Prophet Muhammad's Name in the Bible
Prophet Muhammad's Name in the Bible
The name "Muhammad" has been discovered in the Bible in the original Hebrew language.Bible errors vs. Qur'an Accuracies.
Bible errors vs. Qur'an Accuracies.
Earth, sun, stars, moon Scientific miracles of Qur'an
Support peaceful Iran nuclear drive’
Posted on 08 June 2012 by waqar shabbir
BEIJING:JAFARIA NEWS;
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart on
Thursday that Moscow supports Tehran’s atomic programme as long as it is
“peaceful”.
“We have always supported the right of the Iranian people to modern technologies, including the peaceful use of atomic energy,” he told Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of a regional security summit in Beijing.
“But I want to emphasise that it is peaceful that we are talking about. You know our position.”
The West believes Iran is trying to develop an atomic bomb under cover of a civilian programme but Tehran insists its intentions are purely peaceful, and and the situation has brought about a shaky standoff.
The talks between the two leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit — the first since Putin returned to the Kremlin for a third term — come as Russia prepares to host the latest round of global talks on Iran.
The June 18 and 19 meeting between world powers and Iranian negotiators will try to find a diplomatic solution to the current standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Putin’s comments also come after leaders of the SCO’s member states issued a statement Thursday opposing any use of force in Iran, saying it could threaten global security.
“We have always supported the right of the Iranian people to modern technologies, including the peaceful use of atomic energy,” he told Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of a regional security summit in Beijing.
“But I want to emphasise that it is peaceful that we are talking about. You know our position.”
The West believes Iran is trying to develop an atomic bomb under cover of a civilian programme but Tehran insists its intentions are purely peaceful, and and the situation has brought about a shaky standoff.
The talks between the two leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit — the first since Putin returned to the Kremlin for a third term — come as Russia prepares to host the latest round of global talks on Iran.
The June 18 and 19 meeting between world powers and Iranian negotiators will try to find a diplomatic solution to the current standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Putin’s comments also come after leaders of the SCO’s member states issued a statement Thursday opposing any use of force in Iran, saying it could threaten global security.
Saudi lawyer denies kingdom’s charges
Saudi lawyer denies kingdom’s charges
Posted on 07 June 2012 by waqar shabbir
Saudi authorities have pressed
charges against a young lawyer, who described the move as part of
Riyadh’s policy of clampdown on human rights activists.
On Monday, Waleed Abu al-Khair was presented with the charges of tarnishing the image of the monarchy and contempt for the country’s judiciary, Reuters reported.
Prosecutors accuse him of defamation of a Saudi judge, misleading justice, and “providing false information to a foreign organization.”
But Abu al-Khair on Wednesday denied any wrongdoing, saying the charges against him are an attempt to prevent him from working on human rights cases in the kingdom.
“They want to show me that they can easily stop my human rights activities … but in the end I am going to face this court case and I believe that I am not guilty and have not done anything that requires punishment so I will defend myself,” he said.
He could now face a fine or a prison sentence if convicted.
He had previously protested against the jailing of an activist without trial and women’s exclusion from voting in municipal elections. He had also been among 150 activists who signed a document, condemning long prison sentences by a Saudi court against 16 other campaigners.
In 2011, the 32-year-old signed petitions, demanding political reformation in the kingdom.
In March, Abu al-Khair was barred from travelling abroad for security reasons.
Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy with zero tolerance for public dissent.
In April, a court in the Saudi capital sentenced rights campaigner Mohammed al-Bajadi to four years in jail. He had been arrested in March 2011 after voicing support for families demanding the release of jailed relatives.
On Monday, Waleed Abu al-Khair was presented with the charges of tarnishing the image of the monarchy and contempt for the country’s judiciary, Reuters reported.
Prosecutors accuse him of defamation of a Saudi judge, misleading justice, and “providing false information to a foreign organization.”
But Abu al-Khair on Wednesday denied any wrongdoing, saying the charges against him are an attempt to prevent him from working on human rights cases in the kingdom.
“They want to show me that they can easily stop my human rights activities … but in the end I am going to face this court case and I believe that I am not guilty and have not done anything that requires punishment so I will defend myself,” he said.
He could now face a fine or a prison sentence if convicted.
He had previously protested against the jailing of an activist without trial and women’s exclusion from voting in municipal elections. He had also been among 150 activists who signed a document, condemning long prison sentences by a Saudi court against 16 other campaigners.
In 2011, the 32-year-old signed petitions, demanding political reformation in the kingdom.
In March, Abu al-Khair was barred from travelling abroad for security reasons.
Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy with zero tolerance for public dissent.
In April, a court in the Saudi capital sentenced rights campaigner Mohammed al-Bajadi to four years in jail. He had been arrested in March 2011 after voicing support for families demanding the release of jailed relatives.
Pakistan and US: allies without trust
Pakistan and US: allies without trust
Posted on 07 June 2012 by waqar shabbir
As Washington fumed over the jailing of a Pakistani doctor who
helped the CIA hunt down Osama bin Laden, an educated Islamabad
businesswoman voiced her own outrage – at the United States.
“All we ever got from the Americans is instability and violence,” she said, echoing what many Pakistanis believe is Washington’s contribution to their country and region over three decades.
“Didn’t you know Osama bin Laden was a CIA agent?”, she asked at a dinner attended by Western diplomats, referring to his role in U.S.-backed resistance to the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan in the 1980s. “Then he was on the same side as Washington.”
In Pakistan, public opinion increasingly views the United States as a fickle, selfish ally despite the billions of dollars in aid that flow to the cash-strapped South Asian nation.
It is a view that has only deepened since U.S. troops killed bin Laden on Pakistani soil in May 2011. The raid, kept secret from Pakistani authorities, was a humiliation for the powerful military and raised searching questions about whether it was harbouring militants.
Relations have soured further after a court last week imprisoned for 33 years the Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find the al Qaeda chief and mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
“Most people in Washington are upset with Pakistan. Dr (Shakil) Afridi goes to jail, this guy should be a hero, instead you (Pakistan) are treating him like a crook,” said one U.S. official.
Pakistani officials told the media Afridi was jailed for treason for his ties to the CIA, but a court document released later said he was guilty of aiding a banned militant group.
Rising antipathy towards Washington makes it tougher for the government – already unpopular because of its failure to tackle poverty, power cuts and corruption – to do anything that might be seen as caving in to U.S. demands, especially ahead of general elections expected early next year.
Those constraints are evident in deadlocked talks on re-opening supply routes to Western forces in Afghanistan, which Islamabad shut six months ago to protest against a U.S. cross-border air attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
“As the relationship has deteriorated, public opinion in both countries has become a mirror image of the other, seeing each other almost as adversaries,” Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to Washington, told Reuters.
When CIA contractor Raymond Davis killed two Pakistanis in the eastern city of Lahore last year, it opened another wound. Washington says he acted in self defence.
For many Pakistanis, it was a Rambo-style act by CIA agents who seem to roam their country freely. Davis was acquitted of murder and allowed to leave Pakistan after a $2.3 million payment was made to the men’s families.
The main point of friction between Washington and Islamabad is the U.S. “war on terror”, a campaign Pakistan joined after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and despite objections from some of its own generals.
But Islamabad has been accused of being less than sincere and of shielding Afghan militant groups to ensure it has a proxy stake in any political settlement once U.S. forces withdraw, an allegation it denies.
Some U.S. senators have pushed for aid cuts to force greater Pakistani cooperation, and the frustrations have spread far beyond the corridors of power in Washington. Pakistan’s leaders “need to be helping us, not fighting against us”, said Lynne McClintock, an office manager in a physical therapy practice in a Seattle suburb.
Pakistan sees such comments as a sign of U.S. ingratitude, pointing out that it has sacrificed more than any other country that joined the U.S. war on militancy, losing tens of thousands of security forces and civilians. All Pakistan gets in return, many officials complain, is criticism and a lack of trust.
Shaking his head in anger, one Pakistani official recalled a visit he made to NATO headquarters in Brussels. When he went to the bathroom, he was escorted by a security guard, making him feel as if he were a threat.
Hardening the resentment of Pakistanis is a firm belief that it was Washington that fuelled militancy by funding Islamist guerrillas to fight the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and then by helping topple the Taliban regime in Kabul in 2001.
