News, Prophecy and other

[Shammu]

Russia to Host New Talks on Iran

Created: 14.04.2006 17:20 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 17:21 MSK

MosNews

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Russia will host a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program with the United States, the European Union and China next week.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Krivtsov quoted by AP said the talks would be held in Moscow on Tuesday.

China said Thursday that Cui Tiankai, assistant to Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, would visit Iran and Russia on April 14-18. Russia and China, which have strong economic ties with Iran, have opposed the U.S. push for international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns will also be in Moscow on Monday for a meeting of political directors of the Group of Eight, the U.S. Embassy said.

Iran insists on its right to enrich uranium as part of a civilian power generation program, but the United States and others accuse Tehran of covertly pursuing a nuclear weapons bid and demand a halt to all enrichment activities.

Russia to Host New Talks on Iran

[Shammu]

Russia Pledges Aid to Hamas-led Palestine

Created: 15.04.2006 14:08 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 14:33 MSK, 14 hours 22 minutes ago

MosNews

Russia said on Saturday it had promised emergency aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority which warns it faces economic collapse after direct funding was cut off by the United States and the European Union, the Reuters news agency reported.

A foreign ministry statement said the offer came in a phone conversation on Friday between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “Mahmoud Abbas highly appreciated the intention of Russia, confirmed by Lavrov, to grant the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority urgent financial aid in the nearest time,” it said.

Lavrov has previously said that halting aid was a mistake though he has urged Hamas to meet the demands of international mediators.

The United States and the European Union halted direct aid to the Palestinian Authority and Israel has frozen the transfer of tax and customs receipts. They are demanding that Hamas recognize Israel, end violence and accept peace accords.

Abbas this week warned that the Palestinian Authority faced economic collapse unless it received aid soon.

Russia Pledges Aid to Hamas-led Palestine

[Shammu]

Afghans Raid Taliban Hideout; Dozens Die

By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 33 minutes ago

SARTAK, Afghanistan - Security forces backed by U.S.-led coalition helicopters attacked a suspected Taliban hideout in southeastern
Afghanistan, sparking an intense battle that killed 41 rebels and six police, a senior official said Saturday.

The fighting was some of the heaviest reported after Taliban threats to intensify attacks as the warmer weather melts snow on mountain passes used by the militants.

Villagers said they appealed in vain for between 50 and 60 militants to leave the area days before the clashes erupted Friday in Kandahar province, a former Taliban stronghold near the border with Pakistan.

"Our elders had asked them (Taliban) to go away because we knew that one day American helicopters will come and drop bombs," Faiz Ullah told The Associated Press in Sartak, a village surrounded by blooming opium poppy fields and the site of the heaviest fighting.

Provincial Gov. Asadullah Khalid said the assault was based on intelligence that the militants were preparing to attack the regional capital of Kandahar.

While the firing had died down Saturday and the situation appeared under control, security forces were still searching for some Taliban who had fled, he said.

"We saw the 41 bodies of Taliban at the end of the fighting, but we collected only 11," Khalid said, refusing to elaborate on why the other bodies were not retrieved. He also said six police were killed.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Mike Cody said coalition forces provided AH-64 Apache helicopters, which fired rockets in support of Afghan ground forces, but he declined comment on casualty figures, saying it was primarily an Afghan operation.

Ullah said Afghan police surrounded Sartak, about 25 miles southwest of Kandahar, on Friday morning and asked villagers to evacuate, but some were still inside their homes when the fighting broke out.

The 55-year-old villager saw only two militants and four Afghan policemen killed in Sartak but said other Taliban may have been killed in nearby villages.

He also said his 19-year-old sister, Pari Bibi, died in a gunbattle between Afghan forces and militants, while two other villagers, including a 10-year-old girl, were wounded. But it was unclear who was responsible for those casualties.

On Saturday, villagers returned to their homes and local children gathered shrapnel left over from the fighting. Three houses were badly damaged, and one local farmer, Mohammad Naseem, 40, moaned that his poppy crop was ruined because of a 16-foot-wide crater in the field.

No security forces could be seen in the area Saturday, despite official claims that the hunt for Taliban fighters was continuing.

Taliban rebels have stepped up attacks against coalition and Afghan forces over the past year, further jeopardizing Afghanistan's shaky democracy. Senior U.S. envoy Richard A. Boucher warned earlier this month that the insurgency was likely to worsen this year.

Some 1,600 people, including 91 American troops, died from violence in 2005, the most in the four years since the Taliban were ousted by U.S.-led airstrikes for harboring Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. The United States has more than 18,000 troops in Afghanistan.

The violence also is a growing concern to other nations contributing troops under the mandate of
NATO, which is doubling its current force of 10,000 troops to about 21,000 by November, as it gradually assumes command of all the international forces in the country. Some 6,000 mainly British, Canadian and Dutch troops have started moving into the rebellious southern provinces.

