Qatari emir’s visit to Gaza aimed at locating Hamas leaders - Report

 

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani waves to the crowd as he arrives in the Gaza Strip on October 23, 2012

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/17/272801/qatar-emir-located-hamas-cmdrs/

Qatar’s King Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has reportedly located the whereabouts of senior Hamas members during his recent visit to the Gaza Strip, and later provided Israel with the information to assassinate them.

According to a report published by the Fars news agency, the emir of Qatar distributed a number of watches and ballpoint pens among Hamas leaders, which could transmit low-frequency signals to Israeli satellites.

The Israeli military officials would then use the received signals to spot the high-ranking Hamas fighters, and launch assassination strikes on them.

Sheikh Hamad arrived in Gaza on October 23 to become the first head of state to visit the besieged enclave since the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, took power in the territory five years ago.

Qatar’s emir has met Israeli leaders in the past, and is working hard to boost the diplomatic clout of his small Persian Gulf country.

Gaza has been blockaded by the Israeli regime since 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.

The Israeli military frequently carries out airstrikes and other attacks on Gaza Strip, saying the actions are being conducted for defensive purposes. However, disproportionate force is always used, in violation of international law, and civilians are often killed or injured.

The new wave of Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has claimed more than 41 lives since November 14. Ahmed al-Ja'abari, the popular and influential head of the Hamas military wing, the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, was assassinated in an Israeli attack on his car on Wednesday.

On Friday, Ahmed Abu Jalal, a field commander of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, was also killed in an Israeli airstrike on the central Gaza district of Maghazi.

 

Myanmar's Suu Kyi says she can not back Rohingya Muslims

 

Muslim Rohingya people in Mayebon Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Mayebon township in the western Myanmar Rakhine state on November 1, 2012

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/04/270339/suu-kyi-refuses-to-support-rohingyas/

Myanmar Noble Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi says she will not back the minority of Rohingya Muslims that have been persecuted and killed by the majority Buddhists.

"I am urging tolerance but I do not think one should use one's moral leadership, if you want to call it that, to promote a particular cause without really looking at the sources of the problems," Suu Kyi told the BBC on Saturday.

This is the first time that the opposition leader has announced her stance about the months-long violence in her country officially.

Since the onset of the deadly violence against Rohingyas in the western Rakhine state in June, Suu Kyi has been the target of harsh swipe from international human rights activist for failing to speak against the killings and persecution of Muslims in Myanmar.

"If people are killing one another and setting fire to one another's houses, how are we going to come to any kind of reasonable settlement?" she said.

The remarks by the democracy champion, as she is described by Western countries, come as all major news outlets are providing compelling evidence about the persecution of Rohingyas at the hands of Buddhists and Myanmar’s security forces.

The Myanmar government and its majority population refuse to recognize Rohingya Muslims as citizens and label the minority of about 800,000 as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, an impoverished state that has shown no willingness to help the Rohingyas.

More than 100,000 Rohingyas have been displaced since the violence broke out in June, according to the UN. However, the humanitarian situation is continuing to deteriorate.

"The situation is dire. The UN is doing its best, but it is trying to find more funding to help them," said Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, an NGO working with the Rohingya.

 

Turkey's interference in Syria, blow to Erdogan’s political future: Iran MP

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/08/12/255830/erdogan-future-victim-of-syria-crisis/

The government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has put its political future on a knife edge by propping up insurgent groups in Syria, an Iranian lawmaker says.

Ebrahim Aqa-Mohammadi, a member of Iran's Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, on Saturday pointed to Tehran-Ankara amiable relations, adding, “I advise Mr. Erdogan and his friends not to engage in this issue; undoubtedly, in Turkey’s future elections, Erdogan’s party will be the victim of such matters.”

He urged Turkey to respect friendly ties with Iran and Syria as its neighbors and not to endanger Iran’s interests by supporting “a bunch of thugs and murderers” in Syria.

Damascus has accused several regional countries including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar of funding and supplying weapons to armed gangs in the country.

