NEWS AND VIEWS

DNA exonerates man who spent 25 years in prison - CNN.com

2007-04-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

DNA exonerates man who spent 25 years in prison - CNN.com

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- A man who spent 25 years in prison for rape was exonerated Monday after a judge threw out his convictions because DNA evidence showed he couldn't have committed the attack.
Jerry Miller smiled and the courtroom erupted into cheers after Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane G. Cannon read the ruling that cleared him of all charges.
Miller, 48, had been found guilty of rape, robbery, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated battery even though he testified he was at home watching television at the time of the 1981 attack.
He was paroled in March 2006 and now works two jobs and lives with a family member in a Chicago suburb.
"I want to get on with my life, start a life, have a life," Miller said after the hearing. "I'm just thankful for this day."

A four-legged duckling !!

2007-02-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

"An ugly duckling has made waves on a farm after being born with four legs.

A rare mutation has left eight-day-old Stumpy with two extra legs behind the two he moves around on.

Owner Nicky Janaway, of Warrawee Duck Farm in the New Forest, Hampshire, said she was gobsmacked when she turned Stumpy over to check his sex."

The rest of the story ... BBC NEWS | UK | England | Hampshire | Four-legged duckling shocks owner:

MIDDLE EAST: Jerusalem church leaders offer to mediate in Fatah, Hamas conflict

2007-01-15T22:23:00.000-08:00

Monday, January 15, 2007
[Ecumenical News International] Church leaders in Jerusalem have warned warring Palestinian factions they could trigger civil war and, offering to play a mediating role, they are urging an end to violence in order for them to focus on the true priority of their people: independence.

"As leaders of the Christian churches in Jerusalem concerned at the present situation in the Palestinian Territories we feel we must voice our anxiety for all our people -- Christian and Muslim alike -- at the deteriorating relations between Fatah and Hamas leaders and the armed forces," they said.

In a statement made available on January 15, 13 church leaders noted that "all kinds of mediation and attempts at reconciliation have so far failed, resulting in a deadlock in the situation." They said the latest accusations and threats made known through the media had triggered "some large-scale fighting which soon will be very difficult to stop."

They warned: "Fighting and kidnapping opponents will not bring down the Separation Wall or end the embargo on the Palestinian people."

News agencies have in recent days reported fighting of an unprecedented ferocity between Fatah and Hamas, the two major Palestinian factions, noting that more than 30 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Fatah and president of the Palestinian Authority, said at the end of 2006 there should be fresh elections.

The church leaders noted: "The threatening language of the last few days by representatives of both movements and other related parties are both unprecedented and very aggressive. Such occurrences can only bring a civil war nearer by the hour. The outcome would be so drastic that it will obscure the real priorities of the whole Palestinian issue."

Among the signatories of the statement are: the most senior Roman Catholic leader in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah; Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III; Patriarch Torkom II of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church; Anba Abraham of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate; the leader of the Anglican community in the Holy Land, Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal; and Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.

"The time has come for an all-out effort to unite our people and so concentrate on working for independence together," they said, to offer "the opportunity for all people in this Holy Land -- Christian, Muslim and Jew -- to know security and peace."

The Jerusalem church heads called for a removal of arms from the street, a government of national unity and an Israeli-Palestinian return to the negotiating table, and they pledged to play their part in ending strife and made an offer of mediation. "Bloodshed and violence will not bring peace; it will only further destroy family life and further endanger the economy of our land," said the church leaders.

Read the full message on Episcopal News Service

أخيييراً رمسفيلد.. عقبال اللي بعده

2006-11-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

أحد الأدلة القويّة على أنّ الديمقراطيّة حتمياً تصلح نفسها- ست سنوات مش وحشين
أحسن من خمسة وعشرين

BBC NEWS | Americas | Rumsfeld replaced after poll loss: "US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is standing down, after anger over the war in Iraq led to bruising losses for Republicans in mid-term elections.

President George W Bush said that he and Mr Rumsfeld had agreed that a 'fresh perspective' was needed in Iraq.

Former CIA Director Robert Gates has been nominated to replace Mr Rumsfeld.

"

Now Egypt among 'Enemies of the internet' named

2006-11-08T04:57:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Technology | 'Enemies of the internet' named

Denmark 'Egypt's foe', Saudi Arabia ''Friends'" says poll

2006-11-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Denmark 'Egypt's foe', says poll

طاقيّة الإخفاء قريباً جداً

2006-10-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

اقرأBBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Experts create invisibility cloak

Hindus set to convert to Buddhism

2006-10-14T03:27:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Hindus set to convert to Buddhism

To avoide death penalty, Vietenamese drug dealer became pregnant

2006-10-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Vietnam death row inmate pregnant

China reports new H5N1 bird flu outbreak - Yahoo! News

2006-09-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

"Sat Sep 30, 11:01 AM ET

BEIJING - A new outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu killed 985 chickens in China's northern region of Inner Mongolia, a state news agency reported Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT

The discovery in a village near the city of Baotou prompted authorities to destroy 8,990 other chickens to prevent the virus from spreading, the Xinhua News Agency said.

A laboratory confirmed Friday that the dead birds had the H5N1 strain of the virus, Xinhua said.

The strain has killed at least 148 people worldwide since it started ravaging poultry stocks in Asia three years ago, according to
World Health Organization figures.

China has reported dozens of H5N1 outbreaks in its vast poultry flocks and has destroyed millions of birds in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus.

Veterinary experts believe the virus is spread by wild fowl that migrate across China.

Health experts have warned that China is bound to suffer more human cases if it can't stop further outbreaks in poultry.

China has suffered 13 human deaths from bird flu, including a soldier who died in 2003 but whose infection was only confirmed in August this year through genetic testing.

Eight earlier poultry outbreaks were recorded this year in central China and areas of the north, east and southwest, according to Xinhua.

The most recent was in Changsha in the central province of Hunan, when 1,805 ducks were killed, the agency said. It said a quarantine on the area was lifted Sept. 6 after no new cases were found after three weeks."

China reports new H5N1 bird flu outbreak - Yahoo! News:

Doubt cast over brain 'God spot'

2006-08-31T07:17:00.000-07:00

A brain "God spot??
What could that be...
BBC NEWS | Health | Doubt cast over brain 'God spot'

Pluto loses status as a planet!!!

2006-08-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

"Pluto was automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's.

It will now join a new category of 'dwarf planets'.

Pluto's status has been contested for many years as it is further away and considerably smaller than the eight other 'traditional' planets in our Solar System."

Full story:
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Pluto loses status as a planet

Look Who's BLogging: Iran's president launches weblog

2006-08-14T04:31:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran's president launches weblog

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Israeli bomb kills UN observers

2006-07-25T16:25:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Israeli bomb kills UN observers ... but Israel will probably put the responsibility on Hezballah, who kidnapped two Israeli soldiers.

Christians in Cairo join demos to support fellow Arabs

2006-07-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

CAIRO -- As the Israeli armed forces continue to pound Lebanon, protests have sprung up in support of the besieged country. In Egypt demonstrations against Israel have been an almost daily occurrence since its first incursion into Gaza more than three weeks ago.

The general mood among protestors was that they wished to express support for their "Muslim brothers."

Christians, too, have protested on behalf of Lebanese victims while shying away from expressing outright support of Hizbullah. In fact, Christians at demonstrations said that it was important not to give the impression that their communities supported Hizbullah's attacks against Israel.

"It seems Israel is able to bring us together more effectively than we can do by ourselves," Magda said.

Full story from Middle East Times

Police officer takes second job - as a prostitute !!

2006-07-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

بدون "تعليق"

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | NZ policewoman works as call girl

BBC: Egyptian papers protest over law

2006-07-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Egyptian papers protest over law:

"Some two dozen Egyptian newspapers are suspending publication for a day to protest against a new law they say will prevent them investigating corruption.

The papers will not appear on Sunday and journalists plan to stage a demonstration outside parliament.

President Hosni Mubarak promised two years ago that he would abolish prison sentences for media offences.

But a new draft law makes it a crime punishable by prison to question the financial integrity of individuals.

Editors of the newspapers taking part in the protest are hoping that public opinion will pressure the government into changing its position."

My Shock: Even BBC has no clue!!!

2006-04-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

Even BBC, the most "accurate" news agency, has no clue on the Eastern Orthodox calender...
"Good Friday" in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches comes one week after the same holiday in the Western. Even Coptic Catholics follow the Eastern calender.

source:
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Egypt church attacks spark anger:

"One person was killed and several others injured in the attacks on Good Friday Masses."

Error detected at02:17 GMT, 15 April 2006... It may or may not be corrected...

مقتل وإصابة 4 في هجمات على كنائس بالإسكندرية

2006-04-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

F i l B a l a d . N e w s:

"وأشار المسئولون إلى أن محمود عبد الجليل - وهو موظف حكومة سابق فصل من عمله لإصابته بمرض عقلي - قتل مصليا عمره 67 عاما في كنيسة مار جرجس بمنطقة الحضرة بالإسكندرية"

"Riverbend"of "Baghdad Burning"up for non-fiction award

2006-03-26T19:23:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Blogger up for non-fiction award:

"An anonymous blog by a young woman in war-torn Iraq has been longlisted for BBC Four's Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction.

Baghdad Burning, a first-hand account written under the pseudonym Riverbend, is one of 19 books in contention.

Others include Alan Bennett's Untold Stories, a biography of 19th-Century cook and author Mrs Beeton and a study of post-war US-Soviet relations.

The winner of the �30,000 prize will be announced on 14 June.

Professor Robert Winston, chair of the judging panel, said this year's longlist contained 'an exceptionally wide variety of genres'.

'It looks as if finalising a shortlist is going to be excessively difficult,' he said.

Previous winners of the prize include Like a Fiery Elephant, Jonathan Coe's biography of the author BS Johnson, and Stasiland, Anna Funder's chronicle of the hardships endured by people from the former East Germany."

مهرجان للبطاطا في بوليفيا

2006-03-23T00:28:00.000-08:00

بيلابي (بوليفيا) - رويترز : أقيم في بوليفيا مهرجان للبطاطا (البطاطس) عرض فيه فلاحون منتجاتهم الصغيرة المتعددة الالوان من الوردي الى الاسود بل حتى الرمادية والذابلة.

وارتدى المئات من القرويين ملابس تقليدية للاحتفال وثيابا وعباءات حمراء في قرية بيلابي التي تقع في الجبال لعرض 32 نوعا من البطاطا والرقص والتنزه.

وقال لينو كوندوري رئيس بلدية تيواناكو التي توجد فيها قرية بيلابي "البطاطا التي أخذها المستعمرون في اوروبا كانت اهم منتج في منطقتنا".

وكان يشير الى اسبانيا التي احتلت مرتفعات الانديز في القرن السادس عشر ونقلت معها الى اوروبا احد اكتشافاتها وهي البطاطا.

ويامل مسئولون محليون ان يصبح المهرجان أحد مصادر الجذب السياحي.

المصدر: في البلد

Colombia man gets four years' jail for grabbing woman's bottom

2006-02-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Americas | Colombia man 'jailed over grope':

"A bicycle courier in Colombia has been given a four-year jail sentence for grabbing a woman pedestrian's bottom, a TV station has reported."

A human head found in air luggage

2006-02-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Americas | Voodoo head found in air luggage

"Ms Severe said that the head was to ward off evil sprits, officials said"

غرق عبّارة ومقتل المئات... من سنلوم هذه المرّة؟

2006-02-03T10:20:00.000-08:00

غرق عبارة مصرية في البحر الأحمر على متنها ١٢٧٢ فردا .. والجثث تطفو فوق الماء .. ونجاة ١٠٠ فقط

اقرأ من
F i l B a l a d . N e w s

على أيّة شمّاعة سنلقي التبعة؟
١) المؤامرة صهيونيّة
٢) الحكومة الفاسدة
٣) الغضب الإلهي
٤) الرُكّاب
٥) الطاقم

History: Jesus Gets His Penis Back

2006-02-02T23:23:00.000-08:00

1 Chronicles 21: "The U.S. Postal Service stirred up quite a controversy when, in 1996, it decided ot issue a Christmas stamp featuring a painting of the Madonna and Child, reproducing a 1712 painting by Italian artist Paolo de Matteis, which showed the baby Jesus's penis."

