Gabriel Helou

Why wasn’t Libya’s membership at the United Nations suspended? According to Article 5 of the Charter of the United Nations, a Member State against which the Security Council decides to take preventive or enforcement measures may be suspended from the United Nations, if the General Assembly decides so, upon a recommendation of the Security Council into this effect. In fact, the Security Council did decide to take, and is actually taking now, preventive and enforcement or coercive measures against Liyba, by virtue of its resolutions 1970 and 1973. However, it did not recommend to the General Assembly to suspend Libya’s membership. Gabriel Helou

فلسطينيون  يضربون ويطعنون  بخنجر السفير الفلسطيني في الجزائر في مقر السفارة الفلسطينية. 

The largest economic power in Europe, the third-largest contributor to the United Nations, Germany has not yet been given a permanent seat on the Security Council. This article gives a detailed analysis of the vague, ambivalent and unpredictable Germany foreign policy which, according to the author, bars Germany from obtaining a permanent seat. The author further points out that Germany is now ''on the wrong side of history", because of its "non-intervention policy", according to which it abstains from joining the international community in responding to the changes that are occuring nowadays, notably the situation in Libya. By refusing to intervene and to join its European partners, Germany is isolating itself and therefore cannot emerge as a political power on the international arena. It is worth mentioning that Germany abstained from voting on Security Council resolution 1973. G.H.

"By late Friday, 81 people were confirmed dead, said Wissam Tarif, director of a Syrian human rights group. In at least 10 towns and cities, activists and witnesses said, government forces shot into crowds, beat protesters with batons and Kalashnikovs, and used tear gas against them... In Washington, President Obama made his toughest statement to date on the situation in Syria, condemning the use of force “in the strongest possible terms” and calling on Assad to “change course now.” For the first time, Obama directly blamed the Syrian president for the crackdown, saying Assad had placed his “personal interests” ahead of his people, and tied Syrian repression to Iran. But Obama stopped well short of calling on Assad to cede power. While his statement marked a sharp escalation in tone, it offered no indication that further U.S. action was being contemplated" http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/syrian-security-forces-open-fire-on-demonstrators/2011/04/22/AFNhCmOE_story.html

Paris et l’Union envisagent la reconnaissance rapide d’un Etat palestinien, selon l’ambassadeur français à l’Onu. Mais la sensibilité des Etats membres varie sur ce sujet. "En l’absence persistante de toute avancée dans les négociations de paix entre Israël et l’Autorité palestinienne, les pays de l’Union européenne pourraient-ils reconnaître un Etat palestinien avant même la résolution du conflit?..." http://www.lalibre.be/actu/international/article/656596/l-ue-prendra-t-elle-les-devants.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

EU High Representative must request enlargement of UNSC resolution 1973 to prevent a massacre in Mirsrata The United Kingdom is sending military advisers to assist Libyan rebels, whilst the chairman of the French foreign affairs committee suggests that French commandos should be deployed to assist in guiding air strikes. Guy Verhofstadt, Liberal group leader in the European Parliament, commented that the EU is lacking a coordinated strategy on how to respond to developments in Libya: "The lack of a coordinated EU response to the continuing conflict in Libya has left Member States, who are participating in the UN sanctioned Libyan protection force, struggling to match the needs on the ground with the limitations of air strikes in what is essentially now a ground war." "The four EU members of the UN Security Council must urgently bring the matter up at the international level and seek clarification or enlargement of the mandate of UNSC resolution 1973, in particular

La France songe à reconnaître un Etat palestinien "La France et des pays européens songent à reconnaître un Etat palestinien, a déclaré jeudi l’ambassadeur de France à l’ONU Gérard Araud lors d’une réunion du Conseil de sécurité sur le Moyen-Orient" http://www.lesoir.be/actualite/le_fil_info/index.php?page=1#835961 Personal translation: " France considers recognizing a Palestinian State France and other European countries consider recognizing a Palestinian State , said French Ambassador to the United Nations   Gérard Araud, at a meeting of the Security Council on the Middle East"

Vittorio Arrigoni's body was welcomed in Rome with Palestinian Flags 1) http://www.salem-news.com/articles/april212011/vik-rome-dd-tk.php 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io3m2FFwSdo&feature=related

Palestinian leader’s interview with euronews http://www.euronews.net/2011/04/20/palestinian-leader-s-interview-with-euronews/

Over the 42 years of iron-fisted rule, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi has taken on many roles "TWO images serve as bookends to the four-decades-old rule of Libya’s ruler, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. The first is the picture taken a few days after the Sept. 1, 1969, coup that brought him to power: it shows a handsome, pencil-thin revolutionary in military uniform, kneeling in the desert sand to pray. The other was taken two days ago: Colonel Qaddafi in bedouin garb as an uprising sparked by the arrest of a human rights lawyer in Benghazi continued to overtake the country, defiantly and incoherently defending his self-styled revolution, vowing to struggle on until death" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/opinion/24vandewalle.html?ref=africa

