Daily News World

Two-state solution only serves Israeli interests

2009-08-22T14:35:00.000+04:00

A prominent leader of the Islamic Jihad movement Mohammed al-Hindi says a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will only serve Tel Aviv's interests.

He said that the solution aims at forcing the Palestinians to abandon 80 percent of their historic land in order to establish a demilitarized non-sovereign state in the West Bank and Gaza.

The senior Palestinian leader meanwhile described the move as part of previous 'attempts to wreck the Palestinian cause'. He stated that such endeavors began with the Oslo Accords on August 20, 1993 and continued with the US-sponsored Middle East peace summit held in Annapolis as well as the Road Map to Peace Plan.

He added that the two-state solution also went against the Palestinian refugees' right of return and would mean that they would have to abandon their legitimate rights in al-Quds.

Article 11 of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 -- passed on December 11, 1948 near the end of the Arab-Israeli War -- calls for the Palestinians right of return to their homeland, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return.

It is estimated that about 4 million Palestinians living in refugee communities scattered mainly in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon could claim a right of return under this article.

Al-Hindi went on to underscore the soaring threats to the al-Aqsa Mosque especially from far-right Zionist groups which seek to harm the holy site in any way. He called upon Muslims, Arabs as well as all Palestinians to rescue and support the Mosque.

The senior member of the Islamic Jihad group urged the acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas to stop negotiations and coordination with Israel.

UK denies Megrahi's release linked to trade ties

2009-08-22T14:24:00.000+04:00

Britain denies allegations that the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was linked to any trade deals with Libya.

"No deal has been made between the UK government and Libya in relation to Megrahi and any commercial interests in the country," a Foreign Office spokesman quoting Foreign Secretary David Miliband told AFP on Friday, after the interview by the Libyan leader's son on Thursday night.

"All decisions relating to Megrahi's case have been exclusively for Scottish ministers, the Crown Office in Scotland and the Scottish judicial authorities", he said.

He added that 57-year-old Megrahi was released only on the grounds of illness after doctors treating him for prostate cancer said that he had no more than three months to live.

Seif al-Islam, son of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said in an interview broadcast by the Libyan channel al-Mutawassit, that in all of Britain's commercial contracts for oil and gas with Libya, 'Megrahi was on the negotiating table'.

Even Britain's then prime minister Tony Blair raised Megrahi's case each time he visited Libya, he said. Blair visited Libya in May 2007 as prime minister, during which British energy giant BP as well as the BG Group and Shell secured substantial contracts with Libya, with BP alone signing a USD 900 million exploration deal.

Seif al-Islam added, "All British interests were linked to the release of Megrahi."

He called Megrahi's release a 'victory'. "Your liberation is a victory that we offer to all Libyans," he said in his interview.

Megrahi was the only person convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people in the air and on the ground in the Scottish town of Lockerbie.

Sweden flatly rejects Israeli request for media quiet

2009-08-22T11:53:00.000+04:00

Sweden has turned down a demand that it condemn the recent publication of an article that links Israeli soldiers to the death of Palestinian civilians with the motive of obtaining their organs.

In an article published earlier in the week, Sweden's best-selling daily Aftonbladet recounted grotesque incidents dating as far back as 1992 in which Israeli soldiers allegedly abducted Palestinian youths and returned their bodies mutilated a few days later.

The publication infuriated Israeli officials who labeled the news piece as 'blatantly racist' and full of 'vile anti-Semitic themes'.

In response to the publication, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called on his Swedish counterpart, Carl Bildt, to officially rebut the 'shocking and appalling' piece.

Tel Aviv's envoy to Sweden, Benny Dagan, was to make a similar request during a Friday meeting with the kingdom's deputy foreign minister.

Bildt, however, responded that he would not condemn the article, asserting that such a measure would be in violation of freedom of expression and counter to the Swedish constitution.

Condemnation of anti-Semitism is "the only issue on which there has ever been complete unity in the Swedish parliament", the Swedish minister wrote in a blog post on Thursday, apparently rejecting the idea that disapproving criminal conduct amounts to anti-Semitism.

The Swedish refusal to denounce the allegations against the Israeli army by the high-circulation daily may shake diplomatic ties between Tel Aviv and Stockholm.

There is media speculation that Israel might respond by canceling the Swedish foreign minister's visit to the occupied West Bank scheduled for the next 10 days.

US workplace suicides jump 28 percent

2009-08-22T11:42:00.002+04:00

A US report has found a record 28% rise in workplace suicide rates last year as the global economic meltdown continues to take its toll in the country.

According to a report by the US Labor Department, 251 people committed suicide at the workplace in 2008, amid widespread layoffs and overall belt-tightening.

That's the highest figure ever recorded in the United States for suicide attempts at the workplace.

Labor Department officials did not explain the startling rise but pointed to the economic recession as the main reason behind the death rate.

Meanwhile, a separate study by the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine has also found that over a third of US homeowners who went through foreclosures are now suffering from severe depression.

More than 30 thousand people end their own lives each year in the United States where suicide is the second highest cause of death for men aged 25 to 34.

Both Karzai and Abdullah claim victory

2009-08-22T10:55:00.001+04:00

Hamid Karzai's campaign chief says that the incumbent president has secured the outright majority in Afghanistan's presidential elections, but his main rival rejects the claim.

Din Mohammad said initial results showed the incumbent president had gotten a majority of the votes.

"Initial results show that the president has got a majority. We will not go to a second round. We have got a majority."

He emphasized that Karzai had secured the outright majority needed to avoid a run-off in October.

A spokesman for Karzai's main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, has meanwhile dismissed the remarks, saying Abdullah is leading the votes.

Abdullah the main challenger to incumbent president Hamid Karzai has issued a statement detailing about 40 incidents of alleged irregularities. Abduallh says officials have pressured people to vote for Karzai.

The claims and counter claims come as ballot papers are being counted after polling stations were closed in Afghanistan's presidential and provincial elections on late Thursday.

Meanwhile, election authorities have launched an investigation into several complaints of irregularities.

The election authority said Friday ballot counting in the country's presidential election was over. "The counting is finished for the presidential race."

The official results are expected to be released next week and turnout expected at 40 to 50 percent, according to election commission officials.

Observers, however, expect the number to be far lower. Many independent reports also suggested a slow start to voting.

The vote was held amid tight security due to threats from Taliban militants. But Afghan authorities say those threats failed to prevent people from turning up.

A number of people were killed on Thursday, including children in rocket attacks that reportedly hit the southern provinces of Kandahar, Ghazni and Helmand, the eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar and Khost, as well as in the north.

However, according to the latest official reports the Election Day saw sporadic violent incidents in which over 26 people were killed. The casualties included civilians, soldiers as well as Taliban insurgents.

The Afghan government had banned covering reports of violence during the voting.

There have been reports of militant attacks in 15 provinces.

The violence in the conflict-torn country is on the rise despite the presence of more than 100,000 US-led soldiers in Afghanistan.

UN: Yemen clashes displace100,000 people

2009-08-22T10:51:00.000+04:00

An UN agency says a recent surge in fighting between the Yemeni government and fighters has forced more than 100,000 people, many of them children, to leave their homes.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) voices "serious concern" over the impact of the escalating violence on women and children in the northwestern Saada province.

"It is estimated that over 100,000 persons have been displaced by the latest round of fighting, (and) many of them are children," Reuters quoted Aboudou Karimou Adjibade, UNICEF representative in Yemen, as saying.

The warning comes as government forces have killed 100 anti-government Houthi fighters and arrested 300 others in the province in the past few days.

The Houthis belong to the Zaydi branch of Shia Islam.

Marie Okabe, a UNICEF spokesman, also announced that the agency is trying to supply the refugees with water filters, jerry cans and hygiene kits, as well as 300,000 water purification tablets.

Alongside with UNICEF, the World Food Program (WFP) also decided to boost its food aide to 150,000 Yemenis compared with 95,000 who had received help last month.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that some 35,000 people displaced in just past two weeks as a result of the conflict in Yemen.

Fighting between Yemeni troops backed by fighter aircraft and Shia fighters has killed dozens, mostly fighters, since the government launched a wide offensive against Shia tribes earlier in the month.

Yemen's government officials accuse opposition groups of trying to reinstall a religious reign, toppled by a 1962 military coup in northern Yemen.

In addition, government officials on August 13 announced 6 conditions for halting their offensive.

These included the opposition's withdrawal from all districts of Sa'ada and mountainous sites and giving up the military hardware they had seized from the army.

Iran rejects claims of voter fraud

2009-06-13T20:04:00.000+04:00

Iran rejects claims of voter fraud
Iranian Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli says there has been no 'written complaint' about voter fraud.

Iranian Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli has declared that the 10th presidential elections were conducted in a manner that ruled out the possibility of voter fraud.

In a press conference at the Interior Ministry on Saturday, Mahsouli put the number of the total votes cast in the elections at 39,165,191, suggesting the heavy turnout to be a victory for the nation and not for a specific candidate.

The figures bring to around 85 percent the total participation in the elections. The total number of people eligible to vote had been estimated to be over 46 million.

While officially pronouncing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the winner of the presidential elections with a whopping 24,527,516 votes, Mahsouli dismissed claims that the elections were rigged.

"No violations that may have influenced the vote have been reported, and we have received no written complaint," he said in response to a question posed by an Italian reporter.

He explained that there may have been some tensions between the representatives of the presidential hopefuls but added that there is no evidence to suggest that the issues of contention have led to violations.

His remarks came after Moussavi described the official count as a 'sleight of hand' by those in charge of the crucial election.

According to the Interior Ministry, Ahmadinejad received around 62 percent of the votes while Mir-Hossein Moussavi managed to win nearly 33 percent with 13,216,411 votes.

The two other candidates -- Mohsen Rezaei and Mehdi Karroubi -- won 1.7 and 0.85 percent respectively.

In landslide victory, Ahmadinejad re-elected

2009-06-13T20:02:00.000+04:00

The final results of Iran's closely-contested 10th presidential election indicate that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has won a landslide victory.

"Of 39,165,191 votes counted (85 percent), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the election with 24,527,516 (62.63 percent)," Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli told reporters on Saturday.

Mir-Hossein Mousavi came in second with 13,216,411 votes (33.75 percent), he added.

The two were followed by Mohsen Rezaei with 678,240 votes (1.73 percent) and Mehdi Karroubi with 333,635 votes (0.85 percent), the minister said.

He put the void ballots at 409,389 (1.04 percent).

Over 46 million Iranians aged 18 and older were eligible to vote in Friday's presidential election.

