China, U.S. agree to respect 'core interests' - diplomat

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has an understanding with the United States for each to respect the core interests of the other, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Wednesday, calling for positive ties ahead of a Washington trip by China's president following a period of tension.

An April 2 telephone call between President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama "reached an important new consensus", Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai told a news conference before Hu's trip to attend a nuclear security conference on April 12-13 hosted by Obama.


National flags of U.S. and China wave in front of an international hotel in Beijing in this February 4, 2010 file photo. (REUTERS/Jason Lee/Files)
The two agreed their countries should "respect each other's core interests and major concerns, appropriately handling disputes and sensitive issues, strengthening communication and cooperation in various spheres," Cui said.

Thai "red shirts" vow to step up Bangkok protest

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Anti-government protesters say they will take their mass rally in Bangkok to "another level" on Wednesday as pressure mounts on Thailand's prime minister to end a tense five-day standoff in the main commercial district.


A supporter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra waves a Thai national flag and a flag with an image of revolutionary leader Che Guevara during a rally in the main shopping district of Bangkok April 6, 2010. (REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang)
Red-shirted supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gave little away, but said they would surprise the military-backed government with new moves to force an election after nearly four weeks of sporadic protests. Tens of thousands of "red shirts" have occupied Bangkok's Rachaprasong intersection since Saturday, rejecting demands by the government to leave an area lined with posh department stores, which have had to stay closed, and luxury hotels.

"We will take it to the next level," protest leader, Nattawut Saikua, told the crowd late on Tuesday. "We can't say what we will do, we won't give the government chance to prepare."

Investors have remained confident Thailand's government, with its support from military top brass and the royalist establishment, will survive the increasingly bold showdown with the mostly rural and working class protesters.

Foreign investors have been ploughing money into the fast-recovering economies of Southeast Asia and have not left Thailand out despite the political turbulence. Since Feb. 22 foreigners have bought a net $1.73 billion of Thai stocks.

"It's likely to be a volatile session but the big picture is that the market is still in a positive mood. Fund flows into the region were quite good yesterday and oil prices will support energy stocks," Broker Philip Securities said in a research note.

"But the market will closely monitor the political situation. If there is violence, it will trigger a quick sell-off," it said.

The market, which has risen more than 80 percent over the past 12 months, reopens at 0300 GMT after a holiday on Tuesday.

FDI CONCERN

There is concern the crisis could squeeze longer-term foreign direct investment (FDI), which was has been volatile since a 2006 military coup that ousted the twice-elected Thaksin after allegations of corruption.

"I've been getting a sense for the first time in the more than three years since the coup that FDI -- including our client base -- is really taking a hard look at Thailand long-term because of this," said Roberto Herrera-Lim, an analyst at consulting firm Eurasia Group.

"They see that the conflict is much deeper than the elite conflict of the past."

Abhisit is facing pressure from Bangkok's elite and middle class and even his own government to halt the rally, but has held back to avert a confrontation that many believe would cause even greater damage. Threats to arrest the protesters have not been carried out, emboldening the movement.

"The police, the government and myself are still very committed to enforce the law and solve the problem," Abhisit said in a televised national address on Tuesday. "We want to see the country being peaceful."

Most analysts say further dialogue is Abhisit's only way out, but protest leaders have refused.

The "red shirts" have taken aim at the urbane, Oxford- and Eton-educated economist, whom they see as a front man for an unelected elite and military that is secretly intervening in politics and operating with impunity.

They say Abhisit, who came to power in a 2008 parliamentary vote after courts dissolved a pro-Thaksin ruling party, should call an election and let the people choose their government. "Red shirt" leaders say they will respect the result.

"The opposition leaders now have claim to partial moral authority based on the grievances of rural folk and the downtrodden," said Thak Chaloemtiarana, a Thai academic at Cornell University in the United States.

But the protesters risk losing support if shops remain shut and high-end hotels such as the Four Seasons and Hyatt remain blocked, and if traffic remains disrupted, analysts said.

"They run the risk of this backfiring," said Joshua Kurlantzick of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a U.S. think tank.

"At some point they are going to seriously anger Bangkokians. They don't want to totally alienate Bangkok opinion, especially the opinion of working class people in the capital whose jobs might be affected."

West Virginia mine blast kills 12 with 10 missing

MONTCOAL, West Virginia (Reuters) - Rescuers raced to find 10 coal miners missing deep underground after an explosion killed 12 of their colleagues on Monday at a West Virginia mine owned by Massey Energy.


First responders arrive at the scene of a mining accident at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia, April 5, 2010. (REUTERS/WVVA-TV/Handout)
The accident at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, also known as Whitesville, was one of the deadliest at a U.S. coal mine in recent years. The mine, owned by Massey's Performance Coal subsidiary, is about 30 miles (48 km) south of the state capital, Charleston.

Mine officials said the death toll rose to 12 after rescuers discovered five bodies more underground in addition to seven dead reported earlier.

"There are 10 men that we're looking for right now," Kevin Striklin of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration told a news conference at the mine. "We are focused on getting in there as quickly as possible.

Mine officials said there were two underground emergency centres stocked with food, water and enough air to survive for four days. Rescuers are heading toward these shelters and hope to reach them within a few hours.

"We want to assure the families of all the miners we are taking every action possible to locate and rescue those still missing," said Massey's CEO Don Blankenship.

Rescuers included officials from state and federal mine safety agencies and first responders from all levels of government, said Leslie Fitzwater, a spokeswoman for the West Virginia Department of Commerce.

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin called the news "devastating" and offered support to the miners' relatives.

"For those families who are still waiting for news on their missing loved ones, I want them to know that we are doing everything possible in cooperation with federal officials and the company to get our miners out as quickly and safely as possible," Manchin said on his website.

Manchin, who said he had spoken with President Barack Obama about the disaster, was headed to the mine site was due to meet with the miners' families.

Massey, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is the largest coal producer in Central Appalachia with operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.

In after-hours trading, Massey shares were at $51.90, down 5.1 percent from the closing price of $54.69 on the New York Stock Exchange.

ACCIDENT RATE

Massey said on its website its accident rate fell to an all-time low for the company in 2009. It said its safety record last year was stronger than the industry average for the sixth consecutive year.

But, according to federal records, the Upper Big Branch Mine has had three fatalities since 1998 and has a worse than average injury rate over the last 10 years. Two of the miners died in roof collapses in 1998 and 2001, while a third was electrocuted in 2003 when repairing an underground car.

Ellen Smith, the editor of Mine Safety and Health News, said the Upper Big Branch mine had been repeatedly cited for safety violations going back years.

The mine, which employs just over 200 people, extracts coal using the "longwall mining" method in which a rotating shearer tears coal from a lengthy face, leading the ground behind it to collapse. Critics say the method may cause surface subsidence and damage to buildings.

In the worst coal mine disaster in U.S. history, 362 miners died in an explosion in 1906 in the Monongah mine, also in West Virginia.

In January 2006, 12 miners died after an explosion in the Sago Mine, run by International Mines Corp in Tallsmansville, West Virginia, according to the U.S. Mine Rescue Association. In 2007, nine miners died in a collapse of the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said it was notified of the explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine at about 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT) on Monday and that rescue efforts were underway.

Obama poised to limit U.S. use of nuclear arms

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will formally unveil a new policy on Tuesday restricting U.S. use of nuclear arms, renouncing development of new atomic weapons and heralding further cuts in America's stockpile.


