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قضايا الدولة" تطالب رشيد وعز وعسل برد 660 مليون جنيه للدولة

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الاثنين، مارس 25، 2013

Defected Syrian pilot says he made trips to Russia and Iran to ‘collect cash’

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Defected Syrian pilot says he made trips to Russia and Iran to 'collect cash'

A Ammon News handout photo supplied by Syrian activists shows the Syrian Air Force Russian-made MiG-21 plane that a pilot landed with at the King Hussein Air Base in northern Jordan on June 21, 2012. (AFP)

 A defected Syrian pilot told The Sunday Telegraph that he was part of the Syrian regime's air fleet to Russia, where he amass money to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The pilot, who asked the Telegraph to identify him as Nazim, said that he and his fellow pilots "flew a cargo plane two or three times a month" to collect funds that were used to allegedly support the regime.

Nazim spoke from a border town in Jordan, where he sought refuge with his family. He confirmed that he was on flight to Russia last April "to collect cash, "adding in August last year, at least 15 flights were carried to Russia.

Nazim explained that the cargo always had "a combination of Syrian pounds, euros and U.S. dollars."

"When we landed at Damascus, protected cars from the Syrian bank were waiting for us at the airport to take the money straight to the bank" he said.

His account seems to confirm the Western intelligence officials' belief that the Assad government is being supported by Russia and has been receiving weapons from Iran, according to the newspaper.

The Sunday Telegraph said it was not possible to verify Nazim's account but the interviewee had presented them with a Syrian Air identity card.

The pilot said that the planes were owned by the Syrian air force but had been presented as "civilian aircraft, part of the national carrier, Syria Air," during these trips.

Russia is a staunch Syrian ally and has blocked three U.N. Security Council resolutions which looked to oust Assad and end the war in his country.

Russia is not subject to a U.N. ban on arms trade given Moscow is not in violation of any U.N. rules when conducting weapons commerce with Syria.

Nazim, 50, also told the newspaper that at least 20 missions were made to Tehran to gather arms and explosives.

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/Defected-Syrian-pilot-says-he-made-trips-to-Russia-and-Iran-to-collect-cash-.html
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Darfur rebel boss says 31 seized by ‘mistake’

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Abdel Wahid al-Nur said his forces made a "mistake" by seizing 31 displaced people travelling under peacekeeper escort. (AFP)

A rebel commander in Sudan's Darfur region said on Monday that his forces made a "mistake" by seizing 31 displaced people travelling under peacekeeper escort to a government refugee conference.

The abduction highlights insecurity for 1.4 million Darfuris uprooted by the region's decade-old conflict, and whose future is under discussion at the conference which ends Tuesday.

"One of the commanders made a big mistake," Abdel Wahid Mohammed al-Nur, who heads a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army, told AFP.

"I gave (an) order to release these people, civilians, immediately."

But the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said it had not been able to contact the victims to verify whether they had been freed.

"A convoy of three commercial buses carrying 31 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and escorted by UNAMID peacekeepers was stopped by a large unidentified armed group in military uniforms and seven jeep-mounted guns," UNAMID spokeswoman Aicha Elbasri said.

"Despite UNAMID opposition, the armed group forced the IDPs to an unknown location," said Elbasri, condemning the action of the gunmen.

Critics have previously accused UNAMID of not being aggressive enough in fulfilling its core mandate of protecting civilians. The mission has defended its role and says it has helped improve security in Sudan's western region.

Peacekeepers were unharmed in the incident, which happened at about 6:20 pm (1520 GMT) on Sunday between Central and South Darfur states, Elbasri said.

A Nigerian battalion is in charge of the area for UNAMID.

Sources in the region told AFP the peacekeepers were outnumbered, and that the incident occurred near a Sudanese government checkpoint.

They were on their way from Zalingei, in Central Darfur, to the main South Darfur city of Nyala where the conference on Darfur's IDPs and refugees is taking place at a heavily-guarded hotel.

More than 270 IDPs from across Darfur had safely reached the meeting, along with around 70 refugees, mostly from neighboring Chad, said Abdulbagi Ahmed Suliman, media director of Darfur's Voluntary Return and Resettlement Commission.

They were to outline their needs for returning to their abandoned villages, Suliman said from the conference venue for hundreds of civil society, UN, government and other delegates.

But he added they had already made their overriding concern clear: "Security, security, security."

The UN says 1.4 million people are still living in camps a decade after rebels from the Fur, Zaghawa and other indigenous groups began an insurrection seeking an end to what they said was the domination of Sudan's power and wealth by Arab elites.

In response, government-backed Arab Janjaweed militia shocked the world with atrocities against ethnic minority civilians. Villages were burned to the ground.

Although the worst of the violence has long past, rebel-government clashes continue while inter-Arab fighting and banditry complicate the situation.

"Even the IDP camp itself is not really that secure," with government-linked guards blamed for instability, a humanitarian source said.

A UN report cited several factors preventing large number of IDPs from returning.

"These include the absence of a comprehensive political settlement" bringing in all rebel groups, as well as "unresolved issues of land tenure and occupancy, tribal clashes, high levels of criminality, food insecurity, deteriorating environmental conditions and very limited rural infrastructure."

Mohammed, 64, told AFP he left his East Darfur village five years ago for neighboring South Kordofan state.

Like many others, he had become fed up with the "armed groups" shooting and looting around the village, hindering their ability to grow crops.

"If security improves... it's better for me to go back to my village," said Mohammed, which is not his real name. "It's my home."

