Nigeria stunned by Kano attacks that killed more than 150

January 22, 2012

A militant Islamic group whose almost daily attacks have put Nigerians on edge left the country stunned Saturday after a well-coordinated strike with disturbing echoes of Al Qaeda’s brand of mayhem.

More than 150 people were killed in the Friday evening carnage in the northern city of Kano. The group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attacks, whose targets included the secret service headquarters, an immigration office and a passport office.

It was the group’s most deadly strike, far exceeding previous death tolls.

Boko Haram, which wants to impose sharia, or Islamic law, on Nigeria’s 160 million people, killed more than 500 people in almost daily attacks last year. Before Friday’s violence, it had killed more than 70 people this month.

U.S. officials have expressed fear that the group, whose name means “Western education is sacrilege,” may be getting support and training from Al Qaeda affiliates on the continent, given the increasing sophistication of its attacks and growing use of suicide bombers.

Nigeria is divided between the mainly Muslim north and the oil-rich, mainly Christian south. It has been plagued by terrorist attacks in the north as well as by sectarian killings, particularly in central Nigeria, and violent insurgencies, oil theft and piracy in the southern Niger Delta.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s response to Friday’s attacks fueled criticism, with many accusing him of failing to act decisively to prevent such violence.

In a statement Saturday, the president condemned the attacks and promised to find and prosecute the insurgents.

“These are honest and patriotic Nigerians who were brutally and recklessly cut down by agents of terror. As a responsible government, we will not fold our hands and watch enemies of democracy, for that is what these mindless killers are, perpetrate unprecedented evil in our land,” the statement said. “I want to reassure Nigerians … that all those involved in that dastardly act will be made to face the full wrath of the law.”

Kano, Nigeria’s second-largest city, is honeycombed with narrow alleys with open gutters. The unemployment rate is high, particularly among youths, and the northern region has long felt alienated and marginalized by southern politicians.

Witnesses described scenes of mayhem Friday night as battles raged in various parts of the city.

An immigration official, who declined to be named, said he was wounded when Boko Haram gunmen attacked, killing two of his colleagues. He survived by pretending to be dead.

“They shot me on the right shin, shattering my bone and another bullet pierced my shoulder,” he said. “I remained motionless and they left me for dead.”

In hospital morgues, bodies were piled up, and throngs of relatives of those missing waited fearfully.

“We now have 162 bodies deposited here by relief workers,” an attendant said an attendant in a morgue, where corpses were piled on the blood-splattered floor nearby. “The figure is bound to increase, as the rescue teams keep recovering bodies from different parts of the city.”

The attacks increase pressure on the president for a resolution of the crisis. Jonathan, a southern Christian whose election last year triggered violent protests in the north, had declared a state of emergency in four northern states.

The president faced a barrage of criticism on social networks of his handling of the crisis, a week after he faced furious mass protests over his attempt to ditch a fuel subsidy that sets prices below the market rate.

“Dear Nigerians, I am more than convinced that President Goodluck is not only clueless but the entire Cabinet is,” one message on Twitter said.

Human rights lawyer Shehu Sani said in a phone interview that Nigerians were fed up with Jonathan’s failure to prevent the bombings and shootings.

“He has proven incapable of protecting the lives of our people,” Sani said. “Right now there’s a lot of anger not just against the sect but against the government, which is incapable of discharging its duties.”

LAT

Ten NATO soldiers die in Afghanistan

KABUL: The gunning down of four unarmed French soldiers by an Afghan colleague yesterday underscores the difficulties facing NATO troops as they prepare to pull out of the war-torn country, analysts say. Another 15 French soldiers were wounded in the attack in their base in eastern Afghanistan as they ended a work-out session, prompting a furious response from French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

He said he would consider pulling French troops out of Afghanistan earlier than planned and suspended military training of Afghan troops-a crucial element in plans for a 2014 pull-out by US-led NATO forces. The whole basis for the withdrawal of some 130,000 foreign troops is that Afghan security forces will be trained to take over responsibility for defending their country against an insurgency by hardline Taleban Islamists.

Sarkozy’s suspension of the training of Afghan soldiers and threat to pull out his troops early could be a problem for the other nations involved in the US-led coalition fighting the Taleban, said analyst Kate Clark. “No nation’s forces are anywhere comparable to the Americans, but relative to everyone else the French are a relatively big contingent so this is important,” said Clark, of the Afghanistan Analysts’ Network. “You can understand why the French feel like this, but at the same time it doesn’t look good having one nation talking about pulling out early.”