U.K. and France Try to Boost Libyan Rebels, But Risk Rupturing NATO "As troops loyal to Col. Muammar Gaddafi continue to pound the rebel-held city of Misratah - leading to hundreds of civilian casualties - British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced April 19 that the U.K. and France were dispatching a joint squad of military advisers to Benghazi, stronghold of the Libyan rebels in the country's east. The team is supposedly just a support force, helping the rebel leadership, says Hague, improve its “military organizational structures, communications and logistics.” But while officials in London and Paris are eager to play down the importance of this deployment, the move has set off new fears of “mission creep” setting into NATO's operations in Libya - with the international community staggering into a drawn out war for regime change, invariably on land, that many in NATO had no desire to join" http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/04/19/with-british-military-ad

"A White House plane carrying Michelle Obama came dangerously close to a 200-ton military cargo jet and had to abort its landing at Joint Base Andrews on Monday as the result of an air traffic controller’s mistake, according to federal officials familiar with the incident" http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/plane-with-michelle-obama-had-to-abort-landing-due-to-mistake/2011/04/19/AFsRLC7D_story.html

"For much of the past decade, the Iranian government has tolerated what it considers a particularly depraved and un-Islamic vice: the keeping of pet dogs" http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2065873,00.html

"Dozens of Israel’s most honored intellectuals and artists have signed a declaration endorsing a Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 lines and asserting that an end to Israel’s occupation “will liberate the two peoples and open the way to a lasting peace.” The signatories plan to announce their position on Wednesday from the same spot in Tel Aviv where the Jewish state declared its independence in the spring of 1948..." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/world/middleeast/20mideast.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto

Palestinian UN diplomat: Palestinians prefer peace treaty with Israel by September Palestinians say if peace treaty not reached by September, they will go to UN Security Council with enough support that it would recommend admission of Palestine as new member of UN "Riyad Mansour, the top Palestinian diplomat at the United Nations, said the Palestinians prefer to have a peace treaty with Israel by September, the month when the Palestinians plan on taking their case for an independent state to the floor of the UN. The Palestinians say that if a peace treaty with Israel isn't reached by September their first choice is to go to the UN Security Council with such strong support and arguments that it would recommend admission of Palestine as a new member of the United Nations" http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinian-un-diplomat-palestinians-prefer-peace-treaty-with-israel-by-september-1.356731

Report: Quartet may formally recognize Palestinian state if peace talks not renewed "American and European diplomats warned that if peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians are not renewed, the Quartet of Mideast peace makers may formally recognize a Palestinian state, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday. The Quartet, which is comprised of the United States, United Nations, European Union, and Russia, was supposed to meet last week to discuss an initiative by Britain, France and Germany to restart stalled Israeli-Palestinian talks by proposing the outlines of a final settlement to their long conflict... The Palestinians have launched their own initiative aimed at gaining recognition of independent statehood at the UN General Assembly in September. They have succeeded in gaining recognition from several countries in Latin America. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the Palestinian move to secure international recognition for statehood was hindering peace

Depuis le 30 mars dernier, notre pays a en effet volé à l'Irak le triste record du nombre de jours sans gouvernement, passant de 289 à 310 ce mardi.   "La Belgique est officiellement entrée dans la série des Guinness World Records, a indiqué Justine Bourdariat, marketing manager au Guinness World Records, contactée par l'agence BELGA. "Le 30 mars 2011, 290 jours après les élections qui se sont tenues le 13 juin 2010, la Belgique est devenue le pays qui a connu, en temps de paix, la plus longue période sans gouvernement officiel. Auparavant, ce sont les Pays-Bas qui détenaient ce record, ayant pris, en 1977, 207 jours pour former un gouvernement, toujours en temps de paix" , indique le texte du record, transmis par le Guinness World Records à l'agence BELGA. "Cette période excède également le temps qu'a connu l'Irak sans gouvernement officiel; 289 jours à partir des élections jusqu'au jour où la nouvelle administration s'est mise en marche

"La Belgique est officiellement mentionnée dans le Guinness World Records comme étant « le pays qui a connu, en temps de paix, la plus longue période sans gouvernement officiel »" http://www.lesoir.be/actualite/belgique/elections_2010/2011-04-19/la-belgique-sans-gouvernement-dans-le-guinness-835345.php

"The United States is not working to undermine the Syrian government but President Bashar al-Assad "needs to address the legitimate aspirations of his people," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Monday" http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/state-department-u-s-isn-t-working-to-undermine-syria-government-1.356694