“All we ever got from the Americans is instability and violence,” she said, echoing what many Pakistanis believe is Washington’s contribution to their country and region over three decades.
“Didn’t you know Osama bin Laden was a CIA agent?”, she asked at a dinner attended by Western diplomats, referring to his role in U.S.-backed resistance to the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan in the 1980s. “Then he was on the same side as Washington.”
In Pakistan, public opinion increasingly views the United States as a fickle, selfish ally despite the billions of dollars in aid that flow to the cash-strapped South Asian nation.
It is a view that has only deepened since U.S. troops killed bin Laden on Pakistani soil in May 2011. The raid, kept secret from Pakistani authorities, was a humiliation for the powerful military and raised searching questions about whether it was harbouring militants.
Relations have soured further after a court last week imprisoned for 33 years the Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find the al Qaeda chief and mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
“Most people in Washington are upset with Pakistan. Dr (Shakil) Afridi goes to jail, this guy should be a hero, instead you (Pakistan) are treating him like a crook,” said one U.S. official.
Pakistani officials told the media Afridi was jailed for treason for his ties to the CIA, but a court document released later said he was guilty of aiding a banned militant group.
Rising antipathy towards Washington makes it tougher for the government – already unpopular because of its failure to tackle poverty, power cuts and corruption – to do anything that might be seen as caving in to U.S. demands, especially ahead of general elections expected early next year.
Those constraints are evident in deadlocked talks on re-opening supply routes to Western forces in Afghanistan, which Islamabad shut six months ago to protest against a U.S. cross-border air attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
“As the relationship has deteriorated, public opinion in both countries has become a mirror image of the other, seeing each other almost as adversaries,” Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to Washington, told Reuters.
When CIA contractor Raymond Davis killed two Pakistanis in the eastern city of Lahore last year, it opened another wound. Washington says he acted in self defence.
For many Pakistanis, it was a Rambo-style act by CIA agents who seem to roam their country freely. Davis was acquitted of murder and allowed to leave Pakistan after a $2.3 million payment was made to the men’s families.
The main point of friction between Washington and Islamabad is the U.S. “war on terror”, a campaign Pakistan joined after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and despite objections from some of its own generals.
But Islamabad has been accused of being less than sincere and of shielding Afghan militant groups to ensure it has a proxy stake in any political settlement once U.S. forces withdraw, an allegation it denies.
Some U.S. senators have pushed for aid cuts to force greater Pakistani cooperation, and the frustrations have spread far beyond the corridors of power in Washington. Pakistan’s leaders “need to be helping us, not fighting against us”, said Lynne McClintock, an office manager in a physical therapy practice in a Seattle suburb.
Pakistan sees such comments as a sign of U.S. ingratitude, pointing out that it has sacrificed more than any other country that joined the U.S. war on militancy, losing tens of thousands of security forces and civilians. All Pakistan gets in return, many officials complain, is criticism and a lack of trust.
Shaking his head in anger, one Pakistani official recalled a visit he made to NATO headquarters in Brussels. When he went to the bathroom, he was escorted by a security guard, making him feel as if he were a threat.
Hardening the resentment of Pakistanis is a firm belief that it was Washington that fuelled militancy by funding Islamist guerrillas to fight the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and then by helping topple the Taliban regime in Kabul in 2001.
India: Discrimination against Muslim students in Gujarat schools!
India: Discrimination against Muslim students in Gujarat schools!
Posted on 08 June 2012 by waqar shabbir
A meeting of Central Advisory
Board of Education today witnessed a war of words between Gujarat
Education Minister Ramanlal Vora and social activist Shabnam Hashmi who
alleged that Muslim students were discriminated against in schools in
the state after 2002 riots.
While presenting her views on the need to improve the quality of teaching, Hashmi said that the teachers should be impartial and they should treat students equally. When she cited the example of the alleged discrimination against Muslim students, who were denied admission in some schools in Ahmedabad after the 2002 Gujarat riots, Vora protested.
He asked her to name the schools that had denied admission to Muslim students but when she could not, the minister said that such allegations should not be levelled without any proof.
However, Hashmi said she “can produce the list of schools later”, to which the minister agreed.
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, who chaired the CABE meeting, also demanded a copy of the list. “If you have any information, please send the list to the Gujarat Minister and to us also,” he said.
Later, talking to reporters, Sibal said he has requested Hashmi to supply the information. “Let the data be supplied. We have to see what is the evidence of discrimination. And what is the jurisdiction of the central government.
If there is discrimination at the certain level, certainly the issue can be discussed. It can be discussed at various levels,” he said when asked what action the Centre would take if the schools are found guilty.
While presenting her views on the need to improve the quality of teaching, Hashmi said that the teachers should be impartial and they should treat students equally. When she cited the example of the alleged discrimination against Muslim students, who were denied admission in some schools in Ahmedabad after the 2002 Gujarat riots, Vora protested.
He asked her to name the schools that had denied admission to Muslim students but when she could not, the minister said that such allegations should not be levelled without any proof.
However, Hashmi said she “can produce the list of schools later”, to which the minister agreed.
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, who chaired the CABE meeting, also demanded a copy of the list. “If you have any information, please send the list to the Gujarat Minister and to us also,” he said.
Later, talking to reporters, Sibal said he has requested Hashmi to supply the information. “Let the data be supplied. We have to see what is the evidence of discrimination. And what is the jurisdiction of the central government.
If there is discrimination at the certain level, certainly the issue can be discussed. It can be discussed at various levels,” he said when asked what action the Centre would take if the schools are found guilty.
US aims behind Afghan security pact will fail: Ahmadinejad
US aims behind Afghan security pact will fail: Ahmadinejad
Posted on 08 June 2012 by arib hadi
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the US is doomed to fail in its 
objectives behind the recently sealed Strategic Partnership Agreement with Afghanistan.
At a Thursday meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the sidelines of the 12th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Beijing, China, Ahmadinejad pointed out that the US will fail in all its efforts to seize control of the world.
“One of the manifestations of such efforts is the signing of the security agreement with Afghanistan which, I am sure, will bring no benefits to the Americans and they will not achieve their objectives behind the agreement,” the Iranian chief executive pointed out.
On May 2, US President Barack Obama and Afghan President Karzai signed the deal that authorizes the presence of US troops for a period of 10 years after 2014, which was the original date agreed earlier for the departure of all foreign combat troops from Afghanistan.
On May 26, Afghanistan’s parliament approved the security pact.
Ahmadinejad pointed out, “Iran only seeks the establishment of security, peace and prosperity for the people of Afghanistan,” adding that the two countries will always stand by each other under any circumstances.
He made reference to the decade-long US-led war in Afghanistan and noted, “The Americans negotiate with the Taliban behind the scenes, but in an attempt to keep up appearances, they have staged a sham war with the Taliban, which mainly victimizes the innocent people and women and children.”
The Afghan president, for his part, praised Iran’s support for the people of Afghanistan and described the bilateral ties as “unique.”
Karzai reiterated that nothing can create a rift among the two nations and assured that the Afghan nation and government will never allow factors such as the security agreement with the US to pose hazards to the interests of the Islamic Republic.
UK activists protest at G4S firm’s role in human rights abuse
UK activists protest at G4S firm’s role in human rights abuse
Posted on 08 June 2012 by masudi
Human rights campaigners have demonstrated outside London Stock 
Exchange
today on June 7 against the private security company G4S as its Annual
General Meeting takes place, urging the firm to end its involvement in
human rights abuses around the world.
While the G4S Company faces serious accusations of involving in abuse
of rights by providing equipment to the Israeli regime’s prisons, it
was recently awarded contracts to provide security for the London
Olympic Games.Palestine Place, a newly reclaimed space in central London hosting two weeks of workshops and discussions in support of Palestine, also endorsed the protest, which was aimed at voicing disgust at the company’s record in human rights abuses in the occupied Palestine.
Meanwhile, on June 5, human rights activists wearing the shirts of football teams from around the world staged a series of protests at different locations across London including Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and a number of parks.
The demonstrations which were organized by Palestine Place highlighted the plight of a Palestinian hunger striker.
Mahmoud Sarsak, a member of the Palestinian national football team, branded an “illegal combatant” by Israel’s military judicial system, has been on hunger strike for more than 80 days in protest at his continued detention without any charges or trial.