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/Darfur-rebel-boss-says-31-seized-by-mistake-.html
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Iranian companies challenge sanctions in court

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Iran denies it seeks a nuclear weapons capability and say sits work is for medical research and generating electricity. (AFP)

 The United States is concerned Iranian appeals to European courts could loosen sanctions against Tehran, said a State Department official on Monday who urged the EU to urgently find a way to allow judges to examine secret intelligence evidence.

Europe's General Court told EU governments in January to lift asset freezes against Bank Mellat and Bank Saderat, two of more than a dozen Iranian banks which the European Union says are helping finance Tehran's nuclear program.

Both the European Union and the United States view sanctions against the Iranian banking sector as a crucial component of economic pressure designed to force Tehran to scale back the nuclear work, which they suspect has covert military goals.

Iran denies it seeks a nuclear weapons capability and say sits work is for medical research and generating electricity.

The court argued the EU has failed to provide sufficient evidence the banks are involved in financing the nuclear program, potentially eroding Europe's sanctions efforts.

"We are well aware of this problem," a U.S. State Department official told Reuters during a trip to Brussels. "We are looking at it with some concern."

At the center of the disagreement between EU governments and the court is classified information which the capitals say should not be provided to judges because that could compromise intelligence sources.

The U.S. official said policymakers from Washington had discussed the issue with European governments and institutions, and urged them to explore regulatory solutions that would allow, for example, for judges to review information in a secure way.

"We hope that the European Union is looking at its regulation to see if there are any changes it can make to make these (sanctions) regulations more robust when challenged in court," he said.

"The most difficult question is whether the European Union can find a way to have courts handle classified information in a way that gives member states ... confidence it will be held in secret."

"We will do our part as best as we can and we think the European Union needs to focus on this with some urgency," the official said.

More Iran appeals pending

EU governments are likely to decide to appeal the rulings regarding Bank Mellat and Bank Saderat later this week.

Bank Mellat was formed through the merger of 10 banks in1980 and boasts 1,800 branches in Iran as well as branches in Turkey, South Korea, London and Dubai. It has also appealed to the British Supreme Court to overturn a ban on its operations.

More than 30 cases are still pending at the General Court, including ones filed by the Central Bank of Iran and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Those sanctions severely affected Iran's ability to export oil and carry out international financial transactions.

U.S. senators have also urged European Union leaders to do more to stop the Iranian government from using the European Central Bank, saying the bank's payment system may inadvertently be aiding Tehran in financing its nuclear program.

But EU diplomats say any major work on Iranian sanctions can only be considered after the next round of negotiations between Tehran and six powers. The six - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - are due to meet Iran in the Kazakh city of Almaty on April 5 and 6.

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/Iranian-companies-challenge-sanctions-in-court.html
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Oman denies receiving Qaddafi’s family members

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Qaddafi's wife Safia and two sons, Hannibal and Mohammed, along with daughter Aisha sought refuge in Algeria after the fall of Tripoli in August 2011 to rebels battling the veteran leader's loyalists. (Al Arabiya)

 The embassy of Oman in Libya denied Monday that the family members of Muammar Qaddafi who had taken refuge in Algeria during the revolution have moved to the Gulf sultanate, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported.

Libya's foreign minister earlier told reporters in Doha that "some of the family has moved to Oman."

Mohammed Abdelaziz said an official statement by the three countries involved, Libya, Algeria and Oman, would be issued soon.

Omani local daily al-Shabiba also said on Monday that some members of Qaddafi family have been in Oman since October.

It cited a foreign ministry official saying that the Gulf state did not want to "show off" with an action prompted by "humanitarian" motives.

But Anadolu news agency quoted the media center of Oman's embassy in Tripoli as denying the reports, adding that there are no contacts with the Libyan authorities on the issue.

Qaddafi's wife Safia and two sons, Hannibal and Mohammed, along with daughter Aisha sought refuge in Algeria after the fall of Tripoli in August 2011 to rebels battling the veteran leader's loyalists.

Another son, Saadi, fled to Niger in September that year.

Three of Qaddafi's sons, Mutassim, Seif al-Arab and Khamis, were killed during the conflict in separate incidents.

The dictator's most prominent son Seif al-Islam, who was once touted as a potential successor, was arrested in November 2011 and is awaiting trial.

Qaddafi himself was killed in his hometown of Sirte in October 2011.

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/25/Oman-denies-receiving-Qaddafi-s-family-members-.html
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Half of U.N. staff to leave Syria

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Half of U.N. staff to leave Syria

Filipino United Nations peacekeepers drive at the Kuneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria, in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights earlier in March.(Reuters)

 The United Nation said Monday it is moving about half of its 100 international staff in Syria out of the country after mortar shells were reported near the hotel housing its members.

The Damascus office of U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi will be closed as part of the new measures, diplomats told the Agence France Presse news agency ahead of an official U.N. announcement. Brahimi's staff will be moved to Cairo or Lebanon.

"The United Nations has told us that this is because of the growing danger in Damascus," a U.N. diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity. "There have been suicide bombs and a number of attacks very near the U.N. mission."

The United Nations has a huge humanitarian operation in Syria, aiming to feed and help more than 2 million people caught in the two-year-old conflict pitting President Bashar al-Assad against rebels fighting to oust him.

Most of the distribution work is now carried out by Syrian staff and through the Syrian Red Crescent.

A U.N spokesman however told Reuters that the United Nations will remain active in Syria.