She said attacks by Afghan soldiers on their foreign counterparts were seldom ideological but stemmed from personal antagonism and arguments. “The drive to rapidly increase the size of the (Afghan) army also causes strains in the system,” she said. The Afghan army and police together have grown from around 190,000 in late 2009 to more than 305,000, as part of plans designed to peak combined numbers at 352,000 by November. The Taleban, ousted from power by a 2001 US-led invasion after the attacks on New York and Washington, gleefully leapt on Sarkozy’s reaction, claiming the French president had “ordered a halt to the mission of his invading forces”.

Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, without claiming that the Taleban were responsible for the attack, said “the invading enemy should realize that they cannot protect themselves from the anger and wrath of Afghans anywhere”. “Brave and patriotic soldiers who still have kept their Afghan and Islamic honor in their hearts… have been conducting attacks on the foreign soldiers,” he said in a statement on the Islamist group’s website. The rise in attacks by allied Afghan forces on US and NATO soldiers represents a “systemic” problem and is not rooted in isolated incidents, according to a classified coalition report in Friday’s New York Times.

In another development, a NATO helicopter has crashed in southern Afghanistan, killing six members of the international military force, the US-led coalition said yesterday. The cause is still being investigated, but a coalition statement said there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of Thursday’s crash, which brought the number of international forces killed in Afghanistan this month to 24. The coalition did not disclose the nationalities of those killed and would not release details of the crash until the families of the dead were notified.

It was the deadliest crash in Afghanistan since August, when 30 American troops died after a Chinook helicopter was apparently shot down in Wardak province in the center of the country. Thursday’s crash occurred on the same day that a suicide car bomber killed at least seven civilians outside a crowded gate at Kandahar Air Field, a sprawling base for US and NATO operations in the south. The Taleban insurgents claimed responsibility, saying they were targeting a NATO convoy.

It was the second suicide bombing in as many days in southern Afghanistan, officials said. The coalition said no NATO troops were killed Thursday. It does not disclose information about wounded troops. The Taleban have been stepping up attacks in southern Afghanistan, the birthplace of the insurgency, with a wave of bombings and the assassinations of three local Afghan officials this week. The violence comes even as the US is moving ahead with plans for negotiating with the Taleban to try to end the 10-year-old war in Afghanistan.

Two witnesses told The Associated Press that they suspect Thursday’s suicide car bomber was trying to hit US troops because he detonated his explosives just as two pickup trucks, which they say are often used by American Special Forces, were leaving the base. Taleban spokesman Qari Yousef said that NATO forces opened fire after the bombing and that they killed three of the seven civilians who died. The coalition denied this, saying there was no fighting after the blast.

Earlier, officials reported that the suicide bomber was walking near the gate, but the Afghan Ministry of Interior later said the attacker was driving a Toyota Corolla. Zalmai Ayubi, the spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, said two children were among the seven civilians killed. He said eight other civilians, including two children and one woman, were injured in the explosion. Gates to the larger US bases in Afghanistan often are crowded with trucks waiting to deliver goods and services, and local Afghans going to or coming back from jobs on the compounds.- Agencies

US military chief holds talks in Israel on Iran

21 January 2012

JERUSALEM: The US military's top general conducted an intense string of closed talks with Israeli leaders Friday, amid apparent disagreements between the two countries over how to respond to Iran's nuclear program. The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, and Israeli leaders kept silent about the exact content of their discussions. Dempsey was expected to urge Israel not to rush to attack Iran at a time when the US is trying to rally additional global support to pressure Tehran through sanctions to dial back its nuclear development program. Dempsey met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been warning about the dangers of the Iranian nuclear program for more than a decade. No details of their talks were released. At the start of a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Dempsey said the US and Israel "have many interests in common in the region in this very dynamic time, and the more we can continue to engage each other, the better off we'll all be." "There is never a dull moment, that I can promise you," Barak replied, in comments released by Barak's office. Israel believes Iran is close to completing the technology to produce an atomic weapon. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Israel has said it prefers employing international diplomacy to solve the problem, but Israel has not taken the option of a military strike off the table. Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its nuclear program, missile development, support of radical anti-Israel forces in Lebanon and Gaza and frequent references by its president to the destruction of Israel. In an interview published Friday in the Israeli daily Maariv, Israel's recently retired military intelligence chief. Amos Yadlin, said the US and Israel now agree that Iran is deliberately working slowly toward nuclear weapons, to minimize international diplomatic pressure and sanctions. The US and Israel differ about what would be considered unacceptable Iranian behavior that would require a military strike, the former chief claimed. "While Israel defines the red line as Iran's ability and potential for a breakthrough, the Americans draw the red line a lot farther away," Yadlin said. He stepped down as intelligence chief in late 2010. He said the Iranian nuclear program was Israel's "only existential threat," noting that in addition to the possibility of a nuclear attack from Iran, its possession of nuclear weapons would spark a regional arms race. "In that situation, in a nuclear neighborhood, the chance grows that a nuclear weapon could slip into the hands of terrorists," Yadlin said. Gen. Dempsey also met with Israel's military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, and President Shimon Peres. "I am sure that in this fight (against Iran) we will emerge victorious," Peres said to Dempsey, in comments provided by the president's office. He called Iran a "center of world terror."