The demonstration followed a speech by former Palestinian detainee Khader Adnan, saying, “Reach out to activists all across the world to work together to save Mahmoud Sarsak. Don’t wait for him to die, do all you can to save his life.”
China tells Syria to stop violence, help UN send aid
China tells Syria to stop violence, help UN send aid
Photo: REUTERS
BEIJING - China's envoy to Syria told President Bashar Assad's government to stop the violence and help the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross send aid to strife-hit areas, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said the envoy also promoted mediation between the Syrian government and opposition groups.
The trip by envoy Li Huaxin appears to be the latest initiative to counter accusations from Western and Arab governments that China, along with Russia, abetted expanding violence by Assad's forces by vetoing two UN resolutions aimed at pressuring him out of office.
"He urged the Syrian government to stop the violence immediately, actively cooperate with the UN and ICRC to ease the humanitarian situation, in particular in Homs," Liu said, summarizing Li's talks with Syrian officials this week.
Opposition-held neighborhoods of Homs have been bombarded into submission by state forces.
Li's comments pressing the Syrian government to halt violence build on a six-point statement issued by Beijing over the weekend. China warned other powers not to use humanitarian aid for Syria to "interfere" and urged Assad's government and other sides to "immediately, fully and unconditionally" stop fighting.
"The Syrian government spoke positively of China's six-point proposal. The Syrian government side states it would like to cooperate with the UN agencies in the humanitarian field, on the basis of respecting Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," said Liu in his account of the envoy's talks.
Liu said that Li met the Syrian foreign minister, deputy foreign minister and representatives of the three opposition groups. He did not name the groups.
China and other powers have met behind closed doors at the United Nations to discuss a new US-drafted resolution urging an end to the crackdown on the revolt against Assad and unhindered humanitarian access.
As one of the UN Security Council's five permanent members, China has the power to veto any resolutions, and it joined Russia to exercise that veto power on Syrian measures in October and February.
The United Nations says Syrian security forces have killed more than 7,500 civilians since the revolt against the Assad family's four decades in power began a year ago.
China has also long been reluctant to back international intervention in domestic turmoil. That wariness was in focus last year when NATO forces cited a UN resolution to protect civilians in warring Libya as authority for an air bombing campaign that was crucial to eventually ousting Muammar Gaddafi.
China abstained from the Libya resolution, letting it pass, but it later suggested NATO powers exceeded the UN mandate through their expanded bombing campaign.
Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said the envoy also promoted mediation between the Syrian government and opposition groups.
The trip by envoy Li Huaxin appears to be the latest initiative to counter accusations from Western and Arab governments that China, along with Russia, abetted expanding violence by Assad's forces by vetoing two UN resolutions aimed at pressuring him out of office.
"He urged the Syrian government to stop the violence immediately, actively cooperate with the UN and ICRC to ease the humanitarian situation, in particular in Homs," Liu said, summarizing Li's talks with Syrian officials this week.
Opposition-held neighborhoods of Homs have been bombarded into submission by state forces.
Li's comments pressing the Syrian government to halt violence build on a six-point statement issued by Beijing over the weekend. China warned other powers not to use humanitarian aid for Syria to "interfere" and urged Assad's government and other sides to "immediately, fully and unconditionally" stop fighting.
"The Syrian government spoke positively of China's six-point proposal. The Syrian government side states it would like to cooperate with the UN agencies in the humanitarian field, on the basis of respecting Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," said Liu in his account of the envoy's talks.
Liu said that Li met the Syrian foreign minister, deputy foreign minister and representatives of the three opposition groups. He did not name the groups.
China and other powers have met behind closed doors at the United Nations to discuss a new US-drafted resolution urging an end to the crackdown on the revolt against Assad and unhindered humanitarian access.
As one of the UN Security Council's five permanent members, China has the power to veto any resolutions, and it joined Russia to exercise that veto power on Syrian measures in October and February.
The United Nations says Syrian security forces have killed more than 7,500 civilians since the revolt against the Assad family's four decades in power began a year ago.
China has also long been reluctant to back international intervention in domestic turmoil. That wariness was in focus last year when NATO forces cited a UN resolution to protect civilians in warring Libya as authority for an air bombing campaign that was crucial to eventually ousting Muammar Gaddafi.
China abstained from the Libya resolution, letting it pass, but it later suggested NATO powers exceeded the UN mandate through their expanded bombing campaign.
Syria's Assad rebuffs Annan, troops attack Idlib
Syria's Assad rebuffs Annan, troops attack Idlib
03/10/2012 16:44
Photo: Reuters
BEIRUT - President Bashar Assad told UN/Arab League envoy Kofi Annan on Saturday that no political solution was possible in Syria while "terrorist" groups were destabilizing the country.
"Syria is ready to make a success of any honest effort to find a solution for the events it is witnessing," state news agency SANA quoted Assad as telling his guest.
"No political dialogue or political activity can succeed while there are armed terrorist groups operating and spreading chaos and instability," the Syrian leader said after about two hours of talks with the former U.N. secretary-general.
There was no immediate comment from Annan after the meeting, aimed at halting bloodshed that has cost thousands of lives since a popular uprising erupted a year ago.
While they discussed the crisis, Syrian troops were assaulting the northwestern city of Idlib, a rebel bastion.
"Regime forces have just stormed into Idlib with tanks and heavy shelling is now taking place," said an activist contacted by telephone, the sound of explosions punctuating the call.
Sixteen rebel fighters, seven soldiers and four civilians were killed in the Idlib fighting, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said 15 other people, including three soldiers, had been killed in violence elsewhere.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met Annan in Cairo earlier in the day, told the Arab League his country was "not protecting any regime", but did not believe the Syrian crisis could be blamed on one side alone.
He called for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid access, but Qatar and Saudi Arabia sharply criticised Moscow's stance.
"A truce is not enough"
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who has led calls for Assad to be isolated and for Syrian rebels to be armed, said a ceasefire was not enough. Syrian leaders must be held to account and political prisoners freed, he declared.
"We must send a message to the Syrian regime that the world's patience and our patience has run out, as has the time for silence about its practices," Sheikh Hamad said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said shortcomings in the UN Security Council, where Russia and China have twice vetoed resolutions on Syria, had allowed the killing to go on.
Their position, he said, "gave the Syrian regime a license to extend its brutal practices against the Syrian people".
Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which are both ruled by autocrats and espouse a strict version of Sunni Islam, are improbable champions of democracy in Syria. Riyadh has an interest in seeing Assad fall because this could weaken its Shi'ite regional rival Iran, which has been allied with Syria since 1980.
International rifts have paralyzed action on Syria, with Russia and China opposing Western and Arab calls for Assad, who inherited power from his father nearly 12 years ago, to quit.
Lavrov told Arab ministers a new UN Security Council resolution had a chance of being approved if it was not driven by a desire to let armed rebels take control of Syria's streets.
The United States has drafted a fresh resolution, but the State Department said on Friday it was not optimistic that its text would be accepted by the Council.
France says it will oppose any measure that holds the Syrian government and its foes equally responsible for the bloodshed.
Despite their differences, Lavrov and Arab ministers said they had agreed on the need for an end to violence in Syria.
They also called for unbiased monitoring of events there, opposition to foreign intervention, delivery of humanitarian aid and support for Annan's peace efforts.
Skeptical dissidents
Annan also planned to meet Syrian dissidents before leaving Damascus on Sunday. He has called for a political solution, but the opposition says the time for dialogue is long gone.
"We support any initiative that aims to stop the killings, but we reject it if it is going to give Bashar more time to break the revolution and keep him in power," Melham al-Droubi, a Saudi-based member of the Muslim Brotherhood and of the exiled Syrian National Council, told Reuters by telephone.
Annan's trip to Damascus followed a violent day in which activists said Assad's forces killed at least 72 people as they bombarded parts of the rebellious city of Homs and sought to deter demonstrators and crush insurgents elsewhere.
Decisive victory has eluded both sides in an increasingly deadly struggle that began as a mainly peaceful protest movement a year ago and now appears to be sliding into civil war.
The United Nations estimates that Syrian security forces have killed well over 7,500 people. Syria said in December that "terrorists" had killed more than 2,000 soldiers and police.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet Lavrov in New York on Monday when the Security Council holds a special meeting on Arab revolts, with Syria likely to be in focus.
