Archive | February, 2012

Putin Promises Better Life for All in Election Pitch

Russian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin speaks at a meeting with his campaign activists in Moscow on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Putin warned the opposition against using illegal ways to protest the outcome of Sunday's election, in which he is all but certain to reclaim the presidency. The sign in the background reads "V. Putin." (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Government Press Service)

 

Improving the quality of life of ordinary citizens throughout Russia outside Moscow must be a priority, Russian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday at a meeting with supporters.

“That is a different Russia. That’s what we should look at with all our attention,” Putin said at a meeting with campaign leaders and members of the All-Russia People’s Front, his new election campaign vehicle.

“So the level and quality of life for people wherever they live in the country could be worthy,” he added.

Putin repeated his previous claim that the authorities do not plan to raise the retirement age, but gave assurance that suitable conditions would be created for those who want to earn a higher pension by working later in life.

“We have no plans to increase the retirement age. We must create conditions for the people who want to work beyond retirement age, who want to retain a good income and create additional conditions in order to earn a large pension,” Putin said.

Social support, he said, will be more targeted and more effective. “The overall level of pensions will also increase. We won’t allow retirees to end up below the poverty line,” he added.

“In the future, pensions should reach the conventional pan-European coefficient, the so-called replacement rate, 40 percent of the average wage,” he said.

The prime minister also spoke against imposing any restrictions on media and in favor of electing people according to their professional qualities instead of ethnicity or religious beliefs.

“We will not be able to form a stable situation in society without effective and free media. This is an obvious fact. This has always been like this and in our times, when the society is open, for instance to internet, it is senseless to restrict something in media,” he said.

“We must also elect people, particularly in the executive bodies, not in line with their ethnicity or religious beliefs, but according to their personal and professional qualities,” Putin added.

Putin paid a surprise visit to the southern Russian city of Astrakhan on Tuesday, where an apartment complex partially collapsed after a household gas explosion. The Prime Minister goes to the polls on Sunday as one of six candidates for the presidency. The winner will serve a six-year term.   (*)

 

 

SOURCE : RIA NOVOSTI

Posted Monday, February 29, 2012

Putin warns opposition over protesting Sunday’s presidential vote

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting with supporters, members of the All Russian People's Front party, and political scientists in Moscow February 29, 2012. REUTERS/Natalia Kolesnikova/Pool

 

MOSCOW  —  Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned his opponents against unsanctioned protests after Sunday’s presidential election.

Putin, who is all but certain to reclaim the presidency, criticized opposition plans for rallies over what they fear will be a fraudulent vote. He said Wednesday it was “unacceptable” to prejudge the vote.

Putin says “we will respect any viewpoint, but are calling on everyone to act within the framework of law and use only legitimate means.”

Evidence of widespread vote-rigging in favour of Putin’s party in December’s parliamentary election fueled a series of massive protests in Moscow demanding an end to Putin’s 12-year rule.

Activists have turned out en masse to act as observers of the vote to prevent violations.  (*)

 

 

Source :  AP

Posted Monday, February 29, 2012

Iran condemns proliferation of nuclear arms by Israeli regime

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi addresses the main U.N. Disarmament conference at the end of his two-day visit at the United Nations in Geneva, February 28, 2012. REUTERS/Valentin Flauraud

 

Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has lashed out at the Israeli regime for proliferating nuclear weapons, insisting on the need to establish a Middle East that is free of such weapons, Press TV reports.

“We look for a Middle East region free of nuclear weapons. There is, unfortunately, one country that holds nuclear weapons and remains outside the NPT (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) while its nuclear installations are not under the safeguards of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),” Salehi said Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN Disarmament Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Tel Aviv regime, which is widely believed to own over 200 atomic warheads as the only possessor of nukes in the Middle East, refuses to sign the NPT and yet does not face any international scrutiny.

Under its policy of “nuclear ambiguity,” Israel has never denied its possession of atomic arms and does not allow any inspection of its nuclear activities by international regulatory bodies.

“The disarmament points to those that hold nuclear weapons while non-proliferation concerns others that do not have nuclear weapons,” added the top Iranian diplomat.

So, he said, they (nuclear powers) insist on narrowing even the slightest possibilities (of nuclear activity) for those nations that do not possess nuclear arms but wish to gain access to peaceful nuclear technology.

Salehi also reiterated the significance of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons by all countries, saying, “They always issue guidance to others while do not commit themselves to what they recommend to others.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei reiterated recently during a Tehran Friday prayer sermon that Iran has never sought and will never seek nuclear weapons and considers the possession of such arms as a great sin, useless and destructive.

The United States and some of its allies have repeatedly accused Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program, using the false pretext to impose sanctions against Iran.

Iran has rejected the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the NPT and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Tehran has also challenged the silence and inaction of the UN and IAEA with respect to Israeli nuclear program and the its implied possession of atomic warheads, repeatedly calling for total abolishment of all nuclear arms.   (*)

 

 

SOURCE : PRESS TV.IR

Posted Monday, February 29, 2012

Hillary Clinton: Internal Power Struggle in Iran Over Nuclear Weapons

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the department's FY2013 international affairs budget February 28, 2012 in Washington, DC. Clinton faced questions ranging from the cost of embassies in Iraq and the Middle East to the START Treaty with Russia. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

 

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that there is an internal power struggle in Iran over the country’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Secretary Clinton says the U.S. intelligence community believes Iran has not yet decided to produce a nuclear weapon, in part, because there are deep-seated disagreements among its leaders about whether it is the right thing to do.

“There is a continuing debate going on inside the Iranian regime,” said Clinton. “And it’s an especially complicated debate for anybody on the outside, and I dare say some people who are on the inside, to understand because there is a lot of power struggle going on.  There are personality clashes.”

Clinton says that internal debate over the future of Iran’s nuclear program includes members of the clergy, the Revolutionary Guard, the parliament and the presidency, leading to what she calls “a lot of static” in intelligence reporting on Tehran’s atomic ambitions.

Much of the internal opposition to nuclear weapons comes from a fatwa issued by the late Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri.  A leader of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, Montazeri ruled that Islamic law forbids the development and use of nuclear weapons.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes.  Clinton says there is no doubt that Iran has the right to develop such a peaceful civilian program.  But she told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that there is no doubt that much of what has been discovered by United Nations inspectors “points to the direction of a nuclear weapons program.”

The United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany are considering Iran’s response to a request to resume talks over its nuclear program.  European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says she is cautious and optimistic that Iran might be ready to begin substantive talks.

There is added pressure to make progress on the issue as Israel reportedly considers preemptive military action to remove what it considers an Iranian threat.

Clinton says the international community is pursuing a dual track of intense pressure and a willingness to engage in talks.

“I want to gather as much information, not only about actions, but [also] about intentions,” she said. “We have very deep, ongoing consultations with Israel, with the [Persian] Gulf Arabs, with the Europeans, with others.  There isn’t anybody of any stature in the world in any government that really is not concerned about what the Iranians are doing.”

Clinton says tougher U.S. sanctions against Iran are having an economic effect.  As the world’s third-largest exporter of crude oil, Iran is a major supplier for China, Japan and India as well as the European Union.