History: 'Naked Jesus' angers Giuliani

2006-02-02T23:21:00.000-08:00

BBC News | AMERICAS | 'Naked Jesus' angers Giuliani

يادي النيلة: Egypt bus crash kills 14 tourists

2006-01-31T01:16:00.000-08:00

"Fourteen tourists from Hong Kong were killed and 30 others wounded in a bus crash in southern Egypt, the official Mena news agency said.
"

"Egypt has one the highest traffic accident rates in the world, with around 6,000 fatalities each year."

BBC Egypt bus crash kills 14 tourists

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | World celebrates Mozart's genius

2006-01-27T21:26:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | World celebrates Mozart's genius:

"Celebrations marking the 250th birthday of Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are being held around the world.

Many of the events are centred on his birthplace in Salzburg, and Vienna, where he died at the age of 35.

In Salzburg, visitors were treated to an all-Mozart gala concert, and there was a big street party with wine and a huge birthday cake.

Dedicated recitals are being staged in Moscow, Prague, London, Tokyo, Havana and New York among many other citie"

يا حَلَوْلَوْ: بشاير مجلس الأنس الجديد "اقتراح بتطببيق عقوبلة الإعدام في الميادين"

2006-01-15T23:59:00.000-08:00

F i l B a l a d . N e w s:

"القاهرة (مصر) - رويترز : قدم عضو ينتمي إلى الحزب الوطني الديمقراطي الحاكم في مجلس الشعب اقتراحا بتعديل تشريعي يتيح تنفيذ عقوبة الاعدام عن بعض الجرائم في ميادين عامة.

وقال محمد خليل قويطة عضو مجلس الشعب لرويترز اليوم الاحد : 'قدمت الى لجنة الاقتراحات والشكاوى طلبا باضافة بند الى قانون الاجراءات الجنائية يسمح بتنفيذ عقوبة الاعدام في الميادين العامة لمرتكبي جرائم التجسس وخطف واغتصاب الاناث'.

وأضاف : 'الاقتراح تضمن نقل الوقائع في التليفزيون اذا لم يتيسر التنفيذ في ميدان عام'.
"

ياادي الاغتصاب.. ولماذا لم يطلب تشديد العقوبة على الفساد ونهب المال العام؟

الدمية المحجبة "فلة" تتفوق على الشقراء الغربية "باربي" في مصر

2006-01-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

اقرأ الخبر من العربيّة.نت:

الدمية المحجبة "فلة" تتفوق على الشقراء الغربية "باربي" في مصر

مذبحة المنيا..من الجاني: مختل عقليا ..أم مجموعة اجرامية فائقة الذكاء؟

2006-01-01T23:57:00.000-08:00

مصراوي - خاص - حادثة غريبة وقعت منذ أيام في صعيد مصر وبالتحديد في محافظة المنيا حيث قنل عشرة أطفال بينهم اطفال وتم التمثيل بجثثهم في حادث بشع قلما نسمع عن حدوثه في مجتمعنا

وعلى الرغم من تقرير وزارة الداخلية المصرية والذي أفاد بأن الجاني شخص مختل عقليا و من أبناء القرية و إنه ارتكب المذبحة بدوافع هستيرية و هو نفس الأمر الذي اعتقده بعض أهالي قرية شمس الدين إلا أن أغلبية القرية كان لها رأي مختلف

فقد نفى عبد الله درويش أحد أبناء القرية صحة بيان الداخلية قائلا "لا يمكن أن يكون مرتكب هذه الجريمة مختل عقليا فلا يوجد مختل عقليا يستطيع بمفرده تنفيذ جريمة بهذا التنظيم في ثلاث منازل و بنفس الطريقة و الأداة."

اقرأ التفاصيل في مصراوي

Mahdi Akef (MB head) urges Kember release

2005-12-09T08:48:00.000-08:00

"The head of the world's oldest Islamic movement has called for the release of Briton Norman Kember, abducted in Iraq.

Mohammed Mahdi Akef, president of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, said Mr Kember and three other hostages were being held against Islam's principles.

'In the name of the Muslim Brotherhood worldwide I call for the western peace activists in Iraq to be released immediately,' he said on al-Jazeera TV.

The group's captors are demanding all prisoners in Iraq be freed.
"

Read on... BBC NEWS | Middle East | Muslim group urges Kember release

:))

تداعيات الفوز

سقوط أيمن نور وآمال عثمان تقترب من وداع البرلمان

2005-11-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

سقوط أيمن نور وآمال عثمان تقترب من وداع البرلمان
وم الانتخابات ، فقد تنازل الكابتن حسام حسن عن ترشيحه امام دكتور سيد مشعل مرشح الحزب الوطني ، وكانت من اكبر الفاجآت هو توقعات كبيرة بالاعادة بين الدكتورة مكارم الديري مرشحة الاخوان في مدينة نصر ومرشح الحزب الوطني مصطفى السلاب

وفي دائرة الجيزة تأكد فوز محمد محمد أبو العينيين عن مقعد الفئات أما في دائرة اشمون منوفية فقد تأكد فوز أشرف بدر الدين مرشح الاخوان عن مقعد الفئات

وفي كرداسة فاز مرشح الاخوان عبد السلام بشندي بنقعد الفئات على فريدة الزمر مرشحة الوطني ، أما في الصف فتتراجع باستمرار فرص الوطني

اما في دائرة الهرم والواحات فيتقدم مرشح الاخوان الدكتور حامد السيد على جميع منافسيه ، والحال نفسه في واحدة من أشد الدوائر اشتعالا وهي دائرة الدقي والعجوزة حيث تأكد تقدم مرشح الاخوان حازم صلاح ابو اسماعيل على منافسته الدكتورة آمال عثمان مرشحة الحزب الوطني بضعف عدد الأصوات الا ان اللجنة ترفض حتى الآن الاعلان عن النتيجة ، وفي دائرة التبين يتقدم مصطفي بكرى بقوة على جميع منافسيه

وفي اسيوط مرشحي الاخوان يتقدمون بخطوات متسارعة وهم اربعة خالد عودة في الاولي وتقول الدوائر انه يحتمل بقوة ان يعيد مع مرشح الحزب محمد فضالي وكذا يتقدم الاخوان في الدائرتين الاخريين

اما الوادي الجديد ففي حدث فريد من نوعه أقبل الناخبون بقوة على ممارسة حقهم الدستوري ويحتمل بقوة حدوث اعادة في الدائرتين

وقد تأكد فوز كل من المهندس احمد عز والدكتور سيد مشعل وزكريا عزمي ومحمد ابراهيم سليمان ، فيما يواجه منير فخرى عبد النور بعض المشاكل في دائرته بالوايلي

أما في دائرة بولاق والعمرانية قيتقدم جمال عشري مرشح الاخوان بقوة على منافسيه في مقعد الفئات

وفي دائرة السيدة زينب فاز الدكتور احمدفتحي سرور بمقعد الفئات في حين فاز عادل حمدان مرشح الاخوان بمقعد العمال فيما فاز مرشح الاخوان بمقعد العمال في دائرة حلو

Modern potato had roots in Peru

2005-10-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Americas | Modern potato had roots in Peru: "US scientists have found that all modern varieties of potatoes can be traced back to a single source - a spud grown in Peru over 7,000 years ago.

So far, it was believed potatoes had a much wider region of origin, stretching from Peru to northern Argentina.

The team, led by Dr David Spooner of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, analysed the DNA of about 360 potatoes, both wild and cultivated."

Typhoon slams into Chinese island

2005-09-25T22:44:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Typhoon slams into Chinese island: "The strongest typhoon in more than 30 years has hit the south Chinese island of Hainan with winds comparable to Hurricane Rita, state media reports.

Typhoon Damrey made landfall at 0400 local time (2000 GMT Sunday) north of Wanning City and is due to sweep the whole of the tropical island on Monday.

Two evacuated villages were swamped by floodwater a metre (yard) deep.

No casualties were reported immediately but it is feared that rice, rubber and banana crops could suffer major damage.

The island was battered by winds of 200km/h (125mph), stronger than the 193km/h (120mph) gusts recorded when Rita made landfall in Texas and Louisiana on Saturda"

TERRORISM TASK FORCE BUSTS BOGUS UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS STUDENT

2005-09-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

The Memphis Flyer :: the mid-south's news weekly: Breaking News: Breaking News: TERRORISM TASK FORCE BUSTS BOGUS U of M STUDENT:

"Was Mahmoud Maawad a University of Memphis student and pilot-wannabe with a passion for flying small planes or an Arab terrorist looking to duplicate the suicide missions of 9/11?

Federal prosecutors in Memphis aren’t saying, but on Thursday they asked a U.S. magistrate to hold Maawad, 29, whose email logon is “pilot747,” without bond until trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Thomas Anderson agreed with Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker, and Maaward becomes the second Memphis resident of Arab descent to be held without bond because of investigations by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. In April, Rafat Mawlawi was jailed in a separate investigation in which prosecutors have linked him to Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaida. He is awaiting trial on October 3rd.

Maawad is charged in a criminal complaint with fraudulent use of a Social Security number which he used to get utilities and a credit card and enroll in school. He entered the United States at New York City from Egypt in 1998 and his visitor’s visa expired in 1999. He has been in the country illegally since then. His address is 3557 Mynders Avenue in Memphis, where he moved in June. He previously lived in Olive Branch, Mississippi for an unknown period. He is currently enrolled as an undergraduate student at the University of Memphis, registering as a transfer student from New Jersey but failing to register as an international student.

Maawad was cited on March 11, 2005, by Memphis police for selling alcohol to a minor at 1171 Chelsea in Memphis

Maawad was busted again this week after federal agents searched his apartment and computer on September 9th and examined his Internet purchases of flight instructions and pilot paraphernalia. Since June, Maawad ordered $3,300 of merchandise over the Internet from Sporty’s Pilot Shop in Batavia, Ohio, including a private pilot course, flight simulator software, a flight gear bag, several DVDs, a $239 Navy leather flight jacket, a $19.95 DVD on “How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act,” and instructional programs on “airplane talk.” His email address was pilot747_200@hotmail.com.

After purchasing approximately $2,500 worth of merchandise, Maawad’s debit card was rejected by Sporty’s for lack of funds and his last three orders were not filled. Agents are in the process of examining his computer hard drive."

يادي الخيبة!

KEFAYA (ENOUGH) KILLING!!! Scores killed in Baghdad attacks

2005-09-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

"More than 150 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a series of bomb attacks and shootings across Iraq.

In the worst incident, at least 112 people were killed and some 160 injured when a car bomb exploded in Baghdad's mainly Shia district of Kadhimiya.

During the night, gunmen killed 17 men in the nearby town of Taji after dragging them from their homes.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed it had begun a nationwide bombing campaign to avenge a recent major offensive on rebels.

In a statement on a website, the group said it acted after US and Iraqi forces attacked insurgents in the northern town of Talafar."

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Scores killed in Baghdad attacks

I don't care who did it or why.
ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH!

The Pope and the Sheikh with the President!

2005-09-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Amr Nabil, Egypt Today

September 2005
With You in Spirit
Public endorsements of candidates by both Coptic, Catholic and Muslim clergy and the suspension of a controversial priest stoked the debate last month about the power religious institutions wield in this month’s presidential elections — and raised new questions about the separation of religion and the state
By Noha El-Hennawy

With you in Spirit-Full Story from "Egypt Today"

شر البلية ما يضحك: مصر ترسل المعونات للولايات المتحدة

2005-09-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

جريدة الأهرام - الصفحة الأولى ـ جسر جوي مصري لنقل معونات عاجلة لمنكوبي كاترينا:

"أمر الرئيس حسني مبارك رئيس الجمهورية‏,‏ القائد الأعلي للقوات المسلحة‏,‏ بإقامة جسر جوي من طائرات النقل التابعة للقوات المسلحة‏,‏ وذلك لنقل المساعدات العاجلة من المواد الغذائية‏,‏ والمستلزمات الطبية الخاصة بالكوارث والأغطية والمياه‏,‏ وغيرها من المساعدات الإنسانية لمتضرري إعصار كاترينا بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية‏,‏ الذي راح ضحيته الآلاف من القتلي المنكوبين والمصابين‏.‏ وقد نقل الجنرال بايرون باجبي رئيس مكتب التعاون العسكري الأمريكي في القاهرة شكر الرئيس جورج بوش والحكومة الأمريكية علي هذه المساعدات الإنسانية العاجلة التي قدمتها مصر لتأكيد الروابط وعلاقات الصداقة بين الشعبين المصري والأمريكي‏.‏ وقد غادرت القاهرة صباح أمس طائرتان من طراز سي‏130‏ تحملان هذه المساعدات كمرحلة أولي للجسر الجوي الذي يستمر خلال الأيام المقبلة‏."

