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December 25, 2002 News http://www.aljazeerah.info |
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Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine Israeli daily aggression on the Palestinian people Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah
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Saudi Arabia will not join
war: Saud -
“Contacts with Iraq by Saudi Arabia and all Arab countries have
continued. We have not asked the Iraqi leadership to step down, maybe
other Arab states did,” Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told a
press conference. But the Kingdom’s chief diplomat declined to answer a question on
whether Riyadh would grant Saddam political asylum if he quit power. Prince Saud renewed the Kingdom’s rejection of a threatened US war
against neighboring Iraq, saying it would not take part in any military
action. “If the UN Security Council sanctions war against Iraq, this
requires cooperation by all countries ... But this does not mean all
countries must take part in military action. Obviously, we will not take
part in military actions,” Prince Saud insisted. He said that allowing US and British aircraft operating from Prince
Sultan Air Base to enforce a “no-fly” zone over southern Iraq “does
not mean the Kingdom will attack Iraq or will allow striking Iraq from its
territories.” “There has been no change to the duties of foreign troops in the
Kingdom since after the end of the 1991 Gulf war,” he said. Prince Saud said Riyadh was pleased with Iraq’s cooperation with UN
weapons inspectors and “we hope their report would help spare Iraq any
military action.” He said it was up to the UN Security Council to decide if the Iraqi
declaration on its weapons programs constituted a possibly war-triggering
material breach of Resolution 1441. “We assume that any declaration of Iraq having committed a material
breach should come from the UN Security Council,” since the matter has
been referred to the United Nations, he said. Prince Saud said the Kingdom and the US enjoy excellent relations but
if the US wants to impose unacceptable conditions the situation may
change. It will also affect stability in the region. Replying to a
question about anti-Saudi campaign in the US, the prince said the American
media was responsible for the propaganda and not the US administration. Prince Saud said the Kingdom hopes to close within the next two months
a deal with foreign oil majors over multibillion dollar gas projects
stalled for more than a year. “We have received a generally positive response from the third
consortium,” which is led by Royal Dutch Shell, and includes
TotalFinaElf and Conoco, to develop the Shaybah fields, Prince Saud said. “Only one point remains to be sorted out. We hope this point will be
dealt with and, if this happens, we will sign the deal,” said the
prince, who heads the ministerial committee conducting talks with the
foreign oil companies. “There are indications that the response of the first consortium will
be positive. We expect to reach a clear result within the next two
months,” he told a press conference. The first and second consortia to develop the South Ghawar and the Red
Sea fields are led by ExxonMobil. BP Amoco and Phillips Petroleum were chosen in the South Ghawar and
Occidental and Marathon in the Red Sea group. The Saudi government made a final offer to the companies in early
September following a series of negotiations and a meeting between Crown
Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, and
the CEOs of ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell. The firms signed preliminary agreements in June 2001 for the projects
expected to require $25 billion of investments. But talks to close a final deal have been stalled with differences on
details of the commercial terms. The projects also include water desalination, power and petrochemical
plants. Prince Saud said the projects are “huge, unprecedented in the region
and highly complex,” justifying the long time the talks have taken so
far. He reiterated the government’s determination that “Riyadh will
carry out these projects with these companies or others. There is no
question about that.” The projects, known as the “Saudi gas initiative,” mark the first
opening in the Saudi energy sector since it was nationalized in 1981
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Saudi Arabia enters Arab Cup
semis after defeating Syria 3-0
JEDDAH, 25 December 2002 — Saudi Arabia steamrollered into the semifinal of the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Tournament for the Arab Cup with a 3-0 rout of Syria in Kuwait yesterday. After taking a 1-0 advantage in the first half, Saudi Arabia struck two more late in the second to romp to victory. Rida Takar scored the first goal in the 32nd minute after a period of sustained domination, and then Saud Kariri, in the 71st minute, and Talal Al-Mishaal in injury time, rounded off the tally. With nine points, the Kingdom became the second team to qualify for the semifinal. Jordan had earlier made the grade. Kingdom’s coordinated play and variation in attack tilted the balance after the two teams had fought out an early battle for midfield superiority. Syria, with six points, now have to wait for the result of the Bahrain-Lebanon match to see if they can squeeze into the last four stage. Bahrain have to lose to Lebanon in order for Syria to advance. In the second match of the day, Lebanon defeated Yemen 4-2. Rida Antar performed a hat trick with goals in 12th, 52nd and 60th minutes while Lebanese captain Moussa Hajij scored the fourth goal in the 62nd minute. For Yemen Jamal Al-Qadimi and Ali Aboud scored in the 24th and 71st minutes. In the next matches, Morocco play against Sudan and Kuwait will face Palestine. Morocco have a better chance to qualify for the semifinal round as they already have five points.