A number of U.N. peacekeepers were abducted earlier in March by Syrian opposition fighters in the Golan Heights ceasefire zone between Israel and Syria. They were released four days later.

The act prompted U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to demand that the Syrian government and rebels respect peacekeepers' "freedom of movement and security."

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/Half-of-U-N-staff-to-leave-Syria.html
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Syria’s resigned opposition chief to talk at Doha summit

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Syria's resigned opposition chief Moaz al-Khatib said he would make a speech "in the name of the Syrian people" at the Arab summit in Doha. (Reuters)

Syria's resigned opposition chief Moaz al-Khatib said he would make a speech "in the name of the Syrian people" at the Arab summit in Doha, in a statement on Facebook.

"After performing (morning prayers) and consulting many trustworthy figures among them (the opposition's envoy in Qatar) Nizar al-Haraki, I have decided to make a speech in the name of the Syrian people at the Doha summit," Khatib said in a statement on his Facebook page.

Haraki told AFP that Khatib, who resigned on Sunday as head of the National Coalition, would head the Syrian opposition delegation filling the seat of Syria, which has been suspended from the League, at the summit starting Tuesday.

There have been several conflicting reports released in the run up to the summit. But, it still remains unconfirmed whether the seat at the Arab body will be handed over to the Syrian opposition.

Reactions from those supporting the Syrian regime have started to circulate, with Damascus already slamming the Arab League over its reports it handed Syria's seat to the opposition forces. Damascus said the Arab League had rewarded "bandits" and "thugs."

"The League has handed Syria's stolen seat to bandits and thugs, to the (opposition) Coalition which thinks it can sit in the name of the Syrian people," the official Al-Thawra newspaper said.

"They have forgotten that it is the people who grant the powers and not the emirs of obscurantism and sand," the paper added, in an apparent reference to key opposition supporters Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The Arab League summit opening Tuesday in Doha "will take place under Qatari supervision with the main goal to finish off Syria. They forget... that the Arabs, without Syria, would not be real Arabs," the paper said.

Syrian state television station Al-Ikhbariya added in the same vein that "the drums of treason echo in Doha."

"Qatar wants to bypass the rules of the Arab League by giving the seat of a founding member of the League to a coalition that obeys only the money and fuel of the Gulf and submits to American dictates," the station said.

The Arab League on March 6 called on the coalition "to form an executive body to take up Syria's seat" and attend the summit, although Iraq and Algeria have expressed reservations, while Lebanon has distanced itself from the decision.

Since then, the coalition has elected a prime minister who is set to choose an interim government.

The League announced on Nov. 12, 2011 that it was suspending Syria after its regime failed to implement an Arab deal to end violence against protesters.

The move came after the regime of President Bashar al-Assad launched a bloody crackdown on dissent which has since morphed into a civil war in which more than 70,000 people have so far died, according to UN figures.


 

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/25/Syria-s-resigned-opposition-chief-to-talk-at-Doha-summit.html
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Egyptian activists to be questioned over Brotherhood HQ clashes

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An Egyptian woman protests against President Mohamed Morsi outside the Muslim Brotherhood HQ in Cairo on March 22, 2013. (AFP)

 Egyptian prosecutors on Monday summoned several opposition politicians and activists for questioning over allegations they incited violence against members of the president's Muslim Brotherhood.

The summons came one day after the Islamist president sternly warned his opponents, saying he may be close to taking unspecified measures to "protect this nation."

Angry, shouting and pounding the table at times, Mohammed Mursi vowed to bring to account politicians found to have incited the violence on Friday, when Brotherhood members and protesters clashed outside the group's Cairo headquarters.

Nearly 200 people were injured in the clashes, the worst violence between the Brotherhood and its opponents in more than three months.

Those summoned include former presidential candidate Khaled Ali, former lawmaker Ziad el-Oleimi and several iconic figures from the pro-democracy movement behind the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak. These include Alaa Abdel-Fattah, Nawara Negm, daughter of Egypt's best known satirical poet, and senior opposition politician Mohammed Aboul-Ghar.

The summons, based on complaints filed by injured Brotherhood members, are likely to stoke tensions and extend the latest in a series of political crises roiling the nation since Mubarak's ouster two years ago. Coupled with economic woes and tenuous security, the ongoing bout of turmoil is by the far the worst since 2011, with at least 70 people killed and hundreds injured in protests and clashes with police since late January.

Friday's violence was rooted in an incident a week earlier, when Brotherhood members beat up activists who were spray-painting graffiti against the group outside its headquarters, located in an eastern district of Cairo. In response, anti-Brotherhood activists called for a protest Friday outside the headquarters. Both sides brought out hundreds of supporters, and the scene quickly turned to mayhem, with members of each side seen beating the other.

In Sunday's address, Mursi, who took office in June as Egypt's first freely elected president, departed from prepared comments at a women's rights conference to deliver a scathing attack against his opponents.

The president suggested that he may have to resort to "emergency" measures to deal with his opponents. He accused his foes of using paid thugs to sow chaos and the media of inciting violence.

He made no mention of any particular opposition group or politician and did not refer directly to Friday's calashes.

However, his animated comments left little doubt that they were directed at the National Salvation front, the main opposition coalition, and former members of the Mubarak regime.

Alluding to Mubarak-era figures who have been acquitted in court of a range of charges, Mursi said he respected the law and judicial rulings, but added: "There is a president of the republic and there are emergency measures if any of them makes even the smallest of moves that undermines Egypt or the Egyptians."