ما سبق هو ما يُضحك، وما يلي هو شرّ البليّة...

من جريدة الأهرام، الصفحة الأولى: رعاية كاملة و‏15‏ ألف جنيه لأسرة كل متوفي في بني سويف

في إطار الجهود الرامية للتخفيف من وقع المأساة علي أسر ضحايا حريق قصر ثقافة بني سويف‏,‏ أمر الرئيس حسني مبارك بتوفير الرعاية الكاملة للمصابين‏,‏ ونقل الحالات الحرجة للعلاج في القاهرة‏.‏ وأعرب الرئيس ـ في اتصال هاتفي مع الدكتور محمد أنس جعفر محافظ بني سويف ـ عن خالص تعازيه لأسر الضحايا‏.‏ وقد قامت السيدة سوزان مبارك بزيارة المصابين في المستشفي

‏

طعميّاية؟ طب ما تخلّيهم إثنييييييين!

كم تكلفة رحلة طائرة واحدة من مصر إلى لويزيانا؟ أظنّها تفوق معونات الضحايا جميعاً!
طب ممكن توفروا طيارتين وتضاعفوا معونة الضحايا المصريين؟
وضحايا أمريكا ممكن يدخرولهم بتوفير كام طلعة عسكرية على العراق!!

Fire, Stampede at Egypt Theater Kills 29

2005-09-05T21:48:00.000-07:00

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Fire, Stampede at Egypt Theater Kills 29: "BENI SUEF, Egypt (AP) - A fire that began when an actor knocked over a candle on the set of a play ripped through a crowded theater in this central Egyptian city late Monday, sparking a stampede of audience members and killing at least 29 people, survivors and officials said.

The fire spread quickly across the set, which was made entirely of paper and had been ringed with candles. Panicked audience members trampled each other trying to get out the one available exit door, which at one point was partially blocked by a piece of wood that fell during the blaze, survivors said."

إيلاف: استبعاد الأقصري وأحقية المنظمات الأهلية بالرقابة

2005-09-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

نبيل شرف الدين من القاهرة : في وقت بدأ فيه العد التنازلي لموعد انطلاق أول انتخابات رئاسية في مصر، سلسلة قنابل من العيار الثقيل فجرتها محكمة القضاء الإداري المصرية اليوم السبت، حين استبعدت أحد المرشحين عن خوض هذه الانتخابات، كما قضت ذات المحكمة أيضاً 'بأحقية منظمات المجتمع المدني بمتابعة مجريات العملية الانتخابية لرئاسة الجمهورية يوم الأربعاء المقبل من داخل اللجان وخارجها، تحقيقا لمبدأ الشفافية وتوثيقا للحدث التاريخي في الداخل والخارج'، وهو الأمر الذي سبق أن رفضته اللجنة العليا المشرفة على الانتخابات من قبل، واعتبره نشطاء حقوقيون 'مكسباً تاريخياً'، لتأكيد أحقية منظمات المجتمع المدني في الرقابة على الانتخابات العامة التي تشهدها مصر اعتباراً من الرئاسية وصولاً إلى التشريعية وغيرها .

ومضت المحكمة قائلة في سياق منطوق حكمها إن 'أعمال متابعة الانتخابات من جانب منظمات المجتمع المدني لا تدخل ضمن اختصاصات لجنة الانتخابات الرئاسية المحددة في المادة 76 من الدستور، وقانون الانتخابات، إنما تدخل في اختصاص مجلس الدولة'، وأوضحت المحكمة في هذا الصدد أن رقابة القضاء على الانتخابات يختلف تماما عن متابعة منظمات المجتمع المدني لسير العملية الانتخابية، وهو ما يؤيد أحقية تلك المنظمات في متابعة الانتخابات، ودخول اللجان تحت إشراف القضاء'، كما ورد بمنطوق الحكم"

تابع قراءة الخبر من إيلاف:محكمة تفجر عدة مفآجات في الانتخابات المصرية:
استبعاد أحد المرشحين وأحقية المنظمات الأهلية بالرقابة

هل لهذا أيّ معنى؟

صحيفة"الأسبوع" تتهم إبراهيم نافع بالاستيلاء على 70 مليون دولار من "الأهرام"ـ

2005-08-31T04:59:00.000-07:00

اقرأ في "البيان" الإماراتيّة:

"اتهمت صحيفة "الأسبوع" المصرية أمس إبراهيم نافع احد أبرز شخصيات القطاع الإعلامي المصري، بالضلوع في فضيحة فساد. ونفى نافع الذي كان رئيساً لمجموعة "الأهرام" الصحافية الأكبر في مصر، لوكالة "فرانس برس" اتهامات "الأسبوع". وبحسب "الأسبوع"، كان نافع يتقاضى راتباً شهرياً يصل إلى ثلاثة ملايين جنيه مصري (نصف مليون دولار أميركي) كما كان يحصل على مبالغ خيالية على شكل أرباح مشكوك فيها.

واتهمته "الأسبوع" أيضا بأنه كان يتقاضى عمولة تصل إلى 83 ألف جنيه مصري (14الف دولا) يومياً من مداخيل الاعلان والتوزيع لمجموعة "الأهرام" التي ترأسها طوال 26 سنة.وأكدت المجلة ان نافع حول 400 مليون جنيه (70 مليون دولار) إلى حسابه الشخصي قبيل استبداله في يوليو الماضي، كما نشرت تفاصيل حول عملية التحويل غير الشرعية مع مستندات تدعم الاتهامات.

وبحسب"الأسبوع"، كان نافع يحتفل سنويا بعيد ميلاده في مقر "الأهرام" وكانت تبلغ نفقات الاحتفال ربع مليون جنيه (43 ألف دولار).ورد نافع قائلا إن "الأهرام" سبق وكذبت هذه الاتهامات مرتين وهي تملك مستندات تؤكد ان الاتهامات غير صحيحة�.وتبيع صحيفة "الأهرام" الحكومية 600 ألف عدد يومياً وهي الأكثر مبيعاً في مصر كما توظف عشرة آلاف شخص.وأقيل نافع من منصبه في إطار عملية إعادة هيكلة لوسائل الإعلام الرسمية."

مبارك "يحاور" ٢٠ عاملاً

2005-08-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

"ارتدى الرئيس مبارك 'بالطو أبيض' واستهل زيارته الانتخابية لمحافظة أسيوط بجولة داخل أحد مصانع القطاع الخاص هو الوحيد فى مصر والشرق الأوسط المتخصص فى تصنيع القساطر الطبية والدعامات البديلة للعمليات الجراحية المفتوحة للقلب والمسالك البولية."

التفاصيل من موقع Mubarak:

! Read about it in English; although it is not exactly the translation of the Arabic piece

ملحوظة: يا جماعة موقع "مبارك ٢٠٠٥" يحتاج لتشجيعكُم. موقفه صعب جدّاً في جووجل، سواء بحثتم بالعربيّة أو الإنجليزيّة (جرّبوا مثلاً البحث عن مبارك ٢٠٠٥ أو مبارك 2005) ما يصحّش، ده رئيس بلدنا.
إدوله زقّة في جووجل، يمكن تطلعوا بحتّة "رقعة" زراعيّة.

Turkmenistan president bans recorded music!!

2005-08-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Turkmenistan bans recorded music:

"Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has banned the playing of recorded music at all public events, on television and at weddings.

In a decree, Mr Niyazov said there was a need to protect Turkmen culture from 'negative influences'.

This is the latest move by the authoritarian president to minimise foreign influence in the isolated former Soviet state, analysts say.

He has already banned opera and ballet, describing them as 'unnecessary'."

Muslim Brotherhood urges Egypt to vote

2005-08-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Muslim party urges Egypt to vote: "One of Egypt's main political groups, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, has urged its supporters not to boycott next month's presidential election.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the only opposition organisation which has broad public support.

A call for a boycott could have led to a low turnout, as well as undermining the credibility of the country's first multi-candidate presidential poll.

The issue has split an already weak and fragmented opposition in Egypt."

Swazi king drops sex-ban !!

2005-08-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Africa | Swazi king drops sex-ban tassels:

"Swaziland's King Mswati III has ended a five-year sex ban he imposed on the kingdom's teenage girls a year early.

The girls have had to wear large woollen tassels as a sign of their chastity since 2001. These are to be burnt in a huge ceremony on Tuesday.

The sex ban was imposed to fight the spread of HIV/Aids. Swaziland has one of the world's highest HIV infection rates, at about 40% of the population.

The king fined himself a cow for breaking the ban by marrying again.

He took a 17-year-old girl as his ninth wife just two months after imposing the sex-ban in September 2001, sparking unprecedented protests by Swazi women outside the royal palace.

Meanwhile, the health ministry has released new figures which show that 29% of Swazis aged 15-19 are HIV positive.

For pregnant women, the figures were 42%.

"

Who rules the world? China and US 'unite' over UN bid

2005-08-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Americas | China and US 'unite' over UN bid

Beijing will work with the United States to block a plan to add new permanent members to the UN Security Council, China's UN ambassador says.

Wang Guangya said he agreed the deal with the new US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, at a meeting.

Both countries oppose a plan put forward by the Group of Four - Brazil, Germany, Japan and India - to add six new permanent members to the Council.

Meanwhile, the African Union has voted to demand two veto-wielding seats.

The G4 had asked them to drop the veto demand.

ـ"عايزين تشاركونا في الحُكم يا غجر؟!"ـ

Technorati says: One blog created 'every second'

2005-08-02T21:12:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Technology | One blog created 'every second':

"The blogosphere is continuing to grow, with a weblog created every second, according to blog trackers Technorati.

In its latest State of the Blogosphere report, it said the number of blogs it was tracking now stood at more than 14.2m blogs, up from 7.8m in March.

It suggests, on average, the number of blogs is doubling every five months.

Blogs, the homepages of the 21st Century, are free and easy to set up and use. They are popular with people who want to share thoughts online.

They allow for the instant publication of ideas and for interactive conversations, through comments, with friends or strangers."

Several hurt in Disney park crash!

2005-07-30T01:55:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Americas | Several hurt in Disney park crash

Van Gogh killer jailed for life

2005-07-26T02:51:00.000-07:00

"A Dutch court has sentenced a 27-year-old radical Islamist to life in prison for the November murder of controversial film-maker Theo Van Gogh.

Mohammed Bouyeri, who has joint Dutch-Moroccan nationality, had made a courtroom confession and had vowed to do the same again if given the chance.

The murder in Amsterdam stunned the Netherlands. The court ruled that it was a terrorist act.

The judge said the murder had triggered 'great fear and insecurity' in society.

'The murder of Theo van Gogh provoked a wave of revulsion and disdain in the Netherlands. Theo van Gogh was mercilessly slaughtered,' said Judge Udo Willem Bentinck."

Read the full story (in a new window):
BBC NEWS | Europe | Van Gogh killer jailed for life

News MCQ:
Now what do you think (select any number of answers)?
a) He should have been executed.
b) This is fair enough.
c) He should get a milder prison time.
d) He should be set free.
e) More people should be charged (those whose teachings made him commit his crime)
f) The guy is a hero. He should be awarded for his zeal.

Why? I love to read a discussion about it.
Europe is not responding to the killing by killing! What's your say on that?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

2005-07-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

I JUST HEARD AN HOUR AGO!!
NO!!
I DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE IT!

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Dozens killed in Egyptian blasts:

"At least 49 people have been killed and more than 130 wounded in a string of bomb attacks in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The first explosion took place in the Old Market area, popular with tourists.

Other blasts followed in the nearby area of Naama Bay, which is packed with hotels. One blast tore off the front of the four-star Ghazala Gardens hotel.

Britons, Dutch, Qataris, Kuwaitis and Egyptians were among the casualties, police sources said.

Police sources said initial investigations suggested there had been at least four and possibly seven car bombs.

The blasts came within minutes of each other, shortly after 0100 local time (2200 GMT), when the bars and markets were busy with tourists."

Egyptian "chemistry expert" arrested

2005-07-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | UK | Hunted chemistry expert arrested:

"An Egyptian chemistry expert sought by police over the London bombings has been arrested in Cairo, Egypt.