"... ناقش المجتمعون قضية وثائق المفاوضات الفلسطينية - الاسرائيلية التي نشرت في فضائية الجزيرة والجارديان، وسط المطالبة للجزيرة بضرورة الرد على رسالة د. صائب عريقات الى الاتحاد الدولي للصحافيين، مثلما فعلت الجارديان، الذي تابع وسيواصل متابعة القضية من وجهة نظر الصحافة الاخلاقية"   http://www.maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=379996 

Radical plan unveiled by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to cope with growing strains of city with 17 million residents "Istanbul is renown as the place where east meets west, the only city in the world to straddle Europe and Asia. But it may soon lose this unique status if the Turkish government goes ahead with a plan to divide it in two. The prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a former Istanbul mayor, has announced what he described as a "wild project" to split the city into European and Asian sides to make it easier to govern" http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/18/istanbul-split-turkish-prime-minister

"قال الرئيس محمود عباس، اليوم الاثنين، ان تشكيل الحكومة الفلسطينية الجديدة سيعلن خلال اسبوع او عشرة ايام. واضاف الرئيس عباس في "مقابلة خاصة" مع قناة "العربية" ان تأخير تشكيل الحكومة كان بقرار منه لاتاحة المجال لجهود انهاء الانقسام وتشكيل حكومة بالتوافق. وتابع ابو مازن "طالما لم تستجب حماس للدعوات بانهاء الانقسام فاننا لن نستطيع الانتظار اكثر من ذلك"... وفيما يتعلق باستحقاق ايلول القادم اكد الرئيس عباس الجاهزية الفلسطينية لاقامة الدوله، لكنه رفض الطروحات الاسرائيلية باقامة الدولة المؤقتة" http://www.maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=380023

"Gaza police on Monday released the photos of four men identified as the prime suspects in the murder of Italian activist and journalist Vittorio Arrigoni. Police said the four were currently fugitives, and apparently in hiding. The four were identified as Abdul-Rahman Al-Breizat, Mahmoud Muhammad Nimir Salfiti, Muhammad Al-Breizat, and Bilal Al-Umar" http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=379833 Arabic: http://www.maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=379793

قرر الرئيس محمود عباس، اليوم الأحد، منح نوط القدس للمتضامن الإيطالي فيتوريو أريغوني، الذي اغتيل في قطاع غزة الجمعة الماضي على يد مجموعة سلفية، لدعمه القضية الفلسطينية. وكان أريغوني عضوا في حركة التضامن الدولية مع شعبنا، وقد وصل غزة للمرة الأولى في 23 آب من العام 2008 في أول قافلة قوارب لكسر الحصار والتضامن مع الشعب الفلسطيني. وبات أريغوني وجها مألوفا في غزة وخاصة للصيادين الذين كان يرافقهم في رحلات الصيد لحمايتهم من اعتداءات زوارق الاحتلال، وكذلك المزارعين حيث شاركهم في المسيرات المناهضة لما تسمى بالمنطقة العازلة شمال وشرق غزة، وكان يخرج للتضامن معهم في وجه قوات الاحتلال التي ما انفكت تطلق عليهم النار في حقولهم. وبرز دور أريغوني في الحرب الإسرائيلية على غزة نهاية العام 2008 ومطلع العام 2009، حيث كان يرافق سيارات الإسعاف في إنقاذ المواطنين. كما برز دوره الإعلامي في كتابة قصص وتقارير من قلب المعاناة والحصار الإسرائيلي على غزة، ونشرها في الصحف ومواقع الانترنت الأجنبية. http://www.wafa.ps/arabic/index.php?action=detail&id=103298 

Two distinct legal avenues of complaint are melding into one, and it could be bad news for both media defendants and claimants "A very small bit of legal history was made on Wednesday when court rules were changed to allow "statements in open court" in privacy cases as well as in defamation cases. Statements in open court have long been used to give publicity to libel complaints that have been settled - usually on the basis of a retraction, an apology and damages - without the need for a trial" http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/butterworth-and-bowcott-on-law/2011/apr/08/privacy-libel-protection-of-reputation

"In a move that would be unprecedented in a modern democracy, Hungary's new government is considering giving mothers with small children extra votes in elections. The conservative Fidesz party has made several controversial decisions since coming to power on a populist rightwing agenda, including a crackdown on the media, but the latest proposal could be prove to be its most contentious" http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/17/hungary-mothers-get-extra-votes

Former captive tells of the 'horror movie' violence meted by Libyan soldiers, and how he came to escape a similar fate "When Ali Mufta draped his blanket around the shoulders of a pair of terrified teenage brothers, he thought of it as little more than a touch of kindness in the midst of a situation he describes as "a horror movie". But it was a gesture that saved him from the fate of other prisoners crammed into an underground cell in Sirte, the birthplace of the Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi" http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/17/gadaffi-torturers-kindness-sirte

A VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE Who knows? The UN might one day decide to implement its doctrine of 'responsibility to protect' during a Hamas-Israel conflict. Seems unlikely? So did the initiative for a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state a few months ago. "From Israel's point of view, this means that in a future military confrontation with Hamas, the UN reaction will not be influenced by an op-ed by Richard Goldstone expressing regret. A move by the Security Council during an Israeli military campaign against Hamas could find expression in the new concept of UN military intervention to prevent the killing of civilians. The chances of an initiative to send an international peacekeeping force to the Gaza Strip in the event of a large campaign against Hamas seems to be negligible right now. But if the deadlocked peace process continues without a move from Jerusalem, any move that breaks the stalemate that Israel's leaders are addicted to will receive wholesal

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/opinion/17cohen.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&gwh=A9D5BFF2B766F973BA6D94A6FC81334B

“Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says it is for United Nations Member States to decide which nations fill the non-permanent seats on the Security Council, dispelling any notion that he supports a particular candidate. “The Secretary-General is not in a position to endorse any nation for a Security Council seat. That matter is strictly in the hands of the Member States, although he wishes all candidates well in their pursuits,” stated a note issued to correspondents by his spokesperson. Comments Mr. Ban made to the Hungarian news outlet MTI were mischaracterized, the noted said, as voicing support for Hungary's candidacy for a seat on the 15-member Council” http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38131&Cr=Security Council&Cr1=

"أصدر الرئيس محمود عباس، ظهر اليوم السبت، تعليماته للنائب العام، بضرورة فتح تحقيق في قضية اغتيال المتضامن الايطالي فيتوريو اريغوني وتوجيه تهمة الخيانة العظمى لمرتكبي هذه الجريمة النكراء. وقال المستشار القانوني للرئيس حسن العوري، إن 'التكييف القانوني لمثل هذه القضية هي المحاكمة بتهمة الخيانة العظمى ، والتي تصل عقوبتها وفق قانون العقوبات إلى الإعدام '. وأضاف أن اغتيال المتضامن اريغوني نصير القضية الفلسطينية وأحد الفدائيين المدافعين عن حرية واستقلال شعبنا وحقه في إقامة دولته المستقلة هو بمثابة اغتيال للجندي الفلسطيني في ساحات القتال، والهدف منه هو إثارة الفتنة والنيل من صمود وقوة شعبنا" http://www.wafa.ps/arabic/index.php?action=detail&id=103190

"Evidence that Gaddafi's forces are now targeting cluster bombs on civilian neighbourhoods of Misrata is likely to fuel calls for accelerated action from NATO, whose military actions and international sanctions against the regime have succeeded in weakening Gaddafi but have failed so far to secure a decisive breakthrough in the conflict. Human Rights Watch released photographs and testimony from its arms expert which it said confirmed witness reports that the munitions, banned by more than 100 countries, were being fired on the city. Cluster bombs explode in midair, indiscriminately throwing out dozens of high-explosive bomblets which cause widespread damage and injuries over a large area. The sub-munitions often fail to explode on impact but detonate when stepped on or picked up... Rebel fighters in Misrata have called on NATO to step up its airstrikes on loyalist positions around the city to protect the civilian population and aid the resistance... The shift by the US, Brita

"An Egyptian court on Saturday continued the process of dismantling Hosni Mubarak’s institutions of power when it formally dissolved the political organization that ruled the nation for decades, the National Democratic Party. In practical terms, the decision appears to simply formalize what had already occurred. Most of the party’s top leaders, including Mr. Mubarak and his son Gamal, are under arrest, awaiting interrogation; its offices around the country were burned during the days of the popular uprising; and it had already been renamed the New National Democratic Party by those who had taken it over" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/world/middleeast/17cairo.html

"The Obama administration has begun seeking a country, most likely in Africa, that might be willing to provide shelter to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi if he were forced out of Libya, even as a new wave of intelligence reports suggest that no rebel leader has emerged as a credible successor to the Libyan dictator. The intense search for a country to accept Colonel Qaddafi has been conducted quietly by the United States and its allies, even though the Libyan leader has shown defiance in recent days, parading through Tripoli’s streets and declaring that he has no intention of yielding to demands that he leave his country" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/world/africa/17rebels.html?_r=1&hp

" We are here to try to help these people, because we love you, we love Palestine, and we want that you have the same human rights that all the other peoples of the world have " Vittorio Arrigoni, Gaza 2008