U.S. President Barack Obama is seen during a visit to Celgard Inc. in Charlotte, North Carolina April 2, 2010. The Obama administration will formally unveil a new policy on Tuesday restricting U.S. use of nuclear arms, renouncing development of new atomic weapons and heralding further cuts in America's stockpile. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
But even as President Barack Obama limits the conditions under which the United States would resort to a nuclear strike, he is making clear that nuclear-defiant states like Iran and North Korea will remain potential targets.

"I'm going to preserve all the tools that are necessary in order to make sure that the American people are safe and secure," Obama told The New York Times in an interview that previewed his revamped nuclear strategy.

The policy shift, calling for reduced U.S. reliance on its nuclear deterrent, could build momentum before Obama signs a landmark arms control treaty with Russia in Prague on Thursday and hosts a nuclear security summit in Washington next week.

But it is also likely to draw fire from conservative critics who say his approach is naive and compromises U.S. national security.

The Nuclear Posture Review is required by Congress from every U.S. administration but Obama set expectations high after he vowed to end "Cold War thinking" and won the Nobel Peace Prize in part for his vision of a nuclear-free world.

Under the new strategy, the United States would commit for the first time not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states that are in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, even if it is attacked with biological or chemical weapons, according to The New York Times and a U.S. official who confirmed the details.

Those threats, Obama said, could be deterred with "a series of graded options" -- a combination of old and newly designed conventional weapons.

Obama insisted "outliers like Iran and North Korea" that have violated or renounced the treaty would not be protected.

ROLLING BACK BUSH-ERA POLICY

Still, Obama is rolling back the Bush administration's more hawkish policy set out in its 2002 review threatening the use of nuclear weapons to preempt or respond to chemical or biological attack, even from non-nuclear countries.

An exception under Obama's plan would allow an option of reconsidering the use of nuclear retaliation against a biological attack if there is reason to believe the United States were vulnerable to a devastating attack.

To set an example for global arms control, Obama's strategy -- another departure from Bush-era policy -- commits the United States to no new atomic arms development, U.S. officials said.

The United States will, however, increase investment in upgrading its weapons infrastructure, which one White House official said would "facilitate further nuclear reductions."

Arms control experts see potential for significant cuts in the U.S. stockpile by upgrading weapons laboratories to weed out older, ineffective warheads.

Obama now faces the challenge of lending credibility to his arms control push while not alarming allies under the U.S. defence umbrella or limiting room to manoeuvre in dealing with emerging nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea.

The review is a test of Obama's effort to make controlling nuclear arms worldwide a signature foreign policy initiative. It is also important because it will affect defence budgets and weapons deployment and retirement for years to come.

The strategy was developed after a lengthy debate among Obama's aides and military officials over whether to declare that the United States would never be the first to use nuclear weapons in a crisis but would act only in response to attack.

Obama appeared unlikely to go as far as forswearing the first-strike option, which will disappoint some liberals.

The review comes a day before Obama leaves for Prague, where he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will sign a new START pact to slash nuclear arsenals by a third.

The signing ceremony will occur nearly a year after Obama's Prague speech laying out his vision for eventually ridding the world of nuclear weapons. Obama acknowledged it might not be completed in his lifetime.

Thai protesters cancel march to avert clashes

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai anti-government activists cancelled plans to stage protests at nearly a dozen no-go zones across Bangkok on Tuesday but continued their siege of the capital's upmarket shopping and hotel district.


Soldiers stand guard as supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra rally in the main shopping district of Bangkok April 6, 2010. (REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom)
The protesters, who are demanding new elections, called off the proposed parade through the city after thousands of riot police and soldiers came out to block them, saying they wanted to avoid clashes.

After some brief pushing and shoving between police and the red-shirted supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the plan was scrapped. Some protesters cheered, others smiled and hugged police officers.

However, police made no attempt to remove the tens of thousands of protesters from the major intersection in the Rachaprasong shopping and hotel district which they have occupied since Saturday. "There won't be any movements today," Kwanchai Praiphana, a protest leader, told the crowd. "If there is a crackdown, we will send over our people to the Democrat party", he said, referring to the party of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The army moved swiftly to dismiss talk that the protesters would be forcibly moved.

"The rally is illegal, but there will be no crackdown. We will review our measures," army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said in an national televised address.

The plan to move out in a convoy of motorcycles and pickup trucks on Tuesday's public holiday came as pressure mounted on Abhisit Vejjajiva to take action and put a swift end to the 25-day protest campaign.

However, a rally that is broadening, intensifying and showing no signs of fizzling out has not dampened the mood of foreign investors who have pumped more than $1.6 billion into Thailand's stock market since Feb. 22.

The mass rally has lasted longer than many expected and leaves Abhisit with a dilemma about how to respond: anger Bangkok's middle classes and parts of his own government by doing nothing, or risk confrontation by forcibly moving protesters defying the law but yet to resort to violence.

UNENVIABLE POSITION

The decision to block, but not remove the protesters, is likely to be seen as only a quick fix by Abhisit. Protesters insisted they would continue to occupy the intersection in the shopping district, which vital for high-end tourism and businesses.

Analysts said Abhisit is now in an unenviable position, pressured to take tough action but determined to avoid clashes.

"A lot of Abhisit's legitimacy is based on the notion that he is a stabilising force for Thailand. This puts him in a very difficult position," said Andrew Walker, a Thailand researcher at Australia National University.

"If he cracks down and there is violence, the image of stability is shattered."

The mostly rural movement has recruited followers among migrant workers and working classes in the capital, to the annoyance of business elites and urban middle classes and underlining the social divide that has caused foreign businesses to reconsider long-term investment in the country.

Many analysts say the protests are fuelled by feelings of disenfranchisement, a widening gap between rich and poor and popular belief that unelected, powerful elites are colluding with the army or top judges to bring down governments elected by the majority, two of which were led or backed by Thaksin.

The protesters see the urbane, Oxford-educated Abhisit as a symbol of elite domination of Thai politics, accusing him of being a stooge for a powerful military who they claim masterminded his rise to power, sponsoring political defections to enable him to win a parliamentary vote in December 2008.

The "red shirts" have rejected Abhisit's offer to dissolve parliament within nine months -- a year ahead of schedule -- accusing him of lacking sincerity and clinging on to power without a public mandate.

Analysts believe a resumption of stalled talks between Abhisit and protest leaders is the only way out of a standoff that could turn violent, stifling economic recovery and curtailing a recent surge in capital inflows.

"Abhisit needs to push for a third round of talks, behind closed doors. This is his best option and should be his first option," said Nakharin Mektraira, political scientist at Bangkok's Thammasat University

Five bodies found after "miracle" China mine rescue

XIANGNING, China (Reuters) - Chinese rescuers on Tuesday pulled five bodies from a flooded coal mine a day after the "miracle" rescue of 115 fellow miners who survived a week underground for a week by eating bark and drinking filthy water.

Officials said 153 miners were trapped in the unfinished Wangjialing mine in Xiangning, in the northern province of Shanxi, when water gushed in more than a week ago.


Rescuers carry a survivor into an ambulance at the entrance of the flooded Wangjialing Coal Mine, located across both Xiangning county and Hejin city, Shanxi province April 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)
At least 115 survivors were rescued late on Sunday and on Monday, with media and officials hailing a "miracle" that came on a national holiday to honour the dead. The five bodies are the first known casualties, but 33 men are still missing.