Magdi Mahmoud al-Nashar, 33, had not been seen by colleagues in Leeds since early July.

British police are searching a house in Leeds linked to Mr al-Nashar, but have not formally named him as a suspect in their investigation.

Egypt's Interior Ministry said Mr al-Nashar denied having any role in the bombings, and was in Egypt on holiday.

Mr al-Nashar had planned to return to London, according to the ministry.

'He pointed out (to questioners) that all his belongings remained in his apartment in Britain,' a statement said.

Earlier, police said they were hunting the financiers, supporters and chemists who assembled the bombs used.

British police have said they want to question Mr al-Nashar, who completed a PhD in chemistry at Leeds University.

BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said Mr al-Nashar's alleged link to the plot was unclear, but it was believed he handed over keys to a house in Leeds used by the bombers."

What!!
33-years old!
Recently got his PhD (Why they call him Mr. then?)
I should be more careful then!!:)

يا خبر!
٣٣ سنة وحصل لتوّه على الدكتوراه؟
يا لطيف :)!
ـ

Manal and Alaa in the Herald Tribune: Mona El-Tahawy reports on Shubra demo.

2005-07-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

Excerpt:

"Two days later, I was marching with Alaa, Manal and about 300 fellow Egyptians through the working-class neighborhood of Shubra, shouting 'Down down with Hosni Mubarak.' Riot police that had confined previous demonstrations to one spot were nowhere to be seen.

Emboldened, protesters who had begun the demonstration on a street corner pushed ahead and for the first time since the anti-Mubarak protests began, took their message to the street.

'You might have a point about Rice's speech,' Alaa said, grinning and taking pictures.

I had asked him over lunch if he thought U.S. pressure would help Egypt's reformers. He said he was less concerned with simple regime change to replace Mubarak than with changing Egypt's political system from the bottom up. Only Egyptians could do that, Alaa said.

True, but that did not stop demonstrators from injecting their chants with the humor we Egyptians pride ourselves on: 'Give Mubarak a visa and take him with you, Condoleezza.'"

Read the full story:
Marching in Cairo, because enough is enough - Editorials & Commentary - International Herald Tribune

Village in Egypt Pledges to End Practice of Female Genital Mutilation

2005-07-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

Feminist Daily News 7/1/2005: Village in Egypt Pledges to End Practice of Female Genital Mutilation:

"In the Egyptian village of Abou Shawareb, community leaders and women's rights activists made a public commitment last week to end the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) as part of 'The FGM Free Village Model' program established by The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM). The program was launched in 2003 in an effort to eradicate FGM in 60 villages in the northern Egypt governates of Assuit, Aswan, Beni Suef, Minya, Quena, and Sohag. The NCCM has plans to enlarge the campaign to cover 120 villages."

Court- No lawyers!

2005-07-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

Alghad Radio: Ayman Nour's lawyers denied access to the court room???
(No independent sources have confirmed this yet.)

What on earth is this?

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Florida beach reopens after shark attack

2005-06-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

"CAPE SAN BLAS, Fla. — Beachgoers warily returned to the water yesterday after the second shark attack in three days off the Florida Panhandle, with tourism officials hoping the incidents won't scare visitors away ahead of the July Fourth weekend.

Most vacationers here were aware of the shark attacks that cost a 16-year-old boy his leg and killed a 14-year-old girl about 80 miles away."

Read the full story
The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Florida beach reopens after shark attack:

After four decades: Mississippi ex-Klansman convicted!!!

2005-06-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

"A US jury has convicted a former Ku Klux Klan member of manslaughter over the notorious killing of three civil rights workers in 1964.

The jury in Mississippi rejected murder charges against Edgar Ray Killen, now aged 80, but found him guilty of recruiting a mob to kill the three.

Killen now faces up to 20 years in jail for the role he played 41 years ago.

Campaigners hailed the verdict, but said more should be done to deal with Mississippi's racist past.

The defendant had denied taking any part in the killings of Michael Schwerner, 24, Andy Goodman, 20, and James Chaney, 21.

Killen - who is a Baptist preacher - showed no emotion as the verdict was read in the courtroom in the town of Philadelphia.

A frail man, he used a wheelchair in court and was connected to breathing apparatus during the trial.

Both sides expressed some disappointment with the manslaughter verdict: prosecutors said they would appeal because the charges were changed late in the trial while campaigners argued that a manslaughter verdict avoided some awkward questions."

Read the full story in
BBC NEWS | Americas | Mississippi ex-Klansman convicted (The link will open in a new window).

Isn't it amazing that justice can be done even after forty years?

الدكتور زويل يرشح نفسه لرئاسة مصرإإ

2005-06-09T21:11:00.000-07:00

هو فيه إيه؟
إيجيبتي: أحمد زويل يرشح نفسه لرئاسة مصر -

ليست شائعات: سمير رجب يودع الجمهورية ونافع تلقى رسالة شكر

2005-06-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

القاهرة - قال مسئول كبير في جريدة الجمهورية لقناة العربية على موقعها على الانترنت إن الصحفي البارز سمير رجب رئيس تحرير صحيفة الجمهورية سيخرج بالفعل من رئاسة التحرير، ليكون بذلك أبرز تغيير يطاح فيه باسم كبير يتولى في الوقت نفسه رئاسة مجلس إدارة وتحرير صحيفة الحزب الوطني مايو

الخبر كاملاً من "مصراوي": سمير رجب يودع الجمهورية ونافع تلقى رسالة شكر

بشائر التغيير: حالة من الارتباك بمؤسسة دار التحرير بعد تردد أنباء عن رحيل سمير رجب

2005-06-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

من جريدة "مصر العربيّة" بشائر التغيير: حالة من الارتباك بمؤسسة دار التحرير بعد تردد أنباء عن رحيل سمير رجب

هل هذا الكلام موثوق به؟

صفعة جديدة علي وجه الحكومة: قضاة النقض يرفضون استلام مكافآت الإشراف علي الاستفتاء

2005-06-08T23:22:00.000-07:00

تلقت الحكومة أمس صفعة جديدة، تكشف بطلان اجراءات الاستفتاء علي تعديل الدستور رفض عدد من مستشاري محكمة النقض صرف مكافآت الاشراف علي الاستفتاء علي تعديل المادة »76« من الدستور الذي اجري يوم »25« مايو الماضي اكد المستشارون انهم لم يشاركوا في عملية الإشراف سواء اصلياً أو احتياطياً، ولم تسند اليهم أية أعمال خاصة بالاشراف علي عملية الاستفتاء، ويتم حالياً بحث التبرع بهذه المبالغ لاحدي الجمعيات الخيرية أو اعادتها الي المحكمة او التبرع بها لموازنة نادي القضاة،
الخبر كاملاً من الموقع الرسمي لجريدة الوفد

اذاعة الغد ...صوت الحرية Alghad Radio

2005-06-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

Alghad party has started its radio station (In Arabic, so far)!
اذاعة الغد ...صوت الحرية

Egypt anger over 'grope attacks'

2005-06-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Egypt anger over 'grope attacks': "Hundreds of Egyptians have staged an angry protest against the alleged sexual harassment of female journalists and activists by government supporters.

A number of women say they were assaulted by loyalists from the party of President Hosni Mubarak during voting on a referendum last week.

Dressed in black and wearing white ribbons, the women called for senior officials to resign in shame.

Egypt's government has blamed the assaults on 'emotional tension'.

"

Journalists assaulted while covering rally

2005-05-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

IFEX :Journalists assaulted while covering rally: "Journalists assaulted while covering rally"

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:

Egypt: Journalists assaulted while covering rally

New York, May 26, 2005 - The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the assault of several foreign and local journalists by government supporters as police looked on during demonstrations in Cairo yesterday.

Journalists told CPJ that the attacks took place as they were covering demonstrations in downtown Cairo organized by Kifaya (Enough), an opposition group that was protesting yesterday's referendum to allow only limited presidential elections in Egypt.

Five journalists interviewed by CPJ said that security forces nearby did nothing to impede the several dozen attackers who descended upon the protestors and journalists and began punching, kicking, and slapping them. Some female reporters were groped by the assailants.

Shaymaa Abol Kheir, of the weekly opposition newspaper Al-Dustour, told CPJ that a person she believes to be a security agent stopped the taxi that she and a colleague had entered and forced them out of the car. Abol Kheir said she and her colleague were handed over to female government supporters who beat them, tore their clothes, and groped them.

Gamal Fahmi, a member of the board of the Press Syndicate and contributor to the weekly Al-Arabi, told CPJ that he and Mohamed Abdel Kouddous, another prominent syndicate member, were also pushed and punched in the melee. Other journalists told CPJ that they were punched, kicked, groped, and had their clothing ripped.

Egyptian authorities appear to be growing more sensitive to coverage of anti-government protests or debates. Earlier this week, reporters from Arabic satellite channels Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya and Al-Hurra were prevented from covering a conference hosted by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies about constitutional reform; two weeks ago, police detained several Al-Jazeera staffers attempting to cover a national gathering of judges.

"We are appalled by these orchestrated attacks and call on Egyptian authorities to put an end them at once," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.cpj.org.

Cairo Woman Savagely Beaten By Mob Returns For Attacker

2005-05-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

The article is copyrighted; please go and read it:
Cairo Woman Savagely Beaten By Mob Returns For Attacker - May 29, 2005

BBC NEWS: Egypt 'backed protester beatings'

2005-05-28T01:38:00.000-07:00

"Human Rights Watch has called on Egypt to investigate what it labels state-sponsored brutality against opposition demonstrators.

The group said plain clothes security officers and government supporters beat protesters during Wednesday's vote on partial electoral reform.

Egyptian opposition groups also contest government figures of a 51% turnout.

Official figures show that 83% of those who voted were in favour of limited multi-candidate presidential elections.
"

Read the whole story here:
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Egypt 'backed protester beatings'

Well, didn't Human Right Watch blame the USA, Saudi Arabia, and Israel as well?
Does anything change on this planet?

Reporters sans frontières: Open letter to President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt's electoral year

2005-05-27T21:49:00.000-07:00

"Open letter to President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt's electoral year

Dear Mr President,

Reporters Without Borders, an international press freedom organisation, wishes to draw your attention to numerous violations of the rights of journalists perpetrated in your country since the announcement of the holding of a referendum on amending the Constitution.

We consider that many obstacles have been put in the way of media coverage of events linked to the referendum. The organisation wishes to question you on four points that point to the fact that press freedom in Egypt has been seriously compromised :"

Read the full letter on the Reporters sans frontières site - Egypt:

Violence during Egyptian referendum (from BBC)

2005-05-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Egypt votes on election changes:

"'Traitors'

A group of about 50 opposition activists from the Kifaya movement - a coalition of activists from left-wing, nationalist and Islamist backgrounds - gathered in central Cairo after being prevented by police from holding a demonstration outside the high court.

Pro-government supporters beat a member of the Kifaya movement in Cairo
NDP supporters set upon some opposition supporters
Our correspondent says the security forces pinned them against a wall, while a much larger crowd of NDP supporters chanted slogans accusing them of being traitors.

Activists who broke out of the security cordon were set upon and beaten up by the NDP supporters.

There were similar scenes on the stairs of the Journalists' Syndicate where Kifaya had called a press conference, but an estimated 150 NDP supporters armed with sticks broke through police lines and attacked them.

'It is the first time there is this amount of violence,' said one Kifaya member.

'Even though we are a small group, we are not being allowed to voice our view.'

She accused the security forces of allowing the NDP supporters to attack the demonstrators.

The movement says some 60 of its activists have been arrested."

ِAmnesty International: Egypt: continuing arrests of critics and opponents "chill" prospects for reform

2005-05-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

"Egypt: continuing arrests of critics and opponents 'chill' prospects for reform
Amnesty International is seriously concerned about continuing arrests and detentions of critics and opponents of the Egyptian government in the run-up to new presidential elections due in September, and the 'chilling' effect these may have on the elections"

Read it here: Egypt: continuing arrests of critics and opponents "chill" prospects for reform

Amnesty accuses US over 'torture'

2005-05-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Europe | Amnesty accuses US over 'torture':

"Governments around the world betrayed their commitment to human rights in 2004, Amnesty International says.

In a 300-page annual report, the group accused the US government of damaging human rights with its attitude to torture and treatment of detainees.

