Lebanon needs $370 mn to cope with Syrian refugee crisis: PM

Mikati said Lebanon will need at least $370 million in support this year under the current conditions. (AFP)

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged Arab states to help Lebanon cope with the rising numbers of Syrian refugees flooding to the country and stretching its scare resources.

Mikati said Lebanon will need at least $370 million in support this year under the current conditions.

Mikati said hospitals were full of Syrians, the sick and wounded from the civil war next door, and doctors were struggling to prevent outbreaks of disease among 340,000 refugees crammed into host communities around the country.

Lebanon also faces rising crime, added Mikati. He said 700 Syrians were caught breaking the law in January, a high figure in a country of 4 million, and the influx of refugees into Lebanese homes had brought with it social problems including child marriage.

"We are coming to a very critical point," Mikati told Reuters in an interview.

"We need help. Lebanon is bearing the burden of the events in Syria," he said. "We ask Arab countries to look supportively and sympathetically at Lebanon, because Lebanon needs these countries right now."

International donors, including wealthy Gulf Arab states, have pledged $1.5 billion for refugees and displaced Syrians, but two Lebanese ministers - for social affairs and health -told Reuters on Tuesday they had not seen a penny of that money.

Humanitarian agencies pleaded Wednesday with governments around the world to make good on pledges of aid for Syrian refugees.

Joel Charny, vice president of InterAction, urged donors to make good on their promises to the pledging conference in Kuwait in January.

So far, only around 20 percent of the $1.5 billion pledged has been received, according to figures from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

With four million Syrians, out of a total population of 20 million, now in need of assistance "the needs are overwhelming and there are numerous challenges," said Charny.

As the Syria war enters a third year, Charny said it was "baffling considering the global attention that this crisis is receiving" that refugee programs were not fully funded despite $1.5 billion pledged in January.

"We are faced with delivering aid in the face of a medium intensity conflict, advanced weaponry is being used," he said on a conference call.

"Our community hasn't really been asked to do this since the Balkans," he added, referring to the 1990s conflict which tore the former Yugoslavia apart.

The biggest chunk of some $880 million was pledged by the Gulf nations such as Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, which each put up some $300 million.

The United States has already provided about $385 million in humanitarian assistance, with a further $115 in non-lethal aid.

During a visit to Jordan Wednesday, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said one million Syrians had now fled the conflict since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began on March 15, 2011.

It has triggered a tide of humanity, both inside and outside the country, placing a huge strain on smaller neighbors such as Jordan and Lebanon.

Jordan, with a population of only six and a half million, has taken in some 450,000 refugees over the past two years, and the United Nations estimates the figure could grow to 660,000 by the end of 2013.

Lebanon took in some 70,000 to 80,000 new refugees in February alone, with the Syrians now approaching some 20 percent of the population there.
 

14 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/14/Mikati-says-Lebanon-needs-370-mn-to-cope-with-Syrian-refugees-crisis.html
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Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood blasts anticipated U.N. women’s document

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood blasts anticipated U.N. women's document

The Brotherhood, which has emerged as the most powerful political faction in Egypt since the 2011 uprising, say the draft under discussion advocates sexual freedoms for women (AFP)

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood sharply criticized an anticipated U.N. document on combatting violence against women, saying on Wednesday that it was "deceitful," clashed with Islamic principles and undermined family values.

The text or details of the document have not been published yet, but it may be issued at the end of a meeting of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women this week in New York. Negotiations have been bogged down in debate.

The Brotherhood, which has emerged as the most powerful political faction in Egypt since the 2011 uprising, say the draft under discussion advocates sexual freedoms for women and the right to abortion "under the guise of sexual and reproductive rights."

In its strongly worded statement, the Brotherhood also decried the document's defense of homosexual rights, which are not recognized in Islam, and the equating between children born in and out of wedlock.

It said the title of the document addressing violence is "deceitful."

"It contains articles that clash with Islamic principles and its basics mentioned in the Quran (Islam's holy book) and in Islamic traditions," the Brotherhood statement said. "It eliminates Islamic values, and seeks to destroy the family ... which would lead to social disintegration."

The Brotherhood, which won Egypt's presidency and controls parliament, called on other Muslim nations, women's groups and Islamic organizations to reject the document. It called it an infringement on the thought, culture and uniqueness of Islamic societies.

The Brotherhood urged women's rights groups not to be "lured by phony calls for civilized behavior and by misleading and destructive processes."

Libya's supreme religious cleric also raised similar concerns, rejecting the document for violating Islamic teachings.

In particular, he rejected equality between men and women in matters of inheritance, which Islamic jurisprudence does not accept, and criticized wording on sexual freedoms and rights of children born out of wedlock.

The Commission meeting, which opened on March 4, focused on combatting violence against women. Cabinet ministers and ambassadors as well as representatives of civil society from 193 U.N. member states are attending.

The head of the U.N. women's agency, Michelle Bachelet, said she hoped the meeting would produce a document that becomes a tool to improve the fight against violence against women.

