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  admin 4:04 am on February 3, 2010 Permalink  

  Ousted from Church, Harare Anglicans Worship Outside 

  hey came from all over the city links london discountand beyond to Africa Unity Square, the park across the street from the Anglican Cathedral in downtown Harare.  The head of the worldwide Anglican Church sent a message of support.

  “We pray with you that Anglican congregations will be able to worship in their churches unhindered and without disruptions.  May God bless you all, Archbishop Rowan Williams,” he said.

  Outdoor services are nothing new for most of the 3,000-member congregation since the schism in the Harare diocese of the church, a few years ago.  The split happened when Nolbert Kunonga, then bishop of Harare, tried to break away from the Anglican Church alleging, among other complaints, the church supports homosexuality.

  The majority of the congregation did not support Kunonga, but this did not stop him.  Current Anglican Bishop Chad Gandiya explains.

  “He went on to start his own church, called the Anglican Church of the Province of Zimbabwe, and he went ahead to consecrate his own bishops, he had himself consecrated archbishop, therefore he has nothing to do with us and we have nothing to do with him,” explained Gandiya.

  Kunonga’s acts of defiance led to theLinks London Jewellery withdrawal of his pastor’s license by the church in 2008.  He responded by seizing church property, a move that was contested by the church in the courts.

  Although Bishop Gandiya says the courts have ruled in the church’s favor, Kunonga, who is said to be close to President Robert Mugabe, has defied the rulings.  Gandiya says court orders that the factions share worship time in the churches – until a final ruling is made – have been defied with the help of the police.

  “They tell you that they do not obey court orders, but they follow orders from above,” said Bishop Gandiya.

  The acrimony between the two sides runs so deep that incidents of violence have been reported and some of those opposed to former Bishop Kunonga have been arrested.  Last month, someone spread chicken waste on the lawn outside one of the churches were parishioners hold their services.

  Bishop Gandiya says helinks london store invited President Robert Mugabe to Sunday’s service, but says the invitation was not acknowledged.

   
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  admin 4:01 am on February 3, 2010 Permalink  

  US, Russian Negotiators Near New Nuclear Treaty 

  U.S. Under Secretary for Links London JewelleryArms Control and International Security Ellen Tauscher expressed confidence that despite deep partisan divisions in Congress, the Senate would pass the successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, although she gave no timeframe.

  “We do have a polarized atmosphere in Washington, but I think that on issues of national security, we have always found that we can find a very broad concensus of Democrats and Republicans [who] will work together to advance those issues.  I expect on this issue we will find that same sweet spot,” she said.

  Tauscher spoke at a conference in Paris gathering former diplomats and arms negotiators and aimed at pushing for global nuclear disarmament.  U.S. and Russian negotiators resumed talks in Geneva this week aimed to wrap up a new nuclear disarmament treaty to replace START, which expired in December.

  In July, President Barak Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev agreed to reduce their respectiveLinks of London Discount numbers of nuclear warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 under a new treaty.

  In remarks later to VOA, Tauscher predicted the two sides would reach a deal very soon.  “We are working hard toward an agreement.  It  is clear we have the major elements of an agreement in place and now we have to do the hard work of conforming the treaty and some other small negotiations,” she said.

  Separately, Tauscher cautiously welcomed an announcement by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Tehran is ready to send its enriched uranium overseas in exchange for nuclear fuel.  Iran previously rejected a U.N.-mediated proposal along those lines.  Tauscher saidcheap links londonthe Obama administration is analyzing the Iranian president’s latest remarks.

   
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  admin 3:58 am on February 3, 2010 Permalink  

  US Intelligence Officials Warn of Persistent Threat from al-Qaida 

  National Intelligence DirectorReplica JACQUES LEMANS F1 Watches Dennis Blair testified Wednesday to the House of Representatives’ Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, that the threat from al-Qaida remains strong.

  “We have been warning in the past several years that al-Qaida itself, and its affiliates and al-Qaida-inspired terrorists remain committed to striking the United States.  And in the past year, we have some names that go behind these warnings,” he said.