Leader hails record turnout in presidential vote

2009-06-13T19:59:00.001+04:00

Leader hails record turnout in presidential vote
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution has hailed the high voter turnout in Iran, calling on the entire nation to support the president-elect in achieving his mandate.

Speaking one day after Super Friday when more than 32 million people cast their votes in the country's 10th presidential election, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei congratulated the nation on their massive turnout.

"The participation of over 80 percent of Iranians at the polls and the 24-million votes cast is a cause for true celebration and god willing this will ensure the continuation of the country's progress and the maintenance of national security," Ayatollah Khamenei said in statement.

Friday's election witnessed incumbent Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad win 24.5 million of the votes -- nearly 62 percent.

Mir-Hossein Moussavi came second with 13.2 million votes, followed by Mohsen Rezaei with more than 630 thousand votes and Mehdi Karroubi with 320 thousand votes.

"The spirit of calm presented by the nation, in the face of enemy propaganda and the nation's mass participation was such that makes it indescribable in words," the Leader added.

The president-elect is the president of the entire Iranian nation and even those who were his rivals yesterday must now support and aid him, as this is a divine test for us all, Ayatollah Khamenei said.

2009-06-12T19:10:00.000+04:00

Mystery surrounds footage of Serb war criminal

2009-06-12T18:42:00.001+04:00

Mystery surrounds footage of Serb war criminal

Bosnia locks horns with Serbia over a newly-released video footage that shows Europe's top war crimes fugitive General Ratko Mladic living at large in Belgrade.

Bosnian state TV aired the controversial footage on Wednesday, which included films of Mladic attending family occasions, dancing at weddings, singing Serbian folk songs and enjoying a skiing holiday allegedly last winter.

Mladic has been on the run since 1995 when the UN war crimes court in The Hague indicted him on genocide charges for staging the massacre of nearly 8,000 Bosnian Muslims during the civil war in former Yugoslavia (1992-1995).

Bosnia has long demanded that Mladic be brought to justice.

Officials at The Hague have reportedly launched an investigation into the footage and have promised to comment later.

Rasim Ljajic, the chairman of the Serbian National Council for Co-operation with the ICT, has denied that the footage is that of Mladic.

According to Ljajic, the release of such footage ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers was designed to mount pressure on Serbia and ruin its chances from becoming a member of the European Union.

The capture of Mladic is a condition for Serbian progress toward membership in the European Union. Pro-Western leaders in Belgrade claim they do not know Mladic's whereabouts.

Students tell of humiliation by British police

2009-06-12T18:18:00.001+04:00

Students tell of humiliation by British police
Pakistani students detained in a well-publicized April terror crackdown in northwest England say they were imprisoned with criminals charged with murder.

Tariq Rehman, apparently the first to be sent home, told reporters in brief comments at the Islamabad airport that he had suffered "mental torture" and humiliation in a British prison.

He added that his fellow detainees, who were also accused of extremism, were also treated like hardened criminals in British detention.

"Even our Korans and prayer mats were searched using dogs and we repeatedly protested at this."

"I have been arrested just because I am a Muslim and I belong to Pakistan," a visibly distressed and disappointed Tariq said.

Tariq's counsel, Amjad Malik, told the media that Pakistani authorities had cleared his client of all charges.

According to Malik, the Pakistani students were suspected of involvement in extremist activities, which he said could not be defined as "fasting, going to prayers, keeping a beard, anything, could be (termed) Islamist extremism. So we don't know really."

Twelve Pakistanis students in Britain were arrested in dramatic daytime operations across England in early April.

British Premier Gordon Brown said at the time of the arrests that the police had uncovered "a very big terrorist plot".

The arrests, however, strained relations between London and Islamabad, especially after the British police failed to produce hard evidence to back up their terror charges.

After the charges were dropped for lack of evidence, Tariq and the other students were kept in detention on the grounds that they constituted a national threat.

British authorities insisted on deporting the Pakistani students despite the charges having been dropped against them.

2 Gitmo detainees sent to Chad, Iraq

2009-06-12T17:58:00.000+04:00

2 Gitmo detainees sent to Chad, Iraq
Two Guantanamo detainees have been transferred to Chad and Iraq respectively, the US Justice Department has said in a statement.

According to the statement, Jawad Jabber Sadhkan arrived in Iraq overnight on Thursday and Mohammed al-Gharani, a young man with dual Chadian and Saudi nationalities, arrived in Chad on the same day.

"As our review of detainees continues, the support of the international community is critical to the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and the security of our country," said Matthew Olsen, Executive Director of the Guantanamo Review Task Force.

"We are grateful for the cooperation of the governments of Iraq and Chad and for their assistance on the successful transfer of these individuals," he said through a statement issued by the Justice Department.

The controversial US Navy-run detention camp in southeastern Cuba was established by the former US president George W. Bush in 2002 to house "war on terror" detainees.

The US president Barack Obama has pledged to shut the facility by January 2010. So far, eight detainees have been released from Guantanamo since Obama took office in January.

Zimbabwe PM in US to restore aid

2009-06-12T17:50:00.001+04:00

Zimbabwe PM in US to restore aid
Zimbabwean PM Morgan Tsvangirai held high level meetings with the IMF, the World Bank and US Secretary of State to restore aid for his troubled country.

Tsvangirai says he is not walking around with a begging bowl in his hands, but is trying to re-establish ways and means of re-engaging with the West.

But no aid money is going to Zimbabwe anytime soon, as long as there are no reforms. The best Tsvangirai can do now is to plead for aid to speed up constitutional reforms to allow the country to have free and fair elections, Economist Luke Zunga said on Thursday after Tsvangirai held talks with the IMF and the World Bank.

No details of his talks with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have been released.

In his meeting with the US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday, both discussed the prospects for restoring substantial US aid to the troubled country.

"I'm anxious to hear about the plans and the work that your government is undertaking and to look for ways that we appropriately can be supportive," Clinton told Tsvangirai.

The US has not yet committed whether it will offer developmental aid to Zimbabwe. US officials say the country's democratic and economic reforms must be enacted before aid is restored.

Tsvangirai is due to meet with President Barack Obama on Friday on his first official trip abroad that is to include meetings in Europe with British, French, German and other leaders in his quest for support for reconstruction of his economically battered land.

US Marines out of Iraq in 2010

2009-06-12T17:37:00.000+04:00

US Marines out of Iraq in 2010
US Marines will withdraw from Iraq in the spring of 2010, General James Conway says, signaling the end of a mission amid resurgence of violence in the country.

"We think that in the spring of 2010 we'll close the door and turn out the lights to Marine Corps presence in Iraq," said General James Conway in a speech at the National Press Club.

The date is in line with the schedule set by President Barack Obama, who in February ordered the withdrawal of all US combat troops from the country by the end of August 2010 with the rest of the force coming out by the end of 2011.

Conway said there are currently 16,000 marines in Iraq and that the reduction of the force would accelerate after the legislative elections that are scheduled for January 2010.

However, Conway played down a resurgence of violence in Iraq in recent weeks.

Violence in Iraq has increased in recent weeks and Iraqi leaders suspect that the attacks had been devised by those who wanted to see Iraq struggling with sectarian unrest and bloodshed.

Rand says US unlikely to contain Iran

2009-06-12T17:23:00.000+04:00

Rand says US unlikely to contain Iran
A US think-tank has warned that a US-led containment of Iran is 'unlikely' to be sustainable among the Persian Gulf states.

The Rand Corporation has said in a report that the Persian Gulf states desire to maintain their cordial ties with Iran, if not active political and economic engagement.

"Arab opinion on Iran is often split between publics and their regimes. Arab regimes fear Iran's nuclear aspirations but are cognizant that its nuclear program is largely endorsed by their Arab publics as a critique of Western double standards and interference," the report said.

The think-tank has urged the US administration to try to establish a multilateral security structure in the Persian Gulf region --although it will take time-- rather than pursuing unilateral policies.

The study titled "Dangerous But Not Omnipotent: Exploring the Reach and Limitations of Iranian Power in the Middle East" also says that Iran's rise as a regional power presents a key foreign policy and security challenge to the US, but its reach may be far more limited than Western conventional wisdom suggests.

Holocaust-denier shooter: Obama created by Jews

2009-06-12T15:53:00.000+04:00

Holocaust-denier shooter: Obama created by Jews
New documents reveal that a gunman who killed a guard at the US Holocaust Museum does not believe that Holocaust existed and is a harsh critic of President Barack Obama.

James von Brunn who shot dead security guard Steven Johns at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington had left some notes in his car before his shooting, a legal document showed Thursday.

"The Holocaust is a lie. Obama was created by Jews. Obama does what his Jew owners tell him to do," according to the handwritten notes.

The legal document traced von Brunn's movements from the moment he pulled up outside the museum to when two of the fallen security guard's colleagues stopped von Brunn's rampage by shooting him in the face.

"Jews control the mass media ... Jews captured America's money," the notes continued, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI special agent who is taking part in the probe of von Brunn.

All of the notes were signed "James W. Von Brunn," said the affidavit.

The affidavit also described the shooter as "a known white supremacist who has espoused hate speech directed specifically towards Jews for an extensive period of time."

In a short novel entitled "Kill the Best Gentiles," which von Brunn claims to have written, the suspect detailed how he "believed the government was being run by Jews and the Jews were looking to extinguish the white race," the affidavit noted.

The entire incident was captured by the museum's videotape surveillance system and subsequently viewed by the FBI, AFP reported.

Von Brunn, who is still in critical condition in hospital, was charged with murder and killing in the course of possession of a firearm in a federal facility, officials said.

Seminar on Investment Opportunities in Iran's Oil Opens in Malaysia

2009-06-12T15:47:00.001+04:00

Seminar on Investment Opportunities in Iran's Oil Opens in Malaysia
A seminar on investment opportunities in Iran's oil industry opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday.

Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Noureddin Shahnazi-Zadeh attended the seminar.

Shahnazi-Zadeh, who is also Iran's deputy oil minister, arrived in the Malaysian capital early on Wednesday.

Some 150 companies from different countries are participating in the 2009 AOG.

The Iranian Oil Ministry delegation visited the city of Kedah on the first leg of Malaysia tour in a bid to observe the process of construction of a refinery by the Iranian experts there.

The trip came two days after Malaysian oil and gas company (Petronas) announced on Monday that it will cooperate with Iran in a project to develop South Pars gas field and review its position with the project's new Chinese partner.

Qatar to Host First Meeting of Gas OPEC

2009-06-12T15:43:00.000+04:00

Qatar to Host First Meeting of Gas OPEC
The first ministerial meeting of the OPEC-like gas forum will be held in Qatar on June 30, Iran's OPEC governor announced on Monday.