The United States is working with its European and Asian allies to dry up Iran’s oil market because, they say, Tehran is using those profits to support its nuclear program.      (*)

 

 

 

SOURCE : VOA

Posted Monday, February 29, 2012

NATO Chief: Troops Show ‘Remarkable Restraint’ in Afghanistan

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen speaks to the media during a news conference at a seminar on SACT February 28, 2012 in Washington, DC. Rasmussen discussed on various issues including NATO operations in Afghanistan and the upcoming NATO Summit in Chicago in May, 2012. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

 

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has praised coalition forces in Afghanistan for showing what he called remarkable “restraint and professionalism” in the face of anti-coalition violence following the burning of copies of the Quran on a U.S. military base.

During a NATO seminar in Washington Tuesday, Rasmussen said that despite the wave of violent protests across the country that left four U.S. troops dead, the coalition must continue working to ensure stability in Afghanistan.

“We will not allow these extremists to weaken our resolve. We will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Afghan partners, and we will not lose sight of our shared goal. We are in Afghanistan to build stability and security for the Afghan people, which is in the interest of our own security.”

The NATO chief said he also supports the decision by the top allied commander in Afghanistan, U.S. General John Allen, to withdraw all advisers from Afghan government ministries after the shooting death of two U.S. officers in their offices Saturday.

Rasmussen said the attacks do not reflect a lack of large-scale cooperation between NATO forces and Afghan security forces.

“Let me remind you that 130,000 ISAF troops work on a daily basis together with more than 300,000 Afghan security forces. And the overall picture is a cooperation characterized by trust and confidence.”

The U.S. Embassy has been in lockdown since the violent demonstrations erupted last week. It has warned of a “heightened” threat to Americans in Afghanistan.

The United Nations also said it would relocate its staff from an office in northern Kunduz province, after it came under attack from angry protesters Saturday and that additional measures will be put in place to “ensure the office can continue to operate in safety.”

U.S. President Barack Obama and top U.S. military officials have apologized for the desecration of the Quran. Media reports have suggested that U.S. troops attempted to burn the Muslim holy books after detainees at Bagram Air Base used them to pass extremist messages.  (*)

 

 

Source : VOA

Posted Monday, February 29, 2012

Indonesia extends diplomatic support to Palestine

Palestine

 

 

The Indonesian government underlines its commitment to support the Palestinian cause by intensifying bilateral relations between the two nations in all areas, from diplomatic engagement to sport cooperation.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has sent Indonesian ambassador to the US, Dino Patti Djalal, to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his private residence in Amman, Jordan.

“I’ve met President Mahmoud Abbas to convey President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s letter to the Palestinian people,” Dino told The Jakarta Post over the phone after meeting with Abbas on Tuesday.

According to Dino, the letter comprises several points, including Indonesia’s plan to appoint an honorary consul to Palestine, who will be based in Ramallah.

“We’ll start with the appointment of [our] honorary consul in Ramallah,” he said without elaborating.

When asked on the time frame and how the office would operate, Dino refused to disclose the details.

Indonesia will be the first Southeast Asian country to open a representative office in Ramallah.

The plan to open an embassy in Palestine has been discussed by Indonesian lawmakers and government officials on various occasions. Indonesia has to coordinate with Israel before opening the office. Palestine already has an embassy in Indonesia.

Dino also said that Indonesia would send its national soccer team to Ramallah for a friendly match.

According to Dino, Yudhoyono would also urge Indonesians to visit Palestine to boost tourism in the country. Indonesian visitors to Palestine has increased over the past years. For example, in 2007, some 700 Indonesians went to Palestine, mainly as tourists. The number increased significantly to 19,000 people in 2011.

The Indonesian government offers 1,000 scholarships for Palestinians, mainly for those working as civil servants, to study various subjects at state universities across Indonesia. So far, 300 Palestinian students have been studying at the Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University and the Bandung Institute of Technology.

In addition, the government will give a special incentives for Palestinians who have an interest in studying in Indonesia, by giving them the local standard tuition fee.

“Even though they are considered as international students, they will only have to pay the local standard tuition fee,” Dino added.

Furthermore, Yudhoyono would like to boost Indonesian-Palestinian private sector cooperation. At least, he hoped that businesspeople from both nations would meet to explore trade and investment opportunities.

Despite being tasked to visit Palestine, Dino denied that he acted as the president’s special envoy to Palestine, citing his close relation with Abbas as the reason.

“I have met with President Abbas twice before. He is a good man, and fatherly. He even gave a gift for my family,” Dino said.

Abbas urged more Indonesians to visit Jerusalem, as it would boost the tourism industry and benefit Palestinian people.

In the 45-minute meeting, President Abbas briefed Dino on the latest developments in the Palestinian-Israel negotiations, the general aspects of Palestinian economy and Fatah and Hamas’ ongoing reconciliation process.

The main Palestinian political rivals took a major step toward healing their bitter rift in early February, agreeing that Abbas would head an interim unity government to prepare for general elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The agreement, brokered by Qatar, seemed to bring reconciliation within reach for the first time since the rivals established separate governments, following Hamas’ violent takeover of Gaza in 2007. Previous deals have collapsed amid deep suspicions and intervention by the sides’ rival foreign patrons.

Abbas is backed by the West while Hamas has been supported by Iran.   (*)

 

 

SOURCE : The Jakarta Post

Posted Monday, February 29, 2012

Al Quran Dibakar Afghanistan Berkobar, Hormatilah Islam

Aksi demonstrasi Anti Amerika terus dilakukan di Afghanistan pasca pembakaran Al Quran oleh prajurit Amerika

 

Jakarta, 28 Februari 2012 (KATAKAMI.COM) —  Insiden pembakaran Al Quran di pangkalan udara tentara Amerika Serikat di Bagram, sebelah utara Kabul, memicu gelombang protes Anti Amerika yang sudah sangat meluas dan sangat buruk dampaknya saat ini di Afghanistan.

Aksi pembakaran Alquran oleh tentara Amerika ini terungkap ketika seorang petugas pembuangan sampah yang melihat Al Quran dan buku-buku hangus terbakar di pangkalan udara Bagram.

Hari Jumat (24/2/2012) lalu, Komandan pasukan Amerika dan NATO di Afghanistan, Jenderal John R. Allen, mengatakan penyelidikan bersama oleh pasukan  koalisi dan Afghanistan terhadap “kekeliruan menangani naskah-naskah keagamaan” di Pangkalan Udara Bagram masih berlangsung.

Jenderal Allen mengeluarkan pernyataan yang menegaskan, bekerja sama dengan pemimpin Afghanistan merupakan satu-satunya cara bagi pihaknya untuk memperbaiki kekeliruan besar itu dan memastikan peristiwa serupa tidak terjadi lagi.

 

Komandan pasukan Amerika dan NATO di Afghanistan, Jenderal John R. Allen

 

General John R. Allen, Commander ISAF Statement

 

Presiden Amerika Serikat Barack Obama pun telah mengirim permintaan maaf tertulis kepada Presiden Afghanistan Hamid Karzai mengenai penodaan terhadap Quran di Bagram itu.