China calls on both sides to halt violence in Syria
China calls on both sides to halt violence in Syria
LAST UPDATED: 06/08/2012 10:33
BEIJING - China called on Friday for both sides in Syria
to halt the violence and implement envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan, in
the face of rising calls to back tougher action against President Bashar
Assad's government.
China "strongly condemns" the deaths of innocent civilians and calls for the perpetrators to be punished, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a daily news briefing.
Developments in Syria make Annan's efforts more, not less, important, Liu added.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that full-blown civil war in Syria was "imminent," and Annan said it was time to step up the pressure on Damascus to halt the violence. China has repeatedly said it opposes external intervention in Syria.
China "strongly condemns" the deaths of innocent civilians and calls for the perpetrators to be punished, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a daily news briefing.
Developments in Syria make Annan's efforts more, not less, important, Liu added.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that full-blown civil war in Syria was "imminent," and Annan said it was time to step up the pressure on Damascus to halt the violence. China has repeatedly said it opposes external intervention in Syria.
UN watchdog to press Iran for Parchin access in atom probe
UN watchdog to press Iran for Parchin access in atom probe
06/08/2012 04:47
Photo: REUTERS
VIENNA - The UN nuclear watchdog will press Iran on Friday for a deal that would enable its inspectors to visit a military complex where they suspect atom bomb research has taken place, but Western diplomats are skeptical a breakthrough will be reached.
World powers will be watching the IAEA-Iran meeting in Vienna closely to judge whether the Islamic Republic is ready to make concessions before its broader talks with them later this month in Moscow on their decade-old nuclear dispute.
Both Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear body, say significant progress has been made on a framework agreement to resume a long-stalled IAEA investigation into Tehran's atomic activities.
But differences remain on how the IAEA should conduct its probe, and the United States said this week it doubted whether Iran would give the UN agency the kind of access to sites, documents and officials it needs.
"I'm not optimistic," Robert Wood, the acting US envoy to the IAEA, told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the UN agency's governing board. "I certainly hope that an agreement will be reached but I'm not certain Iran is ready."
His skepticism was reinforced by defiant remarks by Tehran's envoy to the IAEA, who accused the UN body on Wednesday of acting like a Western-manipulated spy service and said that Iran's military activities were none of its business.
Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh said Iran would work with the IAEA to prove that Western allegations that Iran wanted a nuclear weapons capability were "forged and fabricated". Iran says its nuclear program is aimed at generating electricity.
But he also said Iran would "not permit our national security to be jeopardized," suggesting it might limit the scope of the UN inspectors' investigation.
A European diplomat said Soltanieh's remarks signaled that Iran would be in no mood to compromise in Friday's Vienna talks.
Western officials, who suspect Iran is dragging out the two sets of talks to buy time for its nuclear program, say the value of any deal will depend on how it is implemented.
The IAEA wants Iran to address concerns over intelligence information pointing to research and tests in Iran - some of which may still be in progress - relevant for developing a nuclear weapons capability.
Iran may give IAEA increased access ahead of P5 + 1 talks
The European Union stressed that the IAEA should be free to conduct its probe in an open way and not be forced to close areas of inquiry prematurely, suggesting this may still be a bone of contention.
"The Agency must be able to revisit areas as their work progresses and as new information becomes available," the 27-nation EU said in a statement to the IAEA's 35-nation board.
The IAEA's immediate priority is gaining access to the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran, where it believes Iran built a steel vessel in 2000 for high explosives tests and may now be cleaning the site of any incriminating evidence.
Iran says Parchin is a conventional military facility and has dismissed such allegations as "ridiculous."
Diplomats and analysts say Iran may offer the IAEA increased cooperation as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with world powers, which resumed in April after a 15-month hiatus and are to continue in the Russian capital on June 18-19.
Those talks are aimed at defusing tension over Iran's nuclear program that has led to increasingly tough Western sanctions on Iran, including an EU oil embargo from July 1, and created fears of a war in the region.
If Iran does not agree to give the IAEA immediate access to Parchin before the Moscow talks, it would be a sign that Tehran "continues to believe it is in a relative position of strength," said Bruno Tertrais of the Strategic Research Foundation.
Full transparency and cooperation with the IAEA is one of the elements the world powers - the United States, Russia, France, Britain, China and Germany - are seeking from Iran.
But they also want Iran to halt its higher-grade uranium enrichment, which Tehran says it needs for a research reactor but which also takes it closer to potential bomb material.
For its part, Iran wants sanctions relief and international recognition of what it says is its right to refine uranium.
"Parchin access is not among the key concessions that the six powers are seeking from Iran in Moscow," said nuclear proliferation expert Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a think-tank in London.
"They are focused on confidence building measures that would limit Iran's ability to make a sprint for a nuclear weapon."
CHRONOLOGY OF ATTACKS on TOURIST TARGETS IN EGYPT: from 1992 to the PRESENT.
CHRONOLOGY
OF ATTACKS
on TOURIST TARGETS IN EGYPT:
from 1992 to the PRESENT.
from 1992 to the PRESENT.
Following are notable incidents
in the failed Moslem militant campaign
to permanently cripple Egypt's lucrative tourist industry. History shows
that the vast majority of tourists who visit Egypt for
any reason, at any time of year, & to any locale, find their
experience to be magical, exotic & a great adventure. Terrorism against
live-aboard vessels on the Red Sea has been virtually non-existent, knowledgeable
sources indicate.
We include this file not
to meddle in your private vacation plans,
nor to instill needless anxiety, but because U.S. Dive Travel
strongly feels you need to study the issue of personal
safety in Egypt before making an informed
decision about whether to travel to this
beautiful but troubled region. And the only way to be informed is to separate fact from rumor,
history from fearful speculation.
Your safety & personal
security are far more important to this company
than any other aspect of your booking. Please read this
important text completely & feel free to call your agent at
U.S. Dive Travel if you have any questions. Thank
you for taking the time. God bless you
& your trip! Be careful & chances are excellent you will
have one of the most exciting & visually gratifying scuba vacations
possible on this planet.
1992
- Sept. 30 - A spokesman for the main militant movement, the Gama'a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group), warned tourists not to enter the province of Qena, which includes some of Egypt's most famous Pharaonic temples & tombs.
- Oct. 1 -- Gama'a gunmen fired at a Nile cruiser carrying 140 Germans near Assiut, injuring three Egyptian crew.
- Oct. 21 -- Militants ambushed a tourist bus, killing a British woman & injuring two British men. The woman was the first foreigner to die in militant-related violence in Egypt.
- Nov. 12 -- Five German
tourists & two Egyptians were wounded when gunmen
ambushed a bus in the town of Qena.
1993
- Jan. 7 - A man threw a bomb near a tourist bus in Cairo, the first attack ever in the nation's capital. No injuries were reported.
- Feb. 26 - A bomb was detonated in a crowded coffee shop in central Cairo, killing a Turk, a Swede & an Egyptian & injuring 20 people of various nationalities.
- March 16 - A bomb damaged five tourist buses outside the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo.
- June 8 - A bomb exploded near a tour bus on Pyramids Road in Cairo, killing two Egyptians & injuring 22 people including five British tourists.
- Aug 16 - A lone gunman fired shots at tourist boat in southern Egypt, but nobody is hurt in the brief random attack.
- Sept 15 & 18 -- Moslem
militants fired at two Nile cruise boats, the first near the village of
al-Qusiya, the second on a boat carrying 22 French tourists
near Abu Tig, in Upper Egypt. Both attacks missed & nobody was hurt
at all. No word on whether the attackers were nabbed by police.
- Oct. 27 -- A man described
as a mentally disturbed musician shot dead
two American businessmen & an eminent French jurist as they ate dinner
at a luxury Cairo hotel. An Italian injured in the attack later died, three
other people were wounded. The government said the attacker was mentally
retarded & was not a Gama'a member, but some sources described him
as a militant sympathiser.
- Dec. 27 - A gun & bomb
attack on a tourist bus in old Cairo left eight Austrians
& eight Egyptians seriously wounded. Next day newspapers said Gama'a
claimed responsibility, explaining that it launched the attack to avenge
executions of its members.
1994
- Feb. 14 -- Gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Romanians in the southern province of Assiut. No one was hurt. The Gama'a claimed responsibility for the attack.
- Feb. 17 -- Gunmen opened fire at a Nile cruiser in Assiut, but no one hurt. Gama'a again claimed responsibility.