The survivors clung on to life in the pitch black pit, eating sawdust and bark from the pine supports used in the mine to sustain themselves and some taking small sips of the dank and dirty water that surrounded them.

Rescuers braved the floodwaters and fluctuating mine gas once officials deemed a week of frantic pumping had lowered water levels enough to make a rescue possible. Tapping sounds on a pipe on Friday had raised hopes some miners were still alive.

"We reached 200 metres underground by raft only to find that there was not enough space for the raft to continue as the water level was too high. So we jumped into the water, swam towards the trapped miners, and pulled them out," said rescuer Wang Kai.

It was rare good news for China's perilous coal mining industry, the deadliest in the world with thousands killed every year in floods, explosions, collapses and other accidents. Shanxi province is the heartland of the coal industry.

Survivors were brought out from a platform, where rescuers had drilled a vertical hole last week. The hole ensured oxygen in the water-flooded pit while rescuers sent down bags of glucose.

Most of the rescued miners were in a stable condition, but suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and skin infections, and 26 were in a "relatively serious" condition, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Sixty were being transferred to larger hospitals in the provincial capital Taiyuan, the report added.

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao were "deeply worried" about the miners, the Xinhua report said.

"The rescuers at the front must continue to foster the spirit of not being scared of exhaustion and to keep fighting, step up rescue efforts, and work all out ... to do whatever is possible to save the remaining miners," it quoted them as saying.

Workers are tempted into hazardous jobs in China's mines by wages that can be much higher than for many other jobs open to blue-collar workers and rural migrants.

Strong demand for energy and lax safety standards have made China's mines often deadly places to work, despite a government drive to clamp down on small, unsafe operations where most accidents occur.

The number of people killed in Chinese coal mines dropped to 2,631 in 2009, an average of seven a day, from 3,215 in 2008, according to official statistics.

China has ordered the consolidation or takeover of many private mines. It says the shutdown of many of the most dangerous private operations has helped cut accidents.

But the deadliest accidents are not limited to private firms. The Wangjialing mine was a project belonging to a joint venture between China National Coal Group and Shanxi Coking Coal Group, two of China's larger state-owned firms.

"We demand the company get prepared for an investigation ... and provide real technical data and basic information for it," said Liu Dezheng, a Shanxi provincial mining official.

Over 100 believed alive after week in flooded China mine

XIANGNING, China (Reuters) - More than 100 miners are expected to emerge alive from a flooded coal mine in north China after more than seven days trapped in pitch dark, rescue and government officials said on Monday.

China has the world's deadliest coal-mining industry, with more than 2,600 people killed in mine floods, explosions, collapses and other accidents in 2009 alone.


A survivor is rescued from the flooded Wangjialing Coal Mine, located across both Xiangning county and Hejin city, Shanxi province April 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Jason Lee)
Some 108 survivors were pulled out last Sunday when water surged into the pit that was under construction in Shanxi province.

Thai authorities struggle to end mass protest

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai authorities filed a court order on Monday to disperse tens of thousands of protesters occupying Bangkok's main shopping district, hoping to derail an increasingly bold four-week rally aimed at forcing an election.


A Buddhist monk waves a flag during a rally in the main shopping district of Bangkok April 5, 2010. Thai authorities filed a court order on Monday to disperse tens of thousands of protesters occupying Bangkok's main shopping district, hoping to derail an increasingly bold four-week rally aimed at forcing an election. (REUTERS/Kerek Wongsa)
Despite warnings they could face a year in jail, the red-shirted protesters occupied the area of upscale department stores and luxury hotels for a third day and said they had no plans to leave. Hundreds tore up fliers ordering them to vacate.

Thai stocks, which have climbed 81 percent over the past 12 months, were about 0.5 percent weaker on concerns over the prolonged protest, bucking gains in most other Asian markets. The baht currency eased about 0.2 percent to 32.38 per dollar in thin early trade.

"The impact on retail, hotel and tourism-related sectors seems unavoidable and we should see selling pressure in these sectors," said Chakkrit Charoenmetachai, an analyst with Globlex Securities. Tourism supports about 5 percent of the economy.

Retail and hotel firms fell to three-week lows.

Minor International, Thailand's largest hotelier, lost 0.9 percent, hotelier the Erawan Group which runs a Grand Hyatt franchise, fell 2.5 percent and Central Plaza Hotel dropped 1.9 percent. All four have properties near the protest sites.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has called the rally unlawful, but there has been no sign security forces would disperse the mostly rural and working class "red shirts", who say they will not leave until parliament is dissolved.

The government filed a court order on Monday to disperse the crowd and planned to file another to arrest leaders of the rally, which it says violates Thailand's tough Internal Security Act imposed last month to maintain order during the protests.

But the protesters remained defiant. "We won't leave. We have sent our lawyer to the court and will submit an objection immediately if the court issues any order to force us to leave," said Nattawut Saikua, a protest leader.

The "red shirts", supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have hinted they may expand their rally to other areas of the city. They now occupy two areas: the shopping district and Phan Fah Bridge in Bangkok's old quarter.

Ten trucks of "red shirts" briefly gathered in the Silom banking and tourist district before moving to the Election Commission to voice complaints over they see as bias.

RETAILERS HIT

Backed by Thailand's powerful military and royalist establishment, Abhisit said holding a peaceful poll now would be difficult, given the tensions, and he repeated his offer to dissolve parliament in December, a year early.

Analysts say Abhisit would probably lose an election if it were held now, raising investment risks in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy following a $1.6 billion surge of foreign investment in Thai stocks over the past five weeks on expectations he would survive the showdown.

Economists also caution that continued political turmoil could hit confidence and investment, and might force the central bank to delay an expected interest rate rise.

Raising fears of a blow to retail business, Central World, the second-largest shopping complex in Southeast Asia, and half a dozen other big malls remained shuttered for a second day.

Central World usually attracts 150,000 people a day and generates 45 percent of the earnings of its parent, Central Pattana Pcl, Thailand's top department store operator.

The "red shirts" say Abhisit has no popular mandate and came to power illegitimately, heading a coalition the military cobbled together after courts dissolved a pro-Thaksin party that led the previous government. Abhisit says he was voted into office by the same parliament that picked his Thaksin-allied predecessors.

At the centre of the impasse is Thaksin, a former telecoms tycoon seen by opponents as authoritarian and corrupt before he was ousted in a 2006 coup but a rallying symbol for the poor as the first Thai civilian leader to embrace rural voters in his 2001 election win.

Some fear a rippling impact on tourism ahead of Thailand's April 13-15 Songkran holidays. "This has affected the normal way of life," said Apichart Singka-aree, director and former president of the private Association of Thai Travel Agents.

"Out of some 100 previously booked flights for Chinese tourists to fly in for the Songkran festival, over 60 have been cancelled. We are trying to save the remaining 30-something flights," he told Reuters.

Israel allows clothes, shoes into blockaded Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel allowed a shipment of clothes and shoes for Palestinian traders into the Gaza Strip on Sunday for the first time in its almost three-year-old blockade of the Hamas-controlled enclave.

An Israeli military spokesman said clothes and shoes had been allowed into the territory on a regular basis as part of humanitarian aid. But this was the first time privately-imported clothing was allowed in for traders to sell on.