Kemudian Kedutaan besar Amerika di Kabul telah mendesak warga Amerika agar menghindari perjalanan yang tidak perlu di negara Asia Selatan itu.

Permintaan maaf Amerika tidak dihiraukan di Afghanistan dan Pakistan, dimana kemarahan menggelegak karena pembakaran al-Quran.

Gelombang aksi unjuk rasa terjadi dimana-mana.

Pejabat-pejabat NATO mengatakan seseorang yang mengenakan seragam tentara Afghanistan melepaskan tembakan dan menewaskan dua tentara koalisi di Afghanistan Timur, dalam satu dari banyak unjukrasa yang meledak di seluruh negara itu, atas pembakaran Al Quran di sebuah fasilitas NATO pada hari Kamis, 23 Februari 2012 lalu.

Insiden mematikan itu terjadi di luar pangkalan militer koalisi di propinsi Nangarhar.

Taliban mengeluarkan sebuah pernyataan Kamis (23/2/2012) pagi, untuk menghimbau warga Afghanistan untuk meluncurkan sejumlah serangan atas sasaran-sasaran asing, sebagai aksi pembalasan terhadap penghinaan kitab suci kaum Muslim itu.

Serangan balasan itu mencakup serangan bom bunuh diri di Bandar Udara Jalalabad hari Senin, 27 Februari 2012 kemarin.

Kepolisian Afghanistan mengatakan 9 orang tewas dalam serangan bom mobil bunuh diri di luar bandar udara di Afghanistan timur yang digunakan untuk penerbangan sipil dan militer.

Beberapa lainnya luka-luka dalam ledakan itu Senin pagi di gerbang bandar udara Jalalabad.

 

Sejumlah demonstran mengangkat korban tewas akibat aksi unjuk rasa mengutuk pembakaran Al Quran di Afghanistan

 

Para pejabat provinsi mengatakan sebagian besar korban tampaknya kaum sipil.  Dua pengawal bandara dan seorang tentara juga terdapat di antara yang tewas.

Lagi-lagi Taliban mengklaim bahwa serangan mematikan itu adalah bagian dari rangkaian aksi balas dendam terkait pembakaran Al Quran.

Tak lama setelah serangan itu dilakukan, Taliban mengaku bertanggung jawab atas serangan itu, yang terjadi setelah kerusuhan beberapa hari ini di seluruh Afghanistan sebagai tanggapan atas pembakaran Quran oleh  pegawai NATO di Pangkalan Udara Bagram.

Lebih dari 30 orang, termasuk 4 tentara Amerika, telah tewas  dalam demonstrasi protes sejak pembakaran Quran itu.

Hari Minggu, pihak berwenang Afghanistan memulai pencarian gencar akan seorang pejabat intelijen Afghanistan yang dicurigai membunuh dua perwira Amerika hari Sabtu di Kementerian Dalam Negeri di Kabul.

Perwira Amerika itu ditemukan tewas di dalam kantor yang terkunci yang hanya dapat dimasuki oleh orang-orang yang mengetahui kombinasi nomor gemboknya.

Memburuknya situasi di Afghanistan pasca insiden pembakaran Al Quran ini tentu sangat disayangkan.

Sesungguhnya, pangkal persoalan dari insiden ini adalah sebuah keteledoran dari petugas ( dalam hal ini oknum prajurit Amerika ) yang tidak menyadari betapa sangat sensitif dan akan sangat buruk dampaknya jika ia membakar Al Quran, bila dibandingkan nilainya dengan buku-buku serta dokumen biasa lainnya.

Jika persoalannya dilokalisir dan dipersempit untuk mempermudah memahami duduk persoalan yang sebenarnya, kita akan dapat mengetahui bahwa benar ini adalah tindakan perorangan yang lalai dan tidak sensitif pada situasi yang ada.

Artinya, kecil kemungkinan bahwa pembakaran Al Quran tersebut adalah unsur kesengajaan atau perintah dari komandan perang Amerika di Afghanistan.

 

Komandan pasukan Amerika dan NATO di Afghanistan, Jenderal John R. Allen, berbicara dengan pendahulunya, Jenderal David H. Petraeus dalam sebuah acara serah terima jabatan di Kabul, Afghanistan, 18 Juli 2011

 

Kesalahan perorangan yang sangat fatal semacam ini, harus segera diatasi oleh komandan perang Amerika di Afghanistan. Dan karena persoalannya sudah sangat meluas, tampaknya permohonan maaf sudah tidak mungkin menyelamatkan situasi.

Betul bahwa ini adalah kesalahan perorangan (oknum).

Bukan sebuah kesengajaan.

Dan bukan perintah dari atasan (komandan).

Tetapi, mengingat ini adalah sebuah tindakan yang benar-benar sangat sensitif dan sangat mendesak untuk diselesaikan maka pimpinan tentara Amerika di Afghanistan harus bertindak cepat.

Dalam hal ini, Jenderal John Allen harus melengkapi permohonan maafnya pada pekan lalu, dengan menindak secara tegas pelakunya.

Dan segera diumumkan bahwa pelaku sudah dicopot dan ditarik keluar dari Afghanistan.

Sanksi tegas tentu akan mampu untuk membantu meredam situasi yang sudah sangat memanas.

Sebab kalau hanya sebatas permohonan maaf, bahkan sampai ke tingkat Presiden sudah menyampaikan permohonan maaf, tetapi jika pelakunya belum dikeluarkan sebagai bentuk hukuman maka kemarahan rakyat Afghan akan tetap membara.

 

Presiden Amerika Serikat Barack Obama

 

Keputusan Presiden Obama untuk menyampaikan permohonan maaf secara tertulis kepada Presiden Afghanistan sesungguhnya adalah tindakan yang sangat tepat.

Secara tulus, ia sebagai Panglima Tertinggi Amerika, menyampaikan permohonan maaf kepada Presiden Afghanistan Hamid Karzai dan rakyat Afghanistan secara keseluruhan.

Permohonan maaf itu, harus diartikan sebagai sebuah MAAF dari seorang Panglima Tertinggi yang bertindak sportif dan mengambil alih situasi yang sudah sangat darurat di semua medan operasi akibat kelalaian prajurit secara perorangan.

Obama menyurati Presiden Afganistan Hamid Karzai, Kamis (23/2/2012).

Isinya meminta maaf atas insiden pembakaran kitab suci agama tertentu oleh pasukan AS yang bertugas di salah satu pangkalan militer AS di Afganistan.

Dalam suratnya, Obama menyebutkan, kejadian itu sama sekali bukan sesuatu yang sengaja dilakukan. Obama berjanji menggelar penyelidikan penuh atas insiden tersebut.

”Saya ingin mengekspresikan penyesalan mendalam atas insiden yang dilaporkan telah terjadi. Saya sampaikan kepada Anda dan rakyat Afganistan permintaan maaf yang tulus,” tulis Obama dalam suratnya itu.