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Israeli court hands 7 life
terms to Barghouthi aide
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 25 December 2002 — An Israeli court yesterday
handed seven life sentences to Nasser Abu Hamid, a lieutenant of jailed
West Bank Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, court sources said. The Jerusalem District Court found that Abu Hamid received arms and
funding from Barghouti for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group linked to
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction. Barghouti, a leader of Fatah in the West Bank, was detained by Israeli
soldiers in the West Bank in April and is on trial in Israel on murder
charges related to the deaths of 26 Israelis. He has denied involvement in
attacks. In its verdict, the court said Abu Hamid acknowledged helping to
form the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Abu Hamid, described by Israeli authorities as a close aide to
Barghouti, was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences plus an
additional 50 years for what the court said was his involvement in the
killing of seven Israelis. “I have no regrets...The Palestinians have a legitimate right to
fight against (Israeli) occupation. I fought,” Abu Hamid told reporters
in the courtroom. In Bethlehem, the mayor of the city said yesterday Israel was planning
to seize hundreds of acres of land from the edge of the West Bank town
during its reoccupation. “The Israeli occupation of Bethlehem is not to hunt down wanted
Palestinians but to build a wall and confiscate 2,700 dunums (675 acres)
of land from the city near the Jewish settlement of Gilo,” Mayor Hanna
Nasser told journalists here. He said the land grab would isolate 56 Palestinian homes which would
not be officially annexed to Israel but which would be under Israeli
security control, making access to the city extremely difficult for
residents. He said work on the wall started 10 days ago and that, when
completed, it would stretch 2.8 km and be up to eight meters high. The Israeli Army, meanwhile, pressed on with its offensive destroying
21 houses in an overnight operation in Rafah and leaving 56 Palestinian
families homeless. Officials at the Rafah governor’s offices said that
the Israeli forces destroyed 21 houses, seriously damaged 10 and partially
damaged a further 46 which were however still habitable. Two Palestinians, one of them a 65-year-old woman, were wounded in the
raid, Palestinian security sources said. Israeli soldiers also killed a 14-year-old Palestinian and moderately
wounded five others when they fired tank shells at a group of youths near
Gaza City, hospital officials and witnesses reported. Witnesses said they saw the youths approach a graveyard east of Gaza
City and suddenly heard several explosions. They added the blasts were caused by tank shells fired by Israeli
troops stationed on the Gaza Strip’s eastern border with Israel. Shiffa
Hospital in the city identified the deceased as Mohammed Breek. In Gaza City, Palestinian International Cooperation Minister Nabil
Shaath told AFP talks hosted by Britain on progress in reforming the
Palestinian Authority will be held on Jan. 13-14.
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Muslim groups sue top US
officials over detentions -
LOS ANGELES, 25 December 2002 — A coalition of US Muslim groups said
yesterday they had sued Attorney General John Ashcroft and federal
immigration officials for arresting hundreds of Middle Eastern men under a
new anti-terrorism scheme. Four groups said they had filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles against the
top US justice official and the Immigration and Naturalization Service for
rounding up the men when they voluntarily showed up to register last week.