Suspected Taliban also opened fire on a vehicle carrying district administrator Abdul Majid to work Saturday, killing him and wounding two guards in the nearby southern province of Helmand, provincial government spokesman Ghulam Muhiddin said.

Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, a purported spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack and insisted that Majid had been killed with seven guards, a claim Muhiddin said was baseless.

Elsewhere in Helmand, a Taliban suicide car bomber rammed a British military convoy in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gar on Friday, wounding three British soldiers and one Afghan national, coalition officials said.

Helmand is Afghanistan's main opium poppy-growing region and fears of widespread violence have risen since an aggressive poppy eradication campaign started in recent weeks.

Rugged mountains in the province are popular hiding places for Taliban rebels, many of whom are believed to slip back and forth across the largely unguarded border with Pakistan.

Also this week, coalition and Afghan forces launched a major offensive, dubbed Operation Mountain Lion, in eastern Kunar province where militants from Taliban, al-Qaida and other groups are active.

Afghans Raid Taliban Hideout; Dozens Die

[Shammu]

Cat saves baby's life

1 hour, 36 minutes ago

BERLIN (Reuters) - A cat saved the life of a newborn baby abandoned on the doorstep of a Cologne house in the middle of the night by meowing loudly until someone woke up, a police spokesman said Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT

"The cat is a hero," Cologne police spokesman Uwe Beier said. "Its loud meowing got the attention of the homeowner and saved the baby from suffering life-threatening hypothermia. The homeowner opened door to see why the cat was making so much noise and discovered the newborn."

Beier said the boy was taken to hospital at 5 a.m. on Thursday, when overnight temperatures fell toward zero, and had suffered only mild hypothermia. He said there was no indication of what happened to the boy's mother.

Cat saves baby's life

[Shammu]

Immigration march cost Phoenix over $300,000

Monica Alonzo-Dunsmoor
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 15, 2006 12:00 AM

PHOENIX - Phoenix officials spent at least $309,000 to ensure public safety during the immigration march Monday that drew more than 100,000 people to downtown Phoenix.

That's about $3 per person.

"We invested the appropriate resources we believed were needed to provide for a safe and orderly event for the participants, the motorists and the general public," said David Ramírez, a city spokesman.

The marchers rallied in support of legalization for millions of undocumented immigrants.

There were no arrests or major incidents during the peaceful march that took participants from the state fairgrounds to the state Capitol, but police officers and firefighters were on standby.

A bulk of the money, at least $256,124, covered overtime costs for public safety crews and support staff, including eight temporary workers who answered more than 360 calls to the city's traffic information line.

The city also paid about $25,000 for barricades to close streets throughout the day of the march.

"We had to keep traffic moving around the march, and keep people from parking in neighborhoods," said Mike Frisbie, a city traffic engineering supervisor.

The cost of $3 per person was $3 too much for some residents.

"Any other group or organization would have to pay for their barricades and for the police overtime," said Donna Neill, a community activist. "You can't take my tax dollar and use it when our community are in such need in other areas like parks or senior centers. That money is gone. It didn't produce anything tangible."

Other costs related to the march:

• About $22,000 to serve 6,000 meals to public safety crews from the city and outside police agencies working the event.

• About $6,500 to print and distribute 30,000 fliers several days before the march to inform residents and businesses along the march route about the event and related street closures.

"It's our duty to provide public safety at every level," Assistant Fire Chief Bob Khan said. "And the city did that seamlessly."

Immigration march cost Phoenix over $300,000

[Soldier4Christ]

'ReNu is safe, will not be withdrawn from market'



    DUBAI — The ReNu with MoistureLoc Multi-Purpose Solution sold in the Middle East region will not be withdrawn from the market as it is perfectly safe, said the UAE distributors of the solution manufactured by Bausch & Lomb. Opthamologists also said that there were no reports of such cases in the UAE until now.

    “Fungal infections cannot be treated with antibiotics,” they also said.

    Speaking to Khaleej Times yesterday, Ahmed Jaber from Al Jaber Trading who are the sole distributors of the solution in the UAE said, “There has been an unnecessary scare regarding the soultion which has been present in the UAE market for ages.”

    “Since cases of fungal keratitis were reported in the US recently, we have been in touch with the manufacturers in the US. It has also been cleared that the solution that was being sold in the US was being manufactured in the US while the solution for the Middle East region is manufactured by Bausch & Lomb in Milan, Italy. The announcement in the US does not affect Bausch & Lomb’s products in our region. Furthermore, no unusual trends of fungal keratitis have been reported within Europe, the Middle East and Africa,” he explained.

    Citing statements issued by Bausch and Lomb to eyecare professionals, the UAE representative from Al Jaber said: “The suspension of the solution (in US) is in order to facilitate the further investigation of reports of fungal keratitis infections among contact lens wearers in the US. ReNu multi-purpose soultions manufactured at the US facility are not distributed within Europe, Middle East, and Africa.”