”Kesalahan terjadi lantaran kekuranghati-hatian. Saya berani yakinkan sejumlah langkah yang tepat akan diambil untuk menghindari hal serupa sekaligus memastikan mereka bahwa mereka yang salah harus bertanggung jawab atas perbuatan mereka,” tulis Obama.

Insiden pembakaran terjadi di pangkalan militer AS di Bagram memang memicu aksi protes selama sepekan terakhir ini.

 

Presiden Barack Obama

 

Bahkan dua tentara AS tewas tertembak oleh seorang prajurit militer Afganistan.

Lawan-lawan politik Obama dari Partai Republik cenderung mengecam permohonan maaf Obama sebagai sesuatu yang harusnya tak perlu dilakukan.

Kecaman dari lawan-lawan politik Obama ini sangat salah kaprah.

Harus dibedakan masalah politik (khususnya ambisi untuk meraih kekuasaan), dengan masalah-masalah keamanan.

Hanya dalam kurun waktu seminggu, aksi protes Anti Amerika sudah sangat seburuk itu dampaknya di Afghanistan.

Mau seburuk apalagi dampak yang akan diterima jika kemarahan itu sudah semakin tak terkendali membidik semua kepentingan, fasilitas dan prajurit Amerika serta pasukan internasional di Afghanistan ?

Lawan-lawan politik tidak menyadari bahwa pernyataan-pernyataan mereka dikutip dan diberitakan secara luas di media internasional.

Mereka tidak memikirkan bagaimana dampak pernyataan sinis mereka terhadap keselamatan prajurit-prajurit Amerika lainnya di Afghanistan.

Spirit pertarungan politik antara kandidat presiden Partai Republik dengan Barack Obama dalam meraih kursi kepresidenan, harus dipisahkan dari masalah-masalah keamanan yang sifatnya sudah sangat darurat semacam ini.

Situasi harus didinginkan.

Bukan malah dibuat lebih panas sebab akan berpotensi menimbulkan ancaman dan instabilitas yang dampaknya sangat buruk.

John Allen, selaku Komandan Perang Amerika di Afghanistan, tentu sangat dipusingkan dalam menghadapi situasi yang sangat sulit saat ini.

 

Komandan Pasukan Amerika dan NATO, Jenderal David Petraeus, didampingi Duta Besar Inggris Mark Sedwill menyampaikan keterangan pers di hadapan wartawan, terkait aksi pembakaran Al Quran oleh seorang pendeta. Petraeus meminta agar para pemimpin dan rakyat Afghan tetap, mengedepankan sikap tolerans dan saling menghormati.

 

Petraeus, Sedwill Condemn Quran Burning, Call for People Not to Respond in Kind

 

Tahun lalu, semasa masih bertugas di Afghanistan sebagai Komandan Pasukan Amerika dan NATO,  Jenderal David Petraeus juga pernah “dipusingkan” oleh tindakan pendeta Amerika yang membakar Al Quran.

Petraeus bergerak cepat untuk mencegah dampak buruk akibat pembakaran Al Quran oleh pendeta di Amerika agar jangan menimbulkan gangguan keamanan dan gelombang protes Anti Amerika di Afghanistan.

Bayangkan sekarang, bagaimana pusingnya Jenderal John Allen, sebab yang membakar Al Quran itu adalah (oknum) prajuritnya sendiri, di markas tentara Amerika pula !

Tetapi semua harus berpikir secara tenang dan tidak emosional.

Jangan juga, Taliban memanfaatkan situasi ini untuk kepentingan-kepentingan sempit yang bertujuan menunjukkan serta meningkatkan eksistensi mereka.

Proses dialog untuk rekonsiliasi yang belakangan ini diusahakan untuk dilakukan dengan Pihak Taliban oleh Pemerintah Afghanistan dan Pakistan, jangan juga menjadi terabaikan dan terbengkalai karena Taliban merasa mendapat angin untuk tampil eksis kembali memanfaatkan insiden pembakaran Al Quran.

Serangan-serangan balasan yang diklaim oleh Taliban juga sangat sadis dan mengorbankan rakyat Afghanistan sendiri.

Sebab serangan itu lebih banyak memakan korban dari kalangan rakyat Afghanistan sendiri.

Dimana letak kepatriotan dan nilai-nilai kepahlawanan dari Taliban jika ternyata korban dari serangan balas dendam mereka membunuh kalangan sipil dan umat ISLAM di Afghanistan sendiri ?

 

Kemarahan rakyat Afghanistan mengutuk pembakaran Al Quran yang dilakukan prajurit Amerika

 

Taliban menyerukan aksi balas dendam karena ada seorang oknum prajurit Amerika tak sengaja membakar lembaran-lembaran kitab suci Al Quran yang berceceran.

Lalu, atas nama aksi balas dendam, apakah ada nilai-nilai kepatriotan dan kepahlawanan, jika serangan mematikan itu membunuhi UMAT ISLAM di Afghanistan ?

Pemerintah Afghanistan dan Pakistan harus lebih tenang melihat situasi ini dan sedapat mungkin menyikapi permasalahan yang ada sekarang secara bijaksana.

Terutama Presiden Hamid Karzai.

Bertindaklah lebih bijaksana dan tak cuma sekedar kata-kata himbauan semata, sementara di lapangan situasinya sudah sangat “panas membara”.

Ini kesalahan dari perorangan.

Bukan kesalahan yang sifatnya melembaga, atau melibatkan negara.

Meminjam dari Jenderal David Petraeus semasa ia bertugas di Afghanistan, insiden pembakaran Al Quran memang sebuah insiden yang berpotensi menimbulkan kebencian tetapi insiden semacam ini harus direspon dengan tenang, penuh toleransi dan saling menghormati.

Jenderal John Allen harus mengambil hikmah dari insiden ini.

Paling tidak, ia harus benar-benar meniru mana yang baik dari para pendahulunya di Afghanistan, semisal Jenderal Stanley McChrystal dan Jenderal David Howell Petraeus.

Jadi ke depan, insiden ini harus disikapi dengan sangat bijaksana dan menyadapi bahwa penghormatan terhadap simbol-simbol AGAMA adalah mutlak dilakukan oleh prajurit Amerika yang bertugas dimanapun juga.

Tidak ada AGAMA yang mengajarkan keburukan didunia ini.

Semua agama mengajarkan kebaikan dan kebajikan.

Termasuk Islam.

Sebab harus diakui bahwa ISLAM adalah sebuah kekuatan dunia yang saat ini sudah sangat mengkristal.

Dan kekuatan ISLAM, justru harus dirangkul, dan diajak bekerjasama.

 

Presiden Amerika Serikat Barack Obama saat berpidato di Universitas Kairo, 4 Juni 2009

 

President Obama Speaks to the Muslim World from Cairo, Egypt

(Full text)  Remarks by the President at Cairo University, June 4, 2009

 

Bukankah itu yang menjadi keinginan dari Presiden Barack Obama dalam pidatonya di Universitas Kairo pada bulan Juni 2009 ?

“A New Beginning”, demikian judul dari pidato Obama tanggal 4 Juni 2009.

Pidato Obama yang sangat mengesankan itu adalah menjadi tonggak baru hubungan dan kerjasama yang lebih baik antara Amerika dan Dunia (Negara-Negara Islam).

