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Chinese School – GCC consultative meeting kicks off in Riyadh

learnnet2englishorg — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 07:19:13 +0000

GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani speaks at the news briefing during the Gulf Cooperation Council summit (GCC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 10, 2011. The GCC held the meeting to discuss the current situation in the Middle East and Gulf region on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Bo)

RIYADH, May 10 (Xinhua) — The 13th consultative meeting of the leaders of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) kicked off here on Tuesday, according to Al-Arabiya TV.

Major political developments in the Arab world, including the strained relations between the GCC and Iran will top the agenda of the meeting.

The meeting will also look at possible ways to solve the crises in a number of states in the region, in particular Yemen, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The meeting, which comes a week after the killing of Osama bin Laden and amid delays in the endorsement of the GCC-brokered deal for Yemen, is expected to shed light on the security situation in the region and terrorism at large.

The leaders may also spell out an action plan to deter Tehran and to stop its growing interference in the affairs of GCC states.

The GCC meeting will also discuss the financial support to Bahrain and Oman.

The GCC is a union that comprises Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.

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Chinese language – NATO denies involvement in migrant deaths on drifting boat

learnnet2englishorg — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 07:16:42 +0000

NATO on Tuesday denied allegations that its naval vessels failed to help a drifting boat with Libyan migrants aboard, leaving 61 of them dead.

“NATO has reviewed all relevant information available…We can find no evidence whatsoever of any NATO ships been involved in this tragic incidence reported by the Guardian,” NATO deputy spokeswoman Carmen Romero told a press briefing at NATO headquarters.

“Ships under NATO command will always respond to calls from ships in distress. This is the duty under the law of the sea and suggesting our ships’ captains will do otherwise is unfair and is disrespectful,” she said.

The Guardian newspaper reported that a boat carrying 72 migrants ran into trouble in late March after leaving Tripoli for the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Sixty-one migrants were left to die in the Mediterranean after a number of European military units apparently ignored their cries for help, the Guardian said. Two of the nine survivors claim this included a NATO ship.

A senior NATO official, Brigadier General Claudio Gabellini, said from Naples via video conference that if NATO ships got involved in such events, captains would “do everything in their power to ensure that their behaviour is according to the international maritime laws and traditions.”

International maritime law requires all vessels, including military units, that spot a vessel in distress must offer help where possible.

China Travel – Syrian official says unrest almost over, while Yemeni situation still grim

learnnet2englishorg — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 07:05:35 +0000

- A senior Syrian official said the seven-week turmoil in the country was drawing to a close, while fresh protests and violence hit unrest-weary Yemen Tuesday.

Syrian Presidential Advisor Buthaina Shaaban, during an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday, said her country had weathered through the worst stage of the turmoil, saying it was almost over. 0 “I think now we’ve passed the most dangerous moment. I hope so. I think so,” Shaaban said.

She said Syria had faced “armed terrorist gangs and foreign conspiracy” that sought to stir unrest in the country.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Interior Ministry said 1,083 people across the country, who were involved in recent riots, had surrended to authorities.

The ministry said they had been immediately released after pledging not to repeat acts that might harm the country and other citizens.

The ministry had recently appealed to rioters to surrender themselves to authorities before May 15, and warned against any demonstrations “under any title” without official permission.

Syria has been hit by unprecedented anti-government protests that first erupted in the southern city of Daraa in mid-March and spread to other cities including the capital Damascus.

According to Syrian human rights groups, security forces have killed at least 800 civilians so far, while 9,000 people have been jailed or gone missing.

Syrian authorities say the protesters have killed over 100 soldiers and security agents.

Hundreds of Syrians rallied in front of the French embassy and the headquarters of the Delegation of the European Commission in Damascus to protest the Western stance on Syria’s unrest.

The demonstrators said the Syrian people were not afraid of the “conspiracies and the misleading media campaigns which aim at sowing sedition to undermine Syria’s stability and security” by some Western countries.

The European Union (EU) said an arms embargo and sanctions against 13 Syrian officials deemed responsible for the regime’s crackdown on protesters would come into force on Tuesday.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said Paris would press for wider EU sanctions, including those against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad himself, saying the EU risked being “passive and powerless witnesses” to events in Syria.

In Yemen, police opened fire to disperse an anti-government protest involving thousands of people in the western Al-Hodayda province, injuring more than 20 protesters.

They were rushed to hospitals as several of them were in critical conditions.

The protest, like the previous ones held over the past three months, demanded an immediate end to the 33-year rule of embattled President Ali Abdulla Saleh.

Armed tribesmen believed to be the Yemeni Houthi-led Shiite rebels kidnapped seven military officers in the northern province of Al-Jouf, a local security official told Xinhua.

The armed rebels abducted the seven officers when the latter were en route from the capital Sanaa to their barracks in Al-Jouf province, some 143 km north of Sanaa, the official said on condition of anonymity. Leaders of the opposition and youth-led protesters said they were mulling escalating protests by marching toward main government buildings in major cites to force Saleh’s immediate ouster.

They said their options would depend on the results of the consultative meeting of leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held in Riyadh Tuesday.