Palestinian officials said the goods arrived in the coastal enclave via Israel's Kerem Shalom border crossing. Ten trucks of clothing and footwear were expected during the day, they said.

Gaza's merchants, who imported the goods privately, said Sunday's shipment was not enough to replenish their stocks and demanded Israel release more goods held at its ports since 2007.

"Some of it even smells bad. I can say half of the merchandise is still good, but the other half is damaged. I fear I may not be able to recoup my outlay," importer Ziad Barbakh told Reuters while frantically inspecting his clothes shipment.

Merchants said they had to pay 2000 shekels (about $540) per month for storing their merchandise at the Israeli port of Ashdod for the last three years.

"Now they (Hamas) want to take tax as well," said shoe trader Eyad El-Ejla.

The Israeli government is under international pressure to relax its blockade, which the United Nations says punishes Gaza's 1.5 million people over the policy of Islamist Hamas, which is pledged to Israel's destruction.

Israel bans shipments of cement and steel to Gaza on the grounds that Hamas could use them for military purposes.

Its long list of controlled goods also includes items that critics say have no apparent military value, such as children's crayons and books.

Gaza has been getting most of its consumer goods via tunnels from neighbouring Egypt operated by smugglers who add on hefty surcharges.

Egypt is building an underground wall to block the tunnels, which have been frequently bombed by Israel since it launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip 14 months ago with the declared aim of curbing cross-border rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.

A Palestinian official close to ceasefire talks Egypt has brokered in the past between Gaza militant groups and Israel has told Reuters the Egyptians are stepping up diplomatic pressure on both parties to reduce tensions in the coastal strip.

Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the December 2008-January 2009 Gaza war.

Iraq civilian deaths climb in March

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The civilian death toll in Iraq rose slightly in March compared to the previous month, officials said on Sunday, a continuing sign of tension surrounding a parliamentary election that failed to produce a clear winner.

Officials said 216 civilians died violent deaths in March compared to 211 in February. Election campaigning began in earnest in February and civilian deaths rose sharply from 135 in January.


An Iraqi soldier stands guard near the site of a suicide attack targeted the Iranian embassy Baghdad April 4, 2010. (REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani)
The statistics, issued by the interior, defence and health ministries, showed that 101 police officers, 50 soldiers and 57 insurgents were killed in March.

Only two seats separated the top two blocs in the March 7 election, the cross-sectarian alliance led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the State of Law coalition of current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Neither won enough seats for a majority in parliament. The close race could mean weeks of talks to form a government.

Overall violence has dropped sharply in Iraq since the height of sectarian warfare in 2006-07 that killed tens of thousands of people.

Between 95,775 and 104,481 civilians have died violently in Iraq since the start of the war, according to www.iraqbodycount.org.

Teacher identified by father as 2nd Moscow bomber

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A 28-year-old computer science teacher has been identified by her family as the second of two female suicide bombers who killed dozens of people on the Moscow metro a week ago, a newspaper reported on Sunday.


Flowers, left in memory of victims of a bomb explosion, are seen at Lubyanka metro station in Moscow March 29, 2010. A 28-year-old computer science teacher has been identified by her family as the second of two female suicide bombers who killed dozens of people on the Moscow metro a week ago, a newspaper reported. (REUTERS/Vladimir Davydov/Files)
Rasul Magomedov recognised his missing daughter Maryam after being shown photos of the remains of the unidentified suicide bomber, the novayagazeta.ru website said.

More than 50 people have been killed in suicide attacks in Russia over the past week, both in the Moscow metro by bombers Russian media have dubbed 'black widows', and in a town in the turbulent North Caucasus region of Dagestan.

Fears of a new bombing campaign against the Russian heartland increased after a double bomb attack on a railway line on Sunday which security forces said was linked to the earlier attacks.

"My wife and I immediately recognised our daughter Maryam. When my wife last saw our daughter she was wearing the same red scarf we saw in the pictures," Magomedov, a teacher from the village of Balakhany in Dagestan told Novaya Gazeta.

Magomedov said his daughter graduated with a degree in mathematics and psychology from the Dagestan Pedagogical University in 2005. She returned to her village, lived at home and taught computer science at a local school.

"I would really like the investigation to uncover the true picture of what happened. We cannot even suggest how Maryam could get to Moscow. Yes, she was religious. But she never expressed any radical beliefs," he said.

Magomedov said his daughter had denied to him local security force allegations that she had links to insurgents in the region or had married a local separatist leader.

The family came under the scrutiny of the security forces two years ago, when a brother of Maryam was charged with belonging to an armed group and allegedly tortured in custody before most charges were dropped.

The first bomb, which Magomedov believes was carried by his daughter, tore through a packed Moscow metro train just before 8 a.m. on Monday as it stood at the Lubyanka station, close to the headquarters of the FSB. It killed at least 23 people.

A second bomb was detonated less than 40 minutes later in a train waiting at the Park Kultury metro station, killing at least 12 people. More than 70 people were taken to hospital after the two attacks.

"Maryam was a calm and self-confident person who always loved to learn. She co-authored three scientific works. No one ever noticed any extremist expression or inappropriate conduct by her," a person close to her family was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Photographs of a second young woman, obtained by Reuters from a law-enforcement official in Dagestan, showed her dressed in a black hijab and holding a grenade. Another photograph showed this other woman holding a pistol.

She was named on Friday as Dagestani-born Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova, the widow of 30-year-old Umalat Magomedov, a prominent insurgent killed by Russian forces on Dec. 31, according to sources who did not want to be identified.

Russia's FSB security chief Alexander Bortnikov has blamed militant groups linked to the North Caucasus for the attacks but given no further details on the investigation.

Islamist Chechen rebels claimed responsibility on Wednesday for the Moscow metro bombings and threatened further attacks against Russian cities.

Suicide car bombers kill 41 in central Baghdad

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three suicide bombers detonated car bombs within moments of each other in a coordinated attack on foreign embassies in central Baghdad on Sunday, killing as many as 41 people and wounding more than 200.

Residents inspect the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of a bomb attack near the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad April 4, 2010. Three suicide bombers detonated car bombs near foreign missions in central Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 30 people and wounding 224. (REUTERS/Saad Shalash)
The blasts near the Iranian, Egyptian and German embassies followed mortar attacks on the Iraqi capital's Green Zone, home to government buildings, official residences and foreign embassies. On Friday, gunmen slaughtered 24 people in a Sunni village south of Baghdad.

Authorities had warned of a possible escalation of violence because of rising tension after a March 7 parliamentary election that Iraqis hoped would bring stability to their country produced no clear winner.

The outcome promises weeks of potentially divisive talks to form a government. Secularist former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's cross-sectarian Iraqiya coalition won two seats more than the State of Law bloc led by Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Such drawn-out talks could leave a power vacuum for insurgents to exploit, analysts have warned. Sectarian violence exploded when politicians took more than five months to form a government after parliamentary elections in 2005.

"The terrorists seized this time between the end of the elections and the forming of the government to target the political process," said civil defence official Abdul-Rasoul al-Zaidi.

One bomb blew up in front of the main gate of the Iranian embassy, just outside the Green Zone, destroying about 30 cars. The Iraqi Finance Ministry said the nearby offices of its budget directorate and the government real estate bank were damaged.

"This is enough. We are tired of explosions, we do not feel safe," said Jassim Mohammed, 39, who was wounded in the head, arm and leg. "We go out of our homes and we do not know whether we will come back or not."