Egyptians around the world asked to stand united

January 22, 2012

Dubai: Egyptian activists along with the Occupy movement supporters abroad say they are organising protests for the continuation of the revolution.

They are calling for protesters to rally between January 21 and 25 to call for the downfall of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) .

In some countries the protesters mobilised Saturday, given that some Egyptian embassies would be hosting celebrations four days ahead of the one-year anniversary.

The protesters say they have gone back to their initial demands that brought down Mubarak: bread, freedom and social justice. They believe that instead of moving forward, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has brought back the days of Mubarak where people have been tried at random before military tribunals.

During Mubarak's rule, 2,000 Egyptians were brought before military tribunals. However the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has arrested and tried an estimated 12,000 protesters in under a year.

To mark the anniversary, protesters said they hopes to mobilise supporters in New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago, Minnesota, Toronto, Ottawa, Oslo, Madrid, London, and other European countries such as France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, and Ireland.

GCF highlights Kingdom’s support for entrepreneurship and innovation

Jan 22, 2012

RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah said on Saturday that he is happy that the Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF) would further deepen the spirit of competitiveness among business leaders which would eventually uplift the standard of life of the people in the Kingdom.

On behalf of King Abdullah, Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah read out the King’s speech at the inauguration of the Sixth GCF in Riyadh on Saturday.

More than 1,000 guests ranging from government officials to private sector businessmen were present at the glittering ceremony.

Both the minister and Prince Saud bin Khalid Al-Faisal, deputy governor for Investment Affairs of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority SAGIA and also its president of The National Competitiveness Center (NCC), distributed awards to the sponsors of this major event which has drawn more than 100 speakers from all around the world.

The event, sponsored by SAGIA, is being held in Riyadh for the sixth consecutive year.

Reading out the king’s speech, Al-Rabiah said such competitiveness would lead to sustainable economic growth that could create more job opportunities for the people in the Kingdom.

Competitiveness will also diversify the Kingdom’s economy into new sectors, he noted .

“Competitiveness is a key incentive for investments,” the minister said, adding that SMEs would also benefit from such developments in the economic sector.

Welcoming the guests, Abdullah Saleh Al-Hozaimi, chairman of the organizing committee of the GCF, thanked the guests for attending the function which would provide a forum to exchange experience in competitiveness and promote development of trade in the Kingdom.

The forum comprises 35 sessions and 140 local and international speakers.

Over the years, GCF has successfully highlighted the importance of a competitive and innovative marketplace.

This event will reiterate the benefits of entrepreneurship and tap into young, entrepreneurial minds to effect change.

On the second day of the forum, SAGIA will honor the fastest growing companies in Saudi Arabia and formally announce the names of this year’s winners of the Saudi Fast Growth 100.

Un-Chan Chung, former prime minister of South Korea, will deliver the closing keynote address.

“The Entrepreneurship Imperative” — will be the overriding theme of this year’s event.

The forum will analyze the aspects of social, government and corporate entrepreneurship.

Key areas of discussion will include the importance of failure, value of risk and the anatomy of an entrepreneur.

This year will also see the inclusion of breakaway workshops that will expand on some of the topics discussed onstage in a smaller and more personalized setting.

Prince Turki Al-Faisal, chairman, King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, Labor Minister Adel Fakeih and Education Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, are scheduled to deliver separate keynote speeches.

George Buckley, chairman and CEO of 3M, is slated to deliver the keynote address at the opening session on Sunday, focusing on the institutionalization of entrepreneurship.

John A. Quelch, distinguished professor of international management, vice president and dean at CEIBS, the leading China-based international business school, will moderate most of the panel sessions at the Forum on the first day. Quelch is the senior associate.

The morning sessions on Day 2 of the conference will focus on global risks, with a keynote address by Prince Turki Al-Faisal.

The panel session on Global Risks, titled “The Challenges Ahead” will be moderated by John Defterios of CNN.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Unilever CEO Paul Polman, Saud bin Majid Al-Daweesh, Group CEO of Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Arif Naqvi, founder and CEO of Abraaj Capital, Dennis M. Nally, chairman and CEO of PriceWaterhouse Coopers and Robin Niblett, director, Chatham House, London, will take part in the panel discussions.

“An apple a day is no longer enough,” a session dedicated to health care, will look at the impact of technology on health while “Aerotropolis” will assess how the new model airports can become the key nodes of global production and enterprise systems by connecting workers, suppliers, executives and goods to the global marketplace.

Michael Porter, Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, Harvard Business School, will deliver the keynote address on the third day of the forum.