    The statement further said: “No scientific data exists to suggest a casual relationship between any Bausch & Lomb products and incidences reported. Bausch and Lomb has been working closely with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate the cases. The company has decided to voluntarily suspend sales of the product in the US as a precautionary measure. There are no plans to suspend sales of ReNu solutions in Europe, Middle East and Africa region.” Jaber also said,

    “If there is something to worry about, we will be the first ones to take necessary action regarding any matter.”

    No circular from the ministry of health

    SEVERAL pharmacists said that because they had not received any circular from the Ministry of Health, therefore, they would not remove the product from the shelves.

    “Unless and until the MOH issues a circular, we will not remove the product from the shelves. Until now, we have never received a complaint from any customer, and this is a very popular product,” said a representative of Al Kindi Pharmacy in Sharjah. Dr Nitil Kanade, Opthalmologist from Doctor’s Medical Centre in Sharjah said: “Till now, there are no readymade eye preparations in the market that can treat fungal infections. But people are using drops that are made using injections.” He said that such cases occur only when proper care is not taken in the use of contact lenses after which infections set in.
    An official from the Ministry of Health said that the ministry was not responsible for ordering the withdrawal of the product from pharmacies, because the issue should be handled by the Dubai Municipality. “This is an over-the-counter product and is also available in convenience stores. Therefore, the control of this product falls under the Dubai Municipality.

[Shammu]

 Russia Pledges Urgent Aid to Palestinians

Sat Apr 15, 5:30 PM ET

Russia said it has pledged urgent financial assistance to the Hamas-led Palestinian government despite an international boycott.

The Russian Foreign Ministry did not say much money it offered.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "expressed great appreciation" for the pledge, which was conveyed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the ministry said in a statement late Friday.

The European Union this week froze hundreds of millions of dollars in annual direct aid to the Palestinian government. The United States and Canada have also halted government aid, and the U.S. this week barred Americans from most dealings with the Palestinian government.

The funding cutoff already is having an effect. Dozens of masked Palestinian police officers blocked a main road in the Gaza Strip on Saturday and briefly seized a government building to protest a delay in paying their salaries.

Russia broke the international isolation of Hamas last month by hosting a high-level delegation in a move seen as a bid by Russian President Vladimir Putin to raise Russia's role in the Middle East peace process.

The decision provoked anger in Israel and surprise among the other members of the so-called Quartet of Middle East peacemakers. It made no apparent headway in persuading Hamas to soften its stance.

Russia's foreign minister on Tuesday criticized the West's "boycott" of the Palestinian government, saying engagement was the only way to push the new Hamas leadership to meet international demands to recognize Israel, give up violence and acknowledge existing Israeli-Palestinian agreements.

In Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday, Arab officials urged the Palestinian foreign minister to consider an Arab plan to end the conflict with Israel that calls for exchanging land for peace.

Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar said he would discuss the initiative with the others in the government but pointed out that Israel had not yet accepted the deal.

"The problem is: does the other party accept it?" Zahar told reporters after a meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and other Arab envoys.

Zahar arrived here Friday on the first leg of a regional tour that will take him later to Saudi Arabia and several Gulf nations to ask for support.

Arab countries have pledged to help close Hamas' funding gap, but so far have not kept their promises.

Russia Pledges Urgent Aid to Palestinians

[Shammu]

Iranian group signing up potential martyrs
U.S. think tank: Iran reinforcing facilities

Sunday, April 16, 2006; Posted: 10:06 a.m. EDT (14:06 GMT)

TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) -- Some 200 Iranians have volunteered in the past few days to carry out "martyrdom missions" against U.S. and British interests around the world if Iran is attacked, a hard-line group said Sunday.

The United States and other Western nations accuse Iran of seeking to master enrichment technology to build atomic weapons, a charge Iran denies. Washington says it wants a diplomatic solution, but has not ruled out a military option.

The news of potential martyrs came as The Institute for Science and International Security, a U.S. think tank, said Sunday that Iran has expanded its uranium conversion facilities in Isfahan and reinforced its Natanz underground uranium enrichment plant.

The fresh fears over a possible U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear sites helped attract volunteers during its latest recruitment drive, Mohammad Ali Samadi, spokesman for the Committee for the Commemoration of Martyrs of the Global Islamic Campaign, said.

"Because of the recent threats, we have started to register more volunteers since Friday," Samadi told Reuters by telephone.

"Some 200 people have registered to carry out operations against our enemies. America and Britain are definitely considered enemies."

Chanting "Death to America" and "Nuclear technology is our right", volunteers registered their names at the former American Embassy in southern Tehran on Sunday.

"We will give a good lesson to those who dare to attack our country," said Ali, a 25-year-old masked volunteer, after filling out registration form.

When asked why he had covered his face, Ali said: "I do not want to be recognized when traveling abroad to harm American and British interests."

The Committee for the Commemoration of Martyrs of the Global Islamic Campaign, which says it has no affiliation with the government, was formed in 2004. Since then Samadi said some 52,000 people have signed up to be involved in possible attacks.

The Sunday Times of London, quoting unnamed Iranian officials, reported Iran had 40,000 trained suicide bombers prepared to strike western targets if Iran is attacked.