"Topics such as financial issues, budget and personnel of the oil ministries of exporting, countries will be discussed and studied (at the meeting)", Iran's Governor at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Mohammad Ali Khatibi told FNA about the upcoming meeting of the Organization of Gas Exporting Countries (OGEC).

He further reminded that the statute of the gas forum had been ratified by the ministers of the gas exporting countries last December in Moscow.

Noting that Qatar has invited all the member countries to the meeting, Khatibi predicted that the ministers of all gas exporting countries would attend the conference.

"The Qatar conference is the first ministerial meeting after ratifying the statute of the gas exporting countries in Moscow," he added.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei proposed the idea of setting up "an organization of gas cooperation like OPEC" in 2007.

Gas exporting states have so far finalized establishment of a new Qatar-based forum which aims to coordinate the member states' policies while consumer countries fear that the forum could become the gas equivalent of oil cartel OPEC.

In UK, MPs jostle for Speaker's chair

2009-06-12T15:19:00.000+04:00

In UK, MPs jostle for Speaker's chair
The race over UK's next parliamentary speaker is well under way with the Conservatives claiming it's their turn to replace former speaker Michael Martin.

At least ten MPs are bid to stand for the elections to choose the next speaker of the House of Commons, to take over Martin's place who resigned over the expense claims scandals.

Although traditionally the role of the speaker is independent, each party prefers the incumbent to be from its own colors.

From the ruling Labour party, the former foreign minister Margaret Beckett and Parmjit Dhanda are in the running.

From the opposition's benches, John Bercow, Ann Widdicombe, Sir Patrick Cormack, Sir Alan Haselhurst, Sir Michael Lord, Richard Shepherd are the Conservative MPs said to be vying for the Speaker's vacant chair.

Form the Liberal Democrats, Sir Alan Beith has definitely thrown in his hat and he may be joined in the race by the former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell.

Miss Widdicombe who is said to be Conservatives' charismatic candidate said: "We have got to restore the reputation of the House of Commons with the public and that means somebody who can connect with the public, which I believe I can do very well."

UK's House of Commons is under fire after losing public trust following disclosures of extravagant expenses claimed by many MPs, which forced a number of them to resign and caused a government reshuffle on the Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The last speaker was forced to resign, as it was revealed that his office did not keep a close enough eye on the MPs' expenses claims, as it should have done.

The vote to choose the Commons' next speaker is scheduled for June 22 and it will be done by secret ballots.

Iran reports high turnout just after polls open

2009-06-12T15:16:00.001+04:00

Iran reports high turnout just after polls open
Iranian Interior Ministry has reported a massive turnout in presidential polling stations just hours after voting started on Friday morning.

Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said that some five million Iranians have so far cast their votes before mid-day Friday, which he termed 'unprecedented' in comparison with previous elections.

Mahsouli added that the final turnout for the 10th presidential election is expected to be above 70 percent.

According to the minister, no irregularities have been reported so far.

Head of Iran's Electoral Office Kamran Daneshjou also told reporters that the Interior Ministry has taken necessary measures to allow representatives of hopefuls to supervise the polling procedure.

According to Daneshjou, some thousands of ID cards have been issued for the representatives of the candidates to monitor the polling at ballot boxes.

On Friday morning, the polls opened to more than 46 eligible Iranian voters aged 18 and above to elect the next president of the country.

Iranians can vote in more than 45,000 polling stations nationwide, while 304 polls will receive Iranian expatriates in almost 130 countries including Britain, the UAE, Russia, China, Japan, and Syria. Only in the US, more than 30 polling stations will receive Iranians.

daily news world In addition to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is seeking a second four-year term, former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi, former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi and Secretary of the Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei are vying for the public's votes in the closely contested election.

The winner must collect 50 percent of the votes plus one. If, however, no single candidate wins enough votes, the run-off will be held on June 19.

Obama gives deadline to Israel for Palestine'

2009-06-09T19:18:00.001+04:00

US President Barack Obama gives Israel a two-year deadline for the finalization of a two-state solution amid sharply opposing positions in Washington and Tel Aviv over the issue of Palestinian statehood.

President Obama raised the issue of an independent Palestinian state with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli official's visit to Washington last month, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

According to the report, the plan envisions a Middle East peace deal by 2011.

Haaretz quoted a source in Cairo as telling the London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat that Israel's Netanyahu is expected to respond to the proposal within six weeks.

President Obama, who was in Egypt last week to address the Arab and Muslim world, discussed his proposed plan with Egyptian intelligence chief Omer Suleiman and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

The US president has urged the Netanyahu government to set up a Palestinian state and has been "very clear about the need to stop building settlements, to stop building outposts" on occupied Palestinian territories.

Snubbing international calls to halt its settlement expansion, Israel seems adamant to stubbornly pursue the activities.

Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai declared on Sunday that he would use all resources in the Interior Ministry, "its branches and its influences over local government" to expand Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Israeli premier, for his part, has halted all Israeli-Palestinian negotiations aimed at the creation of an independent Palestine and has called previous US-backed agreements into question.

In April, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman sparked controversy by saying that Tel Aviv is not bound by the 2007 US-sponsored Annapolis deal, under which Israel agreed to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Fraud plagues more Israeli politicians

2009-06-09T19:06:00.001+04:00

Fraud plagues more Israeli politicians . A new wave of fraud scandals is gripping the Israeli government with former finance minister Abraham Hirchson convicted over a multimillion shekel fraud case.

An Israeli court on Monday found Hirchson guilty of stealing NIS 2.5 million from the National Workers Organization when he was the institution's head, Haaretz reported.

Daily news World The court rejected the arguments by Hirchson defense lawyers to minimize his involvement in the case.

Based on the indictment, NIS 12.3 million was funneled from the organization and an affiliated institution and the sum of money was divided between six people including the former minister.

The case is the latest in a series of scandals that put the honesty of Israeli officials under question. Former prime minister Ehud Olmert had to resign over his involvement in a corruption case.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is currently under police investigation for his involvement in a money laundering case.

A recent poll conducted by an anti-Corruption organization has revealed that the majority of Israelis believe their government is not seriously fighting against corruption.

The annual Global Corruption Barometer report released by Transparency International shows that 86 percent of Israelis --the highest level in the world--say the government's efforts to fight corruption are ineffective.

Doron Navot of the University of Haifa and the Israel Democracy Institute says in Israel "not only do the government and elected officials not fight political Corruption, but in recent years they see politicians and elected officials fighting the guardians - those battling against Corruption - and trying to weaken them and advance reforms that harm the fight against Corruption."

'US military surge destabilizes Pakistan'

2009-06-09T18:52:00.000+04:00

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi says the US' move to send 21,000 extra troops to war-ravaged Afghanistan could have serious implications for Pakistan.

"Pakistan has talked through political and military ways at all levels to the stakeholders that transferring the problem from Afghanistan to Pakistan will not help resolve the issue," Qureshi said at a news conference with his Turkish counterpart in Islamabad on Tuesday.

The Islamabad government is worried that the US President Barack Obama's move to boost its military presence in Afghanistan could further destabilize Pakistan by pushing more militants across the border.

Increased US military activity may also spark an influx of refugees from insurgency-hit southern Afghanistan into border areas of Pakistan.

The US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 has prompted the Taliban militants to focus their attention across the border in Pakistan, turning the restive tribal belt between the two neighbors into the scene of deadly violence.

Qureshi also added that the US military surge in the war-conflict Afghanistan might also have implications for Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan.

Pakistan's Balochistan is already rocked by violence as Baloch rebel groups have for many years campaigned for greater autonomy and control of local resources.

Qureshi urged Washington to pursue non-military solutions to conflict in the troubled Pakistan and Afghanistan. "There should be a civilian surge to promote reconciliatory efforts in Afghanistan to resolve the issue".

Islamabad has repeatedly said that unwise White House policies were strengthening the Taliban and spreading extremism in the volatile region.

Violence in Pakistan has claimed the lives of thousands of people, including civilians and soldiers, since the country joined US-led 'war on terror'.

US ship survivors tell of Israeli attack

2009-06-09T18:49:00.001+04:00

A deadly Israeli attack on a US ship -- an incident largely kept in the dark by Washington -- receives new attention with survivors reliving the painful memory.

USS Liberty survivors gathered in Washington on Monday to commemorate the 42nd anniversary of the incident and expound on how they were sprayed with bullets by America's "closest ally and beneficiary".

On June 8, 1967, the unarmed spy ship USS Liberty was on duty in international waters off the Sinai Peninsula when it was bombarded by Israeli fighter jets and torpedo boats.

The two-hour-long attacks killed at least 34 sailors, wounded 173 others and nearly sunk the ship.

The attack on the Liberty came at a time when Israel had engaged in a brief but intense war with Egypt and its Arab allies, which coincided with the US war on Vietnam.

Although the ship was clearly marked as an American vessel, Israelis declared the attack on Liberty as a simple case of "friendly fire" and "mistaken identity".

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, former US president Lyndon Johnson accepted the Israeli claim and cancelled all investigations into the incident.

"It was a case of mistaken identity …I do not care if every man drowned and the ship sank, we will not embarrass an ally," Johnson had told his opponents who demanded an open congressional hearing to address the Israeli claim.

USS Liberty survivor Rick Almett, however, begged to differ.

"There was a conspiracy between our government and Israel. So that's the reason why they didn't pursue it and why the investigations were covered up because of the alliance of Israel and the United States," Almetti told.

In a separate interview , Jim Smith -- another surviving member of the USS Liberty crew -- said the incident was "an intentional act by Israel to sink the ship with all hands and no survivors".

While there are many conspiracy theories as to why Israel attacked a ship of its top ally, Earnie Gallo -- who heads the USS Liberty Veterans Associations -- told Press TV that the attack was in fact designed to pave the way for an Israeli military incursion into the Golan Heights.

In 2003, an independent committee comprised of retired high-ranking military officers and a former US ambassador to the Middle East joined forces to investigate the Liberty attack and the subsequent cover-up.

Their pleas for an investigation, however, have fallen on deaf ears in the Congress as it continues to ignore the facts presented on the Liberty attack.

Former US military and political officials said they had been ordered to put the lid on the controversy surrounding the USS Liberty attack. "We were never to speak of it and we were to caution everyone else involved that they could never speak of it again," said former court Adm. Isaac C. Kidd.

Fraud halts India, Israeli arms deals

2009-06-08T19:32:00.001+04:00

Fraud halts India, Israeli arms deals. New Delhi has suspended all arms trade with Tel Aviv after blacklisting Israel Military Industries (IMI) over corruption allegations.

The Indian government says the contracts were halted for alleged 'illicit trading and bribery'.