"Their lives are worthless when it comes to the interests of Egypt and Egyptians," he said, pounding on the table. "I am a president after a revolution, meaning that we can sacrifice a few so the country can move forward. It is absolutely no problem."

Mursi also criticized the media, arguing that it was being used for political aims. His attack on the media has been a popular refrain by the Brotherhood in recent weeks. Dozens of Islamists are currently staging a sit-in outside the studios of TV networks critical of the president.

The Islamists on Sunday pelted police with rocks, sought to prevent talk show hosts and guests from going in or out of the complex, located in a suburb west of the capital. Police used tear gas when pelted with rocks. The sit-in continued on Monday.

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/Egyptian-activists-to-be-questioned-over-Brotherhood-HQ-clashes-.html
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Israel to unblock Palestinian funds: Netanyahu’s office

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Palestinians wait to withdraw money from a cash machine in the northern West Bank city of Jenin 28 January 2007. (AFP)

 Israel is to resume the transfer of revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, frozen last year in retaliation for the Palestinians winning upgraded U.N. status, the premier's office said on Monday.

The decision came after a visit last week by U.S. President Barack Obama to Israel and the West Bank and follow-up meetings with both sides by Secretary of State John Kerry, who has pushed for the funds to be released since taking office in February.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has decided to authorize the transfer of fiscal revenues to the Palestinian Authority," his office said, adding that finance ministry officials had already been instructed to renew the transfer of funds.

A spokesman for Netanyahu said the decision was to take effect "immediately".

Israel in early December announced it would not transfer tax and tariff funds it collects for the severely cash-strapped Palestinians, in response to their successful U.N. campaign which the Jewish state had fiercely opposed.

Netanyahu authorized what he called a one-off release of $100 million at the end of January, with an aide citing the Palestinians' "very difficult financial situation."

Ahead of Obama's visit, the Palestinian Authority urged the world to step up financial aid and press Israel to allow economic development, over fears of "political collapse" due to Israeli fiscal barriers.

On Friday, as Obama left Jerusalem for Amman, a top official in Washington said the U.S. had quietly unblocked almost $500 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority which had been frozen by Congress for months.

"To date, we have moved $295.7 million in fiscal year 2012 money... and $200 million in fiscal year 2013 assistance," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

The Palestinian bid for observer state membership of the U.N. -- a resolution that passed with overwhelming international support -- had also angered Washington, which said the move undermined efforts for bilateral talks.

A U.N. report last week said Israel must ease financial restrictions on the Palestinian Authority.

"Israel should refrain from withholding and/or delaying the transfer of clearance revenue owed to the PA," said the office of the U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry.

He also warned that "Palestinian state-building achievement was at increased risk and the PA was facing ever greater political and financial pressure."

Israel usually transfers tens of millions of dollars in customs duties each month levied on goods destined for Palestinian markets that transit through Israeli ports. They constitute a large percentage of the Palestinian budget.

The transfers are governed by the 1994 Paris Protocols which govern economic agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.

But Israel often freezes the transfer of funds as a punitive measure in response to diplomatic or political developments it deems harmful.

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/Israel-to-unblock-Palestinian-funds-Netanyahu-s-office.html
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Israeli general suggests creating buffer zone in a post-Assad Syria

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In recent months, a number of rockets fired during fighting between Syrian forces and rebels have fallen inside the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. (AFP)

 An Israeli general has raised the possibility of creating a buffer zone in Syria, in cooperation with local forces wary of jihadist fighters, should President Bashar al-Assad be toppled.

Major-General Yair Golan said "many hundreds" of radical Islamists were fighting in Syria's two-year-old civil war and could "take root" in Israel's northern neighbor should Assad fall.

He said the Israeli military was working on the assumption that these fighters would ultimately launch attacks against Israel, which captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967Middle East war.

"One measure we certainly cannot rule out is to create a security zone on the other side of the border," Golan, head of the military's northern command, said in an interview published on Monday in the Yisrael Hayom daily.

Golan, who oversees Israeli forces on the Syrian and Lebanese frontiers, did not say whether he envisages the deployment of Israeli troops in such a buffer area.

Syrians "with a common interest in cooperating with us "against radical Islamist fighters would be Israel's natural allies in any such security zone, Golan said.

"If an opportunity presents itself - and it hasn't as yet -we should not hesitate," he said. "Everything should be done wisely and secretly, with a true examination of where the interests of the other side lie."

Golan pointed to the example of the "security zone" Israeli forces maintained for 15 years in southern Lebanon with the stated aim of keeping Hezbollah guerrillas and rockets away from Israel's border.

"The bottom line: (the buffer zone in Lebanon) was one of the most worthy security investments ever made by the State of Israel," he said about an area where Israeli troops were frequently under attack and which they left in 2000.

In recent months, a number of rockets fired during fighting between Syrian forces and rebels have fallen inside the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The strategic plateau is monitored by U.N. observers and had been quiet for decades.

Israel fired into Syria on Sunday, saying it destroyed a machinegun post that had shot at Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights.

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/Israeli-general-suggests-creating-buffer-zone-in-a-post-Assad-Syria-.html
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Pakistan’s Sharif holds huge election rally

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Nawaz Sharif travelled to the northwestern town of Mansehra, a stronghold of his Pakistan Muslim League-N party, where supporters packed a huge stadium. (AFP)

 The front runner in Pakistan's election race, opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, attracted tens of thousands Monday to a rally at which he promised development and economic success.