- Feb. 19 -- Gunmen attacked a Egyptian train in Assiut, injuring one Pole & several Taiwanese tourists. Gama'a claimed responsibility.
- Feb. 23 - An explosion hits Egyptian train in Assiut. Six tourists were hurt: two Australians, two Germans & two New Zealanders. Gama'a claimed responsibility.
- March 4 -- Gunmen fired at a Nile cruiser in southern Egypt, wounding a German woman tourist, who died after being flown back to Germany.
- March 7 -- Gunmen attacked
a train in southern Egypt, 11 Egyptians wounded.
Gama'a claimed responsibility.
- March 13 -- Gunmen fired at a Nile cruiser in southern Egypt, but no one was hurt.
- Aug. 26 - Gunmen killed
a Spanish boy in an attack on a tourist bus in southern
Egypt, also wounding his father. Gama'a claimed responsibility.
- Sept. 27 -- Gunmen shot
dead one German tourist & wounded another in a random attack in the
Red Sea resort of Hurghada. Two Egyptians also were killed & another
German man died of his injuries after returning to Germany.
Since this time Egyptian police have set a super-tight security cordon
along the single road into Hurghada & there has not been any major
incidents since this date, sources indicate.
- Oct. 23 -- Suspected Moslem militants killed a British tourist & wounded three others, along with their Egyptian driver, raking with machine-gun fire the minibus carrying them to a pharaonic temple in southern Egypt.
- Nov. 6 -- Gunmen opened
fire at a Nile cruiser carrying 30 tourists in southern Egypt, but they
do not cause any damage or casualties.
- Dec. 26 -- Unidentified
gunmen opened fire near a passenger train in southern
Egypt, causing no injuries.
1995
- Jan. 12 -- Suspected Moslem militants wounded two Argentine tourists & four Egyptians when they opened fire on a train in southern Egypt.
- Nov. 8 -- Gunmen thought to be Moslem militants attacked a passenger train in southern Egypt & wounded 10 people.
- Nov. 9 -- Two European
tourists -- a Dutch man & a French woman -- are shot when terrrists sprayed
a passenger train with bullets in southern Egypt. The Gama'a told foreign
tourists to leave the country immediately & said it was responsible
for the attack on the passenger train in southern Egypt on November 8.
- Nov. 19 - Suspected Moslem militants opened fire on a tourist train heading north from Aswan to Cairo, killing one of the train workers & injuring several people.
- Nov. 29 - Gunmen fired
11 rounds at a passenger train taking tourists to southern
Egypt overnight, but no one was hurt.
1996
- Jan. 26 - An elderly Egyptian was killed when suspected Moslem militants opened fire on a passenger train that often carries tourists in southern Egypt.
- April 18 -- Gunmen thought
to be Moslem militants massacred 17 Greek tourists
outside a hotel in Cairo near the Pyramids. One Egyptian man was killed
& 15 people were wounded.
1997
- Sept. 18 -- Gunmen suspected
to be Moslem militants killed six German tourists
& three other people outside the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square.
Nine people were wounded.
- November '97 -- Moslem terrorists armed with automatic weapons ambushed, shot & killed 62 tourists at Luxor. All of the gunmen were shot dead by military police or apprehended immediately. The Egyptian government denounced this act & quickly tightened security in & around major tourist centers, news reports indicated in the weeks that followed. Then there followed years of relative peace in Egypt, until ....
2004
- October '04 -- After more than 7 years of uneventful tourism, with no noteworthy violent incidents aimed at foreign tourists, a group of terrorists bombed resorts in the Red Sea villages of Taba & Ras Shitan, killing 34 persons, mostly Israeli visitors. More than 100 persons were wounded, some gravely. The carnage was reported worldwide.
2005
- April 7, '05 -- A fringe extremist group dubbing itself Islamic Brigades of Pride delivered a crude homemade bomb -- packed with nails -- on the back of a motorcycle, driven by a suicide bomber right into the heart of the historic shopping bazaar called Khan al-Khalili. The blast killed 2 tourists, a French woman & an American man, & wounded about 18 other people, some critically. The marketplace was strewn with debris & body parts. The motorcycle driver who delivered the bomb also was killed.
- April 30, '05 -- Two veiled women in their 20s opened fire on a tour bus in a historic district of of Cairo, wounding two passengers then killing themselves. Two hours earlier that same day, a man suspected of involvement in a Cairo tourist bombing April 7 (see above) -- whom authorities identified as the brother & fiance' of the women who attached this tour bus -- jumped wildly from a bridge overpass during a police chase & ignited a bomb he was packing, killing himself. These incidents occurred behind the Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo, wounded seven persons in all, four of them foreign tourists. A group calling itself the Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the dual attacks April 30, '05, saying they were in revenge for the thousands of arrests of suspected militants that followed the April 7, '05 bombings along the Red Sea. Abdullah Azzam was a Palestinian terrorist who worked alongside Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, & was killed there in 1989.
- July 22, '05 -- Islamic terrorists triggered nearly-simultaneous bombings at the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing at least 88 people & injuring an estimated 200 others. Police reported the three explosions were two suicide car bombs & one planted bag bomb. It was Egypt's deadliest bombing in several years. The bombings happened on Egypt's National Day, which recalls the 1952 bloodless revolution that brought army officers to power after ousting King Farouk. One suicide car bomb killed 17 Egyptian workers in a coffee shop at the city's Old Market, police said. The other suicide car bomber struck the Ghazala Garden Hotel, streaking through a security checkpoint & slamming into the hotel's reception area before exploding. The hotel lobby area collapsed, along with its roof. The Old Market area was a vast mess of broken glass & litter. The third bomb was an improvised device left in a bag; & it killed six tourists at a beachfront parking lot & shuttle stop about two miles from the hotel. The explosions happened about 1:15 a.m. Egypt time, or 6:15 p.m. Friday EDT, but the hotels & the market were crowded anyway with tourists partying, or seeking relief from their hot hotel rooms. The first car was packed with 660 pounds of explosives & slammed into the reception of the Ghazala Gardens in Sharm's Naama Bay, the main strip of hotels, police said. The second bomb weighed about 440 pounds & exploded in a nearby area called the Old Market, frequented mostly by Egyptians working in the town's resorts. A third bomb, believed hidden in a sack, detonated near a beachside walkway where tourists often stroll at night. Dr. Saeed Abdel Fattah, manager of the Sharm el-Sheik International Hospital, where the victims were taken, said those killed included two Britons, two Germans & an Italian, he added. Czech officials said one Czech tourist was also killed. There were conflicting claims of responsibility. Several hours after the attacks, a group citing ties to Al Qaeda issued a claim on an Islamic Web site. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, Al Qaeda, in Syria and Egypt, was one of two groups that also claimed responsibility for October bombings at the resorts of Taba and Ras Shitan that killed 34. This same terror group also claimed responsibility for a Cairo bombing in April.
2008
- September 29, '08 -- Ten days of hellish uncertainty -- for victims & families alike -- ended today for 11 European tourists + eight Egyptians abducted in the Egyptian desert on Sept. 19, when government operatives swarmed over their captors, winning their freedom. All 19 hostages were freed unharmed in a bold rescue operation in which several of their terrorist kidnappers were killed in a fierce struggle with authorities, Egyptian officials said. The liberated hostages arrived in Cairo aboard an Egyptian military plane, some of them grinning, some holding bunches of flowers, to be greeted by Egyptian military and government officials and foreign diplomats. These 19 hostages were freed in what Egyptian media called a "rescue and recovery operation," although officials gave only sparse details about how commandos secured the release or how the hostage-takers were killed. Later conflicting news accounts stated some hostages hinted they were simply let go, without any firefight, just randomly by the terrorists who feared government troops closing in. The hostages' 10-day ordeal had deeply embarrassed Egypt which depends on foreign tourism for 6 percent of its gross domestic product. "They have all arrived safely. No ransom was paid from any of the hostage countries," Tourism Minister Zoheir Garrana assured international reporters. "We will coordinate with security agencies to make sure this doesn't happen again." Masked gunmen seized the five Germans, five Italians, one Romanian and eight Egyptians on Sept. 19 from a desert safari tour conducted near Egypt's southwestern borders with Sudan and Libya. The kidnappers then rushed their captives southward into harsh desert terrain in Sudan and demanded a multi-million-dollar ransom.