A man who went to the scene began crying and moaning when he realised his brother's mini-bus had been destroyed by the blast. "Why did they kill him? He got married a week ago," he said.

At the Egyptian embassy, the bomber rammed his car into a concrete blast wall, causing a 3 metre (10 ft) deep cater in the street.

"The car crashed into the blast wall and the guards of the embassy shot the terrorist but he went and blew himself up," Baghdad security spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi said. "The same thing happened with the Iranian embassy."

Moussawi said Iraqi security forces defused a fourth car bomb in the al-Masbah district of central Baghdad and arrested the would-be bomber.

Germany's Foreign Ministry said an Iraqi security guard working for the German embassy was among the dead.

"I completely condemn the bomb attacks in Baghdad," said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. "Our solidarity goes out to the Iraqi people and we will continue to support their efforts for peace and democracy."

MORTARS IN THE GREEN ZONE

An Interior Ministry source said the three bombings killed 41 people and wounded 249. Moussawi put the toll at 20 dead and 256 wounded.

The car bombings followed a series of other incidents in the Iraqi capital. Two mortar rounds landed in the Green Zone early on Sunday and four on Saturday night.

A roadside bomb that targeted a police patrol in the capital on Sunday wounded five officers and five civilians. A bomb attached to a civilian vehicle in Baghdad's southern Saidiya district killed two people on Saturday.

Security forces had predicted a rise in violence after the tight election race exposed the depth of Iraq's sectarian divide. Allawi's Iraqiya bloc won with strong support in Sunni-dominated provinces in the north and west, while Maliki won in predominantly Shi'ite provinces in the south.

"Everyone expected an attack. It is an attempt to influence the negotiations to form the next government," Baghdad political analyst Hazem al-Nuaimi said. "The aim is clear, which is to show the weakness and fragility of the structure of the state."

On Friday gunmen invaded the Sunni village of Albusaifi, south of Baghdad, and killed 24 people, many of them execution-style with a gunshot to the head.

Authorities said many of the victims were members of the Sons of Iraq, former insurgents who joined U.S. forces to fight al Qaeda militants, helping to turn the tide of the war.

S.Africa calls for calm after Terre'blanche murder

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma called for calm on Sunday after the murder of white far-right leader Eugene Terre'blanche fanned fears of growing racial tension.

South African President Jacob Zuma called for calm on Sunday after the murder of Terre'blanche fanned fears of growing racial tension. (REUTERS/Juda Ngwenya/Files)
Police have detained two black farm workers and suspect Terre'blanche was killed in a dispute over unpaid wages, but his Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB) says he was battered and hacked to death in an attack with political overtones.

Zuma, who has made it a priority to court white Afrikaners, called it a "terrible deed" and urged South Africans "not to allow agent provocateurs to take advantage of this situation by inciting or fuelling racial hatred".

Terre'blanche, 69, was the voice of hardline opposition to the end of apartheid in the early 1990s although his party has played a marginal role since then and does not have a big following among the 10 percent of white South Africans.

"We are calling on the supporters of the AWB to stay calm for the moment so that we can finalise the funeral," said AWB spokesman Andre Visagie, adding that next steps would await a party meeting in May.

"We will decide upon the action we are going to take to avenge Mr Terre'blanche's death."

Concerns over increasing racial polarisation have been thrown into the open by a row over the singing of an apartheid-era song with the lyrics "Kill the Boer" by the youth leader of the ruling African National Congress.

The ANC has defended the song as no more than a way to remember a history of oppression, but it has worried minority groups and particularly white farmers, some 3,000 of whom have been killed since the end of apartheid.

Terre'blanche's party did not hesitate to link the murder to the song. He had always described himself as a Boer.

"That's what this is all about," Visagie said.

Zuma's spokesman Vincent Magwenya said, however, there was no evidence at this stage linking the killing to the song sung by firebrand ANC youth wing leader Julius Malema.

Terre'blanche had lived in relative obscurity since his release from prison in 2004 after serving a sentence for beating a black man nearly to death.

The party -- whose flag resembles a Nazi swastika -- was revived two years ago and he had begun efforts to try to build a united front among white far-right parties to fight for a white homeland, but had gained little traction.

Terre'blanche was a powerful orator in his Afrikaans language and was a distinctive figure, heavily built, with a thick grey beard and dressed in khaki. He often attended rallies on horseback during his fight to stop majority rule.

Police said the suspected killers were aged 16 and 21. Both had worked for Terre'blanche.

"They apparently attacked the leader because they were not paid for work," said spokesperson Adele Myburg, giving no details of how the killing was carried out.

Protesters defiant in siege of key Bangkok district

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of protesters defied orders to leave the Thai capital's main shopping district on Sunday despite threats of mass arrests, upping the ante on the fourth week of a bold street rally to press for fresh elections.


Supporters of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and anti-government protesters rest in front of a luxury goods store during their protest in the main shopping district of Bangkok April 4, 2010. (REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom)
The government said the red-shirted protesters who overran a district housing sleek upmarket department stores and five-star hotels on Saturday could each face up to a year in jail and a 20,000 baht ($620) fine if they don't leave.

The gathering was in clear violation of a tough Internal Security Act imposed last month, said the Centre for Administration of Peace and Order, a special government body set up to keep security during the protests.

"The blockade of roads around the intersection is an exercise of public rights beyond what the constitution provides," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said after talks between authorities and the protesters yielded nothing substantive.

The more than 50,000 protesters also ignored a deadline at 9 p.m. (local time) on Saturday to leave the area where Central World, the second-largest shopping complex in Southeast Asia, and half a dozen other big malls and retailers shut their doors in response to threats by the protesters to stay for days.

The mostly rural and working-class demonstrators have said they will not leave until Abhisit's government dissolves parliament and calls elections.

Protest leader Veera Musikapong told Reuters his "red shirts" would remain until at least Monday. "We have no choice but to step up civil disobedience until the government listens," he said.

"This area is a symbol of Bangkok elite. We want to show them they cannot rule without consensus of the people."

TOURISM CONCERNS

Backed by Thailand's powerful military and royalist establishment, Abhisit said a peaceful poll now would be difficult given the tensions and repeated his recent offer to dissolve parliament in December, a year early.

"I am not trying to do anything simply to cling to my job, nor do I attache priority to staying full term," he said.

The British-born, Oxford-educated economist urged Bangkok's 15 million people to show restraint as frustration mounts.

Analysts say Abhisit would likely lose an election if it were held now, raising investment risks in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy following a $1.6 billion surge of foreign investment in Thai stocks over the past five weeks on expectations Abhisit will survive the showdown.

The "red shirts", supporters of twice-elected and now fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, say Abhisit has no popular mandate and came to power illegitimately, heading a coalition the military cobbled together after courts dissolved a pro-Thaksin party that led the previous government.

Abhisit says he was voted into office by the same parliament that picked his Thaksin-allied predecessors.

"Simply winning enough votes in parliament does not mean he is accepted by people," said Nattawut Saikua, a protest leader.

Seizing an area to oust leaders is becoming a common tactic in politically tense Thailand.

In 2008, yellow-shirted protesters who opposed Thaksin's allies in the previous government occupied the prime minister's office for three months and then blockaded Bangkok's main airport until a court expelled the government.

At the centre of the impasse is Thaksin, seen as authoritarian and corrupt before he was ousted in a 2006 coup but a rallying symbol for the poor as the first Thai civilian leader to reach out to rural voters in his 2001 election campaign.