They assert that the detentions — which immigration officials say
numbered 450, but that Muslim leaders say numbered around 1,000 — were
unlawful and unjust and demanded that the court halt the arrests and block
deportations. “The effort to deport law-abiding people who could just as easily be
allowed to continue the immigration process seriously undermines prospects
for future compliance and constitutes an absurd waste of resources,” the
groups said in a statement. “The mass arrests have further eroded confidence in the fairness of
the INS and immigration system among Arab and Muslim communities.” The
groups include the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Alliance
of Iranian Americans, the influential Council on American
Islamic-Relations, and the National Council of Pakistani Americans. They claim the arrests were illegal as Washington did not obtain the
necessary arrest warrants, and because it was wrong to arrest and deport
those who were eligible to apply to remain here permanently. “The fear
of mass illegal arrests created by these detentions will obviously inhibit
compliance by people facing similar registration deadlines in the near
future,” the groups said. The Justice Department did not immediately
comment on the lawsuit. The lawsuit comes following official protests from some countries whose
nationals were the main targets of the crackdown last week in southern
California. (AFP)
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Pakistani Court blocks Alqaeda
suspects’ extradition -
LAHORE, 25 December 2002 — A Pakistani court yesterday barred the immediate extradition of three Al-Qaeda suspects arrested during a raid involving US agents earlier this month. Lahore High Court judge Mohammad Javed Buttar ruled the three suspected terrorists, who all have dual citizenship, could not be removed from the court’s jurisdiction or sent abroad. Buttar’s ruling added the detainees “could not be sent abroad in any illegal manner.” Previously, several Al-Qaeda suspects arrested in Pakistan and wanted by the United States were whisked out of the country swiftly without any formal extradition hearings. The three, identified as Omar Karar, Khizer Ali and Mohammad Usman, are sons and a nephew of Dr. Ahmed Javed Khawaja, whose house was raided by some 50 Pakistani and US agents Thursday in their hunt for Al-Qaeda and Taleban fugitives. (AFP)
BETHLEHEM (Agencies) — Israeli tanks and troops pulled back from the centre of Bethlehem Tuesday to allow Christmas services to go ahead in the reoccupied hometown of Jesus Christ, but Israel forbade Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from his traditional attendance at midnight mass. There was little Christmas cheer in this town just south of Jerusalem, with no sign of the thousands of tourists and pilgrims who used to flock here for Christmas before the Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, began in September 2000. The coordinator of Israeli activities in the territories, Amos Gilad, told army radio that Israel occupation forces would stay away from Manger Square, where the Basilica of the Nativity and the Church of Saint Catherine are situated. But troops would stay in the West Bank town, reoccupied in November after a suicide bombing in occupied Jerusalem was launched by Bethlehem resistance activists, he said. A curfew would only be reimposed if there was a specific security alert. While there were no military on the central square itself, well-armed border police were patrolling neighbouring streets in jeeps, and three Palestinians were arrested in overnight raids by the army. "The Israeli army's presence in Bethlehem will not be felt, no tanks nor personnel carriers will be seen on the streets," said Gilad. "You will not be able to see a besieged city on television, because we will do everything we can for religious celebrations to take place as planned." But Gilad defended a ban slapped for the second year running on Arafat's attendance at midnight mass, where the Muslim leader has celebrated with Christian constituents since his newly-formed Palestinian National Authority took control of Bethlehem in 1995. Israel allowed buses to take Palestinian and Arab Israeli Christians to Bethlehem for Christmas services during the week's festivities. Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser told journalists this year his is "a sad city unprepared for Christmas." He asked Christians around the world not to think of his town of around 100,000 people only on Christmas Eve but all the time, adding that Israel's real aim in taking over was to build a 2.8-kilometre security fence around a disputed holy site in the north, effectively cutting it off from the city. And Governor Mohammed Al Madani defended Arafat's right to attend the Christmas service, stressing that Jesus is also revered in Islam as a prophet. The Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah travelled in procession to Bethlehem later in the day accompanied by mounted Palestinian guards at a checkpoint on the edge of the town. Hundreds of people gathered to greet him and escort him to the Nativity Church along the route alleged taken by the Virgin Mary, with children in Santa Claus hats and adults holding banners reading: "Curfew = detention camp," and: "End the occupation." Some 200 activists from the bi-communal peace movement Taayush demonstrated in Bethlehem against the occupation and Jewish settlements, while delivering toys to Palestinian children. Palestinian shopkeepers have reported a marked increase in demand for plastic guns, though otherwise Christmas shopping has been slashed by the dire economic plight of the Palestinian territories after more than two years of fighting. In the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, Israeli occupation soldiers fired a tank shell at a group of Palestinians between the Karni and Erez crossings with Israel, killing a 15-year-old Palestinian and wounding three others, Palestinian hospital officials said. The military said soldiers identified suspicious figures digging near an unmanned army post, and opened fire at them, assuming they were planting explosives. Earlier, the army said it blew up a house where soldiers allegedly discovered a tunnel used by militants to smuggle weapons from Egypt to Gaza. Palestinian resistance fighters fired on the invading forces as they demolished several other buildings along the Gaza-Egypt border, the army said. Also Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that the latest draft of a US-backed Mideast plan calls for an end