2009
- February 22, '09 -- A terrorist bomb killed a French teenager and wounded at least 20 other people in a crowded square near a popular tourist bazaar in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Feb. 22, 2009, officials said. The blast was the first fatal attack on tourists in Egypt since bombs killed at least 23 people at an Egyptian resort in the Sinai Peninsula in 2006. This latest deadly bomb -- aimed at foreign tourists -- exploded near the 14th-century Khan el-Khalili market in eastern Cairo, a souk where tourists shop for small gifts and relax at outdoor cafes. A similar blast in the same area murdered three tourists in 2005. The Health Ministry of Egypt said a 17-year-old French girl was killed and 13 French tourists, plus three Saudis and four Egyptians had been wounded. The German Foreign Ministry also reported one German national had been injured. Egyptian state new agency MENA quoted security officials as reporting that one bomb had exploded under a bench in a garden in the square, and that a second bomb had been defused by security forces. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but police sources confirmed two suspects had been taken into custody. Reuters International reported this in Feb. 2009: "the bombing is embarrassing for the government, which has tried hard to project an image of security and stability, but angered public opinion at home and across the Arab world by helping Israel to enforce a blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, and failing to condemn its recent onslaught on the Palestinian territory more forcefully."
2011
January & February, 2011 --
Starting about Jan. 25, 2011, street violence and rioting broke out all
across Egypt, especially in Cairo, Luxor, Alexandria & other major
cities, where protestors against military strongman Hosni Mubarak massed
along the streets in the tens of thousands. On Jan. 25, at least four
people were killed at "Day of Wrath" anti-government protests across
Egypt as demonstrators vented their rage, complaining of poverty,
unemployment and government repression. Then on Jan. 27, security
forces shot to death a Bedouin protester in the north of Egypt's Sinai
region, bringing the death toll to five on the third day of protests.
Later, on Jan. 28, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas as
protesters hurled stones at them and yelled "Down, Down, Hosni
Mubarak!" Police blanketed Cairo and blocked social networking
communications in an effort to strangle the protests. Egyptian Internet
servers were blocked across the country, throttling a key tool for
reform-seeking political activists. Hospital and government sources
placed the death toll by Feb. 2 at more than 100, with thousands
injured. Cairo suffered widespread looting, fires, destroyed vehicles
and days of total shutdown of airports and public transport. Some
independent foreign journalists placed the civilian death toll higher
than 300 by Feb. 2, 2011.
Dr Zakir Naik's Oxford Union Debate on Islam and 21st Century Full Vedio
Dr Zakir Naik's Oxford Union Debate on Islam and 21st Century Full Vedio
IMF Completes the Fifth Review Under the Extended Arrangement for Seychelles
7 June 2012 Last updated at 18:00 CET
MAHE, Victoria, June 7, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the fifth review under the three-year Extended Arrangement (EFF) for the Seychelles. The completion of the review enables a disbursement of SDR 2.64 million (about US$5.6 million). The Board's decision was taken on a lapse of time basis.1 The arrangement became effective on December 23, 2009, in the amount of SDR 19.8 million (see Press Release No. 09/472).
In 2011, the solid recovery that was set in motion by decisive policy changes after the 2008 crisis continued, supported by a vibrant tourism sector and continued high foreign direct investment. Consumer price inflation increased from near-zero levels at the beginning of 2011 to 5½ percent by year end, reflecting higher international food and fuel prices and, late in the year, a depreciating exchange rate. Fiscal performance was stronger than projected, despite higher losses from the national airline's operations. Public debt remained on a downward trend, and the country continued to rebuild international reserves. The economic program supported by the EFF remains on track, and all quantitative performance criteria at end-December 2011 were met.
In 2012, economic growth is expected to moderate owing to less favorable external conditions. Inflation is projected to peak in mid-year, once recent adjustments of fuel prices and utility tariffs are fully reflected in the consumer price index. Monetary policy is appropriately being tightened, which should alleviate pressures on the exchange rate and bring down inflation during the second half of 2012. Public finances will need to absorb the one-off costs of restructuring Air Seychelles, but an improved fiscal revenues outlook will ensure that the primary balance target is met. The upcoming implementation of the value-added tax will improve the efficiency of the tax system. Public finances should be strengthened by enhanced oversight of public enterprises, the launch of the public sector investment program, and the implementation of further public utility tariff reforms. The financial infrastructure will be improved by the introduction of a new electronic clearing system.
1 The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse of time procedure when it is agreed by the Board that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.
IMF Completes the Fifth Review Under the Extended Arrangement for Seychelles
By International Monetary Fund (IMF)
MAHE, Victoria, June 7, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the fifth review under the three-year Extended Arrangement (EFF) for the Seychelles. The completion of the review enables a disbursement of SDR 2.64 million (about US$5.6 million). The Board's decision was taken on a lapse of time basis.1 The arrangement became effective on December 23, 2009, in the amount of SDR 19.8 million (see Press Release No. 09/472).
In 2011, the solid recovery that was set in motion by decisive policy changes after the 2008 crisis continued, supported by a vibrant tourism sector and continued high foreign direct investment. Consumer price inflation increased from near-zero levels at the beginning of 2011 to 5½ percent by year end, reflecting higher international food and fuel prices and, late in the year, a depreciating exchange rate. Fiscal performance was stronger than projected, despite higher losses from the national airline's operations. Public debt remained on a downward trend, and the country continued to rebuild international reserves. The economic program supported by the EFF remains on track, and all quantitative performance criteria at end-December 2011 were met.
In 2012, economic growth is expected to moderate owing to less favorable external conditions. Inflation is projected to peak in mid-year, once recent adjustments of fuel prices and utility tariffs are fully reflected in the consumer price index. Monetary policy is appropriately being tightened, which should alleviate pressures on the exchange rate and bring down inflation during the second half of 2012. Public finances will need to absorb the one-off costs of restructuring Air Seychelles, but an improved fiscal revenues outlook will ensure that the primary balance target is met. The upcoming implementation of the value-added tax will improve the efficiency of the tax system. Public finances should be strengthened by enhanced oversight of public enterprises, the launch of the public sector investment program, and the implementation of further public utility tariff reforms. The financial infrastructure will be improved by the introduction of a new electronic clearing system.
1 The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse of time procedure when it is agreed by the Board that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.
Army Issues Ultimatum on Egypt’s Charter Panel
Army Issues Ultimatum on Egypt’s Charter Panel
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Egypt’s ruling military council has set a 48-hour deadline, which will expire today, for political parties to finalize the formation of a 100-member panel to write a new Constitution, or it will draw up its own blueprint.
Lawmaker Mustafa Bakri on June 5 outlined the ultimatum after representatives of 18 parties and independent lawmakers met with the head of the council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. The process has been deadlocked since the Islamist-dominated Parliament tried to stack the body with its own people, leading to a walkout by secular and liberal members and the disbanding of the panel by a court order.
The dispute mirrors the splits in Egypt, two weeks before a presidential election run-off between a Muslim Brotherhood member and the last prime minister to serve under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, the two most polarizing candidates.
It also highlighted the contentious role of the ruling military in post-Mubarak Egypt. The military rulers have drawn stiff criticism for their handling of the transition. They have pledged to return power to a civilian government once a new president is in place, but there are some hints that they might try to hold back at the last moment if the outcome of the election is not in their favor, possibly using the lack of a new constitution as a reason.
Firm Stance from Brotherhood
Several parties boycotted the meeting, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Saad el-Katatni of the Brotherhood, who is the parliamentary speaker, lashed out at the military council. “No one can strip the Parliament of its authority to issue legislation or laws,” he was quoted by The Associated Press as saying. Bakri said that if parties failed to name an assembly, the military council will issue “a supplementary Constitutional declaration” to lay a blueprint for the panel.
Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi, said if the military council went ahead with its declaration, “it will be hijacking legislative authority from Parliament.”
“We won’t recognize whatever comes from the military council. This is our position,” Ali said. The conflict over the Constitutional panel adds tension to an already charged political scene, coming three days after Mubarak was given a life sentence for failing to stop the killing of protesters during last year’s uprising.
Since the sentencing on June 2, angry Egyptians have swept into the streets, demanding justice and denouncing the whole election process. Thousands of Egyptians poured into Cairo’s Tahrir Square on June 5 to reclaim a revolt they say has been hijacked after Mubarak was jailed for life and his top security officials freed, which they say signals that his old guard is still in charge. The demonstrators railed against the ruling military council.