Arms deals with six other companies --from Poland, Singapore as well as India-- were also suspended.

The move, which came after the former head of India's Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) Sudipto Ghosh was arrested on corruption charges, puts billions of dollars worth of defense contracts at risk.

Ghosh is accused of receiving bribes from the arms manufacturers to favor them in arms purchase projects with OFB.

IMI had signed a $24 million contract with OFB under which it was about to set up an ordnance complex of five plants in northern India to manufacture 155mm Bi-Modular Charge Systems (BMCS) and other propellant charges for heavy caliber artillery ammunition for the army.

Arms trading between New Delhi and Tel Aviv, which is India's second biggest arm supplier after Russia, dates back to early 1990s, so far they have inked deals amounting to $8 billion.

Last month, India received the first of three Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes from Israel it purchased for $1.1 billion in 2004.

All Hezbollah candidates go to parliament

2009-06-08T19:10:00.000+04:00

All Hezbollah candidates go to parliament . Lebanon's elections results show that the March 14 coalition has won the elections, but all Hezbollah candidates have also found their way into the parliament.

The ruling pro-Western coalition is keeping its narrow margin with 71 seats in the parliament.

correspondent from Lebanon reported that March 14 has won 69 seats in the 128-seat parliament and the Hezbollah-led bloc (March 8) has won 57 seats.

Two seats are still undecided but the difference in the numbers show that even if the opposition wins these two seats, the ruling party will still have the majority by a margin of at 10 seats.

Hezbollah managed to get all of its eleven candidates elected.

correspondent also noted that a number of controversial issues surrounded the Lebanese elections.

He said that there are reports that a big number of Sunni expatriates have been flown in to the country to go mainly to the Christian districts of Lebanon which were the main battle ground to vote for the March 14 coalition.

There are also reports that Saudi Arabia has spent a big money to buy votes in Lebanon to increase the chances for March 14 to win the elections.

Considering the dire economic condition in the parliament it seems that buying votes in the country is highly possible.

The voter turnout in the election which was held on Sunday has been over 50 percent.

Record low turnout mars EU elections

2009-06-08T18:39:00.001+04:00

Record low turnout mars EU elections. Turnout across Europe for the parliamentary elections fell to a record low as slightly over 40 percent of all eligible voters cast their ballots.

An EU estimate shows that only 43% of 375 million eligible voters exercised their democratic right, down from the previous low of 45.5% in 2004.

Analysts mainly attribute the record low turnout to wide spread voter indifference across the European Union, as well as growing public dissatisfaction with mainstream parties and skepticism towards EU institutions.

"I think the low turnout shows a lack of confidence by too many voters in Europe and that we have not found the right responses for our citizens," Francis Wurtz President of the European United Left told,.

The outcome of the election, meanwhile, shows no significant shift in the composition of the general assembly, as the center-right European People's Party won 267 seats in the 736-seat parliament.

The Socialists -- Europe's second largest political party -- came second, grabbing 159 seats, while the Liberals came third followed by the Green Party.

The results spared leaders of most big EU national governments from embarrassing defeats. However, exit polls show significantly weakened support for the ruling parties in Britain, Ireland, Latvia, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria and Spain.

The victory of center-right forces is likely to help Jose Manuel Barroso, a conservative, win a new term as president of the EU's executive European Commission -- a post that requires the parliament's approval.

Longest-serving African leader still rules

2009-06-08T18:32:00.001+04:00

French and Gabonese media reports Gabon's longest serving president Omar Bongo's death has been denied by Spanish officials.

Spain's Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday, that president Bongo was still alive.

Gabonese Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe Ndong said he had met the president as he "deplored" French media for the misinformation. Ndong pledged to lodge a complaint about the 'leaks' to French authorities.

"This morning I visited the President, accompanied by the President of the National Assembly, the Foreign Minister, the head of the President's cabinet and senior members of the presidential family and after a meeting with the medical team we can confirm that the President is alive," Ndong said in a statement.

73 year old Bonogo is in Barcelona's Quiron hospital, receiving treatment for intestinal cancer undergoing a "comprehensive health check" said the Prime Minister.

Bongo came to power in 1967, imposing a one party rule until 1991. However, his party has managed to be in power regardless.

During the time that Bongo receives treatment in Spain Vice President Didjob Divungi Di Ndinge functions as acting president.

US to exhaust all options to release journalists

2009-06-08T18:26:00.001+04:00

US President Barack Obama says he would do everything within his power and would use all possible leverages to release two American journalists jailed in North Korea.

The White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters early on Monday that "The [US] president [Barack Obama] is deeply concerned by the reported sentencing of the two American citizen journalists by North Korean authorities, and we are engaged through all possible channels to secure their release," said AFP.

North Korea, following a five-day trial, sentenced Laura Ling and Euna Lee to twelve years of hard labor on Monday after they were convicted of 'committing hostilities against the Korean nation'.

The two were also convicted of illegally entering the country.

Earlier, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said that the US government's "thoughts are with the families of the two detained journalists at this difficult time."

"We once again urge North Korea to grant the immediate release of the two American citizen journalists on humanitarian grounds," Kelly added.

The two reporters, both in their thirties, were working for former Vice President Al Gore's California-based Current Affairs TV when detained.

The US State Department last week did not rule out the possibility that Gore might travel to Pyongyang to personally intervene and help releasing the two journalists.

North Korea has in the past freed captured Americans but only after personal interventions.

Poll: Israeli gov't most corrupt in world

2009-06-07T11:44:00.001+04:00

Poll: Israeli gov't most corrupt in world
A poll conducted by an anti-Corruption organization has revealed that the majority of Israeli's believe their government is not seriously fighting against Corruption.

The annual Global Corruption Barometer report released by Transparency International shows that 86 percent of Israelis --the highest level in the world--say the government's efforts to fight Corruption are ineffective.

Only 13 percent of Israelis believed that the government is taking the necessary measures to fight Corruption, Haaretz reported.

In 2006, 66 percent of those questioned did not believe in their government's anti-Corruption efforts.

The global public opinion survey represents the views of citizens from 69 countries around the world, including 500 in Israel.

The survey asks people about their attitudes toward local Corruption and their own personal involvement in such corrupt acts as bribery.

Senior Israeli officials including Israel's incumbent Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are charged with being engaged in several cases of financial Corruption.

Many other Israeli former officials including former president Moshe Katsav, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, former Israeli finance minister Avraham Hirshson and Knesset (Parliament) member Shlomo Benizri have been involved in corruption cases.

Doron Navot of the University of Haifa and the Israel Democracy Institute says in Israel "not only do the government and elected officials not fight political Corruption, but in recent years they see politicians and elected officials fighting the guardians - those battling against Corruption - and trying to weaken them and advance reforms that harm the fight against Corruption."

Polls open in Lebanon for general elections

2009-06-07T11:41:00.000+04:00

Lebanese people will go to the polls to vote in an election which will pit Hezbollah against the current US-backed majority in Lebanon's parliament.

Tight security precautions have been taken to prevent tensions in the small Mediterranean country, as polls will be open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm (0400 GMT to 1600 GMT).

50,000 soldiers and police have been deployed across the country to secure the environment for 3.2 million people eligible to vote in the country.

daily news More than 200 international observers from the EU and other institutions and countries will observe the election.

A tight race is predicted between the US-backed 14 March alliance, which has a small majority in parliament, and its main rival, Hezbollah-led bloc.

According to Lebanon's complex power-sharing system, the 128 seats in the parliament should be equally divided between Christians and Muslims.

The country's parliament speaker should also be a Shia Muslim, as the president must be a Maronite Christian and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim

http://www.jamejamonline.ir/Media/images/1388/03/12/100908388738.jpg

2009-06-06T23:07:00.004+04:00

US Hopes Iran Can Supply Europe with Gas

The US has expressed hope that Iran changes position so that the country's gas could be used in projects such as Nabucco to diversify sources of energy supply.

"Today it is not time to use the Iranian gas in the projects due to country's violation of its international obligations and presenting a threat to international peace and stability," the US Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy, Richard Morningstar, said Monday in Baku, Azerbaijan.

This is while Morningstar, whose country has already opposed Iran's involvement in the $10 billion project, said during an energy summit in April that Washington did not exclude Iran as a potential supplier for the Nabucco pipeline.

In addition, the Nabucco consortium managing director Reinhard Mitschek hinted in early February that the consortium was considering Iran as one of the several starting points for the construction of the pipeline.

The proposed 3,300-kilometer Nabucco pipeline aims to carry natural gas from Central Asia via Turkey and the Balkan states to Austria, bypassing Russia and Ukraine.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in March that the Nabucco gas pipeline is not feasible without Iran's involvement in the project.

"...Nabucco will not reduce the number of transit countries but increase them. Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia. But even that is not enough, as Nabucco cannot be carried out unless Iran joins the project," Morningstar stated.

The projects such as Turkey-Greece-Italy (TGI) gas pipeline and Nabucco are very important from a strategic point of view and in terms of diversification, Morningstar pointed out.

Iran owns 16 percent of the world's natural gas reserves.

Ashgabat to Host 34th IDB Meeting

2009-06-06T23:01:00.002+04:00

Ashgabat to Host 34th IDB Meeting

The 34th annual meeting of the board of governors of the Islamic Development Bank will open in Turkmenistan’s capital city of Ashgabat tomorrow, according to MNA.
Iran’s Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Seyyed Shamseddin Hosseini, heading a high ranking delegation, are scheduled to attend the two-day meeting, the director of the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran said on Monday.

Behrouz Alishiri added that the IDB holds annual meetings regularly attended by economy ministers of its member states.

The Islamic Development Bank is an international financial institution established in pursuance of the Declaration of Intent issued by the Conference of Finance Ministers of Muslim Countries held in Jeddah in December 1973.

The purpose of the Bank is to foster the economic development and social progress of member countries and Muslim communities individually, as well as jointly, in accordance with the principles of Islamic Law.

IDB currently consists of 56 member countries.

IKCO Unveils Micro-Hybrid Samand Car

2009-06-06T22:59:00.000+04:00

IKCO Unveils Micro-Hybrid Samand Car

Iran Khodro Company on Thursday unveiled the country’s first national micro-hybrid Samand sedan.
Delivering a speech at the ceremony Deputy Industries and Mines Minister Afshin Roqani said that the micro-hybrid cars was built in line with the slogan of “Year of Conservation” that was named by the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei who called for changes in consumption patterns.

The hybrid is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to move it, such as gasoline, natural gas, or battery. The term most commonly refers to hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which combine an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors.

He added that the technology plays a great role in fuel conservation, reducing pollution, and environmental maintenance, and called on the country’s main manufacturers to try to promote this technology in Iran.