She called for more robust action and commitments to ensure the protection of the rights of women and girls to live in dignity, free of violence and discrimination.

The debate over the document is still ongoing in New York, particularly over reproductive and sexual health and rights and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual rights.

U.N. diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations are private, said Egypt proposed an amendment saying that each country is sovereign and can implement the document in accordance with its own laws and customs, a clause the West strongly opposes.

Such a document was unattainable a decade ago when the commission took up the issue, because governments were unable to reach agreement. Differences over sex education, a woman's right to reproductive health, and demands for an exception for traditional, cultural and religious practices stymied an accord.

The Brotherhood's statement appeared to reflect those persistent differences, saying that religious traditions and values are threatened by such a universal document.

Debates on women's issues in Egypt, and in the Muslim world at large, are traditionally buried in debates over Islamic laws and whether their interpretations are compatible with demands for more personal freedoms.

With the rise of Islamic fundamentalist groups to power in the region following the past two years of protests against autocratic rulers, many women rights groups fear a regression in women's freedoms with a stricter interpretation of Islamic laws.

Already, Egypt's speech at the opening of the commission meeting has set off a storm in the women's rights community.

The speech was delivered on March 4 by Pakinam el-Sharqawi, an aide to President Mohammed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood. In her speech, el-Sharqawi praised Egypt's new constitution as protective of women's rights, to the dismay of members of the delegation who have been sharply critical of the charter.

Her speech caused some in the delegation to walk out.

Leading women's rights activist Nehad Abu el-Qumsan called it "shocking."

Opposition activists say Egypt's new charter has an Islamist slant, undermines women's rights and denies them equality while ignoring their political rights.

Rights groups also worry that the new charter has granted religious authorities the right to review laws to ensure they are in line with Islamic laws, which they say may further undermine their rights.

Violence against women has also been on the rise in Egypt, particularly during political protests. Some suspect the attacks are an organized campaign to curb women's participation in public life after they played an integral role during the protests against former autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak.

The issue has been a source of contention between the Islamist-led government and opposition activists, who accuse authorities of not doing enough to address the issue.

In her speech, el-Sharqawi said violence against women should be combatted based on "balance between the values shared by humanity, and the cultural and social particularities of countries and peoples."
 

14 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/14/Egypt-s-Muslim-Brotherhood-blasts-anticipated-U-N-women-s-document.html
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Syrian child tells Al Arabiya why he joined armed rebels

Homsi said he was trained for two months before he was able to fight with the armed rebels and did not feel like he was too young to do so. (Al Arabiya)

An international rights organization released a report Wednesday that said Syrian children were being recruited by President Bashar al-Assad's regime as well as the armed opposition to fight on the front lines.

The UK-based Save the Children organization said the children – under the age of 18 – were not only used in combat but also as human shields and informants.

Ibrahim Homsi, 17, told Al Arabiya he joined the rebel Free Syrian Army in 2012 after Assad forces killed his brother.

"I took up arms because we were [forced] to evacuate our houses," he said. "Shabbiha [Assad thugs] entered our houses, killed my brother, killed my neighbors and arrested our women."

"I've been away from my family for one whole year. I'm now in the Homs suburbs."

Homsi said he was trained for two months before he was able to fight with the armed rebels and did not feel like he was too young to do so.

"I am doing this for God," he told Al Arabiya. "What pushed me to join the Free Syrian Army is because they're fighting for their people and their religion."

Ibrahim, whose school was allegedly struck by Assad's forces in Homs' Baba Amro district, also said that he wants to get back to his education.

"I want Bashar al-Assad to leave and be able to avenge the blood of the martyrs and then go back to school. After the fall of the regime, I will go back."

At least 2 million children in the war-torn country face malnutrition, severe trauma, early marriage and various diseases, the Save the Children report said.

14 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/14/Syrian-child-tells-Al-Arabiya-why-he-joined-armed-rebels.html
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White smoke rises in Vatican City, new pope elected

The crowd cheers in St. Peter's Square as white smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel meaning cardinals elected a new pope. (AFP)

Argentinian cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first ever pope from the Americas in the history of the Church, taking the papal name of Francis I, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

French cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran made the announcement from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica

Tens of thousands of people who braved cold rain to watch the smokestack atop the Sistine Chapel jumped in joy when white smoke poured out, many shouting "Habemus Papam!" or "We have a pope!" - as the bells of St. Peter's Basilica and churches across Rome pealed.

The pope, whose identity is not yet known, is due to emerge from the loggia overlooking St. Peter's Square to deliver his first words as the bishop of Rome. The lag time was giving Romans plenty of time to get to St. Peter's and a steady stream of pilgrims and tourists were making their way.

Chants of "Long live the pope!" rose from the throngs of faithful, many with tears in their eyes. Crowds went wild as the Vatican appeared on the square, blaring music, followed by Swiss Guards in silver helmets and full regalia. At least 50,000 people jammed into the square.