"The main force, named the Special Unit of Martyr Seekers in the Revolutionary Guards, was first seen last month when members marched in a military parade," the report said.

But Samadi denied the report.

"The Revolutionary Guards have no links to martyrdom-seeking operations. We are the only martyrdom seeking group in Iran," he said. "And we are an independent group."

In Sunday's New York Times a former White House counterterrorism expert said Iran's response to any U.S. military attack would be to use "its terrorist network to strike American targets around the world".

"Iran has forces at its command far superior to anything al Qaeda was ever able to field," wrote former White House counterterror chief Richard Clarke and former State Department official Steven Simon.
Think tank: Satellite photos show new work

The Institute for Science and International Security said in an e-mail with commercial satellite photos attached sent to news media that Iran has built a new tunnel entrance at Isfahan, where uranium is processed into a feed material for enrichment.

Just two entry points existed in February, it said.

"This new entrance is indicative of a new underground facility or further expansion of the existing one," said the think tank, led by ex-U.N. arms inspector and nuclear expert David Albright.

ISIS also released four satellite images taken between 2002 and January 2006 it said showed Natanz's two subterranean cascade halls being buried by successive layers of earth, apparent concrete slabs and more earth and other materials.

The roofs of the halls now appear to be 26 feet (8 meters) underground, ISIS said.

The revelations came one week after Iran announced it had enriched uranium for use in power stations for the first time, stoking a diplomatic debate over Western suspicions of a covert Iranian atomic bomb project.

Iran has said it seeks only nuclear energy for its economy.

The U.N. Security Council, wielding the threat of sanctions against Iran, has urged Tehran to halt enrichment activity and asked U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei to report on the Iranian response on April 28. Iran stood its ground during a visit by ElBaradei last week.

U.S. President George W. Bush has dismissed reports of plans for a U.S. military strike against Iran as "wild speculation" and said he remained focused on diplomacy to defuse a standoff over Iran's nuclear activities between Tehran and Western countries.

But analysts said Iran was not taking any chances.

"Iran is taking extraordinary precautions to try to protect its nuclear assets. But the growing talk of eliminating Iran's nuclear program from the air is pretty glib," Albright told Reuters by telephone from Washington.

Despite Bush's denial, former Iran President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said Tehran could not discount the possibility of a U.S. military strike.

"We stress at the same time that it would not be in the interest of the United States, nor us," Rafsanjani, who heads a council that arbitrates Iranian legislative disputes, said during a visit to Syria.

"Harm will not only engulf the Islamic Republic of Iran, but the region and everybody," the influential Iranian leader told a news conference with Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Shara.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told Spain's ABC daily that the situation was already "too heated" to withstand any further aggravation.

"I still think the best solution is a negotiated one, and I don't see what would be solved by a military operation," he told the newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.

"I hope that the will to negotiate prevails and that the military option proves to be only speculation."

Iranian group signing up potential martyrs

[Shammu]

Hamas Reaches Out to Rivals to Form Gov't

By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 24 minutes ago

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The Hamas-led Palestinian government renewed its call for a "national unity" coalition Sunday in a bid to stave off rising tensions that have weakened the new Islamic leadership and widened the rift with President Mahmoud Abbas'
Fatah Party.

The situation is critical. Sanctions by Israel and the West have dried up the Palestinian treasury, and salaries for 140,000 public sector workers are more than two weeks overdue, triggering demonstrations. Iran pledged $50 million to the Palestinian government Sunday, but it was not known when those funds would arrive, and much more is needed.

"We affirmed the issue of forming a national unity government is under consideration," government spokesman Ghazi Hamad told reporters. "The door is open to Fatah."

Fatah officials have rejected similar offers since Hamas defeated them in January legislative elections, and the party did not attend the Sunday meeting, citing time constraints. Fatah officials were not immediately available for comment.

Bitterness has heightened in recent days since Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas accused Abbas of trying to undermine the new government. Abbas aides called Haniyeh's comments unacceptable.

The tensions have spilled over into the streets. Armed police have blocked roads and stormed government buildings in recent days, complaining about the tardy paychecks. Most of the armed security men are Fatah loyalists, picked and trained under the governments that ruled the Palestinian Authority from 1994 until the January election.

Abbas has tried to foil Hamas attempts to win control of some of the forces by appointing a Fatah security chief to oversee them.

Abbas favors negotiations with Israel, though in the year since he was elected president, Israel has refused to talk peace with him, demanding that he dismantle violent groups, including Hamas.

A unity coalition would be designed to put differences aside and give legitimacy to the Hamas-led government as a way of persuading the West to resume vital foreign aid. But many in Fatah are hoping Hamas will fail and be forced to call new elections.

The pledge of Iranian aid came during a visit to Iran by leading Hamas lawmakers, said the office of deputy parliament speaker Ahmed Bahar in Gaza. Bahar is leading the delegation.