Sharif traveled to the northwestern town of Mansehra, a stronghold of his Pakistan Muslim League-N party, where supporters packed a huge stadium.

Two police officials estimated the crowd at up to 30,000, in contrast to the hundreds who greeted former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on his return to Pakistan Sunday after four years in exile to contest the polls.

Opinion polls are notoriously unreliable in Pakistan, but indicators suggest Sharif is likely to emerge the biggest winner from the general election on May 11, which will mark the country's first democratic transition of power.

The stadium was decorated with large portraits of Sharif and banners reading "Tiger of Pakistan, we love you" and "Welcome prime minister of Pakistan, pride of Pakistan".

The PML-N's election symbol is a tiger and the rally featured a live tiger in a cage.

Many voters are disillusioned with the outgoing Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government, saddled with allegations of corruption and mismanagement. Security and the economy have worsened over the last five years.

Pakistan became a nuclear power in May 1998 during Sharif's second term as prime minister. He was ousted by Musharraf the following year.

"Last time we carried out nuclear explosions. Now we will carry out economic explosions," Sharif told the crowd.

Wearing a traditional dark grey turban offered to him by local leaders, he urged them to vote for "Pakistan".

Militant attacks and record levels of violence against the Shiite Muslim minority have raised fears about security for the polls in the nation of 180 million.

Sharif ordered a bullet-proof screen around his podium to be removed, a move greeted with loud applause.

But security was extremely tight with police commandos patrolling with AK-47s and a buffer zone ringed with barbed wire around the stage.

As prime minister, Sharif earned praise for economic reforms and for building a motorway from the northwestern city of Peshawar to the northeastern city of Lahore.

He promised that if elected a third time, he would build a motorway from Lahore to Karachi, Pakistan's business capital on the Arabian Sea.

"I am not fond of power, I only want to see my country progressing and my people prosper," he told the crowd.

Sharif was first elected prime minister in 1990 but sacked three years later on corruption charges.

He returned to power in 1997 after an election but was ousted in the 1999 coup by Musharraf and was sent into exile in Saudi Arabia in 2000.

He returned in November 2007 just before the February 2008 general election, won by the PPP on a wave of support following the assassination of its leader Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.

Mohammad Afzal, a student aged 18, told AFP he would vote for Sharif.

"Only he can save us from load shedding (chronic power cuts) and control inflation," Afzal said.

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/Pakistan-s-Sharif-holds-huge-election-rally.html
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Kerry arrives in Afghanistan on unannounced visit

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry makes unannounced visit to Afghanistan (Imade courtes:AFP)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flew into Afghanistan on an unannounced visit Monday to see President Hamid Karzai amid concerns the Afghan president may be jeopardizing progress in the war against extremism with anti-American rhetoric.

Kerry arrived in the Afghan capital for a 24-hour visit, during which he is meeting with Karzai, civic leaders and others to discuss continued U.S. assistance to the country. Karzai has infuriated U.S. officials by accusing Washington of colluding with Taliban insurgents to keep Afghanistan weak even as the Obama administration presses ahead with plans to hand off security responsibility to Afghan forces and end NATO's combat mission by the end of next year.

Earlier Monday, the U.S. military ceded control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan, a year after the two sides initially agreed on the transfer. Karzai demanded control of the Parwan facility, located near the U.S.-run Bagram military base north of Kabul, as a matter of national sovereignty.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Joseph Dunford, handed over Parwan at a ceremony there after signing an agreement with Afghan Defense Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi. "This ceremony highlights an increasingly confident, capable and sovereign Afghanistan," Dunford said.

Kerry flew to Afghanistan from Amman, Jordan, where he spent the night after visiting Iraq on Sunday. In Baghdad, Kerry confronted Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for continuing to grant Iran access to its airspace and said Iraq's behavior was raising questions about its reliability as a partner.

Before leaving Amman for Kabul, Kerry met with the head of Pakistan's army, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/Kerry-arrives-in-Afghanistan-on-unannounced-visit.html
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France says Syria's opposition must reunite

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France's FM, Laurent Fabius, says Syria's divided opposition should reunite. (Reuters)

Syria's fractious opposition, further weakened by the shock weekend resignation of its leader, must reunite to prevent extremists from taking over, the French foreign minister said Monday.

Laurent Fabius also told Europe 1 radio that he was aware of a rumor that President Bashar al-Assad had been assassinated by an Iranian bodyguard but said that the information published on a website "has not been confirmed."

Syrian opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib on Sunday announced his resignation from the National Coalition, saying he wanted to "work with a freedom that cannot possibly be had in an official institution."

Neither the Coalition's presidential office nor its general assembly has yet accepted Khatib's resignation, the group said in a statement.

"If we want to prevent Syria from exploding and from extremists finally taking over, we have to find a political situation," Fabius said.

"For that we have to find a rebalancing of the forces on the ground," he said.

"The opposition has to reunite again," Fabius said. "We want the opposition to stick to its reformist parameters and we absolutely do not want a drift towards extremism."

The National Coalition is a dissident group recognized by dozens of states and organizations as legitimate representative of the Syrian people. It was set up in Doha in November.

Khatib's surprise resignation came just days after the first election in Istanbul of a rebel prime minister, Ghassan Hitto, and just over two years after the outbreak of a popular revolt against Assad.

An opposition source in Doha, where the Arab League is to hold a summit on Tuesday, told AFP that Khatib accused "certain countries, notably Qatar, of wanting to control the opposition," and of having imposed Hitto.