The meeting was slated for discussing the strained relations between the GCC and Iran, and seeking possible ways to solve the crises in some countries in the region, particularly Yemen, Syria and Libya.

On April 21, the GCC presented an initiative for ending Yemen’s political dilemma, which urged President Saleh to leave office within 30 days after signing the deal in exchange for immunity from prosecution, and the new government, formed by the opposition within seven days, should arrange presidential and parliamentary elections in 60 days.

The Yemeni government has yet to accept the initiative.

Meanwhile, President Saleh met the UN envoy to Yemen Jamal bin Omar in Sanaa to discuss solutions to the country’s political crisis.

Saleh was briefed on the results of meetings that Omar had conducted with leaders of the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) regarding the prolonged standoff.

During the meeting, the envoy expressed the UN readiness to help resolve the political deadlock between Saleh and the JMP, stressing it should be solved peacefully without any foreign interference.

China Business – Libyan PM accuses NATO of violating UN charter

learnnet2englishorg — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 06:58:44 +0000

Libyan Prime Minister al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi on Tuesday denounced NATO’s bombardment of his country as a breach of the UN Charter, the state-run JANA news agency reported.

The Libyan official expressed his condemnation when briefing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou over the phone on the devastating consequences of the bombing campaign, according to the report.

The air strikes carried out by the alliance have obviously exceeded the scope of the UN mandate and constitute a violation of international law and the UN Charter, al-Mahmoudi said, calling NATO’s action a “serious and sustained” infringement and “an aggression against the Libyan people.”

The Libyan prime minister also held a phone conversation with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov on Tuesday night, JANA said, without disclosing any details.

The phone diplomacy came after a turbulent night that saw Tripoli rocked by a series of blasts. A government building that had been previously targeted was destroyed, and a communications towers used for mobile phone services was toppled.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution in mid-March giving the green light to all necessary measures to protect Libyan civilians. But the intervening parties have apparently turned the intervention into a mission to help the rebels overthrow the Libyan government, which is still recognized by the UN.

HSK – UN secretary-general speaks on Syria and Libya situation

learnnet2englishorg — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 06:57:10 +0000

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses a news conference at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva May 11, 2011. Ban urged Syria on Wednesday to halt mass arrests of anti-government protesters and to heed calls for reform. He also said he had spoken to Libya’s Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi on Tuesday and called for an “immediate, verifiable ceasefire” and a halt to attacks on civilians. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

learn mandarin – Obama says U.S. immigration system needs genuine, comprehensive reform

learnnet2englishorg — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 06:55:18 +0000

U.S. President Barack Obama arrives to deliver remarks on immigration reform at Chamizal National Memorial Park in El Paso, Texas, May 10, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

HOUSTON, May 10 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday renewed his call for comprehensive immigration reform, saying the country’s immigration system needs genuine, comprehensive reform.

Obama made the remarks in El Paso, Texas, in his first visit to the southern U.S. border as president, to highlight his efforts to secure the frontier with Mexico and to call for a route to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.

“We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants — a nation that welcomes those willing to embrace America’s precepts,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter where you come from. What matter is that you believe in the ideals on which we were founded, that you believe all of us are equal … In embracing America, you can became American. That is what makes this country great,” he said.

Comprehensive immigration reform has sparked furious debate in the United States in recent years. Both Democrats and Republicans are seeking to use the issue to their own advantage in the 2012 elections.

Republicans have indicated an unwillingness to consider broader changes, including a route to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, until the U.S.-Mexican border is secured.

In El Paso, Obama called on the Congress to reject “the usual Washington games” and enact a comprehensive overhaul of the immigration system.

Obama said he had satisfied demands from the conservatives to step up security along the U.S.-Mexico border and to increase deportation of illegal immigrants.

He called on the Congress to reform the immigration system in a manner that would allow skilled immigrants to participate in American society while ending what he called an underground economy that relies on illegal immigrant workers.

Obama had vowed to reform the country’s immigration system during his presidential campaign in 2008, which helped him win critical support from an important and still growing constituency – - Hispanic voters.

learn Chinese online – Yemeni president meets UN envoy over political deadlock

learnnet2englishorg — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:54:22 +0000

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh met with the United Nations envoy to Yemen Jamal bin Omar in the capital Sanaa Tuesday to discuss solutions to the political crisis in the country, state-run Saba news agency reported.

Saleh was briefed about the results of meetings that Omar had conducted with leaders of the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) regarding the prolonged political stalemate.

During the meeting, the envoy showed the UN’s readiness to help resolve the political deadlock between Saleh and the JMP, stressing that the crisis should be solved peacefully without any foreign interference in the Yemeni internal affairs.

Omar urged all Yemeni political parties to sit down at the table of dialogue to directly negotiate the possible solutions to end the crisis and stave off chaos in Yemen, according to Saba.