Though Shiite Iran has a policy of exporting Islamic revolution, it so far has not fully embraced Hamas, which represents a largely Sunni Muslim population.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced the aid package during a conference held in Tehran in support of the Palestinians, Iranian TV reported.

Up to now, the Palestinian Authority has received about $1 billion in aid from the West. But the United States and
European Union label Hamas a terror organization for sending dozens of suicide bombers into Israel, and they demand that the Islamic militants recognize Israel, accept previous peace accords and renounce violence before restoring aid.

Hamas has refused, saying it will make up the shortfall with aid from the Arab world and by streamlining the bloated and corrupt Palestinian public sector. In the past, Arab nations have not fulfilled all of their pledges to the Palestinians, and most of the aid has come from the West.

Also, Israel has halted transfer of about $55 million a month in taxes it collects for the Palestinians.

Fatah spokesman Ahmad Abderahman said Hamas is responsible for the Palestinians' problems and urged the group to accept Abbas' goal of restarting peace talks with Israel.

"Hamas is blaming President Mahmoud Abbas, but it should not blame anyone but itself," he said. "Hamas needs to review its positions as soon as possible. Without doing so, the crisis will worsen."

Meanwhile, Israel has stepped up an offensive in the northern Gaza Strip, firing artillery shells and carrying out airstrikes to halt rocket attacks aimed at Israeli towns. At least 16 Palestinians, including 13 militants and a young girl, have been killed over the past week. No Israelis have died in the rocket fire.

Hamad, the Palestinian government spokesman, said the issue of rocket fire was addressed during Sunday's meeting, but no decisions were made.

"We are in need for a joint formula," he said. "These many issues need deep discussion and dialogues."

Before Sunday's meeting, Islamic Jihad's exiled leader, Ramadan Shallah, rejected calls to halt the rocket fire and pledged to continue efforts to carry out suicide bombings.

"Firing rockets will continue," he said in a statement posted on the group's Web site.

He also said his group was making "nonstop efforts" to infiltrate suicide bombers from the West Bank into Israel. An Israeli military crackdown "might limit this effort, but it's not going to stop it," he said.

Hamas Reaches Out to Rivals to Form Gov't

[Shammu]

Egyptian president says he did not mean to doubt Shiites' loyalty to Iraq

Sat Apr 15, 12:57 PM ET

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview published Saturday he did not mean to insult Shiite Muslims nor doubt their national allegiance when he accused them last week of being more loyal to Iran.

Mubarak told the leading Cairo weekly newspaper Akhbar Al Yom that he only wanted to warn of threats to
Iraq's unity and sovereignty. The president's comments last week angered Shiites and raised fears of a Sunni-Shiite rift across the Middle East at a time of increased sectarian violence in Iraq.

Last week's interview with Al-Arabiya television "did not carry any insult or doubt of the loyalty of Iraqi Shiites to their country, Iraq," Mubarak said. "I was talking about the religious loyalty and sympathy without any belittling of the loyalty of Shiites in Iraq or anywhere else."

Mubarak told the Al-Arabiya network on April 9 that Iran had definite influence for Shiites.

"Shiites are 65 per cent of the Iraqis. . . . Most of the Shiites are loyal to Iran, and not to the countries they are living in," he said then.

Iraqi leaders and Shiites across the region denounced Mubarak's remarks and accused him of fuelling sectarian tensions between Islam's two main sects. There also were calls for boycotting Egyptian goods in Iraq, and many leaders demanded an apology.

Baghdad's Shiite-dominated government boycotted Wednesday's meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo to discuss Iraq and called on Mubarak to "reconsider" his position.

Mubarak did not apologize in the Akhbar Al Yom interview, although his comments to the government-owned paper could be seen as a retreat.

"All my answers were focusing on warning against dangers threatening Iraq's unity and its complete sovereignty," he said.

He said Egypt does not differentiate between Sunnis, Shiites or Kurds in Iraq.

"All are Iraqis and all are our brothers," he said.

Egyptian president says he did not mean to doubt Shiites' loyalty to Iraq

[Shammu]

Egypt arrests 15 in clashes between Coptic Christians and Muslims

Sat Apr 15, 8:57 PM ET

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian police have arrested 15 people in the aftermath of sectarian clashes in Alexandria the Interior Ministry said were instigated by "fanatics" who "duped" people into participating.

Fights broke out among several hundred Coptic Christians and Muslims at the end of the funeral procession for Nushi Atta Girgis, 78, who was slain Friday outside Saints church in the Mediterranean city following a prayer service.

Police arrested "some fanatic extremist elements who provoked skirmishes and threw stones at each other," said a statement Saturday from the Interior Ministry. It said the detainees, who included Copts and Muslims, "went too far" when they set two cars on fire and damaged several shops.

Some 15 people were injured and security forces used tear gas to disperse the disturbance in the Sidi Bishr district where the Saints church is located, said the statement. It did not elaborate on the condition of the wounded.

Saturday night, security forces were deployed around the district to maintain calm.