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/France-says-Syrian-s-divided-opposition-must-reunite.html
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U.S. cedes full control of Bagram to Afghan forces

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U.S. cedes full control of Bagram to Afghan forces

An American soldier at Bagram air base. (Reuters)

Afghanistan on Monday took full control of Bagram military prison from the United States, healing one running sore in their testy relationship as US-led forces wind down more than a decade of war.

President Hamid Karzai had made the fate of the detention center north of Kabul part of his ill-tempered push to regain sovereignty over key matters from the Americans, ahead of next year's pullout of foreign combat troops.

The United States was long concerned that a total handover to Afghanistan's weak and corruption-prone security forces would allow suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants housed at Bagram to return to the battlefield.

But US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel clinched an agreement with Karzai in a telephone call on Saturday, the Pentagon said, and the handover ceremony took place on Monday.

"This ceremony highlights an increasingly confident, capable and sovereign Afghanistan," General Joseph Dunford, the commander of the international coalition in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

Bagram was due to be turned over to Afghan forces on March 9, but the transfer was postponed at the last minute after Karzai indicated that "innocent" prisoners held there would be released.

In September the United States gave Afghan authorities control over more than 3,000 detainees at Bagram, once dubbed the Guantanamo Bay of Afghanistan because some inmates are detained without trial or knowledge of any charges.

But the Americans continued to guard 50 foreigners not covered by the agreement, as well as hundreds of Afghans arrested since a transfer deal was first signed in March 2012.

Their extended control sparked angry outbursts from Karzai and a warning from Afghanistan's top Islamic body that the U.S. military was coming to be seen as an "occupation" force as it battles a long-running Taliban insurgency.

"U.S. control of Bagram was a rallying cry for the Taliban and an important issue for much of the Afghan public," Kate Clark of the Afghanistan Analysts' Network said.

"This looks like a victory for Karzai as he has got what he wanted. Bagram was a huge stumbling block before they get onto a long list of other issues to sort out -- and time is of the essence."

Karzai, who leaves office next year, has also long been chafing at the activities of US Special Forces and at civilian casualties. He recently triggered outrage by accusing the US of colluding with the Taliban to justify the presence of foreign troops.

Last week he won a limited agreement for Afghan forces to take charge of one district of Wardak province, a key front of the insurgency pitting insurgents against the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The agreement made no mention of Karzai's demand for US special forces to withdraw entirely from Wardak, and ISAF said that it was "business as usual" for its troops in the rest of the flashpoint province.

Afghan army and police are gradually taking on responsibility for battling the Taliban insurgency as most of the 100,000 foreign troops prepare to exit by the end of next year under a timetable laid down by U.S. President Barack Obama.

Karzai is due to step down at elections next year, 13 years after he came to power with U.S. backing when the hardline Taliban regime was ousted in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks of 2001.

The military and political calendars are lending added urgency to the search for a negotiated settlement to resolve Afghanistan's decades of conflict.

Karzai plans to visit Qatar "within weeks" to discuss the proposed opening of a Taliban office in the Gulf emirate as a prelude to possible peace talks, the Afghan foreign ministry said Sunday.

Until earlier this year, Karzai rejected the idea of a Taliban office in Qatar because of fears that his government would be frozen out of any deal between the U.S. and the militants.

The Taliban have refused to negotiate directly with Karzai, and the foreign ministry stressed that it would only start negotiations if the militants "break all relations with Al-Qaeda and give up terrorism".

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/U-S-cedes-full-control-of-Bagram-to-Afghan-forces-.html
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Buddhist-Muslim violence spreads in Myanmar

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Firemen try to extinguish a fire after mobs of Buddhists ransacked and burned Muslim neighborhoods since Wednesday. (Reuters)

Anti-Muslim mobs rampaged through three more towns in Myanmar's predominantly Buddhist heartland over the weekend, destroying mosques and burning dozens of homes despite government efforts to stem the nation's latest outbreak of sectarian violence.

President Thein Sein had declared an emergency in central Myanmar on Friday and deployed army troops to the worst-hit city, Meikhtila, where 32 people were killed and 10,000 mostly Muslim residents were displaced. But even as soldiers restored order there after several days of anarchy in which armed Buddhists torched the city's Muslim quarters, the unrest has spread south toward the capital, Naypyitaw.

A Muslim resident of Tatkone, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Meikhtila, said by telephone that a group of about 20 men ransacked a one-story brick mosque there late Sunday night, pelting it with stones and smashing windows before soldiers fired shots to drive them away. Speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, he said he believed the perpetrators were not from Tatkone.

A day earlier, another mob burned down a mosque and 50 homes in the nearby town of Yamethin, state television reported. Another mosque and several buildings were destroyed the same day in Lewei, farther south. It was not immediately clear who was behind the violence, and no clashes or casualties were reported in the three towns.

The upsurge in sectarian unrest is casting a shadow over Thein Sein's administration as it struggles to make democratic changes in the Southeast Asian country after half a century of army rule officially ended two years ago this month.

Similar violence that rocked western Rakhine state last year, pitting ethnic Rakhine Buddhists against Rohingya Muslims, killed hundreds and drove 100,000 from their homes.

The Rohingya are widely denigrated as illegal migrants from Bangladesh and most are denied passports as a result. The Muslim population of central Myanmar, by contrast, is mostly of Indian origin and does not face the same questions over nationality.

The emergence of sectarian conflict beyond Rakhine state is an ominous development, one that indicates anti-Muslim sentiment has intensified nationwide since last year and, if left unchecked, could spread.