  Blair named as examples from the past year Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan-born man charged with plotting to use weapons of mass destruction in the United States and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian man who allegedly tried to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas Day.

  Blair also cited Major Nidal Hasan, an American who allegedly shot and killed 13 people at Fort Hood, in Texas, as an example of a “homegrown, self-radicalized extremist.”

  Blair warned that the threat of violent extremism is constantly evolving.

  “We have made complex, multi-team attacks very difficult for al-Qaida to pull off,” he said.  “But as we saw with the recent rash of attacks last year, both successful and unsuccessful, identifying individual terrorists, small groups with short histories, using simple attack methods, is a much more difficult task,” said Blair.

  At a similar hearing held by the Senate Select Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta said that it is not so much that the United States faces an attack like the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.
  CIA Director Leon Panetta testifies on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC., 02 Feb 2010“I think the greater threat is that al-Qaida is adapting their methods in ways that often times make it difficult to detect,” he said.
  Panetta and other intelligence officials warn that al-Qaida is increasingly trying to recruit Americans andwholesale Links of London others with no terrorist records, and that the danger of self-radicalization by terrorist sites on the Internet is growing.

  Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein asked Blair about the possibility of an attack against the United States in the near future.

  FEINSTEIN:  “What is the likelihood of another terrorist attempted attack on the U.S. homeland in the next three to six months, high or low?  Director Blair?”
  BLAIR:  “An attempted attack the priority is certain, I would say.”

  Director Blair cited malicious cyber activity as another increasing threat.  But he said that threat of global economic collapse has decreased substantially since last year.

  At Tuesday’s Senate hearing, Republican lawmakers sharply criticized the Obama administration for its handling of the foiled Christmas Day airline bomb plot, complaining that suspect Abdulmutallab stopped talking after he was given a lawyer.

  National Intelligence Director Blair said authorities have to strike a balance between the goals of getting good intelligence and prosecuting the suspect, and that they had done a good job in the case.

  “We got good intelligence, we are getting more,” Blair said.

  Obama administration officials say that Abdulmutallab has been cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is now sharing information.

  A federal grand jury has indicted the 23-year-old on six criminal counts, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

  The case has sparked a heated debate in Congress over whether terror suspects should be taken into civilian Cheap Links of londonor military custody, and tried in civilian courts in the United States or by military tribunals in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

   
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  admin 3:55 am on February 3, 2010 Permalink  

  Shanta Martin is AmnestyLinks of London Friendship Bracelet International’s mining and human rights specialist. She says the police used violence and intimidation to clear over 100 buildings.

  “Between April and July of 2009, the police who were brought in to an area in the highlands of Papua New Guinea to deal with an increase in law and order problems burnt down villages that were right next door to the operations of the Porgera Gold Mines,” said Martin.

  The police force says those who have been evicted from their homes were living there illegally.

  But Martin says no warning of eviction was given and she says the police used excessive brutality.

  Amnesty says there is no evidence that Barrick Gold, which owns 95 percent of the mine, played any part in the evictions. But it says the mining company should end their support of the police, which through a subsidiary of Barrick Gold received accommodation, food and fuel.

  And, Martin says the gold producer should have done more to investigate the forced evictions.

  “Even having found that, and Links of London wholesaleagreed that, there were evictions by the police right next door to the mine’s facilities, within the special mining lease area and within sight of personnel who were working within the minds, neither Barrick Gold Corporation nor the Porgera Joint Venture has urged for an independent investigation by the authorities and quite frankly that’s just not good enough,” she said.

  In a statement, Barrick Gold has said Amnesty International’s research into Porgera is not objective and has not taken into account complicated social and legal issues on the ground.

  Martin says the government must investigate the evictions and prosecute those responsible. And, she says moves should be made to help resettle those people who are still living within the mining area.

  “There’s also a need to have a look at whether or not the people who are currently living within the special mining lease area really ought to be relocated to an area outside that mine lease,” said Martin.

  The Porgera Gold Mine, replica Clerc watcheslocated in Papua New Guinea’s Enga Province, is one of Barrick Gold’s largest mining operations.