Cuplikan dari pidato Obama tersebut adalah sebagai berikut :

Kita bertemu pada saat ada ketegangan besar antara Amerika Serikat dan warga Muslim seluruh dunia – ketegangan yang berakar pada kekuatan-kekuatan sejarah yang melampaui setiap perdebatan kebijakan yang kini berlangsung.

Hubungan antara Islam dan Barat selama ini mencakup berabad-abad koeksistensi dan kerja sama, tapi juga konflik dan perang-perang bernuansa agama.

Akhir-akhir ini, ketegangan muncul akibat kolonialisme yang menyangkal hak dan peluang bagi banyak warga Muslim, serta sebuah Perang Dingin yang membuat banyak negara dengan mayoritas penduduk Muslim diperlakukan sebagai boneka tanpa mengacuhkan aspirasi mereka sendiri. Lebih jauh lagi, perubahan besar yang dibawa modernitas dan globalisasi membuat banyak Muslim menilai Barat bersikap memusuhi tradisi Islam.

Kalangan ekstrimis yang keras telah mengeksploitasi ketegangan-ketegangan yang ada dalam segmen kecil namun merupakan minoritas kuat di kalangan Muslim ini. Serangan pada tanggal 11 September 2001 dan upaya berkelanjutan dari kalangan ekstrimis ini untuk menyerang warga sipil telah membuat sebagian kalangan di negara saya untuk menilai Islam tidak saja memusuhi Amerika dan negara-negara Barat, tapi juga hak asasi manusia. Semua ini telah memupuk rasa takut dan lebih banyak rasa tidak percaya.

Selama hubungan kita ditentukan oleh perbedaan-perbedaan kita, kita akan memperkuat mereka yang menyebarkan kebencian bukan perdamaian, mereka yang mempromosikan konflik bukan kerja sama yang dapat membantu semua rakyat kita mencapai keadilan dan kemakmuran. Lingkaran kecurigaan dan permusuhan ini harus kita akhiri.

Saya datang ke Kairo untuk mencari sebuah awal baru antara Amerika Serikat dan Muslim diseluruh dunia, berdasarkan kepentingan bersama dan rasa saling menghormati – dan didasarkan kenyataan bahwa Amerika dan Islam tidaklah eksklusif satu sama lain, dan tidak perlu bersaing. Justru keduanya bertemu dan berbagi prinsip-prinsip yang sama – yaitu prinsip-prinsip keadilan dan kemajuan; toleransi dan martabat semua umat manusia.

Jadi, seperti yang diungkapkan Obama, bukankah sebaiknya diwujudkan awal baru antara Amerika Serikat dan Muslim di seluruh dunia, berdasarkan kepentingan bersama dan rasa saling menghormati ?

 

 

 

(MS)

Nelson Mandela recovering at home after hospital stay

Former South African President Nelson Mandela smiles at home in Houghton, after casting his vote, in this May 16, 2011 file photo.

 

JOHANNESBURG  —   Nelson Mandela was recovering at home in Johannesburg on Monday after being released from hospital with a clean bill of health, easing fears over the revered icon of the anti-apartheid struggle.

The 93-year-old former president was released on Sunday after spending the night in hospital for a minor exploratory procedure to investigate complaints of persistent abdominal pain.

President Jacob Zuma’s office said Mandela was resting with family at his home in the leafy suburb of Houghton.

But even as South Africa breathed a collective sigh of relief, Mandela’s latest hospitalisation forced the nation to contemplate the day when the man who led it from the dark days of white-minority rule will no longer be here.

“Whenever it comes, it will come as a shock. There will be a lot of public mourning because of the influence he had over the last 70 years in South Africa and over the life of most South Africans,” Frans Cronje of the South African Institute of Race Relations told AFP.

“It is precisely because we know that Mandela is frail, that he will not be with us forever, that we hold our collective breath each time he goes to hospital amid rumours of ill health,” said an editorial in The Times.

“He remains the father of our new, post-apartheid nation and his presence – however much he no longer occupies a visible, public space – offers us comfort. To imagine a South Africa without him is, for many, an unthinkable sorrow.”

Mandela, once a spry former boxer who stayed fit during his 27 years in prison by doing calisthenics in his cell, has grown increasingly frail as a nonagenarian.

His last public appearance was at the final of the World Cup in South Africa in July 2010.

Rumours of his death or failing health flare up periodically, forcing the government to issue reassurances that all is well.

His last hospitalisation, in January last year, sparked public panic and a media frenzy as the government and Mandela’s charitable foundation refused to release information on his condition.

The media generally praised the government for handling last weekend’s hospital stay better than that of 2011, when Mandela underwent two days of treatment for an acute respiratory infection initially described as “routine” testing.

Officials moved quickly to announce that “Madiba”, as he is affectionately known, had been hospitalised, and to issue updates.

Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, whose ministry is in charge of Mandela’s health care, gave a press conference on Sunday detailing the procedure he had undergone: a diagnostic laparoscopy, or “keyhole operation”, a surgery in which doctors make small incisions in the abdominal area to probe it with a tiny camera

But officials refused to say where he was being treated, appealing for privacy. They still have not detailed the exact nature of his ailment.

He was brought home surreptitiously, in what journalists gathered outside his house only realised in retrospect was probably an unmarked black vehicle with tinted windows.

The media have developed an ambivalent relationship with their own coverage of the global icon’s health scares.

“Madiba is no ordinary man but despite his innumerable achievements he is human, not deserving to be treated like a spectacle. So, it is about time he was given a breather to recuperate in peace,” said the Sowetan’s editorial.

Columnist Robyn Curnow, who is also a South Africa correspondent for CNN, summed up why the nation, now 18 years into post-apartheid democracy, holds its breath each time it is forced to contemplate a Mandela-less future.

“Nelson Mandela is held in deep affection because he reminds South Africans of how far they have come,” she wrote in The Times. “Mandela rekindles South Africans’ nostalgia for a time when this country was a miracle of democracy.”   (*)

 

 

SOURCE : CHANNEL NEWS ASIA

Posted Monday, February 27, 2012

Iran state TV says Oscar win victory over Israel

Asghar Farhadi, of Iran, accepts the Oscar for best foreign language film for “A Separation” during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

 

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state TV described the country’s first foreign film Oscar win Monday as a victory over archfoe Israel, a rare nod of approval toward a movie industry often criticized by Iranian hardliners.

The official reaction to the victory of “A Separation” in Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony was cast mostly in nationalist terms amid a mounting showdown between Israel and its Western allies over Tehran’s nuclear program.

The Israeli film “Footnote” was in the competition against directorAsghar Farhadi’s movie, which explores troubles in Iranian society through the story of a marriage breaking apart.

But Farhadi, in his acceptance speech in Los Angeles, said he hoped the Oscar would raise awareness of Iran’s artistic achievements and rich culture that has been “hidden under the heavy dust of politics.”

Iranian cinema has reaped praise and prizes at international festivals such as Venice and Cannes for decades — as part of an artistic tradition among Iranians that includes poetry, music and artwork that now command some of the highest prices in galleries in Dubai and elsewhere.

