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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bentway who wrote (251605)	12/17/2007 2:44:49 PM
From: Ruffian	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

World Putting Pressure On Hamas; $7.4 billion raised for Palestinians By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 47 minutes ago PARIS - The world rallied to the support of the embattled Palestinian government Monday, pledging $7.4 billion in aid over the next three years at a donors' conference — a sum that tops the Palestinians' own expectations. "The real winner today is the Palestinian state," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told a news conference after the gathering of nearly 90 countries and international organizations. "We wanted $5.6 billion, we have $7.4 billion — not bad," he said. World leaders at the conference also urged Israel to ease restrictions on movement in the West Bank and Gaza to make a recovery of the Palestinian economy possible. "Our feeling is great, this is generous. It is a vote of confidence for the program, and a sign of solidarity on the Palestinian question," Palestinian Planning Minister Samir Abdullah told The Associated Press. He confirmed the overall figure and said the pledges include $2.9 billion for 2008. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged $555 million for 2008. However, the money includes about $400 million that the White House announced but has not been approved by Congress. For renewed peace efforts to succeed, she said, "the continued and unwavering support of the international community is absolutely vital. That is why we are here today, and not a moment too soon." Rice called the U.S. pledge "a significant increase" from earlier pledges. "The Palestinian Authority is experiencing a serious budgetary crisis," Rice said. "This conference is literally the government's last hope to avoid bankruptcy." Referring to renewed Middle East peace efforts stemming from the U.S.-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Md., last month, Rice said, "This is the most promising opportunity to seek peace that we have had in nearly seven years. And we need to seize it." Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the pledges amounted to "an endorsement." He called it part of the process for "establishing an independent Palestine." The sum raised Monday was substantial even compared to the more than $10 billion that donor countries have given to the Palestinians in the past decade, according to the World Bank. Officials have said the Palestinians have received more international aid on a per capita basis than any other nation or group of people in the postwar period. From international Mideast envoy Tony Blair to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, participants called for urgent action, saying a new chance for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal must not be missed. Peace talks resumed last week after seven years of diplomatic deadlock, and international aid is seen as key to making the process work. "We will not rest until we have that two-state solution a reality in this region of the world," Blair, a co-sponsor of the conference, told the conference. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the donors must "invest now, invest generously, and remain steadfast in their financial commitments over the next 36 months." European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the conference was "very constructive" and had "created a momentum to continue the good start we had in Annapolis." The EU said it would give $650 million in 2008 and Norway pledged $140 million a year for three years. Britain, France and Germany announced a combined $1.08 billion for three years. Western donors have urged Arab states to do more. Since 2002, Arab League members have been promising the Palestinians $55 million a month but have not always paid in full. Two key issues dominated the conference: the need for Israel to ease restrictions on Palestinians while not compromising on its security, and the fate of Gaza, which has been virtually cut off from the world since the Islamic militant Hamas seized control by force in June. In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called the Paris conference "a declaration of war against the Hamas movement." Last weekend, Hamas leaders told tens of thousands of supporters at a rally that Hamas will not recognize Israel or renounce violence. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas used the high-profile platform to urge Israel to remove roadblocks quickly, stop building its separation barrier in the West Bank and to freeze settlement expansion, "without exceptions." The first round of peace talks had been overshadowed by Israel's decision to expand a Jewish neighborhood, built on war-won land on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Abbas said the Palestinians are committed to reform their government, restructure the security forces, and work hard to restore order in the often lawless Palestinian territories. He had harsh words for Hamas, reiterating that he will not resume a dialogue with the militants unless they hand back control of Gaza to Abbas' security forces. He also warned that without continued international aid, Gaza is "heading into disaster." About three-fourths of Gaza's 1.5 million residents live in poverty, and the blockade — Israel and Egypt virtually closed borders after the Hamas takeover — has wiped out tens of thousands of jobs. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called the Palestinian reform plan "a serious effort to build the basis for a responsible Palestinian state that the Palestinian people so deserve and that peace so needs." Livni said Israel is committed to its road map obligations, "including in relation to settlement activities," but did not elaborate. Arab League head Amr Moussa welcomed Livni's comments as "very significant." Moussa urged the donors to follow the situation concerning roadblocks and settlements closely. Fayyad is trying to assure donor countries they are not expected to prop up the Palestinian government indefinitely. He has presented a three-year reform plan with promises to cut government spending by trimming a bloated public payroll and reducing hundreds of millions of dollars in utility bills. Still, Fayyad wants 70 percent of the aid initially to go toward reducing his huge budget deficit, with the emphasis shifting only gradually to development projects. Economists say it's not enough for the donors to pledge aid and for the Palestinians to carry out reforms. The Palestinian economy will only recover, according to the World Bank, if Israel eases sweeping physical and administrative restrictions on movement in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel has been reluctant to do so, putting security first.