Sectarian and ethnic tensions are not new in Myanmar, which is also home to small Christian, Hindu and animist minorities.

Muslims account for about 4 percent of the nation's roughly 60 million people, and during the long era of authoritarian rule, military governments twice drove out hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, while smaller clashes had occurred elsewhere. About one third of the nation's population is comprised of ethnic minority groups; most have waged wars against the government for autonomy.

Analysts say racism has also played a role. Unlike the ethnic Burman majority, most Muslims in Myanmar are of South Asian descent, populations with darker skin that migrated to Myanmar centuries ago from what are now parts of India and Bangladesh.

The latest bloodshed "shows that inter-communal tensions in Myanmar are not just limited to the Rakhine and Rohingya in northern Rakhine state," said Jim Della-Giacoma of the International Crisis Group. "Myanmar is a country with dozens of localized fault lines and grievances that were papered over during the authoritarian years that we are just beginning to see and understand. It is a paradox of transitions that greater freedom does allow these local conflicts to resurface."

"If a democratic state is the nation's goal, they need to find a place for all its people as equal citizens," Della-Giacoma said. "Given the country's history, it won't be easy."

The government has put the total death toll in Meikhtila at 32, and authorities say they have detained at least 35 people allegedly involved in arson and violence in the region.

On Sunday, Vijay Nambiar, the U.N. secretary-general's special adviser on Myanmar, toured Meikhtila, visiting displaced residents and calling on the government to punish those responsible.

Nambiar said he was encouraged to learn that some individuals in both communities had helped each other and that religious leaders were now advocating peace.

Muslims in Meikhtila, which makes up about 30 percent of the city's 100,000 inhabitants, appeared to have borne the brunt of the devastation. At least five mosques were set ablaze from Wednesday to Friday, and most homes and shops burned were Muslim-owned.

Chaos began Wednesday after an argument broke out between a Muslim gold shop owner and his Buddhist customers. Once news spread that a Muslim man had killed a Buddhist monk, Buddhist mobs rampaged through a Muslim neighborhood and the situation quickly spiraled out of control.

Residents and activists said the police did little to stop the rioters or reacted too slowly, allowing the violence to escalate.

One Muslim man in Meikhtila named Aung Thein, whose family has fled, said the situation was still tense there.

People are still threatening Muslims who have attempted to return to their destroyed homes to sift through the rubble and salvage their belongings. "We only want to return to our homes and rebuild our lives," he said.

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/Buddhist-Muslim-violence-spreads-in-Myanmar.html
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Rebel FSA chief injured in bomb blast: spokesperson

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Free Syrian Army commander Riad al-Assaad was injured in a bomb explosion near the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor. (Photo courtesy: Facebook)

The commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) was injured in a bomb explosion in the early hours of the morning on Monday and was being treated in Turkey, said an FSA spokesperson.

"[Syrian President Bashar] Assad's attempt to kill Riad al-Assaad was to punish the eastern areas, such as Al-Reqqa and Deir Ezzor, held by rebels," Louay Almokdad told Al Arabiya.

Riad al-Assaad was wounded in a bomb explosion near the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, which has in recent months witnessed fierce fighting between the rebels and forces loyal to the Assad regime.

Almokdad said that the FSA chief was in good health but his leg was injured, adding: "He is currently being treated for his injuries outside of Syrian territory, at a hospital in Turkey."

The FSA spokesperson also said that it was not yet clear whether the bomb was planted in Assaad's vehicle or whether it was an explosive device thrown toward the convoy.

"No matter who they [Assad forces] kill, and no matter what they destroy, the uprising against the regime will continue," Almokdad added.

According to the United Nations, the Assad regime has killed more than 70,000 people since the March 2011 uprising against the Syrian president.

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/25/Rebel-FSA-chief-injured-in-bomb-blast-spokesperson-.html
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Aid-filled ambulances from Poland speed to Syria refugee crisis

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Syrian expats left Warsaw Sunday in two ambulances filled with donations for Syrian refugees in camps in Turkey. (Reuters)

After warnings from the United Nations that international aid is slow in reaching over a million Syrian refugees, a handful of Syrian expats left Warsaw Sunday in two ambulances filled with donations for refugee camps in Turkey.

Poland's tiny Syrian community – estimated to number 500 people – organized the aid drive because the international community has been too slow in responding, the organizer of the initiative said.

"The world is dragging its feet in finding a solution for the Syrian people and refugees are in a dramatic situation," Imat Aldahari, a Syrian who has been living in Poland for two decades, told AFP as a team of volunteers packed the ambulances purchased through donations with medical and other supplies.

"We can't wait any longer," said Aldahari, adding that two other ambulances are due to join them in Romania.

The convoy is destined for the Reyhanli Syrian refugee camp in the southern Turkish province of Hayat, located west of Syria's commercial capital Aleppo.

"They need everything – medicine above all, food and drinking water," said Aldahari, who coordinated the operation after attending a meeting earlier this month of Syrian expats in Germany focused on finding solutions to the refugee crisis.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres has urged governments to unlock the funds his agency needs to assist the refugees, half of whom are believed to be children.

According to UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, only $300 million out of $1.5 billion (1.15 billion euros) pledged at a donors' conference had been received six weeks later.

It is feared that refugee numbers could hit three million by the end of the year.

The U.N. Security Council – bitterly divided over the two-year-old Syria conflict – has failed to give its crucial agreement to any military operation to protect a safe zone inside Syria which could shelter people displaced by the conflict as well as aid workers.