The government, while it highlights sporting achievements and technological leaps as a source of national pride, has often been dismissive of international cultural and entertainment awards.

Clampdowns by hard-liners in recent years — particularly since the unrest after the disputed 2009 presidential elections — have included artists and others, forcing some to flee the country or work underground. In January, a well-known independent film group in Tehran was ordered closed.

Many Iranian conservatives were upset with the themes of “A Separation:” domestic turmoil, gender inequality and the desire by many Iranians to leave the country.

But Iranian state media used the Oscar-winning film to trumpet a success over Israel. The state TVbroadcast said the award succeeded in “leaving behind” a film from the “Zionist regime,” the phrase often used in Iran to describe Israel.

Israel has not ruled out military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, which the West fears could be used to develop weapons. Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes like energy production and cancer treatment.

Javad Shamaghdari, head of Iran’s Cinematic Agency, portrayed the Oscar decision as the “beginning of the collapse” of Israeli influence that “beats the drum of war” in the U.S.

Farhadi said he thought the success of “A Separation” pleased some in the Iranian government and not others. “The Iranian government is not unanimous at all,” he said.

It was the first Iranian film to win the award. The only other Iranian movie nominated was 1997′s “Children of Heaven,” which was defeated by the Italian movie “Life Is Beautiful.”

“A Separation” tells the story of a couple heading for divorce and dealing with domestic troubles, including a young child and an aging parent. It portrays a husband who is protective of his father who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. He is in conflict with his wife, who wishes to emigrate. Their daughter is torn between them.

Iranian TV did not broadcast the Academy Awards live, but many Iranians watched through satellite dishes, which are illegal but widely used. State TV later aired clips of Farhadi’s acceptance speech.

Iranian artists and the public were delighted by the win.

Tahmineh Milani, director of the acclaimed 2005 film “Unwanted Woman,” said the Oscar was a source of “national pride.” She said the award “revived hope in the hearts of all Iranians” regardless of their professions.

Nima Behdadi Mehr, a cinema columnist in pro-reform Mardomsalari daily, believed the award “would help Iranian cinema to come out of its isolation.” He hoped President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would grant Farhadi a “special prize” to draw further attention to Iran’s film industry.

“I feel fresh air in my lungs. I watched the ceremony through satellite TV channels with four of my friends,” said Erfan Khazaei, an art student in Azad University, as he watched the ceremonies that finished well after midnight in Iran. “Now we are more hopeful about the future.”

But ultra-conservatives denigrated the film as a slap at the country.

Ebrahim Fayyaz, a prominent hardline sociologist, told the Nasim news website that “A Separation” is one of the worst Iranian films.

He said it was a “black realistic film” that portrays the country as an old man, as a symbol of tradition and the past, afflicted with Alzheimer’s. He said the movie suggests emigrating to the West as a solution.

“The West awards movies that are in the direction of their policies,” he said.

Last month, Farhadi proposed that Iranian authorities allow a vote among artists about the fate of the House of Cinema, an independent film group that operated for 20 years before it was ordered closed by authorities in January.

Officials said it lacked the proper permits. Artists and others claimed it was a political decision because the group often took liberal stands contrary to government’s cultural policies.

Iranian cinema has for years been one of the nation’s main cultural exports, notably films of Abbas Kiarostami, Majid Majidi and Jafar Panahi. Panahi in 2011 was sentenced to a six-year house arrest and a 20-year ban on filmmaking after being convicted of “making propaganda” against Iran’s ruling system.

Kiarostami’s “Taste of Cherry,” a story about a suicidal man seeking someone willing to bury him, won the 1997 Palme d’Or at Cannes. Majidi’s Oscar-nominated “Children of Heaven” follows two impoverished siblings seeking new shoes.

In 2007, the Cannes jury prize went to the animated film “Persepolis,” an adaptation of Iranian director Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novels about growing up during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.  (*)

 

 

SOURCE : AP

Posted Monday, February 27, 2012

2012 Oscar Winners: Here’s Your Complete List

 

Actress Meryl Streep accepts the Best Actress Award for 'The Iron Lady' onstage during the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

 

Here’s your full list of winners from the 2012 Academy Awards :

 

Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson, Hugo

Best Art Direction: Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo, Hugo

Best Costume Design: Mark Bridges, The Artist

Best Makeup: Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland, The Iron Lady

Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Film Editing: Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Sound Editing: Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty, Hugo

Best Sound Mixing: Tom Fleischman and John Midgley, Hugo

Best Documentary: Undefeated

Best Animated Feature: Rango

Best Visual Effects: Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, Alex Henning, Hugo

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource, The Artist

Best Original Song: “Man or Muppet,” Bret McKenzie, The Muppets

Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash, The Descendants

Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Best Live Action Short Film: The Shore

Best Documentary Short: Saving Face

Best Animated Short Film: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Best Directing: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Picture: The Artist

 

(*)

Academy Awards goes to Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation

Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi addresses the audience onstage at the 84th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, on February 26, 2012.

 

Internationally-acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s Nader and Simin: A Separation has won the Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards.

The prize-magnet movie was awarded at the biggest night of the film industry at the Hollywood and Highland Center (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) on Sunday.

A Separation has also been nominated the Best Original Screenplay of the 2012 Academy Awards.

In the Best Foreign Language Film of the Year category, the Iranian family drama went up against Bullhead by Michael R. Roskam (Belgium), Footnote by Joseph Cedar (Israel), In Darkness by Agnieszka Holland (Poland), and Monsieur Lazhar by Philippe Falardeau (Canada).

In the best original screenplay writing category, Farhadi’s mesmerizing flick was competing up against Bridesmaids by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, Margin Call by J.C. Chandor, and Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen.

The drama also turned heads winning The Best Foreign Film Award of the 27th annual Independent Spirit Awards during a ceremony held one day before the 84th Academy Awards.

Farhadi’s drama also grabbed the Best Foreign Film Award of the 2012 César Awards on February 24, in Paris.

Farhadi’s film also received Best Picture, Best Film Not in the English Language, Best Ensemble and Best Original Screenplay awards of the 9th International Cinephile Society (ICS).

Farhadi’s award-sweeper drama has hit the Canadian and the Brazilian cinemas since January 20, 2012, as scheduled earlier.

The film won the award for the Best Foreign Language film at the 2012 edition of Golden Globes. It also received the 2012 Turkish Film Critics Association Award (SIYAD) in the same category.

The 2011 New York Film Critics Circle also granted its Best Foreign Film award to A Separation.

Nader and Simin: A Separation received three top awards of the Best Foreign Language Film, Best Supporting Actress and the Best Screenwriter at the 2012 London Critics’ Circle Awards (LCCA).

The movie has also been nominated for the 43rd annual NAACP Image Awards, a multi-cultural accolade presented by the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The Iranian drama was awarded by the 2012 Broadcast Film Critics Association. It also received the 17th BFCA Annual Critics’ Choice Movie’s Best Foreign Language Film award.

Farhadi’s A Separation was recently selected as the best 2011 film by Wall Street Journal and the second best film of the same year by the international film magazine, Sight and Sound.