Heart Arrythmia Ups Alzheimer's Risk

2009-06-06T22:51:00.004+04:00

Heart Arrythmia Ups Alzheimer's Risk
A new study finds having one of the most common abnormal heart rhythms can place individuals at a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's, according to the study presented at the Heart Rhythm Society in Boston.
Atrial fibrillation, a rapid but irregular heart rate, occurs when the two upper chambers of the heart (the atria) beat out of coordination with the two lower ones (the ventricles).

The condition causes poor blood flow to different organs, resulting in palpitation, shortness of breath and weakness.

Patients experiencing atrial fibrillation are at a 44 percent higher risk of dementia, a general term for life-altering loss of memory and other cognitive disabilities.

Individuals with a heart condition aging over 70 years, however, are 187 percent more vulnerable to developing dementia.

These individuals are reported to be 130 percent more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, accounting for up to 80 percent of all dementia cases.

Scientists are hoping to lower the risk of Alzheimer's by identifying high-risk individuals particularly those suffering from irregular heart rhythms.

Obama Rejects Isolated Dialogue with Iran

2009-06-06T21:47:00.001+04:00

Obama Rejects Isolated Dialogue with Iran
US President Barack Obama on Friday underlined his commitment to engage Iran, but meantime said such an engagement should take place alongside other considerations, including US-Russia nuclear arms cut.
"I've said publicly that I'm committed to engaging in serious dialogue and negotiations with Iran. That can't be done in isolation, it has to be done in conjunction with the P5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) or the E3+3 process," Obama said in a joint press briefing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Obama further said he would raise the specter of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East when he begins negotiations with Iranian government officials.

Meantime, Obama drew a veiled parallel between Tehran's uranium enrichment and the nuclear stockpiles of Washington and Moscow, saying that he has plans to visit Moscow and rally support for a joint effort to reduce the nuclear stockpiles in Russia and the US.

"Our concern is not just Iran, but a broader effort to strengthen nonproliferation so that the threat of nuclear weapons is greatly reduced in our lifetime," said the US president.

Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

Meantime, Analysts say Russia and the US have an estimated number of around 6,000 warheads that are either deployed or in reserve. Moscow and Washington have reportedly agreed to reduce their stockpiles to about 1,500 warheads apiece, down from the 2,200 allowed under an interim 2002 treaty.

Obama has tabled a motion that seeks a future strategic arms control treaty with Russia that will see an 80 percent reduction in the US nuclear stockpile.

US to Attend G8 Meeting alongside Iran

2009-06-06T21:35:00.003+04:00

US to Attend G8 Meeting alongside Iran
The US State Department confirmed on Friday that the country's Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend a meeting of the Group of Eight foreign ministers in Italy at the end of June.

"Yes, the secretary will attend," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

The US announcement came a day after the Italian Foreign Ministry extended an invitation to the Islamic Republic of Iran to attend the G-8 foreign ministerial meeting in Trieste, port city north of Italy, on June 25-27.

"Iran is invited to the conference, yes," said Italy's special envoy for Afghanistan Sergio Mercuri whose country currently holds the G8 presidency.

The two-day conference aims to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan with the help of its neighbors including Iran.

Washington has backed Tehran's participation in the G8 meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan this month.

Earlier in May, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that Clinton was in favor of inviting Iran to the meeting.

Also in March, Tehran was invited to an international conference on Afghanistan at The Hague.

Washington has shown desire to reach out to Tehran to tackle problems facing Afghanistan, including the growing strength of Taliban militants across the war-torn country.

Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta has also welcomed the presence of Iran at the meeting on Afghanistan.

Iran's Medical Equipment Exports Double

2009-06-06T21:05:00.001+04:00

Iran's Medical Equipment Exports
Iran doubled export of medical equipment to foreign countries during the last Iranian year (March 21, 2008 to March 20, 2009), a senior health official said on Saturday.
"The country's export of medical equipment totaled $8.5 million in 1387 (2008-2009) which has been almost two times more than the volume of exports in its previous year," Director General of the Iranian Health Ministry's Medical Equipment Reza Massaeli said.

He further explained that in addition to the massive efforts made by manufacturers of medical equipment, his department's supervising role and the guidelines presented to the manufacturers for promoting the quality of their products have been the main cause of the aforementioned growth.

The official further announced that 120 out of 550 types of Iran's medical tools and equipment succeeded in obtaining EU standards during the said period.

Iran mass produces new ground-to-air guided missile

2009-06-06T21:00:00.001+04:00

top news : Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar inaugurates the production line of domestically-made supersonic ground-to-air missile system.

Mohammad-Najjar says the smart missile system, called 'Shahin' has a range of more than 40 kilometers.

He added that the system, capable of targeting fighter jets and helicopters, will promote Iran's defense capabilities against possible air attacks.

The research and production phases of the defense system, including missile, missile interceptors, hardware and software networks and launch pad have been carried out by Iranian experts, said Mohammad-Najjar on Saturday after launching the production line of the system.

Last month, Iran test-fired a new deterrent ballistic missile, the Sejjil II, with a 2000-kilometer surface-to-surface range.

The developments come as the country, which has been targeted by a series of sanctions over its independent stance, beefs up its defense amid increased Israeli threats to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.

Iran also launched a production line for manufacturing autocannons to mount on warships.

"The final range of the 40-millimetre naval autocannon, named Fath (Victory), is 12 kilometers; (more than seven miles) it shoots 300 projectiles per minute," Mohammad-Najjar said.

"It can be used against cruise missiles... It is an anti-aircraft low-altitude weapon which is mounted on warships," he said.

in daily news online Iran unveiled a new domestically produced attack chopper, the Shahed (Witness) 285, capable of taking part in sea and air combat operations.

White House to install special bailout 'master'

2009-06-05T23:30:00.000+04:00

The White House intends to name Kenneth Feinberg as "special master for compensation" to regulate and direct federal rescue funds to the companies enlisted for bailout.

Feinberg, prior to this, headed the government fund that provided compensations for the victims of the September 11 terrorist incident.

The US President Barack Obama's Administration is due to announce Feinberg's appointment as early as early as next week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

His appointment has been a source of dispute between the government and leaders in the US financial hub, the Wall Street.

"The law is confusing and a bit ambiguous, and so we're looking for certainty as to how to structure pay incentives," said Scott Talbott, senior vice president of government affairs for the Financial Services Roundtable, an industry group.

The Obama Administration is expected to issue guidelines next week on how the US companies are going to be compensated using the USD 700 billion bailout money.

The regulations aimed at curbing pork-barrel spending on the side of the companies that receive the bailout money.

Lebanon dismantles 25 Israeli spy cells

2009-06-05T22:59:00.002+04:00

Amid an ongoing crackdown on active espionage networks in Lebanon, Israeli cells are being dismantled one after the other throughout the country.

Citing senior army sources, Lebanese daily An-Nahar reported Friday that 25 Israeli spy cells have been uncovered this year.

Ten more people were charged with espionage activities on Friday, four of which are already in custody while the other six remain at large.

The sources said the army also arrested a three-member spy network last week in the country. According to the sources the network might have been "the most dangerous" spy cell with "highly developed techniques techniques".

Two others were also arrested on suspicion of spying in the southern town of Ain Qana earlier this week.

So far, Lebanon has charged at least 55 people for spying and has arrested almost 100 others on suspicion of espionage since it launched a major crackdown on spy networks almost two months ago.

Refugee funds 'running short' in Pakistan

2009-06-05T22:49:00.004+04:00

The UN warns that humanitarian efforts for Swat war refugees would have to be scaled down if the international community does not come up with financial assistance.

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Islamabad said it had received only 22 per cent of the $543 million international aid appeal they had made for the internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The office also added humanitarian efforts would be facing severe problems in a couple of weeks if more money was not received.

The developments come after Pakistani army launched an operation named 'Black thunder' early this month claiming to be aimed at flushing out the militants from the restive valley and its adjoining districts.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates nearly 126-thousand people flee the fighting in the troubled northwest every day.

The clashes in Swat have pushed millions of terrified civilians into camps set up in various parts of the North West Frontier Province since May 2.

More than three million internally displaced people are now residing in temporary camps in the country's northwest.

UN officials in Islamabad have warned that a fund to help the refugees remained woefully short.

UN officials also on Thursday warned against potential disease outbreaks among millions of Pakistanis displaced by an army operation against the militants in Swat.

The massive displacement is Pakistan's biggest movement of people since the country secured independence from Britain in 1947.

Pakistan claims more than 1,350 militants and 86 soldiers have been killed in the over a month conflict.

Thousands of civilians are believed to be still trapped in the conflict zone. Human Rights Watch has warned of a large-scale human tragedy in the conflict-torn region.

Pakistan's army warns that the battle against insurgency in the troubled valley could take longer than previously thought. "It may be another two months when we can say the complete area is fully secured," chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said Wednesday.

Obama invites Ahmadinejad to visit Nazi-era camp

2009-06-05T22:31:00.005+04:00

US President Barack Obama has asked his Iranian counterpart, who says the Holocaust is a "big deception", to visit the site of the Buchenwald concentration camp.

"He should make his own visit," said President Obama who visited the site on Friday. "I have no patience for people who would deny history. And the history of the Holocaust is not something speculative."

Since taking office in 2005, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has launched a campaign to make clear ambiguities about the Holocaust, while criticizing Israel for using the issue as an excuse for its existence.

On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad reiterated his anti-Israel stance and called the Holocaust a "big deception." The Iranian president had earlier made similar comments about the historical event describing it as a "myth".

President Obama, meanwhile, noted that his great uncle helped liberate a camp of Buchenwald during World War II, Reuters reported.

The concentration camp in eastern Germany was created by the Nazis and an estimated 56,000 people are assumed to have been killed there.

Sadr: Obama has subtle plans to control world

2009-06-05T22:24:00.004+04:00

Iraq's senior cleric Moqtada al-Sadr says Barack Obama's speech indicates that the US wants to take a different avenue to bring the world under its control.

"The honeyed political speech expressed only one aim -- America wants to take a different avenue to bring the world under its control" compared to the former US president George W. Bush's strategies, Sadr said in a statement released to journalists in the holy city of Najaf on Thursday.

"Obama cannot change the American policies... which were and are still hostile to Islam, and that will continue," he added.

The Iraqi cleric further pointed out that he would trust the US president "only after their (the US) withdrawal from our beloved Iraq and Muslim Afghanistan and their withdrawal of support for the Israeli enemy, and I hope for this from him."

"Let him know that the resistance and the opposition will continue. We don't believe his words," he noted.