The 60-year-old former telecommunications tycoon often rallies supporters through social networking site Twitter from self-imposed exile, mostly in Dubai. On Saturday, he "tweeted" that the "red shirts" should continue occupying the area.

The occupation of one Bangkok's biggest commercial districts has stoked concerns about a rippling impact on tourism and the economy ahead of Thailand's April 13-15 Songkran holidays.

"We have nothing against peaceful democratic protests, but this has affected the normal way of life," said Apichart Singka-aree, director and former president of the private Association of Thai Travel Agents.

"Out of some 100 previously booked flights for Chinese tourists to fly in for the Songkran festival, over 60 have been cancelled. We are trying to save the remaining 30 something flights," he told Reuters.

Two dozen killed in Baghdad attack

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Gunmen wearing military uniforms stormed three houses in a Sunni Muslim village in southern Baghdad and killed at least 24 people including women and children, Iraqi authorities said.

At least seven people were left alive after the slaughter, their hands tied behind their backs, Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi said.

The attack occurred late on Friday in a Sunni enclave in the Rasheed district of the Iraqi capital. A police source said the gunmen handcuffed the victims and shot them in the head.

"The incident happened in an area south of Baghdad, an area called Albusaifi, the terrorist group drove cars and killed 24 people, including five women," Moussawi said. "We have found seven people alive, handcuffed."

Moussawi said some of the victims were members of the Iraqi security forces and others of the Sons of Iraq, a group of Sunni former insurgents who joined the Iraqi government and U.S. forces to fight al Qaeda militants and are credited with helping turn the tide of the Iraq war.

Violence has fallen significantly in the last two years but security officials had warned of a possible rise in attacks due to tensions surrounding Iraq's March 7 parliamentary election, which produced no clear winner and promised weeks of difficult negotiations to form a new government.

The tight race highlighted Iraq's sectarian divide after an election Iraqis hoped would produce stability after years of sectarian warfare.

A security source said 10 to 15 gunmen in pickup trucks were involved in the attack and targeted the victims because they were loyal to the government against al Qaeda.

The 24 victims were members of three different families, and included at least five women, a security source said.

A Reuters TV cameraman counted 25 bodies at a local hospital.

Moussawi said authorities had arrested 25 people and sealed off the area to conduct a search for other suspects.

Putin bolsters oil, defence ties with Venezuela

CARACAS (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave the United States' main Latin American foe, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a needed boost with a brief visit on Friday to discuss oil, defence and nuclear energy cooperation.


Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez (R) welcomes Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at Miraflores Palace in Caracas April 2, 2010. They launched a $20 billion venture between Russian firms and Venezuelan state company PDVSA aimed at pumping 450,000 barrels a day -- almost a fifth of the OPEC member's current output -- from the vast Orinoco heavy oil belt.

Russia also delivered the last four of 38 military transport helicopters, but no new defence agreements were signed, though Chavez said Moscow was open to help Venezuela develop nuclear energy for generating electricity.

"We are prepared to begin drawing up the first project for a nuclear power generator, obviously for peaceful purposes," Chavez said at a news conference with Putin.

"We are not building an alliance against the United States. We don't care what Washington thinks," Chavez said, adding that he would continue to make "modest" arms purchases from Moscow that were the minimum needed for Venezuela's defence.

Putin's 12-hour visit provides a welcome lift for Chavez, who is facing domestic and international criticism for failing to solve Venezuela's economic woes and attempting to silence opposition to his 11-year rule.

Putin also held talks in Caracas with Bolivian President Evo Morales, along with Chavez the fiercest opponent of what they call U.S. "imperialism" in Latin America.

Facing a national electricity crisis that has caused widespread outages, Chavez's government is turning to Iran and Russia for help to develop nuclear power.

Venezuela, South America's top oil exporter and a major U.S. supplier, has also expanded military ties with Russia under Chavez, who says the United States could attack Venezuela for its oil reserves.

Since 2005, Venezuela has bought about $5 billion worth of Sukhoi jet fighters, Mi-17 helicopters and Kalashnikov assault rifles. Chavez received $2.2 billion in credit lines for more Russian arms during his eighth visit to Moscow in September, including T-72 tanks and the S-300 advanced anti-aircraft missile system.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed concern last year that the Russian weapons purchases by Venezuela could trigger an arms race across Latin America.

Chavez says his growing arsenal is aimed at countering a planned increase in the U.S. military forces at bases in neighbouring Colombia, Washington's closest ally in the region.

ORINOCO OIL VENTURE

The highlight of Putin's visit was the rolling out of the joint venture to develop the Junin 6 field in the Orinoco, which will require $20 billion in investments over 40 years.

Venezuela expects the venture to begin producing 50,000 barrels a day by the end of the year.

To boost its sagging output from traditional wells, Venezuela needs foreign investment and technology to tap the heavy oil of the Orinoco belt that requires much upgrading to turn into lighter crude.

The Russian consortium involved in Junin 6, state giant Rosneft, private major Lukoil, Gazprom, TNK-BP and Surgutneftegaz, paid Venezuela the first $600 million tranche of an agreed $1 billion signing fee on Friday.

PDVSA holds a 60 percent stake in the project. The Russian firms are also in talks to create joint ventures to develop three more Orinoco blocks, Junin 3 and Ayacucho 2 and 3.

Chavez hopes Russian cooperation will reach as far as the space industry. "We could even install a satellite launcher," he said at a televised cabinet meeting on Thursday.

The U.S. State Department scoffed at Chavez's space plans, pointing out that Venezuela was so short of electricity the government had extended the Easter holiday for a full week.

"Perhaps the focus should be more terrestrial than extraterrestrial," said spokesman P.J.Crowley.

Mount Kinabalu Passed!

The first and the craziest sports I’ve done was climbing mountain Kinabalu known as highest mountain in Malaysia. Our flight took place at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)

When we arrived at Kundasang ,I was astonished because I saw mountain Kinabalu right in front of my eyes. It was groovy because of the tallness and scared. Who wouldn’t scared when looking at the mountain and I’m guaranteed that everybody was.

After eating, a program called “ice breaking” was held. The program was about recognizing every person in the room. Many of us have known each other and took this program lightly but eventually they must remember all the names included the facilitators. The main objective is to cultivate us of team work between each other.

That night, we followed a program called “politics in Malaysia” They want to motivate us to increase our exertion in developing Malaysia to challenging other country in economies. It so astonished me and encourages me to become a person that vital in Malaysia.


Kem Bina Negara Kundasang, Sabah

The next day, we had an exercise in preparing us for the climbing till the late morning. It had me enough and I could barely stand up. That afternoon we committed our self in a program known as “loving Malaysia”. The objective is to plant in our heart to love our country more than anything else. At night, we had an intensive to prepare our self for the climbing tomorrow. We went for a jog and had a speech motivation for us. It reaches well right inside our heart and gives confidence.

Next morning, we went to the foothill and started our journey. I was amazed with the beautifulness of the flora. There were many plants that I’ve not seen before. It was a tough and tired climbing and we reach to the half of the mountain called “Laban Rata” that was a checkpoint for us to rest.

At the midnight, we continued our climbing to the top. It was dark and I could barely saw and team work was important to prevent any injured ness. When we reach to the top, we could barely breathe and I saw the greatness of Allah when I saw the view at the top of mountain Kinabalu. The agent told us not to make so much sound. We don’t know why but we must respect others belief.