   
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  admin 3:52 am on February 3, 2010 Permalink  

  Officials Plan to Improve Haiti’s Food Supply after Earthquake 

  Jacmel, an area south of replica Jaeger LeCoultre WatchHaiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince, crops of sugar cane, corn and beans are maturing. They will be ready to harvest in a few weeks. But the earthquake has damaged the irrigation system providing them with water.

  Javier Escobedo, who traveled to the area to assess the damage for the UN food and agriculture organization, says he sees hopeful signs among local farmers.

  “I was surprised because, in particular the women were in the fields, putting water in the fields. They were saying, ‘I want to save our food.’ That is encouraging, to see how [the farmers] stand up again after this tragedy.”

  While hundreds of thousands of Haitians are surviving on emergency food aid, officials are beginning to consider how to get food production in Haiti up and running again.

  Repairing damaged irrigation systems and roads top the ‘to-do’ list for reconstruction.

  Escobedo says farmers also face a looming shortage of seeds. With food in short supply, seeds that would have been used to start next season’s crops will likely be eaten instead. And he adds that the seed business suffered in the quake as well.

  “The commercial traders of seeds are closed,” he says. “One of the biggest providers collapsed. So, there’s going to be a gap in the provision of seed.”

  To fill the gap, he says, Haitians will need to import tons more bean and maize seeds than normal.

  Escobedo adds that the Links of London Jewelrymass migration of hundreds of thousands of people out of Port-au-Prince to the countryside has created another problem.

  “These people are consumers,” he says, “They are not producers. So, it’s going to [create a great deal of] pressure on the land. They need food.”

  Haitian agriculture minister Joanas Gué agrees that the exodus will increase the food demands in the countryside. And he says farmers will need to change how they distribute and sell their produce because Port-au-Prince will no longer be the primary market for the rural areas.

  Escobedo says one strategy FAO and others are proposing to ward off hunger in the coming months is to supply people with seeds and planting boxes to grow some lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and other vegetables. These backyard gardens can help ensure a source of food and even provide a little income when the garden produces a surplus.  The FAO had previously promoted these simple container gardens to help tens of thousands of Port-au-Prince city dwellers improve their diets.

  Haiti had serious problems with food security before the earthquake. More than half the population was undernourished. Agriculture minister Joanas Gué will be traveling to Washington and Rome next week to ask donors to support a $700 million proposal to improve food production in the country.

  Gué says he will advocate for the plan to boost agricultural production in Haiti once and for all, making food more available. But especially important, he says, will be working for the long term to Links of London silvercreate strategic food reserves that will enable the country to quickly respond in times of crisis, such as this one.

   
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  admin 3:44 am on February 3, 2010 Permalink  

  Officials Plan to Improve Haiti’s Food Supply after Earthquake 

  In Jacmel, an area south ofcheap links of london Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince, crops of sugar cane, corn and beans are maturing. They will be ready to harvest in a few weeks. But the earthquake has damaged the irrigation system providing them with water.

  Javier Escobedo, who traveled to the area to assess the damage for the UN food and agriculture organization, says he sees hopeful signs among local farmers.

  “I was surprised because, in particular the women were in the fields, putting water in the fields. They were saying, ‘I want to save our food.’ That is encouraging, to see how [the farmers] stand up again after this tragedy.”

  While hundreds of thousands of Haitians are surviving on emergency food aid, officials are beginning to consider how to get food production in Haiti up and running again.

  Repairing damaged irrigation systems and roads top the ‘to-do’ list for reconstruction.

  Seed shortage
  Escobedo says farmers also face a looming shortage of seeds. With food in short supply, seeds that would have been used to start next season’s crops will likely be eaten instead. And he adds that the seed business suffered in the quake as well.
  “The commercial traders of seeds are closed,” he says. “One of the biggest providers collapsed. So, there’s going to be a gap in the provision of seed.”

  To fill the gap, he says, Haitians willLinks of London Gift need to import tons more bean and maize seeds than normal.

  Urban exodus increases rural food demand

  Escobedo adds that the mass migration of hundreds of thousands of people out of Port-au-Prince to the countryside has created another problem.