The impoverished Arab country witnessed Tuesday escalating marches across major provinces to repeat the three-month-long demands for an immediate end to the 33-year rule of Saleh.

learn Chinese – Syria says 1,083 people given surrender immunity

learnnet2englishorg — Tue, 31 May 2011 06:48:35 +0000

Syrian Interior Ministry said Tuesday that 1,083 persons from across Syria who have been involved in recent riots have so far turned themselves in to specialized authorities.

The ministry said in a statement said they have been immediately released after pledging not to repeat such acts that might harm the country and citizens, according to Syria’s official news agency SANA.

The Ministry has recently appealed on those rioters to turn themselves to the ministry before May 15, vowing to release them without any punishment.

The ministry warned against staging any demonstration in the country “under any title” before getting official permission.

Syria has been gripped by more than seven weeks of protests amid calls for reforms. The protests have left more than a hundred army personnel and security agents killed across the country. Syria blamed the violent acts on “extremist terrorist groups.”

Chinese School – Italy, Spain to boost militrary cooperation in Libya, Lebanon

learnnet2englishorg — Mon, 30 May 2011 06:45:31 +0000

Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa met on Tuesday with his Spanish counterpart Carme Chacon Piqueras to discuss military cooperation in Libya and Lebanon.

La Russa and Piqueras during the meeting launched a joint military commission to reduce the number of Italian troops deployed in Lebanon to 1,000. The meeting also focused on the Libyan mission, a military official told Xinhua.

The meeting took place at the Italian military base of Decimomannu on the island of Sardinia, where Spain has sent four F-18 fighter jets and a refueling aircraft to participate in the NATO-led operation in Libya.

“We have convened on the positive results of our joint commitment in Libya and on the urgency of launching as soon as possible a diplomatic exit strategy to the ongoing conflict,” La Russa said at the end of the meeting.

Italy has offered its southern military base to the countries involved in the NATO-led mission to Libya and recently decided to take part in air raids over the North African country.

Chinese language – Fiscal crisis between Israel, PNA to harm reconciliation treaty

learnnet2englishorg — Sun, 29 May 2011 06:44:15 +0000

The crisis between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), over transferring the financial taxes dues, had deeply concerned the Palestinians that it may harm the inter-Palestinian reconciliation treaty reached in Cairo last week, officials said on Tuesday.

PNA premier Salam Fayyad said in a statement that his government is unable to pay the monthly salaries of its civil servants “because Israel is holding the financial taxes dues and refuses to transfer the money to the PNA budget, in addition to the lack of foreign aid.”

Meanwhile, Palestinian trade unions and associations are studying the possibility of increasing the pressure on the PNA soon to oblige it to pay the salaries.

Bassam Zakarna, chief of the Public Employees Association announced that the employees are not willing to pay the price of the reconciliation agreement between Islamic Hamas movement and Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian parties had warned of political, social and economical deterioration due to the delay in paying civil servants ‘ salaries. They had ruled out that the reconciliation agreement would be successfully implemented in case the crisis of the salaries goes on for a long time.

Last week, Israel decided to hold the transfer of the 100 million U.S. dollars of financial taxes dues to the PNA treasury in response to a reconciliation agreement reached between Fatah and Hamas movements. Holding the money had led to a severe financial crisis in the PNA’s treasury.

The financial taxes dues that the PNA receives from Israel are 400 million U.S. dollars, which represents around one third of the PNA budget. However, President Abbas earlier on Tuesday called for moving on all levels to pressure on Israel to pay the PNA all the financial taxes dues.

Aziz Abu Dagga, an aide to Fayyad, said that the financial aids received from Europe “are not enough to pay half of the salaries to the employees.” He called on the Arab countries to cover the shortage in the PNA budget. Since 1994, the PNA has been depending on Israel’s taxes dues and on the international aids.

Ghassan al-Khatib, chief of the PNA media bureau, told Palestinian Radio on Tuesday that the Palestinian leadership “is holding intensive contacts with all Arab and international parties to resolve the crisis with Israel.” He called for popular protests against Israel to release the PNA money.

Meanwhile, Hussein al-Sheikh, member of Fatah central committee and the PNA minister of civil affairs, called on the Palestinians to unite “in order to be able to confront the financial crisis and resolve it.”

“The crisis mustn’t affect the reconciliation agreement. All parties are demanded to succeed the implementation of the agreement,” said al-Sheikh, referring to the fact that the PNA pays 150 million U.S. dollars for the salaries of 148,000 employees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Abdel Majid Sweilim, a Palestinian economist from Ramallah, said the new unity government that Hamas and Fatah had agreed to form “has to be wise enough and aware as well in order to be able to run the daily life of the Palestinian people, including resolving financial crisis.”

“The new government’s mission must focus only on what had been agreed in Cairo after signing the reconciliation pact. This government has to be a government of independent technocrats without being controlled by any of the political parties,” said Sweilim.

Leaders of Fatah and Hamas as well as the entire Palestinian factions are scheduled to hold their first meeting in Cairo next week to discuss the implementation of the reconciliation agreement. They agreed to form a government that prepares for holding elections within one year.

The agreement is ending an inter-Palestinian division, which began in June 2007, when Hamas movement seized control of the Gaza Strip, routed Abbas security forces and took control of the PNA ministries and associations.