Elected on the fifth ballot, the pope was chosen in one of the fastest conclaves in years, remarkable given there was no clear front-runner going into the vote and that the church had been in turmoil following the upheaval unleashed by Pope Benedict XVI's surprise resignation.

A winner must receive 77 votes, or two-thirds of the 115, to be named pope.

The conclave played out against the backdrop of the first papal resignation in 600 years and revelations of mismanagement, petty bickering, infighting and corruption in the Holy See bureaucracy.

Those revelations, exposed by the leaks of papal documents last year, had divided the College of Cardinals into camps seeking a radical reform of the Holy See's governance and those defending the status quo.

14 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/13/White-smoke-rises-new-pope-elected-.html
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Syria state TV airs Al Qaeda songs in a move to hype up its fighters

Syrian opposition fighters walk in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Oct. 11, 2012. (AFP)

A report on forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad fighting against rebels was aired on the Syrian state TV and accompanied with background music commonly used by Al-Qaeda.

The religious song, entitled "We'll fight our battles with you," is commonly used by members of Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra Front fighters as well as other Islamist groups in Syria to hype up fighters in times of war.

The Assad regime has repeatedly criticized such methods that would encourage people to fight and kill but has now used the same tactic against the armed opposition, which – it labels – a "terrorist" group.

The state TV report, which was broadcast on Tuesday, comes after Syria's grand imam, Ahmad Hassoun, issued a fatwa Sunday that fighting for the Assad regime was a "religious obligation."

However, the religious ruling is considered by some to contradict the statements of the Assad regime, which has repeatedly said that the two-year conflict in Syria is between a secular state and radical Islamists.

Assad told The Sunday Times in a recent interview that Syria was the last secular state in the region and that his fall would pave the way for Islamists to come into power.
 

14 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/13/Syria-state-TV-airs-Al-Qaeda-songs-in-a-move-to-hype-up-its-fighters-.html
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Frenchman rips off Muslim woman’s veil

Women in France found guilty of wearing niqabs in public can be fined 150 euros ($190) or be forced to undergo citizenship training. (AFP)

A Frenchman who ripped a Muslim woman's veil off her face as she strolled in a fairground was Wednesday given a five-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to compensate his victim.

The 30-year-old man, who admitted charges of aggravated assault, had justified the September 2012 attack at the time as an attempt to uphold a controversial law banning women from wearing niqabs, face-covering veils, in public.

That defense was thrown out by public prosecutors, who accused him of acting as a vigilante and carrying out an assault motivated by his victim's religious faith.

The man, who was not publicly identified on the request of his lawyers, was also convicted of presenting a false identity to police.

The incident in the western city of Nantes was the latest in a series triggered by France's controversial ban on the wearing of full face veils in public, which came into force in April 2011.

Last September, Louis-Marie Suisse, a Muslim teenager in Marseille, was sent to prison for two months after being convicted of biting a policewoman in an altercation sparked by her arrest for wearing a full-face veil.

Under the law, women found guilty of wearing niqabs in public can be fined 150 euros ($190) or be forced to undergo citizenship training.

Human rights group Amnesty International has condemned the legislation as breaching French citizens' right to freedom of expression.

14 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/13/Frenchman-rips-off-Muslim-woman-s-veil.html
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Syria’s Brotherhood calls for action amid escalating violence

Men clear debris from one of the buildings in Deir al-Zor March 12, 2013. (Reuters)

Syria's Muslim Brotherhood called on Wednesday for a week of action both in the strife-torn country and elsewhere to mark the two years since the revolt broke out against President Bashar al-Assad.

"We in the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria declare the week following March 15 a national week of solidarity with the Syrian people and their blessed revolution," AFP quoted the exiled opposition group as saying.

"We call on the heroic Syrian people to bring back to life all aspects of the uprising... inspired by the spirit of real national unity, speaking in one voice," a statement added.

Protesters in towns and cities across Syria have taken to the streets every Friday since March 15, 2011 to call for the fall of Assad.

The banned Muslim Brotherhood was forced out of Syria by Assad's father and predecessor Hafez after the brutal repression of an Islamist-led anti-regime movement in the early 1980s.

Dissidents say the group plays a significant role in the opposition today.

In its statement, the Brotherhood also called on "people in Arab and Islamic countries, and on free people everywhere in the world... to consider March 15 to 22 a week of global support to the Syrian people... with marches, demonstrations and sit-ins."

The organization also renewed its criticism of the international community's paralysis over the Syrian crisis.

"The Syrian people, men, women, old and young, carry out wonderful acts of bravery and make sacrifices, holding out despite the regime's massacres and its crimes against defenseless civilians," said the Brotherhood.

But "the international community has watched and listened on, failing the Syrian people, and failing to fulfill its legal and humanitarian responsibilities," it added.

Fierce battles in Damascus

Meanwhile, Syrian government troops fought fierce battles with rebels on Wednesday for control of key neighborhoods in the north of Damascus, Assad's seat of power, the Associated Press reported residents and activists as saying.