"Military forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi have been firing into residential neighborhoods in this embattled city with heavy weapons, including cluster bombs that have been banned by much of the world and ground-to-ground rockets, according to witnesses and survivors, as well as physical evidence. Both of these so-called indiscriminate weapons, which strike large areas with a dense succession of high-explosive munitions, by their nature cannot be fired precisely. When fired into populated areas, they place civilians at grave risk" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/16/world/africa/16libya.html?_r=1&ref=world

"Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's troops are using cluster bombs as they battle anti-regime rebels in Misrata, Human Rights Watch said, as fighting continued in the besieged town on Saturday. The use of the bombs is illegal under international law... The US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said its researchers reported the use of internationally banned cluster bomb munitions against the city" http://www.france24.com/en/20110416-gaddafi-forces-using-illegal-cluster-bombs-human-rights-watch-misrata-libya

Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) in the European Parliament, along with Amnesty International, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, the Helsinki Committee and other international and national human rights organizations are drawing attention to the serious threats the new Hungarian constitution, due to be approved in the Hungarian Parliament on Monday 18th April, poses to widely held European values: freedom, democracy, equality, non-discrimination and respect for fundamental human rights " Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Liberal and Democrat group in the European Parliament expressed his concern ahead of the constitution's approval: " We hold fundamental human rights to be absolute, and a wording that opens the possibility of their limitations is unacceptable for a member state that has signed up to the full body of EU law. It is in all our interests that this constitution does not become a Trojan horse for a more authoritarian political system in Hungary based on the pe

"Hamas is expected to launch a crackdown on Islamic extremists in Gaza after the murder of an Italian peace activist who was strangled shortly after being kidnapped. Vittorio Arrigoni, 36, was killed on Thursday by the Tawheed and Jihad group, one of several extremist Islamist groups in the Gaza Strip. About 2,000 people attended a rally to honour him yesterday. His abduction is thought to have been an attempt to force Hamas to release the group's leader, Sheikh Abu Walid-al-Maqdas, a Jordanian Palestinian who was arrested last month. Tawheed and Jihad later claimed it was not responsible for the murder. Reports suggested Hamas police found his body on a mattress in an empty Gaza City apartment" http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/15/italian-peace-activist-murdered-gaza

"La justice égyptienne a requis vendredi le transfert de l'ancien président Hosni Moubarak d'un hôpital civil vers un établissement militaire, avant la case prison, dans le cadre de l'enquête sur la répression meurtrière ayant précédé la chute du régime. Le procureur général Abdel Meguid Mahmoud a "ordonné de transférer l'ancien président Hosni Moubarak vers l'un des hôpitaux militaires" du pays, a annoncé l'agence officielle Mena. L'ancien raïs, qui se trouve actuellement dans l'hôpital civil de Charm el-Cheikh, dans le Sinaï, sera entouré de la "sécurité nécessaire", a ajouté l'agence. Sa détention préventive en milieu hospitalier est assortie d'une "obligation d'informer le parquet quand son état de santé permettra qu'il soit transféré en prison" http://www.lalibre.be/actu/international/article/655123/moubarak-bientot-dans-un-hopital-militaire-avant-la-prison.html

"Le Premier ministre démissionnaire Yves Leterme (CD&V) a défendu vendredi à la Chambre la décision belge de participer à l'opération internationale en Libye, où la situation semble s'enliser. "La situation en Libye peut donner l'impression d'une impasse, mais nous ne pouvons douter de la justesse de notre décision", a commenté le chef du gouvernement devant la commission mixte des Affaires étrangères et de la Défense. M. Leterme a affirmé que l'intervention de la coalition internationale avait permis d'éviter un bain de sang à Benghazi. "Sans cela, nous nous serions retrouvé avec un complexe de Srebrenica", a-t-il défendu... Plusieurs députés de l'opposition se sont toutefois inquiétés de l'évolution sur place, et de son effet sur les relations entre partenaires internationaux, divisés sur l'opportunité d'armer les rebelles ou de déployer des troupes au sol" http://www.lalibre.be/actu/belgique/article/655131/le

"The top Palestinian diplomat at the United Nations said the Palestinians still want the Quartet of Mideast mediators to agree on the outlines of a final peace settlement proposed by key European nations. The comments by Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, came as the Palestinians are pursuing the separate strategy of asking the United Nations to recognize their independence at a vote in the annual General Assembly gathering in September. They won an important endorsement Thursday when key donor states meeting in Brussels said that the institutions developed by the Palestinian Authority are now "above the threshold for a functioning state." The donors, who give the Palestinians hundreds of millions of dollars in aid each year, cited reports prepared by the World Bank, the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund" http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-still-want-quartet-brokered-peace-with-israel-1.356218

"A pro-Palestinian activist from Italy who had been abducted by an extremist group in the Gaza Strip was found strangled to death early Friday, the first such slaying of a foreigner in the coastal territory ruled by the militant group Hamas" http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/abducted-italian-activist-slain-in-gaza/2011/04/15/AF5vcpiD_story.html?hpid=z2

http://www.euronews.net/2011/04/15/un-court-jails-former-croatian-general-for-war-crimes/