The final day sessions focus on venture capital, "intrapreneurship", “greenovation,” impact of natural disasters, innovation, competitiveness, and disruptive technologies.

The “greenovation” panel will include Abe Sher, Chairman and CEO, Aqua Sciences; Ditlev Engel, CEO, Vestas; Joseph Adelegan, president, Green Globe Trust and Founder, Global Network for Environment and Econonmic Development Research, Green Power Partnership Limited and Michael Czysz, CEO, Motoczysz

The day will also feature Marco Tempest who has earned fame as a techno-illusionist. Imagination and creativity will again be key topics at “Disruptive Technologies — Life Extension and Other Emerging Sciences” which will be moderated by Arlan Andrews, founder, SIGMA, and addressed by Catherine Asaro, physicist, author; Kathleen Goonan, writer; and Mark O’ Green, science fiction game writer.

The convergence of science, technology, engineering and math to create new solutions to complex challenges will be in focus at the subsequent session where the young will share their ideas and insights.

Ariell Buckingham, student entrepreneur, Caspar Hobbs, CEO, professional and vocational education, Pearson, Kyle Wong, student, entrepreneur and Tammy Camp, managing partner, Camp International and entrepreneur will address the session titled “The Innovation Generation.”

Palestinians could launch a third Intifada, report

January 20, 2012

Palestinian officials say that they will resume their effort to gain U.N. membership, and that they could launch a nonviolent third intifada because they see no chance of reaching a peace deal with the current Israeli government.

The Palestinians had put their U.N. bid on hold to participate in informal Jordanian-sponsored talks with Israel that began at the beginning of the year in Amman.

The Middle East “Quartet” — the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia — had urged the parties to submit proposals on borders and security by Jan. 26, with the goal of reaching an agreement by the end of 2012.

But with that proposals deadline approaching, officials here said Thursday that they do not expect any breakthroughs.

“We hear from our Jordanian friends that things are not going well,” said Sabri Saidam, deputy speaker of the Fatah Council and an adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr. Saidam and other Palestinian officials told The Washington Times that, barring a last-minute development Thursday, the U.N. campaign would begin anew.

A return to the U.N. would rile the U.S., which has vowed to veto the Palestinian application for membership in the Security Council. The U.S. was spared the headache of a veto in September because the Palestinians failed to gain a nine-vote majority.

“We got 8 3/4,” Mr. Saidam said.

The entire U.N. campaign has attained great symbolism here. A giant blue chair bearing the words “Palestine’s Right: Full Membership in the United Nations” still sits in Ramallah’s central square.

A wall of Mr. Abbas‘ presidential compound features a giant photo of him holding up the Palestinian application during his speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

The Palestinians began the campaign after bolting short-lived U.S.-sponsored peace talks in September 2010, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government did not extend a 10-month freeze on Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Palestinians say they will not restart formal direct talks unless Israel freezes settlement activity and agrees to President Obama’s formulation that any two-state solution be based on Israel’s pre-1967 frontiers — conditions Mr. Netanyahu has refused.

But the U.N. campaign is just one aspect of what many Palestinian officials describe as the “South Africanization” of their struggle — an approach that seeks to isolate Israel diplomatically while engaging in mass nonviolent protests.

“We can learn from the South African struggle against apartheid that international activism works,” said Nabeel Shaath, Fatah’s commissioner for international relations. “You don’t really have to shoot in order to get your rights.”

Mr. Shaath said it was “absolutely” a mistake for Palestinians to militarize the second intifada — the 2000-2005 uprising that claimed about 4,000 Palestinian and 1,000 Israeli lives amid suicide bombings and Israeli military strikes.

Washington Times

League likely to extend Syria observer mission

21 January 2012

Syrian anti-regime demonstrators gather in the Khalidiya neighbourhood, said to be under the control of the Free Syrian Army, in the flashpoint city of Homs yesterday.

CAIRO: Arab states are likely to extend the mandate of their monitors in Syria despite concerns over their inability to bring about an end to bloodshed during their first month there, an Arab diplomatic source said yesterday.

Arab League members have been worlds apart over how to bring about a lasting solution to Syria’s crisis and the source told Reuters that they now had little option but to renew the observer mission unchanged.

Factors favouring such a decision included the lack of international appetite for a Libya-style military intervention and an assessment that the observers were helping to curb at least some of the violence and encouraging peaceful protest.

The 165-person mission expired on Thursday with no sign of a halt to President Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on popular unrest.

“The closer Sunday’s meetings of the Arab committee and the Arab foreign ministers get, the more the conviction grows that the Arab monitoring mission in Syria should be extended,” the source at League headquarters in Cairo said. “Yes, there is not complete satisfaction with Syria’s cooperation with the monitoring mission. But in the absence of any international plan to deal with Syria, the best option is for the monitors to stay.”