To: bentway who wrote (251605)	12/17/2007 2:54:46 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 281500

Muslims Learn Fast On How To Play The Race Card; Diana was against marrying Dodi' LONDON, England (AP) -- Princess Diana denied any intention of marrying Dodi Fayed in a conversation just a few days before the couple died, a friend testified Monday. art.diana.langevin.jpg An image of Diana entering the car on the night she died. Lady Annabel Goldsmith, testifying at the British inquest into the couple's deaths, said Diana had remarked that she needed another marriage "like a rash on my face." Goldsmith, 73, said she would never forget those words because they were the last she had heard from Diana. Fayed's father, Mohamed Al Fayed, has claimed the couple was the target of a plot directed by Queen Elizabeth II's husband, Prince Philip -- partly motivated, he alleges, by a desire to prevent Diana from marrying a Muslim. Al Fayed says Diana and his son were on the brink of announcing their engagement when they died on August 31, 1997. French and British police blamed the accident on their driver, Henri Paul, based on evidence that he was over the legal alcohol limit and was speeding through a tunnel at more than 60 mph when the car slammed into a concrete pillar. Paul also died in the crash. Goldsmith said Monday that Diana clearly was having a "wonderful" time with Fayed, reporting that she had "never been so spoiled." Reflecting on Diana's comment about a rash, Goldsmith testified: "I took it to mean that she was not serious about marriage to Dodi. She might have been having a wonderful time with him, I'm sure, but I thought her remark that she needed marriage like a rash meant that she was not serious about it." Other witnesses have questioned whether the romance had developed to the stage of an intention to marry. Diana's friend Rosa Monckton last week testified that it was "difficult to judge" the intensity of Diana's romance with Fayed, but Monckton said "it was clear to me that she was really missing Hasnat" Khan, a heart surgeon with whom she had had an affair. Monckton testified that Diana said nothing of an engagement during a telephone conversation on August 27. "She would have called me if she was going to do that," Monckton said. Monckton also disputed Al Fayed's claim that Diana was pregnant. She said Diana had had her period during a holiday the two women shared in Greece 10 days before the princess died. Goldsmith also rejected the pregnancy claim. "I would say 'impossible.' There was a reason for that (belief)," she said. "I'm confident, on the face of it, that she would not have been" pregnant, Goldsmith said. Diana's stepmother, Raine, Countess Spencer, testified that she also doubted the couple were engaged but thought it "highly likely" that the relationship could have progressed to marriage. The countess also doubted that Diana, who "was brought up in quite an old-fashioned way," was pregnant. "It would have been out of the question for her," she said E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

To: bentway who wrote (251605)	12/17/2007 4:25:59 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 281500

This Is Very Sick; Muslim Brides Undergoing Painful Vaginal Surgery to 'Re-virginize' for Wedding Nights Monday, December 17, 2007 On her wedding night, Aisha Salim will hand her blooded sheets to her in-laws as proof of her virginity, according to a story in The Daily Telegraph of Australia. But there’s one problem. Being a modern English university graduate, she is far from the traditional untouched Muslim bride. Like most woman her age, Salim has smoked, drank, had sex and even lived with one of her past boyfriends. However, if the devout Muslim family of her soon-to-be husband – or even her own family – knew this, she could be murdered. Aisha has opted to have her virginity surgically restored in a delicate but painful surgery called hymenoplasties -- where the hymen is re-created from the already torn tissue, or a new membrane is inserted. "If my husband cannot prove to his family that I am a virgin, I would be hounded, ostracised and sent home in disgrace,” Salim told England’s Daily Mail. “My father, who is a devout Muslim, would regard it as the ultimate shame. The entire family could be cast out from the friends and society they hold dear, and I honestly believe that one of my fanatically religious cousins or uncles might kill me in revenge, to purge them of my sins. Incredible as it may seem, honour killings are still accepted within our religion. "Ever since my family arranged this marriage for me, I've been terrified that, on my wedding night, my secret would come out. It has only been since my surgery last week that I've actually been able to sleep properly. Now, I can look forward to my marriage." Salim is far from alone in seeking such drastic -- and almost barbaric -- surgery. The rise in Islamic fundamentalism has seen 24 women in the U.K. have the procedure between 2005 and 2006. "I've always adored my parents,” Salim said. “My father, now 62, is a retired accountant and my mother raised a family of seven sisters in a five-bedroom house in Birmingham. "I attended the local Catholic secondary school and although I wore a scarf on my head, I refused to wear a veil, telling my parents that it would make me stand out too much. "I was one of the girls, totally accepted by my white, English friends whose lives revolved around shopping and fancying boys. "But the moment I stepped over the doorstep, normal teenage life would cease and it was like entering an entirely different world. At home, we had to pray together five times a day. "We weren't allowed to watch television. My parents were so worried that Western influences might take our minds off the most important things -- education and religion -- that we were never allowed to bring any schoolfriends home. "But it made all the things my friends did more attractive to me. I would sneak out on Saturday afternoons and join them in town, hanging around, shopping and chatting to boys," Salim added.