In Part 1, I described four tests that I believe will determine whether a climate bill approved by Congress this year should be judged a…
Posts Tagged ‘authority’
Al-Jazeera closed in West Bank
July 15th, 2009 |
No Comments
<img src=”http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46063000/jpg/_46063391_007652659-1.jpg” align=”left” width=”226″ height=”170″ alt=”The Al Jazeera offices in Ramallah” border=”0″ vspace=”4″ hspace=”4″>
The Palestinian Authority has closed down the West Bank offices of Arabic satellite news channel Al Jazeera.
The self-rule body said al-Jazeera promoted a negative view of its work and that the coverage is biased.
The move comes a day after a guest on the station accused Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas of being involved in the death of Yasser Arafat.
The channel – based in Doha – said it was "stunned" by the Palestinian Authority’s decision.
The al-Jazeera bureau chief in Ramallah, Walid al-Omary, said the station firmly rejected the accusations of bias.
"We regret this decision, which harms the freedom of expression and the press in this country," Mr Omary said.
In the Ramallah office, al-Jazeera employees were seen removing equipment before Palestinian security officials arrived to close it, Associated Press reported.
Allegations
The BBC’s Katya Adler, in Jerusalem, says relations between al-Jazeera and the Palestinian Authority – dominated by political party Fatah – soured some time ago.
The Authority has long accused the satellite news channel of siding with Fatah’s bitter rival, Hamas, she says.
In a statement announcing the decision, the information ministry said the station’s coverage was "unbalanced".
"Despite our repeated calls to remain neutral when it covers the Palestinian issue and to be balanced when it comes to the internal Palestinian situation, the channel continues to incite against the PLO and the PA," the statement said.
It said it was taking the satellite channel to court and its operations would be suspended while this process was under way.
In a letter to the channel it said al-Jazeera had broadcast "false news" on Tuesday night.
The accusation appeared to relate to a programme in which Farouk Kaddoumi – one of Fatah’s founding members – alleged that Mr Abbas had collaborated with Israel to kill Mr Arafat.
Mr Kaddoumi has released what he says were the minutes of a meeting between former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Mr Abbas as evidence.
Other Fatah officials have denounced the document as a forgery, saying Mr Kaddoumi’s behaviour was an attempt to split Fatah, the oldest political organisation among the Palestinians which was, until the emergence of Hamas, the dominant force.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Inland Water Transport Authority planned
July 14th, 2009 |
No Comments
ISLAMABAD – President Asif Ali Zardari Tuesday advised the government to engage experts and consultants for undertaking a study on the setting up of Inland Water Transport Authority (IWTA) to plan and develop an inland water transportation system on River Indus.
The Presidential advice was given during briefing in the Presidency on a host of mega development issues and projects.
The meeting was attended by Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Minister for Food and Agriculture; Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Minister for Water & Power; Baber Khan Ghauri, Minister for Ports & Shipping; M. Salman Faruqui, Secretary General to the President; Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission; Dr. Zafar Altaf, Chairmran PARC; Shakeel Durrani, Chairman WAPDA; Naeem Sarfraz, Chairman, Task Force on Maritime Inland Water Transportation; Kamal Majidullah, SAPM on Water and Agriculture and Secretaries and senior officials of different ministries.
Briefing the media on the meeting Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the two-hour long meeting mulled over issues ranging from building small and medium dams, development of hybrid seeds to multiply agricultural produce and developing a navigation route on the river Indus system.
Farhatullah Babar said that the President directed that the report on the setting up of Indus Water Transport Authority be completed within 3 months. The setting up of the Authority should be given legislative cover rather than basing it on an executive order, the President said.
The President said that water transportation was the least expensive mode for transporting heavy commodities. “Pakistan must not let go waste the huge economic potential of inland water transportation system”, the President said.
The President also advised that a Committee comprising Chairman Task Force Maritime Industry, Chairman WAPDA, and a representative each of Ports and Shipping and NESPAK be formed to oversee the preparation of report within the stipulated time period.
Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying “The comprehensive network of rivers and canals in Pakistan has been awaiting development for an efficient inland water transportation system in the country which should no longer be delayed”.
The President said that the Indus had historically served as a navigation route of the area and there was need to revive its pristine historical role for the economic uplift of the country. At a time when fuel costs were going up, population was expanding and environment degrading cheap mode of bulk transportation held the key to sustainable economic development, he said.