Hundreds of people have been killed since monitors arrived in late December in Syria, where an armed rebellion has grown in recent months, overshadowing civilian anti-Assad demonstrations.

It appeared that even those countries that had been pushing to withdraw the monitors were changing their minds. The final decision partly depends on what the head of the monitoring mission, Mohammed Al Dabi, will report tomorrow.

“If the Syrians continue to partially cooperate, as Dabi told the committee two weeks ago, then this partial cooperation is better than leaving the stage open to the Syrian regime alone,” the source said.

Meanwhile, pressure mounted on the Arab League on Friday to seek UN intervention in the face of growing exasperation that the bloc’s hard-won observer mission in Syria has failed to staunch 10 months of killing.

Despite widespread criticism of the mission, its deputy chief of operations, Ali Jarush, told reporters that it was likely to be extended by a month.

The head of the mission on the ground, General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa Al Dabi of Sudan, is preparing to report to Arab foreign ministers, who are to meet on Sunday in Cairo to discuss the next step.

“Everything indicates that the observer mission in Syria will be extended by a month, since the first month has not been enough as part of it was taken up by logistic preparations,” Jarush said in the Egyptian capital.

Human Rights Watch said the observers’ presence had failed to rein in the Syrian regime’s crackdown, with activists reporting 506 civilians killed and another 490 detained since the monitors first deployed on December 26. It urged the regional bloc “to publicly recognise that Syria has not respected the League’s plan and work with the Security Council to increase pressure on the authorities and effectively curtail the use of fire power.”

The head of the opposition Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghaliun, headed to Cairo to lobby Arab ministers to refer the observer mission’s findings to the UN Security Council for tough action.

Ghaliun planned to ask the League “to transfer the file on Syria to the UN Security Council with a view to securing a decision to establish a buffer zone and a no-fly zone” in Syria, an SNC statement said.

The SNC said it would demand that Dabi pull no punches in his findings on Damascus’s compliance with the Arab League agreement.

AFP/Reuters

Russia's Medvedev holds Mideast talks with Abbas

21 January 2012

MOSCOW: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev held talks Friday with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas focused on efforts to kick-start stalled peace negotiations with Israel. Abbas told Medvedev in opening remarks at the Russian president's suburban Moscow residence that the Palestinians "will always draw upon your advice and the favorable approaches proposed by the Russian Federation." He added that the local leadership of Jericho had recently named one of the West Bank city's main streets after Medvedev in honor of his visit there in January 2011. "I see this as a symbol of Russian-Palestinian friendship, which stretches back not decades but centuries," Medvedev said. "This is proof of the fact that our relations remain on an excellent level." Abbas arrived in Moscow on Thursday on the final leg of a European tour that also saw him visit London and Berlin. The visits are aimed at securing European backing for the Palestinians' position amid unsuccessful attempts to resume peacemaking efforts with Israel. Direct Middle East peace talks have not been held since September 2010 and the third round of exploratory meetings held in Jordan on January 14 produced no tangible result. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday following her meeting with Abbas that it was "very, very important that we see progress, that each side sees that good will is there." Medvedev reaffirmed Russia's commitment to an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital during his January trip to the West Bank - a position first established by the Soviet Union in 1988. Russia is a member of the so-called peacemaking Middle East Quartet that also includes the United States along with the European Union and the United Nations. But Moscow's influence in the region has waned considerably since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Saudi Crown Prince praises education minister for outstanding work

Jan 20, 2012

RIYADH: Crown Prince Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, has thanked Education Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdullah for executing the massive task of transferring 28,000 women schoolteachers to locations of their choice.

The transfer operations will be completed by the end of the second semester of the academic year.

Crown Prince Naif also commended Prince Faisal for implementing the royal order to create 52,000 jobs in the ministry.

Prince Naif expressed his thanks and appreciation in a reply cable sent to Prince Faisal, who had submitted a report to Prince Naif on the achievements of the ministry in implementing the royal decrees.

The decrees also included confirmation of women teachers on contract agreements and women teachers in the field of illiteracy eradication.

At the time when the ministry started the transfer operation, Prince Faisal said some teachers were working 100s of kilometers away from their homes for more than three years. Their long daily travel up and down was feared to have adversely affected their and their families lives, the minister said.

A committee was set up to look for an immediate solution for the issue and action was taken.

He added that 52,000 jobs of teachers and administrators including 42,000 women were created in the ministry’s education institutions following the royal order.

In another development Crown Prince Naif and Defense Minister Prince Salman have lauded the initiative of the Disabled Children’s Association (DCA) to bring out a special issue of Al-Khutwa magazine and production of a documentary film featuring the glorious deeds of the late Prince Sultan in charitable and humanitarian field. They described this initiative as a noble work and an excellent effort. Prince Naif and Prince Salman made the comments in their reply cables sent to Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the board of directors of DCA.