The US president pledged to forge a "new beginning" for Islam and America in his speech in Cairo, vowing to purge years of "suspicion and discord."

The American leader vowed to end mistrust, forge a state for Palestinians and defuse a nuclear showdown with the Islamic Republic.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Thursday that US President Barack Obama's Cairo speech had signaled no real shift in US policy in the Arab world.

Supreme Leader Hails Iran's Democratic Electoral System

2009-06-05T12:41:00.004+04:00

TEHRAN (FNA)- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei lauded the democratic system of holding elections in Iran, saying people's vote is of paramount importance and plays the main role in the Islamic Republic's election system.

Addressing thousands of people at the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini, the late Founder of the Islamic Republic, Supreme Leader also called for a massive turnout in the upcoming presidential election, and said all the people should make efforts to protect the Islamic Revolution and thwart enemies' plots to portray Iran's elections as undemocratic.

He also cautioned the presidential candidates against slandering each other in election campaigns and debates to garner support of the people.

The 10th Presidential Election in Iran is due to be held on June 12. Four applicants have qualified to stand the upcoming presidential election, including incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi Khamene, ex-Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi and Principlist politician and former chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezai Mir-Qaed.

The candidates officially started their campaign on May 22, which will last for 20 days.

The Iranian interior ministry has said the final results of the presidential election will be declared a day after the event, i.e. June 13.

Iranian officials have said that 46.2 million Iranians are eligible to vote.

US pressing Nabucco scheme sans Iran

2009-06-05T12:13:00.000+04:00

The US has made it clear that it does not support Iran's involvement in the Nabucco gas pipeline until Tehran 'changes its policies'.

Richard Morningstar, the US special envoy for Eurasian energy issues, said that Iran can only join the gas pipeline undertaking after the normalization of ties between Tehran and Washington.

He told a group of reporters in Ankara on Thursday that inviting Iran to the project without a resolution to the standoff over its nuclear program could "have a negative effect."

"We don't want to change our policy unless Iran changes its policy," AP quoted Morningstar as saying.

The pipeline is to link the Caspian Sea region, the Middle East and Egypt to the European Union via Turkey.

The Nabucco consortium, which aims at decreasing Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas, has been unable to find sufficient gas supplies necessary for the feasibility of the project.

Turkey, which is a member of the consortium, has repeatedly voiced its support for Iran's involvement in the project.

Obama changes tone on Iran nuclear issue

2009-06-04T23:04:00.000+04:00

US President Barack Obama has admitted Washington's past mistakes toward Tehran, saying Iran has right to peaceful nuclear technology.

In a keynote Thursday speech at Cairo University, Obama said "any nation -- including Iran -- should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."

Tehran has repeatedly argued that as an NPT-signatory, it has the right to use nuclear energy for civilian purposes.

This is while Israel -- believed to be the only nuclear-armed power in the Middle East -- has so far refused to sign the treaty.

"No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons," Obama said.

In a reference to Israel, Obama said he understood protests "that some countries have weapons that others do not", adding that there should not be a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

The US president acknowledged that it will be hard to "overcome decades of mistrust" but said he is committed to moving forward in relations with the Islamic Republic with mutual respect and without preconditions.

Since taking office as the US president in January, Obama talked of a policy change toward Iran, saying the US would extend a hand of peace to Iran if it "unclenched its fist".

Iran was invited to an international conference on Afghanistan in March. Washington has also backed Tehran's participation in a G8 meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan later this month.

Tehran demands that Washington manifest a 'genuine' change in action rather than a change in tone by withdrawing its allegations against the country and lifting anti-Iran sanctions which were extended for another year by the Obama administration.

Three US soldiers killed in Afghanistan

2009-06-04T22:57:00.000+04:00

Three US soldiers are killed in an ambush in Afghanistan's Kapisa province north of Kabul, taking number of the coalition forces killed in 2009 to 126.

"Three coalition service members were killed in an attack on their convoy in Kapisa province this morning when their convoy struck an improvised explosive device and came under small-arms fire," the US military said on Thursday.

The force's media office told AFP that the three were from the United States.

No militant group has as yet claimed responsibility for the attack in area where extremist Hezb-e-Islami faction led by former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar are active.

A separate bombing in the southern province of Kandahar on Wednesday evening killed five Afghan security forces, Press TV correspondent reported.

The explosion hit a police patrol in the city of Spin Buldak, near the Durand Line border with Pakistan, when a Taliban militant rammed his explosive-laden motorcycle into the vehicle.

Taliban-linked insurgency has risen in Afghanistan, particularly in the violent south where hundreds of NATO soldiers are stationed.

Recent attacks have raised stability concerns as the nation heads for key presidential and provincial elections scheduled for August 20, the second since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

President Hamid Karzai came out as the winner in the previous lection in 2004 and is to step down when his five-year term ends in October 2009.

Obama seeks fresh start with Muslim world

2009-06-04T22:52:00.000+04:00

US President Barack Obama calls for a "new beginning" between the US and the Muslim world, saying that his roots come from a Muslim generation.

"I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims," Obama said Thursday in a speech in which he touched on the story of his life and religious beliefs.

Addressing a cheering crowd of Egyptians and Muslim dignitaries at Cairo University, the American president called for an end to ongoing tensions between the US and the Muslim world.

"I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles."

Obama went on to say that some extremists have fueled tensions between the West and the Muslim world to further their agenda and have managed to build up hatred toward Muslims in the West.

"Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust."

Obama quoted passages from the Qur'an, Talmud and the Bible and called for peace while praising peacemakers.

"There is one rule that lies at the core of every religion -- that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples," Obama continued. "The people of the world can live together in peace."

While acknowledging that Islam is a religion of peace and compassion, Obama promised to do his utmost to fight against all efforts to create "negative stereotypes of Islam".

My experience, he said, "guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't... And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear."

Obama's Middle East tour is viewed as an effort by the 44th US president to reach out to the Muslim world.

On the first leg of his trip, the American president visited Saudi Arabia Wednesday.

N. Korean boat entered our territorial waters: South

2009-06-04T20:28:00.000+04:00

A North Korean navy patrol boat has allegedly crossed into the South's territorial waters amid growing fears of a military confrontation between the two Koreas.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that a boat had crossed the Yellow Sea border which was the scene of bloody clashes in 1999 and 2002.

The boat stayed almost one hour in the South's waters and reportedly retreated to its own side after three warnings from the South Korean side.

This is while the South has deployed high-speed patrol boats armed with missiles near the disputed sea border with the North.

The boat was said to have been chasing Chinese boats that were operating illegally in the rich crab-fishing zone.

However, a South Korean spokesman said Seoul did not rule out the possibility that the act of intrusion had been pre-planned with the aim of further raising tensions in the peninsula.

Last week, Pyongyang staged its second nuclear test and fired a number of short-range missiles, drawing global condemnation and resulting in a UN Security Council debate over the imposition of additional sanctions against the country.

North Korea, however, seems determined to proceed with the test-fires as it has declared a "no-sail" zone off its west coast and has banned ships from entering the area until the end of next month.

South Korean and American troops in the volatile peninsula have been on high alert since May 25 when the North conducted a nuclear test and launched several short-range missiles.

Pyongyang has accused US President Barack Obama of pursuing the same policies of his predecessor.

North Korea has renounced the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953 and warned that it will launch strikes on the South in the event that its ships are inspected by international forces looking for nuclear material.

After debate, Leader warns against rival defamation

2009-06-04T20:21:00.000+04:00

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution warns presidential hopefuls against resorting to defamation strategies to 'prove' themselves for the presidential post.

Addressing crowds at the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini, the late Founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei raised the issue of character assassination in relation to the June 12 presidential election.

"It is not decent for a [presidential] hopeful to resort to slandering another candidate in a speech or a debate to prove himself," the Leader said on Thursday, after two presidential candidates held a controversial debate late on Wednesday.

Ayatollah Khamenei also called upon the masses to go to the polls in large numbers to thwart efforts aimed at portraying Iran's elections as undemocratic, adding that all should work toward the protection of the Islamic Revolution.

The Leader noted that Iran enjoys a democratic electoral system, which puts the votes of the Iranian nation first.

With only one week left before the presidential election, hopefuls are doing their best to garner support by taking part in speeches and rallies, as well as televised debates.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the last prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi held the second face-off among candidates on Wednesday to defend their policies.

During the 90-minute debate, the two contenders exchanged criticism over various issues including foreign policy and economic management.

Ahmadinejad took a swipe at two former presidents Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, accusing them of masterminding a plot to push him out of power.

Ahmadinejad underlined what he believed were examples of mismanagement and corruption during those two presidents' administrations.

He also claimed that Rafsanjani had promised the fall of his new government to Saudi Arabia after he lost the 2005 election to Ahmadinejad.

In response, Mousavi attacked Ahmadinejad for accusing people who were not represented in the debate. He said the tactic was adopted by the incumbent President because Ahmadinejad had not found anything against him.

Mousavi brought into question Ahmadinejad's foreign and economic policies, saying that his denial of the Holocaust had resulted in dire consequences for the country.

President Ahmadinejad's attacks were not limited to former presidents. He also accused the two other presidential hopefuls -- Mohsen Rezaei and Mehdi Karroubi -- of trying to downplay his government's achievements, saying there have been massive plots underway against this government.

GM makes new offer to ease bankruptcy

2009-05-30T19:08:00.000+04:00

US auto giant General Motors says if its bondholders accept the company's bid to sell its assets under bankruptcy protection law, they will be offered 10 percent of GM's stocks.

Based on GM's new offer, bondholders will be offered 10 percent of the company when restructured in addition to warrants to purchase another 15 percent, explained the Detroit-based carmaker through a US regulatory filing on Thursday.

In return, creditors who represent about 20 percent of the company's debt, will allow GM to sell its profitable assets to a government-funded company established in accordance with the bankruptcy law.

The new company would cede 17.5 percent of its stock to the United Auto Workers union's health-care trust fund and 10 percent to back the "old GM" to pay creditors.

The GM filing says if the bondholders do not agree to support the sale, then they would have less or no chance to obtain stocks or warrants.

US government to own 72% of GM

2009-05-30T19:02:00.000+04:00

Fallen US auto giant General Motors pulled back from the brink, winning government and bondholder support for a new restructuring plan.

GM, kept afloat so far with USD 19b in taxpayer money, had been facing a deadline on Monday to come up with an agreed reorganization.

The new plan endorsed by bondholders, would see the government hold a 72.5 percent stake in return for possibly more than USD 50b of fresh funding.