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/Aid-filled-ambulances-from-Poland-speed-to-Syria-refugee-crisis.html
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We have ‘thousand reasons’ to be friends: Israel’s Peres to Turkey

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Israeli President Shimon Peres tells CNN Turk that his country and Turkey have "a thousand reasons" to be friends. (AFP)

Israel and Turkey have "a thousand reasons" to be on friendly terms again following an air-clearing apology over the deaths of nine Turks in a 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Turkish television Sunday.

"I can think of a thousand reasons why Turkey and Israel should be friends; I cannot find one reason why they shouldn't be friends," Peres said in an interview with CNN Turk.

The diplomatic rift between the two former allies was sparked by the botched raid by Israeli commandos on the aid ship heading to the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin apologized on Friday to Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan for what Peres called a "misunderstanding."

"I think somehow both countries wanted to put an end to this misunderstanding and return to the good relations that have existed between Turkey and ourselves for many good years," he said.

Peres said both nations, which will now resume full diplomatic ties, were united in their concerns over the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria.

"Unluckily the chemical arsenal remains. It is a danger to the people of Syria, to Lebanon, to the whole world. Everyone feels uneasy. It's not a simple problem. Turkey, being a leading force in the region, is worried like we are."

Asked whether he would soon be able to make up with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Peres replied: "It can happen soon. I mean, we never interrupted the relations with Turkey."

While Erdogan welcomed the apology, the move has been criticized by the Islamist Hamas movement that governs the Gaza Strip and Israel's former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/25/We-have-thousand-reasons-to-be-friends-Israel-s-Peres-to-Turkey.html
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New wave of kidnappings hit Lebanon: security source

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Arsal is a majority Sunni Muslim town whose inhabitants generally support the revolt in neighboring Syria. (Al Arabiya)

A wave of tit-for-tat sectarian kidnappings took place in a sensitive area of northeast Lebanon on Sunday, a security official said.

"Unidentified gunmen kidnapped Hussein Kamel Jaafar, aged 37, in the countryside near the town of Arsal," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"After that, dozens of armed members of his clan went to Arsal from Hermel and Baalbek [eastern Lebanon] and kidnapped several of the town's residents," the source said.

Arsal is a majority Sunni Muslim town whose inhabitants generally support the revolt in neighboring Syria, while most of the population of Hermel and Baalbek are Shiites.

Residents of Arsal said about eight people from their town were kidnapped on Sunday, although the security source could not confirm the figure.

The incident comes seven months after dozens of foreigners, mostly Syrians, were abducted by another Shiite clan, Al-Muqdad.

Lebanon is sharply divided over the war in Syria, which the United Nations says has killed at least 70,000 people since March 2011, and it has seen frequent violence linked to the raging conflict.

The Sunni-led March 14 political movement backs the rebels while the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah and its allies back the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite whose faith is an offshoot of ShiiteIslam.

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/25/New-wave-of-kidnappings-hit-Lebanon-security-source.html
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CIA helps Arab nations boost arms shipment to Syria rebels: report

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The United States has been helping Arab nations as well as Turkey arm Syrian rebels. (Reuters)

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has helped Arab countries and Turkey increase military aid to Syrian rebels in the past few months, The News York Times reported on Monday.

The report – citing air traffic data, interviews with unnamed officials as well as statements of rebel commanders – said the airlift now includes more than 160 military cargo flights by Jordanian, Saudi and Qatari military-style cargo planes landing at Esenboga Airport near Ankara, as well as at other Jordanian and Turkish airports.

CIA agents assisted Arab countries in shopping for arms, said The New York Times, adding there was a "large procurement" from Croatia.

It also said that U.S. intelligence officers checked up on rebel groups and chiefs to determine who should receive the military aid and that Turkey oversaw much of the program.

"A conservative estimate of the payload of these flights would be 3,500 tons of military equipment," Hugh Griffiths, of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), told the paper.

"The intensity and frequency of these flights," were "suggestive of a well-planned and coordinated clandestine military logistics operation," he added.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has killed more than 70,000 people since the March 2011 uprising, according to the United Nations.

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/25/Arab-nations-CIA-help-boost-arms-shipment-to-Syria-rebels-report.html
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Egypt's Islamists block access to Media Production City

Workers at the Media Production City said they faced difficulties in going in entering and exiting the city, reported Egypt independent. (Photo courtesy empc.com.eg)

Egypt's Islamists on Sunday blocked access to the media production zone in Cairo in protest against what they said was media bias against ruling Islamist President Mohammed Mursi.

Al Arabiya correspondent reported that security forces have used teargas to disperse protesters.

Clashes had erupted earlier between protesters supporting President Mursi and security forces outside the Media Production City, a complex that holds high-tech studios and filming areas.

Protesters wore green headbands and chanted Islamist slogans. They were seen raising flags of the Raya Party, led by Salafi leader Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, Egyptian media reported.

The protesters targeted a number of privately owned Egyptian channels accused of heavily criticizing President Mursi such as al-Hayat TV, ON TV, CBC and al-Nahar.

Egyptian TV host Mona Shazly, who airs a daily talk show on MBC Egypt, said she was displeased with how protesters sought to prevent some media professionals from getting to their jobs.

Al Arabiya TV reported that the Egyptian interior minister headed to the area early Monday to try to calm the situation and restore order.
 

25 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/25/Islamists-block-access-to-Egypt-Media-City.html
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عداد الزوار


المتواجدين بالموقع الان

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