Prince Naif expressed happiness over the content of the magazine that dealt in detail with the remarkable contributions made by Prince Sultan in humanitarian field. Prince Salman congratulated DCA and its officials for producing a documentary film on Prince Sultan’s humanitarian deeds and his support to DCA.

It is noteworthy that the special issue of Al-Khutwa magazine sheds light on the outstanding contributions rendered by Prince Sultan in the humanitarian and charity field. These included the late prince’s keenness and concern to meet the requirements of the disabled children.

The special issue of Al-Khutwa magazine also sheds light on the outstanding contributions rendered by Prince Sultan in the humanitarian and charity field. These included the late crown prince’s keenness and concern to meet the requirements of the disabled children. The magazine gives a wide coverage of the support extended by Prince Sultan to DCA and its projects over a period of 25 years, as well as his remarkable contributions in expanding its activities and services to various regions of the Kingdom.

Arab poll observers visit media center in Kuwait

KUWAIT: A delegation from the Arab Network for Democratic Elections visited, yesterday, along with Kuwait Transparency Society the media center of the 2012 National Assembly’s elections.

The purpose of the visit was to get familiarized with the center’s function in facilitating all possible means for journalists to cover the national elections.

The delegation met with the Ministry of Information Undersecretary Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Homoud Al-Sabah who emphasized that the ministry is committed to insure ‘transparency’ in its media coverage for the elections.

He noted that this International and regional media focus on covering the national elections reflects real interest in getting a closer look in the country’s practices of democracy. On her part, Head of the visiting delegation Etidal Al-Ayaar said that its team includes international observers who are keen in seeing how democracy is being carried out in the state of Kuwait.

She lauded the ‘new and neutral’ approach adopted by the Ministry of information in covering election campaigns and allowing equal opportunities for each candidate to present their election agendas.

Syrian opposition urges UN intervention

January 20, 2012

The Syrian opposition on Friday urged the Arab League to refer Syria to the United Nations Security Council after a mission by the pan-Arab body submitted a report on the deadly violence.

Syrian National Council (SNC) head Burhan Ghalioun arrived in Cairo for talks with Arab officials ahead of a meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Sunday to decide whether to extend the mission’s mandate by another month.

“We are approaching a decisive juncture and, therefore, the efforts by the SNC to take our struggle to the Security Council require intensive efforts,” the SNC said in a statement.

The opposition says the mission, whose mandate ended on Thursday, provided a cover for the government of President Bashar al-Assad to pursue a deadly crackdown on protesters.

Protests were held across Syria after Friday prayers. Security forces killed 15 civilians, mainly in the central city of Homs, a hotbed of anti-government demonstrations.

New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Arab League head Nabil al-Arabi in a letter to publish the mission’s report and to seek an arms embargo and targeted sanctions against Syria at the UN Security Council.

“We urge you to publicly release the mission’s final report in full to address concerns that the monitoring mission is being manipulated by the Syrian authorities,” Human Rights Watch wrote.

Efforts by Western powers to push for a tough-worded resolution on Syria that includes a threat of sanctions are opposed by Damascus’ allies Russia and China, which vetoed a similar resolution in October.

The Syrian army was preparing for an operation to retake the rebel-controlled town of Zabadani near the capital Damascus, a Syrian activist based in Lebanon told dpa. The military struck an unprecedented truce deal with rebels in Zabadani this week.

“We saw tanks taking positions near Zabadani,” the activist said.

“This signals a new military operation, despite the ceasefire struck two days ago between the Syrian army and the defectors,” he added.

Armed resistance has grown in recent months, with rebels staging increasingly sophisticated attacks against the Syrian army and more soldiers defecting to the rebel forces.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in Syria since anti-government protests erupted in March, according to the United Nations. Opposition activists says some 500 civilians have been killed by government forces since the Arab observers started their mission in mid-December.

The Syrian government has blamed the violence on armed gangs it says have killed more than 2,000 members of its security forces. It says Syria is the victim of a foreign conspiracy.

Libyan leaders thank UAE for support

(Wam) 22 January 2012

TRIPOLI — Top Libyan officials have expressed gratitude to the continuous support given by the UAE to the people of Libya during their revolution which culminated in liberation of their country.

“The people and leadership of Libya will never forget the firm stand of UAE President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan in support of their struggle towards a new Libya that is free from oppression and injustice,” said the Chairman of the National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya, Mustafa Abdul Jalil.

Abdul Jalil also praised a visit recently made by a UAE official and business delegation headed by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash.

