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Algeria’s legislative poll, the government and political parties are mounting a vocal campaign to secure a high turnout. The battle for voter participation in the May 10th election did not spare mosques.
Families of those killed during the social unrest in Bahrain last year are to receive compensation from the government, Gulf Daily News has reported. Officials have pledged to offer out-of-court settlements to those affected by the uprisings.
(AP) — Bahrain is promising to grant Amnesty International additional visas for a fact-finding mission but will not allow the rights group to remain during weekends when clashes typically escalate.
A small bomb exploded near the Turkish prime ministry building in the capital Ankara today, about an hour before a cabinet meeting was due to be held there, and one person was slightly injured, officials said.
Iranian Communications Minister Reza Taghipour said internal networks would be separated from internet by launching national information network, ISNA reported.
(AP) – Military officials say the death toll from fighting in southern Yemen between army troops and al-Qaida militants has risen to 106, with another 55 soldiers taken prisoner.
China said on Monday it will send an envoy to Syria in a fresh bid to help staunch violence there that has divided Beijing from Western and Arab powers demanding stronger action to rein in the forces of President Bashar al-Assad.
Saudi Arabia said that Syrians have a right to take up arms to defend themselves against the regime on Sunday, as concerns mount over a humanitarian crisis there.
Syria’s state newspapers have lauded the return of Vladimir Putin to the presidency of Russia, one of the few countries to stand by the Damascus regime despite international condemnation.
Iran will probably cut oil supply to Netherlands, Czech Republic and Belgium, managing director of National Iranian Oil Company Ahmad Qalebani said, Mehr reported.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced that the Government of the United States is increasing transitional aid for the Tunisian government and is actively engaging other countries to do the same.
‘Die Welt’ article claims that intelligence agencies believe N. Korea detonated Iranian atomic weapons device in 2010.
The refusal of Israeli Supreme Court Justice Salim Joubran, an Arab Christian, to sing the Jewish state’s national anthem last week during a ceremony to mark the swearing-in of a new chief justice has stirred controversy in Israel and revived the debate over the nature of Israel’s relation reported by Al Arabiya.
Libya’s Prime Minister Abdel Rahim al-Kib is due to address the nation Monday on the issue of federalism, his office said, as aspirations for decentralisation gained momentum in the east of the country.
An Islamist lawmaker was expelled from his party for fabricating a story that he was beaten by gunmen. Doctors said in fact he had undergone plastic surgery.
Saudi Arabia has said that Syrians have a right to take up arms to defend themselves against the regime and accuses the Damascus government of “imposing itself by force,” as concerns mount over a humanitarian crisis there.I
Saudi Arabia’s push to improve ties with Iraq is part of a drive to convince it to abandon the Syrian president, despite the strong influence in Baghdad of Riyadh’s foe Tehran, experts say.
In the restive city of Homs, citizens try to flee relentless fighting between the Syrian regime and opposition armies. Adding to the danger is wider use of improvised explosive devices.
A hospital worker has provided horrific video evidence that medical staff in the besieged Syrian city of Homs are doing the unthinkable: torturing patients in their care.
(AP) – Iran’s parliament holds its first session after Friday’s parliamentary election.
(AFP) – It will take decades before Iraq sees a female prime minister, and the lack of women in top government posts is disappointing, the country’s women’s minister told AFP in an interview.
(Reuters) – The United Nations nuclear watchdog chief said on Monday there were indications of “activities” taking place at an Iranian military site which his inspectors want to visit as part of an investigation into Iran’s nuclear program.
People fleeing Homs tell a BBC correspondent outside the Syrian city that security forces are committing atrocities, including summary executions.
The Kuwaiti Government will consider recommendations tabled by the National Assembly regarding the situation in Syria, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah said Sunday.
Germany’s foreign minister says he hopes Russia will recognize that it’s on “the wrong side of history” and rethink its stance on Syria now that its presidential election is over.
The UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, will visit Damascus this week in what will be his first visit since being appointed to the post, according to a report.
Bahrain is setting up an independent high media council that will provide advice on media draft laws, monitor all media for possible incitement to rights violations and look into complaints against the media.
(Reuters) – A rush to replace Iranian crude with oil from other suppliers due to sanctions against Iran could breathe some life back into a limp very large crude carrier (VLCC) market this year, the head of a Dubai-based tanker owner said.
Saudi Arabia has begun trials of 55 suspected al-Qaeda members, some charged in a deadly attack on a U.S. Consulate in 2004, the kingdom’s official news agency reported Sunday.
Russia will meet with foreign ministers of Arab states to discuss the Syria crisis in Cairo on March 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. “I especially value today’s chance to prepare for a meeting of the foreign ministers.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Sunday urged Moscow to “advise” its ally Syria to stop its deadly crackdown against dissent. “Unfortunately, international efforts have failed and we have not seen results to stop the bloodshed and massacres in Syria,”
In a sign of the growing humanitarian crisis in Syrian cities and villages, as many as 2,000 people are believed to be heading for the Lebanese border, a United Nations official said.
Former Tunisian President Zein ElAbedine Ben Ali’s lawyer Akram Azouri refuted allegations about his client’s escape from Tunisia following the protests, denied that he issued orders to shoot protestors, and contested reports about his wealth.
Palestinian Authority president says the two parties have reached agreement on joint political platform, truce with Israel.
President of Israel praises US counterpart’s AIPAC speech, says that it would be preposterous to expect Obama to give a timetable for military action against Iran: “He didn’t talk about dates, but he spoke about actions.”
“We recognise both the state and the government of Libya as instituted by the NTC and are working with the government of Libya,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Tehmina Janjua here on Thursday at her weekly briefing.
Islamabad accorded the formal recognition to the new Libyan government just days after Qaddafi was killed by Nato-backed rebels, marking the end of the autocrat’s 42 years in power.