"An Italian activist found dead here early Friday was strangled with a plastic cord, apparently by abductors from a radical Islamic organization inspired by Al Qaeda that said it had kidnapped him a day earlier, according to a physician who performed an autopsy" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/16/world/middleeast/16gaza.html?_r=2&hp  

"Even as the United States poured billions of dollars into foreign military programs and anti-terrorism campaigns, a small core of American government-financed organizations were promoting democracy in authoritarian Arab states. The money spent on these programs was minute compared with efforts led by the Pentagon. But as American officials and others look back at the uprisings of the Arab Spring, they are seeing that the United States’ democracy-building campaigns played a bigger role in fomenting protests than was previously known, with key leaders of the movements having been trained by the Americans in campaigning, organizing through new media tools and monitoring elections" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/world/15aid.html?_r=1&ref=world

מתנחלים יקבלו עדיפות על פני אזרחים אחרים בקבלת רשיון נשק " כך החליט המשרד לביטחון הפנים. תינתן עדיפות גם לתושבים בקו הירוק הגרים סמוך ליישובים פלסטיניים. מתנחלים יקבלו עדיפות בתהליכי הוצאת רישיון נשק - כך הוחלט בדיונים שהתקיימו בשבועות האחרונים במשרד לביטחון הפנים" http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1225173.html   Personal translation: Settlers will receive preference over other citizens in receiving arms licensing "The Ministry of Internal Security decided that preference will also be given to those residents who live within the Green Line, close to Palestinian communities. Settlers will have priority in the process of arms licensing - this was decided through discussions held in recent weeks at the Ministry of Internal Security"  

Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy: no let-up in Libya until Gaddafi departs " President Obama today signals the return of America to the forefront of the international effort in Libya , writing a joint article with David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy in which the three leaders commit their countries to pursue military action until Colonel Gaddafi has been removed. In the joint article, Obama reverses America's earlier cautious approach to the conflict – which saw the US hand control to  NATO and withdraw fighter planes just days after the intervention began – and signs up his country to the more muscular intervention of his European colleagues" http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/15/obama-sarkozy-cameron-libya

"The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday calling on the United Nations Human Rights Council to rescind the Goldstone Commission's report on the Gaza war, in light of its author's expressed regret for some of its claim. Resolution 138 urges council members "to reflect the author's repudiation of the Goldstone report's central findings, rescind the report and reconsider further Council actions with respect to the report's findings" http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-senate-urges-un-to-rescind-goldstone-s-gaza-report-1.356124

"At a summit of NATO nations that opened here Thursday, U.S. officials played down emerging rifts among allies and rebuffed calls from within NATO for its members to commit more forces to the military operation in Libya. Since the United States turned over command of the airstrikes in Libya to NATO at the end of March, there has been growing criticism from some in the coalition - particularly France and Britain - that other allies need to do more to help Libya’s rebel opposition battle Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi" http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/at_nato_summit_us_resists_calls_for_greater_engagement_in_libya/2011/04/14/AFn3IRcD_story.html?wprss=rss_world&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=main-twitter

"قال رئيس الوزراء بنيامين نتانياهو الليلة إنه قد يتمكن قريباً من الإعلان عن إلقاء القبض على قتلة المستوطنين الخمسة في مستوطنة إيتامار التي حدثت الشهر الماضي. في غضون ذلك وفي الشان السياسي قال نتانياهو ان حكومته ستقف بحزم في وجه اي ضغط دولي لجهة قبول شروط السلطة الفلسطينية المتعلقة بعملية السلام واعتراف الدول الاجنبية بالدولة الفلسطينية" http://www.maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=378864

"The willingness of the European Union to embrace the fragile democracies in the Balkans is weaker than at any time in the past 15 years, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary said Thursday as he appealed for renewed commitment from the bloc’s bigger nations to its expansion. Seven years after Hungary joined the European Union, the country holds its rotating presidency, and Mr. Orban said he hoped to use the rest of his mandate, which runs through June, to ease opposition to the further enlargement of the bloc" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/world/europe/15iht-hungary15.html?_r=1&ref=world

"Britain said Thursday it will block the export of three lethal injection drugs to the United States and is also urging a Europe-wide ban on American sales of the drugs... Britain has urged the European Commission to expand the export ban to all European Union nations, Cable added" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42597139/ns/world_news-europe/?ocid=twitter