to Palestinian attacks against Israeli targets before further steps are taken, satisfying a key Israeli demand but angering Palestinians. The revised draft of the internationally backed "road map" to Israeli-Palestinian peace obtained by the AP said the Palestinians would have to stop all forms of violence before moving on to other parts of the plan, including establishment of a Palestinian state. In a June speech, US President George W. Bush spoke of a provisional Palestinian state for the first time, a key element of the road map plan. The draft apparently satisfied the Israelis but irked the Palestinians, who were unhappy with the changes made at Israel's request. The Palestinians are also angry that the Quartet — the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia — overseeing and drafting the road map agreed to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's request that the final version not be made public until after Israel's Jan. 28 election. According to the latest draft, the Palestinians would have to cease violence and reform the Palestinian Authority before achieving statehood. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said Monday he still had many reservations about the plan. Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces have arrested four Palestinians from East Jerusalem accused of carrying out gunfire attacks against Israeli targets and were planning other attacks, including a bombing, according to a government statement released Tuesday. It noted that Palestinians who live in Jerusalem have Israeli ID cards, allowing them to travel freely in Israel, unlike Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza. The statement said the four were members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, linked to Arafat's Fateh movement.
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US 'could fight Iraq and N. Korea' if
needed Jordan Times, 12/25/02
- BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON (R) — The United States said it was capable of fighting and winning not one war but two if need be, after the setback of seeing one of its unmanned spy planes shot down over Iraq. While US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld upped the rhetorical pressure on both Iraq and North Korea, twin targets of Washington, UN experts pushed deep into Iraq in their hunt for banned weapons. With the Christian season of peace and goodwill approaching, the inspectors promised to keep up the pace of their checks during the holiday, while Iraq accused the United States of amassing enough forces in the region to wage a world war. North Korea has diverted some attention from Iraq by scrapping international agreements and restarting a nuclear power programme that Washington fears could provide the basis for an atomic bomb. But Rumsfeld warned it late on Monday against thinking Washington was distracted, telling a reporter: “I have no reason to believe that you're correct that North Korea feels emboldened because of the world's interest in Iraq. “If they do, it would be a mistake...We are capable of winning decisively in one and swiftly defeating in the case of the other... Let there be no doubt about it.” The United States has threatened to use force to disarm Iraq if it does not comply with a tough UN Security Council resolution setting out conditions for disarmament. Pushing the inspectors At the same time, it has urged UN inspectors to be more aggressive in their visits to suspect weapons research sites, to take weapons scientists out of Iraq for questioning, and to step up the pace of their interim reports. On Tuesday — Christmas Eve — UN arms experts checked at least seven suspect sites, going farther south from Baghdad than at any time since they resumed inspections on Nov. 27. A chemical weapons team headed towards an undisclosed site in the direction of the port city of Basra, while other chemical, nuclear, biological and ballistics experts went to sites nearer the capital. “We will continue work throughout the holiday. I am sure the inspectors will get a day off here and there but they are in Baghdad to work and they will work their butts off as long as they are there,” said Mark Gwozdecky, spokesman for the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) in Vienna. The IAEA said on Monday it had begun interviewing Iraqi scientists and was ready to take them abroad if needed. But Gwozdecky urged states to guarantee protection for these scientists and their families. The United States, in particular, has yet to offer blanket guarantees of asylum to all the Iraqis the inspectors question. “Governments have to step forward and offer protection and even asylum to those people,” he said on Tuesday. “We don't control governmental decisions in this regard, so that is something we cannot control the pace of. We are prepared to use the authority, but we have to think it through.” Missing bombs At the United Nations in New York, sources familiar with Iraq's arms declarations said it had failed to account for a quantity of around 6,000 chemical bombs that its own documents said had been left over from its 1980-88 war with Iran. Washington has made no secret of its build-up of forces across the region to back its threat to wage war on Iraq. Iraq, which insists it has scrapped all banned weapons programmes, on Monday shot down an unmanned US Predator spy plane worth $3 million over the south of the country. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz told an Arab solidarity conference in Baghdad the same day: “Is it possible that all this military build-up... is merely for targeting Iraq and changing the Iraqi ruling regime as they alleged? “It is a strategic buildup for a war at the level of a world war which is at this stage targeting all the Arab nation”. Turkey, a NATO member that is one of Washington's closest allies and borders Iraq, is expected to provide airbases and other support if the United States does go to war. Prime Minister Abdullah Gul summoned his top ministers on Monday night for talks on Iraq, and a top Israeli general was in Ankara to meet his Turkish counterpart on Tuesday. “Our talks about developments in our neighbour should not be seen as preparation for war but we have to be prepared for scenarios,” Gul told a meeting of his Justice and Development Party in parliament. The threat of war in Iraq and the disruption in supplies from strike-bound Venezuela pushed oil prices near two-year highs on Tuesday. US light crude hit a peak of $32 a barrel in early trade, its highest since January 2001.