The clashes followed knife attacks at three churches in Alexandria on Friday that left up to 16 wounded. Although it was Good Friday for many of the world's Christians, the Copts and other Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Easter a week later.

Earlier Saturday, about 3,000 people gathered at Saints church to mourn Girgis and church leaders blasted the government for its failure to protect Egypt's Christian minority.

The Interior Ministry statement did not distinguish between Muslims and Christians in blaming clashes on "fanatics" and saying those who participated had been "duped."

Police earlier said the clashes were sparked by Copts who had attacked and provoked Muslims.

A Coptic doctor at the nearby St. Mark's hospital, who was not at the scene of the clashes, said he was told Muslim passers-by were angered by the slogans protesters shouted.

"There was sort of a clash and some people were injured," Dr. Girgis Fawzi said.

"We received one young Christian with minor injuries. He was treated and left the hospital."

An official at al-Meery Hospital in Alexandria said the facility had received five people with minor injuries after the clashes.

"Most of them were people stabbed by knives," the hospital official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But not all the wounds were minor. A priest at St. George church, one of the locations of the Friday stabbings, said one young man involved in Saturday's clashes had serious knife wounds to his arm, abdomen and head.

"If he dies it will be a disaster," he said.

The man's condition could not be independently confirmed.

A statement by the church leaders in Alexandria denounced Friday's stabbings and blamed the government for not doing enough to protect the churches. It also accused the Interior Ministry of fabricating reports that only one mentally disturbed man was behind the three attacks.

Coptic Christians make up 10 per cent of Egypt's 73 million people and generally live in peace with the Muslim majority, though occasional sectarian clashes occur.

The Interior Ministry identified the attacker as Mahmoud Salah-Eddin Abdel-Raziq and said he suffered from "psychological disturbances."

Egypt's last sectarian violence was last October, when Muslim militants attacked churches in the Moharrem Bek area of Alexandria protesting the distribution of the DVD they deemed offensive to Islam. Four people were killed in weeklong riots.

Christians complain they suffer job discrimination, particularly in the high ranks of the civil service where positions such as general, provincial governor and faculty head are almost invariably held by Muslims.

Egypt arrests 15 in clashes between Coptic Christians and Muslims

[Shammu]

Police, Crowds Clash in Egyptian City

By OMAR SINAN, Associated Press Writer Sun Apr 16, 12:45 PM ET

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt - Police fired live ammunition into the air and lobbed tear gas into rioting crowds of Christians and Muslims on Sunday in a third day of sectarian violence in Egypt's second-largest city.

One Muslim reportedly died of wounds suffered a day earlier and dozens more people were wounded and arrested.

Police fought back against Coptic Christians, who were encircled by a security cordon around the Saints Church in downtown Alexandria after hurling stones and bottles from inside the police line. Fellow demonstrators tossed Molotov cocktails from the balconies of nearby buildings.

Police could be seen repeatedly beating a boy of about 12, who was among the crowd of Coptic young people who fled into the church, slamming the doors behind them, or dashed down narrow streets surrounding the church. Most of the protesters were between the ages of 12 and 25.

Later, a huge mob of what appeared to be Muslim protesters charged the police cordon from the other side.

Mustafa Mohammed Mustafa, a Muslim Brotherhood parliamentarian, said a 24-year-old Muslim died early Sunday of wounds from a beating by Christians during rioting Saturday.

The Christian protesters behind the police cordon repeatedly surged against it from the front of the church, and by late afternoon they were hurling rocks and bottles at security troops as others tossed firebombs from surrounding apartment balconies.

Sirens blared as ambulances raced toward the scene. Armored police vehicles surrounded the church as tear gas fumes sent protesters fleeing down narrow streets in the neighborhood.

Earlier Sunday, police officials said 43 people had been wounded in clashes near the church and 50 others were arrested as religious leaders and politicians sought to ease sectarian tensions in the aftermath of a series of weekend attacks on Coptic churches. The police spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

About 2,000 riot police had cordoned off the front of the Saints Church but were unable to prevent the late-afternoon melee by some 200 young men milling around church grounds after services ended. They carried wooden crosses, clubs and machetes.

At least 22 people were wounded in clashes in the Mediterranean city Saturday, and 15 people were arrested in the fighting that police said was instigated by "fanatics."

Security forces also used tear gas to put down the Saturday violence, which erupted among several hundred Coptic Christians and Muslims at the end of the funeral procession for Nushi Atta Girgis, 78, who was slain Friday outside the Saints Church in the Sidi Bishr district.

Officials said more security forces were sent to the city to maintain calm.

The violence apparently was prompted by knife attacks that wounded as many as 16 people at three churches in Alexandria on Friday. Although it was Good Friday for many of the world's Christians, the Copts and other Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Easter next week.

Police said Alexandria Gov. Mohammad Abdel Salam Mahgoub and local politicians were trying to calm the situation with the help of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood.

Coptic Christians are 10 percent of Egypt's 73 million population and generally live in peace with the Muslim majority, though occasional sectarian clashes occur.