This granted 'a licence to others to commit abuse with impunity', the human rights advocates said.

In Washington, a White House spokesman branded the allegations 'ridiculous and unsupported by the facts.'

'The United States is leading the way when it comes to protecting human rights and promoting human dignity. We have liberated 50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have worked to advance freedom and democracy in the world,' said Scott McClellan.

'No safer'

The report also criticised the world as a whole for failing to act over crises, notably in Sudan's Darfur region.

Afghanistan was slipping into a 'downward spiral of lawlessness and instability', it added.

Published on Wednesday, the report accused governments of adhering stubbornly to 'politically convenient' but inefficient tactics to address terrorism in 2004, despite what Amnesty saw as a lack of success.

Sudanese refugees in Darfur
Amnesty International Report 2005 - Introduction (935K)
A-Z summary of key countries (1MB)
Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader
Download and install the reader here

The televised beheading of captives in Iraq, the bombing of commuter trains in Madrid and the siege at a school in Beslan in Russia showed that 'four years after 9/11, the promise to make the world a safer place remains hollow', secretary general Irene Khan said.

In Iraq some of the violence could be blamed on armed groups but the report also blamed US-led coalition forces for 'unlawful killings, torture and other violations'.

'Torture and ill-treatment by US-led forces were widely reported,' it added.

The report also highlighted the London-based organisation's concerns about:

* A lack of accountability for human rights violations in Haiti and in the Democratic Republic of Congo

* Reported abuses by Russian forces in Chechnya

* New levels of brutality against civilians by armed groups in places like Iraq

* Slow progress in achieving the Millennium Development goals

* Indifference to violence against women

* Lack of a full independent investigation into abuses against detainees in US custody in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.

"

Ahmed Nazif meets "Meet the Press", exclusive from MSNBC.com

2005-05-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

Transcript for May 15 - Meet the Press, online at MSNBC - MSNBC.com

Excerpt (including Nazif's interview):

The Egyptian prime minister will meet with President Bush on Wednesday, but first, he joins us here on MEET THE PRESS.

Mr. Prime Minister, welcome.

PRIME MIN. AHMED NAZIF: Thank you very much, Tim. It's a pleasure to be here.

MR. RUSSERT: The secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice--here she is in Iraq this morning, a surprise visit greeting with Americans over there. Do you believe that the U.S. invasion of Iraq was good for the Middle East?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Well, it's hard to tell. I mean, you can't just classify it as good or bad. There are good parts; there are parts that we need to make better. And I believe that, in all, it has made some profound changes. We're seeing an Iraq today that is changing, that's moving towards democracy, but at the same time we're still seeing unrest and instability in the area. So it's still a wait-and-see situation.

MR. RUSSERT: But it's good to have Saddam Hussein gone?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Definitely. Definitely it's good to have Saddam Hussein gone. I think that it's not just good for Iraq, it's good for the whole area. And I believe that it is important to make sure that we do not lose that part as we move Iraq towards stability and democracy.

MR. RUSSERT: President Mubarak of Egypt said yesterday, "It is not good for U.S. troops to leave now."

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: That's true. I think for Iraq there are three important things that have to be achieved. The first one is security. We need to make sure that the Iraqis can take care of themselves, that these bombings that we hear about somehow stop. And that's important, and that can only happen if we have a strong military--Iraqi forces, police and army. And Egypt is willing to help there. We've been trying to train many Iraqi soldiers in this area and willing to do more in this area.

The second part is that we need inclusion. We need to make sure that the process, the political process that's taking place in Iraq, will allow everybody to participate. If you leave some factions out, they will always bring trouble and security will not be there. The third part, of course, is the economic side. We need to make sure that this country can rebuild itself. Iraqi people on the street have to feel the difference that Saddam is gone.

MR. RUSSERT: One of the things Iraq has had is a free multi-candidate election. Egypt has not yet had that. The president has been speaking about it repeatedly. Here he is just a few weeks ago on May 7, President Bush.

(Videotape, May 7):

PRES. BUSH: Egypt will hold a presidential election this fall. That election should proceed with international monitors and with rules that allow for a real campaign.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: Will Egypt allow international monitors to oversee the campaign?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: I think the important thing--the emphasis will be on free and transparent elections. That's what we're looking for. Now, whether it has international monitors or not, it's too early to tell, because we're still having the change of the constitution taking place on May 25. After that we will have an election law in place. Egypt is one of the few countries that has judiciary supervision of the elections. That means that the judiciaries are the ones that take care of the elections. Judges in Egypt do not--they feel that having foreigners sharing that with them will be an infringement on their own right of supervising the election. So it's still a hot issue in Egypt. I don't think...

MR. RUSSERT: Well, would you prefer to have international monitors?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: I don't mind having them. I don't see a problem with that. But we need to resolve this among ourselves.

MR. RUSSERT: But you mentioned the judges. They met yesterday, Mr. Prime Minister, and said that the election is "a fraud," and they are boycotting it because they do not think it will be a full and free and fair election.

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: I don't think that they meant that it's fraud. I'm not sure if this is an accurate code. But I think what they said...

MR. RUSSERT: That's the word that they used, and they cheered when they heard it.

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: What they said is that they would like to have more power in supervising the elections, which makes my point. They're looking for having complete power in supervising the elections themselves. Now, we didn't say no about that. We just said that it's a process that has to take place through law. Now, a new law will be coming out, because we're changing our constitution on May 25. After that, we'll have to debate that law in parliament and make sure that it provides us with that. The emphasis is we are, the government is, Mr. President Mubarak is, for a free and fair election.

MR. RUSSERT: Do you appreciate President Bush's pressure on Egypt or do you regard it as interference?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: I don't see it as pressure. I think that among friends we can get advice. And I take it this way.

MR. RUSSERT: Could it backfire?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Sometimes it does because, you know, you have to understand the Egyptian environment itself; not just the Egyptian environment, probably many countries in a similar case, who were subject to colonialists for a long time. They don't appreciate very much foreign bodies telling them what to do. So it's been a thin line between receiving advice and receiving orders.

MR. RUSSERT: Has President Bush crossed that line in your mind?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: I don't think so. But I think that we should take what President Bush said in its positive sense. He said that Egypt is a great nation. He said that Egypt has led peace in the Middle East. He said that Egypt can lead democracy efforts in the Middle East. And I do believe him and I do agree with him.

MR. RUSSERT: The concern that the president has and others is that this will not be a free and fair election. Already Reuters reports "A parliamentary committee proposed that non-party candidates" would need "65 of the 444 elected members of parliament," to sign off on it, in effect, a parliament "dominated by President Mubarak." And then the Christian Science Monitor: "...in the past week, there have been ominous indications about the extent of the government's commitment to change. The regime has arrested more than 1,000 political opponents, allegedly attacked an opposition group, watered down attempts to allow for a democratic election. ... `I don't think there will be any figure with stature in the country that can run against Mubarak,' said Mohammed Sayed Said, a political scientist at the Al Ahram Center for Strategic and International Studies in Cairo. `It will be a true farce. The elections have already lost their meaning.'"

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: What they're not saying, Tim, is that this election will allow any political party in Egypt to present a candidate with no preconditions whatsoever; not the 65, nothing else. This 65 applies only to independent candidates coming outside of political parties. We have 19 political parties in Egypt. We can have 19 presidential candidates this fall in Egypt. It's up to the political parties to come up with those candidates. What I'm saying is, it's a process. It will take some time because those parties are not yet mature enough. They have been in the scene for the last 20 years. They haven't brought in presidential candidate materials yet. What we'll see in September, if they can bring them in...

MR. RUSSERT: Is that a decision for the people to make and not you?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: It is and that's why we're allowing them to do it.

MR. RUSSERT: But you yourself said--and this is Washington Times, "Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif downplayed any notion that his nation's coming presidential election will be a hotly contested, Western-style campaign and said President Hosni Mubarak will be easily reelected if, as expected, he decides to run. ... [Nazif] suggested the opposition will not be prepared to run serious candidates until 2011 at the earliest."

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Yes, that's true. But that's my own personal opinion in the sense that we're not preventing them to run. I'm just saying that they're not capable of bringing in presidential candidate material yet. That's my own personal opinion. Let them prove me wrong. Let them bring in the candidates.

MR. RUSSERT: So the minor parties will be able to run. They'll have complete and fair coverage in the state-controlled media, access to the airwaves, access to the ballot?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: As head of the Egyptian government, I promise you, Tim, this will be the case.

MR. RUSSERT: There's a lot of thinking that, Mr. Prime Minister, what the real strategy here is to have President Mubarak re-elected, in effect, on an election that is not truly open, and then in 2011 turn over the reins of running Egypt to his son Jamal, a good friend of yours.

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Don't you see this is a prejudgment, Tim. I mean, people are already judging that the election will be a farce. People are not even giving a chance to, I think, a very bold move before the president. Nobody expected the president to present last February a move to change the constitution to have a multi-candidate presidential election in Egypt. This is a fact. We didn't have that, we never had that but we're having that this election.

Now, why can't we have the benefit of the doubt? Why can't people wait and see how the election will run? We've presented a very good amendment to the constitution. It allows the parties to have viable candidates, 18 of them, in addition to President Mubarak if he decides to run. And at the same time, as I said, this is a process that will take time. Democracy is an evolutionary process. You need to get people to build themselves. Let the parties--if they fail this time, that's not a problem. They have a parliamentary election this year after the presidential election. They have another in 2010. And then we'll have a presidential election in 2011. And I think this process is a good one and we should allow it to run its course.

MR. RUSSERT: But the Egyptian judges, the opposition parties, academics in Egypt are saying, "Why do they have to wait till 2011. Why can't there be a full and fair and free election this year, right now in September?"

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: There can be. There's no problem with that. Tell me what stands in their way right now? There's nothing there. You can have other candidates. Let them come out.

MR. RUSSERT: Will President Mubarak seek re-election?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: That's up to him to decide.

MR. RUSSERT: Would you be surprised if he didn't?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: I would be surprised if he didn't, yes.

MR. RUSSERT: Here's the concern: opposition party Ayman Nour. He's a leader in the party. Here he is in the orange scarf being released. And this is the way The Washington Post editorial reported it: "Mr. Mubarak's agents renewed their interrogation of Ayman Nour, the imprisoned head of the liberal Tomorrow party. Six hours later--at 1 a.m.--Mr. Nour, a diabetic with a history of heart trouble, was `sweating, vomiting, holding his left arm, his left arm,' his wife told Reuters news agency. ... The charge against Mr. Nour that he is responsible for the forgery of some of the petitions submitted to register his party is dismissed as groundless by independent Egyptian lawyers. In truth, he is in jail because...he offered a fresh democratic alternative..."

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Again, I mean, people are just jumping into conclusions in this case. Mr. Nour's charges are very serious ones. They are criminal charges. They have nothing to do with any political charge. Is it, I mean, not possible for a political leader to have criminal charges against him? I think it's a possibility. It did happen. Mr. Nour, six months ago, was not known to anybody. He is not a political heavyweight in any way. And there is no reason for us to sort of have any political action against him as has been charged. I mean, here is a charge that is unfounded.

MR. RUSSERT: He should not have been in prison?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Well, he has serious charges in front of him. He'll have his day in court, very ordinary criminal courts, and we'll find out.

MR. RUSSERT: Are you concerned about his treatment in prison?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: I'll tell you what, I don't believe what his wife said. The reason for that is the next day that he was arrested, I sent--I personally sent two of the most renown Egyptian physicians, a diabetic expert and heart condition expert, to jail to Mr. Nour. And they came back and said he refused to meet them and he opted to use his own physician, which we did provide him with.

MR. RUSSERT: The concern people have is echoed in the U.S. State Department report on human rights. This is our government talking about Egypt. It's a country's report on human rights practices. "Citizens did not have the meaningful ability to change their government. ... The security forces continued to mistreat and torture prisoners, arbitrarily arrest and detain persons, hold detainees in prolonged pretrial detention, and occasionally engage in mass arrests. Local police killed, tortured and otherwise abused both criminal suspects and other persons."

That's our State Department talking about your country, Egypt.

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Well, they're talking about it, but that's only part of the report. The report also cites that there has been a lot of improvement in human rights developments in Egypt. We now have a National Council for Human Rights. It presented its first report that's an Egyptian, not coming from abroad. It's just an Egyptian report that cites some of those violations, as well. The Egyptian Cabinet just last week met and discussed the report for the first time and decided to do many things about it. I'll tell you what, human rights is an evolutionary process, but I would claim that Egypt today has one of the most improving records of human rights in the area.