NATO commander of Libya mission pleads for specialised fighter jets "The NATO commander in charge of the operation in Libya has issued a plea for more specialised fighter jets to join the operation if civilian casualties are to be minimised. At a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Berlin, Admiral James Stavridis asked for more "precision fighter ground-attack aircrafts" which could best identify land targets, said Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Nato secretary general. The US military has the world's most sophisticated warplanes, but Rasmussen insisted Stavridis had not singled out the Americans when making his plea. After its lead role in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US has taken a back seat in the Libyan operation, leaving Britain and France to lead the charge against Muammar Gaddafi" http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/14/nato-commander-libya-fighter-jets

Health of Bahrain hunger striker slumps as regime comes under pressure "Britain and the EU have heaped diplomatic pressure on Bahrain over the alleged killing of pro-democracy activists in custody, while the health of a hunger striker protesting against the beating and arrest of her dissident father has deteriorated markedly. In a meeting with interior minister Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the British ambassador to Bahrain, Jamie Bowden, raised concerns over the deaths of four dissident prisoners in the last week. Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, speaking through a spokesman also called on the Bahrain regime to immediately release all those who have been detained for peacefully expressing themselves. Ashton announced she is to visit Bahrain next week and her spokesman called on the authorities to "investigate all recent events which have resulted in loss of life and injuries" http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/14/

U.S. officials: Iran aiding Syria in crackdown on anti-Assad protests "Iran is secretly assisting Bashar Assad's repression of anti-government protests across Syria, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, adding that Tehran was also aiding Shi'te hardliners in Yemen and Bahrain" http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/u-s-officials-iran-aiding-syria-in-crackdown-on-anti-assad-protests-1.356036

Syria: Rein in security forces after violent crackdown Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must rein in his security forces and prevent further unlawful killings, Amnesty International said today, as the coastal city of Banias remained under virtual lockdown and the army was reported to have detained all males over 15 in the nearby village of al-Baydah. “The human rights crisis in Syria is growing by the day, almost by the hour,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa. “The government appears intent on trying to crush all dissent using the most repressive means – shooting peaceful protesters, carrying out mass arrests and locking down areas where people have dared to call for reform. This has to stop. Syria’s President must make it stop” http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/syria-rein-security-forces-after-violent-crackdown-2011-04-14

The UN fact-finding mission into the war in Gaza has been fraught with disagreements and accusations from the start "More than 1,400 Gazans and 13 Israelis were killed in the Gaza war from 27 December to 18 January 2009. A UN fact-finding mission, headed by Judge Richard Goldstone, was established in April 2009. Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, had declined an invitation by the UN human rights council to head the committee, saying the mandate "was not guided by human rights and international human rights law but by politics" http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/14/goldstone-report-history

"Three members of the United Nations panel that investigated Israel’s Gaza war two years ago rejected on Thursday an essay by the fourth, former chairman Richard Goldstone, which retracted key conclusions, especially that Israel had deliberately targeted civilians" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/world/middleeast/15goldstone.html?_r=1&hp

"As foreign ministers of the NATO alliance met here on Thursday against a backdrop of dispute over their aerial campaign in Libya, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to play down divisions, saying the allies were pursuing the common goal of ending the four-decade government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/world/africa/15nato.html?hp&gwh=A0479EBEC71CF41FEC7ACE39E7E39DF6

NATO foreign ministers meet in Berlin for talks on Thursday amid a growing divide within the alliance on the future of the Libya mission. Libya has also dominated a concurrent BRICS summit in China and an Arab League meeting in Cairo. "A day after international powers in Qatar called for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down, NATO foreign ministers meet in Berlin on Thursday amid growing divisions within the military alliance over an air campaign that has so far failed to shift the balance of power on the ground" http://www.france24.com/en/20110414-libya-nato-diplomacy-talks-high-gear-arab-league-divisions-dissent-juppe-france-britain-strikes

"Deposed former president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak has told investigators questioning him over corruption charges that he never gave an order to shoot or to beat protesters who were demanded his ouster, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm has reported, says Israel Radio" http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/report-mubarak-denies-giving-order-to-shoot-egypt-protesters-1.355952

Three mission members say calls to recant UN report disregard the rights of Palestinian and Israeli victims "Three members of the UN fact-finding mission on the Gaza war of 2008-09 have turned on the fourth member and chair of the group, Richard Goldstone, accusing him in all but name of misrepresenting facts in order to cast doubt on the credibility of their joint report" http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/14/un-gaza-report-authors-goldstone And: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/14/goldstone-report-statement-un-gaza

"The three co-authors of the damning United Nations report on the 2008-9 Gaza war rejected on Thursday an op-ed by the fourth member and chairman Richard Goldstone in which he retracted key conclusions of the report – in particular saying that Israel had not intentionally targeted civilians during the war . In an article in the British daily The Guardian, the three members – the Pakistani human rights lawyer Hina Jilani; Christine Chinkin, professor of international law at the London School of Economics; and former Irish peace-keeper Desmond Travers maintained that the conclusions of the report remain valid despite Goldstone's shift and subsequent calls to retract the report in the UN" http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/gaza-war-report-co-authors-reject-goldstone-s-retraction-1.355951