Most recently, Muslim militants attacked churches in the Moharrem Bek area of Alexandria to protest distribution of a DVD they deemed offensive to Islam. Four people were killed in weeklong riots.

Christians complain that they suffer job discrimination, particularly in the high ranks of the civil service, where positions such as general, provincial governor and faculty head are almost invariably held by Muslims.

Police, Crowds Clash in Egyptian City

[Shammu]

Pope Calls for Peace, Diplomacy

By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 4 minutes ago

VATICAN CITY - In his first Easter message as pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged nations to use diplomacy to defuse nuclear crises — a clear reference to worries over Iran — and prayed that Palestinians would one day have their own state alongside Israel.

On Christianity's most joyous day — which happened to fall on Benedict's own 79th birthday — the pontiff also prayed for Iraq's relentless violence to cease.

From the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Benedict reflected on the globe's troubled regions shortly after he celebrated Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square, which was packed with 100,000 pilgrims and tourists on a breezy, hazy day.

"Today, even in this modern age marked by anxiety and uncertainty, we relive the event of the Resurrection, which changed the face of our life and changed the history of humanity," Benedict said in the traditional papal "Urbi et Orbi" message — Latin for "to the city and to the world."

On Easter, Christians celebrate a core belief of their faith — that Jesus rose from the dead following his crucifixion. Orthodox Christians in Russia and elsewhere will celebrate Easter on April 23.

Benedict made note of recent developments that have raised fears Iran might be working toward building a nuclear arsenal.

"Concerning the international crises linked to nuclear power, may an honorable solution be found for all parties, through serious and honest negotiations," Benedict said without naming any country.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently said his country had successfully enriched uranium using 164 centrifuges, a significant step toward large-scale production of material that could be used to fuel nuclear reactors for generating electricity or to build atomic bombs.

Iran insists it only wants the peaceful use of nuclear power, but Western nations suspect Tehran wants to develop weapons and are demanding a halt to enrichment activities.

Pilgrims marking Easter also filled the streets of Jerusalem's Old City. The alleys were more crowded than in recent years, reflecting a drop in Palestinian-Israeli violence.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, who is the leading Roman Catholic official in the Holy Land, celebrated Mass in the dark, incense-filled Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built on the spot where many Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross.

After leading black-robed priests into the church singing the Lord's Prayer, the Palestinian-born patriarch lit worshippers' candles, which gradually illuminated the painted dome ceiling erected in the Crusader era.

"This is like a dream come true for us to be here in the Holy Land," said Rona Arida, 29, a Philippine worker in Israel, after praying with her friends at the church. "I prayed for all of my family back home."

At the Vatican, Benedict was interrupted by applause when he said of Iraq: "may peace finally prevail over the tragic violence that continues mercilessly to claim victims."

"I also pray sincerely that those caught up in the conflict in the Holy Land may find peace, and I invite all to patient and persevering dialogue, so as to remove both ancient and new obstacles," the pontiff said.

There has been heavy pressure from abroad on the Hamas-led Palestinian government, which was elected in January, to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist.

"May the international community, which reaffirms Israel's just right to exist in peace, assist the Palestinian people to overcome the precarious conditions in which they live and to build their future, moving toward the constitution of a state which is truly their own," Benedict said.

The pope lamented that the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region was "no longer sustainable."

He denounced the "deplorable scourge of kidnappings" in Latin America, where, he said, millions of people should have better living conditions and democratic institutions need to be "consolidated in a spirit of harmony."

As Mass began, a brisk breeze ruffled the pope's gold-colored vestments and the crimson feathers atop the helmets of Swiss Guards as he strode up the center to the square to take his place at a canopied altar on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica.

The pope offered holiday wishes in 62 languages and gave his blessing.

Among the prayers read by faithful during the Mass was a wish, in French, that the pope receive a birthday gift of "serene" days.

Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, died six days after Easter last year, and was so weak he was unable to address faithful in the square on Easter, only raising his hand in blessing.

Benedict looked tired during Sunday's Mass. He had had only a few hours to rest after leading a long Easter vigil ceremony Saturday night in St. Peter's Basilica that lasted past midnight.

After a packed schedule of Holy Week ceremonies, Benedict was heading to the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, a hill town near Rome, where he planned to give pilgrims and tourists his blessing Monday at the start of a brief vacation.

Pope Calls for Peace, Diplomacy

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Ireland marks 1916 Easter Rising as thousands greet Dublin parade

1 hour, 14 minutes ago

LONDON (AFP) - Some 100,000 people lined the streets of Dublin, according to Irish police estimates, to celebrate a major military parade marking the 90th anniversary of Ireland's 1916 uprising against Britain.

The Easter Rising parade, which was the first for over 36 years, was attended by Irish President Mary McAleese and Prime Minister Bertie Ahern.

Some 900 guests -- half of them representatives of the families of those who died during the 1916 Rising -- joined McAleese and Ahern to review the parade at the General Post Office (GPO) in O'Connell Street in central Dublin.