Opposition fighters trying to topple Assad have been trying to take Damascus for weeks, battering regime checkpoints and military bases in the heavily fortified capital. They have also fired mortars into residential districts and into the capital's main football stadium, sowing fear among residents.

Both sides see Damascus as the ultimate prize in the civil war.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday's clashes were concentrated in the capital's neighborhoods of Jobar and Barzeh.

A resident in the area said shelling overnight "shook apartments" and terrified the inhabitants. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was afraid for his safety.

Clashes subsided by early Wednesday but sporadic gunfire could still be heard in the contested districts.

A car bomb exploded outside a police station in Khan Sheih neighborhood, west of Damascus, the Observatory said. The Britain-based activist group also said fierce clashes broke out after the blast but had no immediate reports of casualties.

Fighting also raged in other Syrian cities, including in Homs, where the regime pounded rebel positions with artillery and carried out several airstrikes on the Baba Amr district, a former rebel stronghold which the opposition has tried to recapture in the past days.

First death of EU employee

Also in the Syrian capital, a European Union staff member was killed in a rocket attack in an opposition stronghold south of the capital, the EU said.

In Brussels, the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said a policy officer with the European delegation in Syria was killed on Tuesday in the Damascus suburb of Daraya. It was the first death in the Syrian civil war of an EU employee.

Ahmad Shihadeh, 32, had worked for the EU for five years, a spokesman for Ashton said Wednesday. He said Shihadeh had lived in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus that has been one of the main battlefields in the capital.

Ashton said he "died while providing humanitarian help to the community of Daraya," Ashton said. "Ahmad was known for his courage and selflessness."

The neighboring countries also saw the spilling over of the conflict.

The U.N. refugee Chief Antonio Guterres says his agency is working with Jordan to bolster security at a camp for Syrian refugees where reports of drug trafficking, prostitution and other crimes have emerged.

Syria's uprising morphed into an insurgency after the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown on dissent. The conflict has left some 70,000 people dead, the U.N. says.
 

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/13/Syria-s-Brotherhood-calls-for-action-on-revolt-anniversary-.html
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Two civilians killed in south Yemen clashes: sources

A follower of the separatist Southern Movement holds a flag of former South Yemen as he stops cars on a street in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden February 26, 2013. (Reuters)

Renewed clashes between Yemeni police and southern separatists killed two civilians on Wednesday, five days ahead of the country's troubled national dialogue, medics and an activist told AFP.

Police opened fire on Southern Movement activists who had blocked roads with rocks and burning tyres as part of a campaign of civil disobedience they began less than a month ago, an activist said.

A security official said police and separatists had "traded fire" in Aden's Mansura district, a stronghold of the pro-independence movement.

Six people were wounded in the clashes, medics said.

On February 21, security forces killed four people during protests marking the first anniversary since President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi came to power following nearly a year of protests that ousted his autocratic predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Southerners have since called for a campaign of civil disobedience to be observed every Saturday and Wednesday.

Wesnesday's deaths bring to 12 the number of people killed since, according to an AFP tally based on reports by medics and activists.

South Yemen broke away in 1994, sparking a civil war, before it was overrun by northern troops.

Hardliners in the south have refused to take part in the national dialogue set to take place on March 18, insisting on a secession of the regions of the formerly independent south.

The dialogue, which was delayed due to differences after it was set to take place in mid-November last year, is aimed at drafting a new constitution and electoral law for parliamentary and presidential polls in 2014.
 

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/13/Two-civilians-killed-in-south-Yemen-clashes-sources-.html
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Prince Charles, Camilla start Mideast tour, meet ‘traumatized’ Syrian children

Prince Charles, Camilla start Mideast tour, meet 'traumatized' Syrian children

After meeting with "traumatized" Syrian children, the Prince of Wales described the refugees' plight as "heartbreaking." (AFP)

Prince Charles and his wife visited a camp for Syrian refugees in northern Jordan as part of a trip to the Middle East, an official said.

"They were briefed by U.N. officials on the situation (of the refugees)," the official told AFP.

After meeting with "traumatized" Syrian children, the Prince of Wales described the refugees' plight as "heartbreaking."

"Many of these children have been traumatized by the horrors of what they've witnessed before they got here," the Independent newspaper quoted him as saying.

The royal couple toured the United Nations-run King Abdullah Park refugee camp near the border with Syria that hosts about 1,000 Syrians who have fled the war in their country, said the Jordanian government official.

Jordan says it is sheltering nearly 436,000 Syrian refugees, including 120,000 at the Zaatari camp, situated in a desert region in the north of the country.

Later on Wednesday, their second day in Jordan, the British prince and duchess plan to visit the northern Greco-Roman city of Jerash, before leaving for Qatar, followed by Saudi Arabia and Oman.

The British Foreign Office said the royal couple's Middle East visit, which began on March 11 and will run until March 19, is to support women in the region in their bid to gain more rights.

Prince Charles and the duchess will be meeting with the newly appointed female members of Saudi Arabia's Shura Council.

Saudi Arabia made a breakthrough when it allowed women to enter politics and introduced a 20 percent quota for women in the country's Shura Council.
 