The visit, made under the directives of Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was described as an extension to the Emirati support to Libya and a significant step in the efforts to further bolster cooperation between the two fraternal countries. —

Bahrain Shia cleric warns troops not to attack women

20 January 2012

Bahrain's leading Shia Muslim cleric has told his followers to retaliate if women are attacked, in a warning to the country's security forces.

In a sermon delivered at Friday prayers Sheikh Isa Qassim said: "Whoever you see abusing a woman, crush him."

The outburst has added to growing tension in the Gulf island state.

Shia protesters have faced the brunt of the security crackdown un the past year, as the Sunni monarchy attempts to cope with their demands for reform.

Activists have highlighted and circulated amateur videos showing women being beaten and arrested by male security officers since protests erupted in the capital Manama in February.

In a passionate and angry sermon, a video of which has been seen by the BBC, Sheikh Qassim said on Friday: "Let us die for our honour."

"How do they who do this to people expect the people to remain silent and not defend their rights and honour?" he asked.

 Following Sheikh Qassim's sermon, thousands took to the streets of Manama to protest

Sheikh Qassim had previously been seen as a moderate, counselling peaceful protest and urging people to avoid violence.

But correspondents say his sermon reflects the growing anger in the Shia community at what protesters see as the government's failure to curb its security forces and commit to meaningful reform.

Following the sermon, which received wide coverage on social media websites, thousands took to the streets of Manama to protest against the Sunni-dominated government of King Hamad Bin Isa al-Khalifa.

In predominantly Shia villages, tyres were set alight. Witnesses said the sky above the capital was filled with smoke.

A motorway into Manama was also reportedly shut and thousands were said to be marching in the streets.

Key lawmaker withdraws support for Australia's government

22 January 2012

CANBERRA: Prime Minister Julia Gillard's tenuous grip on power weakened on Saturday when a key independent lawmaker withdrew his support for her minority government. Lawmaker Andrew Wilkie announced he had ended his 17-month-old agreement with the center-left Labor Party government after Gillard broke a promise to him to introduce legislation that would create new controls on slot machines. His defection leaves Gillard with control of 75 of the 150 seats in House of Representatives, the lower chamber where parties form governments. This means Gillard could lose power if Labor loses a single by-election and the opposition unites lawmakers outside her coalition. "I regard the prime minister to be in breach of the written agreement she signed, leaving me no option but to honor my word and end my current relationship with her government," Wilkie told reporters. "I'm very let down by the prime minister ... and I think a lot of Australians are feeling very let down by the prime minister," he added. Wilkie wants legislation that would force gamblers to set a limit on how much they are prepared to lose before they start playing slot machines. The aim is to reduce the losses of gambling addicts. Gillard announced Saturday that she does not plan to introduce the new slot machine technology until 2016 - two years later than she had promised Wilkie. Gillard announced a compromise plan on Saturday in which limited trials of so-called pre-commitment technology would begin next year. In addition, automatic teller machines in slot machine venues would be limited to maximum withdrawals of $250. Gillard said Wilkie's plan would not have been endorsed by Parliament. "We need people working together on the same page to get change, and the package of reforms we're announcing today I believe will get that support in the Parliament," Gillard told reporters.

Abbott unlikely to back Greens' $1 bet limits

January 22, 2012

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has indicated he won't support an Australian Greens proposal for $1 pokie bet limits.

The Greens unveiled plans on Sunday to either introduce new $1 maximum bet legislation to parliament next month or amend the government's reforms to legislate for the maximum single wager limit.

The move comes after Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a watered down version of planned poker machine reforms on Saturday, including a trial of the controversial mandatory pre-commitment technology to start in 2013, probably in the ACT.

The federal government also intends to pass laws requiring every poker machine in the country to be linked into a state-based pre-commitment system by the end of 2016.

This backs away from a deal struck with Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie to legislate the reforms by May and roll out the mandatory pre-commitment technology by 2014.

Mr Wilkie in response yesterday declared he was dropping his support for the Gillard government.

"If the Greens are looking for support they should look to the Labor Party, they should talk to the Prime Minister," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney.

Mr Abbott again branded Ms Gillard untrustworthy following the unveiling of her watered-down pokie reforms on Saturday.

"This is a Prime Minister who betrayed Kevin Rudd ... betrayed the Australian public over the carbon tax. Now she's betrayed Andrew Wilkie and everyone who supports him," he said.

"No-one ever again can or should trust this Prime Minister.

"No-one can ever take anything this Prime Minister says seriously again."

Following Mr Wilkie's decision to withdraw his support for the Gillard government it now only enjoys a single-vote majority in the House of Representatives.

Asked if he would seek Mr Wilkie's support to call for an early election when parliament resumes, Mr Abbott replied: "Let's see wait and see what happens when the parliament comes back in a couple of weeks' time."

