objected to a 1929 agreement, which organizes the proportion of Nile water to each country, and gives Egypt and Sudan the lion's share of water.

"The way we handle our foreign policy and national security issues is based on honesty and clarity. What we say in public is the same as we say behind closed doors," Mubarak said, in reference to the leaked US cables by WikiLeaks.

One cable revealed the country's fears that if Sudan is divided into two states, it might threaten Egypt's access to the River Nile. Another said that Mubarak is likely to seek re-election next year and will "inevitably" win.

The country faces a presidential election in 2011, with it still unclear if Mubarak, now 82, will run again. The opposition and some observers believe he is grooming his son, Gamal, for the job.

Despite the opposition's constant calls against Gamal, he seems to be supported by many, as his statements reveal he would maintain the same liberal economic policy currently taken by the government.

Mubarak also announced the country aims to achieve an average annual growth rate of eight per cent over the coming five years as it adheres to its business-friendly reform plan.

"We have to complete, and adhere to, our reform agenda that has strengthened our economy, pushing it for high growth rates and helped us overcome two consecutive global crises with our resources," the president said.

More industrial and commercial zones will be established, as well as others for agribusiness, he added, "to raise our productivity, exports and ability to compete and push our average growth rates to eight per cent during the next five years."

Egypt witnessed a 5-per-cent growth in the last fiscal year, yet the government seeks to get back to the 7-per-cent growth it had seen before the crisis hit.

"Major economies still suffer from repercussions of the global economic recession," Mubarak said. "Our economy stood in front of these repercussions and we did not reach out for any help."

The government have pushed through business-friendly reforms since 2004, which pushed for several years of rapid economic growth until the rate slowed to 4.7 per cent in the 2008-09 fiscal year.

The economy was was hurt by declines in several sectors including tourism, exports, Suez Canal traffic and expatriate revenues.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358896,reform-egypt-summary.html.

Lukashenko wins Belarus vote, mass protests by opposition - Summary

Sun, 19 Dec 2010

Minsk - Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko won re- election Sunday, exit polls showed, as more than 20,000 opposition activists defied a government ban and took the streets in protest.

The demonstrators gathered in central Minsk, waving red-and-white flags to protest Lukashenko's election victory. Some chanted "Long live Belarus!" and "Tell the truth!"

"You can beat us, but you can't frighten us!" said Andrei Dmitriev, an opposition leader.

Police presence was heavy, with troops in riot gear blocking the crowd's movement toward nearby government buildings. Police orders to disperse met demonstrator jeers.

Lukashenko had threatened police action against anyone who defied a ban on rallies.

The authoritarian leader won re-election with between 72 and 82 per cent of the popular vote, according to exit polls. The victory was achieved by massive vote fraud, according to Lukashenko opponents.

The first violent clash between police and demonstrators took place shortly after polls closed, when riot police using clubs and percussion grenades assaulted a group of opposition activists walking toward Minsk's central Oktober Square.

The group, led by opposition candidate Vladimir Nekljaew was thrown into snow and arrested, the Belapan news agency reported.

Nekljaew was knocked unconscious for some seven minutes, and was later hospitalized with a concussion, according to news reports.

Earlier Sunday, Lukashenko told Belapan that he would not hesitate to order police to break up "illegal" public gatherings.

"What awaits supporters of the protest demonstrations? Read our laws," Lukashenko said. "Everything will be as per our laws - and that goes for security as well. There is not going to be any demonstration."

Voting during the day appeared to run smoothly, and the Central Elections Committee reported heavy turnout at 84 per cent.

But reports of government intimidation and even attacks against opposition activists were widespread.

Members of the observation group For Fair Elections alleged that authorities on Sunday cut off office and telephone access in retaliation for giving interviews to Western media.

"Our phones just stopped working after we talked with Voice of America," said Sergei Kaliakin, a spokesman for the group.

More than 1,000 international observers led by a 490-member delegation from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were in Belarus to monitor the vote. More than 15,000 Belorussian vote monitors were on hand as well.

Lukashenko, a former collective farm boss, had vowed he would defeat his nine challengers without tampering with the electoral process.

But his critics accused him of ordering police to arrest opposition activists and forcing state-controlled media to support him.

"If they (Belarus' opposition) have been complaining about falsification for six months prior to the election, it means they already knew they would lose," Lukashenko said in comments to Interfax.

Police in the capital Minsk and outlying cities detained more than a dozen opposition activists on the eve of the election and as many as a score more on Sunday, according to independent news reports.

Traffic police were checking vehicles traveling to Minsk from outlying regions, and barring some travelers police believed to be en route to the planned Oktober Square rally.

Vitaliy Rymashevskiy, a campaign worker for opposition candidate Yuriy Klimovich, said police in the city of Gomel arrested him and charged him with swearing in public. He denied the allegation, claiming his detention was part of a government intimidation campaign, according to a Belapan report.

Pro-democracy groups have alleged that Lukashenko's government in the run-up to voting day pushed early ballot casting, which took place outside the observation of monitors, with the intention of falsifying the Sunday ballot counts.

Almost one in four Belorussians had cast early ballots before election day, according to data compiled by the Central Election Commission.

Lukashenko rejected possible international criticism of the election's legitimacy.

"Belarus is not going down on her knees before anyone," he said, responding to a reporter's question about his possible fears of international criticism about the vote. "It is for us to run our election."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358911,protests-opposition-summary.html.