The iconic GPO was the main building occupied by the insurgents some 90 years ago and was the headquarters for the uprising.

During the ceremonies at the GPO, an army officer read a copy of the Proclamation of a Republic and the national flag was lowered to half-mast.

A minute's silence was observed and wreaths were laid for all those who died, including rebels, British soldiers, policemen and civilians.

Sunday's march began at 12:00pm (13:00 GMT) and took around one hour.

About 2,500 personnel from all sections of Ireland's defence and police forces took part in the parade.

Represented were the army, the Air Corps, the Naval Service, as well as members of the Irish UN, the veterans association, and the Organisation of Ex-Servicemen and Ex-Servicewoman.

It marked the biggest display of military pomp associated with 1916 commemorations since the 50th anniversary in 1966.

The April 24 to May 1 1916 uprising ended in failure with an estimated 500 dead, 2,500 wounded and more than 2,000 imprisoned.

On April 24 that year, one of the Rising leaders, Patrick Pearse, read the proclamation of the sovereign rights of Irish people outside the GPO.

All seven signatories of the proclamation were tried by court-martial after they surrendered. They were executed by British forces.

Earlier on Sunday, Irish PM Ahern stressed inclusiveness and reconciliation when he began the day's ceremonies by laying a wreath in the Stonebreaker's Yard in Dublin's Kilmainham Jail, where most of the 1916 leaders were executed.

"Today is a day of remembrance, reconciliation and renewal," Ahern said.

"As we look to the future, we must be generous and inclusive so that all of the people of Ireland can live together with each other and with our neighbours in Great Britain on a basis of friendship, respect, equality and partnership.

"And every day, in every place, we will continue to work for peace, for justice, for prosperity and for reconciliation between all who share and who love this special island."

At the ceremony, Ahern was accompanied by Roman Catholic priest Father Joseph Mallin, 92, the only surviving child of any of the 1916 leaders, who had travelled from Hong Kong to take part.

Mallin's father, Michael, was a commandant of the Irish Citizen Army in the uprising, and Ahern read from his last letter to his wife pointing out its lack of bitterness and emphasis on reconciliation.

"I find no fault with the soldiers or police," Michael Mallin's letter read.

It added: "I forgive them from the bottom of my heart. Pray for all the souls that fell in this fight, Irish and English."

In 1970, as violence sharply increased in Northern Ireland, Dublin's government abandoned the tradition of Easter Sunday military parades to mark the insurrection.

However, the insurrection was a key factor in the country's freedom struggle and subsequent independence in 1922.

Ireland marks 1916 Easter Rising as thousands greet Dublin parade

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Dalai Lama Meets With Muslims in Calif.

By JUSTIN M. NORTON, Associated Press Writer Sun Apr 16, 8:47 AM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - The Dalai Lama urged religious leaders Saturday to reach out to Muslims, saying Islam is a compassionate faith that has been unfairly maligned because of a few extremists.

"Nowadays to some people the Muslim tradition appears more militant," the 70-year-old exiled monk said at a weekend conference, which aimed to bring Muslims and Buddhists together.

"I feel that's totally wrong. Muslims, like any other traditions — same message, same practice. That is a practice of compassion," he said.

Event organizers say the Dalai Lama interrupted his schedule to fly to San Francisco and meet Islamic scholars and leaders from other faiths to discuss reducing violence and extremism.

Security was tight at the invitation-only event, which drew about 500 religious leaders and scholars. The conference included speakers and presenters from numerous faiths and roughly 30 countries.

The Dalai Lama told the audience that many people see and hear news of suicide bombings in predominantly Muslim countries but don't hear about how Muslims often work with the poor.

He said all human beings are prone to violence if they lose control of their emotions and not to judge an entire faith based on a few people. "A few mischievous people are always there," he said.

The Dalai Lama, who was awarded the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, fled Tibet in 1959 following an aborted uprising against Chinese rule in the territory and now keeps an office in exile in the Himalayan town of Dharmsala, India.

The Dalai Lama also told conference attendees that religious traditions must work harder to live together in peace, citing religious violence in Northern Ireland, Pakistan and Iraq.

Hamza Yusuf, founder of the Zaytuna Institute, a Hayward-based center for Islamic study, said the conference could help build relationships between Buddhists and Muslims and promote a greater understanding of Islam. He noted that Muslims and Buddhists lived together peacefully for hundreds of years in Tibet.

Yusuf said the Dalai Lama's participation in the event could warm Americans to Islam, since many Americans have mixed feelings about the faith but are receptive to Buddhism.

"He wanted to meet us in solidarity as a community because he felt like people were attacking Islam," Yusuf said.

Seyed Ali Ghazvini of the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno said he hoped the conference would encourage Muslims to be more visible and active in the United States.

"This is a matter of necessity," said Ghazvini, who gave the Dalai Lama a set of Islamic prayer beads. "It's not an option to sit alone in our own community and our own mosques."

Dalai Lama Meets With Muslims in Calif.