On Tuesday, more than 100 Turkish troops armed with thermal rockets and sophisticated weaponry on briefly entered the town of Cerablos in Syria’s Kurdish region of Kobani.

Aqa-Mohammadi pointed to the kidnapping of Iranian pilgrims in Syria by the insurgent groups, adding, “The abduction of Iranian pilgrims is an inhuman action which is carried out by the support of the US, EU and some of the regional countries such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey.”

On August 4, Syrian insurgents abducted 48 Iranian pilgrims who were traveling on a bus from Damascus International Airport to the shrine of Hazrat Zeinab (AS).

“All these measures are aimed at putting the Islamic Republic of Iran under pressure to make it stop its support for the legitimate government in Syria,” the Iranian legislator pointed out.

Syria has been the scene of deadly unrest since mid-March, 2011 and many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on August 1 that the country is engaged in a ''crucial and heroic'' battle that will determine the destiny of the nation.

Canada allows spy agency to use info obtained through torture

Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/225580.html

The Canadian government has given the country's spy agency the green light to use information extracted from suspects through torture, despite earlier claims that it would never use such data.

In a directive, issued in December 2010, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service was given permission to employ such information in cases where, it claimed, ‘public safety is at stake,’ a Canadian news agency reported Tuesday.

This comes despite the fact that in 2009, Canada's then-Public Safety Minister had pledged that the government would never use information obtained by torture.

The directive says that the information would be used in cases where “human life or public safety” are at risk as in such "exceptional circumstances," it might be urgent that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) "share the most complete information available at the time with relevant authorities, including information based on intelligence provided by foreign agencies that may have been derived from the use of torture or mistreatment."

Although, according to the directive, the CSIS is not permitted to use torture on its own suspects, it can accept and use information from agencies that may have used torture to extract the data.

Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has claimed that ignoring such information is "an unacceptable risk to public safety."

"Therefore, in situations where a serious risk to public safety exists, and where lives may be at stake, I expect and thus direct CSIS to make the protection of life and property its overriding priority, and share the necessary information -- properly described and qualified -- with appropriate authorities," he said.

Canada to set up military bases abroad

Canadian Minister of Defense Peter MacKay

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/183110.html

The Canadian military says it plans to set up military bases in seven countries to gain the “capability for expeditionary participation in international missions.”

Canada's Minister of Defense Peter MacKay said on Friday that the main goal will be supporting the humanitarian and combat missions abroad, AFP reported.

The Canadian media said Ottawa has so far reached agreements to open new bases in Germany and Jamaica, and is negotiating with Kuwait. Other targeted countries include Senegal, South Korea, Kenya, and Singapore.

David Bercuson, a senior research fellow with the Canadian Defense and Foreign Affairs Institute, said the Canadian facilities are more likely to be "small storage facilities" comprising an airfield, a warehouse and two or three soldiers.

"They will be what you would call 'forward supply depots,' strategically placed near parts of the world where Canadian Forces might be deployed in future," he further explained.

Canada was forced in October 2010 to close a top-secret military base in Dubai that was part of a key supply route to Afghanistan after refusing to grant the UAE's two national carriers, Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways, more landing rights.

During the Cold War, Canada also maintained two bases in Germany but closed them in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Canada in biggest military deal with US

Lockheed Martin's F-35


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=135109§ionid=351020701



Canada has signed its biggest military purchase deal ever with the US valued USD 9 billion to buy 65 Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.

The new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets will replace Canada's fleet of CF-18s. The delivery of the planes is set to start in 2016. But the contract with Lockheed Martin is proving controversial. It was signed without a competitive bidding process. Canada's opposition has pledged to freeze the deal if it comes to power.

Canada's purchase is in line with the US government's plan to purchase about 2,400 jets for more than $300 billion for the Air Force, the Marine Corps and the Navy. The delivery of the aircrafts is set to start in 2016.

Besides Canada, seven other US allies (Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Denmark and Norway) have announced plans to buy F-35s.

The deal was signed without a competitive bidding process. Canada's opposition has pledged to freeze the deal if it comes to power.