After a few hours, we went down. On our way back, we saw a woman carrying stuff for the chalet at Laban Rata with carrying a child with her. We all astounded the strength of the woman hauling that much weight and also touched of how a mom sacrifice her life for her family’s living. That react me to climb down fast so that I could call my mom.

We managed arrived at the foothill and had a rest at the Sabah Park. The bus arrived and took us to the airport and fly back to peninsular. We reach KLIA and UTM bus took us back home. It was an astonished adventure and I had learned many things about team work and loving Malaysia. I hoped that one day I could come once again and conquer the top of mountain Kinabalu again.

For you din beramboi (Superstar Comedian)

KUALA LUMPUR: Popular comedian Din Beramboi (pic), 43, died of haemorrhagic dengue fever at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Selayang Hospital at 12.30am Friday.

Din Beramboi who was in critical condition died after his liver and kidneys failed.

Born Mior Ahmad Fuad Mior Badri, Din Beramboi is also a popular radio presenter.


His sister Rozana, 39, said all family members except his father Mior Badri who has a heart ailment, were at his bedside.

“He passed away peacefully with a dash of smile on his face,” she told Bernama at Selayang Hospital.

Din Beramboi leaves wife Suhaini Che Man and three children aged 18, 16 and six.

He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Selayang Hospital on Tuesday of haemorrhagic dengue fever.

Din Beramboi and popular presenter Aznil Nawawi entertained Radio Era listeners on the morning show ‘Riuh Pagi Era.’

His remains will be buried at Taman Ehsan Muslim cemetery in Kepong before Friday prayers

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AHMAD KAMAL - 0126178216 - gunnerz_amk@yahoo.com / azume3410@gmail.com

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Angels in the streets in palestine

On Friday morning, while gathering up under a tree and waiting for the bus, I was thinking for the second time that morning whether spending the Shabbat in Gaza was really the right thing to do on such a rainy weekend. However, judging by the surprisingly large number of students who arrived, it seemed like quite a few people had decided this was definitely an opportunity not to be missed. When arriving at the Erez Crossing at the entrance to the Gaza strip, after a shorter drive than I had expected, we were met by Israeli men and woman soldiers, who took our IDs, in order to swap them temporarily for ‘passports’ - our visitor permits. A big sign struck us, indicating that this was the end of the Israeli area of jurisdiction, and from here on we were in the area of the Palestinian Autonomy Authority. This had the effect of turning a distant reality, known as the Palestinian Authority, from theory into concrete reality, a notion which ended up being the main motif of the whole weekend in Gaza: information and opinions changing their theoretical substance into a substance of flesh and blood. Our first event took place there, at Erez, discussions about what we expect of the weekend, under the loud sounds of rain on the roof of the shelter which was so often described in the newspapers as the hosting place for Israeli-Palestinian leadership meetings, but more often mentioned as the place where people wait hours on end for their permits for entering or leaving the Gaza strip, to be confirmed.

The participants from the Israeli side were students from universities throughout Israel, mostly religious, and often with clear views about the necessity of the peace process, but not always; some of the non religious students belonging to the peace movement ‘Dor Shalom’ (a movement who has cooperated on a number of times with Netivot Shalom), and others who had just come across notices to do with the weekend, and had decided to join. There were a number of students who not only did not belong to our movement, but also objected to its political ideas, but thought it was important to meet Palestinians and to be aware of their reality. At the other end of Erez, the ‘Blue Police’ was awaiting us: they are the body in charge of the internal security, as opposed to the ‘Green Police’, which is seen by the Palestinians as the army, which is in charge of guarding the Autonomy’s borders.

The police drove in front of our bus, while we passed through the refugee camps Burej, Marazi, and Nuseirat. The fact that Gaza is known as the most highly populated place in the world was not yet Apparent on the outskirts of the city itself. Inside the big open areas we passed through, still quite a few kilometers away from the centers of population, was the house of the Gaza mayor, amidst the mud, surrounded by a tall concrete wall and piles of earth. But in the areas if the refugee-camps, although less crowded than expected, the poverty was obvious: toddlers with summer clothes and no shoes were walking in the rain, looking at us with curiosity. Passing by Netzarim, the Jewish settlement, it seemed like the clear ideology of those living there couldn’t be ignored, and it didn’t take great understanding of the political conflict to realize the clear statement that was being made. The red roofs and the greenery guarded by an Israeli soldier, formed a scene that stood out in the Gaza landscape. Whether one claims the presence of Israelis in the strip as a blessing, or whether it is seen as a curse, there is one thing that cannot be argued: it is definitely a presence, and a strong one, if I judge by what we later heard during the Shabbat from the Palestinians.



All the facts I had heard and read about Gaza’s sadness and ugliness, came to life when reaching the actual city. Although it was Friday, and therefore most shops were closed, we came across a few open ones, such as a vegetable stall which held one cabbage, a few bananas, and not much more. It was impossible to miss the huge pictures of Yasser Arafat everywhere, even in our hotel room. What was strikingly disturbing, was the fact that all the houses we came across, with no exception, looked unfinished. Sitting in the mostly muddy roads, there were wires and scaffolding still sticking out of everywhere; the color of concrete being the dominant one, it seemed as if someone had once had an idea of building a home, and abandoned the idea in the middle in every case. The few patches of attempted beautification and serenity, such as the garden by the entrance to the authority’s buildings, and even our hotel which was considered luxurious, always turned out to be illusions: Gaza could not be escaped. The gardens only looked ironic, instead of pretty, in the gray and battered scenery surrounding it; the hotel’s illusion was broken when finding out the bathrooms in many of the rooms were out of order. It was as if everybody was aware of how hopelessly depressing Gaza is, but here and there, there were attempts to make things look different - attempts which only sharpened the sadness of the city.



When we arrived at Hotel Palestine, on the Gaza beach, we were met by a long line of Palestinian students, accompanied by more policemen and television cameras. The line was much longer than we’d expected; some one hundred students turned up, as opposed to the twenty we’d expected. To our surprise, there were only a couple of girls, and later on even they left. We were quite disappointed at this, and the explanations given, about it being too cold for them to come etc., were somehow not convincing.

Friday evening was the ‘warm -up’ before the heart of the matters came up. Socializing and getting over the first feelings of embarrassment and strangeness, took up the beginning of the evening. But after the opening greeting speeches, which mostly expressed the general good intentions of peace on both sides, and therefore stayed on the level of formalities, the conversations in groups came. We sat in groups of about twenty participants, with one person in each group who was able to translate. In the group I was in, it took a while to break the ice, but through out the whole session there was a definite sense of eagerness on part of the Palestinians to hear our point of view, while not being afraid to express their sometimes very harsh views of Israel.

When discussing the issue of terror - an issue which came up often during the weekend- it was obvious that they weren’t aware of the devastating effect the terror acts had had on the Israeli people. One of the Israeli participants pointed out that if the Palestinians who were for a peace settlement would have made a bigger effort of voicing their objections to terror, and by doing that, portrayed a more positive picture of the Palestinian people, the political situation today might have been very different. The response to this was great interest, and it seemed to sink in with significant impact, as far as raising the awareness of the responsibility the Palestinians have towards this issue, as their own interest.