MR. RUSSERT: With much more to do.

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: With some more to do, yes. But I think that it's important also to put things in the proper context. We are a country that has been subject to terrorism. Our police force sometimes has to take necessary actions to make sure that we have peace and stability inside Egypt, as well. So I don't blame them very much in many cases. But we do tell them not to abuse their forces as much as humanly possible.

MR. RUSSERT: But one person's peace and stability is another person's torture?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: I don't believe so. I believe that we can have peace and stability without having torture. Torture is not accepted to me personally and to this government.

MR. RUSSERT: The Human Rights Watch released this report: "The U.S. and other countries have forcibly sent dozens of terror suspects to Egypt, according to a report on Wednesday. The rights group and State Department have both said Egypt regularly uses extreme interrogation methods on detainees. ... The report said that total numbers sent to Egypt since Sept. 11 attacks could be high as 200. American officials have not disputed that people have been sent to countries where detainees are subjected to extreme interrogation tactics but have denied that anyone had been sent to another country for the purpose of torture."

How many terrorists suspects have been sent to Egypt by the United States?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: I don't know the exact number, but I know that people have been sent there. The numbers have varied. Some have the number 60 or 70. But I think that it's important--you know, when you have Egyptians that have been arrested abroad, we seek to bring them back to the country. Now, to say that we're bringing them back to torture them, I think, is not a very accurate statement. We shouldn't be doing that. We're not doing that. But it happens sometimes, and we've seen police abuses all over the world. But I don't think it should be mistaken as a standard practice arrangement.

MR. RUSSERT: There are no torture tactics being used in interrogating suspected terrorists?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: No, sir.

MR. RUSSERT: Period.

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Yes, period.

MR. RUSSERT: Let me ask you about Egyptian culture and attitudes towards the United Stares. Zogby International did a poll that showed disapproval of the United States, over 90 percent now, in Egypt. And I noted this the other day in the newspaper. "Anti-Americanism a Hit With Egyptian Audiences. In Cairo's entertainment world these days, it's hard to escape a wave of anti-Americanism. Often, a sure way to fill a theater is to lambaste U.S. foreign policy, cultural habits or military activity. One recent comedy lampooning the United States featured an exploding Statue of Liberty outside the lobby. ... In Egypt, the sentiments color popular music as well as film. Shaaban Abdel Rehim, one of the country's most popular purveyors of shaabi music, a kind of Egyptian funk, is turning out hit after hit critical of President Bush, his policies in Iraq, his allies in the Arab world and Israel. Abdel Rehim's first bestseller was a thumping, danceable number called `I Hate Israel.' [His latest is called `Attack on Iraq.' The music can be heard all over Cairo - in cabs, in cafes and on the little cruise boats that take tourists on jaunts on the Nile River."

The United States has given Egypt $50 billion--$50 billion with a B--since 1975. Why is it after all that investment by the United States these kinds of films, this kind of music is so popular in Egypt?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Well, I think we have to really differentiate between two things. The Egyptian- U.S. relationship is a strategic one. It has been for some time. Egypt, as President Bush has has said, has that peace. It is a practical peace in the area. And in that context, our relationship has been a strong one. We see eye to eye on many things--in most issues, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Iraqi conflict, all things related. And I believe that that's important. And in that context, we have also the aid package to Egypt that started in the '70s during Sadat's time to make sure that we have a stable Egypt, that we have a military that is capable of defending the country and imposing peace and stability and as well helping others to make peace with the Israelis. I think that's a factor that we should not challenge. Egypt is important to the U.S. Egypt is a regional powerhouse that has helped in promoting peace and stability, things that the U.S. has been trying to do in the area.

Having said that, let's look at the other side of the coin now. Now, Egyptians by nature have been trained over the years to hate colonialism, for example. Now, when they see foreign forces in countries like Iraq, when they see the Palestinians not taking their fair share of rights, they attribute this in many ways to the United States not doing enough. The United States is the leader of the world today. And in that respect, they see her as responsible for getting many of the things that they see are fair. If that doesn't happen, then you would see those kinds of responses.

Now, when those responses happen, it doesn't mean that peop--Egyptians by nature does not hate the United States. And I've been meeting many of my U.S. friends here, many tourists from the U.S. that go to Egypt can tell you that I met about 30 congressmen in the last few months and they all say the same. They see Egyptians--when they meet Egyptians--you must have gone to Egypt, if you've gone there, you know that Egyptians don't hate the U.S. Now, if you want us to arrest because he's doing that, the popular Shaaban Abdel Rehim, singer that's, you know, badmouthing the U.S., then I don't think that would be something that the U.S. stands for, arresting people because they're voicing their own opinions.

MR. RUSSERT: But many people who voice opposition to President Mubarak are arrested?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: That's not true. People in the streets today, today, voicing opposition to President Mubarak and getting home.

MR. RUSSERT: No protesters have been arrested in the last few months?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Only if they turn violent. This is has nothing to do with saying their own opinion. It's just that because then they start turning violent and that's not allowed.

MR. RUSSERT: Some observer said that the Egyptian state-controlled media is very anti-American and there was a deliberate calculation to let off steam against the United States rather than be focused on concern about President Mubarak. Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek wrote, "...were the Egyptian Street to voice its views--I mean the real Egyptian Street, not President Mubarak's state-controlled media--we would probably discover that its deepest discontent is directed not at the president of the United States, but at the president of Egypt."

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: I don't think that's true as well, and there are many, many cases where this is not true. We see demonstrations in the street for President Mubarak, for example, spontaneous demonstrations as well. Nobody mentions that. How come? How come the media in other places of the world do not mention that.

MR. RUSSERT: The article yesterday said at the Judicial Conference that the protesters for President Mubarak had been paid?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Well, did they see them being paid?

MR. RUSSERT: I'm just asking that.

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: I don't think so. They are not being paid. There are spontaneous--President Mubarak is popular in Egypt, I can tell you that, and there have been many, many examples where this happens. Of course, there are people who are requesting change and they are also voicing their opinions in the streets of Cairo today and nobody's stopping them.

MR. RUSSERT: Why aren't there any Arab democracies?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Well, there will be. I think that we are in an evolving process. It takes time. I don't believe that the U.S. had arrived to a democracy that it can accept for itself in 10 years or 20 years or 50 years. It took them 200 years to get there. So we should not deny others about 30 or 40 years to get there.

MR. RUSSERT: Before you go, Dennis Ross, the former U.S. envoy to the Middle East, wrote this: "If Iran goes nuclear, it is likely to trigger a wave of others in the region doing the same. ... The Saudis...might decide they need the bomb as either a deterrent or a political counterweight against Iran. Egypt, not wishing to cede its prominence in the Arab world to the Saudis, will almost press harder to acquire a nuclear capability..."

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Well, we've declared opposition on this very clearly. We will not pursue nuclear capability in terms of military use. And I think that we are one of the most--advocates today of NPT, and I believe that the Egyptian position is very clear on this.

MR. RUSSERT: So if Iran develops a nuclear capability, Egypt will not follow?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: No. I don't think it's a necessity for us to do that.

MR. RUSSERT: What if Saudi Arabia does?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: I don't believe they will.

MR. RUSSERT: Do you think Iran can be stopped?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Well, I think all countries should be stopped.

MR. RUSSERT: Including Iran?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Including Iran, and including the ones that already have them.

MR. RUSSERT: Would Egypt join in sanctions against Iran?

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: If they do that, we'll have to look into it.

MR. RUSSERT: Mr. Prime Minister, we thank you. We hope you'll come back in September after your presidential election and come talk to us about it.

PRIME MIN. NAZIF: Thank you, Tim. I enjoyed it.

MR. RUSSERT: Thank you very much.

Full credit goes to "NBC NEWS' MEET THE PRESS."

1010 Iranian to run for president!

2005-05-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran candidates set poll record: "A record 1,010 people have registered to run in Iran's presidential election next month, the interior ministry says.

Registration closed on Saturday and aspiring candidates will now wait while their applications are vetted by the hardline conservative Guardian Council.

The list of those registered includes 89 women, but the Guardian Council has already said they will not be eligible.

Among those tipped to make it through to stand on 17 June is former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Mr Rafsanjani, who was president twice from 1989 to 1997, is seen as a pragmatic conservative, open to better ties with the West but more socially conservative than the reformists, the BBC's Tehran correspondent Frances Harrison says."

Firefox's flaws fixed

2005-05-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Technology | Firefox's flaws fixed in upgrade:

"The Mozilla Foundation, maker of the open source web browser Firefox, has released a security patch to plug two critical security flaws in the browser.

The flaws were found last week by net security experts. Danish firm, Secunia, called them 'extremely critical'.

Mozilla has now recommended people upgrade to the latest version, Firefox 1.0.4, which is a security update.

Firefox is Microsoft Internet Explorer's (IE) main rival. IE has dominated the browser market.

But many have switched to Firefox because, so far, it has had fewer security flaws than IE and is more customisable.

Although the vulnerabilities, reported on Saturday, had been identified no cases had been reported of them being exploited.

Secunia said they were 'extremely critical' because they could have let cookie and history information be used to get access to personal information or access previously visited sites.

The first flaw reported fooled the browser into thinking software was being installed by a legitimate, or safe, website.

The second happened was related to the software installation trigger which was not able to properly check icon web addresses which contain JavaScript code.

Potentially, a hacker could have taken advantage of the security flaws to secretly launch malicious code or programs.

Chipping away

Firefox has had more than 50 million downloads since its formal launch in November 2004.

Since then, it has chipped away at IE's dominance, but there are signs that its take-up is slowing down, according to recent figures.

IE fell a percentage in its share of the browser market, net monitoring company WebSideStory said on Tuesday.

Microsoft's browser now has a 88.9% share, while Firefox's share has risen just over a point to 6.8%. Previously, IE dominated more than 95% of the browser market.

But Microsoft is set to release another, more secure, version of IE in the summer.

The Mozilla Foundation was set up by former browser maker Netscape in 1998. Netscape dominated the browser market in the early 1990s.

"

Tsunami prompts women's swimming lessons!

2005-05-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Tsunami prompts women's swimming lessons:

"'Many more women and children would have been saved if they knew how to swim,' says Girlie Ganage, aged 44, as she practises her breast stroke in a private 12 metre pool.

The school teacher from Mirissa, in the south-west of Sri Lanka, is among 25 women here who have decided that it is time to learn to swim following the horrors of December's Indian Ocean tsunami.

But that involves breaking some unwritten rules.

'Before the tsunami, it would have been unthinkable. Men still don't believe me when I tell them,' Mrs Ganage says.

The culture in Sri Lanka prevents mixed bathing in the few public swimming pools which do exist - most of which are in the capital Colombo - so opportunities for women have been almost non-existent.

'We could never go into the sea in our swimming costumes anyway, we have to go fully clothed, so it's impossible to swim,' explains Pushpa Kodippila, 43, a mother of two."

Texas to restrict 'sexually-suggestive cheerleading'

2005-05-05T04:47:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Americas | Texas targets 'sexy cheerleading':

"Legislators in the US state of Texas have voted to ban 'sexually suggestive' cheerleading in schools.

The bill - which requires approval by the state Senate - would allow authorities to police routines deemed vulgar and force schools to stop them.

Texas is famous for its Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, who perform in high boots and low-cut tops.

Some lawmakers have expressed outrage at similarly suggestive performances at local schools across the state.

'Some of them are just downright vulgar, something you would see at an adult club or something,' Joe Deshotel, a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, told AFP news agency.

One of the co-authors of the bill, Republican Corbin Van Arsdale, said many parents want restrictions because they go to games to see young men clashing on the pitch, not girls shaking their behinds on the sidelines.

'You've got children seeing things that their parents would rather them not see,' AFP quoted Mr Van Arsdale as saying.

However some legislators questioned their colleagues' priorities.

'Have we done anything about stem cell research to help people who are dying and are sick advance their health? No,' said Democratic Representative Senfronia Thompson.

To become law, the bill must be approved by both the Senate and Governor Rick Perry. "

I wonder how exactly they will define what is "sexually-suggestive" and what is "innocent cheerleading"...

Sudden recovery of brain-damaged man after 10 years

2005-05-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Americas | Fireman's recovery stuns doctors:

"US doctors are trying to find out why a severely brain-damaged man has suddenly started to speak after nearly 10 years.