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/13/Prince-Charles-Camilla-start-Mideast-tour-meet-traumatized-Syrian-children.html
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EU says official from its Syria delegation killed in Damascus

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton talks to the press. (AFP)

A policy officer at the European Union's delegation in Syria was killed in a rocket attack on a Damascus suburb on Tuesday, EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton said on Wednesday.

Ahmad Shihadeh was killed while giving humanitarian help to people in the suburb of Deraya, where he lived, Ashton said in a statement.

"I call again on all sides to take urgent steps to end the violence, which has led to the deaths of some 100,000 innocent citizens and over one million refugees seeking shelter in neighboring countries," Ashton said.

The EU withdrew international staff from its office in Damascus last December because of the worsening violence in Syria, which has been torn by a two-year-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

Local staff remained in Syria but are not going to the EU delegation, which is temporarily closed, an EU official said.

Shihadeh was killed as Britain and France raise pressure on other EU members to lift a ban on supplying arms to Syria, where the rebels are outgunned by Assad's forces.
 

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/13/EU-says-official-from-its-Syria-delegation-killed-in-Damascus.html
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Tunisian vendor who set himself on fire dies: medic

The body of a young Tunisian man, who set himself on fire, is placed on a stretcher before transporting it into an ambulance in the main street of the capital Tunis March 12, 2013. (Reuters)

A Tunisian cigarette vendor who set himself alight in a street of the capital Tunis has died from the severe burns he suffered, a medical official said on Wednesday.

Twenty-seven-year-old Adel Khadri, who torched himself on Tuesday, "died today at 5:30 am (0430 GMT) as a result of severe burns," Imed Toiuibi, the director of the Ben Arous Burns Centre, told AFP.

Officials said Khadri, from a very poor family in the northwestern locality of Jendoubam, had arrived in the capital a few months ago to look for work.

Witnesses quoted him as shouting: "This is a young man who sells cigarettes because of unemployment," before setting himself on fire on the steps of the municipal theatre on Habib Bourguiba Avenue -- epicenter of the uprising that toppled ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali more than two years ago.

The revolution was sparked by the self-immolation in the town of Sidi Bouzid of Mohamed Bouazizi December 17, 2010, in a drastic act of protest against police harassment.

Economic and social difficulties were the key factors that brought down Ben Ali's regime and two years since he fled to Saudi Arabia, unemployment and poverty still plague the North African country.

Parliament was to meet on Wednesday to vote on a new government to pull the country out of its long-running political crisis, after premier-designate Ali Larayedh assured MPs on Tuesday his new team was up to the job.
 

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/13/Tunisian-vendor-who-set-self-alight-dies-medic-.html
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Arab interior ministers convene for 30th session in Riyadh

Arab interior ministers launched their 30th session in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.(Al Arabiya)

Arab interior ministers launched their 30th session in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. High-ranking security officials and representatives from the U.N., Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab Maghreb Union and Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) are also participating.

The meetings will discuss a report by the NAUSS' chairman of the supreme council on the university's works. Also on the agenda is a report by the council's secretary general on the secretariat's work done since the 29th session was held.

On Monday, the interior ministers' representatives finalized the preparatory meetings for the current session. The meetings were chaired by Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Salem, undersecretary of the Saudi interior ministry.
 

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/13/Arab-interior-ministers-convene-for-30th-session-in-Riyadh.html
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Family of former Marine detained in Iran pleads for his release

Iranian-American Amir Mirza Hekmati has been sentenced to death by Iran's Revolutionary Court on the charge of spying for the CIA. (Reuters)

The family of a former U.S. Marine detained in Iran for 19 months is calling for his release, saying he has suffered in solitary confinement and his cancer-stricken father needs him.

Iranian-American Amir Hekmati, 29, was arrested in August 2011, his family says, and convicted of spying for the CIA, a charge his relatives and the United States deny. His family says he was detained while visiting his grandmother in Tehran.

He was sentenced to death but a higher court "nullified" the penalty in March 2012 and sent the case to another court. He remains in jail with little access to a lawyer or family visits, his sister Sarah Hekmati told Reuters by telephone this week.

"Now, a year later ... there is silence on their end and we really need help understanding where his case is going," she said.

The family was told in February Hekmati had been placed in solitary confinement for 16 months and had begun a hunger strike that left him unconscious, said his brother-in-law, Ramy Kurdi.

They want him freed before the Iranian New Year later this month, an occasion when the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, often pardons non-violent prisoners.

"We understand there is mercy shown to prisoners and they're often released," Kurdi said. "That's our plea as well ... we're worried about his mental, physical and emotional wellbeing."
Iran's judiciary has said Hekmati admitted to having links with the CIA, but denied any intention of harming Iran.

The family has struggled to pursue the case because Iran and the United States have no direct diplomatic relations. Ties were cut in 1980 after Iranian students took 52 U.S. diplomats hostage in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Hekmati has been granted few visits with his lawyer and with his mother, grandmothers and uncle in Tehran, his family said. The Swiss embassy in Iran, which handles U.S. interests, has not been given access to Hekmati, his sister Sarah said.