Chairman WAPDA Shakeel Durrani briefed the meeting on the proposed project of building small and medium size dams in two phases in the country. He said that in phase 1 of the project 13 dams in all the four provinces would be built including five in Balochistan, four in Sindh and two each in Frontier and Punjab.
Chairman WAPDA informed the meeting that land acquisition for the dams will start from next month. The provincial government would develop state land under the command area of the dams with the technical assistance of PARC for installation of sprinkle irrigation system for high value crops.
As for financing the dam 2.5 billion rupees were available in the current yearÂ’s PSDP and an MOU signed with China to provide 700 million dollars over the next four years. Some money would also be raised from the end users and through bridge financing.
Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying “The state land in the command areas will be allotted to the women to empower them as part of our policy envisioned by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto”.
The President said that issuance of Benazir Income Support Program cards for the women followed by allotting to them the state land in command areas of these dams were moves to empower the women of Pakistan.
The President gave the deadline of October this year for the ground breaking of the project of small and medium dams, the Spokesperson said.
Chairman PARC Dr Zafar Altaf gave a detailed presentation of hybrid seed development of wheat, cotton and rice with the Chinese assistance. He said that the development of high yielding and disease resistant rice hybrid seed was going on.
He said that for the first time China had shared with the outside world elite genetic resources. The President asked the agricultural ministry and PARC to develop plans for helping “the small, marginal and fragile farmers”, the Spokesperson said.
Israel FM queries Abbas authority
July 13th, 2009 |
No Comments
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has questioned the authority of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in an escalating Israeli-Palestinian war of words.
Mr Lieberman said Mr Abbas "was not exactly legitimate" and was therefore in no position to make demands on the Israeli leadership.
A day earlier Mr Abbas had called him a bad choice as Israeli foreign minister.
The two sides have been unable to agree terms for restarting peace talks since the Israel government came into office.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been in power since 1 April, on Sunday urged Mr Abbas to restart peace talks immediately.
"There is no reason Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and I should not meet, anywhere in this country, to advance the political process," Mr Netanyahu told the weekly meeting of his cabinet.
Mr Abbas has refused to meet Mr Netanyahu and on Sunday reiterated his stance in a radio interview that, for negotiations on the key issues to resume, there must be "a complete halt" to Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.
Separately in the Egyptian weekly, October, he said that Mr Netanyahu had backed himself into a corner on the Palestinian track, and he would face fierce opposition from Mr Lieberman if he tried to emerge from it.
Mr Abbas said things would be better if the former Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, had been reappointed instead of the current incumbent.
‘Blessing’
The outspoken Mr Lieberman said he took such comments from Mr Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, as a "blessing".
"As Abu Mazen’s authority or legitimacy deteriorates or declines, he raises his demands and toughens his position.
"There are no middle-ground solutions for the settlement issue: either settlement activity stops or it doesn’t"
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat
"Abu Mazen isn’t exactly legitimate, hence neither is his new demand, or suggestion, to replace Lieberman with Tzipi Livni," he said in an interview on Israel radio.
"I see such advice as a blessing. His demand to cease settlement construction is nothing more than an expression of his distress and incompetence."
He said that with Gaza under control of the Hamas militant group, Mr Abbas represented "at best, half of the nation".
Also on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu insisted the Palestinians "must finally abandon" the right of return for Palestinian refugees since 1948, which if realised would facilitate the arrival of millions of displaced Arabs to areas that currently have an Israeli Jewish majority.
He reiterated demands for Palestinians to explicitly recognise Israel as a Jewish state, calling this "the key to peace."
The Palestinians say it is tantamount to legitimising their own displacement in past wars with Israel.
They have also rejected any potential deal between Israel and its main backer, the US, to allow limited Jewish settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.
"There are no middle-ground solutions for the settlement issue: either settlement activity stops or it doesn’t," negotiator Saeb Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio.
Some 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in 1967. Israel wants to be able to keep building within existing communities there, although all such work is illegal under international law.
"If settlement continues, Israel will be allowed to build 1,000 units here and 2,000 units there, which will lead Arabs and Palestinians to believe the US administration is incapable of swaying Israel to halt its settlement activities," Mr Erekat said.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.