Donald Herbert, 43, a firefighter, was badly injured in a house fire in 1995 and was deprived of oxygen for several minutes before being rescued.

He was in a coma for more than two months, and since then he has been blind, barely able to speak and unable to recognise family and friends.

But at the weekend he spoke lucidly with his wife and family for 14 hours.

He has since maintained his recovery.

Medical experts say it is almost unheard of for patients to recover from such severe brain injuries after so many years.

A news conference on Mr Herbert's condition is scheduled for Wednesday.

'Three months'

The firefighter was injured when the roof of a burning house collapsed on him in December 1995. He was left without of oxygen for several minutes.

He has been in a nursing home in the city of Buffalo, in New York state, for more than seven years.

But on Saturday he suddenly asked for his wife Linda and chatted with her, his four sons and other family until he fell asleep on Sunday morning.

His uncle, Simon Manka, told AP news agency he thought he had only been away for three months.

Not like Schiavo

Experts say there are several possible reasons for the change.

His brain may have been impaired by some condition, other than the injury itself, which was successfully dealt with.

A change in medication might also have brought about an improvement.

There have been several other similar cases of brain recovery in the US.

Arkansas car accident victim Terry Wallis woke up two years ago after 19 years in a coma and began speaking to his family.

And Tennessee police officer Gary Dockery, paralysed and mute after a shooting in 1988, started speaking again eight years later. He died of a blood clot on the lung in 1997.

None of the victims were in a persistent vegetative state like Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman who died last month after her feeding tube was removed.

"

Really?? "Egypt denies return to violence"

2005-05-01T01:57:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Egypt denies return to violence:

"Egyptian authorities have denied that an attack on tourists in Cairo on Saturday signalled a return of Islamist militant violence.

They say the incident was a result of an operation against a small group blamed for a bomb attack that killed three tourists in the capital in April.

Three suspects were killed and 10 people, including four foreigners, were injured in Saturday's attacks.

Militants carried out several deadly attacks in Egypt in the 1990s."

Egypt says: No No.. It's not a 'return to violence' because it's not by the same groups and because it's still not yet a phenomenon. Wait until it goes out of control, then we can call it a return to violence! There is something else. This violence is not the style of the 1990s. This group is really up-to-date with terrorism "fashion shows".

A virginity worth $1.5m !?

2005-04-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Peruvian virgin turns down $1.5m:

"Inside a tiny breeze block house, beneath the dusty hills on the desert outskirts of Lima, religious paintings like the Virgin and Child and the Sacred Heart share wall space with photographs of a beguiling young woman posing as a model.
...

Graciela - or Gracia as she prefers to be known - has been working since the age of eight, left school at 15 and now three years later earns around $60 a month acting or modelling.

Her mother is too sick to work and she does not want her 12-year-old brother to miss school.

But Gracia says the money she earns is not enough and every month she worries about not being able to pay the bills or having to say No when her brother Guillermo comes back from school asking for money for books.

Theirs is a story like thousands of other Peruvians who live in poverty, but for one fact.

Last month, Gracia decided to sell her virginity to pay for her mother's medical treatment and to improve her family's quality of life.

"My mother was ill and my brother and me too. [And I felt] the utter hopelessness of wanting to move forward, wanting to study, be someone and you just don't get the opportunity because it's all about money," says Gracia.

"Sometimes you find yourself at a crossroads and you see no way out," she adds, staring at the terracotta painted walls.

"You stop and see there's only thing that's going to help you and perhaps it only has to happen once in your life.

"That's what I thought. And you never have to do it again.

"You have to get on with it, without looking back, because you can study, work with this money and help lots of people who are poor like me."

...

Almost a month after Gracia advertised her virginity for sale, her economic situation has not changed.

But her moral situation has. She says she has decided not to give up her virginity for any price.

"Mum lives with me 24 hours a day, and respects my decision because I am an adult.

"But she was giving me advice, and explaining how my life might be if I did this: What example would I give my children, what kind of man would accept me with this past, would it make me happy, this money?

"Obviously it's a necessity, but it's not everything, it's a bad necessity and it made me realise that this money wasn't going to make me happy, I could make myself happy with my own merits."

Some critics have suggested that Gracia offered to sell her virginity solely to court publicity and never actually intended to go through with it.

Only she will know if that is the case. Certainly, her arguments are convincing, but perhaps so too is her acting.

But what she has done, indisputably, is come out and say: The way many people live in Peru is wrong and I want to do something about it. "

If anyone was worried: " Viagra ruled kosher for Passover"

2005-04-14T22:38:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Viagra ruled kosher for Passover:

"A leading Israeli rabbi has ruled that the anti-impotency pill Viagra can be taken by Jews on Passover, reversing a previous ban.

Viagra had been deemed not kosher since 1998 under strict dietary laws over the week-long Jewish spring holiday.

Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu said the pill can be swallowed if it is encased in a special soluble kosher capsule first.

Viagra's Israeli manufacturers said they sought an answer after receiving queries from worried religious men.

Forbidden foods

The drug was previously prohibited because its coating was considered inedible over Passover, when contact with everyday ingredients, known as hametz, is forbidden under Jewish law."

As usual, when I read such requests for religious opinion or fatwas, I wonder: Who really asks these questions... and why?

Recently there was a lot of debates about the Pope and condoms, whether it is religiously allowed to blog or not, etc...
Who on Earth asks these questions?

BBC on RSS feeds: Turning the web into 'sushi belts'

2005-04-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Technology | Turning the web into 'sushi belts':

"The way people find websites, blogs, and other content they like on the net is changing.

While the majority still seek out sites of interest through search engines and keep addresses bookmarked, others increasingly use 'RSS' feeds.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is a way of keeping automatically aware of website updates.

Like sushi restaurant conveyor belts, it delivers content to people so they can easily pick what they want to read.

Millions of news, weblogs, and ordinary websites carry easy-to-set-up RSS feeds which alert people when a site has been updated.

Keen lovers of technology and the web have been using RSS for some time as a way to wade through the millions of pages on the web.

It is now starting to come out of its niche; and the small, orange badges which indicate a feed is available on a site are becoming a familiar presence.

But many people who use the web fairly regularly will still stare blankly when asked whether they use RSS."

NO NOT AGAIN!!!!! Two killed in Cairo bazaar blast

2005-04-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Two killed in Cairo bazaar blast:

"An explosion has ripped through a major shopping bazaar in an area of Cairo popular with tourists, killing two and injuring several more.

The blast, close to Cairo's al-Azhar mosque, killed two, including one French national and injured eight other people, police said.

The explosion, at about 1700 (1500 GMT), may have been caused by a bomb thrown from a motorbike, police said.

The al-Azhar mosque is a major seat of Islamic learning in Cairo.

A number of busy shopping bazaars are crammed into the narrow streets around al-Azhar, in Cairo's ancient Muslim quarter.

Unrecognisable body

The blast went off on al-Moski Street, a narrow street of tourist shops and clothes sellers - often crammed with foreigners and Egyptian shoppers, carts and peddlers - near the main bazaar of Khan al-Khalili.

Rabab Rifaat, a woman shopping nearby, told the Associated Press news agency she heard a loud 'boom', and saw a decapitated head flying through the air.

A Frenchman was reported to have died at hospital from his injuries, while a woman's unrecognisable body was also recovered from the scene, the Reuters news agency reported.

Islamic militants in Egypt have staged attacks on tourist attractions in the past."

WHY?

"Shall we dance?" Japanese prime minister to Richard Gere!

2005-03-31T22:46:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Koizumi takes a turn with Gere:
"Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the Hollywood actor Richard Gere have treated reporters to an impromptu ballroom dance performance.

Mr Koizumi took Gere's hand in front of a roomful of journalists and asked 'Shall We Dance?'- the title of Gere's latest movie.

Gere obliged, but insisted on taking the lead, as the two twirled around the room for a few seconds.

Afterwards Gere described Mr Koizumi as 'charming and spontaneous'.

Mr Koizumi returned the compliment, saying Gere, who is in Japan to promote Shall We Dance, was a great movie star and a wonderful person.

The twirl follows Gere's endorsement on Monday of Mr Koizumi's views regarding an arms ban on China.

Gere said he approved of Mr Koizumi's opposition to a plan by the European Union to lift the ban, which was put in place following the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

The film star is well known for his advocacy of better human rights in Tibet.

Mr Koizumi, whose popularity has dipped of late, has been known to perform with stars before.

Two years ago, he sang the Elvis Presley hit 'I want you, I need you, I love you' with actor Tom Cruise."

The battle for "hearts and minds": US army to produce Mid-East comic

2005-03-31T22:42:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US army to produce Mid-East comic:
"The US military is planning to win the hearts of young people in the Middle East by publishing a new comic.

Jalila, a brainy Levantine scientist and fighter for justice
The army comic may encounter competition from Arab superheroes created by an Egyptian publisher
An advertisement on the US government's Federal Business Opportunities website is inviting applications for someone to develop an 'original comic book series'.

'In order to achieve long-term peace and stability in the Middle East, the youth need to be reached,' the ad says.

'A series of comic books provides the opportunity for youth to learn lessons, develop role models and improve their education.'

"

"Respectful disagreement": EU is 'concerned' over Wolfowitz

2005-03-22T22:39:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Business | EU is 'concerned' over Wolfowitz: (Link will open in a new window)
While Reading.. I couldn't help add (in color) and underline some words...

"EU finance ministers said they have 'concerns' about the appointment of Paul Wolfowitz as president of the World Bank.

Calling him a serious candidate, they said that they wanted the opportunity to talk to him (pleaaaaaaase) regarding his policies before he is confirmed in the post.
....

World Bank concerns

The EU said that it wants to meet Mr Wolfowitz, who is a well-known White House hawk and was nominated by US President George W Bush.

He served as deputy defence secretary during Mr Bush's first term.

Luxembourg Economics Minister Jeannot Krecke said that there is 'some concern about the way Mr Wolfowitz intends to handle the policy of the World Bank.'

German Finance Minister Hans Eichel said that Mr Wolfowitz is a 'high level candidate, but there needs to be more discussions before' his election to the post of the development agency.

The finance ministers want him to come to Brussels (pleaaaaaaase) before his appointment is confirmed at the end of the month, to answer questions about his position on several development issues, such as debt relief"

EU "concerned"?? Too bad.
Aren't these the old Europe's folks who were also concerned about the Iraqi invasion? And the outcome??????

The new world order needs a new world banker!
Will EU bank(inter)rupt?

I imagine Mr. Bush, Mr. Rumsfield, Ms. Rice, Mr. Cheney and their super-candidate (Wolfowitz) telling EU:
"We respectfully respect your disagreement. Rest assured. Paul will head the bank, and you might as well--respectfully--eat S**T."

"The 'wolf' in the henhouse"

2005-03-16T16:37:00.000-08:00

Photo Source

from BBC NEWS | Business | Bush backs US hawk for World Bank (link opens in a new window):

"President George W Bush has nominated US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz as the next head of the World Bank, a key development agency.
Mr Wolfowitz has earned a reputation as a hawk during his time as Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's deputy, and was a strong advocate of the Iraq war.
Mr Wolfowitz said he was looking forward to being part of the Bank's 'noble mission'.
The choice of the hardliner to run the agency is likely to be controversial.
But President Bush described Mr Wolfowitz as a 'compassionate, decent man' committed to global development.

Opposing views

Jeffrey Sachs, a leading development economist, called the nomination 'inappropriate'.
'He is a man without international development experience, without professional qualifications.
'He is not a banker or an economist, not a public health specialist, a water management specialist, an agronomist, a climate change specialist.
'He is a defence specialist and so if this were the World Defence Council it would make sense,' Mr Sachs told journalists in a conference call.
But Allan Meltzer, a long-time critic of the World Bank, praised the nomination.
He pointed to Mr Wolfowitz's posting as US ambassador to Indonesia and experience managing large organisations as qualifications.
'We don't need a development person, there are plenty of people at the bank who do that,' Mr Meltzer told the BBC News website.
'What the Bank needs is focus: how many children are innoculated against measles every year? What have we done to bring water to the villages?
'Those are not development questions, those are administrative questions,' he said."