In 2009, three U.S. citizens were arrested near Iran's border with Iraq and accused of spying for the U.S. government. The trio said they were on a hiking holiday but were jailed and freed after diplomatic efforts by Oman, Iraq and Switzerland.

'Not a problem'

Hekmati's sister described him as a careful person, saying that before visiting Iran for the first time, he had informed Iran's interests section in Washington, D.C. of his military past, aware that it might arouse suspicion. But staff there said it "wasn't a problem" and processed his paperwork routinely.

He had served as an infantryman, language and cultural adviser and Arabic and Persian linguist in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2001-2005, doing some of his service in Iraq.

But after two weeks in Tehran, Hekmati went missing one evening in August 2011 when he was supposed to join a family gathering, Sarah Hekmati said.
Relatives went to the house where he was staying and found he was gone, along with his laptop, camera, mobile phone, and passport, she said. The door appeared to have been broken open.

"It was very apparent that he was taken by force," she said.

At first the family sought to resolve the issue locally and received encouraging messages from authorities. Relatives in Iran who had spoken to Hekmati advised against resorting to the media. But they have gone public because the cancer diagnosis of Hekmati's father has injected a new urgency into the situation.

"We felt enough is enough, we can only wait so long given our dad's health," Sarah Hekmati said. "He needs to be here with his dad, his dad needs him."
 

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/13/Family-of-former-Marine-detained-in-Iran-pleads-for-his-release.html
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Push for Peace? Kurdish PKK set for hostage release

Kurdish rebels said they would on Wednesday release eight Turkish captives to a delegation of pro-Kurdish party members

Kurdish rebels said they would on Wednesday release eight Turkish captives to a delegation of pro-Kurdish party members as part of a renewed push for peace with Turkey.

"The prisoners will be freed and handed over to a delegation on 13 March, 2013," an armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.

The release was initially expected to take place Tuesday but was delayed due to "technical reasons", according to the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

The delegation led by the BDP has already travelled to the northern Iraqi city of Arbil for the expected release, a representative from the party told the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency.

Representatives from the interior ministry and two non-governmental groups were also in Arbil for the release, which both sides say should be interpreted as a confidence building measure in new efforts to end the 29-year-old Kurdish insurgency.

"We hope the powers longing for peace and democracy will see the gesture and speed up the steps for peace," BDP representative Cemal Coskun told Firat.

Ankara also confirmed that the eight captives, which include troops and civil servants, are expected to be set free on Wednesday and taken to Turkish soil, where their families are waiting to greet them.

The promised release follows a thinly-veiled call from the jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, who said last month that both sides held "prisoners" and that he hoped to see them "reach their families".

Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said the initiative should be regarded as "a gesture of goodwill" in the ongoing process while he ruled out speculations that the government made secret concessions for the release.

"The process is going just fine... There is big public support, expectation and hope," Atalay was quoted as saying by the state-run Anatolia news agency.

Peace talks resumed late last year between Ocalan and the Turkish state with the ultimate aim of ending the nearly three decades of violence which has claimed around 45,000 lives since the PKK took up arms against Ankara in 1984.

Ocalan, in jail for 14 years for treason, is expected to call on his outlawed PKK to abide by a ceasefire starting March 21, the Kurdish New Year.

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/13/Kurdish-PKK-rebels-set-for-historic-hostage-release.html
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Tunisia’s constituent assembly to vote on new cabinet line-up

Tunisia's national constituent assembly on Wednesday will hold a vote of confidence for the new cabinet. (AFP)

Tunisia's national constituent assembly on Wednesday will hold a vote of confidence for the new cabinet headed by Ali Larayedh, a leader in the ruling Islamist Ennahda Party.

The vote was originally scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed.

During Tuesday's session, Larayedh read out his cabinet's ministerial statement to the assembly. He pledged to restore security, fight the high cost of living and develop the domestic economy.

Larayedh also said his government would focus on achieving priorities that include clarifying Tunisia's political vision, improving circumstances in the country for elections, achieving stability and continuing with reform.

The new cabinet, unveiled by the premier-designate, is replacing the team of fellow Islamist Hamadi Jebali, who stepped down as prime minister last month after his own efforts to form a new government failed.

Larayedh, the outgoing interior minister, was tapped to form the new administration in the wake of Jebali's failure and after the February 6 assassination of leftist leader Chokri Belaid, which plunged Tunisia into turmoil.

However, Ennahda has ceded control of several key ministries to independents in the new cabinet.

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/13/Tunisia-s-constituent-assembly-to-vote-on-new-cabinet-line-up-.html
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Khatib may resign as Syria’s National Coalition leader: report

Syrian opposition sources said National Coalition leader Moaz al-Khatib may submit his resignation. (Al Arabiya)

Syrian opposition sources said National Coalition leader Moaz al-Khatib may submit his resignation due to disputes with other opposition figures, pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat reported on Wednesday,

The daily said the General Secretary of the National Coalition, Mustafa al-Sabbagh, sent a letter to Khatib urging him to form an interim government. The letter was an alleged response to Khatib's latest statements, where he had said that forming an interim government would sow divisions.