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Egypt’s ruling military council has set a 48-hour deadline, which will expire today, for political parties to finalize the formation of a 100-member panel to write a new Constitution, or it will draw up its own blueprint.
Lawmaker Mustafa Bakri on June 5 outlined the ultimatum after representatives of 18 parties and independent lawmakers met with the head of the council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. The process has been deadlocked since the Islamist-dominated Parliament tried to stack the body with its own people, leading to a walkout by secular and liberal members and the disbanding of the panel by a court order.
The dispute mirrors the splits in Egypt, two weeks before a presidential election run-off between a Muslim Brotherhood member and the last prime minister to serve under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, the two most polarizing candidates.
It also highlighted the contentious role of the ruling military in post-Mubarak Egypt. The military rulers have drawn stiff criticism for their handling of the transition. They have pledged to return power to a civilian government once a new president is in place, but there are some hints that they might try to hold back at the last moment if the outcome of the election is not in their favor, possibly using the lack of a new constitution as a reason.
Firm Stance from Brotherhood
Several parties boycotted the meeting, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Saad el-Katatni of the Brotherhood, who is the parliamentary speaker, lashed out at the military council. “No one can strip the Parliament of its authority to issue legislation or laws,” he was quoted by The Associated Press as saying. Bakri said that if parties failed to name an assembly, the military council will issue “a supplementary Constitutional declaration” to lay a blueprint for the panel.
Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi, said if the military council went ahead with its declaration, “it will be hijacking legislative authority from Parliament.”
“We won’t recognize whatever comes from the military council. This is our position,” Ali said. The conflict over the Constitutional panel adds tension to an already charged political scene, coming three days after Mubarak was given a life sentence for failing to stop the killing of protesters during last year’s uprising.
Since the sentencing on June 2, angry Egyptians have swept into the streets, demanding justice and denouncing the whole election process. Thousands of Egyptians poured into Cairo’s Tahrir Square on June 5 to reclaim a revolt they say has been hijacked after Mubarak was jailed for life and his top security officials freed, which they say signals that his old guard is still in charge. The demonstrators railed against the ruling military council.
Tehran Criticizes West ‘Unwillingness’ on Talks
Tehran Criticizes West ‘Unwillingness’ on Talks
Thursday, 7 June 2012Iran said yesterday a delay by world powers in agreeing to preparatory talks has thrown doubt on the next round of negotiations over the country’s nuclear program, the state news agency IRNA reported.
Iran’s ISNA news agency earlier said Tehran had written twice to Britain, France, Russia, China, the United States and Germany, also known as the P5+1, seeking preparatory meetings before talks in Moscow on June 16-17, but had yet to hear back.
“The other side’s delay in meeting deputies and experts throws doubt and ambiguity on their readiness for successful talks,” said Iran’s chief negotiator Saeed Jalili in a letter to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
Int’l Pressure Inadequate: Netanyahu
A spokeswoman for Ashton said she would contact Jalili before the planned Moscow negotiations but saw no need for further preparatory meetings.
“We are not against technical meetings in principle but timing is not really right for that,” she said. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said international pressure on Iran aimed at curbing its nuclear ambitions is “inadequate,” in comments published in a German newspaper yesterday.
Netanyahu told the daily Bild that although sanctions affected Iran and its economy, they did not halt its nuclear program. “That is because the demands that accompany the sanctions are inadequate. You apply this whole set of pressures -- for what? For practically nothing!” he said in the second part of a wide-ranging interview with the newspaper.
Warning from Russia, China
In Beijing, Russia and China oppose any use of force or unilateral sanctions against Iran, according to a joint statement released yesterday after Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chinese leaders.
“Russia and China are against using military force or the threat of force against Iran, and do not approve of directing unilateral sanctions against it,” the statement said. The two countries have called for dialogue to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. In the statement, they warned that continuing confrontation around Iran “can lead to negative consequences not only for the countries in the region but the entire world community.”
Breakingviews: Nasdaq burned again by Facebook (3:35)
Breakingviews: Nasdaq burned again by Facebook (3:35)
June 7 - Jeffrey Goldfarb and Antony Currie talk about how Nasdaq chief Bob Greifeld’s attempt to resolve the Facebook IPO mess only reignited anger directed at the exchange.Clinton: Democratic Syria Impossible with Assad
Clinton: Democratic Syria Impossible with Assad
Thursday, 7 June 2012
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Syria cannot be peaceful, stable or democratic with President Bashar al-Assad in power.
Speaking to reporters Thursday in Istanbul, Clinton said Assad has "doubled down on his brutality and duplicity" and that the time has come for the international community to plan for a post-Assad Syria.
"We have to unite the international community behind a plan that is achievable and keeps faith with those inside Syria who are protesting and demonstrating, suffering and dying for their universal human rights," Clinton said.
UN briefing
Her comments come as United Nations-Arab League mediator Kofi Annan is due to brief the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly on the situation in Syria, as activists have accused pro-government militia and security forces of carrying out a new massacre in the central province of Hama.
The activists said at least 78 people, including women and children, were killed on Wednesday. They said some of those killed in the villages of al-Kubeir and Maazarif were stabbed to death and at least 12 bodies were burned.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 'shabiha' militiamen armed with guns and knives carried out the attack after regular troops had shelled the area.
The exiled opposition Syrian National Council called on the Free Syrian Army and other armed opposition groups to respond by escalating their resistance.
British Prime Minister David Cameron called the reported attack "brutal and sickening," and said if true, then the international community must do more to condemn "absolutely" the government of President Assad.
The Syrian government blamed a terrorist group for the violence.
New rescue plan
Meanwhile, diplomats say U.N.-Arab League mediator Annan is preparing to present the Security Council with a new proposal to rescue his failing peace plan for Syria.
They said Annan's new plan would establish a "contact group" for Syria that would include the five permanent members of the Security Council and key regional players with influence on Damascus or the opposition, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Iran. The group would attempt to map out a "political transition" leading to President Assad's departure and the holding of free elections.
Annan is scheduled to meet with Secretary Clinton Friday in Washington.
The top U.S. diplomat arrived in Istanbul late Wednesday to co-chair a meeting on Syria with her Western and Arab colleagues.
US pressure
A senior U.S. State Department official said after the meeting that Clinton stated the need for greater pressure on Assad's government and its supporters, adding that the possibility of invoking Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter -- which could authorize the use of force -- remains on the table "at an appropriate time." She also said the international community must improve coordination among those countries providing direct assistance to the Syrian opposition.
U.S. officials said special envoy for Syria Fred Hoff will go to Moscow Thursday, and France will host a Friends of Syria meeting in Paris on July 6, which Secretary Clinton is expected to attend. Turkey will also host a meeting in mid-June with the opposition and relevant governments.
Meanwhile, senior U.S. officials warned Syria and its backers that tougher international action against Assad's government could follow unless Damascus demonstrates "meaningful compliance" with U.N. efforts to end the violence.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday the administration and its allies could soon tighten sanctions against the Syrian government and its leaders. He spoke to representatives from 55 countries gathered in Washington to discuss increasing pressure on Assad and his top officials.
Thursday, 7 June 2012
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Syria cannot be peaceful, stable or democratic with President Bashar al-Assad in power.
Speaking to reporters Thursday in Istanbul, Clinton said Assad has "doubled down on his brutality and duplicity" and that the time has come for the international community to plan for a post-Assad Syria.
"We have to unite the international community behind a plan that is achievable and keeps faith with those inside Syria who are protesting and demonstrating, suffering and dying for their universal human rights," Clinton said.
UN briefing
Her comments come as United Nations-Arab League mediator Kofi Annan is due to brief the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly on the situation in Syria, as activists have accused pro-government militia and security forces of carrying out a new massacre in the central province of Hama.
The activists said at least 78 people, including women and children, were killed on Wednesday. They said some of those killed in the villages of al-Kubeir and Maazarif were stabbed to death and at least 12 bodies were burned.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 'shabiha' militiamen armed with guns and knives carried out the attack after regular troops had shelled the area.
The exiled opposition Syrian National Council called on the Free Syrian Army and other armed opposition groups to respond by escalating their resistance.