The critically-acclaimed movie has entered the Best Foreign film line-up of the International Press Academy (IPA) Satellite Awards.   (*)

 

 

SOURCE : PRESS TV IR

Posted Monday, February 27, 2012

Suicide car bomber hits Afghan airport; 9 killed

Afghanistan

 

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide car bomber struck early Monday at the gates of Jalalabad airport in eastern Afghanistan, killing nine people in a large blast, officials said.

The Taliban said the attack on the airport, which serves both civilian and international military aircraft, was revenge for the burning of Muslim holy books at an American military base.

The attacker drove up to the gates of the airport shortly after dawn and detonated his explosives in a “very strong” blast, said Nangarhar provincial police spokesman Hazrad Mohammad.

Among the dead were six civilians, two airport guards and one soldier, Mohammad said. Another six people were wounded, he said.

An AP photographer saw at least four destroyed cars at the gates of the airport.

NATO forces spokesman Capt. Justin Brockhoff said that no international forces were killed in the early morning attack and that the installation was not breached by the blast.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying a suicide car bomber had driven up to the airport gate and detonated his explosives as international forces were changing from night to morning guard duty.

“This attack is revenge against those soldiers who burned our Quran,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in an email.

The explosion comes after nearly a week of deadly protests in Afghanistan in the escalating crisis over the burning of Muslim holy books. More than 30 people have been killed in the violence, including four U.S. soldiers.

On Sunday, demonstrators hurled grenades at a small U.S. base in northern Afghanistan and the ensuing gun battle left two Afghans dead and seven NATO troops injured.

Still, the top U.S. diplomat in Afghanistan said Sunday that the violence would not change Washington’s course.

“Tensions are running very high here, and I think we need to let things calm down, return to a more normal atmosphere, and then get on with business,” Ambassador Ryan Crocker told CNN.   (*)

 

 

SOURCE : AP

Posted Monday, February 27, 2012

Blast at Jalalabad airport in Afghanistan

Afghan Map

 

Afghanistan ( AP )  —  There has been a large explosion at the gates of Jalalabad airport in eastern Afghanistan.

Provincial police spokesman Hazrad Mohammad confirms “a very strong” blast hit this morning at the entrance to the airport in Nangarhar province but says he does not yet have further details.

An AP photographer reports seeing at least four destroyed cars at the airport gates. The airport serves both civilian and international military aircraft.

There are no immediate reports of casualties from the blast, but Mohammad says many are feared.  (*)

 

 

 

SOURCE : AP

Posted Monday, February 27, 2012

Australian PM Gillard wins leadership challenge

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaks during a news conference at Parliament House in Canberra February 27, 2012. Gillard won a leadership showdown with party rival Kevin Rudd with strong backing from her party Monday, but now faces a mammoth task to rebuild support for her divided and unpopular minority government. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz

 

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillardwon a leadership showdown with party rival Kevin Rudd with strong backing from her party Monday, but now faces a mammoth task to rebuild support for her divided and unpopular minority government.

Gillard won the ballot of ruling-party lawmakers, 71 votes to 31, in a convincing victory, ending Rudd’s hopes of returning as prime minister any time before the next election, due in late 2013.

Rudd’s supporters earlier put Gillard on notice that whatever the leadership result, she must lift the government’s standing in opinion polls or she could still be dumped as prime minister before the next election.

“I formally declare Julia Gillard re-elected as leader of theAustralian Labor Party,” a spokesman for the ruling party, Chris Hayes, told reporters after what he described as an intense meeting of Labor lawmakers at parliament house.

Former Labor Party leader Mark Latham said the vote was an overwhelming vote of support for Gillard, and Rudd would be unable to mount a second challenge on the back of the result.

“There’s no way Rudd, on those numbers, can come back to the leadership,” Latham told Sky television, adding that any further challenge against Gillard would now require a third candidate, possibly Defense Minister Stephen Smith or Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten.

The leadership vote has exposed deep divisions within theunpopular government, which opinion polls show would lose an election by a landslide.

A Newspoll Monday showed Labor’s primary support had risen to a 12-month high despite the leadership turmoil, with two-party support for the government up two points to 47 percent compared with 53 percent for the opposition, down two points.

Rudd was preferred to Gillard as prime minister by 53 percent to 34 percent.

Gillard had called for the leadership vote to stamp her authority over the governing Labor Party after Rudd suddenly quit as foreign minister in Washington last week after weeks of mounting infighting between the two camps.

The two have had a strained relationship since Gillard engineered a party coup to replace Rudd as prime minister in June 2010.

While Rudd did not have the support of his parliamentary colleagues, he has consistently polled above Gillard as preferred prime minister, and has said he was the only leader capable of turning around the government’s poor polling.

Before the vote, Rudd said he would return to the government backbench and would not challenge Gillard a second time before the next election.

“I can’t be more explicit than to say I would not initiate a further challenge against Julia,” he told Australian television.

Financial markets have largely ignored the leadership fight, given only minor policy differences between Gillard and Rudd. Both are committed to return to a small budget surplus by mid 2013.  (*)

 

 

SOURCE :   REUTERS

Posted Monday, February 27, 2012

‘Hugo’, ‘The Artist’ Win First Oscars

Oscar Host Billy Crystal performs his monologue at the 84th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, February 26, 2012. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn

 

 

Veteran Oscar Host Billy Crystal opened the 84th Academy awards ceremony Sunday with jokes about his age and attempts to attract a younger audience to the annual show.

The segment included a long pause while Crystal, who has hosted the awards show nine times previously, sat silently next to teen music sensation Justin Bieber.

The first two awards of the night went to Hugo, a visually rich 3D tribute to a French film pioneer. It won for its cinematography and art direction.

Hugo, which features British actor Sacha Baron Cohen, is one of nine movies nominated for Best Picture.

Another early winner Sunday night was The Artist, for its costumes. The highly unusual silent black-and-white film also is nominated for the top prize and is among the favorites to win. It tells the story of a struggling silent-era movie star.

Other nominees in this category include Midnight in Paris, directed by Woody Allen, Moneyball, which tells the story of Oakland Athletics baseball executive Billy Beane, and The Help, a movie about the plight of black maids serving white families in southern U.S. states decades ago.

Octavia Spencer received a standing ovation when she won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Help. She was one of two actresses nominated in the category from the film, which tells the story of African American maids in the racially segregated southern United States.

In the best foreign language film category, the prize went as expected to Iran’s A Separation. Directed by Asghar Farhadi, it tells the story of the difficult lives of a couple seeking a divorce. It already has won numerous awards this year.

The award ceremony by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood honors last year’s best films, actors, directors and producers, and is viewed by hundreds of millions around the world.

Meryl Streep has once again been nominated for Best Actress for Iron Lady, about former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.  George Clooney and Brad Pitt are competing for the Best Actor Oscar.   (*)

 

 

 

SOURCE : VOA

Posted Monday, February 27, 2012

Former President Mandela goes home

A picture taken on June 17, 2010 shows former South African President Nelson Mandela in Sandton. Nelson Mandela, 93, was admitted to hospital on February 25, 2012 after doctors advised specialist medical attention for a long-standing abdominal complaint. "President Jacob Zuma wishes to advise that former president Nelson Mandela was admitted to hospital today, the 25th February 2012," a statement from the presidency said. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE

 

South Africa’s Former President Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital following his admission yesterday, Saturday 25 February.