Sabbagh also emphasized the importance of attaining a seat at the Arab League and attending the Arab body's summit in Doha at the end of the month.

The Arab League previously said it is prepared to hand Syria's seat in the organization to the opposition if it sets up an executive body.

Meanwhile, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said French and American officials are working with Russian representatives to prepare "a list of Syrian officials that will be accepted by the opposition Syrian National Coalition [t0 hold negotiations]".

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has noted that Syrian opposition parties have to agree on forming a cabinet which represents all Syrian people. He added that it is important for the Syrian opposition to sit with regime officials come to a consensus on forming a transitional cabinet.

The Syrian National Coalition postponed talks on the formation of an interim government again, which were set for Tuesday. Postponing this week's meeting was not the first as the opposition had been due to meet at the end of February in Istanbul.

Washington and Moscow have continuously insisted that a transitional government be formed after talks between the Syrian regime and the opposition take place.
The Syrian conflict is coming into its third year and the United Nations has estimated at least 70,000 people killed.

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/13/Khatib-may-resign-as-Syria-s-National-Coalition-leader-report.html
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‘Innocent victims’: Syria’s children bear the brunt of the bloody conflict

Two million children trapped inside Syria are innocent victims of a bloody conflict now entering its third year.(Reuters)

Two million children trapped inside Syria are innocent victims of a bloody conflict now entering its third year. Children are under constant risk of malnutrition, disease, trauma and early marriage; reported UK based NGO Save the Children.

In a new report 'Children under fire' released on Wednesday the Non-profit Organization revealed the extent of the suffering the children in Syria are having to face and how they have been directly targeted in the war.

"For millions of Syrian children, the innocence of childhood has been replaced by the cruel realities of trying to survive this vicious war," Jasmine Whitbread the Save the Children International Chief Executive wrote.

The reports key findings show that thousands of children are facing malnutrition due to the lack of food supply in the country.

"Many are now living rough, struggling to find enough to eat, without the right medicine if they become sick or injured" she added.

Another shocking feature that the UK-based group found is that girls are being married off early in an effort to protect them from sexualized violence.

The report added that one in three children told the organization they had been hit, kicked or shot at. Others struggled with the emotional effects given they had either been separated from their family, seen a close relative or friend killed in front of them.

"As society has broken down, in the worst cases, hunger, homelessness and terror have replaced school for some of these young people. We cannot allow this to continue unchecked; the lives of too many children are at stake" Whitbread said.

This report is released a day after the U.N. institution UNICEF wrote that a whole generation of Syrian children are at risk of being lost in the spiraling civil, adding it was in urgent need of funds to address the crisis.

"Millions of children inside Syria and across the region are witnessing their past and their futures disappear amidst the rubble and destruction of this prolonged conflict," UNICEF chief Anthony Lake said in a report published two years to the day after the Syrian conflict began.

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/13/-Innocent-victims-Syria-s-children-bear-the-brunt-of-the-bloody-conflict.html
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Mali defends rights record against U.N. abuse statement

Mali defends rights record against U.N. abuse statement

Interim Malian President Dioncounda Traore gives a press conference on March 12, 2013 at the Dakar airport at the end of a visit to Senegal.(AFP)

Mali's interim president defended the country's rights record Tuesday against accusations by the United Nations that the military was guilty of atrocities against ethnic groups in the war-torn north.

Dioncounda Traore, on a visit to the neighboring west African state of Senegal, said reprisals highlighted by a UN mission to Mali were rare but vowed that those found guilty of abuses would be hunted down and prosecuted.

"I am not aware of so many abuses," Traore told a media conference in the Senegalese capital Dakar, questioned about allegations against the Malian army.

"The media should not be echoing statements that do not correspond to reality" and reminiscent of "imaginary abuses", he said after meeting Senegalese leader Macky Sall at the end of a two-day visit.

French forces launched a surprise intervention on January 11 in a bid to stop Al Qaeda-linked fighters who had controlled northern Mali since April 2012 from moving southward and threatening the capital Bamako.

Islamist groups have largely been driven out of the main cities in the north and are waging a guerrilla war against French, Malian and other troops seeking to help the government assert its control over the entire territory.

The Chadian army issued a statement late Tuesday saying six jihadists and one of its soldiers were killed in fighting in the Ifoghas Mountains in north Mali. The latest toll brings to 30 the number of Chadian soldiers killed in the operation.

Also on Tuesday the UN's human rights body accused Malian soldiers of carrying out retaliatory attacks since the French involvement that appeared to target Tuareg and Arab communities, often conflated with jihadists.

The preliminary findings of a UN mission to Mali last month showed that groups apparently targeted by Malian soldiers "are perceived to be supportive of the armed groups" or retreating Islamists, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang said.