"L'ancien président ivoirien Laurent Gbagbo, arrêté lundi à Abidjan, a été transféré mercredi dans le nord du pays, tandis que son successeur Alassane Ouattara a demandé à la Cour pénale internationale d'enquêter sur des accusations de massacres visant notamment ses partisans" http://www.lalibre.be/actu/international/article/654873/ouattara-en-appelle-a-la-cpi.html

"Le dirigeant libyen Mouammar Kadhafi devrait être traduit devant la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) de La Haye pour les crimes commis sur sa population, a affirmé mercredi le ministre belge des Affaires étrangères, Steven Vanackere. Le chef de la diplomatie belge a dénoncé, dans son intervention devant le groupe de contact sur la Libye réuni à Doha (Qatar), le fait que le régime du colonel Kadhafi "continue à attaquer des civils innocents" qui contestent leur dirigeant" http://www.lalibre.be/actu/international/article/654875/kadhafi-devrait-etre-traduit-devant-la-cour-penale-internationale.html

Les pays du Brics veulent une réforme du Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU "Les dirigeants du Brésil, de l'Inde, de la Chine, de la Russie et de l'Afrique du Sud réunis à Sanya (Chine) se sont déclarés jeudi en faveur d'une réforme du Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU, mais sans proposer de liste des pays qui devraient en être les membres permanents" http://www.lalibre.be/actu/international/article/654904/les-pays-du-brics-veulent-une-reforme-du-conseil-de-securite-de-l-onu.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

"Donor countries meeting in Brussels recognized on Wednesday that the "Palestinian Authority (PA) is above the threshold of a functioning state" - an assessment immediately hailed as a "birth certificate" for a Palestinian state by PA premier Salam Fayyad" http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-hail-international-birth-certificate-of-statehood-1.355821

"The Bosnian Serb leader [Milorad Dodik] has accused the international community of helping Muslim Bosniaks create an Islamic state and claims the country’s top war crimes court is an illegal institution that demonizes his people... The State Court and its prominent war-crimes section was established by the international community in 2005 to ease the burden on the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague by taking over lower level cases of war crimes committed during the country’s 1992-95 war" http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/bosnian-serb-leader-calls-for-referendum-on-scrapping-countrys-top-war-crimes-court/2011/04/13/AFmLEXXD_story.html

" NATO, Arab and African ministers agreed Wednesday “to work urgently” with the Libyan rebel leadership to set up a mechanism by which some frozen assets belonging to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and his family might be transferred to the rebel cause" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/world/africa/14libya.html?ref=world

"High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President of the Commission Catherine Ashton today on behalf of the European Union signed an Agreement with Prime Minister Fayyad that gives all agricultural products, processed agricultural products and fish and fishery products originating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip immediate duty free access to the EU market . The only exception from full liberalisation is the specific duty for imports of fruit and vegetables under the entry price system. This duty will remain applicable if these entry prices are not respected" http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/475&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

"Hiding behind it is the intention to present Israel as ready for concessions that are insignificant and an attempt to blame the Palestinians for the failure of the process... Since Netanyahu has rejected these conditions, it is difficult to expect that the declaration of partial withdrawal will be able to block the campaign to recognize Palestine. Such a step cannot replace substantive negotiations, nor will it be accepted by the Palestinians or the world as a breakthrough. Instead, the prime minister should start planning negotiations with the Palestinian state that will be recognized in September" http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/partial-west-bank-pullout-can-t-stop-palestinian-state-1.355653

"Former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons have been detained for 15 days for questioning about corruption and the abuse of power during Mr. Mubarak’s three-decade rule, Egyptian authorities said Wednesday"   http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/world/middleeast/14egypt.html?_r=1&ref=world&gwh=7FFE7475FCD51064941537C93E6FABAA

 سوف تعقد القمة العربية المقبلة – في بغداد - في السفارة الأميركية. The forthcoming Arab Summit – in Baghdad - will be held at the US Embassy. 

"IF you have to face a judge, try for first thing in the morning or right after lunch. A new study suggests that is when they are most lenient" http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=468727

"Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle to peace and to economic and social development [... and] have been established in breach of international law"   Para. 120 of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the " Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory",  July 9, 2004

"The United Nations praised Palestinian Authority efforts at strengthening its institutions in a report on Tuesday, describing aspects of its governance as sufficient for an independent state. The endorsement came at a crucial time for the Palestinian Authority, which has set a September deadline for the completion of its state-building program and is working toward international recognition of Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem that month " http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/world/middleeast/13mideast.html?_r=1&hp