The doctors have decided to send him home as the diagnostic procedure he underwent did not indicate anything seriously wrong with him.

President Zuma thanks the public for the good wishes and support.   (*)

 

 

 

 

SOURCE :  thepresidency.gov.za

Posted Sunday, February 26, 2012

Mandela released from hospital after treatment

A picture taken on June 17, 2010 shows former South African President Nelson Mandela in Sandton. Nelson Mandela, 93, was admitted to hospital on February 25, 2012 after doctors advised specialist medical attention for a long-standing abdominal complaint. "President Jacob Zuma wishes to advise that former president Nelson Mandela was admitted to hospital today, the 25th February 2012," a statement from the presidency said. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE

 

Johannesburg (CNN) – Nelson Mandela was released from a South African hospital a day after officials said the ailing anti-apartheid icon underwent treatment for an abdominal ailment

“The doctors have assured us that there is nothing to worry about and that Madiba is in good health,” President Jacob Zuma said in a statement earlier.

Mandela underwent a diagnostic laparoscopy, defense minister Lindiwe Sisulu said without elaborating. The procedure involves inserting a camera into the body to allow doctors a look in a patient’s abdomen or pelvis.

A family member had said Saturday that Mandela had hernia surgery, but Zuma described it as a “diagnostic procedure” without providing details.

The 93-year-old will likely be discharged by Monday, his relative said. Officials and family declined to name the hospital where he was recuperating.

Considered the founding father of South Africa’s democracy, Mandela became an international figure when he was imprisoned for 27 years for fighting racial segregation.

He was freed in 1990, and three years later, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1994, Mandela was elected president and served one term as he had promised.

Mandela last appeared in public in the closing ceremonies of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

He was hospitalized last year for treatment of an acute respiratory infection, and continued to receive treatment at home after doctors discharged him.

Despite his rare appearances, Mandela retains his popularity and is considered a hero of democracy.

Mandela relocated to his childhood town of Qunu last year, but moved back to his Johannesburg home earlier this year.

At the time, Zuma said the move was because the home in his boyhood town was undergoing maintenance.   (*)

 

 

 

 

SOURCE : CNN

Posted Sunday, February 26, 2012

Sweden’s new princess named Estelle, King announces

(First row, L-R) Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, (2nd Row, L-R) Olle Westling, Ewa Westling and Anna Soederstroem attend a special Te Deum religious service at the Royal Chapel in Stockholm on February 24, 2012. Sweden's newest royal, second in line to the throne after her mother Crown Princess Victoria, has been named Princess Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary, King Carl XVI Gustaf announced today. AFP PHOTO / SCANPIX-SWEDEN / ANDERS WIKLUND

 

Sweden’s new princess, born on Thursday and second in line to the throne, has been named Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary.

King Carl XVI Gustaf made the announcement live on television, at a special cabinet meeting.

Princess Estelle’s official title is Duchess of Oestergoetland – a region just south of Stockholm.

The baby’s mother, Crown Princess Victoria, 34, is married to her former personal trainer Daniel, 38. The wedding was in June 2010.

Reports say the choice of Estelle – a French name – surprised many Swedes. It had not ranked among the favourites offered by betting agencies, the Swedish news website The Local says.

Silvia is the name of Victoria’s mother, while Daniel’s mother is named Ewa. No explanation was provided for the choice of Estelle and Mary.

Estelle’s birth was greeted by two 21-gun salutes on Skeppsholmen island, opposite the royal palace in the capital Stockholm.

Prince Daniel said his daughter was 51cm (20in) long and weighed 3.28kg (7lb).

It is the first royal birth since Victoria’s sister, Madeleine, was born in 1982 and the first grandchild for the king and queen.

The king has been reigning since 1973.

Sweden changed the constitution in 1980, three years after Victoria was born, to allow the eldest heir to inherit the throne, regardless of gender.  (*)

 

 

SOURCE :  BBC.CO.UK

Posted Friday, February 24, 2012

Russia backs Kofi Annan appointment as Syria envoy

Kofi Annan

 

RUSSIA  —  Russia on Friday welcomed the appointment of Kofi Annan as the UN and Arab League envoy for the crisis in Syria, saying Moscow was ready to work closely with the former United Nations chief.

“We hope that the work of this respected statesman will assist in solving the acute political and humanitarian problems in Syria,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The Russian side will be ready for close cooperation with him in the search for mutually acceptable paths to solutions for these tasks,” it said.

The ministry said Annan should work with both sides in the conflict and search for a peaceful solution through dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition.

Russia and its diplomatic ally China earlier this month infuriated the West by vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning the regime of Bashar al-Assad for the violence.

Moscow has always insisted both sides, and not just the Syrian regime, are to blame for the bloodshed.  (*)

 

 

SOURCE : AFP

Posted Friday, February 24, 2012

Dutch Prince Johan Friso may not come out of coma: doctor

Dutch Prince Constantijn, Queen Beatrix, wife of Prince Johan Friso Princess Mabel and Prince Willem Alexander, from left, arrive at the main hospital in Innsbruck, western Austria, Friday, Feb 24, 2012, one week after the Queen's second son Prince Johan Friso was rushed to the intensive care unit of the clinic after he was buried by an avalanche. Doctors treating the Dutch Prince say he suffered massive brain damage and he may never regain consciousness. (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson)

 

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Prince Johan Friso, who was buried in an avalanche a week ago while skiing in Austria, has suffered severe brain damage and may not come out of a coma, his doctor told a press conference on Friday.

Queen Beatrix’s middle son, who gave up his right to the throne a decade ago, was skiing off-piste near Lech in the Austrian Alps, when he was caught in an avalanche. He was trapped under the snow for 25 minutes before he was pulled out unconscious, and has been in critical condition ever since.

 

Queen Beatrix (C) of the Netherlands poses with her son Prince Johan Friso, his wife Princess Mabel and the couple's newborn daughter Countess Luana in the Hague in this April 24, 2005 file photo. Dutch Prince Johan Friso was in critical but stable condition at an intensive care unit in an Innsbruck hospital after being buried by an avalanche in Austria, the Dutch government said on February 17, 2012. REUTERS/ANP Foto/Marcel Antonisse/Pool/Files

 

“Because the prince was stuck under the snow for a very long time, he did not get enough oxygen,” his doctor, Wolfgang Koller, told a press conference.

“The lack of oxygen led to a cardiac arrest, which lasted for 50 minutes. During this entire period the patient had to be resuscitated. This is an exceptionally long period, you can say too long a period,” Koller said.

Koller said if the 43-year-old, hospitalized in Innsbruck near Lech since February 17, wakes from the coma his “rehabilitation will take months, possibly years.”   (*)

 

 

SOURCE : REUTERS

Posted Friday, February 24, 2012

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