British Prime Minister David Cameron called the reported attack "brutal and sickening," and said if true, then the international community must do more to condemn "absolutely" the government of President Assad.
The Syrian government blamed a terrorist group for the violence.
New rescue plan
Meanwhile, diplomats say U.N.-Arab League mediator Annan is preparing to present the Security Council with a new proposal to rescue his failing peace plan for Syria.
They said Annan's new plan would establish a "contact group" for Syria that would include the five permanent members of the Security Council and key regional players with influence on Damascus or the opposition, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Iran. The group would attempt to map out a "political transition" leading to President Assad's departure and the holding of free elections.
Annan is scheduled to meet with Secretary Clinton Friday in Washington.
The top U.S. diplomat arrived in Istanbul late Wednesday to co-chair a meeting on Syria with her Western and Arab colleagues.
US pressure
A senior U.S. State Department official said after the meeting that Clinton stated the need for greater pressure on Assad's government and its supporters, adding that the possibility of invoking Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter -- which could authorize the use of force -- remains on the table "at an appropriate time." She also said the international community must improve coordination among those countries providing direct assistance to the Syrian opposition.
U.S. officials said special envoy for Syria Fred Hoff will go to Moscow Thursday, and France will host a Friends of Syria meeting in Paris on July 6, which Secretary Clinton is expected to attend. Turkey will also host a meeting in mid-June with the opposition and relevant governments.
Meanwhile, senior U.S. officials warned Syria and its backers that tougher international action against Assad's government could follow unless Damascus demonstrates "meaningful compliance" with U.N. efforts to end the violence.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday the administration and its allies could soon tighten sanctions against the Syrian government and its leaders. He spoke to representatives from 55 countries gathered in Washington to discuss increasing pressure on Assad and his top officials.
Breakingviews: Germany could live with eurobills...just (5:40)
Breakingviews: Germany could live with eurobills...just (5:40)
June 7 - Pooling together short-term debt could help weak countries, without incurring the risk of moral hazard, says Breakingviews.
Army Issues Ultimatum on Egypt’s Charter Panel
Thursday 7 june 2012
Egypt’s ruling military council has set a 48-hour deadline, which will expire today, for political parties to finalize the formation of a 100-member panel to write a new Constitution, or it will draw up its own blueprint.
Lawmaker Mustafa Bakri on June 5 outlined the ultimatum after representatives of 18 parties and independent lawmakers met with the head of the council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. The process has been deadlocked since the Islamist-dominated Parliament tried to stack the body with its own people, leading to a walkout by secular and liberal members and the disbanding of the panel by a court order.
The dispute mirrors the splits in Egypt, two weeks before a presidential election run-off between a Muslim Brotherhood member and the last prime minister to serve under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, the two most polarizing candidates.
It also highlighted the contentious role of the ruling military in post-Mubarak Egypt. The military rulers have drawn stiff criticism for their handling of the transition. They have pledged to return power to a civilian government once a new president is in place, but there are some hints that they might try to hold back at the last moment if the outcome of the election is not in their favor, possibly using the lack of a new constitution as a reason.
Firm Stance from Brotherhood
Several parties boycotted the meeting, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Saad el-Katatni of the Brotherhood, who is the parliamentary speaker, lashed out at the military council. “No one can strip the Parliament of its authority to issue legislation or laws,” he was quoted by The Associated Press as saying. Bakri said that if parties failed to name an assembly, the military council will issue “a supplementary Constitutional declaration” to lay a blueprint for the panel.
Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi, said if the military council went ahead with its declaration, “it will be hijacking legislative authority from Parliament.”
“We won’t recognize whatever comes from the military council. This is our position,” Ali said. The conflict over the Constitutional panel adds tension to an already charged political scene, coming three days after Mubarak was given a life sentence for failing to stop the killing of protesters during last year’s uprising.
Since the sentencing on June 2, angry Egyptians have swept into the streets, demanding justice and denouncing the whole election process. Thousands of Egyptians poured into Cairo’s Tahrir Square on June 5 to reclaim a revolt they say has been hijacked after Mubarak was jailed for life and his top security officials freed, which they say signals that his old guard is still in charge. The demonstrators railed against the ruling military council.
Thursday 7 june 2012
Egypt’s ruling military council has set a 48-hour deadline, which will expire today, for political parties to finalize the formation of a 100-member panel to write a new Constitution, or it will draw up its own blueprint.
Lawmaker Mustafa Bakri on June 5 outlined the ultimatum after representatives of 18 parties and independent lawmakers met with the head of the council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. The process has been deadlocked since the Islamist-dominated Parliament tried to stack the body with its own people, leading to a walkout by secular and liberal members and the disbanding of the panel by a court order.
The dispute mirrors the splits in Egypt, two weeks before a presidential election run-off between a Muslim Brotherhood member and the last prime minister to serve under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, the two most polarizing candidates.
It also highlighted the contentious role of the ruling military in post-Mubarak Egypt. The military rulers have drawn stiff criticism for their handling of the transition. They have pledged to return power to a civilian government once a new president is in place, but there are some hints that they might try to hold back at the last moment if the outcome of the election is not in their favor, possibly using the lack of a new constitution as a reason.
Firm Stance from Brotherhood
Several parties boycotted the meeting, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Saad el-Katatni of the Brotherhood, who is the parliamentary speaker, lashed out at the military council. “No one can strip the Parliament of its authority to issue legislation or laws,” he was quoted by The Associated Press as saying. Bakri said that if parties failed to name an assembly, the military council will issue “a supplementary Constitutional declaration” to lay a blueprint for the panel.
Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi, said if the military council went ahead with its declaration, “it will be hijacking legislative authority from Parliament.”
“We won’t recognize whatever comes from the military council. This is our position,” Ali said. The conflict over the Constitutional panel adds tension to an already charged political scene, coming three days after Mubarak was given a life sentence for failing to stop the killing of protesters during last year’s uprising.
Since the sentencing on June 2, angry Egyptians have swept into the streets, demanding justice and denouncing the whole election process. Thousands of Egyptians poured into Cairo’s Tahrir Square on June 5 to reclaim a revolt they say has been hijacked after Mubarak was jailed for life and his top security officials freed, which they say signals that his old guard is still in charge. The demonstrators railed against the ruling military council.
Shell CEO sees oil prices bouncing back - Decoder (2:48)
Shell CEO sees oil prices bouncing back - Decoder (2:48)
Recent oil price dips are a short term phenomenon and will have no impact on Royal Dutch Shell's spending plans, especially in promising markets like China, says CEO Peter Voser. (June 6, 2012)U.S. disappointed by Swiss sanctions on Iran-envoy
U.S. disappointed by Swiss sanctions on Iran-envoy
* EU oil embargo due to take full effect July 1
By Emma Farge
GENEVA, June 7 (Reuters) - The United States is disappointed that Switzerland has not yet adopted the European Union's embargo on Iranian oil, the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland said, adding that he did not expect the country to permit a legal loophole in the long run.
Switzerland, a major physical oil trading hub and base for Iranian state-owned oil trading firm Naftiran Intertrade Company, extended an Iran blacklist in April but postponed a decision on the EU ban until a "later date".
It also exempted Iran's central bank from its asset freeze.
"We expressed our disappointment. We would like them to do it [follow the EU on Iran sanctions]," Donald S. Beyer told a news conference in Geneva on Wednesday.
The EU embargo bans all new oil contracts with Iran and is due to take full effect for existing contracts from 1 July.
Beyer added that Switzerland had cited its traditional role as a go-between for Washington and Tehran and its history of neutrality as reasons for not following the EU on Iran sanctions.
Switzerland has represented U.S. interests in Iran since 1980 following the Islamic revolution in 1979. It is not a member of the EU and has no legal obligation to follow EU sanctions, which are designed to pressure Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme.
Switzerland's body for enforcing sanctions, the Swiss Secretariat for Economics, said on Thursday the Federal Council had not yet indicated when it would make a final decision on the Iranian sanctions.
"My reading of the Swiss leadership is they very much do not want Switzerland to become an outlet for evading sanctions," Beyer said.
"I don't think that's what they want or what they would tolerate."
It is unclear how much of Iran's oil exports, estimated at below 2 million barrels per day, are currently traded or financed via Switzerland, where trading of a third of total global oil by volume takes place.
Some major commodities traders such as Zug-based Glencore say they have already voluntarily halted all oil trade with Iran.
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