Initially, the government of Pakistan had been reluctant to recognise the NTC due to reservations over Nato’s participation in the removal of the Qaddafi regime, coupled with the fact that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has had longstanding ties with the Libyan strongman.
Furthermore, even after the fall of Tripoli, the government wanted to wait on any decision on formal recognition due to the fluidity of the situation. However, with the death of Qaddafi, the government of Pakistan was left with no other option but to formally recognise the new Libyan government.
Last month, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had indicated that Pakistan would soon recognise the new government in Libya. More recently, the main opposition party, PML-N, also warned the government that over 50,000 Pakistani expatriates would be at risk if there was further delay in recognising the NTC.
The Libyan Embassy in Islamabad, however, had signalled its shift in loyalties much before Pakistan’s formal recognition. On August 25, the Libyan Embassy raised the new NTC flag above its compound in Islamabad.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, well-known for his hatred for Israel, proposed on Sunday a “simple solution” to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority: “Everyone should go home.”
“If the backers of the Zionist regime want to solve the issue… the solution is simple … everyone should go home,”
At the conference opening on Saturday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reiterated the Islamic republic’s opposition to the division of so-called ‘Palestinian’ lands.
“Any plan which would lead to the division of Palestine is unacceptable,” AFP quoted Khamenei as having said. “Any plan that would create two states … would be accepting a Zionist state in the land of Palestine.”
Khamenei also said that Tehran believes that the “Palestinian” issue should be resolved by means of a referendum among Arabs living under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
AFP reported that Ahmadinejad dubbed Israel on Sunday “a cancerous tumor” which had to be removed to save the region and the world. He also blamed Israel for the deaths of top Iranian nuclear scientists.
Last week, the Iranian president accused Israel of kidnapping and holding four Iranians, three of them diplomats, prisoner since 1982. He called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “to take serious measures for their release.”
In his recent speech to the United Nations, Ahmadinejad lambasted Israel, saying the “Zionist regime imposes terror on the Palestinian people.”
He also cast aspersion on the Holocaust and hinted the September 11 attacks occurred under dubious circumstances as well.
Via: Arutz Sheva
Tags: Iran,Ahmadinejad,Israel,Palestinian
To a substantial degree, the Arab Spring has continued a long process of pushing foreign powers out, and reclaiming the region – both from foreign powers, and from the autocrats which worked the alliances to their advantage – for its inhabitants. But this has not left a vacuum. Instead, the politics of the region is coming to be structured increasingly by the regional powers. Chief among these are Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
The US is losing out, as it watches its influence in the region diminish, and its ally in Israel being isolated. It is pulling out of Iraq, and its retreat from the region will probably accelerate as the budget cuts in Washington put a further crimp on its diplomatic and aid resources. Washington will have to rely on other allies, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to advance its interests. But both of these countries have their own agendas, and will not merely do the US’s bidding.
Iran, whose own 1979 revolution sought to throw out foreign influence, had expected the Arab Spring would usher in governments more friendly to itself. On the face of it, the optimism was reasonable enough. It was always understood that in the Arab world, democracy would increase the influence of political Islam, which has been repressed by the region’s autocrats. One could assume democratic governments would then look more kindly on Iran’s theocracy.
The problem with this reasoning was that, first, it overlooked the depth of differences, and sometimes outright hostility, between Iran’s Shi’ite Islam, and the Sunni variety that dominates most of the Arab world. Equally, it overlooks the profound cultural and historical hostility between the Arab peoples on one hand, and the Persians who dominate Iran on the other – not to mention the tensions between Iran’s Persians and its own, substantial minorities. Moreover, the uprising against Syria’s government, one of Iran’s few friends in the region, bodes ill for Iranian influence. On balance, Iran probably won’t come out ahead from the Arab Spring.
Saudi Arabia, with its vast oil wealth and, home as it is to some of Islam’s holiest sites, moral leadership in much of the Muslim world, is eager to serve as a counterweight to Iran. It will throw its largesse around and, where necessary, intervene directly (as it has done in Bahrain) to quell uprisings which threaten its interests. Saudi Arabia might gain in influence. But given the divisions within the Saudi ruling family, not to mention the fact that it is yet another autocratic regime, it is a fragile foundation upon which to found future American interests.
The biggest winner of all, as far as foreign policy is concerned, appears to be Turkey. A secular country run by an Islamic party, Turkey sees itself as the perfect model for the region’s newly democratic regimes. Coming off several years of growth, with a confident and assertive government, Turkey has been able to appeal to democrats, while also being seen by elites as a safe party. Having once built close ties with Syria and Israel, Turkey has lately turned on both governments, further burnishing its regional credentials.
Turkey is not without baggage in the region, though. As the heart of the former Ottoman Empire, which itself incurred much resentment in the Arab world, it cannot appear too belligerent. But longer term, it has reason to feel confident about the future. Whereas Iran is struggling with political dissent, a divided ruling class and a sluggish economy, Turkey’s future looks comparatively bright.
No wonder it seems to be enjoying the Arab Spring so much.
John Rapley is a research associate at the International Growth Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and rapley.john@gmail.com.
Tags: Turkey,Islamic,Syria,Israel
European Parliament endorses Palestinian quest for statehood, says it should be achieved via negotiations; 'Right of Palestinians to self-determination and to have their own state is unquestionable,' resolution says
The European Parliament also reiterated its endorsement of the 1967 borders as a basis for negotiations, stressing that "no changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties should be accepted." The parliamentarians urged Israel's government to halt settlement construction.
Members of European Parliament also stressed that EU states and the international community should reconfirm their strong commitment to Israel's security.
via Europe: Palestinian statehood bid 'legitimate' – Israel News, Ynetnews.