A BBC Reader's View:
"The 'Wolf' has been shown the path to the henhouse. It's hard to imagine peaceful development under his leadership."
Kelly, Washington, US

What a coincidence that this happens to one of the hawks and the authors of the PNAC after the Iraq war and the efforts to push the new Greater Middle East project. Too many coincidences make me sometimes tend to think... that... mmm.. but...
I am being told...

There is nothing called "conspiracy theory."
There is nothing called "conspiracy theory."
There is nothing called "conspiracy theory."
There is nothing called "conspiracy theory."

Does repeating it make me feel better????????

___________
Also Read:
- PNAC- from Wikipedia
- Gallery of Necon Artists
- Bush for President 2004: The Project for the New American Century- A vision for American global leadership

Excerpt:

PNAC's vision is detailed in its September 2000 report entitled "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century." Among other suggestions, this report calls for the United States to:

Withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, stop the reduction of nuclear missiles, develop new nuclear weapons, and deploy a national missile defense system.
Increase defense spending to a minimum 3.8 percent of gross domestic product (up from the 3 percent spent at the time of the report).
"Fight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous major theatre wars" as a "core mission."
Warns that "we cannot allow North Korea, Iran, Iraq or similar states to undermine American leadership," and American military preeminence rests on the ability to "[remove] a dangerous and hostile regime when necessary."
Keep all peacekeeping and rebuilding missions within the power of American political leadership rather than that of the United Nations.
Use key allies, such as the U.K., as the "most effective and efficient means of exercising American global leadership."
Take military control of the Persian Gulf region through the establishment of permanent bases.
Take control of cyberspace, otherwise "[America] will find it difficult to exert global political leadership."

Update:
BBC News| Wolfowitz to spread neo-con gospel

"By nominating Paul Wolfowitz to be head of the World Bank, President George Bush appears to be sending a message to the world that he intends to spread into development policy the same neo-conservative philosophy that has led his foreign policy."

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Smelly divorce hits Iranian court

2005-03-02T23:03:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Smelly divorce hits Iranian court: "An Iranian woman says she wants to divorce her husband because he has not washed for more than a year, according to a press report.

The 36-year-old woman, identified as Mina, reportedly told a court in Tehran that her husband smells so bad even their children will not go near him.

She said that when she met her husband eight years ago, he was obsessive about staying clean.

Women in Iran have fewer rights than men when it comes to getting divorced.

A woman normally has to prove that her husband has neglected her financially or sexually, is a drug addict or is physically abusive.

Mina reportedly told the divorce court the smell of her husband was so bad that it was making her family a laughing stock.

'We cannot go to any parties. I feel so ashamed,' she was quoted by Iran's state-run newspaper."

Our ancestors weren't 'cannibals'

2005-02-14T07:54:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Film row over Pirates 'cannibals'
"Plans to portray Dominica's Carib Indians as cannibals in the sequel to hit film Pirates of the Caribbean have been criticised by the group's chief.

Carib Chief Charles Williams said talks with Disney's producers revealed there was "a strong element of cannibalism in the script which cannot be removed".

The Caribbean island's government said Disney planned to film in Dominica.

The Caribs have long denied their ancestors practised cannibalism. Disney was unavailable for comment.

"Our ancestors stood up against early European conquerors and because they stood up...we were labelled savages and cannibals up to today," said Mr Williams. "

US 'war is fun' general rebuked

2005-02-04T10:04:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Americas | US 'war is fun' general rebuked: (link opens in a new window)
"The US Marine Corps has publicly upbraided one of its generals for his comments describing shooting people in Iraq as 'fun'.

Discussing fighting in Iraq, the General said he liked brawling and enjoyed shooting people.

The Marine Corps said Lt Gen James Mattis had been 'counselled' concerning his remarks, made during a panel discussion in California.

The general had agreed he should have chosen his words more carefully.

Gen Mattis is a hardened veteran of combat and appears to have developed a taste for it.

During the discussion, he spoke of his experience fighting in Iraq as commander of the 1st Marine Division.

"

'Mermaid girl' to have legs split

2005-02-04T09:54:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Health | 'Mermaid girl' to have legs split: (link opens in a new window)

"Surgeons in Peru are preparing for an operation to separate the legs of a girl born with the rare condition 'mermaid syndrome' or 'sirenomelia'.

Nine-month-old Milagros Cerron has been dubbed the 'little mermaid' because her fused legs resemble the tail of a fish.

Usually babies with the condition die within days of birth. Milagros is one of only three known survivors.

A medical team, led by surgeon Luis Rubio, will operate on the girl on 24 February in a hospital in Lima.

The team includes trauma surgeons, plastic surgeons, cardiovascular surgeons, neurologists, gynaecologists and a paediatrician, and the operation is expected to last five hours."

Turin shroud 'older than thought'

2005-01-26T19:26:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Turin shroud 'older than thought' (link opens in a new window):

"The Shroud of Turin is much older than suggested by radiocarbon dating carried out in the 1980s, according to a new study in a peer-reviewed journal.

A research paper published in Thermochimica Acta suggests the shroud is between 1,300 and 3,000 years old.

The author dismisses 1988 carbon dating tests which concluded that the linen sheet was a medieval fake.

The shroud, which bears the faint image of a blood-covered man, is believed by some to be Christ's burial cloth."

I am just a bit wondering about the link to this story in the BBC main page. The story says that "the shroud is between 1,300 and 3,000 years old;" however, the link says:
" Turin Shroud could be up to 3,000 years old, scientist says."
Knowing that those who "believe it's Christ's burial cloth" would claim its age is 1970 years, I am wondering whether the "up to 3,000 years old" may be biased toward diluting the believers' claim.

Reporter fired for Yahoo baby hoax - Jan 24, 2005

2005-01-25T15:50:00.000-08:00

CNN.com - Reporter fired for Yahoo baby hoax - Jan 24, 2005:

"BUCHAREST, Romania (Reuters) -- A Romanian tabloid says it has fired a reporter for making up a story about a couple who named their son Yahoo as a sign of gratitude for meeting over the Internet.

Earlier this month, major Bucharest daily Libertatea published a story saying two Romanians had named their baby Yahoo and printed a picture of his birth certificate. The news was widely picked up on the Internet.

'It was the reporter's child's birth certificate, which he modified,' said Simona Ionescu, Libertatea's deputy editor-in-chief. 'We fired him.'"

US 'terminates' Iranian website

2005-01-24T11:20:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US 'terminates' Iranian website:

"Iran has accused the US government of ordering an American internet service provider to stop hosting the website of an official Iranian news agency.

The Iranian Student News Agency said no explanation had been given by the server, called The Planet, for its abrupt move to terminate the contract.

Isna, which is widely read in Iran, says it has moved to another server, which it did not name.

The Planet was unable to comment immediately on the allegations.

The row has led to calls for Iran to develop its own satellite technology.

Isna said it had received an e-mail from The Planet warning that the website would be terminated within 48 hours and that the decision was final and non-negotiable."

Tycoon Trump to wed a third time

2005-01-22T09:28:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Tycoon Trump to wed a third time

"Billionaire Donald Trump is to marry for the third time in a ceremony attended by the US celebrity elite.

The New York entrepreneur and property magnate will tie the knot with his girlfriend of six years, Slovenian model Melania Knauss, on Saturday.

The wedding, to be held at Mr Trump's mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, is the subject of intense media coverage.

Clint Eastwood, Muhammad Ali and Sir Elton John are expected among the 500 guests - but not the two ex-Mrs Trumps.

The man the Americans call 'The Donald' has built a fabled reputation on the back of his recent reality TV show, The Apprentice, and a series of huge property deals.

The latest Mrs Trump, a 33-year-old Slovenian-Austrian, already wears a 15 carat diamond engagement ring worth some $1.5million (£800,000) "

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Boy with toy gun shot by Israelis

2005-01-20T18:01:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Boy with toy gun shot by Israelis: "Israeli soldiers have shot dead a Palestinian boy who was playing with a toy rifle, after apparently mistaking him for a gunman.

Troops patrolling Tubas, a West Bank village near Jenin, fired at the boy, aged 13 or 14, after he aimed the toy weapon at them, witnesses said.

He was with a group of children who were taunting the soldiers.

An Israeli military source confirmed troops had opened fire on a crowd after spotting what appeared to be a gunman.

Palestinian medical sources said the boy, Salah Ikhab, died in an ambulance on his way to hospital after being shot in the chest.

Witnesses and medical sources told the AFP news agency the boy had been given the toy as a present for the Eid holiday.

Israeli troops in Gaza also shot and killed a 13-year-old boy, Salah Abu Alaes, as he was walking with his family near the entrance to Rafah's sprawling refugee camp, Palestinian hospital officials said."

Asia's tsunami death toll has reached 250,000

2005-01-19T22:34:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Asia's tsunami death toll soars

FAMILY SLAIN

2005-01-18T09:55:00.000-08:00

FAMILY SLAIN: Parents, 2 kids found in home, bound and their throats slashed (open link in a new window)

لفظ الجلالة "الله " على امواج تسونامي! ـ

2005-01-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

"الأربعاء, 12-يناير-2005"

المؤتمر نت - صور بالاقمار الاصطناعية المؤتمر نت - تدور بين مسلمي سريلانكا أحاديث بأن أسم الجلالة "الله" ظهر على أمواج تسونامي التي ضربت سريلانكا وعددا من دول جنوب وجنوب شرق آسيا في 26 ديسمبر الماضي، وإن الله أرسل تلك الأمواج عقابا للبشر.
ونقلت تقارير صحفية عن محمد فايزان، مدير مركز الدراسات الإسلامية في كولومبو قوله إن الدليل هو صور التقطت بالأقمار الاصطناعية بعد ثوان من الأمواج العاتية التي ضربت الساحل الغربي من سريلانكا قرب بلدة كالوتارا أثناء تراجعها إلى البحر.
وقال فايزان إن الصور تظهر بوضوح كلمة "الله" بالعربية، وكانت الصور التقطت بالقمر الصناعي "ديجيتال غلوب كويك بيرد" بعد دقائق معدودة من وقوع المد البحري.
وقال فايزان لقد كتب الله اسمه، وأرسل عقابه على تجاهل شريعته، وشبه المد البحري المدمر بالفيضانات التي أرسلها الله في عهد نوح كنوع من العقاب لمن ضلوا عن سبيله.
وقال فايزان إنه زار قرية يدين معظم سكانها بالإسلام ووجد المدرسة الدينية سليمة فيما دمرت البيوت التي حولها وعددها 400 بيت، وقال إن المناطق التي يدين معظم سكانها بالإسلام في سريلانكا كانت الأكثر تضررا وأن الأمواج استهدفت المسلمين في إندونيسيا وسريلانكا اللتين ضلتا عن سبيل الله، على حد تعبيره.

President Bush to be more mindful, tone down tough talk

2005-01-15T16:09:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Americas | Bush says regrets talking tough (link opens in a new window): "US President George W Bush has pledged to be more diplomatic in future, saying he realises that talking tough can sometimes send 'wrong impressions'.

...

'I speak plainly sometimes, but you've got to be mindful of the consequences.'*

In what has become a notorious occasion, Mr Bush words sparked outrage in July 2003 when he appeared to directly challenge insurgents fighting in Iraq."

* Emphais mine

"Gay" bomb and other chemical weapons planned by USA...

2005-01-15T16:01:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Americas | US military pondered love not war
"The US military investigated building a "gay bomb", which would make enemy soldiers "sexually irresistible" to each other, government papers say.

Other weapons that never saw the light of day include one to make soldiers obvious by their bad breath.

The US defence department considered various non-lethal chemicals meant to disrupt enemy discipline and morale.

The 1994 plans were for a six-year project costing $7.5m, but they were never pursued.

The US Air Force Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, sought Pentagon funding for research into what it called "harassing, annoying and 'bad guy'-identifying chemicals".

The plans were obtained under the US Freedom of Information by the Sunshine Project, a group which monitors research into chemical and biological weapons. "

Prague's mayor goes undercover to expose rip-off cabs (taxis)

2005-01-14T09:59:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Europe | Prague cab takes mayor for a ride: "
Extcerpt:
Prague's mayor has had the chance to see for himself whether the many accounts of city taxi drivers ripping off unsuspecting tourists are true.

Posing as an Italian visitor, in a fake moustache and sunglasses, Pavel Bem hailed a taxi for a short ride - and was promptly overcharged by some 500%.

Mr Bem said he was shocked by the extent of the problem and has vowed to step up controls on taxi drivers. "

How many mayors are ready to take such risks?