On their part, they expressed the other side of the coin - the tremendous difficulties involved in living under the circumstances of closure, when even in relatively peaceful days the economical situation is unbearable. One Palestinian participant said: “ In Israel everybody’s making such a fuss over the unemployment in Ofakim; but an unemployed in Israel earns more than a fully employed Palestinian in Gaza”. I felt that these sessions on Friday evening had a significant effect on both the Jewish and Arab students who took part, on a few levels: the social level, of having such contact with the ‘other side’, and finding ourselves joking with each other, but also the more directly political level of being able to express painful points face to face, with honesty and strait-forwardness.

Strangely enough, as the atmosphere eased up, the debates and conversations became more direct, participants said things which weren’t always easy to hear, and the feeling that was dominant on the first part of Friday evening, when speeches bordered on clichés (especially on the Palestinian side), faded away and gave place for real dialogue to be formed. What seemed to me as the second high point of the weekend, at least through the eyes of an Israeli, was the lecture given by Hisham Abd el Razeq. Abd el Razeq is a member of the Palestinian Authority, and belongs to the ‘Fatkh.’ He had formerly spent twenty years in an Israeli prison, after he was caught during an attempt to carry out a terrorist act in Israel. The scars on his face and hands acted as reminders of his past to the spectator.



Although at first when he was introduced, I had an instinctive feeling of discomfort, I ended up seeing things very differently. The fact that such a person, who twenty years ago was so full of hostility and sense of despair that he was willing to commit such a terrible act, today holds totally changed views of the situation, turns his words into more powerful than those of others. He spoke with great passion of the situation, and expressed the feelings of the Palestinian people towards the static position of the peace process lately. Netzarim turned out to be as it seemed on the way: a point of anguish to the Gaza citizens. Abd el Razeq said that the area of Netzarim, which is populated by a small number of families, is practically the same size as one of the refugee camps, which holds approximately 120,000 people. He spoke fluent Hebrew and most of the time translated himself to Arabic. But in the flurry of his excited words, and his enthusiasm to convey his massages to the Israelis, he often went into Hebrew, leaving the Palestinian students crying out for his translation.

When questioned about the activity of the Palestinian Authority to stop terror, Hisham Abd el Razeq said that a lot was being done, but Yochanan Tzoref, who throughout the weekend translated and coordinated between both parties, responded by expressing his disappointment from the lack of what he called “reading the Israeli public” by the Palestinians. If objection to terror would get more publicity, if the fact that people such as Abd el Razeq had made such a drastic change of views through understanding that the only way to solve the conflict is by forming an agreement would be known, if there would be publicity of the fact that in many ways not only was the Oslo agreement a step towards peace but also a sacrifice not only to Israelis but to Palestinians too, this would reflect on the whole process. The delay in carrying out the rest of the agreement is based largely on the feeling of the Israeli public that the Palestinians do not want peace, are not trust worthy, and “will always ask for more.” But if the Israeli public would know that, as Abd el Razeq pointed out, the sacrifice of a dream of a whole Israel was given up not only by Jews, but also by Palestinians, and even formerly extreme ones such as himself, the feeling of cooperation and trust towards the peace process might be much bigger.

During the time spent in Gaza, a few of the Israelis made attempts to question the Arab students about the way they see the Palestinian Authority. These attempts came to nothing, and it seemed as if this subject was a taboo. These silences reflected the internal problems of the Palestinians in the Authority, which, according to Tzoref, are a cause for delay in their own progress in building a society. The Israeli presence in Gaza, Judea and Samaria since the Six-Day-War, taught them forms of political leadership which today do not exist in their own authorities. Tzoref stressed that the feeling today towards the PA is that the people are treated with disrespect, paternalism, and distance. The Palestinians will not let this continue for long, and at some stage they will insist on forming a more democratic, and maybe more Israeli, form of leadership.

Later that afternoon, Yitzhak Frankenthal spoke of the importance of peace as reflected in Jewish sources. When, later on in his talk, he told the participants about the murder of his son Arik three and a half years ago by the Hamas, the power of meetings like the present one seemed to sharpen in my eyes. At this moment, the pain of the conflict in its harshest form - the death of a son, was weighed against the option we were trying to experience; the option of understanding and compromise, while looking each other in the eye, and seeing a companion for peace, instead of hostility.



That evening, after long talks in informal groups, and a joint stroll down to the sea,- the beauty of which seemed like it was there as a message of condolence to Gaza - we gathered back once more for parting speeches. The atmosphere was one of laughter, and even triumph that the weekend had turned out so well. Into this atmosphere, Nabil Sha’at, Arafat’s advisor, walked in, led by security forces and television cameras. His impressive appearance was followed by greeting us, and expressing hope that one day we’d come back and spend a weekend in the hosts’ homes. He added humorously that “we will manage to succeed with the peace process despite Netanyahu”... And after this, came the unexpected: Sha’at announced that “the president” was going to welcome us in his office.

We set out into the streets in a big crowd, joining hands, and guarded constantly by amused policemen, and after a few minutes walk we arrived at Arafat’s office, which held a big room that we were told served as a mosque. When Arafat arrived, he went round shaking every single person’s hand in the circle we were standing in, and then said a few words of welcome and expressed the importance of peace. Although this meeting with Arafat was only a formality, and even a gimmick, it meant that the authorities found this event interesting and important enough to call on the “president” to dedicate some moments of his time to greeting us.

On the way home, I felt a great feeling of optimism, and later found out that many of the others left Gaza with a similar feeling. The terrible sight of Gaza, the sharpening of the understanding of the conflict by seeing it in “real life,” could have had the opposite effect. But somehow, seeing that words we had said and words we had heard throughout the Shabbat, had fallen on ears of those whom are eager for some peace and quiet, of those whom we had known from a distance that they are flesh and blood, and now seen them face to face, made us feel that even if this whole activity was only on a small scale, it may have some effect, and if followed up, it may one day bear fruit.

UiTM Melaka

UiTM Melaka bermula pada Ogos 1984 di bangunan sementara di Institut Kemahiran MARA (IKM) di Jalan Hang Tuah. Pada permulaan jumlah kakitangan hanya 32 orang, iaitu terdiri dari kakitangan sokongan dan lima (5) orang pensyarah. Jumlah pelajar pertama ketika itu seramai 158 orang sahaja dan kursus yang ditawarkan adalah Diploma Pentadbiran Awam (DPA), Diploma Pengajian Perniagaan (DBS), Diploma Perakaunan (DIA) dan Diploma Sains Kesetiausahaan (DSS

Tanggal Januari 1994 ialah tarikh berpindahnya ITM Melaka ke kampus tetap di Lendu, Alor Gajah. Keluasan kampus ialah 358.2 ekar dan jaraknya ialah 26 km dari Bandar Melaka. Pada 3 Mei 1996 Kampus UiTM Melaka (ITM Melaka ketika itu) telah dirasmikan oleh YAB Perdana Menteri Malaysia iaitu Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad pada 26 Ogos 1999. Tarikh itu adalah tarikh yang sama Perdana Menteri Malaysia mengistiharkan ITM dinaikkan taraf kepada Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).

Dari 1984 sehingga kini UiTM Melaka telah diterajui oleh tujuh (7) orang Pengarah Kampus. Kini UiTM Melaka berkembang pesat dengan jumlah pelajar sudah melebihi 5000 orang. UiTM Melaka kini beroperasi dengan kekuatan seramai 245 kakitangan sokongan dan 315 orang pensyarah.