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Turkish PM says Iraq situation at `serious
point' Jordan Times, 12/25/02
- ANKARA (R) — Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday events in neighbouring Iraq had reached a “serious point” and Turkey could not remain indifferent. One of Washington's closest allies, Turkey is expected to provide airbases and other support if the United States goes to war over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction. The government of the NATO ally has been debating the extent of the support it may offer, with Gul's Justice and Development Party (AKP), which won an election landslide in November, facing some difficult decisions. “The (AKP) Party calls itself a democratic, conservative party but its grass roots are Islamic. Considering most people in Turkey do not want to have anything to do with a war against a Muslim country... it's not easy for the AKP,” Sami Kohen, columnist at Milliyet newspaper, told Reuters. He said the question was not whether Turkey would cooperate with the United States but “how little can we cooperate and still be on the US side.” Gul told a meeting of the AKP in parliament on Tuesday that talks on Iraq should not be seen as preparations for war but as looking at different scenarios. “Developments in Iraq have come to a serious point. We have close ties with Iraq, we cannot remain indifferent to developments there,” he said. The growing likelihood of war has sent financial markets tumbling over the past week and on Tuesday the Central Bank intervened to support the lira. The main stock index has lost around 20 per cent in just over a week. Gul considers US position Gul said any US military campaign against Iraq should be conducted in accordance with “international law and legitimacy.” Turkey has said it would like another UN resolution before any military action but has stopped short of saying that would be a condition for support. “We are seriously considering the concerns, thoughts and opinions of the United States,” Gul said. The United States and Britain have been preparing for war to back up their demands that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein come clean on any banned weapons. Baghdad denies it has such weapons. Turkey has argued against war in Iraq, saying it could hurt its fragile economy and destabilise the region, particularly in northern Iraq which has been controlled by Kurdish groups since the 1991 Gulf War. Ankara fears Iraqi Kurds may take advantage of the upheaval of war to seek an independent state, something Turkey fears could stir unrest among its own Kurdish population. Iraqi Kurd leader Jalal Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), was in Ankara on Tuesday for talks with Gul and other officials. Turkey has begun preparing for a possible exodus of Kurdish refugees if there is a war. Military sources and witnesses have reported Turkish troop movements in the southeast and over into northern Iraq where Turkey hopes to keep any Kurdish refugees in camps within the country. Gul summoned his top ministers on Monday night for talks on Iraq and a top Israeli general was in Ankara to meet his Turkish counterpart on Tuesday.