  “These people are consumers,” he says, “They are not producers. So, it’s going to [create a great deal of] pressure on the land. They need food.”

  Haitian agriculture minister Joanas Gué agrees that the exodus will increase the food demands in the countryside. And he says farmers will need to change how they distribute and sell their produce because Port-au-Prince will no longer be the primary market for the rural areas.

  Backyard gardens

  Escobedo says one strategy FAO and others are proposing to ward off hunger in the coming months is to supply people with seeds and planting boxes to grow some lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and other vegetables. These backyard gardens can help ensure a source of food and even provide a little income when the garden produces a surplus.  The FAO had previously promoted these simple container gardens to help tens of thousands of Port-au-Prince city dwellers improve their diets.

  Haiti had serious problems with food security before the earthquake. More than half the population was undernourished. Agriculture minister Joanas Gué will be traveling to Washington and Rome next week to ask donors to support a $700 million proposal to improve food production in the country.

  Gué says he will advocate for the plan to boost agricultural production in Haiti once and for all, making food more available. But especially important, he says, will be working for the long term to createReplica Chanel Watches strategic food reserves that will enable the country to quickly respond in times of crisis, such as this one.

   
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  admin 3:21 am on February 3, 2010 Permalink  

  Suicide Bomber Kills Shi’ite Pilgrims Near Iraqi Holy City of Karbala 

  Iraqi officials say that a motorcycleReplica Watches bomb blast has killed at least 20 Shi’ite pilgrims near the holy city of Karbala.  The explosion came as hundreds of thousands of Shi’ite pilgrims made their way, mostly on foot, to Karbala to commemorate the 40th day after the historic slaying of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.

  The apparently sectarian attack targeted Shi’ite pilgrims on one of the more sacred days of the year, as hundreds of thousands marched on foot to Karbala, in Iraq’s Shi’ite heartland. The blast tore into a thick crowd of pilgrims, killing and wounding dozens.

  Ceremonies to mark the fortieth day after the slaying of Imam Hussein were outlawed under the regime of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Many Sunni Arabs dislike the event because they feel Shi’ites blame them for Hussein’s death.

  Iraqi TV showed images of damaged store fronts, broken glass, and metal punctured by shrapnel from the blast. It also showed images of wounded pilgrims wrapped in gauze bandages at the Hussein hospital in Karbala.

  Two other explosions also targeted Shi’ite pilgrims in Baghdad Wednesday, causing even more casualties. A man living close to one of the explosions says that there would have been more casualties if the blast had occurred later in the day.

  He pointed to the site of the explosion and indicated that it occurred while people were asleep, and that people rushed to see what happened after they heard the sound of the blast. He adds that stores were closed at the time [or more people would have been hurt].

  A female suicide bomber blew Links of London saleherself up amidst a throng of Shi’ite pilgrims Monday, killing at least 41 people and wounding over 100.

  Professor Hilal Khashan of the American University of Beirut thinks that sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shi’ites is on the rise, again, both in Iraq and elsewhere in the region. He says that the attempt to disqualify many Sunni candidates in Iraq’s March parliamentary election is one cause, among many, for the upsurge in violence.

  “It has a lot to do with the forthcoming elections,” he said. “For the past week, Shi’ite pilgrims in Karbala have specifically been targeted, which worries us about the return of the cycle of sectarian bloodshed in Iraq. For some time, the intensity of sectarian conflict subsided, but now it seems that it is on the rise again. We have been witnessing al-Qaida mobilization against Shi’ites. In the past month there were attacks on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in Baluchistan. So, this surge that I see is not only limited to Iraq, but a regional phenomenon.”

  Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki blamed Monday’s suicide bombing on both al- Qaida and the deposed Baath Party. “We hold Takfiris and Baathists responsible for the massacre,” he said.

  Iraqi TV reported that over 30,000 security forces were mobilized to prevent further attacks during the Shi’ite pilgrimage. Tens of thousands of people carrying colored flags and banners couldlinks of london discount be seen marching barefooted to Karbala on an overcast winter day.