The Treasury Department "has indicated to GM that if GM decides to seek relief under the US Bankruptcy Code and seek bankruptcy court approval for the sale of substantially all of its assets ... a new company sponsored by the US Treasury (New GM) would agree to acquire such assets," a GM filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said.

The government could provide "in excess of USD 50b" for this reorganization that would be converted to stock, it added.

GM's survival was thrown into doubt earlier this week when holders of some USD 27b in GM bonds rejected a plan to swap that debt for 10 percent of the new company.

Oil prices hit 7-month high, above $66

2009-05-30T18:56:00.000+04:00

Oil prices hit a seven-month high above $66 a barrel with signs of recovery in US, Japanese and Indian economies and a fall in dollar value.

US light sweet crude for July delivery jumped to $66.47 per barrel, its highest prices as of November, 2008 and London Brent oil increased $1.23 to $66.31 on Friday.

Oil markets marked a 30 percent jump in prices this month -- the largest monthly climb since March 1999.

This is while the dollar experienced a five-month low against other currencies to support oil prices.

New data on Friday showed positive signals in the economies of the US, Japan and India, suggesting that the economic crisis may be easing.

Analysts says prices will continue rising amid optimistic economic figures. Oil consumption had fallen as a result of the global financial meltdown with crude prices now rebounding.

At the Vienna summit last week, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) left production quotas unchanged.

Russia's chemical stockpile for WWIII to shrink

2009-05-30T18:49:00.000+04:00

Thousands of tons of the chemical weapons, reportedly set aside for a contingency plan to fight the World War III, are to be rendered harmless in Russia.

On Friday, international officials attended the opening ceremony of the factory which is to remove and neutralize the lethal contents of the weapons, Reuters reported.

The facility, codenamed 'Unit 1027', can process Sarin, Soman and the most deadly nerve gas VX from both cannon shells and warheads.

The 5,500 tons of chemical weapons, however, is slightly above a fourth of what the country should rid itself of by 2012 - the deadline for a wholesale clear-out.

Moscow is criticized for its alleged lax cooperation with the Chemical Weapons Convention which came in effect in 1997; ten years after Russia ceased to produce the weaponry.

At the time of the treaty, the country had been found in possession of more than half of the world's 71,000 metric tons of deadly chemical agents.

It has, however, stepped up its efforts to dispose of the weapons and meet the limit.

Ex-US senator, Richard Lugar, who had joined the inauguration, said "the arsenals had been built to fight World War III," adding that "thankfully that confrontation never came but today we must ensure that the weapons are never used and never fall into the hands of those who would do harm to us or others."

Washington and the EU also reportedly chipped in to fund the facility.

Obama to ban PoW photos exposing rape, torture

2009-05-30T18:25:00.000+04:00

The US administration asks an appeals court to stop the release of prisoner abuse images, showing that Obama has fully backtracked on his promise of transparency.

In a motion filed Thursday in a New York federal appeals court, the Obama administration said that it did not want the photos to be available to the public, arguing that they could lead to violence against US troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and even Pakistan.

"[Distributing the photos poses] a clear and grave risk of inciting violence and riots against American and coalition forces, as well as civilian personnel, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan," the motion said.

The court filing also included two semi-classified statements by the top US commander in Iraq, General Raymond Odierno, and the head of US Central Command General David Petraeus, who leads US military activities in the Middle East and Central Asia.

"[The release of the images] would… further endanger the lives of US soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors, civilians and contractors," said Petraeus.

Odierno also claimed that Iraqi officials had told him the release of the photos, which are believed to number in the thousands, could disrupt democratic progress in Iraq before the national elections.

Last month, Obama's administration said that it would comply with a court order, which was issued following a lengthy Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The order said the pictures must be released by May 28.

Earlier in May, however, Barack Obama reversed his position, saying that he did not feel comfortable with his previous decision.

The new US administration's U-turn on the issue drew a heavy backlash from the ACLU, which expressed outrage and said the decision "makes a mockery" of Obama's campaign promise of transparency.

While Amnesty International said that it was disappointed, other US human rights groups also accused Obama of following in the footsteps of former president George W. Bush.

News of the US government's official stance came as Press TV released some images of the maltreatment of prisoners by US soldiers, confirming an earlier Daily Telegraph report, which revealed the photos of abuse at Iraqi jails include images of rape and sexual assault.

Washington-based investigative journalist Wayne Madsen emailed the horrific images to Press TV, rejecting allegations by neoconservative media that they were fake.

Madsen said when some of the disputed photos were randomly published by the Boston Globe in 2004, neoconservatives made the same accusations against the paper.

The Daily Telegraph report focused on information provided by Major General Antonio Taguba, a former army officer who published a report in 2004 into the abuse scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Contradicting an Obama administration claim that photos did not include pictures of sexual abuse, Taguba said the images showed mistreatment, torture, and rape.

Bush sees parity with 'brother' Clinton

2009-05-30T18:21:00.000+04:00

Former US President George W. Bush says ex-President William J. Clinton never criticized him as both leaders followed similar policies in their tenures.

Speaking at their first cameo appearance in a Toronto forum on Friday, Bush refused to vilify the current US administration under President Barack H. Obama, saying he disliked it when former governments attacked his.

The two leaders rubberstamped each other's policies, agreeing that little differences existed between the two.

Bush supported Clinton's silence during the 1994 Rwanda genocide in which over 800,000 thousands Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered.

He backed Clinton's notion by admitting that the quick mobilization of 20,000 troops was not feasible at the time.

Clinton, however, acknowledged that he could save around 400,000 lives in case he took the initiative.

"It's one of the two or three greatest regrets of my presidency," he said.

Clinton for his part praised Bush for his 'diverse' cabinet picks.

Tickets for "A conversation with Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton," were sold for C$200 to C$2,500 as hundreds of opposition had staged a rally outside the heavily-guarded venue.

Commenting on the financial benefits of the forum, Bush said, "President Clinton and I used to believe in free speech …So thanks very much for coming _ we are glad you're here."

He also called Clinton a 'brother' for the amount of time he spent with the Bush family.

The comments put a new light on the true differences between the two main political parties.

US senator rejects Cheney torture claim as 'lie'

2009-05-30T18:08:00.000+04:00

A US senator says claims by former Vice President Dick Cheney that enhanced interrogation techniques -- torture -- saved countless American lives are wrong.

The powerful chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Carl Levin, said an investigation into detainee abuse charges over the use of the tactics "gives the lie to Mr. Cheney's claims," CNN reported.

In April, President Barack Obama released classified CIA memos that showed Bush administration lawyers authorized the use of techniques such as waterboarding, which stimulates drowning, against enemy combatants.

Later, Obama banned the use of the techniques.

Levin noted that the two CIA documents that Cheney wants released "say nothing about numbers of lives saved, nor do the documents connect acquisition of valuable intelligence to the use of abusive techniques."

"I hope that the documents are declassified, so that people can judge for themselves what fact is, and what is fiction," he added.

Cheney had asked the Obama administration to declassify the documents to make more "honest debate" on the Bush administration's decision to use the methods on suspected terrorists, but his request was rejected by the CIA.

Cheney argued that those techniques provided valuable intelligence that saved American lives, but critics say they amounted to the illegal torture of prisoners in US custody.

Paris implicated in Zoe's Ark orphan fraud?

2009-05-30T18:02:00.000+04:00

The French charity Zoe's Ark faces trial as an organization for "fraud" related to the "snatching" of 103 Chadian children in 2007, a court source says.

The group's head Eric Breteau was brought before judges on Thursday to have the charges which also include assisting in the illegal immigration of foreign children "with a view to adoption" read out to him.

Breteau and his partner, Emilie Lelouch, have already been charged personally on similar counts following complaints from five former volunteers who claimed to have been duped by the association.

The five were sent to Chad in September 2007 and told they were on a mission to help Darfur orphans, but returned to France shortly before six members of the organization were arrested on October 25 that year.

Chad's government accused the organization of kidnapping, while its members argued they were helping orphans from the war-ravaged Darfur region in neighboring Sudan. It later emerged the children were not Sudanese but from Chad and only a handful were actually orphans.

Zoe's Ark, founded by volunteer firefighter and four-wheel-drive enthusiast Breteau, describes itself as a non-profit organization "dedicated to orphaned children."

Zoe's Ark controversial plan to airlift 1,000 children from Sudan's troubled Darfur region and place them in foster care with French families was launched in June 2008 and advertised as the only means to "save them from certain death".

It admitted signing up 500 foster families to cover evacuation costs, each paying USD 4,000 to USD 8,600 dollars.

On its website, Zoe's Ark claimed that 800,000 children are at the risk of dying by the end of the year.

In Oct. 2007, the French Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights, Rama Yade, accused the group of hiding its identity by registering in Chad under the name of Children Rescue.

She recalled that the government warned Zoe's Ark months before that it risked breaking the law and that it had no way of proving that the children involved were orphans.

French police have been investigating the charity since July 2007 on charges of illegal adoption. It has also been revealed that French military planes in Chad carried charity members on several occasions.

France has 1,000 troops and fighter jets stationed in Chad, home to some 236,000 refugees from Darfur as well as some 173,000 people displaced by a local rebellion.

There have been accusations from various political sectors about former colonial power France being an "accomplice" in the crime.

"We have got ourselves into an impossible situation and I would like to know exactly what the French authorities' role was," said former premier, Laurent Fabius, in October 2007.

In a book published in 2008, Breteau said that both the French Foreign Ministry and the French president's office had known about his mission beforehand and backed it.

Iraq decries Riyadh's 'negative positions'

2009-05-30T17:57:00.000+04:00

The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al Maliki, has taken a swipe at Saudi Arabia's 'negative positions' towards his country.

Comparing recognition from other neighbors of Iraq, including Iran, with continued Saudi rejections, Maliki said in a statement on Thursday, “We succeeded in opening ourselves to many countries, but Saudi has negative positions.”

Iraq, which has a Shia majority, for the first time elected a Shia-led government in 2005, headed by Maliki's Dawaa Party, and Saudi Arabia, which presumes itself as the representative of the Sunni Islam, has snubbed Iraqi overtures for recognition and better relations.

“We rushed to create not just a normal but positive relation [with Saudi Arabia], but the initiative was mistakenly understood as a weakness.”

Saudi Arabia remains the prime source for foreign volunteers traveling to Iraq to engage in sectarian anti-Shia violence.

Maliki has distanced himself from sectarianism and reached out to minority Sunni Arabs in forming his government.

Nevertheless Saudis are also said to be suspicious of Maliki over its close ties with Iran.

Still, Maliki says that his government remains open, and hopeful, for better relations with the Saudis. “We continue to be ready for any Saudi initiative but we have used up initiatives from our side and it would be useless to repeat them unless Saudi has a clear intention to [improve] these relations,” Maliki said.