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Egypt to push for truce on suicide attacks
when Hamas-Fateh talks resume Jordan Times, 12/25/02
- CAIRO (AFP) — Egypt will try to squeeze a “moratorium on suicide attacks” out of talks between the mainstream Palestinian movement Fateh and its rival Hamas which are expected to resume here shortly after previous rounds failed, an analyst said Tuesday. “Egypt is trying to coordinate between the Palestinian factions, to reach some kind of agreement on what they call suicide operations, to reach a moratorium,” said Salama Ahmed Salama, a political analyst and leading editorialist for the governmental Al Ahram daily. But Salama also warned that the success of the new round of negotiations depended on a strong Israeli commitment to the “road map” for Middle East peace. “It should go with the roadmap. When there is a serious trend to deal with the roadmap, then the moratorium could start,” he said. The so-called road map is a document which is due to be finalised in the coming weeks by the quartet of diplomatic powers — the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia — and calls for the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005 and a freeze to Israeli settlememt activity. Washington delayed the plan, which also calls for a halt to all Palestinian attacks, until after Israeli elections on Jan. 28. Talks between Fateh and the Islamic movement Hamas on the pursuit of the Palestinian uprising are scheduled to restart in Cairo this week under the aegis of Egypt's head of intelligence Omar Suleiman and the European Union. The talks are aimed at harmonising Palestinian positions and reaching a ceasefire, even partial, as a growing number of Palestinian officials and a portion of the population feels that suicide attacks have damaged the Palestinian cause. Salama said there was still a possibility that two left-wing secular factions — the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine — might join the fresh round of talks, along with the hardline Islamic Jihad.
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Lebanon asks Canada to withdraw
blacklisting of Hizbollah Jordan Times, 12/25/02
- BEIRUT (AFP) — The Lebanese foreign ministry asked Canada on Tuesday to take back a decision to blacklist the Hizbollah movement for alleged “terrorist” activities, officials here said. The ministry's secretary general, Mohammad Issa, made the request to Canada's charge d'affaires here, Lajos Arandas, telling him the reasons Canada gave for the blacklisting were unjustified. Issa said the group had handed the ministry a tape recording of a speech by its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, which had been used by Canada to justify the ban. Issa told Arandas “the translation used by Canada as a basis for its decision to declare Hizbollah illegal was faulty,” the officials said. In his speech, Nasrallah said: “If the Israelis destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem, Islam's third holiest site) the Muslims and the people of Palestine will destroy the Zionist entity with the blood of martyrs.” Canada announced on Dec. 11 that it had outlawed the Iranian- and Syrian-backed resistance movement as well as Turkey's Kurdish Labour Party and Japan's Aum Shinrikyo because they are “knowingly engaged in terrorist activity.” The decision followed months of campaigning by opposition parties and Jewish groups in Canada. It applied to Hizbollah's social and educational branch, since its armed wing had already been banned. Senior Lebanese officials have rallied to Hizbollah's side, stressing the group is a full-fledged political party with elected members in parliament, and that it spent years fighting against the Israeli occupation. Hizbollah, which also figures on a US list of organisations accused of “terrorism”, led the resistance to Israel's 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon which ended in May 2000.
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Western agents provided tip for arrest of
UAE's Al Qaeda suspect Jordan Times, 12/25/02
- ABU DHABI (AFP) — Western intelligence agencies tipped off the United Arab Emirates in early October that Al Qaeda's top Gulf operative was planning to blow up vital installations here, diplomats said Tuesday. An Emirati spokesman announced Monday that Abdel Rahim Al Nashiri, “nicknamed `prince of the sea' and Al Qaeda's chief for naval operations and its operations chief in the Gulf,” had been arrested at the end of October. Nashiri, a Saudi, had been “preparing to blow up vital economic installations inside the country,” the spokesman said. It was the first official confirmation that Nashiri had been arrested in the UAE. Washington announced in November that he had been captured in an unnamed Gulf state but gave no date, and one official spoke of Kuwait. “Several Western intelligence services tipped off Abu Dhabi in early October,” one diplomat told AFP. “It would appear he was not working alone,” he added. However, websites linked to Al Qaeda network have announced that Nashiri was not such a major player. He is no more than “an ordinary member” not a senior figure, according to www.islammemo.com. The UAE spokesman said Nashiri had been handed over to the United States “as part of the ongoing cooperation between the two sides in the fight against international terrorism.” Nashiri was described as “one of the most dangerous” on a US list of 20 operatives of the Al Qaeda network. He is suspected of involvement in the bombing of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, in the bombing of the USS Cole in the southern Yemeni port of Aden in October 2000 and in a blast that crippled a French supertanker off the Yemeni coast last October. The attack against the USS Cole killed 17 US sailors and the attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed 224 people. Nashiri's arrest and handover were kept under wraps “for security reasons” and in order not to jeopardise the investigation, the UAE spokesman said. However, the announcement in Abu Dhabi came after the New York Times reported earlier Monday that Nashiri had been caught in the UAE, which cultivates a tradition of secrecy on security affairs. He was taking pilot training when he was arrested in the tiny emirate of Umm Al Qaiwain, one of seven members of the UAE federation and one of the least developed. The daily said the arrest took place last month. Nashiri, 36, was handed over to the US Central Intelligence Agency and transferred to one of its centres in Jordan for interrogation, the Times said. Information surrounding the arrest of Nashiri, who trained in the emirate overlooking major shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, suggests Al Qaeda was planning more attacks using aircraft.