AAP

Rudd confident French troops will stay in Afghanistan

By Rachael Brown, Emily Bourke and staff

January 21, 2012

Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd says there is no sign France will withdraw from Afghanistan after four French troops were shot dead by a rogue Afghan soldier.

The unarmed soldiers were killed by their colleague, and 15 others were wounded.

France has the fourth-largest contingent in the international coalition in Afghanistan.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy is quoted as saying his army is not in the country to be shot by local troops.

Mr Rudd is in France and has told AM he is confident the French government will stay the distance.

"As to the impact of the recent tragic losses to the French in Afghanistan then that of course is a matter for the French government, but I detected no erosion of the resolve on the part of the French in my meetings with the foreign minister in Paris yesterday," he said.

But it appears France is considering speeding up its withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Mr Sarkozy has suspended military training and joint combat operations, and sent his defence minister to investigate the attack.

The four French soldiers had just finished an exercise session in the Kapisa province, north-east of Kabul, when their colleague opened fire.

The serviceman was reportedly involved in a verbal clash with the group, then turned on the unarmed soldiers.

Apology not enough

His Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, has expressed his deep regret over the attack, but this time an apology will not be enough.

A total of 82 French troops have now been killed in the Afghan campaign.

If the defence minister is not convinced his troops are safe, the country's campaign will come to a premature end.

"If the conditions of security for our soldiers, as well as conditions of the recruitment of Afghan soldiers within the Afghan army are not clarified and secured, the question of an early withdrawal of the French army will arise," Mr Sarkozy said.

Afghan security forces, or insurgents dressed in their uniforms, have attacked and killed international troops or trainers more than a dozen times in the past two years.

This latest attack will undermine trust between Afghan and western troops.

But London Think Tank Chatham House spokesman Dr Gareth Price says the coalition has no choice but to forge on.

"The whole strategy is to build up the Afghan National Army and there isn't really an alternative strategy," he said.

"The alternative would be just to leave Afghanistan.

"It would be quite self-defeating if those western countries stopped building it up."

As for vetting methods during recruitment, Dr Price says it is "tricky" for the Afghan National Army to improve its measures.

"The issue with the Afghan army at the moment is it's very much an army of non-Pashtuns, and that's difficult for an army that eventually is going to be mainly operating, if it's taking the turnabout, in Pashtun areas," he said.

"There are attempts to get more Pashtuns within the Afghan National Army and that's when things get more difficult in terms of vetting.

"But at the moment it's very much an army of northern ethnic groups rather than the southern ones."

Strong January sales point to housing rebound

Stephen Nicholls

January 21, 2012

HOME buyers in Sydney's east and inner west are out in force, with agents reporting a surprising number of early sales.

Traditionally January is a quiet month for sales, but some believe the two interest rate cuts in November and December could be encouraging buyers.

Along with many of last year's unsold properties finding buyers, there have been cases of freshly listed homes selling within a week. ''We have rarely seen so many truly qualified and cashed-up buyers,'' said Di Jones director Gary Sands.

His agency has recorded six sales this year already, with several pending. Among the sales was a three-bedroom semi in Henrietta Street, Waverley, that was listed on January 4 and sold a week later for $1 million.

The others ranged from a two-bedroom apartment with parking in Bondi for $670,000 through to a $1.75 million unit at the Advanx development in Rushcutters Bay.

Bresic Whitney principal Shannan Whitney said lower interest rates could be working their magic. ''We've moved 10 properties this year that we couldn't sell last year, which is encouraging,'' Mr Whitney said. ''I definitely think the lower interest rates have helped and now many expect they could even go down further.

''The European situation is still weighing on people's minds, but there's a little bit more optimism since the last quarter of last year.''

The senior economist with the Fairfax-owned Australian Property Monitors, Andrew Wilson, said there was always a lag of a couple of months before the market improved after a rate cut.

''Housing affordability is at its best level for a while, with most prices flat over 2011 and interest rates down,'' Dr Wilson said. ''So there is a sense of renewed optimism and confidence in the NSW economy, despite some fairly ordinary unemployment numbers this week.''

While auctions do not resume until February, Harris Partners agent Andy Gale watched a trio fight it out for a two-bedroom cottage in Claremont Street, Balmain. It sold on Thursday night for $895,200 to an empty-nester. ''It was a classic silent auction process,'' he said. ''We asked the buyers to put in their highest and final offer and the owner made his decision on who to accept.''

There have even been sales this week for higher-priced properties that could not find buyers in 2011, with vendors being realistic about prices.

Goodyer Donnelley exchanged on an early 1980s three-bedroom townhouse in Alton Street, Woollahra, on Tuesday. Australian Property Monitors records show it had sold for $2 million in 2009. It had been for sale since last August and been withdrawn from auction in October. Rather than a hoped-for $1.8 million, the vendor had to settle for $1,725,000.