"Those who remain in the country are afraid of being targeted not for what they have done, but for who they are," she told diplomats at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

But Traore referred to abuses by the Al-Qaeda-linked groups in northern Mali from January through November 2012 highlighted in a separate UN report published ahead of the French-led intervention.

"We have seen foreigners violate, violate, cut off hands and feet. However, any person guilty of abuses will be held accountable before national or international courts," Traore told the media conference in Dakar.

Meanwhile French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the UN was likely to vote next month on a peacekeeping force for Mali that could comprise up to 10,000 troops and be deployed in June.

"We will move from the current framework... to a new diplomatic set-up, a peacekeeping operation which would probably be voted in April and implemented two months later," he told the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee.

The current African force AFISMA is composed of about 6,300 soldiers and is supposed to be taking over from French soldiers with Paris due to scale back operations in Mali next month.

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/13/Mali-defends-rights-record-against-U-N-abuse-statement.html
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Looming budget cuts threaten U.S. intelligence operations: James Clapper

Looming budget cuts threaten U.S. intelligence operations: James Clapper

Members of the intelligence community brief the Senate Select Intelligence Committee on threats to the United States during annual open hearings on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. (Photo credit: Mark Kauzlarich, for Al Arabiya)

MARK KAUZLARICH - WASHINGTON, D.C.

The United States faces chemical weapons in Syria, nuclear weapons in Iran, a radicalized and aggressive North Korea, and not the least domestic issues of cyber security and budget shortfalls.

In his remarks during the yearly U.S. Senate Select Intelligence committee meeting on threats to the United States, U.S. National Intelligence chief James Clapper said Tuesday that looming budget cuts, as a part of the sequester, are major concerns for intelligence leaders.

The sequester, which seeks to limit spending across the board in government, leaves little room for decisions from the intelligence community about ways to make calculated cuts in hopes of retaining the core functions of the agencies. Senators Collins and Udall are trying to change that and draw attention to the "terrible threats we face" in the face of sequestration.

With the predicted loss of thousands of analysts, contractors, and furloughs for "thousands of FBI employees," Clapper said the United States, "may risk missing an early sign of an attack."

Such an attack is not far-fetched. Hundreds of them have happened recently, and from unlikely sources, and they have all happened online.

#Cyber Security

In his prepared remarks, Clapper highlighted a growing threat of relatively unsophisticated cyber attacks on the American economy.

He said that a "major cyber attack" is remote and that Russia and China "are unlikely to launch such a devastating attack against the United States outside of a military conflict."

Clapper added that "isolated state or non-state actors might deploy less sophisticated cyber attacks as a form of retaliation or provocation."

Although less coordinated, such small attacks could have major consequences, he said. With the highly interconnected nature of power grids and other networks in the United States, one motivated and intelligent individual could access these functions.

Clapper noted that lax American Internet security has allowed foreign intelligence agencies "to close the technological gap between our respective militaries, slowly neutralizing one of our key advantages in the international arena."

Recent executive orders from the Obama administration have made steps to correct these issues, but members of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee say there is more that Congress needs to do and plan to evaluate that moving forward.

Meanwhile, other international issues still warrant concern for the U.S. intelligence.

#Assad and Iran

Caller quoted U.S. intelligence reports indicating that "the opposition in Syria is gaining steam," but that "the opposition is still fragmented."

Although the Syrian armed opposition is making efforts to solidify its hold and establish a permanent base of operations along the Syrian border with Turkey, with hundreds of different opposition battalions facing the Assad regime, the disjointed organization is allowing the al-Nusra Front, an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Iraq, to gain steam.

Despite the apparent disorganization on the ground, the prognosis for the Assad regime is not great.

When asked how long Assad will last, Clapper said, "His days are numbered. We just don't know the number."

But with the projected fall of his regime, a potentially larger international concern grows in the background. Of increasing concern to the intelligence is the fact that the Syrian government may look to use chemical weapons against its own people. But with the incursion of al-Nusra Front and a "growing infusion of foreign fighters," after the fall of the regime, these weapons may not be safe.

"Besides regimes' use, nongovernmental groups or individuals in Syria could also gain access to such materials," said Clapper, echoing similar concerns that he had stated over nuclear proliferation from Iran and North Korea.

Iran's willingness to build these weapons in the first place, however, is a matter of some contention. Although recent intelligence shows that Iran has all the capacities to produce a nuclear weapon, it is unclear if Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has the will to do so.

This in part may be due to sanctions that have placed extreme pressure on the economy.

"I think it does concern them about the deterioration of the economy," Clapper said, "because of the prospect for promoting unrest among the citizenry of Iran."

That issue, combined with the Iranian stake in the success of Syria, puts Iran in a difficult situation.

"It would be a tremendous loss – strategic loss – for the Iranians if the regime falls."

"Mark Kauzlarich is an intern in Al Arabiya's Washington, D.C. Bureau. Follow him on Twitter at @MJKauz or find his photojournalism work at www.markkauzlarich.com."

13 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/13/Looming-budget-cuts-threaten-U-S-intelligence-operations-James-Clapper.html
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