The US government has called on Iraq's neighbors to extend diplomatic recognition and better ties with Iraq. But, these calls have been mostly ignored, especially by Saudi Arabia, an otherwise steadfast US ally.

In contrast, Iran was the first of Iraq's neighbors to exchange ambassadors with the war-ravaged country.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan backed the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during his eight-year war against Iran in the 1980's.

The Saudis are demanding the return of some $40 billion that Riyadh had loaned to Saddam Hussein to finance his war against Iran, although they have suggested readiness to write off 80 percent of it. Iraq disputes the amount, claiming that it owes only $15 billion.

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NATO standing between US-Russia ties: Putin

2009-05-12T23:16:00.000+04:00

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says NATO military exercises in Georgia could impede attempts by Washington and Moscow to "reset" their strained relations.

In an interview ahead of a trip to Tokyo, Putin said that the NATO exercise was "a step backwards" and a "signal in the other direction" despite efforts to repair US-Russia relations, Reuters reported.

"We really hope that today's leaders of the United States will hit the pedal properly to put a brake on the negative trends in our ... ties and take the necessary steps to make sure they really gain new substance," Putin said.

Russia has questioned the timing of the exercises when tension in the Caucasus is on the rise.

Putin also criticized the NATO war games, saying they will prop up the pro-Western Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

President Saakashvili, who is detested by Moscow after igniting and fighting a war against Russia in August 2008, in recent weeks has faced major protests from the opposition who want him to resign.

The NATO exercise is the latest in a series of obstacles standing the way of better US-Russia relations. The two sides remain at odds over Washington's plans to deploy elements of an anti-missile shield in Eastern Europe.

The Kremlin views the move as a threat to its sovereignty, while the White House says the deployment is mere precaution against possible missile attack from 'rogue states'.

In March, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton handed a 'reset button' as a gift to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in move viewed a first step in betterment of relations between the Cold War-era rivals.

Following the move Moscow and Washington decided to reduce their nuclear warheads and work together on a number of issues.

US sends mixed signals over Pakistani nukes future

2009-05-05T23:20:00.000+04:00

as Pakistan continues to struggle with the Taliban insurgency, senior officials in Washington issue contradictory statements over the future of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal.

Top US military chief, Admiral Michael Mullen, on Monday told reporters that Pakistan's nuclear facilities were well protected. "I remain comfortable that the nuclear weapons in Pakistan are secure."

However, hours later, National Security Adviser, General James Jones, said the White House needed assurances from the Pakistani government that its nuclear weapons would not fall into the hands of al-Qaeda or Taliban militants.

The development comes as Pakistan's army continues to grapple with the looming insurgency near the capital, Islamabad.

US officials are expected to discuss the perceived vulnerability of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal with President Asif Ali Zardari during his three-day visit to Washington which began on Monday.

US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, has warned that the US was worried about the "unthinkable" in Pakistan - that the Taliban and al-Qaeda could topple the government, giving them "the keys to nuclear arsenal".

There are also reports of back-door plans in Washington to take over the Pakistani nukes in the event of any exigencies in the face of further advance by the insurgents in the violence-hit country.

The Taliban have announced that they plan to infiltrate into Islamabad and other major cities across Pakistan.

US forgives Israeli spies amid AIPAC heat

2009-05-05T23:18:00.001+04:00

A US court has formally dropped espionage charges against two pro-Israeli lobbyists amid a scandal that had threatened to expose the extent of Israeli grip on US politics.

US District Judge T. S. Ellis on Monday dismissed all charges against former AIPAC lobbyists Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, three days after Justice Department prosecutors announced that handling the case would require the release of top secret military intelligence and should therefore be shelved.

Rosen and Weissman were indicted in 2005 for conspiring to obtain and leak classified information regarding Iran to the Israeli government and journalists from The Washington Post and other media outlets.

Pentagon expert Larry Franklin -- who pled guilty to passing restricted military intelligence to the two indicted lobbyists -- was sentenced in April to 12 years and seven months in prison.

AIPAC, billed as the most powerful lobbying group in Washington, has strived to distance itself from the spy case to escape further controversy for the sake of its reputation.

The controversy, however, was further fueled by revelations of the involvement of California representative Jane Harman -- a longtime member of the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence who has access to highly classified security information.

Harman was reportedly overheard on a wiretapped phone conversation while agreeing to act on behalf of a suspected Israeli agent and persuade the Justice Department into reducing espionage charges against Rosen and Weissman.

The Israeli agent, in return, promised to smooth the way for Harman to become the next chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

According to a Congressional Quarterly report released on April 19, the FBI was poised to question Harman about the telephone call and her interactions with the suspected Israeli agent but US Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez blocked efforts to launch an investigation.

Harman, who has denied any wrongdoing, has taken the matter up with AIPAC policymakers and has tried to turn the tables by accusing the US government of illegally recording her conversation -- a move that has shifted media attention away from AIPAC involvement in the spy case, also named the Lawrence Franklin affair.

In an address to the 2009 AIPAC policy conference on Monday, she chose to focus on the wiretapping rather than her bargaining deals with the suspected Israeli spy and called herself "a warrior on behalf of our Constitution and against abuse of power."

She went on to promise the heavyweight American politicians who had come to swear allegiance to Israel that she would "not quit on this, until I am absolutely sure that this never can happen to anyone else".

Baruch Weiss, the lawyer who helped cripple the US government's case against Rosen and Weissman, says the prosecution's loss is a "great victory" for Israel's friends.

This is not the first time pro-Israeli lobbyists charged with espionage escape trial in the US.

Stephen D. Bryen, a pro-Israel activist who played a key role in forging close ties between Israel and the Pentagon, was seen passing confidential documents to an Israeli Mossad agent in a restaurant in Washington.

Michael Saba, former executive director of the influential National Association of Arab Americans, who was witness to the security breach, promptly reported the incident to the Justice Department.

"After I reported this incident to the Justice Department, FBI and Justice Department investigators gathered sufficient evidence on Dr. Bryen's activities to recommend he be brought before an investigative grand jury for espionage," Saba explained in Armageddon Network

"The case was quietly closed, however, by Philip Heymann, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, a close personal friend and associate of Dr. Bryen's attorney. Bryen was never formally charged or made to account for his actions under oath," he added.

UN pushing Israel toward legal proceedings

2009-05-05T23:17:00.002+04:00

In pursuit of the case of Israeli war crimes, the United Nations moves to report to the Security Council that UN facilities in Gaza had been targeted willfully.

After the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA) compound became the target of GPS-guided Israeli mortars on January 15, the UN set up a commission to bring Israeli human rights violations in Gaza out into the open.

The commission -- led by the former British secretary-general of human rights group Amnesty International, Ian Martin -- assembled a report on Israeli actions in Gaza for submission to the Security Council.

"Israel deliberately fired at UN institutions even though it knew it was forbidden", read the report.

According to Israeli daily Ynet, the report blames Israel for disproportionate fire and excessive use of force and goes on to confirm that IDF forces shot at Palestinian civilians unnecessarily and excessively.

A member of the American delegation at the UN described the report as "unprecedented in its gravity towards Israel."

"Israel will have to lick the wounds of the report for many years, if the current wording is accepted as it is," the source was quoted as saying.

The report which includes serious charges against Israel has ruffled feathers in Israel, raising fears that it would prompt legal proceedings.

As the commission gets set to submit the report to the council on Tuesday, Israel made a move to reject the findings of the controversial report on Tuesday saying that Hamas "are misleading the investigators, the UN and public opinion."

Israel is suspected of committing war crimes including the use of the deadly white phosphorus shells in densely populated civilian areas, as revealed in an investigation by The Times in January.

While Israel initially denied using the controversial weapon, later mounting evidence forced Israeli officials to admit to having employed the shells.

Earlier in April, the IDF issued a statement claiming that Israeli probes had found that its forces did not violate international law during the recent war in Gaza.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in its Tuesday statement that Israel has held an independent review of its behavior during Operation Cast Lead and "the conclusions of these probes were released two weeks ago and they proved beyond all doubt that there was no deliberate shooting by the IDF at UN facilities."

N. Korea accuses US of planning nuke war

2009-05-05T23:17:00.001+04:00

North Korea pledges not to wind up its nuclear weapons program, claiming the United States is plotting a nuclear attack on its soil.

The Korean peninsula is "on the brink of war because of a new war scheme by US hostile forces," the North's ruling party's newspaper Rodon Sinmun said in an editorial published Tuesday.

The editorial reiterated that Pyongyang will push ahead with its nuclear program to reinforce its deterrent against a new "nuclear war scenario for aggression".

"We are compelled to bolster our nuclear deterrent" as hostile forces have made clear their plan to occupy North Korea by force, it added.

The UN Security Council introduced a resolution against North Korea last month after the country carried out an illegal ballistic missile test.

The North reacted to the UN move by starting to reprocess spent fuel rods at its Yongbyon complex to make weapons-grade plutonium.

Pyongyang claims the missile put an experimental communication satellite into orbit while the US, South Korea and Japan maintain that it was a disguised missile test.

Israel, US colliding over ME peace?

2009-05-05T23:15:00.000+04:00

Israeli daily Haaretz reported Tuesday that 'a classified telegram was received in Jerusalem a few days ago' in which Obama's National Security Adviser, General James Jones, advised an unnamed European foreign minister that 'unlike the Bush administration, Obama will be 'forceful' with Israel'.

"The new administration will convince Israel to compromise on the Palestinian question," read the message.

The telegram however made it clear that Washington "will not push Israel under the wheels of a bus, but we will be more forceful toward Israel than we have been under Bush."

According to a report published earlier this week by the Israeli website DEBKA, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'can expect the full force of a bludgeon to be wielded in his White House talks on May 18'.

Citing its sources from Washington, the website claimed Barack Obama would be the first US president in decades of friendship that would openly clash with Israel.

"According to our sources, the White House staff is working at top speed on options for imposing its will," read the report.

AIPAC, donors were also informed earlier this week that, Obama will 'firmly and decisively' let Netanyahu know that the US is determined to see the implementation of the 'two-state-solution'.

The new Israeli government refuses to consider the two-state solution saying the peace process has reached a dead end.

Nonetheless, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told an AIPAC conference last night that the two-state-solution remains 'the only solution' and Israel has arrived at 'its moment of truth'.

The developments come as the US president whose country has vetoed all but one UN anti-Israeli resolutions has refused to take a stance over Israel's devastating offensive into Gaza which killed over 1350 peopl and wounded thousands others, a large number of women and children.