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Thousands
celebrate Christmas Christian expats in Abu Dhabi yesterday marked Christmas with prayers and the celebrations were held in a sombre manner in contrast with the boisterous parties at hotels and shopping malls. More celebrations will be held today in all the four churches in town. While the traditional Christmas trees made their appearance in the shopping malls and hotels throughout the city, the congregations have kept a sober profile, reminding the Christian community to celebrate with simplicity. St. Joseph's Catholic Church will have two celebrations almost every hour starting from 7am till 8pm. Masses will be carried out in several languages including English, Arabic, Filipino, Malayalam, French, Italian, German, Urdu, Polish, Tamil and Koncani. "We will celebrate in sobriety the Christmas Day, having masses all the day long trying to accommodate the whole congregation," said one of the priests serving at St. Joseph Church. While a service attended by hundreds of parishioners took place last night in the church's compound outdoors, today more than one mass at a time will be held and meals be distributed to the poor. "A meal for the poor and those in need will be distributed throughout the day," said a priest. "It is also an occasion to offer the people a chance to get together and socialise." The whole compound was decorated with lights and a cave was set up as a tradition to remember the nativity of Jesus. St. George's Orthodox Church had a Christmas service yesterday between 8:30pm and 10:30pm. Today an evening prayer is taking place as per the usual schedule. St. Andrews Anglican Church had a Christmas service last evening while today's celebrations will be held at 8am and 10am. The Mar Thoma parish will have a service today at 5am. In Dubai, J.B. one expat, said, "Christmas is especially for kids. It won't be complete without the traditional gift-giving. But it's for grown-ups too," while preparing to drop company gifts to several clients in Dubai. As the hours passed last night, traffic became unbearable in Dubai's Oud Metha district when thousands of Christians poured into the different churches in the area for the traditional midnight mass. Late-comers found that parking lots were next to impossible to find in a district which is the convergence point of followers of at least three churches - the Catholic St. Mary's, the Protestant Holy Trinity and St Thomas Orthodox Church. People came with their families and friends to celebrate the community midnight mass at different churches in Jebel Ali. Many hotels and restaurants were alive with carols and serving holidaymakers who celebrated their "noche buena" meals in style. Most families, though, went home for the traditional Christmas meals and sweets. English-language FM radio channels here also filled the airwaves with Christmas songs, both old and new, especially the most-requested "I'm Driving Home for Christmas". But the busy festive day started much earlier, with clogged up email in-boxes and mobile phones constantly ringing with incoming text messages to express holiday greetings. In many countries of the world, the celebration of Christmas on December 25 is a high point of the year. Most people post Christmas greeting cards to their friends and family. These days, sending e-mail cards has taken over regular Christmas cards, a tradition spurred by public postal service and industrial revolution. For the Filipino community here, the midnight mass was a culmination of the nine evenings of "simbang gabi" (evening masses), which started on December 15, probably the longest Christmas celebration in the whole world. "Today, for many people, Christmas has become a busy race to spend money on presents," commented an Indian parishioner at Dubai's St Mary's Church. "Many people still hope for more than presents at Christmas. I want to go back to a time in our childhood, or some other good time in the past, when life was simpler and made more sense, before the troubles of adult life arrived," added Jong, member of the Filipino community choir. "Behind all the fun and decorations, there must somehow be a message, something more, some key to life, hope and happiness," he added. The Indian Association Sharjah is excpected to celebrate the yuletide at the Association Community Hall today starting at 7.30pm with a variety entertainment programme. Various choir groups will sing carols during the event along with a Christmas tree competition.
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Three
UN Council members unconvinced of need to attack By
John Daniszewski and Sebastian Rotella, Gulf News, 25-12-2002 -
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Khatami
sees bright ties with Pakistan
3000 homes destroyed, 15 hurt in Iran quake
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